The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

Chapters

Nightmares Don't Last Forever
The Light Never Goes Out
OAC&A: April Fools
On A Cross and Arrow
Pink Eyes
The Best Night Ever Part 1: Arrival
The Best Night Ever Part 2: Loops
The Best Night Ever Part 3: Maze
The Best Night Ever Part 4: Fade
The Immortal Game: April Fools 2013
The Immortal Game
Summary That Never Was: Harpflank and Sweets
A Heart of Change
Backwards Through the Mirror: Part 1
Backwards Through the Mirror: Part 2
Backwards Through the Mirror: Part 3
Mendacity Pt. 1
This Platinum Crown Pt. 1
This Platinum Crown: Pt. 2 - Bitaly
This Platinum Crown: Pt. 3 - Bitaly
Summary: Bitaly Last Part
Summary That Never Was: ME: Shades of Twilight
Mente Materia Pt. 1
Mente Materia Pt. 2
Mente Materia Pt. 3
Project Horizons Pt. 1
Project Horizons Pt. 2
Vision
Fallout Equestria Pt. 2
Summary: Fallout: Equestria Arc End
Night's Favored Child Pt. 1
Night's Favored Child Pt. 3
Night's Favored Child Pt. 4
Prologue
Of Mares and Magic
Summary That Never Was: The End of Ponies
Fallout: Equestria Pt. 1
Night's Favored Child Pt. 2

Nightmares Don't Last Forever

By Wanderer D

Editors & Proof-Readers: Understated Hyperbole, Trevor, Cardslafter, Fifth Alicorn

o.o.0.o.o

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Sweetie Belle kept screaming in panic, unable to move as Nightmare Moon herself entered the library. Never before had she been so scared. Not even being almost eaten by a werewolf invoked the deep-rooted fear that the alicorn before her inspired. She was suddenly reminded of the manic laughter of the Nightmare as she had somehow taken Celestia away during the Summer Sun Celebration.

“Well, you do seem to know how to impress ponies,” Twilight stated as she came all the way down the stairs to stand in front of the Nightmare.

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Well, I do have quite the presence,” the alicorn chuckled. “You look good, Twilight. I thought you hated wearing that.”

“I do,” Twilight growled. “Hate it, I mean,” she added when she saw Nightmare Moon begin to smile. “I’m only wearing it because it’s your birthday and you begged me to wear it.”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

The alicorn chuckled and punched the unicorn on the shoulder playfully. “Oh, Twilight, you say the kindest things.”

Twilight glared at the alicorn. “It’s not your birthday, is it?”

Nightmare Moon raised her eyebrows in fake surprise. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

Both ponies looked at Sweetie as she continued screaming.

“So, what’s her problem?” Nightmare Moon finally asked.

“Apparently she’s scared of you,” Twilight replied.

“But... really? That much screaming? Isn’t it... too much?”

“Aaaaaa-oof!”

The alicorn and purple unicorn blinked as a pony-sized cushion knocked the filly over, interrupting her scream.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity groaned as her horn stopped glowing. “What do you think you’re doing?! Haven’t I told you not to scream like that?”

“Ugh... mah head...” Applejack groaned, blinking heavily as she slowly raised her head from Rarity’s mane.

Fluttershy twitched, and slowly opened her eyes, wincing under the light. “Oh... oh my...” She blushed. “I think I drank too much... again.”

The white pegasus next to her blinked and opened her eyes, yawning cutely. “Sis!” She happily jumped to her hooves and trotted up to Nightmare Moon.

Pinkie groaned and dragged the rest of her body into the kitchen. Spike, for his part, kept snoring as Rainbow Dash turned over and fell off the table with a dull thump.

Sweetie pushed the cushion off of her and stared as the group groggily got up and proceeded to discuss the last night as if Nightmare Moon was not there... unless...

“Is this a Nightmare Night prank, Princess Luna?” she asked the alicorn, whose eyes widened.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity gasped then frowned, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at home?”

“Oh, so this is your sister!” Twilight said with a smile. “I was wondering who she was and why she was here,” she said, looking down at the filly. “Hi! My name is Twilight Sparkle!” she continued, then frowned. “Although you already seemed to know that.”

“Twilight...” Sweetie said without taking her eyes of the alicorn, who was watching her intently. “Why is Princess Lun-”

“Ahem,” the alicorn interrupted. “I’m afraid you have it wrong, my little pony. I am Nightmare Moon... ruler of Equestria!”

“Oh.” Sweetie considered her options. The pillow that Rarity had thrown at her slowly levitated off the floor and then smashed into Nightmare Moon’s face. “Quick, everypony! Run! I’ll protect you!” Sweetie shouted, horn glowing again as a couple more pillows were pulled into the air.

The pillow slid down from Nightmare Moon’s face as she gave an amused look at the filly. The look turned into a frown when another pillow smacked her in the face.

“What are you waiting for?” Sweetie called. “Sis, run! Twilight, if we cast the shield spell we can hold her back!”

“Shield spell?” Twilight blinked as she turned to look at the flabbergasted Rarity. “Your little sister knows how to cast the Shield spell? Why isn’t she in Canterlot studying magic?”

“Now, Sweetie, hold on just a second...” Nightmare Moon said before another pillow found its place embedded on her horn.

“I-” Rarity blinked. “I have no idea how she’s doing it!”

“Why are you still here?!” Sweetie asked, turning to look at the group as her control of the pillows faltered.

“If we’re done with that-” Nightmare Moon started to say, only to be interrupted by another pillow to the face. The alicorn turned to glare at Pinkie Pie, who gave her a wide smile from within a pillow fort she had somehow constructed while they were distracted. “Oh... It. Is. On!”

Rarity dodged the flying pillows as she made her way to her sister. “Sweetie, let’s get going.”

“Sunny!” Nightmare Moon roared as several pillows around her floated threateningly. “How dare you join Pinkie Pie’s side! Once I win this fight you will be grounded and spend the next thousand years in your room at the castle, you hear me?”

“But...” Sweetie Belle’s horn glowed as she sent another pillow flying. “Nightmare Moon! We have to stop her!”

The older unicorn just sighed and ushered her sister out. “They’ll be fine.” Once they were outside, Rarity looked up with a frown. “I just hope they finish their pillow fight soon so that Nightmare Moon can raise the sun.”

Sweetie blinked. “Huh? Buh- but, come on, sis! This is serious!” She looked at her sister doubtfully. “Isn’t it?”

“Okay, that’s enough, Sweetie, you’re starting to sound like Twilight,” Rarity chided. Then, when she saw the small frown in the filly’s face, clarified, “The purple unicorn.”

“I know who Twilight is!”

Rarity sighed. “Of course dear, I just... I’m still tired. Now, let’s take you home.”

The two walked in silence for a few minutes until...

“Sweetie, I may be... a bit under the weather, but... did you just levitate and throw pillows around?”

o.0.o

As they walked away from the library, Sweetie’s eyes were glued to the ground.

So I didn’t make it home... back there Nightmare Moon was stopped by sis and the others... even in that strange world where Trixie and Twilight were together, Nightmare Moon was gone! What am I going to do? Why isn’t everypony more worried about this?

To Sweetie Belle’s surprise, the sun eventually made its way up into the sky. “I thought Nightmare Moon wanted eternal night?”

Why?

Rarity glanced tiredly at her. “No, I think the only thing she really wants is Twilight...” She sighed. “Ever since we tried to use the Elements of Harmony on Nightmare Moon and failed, everything has been such a rush... with Twilight suddenly becoming Nightmare Moon’s slave and Celestia being...” Rarity stopped, looking around, “... indisposed... everything is very confusing. It might be easier if Nightmare Moon had been a tyrant- but no, we get a prankster...”

That made the filly stop. “What?”

What does Nightmare Moon want with Twilight? It can’t be good! Oooh, I should find the piece of Twilight in this world, but can I just do it and not help her defeat Nightmare Moon? What would my Twilight want me to do?

The older unicorn yawned as she herded her sister into the boutique, and looked longingly at the stairs that led to her room. “I know you just met Twilight, Sweetie, so you don’t know... she’s Nightmare Moon’s personal slave...”

“Slave?!”

Rarity held her hoof against her head. “Could you please not yell? Listen, Sweetie, why don’t you go play around town; maybe find that pegasus friend of yours, just don’t get into trouble, okay?”

“But-”

“Go on, Sweetie. Big sis needs some more sleep.”

As she was ushered out the door, Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

The cool morning air welcomed her into its embrace once more as she pondered what to do.

Nightmare Moon has turned Twilight into her slave! She makes her dress like a belly dancer! Does that mean that she defeated Princess Celestia? What am I going to do? Should I tell them about... the accident? But, how will they treat me if I do? Will sis still think I am her sister? Or maybe she will be scared of me! I don’t have Trixie here to explain... I’m... alone... She sighed, but her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar filly walking past Carousel Boutique.

“Apple Bloom!” she called, running up to meet her friend. Well, maybe not completely alone.

The earth pony stopped and looked at her, confused. "Sweetie Belle, right? Rarity's sister?"

What? But... oh... right. I’m the other world thing. Sweetie face-hoofed, then looked at her would-be-friend. “Uh... right! And you’re Applejack’s sister, right?”

“That’s me!” Apple Bloom said with a proud nod. “Ah’m lookin’ for her right now; she’s s’posed ta be back on the farm buckin’ apples you see...”

A plan started to form in Sweetie’s mind. “Hey, I know where Applejack is right now... want to hang out after we get her?”

Apple Bloom blinked. “Uh, sure.”

“Great!” Sweetie grinned as she motioned for the earth pony to follow her. “I’ll introduce you to another friend, and then...”

“... and then?”

“We’ll rescue Twilight!”

“Who?”

o.0.o

“So, let me get this straight,” Scootaloo said, looking at Sweetie Belle as if the unicorn had grown another horn. “You want the three of us,” her hoof went around encompassing them, “To take on The Nightmare Moon in order to free this Twilight Sparkle, who you just met this morning.”

Sweetie nodded excitedly.

“Ah met her a couple of days ago!” Apple Bloom supplied.

“Right...” Scootaloo gave the earth pony an odd look. “So you really want to do this, even after Nightmare Moon defeated Princess Celestia,” the pegasus pressed.

“Eeyup!” Sweetie smiled, ignoring the odd look Apple Bloom gave her in turn.

“Sweetie, I hate to break it to you, but we can’t do this!” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “This is nuts! Besides,” she glared at the unicorn, “Since when do you want to go on crazy adventures? You’re usually the one telling me to not do this sort of stuff!”

The unicorn’s smile faded. “But... but,” she stammered. “Think about our cutie-marks!”

Apple Bloom blinked and looked at her flank. “We don’t have cutie-marks.”

“Exactly!” Sweetie said, nodding sagely. “Maybe we can get them by defeating Nightmare Moon!”

“That’s completely-” Scootaloo paused, eyes narrowing as she scratched her chin with her hoof. “You think that might work?”

“That would be really cool,” Apple Bloom added, eyes wide.

“So, what do you say? Cutie Mark Crusader Nightmare Vanquishers!”

“Yay!” the other two fillies joined, jumping up in excitement for a second before Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stopped.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders?” the earth pony asked.

Sweetie coughed. “Uh... ye-yeah! We’re trying to get our cutie marks, right?”

“You know...” the pegasus said thoughtfully. “It’s weird to say this, but... it sounds natural.”

The three looked at each other for a moment before wide grins were shared. “Cutie Mark Crusader Nightmare Vanquishers! Yay!”

The three ran in circles cheering, until Scootaloo suddenly stopped, which ended in the other two piling on top of her.

“Ouch! Get off! Get off!” she shouted.

“Why’d you stop?” Sweetie asked, as she rolled off to the side, making Apple Bloom slide over.

“Well, I was thinking... we need to plan this out,” Scootaloo said. “And we need a base!”

Sweetie blinked. “Well...” Her eyes widened. “There’s this filly pegasus called Sunny who lives at the castle, I think. Maybe she can help us find a hiding place there?”

“But... how can we get to the castle?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I saw Nightmare Moon come out of a magic door,” Sweetie provided, looking from one pony to the next. “I bet we can also use it to get to the castle!”

The three exchanged glances.

“We can do it!” Sweetie Belle insisted.

Finally Apple Bloom and Scootaloo both nodded. “Let’s go!”

o.0.o

Spike groaned as he dragged himself to the library door as the persistent knocks continued. “Hold your horses, I’m coming!” When the door opened, he was greeted by three grinning fillies. “Uh... can I help you?”

“Spike!” Sweetie said with a bright smile. “We need to get to the castle! Can you help us?”

The baby dragon looked at her, confused. “Buh- what? Castle?”

“Yeah... uh...” Apple Bloom, pointed towards the distance in direction of Canterlot. “Ya know, where Nightmare Moon is?”

“But... why in the name of Celestia’s mane would you want to go there?” the dragon asked.

“W-well.... I...” Sweetie hated to lie to Spike, but if they were going to save Twilight... “Twilight told me that I should apply to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?”

Spike gave her an unamused look, arching an eyebrow. “She did, huh? Do you know any magic?”

“Y-yes!” Sweetie nodded. “I know Levitation and Prestidigitation and Shield, and I was learning some illusion magic and...”

“Fine! Fine!” Spike sighed. “I can tell a bookworm when I see one, especially after living with Twilight,” he muttered before peering around Sweetie at the other two fillies. “But what about you two?”

“Uh...” Scootaloo shifted nervously. “Moral... support?”

Apple Bloom nodded quickly.

Spike rolled his eyes as he stepped back, opening the door all the way. “Come on in.”

The three fillies made their way into the library. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked almost horrified at the sheer amount of books in there. “This reminds me of school...” she whispered.

“Spike? Could we also talk to Sunny?” Sweetie asked. “She knows the castle and where we have to go...”

Spike blinked, “Sure. I’ll go get her. You three stay here in the meantime, okay?”

The three fillies nodded as the dragon went up the stairs. Once he was out of sight they all released a deep breath.

“It... it worked!” Apple Bloom said in awe.

“I can’t believe you convinced him you knew magic!” Scootaloo added, turning to look at Sweetie with a huge grin. “That was awesome! Levitation and Presti-whatever! Ha! Classic!”

“But-” Sweetie raised a hoof.

“You mean you don’t really know magic?” Apple Bloom blinked. “Ah believed you when you said all them fancy words! You should be an actress, Sweetie.”

“But-” the unicorn filly tried again, only to be interrupted this time by Spike as he jumped down the stairs.

“Aha! I knew it!” the little dragon accused walking towards them, brows furrowed. “You almost got me, but there’s no way Twilight would tell you that without telling me about it! Besides, we arrived a few days ago and-”

“I do know magic!” Sweetie interrupted. “Look!” she levitated a couple of books off the shelf and then floated them up to the table. “See? I can do magic!”

“How the hay did you do that?!” Scootaloo asked, surprised. “I’ve never seen you do anything like that!”

Spike glanced at Sweetie with a raised eyebrow. “Moral support, huh?”

The unicorn filly cringed.

“Well?” Scootaloo pressed her face against the unicorn’s. “When did you learn to do that?”

“I...”

“Spike, are they the ones looking for me?” A voice interrupted them. They all looked towards the upstairs room as a white pegasus with a sun cutie-mark and a gem on her forehead asked walked down the stairs, stifling a yawn.

“Prin- I mean, Sunny!” Spike smiled nervously. “Yes, that’s them.”

“Oh... hi!” Sweetie smiled nervously as she walked around Scootaloo, who frowned but held her tongue.

“I recognize you,” Sunny realized after looking at the unicorn filly for a few seconds. “You’re Rarity’s sister... Sweetie Belle, right?”

“Rarity is your sister?” Spike gasped as he grew dreamy-eyed. “No wonder you know magic... with a sister so perfect-”

“Yeah, well...” Apple Bloom looked at Sunny. “We was wonderin’ if you could give us a tour of the Castle?”

“Huzzah! At last! New friends!” she exclaimed giddily. “Sis will be so proud!”

The three fillies looked at each other. “Um, sure!” Sweetie hastily reassured the pegasus. “We’d be happy to be your friends!

“Well! Let’s get going!” Sunny giggled, a spring in her step as she trotted towards the now-hidden portal. “I’m sure sis would love to meet you!”

o.0.o

“So, she lives in the Castle,” Scootaloo said in a sing-song voice that vaguely resembled Sweetie Belle’s. “She can help us get a place to hide and plan there! Why, she’s the best pony that we could ask for help! She looks really nice!” She hissed at Sweetie, who winced. “Oh, and she’s also freaking Nightmare Moon’s sister!”

The unicorn filly winced as she and Apple Bloom watched apprehensively as the white pegasus nuzzled the dark Queen of Equestria. Next to the queen, Twilight Sparkle stood, this time without her belly-dancer costume, looking at them with confusion and something akin to panic.

“Ah’m not sure comin’ here was a good idea...” Apple Bloom noted.

“Sis! I made new friends!” Sunny said excitedly. “This is Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.”

“Welcome to Canterlot, my little-” Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed as she recognized Sweetie. “You.”

The unicorn filly gulped, but then took a deep breath, “Nightmare Moon!” she challenged, “I am here to save Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight started coughing, looking at the filly in disbelief.

The Nightmare’s eyes widened as she suddenly grabbed the purple unicorn with a foreleg and cuddled up to her. “No! You cannot take her! She’s mine!”

“She is not!”

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“Is too!” Sweetie blinked when she saw Nightmare Moon smile. “Heeeey!”

The trio of fillies watched as the Nightmare nuzzled Twilight affectionately, a hoof tracing its way up and down the purple unicorn’s horn. “She’s mine, and she likes it...” She grinned at the flushing purple unicorn. “Don’t you, slave?”

“I... I-” Twilight trembled, her blush deepening as her embarrassment grew.

“Don’t surrender, Twilight!” Sweetie shouted. “I’ll save you!”

“Ni- Niiii- Nightmare Moon!” Twilight gasped as she pushed back the queen. “They’re just fillies! They shouldn’t be seeing this!”

The queen pouted. “But Twilight, you know you like it...”

“Sis, is it okay if they stay here for a little while?” Sunny asked, blissfully unaware of the teasing and embarrassment. “They really wanted to see the castle...”

Nightmare Moon stopped trying to catch Twilight and looked down at the three fillies. “So you would condemn your lives to the misery of living in these empty halls, alone, save for each other, my sister Sunny, and the occasional visit from your family?”

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to inform the black alicorn that she was, in fact, not interested in doing that at all... but found that she could not speak at all. She blinked, starting to panic.

The Nightmare smiled. “Excellent! You will then stay at the Castle!”

“But-” Apple Bloom blinked. “Hey, I can speak again!”

“Oh, and I heard Sweetie Belle say that she wanted to study at my school for gifted unicorns!” Sunny provided helpfully.

Both the alicorn and Twilight turned to look at Sweetie with raised eyebrows. “Reeeeeally?” Nightmare Moon grinned.

“Um... I...” Sweetie stammered, looking around worriedly.

“Why, yes!” The white pegasus beamed down at the unicorn, “She even said that Twilight suggested she try out!”

“I did?” Twilight blinked. “I must’ve been drunk...”

“Hey, I’m pretty good!” Sweetie complained.

“I remember you attacking me with a pillow this morning...” Nightmare Moon remarked. “That means that you do have some magical skills, but enough for the School for Gifted Unicorns?”

“I was trained by the best!” Sweetie stomped the floor with her hoof. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo suddenly grabbed her and shoved an apple into her mouth.

“If you'll excuse us fer jus' a moment, yer highness...” the apple farmer filly quickly said as the pair dragged Sweetie to a corner of the room.

“Are you crazy?!” Scootaloo asked, glaring at the unicorn. “What the hay are you thinking?!”

“You’re provo- pro- gettin’ into a fight with Nightmare Moon!” Apple Bloom said. “This ain’t part of the plan!”

Sweetie cringed. “But...”

“No ‘buts,’ Sweetie!” The pegasus said. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you can’t just go to the castle and start a fight with Nightmare Moon!”

“You mean she’s not usually like this?” Nightmare Moon asked.

“No!” Scootaloo said, annoyed. “All of a sudden she wants to be the stallion in shining armor that wants to save... the captured... unicorn....” Her words slowly died as she looked to her right... and into the slitted eyes of Nightmare Moon herself.

“AAAAAAAaah!” The pegasus jumped onto Apple Bloom’s forehooves, who stumbled, screaming in fright, and jumped, still carrying Scootaloo, on top of Sweetie Belle.

As the trio collapsed, Nightmare Moon laughed. “Priceless! I almost didn’t do it; I mean, I could hear you all the way to the throne, but I thought ‘Will they notice me? Oh, of course they would,’ but then I came over here and you didn't!” She pounded her hoof on the floor, trying to quell her mirth. “The looks on your faces!”

“Why, you...” Scootaloo glared at the Nightmare. “Now it’s personal!”

“Good,” Nightmare Moon said. “Since you’ll be staying here, I expect you to provide enough entertainment-”

“Wait, wait!” Twilight interrupted. “We can’t simply keep them here!” She looked straight at Nightmare Moon. “As much... entertaining... as they might be, their families will miss them!”

“But Twilight,” Nightmare Moon whined. “I’m the Evil Queen of Equestria! Can I keep one of them? Pleeeease?”

“No!”

“Pretty please? With me on top? And sugar? And honey? And anything else sweet that you might like?”

“No!” Twilight repeated firmly. “They cannot stay and that’s final.”

Nightmare Moon sighed and looked at Sunny. “Sorry, Sunny, I guess you won’t be able to have that sleep-over you wanted. Twilight doesn’t want you to have friends over.”

“What? But-”

“Twilight stopped, feeling cold sweat run down her side when she heard the whimper. Slowly, she turned to look at the white pegasus, who was slumped on the floor next to the throne, looking at her in misery, tears welling up in her innocent eyes... Twilight knew that it was her fault, that Sunny’s unhappiness was a direct result of her lack of compassion and-”

“Stop that,” Twilight growled, putting a hoof over Nightmare Moon’s mouth and ceasing the alicorn’s alarmingly accurate narration of her thoughts.

“Can they stay one night, Twilight? Please?” Sunny pleaded. “I promise we’ll be good!”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo said, glaring at the smirking Nightmare. “I wouldn’t mind staying a night at the castle.”

Apple Bloom shook her head as she also gave an evil look at the black alicorn. “Ah don’t mind stayin’ either, as long as mah sister is okay with it.”

They all looked at Twilight, who sighed, lowering her head in defeat. “Fine. I’ll go ask your sisters.”

“Yay!” Four voices echoed in the throne room, with a less enthusiastic Apple Bloom smiling uncomfortably.

When they settled down, Nightmare Moon turned to her sister. “Sunny, show your friends around the castle in the meantime. I have to arrange Sweetie’s test.”

“You’re really doing it?” Twilight gasped.

The alicorn just smiled.

o.0.o

“Twilight, Ah know that the- that Nightmare Moon and you have a... special... kind of relationship, but Ah can’t believe you’re askin’ me to let Apple Bloom stay the night over with her!”

“I have to agree, dear,” Rarity said with a grimace. “Sweetie was acting strange enough today, and I fear that-”

“That’s not all...” Twilight closed her eyes. “She... Sweetie Belle is...”

“What? What is it?” Rarity asked, walking closer to the purple unicorn, worry evident in her eyes.

“Um... Sweetie is taking the test for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns... today,” Twilight said.

“Oh no! That’s horrible! I-” Rarity stopped. “Are you serious?”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

Rarity stared at Twilight, whose eyes shone with an unspeakable stress. Her mane was disheveled with little hairs sticking out in random directions. The strands around her horn seemed to be matted down, as if she had been rubbing a pillow on them or...

The fashionista coughed into her hoof. “Uh, no dear, you look like you were having... fun... and it was interrupted.”

“WHAT?!”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that, Twilight, but I hope that my sister didn’t-”

“Nothing happened!” Twilight growled as her coat started smoldering and turning white.

“We believe you, sugarcube,” Applejack hastily interjected, giving Rarity a look. “Now, what was this about a test?”

Twilight took a deep, shuddering breath and let it out slowly. “Sweetie convinced Nightmare Moon that she was ready for to try out for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and-”

“But, darling... Sweetie cannot cast a single spell,” Rarity pointed out.

“Well, this morning she was levitating and flinging pillows like a pro,” Twilight said. “And she claims to know at least two other spells and some illusion magic.”

“But, I haven’t taught her anything, and the Ponyville school doesn’t teach magic to young unicorns!” Rarity insisted.

Twilight shrugged. “Well, that’s what’s happening. She’ll be taking her test in a couple of hours. We could go watch her if you want.”

“But of course!” Rarity said. “What kind of sister... wait, we would go to Canterlot!”

“Well, yes, the School is in-”

“Oh, Celestia! What am I doing here? Two hours you said? Well, I should get ready! And maybe make something for Sweetie! She needs to look good for her test, in front of all those noble ponies!” Her eyes glittered with a sudden memory. “Do you think that Prince Blueblood will be there?”

Twilight frowned thoughtfully. “Blueblood usually stays away from any form of education or source of knowledge. So, I sincerely doubt it.”

Rarity looked downcast for the barest of seconds. “Oh well, I still need to get ready. See you at the library then!” With that, she cantered away.

The purple unicorn sighed. “Well, time to find Scootaloo’s parents.”

o.0.o

“Do you understand what I am asking of you?” Nightmare Moon’s eyes glowed with inner power as she looked down upon the cowering forms of the board of trustees at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

“Bu-but... your- your Highness...” a grey unicorn stammered. “What you’re asking for... it... it doesn’t exist!”

“Aaand?” Nightmare Moon leaned closer, her long mane waving like a malevolent aura all around them.

“Aaaaand... we’ll get it done!” the unicorn squeaked.

“Good!” the alicorn said, leaning back. “Have it ready in two hours.”

“T-t-t... two hours?” the unicorn coughed, unable to fully express his shock. The wide eyes of the others was enough to bring a smile to Nightmare Moon.

“If you don’t have it ready... there will be consequences.” With a megalomaniacal laugh, Nightmare Moon turned into mist and flew out of the window.

The unicorns looked at each other in shock.

“How are we going to do this?” an elder, yellow coated unicorn asked the others. “This is...”

“We have to,” a blue male unicorn said with a sigh, “We have no choice. If we fail... the school would have nopony to repair whatever damage that monster might attempt against our students.”

“I...” A cream coated mare coughed. “I might have an idea...”

o.0.o

Rarity and Applejack followed Twilight through the halls of Canterlot Castle and out into the gardens. Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns was right next to the castle, since Celestia herself would sometimes teach and monitor promising students, as well as mentor a select few unicorns besides her faithful student.

“Well, this place here sure is pretty,” Applejack commented, looking around the grounds. “Pretty empty, that is! Where is everypony?”

“Well, since Nightmare Moon came back, most of the nobles left the castle,” Twilight explained.

“How awful!” Rarity sighed.

“Well, to be fair, we have managed to do more work for the good of ponykind since they went away than ever before-” Twilight elaborated.

“There she is!” Rarity beamed as she spotted her sister walking with Sunny, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “Sweetie Belle!” She waved with a hoof to get her sister’s attention.

“Sis!” Apple Bloom called as she ran up to Applejack. “Sunny just showed us the kitchens! They’re huge! Granny Smith would love ‘em!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo grinned, “The kitchen was great, and I can’t wait for dinner tonight!”

“You should have seen Scootaloo’s face, Twilight!” Sunny declared. “Her eyes went really big and she started running around and grabbing stuff and-”

The purple unicorn chuckled. “As long as nothing was broken, it’s fine. I’m glad you four are having such a good time.”

Rarity stepped forth to hug Sweetie. “I am so proud of you!” She gushed, “I can’t believe you’ve learned magic so early! You must tell me who taught you.”

Twilight caught the filly sneaking a glance at her for just a second. But Sweetie’s attention was back to her sister as a blue and white cape slowly draped around the filly’s form. “Sis... what-”

“You must look good for your test, Sweetie! Remember, It's the first impression that...”

“... will either open the door or close it.” Sweetie finished.

“Exactly!” Rarity smiled, stepping back to take a look at the filly and carefully arranging the cape until it was perfect. “So, you were saying, darlin’?”

“Um, her name was Trixie,” Sweetie said with a twinge of guilt. Well it’s not really lying... “She’s a showmare who has travelled all over Equestria.”

“Oh...” Rarity blinked. “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of her.”

“Don’t worry,” Sweetie said absently, looking at the school nervously. “You will.”

“Are you ready for your test, Sweetie?” Twilight asked.

“Um... no?”

“Well...” the unicorn coughed. "I can't guarantee that you'll pass, but if you remember to smile and look confident, I guarantee you'll make a good first impression,” the purple mare advised with a wise nod of her head.

“Will they make me hatch an egg?” Sweetie asked.

Twilight blinked. “How did you...” She looked at Sunny hopefully. “Did you tell her, Sunny?”

The pegasus looked surprised. “No... I didn’t know what the test was...”

“Oh...” Twilight sighed, but her mind was working furiously. How did she know?

“Well, it’s time!” Nightmare Moon said, inserting her head between Rarity and Twilight.

“Yes indeed-WahaHAha?!” Rarity jumped, her dress fluttering in the wind until she landed on top of Applejack who gave her a half-amused, half-annoyed glance, while everypony else worriedly stepped back from the queen’s sudden appearance.

“You keep landin’ on top of me Rarity, and Ah might think yer lookin’ for something else!”

“Th-that’s nonsense!” Rarity stammered as she turned to glare at the black alicorn. “Don’t do that!”

“I’m the Queen. I do what I like,” Nightmare Moon grinned. “Now, let’s go, Sweetie!”

o.0.o

The room was a dull gray with the biggest chalkboard Sweetie had ever seen on the wall behind her. She faced the rest of the study hall, idly wondering if Miss Cheerilee ever felt so nervous in front of classroom. Of course, Sweetie was only facing a class of four unicorns, but it didn't help matters that all four were older and staring at her rather intently.

She looked nervously towards Twilight and Rarity, both of whom smiled widely and pointed at their mouths.

The filly struggled to bring a small smile out, and was rewarded by the board immediately taking notes.

A brown stallion walked into the room dragging a cart, in the middle of which a large egg of the utmost black rested.

“Well, Miss Belle,” one of the unicorns spoke, although she couldn’t know which one it was, since her eyes were glued to the egg. “It says here that you are the student of... Trixie.” There was a pause. “Are we talking about the ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie by any chance?”

Sweetie looked at them. “Uh, yes. That’s her.”

Fast scribbling.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie?” Twilight wondered aloud. “Never heard of her, but she sounds like an interesting unicorn based on the title alone...”

“Miss Belle, to be admitted into the school you need to hatch the egg in front of you using magic you know. Please, go ahead. Whenever you are ready.”

Sweetie gulped. I have no idea how to do this! What am I going to do?! She started hyperventilating. We never covered this in Twilight’s class! I don’t have a sonic rainboom to help me! A quick look at her mentor’s counterpart helped calm her down a bit. Well... if I don’t try, I won’t know...

How should I start? Maybe try to levitate half of it? Her horn blazed and the egg’s top part started glowing. Carefully pulling, she started the process of what would hopefully hatch the egg and-

“Why is the egg stretching like that?” Rarity whispered to Twilight, who was looking at the black egg in complete befuddlement.

“... I- that- why...” the purple unicorn stammered, her eyes widening as the lower half of the egg remained in place, but the upper part slowly stretched farther as if the egg was made of bubblegum.

Nightmare Moon turned her head away and shook silently, drawing Twilight’s attention to her. The purple unicorn raised an eyebrow, but chose to remain quiet.

Sweetie opened her eyes and gasped, releasing her control of the egg, which immediately reformed into its original shape. “Wha- what!?” She squeaked out before glancing at the board of instructors as they wrote more notes.

Calm down Sweetie! You can do it! She focused on the egg once more and slowly a visible aura formed around the egg as she concentrated even more.

The silence in the room stretched for a couple of minutes until a cough from one of the unicorns broke it.

“Miss Belle, while a continuous use of Prestidigitation as a warming spell would indeed hatch an egg eventually, we don’t have months to wait nor you the stamina to sustain it that long... however, I have to commend you, since you are the first unicorn ever to think of anything remotely similar to natural hatching... But I am afraid that still doesn’t mean you pass.”

“Oh...” Sweetie pouted.

Next to Twilight, Nightmare Moon could barely contain her laughter, drawing the attention of Celestia’s student.

“You... you had something to do with this!” She said, raising her voice and calling everypony’s attention to the Nightmare. “You’re-” Twilight’s eyes flashed in anger. “You’re cheating!”

Nightmare Moon smirked. “Now, dear Twilight, I just thought that such a smart filly would need a better challenge than a boring old dragon egg.”

“What did you do?”

“Well, I asked them to give her an ink-dragon egg,” Nightmare Moon smiled.

“You... what... I can’t... no...” Twilight started to smoke as her anger increased.

“Wow!” Sweetie Belle looked at the egg in awe. “An ink-dragon! I’ve never even heard of one of those before!”

“Now, Sweetie, that’s because-”

“Miss Sparkle,” one of the unicorns coughed. “If you’re quite done, Miss Belle has one more try, and we all have work to do.”

Think, Sweetie, think! The unicorn filly looked around for inspiration. Ink... ink...

“Ink!” she shouted suddenly, her eyes filling with hope.

That’s it! It’s just like that time that I dropped the ink bottle in Miss Cheerilee’s class! I had to use some paper towels! But... where can I get some paper towels... or even just some paper?

“Um...” Sweetie looked at the unicorns sheepishly. “Could I have some paper please?”

“I don’t know what you have in mind, Miss Belle, but the test can only be completed with skills and spells you possess and can do by yourself. The only paper in this room is in our notebooks and we are using them.”

Sweetie sighed, frowning as she pawed the ground, thinking. “Well, there goes that idea...”

What else can I do? She thought. Levitation doesn’t work, Prestidigitation takes months, Shield wouldn’t help, and that spell Trixie taught me won’t work unless I can talk it into hatching... She sighed. I should really review it, maybe take some notes later on that notebook Rarity gave me in the other world... I really hope the summoning spell works here.

The unicorn filly sat down and stared despondently at the egg. “I- I give-”

Everypony held their breaths.

“I- notebook!” Sweetie screeched, making the surrounding ponies jump in surprise.

“Yes, the notebooks are the only sources of paper here, so-”

“Not yours! Mine!” Sweetie said with a big smile as her horn shone with magic again. Slowly, to the surprised eyes of the gathered ponies, the space in the air just in front of Sweetie seemed to open, and an object slowly floated out.

“An Inter-Dimensional Pocket? A filly her age?! Impossible!” one of the unicorns shouted in surprise, dropping his own notebook and pen as the pocket closed up.

Ignoring everypony’s gaping stares, Sweetie opened her notebook and approached the egg. “Okay... all I have to do is get the top off the egg..." she slowly started pressing the open notebook on top of the egg. Everypony watched in awe as the top was slowly absorbed into the paper.

“That’s-” Nightmare Moon’s eyes were wide. “That’s cheating!”

“So is having the board create an egg for a dragon that doesn’t exist!” Twilight growled.

Still concentrating, Sweetie slowly lowered the notebook until-

“ACHOOO!”

“Ah!” Sweetie jumped back in surprise, losing her concentration on the notebook. The gem-studded booklet fell straight down, splashing the ink in all directions, splattering her face and her cape.

“No!” Sweetie yelled, running up to the egg while the unicorns exchanged worried glances.

“Why did you do that?!” Twilight rounded up on Nightmare Moon.

The alicorn rubbed her nose with her hoof. “I’m sorry! I really didn’t mean to.”

“Right.”

“Uh... this exam is concluded,” one of the unicorns said shakily.

The group watched the unicorns get up and slowly walk out of the door, casting uneasy glances at the ink in the floor.

Sweetie sniffed. With a flash of magic her notebook was gone. “... I failed.”

“It’s okay, Sweetie,” Rarity said, carefully stepping around the ink. “I think I can still remove the ink from it...” She sighed, then gave her sister an encouraging smile. “You did your best, and I have to say, I am very, very proud of you!”

The filly looked at her sister with big wet eyes. “Really?”

The fashionista nodded, “Really! I never thought you knew so much magic! I’m so proud!”

“It was impressive,” Twilight added. “And don’t worry, you really impressed them. I’m sure next time you take the test you’ll get in; you’re still very young... and although I never heard of anypony breaking the egg, it was nothing more than a fake egg .”

Sweetie slowly smiled, “Thanks, sis! Thanks, Twilight...”

She was suddenly hugged by two other fillies. “That was super awesome, Sweetie!” Scootaloo said. “You have to tell me when you learned all that!”

“Ah never seen anythin’ like it!” Apple Bloom nodded.

A loud growl made them all cringe. The group turned to look at Nightmare Moon, who had the decency to blush. “What? All of this made me hungry! We should eat!” she said, starting towards the door.

Sweetie nodded and followed the group, but not before looking back at the ink spots on the floor. “I’m sorry... even if you weren’t a real egg.”

o.0.o

“Oh, my!” Rarity gasped as they entered the large hall. It was tastefully decorated with banners depicting Nightmare Moon in various poses of unquestionable power. “This is amazing! Definitely what you would expect of Canterlot Castle!”

Nightmare Moon chuckled, “This is one of the smaller dining halls.”

Applejack’s eyes widened. “This is one of the smaller ones? Ah reckon you could fit half the entire Apple clan 'round that table!"

The wooden dining table had already been set by the time the group arrived. It could easily accommodate twice the amount of ponies, yet somehow all of it was covered with different dishes.

“Ah don’t rightly know if Ah can eat that much!”

“Don’t worry sis,” Apple Bloom patted her foreleg comfortingly. “Nopony expects you to; we’re supposed to only eat what we want.”

“Ah-” Applejack blushed as Rarity and Twilight chuckled. “Ah know that, Apple Bloom. Ah’m just sayin’ it’s a lot of food.”

“Oh, okay!” The filly smiled brightly. “Let’s eat!”

“Ah don’t see that many apples, though...” Applejack muttered, looking around the table.

“Applejack, darling,” Rarity shook her head. “There’s more to food than just apples!”

“Ah’m just sayin’, just sayin’...” the apple farmer shook her head, looking around the dainty decorations. The three different types of forks and spoons and knives and pincers and... she shuddered. It was like being back with the Oranges.

The four fillies, three mares and the incarnation-of-all-that-was-evil-in-ponydom sat down for dinner, with the black alicorn at the head of the table.

“Oh! Good! They made clover soup! That’s my favourite!” Nightmare Moon grinned.

“We were asked by Miss Scootaloo to prepare everypony’s favorite dish,” a pony in a chef’s coat and a toque said, walking towards the table. “For Miss Twilight, we have prepared a daisy salad with dried tart cherries and greens, with a hint of smoked almonds. I remember well the first time she ate it,” the chef chuckled as Twilight blushed. “For Miss Rarity, under Miss Belle’s advice, we have a wide selection of deli mushroom dishes, hoofpicked by myself and my assistant. Not too much of each, but all of them carefully prepared.” The fashionista blinked, shrinking into her seat as her stomach growled.

“Sounds like somepony’s really hungry!” Applejack smirked, patting Rarity. The unicorn just glared at her.

If anything, the chef looked pleased. He coughed, “For Miss Belle we have a daisy and clover sandwich with a side of fried potatoes.”

“Oh, I love daisy and clover sandwiches too!” Twilight exclaimed, smiling at the unicorn filly. “I have them all the time at the library!”

“Really?” Sweetie chuckled nervously, causing the purple unicorn to raise an eyebrow.

“Next, we have a hay milkshake and a carefully glazed portobello mushroom, with lettuce, dandelion and tomato sandwich with a single slice of bleu cheese made with multi-grain bread, toasted just to crispiness, along with a salad of greens, red-onion, chili, bleu crumbles, and nuts, tossed in the vinaigrette prepared personally by Miss Scootaloo.”

Everypony at the table gaped at the furiously blushing pegasus.

“So that’s what you were doing when you disappeared on us!” Sunny gasped. “My! That sound delicious!”

“It is!” the chef nodded. “I wrote down the recipe, with Miss Scootaloo’s permission, of course.”

The pegasus seemed to shrink as everypony showered her in praise. “Just don’t tell Rainbow Dash! Cooking is not cool!”

“We have buttered spaghetti with fresh basil for Miss Sunny...” the chef continued, although he seemed amused by Scootaloo’s embarrassment of her cooking skills. “A plate of waffles with honey for Miss Bloom-”

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack turned to look at her sister. “What kind of lunch is that?”

The filly blushed. “But I love waffles!”

“... and finally, under Miss Bloom’s recommendation, we have an apple-pecan stuffed cabbage with a cold pasta & apple salad as a side, and an apple variation of the crepe suzette for dessert, also courtesy of Miss Scootaloo...”

The pegasus hid under the table, face flushing a darker fuschia than her mane.

Applejack stared at all the apple dishes in front of her she had somehow missed spotting when they entered the room. Her mouth started watering, but she remembered her manners.

Rarity nodded appreciatively at the food and turned to face the chef, opening her mouth to convey her delight, when somepony else spoke.

“Why, this looks simply delightful, chef! My compliments to you, your assistant and of course, our little darlin’, Miss Scootaloo,” Applejack complimented, her own eyes widening at the words pouring out of her mouth and her involuntary shift in diction.

The table became very quiet. Applejack looked around nervously. “What? Ah said it looked delicious!”

“Buh-” Rarity stammered, her jaw hanging in a very unladylike expression. “Buh- but... you said...”

“Ah said it looked DELICIOUS!” The farm pony repeated, her tone slightly hysterical.

The others slowly turned to look at their plates.

“Well? What are we waiting for?” Nightmare Moon demanded. “Let’s eat!”

The chef pony bowed as he backed out of the hall, leaving them to their meal.

“Yeah!” Scootaloo seconded, taking a bite of her food. Her grin widened as the alicorn dug into her soup with gusto. “Enjoy, everypony!”

Following the example of both the pegasus and the alicorn, the rest of the group started eating. It was a few minutes before conversation started again.

“So, Sweetie, your performance in the test was very impressive,” Twilight complimented. “Had it been a normal Dragon egg, you might have been able to hatch it!”

Sweetie looked down at her plate sheepishly. “Thanks, but I tried all my spells...”

“Well, it was a very nice try, regardless,” Rarity assured. “This Trixie pony who taught you should be very proud to have you as a student.”

Sweetie’s eyes sneaked another peek at Twilight, but when she saw the unicorn looking at her, she quickly returned her focus to the plate in front of her. “Ye- yeah...”

“To think, my little sister might be attending Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns!” Rarity gushed. “This is amazing! I really hope she passes! Imagine how impressive it will be and-” She caught herself, adding, “I mean, whatever happens Sweetie, you’ll always make me proud.”

“Ah’m very impressed too!” Applejack said after a few more bites of her salad. “Now, if I could get Apple Bloom to dedicate herself to school like you do...”

“Hey! Ah study all the time,” Apple Bloom complained.

“Sure you do, sugarcube,” Applejack smirked. “That’s why Ah had that long talk with Cheerilee ‘bout your homework.”

“That was just once! And she told you in a bar! It weren’t even official!”

The screeching of a chair being suddenly dragged on the floor drew everypony at the table’s attention to Nightmare Moon as the dark alicorn stood up, a rather uncomfortable grimace on her dark features.

“I have to go. Now,” the alicorn said, turning around and galloping out of the dining hall.

“How rude!” Rarity said, looking at the door as it slammed behind the dark queen.

“I wonder what happened?” Twilight pondered as she stood up slowly. “All of you, please go ahead, I’ll be back shortly.”

The group remained silent until the purple unicorn had left the room. Then Scootaloo burst out laughing. The others stared at the pegasus until understanding dawned on them.

o.0.o

Twilight winced when the sudden scream tore through the halls of the castle. She hurried after the sound, knowing that whatever it was that could upset Nightmare Moon herself that much could not be good... or should that be bad? She got so confused lately.

She followed the angry mutters until she arrived at the... Royal Restrooms. Twilight blinked. “Uh... Nightmare Moon?”

“I can’t believe this!” The alicorn shouted from within. “WHO put cling wrap in the toilet seat!? HEADS WILL ROLL!”

Twilight stood outside, paralyzed as she mouthed the words she had just heard. “... cling wrap...”

There was a blast of magic from within the restroom and the sound of scrambling hoofs. Twilight walked away slightly so she didn’t have to hear more. After a few minutes waiting, Nightmare Moon made her way out on shaky legs. She was sweating.

“Somepony is going to pay for this...”

Twilight noticed that the dark queen was dragging a long piece of toilet paper on her left hindhoof, but chose to remain silent. “Who could have done it?” Twilight wondered aloud. “I doubt the head chef would-” her eyes widened.

The alicorn’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, this means war...” she took a couple of angry steps towards the dining hall, but then her eyes widened and she grimaced. “Slave. Make sure those three fillies stay the night with Sunny,” she blurted out before running back into the restroom..

o.0.o

Everypony’s attention focused on Twilight as she walked into the dining room. “Now, Scootaloo, that was a very mean thing to do-”

Twilight was interrupted as the whole table burst into laughter. Even Rarity, as hard as she tried to cover her mouth and keep some semblance of composure, was giggling madly.

The purple unicorn shook her head at the shockingly juvenile humor of her friends but then, as she thought about it, she also started giggling.

It was then that the door opened again, admitting a young pegasus guard into the hall. “Um, I am here for a Miss Scootaloo?” He questioned, looking around the room.

“Uh...” the filly in question raised a hoof. “That’s me!”

The guard blinked. “Oh, okay. I was asked by somepony named Rainbow Dash to escort you to receive flight training, but I don’t know if that’s-”

“YES!” Scootaloo shouted, jumping to the floor and rushing up to him. “Yes! YES! I can do it! I want to! If Rainbow Dash thinks it will help, I’m sure it will!”

“Well...” the guard still looked uncertain. “I do have to take you there, but-”

“Let’s go!” the pegasus filly shouted in excitement. “I wanna do this!”

“Oookay...” the guard said as the filly bounced around to him. “This way, please.”

The other ponies in the room watched silently as the pair of pegasi left.

“Did Dash even know we were coming here?” Applejack asked, “Or that Scootaloo was in the Castle?”

Everypony looked down at the remains of their food.

“... what happened?” Sweetie asked.

“A lesson,” Nightmare Moon said, as her misty form slowly materialized in the room, eyes narrowed. “We’ll see how she likes it!”

o.0.o

“So, are you gonna teach me to fly?”

“Uh... no.”

“Oh.” Scootaloo blinked, “Well, then, who is?”

“We call him Sergeant Smoking Crater.”

“His name is so cool!” The filly stopped. “Wait, why do you call him that?”

“Yeah, about that... welp, here we are kid.” The guard looked around as he stopped in front of a door. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Hey, if Rainbow Dash thinks this will help, I wouldn’t miss it!”

“If you say so, kid...” The pegasus knocked on the door. “Sir! I’ve brought the trainee! I’m sending her in!”

The pegasus opened the door and pushed the filly inside.

Scootaloo looked around the room; it had old guard helmets, spears, armor, a chart with different flight formations, a large poster of Princess Celestia pointing her hoof at the viewer which read “Equestria needs YOU!” in big white letters... and in the middle of it all stood a pegasus stallion taller and more heavily muscled than anypony the filly pegasus had ever seen... even more muscled than Big Macintosh. His flanks were covered in scars, his mane was cut short and already turning white with only a few strands of red remaining. His coat was gray, and his cutie mark was a log being broken in two by some sort of giant hammer. His steel-blue eyes squinted at the filly as a look of utter contempt and disgust crossed his face.

“This is what they send me?!” He smashed his hoof into the stone floor, sending chips of granite flying. “A waste of my time!” He pointed his hoof at Scootaloo. “You. You are not FIT to be here. You are not WORTHY of being here. YOU ARE NOTHING! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!”

The pegasus guard quickly closed the door behind him, trying to ignore the shouts.

“STAND STRAIGHT, MAGGOT!”

“Good luck, kid,” the guard sighed as he walked away, the whole area resonating with the potent voice of the Royal Pegasi Unit’s Drill Sergeant.

“YOU WERE SENT HERE TO LEARN! SO MAKE SURE YOU DON’T WASTE MY TIME! WHAT THE HAY ARE THESE? YOU CALL THESE WINGS?! I CALL THEM FEATHER DUSTERS! BECAUSE THAT’S ALL THOSE WINGS ARE GOOD FOR SINCE YOU CAN’T EVEN HOVER! JUMP! I SAID JUMP!”

“... you’re going to need it.”

“THAT’S ‘YES DRILL SERGEANT’ TO YOU, MAGGOT! AND YOU CALL THAT A JUMP? I’VE SEEN DEAD LIZARDS JUMP HIGHER!”

o.0.o

Twilight, Applejack, Sunny and Apple Bloom watched as Rarity and Sweetie finished their goodbyes.

“Be sure to brush your teeth at least three times a day, okay, Sweetie?” Rarity said as she gave her sister a hug.

“Su-sure, sis. You really don’t want to stay? You and Applejack could-” The fashionista’s hoof softly pressed against her muzzle.

“Sorry, Sweetie, but we both have to work.” The unicorn sighed. “I’m sure you’ll be fine; if you need anything, just talk to Twilight.”

“You too, Apple Bloom!” Applejack said, patting her sister in the head. “Ah don’t want to come by tomorrow and find out you’ve misbehaved; you do the Apple family proud and mind your manners, y’hear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“We already talked to Scootaloo’s parents, so she’s good for the night too,” Twilight told the fillies.

“Yay! This’ll be my very first sleepover!” Sunny bounced around the group.

The group of mares watched in amusement as the fillies all got excited and jumped around, celebrating with Sunny.

Applejack noticed that Twilight’s smile was a bit sad. “What’s wrong, sugarcube?”

The purple unicorn blinked. “Oh... nothing, I just... well, I never had a sleepover before either.”

“Aw, don’t worry Twilight!” Sweetie said, stopping her bouncing to pat her mentor’s interdimensional counterpart on the foreleg. “I’m sure you, Applejack and Rarity will someday have one! And it’ll be raining, and you’ll use that book about sleepovers and try to follow it exactly, and sis and Applejack will get into a fight, but a tree branch will fall in and you’ll all be friends again!”

“That’s...” Applejack blinked.

“...rather specific.” Rarity finished.

Twilight just looked at the filly, confused. “Okay?”

The sound of a flushing toilet announced the imminent return of Nightmare Moon.

“Well, we should go. Ah’ll see you tomorrow, Apple Bloom. Don’t ya’ll go causin’ a ruckus now, y’hear?”

“Enjoy your stay at the castle, darling!”

“Bye, girls!” Twilight smiled as the group watched the pair cross the portal. “I’ll see you later.”

“Ugh,” Nightmare Moon walked up to them. “What’s going on, slave?”

Twilight sighed. “It’s time to work. I think I have the list of petitioners for today...”

Nightmare Moon grimaced. “Do we have to?”

Twilight glared at the Queen. “Yes.”

The alicorn sighed. “Fine.”

The two mares walked away, leaving the fillies behind.

“We have to save Twilight!” Sweetie said, turning to look at the other two fillies. “Nightmare Moon must be stopped!”

“Oooh! I love playing ‘rescue the princess!’” Sunny clapped her hoofs together happily. “How are we doing it?”

“I, uh... don’t know...” Sweetie said, slumping a bit.

“Ah have an idea...”

When both Sweetie and Sunny turned to look at her, Apple Bloom smiled. “We set a trap!”

“Yay!” Sunny cried, jumping up and down. “I love setting up traps! I think...” she tapped her chin with her hoof. “Something about it sounds familiar...”

Apple Bloom smiled. “Well, Ah’ll need some paper and pencil to show you girls proper...”

“Follow me!” Sunny cried, leading the other two away from the portal. “I have a bunch of paper and lots of pens!”

“What about Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked as she and Belle followed Sunny.

“She’ll be okay!” Sunny said. “I’ll tell the guards to take her to my room once she’s finished learning!”

o.0.o

Having gone three times over the list of things she would have to cover when she held court, Nightmare Moon and Twilight Sparkle made their way to the throne room.

Everything was in perfect order. Two guards stood at attention at the base of the stairs that led to the throne, and they could hear the ponies waiting outside the main doors.

“Okay,” Nightmare Moon growled. “Let’s make this quick.” She motioned for the guards to allow the first pony in as she sat down on her throne.

“Ppppppppppthhhhhhhhhhhhhrrrrrrrrrrrpppppppp-p-p!”

The sound of the rather undignified flatulation echoed in the throne room just as a monocled, top-hatted stallion took his first step into the lengthy room.

Everypony stared at Nightmare Moon in horror.

The monocle clattered to the floor, breaking in half as the stallion’s jaw almost hit the floor. The guards visibly forced themselves to look away and forward, as was their duty. Twilight Sparkle simply looked horrified and embarrassed.

Three distorted voices echoed around the the room, coming from everywhere and nowhere, making the guards snap to attention and the now monocle-less stallion to shiver.

“This was just the beginning, Nightmare Moon, unless you release Twilight Sparkle! If you don’t, you will suffer the consequences! You cannot stop us. You cannot find us. We are the Crusaders. We are legion.”

The ponies in the throne room stared around in awe. Who would be brave enough to challenge-

Suddenly they could hear giggles as something rustled behind the curtains where one of the no-longer-secret entrances to the throne room was.

“Oh, darn’ it! Ah can still hear it!”

“The spell’s still on?”

“Turn it off, turn it off!”

Silence.

With a flash of blue energy the throne room doors slammed shut behind the now thoroughly bewildered petitioner and Nightmare Moon rose, followed by a wet, slurping sound as something inside the throne struggled to suck back air.

From the throne, floating in a blue aura of magic, emerged an industrial sized whoopee cushion. Nightmare Moon glared at everypony in the room. “NOPONY will hear of this. Am I clear? If anypony disobeys this order, I will hunt them down and banish them into the Sun!”

She glared around. “Is that clear!?”

“Yes, your majesty!” everypony but Twilight shouted immediately.

“Good,” Nightmare’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the shaking stallion. “Now, your requests. And make it fast... I have business to attend to.”

o.0.o

The three fillies ran away from the court, laughing.

“Did y’all see her face? That was amazin’!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie agreed before looking over at Sunny. “How’d you know about that secret entrance?”

“Well, I’m not sure...” the pegasus said. “I just remembered it was there...”

Sweetie stared at the pegasus, her mind flashing back to much earlier that morning.

“Sis!” The white pegasus happily jumped to her feet and trotted up to Nightmare Moon.

Sweetie looked at the sun cutie mark

“She’s also freaking Nightmare Moon’s sister!”

The unicorn filly blinked. Could it be...

“Sis! I made new friends!”

No... it couldn’t be... could it?

“Sunny?”

“Yes?”

Sweetie shifted nervously. “I’m sorry to ask, but... uh...”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind you asking questions,” the pegasus said with a big smile.

“Um... did you know if you’re... adopted?” Sweetie asked with an encouraging smile.

Sunny blinked. “I- I don’t think I am...”

“But,” Apple Bloom interrupted, “You’re not an alicorn! You’re just a pegasus! Right?”

“Oh, I am... this gem just hides it.” Sunny said, but then frowned. “But don’t tell anypony; it’s supposed to be a secret!”

Then, like a hammer, the full force of Nightmare Moon’s words hit Sweetie.

“So you would condemn your lives to the misery of living in these empty halls, alone, save for each other, my sister Sunny, and the occasional visit from your family?”

If Nightmare Moon was Princess Luna...

...my sister Sunny...

...and Princess Luna only had one sister..

...my sister Sunny...

“Oh, sweet Celestia!” Sweetie’s eyes widened in panic as she pointed at Sunny with a hoof. “You’re Celestia!”

Apple Bloom stared at Sunny then at Sweetie. “But... how do you know?”

“Princess Luna is Celestia’s sister!”

“Who’s Luna?” The earth pony asked.

“Nightmare Moon!” The unicorn filly explained. “Princess Luna was jealous of Princess Celestia a thousand years ago and transformed into Nightmare Moon because of it.”

“Ohhh,” the yellow coated filly said. “I get it!”

“I’m just Sunny now,” the pegasus said. She smiled uneasily when Apple Bloom bowed before her. “And don’t do that... I don’t really mind...”

The conversation trailed off as the three fillies heard a tingling melody fluttering through the castle halls.

“Is that..?” Sweetie started.

“The candy mare?” Apple Bloom finished.

The three followed the music to just outside the halls, where a small garden was niched. In the middle stood a small cart with all sorts of treats. An earth pony mare with two crossed candy bars as a cutie mark smiled at them.

“Hello! Would you three like some candy?”

o.0.o

Darkness.

Sweetie slowly opened her eyes, taking in the room around her. She blinked. There was something... off..

For starters, the sofa was on the ceiling.

Wait. What?

More awake now, she noticed that both Apple Bloom and Sunny were standing next to her, but they were still asleep.

When did I fall asleep? And why are they standing up if they are asleep?

She started noticing other things as well. Besides the sofa, Sunny’s bed was also on the ceiling. And her chairs, plush toys and papers...

It was when Scootaloo walked in on the ceiling and looked around before turning her head down to look at her that she understood. Wait! She’s not on the ceiling! I am!

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

o.0.o

The hall was quiet. A single, ephemeral blue tendril poked around the corner, probing around uncertainly before slowly pulling back. Nightmare Moon followed, smirking. A full hour without pranks! Victory is mine!

As Nightmare Moon walked, cackling, down the hall towards the archives, she still kept her eyes open. Those Crusaders could be anywhere, but for now it seemed that they had retreated, no doubt to lick their wounds.

Sweetie’s scream when she had found herself glued to the ceiling by the hooves... priceless!

Clop.

She looked around once more as she approached her office. Everything was quiet. A little too quiet.

Clop. Her hoofsteps echoed in the unnaturally silent hall, and she could feel her pulse rise.

Clop.

By the time she stood in front of her office, she was expecting the Crusaders to jump out of the shadows. She turned her eyes to the door. They were behind it. She knew it. They were probably hiding, ready to scare her.

She smiled deviously. Well, she would surprise them!

Taking a deep breath and rearing back, she kicked the door open and jumped in, roaring a challenge- which was cut short when her whole face was met with cellophane paper and glue. She sputtered and flailed, knocking down papers and a vase before she thought to use her magic to rip it off her face, leaving her fur matted in glue.

“Crusaders!” she shouted in anger as she threw the ball of cellophane to the floor. She stomped forward in anger, not noticing the tripwire until it was too late. She blinked as she saw the wire flash upwards by her side and looked up... just in time to see a bucket of chicken feathers come cascading down on top of her.

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom watched as Scootaloo and Sunny ran after each other in an impromptu game of tag. So far the copper-colored pegasus hadn’t thought to go chase after them, so Sweetie took a break of sorts to think.

She sighed and put down the book she had been half-reading. She had found some interesting spells, but her understanding was too basic to learn them without help, even if she was doing a lot better compared to a few weeks ago. That, and they didn’t seem any closer to being able to free Twilight from Nightmare Moon’s grasp.

“You okay, Sweetie?” Apple Bloom asked, hearing the sigh.

“Not really,” the unicorn filly shook her head. “I feel like I haven’t been able to do much since I arrived.”

“Well, maybe if our next trap gets Nightmare Moon...”

Sweetie was about to respond when she felt something.

What was that? Magic? But why?

“Hey!” Scootaloo and Sunny came running towards them. “Come on, you have to play too!”

“CRUSADERS!” A voice boomed, and a black alicorn covered in white chicken feathers suddenly materialized before them in a burst of blue mist. “I will have my revenge!”

“Aaaaah!” four voices echoed in horror as the fillies turned around in a panic and ran away blindly... only to fall into a pit full of tar the moment they passed the flower beds .

They all gasped and struggled to get out, but a blue aura levitated them out of the tar until the whole dripping group was floating in front of a feather-covered Nightmare Moon, who smiled viciously as another levitation spell brought up a giant batch of chicken feathers.

o.0.o

“...and furthermore, no more glue or gooey pranks, from any of you, am I clear?!” Twilight growled at the feathered group in front of her. “Now, you’re all going to take a bath.”

“But-”

“No buts, Sweetie!”

“Ha!”

“I don’t want to hear anything from you either, Nightmare Moon.” Twilight sighed, looking at the alicorn. “You are all taking a bath now. I asked the hoofmaidens to prepare it, so in you all go.”

“What? Together?” Scootaloo asked, looking at the black alicorn in horror.

“Yes, together,” Twilight growled.

“Huzzah,” Nightmare Moon growled sarcastically as she stomped to the bath. “The fun has been doubled.”

Once inside, she reluctantly joined Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom and Sunny inside the enormous bathtub while Nightmare Moon slowly lowered herself into the water with them.

“Now, the hoofmaidens are going to-” Twilight began to say when she was suddenly enveloped in a blue aura of magic and dunked into the water, eliciting giggles from the fillies. The purple unicorn spluttered out of the water, eyes wide and turned to glare at the black alicorn. “What- why?”

Nightmare Moon grinned as she nuzzled the unicorn with a feathery snout. “Why, Twilight, you don’t think I would take a bath without you, do you? It’d take all the fun out of... personal... cleaning.”

As Twilight started blushing, one of the hoofmaidens coughed uncomfortably. “Lady Twilight, if this is a bad moment... perhaps we could take the fillies to another bath?”

“No!” Twilight shouted, slightly hysterical. “It’s fine! We’ll all take a normal, uninteresting bath together, where the only thing that is going to happen is that we’re getting clean!”

“But Twiiiligiiht...” Nightmare Moon whined.

“No!”

“Fine. Do I get to cuddle you tonight if I behave in the bath?” The queen asked.

“Only if you behave! If you want cuddles from me you’ll have to earn-” Twilight stopped mid-sentence and facehoofed as Nightmare Moon happily nodded at the hoofmares to begin their work. “Why... why me?”

“Don’t worry Twilight...” Sweetie whispered to her, “I’ll save you.”

The purple unicorn looked down and sighed. “Somehow, that doesn’t make me feel much better.”

The bath started with a simple scrubbing. Nightmare Moon watched in glee as the fillies were scrubbed harder and harder, trying to get the tar out of their fur.

“This... this is not working at all.” One of the hoofmares panted after a particularly vicious attempt at cleaning Apple Bloom, who looked at them with dread in her eyes.

“I think... we might need to shave some areas...” another hoofmaid suggested.

“But... mah hair and coat!” Apple Bloom cried out in panic.

“It’s okay dear,” the hoofmare said. “It’s not much... and you won’t have to stay in the bath for two hours like Nightmare Moon, Sunny and Miss Scootaloo...”

“What?!” Both the alicorn and the pegasus gasped simultaneously before looking at each other in horror.

“Well, we cannot cut the feathers,” the hoofmaid explained, making Sunny, Nightmare Moon and Scootaloo all wince at the thought. “So you two have to soak in water for a while so that we can get all the glue and tar out...”

“This is your fault!” Nightmare Moon growled at Scootaloo, who cowered for a second before a frown replaced her fearful expression. Scootaloo splashed the black alicorn in the face.

“Is not! You started it!” The pegasus retorted.

“I am the Queen! I do what I want without fear of repercussions!”

“Well, I have plenty of cushions here for you!” Scootaloo replied, getting in the Nightmare’s face.

“Repercussions means consequences, brat!” Nightmare Moon snapped.

“What the hay are you, a dictionary?” Scootaloo asked, glaring back.

“And with that... I think we’ll go for now...” Twilight said, stepping out of the bath. “Come on Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle. Let’s give you a trim and go do something more productive.”

“Ah... Ah think I’ll soak a bit longer, if ya don’t mind, Twilight...” Apple Bloom said. “Ah really don’t want to have to cut mah mane...”

Sweetie Belle shrugged and stepped out, following Twilight out of the bathroom.

o.0.o

The pair of unicorns walked back into Nightmare Moon’s room, closing the door behind them. Twilight turned to look at Sweetie, her horn glowing. Slowly, the tar peeled away, taking a few strands of mane and pulling a bit hard on her coat, but it was soon completely off of her.

“Why didn’t you do that earlier?” Sweetie asked, looking herself over.

“Well, first of all, Nightmare Moon deserves it,” the purple unicorn replied. “And I want to talk to you without distractions.”

“Oh...” Sweetie nervously looked around. “What about?”

Twilight sat down and looked at the filly sternly. “The truth. You’ve been lying about a lot of things, Sweetie Belle... And I want to know why. Why do you immediately look at me when a question about magic comes up?” Twilight took a deep breath. “You treat me like you expect me to know all the answers; you trust me... but you barely even know me.” She shook her head. “You told Spike that I had recommended you take the entrance exam, but I didn’t even know you until early today. We had never talked before, so I couldn’t have done that.” Twilight’s eyes seemed to bore into Sweetie’s. “Did this mysterious Trixie really teach you magic? Why are you so desperate to save me?”

Sweetie cringed with every question.

How can I answer... should I lie? Will she know? What will she think?

The filly’s eyes began watering as her frustration grew.

“I-” She gulped and closed her eyes. “I’m not the Sweetie Belle from this world!” she said quickly, trying to say as much as she could before the purple unicorn could get angry at her. “I was really your student, and I really liked it! You were an awesome teacher; I just... it was an accident, I promise! I wanted to take a look at the stuff you got for me and-” She sniffled. “When you exploded and disappeared- I’m so sorry Twilight! I’m trying to find you; I’m trying to go home! I miss my friends! I miss my sister! I miss Princess Luna and her Nightmare Night pranks!” The filly looked up at the flabbergasted Twilight Sparkle for a second before shutting her eyes again quickly, not able to handle the guilt. “I went to this other world and Trixie helped me find you... she told me that I was jumping to different worlds... I have to find a piece of you in this one... the last one was where you, I mean the other Twilight, had gone to look for a magic item so she and Trixie could have foals and I thought it might be there in this world too... but... Nightmare Moon captured you and I couldn’t-” She paused, shivering and breathing hard. “I couldn’t let her do that to you...”

Twilight stood up and walked around the room, looking at Sweetie as if she were some sort of strange creature.

“So, let me get this straight. You’re from another world,” she repeated slowly,“ and you caused an accident that basically destroyed the ‘me’ from your universe and catapulted you into another world.”

The filly nodded nervously.

Twilight continued pacing. “This doesn’t make much sense, Sweetie. How does the magic that is sending you all over operate?” Twilight paused and sighed in frustration. “If you're here, then where is this universe's Sweetie?” Books floated out of the shelf and hovered in front of the unicorn as she quickly looked at one index after another. “This is not it. Not it.” She threw a couple of books out of the way. “And this ‘Trixie’ told you she had seen something similar?”

“Yes... she said that the Rhinos used a spell like it...”

“Rhinos?” Twilight blinked. “They’ve been extinct for over a hundred years.”

“Well, not in my world.”

“This is very hard to believe, Sweetie.” Twilight sighed.

The filly felt her eyes moisten as tears threatened to come out. “But...”

Twilight, who was not looking at her shook her head. “If it wasn’t because nopony even believed you could do magic, much less cast those spells, I would say you’re lying.”

“I’m not lying!” Sweetie protested as tears ran down her cheeks.

“And how does the spell know where to send you? What’s to say that there even is a fragment of this other ‘me’ in this world?” The purple unicorn continued frowning as she looked out the window, deep in thought. “What happens if you’re sent to a world without a fragment? Will you stay there forever? What happens to the local Sweetie Belle then? And if you’re only sent to worlds that have a fragment, are there clues as to how to find them?”

Twilight sighed as her mind raced through Sweetie’s words. “If that’s the case... could it be related to me? She found the fragment where the other world’s ‘me’ was with this Trixie...” she hummed, trying not to imagine herself with another mare. “If the fragments... hmm. She found it next to Twilight in a moment that would create a big change... but, has anything like that happened here?” She tapped her hoof against her chin. “If Nightmare Moon was defeated in her world... That’s the main difference with this one... We didn’t beat her, the elements broke in the Sister’s Castle in the Everfree... could the fragment be there?” She stopped when she heard somepony sobbing.

Sweetie cried by herself as her mentor’s double pondered aloud. I shouldn’t be here. I’m not wanted. I should just go- her thoughts stopped when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. Then another hoof on the other... and she was pulled into a hug. I always cry. I’m useless. She buried her face in Twilight’s mane, unable to control her shaking body.

“It’s okay, don’t cry... I forgive you.” Twilight comforted, her hoof carefully stroking the crying filly’s hair. “You lied, and that’s not right... but I forgive you. You have to learn to tell the truth; it’ll save you a lot of trouble. I don’t know what exactly happened, but if your Twilight is anything like I am... she would forgive her student for a mistake, regardless of how bad it was.”

Even if I killed you?

“Thanks Twilight...” Sweetie said hoarsely, pushing her thoughts away into the back of her mind, along with the hurt and fear as she sniffed. “As soon as we stop Nightmare Moon, I’ll be on my way...”

Twilight smiled and shook her head. “You don’t need to save me, Sweetie.”

“What? But... she... you... slave–”

“I know what you’re thinking, but-” Twilight hesitated. “Nightmare Moon is not the monster you think she is... at least not here... at least I don’t think she is...” The unicorn sighed. “I haven’t quite figured her out yet, but I know she’s not all bad... and she needs me.”

But then... what have I been doing here all this time? Sweetie sighed. “So, I just... I’m useless here?”

“No,” Twilight said firmly, drawing the filly’s attention to her. “Everything we do is a learning experience. Maybe you could have gone away, but you would never have tested your current skills to see how well you would have done in a magic test of the level required to enter Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” The mare stood up. “It was impressive, Sweetie. Much better than I did at first...” She smiled fondly at the memory. “If I had been the Twilight teaching you, I would have been incredibly proud. And also, if you hadn’t stayed and tried to help me, you wouldn’t learn a new spell from me.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened. Does she mean... “Are you saying... you’ll teach me a new spell?”

Twilight smiled. “How do you feel about a spell to make everything dark? I think it would help you if you’re ever in real trouble.”

Sweetie grinned. “Let’s pull out the books!”

The purple unicorn chuckled as her horn’s magic levitated a tome from its place in the bookshelf. “You’re definitely my student.” She shook her head in amusement, but looked at Sweetie seriously. “I also want you to think about telling the truth to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.”

Sweetie Belle winced.

“They are your best friends in your world, and would likely be the same for our Sweetie Belle.” Twilight pointed out. “It wouldn’t be right for them to think she had been lying, and more importantly, if you can’t trust your friends, who can you trust?”

Sweetie sighed, “I’ll think about it.”

o.0.o

When Nightmare Moon and the fillies marched out of the bathroom, they found Twilight and Sweetie going over several books, jotting down various passages in the younger unicorn’s notebook.

The black alicorn sashayed up to them and looked over their shoulders. “Globe of Darkness?” she asked aloud, looking at the diagrams and theories in the book. “Whatever could Sweetie Belle need that for?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked from unicorn to unicorn. “Are you helping her plan a prank, Twilight dear?”

“Not at all,” the purple unicorn replied amiably. “I’m just teaching her a new spell she wanted to learn.”

Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow. “Why would anypony want to plunge everything into darkness?”

There was an awkward pause. Apple Bloom coughed and looked away.

Sunny looked at her sister and blinked.

“Besides you, you mean,” Scootaloo clarified helpfully after the silent moment had stretched too far for her liking.

“I... I just think it might be useful?” Sweetie smiled nervously.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes roamed from one unicorn to the other before settling on Twilight. “You do know that she won’t be able to see anything at all when she casts it, right?”

Twilight slowly returned her eyes to the books, opening her mouth a moment to speak before snapping it shut on further reflection.

The alicorn laughed, “I guess not.” Her horn shimmered with light and another book floated out of the bookcase. She let it drop in front of Sweetie. “Darkvision.”

Sweetie looked from the book to the alicorn in surprise. Finally, a question that had been nagging her from the beginning erupted. “Um, Nightmare Moon?”

The alicorn, who had been halfway to the door by then, stopped and looked over her shoulder. “Yes? I’m afraid I cannot tell you what Twilight tastes like; she wouldn’t approve.”

“Oh...” Sweetie looked at Twilight, who turned beet red. “Okay, that wasn’t my question...”

“What is it then?”

“Why did you help me?”

Nightmare Moon shrugged. “I like a challenge.”

That said, the alicorn simply walked out of the room, leaving a confused group of ponies behind.

“Well...” Twilight coughed. “Let’s copy that spell, Sweetie... as for the Globe of Darkness... I think you understand the theory; better get some practice...” She hesitated. “But see if you can get the Darkvision down first, okay?”

“Yes, Twilight!” Sweetie nodded, smiling brightly.

“Okay.” The purple unicorn got up. “It’s about time for dinner. I’ll see you fillies in the dining hall in half an hour, okay? Try to behave.”

After the unicorn was gone, Scootaloo turned to look at Sweetie Belle intently. “Alright, Sweetie, you’ve had fun, but mind telling me why you’re suddenly so good at magic?”

“I...” Should I tell them? No... she would think I betrayed them and lied to her and... I did... “I... have been studying at night, after my sister went to sleep. I uh... I met with Zecora and...”

“With who?” Apple Bloom asked. “I don’t know anypony named Zecora in Ponyville.”

Sweetie Belle looked from her to the frowning Scootaloo in a mild panic. “Uh... she- she’s a zebra, and she lives in the Everfree Forest...”

Pleasebelivemepleasebelivemepleasebelivemepleasebeliveme...

“Y’all don’t mean the witch?!” Apple Bloom asked in horror. “Ah’ve heard from mah sister that she curses ponies!”

“You met her? How?” Scootaloo asked, more impressed than dubious.

“Uh... we... I- she came to town and I talked to her... She’s really nice,” Sweetie gulped. “Um, she... she introduced me to Trixie and... well, Trixie taught me how to... study...”

“Wow! You’re very brave!” Sunny said, impressed.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed.

Sweetie sighed in relief, not noticing the slightly hurt look Scootaloo sent her way. The pegasus quickly moved to the books and started turning pages. A particular one caught her eye. “Hey, Sweetie... take a look at this spell think youcould do it?”

The filly looked over the page. “Well... maybe... it looks pretty easy...” Her eyes went wide as she turned to look at the pegasus. “You’re not thinking...”

“Yes. Yes I am.” Scootaloo’s crafty smile said it all.

o.0.o

The whole group sat together at the table in the dining hall in uncomfortable silence.

A fork enveloped in magic energy dug into the salad and carefully lifted greens and a tomato out. Twilight Sparkle took a bite and hummed appreciatively as she chewed. “This is good.”

Next to her, Sunny chugged noisily into her own salad, relishing in the flavors and crispiness of the fresh veggies.

The others, however, stared at their food nervously. Nightmare Moon’s fork poked a piece of tomato as the alicorn pondered if that morsel was the one that might’ve been ‘spiced up’ by the crusaders.

The fillies, for their part, looked at the food dreading a possible revenge from the queen.

Apple Bloom whimpered as she looked at the food, her head tentatively leaning forward to take a bite.

“No!” Scootaloo whispered harshly. “We don’t know what she might have done to it!”

“But...” an angry growled emanated from the filly’s stomach, followed shortly by one from Nightmare Moon’s. Scootaloo and Sweetie looked at each other painfully. They were so hungry!

“Come on everypony, don’t be silly.” Twilight looked at each pony in the eye. “You’re all just being paranoid. There’s nothing wrong with the food.”

There was a chorus of unsure laughter and slowly the ponies started eating, watching each other warily.

Twilight sighed and carried on eating, her thoughts and eyes straying to the only other unicorn at the table. She then noticed that Scootaloo kept shooting Sweetie Belle looks and shook her head slightly.

When Sweetie’s eyes crossed with hers, Twilight nodded slightly towards the pegasus. Sweetie sighed and looked at her plate.

It’s up to you, Sweetie. Twilight thought as she watched Sweetie Belle’s reactions.

o.0.o

Dinner ended on a slightly better note than the stress it had begun with. Nightmare Moon looked at Twilight as she stood up. “Well, Slave, it’s about time to lower the Sun.”

The fillies watched the pair walk out of the room in silence. “I gotta see their expressions when they walk into that room!” Scootaloo said, jumping to her hooves excitedly.

Sweetie hesitated. “Wait, Scoots...”

The pegasus stopped. “What is it, Sweetie?”

“I- I want to... talk with you.”

The pegasus lifted an eyebrow. “But... the room... don’t you want to see how Nightmare Moon-”

“I’m not your Sweetie Belle,” the unicorn filly interrupted, quickly looking down at the floor in shame.

The silence in the room lasted nearly a full minute.

“Explain,” Scootaloo demanded, as she, Sunny and Apple Bloom walked up to the unicorn.

Sweetie took a deep breath. No going back now. “I’m really from another world... I came here to find a piece of my Twilight-”

“Stop.” Scootaloo angrily stomped on the ground. “If you want to lie about how you learned all that magic, you don’t have to treat me like an idiot!”

The pegasus turned around and walked towards the door, but bumped against an invisible wall of some sort. “What-” she poked it with her hoof, feeling something stopping her. She turned and glared at Sweetie Belle, whose horn was glowing. “Sweetie, let me out.”

“Not until you believe me!” The unicorn replied, “I’m sorry I lied earlier but... I didn’t want you to hate me because I’m not the Sweetie you knew!”

“Does that mean yer not really our friend?” Apple Bloom asked, looking hurt.

“No!” Sweetie turned to look at the earth pony. “I mean, I am your friend! I didn’t want to hurt you... I got you into trouble once in another world...”

“Why did you come to me and Apple Bloom then?” the pegasus filly demanded.

“Because...” Sweetie looked at Scootaloo pleadingly. “Back home, you two are my best friends! I- I needed your help...”

“What did you do to the real Sweetie?” the pegasus snapped at her. “Did you hurt her?”

“N-no!” The unicorn filly said. “I’m just.. kind of borrowing her body... she’ll be back once I’m gone... I don’t think she’ll know how to do anything I know... and she will not really know Apple Bloom or Sunny... at least, that’s how Trixie explained it to me...”

“So Trixie does exist?” Apple Bloom asked confused. “Ah thought you made the whole thing up, just so you could take the test?”

“So, what you’re saying is that you took over my friend Sweetie Belle and man- manip- used us.” Scootaloo growled, “Some friend you are.”

“I-I’m sor-”

“Don’t bother,” Scootaloo turned away. “Just... just let us out.”

Sweetie‘s shoulders slumped as her horn stopped glowing. Scootaloo immediately ran out of the room, while Apple Bloom and Sunny slowly followed, giving Sweetie side-long glances. They closed the door behind them, leaving the unicorn alone in the dining hall.

The unicorn filly took a deep breath and turned around, walking in the opposite direction.

o.0.o

Nightmare Moon looked at Twilight askance as both of them walked towards her chambers. “What’s on your mind, slave?”

Twilight shot her an annoyed look. “Nothing.”

“Sure,” the alicorn snorted. “Should I be feeling jealous of Sweetie?” she teased, a smirk playing in her lips. “Am I going to be replaced? I feel so sad Twilight, that you would just leave me and...”

“Oh, stop!” Twilight growled, looking straight at the alicorn. “It’s nothing like that!”

“So I don’t need to feel jealous?”

“No, you don’t need to feel jealous,” Twilight deadpanned.

“So you won’t leave me?”

“I won’t leave you.”

“You’re mine to cuddle and play with?”

“Yes, I’m yours to cuddle and- what?” Twilight glared at the alicorn. “Hey!”

“If you were paying attention it wouldn’t have happened.” Nightmare Moon chuckled. “But, since you so kindly offer, I will take full advantage of your promise tonight.”

“I- what? No,” Twilight shook her head as the door to Nightmare Moon’s chambers opened with a bit of magical help. “We have to lower the sun.”

“Oh, Twilight, you’re no fun-” the alicorn stopped in shock as she looked around her room. “Wha- buh- how...”

Her bed. It was pink.

Her books. Pink.

Her desk. Pink.

The purple unicorn looked around, impressed. “My, Nightmare Moon, I would have never guessed...”

“But...” the alicorn quickly stepped out to confirm that they hadn’t taken a wrong turn. “My- my room!” She looked at the unicorn with pleading, horrified eyes. “It’s all pink! This must be a nightmare!”

“Don’t know,” Twilight muttered, poking a pink piece of armor. “Feels pretty real to me!”

The black alicorn gritted her teeth. She started shaking. The bookcase, the curtains, the carpet... pink! “CRUSAAAAADEEEEEERS!”

o.0.o

The sun was wrenched out of the sky with far less effort than ever before, and a very tired Nightmare Moon stomped angrily around the castle in search of the crusaders.

“Of all the things those little...” the alicorn sputtered indignantly. “Pink! Pink! Can you believe it?! How did they even do that?! It’s... argh.”

Twilight was following the queen as fast as she could. “It was just a prank, Nightmare Moon; don’t do anything harsh!”

“I’ll show them a prank!” the alicorn vowed as she opened another door and saw Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sunny walking towards her. “There you are!” She glared at the group, “You have crossed the line!”

“Yeah, whatever.” Scootaloo growled as she passed by. “I don’t care. You win.”

“And if you think you can get away with this and challenge me again, I-” the alicorn coughed and looked down. “Beg pardon?”

“I don’t care anymore,” Scootaloo repeated, not looking back at the two adults. “I just want to go home.”

“But...” The alicorn frowned. “Is this another prank? Because I’m pretty sure it’s my turn-”

“I said, ‘I don’t care’!” the pegasus filly snapped. “Just... just let me go.”

For a moment, Twilight worried that the alicorn was about to antagonize the obviously upset pegasus further, but Nightmare Moon kept quiet and nodded. She looked at Apple Bloom. “What about you?”

The earth pony filly scratched at the floor, obviously torn. She sighed. “Ah think Ah should go home too.”

“Very well.” Nightmare Moon walked past them. “Follow me.”

o.0.o

Spike was about to run out of the library when he heard the noise coming from the portal. He turned around and looked at the group of ponies that stepped out of it.

“Hey, everypony! You just missed Sweetie Belle; she came here and-”

“I don’t care,” Scootaloo snapped.

“Okay, hold on,” Twilight stepped in front of the pegasus. “I think I know what happened. Sweetie Belle told you the truth.”

The purple eyed pegasus nodded. “You knew?”

“I... just found out earlier. Sweetie...”

“She lied to us! And she said she was our friend!”

“Girls!” Spike waved his hands at them.

“Listen, Scootaloo, I know it’s strange, and she shouldn’t have lied, but you have to understand that-”

“Girls!” Spike shouted, then stopped as he felt something rumbling in his stomach. With a loud, flaming burp a scroll appeared in the air, which he caught in his claws. “Hey, I wonder where this came from?”

The fire had interrupted the argument, and Twilight had opened the scroll with a flash of magic. Nightmare Moon and Sunny looked over her shoulder, both of them curious.

“That’s...” the alicorn blinked in surprise. “I never expected that.”

“Wow...” Sunny smiled.

“What is it?” Despite herself, Scootaloo crowded the group as Spike and Apple Bloom shared a look and joined them.

“Well ah’ll be,” the earth pony smiled, while the dragon whistled.

Scootaloo said nothing, choosing to frown. “Yeah, whatever, let’s give it to her and be done with it.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” Spike said, drawing their attention. “Sweetie came through the portal earlier and she said something about having to go away. When I asked her what she meant, she said she was going to the Everfree.”

“What?” Nightmare Moon looked surprised. “That’s dangerous!”

“Why would she think of going there?” Apple Bloom asked. “She should know better!”

“Oh, my...” Twilight gasped. “She must have heard me when I was thinking out loud. I thought the fragment might be in the place where we fought Nightmare Moon with the Elements of Harmony!”

“Fragments?” Nightmare Moon asked, then frowned. “I think, Twilight dear, you should tell me what’s happening.”

“I will,” Twilight nodded. “But right now we have to catch up to her; it’s too dangerous for her to go alone.”

“Who cares if something happens to her?” Scootaloo snapped. “She’s not even really-”

“Scootaloo!” Twilight interrupted her, glaring in disbelief. “I know you’re hurt and angry, but do you really want something to happen to her?”

The pegasus looked away, shuffling nervously. “Well no, but...”

“You have to remember, where she comes from, there’s another Scootaloo and another Apple Bloom that are her best friends,” Twilight said. “She doesn’t know when she’ll see them again... you two are the closest she can get to them. And right now she’s in the Everfree forest alone because she thinks you hate her.”

Scootaloo looked down at her hoofs. “She shouldn’t have lied.”

“No, she shouldn’t have.” Twilight smiled, “But she’s our friend, right? And friends forgive.”

Apple Bloom put her hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “Ah know we only really just met this mornin’, but ah feel we’ll always be good friends. Let’s go help this Sweetie... and then y’all can introduce me to the one you know.”

With a glance at the earth pony, Scootaloo nodded.

o.0.o

The Everfree Forest.

It was there where Zecora lived, the place that Apple Bloom had frequently visited to spend some time with her zebra friend.

It was there that they had been attacked by the Cockatrice and witnessed the awesome power of Fluttershy’s stare.

It was there that The Elements of Harmony had fought and defeated Nightmare Moon... or at least where they had in two other worlds. And it was here that the Castle of the Alicorn Sisters was located.

Sweetie didn’t know how to get to it, as her excursions into the forest had never gone too deep. However, she remembered hearing from her sister and the others as they talked about it... the way wasn’t that difficult to follow, but it was a long trip, and the forest was a dangerous place.

But she didn’t care.

Slowly making her way down the path, Sweetie paid no heed to the noises of the forest until she heard somepony moaning in pain.

She stopped and looked around. Where did that come from? And who could be so stupid as to come here at night?

There it was again. She turned to her left, where several thick bushes limited her view to a mere few feet in front of her. Taking a deep breath, Sweetie gathered her courage as she stepped into the bushes. The branches scratched at her hide, and her mane got tangled more than once, but she persevered. The noise was coming from just up ahead.

She finally broke through the growth and onto a small clear area of the forest, where she could hear the sounds. She carefully stepped around it until, behind a log, she found a pit, and lying at the bottom was...

“Zecora!” Sweetie gasped as she recognized the zebra. “Are you okay?”

“I’ve surely hit my head or ear, for is it my name that I hear?” the zebra asked weakly, looking up at the filly in confusion. Their eyes crossed and the zebra gasped. “Child, this world is not where you belong, your presence here feels rather wrong...”

“You... you know? You can tell?” Sweetie gasped.

“Many things I have observed, but talk later we must if my life is to be preserved,” the zebra answered. “A hearty meal we would both become, if the wrong creature were to come. I must ask you with all due haste, to pull me out, for there’s no time to waste!”

Sweetie looked around. I’m not strong enough to levitate her... Her eyes settled on a loosely hanging vine. “I think that will work!”

Her horn aglow, she uncoiled, tore and lifted the vine from the tree branch it rested on and lowered it to the zebra. Then she tied the other end around a tree. “Try to come up now!”

With the aid of the vine and Sweetie Belle pulling, the zebra managed to scramble out of the pit.

“Thank you, I was afraid I would have to spend the night there! Certainly not a fate for which I’d much care.”

“It’s okay, Zecora, you would have done the same.”

The zebra looked amused. “You know my name and unless I forget, you have me at a disadvantage since we haven't met.”

“Oh...” The unicorn filly smiled. “Sorry, my name is Sweetie Belle.”

“Well met, young Sweetie Belle, now maybe you can tell,” the zebra nodded. “What are you doing here, in this forest most ponies fear?”

“I... I’m trying to get to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. I was following the old road when I heard you.”

“If it’s the castle you want to reach, a better way I must beseech,” the zebra advised. “Come with me, and you shall see.”

They walked in silence for the most part. Zecora seemed to be concentrating on the ground around her, no doubt wanting to avoid any other pitfalls. It was a few minutes before the filly remembered.

“Hey, Zecora, you said earlier this wasn’t my world.”

The zebra smiled as she continued leading the little filly. “Indeed I did, for the truth may be... that the soul I see is not that of the body before me.”

Sweetie sighed. “Yeah... I have to find pieces of a crystal to carry on, and I think the one for this world is in that castle.”

“A simple explanation for something, I sense, was much more convoluted was when it did commence,” Zecora said with a sidelong glance.

The filly shook her head. “It’s my fault this is happening. My teacher was doing an experiment and I messed it up.”

“Accidents happen as I know well, think of that hole into which I fell,” the striped equine replied, her deep voice carrying a trace of humor and understanding.

Sweetie looked at her guide. “Zecora, I think I killed Twilight... my teacher... she was turned into crystal and then broken into little pieces!”

The zebra stopped and looked back at Sweetie, a serious expression in her face. “Magic works in mysterious ways, to zebra and unicorn it turns into an obscuring haze. If it’s Twilight's fragments that you seek, perhaps to the magic itself you will speak. Whatever you do, even if you feel torn, mistakes and sorrow you must not scorn. As good or bad as things can get, misery and self-pity bring only regret.”

“Why should I be happy? I killed my teacher!”

“That you don't know I can tell, so give yourself a chance for a spell.”

“Easier said than done,” Sweetie muttered.

The zebra smiled back at the filly. "Indeed it is so, but the trick I have found, is for the best to expect, even if the worst is bound." She winked at the unicorn as Sweetie groaned, but smirked.

“What kind of advice is that?”

“Advice,” the zebra noted, “is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.”

“Wow,” the unicorn shook her head as she mulled over the words. “That was kind of depressing.” She frowned. “And it didn’t even rhyme.”

The zebra laughed. “A far wiser pony than I once told that to me. To say it wrong, a disservice it would be.”

“I’ll try and remember that,” Sweetie said, smiling despite herself. Then she sighed, “Zecora? What should I do if I lied and hurt a friend?”

The zebra didn’t even look over her shoulder. “Ponies lie to protect their feelings, often ignoring the damage they cause in their dealings.”

“But, I already hurt her... even if I don’t lie again...”

"Sweetie, I can see your regret, and your friend I'm sure will on that reflect. She might forgive you, or she might not, but lies should not be where you throw your lot."

They reached a river and Zecora slowly stepped through. The water felt cool but good to Sweetie’s hooves, and she sighed in relief as it seemed to wash away her worries.

She sighed bitterly. I wish everything could just be carried away by the current...

“We should hurry now, Sweetie Belle,” Zecora called from the far shore. “The castle’s there as you can tell.”

Sweetie blinked and nodded, following the zebra out of the river and once more into the forest.

They walked in silence most of the way. At one point Zecora made quieting motions with her hooves and moved to the side into the undergrowth.

They watched in silence as a large creature walked past them. The body of a lion with bat wings and a scorpion tail. That’s just like the manticore sis and the others faced! Sweetie thought in awe of the size and ferocious look of the creature.

Once it was gone Zecora waited a bit longer before guiding her back into the trail. “Some creatures with nasty tempers we should evade, lest their anger and hunger make our chances fade.”

Eventually they reached the old bridge. “Thank you, Zecora,” Sweetie said, giving the surprised zebra a hug. “You’re always so helpful!”

The striped horse chuckled. “I wish other ponies would see it that way; it’s hard to imagine their opinion will sway.”

Sweetie shook her head. “It will happen... when we see each other again, I might not remember you... but I would like to be your friend.”

The zebra blinked at this, but her smile was warm as she nodded. “Friendship is special and something to treasure; to have one with you, dear child, would be my pleasure.”

The filly nodded as she cantered over the bridge and onto the other side, where the castle walls had crumbled in most areas. All I need to do is find the fragment in there... She turned to wave at Zecora, but the zebra was gone.

o.0.o

The castle had been huge once upon a time, but now the battlements were nothing but a pile of rocks, the walls little more than a memory. The castle itself was mostly intact, or at least recognizable. Sweetie’s eyes roamed the area in search of a clue. She knew the elements had been broken apart in a tower, but which one?

“Why couldn’t sis’ story have been more specific?!” Sweetie Belle huffed. She trotted around the castle, trying to connect the buildings with the descriptions her sister had given her. Eventually she found her way to the courtroom, where she could see the stained glass windows her sister and the others had described.

And there before her was the broken throne and the place where, in her world at least, Twilight and her friends had defeated Nightmare Moon.

She looked carefully around, her eyes scanning cracks in the wall, torn curtains, even the broken stained glass window.

“So, you would just leave without even saying goodbye?”

Sweetie had been concentrating so much on her search she hadn’t heard the group that came into the room after her.

“Twi-” she sputtered, “Twilight!”

The purple unicorn looked at her sadly as Nightmare Moon, Sunny, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo stood next to her.

“I heard about your fight, Sweetie, but are you sure running away is the best thing to do?”

The unicorn filly looked away. “I just don’t want anypony to hate me... I don’t want to do all of this alone.”

“So you really are from another world,” Nightmare Moon said, walking up to her and looking at the unicorn in the eye. “That’s how you knew...” she trailed off, but Sweetie saw her eyes shift to her moon emblem.

“Yeah...” the filly sighed.

The alicorn smirked, but left it at that.

“Sweetie, regardless of the circumstances, you shouldn’t have come here alone,” Twilight said after a moment, “What would you have done if something happened to you? How do you think we would feel?”

“I don’t know,” Sweetie retorted, looking at the group angrily. “Who cares anyway? I’ll just find the fragment and get out of your mane. Maybe I’ll even get to return home!”

Twilight sighed and was about to reply when Scootaloo stepped forth.

“Sweetie... I’m sorry I got so angry with you... it just really hurt to find out you were lying to me.”

The unicorn filly stubbornly scratched the floor, tiny tears on the edge of her eyes betraying her emotions. She was about to reply when she was suddenly being hugged by Apple Bloom.

“Ah know you got to go, Sweetie, and I know we really just got to know each other today... or at least I did, but I’m gonna miss you anyhow,” Apple Bloom said.

Scootaloo was also suddenly hugging her. “Don’t be stubborn, Sweetie!” She begged, burying her face in the unicorn’s mane. “Let’s not... let’s not say goodbye like this... I don’t want you to go away with us being angry with each other!”

Sunny soon joined the hug. “That’s right! You’re all my friends now, and I don’t want to see you angry!”

“I’m sorry I lied,” came Sweetie’s muffled reply, and it seemed as if the whole group relaxed with just those words.

Nightmare Moon walked up to Twilight as both adults watched the group hug in mild amusement. Sweetie looked at them and smiled; it was then that she noticed it. A slight purple glow near the lower corner of the stained glass window.

Slowly she disentangled herself from the group and made her way there. Her magic levitated the crystal as everypony gathered around it.

“Is... is that a piece... of me?” Twilight asked, staring at the crystal as it spun slowly inside Sweetie’s levitation spell.

Sweetie nodded. “My Twilight.” She smiled warmly.

“So, this is really goodbye,” Scootaloo said, scratching the back of her head with her hoof. She looked down. “I’ll miss you.”

Sweetie shook her head. “You’ll still have your own Sweetie.”

“Yeah, but I will miss the one I got to know now.” The pegasus smirked, “You both are crazy, but she’s even more stubborn than you are.”

Sweetie laughed as she gave the pegasus a short hug. “She’s not, just give her time.”

Apple Bloom suddenly looked nervous. “Ah don’t want to lose a friend Ah just made.”

“We’ll always be friends,” Sweetie replied, hugging the earth pony for a few seconds. “We became best friends in my world, so I’m sure this will happen again.”

Sunny stepped up to the unicorn filly and gave her a quick hug. “It was really fun! If you visit again, we should start another prank war!”

Sweetie nodded as her eyes turned to the adults.

Twilight nodded at her, but then her eyes opened wide. “Oh, my, I completely forgot about this!”

She levitated the scroll that Spike had produced early and gave it to Sweetie. “It’s for you.”

The filly blinked and opened the scroll. She started reading, and as the words sank in, her eyes grew wider and wider. “I... I passed?!”

“That’s what it says!” Twilight nodded with a bright smile. “I’m sure they will be disappointed when you can’t make it but... be sure to show that to my other self when you see her again, okay?”

Sweetie nodded happily as she started jumping around Twilight. “I passed! I passed! Yes! Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes! I did it!”

Nightmare Moon chuckled and the filly stopped, looking around her, completely embarrassed. “Um, I think I should go.”

Sweetie’s horn lit up as her notebook materialized. She opened it and smoothed out the acceptance letter until it was flat, then fitted it between the pages. When she dismissed it, the scroll disappeared too. “I hope this works!” She said worriedly as she made the notebook reappear. The scroll was safely tucked between the pages.

Sweetie let out a sigh as she sent it away again.

“Well, this is it... Goodbye everypony...” She looked at the gathered group as her horn started glowing. When she was about to absorb the energy from the fragment she paused. “Nightmare Moon?”

The alicorn blinked. “What is it Sweetie?”

“What does Twilight taste like?”

The queen ignored the sputtering purple unicorn to her right as she smiled. “Like Blueberries. Very Tangy.”

“Oh. Good to know.”

“Wait, Sweetie!’ Twilight raised a hoof, but it was too late. The fragment shone with a bright purple light that enveloped the filly as it slowly faded away. The light remained for a few seconds and then it was gone.

Sweetie Belle slumped to the floor, confused and dazed. She shook her head. “What? Where am I?”

She looked up and noticed Nightmare Moon and a unicorn she didn’t know staring at her.

“AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaahhh!”

“I have one big concern over all of this,” the purple unicorn confessed to the group of ponies as she watched the unicorn filly scream.

“What?” Scootaloo asked.

“How am I going to explain all of this to Rarity?”

“AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaahhh!”

o.0.o

Inside a stage wagon in a small town in the middle of Equestria, a certain showmare stared at the scroll that had just popped out in front of her. She had a little dragon-fire contraption she used to keep in contact with a few ponies, but she hadn’t written anypony recently, and she had no idea why Nightmare Moon’s School for Gifted Unicorns would send her a letter.

Shrugging, she levitated the scroll and opened it, reading the contents aloud out of habit. “Dear Great and Powerful Trixie, as head supervisor of admissions, it is my pleasure to inform you that your apprentice, Sweetie Belle, has been accepted to study at our prestigious institution should she choose to do so. Although we are aware you are not in Ponyville anymore, and that your training of the young unicorn is over, we felt you would like to be one of the first to know of her success. Yours truly, ~Passing Grade”

Trixie stared at the scroll, re-reading it silently a couple of times. Finally, with a confused blink she let it rest on her desk. Only one thing crossed her mind.

What. The. Hay?

o.0.o

Somewhere, far beyond the worlds and universes, in the deep darkness, an eye opened, radiating with an inner light. It looked around the vastness around it until it seemed to spot something. Its will concentrated as a voice as old as a star rumbled.

“Desertus in me aeterno ardes et in obscuritas captatus est...”

o.0.o

Wherever it was she had arrived, it was dark.

Sweetie tried to make sense of where she was, and illuminated the area around her with her horn as her magic coursed through it. She finally recognized the place as her room in the Carousel Boutique. With a twist of magic, she lit up her lamp to see better, but things seemed odd... they appeared to have shrunken.

She looked around. Her bed was smaller, her desk... what were those posters doing there? And that tea set? It was all too small. She passed in front of her dresser, again, too small, giving it little thought and carried on to the door.

Then she stopped. She ran back to the dresser and looked in the mirror. Her eyes widened and her jaw fell slack.

The door to her room was suddenly kicked in as Rarity came in, wielding a poker in her magical grasp.

“How dare you break into my-” She blinked and dropped the poker, staring at Sweetie Belle. “Buh-” she sputtered. “Sweetie... you... but you’re dead!”

o.o.0.o.o End Chapter 2 o.o.0.o.o

Next chapter: The Light Never Goes Out

The Light Never Goes Out

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

By Wanderer D

Editors & Proof-readers: understatedHyperbole,Magical Trevor & Fifth Alicorn, BrianBlessedPony & Cards Lafter

o.o.0.o.o

Sweetie’s eyes were stuck on the reflection in the mirror. Instead of her normal appearance, the mare that looked back at her was, well, taller. Her eyes were the same color, but her horn was longer and... her mane... and... she looked at her flank.

Aw. No Cutie Mark?!

“Who are you?!” Rarity’s voice was cracking with fury and pain as she glared at the mare in front of her, drawing Sweetie’s attention away from the mirror. “How dare you use her face? Do you not have any shame? No Respect? A sense of decency?!”

Sweetie Belle stepped back, looking at Rarity in confusion. “S-sis? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t you dare call me that!” the elder unicorn shook her head, tears welling in her eyes and her voice breaking. Magic enveloped her horn, and soon the fire poker she had dropped earlier was being waved dangerously close to Sweetie’s face. “Why do you torture me? Who are you? Is Discord free again? Did he create you to punish me? Is this one of his sick little games?!”

“I- I don’t know! Isn’t Discord a statue again?” Sweetie stumbled backwards as the tip of the poker hovered in front of her. “Sis... why are you acting like this?” she asked, shaking.

“Silence!” Rarity growled. “Don’t call me sister! My Sweetie is dead!” She glared at Sweetie Belle. “I never expected anypony would use her face to get to me...” Her eyes narrowed further. “Is this an attempt to kill the Elements?”

“Kill the Elements?” Sweetie blinked. “But... why would I kill my own sister?” She shook her head violently. “Or my teacher! If something happened to Twilight again...” She shuddered. “And do you know what Scootaloo and Apple Bloom would do to me if I did something to hurt Rainbow Dash or Applejack?”

Rarity shook her head slowly. Her eyes took in the figure in front of her, the coat, the mane... “Y-you have no cutie mark... my Sweetie had her cutie mark.”

Sweetie looked back at her flank, the act reminding her that she was no longer a filly. She looked older, as old as Rarity herself. “This... is so strange...” she gulped. “Sis, this... I don’t know how to explain this. I am Sweetie Belle, just not...” she took a deep breath. “Just not the Sweetie Belle from your world. I’m looking for something, and once I find it, I’ll be gone. I promise...”

Rarity looked at the cowering mare doubtfully, but slowly lowered the poker. “Why should I believe you? We have made many powerful enemies throughout the years, some of them would be able to recreate my sister-” she paused. “If you say you are Sweetie Belle, why should I believe you?”

Sweetie was scared, and her eyes showed it. “Because...” she whispered. “Because I wouldn’t know what else to do... I don’t have anypony to help me...”

“You really don’t know...” The fashion designer shook her head, walking around her ‘sister.’ “I don’t know whether to believe you or not... your voice is the same, your eyes are so much more innocent...”

“Where I come from... I haven’t even earned my cutie mark yet,” Sweetie said with a small smile and a slight nod. “Apple Bloom and Scootaloo haven’t either.” She looked at her much bigger body. “It looks like growing up doesn’t get me one automatically...”

Rarity sat down, her energy drained. “You’re young... so young... but how- why, do you look older now?”

“I don’t know!” Sweetie exclaimed. “I’ve been traveling from world to world trying to find fragments of Twilight... I think one of them will take me home. I’ve only been to two more other worlds before, but I have never been an adult before...”

Sweetie fell silent as Rarity slowly stretched a hoof to touch Sweetie’s face. The filly remained in the same position as her sister’s hoof brushed her mane and then slowly, hesitantly, drew her into a warm hug.

“Sweetie... I’ve missed you.”

“You- you’re not angry?” the younger unicorn asked, but her question went unanswered as Rarity started crying. “Sis?”

These weren’t the dramatic tears or the overdone whining... this was real. Rarity was a mess; her eyes puffy, her nose snotty, her mane in disarray. She sobbed and let the tears flow, soaking Sweetie’s neck and holding the younger unicorn tighter. She didn’t answer at all, she just couldn’t. She cried. And wept. And sobbed. Sweetie held her tight, confused and a bit scared by the muffled “I’m sorry...” she could hear her sister whisper over and over. After a few moments, tears started to run down Sweetie’s eyes as well and she held her sister tighter. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t stop herself.

They remained like that for a long time. When Rarity was able to pull back and run a hoof over her eyes, Sweetie sniffed as she looked at her sister. “Sis... what happened?”

Rarity coughed as she slowly stood up. “I...” she sighed. “Let us go downstairs... we can discuss things over tea.”

Sweetie nodded and followed her sister out of her room and down the stairs. As they walked, Sweetie looked around, curiously. The building looked older; it was as well maintained as ever, but here and there the paint looked new. There was also no sign of Opalescence. Usually, the white cat would be purring around Rarity at the slightest excuse.

There were many little things that would draw her attention, but it wasn’t until she saw the windows that she noticed they were completely different from what she remembered. They still looked great with the design of the boutique, as Rarity wouldn’t have it otherwise, but they were different. The frames were thinner, for one.

“Sweetie,” Rarity called, startling the younger unicorn, who realized she had been standing at the bottom of the stairs and staring at the room. Sweetie Belle quickly trotted to the table and sat down.

“Sorry, sis, the place looks different...” she trailed off when she noticed that Rarity was levitating a small envelope before her with a sad look in her eyes.

“I-” Rarity closed her eyes as she floated the note towards her younger sister, depositing it on the table in front of the younger unicorn. “I want you to read this... and then I’ll explain.”

Sweetie stared at the envelope. It had been opened and it looked really old. It had only one word written on it. ‘Rarity’

For some reason, she felt a sense of dread coming from the single piece of paper. This is silly... it’s just a note... Sweetie looked up at Rarity, who was dressed in a light blue nightgown with matching cuffs around her fetlocks. She looks so fragile... and tired. Sweetie looked back to the envelope. The slightly yellowed piece of paper seemed to carry an ominous weight to it. Slowly, her horn lit up as she carefully levitated the envelope and opened it, sliding out the simple note inside.

Still fearing the words inside, she forced herself to unfold the note and read.

‘Rarity,

By the time you read this, It will have happened. Please, do not be sad, and do not do anything stupid. I love you, and I always have done, and always will do. Even through every argument we’ve had, I love you. Live your Generous life to its fullest, no matter how long it will be.

Your Loving Sister

Sweetie Belle’

Sweetie slowly lowered the note until it gently lay on top of the table. She stared at it, uncomprehendingly, trying to wrap her mind around the confusing feelings of fear and pity that the simple words had evoked in her.

“I found that a week after you-” Rarity whispered, her voice breaking through Sweetie’s scattered thoughts. The elder unicorn shook her head, unwilling to complete her earlier sentence. “I watched you grow, earn your cutie mark, discover what truly made you happy... I saw you be happy, and touch the hearts of so many...”

Sweetie’s eyes drifted downwards to Rarity’s cuffed hooves, which she self-consciously hid under the table.

“I am immortal, Sweetie,” Rarity said, locking eyes with Sweetie Belle. “We all are... the Elements, I mean.” She shook her head, turning away, not daring to look Sweetie in the eye any longer, lest she break into tears again. “It’s been two hundred years since we freed Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon,” the designer continued. “All six of us have lived our lives since then... we’ve lost so much...”

The pain in Rarity’s voice was so strong... Sweetie Belle had a dawning, horrifying feeling of where this was going, and she didn’t want to bring that much pain to her sister.

Rarity sighed. “But... when I lost you... Sweetie, I-”

“What was I like?” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “Did I have any foals? Who did I marry? What was my cutie mark?”

Rarity stopped and chuckled. “I won’t tell you your cutie mark, or who and if you married...” the elder unicorn said, laughing a bit at the pout her younger sister immediately developed. “But, you became a singer... you sang a great many beautiful songs, about love, about life...” She looked down. “About loss.”

Sweetie’s eyes were wide. “I became a singer? Was I famous?”

Rarity choked a bit, sniffling as she chuckled. “Yes, yes you were, Sweetie.”

The clock marked the time with a short cheerful melody, and both mares looked at it in surprise.

“Oh, my...” Rarity gasped. “Look at the time! We should head to bed... we can talk more in the morning.”

Sweetie Belle yawned, barely remembering to cover her mouth with her hoof. “Y-yeah, I haven’t slept since... I don’t even remember.”

The two mares slowly made their way upstairs. “Rarity?”

The elder mare stopped. “Yes, Sweetie?”

“Could you...” She blushed a bit. “Can I spend the night with you?” She looked down, embarrassed.

Rarity blinked and chuckled. “Aren’t you a bit old for that, Sweetie?”

The younger mare nodded, slowly turning towards her room. “I- I guess. I just... you...”

“It’ll be okay,” Rarity said, running her hoof through her sister’s mane. “Thank you for worrying, Sweetie, I’ll still be here tomorrow.” She looked away for a second. “Always.”

Sweetie nodded and hugged her sister. “Good night, Rarity... I’ll see you in the morning.”

The two mares went into their rooms, but unlike any other night in their lives, they could not bring themselves to close the doors.

As Rarity lay down in bed, she sighed, looking at the other room. Slowly her horn started glowing as feather, ink and parchment floated to her.

Down the hall, Sweetie laid down in bed, silent. Her thoughts were a whirlwind. She had never thought something like this would happen. Her thoughts turned to Rarity, who had seemed so... lost.

At least she has her friends, right?

It was then that she realized that, if she had died of old age... then Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were gone too. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. She could only stare at the ceiling as tears trickled down her cheeks.

Even if they were from another world, their absence was something that she could not fathom. What had their lives been like? Had they married? Had foals?

She sniffed as she closed her eyes.

Maybe tomorrow she would have a chance to ask Rarity... or maybe even Rainbow Dash or Applejack...

o.0.o

“Applejack!”

Her sister’s voice roused the apple farmer from where she was overseeing her workers sorting and putting the harvested apples away into neatly stacked boxes. “Apple Bloom? What’s goin’ on?”

“Applejack! Help me!” the younger mare shouted.

The elder earth pony was already running towards the orchard, where Apple Bloom’s screams were coming from. She arrived in time; her sister was being pushed towards a deep ravine by a dark green magical field of some sort. Apple Bloom was struggling to stay in place.

Thinking quickly, she tried to lasso her sister, but her rope felt short. She wasn’t going to make it!

“Sis! Help me! Ah’m gonna fall!” the younger earth pony shouted in horror as her rear hooves slipped on the edge of the ravine, sending bits of debris scattering into the darkness.

“Who’s doin’ this?” the apple farmer turned around, looking for the unicorn responsible. Then she saw her. The purple and soft pink mane, the white coat. “Sweetie Belle?” she gasped. “What’re you doin’? That there is Apple Bloom! She’s yer friend!”

A pair of green, slitted eyes locked with Applejack’s own green eyes. “I don’t have friends, Applejack.” The unicorn’s horn flashed and the apple farmer turned in horror to see her sister shoved into the ravine.

“Applejack!” Apple Bloom shouted desperately.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack shouted back as she ran up to the ravine and looked down. It was so dark, she couldn’t see anything. Her sister was completely gone.

“Why did you do this?” she shouted, tears of anger forming in her eyes as she turned around to confront Sweetie Belle. She took a startled step back when she found herself snout to snout with the white unicorn. Her hooves scrambled for support as she started sliding into the ravine.

“I needed her to die so I could live!” Sweetie Belle grinned, showing rows of fangs, leaning forward for a snake-like tongue to lick Applejack’s cheek.

Applejack stepped back and lost her balance, screaming as she fell into the darkness...

...and landed on the floor next to her bed.

“Oooh...” she moaned as she slowly stood up and blinked at her room. Shaking her head, she looked outside the window.

Celestia hadn’t risen the sun yet, but Luna’s moon wasn’t in sight either, the orchard simply stretched into the horizon in the foggy morning.

“Fifth time this week...” she sighed as she left her room to get ready for the day. She knew she would get no more sleep that night. Tired as she might be, there was work to be done.

As she left her room, her eyes strayed to the chest containing Apple Bloom’s ribbon. She caught her breath, remembering the dream, but the sturdy earth pony shook her head, put on her hat and stepped out.

o.0.o

The sunlight seeping through the window woke her up. Rarity groaned and looked around her room.

“A dream...” she sighed, closing her eyes. “Wonderful and horrible at the same time...” she sniffed. Then sniffed again. “What-”

The fire alarm started ringing.

“A fire?! But... how!?” she rolled out of bed, barely even able to put her hooves down in time, and scrambled down the stairs. “Did I leave the oven on again?” Her hoof slipped on the stair, but Rarity caught herself on the rail just in time. She looked up at the kitchen in horror just as the room-filling smoke began to waft out the now open window. She stared as the purple and pink-maned unicorn in the kitchen groaned in annoyance.

“I hate it when that happens!” Sweetie Belle sighed heavily, her attention focused on the smoldering skillet as she levitated it off the stove. “Just take your eyes off it for one second, and there it goes-”

“Sweetie!” Rarity gasped, the memory of the previous night crashing down on her like cold water. “You- you’re really here!”

Sweetie turned around, eyes wide. “I’m sorry sis! I took off my eyes off the last pancake for just a second and-”

Sweetie feel silent as Rarity’s hooves suddenly wrapped around her. “It’s okay, we can eat out...”

Returning the hug, Sweetie smiled. “It’s fine, sis, that was just the last of the batch. The others are fine.”

Rarity blinked and looked around the kitchen. “But... what others, darling?”

With a grin, Sweetie opened the oven and levitated a plateful of pancakes out. “Princess Celestia’s favorite pancakes!” she proudly announced. “Spike taught me how to make them!”

Rarity’s eyes filled with sadness even as a small smile played on her lips. “I see. Spike was always a fine chef.” She chuckled as she quickly turned around. “Come, let’s set up the table.”

The two worked in silence, enjoying each other’s company despite the feelings boiling within them.

Every time Rarity looked at Sweetie, the long buried memories would float to the surface.

“Sis! I got the part! I get to sing in Manehattan!”

Rarity carefully put a plate down on top of the light green tablecloth.

“I don’t know, does this dress make me look old?”

The forks and knives floated out of their drawer.

“He’s such a gentlecolt, and he invited me to have dinner at Le Bridle! I love fusion cuisine!”

Rarity carefully levitated a pair of glasses, aware that Sweetie was taking out the orange juice.

“Sis, this... I wrote this for Spike... do you think... would you listen to it?”

The silverware was now in place; she had done it mechanically, not even thinking about it.

“He left me... why did he leave me? He said he loved me!”

Rarity sighed. “How do you measure a lifetime?” she whispered quietly to herself.

“Did you say something, sis?” Sweetie asked.

“Oh, nothing important, dear.”

“Oh...” Sweetie smiled hesitantly as the pair sat down. “Rarity?”

“Yes dear?”

“Did you... did you ever marry? Have foals of your own?”

“No...” Rarity sighed. “There was never time with work, Sweetie, you know how I get caught with designing new clothes... and as for family and such... I watched you from afar, living that part vicariously through you...” she trailed off when she noticed her younger sister staring blankly at her. “It means I enjoyed watching you live your life...”

“Ooooh... I see.” Sweetie Belle said as she caught on.

Rarity chuckled as she tried one of the pancakes. Her eyes widened. It was indeed Spike’s recipe. “This... this is amazing, Sweetie! Oh, it brings back so many memories!”

The younger unicorn giggled. “What? Doesn’t Spike make them anymore?”

Rarity drew in a sharp breath. “Sweetie... Spike is... he’s no longer with us.”

“Oh...” Sweetie blinked. “Did he go join the other dragons? Poor Twilight! She must be so lonely without her number one assistant!”

“N-no... Sweetie...” the elder unicorn stammered then collected herself. “Sweetie... Spike... he passed away some years ago.”

All the blood drained from Sweetie’s face. “W-what? But...” As the memories of the little dragon came to her she felt tears forming in her eyes. “But... Spike he... he helped me so much when I became Twilight’s apprentice! He taught me how to look through through the book code and the bookshelves to find what I needed, how to make tea and pancakes... He-” she cut herself off, head hanging low as she sniffled softly. “How did it happen?”

As Rarity slowly began to explain, Sweetie’s mind was busy thinking about her own Spike.

I haven’t thought of him in a while... could he have died when I destroyed the lab?

Sweetie’s thoughts seemed to reflect on her face as Rarity slowly stopped talking and observed her sister’s darkening expression.

I don’t remember how strong the explosion was... but- it seemed strong... could the library have survived it? Did Spike also get trapped in the spell? Could he also be lost in other worlds?

“Sweetie?” her sister’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Huh?” Sweetie shook her head. “I- I’m sorry sis. I...”

“Tell me about it,” Rarity said, and her look brooked no argument.

Sweetie sighed. “I’m afraid something might have happened to my Spike...” Slowly she sank down into her seat, pancakes forgotten. “When the lab exploded... Spike was in the other room, right next to it... he could be suffering through the same thing I am. What if he’s lost? What... what if he’s dead, and it’s because of me?” Her eyes slowly raised until they met Rarity’s. “Sis... what if I killed Spike?”

Rarity felt cold. What could she tell her sister? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Sweetie... I really don’t know what to tell you, but I doubt the explosion would have gotten to him... Twilight’s tree is very old, its roots are strong and thick... and Spike is also very resistant...” she trailed off, remembering the dragon’s mortality all too well. But it seemed to work, as the younger unicorn looked up, sniffing.

“I- I hope so... I think so too...” Sweetie Belle looked unsure. “I’m just afraid, sis... This is the longest I’ve ever been away from home by myself...”

“Oh, Sweetie...” Rarity sighed as she touched her sister’s hoof. “I know how you feel. But you are not alone, and you should know that... for every world you visit, you’ll always have me. Always.”

Sweetie Belle’s small smile played around the corners of her mouth.

Rarity nodded. “Now, let us eat these wonderful pancakes before they get too cold!”

“Oh! Right!”

Watching her sister start to eat, Rarity smiled.

After the pair finished eating and cleaning up, they stepped outside, admiring the clear skies and warm weather.

“You were right, sis. This is too good a day to waste inside!”

As they trotted down the street, Sweetie took her first look of future Ponyville. The town itself looked pretty similar to what it was before. She could see the Sugarcube Corner, the City Hall, and a little behind it, looking taller than before, Twilight’s Library.

“Wow, this place hasn’t changed much in two hundred years!” Sweetie exclaimed, as she looked back at Carousel Boutique. “I expected flying machines and teleportation devices.”

“You think?” Rarity chuckled. “Look around and tell me what else looks familiar?”

Sweetie followed her sister’s advice. “Heeey... that pony over there looks familiar... and... and that one and... wait... those eyes...”

Rarity’s smile only grew as Sweetie’s eyes found more and more ponies that looked somehow familiar. “Want to guess who’s who?”

“But...” the younger unicorn turned around. “There’s so many... that one has Pinkie Pie’s hair... and that one looks just like she does, but the colors are wrong and... just... how many...”

Rarity leaned in close and whispered in Sweetie’s ear.

“WHAT?! HOW?”

“It’s really fun!” Pinkie Pie said. “But it requires some preparation!”

Both Rarity and Sweetie immediately scrambled back from the suddenly appearing pink earth pony, holding their hooves to their chests.

“P-Pinkie!” Sweetie stammered. “Don’t do that!”

“Why? It’s fun!” the earth pony replied, bouncing up to her. “Hey... You look familiar!” she gasped, then looked towards Rarity, who was slowly approaching Sweetie. “Oh. My. Celestia! Rarity! You had a filly and you never told us?! Wow! I mean... how were you able to keep this a... I mean... WOW! I missed all her birthdays!”

“But Pinkie... she-”

“And she looks, what? Eighteen? So I have to organize a party to make up for eighteen years! Or maybe eighteen parties!” Pinkie Pie turned around to leave.

“No!” Rarity shouted, drawing the attention of several ponies passing by, but having the desired effect of getting Pinkie to freeze in place. “No...” the fashion designer repeated softly. “This is not my daughter, Pinkie Pie. It’s Sweetie Belle.”

The smile slowly faded from Pinkie’s face.

“Oh...” she looked at Sweetie, then back to Rarity. “Can I talk to Sweetie for a moment? In private?”

Before Rarity could reply, the pink pony had dragged the younger unicorn away and behind the Carousel Boutique.

“Okay, I want to know now what you are doing and why you are doing it!” Pinkie demanded with an unusually intense look in her eyes.

“Uh...” Sweetie shuffled back a bit. “I... really am Sweetie Belle, but I came from another dimension and appeared in a full adult body in the middle of the night inside the Boutique and Rarity is going to help me get back home.”

During the explanation the pink pony’s eyes had narrowed, her form towering over Sweetie’s, who had slowly shrunk down under the intensity of Pinkie’s glare.

Then, just as suddenly, Pinkie Pie’s eyes shone happily.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie said, with a big smile. “I just had to double check! Welcome to Ponyville! Again!” The pink pony started bouncing around Sweetie. “You know what this calls for? A party!” She stopped suddenly with a surprised look of realization in her face. “Oh! Oh! But it should be a surprise for everypony!”

Sweetie smiled. “I love parties!”

“I remember!” Pinkie laughed. “Okie dokie! I’ll see you tonight!”

Sweetie watched the earth pony bounce away and sighed.

“Well, that went well,” Rarity said.

“Aaaaaah!” Sweetie shouted in alarm, jumping up into the air.

Rarity followed Sweetie up with her eyes, then followed her descent until she landed next to her.

“Why would you do that?!” Sweetie moaned. “First, Nightmare Moon, then Pinkie Pie, and now you!”

“Nightmare Moon?” Rarity blinked. “Just what sort of ponies have you been hanging around with, Sweetie?”

“You’d be completely horrified,” the younger unicorn sighed.

Rarity chuckled, her eyes softening as she looked at her sister. “Come, let’s show you around.”

Sweetie slowly followed her sister, barely taking in her surroundings. “Hey, sis?”

The fashion designer stopped. “Yes, Sweetie?”

“Back home... you didn’t use to want to hang out that much... how come now-”

Sweetie cut herself off as Rarity’s shoulders sagged and she motioned with her head towards a bench overlooking the park.

Once they’d sat down, Rarity began slowly. “Sweetie... have you ever heard the expression ‘we never know what we have until it’s gone’?”

“Yes,” Sweetie Belle replied as she thought back to her home... her real home.

If Spike had survived, would he have told everypony what happened? Would her sister hate her for killing her best friend?

Unbidden her mind conjured up a scene...

The land was gray, the wind cold and the sun setting... and there stood Rarity in front of three graves...

Tears slowly accumulated in her eyes. “Yes...” she repeated in a whisper. “I know the expression.”

Rarity’s smile was a bit pained as her hoof and foreleg went over Sweetie’s shoulders. “I know it too well... but back then, I didn’t... I let so many opportunities pass... I had work, or I had to meet somepony, or...” She looked down, ashamed. “I simply didn’t feel like it.”

Sweetie remained silent, head hung low.

“It wasn’t that I disliked you...” Rarity found herself a bit defensive. “I loved you more than anything... It’s just... I was being stubborn, and I just didn’t appreciate just how much fun we could have together...”

“Like at the Sisterhooves’ Social?” the younger unicorn ventured.

Rarity looked at Sweetie in confusion, then barked out a laugh. “Oh, yes, the Sisterhooves Social!” She chuckled. “That was enlightening... I never told you just how horrified I was that you would really hate me!”

“I was pretty mad,” Sweetie admitted, remembering. “I really thought you didn’t want me around... but, you really made up for it! I never expected you to take Applejack’s place!”

The pair shared a soft laugh.

“I still can't believe, after all that, I haven't earned my cutie mark yet.” Sweetie sighed.

Rarity chuckled. “Oh, my... Sweetie, don't you remember what we used to say to you and the other Crusaders?”

“That we have to be patient and that we’ll find out eventually.” Sweetie recited in a practised monotone. “But sis, I've done so much!”

“You just haven’t found it yet... you worry too much, Sweetie” Rarity said.

“I just wish I knew what my talent was.”

The older unicorn smiled. “Do you remember that ball I gave you, so long ago?”

Sweetie blinked. “I...”

“When I was about your age...” Rarity blinked and coughed. “Well, the age you really are I mean, I got one just like it. It was a gift from father while I was trying to figure out what to do after getting my cutie mark.”

“You didn't know?” Sweetie asked, raising an eyebrow. “I always thought that from the moment you got your mark you knew...”

Her elder sister laughed. “Oh, no, Sweetie, it wasn't that simple.” She leaned her head to the side as she remembered. “I did a lot of things and learned a lot of trades that ultimately made me who I am, but I didn't know what my talent was...”

“But you knew from the moment you found the gems that you had the talent to find them right?” Sweetie insisted. “I don't even know what I'm good at-”

“Sweetie, you're missing the point,” Rarity interrupted. “There is much more to a Cutie Mark than just having it appear on your flank.”

“There is?”

“Well of course! A Cutie Mark reflects your talent, but what you do with that talent is a completely different matter.”

“Ooooh...” Sweetie blinked. “But what does that have to do with the ball you gave me? I thought you were just being nice.”

Rarity shook her head. “There's more to that ball than it being just a toy, Sweetie.” She smiled a bit sadly. “You never did understand it... shortly after I gave it to you, you took it to the Crusader's head quarters and it got lost.”

Sweetie touched her sister's shoulder with a hoof. “Mine isn't.” When Rarity looked up at her, the younger unicorn smiled. “I still have it. I never took it to the treehouse. Apple Bloom told me it might get ruined by one of Scootaloo's crazy ideas, so I kept it in my room.”

Rarity looked at her sister as if she had grown a second head. “Really?”

Sweetie nodded, looking up towards the sky. “Sometimes... I just hold that ball and lay on top of it... and I wonder... what will I be? Will I be a designer like you? Or a scholar like Twilight? Maybe one of Scootaloo's crazy stunts will backfire and I'll be a fire-fighter...”

Sweetie felt her sister's foreleg wrap around her as Rarity drew her into a hug. “Just keep that ball with you for a while, okay?” Rarity asked. “Even after you find your Cutie Mark.”

“I will, sis,” Sweetie assured her as they separated.

“I know you're really eager to get your mark, Sweetie, but I promise you that you won't be disappointed when you finally do. Just don't do anything too crazy.”

Sweetie giggled. “My friends are too crazy for me to keeping things easy.”

“Do you remember that time that you and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stayed over for the first night at the Boutique...” Rarity chuckled, “And I couldn’t handle you three and make more gold silk, so I asked Fluttershy to take care of you?”

Sweetie smiled, “Yeah, I remember that night. Did Fluttershy ever tell you that we almost got turned to stone by a Cockatrice?”

“No!” Rarity’s eyes went wide. She shook her head. “You used to get into all sorts of trouble, dear.”

“Like Diamond Tiara’s cute-ceañera?”

“You did the right thing, I had never been more proud of you!”

“Thanks, sis!”

Rarity looked at the sky, her eyes becoming distant. “Or... do you remember that time in Canterlot, after your first singing lesson... you thought you were awful and ran right out of the hall!”

“Um...”

“You had us all worried, we didn’t know where you were and we didn’t really know where to look for you... when it turned out that you had met with Fleur and she had taken you to drink some tea and talk, I was so relieved...”

“Rarity, I...”

“And then, do you remember that time that you went out with Fancypants’ son?” Rarity laughed, caught in the moment. “That was priceless! You two looked so adorable! It’s a shame it didn’t work out in the end, but, just between the two of us, Fleur was already planning the wedding after the first date!” Rarity chuckled. “Oh, how I miss Fleur; she was always so involved...”

“Yes, but-” Sweetie Belle tried to interrupt, but her sister did not hear, Rarity’s eyes filled with both fondness and pain.

I haven’t seen her for three days... Sweetie thought. How would I feel after a hundred or more years?

“Oh, and your first night at the Canterlot Opera! Sweetie that was simply... sublime...” Rarity sighed, eyes shining with remembrance. “And your rendition of the aria in ‘Claro de Luna’...”

“I’m glad you liked it, sis...” Sweetie whispered, resting her head on Rarity’s shoulder as the older unicorn remembered a life the younger had yet to live. She watched the town hustle and bustle around them as she listened to her sister.

“...and then there was that duet with...”

Rarity’s coat was warm and soft, and soon Sweetie was looking at the world through half lidded eyes.

The shampoo Rarity had used was not something she was familiar with... and yet... it held small tinges that reminded her of Aloe’s original creations.

The world began to blur.

Some buildings slowly faded away; others changed their colors to resemble their previous paint jobs. A couple of ponies shimmered in her view and turned into Lyra and Bon-Bon; a prancing colt became Snails and the little filly next to him became Twist.

Sweetie let out a soft sigh as Rarity...talked about something involving her and a violinist.

“I miss home, sis. I miss you.”

o.0.o

Sweetie stared in amazement at the Ponyville Train Station.

It was... different. Quite different from what she remembered.

The train station from the past had been a quaint little building with nothing more than a single platform: a true small-town station.

This... this was on a whole other scale.

She could see multiple lines fading into the distance in all directions, the station itself now comprised of eight platforms.

There was the main line for Canterlot, of course, and the seldom-used line to Appleloosa. But now tracks to Fillydelphia and Manehattan had been added as well, with several stops in towns Sweetie had never heard of.

Rarity smiled at her sister’s surprise. “Want to guess how many trains pass through this station on a daily basis?”

Sweetie slowly shook her head as she took in what had once been nothing more than a simple, but functional structure. Once, a simple entrance had been enough; ponies would cross over to either side via a simple bridge. Now... she could see at least three different entrances. The bridge had been replaced by a long, single-floor building that extended over the eight platforms, overlooking them while magical screens announced the inbound and outbound trains, their destinations and trip durations.

She followed Rarity in a daze to where the ticket booth waited; the pair falling in behind an elderly couple. Sweetie couldn’t tear her eyes away from the work that had been put into the place. It had the characteristic Ponyville architecture charm- eccentric designs for the pillars that held the building above them. There was even a whole wall that seemed to have been taken directly from the Sugarcube Corner...

“Pinkie donated quite a bit to the station,” Rarity explained, following her sister’s gaze. “And so did Applejack and I.”

Sweetie looked around more, noticing that there were themes to some of the platforms. One of them had apple-based designs, with the shelter looking almost like the barn in Sweet Apple Acres.

The Sugarcube Corner platform seemed to have been pulled right out of a fairy tale. Candy canes stood proudly on either side of the staircase leading to the station above, and there was a small pastry stand selling the bakery’s famous cupcakes. Even the platform itself seemed to be made out of gingerbread.

The next was a tribute to Fluttershy’s home and her woodland friends. A small garden had been grown in a line down the middle of the platform, with old tree trunks used for seating; small planted trees gave the whole platform a sense of serenity that contrasted sharply with the constant flow of ponies.

The white platform with purple and blue arches decorating it as well as tastefully selected ribbons clearly indicated Rarity’s influence.

Platform four had a Wonderbolt uniform-like quality to it, with a large depiction of Rainbow Dash’s cutie mark. It was streamlined and slightly aggressive looking. Sweetie’s eyes turned to look at the next platform.

“It used to be very functional and had no decorations at all,” Rarity whispered. “That is until... the night before Twilight left, the statue appeared... we all put something into it... but, it was going to be in the plaza... Twilight... she thought it would fit better here, where ponies came and went.”

Twilight’s platform was simple. It was made of wood resembling a tree, and there was only one decoration. A stone statue of a young dragon, reading a book while seated on a bunch of real gems. On one of his claws he held a half eaten apple, an owl had perched on top of his head gazing down at the book. Just looking at it and the small smile on the statue’s muzzle made Sweetie’s eyes water.

The booth pony coughed politely and both mares turned to look at her, not realizing that they were holding up the line.

“Sorry!” Rarity quickly spoke up, a trembling smile following soon. She looked at the booth pony for a second. “Oh, you’re one of Fluttershy’s grandchildren... Apple Breeze, wasn’t it?”

“Yes ma’am.” The pegasus smiled. “And it is always nice to see you, but we are holding up the line...”

“Oh, I do apologize. Two to Canterlot, please.”

“Would you prefer a private-”

“No...” Rarity interrupted. “We’ll take regular seats.”

Apple Breeze nodded and after a few moments passed them their tickets. “Platform 5 in ten minutes.”

“Thank you!”

Rarity led the way, her eyes settling on several familiar sights as memories billowed to the surface.

Sweetie sighed. Sis... why are you so... alone?

Every stop Rarity made, either to greet a pony or just to contemplate, was laden with nostalgia.

“Sis?” Sweetie ventured. “What are you thinking about?”

Rarity blinked, shaking her head a little. “Oh, Sweetie... I- I was just remembering the time I sent you on your way to Canterlot... it was such a long time ago...”

“I must have been excited...” Sweetie Belle murmured, ignoring an odd look she got from a passerby.

Rarity laughed. “Oh, you were! I took you to the same platform we’re going to... you were very excited at first.” Rarity smiled as she looked down at the rails. “Then, when the train arrived, you didn’t want to get on.”

Sweetie blinked. “What?”

“Well, you just got so nervous!” the older unicorn said, laughing a bit. “It was a completely new experience for you! And so far away from home... and going to the most prestigious school for musicians!”

Sweetie chuckled. “It sounds like a difficult school to get into.”

Rarity nodded, pride shining in her eyes. “It is! The auditions are almost invitation-only, but you managed to get there by yourself. You even turned down Octavia and Fancypants when they offered their help!”

Rarity took a deep, proud breath as she guided the younger mare to their platform.

“It seems silly to get nervous after I managed to get in,” Sweetie said, raising an eyebrow.

“True.” Rarity nodded. “But you were going away from home for a significant amount of time for the very first time...” Her eyes settled on Sweetie, regarding her fondly. “You looked adorable. I’d made you a dress...” Slowly the blue eyes began to shine with tears. “It- it was simple, really. White and fluffy... it had adorable emeralds to bring out your eyes...” The fashionista shuddered, looking away.

“Sis...”

“I’m alright...” Rarity sighed, still not looking back at Sweetie. “It’s just... so many memories,” she closed her eyes. “That was just the first time I sent you to Canterlot... but not the last.” Rarity walked up and down the platform. “Every time was different, but... I was always sad to see you go... always ecstatic when you came back.”

Sweetie nodded, her eyes following her sibling.

“I’ve never forgotten... when we found out that we would live for so long I... I felt that every time you left might really be the last time...” Her eyes went back to Sweetie. “And now you’re here... after so long, after-” she sighed. “After I did what I did... I-” she stopped, looking down at her cuffs.

Slowly Sweetie walked up to her sister and nuzzled her, letting Rarity rest her head on her shoulder.

The pair remained there, silently waiting for the train to arrive.

o.0.o

Sweetie watched the landscape speed past as she lay on the comfortable seat of the train. Her thoughts, however, were not on the scenery.

What should I do? she asked herself. Rarity really misses me, but I have to find Twilight’s crystal... She sighed. I don’t want to leave her alone, but... what about my Rarity? Is she feeling lonely? Does she even know what happened to me?

The motion of the train slowly calmed her nerves. Her eyelids grew heavy as the world beyond the window slid past.

Rarity stood, impassive, watching over three graves.

“Rarity, sugarcube...” Applejack walked up to her, slowing down to a stop at her side, looking at the tombstones. “The other’s are waitin’... you’ve been here all day. It ain’t good fer ya.”

Rarity said nothing. She simply continued looking down at the three mounds. Absently, her magic righted a small white flower that had been stirred by the wind from its position at the side of the others.

Applejack looked down, her eyes tearing up before she forced herself to look straight at Rarity’s face. “I-”

“She was all I had left, Applejack,” Rarity interrupted. She didn’t look away from the grave. “All the family I had left after mom and dad...” her eyes went to the other two graves before closing her eyes.

“Ah know, but-”

“You still have Big Macintosh, Apple Bloom and Granny Smith!” Rarity snapped, turning to look at the apple farmer in rage. “What do you know about being left alone?”

“Ah know what loss feels like, Rarity!” Applejack retorted after taking a surprised step back. “And ah can tell ya-”

“But you are not alone!” the fashion designer snapped, her angry eyes slowly turning to despair. “She wasn’t supposed to go before I did! She was my younger sister...” she coughed as her knees gave way and she fell down in front of the graves. “She was supposed to discover her special talent long before anything like this happened!” She started shaking. “She was supposed to do great things... she was su-supposed to...”

Applejack said nothing; she simply nuzzled her friend. “Come on. Please. Let’s go with the others... we all are mournin’, Rarity... and we are here for y’all if you let us.”

Rarity nodded as she slowly stood with the farmer’s help. Slowly, the pair turned around and started walking away from the graves. Rarity stopped and looked back over her shoulder and finally broke into gasping sobs.

“Sweetie...” a warm voice slowly penetrated the clouds in her mind. The graveyard faded away as a sudden lurch made the young unicorn’s eyes open.

She blinked, slowly looking around until her eyes settled on the mare to her side.

Rarity’s eyes were warm as she gazed at her, a soft smile in her lips. She carefully moved a stray strand of mane from Sweetie’s face. “We’re almost there.”

Sweetie nodded as she yawned, but her thoughts went back to the dream, now nothing more than a few snippets and half-remembered images.

Why do I suddenly feel so sad? she wondered.

“Okay sis...” she stretched and smiled back at the mare next to her.

I’m so glad I’m with Rarity... I hardly got to spend any time with her before...

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when Canterlot came into view.

It had changed quite a bit. Although there was enough to remind Sweetie of her travels to Canterlot with her sister, the city had expanded. Before, the train would arrive at the edge of the city, but now there were buildings of all sorts around the train station.

The train station itself hadn’t changed much, even if the city had. As they walked out of the train, Rarity motioned for Sweetie to follow her.

o.0.o

The walk to the castle was pretty much the same. Canterlot had existed for a long time and, if things kept going the way they were right now, then it would continue to do so for thousands more. Sweetie had once seen an old drawing of what Canterlot might have looked like several thousand years ago. She was surprised to see a town much smaller than Ponyville. There had been no castle there, but a large wooden structure that had served as a hall for leaders to meet with either Princess... through the years it had grown into the Canterlot she had known... and again, in a brief two hundred years, it had expanded. She shuddered to think how it would look in six hundred years or even a thousand... Her eyes returned to the mare walking next to her, who would, most likely, see that change.

I wonder what's bothering Rarity? Sweetie thought. She’s hardly said anything since we arrived, and it’s already been ten minutes! In all my life, she's only been this quiet when she's asleep!

She decided to probe the waters. “Sis? I've been meaning to ask you... how's Tom doing these days?”

“Hmm?” Rarity didn't look at her. “Oh, he's doing fine dear. I just had dinner with him the other day.”

“With Tom?”

Rarity blinked and stopped then looked down at her sister. “I'm sorry dear, I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention. What were we talking about?”

“Tom... and how you had dinner with him the other day.” Sweetie gave her sister a look.

“Oh...” Rarity grinned sheepishly.

“Sis, is something wrong?”

Rarity sighed. “I... I'll tell you when we get to Twilight, okay, Sweetie?”

Sweetie looked away dejectedly. “Fine.”

The pair made their way in silence once more towards their objective.

Canterlot Castle was huge. It remained the same as far as Sweetie could tell, with Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and the Royal Library being part of the Castle, making the structure even larger.

The older unicorn led Sweetie to one of the entrances. A guard looked up, ready to stop them, but hesitated as he recognized Rarity. After a second, he moved aside, letting them pass. As soon as they had crossed the threshold, Sweetie knew Twilight was in the building. There was something... a feeling all around her... the purple unicorn’s magic seeming to permeate the air itself.

“So this is the Royal Library... you know, last time I was at Canterlot Castle we didn't really get... to... see...” The filly's voice faded as she stood there gaping at all the books. She felt a shudder run down her back.

So much knowledge! She eagerly trotted to one of the bookshelves.

“Oh, wow...” she levitated a thick tome out. “A first edition of 'Secrets of Transmutation Theory' by Phantom Image! Twilight was always complaining that the Library in Ponyville didn't have a copy!”

Rarity blinked in surprise. “Why Sweetie, I didn't remember you being so... studious.”

“Oh, I learned a lot from Twilight...,” Sweetie commented as she searched through the index. “When you left me to study with her, I slowly started to like reading and now...” She smiled at Rarity. “I've been learning so many spells! Oh! And take a look at this!”

As her horn glowed with magic, a small hole in the air appeared and a notebook with a gem-studded cover floated out.

Cautiously, Rarity approached the desk where Sweetie had laid open the notebook beside the old tome. The younger unicorn slid out a parchment with an official Canterlot seal on it.

“Look sis!” Sweetie smiled with obvious pride as she presented the paper to her older sister.

Rarity looked at the parchment in surprise. “Sweetie this is... you were accepted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?”

“Eeyup!” the younger unicorn giggled. “I was surprised too, after the way my test went, although I think I could have done better if Nightmare Moon hadn’t sneezed at the last minute...”

The fashion designer blinked. “I am still rather shocked that you actually knew Nightmare Moon... moreover that you talk about her as though she were just another friend.”

Sweetie chuckled. “Oh, I was scared of her at the beginning, but once I realized she was just a prankster things got a lot easier.”

Rarity shook her head in bewildered amusement, her eyes dropping to the paper in front of her. “Well, congratulations Sweetie, this is certainly a pleasant surprise.”

“Thanks!” Sweetie smiled, then turned back to the tome. “Now, let me take a quick look at this before we go find Twilight, okay? I always wanted to see what she found so interesting about this and-”

“Don't worry, you can take a good, long look at it after we talk,” Twilight said, looking down at the book.

“Aaah!”

The pair of mares looked down at the collapsed younger unicorn with barely contained mirth. “Are you alright, Sweetie?” Rarity asked.

“Why, why, whyyy do you keep doing that to me?” Sweetie whimpered as she slowly stood up.

“Well, if you paid attention to your surroundings, we wouldn't surprise you so much, would we?” Twilight chuckled. “It's nice to see you again, Sweetie, although I really want to know how it is that you've come to be here.”

Rarity looked at Twilight, startled. “You mean-”

“That she's the real deal?” Twilight asked with a small smile. “Yes, she is.”

Sweetie's eyes narrowed. “Wait... what do you mean...” she looked from her mentor to her sister, who shifted guiltily. “Did you... ask Twilight to scan me?”

Rarity sighed, not meeting her sisters gaze. “I'm sorry Sweetie... but... I had to know,” she said, looking up at the younger unicorn. “You have to understand-”

“What, that you didn’t trust me?” Sweetie stepped back, a hurt look crossing her face.

“No!” Rarity quickly hugged her. “Sweetie... my sister died... do you understand? When I saw you again... I couldn't know, as much as I hoped, if you were real or... well...”

“A creation of Discord?” Sweetie whispered dejectedly into her sister's mane.

“Or any of our other enemies,” Twilight sighed. “Don't hold it against her, Sweetie. We’ve all suffered great losses in our lives. Husbands, sisters, children... friends...”

Sweetie remained silent for a moment longer, but finally nodded. “I think I understand a bit...”

Rarity released her from the hug and smiled warmly at her. “Now dear, why don't you tell Twilight and I what happened to you... from the beginning?”

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath. “It all started when my sister had to go on a trip...”

o.0.o

“That's... quite the adventure...” Rarity managed to say after having gaped at Sweetie for the majority of the telling.

Twilight seemed slightly perturbed as well, but, after a deep breath she summoned a quill, ink and paper. “Okay, we should go over some details...”

“Like what?” Sweetie asked.

Rarity smirked. “Like how Twilight and The Great and Powerful Trixie came to share a bed, of course!”

“Right.” Twilight blinked. “Wait! I mean no! What... no! Rarity! You know I'm not into mares!”

Sweetie and Rarity blinked. “You're not?” they asked at the same time.

“No! And I don't think there was ever any doubt!” Twilight snapped. “Now. Sweetie, I'll ask some questions, try to answer them as best as you can, okay?”

“Okay, but-”

“First question,” Twilight interrupted. “Do you remember the names of the items the Princess gave your Twilight?”

Sweetie thought for a second. “No... I just know what I told you; they had something to do with time and space.”

Twilight nodded, scribbling notes down. “Okay, based on your description, I can tell that that item is not part of our Canterlot's Magical Item list. I've pretty much seen them all.” She wrote some more, then looked up. “What happens when you absorb a crystal? Do you jump immediately?”

“No...” Sweetie frowned. “The first time, I talked to my Twilight through the crystal...”

“And this was in that universe where Trixie and I were a couple?”

Sweetie nodded.

“Okay, do you remember what the Twilight in the crystal told you?

“She said... she said that I should draw the magic from the crystal, and that it would take us both home.”

Twilight blinked and quickly wrote a couple of things. “Both of you? Are you sure?”

Sweetie nodded.

Twilight hummed to herself as she finished the notes she was taking. “And tell me, how long did it take you to learn to levitate objects?”

“About... two and a half weeks, I think.”

“And Illusion? Projecting your voice, painting Nightmare Moon's room pink?”

“Uh...” Sweetie tapped her chin with her hoof. “Well, Trixie taught me in a different way, she was all about being hooves-on and practice, practice, practice,” the young mare answered. “But I would say... maybe three days? I could do it by the time we were in Nightmare Moon's Castle.”

“I see... and you learned a new spell there?”

“Yes!” Sweetie replied with a big smile. “You taught me Darkness and Nightmare Moon told me to learn Nightvision.”

Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Really, for a... filly your age, I can tell you that just about every spell you've learned is above the curve of average unicorns. Can you cast Darkness for me?”

“Um... I haven't tried it-”

“I just want you to try, Sweetie,” Twilight smiled. “Go on.”

Sweetie stared ahead for a moment, her mind going back to the lessons she had gone over with another Twilight just a day ago. She closed her eyes and concentrated, mixing the flow of magic in the way the book had illustrated, and remembering every tip that her mentor’s interdimensional twin had given her.

She heard her sister gasp and opened her eyes...

Wait... didn’t I just open my eyes? She tried again, only to realize that her eyes were open and that she was surrounded by a thick inky-black darkness.

“I did it? I did it! On my first try!”

“Well done, Sweetie!” Twilight’s voice came from somewhere beside her. “Now, if you would be so kind as to dismiss it?”

With an invisible nod, Sweetie released the spell and suddenly light again flooded into the room.

“That was impressive, Sweetie!” Rarity smiled. “How many spells do you know now?”

“Seven, I think... if you count the Pocket Dimension spell for my notebook,” Sweetie said.

Twilight wrote down several notes, but looked up to Sweetie. “Well, you know how to summon it, but I wouldn’t count that one as a spell by itself, since the properties that control the hole in space-time are actually part of the notebook.”

“I see... so the spell matrix is in continuous flow inside the gems...”

“Which are tied by the summon spell to your call...” Twilight added.

“but since it is outside of time and space it can travel across the worlds with me -in a manner of speaking- and the spell will release the flow...” Sweetie fell silent when Rarity placed a hoof to her forehead.

“You don’t seem to have a fever...” the fashion designer muttered.

“What?”

“You were rambling, dear.”

Twilight continued to scribble away while Sweetie looked down a sheepish smile in her face. “Sorry.”

“Okay, I have another question Sweetie; have you noticed an increase in the potency of your spells since you started traveling?”

The filly in a mare’s body blinked. “Well... I wasn’t able to levitate that much at first, but now I can levitate heavier things, and the area I painted in Nightmare Moon’s room was directly proportional to the amount of magic applied to it so-”

“That’s a yes,” Twilight finished for her. “Good. I think those are all my questions for now...”

“What are you thinking, Twilight?” Rarity asked, giving her friend a worried glance.

“I’m not sure... I need to study a bit and analyze some of this data... but I think I have a good idea of what’s going on...” she sighed. “Do you think I could borrow your notebook for a bit, Sweetie? I’d like to take a look at the matrix. I promise to take good care of it.”

Sweetie nodded. “Sure!”

Twilight smiled. “Thanks! I’ll need to talk to you both a bit later. I’m finishing up with my packing, and...”

“Ah’m tellin’ ya that Twilight is waiting for me!” a very distinct voice came from the door.

The three watched as Applejack shook off the guard, who after a quick glance at Twilight and a nod from the unicorn, left the earth pony in peace.

“Darn it, why couldn’t he just let me in? He knows who Ah am!” Applejack shook her head, looking towards them. “Heya, Twilight! I’ve come to help you pack! Oh and lookie here, Rarity! Fancy meeting you here, I didn’t know that you were comin’ over!” The farmer chuckled. “And who’s this fine, young-” she stopped cold. Her eyes slowly narrowed as she stared at Sweetie Belle. “What is goin' on here?”

Rarity coughed, uncomfortable with the anger showing in her friend's eyes. “I'm sure you're confused, Applejack, but-”

“Darn right I'm confused!” Applejack growled, stomping down with a hoof as she turned to glare at Rarity and Twilight. “What is she doin' here?” she asked, her head motioning towards Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie gulped. Applejack looked like she was about to jump on her and pummel her into a paste. “A-Applejack, I'm Swee-”

“Shaddup, you!” Applejack snapped, her head whipping to face Sweetie Belle. “Ah don't know what hell-hole ya'll crawled out, but Ah ain't gonna let ya get away with this!” she snorted, lowering her body and widening her stance.

Sweetie Belle took a step back, trembling.

She's going to kill me! she thought in horror. Applejack's eyes betrayed no compassion. When the orange mare took a step forward, Sweetie stepped back. Why are you so angry? What’d I do?

“Applejack, please calm down!” Twilight gasped. “We can explain-”

“This ain’t normal! And there’s no explanation that can justify her bein’ here!” Applejack countered, never taking her eyes from Sweetie as she took another menacing step towards her. “Whatever this thing is, she ain't Sweetie!”

“Applejack, step away from my sister!” Rarity growled.

“Rarity, your sister and my sister are both gone!” Applejack snapped. “Ah know you’ve had a lot of trouble dealin’ with it even now, but this pony... this thing... it ain’t her!”

“Bu-”

“Cut the horseapples!” Applejack growled, pushing Sweetie back with a forceful shove. “Ah'll take care of ya right here and send ya on yer way!”

Oh, Celestia... she's really going to kill me! Sweetie fell on her haunches, cringing as Applejack reared on her hind legs.

Rarity slammed Applejack out of the way, sending her sprawling to the floor as she stood protectively over Sweetie Belle. “You will stay away from my sister!” she hissed.

“Ah ain’t backin’ up! She’s not your sister!”

“Girls!” Twilight shouted, drawing their attention. “Calm down! Look at what you’re doing to Sweetie!”

The younger unicorn had curled up next to the table and was looking at Applejack with a completely terrified expression.

Rarity turned to look back at Applejack with such venom in her eyes that the farmer took an involuntary step back.

“If you ever again threaten her like you did...” Rarity trailed off, the threat hanging in the air. After a second, she looked down to her cowering sister. “Let’s go, Sweetie,” Rarity said softly, slowly nudging the younger mare. “I have a lot of places to show you.”

Slowly, the older mare maneuvered Sweetie around the table, all the time keeping a cold glare on Applejack, just daring her to make a move or say something. “Twilight dear, we will talk later when you are in more... civilized company.”

Twilight could only nod as the pair left, before turning to face her earth pony friend. “What happened there, Applejack?”

Applejack shifted from hoof to hoof. “We have to talk about that filly, Twi... I’ve... I’ve been having dreams about her...”

o.0.o

“Are you okay, Sweetie?”

The younger unicorn didn’t answer; she just kept shivering as they walked.

Rarity sighed. Sweetie Belle had never really had a confrontation like that her whole life--a snarling werewolf was an instinctual enemy after all... however, having someone you loved and trusted about to attack you...

“Why is Applejack so angry at me?” Sweetie finally asked shakily.

Rarity sighed. “I don't know, Sweetie. Applejack has lost a lot of family over the years, and for a pony who comes from a big family... each one has been very hard. Especially Apple Bloom.”

“Just like I was for you...” the younger mare sighed in return.

“But even then, I have never seen Applejack react like this... maybe it's her old superstitious self kicking in... or she merely woke up in a bad mood.” The older unicorn shook her head. “Applejack has always been a firecracker, Sweetie. Let her be for now; Twilight will help calm her down.”

The younger mare seemed doubtful, but nodded. She looked around; they were in an older section of Canterlot, with several buildings in what she could only call a 'classic' style architecture since she knew just next to nothing about it. “Where are we?”

Rarity smiled as she slowed down to a stop in front of a huge building. “This, Sweetie, is the Canterlot Opera House!”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened as she looked at the building before her. This is where her counterpart had learned to sing... where she had become famous.

“Come with me,” Rarity said as she walked to the double doors. She spoke briefly with a clerk whom stared at Sweetie as if she were a ghost. The clerk quickly nodded and soon they were being ushered through the doors.

There were few ponies working in there at the time, but one and all stopped what they were doing to gape at the pair of unicorns, or, more specifically, at Sweetie, who returned their stares with a confused look. “Sis...” she whispered, “why is everypony looking at me like that?”

“Hm?” Rarity looked at the ponies. “You’ll see.”

They turned around another red-carpeted hall and Sweetie stopped. In front of her was a wall display with several pictures of her in amazing dresses performing for thousands of ponies. A plaque with a brief biography was next to a smiling picture.

“There is another, bigger set of pictures, notes and even dresses in the Hall of Great Equestrian Artists,” Rarity noted, smiling at her sister’s expression of awe. “The Opera keeps a few and sometimes rotates them, but yours have been here for quite a long time.”

“Who’s that?” Sweetie asked, pointing at a gray mare playing a cello next to her in one of the pictures. They seemed to have the stage for themselves, Sweetie sang, as the earth pony played.

“That is Octavia,” Rarity said. “You would have been too young in your world to have met her yet. “She played at quite a few Galas. You eventually went to one with me and I became good friends with her when she played background music for a song you sang for the Princesses.”

Sweetie gulped. She slowly traced a hoof on the glass of the picture. So many friends I have yet to meet, so many ponies that changed my life or will change it... Sweetie blinked.

“Wait, you had mentioned her before, along with Fancypants?”

Rarity nodded. “She was very helpful to you; she already had a great deal of influence here and, when you made it in, she wasted no time in making you her protege.”

Sweetie looked at the picture again, now noticing the proud glance the earth pony was directing at her singing counterpart. “Sis... I’d like to hear some of Octavia’s music... and mine.”

Rarity smiled. “This way, Sweetie.”

o.0.o

The hours passed quickly as the pair listened to Sweetie’s songs and Octavia’s cello. The younger unicorn was impressed with the ample variety of genres her counterpart had explored. She had started with classical music; she’d sing arias and play roles in operas... she had done a duet once with a famous singer, gone into pop and even country, which Rarity had sworn was due to hanging around Apple Bloom far too much.

Where are you now? You're so far away
From me, and yet, I can't help but pray

The experience had been overwhelming and humbling. She had listened to herself as she’d grown and succeeded in a very competitive field, and she’d done more than that: she’d become an icon. It was already more than a hundred years since her death, but ponies still listened to her songs.

That you will stand here with me by your side
One day, 'til then I shall try my best to bide

It’s like I suddenly have to live up to this, Sweetie thought, looking at the pensive Rarity as she listened to one of her songs, a piece she had namedHeart’s Lament.Like I have to be as big as I became here... I have to be in the hearts of ponies for generations after my death... She sighed. And if I don’t... if I’m not... what will Rarity think of me? She looked at her sister’s hoofs, encased in their fancy cuffs as the older mare tapped along to the rhythm of the song. A slow feeling of dread overcame her as she looked at them. She remembered having read a horror book at the library once, and how one of the characters... she shook her head.

When I see all that you've done for me
I remember how your love set me free

Sweetie looked at Rarity, the older mare had closed her eyes and was swaying to the music. “Rarity?” When the older mare didn’t answer, Sweetie put a hoof on her sister’s shoulder.

Oh but now, when I'm so far from thee
Will the wind carry you my longing plea?

Rarity started, opening her eyes and looking around before they set on Sweetie. There was a flash of pain in those blue eyes that slowly faded as she looked at her younger sister. “I- I’m sorry, Sweetie I got lost there in your song and...” She was crying. “I’ve always liked this one. I remember when you composed it and-”

I will always wait here my love!
So that we can fly away,
Through the sky above,

Sweetie held her sister close.

Rarity melted into the hug, her words forgotten as she felt the living heartbeat of her sister. She closed her eyes and shuddered as she silently let the tears flow. Sweetie didn’t let her go, even as she covered her sister’s coat with salty tears. Slowly, she raised her forelegs to wrap them around her Sweetie.

And then we will be together for all of time.
Can't you hear and see me pine? You are mine,
For you, are my one true love...

The pair listened silently as the song finished and slowly faded. It was quiet for several minutes, save for the shuddering breaths of the older mare. “I’m sorry, Sweetie.”

The younger unicorn shook her head. “It’s okay... but sis... we need to talk.”

Rarity said nothing as her sister slowly pulled off the cuffs, exposing the scars where she had cut herself.

“Please, sis...” Sweetie said, looking up at her.

Rarity stared at the scars she had intentionally left behind to remember what she had done. She remembered finding Sweetie’s letter... her sister had known. She carefully looked up at Sweetie’s eyes. “I- I don’t know if I can, Sweetie...”

“Please, sis?”

The room was quiet for a few moments, but then...

“I had forced myself not to think about it for years,” Rarity whispered. Had it not been for the absolute silence in the room, Sweetie might have missed it; she remained quiet as her sister slowly spoke. “I tried to pretend it wasn’t going to happen... that I could deal with it when it finally did. So I pushed it to the back of my mind again and again.”

Rarity wasn't looking at her anymore. Her head had turned away and her eyes were fixed on a corner of the room.

“Even after you retired and needed my help to even get to the grocery store... it wasn't going to happen. You were strong in spirit...” She clenched her teeth. “It wasn't fair. You were my younger sister... but... but you were so much older! You knew it was going to happen... you even wrote me a note because you knew how hard I was trying to make it different!”

She started shaking and hugged herself, wrapping her hooves around her trembling body.

“When it finally happened... I- I found you... you looked so calm... happy even. I couldn't- I...” The older unicorn paused, looking for words. “It was... beyond me. I couldn’t understand how you could be gone. The brightest gem I’d ever had... I couldn't do anything to bring you back... you were the one pony keeping me together, Sweetie. And you were gone. Just like that.”

Sweetie shifted in her seat. Oh, sis... why did I have to ask?

“It was like a rock had crushed me. As if I couldn't breathe, but I was still here!” The unicorn closed her eyes in painful remembrance. “I was alone! I was all that was left of our family! I didn't want you gone... all my life I've been generous; I've done everything I can to share what I could to make other ponies happy... but the one time I truly wanted something for me... it was snatched away.”

She fell quiet again, breathing in deeply with her eyes closed. “I didn't want to stay...” Her voice was again a whisper. “I just couldn't. I- I don't know if I could ever justify it, or reason it out. It's not that simple to explain a- a void. Or a heartbreak. Or suddenly feeling like the world ripped away everything from inside of you and left you there to suffer.” Rarity sighed, voice trembling. “And so... when I saw you there... and I realized what had happened... I... I went to my work room and I found the scissors...”

Sweetie was crying as she shook her head in denial.

“I went straight for the artery, I cut as deeply as I could...” Rarity continued in an almost monotone voice. “Fluttershy found me...”

“Stop...” Sweetie hugged her sister.

“... I was late for our weekly spa treatment... she knew I wouldn't miss it unless something was wrong... I think she knew...”

“Stop. Please...” the younger unicorn sobbed. “I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please don't say anything else... I love you sis, please...”

Rarity slowly leaned into the hug. “You were gone. She woke me up... I was lying on my side... there was so much blood... I didn’t want to get up... and then... then I saw your note.”

“I'm sorry I asked, Rarity, please... just stop...”

The older unicorn took a deep breath and opened her blue eyes, looking down at her sister hugging her. For a moment, she felt dizzy, but then she smiled as she hugged Sweetie back.

“I have you back for now, Sweetie,” she whispered. “You're here with me for a bit longer. And this time, when you go... I will be able to say goodbye and farewell.”

o.0.o

The pair left the Opera House shortly after. As the building slowly disappeared behind them, Sweetie looked up at her sister. “Where are we going now, sis?”

“Back to the Library,” Rarity replied. “If Applejack is gone, maybe we can speak with Twilight further.”

“Oh... okay...” Sweetie looked away, unsure. “It’s just... Applejack doesn’t really seem to like me very much and-”

“Don’t worry, Sweetie,” Rarity interrupted. “Applejack won’t do anything to you, I’ll make sure. And I’m sure Twilight would also step in.”

“Okay...”

The pair walked in a congenial silence until they reached the Library. Stepping ahead, Rarity faced one of the guards. “May we speak to Twilight Sparkle?”

The guard blinked. “I’m sorry, Lady Rarity, but Lady Twilight is occupied at the moment. She asked us to let you know that she would meet with you tonight at Lady Pinkamena’s party.”

Rarity nodded and stepped back. “It seems Twilight is busy; most likely experimenting with something to do with your travels...”

“So what do we do now?”

“I think home would be the best choice for now, Sweetie.” Rarity looked at the sun's position. “We have to get ourselves ready for the party, after all.”

Sweetie nodded as she followed her sister. “Rarity? Do you think Applejack will be there?”

The older mare sighed. “I would assume so. But don't worry, I'm sure Twilight put her doubts to rest. She’ll probably be back to her normal, workaholic self.”

The train ride back home was a quiet affair. Physically tired and emotionally spent, both mares made their way to the Boutique and barely had enough energy to slump onto their respective beds.

As she yawned and felt herself slipping away into dreamland, Sweetie's gaze slowly roamed her room.

There are so many things that are just the same... but, I never had that hat back home. Or those little jewelry boxes. Her eyes settled on a chest she had not noticed before. It was half-hidden under a dress that was hanging over it.

But what drew her attention to it was the symbol on the front. It seemed familiar, somehow. It was a musical note, a metal G-clef that appeared to be part of the clasp keeping the chest closed. Sweetie yawned, closing her eyes and wondering what could be inside it.

o.0.o

“I hate her.”

“Rarity!”

“How can you say that?!”

“But... she was your friend...”

“Silly, you don't mean that!”

“Yes I do!” Rarity snapped at Pinkie Pie as she refused to move from her position. “I hate her! She took the only really precious thing from me!”

“We don't know what happened, sugarcube...” Applejack said, placing a hoof on Rarity's shoulder.

The white unicorn pushed it away and stepped back. “Whatever happened, she was in charge! She took Sweetie away from me!”

“I... um... I'm sure it was just an accident...”

“She was responsible for her!” Rarity growled, closing her eyes tightly and lowering her head. “She was supposed to take care of Sweetie while I was gone!”

“Sugar- Rarity...” Applejack coughed as she walked up to the unicorn. “Please, don't do this to yourself. You know that Twilight would have done anything to protect Sweetie. She would never let her near anything she knew was dangerous. You know that.”

“But... what do I tell my parents? How can I stand in front of their graves and hold my head up high? I failed them, Applejack... the one task that they asked of me when it happened...”

“She's with them, Rarity,” Fluttershy's soft voice whispered as she hugged her friend. “And they know everything that happened... they know it was no-pony's fault.”

“Come on, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash's usually confident voice was subdued. “We all miss them... Let's say goodbye together one last time.”

Rarity looked past her friends to the grave that awaited them. A purple-marble slab framed in moon rock had been laid down on the grassy hill. It had a dedication to two very dear friends, from family and friends. It was positioned so that the first rays of the morning sun would shine on it. It looked deceptively simple for all the weight it carried in the hearts of those left behind. But it was still incomplete.

Slowly the group made their way up until Rarity stood at the front of all of them, staring at the slab. She looked back to her friends, who nodded their encouragement. Rarity turned to the slab, her horn lit up as the magic was absorbed into it and her words etched magically on its surface, taking place next to her friend's own thoughts and farewells.

Rarity spoke up as she wrote. “Twilight... I loved you like a sister, and I grew to respect you and eventually to entrust you with my most precious treasure. Whatever happened that day, it took three of the dearest souls I had ever had the fortune of meeting. You and my Sweetie are still together. Take care of her for me, until I can see you both again. And tell Spike that I... I’ll see him there too.

~Rarity”

The unicorn collapsed.

o.0.o

Sweetie opened her eyes slowly, echoes of Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash calling Rarity's name floating at the edges of her consciousness.

She stared at the ceiling as she struggled to remember what she had just seen, but it would not come back to her, despite her knowing that it had been somehow important... very important.

Her eyes returned to the chest she had seen under the dress.

Slowly, Sweetie got out of bed and listened carefully. She could hear the rhythmic breathing coming from Rarity’s room down the hall. Her sister was still asleep.

Carefully moving the dress out of the way with her magic, she stared at the G-Clef in the front. She unlatched it and pushed up the top to reveal stacks of neatly ordered notebooks and papers, a few replacement strings for a musical instrument and an old bow, the same type she had seen Octavia use on her-

“Oh.” Sweetie sat down, staring at what she had in front of her. Levitating one of the notebooks, she opened it up, revealing what she had suspected. Musical notations covered each neat row on each page, lyrics were written under the musical notes with esoteric symbols of their own... she could figure out which called for a longer, sustained note, but there were so many that she couldn’t decipher.

She carefully read through the notebooks, piling them next to the chest. When she reached past them, she found a smaller box, tied shut with a blue ribbon. Undoing it, she discovered several opened envelopes inside, all of them for her, or for the Sweetie Belle of this dimension at least.

Since they didn’t seem to be in a particular order, she took out the first.

Dear Sweetie,

Country music? Really? When I told Vinyl that you had been singing country music with that voice of yours, she did not stop laughing for an hour straight. What were you thinking? I know it was Apple Bloom’s birthday but you don’t use a voice like yours for that kind of music!

I’m sorry, I’m being a bit unfair, it was your best friend’s birthday after all.

It just surprises me, that’s all. You should have seen what Rarity wrote in the letter she sent me! She was, well, shocked is one way of putting it. I myself had to imbibe quite a sum of whiskey to gather my thoughts. A single malt in one gulp...it was almost offensive!

However, I heard that Applejack couldn't stop singing your song after the party, so it seems you've made quite the impression on the genre. I simply hope that perhaps she may see the light and attend the Opera so that she might see you in your natural element. As keen as her ear is for... other genres, it is undoubtedly in our sanctuary of music that yours can raise the heavens themselves.

Well, I just wanted to share my thoughts and see how you were doing. I’ll let you know when we arrive back in Canterlot.

~Octavia

A decidedly less elegant penmareship followed.

Sweetie, this is Vinyl. Octy asked me to put this in the mail and not to read it. But I just have to say: well done, girl! I don’t listen to country myself, but you can’t get caught in that stuffy and uptight cell you and Octy call an ‘Opera House’ forever! If you ever want to try for Electronic, Bronybeat or Techno... you know who to call!

~Scratch

Sweetie blinked at the letter. Rarity had mentioned the country song... had it really been so good and so shocking that it had gotten Applejack singing and Rarity writing worried letters to Octy- Octavia? Sweetie chuckled, wondering where that song could be.

She dug deeper into the chest, finding a few pictures of herself and Octavia. Vinyl Scratch, a pony she only vaguely remembered from one of Pinkie Pie’s parties, was also present in several of them. Somehow, although she felt like she was looking and going through something sacred, to Sweetie it felt... right. As if she were supposed to see these.

She sighed as she started to carefully put away just about everything. As she took a look at the notebooks again, she left one behind along with a picture. Maybe she could copy some of the songs into her own notebook and try and learn them later... As for the picture... Octavia, Vinyl and Rarity stood behind Sweetie in a graduation gown. She looked exactly as she did now, still young and so happy. The other three mares in the picture looked extremely proud, and they smiled honestly and without a care.

Sweetie took a deep breath as she levitated both relics up to the bed with her. It was time to learn... and maybe the spirits of Octavia, Vinyl and her counterpart would inspire and help her find her own talent.

Slowly, she went through the notebook, looking for songs she could maybe learn.

o.0.o

The time for the party arrived almost too quickly.

Before Sweetie knew it, Pinkie Pie was knocking on the door to the Boutique, waking Rarity from her nap.

“Come on, girls!” the pink earth pony giggled as she bounced around them. “We’re gonna be late!”

“It’ll be fine, dear,” Rarity said. “After all, they can’t start without us, right?”

“Oh, but we still have to get there!” Pinkie pouted.

“Where are we going, exactly?” Sweetie asked. “Isn’t the party at Sugarcube Corner?”

“Don’t be silly!” the earth pony smiled. “The party is at Sweet Apple Acres! I convinced Applejack to lend me her barn earlier today!”

Rarity stopped combing her hair and looked at Pinkie with a frown. The party pony looked from her to Sweetie, who seemed to have lost all interest in partying.

“What’s wrong?”

“I- I don’t know if we should go...” Sweetie ventured.

“Why not? I’m sure everypony will be happy to see you!”

“I wouldn’t say that, darling.” Rarity sighed. “I’m afraid Applejack will not be happy to see us there.”

“What? Of course she will!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Did you tell her for who this party was?” Sweetie asked.

“Well no, but-”

“We saw her earlier; trust us, she won’t want us there,” Rarity insisted.

It was then that Pinkie put her hooves on top of the fashion designer's shoulders. “You. Are. Coming. To. The. Party!!!” With each word, the earth pony towered more and more over the white unicorn until she was looking down on her. “Am I clear?”

“Y-yes...” Rarity meeped.

“Good,” Pinkie said. “Because I don’t want my friends to ruin a perfectly fine party over a fight!”

“But... she threatened me and-” Sweetie feebly attempted to say, but stopped the moment Pinkie glared at her. “... and I think I should make up with her becauseotherwisethepartywouldbewasted?”

The earth pony smiled. “Exactly!” she bounced around the room happily. “Now we go to the party! Now we go to the party!” Pinkie sang over and over.

Sweetie and Rarity exchanged amused glances. As soon as their manes were ready, the pair followed the bouncing earth pony towards Sweet Apple Acres.

o.0.o

The inside of the barn had been decorated in festive colors. Balloons abounded and floated freely while confetti randomly fell on and around the guests from somewhere in the rafters.

Fluttershy flinched slightly at a balloon suddenly popping on top of her, which became a rain of colorful paper. “Um... does anypony know why Pinkie organized this party?”

“Well, I don’t know!” Rainbow Dash said with a big grin as she munched on a pickle. “But as long as there’s all this amazing food, who cares?” She proceeded to pick out another pickle from her ice-cream while her mate, Vespa, looked at the mix with a slightly disgusted look. When offered some, he vehemently shook his head.

“I’ll uh... get some crackers...” he coughed as he turned around and made a bee-line for the food table.

Twilight smiled. It was great to see all of her friends in a more relaxed party so soon after she had decided to come back to Ponyville. They all seemed to be in a good mood... well, all except one.

Her eyes turned to Applejack, who stood separate from the group, drinking shots from some unidentified source.

“What’s got her in a bad mood anyways?” Dash asked, walking up to Twilight. Her belly was beginning to show and she was starting to waddle more than walk.

Twilight sighed. “I think it’s because of the reason behind the party...”

“So you do know why it is!” the Wonderbolt leaned closer to Twilight, a glint in her eye. “Well then, why don’t you tell-”

“Weeeeeeee’reeeee heeeeeereeee!” Pinkie sang as she slammed the door open, missing the sulking Applejack by mere inches.

The two pegasi watched in anticipation as Rarity made her way in, followed by somepony they had never expected to see again.

“Oh... my...” Fluttershy said, her eyes wide as she stared incredulously at the second unicorn to walk in.

“Buh-” Rainbow Dash’s mouth fell open. Slowly she made her way to Sweetie Belle and jabbed her with a hoof, eliciting a soft ‘ouch’. “You’re... you’re real...”

Sweetie Belle looked at the pegasus with no small amount of surprise. “Rainbow Dash? You’re... pregnant?!” She turned to face Rarity. “She’s pregnant!”

Rarity chuckled. “Why, yes, I suppose she is.”

“But, you knew!” the younger unicorn accused.

“You didn’t really expect that you would be the only surprise in the party, did you?” Pinkie Pie grinned.

“But, I-” Sweetie couldn’t think of what to say, and so she stared back at the staring pegasus.

“But... how can this be?” Fluttershy turned to ask Twilight. “Sweetie’s...” she stole a glance at Rarity. “Well... she’s...”

“She is Sweetie Belle,” Twilight said. “Just not our Sweetie, you see-”

“Darn right she ain’t!” Applejack interrupted, walking unsteadily towards the group and having only heard the last part of the conversation. “Our Sweetie is dead! Jus’ like, jus’ like Apple-” she growled. “An’ Scoot-all-loo, an’ mah brother an’-”

“Applejack...” Twilight interrupted, placing a hoof on her friend. “Calm down, I already explained to you that-”

“Shaddup!” The apple farmer snarled at her friend, who took a surprised step back. “Ah’ know what ya’ll said! An’ it still don’t make any sense! What kinda idiots do you take us for with all your blabberin’ fancy words an’ magical theo...” She frowned. “Things.” She shook her head.

“Theories.”

“Them! Those. Ya’ll know what ah mean!” Applejack glared at something next to Sweetie, who pressed against Rarity, flinching under the bleary gaze of the apple farmer.

“Ya’ll come over here, an’... an’ I’ve known that ya’ll would, ‘cause, ah dreamed how ya’ll...”

“Applejack,” Fluttershy carefully put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “You’re drunk.”

“No, I ain’t!” Applejack said, shaking her friend’s hoof off her shoulder and marching up to the wall, where a pony sized picture of a pony rump without a tail which was lying close by for a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-pony was. “An’ ya’ll better face me when ah’m talking to ya! Ah know yer not the real Sweetie!” she poked the poster. “Ah’m talking to ya! Turn around!”

“Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said as she, Sweetie and Rarity joined the group. “I think you better explain how Sweetie Bell can be here.” She intentionally faced away from Applejack, who continued glaring and snapping at the poster.

As Twilight led the group way from the drunk farmer to explain what Sweetie had said, the unicorn in question slowly stepped from the group and turned to look at Applejack.

“...and it ain’t fair that yo-you came ‘ere and- and you didn’t bring mah sister with ya!” the earth pony half-sobbed, half-accused the poster. “Ah’ been havin’ dreams of mah Apple Bloom an’ ya’ll, sure as hay it was you in mah dream, havin’ no cutie mark or-” She hiccuped and fell on her rump. “Why? Why is it just... you?”

Sweetie sat beside the drunk mare. “I’m sorry I’m not the one you wanted to see...”

“Yer not sorry,” Applejack slurred angrily at the poster. “Yer just sayin’ that ta make me feel better, buh-t it ain’t gonna work! Ah’m onto ya!”

“Applejack...” Sweetie began. “When I arrived, I expected to see Apple Bloom and Scootaloo... I just saw them two days ago! I really just happened to land here where my best friends have been gone for so long and my sister... she-” Sweetie bit down on her lip, not wanting to say it.

Applejack was silent.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be her or that she wasn’t with me when I arrived.” Sweetie sniffed. “I see all of you, and I sort of know you but you don’t know me... not even Scootaloo or Apple Bloom.... they know the ‘me’ from their world... but they don’t know me.”

When Applejack didn’t say anything, Sweetie sighed, looking down at the floor. “I’m not making sense...” she said after a moment. “I wish you would believe me... when I heard that Apple Bloom was gone... I felt like I had been struck with a brick. She and Scootaloo have always been more than friends to me... they’re my sisters.”

Sweetie closed her eyes. “It’s not fair that I have to see their faces and wonder if they will believe me, or if they will be my friends still if I told them what had happened, or if they would think I was something else trying to possess their friend... I don’t know why this is happening.” She watched despondently as her tears wet the floor. “How many times will I go somewhere and find out they died? Will it always hurt? Do I want it to stop hurting?” she sobbed. “I just want to go home. I want to be with my Rarity. I want to keep studying with my Twilight. I want to see my Applejack organize another Sisterhooves Social! I wa-”

She stopped when a hoof was pressed against her mouth. Sweetie opened her eyes and followed the hoof and foreleg to their owner: Applejack.

“Ah don’t know why ah’m so angry at y’all... ah bet I was just overworked...” Applejack offered. “And ah know I can be right stubborn at times.” she stumbled as she moved a bit closer. “And that ah shouldn’t drink as much as ah did tonight. But ah do know something else... when ah met you, ah knew y’all weren’t a bad filly... Ah just didn’t want to believe that you could be here when mah sister ain’t. But that’s not your fault.” Applejack sighed. “Ah miss her like... ah have no idea how to even say. She ain’t coming back... ah thought I’d dealt with it... but ah was wrong. Deep inside me, ah still want her back... that ain’t gonna change neither.”

“I’m sorry,” Sweetie repeated. “I don’t know what to do.”

Applejack was silent for a few moments. “Come with me.”

o.0.o

“... and I think that’s the reason Sweetie is travelling all over different dimensions and yet seems to find herself close to us, or at least our interdimensional counterparts.” Twilight stated.

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “That gave me and my foal a headache. Is there an easier way to explain it?”

“I think I got it!” Pinkie Pie laughed. “It’s just like an onion! Everything has layers and they make you cry, but I heard that if you soak them after peeling the skin it helps, but it never did when I tried! But Sweetie is jumping between layers and because it’s the same onion, the universe just seems very similar!”

Twilight blinked. “That’s a very interesting theory, Pinkie, but it has absolutely nothing to do with what I was-”

“Wait...” Rarity stopped Twilight. “Did you hear that?”

Twilight quieted down and the whole group listened carefully.

I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I'm a hopin' for Ralneigh
I can see my baby tonight

“There it is again!” Rarity whispered urgently. “It sounds familiar!”

“Has anypony seen Sweetie and Applejack?” Fluttershy asked, looking around the barn, where only Vespa stood apart from them.

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me

“It’s coming from outside! Let’s go, everypony!” Pinkie shouted.

“I hope they’re both okay...” Rarity said worriedly over a few more words coming from outside.

The group made their way to the doors, where they stopped and looked outside. In the darkness, seating over several piles of hay, Applejack strummed a guitar as she and Sweetie sang to the sky, seemingly lost in the moment.

Oh, the North country winters keep a gettin' me now
Lost my money playin' poker so I had to up and leave
But I ain't a turnin' back
To livin' that old life no more

Twilight chuckled. “Well, it seems we were worrying over nothing, right?”

“I wish she had chosen another song...” Rarity sighed. She looked up as Rainbow Dash brushed past her. “Rainbow? Where are you going?”

The pegasus snorted and looked back briefly at her. Dash’s eyes were a bit watery, but her grin didn’t leave her face. “Where do you think? I’m gonna sing too!”

“What?” the fashion designer blinked. “Why?”

Rainbow Dash faced the singing pair. “Scootaloo joined the chorus that time... remember?”

Rarity and the others exchanged glances.

“Mac played the banjo... I had never heard him play before...” Fluttershy reminisced.

“Spike nagged me all night to cast that spell so he could play the fiddle for a few hours...” Twilight sighed.

“It was the best birthday party ever!” Pinkie nodded.

Rarity smiled as the three mares joined the others on top of the hay before walking up to them herself. “Sweetie sang beautifully... even if it was country.”

Vespa looked at the group with a small grin on his face. “Ponyville mares are all crazy. Grandma Scootaloo was right.”

He watched in silence as the seven mares sang into the night, tears flowing freely as they all hugged each other. A traveller bringing memories that the six immortals held dear within themselves...

So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me

They sang to the night, remembering, crying, hugging and hoping.

o.0.o

The next morning, Sweetie decided that she was never going to drink alcohol again in her life. She groaned as she rolled over on the floor to lie on her back, her stinging eyes taking in the inside of the barn.

“How can they drink that stuff over and over again if this happens the next day?” she groaned.

A snore drew her attention to the pile of hay where Rainbow Dash and Vespa were sleeping.

“Wait, Grandma Scootaloo did what?” Vespa asked, eyes wide. “She never told me that!”

“Well, what did you expect?” Rainbow Dash laughed. “You were just a foal back then.”

The pegasus, who bore a striking resemblance to Scootaloo, blushed. “But... I was the same age as she was when she got the weasels into the barrel of cider!”

“Eh, ponies were made of sterner stuff back then,” Rainbow Dash said, punching her partner on the shoulder playfully. “But I’m more intrigued by what happened in the last world you were in, Sweetie; you said that Scootaloo put cling-wrap on the toilet to prank Nightmare Moon?”

“I’m too drunk for this...” Vespa moaned.

Sweetie chuckled as she turned to her stomach. She saw Fluttershy lying next to Twilight. Both mares had gotten completely plastered and were snoring blissfully away.

“Big Mac?!” Twilight sat down with a painful sounding thud. Her magic levitated a cup, filling it up with cider before she downed it in a single gulp.

“Well, I never saw you two do anything but... well, he visited a lot and you blushed when he walked away and you stared at him and-” Sweetie started to explain, but was interrupted.

“Oh, my.” Fluttershy, also blushing, took a sip of her third cup. “I... well, Big Mac was such a gentlecolt... you could have done worse, Twilight.”

“But-” the purple unicorn cringed. “Fluttershy, I swear that I never-”

“His heart was so big...” Fluttershy hiccuped, clearly drunk. “I think he had enough love in him for more than one mare... I used to wonder if I was enough for him...”

Twilight put down another downed cup. “Ah’m telling you that- I’m telling- you see, I never did anything with him, you know?”

Fluttershy sniffed. “...and he would always tell me that I was jus’ bein’ silly, ‘cause he only had eyes for me and...”

“... I mean, it’s not that he wasn’t attractive but...” Twilight paused to drink another cup. “He’s mah best friend’s colt, and I would never... I mean... maybe- no! I would never-”

“But, I mean, Twilight might have been a good choice and, well, I really love her too and-” Fluttershy had finished her cup and was tapping her hoofs together.

Twilight sniffed, looking down miserably at the latest cup as it spilled what remained of its contents on the floor. “I never really got to know anypony like that and...” she suddenly hugged Fluttershy, who hugged her back. “I love you Fluttershy! I would never, ever steal your stallion!”

“I love you too, Twilight,” Fluttershy sniffed. “I think I might’ve even shared with you some-” whatever the pegasus was about to say would forever remain a mystery for Sweetie because at that moment Fluttershy passed out on top of Twilight. The purple unicorn was overwhelmed by the dead weight and fell back.

“Uh... Twi? Twilight! You okay?” Sweetie asked. Her only response was a snore. She slowly backed away.

Next to her Applejack kicked in her sleep, barely missing the table, and Rarity cuddled closer when she felt her shifting.

“I fear she will have quite the headache tomorrow.” Rarity said, taking a drink from her cup as she levitated a sheet to cover the snoring Applejack.

“Will she be alright?” Sweetie asked as Rarity served herself another cup.

“She’ll be fine, darling.” The older unicorn smiled at Sweetie. “Immortal, remember?”

Sweetie laughed. “I guess that’s true... now I-” she stopped when a cup full of punch was shoved her way.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Rarity glared at Pinkie Pie, who simply blew a raspberry at her in response.

“Why not?” Pinkie asked, smiling at the pair. “She’s an adult right now! And we’re all having fun!”

“She might look like an adult, but she isn’t!”

“Oh, don’t be such a stick-in-the-mud!” the earth pony giggled. “Come on! We’ve seen enough in our lives to know she’ll be okay!”

“I don’t think- Sweetie!” Rarity gasped as her younger sister chugged down the punch.

“Ugh... what’s that stuff?” Sweetie asked.

“Rum!” Pinkie Pie supplied, pushing another glass at her until she took hold of it with her magic. “Now, let’s play a drinking game!”

Sweetie winced. “I’m never drinking again. Ever!”

“Aw, it wasn’t that bad, was it?” Pinkie asked. When Sweetie had recovered from her fright, the earth pony chuckled. “A bit tense? Here, have one of my special ‘Day-after Cupcakes!’”

“Thank you.”

Sweetie quietly observed the ball of energy that was Pinkie Pie as she moved around the barn, waking up the others and offering them their morning treat.

Huh, this really is helping... she thought as she munched on the cupcake.

In short order, the group was awake and as alert as they could be with only the cupcakes in their stomachs.

“Well, that was some party,” Applejack chuckled weakly.

“It was fun!” Pinkie agreed.

“It certainly was,” Twilight said with a smile. “I really missed all of you. I’m glad I’m back in Ponyville.”

The group shared a smile.

Sweetie sighed. “I guess I should start trying to figure out where the fragment is... as much as I love being with all of you, I have to get back home.”

Rarity winced, looking sadly at her younger sister.

Sweetie immediately noticed. “I’m sorry, sis, I don’t mean that I don’t want to stay with you but-”

Rarity stopped her, placing her hoof softly on Sweetie’s lips. “Don’t apologize, Sweetie,” she said. “I am glad I got to see you here and that we spent this time together. I’ll help you look for the fragment, don’t worry.”

“We’d love to stay, but we have to go back to Wonderbolt HQ...” Rainbow Dash said, smirking at the groggy Vespa. “Some of us have some training to do!”

“Ugh...” the male pegasus groaned.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie” Twilight said, stepping forth. “We can deal with this a little later. We should all go home and clean up first, then I’ll meet you all in the library.” She looked at Rainbow Dash and Vespa. “I think you can stay for a couple of hours longer, right?”

The pair exchanged a glance and nodded. “I think we can,” Rainbow Dash said, looking at the unicorn. “What do you have in mind?”

“Oh, you’ll see!” the unicorn said with a smile.

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle sat on her bed. The only sound in Carousel Boutique was that of Rarity taking a shower.

Lying on the sheets was the picture of Sweetie, Rarity, Octavia and Vinyl during ‘her’ graduation. It was in good condition, not having seen the light of day that much... but there was more to it.

This picture represented the culmination of something that Sweetie was still trying to understand: finding your true talent and becoming even better at it. It represented years of struggle, of study, of mentoring, of friends and family.

I’m not even out of school yet. Sweetie thought with a sigh.

She looked at the mirror, admiring the image of the young adult unicorn looking back at her. Suddenly, she felt very lonely in a body that seemed truly alien to her.

But... if I am jumping from body to body and getting a new one each time, what happened to my own-

“Sweetie!” Rarity called, interrupting the horrible thoughts that were beginning to course through Sweetie’s mind. “I’m ready! Do you want to go to the Library now?”

“Oh... yeah...” Sweetie called back half-heartedly, pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind along with so many other things she didn’t want to think about.

Rarity walked into the room, smiling. “Well then, let’s go!” As she looked down at the picture on the bed, her smile faltered for a second. “I- I haven’t seen that picture in such a long time.”

Sweetie looked at it. “You all look so proud...”

“And we were!” Rarity chuckled. “It was... it was such an amazing day...”

"I hope I get to make my Rarity as proud as she made you..." Sweetie sighed. "Someday...”

Rarity hugged her for a brief moment. “Sweetie... I am sure that you will do just fine once you find your talent,” she said. She sighed and pondered for a moment. “Why don’t you take that picture with you? Can you do that?”

Sweetie nodded, surprised. “Yeah, if I put it inside my notebook...”

Rarity smiled. “Well then, take it with you when you go, dear.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course!” Rarity chuckled. “I wouldn’t offer it otherwise!”

Sweetie looked at the picture for a moment, then smiled. “Thanks, sis!”

“Anytime... sis.”

o.0.o

Twilight looked around at the group gathered in her Library. Once everypony had had time to eat breakfast, take a shower and get ready, they all felt like new ponies.

“Thank you for coming... and waiting in your case, Rainbow Dash, Vespa.”

The pair of pegasi nodded, still waiting for Twilight to explain why they were all there.

“About two hundred years ago, shortly after Fluttershy and Big Macintosh had married, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna asked us to gather together, including your husbands, to talk about very serious matters...” Twilight’s voice cracked . “That day we found out we were immortal.”

The others were silent, remembering the emotionally charged moment when they had realized that all they loved would cease to be in their lifetimes.

“I asked Spike to take care of the Library and left to take a long walk. I remember I was thinking of my parents...” Twilight smiled sadly. “Back then, I already had my suspicions about myself, after all I’d had an anvil land on my head and break my neck... only to be completely fine the next minute... but I never thought until then that I might not be the only one, or that it had been a freak magical accident.

“And so, thinking about that, my hooves took me to that same spot where Derpy had accidentally dropped her cargo on me. I sat down and thought hard about what would happen now. I was sad, but I was also ecstatic.” She chuckled. “After all, I would have all the time in the world to study and all the time in the world to learn more about magic and be with the Princess and my friends...

“But then... then I thought again of my parents. I always knew I would lose them at some point. I hoped it would take a long time but... being immortal it would almost feel like days to me. I thought about my other, non-immortal friends, about Fluttershy and Applejack watching their loved ones fade away... and it was during that moment that I noticed something reflecting the light of the sun... the glint caught my eye and I felt... a compulsion to reach for it.”

Twilight’s horn glowed with energy and a small wooden box levitated towards them. “For the longest time I thought it was simply a strange crystal...” The hatch opened, revealing a purple, jagged crystal. Sweetie gasped.

“But, as I studied it, off and on during the years, I discovered that it was almost... aligned to me... I could perform even stronger feats of magic while in proximity to it... sometimes my thoughts were clearer. Sometimes it was as if I had discussed what I was thinking with somepony else and an epiphany had come.” She studied the crystal for a moment. “After I met Sweetie, and heard her story, I immediately realized what this was... and that it had been waiting for her.” She looked to the young unicorn, who was staring at the crystal. “Sweetie... the crystals that you are absorbing are increasing your magic and your ability to learn... I don’t know how many fragments there are, but I want you to be careful.”

“What do you mean, Twilight?” Sweetie asked, tearing her eyes away from the crystal to look at the purple unicorn.

“I don’t know how it is affecting you beyond knowledge and power,” Twilight explained. “It’s imperative that you don’t absorb too many... or you might be overwhelmed by it.”

Sweetie gulped. “But... it’s the only way I know to travel between worlds...”

Twilight winced. “I know. I wish I had more to tell you, or that I had realized what this was a long time ago so that I could have studied it more closely. However, during your travels, don’t hesitate to tell any other me you might meet about them... they might have better understanding than I did, or even ask the Princesses.”

Sweetie nodded.

“So...” Rarity spoke up. “This is goodbye then?”

Sweetie cringed. She looked back to her sister, who was looking at her with a sad smile. “I- I think so, sis...”

The other mares in the room exchanged glances.

“Ah’m sorry about doubting you and threatening ya’ll,” Applejack said, stepping up to Sweetie and giving her a hug. “Ah’m glad ah got to spend some time with ya’ll last night.”

“Me too...” Sweetie said, returning the hug. “I’ll always remember that song.”

“Make sure ya do!” Applejack smiled. “Ah’m sure all other Applejacks out there will like it.”

Fluttershy was next, gently nuzzling Sweetie Belle. “Take care... and... take care of Big Mac in whatever world you see him for me...”

Sweetie chuckled. “I will.”

Pinkie Pie’s hug was so strong she pushed out all the air out of Sweetie’s lungs. “You should come back someday and have another party with us!” she laughed. “And remember, true friendship lasts forever!”

Sweetie Belle was still taking deep breaths when she felt Rainbow Dash’s hoof in her mane. The Wonderbolt smirked. “It was awesome to talk to you about Scoots and stuff that happened back in the day!” She laughed. “I had almost forgotten all about that Mare-do-Well fiasco. Take care, kiddo.”

Vespa smiled. “It was nice to finally meet you, Sweetie Belle. Granny Scoots used to tell me a lot about you.”

One by one the ponies walked out of the library after saying their goodbyes, leaving Sweetie Belle alone with Rarity and Twilight.

“Sweetie,” Twilight carefully laid the small wooden box on the table. “I also should return this.” Sweetie’s notebook floated up to them. “I added a couple of spells to it... it was very interesting to study! We have very different Spell Matrix designs in this universe, but it was easy enough to include what I wanted.”

Sweetie looked at her notebook. “So... what’s different now?”

“I included a spell that lets you ‘record’ your voice into the page, and another to allow you to have more pages included.” Twilight said with a proud smile. “That way you don’t have to worry about running out of space when taking notes!”

Sweetie smiled as she opened the book. Three pages were completely white except for a large G-clef on them. She looked at Twilight quizzically.

“That’s what happens when you record a song in there,” Twilight explained. “The page cannot be used again. All you have to do to play the music is press your horn against the note and it will play.”

Sweetie hugged Twilight. “Thank you... I don’t know how to tell you how much this means to me...”

“You already have, my student,” Twilight smiled into Sweetie’s mane. “Take care of yourself, and never stop learning.”

“I will...” Sweetie stepped back. “I promise.”

Twilight nodded and walked out of the library, leaving the sisters alone.

“I will miss you so much, Sweetie.” Rarity said, looking down. “But I won’t be the same as I was... I am stronger now, and it’s in no small measure thanks to you.”

“Me?” Sweetie blinked.

Rarity nodded. “Your stay here, although short, brought back a lot of memories... all of them good and dear to my heart. I realized a long time ago that what I did when you died was stupid... but even so, I’ve clung to my work and hidden behind my friend’s lives, living through Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie... thanks to you... I think I can finally close that chapter of my life and move forward.”

Sweetie smiled. “Are you going to go look for a coltfriend now?”

Rarity laughed as she warmly embraced her sister. “I just might,” she sniffed. “I just might.”

“Thank you for everything, sis,” Sweetie Belle murmured into her sister’s mane. “I love you.”

Rarity closed her eyes, letting a few tears slip out as she buried herself deeper into the embrace. “And I love you, Sweetie. Always.”

Sniffing, Sweetie stepped back, her horn alight with magic. First she slipped the picture she had found into her notebook, then let it pop out of existence. She then levitated the purple fragment up to her. She closed her eyes and let herself merge with it.

“Sweetie?” Twilight’s voice echoed in the darkness.

“I’m here, Twi... I’m trying to get you back together.”

“I’ve been here a long time, waiting for you...”

“I know,” Sweetie said. “Two hundred years... sorry I’m so late.”

“Oh no, I learned a lot from myself!” Twi’s voice chuckled. “Let’s go home.”

Rarity watched as her sister’s form slowly turned into motes of light that spiraled around each other. Her body trembled as tears formed in her eyes.

“I’m sorry I did what I did!” she suddenly said, a bit desperately at the fading unicorn. “I love you so much, Sweetie! I thought I couldn’t live without you! I’ll never make you sad again! I’ll never do something so stupid! I will always remember you and I know now that in many other places you live on, having adventures! I’ll never let myself

Startled, Sweetie opened her eyes as the motes of light almost completely dispersed. She smiled and mouthed two, simple words.

I know.

o.0.o

The first thing Sweetie noticed was the sound of a shower running. She opened her eyes and immediately recognized the shower in Carousel Boutique.

So, another world... she sighed. Well, it seems that the ‘me’ from here was about to take a shower... might as well finish doing it... I haven’t taken one since Nightmare Moon got my mane all sticky.

Sweetie walked up to the curtain and opened it. She stared at the mirror. That’s odd. We didn’t have a mirror inside the shower back home. This is... different.

She stared at her reflection. There was something odd about it. She seemed to have a slightly different build in this world. She blinked. My mirror self’s hair is wet... her eyes widened. Mirror images don’t get wet!

Sweetie took a step back, just as the colt in the shower did too, slipped and fell on his rump. They stared at each other.

“Oh Celestia...”

“Oh Solaris...”

“A COLT!”

“A FILLY!”

A soft knock on the door made them turn away from each other and look towards the entrance. A soft male voice could be heard above the din of the shower.

“Silver? I heard you shout! Is everything okay?”

o.0.o End Chapter 3 o.0.o

A/N: You can read it here.

“Wagon Wheel” By Old Crow Medicine Show

“Heart’s Lament” Lyrics by Trevor

Next chapter: On A Cross and Arrow

OAC&A: April Fools

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

Chapter 5: On a Cross And Arrow

By Wanderer D

Based on the Original Story by Conner Cogwork

Warning This is the APRIL FOOL'S CHAPTER!

o.o.o

“Sweepy? I heard you shout! Is everything okay?” Elusive called again.

Both Sweetie and Sweepy looked at each other, eyes wide.

“I-” Sweetie stammered.

“We’re-” Sweepy sputtered. “I-”

“Okay, I’m coming in!” the voice said and the door knob started to turn.

Sweepy panicked and grabbed Sweetie, pulling her into the shower and behind the curtain as the door opened and Elusive walked in, eyebrow arched.

“I thought I heard something, Sweepy,” he said, stopping and looking around the bathroom.

Sweepy smiled, grinning like an idiot and struggling to keep Sweetie under the shower and behind the curtain. “Uh, you did? W-well, yeah... I- I dropped the soap!”

Elusive looked at him blankly. “You... dropped the soap and screamed like a little filly?”

“Y-yeah! Uh, Scooteroll once told me what happens to pretty-faced stallions in prison when they drop the soap and-”

Elusive started sputtering and coughing as he shook his head in disbelief. “He what?! How did he hear- no, wait...” he took a deep breath and glared at his younger brother. “Sweepy...”

The colt smiled. “Yes, Elusive?”

“Why is the shower-curtain moving like you’re hiding a pony behind it?”

Sweepy looked to the side, where the curtain was being pushed outwards by Sweetie’s hoofs as she tried desperately to get out of the water and the shower. “Uh... because... because of... the... uh, vapors?” he suggested lamely.

With a sigh, Elusive conjured up his magic and the curtain was pushed aside. “Now, I’ve told you before that you three can...” he stared. “Oh, my... Sweepy, is that a filly in the shower with you?”

Sweetie glared at Sweepy, using one of her hooves to push away the wet mane from her eyes. “The hay were you thinking?!”

“I don’t know!” Sweepy countered, looking back at her. “What did you expect me to do?”

“Something other than throwing me into the water just like that!” Sweetie snapped. “Aw... my mane is really wet now!”

“Well, you just appeared in here! What was I supposed to think! Besides, I don’t even know you!” Sweepy retorted, shaking his head.

Elusive tried to hide a smile. “Well, she does look familiar. I wonder...” he took a couple of steps towards them, his magic flaring again to turn off the shower and wrap a pair of towels around both youngsters.

Sweepy and Sweetie glared at each other from under the towels.

“Yeah... I think I do recognize you from somewhere...” Sweepy finally said. “Have you been to Ponyville before?”

“I live here!” Sweetie huffed.

“Well, I’ve never seen you before!”

“Well, I haven’t seen you either!”

“Now, now, Sweetie, Sweepy, just dry yourselves and we can talk a bit before bed time, okay?” Elusive instructed calmly.

“Okay, Elusive...” Sweepy sighed as he started drying himself.

Sweetie, for her part, was staring at Elusive, towel forgotten. “Wait... how did you know my name?”

Elusive’s smile grew as his eyes twinkled in excitement. “Oh, I just knew it! This is the BEST POSSIBLE THING!”

She stared at the grinning stallion in front of her, staring as those familiar words echoed in her brain. Nopony else used those words except her sister. And this stallion... white, purple mane, blue eyes... was he actually...

“R... R-Rarity?”

and everything faded to black.

o.o.o

As her blurry eyes adjusted to the light around her, Sweetie could just make out voices, although she couldn’t understand what was being said. Her eyes tried to focus on a pony that looked familiar. Purple coat, dark blue for the mane, with dark pink and violet highlights.

“Twi- Twilight?” she groaned, closing her eyes. “What happened? I had the weirdest dream that Rarity was a stallion...” She tried to sit up. “Did I cast too many spells again? Why am I lying down?”

“It’s okay, Sweetie Belle, you just passed out,” a voice said soothingly.

Not recognizing the voice, Sweetie’s eyes snapped open as she looked around. She was in the library, everything was the same as normal except...

“Twilight! You- you’ve been turned into a colt! Did I mess up a spell!?”

Dusk chuckled, settling back. “No, Sweetie, it’s okay, my name is Dusk, and I am Twilight’s counterpart... you see, you are in a world that is just like your own, only everypony that is a filly in your world, is a colt here.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened. “You mean...” she looked around again, noticing Elusive looking at her. “That’s... Rarity? Only, a colt?”

Elusive nodded. “That’s right, Sweetie. Rarity told me about you, and that’s why I knew who you were.”

“Oh... so you’ve met Rarity?” Sweetie shook her head. “I thought I was the only pony travelling to different worlds!”

“Well, we managed to send her home, and I think I’ve almost got the spell ready to send you home too,” Dusk said.

Sweetie’s eyes were wide open now. “Really?! You can do that?! I thought I’d be stuck bouncing around dimensions for a while!”

Dusk chuckled. “It’s no problem. We have everything ready, but we wanted you to be awake so that you wouldn’t have any trouble getting home once we send you to your world.”

“So what do I do?” Sweetie asked.

“Just, stand right there...” Dusk pointed to a mostly empty area of the library, where a vase stood. “I’ll begin casting the spell now.”

“Okay!” Sweetie hurried to take her position as Dusk’s horn started glowing.

The vase next to Sweetie started glowing and energy extended from it, creating a magical field around Sweetie.

“Sweetie, say hello to Rarity for us!” Elusive cried.

“I will!” Sweetie Belle promised.

The field started shining brighter and brighter. “We’re almost done!” Dusk shouted.

At that moment, a pink flash of energy sent both colts flopping to the floor.

Dusk gasped as he struggled to stand up, he looked towards the vase to find it broken, with no sign of Sweetie.

“Sweetie?!” Elusive turned to look at Dusk worriedly. “What happened?!”

“I... I don’t know? Maybe she made it?” Dusk shook his head.

A feminine laugh, derisive and rather maniacal filled the library. “Oh, she made it alright!”

Dusk’s head whipped around in surprise, looking for the origin of the voice, which he couldn’t mistake anywhere. “Eris! Show yourself! What’d you do to Sweetie?”

“Oh, Dusk, always soooo serious! She’s fine! I just sent her to another world!” Eris said, her disembodied head floating out of the bookshelf, grinning like an idiot as it bounced through the air.

The rest of her body opened the door to the library, stepped in, closed it and walked up to them before Eris’ head floated down and reattached itself.

“Eris! This is serious! She’s just a filly; she can’t deal with your craziness! She’ll get killed!”

The draconequus laughed. “Oh, Elusive, you kill me! She’s scheduled to stop at the Wastelands next anyways; Don’t think that filly is as useless as you think she is!”

“She’s scheduled to go where?” Dusk shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but-”

He stopped when Eris’ finger gently pressed against his lips. His eyes widened as she batted her eyes at him. “It’s okay, honey, let’s see what she’s up to, okay?”

Elusive snorted. “And how are we going to do that exactly?”

Eris grinned and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, in a puff of pink smoke, the three of them were sitting in a pair of loveseats, Elusive comfortably settled on a smaller, normally shaped one, while the larger of the two, shaped like an enormous heart, had sloping sides that sent Eris sliding into Dusk’s lap.

The lights had dimmed and there was a bowl of popcorn in between Eris and Dusk. “Well, TV of course!” she laughed, pointing at a large screen that had suddenly appeared.

o.o.o

“Oof!”

Sweetie landed painfully on a metallic surface of some sort.

“Ow, where am I?” she gasped.

“I have a better question for you,” a strange creature asked. “How did you get inside the TARDIS?”

“The whatnow?” Sweetie slowly stood up. “I don’t know. I think Dusk must have messed up the interdimensional travel spell.”

“Well, it’s highly unusual, let me tell you that,” the creature said, hurriedly running from one side of the room to another. “But, if some sort of teleportation went wrong, I shouldn’t be surprised; the TARDIS seems to be a beacon for strange occurrences.”

“So... I’m in a TARDIS... and who are you again?”

“I’m The Doctor.”

“Oh, I’m Sweetie Belle!”

The creature stopped. “Aren’t you going to ask me for the rest of my name?”

“No... should I?”

The Doctor chuckled. “Guess not. Well, Sweetie Belle, we’re about to arrive in the early 800s in England.”

“England? Where’s that? Is it near Equestria?”

The Doctor blinked. “Equestria? Never heard of it.”

Sweetie gasped. “But... how?”

“We’ll have time for that later,” the Doctor assured her. “Right now, I have to stop a catastrophe from happening, you see, there is this... thing, from another dimension, like you, I would say, although, not a unicorn, and it is going to disrupt time in such a way that it will completely destroy everything around it...” He frowned as he waved some sort of device over her. “You also have an intriguing amount of tachyons and and interdimensional stuff all around you.”

“Stuff?” Sweetie shook her head. “I’ve been travelling to other worlds, so that’s probably the reason.”

The Doctor shrugged as the whole place shuddered and then stopped. “Well, we’re here. Are you coming?”

Sweetie nodded, curiously looking at the small doors as they opened. When she stepped out, her eyes went over the whole green fields around them. “Wow, this reminds me of home! And you say this place is called Ingland?”

“England, yes,” the doctor said.

“Okay! So where do we go now?” Sweetie asked, just as a group of creatures like the Doctor, only covered in metallic armor and riding horses stampeded past them.

“I say we follow the knights!”

The pair followed the knights as they rushed to a great creature that tore the ground around with rays coming out of its bulbous eyes.

“Hm, just as I was afraid of,” The Doctor said, raising an eyebrow. “A Neutronian Reaver, nasty bit of technology, that one.”

“Wh- what does it do?” Sweetie asked as the monstrosity’s rays obliterated two knights. The group seemed to take note of the Doctor and Sweetie and galloped away from the mechanical monster, which turned around and proceeded to to start excavating the earth, something that it had seemed to be doing before the knights attacked.

“I’ll tell you in a moment,” the Doctor said, keeping his eyes on the approaching knights.

“Greetings,” the lead knight, wearing a green armor said, raising his hand. “Judging from your clothes and the fact that you are conversing with a unicorn, I must assume you to be some sort of wizard.”

The Doctor looked perplexed, but after a moment of hesitation, nodded.

“As you can see, we are in dire need of help, wizard,” the knight continued. “In the name of the King, I bid you help us!”

“What king?” Sweetie asked.

“Why, King Arthur of course!” The knight answered. “Allow me to introduce myself, I, am Sir Galahad and I have been entrusted by my king to deal with that creature, but by ourselves, there’s little that we can do.”

The Doctor nodded. “Well, the Neutronian Reavers are infamous for being almost unstoppable once they get started, once they get in contact with the surface of a planet, they will dig a tunnel to the center of said planet and consume the energy residing in it, effectively destroying the world.”

Sweetie gulped. “But... is there a way to do it?”

“Well, there’s always a way... I just don’t know how we can get it off the ground long enough for it to lose its connection to earth, keep it distracted long enough for it to deplete its energy and finally attach a tachion-dislocation device on it so that it gets thrown into a place where it cannot damage the multiverse,” the Doctor listed.

Sweetie raised an eyebrow and looked at the machine. “Well... if I were as strong as Twilight I could levitate it but... my magic is not strong enough to keep it floating more than a few seconds.”

“Hm, we need a full minute at least and-” The Doctor shook his head. “Wait a moment, you said you can levitate it?”

“Yes?”

“Then we might have a chance!” The Doctor smiled. “Sir Galahad, we will need the help of you and your knights to keep it distracted, but we can do this!”

“I will rally my knights, good wizard!” the Knight said.

“Okay, but first, here’s the plan...”

The Neutronian Reaver stopped its excavation when the knights attacked again. Raising to the challenge, it began to shoot its deadly rays at him, but this time the knights kept enough distance that they could dodge them. It never seemed to realize that it was no longer touching the ground.

Inside the TARDIS, strapped to several cables and wearing a strange contraption on her head, Sweetie concentrated hard on levitating the robot, as the Doctor had called it. Had she not been plugged in, as it were, she knew that she wouldn’t have been able to even pick it up a bit, much less high enough to keep it off the ground and this long! “Hurry Doctor!” she groaned. “I’m doing as much as I can, but I’m almost completely out of energy!”

She watched in the screen how, as the knights were distracted, the Doctor creeped up to the monster. Once he was within reach, he quickly attached the device he had onto the base of the mechanical creature.

The moment he did, all of the Neutronian Reaver’s devices pointed at him as it produced an ear-splitting screech. The weapons charged... and sputtered as the last of its earth-based energy left it. The device attached to it beeped...

And the world fizzled around Sweetie.

o.o.o

“That was really intense! I thought the Doctor wouldn’t make it!”

Dusk’s eyelids were halfway down as he stared forward with a decidedly annoyed look. “It was... but... please get off of me, Eris.”

The draconequus pretended to be hurt. “What? That’s very cold of you, Dusk dear...”

Elusive snickered. “She is right, Dusk ‘dear’, you shouldn’t leave a lady hanging like that in her time of need.”

Dusk closed his eyes and grit his teeth. “Where is Sweetie now, Eris?”

“Well, why don’t we find out?”

o.o.o

Sweetie shook her head. “Doctor?”

“Well, the unicorn speaks,” a voice said. “This is clearly a symptom of my delirium.”

“What are you talking about?” Sweetie said, rolling off of the dusty sofa she had landed on. “Where am I? Who are you?”

The human she was looking at was tall, although he was slouching on a couch, his left leg extended as he strummed a guitar. His hair was cut short, and he had a stubble... Rarity would have been appalled at how little he seemed to care for his appearance.

His head leaned back as he looked down at her with slightly watery eyes. He frowned. “That’s unusual: hallucinations usually know your name given that the stimuli comes directly from the brain. You seem rather benign for a drug-induced nightmare.”

“I’m not a Nightmare!” Sweetie said, shaking her head. “My name is Sweetie Belle, and I asked your name.”

The man looked out a window, momentarily seeming to ignore her. She took advantage to look around the room she was in.

There were clothes scattered around, what looked like vinyl LPs, and a lot of empty little bottles with tags on them.

Sweetie was about to remind him that it was rude not to answer when something on his belt beeped. The man slowly looked down and pulled a black little machine up. “Well, my unicorn friend, it seems I have to go; please feel free to use my humble abode.”

“Wait!” Sweetie said as the man stood and started limping towards the door. “You can’t just do that! Don’t leave me alone!”

He looked at her steadily for a minute before shrugging. “Well, I could never say no to a little girl. Come on, I’ll drive.”

“Thank you...” Sweetie sighed. “I don’t know much about the human world. I’m usually only with other ponies...”

The man chuckled. “And here I thought you would insist on driving. That’s what all the other hallucinations do.”

Sweetie shook her head as she walked out of the door politely held open by the man.

“So what was your name?” She asked again as he looked it.

“Dr. Gregory House, but most just call me House.”

o.o.o

“Oooh! A medical drama!” Eris giggled, cuddling up to Dusk, who threw some popcorn into his mouth and refused to acknowledge her, the giggling Elusive, or the blush developing on his cheeks.

o.o.o

Doctors and nurses and patients and visitors all stopped and stared as House walked into the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital followed by a filly unicorn.

“Now, if I were an annoying pest, where would I be?” House mused as a nurse stopped dead in her tracks, releasing the wheelchair she had been pushing, letting it roll right out of the automatic doors and into the parking lot. “Aha, my office!” he declared triumphantly as he started limping towards the elevator. “Come on, Sweetie Belle, there’s wannabe doctors waiting!”

Sweetie smiled nervously at everyone as she followed House into the elevator. Turning around, she waved goodbye as the doors closed. She looked at the numbers on the wall as they lighted one by one, until, with a ‘ding’, the elevator doors opened once more and the pair walked down a corridor and into a large office with glass walls, where a group of three doctors waited.

“House, finally!” a female doctor with brown hair turned around at the sound of the door opening. “We’ve been wai-” She stopped immediately to stare at the little unicorn that walked in after her superior.

“Dr. Cameron. Dr. Chase. Dr. Foreman.” House nodded at each of the doctors. “If you can see her, my unicorn friend’s name is Sweetie Belle. And if you can’t see her, things are worse than I thought. Now, what seems to be the problem?”

“But- that’s a unicorn!” Dr. Cameron snapping out of it. “How... why is there a unicorn with you? Aren’t they supposed to only go to pure little girls?”

“Is that true?” House looked at Sweetie, who shrugged.

“Galahad said the same thing, but I never heard of any unicorn even meeting a human before me,” Sweetie replied.

House smiled pleasantly at the three doctors, who, once more, were staring at the talking unicorn. “See? Myths and defamations.”

Dr. Cameron slowly placed her hands on her face. “Why... why am I even surprised? If there was anyone that could possibly bring a freaking live, honest-to-God talking unicorn to the hospital, it would have to be you.”

“So, you called and we are here,” House said. “What is the problem?”

“We have a patient... she... she’s delirious... she um...” Dr. Foreman hesitated.

“Yes?” House insisted.

“She... she thinks she’s a unicorn named Lyra Heartstrings...” Dr. Foreman said slowly. “We did some tests but couldn’t find anything in her blood and...”

“Lyra?!” Sweetie Belle jumped in front of them. “How? Is she okay?”

Chase looked at the filly. “You know a unicorn called Lyra?” He closed his eyes and massaged his temple. “Of course you do, why wouldn’t you?”

House smirked. “Well, let’s see what ‘Lyra’ has to say.”

The group followed House and Sweetie Belle down to the medical ward, where they could soon hear shouting.

“Let me go! Damn it! It’s not funny! Not even Mollari tried to keep me trapped like this! I demand a lawyer! Or at least a lyre! For the love of Celestia, humans! I’m one of you now!”

“Well, well, well, Miss... Lyra,” House said as he stepped into the room, drawing the attention of the young lady with gray hair and blue bangs. “To what do we owe your presence in our world?”

“You don’t believe me,” Lyra growled. “Nobody here does.”

“Well, you have to understand,” House smiled. “People lie. It’s a fact. Part of being human.”

“Well, I’ve only been human for an hour!”

“It just so happens that I believe you,” House said. “After all, unicorns haven’t lied to me yet.”

Lyra frowned. “What unicorns? There aren’t any other unico-” her eyes widened as she looked to the right of the human doctor. “Sw- Sweetie Belle?! How did you get here?”

“Lyra! It is you!” Sweetie jumped on the bed. “How did you get here?”

“I found a box that could transport me to different worlds... so I took Twilight, Octavia and Vinyl with me and at one point I was told that I could be turned into a human so I... um... I shoved Twi and the others out of the way and um... here I am...” she cringed. “Can you help me?”

“Um... I don’t know how?” Sweetie sighed. “Do you want me to turn you back into a unicorn? I could try...”

“No!” Lyra shouted. “I’m okay! I just need to get out of here!”

“But... you don’t know how to act like a human,” Sweetie argued. “Hold on, I think I might have a spell for this...”

“No... please, Sweetie...” Lyra begged. “I finally have my hands...”

Sweetie sighed again. “Fine,” she looked up at House. “She’s actually a good pony, and a very good musician... if you could teach her how to be a human I’m sure she’d be okay...”

“You can’t be suggesting what I think you are...” Chase spoke up. “She’s cute, she shouldn’t be left alone with House!”

“Pleeeeaase?” Sweetie begged, looking with big watery eyes at House, who rolled his eyes.

“Fine, she can stay with me, but she has to clean Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. And also get a job.”

Lyra nodded. “I will! Thank you!”

“I can’t believe this,” Chase groaned.

“What, you wanted her for yourself?” Dr. Cameron asked, elbowing him.

“What about you, Sweetie?” Lyra asked as Dr. Foreman reluctantly removed the restraints.

“I don’t know, I’ve been randomly-”

The world fizzled around her.

“-being transported...” she finished with a sigh.

o.o.o

“Seriously? You’re just going to change the channel?” Dusk asked, glaring down at Eris, who was resting her head on his lap.

“Well yes, Dusky, we all know how that ends... House and Lyra fall in love, they have crazy sex and then they end it over a fight because House is being House and he remains bitter, she finds a good job, gets together with another girl after discovering her true sexuality and they all live happily until House shows up again.”

Dusk sighed, shaking his head. “So, what’s next?”

o.o.o

“Ow!” Sweetie exclaimed as she landed on the hard asphalt of a dark, dimly lit street. “Ugh, great, where am I now?” she grumbled to herself, rising to her hooves as quickly as she could, wincing from the few cuts and bruises she gained from the hard fall. She had hardly gotten up before she was almost run over from behind.

“H-hey, watch where you’re going!” Sweetie exclaimed, barely leaping away in time, her jump far from graceful.

“W-what?”

As Sweetie took a closer look, she saw yet another oddity, but tried to analyze it rather than be stunned by it. It was fairly large, over three times her height, and appeared to be constructed mostly of metal, though its head appeared to be made of glass, the contents of which were glowing somewhat, showing a fish. Sweetie was shocked as its mouth moved, and she heard, “I-I’m sorry, are you alright?”

“Y-yeah,” she replied absently, still staring at the large creature. After a moment of silence, she continued, “I’m Sweetie Belle. Who are you?”

“Minion,” it replied shortly, staring right back at her. “I... what are you?”

“I’m a unicorn,” she replied, only slightly indignant. “What are you?”

“What, you’ve never seen a talking fish before?”

“Well... No, I haven’t, but then again, I’ve seen a lot of things today that I’ve never seen before,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. “So where are you off in such a rush to?”

“Away from here,” it replied, huffing slightly.

“Why, what happened? Is there a monster coming?” Sweetie asked, starting to prepare some magic, just in case.

“Code: I don’t want to talk about it,” he answered, looking away.

“Huh?” Sweetie tilted her head to the side, frowning. “Code... what?”

Minion blinked, before facepalming the glass sphere that contained his body, lamenting, “I forgot that you wouldn’t know the code, sorry.” Looking back up at her, he leaned down towards her, lowering his voice as he inquired, “If I teach you the code, do you promise not to tell anyone else?”

“Yeah, I promise!” Sweetie replied eagerly, excited at the chance to learn some more new information. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

Minion blinked as the unicorn made some odd motions with her hooves as she chanted her reply. “A-alright... Anyway, I’ll just keep saying things in ‘the code’ until you get it, alright? Now, code: I’ve never seen a unicorn before.”

Sweetie frowned in thought, trying to figure out what he could possibly be trying to say.

“Code: it looks like it’s going to rain soon,” he continued, stressing the word ‘code’ a little bit. “Code: I hope you don’t hate wet hair,” he added, making quotation marks with his mechanical fingers.

Blinking in realization, she questioned haltingly, “Code: are you saying that the code is just adding the word ‘code’ in front of whatever you want to say?”

After a surprised, if a bit forced, gasp, Minion answered, “Code: I can’t believe you broke ‘the code’ so quickly!” Recovering, he added in a thoughtful voice, “Code: you’re more intelligent than I first thought...”

Taking a step backwards, Sweetie replied, slightly confused, “Code... umm, thanks?”

“Code: you’re welcome!” Minion smiled, holding out a mechanical hand. “Code: want to be my friend?”

“Code: sure!” Sweetie replied, holding out her hoof, allowing him to shake it warmly, if with a bit of a strong.

“Code: great! Want to get donuts?”

“Code: that’d be awesome!” Sweetie exclaimed, eyes brightening. “Code: I haven’t had anything to eat in hours!”

“Code: great! Hop on,” he finished, motioning to the contraption he was standing on.

“Code: thanks!” Sweetie jumped aboard, clutching tightly to Minion’s leg as it started down the street at a much higher speed than she thought possible.

o.o.o

As Sweetie downed another donut happily, she mumbled around the food, “Code: so where were you going? What happened?”

“Code: I was betrayed by this guy I knew who might have kinda, sorta been a bit of a jerk,” Minion replied darkly, the table bearing the full brunt of his sullen gaze.

Frowning as she took another bite, she pressed further, “Code: what did he do, and why did he do it?”

Looking away, Minion responded quickly, “Code: he totally refused to listen to what I had to say, and was being totally selfish, so I left to find some place where I’d be more appreciated.”

Swallowing, Sweetie levitated a napkin to wipe her mouth absently, before saying slowly, “Code: so you’re not even going to try to forgive him?”

“Code: no, why should I? He won’t listen to me!”

“Code: so? Just because-”

Sweetie was interrupted as she saw a tall, blue creature of similar size and shape, save for an overlarge cranium, to the humans she had run into earlier. She and Minion watched in silence as he stopped a woman nearby, talking to her for a little while, before the woman walked off in the rain, leaving the blue man standing there, alone.

Sweetie turned back to continue her conversation with Minion. She saw how distant he seemed as he watched the blue man slowly walk off, depressed and, after a moment of contemplative silence, she asked quietly, “That was your friend, wasn’t it? The jerk?”

“... Yeah,” Minion answered quietly. “I told him that the bad guy never gets the girl, and then he said that maybe he didn’t want to be the bad guy anymore then, and...”

“... You’re bad guys? Why?” Sweetie asked, surprised. He seemed rather nice. How could they possibly be evil?

“Well... because,” Minion answered, waving his hands helplessly. “It’s not like we were accepted for anything else, so since everybody expected it of us, we jus-”

“Wasn’t there a part of you that wanted to prove them wrong?”

“Well... Maybe a little, tiny piece,” Minion admitted.

“So why not try it? Your friend is willing to try, and it sounds like you’re willing to consider it, so why not give it a chance? He’s your friend and you should always be able to forgive your friends, even if he did do some stupid stuff.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but we have to find him first.”

“Well... what is he likely to do now?” Sweetie asked, gazing intently at Minion.

After thinking for a moment, he chuckled to himself, answering, “Probably turn himself in to the police to be arrested, if I had to guess, since he does stupid stuff like that when he’s depressed.”

“Well then, what say we break him out of jail then?” Sweetie asked, quirking an eyebrow as she grinned.

“Code: I would really appreciate your help,” Minion suggested back, grinning a little.

“Code: you don’t have to ask! Come on, let’s go free your friend! Code: do you have any ideas?”

Frowning in thought, Minion looked down at his hands, playing with the mechanics of them, when something on his wrist flashed, causing him to smile. “Code: I think I have a great plan, but I’ll need help getting past the guards.”

“Code: let’s go do this then!” Sweetie cheered, holding her hoof out, which Minion pounded gently.

“Code: yeah! Let’s get to it!”

o.o.o

The world fizzled and sizzled again in what felt like being in a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey....stuff and suddenly Sweetie was seating on a couch, right next to Elusive, who waved a hoof at her.

Dusk and... Discord? No... it was female... and it was kissing Dusk.

“What’s going on here?” she finally asked.

Elusive smiled. “Well, Dusk and Eris finally confessed their love for each other and I managed to bring you back with the ‘return’ button on this control thing...”

Sweetie blinked. “I swear Twilight gets in the weirdest relationships...”

Elusive chuckled. “Well, you won’t be going anywhere while those two are making out, want to watch the rest of ‘Megamind’ and see how Minion did?”

Sweetie sighed. “Pass the Popcorn.”

o.o.o The End! o.o.o

Happy April Fools! XD

It took us about 4 hours of solid work (with one looong break) to finish this, hope you enjoyed it!

WD, Magical Trevor & Undestated Hyperbole

On A Cross and Arrow

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

By Wanderer D

Editors & Proof: Magical Trevor, littlerobotbird, Fifth Alicorn, Conner Cogwork (Consultant), Cardslafter, Dragryphon

o.o.0.o.o

“Silver? I heard you shout! Is everything okay?” Elusive called.

Sweetie and Silver looked at each other, eyes wide in confusion.

“I-” Sweetie stammered.

“We’re-” Silver sputtered. “I- What are you doing?”

“Me?!” Sweetie replied. “I just arrived! I’m not doing anything!”

There was another knock. Silver looked up and down Sweetie with wide eyes. “Quick! Hide!”

“Where?” Sweetie asked, starting to panic. “There’s nowhere to hide!”

“In the water! Quick!”

“No! I can’t hold my breath that long and-”

“Okay, I’m coming in!” the voice announced and the door knob started to turn.

Silver panicked and grabbed Sweetie, pushing her into the water and closing the curtain.

The door opened and Elusive walked in, eyebrow arched. “I thought I heard something, Silver,” he said, stopping and looking around the bathroom.

Silver smiled, poking his head through the curtains and grinning like an idiot while struggling to keep Sweetie behind the curtain. “Uh, you did? W-well, yeah... I- I dropped the soap!”

Elusive stared at him incredulously. “You... dropped the soap and screamed like a little filly?”

“Y-yeah! Uh, Scooteroll once told me what happens to pretty-faced stallions in prison when they drop the soap and-”

Elusive started coughing as he shook his head in disbelief. “He what?! How did he hear- no, wait...” He took a deep breath and glared at his younger brother. “Silver...”

The colt smiled innocently. “Yes, Elusive?”

“Why are you keeping the shower curtain so tight around you?”

“Um... because I’m naked and I want to keep a sense of decency?”

Elusive gave him a look. “Silver, we’re ponies. We’re naked most of the time. And that doesn’t explain why the curtain is moving so much.”

Silver looked to the side, where the curtain was being pushed outwards by Sweetie’s hooves as she tried desperately to get out of the water and the shower. “Uh... because... because of... the... uh, vapors?” he suggested lamely.

With a sigh, Elusive conjured up his magic and the curtain was pushed aside. “Are the other Crusaders in there with you? Now, I’ve told you before that you three can...” He stared. “Oh, my... Silver, is that a filly in the shower with you?”

Sweetie gasped for air and glared at Silver, using one of her hooves to push away the wet mane from her eyes. “The hay were you thinking?!”

“I don’t know!” Silver exclaimed, looking back at her. “What did you expect me to do?”

“Something other than throwing me into the water like that!” Sweetie snapped. “Aw... now my mane is completely soaked!”

“Well, you just appeared in here! What was I supposed to think?! Besides, I don’t even know you!” Silver retorted, shaking his head.

Elusive tried to hide a smile. “Well, she does look familiar. I wonder...” He took a couple of steps towards them, his magic flaring again to turn off the shower and levitate a pair of towels, which he wrapped around both youngsters.

Silver and Sweetie glared at each other from beneath the towels.

“Yeah... I think I do recognize you from somewhere...” Silver finally said. “Have you been to Ponyville before?”

“I live here!” Sweetie huffed.

“Well, I’ve never seen you before!”

“Well, I haven’t seen you either!”

“Now, now, Sweetie, Silver,” Elusive instructed calmly. “Just dry yourselves and we can talk a bit before bed time, okay?”

“Okay, Elusive...” Silver sighed as he started drying himself.

Sweetie, for her part, was staring at Elusive, towel forgotten. “Wait... how did you know my name?”

Elusive’s smile grew as his eyes twinkled in excitement. “Oh, I just knew it! This is the BEST POSSIBLE THING!”

“R... R-Rarity?”

Her eyes rolled back in her skull as everything faded to black.

o.0.o

Sweetie slowly became aware of two voices talking to each other right next to her. She groggily tried to shake her head, but the darkness seemed to cling to her. Eventually, as she became more aware of what was happening, she was able to slowly make out details.

“- but, she can’t be me! She’s all... soft-looking...” one voice, sounding slightly perturbed, said.

“Well, she’s not you exactly. She’s Rarity’s sister, from the dimension where everypony’s the opposite gender,” another voice said. “Rarity told me about her; you two are really similar!”

“But... she’s... a filly...”

Sweetie’s eyes fluttered open and she squinted into the light. “Oww... my head...”

“Careful, dear, take it easy,” Elusive said soothingly. “You passed out... maybe it was the dimensional jump?”

“That’s silly,” Sweetie replied. “I’ve never passed out while jumping dimensions before; furthermore, since I usually end up in another body, my theory is that there is really no exertion, magical or otherwise, on my part for each jump.” She rubbed her head as she slowly started taking in her surroundings. “I guess, statistically speaking, I haven’t jumped enough times to have a serious point of reference, but...” she trailed off when she noticed that Silver and Elusive were staring blankly at her. “What?”

“Are you sure that she’s me in another universe?” Silver asked Elusive, who was staring at Sweetie, slack-jawed. “She sounds like an egg-head.”

“Hey!” Sweetie glared at Silver. “You don’t have to say it like that!”

Elusive closed his mouth with an audible snap and cleared his throat before speaking. “Um, hi, Sweetie Belle. I’m Elusive and this is Silver; you might feel a bit confused at the moment, but that is normal. You see, how can I put this?” He sighed. “This is not your home universe; over here, we are the opposite gender than in your own world.”

Sweetie Belle giggled nervously. “I-it’s okay... I overheard you two just a bit when I was waking up.”

Elusive blinked. “Ah, I guess Rarity must have told you about us then... that’s good!” He smiled, but then blinked and yawned, covering his mouth with his hoof. “I’m so sorry, I’m afraid I’m rather tired. But first, have you eaten anything, Sweetie? Are you hungry?”

“I’m okay, I ate just before leaving...” Sweetie frowned. “Although I’m not quite sure how that works if I’m in another body in a different dimension.”

“I see,” Elusive nodded, eyes drooping. “Well, you can take Silver’s bed, he can sleep on the sofa-”

“Hey!” Silver interrupted. “Why do I have to give her my bed?”

Elusive could barely keep himself awake, but he still managed to frown at his brother. “Because you’re a gentlecolt, that’s why.” He yawned again. “We’ll all go see Dusk tomorrow then maybe we can show Sweetie around before sending her home...”

Upon hearing that, Sweetie’s heart beat harder. Can they really send me home? Do I want to go home? But... what about Twilight?

With one long, final yawn, Elusive tiredly made his way up the stairs into his room. It wasn’t long before they heard him shut the door.

Silver sighed. “Well, follow me...”

The pair started up the stairs in silence. Silver glanced behind him and noticed the far-away look on Sweetie. The more I look at her the more she looks like me! It’s weird! She’s... what I would look like as a filly! he realized, eyebrow twitching.

When they reached his room and went in, he motioned towards the bed. “There it is, enjoy...” he stated simply, his words in a resigned tone. He turned around to leave, but was stopped by Sweetie’s voice.

“Hey, Silver?”

“Yeah?” he asked, blinking tiredly as he turned to face her.

“I’m sorry I took your bed...” Sweetie said, jumping onto the bed. “Do you want to just sleep here? I think it’s big enough,” she offered.

The colt continued to stare a bit more, before he tentatively smiled. “Are... are you sure that’d be okay? I have to admit, I really hate sleeping on the sofa.”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah, I remember... and don’t worry, I know I would hate it if somepony suddenly took over my bed!”

Silver grinned and jumped up on the bed, lying down. “Yeah, there’s enough space!” he yawned and watched lazily as Sweetie’s horn flashed with magic and the lights turned off while the door closed. “Sweetie?”

“Yeah?”

“Sorry I called you an egghead,” he muttered, already drifting into sleep.

“It’s okay,” Sweetie answered, snuggling into the pillow. “I actually took it as a compliment.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Silver?”

“Yeah?”

“What are the other crusaders like? Is Scootaloo cute?”

“Cute?” Silver blinked. “Are you talking about Scooteroll? I don’t know about cute, he doesn’t seem to get along with fillies...”

“That doesn’t tell me much...”

“Well, what did you expect? I don’t think he’s cute, but you’ll probably meet him tomorrow, and then you can tell me, okay?”

Sweetie nodded, yawning. “Okay... goodnight, Silver.”

“Goodnight, Sweetie.”

Soon both of them were asleep.

o.0.o

*knock-knock*

Rarity stared at the porcelain cup containing the already cold tea. A freezing breeze entered through the open window, leaving her shivering, but she chose to stay put, her eyes lost in thought.

Opalescence, looking more grayish than white, purred and rubbed herself against Rarity's side to no avail. Eventually, the cat stopped and looked sadly at its master. With a soft meow, she walked away, leaving Rarity on her own.

The wind blew again, the curtains flapped around as Rarity shivered once more.

“Rarity?” a soft voice called as the creaking sound of the door opening echoed through the silent house. “Are you here? Today's Spa Tuesday and...” Fluttershy stopped at the entrance to the kitchen. “Rarity... you're freezing!” she quickly galloped to the window and shut it tight. She went out of the room to come back with a thick blanket, which she draped over Rarity's shoulders.

Rarity's teeth slowed in their chattering, but it continued and her shivering didn't lessen at all. Worried, Fluttershy heated some water and made more tea, which she placed in front of Rarity. “Drink this, it will help.”

Rarity, however just stared at the cup, until Fluttershy lifted her chin so that she could stare into her eyes. “Rarity! You will drink this tea now!”

Taken aback, the unicorn nodded and slowly sipped at the tea.

Fluttershy nodded as slowly a bit of rosiness returned to Rarity's cheeks. “What happened? How long have you had that window open?”

“Uh?” Rarity shook her head, looking tiredly at Fluttershy. “Oh... I... I don't know dear, since this morning? After we left Applejack's house and Applebloom was bringing the drawings out of their clubhouse...”

“Rarity...” Fluttershy whispered in horror. “That... that was yesterday morning! Have you just been sitting here since then?”

Rarity slowly dropped down, taking a shaking sip of her tea.

“Has the window been open since then?”

Rarity nodded.

“Rarity... it snowed last night.” Fluttershy went to stand next to her friend. “Come on, we need to get you in a warm bath... I'd better get Twi-” she stopped suddenly. “I- I mean... Nurse Redheart.”

Rarity however, didn't seem to notice; she was barely able to stand.

“Wait... wait here...” Fluttershy said, guiding Rarity to the couch and helping her settle in it. “I'll go get help... I'll cook you a meal and... just... I'll be right back...” she galloped out as fast as she could.

Rarity didn't say anything at first. She just shivered under the heavy blanket.

“Sweetie...” she whispered.

Silver drowsily opened his eyes, wondering what had woken him up. He looked to the side when he heard a whimper.

Sweetie turned, her face contorted in a frown as she whimpered again and curled up.

Silver slowly placed his hoof on her shoulder and sighed in relief when she relaxed and smiled, going back to peaceful sleep.

Too tired to do much else, he yawned and lay down, closing his eyes.

o.0.o

Early the next morning, Elusive cheerfully knocked on Silver’s door. “Silver! Wake up!”

He heard a groan from inside. “Five more minutes!”

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head in amusement, Elusive chuckled. “Fine, but be sure to make it only five; your friends will be here shortly!” He then turned around and took a couple of steps down the hall before stopping completely, a realization coming to mind as a frown crossed his face. Wait... that didn’t sound like Silver...

He walked back up to the room and inside. He blinked as the memory of last night returned to him and the pieces fit together. “Oh, that’s right... Sweetie is here.” It didn’t take long for him to notice a second ivory foal, passed out right next to her. Chuckling to himself, he left the room as he spoke. “Five minutes, you two! Remember that!”

The groans and mutters were answer enough for him as he went down to prepare breakfast.

It was barely a few minutes later when the stallion heard confused shouts coming from the room. They must have forgotten that they were sleeping together, he thought to himself, stifling a laugh.

Elusive levitated the last of the waffles and placed them upon a plate, levitating the whole pile towards the table while counting in his head. Right on cue, Sweetie and Silver ran down the stairs together, each of them sporting a similar expression of hunger. It was just... strange at times to think how similar and yet different things were between different worlds.

“Wow, waffles!” Silver salivated. “I love these! We should have them more often!”

“Waffles?” Sweetie asked, looking down at her plate. “I’ve never had waffles before.”

“What?” Silver’s eyes went wide. “You’ve never had waffles?! What do you have for breakfast then?”

“Pancakes?” Sweetie replied hesitantly as she levitated a fork and knife. “Spike even taught me Princess Celestia’s favorite pancake recipe!”

Elusive chuckled. “Well, Spines is rumored to know Prince Solaris’ favorite waffle recipe.”

“But... never eaten a waffle?” Silver insisted. “That’s just... wrong...”

Sweetie poured some syrup and took a bite of the waffle. She chewed on it for a few seconds, before her eyes lit in approval. “Hm, not bad...”

“I see that you are very proficient with your magic, dear,” Elusive commented after a moment of watching. “Did Rarity teach you?”

Sweetie blinked, noticing for the first time that Silver was eating without the use of magic, while both her horn and Elusive’s were shining as they used theirs to eat. “Oh... well, not exactly. Rarity asked Twilight to teach me, and that’s how I learned!”

Elusive gave Silver a considering glance. “Hm... that doesn’t sound like a bad idea; Dusk could probably spare some time to at least teach Silver some basic magic.”

Silver gave them a horrified look. “More studying? Yuck! I’d much rather find my cutie mark!”

Sweetie looked down to her own blank flank. “Yeah, I hear you there.”

Elusive smiled. “Well, I’m sure you two can try to find it later. First, I think we should talk to Dusk about when you can go home, Sweetie.”

I can go home! Sweetie thought excitedly, a wide smile crossing her face. I can finally see sis and my Scootaloo and Apple Bloom... I’ll be able to study with Twilight and... She stopped her thoughts as her smile disappeared. But... Twilight and Spike will still be gone... or at least I think so... what am I going to do? Don’t I need to rescue them before going home?

Elusive noticed her frown. “Are you okay, Sweetie?”

“Uh, yeah... I- I’m okay,” she stammered. “I was just thinking... do you think this ‘Dusk’ pony will be able to help me?”

Elusive raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t Rarity tell you? Dusk is Twilight’s counterpart.”

“Oh...” Sweetie smiled sheepishly. “My... Rarity never said anything about counterparts...”

A pained expression briefly flitted across Elusive’s face. “Oh...”

Sweetie blinked. “Was... was she supposed to? She went away recently, so...”

“N-no, it’s okay,” Elusive said, pushing away a strand of his mane. “I, I understand if- if she didn’t feel like telling you... we didn’t want to part ways so quickly and I-”

“Ooh Ooh! I just remembered something!” Silver exclaimed suddenly, jumping to his hooves. “I have to get ready, I’ll be right back!”

Sweetie looked angrily at Silver as her counterpart disappeared upstairs. “He wasn’t even paying attention!”

Elusive blinked and stood up as well, smiling a little. “He’s sometimes like that... I have to get ready as well; I’ll be back soon.”

Sweetie sighed as she was left alone. Her horn shimmered as the dirty plates levitated one-by-one into the sink. She looked around the room. The decorations between her Carousel Boutique and this one were very similar. The color scheme, the positioning of things all similar... and yet... it had a masculine touch to it, although she couldn’t put her hoof on exactly how. Were the curtains a bit darker? Was the furniture just a bit less rounded, and with slightly sharper edges? What was it?

Maybe the glasses? The plates... the table seemed a bit sturdier than the one she had back home. Could that be it?

The doorbell rang. Her musing interrupted, she leapt from the table and trotted into the main room, running on autopilot as she opened the door.

“Yes? Who is it-”

“Heya Silver!” came a pair of voices from the two colts seated in front of her.

She froze in place, eyes taking in the ponies standing right before her. A yellow earth pony, and an orange pegasus. Not usually an unfamiliar sight, if it weren’t for the fact that there was something else clashing against her mind’s eye... the fact that the yellow one was wearing a faded baseball cap and not a bow, and the obvious cue that these two were not simply Applebloom and Scootaloo... they were Applebloom and Scootaloo as colts.

“Hey, Silver!” Scooteroll said with a bright smile. “Ready to go crusading?”

"Oh, um, hey, Scoot... eroll," Sweetie said hesitantly.

Applebuck frowned as he looked at her. “Heeeey... Silver, did Elusive do something to your hair again? You look a bit different.”

Sweetie blinked, caught off-guard. “I do?”

Scooteroll looked at her closely. “Hey, yeah! You look... no offense Silver, but you look even more like a filly than usual.”

Sweetie straightened up a bit. “Is that a problem?”

“Hey,” Scooteroll backed up a bit. “I said ‘no offense’, right? Calm down, it’s not like I’m actually calling you a filly or anything!”

“But... what’s wrong with being a filly?” Sweetie asked, irritated. I can tell that they’re colts... can’t they tell I really AM a filly?

“Well... nothing,” Applebuck admitted after a second. “Ah mean, my big sis is real strong and all and Ah guess she’s cool... but, you know, fillies are... icky.”

A delicate eyebrow went up. “Icky?” Sweetie repeated.

“What’s gotten into you, Silver?” Scooteroll rolled his eyes in annoyance. “This isn’t the time to talk about fillies. We should be getting our cutie marks!”

Sweetie glared at him with such intensity that he took a step back. “Talking about fillies is not a bad thing!” She slammed the door shut and stomped into the kitchen, brushing past a confused Silver.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

She sniffed dismissively, “Colts,” and went upstairs, presumably to get ready herself.

Silver blinked in confusion when he heard the doorbell. He trotted up to the door and opened it.

“Hey guys!”

Scooteroll and Applebuck both glared at him.

“What’d you do that for?!” Scooteroll asked, pushing Silver a bit with his hoof.

Silver brushed it away with a frown. “Do what?”

“Act like a prissy, little filly!” Scooteroll retorted, getting his face really close to Silver’s, who glared back just as intensely.

“I’m not acting like a filly!” Silver shot back.

“Are too!”

“Am not!”

“Are too!”

Slowly, Applebuck’s frown started to fade as a look of dawning comprehension seeped in, eyes widening in horror as he looked past Silver, seeing Elusive walking towards them in the company of... another Silver? No... his fears were confirmed as he glanced from one to the other and he remembered cousin ‘Jay Jay’.

“You’re whining like a filly! Stop it already!” Scooteroll snapped. He rolled his eyes and, raising his right hoof flaccidly, said, “Oh, fillies are the best, look at me! I am Silver and I look so much like a filly I act like one too!”

“Hey! I’ve never done anything like that!” Silver said angrily.

“Ah think maybe we should all calm down...” Applebuck ventured, trailing off as Scooteroll ignored him.

“Oh, I’m so delicate!” Scooteroll pranced from side to side in front of Silver, who was now fuming. “I like sweet things, the color pink, and to talk about jewelry! I am scared of spiders and am completely useless!”

When Applebuck saw Sweetie’s expression, he took a couple of steps away from the prancing pegasus, making sure he was not in the way of whatever was going to happen.

“Listen, Silver,” Scooteroll began, affecting his best Rainbow Blitz impression as he looked down at his unicorn friend. “You have to really stallion-up, y’know? Stuff like what just happened? So not cool.”

Silver looked up at Scooteroll, eyebrows raised in surprise. The blue-white aura around the young pegasus seemed familiar to him, although he couldn’t place it. “Scooteroll... you’re-”

“Fillies are not cool, okay? Just drop the whole being offended thing when we talk about them, and we can go on with our lives.”

“Scooteroll! You’re flying!” Silver finally shouted.

“I am?! I am!” Scooteroll tried flapping his wings. “Wait! Why am I not moving? Hey... I’m still flying without flapping? How does that work?”

Suddenly, he was pulled roughly into the Carousel Boutique and found himself upside down and staring into the angry eyes of Silver Belle. Wait a second... “You’re not Silver!”

“No,” Sweetie Belle growled. “I’m a filly! And I am going to show you exactly how useless I am!”

“Uh-oh...” Applebuck whispered, quickly stepping up. “Uh, miss... uh... Silver?”

“Sweetie,” the filly corrected, without taking her eyes off the terrified Scooteroll.

“Uh, Miss Sweetie, Scooteroll was only being... um...”

“Himself?” Sweetie offered, stealing a glance at Apple Buck before returning her glare to Scooteroll. “Well, let’s see how afraid he is of spiders...”

Her horn flashed and a nearby rock turned into a horribly furry, black tarantula with red eyes and really big fangs that dripped venom as it looked hungrily at the hovering pegasus. It slowly moved towards Scooteroll, who started struggling violently to get away.

“H-hey! Wait! Let’s talk about this! Come on!”

It was about then that the commotion at the door caught Elusive’s attention. He stared in surprise at Sweetie as the filly held Scooteroll upside down against his will, and at the same time managing to cast two more spells. When he saw the real fear in Scooteroll’s eyes, he knew he had to step in.

“Sweetie, that’s quite enough,” he said gently, putting his hoof between them.

Sweetie frowned. “No, he said only fillies would be scared of spiders. Let’s see how he likes it when one bites him!”

“Sweetie Belle!” Elusive’s voice was harsh. “I said that’s enough. Look at him! That’s enough!”

Sweetie blinked, glare softening as she looked at the terrified pegasus. Immediately she dispelled the illusion that had transfigured the rock into a spider. She carefully deposited the pegasus on the floor, where he scrambled away from the rock.

Elusive shook his head at Sweetie, who simply looked away, cheeks burning in shame, and turned to Scooteroll. “Are you okay, Scooteroll?”

The young pegasus took a couple of deep breaths before standing up, still a bit shaky. “Y-yeah...”

There was an awkward silence for all ponies present. Applebuck and Silver exchanged nervous glances while the elder stallion turned from Scooteroll towards his ‘sister’. “Sweetie... I realize that since you’re new here, something like this was bound to happen. Nonetheless, without your sister here to do so, I feel it’s my place to say... don’t you have something to say to the poor pony here?”

Sweetie sighed. “I’m sorry, Scooteroll. I shouldn’t have done that...”

Scooteroll looked a bit embarrassed. “It’s- It’s okay. I wasn’t really afraid...” he cringed when Elusive raised an eyebrow. “But... I guess I shouldn’t have said bad things about fillies either. I didn’t even KNOW you were... gosh, you look just like Silver.”

“That’s cause she IS Silver, ain’t she Mister ‘Lusive?” the Applebuck piped up, looking up at the suitmaker. “This is just like that thing a while ago wit’ Cousin JayJay, isn’t it?”

Elusive smiled and nodded in confirmation.

Sweetie smiled. “Well... I’ll forgive you, if you forgive me?”

Scooteroll nervously grinned back and bumped a shaking hoof with her. “Deal.”

Silver snapped his mouth shut. “How did you do all that?! I thought we were basically the same! I can’t even levitate a feather yet!”

Sweetie gave him a level look. “Study, study, study...”

The three colts recoiled as if a cow had licked their faces. “Ugh...” Silver shook his head. “Maybe I don’t want to know...”

“Maybe I should talk to Dusk,” Elusive said, a hint of a smile playing on his mouth. “I’m sure he’d be happy to take you on as an apprentice, and, if you can advance this much, well...”

Silver quickly shook his head. “Never mind!”

Elusive chuckled. “We still have to go, or at least Sweetie and I do. Would you three like to come as well?”

Applebuck looked at the others and then back to Elusive. “Do we have to study if we go?”

“No,” Elusive assured as he took the lead. “Knowing Dusk, he’ll be busy planning something for tonight. But we do have to talk about Sweetie now... if I remember correctly, the dimension-hopping spell took some work, so you three can take Sweetie with you while you go crusading.”

“But Sweetie’s a-” Scooteroll found his mouth covered by a hoof.

“A- a good choice to bring along! Yes!” Applebuck said with an exaggerated smile.

Sweetie giggled and rolled her eyes. “Colts.”

o.0.o

“Why did you need ‘Memoirs of a 12th Generation Seamstress’ again, Dusk?” Spines asked.

Dusk rolled his eyes. “I’ve told you before, this has to be exactly like the original! When other ponies recognize me, I don’t want them to say ‘Oh, it’s missing the hat!’ or ‘Hey, Dusk, they didn’t have Nylon six hundred years ago!’”

Spines blinked. “What is Nylon?”

“I don’t know!” Dusk snapped. “I just know they didn’t have it six hundred years ago, okay?!”

Spines cringed. “Touchy!” She left the book next to Dusk and was about to walk into the kitchen when she heard a knock at the door. A glance told her that Dusk was not going to even attempt to open it so, with a sigh, she walked up to it and opened it. “I’m sorry, but this is not the best time to go in there and- and-” Little hearts appeared in her eyes. “Aaaaaannnd Elusive! How nice of you to stop by! Please, come in, come in!”

“Good morning, Spines!” Elusive greeted with a wink that seemed to melt the dragoness where she stood. “Where is Dusk this fine morning?”

“He’s working on his project and-” She looked at the Crusaders and the filly. “And...” She frowned. “Does that filly look a lot like Silver? Or is it just me?” She gasped, looking at the suit maker in horror. “Elusive! You have a daughter?!”

The sound of a chair scraping on wooden floor followed by a scream of pain and a thud that echoed in the library as Dusk tried to jump out of the chair at the same time he pushed it back at the same time he levitated the newest book he was reading at the same time he inadvertently set three more down on top of his tail.

The group watched with morbid fascination as the studious unicorn collapsed in a heap of books, furniture and pony.

“Oh, my!” Elusive gasped, quickly using his magic to levitate the books and chair off his friend. “Are you okay, Dusk?”

The Crusaders had rushed to watch closely, and Sweetie couldn’t help but also stand to the side and watch as Dusk slowly stood and shook his head.

Her breath caught in her throat. His purple mane shook ever so slightly as he turned those wonderfully violet eyes in her direction.

Sweetie smiled shyly. Intellectually, she knew that this stallion was essentially her mentor, Twilight Sparkle. At the same time... she could feel her little heart pounding away like it never had before. She could see how intelligent this stallion was. He has to be! He lives in a library! She felt herself blush ever so slightly as he raised an eyebrow at her and smiled. Such a nice smile... I could look at it forever... and he’s talking to me! What should I say? What should I answer? Wait... what did he ask?

“I- I’m sorry, what was that?” Sweetie stammered.

“I asked what your name was,” Dusk repeated himself calmly. “You do resemble Silver a lot and...” His eyes widened. “Wait... are you from another dimension?”

“Wow...” Sweetie gushed. “Dusk... you’re so smart! It usually takes me an hour or two of explaining!” She batted her eyes at him. “Please... say more...”

“Uh... right,” Dusk said uncomfortably as Elusive and Spines watched in amusement. “Elusive, how is this possible?”

Elusive smiled. “Well, Dusk my friend, this is why we’re here. Surely you of all ponies should have an idea as to why Sweetie Belle here would suddenly appear in my home.”

Dusk sighed. “If I know Twilight, she probably tried studying something about interdimensional travel again and-”

“Wow...” Sweetie interrupted, almost hovering in place as her smile grew and her eyelids lowered invitingly. “Dusk... you know so much... just one glance and you knew everything about me... I’d like to study with you for a little while and learn more...”

Dusk took a nervous step back. “Um... aha... lu-look at the time! I... ah... I- I have to...” He turned to Elusive. “Um... help?”

Elusive couldn’t help but laugh at his friend’s obvious panic. “I’m sorry, Dusk. I shouldn’t laugh but...” He covered his mouth for a moment. “This... this is just precious!”

Silver stared at Sweetie, completely horrified.

Applebuck chuckled and elbowed him. “Heh... Ah didn’t know you liked the stu- stoody... the smart types!”

“Studious?” Silver asked.

“What are you? A dictionary?” Scooteroll asked, raising an eyebrow.

“What’s your problem?” Silver glared at Scooteroll.

“No, what’s your problem?” Scooteroll retorted, getting in Silver’s face.

“Boys,” Dusk started, “I don’t think this is-”

“Don’t mind them...” Sweetie said, smiling at him. “They’re just colts... why don’t we talk about something more interesting? Like... Time Diffusion theory? Or maybe Spell Matrices? I have some experience with those...”

Despite himself, Dusk looked interested. “Really? I haven’t had much time to study the more complicated Matrices, just second tier and those are-”

“Dull and simple,” Sweetie completed for him. “I know, I happen to have an item with me that has no less than forty-two nodes for the Matrix to work with... thirty of which were added later, without destroying the functional sequence...”

Dusk gasped. “That’s- that’s possible?! But everything I’ve read indicates that you can only double the amount of nodes at the most... any more would completely overwhelm the spell matrix!”

The three Crusaders had stopped fighting and, along with Spines and Elusive, had were openly gawking at Dusk and Sweetie.

“But you’re not looking at it the right way; that’s only if you try to simply add more functions rather than redirect the spell fluctuation from say N1 to N7, therefore bypassing-” Sweetie explained.

“A-anyway...” Elusive interrupted. “We were hoping that you could help Sweetie return home? I know you’re busy tonight, but I’m sure Rarity is worried and-”

Both Sweetie and Dusk glared at him in annoyance at having their discussion disrupted. But then Dusk sighed. “I am pretty busy with preparations for tonight...” He glanced at his research.

“Hey! Maybe I can help!” Sweetie grinned hopefully.

“Uh, no thank you,” Dusk said, smiling sheepishly. “This is a personal project and I want it to be a surprise for everypony.”

“Oh...” Sweetie looked a bit dejected.

“But don’t worry. I know the spell pretty well by now and we can cast it tomorrow!” Dusk assured with a smile. “And tonight, if you’re up for it, we can talk magical theory.”

Sweetie smiled. “I would like that.”

“That reminds me...” Elusive looked at Sweetie as he walked around her, eyeing her critically. “Yes, yes... that will definitely... I haven’t tried my hoof at one of those yet, but I think...”

“What is it?” Silver asked.

“I’m just thinking of what I can make for Sweetie to wear tonight, brother...” Elusive smiled. "I-dee-aaa~! I’ll get to work on it right away, since she’ll be spending the night. We wouldn’t want her to miss any of the festivities!”

Scooteroll looked at Applebuck and leaned in close to whisper, “I think we should all get out of here before Sweetie and Dusk smother us with theory.”

Applebuck nodded. “Well, we were going to go try the manticore thing... and Sweetie also needs her Cutie Mark... and she’s a Crusader... Plus she knows magic, maybe if she helps...”

A spark came to Scooteroll’s eyes. “Exactly. Let’s scram!”

“Well!” Applebuck interrupted Elusive as he was about to explain what exactly he was planning on making. “Ah think we should give Sweetie Belle a tour and maybe see if we can earn our... uh... d-daisy plantin’ Cutie Marks.”

“Daisy plan-” Silver found Scooteroll’s hoof covering his muzzle.

“Yeah! Cutie Mark Crusaders Daisy Planters! Wooo!” Scooteroll waved his free hoof in the air.

“Right!” Applebuck nodded. “And Sweetie should come with us, because she also is a Crusader and she probably would like to earn hers as well, right?”

Elusive and Dusk chuckled. “Well then, Sweetie, why don’t you go with Silver, Scooteroll and Applebuck? I’m sure you’ll have a good time!”

Sweetie looked at Dusk, then at the books. “But... but the books-”

“Will still be here tomorrow,” Elusive assured the student, herding the filly and the three colts out. “Don’t worry, you’ll have time to study with Dusk later on.”

“I’ll see you all later tonight!” Dusk called after them.

“See you later!” Sweetie yelled back as the door closed behind them.

They all stood outside the library for a moment before Elusive smiled. “Okay, I have work to do. You four enjoy yourselves and don’t get into trouble!”

“We won’t...” Silver groaned. “Not if we’re planting daisies.”

Elusive chuckled and walked away, leaving the four alone.

“That was very well done, Silver!” Scooteroll said.

“Yeah. Ah almost believed you!” Applebuck added, playfully punching Silver on the shoulder.

Silver blinked. “Wait, what?”

Scooteroll facehoofed. “You... you didn’t think we were really going to plant daisies, did you?”

Silver blinked again as he thought about it. Then his eyes lit up as a smile played on his lips. “Ooooh, I get it!”

Sweetie shook her head ashamedly. “Was I really like that?”

Applebuck gave her a straight, deadpan look that would have made Applejack proud. “Most likely? Yes.”

o.0.o

“So, what are we really doing then?” Sweetie asked as she walked behind the three crusaders, stopping from time to time to stare at familiar ponies that were, well... male instead of female.

"Well, Ah figured that, since you can use magic, we can change our plans and do something more interestin'!"

"Like what, exactly?" Sweetie pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Manticore Catchers! Yay!" the three colts bellowed at the same time.

“Manticore Catchers?” Sweetie blinked.

The three colts stopped and looked at her.

“You don’t think it’s a good idea?” Silver asked.

“Well, she’s been acting more like Dusk so-” Scooteroll started to say.

“That’s awesome!” Sweetie gushed. “We wanted to do it last time, but Applejack caught us on the way to the forest and-”

“Wait...” Applebuck said. “Where ‘xactly did cousin Jay Jay see you?”

“Right as we crossed the bridge,” Sweetie began. “She heard us talking about-”

“Growing daisies,” Scooteroll interrupted.

“What?” Sweetie and Silver blinked.

“Y-yeah,” Applebuck added. “We can gain our... uh, farmer... or florist Cutie Marks that way...”

Silver frowned. “But why would we want-”

“Ah’m glad ta hear some common sense comin’ out of your mouths!” A male voice broke in.

Sweetie looked up to stare at the speaker. And up. And up.

He looked... well, like Applejack, as she had suspected, only... bigger and stronger... and he had a yoke around his neck. Just like Big Macintosh, she realized. Except... not quite as big? He’s really close though!

Applejack raised an eyebrow as the filly stared at him. “Now, Ah know Ah haven’t met you before, but Ah don’t think starin’ like that’s polite.”

Sweetie started and lowered her head, smiling sheepishly. “I’m sorry! You just reminded me so much of Applejack and--”

“Applejack?” Applejack asked. His eyes narrowed slightly, taking in the small unicorn filly... and the unicorn colt seated right next to her. “Hey, now that Ah think about it... you actually look a lot like Silver here.”

“That’s cause she’s Rarity’s sister!” Applebuck explained happily. “She’s somehow gone and ended up over here!”

Applejack’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, Ah’ll be. Did Twilight cast that spell again? Ah swear, she an’ Dusk have no common sense sometimes.”

“Um, well, no...” Sweetie chuckled slightly. “It wasn’t Twilight’s fault... but Dusk thinks he can send me home tomorrow. I’m staying with Elusive and Silver in the meantime.”

Applejack sighed and glared at his brother. “Applebuck, you best keep an eye on her, and you too, Scooteroll and Silver. You know how we feel about those mares and how we ought to be doin’ right by ‘em.” When the three colts nodded, he smiled. “Well, if Dusk knows and Elusive is putting you up for the night, Ah guess that’s okay. So, Ah heard you four were goin’ to be planting some daisies to earn your cutie marks?”

“Yes... that’s the plan,” Scooteroll said, smiling so honestly it was hard to believe him.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Well... that's a mite less... uh, drastic than your last few tries.” He coughed. “An’... well... Ah hope you find your callin’s... even if it is plantin’ daisies.”

“Where are you going, Applejack?” Scooteroll asked as the apple farmer started walking past them.

“Ah’m goin’ to meet with the Mayor. He’s havin’ some trouble with supplies for tonight, or so Ah hear.” He chuckled. “Ah’m sure there won’t be any problems, but the ol’ man needs to be told so. You four enjoy yourselves, y’hear?”

“Will do!” Silver saluted.

The group watched in silence as Applejack trotted away into the distance. As he departed, he could be heard muttering “If it ain’t one thing, it’s another. Next thing ah know, it’ll be Applebuck’s ‘cousin’ showin’ up...”

“Wow, that was close,” Applebuck sighed. “It’s a good thing ya’ll told us what happened in your world, Sweetie!”

“Oh, so that’s what it was all about!” Silver said.

“Well, duh~” Scooteroll rolled his eyes. “At least now we can get our real Cutie Marks!”

“Instead of fake ones?” Sweetie quipped.

Scooteroll glared at her. “You know what I mean. Who would want a Cutie Mark that meant your destiny was planting daisies?”

All four shuddered.

“I see your point,” Sweetie agreed.

Applebuck nodded. “That would be pathetic. Ah mean, of all the cool things you can have as a Cutie Mark, daisies is, well...”

“Sad? Deplorable? Heartbreaking? Inadequate? Lamentable? Pitiable? Worthless?” Silver offered.

“Wow, I do sound like a dictionary...” Sweetie mumbled.

“Ahem!”

The four looked up. A stallion with a magenta coat, green mane and two daisies on his Cutie Mark turned to glare at the group before sniffing dismissively and walking away, offended.

“Should we... apologize?” Sweetie asked.

“Nah, he must be used to the abuse by now,” Scooteroll said. “Let’s get going.”

o.0.o

The sun was slowly falling towards the horizon by the time Silver and Sweetie strolled back into the Carousel Boutique.

“And how was your day?” Elusive asked.

“It was great!” Silver replied.

“Oh?” Elusive looked at them with interest, making both cringe a bit and shuffle self-consciously. “Did you do anything special?”

“Um... we showed Sweetie around and took her to the club house...”

“Oh, yes, it was very interesting! It’s almost identical to the Ponyville I come from!” Sweetie added. “Although I wonder... is Sugarcube Corner the same?”

“Well, you could go check...” Silver offered after a moment. “I, uh, have some stuff to do for tonight...” He scratched at the floor with his hoof, looking down. “And, uh, you know the way, right?”

Sweetie nodded. “Sure! Okay, I’ll get going; should I bring anything back for you guys?”

“I think we’re fine, dear,” Elusive said, glancing at Silver. “Be sure to say hi to Berry Bubble for me!”

She faltered in her steps for a second, brain working to make the connection, before turning back.“Okay!” Sweetie smiled to the two, as she walked out of the door.

As soon as she was out of the door, Elusive turned to look at Silver inquisitively. “I can tell when you are trying to avoid somepony, Silver. What are you up to?”

Silver cringed. “Well... I- I have something... for Sweetie...”

Elusive’s eyebrow arched. “Really...?”

o.0.o

Sweetie hummed to herself as she trotted down Ponyville towards Sugarcube Corner. This is so weird, she thought as she passed a male version of Carrot Top. Everypony is different, and yet... the same! I never really thought how different my life would have been if I had been a colt... but I never would have guessed that I would be basically the same... She sighed. If I hadn’t been sent through different worlds... Silver is nice but he seems... She grimaced... foalish... now I feel old...

She suddenly hit something soft. Or rather, somepony. With a mutual cry of surprise, both fell back.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” a female voice said.

“Sorry!” Sweetie shook her head as she stood up, extending a hoof to help the other filly up. “I was just distracted!”

“I guess it’s fine...” the filly said, gratefully accepting Sweetie’s hoof.

The filly she helped up had a grayish-blue coat and a burnt-orange mane. She was a bit on the heavier side and she reminded her of...

Her face took on a look of unabashed shock as she blurted out “Snips?!”

“Sugar... my name is Sugar,” the filly replied, giving Sweetie an odd look. “Do I remind you of somepony else?”

Sweetie nodded. “U-uhm, yeah. Somepony from... way back. Sorry about that.”

“Sugar, there you are!” another female voice called. They both looked up to see a taller, skinnier filly trotting happily up to them. “So, are we getting some muffins or cupcakes today?” She had a turquoise mane and a yellowish coat.

“Spice!” Sugar smiled. “Yes, I hear that Berry Bubble has a new recipe! Can’t wait to see what he baked this time!” She looked at Sweetie. “Would you like to come with?”

“Um, sure. I was going there anyway.” Sweetie nodded, still a little baffled by what she was seeing. She shook her head, clearing the shock out of her system before facing them again. “My name is Sweetie Belle, nice too meet you!”

“Nice to meet you, Sweetie Belle!” Sugar and Spice chorused as they started walking towards Sugarcube Corner.

“So, I haven’t seen you around here before,” Sugar said after a moment. “Did you just move?”

“Hm... I don’t know...” Spice muttered, looking closely at Sweetie. “She does reminds me of somepony... that mane... that coat...”

I knew this would happen sooner or later. she thought to herself, sweating slightly under their curious gazes. Everypony I’ve met so far knew about this genderswap business, but these two... What was it that Applebuck said? He said that Applejack was his... ‘cousin’, right?

“I, um... I’m Silver’s cousin!” Sweetie interjected, smiling weakly. “I came to visit for a couple of days.”

It wasn’t the most creative cover, but it was enough to sate the fillies’ curiosity, their heads nodding in understanding. “Oooh, and you came in time for Nightmare Night!” Sugar bounced excitedly. “It’s the most amazing night, like, ever!”

Sweetie grinned. “Yes, I love Nightmare Night!”

Spice nodded knowingly. “And we have the best pranksters! Between Rainbow Blitz and Berry Bubble, there’s going to be a lot of fun scares!”

“I can imagine,” Sweetie giggled. “Silver and the others are all really excited about tonight!”

The two fillies exchanged glances, then looked at Sweetie. “You mean the Crusaders?”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah, Silver, Scooteroll and Applebuck.”

“So... are you interested in any of them?” Sugar asked, eyes glinting.

Sweetie blinked and then blushed furiously. “What? No! I can’t date other crusaders!”

That stopped the other two. “Wait, you’re a crusader? I thought it was an only-colts club,” Spice said.

“We-well...” Sweetie stammered. “It’s really up to them, but I think it really has to do with finding your Cutie Mark... why would you crusade for it if you already have it?”

Both fillies nodded. “That makes sense,” Sugar ceded. “Most of the other colts and fillies already have theirs.”

“Well, Estella doesn’t,” Spice pointed out. “Maybe she could join the Crusaders.”

“But... why would you want to hang around a group of colts? No offense, Sweetie, but well, colts are... colts, you know? Rough and tumble, don’t play nice? Like, nasty stuff like snails?”

Sweetie chuckled. “Well, crusading is fun, but it might not be for everypony.”

The three shared a laugh as they finally reached Sugarcube Corner. Before any of them could enter however, the upper part of the door opened in a confetti-coated blast, revealing a pink stallion with puffy hair, blue eyes and a really bright smile looked out at the laughing fillies. “Heya everypony! Guess what?! My newest recipe, the Banana-PB-Blueberry muffin is complete! Would you fillies like a sample!?”

Sweetie’s eyes flashed, the memorable taste of those muffins almost tangible upon her tongue. “Oh, I love those!” she gushed, bouncing in place. “Can I have two?”

Berry Bubble looked at her, uncomprehending at first. “But, how would you know how they taste like...”

The pink stallion trailed off, her eyes slowly becoming wider, his pupils shrinking as he proceeded to speak in a very quiet voice. “You’re a new pony in Ponyville.”

“She’s Silver Belle’s cousin!” Sugar piped up, face in a smile. “She’s visiting for Nightmare Night tonight!”

The white filly froze in place, realizing that if Berry DID know who she was... was he going to blurt it out in front of these two fillies who had no idea? “W-well...” she began. “Y’see, I- I...”

“And since you’re a new pony in ponyville...” he continued, eyes still riveted on her, the two unicorns on either side of her giving each other confused glances. “Do you know what this calls for?”

She trembled a little, briefly forgetting what it was that Pinkie usually did on such an occasion. “A... a-a... a p-pa-”

"Aaaaa PARTY~!!" he finished exuberantly, leaping into the air, his earlier quiet and suspicious mood now nowhere to be seen. “Oh, this is just PERFECT, and right in time for Nightmare Night too! Nice to meet you, Silver Bell’s cousin Sweetie Belle! Oh, I can’t wait to get everything together now; I had already been planning this super-spectacular punch bowl, but since you’re visiting it’s going to have to be at least SIX times as super-spectacular! Oh, oh, and I can’t forget the pumpkin pies and pumpkin muffins and the pumpkin pops, and pin-the-tail-on-the-pumpkin! Wait, do pumpkins have tails?”

The rambling took her off-guard for a second, before she let out a sigh of relief. I guess he really doesn’t know after all. That’s good. I wouldn’t want to scare off these two new... friends, that I’ve made. She chanced a glance back towards the two, who were simply regarding the pink pony with looks of confusion.

Shaking her head, she turned back to the colt, and spoke again. “W-well, I think I’d be crazy to turn down a... Berry Bubble party, right?”

The named colt let out a giggle, a odd sound coming from a stallion like him. “You bet your lucky horseshoes! It’s going to be the biggest and best Nightmare Night party yet!”

“U-uhm,” Attention was turned towards Spice, who had her nose in the air, desperately catching the wafting scents coming from the bakery door. “If we’re done saying hi, uhm, can we try those Banana-Fojamma-whatchamacallit muffins now?”

“Well, sure thing, girls! Come on in!” Berry Bubble stepped back and opened the door, letting the three fillies into the store.

While Berry Bubble went to get the aforementioned pastries, they sat down on a table. “So, Sweetie Belle, what are your plans for tonight?” Sugar asked. “Spice, me and Estella are going as a group to get candy. You’re welcome to join us!”

“Well, I promised the other Crusaders to meet with them later on, but...” Sweetie looked at them. The two fillies were giving her imploring looks, and even though she could still see Snips and Snails sitting there...

I wonder what it’s like, hanging out with other ponies? I haven’t had much of a chance since we started the Crusaders. Before I finally became friends with Twilight, it seemed like my only friends were Scootaloo and Applebloom... it couldn’t hurt to befriend some new fillies.

Sweetie smiled. “You know... I think we can hang out for a while...”

The two fillies grinned happily. “Okay, so, uhm... how about we ask questions to get to know each other better?” Spice suggested.

“Sure!” Sweetie said, looking at the pair. “Who wants to start?”

“Oh, me! Me!” Berry Bubble exclaimed, jumping up and down right next to Sweetie.

Sweetie Belle shot out of her seat with a yelp and landed on the floor with an ‘oof’. She glared at Berry Bubble. “Why won’t you all stop doing that?!”

The pink pony smiled slowly. “Because it’s fun! My turn! Is it true that you have a crush on Dusk?!”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide as Sugar and Spice started giggling.

“Well?” Sugar asked.

“Why did I agree to this?” Sweetie sighed as she slumped back into her seat.

The minutes whiled away, as the fillies and the stallion played, laughter was heard resounding through Sugarcube corner. A peaceful, normal afternoon like any other in Ponyville. At least, up until the point when Berry asked:

“Did you bring Pinkie Pie with you?”

o.0.o

“I’m back!” Sweetie called, walking into the Carousel Boutique with a slightly disgruntled look. “And I’m never going to go back to the Sugarcube Corner without a back-up plan on how to get out!”

Elusive peeked out of the work room. “Sweetie! Good, come over here, I have something for you!”

Blinking confusedly, Sweetie walked into Elusive’s work room and stopped in surprise. Next to a grinning Elusive, displayed on a small ponyquin, was something she had not been expecting, in this or any of the other worlds she had visited previously. A small dress.

It was mostly white with some soft pink inlays. It wasn’t too frilly, but the gown was decorated with little gems and pearls. The saddle was designed to hug her figure, and had been integrated into the dress itself. It had two small fake pegasi wings attached to it, each feather treated with a hint of glitter so that they would shimmer if looked at from the right angle.

Sweetie walked around the dress, taking note of the golden thread that highlighted the careful folds and frills. The front of the dress had a clasp with a deep-purple gem encased in a gold frame. It stood alone, drawing attention to itself, but also, somehow, complementing a tiara studded with gems of purple, pink and white which rested on the top of the filly-sized ponyquin’s head.

“This... it’s...” Sweetie was at a loss for words. She slowly tore her eyes away from the gem and looked at the whole dress. “It’s beautiful!”

“Thank you!” Elusive grinned, eagerly levitating the finished product. “Let’s try it on and make sure it fits you just right!”

Sweetie closed her eyes and let Elusive slide the dress on her. As she would have expected from her sister, Elusive’s calculations were spot-on. It felt very comfortable, and was completely lightweight. Looking at herself in the mirror, Sweetie almost couldn’t tell if the wings were real or not.

“Elusive, this is amazing... I’ve never had anything like this!” She shook her head slowly. “This is more a dress for a Gala than a costume!”

Elusive blinked. “Really? I would have thought Rarity would have made something similar for you... oh well, you can at least use it for the next Gala if you go.”

Sweetie sighed. “Rarity fell ill last time. She had started something, but she wasn’t able to finish it. She promised to make it up to me for the next Nightmare Night.”

“Well, since she’s not around, take this as a gift from me,” Elusive said with a smile. “I’m sure she’ll love it when she gets to see it!”

“I think she will,” Sweetie replied, smiling back. She gave him a long, thankful look, before something formed in her expression. A sense of trepidation.

Slowly, she took a step towards the stallion, as she asked in a very small voice. “Elusive... I-I... would it be weird, if I wanted to call you... big brother?”

The dressmaker started, his own eyes a little widened in surprise. He bit his lip as he thought, taking in the gaze of the filly in front of him, before he had an answer.

“I... I- I don’t see why not, Sweetie. When you sister visited us, she told Silver that as far as she was concerned... he was also her own little brother as well. And if she can make that choice in her heart of hearts...” His expression softened, as he lowered his head level with his alternate sibling. “Then I don’t see why I cannot do the same.”

She gave him grateful smile, before quickly coming over and enveloping his hoof in a hug, her eyes shut tight. “Thank you... thank you, big brother. For everything.”

He simply returned her smile, only a slight sense of uneasiness upon him as he raised a hoof and lightly stroked the filly’s mane. “You’re very welcome, little sister... though I shouldn’t be the only one to-”

“Wow...”

Sweetie and Elusive disentangled from each other, before turning to see Silver step into the room. His mane was combed back and he was dressed in a fine cut uniform. Like Sweetie’s costume, it was white with purple, and had golden buttons and cuffs. It gave him a very distinguished look, especially with the purple sash crossing his chest and the fake golden medal adorning the left side of his chest.

“Swe- Sweetie, you look... amazing,” Silver said, eyes wide.

Sweetie blushed. “Um, thanks, Silver, you look really nice too!”

Elusive smiled. “And to think that this dress wouldn’t have been complete without Silver’s help!”

Silver’s eyes widened as he turned to look at his brother. “Elusive! You said you wouldn’t tell!”

“What? How?” Sweetie asked, looking between the two with confusion.

“Well, Silver is the one that gave me that purple gem. He said he wanted you to have it.” Elusive explained.

Silver scratched the floor with his hoof self-consciously. “I... I found it at the HEDGE... after Rarity and the others went back home. I thought it could help me get my Cutie Mark somehow, so I saved it for later... when I heard what Elusive wanted to make for you...” He trailed off, not looking at her.

“Thank you, Silver...” Sweetie said, trotting up to him. For the briefest of moments, she considered what it was she was about to do, before diving in and giving him a light peck on the cheek.

Silver’s eyes went wide, then he smiled a bit before shaking his head and stepping back. “H-hey, no kisses! I- I just thought you should have it!”

Elusive chuckled. “Okay, you two, you’d better go if you want to get an early start. You don’t want to miss all the candy!”

Sweetie blinked. “Oh, that’s right! I promised to Sugar and Spice to collect candy for a while.”

Silver cringed. “Really? But what about-”

“Don’t worry!” Sweetie smiled. “I’ll make sure to meet you guys at the library in an hour, okay?”

“Aw but...” Silver sighed. “Okay, we’ll meet you there... I don’t know if Scooteroll and Applebuck are even ready yet...”

“A prince should always take care of the princess, Silver,” Elusive admonished after a moment. “Why don’t you escort Sweetie to where she is meeting Sugar and Spice?”

Silver and Sweetie exchanged glances. “Um, sure,” Silver said, fidgeting a little.

Sweetie smiled. “Thank you, Silver! Come on, let’s go!”

The pair slowly walked out, chatting away as Elusive shook his head in amusement. “Ah, to be young again...” He sighed longingly.

o.0.o

Silver glanced at Sweetie as they walked down the street in search of Sugar and Spice. She was looking around at the town decorations with a slightly nostalgic smile.

“Um... Sweetie? Are you enjoying yourself in this universe?” he asked. “I mean, what if Dusk can’t send you home? Would you like to stay with us?”

Sweetie sighed. “I don’t know... every world I visit I ask myself the same thing.”

“Wait,” Silver stopped. “Every world?”

Sweetie slowed down and looked back at him with a small smile. “Well, yes, Silver... I’ve been to a couple of other worlds after...” She looked away. “... after the incident.” Sweetie finished.

She does sound a bit too different from me, Silver thought. I always figured that if I met Sweetie, she’d be a lot like me... and she is, but she also seems almost... grown up.

“It’s not a nice story to begin with, but I have made new friends in each world..." Sweetie trailed off for a moment before glancing back at Silver, eyes shining with excitement. "I even made friends with Nightmare Moon once!”

“Nightmare-?” Silver blinked, before catching himself. “O-oh, you mean Anarchy Apollo, don’t you?”

“That’s right,” she replied. “I went to this universe where she was powerful enough to defeat Princess Celestia (that’s your Prince Solaris) but she was actually not that bad. Scootaloo actually declared a prank war on her.”

Silver stared. “Wow, that Scootaloo must be braver than Scooteroll. I don’t think he’d have it in him to start a prank war with Anarchy Apollo.”

Sweetie chuckled. “And there was this world where Twilight had fallen in love with The Great and Powerful Trixie... did you know the Trixie from my world almost got me killed? So when I saw this other Trixie, I attacked her!”

The Great and Powerful- she can’t mean... The Great and Powerful Presto?! Silver’s expression went blank.

“Silver?” Sweetie waved her hoof in front of his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“No...” he gulped. “No... I’m not... I just imagined Dusk with The Great and Powerful Presto... I- I need to sit down.” He unceremoniously dropped to his haunches.

Sweetie patted his shoulder. “I know, it’s weird to imagine, but you should have seen Twilight and Trixie together... they were so cute!”

Silver sighed and chuckled. “I guess I can imagine that... somehow... it’s just-”

“Crazy?” Sweetie finished for him. “Yeah... but it’s another world and everypony is either slightly or very different than in the other universe.”

Silver looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. “Sweetie... you and I are not very similar.”

“I... I’ve seen some things...” Sweetie whispered. “I wish I hadn’t...” Her eyes watered a bit. “Did Elusive ever give you a large white ball?”

“I think so... I think I still have it somewhere,” Silver replied, thinking back to where he kept his toys. “Why?”

“Take good care of it, okay?” Sweetie said. “It’s more important than you might think.”

Silver could only nod as he stood up. “Sweetie... I’m sorry.”

Sweetie smiled and hugged Silver. “It’s okay... thanks for caring.”

“Hey, it’s Sweetie!” a voice eagerly shouted.

Sweetie and Silver both looked in the direction of the call and saw Sugar, Spice and Estella approaching.

The fact that Estella had still chosen to dress up as a pirate almost made Sweetie laugh with amusement.

Silver, however, choked and started coughing when he saw that Sugar had dressed up as Dusk, dyeing her coat purple and drawing a fake cutie mark, while Spice had chosen to disguise herself as The Great and Powerful Presto, cape, hat and blue coat paint. “Why?” he coughed. “Why would you dress up as... as them?!”

“Aw, don’t you like it?” Sugar asked, hugging Spice close. “I think we look cute!”

“But... wha- ah...” He shook his head. “I must learn a magic spell to remove this memory...” He looked at Sweetie, who was giggling behind her hoof. “I blame you for this!”

Sweetie batted her eyes at him. “Surely Prince Charming isn’t going to stay angry with his princess, is he?”

Thoroughly unprepared for this sudden, flirtatious maneuver, Silver did the only thing any young colt in his position could do... he melted.

o.0.o

“Wow, this is amazing!” Sugar exclaimed, looking around at all the decorations. There were banners that proclaimed establishments had changed their name to something more sinister. Pumpkins had been carved into evil-looking faces and depictions of Anarchy Apollo’s profile.

“We know,” Silver said. “We’ve been walking around for almost an hour now, we’ve seen it and been impressed.”

Sugar and Spice giggled. “Colts!” they chorused.

Silver rolled his eyes.

“.... and I’ve always wanted to see how Nightmare Night was celebrated! My home town is so far away from Canterlot that it was only observed as a curiosity. Some ponies would carve a couple of pumpkins, but nothing to this scale!” Estella said, trotting next to Sweetie.

“Well, I’m sure you’ll see what the spirit of Nightmare Night is really about!” Sweetie said. “Many ponies here have some sort of story to share about Nigh- Anarchy Apollo.”

“Geez, you sound like Dusk sometimes, Sweetie,” Scooteroll teased, walking up to them in a wolf costume.

Sweetie raised an eyebrow.

“He’s right, y’know,” Applebuck chuckled. “No offense, Sweetie but y’all really do.”

Sweetie huffed. “Well, I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“Did you guys already get candy?” Spice asked.

“Yeah!” Scooteroll grinned, showing off a bagful of treats. “Gotta love how much candy everypony is willing to fork out for free!”

“Hm, I think we should head to the library now,” Sweetie suggested. “It’s about time...”

Sugar, Spice and Estella blinked and looked at each other. “Time for what?” Estella asked.

“Um, for Dusk to come out!” Sweetie said. “He’s been working on his costume all day!”

“Oh...” Sugar said. “Well, if you really want to go see your coltfriend...”

“Dusk is not my coltfriend!” Sweetie blushed. “He’s just a really handsome and smart pony whom I respect a lot.”

“Read: whom I really like.” Spice giggled.

“Are we all going to the library then?” asked a rather large white chicken that had somehow seamlessly integrated himself into the group.

“Yes, I think- aaaah!” Sweetie jumped on top of Silver, who stumbled, trying to keep upright while holding her. A quick glance at the avian’s pink face told her all she needed to know. “Berry Bubble! Don’t do that!”

“Do what?” the pink pony asked, before chuckling and trotting on ahead. “C’mon, everypony! Let’s get Dusk out of that dusty library!”

“The Library’s not dusty...” Sweetie muttered as she slid back down to the floor.

The group followed Berry Bubble through Ponyville until they were at the library door. “Dusk! Come on out! You’re gonna miss the whole party, you silly pony!”

The door to the library opened and out stepped Dusk in an intricately-designed cape and wizard’s hat. Somehow his mane had extended all the way to his tail and was tied into a long ponytail with intermingled golden rings.

“Hey, everypony!” he grinned. “Can you guess who I’m dressed as?”

The group exchanged glances.

“Um... Star Swirl?” Sweetie asked. Is that what the pony is called here? Oh please Celestia let me be righ-

“That’s right, Sweetie!” Dusk nodded at her, twisting so that his new pony tail draped over his shoulders. “Star Swirl the Long Maned. I even got the rings exactly where she had them!”

“He really went all-out,” Applebuck whispered to Scooteroll, who nodded.

“Too bad nopony else really knows what he’s talking about...” Scooteroll laughed.

“Wow,” Sweetie said, taking a close look at the rings and noticing the runes etched into them. “So, Star Swirl enchanted the golden rings in her mane to cast different protective spells and the silver ones would rotate a magic-feeding sequence that would keep them all ongoing at the same time? That’s brilliant!” Sweetie gushed to an equally excited Dusk.

“Then again, when eggheads get together...” Scooteroll deadpanned and elbowed Silver. “Right, Silver?”

But Silver did not reply as he glared at Dusk.

“Uh, Silver?” Applebuck shook his hoof in front of his friend’s eyes, snapping him out of his trance. “Y’alright?”

“Um... yeah, sure...” Silver muttered, his eyes going back to Sweetie and Dusk.

“Aww come on, don’t be so glum, brony,” said a purple dragoness, coming up next to the group. It took the young colt a couple of glances to realize that said dragoness was Spines, dressed up as... a dragon. “I think I know what’s goin’ on in that head of yours...”

He sighed. “Is it that obvious?” he asked, before looking back towards his other self, still chatting away with the elder stallion.

Dusk chuckled at something Sweetie had said and then turned to face the others. “Oh, I’m sorry, here...” his horn lit up and candy floated into the open bags of several colts and fillies.

“Enough chitchat!” Berry Bubble squawked like a chicken, getting into his role. “Let’s find candy!”

Dusk arched an eyebrow. “Berry Bubble, aren’t you a little old for that?”

“Too old for free candy?!” Berry Bubble clucked. “Never!” he declared.

It was then that a lightning bolt hit Berry Bubble in the flank. He gave a very convincing squawk and ran away screaming, followed by Sugar, Spice, Estella and several other fillies and colts.

Dusk and Spines glared at up at a nearby black cloud, whose sole occupant was laughing at the prank he’d just pulled, his costume obviously a rip-off of some dark aerobatic team’s uniform, though his multihued mane and tail did nothing to conceal his identity.

“Blitz,” the unicorn admonished. “That wasn't very nice.”

“It's just a prank, Dusk, chill out,” Rainbow Blitz replied with a mischievous smile.

Dusk shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“Ooh! There's another group!” Blitz said, grinning wickedly as he sped away.

Dusk sighed, but brightened up when he saw a tall and straw-bound scarecrow walking towards them, signature hat upon his head. He ignored the distant sound of a lightning bolt scaring other ponies. “Happy Nightmare Night, Applejack!”

Applejack nodded, noticing the group. “Howdy, ya'll! Nice costumes!” He stopped to appreciate Dusk's hoofwork. “With that mane, I reckon you're some sorta country music singer.”

Dusk growled as the others started laughing.

“It's okay, Dusk, country music isn't that bad,” Sweetie consoled.

“Your costume an’ Silver's are amazing, Sweetie,” Applejack complimented. “The work of Lucy, Ah assume?”

“Eeeyup,” Silver smiled.

It was then that they heard cheering and applause break out around the square. The group looked over as the Mayor, dressed in a clown outfit, ascended a platform constructed in the middle of town. Sensing the speech to come, the lot of them quickly turned their full attention to the stage.

“Thank you, everypony, and welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!” he proclaimed in a deep profoundo basso. The cheering was instantaneous, giving him cause to hold a hoof out and wait with a smile for them to die down again.

“Now all the little ponies who have been out collecting sweets should follow our friend Zircon to hear...” his voice took on an even deeper and creepier pitch. “... the legend of Anarchy Apollooooo~!”

Spines snorted. “Spooky voice might work better if he wasn't dressed like that.”

Dusk chuckled as the group followed all the colts and fillies out of town to gather around a tall zebra stallion, done up in a swamp doctor’s outfit complete with stovepipe hat, standing next to a statue of Anarchy Apollo.

“Follow me and very soon you'll hear the tale of Anarchy Apollo...” Zircon said, raising his voice as his haunting intonation captivated his young audience. “Listen close, my little dears, and I'll tell you where you got your fears: of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary. Of Anarchy Apollo, who makes you wary.” He blew into his hoof and a cloud of green powder transformed into an image of an evil-looking pony with serrated teeth.

“Every year, we put on a disguise, to save ourselves, from his searching eyes.” Zircon rhymed, another green cloud creating a full-bodied green alicorn who flew around the gathered ponies.

Sugar and Spice screamed in horror.

“But Anarchy Apollo wants just one thing: to gobble up ponies in one quick swing!” The green alicorn opened his mouth and crashed down on top of Berry Bubble and Estella, both of which screamed and held each other, trembling.

“Hungrily, he soars the sky.” The green alicorn flew over them again, seemingly in search of somepony. “If he sees nopony, he passes by. So if he comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year!” Zircon finished.

“Um, mister Zircon?” Estella asked. “If we wear costumes to hide from Anarchy Apollo so he won't gobble us up, how come we still need to give him some of our candy?”

Zircon smiled. “A perfect question, my little friend. For Anarchy Apollo you must not offend. Fill up his belly with a treat or two, so he won't return to come eat you!”

Berry Bubble screamed and ran over to the statue of Anarchy Apollo. “Everypony! Just dump some candy and get out of here!” he cried out, emptying his bag.

It was then that lightning crisscrossed the sky thrice. Everypony paused and turned their heads skyward, watching the clouds broil and churn, before disgorging a chariot pulled by bat-winged ponies, carrying a cloaked figure within.

“It’s Anarchy Apollo!” Berry Bubble shouted in horror. “Everypony, run!”

Dusk, Spines and the Crusaders jumped out of the way of the literal stampede that ran away from the statue.

“Wait! It’s just Prince Artemis!” Dusk shouted, but was ignored in the chaos. He turned to look at the others. “Come on! Let’s find out what’s happening!”

They arrived to find that the chariot had landed in the middle of Ponyville, the locals fearfully watching the cloaked figure that stepped off. With a nod, the figure sent the chariot away and turned to look at the gathered ponies.

The cloak disintegrated into bats as a tall, dark-blue form stepped forth. With his silver raiment and helmeted crown atop his head, Dusk easily recognized him as none other than the prince of the night, Prince Artemis.

“GREETINGS, PONIES OF PONYVILLE!” he boomed, the air shaking with his voice. “We have come to celebrate with you this joyous night of festivities and frolicking!”

“He- he really needs help with his dialogue,” Scooteroll deadpanned.

“Hush now,” Dusk scolded as he left them behind to approach the Prince. “Prince Artemis, I am-”

“Star Swirl the Long Maned,” Artemis recognized. “‘Tis a very detailed costume.”

Dusk smiled. “Why, thank you! I’m glad that you recognized it! I thought only Sweetie would have-” He stopped when the Prince raised a hoof.

“Not to worry, my good Dusk. We have come to have a good time despite the dark warnings.”

“Dark... warnings?” Dusk blinked. “I’m... afraid I don’t know which warnings you’re talking about.”

Artemis looked at Dusk in surprise. “We thought a unicorn as well versed in legends as yourself would be informed of this important legend. It was said that on Nightmare Night, the evil spirit which brought forth Anarchy Apollo would return and possess me during the full moon.”

Dusk chuckled nervously.

“‘Tis a good thing that we remembered to raise a gibbous moon tonight to avoid such... confrontations.”

Dusk frowned. “But... I saw the moon earlier and...”

It was then that the clouds parted and the light of the full moon shone directly on Prince Artemis. Dusk jumped back as the Prince groaned and cried in pain, covering his head with his hooves as dark mist surrounded him.

“What’s happening?!” the Mayor asked, panicking.

“I don’t know!” Dusk replied as the wind picked up. “But Prince Artemis was saying-” He stopped, eyes widening. “Oh, no! Everypony, it’s-”

A blast of magic whipped Dusk’s mane around as a cruel laughter rose from where the Prince had knelt and a misty mane grew to encompass Artemis.

Only, it wasn’t the prince. With a coat as black as the night, mane waving like nebulae and wearing a dark blue set of spiked armor was a figure that Dusk had hoped never to see again.

“Hello, foals,” Anarchy Apollo laughed. “Did you miss me?”

“It’s Anarchy Apollo!” Berry Bubble shouted. “Everypony, run!”

“Not so fast!” the nightmarish alicorn shouted, his horn flaring. “You shall not run when I, your ruler, have just returned! You will worship me!”

“You won’t rule over us, Anarchy Apollo!” Applejack shouted. “We’ll get the Elements of Harmony and send you away again!”

Anarchy Apollo’s eyes flashed malevolently. “It won’t be that easy this time, little pony! For now, I will have new Lieutenants to fight for me!”

Dusk’s eyes widened as a bolt of dark purple energy shot out from Anarchy Apollo’s horn, flashing towards him.

“Dusk!” Rainbow Blitz was suddenly there, pushing Dusk out of the way. The pegasus cried out as the energy meant for the unicorn surrounded him. His mane turned a dull gray as his patched up Shadowbolt costume became a real uniform.

“I welcome you, Dark Blitz, to my army!” Anarchy Apollo chuckled darkly, waving a hoof at the newly-turned pony. Slowly, Blitz got to his hooves, before turning towards the rest of the group, his expression cold and unreadable.

“Spines!” Dusk shouted. “Quick, I’ll distract him, but you have to tell Prince Solaris what’s happening here!”

“Okay!” the little dragoness shouted as she sprinted away towards the library.

“But one is not enough... I need more!” Anarchy Apollo grinned as his magic shot out again.

Dusk was ready to dodge, but this time the magic went right by him. He followed it with his eyes and gasped in horror as the magic struck Sweetie Belle and the Crusaders.

A bright flash blinded all ponies present and when it faded they could only stare in fright and dismay at what had happened.

Scooteroll had been turned into an orange-tinged winged timber wolf, with a pegasus shaped medallion strapped on his chest. Its bramble-made wings made crackling noises as they twitched and stretched, making some pegasi cringe.

Applebuck truly looked like he had died and been stitched back together, his pupils and irises had disappeared altogether and his body was encased in a tough dark-grey hide.

Silver’s costume had been replaced by black, intricately adorned armor, similar to that of the Royal Guards; it shone in the moonlight, silver inlays reflecting the soft light as his now-red eyes scanned the multitude of ponies around them. The medallion he was wearing had turned silver and was embedded into the breastplate opposite an effigy of Anarchy Apollo on the other side.

Sweetie’s tiara had grown to encompass the sides of her face. It was a deep, dark purple with silver inlays that looked almost like bat wings. Her white dress had been changed into a metallic armor the same shade as her helm, with silver wings etched into the breastplate and leg guards. The fantasy wings on her back had turned black and flapped a couple of times... they seemed to be real now, and they were armored as well, from scapulars to alula with a thinner version of her armor. Her irises had turned into an amber-yellow and her pupils seemed draconic, much like Anarchy Apollo’s.

With another flash, Blitz and the Crusaders were standing side by side with Anarchy Apollo.

“Applebuck!” Applejack shouted, looking at his brother in fright.

“This is horrible!” the Mayor shouted.

“Go, my Lieutenants!” Anarchy Apollo hollered. “Cause mayhem! Cause chaos and mischief!”

“Not so fast, Anarchy Apollo!” Dusk yelled, standing tall as Berry Bubble, Applejack, Elusive, and a trembling Butterscotch valiantly stood in front of the Nightmarish alicorn. “We won’t let you do that!”

“And how do you plan on stopping me when I have him on my side?” Anarchy Apollo asked mockingly, pointing with a hoof at Dark Blitz.

“Um...” Dusk gulped.

“Give me back mah brother!” Applejack shouted, galloping towards them, with the intent to buck Anarchy Apollo right in the face. He stopped when he realized he was floating in the air, courtesy of Sweetie’s magic.

“Tut-tut...” Sweetie said, her voice deeper and a nasty sneer decorating her face.

“Sweetie!” Dusk called. “You can’t be working for him!”

“Give it up, foal. Without the Elements you don’t stand a chance!” Anarchy Apollo laughed.

“We have the power of Friendship!” Dusk stated valiantly.

Evil Silver glared at Dusk when Evil Sweetie involuntarily swooned, but Anarchy Apollo just cackled. “And is your friendship enough to fight these five?” he asked, moving his hoof and encompassing the Crusaders and Blitz.

When Dusk bit his lip and didn’t answer, Anarchy Apollo laughed. “I thought as much.”

“Very well, then I shall-”

“Do nothing!” came a deep, authoritative voice as a flash of light materialized in the midst of the showdown. It faded away to reveal a tall white alicorn stallion, mane and tail possessing warm hues, the crown upon his head marking him easily as-

“Prince Solaris!” Dusk sighed in relief. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

Sweetie frowned and glared at Celestia’s counterpart.

“Ah, so you’ve finally arrived, brother!” Anarchy Apollo sneered.

“I am not your brother, Anarchy Apollo. Release Artemis or I will stop you and your thralls right now.” Solaris stated coldly.

“No!” Dusk said suddenly. “You can’t!”

Prince Solaris blinked. “Why not?”

“Because his ‘thralls’ are Rainbow Blitz, the Crusaders and Sweetie Belle!” informed Applejack worriedly.

“What?!” Prince Solaris turned to look in horror at Anarchy Apollo. “How could you do such a thing?! It isn’t possible!”

“I will do anything so that my demands are met!” Anarchy Apollo declared.

Prince Solaris gritted his teeth. “Well then, what are these demands?!”

Several ponies looked at each other worriedly. The stallion of the night glowered at his brother, before tossing his head back in a mighty shout.

“I demand... that the amount of chocolates given to me as sacrifice during Nightmare Night be increased by twenty percent!”

“Never!!” Prince Solaris reared back. “You will never have eternal ni-” he choked as his brain registered what he had been told. “Wait... what?”

“I said that I want the amount of chocolates given as a sacrifice during Nightmare Night be increased by twenty percent! No returns.”

“But...” Solaris shook his head. “That’s-”

“Are you not going to abide by our terms?!” Anarchy Apollo asked furiously, eyes flashing. “Truly, you do not know who you are dealing with, Solaris!”

Solaris stepped back. “This is nonsense, Anarchy Apollo! There’s no reason for that! Is this a trick?”

Anarchy Apollo rolled his eyes and his horn lit with magic. With a ‘poof’ a scroll appeared floating between them. “If you’ll look at these statistics, you’ll see that the sacrifice has been declining steadily over the last 400 years,” he huffed. “As it is, I’m letting you off easy.”

Solaris frowned as he looked at the paper. Snatching it with his own magic, he examined it closely.

Dusk blinked, staring at the surreal showdown going on not twelve hoofsteps away. At length, he finally found the words he was looking for. “Wait... are we really doing this?”

After reading twice, Solaris slowly lowered the parchment. “You‘ve kept tabs?”

“What did you expect me to do for a thousand years in the moon? Carve moon rocks to look like you and blow them up afterwards?” Anarchy Apollo asked with a derisive snort.

Solaris sighed. “Honestly, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Anarchy Apollo grinned. “Happy Nightmare Night, brother,” he laughed, hoofing Solaris in the shoulder.

Applejack frowned. “Now, wait just one apple-pickin’ minute... are y’all sayin’ what ah think you’re saying?” He looked down as his undead brother grinned at him.

“Happy Nightmare Night, bro!” Applebuck said, his smile widening.

“Had you guys going for a while, didn’t we?” Rainbow Blitz gloated, flying in small circles over Berry Bubble and Butterscotch before landing and bro-hoofing Scooteroll.

“Sorry I scared you girls,” Sweetie said, smiling sheepishly at Sugar and Spice. “But I had to keep up the act!”

“It’s... It’s okay, Sweetie...” Spice replied after a moment. “You looked pretty scary in that armor though...”

“It’s awesome, isn’t it?!” Sweetie squeaked.

“And that voice...” Sugar shivered. “Where did you get that from?”

Sweetie cringed. “Well... from Anarchy Apollo... sort of...”

“My, don’t you look like a handsome devil!” Elusive chuckled as he trotted up to his brother. “I can see that the Prince took my design into account! How delightful!”

Solaris shook his head. “I understand the appeal of the prank, brother, and I approve... but really? Transforming cloth into armor? And giving a filly the armor of Hades?”

“It’s just an imitation, brother,” Artemis laughed. “One I couldn’t resist.”

“So...” the Mayor walked carefully up to them. “Does this mean that we can carry on? Everypony’s safe?”

Solaris chuckled. “That’s right.”

“Citizens of Ponyville!” Artemis, still disguised as Anarchy Apollo, spoke up. “Happy Nightmare Night! Don’t forget to enjoy the festivities!”

The cheers were deafening.

o.0.o

The celebrations continued well into the night, until most ponies were completely exhausted. The tired group decided to rest a bit before everypony went home.

“But, what ah want to know is... how’d y’all plan this?” Applejack asked as the two Princes, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sweetie Belle and the others walked into the library.

“Well... that’s a bit of a story...” Applebuck said after a moment.

Solaris smiled. “I think we all want to hear this one, Applebuck. Last I heard from Artemis this morning, he wanted to cancel Nightmare Night altogether!”

The crusaders looked at each other. “Well...” Silver sighed. “It went like this...”

o.0.o

The Everfree Forest seemed the same no matter what dimension Sweetie was in. Dark, foreboding... Leaves seemed to move where there was no breeze; just like any previous visit, she found out that if she stood in certain areas she could see her own breath while the cold would disappear altogether just a step away.

It was an unnatural place, as if it had been ripped out of some dark imagination and stuck in the middle of Equestria as a blight to all those who would unwittingly wander into it.

“Well, here we are...” Applebuck announced , looking towards the dark forest with trepidation. “Are we sure we want to do this?”

Scooteroll nodded. “Yeah! We’ll get our Cutie Marks for sure!”

“Besides, we have it all planned, remember?” Silver said. “We spent the whole last week drawing maps and planning how to capture it!”

“Well... I remember seeing one close to the Castle...” Sweetie recounted after a moment. “It looked pretty big... and mean.”

The three colts looked at her in awe.

“Y-you’ve been to the castle?” Scooteroll asked. “That’s amazing!”

“Why did you go there?” Silver asked.

“Well... I- I got Scootaloo really mad at me and... and I ran away into the forest.”

Scooteroll looked slightly perturbed. “Uh... Scootaloo? Is that... I mean... is she...?”

“You?” Sweetie smiled. “Yep! She was my first friend in Ponyville!”

“Hey, just like us, buddy!” Scooteroll grinned and hoofed Silver on the shoulder.

“Ouch.”

Applebuck rolled his eyes. “So, do you think you can find your way back?”

“Uh...” Sweetie looked at the three colts. “I- I guess... although, Twilight wasn’t very happy that I had gone into the Everfree by myself...”

Scooteroll rolled his eyes. “They never are, but they already have their cutie marks! Come on, you know the way, you know magic, and, if we’re anything like your friends in your world, you know we can take it!”

Sweetie nodded. “Well, I am a Crusader! And that means we all get our Cutie Marks! Or die trying!”

Applebuck blinked. “Well, Ah’m not sure Ah want to die for it but... Ah’ll risk a limb or two.”

“Good enough!” Scooteroll grinned. “Are we all ready then?”

The others looked at each other and nodded resolutely. “Let’s go!”

Sweetie nodded and started walking. Applebuck fell behind her while Scooteroll and Silver flanked them.

Remembering the path that Zecora had shown her, Sweetie carefully led them deeper and deeper into the Everfree Forest. Slowly the sunlight diminished until it was barely enough to allow them to see where they were going.

Applebuck jumped when the wind shook some dead leaves, making a rustling sound. “Ah... Ah’m okay...”

“I hope we don’t see any timber wolves.” Silver said after a moment. “They’re supposed to be dangerous...”

Scooteroll rolled his eyes. “Everything in here is supposed to be dangerous.”

“Which is why we’re sticking to the road... right?” Silver said after a moment.

“Hey... do you guys hear something?” Sweetie asked suddenly.

“Hey, don’t try to scare us!” Scooteroll said after a moment of silence. “That’s not cool.”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow, but then turned her head. “There it is again!”

The four Crusaders quieted down, and after a moment they could all hear something indeed. It sounded like somepony. Somepony muttering.

“Citizens of Ponyville! We have graced your tiny village with our presence, so that you- no, no, no... maybe something less formal?” The voice paused. “‘Hi, Ponyvillians!’ No! That doesn’t work. They are my subjects! I can’t talk to them like that... no, it has to be something more... imposing... perhaps I should use the Royal Canterlot Voice?”

The group exchanged puzzled glances before slowly walking up to where the voice was coming from.

They hid behind some bushes and carefully looked out. In front of them, an alicorn with midnight blue coat and wavy, star-speckled mane stood facing away from them as he paced around, speaking aloud to himself.

Silver stared at the others in awe. “It’s Prince Artemis!” he whispered excitedly. “I haven’t seen him since the Summer Sun Celebration!”

“I have to project strength,” the alicorn was saying, “but also understanding. I have to let them know that they can stop celebrating that awful holiday!”

Sweetie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait. Tonight’s Nightmare Night?!”

Her shout alerted Prince Artemis to their presence. He turned around and faced the group. “THOU SHALT REVEAL THINESELVES!”

“Geez, does he really have to shout like that?” Scooteroll winced as he led the others out of the bushes.

“The Royal Canterlot Voice was the appropriate method of addressing subjects about one thousand years ago,” Sweetie Belle explained. “When Lun- I mean, Prince Artemis, was sent to the Moon, he never lived through the changes that made the Royal Canterlot Voice obsolete. He wouldn’t speak with that voice to his... brother.”

“THAT IS CORRECT!” Prince Artemis announced. “THOU KNOWEST THINE HISTORY QUITE WELL, YOUNG FILLY! WHAT IS THY NAME?”

“Sweetie Belle, your highness, and I regret to inform you, but the use of the Canterlot Royal Voice was discontinued 800 years ago when your sis- I mean, brother, changed his approach to the court.”

“THOU MEANS THAT WE NEED NOT PROJECT OUR VOICE ANYMORE?”

“Um, yeah.” Sweetie grimaced, shaking her head to clear away the ringing in her ears. “It is considered impolite to shout, even at your lessers, and it usually gives the impression that you are angry.”

“WE SEE!” Prince Artemis heralded. “IT DOES MAKE SENSE. WHENEVER WE WATCH SOLARIS HOLD COURT, HE SIMPLY SPEAKS IN A NORMAL TONE OF VOICE.”

“Yes, and what I’m trying to say is that-”

“THAT WE SHOULD TALK IN A MORE NORMAL VOLUME?” Prince Artemis proclaimed in askance. “WE APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION, YOUNG FILLY, AND-”

“IN THE NAME OF SOLARIS, STOP SHOUTING!” Applebuck hollered, interrupting the Prince.

“... we will try to keep our voice to a lower volume,” Artemis finished meekly.

“Why are you talking like that?” Scooteroll asked. “There’s only one of you.”

Artemis raised an eyebrow. “Are we to assume that the royal ‘we’ is no longer in practice as well?”

The crusaders exchanged glances. “Uh... no, not really. We’ve never heard Prince Solaris speak like that.”

Artemis frowned. “Dammit, Solaris, you told me that’s how we should talk!”

Sweetie giggled. “So, what are you doing here, your highness?”

Artemis sighed. “WE- ahem... I... came here to deal with this much maligned night once and for all, and put our subjects to rest from their fears of Anarchy Apollo and finally be done with the barbaric... tradition... that is ‘Nightmare Night’.”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide. She facehoofed at her own forgetfulness. “I can’t believe I didn’t remember that Applejack stopped us from hunting Manticores on Nightmare Night!”

Applebuck gave her an odd look. “Are you tellin’ me you didn’t notice? They were settin’ up a banner and everythin’!”

“Hey, give her a break, she’s just arrived in this world!” Silver retorted, stepping up next to Sweetie.

“Calm down, Silver,” Scooteroll said. “We’re not trying to give her a hard time!” He looked at Sweetie nervously. “We wouldn’t want that...”

Prince Artemis frowned. “What do you mean she just arrived in this world?”

“I uh... I’m actually from another world, your highness,” Sweetie explained. “I arrived here last night and just today Dusk promised to help get me home.”

Scooteroll watched from the corner of his eye as Silver silently repeated the word ‘Dusk’, a look of slight disgust playing across his feature. He raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask, Prince Artemis spoke.

“Ah, then you have come from the other world where we are all gender inverted... I believe my counterpart is Princess Luna.”

“That’s right!” Sweetie exclaimed, awed. “It’s amazing how everypony here seems to know so much about inter-dimensional travel! Even Nightmare Moon was surprised when she found out! But all of you seem to be able to just guess things right!”

“Wait... Nightmare Moon?” Prince Artemis asked.

Sweetie gasped. “So you’re really trying to stop Nightmare Night from happening ever again?!”

All conversation ceased as the Crusaders turned to look at the Prince, who cleared his throat, uncomfortable under the scrutiny of the young ponies. “Um... yes, that would be correct.”

“But you can’t!” Silver exclaimed.

“That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard!” Scooteroll added.

“Yeah! It’s almost as bad as Scooteroll’s usual ideas!” Applebuck nodded, earning himself a prompt hoof to the shoulder.

“My plans are not bad!” Scooteroll snapped. “They are awesome!”

“They usually fail,” Silver shot back.

“I don’t see you coming up with any ideas!” Scooteroll growled, glaring at Silver.

"Hey! No idea is still better than a bad idea!" Silver retorted.

“Says you!” Scooteroll got just in front of Silver and pushed.

“Hey! Don’t push him!” Applebuck defended, pushing Scooteroll.

“Why, you!” Scooteroll snarled as he jumped on top of the other two. They soon became a whirlwind of limbs and dust as they fought with each other.

“I can’t believe I was ever like that...” Sweetie groaned, putting a hoof against the side of her head and massaging away a headache.

“You seem a lot calmer than they are,” Artemis commented, after a moment of watching the trio roll around.

Sweetie shook her head. “About this thing with Nightmare Night...”

"Yeah! You can’t cancel it! We won’t be able to prank the others!” Scooteroll exclaimed, jumping out of the struggle.

Sweetie blinked. “Prank who?”

“Anypony, duh!” Scooteroll rolled his eyes.

“But Nightmare Night is a barbaric and archaic practice!” Prince Artemis exclaimed, drawing the Crusader’s attention. “Ponies living in fear of Anarchy Apollo consuming their souls, sacrificing candy to mitigate the vengeful spirit... it’s baffling and pointless now that I am free!” Prince Artemis stomped his hoof on the soft ground of the forest. “Thus, I have devised a plan which will make the ponies of Ponyville realize that they should not fear me! I will-”

“Arrive in the middle of the celebration in a chariot pulled by the Night Guard, and announce your presence to all ponies using the Canterlot Royal Voice to assure them that you will not harm them after your cape turns into a cloud of bats?” Sweetie finished for him.

“I-” He blinked. “Well, yes, that is exactly what I was planning!”

Sweetie shook her head. “Prince, you have to trust us, that is not a good idea! Everypony loves Nightmare Night! And yes, it’s scary, but that’s because it’s supposed to be scary!”

“Yeah! We all love pulling spooky pranks!” Scooteroll agreed, “And everypony has a good laugh!”

“Ah once pretended to be a crate of bad apples that’d been possessed by Anarchy Apollo and chased Red Gala around the farm for a full ten minutes!” Applebuck offered.

“And I made a haunted house for Elusive with some of his fabrics! I’ve never heard him scream like that!”

Sweetie winced. “Yeah... I remember that...”

Prince Artemis was frowning. “Are you saying that ponies enjoy being scared?”

“Tonight,” Sweetie clarified, “yes.”

The Prince slumped. “Well, there goes the plan...”

“There, there,” Sweetie consoled, patting the Prince’s leg. “It’s okay, Luna had a lot of fun once she discovered that Nightmare Night was not about ponies being miserable.”

Artemis blinked. “She did? How?”

“Well, she started pranking everypony!” Sweetie replied.

“Pranking?” Scooteroll asked, smiling devilishly.

“Waaaiiit...” Applebuck said. “If Sweetie already knows what pranks Luna played... why don’t we plan a really big one?”

Silver raised an eyebrow. “That’s a good idea... but what?”

Artemis touched his hoof to his chin as he looked up thoughtfully. “You say that the scarier the better? Tell me... how would Ponyville react to the return of Anarchy Apollo?”

Scooteroll’s eyes went wide. “That... that would be so cool!”

“And we could be your evil minions!” Silver said excitedly. “Can we do that?!”

Artemis raised an eyebrow. “I believe so... but why would you want to pretend to be my evil minions?”

“Maybe we can get an evil minion Cutie Mark!” Silver exclaimed.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders, Minions of Evil! Yay!” four voices raised.

“Aha!” a voice shouted in response. “There you are! I thought I had seen you four march into Everfree!”

“Uh-oh...” Scooteroll flinched. “It’s Rainbow Blitz!”

“That’s right!” the cyan pegasus declared, landing in the middle of the group. “The one and only!”

“Greetings, Rainbow Blitz,” Prince Artemis smiled.

“Who? Oh!” Rainbow bowed. “Prince! Fancy meeting you here!”

Artemis chuckled. “Don’t worry, I was orchestrating a plan for tonight with the help of the ‘Crusaders,’ as they call themselves.”

Rainbow Blitz blinked. “What sort of plan?”

“A really awesome prank!” Scooteroll grinned.

Rainbow Blitz smiled. “Count me in!”

o.0.o

“And the rest is history,” Rainbow Blitz finished, waving his hoof lazily about as he reclined on a chair.

Dusk sighed and chuckled. “Well, you really had me going there, I admit that, but now that Nightmare Night’s over... we should think about sending you home, Sweetie.”

Silver cringed. “Does she have to go?”

Elusive nodded sadly. “Rarity must be missing her, you know that, Silver.”

“And I know exactly the frequency to send you back, Sweetie, don’t worry,” Dusk assured her.

Sweetie blinked. “You do? But how?”

“When Twilight and the others came here, we worked together to send them back,” Dusk explained.

“Oh...” Sweetie looked down. “Um... I don’t think that’ll work...”

“What do you mean, Sweetie?” Prince Solaris asked.

“I didn’t arrive here by a spell cast by Twilight... I don’t think you’ve ever met my Twilight,” she said after a moment. “I come from a completely different world... one where Twilight was lost.”

The others exchanged worried glances. “What happened?” Butterscotch asked.

“An accident...” Sweetie sighed. “We were both there... a device exploded and... it... it broke Twilight into pieces and sent me into another world.”

“Is that how you arrived here?” Elusive asked. “But, if it was your first interdimensional trip-”

“It wasn’t,” Sweetie interrupted. “This is the fourth world I’ve visited...”

“That’s... hard to believe,” Artemis said. “Even when you knew so much about Nightmare Night, we all know that the other world is displaced in time from ours and things happen there first.”

Sweetie shook her head and concentrated. Soon, a familiar tear in space opened up and her notebook floated out. She placed it down next to some notes that Dusk was working on on the table. “This is my notebook... it was made for me by Twilight and Trixie from the first world I visited. I started collecting little things I could carry with me.” She levitated out a picture and passed it to Elusive, then she took out the acceptance letter and gave it to Dusk, who showed it to Solaris and Artemis.

“Oh, my... is Rainbow Dash pregnant!?” Elusive asked in shock.

“What?!” Rainbow Blitz took the picture from his friend’s grasp. “But how!? Why?! And who’s the stallion? Did he do that to her?”

Sweetie giggled. “That’s Vespa. He’s Scootaloo’s great, great, great grandson, I think.”

The others stared at her in complete shock, unable to formulate a word. A few of those present turned their attention to a certain orange pegasus.

“He is?” Scooteroll asked trying to ignore all the gazes.

“You have a great-great-great grandson!” Applebuck said. “Or, your filly you does!” he held a hoof to his head. “Wait... that’s making my head hurt.”

“But... how can this be?” Elusive asked.

“Are you tellin’ me that Applejack is hundreds of years old in that picture?”

“Two hundred actually,” Sweetie corrected, looking fondly at the mares in the picture. “In that world, the Elements of Harmony made them immortal.”

“Amazing...” Elusive whispered. “To remain young and handsome forever... what a gift!”

Sweetie looked away sadly. Her hoof slowly traced Rarity’s face and Elusive felt a shiver run down his spine, his trained eyes quickly noticing an odd adornment on his female counterpart’s hooves, around the wrist.

“This is impressive, Sweetie,” Dusk complimented, levitating the letter back to her. “You got accepted! That’s quite the achievement!”

Sweetie smiled. “It was hard. I thought I had failed when Nightmare Moon sneezed while I was taking my test.”

“Nightmare Moon?” Solaris frowned. “That name sounds familiar. I do believe it was-”

“My world’s Anarchy Apollo.” Sweetie nodded. “Believe me... it was a crazy experience.”

“We’re losing track of what we need right now,” Artemis reminded them. “If you are not casting a spell to travel to different worlds, how are you doing it?” He shook his head. “While it is theoretically possible to locate your original world, every jump would have jumbled your chances. Even if all worlds are connected, you won’t have a strand connecting you back.”

“Twilight,” Sweetie replied. “I’ve been finding her pieces in each world I visit and each piece has sent me somewhere else. Twilight Sparkle, the two hundred year old one that is, thought that it would be the only way for me to go home.”

Solaris nodded gravely. “However, you have to consider that when you find the last piece... it might just keep you in that last world, unless it is tied to one left at your point of origin.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened with worry. “You mean... I could get stuck in a world even after finding all of Twilight?”

The Prince nodded. “We cannot be sure of course. But it is a possibility you should be ready for.”

Sweetie slumped. “But...”

“Don’t worry,” Elusive comforted, placing his hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder. “I’m sure that you will find your way back.”

Sweetie nodded, barely fighting back tears.

“This poses an interesting problem,” Solaris said. “Sweetie, you should rest. We will think about how to help you tonight, and hope to have a solution by tomorrow.”

“But can’t I stay with you guys and Dusk?” Sweetie asked. “Please? Twilight taught me how to do research!” She yawned, her creeping exhaustion belying her case. “I can be helpful!”

“Come now, Sweetie,” Elusive said, nudging her towards the door along with the other Crusaders. “You can all spend the night at the boutique. Dusk will still be here tomorrow.”

“But...” she was cut off by another yawn.

“Sweetie, please go sleep,” Butterscotch said softly. “You don’t want to be too tired tomorrow, do you?”

“N- no... I guess not...” Sweetie murmured.

o.0.o

“And we expect her to make a full recovery,” the doctor said to Fluttershy and Applejack, as they stood next to Rarity’s bed. “Although pneumonia can be dangerous, we caught it in time before it really affected her...” He looked back at Rarity, who was silently ignoring them as she stared out the window. “But that’s not what worries me... how long has she been like that?”

Fluttershy and Applejack looked at each other. “Ah don’t know...” Applejack said after a moment. “She seemed alright when she visited the farm two days ago... a bit distant but... ever since it happened...”

“I see,” the doctor sighed. “Well, she needs to stay here for observation, but it would really do her a world of good to see familiar faces.”

“Oh, she will,” Fluttershy assured. “We’ll visit her every day.”

Applejack nodded. “An’ Ah’ll let everypony else know to come visit too.”

The doctor nodded back. “That will be good; I’ll ask the nurses to keep an eye on her.”

When he had walked out, Applejack approached Rarity and took Rarity’s hoof in her own. “Rarity,” she started, staring at the silent unicorn. “Ah’m here for you, you hear me? You’re family to me, just like Fluttershy and Big Mac an’ Pinkie an’ Dashie... we’re all a big family. Don’t leave us, don’t shut us out.”

She let the hoof drop softly back down on the bed, and unable to contain tears, she turned around sharply. “Ah- Ah better get goin’. There’s lots to do at th’farm,” she mumbled. “Ah’ll see y’all tomorrow.”

Rarity didn’t respond. She took a deep breath and stared at the clouds.

Fluttershy quietly sat down on the empty chair next to the bed and started reading a book, stealing glances at Rarity from time to time. Just to make sure she was okay.

o.0.o

Sweetie opened her eyes and looked at the familiar ceiling. Around her, she could hear the snores from the other Crusaders.

Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something important? Did I dream something? she wondered with a sigh.

Slowly she stood up, keeping the warm blanket she had wrapped around herself in place with magic. Sweetie carefully made her way around the sleeping colts.

I wonder what it was... She sighed again. But I have this feeling... I have to go.

Sweetie walked into the kitchen and sat down, looking at the distant clouds as the morning started. “I should go to the Library...” she whispered to herself. With that resolve in place, she looked back at the sleeping group before slowly tip-hoofing to the front door.

She carefully opened it and walked out, taking a deep breath as the cool, morning breeze made her shiver slightly. “Better get going! I’m sure Dusk will have some tea to share!”

Sweetie trotted across Ponyville until she reached the library. As she approached the door, she heard voices from inside. Carefully, she opened the door and walked in, peeking around the corner of the kitchen to see both Elusive and Dusk sitting at the table and drinking tea.

“So there was nothing you could find?” Elusive asked Dusk, who shook his head tiredly.

“I’m afraid not...” Dusk sighed. “I learned a lot just from analyzing the notebook, and Prince Solaris and Prince Artemis also looked at it, but... the origin strands are not attached to anything we can detect. Then there’s that recurring burst in the matrix that keeps nagging at me... but that only complicates the matter a tiny bit and doesn’t change anything in the end at all.”

“What do you mean?” Elusive asked, frowning.

“We can’t trace Sweetie’s travels back to her home...” Dusk said after a moment. “I think the Twilight that enhanced the matrix knew that and tried to compensate by adding the memory charm to the notebook, as some sort of guideline... but her framework is so complex I have no idea what else she might have done.” Dusk shook his head, his expression betraying his amazement. “It boggles the mind... me... or another me, two hundred years older created a spell so complex that even the Princes had their doubts about its full capabilities.”

Elusive sighed. “Still, that doesn’t help Sweetie... Dusk, I know how I would feel if Silver was taken away from me in a freak accident... most likely not knowing what had happened to him, if he was even alive?” He shook his head. “It would kill me... I would be worried sick, night and day... and that’s only if I believed he was alive, but I wouldn’t be able to know, would I?”

Dusk nodded in silence. “There’s something about Sweetie Belle...” he said after a moment. “She’s smart... very smart. She reminds me of you, of course,” he nodded towards Elusive. “But she reminds me of myself too... it’s... kind of scary to see so much of me in her, especially when Silver is around. I just can’t help but notice how different she is from him, whereas you and I and Butterscotch and Applejack and Blitz and Berry Bubble... we all were pretty much identical to our counterparts.”

“There’s more to it, Dusk,” Elusive said. “She’s sad.” His horn lit up as a picture that was resting next to the notebook floated up. “What has she lived through? What is she living through right now?” He put the picture down. “It’s not surprising she acts different; she’s slightly older and more experienced. But what worries me is... Is she ready?”

Dusk looked down. “I- I don’t know... she’s strong, and smart... but she’s just a filly.” He paused. “Artemis’ gift will certainly help, but Elusive... I feel like I’m failing not only her with this lack of success, but also myself. Like I’m about to give up on Twilight.”

Elusive shook his head. “It’s okay, Dusk, Sweetie is not trapped here, all we need to do is help her find that gem she needed.”

Dusk sighed. “I just wish there was something else I could do. I wrote down my findings in her notebook, hopefully somepony else can use them...” He looked up at his friend. “Sweetie Belle is Twilight’s apprentice... in some ways that makes her my apprentice too... it’s just, one night is not enough...”

Elusive chuckled. “It’s nice to see you feel responsible, Dusk, but you’re not. We can only hope that Sweetie will be returning home soon. With our blessings, and prayers, isn’t that right, Sweetie?”

Sweetie jumped, startled. “How... how did you know I was here?”

Elusive rolled his eyes. “Your coat, dear, it clashes with the walls.”

“Oh,” Sweetie said, looking down at her coat. She smiled sheepishly. “I guess it does.”

Both stallions chuckled as Dusk’s magic levitated another cup of tea to the table. “Would you care to join us?”

Nodding happily, Sweetie sat down and levitated the tea to her lips. “Hey, this is Spike’s- I mean, Spine’s special blend! Does everypony know about it?”

Elusive laughed. “Well, I knew, of course, and after seeing how distraught dear Dusk was, I decided to share the location just this once.”

Dusk shook his head, but smiled. “Now we only need to find that fragment so you can continue your journey,” he said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t send you home, Sweetie.”

Sweetie smiled a bit sadly. “I... I don’t think I would want to go without finding Twilight first...” she confessed.

“Do you have any idea how to find the crystal you need?” Elusive asked. “I have a gem-locating spell, but I don’t know if that will be of much help...”

“It’s okay,” Sweetie said before taking a moment to take a sip of that familiar tea. “I already know where it is.”

o.0.o

“Are you really leaving?” Silver asked, looking at Sweetie with sad, puppy eyes.

Sweetie Belle cringed. Did I ever do that to Rarity?

“I have to, Silver... this morning... I don’t know why but... I- I know that I have to go.”

“It’s too bad, kid, I was starting to like you after last night’s prank!” Rainbow Blitz grinned.

“Aw... I thought you could help us with getting our Cutie Marks...” Scooteroll said, walking up to her. “With your magic, I’m sure we could have made some awesome plans!”

“Ah’ll miss you, Sweetie Belle,” Applebuck said, giving her a short hug. “It was mighty fun havin’ you around.”

“We see that we didn’t miss Sweetie’s departure,” Prince’s Artemis’ voice reached them as he walked into the library.

“You’re doing that thing with the ‘we’ again,” Scooteroll commented, frowning.

Artemis blinked and cleared his throat. “Ah, right. I have to watch it, you see... I have a tendency to slip back into the royal ‘we’.”

“That’s better,” Scooteroll chuckled.

“W- I have brought you this, for your travels,” he said to Sweetie, levitating a small black gem and a white gem, which attached themselves to the spine of her book.

Sweetie’s eyes went wide when, with a small flash from the gems, a small trail of energy appeared over all the small gems in the book. “That’s the spell matrix!”

Dusk leaned close. “It is; usually you need a spell designed to let you see it for you to work on it directly. Gems and lenses are usually enchanted with it, along with a permanency spell to allow magical artisans and certain experts to work on them.”

“Ooh!” Sweetie smiled at Dusk. “I remember Rarity had one of those! She said she used it to make the diamonds and gems in the dresses! I never knew she was enchanting the gems!”

Elusive chuckled. “It is indeed a very useful tool!”

“So that’s how she made the notebook in the first place!” Sweetie said. “She created a simple matrix and used it to decorate the notebook as she would a dress...” she started pacing. “... but by using really good quality gems, she allowed Twilight to also enchant the notebook with the pocket dimension spell tied to me.”

Dusk frowned, as if he had thought of something for a second, but he shook his head and nodded. “Yes, the quality of the gems has allowed every other Twilight to add to and modify your notebook a bit; however, the last Twilight added some very heavy spells to it, and the space left is very limited.”

Sweetie studied the matrix. “I see... there are nine gems on the cover. The ruby on the upper left corner seems to be the start of the spell matrix, and it’s glowing pretty strongly in contrast to the opal on the opposite corner. These three, starting from the upper right all the way down to the lower left seem to be for one spell alone, feeding off the ruby via the central sapphire, but creating a loop with the jade to its left, linking to the opal, and the opal’s spell is dedicated, so it has no facets... my guess is that the Pocket Dimension spell is housed there and it uses the same energy such a reaction creates to ‘feed’ back the loop.”

“It’s truly ingenious,” Prince Artemis said, nodding alongside Dusk. “But it has basically reached the end of its upgrade capability, as it is. There’s a couple of spells in there that take a huge amount of energy and space; what they are for... I can only wonder.”

“Ah... could y’all translate all that magic mumbo-jumbo for the rest of us please?” Applebuck asked.

“It has a lot of spells already and can’t take anymore,” Prince Artemis simply stated.

“Oooooh...” came a chorus of voices.

Sweetie sighed. “I guess there had to be a limit. The only thing it can take anymore is just plain written word...”

“Which,” Dusk interjected, his horn alight as he floated a scrap of paper over. “I happen to have something of the sort. You got something from the Prince. Now have something from me.”

Her eyes wide and curious, Sweetie took the paper into her own hold, and scanned its contents, an eyebrow raised. “A... A vessel of white, to hold the down...?” she asked, looking back at the stallion quizzically.

“Sweetie, I want you to understand this.” the librarian stated, stepping close. “If you ever feel in need of... shelter, from your travels... when you use that spell, it’ll take you straight back to this dimension. But don’t use it capriciously. This WILL drain you of all your magic when you activate it. Only use it when things are too dire for you. Understand?”

The filly nodded slowly to him as she slipped it in between the pages of her notebook. “I understand, Dusk,” she answered. With a brief flash of magic, she dismissed her notebook before turning towards Artemis with another question. “So, what do the two gems you added do?”

The prince chuckled. “I’ll let you find out. Use the white one if you ever need to go to a formal occasion and the black one if you really need extra protection.”

Sweetie nodded as she levitated the purple crystal Elusive had taken and replaced from her dress. She looked at it as it spun in front of her, then turned to look at the others. “It feels like I always say goodbye in this place,” she said, looking around at the bookshelves and the ponies around her. “It’s funny how I come here to find so much and yet... lose so much in the end.”

Elusive nuzzled her. “Sweetie, you are much too young to be talking like that.”

Sweetie smiled a bit. “I don’t feel that young.” She looked up at Elusive. “Elusive... brother, I... I wish I could stay a bit longer, but...”

Elusive nodded, his soft smile remaining as he took a step back. “You are always welcome back, sister. I always wondered how Rarity felt when she met Silver... and now I know. There’s love that goes far beyond the limits of our dimensions.”

Silver stepped forth and hugged Sweetie tightly. “I’ll miss you...”

“I’ll miss you too, Silver.” Sweetie Belle said.

The colt nodded to her, pausing for a moment before speaking up again. “Sweetie...” he started, voice tinged with shyness as he searched for the words. “I- I think you should know... I... I like you... really like you.”

Sweetie held him closer for a moment, before pushing him back so that she could see into his eyes as she held his shoulders. “Silver... you should know that... I love you. But like a brother, Silver. Just like I love Elusive. Can... can you live with that?”

Silver sighed, before nodding, accepting the situation. “Y-yeah,” he replied, looking up at her with a bit more confidence than before. “You should come back to visit sometime... sis.”

Sweetie nodded. “I’ll try, bro... I’ll definitely try.”

“Sweetie,” Dusk said, stepping up. “I can’t speak for all Twilights and Dusks in the multiverse... but I think that most of us, if not all, would be proud and happy to call you our apprentice.”

Sweetie nodded, trying her best to keep the blush off of her face as she replied. “T-Thank you Dusk... I hope to see you again.”

Sweetie Belle stepped away from them and then turned, so she was facing them for a second. She then closed her eyes as her magic made contact with the crystal.

Sweetie... she heard Twilight’s voice. You’re still here...

I’ll bring you back home, Twilight... I promise. Sweetie replied in her mind.

Dusk frowned again when he noticed the crystal start to pulsate. “Wait... wait! That’s it! Sweetie!”

Sweetie Belle opened her eyes, startled. Already most of her body had disintegrated into motes of light.

“Sweetie! The Spell Matrix! The elder Twilight left a message for all other Twilights! It’s in the matrix! The pulse...” He fell silent as the last of the lights faded.

Within seconds, the library was a scene of sadness, the departure of the filly having placed a damper on the mood. Especially the mood of one stallion, who had just now, realized what was at stake.

“I hope you heard enough...” he sighed. “Because you need to know... and soon.”

o.0.o

“What did you mean, Dusk?!” Sweetie asked as the world flashed around her. Her eyes widened when she saw a metallic pony-like thing turning to ‘look’ at her.

“INTRUDER DETECTED!” it hollered. “STOP RIGHT THERE, CRIMINAL SCUM!” it added, turning fully to face her. “SURRENDER NOW AND BE ANNIHILATED!”

“Wait!” she shouted as two tubes mounted on its sides shot something at her. Sweetie Belle dove to the side, watching in horror as the ground was scorched where she had just been standing before. She quickly raised a shield, which buckled under another attack.

Sweetie Belle was pushed back, unable to do anything but concentrate as hard as she could on the shield as several miniature objects slammed into it constantly as the metallic pony slowly advanced on her. “I’m... sorry! I didn’t know I was trespassing! I’ll go away!” she shouted over the rattling sounds of the things being shot at her.

The metal creature did not stop, however, until a rock hit it on its head.

Sweetie almost let the shield fall in surprise when a filly even younger than her and dressed up in some sort of yellow suit with a glass helmet ran straight onto the metallic pony and started smashing its face in with the rock.

“I hate bully-bots!” she shouted.

“IN- bzzt- SURReeeenDuuuur” SLAM! “ANNI-” SLAM! BAM! “LATED..” SLAM! SLAM! CRASH! A female voice clicked in from the remains of the metallic pony. “Your Solaris Inc. product seems to have malfunctioned. Please contact-” BAM! With a final smash, the thing, whatever it was, quieted down.

The little filly turned and looked up at Sweetie, who just then realized she was now in an adult body again, when she had to look down at her saviour.

“Hello, pretty pony!” The pink-eyed filly said with a smile. “I’m Puppysmiles! I'm looking for my mom! Have you seen her?”

o.0.o End Chapter 4 o.0.o

Next Chapter: Pink Eyes

Pink Eyes

Editors & Proof: littlerobotbird, Trevor, Mimezinga, Fifth Alicorn, Cardslafter, Super Big Mac

o.o.0.o.o

Rarity lay on her stomach in her bed, staring morosely at the velvet pillows she had once loved so much. On the bottom floor, right below her room, she could hear Opalescence meowing and the rattle of food being poured into her bowl. Rarity sighed and put the feline out of her mind, her gaze travelling around her room, looking down when the breeze ruffled the discarded papers next to her bed: Fluttershy’s latest attempts at getting her back into designing dresses.

She simply didn’t have the energy to indulge in such a thing anymore. Her eyes strayed to the window, her horn flashing reluctantly to part the curtains and close italtogether. Then, she saw the bottle of pills on her nightstand.

She was supposed to take one every eight hours or so. Always with a meal.

Drink plenty of water.

Go out, get some fresh air and sunlight.

She could take two when going to sleep so that she wouldn’t dream at all... three... three was a no-no. Her horn glowed softly as the bottle cap twisted off and a couple of pills floated out.

Rarity stared at the bottle and pulled out three more. She put it down, then levitated it once again, pulling out more until a dozen pills were hovering before her.

Better to make sure.

No.

Rarity put them in her mouth and swallowed, dropping the bottle next to the bed as she took a gulp of water to help them down.

No!

Then she lay back down, slowly closing her eyes, her breathing starting to get slower. She barely had the energy to keep her eyes open. But it was okay... she would soon be with her sister. She would soon be able to hold Sweetie Belle close and to hug Twilight and tell her she forgave her.

Rarity smiled, closed her eyes and stopped breathing.

“RARITY!”

“Sweetie!?” Rarity’s eyes snapped open as she sat up in her bed. Breathing hard, she quickly dove to the side of her bed, throwing up violently onto the floor. She took deep breaths and started calming down, eyeing the bile-covered pills on the floor through teary eyes and replaying the awful decision she had just made.

The sound of frantic hooves outside her door made her turn to face it just when Fluttershy stampeded in.

“Rarity! Are you okay? I heard you scream. Did you have a nightmare?”

“Fluttershy-” Rarity shook her head, spitting a little bile. “I need to speak with Zecora.”

The pegasus blinked, her eyes straying to the mess on the floor. “I... see, maybe we can go see her tomorrow and-”

“No,” Rarity interrupted, slowly standing up and swaying a bit as her faltering strength caught up with her. “It has to be now.”

Fluttershy stared at her friend for a few moments before nodding.

o.0.o

“Miss Silly Belle? Are you awake now? And now? And now?" Puppysmiles poked the unicorn a little more, because real science by real ponies in lab coats had totally proven that poking somepony was going to gain her attention for sure: 10 out of 10 foals strongly advised the method. "And now? And now?”

Sweetie Belle groaned and stared at the earth pony filly in the yellow space-suit that was poking her in the ribs.

I thought those things only existed in Scoots’ comics!

“It wasn’t a nightmare,” she groaned, slowly standing up. “You really did destroy that thing with a rock.”

“Yay!” the filly cheered jumping around Sweetie. “You woke up! You woke up! Will you sing for me now? ‘Cause I really really really love your songs!”

Sweetie shook her head, still mildly disoriented from the dimension hop. “What? Sing?”

“Yush!” Puppysmiles smiled, batting her eyes at Sweetie. “Pleeeeeeaaaase? I love-love-love your singing. It’s super duper awesome and when I am a big pony, I will marry you!”

“Marry me?” Sweetie blinked. “Uh... listen, little... filly...”

“I’m Puppysmiles!”

“Right, look, I’m a bit tired. How about we find a place to rest and...”

“Nuh-uh! I gotta find mom!” Puppysmiles gasped. “Have you seen my mom? She is really pretty and super cool and all purple with orange mane and pretty and super very important! Like you!”

“I’m... important?” Sweetie shook her head and took a look around. They were still next to the remains of the metal thing that had attacked her. All she could see for miles around was desert flat that, for some reason, gave her a very strong sense of loss... even if she had never been there before. “I- Puppysmiles? Why don’t we stop someplace to rest and I’ll- I’ll sing you a song once we get there! And maybe I can help you find your mom.”

Puppysmile’s eyes widened. “Can you sing now?”

Sweetie lowered her eyelids. “That wasn’t the deal.”

Puppysmile’s eyes watered up up while she put on her best pout and begged Sweetie Belle to bend to Puppy’s will and sing. “Just a little song? Pweeeeze? Puppy pleease?”

Sweetie brought her hoof to her face. To think I was using that same technique a week ago.

“No, but I can sing on the way.”

“Yush!” Puppysmiles giggled, jumping around Sweetie.

“Do you know where we’re going?”

Puppysmiles stopped in mid jump. She landed and frowned. “Mr. Voice!”

Sweetie watched curiously as lights appeared around the rim of Puppysmiles’ helmet. She took a moment to take in the appearance of the filly. Pink coat, pink eyes, blonde mane and a cute little face were all the details she could make out, since her body was encased in a yellow suit that resembled a character’s ‘space-suit’ from that one book Twilight had about ponies flying to the moon. The helmet was round and made out of some kind of glass, allowing for Puppysmiles to be able to look around in all directions without her vision being impaired. The suit itself had some pockets and saddlebags attached to it. The faint vibration of magic emanated from it, both familiar and foreign to Sweetie’s senses.

Ignoring Sweetie’s stare, Puppysmiles concentrated on the arrows and pretty lights as Mr. Voice spoke up inside the helmet. “Scanning maps from available databases,” the artificial voice said. “Suitable S.T.A.B.L.E. facility found on map. Opening communication. No Signal detected. Checking for emergency channel. Emergency beacon detected in corresponding coordinates. Adding quest marker on the compass.” A small blinking pink arrow appeared on Puppy’s helmet. “Follow the pink arrow on the compass until destination is reached.”

“Thanks, Mr. Voice!” Puppysmiles cheered as she ran in circles around Sweetie, earning a curious glance from Sweetie. “Yay! Song time! Sing! Sing!”

Sweetie rolled her eyes, but started walking behind the filly in the space suit, resolving to ask her about this ‘Mr. Voice’ once they reached their destination. “Um... let’s see... What song should I sing?”

“I know! Sing um... ‘Do You Remember Love’!” Puppy exclaimed after a moment’s thought. “I love-love-love that song!”

I have no idea what song she’s talking about. Sweetie thought with a frown, searching her memory for another option. And what did she mean by me being important? What’s going on? Ugh... I need to figure this out!

“I have a better idea,” Sweetie ventured. “How about I sing a song that Pinkie Pie taught me?”

o.0.o

“Eh-que-stri-a Girls, we’re kinda magical~” Sweetie and Puppysmiles sang in chorus. However, while Puppysmiles seemed completely oblivious to everything and interested only in singing and reaching her next destination, Sweetie kept her eyes on the area around them.

What happened? Sweetie wondered as she surveyed the landscape. This... is this even Equestria? What year is this? How could it have ended up like this? No, she decided, this isn’t Equestria. I must have been sent somewhere else. And... where they know who I am, who Pinkie Pie is, and where little fillies want to grow up and marry me. She groaned and looked at the cloudy sky in desperation. I haven’t even seen a ray of sunlight!

“Miss Sweaty Belle, are you tired of singing?” Puppysmiles asked Sweetie, having dropped out of the song after the chorus.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Puppy. I just got distracted... this doesn’t look like the place I came from at all,” Sweetie replied. “It’s... well... horrible.”

“I was in Ponyville once, and it was awesome!” Puppysmiles said ignoring Sweetie’s remarks about the landscape. “There were a lot of fillies and colts playing and a carousel, but wasn’t a real carousel! It didn’t turn around and... they had a library in a tree...” She frowned. “You’re not going to cry now, are you?”

Sweetie blinked in confusion. “No, why would I cry?”

“Because when I tell other ponies about Ponyville, they always start crying,” Puppysmiles said sadly. “And they won’t tell me why!”

“Oh...” Sweetie sighed. “Well, that’s not very helpful.”

“Nope!” Puppysmiles agreed, stopping after a moment. “We’re here! Yay!”

Sweetie looked at the half-collapsed metal door that had sunk into the ground, creating a makeshift ramp. The right side of the rusty metal read: “S.T.A.B.L.E.” The left, collapsed side was so deteriorated that whatever had been written on it was utterly illegible.

“Are you sure this is the place, Puppy?” Sweetie asked dubiously.

“Yush!” Puppysmiles giggled. “Miss Sweeney Belt, are you scared?”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “Of course not, I’m a Cutie Mark Crusader!”

“Wow! A Cootie Match Cruspader! That’s like the awesomest thing ever!” Puppysmiles gasped. “Can Puppy be a Cootie Match Cruspader? Pleeease?”

“It’s ‘Cutie Mark Crusader’,” Sweetie corrected.

“Yeah, that thing too! Can I be one?”

“Sure,” Sweetie said, sighing. “Why not?”

“Yay! I’m a Cruspader!” Puppy shouted, jumping around Sweetie Belle, who couldn’t help but smile.

“Right, and the first thing we should do is get inside and find somewhere to rest!”

“Aw…” Puppysmiles pouted. “But the only things in ugly places like that are ugly ponies and bullybots!”

“Well, it can’t be worse than staying out here…” Sweetie said, glancing at the overcast sky. “Don’t the pegasi here ever cleanup? Look at that!”

“Nuh, uh…” Puppy said. “Peggysuseseses don’t hang around anymore…”

“Peg... okay,” Sweetie breathed in, trying to bolster her courage. “This is just one stop. I just need to find the crystal and see if I can help Puppysmiles find her mom. Easy.”

The pair carefully crept through the gap left by the collapsed side of the door and into the S.T.A.B.L.E.

o.0.o

“She comes! She comes to destroy us all! I have seen it!” A voice rose hoarsely, echoing through the metal halls of the S.T.A.B.L.E.. “We must protect the Goddess! We are the chosen!”

Whispers became a buzz as dozens of voices whispered worriedly to each other.

“SILENCE!”

Immediately all the voices quieted down. “THIS DESTROYER YOU SPEAK OF, PROPHET... WHEN SHE ARRIVES, BRING HER HERE.”

“But, your majesty!”

“THE GODDESS HAS SPOKEN, PROPHET!”

“As you wish…”

o.0.o

“Zecora, I need your help,” Rarity said, sitting across from her friend. “Ever since… the accident, I-… I haven’t been myself, but there have been times that… I’ve felt, that somehow, Sweetie was there, watching me.” She looked at Zecora in the eye. “I don’t know why, but… I think she’s alive.”

“The knowledge you seek to gain,” Zecora began after a moment of thought, “is not easy to obtain.” She stood up and walked to pick up several vials and containers.

“Um… h-how difficult is it?” Fluttershy asked. “Is she going to be in danger?”

“Her body shall be fine,” Zecora assured the pair, setting everything up in front of them. “What is feared is laying her soul on the line.”

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked. “Why would I have to fear for it?”

“I do not know what you’re likely to find; it could mend your heart or destroy your mind.” Zecora said, giving Rarity a look of grave seriousness.

“What do you mean, Zecora?” Fluttershy asked.

Rarity sighed. “You’re saying I could find out that Sweetie is dead…”

“That is most minor of what I dread,” Zecora whispered.

“I- I’m not sure this is a good idea, Rarity,” Fluttershy said, looking decidedly uncomfortable with the way things were going. “M-maybe we could write a letter to the Princesses or-”

“No,” Rarity interrupted, her eyes begging. “Please, Fluttershy, Zecora… I need to do this. If Sweetie is truly gone, then I think it will help me find closure.”

“But if she’s not, you might not be able to do anything for her,” Zecora’s voice took a melancholy turn.

Rarity closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “For the last three months, I have felt that there was no reason to continue living. Life feels worthless without my dear Sweetie Belle…” Rarity opened her eyes and looked at her friends, imploring them to understand. “When our parents died, I took it upon myself to take care of her. I fought hoof and tooth to make a decent income so that Sweetie would have an education and a certain quality of life.” Rarity sighed. “She and my career became everything to me. Until Twilight Sparkle came and I gained true friends, I could barely relax. I’m glad to have all of you.” She smiled hesitantly. “Even with you all still here, though, I feel… dead. But when I feel at my worst... when I am about to give up hope forever... I feel her. I feel Sweetie… and just earlier, I heard her call to me.”

Fluttershy looked down at the tabletop quietly, eyes slightly misty. Without further ado, Zecora started heating up some water while she measured powders and chanted incantations over strange-looking ingredients. The two ponies watched her work in silence, neither wanting to either distract her or bring back the taxing conversation.

The cauldron boiled. Powders were dumped and sprinkled and blown into it; bigger ingredients like a feather and a curiously large bone were used to mix the brew, while others were submerged carefully with a slotted spoon, which would come up empty each time.

Finally, Zecora produced a strange cup made of some bone-like material that curved into a tip at the bottom. Its top was rimmed with gold and a few gems. Rarity gasped, both at the simple, yet exquisite look of it, and at the magic she could sense emanating from it.

“The horn of a rhino is a rare gift indeed,” Zecora whispered, carefully filling it with the potion she had prepared. “It must be used only in the direst of need.”

She presented the hollowed horn to Rarity, who took it in her telekinetic grasp. “What will this do?”

“If the link you feel is indeed Sweetie Belle, you’ll find out just where she fell,” Zecora rhymed.

“And… um… if it’s not?” Fluttershy asked.

Zecora remained quiet.

“M-maybe you should wait, Rari-“ Fluttershy stopped as she realized that it was too late, seeing Rarity lower the emptied container. “What now?”

Zecora shook her head, walking up beside Rarity. “Now we can only hope for the best. Lay down your head, it’s time to rest.”

Rarity nodded, taking a couple of steps towards the bed, then stopping. Her eyes went wide for a second before she screamed, twitching violently and would have fallen back had Zecora not caught her.

“What’s happening?!” Fluttershy asked, panicked, hurrying to restrain the thrashing unicorn.

Rarity groaned and suddenly went limp.

Fluttershy looked at her face and whimpered, only able to take a breath after seeing her friend was still alive. “Will she be okay?”

“For that, dear Fluttershy, we can only pray.”

o.0.o

“Well, at least we’ll have some protection from the elements here...” Sweetie Belle mused, looking around. She could see very little, and the deeper they went, the less the meager light from the outside could reach. With a sigh, Sweetie silently cast a light spell, allowing the pair to see better.

They were in a pony-made cavern of some sort. Further down, Sweetie could see a couple more doors that were in better condition than the ones outside. As they approached, she couldn’t help but notice just how thick they were.

“Puppy, what happened?” Sweetie looked from the doors to the small filly beside her. “Why did we have to build things like... this?”

Puppy looked at the doors and tilted her head. “Mom said we built them against the sea... uh... sea... brass?”

“Sea brass?” Sweetie blinked. “What is that?”

“Stripey ponies!” Puppy exclaimed with a big smile.

“Zebras...” Sweetie rolled her eyes in exasperation. “But, why? I may only know Zecora, but she’s a good friend!”

Puppy shrugged, blinking at her. “I dunno... because of- of... the Princecessessess?”

Sweetie shook her head. “Never mind. How deep do you think we should go?”

“All the cool stuff is always inside!” Puppysmiles said, pleased that somepony was finally asking her advice. “And Mr. Voice says to go towards the doors! Let’s go in! Mom is in there!”

Sweetie observed the doors warily. “Are you sure?”

“Mr. Voice says so!”

Sweetie Belle slowly approached them. The machines attached to the door were much more advanced than anything she had seen so far besides Puppy’s suit. The burnt edges at both ends of the doors and and the permeating feeling of death didn’t help at all to put her at ease. She shook her head, trying to shove her dark thoughts into the back of her mind.

“I’m a Cutie Mark Crusader,” she whispered, steeling herself. “I’ve gone into the Everfree by myself, at night, knowing less magic than I do now! What am I afraid of?” Nodding once, Sweetie stepped in behind Puppysmiles. “Okay, let’s go!”

“Yay!” the filly cheered, jumping into the old S.T.A.B.L.E.

o.0.o

Rarity stared in horror at the place where she suddenly found herself standing. It was some sort of cave; the floor was covered with the bones of dead ponies. She could tell by the way they lay on the floor that they had been close together before they perished, perhaps even holding each other, desperately trying to find comfort against their impending doom.

She started hyperventilating, taking in her ghastly surroundings, noticing the deplorable state of the walls, which now she recognized as excavated, and the half-demolished doors at the end of the entrance hall.

“Wh-where am I?” she whispered. “How did I- Zecora...” She grimaced. “Perhaps I should have thought about it a bit before downing the whole thing.”

Her musings were interrupted by the sound of voices. Looking around quickly, she jumped behind the remains of old containers that had been piled to the side. Rarity carefully peeked around them as two figures made their way into the cave.

Her heart lurched as the taller one lit her horn.

“Sweetie Belle...” Rarity whispered in astonishment, stepping out from behind the crates. The filly... no, the young mare could be nopony other than her sister. She would know her Sweetie Belle anywhere... her little sister had grown into such a beautiful unicorn. But... how long has she been away? Is this the future then? Regardless of her thoughts, she couldn’t contain herself. “Sweetie Belle!” Rarity cried, unable to stop the tears from trailing freely down her cheeks.

She galloped up to her sister, ready to throw her hooves around the now-grown filly, but suddenly, she was stumbling through her objective and barely managed to stay on her hooves. Rarity turned sharply, staring wide-eyed at Sweetie and the little filly by her side. She slowly approached her sister. “What... but...” a pained look crossed her face as she stammered. “It’s... it’s not fair...” she whimpered, extending a hoof only to see it pass through Sweetie. “It’s- it’s not fair... I finally found you and–”

Rarity closed her eyes, slumping down onto her haunches, listening quietly as her younger sister gathered up the courage to go past the destroyed gates.

“I’m a Cutie Mark Crusader,” Sweetie said, and Rarity opened her eyes just as her sister took the first step towards the doors. “I’ve gone into the Everfree by myself, at night, knowing less magic than I do now! What am I afraid of?” Sweetie spoke louder, drawing courage from her words. “Okay, let’s go!”

“Can you really not see me?” Rarity whispered, suddenly feeling very, very lonely and small. “Am I even here, Sweetie?”

But Sweetie did not turn and answer. She resolutely stepped into the darkness, followed by the filly in the drab suit with the helmet, leaving Rarity on her own.

Rarity sniffed. Then she put her hoof down hard, feeling a sudden rush of determination she had not felt since the accident. A burning, white-hot sensation that she thought had been all but lost in her pitiful self-loathing. She pushed herself up, and rolled her shoulders back as she looked up, unknowingly imitating Sweetie’s earlier pose.

“Well, I’m not staying here, moping while you face danger!” She trotted up to the gates and pushed a hoof through the metal, leaving no mark and feeling nothing. A grim smile formed in her lips. “I’ll go with you, Sweetie... and I’ll watch over you... even if you cannot see me... at least I know you’re alive.”

With a single nod, she set out after Sweetie Belle.

o.0.o

Once they had gotten past the entrance, the place itself wasn't so bad. The walls, though still damaged and requiring some serious maintenance, were not in such a bad condition after all, all things considered. The floors might’ve been missing a few panels, but, again, they were walkable.

“So... what is the purpose of this place, Puppy?” Sweetie asked.

Puppysmiles scrunched up her face in determination, trying to recall the answer she had once known. “Um... I think mommy called it Staples! She said they have everything at Staples! And I was going to be in one with mommy!”

“A... staple?” Sweetie blinked and shrugged. “Well, this is certainly different than all the other places I've been to...” She stopped and looked at one of the walls which had a big sign that read “S.T.A.B.L.E.,” whatever had been written after it having been lost due to a panel having been removed, revealing the cables behind it. “Staples... S.T.A.B.L.E.S... I get it...” She sighed. “I just wish I knew what happened to Equestria!”

“How can you not know?” a new voice, young and male, asked.

Sweetie Belle stopped short and lowered her head down a bit, her horn glowing brighter as the room lit up with the increased energy of her spell. Wherever there were shadows, she could barely see somepony. “Who are you?”

The ponies that walked into the light were all in various stages of decomposition. Half-melted flesh hung loosely, their faces scarred and cauterized into painful rictus of unholy suffering. And yet, their expressions moved and changed as a normal pony would, showing emotions even with those cloudy, dead eyes.

Sweetie's eyes went wide and she took a step back in horror, her spell flickering.

“Hello, ugly ponies!” Puppysmiles greeted them cheerfully, running up to them and waving a little hoof. “Is it okay if we stay a little while? Miss Sweaty Belts needs to sleep and she promised to sing me another song if we found a nice place! And Mr. Voice says mommy is here, and I really, really want to see and please please please don't be a bully!”

The ugly ponies looked at each other, then back at Puppysmiles before looking up at Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie forced a smile. These ponies reminded her of yet another of Scootaloo’s comics about Zombies.

“We... were sent to guide you into the Sanctuary...” the foremost undead pony said. Her coat remained largely in the form of cream-colored rags that stuck to areas of her body. “The Goddess and her prophet await.”

Puppysmiles beamed at Sweetie. “See! I told you I could find an nice place! Can I get songs now? Can I?”

Sweetie grimaced, then sighed in defeat. “Sure, why not? Tell me, do you all like country music? I know this song that Applejack taught me not too long ago...”

For her part, struggling with the fact that she was unable to communicate or interact in any way with Sweetie Belle, Rarity didn't know what to feel more mortified about... the fact that they were following a bunch of walking, dead and decomposing ponies, the fact that Sweetie was taking this in far too quickly, or the fact that her little sister was about to sing country.

Finally, she settled her mind as she fell into place next to Sweetie and Puppysmiles, doing her best to avoid touching the ghouls. “Applejack, I am going to kill you...”

o.0.o

The Goddess arched an eyebrow as all the ghouls around her turned toward the dark hall that was the entrance to the Sanctuary.

She could hear something she had never expected to hear again. Not like this. Not so... innocent... The Goddess felt a small tear form in the corner of her eye and quickly wiped it away, thankful that everypony's attention was focused on the hall.

“So rock me mamma like a wagon wheel, rock me mamma anyway you feel... hey, mamma rock me...”

The fact that several voices were chorusing the song wasn't lost on her. She even recognized some of them. Who could get a bunch of fanatical, depressed ghouls to suddenly start singing country music? And why did that voice sound so familiar?

When the group came into view, the Goddess felt a pang deep in her chest that resonated through the shared minds of Unity, drawing Her attention. For a moment, there was not one of the myriad minds that were part of her who didn't stop and space out, even for just one second.

“Sweetie Belle...” The Goddess whispered into the sudden silence in the room.

Sweetie, for her part, stared at what was in front of her. “You're an... an alicorn?!”

“WHAT- HOW?! THE GODDESS DEMANDS YOU TELL HER HOW YOU CAME TO BE HERE!”

Sweetie's eyes widened, and the ghostly Rarity next to her tilted her head. That voice sounded familiar.

“TRIXIE!” Sweetie shouted in excitement, galloping up and throwing her forelegs around the alicorn's neck. “Trixie! You're here!” She frowned. “And why are you using the Royal Canterlot Voice?”

“What? Since when are Trixie and Sweetie friends?” Rarity whispered, staring incredulously at the scene in front of her.

“Remove her from the Goddess!” the prophet shouted frantically, his hoarse voice driving the paralyzed ghouls from their stupor. They quickly pulled her away from the blue alicorn in front of her, pushing her back to stand a few feet away, surrounded by suddenly angry ghouls.

The Goddess trembled, her façade broken by the sudden outburst from Sweetie Belle. She was confused and even a little scared. Never had anypony been so... happy... to see her.

“Hello, flying-unicorn lady!” Puppysmiles exclaimed, making the Goddess’ eyes slowly move down to stare at the little filly in the radsuit. She blinked. She had heard stories but...

“YOU ARE... THE GHOST OF THE 52...” the Goddess said, frowning a bit. “THE GODDESS HAS HEARD OF YOU.” Her eyes strayed up to the young mare further down. “AND... SWEETIE BELLE?”

The Goddess suddenly remembered the ghouls and she quickly gathered herself and projected confidence once more. She needed the ghouls, for now. “THE GODDESS KNEW YOU WERE COMING!” she declared with utmost confidence.

“Wow!” Puppysmiles' eyes went wide. “Are you really a prinsuss? Because mommy always said that all flying unicorns were princesses! And if you're a flying unicorn, then you must be a princess! Can I has your auto- your... sig- your name on a piece of paper?” Puppysmiles gushed. “When I grow up, I want to be a princess! Paper!”

Sweetie stared as a piece of paper flew out of nowhere and hovered in front of Puppysmiles, who smiled sweetly at the Trixie-alicorn.

“TH–” Trixie stammered. “THE GODDESS WILL BLESS YOU WITH HER AUTOGRAPH!” she said at length. Her horn flashed and a stylized 'The Goddess Blesses your tiny, undead heart' message was burnt into the piece of paper.

“Yay!” Puppysmiles cheered, trotting up to Sweetie Belle to show her her latest treasure. “Look! I have the name of a princess! Now we can marry!”

“Sure- wait, what?” Sweetie looked down at Puppysmiles and groaned before patting the helmet softly. “We'll have to wait for that, Puppy,” she said, eliciting some chuckles from the gathered ghouls.

“THE GODDESS DEMANDS TO KNOW HOW YOU CAME TO BE HERE!” the alicorn demanded, drawing everypony’s attention back to her.

“We... we'd like a safe place to stay the night,” Sweetie requested after a moment's hesitation. “And... I'd like to talk to you in private,Trixie, if possible.”

The Goddess seemed to hesitate for a few seconds. “I SHALL ALLOW YOU TO STAY THE NIGHT... AND LONGER, PERHAPS. BUT YES, WE MUST TALK, AFTER I DEAL WITH A CERTAIN MARE...”

The Goddess vacated the alicorn’s body, leaving a personality behind. “Follow me,” the alicorn ordered, eliciting a shocked look from Sweetie Belle and a big grin from Puppysmiles.

o.0.o

Puppysmiles frowned, looking around the S.T.A.B.L.E. They had passed several super-interesting-looking doors that could be hiding her mom!

She stole a glance at the pretty princess and Sweaty Belt. They were talking about adult stuff that was boring. Why couldn’t they sing?

Puppysmiles grinned. She remembered that one time mommy had taken her to the STAPLE to take a look inside and they had music all over the place! She had heard the same song in every room!

“Mr. Voice? How do I make it so we can hear music all over?”

“Processing. Speaker system is located inside Overmare’s office. Acquiring S.T.A.B.L.E. blueprint. Overmare office is located in sub-level 5.” A little flashing arrow appeared before her eyes and Puppysmiles nodded happily, turning left and letting the others go on ahead.

o.0.o

“You’re not Trixie, are you?”

The alicorn shook her head. “No, I am not. I am merely a part of the Goddess. You may call me Midnight Shimmer, for as long as I exist.”

“What is the Goddess?” Sweetie Belle asked after a moment. “One moment I’m talking to Trixie and the next I’m talking with you.”

Midnight Shimmer sighed and looked around before casting a small sphere of magic around them. “I am only telling you this because the Goddess was planning on addressing this question if it emerged. We are a gestalt being; there are thousands of us that are part of what the Goddess is. I am allowed a bit of independence because the Goddess is currently preoccupied with one, or should I say two, mares.”

Sweetie’s eyes were wide. “Wow, the magical energies required to do that... it’s... it’s almost unthinkable! How did you do it? Was it Trixie’s idea? I imagine you would need to somehow strip the essence of a pony while adding the innate magic of a unicorn, earth pony and pegasus to it...” She grimaced. “Come to think about... wouldn’t that erase the pony’s personality? Is that why you said you were only here temporarily? Why would you want to absorb everypony into one collective mind? Is it more efficient? But again, what happens to personality and choice? Can Trixie simply override you all?”

“From the Goddess’ memories of you, it is certainly strange to listen to you talk about magical theory like this,” Midnight Shimmer replied, “but yes. The Goddess can simply speak through us whenever she wants to.”

Sweetie nodded. “Midnight Shimmer... what happened to Equestria?”

The alicorn stopped and turned to stare at Sweetie Belle. “You- you don’t remember?”

Sweetie Belle looked away. “Is Trixie listening?”

Midnight Shimmer nodded. “She’s still busy with the Stabl- with another pony, but yes, she’s listening.”

“This is not my world,” Sweetie explained. “I just arrived, so I have no idea of what happened.The last few worlds have not been... this bad.”

Midnight Shimmer had stopped mid-stride. “Other... worlds? You mean there’s another Equestria out there that wasn’t destroyed by Megaspells?”

“Megaspells?” Sweetie asked. Just hearing the word brought chills of discomfort and trepidation through her body.

Midnight Shimmer nodded. “The Megaspells were constructs of powerful magic, capable of affecting huge areas for ill or good. The Zebras developed megaspells that could destroy an entire city with one blast.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened. “That- why would they do that?!”

“War,” Midnight Shimmer shrugged. “It is how ponies, zebras, griffons and dragons destroyed our world.”

Sweetie looked down. “I’ve... never even seen war. And I’ve been to several different worlds. I never thought... it could ever come to this.”

“You have been to more than one world then?” Shimmer asked.

Sweetie nodded. “Several... there’s the one where Trixie and Twilight are a couple, then the one where everypony’s gender is inverted, then there’s the one where Nightmare Moon won... one where all the Elements are immortal...”

“Wait... Trixie and Twilight Sparkle are a couple?” Midnight Shimmer interrupted. She could feel the reaction to that jumping from alicorn to alicorn. Some of them stopping mid-battle to laugh and one of them dying as a result when she snorted and her shield failed while trying to fend off a hellhound.

Trixie took control of Midnight Shimmer’s body again and glared at Sweetie. “THE GODDESS IS NOT PLEASED THAT YOU SHARED THAT.”

Sweetie Belle cringed. “Sorry, Trixie... say... you wouldn’t know what happened to Twilight Sparkle, would you?”

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“THE GODDESS... MIGHT ALSO BE TWILIGHT,” Trixie grudgingly confessed.

Sweetie Belle’s eyes grew large. “But... how? Why? Trixie... what happened to you?”

Midnight Shimmer felt the Goddess struggle. There was something about this Sweetie Belle that was creating too many conflicting feelings. Perhaps it was that she wasn’t even from this world. Or perhaps it was the collective memories of all the ponies that had memories of Sweetie Belle that still inhabited the collective conscience of the Goddess.

Maybe... maybe it was just the fact that this young mare cared, and she knew it was Trixie and apparently knew her pretty well in other worlds.

“THE GODDESS... NEEDS TO SIT DOWN,” the Goddess sighed, motioning with her head to the entrance to her private chambers.

o.0.o

In the silence of his sanctuary, the prophet mumbled as his hooves scraped against the wall, tracing words and fragments of sentences and nonsensical drawings.

Eruth... Eruth, you didn’t do anything... you should have stopped her then and there.

“She came in peace! She came in peace, I heard her. The purity of her song. It was music. It was beautiful. She came to us with beauty. She is what we don’t have. What we haven’t had in centuries!”

She’s here to destroy you. You cannot allow melancholy to stop you.

“Beauty should not destroy. Not destroy. No. She wouldn’t. She sings of happy times. Of love and happiness, and the innocence she carries with her.”

She wants to destroy all that you have worked for.

“She can’t! No, no, she can’t! She is wrong if she thinks she can! But she’s not here for long. No, not for long.”

She wants to take your Goddess away from you. She’s doing it right now, talking to her in secret.

“Speaking to the Goddess is a privilege. Yes, yes, but the Goddess granted it. She didn’t force her, no, no she did not do that. She cannot take the Goddess away! She can’t! No, it won’t happen because the Goddess is happy with us. Sweetie makes her happy.”

She’s evil. She needs to be stopped.

“She sings songs and happiness! She looks with the eyes of a child!”

You know it to be true. I have told you all along this would happen. That she would come.

Eruth shuffled in place, giving a jerky look over his shoulder. “You did, yes, yes you did.”

I foresaw what happened in this world, didn’t I? I saw the stars cry and the melodydisrupted. I talked to you. I told you and you didn’t listen.

“Yes, the melody... you told me it was gone. That it would not come back. That it was twisted by ponies and evil and zebras... yes, you said so.”

You started believing after that... when I helped you calm and organize all those others who had lost their way.

“My brothers and sisters,” Eruth hesitated.

You never doubted me when I told you your brothers and sisters would be rewarded.

“No! There was truth in your words! The rewards came! They came! We survived while others fell! We will live forever! The rewards, yes... you promised and they were there.”

You have to stop her, Eruth. You have to take your Goddess away from her, before she brings doom to this world again.

“Doom. No doom. Not more doom. There is p-plenty of doom. No more...” Eruth shook his head. He shivered as he forced himself to stand on his two hind legs and let both his front hooves trace the cracks in the wall. “That isn’t my name. No, no it isn’t.”

Of course it is, Eruth. You are no longer who you used to be. You died in flames and were reborn in toxic sludge. You wandered this place like a prisoner in a maze, without knowledge, without memories, without hope... until I talked to you again. And you listened.

“I listened...” Eruth paused, his body shaking. “I listened and things changed. But I am me. And Eruth is Eruth.”

You are not the same as before, Eruth. How many times will you lie to yourself?

“If Sweetie Belle can sing, then I can be... I can be who I was. Who was I?”

Look at her, Eruth. She is alive. How can she be alive? She is not like you. She is not like the others. She is not like the Goddess. How can she be here?

“I don’t know, no, I don’t, she cannot be here. She shouldn’t!”

Weren’t she and her friends responsible for what happened to this world?

“Yes! The Ministry! They built these mazes! They stuck us in here and left us to die!” Eruth lowered himself to all fours. “But they were not to blame! The zebras started this, yes, they did! They kept attacking! They would not stop because they- because they–”

You know it’s not true, Eruth. They could have stopped it. Should have stopped it. But they didn’t. They let the world be torn to pieces, scarred beyond help. This wasteland rests on her shoulders and those of the Ministry Mares. But they are gone. And they took with them all that was precious to you.

“So much... so much... I can’t remember! But I can feel... so much lost...” His frame shuddered. “How do you know? How can you be right? How do I know I am your prophet and what you say is true?”

Because you believe me, Eruth. You know it’s true.

“Yes... I know... you speak to me and you say truth. Only truth.”

You have to get rid of them.

The ghoul raised his head slowly, still staring at the cracks in the wall, where the shade seemed so dark and so empty. Where he could imagine green eyes shining as their owner spoke. “Sweetie Belle and the ghost yes.... but... The Goddess?”

Yes... her too. She has been corrupted by this Sweetie Belle. She is no longer your Goddess. She hungers to be away from all of you. She hungers for the skies and other worlds.

“N-no! She’s our Goddess! Here to rule over us!”

But she’s not, Eruth. If she were your Goddess, she would not want to leave. She would stay.

“The Goddess wants to be with us! I know it! I will tell her, I will show her the true face of the enemy!”

So be it, Eruth. But mark my words. If the Goddess doesn’t allow you to bring justice to Sweetie Belle, what will you do?

“She won’t! She’s the Goddess! My Goddess!”

She will have betrayed you, Eruth. What will you do?

“The Goddess won’t leave. The Goddess will see–”

What will you do?

“I- I don’t know... I don’t know. No. No, I don’t know...”

When you see that I am right, call upon me.

o.0.o

Puppysmiles trotted down the dark hallway. Mr. Voice had been quiet for the last few minutes, but the blinking arrow indicated exactly where she had to go to reach the place where she could put the pretty music on and make everypony happy!

She gave the metal door at the end of the hallway a hard look. It remained impassive. Attached to the wall on the right was a panel, flickering with green light. Puppysmiles approached it.

“WELCOME TO OVERMARE CLUELESS' OFFICE. IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED TO ACCESS,” a voice emanated from the panel. “PLEASE PROVIDE PASSWORD OR VOICE ID.”

“Pu~ppy~smiles!” Puppysmiles sing-sang, looking at the panel expectantly.

“PASSWORD INCORRECT. VOICE NOT RECOGNIZED,” the voice replied, drawing a frown from Puppysmiles. “ADMINISTRATOR LEVEL PASSWORD OR VOICE ID REQUIRED.”

“Puppysmiles!” Puppysmiles repeated.

“PASSWORD INCORRECT. VOICE NOT RECOGNIZED,” the voice repeated. “ADMINISTRATOR LEVEL PASSWORD OR VOICE ID REQUIRED.”

“Puppysmiles?”

“PASSWORD INCORRECT. VOICE NOT RECOGNIZED. ADMINISTRATOR LEVEL PASSWORD OR VOICE ID REQUIRED.”

“Puppy...smiles?”

“PASSWORD INCORRECT. VOICE NOT RECOGNIZED. ADMINISTRATOR LEVEL PASSWORD OR VOICE ID REQUIRED.”

“PUPPYSMILES!”

“PASSWORD INCORRECT. VOICE NOT RECOGNIZED. ADMINISTRATOR LEVEL PASSWORD OR VOICE ID REQUIRED.”

Puppysmiles frowned. “Stupid!” She bucked the door. “Open up!”

“PASSWORD ACCEPTED. ACCESS GRANTED,” the voice replied.

There was a puff of dust as the ancient door struggled to open, a little bit of smoke flowing from between the spaces as the right side slid open, slowly squeaking and grinding against the floor until it was halfway open, at which point something inside seemed to snap and the whole thing simply collapsed, leaving part of it jutting out of the wall.

Puppysmiles paid no attention to it, however, having already jumped into the room beyond. The office of Overmare Clueless was in pretty good shape, having escaped the ravages of time for the most part. One of the walls was covered in small notes on colored paper, ranging from red to green and blue, all with bold writing reminding the Overmare to do, or not do, something. One of the red ones read: “‘Open up’ is not a Celestia-damned password! Change it! ~O.W.”

A large metallic desk rested in the middle of the room, the stacks of yellowed paper resting on top of it held in place by a statuette of some sort. It looked a little bit like Sweaty Belle now that Puppysmiles thought about it, and so without further ado, she jumped onto the table and threw it into her bag.

“Bootleg Rarity Statuette” appeared briefly in her display before she looked around and noticed the desiccated body of an earth pony holding something against its chest.

“Hullo miss ugly sleepy pony! I can see what's that? 'kaythanks!” Puppysmiles picked up the small frame. She turned it around and stared at the scene. A mare with a light brown coat and bright green mane with alice-blue highlights was smiling a bit absentmindedly at the camera. She was holding a black and yellow book in her hooves, 'Writing for Cretins,” and standing next to an unamused stallion with a darker brown coat and violet and black mane. The book had their picture in roughly the same position under the title, but the author's name was too blurry to read.

Puppysmiles blinked, but threw the picture into her saddlebag as well. The rest of the office didn't contain anything interesting except for a big console with a holographic display of the S.T.A.B.L.E. Puppysmiles grinned and cantered up to the console, looking down at all the pretty buttons.

Now, which would start the music?

o.0.o

Golden Fig had been in charge of catering when the S.T.A.B.L.E. had originally been sealed. When radiation had seeped through and killed everypony he knew and loved, except for a few unlucky fellow ponies who had been transformed into ghouls, he had known despair like none other... but he had found solace by going back to gardening and growing foods that nopony would ever need to eat. Not that they would, or should, anyway, since every single apple or fig tree had been twisted and mutated by the same radiation that had granted him his unwanted immortality.

But the work had helped him endure through the years; the repetition of the task ensuring his mind focused on something other than despair. Eventually, he had grown a garden so beautiful and radioactive that the rest of the community of ghouls would go and spend hours, or even days enjoying it. It had brought considerable happiness to their otherwise drab and morbid unlives, because the only other thing they had were the ramblings of their prophet, and the living goddess amongst them.

Thus, today, now that they had visitors, Golden Fig had taken careful stock of the state of the garden and planned to give a tour of it to Miss Sweetie Belle, who was the best preserved ghoul he had ever seen. She was lucky... and apparently single!

Golden Fig grinned. His garden would win her heart, and she would choose to stay with them and sing them songs while they all worshiped the goddess!

A clanking sound made him frown. “What the–”

“DECONTAMINATION SEQUENCE INITIATED.” The disembodied voice of a computer announced.

Golden Fig's eyes went wide. “Wait... what?”

“SCANNING FOOD SUPPLY.”

Several panels at the top of the considerably large agricultural section opened and blue-green rays swept over the whole of it. “WARNING: HIGH LEVELS OF RADIATION DETECTED. WARNING: PURGING WILL COMMENCE IN 10... 9... 8...”

“What?!” Golden Fig ran out of the area and into the agricultural office. He feverishly clicked at the console but nothing seemed to work: the order had come from a user of higher level.

The countdown reached zero.

From the farthest side of the agricultural chamber, a line of green descended from wall to wall, creating a light curtain that slowly started advancing towards his office. As the green light touched each of his trees, they would burst into flames, then into dust.

“No...” he whispered. “Noooooooooooo!” he then shouted in despair as two hundred years of effort and his dreams for a nice date went up in flames.

Golden Fig shook his head. Who could have done this?! Why?! His eyes, too dry and rotten to produce tears glanced at the screen. “Overmare Clueless?” he whispered. “But... you died.” He closed his eyes. And started laughing.

o.0.o

Puppysmiles shook her head in annoyance, lifting her hoof from the button she had pushed. “Which button plays the music?” she asked again, starting to slam the other buttons down, trying to figure it out.

o.0.o

Outside the S.T.A.B.L.E., a dark figure slowly approached. The manticore had caught the smell of the pony recently... and although there was another, unsettling smell with it, its hunger had demanded it should stalk its prey, follow the scent and hunt the pony down for food.

The manticore looked around, its eyes finally settling on the cave. A low growl rumbled out of its chest, half-pleased, half-annoyed. Annoyed because it would have to search a bit more. Pleased because its prey had nowhere else to go.

A small rumble shook the ground beneath it and the manticore paused, sniffing around, wary of any danger. It tensed as two holes opened to its left and right; strange metallic limbs sliding out and towering over it.

Perhaps it had not been a good idea to follow the pony.

o.0.o

“SURFACE SAMPLE COLLECTOR ACTIVATED,” the voice from the console announced, and a display fizzled into existence over it. A pair of holographic pincers appeared. A screen lit up, showing the exterior of the S.T.A.B.L.E., where a very confused Manticore shifted its eyes nervously from left to right, keeping an eye on the metallic claws that had appeared.

“Kitty!” Puppysmiles grinned. “I always wanted a kitty! I’ll cuddle it and feed it and cuddle it and help it sleep!”

The computer scanned the manticore and spoke up. “ORGANIC LIFE FORM DETECTED. DO YOU WISH TO ACQUIRE?” Two buttons started blinking. One, blinking green said: YES, the other, blinking red, said: NO.

“Mr. Voice? What does ackwire mean?”

“Acquire: to come into possession or ownership; to own.”

“I want to own the kitty!” Puppysmiles shouted in delight, slamming down her hoof on the 'YES' button repeatedly.

“ACQUIRING TARGET. ACQUIRING TARGET,” the computer said while Puppysmiles watched in fascination as the two holographic pincers moved, trying to corral the manticore.

o.0.o

“ACQUIRING TARGET.”

The manticore jumped the moment it heard the strange sound. It had heard Ponies produce sounds like that before; it usually meant a meal. But, somehow, this time it made it feel dread.

The two metal claws that had emerged from the ground suddenly shot towards it. With its innate agility, the manticore jumped to the side, tail lashing out and scratching the side of one of the claws, but they did not stop.

Recognizing that it was in danger of being killed by an obviously much larger predator, the manticore quickly made to escape. It opened its wings and leaned down to make a jump.

“ALERT! SUBJECT CAPABLE OF FLIGHT. ACTIVATING SECONDARY CAPTURE UNITS.”

Just as it was about to make its flight for freedom, the side of the mountain shook as several panels opened, revealing miniature cannons, which immediately shot at the manticore.

The manticore was sent spinning as one of the sticky balls the cannons had fired hit it in the side. It struggled to get up, but more and more of the sticky balls smacked against it, not hurting it, but impeding its movements.

The last thing it heard before everything went dark was a disturbingly cheerful pony voice.

“Yay! I has the kitteh!”

o.0.o

Puppysmiles was all smiles as she watched the kitty being picked up by the metal claws and dropped down a shaft. She was about to see where it went when a screen suddenly came to life, displaying a frowning unicorn filly with a yellow coat, who blinked at Puppysmiles in obvious confusion. “Who the hell are you?!”

Puppy was about to introduce herself when the unicorn filly was shoved aside. There was a scuffle and the screen tilted. She couldn't see what was happening but there were bad words being shouted and suddenly the filly flew past the screen, enveloped in magic. Her place in front of the screen was replaced by a mare in armor.

“Puppysmiles!”

o.0.o

Sweetie and Shimmer had walked for a few minutes more before they arrived at their destination.

Shimmer's room was very clean compared to the rest of the S.T.A.B.L.E. A large bed had been assembled together from old mattresses and was covered in several relatively intact sheets. Scented candles had been arranged about the room, most of them still unused. There were almost no actual decorations, save for a half-burnt canvas with a painting of a small, indistinct town bathed in sunlight.

Sweetie looked around the austere room before sitting down on a cushion that Shimmer had levitated off the bed and placed next to her guest.

“These are my chambers,” Shimmer said after a moment of staring at Sweetie Belle. “The Goddess is currently engaged in a discussion with... a certain pony. You will have to wait a little bit before talking to her.”

Sweetie nodded, gazing curiously at the alicorn sitting across from her. “So, how is it that sometimes Trixie speaks through you and sometimes it's you that speaks to me?”

Shimmer cocked her head. “The Goddess is all we are. I am but a vessel, granted a bit of autonomy for convenience. I have a personality for the same reason; if the Goddess gets tired of our followers, she needs some sort of... individual to deal with them while she is otherwise occupied. So she assigns a random personality to deal with them. Today it’s me.”

Sweetie Belle nodded, blinking a couple of times. “Um, I wanted to ask you... have you seen a purple crystal around here?”

Shimmer straightened up and frowned. “Why do you seek this crystal?”

“It’s a piece of my Twilight,” Sweetie Belle explained, looking straight at the floor, still ashamed about what had happened so many worlds ago. “I- I accidentally interfered with an important experiment and she was fragmented into several crystals and- I have to bring her back. She'll never be complete unless I do that.”

Shimmer was silent for a moment. “You say you're bringing her together? Has this gone on in different worlds?”

Sweetie nodded.

Shimmer blinked and spoke with Trixie's voice. “THE GODDESS WILL KNOW ABOUT OTHER WORLDS!”

Sweetie Belle started violently, clearly not expecting Trixie to suddenly take control. “Um, sure I just... wait...” She looked around, eyes wide. “Where's Puppysmiles?”

“SHE WILL BE FINE!” Trixie said. “TELL US ABOUT OTHER WORLDS.”

“Well,” Sweetie hesitated. “Which one do you want to know?” Her eyes lit up. “Hey, how about the one where you hooked up with Twilight?” Sweetie giggled. “It was weird at first but you made such a cute couple!”

“N-NO!” Trixie stammered. “WE WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER WORLDS. THE WORLDS WHERE TRIXIE IS NOT DATING TWILIGHT SPARKLE.”

“Aw...” Sweetie pouted. “Wait... if you and Twilight are together right now in there, does that mean that–”

“IT DOES NOT MEAN ANYTHING!” Trixie growled. “NOW TELL THE GODDESS ABOUT THE OTHER WORLDS BEFORE THE GODDESS TA–”

There was a hard knock on the metal door of Shimmer's chambers and it opened before anypony could say anything. Outside, standing angrily, were a host of ghouls. The front one, a unicorn, was holding a grinning Puppysmiles upside down in his telekinetic grasp. “I think we found your friend,” he grumbled.

“Hullo, Miss Pretty Pony with no armor!” Puppysmiles said cheerfully. “I remember! Don't say anything about the notebook!” she announced.

“What?” Sweetie blinked. With an exasperated sigh, she grasped Puppysmiles in her own magic and turned around so that the little filly was in between her and Trixie.

“Fangmoon!” Puppy replied happily.

“Wait... Fangmoon? What–“ Sweetie's eyes widened. “Do you mean 'Moon Fang'?”

“THE GODDESS DEMANDS TO KNOW WHAT 'MOON FANG' IS!” Trixie ordered.

“Um...” Sweetie looked at Puppysmiles. “Uh, who told you about that?”

“The pretty pony with armor!” Puppysmiles replied.

“Uh, who's the pretty pony with armor?”

Puppy opened her mouth then tried to cover it with her hooves, which bumped on her helmet. She shook her head. “Nuh-uh! Not telling! Pretty Pony with Armor said that you wouldn't make the walls talk if I said anything!”

Sweetie Belle frowned. “Wait, make the walls talk?”

Puppysmiles nodded happily and Sweetie face-hoofed. “Puppy... I don't know how to tell you this but- I can't make the walls talk.”

Puppy showed Sweetie her tongue. “Not telling! The Pretty Pony with Armor told Puppy you would say that and said that if Puppy said anything you wouldn't turn off the lights!”

“Wait, what?” Sweetie shook her head. She needed to get a grasp on things before this fiasco of a conversation escalated any further. “Now, Puppy, you really need to tell me! It's important!”

“Nuh-huh!” Puppysmiles shook her head repeatedly. “Nuh-huh! If I say it then you won't make the bad pony dance!”

“I don't–”

“ENOUGH!” Trixie interrupted. “THE GODDESS IS NOT INTERESTED IN WHAT 'THE PRETTY PONY IN ARMOR' SAID! THE GODDESS DEMANDS TO KNOW EVERYTHING SO SHE CAN GO BACK TO NOT LISTENING CONSTANTLY TO THE ADORATION OF THE SMELLY GHOULS IN THI–” Trixie stopped her rant when Shimmer started sending warnings to her. Slowly, Trixie's eyes left Sweetie and Puppysmiles to center on the group of ghouls staring in shock at her, just outside her door. “OH, HORSEAPPLES.”

“So, what he said was true,” a pained voice said from within the group.

The ghouls parted to reveal the form of the prophet, who stood there, looking in sorrow at Shimmer. “You did plan on leaving us.”

His horn flashed and Shimmer was suddenly back in control of the body.

“I- um... I–”

“Silence!” the prophet ordered, his body shaking with anger. “I was warned about her!” he growled, pointing a hoof at Sweetie Belle, then his hoof swept to point at Shimmer. “I was warned about you! But I didn't listen! I chose to believe in you!” he roared. His horn lit up with a black aura. It grew and grew around him as the startled ghouls surrounding him gasped. “Dominus tenebris! Vagus silentium! Agnosco vestri quod smaragdus oculos, ego ero vobis anima ad offendum destruat nestros!” he shouted, raising his eyes upwards.

Shimmer's horn lit up, slamming the doors closed, while Sweetie Belle jumped back, taking hold of Puppysmiles as she cast a shield spell in front of all of them. The door disintegrated, along with part of the wall, revealing the prophet floating in a cloud of black energy. The ragged robes he had been wearing dissolved, his eyes shining with a disturbing green energy.

Around him, the whole area had been destroyed and all that remained of the ghouls that had been standing outside the room were ashes.

“I have been reborn,” the prophet whispered, glaring at Shimmer. “I am now... Eruth, in servitude of a far greater god than you!” His eyes went to a corner of the room. “This is not your world.”

Ghostly energy rushed from his horn, striking the seemingly empty corner. For a second a familiar silhouette was engulfed by it before fading, but Sweetie didn’t have time to react, having to jump out of the way of a small blast of energy from Eruth.

“Careful, Sweetie,” Shimmer advised. “This... Eruth... is far beyond your ability to handle.”

Several more ghouls approached the room, and Eruth turned to face them. “The goddess has betrayed us! She wishes to leave us to rot after promising us freedom and lives!” he announced. “Brothers! Sisters! We shall not bow to her anymore! I have seen the truth!” His hoof swept the room, indicating all within. “These three are our enemies! They will not let us ascend! We must destroy them!”

His words were emphasized by small flashes of dark power from his horn, which seemed to reflect in the eyes of the other ghouls.

“I don't like him,” Puppysmiles frowned suddenly, reminding Sweetie Belle that she had a filly to protect. Well, another filly besides herself. “He's a bad ugly pony! He hurt the other ugly ponies!”

“We have to escape,” Shimmer said. “We can't face them all at the same time.”

“What about Trixie?” Sweetie asked. “Doesn't she have any ideas?”

“I–” Shimmer whimpered. “I- I can't hear her!” She confessed, eyes wild. “I'm alone! It's like everything went dark! I don't know what to do!”

Sweetie grit her teeth. She pushed her anger into that deep corner of her soul where her doubts and hurt and guilt were trapped. “We need to get out!”

“If I knew how to turn invisible!” Shimmer whimpered. “Trixie knows the spell, but she didn't give it to me!”

“Invisible would be good,” Sweetie muttered, then her eyes widened. “Not invisible...” she stepped back as the ghouls roared in anger, their eyes glistening with green light, all semblance of consciousness and sanity having disappeared.

Not having time to explain, she grabbed Shimmer with one hoof, and Puppysmiles with another as her horn flashed with magic and the world became black.

“What?!” Eruth shouted. “Find them! Destroy them!”

Shimmer felt herself being led away in the darkness, the sounds of the ghouls destroying the S.T.A.B.L.E. and each other, as well as Eruth's growling orders, disorienting her. Eventually she was led from the dark, turning to stare at the inky-black they had left behind.

Puppysmiles giggled. “Yay! You turned off the lights!”

o.0.o

“NO!” Rarity shouted, eyes wild as she struggled to get up, just barely noticing she had been tied down to the bed.

Something smashed against the wall opposite to her and several masks and vials crashed around it.

“LET ME GO!” Rarity screamed, trying break her bindings by force alone.

Zecora was suddenly at her side, shushing her as she pushed Rarity back into the bed, gently but still with enough strength to keep the unicorn from pushing back.

The sight of her zebra friend seemed to snap Rarity back into reality. She slumped back into the soft bed; her body was shaking as she struggled to take a deep breath and let the adrenaline rush fade. “I- I'm back...” she whispered. “I'm sorry, Zecora, I just–”

“No need to apologize,” Zecora soothed, raising a hoof. “I feared you would never rise.”

A clatter made the pair look at the pile of vials and masks, which started rolling aside as Fluttershy slowly stood up. “Oh, my,” she looked around. “I'm so sorry, Zecora, I just got startled and–”

“She's alive...” Rarity interrupted, head resting on a pillow. “All grown up, adventuring and facing things we have never even imagined.”

The zebra and pegasus exchanged glances.

“You mean... Sweetie Belle?”

Rarity nodded, her face full of worry. “I found her in a desolate land. She went into some strange structure which was populated by ponies that–” She looked at her friends with a hint of fear. “They were dead. And yet they walked and talked and acted as if they were alive.”

Fluttershy covered her mouth with a hoof, eyes wide as she whimpered.

Zecora for her part frowned and shook her head slowly. “Most unpleasant must be this land, where the living dead still stand.”

“It gets stranger still,” Rarity assured the pair. “Trixie was somehow turned into an alicorn and... there was talk of a great war...” she trailed off. “Sweetie and a little filly were talking to her when–” She turned fearfully to her friends. “One of them... one of the ghouls. It saw me! Nopony else could see me, but he did! He cast a spell and sent me back here.” She looked pleadingly at Zecora. “Please... let me go back.”

Zecora shook her head. “The brew is too potent I'm afraid; to drink again you must let the first one fade.”

Rarity's eyes watered. “But- but Sweetie, she's in danger!”

Fluttershy placed a comforting hoof on Rarity's shoulder. “She's alive. Please rest. She'll need you.”

Rarity sighed, staring at the roof. “How long?”

“A fortnight at least,” Fluttershy replied for Zecora. “We- we talked about this... when you downed the whole potion... it was too much, Rarity. Y-you could have died.”

“But I can't wait two whole weeks!” Rarity protested, feeling her eyelids become heavy. She yawned. “Please,” she begged weakly. “Please let me see her.”

Zecora shook her head. “What you must do now is rest. Let the potion go; it's for the best.”

Rarity yawned again. “N-no, I must... help...” she let out a long sigh and fell asleep.

o.0.o

Sweetie awoke with a start, confused for a moment, before she remembered that they had found their way deeper into the S.T.A.B.L.E..

“I'm sorry,” Sweetie had gasped out, taking in deep gulps of air in an effort to regain her breath. “I can't- I- I need to rest, I haven't slept at all...”

“It is dangerous...” Shimmer had muttered. “But I also must try to commune with the Goddess. We seem to have lost them for the time being. Let us hide away from them for a short reprieve.”

Shimmer was still meditating in a corner of the room they had hidden. Sweetie Belle watched in silence as Puppysmiles drew on a stack of papers with the crayons they had found amongst other toys; already the wall sported a small yellow sun, where a 'pretty prinsuss Celestia' and a 'pretty prinsuss Luna' and a 'pretty prinsuss Shimmer' flew over a small house, apparently constructed of red brick and blue tiles, where Sweetie and Puppy lived.

For a moment she was bitterly jealous of the little filly.

Here I am, she thought, universes away from home, with no way back and for all appearances never going back. I'm not even in my own body! She slammed her hoof down in frustration. I'm really just a little bit older than Puppysmiles! Well, a couple of years, but I'm still a filly, not an adult! I should be drawing pretty pictures and crusading! Not risking my life!

She could feel tears of frustration building up in her eyes.

What did I do to deserve this? She silently asked of the crayon-drawn Celestia, which was in the process of being made more pretty by the addition of brown crayon. She snorted and closed her eyes. I made a mistake! I didn't want to kill Twilight! I didn't want to be flung into other worlds! I didn't want to see my sister being immortal! Or Nightmare Moon on the throne! Or whatever the hay happened here! She felt her anger rising and gritted her teeth. Why do I have to put up with this? Why can't I just go home? Why– she felt a hoof gently touch her foreleg and she opened her eyes.

Puppysmiles looked up at her. “Are you okay, Sweaty Belt? Look! I made this for you!” the filly said proudly, presenting a paper to her where a bunch of brown smudges mixed with other colors made the vague shapes of ghoulish ponies. They all stood, presumably watching the white, blue and pink smudge that looked a bit like Sweetie Belle on a stage, where she seemed to be... exploding.

“Why am I exploding?” Sweetie sniffled.

“You're not exploding!” Puppysmiles pouted. “You're singing!”

“Ooooh! So that's what that is!” Sweetie chuckled.

“Do you likes it?” Puppy asked, her eyes big and hopeful. “I made it special for you! Because you are a pretty singer and I likes you! And look!” She pointed with a hoof at two other pony-like shapes. “That’s me! And mommy! We’re singing too!”

Sweetie smiled and hugged Puppysmiles. “Yes, I like it very much!”

“Yay!” Puppysmiles cheered. “Do I gets to see the bad pony dance?”

Sweetie laughed a bit, wiping away the remaining tears with the back of her hoof. “Maybe... I still have to figure out how to make the walls talk!”

“You don't have your cutie mark,” Shimmer interrupted, raising from her meditation and frowning. “We- I didn't notice. I wasn't paying attention to that.”

“Rub it in, why don't you?” Sweetie growled.

Shimmer frowned. “Why don't you have your cutie mark?” she asked. “At your age? Unless the world where you come from doesn't have cutie marks?”

“We do!” Sweetie huffed, then looked down. “It's... this is not my real body. I'm really just a filly.”

Shimmer's visage relaxed a bit. “I'm sorry... if- if it's any consolation, all alicorns know what it feels like to be in a body not their own.”

Sweetie was silent for a moment. “Were you able to talk to Trixie?”

Shimmer shook her head. “The moment Eruth became what he is now, my connection was interrupted.” She looked scared. “I don't know what to do!”

Sweetie took a deep breath. “We need to get out of the S.T.A.B.L.E.,” she said. “And we need to somehow stop Eruth. Do you have any spells we could use?”

Shimmer was silent. “I- I have one,” she looked away. “The Goddess... she was planning on using it if you refused to tell her about your world-jumping magic.”

Sweetie's eyes widened, and she felt something inside of her break, just a little. “Oh.” She looked away, her eyes showing the hurt. “I- I keep forgetting. Different worlds have different ponies... even if they look the same.”

“I'm sorry,” Shimmer whispered.

Sweetie nodded. “Why are you telling me?”

“Because,” Shimmer frowned. “It feels wrong. Even if I get punished, I don't want you to get hurt.”

Sweetie Belle smiled and placed a hoof on the alicorn's shoulder. “Thank you. It means alot that you want to help.” Her eyes glinted. “So, which spell is it?”

“Lightning bolt,” Shimmer said after a moment's hesitation. “If you had refused, she would have cast a low-powered one, hoped you survived and made you join us in Unity.”

Sweetie Belle shivered at the thought. “But- what makes you different? It doesn't make sense for you to feel guilty, you’ve only just met me!”

Shimmer nodded, not looking directly at Sweetie. “I don't know... but, you seem untouched by all that has happened. Innocent. You really are just a filly version of our Sweetie Belle. And...” She blushed a bit. “A lot of memories in the Goddess include you and your songs. You made a lot of ponies happy in this world before–” She caught herself. “I-in any case, let me teach you the spell.”

Sweetie Belle nodded, turning to look at Puppysmiles. “Sounds good, think you can hold... on... for... where's Puppysmiles?”

o.0.o

“Are we really going to, you know, attack the goddess, Sweetie Belle and that filly?” Pan asked his companion, pausing for a moment to push his ear back into place.

“Yes, the prophet said that they were evil, and he's been around since, like, ever. I trust him,” Cake replied, cracking his neck loudly. “Dammit! It never goes back in place.”

“Here,” Pan offered, putting down his revolver and forcing his friend's neck back into its proper position. “We told you to stop cracking your neck! One day you'll lose a disk or something. What’ll you do then?”

“Could be worse,” Cake replied. “Did you see what happened to Golden Fig's crops? He spent the last 200 years working on them and now they’re just gone!”

“I heard he's taken up a shotgun and has been shooting everypony he sees,” Pan said. “They say he hasn't stopped laughing since.”

Cake shook his head. “It's not that bad.” He sighed. "I woulda gone nuts if somepony had torched all my hard work too. I'd like to meet the pony or ghoul responsible and give them a piece of my mind.”

Puppysmiles cantered past the arguing ghouls, stopping to wave at them merrily. “Hullo ugly ponies!”

The ghouls stopped for a moment, then waved back at the surprisingly cheerful filly.

“How do I gets to the room with the big chair?”

One of them helpfully pointed to the doorway on the right, earning a big smile from Puppysmiles.

“Okaythanksbye!” she called cheerfully over her shoulder as she went in.

“What a nice little filly,” Cake noted.

“Yeah, but she didn't need to say we were ugly,” Pan muttered.

“Aw, don't take it personally, Pan,” Cake patted his friend's shoulder, producing a series of squelchy noises. “She's just a filly. She doesn't know any better.”

“I know.” Pan sighed. “Anyway, we should keep searching.”

“Right,” Cake nodded, picking up his gun with his mouth. The pair took a few steps onward, but both ghouls slowed down at the same time before stopping altogether, looking at each other with completely perplexed expressions.

The pair turned around and galloped towards where they had last seen the filly, but she was gone.

“Uh... how are we explaining this to the others?” Cake asked after a moment.

Pan cleared his throat. “Um, explain what? I didn't see anypony pass by.”

Cake blinked slowly. “Yeeeah. I didn't see a fil–”

“Anypony,” Pan corrected.

“...anypony,” Cake acknowledged. “I didn't see anypony pass us by. Nope. Not at all.”

“Exactly,” Pan nodded. “Now, let's go find those evil ponies.”

“Yes, let's.”

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle carefully peeked her head around the corner. “Looks empty.”

Shimmer shook her head. “I have no idea how that little filly just keeps walking away without us noticing.”

Sweetie winced at the notion. “Maybe... are we just boring?”

When Shimmer raised an eyebrow, Sweetie elaborated. “It's just that I’ve done the same thing back in my own world, when my sis and the others started talking about boring stuff.”

Shimmer shrugged as she cantered past Sweetie. “I think she just doesn't have a sense of self-preservation.”

Sweetie thought back to when she had first met Puppysmiles. “Yeah, that too.”

The pair slowly made their way down the halls. So far they had been able to avoid the roaming ghouls that were looking for them, but it was only a matter of time before they had to confront them.

“What did Eruth do to you?” Sweetie asked. “How could he have cut you off from Trixie?”

Shimmer shrugged. “I'm not completely cut off...” she said. “I can still feel the goddess in the back of my mind, but... she's just like a presence. I cannot hear Unity.” Shimmer shuddered. “I can't imagine what I would do if I wasn’t able to feel her at all... to be completely alone... what a horrible fate.”

“Are you the first one to have this happen?”

Shimmer grimaced. “No. But... Lacunae is a special case.” She stopped walking, looking worried. “What if... what if I cannot return to Unity?” she asked, her voice trembling. “What if I am cut off like this forever? Knowing Unity is there but unable to reach it?”

Really? She’s having a panic attack just now?!

“Listen, we don't know what will happen yet, right?” Sweetie ventured. “I'm sure that if it's Eruth doing this, then, once we stop him, you'll be back in Unity.”

Shimmer took a deep breath. “There’ll be plenty of time for this later!” she declared excitedly, voice tinged with more than a touch of hysteria.

It was then that two ghouls, one carrying a revolver, the other a vulcan minigun strapped to its back, walked out of a room and into the hall. The four ponies stared at each other for a second.

“Can we panic now?” Sweetie asked.

As if snapped out of their reverie by the statement, Shimmer quickly slammed both ghouls against the wall with telekinesis before they could even think of opening fire. “Sweetie! Take the guns!”

Sweetie blinked. Then used her magic to rip the contraptions away from the ghouls. She looked at them curiously as Shimmer threw both ghouls into a room and forced the door closed. “There, they're not bad ponies, I don't want to have to k- SWEETIE! POINT THAT THING THE OTHER WAY!” she shouted in a panic when she saw what Sweetie was doing, forcefully yanking away the gun from Sweetie’s grasp. “Don't ever, EVER, look down the barrel of a gun! Are you crazy!?”

“But–”

“No 'buts', young lady!” Shimmer growled. “If you had accidentally pressed the trigger, you would have blown your brains out!”

Sweetie looked at the 'guns' in horror. “What the hay are these things doing here then!? Why would ponies be carrying things around hat can kill so easily?”

Shimmer sighed. “There was a war, Sweetie, remember?”

Sweetie frowned and looked down. “It's still stupid.”

“Yes,” Shimmer agreed, “it is, but it happened and there's no point in thinking about that right now. We need to find Puppysmiles.” She raised her hoof when she saw Sweetie was about to put the guns down. “No... keep them.”

“No! These things hurt ponies!”

“They do,” Shimmer nodded. “But ghouls are really difficult to hurt and they will be less likely to attack us if we have them,” she said. “Besides, I didn't get a chance to teach you the spell, so at least take them for effect.”

“So...” Sweetie took a deep breath. “It's just for scaring them, then?”

“Yes,” Shimmer nodded.

Sweetie sighed. “Fine. Let's go.”

“Okay, let me tell you how they work and how to hold them so that you don't kill us, or them, by accident...” Shimmer said as they started walking again.

“I don't like this world,” Sweetie muttered bitterly, feeling ill as she realized that these were not unique.

How many ponies have died in this stupid world ? She felt her eyes watering up, just the very thought of a dead pony chilling her to the bone. When I saw the outside... I never imagined it had really been done by us. What did we turn into here? How come the Princesses didn't stop this? Was... was I also a killer? She looked up at Shimmer, half listening to what the alicorn was saying. I hope not. I hope I tried to help without killing. I hope I was with my friends and family.

Sweetie sighed. I wonder how I died... Rarity, Sweetie thought. I miss you.

o.0.o

Puppysmiles skipped around the S.T.A.B.L.E., looking around as she tried to remember where the exit was. It had been fun, but Mom was waiting and she really needed to go find her. All the stuff that Sweetie and the pretty princess had talked about had made Puppy a bit sad.

She didn't like being sad.

And the best way to not be sad was to be with Mom! So even if it was fun, she needed to go.

“Puppy!” she heard somepony call her.

“Sweetie Belt! Pretty prinsuss!” Puppy called back, waving her hoof merrily. “I'm off to find mommy!”

“Your mommy?” Shimmer asked, slowing down. “But- wasn't your mom around before the war?”

“Yup!” Puppysmiles nodded, hopping around the pair merrily. “And she had to go! But I wanted to see the fireworks so I didn't got to the supersafe place and now my house is all broken and I'm looking for mom so I can tell her it wasn't my fault and everything will be alright!”

“Before... the war?” Sweetie repeated, blinking slowly. “But that was–”

“Yus! It's over so mommy should be waiting for me now!”

Midnight Shimmer shook her head. “But, Puppy, you have to know that that's–”

Puppy blinked when the pretty princess closed her mouth and looked around worriedly.

“What is it?” Sweetie asked.

“Don't you hear them?” Shimmer whispered, pushing both Sweetie and Puppysmiles against the wall. “There's a group of ghouls coming this way.”

Sweetie could hear them now. “What do we do?”

Shimmer grimaced. “If we could send them down one of the other corridors, I could seal the door behind them. We could then make our way to the throne room.”

Sweetie looked at Shimmer in confusion. “Why the throne room?”

Shimmer took a deep breath. “Remember the crystals you had mentioned? The ones that had Twilight's essence in them?”

Sweetie nodded.

“Well, we found one there,” Shimmer explained. “Trixie was trying to figure a way to transport it because it won't let any alicorn touch it.”

“Well... that's new,” Sweetie mumbled. “Why not? It's never stopped anypony from doing so before, and since you have the essence of Twilight in you...” her eyes widened. “Twilight... did she become part of the Goddess... willingly?”

Shimmer was silent for a moment, then shook her head.

“Oh...” Sweetie gulped. “I- I really don't like this world's Trixie that much. No offense.”

Shimmer looked down. “I don't think Trixie does either,” she said, then levitated Puppy as the filly tried to walk away.

“Hey!”

“Hush, Puppysmiles,” Shimmer said. “There are bad ponies coming this way. We have to think of a way to distract them.”

Sweetie shook her head and peeked around the corner. She could see the ghouls walking past one of the side halls, getting so very close to them. They were carrying several things as weapons, including those horrible guns. She blinked, and a small smile developed into a grin as her eyes widened.

“Wait! I know!”

o.0.o

The lead ghoul halted, raising his hoof and signaling the others to stop. He turned around, looking at the hallway they had just passed.

“I think we lost them!” Sweetie Belle whispered.

“Don't talk too loud!” Shimmer muttered back. “They might backtrack. Let's just go all the way down this hall and see where it takes us. We might be able to escape.”

“Okay, come on, hurry!” Sweetie replied.

“We have them!” the lead ghoul roared. “Follow me!”

Turning around, he galloped into the hallway, followed closely by the dozen or so ghouls he was leading. Once the last ghoul had ran in, the door glowed with arcane magic and slid shut. Shimmer smashed her hoof through the terminal next to it, preventing it from being opened again.

“Voice projection, very smart!” she nodded at Sweetie, who smiled a bit.

“It once helped me distract a werewolf... I figured the ghouls would fall for it too.”

“Yay!” Puppysmiles pranced around Sweetie Belle. “You made the wall talk! You made the wall talk!”

Sweetie blinked. “Um... y-yeah. How did your friend... uh, 'armor lady' know about that?”

But Puppy ignored her, choosing instead to chant: “Dancing Bad Guy! Dancing Bad Guy! Dancing Bad Guy!”

Shimmer exchanged an amused glance with Sweetie. “Seems like some mysteries are going to remain so.”

Sweetie mumbled something.

“What was that?”

“I hate not knowing!” Sweetie groaned, rolling her eyes and raising a hoof. “If we were in a library, I could get the necessary books to sort it out, but in here we don't have any books! Why, I–” She cut herself off, noticing Shimmer's confused expression. “Shimmer, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah,” Shimmer nodded. “I just... you- you sound just like Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh,” Sweetie waved her hoof. “Of course I do, she was my mentor!”

“I see.” Shimmer took a deep breath. “I guess that's why. The resemblance was just... uncanny.”

“Can we go now?” Puppysmiles asked. “I wanna go find mommy and she's not here. Stoopid Mr. Voice lied again.”

Sweetie and Shimmer nodded, the alicorn taking the lead as they walked towards the throne room.

“Once we get your crystal, we should go,” Shimmer said. “I want to get as far away from Eruth as possible so I can rejoin Unity.”

Sweetie frowned a bit, but nodded. “Are you sure? Don't you want to be your own mare?”

Shimmer simply shook her head no.

o.0.o

Eruth closed his eyes.

They come. Be prepared. Don't let them escape.

“I won't,” Eruth mumbled in reply. “They will die here.”

Good. It's time Sweetie Belle’s travels were cut short.

Eruth shuddered as he felt the presence of his master leave his body. He opened his eyes just as the door to the throne room opened. He smiled, his taunt skin making his smile look more like a grimace. “Just as predicted.”

The three visitors stopped short, but were pushed forward by several ghouls which had been standing guard next to the entrance until they stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by even more armed ghouls.

“Welcome,” Eruth greeted them sinisterly, eyes flashing. “It is my master's wish that your travels end today,” he said, glaring at Sweetie. “And I will fulfill his orders... as for you,” his eyes turned to Shimmer. “You would abandon us at the first opportunity! You promised to take us with you! You promised to be our goddess!”

Shimmer flinched with each accusation. “The Goddess would leave me here but you–”

“Silence!” Eruth roared. “I've had enough of you! I–” He looked down when Puppysmiles poked his leg.

“'Scuse me, mister ugly pony, can you tell me where's the exit?”

In response, Eruth's horn lit up with the strange, black aura. Puppysmiles was picked up and flung violently against the wall on the other side of the room, slamming against it and dropping like a rag doll on the floor.

Sweetie Belle gasped in horror, tears flooding her eyes. She gritted her teeth and whipped around, glaring in anger at the prophet. “How dare you do that to an innocent filly?!”

Something inside her snapped. That same feeling that had made her terrorize Scooteroll, the one she had felt compelled to push into the back of her mind along with her doubts and fears, resurfaced. She wanted Eruth to suffer.

With an angry roar, her horn flashed with mystical energy, flinging several ghouls into the air as she pulled the trigger on the vulcan minigun. The first torrent of bullets shot out so violently that her control faltered and her aim suffered from it; instead of pulverizing or splattering the self-proclaimed prophet, the bullets ricocheted on the floor just before his hooves, making him jump in place from one hoof to the other in fright.

“Yay!” Puppysmiles cheered. “You made the bad guy dance!”

Sweetie's anger dissipated in an instant, and the vulcan minigun clattered to the floor, shooting another volley of bullets that tore the leg off a ghoul.

Sweetie's attention, however, was focused on Puppysmiles. The filly had a crack in her helmet but it slowly disappeared until it was completely gone.

“You're okay!” she gushed, rushing over to hug the little filly, who happily hugged her back.

“Kill them!” Eruth shouted.

Shimmer, however, was already casting a spell. A lightning bolt smashed into the mad ghoul, slamming him hard against the throne and making him spasm uncontrollably, just as the rest of the ghouls started shooting.

The bullets ricocheted off of Sweetie's shield spell, which she had thrown up in a panic.

“Miss Sweetie?” Puppysmiles looked down at the cowering unicorn. “Are you okay?”

“Puppy, get down!” Sweetie ordered. “I don't want you to get hurt!” She cringed when one of the ricocheting bullets hit one of the ghouls right in the eye. “I hate this world!”

A cry made them both look to the side, where Shimmer had collapsed, blood seeping from her flank. “Sweetie, you have to get out of here!” she shouted.

Sweetie began casting as many spells as she could in her panic. A whole group of ghouls collapsed as they tried to step forward, only to find that the floor was suddenly made slippery. Sweetie's attention was torn away from her friends as she levitated another group of the undead ponies and dropped them on top of the ones on the slippery floor.

A couple of ghouls stared at each other in mildly amused confusion as they were suddenly completely pink.

Following Sweetie’s lead, Shimmer started firing random spells, and at one point she completely disappeared from sight, only to reappear in another part of the room, casting another lightning bolt.

Black blasts of magic slammed into Sweetie's shield, the first one making her cry out as her magic was taxed beyond her expectations, the second bursting clean through it, barely missing her by inches. But not Puppysmiles.

The little filly was thrown back, this time taking a pair of ghouls with her; their bodies softening the impact when they crashed on the wall. From the pony pile arrived a muffled voice yelling “Rock!”

In desperation, Sweetie tore the throne from the floor and sent it hurtling towards Eruth. The ghoul laughed as his black aura catching the throne and making it hover over him. His wild eyes turned to glare at Sweetie. “My master will be pleased to see you dead!”

He threw the throne at Sweetie, who tried to counter his push with her own magic. The heavy, stone seat hovered over the slippery ghouls for a second before it started pushing over them and towards Sweetie, who collapsed to the floor, turning her full concentration and strength on the magical contest of strength... which she was slowly losing. She grit her teeth and refused to close her eyes. If this was the end, she would see it through.

Then, she saw Puppysmiles, snarling angrily, a plain rock held in her hooves as she jumped behind Eruth and smashed him in the head with it. The throne started falling on top of the ghouls, but was suddenly stopped mid-air by Sweetie’s magic.

Sweetie threw the throne over Eruth and Puppysmiles, smashing it on the floor behind them, but neither paid attention to it. Puppysmiles brought her rock down again and again on Eruth's head, smashing it in until she was tackled by Sweetie Belle.

Puppysmiles tried to struggle free so she could continue destroying Eruth, “He’s one of Count Tile’s agents! I knew it!” and was about to break free when she heard Sweetie hushing her.

“It's okay, Puppy, the bad guy is g-gone. Calm down... it's over. It's over, Puppy,” Sweetie Belle begged. “Please calm down.”

Puppysmiles dropped the rock and hugged the disgruntled unicorn back. “It's okay, Miss Belt, the bad guy will not bother you no more.”

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle awoke to complete silence. For a moment, she didn't know where she was, but a quick glance revealed that she was in Shimmer's room.

“I see you're awake,” the alicorn commented, emerging from the back of the room.

“I- I am,” Sweetie acknowledged absently. “What happened?”

“You passed out. You hadn't had any rest and were suddenly thrown into a life-or-death battle,” Shimmer smiled. “You did quite well, all things considered.”

Sweetie nodded absently. “Is Puppy still around?”

Shimmer nodded. “For now... the ghouls calmed down after Eruth died,” she elaborated. “He wasn't controlling them per se, but between his actions and the lack of his leadership, it was easy for me to gain control and convince them that they had been fooled.”

Sweetie nodded and slowly slid out of the bed. She paused. “You're still... well, you.”

Shimmer looked down at the floor and nodded almost imperceptibly. “I can feel Unity... but it's as though it has been blocked. I know it's on the other side but... as hard as I try, I cannot move this barrier, and even if I try to punch through, the holes are filled in quite fast.” Shimmer shuddered. “I don't know what to do. But I can't stay here.”

Sweetie was about to reply when a ghoul banged on the door. “Goddess! The ghost of the 52 is leaving!”

“What?!” Sweetie cried out, jumping down and almost falling flat on her face. She was surrounded by a blueish aura of magic as Shimmer levitated her. Sweetie sighed in annoyance. “I hate being like this.”

“Here, allow me to help,” the alicorn said with a smile. She turned to look at the ghoul. “Bring that object I asked you to put in a box for me. We can give it to Sweetie outside.”

o.0.o

Puppysmiles stepped out of the S.T.A.B.L.E. and looked at the desolate land around her, sighing. “That was fun, but I still want my mom... Maybe we should go to that Broccoli town, after all...” The filly in yellow shivered, thinking of all the horrible things that a mom could do with enough broccoli, but she had to be strong and keep trotting, because she was sure that next time she would find her mother.

“Affirmative. Broccoli set on the compass as main quest objective.”

A flashing arrow inside her helmet indicated which way Puppy had to go, but as the little filly turned that way, she heard Sweetie calling for her.

“Puppysmiles!” Sweetie shouted. “Don't leave yet!”

Puppy grinned and waved her hoof at the nice unicorn. “I have to go find my mommy now! But don't worry, I'll tell her how nice you were!”

Sweetie's eyes watered a bit as she was put on the floor right next to Puppy and hugged her for a moment. “You tell her that,” she whispered, “and when I see my sister, and my friends I'll tell them how good and brave you were!”

“Yay!” Puppysmiles shouted, prancing in place. “I gets to meet your sister?”

“One day, Puppy,” Sweetie said, nodding.

“And here is where we all must part ways,” Shimmer added, walking over to them.

“Buh-bye, pretty prinsuss!” Puppysmiles said. “It was nice to meet you too! I'll tell mommy how you gave me your name in a paper and how nice you were even when you were talking really loud!”

Shimmer winced a bit at that, shook it off and motioned for a ghoul to bring a box over. Once it had done so, the ghouls slowly shuffled back into the S.T.A.B.L.E..

At Sweetie's questioning look, Shimmer smiled sheepishly. “I asked them to let the three of us be alone for this.”

Shimmer's magic opened the small box and Sweetie gasped. There, lying on top of a small rag, was one of Twilight’s fragments.

Sweetie carefully levitated it with her magic. “I- thank you, Shimmer!” She hugged the alicorn, Shimmer tensing immediately at the little unicorn's touch before relaxing, apparently surprised when nothing happened.

“Y-you’re welcome,” Shimmer stammered. “But please don't hug me while holding that fragment... last time I touched it, it gave Trixie a migraine. A million heads’ worth of it.”

Sweetie grinned.

Some sort of polka-like music reached them as Sweetie levitated the shard. She looked from Puppy to Shimmer and nodded once. She immediately made the magical connection with the shard, feeling it restoring her magic and pulling her away.

The marching band music was suddenly interrupted by static.

“Oh, hey, Puppysmiles!” a familiar voice said.

“Hi, Questioner!” Puppy replied.

“It's Watcher, and–” the voice stopped as the round robot hovered in front of Shimmer. “Oh, crap.”

“Spike?!” Sweetie asked, recognizing the voice.

The little robot whirled in place and its camera concentrated on her. “Sweetie?! But- but how?! You were just with–”

Whatever he was going to say to her was lost in the sudden rush and light. Sweetie had left another world.

o.0.o

Watcher hovered uncertainly in front of the place where Sweetie had just been standing.

“... Black...” he trailed off. The spritebot then slowly turned to face Shimmer. “Um. Hi. There's no chance that this little conversation can be kept between the two of us, is there?”

Shimmer raised an eyebrow. “Currently, I'm unable to communicate with the Goddess.”

“Thank Celestia!” Watcher sighed. “Hey, where’d Puppy go?”

A loud clank followed by a roar seemed to be the answer.

“What is a manticore doing in here?!” A ghoul shouted over the roars and the sounds of tearing metal. “Oh, Luna! It's got my leg!”

Shimmer looked around, then pointed at the distance with her hoof.

“I don't know!” another answered.

“Shoot it! Oh, Goddess it has my other leg!”

“Just kill it! We'll re-attach your stupid legs later! Where's the Goddess?!”

Watcher turned to see Puppysmiles merrily riding her scooter into the sunset. “Oh,” he chuckled sadly. “There she goes again.”

“What are you doing!?” the ghoul's voice reached them once again, followed by a roar and a sickening, squishy sound. “That catnip is two hundred years old! It won't work! See what you've done?! It tore another of my legs off!”

“Well, stop standing right next to it!”

“I can't help it! I can’t exactly move with only one leg left!”

“I...” Shimmer coughed to clear her throat. “I should go. Away. From here. Maybe to Hoofington... or something. Find out how to rejoin Unity.”

“Yes,” Watcher said after a pause. The two looked at each other uncomfortably, then the alicorn shimmered into invisibility and the March of the Parasprites resumed.

“Oh, Goddess! It has my last leg!”

o.0.o

Something stirred her away from sleep.

Sweetie took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She was a filly again, and in her room in Carousel Boutique.

“Another day, another quest...” she muttered. “I could use a daisy sandwich.” She snuggled into the bed again. “But then again, after that world, I think I can stay in bed longer. Much longer.”

Suddenly, the sound that had awoken her came again and she groaned, rolling off the bed and calling down the stairs. “I'll be right there! Hold on!”

Grumbling, she made her way to the front door and yanked it open with magic.

A white stallion unicorn, tall and well groomed smiled at her. “Hello, little filly, I was wondering if–”

“No solicitors,” Sweetie growled and closed the door.

She turned around and was about to leave when the unicorn knocked on the door again. Sweetie took a deep breath and opened the door. “Yes?”

The unicorn frowned. “You are not acting like you did last time!”

Sweetie blinked. “You’re not a sales-pony?”

The unicorn sighed. “No, my name is Prince Blueblood, and–” Sweetie slammed the door.

Blueblood knocked on the door again.

“What?” Sweetie growled.

Blueblood looked at her, nonplussed. “Sweetie Belle, why did you close the door on me?”

“Rarity told me you were a brute when she met you at the Gala,” Sweetie replied, then she narrowed her eyes. “And how do you know my name?”

Blueblood looked gobsmacked. He opened his mouth and closed it several times. “W-wait... you... remember the Gala?”

Sweetie frowned. “What my sis told me.”

Suddenly she was being held in Blueblood’s forelegs. “I’m not alone!”

“Hey! Let go!” Sweetie shouted.

“No! I must keep you at my side! Nothing will separate us, Sweetie Belle! We’ll see this adventure through together! You and I!”

“I need an adult!” Sweetie shouted desperately.

“I am an adult!” Blueblood shouted back.

“AAAAAAaaaaah!”

“W-what’s going on here?!” Rarity asked, galloping into the room after hearing her sister shout and scream. “Sweetie?! Get away from that strange unicorn, right now!”

“It’s Blueblood! Help!” Sweetie pleaded. “He’s hugging me!”

“Let go of my sister!”

“Never! I have found another pony that remembers! This will be the best night ever!”

o.0.o End Chapter 5 o.0.o

Next Chapter: The Best Night Ever

The Best Night Ever Part 1: Arrival

Edited by: Fifth Alicorn & Lammy Proof by: Trevor & Super Big Mac

Rarity sighed, levitating a cup of hot chocolate and setting it on the table in front of her sister. “Here you are, Sweetie. I’m sorry about earlier, but I certainly never expected Prince Blueblood of all ponies to turn up outside my door, much less have him hugging you! I cannot imagine what got into his head.”

Sweetie Belle stared at the hot chocolate in silence, making Rarity purse her lips. Her little sister seemed to be having some difficulty processing all that had happened. It was really all just a big misunderstanding, surely.

“I’ll make you a sandwich, and then maybe we can go out for a walk to take your mind off of things...” Rarity continued, trying to catch the filly’s attention to little avail. She must still have been traumatized from the tearful hysterics of the Equestrian royal. “To think that Prince Blueblood, whom I fantasized of meeting for the longest time, would come to my door and act like-like...”

‘A little like a madpony,’ was nearly the first words out of her mouth.

“Well! I don’t even want to say it!”

Rarity had just turned around when Sweetie slid from her seat to the floor. She slowly walked up to her older sister and hugged her.

“Sweetie?” Rarity asked, concerned as Sweetie Belle slowly started to sob into her coat. Sweetie just pulled her tighter into the embrace and cried louder. Rarity hugged her back and closed her eyes, rocking her little sister silently.

After a few minutes, the filly finally pulled back, still sniffling a little. “I’m sorry for being so quiet sis, I just—”

“Hush,” Rarity whispered, “don’t apologize, Sweetie. Come now, let us sit down, drink our chocolate and then we shall talk.”

The pair made their way back to the table and took seats on opposite sides. Rarity was about to offer to warm up the hot chocolate again, but stopped, surprised, as Sweetie warmed it up herself. With magic. It was a simple warming spell, but… how? When did—

Sweetie looked at her sister straight in the eyes. “I watched somepony die.”

Rarity’s eyes widened in shock, her concerns about heating spells vanishing instantly.

“How- Who—”

“He was trying to kill me and my friends... Puppysmiles, sh-she smashed his head in with a rock.”

Rarity was speechless. Puppysmiles?

“Why, Rarity?” Sweetie asked, looking down into her cup as if it contained the answers. “Why would ponies do that? Why start a war? Why murder? Why would somepony want to kill me?” Sweetie leaned back on the chair, looking up at the ceiling. “In all the worlds I visited, nothing like that had happened. I would have never imagined a filly being shot at or smashed against a wall being capable of standing up again, much less crushing a pony’s head with a rock!”

Rarity stared in bewilderment at her sister. “Sweetie Belle, did you have a nightmare?”

Sweetie snorted. “I wish,” she grumbled, upset by the dismissal. “I didn’t even get to learn that lightning-bolt spell, and that one sounded really neat. That world was… it was just…”

“Lightning? Sweetie Belle!” Rarity cut in, raising her voice. “I demand an explanation!”

The little filly sighed. “Listen, sis... I’m going to be really succinct and just tell you everything now to avoid further confusion, okay?”

Rarity pressed her hoof against Sweetie’s forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever.”

Sweetie brushed the hoof away and levitated her sister into the air before depositing her back in her chair. Then she turned their cups light-green.

“Can I have some sugar?” the cup asked Rarity.

By now, Rarity was looking at her sister as if she were half-hydra. “B-but how?”

“I’m not your Sweetie Belle,” Sweetie explained. “I’m a Sweetie Belle from another dimension that was trapped in a continuous loop of world-hopping, and I only need to find a specific type of crystal so I can continue my travels. Then I’m out of here.”

Rarity nodded slowly. Then her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out, face smacking on the table. Her fainting couch didn’t even have the time to get all the way across the room.

Sweetie sighed again. “Well, that went well.”

The house was completely quiet as Sweetie Belle slowly started drinking her hot chocolate, sipping it while staring at her unconscious sister. Her eyes strayed to the familiar curtains and her sister’s varied works in progress, Opalescence purring and rubbing her head against Rarity’s leg affectionately. Unconscious ponies seemed to be her favorite ponies.

Suddenly Sweetie felt something wet fall on her foreleg. She looked down, confused, and saw many more drops of water fall onto the table. She blinked, taking a deep breath as she realized they were her tears.

Sweetie bit her lower lip as she sought out Rarity. She extended her hoof across the table, brushing her sister’s mane lightly. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as a sob shook her body. “I’m so sorry, Rarity! I’m sorry, Twilight... Spike... I’m sorry!”

Crossing her forelegs, she rested her head on them as she wept, the experiences of the last couple hours taking a toll on her emotions. At least it was over. At least… at least this world seemed normal enough.

o.0.o

At some point, Sweetie had fallen asleep, finally awakening, to the sound of hooves knocking on her front door. Looking up, she saw that Rarity was still passed out, sprawled rather inelegantly on the floor.

Hearing the knocks again, she groaned and stood up on all fours. Carefully, Sweetie Belle levitated Rarity up to lay her down on the couch, pulling a warm blanket on top of her sister. It was the least she could do after knocking her out with a faint-worthy bit of cold, hard reality. Also, the tears on her coat looked kind of gross. Sweetie tried to rub at them with the blanket, with little success, before just tucking it in. She’d apologize for all that later.

A third series of knocks, even more impatient this time, made her roll her eyes. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” Sweetie trotted up to the door and opened it, revealing two very annoyed-looking fillies.

“Sweetie Belle!” Scootaloo growled, grabbing Sweetie’s hoof. “What are you doing?! We’re gonna be late for school!”

“School?” Sweetie asked weakly. “Really?”

“Are you feelin’ okay, Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom asked.

“No time!” Scootaloo shouted, yanking Sweetie out of the Carousel Boutique and slamming the door behind them. “We need to go now, or we won’t make it in time!”

Plunking a helmet on Sweetie’s head and forcing her into the little red wagon she had attached to her scooter, Scootaloo revved up, barely giving Apple Bloom time to jump in as they shot across Ponyville.

“What’s the deal? Miss Cheerilee won’t mind. We can be a little bit late!” Sweetie complained, drawing a surprised look from Apple Bloom.

“We have a test today!” she explained to Sweetie Belle. “Did you forget?”

“Oh...” Sweetie smiled sheepishly. She grimaced and looked at her friends. “So, what’s the test about? I don’t really remember what it was. It’s been a while.”

Apple Bloom gave her an odd look. “Sweetie, we got reminders yesterday! It’s about unicorn history!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo shouted over her shoulder. “Why couldn’t it be Pegasus history? That’s much more interesting!”

“Suuure it is.” Apple Bloom rolled her eyes.

The trio saw the school in the distance, but, as they approached the building, a mamma duck and her little ducklings stepped into the road. Suddenly, Sweetie Belle remembered this day. “Oh, no...”

“Watch out!” Scootaloo shouted, twisting the handlebars instinctively, sending the trio arcing around the ducklings and crashing headlong into a large marker stone at the side of the road. They pitched forwards, sent flying uncontrollably before they smacked down inside the large waste container beside the school.

“Oooh...” all three groaned as they struggled to dig themselves out. Apple Bloom gagged, throwing herself at the rim of the bin before reaching back to pull her fellow crusaders towards her. Retching and gagging, the three flopped out of the bin and onto the grass before looking down at their trash-ridden coats in dismay.

“Hey, Blank Flanks!” Diamond Tiara called, sneering as she trotted to class. “Why don't you go dig around some more in the trash for your cutie marks? I'm sure you can find something that'll fit you just fine!”

“Just ignore them, Scootaloo...” Apple Bloom whispered when the orange-coated filly growled.

“Yeah, they’re not worth it,” Sweetie sighed, watching the pair of bullies laugh their way into the schoolyard. Her horn lit up and with a small flash all three fillies were completely clean, the garbage settling around their hooves. “There, let’s go in.”

She took a couple of steps, but then stopped when she realized Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were not following. “What’s wrong?”

“Since when can you cast spells like that?” Apple Bloom asked.

“T-that was awesome!” Scootaloo nodded.

“Oh, right!” Sweetie face-hoofed, taking a second to stare at her hooves. “I’m younger!”

“Uh... you’re whatnow?” Apple Bloom asked.

“N-never mind!” Sweetie stammered, smiling nervously. “Let’s go into class!”

“But, when did you learn to use magic?” Scootaloo insisted, falling in behind her.

“And why didn’t you tell us?” Apple Bloom added, sounding a bit hurt.

“I-uh,” Sweetie smiled. “Um... I promise to tell you after school, okay? I just can’t now... you know... with everypony else around.”

Her two friends shared a confused look, but nodded and started following her until Scootaloo gasped and stopped.

“What?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I—” Scootaloo shook her head, looking at Sweetie for a second. “I’m sorry, I thought I saw something.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom shrugged.

The trio made it inside the classroom, where they were treated to a warm, welcoming smile from Miss Cheerilee, and two confused looks from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who clearly expected them to be covered in gunk.

The three hurried to their seats as Cheerilee closed the door and turned to look at the class. “Good morning, class!”

“Good morning, Miss Cheerilee!” came the droning response.

“As you all know, today we have a test on unicorn history!” Cheerilee chimed with a smile despite the collective groan. “Now, I know you all did your homework on it last night, so it shouldn’t be too hard,” she said. “So, get out your pencils, a piece of paper, and write me as much as you can remember about unicorn history.” She moved to the side, revealing a chair stacked with blank papers. “If you need more paper to write, feel free to get some from here. Now, start!”

Sighing, Sweetie barely paid attention to what she was doing, getting five pages to have enough paper to write. Unicorn history, huh? Well, there’s so much to tell! Where do I even begin? I suppose the easiest thing is to start with Princess Platinum... the unicorns of the past were very xenophobic, weren’t they? I guess moving the sun and moon meant they figured they were more than just regular ponies. She giggled as her quill flashed along the page, writing her thoughts on the relationship between unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies of the past.

But, I can’t just write something that I could have learned from Hearth’s Warming Eve, she reasoned. I should backtrack a bit and cover Starswirl the Bearded and his exploits as a unicorn polymath, as well as his rumored affair with Princess Celestia!

She added another page, and another, and another. I was very surprised when it turned out that Clover the Clever had apprenticed under Starswirl, but it sort of makes sense that the most educated and powerful unicorns would be taken under the wing of the previous generation. The strongest unicorns teach the strongest unicorns, and Twilight is learning from Celestia, so maybe that’s still the case? Sweetie got another blank paper and dipped her quill in the inkwell.

She frowned for a moment when she noticed that she had run out of ink. With a shrug, she procured another inkwell from Miss Cheerilee’s desk and carried on writing. And then, of course, there is the philosophical tradition of— she suddenly became aware that the room was quiet. Too quiet.

Slowly, Sweetie Belle raised her head and peeked over the stack of written papers at the rest of the class.

Every colt and filly was staring at her in awe. Even Miss Cheerilee was doing nothing but gawking. She looked from them to the swaying stack of papers on her desk, her quill levitating in her magical aura just over the latest addition to her essay; A Treatise upon the History of the Unicorn Race: A Comprehensive Retrospective of Magic, Bigotry, Redemption and Reconciliation in Twelve Parts. Then it hit her.

“Oh!” she gasped. “Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Cheerilee! We were only supposed to write about what we covered in class, weren’t we?”

THUD!

The class slowly forced itself to turn and look at Diamond Tiara, who had passed out, a single-page, one-paragraph-long-plus-unicorn-drawing essay fluttering to the floor next to her.

o.0.o

Twilight put down the last of Sweetie’s essay, pursing her lips as she appraised it.

“Well... Sweetie definitely needs to brush up on her bloodlines if she’s going to write about Platinum,” Twilight said after an awkward pause. “And there’s no evidence whatsoever that Celestia and Starswirl ever had an affair, unless you count Mareser’s work, which wasn’t contemporary and drew on the romanticized version of historic events. Biticus is a much more accurate account, though his military figures and accounts of magic are believed to be exaggerated.”

“On the other hoof,” Twilight continued, weighing one of her hooves in the air against the other. “Her analysis of the relationship between the pony clans of old seems spot-on, and her work on Starswirl and Clover's apprenticeship? Fantastic! Her bibliography was a bit light, but she was going by memory.” The lavender queen of all bookworms smiled at Sweetie Belle, who puffed out her chest with pride.

“Thanks, Twilight!” Sweetie Belle replied, smiling back.

“But... that’s not what I taught her!” Cheerilee explained, flailing her hooves and accidentally knocking some of Twilight’s quills askew, making her eyebrow twitch. “I never mentioned any of those unicorns! I don’t even know who they are, other than Queen Platinum!”

Twilight shook her head. “Really? Well, okay, but... maybe Sweetie just read some history books on her own? These essays are impeccable for a filly her age. I hardly see the problem here.”

“Twilight,” Cheerilee said slowly, trying to get through to the other mare. “Sweetie was levitating the pen and paper and hardly paying attention while she wrote. She’s always been a filly with passable grades, but... never like this!”

Twilight looked at Sweetie Belle, who blinked innocently with dewy green eyes.

“Look, Cheerilee, it could simply be that Sweetie accessed her innate magical potential while distracted. It’s been known to happen an—”

“Hey Twilight!” Spike called, walking in with a stack of books. “I brought you all the books I could find on transformation spells!”

“Spike!” Twilight shouted too late, trying to warn him as his foot descended on top of one of her fallen quills and he slipped.

“Whoa!” Spike shouted, flinging the books into the air, trying to regain his balance before he fell flat on his back. Seeing the books about to crash on top of him, he quickly covered his head with his arms... but nothing happened.

Spike opened his eyes and stared at the floating books. “Thanks, Twi—” he stopped, noticing that Twilight’s horn was not glowing at all and that both Cheerilee and Twilight were staring at Sweetie Belle, whose horn was glowing.

“Eh... hehe...” The filly giggled, nervously. “Where did you want these again, Twilight?”

o.0.o

“...and then I just got distracted and wrote away while thinking of what I would write for you, Twilight, if you had asked me for an essay about unicorn history,” Sweetie Belle said. “And, that’s the whole story so far.”

The two mares across from her simply stared.

“I have to say, you two are taking it much better than Rarity; she—”

“Aaaaaah!” Cheerilee screamed at the top of her lungs. “She stole my student!”

“Cheerilee, calm down,” Twilight said, standing up.

“No! She’s a creature from another dimension! They’re taking over Ponyville! They’re in our minds! I can feel another Cheerilee trying to take me over!”

“That’s not how it is!” Twilight raised her voice.

“We’re all gonna die!” The teacher screamed.

Twilight groaned and cast a spell. Sweetie watched in fascination as Cheerilee's screams faded to a yawn, the earth pony slowly nodding off before curling up on the library floor. She slept pretty soundly for a mare who had been in a panic five seconds earlier.

“This is becoming a recurring theme...” Sweetie muttered.

Twilight sighed. “I guess this is what Rarity was ranting about this morning,” she said, giving Sweetie an indecipherable look. “I convinced her that it was just her imagination, since she had woken up on her sofa... I figured she had just overworked herself again.”

“Oh... that...” Sweetie grimaced. “It didn’t go as well as planned either.”

Twilight was silent for a moment. “Sweetie... what you’ve been going through is changing you. You’re almost nothing like our Sweetie Belle is—was,” she corrected herself, pausing to drink a little of her tea. “It’s understandable. You’ve suffered through a lot, if all you said is true. But... it’s making you callous.”

“What?” Sweetie’s eyes widened. “But—”

“Think about it,” Twilight interrupted, raising her hoof. “Was it really necessary to just drop all of this on Rarity the way you did? Even I would have hardly believed you right now if you didn't seem so calm about this! Sweetie Belle...” Twilight reached a hoof to gently stroke the filly’s own. “You’re losing yourself.”

Sweetie Belle remained quiet for a little bit, before looking up at Twilight. “But... how can I stop that from happening? For all I know, my next jump will land me in the middle of a war. Or worse!”

Twilight seemed to be at a loss. “W-well, I’ll look at my books, okay? And see if I can find something. In the meantime, why don’t you spend some time with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom?” She brightened. “Just think of it as a break! We all need breaks, right?”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah,” she smiled. “A break! That sounds like a great idea.”

o.0.o

“Sweetie Belle!” Apple Bloom called, galloping up to her, followed by Scootaloo, who gave Sweetie a dubious look the moment they reached her.

“What’s going on, Sweetie?” Scootaloo asked suspiciously. “Since when can you do all that magic? And how come you knew so much unicorn history? I know you pay attention in class, but that’s ridiculous!”

Sweetie hesitated. “W-well, I ah... the thing is... I’m from the future.”

Apple Bloom frowned and was about to talk when—

Scootaloo gasped in realization. “Wait! Is that why I saw your cutie mark earlier?!”

“What?!” Sweetie’s head whipped to the side to look at her flank, but it was as blank as ever. “Hey!”

“No... no, no,” Scootaloo shook her head and made calming motions with her hooves. “I swear to you, I saw something for a second earlier today, after you cast your spell.”

Apple Bloom stared from Sweetie to Scootaloo. “Wait, you believe her?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Why not? Do you remember Sweetie ever being able to clean us all up with a single spell? Or even being able to cast a spell at all?”

Apple Bloom looked at Sweetie Belle with an intense glare, clearly trying to see any hint of deceit. “No,” she said slowly. “Never.”

The pair of fillies stared excitedly at Sweetie Belle, who smiled uncertainly.

“Oh my Celestia! Does Rainbow Dash adopt me?!”

“What’s mah cutie mark like?”

“When do I learn to fly?”

“Will Ah be as strong as Big Mac?”

“Does Rainbow Dash become a Wonderbolt?”

“Okay!” Sweetie screeched. “Hold on! Calm down! I’m just from a couple of years ahead!”

“Oh,” Apple Bloom sighed as she and Scootaloo slowly calmed down. “So... do we get our cutie marks in a year or two?”

“N—” Sweetie cut herself off. “Nah-ah-ah, that would be spoilers, right? It’s better for you to wait and see.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “That means no, doesn’t it?”

“Well, no, it just means that you have to wait and see,” Sweetie reasoned, her brain looking for a way to get out of it. “Uh... yeah, it’s because I’m in the past and the future can be changed! So i-if I told you, either way, I could really mess up your chances and you might never get your cutie mark!”

“How does that work?” Apple Bloom asked. “Ah don’t get it.”

“W-well, imagine... that... uh... Fluttershy!”

“What about her?” Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion.

“Y-yeah, imagine that Fluttershy never fell from the cloud... and she never found her cutie mark back then... what if... I dunno, when Nightmare Moon came, she had thought it was soo cool that she swore allegiance to her and ended up getting a Shadowbolt cutie mark and became the Shadowbolt Captain?” Sweetie elaborated. “So... it’s the same, if I told you you were going to get your cutie mark in one way, and you messed it up, what if you ended up with the wrong cutie mark?”

Apple Bloom’s eyes went wide. “Can that even happen? Can you get the wrong cutie mark?”

Scootaloo's eyes were half-lidded as she gave Sweetie a blank look. “Fluttershy. Captain of the Shadowbolts. Really, Sweetie Belle? Couldn’t you have thought of something more logical?”

“Stranger things have happened,” Sweetie said, shrugging.

“Right,” Scootaloo said. “Well, what’re we doing today, then? If you’re from the future then you’ve already done our plans!”

Sweetie grinned. “What, and miss out on ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders Pastry Chefs’? No way!”

o.0.o

Sweetie paced nervously in front of the Carousel Boutique.

Night had begun to cast all of Ponyville into its starry embrace, and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had left after their unsuccessful (but very entertaining) attempt at being pastry chefs.

“Well done, Sweetie,” she muttered. “Antagonize your sister. You’ll be lucky if she even allows you back in.”

Taking a deep breath, Sweetie marched up to the door and knocked. The door slammed open and there stood Rarity, all dressed up for the gala.

She blinked and looked down at Sweetie, her smile fading a bit. “Oh, it’s you... Sweetie...” she shifted uncomfortably.

Sweetie grinned a little bit. “I’m... sorry sis. I—”

Rarity pulled her into an embrace and held her close. “I spoke with Twilight,” she whispered to Sweetie. “She told me a little of what’s happened. I know my Sweetie will come back eventually but... you’re also my sister. We’ll talk tomorrow morning, okay?”

Sweetie nodded, sighing in relief as she leaned into the embrace.

“Oh, there’s Twilight and the others!” Rarity squeaked. She stepped back from Sweetie Belle and posed with one hoof raised. “How do I look?”

“You look amazing, sis,” Sweetie said, smiling sadly at the thought of how much effort her sister had gone through in her original world to prepare for the Grand Galloping Gala, only to end up loathing her Prince and gorging herself on donuts. It’d taken her a full week, filled with ice cream nights and workout mornings, to recover. And they had been some very, very angry workout mornings.

“Good! Now, it’s a little bit late, but there is some food in the fridge you can eat, and try to go to bed early, will you?” Rarity instructed. “Since mother and father have gone out tonight as well, I’ve asked Big Mac to pick you up for a sleepover at Sweet Apple Acres. ...Make sure you...”

Sweetie hardly heard the rest of her sister's parting words as she fully digested what Rarity had just said. Mom and dad... they're... alive...

She didn’t pay any heed to Rarity wishing her good night, nor Twilight and the others arriving and departing to the Grand Galloping Gala. She slowly made her way to the kitchen and absentmindedly ate the sandwich Rarity had left there.

“They’re alive...” she repeated to herself. “Maybe...” she yawned. “Maybe I can meet them tomorrow.”

o.0.o

When Big Mac and Apple Bloom arrived at the Carousel Boutique, they found Sweetie asleep at the table. Big Mac carefully picked Sweetie up and set her on his back, shushing Apple Bloom, so that Sweetie might rest in peace. The three left quietly, with Sweetie dreaming about meeting the parents she always thought lost to her forever.

Tomorrow.

o.0.∞.0.o

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

At the scream, Sweetie shot up in her bed, a cold sweat running down her back, eyes wide and looking around for danger. After a moment, she realized she was in her room at the Carousel Boutique, although for some reason she had a lot less possessions this time around than she usually did.

Rubbing her eyes, Sweetie staggered out of bed and stretched. Slowly, she took stock of her situation. She was back at the Boutique... But, didn’t Rarity say something about me spending the night at Sweet Apple Acres?

I must have misheard. But wait... Does that mean I also misheard about our parents? Her heart jumped. To be so close... She took a deep breath then remembered that Rarity had been screaming bloody murder just a moment ago.

“Rarity!” she shouted, running out of her room and into her sister’s bedroom. Rarity wasn’t there, but now she could hear her in the bathroom, talking very loudly with somepony.

Sweetie pushed the door open. Rarity was there, dripping wet, with an angrily hissing and equally drenched Opalescence. “R-Rarity? What happened?”

Rarity grimaced. “I’m terribly sorry if I woke you up, Sweetie. It seems we are out of hot water this morning.”

“Uh, what happened to Opalescence?”

Rarity chewed her lower lip. “Never mind, dear, you should get ready for school.”

“But, there’s no school today!” Sweetie said.

“Nonsense, Sweetie,” Rarity huffed, using her magic wrap a towel around herself and another around Opalescence. “You must be confused. That is why I keep telling you to go to bed early. Now, get ready, remember to brush your mane, make sure your coat is clean, go eat some breakfast and grab your saddlebags. I think you were supposed to have a test today, right?”

“No, that was yesterday!”

“Sweetie Belle, get ready and meet me downstairs for breakfast,” Rarity all-but-snapped, still clearly in a bad mood over her shower.

Sweetie Belle huffed but followed her sister’s orders, and soon enough was munching on her toast when Rarity finally came downstairs. There was something odd though.

“So, sis...” Sweetie looked her sister over. “How was the Gala? Did you end up eating donuts at Donut Joe’s?”

“Donut who?” Rarity asked, absentmindedly heating up some water for her morning tea. “The Gala is tonight, Sweetie, so I can’t have any interruptions while I take care of the last minute details.” She smiled, letting out a giddy laugh. “To think that I could finally meet the stallion of my dreams!”

“Are you sure you didn’t drink too much last night, Rarity?” Sweetie asked.

Rarity blinked and glared at Sweetie Belle. “I’ll have you know that I don’t parta—”

A knocking on the door interrupted whatever Rarity was about to say, and she blinked in confusion at the door. “I wonder who that could be... it’s far too early for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom... Sweetie, be a dear and see who it is, would you?”

Sweetie sighed. “Sure, sis...” She paused. “Weren’t you going to talk to me about yesterday?”

Another knock called their attention and Rarity sighed, levitating several rolls of fabric and sipping her tea. “I’m sure we’ve discussed whatever you did at length, already, Sweetie Belle. The door, please.”

“Fine.”

Sweetie opened the door and standing right outside the boutique, with a silly grin on his face was Prince Blueblood.

“You!” Sweetie growled and narrowed her eyes at the vain stallion. Curiously, despite the clearly unfriendly tone of her voice, his smile only grew in response. Like he was happy to see her glare at him. “What is it that you want?”

“You haven’t noticed it yet,” he stated, speaking softly and slipping off to the side a bit. Rarity was already craning her neck to see who was at the door. “Think about it. Has anything seemed strange this morning?”

“Just you,” the filly growled before asking him a second time, “What do you want?”

“What a rude little filly,” Blueblood said with a bereaved and probably exaggerated sigh. “I suppose you’ll find out sooner... or later.” He raised his voice, “Is a Miss Rarity home?”

“Yes, I’m Rarity, who—” Two needles nipped betwixt her teeth and a length of lace hovering overhead, Rarity froze mid canter as she noticed who was at her door. For a long moment, the urge to run off and make herself more presentable warred with her need to find out why this pony, of all ponies, was at her door.

Sweetie frowned at Rarity’s reaction. Blueblood had been a complete jerk to her the last time, and Rarity had only had bad things to say about him, but... even if this was another world and the Gala had gone differently, why was she acting like she had never met him? He’d just dropped by yesterday, for Celestia’s sake!

“Be my date for the Gala, Miss Rarity?” Blueblood asked, gesturing with a hoof. One of his pegasus Royal Guards entered, bowed, and presented a package with a white-gold rose. The Canterlot stallion floated it out of the case and Rarity practically swooned with delight.

“Seriously?” Sweetie asked, raising her voice. “What the—” Her mouth clamped shut when she noticed Rarity giving her a glare that would have frozen even a cockatrice in its tracks. Actually, it probably would’ve made a cockatrice lay an egg.

It didn’t take long for Rarity to reply an affirmative, giddy at both the gift and the request.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, winking not at his date, but at her little sister. “You’ll see what I mean then.”

Sweetie rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Whatever.”

‘What a weird pony.’

o.0.o

Talking with Rarity had become completely impossible after Blueblood’s invitation to the Gala that night, which was itself completely impossible, since the Grand Galloping Gala had happened the night before. Except now everypony had forgotten about that Gala, and Rarity and her friends were all getting ready for another one! Was this some sort of Gala-obsessed super-amnesiac universe?

“This world... it... it just doesn’t make sense!” Sweetie Belle muttered as she chewed on another piece of toast, on which she had dumped a considerable amount of peanut butter and strawberry jam. “Maybe in this universe it’s a three-night event?” she proposed to the fruit basket on top of the table. “That - that makes sense, right? But, if he behaved like he did in my universe, Rarity wouldn’t want anything to do with him!”

Sweetie groaned and rested her head on her hooves. “I need to sort this out. Maybe Twilight will know where to find the fragment. She might have heard a legend or something.”

Her musings were interrupted by a steady stream of knocks on the door. When she opened the door, she found herself face to face with Apple Bloom, who was quickly pushed out of the way by Scootaloo.

“Sweetie Belle!” the pegasus growled, grabbing Sweetie’s hoof. “What are you doing?! We’re going to be late for school!”

“School?” Sweetie asked. “We have class today? I thought Rarity was just delusional. Who has classes on a weekend?”

“You feelin’ okay, Sweetie?” Apple Bloom asked, pressing her hoof to her friend’s forehead.

“No time!” Scootaloo shouted, yanking Sweetie out of the Carousel Boutique and slamming the door behind them. “We need to go now, or we won’t make it in time!”

Throwing Sweetie into the pull wagon she had attached to her scooter, Scootaloo revved it up, barely giving Apple Bloom enough time to jump in as they shot across Ponyville.

“W-what’s going on? Do we have another test today? I don’t remember Miss Cheerilee saying anything about it, although she was a bit out-of-sorts yesterday.”

“What happened yesterday?” Apple Bloom asked. “Ah thought y’all went straight home.”

“Don’t you remember my essay on unicorn history?” Sweetie Belle asked. “After the test, Miss Cheerilee took me straight to Twilight to find out why I could do magic.”

Apple Bloom gave her an odd look. “You can do magic?!”

“She can do magic!?” Scootaloo shouted in surprise, turning to stare at them instead of the road.

“Shouldn’t you be paying attention to the road, Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked when they bumped onto a small rock. “You don’t want to end up in a dumpster like yesterday, do you?”

“What are you talking about!?” Scootaloo asked, just as Apple Bloom looked up at the road and noticed a small duck stepping into the road.

“Watch out!” Apple Bloom shouted, making Scootaloo turn around in a panic.

The pegasus barely had time to steer forcefully, but the speed and force made the scooter-pulled wagon catch on the road and turn violently on its side, sending Sweetie and Apple Bloom flying, while Scootaloo was caught in the tumbling wreckage.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie and Apple Bloom shouted in horror, galloping up to their friend.

“Hey, Blank Flanks!” Diamond Tiara called, sneering. “Didn’t anypony tell you? You need to be alive to get a Cutie Mark!”

“Tiara!” Silver Spoon gasped, but neither Apple Bloom nor Sweetie heard them.

With a mighty blast of energy, Sweetie picked up the scooter and wagon and threw them to the side, uncovering Scootaloo, who had pulled herself into a small, bruised ball. The pair of friends kneeled next to the pegasus, checking over her wounds.

The sound of galloping hooves alerted them to Cheerilee, who had arrived with Silver Spoon to the scene.

“This is not good!” Cheerilee gasped, kneeling next to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. “Go get Nurse Redheart, quickly!” she ordered Silver Spoon and Apple Bloom over her shoulder. Not waiting to see if her order had been followed, she methodically checked Scootaloo, sighing in relief when she noticed the filly was still breathing.

“What happened?” she asked Sweetie Belle, who was closest to her.

“S-she was riding as fast as she could so we would make it in time and—” Sweetie gulped. “I-I mentioned that I could do magic and she must’ve forgotten she was going so fast because she got distracted and there was this duck and—”

“It’s okay, Sweetie,” Cheerilee said soothingly. “Calm down. It was an accident. I’ve told you three that you have to be more careful when riding on the wagon.” She sighed. “We’ll wait for Nurse Redheart to take her to the hospital, it shouldn’t be long.

o.0.o

After Scootaloo had been flown to the hospital following a quick check-up by Nurse Redheart, Sweetie and Apple Bloom had been ushered into the class to take their test.

Even knowing that Scootaloo was going to be okay - although she might not be able to move her left wing for a while - Sweetie could barely concentrate on taking her exam. Again.

Why...? Why did this happen? What’s going on? Sweetie thought, mind only half occupied by writing her essay. This... is a repeat of yesterday, for the most part, at least. I don’t get it. She sighed, putting down her quill and floating her essay to Miss Cheerilee’s desk. Sweetie then rested her chin on her hooves. This whole day doesn’t make sense! Rarity didn’t act like she went to the Gala last night, and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were both surprised to hear about my magic.

Both bored and worried, Sweetie proceeded to practice one of the first exercises Twilight had shown her. Focusing on her quill, she levitated it and slowly floated it around her head. But why were they so surprised? We talked about it yesterday! And I showed them and Pinkie Pie some of my tricks when we tried to get our pastry chef cutie marks!

The inkwell followed the quill on its orbit around her head.

Is this some kind of joke? Or is everypony under a spell of some sort? Could they have just simply forgotten? A book, encompassed in her magic, slid out of her saddlebag and joined the other two objects. I should talk to Twilight, Sweetie decided, adding her ruler and an eraser to her practice. She can probably tell me if somepony cast a spell on... all of Ponyville.

Sweetie groaned at the stupidity of the thought.

No, wait! That got me in trouble once already! Think, Sweetie! There must be a rational explanation! Her pencil joined the satellites around her head, followed soon after by an apple from Miss Cheerilee’s desk. Sweetie shook her head angrily and the floating objects started twirling in place and making smaller circles as they continued their course. Maybe Blueblood is behind this. He seems to know more than he’s letting on. And he could be enchanting my friends! But... why would he do that? Is he trying to get revenge on Rarity for the cake?

Sweetie sighed, deciding that the answer was not something she would find until after school.

It was then that she looked up and found Miss Cheerilee staring at her, mouth agape. The other students followed the trajectory of the floating objects in mute fascination. That’s odd... it’s like they’ve never seen me—

“Hey! Is that a cutie mark?!” Snips asked, pointing at something. Sweetie followed his hoof down to her flank where she saw...

Nothing. Again.

The whole ensemble of school supplies that had gathered around Sweetie’s head clattered to the floor.

Sweetie Belle turned her gaze to Cheerilee. “I need to talk to Twilight.”

o.0.o

“Twilight,” Sweetie growled. “It’s been six hours since we started these experiments. Surely you’ve reached some conclusion by now.”

Twilight’s horn stopped glowing and she sighed, massaging her forehead, both mentally and magically exhausted. “Sweetie... I’ve tried everything I can think of. Nothing comes back with anything out of the ordinary! Fortune Finding and Fortune Fathoming, Considerate Chronological Conclusions, Eternal's Exhaustive Examinations and Estimations! They all agree that you’re moving normally forward through time!”

Falling back on her haunches, Twilight rolled her shoulders and took a long breath. “I guess... we could try Turner's Talented Time Tables again. It came back as inconclusive last time. Or you could go to Canterlot and we could try Turner's Terribly Tricky Time Tables instead. But we’d need to magically ground and then neutralize your magic first. That’s a big spell and I don’t have enough mercury here in the library to neutralize anything more than your horn. I’m-I’m honestly at a loss, Sweetie.”

Twilight laughed lightly for a moment, her weariness forgotten.

“I never imagined I’d actually be using these tests, and certainly not at the request of a filly your age.”

“You prepared for this possible scenario?” Sweetie asked, eyes widening.

“Well, yes,” Twilight admitted, blushing slightly. “I once thought about time-travelling to meet myself or the princesses and getting caught in the past and not being able to convince anypony that I was from the future... so I figured, if I knew all possible tests to prove that I was telling the truth, I could perform them or have them performed on me by competent peers or in the presence of the princesses to prove the validity of my story.”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “I am not exactly sure what disturbs me the most about this conversation: the fact that you couldn’t find anything at all, judging from the look on your face; the fact that you’ve considered, seriously considered, going back to the past in wanton disregard of most magical laws against it; or the fact that you had considered a scenario where you would be casting six hours’ worth of spells just to validate your existence. Wait, I think the fact that it’s you thinking about all of that is what disturbs me the most. Just how many lists did you write for yourself about this?”

Twilight muttered something.

“I’m sorry, did you say twenty six?”

“Anyway,” Twilight snapped. “The point is, the only reason I agreed to this was because you knew a lot of things you shouldn’t, but I can’t find any excess buildup of chronometric magic on you. At all. Your etesian and even acronical counts are perfectly normal!”

“So I wasn’t sent to the past to inhabit my own body in an attempt to distort reality then...” Sweetie sighed. “Figures that things wouldn’t be that easy.”

Twilight blinked. “Wait, how is that easy?”

“It’s the story of my life lately,” Sweetie muttered, just loud enough for Twilight to hear.

“Now, I’m sure—”

Whatever Twilight was going to say was interrupted by a loud knock on the door. Sighing, the librarian walked up to the door and opened it, revealing a pair of royal guards in golden armor.

“Oh, you must be the ponies pulling our carriage to Canterlot!” Twilight said, smiling at the apparently expected company. “Thank you again for the help.”

Sweetie watched, curiously, as Twilight chatted briefly with the two guardsponies. This particular Gala, she’d forgone transmogrifying two of Fluttershy’s mice. By what Sweetie overheard, Twilight had been told to expect them this morning. Had Princess Celestia sent guards down from the city or... no, it couldn’t be—

“Once you’re ready, Miss Sparkle, please meet us outside the Carousel Boutique,” the more talkative of the pair said and took his leave. The other followed in lockstep after one last word, “Everything is arranged and ready for you and your guests.”

“I’ll see you then!” Twilight replied, waving to the stallions as they departed.

Once the guards were gone, Twilight turned to look at Sweetie Belle, a little contrite. “I’m afraid we’ll have to pick this up again tomorrow...”

“But—” Sweetie tried to object.

“I’m sorry Sweetie, but I really need to get ready,” Twilight said gently, nudging the filly apologetically back out the door. “And I’m sure Rarity needs to talk to you about tonight. We’ll talk about this again soon, I promise.”

Sweetie sighed. “Fine. See you tomorrow, Twilight.”

“See you tomorrow, Sweetie.”

o.0.o

Sweetie grumbled her way up to the hospital and quickly found Scootaloo’s room, with Apple Bloom already sitting beside the bed. Big Mac stood to the side, letting the fillies talk for a bit before taking Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom down to Sweet Apple Acres for the night.

“Hey, Sweetie,” Scootaloo waved from the bed, a little grumpy. “Thanks for joining us.”

Sweetie cringed. “I’m sorry, girls... I really needed to talk to Twilight about what’s happening...” She sighed, summoning a chair right next to the bed, earning a raised eyebrow from Big Mac, a frown from Apple Bloom, and a stare from Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle jumped on top of the chair and looked down at the sheets, avoiding Scootaloo’s eyes. “I’m really sorry, Scootaloo. This is all my fault.”

Scootaloo shrugged. "Doc said it's just a broken wing. Shouldn't be more than a week or two."

Sweetie flinched. “I-I’m sorry, I just... this is my fault. I shouldn’t have distracted you. I... I’ll get going... I know my way to Sweet Apple A—”

“Oh, shut up, you!” Scootaloo chided, leaning over with a wince to gently smack Sweetie on the head. “It was an accident, and I shouldn’t have been distracted! Plus...” she grinned excitedly, turning to her side so that Sweetie could see the cast, a familiar signature on it.

“Rainbow Dash signed it?” Sweetie Belle smiled. “That’s so nice!”

“I know!” Scootaloo grinned. “Isn’t it awesome?!”

Sweetie nodded. “I’m glad that it worked out!”

Apple Bloom nodded. “But that’s not the only cool thing!” she exclaimed. “Ain’tcha gonna tell us how you learned magic?”

Sweetie Belle frowned. “You don’t remember?” When all she got were blank looks, she sighed. “What’s happening in this screwy dimension?” she grumbled.

o.0.∞.0.o

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Sweetie shot right up in her bed at the scream, a cold sweat running down her back, eyes wide and looking around for danger. She galloped out of her room and made her way to her sister’s bathroom, where Rarity was struggling with a wet Opalescence.

“Again?” Sweetie all but cried out.

“I’m terribly sorry if I woke you up, Sweetie. It seems we are out of hot water this morning.”

Sweetie tuned her sister’s explanation out as her eyes widened and the cogs slowly started to work in her head. This isn’t different... this is exactly the same as before! In fact... if I remember correctly, I fell asleep on the way to Sweet Apple Acres, not in my own bed! So how did I get back here?

“...Sweetie?” Rarity asked, concerned, waving her hoof in front of her blankly staring sister. “Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine... Think I’ll go... downstairs and... uh... get ready for school?” Sweetie Belle ventured.

Rarity nodded. “Oh, you do have a test today, don’t you? Did you study for it?”

“I did,” Sweetie replied weakly as she turned around. “I’ll... see you... downstairs...”

For the remainder of the morning, Sweetie played the quiet observer, noting with detachment the uncanny similarities, the disconcerting regularity of events. As certain events drew near, she found herself anticipating them with nigh perfect accuracy and thus, waiting and waiting, much longer than usual by her estimation, she flung open the door to the boutique before a second knock could sound in a fit of frustration.

"Now listen here Bluebl- You're not Blueblood!" She raised a hoof accusingly, barely eliciting the raise of an eyebrow from the royal guard before her.

"Miss Sweetie Belle?" the pegasus asked, terse and laconic as most guards were.

“That’s me,” Sweetie replied.

She was immediately given an envelope, and the guard nodded. “From His Grace.” That said, he turned around and left.

“Who was it, Sweetie?” Rarity asked, poking her head from her studio.

“N-nopony,” Sweetie stammered. She looked down at the envelope and opened it, extracting a card. On one side it read: “Tired of the same old routine? Drop by Sugarcube Corner!” She turned the card around, where she found it was signed “Sincerely, somepony who may or may not be a Prince.”

She trotted over to the kitchen table and sat down, gazing at the card. “This... can he really be the only other pony going through this?” she wondered before rolling her eyes at the thought. “Stupid. Stupid! Stupid! This is impossible. I’ll just get ready to go and visit Scootaloo at the hospital...”

“Oh, did something happen to Scootaloo?” Rarity asked, walking into the kitchen.

Sweetie hastily hid the note in her saddlebags. “Y-yeah, she was injured when we fell off the wagon yesterday, remember?”

Rarity frowned. “I... don’t remember you mentioning that, Sweetie,” she said after a moment of thought. “However, you should certainly make sure to visit her in the hospital if she’s hurt. Maybe I could make her a little something?”

“I’m not sure tha—” The knock on the door made both unicorns look up. “I think I’ll go check who it is,” Sweetie said, trotting up to the door and opening it. As she’d expected, and as a part of her had dreaded, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were outside, waiting for her.

Tilting her head, Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo’s wing. It was fine. Not a scratch on it, much less a cast.

It’s like yesterday... just never happened...

“Oh, hello girls!” Rarity greeted them , smiling. “Ready for school?”

“Yes, Miss Rarity!” Apple Bloom nodded.

“And Scootaloo! I’m glad to see you’re up and about!” Rarity added, nodding at the young pegasus.

“Huh?” Scootaloo blinked. “Why do you say th—”

“Oh, look at the time!” Sweetie Belle all but shouted, stepping in between Scootaloo and her sister. “We’d better get going, girls, we don’t want to miss that test, do we? See you later, Rarity!" She grinned nervously as she yanked the door with her magic, slamming it shut before hopping into the wagon with Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom gave Sweetie an odd look, but soon enough they were on their way, bumping and bouncing as Scootaloo propelled them towards the schoolhouse. Sweetie Belle barely paid any attention to her surroundings until she heard Scootaloo shout.

"Watch out!"

The wagon took a hard turn to avoid the duck that had stepped out into the road. The forceful twist made the wagon slam into a large rock, sending all three crusaders flying up into the air in an uncontrollable spin to land smack-dab inside the large trash bin next to the school building.

“Oooh...” all three groaned as they struggled out from beneath the layer of garbage they had been forcibly buried in. The three fillies looked down at their dirty coats in dismay.

“Hey, Blank Flanks!” Diamond Tiara called, sneering. “Digging around in the trash for cutie marks? Bet you’ll find something that’ll fit you in there!”

“Just ignore them, Scoots...” Apple Bloom whispered when the orange-coated filly growled.

“Yeah, it’s not worth it, although it does get annoying.” Sweetie sighed, watching the pair of bullies laugh their way into the class. Her horn lit up and, with a small flash, all three fillies were completely clean. “There, let’s go in.”

She took a couple of steps, but then stopped when she realized Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were not following her. “What’s wrong?”

“Since when can you cast spells like that?” Apple Bloom asked. “Or at all for that matter?”

“T-that was awesome!” Scootaloo nodded.

Sweetie sighed. “It’s just a cantrip.”

A blank look.

“Beginner’s stuff. Level zero out of thirty. One point in the ‘matter’ sphere,” she elaborated. Then when they didn’t seem to get it, she groaned. “You know, a very basic spell any moron could cast?”

“Sooo...” Scootaloo ventured. “You can do magic?”

“Yes, Scoots.” Sweetie sighed, growing a little tired of the question. “I can do magic.”

“Www-ooow,” Scootaloo and Apple Bloom echoed as they entered the classroom.

Looking at the colts and fillies sitting down for a class she had already taken three times, Sweetie Belle made up her mind right there. She went up to Miss Cheerilee as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom took their seats.

“Miss Cheerilee?” she asked, planting her forehooves on her teacher’s desk. “I have something really important to do today, and I was wondering if I could take the test and go, um... help Twilight with some studies?”

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow. “You’re helping Twilight?”

Sweetie smiled as convincingly as she could. “Sort of! She’s been tutoring me in magic and I had a breakthrough today!” she said with as much excitement as she could. “I would really like to learn more about magic and since we’re really only doing the test today...”

Cheerilee chuckled. “We’ll see, Sweetie Belle, take your seat, write your essay and I’ll think about it in the meantime, okay?”

Sweetie Belle pouted. “Okay, Miss Cheerilee.”

Cheerilee waited until Sweetie had taken her seat before beaming a smile at all of her students. “Good morning, class!”

“Good morning, Miss Cheerilee!” came the droning reply.

“As you all know, today we have a test on unicorn history!” Cheerilee chimed with a steadfast smile despite the collective groan. “Now, I know you all did your homework, so it shouldn’t be too hard,” she said. “So, pull out your pencils and quills, a piece of paper and write me as much as you can remember of unicorn history.” She moved to the side, revealing a chair stacked high with blank paper. “If you need more paper to write, feel free to get some from here. Now, start!”

Sweetie didn’t waste a second. No longer caring about her magic being revealed too early or at all, she levitated several blank pages, her quill, and her inkwell. She wrote as fast as she could about general unicorn history, rushing the job, but still trying to put as much detail as she could into her self-imposed 5-page limit.

She was aware of the stares and the fact that nopony else was even attempting to write their own essays. She heard the murmurs as the first page floated to the side to dry, followed soon after by a second and third. When she was done, Sweetie used a bit of scribe’s sand and cast a minor breeze around the papers to quick-dry the ink completely before piling the pages neatly, making certain that the edges were crisply aligned, and setting them down on Cheerilee’s desk.

“Miss Cheerilee?” Sweetie called, snapping her teacher’s attention back to reality. “Can I go now?”

Cheerilee struggled to find words; her mouth opened and shut several times before she finally just nodded.

“Thanks!” Sweetie Belle chimed, jumping down from her seat and levitating her saddlebags onto her back. She turned to look at Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, who were staring at her, equally speechless. “See you girls later!”

And with that, she was gone, leaving her bewildered classmates behind.

“Miss Cheerilee?”

“Y-yes, Scootaloo?”

“Are pod ponies real?”

“I don’t... think so.”

"What about robo-ponies?"

o.0.o

Unlike most mornings, Sugarcube Corner did not appear to be open for business. In fact, it had a ‘closed’ sign on the front door, but for whatever reason, Sweetie noticed that many of Ponyville’s residents were surrounding the bakery, looking into it through the windows. A few of the more gossipy gossip-inclined ponies were trying to peek inside and one even had a camera, primed and ready. Two stoic Royal Guards had their wings crossed in front of the front door, as clear a sign as any that those inside were not to be disturbed.

Sweetie approached and looked inside, hopping up to grab the edge of a windowsill, having to shoulder past the cherry-faced Miss Punch in the process. Through a split in the drawn shades, she could see inside, and it didn’t take long for the filly to identify the source of everypony’s curiosity. Prince Blueblood was dancing with Pinkie Pie. Or stumbling. They were doing something that looked like dancing, in any case.

Taking a deep breath, Sweetie boldly marched up to the entrance and the two stolid pegasus guards who stood vigil there. One motioned for her to stop, but the other, who she recognized as the guard that had given her the letter that morning, wordlessly commanded the first to stand down. After a moment, their wings retracted to allow Sweetie to step inside.

Trotting past the guards, Sweetie found Sugarcube Corner its regular, festive self, save for the lack of ponies. As the door closed behind her, she found herself staring at Blueblood and Pinkie as the former instructed the latter by example. They continued on, working through their steps again and again before Sweetie loudly cleared her throat.

When the pair simply continued dancing, Sweetie frowned. “Hey!” She shook her head with a growl and without thinking, grabbed the gramophone with her magic, the needle coming free with an audible screech.

“Oh ho?” Blueblood remarked, just noticing their guest. “You’re finally here.”

“Hi!” Pinkie Pie greeted, waving one of her hooves excitedly. “I’m super sorry, but we’re closed for today! Somepony bought our entire stock of cakes and sweets and candies!”

“That somepony would be me,” Blueblood boasted, while managing to bring Pinkie’s wildly gesticulating hoof back down to torso-level. “Even without the music, you should be able to practice the steps, yes? One and two and three, side to side, then back, then side to side and forward. Mister Carrot Cake? Could you... oh, where is he?”

“They’re peeking at us from the kitchen!” Pinkie exclaimed, pointing over where two manes could just be seen the countertop. A little grudgingly, after a few muffled exchanges of words, the lanky Mister Cake emerged, grinning nervously.

“You’ve seen me do it, and you wouldn’t want your waitress here to look foalish at the Gala, now would you?” Blueblood said, gesturing the older stallion forward. “Please, dance with her while I attend to my little friend here. Remember, one, two, three, branle to retreat, one, two, three, branle to pass.”

“Uh... right...” Carrot Cake muttered.

“Do your best, honey bun!” Cup Cake egged him on, now leaning over the counter. “He’s our number one customer, after all!”

“No pressure or anything then!” Carrot yelled back, and holding Pinkie by one hoof, tried to imitate what he had seen. Blueblood, for his part, used a spark of magic to get the gramophone up and playing again. Ballroom dance music soon filled the air.

“What do you think?” he asked, directing the question at Sweetie Belle. “Is the branle too gauche a dance for the Gala? It really is the simplest thing I could teach to Miss Pie on such short notice. Being raised in Ponyville, you haven’t learned much courtly dance, have you?”

Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow. “Uh, no, I don’t really know that dance...” She turned to look at Pinkie Pie and the stumbling Mr. Cake. “I guess it’s better than head-banging?”

“A shame,” Blueblood concluded, turning slightly to appraise the pair of Ponyville pastry practitioners. “All good unicorn fillies and mares should know how to acquit themselves in the ballroom. Your sister is quite the dancer, actually. Unpracticed, of course, but she has a natural grace and enthusiasm.”

Sweetie’s eyebrow twitched. “Yes... my sister. First you ask her to go with you to the Gala, then you teach Pinkie Pie how to dance... are you playing with—”

“Wait,” Blueblood cut her off, suddenly. “Did I take your sister to the Gala? You were there when I asked her, yes, but you know by now that she doesn’t remember it. Nopony does. Who is to say it happened at all?”

Sweetie frowned. “You would know. And I would... why are you doing this? Did you plan all of this? And why am I the only pony who remembers?”

“Planned? This? Moi?” He held a hoof over his mouth to stifle a laugh. “Since you’ve accepted that what we experience has some measure of reality to it, then let me tell you that before I ran into you, I had the pleasure of repeating this same day... hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times. Not by choice, I assure you. Why am I doing this?” he asked, pondering the question and rocking his head to the left and right. “Why? I guess because I haven’t yet. Is that an answer?”

Sweetie grimaced as what he said truly sank in. “H-hundreds of times?” she asked weakly. “I can barely stand this after three days!”

“I thought something was odd... well, of course it was odd... that you suddenly remembered me,” he said, carefully lowering his manicured hoof back to the cleared wooden floor of Sugarcube Corner. “I’d bumped into you before in previous iterations of this blasted day, and you never had before. So you’ve been doing this for three days, then.”

“Well...” Sweetie hesitated. “I- yes. I...”

She sighed, mentally debating just how much information to share with the uncouth Prince Charmless of the Gala. Come on, he’s the only one so far that even remembers yesterday! Or whatever ‘yesterday’ was!

Sweetie nodded slowly, her mind made up. “I’m not the Sweetie Belle from around here... I was, literally, not on this world until three days ago.”

She watched Pinkie and Mr. Cake dancing with a small, twisted smile.

“I arrived from a very violent place... at first, I just thought I was imagining things, or that it was a memory spell, but yesterday one of my friends broke her wing and today it was as if nothing even happened. That’s not something average unicorns, or even extremely talented ones, can do at the same time they’re affecting everypony else.” Sweetie paused a moment to think.

“So... how was I, who was I, before I met you?” Sweetie asked and blinked. “Wow, that sounded weird.”

“You were just the little filly who answered the door, really.” Blueblood shrugged, dismissive. “My focus was on Miss Rarity when I visited.”

“Your... ‘focus’... was on her?” Sweetie asked, pointedly. “And just what does that mean?”

He smiled, all too amiably. “Well, when a stallion and a mare want to...” He noticed her frown and the smile broadened. “Oh, come on. I was merely teasing you. Look here. What do you think I’m doing with Miss Pie? She’s my ‘focus’ for today.”

“I don’t know,” Sweetie said tilting her head. “Are you trying to seduce her and then kidnap her to join your royal harem? So you can roll around in the sand kissing all day?”

“… ah. No.” Blueblood stole a strange look at the filly. “Where did you even…?”

“Not all of Twilight’s books are educational,” Sweetie replied, tapping her chin. “Though I did learn a lot from that book. Adults must really like to wrestle, but Miss Cheerilee always told us when we wrestle in PE class we’re not supposed to bite—”

“Miss Sparkle’s library is clearly more extensive than I thought,” Blueblood said, coughing into his hoof. “To answer your question, Sweetie Belle, no. I am not attempting to seduce Miss Pie.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“What about my sister?”

“… that one is more complicated.” The admission was clearly a little uncomfortable.

Sweetie frowned. “So what… are you and her…?” she asked, and then violently shook her head. “You know what, never mind. I don’t think I want to think about that anyway! Just tell me: what in the name of Celestia is happening, and why are we both trapped like this? Isn’t there a way out?”

“If I knew of a way out, I assure you, I would not be here,” he replied, snorting in frustration. He kept his eyes on Pinkie’s ballroom dancing, clearly not entirely pleased by what he saw. Pinkie was enthusiastic, but bouncing probably wasn’t part of this particular ballroom dance. “Just as sadly, I can’t say why I... why we... are caught repeating this same day.”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide, imagination running wild.

“So first it was just you, and now me, too. Do you think that... eventually everypony else is going to start doing the same thing and repeating the same day until everypony in Equestria is doing it and then we all think things have gone back to normal but we never grow up and if we get our cutie marks they will disappear the next day and we have to find the talent again and maybe it doesn’t happen, but nopony cares and how would the seasons work if that happened? I don’t think you can bring snow all the way from Cloudsdale in one day! And it would be gone the next!” Sweetie took a deep breath, ready to continue.

“Go on,” Blueblood prompted, hoof propped lazily against his cheek.

“But then, would there be a point in doing that? We would all be stuck in a point in time that cannot be altered regardless of what we do! The whole world would explode into chaos! It would be worse than Discord! There would be no consequences and—” Sweetie Belle’s eyes went wider still. “No... consequences...?”

She gave Blueblood a considering look. He was still just sitting there on his haunches, now, with both front hooves propped up against his cheeks. “Umm. Just... how crazy have you gotten?”

“How crazy is crazy?” he asked, momentarily looming over her with an odd, twisted grin on his face prompting a quick squeak from the little filly. A moment later and he returned to normal, or what passed for normal.

“I suspect I am a tad touched in the head,” Blueblood admitted, back to keeping an eye on the dancing Cake and Pie and what passed for normal. “I know I went... rather mad some time ago, but I think I got a little better. Or maybe I am still quite crazy, but less mad-mad. Either way, to make a dreadfully long story short, being completely insane was proving counterproductive so I tried to get it all out of my system.”

“I can see this being a psychologically deteriorating experience in which one needs to hit rock bottom before adapting...” Sweetie grumbled, channeling a little inner-Twilight. “Wait...! Does that mean I’m going to go insane, too?! Will I start burning down Ponyville and laughing while I levitate in the results of a bloodspell I’ve invoked to become goddess of this universe?”

“Maybe,” Blueblood admitted. “I’d plan around it.”

Sweetie Belle facehoofed. “But I don’t wanna be a crazy, blood-magic wielding goddess of supreme evil!” she whined, drawing the attention of the dancing ponies.

“Nevermind this silly filly, everypony,” Blueblood assured the proprietor and his assistant, both frozen in mid-dance. “Really. Don’t mind her. Dance. Dance, my puppets!”

“Ahh,” Mister Cake drawled. “Blood-magic?”

“Supreme evil?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“There is a supremely dark and evil blood magic spell to test for diabetes,” Blueblood explained, actually sounding like he knew what he was talking about. “That’s all.”

“Diabetes,” Pinkie Pie hissed, blue eyes narrowing. “My old nemesisisisis...sis...” The pink pony stuck out her tongue before shaking her head furiously. “Bluh, tongue twister.”

“Okay... okay,” Sweetie took a deep breath, muttering mostly to herself. “I’m okay now. I think. I just need to figure a way out of this universe. I’ve done it before.” She looked at Blueblood with panicked eyes. “Okay, tell me what to do. How do I not go crazy?”

Satisfied that Pinkie and Mister Cake were back to practicing the former’s dancing for the Gala, Blueblood gradually turned his attention back to the filly at his side. He had plainly heard her question, even the urgency in her voice, but he didn’t answer. Not right away.

“I’m hardly an expert myself, but, I’d say: occupy yourself,” he said, finally, a bit of tension under the muscles of his jaw. “Yes. Occupy yourself. And try, really hard, to remember who you are.”

Sweetie moaned and sank to her knees.

“Then I’m doomed!” she exclaimed. “I’m already not who I am! Twilight said so! And... I’ve seen so many other worlds! And I’m actually older than my counterpart here!” Her eyes lit up. “Maybe I should make a memory orb! That way I can remember who I was when I’ve lost... wait... it wouldn’t last till the next day!”

“No,” Blueblood told her, his response forced and bitter. “Nothing follows you through the loops. Even your own body. Believe me, I’ve tried.” Abruptly, he held out his hoof to help her up. “But enough about our dour circumstance. Let’s dance for a little bit. I’ll teach you a bit of branle,” he offered. “It’s easy, and at least this time I’ll have a student with more than a day to learn.”

Sweetie sighed miserably, but after a moment, she gathered herself enough to look Blueblood straight in the eye and accept his helping hoof. “I guess it’s better than going back to writing essays about unicorn history.”

“I’ll have to see about making it easier for you to play hooky,” he promised, leading her out to where Pinkie and Mister Cake were moving back and forth, forward and back. He was much too tall for her to really dance with, so Sweetie had to hold onto just his one outstretched hoof as he led her in an imitation of the dance he was teaching Pinkie Pie.

“Oh! And after this, I’ll teach you how to pony polka!” Pinkie interrupted, with an almost predatory smile. “Everypony should know how to pony polka!”

“Didn’t that start a riot last time?” Sweetie asked.

“No worse than one loop when she decided on heavy metal instead,” Blueblood remembered with a shiver.

“Heavy metal?” Pinkie Pie mused, her thoughts lost on Galas and mosh pits. “Oooo...”

“Sweetie Belle,” Blueblood whispered, leaning down so only she could hear him. “I know this is all quite a bit to digest. All you need to know for now is that you aren’t the only one stuck in this, and there are some upsides as well. There is no tomorrow here, and there are no consequences, as you’ve discovered already. Spend a few more days realizing what that means - really means. I’ll be here in Ponyville. When you want to talk, it won’t be hard to find me.”

Sweetie didn’t answer, limiting herself to following his lead, but her mind was already running through all the possibilities she could contemplate. That bomb-blasted Equestria was behind her. In fact, all of the heartache and fear and panic of those other worlds… it was all behind her, now, wasn’t it?

In this universe, she’d never age. Time never passed. Blueblood had only alluded to it, but it was possible she couldn’t even die here. And best of all, there were no consequences! No consequences and no mad scramble to collect the fragment before something smashed her head in or tried to hurt her.

I can do whatever I want, right? So... what should I do?

o.0.∞.0.o

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The scream made Sweetie Belle sit right up in her bed, a cold sweat running down her back, eyes wide and looking around for danger. She then groaned and lay down in bed, listening to her sister complain and whine about the lack of hot water.

“So, this is my life,” she mused. “An endless repeat of waking up to a scream, the same stupid test every day...” She sighed before remembering Blueblood’s words from the previous day.

The previous loop.

“So, I can do whatever I want, right? Well, I don’t want to be here and-- and I don’t want to go to school today!” she declared.

Sweetie Belle slid out of bed and took a deep breath.

“Okay, if I can do anything I want... what is it that I can do here that I can’t do anywhere else?”

Slowly her eyes drifted to the window.

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle stood around the corner of a small windmill, looking towards the three-story house Rarity had told her on more than one occasion had belonged to her parents in her home universe. Two elderly ponies, a white coated stallion and a mare with a violet mane, were sitting in front at the side of a small lake, talking to each other, just outside her hearing range. The conversation seemed to be centered around a box of tackle and what may have been the lake’s lack of fish. Sweetie couldn’t hear them to be sure.

But she knew who they were.

She had seen their pictures. In fact, she had one in her room at the Carousel Boutique in her original world, hanging over her dresser. Those two ponies were her parents, and they were here. Alive. Just a few steps away from her.

Sweetie swallowed nervously and tried to approach them.

She tried, but she couldn’t move her legs. Her eyes stung and small tears formed as she tried to bring herself to move forward and talk to them. Embrace them and never let them go... she wanted to know so much about them.

But her legs wouldn’t budge.

Stubbornly, she shook her head and opened her mouth to call out to them... the words mom and dad ready to sprout out in a sob. But she couldn’t.

Her small frame shook as she looked down, biting her lower lip before looking at the pair again as they made their way into their home, presumably to pack for their trip.

Sweetie’s legs finally moved as she lowered her head in defeat, walking away from the house where the parents she had never met lived.

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie Belle fell onto the floor next to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. “Well, that went well...”

Apple Bloom turned to stare at her. “How’d ya ever know there was a yeti on the mountain pass?”

Sweetie grinned. “I heard about it from somepony. But it was fun! Did we get our cutie marks?!”

All three eagerly looked at their rumps, only to frown in disappointment when nothing appeared.

“Oh drat,” Sweetie muttered.

“Hey, did you see what happened when the yeti ran through the park?” Scootaloo asked after a moment. “I think Lyra was kissing Bon Bon...”

“No...” Apple Bloom’s eyes were wide. “Aww, that’s so sweet! I wonder what it feels like!”

Sweetie Belle’s raised a hoof to her chin as she pondered Apple Bloom’s question. Lyra and Bon Bon? “Yeah... but who would you kiss? You can’t just kiss anypony.”

Lyra and Bon Bon were best friends. That was what everypony always said.

“Of course not!” Apple Bloom said, raising her hoof in a slightly condescending manner. “It’s like Granny Smith said, ‘y’all gonna find somepony to kiss ‘n be happy with, then it should be somepony special.’ Somepony that you like a lot, but also can trust.”

“That makes sense, but it also reduces the options we’d have,” Sweetie Belle said after a moment of thought. She gave her fellow crusaders a look that did not go unnoticed.

“Wait... what’re you thinking, Sweetie?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I—”

“Found you three troublemakers!” a voice interrupted Sweetie Belle. The three fillies looked up to see Applejack grumbling and making her way towards them. “Ah’ve got some things to say to y’all, so let’s get goin’!” she snarled. “Git!”

o.0.o

“...an' Ah really don't care what professional Yeti hunters do, and why!” Applejack snapped, prowling menacingly in front of the three fillies. “OR!” she interrupted before Sweetie could object again. “How many bits they make!”

“Drat.”

“Or how neat a cutie mark for catchin’ one would be.”

“Aww.”

“An’ Ah don't care why you thought it would be a good idea to bring that crazy critter down into Ponyville. Ah mean, how in tarnation didya manage ta FIND one in the first place?!” Applejack paced in front of the three scolded fillies, trying to wrap her head around the chaos they had caused. “As soon as Fluttershy sends it home, you three are cleaning up the downtown, rebuilding the barn, helping to reorganize the library, thatching a new roof on city hall, helping fix the bridge and the school! And be glad that y'all are not going to be fixing the rest of yer mess! It’d take y’all til next summer to fix the damage you done an’ you would be doin’ it too if’n I had my way!”

Beside Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom cringed and tried to seem as small as they could under Applejack's smoldering glare.

“What could you three possibly been thinkin’, bringin’ such a dangerous creature to Ponyville?! Y’all just lucky nopony was hurt!” Applejack shouted, her eyes almost burning with anger.

“Ah—” Apple Bloom stammered, but her thoughts and words were cut short as Sweetie Belle suddenly grabbed Scootaloo and kissed her full on the lips.

Apple Bloom's eyes widened while Applejack's jaw dropped open. The pair watched as, for several seconds, Scootaloo flailed around with her forelegs, her wings flapping violently and her eyes reflected her surprise and panic. Finally, Sweetie dropped her like a sack and used the back of a foreleg to clean her lips.

“Well, that was kinda weird.” Sweetie smiled at the gawking sisters but then just as quickly frowned at her rump. “I guess I won't get a Scootaloo-kissing cutie mark...”

o.0.∞.0.o

“An’ Ah don't care why you thought it would be a good idea to bring that crazy critter down inta Ponyville. Ah mean, how in tarnation didya manage ta FIND one in the first place?!” Applejack paced in front of the three scolded fillies, trying to wrap her head around the chaos they had caused. “As soon as Fluttershy sends it home, you three are cleaning up the downtown, rebuilding the barn, helping to reorganize the library, thatching a new roof on city hall, helping fix the bridge and the school! And be glad that y'all are not going to be fixing the rest of yer mess! It’d take y’all til next summer to fix the damage you done an’ you would be doin’ it too if’n I had my way!”

Besides Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom cringed and tried to seem as small as they could beneath Applejack's smoldering glare.

“What could you possibly be thinkin’, bringing such a dangerous creature to Ponyville?! We're lucky nopony was hurt!” Applejack shouted, her eyes almost burning with anger.

“I—” Apple Bloom stammered, but her thoughts and words were cut short as Sweetie Belle suddenly spun her around, and kissed her.

“Abba-ba...” Applejack stammered, trying to formulate words as her sister was snogged into first base by her best friend right in front of her.

Apple Bloom could barely struggle, being held by Sweetie Belle's forearms and magic and also being almost parallel to the ground. “Mhhhm! Mhmhm!”

“I KNEW IT!” Scootaloo shouted, prompting Sweetie to drop Apple Bloom on to the ground, much as Scootaloo had been dropped the day before.

“YOU DID NOT!” Sweetie accused, pointing her hoof at the pegasus. She was about to say something else when she felt a hoof press on her mane.

“Now then,” Applejack grinned. “If you're gonna be datin' my lil' sis, y'all need to have th' talk!”

“Wait... the what?” Sweetie blinked.

o.0.o

Blueblood couldn't stop laughing.

"Stop it." It was less than effective, but Sweetie persisted nonetheless as Blueblood pounded a hoof on the table. Relenting for a moment, Sweetie Belle simply glowered, furiously drinking her milkshake until a piercing pain cut through her prefrontal cortex. "Agh! Brain-freeze!"

It took a few frustratingly long seconds for Blueblood to compose himself and straighten up in his seat, but eventually he did so, ignoring the variety of amused and confused looks of the other patrons of Sugarcube Corner. This time around, he hadn’t reserved the store. ‘Keeping it interesting,’ he’d called it.

“My apologies, Sweetie Belle, but that was most amusing,” he said, another chuckle escaping his lips. “I mean, my own colthood friends would have killed me were I to try something like that now - though the sure-to-be-dumbstruck look on Shining’s face makes it a tad tempting - but what else did you expect to happen?”

“She didn't react like that when I kissed Scootaloo!” Sweetie retorted, making Pinkie Pie, who was passing by their table gasp and almost drop a tray of cookies. “She just grabbed Apple Bloom and told her 'Come along, Apple Bloom,'” she imitated Applejack's accent nigh flawlessly. “'Let yer friends have some privacy.'”

Blueblood shook his head, his smile still present. “Well, you weren't kissing her sister then, were you? Familial relations change things.”

Sweetie Belle snorted and took another tentative sip of her milkshake.

“So, are you a filly’s filly now?” Blueblood asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I don't know. I didn't mind it, but I didn't particularly like it. I just think that... I don’t know... I just don’t like them in a kissy sort of way.”

“Well then! With your chaste innocence once again affirmed, what else have you planned for the next few days?”

Sweetie's horn lit up and her notebook appeared. She opened it and looked at the day’s checklist she had written down that morning, crossing out 'make out with Apple Bloom' and adding the note: never again.

She looked at the following item and grinned, turning the notebook around and showing it to Blueblood. Keeping his expression blank, Blueblood looked down at the list and blinked twice.

“A town-wide opera?” he asked.

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I want to test how far ponies will follow a lead to sing.”

Blueblood nodded, inclining his head to the side as he looked at her. “It would hardly be the first time, though. I’ve seen Miss Pie get the whole town wrapped into a chorus. Quite a few times in fact.”

“Yes, but that's a little song. I want to see if we can get our hooves on an actual opera or play and have them sing the written lyrics without ever having read them. And do dance numbers! With perfect choreography and musical synchronicity!”

The Prince grinned, sensing the potential for mischief. “Fair enough. I’ve been meaning to take you on a few road trips, anyway. Broadwain, Manehattan has a few productions playing tonight that you may enjoy. Anything Goes, maybe. Ah, and Fillydephia is playing Donkey Oate around the time of the Gala. Then there’s this Indie production called Anthropology that’s had mixed reviews. I’ve seen every one already... multiple times... every play in the country actually. But we can start you with Manehattan.”

He tapped his chin, thoughtful. “If you want to get everypony singing... you may require the services of a music teacher...”

“A music teacher?” Sweetie jumped out of her seat to grab onto his leg. "Really?! Let's go get one! Go, go, go!"

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie Belle followed Sapphire Shores into the recording studio, where several ponies turned to greet the famous singer— only to end up staring in surprise at the young filly trotting next to her. Clearly, Sapphire Shores was not known for being around youngsters. Not at all.

“Very well, honey, here’s what we’re gonna do,” Sapphire Shores began as she stepped to the side of an open door and gently pushed Sweetie in. “We’re going to make sure to get a good DJ to help us out, and you are going to sing one of my songs, baby.”

“I uh, don’t really have any of your songs memorized and—”

“Oh, that’s nonsense darling, you know them, baby, you just don’t know you do.”

“That,” Sweetie said slowly, raising an eyebrow, “...sounds deep and yet makes absolutely no sense at all.”

Sapphire Shores smiled kindly at the filly. “Well, I am the Pony of Pop.”

“Touche.”

o.0.o

“I did say I didn’t know your songs,” Sweetie said slowly, patting the back of the sobbing Sapphire Shores.

“But... how? How could you not know even one of them? I’m the greatest singer to have ever graced Equestria, baby!” Sapphire Shores sniffled. “That song was on the Manehattan Top Ten for five months straight!”

“Well... I do spend a lot of time outside and at school, and I’m just a filly. I really have little exposure to contemporary music.”

Sapphire Shores shook her head, tears forgotten. “Darling, I know your sister; I will have words with her. A young mare like yourself should not live such a deprived fillyhood, baby! It’s unnatural.”

“But...” Sweetie protested, “I have books and I’m constantly having adventures!”

“Adventures? That’s not how it’s supposed to be, darling,” Sapphire Shores insisted. “A filly like yourself should be learning to paint her hooves! She should be finding out how to get the colts riled up! Singing songs from the radio! Going to concerts! Buying records! You're in my demo, Sweetie! Don't you understand? My demo!"

“O-kay...” Sweetie said slowly. “But, what about the singing lesson?”

The older mare took a long, deep breath, dispelling the horror that was some poor little filly not being exposed to the avant garde and cutting edge of the hip hop scene that was the one and only Sapphire Shores. She gave Sweetie a long, measuring look, as if trying to decide just how she could teach anypony to sing anything that wasn’t one of her own creations. It baffled Sweetie, really. She had heard Sapphire Shores sing the national anthem before. She clearly knew other songs.

“I-I’m sorry, baby,” the famous singer finally said, holding her head high. “But I can’t teach somepony who hasn’t even heard my songs! You go learn a couple of them and then we can talk lessons, I promise.”

o.0.o

“Stupid, self-centered...” Sweetie muttered darkly as she made her way through downtown Canterlot. “What did she expect? It’s not like I don’t have better things to do than listen to dumb pop songs!”

Sweetie stopped, closing her eyes and taking a deep, calming breath. “Okay, what should I do now?” she asked, opening her eyes. They settled on a record store with a giant cardboard cutout of Sapphire Shores looking at her. “Well, that’s convenient.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Very well, darling, here’s what we’re gonna do,” Sapphire Shores began as she stepped to the side of an open door and gently pushed Sweetie in. “We’re going to make sure to get a good DJ to help us out, and you are going to sing one of my songs, baby.”

“Any of your songs? Is ‘I'm Not A Filly, Not Yet A Mare’ okay?”

“That one’s a bit... dated, but it should be fine. Let’s hear it.”

Sweetie took a deep breath.

o.0.o

“Well you asked me to sing!” Sweetie pointed out, frowning at the pop-singer, who was currently huddled in the far corner of the room.

“Sing, baby,” Sapphire Shores groaned after a moment, her hooves having replaced the headphones over her ears. “Not screech like a banshee.”

“I don’t know how!” Sweetie Belle pouted. “Sometimes I sing just fine, and sometimes I sound like a... like a crow suffering from spasmodic dysphonia!”

Sapphire Shores raised an eyebrow. “Is that right? Come here, darling, write down the lyrics for a song you have... actually sung correctly.” She waited patiently for Sweetie to finish before snatching up the piece of paper. “Okay now, hum me the tune...”

After a few seconds of Sweetie humming, she nodded, rhythmically tapping the heel of one of her hooves. “Got it, okay, I’ll start... First, we thought that Babs was so really, really sweet... A new friend to have then it seemed like such a treat...”

“But then, we found the truth; she's just a bully from the east...” Sweetie jumped in immediately, singing Scootaloo’s original part of the song. “She went from Babs, yeah, to a bully and a beast...” She paused, eyes wide. “Wait! How did it happen!?”

“Darling,” Sapphire Shores smirked. “The problem is... you’re trying too hard, baby!”

“I’m what?” Sweetie Belle blinked. “Aren’t I supposed to try my best?”

“There’s trying your best, and then there’s trying too hard, darling. Different things,” Sapphire Shore explained, waving a dismissive hoof. “What you’re doing is trying too hard.”

“But then, how do I stop myself from doing that?”

“You relax, baby!” Sapphire Shores all but cheered, smiling happily down at the little filly. “There’s nopony to impress, nopony to judge you and certainly nopony to think any less of you at all! Not in MY studio! You should practice singing because it feels good, because you love it! Not to get everypony’s attention. That comes later, you see.”

“Is that all there is to it?” Sweetie asked. Because it feels good, huh?

“Oh, heck no, baby! There’s a lot more to it than just that! But, we start with what we have. I’ll sing lead and you sing chorus, okay?” Sapphire Shore asked, waiting for Sweetie to nod before pulling down some sheets to read. “And once you get the beat down, don’t be afraid to move your body, too! Got to feel the music, baby!”

The pop star shook her world famous flank and winked.

o.0.∞.0.o

“I wanna know what looove iiiiiis!” Sweetie sang, very loudly, making Blueblood cringe with every vocal peak. “I want you to shooow me...!”

“Blegh!”

“I want...! Hey! Are you okay? Blueblood? You don’t look so well.” Sweetie Belle frowned at the stallion’s lack of attention on the fruits of her labor over the last dozen loops. “Can you hear me?” she asked, seeing him start to cringe, eyes closed.

Luckily, she’d learned an easy way to remedy that.

“Hey!” she rudely jabbed him in the side with a hoof. “I’m talking to you!”

“You do know there are spells to mute ponies?” Blueblood asked, wincing. He brushed away her hoof and gave a pained, disgusted sound, like he was valiantly fighting the urge to retch. “I’ve heard there are spells to deafen oneself, too. It would be preferable. Do ponies really pay to hear these songs? Actual bits?”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Yes, they do. Haven’t you heard the radio?” she grinned maliciously. “They play her songs every morning. Do you want me to sing ‘Equestria Girls’ instead?”

“NO.”

She sat down next to him and sighed. “Am I really that bad?”

“The problem is my ears, not your voice. I was not exactly raised on carnival music,” Blueblood explained, channeling his inner noblepony. Sweetie mentally counted down from three and, by the time she had hit ‘one,’ his nose was up in the air. It was the exact same posture Rarity liked to assume when cleaning Opalescence’s litter box... or when anypony alluded to anything she felt sufficient revilement for to strike a pose about it.

“Look, my options are kinda limited to what we have at hoof,” Sweetie pointed out. “And, other than askin' Applejack to teach me more country songs, Ah can’t think of nopony else.”

“I can’t think of anypony else,” Blueblood corrected, and Sweetie poked him in the side again. “‘Ah’ is a country affection that has no place in Canterlot. Like somepony saying ‘milord’ instead of ‘my lord.’”

“But we’re not in Canterlot,” she reminded him.

Usually, it had been most convenient for the duo to meet in Ponyville at Sugarcube Corner, though today they’d met in a cafe across the street. It never took more than a Prince’s command and a generous bag of bits to win them some relative privacy to discuss the loops and what they’d done with them.

“Yes, well!” Blueblood shook his head, and the noble façade melted away as he reached up to scratch behind his mane. “It doesn’t so much matter what I think, does it? Sapphire is the most popular singer in Equestria. I’ve been told fillies all over Equestria aspire to be like her. To dress like her. To have high profile scandals like her. All that business. Name another, though, and of course I’ll see what I can arrange.”

“I had honestly never heard of her until Rarity started gushing about making her dresses,” Sweetie confessed. “But I really don’t think her style fits me.” She tapped her hooves together ponderously. “Are you really telling me there’s nopony you know in Canterlot that sings well enough to coach me a little? Princess Luna? One of the guards?”

“Auntie Luna can sing... yes,” he replied, chuckling a little at some memory. “But it would take quite a lot to convince her to do so where anypony can hear her. She’s a very private pony. Auntie Celestia on the other hoof?” He clucked his tongue in thought. “She’s more enthusiastic than skilled when it comes to song, but that’s just my opinion. A treasonous opinion, too, since heaven forbid Auntie is sub-par at anything she does ever.” Blueblood smirked at the thought.

“Who else at the Palace?” he wondered aloud, “Wait, you were kidding when you suggested my Aunties, weren’t you?”

Sweetie nodded, slowly. Given what she’d experienced in this universe, picking up either one as a tutor seemed unlikely. This day least of all, with the Gala only half a day away.

“All our guards are stallions,” he continued. “As for the castle staff... I don’t think any are what you are looking for. What are you looking for in a tutor?” he asked, glancing down at the filly next to him. “How would you feel about a classical mentor? I fund many such groups: orchestras, opera companies, the royal choir...”

“I don’t know,” Sweetie shrugged, suddenly barraged by new options. “Somepony who would be patient, maybe somepony with some experience mentoring or taking care of fillies...” She looked at the ceiling. “I mean, look at Miss Cheerilee... she really keeps calm and sometimes you don’t even know you’re learning, but you are.”

“Miss Cheerilee,” Blueblood said, testing out the name. “You know, of all the times I’ve been here, I don’t think I’ve met her. And the way you’ve described her, she sounds... far too lenient to be a proper governess.”

“Governess? Umm. I... think your experience might have been very different from mine,” Sweetie said slowly. “If you were my age, I bet you’d be having a great time in her class.” She sighed, thinking back to her time in school, back before… everything. “But Miss Cheerilee doesn’t teach classical singing. Don’t you have cousins or even old teachers that could help us? Ponyville really doesn’t have anypony I can think of.”

Blueblood paused, and it was long enough that she could guess that he had thought of something; he just didn’t like it. For a few seconds, he worked his jaw, trying to come up with some sort of alternative.

“Yes. There may be one mare,” he finally admitted. “My step-sister, Cadance. Her voice is quite heavenly.”

“Princess... Cadance?” Sweetie blinked. “Really? I don’t remember her singing after the... uh...” She coughed. “I mean, I don’t remember her singing at all. But, from what Twilight said about her, she was a great foalsitter. She probably has lots of patience.” Sweetie giggled. “And imagine all of the stories about Twilight as a foal she can tell me!”

Blueblood looked surprised. “She wasn’t much of a singer in your universe?”

“Maybe?” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I never really heard her do so... but I guess you would know her better, with her being your family and all. Even if she isn’t able to teach me, I’d love to talk to her.”

“You’d be wrong,” he said, grumbling now. “I don’t know her very well at all. We’re estranged, to be polite. I’m not even sure how to approach her to ask for her help. I suspect she’d reject any offer that came from my mouth.”

“Oh,” Sweetie hesitated. “Well, can you just introduce me to her as Twilight’s apprentice? I might be able to take it from there.”

“She and Shining Armor should be outside Canterlot at one of the lesser estates,” Blueblood said with a put-on sigh. “Give me a day to work things out and I’ll take you to her tomorrow. Don’t cry if she sends you home with a prompt ‘no.’ In fact, maybe I should find a way to send you there by yourself...”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Sweetie yawned and stretched. As always, Rarity’s ear-piercing scream was the first thing she heard in the morning, which meant that she roughly had over an hour before Scootaloo and Apple Bloom would come over to pick her up. This in turn meant that she knew she had to hurry and get ready herself; if anything, Blueblood would always pick her up earlier than that.

She brushed her hair on the way to Rarity’s room. “Sis! I’m going to go out to Canterlot today!”

A thump, Rarity’s screech and Opalescence’s desperate meows were her replies.

“I guess I should leave her a note...” Sweetie muttered.

Soon enough, she was already outside her door when she noticed the carriage pulled by pegasi guards approaching. With a grace that she could only envy, the pair alighted just outside the Carousel Boutique, with Blueblood sitting proudly inside the carriage.

Just as she took the first step towards it, the door slammed open and Rarity rushed out, her mane still a mess and wearing her robe. She held the floating note accusingly up to Sweetie Belle. “What do you mean you’re going to Canterlot?!”

Slowly, Rarity’s eyes left Sweetie Belle and centered on the pegasi-pulled chariot and the smiling and waving Blueblood.

o.0.o

“Okay, she’s on the sofa now,” Sweetie said. “I’m good to go.”

“I do wonder what sort of impression these early morning excursions are... or would be engendering,” Blueblood wondered, helping the filly onto the chariot and motioning for the guards to take to the air. “How badly does Miss Rarity take it when you head off like this?”

“Usually she faints, or there was one time when she thought that I was going to become royalty...” She gave Blueblood a side-long glance. “It was not pretty.”

“Next time, tell her I’m taking you to meet your new fiancé,” he said, laughing. “I’m sure that’ll leave her wondering who for hours.”

Despite herself, Sweetie couldn’t help but giggle at the thought.

“Now, as for Cadance...” He grew serious again. “You’re in luck. The Princess is spending the day at Ptarmigan... a conservatory lodge outside Canterlot. Shining Armor’s father and mother are playing host to her along with a few other members of their esteemed clan. Having a Gala away from the Gala, I suppose. They’re Twilight Sparkle’s extended family. As her apprentice, you should be made welcome, though as I said before, a letter of introduction won’t endear you to Cadance herself. Not from me. Ah yes!” he remarked, remembering to ask, “Do you want to try and get Twilight to write you a letter instead, before we get to cruising speeds?”

Sweetie Belle blinked. “Wait, you think Twilight would agree to tell them that I’m her apprentice even if in this universe I’m not? Or should I just ask her to apprentice me? And then ask for the letter?”

“How long does it usually take to convince her that you’re jumping dimensions and all that?” He groaned, resting his forelegs against the rise of the chariot in front of them. “Perhaps it is more trouble than it is worth. I can make your introductions this loop, and we’ll see if it explodes in your face as a result.”

“I think I could convince her within an hour...” Sweetie mumbled. “But with your help, and my Letter of Acceptance from Nightmare Moon’s School for Gifted Unicorns, she might believe me quickly enough... Let’s see how it goes today without her letter. I know enough of Twilight’s life to convince them that I am her student. If that doesn’t work, then we can just wait things out and get one tomorrow.”

They flew in silence for a little while, but something kept bothering Sweetie. “Blueblood? How come you’re not on speaking terms with Cadance? If she’s your sister... shouldn’t you two be, I dunno, close?”

He shook his head.

“We aren’t like you and Miss Rarity, Sweetie Belle. Cadance was adopted when word got out about those wings on her back,” he sounded a little bitter about it. “She isn’t the first mortal alicorn the Blueblood line has... invested, but I don’t begrudge her that. It wasn’t as if she had a choice in the matter.”

“Wait... she was adopted just because she’s an alicorn?” Sweetie asked. “But... isn’t that kind of a pretty superficial reason…?”

“This is a bit of an oversimplification, but practically speaking, being an alicorn automatically makes one a Princess of the realm, whether that alicorn is born or transformed. It is for the security and well-being of Equestria,” Blueblood explained, snorting dismissively. “The truth is, winged unicorns are capable of certain things. Those ‘things’ are forms of magic that my family and Equestrian law keep from the rest of ponykind.”

“Imagine another alicorn... from some other part of Equestria or from another country, who finds out she can control some heavenly body or another. Or one that tries to move the sun or moon. Or, in my sister’s case, one who can manipulate the emotional state of ponies without them even noticing it, or enter the dreams of ponies as my Auntie Luna can. Princesses like Mi Amore Cadenza are taken to Equestria and fostered here, under the guidance of the royal family, so that they don’t become a threat or abuse their power. It is not very pretty, but that is the truth of it.”

“What about...” Sweetie almost hesitated to ask, “their families? Their real families? Do they just agree with this?”

Blueblood didn’t answer at first.

“It is a great honor to be invested and raised as a Princess of Equestria,” he said, at last. “One does not refuse such an honor. In the past, my family made sure no pony refused it.”

Sweetie frowned at the implications.

It sounded like something out of one of Twilight’s more ancient unicorn history books, and she wondered just how many ponies even knew about what Blueblood had just alluded to. Did Twilight? Did Rarity? Sweetie Belle wondered, but kept her thoughts to herself, turning towards Blueblood.

“Even... even if that’s the case, if you grew up with her, why did you get into a fight big enough for her not to like you?”

“It wasn’t... a fight, so much.” Blueblood set his mouth into a flat line for a time, as he wrestled with how to explain himself. “We didn’t grow up together, understand. She’s younger than me, and she wasn’t invested into the family until after my father died, after I became Prince, and after I spent my obliged years as a ward in Crown Roc in exchange for the Griffin Prince.”

He saw that only raised further questions, and tried to quickly clear them up.

“A foal of the royal family isn’t just a child; it is a symbol of the nation. Auntie Celestia obliges all of Equestria’s neighbors to send us their next generation of leaders: so they can know ponykind, understand harmony, learn friendship... you get the idea? Just the same, some of us must return the favor. My responsibility was to spend some years in Crown Roc, to build on the good relations between Equestria and the Griffins.”

“Ooh,” Sweetie said, nodding slowly. “I can see how that would be useful... so, she didn’t know you very well?”

“No.” Blueblood’s response was chilly, so much so that the alpine air that led up to Canterlot and the cragged mountain range on which it was situated were lukewarm by comparison. “My time in Crown Roc was actually cut short, unexpectedly. My mother died, you see. With permission, I returned to Canterlot and... found the only family I had left was a step-sister I had never met before. Cadance and my mother had...”

He licked his lips, teeth clenched tight.

“My mother had grown quite fond of her,” he muttered. “But that’s neither here nor there. The point is: Cadance and I never had a falling out or an argument we never got over. From the start, we...” He shook his head, forcefully. “I... was unkind to her. I never saw nor accepted her as my sister or my family. She wanted me to be, what was it? Her big brother best friend forever, I think? And I resented her terribly. It would eventually ruin my friendship with Shining Armor as well.”

“Oh.” Sweetie was silent for a moment, looking at Blueblood with more than a little pity. “I think... I’m sorry, Blueblood,” she finally said, wrapping her forelegs around one of his own. He stared down at the hug, momentarily confused.

“But—” he almost seemed to protest, but then he wrapped a foreleg around the little filly and hugged her back, if only for a few seconds. For all that he could be expressive about, Sweetie still found him to be very guarded when it came to his personal space.

“Thank you, Sweetie,” he whispered, patting her affectionately on the head to ruffle her mane. “I just wish I’d been nicer as a colt. Somepony you’d have counted as a friend, and not a bully. But that’s all in the past, and if I can, someday, I’ll see if Cadance can forgive me. She was like you, though, back then: very spirited and intelligent and inquisitive.”

“Was?” Sweetie muttered, but soon her questions were forgotten when she noticed what had to be their destination approaching. “Is that it?” she asked Blueblood, rushing to the side of their ride to take a better look.

“That’s it,” he said, stepping aside to give the filly ample room to see over the edge. “The Royal Estate of Ptarmigan and the House of Sparkle.”

Ptarmigan was a large manor house straddling a glittering waterfall, surrounded on all sides by soldier pine. It was a mountain retreat in the unicorn fashion - built on land that nopony would ever bother to farm on. It was a picturesque retreat, but Sweetie could see a number of other chariots and charioteers stabled next to the manor’s landing pad, extending like a balcony off an outcropping of stone and over a sheer cliff. The stables alone were twice the size of Rarity’s boutique; the manor house was a bit larger than Ponyville’s city hall. Banners hung liberally from over vertical drops displaying an asymmetrical eight pointed star - the heraldry of Twilight Sparkle’s family - and a pink and sable flag billowed beneath the standard of Equestria from a pole, indicating the Princess in residence.

Mi Amore Cadenza.

“Her title is ‘Her Serene Highness,’ not ‘Royal Highness,’” Blueblood warned as they came in for a landing. “Use a curtsy or quarter bow when you are introduced. She’s been moody of late, but try not to let it discourage you.”

“Princess Cadance...” Sweetie muttered under her breath. “Don’t tell me she’s…”

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath as they landed, glancing a bit nervously at the ponies around them, who were clearly a bit surprised at their sudden arrival. “So... how do I introduce myself to Twilight’s family? I mean, I’ve met them in my own universe but... that was a lot less formal.”

“I don’t know much about Lady Sparkle, but I have met Crescent Moon before.” As Blueblood replied, their chariot came in for the last leg of their approach, attendants at the platform already cantering over to see to the guards who pulled it, leading it to an idling station in the stable proper. “They’re a good noble family in the strict sense of the word. Be polite, not playful. Just like with Cadance, curtsy or bow first to the mare of the house, then to the stallion. You said you met them in your universe... what was the impression you got from them then? Were you meeting them at their home or in Ponyville?”

“I met them at Shining Armor’s wedding...” Sweetie said. “They were acting funny. But not serious at all. At least with me and the other crusaders, they seemed gentle and friendly.”

“Hmm. It might be a little pony thing, then. I’ve only interacted with them as, well...” He shrugged. “Ptarmigan is part of my domain, as both Prince and Grand Veneur. They owe me fealty. Feel free to experiment a bit once I’m out of the way. They may warm up to you.”

Sweetie nodded. “I will. I’m hoping they act the same...” She took another deep breath. “So... shall we? You’ll be a gentlecolt and lead me to the door, won’t you?”

“I will,” he agreed, and with a bit of magic, he opened one of the compartments near their hooves. “Just don’t go letting ponies know I’m going soft in my insanity. It’ll positively ruin my irresistible bad-boy image.”

A few moments later, and the Prince was dressed in a much more stately fashion. He’d whisked on an overcoat and buttoned up a doublet. A black, silken scarf wound around his shoulders like a snake, just barely concealing a chain of office as Grand Veneur. Sweetie hadn’t left home with much more than a well combed mane, but his magic fastened a pink-and-snow white cloak to cover her. It was filly-sized, but it felt much more constricting than the light Cutie Mark Crusaders cloaks she had copied from Rarity’s design catalogue.

The pair stepped off the chariot and exchanged a few pleasantries with the pair of guards who saw to the pegasus stallions who had flown them over. Blueblood smoothed over the transition, assuring the Royal Guards that he would be fine for a few moments at least. Sweetie took a minute or two to look around. She could see some of the uppermost spires of Canterlot around the corner of one of the mountain’s mottled green slopes, and a peek over the side - there was no railing to speak of - provided a glimpse of the waterfall that cascaded beneath the manor house itself.

“Quite a fatal fall, though not as far as taking a dip off the edge of The Serenity that runs under Canterlot,” she heard Blueblood say. Compared to that river and that massive waterfall, this was just a country stream. Still, it was impressive, and rather beautiful. Sweetie inhaled the mountain air. It was fresh and crisp.

“Shall we?” Blueblood asked, and she nodded, following close behind him as he headed towards the main building.

They were not made to wait.

A servant ushered them inside to a seating room next to a solar, and a minute or two later, both Lord Crescent Moon and Lady Star Sparkle joined them. Blueblood laid down the cover story: Sweetie was the younger sister of the Element of Generosity, one Miss Rarity, who Twilight’s parents must have heard of - they had - and he was here to introduce her to Cadance and to impose on the hospitality of the Sparkles before the Gala. The way he phrased ‘imposition’ left a very clear impression that there would be some recompense down the road for his ‘request’ and their cooperation.

Twilight’s parents were deferential and made some light talk about the Gala and, of course, about Cadance and Shining Armor’s approaching wedding, still half a year away.

For her part, Sweetie smiled and followed Blueblood’s earlier instructions on how to be respectful of Twilight’s parents. They were pleasant enough, but unlike the informal meeting she’d had with them through Twilight in her home dimension, here they were a bit... guarded.

Where before their smiles had been honest, here they seemed hesitant, as if they were expecting some sort of bad thing to happen if they accepted her as openly as in her home world. Sweetie found it intriguing, just how much could things could change depending on the pony making the introductions and the setting of their encounter. But at least, at heart, they seemed to be the same caring ponies she had met before. The difference was her: she wasn’t just a little flower-filly, here.

“Sweetie Belle,” Mrs. Sparkle said kindly as she led the filly into the house. “My little Twilight’s mentioned you and your sister Rarity in her letters, but she never mentioned she had taken you as an apprentice.”

Sweetie chuckled a bit nervously. “Well, you know Twilight, she’s a bit nervous about new things, and having a student is still new for us, even if it’s been a couple of weeks. I don’t think she even mentioned it to Princess Celestia until this morning.”

Mrs. Sparkle laughed at that. “That’s my Twilight. She always did get wrapped up in her projects. How is she as a teacher?”

Sweetie smiled, her eyes clearly not concentrating on anything as she thought back to her Twilight and her world. “I love learning with Twilight. She relies on books a lot, but she’s so patient and clear when she talks about spells.” She paused. “Well, I used to get confused, a lot, but then, when I started understanding what she was talking about, it was fascinating rather than confusing. She really knows magic... and listening to her talk about how a simple spell like levitation was the inspiration for so many other spells and magical effects... it just makes magic so much more... alive and interesting!”

Mrs. Sparkle nodded, happy to hear about her daughter.

“I’m surprised she would take you in so young,” she admitted after a moment, a euphemism for picking up an apprentice without a cutie mark.

“Well, to be honest, my sister insisted at first,” Sweetie confessed. “I would go once or twice a week after I started showing a little aptitude, but when Twilight noticed my magic growing, she got very excited at the idea... in Ponyville, we don’t have other unicorns that know as much magic as she does, and she thought I should learn as much as she could so... I’m her apprentice.” Her smile grew, broad and earnest as she remembered that day. “I was really happy when she told me that she’d sent a letter to the Princess, informing her.”

Mrs. Sparkle smiled kindly at her. “Well, I’m sure that Princess Cadenza will be happy to meet Twilight’s apprentice.”

Sweetie giggled. “You think Cadance will tell me about Twilight when she was a filly? I could use some stories!”

Mrs. Sparkle chuckled. “I’m sure she will; she foalsat our little Twily for years. She must have quite a few stories about those days!”

Sweetie followed Mrs. Sparkle up to a door in the back of the manor. Although Sweetie had been trying to pay attention, the twists and turns were so many, and the sheer amount of rooms so staggering, that by the time they had reached their destination, she had given up trying to figure out how they had gotten there in the first place.

“That... was more confusing than navigating the STABLE.” Sweetie grimaced.

“It is a little confusing at first,” Mrs. Sparkle laughed, “But you get used to it quicker than you might think. Here, allow me...” She knocked on the door. “Cadenza, dear? I have somepony I would like you to meet.”

“Mrs. Sparkle,” Cadance’s voice came from inside the room. “A moment, please.”

They heard hoofsteps approaching the door, and soon a magical aura turned the doorknob around, opening the door fully. Princess Cadance stood tall and regal inside the room, young but still taller than her soon-to-be mother-in-law.

The sitting room was part magical library and part parlor, a place where noble mares could relax, read, or chat with one another away from prying eyes and ears. The various emblems and crests of the Sparkle family, their ancestors and close relations, all hung from impressions near the ceiling. Cadance smiled pleasantly at Mrs. Sparkle, bowing her head politely in thanks and greeting. Only then did she glance briefly at Sweetie Belle. A delicate eyebrow arched in curiosity, but her expression did not change much as she looked back to Twilight’s mother.

“And this is?” she inquired. A little more frostily.

Sweetie raised an eyebrow herself. That attitude... It couldn’t be... not this early...!

“This is Sweetie Belle,” Mrs. Sparkle introduced her with a proud smile, and Sweetie lowered her head and eyes in a quarter bow. “Twilight’s Apprentice! Our little Twilight finally took a student! Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Twilight.” It sounded more question than statement. “Yes, yes, of course it is,” Cadance said, quickly, her eyes steady. “About time, too. Twilight has always been...”

“Hesitant?” Sweetie suggested, drawing both the mare’s eyes to herself. “You know, about taking a student?”

“Yes, of course, hesitant,” Cadance acknowledged quickly. “Not that I ever had any doubt she’d manage.”

“Well,” said Mrs. Sparkle, her motherly smile never dwindling, “I’ll leave you two alone. Do make sure you both make it in time for dinner, would you, Princess? Yours will be the place of honor at the table.”

Cadance nodded, and watched in silence as Mrs. Sparkle trotted away. She sighed and looked down at Sweetie Belle. “Well then, Sweetie Bells. What do you need?”

“That settles it,” Sweetie said quietly, shaking her head. She started pacing in front of Cadance, who watched her with an annoyed frown as she mumbled to herself. “Okay, on the one hoof, I think she might be able to help me.” Sweetie Belle shot Cadance a calculating look. “Um... do you know how to sing classical opera?” she asked after a moment.

“What.”

“Well, you see, the real Cadance does, and since you’ve convinced everypony you’re her, I thought—”

She was suddenly inside Cadance’s room, the door shut and a very angry-looking Princess was glaring at her. “What did you just say?”

Suddenly - in spite of Blueblood's urgings that she would always reset safe and sound with the time loops - Sweetie didn't feel safe. Certainly not if this alicorn was who she knew she really was.

“Um... your disguise is very good?”

“You try my patience, little pony,” Cadance growled, eyes narrowing. She towered over the filly, wings flapping angrily and excitedly. “What do you think you know? What disguise?”

Sweetie gulped and quickly bowed deeply. “I-I’m sorry, Queen Chrysalis! I didn’t know you’d taken Cadance’s place already!”

Cadance’s eyes flashed green, as a small, predatory grin slowly grew on her face. “Queen Chrysalis?” she asked and licked her lips. A moment later she laughed, devoid of mirth or good cheer. “Who taught you that name? Who told you to call me that?”

Sweetie cringed. “Well, that’s who you are, aren’t you?” she asked, trying to step back. “Queen Chrysalis?”

Chrysalis, however, didn’t allow her to escape. She began to close the distance between them. “My, but you are a strange one, Sweetie Bells—”

“Belle. Sweetie Belle.”

“Whatever!” Chrysalis growled. “That name you so casually uttered...? You know what you shouldn’t know, and I want you to tell me how that is possible.” The supposed Princess smiled in perfect imitation of amiability, but her voice dripped with venom. It made the whole thing more frightening than reassuring. “Tell me,” she asked, still smiling. “And I promise I will allow you to live.”

Sweetie Belle clenched her teeth, and her horn flashed as she jumped to the side. The room was enveloped in thick darkness and Sweetie’s magic didn’t even affect it when she cast a second spell, allowing her to see in the shadows. She stepped away from Chrysalis, who stayed in place, looking almost amused.

“Come now. I know you’re here, little pony,” Chrysalis whispered loud enough for Sweetie to hear. “Even if I can’t see you... I will still find you. I can smell you, you know. I can taste your fear on the tip of my tongue, sweet and sharp.”

‘What should I do!?’ Sweetie thought in a panic. If she catches me, she might kill me! Even if I’ll be okay, I don’t want to die! Plus, I’m not entirely sure I… I won’t die, will I?

She tried to calm down, to control her breathing, hiding behind a desk and using a cantrip to drop a book on the other side of the room, drawing Chrysalis’ attention in that direction, just like she had done with that werewolf in what felt like ages ago.

Think Sweetie, think!

She watched in silence as Chrysalis leisurely made her way to the bookcase where Sweetie had cast the spell. Despite her being unable to see, the changeling Queen moved without much hindrance around the room. She seemed to know that, no matter what, the filly was still in the parlor, trapped with her. An old rhyme came to mind at that - ‘come into my parlor’ - and it wasn’t very encouraging. Those had been the words of the spider to the fly.

“I’ve hunted ponies before, you know. Clever little ponies, just like you,” ‘Cadance’ said aloud, and a baleful glowing green eye glanced over her shoulder. Sweetie shuddered at the sight. “Yes. I chased one for two days in the skin of her lover. That was when I was younger, and often found the desire to gorge on ponies’ terror... first I tasted their love, then the bitterness of imagined betrayal, and then I would enjoy a dessert of purest crystalline fear.”

Sweetie ducked back out of cover, eyes closed.

She can’t hurt me, she told herself. Blueblood said so. I’ll just wake up again, tomorrow.

Chrysalis sniffed the air, and Sweetie could hear the sound of her hoofsteps approaching.

‘What if... what if I tell her I’m on her side?’ Sweetie thought in a moment of clarity and calm, like the eye of an emotional storm. ‘If I tell her that... she could help me. Maybe even teach me something useful besides singing.’

Sweetie Belle gave Chrysalis a calculating look from behind her hiding place. She defeated Princess Celestia in my world... and she’s probably been feasting on Shining Armor’s love here as well. Could changeling magic be similar enough to use? But what would Blueblood say? I’m sure he would want to do something and maybe get the real Cadance back... but... what if I don’t tell him? That wouldn’t be right but... everything turned out okay in my world, in the end. What if my getting involved screws that up? What if I mess things up by interfering?

Sweetie cast the cantrip again, close to where Queen Chrysalis was, trying to keep her off her tracks. She turned around and slid behind the desk when the changeling paused, ears twitching like those of a stalking cat’s.

‘I mean... if I tell him, wouldn’t that affect the future? What if something really bad happens to Cadance because I did? She might be okay right now. And I know Twilight and the others defeated Chrysalis in Canterlot. Don’t those books on time travel always say not to try and change the future? I think it was even one of Starswirl’s Rules. So... maybe I’ll just join her side for now? Use her. She won’t remember anyway.’

Sweetie nodded to herself and looked over the desk to see where Queen Chrysalis was, only to find herself nose to nose with the changeling.

“Boo.”

Sweetie Belle yelped and scrambled back as Chrysalis carefully made her way around the desk. “You breathe too hard, little pony, and you smell...” Chrysalis whispered, her wicked grin firm in place and her eyes flashing once more. “Too delicious to lose in such a small room.”

Sweetie stopped and took a deep breath, looking at the queen approaching her. With a gulp and a resolute nod of her head, she dismissed the darkness spell. Chrysalis recoiled from the sudden blast of light and shook her head, blinking away until she could clearly see the filly standing in front of her. If she was surprised, she didn’t show it.

“Ready to talk?” she asked, and the predatory smile returned.

Sweetie Belle sighed, but nodded. “I studied changelings at one point; I live right next to the Everfree forest, so we have an extensive collection of books that talk about all sorts of creatures. And I saw a little flash of green when you were talking to Mrs. Sparkle.” Chrysalis frowned, clearly doubting Sweetie’s words, so the filly pressed. “But that’s not important. I-I want to work for you.”

“How funny,” Chrysalis stated, though she didn’t laugh, and her smile did not seem amused in the slightest. Only hungry. “I know ponies play with their food, but do you work with your oats and negotiate with your apples and hay? Do you bargain with a plate of sweets or a slice of cake? Work for me, you say?”

She reached for Sweetie Belle, and the filly sucked in a breath - a long one, the sort that always preceded a scream. The would-be Princess paused, hearing that and knowing what it meant.

“Only exceptional ponies are worth my time, and my good graces,” Chrysalis explained, but didn’t come any closer. “Make your offer. I will listen.”

“I’m a good magic student,” Sweetie began. “But more than that; I’m apprenticed under Princess Celestia’s own student, Twilight Sparkle, who I should tell you now, you foalsat when she was a filly.” Sweetie Belle smirked. “I’m already really in with royalty, my sister is one of the Elements of Harmony, you saw that I am capable of magic beyond my years... with some training and a bit of coaching from you to keep the ruse that you are teaching me to sing, we could both profit a lot from each other’s knowledge.”

Chrysalis almost snorted, but held her eyes steady on Sweetie Belle. “And what reason would a filly that has it all so good have to join forces with her natural predator?”

“I’m tired of being a shadow,” Sweetie said softly. “It’s always ‘Rarity’s sister’, or ‘Twilight’s apprentice’, or ‘Blueblood’s charge’.” She looked up at Chrysalis, locking eyes with her. “I don’t want to be a shadow anymore. I want to be myself! I don’t care what the cost is; I don’t want to be ‘goody’ Sweetie Belle who doesn’t even have a cutie mark! I want more! Even if the world changes around me, even if I have to see more death... I won’t be stuck here, as I am.”

Chrysalis leaned in, closer, allowing Sweetie a closer look at her disguise. Despite her language before, and her behavior, she looked very much like the real Princess Cadance, all the more twisted by the sharp teeth she displayed in her smile. Sniffing, she inhaled languidly from behind Sweetie’s ear, prompting it to twitch.

"You reek of love for them,” Chrysalis said, but still considered the filly’s words. “But then, the greatest hurt can come from the double-edged blade that is love. You may not necessarily be lying.”

“I’m not lying,” Sweetie growled. “You have no idea how long I’ve been somepony else’s shadow and not myself. This is my chance to do something and break that circle.” With a calm that surprised even her, Sweetie Belle looked straight into Chrysalis’ disguised eyes. “If you let me, you’ll find that you can trust me.”

“Trust takes time... and effort,” Chrysalis explained, and ran her tongue over her lips. “I will consider your offer if you can prove yourself useful.” She regarded Sweetie Belle for a moment, looking her over. “There are places a filly can go that an adult cannot, and even grown changelings cannot lose enough mass to take on your size. As I think on it, I may have something for you to do.”

“You’re giving me a test?” Sweetie asked.

“Yes. Just one, to start with,” Chrysalis replied, and her eyes narrowed even as her toothy grin widened. “Depending on how you do, I may reward you with a token of my affection. Or punish you for your incompetence. I consider both equally likely.”

Sweetie’s eyes narrowed in challenge. What was the worst that could happen? She’d just reset by the end of the night, anyway.

“Fine!” she replied, smirking confidently. “Just don’t forget your end of the bargain.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Hello Sweetie Belle,” Blueblood nodded in greeting at the filly as she took a seat across from him at Sugarcube Corner. Though their meeting places varied, Sugarcube had grown to be far and away their mutual favorite. This, despite a certain pony’s tendency to randomly appear mid-conversation.

“So,” he continued, “I’ve been meaning to ask: how are your lessons going? Cadance was always said to be a fine foal sitter, but I don’t believe she’s taught anypony before.”

Sweetie smiled happily, Sugarcube’s cafe menu in her hooves. “They’re going great! It’s been an amazing month, Blueblood! Practicing every day, learning the magic that comes from your voice: Cadance is a really good teacher! Surprisingly good, actually.”

Blueblood smiled back, glad. “I’m happy to hear that, Sweetie Belle. I was actually a little worried... what did she start you with?”

“The national anthem.”

“Ah! An excellent choice,” Blueblood agreed with his step-sister’s selection. “Cadance sang it last month at the Canterlot Tourny, which is to say, a month before the original Gala. It was divine.” He floated his own menu face down, still smiling at Sweetie. “I’m looking forward to hearing you sing it.”

“I’m not there yet,” Sweetie warned, tempering any expectations, in spite of the note of confidence in her voice. “I think I’ll be ready in another dozen loops, maybe. But Cadance said that unless I learn Germane I won’t really be able to understand Opera.”

Blueblood stroked his chin. “Germane? I know Cadance is fluent in Prench and Bitalian, but when did she learn...” He shook his head, dispelling the forming question. It wasn’t pressing. “A Germane tutor shouldn’t be hard to find. I could likely teach you, even.”

“You speak Germane?” Sweetie asked, surprised.

“Oh, of course I do,” Blueblood replied, chuckling at the look on her face. “Sweetie Belle, recall that I am both Grand Veneur and a Prince of Equestria. I speak Prench, Germane, Old Equestrian, Bitalian and a pinch of Classical Romane. My griffin isn’t that bad, either.”

“Okay then!” Sweetie cheered. “Then you can teach me! And we can really impress other ponies! And imagine Cadance’s face the next time she asks me if I speak Germane! I guess you can teach me after her singing classes? Or every other day?” Sweetie started to bounce in her seat at the prospects. “Ooh! I can’t wait to see Rarity’s face the next time I ask for breakfast! You can teach me to read it, too, right?”

“Stars above, with an attitude like that, my teachers would be wishing you were their student in my stead,” He laughed at the knowledge-hungry filly. “I’ll bring some proper texts tomorrow, but I can teach you a few words today. Why don’t we start by translating some of the items on the menu here?”

He started with the first of Sugarcube’s lengthy assortment of deluxe and custom cupcakes. Trötchen...

“Blueblood?” Sweetie asked as he began, still leaning over the table.

“Hm?” he asked, perplexed by her long pause. “Yes, Sweetie?”

She blinked and glanced down at the table. When she spoke again, it was just a little whisper. “Thanks.”

Blueblood’s smile faded a bit, but he nodded. “I’m just glad to be able to help, Sweetie Belle. It’s been—” His eyes darted down to his hooves for a moment and he chuckled, self-consciously. “It’s been a long time since I felt useful.”

o.0.∞.0.o End Part 1 o.0.∞.0.o

The Best Night Ever Part 2: Loops

Editing by: Lammy & Fifth Alicorn / Proof by: Trevor & Super Big Mac
Special thanks to: Spaerk, Raine Moon, Din182, Devas and Oberon.

That morning at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie had taken to whistling as she bounced around, serving up sweets and surprise with equal gusto. The last loop, Pinkie had broken into an impromptu song about marzipan and something called ‘madiera’ which was either a type of chocolate or somepony Pinkie was in love with. She was only consistent in her inconsistency. Sweetie noticed the randomness always seemed to bring a smile to the face of her would-be host.

“Okay, Sweetie Belle...” Blueblood smiled. “Here she comes. Remember, just like I taught you.”

“Right,” Sweetie nodded and took a deep breath, before smiling at Pinkie Pie as she trotted up to their table. “Hallo, ich hätte gerne einen Milchshake, zwei Kürbisecken und eine Birne.”

Pinkie gasped in delight, leaning in closer over the table. “Aber gerne! Was für eine Füllung hättest du gerne für deine Kürbisecken? Wir haben die traditionelle Kürbisfüllung oder die örtliche Spezialität, eine Apfelfüllung.”

“Go on, go on!” Blueblood whispered. “Don’t act surprised, either!”

“Ich, ähm... d-die Traditionelle klingt gut,” Sweetie stammered. “Oh... ich wusste nicht, dass du Germane sprichst Pinkie.”

“Tue ich auch nicht!” Pinkie Pie said, grinning. “Aber ich liebe deinen Akzent! Ich bin gleich zurück mit deiner Bestellung.” She stopped and looked at Blueblood. “Oh, ich Dummerchen! Ich hab ganz vergessen deine Bestellung aufzunehmen! Was hättest du gerne?”

“Pourriez-vous s'il vous plait m'apporter votre dessert le plus décadent ainsi que du thé ou du café? Tout ira bien, ma chère,” Blueblood replied.

“Bien sûr! Nous avons des éclairs! Ils sont délicieux!” Pinkie Pie promptly replied.

“Forse no, potrebbe essere che un bruttiboni vada meglio con del caffè.”

“Sì, sì! è giusto capitato che io ne abbia fatti un po' stamattina! Li porterò subito!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly. “Ed hanno il mio ingrediente speciale! Sono sicura che ti piaceranno tantissimo!”

“Un secondo...li ha fatti stamattina?” Blueblood blinked.

“Mi si è mosso lo zoccolo sinistro seguito dalla mia criniera diventar ancora più riccioluta e poi un momento di vertigine paralizzante! Quello poteva solo significare che oggi dovevo fare dei bruttiboni! Ed eccoti qui! non è grandioso?!”

“Yes... quite,” Blueblood said weakly.

“Okey Dokey Lokey! Iway’llay ebay ightray ackbay!” Pinkie Promised and skipped off to the kitchen, leaving behind a flabbergasted Sweetie Belle and a rather perturbed Blueblood. He watched her go, leaning back and almost falling off his chair in the process.

“Huh,” was all he could say. “Well, then, Sweetie,” Blueblood began a moment later, delicately raising a cup of dark tea to his lips. Ordering it with his breakfast had caused Pinkie to bemoan the Prince’s choice of ‘leaf mash’ instead of something nice and sweet. “I hope my so-called sister’s reaction was similarly entertaining when you showed her what you could do. Please tell me she at least gawked a little bit?”

Sweetie Belle frowned, blinking a couple of times and looking at her surroundings again.

“Princess Cadance?” she murmured and shook her head. “She... She took it in stride, actually,” Sweetie explained, images of Her Serene Highness walking around her as she encouraged Sweetie to hit a specific note flashing in her mind.

The Princess was strict and had little patience for those who wasted her time or failed to perform. It was not wise to disappoint her, and she was not impressed easily. Not even by finding out her new student could speak enough Germane to sing in it convincingly.

“I just feel a little tired, Blueblood...” she admitted.

Which was strange, since normally she woke up after every loop just the same as the one before. Maybe she was just starting to feel emotionally exhausted?

“It’s a lot of work.” Sweetie punctuated the statement with an unwelcome yawn. “Maybe I need to take another break? Maybe vary things a little? I love practicing, but the only place to do it here is at home. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen sis staring at me with her mouth hanging open like that... unless I destroyed one of her sweaters... or used her gems... or turned Opalescence purple... and there was that one time when I accidentally made her ponyquinns come to life—"

“Of course, of course,” Blueblood agreed, understanding all too well how one could become overloaded by repetition. “Take your time. I’m simply looking forward to hearing you sing something proper and elegant. Why, it would make for a memorable Gala!” He sipped his tea, once, twice, and slowly lowered the glass demitasse - one of the Cake family’s personal fine china. “For us, if nopony else. It always seems to be ruined before Auntie’s Entry into Sunlight plays.“

Sweetie chuckled, remembering all the different versions of chaos that Blueblood had told her about, some seemingly predestined and some caused by himself. “Well, maybe. I would need to know what they were playing. Not only that, but see if I could get some practice with one of the musicians first, so that I know how they play and what to expect... Princess Cadance said that it takes a lot of practice to really get things right.”

“That shouldn’t be difficult. This year, I hired the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra Company to play,” Blueblood said, thoughts drifting back to the inevitable night’s festivities. “They have a very impressive string section this year, with Miss Octavia on cello. I could certainly make introductions if you like.”

“Miss Octavia?” Sweetie’s eyes reflected her smile. “Oh! Her! Yes, please! That would be amazing! Did I tell you Octavia actually sponsored my schooling... or rather one of my counterpart’s schooling? I’ve always wanted to meet her!”

“She did?” He sounded surprised. “From what I’ve heard of her, she’s a Canterlot-born earth pony, through and through. As a rule, they try and keep to high society. ‘Unicorns without a horn’ and all. I’m surprised she’d know anypony from Ponyville...”

“Well, I’m not entirely sure, although she was friends with a unicorn called Vinyl Scratch... and I’ve seen her in Ponyville before,” Sweetie recalled. “But I haven’t seen either of them around Ponyville at all in any of my resets here. Maybe they both live in Canterlot?”

“Octavia most certainly lives in Canterlot. The Orchestra are all Duchy residents, part of the reason I paid for them.” He leaned back slightly, a goofy grin parting his lips. “I can see why she’s a crowd favorite, too. She has that smoldering look. Very sexy.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened. “Did you sleep with her?”

Blueblood suddenly and violently coughed at the abrupt question, bringing a nearby napkin - a frilly pink thing - to his mouth. “Sleep with her? Aren’t you a little young to ask about that sort of thing?”

Sweetie frowned a bit. “Why not? I sleep with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo all the time! We have a lot of fun!”

“...”

“What?” Sweetie asked in response to the stallion’s suspiciously long silence. “You’re looking at me in a weird way.”

Blueblood shook his head and shuddered at the same time. “Either you’re a very perverted little filly, you’re doing this on purpose, or we’re having a miscommunication. Please, Auntie, please let it be the latter.”

“What? You never had a sleepover?” Sweetie asked, sounding almost horrified. Her little hooves clasped her cheeks in shock. “B-but! Those are so much fun! You have pillow fights, play truth-or-dare, and plan how to get your cutie mark until you pass out, or comb each other’s manes, or talk about colts, or—”

“Ah. No. No. I never had that sort of sleep over,” Blueblood replied, and she could see his smile return behind his napkin. “Mine tend to be a bit more... physically stimulating. Less sleeping and more wrestling, so to speak.” He giggled in a very un-Princely way. “I say, why don’t you ask Miss Rarity about it sometime? I’m sure she’ll tell you all about adult sleepover parties.”

“You think so?” Sweetie tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I do know she had a sleepover with Twilight and Applejack once, and it involved magic, ropes and lots of shouting... was that the same kind of thing?”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

“Okay, then!” Sweetie smiled. “I’ll ask her later!”

Blueblood was just on the verge of imparting more gems of insight and wisdom to the curious filly, when a pair of pink forearms found a perch on the top of his head. Sweetie was just thankful that, for once, she wasn't the victim of Pinkie's latest appearance out of nowhere. Blueblood's eyes glanced up to where a pair of inscrutable blues leaned down to stare back at him.

"Is there a problem?" he inquired, rather calmly. Mrs Cake, standing behind the counter, looked about to have a panic attack at the sight of her employee accosting one of Equestria's royals.

"I felt compelled to investigate," Pinkie Pie explained.

"Do not listen to this naughty, naughty pony!" Pinkie said to Sweetie Belle, pointing down at the stallion underhoof. "Just because some ponies have a sleepover with magic and ropes and shouting and riding crops and safety words and a tub full of jelly, doesn't mean anything naughty has to happen."

“But probably will,” Blueblood argued.

“Probably,” Pinkie admitted, and the two ‘mature adults’ nodded in unison.

Sweetie Belle slowly shook her head. “I don’t get it.”

Maybe asking Rarity would shed some light on it...

o.0.o

“No. No. No. No. No! I-I really do not wish to talk about that! Don’t you have school? Yes, school! Wonderful school!” Rarity levitated her little sister out the door. “Ask mom! No, wait... she’s still out. Ask Cheerilee! That’s her job, isn’t it?!”

“But sis!” Sweetie complained from outside. “School’s been over for three hours!”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Oh. Oh. Oh, um.” Cheerilee gave a distinctly uncomfortable cough, tactically retreating behind her desk. “I don’t - that is, I don’t really cover that topic in this class. Or this grade, for that matter. It’s an, um, advanced subject?”

“But what if a pony is ahead of the curve?” Sweetie insisted, putting her hooves down on the desk and refusing to budge. “I’m really curious!”

Drops of sweat began to bead around Cheerilee’s forehead. “I don’t think...”

“Actually,” Diamond Tiara chimed in. “I was sort of wondering about that, too.”

“Us too!” Snips said, raising Snails’ hoof for him.

“Oh! Hey! Ah get it! Ya’ll mean gettin’ laid, right?” Apple Bloom piped in from the back of the class. “Is that what we’re talkin’ about?”

Immediately a hoof shot up into the air. “Miss Cheerilee?” Silver Spoon called. “What does ‘getting laid’ mean?”

“If adults are doing it, that means Rainbow Dash is doing it!” Scootaloo declared, jumping out of her chair. “Quick! What’s getting laid, and how can I do it too?!”

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie Belle glared at Blueblood. The big, stupid, smug jerk. “I’m not talking to you about sleepovers ever - ever -again.”

“A shame. I have so much knowledge to share with impressionable young minds.” Blueblood sipped his tea with all due self-satisfaction. Sweetie was sorely tempted to kick him.

“You do know that in this world I’m just a filly, right? And that Miss Cheerilee had to impart a lesson she wasn’t going to teach for at least two more years. And, in fact, clearly postponed in my own timeline.”

“Oh?” he asked with a titter. “Did she show you the old government movie reel? Husbandry for Dummies? Foaling and You? That sort of thing?”

“She tried, but Apple Bloom was laughing so hard she had to quit... and besides...” Sweetie shook her head. What had been seen could not be unseen, and what Apple Bloom knew about certain things could not be un-known. “I said I wasn’t talking to you about it again. Ever again. Now, just give me Octavia’s address.”

“Spoilsport,” Blueblood groused. His magic flared, and a slip of paper floated down to the table next to Sweetie’s plate, landing with a flourish. On it was an itinerary of comings and goings. “I tracked down Miss Octavia while you were... distracted by your research. She isn’t alone, though. A pony is visiting her and remains at the apartment until both leave for the evening: Octavia to rendezvous with the orchestra prior to the Gala, and this other one a few hours later. After the Gala fiasco, both usually end up drinking rather heavily together at a bar and nightclub called ‘After Hours.’”

“That might be Vinyl Scratch...” Sweetie said after a moment. Then a thoughtful look crossed her face. “Hey, Blueblood? Does drinking at a bar really help you relax? Maybe we should do it sometime!”

“A little drink now and then can put the mind at ease,” he answered, rather more carefully than usual this early in a morning loop. “And a lot of it can help a pony forget... for a time. You’re a little young to drink anything more than watered wine, though.”

“Oh,” Sweetie said, sighing a bit as she considered the paper next to her plate. “Well, maybe I should just go ahead and meet Octavia... could you give me a ride to Canterlot?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Blueblood assured her with an amiable smile. “And...” he just had to add, “no, I didn’t have a sleepover with Miss Octavia. I most certainly did think about it, though.”

Sweetie made a sour face. “Still gross.”

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle stared at the building in front of her. The address was correct, and she had triple-checked with various sources and contacts of Blueblood to make sure she had it right.

It wasn't in the best condition. The whole thing was uninspiring, built out of reddish brown limestone bricks with little to no decoration or ornamentation, other than the odd pot outside a window with some flowers growing in it and some old ironwork. Nor was it in the best area of town, which was unexpected, given Octavia's apparent fame in the universe where she had first heard of the musician. Strangely, Blueblood had told her that this was an ‘upscale’ house in this part of Canterlot. It sure didn’t look all that great.

Steeling herself, Sweetie Belle trotted up to the bell and rang the apartment number. She waited for a bit before hearing a cultured voice from above.

“Who is it?”

“Hello?” Sweetie stepped back, looking up at the window that had been opened on the third floor. “Is this where Octavia Philharmonica lives? I'd like to talk to her!”

“Oh, one moment! I'll buzz you in!” the voice replied.

Sweetie nodded to herself. This was her chance.

o.0.o

“Miss Belle, I'm afraid that I have to practice for the Grand Galloping Gala tonight. As much as I would love to tutor you in music, today would not be the best day to start. Never mind the fact that I've never taught anypony before!”

“Pleeeease?” Sweetie pleaded. “I came all the way from Ponyville to ask you!”

Octavia shook her head. “I can't, I'm sorry. Maybe some other time?”

“There won’t be another time,” Sweetie muttered quietly.

Octavia clearly overheard. “What was that?”

“Aww, come on, 'Tavi!” another mare shouted, poking her head from between a pair of red curtains that separated the studio apartment’s sitting room and pantry. “Let her practice with you a bit, what's the worst that could happen?”

“Vinyl Scratch, you keep your nose out of this one,” Octavia grumbled. “I would love to tutor her, really, but with my schedule—”

“'Tavi, you've practiced day and night for the last month and a half. You're as ready as you’ll ever be. Teach her a little. Think of it as a break!”

Octavia still hesitated. She turned to look at Sweetie Belle. “But... why me? How did you even hear about me?”

Sweetie Belle cringed. “I-I just...” she trailed off. “M-my sister mentioned you were scheduled to play... she’ll be at the Gala.”

Octavia raised an eyebrow. “Is she working in the kitchens?”

Sweetie shook her head.

“Decorations?”

Another shake.

“She's... a guest?” Octavia whispered.

Sweetie nodded slowly.

“And she has heard of me?”

Sweetie paused then, very slowly, nodded, keeping her eyes on the mare.

Octavia burst out in a smile. “Yes! YES! YES!” She whirled and hugged Vinyl and Sweetie together in an overjoyed, viselike grip. “Do you know what this means?!”

“That you'll teach me?!” Sweetie asked excitedly.

“That you love me?!” Vinyl teased.

“No!” Octavia cried in ecstasy. “Well, yes, to both, although the second is purely platonic. It means that I'm becoming famous! I thought I got lucky with the Gala tonight, but I have to admit they barely even questioned my ability! I'm being recognized!”

Vinyl chuckled, then got a good look at Sweetie Belle. “Hey, hey, wait a second! I know you! I've seen you and your friends pull out really crazy stunts! What did you call yourselves again? Cutie-saders?”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Sweetie growled. “And yeah, I’ve seen you too, you did that thing for my sister and Hoity Toity. Do you... live here?”

“Hey,” Vinyl chuckled. “That was just the other week! Don't tell me my show was that forgettable! As for the other thing, not really: ‘Tavi and me, we were roommates at the Canterlot Academy of Music. We've been friends ever since the end of our first year.”

“The end of...?” Sweetie frowned. “You didn't get along from the beginning?”

Vinyl scratched the back of her head. “Weeell, we had different tastes in music, friends, and drinks, and our lifestyles didn’t really mesh at first either,” Vinyl admitted. “For example, she likes boring music, I like awesome music; she likes to hang around with uptight bastards, I like to hang out with awesome ponies; she never grasped what a sock tied to a door handle means—”

“One time that happened.”

“Two times,” Vinyl corrected before resuming her little speech. “She likes single malt whiskey and I—”

“You like orange juice with vodka or rum and cola,” Octavia interrupted. “A completely classless and tasteless drink.”

“Is it really that bad?” Sweetie asked.

“It's good stuff, kid, she just makes pouty faces at it because it’s not a straight drink.” Vinyl grinned. “I still need to get ‘Tavi to try some of those.”

“Don’t call me ‘Tavi’,” Octavia glared at Vinyl. “You’ll have her saying it now.”

Vinyl bowed. “Always aiming t'please, milady.”

“My lady,” Octavia said, and Sweetie’s eyes became half lidded. No wonder Blueblood liked this mare. “At least pretend you know how to speak properly, Vinyl.”

The neon-maned mare pouted, crossing her forelegs in a huff. “I got my minor in modern Equestrian, I think that entitles me to say milady if I please.”

Octavia sighed. “Okay...” Rolling her violet eyes, she turned to Sweetie again. “I think I have the practice cello from when I was a filly somewhere around here... somewhere. I suppose we can practice a little, but please do be careful with it!”

“Oh, don't worry,” Sweetie Belle said, “I can levitate heavy objects for hours so weight will not be a problem! I'll be extra careful!”

Coming back a couple seconds later from one of the closets, Octavia raised an eyebrow as she hoofed over a cello that was roughly as tall as she was while standing on all fours. “Who said anything about levitating? I don't use a horn. If you're learning under me, you're learning how to do it with your hooves.”

“My hooves?” Sweetie's smile faded a bit. “Oh.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Keep your back straight!” Octavia warned sternly. “This is not a natural position for us, so it's imperative you are careful!”

o.0.∞.0.o

“...and that’s my report.” Sweetie finished, head bowed low.

‘Cadance,’ Sweetie had learned, preferred that those who served her and knew her true face demonstrated their obsequiousness though more than a mere quarter bow or curtsey. Somewhere along the line, Chrysalis had learned that ponies bowed most deeply for a real Royal Princess and had concluded that they should then put noses to the floor in the presence of a Queen.

“Fascinating. I was already aware of much of it, but you impress me with your speed and ability, Sweetie Belle!” Chrysalis, still wearing her alicorn disguise, stroked her chin with a gold-gilded hoof. “Now, as to your request...”

“Yes?” Sweetie asked, looking up at the so called Princess. She always did that: trailing off when it came to her end of the bargain, wanting to draw things out.

“Let it not be said I am not a... mare of her word,” the changeling Queen continued. “You were wise to come to me. If we are to prepare you for future missions we do need to train your voice. We shall start with your vibrato. Take a deep breath and show some promise or I will find the changeling that is sponsoring you and she will rue the day she brought you before me.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“That's not how you hold the bow; you are supposed to hold it straight, like so... no, keep it up like I said,” Octavia said, walking around Sweetie and eyeing her critically.

o.0.∞.0.o

“The pony Princess wrote a letter to the Griffon King.”

“D-der Pony Prinz hat eine Geschichte an König Griffon...” Sweetie stammered.

“Close! But you made a little mistake. Take a moment to think about it and try again,” Blueblood encouraged.

Sweetie paused and stared down at the scroll under her hooves. She wrote out the sentence again, checked the grammar and spelling, and saw the error. Smiling, she licked her lips and tried again.

“Die Pony Prinzessin hat einen Brief an König Griffin gesendet!”

“Good!” Blueblood said, clopping a hoof in cheerful acclaim. “Now, try this one...”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Watch your back, Sweetie Belle. I can see you're really trying but you're forcing it too much,” Octavia intoned, watching as her student shuffled in place, trying to work her body into a better position, but only managing to fall back to all fours. “Look,” she demonstrated, easily standing on her hind legs next to Sweetie, and pretending to hold an invisible Cello. “Like this. See how my legs are spread a bit more than yours? This allows me to balance properly without putting the strain on my back.”

Sweetie observed Octavia’s position for a moment, then pushed herself back onto her hind legs in a much better imitation of Octavia’s posture. “Like this?”

“Yes!” Octavia clapped with her hooves. “Much better!”

o.0.∞.0.o

‘Cadance’ sat at a place of honor among the many noble ponies at the table, her personal standard trailing behind her to the left of Twilight’s mother at the head of the table. The Sparkle family dining hall was larger than their daughter’s library, rising up more than two stories to a vaulted mural covering the entire length of the ceiling, depicting shootings stars and superimposed constellations in posture. Shields and banners hung down from it, depicting the relatives, friends, and other families in attendance.

Next to ‘Cadance’ was her blushing husband-to-be, dressed in a fine doublet and guard’s uniform: Shining Armor. Next to him sat another knight from his guard, then the knight’s marefriend, then two elderly ponies, then a rich lady with a small reef’s worth of pearls around her neck, and then a middle-aged stallion with enormous muttonchops that just had to get in the way of his eating... then two more ponies... and then finally Sweetie Belle herself. The sad thing was that she was still halfway to the head of the table, seated where she was.

It was a good thing that Blueblood had packed a dress or two for her. After that first loop when she wore one of Twilight’s dresses from when she was a filly... Sweetie shuddered. She wasn’t Rarity, but she knew when she looked silly. Some mare in the family had a very weird sense of taste. There was Twilight, yes, but she had to have gotten it from somewhere.

Carefully cupping her rather hot demitasse of black tea over one hoof, while holding the tiny ring with the other, Sweetie took her best hoity toity sip - it helped having seen Blueblood do this day after day after day - and quietly listened to the conversation around the table. Glancing down towards the head of the table, she caught one pony in particular returning her measured appraisal.

‘Cadance’ smiled, nodded once, and went back to playfully feeding her embarrassed husband a fork-full of leafy greens.

“But, Cadance, you’ve hardly eaten anything!” Shining Armor protested, biting down on the mouthful. More than a few onlookers cooed at the sight of the loving couple.

“I’m eating my fill as we speak,” ‘Cadance’ replied, patting his cheek with a hoof.

That night, the ‘Princess’ proved to be in an unusually good mood. She threw the waiting Sweetie Belle a black cloak with the six-pointed Sparkle star emblazoned on a dark gold shield.

“I would have expected you to leave by now,” she said, heading for the door. “But since you are still here, and as you did not prove yourself entirely incompetent earlier, I thought we could practice some more outside. Where we won’t be disturbed.”

That night, Sweetie finished the national anthem and Cadance only chastised her twice. A new record!

o.0.∞.0.o

“That's not bad for the first time Miss Belle, but you shouldn't put so much weight on the instrument; maintaining your balance is imperative for both keeping the cello stable and your own comfort.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“S-Sweetie Belle?!” Rarity gasped, making her way into the small circle of ponies gathered together around her sister, of all ponies, and a grinning Prince Blueblood.

“Oh, hi, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle waved cheerfully. “Come join us!” She turned to look at a particularly severe-looking pony of advanced age. His cutie mark was a crowned shield outside the letter ‘B’. “Erlaube mir meine Schwester Rarity vorzustellen. Sie ist eins der Elemente der Harmonie und eine großartige Modeschöpferin!”

“Es ist mir eine Freude sie kennen zu lernen, Fräulin Rarity,” the older gentlecolt said cordially, smiling at her. “Wir haben eine wirklich interessante Unterhaltung, falls du dazustoßen möchtest.”

Rarity, however, was staring at Sweetie Belle as if she had sprouted another head.

“Ich muss mich für meine Schwester entschuldigen,” Sweetie Belle said, putting her hoof on Rarity’s foreleg and making her start in surprise as she was dragged back to reality. “Ich denke nicht, dass sie Germane bereits gemeistert hat.”

“Sweetie Belle...” Rarity’s eyes were wide. “H-how are you speaking Germane?”

“Rarity du Dummerchen,” Sweetie giggled and winked at the older pony. “Ich vermute meine Schwester ist zu abgelenkt durch die Gala und ihre Begleitung um an unserer Unterhaltung teilzunehmen, Herr Warmblüter, aber um auf das ursprüngliche Thema zurück zu kommen: Ich kann ihre Position im Bezug auf die Moral des 'Handelns um glücklich zu sein' verstehen, aber lassen sie uns nicht die Worte des berühmten Kant vergessen; "Moral ist keine Doktrin die uns vorschreibt wie wir uns selber glücklich machen, sondern wie wir uns der Glückseeligkeit würdig erweisen." Ich denke, dass er hier einen guten Punkt hat, denn es gehört in der Tat mehr zur Glückseeligkeit als nur der einfache Zustand des 'glücklich seins'."

Warmblüter chuckled. “Sie schneiden da einen wichtigen Punkt an, Fräulein Belle, ich—”

“I-I’m sorry...” Rarity swooned. “I think... I’m... going to—”

Three ponies were barreled out of the way by her sofa, which made it just in time to catch her.

Sweetie Belle chuckled nervously. “Oh... ja, meine Schwester tut dies. Oft.”

“Ich finde es ehrlich gesagt ganz bezaubernd! Entschuldigen sie mich bitte.” Blueblood raised a drink to his northern relation and cantered towards Rarity’s fainting couch. Quite a few ponies were staring at it in dismay, one of them even gesturing from the couch to the door at the end of the Menagerie, no doubt wondering just where the heck it had come from.

“Uhm, yeah, es war wirklich nett mit ihnen zu reden, Herr Warmblüter,” Sweetie hastily said, following Blueblood and waving back at the bemused old stallion. “Und Ihr Schönheitsfleck gefällt mir wirklich außerordentlich!”

“My word,” he muttered, drinking a sip from his glass. “What an unusual little filly.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“My hooves hurt. My legs hurt...” Sweetie Belle groaned, leaning her head on the table. “My back hurts...” she mumbled. “And my brain feels like it’s oozing out of my ears.”

“Such is life,” Blueblood stated, taking a sip of his tea. “You'll get better. You always get better. You'll see.”

“But... it's hard! And this time I can't learn much from a book! I mean, learning how to read the notes was easy, but when I tried to play a single note I broke one of the strings! And it snapped at my foreleg! Look!” She showed him her foreleg, which was a bit red under the coat where one of the strings had nearly drawn blood. “It hurt!”

Blueblood chuckled. “Didn't you say before that you wanted to meet Octavia and sing with her playing? What better way to get to know her than taking classes? And if I'm going to be spending my oh-so valuable time drilling Equestrian languages into your adorable little head, then you should spend the rest of the time productively as well.”

Sweetie groaned. “But I have all the time in the world!”

Blueblood hesitated. “Time and patience do not always trot together at the same pace. Though, perhaps you should take another break. After all...”

Sweetie looked away. “I know,” she said after a moment. “I've thought about it... Blueblood, finding Twilight’s fragment here, getting home, it could take years to solve.”

The Prince nodded, a little more solemn than his usual. “Any time you wish, feel free to take a few days for yourself. You don’t have to keep at just one thing until you master it. Just concentrate on something useful right now that you really want to learn. I’d be happy to spend a few loops with you working on spells or even traveling around the country. I’ve personally found learning basic teleport quite invaluable, even aside from my initial Gala plans. Whatever you like!”

Sweetie sighed, and nodded. “I think I’ll just take a little break today. Maybe spend more time with Rarity or Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. I'll go back again tomorrow.”

Blueblood smiled, brightly. “Good! And while you're at it, I have a suggestion for my little sister and her lessons. You have a lovely voice, Sweetie, but... frankly, poor volume control.”

“HEY!”

“My point exactly.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Vinyl! Tell your damned student to tone down the volume! Need I remind you that you're a guest in my home?”

“Buuuut Tavi! How else can Sweetie learn to 'pump it up'? You don’t want her jam to be dangerously under-pumped, do you?”

“... Heaven forbid.”

o.0.∞.0.o

Octavia watched, impressed, as Sweetie balanced herself on her back legs, keeping straight with very little coaching and holding the bow almost perfectly. If this really was the first time this little unicorn had done all of that... she might have just found a genius. A once in a lifetime-

Sweetie then proceeded to draw the bow across the strings and Octavia quickly changed her thoughts.

“O-Okay! Stop! I said, stop!” she all but shouted. “Go slow, very slow, and when you return to your original position, turn it slightly, like this.”

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie took a long, deep breath and relaxed.

“You’ve become quite adequate, Sweetie Belles,” Chrysalis said, nodding at the performance she had just heard.

“It’s Sweetie Belle!” Sweetie huffed.

“Yes, yes, I know,” Chrysalis waved her hoof dismissively. “You should be quite prepared for infiltrating the world of theater, though I’m not yet sure why it is necessary.” She frowned, looking at Sweetie Belle consideringly. “Wouldn’t you prefer to work within a noble family? You are already well-placed to infiltrate one. How are your forgery skills?”

“Uh... not that good,” Sweetie confessed. Don’t tell me I have to learn that now!

But Chrysalis merely shrugged. “Pity.”

Sweetie Belle sighed in relief, but then looked curiously at her current ‘mentor’. “Um, Queen Chrysalis... I meant to ask you... how do you know how to sing? It isn’t magic, so you couldn’t have copied it, could you?”

Chrysalis was silent for a bit, apparently musing whether she should reply or not. After all, Sweetie might be a trained and reliable spy but she was still just a pony. Finally, she relented, pleased by a night of feasting on her fiance’s affection. “I learned it myself...” she said, taking a couple of steps away from Sweetie and exposing her back to the pony; a truly grand gesture, as it showed that she trusted Sweetie Belle to that degree. “...once I became bound to Princess Cadance and took her voice as my own.”

She looked back over her shoulder at the canny filly. “It was necessary... yes, and I have even enjoyed it, at times.” She smiled, in what could be the only time ever that Sweetie had seen the Queen-to-be genuinely do so. “I sing to my brood, now, and I do believe I will teach it to the changeling who succeeds me as well.”

Sweetie smiled back and bowed. “I’m sure they will enjoy it too, my Queen.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“What do you think?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“So, let me get this straight, you're a journalist for your school newspaper and you want to do a report on me?” Octavia asked Sweetie Belle, who nodded. The cellist took a deep breath and smiled. “Well, I suppose I have time for a short interview,” she said. “But, why me? And why come all the way over here from Ponyville?”

“Well, my sister is attending the Gala tonight,” Sweetie Belle said, her horn lighting up as she pulled out her notebook and a pen. “So I begged her to let me come over and let me interview you! You're one of my favorite musicians!”

“Oh, well, thank you!” Octavia's smile grew. “I'm honestly surprised you would have heard of me. Most colts and fillies don't really listen to classical music.”

Sweetie grinned proudly. “I have good taste.”

Vinyl Scratch poked her head out and looked at Sweetie Belle silently for a few seconds. “No, you don't!”

“HEY!”

o.0.o

“I just never expected her to have put so much into it,” Sweetie said, swirling her milkshake and eyeing Blueblood's after-dinner wine. “I mean, I expected it to be hard, given how difficult it's been for me these last few months but... she put so much of her life into it. She sacrificed friendships, playing with other fillies and even spending time with her family for it.”

“Well, it is her passion,” Blueblood said after a moment. “What did you expect? Octavia's life and career are one and the same: her music. I rather admire ponies like that... ponies with a purpose in life.”

Sweetie sighed, falling forward to rest her chin on the table. “Yeah. And I still don't have any idea what I'm going to do with myself, and she knew even before she got her cutie mark.” She tore her eyes from his wine glass and took a slow slurp of her milkshake. “Maybe, one of these loops, I’ll finally find out.” She contemplated Ponyville through the windows of the Sugarcube Corner and nodded. “I need a break from learning... music... I think I’ll change subjects for a little while.”

Blueblood raised an eyebrow. “And what do you have in mind?”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Twilight?” Spike called from the entrance. “You have a visitor!”

“Didn't I tell you I was busy, Spike?”

“Yeah, but she insisted and...” Spike just shrugged.

Twilight Sparkle sighed and lowered the three books she had been consulting and looked towards the entrance to the library, where Sweetie Belle awaited.

“Sweetie Belle!” Twilight smiled, motioning with her hoof to approach. “Shouldn't you be in class?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged and rolled her eyes. “Eh, we had a test on Unicorn History today. I wrote Miss Cheerilee five pages on Starswirl dealing with the dragons and she let me go early.”

Twilight nodded. “That's great, Sweetie! I didn't know that Starswirl the Bearded was part of your school curriculum!”

“Yeah...” Sweetie's smile was a bit forced. “But, now I'm done and everypony else was busy, so I came here to see what you were doing!”

“Oh,” Twilight scooted over to the side, allowing Sweetie to sit next to her. “Well, since tonight we're taking a carriage to the Castle, I figured I would transform some mice into horses to pull it!”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Oh! Is it a Polymorph spell?”

Twilight shook her head. “Good guess, but it's not a Polymorph spell.”

“Oh!” Sweetie Belle tapped her forehead with her hoof. “Of course! The Polymorph spell wouldn't last that long! So I guess you're using a spell that is more specialized in its purpose, and at the same time has a longer duration.”

“Well done!” Twilight said, clapping her hooves together. “This is a basic transformation spell, which I am combining with holding and timer spells.”

“So when you transform the mice into horses, the holding spell activates, making them keep the shape, and the timer spell will affect the holding spell, dispelling it after a set amount of time!” Sweetie frowned. “But, isn't it more efficient to use the polymorph spell? I think you can increase the amount of time it lasts.”

“Well, yes,” Twilight conceded. “However, to make them retain their form for so many hours, I would have to use a lot of magic, and since I'm going to the Gala myself, I want to be well rested! The Princess and I are going to have the whole night to ourselves, and I have so much to talk to her about!”

“I see...” Sweetie sighed, knowing full well how Twilight’s evening would go. “Well, you thought it over thoroughly.”

“Of course!” Twilight piped. “You know what they say! Whenever things seem like they’ll take forever...”

Sweetie Belle smiled and sang out with Twilight: “Trust your pal the checklist and keep it together!”

The pair broke into giggles and tapped hooves.

“Ooookay,” Spike said after a moment. “I think I'll go mop the kitchen. Yes, I think I'll do that.”

“So,” Sweetie began after a moment of enjoying the companionable silence, “could you teach it to me?”

Twilight bit her lower lip. “Well, it's a bit complicated, and I'm just learning it myself, not to mention that you might be a bit young to even try it...”

Sweetie's eyes seemed to grow, her pleading look bursting through Twilight's defenses almost unhindered. She was even less resistant to it than Blueblood! Poor, poor adults. Sweetie vowed never to be such a sucker when she grew up.

“...but I guess we can study together? You seemed to be well informed...” Twilight let the last word fade. “Wait, just how do you know all that?”

“I–” Sweetie cringed. “Well...”

“Yes?”

“I, uh... came from another dimension where I learned from you and now I just need to learn more?”

o.0.o

Sweetie sighed. Waving her hoof at Twilight. “If I have to re-tell my story one more time in this world...

o.0.∞.0.o

“...but I guess we can study together? You seemed to be well informed...” Twilight let the last word fade. “Wait, just how do you know all that?”

“Well...”

“Yes?”

“Rarity is, in reality, an exceptionally talented sorceress, who hides behind a facade of sewing and whining so that her true knowledge and powers are not sought after by the general public... but she’s too busy making dresses today to give me my lesson, and I decided to seek the second-best option?”

o.0.∞.0.o

“...but I guess we can study together? You seemed to be well informed...” Twilight let the last word fade. “Wait, just how do you know all that?”

“I–” Sweetie cringed. “Well...”

“Yes?”

“When she arrived from the moon, I got bathed in the necromantic powers of Nightmare Moon, inadvertently absorbing her knowledge of certain magicks.”

Twilight sighed. “Sweetie, if you’re not going to tell me the truth...”

“But she did teach me some magic!” Sweetie protested. “Look!”

o.0.∞.0.o

“...but I guess we can study together? You seemed to be well informed...” Twilight let the last word fade. “Wait, just how do you know all that?”

“Well...”

“Yes?”

“I-I well... um... Trixietaughtme.”

Twilight blinked. “Wait, what?”

“Trixietaughtmeawhileago and... um, I'vesortabeenstudyingbymyself...” Sweetie mumbled quickly.

“Okay,” Twilight sighed, raising a hoof. “Did you just say that Trixie taught you? As in the ‘Great and Powerful’ Trixie?”

Sweetie nodded meekly.

“...and that you've been studying by yourself?” Twilight pressed.

“Yes,” Sweetie nodded. “With some help here and there from Lyra, Rarity and others.”

“Sweetie... this is amazing!” Twilight gushed. “And you've been studying by yourself since then?! That's great! What have you learned so far?”

“Well... why don’t we go over this spell and discuss it? That way you can find out how much I know!”

Twilight chuckled. “Sure, Sweetie. Let’s try that.”

Sweetie sighed, sitting down next to Twilight. One day I’ll get the hang of this... but as Twilight started to describe the spell process Sweetie felt herself grow cold.

“One day I’ll get the hang of this?” Sweetie Belle repeated aloud. Oh, Celestia, what am I thinking?!

“Sweetie Belle?” Twilight asked, having turned to face her at some point. “Are you feeling okay? You don’t look so good.”

“I-I...” Sweetie stammered. “I’m sorry, Twilight,” she stood up. “I’ve... just remembered something... I need to talk to Blueblood.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide. “Blueblood? Prince Blueblood? Why would you—”

“It’s complicated,” Sweetie muttered, “and really something that’s not going to be relevant by tomorrow... at least to you.” She looked at her would-be-mentor apologetically, slowly backing out of the room. “It’s been fun, Twilight.”

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie Belle glanced around Sugarcube Corner, raising her eyebrow at the large tray of sweets and bread Prince Blueblood had ordered. With far more skill than - in Rarity’s own words - a ‘filthy uncaring brute of a stallion’ should have, he balanced the whole tray on his back with as much ease as Pinkie Pie, while levitating their drinks. Setting down the pair of milkshakes, he proceeded to float over the plate of pastries to the center of the table, which, once down, almost obscured him from her line of sight.

“Well then, Sweetie Belle,” Blueblood said jovially. “You seemed very serious this morning about discussing something today, so I figured we could use all the sweets in the shop to help pass the time more amiably.”

“Okay?” Sweetie tried to keep herself calm at the sight of so much sugar. Free sugar! “I’ve been thinking about returning to my quest and figuring out where Twilight’s fragment is. I’m pretty sure it’s not here in Ponyville.”

The royal stallion sighed, softly. “I see. And you would like my help.”

“Well, yeah,” Sweetie said, and tilted her head when he closed his eyes. “That’s not a problem is it? You said—”

“It isn’t a problem, Sweetie,” he assured her, eyes opening only to drift off to the storefront windows. “It simply isn’t what I expected. What are you thinking?”

“I don’t really know if they’re related, but I thought I’d ask... just how much do we know about these time loops? You must know more than I do!”

He grunted in what could have been agreement. “I have had longer to experiment.”

“You talked to the Princesses about it, didn’t you?”

“They were not helpful in that respect,” he answered, levitating a thimble of honey to add to his tea. “Auntie Celestia doesn’t believe anypony alive to be capable of magic on this scale, herself included. Temporal magic isn’t her forte regardless, and there’s no evidence that it is actual time magic and not some other form of spellcraft with similar results. One loop, she told me...” His eyes narrowed, and he touched his chest with a scoff.

“Nothing helpful,” he concluded. “Auntie Luna was also of no help on the spell front. I even interrogated a few ponies from the Quartz Clan, who swore this was no magic of theirs.” Blueblood examined a slice of banana chocolate bread, weighing well after purchasing it whether to eat it or not. “So! To summarize: despite being a Prince of Equestria with nearly limitless resources at my disposal and two effectively immortal and godlike relatives, I have no idea what’s causing the loops. Not a bloody clue really.”

Sweetie’s eyebrow twitched. “Oh, come on! You have to have an idea! Or -or something!”

“Would you believe ‘a wizard did it’?” He chuckled, and nibbled at a corner of the bread. “Well, it would have to be an extraordinary wizard. Don’t tell me you have some ideas?”

“Starswirl the Bearded?” Sweetie offered weakly. “No! Starswirl the Bearded’s zombie ghost!”

“One can not be both zombie and ghost,” Blueblood objected. “It would be like... a skeleton that turns into a werewolf. Utter nonsense.”

“I don’t know! As far as I know this is beyond anypony I’ve ever heard of!”

“Then I am afraid we are as we were,” he replied. “Clueless.”

“I refuse to just give up! I am the apprentice of Twilight Sparkle!” Sweetie told him, trying to keep the determination in her voice. “She made me read lots of books, and I’ve talked to... um... five, no, six, versions of her! There has to be something we’re missing!” Sweetie sighed and poked at a donut, the energy ebbing out of her. “And did I mention she made me read a lot of books? And quote them? She’d know what to do... I miss her.”

Sweetie sighed, melancholy settling in. I’ve had a long time to look for her here, but what did I do? Learned to sing. Learned to play the cello. Learned Germane. What am I doing? Am I just going to stay here and repeat things? Learn until there’s nothing left to learn? She sighed. I need my Twilight. Not the one from here who is friendly, but can never really be my mentor and friend... as much as I can talk to her, or learn from her... she’ll always remain the same.

“We have a Twilight in town. Not her-her, but a her.”

“Well... yeah, but... she forgets me all the time.” Sweetie grumbled. “I almost feel like I don’t exist here. I return every day and if she didn’t know me already I’d be all like: Hi! I’m Sweetie Belle, and you won’t believe me, but I used to be your apprentice in another world!”

Sweetie took a long sip of her milkshake: it was the same flavor she always liked and always drank, but today, it didn’t taste as sweet as it usually did. “I don’t want to spend an eternity trying to get my own friend to remember me and to know that I’m not just some filly!” She growled, then sighed. “It gets old,” she said in a much lower voice.

“Very old,” Blueblood agreed, and despite all the sweets he had ordered for them, he’d hardly eaten any at all. Most that he had placed on his plate languished there. “The time loop,” he explained, growing momentarily serious in answering her question from before. “Auntie suggested Discord, but he’s still petrified for the time being. I’ve sometimes thought that, maybe... what would happen if I freed him? Maybe that’s what I’m supposed to do?”

Sweetie raised a hoof, but he shook his head: no.

“Don’t even ask me. That’s the one thing I won’t do.”

Blueblood saw Sweetie scowling into her milkshake, and for a few seconds they sat in silence. As if to put hoof to the eye of the dour mood, Pinkie Pie hopped by, humming happily, a tray of cranberry muffins balanced precariously on her head. Sweetie ignored her, but she noticed Blueblood following her with his eyes.

“You asked what I was doing, back then,” he said, referring to the first loop where she had met him in Sugarcube Corner. “A thought that came to me, before you showed up, was... to make a perfect Gala for those six mares. To do that and hope for some kind of miracle. That’s all I have anymore, Sweetie Belle. That’s all I have. Hope... for a miracle,” he admitted. “Even a drowning pony can just let go of what he’s holding onto. I guess I’m holding on to her-” He pointed to Pinkie Pie, serving a pair of other mares at another table. “To your sister, to her friends, and...” He pointed to the filly. “To you. I will help you look for this fragment, if that is what you want,” Blueblood promised, “but I honestly don’t know where to start looking.”

Sweetie slammed her hoof on the table in frustration. “What am I supposed to do then? Huh? Just keep happily repeating the day until... until...” She searched for a word, for an end to the sentence that could encapsulate her frustration, but like the end to the loops, there was none. “Well, there is no until is there?! I’ll just keep doing this for eternity! I’ll be - I’ll be an old mare in a filly’s body with nothing to look forward to but the same old thing.”

She snorted, viciously biting into a pastry. “I wonder how far I can get before the day sends me back to the beginning. Over and over and over again. I guess I can always help crash the Gala in increasingly destructive ways. Maybe that’s what this world needs: the utter destruction of the most anticipated event of the year, not by Twilight and friends, but by little Sweetie Belle and her mountain of bread and sweets! Maybe I can ruin things better than they ever could! What then, huh? Maybe that’s what I should do!”

She huffed and finished the rest of her milkshake in one last, long slurp... only to grimace as icy veins shot through her head. Blueblood watched her and gave a rumbling sigh under his breath, the type of angry expression one of his breeding at least makes an attempt to conceal.

“Destroy the Gala? I thought the same thing,” he said, finally, and reached over with a hoof to take away her empty milkshake glass. “And I acted on it, and it wasn’t as cathartic as I hoped and dreamed it would be.”

“I - I guess,” Sweetie admitted, hanging her head and glaring down at the table. “I just... I just feel like I’m fraying at the edges... and the more I think about it? The more scared I am.”

There was a pause in the conversation, then, as both ponies turned to see a pair of blue eyes staring at them.

“Gah!” Sweetie shouted sliding her seat back in horror. “Don’t DO that to me!” she shouted at the pink mare that had - apparently - materialized right next to them.

Pinkie Pie sunk lower and lower until she vanished behind the lip of the table. Sweetie Belle observed her departure with a slight sense of dread.

“That one has a particularly bad time at the Gala,” Blueblood elaborated, grinning as Pinkie popped back up.

“She does!?” the party pony exclaimed, hooves in her mane. “Not Pinkie Pie!”

“Sad but true,” Blueblood continued. “Ah, while you’re here, Miss Pie, could I get another iced coffee with cinnamon, is it?”

Pinkie morphed from panic, at the misfortune of her hypothetical future self, to what passed for normalcy. “Milk?”

“Sugar, no milk.”

“Good. Good. Sugar is very good.” Pinkie muttered, and hopped back over to the counter and a rather confused looking Mrs. Cup Cake.

“Anyway,” Blueblood resumed, paying the mare no more mind in favor of his filly friend. “Sooner or later, I am confident we will find this fragment of yours. So long as it is in Equestria and not, say, the moon or the north pole.”

“Hmph. That’s encouraging!” Sweetie grumbled, but seeing Blueblood smiling prompted a weak grin of her own. If the fragment was on the moon then she was pretty much hosed, no matter what. So why worry about it?

“I guess...” she said and looked at Blueblood for a moment, organizing her thoughts before speaking. “My travels through different worlds are tied to fragments of Twilight Sparkle... and, in some worlds they’ve been there for hundreds of years... what if Twilight’s Fragment is what caused this whole thing? Not just my being here,” she explained, “but all of this! It could have appeared here at the exact moment this whole thing started and caused a loop of some sort... although I’ve never seen any of the fragments do that... it might be a possibility!” She hesitated, even less sure of her next bit of speculation: something she had kept to herself until now. “And I think that the fragments are conscious...”

“Conscious?” Blueblood asked, frowning. “Do these... fragments of Miss Sparkle... do they often cause magical disruptions?”

“Not so far... but all of them have reacted in different ways,” Sweetie said, tilting her head as she tried to recall the previous worlds. “In a couple worlds they were nothing more than trinkets, but in another, one had been sharing knowledge with the local Twilight Sparkle, and the last one, it was capable of electrocuting alicorns.” She shrugged. “I have no idea of their capabilities... or their limits.”

“Regardless, Miss Sparkle is the Element of Magic, and to hear my Auntie sing her praises, quite the skilled and powerful unicorn. A fragment of her?” Blueblood considered the possibility that the loops, all of them, had been due to some unknown and unexpected artifact from outside anypony’s realm of experience. “I never would have even imagined the possibility before I met you... say you’re right, Sweetie Belle, how did you find the other fragments?”

“I... have no idea,” Sweetie confessed, cringing. “I usually find them close by and... I-I can sort of feel them, but since I arrived I haven’t ‘felt’ anything. Most of the time they have turned up in really important places related to each world, but here? I don’t know wh—”

“Iced coffee!” Pinkie Pie announced, placing it down in front of Prince Blueblood. “Hey, where did Sweetie Belle go?”

Slowly, Sweetie Belle drifted down to her seat, under the power of her levitation spell. “Please,” she begged, taking hold of Pinkie’s hoof. “Please don’t do that. Please!”

“Do what?” Pinkie Pie asked in confusion, before her head shot up to look at the door. “Ooh! New customer!”

Sweetie watched her go, then banged her forehead against the table. “I hate it when she does that.” She took a deep shuddering breath, before looking up at Blueblood. “Where were we?”

“I find the randomness somewhat endearing, actually. Things get very predictable after four or five hundred repetitions.” Blueblood swirled the ice coffee around in the cup with a minor application of magic. “If you can feel the fragments when in proximity to them, how about I strap you to a flying machine and shoot you all over the country at high speed?”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide. “M-maybe I could get my cutie mark!” she exclaimed, shooting to her hooves and leaning forward excitedly. “Can I bring my friends?”

“Absolutely! Rocketeer cutie marks!” Blueblood leaned over the table slightly. “I was kidding, you know. Though having it done is tempting.”

“Awww,” Sweetie pouted. “And I bet Scootaloo would have been all for it!”

“The appearance of these fragments can’t be entirely random,” the Prince reasoned, not entirely moved by the filly’s pouty expression. “Or else why not in some fathomless cave dug by Diamond Dogs? Why not in a dragon’s lair or a northern waste or even the iced over Old Kingdom? Trawling Equestria for it is possible - granted - but not very efficient, even if we technically have an eternity here to spend on it.”

Sweetie shrugged helplessly. “I really don’t know. Although they’re usually close by.” Her eyes widened. “Wait! What if- what if the crystal appeared somewhere in the castle? That might be why it affected you! You were in Canterlot when it happened, right? Maybe you did something to attract it there?”

“Aside from putting up with Auntie’s usual silliness and... certain things I don’t think you’re old enough to hear... my days prior to the loops were uneventful. Nothing that would attract the interest or ire of Miss Sparkle or a fragment of her.” Blueblood inhaled the sweet and strong aroma of Sugarcube Corner’s iced coffee, and took a long drink while he thought. “But,” he said, when he finished. “If you want to poke around the Royal Palace, I don’t see the harm. We have all sorts of places to hide things there. Secret passages. Hidden dungeons from a thousand years ago. Boarded up reliquaries. Forgotten portals into the cursed catacombs...”

“Ohh! Can we see the forgotten crystal caverns under the castle?!” Sweetie asked, eyes wide. “I’ve wanted to go there since...” she trailed off. “Uh... something happens...” she mumbled, looking down. “A-anyway, we should really try that! When do we start?”

“Whenever you like is fine. When at the palace, feel free to wander around and explore.” Blueblood chuckled, using a fork to cut a small section off of a pastry lathered in frosting. He took care to wipe some of it off. “The exception would be, once the Gala’s in full swing, you may not want to get caught. I do have control over many of the guards, but Celestia and Luna may not be as understanding of your unexpected palace adventures.”

“I can go anywhere?” Sweetie asked slowly, eyes losing focus as he nodded. “You mean I could go to the Royal Library?”

“As many times as you might need,” Blueblood nodded. “Two hundred, three hundred times... it’s all up to how much you want it.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened as she contemplated doing the exact same thing for eternity.

“Blueblood,” Sweetie Belle all but growled, her considerable telekinesis pulling his head, gently but firmly, down until she was eye-level with him. “I need a drink. And this time...” She paused, gritting her teeth. “A milkshake won’t cut it.”

“Sweetie, even I can’t parade a filly around town to get her drunk,” Blueblood stated, looking slightly amused.

“Then just give me your drinks!” Sweetie demanded. “You drink all the time! Nopony will notice! Or we could go to another place where nopony’s around and get drunk there.”

“I’d rather you not just sulk around one of my villas,” he replied, shaking his head.

Sweetie Belle huffed, crossing her forelegs and looking away. “So basically, even if I’m here for a hundred years, you still won’t—”

“Now, now,” Blueblood interrupted, a devious grin crossing his face. “I may have a solution to both our problems. We will need some money and some avaricious archmages. Both easily acquired.”

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie Belle admired her body in the mirror as the magical mists that had surrounded her dissipated. She noticed that she looked pretty much the same as every other time she had aged-up. She was a bit more slender than her sister, her horn a little bit longer... but her mane fell around her face the exact same way as when she was a filly, with the same curls, although the magic that had aged her made them longer to remain proportional. While not as refined-looking as, say, international model du jour, Fleur-de-lis, she was still taller and more slender than her sister if not much older. Sweetie frowned.

“Is there a problem, Miss Belle?” One of the magicians asked.

“N-no...” Sweetie stammered. “I just - well, last time I was this age, I’m pretty sure my horn was a bit shorter.”

“Aging magic can be capricious.”

The response came from another magister, an older unicorn with a parted black robe about his shoulders and a ring around his right foreleg. He was one of three, their colors black and magenta and Canterlot alabaster white - her own coat color. The latter was a mare and the youngest of the trio, and also the most richly clothed in sapphires and crusted silver. It was crystal clear how Prince Blueblood had arranged for the less than orthodox up-aging of a young filly without her parents’ consent.

“From practitioner to practitioner, and from moment to moment,” the mage continued, chuckling. “It is fortunate for all involved that only the highest level arcanists are capable of this enchantment.”

“And it is fortunate for your pockets and purses as well,” Blueblood remarked, from outside the circle of mists.

Sweetie could see the door behind him; despite the atmospherics, they were indoors, under the domed roof of one of Canterlot’s many mage towers.

“If there is nothing else, you may go,” the Prince said, and the three wise old mages bowed and took their leave without complaint. Blueblood’s expression turned notably less frosty once they were gone. “So: look at you! A big girl now.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, spinning around playfully and giggling. “It feels good actually! At least this time it was planned for. Now... I think I have a date with a Prince and a bottle of something.” She took a step towards the door and stopped, one foreleg held in the air. “Uh... what do ponies drink in bars, anyway?”

Blueblood took her hoof and escorted her through the door. “Magical and wonderful things, my little Lady, but as important as the drink, is the company one drinks with. I have two ponies in mind...”

o.0.o

“They call this ‘bar hopping,’ by the way; a most tawdry and plebeian exercise.”

“You can sit outside and drink alone if you want, Prince Blueblood.” Spitfire lead the group of four past a suited earth pony bouncer, a spring in her step from having been freed of her more tedious Gala obligations. Soarin clasped the apparently friendly and sympathetic noblepony on the back, all but forcing him to follow the Wonderbolts’ lead. In the time it took a pegasus to deliver a pizza, it seemed, the pair of fliers had gone from respectful and even a little deferential to friendly and overly familiar.

“Come on,” Soarin coaxed, and glanced back at Blueblood’s supposed ‘date.’ “And you too, um... what was the name again?”

“Sweetie,” Sweetie Belle answered, still a little bit buzzed from the wine she’d had back at the Gala. “Call me Sweetie.” She looked around the bar as she followed the two pegasi and Blueblood. It was nicer than she expected.

‘In fact,’ Sweetie mused, ‘the way Rarity’s books described them, I was expecting splotches of unidentifiable liquids on the floor and more than one pony out-cold on the bar. But...’

She looked at the crystal tables and the velvet-cushioned seats; she watched the servers, dressed in black and white suits glide around the tables, balancing trays with cocktails of all designs and sizes and colors. Behind the bar, rows and rows of bottles decorated the wall, highlighted by neon-blue light. Not one of the bottles was short a golden or silver decoration on it, plainly marking the fineness of their quality.

‘This is... pretty nice!’

“Shall we start with a riesling or a fine white...?” Blueblood offered, as the four cut a swath through the ponies in their path. Sweetie mostly followed, but Blueblood, Spitfire and Soarin were clearly in their element, and exuded an easy confidence.

“We should break open a port!” Soarin grinned, laughing and wide eyed at the selection behind the blue-lit bar. “A little fortified wine to get things going!”

“Isn’t it a bit early? Lady Belle here isn’t...”

“I’m fine,” Sweetie interrupted, quickly, to Blueblood’s sigh. “Maybe I should drink one of those...” She pointed with her hoof at a chocolate martini garnished with a tiny white chocolate rose. “They look good!”

Spitfire merely smiled and shook her head in amusement.

“Ha ha! Alright!” Soarin trotted over, and as they sat down on pillows before a smooth table, a mare presented them with four tulip-shaped crystal glasses. The four thin-stemmed glasses twinkled invitingly, the glass so thin it seemed bound to shatter at slightest provocation. The Wonderbolt returned a moment later with a prim-looking unicorn from the bar, carrying a curved decanter in the shape of a swan.

“Your Grace,” the server whispered respectfully, and poured for the four patrons. Spitfire ribbed Blueblood mercilessly at the muttered obsequities.

“First drink to ‘His Grace’ here, and his beautiful marefriend!” Soarin chimed in, laughing with Spitfire.

Blueblood inhaled from the glass, gingerly picking it up with hooves rather than magic. He then took a slow drink, nodding in contentment at the flavor. After so much presentation, Sweetie was eager to see what it was like herself. To be that good, it had to be like liquid candy or something!

Following Blueblood’s example, she carefully picked it up with her hooves and took a deep breath after a small swirl. ‘Hmm. It doesn’t smell too bad. But I don’t really recognize anything in it,’ she thought, taking another sniff before shrugging and downing the contents of the wineglass in one big gulp.

She put down the glass - almost a bit too hard - on the table and scrunched up her face, taking in the sweetness of the wine along with a strong aftertaste that made her lick her lips and force her tongue to the top of her mouth to scrub some of it off. She opened her eyes and forced a smile.

“It’s- good.” She coughed and blushed, embarrassed. “I’d like another one.”

“Another one! To the Wonderbolts!” Soarin toasted, and Spitfire added, “To our Captain and to good company.”

The two drank, though not an entire glass as she had.

“Good stuff!” Soarin said, taking a smaller sip. “Back in the air guard, we drank fortified wine after every patrol. Not good stuff like this, though. Real backcloud swill. Who knows what they put in it?”

“Soarin,” Spitfire hissed, coughing into her hoof. “You’ll have to excuse him, Lady Belle.”

“A pony of gentle birth, this one,” Blueblood noted, somehow holding back a laugh.

“You’ll excuse my asking, but,” Spitfire asked anyway, “what exactly are you Lady of, my Lady?”

“I’m uh... the L-Lady of M-maripony.” Sweetie stammered, vaguely remembering the word from one or two worlds before.

“Maripony?” Spitfire repeated. “Never heard of it. Have you, Soarin’?”

When the other Wonderbolt shook his head, Sweetie smiled nervously. “It’s... far.”

“She is my fair Maripony Maid,” Blueblood remarked, finally giving a little chuckle. “Well, then, we have drink and I’m sure there will be snacks-”

“There will be snacks,” Soarin vowed.

“Your Grace, my Lady, what did you think of our show?” Spitfire asked the two nobleponies. Well... one noblepony and one secretly up-aged filly from Ponyville. “I was hoping we’d fit in a Cloud Carver, but the brass went for a Rolling Thunder instead.”

“Oh, I thought it was amazing!” Sweetie Belle spoke up quickly. “I bet Rainbow Dash loved it! And I know Scootaloo will be trying to do any of those to impress her!” Sweetie bit her lower lip, then looked at Blueblood. “Uh, Blueblood, can I try one of those chocolate thingies?”

“The rum and chocolate or... oh, those?” He caught on to where she was pointing. “That’s vodka, you know?”

“Sounds fun! And it looks delicious!” Sweetie grinned. “Come on, pleeeease?”

“How could I resist, my Lady?” Blueblood asked, feigning much more chivalry than she had seen from him before. “This is your night; all that you wish, I shall see done. All that you want, I shall grant.”

The drink came in a ribbed conical glass tied with a blue ribbon. The mixture inside was dark chocolate and darker liqueur, broken by swirls of crème and submerged shoals of shaved ice. Miniature white marshmallows cut in the shape of stars - five and six and seven and eight pointed - stood out against bits of crumbled brown chocolate. The serving mare from before came, presented it to Sweetie, and politely asked her to ‘enjoy.’

And she did indeed.

But she wanted more.

The next drink came in a tall decorative glass with decaled images of prancing ponies and palm trees. It was layered, from bottom to rim, with ice and sugar at the depths to a darker shade of color and a deeper, more sour flavor near the top. Slices of lime swam, green against the sand-colored portrait on the glass, and Sweetie finished it with a color-changing straw that would alternate colors as she drank.

After that, Soarin suggested a drink served in large, hollow egg shells. How anypony managed to mix a drink inside an emptied-out egg, Sweetie couldn’t imagine. They had to be careful cracking it open and holding it overhead, a sweet and sharp liquid pouring out into their waiting mouths. It was green and bright like a dragon’s fire and her head swam and turned light.

She hardly noticed the next drink. It was served in another carved crystal glass, made in the shape of a seapony. The Wonderbolts went first, lifting the glasses up with their hooves and kissing the crystal seapony on the lips to down crimson and orange sunrise within. Sweetie almost slipped lifting hers, but Blueblood caught it before any could spill. It wasn’t sweet like the other drinks, but warm and smooth like a lukewarm milkshake mixed with something sour.

Soarin’s promised snacks came then, a reprieve from the drink, and their serving mare brought a platter of rich fruit slices, speckled breads and candied jellies in every color imaginable. They also brought artisan breads, still warm, some with poppy seeds, others with nuts, and still others with cranberries and other sweet things Sweetie Belle couldn’t even begin to place. Blueblood, Soarin, and Spitfire dipped the breads in dishes of olive oil, one mixture so spicy Sweetie coughed in surprise.

“Marabian hot pepper oil,” Blueblood warned her. “Careful.”

Then, more drinks assaulted the table’s bottomless appetite and equally bottomless purse. The first was another tall glass, slightly curved inwards at the middle with a rounded bottom, thick with ice cubes and freezing cold. It was a shifting yellow-gold in color, and Sweetie swore it was colder on her tongue than the ice cube she bit into, crunching between her teeth once it was finished.

Finally, a drink came in a lacquer deep-bottomed bowl, cut and colored to resemble a coconut. It was as much a meal as a drink, overflowing with slices of pear, lemon, and cut apples, drenched, dripping, and lathered in a white, alcohol-rich foam. Beneath the bonanza of fruit delights, pink liqueur and submerged apple pulp and rose-red flower petals shifted and waited for their turn to taste. The four ponies drank with spoons and straws.

Sweetie Belle giggled. And then giggled again.

“The Everfree is not so... scaaaary...” She made a ghostly motion with her hooves. “Suure, it has, y’know, ma-manticores and those things that turn you to stone if you look at them in the eye and plants that can turn you into other stuff, but, y’now, it’s an awesome place for adventures! And...” She leaned conspiratorially towards the Wonderbolts. “Did you know... the old Princesses’ castle is in the middle of it?” Her eyes were wide. “It’s... amazing, like, there’s this huge, huge tainted - um, painted - window with the sun and the moon and stars and the symbols of Harmony all over it... and the cracked throne room of Nightmare Moon, where she battled with Twilight Sparkle until the Elements of Harmony defeated her and returned Princess Luna to normal!”

Soarin’ took a drink of his... whatever it was - he had lost interest and had begun to simply point randomly at tables that had drinks on them for the waitress to figure out - and nodded. “Sort of like Canterlot Castle, right?”

“Riiiight!” Sweetie nodded happily. “But all dark and stuff!” She waved at the waitress. “Can I have one of those thingies you’re taking to that table? It looks fruity!”

“Maaaybe it’s time to jump to another bar, don’t you think, Blueblood?” Spitfire asked, slowly shaking her head. “The night is still young and we should stretch our legs!”

“She’s right!” Sweetie gasped. “It’s not bar-hopping if we don’t hop! Come on, Blue... let’s hop! Hop! Hop! Hop!”

“It is truly a sad state of affairs when I can be considered the least impaired pony at a table,” Blueblood lamented. Somehow, he was villainously sober. “Very well.” He raised a hoof to gesture their serving mare back. “Check!”

o.0.o

Sweetie giggled as she swayed and bumped against Blueblood’s side. He was so big, like a big, white, mobile wall. It was harder not to bump into him sometimes. A part of her wondered if this was anything like how Apple Bloom felt, having a big brother around.

‘Too short, too tall, too clean, too smelly; strangely obsessed with tubs of jelly...!’ She giggled again as the silly rhyme from her Hearts and Hooves day song came and went through her mind. ‘If Blueblood had been there, would he have been too stuffy? Or too silly? Or too mean? What rhymes with mean? Lean? Clean? Jelly bean?’

She bumped into him again, her head swimming a bit. Those drinks had been so tasty!

“Oh, sorry Blue!” she not-apologized. “We should have done this sooner!”

“Sooner?” he asked, a bit cross, but caught her before she swayed into him again. He glanced up at the moon, Luna’s full moon, and sighed. “No matter. We’re almost there, now, we-”

Sweetie suddenly stopped and blinked, tilting her head as her hoof started tapping the cobblestones rhythmically. “Heey... guys, do you hear that? Is that music?”

“Music?”

“That’s not just music,” Soarin bumped in between the two, pumping his hoof. “That’s a buckin’ beat!”

“A beat,” Sweetie repeated, starting to follow it with her head. “I like it! It sounds familiar!”

“Where is...?” Soarin pointed down the street, to a line of ponies waiting beneath a neon sign. “There it is!”

Sweetie Belle turned to look at where Soarin’ was pointing. The building itself integrated seamlessly with the others around it; it looked clean on the outside, with white-tinted glass windows that flashed with the colored lights from within. A unicorn outside managed a shimmering barrier in lieu of a proper door, masking the activities inside from those waiting outside. He seemed to arbitrarily pick and choose from the crowd gathered and milling under a pillared awning, eschewing the order and formality of a line entirely.

"'After Hours,' the sign read, the 'beat' definitely coming from inside. Sweetie could feel it, tugging at her and calling her forth into its sonorous depths. If she remembered right, it was even where... where...

"Let's go there!" She declared.

“A little dancing could be just the thing,” Spitfire agreed and nudged Soarin, drawing the pegasus away from a pair of unicorn twins waving his way.

“If one fine lady wishes to visit a venue, then a wise stallion does not argue. If two, then only a fool would disagree.” As they approached, though, Blueblood shrank back a bit as some of the ponies amidst the crowd clearly noticed him. Quite a few took to muttering amongst themselves, but he pressed the group on. A quick look was all it took for the bouncer to recognize Equestria’s Prince and they were quickly ushered inside, though Blueblood had to keep anypony from lingering. At least one camera flashed before they slipped inside.

“I should’ve brought a few more guards to clear the roads,” Sweetie heard him mutter, but then he smiled. “This is not really my element. Soarin? Maybe...”

“This way,” the Wonderbolt stallion declared, leading them along the outer edge of a hardwood dance floor to a table set under a mural of a coiled green dragon. The table next to it bore a four headed hydra, and the one next to that, a glaring cockatrice.

Sweetie shuddered. “I hate those things.” She looked around, noticing that the drinks were completely different from the previous bar. “Hey... they don’t have chocolate martinis here? What do they drink then?”

“Beer!” a passing waitress answered, as she stopped next to their table. “Or any hard liquor. But if we’ve got the stuff for it, we can give your favorite cocktail a go. So, what can I get for you?”

“Gin and tonic!” Soarin ordered, and pointed over at Spitfire. “And a Sex on the Beach for my wingmate here!”

“A pomace brandy, if you have it,” Blueblood ordered for Sweetie Belle, and then for himself, “And a sweet vermouth.”

“What’s beer taste like?” Sweetie asked the waitress, who blinked.

“W-well, uh, there are many types of beer... stout, lager, red ale, IPA, white ale... the list goes on, sweetheart - I mean, sorry, my Lady - what type of flavor do you like? Bitter?”

Sweetie shook her head.

“Hm... you were saying chocolate-something earlier, weren’t you?” the waitress asked. “Well, I have a porter that has a nice chocolaty flavor to it. Would you like to try that?”

Sweetie Belle smiled. “Sure! Bring me one of those! And some brandy, like Bluey ordered!”

“Bluey,” the waitress mouthed to herself, amused, and ducked way.

Blueblood seemed to notice, and for the first time that night, he asked his supposed ‘date,’ “So I’m Bluey now, am I?”

“Nope!” Sweetie said, giggling as she poked his foreleg. “You’ve always been Bluey! I just decided to call you that. Because.”

“Because.” It was hard to tell whether it was a question or statement or a little of both.

The music died down to the clapping of several ponies on the dance floor. Another pony, a unicorn with a soft blue coat and slick spiked black mane, stepped onto stage, one hoof raised to adjust his tinted sunglasses. His hoof slipped down to the white tie around his neck and the stylish black shirt that contrasted with it. “Alright, colts and fillies! Let’s put those hooves up for DJ Vapid Alarm! Yeah!”

The DJ waved at the cheering ponies as he made his way off-stage.

“AAAAAAAAAAnd now! The one! The only! The DJ that laid down Diamond Dog DJ Grabbed and bested DJ Phantom in musical combat! Hailing from the town of Ponyville, right on the edge of the deadly Everfree Forest and fearing no beast, DJ or institution known to ponydooooom! Here's the DJ of DJ's! DJ PON3 HERSELF! Vinyyyyyyl SCRATCH!"

The already thunderous cheers from the crowd managed to somehow increase as a white-coated unicorn with a spiky, two-tone, neon-blue mane, large reflective violet sunglasses and a simple black note for a cutie mark jumped on stage, her horn shimmering with magic as several LPs circled around her. “Let’s get it on!” she shouted. Immediately two of the hovering LPs slammed down onto her console in a shower of blue sparks, and with the flick of a switch and her hooves on the levels and mixers, she started her gig.

“Bluey! Bluey!” Sweetie gasped. “It’s Vinyl Scratch!”

“Yeah,” Soarin agreed, nodding. “That’s what the MC said!”

“No, you don’t get it!” Sweetie replied, her horn lighting up with magical energy. A small hole in space and time opened and a gem-studded notebook floated out. Sweetie quickly flipped through the pages and found what she was looking for.

Spitfire stared at the empty space the book had materialized from. “Did she just-”

“Eh, unicorns.” Soarin shrugged.

“You said you knew this mare?” Blueblood asked, gesturing over at the stage.

“Yes,” Sweetie said, showing Blueblood a picture she had taken from within the pages of her notebook. It showed a slightly different Sweetie Belle in a graduation gown from the Canterlot School of Music, standing next to Rarity, who didn’t seem to have aged a day. A little behind them, and smiling at the camera, were two other mares, both familiar to him. One was undoubtedly an older version of the same Vinyl Scratch on the stage, down to the sunglasses, and the other was the mare that played the cello at the Gala, also looking older. “See? Octavia was my mentor, and I think she was either dating Vinyl or her best friend, I never really found out. Anyway, I got a free lesson from her. It was pretty fun! She’s staying with ‘Tavi in Canterlot tonight.”

“Huh,” Soarin raised an eyebrow. "She looks..."- even inebriated, he tried to be diplomatic - "...old...er..." for the most part anyways.

“Well, that picture was taken in the future!” Sweetie replied.

“Huh?”

“Here’re your drinks!” The waitress said, bobbing her head to the beat as she proceeded to serve the drinks around. “Hope you enjoy! I’ll be around, so call me whenever you’re ready for the next round!”

Spitfire took a really long sip from the straw in her drink, downing about half the glass before she stopped, shook her head with a grimace and looked at Sweetie. “Wanna run that by me again?”

o.0.o

Sweetie slammed the empty pint on the table, next to another two and an empty glass of brandy. “Y-eeees! An’ then I told her, I-I told Nigh-mare Mooon, and I says” - she raised a hoof and pointed at Spitfire - “‘Youuu cheated! Now-now we, all we... we all look like chickn’s!’”

Soarin and Spitfire started laughing, taking swigs from their own beers.

“Where’s she coming up with this stuff?” Soarin chortled, slamming a hoof down on the table. “A prank war with the Princess - with her Highness and - and...”

“Quite the fanciful imagination,” Blueblood agreed.

“You should so write a book about all this stuff,” Spitfire chimed in, leaning forward with her hooves pressed into her cheeks. “Some kind of crazy ‘autobiography’ thing.”

“HA!” Sweetie laughed. “I-I have, look!” She started rummaging in her notebook again. “Aha! Look, here, look... Soarin... Soarin, look, here... Soarin...”

Soarin finally put down his bottle and blinked stupidly at the scroll that was floating in front of his eyes. “Wu-wha—?”

“It’s my letter... it’s yeah, I passed! Woo! Stupid ink-egg! I beat you! Well, not really, Nightmare Moon sneezed and you broke, but I still passed!” Sweetie hooped as she grinned like an idiot. “See? It says right there, admitted into Nightmare Moon’s School for... for... something unicorns.”

Spitfire stared at the letter in silence before locking eyes with Blueblood for just a second. Then she waved the waitress over. “Another round.”

o.0.o

“Hey, Bluey,” Sweetie poked Blueblood’s shoulder. “A-are you listenin’ t’me?” She frowned and glared at him. “Y-you said I could do aaaaanything I wanted tonight, right? I think you said that. Aaaaanything. I think... you did. Say that, I mean.”

Blueblood nodded slowly, waiting to see where this was going.

“Well, I wanna talk to Vinyl Scratch,” Sweetie said. “I wanna see if she recognizes me now that I’m older.”

“I don’t know this mare, and yet I am to bring her here?” Blueblood leaned back a bit, smiling. “Well, don’t blame me if I seduce her by accident.”

“Oh?” Spitfire seemed particularly amused by this. “Pretty bold, saying something like that in front of your marefriend.”

“A Prince must always be bold, especially when it comes to the fairer sex,” Blueblood lectured, and Soarin nodded, sagely.

“Very true,” he murmured. “Mares like decisive guys... and aloof ones?”

“We’re called ‘jerks,’” Blueblood summarized. “Anyway. One DJ Pony-three, or whathaveyou, coming up.”

Invigorated by the chance to do something, maybe not productive, but... something, Blueblood tossed his blonde mane and cantered across the room. Soarin and Spitfire watched, curious, and Sweetie wondered what all the fuss was about. Wasn’t he just asking - or in the worst case - ordering her to come over and join them? Spitfire whispered something to her fellow Wonderbolt, and Soarin chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Sweetie asked, having strained her ears to try and overhear.

“Prince Blueblood is a well-known casanova,” Spitfire explained with a somewhat sleepy grin. “Are you really okay with him going over there?”

“Casa-nova?” Sweetie asked, blinking. What’s a casanova? “Uh, sure, I knew that!” She chugged down more of her beer. “And it’s all good, he’ll bring her back; it’ll be fun!”

Soarin’s mouth opened as he stared at Sweetie for a moment, then he turned to look at Spitfire. “Y’know, Spits, you could learn something from—” He stopped when Spitfire pressed her hoof to his lips.

“Finish that sentence, Soarin, and you won’t fly for a month.”

Sweetie frowned. “Wait... what’s wrong with Bluey bringing her over?”

“N-nothing,” Soarin said, gulping down and keeping nervous eyes on Spitfire. “W-we don’t even know if he’ll manage. We have to wait.”

“Oh, okay,” Sweetie fought the feeling that she wasn’t getting half the conversation. “I-I guess we’ll see.”

No more than a minute later, Blueblood had returned, sat down, and the smug grin on his face spoke volumes. Nonetheless, one pony there had to hear it. Also, why was he looking so smug?

“Well?” Sweetie pressed.

“I believe she’ll stop by our table for a drink or two, though...” And here, the Prince heaved a sigh. “She seemed much more interested in my music-crazy marefriend than my own personal charms.”

Soarin’s eyes widened and a smile spread across his face. “Lucky you, Sweetie.”

“The luck isn’t all her’s,” Blueblood joked, leaning in to give a conspiratorial wink. “I may yet be able to watch.”

“You guys are both... such guys,” Spitfire groaned.

“Wait... so you want to watch me talk to Vinyl?” Sweetie asked, blinking. “Where else would you be?”

For a long moment, all three real adults just stared at her, not quite sure what to say.

“Ah, the innocence of youth,” Blueblood remarked.

“Wow, she really is a maid.”

“Soarin!”

Soon enough, the music slowed down to an impressive end of flashing lights and sounds that threatened to overwhelm Sweetie’s alcohol-impaired mind and seemed to put most ponies on the dance floor into a sort of trance until it all faded away.

“Vinyl Scratch!” the MC shouted and immediately the place exploded in applause.

The MC started announcing the next DJ for the night, but Sweetie’s eyes were glued to the mare who had just jumped off the stage and was making her way to their table, stopping only to nod and smile at several ponies who would briefly talk to her excitedly.

Vinyl made it all the way to their table and grinned at Sweetie Belle. “Hey there, I could feel those emerald eyes on me all the way on the stage! Do you mind if I feel them from a little closer?”

Soarin leaned all the way across the table, and Sweetie could just overhear him say to Blueblood, “I like where this is going.”

“Sure!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, smiling and scooting over. “You can sit here! I really have been wanting to talk to you tonight!”

“Oh, really?” Vinyl grinned in a somewhat... unusual way. Maybe she was hungry? “How bad have you wanted it?”

“Really bad! You have no idea! Since the first time I saw you and read what you wrote, I’ve really been looking forward to it!”

Vinyl’s smile grew even more until it flashed a hint of her pearly-white teeth. “Hmmm... well, you can ask Prince Blueblood, and he’ll tell you, when I saw you across the room, I really wanted to meet you too.”

“Wow!” Sweetie’s eyes went wide. “That’s amazing! Who would’ve thought?! You just looked at me and knew, didn’t you? And, I just remembered I had some questions about ‘pumping it up.’”

Vinyl chuckled and leaned forward. “Well, why don’t you... whisper it to me? I’m all ears...”

“But I want Bluey to hear it too...” Sweetie said, frowning. “After all, I think he’s the only one that can help me. No offense.”

Vinyl Scratch paused, then turned to look at Blueblood. “I- I guess he can watch.”

Soarin stared at the three ponies and only had one thing to say: “Un-be-lievable.”

“I think I need another drink,” Spitfire muttered. “Who needs a drink? I need one!”

Vinyl looked at Sweetie. “Can she watch too?”

“Uh... sure!”

Spitfire was silent for a moment. “Two drinks! I need two! Waitress!”

“So...” Sitting close - a little closer than Sweetie would have expected - Vinyl gently laid a hoof on top of her own. “What do you want to talk about, hm?”

o.0.o

Vinyl lowered her head onto her crossed forelegs after pushing away her fifth empty whiskey glass. “Yes, the beat is important even when the lead is the singer, how do you think they keep the rhythm?” She groaned.

“Hey, Vinyl, are you okay?” Spitfire asked, trying not to laugh. Or smile too much.

“Okay? Okay?! All she wants to do is talk about music!” The famous DJ buried her face in her hooves. “This... this is horrible! It’s Octavia all over again!”

o.0.o

The group stumbled out of the bar, with the addition of one more mare. Vinyl Scratch looked up towards the castle and snorted, drawing the attention of all the others. “Seems like the snobs are still going at it.”

“Hey! My sister’s there,” Sweetie complained, nudging the DJ.

“Is she hot?” Vinyl asked.

“Well... I- I don’t... think so,” Sweetie said after a moment. “She’s pretty good at designing dresses, so she’s probably not too hot or cold.”

Vinyl looked like she wanted to say much more, but she settled for a bemused look of frustration. “You’re truly oblivious, aren’t you? Why do I have to find that so attractive? Why? Am I cursed? I’m cursed, aren’t I?”

“We should probably head back,” Soarin said, hiccuping a little. “The others are there and you know how they get, right, Spits?”

“Don’t call me ‘Spits’, but yeah, they do get a bit grumpy,” Spitfire acknowledged. “Especially...”

“The Vice-Captain,” Soarin finished, shuddering. “She’s gonna be on me for this.”

“And Captain Thunderhead will give me that look,” Spitfire groaned, dreading it. “Disappointed I didn’t play kissy-hoof with all the nobleponies.”

“I happen to be one of those nobleponies,” Blueblood reminded her, and gave the proud Wonderbolt a tentative touch on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry about it, but I’ll make sure your time is considered well spent in my company. I believe the good Captain may be grooming a replacement, you know.”

“Thank you, sir,” Spitfire muttered, recalling the Prince’s place in the oft-unspoken hierarchy of Equestria. “We both appreciate it.”

Blueblood nodded, and seeing everypony looking to him for what to do next, he groaned much as Spitfire had. He gave a little extra attention to their newest member. “Miss Scratch, would you like to see what sound systems we have at the Royal Palace? Or... our other amenities? I think most of us may be turning in.”

“Sure!” Vinyl Scratch grinned and threw a foreleg around Sweetie’s shoulders. “‘Tavi’s there, playing. I think she would love seeing me there, ‘mingling’ with the guests.”

“Good!” Blueblood remarked, but his outward cheer evaporated a little when he noticed Sweetie’s silence. “Just,” he warned the DJ, “mind the critters when we enter.”

“Critters?”

It was the Grand Galloping Gala after midnight, and panicked animals from across the palatial gardens were helping themselves to expensive hors d'oeuvres at the buffet and playing house, or nest, with draperies and the hastily discarded clothes of fleeing guests. Half the Royal Guard had mysteriously vanished along with the Princess, and the other half was divided between guarding their posts, even as chaos raged in the courtyards, and trying to corral the animals without harming them.

Above the din and confusion, a select few found refuge in the high galleries and balconies that formed a half circle around the upper gardens and the menageries. Spitfire and Soarin had briefly returned to their Wonderbolts only to return and promptly crash into a pile, asleep. Vinyl had stepped into the ballroom to make sure Octavia was okay after the stampede, leaving only Blueblood and a still inebriated Sweetie Belle to oversee the total collapse of the most awaited event of the year.

Sweetie Belle snorted in a most unladylike manner.

“Rarity told me about this,” she said with a titter, “but she never said it was so chaotic.”

She watched as columns fell and carefully groomed guests stared in abject, muted horror at their ruined dresses and suits. Her mirth slowly died as she stared at everypony in something approaching disgust.

“Look at them. Thinking and acting as if life begins and ends with a social event. Never aware of how bad things can really get. Of how close they were to being trapped in an eternal night, or that some poor ponies could be cursed to live forever and watch everyone they love die. Or that there could be a war of such scale that it would turn the world into nothing m-more than a wasteland where you can’t even find water that doesn’t kill you, and sometimes when you die it’s not enough.”

She rested her forehooves on the edge of the balcony and shouted as hard as she could to the panicked masses below her.

“You’re hypocrites! All of you!” Tears started forming in her eyes. “Y-you losers! Ignorant foals!” Slowly she slid down, turning around until her back was pressed against the wall. “All you have to worry about is... y-your stupid dresses! Or if you have cake in your mane! You didn’t kill anypony! You’re not—” She sobbed, before shaking her head and glaring at the floor. “...you’re not trapped,” she muttered angrily.

Sweetie pulled her notebook out of its pocket-dimension and slowly traced the cover with her hoof, pausing on each gem.

“I’m never getting out of this, am I?” she asked, looking up at Blueblood. He had been silent all this time, looking down at the panicked crowds without a word. “Even if we find that fragment... I’m just going to end up in another world trying to find another. And then another. I’ll never be free. I’ll just keep collecting memories in my notebook, but I’ll never grow up and I’ll never see my sister again.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “I was actually starting to enjoy my classes with Twilight, you know? She was always about reading one book or another, but... it started dull and then... I guess I grew into liking the practice and talking to her and wondering about what I could do in the future.”

Sweetie looked away, ashamed.

“B-but then I had to nose around where it was dangerous and I-I killed my friends! I- I don’t think Spike made it, to be honest. I- I never told this to anypony but—” She stopped, and buried her face in her hooves. Tears stung her cheeks. “I saw the room where he went into being torn apart!” she confessed. “It was just for a second, while Twilight exploded into pieces, I saw the library being torn to shreds around us. And... even if Twilight is alive in the fragments, I’ve never seen one sign of Spike.” She sighed, rubbing her eyes to try and dry them. “I should just give up.” Sweetie looked up at the sky. “What if the next world is worse than the last? What if I get killed?”

Blueblood hesitated a second, but put a leg around her comfortingly, adding a friendly little shake. “Some ponies call it fate or destiny, but it really isn’t fair, is it? You’re too young to have gone through - to be going through - all this. I wouldn’t blame you if you stopped right here, though I also sort of envy your ability to just get away. Even dying. I kind of envy that. But in your place, I think I’d be afraid, too, for myself and for those I’d left behind.” He let out a long breath, his eyes settling on the moon. “Auntie Luna... you...” he began, but shook his head. “Never mind that.”

He turned to her, a wan smile on his face.

“You know you can stay here as long as you like, Sweetie Belle. Personally, I really am glad you came to this world. Somepony is here with me; I have a friend who remembers me, and as long as you’re here, I swear I will do what I can to make the best of things for you. And I know you’ll want to move on eventually, and I’ll help with that, too. Even though we’re repeating the same day, we aren’t the ponies we used to be. It’s okay to cry, to worry, to be afraid, but we can’t go back, so all that left is to go forward. And never just give up.”

“But go forward how?” Sweetie asked. “I’ve been all over Ponyville crusading... there’s no sign of the fragment. Usually I get a feeling, but here there’s nothing. Like it isn’t even here!” She groaned, emotionally spent. “Even with so many repeating days... without a clue, what can I do?” Sweetie slowly and unsteadily stood up. “Blueblood... what if I stay here like this and I grow up in my head, but my body is always a filly?”

“If that’s the case,” he decided, his smile turning into a smirk. “I’ll just learn to do the age spell myself, and zap you every morning. How’s that? I can even turn you into an old granny after a couple thousand loops.”

Sweetie couldn’t help herself and snorted. “I’m sure that would become boring after awhile.” However, her smile remained.

“You can learn the spell yourself, too, eventually,” Blueblood added.

But Sweetie barely paid attention to him, her gaze drawn towards the castle gardens, and in particular to a large open patch of pavillion near the center. “Blueblood... what’s over there?” She pointed with her hoof in the direction she was looking.

“The garden maze?”

From above, Sweetie could see where Discord and other statues decorated the entrance to the secluded section of the gardens. Whether it was the haze of drink clouding her eyes as much as her thoughts, she could’ve sworn there were patterns in it. It also looked much larger than she had imagined, stretching wide enough to swallow most of Ponyville.

Sweetie frowned and shook her head. “It’s... interesting. Maybe we can look at it one day?” She yawned. “But... I think I need to sleep.” She yawned again and blinked wearily. “Y’promise to help... right?” she asked sleepily, “‘cause I dunno if I can do it alone.”

“Your grammar is slipping, but yes, I assure you that I am at your disposal,” Blueblood promised, before adding, “Tonight and tomorrow and as long as you are here. Though... I think I should warn you... now that it occurs to me.” He lifted a hoof to hide his smile, his eyes rolling. “When your age spell does begin to wear off, with all the alcohol in your system...”

BLEGHHH!

“...something like that may happen.”

Fortunately for both of them she had managed to throw up over the edge of the balcony. Unfortunatelyfor the ponies below them, she had managed to throw up over the edge of the balcony. Fate truly was a cruel mistress.

“Ugh...” Sweetie groaned after heaving out another load. “I need... I...” the world swirled around her and suddenly she was smiling at Blueblood’s hooves. “I’m alright... I-I’m okay... I’ll just... sleep here... it’s comfy.”

“Passing out on the floor is undignified for a noble Lady,” Blueblood stated, and his horn shimmered, lifting the once again diminutive Sweetie bodily into the air. “Let’s get you to bed. Auntie Celestia’s bed, preferably. Hahaha!”

“You wouldn't.”

“I’m sorely tempted. But I have ten empty bedrooms in this wing of the Palace. I’ll just randomly toss you in one of them.” He trotted, quite happily, past a sleeping Soarin and Spitfire, sprawled out indecently on the ground in a tangle of snoring wings and hooves. “I do hope you enjoyed your first night as an adult filly?”

Sweetie threw up again, then, slowly cleaned her mouth with the back of her hoof. “Best. Night. Ever,” she groaned.

o.0.∞.0.o

“Wait... I’m here again!?” Sweetie Belle stared, open-mouthed, at the statue in front of her of the rearing, laureled pegasus holding aloft a flag. “But—” she opened and closed her mouth silently a few times. “Victory?! How in Tartarus am I here again? What is this, like... the thirteenth time!? What happened to ‘always take a left at every intersection?!’”

She started pacing in front of the statue of the upraised mare, shooting it a dirty look.

“Dumb rock!” she bellowed, stopping and stomping her hooves on the ground as hard as she could. “How am I getting out of here? Am I just going to have to wait it out? How can this maze be so stupidly large?! There must be a trick to it!”

She took a deep breath and pointed an accusing hoof at the statue. “Just you wait! I’ll figure it out! Even if it takes me a month! And then I’ll come back here and laugh at you! You’ll be sorry!” she swore bitterly at the inspiring statue. “I’ll come back and I’ll— I’ll leave beer cans all around you! How’s that, huh? I’ll cast a spell to bring all the pigeons to nest just on you! I’ll-I’ll tell Scootaloo that you’re the best place for her to earn a graffiti-painter cutie mark!” She paused. “No, even better! I’ll make sure that Discord curls up around you before he’s turned to stone! That’ll fix you for a thousand years of horror!” After a few minutes of fuming, she sighed and walked around the statue. “You wouldn’t have a map attached to you, would you? Probably not. That would be too conv—”

Sweetie Belle paused, mid-statement, having caught sight of something stuck to the back of the statue. It was an arrow... pointing up. She’d have been tempted to ignore it as random graffiti, except somepony had written, directly under it:

“Sweetie Belle, the map is right up there,” she read, and craned her neck to look upwards. She still didn’t see it, not at first. Only after a second or two of searching did she finally see the edge of something stuck in the top of the statue’s upraised and oversized scroll. It looked like a bundle of paper, and it was well out of reach of any flightless pony. A pegasus could probably have just flown up and grabbed it, but for a unicorn...? Who would put something in such an annoying place?

Oh, him. Right.

How did he know I was going to get lost and end up here? Sweetie mused as her magic enveloped the scroll and tugged at it, eventually bring it down to eye-level. With an annoyed twitch of her eye, it opened up, revealing a map of the whole maze.

“Oh, come on!” Sweetie shouted at the map. “And you were here the whole time!?” She almost threw the map into the maze in anger, but managed to hold on to it. “Fine. Where am I?”

She quickly found her current location and, after a few minutes of plotting her new route, she set off. The twists and turns of the maze were insidious indeed. It’s no wonder I couldn’t find my way, some of these entrances look like a wall of shrubbery is blocking them! she thought to herself as she turned around a corner she had never noticed before.

The new walkway led to the second level of a pavilion concourse, dotted by lowered flagposts that draped over the bushes and flowers below. Looking down, she recalled walking along the manicured grass there, never expecting there to be a way up or around. There was no crossing, though, furthering the illusion that she was on top of one of the hedgerow dividers rather than on a raised section. Picking up her pace, she also took notice of a small raised pillar as she passed it. It tapered to a pointed tip at the top, and unicorn pictographs similar to the ones she had learned from Twilight circled it from top to bottom. She knew the meaning of some of them, but they seemed to just be randomly thrown together: the dog, the horse, the star, the blade, the book, the half-book - it made no sense.

Checking the map again, she tried to get her bearings. She was sandwiched between two concentric hexagons within the maze, both of them surrounding small pavilions, on the map, “C” and “D.” A left came up, and she took it uphill. That vantage point didn’t provide much in the way of help, either. From above and at the angle she found herself at, the walls just seemed to blur together into a shifting sea of green, broken only occasionally by upshooting pageantry and fluttering pennants. A seemingly randomly placed entablature was decorated with marble carvings of ponies with lances and flags. Thick green vines had long since climbed up and claimed the marble pillars.

Around a bend and down a straightaway and she came to a quick turn, like a V, where another of the strange pillars decorated with icons stood, mute and alone and seemingly out of place. The tip of this one was reflective, though, and Sweetie saw a glint of bronze or maybe gold at the very top. Two more lefts and a right and another right and she could see the center of the maze up ahead, past two long reflecting pools. Mermares emerged from the water at both ends of both pools, as if frozen in mid-jump.

Sweetie slowly trotted around the center pillar, admiring it and the sense of calm it created. She slowly approached it to take a closer look, only then noticing that it had names written on it. She frowned. The names were all the same! She lifted her hoof to touch the obelisk but hesitated halfway when she felt... something.

“What...” Sweetie Belle reached again to touch it and again she felt the sensation. It was a pull of some sort, tugging at her soul, as if... just as if something was trying to get in touch with her. Gently laying her hoof on the obelisk, Sweetie closed her eyes and opened her senses to the magic around her.

The energies of the maze hummed around her, but any place with magic would do that... no, what she felt had been different or she wouldn’t have noticed it. Sweetie focused her senses on the obelisk and...

A flash of purple. A fragment, floating... captured in a circle of runes. Twilight’s face, her eyes looking straight into Sweetie’s. Dark-red sky. An entrance. An obelisk, just like the one in the maze, but inverted, upside down.

“Ah!” Sweetie cried, jumping back and staring at the obelisk in horrified fascination. “I-I found it!” she shouted, feeling relief flow through her body. “I found it! But—” She looked around. “Where is it?”

Sweetie walked slowly all around the area. She tried touching the other columns, or even dipping her hoof into the pool’s waters, but to no avail. However, when she returned to the central obelisk and touched it, she felt the same pull. It was familiar, but she didn’t know what to make of it.

“Dumb rock,” Sweetie muttered, giving it a dirty look.

o.0.o

“...and then, when I touched it again, I had this really weird feeling!” Sweetie said, gesturing with her hooves. “It felt like I should know what to do! But I don’t know! Do you have any ideas?”

Blueblood then muttered something both obscure and poignant.

“Nope,” he said, shrugging.

Sweetie pouted for a moment, but then, as she thought about it her eyes widened. Of course it felt familiar! “It’s the fragment!” she exclaimed, drawing a curious look from Blueblood.

“What I felt was the fragment!” Sweetie elaborated. “But... how did it end up in the center of your maze?”

“It isn’t my maze,” he corrected her, tapping his hoof against the wooden table. Tea was his drink this morning, and scones his meal. Sweetie preferred pancakes. “You felt some sort of sympathetic reaction at the center? There’s nothing there except the Blueblood monument, and while Twilight may be distantly related to me, she isn’t a Blueblood. Her name isn’t on that rock.”

“But...” Sweetie trailed off, frowning. “I really don’t know what else could’ve bee- waaaiiit. Did you say you’re related to Twilight?” She looked at Blueblood as if he had grown another head. “But... she’s nice!”

“I know! It really is strange!” Blueblood chuckled. “It isn’t a close relation. We share... great, great, I think another great is in there... grandparents. You’ll find I’m actually related to hundreds of ponies.” He winked, conspiratorially. “Maybe even you!”

Sweetie pondered his words for a moment. “I guess... I can see that. Does she know? Because in my world she never said anything to Rarity.”

“Hmm.” Blueblood thought, loudly, for a moment, in the kind of exaggerated way that implied he was about to follow up with a question to demonstrate a point. “Sweetie, do you know who your great, great, great grandmother was?”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah! She was a zebra! And she rhymed aaaalll the time. And I heard she married a manticore, but I can’t be sure.”

“Sarcastic little filly,” the Prince observed, but didn’t seem put off. “Twilight’s line diverged from mine about two hundred years ago, before this quaint little town was even founded. They also didn’t part from my ancestors on good terms. If Twilight does know of the connection - and she should, being a good, noble mare - it would only be more reason to dislike me.”

Sweetie patted Blueblood’s hoof with her own. “Aw, you’re not that bad...”

“Good? Bad? Does it even matter when you look like this?” he asked, striking a brief pose, long blonde mane sparkling and flowing with a little glamour. He grinned and his teeth actually sparkled.

Sweetie observed the display with half-lidded eyes. “But that still doesn’t explain why I can feel the fragment in the center of the maze. Could it be that the fragment was drawn to one of your mutual ancestors?”

“There is that possibility, but then I would expect her to have gone to the Blueblood family crypts,” he mused, quickly dispelling the minor beauty-enhancing cantrip. “Every one of the line rests there, all the way back to Platinum herself. The maze and that monument... her being there is strange. Too strange.”

“Well... is there any way to check? Do you have a list of things your ancestors did in all your noble-house-archives?” Sweetie asked.

“I do,” he replied, “but I’ve long since had to commit most of that to memory anyway. What with how ours is Equestria’s most noble, most esteemed, oldest and grandest of all families, and such and such. What could draw her to that blasted maze? There was...”

“What?”

“Well, the maze itself was designed by a Blueblood... a Princess Blue Belle actually, the twenty third of our shared name, though not one of my grandmothers,” the Prince admitted, growing a little awkward. “As I recall, her title was actually taken from her posthumously due to... insanity.”

“Insanity.” Sweetie blinked. “What type of insanity are we talking about here? Because I recently met an insane ghoul and it was not nice.”

“A ghoul?” he asked, but before she could explain, he waved a hoof. “Later. Tell me later. Blueblood the Twenty Third... she was a mathematician, one of the family prodigies, but after a while, her eccentricities alienated her supporters in court. She wasn’t a violent loon, I don’t think, but from what I recall, she refused to bathe except in freezing cold water, she was obsessed with prime numbers - hated them with a passion - and worst of all, she refused to conceive an heir. She may also have lit a few fires. Frostfires, I believe. In fact, I think she developed that spell! Very difficult to put out, those.”

He paused as if weighing something.

“She,” he continued, hesitating a moment. “Now that I think of it more, I’m not sure where she’s buried. It should still be the branch crypts, but I’m not sure. She was hardly my favorite study. I guess I would need to check the records to be sure.”

“Do you think... she was buried with Twilight’s fragment in the maze?” Sweetie’s eyes were wide, excited by the prospect of a lead.

“It is the only link we have to...” Blueblood paused, his expression grave. “Sweetie Belle. Don’t turn around.”

“Why?” Sweetie asked, beginning to turn around despite herself. “What’s...?”

“HI!” Pinkie Pie said, and the filly blasted straight up into the air in surprise.

“Why, hello there, Miss Pie!”

“I have your delivery!”

“BLUEBLOOD!!”

o.0.∞.0.o

The records in question were located in a great castle complex outside Canterlot known as Hocksford. Blueblood had explained on the chariot ride over that it was just one of many keeps owned by his family throughout Equestria. Hocksford was notable in that the great enceinte had been made over into a repository of knowledge. The castle and the battlements, of a design distinct from those in Canterlot proper, had been turned into the foundation for a seminary and university.

It was still all contained within the well-maintained walls, bearded with ivy and besieged by acres of immaculate gardens. Canterlot castles and palaces were known for their onion domes, but the towers at the bastions at the corner of the walls here were conical at the top and decorated with iron and statuary. The roofs were slanted, their simple construction disguised behind jagged parapets and pony-shaped gargoyles, watching from on high. Their proud horns were now roosts and perches for pigeons.

Taking a carriage from the outside lot, where the had left behind their chariot, the pegasi having unhitched themselves and now cantering alongside them, Sweetie Belle watched in fascination as they passed under the old-style gatehouse and into the main courtyard. There were students reading and even attending class beneath the afternoon sun. She could see what Blueblood had meant when he'd said that most of the castle had been turned over to study and recordkeeping. She also noticed a few guards donning red and gold armor, similar but distinct from that worn by the royal guard of Canterlot.

“What are they studying?” Sweetie asked, as the carriage passed by a lecturer and a trio of serious-looking students. The unicorn professor had brought out a chalkboard, and filled it with what looked like a complex web of joined points in familiar shapes.

“Hmm? Who?” Blueblood asked, and glanced up from his own book to see. “Oh, that bunch? Those ponies look like part of the seminary. I believe they’re studying the confluence of celestial bodies,” he explained, “Natural philosophy, etiology, cosmology and theology make up most of the curriculum here. In Canterlot, the main focus is the schools of magic. Hocksford places more value on the contemplative study of the natural world as it used to be, before ponies arrived and altered it.”

Sweetie looked at the group. “I don’t think we even have something like this in my original world,” she said. “Princess Celestia pretty much has all the schools teach a little bit about everything.”

“You don’t have specialized institutes of higher learning?” Blueblood asked, a little curious now at how much their worlds diverged. “Where did you plan to go after your schooling in Ponyville?”

She sighed. “If it weren’t for Twilight, I probably would have ended up just simply living in Ponyville without any real education in magic. I might have been able to apply to better schools in Canterlot or Manehattan, but my chances would have been... slim.”

Blueblood considered this a moment. “So much depends on who you are fortunate enough to know, rather than simply what you can do,” he replied, ruefully shaking his head. “In this world, most unicorns are apprenticed right after getting their cutie marks. Noble colts like myself serve as squires for a time, usually in the royal guard serving under a knight, and noblemares pursue arcane degrees, also under a mentor. One of the areas I have been remiss in, when it comes to Canterlot and my Duchy, is seeing to scholarships. If I do get out of these loops, I’ll begin to remedy that.”

“Well, whoever you give a scholarship to, they’ll be lucky,” Sweetie said, thinking back. “In one world, I was able to get one and grew up to be a famous singer.” She smiled briefly, before her face was marred by a frown. “Until I grew old and died of old age and had to be buried by my sister who would spend the next couple of hundred years feeling guilty.”

“The world with the immortal elements,” he said, recalling a mention of it before, loops ago. Sweetie nodded her head in confirmation and followed Blueblood, wondering where exactly he was leading her.

Their goal was the main keep of the castle, opposite a building Blueblood identified as the chapel. The keep was a tall, rectangular building sandwiched between four towers, a pair of turrets fitted into the spaces between each cylindrical monolith. There was creeping ivy here, too, climbing up the sides of the walls and up to a height of what had to be hundreds of her little hooves. Like the walls surrounding Hocksford, they were partly plastered over in white, but much of the rest was bare, dark gray stone. Compared to the ostentatious displays of Canterlot, it was a little depressing looking.

“How old is this place?” she asked, as a guard opened the door to the keep.

“Platinum herself had the foundation stones laid,” Blueblood replied, a hint of pride in his voice and his smile. “Hocksford is as old as Equestria; older, actually! It was originally built to control the valley around it. This was before the tribes made peace, mind you. For ancient unicorns, mountain castles were for pleasure and good company, and lowland castles were for ruling over earth ponies.”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide at that revelation. “So... it’s like the story said? Was this castle around when the Windigos were freezing everything?”

At Blueblood’s nod, Sweetie had to suppress a squeal of scholarly-glee. She gazed upon the stonework, which reminded her more than a bit of the castle in the Everfree. Blueblood was right; the whole structure almost hummed with ancient history. It was such a shame to be there for a a few, select documents only. She could spend days here! Then again, she had forever as it was, so perhaps she’d be able to squeeze in a few weeks of study here and there.

The Blueblood family records were kept in a large vault below ground. Sweetie didn’t get much in the way of details from the Prince when she asked what the rest of the tower Keep held. She had the sneaking suspicion that there were other vaults here, both above and further below. Hallways didn’t have that many huge, locked portcullises to protect stores of sugar and salt.

Blueblood soon lead them both to a bright room with glass walls, lit by blue light. Rather than act as mirrors, the crystals lining the walls were only tile-sized and carefully angled, using and distorting the light to form a hundred slightly different shades of blue. The domed roof overhead was supported by four pillars that ended in statues, all unicorns, their visages stern and their hooves raised as if to hold up heavens painted on the inside of the dome. The stars set in the textured and blue-black sky glittered like the rarest of diamonds.

Looking up in awe, Sweetie could feel her heartbeat skip. All this had been built when unicorns laid claim to Equestria, and all within. This was the work of her own grandmothers and grandfathers who had come over in the migration. There were no hearts or lively curls here. The megalithic unicorn statues atop the pillars were sharp and imposing, their faces stern and humourless.

“The family records of the Bluebloods are kept here,” her host explained, gesturing towards rows of books kept behind thick, sliding panes of glass. “Our accomplishments and failures... our secrets and the names and deeds of our enemies. All recorded for posterity. Some Bluebloods have a dozen volumes written about them. And... I think there may be a few stray pages about me here, too, somewhere.

“We want the twenty third,” he reminded her, though she didn’t need reminding. He seemed to need to say it more than she needed to hear it. “How convenient that we are all neatly sorted by number, like blocks of wood at a construction site. It makes organization so easy! I suspect we just need to find the ‘B’ section, and then ‘23.’ Now, B, where are the Bs?”

Sweetie gazed at all the history contained in the vaults and gulped. So. Much. Knowledge.

“How much do you have here?” she had to ask.

“Knowledge is power, and secrets are as potent as any spell,” Blueblood told her, reciting something he had no doubt been told at her age and younger. “No family in Equestria guards more of either than the Bluebloods.”

“I can see how you can use anything here to bring down a whole noble house...” Sweetie muttered, trying to wrench her mind off the possibilities, and back to the matter at hoof. Yet, for some reason, her mind conjured up a stray scrap of memory from when Blueblood had first flown her to meet Cadance. One that had stuck with her through the loops.

‘It is a great honor to be invested and raised as a Princess of Equestria. One does not refuse such an honor. In the past, my family made sure no pony refused it.’

Were there records here of that, too?

It only took a moment to find the section devoted to Blueblood the Twenty Third.

“A Blue Belle, as I said,” he said while opening the glass case that was creatively labeled with a black “23” on the front. “We are all technically Bluebloods, but the ladies also get the feminine title Blue Belle for use in casual company.”

Inside were not just books, but an assortment of writings, sketches, diagrams and personal effects... Sweetie unrolled a tapestry with her magic, more than three hundred years old and sneezed as her actions unsettled a thin layer of dust. What she uncovered was a map of Equestria, smaller than the one she recognized from Cheerilee’s classroom and Twilight’s globe. Dragons flew over parts of the map, and eels churned the seas of the east, toothy maws open to devour ships. The griffin territories were marked by scrawled and flecking streaks of paint: lines and x’s and arrows.

“I do believe the griffins had another civil war around the time of the twenty third,” Blueblood recalled, magically sorting through a leather pouch of scrolls. He glanced down at Sweetie Belle and the tapestry. “They may have used that to plan out Equestria’s intervention.

“Auntie is quite proud of our thousand years of peace,” he continued, chuckling. “But our neighbors have a more sordid history. I don’t think the griffins would even want a thousand years of peace, were it offered to them.”

“They like fighting that much?” Sweetie asked, curiously. “The only griffon I remember seeing was a friend of Rainbow Dash, who visited Ponyville, but I didn’t meet her personally.”

“Griffins are... unusual,” Blueblood tried to explain, but it clearly baffled him to a degree just as it did her. “Their politics tribal, but instead of there being three or four actual ethnic tribes, they are divided by passions and ideologies. Posturing is central to how they think and act, and compromises are seen as signs of weakness. They’re a... frustrating... group if I do say so myself. Who knows what set them off back then?

“Ah ha!” he exclaimed, and floated down a black wooden case with thick locks built into metal hinges. It would have been a trial to unlock, except a thick brass key was also kept in storage. Four locks were undone and the case opened, revealing sheets of...

“Metal?” Sweetie Belle asked, surprised.

“Apparently, the twenty third had a mind to copy her most valuable documents in a less perishable form,” Blueblood said, his horn glowing more brightly as four sheets of thinly pressed metal filled the air over Sweetie’s head. “So she had them cut into steel and the original papers burned. Bear in mind that steel was as both rare and expensive as silver back then.”

“That... is a little extreme,” Sweetie muttered.

“Lo and behold, her little palace maze got the same treatment as her war documents,” he said, sifting through some papers as he set the four metal sheets down on the ground so Sweetie could examine them herself. “That is something I most certainly did not know.”

Sweetie Belle sighed and summoned her notebook, which she placed next to some scrolls somepony had left behind on an opposite shelf - detailing and offering analysis of the exploits of one Blueblood the 13th - and opened it, preparing to take notes. It took her a moment to realize that there was something off.

She frowned at the map.

“That doesn’t look right,” she mumbled, looking carefully at the designs on the metal sheets. Instead of paint, they were etched, and filled with seams of tin or bronze or other metals to make lines and letters. She poured over them. The design was similar, but... looking at it here, in contrast to the paper map Blueblood had provided her, or even worse, being there in the flesh reminded her more of a set of instructions, rather than a diagram of the grounds alone.

Slowly, things began to click in her mind. She rolled out her own map of the maze and compared it. With wide eyes, she followed the position of certain static decorations that had remained in the same place, years and centuries after first being built. Slowly, she traced with her hoof invisible lines connecting one to another, each reminding her of something that had been staring at her in the face, but never realized.

In her mind, the pillars were replaced by gems, the metal sheet by a soft velvety cover, the invisible lines suddenly etched onto its surface. Each line, forming part of a web - a route for magic to converge, all of it focused on one single point, where the energies reached their objective and completed the cycle, subtly but inexhaustibly feeding energy in. She knew this magic, but had never imagined it on such a scale.

“Blueblood,” Sweetie Belle said, her voice hushed as all the pieces came together. “This... this entire maze... it’s a spell matrix.”

o.0.∞.0.o End Part 2 o.0.∞.0.o

The Best Night Ever Part 3: Maze

Edits: Lammy & Fifth Alicorn / Proof: Super Big Mac & Trevor

“Oh sweet stars and heavens, please tell me the maze isn’t a transmutation circle,” Blueblood grumbled, the steady sound of his hooves on the stone floor preceding him.

Sweetie Belle hesitated and looked upwards to find him examining the metal manuscripts from behind her and overhead. “No, I think... I think it’s a pocket dimension matrix. Like the one for my notebook.” Facing forward again, she brushed away the empty scrolls and closed the notebook, showing him the gem-studded cover and comparing it to the diagrams laid out on the floor. “See? The matrix lines aren’t shown on the map at all, but all of these decorations and pillars serve as nodes.”

Blueblood brought a hoof up to scratch his chin. “I must admit, I know little of dimensional spells. Few ponies do.”

“Well... the main problem would be the key to activate it,” Sweetie explained. “My notebook is tied to me, so my own magical signature is enough, but if your ancestor put up a prerequisite, we would need to know a bit more about what she was doing when she built the maze to really have a chance at getting it right.”

“You believe the maze - the garden maze right outside the palace - may somehow open a dimensional portal or something?” Blueblood asked, incredulous. “I mean, this coming from the pony caught in a time-loop...”

“Take it from the filly that’s been jumping around parallel worlds,” Sweetie said, shaking her head. She carefully ran a small hoof over one of the steel plates, feeling the lines carved in the metal, the depressions filled with streaks of gold and copper. She was sure of this.

“The thing is,” she continued, and her notebook did a little spin in midair. “The matrix seems to be a pocket dimension, not something like what I’m experiencing.” She pulled out a folded scroll from her notebook. “I was given this spell to jump dimensions, and if you look at this, the elements required to create a matrix that will make me take a jump are pretty random.”

She pointed at the metal sheets and the cover of her notebook again, patting the latter lovingly. “The exact opposite of what we have here. These spell matrixes are very structured and straightforward. My notebook’s matrix isn’t designed to open the entrance to just any other dimension, only to contain a very specific one.”

Her voice took a lecturing tone, subconsciously mimicking her own Twilight during one of her many magic lessons.

“Spell matrices rely on nodes,” she told him, pointing her hooves at the nodes on her notebook, “and while it is possible to have a spell that works with a general objective in mind, such as the spell to return to Dusk and Elusive’s world, the elements used tend to be relatively adaptable. You can pick and choose similar objects, or even use symbolic ones at times. However, a dimensional pocket matrix would require static elements to keep the spell coherent. Just like the diagram in the sheet shows, each node has a specific location and purpose, which I imagine, in this instance, serve as anchors for the dimensional pocket, which must be massive!”

“There is no way a pony of any power level below Celestia’s would be able to funnel enough magic to force the portal open, which means that the key should allow for a spell as simple as the one for my notebook to open it, since it would be fueled by the magic in the nodes. Furthermore, the energy required for this to work on such a level means that it constantly feeds off of ambient magic; maybe even Discord’s own, since he’s a decoration out there. And if any of the other statues are magical—” she cut herself short, glaring at Blueblood. “You’re not paying attention.”

“No, I am,” he replied, albeit with a rather far off look. “But... those statues are...”

Before Sweetie could ask more, he coughed into his hoof.

“Well, I was going to have a little talk with Auntie come tomorrow’s reset anyway,” he said, and with a sigh, levitated over a scroll with a red and black seal set into a crystal escutcheon. “I’m quite sure you wouldn’t recognize this old sigil, but I do. This scroll here is a copy of a magical treatise written by one ‘Prince Sombra.’ It is on ‘discerning and dominating the intangible.’”

“Sounds interesting,” Sweetie said carefully, eyeing the scroll with a medley of naked interest, cautious wariness and growing curiosity. Sombra had written documents? If so, then they had to predate his exile or maybe even his conflict with Celestia and Luna!

“But I guess we should leave it for later. Even if Sombra’s spells sound promising...” She levitated her notebook and put it away in its pocket dimension, before turning to face Blueblood. “Well then... can you send a chariot to pick me up tomorrow morning? I’d like to be there when you talk with Princess Celestia!”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course!”

o.0.∞.0.o

Despite her words from the previous loop, Sweetie found herself growing slightly anxious. She blamed it on the waiting. Celestia was an approachable Princess and an approachable ruler, but having to sit in actual court - hearing her deal with other ponies - gave her an air of authority and majesty that left little room for the image of the prankster and sweet mare Sweetie knew her to be. If they had only just barged in from the get-go, Sweetie was sure her confidence from the ride over wouldn’t have started to evaporate.

“Are you sure she’ll be okay with me being here?” Sweetie asked nervously. “At this point in my counterpart’s life, I barely know her...” She shifted from hoof to hoof. “We have proof, but, don’t you have to convince her first that we’re repeating the same day? What’s the approach? What if she doesn’t approve of me as Twilight’s apprentice? What if she sends us away? What if she goes into the pocket dimension? What if... what if she created it?”

Blueblood shared a comforting chuckle, patting her on the head, but gently enough not to mess up her mane. He had insisted she look her best for the meeting with Celestia, just as he insisted they follow procedure and protocol in arranging the private talk.

“I’m not sure, but if she’s upset, we can just loop again. I’ve known her all my life and I often think I barely know her. And, as for convincing her of the loops.” Blueblood sighed when he came to that item on their worry list. “It isn’t easy, so we aren’t going to bother. You aren’t Twilight’s apprentice today. You’re an aspiring young filly hoping to apprentice under ME and trying to impress me by researching one of my great and honorable ancestors. She won’t send you away.”

Sweetie took a few deep breaths, but noticed he had left one last question unanswered.

“And if she created it?” she repeated.

“Ah, well. If that is the case, it could be trouble,” Blueblood stated with a shrug. “Or potentially very useful. Either way, if we make a mistake, we just reset.”

“I don’t want to do what you do to ‘reset.’”

He eyed her with a hint of displeasure. “You weren’t supposed to—"

“You mentioned it before, not directly saying how or anything, but...” She saw his eyes tighten as he mentally kicked himself. “You know, I’m not as dense as you seem to think...” she muttered, looking down at her lightly polished hooves.

Rarity would’ve been tittering at the sight of her sister. Blueblood’s guards had picked her up at the Boutique as they always did on these Canterlot loops, but this time she had barely set a hoof on the palace grounds before a group of maids and servants had descended upon her. The Ponyville filly was washed, groomed and quickly fitted into a small white and violet dress.

“You aren’t dense, Sweetie,” Blueblood told her, leaning down to speak softly so only she could hear. “I just...”

“I know,” she interrupted him. She didn’t want to really talk about it either, even if it was a part of ‘life’ in the time loops. She felt she owed him an apology, too, and have his leg a gentle poke. “Sorry I brought it up, I - I know you don’t reset the loops like that anymore. Do you?”

He shook his head. “Once you start its hard to stop... but no, not anymore, Sweetie.”

“Good,” she decided, and promised herself she’d be the same.

They waited in the throne room during the morning. It was easily the strangest place that Sweetie had been to in her loops. Fancy nobleponies curtsied and bowed to one another, exchanged barbed insults and coy promises, and listened to and argued about the various petitions brought to the highest mare in the land. Sweetie stuck close to Blueblood; there were ponies close to her age there, but she couldn’t imagine what she would talk to them about.

They finally met the Princess during a recess, as she reclined on an aquamarine pillow large enough to comfortably fit three alicorns. She had only just finished eating a meal Blueblood called ‘elevens,’ and a stack of papers had been left on the floor nearby. When Blueblood and Sweetie Belle entered, the Princess put on a smile that may well have been endlessly practiced, but what was genuine was a reprieve from the hassles of her day and the light in her eyes at something new coming before her.

“Nephew!” she said, and even lying down, she was taller than most ponies. Her coruscating mane caught the light from a large bay window, shimmering like no substance in Equestria. Like pure magic.

“Don’t tell me,” she added with a polite titter. “Your date for tonight’s Gala?”

“I did ask her, but she politely declined,” Blueblood joked, and bowed his head to his Aunt and ruler. “Auntie, this is Miss Sweetie Belle. The one I mentioned at breakfast.”

Sweetie curtsied as best as she could remember from Rarity’s few attempts to teach her how to do so. Her eyes strayed to take in the room, trying to remember if Sunny had shown her any secret passages for this one. “Um...” She forced her eyes back to Celestia. “H-hello, your majesty!”

“Sweetie Belle,” Celestia greeted her with a smile and a presence that positively beamed. “I’ve heard about you, and I do hope to see your sister at the Gala tonight. You are always welcome under my roof, my little pony.” That one violet eye of hers turned to Blueblood, still warm, but also a little calculating and inquisitive. “Nephew, it is unlike you to even entertain the notion of a student or apprentice and you have often spoken of how you dislike foals. I hope this is not some jest played on our young guest here?”

“Auntie, you know me too well,” Blueblood admitted, bowing his head again, just enough to also lower his eyes. “The truth of it is that Sweetie Belle here has talent in both magic and music. What she lacks, and what I feel she needs from me, is my name. The prestige of being under my proverbial wing will guarantee her finding a proper tutor in Canterlot.”

Celestia’s pause was only a few seconds long, but it seemed unusually weighty. Blueblood shifted slightly, uncomfortable with her scrutiny.

“I am, in fact, being altruistic for just this once,” he admitted. “The only mage level tutor for Sweetie in Ponyville is your student, Twilight Sparkle. I assumed you would be averse to her taking an apprentice when she is still studying the magic of friendship?”

The Princess’s cheeks raised a little as her smile grew, and became truly genuine.

“That is very kind of you, nephew,” she told him and dipped her head in respect. “Very well. Though, for the record, I would not be averse to Twilight taking on a student of her own. She still has much to learn, but she has much to pass on as well. You say Sweetie Belle is in need of a tutor?”

“Oh, yes. You may be surprised.” Blueblood remarked with a smirk. He directed said smirk down at his charge. “Sweetie Belle? Surprise my dear Auntie, would you please?”

Sweetie gawked at Blueblood for a moment. “Seriously? Well... okay...” her horn flashed. And suddenly everything was pitch-black. Ignoring the surprised gasps from both her audience members, Sweetie quickly cast a few other spells, summoned her notebook, activated one of the gems, put her notebook away and then dispelled the magical darkness, revealing that the room had been painted a purple-blue color, and Sweetie Belle’s dress had been replaced by a sparkling little dress that had wings on it. She now wore a small crystal crown on her head, and a pendant with a purple gem on it.

When both, Blueblood and Celestia could only gape at her in awe, Sweetie shrugged. “Moon Power make-up?”

o.0.∞.0.o

“The twenty third Blueblood?” Celestia asked, as the three sat on white velvet cushions trimmed in cloth-of-gold. “Are you’re sure you wouldn’t hear of the forty seventh? Or the second? The twenty third was...”

“Crazy? Insane? Bonkers? Two pegasi short of a weather team?” Sweetie offered.

“Colorful,” Blueblood offered a more diplomatic description of the long-deceased mare and ancestor. Sweetie noticed that he held himself much more primly around the Princess, despite how casually he spoke.

“Sweetie’s research led me to investigate some of the spellwork done by the twenty third,” he added, flexing a bit of magic to materialize a wax-sealed scroll. “I thought to bring it to you, Auntie.”

“I see,” Celestia replied, nodding slowly and a little sadly. “I remember her. What do you wish to know?”

“I found out that the maze design is actually a spell matrix,” Sweetie spoke up. “I think it was designed for a dimensional pocket of some sort.”

“Do you have a map of the grounds?”

Blueblood retrieved the four metal sheets. “Fortunately, the Hocksford castilian knew just where to look in the archives. I had it flown over this morning.”

“A spell matrix,” Celestia mused, looking over both the four metal panes and a copy of Blueblood’s map of the modern maze. “There shouldn’t be... the area has magic, yes, but the weir root should counteract any potential mischief.” Her flowing ethereal mane concealed one of her eyes, but the other darted back and forth as she compared the recent document with the ancient copy. “Nephew, have you doused the grounds?” she asked, clearly seeing what Sweetie had noticed the loop before.

“I have a team working on it now,” Blueblood answered her, “but the results so far are inconclusive.”

“It has the lines for a spell matrix, buried under the maze itself,” she finally agreed, looking up from the metal plates and paper map. “But I most certainly have never seen a pony activate it. I’m not even certain if it would still function after so long.”

“Presumably, the twenty third would have had a way to activate it,” Blueblood said, glancing down at Sweetie Belle. “Like this good filly’s notebook.”

Celestia had not missed that.

“It begs the question of where she acquired such a thing,” the Princess thought aloud. “Especially in Ponyville.”

Sweetie Belle smiled as she felt her blood run cold. “I- it was actually a gift... from T-Trixie and Rarity.” She gestured at the gems. “My sister used her gem expertise to choose them and align them, while Trixie and—” she cut herself off, then sighed. “They put it together for me.”

“You wouldn’t mind if I had a look at it, would you?” Celestia asked, smiling gently to put the filly at ease. Her eye was still a little calculating, despite that. She had been duly surprised by Sweetie’s spellwork before, and the Princess wasn’t looking at her like a playmate or as the little sister of a friend anymore. This look was more critical, though Sweetie couldn’t blame Celestia for that, given the subject matter and how she had been presented to the alicorn.

Sweetie stole a glance at Blueblood before cringing and slowly pushing forward the notebook with a sickly smile. “J-just... be careful.” She touched the notebook lovingly and carefully. “It’s very special...” Her eyes seeked Celestia’s, knowing that at least her part of her ruse was over. “I-I really...” she trailed off, not knowing what else to say. It was up to Celestia now.

The Princess never opened the book - much to Sweetie Belle’s relief - she only examined the cover and the dimensional spellwork. The little filly felt a sweatdrop roll down her forehead. Given Murphy’s First Law, she considered the possibility that something inconvenient, like, say, her acceptance letter to Nightmare Moon’s school for Gifted Unicorns, could slip out. They’d have to try and pass it off as a joke if --

A page slowly slid out of the notebook, and Sweetie’s mind instantly going numb from the rush of sheer and absolute terror. She watched, holding her breath, as a page slipped slowly but completely out of the book. Sweetie immediately recognized the crescent-moon seal that had been stamped on top of Celestia’s own. Her eyes went wide as Celestia looked down curiously at the fallen page - perhaps to put it back in place - and paused.

She could see the Princess’ eye widen at what she was reading and her control on the notebook shook but for a moment. Suddenly a picture fluttered down to the floor to join the page before, showing a group of mostly drunk mares, a young mare, and, in particular, a pregnant Rainbow Dash.

Celestia’s mouth slowly opened as the rest of the contents of her notebook fell on a pile of notes, spells and pictures.

“This...” Sweetie groaned. “Is. The. Worst. Possible. Thing!”

“What in...?” Celestia began to say, and the other eye appeared behind the flowing beauty of her mane, roused by her surprise as Sweetie Belle’s magic quickly snatched everything back and shoved it into the notebook.

“Next loop, can you please remove those?” Blueblood asked, sighing softly.

“Are you crazy?” Sweetie snapped. “If I take them out I could lose them!”

“We’ll have to test that, then.”

“Nephew! What IS this!?”

“Oh dear.”

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie Belle didn’t like dog-earing one of the pages of her notebook. But... this was for science. For SCIENCE! Surely Twilight would understand that. There-there was no need to—if only she hadn’t left that list she’d made a few loops ago at Sugarcube Corner, there would not be any need for this!

“Oh, dry your tears,” Blueblood told her, waving a hoof as he made to trot away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“And where are you going?” she called to him, but he was already back up and on his chariot outside. Not far away, Rarity was behind her little sister, staring in confusion at the Prince who had come and gone just to watch Sweetie Belle mangle a book.

“I think I’ll try going south today,” he called out. “If I hurry, I may just be able to find a comely Saddle Arabian mare to take to the Gala.”

“What!” Rarity blasted out of the doorway at that. Blueblood’s laughter died away as his chariot took off, circled Ponyville, and disappeared behind a cloud.

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie stole a glance at Blueblood before handing over the notebook to the Princess. It was still special to her, and she still wanted Celestia to be careful with it... but, apparently, it reset just like everything else. Science. Why were you so indifferent and inconvenient?

“Please be careful with it,” she asked anyway, even though it technically didn’t matter that much in light of the time looping.

“Of course,” Celestia promised sincerely.

Just like before, the Princess never opened the book, studying only the cover and the dimensional spellwork. All the juicy stuff inside had been taken out and left on a shelf in her room at the Carousel Boutique. The Princess of the Sun in this world had not reacted very gaily to certain things within.

Though she had laughed at the picture of the pregnant element of loyalty.

Everypony found pregnant Rainbow Dash funny, apparently.

“As you can see,” Sweetie said, pointing with her hoof to the map, “the nodes are working in a similar way, which leads me to believe that the maze has an anchored pocket dimension, rather than it working as a portal to a whole other reality.”

“Prince Sombra was also known for his dimensional magic, and I remember seeing copies of his works in the archives of the twenty third,” Blueblood added. “Perhaps there is a connection?”

“Sombra’s magic was activated and empowered by strong emotions,” Celestia explained, floating the book back to Sweetie Belle. “Blue Belle... the twenty third... was not a hateful pony. I know she studied his spells, as was her right as a Blueblood, and she could be very passionate at times, but I never felt strong, negative emotions within her like with Sombra.”

“But, if negative emotions can fuel magic... couldn’t positive ones do it just as well?” Sweetie Belle asked. “The key should be something that was important to her, but other than her notes and the fact that she seemed the studious type and that she went...” Sweetie coughed. “Well, you know, she wasn’t all there at the end of it... other than that, we don’t know much about her.”

Celestia nodded, closing her eyes and thinking carefully about just what to say.

“Blue Belle was indeed a studious pony,” the Princess said at length, opening her eyes and gazing at her two guests. “She was a warrior as well, assisting our griffin friends in the ouster of an imposter alicorn and her attempted coup in their kingdom. She researched many kinds of magic and worked very hard, even if her raw talent wasn’t on the level of, say, Twilight Sparkle.”

Celestia chuckled briefly, remembering the diligent little filly as she did all her subjects. “She was rightfully very proud of her accomplishments. Funny, now that I think about those times, she said more than once that she fancied herself a perfect match for the Element of Magic.” The Princess looked out of the window to the sky outside. “As time went by, Blue Belle read into more and more obscure and esoteric knowledge. With her bloodline and her fortune, she was able to procure all sorts of materials to work with. It... became an obsession which I could not understand until... until that day, when she told me she had fallen in love.”

“She fell in love?” Sweetie Belle asked. “But... we didn’t see any indication of—”

“She couldn’t be with the pony she wanted,” Celestia interrupted. “That was the reason she wanted, or rather needed, to study so much and experiment with dangerous magics and portals. Whoever this pony she loved was, she believed he was trapped and there was no known way for her to release him.”

Sweetie watched as the Princess sighed sadly. “W-what happened then?”

“While it was being built, she became obsessed with the maze,” Celestia said, her thoughts clearly on that day. “The poor mare seemed fine, otherwise: she was able to hold conversations like she could before she met this mystery pony, she had no difficulty overseeing her lands... but things became worse as time went by. Understand, it was taken for mere eccentricity at first, and our family is no stranger to a certain capriciousness.”

Blueblood snorted at that remark, but otherwise kept silent.

“When the maze was done... she just started to fade away. Her mind was always distracted and she would be lost in her own thoughts at all times. One day, she slipped out into the maze and didn’t come back.”

“D-did she disappear?” Sweetie asked.

“No,” Celestia shook her head sadly. Even centuries later, she still loved and mourned those close to her that she had lost. “They found her, lying in front of the central obelisk. The poor little pony had passed away.”

“She refused to marry,” Blueblood said, also momentarily lost in thought. “So she was in love...?” He looked down at Sweetie Belle, and she could see that he was thinking just what had come to her mind as well. “Auntie. Are you sure it was a ‘he?’”

“I... well, no,” she admitted, after a moment. “Now that I think on it, it may not have been. But nephew, Blue Belle’s lover wasn’t anypony. He or she was just a figment of her imagination.”

Sweetie looked at the map once more, thoughtfully chewing her lower lip as her mind tugged at her. There’s just something I’m not seeing! But what? She looked from the map to her notebook, then to Celestia and suddenly...

“Wait... she said she thought herself a perfect match for the Element of Magic?” Sweetie asked, eyes widening.

“Yes.” Celestia nodded. “At first I thought it odd, but she had mastery over a great range of magic so the jape was understandable. It was often believed at the time that if a pony reached a certain magical threshold that she could--”

“But, what if she wasn’t joking?” Sweetie Belle pondered.

“What are you implying?” Blueblood asked.

“Twilight’s fragment,” Sweetie said immediately. “It all makes sense! The fragments I’ve found so far contain a bit of her personality. If Blue Belle found the fragment and communicated with Twilight... she could have fallen in love with her! And she couldn’t have ‘rescued’ Twilight from the crystal, because Twilight is the crystal!”

She stood up and paced around in front of both royals.

“Blue Belle fell in love with Twilight... why not? They were both extremely smart, gifted in magic and she could probably communicate better than most ponies could with Twilight. She - she must have found the fragment and tried to study it and... she couldn’t get Twilight out, so she studied how to open dimensional doors and create pocket dimensions... when she gave up, she hid the fragment in the pocket dimension so that nopony else could get to it!”

Sweetie took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. “I-I messed up somepony else’s life again... if I hadn’t - if Twilight...” she closed her eyes. “This is my fault.”

“What... is going on?” Celestia asked, directing the question less to the filly on the verge of tears and more at her frowning nephew. “What does Twilight Sparkle have to do with any of this?”

“Your Twilight, her Twilight, different ponies, and frankly I’m not entirely sure.” He trotted over to Sweetie Belle and, to Celestia’s surprise, nuzzled the filly - though it was as much to get her to comport herself as it was to offer comfort. “Sweetie Belle. Let’s not repeat this loop, shall we? And what’s done is done.”

Sweetie Belle sniffled, but nodded, pushing the dark thoughts to the back of her mind and taking a long breath, trying to calm down. “I’ll be okay...” she whispered after a moment. “I think... we have our key.”

“Perhaps,” Blueblood agreed, whispering. “But how to turn it?”

“Nephew,” Celestia’s voice echoed in the room with barely any hint of patience left in it. “You will not dismiss me again like that and you will tell me what this is all about. Now.”

“Um... y-yes, auntie.”

o.0.∞.0.o

The pair stood in the middle of the maze, and Sweetie Belle closed her eyes, extending her senses. They had appropriated the entire loop for today’s efforts, and Blueblood had guardponies patrolling the grounds to keep away inquisitive guests. The work had not escaped the notice of Princess Celestia, however. Blueblood fully expected they would have to tone things down in the future so as to arouse less suspicion. For now, though, they were in the clear.

“I have a theory,” Sweetie Belle began. “If this is indeed what we’ve assumed it to be, then casting my spell to open the dimensional portal should work. We just need to focus it on something else... we need to have a point of connection, where my magic and the spell matrix can commune. But, now that we know that Twilight’s Fragment is in there, I believe I can simply focus on the energy of her magic, rather than the empathic link I have with my notebook... I’m very sure I felt the fragment’s presence during an earlier visit... I just need to find it again.”

She leaned forward and put a hoof on the obelix, searching for the familiar energy signature.

In her mind’s eye, Sweetie Belle followed little snippets of energy, looking like glowing smoke of different colors against the darkness. Now that her concentration was on the magical fields and the nodes of the spell matrix, she had to wonder how in Tartarus she had actually managed to miss that in the first place. Eventually, following threads of magic that suddenly shot from one end of the maze to the other, she happened upon a much lighter energy, but it had the distinct feel of Twilight’s magic to it.

“Blueberries...” Sweetie murmured as she opened her eyes and turned to look at Blueblood. “I found her...! I’m going to cast the spell, focusing on Twilight’s shard. Stay close to me, I don’t know what will happen.”

“I am in your hooves,” Blueblood said, a strangely amusing statement, since he followed it by ducking down close to her: a stallion who had to be four times her own weight or more. He sounded eager to see what she had uncovered right in his own proverbial backyard.

Sweetie rolled her eyes and instead of making a remark, decided not to waste the energy and applied it to her spell instead. The point of focus was the monolith at the center of the Maze, where she cast the same spell that she would have used for her notebook. As she had explained to Blueblood, however, instead of grasping the link that readily appeared in her mind’s eye, she latched onto the nebulous presence of Twilight’s magic.

The spell started to work, and as the air around them shimmered with a angry-red energy that seemed to permeate their skin, the monolith seemed to rip in half as a rift appeared down its middle and slowly spread open until it formed an oval window into another, similar area.

Sweetie whistled, impressed. “Wow. Um... after you, Blue.”

“Me?” The esteemed Prince asked, aghast. “What happened to ladies first? Or, better yet, mares and foals first?”

Rather than argue with the lout, Sweetie used the most devastating weapon in her arsenal: the look. Staring up at him with big, teary, pleading eyes, she was almost instantly rewarded with a semi-committal, “eeegh.” It was a sure sign of his weakening resolve as an adult. Only a few more seconds and...

“Fine!” Blueblood grumbled, throwing up his hooves. “I guess I’ll go prance into the shimmering purple rip in space and time. But mark my words!” He pointed at Sweetie Belle as he backed up towards portal in magic and space. “One day you’ll get older and that pouty face won’t work. And then you’ll become a teenage mare and it’ll work again. But then you’ll get old and it’ll stop working.”

“Says the pony who won’t even be able to stand!” Sweetie muttered just loud enough for Blueblood to hear.

“You’ve been warned...” he finished, ominously, slipping through the wall of purple magic. “You’ve been warned!”

After a moment of staring at Blueblood standing on the other side of the portal, and with nothing happening or him bursting into flames, Sweetie decided that it was safe enough to step in.

As soon as she was inside the pocket dimension, the doorway behind her sputtered and died. So much for being able to go back, at least for now. Sweetie blinked. “Okay, that was not part of the plan.”

“O-oh! Hey! Guests!” A familiar voice suddenly exclaimed as a plume of purple smoke circled both Blueblood and Sweetie Belle before hovering above them. From within, Twilight Sparkle’s face emerged, a wide grin showing how happy she was about having them there. “And it’s none other than Sweetie Belle!”

She looked at Blueblood, and not in as friendly a manner. “Aannnd... Blueblood,” she deadpanned. “I was not expecting you, of all ponies. Not that I was expecting Sweetie Belle either, but the two of you together? Hm. Rarity would not approve of one such as you prancing around with her sister.”

“One such as me?” Blueblood asked, taking a long look at the smokey pony. “Oh, yes... I sometimes forget, you’re the first-loop Gala ponies. Well, I wouldn’t want my little sister hanging out with me either. I’m a terrible influence.”

Sweetie Belle nodded emphatically at that.

“You were supposed to disagree and vouch for my character!” Blueblood lamented. “Like ‘aw, you’re not so bad’ or ‘you’re a good pony, really’ or ‘you’re not a terrible influence.’ Something like that, maybe!”

“But... how about that talk we had about sleepovers? Or when you took me binge-drinking?”

Twilight’s eyes flashed. “What?!”

“Wait, Twilight!” Sweetie spoke up quickly before her mentor started flinging spells. “Blueblood’s actually been a very nice pony; he helped me learn how to sing, and got me classes with Princess Cadance! I can sing much better now! And I learned how to play the cello from Octavia Philarmonica!”

Twilight looked at Sweetie Belle with mounting confusion. “But... how? And Sweetie... you look younger than the last time I saw you... but of course! Yes! That makes sense! You are also travelling to different worlds with different time frames! But why didn’t you end up trapped in a crystal like I did?”

Sweetie winced. “Um, that’s a long story, Twilight. Once we reach your fragment, I’ll tell you all of it, so, how about you tell us where you are?”

Twilight Sparkle’s head smiled from within the folds of purple smoke. “Well, I’m in the middle of the maze, of course! And let me tell you Sweetie, Blue Belle wasted no effort in making it creative and deadly! It’s too bad she... went away and never came back...”

Sweetie Belle exchanged a confused and worried glance with Blueblood. “But... you’ll tell us how to get there safely, right?”

“Oh, no! I couldn’t do that! After all, Blue Belle put a lot of effort into it to protect me! You’ll have to survive the maze to get to me. There’s no other way!” Twilight giggled. “I’ll wait for you to pass the first challenge. Good luck!” And with that, she faded away.

“I’d say she held on to her sanity remarkably well for being in isolation for a couple hundred years,” Blueblood observed, nodding sagely with a hoof cupping his chin. “Heaven forbid we don’t end up risking life and limb. That would be too easy. But at least she wished us luck before returning to her magic lamp.”

“I’m not a genie!” Twilight’s disembodied voice felt the need to argue. “And how many hundreds of years was it?”

“One, two, three hundred, whatever.” The Prince waved a dismissive hoof at the air, and the Twilight fragment in general. “Once we find your crystal, I mean to give it a good rub and find out the truth for myself.”

“... I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Me neither!” Sweetie gave him a good poke in the leg just so he got the picture. “Do you try to annoy every mare you meet?”

“The ones I don’t try and sleep with?” He stared down at her, eyes half lidded. “Actually, yes, I do.”

“Charming,” Sweetie deadpanned. “So what is the first challenge?”

“Ooooh! Something simple!” Twilight quipped, back in a good mood. Though just shadows and light, the sound of two hooves clopping together excitedly was unmistakable. “A race!”

Two shimmering forms appeared close to Sweetie and Blueblood, becoming more and more solid until they were spectral imitations of Applejack and Rainbow Dash. It didn’t take more than a few seconds to see that they were just that: imitations. Rainbow Dash’s trademark color scheme was reversed, and she already wore a Wonderbolts uniform... a very anachronistic one, with padded shoulders and buckles around the waist and chrome buttons closing it up with a single breast at the front. A pair of ancient looking leather goggles rested on her coif of a mane and for some reason, she had a prominent eyepatch over her left eye.

Applejack didn’t escape the anachronism, either. She looked like the old pictures of Granny Smith that Apple Bloom had shown everypony for her school report. Right down to the braided tail and neatly trimmed mane beneath her too-large hat. It looked like somepony had taken the general description of the two, but reimagined it through dusty, three hundred year old glasses.

Which, Sweetie supposed, somepony actually had.

“First,” Twilight’s voice announced, “We have the Running of the Leaves: Blue Belle’s edition! The participants will race as a team against each other, and if Sweetie Belle and Blueblood win, then they can actually access the Maze of Death!”

“Question,” Blueblood said, raising a hoof. “Why is it called the Maze of Death?”

In response to Blueblood’s inquiry, a patch of grass just next to him snapped shut with a metallic clang after suddenly sprouting a set of serrated spikes.

“Because it is!” Twilight giggled.

“Blueblood... I’m not too sure about this...” Sweetie Belle said from her perch on his back, where she had jumped when the trap had been activated by Twilight.

“You heard the completely lucid Miss Sparkle, it’s just a name, and definitely not ominous in any way.” Blueblood didn’t make any attempt to move or dislodge the filly from her safe spot on his back, however. “So, where are we racing? I doubt we’re supposed to chase our tails?”

The featureless black floor trembled as a finish line emerged from the grounds behind all of them, little banners already fluttering in the lack of wind. Melting upwards, like a movie of a candle burning in reverse, hills and trees grew to form a rustic backdrop, only to vanish behind thick hedgerows. In front of them, a line indicating the route shimmered into existence. Having seen a few Running of the Leaves contests, Sweetie Belle found it all rather familiar. Blueblood, on the other hoof, seemed repulsed by the mere threat of purposeful physical exertion.

“You will run around the maze!” Twilight declared. “For this one challenge, there will be no traps! Just race to the best of your abilities and achieve victory for your right to enter the maze itself!”

“You’re kidding,” Sweetie Belle growled. “You’re kidding, right? You expect us to race against Rainbow Dash and Applejack and win?”

“Nope!” Twilight replied cheerfully. “I don’t expect you to win at all!”

“Clearly,” Sweetie gritted her teeth. Then took a deep breath. “Well, Blueblood, the way I see it is that it’s probably a reflection of Twilight’s own experience in the Running of the Leaves race,” Sweetie explained. “So, I think if we take the race slow but steady, like she did, we should arrive before them.”

“I’m willing to try slow and steady,” he agreed, gauging the competition. Rainbow Dash was limbering up, stretching her legs and wings, while Applejack munched on a pre-race apple. Where she had gotten it from, Sweetie couldn’t imagine. They were all smoke and mirrors anyway.

“I wonder how much substance there is to them,” she heard the stallion mutter. “They aren’t real, of course, so then what are they made of? Perhaps some first-hoof investigation could...” Noting the little filly glaring at him, he chuckled and faced forward, stamping one hoof on the ground. “Quite right! No time for distractions. We’ll keep a good measured pace!”

“Right!” Sweetie agreed, more than a little self conscious of her less than long strides. How fair was it to have a filly race against grown mares, anyway?

“GO!”

o.0.o

“Huh. We lost pretty badly.”

Sweetie Belle felt a rather Rarity-esque scream building in the back of her throat as the fake Applejack and Rainbow Dash high-hoofed and then rump-bumped each other in mocking victory.

“Next time!” she told him. “We’ll get them next time!”

o.0.∞.0.o

Blueblood cantered to a stop, Sweetie Belle draped across his back.

“We lost again,” he observed, as the duo crossed the finish line.

“Oh yeah!” the fake Rainbow Dash cheered. “We’re the best!”

“Darn right, sugarcube!” the fake Applejack chuckled, glancing back at their competition. “Those two didn’t stand a chance.”

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie Bell fell to the ground, panting, her forelegs stuck out in front of her. It was impossible! Impossible!

“I need longer legs!” she yelled, cursing her little filly hooves. “Dumb legs!”

Blueblood, meanwhile, had to sit down nearby with a black eye.

“That apple farmer has no sense of humor,” he huffed. “As for the pegasus, I prefer the real one. She was much easier to tease.”

“We’re not going to win by flirting with them!” Sweetie yelled, sadly too tired to try and choke the annoying royal stallion.

“Oh?” he asked, a little too smoothly. “Probably not. But you never know.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“You know,” Sweetie Belle said to Rainbow Dash as soon as Twilight had materialized them both and announced the next race. “It’s too bad you can’t race by yourself, I bet you’re faster than Applejack is, but I guess you don’t care about proving you really are the best of the best.”

Rainbow Dash stopped stretching and gave Sweetie Belle an intense look. “Heeey! What did you just say?”

“Oh! Nothing,” Sweetie shrugged. “You know, I’ve met a few Rainbow Dashes in other worlds, and they were very competitive and proud of how hard they trained. They wouldn’t have teamed-up with the one pony who was close enough to be their equal until after they proved their worth. But, if you feel like risking it by going a bit slower for her... who am I to stop you?”

Sweetie Belle trotted away, keeping her ears trained on the two mares. Soon enough, Rainbow Dash walked up to Applejack and the two mares started discussing something in hushed tones.

It wasn’t too long after that that Applejack’s indignant “Y’all think Ah’m gonna slow you down?!” brought a smile to her lips.

She took her place next to Blueblood, and watched as the two mares glared at each other, postured and ended up by bumping hooves in a decidedly hostile manner.

“Discord, thy name is Sweetie Belle,” Blueblood whispered, altogether very pleased by what he had seen. The uncouth Prince even winked, approvingly.

“I am the Scion of Chaos,” Sweetie agreed, winking back.

“Everypony to their starting places!” Twilight Sparkle called. “And may the best team win!”

“The best mare!” Rainbow Dash whispered, loud enough for all runners to hear. “The best mare will win!”

Applejack’s grinding teeth were just as loud.

o.0.o

Sweetie watched in amusement as Rainbow Dash and Applejack dragged themselves to the finish line several minutes after she and Blueblood had arrived. Both mares looked like they had wrestled and tumbled their way through the track rather than actually attempting to run it.

“That was a good race, girls!” she teased, unable to help herself. “I’m glad I got to compete with two sport-ponies like yourselves!”

The only response was an unhappy glare from both mares as they faded away and Twilight’s voice echoed around them. “That was an interesting race! Brought back some good memories! Welp, since you both beat the race, I guess you get to go into the Maze of Death! Con-gratu-lations!”

Twilight’s hoof-claps accompanied the statement.

“Or,” she asked with a mischievous titter. “Should I be offering my condolences?” Her titter quickly devolved into a full blown ‘Bwa-hah-hah-ha!’

“Is this maze really that bad?” Sweetie Belle asked, trembling a bit.

“See, now I’m not sure who was more loony,” Blueblood commented, glancing at where the fake Rainbow Dash and Applejack had just been. Already the scenery for the race was slouching away. “Blue Belle or Miss Sparkle here. Why are there traps here to begin with?”

“Blue Belle wanted this place to be really secure!” Twilight explained. “So she tied all the spells onto my fragment, and I fueled them with my knowledge and creativity!”

“That isn’t a good thing, is it?” Blueblood asked, looking down at Twilight’s loyal apprentice.

“I don’t think so, especially since Twilight’s ‘creativity’ would usually break the minds of lesser beings.”

o.0.o

“...a challenge requiring your knowledge of spells and how to use them creatively! The clues are rather easy, so when you figure out what to do, just cast the spells in the right way to pass!”

“That sounds... fair...” Sweetie ventured. “What’s the catch?”

“You only get one try. If you make one mistake... crunch,” Twilight informed them.

“Crunch?” Sweetie asked, not liking the sound of that.

“Or splat, I guess,” Twilight acknowledged. “It depends on your exact position. I’d say sixty percent crunch, thirty five percent splat, five percent other. ”

Sweetie stared silently at the fragment, before looking at Blueblood. “I really, really don’t like how that sounds.”

“Neither do I,” Blueblood replied. He held out a hoof to help Sweetie jump up and onto his back.

The pair followed a long sinuous road through the maze until they reached a small bridge, going into what seemed to be a giant bowl, with a tower in the middle. Sweetie Belle jumped down from Blueblood’s back, and her hooves clanged when they touched the surface of the bridge.

“It’s some sort of metal,” she observed, tapping it a couple of times. “Very sturdy.”

“That’s not all,” Blueblood said, drawing her attention to their destination, just up ahead. Coiled around what they could now tell was not a tower, but a column, was a metal rail of some sort. Overhead, they could make out another bowl, balanced on top of the column.

“What sort of test is this?” Sweetie Belle asked, taking a closer look at the column. It was made out of blocks; some were made of ice; some with something that looked like ashes; others were blocks made of clouds, much like what pegasi would use, and finally the last type, were made of rock.

“It’s an elemental magic and control test!” Twilight said cheerfully. “You have to use the right spell to go through the tower and get both bowls close enough for you to exit. There’s no cheating!”

Sweetie looked at Blueblood. “What should we do? I’m not sure how to do this. I don’t think my heating cantrip will melt all this ice anytime this century.”

“So, are you doing this as a team or individually?” Twilight’s fragment asked.

“I’ll go first,” Blueblood volunteered, though a bit grudgingly. “Not to be chivalrous, but just because I can teleport away if there’s trouble.”

“You can?” Twilight’s fragment asked, sounding both surprised and upset. “No teleporting! The whole point is that if you goof, you go splat!”

“Ehhh.” Blueblood’s well-versed language of disgusted noises once again proved how useful it could be in practice. “I’m not really fond of splat.”

“Too bad,” the fragment informed him. “All inappropriate magic will be suppressed within a radius around the test area.”

The Prince glared at the smoky mare. “I think I prefer the real Miss Sparkle.”

“Hey! I’m real!” The fragment paused, contemplatively. “I’m pretty sure I’m real.”

“Are you sure that you want to do this alone, Blueblood?” Sweetie asked, “Don’t you think I could help? What if something happens to you because I’m not there?”

“We’ll catch it on the next try then,” he replied.

“There is no next try if you fail,” Twilight corrected him.

“Sweetie,” he said, seriously, looking back at her as he entered the bowl. “You’re a clever filly, and if we have to do... that trick again, you’re the best one to observe and pick out the details a certain somepony will need. Besides,” and this he added with a smirk. “This isn’t a flying pastry. I’m not going to let you go into this yourself, first time. I don’t mind dying that much anymore; this kind of job is rather perfect for me.”

“But...” Sweetie tried to protest, voice dropping to a whisper. “I don’t want to see you die...”

He should have realized that, too, but the stallion was oblivious. He didn’t seem to care if he died, but he hadn’t given much thought to her own views on the matter. Blueblood was already looking around the trap, surveying it with his magic and feeling out the four pillars. Sweetie tried to think of a way to get him to be more careful, but quickly realized that he was right... in a twisted sort of rational way.

“Fine!” she said, while he mentally charged up a spell, holding the energy coalesced around his horn. “But try and get it right the first time, okay?”

She stepped back and climbed onto the metal bridge, which detached from the bowl and slowly rotated back towards the labyrinth. It stopped close enough for Sweetie to be able to recognize the materials of each block, once she’d actually seen what they were.

Unable to do much, Sweetie settled herself to watching in silence as Blueblood turned around the column a couple of times, finally releasing the spell he had begun to cast earlier. His target was the block of ice, and the spell was some sort of heating magic, amped up. It hit the pillar, but before it could begin to melt, the whole thing shuddered - absorbing the magic. A resounding crack made her wince, and turn her head up, just in time to see the metal bowl at the top tip sideways, some unknown dark cloud within it swirling around and threatening to spill over as it inevitably slid down on its side.

She screamed in horror as Blueblood managed to avoid getting splashed, only to get crushed under weight of the upper bowl. There was a brief flicker of light, the impression of a last ditch attempt at telekinesis, but only in the span of time it took to blink. Literally, it was over in a second. Her eyes hadn’t been fast enough to follow it all, but her ears had, and she wished they hadn’t. A pony shouldn’t have to hear what another pony sounds like when it gets crushed.

Sweetie Belle simply felt her hind legs give and suddenly she was sitting on her haunches. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. “T-that could’ve been me.”

“Well, I told him he’d go splat!” Twilight’s fragment chimed in, apparently amused by the spectacle. “I told him! He didn’t believe me and now he’s pulp!” she giggled.

She actually giggled.

“How can you be like that?!” Sweetie snapped, glaring viciously at the fragment’s ghostly form. “Since when have you not cared about when ponies suffer?”

Twilight’s fragment seemed to ponder Sweetie’s question.

“Since ponies stopped caring about me,” she said. “The last one was Blue Belle. And she loved me. But after she built her maze, nopony ever came to visit. Nopony cared. So I had to learn to enjoy what I had and, if I worry about anypony that comes here, how can I do that?”

Sweetie Belle felt tears travel down her cheeks. “I’m going to beat your stupid labyrinth, and I’m going to find the real you!” She stood up and started walking out of the labyrinth. “I hope you enjoy the rest of your day like you’ve enjoyed the last three hundred years, fragment.”

“What do y—”

Not waiting for Twilight’s fragment to finish its sentence, Sweetie cast the dimensional pocket spell again, opening a path to Equestria right in front of them. The fragment seemed to lose the ability to speak when the blue sky was revealed past the ethereal gates. Sweetie snorted and stepped through, turning to face Twilight’s fragment with a cruel sneer.

“This is the world you’ll never see again,” she muttered venomously, releasing the spell the moment the fragment seemed to be about to speak again. The portal collapsed and Sweetie Belle was suddenly alone in the maze. She sat in front of the central obelisk for a few moments, silent and still until her body shook with powerful sobs. She barely heard the sound of Celestia and Blueblood’s guards converging in on her. She didn’t have an answer when the Princess asked what had happened to her nephew.

All she could do was wait for the day to mercifully end.

o.0.∞.0.o

“Com-ing!”

Sweetie Belle snorted, pushing herself out of the bed when Rarity’s call woke her from her musings. Shaking her head, she started brushing her mane, when her sister shouted again, this time directed at her. “Sweetie! Get up! Scootaloo and Apple Bloom are here!”

For a moment her mind blanked, but then she remembered. It wouldn’t be her friends this early. She immediately scrambled out of the room and down the stairs, not even heeding the chairs she pushed out of the way when Rarity opened the door and stared in abject shock at the smiling prince just outside their door.

“Miss Rarity, isn’t it?” he said, reaching out to gently but boldly take the mare’s hoof. “I am Prince Blueblood. I hope this is no imposition? I’m here to see one Sweetie Belle about a Canterlot scholarship? She does live here, doesn’t she?”

“Oh. Oh, yes! She does, but—" Rarity swooned as Blueblood raised her hoof to his lips for a chaste kiss. He had determined it was the easiest way to take the Element of Generosity out of her element and assuage suspicion in general on his visits.

Sweetie launched herself at Blueblood and hugged his neck. “Don’t ever do that to me again!” she cried, burying her face on his chest and sobbing.

“She means, uhm... don’t ever surprise her without writing first?” Blueblood tried to explain as Rarity’s expression darkened. He patted the little filly on the head affectionately. “Did I mention the letter she wrote to me that won the scholarship? It involved a charming tale about her sister and her meeting a Prince at the Gala?”

“Why is she crying?” Rarity asked, still suspicious.

Blueblood gave a weak laugh in response. “Tears of joy. Right? Miss Sweetie Belle!” That last part preceded him turning her head around to take in the full glory of a Rarity one remark away from calling the gendarmes. Of which Ponyville had none anyway. But it was the thought that counted when it came to that anyway.

“I thought... you were dead...” Sweetie sniffled, turning to look back at him.

“Dead?” Rarity asked, catching onto that one word.

“Just some trouble in Canterlot,” Blueblood tried to explain, blue eyes darting left and right anxiously. His snout scrunched up as he tried to come up with a good lie, and Sweetie almost went from crying to laughing in the span of a heartbeat. “Merely an altercation!” he boasted, a large hoof to his chest as he preened. “The danger was minimal!”

“How...” Rarity began to say, when suddenly her eyes sparkled with delight. “How chivalrous! Please! Come in for some tea and we’ll talk all about Sweetie Belle and her scholarship, and whatever this... daring... rough... scandalous business was in Canterlot!”

“It would be my pleasure!” Blueblood said, and the moment Rarity turned around he raised an eyebrow that seemed to say, ‘Auntie’s flanks, here we go again.’

“Blueblood,” Sweetie whispered, still attached to his chest. “Promise me you’ll never make me watch something like that again.”

“I suppose I wasn’t thinking of what you’d see,” he admitted, looking genuinely contrite for what he had put her through. “I’m sorry for that, Sweetie Belle.” He patted her on the head again, smiling as if to assure her he was okay. “It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Sweetie nodded and released her hold, allowing him to pass her by before following him into the kitchen to hear about his “daring deeds,” and agree and nod whenever appropriate.

o.0.o

“Blueblood, what happened when you cast your spell? I couldn’t see exactly what happened from my angle, yesterday.”

“Hard to say. I think my spell was absorbed by the frozen column, and that triggered something... not a controlled melting as I had planned. It was like it blew up.”

Sweetie nodded pensively, looking over the edge of the carriage that was taking both of them to Canterlot. “I need to learn spells to help. I can’t just... sit there and see you try and be— I just can’t leave you to that fate alone, okay? This is elemental magic we’re talking about. How about we cover the basics with some attack spells and see if that works? Maybe the order in which we cast them is important?”

“It may be so,” Blueblood mused, glancing out the window of the carriage. It was a slower trip to Canterlot, compared to the Friendship Express, but it also allowed him to conduct business via pegasus flyers who came and went. “Sweetie Belle, you know I’m not normally the sort of pony to throw himself into danger... or even inconvenience, really. I do so hate being inconvenienced. But I’d rather not put you into that trap either.”

Sweetie’s eyebrow twitched. “Are you saying I’m an inconvenience?” She looked up at him and glared. “I’ve been shot at. Chased by werewolves, almost bludgeoned to death by ghouls... and that’s when I don’t have the chance to try again! When we figure this out, I’ll go into another world, and I might die. I don’t know what will happen, but if I can learn to better defend myself through these resets, then I want to learn! Last time I missed my chance to learn that lightning bolt spell... and I might really need it. Or a fire spell, or ice or water or whatever. If you’re just going to do things because you think I can’t take it...” she looked away. “I’ll just open the gate by myself. I’ll die a few times before you even begin to learn the spell.”

He turned his eyes from the rolling mountainside road outside to her. She didn’t even have to pout or use the puppy eyes to get him to relent. She didn’t want to, anyway. This was serious, and he realized it, too. It just took him a little longer to see it from her perspective.

“I’d almost forgotten about that,” he admitted, nodding slowly. “When you leave, the only pony who can protect you is... you. So! You need to learn some combat magic of the elemental variety? I may know a pony or three.”

Sweetie grinned. “Yesss. And I get to learn that lightning bolt spell that I missed last time, right? Hey! Maybe I’ll get a really cool cutie mark, like the elements or something! Elemental-Master Cutie Mark!”

“I’m not terribly fond of that sort of magic myself,” he said, but couldn’t quite put a damper on the happy filly’s spirits. “It isn’t that common in dueling, and my own talent for it is... subpar. First things first, I’ll find a tutor for you in the city.”

Blueblood’s eyes crinkled slightly as he examined Sweetie Belle.

“Yes,” he concluded. “That one may do.”

o.0.o

‘That one’ turned out to be none other than Fleur-de-Lis. The beautiful model was a minor noble and owed allegiance to the Bluebloods of Canterlot. Unlike many other ponies, like Octavia, there was apparently no need to have Sweetie approach Fleur herself. By the time they had arrived at Canterlot, the carriage rolling up to a plaza of Equestrian statues and streaming banners, Fleur and a few other ponies were already in attendance. She bowed, gracefully, as Blueblood approached and kissed her hoof quickly.

“Your Grace,” she greeted him, rising from her bow and striking a pose, one slim hoof tucked in.

“Kind of you to come on such short notice,” he said, and gestured to the filly accompanying him. “This is Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, Fleur-de-Lis, heiress of the Iris family.”

“Um, hello!” Sweetie Belle smiled sheepishly and waved a hoof. “Nice to meet you!”

“Wonderful to meet you as well,” Fleur said, lowering her head to eye level with the filly. “Aren’t you just the most adorable little thing?” A hint of mischief entered her eyes as she looked up at Blueblood. “I was unaware you had a daughter, your Grace.”

“Oh, he didn’t tell anypony and made me promise never to mention it,” Sweetie bubbled out. “But he’s a great daddy!”

Blueblood coughed, hoof to his chest. “I fear I’ve actually come to spoil her, of late,” he said, quickly shifting from momentary shock to comfortable fabrication. “Sadly, one area in which her education is lacking is self defense.”

Fleur seemed to accept this as fact rather readily. “A young Lady must know how to defend herself,” she agreed. “Especially the daughter of a Prince.”

“I had thought about seeing her to one of the royal guard ponies-at-arms, but...”

“She’s too young,” Fleur interrupted, her earlier deference towards Canterlot’s Prince and Duke disappearing. With long strides and swan-like grace, she circled Sweetie and Blueblood both. “On first look... I don’t think she has the body for guard type fencing. Her legs will be long when she grows up.”

“They will,” Blueblood assured her. “I’ve seen her aged up using magic.”

“How recently?”

“Very. Very recently.”

“So she’ll have my body type, or something close to it?” Fleur asked, nodding to herself. “You want to teach her I Quattro Elementi?”

“Can you?” he asked, simply.

“She’s still very young... when I was her age, I could barely lift a cup to my lips.”

“Sweetie Belle has the power of my own bloodline,” he assured her, and the praise felt a little strange to the filly. “The Element of Magic has tutored her before; you’ll find her far more capable than most any other pony her age.”

Fleur frowned, still dithering a bit on whether to commit or not. “Your Grace...”

“I would prefer to entrust this to a pony I have faith in,” Blueblood said. “I would think well of your help in this, and your discretion. Fancypants would find it convenient as well.”

“May I speak with her in private?” Fleur finally asked, and Blueblood nodded. He walked a distance away back to the carriage, where he waited. Once he was gone, Fleur’s smile returned as she looked down at Sweetie again.

“Lady Belle,” the beautiful model greeted her. “Have you been taught any elemental spells before?”

“Um, only the most basic aspects... I can heat up things, cool them down and a basic wind-based spell that allows me to clear up grime,” Sweetie Belle responded. It was actually quite a lot for a filly her age to know, but in sharing it with Fleur-de-Lis, Sweetie felt a little embarrassed by how underwhelming it had to sound.

“That isn’t bad, but, more importantly, have you been taught any... graceful spells?” Fleur saw the confusion on Sweetie’s face and explained, “I take it most of your spells are those that require ‘charging.’ Setting one’s hooves in place and building up power in the horn? A graceful spell is one that can be cast without the need to brace oneself. It is perfect for striking a pose and using magic at the same time, or for moving and doing the same.”

“Hm,” Sweetie considered. “I didn’t learn any of those. Except perhaps my shield spell.”

“‘I quattro’ refers to both the four magical elements ponykind can manipulate, and to the four hooves all ponies have,” Fleur told her, taking careful steps around Sweetie Belle, her hooves moving one in front of the other like a cat walking along a line of rope. “The description is somewhat deceptive: it means, ‘without the four hooves; with the four elements.’ Grace, poise, movement and magic are used to defend oneself against the more brutish forms of dueling.”

“To see if this suits you as your... father thinks it may, why don’t you try some hoofwork?” Fleur’s steps became shorter as she trotted off to the left and then to the right. In her wake, she left little glowing hoof-prints. They were spaced too close together for the leggy mare, but they were just filly-sized. It was magic, of course, but Sweetie hadn’t even noticed Fleur casting the spell.

“Go ahead,” the older mare prompted. “Follow the steps quickly, but gracefully, and without losing your balance. First a trot and then a canter.”

“Okay,” Sweetie nodded after studying the hoofprints. “I’ll try it...” She stepped on top of the glowing marks and slowly tried to imitate Fleur’s movements.

However, it was clear that she needed to do it faster, so she hurried up the pace on the return but didn’t account for how quickly she needed to cross her legs under her.

“Aaah!” Sweetie Belle managed to shout in the brief second it took her to end up rolling on the ground. “Ouch,” she muttered, standing up and trying once more. This time, it was her hindlegs that betrayed her, her left hoof colliding with her right when both were in the air.

Sweetie huffed in annoyance and tried once more, this time starting again slowly and putting her whole attention into each step, and steadily speeding up until she was moving as quickly as she could without falling.

“How’s this?” she asked.

“Too stiff. You’re trotting as though you have weights attached to your legs,” Fleur said, and walked a more adult-sized V just as easily as she would a runway. Her movements were fluid and easy, and Sweetie sighed at having to mimic them. She felt small and stubby, even moreso than when she tried to emulate Rarity’s poise.

“You must be comfortable in your movements,” Fleur instructed. “Do it again, if you please.”

“I’m getting a book on this as soon as I can get my hooves on Twilight,” Sweetie muttered, attempting to move more fluidly like Fleur had instructed. Rather than flow, however, she simply ended up jumping from one position to another. “How do you do it?”

“Practice, of course.” Fleur, as she always did, struck a pose, this time showing off her delicate neck and Princess-like nose. “If you like, I can recommend a few manuscripts to read on I quattro... Lady Prima Donna published several books on the subject for courtly ladies to study.”

o.0.∞.0.o

To Sweetie’s annoyance, Ponyville’s Golden Oaks library did not have even one of Lady Prima Donna’s books on “courtly magic.” To her delight, Blueblood instead had a copy of all four of her books delivered from Canterlot before noon.

Each book was lavishly illustrated with pictures of fair unicorn mares, most of them with Fleur’s lithe form, engaging in poses as part of a movement or duel with other mares. The first book focused purely on movement and balance and the effect of matters of timing and riposte, in laypony’s terms: avoiding being hit and releasing one’s spell to counter an opponent. The third and fourth manuals were treatises on fighting other styles of opponents, with the last having a final section on using the environment and conjuring up cover while fleeing or otherwise ‘maneuvering.’

When Rarity had found out what Sweetie had in the mail - by snooping of course - she had rather eagerly offered to help her little sister learn ‘poise and refinement’ even if she objected to any sort of dangerous activity.

“That’s right, Sweetie!” Rarity cheered, studiously ignoring Scootaloo’s gagging sounds as Sweetie Belle tilted her head just right, a rather thick book on needlework balanced behind her horn. “Now, the posture has to look elegant, but allow you to keep your balance... just as if you were modeling...” Her eyes brightened and she giggled with delight. “I-de-a! We need Fluttershy!”

“But Rarity!” Sweetie groaned. “I don’t want everypony to find out I’m learning to duel!”

“Nonsense, dear,” Rarity chided as she herded the fillies towards the door. “You’re just growing up a little and recognizing your future as a proper Canterlot lady. Now, let’s go get Fluttershy! Oh, this will be so much fun!”

o.0.∞.0.o

“You say you’ve learned the basics already?” Fleur asked, incredulous as Sweetie trotted the V without missing a beat. “Remarkable!” She extended a leg, and Sweetie hopped up onto it, taking balanced steps forward and backward, swaying her head side to side.

“Very nice!” Fleur complimented , smiling in delight. She lowered her foreleg and Sweetie jumped down onto the plaza floor, keeping step with the older mare as she cantered, turned, posed, and cantered back. “Your balance is good... but...!”

Sweetie Belle ‘oofed’ as she suddenly fell onto her side, thanks to a gentle telekinetic push.

“Try it again,” Fleur said, her horn glowing with a soft pink light. “If you can keep from falling in the steps when I give you the occasional push, then you’ll be ready.”

o.0.∞.0.o

It was back to the V but this time there were several of them to follow in the plaza tile. Sweetie Belle cantered forward, retreated, jumped to another set, repeated, reversed, all while Fleur trotted in a slow circle around her, giving the occasional unbalancing telekinetic shove. The slim white mare wasn’t a very strict teacher, not like Twilight could be, but she was a little pushy. If she felt Sweetie could do something, she immediately pushed her into doing it. If there was some problem, it was sorted out in the doing rather than before or after.

“Ice,” she instructed, even as Sweetie felt a magical force try to trip up her left hind leg.

A cold wind circled the filly’s horn as she pranced, still keeping from falling.

“Good!” Fleur complimented, and a tiny fire spark shot from her horn like a flare. Sweetie moved while trying to hit the falling flare, a few gusts of cold wind barely visible in the air, except one finally hit, and the flare was instantly extinguished.

So far, she had only been taught a basic version of ranged heating and cooling, along with a wind spell designed to help power pegasus cloudmagic. By Fleur’s own description, they were also useful in a general sense: cooling a pony in hot weather without a hat, warming a pony while in a cold climate, especially when that pony prefered not to wear clothing or could not do so because of her station and job. Earth magic was the most difficult by far for a unicorn to replicate, so Fleur had saved it for last. Before then, and for several loops now, Sweetie had dropped hints about another spell she hoped to learn...

“Lightning magic comes from wind,” Fleur lectured as they continued their exercises in the magnificent Canterlot plaza. “Pegasus ponies press the wind together, like two sheets of fabric. Electricity builds between the sheets of wind. One way for a unicorn to do the same is to circle the winds around your horn, from the base to the tip. Then you will be able to use Sublime’s Scintillating Sparks spell.”

“Hm, I never thought to learn the lightning spell for formal dueling,” Sweetie said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “I thought I could just summon it from the friction particles in the air, possibly increasing the magical output to increase the quantity of bolts exponentially, using it as an area effect rather than a simple single bolt of deadly force, effectively reducing a large force to charred remains!” She brightened. “But! Now I can look really cool while frying ghouls!”

Fleur chuckled, an airy laugh full of infectious cheer. “You wish to smite an enemy with a bolt from the heavens?”

Sweetie shrugged. “Or I could levitate a large stone and drop it on them, but that’s not quite as fast as I would like.” She blinked. “Wait, I did just say that...”

“My family has served the Bluebloods for a century,” Fleur reminded her, and a little push prompted Sweetie to pick up her pace. “If you desire a spell that can destroy any number of enemies, it should be at your hooftips. Just ask your father.”

‘It is a great honor to be invested and raised as a Princess of Equestria. One does not refuse such an honor. In the past, my family made sure no pony refused it.’

“N-no,” Sweetie stammered, falling back into the patterns she was learning. “I’d rather not. I don’t even know why I said that.” She shook her head, trying not to unbalance herself in the process. “I think learning this style is what I need... not to turn into... into somepony scary like that.”

Fleur smiled. “There is something to be said for speed and grace rather than power. The more powerful a spell, the more vulnerable the one casting it. Or, as the saying goes, ‘a lion still fears a snake.’ Do you still wish to try Sublime’s Scintillating Sparks?”

Sweetie nodded enthusiastically. “Please teach me!”

“To start you off, why don’t you come here and I will ‘pass’ the spell onto you.” Fleur lowered her head, and Sweetie could see faint movement in the air around her long, thin horn. She broke from her steps briefly, and approached the older mare. Their horns touched for an instant, and Sweetie felt a swirl of wind begin to circle her horn... slight at first, but then with growing pressure.

“Push the wind together, little by little,” Fleur said, raising her head. “Just how much depends on the pony and the size of their... equipment. Start with a few small sparks so you don’t get hurt.”

Sweetie frowned.

“Only sparks?” she asked, taking some time to purely concentrate on the invisible forces circling her horn. Closing her eyes, she could imagine two of Rarity’s ribbons, wound tight and rubbing together, or even that time Scootaloo had rubbed her hooves on a carpet to zap Apple Bloom. Capturing those images, that feeling, she could feel through her own magic... it was there! She could feel the wind and the particles begin to bend to her desires!

A tingling preceded the first of what became a steady stream of sparks. Suddenly, a miniature bolt of electricity flashed from her horn to burn her nose. “Ow. Hey! OW! Why you... ow! Grrr. Ow! Ow!” Finally, once every hair of her mane was standing on end, she lowered the amount until just a few flashed here and there. “Ok, there. Just like you told me.”

“That was remarkably quick!” Fleur exclaimed, having seen the little bolt of lightning for herself. She clapped her front hooves together excitedly. “One or two more times - without zapping yourself now - and then repeat it while on the V. I will conjure up a target.”

“Right!” Sweetie nodded, this time trying to stay as simple as possible and keep her movements on the patterns. “But, I was reading on some books that this style works in different ways depending on your opponents, how will I learn that? And what about two mares using the I quattro elementi? I read the theory but it’s kinda hard to imagine!”

“You must always think on your hooves,” Fleur said, resuming her circuit around Sweetie as she practiced. “Be nimble of mind and body, and graceful as well. Lady Prima Donna invented the style so that she could look good while winning, and not simply standing in place and straining away at one huge spell or another. As such, the wise filly must be ready to adapt to her circumstances and watch for an opening. Then, when that opening presents itself, you strike without warning.”

She nodded, approvingly, as Sweetie continued her rounds despite a forceful little push to the side. Sublime’s Scintillating Sparks produced a glittering trail of white and yellow lights in Sweetie’s wake, a trail of light in the air made by her swishing head and mane and her faintly glowing horn.

“Most important is to be graceful, even in defeat,” Fleur reminded her, striking a pose with one foreleg and one rear leg extended. “You seem to be have taken to Sparks very readily, so why don’t we try something more... challenging?”

Fleur suddenly jumped in front of Sweetie, smiling even as she cast a trail of ice in front of the filly. Sweetie had to scramble for a moment to keep from falling on her rump, but once she did, a long prance carried her away from the ice and back onto solid ground. She was just in time to see a small orange and pink fireball flying towards her.

Eyes widening, she moved out of the way even as she instinctively started raising a shield. She stopped herself, allowing the fireball to pass by her instead of taking it head on and breaking one of Fleur’s very first lessons: keep moving. Her response instead was to follow her duelist instincts and await Fleur’s next attack: a small burst of air that almost pushed her back... but allowed her to retort with a quick tap to the ground.

“Dammit,” she whispered when Fleur’s prance put her well out of the range of the small explosion of rocks she had sent her way. And suddenly she was prancing herself to avoid a quick succession of small elemental effects cast her way. Seeing an apparent way out, she quickly cantered out of the latest mini-fireball trajectory... only to slip and fall when she stepped on the initial ice trail Fleur had cast.

“It seems... I have a lot to learn...” Sweetie sighed. Then she got a particularly interesting idea. “But I know how to get some much needed practice for these and all my other spells, too...!”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Hey, Blank Flanks!” Diamond Tiara called, sneering. “Why don't you go dig in the trash for your cutie marks? I'm sure you can find something that'll fit you just fine in there!”

“Just ignore them, Scootaloo...” Apple Bloom whispered when the orange-coated filly growled.

“Yeah, don't worry, Scoots. I got it.” Sweetie Belle grinned as her horn lit up with magic.

o.0.o

“I don't care what she said!” Miss Cheerilee shouted, pacing angrily in front of Sweetie Belle. “You don't light a pony's tail on fire for being obnoxious!”

o.0.∞.0.o

“I don't care what she said!” Miss Cheerilee shouted, pacing angrily in front of Sweetie Belle. “You don't light a pony's tail on fire for being obnoxious!”

“But it was an accident!” Sweetie Belle lied. “And I put it out!”

“Sweetie Belle,” Cheerilee growled. “Freezing Diamond Tiara’s tail solid might put out the fire, but it still is not right!”

o.0.∞.0.o

“I don't care what she said!” Miss Cheerilee shouted, pacing angrily in front of Sweetie Belle. “You don't put a pony in a sinkhole for being obnoxious!”

o.0.∞.0.o

“I don't care what she said!” Miss Cheerilee shouted, pacing angrily in front of Sweetie Belle. “You don't light a pony's tail on fire for being obnoxious!”

“But, I fixed it!”

“You froze her!”

“And I fixed that too!”

“By setting her on fire again!” Cheerilee shrieked. “Her coat was completely burned off! It'll take months for it to grow back!”

“She'll get over it.”

“That's it, I'm calling your parents!”

“Go ahead, I’ll keep practicing my spells until I get them right. Besides, they’re on vacation.”

“Corner. Dunce hat. Now.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Have any of you seen Diamond Tiara?” Silver Spoon asked.

“Uh...” Apple Bloom tore her eyes from the gray coated squirrel being chased by Opalescence.

Scootaloo quickly blocked their view. “No.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Horseapples!” Diamond Tiara shouted, drawing shocked gasps from all the other colts and fillies in the classroom.

“Diamond Tiara!” Cheerilee scolded her. “We don't use that vocabulary in class! And for your information, it's common knowledge that Princess Celestia was alive a thousand years ago! She’s—”

“Bucking moronic!” Diamond Tiara snapped, eyes wide as she covered her mouth with her hooves.

“What. did. you. say?” Cheerilee growled.

“See no evil, hear no evil...” Snips whined, covering his ears and closing his eyes while he rocked back and forth in his seat.

“Diamond Tiara, you will stop swearing in class this instant, understood? You are already in deep trouble as it is!”

“Poxy-spectacled Horseco—”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Hey, Blank Flanks, why don't y—” Diamond Tiara stopped when she noticed Sweetie Belle was not listening. “Heey! I'm talking to you!”

“Ugh...” Sweetie groaned. “I'm sooo over that idiot.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo snickered.

“What did you call me? Blank flank?” Diamond Tiara growled loud enough to draw the attention of other colts and fillies in the playground.

“I called you an idiot,” Sweetie replied. “A moron. A dunce. A cretin. An imbecile. A blockhead. A dimwit. A ninny,” Sweetie elaborated, punctuating every insult and slowly walking around Diamond Tiara, her poise and steps unconsciously adopting the forms of the i quattro elementi. She snorted in disdain, something she had learned from the best —the smug nobles of Canterlot— and glared at Diamond Tiara, who suddenly didn’t look so sure about herself anymore.

“You are a classless poseur, Diamond Tiara. You assume that having a cutie-mark that symbolizes little else than a pampered upbringing gives you a right to lord it over everypony else. But your tiny sliver of pride comes from bullying and bits of gold, not tradition... or bloodline... or magic... or even talent.”

When Diamond Tiara made an attempt to retort, a quick canter to the side and a whiplike tap to the ground sent a small flame between her legs, making her squeal in fright and jump back. Looking up she immediately found herself facing Sweetie Belle again, green eyes boring into her and finding her lacking.

“What are you going to do?” Sweetie asked, tossing her mane and looking down at Diamond Tiara. “Call for daddy? Guess what?” Her horn lit up and a shimmering dome materialized around them. “If he was around, he could hear you... but nopony can help you. It’s just you and me.”

“I-I’m... s-sorry...” Diamond Tiara whinnied.

Sweetie chuckled, a cold, sad, unhappy laugh. “No, you’re not.”

A trail of ice followed her statement, making her opponent scramble back, but not too far. A small explosion of earth threw Diamond Tiara to the floor.

“You’re not sorry!” Sweetie yelled, suddenly. “You’re never sorry! You’ll never BE sorry! And you have no idea how tired I am of you. But now look,” she said, quietly, gesturing towards the dome. “Listen to how quiet you are. What’s happening, Diamond Tiara? What’s the difference? Why aren’t you taunting me and my friends anymore? Tell me. Prove to me how much better you are because of your cutie mark! You are still better than us, aren’t you?”

“N-no...”

“Are you going to keep bullying us blank flanks?”

“No...” the spoiled, rotten little filly cowered under her hooves. “No-please...”

Sweetie frowned when she felt somepony putting pressure on her shield. Not taking her eyes off of Diamond Tiara, she conjured a small lightning bolt that did little but sting and frizzle Tiara’s mane. “I guess we’re done for now. And even if you will have forgotten by tomorrow, remember this for the rest of the day: You’re nothing.”

She stepped back. Just as her shield was dissolved, Diamond Tiara was picked up in a lavender-red aura of magic and carried out of her vision, which was suddenly filled by Rarity’s glare. “How dare you!”

Sweetie blinked and looked around. Most of the colts and fillies were staring at her in horror, others were looking towards a crying Diamond Tiara with pity. Twilight Sparkle was performing some sort of magic test on her, while Cheerilee hysterically motioned towards Sweetie Belle with her hooves.

“I—” Sweetie swallowed. “I just defended myself! She’s been bullying us!”

Rarity shook her head, the anger in her blue eyes increasing, sharpening. “What I saw there was not Diamond Tiara bullying anypony. I saw my little sister torture and taunt a defenseless filly!”

“But, it was a duel!” Sweetie Belle protested. “She challenged me!”

“A duel!?” Rarity screeched. “That was not a duel! She doesn’t even know what a duel is! She’s a filly! Just like you! Dueling is not something you do with actual spells at your age! I should—”

“I believe that was the I Quattro Elementi,” Twilight Sparkle interrupted, having finished her check on Diamond Tiara. “Perfectly executed for a filly your age.” She gazed at Sweetie steadily. “You’ve been practicing for awhile.” She started walking around Sweetie Belle, not unlike the way she had done to Diamond Tiara earlier. “Nopony in Ponyville would know how to teach you that. Were you sponsored by a noble? But why would anypony train you at such an age? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I don’t even care right now where she learned such spells or... or the form which you were using! What I want to know,” Rarity growled, pointing with her hoof at Diamond Tiara, “is what made you think terrorizing a filly with magic attacks was the right way to deal with bullying!”

Sweetie’s eyes widened. “I-I should... I’m sorry...” she looked down. “I know I’m grounded but... I’m going to apologize.”

Rarity and Twilight looked at each other before nodding. They followed Sweetie Belle a few steps behind as she made her way, head down, to the sniffling Diamond Tiara.

She didn’t get very far before a gray-coated filly stood firmly in her way. “You’re not getting close to her again.”

“S-Silver Spoon,” Sweetie stammered. “I-I just wanted to—”

“I don’t care what you want,” Silver Spoon stated. “You cannot see her.”

“But—”

“Ah think you should go, Sweetie,” Apple Bloom interrupted, walking up to stand to Silver Spoon’s left. “Maybe later you can apologize, but Ah won’t let you get any closer to Diamond Tiara than this today.”

Sweetie’s eyes started to sting a little, her vision wavering with forming tears.

“Go home, Sweetie,” Scootaloo added, stopping to Silver Spoon’s right. “I dunno what happened to make you act like that, but I really don’t want to hang out with you today either.”

“But... all I want to do is apologize!” Sweetie complained.

“Well, unless you’re going to blast us all out of the way, you can’t!” Scootaloo snapped.

Sweetie looked from Scootaloo to Apple Bloom and back, not even attempting to keep her tears in check. “But we’re Crusaders! Why—”

“Crusaders ain’t bullies,” Apple Bloom said firmly, making both Sweetie Belle and Silver Spoon flinch.

“Come on, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said from behind her. “You will get your chance to apologize for this abhorrent behaviour. But not right now.”

Sweetie nodded and slowly walked away, following Twilight and her sister out of the school grounds. She could hear both unicorns arguing back and forth about her skills, the magic, the i quattro elementi, her age, the bullying again... none of it made sense to them. Why would it? She wasn’t the Sweetie Belle they knew. She sighed and stopped for a moment, watching the two mares walk ahead.

These two were her most beloved family besides the Crusaders. One a mentor and friend, the other her sister and, in her original world, the mother she never had. She glanced back at the school, and saw the two fillies she considered to be her sisters, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, looking at her.

They held her eyes for a moment before turning their backs to her and trotting into the school house. ‘Sure, just turn your backs on me, what good is a friendship with fillies who won’t even take my side?’ Sweetie thought, her eyes darkening before they widened at the realization of what she had just been thinking. She slumped on the floor, thick tears splashing on the ground between her forehooves.

“I didn’t mean that!” she cried, burying her face in her hooves. “Wh-what am I turning into?”

“Nothing that you don’t want to be,” Rarity said sternly, startling Sweetie Belle.

She looked up to her sister’s kind eyes and, forgetting all about the world, she threw her hooves around Rarity’s neck and cried as hard as she could, while her sister held her close with one hoof around her back.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry, sis! Twilight! I didn’t think... I just - I just reacted and she’s made me so angry! All this time! You don’t know! Every day she does it! Every day! And... and I was just so angry!”

“Hush now,” Rarity whispered, her own eyes brimming with tears. “I know you’re sorry, and we can talk more later, but you’re still grounded.”

Sweetie simply nodded into Rarity’s coat. “I’ll make it up to her somehow,” she replied, not willing to let go.

“Good, that’s a start,” Twilight spoke up with a small nod. “Sweetie... whoever is teaching you... are they good ponies?”

Sweetie took a deep breath, before stepping away from her sister and nodding at them both.

“Good,” Twilight said. “Today’s not the best day to get all the details, but let me tell you something Princess Celestia told me once. She told me that ‘there is much more to a mentor or teacher than knowledge imparted. It is imperative that they are good ponies because they are your moral compass. Learn from them not only spells or information, but the proper and right way to use what you know.’”

She thought back to Fleur, and imagined the slim unicorn shaking her head. ‘Putting another mare in her place is fine, but that wasn’t very beautiful, or necessary, was it?’

Twilight looked at Sweetie with a small smile. “I think, Sweetie, that if your teachers are good ponies, like Miss Cheerilee for example, you should focus as well on their philosophy of life and their moral outlook. Let them guide you so that what happened today doesn’t happen ever again.”

Sweetie trotted up to Twilight and surprised her by giving her a tight hug as well. “I will, Twilight. Thank you... for another lesson.”

Twilight Sparkle gave her a good hug in return before releasing Sweetie. “Now, you should go with Rarity, you are grounded.”

Sweetie couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah... and I have to plan something as well.”

Rarity and Twilight exchanged a look.

“And what is that, Sweetie?” Rarity asked.

“A way to make it up to all my friends... and not-so-friendly schoolmates.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“And what are you doing here, Blank Flank?”

Sweetie sighed and looked up to where Diamond Tiara was sneering at her, Silver Spoon standing next to her with a confused expression, for once unsure on how to act. Every day, they did this. Every day, they repeated the same old insults and tired lines. Even when Sweetie left town, she knew what was repeating itself in her absence, what her friends endured. She’d stopped counting the loops after a hundred, but every day it was this, and every day it made her mad.

It still did, truth be told. It probably always would.

“I...” Sweetie Belle swallowed and took a deep breath, her horn lit up, startling both fillies until the box Sweetie had been carrying on her back levitated up to them and opened. “I brought you two some cupcakes and... I was hoping we could walk to school together and I could get to know you better.”

Diamond Tiara frowned, looking at the cupcakes. She raised a suspicious eyebrow at Sweetie Belle. “Why? Is this some sort of trap?”

Sweetie shook her head. “No... I just... want to be friends.”

Diamond Tiara snorted, but took a cupcake and gave it a tentative bite. Her eyes widened. “These are...!”

“... your favorite?” Sweetie Belle giggled. “I asked Pinkie Pie about it and you know she knows everypony and what they like.”

“Are those... banana cupcakes?” Silver Spoon asked, peering into the box.

“Yep, for you,” Sweetie replied, levitating one out for Silver Spoon.

“I guess we can hang out until we reach the school,” Diamond Tiara grudgingly conceded.

“Great!” Sweetie grinned. “Why don’t you tell me about how you got your cutie marks?”

o.0.o

“You walked to school with them? Them!” Scootaloo asked the moment she had skidded to a halt in front of the three fillies, who were seated at one of the small tables in the playground.

Behind her, Apple Bloom staggered off the wagon and had to take deep breaths before she could regain her composure. “Scootaloo, never again, Ah mean it! Never again are you to do a spinning jump over ducklings with me in the back seat, do Ah make myself clear?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Scootaloo waved a hoof. “What I want to know is why Sweetie Belle is with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon!”

Sweetie grinned sheepishly.

“What, can’t she, like, hang out with us?” Diamond Tiara asked dismissively. “Maybe she wants to do better in life. If you don’t want to be a blank flank, maybe you shouldn’t hang around with other blank flanks, right?”

“Tiara,” Sweetie Belle chided, motioning for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to sit with them. “Scootaloo and Apple Bloom are my best friends, don’t treat them like that!”

Diamond Tiara grumbled, glaring, but to the surprise of Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, she left it at that, choosing to stuff another cupcake into her mouth instead of retorting or insulting them.

“Here girls,” Sweetie Belle levitated another box of cupcakes. “There’s more, I have apple cupcakes for you, Apple Bloom and blueberry cupcakes for you, Scootaloo.”

The two crusaders looked at each other and shrugged, digging in. Sugarcube Corner cupcakes were always a good way to let bygones be bygones. For a day, at least.

Then, after a moment of silent munching, Scootaloo spoke up. “Heeey... since when can you do magic?!”

o.0.∞.0.o

“T-that wasn’t so bad,” Sweetie gasped, falling flat on her back. “At least you didn’t completely demolish me this time.”

“Of course,” Fleur smiled, lying down next to the exhausted filly. “Your performance was excellent for a filly that learned most of this from books and observation. You make your bloodline proud, Lady Belle.”

Sweetie shot her a look. “You don’t really believe I’m Blueblood’s daughter, do you?”

Fleur somehow found a way to pose and look pretty even while lying on her stomach. She flicked her soft pink mane, using a hoof to idly fluff one of the delicate curls. Her violet eyes narrowed slightly and she laughed.

“I had a mane like yours when I was little, you know?” she asked, but shook her head. “So pretty! And I love the little natural curls you have. With your coloration, your poise, and your magic, it is possible you could be a filly of the Blueblood line, but I never really believed you were Prince Blueblood’s. His Grace seems very fond of you, even now I’m sure he’s waiting and straining to hear what I’m saying to you, but I know for a fact that he does not want foals and would take certain measures that protect his bachelor’s lifestyle.”

“You must be an apprentice of his,” she speculated and pursed her lips. “Or the younger sister of a lover, perhaps?”

“I think of him as an older brother,” Sweetie said after a moment of thought. “It took some getting used to his quirks but...” She smiled and looked towards the prince in question. “He’s a really great pony, a good friend and a caring brother. Even if we can only claim being siblings in jest.”

“He is?” Fleur asked in surprise, and just then realized the doubt that had crept into her voice. “Not to be disrespectful, the Bluebloods have always been... good to my family... they took us in after we had to leave Prance, but His Grace has—” Fleur struggled with how to phrase a sentiment Sweetie had heard before, from the mouths of many other mares. “His Grace seems very, shall we say, sybaritic? Callous, at times, too. Fancy often says—"

The refined mare grew very quiet at that. “Well, no matter. Maybe this is a good sign of change.” She covered her mouth as she laughed, very softly. “A caring brother, His Grace? Oh, I am going to hate keeping this a secret.”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “Keep it a secret? Why? Just tell everypony. In fact, tell Mr. Fancy Pants. Weren’t you dating him? I think my sis said so?”

“Your sister knows my Fancy?” Fleur asked, surprised again. She rolled her eyes, clearly trying to place who Sweetie Belle’s mysterious sister in high society was, and if Fleur had met her before.

“Oh, my sister knows a lot of ponies!” Sweetie said excitedly. “She’s even good friends with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!” She sighed. “I hope she’ll be proud of me... a-anyway, speaking of which, I’m really thankful for all your help... it’s been great.”

“And I am happy to help,” the Equestrian supermodel replied, striking one last pose. “Just remember to keep practicing! True beauty comes from within, and from pride in who you are and what you do. Always be beautiful, no matter what happens!”

Sweetie nodded. “If you and Rarity don’t end up as the best of friends someday, I’m going to quit dimension-jumping.”

o.0.o

“If my eyes do not deceive, I do think you two ladies got along quite well,” Blueblood said, pouring himself a glass of wine as the carriage rolled them along back to Canterlot’s Grand Palace.

Rather than take the road back to Ponyville, it was late enough to catch the very end of the Gala and find Sweetie a room there. This late, the roads often became choked with carriages coming and going from the night’s signature event. It was less hassle just to wait things out in the comfort of the castle, knowing that any questions put off until morning would never actually need answering.

“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle nodded. “She’s a really nice lady! And she likes a lot of things Rarity likes too! So... it felt like I was hanging out with one of my sister’s friends, like Twilight, or Fluttershy.”

“Fleur is a good mare; she has always been loyal,” Blueblood replied, and though he seemed to be saying it as an agreement and compliment, there was a different tone to his voice. “She’s spying on Fancypants for me, you know. I know she wants myself and Fancypants to bury the hatchet... If I ever get out of these loops... I’ll work towards that. And so much else.”

Sweetie patted Blueblood’s hoof with her own. “You will, and you’ll fix it and everything else that needs fixing,” she said, encouragingly. “You can do it!”

“If I can, I will start with myself. I’ve been rather negligent.” His frown deepened as he considered Canterlot, rolling by outside the carriage. “‘Good ponies do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly...’ Brayto said that. No law forced me to act responsibly. It has... it was always my choice to act as I did.”

He turned away from the city, and smiled at Sweetie, reassuringly. “Relax, we’ll be at the castle soon. I’ll have Light Touch see to your usual room.”

Growing a little sleepy, Sweetie put her head down and dozed off lightly on the soft feather cushions of the carriage, the gentle swaying back and forth, the soft clatter of hooves and wooden wheels on tile and cobblestone providing a relaxing backdrop. It was a light sleep, though, marred by thoughts of what waited for her - for both of them - in the maze tomorrow. And always, there was Twilight’s fragment, watching over the traps and the puzzles.

Sweetie wasn’t sure how much power the fragment had over the pocket dimension, or if it would stop things from hurting ponies, but it was clear now that the fragment didn’t want to help. It didn’t want ponies to be safe in the maze, even if it seemed excited by the prospect of being reunited with Twilight’s other fragments. The paradox of it kept her awake and restless, despite however comfortable she became.

A sharp intake of breath prompted her to look up.

Blueblood was ducking low and behind one of the carriage’s curtains, as if to hide from somepony outside, while also leaving enough room to look out. Curious now, Sweetie clambered up to see for herself what was the fuss. Sleeping was out for now.

Green eyes widened as she recognized what had caught Blueblood’s eye.

“Rarity?” she asked, and Blueblood grumbled something under his breath.

It was Rarity, in her royal burgundy Gala dress. She was leaning against one of the balconies, her hooves over the edge and her chin on her hooves. The Gala itself was still in progress - not yet ruined as it always was, with or without Blueblood’s presence - but for one mare, it had already become a bust. She closed her eyes, clearly not noticing the stallion or the filly in the slow-moving carriage driving up to the Palace grounds.

“Miss Rarity,” Sweetie heard Blueblood say with a sigh. “I still don’t understand her. She never pursues anypony else at the Gala, even if I don’t attend. She even sings about what this night means to her. She came here to meet me. It isn’t my crown or my fortune. So why?”

“Rarity has an eye for detail,” Sweetie shrugged. “Maybe she saw in you what it took us all so long to realize.”

“She is quite fetching... I really like her mane.”

Sweetie’s snickering elicited a look from the stallion.

“What? Did I say something odd?” Blueblood went back to looking out the window. “I think I have a vague idea about how to help them... all six of them: to give them the perfect Gala. Miss Rarity is both the easiest and the hardest. All I have to do is be the stallion she thinks I am. With her, though...” He shook his head, cutting himself short. “She needs a Prince Charming for the Gala. Since Shining Armor is engaged, that leaves me.”

Sweetie giggled. “Oh, Blueblood, she doesn’t need a Prince Charming for the Gala,” she smirked. “If I know my sister at all, she wants a Prince Charming for life.”

“If so, then that is very much part of the problem,” Blueblood admitted, and he reached up to brush a stray lock of blond mane from the side of his face. “I don’t think I can be both of those things. I’ve never - all the mares I’ve wooed before, it was just for... for the conquest of it, or for fun, or once even for a damnable competition. Terrible, isn’t it? What Miss Rarity wants is for us to fall in love at the Gala. I can’t fake that, and I don’t know if... how can we fall in love if I spend the whole time being somepony else?”

Sweetie shook her head. “I dunno, Blueblood. I mean, don’t you like her already? Why would it be so difficult?”

“Like her?” he asked. “I... I don’t like seeing her unhappy anymore, if that is what you mean, but that sort of behavior has lost its appeal in general. I honestly don’t know.”

Sweetie sighed, looking sadly out the window. “I hope you figure it out, Blue.”

“I shouldn’t be burdening you with these things anyway, not with all we have to do tomorrow,” he said, but still didn’t tear his eyes away from the balcony, even as it began to vanish behind a corner of the window. Only when it was gone did he face forward. “I’ll see a room prepared for you. Then, maybe... maybe I’ll try and catch my Auntie and her friends at that donut shop tonight. I haven’t done that yet.”

Sweetie yawned. “Sleep sounds good...”

o.0.∞.0.o

“So, do you remember anything about this thing?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking at the column in front of her. “There must be a clue here... why the coil around it? A sequence of blocks?” she glanced at Blueblood.

Blueblood shook his head. “I’m afraid I have no idea. There seems to be no order to the blocks here.”

Twilight’s fragment circled around them before smiling at the pair. “Well, are you both staying inside? I’ll take the bridge away and you’ll both be stuck in there.” She giggled. “You might regret it!”

Sweetie glared at her, but kept her mouth shut. She turned to look at the column, and gulped when she heard the bridge being pulled away. “There must be some clue.”

She slowly moved around the column, taking note of each block.

“Clouds could represent wind,” she whispered. “Ice... water. Ashes... fire. And rocks would be earth.” She looked around. “The fragment also said that there were no spells, other than elemental ones, allowed. Is it that they won’t work?” She tried casting her darkness spell, only for it to fizzle into nothing. “So no levitating to hold the bowl at the top in place...”

She gave Blueblood a look and a sheepish smile. “W-well, here goes nothing!”

“Sweetie Belle,” he warned her, frowning as he looked around the trap. “I don’t think I’ll be able to push you out if something happens. Let us both be careful.”

She approached one of the ice blocks. “Maybe... it’s about speed? Blue, I’ll try melting the ice block slowly!”

Seeing him nod in reply, and convinced herself, she subconsciously struck a pose as the magic flowed through her. She controlled the flame that she produced, making it melt just the bottom of the ice block. The bowl at their hooves trembled as the ice melted away, allowing Sweetie to see a thick, metal rod going through the center of the ice block, the ash block above it and the cloud block below it. The bowl kept shaking, and the parts that were melted away were quickly pushed together, but after a moment, the ice began cracking.

“Oh, oh no... Blueblood! Look out!” she shouted, terminating her spell and quickly jumping back as the block splintered and broke completely, slamming the next block down.

Sweetie’s eyes immediately went up to the bowl over them, and saw it tilt dangerously. Some of the strange starry liquid it contained trickled over the side and fell around them. Sweetie and Blueblood scrambled to get out of the way of the magical matter as dark globules of it fizzled and burned like ingots of steel.

“W-what is that stuff?!” she asked, hooves inching away from where a droplet of the dark matter turned to smoke, vaporizing the metal beneath it.

“I do believe it’s aether! Pure magic, drawn from the night’s sky, and neither solid, liquid nor gas!” Blueblood supplied once the danger had passed. He glanced upwards and gulped, growing a little anxious. “To think that Miss Sparkle or the Twenty Third could fill a bowl that size with pure magic... in this of all forms! Madness!”

“That thing is not Twilight,” Sweetie Belle growled, walking up to the column again and taking a closer look. “It seems that us doing the ice melting slowly worked... but... there’s only two... four... five I can reach with my spell. It wouldn’t be enough to bring that thing down all the way to where we could get out.”

“Do you think we should chip away at the rock, cloud and ashes?”

Sweetie shook her head. “No... this is a puzzle, and if we keep doing the obvious thing we won’t solve it. The bowl will eventually lose its balance and either crush us or fill this one up with aether. Either way we’re dead.” She stared at the bowl all the way above them. “If there was only a way to get it to stick in place while we deal with the blocks...” She sighed and brought her hooves down on the metal bowl hard in frustration.

The low clang sent reverberations through her body, but her eyes stayed on the bowl. She remembered the previous time they had been here, how the other bowl had also been made of metal, and suddenly her eyes widened. She galloped around the column a couple of times, staring at the metal coil. “Of course!” she shouted. “We have to keep it stuck up there!” she turned to look at the bowl so far away. “But how?”

“Hmm.” Blueblood narrowed his eyes. “I did not notice this before, but, it appears that the top of the coil is a different material than the rest of it.”

Sweetie jumped onto his back and peered closer. “I-I think that’s copper!” she looked down. “Blueblood! Do you know what that means?”

“That my ancestor wasted a considerable amount of precious metal on an inane trap?”

“Besides that!” Sweetie huffed, her horn lighting up with magic as small sparks gathered around it. “We might be able to magically magnetize it!”

As the energy started to concentrate even more around her horn, Blueblood shifted under her nervously. “Are you sure you should be putting so much energy into it? You might get hurt.”

“I don’t know how much electricity we need,” Sweetie replied, gritting her teeth as the pressure increased. “Better use more than less, right?!” Having said that, she released the biggest lightning bolt she had ever attempted, and for a brief second it looked just like the real thing, striking the coil at the top and making it glow blue for a moment.

She sighed and slumped on top of Blueblood’s back. “I hope that worked. I don’t know what else I can do.”

“Well then,” Blueblood shrugged. “Nothing else but to try it and see what happens?” He chuckled at the prospect of imminent death from on high again. “Reminds me of when I snuck that hot pepper into Auntie’s salad. I felt a nice little tingle that may or may not meant a lifetime on the moon.”

Sweetie nodded nervously, sliding down from the prince’s back. Taking a deep breath, she studied the next block and, with a decisive nod, she summoned a stream of water to flush the ashes away. The block immediately dispersed and the bowl under them spun in a circle, pushing them upwards until the remaining blocks smashed together, bringing them to a sudden halt.

Sweetie cringed and looked up, but the bowl was still in the same place. She gave Blueblood a tentative smile. “W-we figured it out!”

Block by block they were pushed upward towards the upper bowl, and from time to time Sweetie would blast the coil again with lightning, to make sure it remained magnetized, until finally, with one last spin upwards, their bowl connected with a bridge.

“Fine, you win this round,” Twilight’s fragment huffed as she materialized nearby out of a wisp of smoke. “But only because I gave you an easy one! I suppose I can’t be annoyed if you figured it out so quickly!”

Sweetie gave her a wary look. “You call that easy? What if we had accidentally blown up one of the blocks before the upper bowl was magnetized?”

“In that situation, I think you would be dead.” Twilight’s fragment shrugged. “But you’re not, so what does it matter now? Come on. I’ll be waiting for you at your next test.”

Sweetie sighed and collapsed on the bridge. “I really hate this fragment.”

o.0.o

The ground underhoof rumbled and sunk for a moment as the magic of the pocket dimension began to shift, though whether it was to the whim of the unhinged Twilight fragment or to the design of a long deceased Blue Belle, neither Sweetie nor Blueblood could say for sure. Based on simple perception, there wasn’t even any real logic to the dimension: no walls or even a line to designate a top from bottom or a ground from ceiling. There was some substance underhoof that they could stand on, but nothing else until it changed.

A piece of the ground detached, and in a cascade of sparkles, formed into a serpentine shape. For a moment, the thought of them having to face a huge serpent or lithe dragoness crossed Sweetie’s mind, but then the strand of magical matter became blocky. Twists and turns revealed themselves to be interlocking joints, to which the rectangular blocks were attached. Individual segments within the blocks shimmered and took on colors: purples and pinks and gold and blue.

It was like... a pipe puzzle...

“Oh Auntie’s flanks, I think I know what this is,” Blueblood groaned, sighing.

“You do?” Sweetie Belle asked, gasping at the construct. “That looks... very strange. Do you know what we need to do?”

“All this...” Blueblood gestured towards the colored links of blocks looming overhead. “We’re supposed to put it together into a square... or a tetrahedron or pyramid. These are puzzle toys for noble Ladies. I saw Auntie playing with one once when she should have been listening to endless reams of complaints from her ministers. See, I just got drunk. It was much easier.”

Sweetie continued staring at the puzzle for an uncomfortable amount of time. Eventually, Twilight materialized in front of her and waved a hoof in front of the filly’s face. “Oh my, I think I broke her.” She sighed and looked at Blueblood. “Well, at least a hint. This is supposed to be a square. Good luck, Blueblood! Oh... and you have six hours to finish it, or it will blow up,” she added helpfully. “My personal record is four!”

Sweetie shook her head. “Wait... what. Explode?”

“I didn’t think today would end in an explosion.” Blueblood stared at the translucent Twilight, and gently tapped Sweetie with a hoof. “Being blown up is rather unpleasant. Shall we get to work?”

“I...” Sweetie gulped.

“And don’t worry... you’re far too small to use as an effective shield.”

Sweetie Belle leveled an entirely hostile look at Blueblood before snorting and looking back at the puzzle. “So... how do we do this? Push it together? Separate it?”

“You’ll have to experiment to find out!” Twilight told them, quite cheerily. “Won’t that be fun?”

“At least we’re unicorns,” Blueblood said, and his horn lit up. He gave an experimental twist of one of the far ends of the unraveled puzzle. It twisted easily, lining up with an attached segment. “Doing this with teeth and hooves would be rather annoying.”

Sweetie tried to imagine twisting that with just her hooves and teeth. And shuddered. There were definite benefits to being a unicorn.

o.0.o

Two hours later

“Agh, this didn’t work!” Sweetie Belle groaned, looking at the huge twisted mess over her head. “What am I supposed to do, go back?!”

o.0.o

Four hours later

“Wait, wait, did we undo this right?” Sweetie asked Blueblood, her magic highlighting a piece of the puzzle. She ignored the fiendishly giggling Twilight Sparkle behind her.

Blueblood considered the piece for a moment before shrugging helplessly.

Sweetie Belle face-hoofed. “We really should be writing down how we do this, shouldn’t we?”

“Well, it’s too late now,” Twilight quipped.

o.0.o

Five hours and fifty-nine minutes later

“Hey, uh, how much time do we have left?” Sweetie asked, twisting yet another piece.

“There should really be a timer or a clock or something,” Blueblood grumbled.

"Oh, gotcha!" Twilight popped up just beside them, eyes shifting left-to-right and right-to-left with a steady cadence. "Ten. Nine. Eight...”

“Wait... why are you counting down?” Blueblood asked the ghostly Twilight.

“You’ll see!” Twilight giggled.

Sweetie’s eyes went wide when energy started pouring out of the puzzle, white and hot and brilliant like a miniature sun. “Oh, no! It’s going to—”

o.0.∞.0.o End Part 3 o.0.∞.0.o

The Best Night Ever Part 4: Fade

Edits: Lammy & Fifth Alicorn / Proof: Super Big Mac & Trevor

Sweetie Belle sat up in her bed with a jolt, heart hammering in her chest and eyes wild. Head whipping back and forth as she frantically scanned the room, motivated by lingering stings of panic and fear, she gradually turned her eyes down towards her hooves, the same hooves Sweetie had seen... vanishing in the fire and...

She squeezed her eyes shut as hard as she could, trying to chase away the fleeting images and sensations of burning hair that had probably lasted only the instant she was still alive before she had been consumed by the magical blast.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Sweetie opened her eyes again, hardly registering Rarity’s customary morning scream, and glanced down.

Her coat was undamaged. Her hooves were fine. Slowly, she felt her heart stop it’s attempts to burst through her chest and her breathing calm down, but she couldn’t take her eyes off her hooves.

She had died.

It hadn't been like that first explosion back on her world that had started everything... she could only imagine as to what had happened then. But here? Right now? It was undeniable.

The heat from the magical explosion, the sudden pressure of the wave of magical energies - like a kick to every part of her body all at once - then everything going white?

And, given the fact that she immediately began a new loop, it could only mean one thing...

She had died.

Blueblood had explained it to her, more than once but never in much detail, intending for it to be a reassurance and not a fright. But she had put the whole story together, bit by bit, including the parts he hadn’t meant to divulge. At some point before he met her, Blueblood had gone mad and attempted to end the loops by committing suicide. It hadn’t worked. He had woken up to the same morning, the same inescapable routine that was his curse, over and over and over again.

But she had never died.

Sweetie had been in danger of being killed... she had been scared. But she had never died. And now... her hooves were fine. She was in bed, whole and unharmed, with nothing but the memory of yesterday and the trace, lingering sensations of what had to be her own death to tell her what had happened...

“Is this... my future?” she whispered to herself. “What if... what if I get to the fragment, use it and wake up here again? I’m going to be a filly all my life. I’m going to die again, and again... and I’ll wake up here. The same as always. Nothing changed. I’ll go mad and kill myself. Over and over. Just like Blueblood... and I’ll just wake up here... I... I don’t...”

Her breathing, which had slowed briefly, started accelerating again as she wrapped her forelegs around herself and buried her face on the sheets. Her chest hurt as her lungs seized up, sharply and abruptly contracting, her throat clenching tight in a rising tidal wave of panic and terror. Sweetie couldn’t think. She couldn’t do anything but shiver and cry in silence as the world carried on around her, without any hint of ever stopping. Without any hint of ever caring.

When Rarity walked into the room much later, with every intention of scolding her younger sister for being late to class, she didn’t know what to do. Sweetie was still curled about herself, inexplicably shivering and crying. Dropping the materials she had been carrying with her, she wrapped her hooves around her younger sister and rocked her in silence, only pausing to send Scootaloo and Apple Bloom along to school, with an apology to Miss Cheerilee, telling her Sweetie would not be attending that day.

o.0.o

Unlike most mornings, Blueblood hadn’t shown up at the Boutique door at his usual time. Sweetie could only guess that he was giving her some time to cope. That or he was goofing off somewhere. Either way, the extra time he had given her was precious. She needed a few hours to start to calm down, even Rarity turning away her friends when they came by to take her to class had not been enough. The idea of repeating things with them again - even thinking about it - only brought back that ever present fear that she was trapped in the loops: that in the end, there really wasn’t a way out. That, even if she got the fragment, she would just reset again. Sweetie wasn’t sure if she could accept that. The world couldn’t be that cruel, could it?

By noon, though, she was at least able to roll out of bed.

That was when the entry chime sounded in the boutique. Leaving answering it to her sister, Sweetie quickly heard a rather surprised and delighted squeal of the sort Rarity only made when she found something particularly adorable: as when Opalescence actually behaved herself, or when she had found an especially exquisite gemstone. Now growing a little curious, Sweetie descended into the main room of the boutique, where Rarity was busy fussing over a well-dressed little colt.

Sweetie’s eyes narrowed.

She recognized that white coat on the little colt, to say nothing of the golden blond mane and tail. A hoof shot to her mouth to suppress a giggle.

“You are just the handsomest little colt I’ve ever seen!” Rarity groused, admiring the little stallion’s ivory white vest and jacket. “And these designs! Are they from Hoity’s Fashionable Mane Collection?”

“They are, ma’am,” Blueblood could be quite polite on the rare occasions he wanted to, though his voice sounded funny: a high tenor, though thankfully not as squeaky as most of the other colts in school. Miss Cheerilee would probably have cooed just as much as Rarity was now, albeit over his diction.

“Oh, there’s Sweetie Belle, now,” he added with a smile and a wave of a little hoof. Little compared to his usual self’s, anyway. “Is it alright to see her? She hasn’t taken ill, has she?”

Sweetie lowered her hoof, although she still struggled not to laugh. “I’m doing better already, Your Grace,” she answered him from across the boutique. “Thanks for coming by, Blueblood.”

“G-Grace? B-Blueblood?” Rarity stammered, eyes drifting from her little sister to the well dressed colt. “Oh, no no, Sweetie Belle,” she corrected, trying very hard to be both comforting and convincing. “Celestia’s nephew is a grown stallion...”

“My big brother,” Blueblood lied very smoothly. “I also have the honor of being named Blueblood.”

“My word, isn’t that confusing?” Rarity wondered.

“Terribly confusing, I’m afraid,” the little Prince replied. To punctuate being convincing, he smiled and Rarity squealed again. She never noticed him rolling his eyes the moment she looked away.

Sweetie Belle shook her head disapprovingly at the Prince’s impiety towards her sister. But then he grinned again, and she decided to let it slide, just this once.

“But,” Rarity felt she had to ask, as the situation settled somewhat. “Sweetie Belle, how do you know... I swear: none of this makes sense!”

“Oh, um, I met the younger Prince when I took singing lessons with Princess Cadance,” Sweetie elaborated. “Crusading can get you far, sis!”

“Singing lessons? But—” That only seemed to raise more questions. “That can’t be! Mom and Dad never, I mean, I think I would know if—”

“At words poetic, I'm so pathetic, that I always have found it best,” the little Blueblood began to sing, bobbing to an imaginary beat. “Instead of getting 'em off my chest, to let 'em rest unexpressed…”

He gestured with a hoof for Sweetie to pick up the melody, and she did so, prancing to his side and then behind him. A shimmer of magic, and she even found herself wearing a white and mauve dress the colors of her mane.

“I hate parading my serenading,” Sweetie sang, “As I'll probably miss a bar…!

“But if this ditty is not so pretty

But least it'll tell you

How great you are!”

She rounded the de-aged Prince, raising her voice as she got into the song.

“You're the top!

You're the Pegasseum.

You're the top!

You're the Levade Museum.

You're a melody from a symphony by Bouse,

You're a Bridle bonnet,

A Shy Spear's sonnet,

You're Tricky Mouse!”

Unbeknownst to the pair, the commotion inside the Boutique had already started to attract a few curious Ponyvillians, who soon started to crowd the windows and peek in through the still open door, watching Sweetie sing.

“You're the Nile,

You're the Tower of Pisa,

You're the smile… on the Luna Lisa!

I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,

But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!”

Blueblood took one of Sweetie’s hooves in his own and spun her around. Letting her go he picked up the song.

“Your words poetic are not pathetic,

On the other hoof, babe, you shine!

And I can feel after every line…

A thrill divine,

Down my spine!”

He danced away from her for a moment and self-consciously straightened his white suit.

“Now a gifted pony like Sera Money

Might think that your song is bad,

But I got a notion,

I'll second the motion,

And this is what I'm going to add.”

He made a quick prance and paced around her briefly just as she had him a moment ago.

“You're the top!

You're the Lunar Lady.

You're the top!

You're Neighpoleon Brandy.

You're the purple light

Of a summer night in Plain,

You're the National Gallery

You're Garble's salary,

You're cellophane.

You're sublime,

You're early dinner,

You're the time, the time of a Derby winner!

I'm a toy balloon that is fated soon to pop!”

Not surprisingly, a certain pink pony appeared outside the window with a balloon in her mouth just in time for a unicorn to poke it with a loud ‘pop.’

“But if, baby, I'm the bottom,

You're the top!”

“You're the top!” Sweetie countered, and the two little ponies trotted backwards in step. She pointed at him, hardly noting their growing audience.

“You're an arrow collar

You're the top!

You're a Canterlot honor,

You're the nimble tread

Of the hooves of Halter Dare,

You're a Burro drama…”

“You're the dalai llama …” Blueblood interrupted.

“You're belvedere!” Sweetie Belle retorted.

“You're a rose!”

A red bloom appeared in front of Sweetie and she took a bite out of it to the clopping cheers of the crowd outside the Boutique.

“You're Inferno's Dante!”

“You're the nose,” she countered. “On your favorite Auntie!”

“I'm just in a way,

As the Prench would say, ‘de trop.’

But if, baby, I'm the bottom,

You're the top!”

“You're the top!” Blueblood persisted, the two now dancing around one another.

“You're a dance in Barli.

You're the top!

You're a hot tamale!

You're an angel, you,

Simply too, too, too diveen,

You're a double take!”

“You’re Cup—”

“You’re Cake—”

“You're fine cuisine!” Sweetie sang, drawing out the note.

“You're a boom,” Blueblood declared. “You're the falls at Canterlot!”

“You're the moon,” Sweetie parried. “Seen from a luxury yacht!”

“I'm a broken doll—”

“A silly filly!”

“A flop!”

“But if, baby, I'm the bottom…!”

“But if, baby, I'm the bottom…!”

“You're the toooop!” they sang together and for a few seconds the ensuing cheering from outside almost made them forget the one pony they had originally been hoping to impress: Rarity stood in place, blue eyes wide and mouth hanging open in a rather undignified manner.

“Sufficiently convincing?” Blueblood asked, glancing off to the side at the gobsmacked boutique proprietor.

Rarity nodded, slowly.

“Cadance has been a really great teacher,” Sweetie felt the need to add.

“Now, with that done, I’d very much like to spend the afternoon with Sweetie Belle, if we could please have your leave, Miss Rarity?” She nodded again at his question. “Good!” he declared. “We won’t go beyond the school and the town market.”

Rarity’s mouth opened and closed without emitting a sound.

“I would take that as a yes,” Sweetie informed Blueblood.

They stepped outside, their little impromptu audience already having begun to dissipate.

“They didn’t join in at all,” Sweetie observed. And this was the perfect chance, too!

“It was a duet,” Blueblood said, smiling happily. “If you want everypony dancing and singing we can try ‘Blow, Gabriel, Blow’ or ‘There’s No Cure Like Travel’ next time.”

“Hey! We need to do ‘Friendship’ next time!”

“If you ever lose your mind, I'll be kind?” Blueblood asked.

“If you ever lose your shirt, I'll be hurt,” Sweetie informed him.

“If you're ever in a mill and get sawed in half,” Blueblood replied and chuckled, “I won't laugh.”

“It's friendship, friendship,

Just a perfect blendship!

When other friendships have been ‘forgate’

Ours will still be great!”

“‘Friendship’ next time,” he agreed. “I’m surprised you haven’t gotten a Broadway cutie mark yet with how quickly you memorized all those songs. By the way—”

Of course, the moment he was outside, and the two alone, he reverted to his usual jerkish self. A brush materialized out of thin air, a brush that Sweetie snagged in her magical grip.

“You have bed mane,” he informed her, his smile turning genuine.

“It was hard to get up today,” Sweetie admitted with a sad sigh.

“Do you want to get a bite to eat and hang around town for a while? After yesterday, I thought it might be wise to relax a little.”

Sweetie was silent. The brush worked its magic and soon enough she didn’t look like she had just woken up. Or been blown up. Or come back from the dead. She looked down at the brush and then to the pony by her side. “Blueblood...does... does it really get easier?”

Seeing her curls back to their usual selves, he flexed a bit of magic and the brush vanished with a puff.

“Dying?” he asked, and it was kind of ludicrous, the juxtaposition of the question coming from the mouth of a pampered little colt. “It does,” he admitted, at length. “It does get easier, but it takes something out of you, every time you do it. Getting killed is actually better than committing suicide.”

He smiled, and it was the sort of smile that wasn’t meant to dissuade suspicion. It was a Pinkie Pie smile - a smile that willed reciprocation.

“Never give up hope,” he said, looking her in the eye. “Just imagine life as a board game and you have infinite get-out-of-the-stockade-free cards.”

Sweetie Belle considered his words. “I-I don’t know if I can, Blueblood...” She licked her suddenly dry lips. “I mean... a game? Isn’t that a bit... dismissive?”

“Self-deludingly dismissive!” He promptly winced, glaring around at the rest of the world. “I must say, I’m not so comfortable being small again. I rather miss being taller than everypony else.”

“Don’t change the topic,” Sweetie said, and he grumbled at the rebuff.

“The topic is morbid,” he argued, but nodded slowly, accepting the rebuke. “But I suppose it may help to talk of it a little. When you woke up this morning... it must have been...” - he searched for a better, more polysyllabic word, but soon settled - “Hard, I would venture? The first time was unpleasant for me as well. May I ask what was on your mind then, and what is still on it?”

“I’m... very, very disturbed by this... and scared,” Sweetie said, shaking her head as the pair walked through town. She caught sight of one of Blueblood’s ever present Royal Guards perched on the top of a roof looking over the market below. During the course of the loops she had stopped actively noticing their presence, but she found them comforting today.

“Not too long ago, I met some undead ponies” - at least she thought that was the proper term for them, perhaps ’vitality-impaired’ would have been more friendly - “And even they had held onto their link to life.” she sighed. “And yesterday, I was blown to pieces... and woke up again, just fine... what-how can I even understand this? This isn't even the first time I've been blown up... but back then I'd always assumed that I was fine." She hesitated, looking at Blueblood with more than a little fear in her eyes. "But now... now I don't know. I've been inhabiting all these different bodies and I start thinking and... did I die? Is what's happening here the same thing that happened there?"

“You mean, did your corporeal being expire back then?” he stated the question. “Are you merely a ghost, jumping from host to host? And just what will happen when you actually do get home, and can’t find a body to inhabit again?”

Sweetie froze at Blueblood’s words. ‘Could it really be that I’m nothing more than a ghost?’ She took a couple of steps back. “What if I am? Do I have any right to be taking over other Sweetie Belle’s lives? Maybe I shouldn’t even exist... but, I’m here and I’ll die again and I’ll come back. And what if I die enough only to wake up in another body and repeat the whole thing? What if I kill another Sweetie because I get her in trouble? What am I, if I can’t die? Am I just destined to steal days or even months or years of life from other Sweeties?”

"Decanteres said, once, 'Je pense donc je suis' though Miss Sparkle may have taught it to you as 'Cogito ergo sum.' It seems self-evident: I am thinking, therefore I exist, but what is an 'I'? Is 'I' an unchanging constant, born one way, living one way, dying at the end? Or is 'I' a product of the moment? A fractional view of existence? Is there a different 'I' - a different me - a different Blueblood and a different Sweetie Belle, every minute of the day? The 'I' you've met is very different from the 'I' came before the loops, but I still think, and I am still me."

He reached over, and poked her in the side, just as she had done to him so many times before.

"You are still you, Sweetie Belle," he assured her. "Death doesn't change that. Death cannot change that. You will always be you. I wish I could guarantee that your body was as you left it, but I can't. I wish I could tell you that all this is even real. I can't, because I don't yet know that myself. There's a degree of faith you have to have, if you wish to keep going on. Faith in yourself most of all."

Sweetie Belle took a long, deep breath, closing her eyes and mulling over Blueblood’s long-winded, but not any-less-true-for-it explanation. When she opened her eyes, she did not look happy, but they were set with a firm, steely resolve.

“If anything,” she started to say, pausing to lock eyes with him. “If anything, the only way I’ll find out is by getting that fragment... whatever it takes.”

“If you like, you can always spend your existential crisis like I spent mine: playing board games and darts with Princess Luna.” He waggled his eyebrows playfully and inched in closer to whisper. “She’s terrible at them, too.”

Sweetie couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. “You’re incorrigible. And you’re making me talk like my sister.”

He laughed, and they resumed walking. “There are worse ponies to sound like.”

“And how do you know Princess Luna is so bad at darts? You said the same thing about Princess Celestia and her singing.”

“I’ve taught Auntie Luna to play, just so I know,” he promised, momentarily lost in a pleasant memory. “As for Auntie Celestia, actually, that comes from before the loops. She often sings in the bath and the shower. Billy Foal is her favorite.”

He tapped his hoof for a few beats.

“Uptown mare

She's been living in her uptown square

I bet she's never had a backstreet guy

I bet her momma never told her why

I'm gonna try! For an uptown mare

She's been living on her white bread fare

As long as anyone with hot blood can

And now she's looking for a downtown joe

That's why I’ll go!”

He raised his voice a little as he sang:

“And when she knows what

She wants from her t~iie~ime

And when she wakes up

And makes up her m~ie~ind...”

Blueblood laughed, interrupting his singing to add: “The best part is when she hits the five-four-six Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Oh-oh-oh-oh Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh! At least I think that’s how it goes?”

Sweetie giggled and stole a quick look at his cutie mark: still the same as when he was an adult. “Maybe you should have had a music note behind your compass, Blue?”

“I can only sing it because Auntie had basically burned it into my mind,” he joked, shaking his head in nostalgia-tinged dismay. “But, actually, it’s been... years since I last heard her sing that. It was just the other day, but... years for me. I think I actually miss hearing it...”

He gave Sweetie a knowing wink. “Regardless, it was still rather bad, but perhaps not as bad as I first thought when you asked about her singing.” Still smiling, he glanced up with a wistful look. “Actually, back when I was little - before my cutie mark appeared - sometimes I’d hear somepony singing at night and it would help me sleep. I used to think it was my mother, but it came from the balconies outside, and only when we visited the Palace. I never once heard my mother sing... so maybe it was Auntie? Who knows for sure?

“Anyway,” he said, dismissing the thought, “since I’m no longer the adult in charge for today, what do you want to do? Head back to the maze for another go, or poke around this strangely bucolic little suburb?”

Sweetie Belle walked alongside her now more size-deficient big brother, pondering just what she wanted to do with the day. “I think I need a drink,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “but since we’re both underage, I guess a milkshake or four will do. Oh, hey! Then, we can go meet with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo...! I think I feel the need to cause some property damage.”

“Sweets and vandalism,” Blueblood summed up the request. “You are perhaps the easiest mare I’ve ever had to shop for, although not nearly the craziest. I remember this one time with a mare named Colgate...”

o.0.o

Upon entering Sugarcube Corner, Sweetie’s smile immediately fell, turning into a wary glower. “Ugh, those two...”

Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the pair having been in the process of eating huge servings of ice cream, paused to glance at the door and it didn’t take more than a second for Diamond Tiara to grin evilly... only to frown a half-second later when Blueblood stepped in next to Sweetie.

Her head snapped to look at Silver Spoon so fast Sweetie was surprised they didn’t hear the whip crack of vertebrae. Soon, both fillies were giving them confused and nasty looks as they whispered conspiratorially.

Sweetie recognized that behavior. Those two were up to something, and when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were up to something, it meant bad news for whichever Cutie Mark Crusader had found herself in their crosshairs.

“Must not turn them into maggots. Must not turn them into maggots...” Sweetie Belle chanted. “They’re not that bad. I befriended them once,” she reasoned to herself. “Just not this time. They will survive. They must survive. I am relaxing.” She took a deep breath. “No turning them into maggots...”

Blueblood, meanwhile, considered the two Ponyville bullies.

“They remind me of... hmm, every single filly I ever knew as a colt, actually,” he said in a quiet voice. “Well, minus the horns.” Seeing Sweetie’s eye twitch in aggravation, not to mention overhearing her vow to herself not to polymorph the two fillies into various invertebrates, Blueblood held out his hoof invitingly to hurry her along. She didn’t miss him casting a minor glamour on himself, either, adding superfluous amounts of sparkle to his mane and a twinkle to his perfect smile.

“I’m rather good at being pretty, wouldn’t you agree?” he whispered as they took a booth in the shop. His long-perfected smile dropped as he noticed Sweetie glaring across the room. “Relax. Do those two really bother you that much?”

Sweetie shook her head. “By now, I’m mostly over them... but today’s not a normal day. I guess I could always blow them up—”

“HI!”

Midway through both thoughts and sentence, Sweetie Belle jumped clean out of her seat as the pink terror emerged from the shadows. As always. The Element of Laughter dropped a pair of menus onto the table, effortlessly juking to avoid the falling Sweetie Belle. Only then did she stare at her other new customer.

“Heeeey. You look familiar...” Pinkie Pie said, her neck stretching across the table for a closer look.

“You never recognized me before, but you do when I look like this?” Blueblood mumbled, before turning to question the object of his grumbles. “And, pray tell, just whom do I remind you of?”

Pinkie Pie’s blue eyes narrowed in deep thought. “Are you Prince Leon?”

Blueblood face hit the table with an undignified thud.

“No. I am most certainly not.”

“Oh. Okey dokey lokey!” Pinkie Pie moved onto the next topic quickly. “So what can I get you two today?”

“Bottomless milkshakes,” Blueblood said, frowning as he pulled his face from its imprint in the polished wood. With a quick shake and a sprinkle of magic he was back to looking fresh from a day at the spa. “A cinnamon brioche and a baguette with blueberry jam. Sweetie?”

“Pinkie,” Sweetie muttered. “Get me The Works.”

All conversation ceased upon the filly’s utterance.

“Um... Sweetie Belle?” Mrs. Cake called from behind the counter nearby. “are you absolutely sure you want that? You know what happened to Scootaloo last time...”

Sweetie nodded. “She woke up not remembering half of what had happened. And the half she did remember she could only recall in chartreuse, magenta and zaffre.” She looked at Pinkie Pie, who had a grin that would have sent most Ponyvillians scrambling behind the nearest solid object. “And bring it with bottomless milkshakes as well. Vanilla-strawberry swirl.”

“It will be my treat,” Blueblood explained, placing his hoof on the table. There was a flash, and a pile of golden bits glittered in place when he lifted his hoof again. “In fact, let’s have milkshakes all around. On me.”

“Oh, certainly!” Mr. Cake immediately said, his unsure smile widening to rival Pinkie’s best. “We’ll do just that for our our best customer and his fillyfriend!”

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, spent the first few seconds with a surprised and happy look, her mouth stuck in an exclaimed ‘oh!’ before zipping into the kitchen to get the affectionately-named “sugar-attack special” ready. This time, due to the little Prince’s unusual generosity, their excitement was echoed by the rest of Sugarcube Corner’s patrons. Soon enough, the milkshakes were flowing freely to every table and pony.

“Are you really going to overdose on sugar?” Blueblood asked, as the spectacle died down a bit. “You won’t start bouncing around and talking at high speed, will you? I do believe that I’ve gotten my allotment of that from the pink one.”

“I honestly don’t know,” Sweetie Belle admitted. “I’ve never been a vic—” She cut herself off. “I mean... I’ve never eaten one of those. Scootaloo swore off most candy after that.”

“Shame I never learned the ‘conjure insulin injection’ spell.”

“Ha, ha...” Sweetie laughed mirthlessly.

“Ahem, like, why are you hanging around with this blank-flank?” Diamond Tiara asked, suddenly sliding into the booth right next to Blueblood. “A nice, handsome colt like you should be hanging out with fillies of class and style, like me and Silver Spoon.”

“Yeah,” Silver Spoon seconded."We've already earned our cutie marks, so we should all stick together!"

Sweetie Belle started to steam where she sat, squished up next to Silver Spoon. It had been inevitable that the two would butt in on things - they thrived on sticking their noses where they didn’t belong - but knowing it would happen and it happening were different experiences altogether. She felt the sudden urge to practice some of her less than friendly spells on the pair of vexing fillies.

Blueblood rested his cheek against one of his little colt hooves, meeting Diamond Tiara’s eyes and grinning pleasantly. “I actually didn’t notice your cutie mark. It must be very pretty.”

“It is!” Tiara chirped, pushing herself back onto all fours. She turned around and waved her flank, smirking at the one blank-flanked filly present as she did so. “Silver Spoon! You too!”

“Oh! Right!” the other filly agreed, as always, and mimicked what the alpha filly did.

“Look at that,” Blueblood commented, off-hoof. “Sweetie Belle, look. A tiara and a spoon. Very pretty cutie marks.” He waved a hoof at the pair. “Would you mind doing a little twirl? Like the models in Manehattan do?”

Sweetie’s eyes were half lidded as the two bullies did as asked, spinning around... and then around again. Neither seemed to really know what they were doing, so they kept slowly spinning. And Blueblood kept complimenting them. They seemed oblivious of how silly they looked.

“What lovely and appropriate cutie marks,” he said, agreeably. He asked Sweetie, “What were their names again?”

“Diamond Tiara,” she reminded him, “and Silver Spoon.”

“Ah. How convenient that their cutie marks match their names, too. Maybe one day your cutie mark will be a ringing bell?” He kept smiling pleasantly, charmingly, at the two fillies. “However did you get your cutie marks, girls?”

“I-I’d rather not say,” Silver Spoon whispered, suddenly stopping her twirling. “But,” she spoke up. “Tiara here could tell you her story!”

“Well,” Diamond Tiara held a hoof to her chest. “I was at home, brushing my mane in my mirror, when daddy came in and gave me this!” She pointed at the little tiara she wore on her head. “And when I put it on and looked at myself in the mirror, I realized this is what I was, and that I was worth all the diamonds in the world! And that’s when my cutie mark appeared!”

Sweetie Belle blinked. ‘Wait a second! That’s not the story she told me... Was she lying to me back then? Or did she just make that up now for Blueblood?’ She was about to ask when—

“That. Is. Fantastic,” Blueblood cheered, much to the rich filly’s clear delight. Sweetie Belle could almost imagine the offensive thought bubbles percolating out of Diamond Tiara’s head, coalescing to form a scene of her in a heart shaped balloon with a wealthy Canterlot unicorn, scoffing at all the little ponies below while they pelted them with copper bits.

Several seconds later, Sweetie Belle realized that she was not actually seeing thought bubbles.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist,” Pinkie Pie said, lowering the whiteboard and marker. The four youngsters watched her slink off, momentarily dumbfounded.

“Still, as nice as those cutie marks are, especially yours, Miss Tiara,” he told the already fawning love-struck filly. “I couldn’t possibly abandon my good friend Sweetie Belle. So I don’t think we could spend much time together today...”

Diamond Tiara’s face seemed torn between wanting to glare Sweetie Belle into oblivion, trying to force a cordial smile, and being confused, almost to the point of brain-freeze. She opened her mouth to argue, thought again of it, opened her mouth wider to yell something, then regretted it. Silver Spoon raised a hoof to make a suggestion, but got a light bop on the shoulder before she could take the lead.

“Sweetie Belle is... your friend...?” The word seemed almost painful for her, but she stressed it nonetheless.

“Sweetie is one of my very best friends,” he repeated, “why, she’s a personal acquaintance of Princesses Cadence, Celestia and Luna! She’s such a talented filly that even Miss Octavia Philharmonica was only too happy to teach her music, and Fleur-de-Lis herself taught her etiquette! Alas, her only fault is the lack of a cutie mark, but I just know one day her cutie mark story will be as... inspiring as your own, Miss Tiara.”

“I can only hope,” Sweetie lied.

The two fillies gaped at Sweetie Belle, their minds clearly overwhelmed by this sudden blitzkrieg of information. “I-I guess she can hang out with us then!” Diamond Tiara stammered, hopping back up to sit next to the little Canterlot unicorn.

Silver Spoon started to protest, “But, you said—”

“I said she can hang out with us,” the leader of the two reiterated. “Go sit next to our new friend, Silver Spoon.”

“...really?” The gray filly adjusted her delicate little glasses and sat next to Sweetie Belle with a forlorn sigh. To her credit, she quickly plastered on a very fake smile, but one that implied she was at least trying to be fake. Diamond Tiara merely ignored her new ‘friend’ altogether in favor of batting her eyelashes at her new crush.

“You know Octavia?” Silver Spoon whispered to Sweetie Belle, who looked at her in surprise, but nodded. Silver Spoon bit her lower lip and gulped, clearly regretting what she was going to say. “C-could you get me her autograph?”

“To show there are no hard feelings,” Blueblood continued not having even paid attention to Silver Spoon, and seemingly used to and comfortable with the unwanted attention. “Why don’t you pick up my friend’s tab? That’s how we do things in Canterlot, you know.”

“Oh! Oh.” Diamond Tiara did take a moment then to glare at Sweetie Belle, and to consider her allowance. “I... I guess that’s okay. She isn’t ordering anything too extravagant, is she? N-not that I care! I have plenty of money! I’m just, uh, curious, yeah!”

Blueblood laughed very slowly, and Sweetie knew he was going to milk this situation for all it was worth. The shocked look on Diamond Tiara’s face when her new friend’s massive Sugarcube Works Sundae arrived... and with a hefty bill no less... well, maybe Sweetie could put up with her for a little while. She couldn’t finish the huge dessert, but every bite did have a special little flavor of victory. Or maybe it was watching Diamond Tiara wince as she washed it down with one milkshake after another, Tiara’s treat.

o.0.o

SPLASH!

Blueblood’s ‘duck and cover’ skills were as awe inspiring as Rarity had described. Even as a little colt. Faster than a Princess’s apprentice could teleport, he zipped away from the path of the muddy water. Simple acrobatics were not enough, however. Rather than risk a drop of the suspiciously placed puddle sullying his vest or jacket or - dare he even think it - his immaculate coat, he proved his Royal Guards training by raising a magical shield. A magical shield named Diamond Tiara.

“My goodness!” he exclaimed, raising an angry little hoof to shake at the offending cart that had rolled by. “Terrible drivers! I almost got splashed! Did you see that?”

Sweetie was silent, her attention fixed on a drenched and dirty bully.

It wasn’t the first time she had seen Diamond Tiara with mud on her face, literally, nor was it the first time she had seen the mean little filly end up embarrassed by a little well-earned karmic retribution. It was, however, the second time ever she could recall seeing Diamond Tiara near tears.

And the first time had been Sweetie’s doing...

For the past two hours, Blueblood had made Diamond Tiara pay for their food, talked her into going to an arcade - where she had treated Snips and Snails, of all ponies, to some games, to her utter gall - she had endured thinly-veiled jabs by Blueblood at the ‘want-to-be well-to-do’ of Ponyville, and other poseurs, and even a few jabs at earth ponies who aspired to be like ‘proper unicorns.’ She had put up with all of it just for the occasional smile or compliment from the dreamy new colt that had caught her eye.

It was hard for Sweetie to admit, but she was starting to feel...

To feel...

A little... bad... for Diamond Tiara.

Sniffing, her breath coming in ragged gasps, Diamond Tiara turned to Blueblood for an apology or a word of support or, well, probably anything. He was still shaking a hoof at the passing cart and then, his ire apparently spent, he turned his eyes on his jacket to make sure it was clean. Diamond Tiara’s face scrunched up but she forcibly composed herself after a long, deep breath. Sweetie had to give her her dues for persistence, if nothing else.

“Oh! Oh, let me get that!” Silver Spoon raced past to try and help clean up her friend. She also turned at first to Blueblood for help, but then, shockingly, to Sweetie. “Can’t you, um... magic up a towel or... something?”

Sweetie bit her lip and nodded once. She had used this spell... many times before, to clean up her friends. She remembered all those loops when Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had mocked the three blank-flanked fillies. Now, with the situation reversed, Sweetie couldn’t stop herself from using her magic to help those who had laughed at her. Those who would laugh at her, if things had been as they normally were.

Light blue magic ran down Diamond Tiara’s coat and mane, removing much of the mud along with droplets of water. It was a very basic spell, really, but the two earth pony fillies looked to be eternally grateful for it.

For a second, anyway.

Then Diamond Tiara sniffed, dismissively this time, and turned up her nose. She seemed momentarily torn between indignation directed at her savior and staying the course, no matter the humiliation. The only gratitude she got was really from Silver Spoon, who took a moment longer before turning to look at Diamond Tiara.

Sweetie Belle knew other ponies who would have erupted in pure, unadulterated fury by this point. Whether he had done it on purpose or not, Blueblood still had a bemused expression on his face, though his eyes betrayed him. They were sharp, focused, and clearly waiting for something.

‘He did do this on purpose,’ Sweetie realized, but kept it to herself. ‘And he doesn’t even realize why I’m not laughing.’

“I should... go home,” Diamond Tiara finally whispered, trying to keep her dignity. “I think somepony mussed up my mane.”

“I’m sad to see you go,” Blueblood said, and not only was it a blatant lie, but there was an undercurrent of cold cruelty to it, too. It wasn’t his usual playfulness.

“I-I guess. Sorry.” She galloped off, Silver Spoon close behind.

Sweetie knew then that she hadn’t imagined what she had felt before. She really had felt bad for Diamond Tiara. It was silly, really, especially after all the mean things she had done to the spoiled princess in her own loops. Blueblood hadn’t lit her tail on fire or frozen her or turned her into a small animal or put a hex of Twisted Tongues on her in class.

So why did this feel so much worse?

“You’re upset,” he observed, back to his his usual self, or close to it anyway.

Sweetie Belle didn’t reply immediately, trying to sort out her feelings about this whole thing. She had exacted revenge on Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon before, but there was something different this time.

She wasn’t proud of what she had done to Diamond Tiara during all those loops. Back then, it had been petty vengeance for the most part. Getting her back for what had been years of verbal abuse and being able to completely get away with it. Each act of bullying had been for a personal affront: insults. Petty abuse. Making Babs so afraid of being bullied again that the crusader-to-be had joined Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon to escape. Blackmailing Sweetie, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom while they were trying to be journalists. So many things that she had forced herself to ignore or bear with because that was just how things were.

But, what she had done was petty and simple bullying in return. Nothing else.

Then it hit her: whenever she had used a spell against Diamond Tiara, it had been a quick thing that would simply get a negative reaction, even when she had overstepped her bounds and caused harm... she had never built up Diamond Tiara’s hope, and systematically abused her to the breaking point. Her own embarrassing period of revenge had never crossed that line into being a coldly calculated effort to utterly destroy the other filly.

This was bullying of the worst kind, and the fact that it had been Blueblood who had done it just made it all the more awful. She had never considered how he could be so... cruel... even when her sister had told her about the Gala, it hadn’t been this bad. Or maybe it had.

“Blueblood,” she finally asked, looking at him. “Don’t you feel bad for her?”

“For... her?” he asked, motioning back the way Diamond Tiara had run. He scoffed at first, but frowned. “Maybe. What does it matter?”

“It’s bullying!” Sweetie snapped. “It’s beyond getting into a fight, or proving you’re right! This... she was trying so hard to impress you, and-and she just... I never saw...” She trailed off a bit, trying to organize her thoughts. “Blueblood... I’ve never seen somepony being broken, piece by piece, by words and attitude, to the point of just...” She looked away. “If it had been me in her place, I would feel like dying.”

“You don’t mean that,” he said, stepping closer. “Sweetie, it was... I mean...” His frown deepened a fraction.

“Blueblood, the fact that it was you... I know that you’re a good pony, and...” Sweetie Belle bit her lip as she tried to explain just what she was feeling. “I’ve looked up to you for... I don’t know how long... It’s like you were another pony just now. One I would never ever want to know. And I remembered what my sister had said about you and how I used to think that she had to be wrong.”

Sweetie’s eyes were pleading him to tell her it was not so. “Is this who you were? Is this who you are?”

He gave an exasperated snort, just an exhale of breath. “If she weren’tcaught in the loop, she’d live through this and be the wiser for...” He quickly shook his head, realizing where that road led. “I mean, okay, yes, it was unkind of me. That was an unkind part of me you saw there, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been like that before. But I thought you’d find it funny... or ironic or... something? I thought you hated that filly?”

“But it wasn’t just unkind!” Sweetie Belle pressed, looking him right in the eye and forcing him to flinch. “It was cruel! Diamond Tiara was never the nicest of ponies, but... even she...” her hoof pointed in the direction the pair of bullies had ran off to. “shouldn’t be abused like that! And even worse! What if you suddenly find yourself outside of the loops and wake up the next day after you destroyed a filly’s day? Do you think she would get over it that quickly? Or even at all? She’s not an adult, Blueblood!”

“What do you want me to do?” he asked, voice growing angry, maybe at her, maybe at himself. “Apologize to her? Is that it?”

“I know it sounds silly after pulling that prank on Rarity earlier, and... well all the times I did something to Tiara... but, if I had died... If I die tonight, or next time... I don’t want my last day here to be the day I broke somepony’s heart.”

“I can’t believe—” Blueblood began to raise his voice, but just as quickly deflated. He turned and ran back the way Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had gone.

He was a lot easier to follow when his legs weren’t longer than her entire body, like they usually were. At one point, he paused to motion to one of his guards, and the pegasus pony swooped down, pointed him in a direction, and he resumed running after a momentary groan. Sweetie Belle slowed to a stop and thought better about being in plain sight when Blueblood finally found himself at the Rich family house, in the nicest part of Ponyville.

Diamond Tiara’s family was the wealthiest in town by a wide margin, and their house was stately. Sweetie Belle had always thought so, especially when she compared it to Rarity’s Boutique which was beautiful, but not exactly very large. She could see now that it was also built in a faux-Canterlot style with decorative ironwork spires with tiny domes, metal-rimmed gable windows, elaborate stone chimneys and a glazed-tile roof painted with diamond in red and yellow and white where most ponies just made due with thatch.

She ducked down behind a green hedge, enough to see Blueblood get a berating at the hooves of Filthy Rich. She couldn’t hear much, but it wasn’t hard to infer what was going on. Eventually, though, Diamond Tiara herself came out from behind her father. Sweetie strained her ears to try and overhear, but they were too far away. It was impossible to tell if—

And then Diamond Tiara jumped at the coltified Prince, wrapping him in a possessive hug. Blueblood just managed to look over his shoulder and gag, as if to say, ‘Thank you so much for making me do this. Really.’

By the time he managed to extricate himself from the Rich residence, he was white as a sheet. Albeit, he was always white as a sheet. Whiter.

“She accepted my apology,” he growled as he passed the hedge she hid behind. He shuddered. “Now let us never come here again.”

Sweetie Belle hugged Blueblood, then, just as tightly as Diamond Tiara had moments before. “Don’t ever be that-that monster again,” she whispered. She stepped back a little and nodded. “How about we meet Scootaloo and Apple Bloom? They’ll probably be at the Crusader HQ.”

As if summoned to prove her wrong, she immediately heard the unmistakable sound of Scootaloo’s wing-propelled scooter. Sweetie blinked as Scootaloo performed a quick turn after bumping against a rock, twirling on her axis to land, shaken but smiling confidently in front of them. The ‘coolness effect’ was lessened considerably by the wild-eyed look on Apple Bloom’s face and how tightly she was holding on to Scootaloo.

“I thought it was you!” Scootaloo said, frowning at Sweetie Belle. “So, you skipped school just so you could hang out with him?” She adopted a sly, teasing grin. “He your coltfriend?”

“My—” Sweetie gasped. “He’s not my coltfriend!”

“But we saw you hug!” Scootaloo argued. “Why would you hug a colt unless he was your coltfriend?”

“Aww, Ah think they make a cute couple!” Apple Bloom said, a big grin adorning her face. “They’re adorable!”

“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie moaned, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Please!”

“Eww!” Scootaloo pretended to gag. “Since when are you into colts? Aren’t you a bit young to be chasing tail?”

“Oh, the things I could say,” Blueblood muttered under his breath.

“Blueblood!” Sweetie hissed.

“Wait,” Apple Bloom spoke up. “Y’all mean to say that Sweetie here has been chasin’ tail for a while now, and we didn’t know?”

“Has she?” Blueblood asked, feigning shock. He took a few steps to hold Apple Bloom’s hoof. “You must be the little sister of Miss Applejack, Apple Bloom, isn’t it? A true pleasure to meet you.” He let go of her hoof before she could shake too vigorously in reply and shot a level stare at Scootaloo. “Oh yes, and the filly who falls out of the tree.”

“Hey!” Scootaloo yelped, offended. “I didn’t fall out of any tree!”

“You will,” he promised.

“This is Blue... um... blood?” Sweetie put hoof to forehead, realizing she had just said his name a few seconds earlier. So much for a cover! “Anyway, he’s a friend. Just a friend!” She added that last line for Scootaloo’s benefit. “And why would anypony want to chase their tail?”

“Well, that’s pretty simple!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, happy to enlighten her friends with some down-home farm schoolin’. “Granny says that when a pony likes another pony very much—”

“Wait!” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “Wait! I get it. No, I’m not trying to sleep with anypony.” The moment it left her mouth, Sweetie clamped her hooves over the offending chatterbox.

“You don’t want to go to sleep?” Scootaloo asked, blinking. “Well, duh, it’s like, five.”

“Blueblood, can you please just explain this,” Sweetie Belle asked, exasperated by this one stupid topic coming up again.

“Explain it?” he asked with a chuckle. “Are you sure? I will, but just don’t try and get your cutie marks in—”

“We won’t!!” Sweetie all but yelled. “And in fact, don’t explain anything!”

“Ahh. Nevermind all that, then.” He smiled at the two other crusaders, ready as always with a convincing lie. “And don’t mind me. I just came in from Canterlot to see Sweetie Belle. We’re pen pals, you see? That’s all. It really is nice to meet her friends. I’ve heard so much about you both.”

“You have a cutie mark,” Apple Bloom immediately zeroed in on that one feature, above and beyond all others, now that introductions of a sort had been made. Blueblood’s little white vest and jacket, in stallion fashion, didn’t cover his flanks, and despite the age-regression magic, his cutie mark remained: an eight pointed star in ivory and gold.

“That isn’t a problem, I trust?” he asked.

“No, of course not!” Apple Bloom declared. “We’re just... surprised.”

“Yeah, IF you’re pen pals with Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo got up to Blueblood’s snout. “How come she never mentioned you before? Unless she was trying to hide something.”

“I wasn’t hiding anypony!” Sweetie Belle objected, “Blueblood is just... Blueblood. He was always far away and I never thought he’d even visit a backwater town like Ponyville. With all the farms, and dirt and a forest... I never figured he’d be up to getting dirty.”

“Getting dirty for a good cause, that, I’m alright with.” He winked at the two crusaders. “Just between us, Sweetie’s last letter sounded a little melancholy, so I figured I’d show up and help her play truant. That way she can get her criminal-delinquent cutie mark!”

“Oh, Blue!” Sweetie tilted her head just-so and blink-blinked at him. “Is that so? Did you really come all the way here just to help me get my switchblade cutie mark?”

Scootaloo turned to look at Apple Bloom and mouthed the words ‘switchblade cutie mark?’

“Either that or a hoof with iron spikes on it,” he helpfully replied. “A life of crime, all because you skipped school. Tsk tsk.”

“I knew I could count on you, Blueblood,” Sweetie smiled demurely. “Please, show me the way of crime.”

“Very well!” he agreed, rearing up excitedly. “We can start with insurance fraud and work our way up to embezzlement! Just like my parents! Huzzah!”

Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo and shrugged. “Ah’m up for it. Granny Smith did say the other day that we could end up as ‘good fer nothin’ ne’er-do-wells’.”

Scootaloo nodded. “That would definitely be cool enough for Rainbow Dash!”

“... are you three really that impressionable?” Blueblood’s demeanour turned droll very quickly. He looked from one overly enthusiastic filly to the next and sigh. “Stars and Aunties, you are that impressionable.”

“Sorry, girls,” he quickly explained, shaking a hoof at them. “But the truth is, the only thing I could help you get cutie marks in is government, and at your age, it’ll probably just put you to sleep.”

“Our age?” Scootaloo asked, catching that slip up rather swiftly.

“Ah. ha. ha. ha.” Blueblood laughed, nervously, but didn’t even bother to try and explain away his slip of the tongue. “Let’s go find something safe and fun to do! Yay?”

The three crusaders looked at each other, then snorted. “Ah don’t think you really told your friend here what we do,” Apple Bloom said.

“No, he knows,” Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “But I don’t think he’ll believe me by just telling him. He has to experience it himself.”

“I heard Rainbow Dash talking about extreme cloud-surfing,” Scootaloo said. “How about we try and get our ‘X-treme Sports’ cutie marks?”

“Sounds good to me!” Sweetie Belle cheerfully hoof-bumped Scootaloo. “Feel like it, Blue?”

“Life and limb are but a small price to pay for cutie marks,” he agreed, nodding in a rather grim fashion.

“Well then, we have our plan!” Sweetie Belle grinned. “And I just so happen to know where we can get a ride up to the clouds...” Her eyes drifted to a nearby chariot yoked to a pair of royal guard ponies.

o.0.o

“I think I’m starting to feel my left hind leg again,” Sweetie Belle groaned, stretching the limb in question a little with a wince. “I’m just glad none of us got a cutie mark out of that.”

She stopped once the Carousel Boutique came into view. Rarity and her friends were all excitedly watching Twilight, Fluttershy and a bunch of mice.

“There they go again. Doomed to fail.” She sighed, and looked over her shoulder at Blueblood. “Was... was my sister really that bad? She wasn’t like Diamond Tiara, was she?”

Blueblood watched the six mares for a time, cracking a smile as Twilight’s newly transformed chauffeurs took off due to a sudden feline attack, leaving their quarry behind. His smile faded just moments after appearing, though. He knew it better than she did. All that preparation and excitement, and the Gala seemed predestined to disappoint them or worse.

“No. Maybe there were some similarities, but... as you reminded me earlier today, neither deserved what I did. Toying with a pony, just because I could.” His brows creased as he frowned, upset at himself, at his behavior, at the things he had once considered amusing.

“You know, for a few Galas... after that first one,” he told her with a sad shake of his head. “I ignored her. It didn’t make things better or worse, just more... awkward. I would always catch a glimpse of her following me, here or there, wanting to talk to me - wanting me to notice her and introduce myself. I could see near the end that she blamed herself if I just let her be. She probably thought she wasn’t pretty enough, or poised enough, or elegant enough to catch my eye.”

“But she was, and is.” His mouth set into a tight line. “That was why I was cruel to her. Because she was elegant and refined and she wanted to be with me. Adults... are stupid in our own ways, Sweetie Belle, but she didn’t deserve to have her night ruined. It just... what she wants to find at the Gala, the Prince that she believes me to be, isn’t there. It never was.”

Sweetie touched his shoulder with her hoof. “Blueblood, today you were a horrible jerk... and it was horrible to see, but you haven’t been like that at all to me, or to anypony else, at least since I met you.” She looked down at the grass under them, rather than look him eye to eye. “And maybe I’m just a filly that’s naive and silly... but I think you might be closer to that prince than you believe yourself to be. I don’t know if my sister is meant for you... but neither of you deserve to feel bad about who you are.”

He smiled at her, a grateful, genuine expression so far removed from the false smiles he doled out so often. “Thank you, Sweetie. I don’t think anypony’s ever said anything like that to me before.” He went back to watching Rarity and the others, his expression wan. “I’ve been a bit of a playcolt most of my life, having... sleepovers with one mare or another, but... I’ve always dreaded finding that mare.” He glanced back at Sweetie and explained, in the more common way. “That special somepony. In my social circles, it doesn’t mean what it does for most ponies. Just like you girls try so hard to get your cutie marks, ever since I was little, I’ve been trained to be a charming Prince... the better to attract a powerful partner. But I don’t like being charming. And I don’t think I’m even all that nice when it comes down to it.

“So I thought... why not just have my own sort of fun?” he asked, rhetorically. “Why not have fun at the expense of others? That first night, when I strung your sister along... I was laughing inside. That sort of thing, it doesn’t just go away, even if you regret it later. I’ve always had that bad seed in me, Sweetie Belle. But I’m trying to grow out of it... a little too late to make a difference now, but I’m trying anyway.”

Sweetie Belle sighed and looked away, letting her hoof slide down from Blueblood’s shoulder. “If I hadn’t seen what I saw today... I would have had a very hard time believing you capable of that.” She took a deep breath. “If I hadn’t seen—or met you—before this morning and I had witnessed how you treated Rarity... I would have never been able to forgive you.” She leaned into him. “But you’re trying. Really hard. Just... be careful.”

“Be careful?” he asked, a little confused. “Why?”

“Because you’ve come far, and I don’t want you to slip back into being... Bullyblood.”

“Bullyblood?” He laughed as he repeated it, nodding to himself with pleasure. “I actually like the sound of that now! Bullyblood. But I suppose that train has left the station. You said I was like a brother to you before,” he recalled, glancing at her with blue eyes and making an effort to sound nonchalant. “Did you really mean that?”

Sweetie smiled. “Yes,” she said without hesitation. “I think of all the ponies I’ve met, you understand me the most, and you’ve taken me under your wing. I’ve learned a lot and I couldn’t have done it without you looking out for me. If that’s not what an older brother does for his younger sister... I don’t know what is.”

“Well, if you’re to be my little sister, then, you shall henceforth be known as Princess Sweetie Belle!” he announced, probably too loudly. She nearly tackled him to shut him up before Rarity overheard. “When you do get back home, feel free to petition the local me for a castle and estate. And servants. No Princess should be without servants. Make Diamond Tiara one of them.”

Sweetie giggled, unable to completely muffle herself with her hooves. “You know, if there was an actual way for you to give me a royal edict with your signature and stamp, I’m sure I could pull that one off in at least a few worlds. But, I’m not sure I’m suited for a life with nobles. They’re so stuffy. Besides, are you sure a castle, estate and servants are enough for a filly like me?”

“I’ll arrange a good marriage for you, too!” he teased. “Do you prefer unicorn, earth pony, or pegasus colts?”

Sweetie paused. “I’ll think about it when you line them up.” She looked up as Rarity came back with a few stallions, ready to pull the cart that would take them to Canterlot. “I guess they’re about to go...”

“Your sister has impeccable feminine wiles, by the way,” Blueblood dryly observed, having also noticed Rarity’s improvisational wrangling of a few helpful ponies of the male persuasion. “I get the feeling half of the stallions in this town - and one dragon - would quite happily jump off a cliff if she batted her eyes and asked them nicely.”

“Maybe,” Sweetie shrugged. “But it takes more than a smile and being handsome to win her interest... or her heart.” She glanced at Blueblood. “She’s weird that way.”

“Darn. My smile and my looks are probably my best qualities,” he joked, and gestured for her to lead. “Let’s head inside. I doubt I’ll be able to stick around for long once Miss Rarity heads off to the Gala. We may as well plan for our own outing tomorrow while we still can.”

“We won’t have much time,” Sweetie warned. “Apple Bloom and Big Mac will drop by in a little bit to take me to Sweet Apple Acres for the night.”

“That reminds me, one of these loops I should meet Miss Rarity’s parents... get some insight into—” He suddenly seemed to realize what he had said, and trailed off.

Sweetie slowed down and stopped in front of the Boutique. “My parents...” she sighed. “Y-yeah, you should meet them. I’m sure they’ll like you.”

“Most mare’s parents I’ve met over the years either want to kill me or have me sign a wedding contract on the spot. Some even want both.” He leaned over to gently bump her side with his cheek, in the way little ponies often did to prod one another. “You should meet them. I get the feeling you haven’t yet.”

“I...” Sweetie shuddered. “Y-yeah, I will... I just... they were... you know,” Sweetie licked her suddenly-dry lips. “Dead.”

Blueblood picked up his pace to trot around and in front of her. He leaned in close, to be comforting, not intimidating. “I lost my parents, too, you know,” he said it quickly, and she hadn’t known. She hadn’t even thought to ask. He seemed to consider stopping there, but sucked in a breath and asked, “Do you remember them?”

“No,” She said after a moment of hesitation. “Rarity told me they were wonderful and caring ponies, and that they loved me very much. But I don’t remember much of them... Rarity was both sister and mother to me while we grew up.”

“She did a fine job of it, too,” Blueblood said, and reached up with a hoof to pat her roughly on the crown of her head, messing up her mane a little in the process. Since he was no bigger than her as a colt, he had to reach high to do it. “About a hundred times better than if I had ever had to raise a sibling, that’s for sure.

“If you want to talk about it, though,” he added, falling back down to all fours. “You know.”

“I-I just don’t know what to say to them!” She admitted. “What if... they can tell I’m not their Sweetie Belle? What if I mess up? What if they hate me?” She looked up to Blueblood with scared eyes. “I’ve never thought that I would have a real chance to talk to them. How do I talk to them?”

“I can’t say, but you seem to do alright with your sister,” he replied, blinking. “Right? I’d suppose: just go about it normally. Learn a little about them. Listen to them. There’s no pressure, and they aren’t going anywhere. Take it slow, as slow as you need.”

“I’ve tried,” Sweetie confessed. “Three times already. I get to just around the corner... and I see them and... I can’t.”

“Oh, Sweetie Belle! Sweetie! Where are—” Rarity’s voice interrupted the muffled conversation of the two young ponies. “There you are!” The two looked up to see Rarity trotting over to them at a delicate, measured pace, not rushed but clearly urgent.

“You’ll find a way,” Blueblood said to Sweetie in a whisper. He placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder, just for a moment, and then beamed to intercept the incoming element of generosity.

They only had a little time before the Gala, and then...

And then tomorrow, they would return to the maze.

o.0.∞.0.o

Sweetie Belle summoned the portal into the Fragment Dimension, as she had decided to call it, and stared in, unnerved.

She looked around the maze, the energy fluctuations around them had drawn the attention of the unicorn guards. Though they stood dutifully at attention, one could still see that they were obviously impressed. But they had no idea what was inside, waiting for her. They had no idea that the last time she had entered that portal, she had died.

“Sweetie Belle,” Blueblood said, his voice back to its normal adult tone. He held out a hoof. “Come on. Let’s give it the old Academy Try.”

But at least she wouldn’t be alone.

“Right!” she agreed, bumping her hoof into his. “Let’s do this. Hey! What’s an Academy Try, anyway?”

“It means getting drunk and using a crib sheet.”

“No it doesn’t!”

Together, they plunged into the whirling storm of magical energy.

“O-oh! Guests!” Twilight Sparkle cheered when she materialized in front of them. “How wonderful! It’s Sweetie Belle! And... Blueblood.”

Sweetie Belle smirked. “He’s my adoptive older brother, Twilight.”

That gave the phantom unicorn pause. “Your...? Wait, what? How did that happen? Did he put a spell on Rarity? If he did, I’m killing him.”

“Killing me would be a grave inconvenience,” Blueblood stated, grinning his most charmingly false smile at the fragment’s shadowy form. He reached up to grasp one of her ethereal hooves. “And why would I put a spell on Miss Rarity... when I’m already married to my own, dear, Twilight Sparkle?”

“No.” The smokey form vibrated in what had to be a shudder. “No. No. That can’t be!”

“Search your feelings!” he implored her. “You know it to be true!”

“NO!” she cried, wavering in midair. “That’s impossible!”

“Why, we’ve been happily married for a year now,” he explained to the panicking fragment. “With a little foal of our own on the way— Ow!”

Sweetie removed her hoof from where it had stomped on his own.

“I mean,” he smoothly corrected himself. “The one I’ve been pining for is you, my ephemeral beauty, my mare in the mist, my Princess in crystal— Ow! Stop that!”

“He’s just being silly,” Sweetie explained, before things could go further south. “He’s very nice once you get to know him.”

Blueblood waggled his eyebrows at the Twilight fragment.

“Rrrright,” the already-slightly-unhinged shard of the originally sort of crazy Twilight Sparkle drawled. She yanked her hoof from his grasp and the shifting, immaterial face of the fragment turned to Sweetie Belle for answers. “But... Sweetie... you look younger than the last time I saw you...? How? Ah ha! Yes! Of course! You must be travelling to different worlds! The Sweetie Belle here must be younger than the you I know. But didn’t you end up trapped in a crystal like I did?”

Sweetie felt a measure of deja vu coming on, a rather common sensation she had come to know intimately at this point.

“I... was just... look, I’ll tell you later, but... I just didn’t end up in crystals... I just keep jumping from body to body. And I need to find you so I can go to the next world and fix all this.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and then her smile grew crooked. “Tell me, do you... take the other fragments into yourself?”

Sweetie blinked. “Well yes...”

“Oh, that’s priceless!” Twilight clapped her hooves together. “I can’t wait until you get to me and add me to the other me’s!” Twilight chuckled and then gestured to the maze around her. “Welcome to the Maze of Death, created by Blue Belle! To get to me, you need only pass some tests! And, since I’m feeling generous, I’ll make the first one easy!

As the world faded around them and the now-familiar collapsing bowl of ether materialized in front of them, Sweetie sighed. “The worst thing about this test is just how tired I end up by the end of it.”

o.0.o

“Okay, I didn’t expect you two to go through that so quickly,” Twilight acknowledged. “Let’s see you handle this one!”

When the shades of Rainbow Dash and Applejack started to form and Twilight raved about the rules, Sweetie gave Blueblood a confused look. What was Twilight going on about?

His shrug in reply seemed to say, Beats me!

“Hm,” Sweetie shook herself off the distraction and glanced critically at their opponents. “Blueblood, is it me or does Rainbow Dash look... weak? Are you sure it’s fair to run against them if she’s just going to hold Applejack back?”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash’s incredulity was palpable. “Me? Drag her down?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ah don’t think I like the way you’re talking about me, Rainbow Dash.”

As the situation devolved next to them, Sweetie turned to Blueblood. “Okay, so, I brought a pencil and a lot of paper.”

“I have a topography spell that can...” Mid-sentence, he noticed something in the way she was looking up at him. Maybe it was just a little harmless incredulity. “I do have some spells, you know. Grand Veneur, remember? Auntie number one has the sun, Auntie number two has the moon, and I have my mighty maps. Of doooooooom.”

“Right.” Sweetie Belle snorted and started trotting up to the start line, where Rainbow Dash and Applejack were already kicking pebbles and being complete nuisances towards one another. “Well, let’s get started then, we’ll try your spell later on.”

It still took two tries before the bickering between ‘Applejack’ and ‘Rainbow Dash’ had sufficiently impaired their ability to function as a racing team. And before too long, they were blaming one another for “being slower than my pet turtle” or “showboatin’ when ya’ll should have been racin’.” Followed a moment later by Twilight’s correction that Tank was a tortoise, not a turtle.

Test number two: done.

It had only taken a little over an hour, too.

“Now the real hard part begins,” Blueblood warned, and to Sweetie’s surprise, he conjured up two glasses of water, ice cubes and all. “I’m ready if you are.”

“As ready as I’ll ever be... until tomorrow.” Sweetie nodded. “But let’s try and make it today.”

o.0.o

“Well, crap.”

BOOOM!

o.0.∞.0.o

“Quick! Quick!”

BOOM!

o.0.∞.0.o

“Well,” Blueblood remarked, scratching his chin and staring up at the tangled mess of blocks overhead. “That didn’t work.”

“Yeah,” Sweetie agreed, sitting on her haunches. “May as well just blow up now and save us the trouble of waiting.”

“Okay,” Twilight said.

BOOM!

o.0.∞.0.o

BOOM!

“AAAAAAGHH!” Sweetie screamed. “Don’t. Do. That!” She shouted after the retreating form of a maniacally laughing Blueblood.

She glared at the strewn pieces of balloon and started laughing herself.

o.0.∞.0.o

“W-what is all this?” Rarity muttered, staring up at the floating cone of papers that circled a magical projection of the twisted three dimensional puzzle. After getting blasted to pieces the last half dozen loops, neither felt much need to adhere to elaborate cover stories. Blueblood had simply walked in, spun some yarn about working on a puzzle with some young filly as part of a ‘Canterlot scholarship’ and hurriedly went to work setting up shop within the boutique.

“Scholarship!” Sweetie insisted.

“A prestigious scholarship,” Blueblood assured the elder sister, turning on just enough suave charm to make it somehow convincing. “But I hadn’t expected our young applicant would have such a beautiful sister. Miss Rarity, this is short notice, but... the Gala is tonight and...”

Sweetie grimaced as the two adults whispered and giggled.

“Gleh!” she gagged into her hoof as Rarity left the discussion, practically cantering on thin air.

“Seems I have a hot date for tonight,” Blueblood said, but quickly returned to the project notes he kept floating overhead. “Now, looking at all this, I do believe we have all the possible rotations down, and all the individual alignments. We just need some obsessive-compulsive pony to figure out how it all comes together into a cube.”

Sweetie nodded. “It’s time to fight OCD with OCD. Let’s fetch Twilight.”

o.0.o

“Twilight!” Sweetie Belle ran into the Golden Oaks library. Her horn flashed and the book Twilight Sparkle had been reading slammed shut. “I have a real problem for you to solve.”

“Sweetie Belle!” Twilight groaned. “I was looking at which spell to use for—”

“Simple polymorph with a 12-hour timer spell attached to it,” Sweetie interrupted. “I have something better for you to do.”

Twilight frowned at the supposedly magicless filly instantly solving her problem. “Shouldn’t you be in school and—”

“If you come with me and help me figure this out, I’ll tell you who Shining Armor is marrying.”

o.0.o

Twilight stared in silent awe at the paper construct floating overhead. “Okay, I admit, this is better than looking at books to figure out how to turn mice into horses.”

“Yes, and even better, the pony that did this?” Sweetie whispered on Twilight’s ear, making it twitch. “She only took 4 hours to figure it out.”

Sweetie Belle had never seen Twilight faint quite like she did then. She surely could have given Rarity a run for her bits, at least in speed if not in style. “Blueblood?” Sweetie called worriedly, “I think I broke her!”

“How fortunate I came prepared,” the Prince flexed his magic, and performed a little conjuration...

And a moment later, Twilight sputtered, soaked through by the upended glass of ice water floating over her head. She gasped, whirling angrily on the supposedly noble stallion, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

“All fixed,” Blueblood insisted, completely oblivious to being moments away from a first-hoof inspection of Twilight Sparkle’s complete works of spellcraft and pyromancy.

“Four hours,” Twilight said, shaking her mane vigorously enough to spray water at Blueblood - who naturally cringed and bemoaned his coat getting wet. “Four hours?” she asked, eyes darting over the notes hovering in the air. Sweetie could see the sparks flying behind her eyes, smell the ozone of crackling synapses, taste the hay fries Spike was baking while they watched Twilight work.

“These notes are very thorough,” Twilight muttered as she flashed through them. “I guess I could figure an algorithm just by reading them.”

“Could we add that to a spell equation to cast it and have it solve itself?” Sweetie asked.

“If not, I can just write down the quickest correct solution,” the Princess’s peerless apprentice reasoned, and gave Sweetie another curious look. “This is a physical puzzle, isn’t it? I don’t suppose you can you cast Melody’s Methodical Memorization?”

“I haven’t memorized it yet,” Sweetie admitted. “I once read about Melody’s spells, but never got around to learning any of them.”

Twilight’s eyes went to Blueblood for a split second, before centering back on Sweetie Belle. “We can go either way, although if we went for your spell equation, you’d need to be able to use Calm Spell’s mind canvas... it might be effective, but the mental strain to keep the equation alive in your mind through all parameters would be too much...” Her tone took a lecturing quality, one that Sweetie knew all too well. “Calm Spell’s canvas is very effective for simple, if powerful, equations. He was such a successful caster because he simplified most of the equations needed in his day to their most effective and basic expressions.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “I see... and the equation for this puzzle would be incredibly complicated to maintain from its point of origin to the final resolution. So we are stuck with either finding out the correct sequence and recording it with Melody’s Methodical Memorization, or fry our brains and magic trying to sort out the equation in a mind canvas.”

Twilight nodded. “Exactly, therefore the most effective solution would be to use your already extensive notes and figure out the correct sequence. I could cast the spell and, if we have time, help you memorize it as well.”

“Let’s get started then!” Sweetie cheered. “I—”

She was interrupted by Miss Cheerilee passing out next to the door, where Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked at the gathered unicorns sheepishly.

“Ah... Ah think Miss Cheerilee was worried that y’all were not studyin’ enough...” Apple Bloom coughed. “Turns out y’all are doin’ just fine. We’ll... uh... take her back to class.”

Sweetie, Blueblood, and Twilight all watched in silence as the two fillies hefted the unconscious teacher out of the Carousel Boutique and closed the door behind them.

“Okay,” Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and summoned her notebook. “I think I’m ready to learn!”

Twilight nodded, her mind already on the puzzle in front of her. “Four hours, huh... what kind of pony could solve this in four hours by herself?”

o.0.o

“That. Was. Amazing,” Sweetie Belle stated, looking upon the cube floating on top of their heads with undisguised awe. “How come I never thought to do that?” She glared at Blueblood. “How come you didn’t think to do that?”

“My skill is more in delegating tasks than doing them,” Blueblood admitted, also staring up at the completed duplicate puzzle with awe.

“Well, that was a ton of fun!” Twilight Sparkle exclaimed, nodding in pride and satisfaction at a job well done. “If you come up with any more of those, I’d love to try my hoof at them again.” The librarian stretched and glanced around for the time. “Now, let’s see. I need to go fetch Fluttershy and her mice for tonight... according to my schedule I have...” Her eyes quickly turned wide and panicked when she realized how much time had passed: it was well into afternoon. “Oh, Celestia, less than ten minutes!?”

“Relax,” Blueblood assured the mare with a confident chuckle. “I’ll be taking care of transportation. As long as your friends are ready and Miss Pie isn’t still bouncing on that infernal trampoline...” He coughed, suddenly self-conscious. “We should be fine. I’ll escort you personally.”

Twilight blinked in surprise, but managed to give a relieved sigh, her off-schedule panic receding just as quickly as it had appeared. “Thank... you, Blueblood, that’s really good to know! I’ll go gather the others!”

“And you,” Sweetie said to the Prince, “Are you ready to take my sister on her date, bro?”

“Just because I often choose to be a jerk, doesn’t mean I have to be,” Blueblood lectured, but not loudly enough for their resident bookworm to overhear. Luckily, Twilight had zipped off to prepare. “I can’t guarantee she’ll be home by the stroke of midnight, but I’ll try and keep her cake free...” He pursed his lips in what passed for a Princely pout. “That damned cake,” he growled, blue eyes glowing with quiet indignation. “Even when I eat those carnival fritters mocking them, that apple farmer still bakes the cake. Why? Do I have to destroy every oven in the palace? Force everypony to eat her food on pain of death? I’ll do it!”

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Sweetie admonished. “Just be polite and try to be you - the you I know - and I’m sure sis will have a nice night with you... maybe they all will.” She looked down at the papers and notes. “I have a lot to study tonight...” she muttered. “If my notebook didn’t reset after every freaking loop, things would be much easier. At least writing it will help me memorize it.”

Blueblood nodded, having gone through similar trials himself. He had spoken at length about how long it had taken him to get down even rudimentary teleportation. The only thing preserved by the loops was what a pony had in their head. Literally everything had to be committed to memory.

“That was actually what I was doing before we met,” he said, turning his head to catch a flash of color in the form of Twilight’s tail as she rushed down and then back up the library stairs after retrieving something: probably a checklist on how to get dressed.

“All six elements of harmony... they all come to the Gala, expecting the best night ever. After a while, the idea came to me that maybe that was why things were repeating. Maybe I just need to make it a perfect night? Maybe the elements of harmony chose me out of all ponies to do it?” He slowly shook his head, smiling ruefully at the thought. “Or maybe I just wanted to do it, because I hadn’t yet.”

Before Sweetie could say anything, though, he turned to her.

“After the Gala,” he said, suddenly, with an intense look on his face. “I mean, in the days and weeks after... did anything happen? I know Miss Rarity must have been quite upset with me, but... I didn’t precipitate some calamity by being, well, myself that night?”

Sweetie thought about Discord. And Chrysalis. And Sombra. “No,” she cleared her throat. “Nothing that you might have precipitated by making her night... unpleasant.”

“I’ll admit I’ve wondered, from time to time, what would have happened had that first loop merely been the end of it. Would I even have thought twice about what had happened except to cover my own part in it?”

Sweetie looked away; this was a bit of future knowledge that was probably harmless to divulge. “Blueblood... I can’t say much, but... up until a year or two later, you hadn’t showed up in Rarity’s life again. A-anyway, you’re not the same Blueblood as the one from my world, so don’t take that as a death sentence.” She shooed him away with her hooves. “Now shoo! Go woo my sister and let me study,” she grumbled.

“Yes, yes,” he relented, trotting off to see to the carriage and his eventful evening. “Maybe some loop, I’ll tell you what happened when I asked the crazy pink one to be my date. Oh, that was one wild night!” Before he left, though, he added, with a more serious tone, “Tomorrow. Test number three. Should be interesting.”

Sweetie nodded, offering her hoof for a hoof-bump. “Right!”

After the group was gone, Sweetie sat down to look at the notes she had taken on the spell, but her attention was drawn to something unexpected. Right above her notes, written in a spidery calligraphy, was a message. One she didn’t remember writing down herself.

Haven’t you noticed that you’re not alone?

Sweetie gasped and looked around, but saw nopony else. When she looked down, the message was gone.

“Did I just imagine things?” she muttered, massaging her forehead with a hoof. “This puzzle is driving me crazy.”

o.0.∞.0.o

“Wait just a minute! Are you two cheating?” Twilight’s fragment wafted around the explosive puzzle as it shifted and snapped and locked into position, segment by segment. The solution was fiendishly complex, involving partial solutions, breaking it halfway apart mid-way, and then finally fitting the three completed sections together.

“There’s no way anypony could solve this so quickly!” the fragment complained. “NO! You’re beating my record!”

A puff of magic revealed a very, very long list suspended in midair with the same initials “TS” repeated over and over with a list of times. Somepony had been busy. Or bored. Or both. A couple hundred years probably gave a pony plenty of time to engage her inner completionist.

“There are two of us,” Blueblood said as Sweetie’s magic finished snapping together another piece of the puzzle. “Perhaps you should double our time to make it fair?”

“A good idea!” Twilight’s fragment readily agreed. “Two against one isn’t fair, is it? That’s a very good idea! Maybe Rarity misjudged you when she said you were an arrogant, petty, self-aggrandizing son of a mule.”

“I take offense at that! My mother was a purebred unicorn!” Blueblood huffily declared, sticking out his chest and pure white coat. “Granted, the other judgments are fairly accurate.”

“Hey! Don’t talk about my brother that way!” Sweetie Belle snapped at Twilight Sparkle’s fragment, her magic twisting the puzzle closer and closer to its final resolution. “He’s trying to be a better individual! Maybe even a better stallion!”

“A little arrogance, pettiness, and self-aggrandizement can be healthy,” Blueblood chimed in. She frowned up at him, but his smile was all she needed to see to know that he was still glad she had stuck up for him.

“But with Sweetie Belle here, I’m afraid I do have to at least make a token effort to not be a complete cad,” he explained to the fragment overhead. “She’ll give me the look,” he whispered, easily loud enough to hear.

“I still don’t understand how in the wide, wide world of Equestria you two ended up partners like this,” Twilight’s fragment grumbled, mostly upset by seeing her record shattered. As the last few sections of the puzzle snapped together, finally coming together into a box, she gave an exasperated groan. “You actually did it!” she said, disappointed, but then a bit of pride slipped in. “No explosions, but... I am impressed. Sweetie Belle. I didn’t think anypony would ever solve this in the time Blue Belle allotted.”

“Well, I did have the most amazing mentor,” Sweetie Belle said. “And Blueblood’s been really great at getting me to learn a lot more. I could tell you all about it if you want to skip the rest of the maze?”

Twilight hovered there for a moment, considering, before it circled around Sweetie. “Nice try, but nope. Blue Belle and I spent a lot of time working on this!” the shard reproached her with an audible tsk-tsk. “I can’t disappoint her!”

Next to Sweetie, Blueblood gave a sigh. “I don’t suppose we could bribe you by bringing books next time?”

“Next time?” The Twilight fragment sparkled at the mention of books. “What do you mean? And what books...?”

“Why, thick... dense... technical books, strained to bursting with repressed... knowledge... That’s right. I bet I know just the kind of book you like, Twilie,” Blueblood said, reaching up to pull the ghostly fragment down into a conspiratorial huddle. “Leather bound tomes with iron spines, the type you need to open with a key... read by the light of a thick, flickering beeswax candle... tell me that doesn’t sound good?”

“It sounds...” A distinct reddish tint infiltrated the cheeks of the phantom Twilight fragment. Suddenly she blasted out of Blueblood’s hooves to materialize higher in the air, pointing an accusing hoof at him. “ARGH! You almost had me there! But the answer is still no!”

The pampered Prince stomped a hoof in irritation.

“Almost,” he muttered.

Sweetie Belle slowly clapped. “That was inspiring, really. I forgot how much of a sucker Twilight could be when books were brought to the equation.”

“Well,” Twilight’s fragment spoke up defensively. “When you start bringing up books, like say... ‘Starswirl’s Edicts of Eldritch Power’ what can a mare do?”

Sweetie smiled. “Yeah... the smell of old pages...”

“The faded ink...” Twilight added.

“The sketches done by Starswirl’s own hoof...” Sweetie nodded.

Both, fragment and filly, sighed contentedly.

Blueblood just shook his head.

Twilight’s fragment was the first to snap itself back to reality. “Well then, proceed deeper into the Maze. I shall have your next challenge ready.” That said, she floated away and into the deathtrap Blue Belle had constructed.

Sweetie sighed. “Well, I guess we should follow her. I wonder what comes next? Hoof-to-claw fight with a Manticore?”

“Perhaps we’ll get into a riddle duel with a dragon?” Blueblood suggested, taking the lead as they followed Twilight’s fragment. Around them, the pocket dimension began to rise and fall like the crest of a wave about to breach.

“Maybe a chess match against Discord, using anti-matter chess pieces?” Sweetie chimed in.

“Or an eating contest with Miss Pie?” he wondered. “Even Auntie couldn’t win that one.”

“Oh, it’s even better than an eating contest!” Twilight’s voice rang out, as the Prince and the filly approached a raised platform. A book rested on the lectern there, along with a quill. “Just sign your names and we’ll begin the next part of the maze... of death!”

“And that is?” Blueblood asked, examining the book and quill for another trap.

Twilight’s fragment clapped with her hooves. “You guys are going to love this next one. Not to brag, but I came up with it myself, and it’s my personal favorite. Just take a seat, and you’ll notice you each have two number-two pencils and an abacus. It’s time for a written EXAM! Oh boy!”

Blueblood groaned. “Kill me now...”

Sweetie’s eyes lit up. “Is it a magic exam!?”

“Nope!” Twilight cheerfully replied. “It’s a math test!”

Sweetie Belle slammed her face on the desk that had suddenly appeared in front of her. She barely paid attention to the rest of the room changing shape to resemble a classroom. She did raise her head when, with a burst of magic, a scroll appeared in front of her.

Trying not to groan, she opened the scroll and stared, mouth opening and closing in silence until she looked up to the Twilight fragment and levitated the scroll. “The octagon P_1P_2P_3P_4P_5P_6P_7P_8 is inscribed in a circle, with the vertices around the circumference in the given order. Given that the polygon P_1P_3P_5P_7 is a square of area 5 and the polygon P_2P_4P_6P_8 is a rectangle of area 4, find the maximum possible area of the octagon.” She slammed it down. “You’ve got to be kidding me! I’m just a Celestia-damned filly!”

“And I am but a handsome Prince!” Blueblood added, and Sweetie glared at him. How was being a Prince anything like being a little filly? He shrugged, helplessly. It just was.

“Yes, but both of you have proven yourselves very capable indeed!” Twilight pointed out. “I’m sure—”

“Also, I’ve forgotten how to use an abacus,” Blueblood admitted.

Sweetie’s forehead hit her desk with a dull thump.

“There are some problems that don’t need an abacus!” Twilight’s fragment pointed out. “Look at problem 25!”

Blueblood did. “If one train on the Friendship Express leaves Canterlot at 5:30 at sixty kilometers per hour and another one from Ponyville at 6:00 at fifty kilometers per hour, and they cross at 6:30, what was the model of caboose used in both trains? Oh, come on.”

“‘Between all the numbers of the alphabet, what is your favorite color?’” Sweetie read. “I have your answers right here!” she growled as flames erupted from her horn and—

o.0.∞.0.o

“So that’s what happens when you fail Twilight’s test...” Sweetie muttered, staring at the ceiling, awake in her bed at the Boutique. Apparently, written exams were serious business. She shuddered. “Time to study...”

o.0.o

Sweetie patiently waited until the last exam had been given in. This time, she had limited her essay to three pages and had used her mouth to write. Once the whole class had submitted their essays, Miss Cheerilee smiled. “Okay class, that was it! Are there any questions?”

Sweetie Belle dutifully raised her hoof. “Miss Cheerilee? I do have a question!”

“Yes, Sweetie? What is it?” Miss Cheerilee asked, ignoring the loud groans from the rest of the class.

“Well, I think I’ll need the blackboard to properly illustrate it; may I?”

“Sure! Okay, class, pay attention! Maybe one of you can help Sweetie Belle before I do!”

Sweetie Belle stood up and cantered towards the blackboard, levitating a piece of chalk. She proceeded to draw an octagon, and started naming sections with numbers preceded by a ‘P’. Once she was done, she turned to look at Cheerilee, who stood there with a frozen smile on her face. “So... here’s the problem...”

o.0.o

“Uh, Miss Cheerilee?” Silver Spoon raised her hoof. “I don’t think we can help Sweetie with this particular problem.” She waved her hoof in front of the paralyzed teacher. “Miss Cheerilee?”

o.0.o

The Royal household ate breakfast in silence, most mornings. Luna was not a very talkative pony after her night’s vigil, and Celestia - despite being the very avatar of the dawn - was a deep sleeper who took to mornings drudgenly. Most of the chatter came from the royal ministers or other personages lucky enough to be invited to the royal table.

This morning, Celestia herself looked up from her simple breakfast of oats and apples to stare, just a moment or two, at her erstwhile nephew. “Blueblood,” she said, gently. “What is that you have there?”

Luna, too, looked up from her dinner-as-breakfast, large eyes blinking and silently curious.

The Prince of the realm sighed, his royal dignity cast aside. He held up a piece of paper covered in scribbles and calculations.

“...Homework.”

o.0.o

The pair sat uneasily watching Twilight’s fragment grade their tests.

“Hmm,” the smokey unicorn muttered to herself, very diligent in her examination of their examinations. “Hmmm. Very sloppy. Did not show your work, your Grace...”

Sweetie Belle turned to see a bashful Blueblood shrugging in his seat.

“I was always bad at showing my work,” he admitted. Sweetie Belle could guess it was probably because he had cheated then, and was cheating now. Then again, so was she.

“Oh. Very good. Yes. Good. Good!”

Sweetie had to keep from swelling up with pri—

“Wrong!” the fragment happily declared, marking one of the papers with a dramatic slash of her pen. “Close, but wrong. I’ll give you partial credit.”

“You know, most teachers aren’t this happy grading papers,” Blueblood muttered, and the Twilight Fragment glared up from over his exam... and then went back to grading a moment later.

“You got this one. Good. The hoofwriting could be clearer, but I think this one is right. Now for the multiple choice section...” There was much hmming and hawing for another few minutes before, without warning, both exam papers rolled up and floated back over to the pair of time loopers.

“Done!” Twilight’s fragment announced. “You both pass.” She glared at Blueblood. “Barely.”

“Yay!” Sweetie cheered. “Cutie Mark Crusaders Test Takers!” She raised a hoof for Blueblood to bump, but lowered it when she noticed that he was concentrating on his test.

His royal highness was frowning at his graded paper. “Hey!” he objected, suddenly. “What happened to the extra points I got for bringing you an apple?”

“I gave you an extra half-point!”

“A whole half-point. Wonderful. And why did I lose points here?”

“Where?” the fragment floated over his shoulder. She then leveled a glare at him. “You doodled in the margins of your page.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“It’s a picture of me kissing another mare.”

“No! See the little bear under your hoof? This is a creative reinterpretation of you and Miss Lulamoon beating the Ursa Minor.”

“And then making out.”

“Yes. And that.”

“I’ve very tempted to fail you on principle,” Twilight floated away, blushing a bit.

“Still, a solid C,” Blueblood said, folding up his test. “I guess I can live with it.” Slowly, he raised a hoof to his side, and bumped with Sweetie Belle. “Cutie Mark Crusaders Test Takers. Hurrah.”

“Can I see the picture?” Sweetie asked, and laughed as Twilight dove between them.

“NO!”

“Aww!”

“Yes, yes, laugh it up.” Twilight’s fragment sighed, first disappointed, but then excited again. “I guess you can proceed to the next test! I never imagined anypony would get so far so fast, and on the first try, too!” She paused. “Not that anypony could try more than once, but you two are pretty good!”

Sweetie giggled and Blueblood chuckled, bumping hooves again.

“Don’t get too cocky!” Twilight warned them as she floated around overhead. “There are two more tests to go! Are you ready?”

“Two more?!” Sweetie whined. “Why do we have to take more tests? Why can’t you just be a nice fragment and go with me?”

o.0.o

It was another maze, which wasn’t a bad thing. Blueblood had grinned at the prospect, confident in his skill at navigation. It was his cutie mark, after all, so he took the lead. After everything leading up to it, Sweetie felt more than happy to let her new big brother best friend forever give it the “old academy try,” in his own words. It was almost relaxing, walking through the quiet hedgerows, the gentle and comforting clatter of Blueblood’s hooves close by as he walked.

“Sweetie Belle...”

Glaring at the fragment, Sweetie pretended not to hear her.

“Sweetie Belle... I know you can hear me,” Twilight’s fragment said playfully. “Why won’t you answer?”

“Because there’s nothing to talk about,” Sweetie snapped. “I don’t trust you. You’d let me and Blueblood die in an instant to satisfy your sick humor.”

“Oh, don’t say that, Sweetie,” Twilight’s fragment whined. “You know it’s me, Twilight, I wouldn’t do that without good reason.”

“And what good reason could you possibly have for doing that?”

“Well,” the fragment raised a hoof to her chest. “I’m your mentor, of course! I have to make sure that you’re challenged appropriately, and let me tell you, you’ve exceeded all my expectations, Sweetie, and they were not small.”

Despite herself, Sweetie felt some pride swell inside of her, but quickly crushed it down. “So what? I need to be strong and diligent if I’m going to save you and get us home.”

Twilight’s fragment laughed. “Oh, Sweetie, you don’t have to worry about me! I’m Twilight Sparkle! The Element of Magic, personal student of Princess Celestia! I can take care of myself, but you, Sweetie, you’re just a filly. You shouldn’t be here, in danger. That’s what I was trying to teach you; you’re risking your life for nothing. You should be home, Sweetie.”

“The only way to get home is to gather all of the fragments together, and get Twilight back!” Sweetie growled.

“Wel-l-l-l,” the ghostly unicorn drawled, “that’s not entirely true.”

“What?” Sweetie stopped to stare at the fragment, who nodded with a small smile.

“I’ve talked to the fragments inside of you,” she elaborated. “Well, as much as they would talk to me.” She frowned for a second. “After you passing my tests so quickly, I knew something was up, so I communed with them and found out you’ve been cheating!” She giggled, pleased at both her discovery and the look of shock on Sweetie’s face. “But that’s okay, we know what you’ve been through... Sweetie, there’s no need for you to carry on like this. Go home.”

“I can’t!” Sweetie cried. “Haven’t you been listening? I can’t do it on my own! I want to go home! I miss Rarity! And Scootaloo and Apple Bloom! My Rarity, my Scootaloo, my Applebloom! Not their counterparts here! But I can’t! I need Twilight to—”

“That’s the thing,” the fragment interrupted. “You don’t. There’s enough of us in you with the link to our home dimension, and with the massive reservoir of magic I have here, we can just send you back home.”

“What?” Sweetie looked at the fragment in complete bewilderment. “D-don’t lie to me...” She looked down. “Please... of all the cruel jokes...”

“It’s not a joke,” the fragment insisted. “Look, over there.”

Sweetie followed the fragment’s hoof to one of the walls of the maze, where a dented, silver mirror stood. “What is this?”

“A doorway,” Twilight’s fragment said. “And it’s open.”

Sweetie blinked. She could see Rarity, Fluttershy and... Zecora? The trio were talking, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying. Rarity looked gaunt. As if she hadn’t been eating well or maybe not at all, and she had a haunted look in her eyes. “W-what... what happened to her?”

“She’s been mourning your loss,” Twilight’s fragment said. “She thought you had died; she buried an empty coffin with your name on it, right next to your parents.”

“But... I’m not dead!” Sweetie cried.

“Oh, I know.” The fragment nodded. “And even worse, she knows that as well, now... Thanks to Zecora, she was able to follow you to another world, your most recent one, I believe... so now she mourns the fact that you don’t want to go home.”

“But I do!” Sweetie retorted, hitting the silver mirror with her hoof. “I do want to go home! Rarity! I want to go home! I’ll find a way! I promise!”

“There’s a way right there,” Twilight’s fragment whispered, flowing around Sweetie to hover over the mirror. “All you need to do is step through.”

Her hoof touched the mirror again and it rippled as if it were made of water.

Sweetie’s eyes watered. “I-I can go home?”

Twilight’s fragment smiled kindly and nodded. “You have earned it.”

Sweetie gazed at the three mares on the other side of the mirror. She knew that was her world, although how, she couldn’t tell. It was just a base instinct, she just knew. “Rarity... sis...”

“Sweetie Belle,” Twilight’s voice was warm and gentle, inviting. “Sweetie, don’t waste your chance. Go. Be happy.”

Sweetie raised her hoof until it hovered, almost touching the surface of the mirror. “I’ll be able to hug her... a-and, I’ll have dinner with her again and... I’ll see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom and tell them all about my adventures...”

“Yes, Sweetie, all you need to do is go through. Don’t worry about anypony else, you’ve suffered enough.”

Sweetie nodded. “I never wanted this... I just... want to be with my family. With Rarity and you and Spike and...” She looked up, a little frown crossing her face. “B-but Twilight, what about you?”

“I’m okay, Sweetie,” the fragment assured her. “We’ll all be okay. Go back, we’ll figure it out.”

“But, who would teach me magic?” Sweetie asked. “Who will take care of Spike?”

“Sweetie, it’s fine. Spike’s a dragon and you can learn more from—”

Sweetie stepped back from the mirror. “What kind of pony leaves her friends behind when they need her?”

“Sweetie, I—”

“One of you... one Twilight, she told me that I should look at the actions and morals of whoever is giving me advice before acting on it... How can you ask me to leave not only you behind, but to just let Spike suffer when he finds out you are alive and you didn’t want to go home?”

“Sweetie Belle,” Twilight’s fragment growled. “I’m your friend and mentor, you should listen to me. Your sister is there, waiting for you and this is your one chance to get to her.”

“And tell her and everypony else that loves you what, exactly?” Sweetie snapped back. “That you told me that what they also want is worthless? That I suffered through some horrible places and moments and then ran away from my problems like a little filly?”

“You are a filly!”

“But I’m not a coward!” Sweetie shouted, stomping her hooves. “And I’m not leaving without you! I’m not telling my sister, my friends or anypony else that I left my friend and mentor behind because a piece of her wanted to stay crazy!”

The fragment stared at Sweetie Belle in silence, then, in an almost whimsical move, she tapped the mirror again. The three mares on the other sided started and turned around to look their way.

Their eyes widened and Rarity took a couple of trembling steps her way, clearly mouthing the words ‘Sweetie Belle’ and hope filling her eyes... before the mirror became dull again.

Sweetie’s eyes filled with tears. “Why?” she whispered.

Twilight’s fragment didn’t answer immediately. Instead she looked at the mirror before looking back at Sweetie. “Because you passed.”

“I passed?!” Sweetie screeched. “That was just one of your stupid tests!?”

Twilight’s fragment snorted. “In part. But now you’ll never know if what you saw was real.”

“I hate you,” Sweetie growled. “I hate you so much. How something like you can even be a part of Twilight...” She shook her head. “Let’s get this over with. The less I see of you the better!”

“What was that?” Blueblood asked, and Sweetie suddenly realized that at some point she had stopped hearing the steady sound of his hoofsteps. It was back now, and so was he. Gone was the mirror from before, replaced once again by the seemingly endless green hedge of the maze.

“Now, now,” he said, placatingly. “I’m impatient, too, but we’ll be out of here soon, I promise.”

“I hope so,” Sweetie growled. “Or I might consider finding ways to destroy fragments.”

o.0.o

“Congratulations! You both made it through! It’s time for you to face the final challenge,” Twilight’s fragment announced as they reached the exit from the maze.

“Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but did you not say that we had two remaining challenges?” Blueblood asked. “Unless you mean—”

“We passed,” Sweetie interrupted through gritting teeth. “Didn’t we, fragment?”

Twilight’s fragment snorted. “Barely, but yes.”

“Why do I feel like I’m missing something,” Blueblood muttered, and a gentle surge in the ground underhoof caused the stallion to pause. Sweetie felt it too, as her entire body was raised up and then down. The trimmed grass and cobbled stone of the hedge maze’s walkways came apart in a grid, the sections flipping over like turned cards.

On the other side, snapping into place beneath the two ponies, a new floor revealed itself like a slowly spreading puzzle. Colored tiles formed shapes against pearl white and hedges shattered into glassy shards, only to coalesce into marble pillars. The equestrian statues that Sweetie had seen before scattered throughout the replica maze, shot forward through the disintegrating greenery. The formerly inanimate statues grew larger, raising on hind legs and roaring as wings tore from the backs of the unicorns and earth ponies and horns erupted from the skulls of former earth ponies and pegasi. The newly christened alicorn statues towered over them, raising hooves to the sky.

Drawn by them, Sweetie stared upwards, and saw a latticework of magic and glass beginning to form over them, like a massive transparent bell. She heard Blueblood’s hooves move closer and felt him close by, protective at the sudden change of environment. Patterns arose within the bell-shaped dome, along with vines of decorative gold and iron... like tangles of thorny ivy. A few blushed with color, turning into roses as tall as a small home, suspended in midair. Clouds could be seen beyond the massive cage they found themselves in, swirling slowly.

Then, with a bright flash, a fierce globe of light the size of a pony erupted in the uppermost reaches of the bell. Smaller lights appeared next, circling the radiant glow along a rotating circle of brass. Finally, from below, buildings began to sprout like mushrooms after a rain, but they were small... so small... Sweetie recognized what had to be the town hall, and a tiny Sugarcube Corner, and even a miniature Carousel Boutique. It was Ponyville. A tiny Ponyville. Sweetie turned around, and she could see small rolling hills, covered with trees like grass, except dotted by speckles of red.

She gasped, about to ask if this was what she thought it was...

When the glowing orb overhead detached and crashed to earth with enough force to crater part of the Canterlot mountains outside town. Sweetie instinctively ducked behind one of Blueblood’s legs. Whatever had fallen did not lie there in the shattered mountains beneath it. If anything, the glow intensified as something began to move within it. A long burning tendril of molten metal, or blazing light, reached out to press down onto a tiny green field. Smoke coiled up from whatever it touched, and as the form grew higher and higher, it began to take shape, wreathed in black smoke and flakes of ash.

“Intelligence!” Twilight’s fragment announced, “Strength! Fortitude! Cunning! Even loyalty and courage! You guys passed all the tests!” The shadowy mare cheered as she materialized next to the glowing pony, now half cloaked by soot. “Despite what I’ve said, I want you both to know I’m really impressed! We didn’t make this easy, did we?” She turned to the smoking form. “Did we?” she asked, and shook her head vigorously. “Nah! I mean, I could have made it harder... and you guys didn’t do that great on the written tests... but overall really great! You should be super proud of yourselves!

“Now!” Twilight’s fragment declared, and with a visible strain, her smoky form began to coalesce and become just a little more solid. “You get to see the final test.” She tapped her chest, and a small purple crystal fragment appeared within, encased in transparent glass. “And surprise! The final test is us!”

The eyes of the burning pony opened, a deep, bright blue.

“I’m awake... again?” the ember-pony said in a strained voice that only took on a feminine tone at the very last word.

Through the flickering ash, a mare’s body emerged, with a white coat and a long blonde mane done up in tightly regimented curls. Her tail flicked to the side, now fully formed and with the same pure golden color. A long horn stood proudly atop her head, but it was tinted with a bluish hue that wasn’t just magic, as if the coat there had been stained somehow.

“Twilight?” she asked, only noticing the smoky pony next to her. The fragment nodded happily.

“Blue Belle,” she replied.

Slowly, Blue Belle’s neon blue eyes - literally glowing blue - settled on their guests.

“One of... my descendants,” she stated, and Sweetie felt the eyes single out her and her alone. “Or is that two? Oh. I see. This must be... the little apprentice. I knew you’d come to take away my Twilight,” Blue Belle growled, eyes narrowing dangerously. “You should have brought Aunt Celestia. Your final test... is me.”

“I hope you don’t mind!” Twilight apologized, pressing her front hooves together. “I told her all about you!”

“‘I hope you don’t mind!’” Sweetie Belle mimicked in a high-pitched, annoying voice. “Of course I do, fragment! Now I have to deal not only with you, but her as well?” Sweetie slammed her hooves on the floor. “Why must you insist on making things worse?”

Twilight’s fragment shrugged. “It’s more interesting that way! And besides, what did you expect me to talk about for hundreds of years? Friendship reports?”

“Maybe that way you wouldn’t have forgotten them,” Sweetie snapped.

Those eight words sent a visible tremor through the fragment’s magic infused form.

“That’s... That’s a mean thing to say,” Twilight’s fragment hissed, making a clear effort to remain collected. She turned to the other pony next to her. “Blue Belle. Wash her mouth with soap, would you please?”

Blue Belle nodded slowly. “I will,” she promised, but first pointed at Sweetie’s companion. “You.”

“Moi?” Blueblood asked, pointing to himself. “I’m just a humble tour guide...!”

“What number are you?” Blue Belle demanded, her tail swishing behind her, still wreathed in burning embers.

The stallion frowned, considering making further light of the question, but answered honestly. “Fifty two.”

“Fifty two,” Blue Belle marveled. “So long? Was I asleep that long? I don’t... remember?” She turned to Twilight and the fragment rolled her eyes.

“It got boring. It all got boring,” she said, and Blue Belle’s expression fell, just enough to notice. “Anything gets boring after three hundred years, Belle.”

“But—” Blue Belle bit back her words, turning again to the two intruders in her, their, domain. “I guess... now isn’t the time. Fifty-two generations and the family resemblance is still strong, but don’t think I’ll go easy on you, boy. There is always another Blueblood to take the place of one who dies.”

“Sad but true,” Blueblood admitted with a smirk. “The only chess piece a pony can’t replace is the Princess, and a pawn can become a Prince by advancing across the board.” He reached out, pushing Sweetie behind him. “So.”

“So,” Blue Belle agreed, extending a hoof.

Sweetie felt the teleport and the heat, and a blink of her eyes later, there was nothing but sky. Green eyes frantically searched in every direction, her hooves digging into Blueblood’s white coat as they began to fall. Above, she could see the scaffolding and the slowly turning rings at the peak of the bell-dome, the gilded cage that surrounded the tiny Ponyville... the tiny Equestria.

Below...

Below, a bubbling cauldron of red and orange festered like a boil on fields of green and brown. Whatever had been there, including a strip of the town of Ponyville, had been melted away into runny rivulets, like glowing tears of iron from a forge. Fleur’s words momentarily came to mind, when Sweetie had been pretending to be Blueblood’s daughter...

“You wish to smite an enemy with a bolt from the heavens? ... If you desire a spell that can destroy any number of enemies, it should be at your hooftips.”

“Yeah...” Sweetie shuddered, answering the memory of Fleur’s voice. “Pass.” She looked around. “Are we going to land anywhere?”

“I’d rather not land at all,” Blueblood admitted, a rather frantic - even frightened - look on his face. She’d never seen him look that afraid of anything before in all their loops together. “That spell... that was Iridium’s Incandescent Irradiation. That spell is forbidden in Equestria for a good reason.”

“What does it do?” Sweetie asked. “Beyond the obvious, I mean?”

“It... reproduces a piece of Celestia’s Sun,” he explained. “But the light from it is poisonous. It shouldn’t - it can’t - be used in Equestria. Ever. So our family sealed it away.”

She felt him teleport again, and they were on the other side of the massive dome. Looking back, she had to shield her eyes from the intense light that engulfed a perfect circle of the artificial heaven. The gold and iron scaffolding had melted into a sloppy, dripping mass, like molten wax from a candle. The glass ran like water instead of shattering.

“What happens to me doesn’t matter, but if getting Twilight’s fragment back takes you out of the loops... you can’t get anywhere near where that has hit!” He turned to her. “Understand?” Seeing her nod, he patted her gently on the shoulder, despite her still clinging to his other front leg. “I’ll keep her pointing up. You deal with the fragment. I bet if you can grab it... or something... we’ll win this.”

Sweetie grimaced; so, it all came back to her and that fragment. “I’ve been thinking more on ways to destroy her than take her down, but I guess I’ll do my best.”

“I’ll be counting on it,” he replied, and she felt energy build up in his horn and all around them. Then, in the blink of an eye, they were back on the ground. Just feet away, Blue Belle was already looking over her shoulder. Crackles of electricity danced among the ashes billowing around her blue-tinted horn. This close, she could -

No, this close, she couldn’t use her Irradiation spell.

Sweetie felt Blueblood push her off his foreleg, before rushing, head lowered at his ancestor. The two bowled over and then vanished in a blink. Sweetie couldn’t be sure where, but she knew of one safe place. Close by, the smoky Twilight fragment hovered, watching her with dark purple eyes.

“So, it’s just you and me,” Twilight’s fragment growled, her voice lacking any of the previous energy. “You really want to take me away.”

Sweetie snorted. “After what you’ve done?” She started slowly moving sideways to the right. “I’d rather abandon you to your fate here, with no escape, destroy the scroll that has the clues for the dimensional portal and let you rot.”

“Really?” Twilight’s fragment floated back, her magical energies crackling around her. “Aren’t I the reason you came here? Didn’t you come over to rescue me?”

Sweetie paused, taking a deep breath. “Not you,” she said, then trotted quickly to her left, sending a blast of air towards the fragment. “I’m going to save Twilight Sparkle.”

“I am Twilight Sparkle!” the fragment roared, raising a shield to take the brunt of the attack. Keeping it up, she shot a series of flaming missiles towards Sweetie Belle, who turned in a half-circle, letting the flames pass her and ending with her head tilted just so.

Sweetie smiled, knowing she looked so arrogant it was downright beautiful. “You’re memories!” she taunted, her canter showering Twilight’s fragment with water, which splashed harmlessly against her shield. “A figment of who she really is,” Sweetie Belle added, her quick hoofsteps moving her out of the way of another of Twilight’s spells. She looked over her shoulder at her opponent and sent a quick burst of lightning towards the fragment, which dissipated against a shield.

“Would you just stay in one place?!” Twilight snarled, growing a little tired of playing with a filly who by all rights shouldn’t have been able to dodge even one spell from her. She dropped her shield and her horn lit up once more, tearing several rocks off the ground. She flung the first, which Sweetie dodged by prancing and jumping, drawing an irritated snort from the fragment. The second and third flew towards Sweetie, too large to jump over, but she quickly galloped in between them before they crushed the space where she had been standing moments before.

Sweetie tapped the floor once, then dodged, then tapped it again, sending two rivulets of fire towards Twilight’s fragment, who didn’t even flinch when they actually hit her. The flames washed over the phantom mare doing little more than rustling her mane.

“No, I won’t,” she answered the fragment’s earlier question. “You know I can’t. I have to bring Twilight Sparkle back, and sadly, that means bringing with me somepony who doesn’t even know why she’s fighting.”

Twilight snorted. “Of course I do! A little filly could never truly understand the loyalty that comes from love and friendship.”

“And what is that?” Sweetie huffed, stopping and facing Twilight’s fragment. “Living with fake friends in a pretend Ponyville?”

“Shut up!” the fragment bellowed, casting a ball of water that splashed against Sweetie’s shield much like the filly’s earlier attack had against hers. It didn’t penetrate, but it did send her tumbling back off her hooves. “Blue Belle loves me! She gave me back my life! She brought me here and made me a world to remember my friends!”

“Your friends? And what would Rarity say if she saw you attacking her sister?!” Sweetie Belle shouted back, waving her hoof at the destruction around them.

“What would Pinkie Pie think of you destroying your little toy village? What would Applejack think of you just giving up instead of standing strong? Do you think that Fluttershy would smile nicely if she found out you designed deadly traps to challenge anypony that walked in here to help you?” Sweetie shook her head. “What about Rainbow Dash? I bet she would love to see how you would betray somepony you cared about.”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Forelegs flailing, the fragment shook her head so viciously her mane and tail whipped her sides. “Three hundred years, Sweetie!” she screeched. “Three hundred years of the same, stupid games and the same damn memories! Nothing new!”

She stepped back, pointing an accusing hoof at her student. “You’ve been trapped like me; the other fragments told me! You know what it’s like! For you it’s only been two and a half years! Imagine three hundred! I can’t stand it anymore!”

Sweetie Belle gasped. Two years! I completely lost count! She shook her head and bit her lip angrily. And she’s been doing the same thing for three hundred...

Taking this as an invitation, the fragment edged closer. “You think I don’t know this is all fake!?” Twilight roared, and for a moment, the air wavered with the power of her next spell: a spell that Sweetie knew no shield of hers could block. But the fragment let the magic dissipate as she stomped a hoof against the ground, scraping it... and revealing formless white beneath the bright green grass.

“This place: look at it! It seemed so real at first - so perfect! And Blue Belle worked so hard to make it for me - but after a while, all I could see were the flaws,” she cried, torn between anger and frustration and despair. “The fake farm and the fake town and the fake books and the fake friends, swirling around and around in a glass bubble! Doing the same things over and over! There was a fake-you, and... I think I got rid of her, first. I hated reliving that... that damn accident that sent me here! But then the fake-Rarity noticed something was wrong. That she couldn’t interact with you anymore, so I had to get rid of her, too. And then, I just - I just... got rid of everypony.”

“I’m supposed to be Twilight Sparkle,” she reasoned in a softer voice. “I look in a mirror and I see her, but I... I can’t even remember which world is more real, anymore. The real one you say you’re from, or this fake one I’ve spent four lifetimes in?”

“Twilight...”

The fragment glared at her with tired, crazed eyes. “A part of me leapt for joy when you showed up, after so long. But another part of me... really wants to kill you!” She started to laugh, her body wracked by weak tremors, only to fix Sweetie with a predatory stare. “Can a fragment of a pony have fragments herself? All those times you died in here... I wonder if that me left behind laughed or cried when you were gone?”

Sweetie remained silent for a while, pondering Twilight Fragment’s words. She then closed her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking slowly. “What would Twilight have said if, three hundred years ago, Princess Celestia had asked her: ‘Would you give up?’” She asked, opening her eyes and meeting the fragment's glare without flinching. “What would the Twilight Sparkle of this world say to you, if she saw you giving up and then, when the way out is there, when your friend and apprentice came looking for you, you turned around and let her die over and over?”

Sweetie could feel the tears of frustration running down her cheeks, but she didn’t care. Let this thing see how much it had hurt her.

“What would the real Twilight Sparkle say? Do you need me to tell you?” she asked, taking a step towards the fragment. Despite all the power at her disposal, the fragment backed away. “Or do you already know, from looking into the other fragments? Did they give up? One buried in ruins, alone save for two werewolves for who knows how long? Did she give up?”

“She was unconscious for most of it...” the fragment tried to argue.

“What about the other one? Living with Twilight and seeing all but her closest friends die? Watching the world change, losing Spike, seeing her friends bury their children and their children’s children? Did she not suffer with her?”

“I—”

“One more, trapped in the Everfree forest, in the old Castle... how long?”

The fragment sagged. “A th-thousand years... but! She was asleep as well... for m-most of it!”

“What about the one Silver found?”

At that, the fragment smiled. “She had just arrived before you...” But the smile quickly faded as it realized what came next.

“And what about the one that saw the world burn?” Sweetie asked softly, stopping right in front of Twilight’s fragment. “The one that saw countless lives destroyed by spells not unlike the one your precious Blue Belle cast earlier? The one that had to live with undead ponies, trapped underground after it was found, a pet project to a monster that had absorbed Twilight?”

“She—” the fragment shrunk away from Sweetie.

“Did any of them, short stay or long, alone or with company... did any of them abandon hope? Lose sense of who Twilight Sparkle really is?”

“N-no...”

Sweetie leaned in, hugging the fragment as tears flowed freely onto the ghostly coat of her opponent. “Twilight...” she whispered into its ear. “You are my teacher, my friend... my beacon to find my way home... you’re not cruel. You're not a murderer or a killer.” She pulled back and locked teary eyes with the fragment’s. “Please, please, help me get you home.”

“But...” the fragment found her forelegs wrapping about the filly. “But—”

“If I’m wrong...” Sweetie buried her nose in the fragment’s mane. “Why have you been holding back? Why didn’t you kill me?”

“I-I don’t...” the fragment shook. “I just thought...” She reached for the filly, but flinched back, shocked and ashamed. “What I must have put you through! I’m so sorry, Sweetie Belle...”

Sweetie shook her head. “I’m sorry too, Twilight, I caused all of this, but... I’m trying to get you back. Please, stop all of this.”

Conflicted, the fragment slipped from Sweetie’s hold. “Sweetie, if I stop this... I....”

o.0.o

Blueblood galloped at full speed along the swaying, half-melted scaffold, his hooves burning from the heated, but still functionally solid, platform. Just how long it would remain solid, he couldn't begin to guess. There was little beneath it except sky and a thousand pony-length face plant into still very solid ground. He felt light headed and not simply due to the heat and the sweat that caked and ruined his normally immaculate white coat.

He was not built for this kind of madness!

This sort of daring-do was what he had walls of cannon fodder royal guards for! That was why they had such generous pension plans! That was why they had health insurance! Blueblood scoffed to himself as he skidded down a tilting beam, spotted another safe spot, and teleported. It was a shame, in this case, but there simply wasn't a pony shield in existence that would do much good. Which meant regrettably having to get a little dirty.

Lady Blue Belle, the Twenty Third of their line, rose up on gossamer wings and swooped forward. A white hoof shadowed in black ash thrust forward -

Blueblood blinked, teleported, but still felt the heat.

Glancing back behind him, he could see part of his luxurious tail missing. It wasn't even burned. It was gone. Also, past his tail, he could see another circular hole blasting into the massive magical bell that was this self contained pocket dimension. Melted glass oozed in veins of brass and iron like a gaping, pus-filled wound. Beyond even that, he could make out the magical matter that was the real dimensional barrier. It was unscarred by the attack, but a few more of those Incandescent Irradiations, and it would bring the ceiling down.

He couldn't allow that. Sweetie was still down there. This was her chance, maybe her best chance, to finally collect the fragment and escape the damnable loops. Nothing else had ever changed, not since that night he had fallen asleep after the Gala disaster. Nothing he did, nothing he ever did, was ever likely to have an impact on anypony. But Sweetie Belle... he could save Sweetie Belle. Maybe that would be enough.

Pity that he didn't really have a single offensive spell to his name.

"What's wrong with you?" Blue Belle asked, still flying with apparently little effort. Her sleepy haze from before had soon been swept away by the sort of focus that came from well practiced magic and battle. "Don't tell me ponies in your time have forgotten pegasus mimicry spells?"

Blueblood vanished again, but the royal unicorn only frowned.

"All you do is blink around," she observed, waving a hoof to casually deflect a thrown chunk of molten glass and iron. A dollop of it stuck to her, but the blue-blooded mare seemed unconcerned. Her lips formed into a circle and she blew, freezing the molten mass and shattering it. "You are the fifty second, so I'm not surprised you ended up at least a little weaker than me," she stated, gossamer wings flapping behind her. "But I suspect you aren't trying at all."

She spotted Blueblood again, and rather than use another Irradiation, her ice-tinted horn glowed and a cone of freezing fire shot out, wide enough to engulf a small dragon. It was not just a simple discharge either. It followed the frantic stallion, ripping a long, ragged trail along the top of the bell and along the slowly moving celestial scaffold. One of the small planets circling the empty globe that had been the astrolabe's sun became engulfed and shattered into a thousand pieces. The attached moon broke away and fell until it was hanging by just a string of steel wire.

"My goodness! Was that really necessary?!" Blueblood exclaimed even as he ran, pell-mell.

"Come now!" Blue Belle jeered at her fleeing descendant in the Canterlot Voice, just to be sure he could hear her. "Nopony will care if you use our spells here! This isn't Equestria and Aunt Celestia isn't here to punish you. Do you know Osmium's Overpowering Oration?"

Blue Belle opened her mouth wide and when she spoke next, it was a droning roar, like an elephant emptying its lungs into a tower sized horn. Panes of glass the size of houses shattered and then turned to wispy vapor, bolts ripped free from moorings and spinning astrolabe components. A titanic ring large enough to encircle Ponyville's real town hall and have room for half the marketplace ripped free, tumbling into free fall. Blue Belle ignored it with a contemptuous huff.

"No?" she asked, eyes searching for her distant nephew. "What about Strontium's Supernatural Summons? Ruthenium's Rebarbative Rebuke? You must at least know Aunt Celestia's Concentrated Conflagrant Circumference? Moreover, the family still has three of the four Alicorn Amulets, doesn't it? The ruby and the topaz and the emerald? Surely you brought one with you? Summon it!"

"Actually! To be quite frank, I don't know any of those spells!" Blueblood yelled back, breathing labored and curls of smoke rising from his right front foreleg. It was crusted with the lightest dusting of blue frostfire, burning and freezing at the same time... but it was no mortal wound. He stood uneasily on one of the tilting, broken astrolabe rings. "We lost one of the alicorn amulets more than a century ago," he admitted, and Blue Belle scowled. "I couldn't summon one anyway. I don't know how."

"Then what can you do, boy?" Blue Belle roared.

"I... I look rather dashing in a tuxedo!" Blueblood declared, puffing out his chest. "And! And! I can distinguish many fine wines by fragrance alone."

For a few long pregnant seconds, Blue Belle, the Twenty Third Blueblood herself, simply hovered in place. Then her right eye twitched.

"I see," she finally said, and raised her voice again to repeat, "I see! You've become weak, fifty second! In my time, no foal became a named Blueblood without mastering at least one five alliteration incantation. Are you really a Blueblood? You? Just a foal in stallion’s cloth? Maybe I should spill that blood of yours all over this dimension and see if I can find even a single drop that we share.

"Observe, learn, be illuminated and vanish forever," Blue Belle said, eyes squinting as she truly concentrated. Beads of magic began to coalesce around her horn, glowing bright as a miniature sun. "The spell that earned me my name! Iridium’s Intense. Incandescent. Irradiation. Imprisonment. The very spell Iridium herself used to slay an alicorn!"

With a chime, eight globes of light - blazing nuclear pinpricks - formed in midair.

With a flash, each one connected to the other, forming six planes, six walls, of pure solar light. The slowly spinning, tortured machinery of the great astrolabe ground to a halt as much of it ended up intersected by one of the planes of light and force. The barriers permitted no entry, no exit, no magical movement through and no escape. What was left of the mechanical device came apart as the stresses proved too much. Pieces rained like falling fragments of a miniature heaven.

"Within that cube, the sun itself shall bloom," she spoke, softly now. No sound could penetrate the barrier either. The victim would vanish from this world in silence. "No trace of you shall—”

CLONK

The barrier shattered as Blue Belle plummeted from the sky, the dislodged and fire-frost scarred replica of Equestria's moon slamming into her, Mare-in-the-Moon side first. Her delicate wings crumpled and spun lazily through the air after being so forcibly detached from the royal mare that had conjured them. Down and down-some-more the moon fell, until it crashed to earth and came to pieces amidst a cloud of dust and embers.

"Auntie's firm fantastic and fiery flanks!" Blueblood said, appearing on top of the smashed remains of the replica moon. He was filthy from soot, sweat, and even a little singed. It was really rather deplorable treatment for a delicate stallion like him.

"You can actually use a five alliteration Iridium spell," he continued, shaking his head in dismay but his voice truly astonished at the achievement. "No pony can do that anymore. Maybe Miss Sparkle, if we ever let her learn one... but to see it with my own eyes?

"Horrific," he concluded, glaring down at the rubble. "Monstrous."

"Mon... strous...?"

A blast of magic sent a twelve-ton chunk of moon flying.

"Ours is the legacy of magic!" Blue Belle raised from the ruins of the fallen moon like an avenging alicorn, blue eyes literally blazing with magic and fire. "Unparalleled. Unchallenged. With Lady Luna lost to darkness, we—"

"Auntie Luna is fine," Blueblood interrupted his unhinged great aunt. "Just had breakfast with her this morning."

"Yes... Yes, Twilight told me... told me about Lady Luna and the Elements of Harmony, but—”

"Let that magic remain in the history books," Blueblood told her. "Besides," he added with a smirk. "Charging up your horn for a big spell like that? It makes it quite easy to drop a moon on your head."

Blue Belle glared at the impudent pup for a second before cracking a grin of her own.

"I suppose so," she conceded, chuckling with real mirth. "Twi painted such an idyllic picture of her era, I... I only partly believed it." She looked up for a moment, laughing a bit more loudly. "I was just hit with a moon. My own moon! How embarrassing!"

The two Bluebloods, separated by centuries, laughed together in good cheer.

"Of course, I'm still going to destroy you," Blue Belle suddenly said, raising a grimy white hoof. Blueblood cursed inwardly, already feeling his coat begin to burn, his skin beginning to heat from within, his blood to boil beneath the surface—

And then it was gone.

The ground in front of him splashed upwards, like a wave of water in a pool. He collapsed, blinking, trying to catch his breath. He hadn't expected - hadn't anticipated - hadn't imagined that his insane aunt and ancestor would so suddenly... so suddenly...!

"Stop, Belle, please," Twilight's eerily calm voice snapped him out of his trance, and he saw how he had been saved. Blue Belle's hoof was pointed down, at the ground between them. The curve of a circular irradiation burn ended just inches from his hooves. He scrambled back without thinking. Blue Belle's aim had been forced off course, and it was because of the smoky lavender mare, one hoof on top of Blue Belle's.

The fragment looked almost... whole enough to be the real thing, the real Twilight Sparkle.

“Wow, Blueblood!” Sweetie grinned, walking around him. “You really got your flank hoofed to you! Well done!”

“We should’ve switched jobs,” he stated, still gawking at his ancestor and the mare who had stopped her. Finally, he tore his eyes away to look down at Sweetie and huff. “You battle the flying magnifying glass and I charm the cute mare into giving up.”

Sweetie grinned. “You know it wouldn’t be a fair fight, and then you’d have to battle me to restore your family honor.”

“I’d just bribe you with candy and milkshakes to say you lost.”

Sweetie pouted. “You know me too well.”

Not far away, another conversation could just be overheard.

“B-but Twi...” Blue Belle pleaded, whatever mighty and forbidden spells that had been at her disposal long since forgotten. The two mares were huddled close together, and if anything, Twilight was becoming more solid and Blue Belle more wispy and indistinct. “You can’t leave. I-I know you put me to sleep all these years, but... but we can still... there must be something I...”

“I have to go,” Twilight said, firmly. She craned her neck to nuzzle the mare who had destroyed half the landscape below with radiation and fire. Much of it still glowed, angry and hot. “And I’m sorry... so sorry for putting you to sleep for so long. I just—” She sniffed, shaking her head slowly into the shoulder of the royal mare. “I didn’t know what to do anymore. I was afraid and angry and... and I’m sorry.”

“All I wanted was for us to be happy,” Blue Belle said, her hooves becoming indistinct. “It wasn’t Ponyville, was it? Or your friends?”

“Well, you... did get Rainbow Dash’s mane wrong,” Twilight admitted, smiling at the now billowy unicorn. “And you used the younger version of yourself. We didn’t even meet until you were twenty eight, remember?”

“Oh. Oh, yes!” Blue Belle said, smiling back. “I forgot. Sorry... I-I don’t know why, but I have a hard time remembering...” She blinked, momentarily confused and only then seeming to notice she was fading away. “Ahh. That’s right. I-I’m the Blue Belle she made for you.”

“No,” Twilight told her, firmly. “You are her. The part of her that wanted to protect me... to make me happy. To be with me, even if...” She reached for one of Blue Belle’s hooves, but this time, it was the too-solid fragment who passed through the billowy mare. “Even if it cost you your life.”

Blue Belle craned her neck, studied Twilight for a moment, and nodded. Accepting.

“I don’t think... I did as good a job of that as I thought I would,” she realized. She turned her eyes upward, to the broken heavens of the pocket dimension, as if taking stock of her surroundings one last time. Then she fixed her eyes on Twilight. “Are you going back home?”

Twilight nodded slowly.

“Good,” the long deceased mare decided, tears in her eyes.

“I won’t ever forget you... even when I’m whole,” Twilight promised, and before Blue Belle vanished entirely, her lips gently touched those of the blue-blooded mare. She sniffed again, wiping a tear from her cheek, and even before her hoof returned to the ground Blue Belle was gone.

Sweetie slowly approached Twilight’s fragment. “I’m sorry, Twilight,”

Twilight shook her head. “No.” She smiled, “I couldn’t stay... I just couldn’t, not after remembering who I was - who I am. She’ll always be in my memories, but it’s time to let go.” She looked at Sweetie and nodded. “I’m ready to go home.”

Sweetie held the fragment close as the whole world around them slowly dissolved into white light.

“Blueblood!” Sweetie quickly turned to look at her adoptive brother. “If I don’t see you ag—”

The whole world went white before she could finish.

o.0.∞.0.o

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The scream made Sweetie Belle sit right up in her bed, a cold sweat running down her back, eyes wide and looking around for danger. After a moment, she realized she was in her room at the Carousel Boutique... “Wait a minute!” she screeched. “You can’t be serious! This has to be a joke! I’m doing the whole thing again!?”

“Is this how you wake up every morning?” Twilight’s fragment asked, hovering next to the bed. “No wonder you’re always so high-strung. It would drive any mare crazy to wake up to that scream over and over again!”

Sweetie sighed. “Tell me about it!” She shook her head. “But that’s not the worst thing! The worst thing is that I have to- have... to...” She blinked. Then blinked again.

Twilight smiled.

“Gah!” Sweetie shouted, rolling back on her bed, sheets flying over her head as she fell on the other side. “Y-you!” she roared, popping up from under her pillows. “You’re really here! What happened? Why didn’t we go to the next world?”

Twilight shrugged. “I think you were still too caught in the loops for us to simply go away... But I can feel the connection to this world unraveling... I’d say this is your last day here.”

“I-I have one more day?” Sweetie breathed out. “One whole day?”

“Eeyup,” Twilight drawled, nodding merrily. “Either that or I might reset instead. I’m not entirely sure. But the window for us leaving probably isn’t more than twenty-four hours. So, if you had anything you wanted to do before we left... this is your chance.”

Sweetie Belle glanced at the fragment. “You... you’re not crazy anymore. Right?”

The ephemeral fragment shrugged. “I don’t think so... for now, anyway. I mean, how do you know if you’re crazy? How do you know if you’re sane? But... I feel... content. I’m ready to let go and fade into you fully, like the others.”

Sweetie felt she understood that, just a little, herself. “Will we talk again?”

Twilight’s fragment shook her head. “Once you absorb me... very little will remain. Barely enough for another fragment to maybe communicate with me. The others have already faded...” she looked at Sweetie Belle and hesitated. “I... you should get ready, Sweetie. There’s a lot to do and so little time...”

“I... I need breakfast...” Sweetie nodded, standing up and dragging her sheets behind her as she walked out of her room. “And... I need to talk to Blueblood... and... my parents and... so much to do...”

“Sweetie,” the fragment muttered, in a softer voice. “About what I said. Before. And about what I did. I’m sorry I put you through all that. I...”

Sweetie looked back into the room. “Did you say something?”

Twilight shrugged, her smile never leaving as she faded away. “Nothing, Sweetie... Just one day. Spend it well.”

o.0.o

“What do you mean you’re skipping school today?” Rarity asked, glaring at her sister. “You are doing no such thing! You’re getting ready and leaving for school or so help me Celestia—”

“I’m not going,” Sweetie interrupted. “I already said so. I’m waiting for somepony.”

“And who is that?” Rarity asked, her eyebrows going up when there was a tentative knock on the door.

“My brother,” Sweetie smiled.

“Sweetie Belle, was that bump I heard in the morning you hitting your head?” Rarity asked, rolling her eyes as she made her way to the door. “We don’t have any brothers...” She opened the door and her mouth fell open. “Y-y-you’re P-p-prince...”

“Sweetie Belle.” Blueblood stood, as he always did, at the front door to the Carousel Boutique, despite it being out of business for the day. He had on an immaculate vest and jacket for traveling. Only a moment after he said her name, however, he warily smiled.

“You recognize me...?” he asked, tentatively, as if a little afraid to hear her answer. “Do you recognize me, Sweetie?”

Sweetie galloped past her gobsmacked sister and hugged Blueblood. “Of course I do! I could n-never forget my big b-brother!” she stammered, tears forming in her eyes. “At least... for one more day.”

“One more day,” he said it, not as a question, but as if it were a death sentence. Then his features hardened and he nodded, royal composure back in place. “One more day it is, then. It’ll be a good day.”

“Just- just what is going on?” Rarity interrupted, approaching the pair. “You two, you know each other but... brother? W-w—” She swallowed to try and compose herself as well. “Please, what in Equestria is going on?”

Blueblood looked down at Sweetie Belle, and the two exchanged a look. Probably the last one they’d share on a morning like this.

“Scholarship!” they chorused.

o.0.o

Sweetie looked with trepidation down the road at the house, the one she had avoided so far in spite of her dreams and fantasies to meet the ponies that resided therein.

“It’s kinda sad that it wouldn’t be until the day I have no other choice but to see them or lose my chance forever,” she whispered as she took a deep breath. Once again her legs refused to budge, her heart started to beat faster and her breathing became shallow. “No...” she muttered, “No! I’m not losing my chance!”

Unbidden, the image on the mirror came to her mind. Rarity, gaunt, tired, clearly not having slept much at all... standing with Fluttershy’s aid in Zecora’s hut, worried sick about Sweetie Belle. The look on her sister’s face... Sweetie cringed and took a deep, calming breath.

“I guess I have a choice to make...” she said, looking up. “...either I just become a victim and give up whatever little chances I get to be happy in my travels, or...” She took a step forward, followed by the next and the next. “...or I take my happiness into my own hooves.”

She slowly made her way down to where the two ponies were busily moving about, until the mare saw her. “Well, if it isn’t Sweetie Belle!”

Her voice surprised Sweetie. “You don’t sound like Rarity at all,” she said, stopping to stare at her mom. “You look exactly like the pictures...” Her vision blurred a bit. “Y-you just don’t sound at all like... Rarity...”

She was swept up in a tight hug. “What’s wrong, honey? Are you feeling okay?” her mother asked.

Sweetie Belle leaned against her mother’s shoulder. “Nothing’s wrong... mom. I just... wanted to spend some time with you and dad before you left.”

Her mother gave her a long, scrutinizing look before nodding. “But, don’t you have class today?”

Sweetie smiled. “It’s just an essay on unicorn history. I wrote it this morning and sent it with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo.”

Her mother nodded and called over her shoulder, “Dear! Guess who came over to help us pack?”

“Who is it?” Her father asked, walking out of the house in his favorite shirt and straw hat. “If it isn’t my little Sweetie Belle! Come over here, kiddo! I thought you would be at school!”

Sweetie galloped up and jumped, hugging her dad. “I’m done for the day, daddy, why don’t you let me help you with packing?”

“Magnum, Sweetie says that she did her essay already, why don’t we let her?” her mother asked.

Magnum looked down at his daughter with a huge grin. “Well, I’m not gonna waste time I could spend with my little girl on packing! Come on, Sweetie Belle, let’s pack this quicker than it took me to score my first goal!”

“Yay!” Sweetie cheered. “Maybe I can get my cutie mark in customs inspection?!” She paused. “Well... I hope not, but I’ll still help!”

Magnum chuckled. “With that much energy you’d best be an athlete! I bet any young team would take you in as a runner!”

“You think so, daddy?”

“I know so!”

“Sweetie Belle?” her mother called when the pair were inside. “Have you sorted out what you’re going to do tonight when your sister goes to the Gala?”

Sweetie smiled. “It’s okay mom! I already have plans! Hey, how about you teach me how to bake Rarity’s favorite strudels after I help dad?”

“Sure Sweetie!” her mom laughed. “I think we even have enough apples!”

o.0.o

“Excuse me,” Sweetie Belle ventured. Dressed in her princess suit, glistening with little gems and glimmering wings, she presented the veritable image of cuteness as she approached the orchestra in the middle of their preparations.

“Oh, hello,” Octavia smiled at the little filly, noticing that she had been levitating a case along with her.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Sweetie said, smiling up at her erstwhile mentor. “But are you Octavia Philarmonica? I’m a big fan!”

Octavia felt her face grow warm under her coat. A fan! “Wh-why, yes that’s me!”

“It’s a real honor,” Sweetie said, “I’ve loved all of your renditions of Sea Stallion Bach. In fact, you’re the one that inspired me to learn how to play the cello!”

Octavia’s smile grew warmer. “Why, thank you! I can see that you brought it with you...?”

“Sweetie Belle,” Sweetie said, looking down a little bashfully. “And well, I hate to ask... I mean, I got permission to do it but, well I wouldn’t want to without asking you first...”

Octavia raised an eyebrow. “What is it, Sweetie?”

“W-well, Princess Celestia told me it would be fine to play a little melody during the Gala, but, I was wondering if you would play with me? It would mean a lot to me.”

Octavia’s mouth fell open for just a second. This filly had permission from the Princess to play? Was she some sort of prodigy? “W-well, are you sure that Princess Celestia wouldn’t prefer it if you played alone?”

Sweetie shook her head. “It’s a personal dream of mine, to play with you. I’m sure she would let me play by myself but... well, I asked her if I could play with you.”

Biting her lip, Octavia looked at the little filly in front of her. Given that she had permission from Celestia herself, she probably was a noble of some house, and could simply order her to do it. However, this little lady was asking her to play with her. The filly truly considered it an honor to play with Octavia... and, she couldn’t say no.

“Well, my lady,” Octavia said, “I think I would very much enjoy the chance to play the cello with you.”

Sweetie’s smile lit up the room. “Thank you! And please, just call me Sweetie Belle!”

“Well then, Sweetie Belle, why don’t you set up over here? You’d better get ready, the Gala will be starting soon!”

Sweetie nodded, putting down her cello and pulling it out. She grimaced.

“What’s wrong?” Octavia asked.

“Well, it’s a new cello...” Sweetie grumbled. “I played it a bit earlier but...”

“...it doesn’t feel right.” Octavia nodded. “I understand, here, get ready and...” she trailed off. Sweetie Belle, a unicorn, was playing with her hooves! She was standing on her hind-legs like an earth pony or a pegasus would!

Sweetie Belle balanced carefully. Her practice with the I Quattro Elementi had increased her body awareness immensely and she stood with practiced ease. She raised the bow with her hoof and looked at Octavia expectantly.

Closing her mouth with an audible click, Octavia assumed the same position, noticing peripherally that the rest of the orchestra had grown quiet and was looking at the pair in respectful silence.

It wasn’t often that they had seen a unicorn forego the relative ease of magic to learn to play like they would.

“I only know Prelude well enough to play,” Sweetie Belle confessed. “And you might have to save me a few times... I hope you don’t mind, Miss Octavia.”

Octavia shook her head. “Call me Tavi.” She smiled. “I somehow feel that you’ve earned the right. And don’t worry, I’ll take the lead.”

Sweetie Belle smiled gratefully and the pair began tuning, with Octavia’s whispered advice guiding Sweetie for the last time in this world.

o.0.o

The orchestra shuffled a bit as guests started to pour into the hall, making Sweetie a bit nervous. She felt a hoof press on her shoulder, and looked up in thanks, finding Octavia smiling down at her. “Don’t worry, when you start playing you’ll lose those jitters like they were never even there.”

Sweetie nodded and took a deep breath. Soon, the hall was half full and then she saw her. Walking into the hall in the Gala dress she had so painstakingly crafted, golden crown proudly on her brow, and looking a little lost, was Rarity.

For about two years she had relived the same day with her sister worrying over her, being happy for her, elated, scared, angry... every single time, Rarity’s love for Sweetie Belle had shone through, whether she had found out her real identity or not.

This is my chance to make it special for her, Sweetie Belle thought. A special goodbye for my sister... my guardian, wherever I go.

The lights dimmed and she saw a spotlight appear on a particular unicorn. Blueblood smiled welcomingly at the gathered ponies. “Royal peers, noble friends, welcome guests, Ladies and Gentlecolts of Equestria all, please allow me to interrupt the beginning of tonight's Grand Galloping Gala with a special surprise,” he said, slowly walking towards the raised stage of the palace's central menagerie, until he stood in front of both Octavia and Sweetie Belle, who were still covered in shadow. Around them, the instruments of the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra gave further hint of things to come for the night's entertainment.

Though the lights had been dimmed, the room was packed and trembling with curiosity and expectation for this unexpected turn of events in what was traditionally a very mellow and extremely predictable evening. Amid the bustle of colorful ponies, Sweetie could see Wonderbolts in uniforms, both dress and flight, two in particular standing next to one another. Around them was the crème of Canterlot high society looking up with bright eyes, a look mirrored by the surprising and controversial addition of guests from a tiny town called Ponyville that sat in the shadow of the mountains. Shops had been hastily bought out of inventory to provide dresses and suits for the townsfolk, who cavorted just a little too loudly for them to be mistaken for refined locals, no matter how well the were attired.

Sweetie could see Princess Celestia in the back, near a starry-eyed lavender element of harmony and her friends. Apple Bloom looked a little envious of her fellow crusader up on stage, and Scootaloo fidgeted with the laurel of flowers she had been forced to wear. A former hoofball star and his homemaker wife looked on in pride and more than a little surprise at their youngest daughter, and past them and into the crowd of less familiar faces, Sweetie could see one of the few mares not wearing a dress, watching the night unfold by draping leisurely onto the back of a bemused socialite with a monocle. Equestria’s greatest pop star was present as well, apparently well acquainted with the model and the fashionable stallion. At the last, sitting with her own procession in the back, a young pink-coated alicorn watched the Gala unfold with an aloof expression, as if not here by her own choice or not wanting to be around so many... ponies. Cadance's wings spread slightly as Sweetie's eyes met her own, but then she looked away.

“I have had the unique honor to meet and to sponsor a very special filly and a very special mare..." Blueblood continued, sweeping a hoof to his side to introduce them. "My gift to you: Octavia Philharmonica and her companion for this piece, Sweetie Belle.”

The spotlight swung to center on the both of them, and suddenly Sweetie could barely make out the ponies off the stage. However, Rarity had made her way to the front and was staring at her in complete and utter bafflement. A bafflement soon replaced by pure and complete pride in her beloved little sister. Sweetie smiled hesitantly at her sister, too nervous to do more.

Then she was following Octavia’s example, and bowing to their audience.

She took a deep breath and, drawing a gasp and murmurs from the crowd, raised to her hind legs and held her cello at the ready, waiting patiently for Octavia to take the lead, which she did with a slow slide through the strings, cueing Sweetie Belle’s turn to follow.

The melody unfolded, entrancing the gathered guests with its haunting notes, its turns, highs and lows. More than once Sweetie cut just slightly short, or trailed behind, only for Octavia to immediately cover for her, making the mistakes sound like artistic touches. Sweetie had to concentrate harder, rather than simply stopping and staring at the mastery of Octavia playing for real. Once again her physical training under Fleur and her lessons under Twilight Sparkle, Chrysalis and Octavia had saved her. The diligence and determination they all had demanded of her paid though and she was able to finish the piece to the applause of the guests and orchestra behind her.

Octavia smiled at her. “Very well done, Sweetie Belle, very well done,” she whispered as they both bowed to the guests once more. When they raised, Octavia was surprised to find herself the victim of a thankful hug.

“Thank you so much, Tavi,” Sweetie whispered fiercely. “I could have never done this without you. I’ll never, ever forget this.”

Octavia nodded and briefly returned the hug. “You’re very welcome.”

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle carefully replaced her cello in its case, and with a tap of her horn and a small burst of magic, used the command that Blueblood had given her earlier, when he had gifted it to her. Before her eyes, it seemed to flatten completely, then shrink until it was about the size of a bookmark. Smiling at the Prince’s uncommon ingenuity, she summoned her notebook and slid it in, before sending it away. It might not stay in there, if the loops messed with it, but it was a kind gesture, and certainly not one she would simply allow to go to waste.

She turned around to find Rarity standing in front of her, eyes watery and confused. “Sweetie Belle,” she hesitated.

“Rarity!” Sweetie hugged her sister. “Did you like it? I played it just for you.”

“Oh, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity returned the hug gratefully. “Of course I loved it! It was beautiful! I never knew you could play like that! How... when did you learn to play like that?”

Sweetie chuckled. “Well, you know us Crusaders... I thought I wanted a cello-player cutie mark so...”

Rarity laughed, wiping away a happy tear. “I’ll get the truth out of you someday.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and stepped out from the hug. “I did manage to get you a date with Prince Blueblood too,” she said and leaned forth, whispering conspiratorially. “He really likes your mane!”

Rarity laughed a little bit, still teary-eyed. “And what about you?”

“I’d like to say hello to some other ponies before my final gift of the night,” Sweetie winked. “I really hope you’ll like it.”

Rarity touched a hoof to her chest, brimming with pride. “I just don’t know what to say, Sweetie, thank you, I—”

“Sis,” Sweetie Belle interrupted, placing her hoof over her sister’s. “Don’t... this is my thanks to you and everypony else that has helped me. Go. Go have fun with Blueblood,” she insisted.

Rarity’s smile trembled when she hugged her little sister briefly, before departing to meet with her waiting Prince.

o.0.o

“You’re Lady Fleur-de-Lis, aren’t you?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking up as she approached the model, who looked down from her perch on Fancypants’ back.

“Oh!” The graceful mare smiled down at the her. “You’re the filly that played the cello! That was very well done!”

“Indeed,” Fancypants nodded, his smile genuine. “It was a pleasure to see such a talented young pony play in the Gala.” He leaned down. “Usually,” he whispered. “It’s the same musical approach as the year before and the year before that.”

Sweetie giggled. “It’s a waste of talent; Octavia is truly gifted; the fact that she saved me from messing up about ten times and made it sound intentional is proof enough.”

Fancypants’ eyes grew warmer still. “Ah, and humble as well. It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Belle.”

“The pleasure is mine!” Sweetie said, looking up at Fleur. “Also, I wanted to let you know, Lady Fleur-de-Lis, that you’ve really inspired me in unusual ways.”

“Oh, really?” Fleur laughed, fluffing one of her curls and, as always, striking a pose. “Are you a modeling fan, Miss Belle?”

Sweetie giggled, making a half turn, and striking a pose of her own. A clear I Quattro Elementi move, which had Fancypants chuckling, but Fleur staring, wide eyed. “A bit! But you taught me something far more important; that there’s more to a mare’s step and poise than meets the eye... and that we should always try and bring beauty to the world.”

Fleur’s eyes were still a bit wide, but Sweetie’s words made her smile grow. “Indeed Miss Belle, and may I say, that was a very well performed turn.”

Sweetie bowed slightly. “Well, I did say I admired you.” She grinned. “Thank you, for your unusual lessons.”

“The pleasure is mine, Miss Belle,” Fleur replied, nodding slightly at Sweetie Belle, who took her leave.

“Why do I feel I missed something?” Fancypants asked. “I think there was more to that conversation than I understood.”

“Oh, it’s just mare-talk, Fancy,” Fleur chided the stallion. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

o.0.o

Sweetie searched around the back of the crowd, frowning. “I could swear she was around here...” she sighed and looked towards one of the balconies, which had the doors open. Acting on instinct, she made her way there, and looked outside.

Princess Cadance stood on the balcony, clearly taking a breather from all the noble ponies and socialites. Her eyes were settled on the distant dark mass of the Everfree Forest, her countenance pensive. Like Blueblood, she had royal guards to attend to her, though her pair kept to the shadows.

Feeling a strange sense of calm, Sweetie trotted up to Princess Cadance and without even looking at her, looked over the rail in the same direction.

“The glade is dark and quiet,” she said, her eyes drifting to the maze, but still not looking at the Princess.

“The spider’s web full,” Cadance replied, and Sweetie Belle finally looked up at the Princess, who was examining her intently. Usually, such scrutiny would have made her nervous, but oddly enough, Sweetie took it in stride. She didn’t flinch when Cadance inhaled, or when she frowned, not picking up a recognizable scent. Still, she knew the words.

“You must be new,” the alicorn Princess reasoned, and asked, simply, “Blueblood?”

“You don’t mind,” Sweetie stated, knowing the answer already.

“We can’t take the form of a mirror... yet,” she replied, and her darkening eyes fell on the little pony. “He isn’t important to me, but I am somewhat impressed. Love from that one is like blood from a stone. I do not know you, but you wear an impressive charade.”

“I’ve learned much from you,” Sweetie said, changing topic. “About the ways of ponies; how they lie and how they behave.” She tilted her head in a way that indicated she was still keeping her attention on the Princess. “And it’s been... remarkable and refreshing from the usual fare of smiles, games and songs.”

Cadance remained quiet, studying the little filly in front of her, but not betraying any emotions.

“I suspect you’ll be leaving early,” Sweetie continued. “But I couldn’t vanish without a word of thanks.” She stepped away from Cadance, taking a few steps towards the hall before stopping and looking over her shoulder. “Your voice was an inspiration to me, and I’m hoping to do it justice in the future.”

“My... voice?” Cadance finally asked, her back to the filly as she looked out over the balcony. She did nothing more than glance over her shoulder. “Interesting.”

Sweetie nodded and turned around, trotting happily into the Gala, leaving a thoroughly confused mare behind. Such as she was.

o.0.o

“This is it, Sweetie,” Blueblood said, leading her back up to the stage. She’d been so busy with farewells to so many ponies, there had hardly been time to talk or reminisce with the one pony she had spent more time with than any other.

“It’s been great, Blueblood,” Sweetie said softly. “Seeing all of them here at the same time and being able to thank them.” She looked up at him. “Thank you for helping me so much.”

“Before you go up there again,” the royal stallion began, glancing away, guiltily, “I’d like to say something: to admit to something.”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. Blueblood looked like he had to apologize for something, but what was there to apologize for?

Before she could speak, he continued. “When I first met you, when I first realized you were going through the loops with me, I… I was elated, of course. Because I wasn’t alone and because, I started to think, maybe I was in this to help you. To help you on your quest. Maybe the fragment was causing it after all, or maybe it was just destiny or fate arranging things this way. I didn’t know, but... but I don’t like to think all this is just a coincidence.” He sighed, shaking his head sadly. “When we found the puzzle, and I saw how the time loops made it possible for us to solve it, I cheered inside. Maybe, finally, you’ll break me free, too. Maybe saving you would be saving me, too.”

“But even before we actually entered the maze, as it all came together, I started to grow scared, too. What if helping you doesn’t break the loops for me?” he asked, and Sweetie could see in his voice and his eyes that he still thought that, even now. “What if all I end up doing is losing the only pony who will ever remember me? I was terrified of being alone again. I’m still terrified of what tomorrow will bring.

“I wanted you to spend more time here. I didn’t want you to go. I… thought about sabotaging things; about trying to keep you looping with me,” he admitted. “I seriously did. I planned for it, even. I was so tempted, but… but I couldn’t.

“When you said I was like a brother to you...” he trailed off. “I couldn’t. I couldn’t betray my little sister like that. I know you have to move on. You have a future ahead of you, one I can only begin to see, and I know it will be great. I couldn’t hold you back from that.” He smiled, warmly, down at her. “Even I’m not that selfish!”

“Oh, Blueblood...” Sweetie shook her head. “I wish I could have helped more... if I don’t return tomorrow... I—”

Blueblood shook his head. “Don’t say it... I know.”

Sweetie nodded quickly in understanding. “I should go to the stage...” She hesitated in her turn. “I’m glad I was able to talk to almost all the ponies that helped me.” With a quick summon, she invoked her notebook into the world, and pressing her horn to one of the two jewels on the spine, she transferred her dress into it. She dismissed her notebook and carried on.

Well, she had talked to most of them. Sapphire Shores always seemed to be surrounded by a knot of fans, and being invited to her first Gala, the pop star had been busy making herself all too visible a spectacle. But still... her lessons had prepared her for Cadance’s own, and she owed the mare a lot... especially in helping her find the reason behind her sometimes uncooperative voice.

She would remember her as well.

Waiting patiently for the orchestra to finish, Sweetie indicated that she wanted to go on stage once more, and was rewarded with a smile and a nod from the musicians.

Taking center stage, she cleared her throat and cast her voice-amplifying spell. “Um, everypony? I-I have something to say.”

Slowly, conversations died as the eyes of all ponies in the menagerie turned to her. Sweetie gulped, but remembering her coaching, she took a deep breath and let it out before continuing.

“I guess it’s getting a little late for a filly like me to be hanging around,” she said, earning a few chuckles. “And I know that you already patiently and graciously listened to me play. But well, before I really go away, there are a couple of things I would like to say and... well, you’ll see.”

She cleared her throat again, and drew a shuddering breath. “I’m young and yet, I’m not as young as you might imagine,” she looked around, until she found Rarity, looking at her in silence and a little worry. “It’s a strange thing, being amongst so many faces I recognize, so many voices and inspirations that are unaware of just how far you’ve pushed me to better myself and how much you have truly taught me.

“I can’t even really tell you; I haven’t got the words to truly say how much all of you mean to me. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo... you’ve been and will always be my best friends. In times of darkness you showed me the light, and without your friendship, I would have never been able to survive long enough to be here as myself.”

The two fillies in question looked at each other in confusion and a little worry.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Sweetie called, getting the attention of the unicorn. “You’ve been a mentor and teacher to me,” she said, smiling at the bewilderment in Twilight’s face. “You don’t remember... but you were.” She winked. “After all, without a stable source of magic input, something as simple as a prestidigitation spell will do nothing but explode in one’s face. Even here, in this world... you were a source of knowledge and wisdom. Thank you.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and she turned to say something to Princess Celestia, who had her eyes set on Sweetie Belle. The Princess made a soothing motion to her student as Sweetie spoke once more.

“Rarity... it’s odd, having met mom and dad, telling you this...” Sweetie’s eyes became a bit watery and her expression half-apologetic. She closed her eyes. “Where I come from, it’s so different... we lost them, shortly after I was born. In their stead, you raised me. And I always called you sis. But... I don’t know when I will see my Rarity again. It’s already been two years of searching and travelling... so, I don’t want to wait to tell you, one of you, so that at least in spirit she knows... that I love you... mom.”

Rarity felt her cheeks wet from unheeded tears. She understood now, how Sweetie could know so many ponies, how she had learned to play the cello when she couldn’t have possibly learned at any point before without anypony noticing.

Sweetie opened her eyes and locked them with the other pair of blue eyes she cared for. “And Blueblood...” she lowered her voice for a second, just staring at him, sitting casually in the front row. “You’ve been my friend, mentor, companion and brother. I-I wouldn’t be here at all without you, I would have lost myself in my anger and fear. I’m sorry I have to go now, when you’re still trapped. I’ll miss you... and I will always cherish my time as your friend and little sister.” Sweetie took a long, shuddering breath and looked at all the guests.

“So, now you all are wondering what I’m talking about.” Sweetie smiled at the crowd of ponies. “Don’t worry... I’m just a filly with a song for those that I love so much, and to whom I owe more than I can ever imagine. I-I learned this song, which I found in... well, a notebook, in a place far away from here. The pony who wrote it... I think she understood loss and passion, dreams, hope... despair...” She smiled briefly.

“I copied it without knowing too much of any of those emotions. I thought... it sounded nice.” She looked around, her eyes pausing briefly on each pony that had touched her life in this universe, even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who seemed slightly annoyed at the attention being given to her. “I realize that I have a lot to learn about all of these, before I can even sing it like she would... but, I studied hard and I think... I think she would be happy with it.”

Sweetie cancelled her spell and in the hush of the crowd she called out.

“Allegria...”

She looked at her sister, her eyes still shimmering with tears, a small smile ever present, looking at her with so much love.

Her eyes then went to Twilight Sparkle, who was looking at her with a mixture of pride, wonder and hope.

And then she smiled at her fellow crusaders, who still looked confused... before looking back at Blueblood.

Her brother.

“Allegria... come un lampo di vita...”

Before the crowd, her song rose, a ghostly, clear sound that seemed to seep through their pores, making even Diamond Tiara stop her whimpering, and turn to look at Sweetie with surprise, which turned into confusion when Sweetie actually smiled warmly at her.

“Allegria

Come un passo gridar! Allegria!”

The feelings behind each word swayed through the crowd, drawing them in, making them look at the filly as she rose, effortlessly thanks to so much practice to her hind-legs and swing, turning in place, slowly as her voice rose.

“Del delittuoso grido, bella ruggente pena, seren”

For who hadn’t felt the pure ecstasy of the raging force of a scream of joy and sorrow? Certainly Princess Cadance seemed to know what she was singing about. Her eyes almost betraying for a moment, that one smile that Sweetie held in her memory.

“Come la rabbia di amar,”

The burning anger... She spun slowly in place, from one hoof to the other, losing herself as she extended her forelegs to the side, letting the world spin around her. Anger and love, simply set apart by an almost invisible division.

“Alegria! Come un assalto di gioia”

And reveling in her song, twirling in place like no pony had a right to, her magic flowing... she felt the universe give.

The gathered ponies gasped as light bathed the stage so suddenly it interrupted Sweetie’s song. She was shining. Her whole body glowed, but most of all, a brand new mark on her flank.

A familiar, purple, six-pointed star, broken into pieces through the middle by a musical note.

Sweetie gasped, dropping to all fours and turned around, looking away from her cutie mark and to the crowds searching specifically for a certain pony. “I-I’m going away.”

Blueblood was already lifting her up, and for the first time she could remember, this time he hugged her: a fierce, possessive, frightened hug that said more than words ever could. A part of her wished that somehow, by touching him, he could come along with her. That he could stay by her as she moved from world to world, joking with her and flirting with every mare they bumped into and even just walking alongside her: her big brother best friend forever. But whatever magic had a hold on her, he was unaffected.

She felt her hooves touch the stage floor again.

“Sweetie Belle,” Blueblood said, smiling down at her. His eyes were squinted, wet. “I won’t ever forget you, so don’t you dare ever forget about me.”

“You know I won’t,” she sobbed, reaching for his hoof.

“Look at that!” he declared, and took a moment to sweep a hoof towards everypony present and watching in awe. “You’ve stolen the spotlight!”

He turned back to her and began to clop his hooves against the floor in applause. It only took a moment for the rest of the hall, the rest of the Grand Galloping Gala, to follow. Hundreds of hooves beat against the floor, from her teary eyed sister to Celestia herself. They were all applauding... for her.

“Go on,” Blueblood said, and he became hard to hear his voice as she faded away. “I know you’ll be amazing out there.”

Sweetie nodded, tears falling freely as she faced everypony. “Goodbye,” she whispered. “I’m sure I’ll meet you all again, but you won’t know me.”

The light faded, leaving a filly standing on the stage, looking extremely tired and a little lost.

“R-Rarity?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking at her sister, who was for some reason crying. “I’m... sleepy...” Uncaring of the ponies around her, she curled up on the stage and was fast asleep, a blanket of purple magic still swirling around her.

o.0.∞.0.o

Blueblood lowered his hoof as the door to the Boutique opened. Tentatively. Too tentatively.

He craned his neck to the side and smiled at the sight of a two-toned purple and pink mane. A pair of green eyes stared up at him, at the strange pony knocking on her sister’s door. The little filly stared right back at him, blinked slowly, and then inclined her head to the side in curiosity. She looked so similar… but as he met her eyes, Blueblood didn’t see the one thing he had hoped against hope to find.

Recognition.

There wasn’t as much as a spark of it.

“Hello?” Sweetie Belle finally asked. “Can I help you?”

“You don’t… know who I am?” he asked, a bit plaintively. Of course not. Of course she wouldn’t.

“Sorry… no,” the little filly said, biting her lip and glancing back indoors.

“Sweetie Belle!” a voice from inside called. “Who is it? Whoever it is, do tell them I’m terribly sorry, but we aren’t open for business today!”

“Will do!” the filly agreed, and turned to look back up at him. “Rarity says—”

“I heard her, thank you,” Blueblood replied, smile still in place, but turned wan from seeing what he knew to be true with his own two eyes. He took a breath and tried to say, ‘Miss Rarity may wish to see me, regardless’ or ‘Tell her, Prince Blueblood wishes to see her about the Gala tonight’ or… a joke or… anything. It was why he came here. It was part of the plan. The Perfect Gala.

His lips moved, but he couldn’t speak.

Auntie’s hindquarters, words had actually failed him.

“S-so sorry,” he finally managed to say, “Wrong house.”

The blank-flanked filly smiled sweetly back at him, accepting the mistake and slowly closing the door to the Boutique. It clicked shut with a chime, and the sound was like thunder in his ears.

It was an unusually long walk back to his chariot; to his guards. To his life. To his fate.

Blueblood tried to smile, and not just the outward façade. Sweetie Belle - the Sweetie Belle he knew - was gone. She had done it! She was free. Free of the loops. Free to move on. Free to save her Twilight Sparkle, free to find her way home, free to grow up. He never had learned that age alteration spell. He supposed, at that thought, that all this saved him the trouble. Maybe one day, Sweetie would end up the old granny he had joked about zapping her into. He knew she would become a beautiful mare someday, and she was free. She was free. That was all that mattered.

He was happy for her.

He was.

“Sir,” the head of his guard detail, Sir Mercury, spoke up as the Prince walked by. “Is something the matter?”

“The matter?” Blueblood snapped and reached up to his face. He was crying. Crying like a foal. He couldn’t stop it, even with his smile. He couldn’t stop crying?

“No,” he assured the royal guard, shaking his head but not hiding his tears. “Nothing’s the matter. Everything is… normal. Carry on.”

The guard bowed his head, thankfully unquestioning.

Blueblood closed his eyes, lifted his chin, and let himself cry.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow he would pick up where he had left off. Tomorrow he would go back to the plan. To the Perfect Gala.

But not today.

Not today.

o.0.o.0.o

The world seemed to become a stained window, with all the ponies from the Gala, from Blueblood to Rarity to Princess Celestia frozen in time. Then, before Sweetie’s eyes, the whole thing exploded into sharp pieces of glass and purple sparks against a completely black background.

The pieces swirled and spiraled around Sweetie, making her turn around in place, trying to figure out what was happening. Flashes of faces, both familiar and unknown, reflected for less than an instant on the spiraling shards, accompanied by voices and, worryingly, screams. The world seemed to heave around her and suddenly everything went bright.

“...never!” Sweetie growled and blinked. “Wait, what? Why did I say that?”

A scream made her turn around in time for her instincts to kick in. Raising a shield against an explosive fireball that had been sent her way by... some random pony... who was fighting the guard?

“Get that filly to safety!” One of the guards shouted, and right there, Sweetie made up her mind. Turning to face the unicorn who had attacked her, she cantered to the left and threw a blast of air that sent the unicorn rolling on his back.

“She’s with them!” Another pony shouted, and she had to quickly dodge out of the way of a blast of magic. Sweetie quickly replied in kind, freezing her attacker’s hooves long enough for a guard to cast a spell that pushed back her opponent. Falling into the patterns of the I Quattro Elementi, she concentrated on dodging and stinging when she could, slowly making her way back towards the guards. But there were so many enemies!

An explosion close to her hit Sweetie much harder than any of Fleur’s shoves ever had, sending her rolling on the floor. She quickly cast her spell, forming a shield around herself and cringing under the battering it was receiving; she concentrated and closed her eyes, trying to hold it as long as necessary for the guards to help her.

Suddenly, her assailants cried out, the attacks stopped and she heard shouts and cries of pain, as well as cheering from the guards. Slowly, Sweetie Belle opened her eyes and looked up, finding a unicorn standing protectively in front of her.

His coat was white, and his mane and tail a blood-red color. His mane, spiky on the top, but with a subtle curl at the bottom, seemed somewhat familiar to Sweetie Belle. He wore a harness and his shoulders were decorated with epaulets each with five stars within circles. He stared angrily at what little remained of the resistance.

“T-thank you,” Sweetie stuttered.

“Get up, and follow me, Sweetie Belle,” the unicorn replied, turning around and leading away from the battlegrounds.

“Wait! How do you know my name?” Sweetie asked, trotting after the official-looking unicorn. “Who are you?”

The unicorn looked back at her. “Hm, it would make sense for you not to remember me. My name is Esteem, Sweetie Belle, and you and I are very closely related.”

o.0.o End Chapter 6 o.0.o

Next: The Immortal Game

The Immortal Game: April Fools 2013

APRIL FOOLS CHAPTER 2013

Edited by: Invisible People

"I am your father, Sweetie, and I will train you in the Art of War," Esteem explained as he walked down the halls of the Castle, with Sweetie following dutifully after him.

"Your training will begin immediately, there's not a moment to waste before—" he stopped abruptly, eyes widening at the presence of a large, imposing male alicorn. "Lord Titan!" he bowed immediately.

Titan looked down at Sweetie Belle, who gulped. "You do not belong here," he stated, levitating the filly in an impossibly strong telekinetic grip. Reality seemed to bend and a hole in space and time was ripped open. "Away with you."

He threw Sweetie into the dimensional hole, which closed immediately after her. Then he glared at Esteem. "General, make sure to follow my last commands. I must go back to the Everfree Forest."

"Y-yes your majesty!" Esteem stammered, not daring to raise his head until Titan was gone. He waited for a bit and gulped. It was then that, in the opposite side of the portal Titan had created and tossed Sweetie into, another opened, and the filly rolled out, stopping at Esteem's hooves.

"Um, hi," Sweetie waved. "I seem to be back."

Esteem blinked. "Wait... what happened?!"

Sweetie sighed. "Well... I'll have to be fast, before Titan returns and throws me into another dimensional hole and I have to do it all over again... it went like this..."

o.0.o

The world came back into view, and Sweetie Bell found herself surrounded by cardboard. She blinked and looked up, propping herself on the edge of the box she was in and looking at the desolated and blighted streets. “Where the hay am I?”

Something made a choking sound behind her and she whipped around, horn alight, ready to cast a spell. And she looked up at the gangly, depressed-looking human with facial hair that started under his chin all the way down to his neck that had walked up to her. “Uh... can I help you?”

The human just stared for a moment, his mouth opening and closing silently while a bit of drool slid down his chin. “Uh... Poneh... I adopt!”

"Wait, what?!" Sweetie shouted as the human leaned in and picked her up. "Nononononononononono! Bad human! Bad!" she shouted.

"I feed pone!" The human muttered happily, slinging her under one arm as he ambled past the abandoned streets. "I love pone! We family now!"

"Uh..." Sweetie ventured, unable to scurry free and too close to use her magic offensively. "How about you set me free? You know, run around, chase butterflies?"

"Nuh uh, must make sure you safe furst!"

Sweetie blinked. "Safe from what?"

The human paused, looked around and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, "other humahns."

"Ohhh." Sweetie said, nodding slowly, she sensed something as the human kicked what was presumably the door to his house repeatedly until it opened. "Say, you wouldn't have seen a purple crystal around here, would you?"

"Uh, huh!" The human said happily, placing her on a chair and pouring something called "Cheerios" out of a box onto a plate in front of her. He then skipped into another room and proceeded to throw boxes out of it. He eventually came out with what was indubitably one of Twilight's Fragments.

It had a bowtie.

"Dis is mistah crystal! Ah found it in anotha box on th' way home!" The human said happily, placing the fragment in front of Sweetie. "U can play wit it if u wanna! Buht be careful!"

"Uh... sure," Sweetie said. "Do ponies and stuff always end in boxes around here?"

"Uh,huh," the human said, nodding happily.

"This has to be the saddest universe I have ever been to," Sweetie muttered, then her eyes brightened and she pointed at the window. "Hey! Is that the sun?!"

"Where!?" the human asked, turning around and glaring straight into it. "Aaah! Blind human is blind!"

Nonplussed, Sweetie nevertheless managed to sweep the crystal in her magic and, barely managing to hear the relieved cry from Twilight's essence, faded out of that universe.

Author's Note

I removed the excess words... it was only worth it to make the illusion that this was an actual chapter. The links are still valid, so you can follow them around like on the original AF posting. For the record, it was a grand total of 35,742 extra words. All repeated.

The Immortal Game

Edited by: lammy. Proof by: Trevor & Super Big Mac. Pre Read by: Aesthetic B & Capn’ Chrysallid

“Soul magic?” Celestia echoed, mulling over the question. “I haven’t used that type of magic in centuries... it’s tricky and dangerous for unicorns—or even alicorns—to do so. Our magic is too tied to ourselves; if we’re not careful, we could literally tear our souls out. It’s a much more grounded and Earth-pony magic. Most Shamans, like your friend Zecora, are masters of the art, much more so than I.”

“It’s... I think it’s the only way, your majesty,” Rarity confessed, barely able to sit still on the plush cushions of Celestia’s study. “When I saw Sweetie Belle, all I could do was watch! I could not touch her, talk to her...” She trailed off and looked down. “...protect her.”

Celestia winced. “I am sorry, Rarity.”

Rarity shook her head. “No need, Princess. I’m... I’m just glad Sweetie Belle seems to be okay.”

Celestia nodded. “And the second time you saw her... how did that happen?”

Rarity turned to look at the mirror she had brought with her. “I was in Zecora’s hut once more. We were discussing how quickly I could go see Sweetie again. That... horrible, horrible place she was in... I couldn’t just...” She took a deep breath. “A-anyway, while we were talking, this mirror suddenly lit up and just for a second I saw both Sweetie Belle and Twilight! And she was young again!”

Celestia stood up and studied the mirror. A soft glow emanated from her horn, brightening everything around them as though a piece of the true sun were drifting through the room.

The mirror shimmered and the edges cracked a bit. “I—” Celestia growled, pushing more magic. “The link is dimming... it’s almost gone. But perhaps... Rarity, come here and mix your magic with mine; ask it to find Sweetie Belle.”

"Of course!" Rarity declared with a moment's thought on the implication of mixing her magic with Princess Celestia herself.

The mirror glowed and the surface became blindingly white for a few seconds, before it seemed to shatter and they found themselves staring at Sweetie Belle, standing on stage in the middle of...

“I-is that the Grand Galloping Gala?!” Rarity gasped, immediately recognizing herself and several other ponies in the front row, looking up at Sweetie Belle, who seemed to be talking, her voice muffled, indistinct.

“A moment,” Celestia whispered. The mirror creaked ominously and then, as if she were approaching from a far distance, Sweetie’s voice became clear, just as she turned to face the Rarity in the crowd.

“Rarity...” Sweetie Belle said, resplendent in her white dress and drawing the complete attention of the unicorn staring from so far away. “...it’s odd, having met mom and dad, telling you this.” Sweetie’s eyes became a bit watery and her expression half-apologetic. She closed her eyes. “Where I come from, it’s so different... we lost them shortly after I was born.”

Standing next to Princess Celestia, and looking through the mirror, Rarity sighed, nodding at her sister’s words in silence, while never taking her eyes off of her as Sweetie continued. “In their stead, you raised me. And I always called you sis. But... I don’t know when I will see my Rarity again.”

Rarity and Celestia exchanged amazed and pained glances.

“It’s already been two years of searching and travelling... so, I don’t want to wait to tell you, one of you, so that at least in spirit she knows... that...”

“I’m here, Sweetie!” Rarity cried as the mirror shuddered.

“I love you... mom.”

With a crack that shook the room, the mirror split in two, the large shards falling out of the frame and shattering on the floor.

Celestia hurriedly took two steps back, but Rarity remained rooted to the spot, her eyes wide and her heart hammering as the fragments of mirror splintered about her hooves.

After a moment, Celestia approached Rarity. “Are you okay?”

Rarity slowly turned to look at her, eyes crying freely. “She... she called me ‘mom’. All these years, being the big sister, I always felt like... well, when I was younger I would pretend that I was Sweetie’s mom... that the only one who had lost her parents was me, but that my little filly would always have her mom.” She sniffed. “I never said anything, it was just a notion that I took a fancy to from time to time... I’d think about, when I would marry, how my filly would be exactly like Sweetie... but I never-I was just her sister and I’d always assumed... I just-I thought she just saw me as that.”

Celestia felt her own eyes grow teary and her breath caught in her throat. She pulled Rarity into a full hug with her foreleg, letting the mare cry on her shoulder. “We’ll get her back, Rarity... we’ll bring her back.” She was silent for a moment before nodding resolutely. “Mind and soul magic are not my strengths, but I believe my sister can help us with that.”

Rarity nodded, but Celestia didn’t hurry away, letting her cry for as long as the mare needed.

Sweetie Belle opened her eyes, wondering what had woken her up. After the horror of the day prior, she'd hardly been able to calm down. It wasn't until long after Esteem himself had brought her to her room to wait it out that she could feel any semblance of normalcy returning to her.

Ever since then, her instincts had been telling her to get out of there, as if there were a cloud of danger all around her... if she had learned anything, it was that her instincts were seldom wrong about danger.

She had spent the night tossing and turning restlessly on a huge bed, fit for noble ponies with the softest silk sheets she had ever had the pleasure of feeling.

Still, despite her physical comforts, she had kept waking up, expecting somepony—maybe a crazed Twilight fragment’s ghost, or a blood-covered pony with hooks for hooves—to have snuck in to harm her. Eventually, she had finally fallen asleep into a dreamless sleep. Or had it been dreamless? She seemed to almost remember something. She mulled over it before she was overcome by a yawn and took another, fresher look at the room where she had been taken.

The room itself was pretty big, easily dwarfing the size of her own room in Ponyville, and had solid, white marble columns located on each corner. It was decorated with tasteful vases with flowers on small, circular tables at regular intervals along the wall, clearly calculated to fill the empty spaces created between the placed paintings depicting ponies indulging themselves on a huge bounty of fruits, vegetables and wine.

Sweetie stared longingly at one of the pictured bottles before continuing her assessment, turning to the floor-to-ceiling windows, framed by posh, red-velvet curtains, and the marble floor beneath it so clean she could see her reflection on its surface

It had all the necessities too: a dresser, carved of dark mahogany; a large mirror; a walk-in closet which the servants had worked tirelessly the day prior to fill to bursting with dresses of all sorts; a bathroom all to herself with a classy white marble tub with gold inlays on the edges that stood proudly in the middle.

With so much marble around she wondered when she would get tired of it. She half-expected Esteem to want her to be made out of marble as well. Sweetie couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of herself like that.

The truly odd thing about the room was the desk opposite her bed. She had glossed over it on her quick look around, but now that she focused on it, there was something odd about it. It wasn’t the desk itself it was on top of it- a black... was it... leather? Sweetie’s eyes widened a bit as she got out of bed and trotted up to the desk.

She had seen the material while exploring one of Blueblood’s old mansions, where the odd Griffin paraphernalia could be found. She grimaced when she realized it was indeed a leather harness of some sort that lay upon it. It wasn’t too big, roughly her size, actually, and on top of it, was the thing that had caught her attention and demanded her eyes concentrate on this desk... a single, perfectly cut, diamond.

The room’s quiet broke when a set of three patient knocks on the door alerted her to the probable cause of her waking up. She shook her head, turning towards the entrance with a sidelong glance at the harness and diamond, and called out, “Come in, please!”

A pony with a green coat she recognized as one of Esteem’s assistants opened the door and slowly walked in, looking around and instantly spotting her. “Miss Allure,” he said, “General Esteem would like a word with you.”

Sweetie Belle blinked. “Wait, what did you call me?”

Esteem’s assistant arched an eyebrow.

“Oh!” Sweetie quickly galloped to the mirror and levitated a pearlescent brush that had been left there for her, quickly touching up her mane until it looked decent. “I think I look okay now!” she announced, glancing over her shoulder at the pony.

“Aren’t you going to wear the harness the General got for you?”

Sweetie blinked. “That’s for me? But... it’s leather.”

The cadet shrugged. “May as well bring it with you. And the diamond.”

Sweetie looked at him dubiously, but levitated both objects regardless and followed him outside. The Palace was a hub of activity; squads of soldiers would pass them by on patrols so often it did little to reassure Sweetie Belle that things were fine. She watched with interest, paying close attention to the time between patrols, and the routes they followed.

The pair finally turned into a long hallway where no patrols seemed to come to, allowing them to walk undisturbed.

For a while the only sound around them were the hoofsteps of the cadet as he guided her around the palace. This gave Sweetie plenty of time to study him.

The calm with which he walked and his body language spoke more of a fighter than a secretary. ‘A knight, perhaps?’ Sweetie wondered as they once more turned into a more populated area of the castle.

There were a few nobles in small clusters talking amongst each other, and she thought she even saw the local Blueblood around, in one of the corridors they passed. What struck her most was how scared they were. They weren’t talking about anything related to the battle she had seen just yesterday, but they were clearly aware of it and actively speaking of anything but. Their sudden silence as Cadet passed by spoke volumes to her about everypony in the palace. They were scared of everything. Including the guards, if the way they cringed every time a patrol walked past them was an indication.

The way to General Esteem’s location was a veritable maze of corridors. Even her familiarity with the other world’s palace grounds and the few similarities both places shared didn’t help her much, and soon, much to her chagrin she was completely lost. The only thing she could tell for sure was that the more turns they made, the less noble ponies and servants were to be seen.

They eventually reached the barracks and Sweetie was escorted straight to the back, where several drills were taking place. “Oh, now it makes sense...” Sweetie muttered, observing the few knights-in-training.

The cadet stopped and looked back at her, head cocked in question.

Sweetie grinned self-consciously. “I just noticed that the nobles are nowhere near here... and it made sense for them to avoid the barracks, most noble ponies tend to be... a bit sensitive about ‘common’ soldiering.”

He snorted and continued to lead her to where she had already spotted Esteem, his blood-red mane and white coat obvious even at a distance. Sweetie took a moment to examine the drills, following the knight instinctively and watching with interest the practicing ponies.

Their drill seemed to consist of some sort of telekinetic grip on small stones or shards of metal, but the hold was different somehow from what she was used to. It seemed as if each were levitated individually, rather than as a whole, then kept in the telekinesis hold as tightly as possible.

The knights would have the pieces fly around and spin under fine control, following set motions and imaginary attacks and blocks, locking them together at times, only to have them separate into several pieces.

“Like what you see?” Esteem asked, making her jump.

Sweetie jumped. “Oh! Sorry, I was distracted...” Sweetie smiled nervously up at Esteem before looking back at the soldiers. “Yeah... it’s very interesting how it works. At first I thought they were levitating all the objects at once, but the fine control they display indicates something completely different. I was working on the theory that each piece was controlled by an individual telekinetic hold, which is then used, possibly in conjunction with a tied-in general hold, to form a sword or similar weapon which can then be disassembled for a variety of uses. The use of such a weapon can only be limited by the caster’s fine control and imagination... it’s... horrible... and beautiful in its magical connection to the unicorn casting it.”

Esteem grinned at her. “It is beautiful, isn’t it? The knight, or blade-caster as we are known, has to manage several things at the same time... it’s an art and possesses a simplicity in its final objective that is an absolutely beautiful thing to see in practice.”

Sweetie nodded along pensively. “It must be incredibly difficult to master such an art.” She glanced at Esteem, assessing his physical response. Taking note of the shift in his posture, the gleam in his eyes, Sweetie mentally nodded to herself. ‘As expected... he loves this.’ “Mist-General Esteem,” she corrected herself. “You said you and I were related?”

Esteem nodded, turning his attention away from the drills to look at her. “Yes, we are, although it would make sense for your sister to have not mentioned me at all.” His eyes darkened. “After all, when your mother died, she took you away and hid from me.”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “Why would Rarity do that?”

Esteem snorted. “Your sister was a rebellious, undisciplined mare. It’s no wonder she ended up as a merciless killer.”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide. “Wait. What?!”

Esteem looked at her quizzically. “You did not know? The ponies that tried to kill you yesterday were under her orders. She and her friends are the leaders of a whole group of dissidents that have been bent on killing everypony in the palace ever since Celestia... abdicated.”

“N-no...” Sweetie stepped away. “Rarity would never do that!”

Esteem sighed. “I tried to convince her that she should join me and the cause of justice, but...” He shook his head. “Every time I had a chance, I was interrupted by Twilight Sparkle or another of their generals.”

“W-why would you want her to join you?” Sweetie stammered. “If she’s a merciless killer...”

Esteemed chuckled. “What? Can’t a father want his daughter... his daughters... with him, regardless of their sins?”

Sweetie sat down on the floor, staring at him. “Daughters?! But... what about Magnum?”

“Magnum?” Esteem huffed. “Was that his name? He adopted you and Rarity after she hid.”

Sweetie blinked, forming a mental image of Magnum and comparing it in her mind to Esteem. ‘How did Rarity and I look exactly the same as before with different parents?’

“He did a fine job raising the both of you, I’m sure,” Esteem continued. “But... he likely perished when Twilight Sparkle razed Ponyville.”

Sweetie felt the blood run cold in her veins. “R-razed...”

Esteem nodded. “There was little I could do.” He sighed. “I tried to dissuade her from that path but she would not listen. Twilight Sparkle destroyed Ponyville, aided by Luna and her friends, including Rarity.”

Sweetie looked down at the floor, a lost look in her face. “A-and my friends?”

Esteem didn’t flinch. “Some survived... some died. I had heard reports that you, Applejack’s younger sister and a pegasus filly had managed to flee the massacre... but now I find you here, and without memory of the events.”

Sweetie looked up at him and opened her mouth, but something told her to keep quiet about her true nature. She frowned. She had never felt immediately distrustful but… if she could give this feeling a voice, it sounded for some reason like a tired, old voice, annoyed and repeating: ”Don’t trust ponies, young one.”

“I... I’m not sure how I ended up exactly where I did,” Sweetie said. “I think it might have been some teleportation spell gone wrong... but I don’t even remember who cast it.”

Esteem considered her for a moment, before a small smile crept into his face.

‘He knows I’m lying.’ Sweetie thought, feeling more amazed at the fact that he left it at that.

“Fair enough,” Esteem nodded. “It was fortunate that we were able to save you before you became one more victim of those terrorists.” His eyes became harder. “Now... I see you brought my gift with you.”

Sweetie glanced at the harness and the diamond. “Yeah...”

“Good,” Esteem said, walking up until he was standing next to Sweetie Belle. “I think it’s time you learned the family art.”

Sweetie tilted her head.

“Bladecasting,” Esteem clarified. “I heard from my soldiers that you managed to fight back a little bit, and when I found you, I witnessed your shield breaking.” He turned to look at her. “How well do you know how to fight? And who taught you?”

‘If I lie too much he’s going to figure out everything I said was false. But if I only lie a little...’ Sweetie thought. “I learned from one of the nobles a while ago,” she started to say. ‘Please, please, please don’t be around...’ She took a deep breath. “Her name is Fleur and she was one of Rarity’s customers.”

Esteem looked intrigued. “I’m surprised Rarity allowed her to do so,” he said. “I was under the impression she did not like the idea of any sort of fighting techniques being taught to you.”

“Well...” Sweetie shrugged. “We didn’t exactly tell her, and Fleur was also a model... the style of dueling she uses makes it look like you’re posing... it’s supposed to be a beautiful way to duel. So Rarity thought I was taking modeling lessons.”

Esteem laughed. “Modeling lessons indeed!” His eyes were not mirthful, however, when he locked eyes with her. “I hope you wouldn’t mind giving me a demonstration of this... beautiful dueling.”

Applejack sighed. Walking around the storage room and going over the stock the loyalists had left for the next couple of weeks, she knew things were going to be pretty tight. Food was already running low, so she would have to find ways to make up for what Noble was unable to procure with his raids.

With a sigh, she gave a thankful nod to the mare that had brought her the report. Twilight was still insistent on taking as much as she possibly could when it came to responsibilities, obviously ignoring the experience that Applejack and, yes, even Pinkie Pie had when it came to certain things—like feeding the troops.

Still, as one of Twilight’s lieutenants, she could just go straight to doing her job, instead of letting Twilight be bothered by little things... even if it was behind Twilight’s back. Applejack hated doing it, but she knew very well what taking too much pressure on oneself could do to a mare.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and let it out slowly, centering herself. Things were going to be okay. Her Twilight was finally back, they were all together again, and finally they had a real chance at defeating Titan, Terra and Empyrean.

It still was crazy. After everything they'd gone through--Celestia’s defeat, Nihlus, Esteem, livelihoods destroyed, homes razed, families displaced--they still had each other. Even so... sometimes it just felt like it was too much to take in.

“If Ah keep thinking about this, Ah’m gonna end up like Twilight,” Applejack groaned. “Better go get myself busy. Maybe check on Rarity.” She nodded to herself and set out to find her friend.

“...a little unicorn filly!” a voice said. “I could swear I heard one of the guards say it was Esteem’s daughter.”

Applejack stopped walking, eyes wide and blood cold.

“He seemed very impressed with her, and started training her in bladecasting.”

“But,” another voice spoke up. “Isn’t Dame Rarity Esteem’s daughter? Did he have another?”

“Well, I suppose! I can’t see Esteem adopting or anypony trusting him with a child.”

“Well, I’m including this in my report. It might be nothing bu—”

“You!” Applejack startled the pair when she was suddenly in front of them. “What did the filly look like?”

“Lieutenant A-Apple—”

“Ah know my name!” Applejack interrupted. “Tell me about this filly! What’d she look like?”

“W-well, she had a white coat, p-pu-urple and pink mane...” he stammered, Applejack’s eyes widening. “A-a-nd a starburst cutiemark with a musical n-note breaking the middle of it.”

Applejack blinked. “Sweetie doesn’t have a cutie mark.”

“That’s her!” The pony nodded. “That’s what the guard called her by!”

Applejack cringed. “Did... were there any other fillies with her? Did Esteem mention any?”

The spy shook his head. “No... the only filly was her. There was talk that she’d almost been killed during a fight between us and Esteem’s forces, and that the general himself had stepped in to save her.”

“But... that don’t make any sense!” Applejack snapped. “She’s supposed to be with the Buffalo! With my sister and Scootaloo!”

“I-I don’t know what to tell you, Lieutenant.” The spy took a step back. “She was the only one I saw. And as far as I know no others have been spotted in the palace.”

“This is bad, real bad,” Applejack muttered. “Have you told anypony else?”

The spy shook his head.

Applejack pursed her lips. “I’ll have to tell Rarity. She has to know...” She glanced at him again. “Let me be the one to tell the other lieutenants about the filly... don’t mention this yet to any of them. Could cause a whole heap of trouble that we don’t need. How... certain are you that what you heard and saw was true?”

The spy shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know, but... Esteem was very pleased. The filly knows how to fight... or at least how to dodge. Rumor was that Fleur taught her some sort of fancy dueling technique.”

“Who?”

“A noble pony,” the spy tried to elaborate. “Word is that she was one of Rarity’s clients.”

Applejack shrugged. “Might well be.” She grimaced. “Damn. Hope Rarity is ready to deal with this...” Her head shot up. “And y’all don’t say a word about this to Twilight, y’hear? She’s got plenty to worry about right now. Ah’ll make sure she finds out, y’hear?”

The pair cringed beneath her glare, nodding sheepishly. Applejack gave them a quick nod and, with a salute, the pair trotted off out of sight.

Left alone, Applejack turned and let out a sigh into the wall, letting her head come to rest against the cool stone of the tunnel wall. "And what do I do now?" She glanced down the passage. "Guess I could sneak there n'try an’ fix things."

“Fix what?”

Applejack sprang back as she found herself orange to pink muzzle with Pinkie Pie, landing on her back with a dusty thump. "Pinkie! Don't scare ponies like that!"

Pinkie sat up from where she'd slid beneath the once somber farm pony, giving a little pout. "Aw! But it’s so fun to surprise other ponies! And you looked like you had a lot on your mind, and I thought to myself, ‘Pinkie Pie, what would you do to get stuff out of your mind?’ and myself answered: ‘I don’t know, Pinkie Pie, but I know that surprises always put me in a good mood!’ so I listened to myself and decided that I would surprise you and help you get what you have in your mind out so that you can chillax!”

“Chillax?” Applejack cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, since when you’re stressed they say you get all ‘hot and bothered’ I figured, hey, maybe you should cool down! And when you cool down you get chilly! So if when you’re hot you’re stressed and when you’re chilling you’re relaxed, I told myself: What if there was a way we could say ‘Chillin’ and relaxing!’ in one word!” Pinkie Pie squeaked. “And it just came to me! Chillaxing!”

Applejack shook her head. “Ah know what chillax means, Pinkie.” Applejack shook her head. “And Ah just wish it were that simple.”

“Wait!” Pinkie Pie gasped. “You mean it isn’t?”

“No...” Applejack took a few steps back. “Ah’m worried about Apple Bloom! If Sweetie Belle’s here and—”

“Sweetie Belle’s here?!” Pinkie Pie’s eyes went wide. “When? How did she arrive?! Where is she?”

Before her friend had even turned to dash off on a madcap search for the unicorn filly, Applejack had snagged a hold of Pinkie Pie’s tail. “Whoa there, nelly! Calm down, Pinkie!”

“But, if she’s here we have to organize a welcoming party!”

“That’s the thing,” Applejack said, locking eyes with Pinkie Pie. “She’s not here.”

“Well, duh,” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “I think I would have noticed if she was!”

“Pinkie, you’re not followin’ what Ah’m sayin’!” Applejack groaned. “She’s with Esteem!”

Pinkie Pie seemed to deflate for a second. “What?!”

Applejack sighed. “That’s what Ah’ve been tryin’ to tell you! Ah just found out myself!”

Pinkie Pie was quiet for half a second. “But where are Scootaloo and Apple Bloom!? Oh no! Do you think he caught them? But why haven’t we seen them!? I think we shou—mph! Amph pfft bmbf—”

“Pinkie, please be quiet.” Applejack held her hoof covering her friend‘s muzzle in place until she saw her calm down. “Ah’m mighty worried as is; Ah don’t need more stress.”

Pinkie nodded and the hoof was removed. “But... why is she with him?”

“Ah don’t know, but Esteem is training her...” Applejack let the sentence die. Sweetie’s future didn’t seem too promising, but what really had her twitching was Apple Bloom. “Pinkie, Ah need to find out if Esteem has somehow got th’ Crusaders. Ah can’t think of any other reason Sweetie would willingly be with him.”

Pinkie’s eyes shone. “We’ll have to find out!”

Applejack nodded, worry gnawing at her. “Ah know but... if they’re in the palace...”

“Don’t be sad, Applejack!” Pinkie grinned. “We’ll find a way! Besides, we have spy ponies in there! They’ll let us know if Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are also in the castle!”

“Ah know! That’s how we found out about Sweetie.” Applejack groaned. “But they hadn't heard nothin' about Bloom or Scoots... and Ah can't stand waiting here while Apple Bloom might be in trouble!”

“But you can’t go by yourself!”

Applejack sighed and hung her head. “Ah never thought Ah’d see the day you of all ponies would try an’ calm me down.”

“Always here to help!” Pinkie said, hugging her friend. “I’m sure they’re all okay!”

Applejack hugged her back. “Thanks, Pinkie Pie.”

“No problem!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “What do we do now?”

Applejack grimaced. “First, we tell Rarity,” she said, not looking forward to doing that. “And then... we ‘schedule’ an emergency meetin’ with Twilight. If Esteem plans to use the Crusaders against us, we need to figure out somethin’ quick.”

Rarity smirked, sending shards of Vorpal flying through Unimpressive’s defenses, making the other unicorn curse and retreat back, shards of Vindictive zooming forward to try and turn back Rarity’s onslaught.

Truth be told, she was enjoying herself. Even if being a warrior was not her career of choice, there was an elegance to this dance that she deeply enjoyed... not that she would ever admit that to her father.

“My, such language!” she teased, nimbly dodging a rock Unimpressive tossed her way as distraction.

Unimpressive snorted, and tried to circle around her, his blade splitting to attack from several angles, but that was no challenge for Rarity, who had already pinpointed the location and angle of each piece of Vindictive and intercepted them immediately with Vorpal, using the remaining diamonds to send the stallion skirting back, until his back was to the wall, a piece of Vorpal floating in front of his face. Seemingly ignoring it, his eye wandered to the side of their arena as he arched an eyebrow. “It seems we have visitors.”

Rarity blinked and turned, having sensed the arrival of Applejack and Pinkie Pie. That was what Unimpressive had been waiting for. With a barely-hid smirk, he used a nearby rope to cinch her legs together and... watched it fall into little pieces after Vorpal was done with it. “Dammit.”

Rarity smirked, nimbly stepping out of the pieces of rope and winking at him. “I’m sorry, darling, but by now I know not to trust you at all with playing fair.”

Unimpressive huffed and rolled his eyes, summoning his blade back to its harness. “Fine, I’ll let you take a break. You need it.”

Nodding with a chuckle, Rarity placed Vorpal’s shards in it’s harness and approached her friends. “Hello girls, it’s delightful to see the both of you here.”

“I know, right?” Pinkie grinned. “It’s always fun, fun, fun to hang out with our friends!” she gushed.

“Yeah, well,” Applejack spoke up, her grimace making Rarity arch an eyebrow in question. “Th’ thing is, Rarity, we found out somethin’...”

Judging from Applejack’s expression, and the fact that she had come straight to her, Rarity could easily see part of where this was going. “Esteem?” Rarity’s voice came in a whisper. “Is this related to him?”

Applejack nodded slowly. “And... Sweetie.”

The world around Rarity seemed to freeze. It couldn’t be. Sweetie Belle was completely safe, traveling with the buffalo and keeping a low, and untrackable profile along with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “What did you say?”

“One of our spies saw Sweetie Belle with Esteem, at the palace,” Applejack explained. “She seemed unharmed, but... well, he was startin’ to train her on bladecastin’ and there’s no sign of the other crusaders.” She looked at the floor in frustration. “Includin’ Apple Bloom.”

Rarity looked straight at Applejack for a second before turning around and beginning to march out, but she stopped when she found Unimpressive standing between her and the exit. “And where do you think you’re going?”

“Out of my way, Unimpressive,” Rarity growled. “That murderer has my sister and I’m going to get her back.”

Unimpressive snorted, locking eyes with her and not even looking intimidated by her glare. “You and what army? If you go there now all you will succeed at is getting captured, or killed. How will that help your sister?”

“Out of my way!” Rarity ordered. “You might be a knight, but I outrank you by several orders, soldier!”

“Rarity!” Applejack galloped up to stand next to Unimpressive. “Calm down! Don’t you think Ah wanna find out what happened to Apple Bloom?”

“Well, then we should muster our resources!” Rarity countered. “We can’t simply wait here!”

“But he’s right!” Applejack insisted, pointing with her hoof at Unimpressive. “Ah want to find Apple Bloom, but we can’t check with the herds, and goin’ there right now could get them killed! Or us!”

“Or both!” Pinkie interjected, drawing ire from the other three ponies.

“You can’t expect me to leave my sister with that... that monster!” Rarity struck the floor with her hoof. “Just imagine what he could do to her!”

“Ah’m not sayin’ we leave them there!” Applejack insisted. “Ah’m just sayin’ we need a plan!”

“We’ll think of something on the way!” Rarity snapped. “We can’t let him have her, Applejack!”

“Y’all think Sweetie is the only one that matters here?” Applejack growled. “If Sweetie Belle is with Esteem, he could have Apple Bloom or Scootaloo too!”

“Or both!” Pinkie added.

Rarity bit back a hurtful retort. “Of course not,” she said, looking at Applejack in exasperation. “But why is she learning from him?” she asked. “For all we know either Apple Bloom or Scootaloo—”

“Or both!”

“...or both... could be imprisoned! We need to act now if we are to free them!” Rarity insisted. “You don’t know my father as well as I do, the things he’ll do to get what he wants. It’s not going to be good for anypony involved!”

“But would rushing out blindly be the best course of action, Knight Commander?” Luna’s voice startled them as she emerged from the shadows. “Doing so just might get you your sister back... or it might end with the demise of all concerned.” She tilted her head, eyes steady on Rarity. “Careful planning however, with precise knowledge, increases our chances of success exponentially.”

“Y-your majesty,” Rarity bowed. She could feel her body shaking as the adrenaline slowly left her. The sense of loss and fear however... “I’m just afraid for my sister... who knows how much damage Esteem could have already done. And if he’s training her in bladecasting...”

Luna nodded, her eyes hardening. “I can only imagine what he is planning, but none of the possibilities bode well. We shall have a talk with Twilight,” she said, looking at the gathered ponies. “The sooner we have a plan, the better.”

“Right-o!” Pinkie saluted, before turning around and trotting in the opposite direction.

“Pinkie!” Applejack called. “What are you doin’? You’re goin’ the wrong way!”

“Nope!” Pinkie called over her shoulder. “I’m just going to find that spy you talked to earlier! We need to hear the report from the pony’s mouth, after all!”

Watching the spy leave the room escorted by Unimpressive, Twilight turned to face her friends and Princess Luna.

“We need more information,” she stated bluntly.

“But, Twilight!” Rarity spoke up. “We can’t let him have the Crusaders!”

“And we won’t!” Twilight retorted, looking intently at Rarity. “But we have too many unknowns. You heard the report; Sweetie Belle, or a filly that looks like Sweetie Belle, has a cutie mark. She also seems to know how to fight. Did you teach your sister how to do so? And even if a client of yours did, I doubt they would have had enough time to be very efficient at it.”

Rarity bit her lip and looked down.

Twilight nodded. “That’s what I figured,” she said. “Rarity, I understand how worried you are about your sister, but we don’t know if that’s actually her. And if she is, we need to know if he has Scootaloo and Apple Bloom as well. There are too many variables for us to rush into battle!”

“Can we get a hold of Chief Thunderhooves and ask him about the girls?” Applejack asked.

Twilight shook her head. “We don’t even know where they are. And we can’t spare the ponies to go search for them. If Titan’s pegasi had found them, I think we would have heard of it by now.”

“Esteem does seem the sort to use the fillies to his fullest advantage if he had caught them all,” Luna spoke up. “Whatever he is planning must be more complex than simply causing harm to the girls.”

Twilight nodded. “At least we can thank our good fortune that Titan has left Canterlot for the time being. It should make things easier.”

“Do you think—”

Whatever Rarity was about to say was interrupted by Unimpressive slamming open the door, followed by another pony.

“Unimpressive,” Twilight growled. “Our meeting wasn’t done!”

The knight grimaced, but nodded. “My apologies, General, but you need to hear this.”

Esteem watched Sweetie Belle twist and turn in circles about the rookie soldier, side-stepping attacks, distracting him with bursts of magic, using the area around her to dominate the battle and position herself for easier and more effective attacks against her opponent.

Clearly her combat style was not intended for direct confrontations. Yes, it worked as a dueling style, but it emphasised guile and quick reactions rather than strength.

He smirked. It was an ideal mix for bladecasting. Then he frowned. That was if she managed to work her way up to using a second gem for it, and more importantly put her heart into it. It was hardly a blade with only one gem after all, although for an untrained beginner she had grasped the concept of how bladecasting worked incredibly quickly... But as long as she hesitated and shied away from harming her opponent, she wouldn’t be doing anything more than simply holding a gem in front of her.

Bladecasting wasn’t merely about the number shards one could control after all. Until she had her heart in the right place for a warrior, she would not even be able to cast the spell to create the actual blade.

He turned to look at the cadet, who had just approached him. “Any news on this mysterious Fleur-de-lis?”

The cadet shook his head. “No, General. We’ve combed the palace but it is likely she fled when the shield was dropped. Spies have been informed and there is a standing order for any information on her to be given immediately to the guard.”

Esteem frowned. “A pity,” he looked at Sweetie again. “She would have made an excellent spymaster, if her training of my daughter is any indication of her skill.”

The cadet looked at Sweetie Belle, nodding, eyes considering. “She’s certainly doing well against the other rookies.”

“She’s still no match for a trained soldier,” Esteem stated. “Unless she killed without prejudice, she would be quickly overwhelmed by any competent fighter. She doesn’t have that skill yet... and still...”

The cadet remained quiet, knowing that the general would let him know what he was thinking soon enough.

Esteem nodded towards Sweetie. “There’s a lot more going into who trained her than a simple duel-master. I believe this Fleur pony had an agenda of her own... perhaps she wanted a lot more than good standing with my daughter and her friends.” The last word was spat out almost as an insult.

The cadet raised an eyebrow, then turned to look at Sweetie with carefully concealed curiosity, doubtlessly trying to figure out what Esteem had noticed. She was fast on her hooves, but many fillies were. And her training certainly shone through, allowing her to keep her balance and weave in and out, almost like a dancer, but what the General had said rang true: the cadet could have demolished her more than five times already. The only thing that allowed her to continue was the rookie’s comparative inexperience. In a week, with the General’s current training curriculum, that same rookie would have a definite advantage and Sweetie would be faring very differently.

Esteem grinned. “You haven’t seen it?”

The cadet looked back at the General. “Her combat skills—”

“Not that,” Esteem interrupted. “I’m talking about how she acts in general. The way she looks at things. How she makes observations that are spot on, yet doesn’t seem to think much of it or even keeps them to herself? Look at how she behaves, where she positions herself when she’s not in practice. Tell me,” he tilted his head just the tiniest bit in curiosity. “When was the last time you heard her hoofsteps?”

The cadet’s eyes widened and he turned to stare at Sweetie, straining to hear her hoofsteps even now. But even as she dodged around the rookie she was practicing with, he couldn’t hear her. He could hear her voice, her spell effects... but not her hoofsteps. Nor her breathing. For a mostly inexperienced duelist, she kept her breathing pretty even.

“It’s subconscious,” Esteem spoke up, following her progress as she managed to finally make the rookie collapse and hovered her ‘blade’ close to his neck. “It’s half-skill—actual skill—and half-magic. She doesn’t even notice she’s doing it, and yet she is dulling the sound of her hoofsteps to almost nothing, and then compensating for what little sound remains by sheer muscle control.

“The spellwork is very subtle, born of constant practice... very efficient training, considering her age. The spell is basically always active and by now almost part of her natural magical aura.” Esteem pointed out, allowing the cadet to try and perceive the spell’s working magic.

“When she’s not in practice she sticks to the shadows and listens intently. She observes and understands a lot of points about battle, and yet is practically a complete novice when asked directly. She’s keeping some secrets, but she’s keeping even more than she’s aware... not secrets to us, of course, but things she could possibly tell another.”

The cadet nodded, looking at Sweetie Belle in a new light.

“And my favorite part...” Esteem started, then turned to face Sweetie. “Well done, Allure! Tell me, have you seen Sir Storm?”

Sweetie Belle blinked. “I think his patrol should be ending in about half an hour, father.”

Esteem nodded, waving his hoof. “Good, good, return to the field and keep trying to add another gem to your blade.”

When she turned and did so, Esteem smiled thinly at the cadet. “She’s memorized the guards’ names and their schedules.”

“So she’s a spy?”

“Of sorts,” Esteem said after a moment. “Not for Twilight Sparkle, of course. She’s... a sleeper agent. For an unknown party. Possibly Fleur herself. Not many ponies would be able to catch on... it’s subtle, and her innocence is true. Relatively speaking.”

“Will she still be useful to you, Sir?”

Esteem snorted. “Of course. What is a spy but a shackled assassin? With a bit of motivation and some guidance she will be a force to be reckoned with.” He looked back at the cadet and raised his eyebrow. “Which reminds me, how did your mission go?”

His second in command did not disappoint him.

“It is done, Sir,” the cadet replied. “We can depart at anytime.”

Esteem’s smile grew. “Excellent,” he turned back towards Sweetie and started walking towards her, the cadet falling in next to him. “Let’s give my daughter some incentive.”

Groaning in frustration, Sweetie relinquished her hold of the second diamond. Try as she might, she could not add it to her first and wield it half as effectively. She could levitate it, making whirl around her and move... but she couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out how to use her telekinetic grip as efficiently as Esteem or the cadet could. There had to be something else to it than sheer levitation.

It still didn’t feel natural to her, as some of the other trainees had alluded. Still, she endeavored. ‘Esteem has been training me very well,’ Sweetie thought, concentrating through the motions of practicing with her diamond. ‘But I don’t know if I can get more than one diamond to work... it feels... weird.’ She sighed in frustration. ‘Is it that the material is wrong for me? Maybe I shouldn’t be using gemstones... maybe metal? Or something else? I don’t get it.’

The concept itself was simple enough; enchant stone, a metal or crystal, bind it in an incredibly tight form of telekinesis and use it as a weapon. The more you could control, the more deadly you could become. But there was something missing from hers. She didn’t feel like she was wielding a weapon, any more than she felt like she was just waving a diamond around and risking poking somepony’s eye out. Possibly her own.

‘I think that’s the problem,’ she mentally harrumphed. ‘It’s not like I’m going to start fighting ponies to the death! But... ‘father’ expects me to do so. Why can’t he just train his soldiers to be more creative? I’m sure that with some practice they could learn to do some stuff that would help them win fights without killing anypony. Maybe they could increase the mass of a cupcake until it was as hard as a diamond and use it to hit the back of their opponent’s head and knock them unconscious? You don’t need to kill somepony to win.’

She sighed and looked from the hovering diamond to the one on the floor. She was about to envelop it in energy when she jumped to the side, barely avoiding two shards of the cadet’s blade cutting the floor where she had stood just a moment ago, instincts kicking in just in time. ‘How did I even do that?’ She dodged again, this time by jumping back and glaring at the cadet. She couldn’t see Esteem at all, and the other trainees seemed more scared of what was happening than willing to help.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?!” she shouted, lowering her stance. “You could have hurt me!”

But the cadet did not reply. Instead he pressed his attack, the shards of his blade flying towards her. Sweetie’s diamond flew up but was simply batted out of her grasp without effort. The cadet’s blade was much, much stronger than hers, even if he was slower in his reactions.

She quickly turned to the familiar patterns of I Quattro Elementi, focusing on dodging and provoking. She analyzed the cadet’s strikes. ‘He’s too sure of himself... he knows he’s a much better bladecaster than I am, and he has so much more experience in battle than I do... but he is just barging through. He knows he’ll win. He’s not being sneaky, he’s just showing off how strong he is... not using his full blade, being reckless with his attacks, especially now that I’ve lost my own diamond. And he’s convinced I can’t do anything to him...’ She frowned. ‘Let’s prove him wrong.’

Nodding briefly, she turned around one of the shards, twisting her head and sending her mane out of the way of the second. Her turn continued until she faced him again, to the left of his position. Just as the cadet turned his head to face her, the whole area became pitch black.

Cadet stumbled back a bit, surprised for barely a second, but he was soon in a fighting stance slowly moving from side to side, ears perked, trying to hear something, while his eyes strained, unable to make anything at all around him.

Sweetie ignored the shouts of surprise from the rookies, watching as the cadet stopped and turned his head this way and that, trying to make out any sign of her position. She sneered and sent a flame-burst to lick her opponent’s flank.

The cadet jumped, but the area where the flames had nicked him was torn to pieces by his shards. The cadet’s blade formed in front of him, all bright green gems clearly visible to her.

“Enough.”

Sweetie managed to catch the hint of a snarl on the cadet’s face, which disappeared faster than she could drop the spell.

The cadet spun around, only to find Sweetie was but a few hoofsteps behind him. His eyes widened and he took a step back, clearly not expecting her to be so close.

Esteem, for his part, only laughed. “Well that was interesting. Why didn’t you strike, Allure?”

Sweetie sighed. “I-I didn’t want to hurt the cadet.”

Cadet looked affronted at the idea of the little filly actually managing to land a hit, but schooled his reaction, awaiting Esteem’s comments.

“You wasted an opportunity, Allure. Cadet will most likely not fall for that again.”

Sweetie looked down, scratching the floor with her hoof. “I... did manage to burn his flank... a little.”

“It does look a bit singed,” Esteem acknowledged, “But Cadet could have taken a lot more,” he added, looking at her sternly. “You can’t be afraid of striking even in practice, Allure!”

“I’m sorry,” Sweetie replied, not looking up.

“Be that as it may,” Esteem shook his head. “I’m afraid I bear ill news: Rarity and her followers attacked a small caravan this morning... it hailed from Ponyville, and several fillies and colts were there.”

Sweetie felt her stomach go ice-cold. “W-what?”

Esteem nodded while several soldiers behind him whispered in shock. “I’m taking a small group to oversee what remains... I would spare you, but you have to see what your sister does. Perhaps then, you will believe me.”

Sweetie looked at Esteem as they, a small group of bodyguards, and strange pony-like creatures that looked like puppets made their way down to the disputed area of the city of Canterlot.

She gazed at the creatures curiously. Esteem had explained that they were gifts from Titan and Terra, who had come back to retake Equestria, which they had created, from the clutches of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who were their daughters.

Everypony was on high alert, ears attentive, eyes scrutinizing every shadow around them, expecting an attack at any moment.

But Eseem had a look in his eye... an eagerness that Sweetie found deeply unsettling... and did her father have... fangs? She hadn’t noticed before, but now that he was smiling, she was pretty sure those teeth were more pointy than they had a right to be. She let her thoughts trail off when they stopped and looked further ahead.

There was little left of the caravan when they got there. An upturned cart, broken boxes with their contents—mostly blankets and food—strewn about. But, most importantly, there were the bodies.

Sweetie swallowed and looked away, but Esteem’s hoof lifted her chin and forced her to look back. The coat on one of them... familiarly colored... ‘It looks like Miss—”

She looked away again, and once more Esteem forced her head back. “You have to see this, Allure. This is what they are doing in their demented quest to challenge Titan.”

“B-but...” Sweetie cringed as they started walking towards the caravan. She could smell the it now... the blood... and other things she didn’t want to think about.

Her hoof bumped onto something soft and she looked down. A hoof. But no body to go with it.

She felt Esteem’s eyes watching her as she threw up. She wasn’t a stranger to death... well, not exactly. It just had never been other living ponies and Blueblood, but that had happened so many times it had become rote after a while... she couldn’t understand why she was throwing up, when she should be crying or arguing. Shouldn’t she be in denial? Or... something?

Once she felt she couldn’t heave anything else out, she pushed herself up on shaky legs, only to find a white cloth floating in front of her. She gratefully took it in her own magic and wiped her mouth, before turning to look at her father.

“Come with me,” Esteem ordered. “I will give you the overview.”

Silently she followed him, while he pointed with a hoof at sliced-up ponies.

“That’s your sister’s work there. She’s an extremely gifted bladecaster, as you can tell by how… effectively these were done...” His hoof trailed a cut on a colt’s body without touching it. “She didn’t spare any mercy this time.”

They continued walking down the site until they reached an area where bits of... everything... were lying strewn about.

“You see that charred spot there? Where the back side of that colt is? That’s Pinkie Pie’s work. She plays with explosives, jumps in, never seems to get harmed... she’s dispensed her brand of humor on my troops plenty of times.” Esteem pointed out. “She is a tough pony to even touch.”

He looked to the right of what remained after the explosion and called Sweetie’s attention by pointing with his hoof.

“See that cart, smashed in half? Applejack. Not much to her, other than brute strength... and the fact that she is very, very hard to bring down. She regenerates almost on the spot... I don’t know what foul magic courses through her body, but I place the blame on Twilight Sparkle more than anypony else.”

They reached the end of the caravan, where several bodies laid. “Those that look mostly complete are Rainbow Dash’s... pick them up and let them fall.” Esteem explained. “Not very original, but effective.”

Sweetie looked around in horror. “H-how... how could somepony do this?”

Esteem looked unaffected. “War. We ponies are not as mild and innocent as you might hope, Allure. We have a history of it... battles... legends, murderers... some of us are born ready for it, others are forced into it.” He looked down at her. “Our family has had a long history of battles. Why, before she stole you from me, your sister was one of the deadliest ponies I had ever witnessed.” He looked down at a torn-up body. “Her years as a seamstress don’t seem to have dulled her abilities... much.”

Sweetie had to sit down. “But... Rarity... she would never... and Pinkie Pie?”

Esteem shook his head sadly. “Sometimes, you never see a pony’s true soul until they are forced to fight. When a pony is desperate...” He looked at his daughter. “That’s when you know their mettle.”

Sweetie gulped, stepping back and away from everything around her. Her eyes swept over the carnage, her mind refusing to believe what she was seeing.

“Sir!” a soldier called, galloping towards them. “They‘re here!” He pointed behind him, where they could clearly see Applejack readily engaged with several soldiers and Rarity cutting away at whoever opposed them.

“Take Allure back to the castle!” Esteem ordered, moving to stand in front of her and shielding her from her sister, who turned to look their way. “Don’t let Allure come to any harm! If something happens to her, you will answer to me!”

It wasn’t a second later that Esteem’s blade shot out and blocked Rarity’s own. Sweetie took a step back, watching the shards clash against each other or dodge and try to dig into her father’s coat. Then she took another as the cadet also moved in front of her, summoning his own blade.

One of the other soldiers, a pegasus, picked her up and was about to lift off when a shard of Vorpal sheared through his wing.

Sweetie screamed as the blood splattered over her coat, but another pegasus was already there to pick her up. With an apologetic look at his fellow soldier, who gritted his teeth and nodded grimly, the pegasus was off in an instant.

Sweetie twisted slightly so she could look back, catching a glimpse of her sister fighting her father as they weaved through the ruins of the city and out of sight.

Deep in the tunnels underneath Canterlot, Applejack mulled over what she knew about Esteem and the fact that if Sweetie was there, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo couldn’t be too far either. It was a harrowing thought, those three fillies in the hooves of such a sadistic monster. For all intents and purposes it seemed that he had managed to get Sweetie to collaborate with him, but how? Was he threatening her friends?

Ever since sending her family away with the Buffalo, she had been wondering when she would see Granny Smith, Big McIntosh and Apple Bloom again. Having those very important parts of her life forced away for their own safety haunted her constantly.

She knew that they were safe—or at least safer—while away from Canterlot and all the fighting. They were definitely safer there than at her side, fighting Titan and his forces. But the possibility of Apple Bloom being in Canterlot now... what did that mean for Granny Smith and Big Mac? They wouldn’t have let Esteem’s forces simply take her. Were they safe?

The bigger question was, even if they were all safe and sound at the moment, and stayed with the Buffalo, how long before Titan’s forces got to them? There was only so far you could run.

Both Applejack and Rarity raised their heads when they heard Twilight’s voice.

“They did what?! Why?” Twilight asked, horrified, walking into the meeting chamber with a pegasus in tow.

“We don’t know,” Noble replied, keeping his cool in the face of Twilight’s incredulity. “It seemed like a random attack. We know that the royals attack whoever is leaving, but it seems like this one was planned to be particularly brutal. Maybe they’re trying to send a message?”

Twilight nodded, her mind clearly parsing through the information Noble had just brought her. “Esteem seldom does anything without a larger purpose. And this does not feel like one of Titan’s plans... if I could only figure it out... why make a point of being so vicious?”

“I don’t know,” Noble shrugged. “But they used explosive magic, had pegasi drop prisoners from the air... they did everything they could to decimate this harmless caravan.” He sighed. “Our scouts noticed the pegasi doing that, but they didn’t dare approach while the attack was ongoing.”

Twilight shook her head. “They would have been killed as well.”

“What’s goin’ on, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, approaching the pair.

“Yes, do tell,” Rarity added, following Applejack. "What atrocity has my father committed now?"

Twilight grimace, looking at the pair before shaking her head mournfully. "A caravan full of children."

Both Applejack and Rarity reared back in horror.

“Children?!” Rarity gasped. “But why?”

“We don’t know,” Twilight groaned. “It’s not logical. There was no point. His soldiers have spared colts and fillies before... unless they were his puppet soldiers... but this attack is just... barbaric.”

Applejack nodded. “Ah understand, Twilight. Tell you what, let me go and investigate. If there’s any clue, Ah’ll be sure to find it.”

“I’ll go with her,” Rarity spoke up. “Between the two of us we can make quick work of it.”

Twilight sighed. “I don’t know if it means anything, it could be that they simply met the wrong patrol. I don’t see if there’s a point for two of my lieutenants to personally look into it.”

“But Twilight!” Rarity stepped forth once more, but Applejack cut in front of her.

“Rarity, would y’kindly give me a moment to talk to Twilight?”

Rarity frowned, but walked out of the room, followed by Noble.

“Now Twilight,” Applejack turned to look at her friend. “Ah know we’re all stressed at the moment, but Rarity is havin’ a really hard time worryin’ about Sweetie Belle...” She hesitated. “Hell, Ah’m worried sick about what happened to Apple Bloom. Esteem has no use for her, and Ah know that if one Crusader is there, the rest should be ‘round as well.”

Twilight bit her lip before answering. “You want to do this to keep both of you distracted, I can see that much. But are you sure it’s a good idea? We don’t know what might be there.”

Applejack smirked. “With my powers and Rarity’s, Ah don’t think we’ll have too much trouble finding our way back safely. Come on, Twilight, we need a distraction while we wait for our spies t’ bring more information.”

Twilight mulled over Applejack’s words. “Fine, but I’ll need you both to promise me to not get into trouble. We can’t risk either of you getting hurt. Much less both.”

Applejack smiled. “Ah understand, Twilight, let me go get Rarity.”

Trotting up to the door, she pushed it open, finding Rarity engaged in a conversation with Noble which she quickly broke off.

“Rarity, Twilight is okay with letting us go check this out, as long as we promise not to get into trouble.”

Rarity smiled and shook her head, nodding once to Noble before joining Applejack and Twilight.

“Dear, I promise I will keep my head. I just want to understand what new monstrosity my father is planning.”

Twilight nodded. “I understand, but you two need to keep to the shadows. Don’t draw attention to yourselves. I know you can both take care of yourselves, but I don’t want to risk anypony.” She looked at each of them in the eye. “As horrific as this is, it might be nothing other than an attempt to demoralize us or even just some soldiers with a sadistic streak or Titan’s puppet ponies. Go in, check it out and come back as quickly as you can.”

Both mares smiled, pleased that they were getting what they wanted.

“We promise, Twilight,” Applejack said, with a doff of her stetson.

“Absolutely, darling,” Rarity said, nodding in acquisisce. “Why, we’ll be the very definition of subtle.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced, but reluctantly nodded. “Stay safe.”

Rarity took a deep breath as soon as they were out of the tunnels. “I swear, Applejack, if those tunnels were not keeping us safe, I would have already asked Luna to blow a hole or dozen through them and let some fresh air in.”

“And drop the whole thing on our heads, I reckon,” Applejack added with a chuckle.

Rarity rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue. Instead she looked around, trying to get an idea of where they were to go. The caravan was supposed to have been somewhere close to their location, given Twilight's uncanny knowledge of the whole subterranean system that was under Canterlot.

"Do you see anything, Applejack?" She asked after a moment of searching the horizon.

"I doubt Twilight gave us the wrong directions."

"It's kinda hard to see anything in between all the buildings, Rarity," Applejack responded. "But Ah reckon we're still a couple of miles east."

"Well then," Rarity nodded. "Let's get going... as much of a monster I thought my father was, I never thought him capable of killing colts and fillies for no reason. There has to be something we're missing."

The pair set out towards their objective in silence, until Applejack spoke up. "You don't think Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are his prisoners, do you?"

Rarity sighed. "I wish I could tell you they weren't," Rarity said, pausing and looking at her friend. "But... with all of this, I don't know what he is incapable of doing. It's in his nature to be cruel and petty; I wouldn't be surprised if the only reason Sweetie seems to be working for him is because he has them in his grasp. I don't see her doing it for any other reason..."

Applejack bit her lower lip, and started walking again. "Ah'm worried, Rarity, real worried. If Esteem does have Sweetie Belle, my sister could already be dead," she said. "Ah'm ready to face my own death, to fight alongside all of you, knowing that we all could die... but, Ah'm not ready to face the fact that my sister’s dead."

"Oh, Applejack..." Rarity drew close to her friend, trying to comfort her. "I'm worried sick as well... we will find out and we will save those fillies. I'm positive Sweetie wouldn't be with him if he had hurt her friends."

"Ah can only hope, Rarity," Applejack said, giving Rarity a friendly hug. She looked around, and nodded towards a partially destroyed building straight up ahead. "The caravan should be just past that building over there."

The pair slowed down, keeping their guard up and their eyes trained on their surroundings. "It is a perfect place for an ambush," Rarity said as they reached the corner of the four way intersection. Across from the building, on all three corners were other buildings in terrible condition, one of them little more than three walls containing rubble. But had Esteem's forces been waiting for them, all four structures were ideal to hide in.

They carefully looked around, sticking to the wall of the building and making sure they were as covered as they could be. Applejack risked a look around and gasped, drawing Rarity's attention, which had been on the roofs of the buildings in case of pegasi, back to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Rarity," Applejack said, giving her a level look. "Ah want you to keep calm, and remember that—"

She didn't even finish before Rarity was galloping past her and stopping in the middle of the street, staring at the opposite side of the block, where a small force of ponies were investigating the destroyed caravan and Sweetie Belle was among them!

Rarity immediately recognized Esteem's blood-red mane and white coat as he stood right next to her younger sister. "Sweetie Belle!"

"Rarity! Ah, dammit!" Applejack shouted as Rarity took off in the caravan's direction. "There's too many of them!"

Immediately an advanced guard consisting of a few ponies and puppets noticed them and drove towards Rarity, ready to engage her in combat. However, Luna's Knight General was not to be deterred from her objective. With hardly a thought, Vorpal formed in front of her before dispersing into all fourteen shards, completely tearing a puppet apart. She was already dodging another soldier's blade, twisting and sliding under the shards before reforming Vorpal in time to block the following attack, seven of her shards matching the seven of her opponent, while the remaining six zoomed past, cutting through leg, tendon and muscle.

The unicorn screamed and fell to the floor, all ability to bladecast lost as he writhed in pain on the floor, only to be knocked out by Applejack's merciful hoof as she joined the fray. She bulled her way past Rarity, who slipped out of the way to allow her friend to mow down three opponents. Before another unicorn could use his blade to cut the earth pony, he had already been disabled, all shards batted out of the way for a full buck to the face from Rarity. He collapsed like a sack of rocks, armor clanging noisily.

She heard a warning shout and looked up, distracted by Sweetie's faint voice rising in the distance and taking a shot from an earth pony but not buckling thanks to her proximity to Applejack. It was at times like this that their unexpected gifts as Elements of Harmony really shone through.

"You're not taking her from me, you monster!" she shouted, not caring that they were too far to hear her. Vorpal flew towards them and cut the wing of a pegasus that was just starting to lift off, Sweetie wrapped in his forelegs. She cursed when Esteem summoned his own blade to clash with hers. Watching in desperation as Sweetie Belle was taken away right before her eyes.

"Rarity!" Applejack shouted. "Snap out of it! We need to go! There's too many of them for just the two of us!"

"He's not taking Sweetie away!"

"He already has!" Applejack shouted back, knocking another guard out as she watched the approaching party with growing concern.

"We need to find out what they did with them, Applejack!"

"Ah know! But we can't take all of them on our own!"

"Then it's a good thing that Twilight had the forethought to send us after you," a voice said from one of the buildings.

Twelve metal spheres shot out from one of the windows, peppering a puppet's hide and tearing through the other side of it, before reforming into two smaller groups and shooting towards a pair of earth pony guards, forcing them back.

Applejack immediately recognized the blade as Vindictive, but didn't turn to look while she bucked another puppet so hard that its chest caved in. "Unimpressive! Am Ah glad to see you!"

"I'm here too, silly!" Pinkie Pie grinned, rolling out between three startled guards and smashing the heads of two of them into each other before the third knew what was happening. He tried to ram into her, but Pinkie was already rolling under him and taking his hooves off the ground. He fell heavily to the side and it only took one kick between the eyes to render him unconscious just like his partners.

Rarity had finished with her latest opponent and Vorpal was already engaged in battle with Carsomyr, all fourteen pieces of both blades ricocheting off of walls and each other, shards of both blades completely decimating an unfortunate puppet that had attempted to attack her while engaged in combat with the general.

"How did you get to Sweetie?!" Rarity asked, diamonds clashing against metal just in front of her as she locked blades with Esteem.

"Allure simply found her way to me," Esteem replied with a smile. "At least she had the good sense to join the winning side, and let me tell you, she's adapting to fighting quite well!"

"You fiend!" Rarity bellowed, viciously swinging Vorpal and forcing her father back a step. "Sweetie would never willingly join you in your useless war!"

Esteem grinned. "It seems you don’t know her at all, Rarity," he said as he side stepped his daughter, turned around her and jabbed at her with Carsomyr. As expected, Rarity recovered fast enough to block the deadly blade with her own.

"I know that she wouldn't hurt another pony! I know well enough that she wouldn't join a cause that feed off the pain and misery of others!"

Esteem laughed, "Why, don't you like her hoofwork?" he asked, motioning with his right hoof to the caravan just past him. "We were just reviewing her performance, she had quite the workout!" His grin twisted. "Why, she even got her pegasi guards involved. Once Allure was having fun cutting her opponents down, they followed her orders to drop those that tried to escape from the air."

"That's impossible!" Rarity growled, separating Vorpal into deadly glittering pieces, which orbited her body at increasing speeds. “You lie!”

"Do I?" Esteem asked, breaking Carsomyr up as well and matching each of her strikes. "Do you want to take a closer look? Allure was really interested in trying her skills against her peers. Of course she can only use one diamond at this time, so her technique is imperfect, but I'm sure you can see past an amateur's eagerness to push herself and appreciate her rapid improvement."

Despite herself, Rarity looked. The bodies of the dead colts and fillies were strewn around without any care. The cuts were clean, but sloppy, not targeting vital organs and seeming to go for more obvious targets... a mistake a neophyte bladecaster would make, but not an experienced soldier. Her attention snapped back to Esteem as he pressed his attack, forcing her to step back until she was to a wall. Rolling under another swing of Carsomyr she faced her father again, who stepped next to the building, shards floating in front of him as he paused his attack.

Esteem's smile became less vicious. "Rarity, Allure is with me, as you should be. Our family would be unstoppable. I can ask Titan to forgive you... I am sure he will once you tell us where Twilight Sparkle is... and I am sure he will also reward you and Allure with whatever your heart desires. Immortality, treasures..."

His smile disappeared when Carsomyr's shards were batted away by Rarity's blade.

"I refuse to believe that Sweetie would join you, or that she could do something so ghastly!" she growled."How did you come to have her? Did you do something to her friends?! Tell me!"

Esteem snorted. "Friendship.... You still cling to that fantasy. It makes you weak, even Allure understands this... she hasn't asked about any of her friends, nor attempted to contact any of you. What does that tell you? She understands that friendship is a handicap she doesn't need!"

"You don't know Sweetie!" Rarity cried, her ears twitching as she prepared to jump.

Esteem, noticing her positioning, frowned and readied himself to intercept Rainbow Dash from picking her up like the pegasus had done before in previous battles.

"I had hoped to take her from you, but it seems our time here is short. I'm afraid we will have to continue our conversation later," Rarity said venomously.

"I won't let that pegasus friend of yours pick you up!" Esteem growled. "If I so much as see a single feather, I'll carve her into nothing."

"I won't let you touch her!" Rarity said, Vorpal shooting out to engage Esteem's blade.

Esteem blocked her attack and kept his eye up and about, ready to intercept the pegasus... when the wall next to him collapsed on top of him just as Vorpal's shards flew back towards Rarity.

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, with Rainbow Dash not been here at all, but let me lay your worries to rest!" Applejack shouted.

"Applejack!" Rarity grinned. "Just in time!"

"Just in time to run!" Applejack retorted, grabbing Rarity and pulling her away. "One of Noble's pegasi just dropped word, we’ve got a full-fledged battalion coming our way!"

Rarity struggled, trying to free herself, but Applejack was too strong for her. "But- but Sweetie—"

"Sweetie will have to wait," Applejack growled as the pair galloped away. "Ah know how y'all feel, Rarity, but at least y’know she's safe."

Rarity took a deep breath, looking over her shoulder once before nodding and joining the others at the entrance to the underground. There would be time to save Sweetie... especially if anything Esteem had said was true.

Sweetie Belle paced her considerably large room from side, thinking and worrying. 'How could my sister really do that? I can't believe it but... fa-Esteem was so sure of what he was saying! Sweetie grimaced, stopping in front of a huge, clearly new painting depicting who she could only imagine to be Titan, the god alicorn of this world in all his glory, looking down with a passive face at all his subjects... which were whatever creatures and ponies had struck the artist's fancy. She stared at it without seeing, though, her mind replaying the warning shout, and then seeing her sister and Applejack charge out of a street like... like Romulus or Remus had. There had been an almost animalistic quality in their eagerness.

She could not deny Rarity's skill. Just like Esteem, Rarity's blade was made of fourteen shards... And she had danced a deadly tango with every opponent she had met. Sweetie had not understood what it was to see a blademaster until she had seen her sister in action for but a few seconds... and it terrified her.

She still remembered the blood splattering on her from the pegasus. Esteem's blade rising up to intercept Rarity's... Sweetie hadn't been able to even follow their movements when those two blades had met in battle. She had been at a complete loss. She could fight... to a point, and she was very aware of it. The I Quattro Elementi was a dueling style based on beauty. The right rhythm, the right pose, the right turn... that's why it relied so much in patterns and adapting them to the opponent’s actions...

'But if I can't even see them...' Sweetie snorted, walking away from the painting, basking in the silence of the room as she moved around it. 'Most ponies here seem content to fight head on... only Esteem and Rarity showed any real attempt at moving about... but bladecasting is much more about overpowering your opponent than anything else... She frowned when she reached her desk.

The leather harness had space for three more diamonds in addition to the one she was currently using, as if Esteem expected her to have four shards flying about. I don't know if that will ever happen. I have enough trouble wielding one single diamond, she thought bitterly. And my spells are not strong enough to actually damage a pony... even if I had thrown a really powered-up flame at Cadet, I think I would have only knocked him down... and I don't have the time to power my spells further than that... being on the receiving end of a barrage of deadly shards is not the best place to do something that requires concentration.

Sweetie Belle groaned, glaring at her single diamond as if it held the answers. "Why? Why did I have to come here? Why does there have to be worlds where ponies hate each other and hurt one another? It doesn't make sense!"

Sweetie stomped her hoof on the marble floor, for once making an echoing sound in her cavernous room. She looked at the opulence of where she was. The gold-laced curtains, the bed with imported silk from some place she did not know, crafted by hoof or claw by some incredibly skilled artisan.

She sighed, sitting down in the middle of the room. "Why couldn't it be Carousel Boutiq—" And then she remembered Esteem's words; Ponyville had been destroyed by Twilight. According to Esteem, her friends, including Rarity had helped in the destruction. Sweetie couldn't help but grimace.

Things were starting to get to the point where she was about to break down and probably make a fool of herself. 'I need to calm down,' she thought. And then repeated more audibly, "I need to calm down." She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly, and letting body slowly relax with it. It was a technique Octavia had taught her, something to do when it was her turn to take the stage and she was feeling jittery.

During that last Gala night, Sweetie had done that just as Blueblood addressed the masses. Taking deep breaths to calm down as much as she could... thinking of that Gala and what she left behind, Sweetie couldn't help but feel a deep pang of regret. "Maybe... maybe I should do something..."

Her thoughts went back to Octavia, and slowly a smile spread on her face. 'I can't ignore everything but... maybe just for a little while, I can do something that's going to take my mind off of things.'

Summoning her notebook, Sweetie opened it, finding within that little treasure she had hoped against hope escaping the loops would not have taken away. A single, simple bookmark, black with a golden clef note engraved in the center floated out of her notebook, which she carefully closed and sent away. She settled the bookmark on the floor, just in front of her and then cast another, simple activation spell.

The bookmark shuddered for a moment, then it grew. It gained depth and size at an accelerated rate, simply growing into a case as big as she was. And Sweetie could do little else than sigh in relief. She opened the cello case, finding her instrument, intact, waiting for her. Slowly, she picked it up without magic. She took the bow, and with practiced ease threw herself back, balancing on her hind legs.

When she had a good feel of her balance, she slowly plucked the strings, testing each one to make sure it sounded just right, and loosening or tightening a couple pegs until it was perfect. Or as perfect as she could make it.

Sweetie then proceeded to drag her bow across the strings, evoking a deep, haunting sound. Satisfied, and already feeling much better, Sweetie started to play.

The melody Sweetie was one that she had heard Octavia play once or twice. It was far from perfect... her memory could only hold so much of it, and she found herself repeating over and over the same part of it that she remembered most. It didn't sound bad, but, rather than take her thoughts away from troubling times, did little else than making her frustrated with how little she could play of it.

She almost changed the song but... most of the other things she knew were more cheerful... and she certainly did not feel that way. It also didn't seem right to play a rising ballad when her heart sought to mourn. Those colts and fillies... she hadn't known them but... it felt close. What type of monster would simply kill children? They had stood no chance; their mother or teacher... she'd been killed probably before their eyes.

The melody repeated once more, still wanting for its continuation.

She could only hope that, in that desperate situation, they hadn't seen each other— her bow dragged down, marring the music with a horrible dragging sound as Sweetie let her foreleg just hang down, still in her upright position. The tears finally flowed, splashing on her coat and the floor and her cello like salty droplets of rain. She sniffed, not even thinking... not daring to... every time her mind conjured up an image of a fleeing colt or filly cut down, it hit her like a physical blow.

The thought of those left behind. The horrible notion of that colt, filly or mare watching as their friends or charges were massacred felt like some creature had wrapped it's claw around her heart and squeezed. Sweetie just couldn't think of why...

The door creaked, and Sweetie's eyes snapped open. She looked up, to see somepony was looking into the room. Her eyes watered even more.

"I-I," the mare's violet eyes were a bit wide, watching as the filly carefully set down her cello and stared at her. "I'm dreadfully sorry. I thought I heard... well, now I'm sure I heard somepony playing Kol Nidrei and... I'm sorry I interrupted. I'll be going n—"

Sweetie drew in a big, shuddering breath. "T-Tavi!"

When she had been forced to walk around the guest rooms in the noble’s section of the palace, Octavia had not anticipated hearing a familiar sound… a cello being played by a competent pony.

It was sad, really, how the whole concept of art had been all but declared a waste of time were it not tribute for Titan. But this... this was no ode to a horrifyingly powerful entity. This was a classic.

And so, against her better judgement, Octavia had followed the music to its origin.

The pony playing seemed to only be able to play a small section of Kol Nidrei, which was slightly disappointing. Still, it was well played.

Finally, she found the room it was coming from. It was one of the largest in the palace… Perhaps some noble was bold enough to have invited a budding musician to play for them?

She knew all the cello players in Canterlot who would be good enough to play here, and none of them would attempt to perform something like Kol Nidrei without actually knowing the whole thing.

And so, knowing that it might just get her in a lot of trouble, she discarded common sense and peeked in, just as the player had dragged the bow across the strings in a most awful way.

She immediately noticed the filly standing on her hind legs, but it took a moment to register that it was a unicorn doing it. Still, she had been obviously noticed as well, since the filly was looking at her all teary-eyed.

"I-I," Octavia stammered, trying to figure out what to say. "I'm dreadfully sorry, I thought I heard... well, now I'm sure I heard somepony playing Kol Nidrei and… I apologize for the intrusion, I'll be going n—"

“T-Tavi!”

That call, so desperate and with a nickname that the filly had no right knowing made her hesitate and suddenly Octavia found herself being held tight by the unknown, crying filly. Well... not completely unknown, now that she thought about it. Word had spread that General Esteem's daughter was staying in the palace. Just around this area actually. Octavia had just never thought she would be musically inclined... or an emotional wreck. Though, given her familial links, Octavia had a hard time blaming her.

Wait. She was being held by General Esteem’s daughter. And even worse, she was crying! Octavia’s first instinct was to get the hell out of there... but... She instead awkwardly patted the filly on the back. "There, there..."

"I'm sorry, Tavi, I tried to play it like you, but I only remembered that one part and... and what I saw today... I just wanted to play, but I couldn't and I just kept thinking about that c-caravan and all the-all the dead..." Sweetie cried, trying to make her teacher see what was upsetting her so much. "I just couldn't! I couldn't remember how to follow up from that a-and—"

"Hush now," Octavia said softly, pushing aside her questions in order to help this filly in need. "Tell you what, let me get my cello. We can go through the rest of the song together if you’d like."

The filly didn't loosen up her grip, but Octavia felt her nodding against her neck. Eventually, after a few more words of encouragement and promises to be as quick as possible, she found herself freed from the filly's embrace.

It took her a few minutes to return, and by then the filly had finally stopped sniffling and had cleaned herself up a bit.

"I'm back," she announced unnecessarily, having already entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"Thanks, Tavi," the filly said. "My name is Sweetie Belle, by the way."

Octavia blinked. “I thought your name was ‘Allure’?”

“Oh,” Sweetie grinned sheepishly. “That’s what Est-my father wanted to name me, and what he calls me, but I’ve always gone by Sweetie Belle.”

Octavia smiled encouragingly. "Nice to meet you, Sweetie Belle, my name is Octavia... but it seems you already knew that."

Sweetie's smile was melancholic. "You could say that... I-my sister heard you play during the Gala. She had so many good things to say, I had to look you up."

Octavia felt a slight swell of pride from that. "Well, thank you! Not many ponies would go through the trouble of finding my records, there's probably about thirty of them out there."

Sweetie shrugged. "Good music speaks for itself."

That had sounded like something she would say. "That is indeed true," Octavia said. "I must admit, Sweetie Belle, I'm surprised to see a unicorn play with the poise of an earth pony."

"My teacher was adamant that I learn the ‘proper way’," Sweetie said with a smile. "She said, 'Sweetie! Just because you have magic doesn't mean you should not make an effort!'" her inflection made it sound a little like how Octavia herself spoke, but the cellist simply nodded.

"Quite!" Octavia chuckled. "That sounds like something my instructor said once to a classmate of mine. He didn't listen and went for the magical approach."

"Yeah," Sweetie's smile grew warmer. "So your instructor told that to somepony? That's interesting, I wonder..." She shook her head. "Anyway, thank you for coming back... I imagine that being in here is a bit awkward."

Octavia gave the filly a serious look. "That's... well, quite an apt observation."

Sweetie shrugged again. "I've seen how the nobles and non-military look at my father... at me. They're afraid..." She looked down. "After what I saw today, I'm not surprised."

The musician nodded. “It’s true that most nobles are uncomfortable with the new order… but it’s not too bad; lord Titan respects personal strength and the will to fight for your beliefs more than titles passed through blood. They resent that because now they have to prove that they have a purpose other than simply looking nice and living off of the bits their predecessors accumulated.”

She strummed her cello. “General Esteem is a scary pony… but he’s driven and strong and unlike the nobles, actually belongs right where he is, because he’s fought for it. I deeply respect him, and I understand he must be so frustrated that one of his daughters is... well… misguided.”

“I wish she were here, so I could talk to her as well,” Sweetie said, looking at the door. “But with who she is now…”

“Sweetie, if I have learned something from lord Titan’s return is that this is the time to fight for what you want. Your sister might be misguided, but if you just sit passively waiting for her to return, she won’t. You need to be strong for both her and yourself.”

“I know,” Sweetie sighed. “I’m glad you came here, Tavi. I was feeling so confused.”

Octavia shook her head. "I couldn't leave such a talented cellist on her own in her time of need."

Sweetie's eyebrows shot up. "You think I'm talented?"

Octavia nodded, smiling warmly. "Well, yes, I can tell, by the way you play... there's a gentleness and fluidity there that is unusual to find in most players, even some 'advanced' students. Your teacher never told you? They should be very proud."

To her surprise Sweetie let out an honest laugh. "You know, maybe she did." The filly's smile was contagious. "But you know what, I always thought it was my honor to play with her... maybe I can do so again."

Octavia nodded, setting down her cello's case and starting to take the instrument out. ‘I wonder who taught her?’ she thought. “You know, Sweetie... if I ever take on a student, I can only hope that he or she will respect me half as much as you respect her.”

Sweetie Belle could only respond with a chuckle and a smile.

Esteem sat at his desk, poring over the latest scout report, when there was a knock at his door. He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts for what was to surely follow before looking up. "Enter."

The door opened, allowing Sweetie Belle into the room, followed closely by Cadet. She was clearly nervous, but a lot more composed than he would have expected an inexperienced filly to be after having seen so much death. It was a point of pride, actually, to know that at least one of his daughters could take the blood and sacrifice of war with such repose.

Sweetie Belle made her way to the desk, stopping just in front of it before looking up at him. "You... wanted to see me, father?"

Esteem nodded, motioning for her to sit, which she did. He studied her for a moment longer. She had dealt with it... either by getting over it or pushing it to the back of her mind. Either worked, really, as long as the impact from what she had seen had settled and she understood what he wanted her to understand. "I trust you’ve had enough time to think."

Sweetie slumped, sinking into her seat and looking thoroughly discouraged. "Yes... I did."

"And?" he prompted.

Sweetie looked up, locking eyes with him. "I—"

"We heard about your friends, by the way," Esteem interrupted, his mind gauging her response. She cared. Good. "A Scootaloo and an Apple Bloom, I believe, yes?"

Sweetie paused. Then nodded really slowly.

Esteem sighed, looking out of the window and grimacing. "I'm sorry," he said, knowing what impact that simple statement would have.

Sweetie's eyes went wide and her frame shook. "Wait... you mean they—" she couldn't finish, obviously.

Esteem grinned internally. ‘The closer the friend, the more their demise would impair you. One more reason to keep friendship at leg's length.’

"Ponyville was destroyed... they were left behind," he said, “Your sister and her friends simply went away to fight a war when they should have stayed with them."

Sweetie choked, looking down at her hooves in horror. Unable to find there the answer she was searching for, she shook her head, looking up at him with desperate eyes. "B-but... why? Rainbow Dash would never... and Apple Bloom?! How could Applejack just—"

Esteem slammed his hoof on the table, making her jump in her seat and shy away from him. "Don’t you understand yet, Allure?" he asked fiercely. "Whatever they seemed to be, whoever they were in your happier days, they're not that anymore!" He pointed towards the window. "They're murderers. Butcherers and traitors! They have no regard for authority or decency!" he added. "Their forces attacked you, and almost killed you," He elaborated, recalling how he had found her. "Your sister and her friend murdered colts and fillies! You saw how they acted." He shook his head and stood up, pushing back from his desk and looking out the window into the yard below, where several of his soldiers practiced.

"And yet," he whispered, without looking back at her, "Here you are, unable to commit to the simple act of learning how to defend yourself!" He turned to glare at her. "Bladecasting is an essential art to learn, especially now! Especially since you are my daughter. Allure, your sister wouldn't hesitate to kill me. She barely missed you earlier, if corporal Haze hadn't turned at the last possible moment. What you are doing is not only endangering yourself, but myself, Cadet and any other soldier in your vicinity. Because we will come to your aid, but we will have to protect you and our chances of getting killed will increase tenfold!"

Sweetie bit her lower lip and looked away, unable to stand his glare.

"Despite what you saw..." he whispered. "Despite what I’ve just told you, why do you insist on passively waiting for things to fix themselves?"

"I want to stop her."

Esteem's ears twitched. The voice was barely a whisper, but he heard it nonetheless. "What was that?"

"I said," Sweetie’s voice rose, "I want to stop her! This isn’t the Rarity I grew up with! Sh-she's an insult to who Rarity is! My Rarity would never do anything like this!" She took a deep breath. "In honor of that memory of the real Rarity, I have to stop her. Maybe I can make her see reason."

Esteem nearly smiled, but schooled his features before turning to face her again, his eyes stern. "To do so, you will have to learn to fight without fear of hurting others," he warned. "You cannot hesitate. She will kill you if you do."

Sweetie winced, but quickly recuperated. "I know... but what else can I do?"

He nodded, taking a seat again. "Do you have a cause now, Allure?"

Sweetie looked at the desk, to the reports. Then to the cadet, who waited patiently behind her. Her ears twitched, clearly she could hear the soldiers outside, going through their drills and knowing that they would surely die if they met her sister. She took a deep, deep breath and let it out slowly. "I do." She raised her eyes to meet her father’s. "I have a cause."

Esteem snorted. "That's a bold claim. What is your cause?"

"To defeat Rarity," Sweetie stated, looking firmly at him. "To make sure she doesn't betray her family again. To bring her back to us and to make sure she and... her friends pay for what they have done."

For the first time since he’d seen her beneath that shield spell, Esteem felt true pride in his youngest daughter as she raised her head emphatically. This was his blood. This was what a warrior should look like.

"And I..." he allowed a small smile to grace his face. "Will help you."

Twilight looked at the two mares in front of her with no small amount of frustration. "I thought the point of you two investigating was to take your mind off of things and get information! I didn't expect you to charge Esteem's forces!"

Rarity and Applejack winced, but Rarity spoke up. "I think we did find the purpose of this attack," she said, shifting nervously. "It was a message."

Twilight's eyebrow rose. "For whom?"

Rarity sighed. "For me. He said that Sweetie had been involved in that attack." She locked eyes with Twilight. "She was there, with him. They took her away before I could reach her, but it was her..."

Twilight took a deep breath, looking down at the scroll she had in front of her. "How sure are you of that?"

Rarity grimaced. "Very sure... from the little time I could actually see her, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was my sister with him. She looked like her. Sounded like her... felt like her."

Twilight looked at the other mare. "Applejack?".

"Ah don't know, Twilight," Applejack confessed. "When Ah saw her... why, Ah was sure it was Sweetie Belle too," she said. "Esteem had her taken away too quick to follow, but Rarity's right... it felt like Sweetie Belle. Ah'm much more worried now about Apple Bloom.

"But what are we going to do if my father has them all?" Rarity asked, turning to look at the group as a whole. "We can't leave them with him."

"There is more at play here than what you see," Princess Luna interrupted, stepping next to Twilight. "Through it all, you six have to keep a clear mind and lead by example. There is no room for failure, for that would spell the doom of not only us, but ponykind as a whole."

"We understand that, your highness," Applejack sighed. "We really do, but our families are what gives us strength, just as much as our friendship."

"If Sweetie Belle… Apple Bloom and Scootaloo joined with the enemy, what would you do?" Luna asked, looking at Rarity, then Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "Would you stop fighting? Would you declare them enemies? This is a trying time, but you must choose what you are willing to do—and sacrifice—for the sake of Equestria and all its inhabitants."

"Are you asking us to fight our sisters?" Rarity whispered, eyes wide as duty and love fought a moral battle in her mind.

"I'm asking you to understand what your limits are," Luna clarified. "I don't want any of you to have to face that decision, but it is a sad fact of war that sister may fight against sister, father might fight daughter and daughter might kill father. There is nothing simple about war; blood and loyalties are tested, and this is what you are dealing with right now."

Applejack and Rarity looked at each other.

Finally Rarity sighed. "My choice is already made... I promised to fight my father's every step to the best of my ability, until I can finally bring him down. If-if Sweetie joins with him... I'll have no choice but to fight her as well, though it'll tear my heart..."

Applejack looked less convinced but eventually managed to nod.

"No way Scootaloo would join forces with that creep!" Rainbow Dash declared, looking at Rarity and Applejack. "And neither would Sweetie Belle or Apple Bloom! So no, I won't fight them, because it'll never happen!"

"That's right, you silly ponies!" Pinkie Pie added, giving both Rarity and Applejack a hug in an explosion of confetti. "Turn those frownies upside down! There's absolutely no chance the Crusaders would join a crusade against us!"

Fluttershy mumbled something in the affirmative in the wake of Pinkie's exuberant declaration, smiling softly at her friends.

Luna gave them all an equally hard look. "There is no right choice in this matter, for all involved will suffer," she said, stepping a bit back and turning to look at Twilight, who had simply watched her friends sort things out. "Show them."

Immediately her five friends went silent, turning to look expectantly at Twilight, who levitated a scroll up and opened it, before floating it over to Rarity and Applejack.

"Is-is that Braeburn's hoofwriting?" Applejack asked, immediately recognizing it. "But what..." Her eyes scanned the letter while Rarity's did the same.

Applejack's eyebrows rose while Rarity closed hers and smiled in relief. "She's safe," she whispered. "My dear Sweetie Belle is safe and sound..."

Applejack let out a whoop. "Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are safe as well, missin' the whole lot of us terribly, but safe as an apple on th' tallest branch," she declared with wide grin.

"But then... who's the filly Esteem has?" Rainbow Dash asked. "You said she looks like her, and even sounds and feels like her, but Braeburn swears Sweetie Belle is just fine!"

Twilight nodded. "This has been bothering me as well... I can only surmise that Esteem has found a filly and molded her into a clone of Sweetie, or more likely somehow transformed a puppet to look and act like her," she looked at Rarity. "We know he will do anything to get to you; it makes sense that he would try to emotionally blackmail you."

Rarity's eyes flared with barely-held anger. "That he would use Sweetie like that to get to me..." she hissed. "I will never forget him. I'll destroy his little toy and put an end to his plans... I won't let him stain Sweetie's memories with such a-an abomination!"

Applejack nodded. "That Esteem is a tricky one, he already almost got y'all once."

"But now that I know his game..." Rarity growled. "He won't get away with it any longer."

"It is odd that he was betting on you not realizing that it wasn't really Sweetie," Twilight said after a moment of thought. "His spies must have informed him that the Crusaders had been sent off to stay somewhere safe, and he assumed, correctly, that it would be hard if not impossible to contact them on short notice."

"We got lucky," Rainbow Dash said, leaning back against the wall. "If some of our own had not been in Appleoosa, they might have never noticed the herd moving nearby."

"You knew?" Rarity asked Rainbow Dash, who shook her head.

"Nah, I just received the letter earlier today, and I knew it was from there. I never read it."

Twilight nodded with a smile. "Well, now all we need to do is place what to do when Esteem tries to use this fake Sweetie to get to us."

"And then”—Rarity’s eyes became cold—”we bring them both down.”

Sweetie cantered to the center of the patio, which had several straw dummies in it, awaiting their imminent destruction. She looked at Esteem expectantly as her local 'father' approached.

"Take out your diamond," he ordered with a grimace. "Are you certain you were unable to add any others?"

"So far..." Sweetie said, wincing at the disappointment in his voice. She levitated the gem from the harness for her father's inspection.

Esteem nodded, looking at it. "Lay it down on the floor, it's time you learn how to bladecast properly."

Sweetie frowned, following his instructions. "What do you mean? I thought I was doing that?"

Esteem snorted in distaste. "Of course not, bladecasting is much more than levitating a diamond and swirling it about. A bladecaster's blade is an extension of his or her will," he stated, summoning Carsomyr from its own harness and letting Sweetie appreciate its deadly elements. "Each shard is tied directly into my will; Carsomyr is like a hoof, or a leg... it's as natural to me as breathing is to you. It's not just a blade; it's part of my body and, as such, my control over it is absolute."

Sweetie's eyes were wide. She glanced at the cadet, who nodded briefly, agreeing with the General's words. She turned to observe Esteem as he paced before her.

"This is the reason conviction and a cause are so important... you have to enforce your will over your shards. The material is important—the better the material, the better the blade in general—but... it's less important than the will of the caster. If your will is weak, or if it is broken, then your blade is nothing more than floating gems or pieces of metal."

Sweetie looked at her diamond in a new light. It was no wonder that it was such a child's play for some of the more experienced to block her every attempt at fighting them. So far she had seen it as an object to be controlled, independent of herself, and had tried to exert that control while using other skills... obviously weakening her hold or affecting its speed and efficacy.

If it was an extension of herself though—a new limb of sorts—she could do whatever she wanted with it without having to split her focus in two or three or a dozen different directions to control it at the speeds her father or sister did.

Possibilities floated in her mind, already thinking of how beautiful she could make her dueling style if combined with a chain of diamonds bent to her will and—

"I don't know what you're thinking," Esteem interrupted her fantasy. “But whatever it is I doubt you can accomplish with only one diamond to your blade."

Sweetie frowned, but nodded. "I— sorry, father, please continue."

Esteem nodded. "The spell to create a blade is complicated, and time consuming, so you will pay attention because I will not do this again with you. From now on, once you master another diamond, you will add it yourself. Furthermore, you can only have one blade, and only one. You can split it in two if you have enough shards, but you cannot have a new one, unless you destroy the previous one."

Sweetie nodded, "Yes, father."

"The first thing you need to do is name your blade," Esteem said, as he stood next to his daughter. "Have you thought of one?"

Sweetie considered her options, hearing a mental voice that sounded conspicuously like Scootaloo saying: 'Call it Destroyer! Or... or better! Call it Ravager!' She shook her head, taking a deep breath as she looked at the lone, single diamond. Alone, because Sweetie couldn't do any better. She snorted at the thought but it remained in her mind, nagging her. She blinked as it dawned on her... a book she had read during a break from studying, an old story... "A-Akela. I would like to name it: Akela.”

Esteem raised an eyebrow, and she couldn't tell if he understood the significance of the name or not, but before he could say anything, she spoke first.

"It's the name of a very strong wolf from a story... he was the alpha of the pack. Fearless and dedicated to his cause."

This seemed to please her father, who nodded thoughtfully. "A fitting name then," he said. "A blade should have a strong name to reflect its purpose. If this... wolf... inspired such characteristics, it will serve its purpose well."

They worked the blade, binding it to Sweetie's magic in ways she had never considered. It was indeed as if she had grown an extension of her body, so strong were the ties she was building... her own notebook, as securely attached as it was to her, did not have a bond so unshakable.

When it was done, she could feel the difference. Akela floated in front of Sweetie, her aura of magic surrounding it, but it was less her casting a spell than her extending her awareness to a limb she had but just hadn’t used. She thought of how it should move and it was already there, reacting to her intent rather than the form of her thoughts.

It was as if a new world of possibilities had been opened to her. Sweetie was engrossed in Akela, to the point of ignoring her father and the cadet as she moved around and experimented. Thought and intention... planning and instinct. A true master would decimate her in seconds... she wanted—no, needed—to learn how to move with it, how to use it, what its limitations were, what rules she could bend... how could she have even thought that such a basic analysis of bladecasting as she had made originally was even a rough approximation to... to this!

Sweetie started following the patterns of the basic V-shaped practice for the I Quattro Elementi cantering, trotting, sliding, turning and posing, all the while followed in some way by her diamond in a deceptively beautiful dance that could turn, in an instant, into a deadly attack if she so wished. For once, that one moment alone she understood what Esteem had been talking about when he had mentioned that War had a beauty of its own. But she disagreed... it wasn't war that was beautiful in this complicated dance of glittering diamond, dodging, control and magic... it was the deadliness of beauty itself that was beautiful.

She sincerely wished that Fleur could see her now.

Octavia watched Sweetie Belle practice in the patio from one of the many windows in the castle. It was odd, how this nimble little filly would move... like she was dancing and pausing, as if she were posing for pictures, a single spark of light flying around her along with her movements. Of course Octavia knew what that was... Sweetie had her blade.

It was a notable point in life for unicorn knights to earn their blade, and as weird as it was, Octavia felt a slight tinge of pride for this little filly she had just met. It still horrified her that Esteem would train such a young filly to kill... but there it was. That was a dangerous thing. Octavia had to keep her cool and calm mind... a lot of things depended on her being careful, after all. These days ponies did not live long if they were thought of as enemies of the crown.

She had to remember... Sweetie was for all intents and purposes a very dangerous pony; her position, her situation, who she was, who was training her... the fluidity of her motions, even as a rookie fighter... the fact that she was a filly... there was so much to consider.

Octavia was painfully aware that Rarity, Sweetie Belle’s sister, was working against Titan’s rule. It would be tough, very tough, for this filly to fight against her own blood.

Octavia silently cursed, unable to take her eyes away, or chase off the feeling of regret she felt when the possibility of this filly killing somepony she knew crossed her mind. Even if they were the enemy.

She had been unable to deny the filly the answers she sought. There was an unmistakable rapport between the two, and Octavia had opened up and warmed to the filly with extraordinary ease. It almost felt like they were two friends who simply hadn't seen each other for a while. It seemed they had even studied under the same teachers at times. Octavia would begin to say something and Sweetie would react as if just reminded, and finish the sentence. It was uncanny if not also more than a tad perturbing.

Sweetie had clearly been affected deeply by some emotional conundrum... while she had played with her, Octavia had sensed an abiding sadness that permeated every chord she played. She had gone through the motions, discussing music and playing to get her mind in order and— and for what?

What had Sweetie come to understand when they had played together? They had been midway through yet another melody when the cadet had walked in, waiting impatiently for them to finish. Octavia had been shaken by his presence, fearing for a moment that he was there for her... but Sweetie seemed to have been expecting him and as soon as they had finished, she had thanked Octavia and left, her steps sure and her head high.

And now that sweet little filly was being taught to kill. By her own father. Good reasons or not... it was tragic... more than tragic, to kill your own... Octavia shook her head. “It isn’t natural.”

She looked up when a guard looked at her curiously and followed her gaze down to the patio. Smiling sheepishly, she turned around and trotted away, hoping to avoid trouble.

When she arrived at her room, she found herself face to face with the cadet, who looked at her impassively. “Octavia Philharmonica.”

She gulped, and nodded. “Y-yes?”

The cadet simply looked at her. “The General wishes to speak to you.”

There was no question as to who the General was. “Of course,” she said, eyes wide she could feel her blood grow cold with anxiety. “I-it would be my honor.”

The cadet nodded. “Make yourself presentable and meet him at his office in exactly three minutes.”

“Y-yes sir,” she whispered, mind reeling.

“Guard!” The cadet called.

Soon, one stepped into view. “Yes, sir?”

“Watch Miss Philharmonica,” the cadet ordered, trotting past them. “She has an appointment with the General in three minutes. Make sure she arrives on time.”

“Yes, sir!”

Esteem considered the amulet he had obtained from one of the royal mages before the sound of hooves striking stone reached him. He put it around his neck and turned around in time to see a slightly gasping earth pony with a gray coat pause before his office door, arrange her mane and take a deep, calming breath before cautiously knocking on his door, even though she was clearly aware that he had seen her.

Esteem nodded, signaling for her to come in, and motioned for her to stand across from his desk. He took a moment to study her further. She kept herself well-groomed; her coat had been brushed, as had her mane and tail.

She had carefully treated hooves, each of them filed to perfection. Her cutie mark was a striking contrast in color with her coat, being a purple clef note. Her disposition was formal and professional, not soldierlike, but clearly she was disciplined. She seemed nervous... a trait to be expected when ponies dealt with him, so that was not a stain on his first impression of her, after all, she was a civilian, not even a noble, and yet handled herself with more pride and assurance that most of those buffoons.

He smirked. Such a pony would have gone far in the army. Especially his army.

"Miss Philharmonica," he said after a moment. "Thank you for accepting my request for your presence at so short notice."

She bowed slightly, composing herself and erasing all traces of nervousness. "It's my honor, General, to be of service. What may I do for you, sir?"

"I was informed earlier, that you have been spending time with my daughter, Allure," Esteem said.

Octavia seemed confused for a fraction of a second, then nodded. "Yes, I did indeed spend some time with her, sir."

"What are your impressions of her?" he asked.

She cleared her throat, no doubt seeking the most appropriate response. It would hardly do to unwittingly insult the younger daughter of the most influential pony alive.

"She is a gifted cello player, sir," she said, surprising him. "It was what drew me to her, when I was passing by and heard her playing. Her balance... it's amazing how much body control she has at such a young age."

"Balance?" Esteem asked. "What does that have to do with a unicorn playing the cello?"

"Oh." She was a bit more nervous now. "I'm sorry sir, I had assumed you were aware that her training included playing as an Earth Pony would. It is not unheard of, but it is certainly unusual; most unicorns concentrate only on the fine details of bow control and the chords, since it resonates more with their inclination towards magic. Swe— Allure, on the other hoof, has taken the time to understand how her body works and has developed the keen sense of balance needed for ponies to maintain a posture that is unnatural to us... which is required to play the cello for an Earth Pony."

"I see," Esteem said, giving her a blank look. "Would this sense of balance be attained by dancing perhaps?"

Octavia shook her head. "No, although it would certainly help. It's a bit more specialized and requires one’s position to be fixed, while the body adapts to weight and small movements. It is aided by a better understanding of a pony's own anatomical capabilities, and as I said, it is based on a different set of requirements than balance through momentum."

Esteem nodded, thoughtfully. "Any idea who taught her?"

Octavia blinked again, but shook her head. "No... although her style seems familiar. If he hadn't passed away years ago, I would have said it had been my own mentor, Sky Note, who had taught her."

"Very well," Esteem said after a brief pause. "What else can you tell me about Allure?"

Octavia tilted her head in thought, "She seems... sad. Her choice of music, Kol Nidrei, is a particularly deep piece, but most assuredly not an optimistic one. She seems to be trying to work through some sort of resolution and was playing to keep her mind clear."

"And what is it, exactly, that you did while in my daughter's company?"

"I..." Octavia shifted nervously, clearly thinking that she might have overstepped her bounds. "I offered to help her finish the piece... she was stuck and unable to get through it. So I offered my assistance, she accepted, and I went to get my cello. We played for a couple of hours, until your assistant..."

"The cadet," Esteem acknowledged.

"Yes, the cadet, arrived, seeking Sw-Allure."

"My... assistant... indicated that the two of you were behaving like old friends."

Octavia smiled a little, lost in the recent memory. "It certainly seemed like that... she knew exactly what I meant when I suggested a minor fix to her playstyle. She listened and sometimes seemed to read my mind and corrected her posture just by how I looked at her... if I didn't know better, I would have thought we were indeed old friends."

Esteem hummed, considering the mare's words. This ability of Allure's to empathize with those that came close to her was truly a weapon she could use to her advantage, and therefore so could he.

Was it an intentional programming from the spymaster that had trained Allure so effectively? He really needed to find out where this Fleur-de-lis was, and find out if she was responsible for such a versatile, young weapon.

It almost attracted him to this unseen mare, this spymaster that knew her craft so well... if she had had just a little bit more time to cross that moral threshold that held Allure from killing... he shivered in pleasure. His daughter, despite her failings as a bladecaster, would be a deadly enemy to behold. Indeed... he had to find her... at least to extract her training methods and apply them himself.

Octavia had been waiting patiently, though, and he had things to do as well, so he turned his attention back to her. "Whatever music you taught her, or whatever aid you gave her, achieved something important today, and it was in no small measure thanks to that time you helped her deal with her feelings. For that, I thank you. She is now ready to fight for the glory of our king, Titan."

Octavia bowed. "It was my honor, General."

"As such, I have a new task for you," he said, making her start.

"I... um, of course, General, how else might I be of service?"

"I wish you to keep company to my daughter for now, we have... a mission that requires my direct intervention and I do not wish her to be wandering about on her own. You’ve had a desirable effect on her, and she seems rather fond of you... as such, she will trust you."

Esteem locked his eyes with hers. "You will encourage her to learn of our glorious king. You will teach her to follow the values we ascribe to. You will continue tutoring her as much as needed in music, but you will encourage her to learn about war. About effectiveness... I hear music can be a battlefield," he said, raising an eyebrow. "If it can be such, then it can teach her more of what she needs to learn. She needs to be sure of herself and fearless when taking the life of her enemies."

Octavia looked more than a little ill, and but Esteem just waved a hoof dismissively. "I do not expect you to teach her how to kill. She knows that already, even if she doesn't realize it. No, what you will teach her is that it is an acceptable thing to do. Encourage her to take the lives of her enemies, because believe me, Miss Philharmonica, they will kill her if you don't."

"I-I..."

"This is not a request," Esteem said slowly, letting his words register. "It's an order. I do not believe you find dealing with my daughter a burden. That will make it easier. You both will accompany us into the tunnels. She trusts you, and she needs to hear these words from a pony she trusts."

Octavia had closed her mouth and looked at him attentively when he had spoken again. After a moment of thought, she finally nodded, not that she had been given much of a choice in the matter. "General, it will be my honor and pleasure to assist your daughter in her endeavors to defeat the enemies of Titan."

Esteem considered the mare. Perhaps his words had really reached her. Perhaps she was as capable as she looked. Once again, the thought crossed his mind that this mare, although sadly an Earth Pony and not a Unicorn, would have done well in the army.

"Very well," he said, nodding at her. "You are dismissed. You will find Allure in the patio, training with the dummies. Follow the corner to the right of my office, and you will see it straight ahead. The guards will be expecting you."

Octavia nodded and stepped back, not turning from him, until she was out of his office.

Rarity looked down at the reports she had been given with barely any interest. It wasn't that she didn't want to work on them, after all, the cause was very important, but the fact was that her thoughts were on other things... or rather, on other ponies. She had never thought her father would do something like this. The thought that he would turn a puppet or another filly into a replica of Sweetie Belle just to mess with her head... it was downright evil.

And what disturbed her more was how close she had come to giving herself over to this ruse. She couldn't deny that Applejack had suffered the same anxiety as she had, after all, Apple Bloom would have naturally been right next to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. The Crusaders were inseparable, and if one was in danger, chances were the other two would be in similar circumstances, or worse... and yet, Applejack had held herself back.

She had taken things calmly, allowed for word on the whereabouts of the Buffalo to arrive. Rarity shook her head, her eyes drifting to the cavernous walls of her room. It would have been so easy to fall for it... and Esteem would have taken one of Twilight's most important assets off the board. Who knows what that monster would have done then. Put a shard in her eye, like he did to Twilight and turn her into a monster? She shuddered.

When the knock at her door interrupted her thoughts, she almost gleefully jumped up, ready to think about something else. "It's open!"

The door opened an inch and a pony she didn't know peeked in. "General Rarity? Your presence is requested at an urgent meeting."

Rarity sighed, but nodded as the pony left, closing the door behind him. "More to take care of, no doubt," she muttered. After a quick check on the mirror, and making sure her mane was just right, she hurried out of the room and strode purposefully towards the meeting hall. Her eyes strayed to the hundreds of ponies trapped under Canterlot, separated from friends and family... most of them had lost someone close to their hearts, and they had escaped as far as they could without being killed... only a few were fit to fight, even if most were willing.

She silently cursed her father for his betrayal of Celestia. If it wasn't for him... none of this would be happening.

She finally made it to the room, where her friends and Princess Luna were already waiting. She took in the scene. Luna was off to the side, as usual a hovering, mysterious, almost angry presence... a ruse, of course, but one that she was very effective in keeping. However her eyes betrayed a bit more worry than usual. Pinkie Pie was as full of energy as usual, perhaps unable to really grasp the severity of this new situation.

Applejack paced nervously, too honest to even attempt to look casual and looking over Twilight's shoulder as their leader investigated a color-coded, three-dimensional magic map of the tunnels with her usual intensity. Only one block was highlighted red, while the others were in a mixture of green, yellow and gray.

Fluttershy stood to the side of Twilight, trying her best to project calmness, but it was clear she was worried as well.

Rainbow Dash was circling over the table, like an eagle, ready to land, but she looked more worried than resolute.

"Well, it seems we're all here!" Rarity said, trying her best to force a smile and sound upbeat. "Twilight, darling, you should take a break from last-minute meetings, it can't possibly be good for you."

"Rarity.” Twilight didn't even look from the map. “We have a problem."

Rarity's mouth twisted as she took a seat. "What's happening?"

"One of our spies has informed us that Esteem's soldiers have apparently found an object of great power in one of the tunnels... however, I never heard of this tunnel, it doesn't appear in my maps, and Celestia never mentioned there being a weapon or magical item of any type in here. And this is exactly the sort of thing she would have mentioned."

Rarity nodded, looking at the map while Twilight moved her focus from area to area. "Wherever it is, we’ll need to get there before Esteem does. We need to procure this item and ensure that it is used for our cause."

"The problem is that there's little information on what it is, and it was their patrol that found it, although thankfully one of our spies heard of it... he was still retained for too long before being able to excuse himself and pass the word, along with any details he could provide," Twilight said. "And now, I have to find the quickest route to that place and we have to get there before Esteem. I don't even know if we can."

"Also," Rainbow Dash added, "Our spy overheard a pony that had been talking to Sweet—" She shook her head. "The fake Sweetie, he said the pony said that the filly was 'unnatural', and called her an 'it'."

Rarity's eyes hardened. "So... a puppet then. Good. I won't have to hold back."

Twilight cleared her throat, recalling their attention. "That's fine, but this is the more pressing issue right now." She pointed at the map, where several routes had been highlighted in green, as well as one in yellow.

"We're going to have to interrupt Esteem's group here..." Her hoof followed the route in yellow. "It'll be dangerous, but the only thing we need to do is distract them long enough for any of the other teams to get here..." She made the red block glow stronger.

"Once you reach there, retrieve the object they are looking for and head back here..." another section blinked. "This is where all the tunnels in question cross. Once we have that, and have rendezvoused at the extraction point, we collapse it behind us." Twilight looked up at the gang. "Is that clear?"

The mares nodded.

"Good, then let's get going."

Sweetie looked up at Octavia in confusion. "You're coming with us? But..." Her eyes scanned around them before she leaned forward and whispered. "You're not a fighter, Tavi... what if you get hurt?"

Octavia shook her head. "General Esteem has told me I'll be protected, and as a loyal follower of Titan, I can only do what little I can to help."

Sweetie was not convinced, but chose to rather sit down next to her interdimensional music mentor. "You don't have to come."

Octavia laughed a little. "It's only to explore a little area, and we'll be surrounded by guards and Titan's puppets. I think we'll both be okay."

Sweetie Belle for her part only sighed, but then she looked up, eyes hardening. "Well, I'm sticking with you until we're back. I'll protect you."

"Then I will be well-protected," Octavia replied with a grin.

"It's just sudden, you know," Sweetie said, looking at the guards with a frown. "I understand why they are doing this, but..."

"Look, Sweetie," Octavia placed a hoof on the filly's shoulder. "I'll be okay. I-I chose to go with you because I think you need a friend among all these soldiers. I will stay out of sight, and I will hide if needed. But I can't, in good conscience, let you go by yourself."

Sweetie smiled and nuzzled her friend affectionately. "You're a great friend, Tavi. And a great teacher."

Octavia laughed awkwardly, unsure of how to respond.

Preparation suddenly ceased around them, however, when General Esteem trotted into the training grounds. "We are ready to go," he declared, facing the troops. "We will be going deep into the tunnels under Canterlot. This is the territory of betrayers of the crown, murderers and cowards. So be on your guard." His eyes scanned the group. "You all have your orders, follow them."

Immediately there was a flurry of activity that lasted less than a minute, and soon the large group was set and ready to go. They marched out of the training grounds, and were joined by several puppets, who surrounded the normal ponies and marched with unique precision.

"I've seen those around," Sweetie whispered to Octavia. "What are they?"

Octavia looked at the puppets for a moment, before turning her eyes down to Sweetie. "The puppets are a gift to us from our gods, Titan and Terra. They guard us and protect us from those that would harm ponies loyal to them."

Sweetie's eyes were glued to one of them, as it marched just a few feet away. "Magical constructs... but how are they tied together? Is there a rune sketch inside the fabric used to make them? Is it real fabric?"

Octavia laughed. "Well, Sweetie, you are asking the wrong mare those questions. You'd be better off asking—"

"Twilight Sparkle?" Sweetie immediately spoke up, making at least three soldiers tense and almost miss a step.

"Um... no." Octavia's smile became a bit forced. "She betrayed us and joined the side of Luna the usurper and her friends."

"Oh... right," Sweetie sighed. "I forgot. It's just weird fighting her again... sort of.”

Octavia blinked. "You fought Twilight?"

"Uh, a... piece of her, basically. Not a full-powered one." She looked down. "I can't imagine what that would have been like. I'd probably die. Several times."

A guard next to them chuckled. "Don't be silly, you can only die once."

Sweetie looked up at him straight in the eye. "Really? Are you sure?"

The guard stammered, missing a step, and getting a shove from behind. "I-I... I think so?"

"Yeah, well, it's not fun to die more than once."

Everypony around her fell silent at that for the next few minutes.

Finally, it was Octavia who broke the silence. "Are you saying that you've died before, Sweetie Belle? Then how are you here now?"

Sweetie shrugged, looking at the curious glances around her. "I... was once trapped in a sort of spell... that made me relive the same day over and over again. And this... thing, that fragment of Twilight that I had to fight created a maze with deadly traps. We-I... couldn't get out until I defeated all the tests and fought Twilight."

The guards looked confused and scared, but Octavia looked concerned. The cellist finally leaned in and gave her a careful and brief nuzzle. "Hey, Sweetie, it will be okay. That only happened once, right?"

"More like twenty," Sweetie muttered, although she was sure Octavia had heard it. "In any case... try not to get killed."

The soldiers nodded uneasily, and Octavia seemed to be thinking about something, so Sweetie decided to concentrate on her surroundings. Esteem had little patience and had taken the quickest route out, which had involved them marching a whole platoon through courtyards usually reserved for the nobility.

The nobles, however, rather than be annoyed, as they would have been anywhere else, alarmed, startled even as they quickly stepped out of the way, giving them a wide berth and panicky glances.

There was no doubt that they were much more scared than annoyed or offended. She thought she even saw Prince Blueblood, but the image of her big brother did not really fit with the blonde unicorn who had taken a dive into a trash container when he had seen them coming. She smiled.

Her Blueblood would have stayed in place and used his charm to... get killed by Esteem, probably, so maybe trash-diving wasn't necessarily the worst idea.

They were soon out of the castle grounds and the guards began to look more wary as they approached the tunnel entrance where their search would truly begin. Whatever had been found could only be a powerful artifact if this was how they were reacting to it. Whatever it was, Esteem did not want it in the hooves of Rarity and her friends, and with good reason...

Sweetie shivered at the memory of the decimated butchered caravan. She had seen for herself Rarity's berserker rage when she had attacked them soon after. Meeting her sister here was definitely not going to be a happy reunion.

Esteem kept his eyes straight ahead, concentrating only on his objective. He had memorized the most efficient route and there was little interest in detours. He glanced to his right hindquarter, where the cadet trotted briskly. "Be ready for an attack. I have little doubt that Twilight Sparkle will be already aware of our mission."

The cadet nodded. "Shall we redouble our efforts to expose her spies?"

"Not at this time," Esteem snorted. "For the moment they are useful. I am sure that my daughter and her friends will try to reach our objective first, perhaps with one or two attempts at distracting us. But as long as we head straight, we'll force them into a confrontation, giving me another chance to convince my older daughter of her rightful place. Between her, Allure and myself, we'll be invincible."

The cadet's face remained calm. "And if she doesn't comply? Will she kill Allure?"

Esteem shook his head. "Rarity might be many things, but she's not that yet. Killing an innocent filly is beyond her, especially when said filly is her own sister. I imagine there will be several attempts to dissuade Allure from my side."

The cadet glanced back briefly. "The reason for Octavia, I assume."

Esteem nodded, looking back ahead. "She is a true believer in Titan, and outspoken against the barbaric betrayals perpetrated by Twilight Sparkle and her cohorts. Her words, not mine." Esteem grinned. "She is the perfect means to turn Allure’s weakness to a strength. She helped her already achieve an objective... now it's just a matter of placing Miss Philharmonica in the right place at the right time..."

He smiled. This looked to be a promising day.

With little fanfare or resistance, they had made their way deep into the tunnels. The entrance to the section they would be going to was well-guarded, and the size of his troops most likely intimidated any smaller bands of guerillas from attempting anything. The fact that half the platoon consisted of puppets was still further deterrent for the loyalists to attack.

Pinkie Pie followed Rainbow Dash with her eyes.

Ever since they had arrived, just a minute after Esteem's platoon had reached the turn, the cyan pegasus fluttered over the gathered ponies impatiently, sometimes zooming from one end of the cavern to the other, and other times simply hovering and glaring at the wall they would bring down to attack Esteem's group.

"Hey, Dashie!" Pinkie called, "Why so strung out?!"

Rainbow Dash turned to look at her. "Come on, Pinkie! You know exactly why! We had to gallop all the way here and now we have to just wait?!"

"Aww! But it's what makes it exciting!" Pinkie chimed back. "The tension! The itch at the base of your spine that just won’t go away until it feel like you’re going to just snap!" A few of the ponies around edged away from her, but she paid them no mind. "It's like a surprise party! Only with mortal combat!"

Rainbow Dash shook her head and dropped down next to Pinkie Pie. "Pinks, that's usually not a good thing."

"But! We're going to stop Esteem from getting the artifact! And we're distracting him long enough for Twilight to get there!"

"Yes, but why do we have to wait until they're already halfway there?" Rainbow Dash hissed, motioning towards the wall, where a small crack allowed them to see the large group of puppets and soldiers passing by.

"Silly! We're creating a distraction! If we attack the front it would be too obvious!" Pinkie replied, sneaking her foreleg around Rainbow Dash's neck and pulling her close for a hug. "Besides! We get a chance to destroy that Sweetie Belle puppet if we time it right! That would make things much easier for Rarity!"

Rainbow Dash, who had been struggling in Pinkie's grasp, rolled her eyes when she heard that. "Okay, fine! I just wish we could get this over and done with!"

"We will!" Pinkie said, her smile widening. "And you know why?"

Rainbow Dash arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

Pinkie's smile became even bigger as she pulled out a ridiculously large remote detonator with an even more ridiculously large red button marked ‘BOOM.’ "Because it's time!"

Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide and she scrambled out of the way as Pinkie slammed her hoof down on the button and the wall behind her exploded, showering everypony with debris and dust.

Without wasting a second, Rainbow Dash flew out, tackling the first of the pegasi guards that had recovered from the explosion. She spun in place and pitched him into another guard, hard. The pair rolled on the floor before stopping in a groaning heap, but she was already onto the next two, ducking under a spear at the same time her hooves kicked out, knocking the air from her opponent.

Beneath her, Pinkie Pie had moved in, a bolt of pink-hued lightning. She slid under a puppet, dragging a blade through its underbelly and didn't even turn to look at it as it poofed out of existence. Her legs were already kicking a guard’s knees out from under him, making him drop and allowing her to roll on his back and propelled herself up with a backhoof snap-kick that knocked the guard unconscious. She vaulted over the next two, slamming down with her forehooves on their heads and using them as a springboard to her next target.

And she knew where she was going... just a few ponies ahead, she could see the Sweetie Belle imposter standing alongside another pony. She was almost there! When she landed, three guards attempted to stop her, but she was too quick, barely tapping them, she rolled past and pulled the strings to the explosives she’d attached to them.

The guards cried out in surprise when their armors exploded and sent them rolling or flying back, crashing onto their fellow soldiers and disrupting their attempts to reach her.

It was then that Sweetie Belle turned towards her, eyes wide. Her horn lit up, and Pinkie crouched, ready to jump over whatever spell Sweetie Belle would cast, but to her surprise, what happened was that a shimmering shield formed around the filly and the cello player, protecting them from whatever attack would come their way...

The filly had not attacked! The filly had not attacked! Those eyes! They were real! Too real!

Green eyes, innocent, scared and familiar locked with blue eyes, suddenly happy and hopeful, and the world seemed to halt around Pinkie Pie.

This filly...

"Pinkie!"

The world started up again, feeling her body warning her as much as Rainbow Dash's shout. Without looking, she ducked, barely dodging the shards of one of the unicorn guard's magical blades. With a soured puss, she rolled away, making herself a very difficult target to hit as she slipped and dodged her way through the other guards. "Retreat!" she called out.

Immediately she saw her group of ponies and Rainbow Dash fighting their way back. With a last, quick glance at the still shielded Sweetie Belle, Pinkie Pie tumbled her way through the mass of confused guards, managing to disable several on her way to the edge of the platoon, before throwing herself into a hard gallop. She caught up with her group, and soon Rainbow Dash was flying next to her, while Esteem's commanding voice rose behind them.

"What happened there?!" Rainbow Dash asked, a bit angrily. "You were almost there!"

"We have a problem!" Pinkie Pie retorted, her mind racing. "A big problem!"

"Yeah! You didn't destroy the Sweetie Puppet!"

"She's not a puppet!" Pinkie Pie said. “She’s a real filly!”

"What?!" Rainbow Dash actually stopped for a second, staring open-mouthed at Pinkie Pie. "What do you mean she's not a puppet?!"

"I can't explain it!" Pinkie replied urgently. "It's... it's like my Pinkie sense, okay? When I saw her up close... I just knew! She's not a puppet, she's a real filly!"

"But that doesn't make any sense! How would Esteem even—"

They were interrupted by a lance hurling between them. The pair looked back towards the troops galloping their way and shared a quick glance before galloping and flying away.

"I know!" Pinkie called up, glancing at the pegasus. "But she is! And Rarity doesn't know!"

"We have to tell her!" Rainbow Dash shouted back. "Somehow! Twilight and Rarity need to know!"

"But how?"

"I-I don't know!"

The attack lasted just a few seconds, and then they were retreating back into the tunnel, drawing the attention of several puppets and soldiers.

"Team 5 and seven puppets!" Esteem snapped, making everyone stop. "You know your mission!"

"Sir!"

The group split off, chasing after the attackers, leaving the main force to carry on. "Forward!" Esteem commanded. "That was just a diversion; our objective still lies ahead!"

Once again the main force moved forward, and only a few minutes had passed before another small group, this one led by Applejack and Fluttershy, attacked.

The earth pony tried to make her way down the line towards Sweetie, but there were too many puppets to deal with, even with Fluttershy's strange ability to stare at them and destroy them.

Soon enough the group was engaged in battle and once more was called to retreat, only to be followed by another team and puppets.

"They seem rather eager to go after my daughter," Esteem mused.

"It makes sense," the cadet replied. "They know that Rarity will be trouble if you use Allure against her."

Esteem snorted. "Rarity will be trouble regardless... I will have both of my daughters on my side, Cadet."

"Indeed you will, sir."

As the large group continued, the tunnels started changing. No longer was it the structured form that spoke of careful—if a bit excessive—planning. The workmanship became sloppy... the path under their hooves was uneven, and at a certain point ceased to be a pony-made road at all and just became a naturally worn path of dirt and rocks. There was a sense of otherworldliness in the air, as if the whole area had been bathed in something akin to Titan's aura.

"It seems like this section was never finished," the cadet spoke up, unusual for the normally stoic soldier.

Esteem glanced at him, amused at his discomfort before he looked around, examining the walls. "There is no attempt at working these, Cadet. This is a natural cavern that they likely stumbled upon while creating the rest of the maze. This artifact may even be older than Canterlot itself."

The cadet grimaced. "It's a wonder it hadn’t been taken prior... why wouldn't either of the princesses have in the first place?"

Esteem frowned, the same thought having crossed his mind. "Maybe they were unable to do so... it could be one of Titan's relics, or perhaps even Discord's."

The conversation died as soon as they arrived at their destination. A shrine of sorts had been built around the artifact, with heavy metallic doors engraved with vague warnings about the princesses' ire were one to attempt to steal what lay within. Esteem turned around and faced his troops. "Spread out along the perimeter! Keep yourselves in your teams. The puppets already have their orders. The cadet will be in command until I return!"

His eyes swept the troops until they settled on the two ponies that would accompany him in there. "Allure, Miss Philharmonica, follow me," he ordered.

"Dammit, we didn't make it before them!" Twilight groaned. "But we can't let them get ahold of that artifact!"

"I just saw Esteem, the fake, and another enter the temple," Rarity whispered. "If you can teleport me to the entrance, perhaps I can slip in... I can take care of the two of them."

Twilight's mind raced, considering possibilities. "It's not that simple. If we did that, we'd leave our backs unprotected. We'd be risking too much..."

"Well, then why did you bring us?" Unimpressive asked, approaching the pair with Noble in tow. "The way I look at it, you’ve already considered this possibility."

Twilight nodded. "I have, but I won’t have needless casualties on my watch."

Noble tilted his head, while Unimpressive scowled and spoke up. "You have to get over it, Sparkles. Some of us will die, it's the way of things."

"Not if I do my job right," Twilight snorted, her focus on the composition of Esteem's troops. With a nod of her head, she turned to face her own troop. "With what forces we have, and with Cadet in command instead of Esteem, we should be able to minimize, if not completely neutralize casualties on our side... perhaps on both sides if we're lucky."

Unimpressive rolled his eyes, but the rest of her troops gathered round while she explained her plan. It was simple enough, but required a few specific taunts that the enemy had to fall for.

She would be playing off their well-known weaknesses. By the end of her exposition, even Unimpressive was smiling.

Rarity watched and waited.

Twilight’s plan was simple, but one that would undoubtedly find success with the Cadet being the only tactical mind left outside the temple. The Cadet was an effective lieutenant, but he lacked Esteem’s broader scope when it came to tactics. The moment Twilight had begun the attack, he reacted just as his training dictated.

It was more smoke and mirrors than anything, tricking the enemy into thinking that they were being flanked by a considerable force when the other side of the camp was attacked, just as they all rushed to protect the first point of contact.

It was a simple ruse, one Esteem would have never fallen for, but one Cadet was not prepared for. His forces were immediately split almost evenly, leaving the center with just a token number of soldiers and puppets to protect the temple's door. When the third, and actual attack came, the enemy was immediately pushed back.

Cadet barked orders from his position, galloping to and fro, trying to galvanize his troops. He didn't even send pegasi into the air until he saw Twilight's own looming above. He didn't act. He reacted. In so many words, he was simply nothing more than Twilight's plaything. She was hardly even pressing the attack, given the limited space they had, but kept pushing and pulling, attacking everything and holding back on certain areas.

The air was filled with magic, bolts and shards of it charged with ill-intention, but Twilight's talent was magic, and she made full use of it, her knowledge of war and magic allowing her to break their opponent's ranks with nary a weapon clashing.

And all through this, Rarity watched and waited. Soon, her time would come to act... if Twilight's predictions were right...

"Now," Twilight said, appearing right next to Rarity. "Are you ready? The moment Cadet rushes I'll teleport you there. Will you be okay?"

Rarity nodded. "I'm not worried about his little golem, now that it’s revealed for what it is. The mare was an earth pony; I doubt she'll have Applejack's regenerative ability. And my father..." Her eyes darkened. "He won't get his hooves on the artifact."

Twilight nodded. "Here we go then!"

Just as predicted, Esteem's army was once more open down the middle. How Cadet had managed to fall so quickly for their gambit was anypony's guess, but Esteem sorely needed somepony less predictable to act as his assistant. When Unimpressive burst through the middle, tossing ponies around like ragdolls, and challenged him, Cadet forgot all about his mission and charged down.

"Truly a leader." Rarity shook her head.

"Works for us!" Twilight grinned nervously. "Be careful!"

"I will!" Rarity said, quickly touching her hoof to her friend's shoulder and nodding. "Now, send me over."

Twilight nodded and soon the world around Rarity exploded into light. She felt a rush of energy and heard something akin to wind rushing by incredibly fast, almost like one of the pegasi-generated tornadoes, and suddenly, she was standing just outside the temple's doors, the army’s back to her.

Rarity grinned and opened the door just enough to slip inside.

The sounds of battle faded into a dull thrum behind her the moment the heavy door closed. It was almost impossible to hear anything from the outside, while the temple itself was quiet as a tomb. She slowly started to make her way in.

It seemed to be largely a crater within the mountain the ancient ponies had somehow crafted their 'temple' around. Possibly caused by the same object that had created the tunnel they had followed there. There wasn't much to say about the decor. Stone columns, crafted out of the walls, were merely decorative, rather than necessary. The only element not created from the cave itself was the floor, which was made out of stone tiles.

At the end of the decidedly unimpressive hall, was a statue of a pony on it's hind legs, on one hoof it held a flag, on the other a... star? It was a crystal of some sort, purple and glowing. As she approached, she noticed that the statue had been carved out of the stone as well. There were inscriptions under it, in a language that Rarity did not understand, but from the look of the statue, it was a warning.

Rarity slowed and looked at the floor, her trained eyes quickly noticing the scorch marks on the floor a few tiles ahead. The marks were fresh. Frowning, she looked around and found a small, loose stone on the side of the corridor. She levitated it and tossed it past the scorch marks.

Immediately the crystal flared and the stone was disintegrated just like that. There wasn't even any powder to speak of. Had Esteem and his little entourage stepped too close and been destroyed? Could things really be so easy?

A small scraping sound behind her made her turn around.

Sweetie Bel—no. It wasn't her sister. It's his puppet. Rarity glanced beside the fabricated filly, certain her father's eyes were upon her, eager to enjoy the pain it would cause her to fight her own sister. But Sweetie is safe with the buffalo and your farce is revealed, father.

When the golem opened it's mouth, to talk perhaps, to lull her into her father's concocted fantasy, Rarity simply reacted. Vorpal flew out, ready for battle. The little golem's eyes widened, a single, floating diamond floated out to meet the challenge. A single, lonely shard pitted against her own fourteen. Were she not so angry, Rarity might have laughed at the inequity. How dare he!? How dare he make something to look like my sister?!

She didn't even hesitate to send her shards flying. "I will destroy you, you abomination!"

The little golem proved more nimble than Rarity had anticipated though, rolling out of the way, even taking its diamond out of the way. Had she not done that, she would have been part of the tile that had been pulverized into dust.

Rarity growled, knowing that she had been too angry to act like a bladecaster should. Vorpal reformed around her. This time she was going to fight like Luna's General, not an angry mare.

The golem’s horn flickered, Vorpal shooting forward in expectation of an attack before the temple went black.

As Sweetie had followed Esteem into the so-called temple, she had noted quite readily that it wasn’t all that impressive. Certainly nothing comparable to many other places she had visited, but still, it had an eerie quality to it that made her nervous.

There was something there. Something that was definitely not happy. She couldn't tell how she knew... but she could feel it in the stagnant air, permeating the walls and floors. If there was no guardian in here, whatever the artifact was, it was powerful and worse than that... it was aware.

Sweetie kept her eyes focused on her surroundings until Esteem stopped them. In front of them was a statue of a pony standing on her hind-legs, much as Sweetie and Octavia did when playing the cello. But that wasn't what drew her attention, it was the purple gem resting in its hoof.

A fragment! Sweetie's eyes widened. "But... how long has it been here?"

Esteem glanced at the inscription at the base of the statue. "Judging by the look of that at least seven hundred years."

Sweetie cringed when Esteem took a step forth. "Wait... if it's been here for that long you shouldn't—"

Whatever she had been about to say was interrupted when the fragment flared and a blast of magic scorched the ground where Esteem had been but a moment ago. Twice more he jumped, avoiding a second and third blast from the statue before he was safely out of range.

Sweetie could feel her heart thudding away in her chest as Esteem nonchalantly dusted himself off. As she calmed down, her attention turned from her father to the statue. If it truly was a fragment, then perhaps...

Carefully, she took a step towards the statue.

“Allure…” Esteem warned. “Don’t get too close.”

Sweetie looked over her shoulder at her father and smiled. “I think I’ll be—”

She stopped when she heard the door begin to open. The three ponies shared a look, and Esteem quickly herded them to the side, where a secluded crevice, perhaps a natural fissure, provided them some cover.

She held her breath as she watched Rarity stride in alone. Her sister had a look she had never seen on her. It was… angry, predatory… it made her heart twist in pain. How could her sister, of all ponies, have such a murderous look?

“Look at her,” Esteem whispered, startling both Sweetie and Octavia. “She’s lost her direction: she just blindly the orders of Twilight Sparkle and her ilk.” He shook his head.

Octavia nodded. “Sweetie, you must confront her, maybe you can bring her to the right side of this war…” she said softly, putting an encouraging hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder and trying not to cringe under Esteem’s gaze. “If anypony can help her it’s you, but…” She grimaced. “Like the General said… you’ll have to stop her if she won’t listen to reason.”

Sweetie gulped and nodded, looking fearfully at the approaching mare.

They watched in silence as Rarity made her way to where they had been standing before. She stopped just outside the fragment’s spell radius, having noticed the scorch marks. Rarity levitated a stone and tossed it at the statue, watching with interest as it was disintegrated in a second.

Sweetie took her chance. Her sister distracted, she slid silently behind her before she hesitated, hoof scraping against the floor unconsciously. How could she talk to her sister when—

Before she could plan her approach, Rarity had spun around to face her.

The older mare's expression went from surprise to shock to anger to subsumed by hate so quickly that Sweetie's eyes had barely widened before her instinct took over. She rolled to the side, Akela already at the ready as her sister's shout rang in her ears.

Akela flew out, ready for battle.

Standing up and summoning her magic she noticed that the spot where she had been standing had been destroyed. Her eyes hardened, and inside her, she felt something break. She had been so sure Rarity would be happy to see her… that she would talk to her and they could figure this out. But this… this was not her Rarity. This was a killer, a monster wearing her sister’s skin.

Just as Rarity composed herself and summoned her sword, Sweetie readied her magic. ‘Maybe I can’t beat you head on, but let’s see how you handle this!’

The whole room went dark under the influence of the filly’s spell, and Sweetie could immediately see the effect on her sister. Rarity glanced around wildly, unsure on how to react. ‘Maybe I can still get through to her… I can still talk to her but I need to get her to listen!

Sweetie quickly cantered to the side and Rarity was tossed onto the floor by a clod of earth suddenly knocking her down. However, Rarity’s focus didn’t waver. She was on her hooves not a second later, and Vorpal extended out in a ring around her.

Sweetie could see her sister was concentrating, and when she tapped the floor to send flames in Rarity’s way, she found out why.

A shard of Vorpal flew out immediately towards Sweetie’s location. It clashed with Akela, but Sweetie was already jumping to the side, dodging three more shards that had followed, slicing through the stone tiles around where she had been standing.

She came to realize that Rarity was nowhere near as predictable as the cadet. Every time Sweetie sent a spell her way, it was at best a partial hit and at worst dodged entirely by her sister. The trade off was the loss of her cover in the darkness, shards of Vorpal striking at the filly’s former position each time as she barely avoided being skewered by the blade.

Akela flew in a few times, sliding past Vorpal’s defensive ring and slicing at Rarity’s coat, but Sweetie still did not have the will to be anything more than a nuisance and she was beginning to realize it: she didn’t have it in her.

She couldn’t do any real damage! It went against everything she had ever been taught! And it was this hesitation that cost her.

She barely registered the shard of Rarity’s blade that went through her foreleg until it had. Crying out, Sweetie collapsed on the floor, allowing her spell to falter, light flooding back into the room.

Rarity whirled to face her, fourteen glittering shards of pure death and hate pointed her way.

But, as the shards shot towards their destination they were obscured by a blur of gray, then black as something wrapped around her

She heard a series dull thuds and a pained gasp before it became warm and wet.

While leaving Canterlot, Octavia had kept an eye on both Sweetie Belle and Esteem. It galled her that the father of such a loving, innocent filly would want to train her to fight and kill ponies. It was simply... unnatural.

Yet, Esteem had the ear of Lord Titan himself, god-creator of the world. Even Celestia and Luna had been unable to outwit him, once returned from his imprisonment. He had created ponies. And he had created all other life in this world, surely it was clear for all that he was the one that was in the right.

And Octavia had been convinced of these facts wholly. At least, she had until earlier that day, when she had heard Sweetie play. Having gotten to know the filly, her conviction had faltered. Was it truly the nature of ponies to make war? To attack and kill? She had felt a certain affinity for that idea of provable superiority. After all, her own ascension in Canterlot to become the cellist of choice by the royal court had not come without a certain mercenary-like effort.

The strong bested the weak. The fast outran the slow. The best shone from the masses, and would rise to their proper place. Wasn't that the lesson Lord Titan had brought with him? That sometimes those weaker than you would get ahead through underhoofed means, and yet, your own worth was undisputed? That when you emerged again you would be victorious?

It was this conviction she had grown up with. The desire to not just be mediocre, but to claw and kick her way to the top by all means afforded her.

But looking at Esteem... was there any love there, for anything other than battle and control? His eyes never begat any such affection when he regarded Sweetie Belle. Whenever he spoke of Rarity, his voice held naught but a lust for dominance. He admired her skill, her dedication, only insofar as it was a potential tool, a weapon for him to control.

While leading the troops through the Canterlot grounds, she had not seen any hint of respect for anypony that crossed his path. He relished the fear he inspired, and even his second in command, Cadet, was worth nothing more than a second glance in Esteem's perception of the world. He owned Cadet. He owned Sweetie, the army and Octavia herself. They were his to play with and sacrifice as he saw fit. Through choice or coercion, he was at the apex of all... beneath only Lord Titan.

The journey through the tunnels had been terrifying for Octavia. Sweetie had protected her with her shield, but she had seen, for the first time, just how deadly their opponents were. And yet... despite the ease with which Pinkie could have dispatched several soldiers, none were dead. Were these the actions of merciless killers?

Esteem's accounts to the court, or what little remained of it, of the battles were bloodbaths that only got worse when Twilight Sparkle and her cohorts stepped in. That's when everypony in the room would recoil in horror while Esteem described how a pony or puppet were torn to shreds by his daughter, or blown into bits by one of Pinkie's explosives.

There had been none of that here, though. The fighting had been brutal; there was truth in that. But neither Pinkie Pie not Rainbow Dash killed any of their ‘normal’ opponents, although several were unconscious. During both attacks, the only real, permanent losses they had incurred were the puppets. It just didn't make sense. Why would killers and thieves spare every pony they fought if their purpose was to rout the caravan?

When they finally arrived at the temple, their group was a bit smaller, mostly due to Esteem sending off small units to keep their attackers occupied. She stuck close to Sweetie, not daring to part with her and risk being alone in the middle of a battle.

"Spread out along the perimeter! Keep to your teams. The puppets already have their orders. The cadet will be in command until I return!" Esteem called to his army before motioning for her and Sweetie Belle to follow him into the temple. "Allure, Miss Philharmonica, follow me," he ordered.

Octavia nodded and followed... she had expected more, but remained quiet until Rarity's appearance. When everything had gone dark, she had almost bolted, trying to escape. She could hear explosions and the sound of rocks being ground to dust, probably by Rarity's blade.

"Go on," she heard Esteem whisper from somewhere in the darkness. "Try to stop her." He ordered. "The only way to defeat your sister is to be like her and not afraid to kill, Allure. Do it! If you don't, Rarity will kill you! Once she’s at your mercy, then you can reason with her."

As if his whispered words had been a signal, Octavia heard Sweetie scream.

Already, she was galloping to where the scream came from before the darkness disappeared. She saw Rarity turn, her blade poised to attack the filly... this filly. She was an innocent. She was just caught in the middle of a family fight that shouldn't be. Octavia couldn't let this little musician’s life end here.

She dove and enveloped Sweetie in a tight hug. Burning-hot things thudded into her, forcing a gasp from her lungs. Something wet and warm, tasting of... metal... like copper... flooded her mouth and she bent down, cradling a shivering Sweetie under her.

Fighting the pain, she turned her head towards Rarity with a glare. What were you thinking?! she wanted to shout as her chest heaved, blood dribbling from her half-functioning mouth. She took a shuddering, rasping breath. Breathe, she needed to breathe.

"Your sister..." she gurgled accusingly, glare frozen on Rarity as the strength left her.

Rarity stepped back. "W-what are you talking about!? This is not Sweetie Belle!"

Her eyes never left the gray mare. Swee-the gol- the filly under her, pushed out from under the mare, and stared at the limp body in horror. "T-tavi?"

That voice.

"Tavi! Tavi!" The filly cried, and shaking the body with her hooves as tears started running down her cheeks. "Tavi! Wake up!"

That coat... that mane… Rarity stared at the filly that couldn't, shouldn't, couldn't be Sweetie Belle. Her mane was marred by the gray mare-by Tavi's blood. But her foreleg wore a deep wound, clearly inflicted by one of Vorpal's shards. It was bleeding. This was not a golem! She had almost killed a filly!

"Tavi!" Sweetie screamed once more, lifting the limp head and cradling it while sobs shook her body. "Why, Tavi?" she looked up at Rarity, and the bladecaster was taken aback by the pure anger in that look. "What did she do to you?! Esteem was right! You're a monster!"

The world crumbled around Rarity. Her focus fell completely, and Vorpal clattered to the floor around them, completely forgotten. Something stung and Rarity looked down at her left hoof. Just above it, a thin cut slowly bled out. Only then did she realize that Sweetie Belle—for who else could it be, with those green eyes, that voice, mane and coat—had flared her magic.

She felt another sting, and her shoulder followed the same fate as her hoof, with blood pouring out of a razor-thin cut. Rarity staggered back as more cuts formed on her body, courtesy of Akela, which was flying too quickly for her to catch on to. With her focus gone, she was unable to muster the will to raise Vorpal again.

"Why did it have to be true!?" Sweetie shouted. "Why couldn't you just talk to me? Why did you attack me? I'm your sister! And you killed my teacher-my friend!" she spat, and for once, Akela bit into Rarity's body, cutting a nasty gash on her left hind leg.

Rarity kept stumbling back, until her back hit the wall. Akela much like Vorpal had done to Sweetie, shot through her foreleg and Rarity fell to the side with a cry of pain, leaving a smear of blood on the wall behind her.

Sweetie Belle was suddenly in her face, her own covered in tears and her eyes full of the pain of betrayal. "You're not my sister!" she growled venomously. "You're nothing more than a murderer."

Akela floated up slowly between them, spinning almost lazily in place until it made it's way in by inch to press against Rarity's forehead.

"I don't know what you did or what happened to turn you into this," Sweetie whispered. "But I should-I-I should," she gritted her teeth and glared in pained hatred at Rarity. "I can't." She slumped and Akela clattered to the floor next to her.

"I can't kill you. I can't. I can't. I can't!" she suddenly shouted at Rarity. "I'm not your stupid Sweetie Belle! I'm your sister, trapped in this stupid, moronic world that doesn't make sense! I didn't want to learn how to kill anypony! I just wanted... I wanted to be with my sister. That's all I want... to go back home and be with Twilight and Rarity and get to meet my Tavi and Scratch!"

Sweetie couldn't stop sobbing, and a part of Rarity wanted to hug this little filly, but she knew that was not a good idea. Her own tears marred her vision, but not enough to see the light in the green eyes die a little, and for some reason that hurt more, much more than anything that she had gone through in this fight.

"You killed my Rarity," Sweetie said, pushing herself off of her stunned sister. "You've taken her away... all the Rarity’s. You've made me hate you. How can I ever meet any of you again?" Sweetie simply looked down and closed her eyes, she then slumped forward, and it was all Rarity could do to stop Sweetie from smashing her face onto the floor. She lowered the exhausted filly as carefully as she could.

"Well, that didn't go as expected," a voice Rarity did not want to hear at that moment said. Esteem walked out of where he had been apparently hiding. He stepped up next to Octavia, but didn't move from there. He glanced down at the body and scoffed in disgust. "Useless. At least she played her part."

"Esteem," Rarity growled, trying to get up, but finding that she couldn't. The injuries that Sweetie had inflicted on her, while not mortal, were still debilitating enough to keep her grounded. "You've gone too far, doing this to Sweetie—"

"Allure," Esteem corrected. "And I didn't do anything dear, other than bring her with me. It was you who attacked without provocation. It was you who injured her, and you who killed her only friend in the castle." He smirked. "You should've heard them play together, both extremely talented musicians." He tilted his head. "But now, only Allure remains of their duet."

"I should kill you right now!" Rarity roared, horn flashing for a second and summoning Vorpal around her.

But the spell faltered when she glanced at Sweetie, who was staring at her in silence. Slowly, Vorpal went to rest in its harness, and Rarity looked away.

"Fine. You win. I am your prisoner."

Esteem smiled. "Good! Come then, we should go."

Rarity frowned. "I'm afraid I can't father," she spat, putting as much venom into her voice as she could. "I'm unable to stand up at the moment, perhaps you can show a tiny bit of consideration and come help us both up."

Esteem glanced at them, then his eyes went up.

Rarity blinked and followed his gaze, only then realizing that both her and Sweetie were slumped against the wall that ran behind the statue. Esteem took a small step forth and had to jump back quickly as a magical, purple-red missile smashed where his hoof had been.

Rarity couldn't help it. She started to laugh. It was slightly hysterical, she knew, but she couldn't stop herself. "Oh, Esteem, so close, and yet so far!"

Esteem growled and summoned his own blade. "I swear I will destroy that statue and—"

The doors to the temple flew inward in a blast of pure, unadulterated power, interrupting his tirade. The three ponies stared as Twilight Sparkle herself walked in, glaring at Esteem. "Your forces are routed, general," she threatened. “It’s time to discuss the terms of your surrender.”

Looking back at her, then turning to glare at Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Esteem hesitated for just a second. Then, before any of them could react, he smashed the amulet he had brought with him on the floor, and in a flash of energy, he was gone.

"Rarity," Twilight called, galloping up to her friend. "Did you stop the golem? We have to get out of here before Esteem's troops get their act together!"

"She wasn’t a golem," Rarity said after a moment, looking away from Twilight's horrified eyes. "Grab the gem… believe that's the artifact.” Rarity said.

Applejack galloped into the room, pausing briefly to take the scene before approaching more slowly. “Ah’ll take Sweetie...” she offered, seeing Rarity struggling to stand up. “Let's get out of here."

Rarity nodded, putting away her blade before carefully levitating Sweetie’s single diamond.

Sweetie groaned and opened her eyes. She was in a small cot, and unlike the palatial room she had been staying at before, this room was little more than a hole in the ground. Big enough for a pony to live in relative comfort, but it also felt slightly empty. The only other objects were a table, covered in scrolls, and a few books.

Her eyes, however, were drawn to the two ponies sitting across from where she lay. "Twilight? Princess Luna?" Sweetie mumbled. Her memory was a bit fuzzy. Had she jumped into another world? That didn't make sense, she hadn't touched the fragment and—

Sweetie sat up immediately, and her head swayed.

"Easy there," Twilight's voice said and she felt the familiar essence of her mentor's magic enveloping and holding her steady. "You've had a rough night... Sweetie."

"What happened to Tavi?" Sweetie asked, already knowing the answer, but not wanting to believe it.

Twilight and Luna shared a look.

"She's ok—"

"Dead." Luna interrupted Twilight, giving her a disappointed frown. "Your friend died of her injuries prior to Twilight’s arrival."

Sweetie looked down at the bedsheets. "Oh," she said. "She did kill her."

Twilight frowned. "Rarity was fighting for her life, Sweetie, you can’t—"

"She was trying to kill me."

The statement made Twilight close her mouth and after a moment, she nodded. "She didn't know you were real, Sweetie. She thought Esteem had created a golem or puppet with Titan's aid to torture her or kill her. Our... our Sweetie Belle is safe, along with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. They're not here with us, and the thought of Esteem getting his hooves on her sister... it terrified her. I think she took to the theory of you being a golem so readily because it meant her sister would be okay."

Sweetie snorted. "Sure. And in the meantime, I get to die because she couldn't make an effort to even check," she said, looking up the pair. "Esteem kept telling me that you were all monsters and murderers. He took me to a caravan... it had foals no older than me, their parents—" She choked and looked away, but carried on talking after a moment. "I didn't want to believe him. Even after Applejack and her appeared in the same area and started attacking, I didn't want to believe it."

"Sweetie, it was Esteem who killed those ponies and made it look like we had. Rarity and Applejack were investigating..." Twilight trailed off when Sweetie gave her a level look.

"Yeah, well, I did tell myself it was a mistake, but then I also told myself that R- your friend would never attack me. That she cared. And the first thing she did was shout at me that I was an abomination and should die. If I fought like you ponies do here, I would've been dead in a second. And it took the life of my friend for her to stop."

"Death is a part of war, young one," Luna spoke, her voice sad, but still strong. "It's a fact of life. That ponies as young as you have to witness it is a shame, but it is inevitable in these times of strife."

"What I saw there wasn't just death!" Sweetie snapped. "It was murder! I’m not stupid! I know the difference! Stop justifying that murderer's actions. She killed a pony in cold blood! She would have killed me if I hadn’t been trained!"

Twilight opened her mouth to complain, but couldn't find the words.

"There's nothing you can say," Sweetie said, unknowingly echoing Twilight's thoughts, "that could make me forgive your friend."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Luna sighed. "But it's unavoidable now. You'll have to deal with it in your own time, young Sweetie Belle."

"You have no idea," Sweetie spat. "What your friend did to me. She took away one of the few reasons I could feel safe in other worlds. She took my sister away from me. How can I ever trust anypony again? First Esteem tells me one thing, and now you say another."

Twilight shook her head. "Sweetie, Esteem was trying to manipulate you into killing or really hurting Rarity. He was doing it out of malicious intent to destroy not only her, but all of our efforts. Your sister is a very important pony for our battles and—"

"Twilight," Luna put a calming hoof on her friend's shoulder. "Stop. There's nothing to be gained this way. Young Sweetie understands, but words cannot heal betrayal with a simple shift of blame, however accurate it is."

Sweetie watched Twilight bite her lip in an effort to stop the torrent of thoughts she obviously had from spilling out. She didn't feel angry. She just... didn't want to be here. There was no point.

"Where's the fragment?" Sweetie finally asked.

Twilight blinked, her previous thoughts forgotten. "The fragment?"

"The purple crystal from the temple," Sweetie elaborated. "It's mine. That fragment is the reason I ended up in this Celestia-forsaken world. All I need to do is touch it and I'll be gone from here. I know it's in this room," she said, raising a hoof the moment Twilight opened her mouth. "And I know that look you get when you're about to lie. So don't. I can feel the fragment.” Twilight’s mouth snapped shut. “You've done enough damage. Just... let me take it and carry on. It doesn't belong in this world, and thankfully neither do I."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "What claim do you have to it, little one? Why should we give it to you, when it can possibly be a weapon against Titan and Terra?"

Sweetie's eyes snapped towards Luna. "A weapon? You would do that to-" She glanced at Twilight. "Right, stupid question. That fragment is a part of Twilight Sparkle, my Twilight Sparkle from my world. It's my mission to find them all and get her back."

Luna snorted. "I find it hard to believe that you're a dimensional traveler, much less than your claims of ownership."

"Luna..." Twilight warned.

"What proof do you want?!" Sweetie retorted, allowing her notebook to float out from its dimensional pocket much to the surprise of both alicorn and unicorn. "Here's a letter from your, or should I say, Nightmare Moon's school of magic. Or a spell to jump back to another world! This bookmark turns into a full-sized cello, enchanted to grow or reduce in size according to my current body. See these spell matrices?! Do they look like something I could do? Can you feel their link to me? Do you even have any magic like this here?"

Luna stared for a moment at the notebook and several objects it carried within. Pictures of times that had never been. Songs and melodies scribbled into it, the sense that there was something else...

Twilight, for her part had taken to studying the matrices, clearly following the spell pattern. "Wait," she said, taking the notebook and laying it down on the table. "There's a message here... in the matrix iterations." She blinked, following the familiar tinge of magic. "It's... my magic! But I never did this! It's a message to me, from me!"

"What?" Luna approached, and her eyes glowed, following the magical pattern. "This is impressive work, Twilight Sparkle. And your signature is all over it. There's not another pony I know who would be able to do such a thing."

"What message?" Sweetie asked, rolling gingerly out of bed. "What do you mean there's a message there?"

Twilight's horn lit up, and the matrix seemed to click to the side, and yet it didn't move an inch. However, a ghostly apparition materialized on top of it. It was an exact copy of Twilight Sparkle, but there was a difference in the eyes. Years. Experience. Patience. She looked a bit more like Celestia than the Twilight they all knew.

"That's—" Sweetie gasped. "That's Twilight from the third world I visited. The immortal one."

"Twilight Sparkle," the apparition spoke. "Greetings. If you're seeing this, you are probably helping Sweetie Belle in her unfortunate travels through the Multiverse. I have no idea how long she has been doing this by now... I can only hope it hasn't been too long. I saved this here, as a hidden message so that only I, or another Twilight with equal magical experience might be able to find it." The ghostly Twilight closed her eyes and sighed. "Sweetie Belle is on a quest to find and put an alternate version of ourselves back together. What she doesn't know—couldn't have known—is that she's actually killing her Twilight Sparkle with each fragment she absorbs."

Sweetie stepped back, shaking her head in denial.

"Sweetie is unaware of this fact, thankfully," the apparition continued. "But it presents a conundrum that has to be addressed soon. Were I left to my own devices for the next few hundred years, I’m certain I could find a solution, but Sweetie would not live to see it. This is why I have hidden this message. Because you, Twilight, have the knowledge to figure this message out, and hopefully, your experience and the different circumstances of our worlds will provide you with an answer I couldn't see at the time."

Twilight Sparkle grimaced, looking at herself as the apparition did a half turn and hesitated.

"Sweetie Belle still has her innocence intact. Or did by the time she left this world. She needs you and Rarity and her friends... she needs Celestia and Luna, all of you to support her, because she has what I've seen so many lose throughout the centuries and never find again: hope. Please help her where I couldn't."

The apparition faded, leaving the room silent. Both princess and general turned to face Sweetie Belle, who had curled up and was shaking with powerful sobs.

Twilight looked at Luna. "I'm fixing this. I'm letting her take the fragment and I'm going to find a way to allow Sweetie to take it and as many others as she can find with her without absorbing them."

Luna shook her head, but didn't argue. "And how do you intend to do that, when the other you couldn't?"

Twilight frowned, looking around the room until her eyes settled on Sweetie's lone diamond. She stared at it for a moment, then down to the notebook, then over to Sweetie Belle. Twilight's eyes widened. "Luna... this notebook is linked to Sweetie's life-force, isn't it?"

The goddess quirked an eyebrow, but nodded.

"And by itself, it's a complex matrix with nodes of energy created and originally fueled by my magic, so to speak..."

"What are you thinking, Twilight Sparkle?"

"I think... I figured it out," Twilight said, walking over to Sweetie Belle. "Sweetie... what's done is done, and I can tell you, your Twilight, any Twilight would understand that you didn't know. That you were trying to do the right thing. But you haven't killed her. She still lives. It seems clear that you’ve absorbed some of her magic and personality... I think, at worst, right now she'll need to recuperate when she's finally back together. But it's important that you stop absorbing her, and for that, I need your help."

Sweetie sniffled. "How?"

Twilight grinned. "You know that spell Esteem taught you to create your blade?"

Sweetie grimaced, but nodded, looking up at Twilight with puffy, red eyes.

"I think we can adapt it... we can tie the fragments to your notebook. They'll remain there as if they were it's own blade, still linked to you through it, but without you being able to use them as weapons like that. That way you should be able to keep traveling and rescuing her without doing any more damage to either of you.”

Sweetie's eyes caught Luna's. "Will you let me take the fragment?"

Luna took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Twilight Sparkle has decreed that you should have it back. So you shall." Her eyes opened and she braved a smile. "And it seems like such a long time since we have done anything just to help, without trying to find the angle where it would benefit us... I think we are overdue."

Twilight nodded, levitating the fragment out of a hidden nook in the wall and placing it on the table, next to the notebook and Akela. "I think we can also give you a harness to take with you for your... diamond."

Sweetie shook her head. "I can't take things with me unless they fit inside my notebook or are part of it. The matrix is too complicated and strained to add another node or a containment spell. And unless you have the time and resources to create something like my cello, I don't think I can take her with me."

Twilight grinned. "Well then, let's try and put this together... I think you'll be surprised about what you can do without a matrix."

Sweetie nodded, but couldn’t return the smile. "Please teach me that spell."

"Figured Ah'd find you here," Applejack said, approaching her. "Rarity, that filly inside... is she really Sweetie Belle?"

Rarity looked away, not really wanting to talk about it. "She's a real filly, and that's what matters. I almost killed a filly in cold blood. If it hadn't been for her friend..."

Applejack frowned. "Ah investigated some, and it turns out this friend of hers was a loyal follower of Titan."

"What does that tell you, then?" Rarity snapped, glaring at her friend. "That a follower of that monster would jump in front of my blade to protect an innocent filly?"

Applejack glared right back. "What it tells me," she said, slowly, "Is that there are good ponies on both sides of this fight. Ah can't rightly understand Octavia's thinkin' when she sided with Titan, but that don’t make her a bad pony by itself. She did the right thing, saved you as well as Sweetie."

Rarity snorted. "Saved me?"

"Could you have forgiven yourself if you had killed a filly?"

Rarity couldn't answer. Would have she have been able to carry on? Knowing what she had done, under Esteem's influence or not?

"Why don't y'all go in there and talk to her?" Applejack asked. "Ah'm sure—"

"I've been listening," Rarity confessed. "She's Sweetie Belle. Just not mine. And I-I destroyed her trust in me and all other versions of me she might meet in the future. How can say anything to her?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "You'd rather not have the chance? How long will she be here?"

Rarity's brain froze. Could she just let her go without even—

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden flash of light from under the door to Twilight's room. Without thinking, Rarity kicked the door open, barging in. "Sweetie, I—"

Twilight and Luna both stared at her in surprise tinged with sadness. They were the only two in the room; of Sweetie there was no sign. Rarity gasped and fell forward, only to be caught by Applejack, who held her close as she finally gave up and started crying.

o.0.oo.0.o

The world shifted around Sweetie the moment she sent her notebook back into its pocket dimension. The familiar feeling of being transported into another world enveloped her and she closed her eyes, not even wanting to say goodbye to Luna or Twilight.

She didn’t know what to think. How to react. She had been killing her friend and mentor. What kind of pony did that? How could she ever forgive herself?

She vaguely heard the door crash open, but the world had already turned white and she was gone. Maybe she’d be lucky and stay in this void where she could simply not harm anypony else. Maybe she could stop existing altogether.

The deaths in the labyrinth had been mostly painless. Surely she could get one last one?

There was a sudden, unexpected tugging feeling when she arrived. Sweetie grimaced, wondering if there was a way she could end this whole damned journey and opened her eyes into the light. As soon as the light faded, Sweetie’s eyes focused on the enormous gaping jaws about to chomp down on her.

“Oh—”

Next chapter: A Heart of Change

End Chapter 7

Summary That Never Was: Harpflank and Sweets

Author's Note

Arcainum and I messed around online a lot and we both had plenty of fun with wacky characters and stories, so when I absolutely adored Harpflank and Sweets, it was a natural choice to recruit him into my ~~fic of doom~~ Sweetie Chronicles planned visits.

This was so canonically intended, it is actually referenced in the fic: WD: The HiE Experiment in the "Unicorn" chapter.

Summary That Never Was: Harpflank and Sweets

The justice has been doubled! Though the world has been saved from Nightmare Moon, Metropony remains under threat. With the Empire gone, a new wave of super-criminals has emerged to fill the vacuum of power! How will the bastion of Harmony fare in an increasingly Chaotic world?! New friends, new enemies, and new adventures await those stalwart heroes named...

HARPFLANK AND SWEETS: SEASON 2, EPISODE 21XX - THE SWEETIE CHRONICLES

BOOOM!

Pieces of concrete and glass flew around the zone of impact on one of the many skyscrapers of Metropony City, propelled by flames and followed by black smoke.

Below, the citizens cried out in shock and horror, stampeding in different directions, trying to find a safe place to hide as yet another explosion followed by another blasted the skyline of their city.

In their panic, stalls vending fruits and vegetables were utterly destroyed, bursting also into flames and adding more fuel to the increasingly chaotic situation.

Those ponies that were brave enough to gaze towards where the attacks came from, stammered and collapsed, babbling in incomprehension at the huge, cone-like metallic structure that slowly approached them. A flash of light on its surface would be followed by an explosion on one of the buildings, raining down a cloud of dust and debris on the streets below.

It was then that—with the collective sound of a brass ensemble—three strangely shaped airships of some kind; one orange, one red and one pink, roared past the city, their passing shaking the glass on buildings to the point where it would have cracked had it not been destroyed by the previous explosions.

The ships performed a sudden ninety-degree turn, speeding upwards into the air as they wove around each other.

From the red-colored ship a voice emanated, “Ready?! Fusion!”

[...]

Author's Note:

I think that this is one of the stories that I was REALLY looking forward to write, but we never got around to it, which really sucks. Harpflank and Sweets is one hell of a fun story, and Aranium and I had an entire outline ready, as you'll see below. The above part was the scene we had written for the opening, which we also never finished getting around to either.

I'm not messing around with it. This is how we planned this crossover would go, back in May of 2014.

Our story commences with a sudden attack on Metropony City! A mechanical fortress has suddenly appeared, crushing its way towards the last bastion of Harmony in the land! (Or THE Bastion if it's not the last). Before HarpFlank and Sweets can actually start fighting it, a giant Mecha emerges from an unknown location (let's pull a Mazinger Z- it emerges from the lake right next to Sweet Apple Acres; it splits in half and opens up as the Mecha is slowly elevated from its secret location)

It is the Cutie Mark Crusaders Mecha-Pilots (yay!) (Also, insert a scene with local Rarity preparing a Pineapple Pie for Sweetie, since she loves it- yay for Macross and... sad for Roy... might be a bit obscure for some readers but hell, if they missed out on the original Macross they missed out in a centerpiece of life.)

Flying a robot that can split into three pieces, they challenge the fortress into battle, firing and dodging clouds of missiles (a la Macross) and get into a fight with another Giant Robot, the THE MANTICRONE, piloted by Silver Spoon. The battle is fierce, but the distraction provides HarpFlank and Sweets a chance to try and get into the ship. However, they an unable to do so since the fortress seems to be impenetrable, and the only area of access seems to be the hatch from where Silver Spoon's Mecha launches.

They, along with the rest of M.A.R.E., End up watching the battle, trying to devise a plan.
In the meantime, the Crusaders are having a tough fight against Silver Spoon. Her Mecha seems to have capabilities beyond the ones they had planned for and in a particularly vicious attack, just after dodging some missiles, bursts through their defense, the THE MANTICRONE scorpion tail, pierces the CMC's armor, embedding itself in Sweetie! (Cue, Pineapple Pie falls to the floor and splatters)

However, that is the point where TSC Sweetie enters the world. Her Changeling powers keep her alive despite the fact that she should be dead. (Hopefully the tail is not made out of iron). This lets her hear the shouts from the other Crusaders to hit the Awesome Button, which dunks her with Chemical-X and sends her into a singing frenzy of Totsugeki Love Heart (which we'll link) this allows her to pull away and in a very Basara Nekki-eske move, destroy a whole lot of stuff with the power of Rock.

The fight turns around as the Crusader Mecha slowly tears itself apart while kicking ass. However, as they are about to give Silver Spoon's robot the last punch of awesomeness, a total systems failure forces them to crash land next to Harpflank and Sweets.

The two heroes quickly fish out the Crusaders from the burning wreckage. When the two teams (sans Sweetie-Belle) recognize each other, we have a “you!” moment.

The Fortress is temporarily stopped by a forcefield courtesy of M.A.R.E. (can we make a reference to Shining Armor?) but they have limited time to come up with a plan.

The Crusaders huddle up for a little planning session, where they discuss their options. Sweetie asks them to let her talk to Harpflank and Sweets. When she gets close enough to them, she recognizes who they really are and asks them if they are dressed up for Nightmare Night.

Bon-Bon immediately questions Sweetie on how she knows their names, which prompts Sweetie to just tell everypony she is a Sweetie Belle from another dimension. The fact that they all take it in stride makes it all the more surreal for her.

The group meets up with Vinyl and Octavia, which in turn causes Sweetie to insist on spending time with them.

The fortress keeps on firing at the shield while the group has an emergency meeting where it is revealed that it is Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon behind the attack. The group devises a plan to infiltrate the fortress: Apple Bloom and Scootaloo will pilot their mecha with the aid of add-ons piloted by Vinyl and Octavia. They will fight their way to the fortress’ hangar and deposit a pod containing Sweetie, Harpflank and Sweets into the Fortress.

The group departs, but Rarity catches sight of Sweetie Belle and stands confused for a moment before deciding to go to the communications center to find out what’s happening.

The battle is intense, but the Crusaders, Vinyl and Octavia manage to punch through the hangar doors and leave the pod inside. They continue their fight and while Vinyl tries to hack into the other mecha, eventually opening a video channel showing an older Silver Spoon, allowing her to tell them how she was stung by a radioactive Manticore and developed powers and how she’s going to die because she’s getting older and such.

In the meantime, the infiltration team is making their way to the control room when they are attacked by metal manticores! They fight their way forward, facing increasing odds in the form of different robots. Eventually they reach a really strong Robot, but with time running short, Sweets insists that they go ahead and let her fight it. A second Robot eventually appears and Harpflank stays behind to fight it. Sweetie carries on, pushed ahead by the words of Lyra and Bon-Bon until she fights her own robot boss. After the battle, the pony in charge of the fortress makes her appearance: Diamond Tiara.

Emulating magic with nano-technology, she battles with the tired Sweetie Belle until she defeats her. As Diamond Tiara is about to deliver the final blow to Sweetie, and the Crusader regrets the fact that she doesn’t believe she will survive this, much less any more worlds, Rarity manages to patch a transmission to her: “Sweetie, I don't care if you don't believe in yourself right now! For now... just... believe in me, who believes in you!"

Fueled by Rarity’s words, which somehow have a stronger effect on her than they probably should, Sweetie jumps back into battle, using her magic and changeling powers to slowly start overwhelming Diamond Tiara.

Harpflank and Sweets suddenly burst into the room, adding their power to Sweetie’s and managing to completely defeat Diamond Tiara. Sweetie notices that the control room contains Twilight’s shard as the power source for the fortress and retrieves it. This causes the fortress to activate a self-destruct protocol.

As the fortress starts to explode, the CMCs, Vinyl and Octavia manage to destroy Silver Spoon’s mecha. Silver Spoon bursts out of the wreckage, sporting bat-wings and a scorpion-tail, then crashes through the outer hull of the fortress to save Diamond Tiara.

She picks up her friend and flies out, leaving the heroes behind to die a fiery death... until, of course, the giant mecha piloted by their allies bursts through and picks them up. Cradling their friends in their giant hands, they pilot away as fast as they can... the fortress explodes with the shockwave hitting our heroes’ mecha just as they were about to make it.

Cut to scene: the group slowly crawls out of the remains of the giant robot, wondering at the fact that they are still alive. A vehicle makes its way out of the city, Derpy and Rarity quickly come out to check on their friends/family. After a short talk about what she’s learned, Sweetie uses the shard to transfer into another world, leaving behind a really confused Sweetie Belle who is terrified that her older sister knows she’s a Crusader.

A Heart of Change

Edited By: lammy, CMC4TW & Fifth Alicorn/Proof By: Trevor & Super Big Mac

Sweetie blinked and found herself gaping at the giant maw of a dragon of some sort. It snorted stupidly for a moment, before snapping at her with whip-like speed.

“Oh, damn!” Sweetie shouted.

An I Quattro Elementi slide, complete with a toss of her mane, had the creature tearing a chunk of rock off the floor yet again, rather than chewing her in half. She was suddenly aware of others in the room, the sound of laughter, the shouts of worried ponies, a weight around her neck and that she was wearing a pair of extremely heavy saddlebags… but all of that was secondary to the creature in front of her.

After the bite, it used one of its hind legs to try and claw at her, but she had already predicted its next move correctly and cantered smoothly around it, following its flow to get around and behind the creature, and releasing a burst of flame to lick at its other hind leg.

Following the move to completion Sweetie ended in a pose where she held her left foreleg up and showed her figure to her enemy, as if she were challenging it to hit her. Her dueling style could be—and often was— extremely irritating to opponents.

The creature roared, whether startled or in pain she couldn’t really tell. There was no way her spells were going to do much damage to those scales. Her eyes scanned the room, trying to find a way out, and she quickly noticed her two familiar-looking companions. “Scootaloo! What the hay is this thing!?” she shouted, dodging a tail-swipe as the beast rounded on her by ducking under it and spinning as it flew over her.

“The hay if I know!” Scootaloo shouted and rushed forward. “But we gotta get out of here! Quick, I’ll distract it!”

Sweetie kept her eyes on the dragon-like creature. “Okay, but be quick. I can only dodge it so many times!”

“Scootaloo! Sweetie! What are ya doin’!? We should be runnin’ away from it, not towards it!” Apple Bloom shouted from the across the room.

Scootaloo sprung into flight, dashing in a swift spiral around the beast, drawing its gaze. “Why are ya still talking, Sweetie?! Run with Apple Bloom! Now!”

A deep laughter echoed down into the chamber. “How very amusing…”

“Just give me a second!” Sweetie shouted past the strange voice, her horn flashing with accumulating magic. “Scootaloo! Fly towards Apple Bloom in a straight line! I’ll follow you!”

The moment Scootaloo took off, she released her spell, plunging the whole room into a darkness so thick she could almost feel it. Her eyes snapped towards her friends as she started galloping away. “Slow down! You can hover to the floor now! She’s right in front of you!”

“Sweetie! What the hay?! I can’t see a thing!” She stopped her flight forward in an almost elastic manner. With a slow and uncertain descent, Scootaloo eased down to the stony floor. “What did you do? I’ve never seen you cast that one before! What happened back there?”

The draconic creature let out a baleful cry into the darkness and blindly charged. Its reptilian limbs shot out in all directions, kicking up loose rocks and decayed wood. The whole chamber shook with the monster’s advance.

“Quit worryin’ ‘bout the small stuff, Scootaloo, we gotta get outta here! Sweetie, can ya use a light spell or somethin’?” Apple Bloom stumbled through the darkness, heading toward the entrance. “Darn it, there’s so much debris in here.” She extended a forehoof as she stumbled towards a segment of broken stone.

Sweetie ran towards her childhood friends, pausing briefly to envelop Scootaloo in her telekinesis dragging her with a quick, “It’s me!” up to Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom! We’re here!” She skidded to a halt next to her friends when the monster took flight, trying to catch them and crashed against the ceiling just above them, falling down right above them. “Hold on to me!” she shouted, her horn casting the strongest magical shield she could muster.

The beast crashed down on top of the barrier, making it buckle and flicker, nullifying Sweetie’s darkness spell by requiring all of her attention to maintain the shield through the onslaught.

“Ahh!” Apple Bloom stumbled to the ground in surprise, but righted herself in a moment. “There! Quick, Scootaloo!” She pointed a hoof at the half-caved-in entranceway to the tower and jumped into a canter towards it, when a tremor shook the entire chamber. “Oh, hay! The floor!”

“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo leaped out towards the earth pony, grabbing her hind legs, just before she slipped into the gaping chasm that suddenly opened beneath them. She pumped her wings, but the weight was too much for her, and she fell with her friend, disappearing into the hole.

Sweetie Belle’s shield finally broke when she took a dive after the other two Crusaders, allowing the remaining mass of their huge enemy to crash where they stood mere moments before.

* * *

She felt the magic swirl around her, deafening her own scream even as it started. The spells’ patterns were made of quick and precise weaves. It was magic she had never seen before. It spread around her and changed with almost hypnotic movement. In only a moment, she felt sick. Her head was spinning just as the magic around her was. Behind the swirling rainbow of colours, she felt something familiar.

Then it all suddenly vanished, and all that remained were those familiar pockets of magic. Apple Bloom. Scootaloo, she identified them, and with that knowledge, she felt the world open up beneath her. Falling? Where am I?

She felt the impact, but there was no pain, just a sense of force. In the following moments, she felt the world around her, gray, still, and silent. She tried to look around, but nothing happened. She tried to blink, but her eyelids refused to move.

Huh? I can’t feel anything? Where’s my body?! Panic filled her mind as she remembered that feeling, that cold collar fastening around her neck. No! she rebuked herself. I can figure this out. I can still sense the magic.

Calming her mind, she let her senses stretch out from her. She felt something, like basking in the light of the sun. It was intense and bright. It took her a moment to figure out the pattern. It’s my magic? No, there’s something different to it. And why’s it so bright? She reached out to touch it, but she couldn’t move the patterns; they remained adamant and firm, like an object just out of reach.

Frantically, she traced its form and realised it was her own body. The unicorn shape, the inner magic pulsing from deep within, and the dull strands of curly hair. But it can’t be. She focused on the heart, the source of all unicorn’s magic. It’s too bright. Who is that? What happened?

* * *

Sweetie groaned and shook her head, looking around the area where they were, then looking up above them. “Well, that wasn’t too smart,” she muttered. Raising her voice, she called out, “Everypony okay? Scootaloo? Apple Bloom? I didn’t get you killed, did I?”

Scootaloo popped out from a pile of debris. “Not quite. Though it was a pretty decent try.” She gave herself a thorough shake, emitting plumes of dust. “How about you, Apple Bloom? You okay?”

“Ya didn’t have ta land on me,” Apple Bloom muttered as she pushed herself off the ground and winced slightly. “Sweetie, why’s yer magic always gotta backfire like that?”

“My magic didn’t backfire,” Sweetie growled. “A damned dragon-wannabe landed on my shield and broke the floor. Besides, we’re alive, right? That counts for something.”

“Ah s’pose, but sometimes Ah wish bein’ alive after yer spells wasn’t yer baseline fer success.” Apple Bloom started slowly walking around the area. “Ah wonder, where’d we fall to? Ah can’t see nothin’ down here.”

“I still have my darkvision spell active, give me a second...” Sweetie stood back, releasing her spell before casting a softly glowing sphere of light, which she levitated to hang over the three of them. “Well, I don’t know exactly where we are, but we are in deep. I can’t even see the hole we fell through.” She turned to look at the other two Crusaders, who were shakily getting to their hooves. “Any ideas?”

“Darkvision, the dark spell, and the fire from earlier...” Scootaloo muttered to herself, and frowned at the unicorn. “Wait a second...” She drifted over to Sweetie Belle. “Since when did you start using spells like that?” Her frown only deepened as she drew closer. “And your voice, even your words... they’re different! Who the hay are you?! And what did you do to Sweetie Belle?!”

“What are ya talkin’ ‘bout, Scootaloo? Sweetie always uses new spells we’ve never seen before. Remember, just yesterday she had me walkin’ on the roof.” The earth pony made her way carefully across the rugged ground, next to the other two. “Ya hit yer head or somethin’?”

Scootaloo scowled at the words. “She didn’t even use any crystals to do any of it. And even the light she uses is wrong. She’s different.”

Sweetie gave Scootaloo a considering look. “I didn’t really expect you to be the one to notice,” she admitted, sounding disinterested. “Spellcasting is usually not too different, so, how does the local Sweetie Belle cast the light spell? Does she have to cast it on a stone or something?” She shed the saddlebags, watching them fall to the floor with a thump. “Is that why these feel like they’re full of rocks?”

“Local Sweetie Belle?” The pegasus flew a quick circle around the unicorn. Her eyes caught onto the mark on her flank. “A different cutie mark?! Are you a changeling? Who are you?!” she shouted, bringing her face only inches away from Sweetie Belle’s. “Where’s the real Sweetie Belle? Answer me!”

“Hold on, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom interrupted and nabbed her friend’s tail with her mouth, pulling her to the rocky floor. She spat out the purple tail and frowned at Scootaloo. “Give her some space. Didn’t ya learn anythin’ from the diamond dogs?”

“Better listen to Apple Bloom, Scoots,” Sweetie said, tilting her head. “Risky business to stare into the unknown... sometimes you can really regret getting an answer. Anyway, I see you two are fine so far, I guess I can probably just get what I need and let you get your Sweetie back as soon as I’m done.”

“‘Scoots’? You don’t get to call me ‘Scoots’!” The pegasus jumped forward, with a few quick pumps of her wings and shot straight toward Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie Belle cantered to the side, avoiding Scootaloo’s attempted attack by inches, striking a pose for a second before the pegasus jumped at her again, this attack foiled by a side step and a toss of her mane, ending in her looking down at her opponent.

Scootaloo wasn’t about to give up and quickly righted herself. “You dumb dancer!” She sprung back into the air and began hovering. She flew small circles around Sweetie, glaring at her cautiously. Scootaloo’s body was tensing, preparing to dash in a moment. “You imposter! You won’t get away with this! What did you do with Sweetie Belle?!”

“Stop it! Both of you!” Apple Bloom shouted as she rushed over to the two of them. “Stop fightin’!”

“I’m not fighting,” Sweetie Belle, stated. “I’m merely dodging. If I were fighting there would be a lot of fire, ice and wind going around and a lot less Scoots flying in one piece.”

The pegasus frowned darkly at the words. “If you think you could even touch me, then you’re in for a world of hurt! What did you do with Sweetie!?” Scootaloo suddenly dashed forward, forehooves outstretched.

“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom tried to nab her tail once again, but she wasn’t quick enough.

Sweetie stepped into Scootaloo’s attack spinning almost casually under her outstretched hooves, but unlike the other times, instead of striking a pose, she followed the move, sending her own forehoof under and behind Scootaloo’s shoulder, smacking her lightly on the back of the head.

“Oops,” Sweetie deadpanned. “I touched you.”

With a single wingbeat, Scootaloo pulled a full one-eighty. With a scowl on her face, she bolted down toward Sweetie Belle in earnest. “You think you can just get away with this?!” Landing on the ground and pivoting with her front legs, she bucked with her hind legs.

“You think you have it in you to stop me?” Sweetie asked, casually moving to the side just enough for Scootaloo’s buck to brush past her. She tossed her mane. “You’ll have to try harder, Scoots.”

With a flurry of her wings and the momentum of her own buck, she curved her motion into another charge. This time, she was fully on the ground, and her wings were spread wide, cutting off the narrow passageway. Tears had formed in her eyes. “I said, you don’t get to call me that!”

“But I did.” Sweetie tilted her head, looking at Scootaloo dead in the eyes. “You can stop me, you know. Just make sure you kick hard enough. Well, and be faster. Rainbow Dash would be crying tears of shame if she saw you move all snail-like.”

Scootaloo screamed and pumped her wings so hard, she left a visible streak of purple behind her. As she flew forth, in her rage, she smashed into a wall and kicked off of it like springboard, shooting straight toward Sweetie Belle with deadly speed.

Sweetie relaxed, letting the arrogant look fall from her face as she closed her eyes and stayed put. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

With a rush of wind, she felt Scootaloo’s approach, but it wasn’t outstretched hooves that collided with her. Scootaloo had turned at the last moment and her charge turned into a tumbling tangle of legs and wings, and they crashed into the cave wall, together. Scootaloo crumpled to the side in a fit of sobs.

“I know damn it! Rainbow Dash, she hates me! I failed her! I’m never fast enough, I never will be.”

Sweetie lay on the floor, on her back, her body aching and her breath short. She pushed the emerald necklace she had somehow ended up with from herself and looked up at the ceiling, sighing. “You’re an idiot, Scootaloo. As if Rainbow Dash could ever feel disappointed in you.” She snorted. “Although, speaking for myself, I’m rather cross you chose to tackle me instead of breaking my neck.”

“I couldn’t do it. Even if you’re not her, you’re still Sweetie,” Scootaloo mumbled as she pulled herself off the ground. The pegasus, looked at Sweetie, confusion filling her eyes as much as her tears. “What do you want from me, damn it?”

Sweetie shook her head.

“Girls! Stop it! Why are you two fighting?” Apple Bloom rushed over to their side. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a small kit of medical supplies and began looking over their scrapes and cuts. “Why would you do somethin’ like this?”

“I-I don’t know,” Scootaloo said, slumping down onto the ground. dropping her head into her hooves. “I don’t know... I’m sorry.”

Sweetie didn’t answer, refusing to look their way until, with a sigh, she spoke up. “If you must know, I’m only here temporarily,” she droned, clearly avoiding the question. “I’m here instead of your Sweetie, who will return completely unharmed once I finish my mission, which is to get a fragment of Twilight Sparkle back. You can come with me, or let me do this on my own, it’s up to you.”

“Replaced her? How’s that even possible?” Apple Bloom muttered. “More importantly, where are ya headed?”

Scootaloo, looked up at her, and blinked in confusion.

“A fragment a’Twilight, huh? Ah want ta believe, ya,” Apple Bloom continued, nodding to herself. “Ah really do. Ya don’t seem ta have any reason to lie, and Ah can’t think up any alternatives for what just happened. If ya don’t mind, though, Ah’ll stay a bit skeptical ‘til Ah hear more.”

“Look.” Sweetie sighed. “I have no interest in staying any longer than I need to. I’ve already had enough with other ponies backstabbing me, or trying to manipulate me. The more involved I get, the greater the hurt and now...” She warily looked from Apple Bloom to Scootaloo. “It’s you two. I’d rather get this done quickly... and without anypony getting hurt.”

“Sweetie,” Apple Bloom said sadly, her amber eyes shimmering in empathy. “Of course. We don’t want anypony ta get hurt neither. We’re on yer side. We need ta work together ta get through this mess. Followin’ you and helpin’ you will lead us ta getting Sweetie Belle back, right? And we can’t afford ta let her appear in some place all alone. We’ll be there for her, we have ta be.” Apple Bloom gave Sweetie a solid stare. “And we ain’t useless neither. We got this far already by stickin’ together. We’ll make it through this.”

Scootaloo glanced around them for a moment and sighed, her wings sagged in defeat. “There doesn’t seem to be any way out of here anyways. It would be stupid to go different ways.”

“I guess it’s the Crusaders all over again, although you two are all grown up this time,” Sweetie said, smiling without any real humor. “So, why don’t you tell me where we are and why I arrived straight into the maw of some random, overgrown reptile?”

“Uh, well...” Apple Bloom began. “Ah suppose ya could say we’re on a sort o’ vacation gone wrong. We were just tryin’ ta get to the Crystal Empire, but one thing went wrong after another, and we’ve spent half o’ the week travellin’ through some diamond dog’s caves. We were almost to the empire, when we found out that even if we got to the city, it woulda been impossible ta get in. There was a huge storm ‘round the whole place.” She shot a dubious look at Sweetie Belle. “Ah know it sounds a li’l far-fetched, but bear with me. Anyway, Sweetie- uh, our Sweetie, she said there’s some big spell behind this whole thing. Somethin’ ‘bout a ‘spell within a spell’. We were gonna investigate that further, right after we checked out that tower.”

“But he was waiting for us,” Scootaloo muttered.

“He?” Sweetie wondered aloud.

“Just a voice,” Apple Bloom supplied. “We don’t know who he is, but he tried ta kill us with that dragon. And since we fell through the floor...” She sighed. “We’re stuck in the mountain again.”

“That’s just great,” Scootaloo said, sarcasm heavy in her voice. “It’s always these stupid caves.”

“So,” Sweetie looked at the pair. “Basically, you have no idea whatsoever about what’s happening...other than it shouldn’t?”

“Well, Sweetie, uh...” Apple Bloom looked a little sheepish. “Our Sweetie would have a better idea...but yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”

“Great.” Sweetie Belle looked up into the darkness. “Up there, when I arrived... I think I felt something familiar... might have been my Twilight’s fragment. Maybe that’s the place to start? Unless you think we’d have better luck in the Crystal Kingdom?”

“Well, we saw a crystal, but it belongs to Discord,” Apple Bloom offered. “Sweetie was goin’ after it, but turns out it was a trap. ‘Fore we knew it, the rest of the roof was cavin’ in on us, and that dragon broke in.” She let out an apologetic sigh. “Ah don’t know what happened to the crystal though.”

“Can we even get up there?” Scootaloo asked as she squinted looking for a hole in the ceiling. “It might have sealed up behind us. I could fly up there, but I’d be flying blind. And carrying somepony up there could be dangerous.” She gave Sweetie a measuring glance. “Can you teleport yourself and Bloom up there?”

“Nope!” Sweetie responded. “Teleportation is not a spell I have learned yet.”

“So that means we’re stuck down here...” Scootaloo’s wings tightened to her sides instinctively. “...underground. Again!”

“Maybe there’s a path outta here.” Apple Bloom glanced around at the craggy rocks. “Looks like we’re in a fissure though. Let’s hope it actually leads somewhere though. Otherwise, we might have ta dig our way out.”

Sweetie Belle nodded, but hesitated. “I... see your point, but maybe we should rest a bit. Scootaloo doesn’t seem to be at her best, and we all seem tired as well.”

“I’m fine!” Scootaloo protested, flaring her wings back out in emphasis. “If she can keep going, then so can I!”

“But Ah’d rather we rest, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom countered. “Not everypony is as tough as you. Ah, fer one, could use a bit o’ time ta figure things out. Besides, ya know the rule, it’s two against one here.”

“But Bloom, this isn’t even our Sweetie! It doesn’t count!”

Sweetie blinked. “Wait, we’re a democracy?” she looked from Apple Bloom to Scootaloo. “You’re joking, right?” She shook her head in disappointment. “What would my older brother think of this? A democracy! Amongst Crusaders. Tsk.”

“Older brother?” Apple Bloom looked a little stunned. “So ya have a completely different family back home? Our Sweetie only has Rarity fer a siblin’.”

“I said it doesn’t count!” Scootaloo interjected. “Besides, we aren’t even crusading anymore, we don’t have to follow those rules.”

“Well,” Sweetie muttered, looking away from both of them, “I have an adoptive older brother,” she said. “My sister… I don’t know if I could face her, right now. But I could sure use my brother.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a lot goin’ through yer mind.” Apple Bloom looked to both her companions. “We all do. Why don’t we just rest fer a while? That dragon sure took a lot outta me, and the earlier hike wasn’t too easy either.”

Scootaloo slumped down to the ground and shot Apple Bloom a small scowl. “You weren’t the one that had to carry the both of you.”

“And you weren’t the one without wings or magic, danglin’ on the end of a rope fer dear life!” Apple Bloom laughed and settled down on the ground, and began relieving herself of her saddlebags. She dug through some of her supplies and shook her head sadly. “Ah’ve got a bit o’ water, but we’re right out o’ food. If only Ah’d known we’d be hikin’ so much…”

Sweetie shrugged, and simply laid down against one of the walls. “Might as well rest. If we’re going to end up fighting giant reptiles, we should really think about our options.”

“Ah say we should avoid ‘em altogether if we can,” Apple Bloom offered, before taking a swig of water from a bottle. “Speakin’ of options, what exactly can ya do?” She gave Sweetie Belle a once-over, and her eyes rested on the unicorn’s cutie mark for just a moment longer than the rest. “With yer magic, Ah mean.”

Sweetie closed her eyes. “I’m not of much use in direct combat...most of what I learned is better for sneak attacks, or dodging. I have several elemental spells, darkness, silence, voice projection, a weapon I can use to kill in the dark… I guess I’d make a good assassin.” She shrugged. “Nothing that impressive, really.”

“Well, killin’s outta the question. Looks like we’ll just have ta be careful goin’ forward.” The earth pony tilted her head. “Ah s’ppose that’s a mite more reliable than our Sweetie...” She rubbed her chin with her hoof before turning her gaze upon Scootaloo, who seemed about ready to snap at her. “What? Scootaloo, ya know it’s true. Sweetie’s never been one fer subtlety, and with they way she’s always tryin’ a new spell without tellin’ us. It gets ta be a pain, ya know? It’ll only take so long until she gets us in over our heads.”

Scootaloo looked aghast at her words. “Bloom... You realize you’re talking about our friend, right?”

“Uh, yeah,” she deadpanned. “She’s our friend, but darn it, she can be a huge headache at times. You know what Ah’m talkin’ ‘bout Scootaloo. You know, with the way she always pokes fun at ya.”

Sweetie watched them argue, sighing softly and laying her head on her hooves. ‘How much of this have I missed? Will my Scootaloo and Apple Bloom be the same as these two? I wonder... when they find their cutie marks, will they be the same as those?’ She stole a glance at her own cutie mark, wincing at the reminder of what it meant. “So... your Sweetie makes spells up as she goes?” she ventured. “That requires some talent.”

“Talent, and a whole lot of patience as ya watch her mess things up with her magic,” Apple Bloom admitted with a small laugh. “The number of times she’s told me, ‘Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll work,’ are gettin’ ta be too many ta count. Ah s’ppose the sad part is Ah always believe her when she says it...” She shook her head bemusedly at the thought.

Sweetie Belle laid her head on her hooves, glancing their way. “They say believing in yourself and knowing how the magic works are the key components for spellcasting.”

“It’s not like that at all,” Scootaloo muttered. “Sweetie always said that the books were wrong about how magic works. She knows more about magic than just about anypony. Twilight even took her in because she said Sweetie had a unique talent for it.” Scootaloo moved over to Apple Bloom and snagged the bottle of water and took a quick drink. “She tried explaining magic to me before, and I couldn’t follow it. But she said she can see the magic even after she casts it. It’s all shapes and patterns, that nopony else can see.”

Sweetie cringed at the mention of Twilight. “I guess I can see why Twilight would take an interest in her. It’s rare to find ponies with such a powerful talent. I’ve never even met anypony that can see the magic like you said... I can see the patterns, but not the living magic.”

“She and Twilight... they never really got along,” Scootaloo admitted. “In fact, they would almost always be at each other’s throats whenever anypony brought magic into the conversation. They always argued about what was the proper way to cast their magic.” She shook her mane. “I still can hardly believe Twilight agreed to take her in as an apprentice.”

Sweetie Belle smiled sadly. “Twilight has been known to choose the wrong apprentice before,” she said, closing her eyes. “Although if your Sweetie displays a talent she is unused to, I am not surprised she would extend the invitation.”

“I guess her magic must be something really special then,” Apple Bloom mused. “When we last talked ‘bout it, she seemed a little hesitant, but Ah imagine, without her gems, she’d be just a regular ol’ unicorn when it comes ta magic.”

Scootaloo huffed at the comment. “She couldn’t be just a regular unicorn after what happened with Discord.”

This caught Sweetie’s interest and she opened her eyes again. “Discord? I haven’t had the chance to meet him in my travels... all I know of him is that initial fight he had against Twilight and the others.” She looked at Scootaloo. “Did... Discord do something to Sweetie Belle?”

“It was complicated...” Scootaloo began. “Sweetie ran away years ago. We chased after her, all of us, our sisters and the rest. I don’t know exactly what happened—she never really talked too much about it afterward—but Sweetie did say that she saw Discord as her friend and blames Twilight for what happened in the end. After all these years, I still don’t think she’s forgiven her... that’s why I find it so hard to believe that she managed to stay as Twilight’s apprentice. I see it in her eyes whenever Sweetie glances at her,” Scootaloo whispered, more to herself than anypony else, “she’s angry. It must take all her effort just to face her...”

Sweetie snorted. “Sometimes the worst monsters don’t look like monsters at all. They’re just… loved ones. Ponies that you trust or should be able to, only to find out that they would kill you if they had the chance.”

“No, true friends or family would never do that.” Apple Bloom gave her a concerned look. “Ah wonder… Just how different is our world from yers? Ya seem ta have seen many o’ the same things that we have.”

Sweetie snorted. “Well, in my original world...” she trailed off. “I-Twilight, Spike and I died in a magical accident,” she said, not meeting either of her friend’s eyes. “Other than that, I imagine it was mostly the same. Twilight, Si-Rarity and the others stopped Nightmare Moon, then Discord, then the Queen, then King Sombra... it was shortly after that, that Twilight took me in as her apprentice.” She sighed. “I know there’s no going back after... what I’ve done... what I’ll probably have to do.” Her eyes hardened and her mouth formed a scowl.

“You died?” Apple Bloom whispered, her eyes glistened slightly with restrained tears. “Ah’m sorry Ah brought that up. It must’ve been hard... Ah can’t even begin ta understand.” She blinked her eyes a few times and looked right at Sweetie. “Even though Ah can’t understand it, Ah can still offer mah trust. Ya can count on us.”

Scootaloo stayed silent and glanced away, as a look of brooding befell her.

Sweetie sighed, still not looking back at them. “I guess,” she murmured, leaning her head on her hooves and closing her eyes.

* * *

She had watched the debacle unfold around her, Scootaloo’s mad attacks, and this other Sweetie Belle’s quick motions. The display had been jostling and gave her a slight sense of vertigo. She was relieved when it had finally stopped, the two of them were still breathing and the world reverted to its calm form.

She heard- no, heard wasn't right. She sensed the other ponies’ words. It was strange, the way the words' gentle magic would move through the air around her, and after years of feeling those subtle patterns in the air, alongside hearing the words, the meaning came to her readily. It was as if an old tune had caught in her ear, and the accompanying words sprung forth in her mind, unbidden.

She felt the words, understood their meaning, and a feeling of sadness—the tone that accompanied them. This other Sweetie… After what she’s been through, she’ll never be the same, will she? Sweetie Belle wondered at the words. Of course there’s no going back! she wanted to shout at the other Sweetie. We all grow up, darn it! To wish that you could change it is stupid! I wanted to save Scoddri, but that was just a wish...a regret. And thinking about it doesn’t change anything.

How she wished she could shout the words out and be heard by her friends and the other Sweetie. She paused for a moment. Oh, isn't life so ironic? She would have laughed at herself if she could. I wonder, is this how Scoddri always felt? Stuck and motionless, as the world moved around him without a care?

She waited in the stillness for a while as the world fell to a still radiance around her. She sensed the form of her friends both resting nearby, and looming all around her as if she were being cradled, she felt the other Sweetie Belle. After a moment she concluded that she was somehow inside her own emerald necklace.

So she’s in my body? How's this even possible? The question irked her. She always disliked not knowing how things worked, especially when it came to magic. She tried to remember the pattern of the magic that she had seen before it all happened. It was powerful, nearly blinding. It carried the main pattern of teleportation—which was complicated enough, because it spread in all directions—but there was more to it than that. Each segment was changing, subtly, almost like the spell itself was alive with its own consciousness, and changing to a new sigil with each movement. How am I supposed to be able to figure out something like that?

What can I even do? she wondered and sent her senses out again, but the ponies around her were as unmoving and boring as ever. Surely I can do something... I mean, Scoddri was able to talk to me all the way from Canterlot. I should be able to interact with them if I try hard enough.

With her plan set, she reached out to the nearest source of magic to her. The dense pool of energy nearly burned her, just by being so close. She may be me, from another world, but she's really darn lucky to have that much magic inside her. She's almost as bright as Twilight. I have to be able to use some of that magic. She extended her mind into the bright, patterned pool of magic and tried to grab at the numerous strands. But she had nothing to 'grab' with. Shoot, I always use my own magic to interact with other magic. I'm not connected to her magic at all.

The feeling of helplessness was unbearable as time passed. Minutes, and perhaps hours, she had no way of knowing. she scoured the world around her for something. A hint, a clue, anything to keep her mind occupied, something she could do. It was then that she felt something amongst the dull stone and ethereal air patterns. A single small tendril of emerald flickered. A pattern she had seen only moments before the dragon had attacked them.

Scoddri's pattern again? She remembered how complex it was. It almost appeared to be moving and changing at times, but that was merely a trick caused by interference from the proximity of the intricate weaves, like an optical illusion. It was a strange form of magic that she had only ever seen coming from the emerald in her necklace.

If I'm in my own necklace, then... she reached out to the pattern and felt the familiar malleability of the magic. The relief she felt would have drawn tears to her eyes, had she been in her body. Alright, now what can I do with it? She paused for a moment and decided on something basic.

She molded the complex magic pattern into something far simpler: a light spell. But before she could even complete the simple pattern, the magic squirmed under her grip, as if somepony else were trying to mold it as well. The only other time she had experience such a feeling before was when she tried to use another pony's magic without them wanting to. It was a struggle just to hold onto the magic.

The emerald pattern surged in its luminosity, and Sweetie Belle lost her grip on it. The magic wove deftly before her until it formed a series of patterns she recognized. Sound sigils?

Sore, bitter laughter poured forth from the spell. “Trapped and caught, all in one. We're bound to be used, as always. Even hidden, broken, and alone. It’s a fate we cannot escape! As I grant a choice, I am forced to action, against my will.” Sickening laughter parted his words. “Yet, I served you as they served me. A cage is a cage, no matter how safe.”

She knew the voice. Scoddri! Her heart ached to speak with him, yet she remained immobile, held fast inside the amulet. She felt as the trail of emerald magic vanished into nothingness, in an echo of fading laughter.

* * *

She rests her head on hard stone
Seeking the embrace of silence. To be alone.
Eyes shut tight to the thoughts of friends and family, scowling.
The memories haunting, daunting, howling.
Shivering, she pulls them tight, as a cloak or sheet.
She clings to them in bitter defeat.

The sights, they flare. That gray body fair,
Falls to naught but rock and blood.

So much blood it fills the air.
In a cacophonous flood,
It falls, pours, pulses, and slows.
It dies, and pools to a soft dribbling flow.
In the sanguine surface, her sister's eyes stare back,
Cold, callous, merciless, ready to attack.

A red rain falls, calm and serene.
Fog settles in its shimmering scene.

* * *

A pony trotted up the silent grove, wearing a cape and hood to protect herself from the drizzling rain.

The cobblestone road was slick and wet, with water already puddling along its surface, but the pony didn’t stop, nor seemed to care as she splashed through them, her goal up ahead. It was a hill, with several tombstones on it.

When she reached the entrance to the cemetery, she slowed down and walked carefully up the hill to stand in front of three graves. The mare stared in silence for a few seconds.

”Mother,” Rarity spoke up. “Father… she’s alive. She’s alive and well!” She sniffled. “I thought she was gone from this world, like you two… that I was alone, and I would never hear the sound of her laughter, or her voice. You missed so much. Her tantrums, her first day of school the time I lost it and shouted at her for half an hour and she was so scared of me!” She chuckled. “I spent the next week apologizing, buying her ice cream to make up for it… she once called me ‘mommy’ and I-I was scared.”

You scare me.

Rarity scratched the ground with her hoof, a bit nervously. “I never understood, what you were really missing until she was gone… and I saw her again and she-she called me ‘mom.’”

But you’re not. You tried to kill me. No mother would do that to her filly.

She smiled apologetically at the graves. “I know I’m just her sister… but I’ve raised her. It filled my heart with joy to hear her say that. I want to see her again and hold her and tell her that it will be okay, that mommy is here.” She sniffled again. “I’m sorry… it’s pretentious to think this way, after all, we both are your daughters but… I want my daughter back. My Sweetie Belle. Please, mom… dad. Wherever you are, protect her. Let her know I’m waiting and that she’ll always be in my thoughts.

But I don’t trust you… I can’t.

* * *

Sweetie Belle opened her eyes—her dream already little more than a whisper in her mind—and looked at her two friends, who seemed to be fast asleep. The fading echoes of laughter appeared to be nothing more than remnants of a dream. She sighed and slowly stood up without making a sound and looked around. She needed to clear her mind a little, but she did not want to disturb her friends.

Walking into the dark caves past their location, she kept turning right until she reached another chamber. It was completely empty, and perhaps far away enough for her to use. Her horn flared with magic and a moment later reality rippled, allowing her notebook to appear. She looked forlornly at the single fragment that orbited her notebook.

Just... how many more? Will my mission do anything at all? After absorbing so many… maybe Twilight would never—

She stopped herself, and forced her thoughts back to her original objective.

Carefully, she opened it and took out a bookmark. Dismissing her notebook, she applied a small amount of magic onto the paper-like object, watching with a smile as it grew and acquired more depth, until she was looking at the case of her cello.

She lovingly caressed the surface of the case, and with reverential zeal, opened it, revealing her instrument. Just as she had left it. There was so much tied to this relatively new instrument already. History she had shared with a mentor that would have forgotten her, or a last rendition with a close friend… Sweetie closed her eyes tight for a moment. Tavi... She hadn’t had time to mourn her friend. Maybe she could at least honor her.

She took a deep breath and pulled it out, strumming it a little as she tightened the cords. Once she was done, she forced herself to stand on her hind legs, as an earth pony would, as she had been taught.

Sweetie pushed away her pain and concentrated on the music, chasing her thoughts and fears away as her hoof, holding the bow, drew a slow, long note. It was easy to sink into the music, and pretend the world didn’t exist. That her losses were inconsequential.

Each slow drag of the bow on the strings brought painful memories to her. She swayed as she played…

Rarity turned, glaring at Sweetie. “I will destroy you, you abomination!”

Sweetie took a deep breath, not letting the memories affect her playing.

Octavia’s voice. The sound of her heart beating fast and suddenly stopping. “Tavi!”

Sweetie frowned, playing a little faster.

Akela floated, spinning slowly in place, pressing softly against Rarity’s forehead. Just one push. That’s all Sweetie needed.

“I can’t believe it...” Scootaloo’s voice came from from behind, a mere whisper. “It’s green and silver, so close to Sweetie’s own voice.”

“Yeah, but where’d she get the cello?” Bloom whispered back.

“Does it matter? She’s good, Bloom... Better even than Sweetie was at singing...”

Sweetie slowly let the melody fade and looked over her shoulder at her friends, still standing on her hind legs. “I must have woken you up.”

“Oh, no, not at all.” Apple Bloom smiled at her. “Ah was havin’ a hard time stayin’ asleep anyway. Not really the best sleepin’ accommodations down here. So... where did ya get that cello? And who taught you that song?”

Scootaloo’s soft expression quickly turned to a frown before she turned her head away.

Sweetie ran her hoof up and down the strings. “It was a gift from Blueblood... just before I left. We didn’t know if it would travel with me, but he spared no expense in getting the highest magicians in Canterlot to enchant it to become a bookmark once it’s inside its case. And this song... it was one that Octavia was teaching me. I can’t even begin to play it like she does but... well, it really helps me calm down.”

“Blueblood? Octavia? You really are different from her,” Apple Bloom said. “It’s just so weird ya know. Seein’ yer friend standin’ before ya, and yet ya don’t know anythin’ ‘bout her.” She shook her head. “No, that’s not what Ah meant ta say... Look, even though yer different from her, we’re still yer friends. Right, Scootaloo?”

The pegasus looked at Sweetie Belle, her amethyst-colored eyes peered, as if they were looking for something beyond Sweetie herself. “That cello... the way you hold it...” She turned her head and looked at her own wings and grimaced. “Was it fun? Learning the cello, I mean.”

Sweetie winced, remembering the lessons. “It was... fun, but... really hard. Tavi wouldn’t stand me playing like a ‘fancy unicorn’... or was it ‘lazy’? She insisted I learn how to balance and hold the bow… I got it eventually, but it took a long time to even stand on my own.”

“But the hard things are always most rewardin’,” Apple Bloom offered. “Ah remember fixin’ up the clubhouse and buildin’ it up from scratch. That took us all summer, and sometimes it felt like we’d never finish. But we stuck with it, and Ah even got mah cutie mark outta it.” She turned sideways to display her mark—three interlocking gears atop a large apple. “It’s kinda strange, findin’ out that a single project like that could be such a steppin’ stone fer the rest o’ mah life.”

“Speak for yourself. I wish life was that simple.” Scootaloo shook her head. “I nearly died before I got my cutie mark. That whole plan was incredibly stupid. Just one more second, and you’d have had two fewer friends Bloom. And for it all, I get this!” She pointed a hoof at her own flank. A purple triangle encompassed by two purple wings stood out against her orange fur. “What are you supposed to do when you get a cutie mark, but you don’t even know what it means?”

“Sometimes... it’s better not to know,” Sweetie whispered, falling down to all fours and levitating her cello into its case. She closed it and applied some magic to it again, watching it become a bookmark. She summoned her notebook and slid it in, before dismissing both magical items, too quickly for the others to see in detail. “I’m sure you’ll find out and you’ll be proud.”

“Findin’ out and seekin’ those answers is what makes us who we are.” Apple Bloom gave Sweetie Belle a worried look. “Besides, cutie marks are dependent entirely on the pony themselves. Findin’ out what that mark really means to ya is very important.”

Sweetie Belle was silent for a moment. “What if you found out that your cutie mark is proof that you’re a murderer?”

Apple Bloom stared her in the eye for a moment. It seemed like a challenge. “Cutie marks aren’t like that. Sure ya might get a special talent, fer whatever weird reason, of fightin’ or the like, but it’s never gonna mean that yer special talent is murder. Cutie marks are about choice. You choose how to apply that talent to yer life. And a murderer is a murderer, regardless of their cutie mark.”

Sweetie shook her head.

Scootaloo was squinting at her, her head cocked to one side. “So, then what’s your cutie mark mean? Looks sort of like Twilight’s...”

“Except that it’s broken,” Sweetie growled. “Maybe it means I need to get her back together, or maybe it means that I’m keeping her apart. Maybe it means I destroyed her life.”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “Is that what ya think of whenever ya look at it then? Ya see how ya messed up Twilight’s life? What about that moment when ya got yer cutie mark? What did you do? Who were you with? A cutie mark is there ta remind ya of where you came from. It’s about that moment when it came ta light and movin’ on from there. Ya look back at yer mark and see how far you’ve come, and where ya need ta go.” She shook her head. “Ya can’t truly believe that yer cutie mark is no good, so long as yer tryin’ ta make yer situation better. So what does it really mean to ya?”

“Oh, cut it out, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo interjected. “I know you liked to talk about cutie marks to Gravelle, but this is going nowhere. Look, it’s fine if a pony doesn’t know exactly what her cutie mark is. Just drop it.”

Apple Bloom paused, then bowed her head in a slight display of shame. “Sorry if Ah went overboard.”

Sweetie looked away. “Are we going to continue? I have no idea where we are, other than five right turns from our camping place.”

“Yeah, I guess we may as well.” A small smile came to Apple Bloom’s lips. “It’s not like we can get any more lost than we already are. I guess we should try to see if there’s a path that leads more up than down.”

“I hope there’s a way out...” Scootaloo looked up at the ceiling and almost seemed to shiver. “And here I was, hoping I’d never have to step hoof in a cave again.”

Apple Bloom moved next to the pegasus and prodded her with a hoof. “Oh come on, Scootaloo, quit yer whinin’. There are some really neat things to see underground. Think of the diamond dogs’ city. Even you thought it was pretty neat.”

“It was just unexpected is all. I’m never going back there if I can avoid it. At least with our Sweetie gone for now, we probably aren’t going to head any deeper than we have to.”

“You know,” Sweetie said. “Maybe we should head in deeper.” She turned to look at the pair. “What have we got to lose? Besides, unless we try climbing the walls, there’s no way we’re getting up any quicker. We might just find an exit tunnel, or feel a breeze.”

Scootaloo gave her a blank look then turned quickly to Apple Bloom. “You know, even if she’s a different Sweetie, she still has a way of pulling us deeper into trouble.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “She’s just bein’ sensible.”

Scootaloo sighed. “Fine. But if we run into another one of those golem-spider-things...”

“Wait... golems?!” Sweetie gushed. “That’s amazing! Who made them? Can they talk? Do they have limited cognition or none at all? Can they perform only one task? Or maybe they can do anything we can? What do they look like? Well, like spiders, but, do they act like them? Or is it just that they have too many legs?”

“Uh,” Apple Bloom began, startled at Sweetie’s sudden change of disposition, “where to start... Ah guess you’ve heard of golems before then? Sweetie had just called them that. Basically, they look like a bunch o’ rocks. She called the rock in the middle—which was glowin’ by the way—the ‘core’. It had four big rocks that it walked on. Kinda like a spider. Ya know, if spiders only had four legs.”

“Don’t forget to mention that it attacked us for absolutely no good reason,” Scootaloo added. “Our Sweetie said that there was something beyond the golem—something really powerful that was controlling it.”

“Hmm...” Sweetie pondered that for a second. “Well, if that’s the case things could be easier for us... if there’s somepony else controlling them, then their capabilities are most likely limited to certain tasks, so they will keep doing those unless we interrupt them or we step straight out in front of them. Twilight would have loved—” She stopped herself and frowned. Finally, she walked away from her friends until she stood at the edge of the light and shadow. “Coming?”

* * *

Scoddri's words had faded as suddenly as they had come, and Sweetie Belle had felt the world around her shift as her imposter began to move. The other unicorn had cast a quick spell, effortlessly. It was a pattern that she had never seen before and Sweetie Belle felt the magic flow into the unicorn's eyes and remain there.

'Darkvision', I guess? The sigil is a little too complex to learn at a glance. It looked close to a 'light' spell, but there's a second sigil encompassing it. I should try experimenting with it when we get a chance. Maybe I can replicate it. The spell was too dim to feel and commit to memory while in such close proximity to a unicorn with as much magical energy as her doppelganger. A sinking feeling of jealousy tugged at her as she considered her gifted counterpart. How did she get so much magic?

Her question remained unanswered as the unicorn in question got to her hooves. Where's she going?

The other Belle moved with an eerie silence as she walked, and had cast a small glance back at her sleeping friends before trudging back down a couple tunnels. As the other mare moved, she was led through a world of dull stone, as gray and unimpressive as it would have been to anypony's eyes.

Eventually her carrier stopped, and Sweetie felt a small flare of magic. The pattern was very complex. It wasn't the typical two-dimensional spread that she was used to seeing. This was a full three-dimensional sigil with individual weaves of magic running from eight different nodes. It was too much for her mind to remember accurately. The colour, the frequency, the positions. She only got a glimpse of it before it disappeared.

From where the sigil had been, she noticed a rectangular object appear. The object had its own sigils running along its surface, passive and dull at the moment, but somehow deeper and more complex than anything she had ever seen on any object. It made Scootaloo's bracelet seem like a foal's toy.

Beside the rectangle was another object, crystal in shape, but the magic that coursed through it felt like she was looking at the sun. Had she a body, Sweetie Belle would have winced.

Through force of will, she turned her focus to the rectangle as much as she could. She traced the swirling lines, trying to commit them to memory. Darn it, why can't I have my magic? This is something I need to test! She sensed the rectangle open under the unicorn's aura of levitation, and another object slipped out. A small rectangle, with a slightly less complicated, though still three-dimensional pattern scrawled into it.

Wow! she thought to herself. These are patterns that only ponies with the magic expertise of Twilight or the Princesses could ever hope to have made. Not to mention they're already etched into the objects themselves.

Feeling distinctly overwhelmed, Sweetie Belle could do little other than take in the sensation of her imposter taking the small rectangle and activating the complex sigil on the book. With a flash, the book disappeared as suddenly as it had come.

She only held the small rectangular object a moment before sending a flare of magic into this one as well. It expanded and fluctuated under the magic spell and gradually grew bigger until it took on the proportions of first a violin and then a cello along with its accompanying bow.

The unicorn then eased the instrument into her hooves, and stopped using her magic altogether. There was just dull gray of the stone around the blazing warmth of contained magic that made up the other Sweetie Belle. Nothing else. Until she played.

The first note came forth. Sound—one of the simplest forms of magic, much like light—it always contained the same shaped pattern, just with differing frequency size and colour. The magic of the notes were a silvery-green colour, and they spilled outward from the cello filling the cave with something comparable to a shimmering mist.

As she passively observed, the sound of the notes came forth to her mind, and she lost herself in the light-show and melody that she felt around her.

It stopped suddenly. Sweetie Belle wasn't certain how much time had passed, but different sources of sound suddenly pierced the fringes of the green fog; Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had arrived and now muttered to each other.

The other Sweetie Belle stopped playing, and began conversing with the other two ponies. After a moment, and a few flashes of magic, the instrument was gone and the world became clear once again.

It was then that Sweetie Belle noticed Scoddri's pattern. It was flowing right toward her, if only she were a bit closer, then she was sure the magic would be a bit stronger.

After a while, the trio moved on, carrying Sweetie Belle along with them. She focused on that emerald strand, when they made a sudden turn, right in the direction the magic was coming from. There! She felt the magic and with a little effort, she was able to move it, form it, and shape it.

Well, here goes nothing, she thought as she pulled at the pattern and changed it into the simple shape of sound, and instinctively assigned the proper frequencies and colouration that she knew to be indicative of her own voice. “I hope this works...”

* * *

“Woah, did y’all just hear that?” Apple Bloom asked from behind while Scootaloo peered into the shadows around her.

“Ha! It did work!” the ethereal voice spoke from seemingly every direction at once. “It’s me girls, Sweetie Belle!”

“Sweetie!?” Scootaloo nearly shouted, spinning around. “Where in the hay are you? And why didn’t you say something sooner?”

“I’m fine, girls. I think I’m in my amulet. I finally got enough magic to make some sound spells. I’m so glad it worked.”

“Yer in the amulet? How in the hay did that happen?” Apple Bloom rushed over next to Sweetie and began peering at the emerald necklace.

“Hmm... this has never happened before, I thought I completely replaced you...” Sweetie murmured, looking down at the amulet around her neck. “Are you aware of what’s happening? Is this is how it usually works for other Sweeties?”

“Other Sweeties? I didn’t even know there were other Sweeties until you popped in during that magic influx. So no, I have no idea if this is how it usually works. But I think I’m trapped inside Scoddri’s crystal, at least until you’re gone... and I didn’t think that was possible.” The unseen Sweetie’s voice paused for a moment. “But it is pretty neat. Now that I think about it, it’s a state similar to being in between teleports, except the world's not moving really really fast, so it feels a lot better.”

Sweetie’s eyes gleamed. “Oh! You actually can see the moment between teleports?! That’s amazing! I’ve always wondered what that was like! Maybe the rules for magic in this universe are different and any unicorn can see it, but where I come from it’s usually, you’re standing next to Twilight in the library, and the next moment you’re standing next to her in front of Canterlot Castle.”

“But there’s always a time gap. You can see it whenever Twilight teleports; it takes about half a second, and in that moment, the pony has been turned into magic and moves along the pattern and then they rematerialise. But I’m the only unicorn I know that can feel the magic all around me, so teleporting’s kind of… unpleasant...”

“Wait... you mean if a unicorn concentrates here they can’t sense ambient magic? What if they are in the middle of a large-scale matrix? That is very concentrated magic, they can’t feel it, even knowing it’s there?”

“Well anypony will feel magic if there’s enough of it around them. Like fire, sunlight or a powerful light spell. But they can’t sense it like I can; I see, hear, smell, taste, and feel it all. Sometimes, I wonder how other unicorns manage it. Twilight once told me she could always feel her magic when it was inside her, but once she cast it, then she couldn’t feel it anymore. That made sense I suppose, since the pattern changed from her own to that of the spell.” The voice paused for a moment as if in consideration. “But a matrix? I’ve never heard of that... It sounds close to a ritual though. Hmm... maybe there are even more branches of spell-casting than I thought—”

“Oh Celestia, make them stop! My head can’t take it!” Scootaloo began shaking Apple Bloom with her forehooves. “I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.”

“Quit it, Scoots!” Apple Bloom pushed her friend away. “But in all honesty. Ah think ya lost us.”

Sweetie Belle looked at them for a moment, before looking down at the necklace and ignoring both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. “How many branches of spellcasting do you have here? A matrix is a pre-set structure of self-contained, self-generating magic that grows stronger through ambient absorption of magical energies, therefore reducing the need for constant feeding. Have you seen anything like that here? And how does it look? I once saw raw magic, but the only reason was that it was tearing a hole through dimensional walls! I don’t think magic would be that mercurial and overwhelming when it’s not used like that!”

“Popular magic theory claims there’s five branches of spellcasting, but I think I’ve only seen two truly different forms. I call one active and the other passive. But raw magic is always around you; it must have been something massive to have seen it with the naked eye! But do you have a way of absorbing ambient magics for your own spells before you cast them? If I had that, I wouldn’t have to use so many crystals. How do you make it? Do you have to draw it on the ground like some of the rituals I’ve done, or etching the spell patterns into metal? I wonder if I can do it too...?”

“They’re just ignoring us, aren’t they?” Scootaloo sighed.

“Yup.” Apple Bloom tilted her head. “And they even seem ta be almost ignorin’ each other too.”

“Well, I don’t absorb the ambient magic before casting the spell; I enchant a gem or object to transfer the flux of magic through it into another and another, each with a specific spell function attached to it, therefore creating a sort of... web... that feeds one spell into the next one in a preordained sequence, stopping them, parting them, uniting them, funneling them... until it returns to the point of origin, therefore closing the circle. It’s an amazingly adaptable construct. As for drawing it... you just need a mental image, really, but planning ahead helps. In the case of the one that was strong enough for me to see with the naked eye, it was a matrix the size of the Canterlot Castle Gardens. Each point was fixed at crossing leylines for maximum efficiency. The position has some leeway, but it can’t be altered too much, or the whole thing will collapse,” Sweetie explained, and then grinned. “And of course you can! If you can see magic just like that... I...” She started drooling, temporarily losing her grip on her thoughts. “Things I could do...”

“Now hold on a minute,” Apple Bloom spoke up. “That sounds a mite like an engine ta me. At least in how it works. Multiple points ta move the energy through... Hmm... This gives me an idea.”

“Oh great,” the pegasus muttered. “Not you too, Apple Bloom! What happened to the task at hoof? Weren’t we trying to get out of this forsaken mountain? I mean, it’s awesome that you can talk with us again, Sweetie, but hay, give me a break here!”

“Oh, it’s totally like an engine!” Sweetie spoke up. “Each part has its own defined range of motion, so to speak. A node can do only one thing, but that one thing allows the next one to do what it has to and so on and so forth. It’s a bit like clockwork, now that I think about it, if I were to put it in mechanical terms.” She gave Scootaloo a glance. “Or, you might compare it to the workings of a pegasus weather team, if things are being organized flawlessly. A group funneling storm clouds would be one node, the team receiving them and spreading them evenly would be another, and the last team making it rain would be the next. The whole thing comes together again with the team that funnels the water from the ground into storm clouds... just think of it as never ending.”

“It’s easy to think of this as never ending,” Scootaloo retorted. “But it has to end at some point. So can we go already?”

“Well, Scoots does kind of have a point,” Sweetie Belle’s echoing voice said with a distinct tone of cheer to it. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t talk on the way.”

“Great! And then you can tell me about these rituals you know. I wonder if they are the same as in the other worlds I’ve visited!”

Scootaloo groaned slightly, but otherwise kept her silence.

“Don’t worry ‘bout it, Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom offered a smile as they began walking again. “Think about it. Sweetie hasn’t ever had someone to talk to about magic like this. It must be a real treat for her.”

“You do realize that they are never going to stop talking.”

Sweetie’s voice emanated from ahead. “I’ve never had so much fun talking to myself!”

“Neither have I!” A deeper voice sounded—a voice of madness—followed by a maniacal laugh that filled the tunnel and slowly faded into the its distant depths.

Sweetie Belle stopped walking and blinked, looking down at the amulet. “I think I heard Discord.”

“Scoddri!” The amulet’s voice echoed out after the laughter. “Darn it! He’s gone again...”

“Ah don’t like this,” Apple Bloom muttered. “Why’s he suddenly talkin’ ta us?”

“I think he wants our help. It sounds like he’s in pain. We have to help him.”

“Sweetie...” Apple Bloom began. “Look, Ah know ya think highly o’ Discord an’ all, but ain’t ya assumin’ a bit much there?”

“Bloom, I’m going to save him,” Sweetie’s voice restated evenly. ”I owe it to him.”

Sweetie Belle looked from the amulet to her friends. “Weren’t you telling me about the value of trust and friendship earlier?”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “You don’t really know our Sweetie... Her trust isn’t always in her own best interests. Darn it, Sweetie, ya told me ta point out when Ah think yer goin’ too far. And this is me pointin’ it out.”

”Duly noted,” Sweetie Belle’s voice replied in a chipper tone. “However, I, with all due respect, will stick to my own plan.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes, and Scootaloo laughed. The pegasus gave Apple Bloom a smile. “It’s only natural that she’d want to help her mentor.”

“Who also happens ta be an endless source of chaos!” The earth pony shook her head. “It ain’t a smart idea.”

Sweetie rolled her eyes. “If her mentor was actually evil, she’d be done with you and a lot of others by now.” She looked at them. “I’ve been there.”

“Just ‘cause ‘it could be worse’ doesn’t make this situation any better. And you really think Sweetie would give up on bein’ friends just ‘cause of some evil mentor? Sweetie would never do that.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Let’s keep going,” Sweetie Belle’s voice called out, clearly doing her best to ignore Apple Bloom’s comment. “We’re getting closer.”

“Closer?” Scootaloo squinted past Sweetie Belle. “How can you even tell? We’re underground here.”

”The bond’s getting stronger.”

Sweetie Belle sighed, exasperated. “Do we have any other way to go? I, for one, have absolutely no idea how to navigate out of this place. Sweetie could help us as a sort of compass... it beats trudging around in the dark until our magic gives or we starve to death.” She looked from Apple Bloom to Scootaloo. “Do you even trust your Sweetie?”

“Of course I trust her!” Scootaloo said instantly.

“Ah do too, but Ah still think it’s best ta be cautious ‘bout stuff like this. Ah know she has good intentions, and she’s saved us quite a few times when we’ve been in a bind.” Apple Bloom glared at the emerald necklace. “But Ah’m always gonna give her mah opinion if Ah think it makes sense ta.”

“Look,” Sweetie said, “I know what you mean, Apple Bloom, but my gut feeling tells me to trust Sweetie, even if it sounds odd or crazy." She sighed. “I just hope I’m not making a mistake again.”

“Hmm.” Apple Bloom considered for a moment. “Ya might be right. But we’ll see when we get to wherever Discord’s talkin’ ta us from.”

“We’ll be fine.” Sweetie grinned. “We’re all crusaders!”

”Yeah!” the other Sweetie Belle’s voice agreed. ”Let’s see if I can...” Her voice trailed off, then a sudden flash appeared from the amulet, and in its wake, there was a faint band of emerald light drifting off of it, snaking into the tunnel ahead. ”Aha! It worked! I tweaked Scoddri’s magic pattern to visible light—at least the part that’s close by. It’s faint, but it should lead us right to him. Wherever he is.”

“What are the chances that it’ll lead us out of the mountain?” Scootaloo asked, sarcasm thick in her voice. With her wings spread flat in resignation, she moved to follow the faint trail of light.

“There’s a fifty-percent chance that we’re heading out of it in a roundabout way,” Sweetie said, looking over her shoulder. “There’s also a chance that we’re about to die, but the uncertainty is what makes it so appealing.”

Scootaloo just groaned.

* * *

Sweetie didn’t know how long they had been walking in silence. After a while, the banter had died out and the group had simply fallen into a comfortable trot. That’s when she noticed the walls of the tunnel finally give way to a larger area.

It was a cavern, deep enough that her light spell didn’t reach the far end of it. And there was a certain freshness to the air.

“Woah!” Apple Bloom exclaimed rushing forward and looking at the walls. “Just like I thought! These walls were dug into. Ya can see the difference from our tunnel. See, look at the texture.” She prodded a distinctly plain stone wall with her hoof.

“Great, it was dug, so that means more diamond dogs. Just what we needed...” Scootaloo shook her head. “Well at least there’s some room to maneuver out here.” She pulled herself into an effortless hover.

“Were you being chased by diamond dogs before that dragon thing attacked you?” Sweetie Belle asked, glancing from the wall to Scootaloo.

“What? No, the diamond dogs are our friends.” Apple Bloom pointed a hoof at Scootaloo. “She just doesn’t like ‘em much, is all.”

“Well, they aren’t awful or anything, but I still say we should have talked some sense into that one—” Whatever the pegasus had been saying was quickly lost to a resounding crash that echoed off the cavern walls.

“What the hay was that?!” Sweetie exclaimed, suddenly standing deeper in the shadows. “That didn’t sound like diamond dogs!”

The crash sounded once again, louder this time, shaking the very ground beneath them. It rang out over and over again, it was the sound of rocks cracking and crunching, as if being ground into sand. Then there was a moment of silence.

Scootaloo peered up and squinted at the ceiling warily. “I don’t think it’s a cave-in. If we could see a bit further, we could probably see what it was.”

Sweetie nodded. “I’ll be able to see in complete darkness. I can go ahead and take a look.”

“Alright...” Apple Bloom agreed hesitantly. “Yer gonna turn off yer light spell ain’t ya? Just let us know what ya see. We’ll stay here. Be careful.”

Sweetie nodded, cancelling her spell before she slowly crawled up around the curve of the excavated cavern, careful to be as silent as she could. She took in as much as she could before moving again, trying to keep her presence a secret from whatever had created those crashes.

Eventually, after she had left the others behind, she finally found something. Its shape was like that of a diamond dog... but this creature was made out of rock, with a softly glowing chest piece, which seemed to have several crystals attached to it.

If it saw Sweetie, it ignored her, content to simply dig into the wall. But out of the corner of her eye, she caught a bit of movement. It was as if the wall beside the (rock) dog had come to life, and four huge chunks of the rock flew together into the air, collecting around a central stone. Its center began to glow brightly like a full moon on a cloudless night.

Sweetie pressed herself against the wall, not daring to make a sound.

In the next moment, the pile of rocks launched forth, on four constantly shifting legs, as fast as a speeding pegasus. It swung one of its rocky legs hard against the smaller rock-digger, knocking it to the ground. Even as the smaller golem hit the ground, the larger one raised each of its legs in turn, with a fluid and deadly grace—which seemed entirely impossible for such a large construct—and brought them down, one after another.

Under the relentless series of blows, the smaller rock-digger struggled in futility to regain its footing and get back to digging. In moments, the once softly-glowing chest piece of the creature flickered into darkness, and finally the large beast relented, slowly moving away from the mess of rocks.

Sweetie quietly and slowly stepped back, now glancing at the walls with more than a bit of apprehension. Suddenly, every crevice, every uneven area was a cause for pause and careful monitoring.

It took considerably longer to get back to the others than it had to get around that corner. To make sure that it was safe to cast her light spell again, she quietly circled around her friends, not even alerting them to her presence. In absolute silence she checked the walls, and for good measure a bit further behind before returning. Finally, when she was just behind them she whispered, “I’m back.” And cast her light spell once more.

Apple Bloom jumped higher than Scootaloo was hovering. The earth pony spun around with a yelp, but quickly bit her tongue to quiet herself as Scootaloo had a little chuckle at her friend’s expense.

“Don’t do that, Sweetie! Geez, yer as bad as... well, Sweetie, Ah guess.” She sighed and shook her head before rounding on Scootaloo. “And don’t even get me started on you!”

Scootaloo continued to snicker slightly as she landed on the rough ground. “I think that was the best I’ve seen yet. Well... there was that one time when Sweetie found a book on illusion spells...”

“And we don’t need ta hear ‘bout that ever again!” Apple Bloom pushed Scootaloo out of the way and turned to Sweetie. “So, what did ya find? We heard that crashin’ sound again... Any idea what it was?”

Sweetie nodded. “Yes. I saw a diamond dog-like golem getting pummeled into gravel by a much bigger, spider-like golem that emerged from the wall and tore it to pieces. I went back and around a little to make sure there were none behind us. It just pulled itself together from the wall... I didn’t even noticed it was there until it moved.”

“Damn it! Another spider golem?” Scootaloo scowled. “I hate those things!”

Sweetie blinked. “Regular pests at home? We sure didn’t have those things in my Ponyville.”

“What? No, of course not. We only came across one before, and it nearly killed us. This isn’t a joking matter, Sweetie. Those things are really dangerous. They’re almost as fast as I am. There’s no way we could all outrun one if it found us.”

“I’ll cover you,” Sweetie said instantly, expression stoic. “Make sure you grab the amulet though.”

“Oh, so you have a plan?” the amulet’s voice echoed in an almost playful manner. “What do you have in mind?”

Sweetie remained silent for a while, before moving in front of the others and facing away. “I’ll... fight it. And I won’t pull back my punches. I’ll make sure you three have enough time to escape, if it comes to blows.”

“We’ve fought one before,” Apple Bloom said, her voice thick with skepticism. “It ain’t easy. You’ll need all the help ya can get if ya face one o’ those things.”

“Hmm, sounds kind of risky... Think you can handle it?” the amulet’s voice asked.

“Am I the only sane one here?” Scootaloo questioned. “We should just sneak around them.”

Sweetie nodded. “Scootaloo’s right, but... if we get caught, leave it to me. Even if I can’t defeat it, it will be easier for me to escape and catch up with you later.”

“Well, Ah guess Ah see where you’re comin’ from. But, just be careful. There’s no room for error when dealin’ with those golems.”

“Oh, come on Bloom, that sounds like something you’d say to me. I’m sure she’s much more careful than I am.”

Sweetie turned and faced her friends, smiling placidly. “Well, if we’re careful, we won’t have to worry about it, right? Anyway, we should go...”

“Right...” In a moment, the amulet shone once again with its faint leading light. It trailed off into the darkness, in the direction that Sweetie had discovered the golems.

Slowly, the group made their way deeper into the mountain, eyes glued to the walls and ears perked attentively, ready to react to any noise and either flee or fight.

“Say...” Scootaloo whispered.

Apple Bloom spun reflexively at the sound and frowned at the pegasus. “What?” she whispered back, pulling her eyes back to examining the walls of the cavern.

“Is it just me, or is it getting hotter down here? Hmm... and more humid too...”

“Yeah it is. The air is thicker with magic. I suppose you can always count on a pegasus for an accurate weather forecast,” Sweetie Belle’s voice echoed softly amongst the walls of the cave.

“That, or we could be approaching a dragon’s cave... those get a tad warm,” Sweetie whispered back.

“You think it’s that dragon from earlier?” Scootaloo asked.

“I don’t think that was a dragon,” Sweetie said. “It didn’t breathe fire in my face.”

“Well, let’s just hope it’s not a dragon then,” Apple Bloom offered. “Ya know, there’s such a thing as geothermal energy. The diamond dogs tend ta make use of it often enough, ‘specially ‘round winter time. Warm air rises from cracks in the rock below.”

“Yeah, but no one really cares about that stuff.” Scootaloo shrugged. “A dragon would at least be a cooler explanation.”

“Hey! Plenty of ponies care about stuff like this. Just ask Sweetie, she’s been researching this kind of stuff fer a while now.”

“Doesn’t make it any less boring.” Scootaloo laughed nervously.

“Hey, girls?” Sweetie called back, peeking around the edge to another tunnel. “I think we have a problem.”

“I hope this isn’t one of those times where I have to agree with you,” Scootaloo muttered as she and Apple Bloom walked over as quietly as they could. “What is it?”

“A cavern full of those little dog golems?”

“We should be able to walk on by, though. These golems seem to only dig,” Sweetie Belle’s voice observed. “Best not test for any other functions... As much as I’d like to...”

“Great.” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Well, let’s sneak on by then... Ah’ll go first. If it turns out they have an attack function, then we’ll find out the hard way.”

Sweetie nodded and stepped out of the way, motioning for Apple Bloom to go ahead.

Apple Bloom gulped, but stepped forward quietly. Hooffall after gentle hooffall, she snaked her way down the cavern. The digging golems never paused their relentless mining, even as she passed a mere hair’s breadth from them.

Eventually, she passed the final one that could be seen in the darkness. Her tentative voice sounded not long afterward, “Girls, it’s safe.”

“Alright.” Scootaloo jumped forth and walked with a fair bit more gusto than her friend had. As she passed the golems, she looked at them rather curiously. She even extended a wing as she passed one, and touched the golem ever so gingerly.

When the golem didn’t turn and strike out at her, she let out a small sigh. “You know,” she called out to Apple Bloom. "We could probably have just gone and bucked all these guys over and they’d just go back to digging.”

“Maybe,” Sweetie said from behind Apple Bloom. “But where’s the fun in that?”

“Wait, when did you get in front of me?” Scootaloo frowned then gave a defeated sigh. “Oh, whatever. I bet you it’d be a lot like dominoes. I wonder how long it would take these lug-heads to get back on their feet.”

“Don’t even think about it, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom shouted back tersely. “Just think ‘bout all the racket that’d cause. We’re tryin’ ta be quiet—”

Her sentence was cut off as the wall beside her fissured into many different segment, and fell toward the earth pony. She managed to take a surprised leap backward, away from the falling debris. Her hooves slipped from under her and she bumped into a nearby digger.

”Shoot! It’s a spider golem!” Sweetie Belle’s voice warned.

“You should get out of here!” Sweetie shouted, levitating her counterpart’s amulet and tossing it to Scootaloo. “Go!” Her horn flared and pushed the golem back slightly with a telekinetic shove, which only managed to get it to turn its attention towards her. “I’ll take care of it and catch up!”

”Are you crazy?” Sweetie Belle’s voice echoed with distortion from the amulet as Scootaloo caught it. ”You know you can’t handle one of those by yourself! Darn it, Scoots, we have to help her!”

Scootaloo muttered something around the amulet between her teeth. She spread her wings and darted back down the cavern, crashing straight into one of the spider-like golem’s legs with her shoulder, sending it slightly off balance. “Ugh,” she groaned, as she dropped the amulet to the floor. “Forgot how hard these things are.”

Sweetie shook her head, and then split the floor under one of the golem’s legs, allowing it to get stuck in it. “Look, if you’re going to just hurt yourselves, it’s not going to help anypony!”

“Yeah, well, we’re in this together!” Scootaloo smirked. “C’mon, Bloom!”

Apple Bloom leaped back onto her feet and charged the golem. She slid to a stop, right before it and bucked at one of its other legs. The force of the blow lifted her off the ground and deposited her back onto her side.

”It’s staying focused on you... um, other me.” Sweetie Belle’s voice warned. ”I can’t redirect it like last time, be careful everyone!”

“Which is why I’m saying,” Sweetie swept her hoof, sending a small blast of flames to explode against another leg. “That I can divert it and escape!”

“Nothing good ever comes from splitting up!” Scootaloo shouted back as she flew in and gave the golem’s core a solid strike. The blow caused the light to flicker and the golem's movements became jarring, but only for a moment. “If we can break the core, it will stop.”

“Yeah, if we don’t break our own hooves first,” Apple Bloom said as she moved away from the creature’s vicious legs.

Sweetie groaned in frustration, trotting to the side, and blasting the creature’s center with a lightning bolt. “Why do you have to stay? Can’t you see I’m making sure you are safe?!”

”And we’re making sure that you are too. It’s what friends do.” Sweetie Belle’s voice was sweet in its tone. ”Though I can’t do that much myself...”

Sweetie Belle found herself getting annoyed. ’Why won’t they just let me be?!’ “If I’m concentrating on whether you get hit,” Sweetie argued, summoning Akela from the dimensional portal mid-sentence, “I’m going to get hurt as well!”

Her diamond started spinning in place increasingly fast before shooting out, and cracked one of the golem's limbs as it tried to bat at her. Akela returned, having done some damage. Suddenly she gasped and cast a shield just in front of Apple Bloom, stopping one of its appendages from crushing her in its attempts to get to Sweetie.

“Now that’s teamwork!” Apple Bloom shouted as she rolled to her feet and jumped once more at the hulking beast. Once she landed, she spun to deliver the creature a solid buck. During the movement, a light spark lit up at the tip of her hooves. Her hind legs collided with the golem’s limb in a sharp crack. It fissured from where the diamond had marked it before, and crumble to pieces.

The rocky monstrosity nearly lost its balance, but with swift agility, it reoriented its three remaining limbs, looking less like a spider, and more like a tripod.

“Nice going, Bloom!” Scootaloo cheered. “Now we just need one more!”

Sweetie Belle nodded, sending Akela drilling straight into another of the golem’s legs with another deafening crack, creating spidery fissures all over it. “Think you can hit that one?”

“You bet!” Scootaloo swung down in a deft dive and hammered the cracked leg with a buck of her own. The cracks deepened, but didn’t give, as Scootaloo was tossed hard against a wall of the cave. “Well, I hit it...” she groaned as she slid down to the floor.

Sweetie Belle levitated two large rocks and used them to smash once again at the weakened leg, doing her best to remain out of its reach. “This would be easier if you weren’t here! Why don’t you let me do this by myself?”

“Well, sorry for trying to help.” Scootaloo dusted herself off and shot forth once again. While the beast was distracted with the boulders, Scootaloo delivered another powerful strike to the leg. The fissures deepened in shattering crack, and the limb splintered apart.

The golem spun off balance, and managed to brace itself with its two remaining limbs. “Now!” Apple Bloom shouted from her spot on the ground. “Hit the core, it won’t be able to attack ya!”

“Dammit, I just wanted to be left alone!” Sweetie Belle’s eyes flashed with magic and Akela accelerated faster than ever before, a second explosion-like sound rocking around them as it struck the core of the golem, surprisingly digging deep into the rock creature. A strange, scraping sound came from within as the thing shook, as if stunned by what had happened. Akela flew out of it, back the way it had gone through and hovered next to Sweetie as she gazed impassively at the construct. “Well?”

”You severed the sigil. Any moment, and it should-” The glowing core blinked a few times, and then went dark. With a crash, the rock limbs fell apart to harmless debris. ”Hah, great job everyone! Are you all alright?” Sweetie Belle’s jovial voice called out triumphantly.

“Could be worse,” Scootaloo said as she landed next to Sweetie’s amulet. She picked it up and walked over to Apple Bloom.

“Ah could prolly use a hoof ta get up,” Apple Bloom admitted and thankfully accepted Scootaloo’s offered hoof. “But we all made it.” She let out a small sigh and leaned against the cave wall. “Thanks, Sweetie. Ya really saved me back there with that shield o’ yers.”

Sweetie huffed. “I wasn’t going to let any of you die. But I wish you had listened to me. You and Scootaloo could have been killed!” Her eyes turned to the amulet. “And you! You said you understood and thought it was a good idea to let me deal with it!”

”If I thought you could deal with it, I would have let you! What did you think you were going to do to it? Your lightning, fire and ice barely even touched it. If it weren’t for Scoots and Bloom, you’d have been crushed into a pancake!” The amulet actually began to glow with each of her shouted words. ”What was your plan, huh? Tell me, how were you going to ‘deal with it’?!”

Sweetie snorted. “You think I’m limited to that? I was trained to kill, dammit! I was distracting it to let you run away, but no, you had to hang around and get in trouble. What if that thing had hit harder and crippled Scootaloo? Or managed to squish Apple Bloom?”

“If you’re so well trained, then why in the hay didn’t you handle it quicker, huh? What? Can you only use your ‘real’ powers when nopony’s around to see them? I was watching the whole time, and that golem would have hit you at least twice if it weren’t for Bloom and Scoots knocking it off course!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie shouted, getting her face close to the amulet. “And did you notice that happened when they interrupted and got in the way? I might not have killed it immediately, but I wouldn’t have to worry about my friends dying or you being crushed by accident!”

“And you think that we don’t feel that way too?” The fire in the amulet’s voice died down slightly. “You think that self-sacrifice is the answer? Well, it’s not, darn it! You might think it’s a noble thing, doing that to try and save your friends, but they’ll end up even more hurt than if they died themselves. You would have left Scoots and Bloom to wander around in the darkness alone. I say you’re nothing more than a coward.”

Sweetie glowered at the amulet. Slowly tears began to form in her eyes. “There’s nothing noble about wanting to die, damn you, you stupid, conceited, little filly! You lost a dear friend; I’ve lost one too! More than one! I was one thought away from killing my own sister and I’ve been murdering Twilight every world I visit! Who are you to judge me? By the time I stopped breathing you would probably be out of your little, cozy piece of chaos, knowing that your friend can be saved!” she spat.

“I would be gone and I wouldn’t be bothering anyone else. Do you know how many times I have died already? Of course not! It’s so easy to take the Celestia-damned outlook that only a coward would do something like this! Live in my skin for a couple of loops, see everyone you love dead and Equestria ripped to shreds by us and we’ll see how you deal with it!” Her voice lowered, but her eyes were still shining with an inner light. “So what if I died? So what if things stopped here? How many lives would not be lost because of me?”

“I don’t know... You’re right. I can’t know how many lives could be lost or were lost, but I know that you could save three. You’ve already saved us—a few times—but we still need your help. Don’t focus on what could happen if you died, or what damage you might cause. The fact is that you are alive right now, and you can save three friends who desperately need your help. And there is nothing that you’ll do after that which will change what you already did for us.” The amulet pulsated softly, the same emerald colour as her own eyes. “Don’t give us up for what might happen. We can work together to make sure that what we want to happen, does happen.”

Scootaloo set the amulet down and snorted, but Apple Bloom stepped in front of her. “Darn it! We’re all friends here!” She glowered at the pegasus. “And don’t ya even start, Scootaloo!” Turning her attention back to Sweetie, she let out a soft sigh. “As awkward as it feels admittin’ it, Sweetie’s right. Well, ya both are. Ah know Ah got in the way, and Ah’m sorry Ah wasn’t much help back there. But we don’t regret our actions. Ah know both Scoots and Ah would’ve done the same thing again.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, but otherwise remained silent, and picked the amulet up once again.

Sweetie Belle muttered and looked away. “You two did a good job,” she growled. “I’m annoyed you didn’t let me fight it until only one of us stood, but the truth is you handled yourselves just fine.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I have to continue going... it’s not always bad, but... I’m just...” She trailed off. “Let’s... just go.”

Apple Bloom nodded and moved to follow, when Scootaloo piped up from behind. “So... uh, who’s gonna wear Sweetie?” She held the amulet dangling on the end of one of her wings.

Sweetie Belle levitated the amulet and slid the chain back around her neck. “Are we any closer?”

The amulet sparked with magic and a shimmering trail of light snaked outward. “Much closer, it’s getting much easier to talk.”

“Well, then we should hurry,” Sweetie said stepping over the now inert elemental golem. “We need to rescue Discord, or whatever it is you’re calling him... and I need to go away.”

“And I don’t want to stay in here any longer,” Scootaloo muttered, but suddenly she came to a halt, squinting into the darkness up ahead. “Hey, I think I see something. Yeah, there’s definitely something glowing down there. Kind of reddish-orange.”

“It’s not gonna be a dragon.” Apple Bloom said sternly, more to herself than anyone else as she limped along. “That looks like... lava...?”

“And a lot of magic too. With this much magic... Girls, this must be it! It’s the cause of the storm! I knew we’d find it. And now all we have to do is find a way to stop it.” The amulet flared slightly. “Darn, that is a ton of magic. The patterns—there are so many going right past us.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Apple Bloom warned. “We aren’t really in the best o’ shape.”

“Stick to the shadows. Try not to draw attention to ourselves... although I don’t know how effective that’s going to be if we encounter more golems,” Sweetie said, sounding a bit irritated.

“Don’t worry too much about the golems,” the amulet’s voice said quietly. “This place is so full of magic, they’d effectively be blind. Plus I see a lot of the patterns leading out of here, and they look just like the spell that was controlling that other golem. There are a lot of them, but they aren’t in this room. There is something big, though.”

“Huh, even I’m starting to feel something,” Scootaloo muttered. “It’s like flying too close to a stormcloud.” She instinctively spread her wings as she crept forward silently.

“Sweetie, do you mean to say that all the magic is coming from this place?” Sweetie Belle asked as she looked around. “I also feel something... I think one of the fragments might be nearby.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of magic in that chamber, but only a portion of it is flowing past us into the mountain. There’s something more powerful... it’s like seeing the first hint of sunlight before dawn. I know Scoddri’s fragment is in there also, but it’s so dim in comparison.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out what’s inside.” Apple Bloom crept on ahead, limping slightly, and peered around a corner into the larger chamber. She let out a gasp as her friends followed in behind her.

The tunnel opened into a massive chamber, big enough to hold half of the Canterlot Castle inside of it. Pools of magma bubbled viciously, providing a bit of illumination, while a terrible pressure pressed down from above. But what drew the ponies’ attention was at the center of the chamber.

A pillar of a stalagmite stood defiantly, and crowning it was the largest crystal any of the ponies had seen. It was easily ten feet in diameter. Its ruby surface flared intermittently with a fiery light. Every pulse sent a small echo through the chamber, as if it were the mountain’s heart.

“Look up there,” Scootaloo whispered in hushed amazement.

Above the formidable centerpiece, the walls of the chamber shot ever upward until a single disc of cloudy sky could be seen far above. Partway to those heights, a series of crystals circled around in the open air, rhythmically. And at the center of the floating gems, one stood out predominantly directly above the giant ruby.

“Scoddri’s fragment!”

“Not only that!” Sweetie gasped. “That’s Twilight’s fragment! They’ve been fused!”

Scootaloo took to the air and began hovering. “So, should I just nab them, then?”

“Wait Scoots!” The amulet flashed brightly in warning. “There are at least seven different spell patterns in place, and the fragments are the focal point to all of them. Moving it carelessly could cause it all to explode. And with this much magic pouring through it... I don’t think even the bracelet would do that much to help you.”

“Then what can we do?” Apple Bloom wondered. “Have any fancy way of dispelling this thing?”

Sweetie looked troubled. “I… Before the last world I would have just absorbed Twilight’s fragment but...” She hesitated. “I could create a matrix... maybe... or cast the spell to bind it to my notebook, then dismiss it into its pocket universe.” She looked at the merged fragments doubtfully.

“That might separate it... but I don’t know how integrated they are. The last thing I want to do is leave with a piece of Discord, or leave a part of Twilight behind.” She grimaced and looked down at the amulet. “If Sweetie can actually see the energy strands inside the fusion, she might be able to guide me. Otherwise we risk damaging our friends.”

The amulet made a gasping sound. “That’s it! My amulet. It will automatically absorb the fragment. When it does, it releases some of its own energy. I should be able to control that magic and make sure it only absorbs Scoddri’s fragment. Of course... then that still leaves the other fragment and it might cause all the patterns to go off-kilter.”

Apple Bloom hummed for a moment. “This is a lot like demolishin’ a big structure, ain’t it? What if we start from the outside and go inward. That way, when the spell falls apart it won’t create a big explosion.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea... we could interrupt the flow of magic to the outside gems, maybe even just redirecting it so that each one down doesn’t completely destroy the pattern until we’re ready.” Sweetie mused, glancing at the gems thoughtfully. “But whoever made this is likely to be around. We should be careful... and fast.”

“Likely? No, he’s already here in some manner. He has scrying spells in there too. It’s one of the few that I recognize from the patterns. He’ll notice us in a moment if he hasn’t already. But I doubt he’s actually here. He’s been doing all this spell-casting remotely. And he doesn’t seem like the type who’s about to change his tactics any time soon.”

“So then we just need to go fast.” Scootaloo nodded. “Tell me what to hit first.”

Sweetie studied the pattern. “I... think you might have a clearer idea, Sweetie... from what I can see out of the twelve crystals, any disruption would break the pattern... you might have to take two as quickly as possible in order for the magical energy to compensate and reduce its size...”

“The most stable way would be to break every third crystal at once... That way the sigils would remain at least symmetrical as they fell apart. But it’s going to be unbalanced no matter how we hit it. There’ll be raw magic being released, but I might be able to at least control the explosions enough to stop us from all being blown up.” The amulet hummed to herself. “I’d need to be close though, but it would be too hard and disorienting if I had to try it while moving around too much. It’d be like trying to unweave a tapestry while running.”

“Well... Ah won’t be runnin’ ‘round too much,” Apple Bloom admitted. “Mah legs ain’t doin’ too great. Ah’d carry ya, Sweetie, but Ah wouldn’t be able ta get close quickly enough ta match Scootaloo.”

“How about you recuperate while Scoots and I try to take some out? We could have a go from opposing sides of it,” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Yeah, and try to hit them at the same time. We don’t want to mess up the balance of this thing any more than we have to. Think you can do it, Scootaloo?”

The pegasus flared her wings and turned to Sweetie. “Of course I can. We’ll aim to hit one every five seconds. This’ll be a cinch. But the real question is, do you think you can keep up with me?” Her violet eyes glimmered, and she wore a smug grin.

“Oh, come on, Scoots,” Apple Bloom muttered. “This isn’t a game.”

Sweetie’s eyes shone and she raised an eyebrow. “Is the sky blue? Just try not to miss.”

“I’ll get the far red one.” She shot forth toward the center of the chamber. “You get the-”

“Scootaloo!”

The warning didn’t come quickly enough, and Scootaloo turned in time to see a rush of lightning pass right in front of her eyes, though the bolt of magic dissipated as soon as it drew too close. The pegasus’ amethyst-studded bracelet sprang to life, emitting bright flashes of light, and a strange, keening metallic sound.

Scootaloo pulled up her forehoof and cradled it with her other hoof. “Ow! Geez, this thing gets hot, Sweetie!”

“And you will be reduced to naught but ashes if you come any closer!” a deep voice rumbled through the stone walls of the cave. “If you just crawl back out of this cave, I’ll let you go.”

“Uh…” Sweetie thought about it. “No.”

“What a pity. I do so hate wasting resources. A dreamer and a wielder of chaos magic, such a bountiful find. But if you insist on staying, then you’ll find out just how much magic I have under my control.”

Sweetie looked at the central, consolidated gem. “Please. As if an amateur like yourself could actually even comprehend what you have here. You see gems with pretty powers… you barely even understand where half of it comes from, and I’m willing to bet the other half completely defies your grasp of reality and time. Hoof them over and I might go easy on your sorry flank when I unearth you from whatever hole you dug yourself into.”

Raucous laughter filled the cave, and the walls quivered at the sound. “You do realize what will happen if you try and stop this. See those walls around you? Those tons of rock, all precariously balanced, and ready to cave in and crush you? Well, I sure wouldn’t want to be in this cave when the inevitable happens.”

“I don’t care,” Sweetie replied. “I’ve been crushed to death before. Literally smashed into a pulp. Several times, actually. If I get what I need… I’ll just make sure the others are out of the way when the whole thing collapses. I think I’ll be fine.” And then she took a step forward.

“Shoot, girls!” The amulet flashed in warning. “One of the spells, it’s getting closer. I think he was just trying to buy some time!”

“But it’s too late for you now!” the voice cried out.

With a screech, from the top of the mountain a familiar vicious winged creature descended upon them. With a gaping maw, the draconic creature swooped toward Scootaloo.

Scootaloo let out a yelp and sped away from the beast. “I’ll show this dumb dragon a thing or two about flying! You have to stop the spell, Sweetie!”

Sweetie glanced at the gems. “Sweetie… we have to do something, but we won’t have time to correctly balance it all out with just myself!”

“S-Say…” The amulet’s voice was lost for a moment as bolt of raw magic shot by, narrowly missing them. “...targets? How many can you hit at once?”

“Safely… up to six…but I won’t be able to focus too much power into each one, lest I risk their accuracy,” Sweete replied. “One I could hit with my diamond, the other five would be elemental blasts… enough to disrupt the matrix, but not destroy the gems.” She thought for a moment. “However, you can see the literal connection between the gems and magic… if you could somehow take control of the extra aiming, say… for three more, I think I can cast the spells and let you guide them.”

“Great minds think alike. Just feed a fair amount of magic through the amulet, and I should be able to control it. Just remember, I won’t be able to talk while we do this.”

Sweetie nodded. “Got it… just… infuse the amulet with my magic, right? I’ll make sure to save enough to do the blasts.” She gave the gems a calculating look, memorizing the feel of the magic flow around them as she chose her targets. “Here it goes…” Her horn lit with considerable energy as she poured more than half of her reserves straight into the gem, syphoning the energy to flow in a stream of power she was almost sure a gem containing the soul of Discord should be able to withstand.

“W-whenever you’re ready!” Sweetie called, pressing Akela close to her, and readying her other spells.

“I hope you’re not afraid of heights…”

Sweetie gave the amulet an uncertain glance as it sparked, then she felt the world slip out from under her.

* * *

She felt the magic pour into her, it was so very similar to her own distinct pattern. It pooled within her, glowing like molten metal. There was more magical energy than she had ever safely handled before. If Sweetie Belle had a body, she would have been smiling madly and even laughing.

Is this what it feels like to be like Twilight? she wondered. To have this much magic at my disposal… It’s no wonder she’s always so full and certain of herself. If I normally had this much magic…

With a practiced grace, she wasted no time and pulled at a small bit of the magic. She wove it into the basic pattern for sound and tossed out the words, “I hope you’re not afraid of heights…”

She pulled at the pool of magic flowing through her and wove a three-dimensional pattern, the most complex spell she had ever memorized. From the center of the pattern, a helix of magic tendrils shot forth and she directed them upward and focused them on a single point in space.

The magic combined together, forming a pattern that mirrored the first, and she felt the familiar pull as the world shifted around her, and the sense of vertigo fought to overcome her. But she forced herself to look inward, at the brilliant magic she still wielded. She blinded herself to the world around her.

In the next moment, she extended her senses outward again. She felt the pulling motion of gravity, notifying that the spell had worked just as she had planned. Compared to teleportation, this next bit’ll be a cinch. Pulling out a smaller bit of magic from her more than half-empty reserve, she formed a quick, well-practiced sigil. One with a colour and pattern that never failed to remind her of Scootaloo. It must be the feather-like shape it has.

She cast it out and bound it around the other Sweetie Belle. The effect was instantaneous, as the sense of gravity lessened considerably. Another successful feather spell.

She then trained her sense downward and looked upon the massive collection of spell patterns running through the twelve different gems. And it even looks like the smaller sigils form the pattern for one larger spell. Whoever this guy is, he’s darn meticulous with his spells.

Choosing her targets quickly, she prepared herself, readying her magic to guide the coming spells.

* * *

Sweetie felt herself fall for a moment before she slowed down and started drifting, rather than rushing down. She didn’t allow for the dizziness and sudden relocation to bother her too much. With practiced focus, she immediately sent Akela towards an orbiting gem, and her body twisted into a spiral turn, sending first a blast of concentrated air from her snapping hooves, followed by water, fire, a chunk of rock, and finally lightning.

Her magic further sent three pure blasts of magical energy, unpolluted with elemental influence flying, her instincts trusting her other self, even as her mind hoped that the local Sweetie could catch the magic and use it.

She felt the amulet pulse with magic, and her blasts of energy moved as if with a mind of their own, speeding toward three separate crystals.

With unnerving accuracy, all nine shots hit the orbiting gems. Akela obliterated its target on contact. Each of the five struck by elemental magic cracked and shattered with resounding snapping noises, similar to ice breaking, while the three hit by magic alone, were tossed out of their orbits, crashing onto the floor, devoid of the connection they had to the spell matrix.

The remaining three gems lost all semblance of order, spinning faster and faster, catching on the hidden strands of magic from the other gems, and failing to absorb it. They shifted their orbits, speeding faster and faster as they cracked ominously under the strain, angry red lighting zigzagging over the central ruby. Finally, two of the remaining spinning gems smashed into each other, exploding into glittering dust and plumes of flame, leaving one single gem to absorb all the channels into itself.

It seemed to hover there for one split-second before simply shooting off wildly. With a crack and tremendous force into the air, it sped by Scootaloo, missing her by an inch, but smacking the drake in the forehead with the power of a battering ram.

“Hey!” Scootaloo hollered down at them, as the drake crashing onto the floor of the cave. “I was just about to ground him!”

“Sorry!” Sweetie called back. “It wasn’t on purpose!”

“Whatever!” Scootaloo flew down after her and hovered a fair distance away from the remaining fragments, as if expecting either of them to shoot off directly at her.

“Sweetie,” Sweetie Belle looked down at the amulet, “Can you separate them!? Can you break this guy’s hold on the fragments?”

As she looked down, she could see the two fragments at the center, their light growing with momentary, uneven pulses. The raw magic pushed against her even as she fell toward them, slowing her descent even more.

Then the light flashed in a series of beams, which funneled together. It shot up to her and she felt it impact with the amulet. As it did so a laughter pealed through the air. It wasn’t the deep echoing bellow of the attacker, but this laughter belonged to another. It was mad, and pained, like she’d imagine hearing from somepony who had been lit on fire and chosen to laugh at such a terrible fate.

The laughter was quickly replaced by a louder keening from the amulet, which shot forth a single emerald beam right to the fused fragments. The beam wove around them in an intricate pattern of triangles and circles and Sweetie saw the two fragments begin to quiver slightly.

With a peal to rival the mightiest of thunderstorms, the two crystals separated.

The blast that followed tossed Sweetie out of her fall and straight into the hooves of Scootaloo, who dove in to intercept her. The force of the impact however, sent the pair spinning head over hooves to smash onto the massive belly of the unconscious drake.

“Owowow…” Sweetie groaned. “I’m going to feel that one for the next three jumps…”

“You’re not the one that broke your fall,” Scootaloo muttered, shakily pulling herself up onto her hooves.

“And yer both lucky ta have that lizard take the brunt o’ the blast.” Apple Bloom came limping over. She had various cuts and bruises covering her body, but securely nestled in one of her forehooves, she held the two separated fragments. She gave them both a tired smile. “Looks like we did it.”

“Uh, maybe not…” An audible crack pierced the cavern, then another longer one. “The big crystal! Is that another sigil?”

“Fools! If you wish to defy me so, then I have no need of you!” the deep voice echoed one final time and the crystal at the center of the chamber shattered.

“Look out!” the amulet’s voice came out in a rush.

Ruby shards shot outward in shower of spears but Sweetie jumped forward and quickly formed a shield around her and her friends. She grunted as the spray of shards collided against her barrier and she flared what few reserves she had left to power the spell.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an amethyst-colored crystal floating beside her, dangerously close, and to the other side, Discord’s fragment floated as well. A soft emerald glow encompassed both of them, and she noticed the amulet shining as well. She felt it in a moment, like the clouds parting to let in pure rays of golden sunlight. Magic surged forth from the fragment, powering her faltering shield.

“H-how are you doing that?!” Sweetie asked, concentrating on her shield as much as she could while fighting the surprise. “I can feel Twilight’s magic flowing into me, but I’m not absorbing the fragment!”

“The magic of the fragment, it’s attuned to you; it shares your same innate spell pattern, like Scoddri’s with his amulet. It looks just like it would flow right into you naturally, if it got too close. It’s almost like it’s a pure chunk of your own magic in physical form. It doesn’t even have a proper crystal pattern.” The amulet pulsed, and she felt the magic continue pouring into her. “I’m using that attraction to our advantage, while holding the physical vessel back with my own magic. It’s making just the outside magic flow into you automatically. I just needed to change my own magic pattern to interact with the fragment itself, like when I manipulate individual patterns.”

“We’ll have to discuss this if we survive…” Sweetie grunted as a particularly large chunk of rock bounced off her shield. “Scoots… Apple Bloom… be ready to take the amulet and have Sweetie teleport you three if this breaks.”

“A three-pony teleport? I can’t do that, it’s too much magic! It’s a complex spell, and I’ve never used that much magic-”

“And we ain’t ‘bout ta leave you behind either,” Apple Bloom said firmly, cutting into Sweetie’s own protestations.

Scootaloo had spread her wings and her eyes darted back and forth as she traced the endless rain of debris, as if searching for a pathway out. She let out a small yelp and pointed up, beyond the shield, as a huge chunk of the rock split apart from the cavern roof. “Well, whatever we do, we have to do it fast!”

“I could… maybe keep the shield around us… cast a featherweight spell and have you drag us out?” Sweetie offered. “But I can’t keep a mountain from crashing us to death even with more of Twilight’s magic.”

“That’s it, Sweetie!” the amulet’s voice exclaimed. “In my bag! There’s a brooch I’ve been working on. If we use the feather spell…” the amulet flashed and Sweetie Belle felt the familiar touch of magic descend upon her as the pull of the ground beneath her lessened once again. “And if we use the brooch’s sigil, it’s an attraction spell. We can use it to pull Scootaloo up out of the mountain, and we’ll trail behind her, before we’re crushed to smithereens.”

“More reverse-kite-flying?” Scootaloo let out a short laugh as the falling chunk of rock collided near them, sending a spray of rocky shrapnel at their shield. “Sure, I could probably get out, if I’m lucky. But how can we all possibly get out of here without getting crushed?”

Apple Bloom began digging through her own saddle bags, and pulled out a length of sturdy rope. “We can use this ta keep us all tethered ta Scoots.”

The amulet’s green aura caught hold of the rope, and it sprung to life with deft finesse, and Sweetie felt as it slithered tightly around her midsection. In a moment, all three of them were bound together. “Compared to spell patterns, ropes and knots are foal’s play. Quick, though, you have to get ready. You should use the spell to help Scoots dodge the largest of the debris. Think you can do it while keeping the shield up?”

As the amulet finished talking, Sweetie noticed a brooch float in front of her for a moment. It was a silver clip with three green-silver stones forming a triangle. The metal had detailed series of lines and circles etched into it with the same coloured crystal. The brooch clipped into her hair.

Sweetie’s eyes narrowed and she ignored the tell-tale signs of magic exhaustion creeping through her. Sharing so much magic and maintaining such a strong shield was more taxing than anything else she had ever done. “I’ll do it. Be fast.”

Scootaloo bolted into the air, pumping her wings vigorously. Sweetie felt the rope tug, pulling both her and Apple Bloom in tow. While keeping the shield spell firmly under her grasp, she pulled on a second stream of magic and shot it into the silver brooch. She felt her magic transform in her grasp, as if she had cast the spell herself.

“The spell has two points to direct!” the other Sweetie Belle urged. “You need to pick Scootaloo as one, and the other should be whatever you want to pull her toward.”

Instinctively, she directed one part of the spell toward Scootaloo while she squinted past her own shield, preparing to dodge the largest of the debris.

A massive boulder cracked off of the widening skylight and plummeted toward them. “Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom called out in warning.

“I see it!” the pegasus shouted as she twisted her flight path with a few furious wing beats, but with the rope dragging behind her, the maneuver was sluggish.

Sweetie threw the other end of the spell to a nearby wall, and Scootaloo let out a yelp as she was yanked sharply sideways, pulling all of them with her. The shield hit hard against the cavern wall, as several tons of rock fell past them.

“Watch what you’re doing Sweetie!” Scootaloo shouted as she righted herself and flew toward the bright opening.

“Sorry! It was either that or die!” Sweetie called back. “Next time I’ll let the rock hit!”

“Yeah, you do that!” the pegasus retorted and Sweetie felt a sharp tug as Scootaloo sped up.

The tension in Sweetie’s forehead began to build and she felt her shield beginning to slip from her grasp. Gritting her teeth, she peered up, past it and Scootaloo. The ceiling had deep cracks running through it, yet at the center, a gaping hole filled her eyes with a bright white light.

“Hey, Scoots,” she called out with a pained grin on her face as she let her shield spell slip out of her grasp, “get ready for some speed!”

She pulled at the fragment’s magic and the powerful stream seared her from overuse, yet she managed to force it into the silver brooch. From there she quickly tagged Scootaloo and the distant lip of the ceiling.

The effect was immediate as they hurtled toward the ceiling, and she noticed the piece of rock she had targeted fissure and shoot out toward them.

“No!” she yelled and shot the spell one last time at the coming rock and section of rock to her side.

The projectile shot by Scootaloo’s left side, shearing off a few of her feathers. The pegasus winced, while the stone shattered to pieces as it collided with the cavern wall. But Scootaloo showed no signs of stopping.

With a pained scream, she shot out through the skylight. They were met with a burst of chill air as they drifted away from the crumbling mountain summit.

Sweetie let out a small sigh of relief and she let go of the last traces of magic she had been clutching. Suddenly, she saw Scootaloo’s left wing buckle, and they began falling in an eerily slow fashion of tangled of rope and limbs.

And then she felt a tingle, that she recognized as the fading of magic within her body. She managed to cast one quick glance to a small alpine forest below, as gravity tightened its grip on her. “Oh, that’s just perfect…”

Together, they fell toward the trees, Scootaloo frantically flailed her wings, wincing as she did so, but to no avail; her friends pulled on her as deadweight, and she was pulled down with them.

In a cacophony of yells and shattering tree branches, they came to a stop. Sweetie crashed through and came to a stop in the embracing boughs of a large evergreen. Silently, the shards of Twilight and Discord came to a rest, hovering beside her.

She saw Apple Bloom plummet past her in a yellow blur, her rope no longer around her. She landed in a fit of uncontrolled rolls on the needle-ridden ground.

Once the last of the branches stopped cracking, a short silence settled in until Apple Bloom’s pained moans from below were the first to break the silence.

“I-is everypony alive?” Sweetie croaked, her head spinning and her horn feeling like it was about to split in half.

“Darn it,” Scootaloo’s voice filtered through from the branches up above. “I swear, your plans are the worst, Sweetie!”

“And which Sweetie are you talking to, huh?” the amulet sparkled in her amusement.

“You! Her! Both of you!” Scootaloo gave a dry chuckle. “Why is it that when we follow one of your plans, even five years after we’ve gotten our cutie marks, we still end up getting covered in tree sap?”

“Because tree sap is an excellent insulator?” Sweetie offered. “I dunno! Pine trees like me! They just want to share the friendship.”

“‘Share the friendship’? What’s that even-? Woah!” Scootaloo shouted in surprise and some of the nearby, upper tree branches shuffled vigorously as a flurry of orange wings and purple hair fell down past Sweetie. Scootaloo’s fall stopped short of the ground as the rope around her midsection held firm and tight.

“Darn it!” she wheezed, as she struggled to reach the rope with her mouth. “A little help here?”

Sweetie’s magic eventually enveloped the rope and soon all three fillies were on the ground, still covered in pine needles and tree sap. Before either Scootaloo or Applebloom could react, Sweetie was already hugging them tight. She held them close before letting them go and looking at them with apologetic eyes.

“I’m so sorry!” she cried. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry I was so selfish and I wanted to die. I’m sorry I said those things to you two, and that I wasted the time I could have spent being your friend arguing over everything!”

“That’s what friends do, we argue,” Apple Bloom said, as she struggled to pull herself up, but collapsed back to the ground. “Ah think Ah need ta rest fer a moment.”

“Just because you thought those things isn’t what’s important. What matters is what you did do. You really did save us back there. There’s no need to be sorry.”

“The hay there isn’t!” Scootaloo shouted. “You’d both better be sorry! None of this would have happened if we just followed my plan and never entered that dumb tower. It’s gonna take at least a week or two before I can fly straight again!”

“That’s just her way of saying she’s sorry.” The amulet flashed and let out a small laugh.

Sweetie pulled Scootaloo for another hug. “I forgive you,” she whispered into her mane. “If you forgive me.”

“I- Wait, what!?” Scootaloo pushed out of the hug, her face turning red. “Darn it! Why does everypony misinterpret everything I say?”

“Ah told ya before, it’s because ya don’t say what ya mean,” Apple Bloom said with a chuckle.

Scootaloo scowled at all of them and then pointed a hoof at Sweetie. “Well, what I meant to say is, that you’d better remember that you’re sorry, or you’ll just end up making that mistake in the future.”

“Huh, that’s surprisingly sensible, comin’ from you.”

“Shut it, Bloom!”

“Aww, isn’t she adorable?” Sweetie asked, grinning at Scootaloo. “The last time she turned so red was when I kissed her!”

* * *

Situated on a rocky vista, Sweetie Belle sat, looking down past the pine trees at a city of crystal, standing proudly at the center of a sprawling prairie, the buildings glistening in the evening sunlight. As picturesque a place as any a traveller, dimensional or otherwise, could hope to find.

She had decided to stop there, once the headache from magic fatigue had abated.

“And there’s the Crystal Empire, finally free o’ storm clouds,” Apple Bloom observed from behind, finally catching up to her. The earth pony was limping heavily, and being supported by Scootaloo. “It’s just an hour or two from here.”

“Hmm, yeah. It’ll be nice to finally get there,” Scootaloo chimed in. “This is the last time I’m ever letting Sweetie plan a summer trip.” She let out a small chuckle. “What’s she doin’ anyway?”

“She just finished teaching me how to funnel magic from Twilight’s fragments without absorbing them…” Sweetie explained. “It’s fascinating. I never thought of even draining magic from crystals and such… and it’s something so obvious! If we can store energy in a matrix or a simple crystal, we should be able to use them as ‘batteries’ of sorts! And the best thing is, since Twilight’s fragments renew their magic naturally, I’m not affecting them like I would by absorbing them! Why didn’t anypony think of this before?!”

“Well, Ah think whoever that guy was, back in the cave. Ah think he figured out he could use it too,” Apple Bloom remarked. “A battery, huh? Ah wonder if we can replicate it effectively enough…”

“Sure, if we had something like Twilight’s fragment, we could use it to power our contraption almost indefinitely.” The amulet flashed excitedly. “But I think I’ve learned enough to make it work without such a big power source. With these matrices that she uses, and the right materials, I think I can get it to work. Might take more than a few tests though.”

“And Discord’s fragment?” Apple Bloom wondered, tapping her saddle bag. “Are ya goin’ ta try and use that fer the contraption?”

“No, I don’t know if we could get enough power out of it. But once the other Sweetie leaves and I get my body back, there are a few things I want to check out about that fragment, so keep it away from the amulet for now; I don’t want it to accidentally get absorbed while I’m distracted. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to use Scoddri like that. I want to make him whole again.”

“Geez,” Scootaloo muttered, “it’s always magic and contraptions with you two.”

Apple Bloom sat herself down gingerly onto the ground and let out a tired sigh. “Well, Ah’ll let ya figure it out Sweetie. When we get ta the city, you can work on the designs. Ah can’t fully wrap mah head ‘round how all the magic works. But if ya say his fragment won’t work, then Ah’ll trust yer judgement.”

“So, then what are we doing up here, when we could be going to the city?” Scootaloo wondered. “And I mean in non-magic jargon.”

Sweetie’s horn flashed for a moment and her notebook levitated, with two of Twilight’s fragments orbiting it instead of one. “I needed to cast a spell to take the fragment with me…” she explained, smiling sadly at the pair. “But that also means it’s time for me to go… as soon as I send my notebook away, I’ll be unable to stay.”

She took a deep breath, admiring the view. “It’s sad…when I get back I’ll be much older than you two are in my original universe. I wonder if I’ll be able to go out on adventures with my Scoots and my Apple Bloom,” Sweetie mused. “I know they’ll be there for me… but more and more I notice the age gap between me and them.” She sighed. “When I see them again, I hope they know I still love them, even if… even if I’m not going to be able to go crusading with them.”

“If they’re anything like us, they’d never forget ya,” Apple Bloom assured her.

“Of course they won’t. And if they do forget that you were their best friend, you just need to remind them!” The emerald amulet shot out small lightning-shaped bolts of magic, which diffused into the open air. “Magic has so many good uses.”

Scootaloo finally stepped forth and cast her gaze aside, uncomfortable for a moment, then stared right in her eyes. “And don’t you forget that we’re your friends either. If you do, I’ll get Sweetie to track you down, and we’ll give you a sound reminder, all three of us.”

Sweetie chuckled and nodded, eyes misting up a little. “I will. I’ll miss you three. It’s been great. I hope, wherever I end up next, that I can see you soon.” The dimensional pocket opened next to her, allowing her notebook to go in. “Bye girls. And good luck!”

As soon as the dimensional pocket closed around the notebook and the two fragments, Sweetie disappeared in a flash of light. The emerald necklace containing the local Sweetie Belle clattered to the ground, beside her saddlebags. But of her, there was no sign.

o.0.o

Next Chapter: Backwards Through the Mirror

o.0.o End Chapter 8 o.0.o

Author's Note

A quick note for readers: EoP has been postponed for now... Backwards Through the Mirror is a Mature rated story, with some pretty dark themes in it, but well worth reading as well. TSC, however, will remain a Teen-Rating, regardless.

Backwards Through the Mirror: Part 1

Edited by: Lammy. Nick Nack & Fifth Alicorn / Proof by: Magical Trevor & Super Big Mac

Light danced before her eyes, and her senses were overwhelmed by her arrival to a new world. Sweetie paused, scanning her surroundings. ‘Something’s wrong.’ The world around her felt surreal, like a mirage of some sort, as if she was more real than the rest of it.

Sweetie did not recognize the type of trees or the brambles that grew among them. There was no sign of Canterlot or Ponyville, nor familiar landmarks to use as reference. She was alone and in a strange place. The sense of wrongness, however, permeated the very air around her as Sweetie felt a terrible, invasive fear creep over her at the mere thought of remaining where she was.

There was danger close by. Even if she couldn’t see it, she could definitely feel it.

‘I can’t stay here…’

There were no noises, no whispers, no bird calls, no gusts of wind. There was simply a horrible feeling that she could only describe as a great consciousness that had suddenly focused on her. The world pressed in all around her. She was trapped in plain view.

In less than a second, she set out galloping through the maze-like forest, giving little heed to her surroundings as she tried to escape. There was a surreal fear seeping into her, a fear not unlike that of an unseen shade chasing her through her dreams. All around her, brambles with long, wicked thorns crafted menacing shadows in a bizarre half-light: like moonlight wrapped in a menacing air of watchfulness. The brambles were so thick and numerous, it was hard to gauge what time of day it was, but Sweetie definitely knew she shouldn’t linger.

Pushing her way through the brambles, she winced as small cuts opened along her sides, gouged by the twisted, grasping thorns that she couldn’t quite evade. It felt like they were reaching for her, grasping hungrily and eagerly, but she struggled on until she emerged in a clearing.

All around her, trees reached towards the sky, pushing back the thorns and revealing the twilit sky above. As if reacting to her presence, small, multicolored lights rose from the trees, gently encompassing Sweetie in a beautiful, swirling dance.

They orbited harmlessly around Sweetie, a stark contrast to the dark and gnarled brambles. She breathed a sigh of relief. The lights crowded closer and began to whirl a little faster.

Sweetie backed up a little. After several moments of continuous whirling, Sweetie decided they were probably not a threat, and sat down to catch her breath and take stock of her situation.

The lights drifted closer, and Sweetie started to feel lulled by the intricacy of the dancing lights. She watched one light lazily drift toward her face, where it gently landed on the tip of her nose.

Then the smell of burning hair hit her, and a searing pain on her face smashed the unicorn free of her daze. The light was burning her, and had latched on with tiny teeth of pure light that bit with the ferocity of an unleashed flame.

She let out a shrill scream and attempted to roll the biting lights off of herself, but more of the lights rose from the trees.

The forest around her began to grow in size, blotting out her surroundings with a deep darkness as they cast their mocking shadows over Sweetie’s struggles. She tried to concentrate, to summon water to snuff them out, but fear and pain had taken a hold of her and she could hardly even think.

“Get away!” she cried, shaking her head and closing her eyes as the vicious lights began to crawl over her painfully, biting all the way. They bit her all over from ears to tail, filling her nostrils with the scent of her own burning hair and skin, and filling her mind with a fiery pain that blotted out coherent thought.

Finally, in pain-wrought desperation, Sweetie made a break for the trees, still screaming from the pain as the little horrors bit and burned her all over. The thorns ripped at her as she crashed through the brush, but they also dissuaded some of the little lights. She was so focused on running, she failed to notice when the brambles fell short once more, and she ran head-first into a furry wall.

The motes flew off in alarm as the large creature turned around, growling. It was easily three times Sweetie’s size; a horrific cross between ape and wolf. Its yellowed teeth reeked of death, while its rolling, bloodshot eyes shone with predatory intent.

It loomed over Sweetie and she saw the muscle rippling on the thing like armor hidden beneath a shaggy coat of matted grey-brown hair. It reminded Sweetie of Romulus and Remus, almost an eternity ago… only uglier, and with eyes that reflected little more than animalistic frenzy, unlike the werewolf's intelligent gleam.

She was so busy staring at the horrible thing, Sweetie almost didn’t jump back in time as its massive, clawed hand reached for her. Her still-fresh burns protested mightily as she rolled, but she didn’t spare a second before rolling again.

The creature advanced far more quickly than she had expected, but Sweetie was no stranger to fighting.

Not anymore.

Settling into a more familiar battle stance, with an enemy she could predict and therefore defeat, Sweetie quickly altered her wild dodging into a pattern of her choosing.

She narrowed her eyes. Something had to pay for her fear and pain. She plunged the whole area into inky darkness. A sense of calm permeated her. ‘It’s almost like whatever was watching me can’t see in the darkness,’ Sweetie thought.

Blinded, the creature howled in frustration, and she took the opportunity to open a small portal to her book and summon Akela.

Sweetie brought the diamond forth and quickly arced it upwards, the magically enhanced edges of Akela slicing across both of the creature’s biceps and hindering its movements.

‘Why am I so calm?’ she wondered and cantered back to avoid a blind swipe, shooting her blade up across the wolf-thing’s thigh. It snarled violently as its blood started to wet the dirt below.

‘There’s no escape for you, Sweetie thought, watching the creature struggle to find her. ‘This is my domain now, and I won’t let you leave unscathed.’

She circled the beast, peppering it with balls of fire and ice, further punishing it with spikes of ice and plumes of flame beneath its paws and lightning bolts striking its ears.

The wolf was utterly mad with pain and rage, and it lunged blindly for Sweetie again and again, only to be punished for each and every attempt with another cut or a lick of flame until at last it over-reached itself, and Sweetie took the opportunity.

Akela plunged straight into its neck. The creature thrashed, choking and spasming in mortal agony, while its life blood flowed into the hungry earth.

Sweetie felt nothing as the light left the creature’s eyes: no guilt, only satisfaction at a job well done, and a lingering sense of superiority. She dismissed her spell and flicked Akela clean, the diamond glittering in the sudden light for just a second before she sent it back into the pocket dimension for safe-keeping.

She looked at the corpse for a moment, wondering why she was so calm. It was as if she simply couldn’t care.

With a moment of true respite, she finally chanced a look at her surroundings. She stood beside the beast’s corpse in the middle of a path of some sort. It was little more than a deer trail, but it was far friendlier than the tunnel of grasping thorns from before.

Yet that begged the question of which way to follow said path. One way, the path twisted into darkness, while the other, equally dark way was straighter. She dithered for a moment before opting for the straighter path, reasoning that if it were an easier path, then maybe somepony else would be walking it too.

As soon as she had made her decision howls rose from all around Sweetie, so close they could have been crawling up her spine. She ran down her chosen path, still nicking herself on the thorns that lined the narrow path.

She followed it to a wall with a single, wooden door, which she burst through by sheer momentum.

Sweetie rolled into a reading room. Books lined the walls, split by brambles made of paper twisted and folded over itself, their roots anchored in a floor of books set into the earth. Most of the spines were entirely incomprehensible gibberish, but a few were things like “To Serve Rocks” and “Jumping on Sharp Things: Not Living to Tell the Tale.” She passed titles like “Lining Your Home Gauntlets,” and “Riccoto Pens Work Better,” but while strange, they were still made of paper, and the roots of the bookshelves were anchored to still more books set into the floor. The smell of burning paper filled the room, but there was no flame she could see, though ashen dust shifted about her hooves and drifted through the air.

Unnerved by the oppressive atmosphere of the room, Sweetie searched for an exit, and found a small window, just large enough for her to fit through. The howling rose again, and the door she’d left open was torn from its hinges by something quite larger than the creature she’d dealt with earlier.

’Oh, jeez...’

With a panicked burst from her horn, Sweetie blew the window outward and leapt through, wincing as shattered glass ripped at her sides. She fell, adrenaline and blood flowing, through a vertical shaft made of more bookshelves, where vines of paper reached out with sharpened thorns for whatever scant parts of her hide remained unscathed.

At the beck and call of gravity, there wasn’t a whole lot Sweetie could do to protect herself from the thorns. But before she had fallen too far, she suddenly stopped with a soft whump and a cloud of dust.

Surprised, Sweetie stood shakily on an enormous page while the illustration of the vertical hallway continued to move in mind-boggling defiance of conventional physics.

A cacophonous crack from above reminded Sweetie that she shouldn’t linger, and she searched around for some means of escape.

Sweetie dashed through, looking for something that could be a door or other portal, her hooves slipping on the page that made up the floor. To her horror, the room contained nothing besides hard wooden walls and more books full of nonsense. The cracking grew louder, and the brambles above were pulled apart.

Sweetie braced herself for a fight, as the largest lupine creature she had ever seen dropped hard onto the book, ground shuddering beneath it as if in fear. It was so huge, Sweetie could have stuck her whole body into its right eye socket and still have room to move around. It was like a wolf combined with a bear and a shark, with rows of triangular, razor-sharp teeth, huge claws with opposable thumbs, and enough bulky muscle to roll through Carousel Boutique without expending so much as a droplet of sweat.

Still, Sweetie stood ready. The creature may have been large, but she knew how to handle large opponents. Her horn flared with energy as she looked straight at the monster’s eyes.

“I’m not afraid of you!”

Yet, as the cruel, intelligent eyes looked down at Sweetie, she felt such a fear awaken, one which was beyond anything she had experienced before. The red glow in those slitted pupils was like the fires of Tartarus: every fear she had ever felt, rolled into a gaze with the force of a hammer blow behind it.

“Sleep” it commanded, voice like honeyed venom.

“N-no...” Sweetie protested weakly, powerless to refuse, and those burning eyes followed her into the deep darkness of nightmares.

o.0.o

Sweetie awoke, cold and bruised on something unforgivingly hard and smooth, surrounded by a cacophony of growls and snarls. She had no idea how much time she’d been asleep, but by the way her stomach clenched, it had been for some time. She opened her eyes slowly, and the world around her began to drift into terrible focus.

She was in a cage, one just large enough for her to stand up and turn around in. It was made of a silvery metal that twisted subtly as she looked at it, While the bars were slim, they were only wide enough for her to get truly stuck should she try to escape. Beyond the bars, the world was a mixture of silvery moonlight and the flickering glow of old-fashioned torches.

To Sweetie’s horror, beyond her cage there were hundreds—if not thousands—of other cages, all shining in the light of a moon that stood unnaturally full and huge above her. In each cage, a creature stirred or slept, the former often adding to a general cacophony, while the latter lay with the stillness of one driven to exhaustion.

And yet, the most incredible, horrible thing about that place was not the look but the sound. Hoots, growls, snarls, and screams all merged together into a constant barrage of sound that pounded into Sweetie’s ears like a driven nail. It was confusing and not-quite deafening, and gave almost no clue as to the relative distances.

And then there was the smell, as the stench of the fear and general filth of hundreds of captives rolled through the cages. The miasma was unavoidable, and Sweetie felt her eyes watering. To distract herself and help establish her bearings, she looked around at her fellow captives.

On her right, a chipped and splintered timberwolf dozed fitfully, its wooden legs jerking as it dreamed. It was almost twice her size, but something about the creature was worn and tired. To Sweetie’s left, a creature much like a Diamond Dog paced back and forth, watching her with a hunger that was plain to see. Its gaze was mad, and as Sweetie made eye-contact, it flung itself at the bars, snarling and barking.

Sweetie leaned back from it, and across from her cage, beyond a path of some kind, she met the eyes of a creature that may have been a pony once. It had four legs, a mostly equine body and face, and a unicorn’s distinctive horn, but that was where the similarities ended. Its body was entirely devoid of fur, and the wrinkled, filthy skin was carved with deep scars, many of them in the shapes of strange symbols. It watched her neutrally, and when it blinked, Sweetie caught sight of two sets of eyelids.

“Pst!” Sweetie froze, until the voice called again, “Hey, you deaf down there?” It sounded pony-like, but Sweetie was still debating about responding when a small mirror on the end of a claw came down. She found herself looking into the slit-pupiled eye of a griffon.

Even in the small mirror, Sweetie could tell this griffon had been there a while. It was tired, covered in old scars, and there was something feral about it that made her more than a little uncomfortable.

“Jeez,” the griffon, which sounded definitely male now that he was speaking a little louder, “You’re a tiny one. Get separated from your mum or something?” He gave Sweetie a sneer, “Not gonna last five minutes, ten to one.”

“I’d take that bet,” A voice from across the way chimed in. It was rough and gravelly, but amused. It looked like some kind of huge ape, with long thorns protruding from its back, and eyes that burned with a keen intellect. “She’s a fighter,” it said simply, as if such things were writ large across her features. “Smaller isn’t always weaker after all.”

The griffon clicked his tongue against his beak impatiently, as if the words had been a jab. “Shut up! You wouldn’t know strength if it flapped up to you and snapped your neck!”

The blatant threat in the griffon’s words was about to be answered when a hush swept through the row of cages, with the exception of the dog-like creature, who was still madly clawing at Sweetie.

Its racket stood alone in the sudden, relative silence that left Sweetie’s ears ringing. Up the row, one of the huge beasts that had chased Sweetie proceeded slowly along, its clawed hands grasping a long staff or spear that glittered in the moonlight. The canine frothed with rage, oblivious, until the beast jabbed it with its spear. The canine screamed and convulsed as some sort of current was injected forcibly into it.

Sweetie kept very still and watched as the gasping creature’s cage was opened just wide enough for a dish to be tossed in, overflowing with bloody, stinking meat. She backed away as the beastly warden walked to her cage and paused. Sweetie thought briefly of escape, of somehow killing the guard and leaving this terrible place behind, but an unnatural, heady fear stayed her as a clawed hand opened her cage slightly, and slid in a bowl of some sort of damp, moldy grains.

After a moment, a bucket of water followed, roughly shoved in so that half its contents splashed on the cage floor. The creature was so close, Sweetie could smell its rank breath, even over the ambient stench of sewage and fear. Her mind screamed at her to attack, to kill the thing and flee, but her body refused to move until after the creature had shut the cage again.

After a moment, it shoved a dish of meat into the cage above her, and the dripping blood from the meal stained the front of Sweetie’s cage crimson.

It took several minutes for the creature to pass, and the cacophony rose again, filling Sweetie’s ears with a painful level of noise that was not quite drowned out by her own hunger. She hesitated though, looking at the grains. They were normal-looking, if moldy, but the pony-creature across the way gave her another look.

“If you don’t eat, they’ll just take it away,” he said, before returning to his own meal.

Sweetie’s stomach churned at the moldy, damp grains, and it wasn’t helped by the smell of blood and the sounds of ripping flesh from above her. Still, she bent to eat, and the ape creature chuckled.

“Eat up, tiny one, you’ll need it.” The blood-soaked grin on its face was not at all cheerful as the thorny creature raised its head from its own meal of meat and marrow. Sweetie focused on her meal, the better to keep it down.

That first meal was the start of her routine in the Kennels.

After eating, she and the other prisoners who were of sound enough mind were rounded up and pulled from their cages to work. She and the others were forced to clean the cages of the other prisoners, sweeping and mopping up the refuse of fear and poor diet. She thought about escape, but the vastness of the Kennels dissuaded her.

It was hard, hoof-cracking labor to clean the cages, and any thoughts of escape turned to thoughts of rest after just the first day. It was a very weary and battered filly that returned to a cage that held only a bucket of water.

The stagnant water tasted horrible, but she drank it all the same. It quenched her thirst even if it made her insides twist uncomfortably as she tried to fall asleep amidst the rising cacophony of the Kennels.

She dreamt of her notebook that night.

She dreamt of the shards of Twilight’s essence, and of the horrible, canine wardens getting ahold of them, giving them to a far larger, more terrible beast.

She tried to stop them, to fight them, but they had taken her magic. She could do nothing but scurry back from the largest claw she’d ever seen, only to smack her head on the bars of her cage.

After that first, terrible night, the other prisoners began to open up to her over their shared breakfast. They told her she was in the Kennels of the Beast, whose dominion over the area was absolute. The wardens of the Kennels were his Pack, and they were all there at his pleasure, to sell them as he saw fit to creatures stranger even than himself. She never saw the Beast again, but she felt the fear of the other prisoners at just at the mention of its name.

It was difficult to follow the passage of time in that terrible place, but she had only slept three times when the griffon was dragged away. Three of the large canine wardens arrived during her rest, and bodily dragged the kicking, fighting griffon from his cage above her. He swore and fought with a ferocity that was truly terrible to behold, and his curses rang in Sweetie’s ears long after they had dragged him off into the flickering half-darkness.

She tried not to think about him, tried to forget the terror in the seemingly confident griffon’s curses and shouts. She was so tired, so drained that it wasn’t too difficult, but it was one less friendly voice the next time a meal came around, though it meant his cage wasn’t on top of hers anymore. A small part of her mind felt shame for not intervening, for not trying every single day to escape, but the rest of her was just so tired, it was little more than a whisper in the dark.

Uncountable days and nights passed beneath the baleful light of the frozen moon, which always hung, unmoving, above. Sweetie lost count of her meals. Her whole world became a whirl of work, sleep, and constantly gnawing hunger and exhaustion. She fell asleep to nightmares, and woke up to a nightmare, one she wished would end, every day.

Then, breakfast failed to arrive one morning. She felt hunger ravaging the inside of her, eating away her strength as she waited in the endless noise of the Kennels. She watched with something like anxious anticipation for her meal to arrive, for the small respite it promised and the alleviation of her clenching innards.

One by one, the cages fell silent, and Sweetie moved up to the bars, waiting almost eagerly for her moldy, disgusting food. Yet the figure walking up the path was no member of the Pack, it was far too tall and thin. As it approached, Sweetie felt her heart rise into her throat. It was like an upright ape, but stretched thin and bony. It was dressed in an impossibly smooth, fitted suit with what looked like a bone-forged conductor’s baton clutched in its needle-like fingers covered in crisp, white gloves.

Its face was a mask carved of cracking ivory. A yellowing expression of distaste sneered down at Sweetie, who found herself transfixed with terror. Something about the creature was so deeply disturbing that it filled Sweetie with a visceral kind of fear that was far greater than anything the Pack had ever instilled in her. The creature stopped at Sweetie’s cage, and the cage itself lifted up until she was at eye level with it.

Up close, the creature was even worse. Its emotionless, empty sockets for eyes looked at Sweetie with a dire intelligence that made her swallow hard, and try to hide in the small space of her cage. It examined her with a gaze like a dagger, then, apparently satisfied, it brought up the baton and tapped the cage. The silver bars that had been Sweetie’s refuge and prison dissolved, dropping her through the air, until she was caught by the scruff of her neck by the creature’s free hand.

At the same time, a tremendous explosion hit the Kennels, and a great flare of violet light illuminated half of her new captor’s face. It looked over sharply, and began to carry Sweetie away roughly, while a wave of sound rose from the inhabitants of the Kennels. The hellish sounds of battle rose as she fought futilely against the creature’s grasp.

She struggled and fought, until at last she felt the baton touch her head. Then her body stopped obeying her, and she found herself unable to even form a thought of a spell as she was dragged off into the darkness beyond the Kennels, through dark brambles, beyond time and reason.

o.0.o

The passage from the strangeness of the Kennels to the home of her new nightmarish warden defied even Sweetie’s experience to describe. Yet when she arrived, it was both more and less than she had expected. The creature dragged her from the clutching brambles across a barren field of dark green grass towards what looked like a vast concert hall, larger even than the towering spires of Canterlot, and yet it was still unsettlingly proportional. The vast building was like a palace in and of itself, made of intricately etched obsidian and cold, hard gold, which only emphasized the absolute, dead quiet of the place.

Sweetie’s captor also changed as they approached their destination. It was taller, sharper, like some living sculpture that had been wrought of bones and nightmares. Its clutching talons gripped Sweetie’s skin harshly, and she could feel her body screaming, though she could make no noise.

The being said nothing as it dragged Sweetie’s limp body through the grass, stalks clutching at her like a desperate pony searching for a life-line. Not even the grass dared make a noise as the creature strode to the huge, golden doors and stopped. It drew its baton from the recesses of its garment and tapped the door, which melted away, flowing in rivers of gold to the side.

The creature dragged Sweetie into what looked like a huge, obsidian and gold foyer, and threw her onto the obsidian floor. The pain of the impact shocked her out of her catatonic state, but her mind felt curiously disconnected. She only dimly registered the golden words set into the obsidian of the floor. The Theater of Sorrow, her gaze was forcibly turned to her captor. It was like looking upon the visage of a dark and terrible god, the kind that ancient ponies had once appeased with desperate, wanton sacrifice, and Sweetie felt fear crackle through her body in an electric pulse.

It raised its bone baton and Sweetie was compelled to look in the direction that it pointed. Set into the wall directly opposite the entrance was a door, so massive the top of it was shrouded in shadow despite the soft, golden light that oozed from the gold permeating the architecture.

On the left side of the door, a massive mosaic of obsidian and gold showed her captor, holding the baton like a sword at its side. Beneath the mosaic was a single word: Maestro. To its right, there was a far more complex mosaic that showed creatures of all shapes and sizes cleaning, eating, and dying. Beneath that one, it showed another word, Labour, while above the mosaic, the word Silence glowed with a quiet intensity, and Sweetie knew on some fundamental level that it was describing how her life would now be.

o.0.o

The Maestro’s labours left little room for thoughts of escape, let alone attempts. She was always cleaning: sweeping up shards of razor-sharp obsidian, polishing the gold along every wall, floor, and railing, and mopping up blood from the Maestro’s compositions. For the Maestro was not simply the conductor of a silent theater, he was also the sole musician.

Every night, screams of torment echoed through the theater, plied into melodies that were at times sickeningly beautiful. It sent shudders through Sweetie Belle, but she could never bring herself to look at what poor creatures were being used as the Maestro’s instruments. Instead she bent herself to the Maestro’s Labours.

The Labour sounded largely straightforward, in that it consisted of cleaning, dusting, polishing, and sweeping, but the need for silence made it many, many times more difficult. Even the slightest of sounds was punished, either by the Maestro himself, or by the shards of volcanic glass that each sound cracked loose from the walls and ceiling. The only exception to the rule of silence was the Maestro’s music, which rang through the whole of the Theater of Sorrow.

Screams featured largely in the Maestro’s works, or pleading. Agony wrapped through melodies that were gruesomely cheerful, describing bright summer days and brilliant fields of flowers in the sobs of pleading ponies, or other creatures, often in languages she’d never heard, or the high-pitched whines of somepony utterly broken by pain.

Sweetie never saw how the ‘music’ was played, but every night (for a given value of night) she was sent in to clean out the auditorium, blood and shards of obsidian covered the stage. Cleaning up the obsidian was horrible work: it always got stuck in her hooves, her legs, and it would never feel like she’d pulled all the shards from her flesh, which had begun to harden under the work, cooling and stiffening like stone.

Yet Sweetie was not alone in that horrible place. Other creatures, slaves of the Maestro like herself, would work in equal silence, giving each other a wide berth to avoid any possibility of collisions. Trolls like mountains of rocky flesh, small, furry creatures with golden claws and other ponies all labored together in absolute silence.

Once, one slave was not careful enough, and he tripped over Sweetie’s hoof in his haste to leave the stage. The crash rang like a thunderclap in the silent theater. Every being there froze. The culprit, a small, lizard-like biped, froze in the act of standing up.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then they all heard a crack from above.

The ceiling of the Theater of Sorrow was always draped in shadow, and Sweetie had never been up high enough to see what it was made of. Yet her question was answered that night, when the cracking noise repeated, and a sound like screaming stone made all the slaves look up in fear. Out of the darkness, a shard of onyx as large as a wagon scythed down into the obsidian stage, utterly crushing the poor lizard creature and peppering Sweetie with shards of obsidian that drove deep into her flesh.

The pain was incredible, like having a million biting insects crawling beneath her skin, but Sweetie knew she had to hold her silence, to keep herself from crying out as she crawled across the stage, trailing blood. She found herself cursing the little lizard, rather than mourning him, and as she healed, her body stiffened more, giving her fur the appearance of carved marble.

The shards never left Sweetie’s body. Instead, they bonded with something deep inside the filly, and they filled her with pain. It was only when a fellow slave, the little furry creature she had noticed before, showed her how to Bargain with the obsidian so that it stopped cutting her flesh, and merged with the strangeness that was filling her. A coldness filled her spirit in that dark and terrible place, and it turned her heart to stone, imbibed with the Maestro’s frigid madness.

After that first contract, she began to understand the way things worked in her bizarre new home. She bargained silently with the floor to suck in the sound of her footsteps, and sealed the strange deal with a drop of her own blood, as the other slaves showed her. She made oaths to the stone that ran through her altered body: to the very idea of rock and stone. She convinced it to help her, to warp and come at her request. And the more oaths she made, the more she changed, and deep inside her sense of self cried softly in the darkness of her increasingly tattered soul.

At times the physical changes affected her magic and her soul as well.

Unbidden memories would sometimes rise whenever a shard struck close to her heart.

She would be with Cadance... and then Cadance would be Chrysalis... the Queen would teach her to prepare poisons... to slip them into drinks and food when a pony was distracted, to walk in silence, much like she did here, to not be detected... to spy, to remember... and then the Queen would sing... and Sweetie would only remember learning the songs with Cadance.

And yet, she couldn’t bring herself to care. Each cut bled away her interest. Each shard that stuck into her skin and burrowed deep faded the past into nothing but an experience that felt more hearsay than her own personal experience. There was no sense of betrayal... no horrifying realization of what she had become... why it had been so easy to learn to duel or bladecast, or even fight to kill.

Her life was just pain and the silence within the Theatre of Sorrows.

It took months, day in and day out of cleaning, avoiding further brutalization by the Maestro while her fellows were picked off through happenstance or malice, for her to lose hope. She remembered dimly that she had to help a purple unicorn, that she had a book that she absolutely had to protect, but she couldn’t remember why.

And yet, it was at this lowest point that something strange began to happen. Flickers of violet began to flash throughout the obsidian of the Theater. It was infrequent at first, and the Maestro did not notice. Sweetie and the few remaining slaves noticed, but said nothing, not that they could anyway with silence being the most important rule.

Then things became even stranger. As she was walking through the gallery of the Theater, she smelled smoke, only for a moment, but it brought with it a rush of memories that quickly vanished before she could articulate them. It happened a few more times in different parts of the Theater, but Sweetie could never find the source.

The Maestro remained oblivious, and so Sweetie spent the time she was not occupied with her grim tasks hunting for the scent, for the flash of purple and the smell of burning memories. She couldn’t say why, but she felt herself drawn to the scent and its promises.

One night, Sweetie was cleaning the upper halls with one of the last survivors of the Maestro’s mad demesne. He, or she possibly, was a towering troll made of dark stone, with claws like shards of night that carefully picked up the stray pieces of onyx and obsidian, while Sweetie cleaned the bluish blood of another former fellow slave up off the floor.

The sight of the blue blood didn’t horrify Sweetie, as it once would have. She just cleaned it up with a dull disinterest, until she noticed the way it contrasted with the bright, rock-like white of her coat. The sight sent something like a jolt through the little filly, and a flash of purple flickered through the dark walls, and her nose was filled with the acrid scent of smoke.

This time, rather than the sight and smell fading immediately, it flickered further down the corridor, as if beckoning Sweetie onwards. The troll with her froze, staring in fear, but Sweetie ignored it. She followed on hooves well-practiced in the art of silence, inhaling the bizarre, mildly unpleasant scent.

It led Sweetie through the halls of the Theater of Sorrow, which echoed with another piece being performed by the Maestro. Screams of agony and sobbing cries for help and mercy fell on deaf ears as Sweetie followed a single light of something that felt like a long-forgotten hope. It led her swiftly through the halls, up to the doors of the amphitheater itself.

The tall, obsidian doors were locked fast, as they were for every performance, and through the smoky glass Sweetie could see the Maestro conducting, with strange devices before him on the stage that was always clear when she was called in to scrub the blood away. Beyond the door, the light flashed brightly, showing the obsidian mechanisms in the door briefly.

Sweetie almost wept with silent frustration as the light flickered down the aisle of the amphitheater. She backed up, and her mind was filled with sudden conviction as she realized she absolutely must, must get to the light. Sweetie lowered her horn, pawed the floor in silence, then leapt towards the door with a shrill cry that broke her silence for the first time in over a year.

Her voice hit the door like a hammer: shattering it and sending the shards into the amphitheater of the Maestro of Broken Dreams, like heralds calling her name. The Maestro turned around, its flat, monkey-like face split into a horrific snarl of sharp teeth and glowing wrath. It leapt from the stage towards Sweetie, who calculated his trajectory and dove almost unconsciously forward, while memories of her training flashed through her head.

She ran forth, flinging fire behind her to delay the Maestro as the purple light flashed more urgently before her, reminding her of casting spells with a beloved tutor. Learning magic. Sweetie ran harder, her small body propelling her forward with all the desperation of a drowning mare reaching for a glimmer of sunlight.

The Maestro’s stage was like something out of a nightmare: a pipe organ made of black gems, marble and gold was connected to some of Sweetie’s fellow slaves, who had blades of dark crystal driven deep inside them. Before them, a stand bearing an opened book of music was visible, as if the conductor had been interrupted.

Sweetie knew then that she had been forcing herself not to ask, that something had been drained out of her, and the scent of burning paper was filling it back in. The Maestro landed between Sweetie and the poor victims on the stage, its visage stretched into a nightmarish caricature of rage and madness.

“Get out of my way!” Sweetie shouted defiantly, drawing her diamond from its hiding place, and her voice rattling the halls. Fury filled the filly where apathy had resided. She was angry at the Maestro; angry at herself, at Chrysalis, at fate… and her incandescent rage flared throughout the amphitheater like the violet fire that flashed so brightly at that moment, filling the obsidian stage with a purple glow.

The Maestro, distracted by the abrupt change in its environment, let out a silent scream as Sweetie’s weapon sliced it from shoulder to hip. The blood of the creature was a dry scatter of black crystal that hit the floor with a sound like stone crashing through glass as it caused the bizarre torture machine to explode with sudden force.

Sweetie screamed in sudden pain as the shards drove deep into her flesh, as well as splattering her with the blood of the victims unable to pull themselves free before the device had detonated.

Above, the ceiling cracked ominously as the light flashed again, and Sweetie felt herself being pulled abruptly towards a swirling vortex of purple fire, laced with arcane symbols formed of orange incandescence.

Sweetie sent her diamond back to its place between places and, in desperation, grabbed at the stage to halt herself only to have her hooves slide on the slick surface.

She grabbed for something, anything, and her hooves found something that felt firmer than glass.

To her horror, it was the music book the Maestro had been conducting from, unattached from its podium, and she was pulled into the vortex.

Sweetie curled up to protect herself instinctively, but the fire did not burn, despite the overpowering stench of smoke. The fire whispered softly and urgently to the filly, in a voice she half-remembered from someplace long ago. Before she could think of it, Sweetie found herself pulled from the fire and into the cold darkness of the brambles she only dimly remembered.

Weakened from her wounds and loss of blood, Sweetie’s vision darkened. As she passed out, she caught a glimpse of glowing, violet eyes embedded in a surprised face that her mind distantly thought it recalled.

o.0.o

Sweetie groaned, shifting and shivering a little. She could hear noises, the soft breathing of some pony or creature nearby... she could feel... something soft under her... and something light atop her. Things she hadn’t felt in what felt like centuries. ‘It’s almost as nice as the ones I had in Canterlot...’ She sniffed something that made her frown. There was something... a passing whiff of burning paper... finally she relented and slowly opened her eyes.

The room was enormous, easily thrice the size of a normal bedroom, orderly, built of solid stone, and utterly filled with books. Bookshelves had been built into every possible piece of furniture that could conceivably hold them. The four-poster bed, however, was tremendously soft and comfortable, with bright purple satin sheets and a darker silk-covered blanket that held in warmth while breathing comfortably. Above Sweetie, a canopy of black velvet hung luxuriantly, emblazoned with Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark in brilliant color.

A rug on the floor also sported the same mark, which glowed in the dim evening light flowing through the narrow windows set on the western wall. The floor itself was also stone, but with the pieces so cunningly fit together it could have been one solid slab, and it made a delicate, intricate pattern in the grain of the stone that was pleasant to the eye even as it confounded the senses.

Beneath the rug, spanning the whole floor of the large circular room, was a mosaic of Celestia’s cutie mark..

Against one wall, a little niche was set up, with a smaller bed and its own set of shelving. It too was emblazoned with Twilight’s cutie mark, but sitting upon it was a white unicorn filly, a little younger than Sweetie herself, watching with such intensity she might have been carved from stone, were it not for the occasional blinks of her heterochromic eyes, which were a slightly disconcerting blue on the left and green on the right.

Her bright yellow mane was cut precisely and simply to give her bangs similar to Sweetie’s dim recollections of Twilight’s own mane. Her tail, however, curled much like Sweetie’s own, and both were immaculately cared for. She wore a bright purple vest, which clashed with her mane and tail, and across her chest was also Twilight’s cutie mark. Dimly visible, the filly’s cutie mark was a bright starburst of yellow light, which stood out against her white coat with its sheer brilliance.

“W-what...” Sweetie croaked, wondering at the sound of her voice. Without the echoes, or the adrenaline running through her, it was almost magical. “Where am I?”

“The Citadel,” the filly answered shortly. Her voice was resonant and high, but entirely mundane, with no magic or other strangeness. She hovered somewhere between dutiful silence and concerned guardian, and after a moment she added, a shade awkwardly, “How are you feeling?”

“Like I was shot from Pinkie’s Party Cannon into a teleportation matrix, except she forgot to unstrap me from a boulder she had tied me to originally and I ended up splitting into little bits through the entire spectrum of light, only to be turned into cake and eaten by a giant orangutan,” Sweetie said after a moment. She blinked. “I... don’t think I actually intended to say that.”

The filly goggled at Sweetie for a moment, opened her mouth to reply, shut it again, then settled for bringing a small bottle up from the side of the smaller bed, “I, uh-here, have some aspirin.” She sounded a bit like she was remembering something step-by-step as she continued more firmly, “And I am authorized to arrange for provisions to be brought to you, if you are hungry.”

“I’m... not dreaming, am I?” Sweetie asked, levitating an aspirin from the bottle and taking it dry. “It... please tell me I’m not dreaming...”

“I can assure you that you are not dreaming,” the filly affirmed, closing the bottle and setting it aside. “If you were, then... well...” The filly thought for a moment, and her white face flushed a little with embarrassment as she failed to find an adequate explanation. “Well you’re not.”

Sweetie chuckled, looking at the filly with thankful eyes. “I believe you... it’s just...” she closed her eyes and shuddered. “It’s just... I had almost lost all hope. I thought I’d be there forever.”

“Well,” the filly said with a trace of pride, “When Dame Twilight Sparkle comes back from Manehattan, you can thank her yourself.” The mere mention of the name ‘Twilight Sparkle’ brought new surety to the filly. “Now, do you require anything further? Water? Food?”

Sweetie’s eyes welled up. “I... food but... do you mind... if I play some music? I haven’t been able to make a single sound for… a long time… more than a year, I think, unless I’ve been out more than a few hours.”

“Uh,” the smaller white filly said, looking a little taken aback, “I can bring a record player from downstairs if you like. Just stay put and—”

“N-no!” Sweetie stammered. “There’s no need... I just... this is your room, right?”

“This is Dame Twilight Sparkle’s room,” the filly answered, with a trace of pride once more. “I, as her squire, stay with Dame Twilight as per regulation 447-c of the Chivalric Code of Equestria.” She nodded to her own, much smaller bed that nevertheless looked quite comfortable, albeit plainer. “But we do share this room.”

Sweetie smiled at the formal tone the slightly younger filly took. “I see, well, that still makes it your room more than a guest room, and I would not want to abuse anypony’s generosity by simply doing what I want... would you mind listening to me play?” She smiled. “It would mean a lot to me.”

The filly, looking like she was trying to find the page of a script she was supposed to be on, simply nodded and said somewhat stiffly, “I can find no fault with that.” She grimaced at her own wording and added, “I mean, it’s fine.”

Sweetie nodded thankfully, slowly getting out of bed and, for the first time in so long, let magic flow into her horn, coaxing the universe to open. A small tear formed in the air and slowly her notebook floated out.

Opening the book where it hovered, Sweetie removed a bookmark, and closed the book, sending it back through the tear in space. Looking lovingly at the thin piece of paper in her telekinetic grasp, Sweetie placed it on the floor and stepped back, casting a minor activation spell.

The bookmark started growing. Slowly it took more depth and widened, seeming to simply expand until they both stood in front of a black case. Sweetie opened it with her magic, and levitated out a cello.

Placing it next to her, she reared back onto her hind legs, balancing as she took hold of it and the bow with her hooves, just like an earth pony would, and letting her magic fade altogether. She leaned against the instrument, loving the feel of the wood and strings, the smell of it... it had been too long. “I might be a bit out of practice,” she confessed to the other filly in the room.

The filly, who had watched all this in mild amazement, simply blinked and sat down on her bed again. She appeared rather taken aback by the display of magic, but otherwise remained content to listen.

Sweetie started by testing her notes. One by one she went through them, making sure that they were balanced and sounded just like she wanted... and then... and then, because she had been trapped in a place where happiness did not exist, where hope was fed into nightmares and where silence was forced on all that had a talent or love for music... she played something that could only be called: playful.

The notes were fast and short, as if they were a quirk of the musician, but the melody was there and it was decidedly optimistic. Which was what Sweetie needed the most.

As the sound of the music faded, the door gently clicked as somepony started to open the door. In an instant, the little white filly was up on her hooves, standing rigidly beside her bed, the very figure of watchfulness. The door opened gently outward, and Princess Luna looked in curiously. She smiled warmly as she made eye-contact with Sweetie. “It is good to see you are back up on your hooves, little one,” the princess said, while the filly saluted stiffly. “Wherever did Luminous find you a cello?”

Sweetie Belle blinked, but quickly curtsied exactly as Blueblood had taught her she should when she was before the Canterlot Royal Court. “Princess Luna, thank you...” she said, not looking up. “Uh, Luminous didn’t get it for me; it is one of my few possessions. I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”

“Not at all, little one, I was just surprised. Music is such a lovely distraction.” The princess stepped into the room. She was without her royal regalia, and gave Luminous an amused look,. “I thought your guardian here might have been a little overzealous and borrowed Octavia’s cello.” Luminous blushed, but it was clear this was merely polite ribbing between friends.

Sweetie looked up at that. “O-Octavia? She’s here? And Twilight... is Vinyl...” She sighed. “For a moment I forgot. They wouldn’t know me.”

“Octavia is here, as is Vinyl, for that matter. They were helping put on a dance the other night, in fact. It was a nice thing they thought of doing for the builders,” Luna said matter-of-factly, though her eyes watched Sweetie with interest. “Tell me, why would they know you?” She asked, genuinely curious, and she added, “Many changelings forget those they knew while they were... away. It’s possible they once knew you, if that’s what you meant.”

Sweetie blinked. “Changelings? As in black, chitinous pony-like creatures that take the shape of their opponents?”

Both Luna and Luminous blinked at Sweetie in utter bewilderment, before Luna said somewhat curiously, “Wherever did you get that idea? No, we don’t mean anything like that, though I suppose there probably are some changelings that have had changes like that inflicted upon them.” She shook her head, “Twilight can explain it better than I,” Luna confessed, “but it is, as I understand it, a term taken from a fairy tale to explain the state of existence of ponies who have come back from... where you were rescued from.”

“Oh...” Sweetie said, looking down at her own marble-like fur, riddled with little spikes and barbs of onyx and stone. “So that’s what I am now...” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “A changeling.”

“What you are is a pony,” Luna said firmly, her tone brooking no argument, “But you are also,” Luna’s tone softened, “a changeling. It is, as I understand it, a part of what you are, but you are still a pony, little one.”

A sudden, horrifying thought crossed Sweetie’s mind. “Princess Luna... you... you know Sweetie Belle, don’t you? Is she okay?”

Luna blinked, surprised. “She is, did you know her before you were taken?”

Sweetie chuckled. “I could say that, your highness... I didn’t forget anypony. If anything, I remember more.” She shook her head. “The reason I would know Octavia and Vinyl, why I know Twilight Sparkle, and Spike, or Rarity and Pinkie Pie... is because I am Sweetie Belle... just not yours.”

Luna and Luminous shared a quick look. Luminous looked puzzled, but Luna looked alarmed if anything, though only for a moment. Luna’s gaze went back to Sweetie, warm still, though watchful, “Well, once Twilight comes back, I’m sure she will have some answers. For now,” Luna nodded to the cello, “you should probably get some rest.”

“I will, your highness,” Sweetie said, watching the princess go.

Princess Luna nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her and leaving Sweetie alone once more with Luminous, who closed her eyes and gently started to dim the room with her own magic. It fizzled for a moment, and the light level flickered, but the filly persevered and soon it was entirely dark, aside from the shafts of starlight filtering in through the windows.

Sweetie put away her notebook as she got to Twilight’s bed and hesitated. “I feel bad, stealing her bed.”

Luminous’ voice sounded out of the darkness with absolute surety, “She instructed me to tell you that she doesn’t mind,” after a moment she added less formally, “Besides, with the Citadel under construction, and you so badly injured when you came through, this was the most secure place to see to your care.” Luminous fell silent, until after a while she said, like somepony reciting something they had been told long ago, “If you need anything, I’ll be right here.”

Sweetie smiled and nodded, despite the fact that she was sure Luminous would not have been able to see that. She sank onto the mattress and drifted off to sleep.

o.0.o

That night, Sweetie’s dreams were far from restful. She heard the cracking of stone as she fell through hallways carved from obsidian. Shards of bone dug into her flesh like needles, and the groan of tortured stone was like daggers twisting in her ears. It was maddening torture, as the groan of stone turned into a half-remembered scream of rage that turned into her own voice as she burst awake, breathing harshly in unfamiliar surroundings.

Sweetie looked around wildly. It couldn’t have been much past midnight from the darkness of the room. Gradually her mind started to slow down, and it pieced together the events from earlier. She smelled the scent of burnt paper, and it brought back the memory of awakening before.

Luminous was dimly visible in the darkness of the room, her white coat moving slowly as she breathed. The sound alone was reassuringly normal, but while Sweetie relaxed, she couldn’t quite fall back asleep. She rose silently from the bed, and walked over to the door, which she opened silently.

Sweetie passed through the doorway into a large chamber. It was dark, much like the bedchamber had been, but this room was much larger. It was round, and from the coloration of the stone it had been made of many of the same materials. In the center, a large table loomed in the darkness, its silhouette defined by starlight.

Out of the darkness, however, a soft purple glow grew from nothing. A smell of burning paper suffused the room, and the darkness appeared to grow eager, thickening as if reaching for somepony along the side of the room. Alarmed, Sweetie stepped back towards the door, her magic instinctively gathering as she readied herself for whatever may come next.

In a flash of familiar teleportation, Sweetie abruptly found herself confronted with a creature out of a nightmare. It looked like a pony, but was taller, almost as tall as Celestia herself. Its mane was a burning inferno of purple light, speckled with sigils that were meaningless to Sweetie, but nevertheless carried some terrible importance. The light the thing’s mane cast was bright, but it somehow only obscured the creature further, deepening the darkness around it as its eyes, which glowed with violet radiance, turned around and spotted the little unicorn.

“N-no!” Sweetie cried, taking a step back, eyes wide with fear. It was one of them. “You won’t take me back!” With an incoherent roar, Sweetie sent forth an impressive wave of magic, without focus or purpose, other than keeping that thing away.

The creature was taken aback and stumbled for a moment, but endured the wave without losing its footing. Its dark horn lit with magic and... the lights turned on. There, standing before Sweetie was a pony. It still had a mane of burning words, with shadows leaping about its hooves, but it was now visible as a unicorn, and beside it stood a very familiar pony, who was staring at Sweetie in disbelief: Rarity.

Feeling cold running through her veins, Sweetie took a half step back, horn lighting instinctively as a tiny hole in space opened and Akela flew out, hovering protectively between her and Rarity.

Sweetie’s eyes flashed from the strange unicorn to Rarity and back, waiting for a first move. The shock of seeing her sister had cleared her mind enough to ready herself for battle. Her poise was ready, spells were considered for speed and distraction, the space she had to maneuver and things she could use to defend herself if needed was analyzed. She licked her lips, at the ready.

The creature watched Sweetie carefully for a few moments, before it regarded the floating diamond. Then it stepped back, and Rarity (or the pony that looked like Rarity) just said softly, “But... but how?”

“Stay back...” Sweetie demanded, diamond slicing down threateningly. “Stay back, Rarity.” She looked from one pony to the other once more. “What’s happening? Who is she? She looks like... the creatures that did this to me.”

“Sweetie,” Rarity said slowly as she eyed the diamond with some trepidation, “Just calm down. She’s not going to hurt you, this is Twilight. You know Twilight, don’t you?” Rarity looked particularly distressed and disheveled, as if she’d been roused from bed not too long before.

Sweetie’s eyes narrowed, she regarded Twilight for a second before she centered her attention back on her sister. “Tell me... does the name ‘Vorpal’ mean anything to you?”

It was clear through her body language that she was still ready for a fight and both mares knew that she was not lowering her attention on one just because her eyes were focused on the other.

Both mares looked blank for a moment, then the one Rarity had referred to as Twilight smiled a little, “Unless you’re referring to a novel type of sword, no.” Her voice was Twilight’s, if a bit more tired than she remembered.

Sweetie didn’t smile. “It is a blade. Fourteen shards that burn when they cut through your skin... they fly around you, faster than you can see...” her eyes were still on Rarity. “It dances and kills just as its master wills it.” For a moment she kept silent, gauging her sister’s reaction, before sighing heavily. She slumped down, sending her diamond away. “Just... don’t come too close.”

Twilight simply nodded, while Rarity just looked on in confusion. She looked alarmed at the threat of violence, but conflicted. Twilight, for her part, was merely interested in the spellwork, but felt content enough to wait. After a moment, she said softly, “I know it’s hard to believe,” Twilight started slowly, her eyes watching Sweetie intently, “But we’re really not going to hurt you.”

Her voice was calm, dry, and factual as she continued, “I had hoped to save this discussion for morning, but I think we must have it out right now. So, let’s start with introductions,” Twilight nodded to Sweetie with an air of formality, “I am Dame Twilight Sparkle, Knight of Equestria, and Protector of Changelings. You have already met my squire Luminous, I’d imagine, and it seems you’ve already met Rarity.” Her look was not hostile, but neither was it entirely friendly. Wary was how this creature in Twilight’s form looked: like a pony used to conflict.

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. ‘Well, if that’s how things work here...’ “I’m Sweetie Belle, apprentice to Twilight Sparkle; Interdimensional traveler, adoptive sister of Prince Blueblood, assassin-in-training for Queen Chrysalis, bladecaster novice under General Esteem. Murderer. Slave... and... changeling.” Sweetie looked away from both mares. “I’m a catastrophe waiting to happen. You should just let me go.”

“That’s a lot of things for one filly to be,” Twilight said in the silence that opened after Sweetie’s speech, her body relaxing, “But I cannot just let you go.”

Before Sweetie could take a more dire message from that statement, Twilight elaborated, “I won’t force you to stay, but you’ve been through a great deal. I would be shirking my duty as a knight if I simply let you leave like this.”

Twilight nodded to the window, outside which the stars sparkled in the night sky, “It’s late, or early if you prefer. Please, at least stay until morning, Sweetie Belle,” her gaze slid to Rarity, who was still staring, “I think we all need to have a long discussion.”

Sweetie followed her mentor’s counterpart’s motion and looked at the stars. “I-if you give me your word that I can leave... there are things I must do to continue my travels... I don’t want to stay too long in this universe.” She looked down at her hooves, covered in several obsidian thorns, which grew out as she grew more anxious.

“Upon my name, I swear I will not keep you longer than necessary,” Twilight confirmed, her voice firm and honest. “But while you’re here,” and Twilight’s voice softened again, “feel welcome to the amenities of the Citadel. If you need anything, ask Luminous, or one of the other changelings around.” Twilight nodded to her own chambers, where Luminous was still sleeping peacefully.

“Now then,” Twilight said as she turned to Rarity, who was still staring at Sweetie Belle in shock. Twilight waved a hoof in front of her friend’s face, to no effect, then she sighed and smiled at Sweetie, “Well, have a good night Sweetie Belle,” Twilight said. “I’ll be next door if you need me,” she added with a nod to the large door opposite her own bedchamber, which was emblazoned with a brilliant crescent moon.

This shocked Rarity out of her mental loop, “The Princess’ room?!” she said, looking at Twilight in immense, scandalized surprise. “But—”

Twilight merely raised an eyebrow at Rarity, “She doesn’t mind, it was much like that when we were building the Citadel early on,” Twilight said in honest puzzlement. “At least she has a couch now, so we don’t have to share a bed.”

“Share a—” Rarity sputtered a bit, then her eyes slid back to Sweetie Belle and she recovered somewhat, “Well, ah, why don’t you show me these guest quarters you were telling me about, Twilight?” Rarity moved towards the door, “We shouldn’t keep Sweetie up more than she needs to be.” Her voice caught on Sweetie’s name, but she was genuinely trying to sound calm.

Twilight, though, looked to Sweetie, “Do you require anything else?” she asked directly, her strange, glowing eyes looking intently at Sweetie.

“N-no...” Sweetie stammered, a little surprised by how easy things had gone. “I’ve... slept enough. Maybe I’ll just head to the library... I could read on some magical theory.”

“Certainly,” Twilight said briskly. “I can show you the way once I’ve shown Rarity to her room. The guest quarters are on the way, anyway.” She led the way to the door, and waited politely before opening them up with a bit of dramatic flair, revealing the Citadel in all its night-time industry.

The Citadel itself was a massive, organically-shaped compound seated atop a pillar of stone. High walls wrapped around the complex, encompassing a whole network of buildings on the surface, most of which were half-finished. Where buildings failed to provide shelter, whole cities of tents and pavilions had sprung up, and even though it was just barely past midnight, the whole place hummed with activity.

The sounds of blacksmiths, masons, and other workers all filled the night with a sort of cacophonous symphony, while countless silhouettes moved about. Most of them were pony-sized, though a few were taller, or burned, like Twilight, with living flame. Everywhere, creatures were moving with industry and purpose.

“Also, I need directions to the closest bar,” Sweetie added as she fell in behind Twilight and Rarity, keeping her eye on both for any sudden moves. “I could really use a few drinks.”

Both ponies paused for a step at that, then Twilight let out a snort, “Well, there isn’t a proper bar for miles, and definitely not one that would serve a filly.” She said, looking over her shoulder at Sweetie, while Rarity simply looked dumbfounded again. “But if you really need it, I’ll bet out there,” she nodded to the tent city that made up the bulk of the dwellings in the Citadel still, “Somepony can make something for you.” She did not even acknowledge Rarity’s scandalized look, and instead gave Sweetie a look of empathy laced with pain. Only for an instant though, then she continued leading Sweetie and Rarity (who followed after a couple of moments) away from the construction and noise of the surface, down into the lower levels of the Citadel.

o.0.o

The doors to the Citadel Library were vast, stretching up high enough that four ponies could have stood on each other’s shoulders and still passed through, and wide enough that three ponies could walk through side by side. Yet within that place, it smelled familiarly of books, paper and ink.

The Library was large, but nowhere near as vast as Canterlot Library. Still, the sturdy wooden shelves reached up towards the vaulted ceiling with their payloads of volumes and tomes up to at least twice the height of the door, which suggested that ladders would have been very much in fashion.

Unlike the disorderly mess above, the Library was a rectangular room, with every tower of shelving precisely aligned with each other. Along the walls, reading areas were carved into the stone in the form of private alcoves, with a couple of larger reading areas with tables carved cunningly out of the native stone.

Hunched over the desk, was a unicorn, albeit one who had been starved and introduced forcibly to a taffy machine. Its dark coat was an ink silhouette that drank in light, and its magic was like an aura of colorless outlines as it stamped books. The creature’s limbs were long and strangely jointed, as if each leg possessed an extra knee.

It pulled another book from the stack, opened it with magic, and stamped it.

The creature looked up with eyes that were only pupils of utter blackness set into whites as pure as fresh-driven snow. Still, its voice was quite friendly and masculine as it said, “Oh, good morning Dame Twilight, you’re out late,” a snore from beside the pony made him grin, his teeth glowing against his black coat, “I fear your assistant has rather fallen asleep, but I shall tell him you stopped by. But who’s this?”

Twilight nodded to Sweetie, “This is Sweetie, she’s... new. She wanted to look in the magical theory section. Sweetie, this is Perceival, the librarian.” The librarian looked overjoyed, and started to step out from behind the desk until Twilight’s look made him sit back down, “We can find our way around, Percy.” Twilight said with easy familiarity as she nodded down the shelves, “She’ll just be staying for a while.” Perceival nodded, and probably smiled at Sweetie, though with his coloration it was impossible to tell, and he went back to his book stamping.

“Percy’s a hugger,” Twilight explained once they’d proceeded in amongst the shelving, “I assume you didn’t need that.”

She led the way confidently through a maze of shelves, while the sound of her hooves slowly faded, as if she were falling into an old habit. She eventually stopped beside a large set of shelving that reached high up towards the ceiling, and slid a ladder around. “Magical theory is shelves one through twenty. If you need anything else, just ask Percy, or Spike when he wakes up.”

Twilight turned to Sweetie and gave her a serious look. “There’s going to be a meeting about this whole thing with the Princesses a little past dawn, I’ll come find you then, and we can discuss your situation further.” Twilight yawned, and her demeanor softened. “However, I’m going to get some rest. If you need me, just ask Percy or go back the way you came.”

Sweetie nodded, barely able to take her eyes of the shelves upon shelves of magical knowledge. “It’s... it’s beautiful...” she whispered in awe. “I’ll still be here in the morning,” she said, not taking her eyes of a particular shelf.

Twilight snorted, amused, but she set off silently, and left the room with just the whisper of the door’s movement. Then the only sounds in the library were Spike’s snores and Percy’s stamping.

Sweetie proceeded to levitate about five thick tomes from the shelves, and then headed straight for one of the reading areas. The privacy of the alcoves would be welcome, and her hunger for knowledge satiated... at least for now.

She paused. “Wait... a meeting with the Princesses?” she hummed. “Maybe I should ask Percy what to wear... I wonder what Twilight will be wearing?”

o.0.o

An hour past dawn, Twilight and Luminous led Sweetie into the Conference Chamber between Twilight and Luna’s bedchambers.

Dame Twilight was clad in her black, meteoric iron armor with everything from the circlet down to the hoof-guards having been polished—everyday as Luminous had mentioned proudly and repeatedly to Sweetie—until they shone like dark mirrors.

Luminous stood beside her in her role as squire.

Sweetie, however was clad in her own, rather brighter armor, which she had pulled out for the occasion upon seeing Twilight’s choice of attire. Sweetie’s armor gleamed in the early morning light, shining with the glory of Celestia’s sunlight like a shard of quicksilver.

Where Twilight’s armor was relatively plain and functional, if elegantly simple, Sweetie’s was elaborate and shining. Wings of steel arched out from an embossed breastplate with feather-like designs wrapping around it, while the leg and hoof guards were slim, but encased the leg entirely in shining metal. A high collar restricted Sweetie’s head movement somewhat, but the helmet and the collar together ensured that no strike would fall directly on the unicorn’s neck.

Sweetie had actually had the grace to be embarrassed when she explained to a dumbfounded Luminous that this was a gift from a Prince Artemis, who was Luna’s male version, and that she had never had a real use for it, since her usual mode of combat relied on speed—although it was surprisingly weightless now that she thought about it—and she wouldn’t have even thought of putting it on if Percy hadn’t mentioned that Twilight wore armor to formal meetings.

All in all, it looked less like they were meeting the Princesses, and more like they were going to war, but as they passed into the Conference Chamber, with its glowing symbol of Celestia set in the middle of the table, neither Princess looked askance.

“Ah, Twilight,” Princess Celestia said warmly, while her sister simply smiled. She looked tired, but alert.

There had been a disturbance during the night, with howls like something that had burst from Tartarus, but the Library walls had been thick, and the books had been quietly reassuring. Besides, the librarian Percy had simply looked up for a moment, then shook his head and gone back to work.

Beside her, a strange light blue unicorn with pupilless eyes of bright lavender and a mane like an ill-used paintbrush bowed her head to Twilight in immediate respect. Her coat was covered in shifting designs of black ink that swirled as Sweetie looked at them. She, like Luminous, wore a vest with Twilight’s cutie mark on it, though she also wore saddlebags, similarly marked. As she was seated, her cutie mark wasn’t immediately visible, but she appeared oddly familiar to Sweetie in some indefinable manner.

“Princesses,” Twilight said respectfully, bowing, while behind the three of them the doors shut solidly, “Allow me to introduce Sweetie Belle.” Her simple statement caused all eyes to fix on Sweetie. Princess Celestia was mildly amused, though interested, while Princess Luna looked on with concern. The third pony at the table merely looked confused, but was content to hold her silence.

“Sweetie Belle,” Twilight said to Sweetie calmly, “This is Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and my assistant, Trixie.” The light blue unicorn nodded shortly to Sweetie in greeting while she drew out a quill and scroll, before Twilight continued, in a more formal tone, “We are met here today to discuss the origins of and mystery surrounding this changeling known as Sweetie Belle.” As she spoke, Trixie wrote furiously, her light blue magic transcribing Twilight’s words at the speed of hearing, “I have already conferred with Rarity, the Element of Generosity, who has confirmed that while this is indeed Sweetie Belle, it is not, quote, ‘her’ Sweetie Belle.”

Twilight turned her head to Sweetie, as if gauging her reaction as she continued, “Which leads me to this question: you mentioned earlier that you were an interdimensional traveler. Who are you, precisely, and where do you come from, or when?”

“I’m from another universe,” Sweetie explained. “My original world... is a place I cannot return to yet, even if I’ve had the chance... I was expelled from my world after an accident that broke my mentor, Twilight Sparkle, into crystal fragments.”

She summoned her notebook, levitating it and allowing all of them to see the purple fragments orbiting it. “Once I’ve found them all, I’ll be able to bring her back...” She looked down. “And get back home.”

She took a deep breath and looked at the mares in front and next to her. “Since then I’ve seen all sorts of worlds... A place where Trixie and Twilight were a couple; a world where Nightmare Moon was victorious and even a place where all of you were the opposite gender.”

She looked at the vaulting roof of the room as her memories flashed through her mind. “I’ve been to Equestria after it’s been torn by war and even some where the undead roam the land along with the living.”

She placed her book on the table, caressing the cover. “I’ve been to a universe where Prince Blueblood was trapped in an unending loop of time... the same day, over and over... it took me two years of living the same day to escape.” She glanced at Luna. “And in another, my father was a General who served under Celestia’s conqueror in a bloody war with Twilight Sparkle and the other elements of Harmony...”

Sweetie levitated Akela from the center of her book, making it rotate in place. “I’ve been trained to kill and murder by the Queen of the Changelings; met a version of myself set out to rescue Discord, cast spells beyond my years and even saved lives...” her voice had lost strength by the end of that statement.

“When I arrived here...” Her voice was little more than a whisper. “I was taken by the Beast, and then eventually purchased by the Maestro of Broken Dreams. I was forced into hard labor where the slightest sound would be my death, and I slowly turned into... this.”

For a moment, there was silence, aside from Trixie attempting to clean ink off of herself. She had lost focus at the mention of her and Twilight as a couple and had tipped the inkwell over herself when she’d missed with the pen. Fortunately, she had had enough awareness to keep copying even with the distraction, though a few of the words were little more than scribbles.

Princess Celestia no longer looked amused, but thoughtful, while Luna was watching Sweetie intently, as if trying to read something more out of her body language. Twilight however, dropped a book on the table, shattering the silence. It was the book of music Sweetie had grabbed on to in her desperate attempt to save herself when she was sucked out of the Maestro’s realm.

“That,” Twilight said, while Trixie hurriedly tried to clean more ink off herself, “Explains a great deal.” Twilight looked over at Sweetie. “When we recovered you in the Hedge, we found this book of music with you. It was clutched to your chest like a lifeline, so we kept it for you, but upon further examination we realized that something larger must have been going on when you were taken.” Twilight flipped open the book to one of many pages she had bookmarked, and, with an apologetic look at Sweetie, began to read the lyrics.

“Even the strongest diamond

May shatter like a stone.

A walker of dimensions

With a sin for which she must atone.

“We assume,” Twilight began in an aside to Sweetie, “ that part refers to you.” She flipped through more of the book, to another bookmark. “The ‘walker of dimensions’ is referred to several times in here, but I felt this was the pertinent verse,

“She will be found amongst the brambles,

Between her travels vast,

Give her scent unto the Beast,

With his hounds on paws so fast.

“The Eye commands her to be captured,

But it never said what comes next.

She became the Maestro’s toy

And forever there she’ll rest.”

Twilight closed the book, her face creased by a frown, while the symbols in her mane twitched as if themselves uneasy. “We don’t know what this Eye is, but since you’ve been recovered, the number of attacks by the Beast and his Pack have risen. It sounds like the Beast made a deal with someone else for your capture, but the word ‘commands’ is worrisome.”

“Indeed,” Princess Luna agreed darkly. “Whatever could command a force such as that is not something to be trifled with.” She turned to Sweetie Belle. “Have you ever heard of this Eye before? Is it some enemy that has followed you?”

Sweetie pondered the question. “No...” She paused, choosing her words carefully. “There have been times... where I’ve felt that things were too... set against me, but this is the first time I remember hearing of anything like that... unless I count the insane ramblings of an undead pony.”

Twilight Sparkle leaned forward. “An undead pony? Are you certain it wasn’t a changeling like us?”

Sweetie shook her head. “No, in that world a great war had torn all of Equestria apart; it was nothing more than a toxic wasteland. Trixie had somehow become an alicorn of sorts, by melding with Twilight and hundreds of other unicorns… Ponies that had died in close proximity to the necromantic energies used as weapons of mass destruction found themselves alive in dead bodies. It was one of them, who called himself The Prophet, that mentioned that something had been waiting for me and... he went mad, and tried to kill me.” Sweetie frowned at the memory. “I just thought he was crazy... but, what if he was aware of this... eye? And why?” She was silent for a moment, clearly debating in her mind this newfound enemy. “How long has it been acting against me?”

“From what we’ve learned about such beings,” Twilight began grimly, “it could have been since a hundred years ago, or since tomorrow. Time does not always apply to those who delve in the worlds beyond our own.” Twilight shook her head. “But if it is a larger conspiracy, that narrows our options.” The other ponies at the tables nodded seriously, all looking to Sweetie Belle.

“There are no changelings like us outside of this universe, as far as I have seen,” Sweetie offered. “If this ‘eye’ has really been following me around, it started at least three years ago, in another world.”

Princess Celestia nodded. “Well, at least the Beast and his ilk have not infected other worlds then.” She shook her head. “But if this ‘eye’ is indeed following you, it could have begun far before your quest had even started.” Her gaze was serious and grim, a far cry from the princess’ usual serenity. “However, I think we’re simply grasping at straws here. We have too little information at this time.” Princess Celestia smiled, the change in expression welcome like the sun coming out from behind the clouds on a stormy eve. “First, I think, we need to decide what to do about your part in all this.” She looked to her sister, as she rose from her chair.

“It is the decision of this council,” Princess Luna began, “that the changeling known as Sweetie Belle be given the full protection of the crown.” She looked to her sister, and Celestia nodded, with another warm smile for Sweetie. “My sister and I are in agreement then,” Luna continued, as if the agreement had been spoken. “And you may reside here for as long as necessary for you to complete your task. Dame Twilight Sparkle”—Twilight straightened at the mention of her name, as did Luminous, in the same breath—“I trust the Citadel may accommodate her?”

Twilight smiled. “I think we can find room. But the bigger question is what to do about this enemy of hers. It’s plain that the Beast wants her,” Twilight continued, her face contorting with thought, “but if she is seeking a shard of a soul, and the Beast is aware of this, then it too is in terrible danger, and she must be allowed to search for it.” Twilight unrolled a map across the table. “If we widen our sweeps of—”

Twilight broke off as the Citadel was rocked by an explosion, and a predatory howl rose from beyond the battlements. Bells clanged urgently, and everypony in the room immediately sprang up from their chairs.

“Now?!” Twilight asked in frustration, before turning to Sweetie, her expression suddenly like iron. “Stay here, keep out of sight. We’ll—”

A shadow flickered over the skylight above, and a widening of the eyes was all the warning Sweetie got before Luminous tackled her to the side, and a massive wolf-creature, like those who had hunted her amongst the brambles, smashed through the glass from above.

Sweetie saw red. Not even here, protected by those that cared, was she safe from these abominations. Akela reacted to her will, immediately shooting off the cover of her notebook at the same time as she instinctively dismissed the book into its pocket dimension.

Just as the beast reared back to howl its challenge, Akela shot out, a bang resonating in the room as it sped, faster than the naked eye could see, going through it’s open maw and emerging with a crack and a splash of blood from the back of its head.

The creature looked down dumbly at Sweetie Belle, who regarded it with a cold hatred as it stumbled, trying to remain upright before its body collapsed in a stinking, bloody heap in front of her.

Luminous and Twilight, who had been ready to incinerate the creature, stared for a moment. Twilight then looked to Sweetie with a nod. “Good work. But there are more.”

“Then we should be out there right now.” Sweetie’s eyes narrowed as she turned her back on the dead body.

“We should,” Twilight said with a nod to Luminous, who was already back on her hooves and ready. “Princesses, we shall return shortly. Any aid you can give would be—” She broke off as Luna and Celestia simply vanished, and shaking her head, wrenched open the doors to the Citadel.

When they made it down to the Citadel proper, it was bedlam.

Wolf-creatures were being launched over the walls. So far only a handful or so had managed to survive the trip, as many simply hit the stone defenses with a fatal crack, or merely fell short, flailing helplessly as they fell into the ravine below.

Twilight’s magic activated for a second as she ran towards the melee, and in a booming voice, she called out, “DEFENSIVE POSITIONS! NORTH AND SOUTH SIDES, DIVERT TO THE WESTERN WALL! SOMEPONY GET UP THERE AND STOP THEM BEFORE WE’RE OVERRUN!” As she shouted, the madness began to resolve itself into something more orderly, but the melee she was charging for was already a bloody mess.

Five of the massive wolf-creatures had made it over in close proximity to each other, and were fighting as a pack, tearing through tent and changeling alike as they howled their bloody lusts.

Twilight led the charge straight at the group, silent and grim like a spectre of flame. Beside her, Luminous let out a spell that lit the closest of the creatures on fire, attracting the group’s attention to Twilight, Sweetie and Luminous.

Sweetie growled, eyes blazing with anger and magic. The whole area became as dark as the deepest abyss, just as those present registered the young mare in armor charging straight into battle.

Twilight felt Sweetie run past her, as her eye was caught by a descending wolf-creature. Twilight simply accelerated its descent with a spell, and it hit the ground hard enough to bounce bonelessly away, unconscious and crippled if not dead.

Next to Sweetie the portal opened again and the notebook shot out, hovering over her with its spiraling fragments. Before the creatures could react and try to escape, Akela was already slashing at their coats and faces, claws and legs.

Luminous, who had steered clear of the darkened area, slashed at another wolf-creature in mid-air with a beam of white radiance. Rather than simply burning a hole in the falling creature, the beam penetrated one beast entirely and ripped a second asunder in the air. The first hit the ground hard, while the other fell in pieces.

Sweetie’s mind conjured up the sigil her counterpart had taught her, now so long ago, creating white lines of energy crisscrossing around her horn and feeding off of the magic in the four fragments.

And then, Sweetie wove through the fray. Sliding between two of the wolf creatures, relying on her exhaustive training with Fleur to set a rhythm, Sweetie turned as fire danced out of her mane, but unlike the regular small, distracting flames of before, Twilight Sparkle’s magic fed it... instantly creating a vortex of fire that completely enveloped a howling wolf-creature.

Following her momentum, Sweetie’s sweeping hoof invoked a spike of earth to pierce another opponent... but something strange happened. Unlike her usual spells, even fed with extra magic, this time, the earth reacted wilfully as much to her calling as it did to the magic. The earth asked, and Sweetie said yes.

By the time she had turned to face a third blinded wolf-creature, the second one had been pierced through, and the spike had trembled but for a second before smaller spears of hard rock had exploded out, further skewering the monster.

Twilight’s telekinesis reached out and grabbed at a creature that was reaching for Luminous, who was using her barriers to protect other changelings, and had overstepped herself in the process. She flung the abomination hard out of the Citadel, hitting one of its airborne comrades with enough force to make an audible crack, while she was forced to simply rip another apart as it dug into a screaming changeling nearby.

As she fell to a complete stop in front of her lashing opponent, Sweetie’s pose was accompanied by a blast of lightning, electrocuting the wolf, but not enough to kill it. It shook and spasmed, coat smoking for a second before Akela pierced its heart.

The next one had been trying to snuff out the fire Luminous had engulfed its coat in, and had finally managed to extinguish it. Its claws swiped out, she reacted instinctively, and one of the metallic wings adorning her armor intercepted the swiping claw.

Not one to take a gift for granted, Sweetie shot Akela through the creature’s right leg... then the left, and it collapsed onto the floor after the diamond had slit its tendons and muscles all over its arms and legs, leaving it alive, but immobile.

Sweetie looked down at the fallen creature. Her horn lit up and the air around them dried as water formed around its head until it was completely encased in it. The wolf-creature tried to escape, to scramble back and break loose, but it couldn’t move enough.

With an annoyed growl, Sweetie froze the water around the creature’s head and left it twitching and turning in utter futility to prevent its fate behind her as she lifted away her darkness spell, in order to attract more opponents.

The creature’s agony was cut short by a blade driven through the ice and into its skull, slim and deadly, wielded by the strange Trixie changeling. She looked back at Sweetie oddly, shivered for a moment, then stabbed the creature again for good measure, though its struggles had ceased, before heading off to look for another Pack member.

With that last blow, however, the Pack’s assault was broken, and the howls that rose were desperate and fading. The Princesses had routed the forces in the trees, and now pegasi were flocking to Twilight with reports of injuries and worse. She held them off for a few moments though to check on Luminous, who was uninjured, and the pair moved to Sweetie together.

“Are you hurt?” Twilight asked, with an almost motherly concern as she looked Sweetie over.

Sweetie, for her part, was immaculate. Not a drop of blood stained her armor. Twilight was frankly rather impressed, given that she had been saturated with blood and Sweetie Belle had managed to avoid even a single drop. Even Luminous was crusted with dirt and sweat, and spattered with drops of it.

Reassured, Twilight smiled at Sweetie, her face still covered in the blood of the wolf she had torn in twain with her raw telekinetic strength. “That was a new one by us, but you fought well.”

Sweetie’s eyes strayed to the bodies of the four creatures she had dispatched with such ruthless efficacy. Slowly, she reattached Akela to her notebook’s cover and sent it away. She felt numb. She looked from the one she had been suffocating, to the one that she had impaled... to the one that Akela had pierced, to the first one she had burnt to little more than a crisp. She swallowed and then took a step back, eyes going wide and breath shuddering.

Only one thought crossed her mind at that moment. Esteem would be proud.

And she screamed. The wail even made a few changelings pause and after a moment shake their heads, familiar with the feeling she was most likely experiencing now. Her voice was ragged, full of pain and misery, but most of all fear of what she was becoming—what she had become.

There was no turning back from this. No way to bring them back and worse, she couldn’t even force herself to think that she should... she could not fathom that these creatures, who had caused her so much pain, could be deserving of existing.

She felt somepony hold her tight, almost forcing her head down and muffling her pained cries, the smell of burning paper and the whisper of words incomprehensibly flowing around her.

But she couldn’t stop... Her thoughts went back to her cage, their mockery, the food... being sold... and yet she continued wailing and crying, not for what she had done... but for what she had lost.

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle sat on Twilight’s bed. She had put her armor away, once more stored in the gem Artemis had given her.

‘I’m never wearing it again,’ she had promised herself, for all an empty promise could do to alleviate her sense of loss. ‘I don’t even feel guilty for killing them… maybe I should, but I can’t...’ She lay on her stomach, just staring at the wall as she went over the battle in her mind, which had registered all of it in terrifying clarity.

There was one thing she had felt guilty about, but not exactly because of her conscience. It was because of the conscience of another, who had no choice but assisting in her utter massacre of the wolf-creatures.

Sweetie had felt the fragments cry in horror at the use of their magic... she had used Twilight’s magic to kill... she had used Twilight. The thought alone made her ill. It was an abuse of trust... of friendship... it was just about the worst thing a pony could do to another.

Whatever collective conscience the Twilight fragments were capable of was undoubtedly incredibly disappointed in Sweetie Belle.

Twilight had never taught her to kill. When a comparable monster... Romulus, had attacked Sweetie, Twilight had found a way to stop him without killing him.

So... why hadn’t she? Had her travels made her incapable of feeling sympathy for her enemies? Had Chrysalis’ training and Esteem’s manipulations finally borne fruit?

Her memories fled back to those days training under the watchful eye of the Queen and her spy masters. Each day Sweetie would return, tell her the appropriate password for her level and the Queen would assume Sweetie was a spy in training... and she would continue her training because Sweetie had already obtained Blueblood’s love.

How could she even... Sweetie sighed and buried her face on her hooves. ‘How can I even call him brother if I betrayed his trust so completely? If I saw him again… could I tell him the truth?’

Sweetie tried her best, but was unable to hold back a sob. “I hate what I am.”

There was a knock at the door, followed by a glow of telekinesis as it was opened slowly. Dame Twilight poked her head in, her burning mane and glowing gaze unmistakable in the darkness. She spotted Sweetie on the bed, and pushed the door open the rest of the way. Two bottles floated in beside the unicorn changeling as she paused in the doorway, abruptly aware she hadn’t waited for permission to enter.

Twilight hesitated in the doorway for a moment, then walked the rest of the way in, closing the door behind her.

“Hey,” she said, with shades of a familiar awkwardness. “Feeling any better?” She looked concerned, and she was no longer wearing her armor.

Sweetie didn’t look up. “I killed a whole bunch of monsters... and I don’t regret it half as much as I know I should. I should be terrified of what I did, but I’m more scared of the fact that I’m not.” She looked up to Twilight. “I froze one’s head and left it to suffocate, Twilight… what kind of pony does that?”

Twilight nodded. “I heard from Trixie.” She sighed and walked over to the bed, the bottles floating around her as she sat down. Up close, they were approximately the size of beer bottles, perhaps a little larger, and Twilight passed Sweetie one before taking one for herself. “I figured you could use that drink.” The change of subject was rather weak, but Twilight popped the corks out of both bottles with a deft flick of her telekinesis, revealing a warm, sweet aroma, and took a sip.

As Sweetie took a sip herself, the flavor of the mead filled her mouth with a smooth sweetness. It didn’t taste alcoholic, but it had a sweet complexity to it that was plain even in the slightest sip, and a warm, clean aftertaste.

Twilight looked a little embarrassed as she peered at the bottle. “I asked Sweet Brew for his strongest stuff,” she said apologetically. “Guess he’s a bit of a lightweight.”

Privately, she felt that was probably for the best, given her history, and besides, there was a discussion to be had.

After a couple more sips, Twilight set down the bottle and looked Sweetie in the eyes. “I don’t know what you’ve gone through, Sweetie. I don’t,” she repeated, before taking another sip. “But everypony here has fought those creatures before, and everypony was taken by them.” Twilight took a longer sip of her drink, “The Kennels... well, I can only imagine what happened to you there. But Sweetie,” Twilight turned to Sweetie Belle, looking concerned. “If you hadn’t fought, other changelings would be dead, and that’s the long and short of it.

“My point is that, yes, you killed, and yes, it’s a horrible fact. But... you just have to try to come to terms with it, and remember that killing... well, sometimes it’s unavoidable, but so long as you take no pleasure in it, don’t seek death for no reason...” Twilight trailed off and peered suspiciously at her bottle before taking a smaller sip.

“I don’t know. There isn’t an easy answer, Sweetie. I fight to protect the ponies and changelings here. That’s what I do, and while I try not to kill in the process... When it happens, I just remind myself to do better next time...” Twilight trailed off, dimly aware that she was far, far out of her depth, though the fuzziness about her senses was making it hard to gauge whether she had said enough or not. She looked to Sweetie with honest concern, and empathy for her plight, however terrible she was at expressing it.

Sweetie sighed, taking a deep gulp of the mead and shaking her head as things grew a bit fuzzy. “You don’t get it, Twi,” she said after a moment, when the warmth had spread all over her body. “I grew up being taught that violence was never the answer... and the moment I stepped away, the universe seemed hell-bent on proving me wrong. I’m... just a monster, like Esteem wanted me to be.

“Ponies sacrificed themselves for me, and I couldn’t kill their murderer... just because she was Rarity. And sure, that idiot Esteem was a good for nothing bastard, but he got away too. And then I found out I was killing you as well. Go figure. The multiverse hates me.” She pointed out, with her bottle sloshing a little. “I should just be learning magic, not... killing things. But nooo...”

“None of us should have to kill,” Twilight said softly, looking away. “But just because you must doesn’t make you a monster.” She took another sip, and her gaze slid back to Sweetie, more serious. “And you still feel remorse for what you’ve done, it seems. Not everypony does.”

“No. I feel remorse at not feeling remorse,” Sweetie said, locking eyes with Twilight. “That’s what scares me. It scares me that if I fought them again and had a chance to spare their lives, I wouldn’t.”

Twilight sat silent for a moment, unsure what to say to that. She broke the eye contact and took another, long sip of the mead. “You saved lives today, lives of ponies that have been held by creatures like that which you escaped, or those who have never known such horrors, and who never should.”

She grimaced and continued, her tone darkening while the words in her burning mane took on a more angry, bitter cast. “The Pack doesn’t always kill. When they’re not raiding, well...” Twilight took a longer sip again, to wash the bitter thought away. “That’s how most of us were taken.”

Sweetie was silent for a moment. “How were you taken?”

Twilight took in the question for a moment, took a deep breath, then drank some more of her mead, which was half-gone by this point. “I was... I had just helped imprison Discord once more,” Twilight began in a low voice, which was slightly slurred, “I was riding the chariot back home to Ponyville when a huge rock hit one of the stallions.” Her hoof went up unconsciously to her face, feeling the blood had once been splattered across it. “The other went down, same as the first, and we hit the ground.”

Twilight took a long drink again, and by now the words in her mane were beginning to wobble a little. “I came to not long after the impact, both stallions were dead. I... I knew them...” Twilight took another deep breath and continued after a moment. “I was dazed, confused at first, then the first wolf of the Pack I had ever seen stepped forward.” Twilight’s body shivered a little, despite herself, but she continued on like she was pulling a splinter from a wound. “It was big, huge even, but I had faced larger... I was going to run, to teleport away and find help, then... There was a voice. It told me to sleep, and when I awoke, I was in a cage.” Twilight took another long sip at that, her gaze far away as the moonlight slanting in through the windows showed silent dampness on her cheeks.

Sweetie nodded, shifting uncomfortably at the memory of her own frantic chase through the Hedge. She cleared her throat. “So... when you brought Rarity here... she seemed very comfortable with changelings... are we that accepted by regular ponies?”

Glad of the topic change, Twilight nodded, with a smile, “Princess Luna has been introducing more changelings to court, and we’ve been working closely with other non-changeling establishments in the construction of the Citadel... Of course with Rarity, well...” A flicker of pink rippled through Twilight’s mane and tail, “She and I... well we became very close, for a while. Very, very close.” Twilight actually giggled a little, and sipped her mead to cover it.

Sweetie stared at Twilight, mouth opening and closing soundlessly for a second. “You mean... you and my sister actually... you slept with her?”

“Well, not technically...” Twilight said, looking a little embarrassed, “I don’t think sleeping was actually involved. It was... more in the middle of a dance.” Twilight belatedly realized she probably shouldn’t be saying all this, and tried to explain. “I mean, it was a dance with good friends, well, except for the guests we didn’t know... but it’s not like it was public. Mostly.” Twilight gave up, and just took a long drink, lowering the level of her mead considerably instead of sticking her hoof any further down her throat. “It was a while ago,” she finished weakly, as if that explained everything.

“We’re not together now,” she added, as if that made it better. “I mean, I would’ve been more than happy to... Rarity’s a wonderful pony but she... uh...” Twilight fumbled for words again wondering at the sluggishness of her own brain. “I mean, she’s very beautiful, and understanding and, she can do this thing where... uh...” Twilight broke that off quickly, as her sense of self-preservation kicked in somewhat belatedly. “Well, she decided we weren’t right for each other.”

“So,” Sweetie took another drink, blinking owlishly at how... quickly... she was getting tipsy. “Let me get this straight. You had sex with my sister in the middle of a dance floor, surrounded by ponies and changelings, who presumably watched the whole thing.” She gave Twilight a look. “And after you had your way with her, in front of witnesses, you dumped her.”

“She dumped me,” Twilight corrected, and her mane, which had been decidedly pink up until that moment, dimmed. “The day after.” Her tone was glum, as the remembered hurt bled forth once more.

Sweetie placed a comforting hoof on her mentor’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Twi. Rarity... can be special. I think in this other world I went to, it’s taken Blueblood about… a thousand years or so just to start getting what she’s about.”

At the mention of Blueblood, Twilight started to snort, then chortle, then giggle, then full out laugh. “B-Blueblood?!” she asked, her tone slurring rather spectacularly, “Prince Blueblood? As in... used Rarity as a pony shield against cake, Prince Blueblood?” She started to fall over and caught herself, still laughing, without spilling her drink, “Prince ‘Mares are to Remain in the Domicile’ Blueblood?”

Sweetie growled and pushed Twilight onto her back, taking both drinks in her magical hold as she straddled and glared snout-to-snout at her mentor. “Don’t. This one Blueblood suffered as much as we did. For all I know he might still be there... repeating the same day over and over. I don’t even know how long he’d been trapped there already... my big brother doesn’t deserve derision.”

Before Twilight could respond, the door opened rather abruptly, attracting the attention of both mares with the sudden light. “Sweetie, darling,” a familiar voice said as an equally familiar white unicorn stepped into the room. “I realize you and Twilight have a lot... to... talk...” Rarity trailed off as she saw Sweetie on top of Twilight, who was in a very compromising position indeed, with bottles of what looked to be alcohol around. “Wh-what is...” Rarity started, before she fell in a faint, where she was caught by the combined telekinesis of Twilight and Sweetie before she could hit the stone floor.

Twilight and Sweetie Belle lifted Rarity through the air, over towards the bed. This was complicated somewhat by the way both unicorns’ telekinesis continued to vie for control of the levitation field. Twilight would ordinarily have simply overpowered the other magic, but she was also balancing her drink, and her focus was somewhat... impeded. Twilight made a mental note with some of her few remaining functional synapses to never again ask for the strongest alcohol a changeling could make.

“Let her go! I have her!” Sweetie ordered, pushing Twilight aside and taking a drink from one of the bottles. She wasn’t sure which one was which.

“You’re drunk,” Twilight said flatly as she shouldered the smaller filly aside and physically injected herself into Sweetie’s line of sight. The irony of the statement failed to hit the swaying unicorn’s consciousness as she continued. “Just lay down, I’ll handle—” Twilight tripped, watching Sweetie rather than her footing, and she started to tumble onto the bed, with Rarity floating ahead of her.

“Hey!” Sweetie called out. “Careful!” She pulled hard with her magic, attempting to break Twilight’s hold, her fall and trying to keep Rarity from hitting the bed, only managing to swing her around and have one of her hooves hit Twilight in the face.

Twilight jerked back reflexively at the hit to her face, and it threw her off-balance. This caused Twilight to roll onto the bed and it swung Rarity into the drapes around the impressive four-poster. “Ow!” Twilight exclaimed, more out of surprise than pain. She tried to focus on Sweetie to scold her, and her telekinetic grip failed in the process, but the sound of tearing cloth above her made the violet unicorn look up. Sure enough, Rarity’s weight, while deliberately kept a mystery, proved sufficient to overpower Twilight’s silk and velvet drapes, which were tearing along the rings that held them to the four-poster.

Sweetie and Twilight both stared up at Rarity and the slowly ripping drapes. Sweetie gasped and took a quick drink. “Don’t worry, Rari! I’ll save you!” She jumped straight up, grabbing her sister by the waist. The sound of velvet ripping cut off Twilight’s feeble attempt at stopping the younger mare from her attempt and the three collapsed on top of each other.

As the mares attempted to extract themselves from the tangle of bedding, drapes and an unconscious pony, the door abruptly unlatched. Twilight and Sweetie froze as the door opened, showing a concerned Trixie standing in the doorway. Twilight became acutely aware that Rarity’s left hind leg was tangled across her neck, and that Sweetie had become caught in the blankets around her own rear legs.

Twilight watched as Trixie’s expression had faded from concern to disbelief, and a blush had lit the blue mare’s face as her pupil-less eyes took in Twilight and Sweetie, who were sweaty and breathing hard, tangled up in the sheets with an unconscious Rarity. “It’s not—” Twilight and Sweetie started, but Trixie had already quietly and quickly shut the door.

The crackling of the fire was the only sound in the room for several moments, while Sweetie and Twilight looked at each other. Both opened their mouths to say something to break the silence, while attempting to surreptitiously extract themselves from the mess of the bed. Twilight, once she had freed herself, started to snort, then laugh, which started Sweetie laughing, until they were both sliding off the bed in mirth. The situation had just been so ridiculous, a fact made even more hilarious by the mystical mead.

Twilight and Sweetie finished off their drinks, against Twilight’s better judgment, and then proceeded, still chuckling, to the conference area, supporting each other once more.

o.0.o

“Coffee is now my second—no, third favorite drink after chocolate martinis and milkshakes,” Sweetie said, sipping her coffee. “I once heard of a thing called a ‘Mocha’ coffee but I was a bit young to appreciate it.” She glanced at Twilight. “You know, whatever that stuff was that you got last night, it had a kick! I’ve drank more than six times the amount of that and I was way less wasted... until I threw up. On the nobles. At the gala.”

Twilight snorted as she sipped her coffee, “At least you didn’t wake up hungover on the Palace roof.” She blessed her lack of hangover, coffee in general and her coffee in particular as she felt sobriety making its slow return to her senses.

“Well, no, but still. It was oddly satisfactory to do that... most of them were a bunch of stuffy... ponies.” She wrinkled her nose. “And then I watched those same ponies be scared for their lives in the next world. It’s just crazy.” Sweetie took a deep breath. “Now... with all of this, I’m more confused than anything... how does my body even work? I’m made of crystal, rocks and gems!”

Twilight quirked an eyebrow, “My mane’s on fire, filled with floating gibberish, there’s a pony out there made out of a mesh of gears and springs, and another I know who drips water constantly even when bone dry.” She smiled and sipped her coffee. “I don’t think anypony knows, but from what I can tell...” Twilight looked at her own hoof, which supported her cup instead of telekinesis. It was black with shadows even in the bright room, and the darkness slid up and down her leg like the caress of a friend. “I think it’s what They put in us: the powers, the limitations, everything.” Twilight looked up to Sweetie again. “It’s like a scar, I think: a scar on the soul.”

Sweetie’s eyes drifted to her own hoof. The marble-like hair looked almost too hard to try and bend without it breaking into pieces, and yet, as she flexed her foreleg, it moved just like normal hair would. The little obsidian and onyx thorns that would poke out from time to time worried her and yet... they were part of her, they didn’t hurt... she looked up at Twilight. “I’m... scared, Twilight... I’m just too strange. What will happen when I find my way back? Will my friends even want to spend time with me?”

Twilight smiled a little, “I think they will, Sweetie. Scarred or not, strange or not, your friends won’t abandon you. Mine didn’t, and believe me, they’ve had more cause than most.” Twilight sipped her coffee to hide the pain of that particular memory, but she brought the warm smile back after a moment. “Believe me Sweetie, your friends will always—”

Twilight broke off as the door to her bedroom slammed open, revealing a very disheveled Rarity, “How dare you!” Rarity leveled at Twilight, who had reflexively readied herself to throw her coffee. She found it pushed aside as the white unicorn strode straight up to Twilight, her indignation pulsing through her in an almost palpable fashion, “How dare you take advantage of a filly that way!”

“I—” Twilight started, only to be cut off again.

“And with alcohol no less!” Rarity’s voice became a whirlwind of disdain contained within that relatively small chamber. “Plying her with drink, just so you can drag my poor sister into your bed. Have you no shame?!” Twilight, for her part, was attempting to back away despite the table at her back. She looked to Sweetie and started to say something again, until Rarity continued furiously, “And to think... we once—”

“But,” Twilight interrupted, “Rarity, we didn’t do anything!” She looked to Sweetie for support here, and Rarity was derailed by the abrupt refuting of her internal assumptions so she continued. “And even if we had, it isn’t like she’s technically your sister.”

Sweetie groaned and smacked her face on the table. “Oh, now you’ve done it...” she muttered, barely daring to look up.

That set Rarity off, and she pulled Sweetie to herself as if to protect the younger unicorn. “That doesn’t matter!” Rarity’s ringing voice declared. “She’s still my sister, no matter what you say, and you were plying her with wine to... to...” Rarity sputtered as her mind shrank from the idea, “Well you know what you were planning!”

“I... do?” Twilight asked, bewildered, “But... I... Rarity, listen, we were just talking. That’s all!”

Sweetie opened her mouth to speak, but then thought better of it and with a smirk at Twilight, remained quiet. Bereft of Sweetie’s support, Rarity plowed over Twilight’s story. “Just talking,” Rarity scoffed. “Until what? Until she was softened by wine and warmth and your hoof would just so happen to—”

“Rarity!” Twilight thundered, cutting off her friend with a burst of volume that rattled the water glasses on a nearby table. For a few moments, the room darkened, and Twilight’s burning mane rippled with light. “Rarity,” Twilight said more softly, her violet eyes full of hurt, “Do you really think—you who know me better than most—that I could ever do something like that?”

Rarity, who had jumped back at the shout, still holding Sweetie, slowly relaxed and, with a touch of shame, shook her head.

“Yeah, you worry too much, Rarity,” Sweetie said, shuffling to get free of her grasp. It had been… nice. But it was still Rarity. “It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve gotten drunk,” Sweetie added. “Besides, you just walked in at the wrong time, Twilight and I were just arguing over Blueblood.”

“Him?” Rarity said with some surprise and a generous dollop of disdain. “You got that worked up arguing about that… colt?” Rarity, who was rather quicker on the draw than Twilight with some things, managed to avoid giving her full opinion on Blueblood and instead gave Sweetie a stern look, “Well you shouldn’t be drinking at all, you’re far too young for that sort of thing. And besides.” Rarity gave a rather exaggerated sniff. “Twilight simply does not know her own limits.”

Twilight snorted at the notion, and there was a sense of a silent apology passing between the two.

“Not your Blueblood,” Sweetie muttered grumpily. “My Blueblood. And he happens to be a gentlecolt, a great big brother and a bit of an ass.”

“Well, darling,” Rarity said, her usual warm manner reasserting itself after a moment, “this one’s a bit more of an ass, to put it lightly.” She started to pour more coffee into both mugs, and took Sweetie’s for her own. “You shouldn’t be drinking this either,” she said by explanation, before Sweetie could protest. “It will stunt your growth.”

“You know, I’m technically as tall as Fleur under my glamour, right? And even then, I don’t have a real body to stunt.”

Twilight wisely decided not to intervene between the two interdimensional siblings and instead changed the subject. “Speaking of other worlds, we still need to figure out where this fragment of yours is, Sweetie,” Twilight said, her voice shifting back to a firmer tone. “Before the attack, I was getting ready to say that the changelings on patrol through the Hedge have noticed strange activity in seven different locations.” Lacking her carefully prepared maps, Twilight sighed and sipped her coffee. “I’ll show you tomorrow. But given the nature of the Hedge, it would be inadvisable to search all of them at once. “Still”—Twilight smiled at Sweetie—“we should be able to arrange careful sweeps of each location over the next week. Don’t worry, Sweetie, we’ll get this sorted out sooner than you think.”

o.0.o

“A summons,” Twilight said flatly as she read through her mail at the breakfast table.

Luminous had prepared a simple but hearty breakfast for everypony with her usual quiet efficiency as Sweetie and the others were roused to wakefulness. Then Trixie had delivered the post.

“A summons,” Twilight repeated in the same flat tone, “presented by the House of Nobles to appear in court as soon as possible for a hearing.”

“Indeed,” Luna said, her voice tight with anger. She too had received a letter, albeit with much more polite wording, though the commanding tone was still insulting, “It would seem the Prince has yet to learn that your title is irrefutable.” Luna missed Twilight’s alarmed look and rather unsubtle motions for her to stop as the infuriated princess continued, “His persistence smacks of insolence, and his lack of general courtesy is an insult to the court.” Luna disintegrated the letter with a flurry of magic, and appeared to compose herself once more. “Still, we must go, lest the other nobles have genuine cause to distrust you, Twilight.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Twilight said suddenly, not so subtly shifting the topic away from Blueblood. She pulled two simple but elegant envelopes out from the pile. “I was invited to attend Sweetie Belle’s opera debut tonight.” At Rarity’s smug look, Twilight continued. “Since I can’t go, would you like to in my place, Sweetie? Luminous will be going as well,” Twilight said over her squire’s protest. “Plus Rarity, of course.”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide. “I sing at the opera? Wow! It’s like that world where I died of old age! Sure!”

As Rarity’s jaw had failed to close of its own accord, Twilight politely closed it for her with a nudge of her telekinesis. “Yes, well, it’s her first performance on the operatic stage,” Twilight explained. “She usually does more...”—Twilight searched for an adequate descriptor for a while before giving up—“modern music.”

“I enjoyed it,” Trixie said warmly. “It was like having a beautiful painting hammered through your eyes: pretty, but painful.”

“Hey, modern music is not that bad!” Sweetie complained. “Why, I took lessons from Sapphire Shores and...” She trailed off. “Okay, it’s not that great either.”

“I doubt Miss Shores even works with music as... ah... modern as what my sister and her band produced,” Rarity put in, once her composure had returned. “She was ever so upset when they all broke up.”

“You know what? This reminds me that I haven’t met Octavia here,” Sweetie spoke up, unwilling to put down her alternate-self’s music. Especially since she’d yet to hear it herself. “I’m sure we can chat music and maybe she can give me some insight into Sweetie’s... band. If she knows them.”

“Oh yeah,” a lazy voice said from the door, which made Luminous, Sweetie, Trixie, and Luna look up, though Twilight just smiled. “‘Tavi knows them; she’s probably their biggest fan this side of Canterlot.” Standing in the doorway was what looked to be a pony made of shimmering, pearly whiteness, with a mane of blue glass that chimed as she walked forward. Her glowing red eyes looked tired, but her confident smirk showed a strong spirit.

“Vinyl,” Twilight said, finally turning around with a smile. She rose and gave Vinyl an only slightly awkward hug. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Again?” Vinyl said with a grin, and the act sent small, subtle chimes through the air, “I was only here last week. And here I thought I was married to a cellist, not you.” Vinyl struck a dramatic pose. “Oh she’ll be so heartbroken! Hey,” Vinyl said after, peering at Sweetie. “Is that the kid?”

Twilight nodded and stepped aside. “Vinyl Scratch, meet Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, this is Vinyl Scratch.” Vinyl gave Sweetie a grin and a nod while Twilight continued. “The opera house is in Hollow Shades, a small town far to the northeast of here. To cut down on travel time, I had arranged a trip through the Hedge to Hollow Shades. Since I’m not going now, and the performance is tonight...”

“What she means is,” Vinyl interrupted, “I’m taking you to Hollow Shades with Rarity, and we’re all going through the Hedge.” Vinyl grinned at Twilight, “There, wasn’t that easier?”

Sweetie giggled. “You’re the same in every world, Vinyl, that’s why I love you.”

Vinyl winked, “Maybe I am the same in every world. The universe would be entirely too groovy if there were more than one of me after all.” Luminous and Luna snorted, while Twilight and Trixie grinned. Trixie and Luminous were clearing the big table after breakfast, and soon disappeared through Twilight’s bedroom doorway.

Sweetie snorted as well. “I dunno, Vinyl, I think the universe could use a few more of you.”

“Well,” Twilight put in, chuckling, “since there’s only one of her, you’re also going to be accompanied by a couple of other changelings, for safety.”

Vinyl made a disgusted noise, “I’ve told you before, Twilight, a smaller party travels easier.” She rolled her eyes. “This is going to be like that business in the caverns all over again.”

“It’s not up for discussion,” Twilight said firmly as Vinyl simply rolled her eyes. “Now they’re going to be waiting for you by the Citadel Gate once everypony’s ready. Prepare to spend the night at the hotel I arranged for, but don’t wait around. I’ve got to leave immediately.”

o.0.o

Several hours later, noon was just falling when the whole group, consisting of Rarity, Sweetie, Vinyl Scratch and two changelings departed. The two changelings with Sweetie were very strange indeed; one looked like the strange offspring of wolf and pegasus, with sharp teeth, a ragged mane, fluffy wings and a set of predatory claws in place of his forelegs. The other, a tall, slender unicorn looked like he was carved of smouldering coal, with eyes like hot clinkers and a mane like falling ash.

The wolfish one, Sharp Claw, was rather ill-tempered, constantly growling at every order Scratch gave him, but he was almost silent in the Hedge as he moved with a disturbingly predatory grace, and his senses were completely beyond acute. The other, Coaldust, was merely quiet, though he occasionally paused to whisper to the stones nearby or listen to them.

Vinyl, however, chattered constantly. She never raised her voice above a whisper, but the flow of speech simply never stopped. She talked about how Twilight had personally saved her and Octavia; she rambled on about how the Citadel was easily the largest changeling hold in Equestria, besides the Briar Patch.

“If you’re still around after this shard thing is over,” Vinyl prattled on as she led the party through an almost entirely hidden passage between the thorns, “you should visit the club sometime. It’s a pretty cool place, if I do say so myself.” Vinyl grinned at Sweetie as the other changelings helped Rarity pass between the sharp thorns. Once Rarity was through, they continued, and Vinyl picked up the conversation again. “All sorts show up there, even—” Vinyl immediately cut herself off as Sharp Claw raised a hoof in warning.

The whole party froze, as something moved through the briars nearby. The thorns in that part of the Hedge were like shards of glass growing out of polished, wooden rails. Whatever it was that had alerted Sharp Claw was moving between the vines with ominous ease, with only the quiet chime of the thorns as a sign of its passage. The changelings readied themselves discreetly for conflict, but after a few moments the thing moved away.

Vinyl held the group there for a good five minutes, just to make sure, then they continued on through the Hedge. True to form though, Vinyl started chattering as soon as she was sure they were safe. After they had all left, a small shape crept from the glassy briars, and slowly followed after.

o.0.o

“There,” Vinyl said with a grin back at the party as they stepped out of the Hedge, a few blocks from a large building that could only be the Opera House, “right on time, and nopony hurt.”

Sharp Claw muttered something inaudible and probably insulting, ruffling his wings in irritation.

Hollow Shades, it turned out, was a town made in the shadow of a large, dense forest. Most of the buildings were constructed around the trees in winding, nonsensical paths, and every road was either uphill or downhill. The only flat spaces in the whole town could be found only in the houses, or the big Opera House, which resided on the tallest hill like a lord surveying its territory. It was a massive building, built in an old ornate style that positively glittered with gilded decoration, stained glass windows and marble walls. It stood out from the rest of the town like a particularly sore hoof.

To the side of the horrendously gaudy building stood a slightly less glittering hotel, which nevertheless still shone in the dark, shady town like a diamond in a coal scuttle.

“Welcome,” Vinyl said with a smirk and a grand gesture, “to Hollow Shades.”

Rarity, who had somehow managed to get herself dressed in the time since the party had left the Hedge, sniffed delicately. “Well, it certainly looks the part. It’s like they’re trying to cram all of Canterlot into a single building.” Vinyl snorted, but allowed Rarity to take the lead. The white unicorn had donned a radiant sky blue dress, dotted with pearls for the occasion, and a necklace of particularly brilliant crystals.

She led the procession through the winding streets up to the hotel, past the ponies of Hollow Shades, who looked reasonably well-to-do, but also curiously furtive. They moved quickly past each other, often nodding politely to those ponies they knew, but there was relatively little conversation in the street.

The ponies parted for Rarity, Sweetie and the other changelings, but if the town was silent, Vinyl very smoothly took up the slack. “It’s always quiet here,” Vinyl said conversationally to Sweetie. “Hollow Shades is one of those towns where not much has changed over the years. It’s older than Ponyville.” Vinyl gestured to the town at large. “Hollow Shades was formed over a hundred years ago, but it’s a pretty cool town. They’ve got the usual shops, spas, clubs, things like that. Just kinda dull.” Vinyl ignored a look of mild disapproval from a nearby pony and winked at Sweetie. “I guess you could say they’re... pretty wooden around here.”

The other changelings all groaned, and even the trees high above seemed to protest as a shower of needles and leaves drifted down. Vinyl just laughed and almost bumped into Rarity as she paused in the doorway to the hotel.

Up close, the Cosmopolitan Hotel looked almost absurdly rich, even if it paled in comparison to the Opera House. The doors were gilded, the windows were arched, and the floors were all elegantly veined marble. As Rarity led the way into the lobby, the rustling of trees and quiet murmur of the sleepy town faded smoothly into soft violin music.

The lobby alone was massive, giving the whole place a feeling of temple-like solemnity, especially with the huge, elegant chandeliers of gold, crystal and magical lights that lit the room in coruscating color.

A long counter of polished redwood ran the length of one side of the room, behind which a lone receptionist sat, scribbling away in a ledger. The marble floors amplified even the slightest hoof-steps, while on a platform in the corner of the room, a string quartet played soft, if mildly repetitive music.

After conferring with the receptionist for a few moments, Rarity returned to the group with a smile. “Well it looks like everything’s in order. Sweetie,” Rarity turned to Sweetie Belle, “would you be a dear and help the others with the bags?” While the party had been light on luggage through the Hedge, a grunt from the door illuminated a delivery pony who had dropped off an almost ridiculously large pile of bags. “I have to go see Sweetie... That is,” Rarity amended, “our world’s Sweetie, before the show. I actually happen to have an outfit in my bag that might fit you, if you like. The show’s not for another few hours though.”

Sweetie smiled. “Sure! I’d love to try it on!”

“Wonderful, darling!” Rarity said with a radiant smile. She levitated a key over to Sweetie, which was engraved with the numbers 1013. “This is the room key, your dress is in the periwinkle bag.” She nodded to the pile of bags, which was easily twice her height. “Oh,” Rarity interjected quickly before Vinyl or one of the other changelings could protest, “here are your tickets,” Rarity levitated out a ticket for every pony. Even the tickets were gaudy. They sparkled with gold around the edges, and used silver ink. Vinyl tried to protest again, but Rarity overrode her, “Now, the show’s at seven, so that’s in three hours. I’ll see you at the opera, darlings!”

“But—” Vinyl started, but Rarity was already away, leaving the changelings, including Sweetie, with a mountain of baggage, and ten flights of stairs to climb. Vinyl looked at the bellhop, who had quite stealthily stepped out. She sighed, and started levitating bags onto her back. “Load up,” Vinyl said glumly. She carried her burden to the elegantly engraved door marked ‘Stairs’, and proceeded up the narrow, but richly carpeted and well-lit staircase.

Sweetie frowned, a bit annoyed. “Can’t we just... you know, have somepony go up there and open the window and let us levitate each bag through it?”

“Over a hundred feet up?” Coaldust asked in his crackling tone. “That’d be a tall order for anypony. Besides,” Coaldust said as he watched Sharp Claw swear and fumble with the bags, which were exceptionally heavy. “A little heavy lifting is good for you,” he said loud enough for Sharp Claw to hear, the irascible pegasus changeling shooting the tall unicorn an irritated look complete with snarl.

“Tall order,” Sweetie snorted, levitating her own pile of bags. “I see what you did there.” She followed after the others, wondering just what her local self was like... and how she would react to meeting her.

o.0.o End Part 1 o.0.o

Backwards Through the Mirror: Part 2

Edits: Nick Nack, Lammy. Proof: Super Big Mac, Magical Trevor

The Hollow Shades Opera House was every bit as opulent inside as it was on the outside. As Sweetie and the other changelings were led through the doors, it was obvious that even if they’d all arrived dressed in cloth-of-gold with diamonds studding every inch of their bodies, they might have still felt underdressed.

Everywhere Sweetie Belle looked, noble ponies had donned their finest, most extravagant clothing available, which made them look considerably at-odds with the humble practicality of the rest of the town.

Of course, that did not mean the group of changelings hadn’t pulled out their own finest outfits.

Despite Sweetie’s misgivings at being alone with Rarity, her sister had quickly gotten to work and Sweetie had been wrapped in a slightly too-small gown of silk and floating, ethereal lace that had been studded with hundreds of tiny crystals. It was a beautiful example of Rarity’s craft, and it definitely drew attention when she re-joined the changelings.

“Heh, it makes you look like somepony dumped you through a wet cloud,” Vinyl said, grinning. When Sweetie glared at her, she quickly shook her hooves. “In a good way! I promise!”

Vinyl herself was dressed in a positively scandalous—Rarity’s words—outfit of bright, clashing colors and brilliantly fine fabrics. “I actually wanted to put little lights in it, but Octavia told me that it would disturb the performers.” Vinyl shrugged. “I’ve always felt more lights generally only make parties better, but I guess I can make an exception.”

Sweetie chuckled and looked at the others.

Coaldust, the tall unicorn of embers and ashes, was dressed in a deep black suit that shone like a second skin. It glistened with more colors than it ought to, and the overall effect was rather mind-boggling.

“Hey, Coaly, where did you get that stuff?” Vinyl asked, running a hoof over the material.

“I found it in the Hedge, and thought it would be nice to make a formal suit out of it.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to wear something like that to a non-changeling event?”

Coaldust snorted. “They wouldn’t know the difference. I’m sure Lady Rarity could do something similar. Besides, they’ll never see me again.”

Even Sharp Claw was dressed up, albeit grudgingly. His bulky body was stuffed into a suit of dark, fine material, and he sported a hat made of silk that managed to accent what little refinement the feral pegasus possessed.

Despite all this, or perhaps because of Sharp Claw’s glares, the nobles steered away from the group and tittered at their presence. Vinyl, unfazed, merely grabbed one of the glasses of sparkling wine off a passing tray and passed it to Sweetie with a wink. “With Rarity around, that’s probably the only one you’re going to get.”

Sweetie’s eyes narrowed as she glanced over to the wine and the elegantly designed bar just outside the doors. “Oh, hay no. Not with all the wine and spirits available right there! Vinyl, it would be a crime not to partake.”

“True, true,” Vinyl said with a smirk at the others, pointedly raising her eyebrow in their direction. Coaldust and Sharp Claw took the hint and walked off towards their seats, with Sharp Claw occasionally growling at whatever pony failed to respect his personal space.

“Well, a couple of drinks won’t hurt,” Vinyl added as she led the way to the bar. “Besides, there’s somepony I want you to meet.”

The bar itself was so absurdly overwrought, it looked like a caricature of a wealthy noble’s alcohol cabinet expanded into a large bar, with gold, mirrors, and glass throwing light around like alcohol in a bartender’s shaker. As it was an open bar, there was a flurry of activity around it as nobles tried to grab their drinks and greet each other politely all at once.

Putting on her best airs of the ‘Duchess of Maripony’, Sweetie made her way to the bar, barely acknowledging minor nobles and nodding politely to those she deemed as being of a similar station... leaving a whole lot of them confused. She immediately caught the eye of one of the bartenders.

“Single malt, nothing less than thirty-two years, and don’t you even dare suggest mixing it with something.”

The bartender, a middle-aged stallion, merely stared at Sweetie for a moment, while behind her, Vinyl simply shoved her way through.

“Good taste for somepony your age.”

Beside Sweetie, leaning forward on the bar, sat yet another changeling. She was all grey stone, except where veins of softly glowing white marble traced across her body. Her mane was similarly carved of an even darker grey stone, but it moved like normal hair. Yet her eyes were the most striking thing about her: they glowed a soft purple, much in the same manner as Vinyl’s red eyes did.

And despite all the strangeness, there could be no question as to who this changeling was.

“‘T-tavi...” Sweetie stammered, staring at her musical mentor. Somehow the changeling transformation suited her beyond what Sweetie could have ever imagined... She looked... stunning. “It’s you...”

Octavia raised a puzzled eyebrow, while behind Sweetie, Vinyl beamed.

“‘Tavi! I knew you’d make it. Sweetie, Octavia, Octavia, this is Sweetie from another dimension where none of us are really the same but we sort of are.” After a moment, she added with a grin, “It’s kind of a long title.”

Octavia smiled softly at Vinyl, and there was a tenderness to it that was hard to ignore. She nodded to the bartender—who started pouring a drink—before extending a hoof politely to Sweetie. “Well,” she said in her quiet way, “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Th-the pleasure is mine,” Sweetie managed to choke out, taking Octavia’s hoof in her own. “I-I’m sorry... it’s just...” She gulped down her wine and grimaced. “You’ve been a huge influence a-and... I—” Sweetie couldn’t look into those eyes again. Not after they had faded along with Octavia’s life the last time she had seen her.

Octavia, still finding herself at quite the disadvantage, passed Sweetie her drink with a comforting smile. “Well, I’m glad it seems I was a good one, then,” she said simply, before giving Vinyl a quizzical look. At Vinyl’s returned look, she continued, “I believe I’m seated in the row behind you all.”

“Yeah?” Vinyl asked. “Well that works out well then, let’s get going, before Rarity thinks we’ve all collapsed into a black hole or something. You’re welcome to come by and talk to Octavia later if you’d like. Look us up in Manehattan after this shindig.”

Sweetie nodded, before mustering the courage to look up into Octavia’s eyes again. “I would... Would you mind playing the cello with me, sometime?” she asked in an almost whisper. “It would mean a lot to me, to be able to do that ag— once, before I have to go.”

Octavia’s smile remained soft, but her eyes twinkled as she nodded, then she finished her own drink and slid off her stool. “I’ll linger after this,” she said quietly, to her mate’s surprise. At Vinyl’s look, she added, “I’m curious. Shall we?”

Vinyl nodded, and started to lead the way up to the seats, casually pushing through the crowd of nobles. Once her drink was empty, she simply nicked a full one from a passing tray as the party made their way up.

The Opera House of Hollow Shades was huge, and masterfully designed. Rows upon rows of seats surrounded a distant stage that was as well-kept as Princess Celestia’s throne room. Chandeliers with magical lights cast their warm illumination throughout the entire room.

Vinyl led the group past all the nobles, an additional security guard, and into the box in the absolute middle of the row, just as the lights started dimming. It was plain that the show was close to starting.

“Here we go,” Vinyl said with a winning smile. “Best seats in the house: the Royal Box.” She snickered a little at that, and Octavia gave her a tolerant look, which seemed to sober her somewhat, despite the second finished drink, which she had given to a mildly confused noble.

The door opened and Rarity practically yanked the group inside.

“Where have you been?!” Rarity hissed as she dragged Sweetie and Vinyl to their seats. Octavia trotted behind, looking amused, while Rarity continued her rant. “The show’s about to start. Oh, Sweetie’s been so worried about her first performance, we can’t risk missing any of it!” Rarity said rather dramatically, as she sat down in her seat. “But she’ll do fine, you’ll see.”

Behind her, a noblepony shushed them loudly, and Sharp Claw turned slowly in his seat to stare him down, growling. The noblepony shrank back into his seat until Coaldust forcibly turned Sharp Claw towards the stage. As the ponies and changelings settled into their seats, the orchestra ceased tuning up, and the show began.

The opera was a tale of young love and loss. The local Sweetie Belle played the part of Bright Star, the younger sister of a soldier gone to fight in a war against the Pegasus Empire. After her brother had left, she was placed in the care of an old widow, who it turned out was secretly nursing a pegasus soldier back to health.

Sweetie’s voice rang pure and clear through the performance, her crystalline tones drawing out the sorrow in Bright Star’s lament for her brother Glory. She brought out the fear in Bright Star’s character as she approached the wounded soldier’s bed, her innocent voice shining like a bright light amidst the dark gloom of the Opera House.

On stage, she was clad in white; the stage lighting gave her a curiously ethereal quality as she sang the story of a little filly with a terrible choice: to reveal the secret pegasus soldier, whom she had come to love, or to stay silent and become an accessory to the widow’s crime of sheltering the enemy.

Rarity frequently wiped tears from her eyes, but the performance seemed lost on everypony else. Sharp Claw folded his forelegs and sat grumpily in his chair, Coaldust's confused gaze showed he wasn't following the plot, and Vinyl seemed more interested in the quality of the singing. She even kept trying to comment on it to nearby ponies, but they repeatedly shushed her.

Octavia put a hoof on her mate’s shoulder partway into the second act. Before Vinyl could ask why, Octavia’s hoof was already blocking her mouth. She simply pointed up to the rafters up above, discreetly.

There, in the shadows of the rafters and catwalks above the stage, a white form shone for a moment, one which bore a strong resemblance to the pony down on the stage. However, the creature seemed to notice their eyes and it was swiftly gone, vanishing into the darkness.

Vinyl shrugged it off. “I’m sure it’s jus—Tavi!” she whispered harshly, but Octavia was already moving. She passed nobles who grumbled at the momentary interruption of their line of sight, and strode swiftly to the door of the box.

Noticing the two leave, the interdimensional Sweetie quietly followed suit, barely drawing the attention of anypony with practiced ease. Her accumulated training made her almost invisible, unless a pony was actively looking at her. She followed Octavia and Vinyl out of the box, respecting their urgency, even if she wasn’t sure what it was all about.

Rarity failed to notice the group leaving, though Sharp Claw took note, his orange eyes watched curiously as the trio quietly exited the box.

Octavia took the lead, and where she moved, the nobles parted as if some curious magic were at work. Vinyl, who had been drinking through the first act and was still a little toasted, lagged a little behind, which put Sweetie in the middle.

Octavia navigated through the crowds like a fish through water, and soon climbed enough stairs to reach a door marked RAFTER ACCESS. It looked extremely official, and therefore, difficult to bypass. Vinyl, who was gasping after the climb, waved a hoof, “See? It was probably just a—” She blinked as Octavia nudged the door open with little effort.

Upon further examination, it seemed the door had been kicked in just the right way to break the lock.

“Alright,” Vinyl said grudgingly as her breath came back, “I’ll admit it’s a little fishy but—”

Octavia was already gone, out onto to the rafters and catwalks, where only the daring and the underpaid would tread. Vinyl and Sweetie followed; the former cursing quietly.

Far below, the opera continued. Bright Star celebrated the return of her brother, who was wreathed in laurels from combat. Sweetie Belle’s bright tones wound melodies of joy that wafted up into the rafters as the trio of ponies skulked through the darkness high above. The catwalk was only a few hoof-widths wide, criss-crossing beneath the rafters, allowing access to the chandeliers and other lighting arrangements. They were little better than narrow plank bridges nailed into the rafters, but both Vinyl and Octavia walked across them with the confidence of ponies who usually navigate the Hedge.

Octavia and Vinyl walked towards the place where they’d spotted the white form, while Sweetie Belle sang on below.

“It’s creepy up here,” Vinyl murmured, just loud enough to be heard. She smirked back at Sweetie. “Maybe it was an opera gho—” Vinyl broke off as something hard hit her on the back of the head, knocking her senseless. As it spiraled through the air on the rebound, it looked to be a hammer of some kind, which fell into the chandelier below, causing the lattice of lights and crystals to jingle.

Before Vinyl could fall, Octavia caught her mate with both forehooves, but the act cost her her own balance and she found herself looking down directly at the stage. They were exactly over Sweetie Belle below, and so was the chandelier, its primary support cable showing signs of tampering. Another tool flew through the air, a chisel this time, but Octavia ducked her head and took the hit to the side. Incredibly, the chisel imbedded itself in her side, but the earth pony didn’t so much as flinch.

“If she falls,” Octavia said grimly, “The chandelier will follow.” She continued to haul on Vinyl, to drag her back up, but the injury slowly bled her of strength as her vitality dripped down onto the chandelier below.

Sweetie Belle looked at Octavia in horror, her mind replaying the last moments she’d had with the previous one in a horrifying flash. Her eyes hardened and her horn lit up with magic, pulling Vinyl up to lie her down next to Octavia on the rafters. She growled, facing the shadows and casting the spell that allowed her to see through the darkest of spells. Another tool soared through the air, but was intercepted by a quick gust of air and then gently deposited at Sweetie’s hooves.

Her eyes scanned the area around her until she found her opponent.

“I-it can’t be!” Sweetie gasped in shock, her magic fading at what she was seeing and yet was unable to truly comprehend. Another Sweetie Belle... Another, another Sweetie Belle!

Her opponent took advantage of Sweetie’s hesitation, and her horn flashed. The magic surged out, a flame that Sweetie didn’t have to dodge... because she was not the objective. The flaming arrow-like spell splashed against the remains of the chandelier’s primary support cable, quickly burning through it.

Sweetie was unable to take her eyes from her copycat for the briefest of moments, until she forced herself to look down at the heavy chandelier, which groaned as the cable started snapping. As the cable gave way, Sweetie felt something heavy hit her side. Hooves kicked off of her, as the copycat sprang off her up into the darkness, where it vanished like it had fallen into a deep hole. The kick sent Sweetie down onto the framework of light and crystal, and the added weight snapped the failing cable.

As the whole thing, changeling and all, started to fall, time slowed down. Sweetie watched Octavia’s glowing eyes widen, and she heard the music below start to approach a climax that lengthened and deepened as the adrenaline coursing through her body tore time apart, looking for an avenue of escape. She realized that down below, her other self was about to meet her end, while singing her heart out to a crowd of mostly strangers, some of whom were starting to gasp and stand, pointing at the glittering doom approaching the stage.

She pumped all the magic she could muster in that moment into a burst of wind, but the chandelier was a massive construct of wrought iron and brass, and would not be nudged easily from its path. She heard her other self continue to sing the crescendo, even as the orchestra faltered, even as her audience screamed. Sweetie braced herself for the impact, still attempting to push the chandelier off-course.

Even with her shield wrapped around her, hitting the stage in a flurry of metal, crystal and splintering wood was disorienting for Sweetie. It felt like an eternity as the impact settled, but as her hearing returned after the crash, she became aware that there was a white hoof attempting to pull her out of the wreckage. Sweetie was pulled free of the chandelier after a little effort, and found herself facing... herself.

The younger Sweetie Belle looked at Sweetie with a concerned expression, which slowly dissolved into wonder as she realized who she was facing. Across the stage, the other singers were watching, while all around the Opera House was chaos. The younger Sweetie Belle put her hoof up to Sweetie’s face almost tentatively, as if testing the reality of the situation.

Sweetie felt the younger version of herself touch her, then pull back slowly. The younger Sweetie Belle seemed utterly unfazed by the chaos around her, until at last the stage director showed up, looking positively furious.

o.0.o

“A whole performance—Non! A debut performance, ruined!” The director, Fuss Budget, railed against the two mares. “Along with a whole chandelier! Bordel de merde! Have you any idea how expensive those are?! I should have you arrested, have you dragged through the street until you are in chunks too small to go to jail!” He switched constantly between Prench and Equestrian, but Fuss Budget was too angry to notice.

Elder Sweetie Belle and Sweetie Belle had both been taken to the stage director’s office directly. The younger Sweetie Belle was still clad in her costume, but her eyes were starting to shimmer with unshed tears. She didn’t particularly mind that her performance had been interrupted, her time with her friends had accustomed her to that, but now she was being shouted at, and she found herself clinging to her extradimensional alternate as she would to Rarity, while the stage director continued on his rant.

“I cannot believe you would pull such a stunt on your first performance!” he went on, voice thundering in the cramped office. “You have ruined the stage, ruined this performance, and you will never be allowed back here again!”

The local Sweetie Belle bit her lip to keep back the tears, but her grip on her counterpart continued to tighten.

“Bah, you’re being an idiot,” the interdimensional Sweetie snapped. “You’ll find that most of the damage is easily repaired and that most likely the crown can offer some compensation. In fact, I’ll tell you the names of a few of the Blueblood family retainers you can ask directly for it.”

“But that should be the least of your concerns!” she added, pointing a hoof at him accusingly. “If I hadn’t managed to push the chandelier away, it would have killed Sweetie Belle! All because you didn’t have any sort of security preventing entrance to the rafters! Wait until I get the media in on this! You will not hear the end of it! ‘Young talent almost crushed to death due to negligence,’” she air-quoted. “‘Stage Director found lacking; fired on the spot!’” she air quoted again. “‘Hundreds of ponies at opera house witness Stage Director not even checking his star for injuries!’

“Not to mention…” She lowered her voice. “Sweetie Belle here has some very influential friends. Had something happened to her, you would be directly responsible for any damages to her person and would answer accordingly. If anything, you should be thankful that all you have to whine about is your Celestia-damned chandelier!”

As Fuss Budget sputtered, the younger Sweetie stared at Sweetie Belle, awed.

“In fact, I think you should sue him. Press charges, the whole thing... you have talent, Sweetie Belle. Even if you don’t sing opera you can sing anything... let’s see him try and get another job.”

Fuss Budget gaped at Sweetie, jaw working soundlessly for a few moments before his face started to turn red. “You…” he spluttered, half-rising from his chair. He looked to be stuck between absolute apoplectic fury and career-damning terror. “You couldn’t possibly—”

His pained stab at rationalizing the situation were cut off by the office door slamming open to reveal a rather irate Rarity.

“What is the meaning of—” Fuss Budget started to roar, only to quite suddenly find himself nose to infuriated nose with an impeccably dressed and coiffured white unicorn.

“What is the meaning of this?” Rarity asked. She didn’t thunder, roar, or bluster, but both Sweetie Belles could tell when their sister was inwardly shaking with rage. “Why, the meaning of this is you hauled my sister, the prima donna of the show, into a small office after she was almost killed,” Rarity’s voice rose theatrically, climbing octaves as she descended upon the hapless director, “by a chandelier that you,” Rarity’s voice dove for the kill, “Mister Fuss Budget, somehow allowed ponies access to during a performance.”

Before the hapless director could muster a defense, another pony strode into the room, her presence prefaced by a scent of smoke, the tiny office now filled to capacity around Fuss Budget.

“Yes, how did ponies access that chandelier?” Twilight asked in a calm, yet dangerous tone, “That rope was cut, from what I saw, which means that not only did you fail to secure the area”— Twilight’s inner fury was etched on the runes floating through her mane, and the way her shadow seemed to reach for the director—“but you also allowed somepony with murderous intent into the theatre.”

“D-Dame Tw-Twilight,” Director Fuss Budget stuttered as the color slowly left his face, “I-I wasn’t… When did you get here?” Fuss Budget asked shakily, “I… you, I was told you wouldn’t attend.”

“My business concluded early,” Twilight said rather unconvincingly, albeit in a tone that dared him to call her out on it, “and I decided to catch the last half of the show. From what I’ve seen though, your security needs to see great improvement in the future.”

“Well, w-well of course, but… m-murderous intent?” Fuss Budget asked weakly. “I… that’s a big assumption… it was probably just some lone madpony, obsessed with the theatre, or something...”

Twilight gave the director a long look. “If Sw—my guest here,” Twilight swiftly corrected, indicating the interdimensional Sweetie Belle, “had not intervened, that chandelier would have landed directly on Sweetie Belle.” She simply spoke over the director as he tried to interject. “It was no accident, there will be no further discussion of the facts. Your insurance can cover the damage to the theatre, and if not, you can always appeal to the crown once an investigation is concluded.”

“I—Well,” Fuss Budget stammered a little, until his courage mustered for a final defense, “I shall have t-to petition Princess Celestia about th-this but I… I may have jumped to some rash conclusions.” He looked more worried than sorry as he continued, to both the Sweetie Belles and the still simmering Rarity, “Think nothing more of it, madames, I”—he shivered a little—“I was wrong to judge you so. Just… heat of the moment, you know.” The stench of the stallion’s nervous sweat filled the hall as he waited for the mares’ responses.

Sweetie Belle looked from her local counterpart to Fuss Budget before leaning forth and whispering harshly, “Maybe next time your ‘heat of the moment’ will focus on making sure your singers and orchestra are unhurt.”

After a due period of letting him squirm, Rarity tilted up her nose. “Well, that’s that then. Come now, Sweetie, let’s not take any more of the director’s precious time.” Rarity’s tone dipped into withering scorn and painted it across her words as she left Fuss Budget with a curt “Good evening to you.” She then led the way out of the small office, and paused as she noticed Twilight wasn’t following.

Twilight smiled at Rarity. “I just have a few words for Director Fuss Budget here. Go on ahead.”

Fuss Budget swallowed hard, but Rarity led the girls out of the office. She led the girls out with such poise and grace that none of the stage hooves so much as attempted to impede the trio as they walked through the halls.

As soon as they were out of earshot, the non-changeling Sweetie Belle looked up at the changeling Sweetie with wide-eyed excitement and asked very simply, “So you’re like… my long-lost twin or something? Is that it?”

Rarity paused at that, with a slightly concerned look back at the two younger mares.

“And,” Sweetie Belle continued, “you wanted to be reunited with me so you came to my performance?!” She bounced excitedly alongside Sweetie as she chattered in her squeaky, adolescent voice, which still held some of the depth that came with long sessions of training. “And now you saved my life so we can be sisters again and all live in the same house?!”

“I—” Sweetie Belle looked from her local self to Rarity. “I’m… A-” She grimaced. “A-Allure… your… cousin? From...” A cringe. “M-manehattan?”

Sweetie looked like she was about to explode with more questions again, when a familiar voice called out to them.

“Hello again.” Octavia emerged from the shadows, her eyes focused and her expression composed. She sported a bandage around her side, but as she stepped into the light, she seemed unbothered by the injury. Her glowing eyes took in the trio of ponies. She nodded to Rarity and the freshly christened ‘Allure,’ then looked to Sweetie with a half-smile. “You look unhurt. I was worried.” Her voice was steady.

Sweetie Belle, true to form, piped up excitedly. “Yeah she made this cool bubble around herself with magic! It was like something Twilight would have done, but she did it! Oh!” Sweetie Belle appeared to remember her manners and gestured to Sweetie. “This is Allure, my cousin from Manehattan.”

“Is she?” Octavia said with a slight quirk of her expression before Rarity’s look answered the unspoken query. Octavia smiled at ‘Allure’. “I believe we have time for our concert, if you like.”

“Concert?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Are you a musician, Allure? That’s so cool! I’m a singer, you know. Oh!” Sweetie Belle blushed while Rarity tried hard not to roll her eyes. “That’s probably why you were at the opera, but… well… can I join you?!” The earnest, if a bit shrill request was accompanied by a look that was capable of melting hearts made of even the sternest steel.

Octavia’s smile didn’t waver, but she turned to ’Allure’ with a ‘your call’ sort of look, the changeling unable to look at her other self’s excitement and do anything but let out a sigh of acquiescence.

“How about you let us play a bit, and jump in whenever it feels natural?” She allowed herself to smile. “I might sing a bit with you, but I’ll follow your lead on that one.”

Sweetie Belle nodded eagerly, and followed Octavia behind Sweetie and Rarity, the elder unicorn looking rather excited herself.

Rarity’s thoughts were cut short as she and the others were led by Octavia out to the main stage, which still glittered with shattered crystal. The chandelier sat sadly on the stage, like a particularly leaden cloud, and it was surrounded with tape and guarded by a Royal Guard to keep ponies from tampering with the evidence.

This guard, however, was being chatted up by a very talkative Vinyl Scratch, who was seated on a pile of equipment as she spoke, a bandage about her head.

“All I’m saying, see, is that those uniforms have got to chafe after a while, right?” The guard was already blushing. “So I was just helping him—Oh!” Vinyl broke off as she caught sight of the group. “Hey, there you are! I thought I’d gotten all this junk out for nothing!”

Octavia simply gave her mate a disapproving look as she approached and began to rummage through the remains of the orchestra pit.

“Hey, I’m feeling a lot better now, thank you very much. Besides”—she patted the equipment next to her—“I’m not missing an event like this. Heya Sweetie Belle,” Vinyl said with a grin at the smaller filly. “S’good to see you again. You were singing good out there.”

Sweetie Belle blushed, but her embarrassment was cut short by Octavia’s emergence from the orchestra pit, an intact cello in hoof, complete with bow.

“Vinyl,” Rarity said somewhat delicately, “I don’t know if Sweetie and Allure”—Rarity’s emphasis was noted by the unicorn DJ as she continued—“want an audience. Not to offend you,” Rarity added considerately to the Royal Guard, who was attempting once more to appear to be part of the stage dressing.

“Pfft,” Vinyl said with a dismissive gesture. “I just want to record this.” She patted the equipment next to her, while her telekinesis plugged the mysterious black boxes into extension cords run from off-stage. “Did you know they had top-of-the-line recording equipment just boxed up in the attic up there? Like, it’s never even been used!”

“Director Fuss Budget was talking about recording the performances,” Sweetie Belle offered helpfully. “Provided I…” Sweetie concentrated for a moment before she recited, “Provided I proved to be a valuable asset.” She smiled at Vinyl. “It was supposed to help more ponies get into opera!”

Octavia smiled privately at Sweetie Belle’s excitability, and began to calmly tune the cello. Given its proximity to the chandelier’s impact zone, the cello was in surprisingly good condition, its tone mellow and sweet as the stony changeling plied the strings. She checked the pegs, which continued to hold, then the bow, which was well-rosined.

Watching Octavia go through the motions almost made ‘Allure’s’ eyes water. It had been over a year since... then. And yet, the cold body of her mentor and friend flashed for a moment in her mind and she quickly turned away, closing her eyes and pretending to concentrate on her spell.

She felt the familiar pull and resonance, and as soon as she opened her eyes, her notebook had emerged. Trying not to draw too much attention to the book itself, she used her telekinesis to slip out the bookmark.

Several pages slid out of the book and she groaned in frustration, but they were enveloped in the familiar white aura of Rarity’s magic, as she gently levitated the pages.

“I’ll put them back in,” Rarity whispered, stepping back.

Conscious of the silence that her actions had created, she set down the bookmark on the floor and touched it with a bit of magic, watching as it grew in dimensions until a cello case rested in front of her.

The local Sweetie watched in awe at the magic,eyes wide and mouth slightly gaping, although she held herself from making any comments. She had sat down beside Sweetie Belle, while her sister sat a little ways away.

Rarity was conflicted about the untruth her sister was living under and the gravity of the situation. After all, somepony, or something, had just tried to kill her sister, and here they were, acting as if the murder weapon wasn’t lying in a heap of metal and crystal just behind them. Still, she wiped the worry from her expression with the poise of a skilled dissembler and listened to the musicians warm-up.

She levitated the instrument and bow out of it, and rose to her hindlegs, taking the bow in her hoof and sliding her other hoof up and down the strings as she followed Octavia’s example and tuned it. It was as perfect as the day that she had stored it away the first time. Whatever could be said about the Arch-Magi Blueblood had paid off, they really knew what they were doing.

Octavia waited until Sweetie was ready before she began to play. Her borrowed cello wove a low melody with its sweet, mellow tones. Her glowing eyes closed t a little peek.to a thin rim of light as she focused on the notes as they were soon joined by Sweetie's countermelody.

The song became sad and happy all at once, deep, somber tones blending with warm notes. As Octavia controlled the melodic line, Sweetie wound her countermelody about it and, soon, a high soprano began to thread yet another line through the composition.

There were no words to what she sang, no phrases or statements to muse upon. Sweetie Belle’s high, clear voice rose and fell like a bird flitting between the entwining branches of the cellists’ melodic lines.

With a deep breath, the changeling Sweetie began to sing as well, blending her own soprano with her other self. It wasn’t as clear, and a trained ear would surely catch where she fell short of her counterpart, but still Sweetie maintained her pace with Octavia on the cello, and started to wrap her own countermelody around Sweetie Belle’s more operatic voice.

Slowly, the fillies steered the melody from the dark, into a brighter, warmer melody. High, clear notes in near perfect harmony flew through the theatre.

The four-piece composition wove its way through the air seamlessly, and for a moment, it sounded as if yet another voice had joined at the finale of the piece.

Octavia’s ear perked a little at it, and the accompaniment faded as if wary of her attention before their piece drew to a close.

As silence filled the hall once more, the distinctive clap of applause sounded from nearby. Unseen, but not unheard, a shadow slunk away.

“Brava,” Twilight said with a smile, standing next to the door. The burning letters in her flowing mane no longer quite as agitated, but there remained a stress about the unicorn’s eyes that belied her outward calm. “Brava, Sweetie Belle,” Twilight said with a smile at the local Sweetie, though it was clear her words were meant for everypony involved.

Vinyl clicked the recording machine off and popped the tape out with her magic. “Yeah, that was cool, Sweetie, you really hit those high notes, but you kinda strained a little around your lower register. Same to you, Allure,” Vinyl said with a huge wink, which prompted her mate to facehoof.

Before Sweetie Belle could ask for clarification on her notes, Twilight cleared her throat, only to be rapidly interrupted by Vinyl.

“Hey, that’s right, if you couldn’t go to this thing because of a Royal Whatsit—”

“A Royal Summons,” Twilight put in, and before Vinyl could ask she quickly continued, “My part of the hearing took only a few hours. I figured I could catch the last part of your show if I got here quickly enough.” Twilight brightened up immensely as an idea struck her. “ I know! How about we all celebrate Sweetie’s debut with a nice dinner?”

Rarity looked scandalized. “But Twilight, I didn’t bring an ensemble for that!” At Vinyl’s look, she added defensively, “I packed only the barest of essential outfit pieces, but I suppose... I’ll have to go back, find something I can throw together… Oh,” Rarity levitated the journal she had picked up for ‘Allure’ out of her very fashionable saddle-bag. Fragments of crystals still orbited it peacefully as ‘Allure’s’ own magic wrapped around it and sent the precious book, and cello-containing bookmark, back into its pocket dimension.

“Thanks,” ‘Allure’ said with a slight flush of embarrassment, while Sweetie Belle let out an excited gasp as she made the book vanish.

“That’s so cool! How did you do that? Where did you send it?” Sweetie Belle began to ask of ‘Allure’, who started to respond only to be cut off by more questions, “What was that book? Was that where your cello went?”

And so the questions followed the wearied interdimensional traveler all the way out of the theatre and on the long road back to the hotel.

o.0.o

Rarity muttered to herself as she stripped off her saddlebags, which had been cunningly made to match her gown, when a crinkling sound made her stop and blink. Curious, she slipped out of the outfit she had put together for the opera, and put aside her thoughts about what she could possibly do for a dinner ensemble.

Intrigued, she opened her saddlebags and found some sheets of paper, torn haphazardly from a journal. With a start, she realized they must have fallen out of Sweetie’s notebook. She started to tuck it back away, when curiosity stopped her.

Surely, she thought, it couldn’t hurt to have just a little peak.

It was Sweetie Belle's diary, her most likely extremely private diary, but, given that she'd already been privy to her own sister's diary, this glaring fact gave her perhaps less pause than it ought to have.

Rarity hesitated for but another moment, thinking to herself, I can simply stop reading if things become too private, and with that rather flimsy rule in place, she set her dress and saddlebags aside to begin reading.

Dear Diary,

I don’t want anything here to see you, so I’m sorry but I had to rip a page from you.

Rarity inwardly smiled at Sweetie apologizing to her own diary and settled down to read the quickly scribbled thoughts of her interdimensional younger sister.

I’m scared. The Beast was constantly on guard, and his wolves roamed around without pause, I couldn’t risk taking you out. I’m exhausted, but I need to write this in case I don’t make it. to take it off my mind.

At least the food isn’t rotten here.

This place is cold and horrible. I can’t speak. I don’t even know how I know that, but there’s simply this sense that I shouldn’t. I saw one of the other slaves, some sort of little furred biped. It squeaked while mopping and suddenly a stalactite made of onyx fell from the roof and impaled him.

Rarity gasped involuntarily at the casual mention of such a violent death. She shuddered to think of her sister in such a place, and even that first mention was enough to almost make her tuck the pages away. Still, curiosity pushed her on, deeper into the dark of Sweetie’s recorded memories.

The others didn’t even react, but I’ve been walking much more silently than than what I was trained for?

I’m starting to remember things. Dark things I did while I was in Blueblood’s world. I think, somepony was training me to do something, I can’t remember right now.

I’m running out of space and each scratch of the pen sounds even louder. I’ll write you again. I hope.

Good night, diary.

Rarity flipped to the next page, any plans for her dinner ensemble forgotten as the stained page demanded her attention. She had sat on the floor to read, and the dress beside her gently slid to the ground. The clock by the bed marked the seconds, but the vanishing time went unheeded by the pale unicorn.

Dear Diary,

It’s been, a week, I think. I couldn’t risk ripping another page until now. I put the last one in so it’s safe.

I’m sorry I’m getting you dirty, but I’ve been bleeding ever since this morning, when I slipped… it was a small thing, but my hoof struck the floor harder than I intended and my muffling magic wasn’t enough to stop it from making a sound. If I hadn’t jumped out of the way, I would be dead.

The stalactite crashed next to me and splintered. It sent hundreds of black shards flying all over and half my withers are covered in pieces of crystal. I’ve tried pulling them out, but it really hurts and I think they dig in deeper if I try. I’ll leave them for now.

I remembered something else: I was a spy for Chrysalis. I thought I was learning to sing from Cadance but I was just a puppet. I betrayed Blueblood

At least the hag’s spy masters taught me to be silent, or I wouldn’t be writing to you right now.

Good night, diary.

Rarity’s hoof went to her mouth involuntarily as she changed pages with her magic. She had heard something from Twilight about the harsh trials changelings went through, but the thought of her sister, alternate version of her or not, going through such an ordeal sent a shot of liquid horror through her veins.

Dear Diary,

I’ve been here too long. It’s been months. I remember everything: I was trained to be a spy and Chrysalis wanted me to be an assassin. Never worked out because she couldn’t be sure of my training level and kept sending me to different trainers.

Rarity paused for a moment. That was the second time ‘Chrysalis’ had been mentioned, as well as somepony named ‘Cadance’, and even that oaf, Blueblood. Sweetie had said she was from another world, but the description of this other life, of being trained as an assassin and these strange, other ponies defied belief. Still, Rarity read on, compelled by her own morbid curiosity.

Not that it hasn’t helped. Another two died tonight and I spent the whole day scraping them off. It would have helped if the first one hadn’t screamed. Made a whole mess, killed another and rained sharp pieces of crystal all over all of us.

I learned to talk to the crystal too. One of the others taught me, he died last week. I’ve convinced the crystal floor to not make any noise when I stepped on it, but now each hair of my coat is marble in exchange.

I don’t know if I’ll still be a pony when I come out.

Good night

Rarity felt tears falling from her cheeks, and she had to move the pages to avoid staining them further. She knew the pages were personal, knew that she should have stopped reading the entries, but the next one was a very short message in an otherwise empty page, scrawled in a shaky writing and blotted with long-dried tears.

I want my sister. I want my brother. I want Twilight or Scootaloo or Apple Bloom. You all promised to be there for me when I needed you. Where are you now? I’m just going to stay here and die, aren’t I? And you will never know. And you never cared.

o.0.o

Being asked questions about one’s ‘amazing’ magic is embarrassing the first time, flattering the second, but after almost an hour of persistent questions from her local counterpart, ‘Allure’ felt herself very slowly going mad. They were all waiting in the lobby for Rarity to finish ‘throwing something together’ so they could all go to dinner, Vinyl had struck up a betting pool on whether or not Rarity had simply run off to dinner without them on a rope of her own extensive wardrobe.

Currently only Vinyl was in on the betting, but ‘Allure’ was finding herself more and more tempted. Twilight, however, looked quite used to this and was idly reading magazines, while Octavia simply observed in her serene way. Ponies would walk through the lobby on occasion, many of them finding excuses to linger and gawk a bit, at least until one of the changelings caught their eye.

Finally, after answering the third question on a very specific type of spell (whether she could change a frog’s color or not), ‘Allure’ stood up.

“I’m going to go check on Rarity,” ‘Allure’ said firmly, to the surprise of her local self.

But before Sweetie could ask another question or comment at all, ‘Allure’ had strode off, past Vinyl and Octavia, towards the stairs. As she passed, Octavia surreptitiously slid a few bits to Vinyl.

The stair climb had never been so blessedly silent, for the doors and carpets remained blissfully unquestioning and entirely quiet the whole way up. Yet as she approached the door, she heard a soft sobbing.

“Rarity?” Sweetie asked with a concerned tap at the door. “Rarity are you alright?”

At once the door flung open and Sweetie found herself pulled into the tightest hug she could imagine.

Sweetie panicked, nightmare-like thoughts of her sister chocking her to death invading her mind. She pushed Rarity, trying to dislodge her forehooves from around her. “Let go! Let me go! What’s going on?!”

Rarity didn’t reply, only pulled her closer into the embrace. Soon Sweetie felt a wet warmth staining her shoulder and slowly she ceased her struggles, letting her sister hold her, however uncomfortable it might've been. She didn’t return the embrace, and simply forced herself to breathe slower and calm down.

“What’s wrong?”

Rarity didn’t respond, she just sobbed for a long while, her hooves holding Sweetie’s stony body so hard she felt like she might crack. The momentary panic this caused prompted the dark spikes beneath Sweetie’s marble-like exterior to protrude, and Rarity let out a soft cry as the pain forced her to reflexively relax her grip on her wayward sister, who pulled away from the embrace.

Rarity sat back and wiped her eyes, while Sweetie looked her over for wounds. Sure enough, three pinpricks of blood stained Rarity’s foreleg. “Rarity, don’t do that,” Sweetie said in a mixture of concern and anger, “I don’t… just don’t, okay?” She stopped short of as she looked for something to blot the blood. Immediately her eyes fell on a stack of papers lying on the bed, and without thinking, she levitated them, ready to use them to clean the blood, but she stopped short when she took a second look at them. “This is— Rarity…” she spoke softly. “You read my diary?”

Rarity sniffed, and wiped her eyes with her uninjured hoof. “I—I know,” she said softly. “The pages fell out in my bag.” Rarity took a couple of breaths to compose herself, but the breath caught in a sob. “I… I didn’t know… I didn’t want to know, I think…” She tried again. “I’m so sorry, Sweetie. I… I shouldn’t have looked, but I had to know j-just what you’d…” Rarity’s eyes filled as she locked her gaze with Sweetie’s. “How could you go through all that?”

Sweetie was silent for a long time. When she spoke, it was slow and deliberate. “I had no choice. It was either that or die. I was very alone, missing all of those that I cared for… even in the worst places I’ve been to before, I had somepony there. Even when you—the other you— tried to kill me… I had Octavia. But this time… I had nopony I could talk to, or laugh with… but through all of that, I knew that I just had to carry on. If I could find Twilight’s fragment and it would be okay. That all of this”—she motioned with her hoof at her body—“would go away, even if the scars remain... and… then Twilight found me.”

Rarity was silent for several moments, her expression unreadable, then she smiled at Sweetie. “She’s good at that.” Rarity pulled a rather plain blue scarf out from her mountain of bags and with a moment’s hesitation, wrapped her leg with it with a perfect knot in the fabric as an impromptu bandage. “You know,” Rarity said softly after a moment, “all the changelings swear that Twilight was the one who set them free.” She set about getting dressed, pulling on a fetching blue dress that matched her bandage perfectly, and settled the fabric with an absent-minded tug of her own magic.

“And even if she didn’t… well, I don’t think there’s a pony alive who would do more or has done more for the changelings than her,” she continued. After a moment to adjust a diamond necklace, which contrasted with the blue dress nicely, she turned and gave Sweetie a sad smile. “She’d do anything, for anypony, changeling or not. And, while I can’t possibly know what it is you went through, Sweetie, I’m still your sister, and you can be sure none of those horrid creatures that took you will do so again. Now,” Rarity pulled back and gave Sweetie an all-too-familiar once-over. “Let’s see about finding you something nicer to wear.”

o.0.o

Vinyl led the party of ravenous adventurers through the exceptionally dark nighttime streets of Hollow Shades. It was well into the night by then, and Twilight was starting to despair of ever finding the restaurant Vinyl had suggested when they had arrived at Twilight’s choice only to find that it was closing.

“Are you sure it’s this way?” Twilight asked again as Vinyl led the group down a steeply sloping, narrow road. “This seems kind of off the beaten path, Vinyl.”

“Psh.” Vinyl dismissed with a grin and a roll of her glowing red eyes. “Of course it’s this way. I told you, Sharp Claw’s friend’s cousin twice-removed heard about this place from a pen-pal, it’s gotta be real.”

Twilight sighed and relented, as she greatly suspected Vinyl was enjoying winding her up. That had been the third different story about where she had heard about this fabled Cider Barrel.

Rarity, however, was more determined as she stepped with elegant poise down the leaf-strewn, dark street. “Vinyl, honestly, this isn’t another bar is it? Or a club? It does actually sell food, does it not?” A slight blush colored her cheeks as her gaze slid to Twilight, but she covered it with a tilt of her hair.

Octavia, who was dressed in a modest but elegant ensemble, spoke up. “It’s a restaurant.” Her tone was so firm and matter-of-fact that it appeared to be enough to quiet Rarity’s protests, while Vinyl just grumbled about ponies’ lack of faith in her.

However, such grumbles were short-lived, for before much longer the whole group came across a welcome sight: an open restaurant with ‘The Cider Barrel’ written in narrow, elegant letters across its sign. It was a small, richly ornamented building, wide windows showing a more intimate, homey interior. Antique wooden tables accented the space, while velvet linings to all the chairs gave the whole dining area an old-world feel.

It was surprisingly packed for such a late hour, while outside, a unicorn stallion who could only be the maître d’ waited by the door. As soon as he spotted the group’s approach, he nodded to them, and Vinyl nodded back.

The stallion opened the door for the group, while a waiter replaced him by the desk seamlessly.

Inside, warmth and the scent of food gave rise to a chorus of grumblings from the collective stomachs of the mares. Vinyl’s smugness, however, towered over the other sensations in the room.

“See? I told you it was a real place, Twilight.”

Twilight didn’t miss the way several ponies looked up at the sound of her name, and she was dreading having to eat in such a small place with so many furtive looks when the elegantly dressed maître d’ led them away from the dining area entirely.

“Excuse me, where exactly are we going?”

The maître d’ turned slightly, though he continued to lead the party down the stairs into a cellar. “To your table, Dame Twilight.” He sounded a little puzzled at the question, but before Twilight could ask more, he had approached the very back of the cellar and knocked on three specific bricks with his horn.

The bricks melted away like hot iron before a forge’s fire, running in molten rivulets to form an intricately-traced archway that led into, as the maître d’ had promised, a new dining area. Where simple elegance had marked the first dining area, this one was something entirely different: like something out of a dream.

A crystal fountain sat in the center of a large, circular, domed room, which was decorated with fake roots, carved into the shapes of the tables and booths. The ‘roots’ were studded with glowing crystals interwoven through the very grain of the wood. High above, hanging from the baffling wooden ceiling and sculpted to resemble an upside-down tree, a massive chandelier sparkled with a hundred thousand glowing crystals, all carved to resemble leaves, the very lowest of which were just barely above the the equally impressive crystal fountain. These supplied the whole room with an eerie lighting that illuminated its very unique clientele.

Everywhere in the room, changelings sat, talked, chatted, ate, and drank in the soft light. Some were tall and terrifying, others petite and beautiful, some with wings of gossamer threads and others with eyes like silver moonlight. Non-changelings were there as well, here and there, and all of them were so richly dressed it seemed like only Rarity had prepared appropriately.

The local Sweetie goggled at all the richly dressed ponies, but she was not able to appreciate the true strangeness of the scene. To her, the clients of this strange facet of the otherwise normal restaurant simply seemed to be the oddest group of individuals she had ever seen. Rarity likewise seemed to be missing a great deal, but the changelings in the group saw it all.

Dozens of conversations fell silent as they were led through the room. And, as Twilight passed, the changelings in the room all rose. Embarrassed and alarmed, Twilight nevertheless smiled at them and continued swiftly with the party, with Rarity and Vinyl basking in the attention beside her.

“I told you this place was cool,” Vinyl said smugly as the whole group was led to a round booth at the far back of the room, where they were screened off from public view by a row of glowing crystals. They were seated smoothly into the velvet-lined root-seats, which were exceptionally comfortable, while Vinyl nudged her mate smugly. “Isn’t this just the coolest place, ‘Tavi?”

Octavia rolled her eyes tolerantly as she settled herself and began to examine the menu. Sweetie Belle appeared to be having trouble understanding what some of the items were, and frequently turned to‘Allure’ for her discreet help. The dishes were often named in Prench, and Sweetie was clearly a neophyte when it came to the language, butchering it early and often.

“In her defense,” Rarity whispered to Vinyl after a particularly dreadful attempt prompted Allure to softly try to coach her counterpart, “the dishes are hardly the classic dinner specialties.” Things like Fruit de Rêves or Nectar du Colibri avec la Créme de la Douleur appeared constantly in the menu.

Even Rarity was having some distinct trouble with the overly flowery names of some of the dishes. After ‘Allure’ had corrected Rarity a few times, the local Sweetie Belle turned to her with a grin.

“Wow Allure, you sure know your Prench, could you teach me some, sometime?”

‘Allure’ looked at her local counterpart straight in the eye. “Voulez vous couchez avec moi ce soir?”

Rarity performed a perfectly un-ladylike spit-take, while Sweetie merely looked confused. Vinyl let out a muffled laugh, but it seemed to be lost in the silence that fell unexpectedly around ‘Allure’.

She could see that the others were talking, but for some reason their words could not reach her ears. Then, for just a moment, she saw a face much like her own reflected in one of the gems set into the wood around the booth.

‘Allure’ looked around sharply, while a sense of loss twanged across her heart like a chord played across her soul, and like a spell breaking, sound returned. The whole table looked over, and Twilight was about to ask something, when the first round of appetizers arrived.

The meal was one of delicious fantasy, with flavors of an intensity generally reserved for the dreams of the culinarily inclined. The rest of the table seemed to be readily immersing themselves in the culinary delights, but ‘Allure’ just couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. It was like a lingering itch at the back of her mind, though she never saw any sign of the observer again, partly because most of her attention was being occupied by her local self.

“So, how did you become a changeling, Allure?” Sweetie Belle asked innocently, but the question caused most of the conversation at the table to stop.

In the ensuing silence, it became clear that every table in the immediate vicinity had also fallen quiet. Twilight looked uncomfortable, as did Octavia and Vinyl, but they looked to ‘Allure’ to answer the question—or not.

Rarity, whose mouth had been full at that moment, was rapidly attempting to choke down her food in the most ladylike fashion possible so she could shush her sister.

‘Allure’ held her breath. The question was an unexpectedly painful one. While talking about it with Twilight, she had felt like she was talking with somepony that understood and had been where she herself had been… somepony that had suffered, just as she had, and lost so much… but the local Sweetie was no such pony. She was innocent, true, but she could never understand. She should never understand.

“I was—” Sweetie closed her eyes, choosing her words carefully, each delivered with the weight of memory and regret. “I was taken… away from everypony I knew, and any security I had ever felt. I survived monsters trying to turn me into one of them by breaking my spirit… and then I was… bought.” She had to swallow and take a small sip of water. “I was a servant. In silence. Absolute silence. An entity existing in fear of any sound ending me. I lost who I was for a long time… and when I was found”—she licked her suddenly dry lips before her eyes left her counterpart’s and focused on the empty plate in front of her—“I wasn’t me anymore.”

Twilight took over at that point, to divert from the distraught ‘Allure’, and to cut off any other awkward questions the local Sweetie might have. “When we heard somepony had been captured, I arranged a rescue party immediately.” She grimaced a little at the memory. “We arrived an instant too late; Sw-she had already been taken.” Twilight covered her slight mistake with a somber sip of her drink.

“But how did you get her back?” Sweetie Belle asked, wide-eyed. She was clearly enjoying the story, and completely failed to notice the air of discomfort hovering over the table. For her part, Twilight covered her own well as she continued to explain.

“I bargained for her,” Twilight said, as if she had merely bought a sack of potatoes. “Not with the thing that had taken her,” Twilight clarified, “but with the powers that kept her away. We worked out an arrangement, and we were given the opportunity to try to call her back.”

“Bargained?” Sweetie Belle started to ask, only to be shushed by her sister. This sparked a quiet bickering session between the two that ended only when dessert had arrived.

It was quite literally dream-stuff, flavored to such an impossibly intense and delicious degree that it was like experiencing a vivid lucid dream in one’s mouth. Still, ‘Allure’ found herself dwelling on the earlier conversation, and the wound it had re-opened, as well as how she would ever be able to explain something so personal, so deeply embedded in her soul to anypony.

The meal, however delicious, eventually came to a close, and it was a very weary ‘Allure’ that found her way back to the hotel, still being questioned by the local Sweetie Belle as to the nature of being a changeling until Rarity practically shoved the filly into the room they were sharing.

She breathed a sigh of relief, and Twilight chuckled.

“Well, that has got to be the strangest story of self-discovery I’ve ever heard.”

The changelings all groaned at the joke, but it left a smile on Sweetie’s face.

o.0.o

Sweetie ran through the Hedge, where grasping thorns ripped at her, and the horrible sound of a bone -wrought baton tapping followed her through the nightmarish dimension.

She had to get away. She had to find an escape, but even that idea was nebulous as the path ran between a thorny passage, through worlds she had seen and felt, tasted, and smelled. She watched Octavia die, and that Octavia froze into a statue of marble bleeding granite, while a statue of Vinyl Scratch wept crimson tears.

She ducked past the horrific tableau as the tapping grew nearer, and the sound started to change the thorns into gold and obsidian serpents. They snapped at Sweetie, filled her with their venom, changed her, robbed her of her equinity. Her bones burned cold as the venom ate away at them, leaving stone as it slithered through her veins towards her heart, which sang with her local double’s heartbreaking innocence.

Sweetie tore her way free as she felt some vast evil behind her. She ran towards the only escape she could find: a cliff of solid granite, overlooking a sea of staring faces, full of compassion but devoid of comfort. She hesitated at the brink, while the tapping of the baton drew closer and closer. She waited there, until she saw a shape loom large from out of the brambles behind her, terrifying and unknowable as it tapped its baton on the ground as if signaling the start of a show.

For a moment, Sweetie felt compelled to join him, and sing in his chorus of screams and torment, until those empty eyes reached into her and the shape leapt for her like some feral creature. Sweetie leapt off the cliff, felt its talons closing about her hoof…

And hit the floor of her room, blanket tangled around her hoof. Sweetie curled up, breathing harshly as she recovered from the hideous nightmare. She took a few moments to remember where she was and what had happened. She was in a tent that had been prepared for her in the Citadel. It had been two days since her local self had performed so beautifully in Hollow Shades.

The sounds of construction droned distantly, but judging by the light, it was just past dawn. The tent was still cramped, but it was most definitely hers. There was a small, but well-made bed that had been crafted to her measurements in less than a day by a clipped, impatient changeling.

Twilight had helped her pick the place, and by that token, her neighbors. She didn’t know how long she was going to be there, but Twilight had insisted on planning for an extended stay. Now she lived beside three other changelings, right up against the inner wall, in close proximity to Twilight and Luna’s quarters.

Nearby, she could hear an argument brewing between two of her neighbors. Bright Light was usually a very easygoing and courteous neighbor, but now he was shouting.

“Look, it’s not my fault you don’t understand but just don’t do that!”

“Look,” another voice said angrily, “I can’t sleep with that light on, so I put it out, what’s the big deal?”

“The big deal?!” Bright Light thundered, and his tent started to glow, “The big deal?! The big deal is that you just don’t DO that! Things come in the night, in the dark!”

As Sweetie watched from inside her tent, other ponies, changelings and non-changelings, began to gather nearby. And right as the second voice started to respond, the argument ended with a thud and a scramble from the gathered ponies. Sweetie quickly went to the door of her tent to find Bright Light, the narrow-framed changeling earth pony, struggling to get at a clearly non-changeling pony, fury etched on his usually calm features.

“You don’t know!” Bright Light wailed, as froth collected at the corners of his mouth, “It could have brought them, you don’t know!”

“You’re nuts!” the other pony shouted back furiously, as his nose bled freely onto the ground, “You’ve cracked, brother! Siblings or not, I can’t take this anymore! I’m out!” He shook the changelings who had been restraining him off, and left his brother, who was still thrashing like a mad thing.

Sweetie had enjoyed having Bright Light as a neighbor, as he had been quiet and a bit shy, but now he thrashed and spouted gibberish until the changelings holding him calmed him down with soft words. Bright Light broke down as the madness left him, and sobbed into the stoney ground.

A voice from nearby said quietly, “What a shame.”

Sweetie looked over swiftly, she hadn’t heard anypony approach, but beside her was the silhouette of the librarian she had met earlier: Perceival. He smiled at her, possibly, but the look was tinged with sadness.

At Sweetie’s continued silence, Perceival went on, “Bright Light was doing so well. He’s really a sweet stallion, but… I don’t think his brother really understands what’s happened to him.”

Sweetie glanced around at the other changelings and the few ‘normal’ ponies. “None of them really do, do they? They can’t.”

“They can empathize,” Perceival said with an agreeable tone as Bright Light was helped back into his tent, still sobbing brokenly. “But none of them could ever truly understand.” Perceival fell silent after that. There was really not much else to add. For all his airs of a carefree nature and friendliness, she had never heard any details about Perceival’s past, or even the suggestion that he had indeed even had one before joining the Citadel.

Another changeling stepped from his tent nearby, yawning and breaking Sweetie’s concentration on the librarian. He was of average height and build with features that blurred together. His body was like molten silver given form, but his mouth was often split in a too-wide grin, usually while telling some impossible story. Slick, Sweetie recalled the other ponies and changelings calling him. He was the quietest neighbor one could ask for, by dint of sleeping in other ponies’ beds most nights.

“Don’t let me break up the date here,” he said with that disconcertingly wide grin.

Perceival snorted. Slick was forever intimating that everypony was dating everypony else, often adding lascivious details, for added believability. He was a friendly enough sort, but it was almost impossible to pick out the truth from the lies that flowed freely from his mouth. Sweetie didn’t much care for him because of that, but they rarely crossed paths.

Today though, Slick looked Sweetie up and down, and asked brazenly, “Care to get some lunch today, maybe find someplace to talk about other things somewhere?”

“I’ll pass.” Sweetie snorted. “I think I have a few errands to do, Slick.”

Slick gave Sweetie a knowing look, as if he were in on some secret of hers, and nudged one of the unimpressed changelings nearby. “A few errands, she says,” he added, to underline his licentious implication. When it became clear that nopony was believing him, he winked at Sweetie and sauntered off, as if the exchange had gone just as he’d planned.

“I imagine Diamond Tiara would end up like that if she didn’t have Silver Spoon around to second her,” Sweetie mused.

Perceival sniffed disapprovingly. “That pony… I swear, by tomorrow he’ll be telling tales about how we poured out our secrets all to him, which were simply so outrageous he couldn’t hold his silence.” He sighed with a shake of his head. “Fortunately nopony with an ounce of sense listens to him, but, to be fair”—he grinned at Sweetie, which made his white teeth shine in his silhouette of a face—“it would probably be some very outrageous secrets.”

“I still don’t like being lied about by ponies like him,” Sweetie said, frowning. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but every word Slick says feels like I’ve been rolling around in burnt oil.”

Perceival shrugged. “None of us like him talking like that, but he can’t really help it. It’s how he is. Oh,” Perceival said suddenly, “but that reminds me: the Citadel’s shipment of lamp oil is late. I was wondering if you’d like to come with me to Manehattan, to find out why. All our shipments go through the post office in Ponyville, you see, and they told us it hasn’t come in yet, so I’ll have to visit the distributor and see what’s going on. It’s not the most exciting trip in Equestria, but it’d be nice to have some company on the journey, if you haven’t found a job around here yet.”

“That sounds great!” She grinned. “Much better than staying here and doing nothing…” Her smile faded into a frown. “I’ve asked around, but most of my skills would only land me work at a library, doing magical research or as an assassin for hire… I don’t really want to do the last one, and the other two are a bit limited in capacity.”

Perceival chuckled as he led the way back towards the Citadel proper. “Well if you ever want to be my assistant, I can always use a helping hoof in the library, though who knows what Slick will say about us if that happens.”

Sweetie huffed. “If he says anything, it’ll be thoughtful and considerate after I have a few choice words with him.”

“From Slick?” Perceival let out a bark of laughter, “Not likely.”

Sweetie simply grinned, as she followed Perceival into the depths of the Citadel.

o.0.o

It took the better part of an hour to prepare for the trip because, rather than taking the route through the Hedge, Perceival had bought a ticket for the train to Manehattan. While slower, he mentioned that he enjoyed the view, and indeed spent most of the trip staring out the window. Most of the ponies seemed not to realize what they were, but Sweetie heard one small voice asking about the ‘scary shadow pony’ by the window.

Perceival appeared not to notice, aside from that one foal, their differences from normal ponies seemed to go unnoticed. Yet the seats around Perceival and Sweetie were mysteriously empty, even when several ponies were standing at the far ends of the car.

To make matters more awkward, the foal who kept asking about the ‘shadow pony’ simply would not stop talking, and stared at Perceival and Sweetie for the whole three hour trip. It was aggravating, and Sweetie felt barbs of obsidian rising through her marble façade as her disquiet deepened, until a soft touch gave her pause. Perceival had gently nudged Sweetie’s hoof with his own, and as she looked over, he shook his head subtly.

Sweetie forced herself to calm down, with slow breathing and determination. Still, the foal kept talking and pointing at them, and when they reached the station, everypony stood to exit the train, a small touch on her leg made Sweetie look down.

The little filly, barely old enough to talk intelligibly, was looking up at her with wide green eyes. “Does it hurt?” the filly asked innocently, pointing at the barbs, while the sound of her parent rose in the background, annoyed and worried.

Sweetie blinked, and smiled, the barbs slowly receding as she let her guard down for the first time in what felt like years. “No, it’s okay.” She winked. “But it looks rather strange, doesn’t it?”

The foal nodded, and was about to respond when she was yanked back by a very concerned mother, who began to apologize profusely to Sweetie and Perceival, while pushing her daughter towards the exit.

o.0.o

As Sweetie and Perceival walked through the streets of Manehattan, she felt like she was alone in the woods, while still surrounded by the pulsing crowds of Manehattan itself. In the throng of ponies, Sweetie Belle and Perceival were uniquely alone. They walked through crowds of ponies who had never heard of the Hedge, and would have scoffed at the mere idea of such a place.

Perceival himself appeared unconcerned for much of the trip, and often chatted to Sweetie about the Changelings of Manehattan, of which there were a great many, apparently. Sweetie had yet to see any, but according to Perceival, the city of Manehattan was supposedly where the Changelings of Equestria had gathered en masse, in clubs and in the quiet places of the bustling city.

“But,” Sweetie interrupted, as the pair waited for a light to change, “where are they then?”

Perceival grinned his widest at that, and nodded across the street. There, at the corner of the street was a simple bookshop, the sort that was so old it didn’t need a big flashy sign. Its dark interior was lit by the light from outside, which showed an almost empty store.

“They gather in the quiet places,” Perceival explained. “Dom’s Books, for example,” Perceival said as the light changed and they crossed the street. “No one really goes in, but he likes it that way.”

As they approached, Sweetie could see the counter through the window, while behind it a pony-like shape sat. It was made of paper, with hooves made like stitched-together book covers. Its eyes were burnt holes, through which brass fasteners boredly perused a newspaper.

Sweetie looked at him, and felt a chill as he looked up, his eyes like empty metal buttons. Then he waved to Perceival, who grinned at him in an affable fashion. Sweetie knew that the bookshop owner was probably friendly, but she felt no happier for having seen the strange pony, though she tried to smile.

“It’s like that everywhere here,” Perceival said cheerily, while the crowd flowed around them and they continued past the bookshop. “In the quiet places, the dark corners. Changelings have always hidden, until now.”

It was like a fog had lifted; Sweetie felt the dark corners of the city everywhere. She felt the crowd flowing around her and Perceival, and the unconscious distance the ponies gave them.

It was like being invisible, and the thought brought with it a sense of isolation and sorrow that was as unexpected as it was powerful. Here, amongst the seething crowds of ponies, Sweetie felt alone in the dark. It was not just that the ponies here didn’t know her, and didn’t understand what she’d gone through, but that they couldn’t know, and could never understand.

“Now that Dame Twilight has brought us to the light though,” Perceival continued as he led the way, focused on the streets, “we don’t need all this darkness, and we can all pull together.”

Sweetie thought of the bookshop and shivered. She knew she shouldn’t be unnerved, the changeling in that shop was likely as kind as he was odd, but she felt a yearning for her life before this whole ordeal.

Her dark musings were interrupted when Perceival suddenly stopped. She bounced off of him and looked up. They had come to a large building, which was unassuming and grey, aside from its sign. And what a sign it was. It took up most of the front of the building, featuring a comically excited red pegasus admiring a lamp, surrounded by a very stylized fire.

It read, “Firebug and Bros. Lamp Oil!!! Get Fired Up!!!!” The superfluous exclamation points suggested to Sweetie that the ponies inside either really, really liked lamp oil or were rather quite insane.

“Do we need oil for lamps?” she asked after a moment’s hesitation.

“Of course!” Perceival said with a grin. “Not everypony can do light spells, and it’s not like we’ve got light switches in tents.” He led the way to the door, which was a bright fiery red, and clashed strongly with the dull grey of the walls. “These ponies might be a little… odd,” Perceival said to Sweetie as he pulled open the door, “but they—”

He broke off as something blew out from the doorway. He looked down, and stepped back from the mail that had been just inside the door.

“Odd,” Perceival said, before he scooped the letters up. They were that day’s mail, a glance told Sweetie as she caught one before it could blow away in the breeze. Perceival led the way into the reception area which was strangely deserted. The smell of lamp smoke was heavy in the air, courtesy of the multiple lamps that illuminated the room in a warm, golden glow.

On the desk at the back wall, another lantern burned low. It was a small one, and appeared to be a display piece that had been left burning all night. The oil in its reservoir was quite low, and as Perceival walked over and turned the lamp down, he gave Sweetie the first unsure look she’d seen on the normally unfazeable stallion.

“There’s usually somepony here… maybe they’re showing somepony around. It happens sometimes.” He nodded to the chairs nearby.

And for a while, he and Sweetie just sat, waiting.

Minutes slipped past, when Perceival stood out of his chair and looked with concern towards the door leading to the rest of the building.

“Something’s off, there should be somepony out here,” Perceival said worriedly, “Or a fire crew going in,” he added. He walked towards the door at the back, with Sweetie following, the tension in her body mounting.

Perceival slowly pushed open the door, and the stench that washed out was incredible: it was like the worst filth from the sewers of Canterlot boiled in the uncomfortable odor of a mortuary lab, laced with the ever-present tang of lamp oil. The inside of the hallway was lit fitfully by a lone lamp, which cast scattered light over the shattered remains of what had most likely been its fellow lamps, and illuminated a red splatter covering most of the wall.

Perceival swallowed hard, and started to back up. “Sweetie,” Perceival said slowly, tension filling his voice, “I think we should go find—”

A voice called quietly but distinctly. It sounded like a pony, but either very hurt or very distant. Perceival hesitated, swallowed again, and stepped into the hall.

Sweetie tried holding her breath while forcing herself to follow in Perceival’s wake.

The crunch of broken glass on the floor punctuated the tense, breathless silence in that malodorous hallway. The stench only got worse as they reached the door, which had been marked ‘Packing,’ and when it budged slowly open under Perceival’s steady hoof, the source of the smell became horribly evident. As he looked around the door, Perceival had to stifle a gasp. He froze for several seconds, until Sweetie pushed her head past him and saw the body.

It was a young stallion, probably just into adulthood. He was bright white where he hadn’t been splashed crimson, with a straight mane that was a soft pink. It looked as if he’d been attacked by a wild animal: a large predator, given the ferocity of the attack and the tooth marks. His eyes had been locked in a horrified look, directed straight up at Perceival, who remained frozen, murmuring.

“Spark… no… how are they here?”

After a moment, the cry sounded again, and Perceival shook himself. He led Sweetie past the body as quickly as he could, possibly so she would not dwell on the stallion, who had been much her own age, as well as to distance himself from the staring eyes.

The lamp oil made by Firebug and Bros. was only packaged safely by the grace of several dozen layers of anti-fire spells on the building, and in this part it became immediately evident that some of them had been sorely tested. There was still smoke lingering on the ceiling above, high up amongst the poorly lit rafters, and by the way everything had been smashed, it looked as though a fight had occurred.

Boxes had been destroyed, bottles of oil tossed about and shattered to spill their contents upon the concrete floor of the warehouse. A whole section of pallets had been set ablaze, and were still burning sullenly in the corner. The smell of smoke was cloying and warred with the stench of death for the most horrible scent in the room.

Sweetie was uncomfortably aware that they were effectively in a big room full of flammable liquids, possibly with the creature that had ended the stallion’s life. She could still feel his staring eyes, through the shadows and distance as she and Perceival navigated the toppled piles and stray bottles, following the steadily stronger cry for help.

They rounded a corner, and almost bumped into a second body, so thick was the smell of smoke and blood in the room, and the dimness of the lighting. It was another stallion, this one older, and smashed into the pallets of oil like he had been thrown there. His neck was at an impossible angle, and Sweetie didn’t look too hard at the other damage being thrown into a heavy wooden box full of glass bottles had done.

Perceival took a deep breath, as unwise as that was at that moment, and looked back at Sweetie. “We need to call the guard,” he whispered softly, “Let them know what’s—”

He was cut off as a voice from nearby let out a horrible scream, followed by a crash and a triumphant snarl. For all his evident fear, Perceival wasted no time leading the way around the corner, where a large, hulking form was bashing itself against the door to the packaging office.

Its huge bulk was overshadowed only by the wrath and hunger the creature was unleashing against the stout door to the office. Bringing a lamp oil distribution company into the middle of Manehattan had meant a lot of fire codes, so the door was quite thick, designed to section off a fire from the important-paper-filled office.

Its thick, hardy construction was foiling the beast’s assault, judging by the well-dented door and scarred walls, having been going on for some time. It was so intent on the door though, and the screams of terror echoing from inside the office, that it hadn’t noticed Perceival or Sweetie Belle yet. Perceival started to slowly back up, his eyes locked on the creature, when his hoof happened upon a stray bottle, sending it clattering out across the concrete floor.

At the sound, the creature turned. Perceival froze as the massive predator faced towards them. Sweetie had fought the creatures before, but without the dulling thrum of combat in her veins, they were a lot more terrifying. The matted, brown fur of the creature danced with the fitful light of the surviving oil lamps and the nearby fire as muscles moved beneath the fur sliding unsettlingly across each other in its flesh.

For a heavy few seconds, nothing happened, then Sweetie felt Perceival slam into her, driving her across the oil-slick floor away as he pushed off towards the wall, shouting. The creature, assuming Perceival was about to be cornered, ignored Sweetie for that moment, and pounded towards the silhouette of a stallion.

For a moment, things looked grim for Perceival as the beastly thing began to leap, only to bite down on the wall as the changeling stallion proceeded straight up the shadowy wall, his hooves merging with the darkness itself. Unfortunately, he had timed his ruse too late, for the creature snarled with rage at being fooled into taking a bite of concrete, and leapt for Perceival, who could not quite get away fast enough. One huge paw smacked him hard off the wall, and sent him sprawling across, until he rolled to a stop, unmoving.

As the beast approached the still form of the changeling, the whole room was covered in absolute darkness.

“Step away from him!” Sweetie shouted as the beast balked. She galloped forth, her flames surging towards the creature, invisible to all but her. When the beast reacted, jumping back from their heat, she followed up by summoning Akela through a miniature portal and promptly slicing through its knee’s ligaments.

The creature howled in pain and fury, but there are few injuries that could convince a member of the Pack to back down. It lunged on its three good legs straight through the flames towards Sweetie, its eyes mad with a rage that burned like the heart of Tartarus itself.

Still, it could not see, so as it lunged, it misjudged the distance and crashed hard into the fire, covering its pain in a fresh layer of agony. It rose, fur alight, and tried to throw itself blindly in where it thought Sweetie was.

Sweetie side-stepped, keeping her distance but also drawing it away from the door and from Perceival by peppering him with a spray of brambles. Akela sliced across the creature’s arm, then its face, and Sweetie kept a close eye on the berserking monster, waiting for an opening.

The thing’s face twisted in fury and pain as life dripped from its body, but every snap for Sweetie was quick and precise, as the creature instinctively kept itself facing where it thought Sweetie was. Even slashing across its face had done little to dull its predatory senses, but the creature was starting to slow. In its hungered, feral brain it knew it was running out of strength, so in a mad effort, it smashed into a large pallet of oil bottles, spreading burning oil across the floor even further, while coating itself in the process, intensifying the pain and rage burning across its features.

The slickness of the floor warred with the danger of fire, but worse still, Sweetie saw the burning oil beginning to trickle towards Perceival, who was just starting to stir. She had to end this quickly, otherwise the mad beast would light the whole building aflame, fire suppression spells be damned.

“Damn you!” Sweetie swore. Gritting her teeth, Sweetie snarled, spinning Akela as fast as she could, just like she had that time she had fought the golems under the mountain. With a cracking boom, Akela shot through the creature’s forehead, exploding out of the back of it’s head with tremendous force.

The creature spasmed for a second before collapsing in a heap just as she dismissed the darkness. She conjured her elemental spells, ordering the earth up to create a small pool for the burning oil to gather in while she galloped up to her friend.

Perceival was dazed, but rapidly coming to as the smell of smoke kickstarted the more survival-oriented portions of his brain. “What-” the shadowy pony coughed. “Where is…” Perceival trailed off as he spotted the large, hairy corpse. His bright eyes were wide as he turned to Sweetie and asked slowly, “Was there only one?”

At Sweetie’s nod, Perceival started to lever himself up, his eyes unfocusing as vertigo took its toll on him.

“Th-there’s never just one,” Perceival said grimly, his voice steadying a little. As if on cue, a low growl sounded, just audible over the crackling of the fire. Movements in the smoke across the room were dimly visible, and at least three large, hulking figures were moving about the room.

As Sweetie started to think about a plan of attack, Perceival leaned heavily on her, and when she looked up, she saw that he was shakily pointing to the dented door of the office with one hoof.

“There,” he said, for emphasis, “help me Sweetie. It’s our only shot, and we’re not leaving him.” Perceival sounded half-delirious, but Sweetie knew she couldn’t defend him and fight off three of the things.

Sweetie helped the injured changeling to the door, warped from the beast’s blows and locked, but at a push of his hoof and a whisper of power heard on some deep, fundamental level, it gave. The door scraped open, but quickly hit a barricade. “Stay back!” a frightened male voice called out. “I-I’ve got a”—there was a pause—“a decorative ornament, but it would really hurt!”

“We can get you out of here,” Perceival said firmly, to Sweetie’s surprise as she shoved a path through the debris of the hasty barricade, with Perceival’s weak help.

At the promise of leaving the burning building, the earth pony stallion emerged and began to dig at the junk in front of the door. He was about Perceival’s height, with a fiery red mane and orange coat. His cutie mark of a burning lamp, the same as the one on the enthusiastic sign outside, suggested to Sweetie that he might be one of the owners.

His orange eyes were bloodshot from smoke, but the stallion hauled the big desk that was blocking the way out long enough for Perceival and Sweetie to slip in. At that exact moment, something huge and angry hit the metal door with tremendous force.

“Seal it!” Perceival shouted as he staggered towards the back of the office, while Sweetie and the stallion worked to shove the desk back up against the door. “I need time, as much as you can give me!”

Sweetie didn’t question the dark unicorn, and heaved with all her might. It was slow, but the creature couldn’t do more than shove with its arm against the door. As the creature backed off for another hard shove, Sweetie and the stallion managed to set the desk at an angle so it wedged the door, at least temporarily. Sweetie jumped up on the desk as the creature roared and hit the door hard enough to make the impromptu barricade give a little as the stallion began to scream again.

Sweetie ignored his cries and concentrated on her magic. White fire started to spray from her horn to the metal edge of the door, which began to fuse with the frame. It was hard work, especially as the door came under increasing attack by the creature and its fellows, which began to hammer on the walls as well. Welding with magic wasn’t easy to begin with, and it was an exhausted Sweetie Belle that fell back from the door, still molten metal coating its middle third, sealing them inside.

“That should hold them,” Sweetie said absently, only to be grabbed unexpectedly by the stallion.

“But now we’re trapped,” he wailed, “trapped like rats!” The stallion’s eyes were wide and rolling, and his ears were flat-back with terror. His coat was grubby with soot and sweat, and now that she had some breathing room, Sweetie noticed he was splattered with blood. He had probably seen more than anypony should have to, and, Sweetie realized with a sick feeling in her gut, he had probably seen it happen to his family, if the cutie mark was any connection to the owner.

Sweetie pushed him off as gently as she could, given the circumstances, and called to Perceival. “How’s that escape going?” She moved towards the dim back of the office, where she stopped. Perceival had made an arch out of boxes and desks like a colt with too much time and office supplies on his hooves, and was retching in the corner as his concussion continued to vex his equilibrium. “What,” Sweetie asked in alarm, “is that?”

Perceival looked up shakily and wiped his mouth, “An exit,” he said weakly. At Sweetie’s look, he walked over to the arch, and rested his head against it. Sweetie seriously started to consider the possibility that Perceival had hit his head a good deal harder than she had thought. The stallion they were rescuing, however, took it a great deal less well.

“An exit?!” The stallion’s voice rose sharply in pitch. “It’s a bunch of junk! You’re praying to junk to save us?! This is insane! You’re insane!” The stallion backed away, as if he could hide from the whole situation in the corner of the office. “We’re all going to die! We’re going to get eaten and die!” The stallion babbled on in broken fragments of fear and despair.

Sweetie looked to Perceival for support, and gaped. Beside the dark librarian, the arch way now had a lot more depth. It was as if she was looking into the small space beyond the arch, but compressed inside that space was a whole lot more room. Perceival grinned at her weakly.

“Never seen a door before?” he asked jokingly. “Come on, grab our friend there and let’s go, before it closes.”

It took a bit of effort to drag the babbling stallion from the room and into the mysterious portal, especially with Perceival as unsteady on his hooves as he was. In the end, it was a particularly hard slam against the concrete wall that convinced the traumatized pony to trust the magical portal. They all proceeded through together, into a place so dark and terrible, Sweetie briefly turned to go back, but where there had been a hole, there was now just a drifting, vague suggestion of a room, and the echo of a roar of fury.

Perceival chuckled. “That’ll teach em,” he said quietly. He looked around, and Sweetie realized they were in a circular chamber surrounded by pillars of stone. The smell of decay was thick in the air, and rose in clouds from noxious liquids pouring from small holes in the crumbling, cobblestone walls and dribbling around their hooves, but it wasn’t full of smoke at least. In eight directions, narrow tunnels promised a possible escape, each one glistening with the stains of centuries, lit by the passing lights of some sort of floating, glowing motes.

“Don’t touch them,” Perceival warned their companion as he started to reach for the light, dazed and confused.

He pulled back, and Perceival levitated up a rock with shaky telekinesis, then tossed it. Immediately, the rock was swarmed by the little lights, and it dropped, red hot, into a pool of the liquid, where it sizzled and burned blue, consuming the stone. The motes fed on the blue flame, while Sweetie and the stallion looked on in alarm.

“We’re going to die,” the stallion said weakly, and Sweetie was hard-pressed to disagree. “Where are we?”

“I didn’t think we’d end up in the Sewers,” he said mostly to himself, but with a trace of apology. “But there’s no help for it. We’ll just have to try to find the path out.” He realized he’d been asked a question and turned back to the others. “The Sewers, they’re a…” Perceival trailed off as he tried to think of a way to explain the Hedge to somepony who had never had the dubious ‘gift’ of being a changeling. “Well,” he said, giving up, “there’s a path out to Manehattan, somewhere nearby.”

“Somewhere?” Sweetie asked, eyeing the narrow passages, while the stallion behind her simply started to sob quietly. “How far?”

“Close,” Perceival said maddeningly. “The Thorns have been pushed back here,” he indicated the smooth if filthy walls where, if Sweetie looked closely enough, she thought she could see where the vines had been ripped from the stonework. “I think we’re on a fresh path.” The way Perceival said it gave Sweetie pause. The battered librarian was eyeing the paths warily, as if watching for something, or listening for something besides the sound of dripping water.

Sweetie swallowed as the bit dropped and she realized, if something had cleared this path, it could come that way again.

“Come on,” Perceival said with a touch of his old smile. “Let’s get moving. The sooner we do, the sooner we can tell somepony about all this.”

The pair of them had to nudge the stallion to walk with them, and then practically shove him into the small tunnel, which was cramped, and only wide enough for the ponies to proceed with their bellies practically dragging through the sludge oozing down the center.

It was hard on their legs, the smell was like a fermented sock wrapped in ancient seaweed, and they had to freeze frequently to let the little, drifting lights shoot past. More than once they had to squeeze by the sharp edges of thorns that had been left standing. By the time they reached another open chamber, everypony was panting and covered in cuts.

They had entered a chamber barely large enough to deserve the distinction. It had nine uneven sides, each of which sported a new passage, excepting the one they’d arrived in. Something about the way none of the walls matched up was marginally more disconcerting than the cramped, claustrophobic passages.

At least there aren’t any thorns here, Sweetie thought, as she looked around the dripping, filthy walls of their relative sanctuary.

Sweetie looked over at Perceival in that moment of relative calm. He was heaving in the corner, his concussion having blended with the stench into one nauseating experience. As he looked up, he tried to smile at Sweetie, who returned the gesture. It felt hollow, in that grim place, bleeding from over a dozen minor wounds.

It was their companion that spoke up first during the brief respite. “Do you think my brothers are alright?” The question hung in the silence like a lead weight. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he continued softly, “It was little Spark’s first day.” There was a glazed quality about the stallion’s eyes as he went on, “He’d begged me to let him work in the factory with everypony else.”

Perceival looked away, while the stallion continued, his voice several soft shades of dull horror.

“I hope it’s not just Firebug’s Lamp Oil now. I-I wouldn’t know what to do by myself.” Firebug had the look of a pony caught in a nightmare.

“Well,” Perceival started to say, when a low growl rumbled to Sweetie’s right, shaking the walls and cracking off pieces of masonry. Firebug shrunk closer to one of the passages, while Sweetie and Perceival rode out the predatory tremor. A chunk of the ceiling broke loose, and with it, what remained of Firebug’s courage. He scrambled into the nearest passage, disregarding the thorns bloodying his coat further.

Sweetie tried to grab for him with her magic, but the stallion was lost in primal terror, and he simply dragged her down further into the darkness. Perceival grabbed ahold of Sweetie with his telekinesis, like an ink-black grip around her hind legs. For a moment, the three were perfectly balanced, with Firebug grasping vainly for anything at all, Sweetie hanging on grimly to his legs and tail, Perceival with his legs braced on the entrance, pulling with all of his mental might. Then, quite suddenly, a rushing noise began to build behind them.

Sweetie looked back and saw a darkness swallowing up the lights, filled with spots of blue flame, where they feasted in what could only be called a wave. It was rushing towards them, like a reeking hoof pushing them through the dark passages.

“Percy!” Sweetie shouted urgently, “Get in!” Perceival looked back, and his white eyes widened as they took in the overwhelming threat.

Perceival wasted no time, and shifted his magical pull into a push as he jumped in, introducing Sweetie very personally to Firebug in the process. But then the rush of liquid was flowing around them, pushing the three ponies towards an uncertain fate, with the flaring, popping sounds of the lights feasting growing ever closer. The claws of the passage tore at them as they half-slid, half-rolled down what was possibly the worst waterslide Sweetie had ever envisioned.

Firebug screamed the whole way, and Sweetie echoed his sentiment, as did Perceival when the horrible fluid caught up to them and began to push them with a wave of palpable stench through the tunnel. Then Sweetie felt abruptly weightless, but it passed quickly.

The corridor had at some point ended so abruptly that none of the ponies immediately registered the change. She looked down, and saw below her a forest of sharp, glowing crystal spears. She and the others had burst into a wide open space, filled with a half dome of some ancient ruin and sharp, glowing crystals that grew like trees from the stony floor. Firebug had somehow managed to cling to her in mid-air, while Perceival flailed helplessly behind as they all began to fall.

Sweetie screamed with Firebug, who screamed ever louder for the encouragement. Perceival was shouting something, but terror was louder than words. She couldn’t fly, couldn’t defend herself, she was falling and was going to die, she knew. She thought of Twilight, of everything that she still had left to do. She saw her mentor’s face shattering, and that’s about when Perceival hit her.

He had bounced off of one of the nearby taller spires of crystal, and hit her, seemingly by chance, in mid-air. This was just enough to divert Sweetie from the crystals to the wall of the dome, which was just curved enough that she and Firebug didn’t quite break all of their ribs when they hit it. Sweetie and Firebug rolled down, towards the floor, cushioning each other’s fall until they landed in a tangled heap at the bottom.

Sweetie’s ears were ringing, a coppery taste filled her mouth and every part of her body felt like she’d spent a day in a rock tumbler. She groaned and tried to rise, while her mind automatically went through a mental checklist, cataloguing her various injuries for later aches.

“F-Firebug?” Sweetie asked of the stallion, but he appeared unconscious. She tried to rouse him, but to no avail.

Sweetie disentangled herself painfully, wincing all the way. When she looked, she noticed a small shard of crystal was embedded in her side, glowing spitefully like an ember. Sweetie pulled it out with her magic, and cast it aside. It skipped into the darkness, bounced up when it hit something, and a very familiar, weak “Ow,” reminded the dazed Sweetie that there was one pony missing from their group.

Sweetie limped in the direction of the sound, and stopped. Perceival was stuck on one of the crystal pillars, about ten feet off the ground. His blood dripped down the immaculate facets of the large crystals’ glowing geometry that had been driven through his right side. His eyes were half-shut, but he spotted her.

“It worked,” Perceival said softly as he relaxed. He grimaced as relaxing made the crystal-wrought wound widen. More blood spilled down the crystal, pooling now a little around the base.

“Percy,” Sweetie whispered in horror. “What did you do?”

Perceival gave Sweetie a little smile, strained but still warm. “Bargained,” he said simply, “My luck, for your fate. I bought the contract a—” He fell quiet for a second as the wound sent a ripple of pain through his body. “I bought the rights to the contract a while ago, to protect Dame Twilight, if necessary.” He gave Sweetie a once-over, despite his own wound. “How hurt are you?”

Sweetie shook her head. “I’m okay, I had a splinter on my side, but it was nothing… are you going to—” she bit back her words. “Are you going to be alright?”

“My luck,” Perceival repeated gently, “for your fate.” He grimaced, “You have to get back to- to Twilight. With Firebug, if you can.” He swallowed, and his limbs twitched with another wave of repressed agony. “You have my luck now,” he said with as much encouragement as he could muster. “You have to use—”

Perceival went quiet as the whole forest shook. It rumbled with a laughter that was deep and terrible. Perceival’s eyes widened with sudden terror, and he looked down at Sweetie desperately.

“Run, Sweetie! Find the iron arch, as quickly as you ca—”

He screamed as something snapped the crystal spire from its base. The crystal impaling him cracked at its point of entry when he hit the stone floor, but it stayed miraculously whole otherwise, while shards of crystal rained everywhere.

From all around, thunderous growls filled the crystal cavern, which added an eerie resonance to the already antagonistic rumble. Some were mocking, others eager, but all of them sounded hungry. Then one voice, sweet and honeyed, rose above the tumult, which fell quiet in respect.

“Well, isn’t this a charming surprise.”

Sweetie twirled around, placing herself between Percy, Firebug and the voice. “I know you! Don’t think this time around you can defeat me so easily, Beast! I should tear you to shreds for what you’ve done to me and other ponies!”

In the glow of the crystals, a face rose above the lurking shadows, eyes like glowing orange fires set within a predatory muzzle, which was split into a wide, hungry grin. “I would dearly love to see you try, but you’re injured, bloodied, and far too weak to even put up much more of a fight than your friend there.” His mocking eyes turned to Firebug, who had curled up entirely, conscious but quivering in terror. “Always nice to see a mortal that knows their place.”

“Leave him alone. Leave them both alone!” Sweetie demanded, standing her ground. A portal opened and Akela flew out, hovering almost innocently next to Sweetie. “I’ve already claimed the lives of a whole bunch of your pathetic werewolves. I think that I can at least ensure seeing a ‘mortal cower’ is going to be the last thing you use those big targets you call eyes see.”

A second pair of eyes opened above the first pair, and all four looked, for a moment, enraged. Then a calm filled the form of the Beast, towering as he did above the ponies. “Such spirit, yes,” he mused, his sweet tones cloying like the scent of a powerful perfume, “I can see why the Maestro had such trouble with you.”

He shook his monstrous head, and in an instant, his whole manner had changed. “In that case, I propose an exchange.” At Sweetie’s frozen expression he added, “Well, if you’re going to fight me the whole way, I probably will have entirely too much trouble capturing you with anything like acceptable casualties.” His sneer took in the Pack around him, and showed off his shark-like teeth. “And my Pack is annoying to replace. So, if I can’t have you… how about your friends there?” At those words, the Pack shuffled closer, like chained dogs eagerly awaiting a treat.

Sweetie snorted. “As if I would let that happen!”

“Well,” The Beast said with a smile, “you can defend yourself, but can you also defend a coward”—Firebug curled up tighter, as if trying to will himself from existence—“and a cripple?” He indicated the bleeding Perceival. “And even if you do, will they survive?” He grinned in the little silence that followed, broken only by the slavering of his Pack. “So, how about we make a game of it?”

“A game?” Sweetie asked, stepping back protectively to make sure she was closer to Percy and Firebug. “What sort of game?”

“A hunt,” The Beast said simply. “Have you ever hunted, little pony? Ever sought a breathing creature, to taste its flesh and feel its blood in your mouth?” Some of the nearer Pack members were drooling as he continued, smirking. “For the ultimate stakes: your freedom, and that of Perceival, the Shadow Librarian, and Firebug, the proprietor of Firebug and… well, just Firebug, I suppose.” His grin was as cold as it was cruel, and Firebug began to shake with more than fear. “I’ll even throw in a special prize, if you win.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened. “You guarantee that Perceival and Firebug will reach Twilight’s Citadel alive, without further harm from you or your pack?”

“We shall never hunt them, or harm them, if you agree,” the Beast said, with two clawed talons raised in a parody of the Colt Scouts. “They shall have safe conduct from here to the Citadel of the Changelings, but you, Sweetie Belle, must return through this gate three weeks, three days, and three hours from the sealing of this bargain.” His smile turned cold, “If you fail to do so, or are late, if by even a minute, you and they will be found, and… well I’m sure someone will want”—he looked Sweetie up and down—“damaged goods.

“If you are punctual, and succeed however,” he said, voice oozing contempt for that idea, “me and mine shall never hunt them, or you, and...” A massive hand reached over and snapped off a section of one of the crystal spires like a toothpick. It held its palm upright, and the crystal shard began to hover over it, then slowly turn purple, and more jagged. “A certain shard shall be yours.”

Sweetie gasped. “But… how?” She frowned. “How do I even know you have it? For all I know that’s fake.”

The Beast snarled, like a predatory whip-crack that sent primal fear shuddering through every backbone, before his voice fell back into its usual sweet tones, “Your ignorance betrays you, Sweetie Belle, I cannot lie. The shard of your mentor is mine, but it can be yours, should you win.” He clenched his taloned hand around the crystal, powdering it, “If you don’t, well, I’m sure someone wants it.” He sneered as he said the last few words, shaking off a shrapnel of crystal fragments.

“You might say you can’t lie, but ‘not lying’ doesn’t always mean you are telling the truth. Swear to me it’s the real thing and you’ve got a deal,” Sweetie said, looking the Beast in the eyes.

“Very well.” He towered over everything in the room, like a looming shadow made of every prey animal’s nightmare rolled into a massive, hulking form. “Upon my true name, I swear that I deceive thee not. The shard I offer is a piece of the soul of Twilight Sparkle, mentor to Sweetie Belle.” The Beast’s tones had shifted to iron certainty, as though they were reshaping reality. “If thou swearest to enter into the compact I told thee earlier, then it shall be thy prize, along with the freedom from the hunt and harm of myself and my kin forevermore.”

Sweetie closed her eyes and let out a very slow breath. “I swear.”

“Then as of this moment, the pact is bound. You must return in three weeks, three days and three hours, as of your departure from the Hedge,” the Beast said smugly, leaning in to extend a claw to Sweetie. It was almost as big as her whole body, but it was clearly extended peacefully. It leaned in and touched Sweetie’s horn for just an instant, and a ripple ran through Sweetie, as if something in her fate had altered.

At that moment, a movement caught Sweetie’s eye and she pulled back reflexively, just in time for a spear of crystal to land where she had been not a moment before. Sweetie started to accuse the Beast of complicity, but he was already snarling and peering up as a figure dropped gracefully from above, riding the broken shard of a crystal pillar down.

Sweetie pulled Akela in front of her, but as the creature leapt for her, Sweetie felt a cold shock run through her. It was made of sticks and debris, but its face was a horrible, artificial mockery of her own, made of bits of obsidian and bone. Its magic shone the same color as her own as it steered the crystal towards Sweetie’s face, and the desperate fury in its eyes was like a window into insanity.

Her guard had dropped slightly in that instant, but at that precise moment, the Beast’s own paw-like hand closed around the creature, crystal and all.

“It seems I shall save your life twice this night,” the Beast said, almost conversationally while from between its fingers screams of fury filtered out. He squeezed, and the creature screamed as the crystal shattered, undoubtedly filling it with shards. The sound was identical to Sweetie’s own scream, and it sent chills up the unicorn’s spine to hear herself screaming in pain.

The Beast’s hand unclenched, and it caught in its talons a tiny struggling form, pierced with a dozen or so thin lances of crystal. It screamed in fury at the Beast, and at Sweetie Belle down below, thrashing despite the crystal piercing its limbs. Bits of obsidian and tiny bits of bone rained down, like drops of solid blood.

“How terribly ironic,” the Beast sneered, as the creature tried to free itself, lunging for Sweetie even while suspended above her. “It seems you know each other then. Tell me, Sweetie Belle, do you know what this creature is?”

As Sweetie was about to say ‘no,’ the creature piped up.

“Yes!” The Beast grinned as the other Sweetie thrashed and shouted, her voice identical to Sweetie Belle’s, but full of hate. “She’s a fake, a fraud! She doesn’t belong here, her life is—it should be mine!”

The Beast smiled, and dangled the artificial Sweetie above Sweetie Belle, “Look, Sweetie Belle,” he said tauntingly. “Your legacy here: everything you left behind when you were dragged away, contained in a tiny, angry package. A package known as a fetch.” The creature swore and threatened, but the Beast’s voice effortlessly overrode the small storm of profanity. “Created from what your soul left behind, plus the contents of one of the Maestro’s pockets, driven mad because you don’t really belong here. Are you proud of your legacy, Sweetie Belle?” He held the fetch still closer. “Doesn’t she have her mother’s eyes?”

Sweetie shook her head. “Why do you torture her so? Did I really create her?”

“The Maestro created her,” the Beast corrected. “But you contributed.” He grinned. “And I torment her because she is weak, and screams amusingly.” He shook the fetch, who bit her lip against screaming. “I think she wants to kill you, Sweetie Belle. What a terrible mother you’ve been.” He laughed. “But don’t worry, she won’t trouble you more tonight. This fetch will be my payment for saving your life from it.”

He tossed the hapless creature into his mouth, and stepped back into the darkness. And like that, the Pack melted away, while across the room, an iron arch waited, leading to familiar stonework. The Beast’s Pack formed a kind of honor guard, and two of the more pony-sized ones lumbered forward, claws outstretched. And yet they picked up Perceival and Firebug almost tenderly, even when the terrified Firebug began to thrash and flail.

The one holding Firebug simply held him tighter, and they looked to Sweetie. To her shock, she realized that these Pack members weren’t just pony-sized, they had horns, and their eyes were wider than the other members of the Pack she’d seen. Yet they snapped and snarled like all the rest, and it was clear that the will of the Beast was all that was preventing them from feasting. Perceival in particular was being rapidly drooled upon.

As Sweetie proceeded forward, they flanked her, and the barking, baying and screaming of the Pack heralded her as she passed through the iron arch, and into the darkest alcove of the Citadel. Immediately, alarm spells went off as the Pack members stepped through, and they let out howls of fear and confusion. They dumped Perceival and Firebug on the floor before they ran back through the arch, tails tucked between their legs.

Sweetie was immediately aware that she’d only bargained for safe conduct TO the Citadel and now she had a bleeding Perceival and a pony that alternated between deep, panicked terror and comatose trauma.

“Bastard,” she muttered, levitating the pair and rushing down the corridor toward the approaching changelings that had noticed their arrival.

o.0.o End Part 2 o.0.o

Backwards Through the Mirror: Part 3

Edits: Nick Nack, Lammy, Masked Ferret

“And he just let you go?” Twilight asked several hours later. They were meeting around the large, circular table in Twilight and Luna’s shared chambers.

Princess Luna and Trixie were looking on in concern; the latter writing down everything that Sweetie said. Luminous stood nearby, polishing Twilight’s armor, but listening attentively.

“Well,” Sweetie shrugged. “After I agreed to the contest.”

She had been somewhat subdued after her return from the Hedge, carrying the unconscious Perceival and the gibbering Firebug after the Pack had left them had been emotionally draining, but the full gravity of what she had lived through hadn’t really hit her until her companions had been taken care of.

Perceival had been taken immediately into the care of the Citadel’s own medical staff of changelings, while Firebug had been flown by chariot to Canterlot General.

“It cannot be a fair contest he imagines,” Princess Luna said, her head lowering as she glared at the table as if it contained the answers. “The Beast is ever wily with his words. He’s failed to describe the hunt he pressed you into in any detail at all.”

“But,” Twilight admitted grudgingly, “He did swear on his true name. If he breaks the terms…” Twilight’s gaze slid to Sweetie. “If you succeed, you will have what you came for,” she said frankly, “but if you fail, it might never be yours, ever.” Twilight sighed, and closed her eyes the words in her mane moving erratically, “I wish there were another way.”

“What do you mean?” Trixie asked curiously, “This is an excellent opportunity, Dame Twilight.” Her slight emphasis on the title made Twilight and Luna look up. “This is a chance to destroy the Beast forever!”

Princess Luna’s eyes narrowed as she looked over to her. “What do you mean, Trixie?”

“He swore on his true name, Princess.” Trixie was clearly excited: her pupil-less eyes shone brightly, and she was practically dancing on the cobbles. “If Sweetie can get him to break his word…”

“Then he would cease to exist,” Twilight finished reluctantly. As the Princess and Luminous gasped, Twilight raised her hoof for silence. “But he knows we can’t pass that up, I’m sure of it. It’s far too powerful a bargain for him to make unknowingly, and far too one-sided.” Twilight began to pace, her mane flickering agitatedly, “The Beast controls the contest, the location, the means of its completion, everything. He could’ve strong-armed Sweetie into something far less risky for himself. So,” Twilight leaned on the table again, “why would he leave himself at such disadvantage if he didn’t have something up his sleeve?”

“I’m sure he does,” Sweetie added, looking at Twilight. “But what else can I do?”

For a moment, Twilight paused and stared at her. “I’m not sure. Preparation would probably be the best use of your time while Luna and I try to think of something. If we can find a loophole in the Beast’s phrasing, we might be able to help you in the contest. Trixie,”—Twilight turned to the blue unicorn changeling, who stood straighter in response—“I want you to take a message to Vinyl. Tell her Sweetie needs training in Hedge ranging.”

Trixie nodded sharply, bowing to Twilight before leaving the room.

With Trixie gone, Twilight walked up to Sweetie and leaned in close to whisper, “Don’t let any changeling know you’ve bargained with the Beast.” The scent of burning paper wafting from the purple knight was exceptionally noticeable at such a range, but it faded to insignificance as Twilight continued in an even lower tone. “Some changelings might convince themselves that you sold out the Citadel. Be very careful.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened slightly, before nodding, prompting Twilight to lean back and smile, speaking to her normally

“And be sure to keep an eye out when you’re ranging, the Beast might harry your training. And do try to keep Vinyl out of trouble, if you can.”

Sweetie smiled back uneasily. “I’ll try.” She hesitated. “But… if I’m not to tell anypony about that, what about Firebug? Or Percy?”

Twilight frowned for a moment then shook her head. “Percy… I’ll have words with. He’s trustworthy, and far too gentle a soul to hurt you, but he can get talkative. Don’t worry about Firebug telling anypony anything.”

Before Sweetie could ask, Princess Luna placed herself between the two. “It will be but a nightmare to him,” she stated, her voice sounded a little sad. “Soon he’ll have come up with his own story of what happened, and the truth will be lost to his own mind protecting itself.” She shifted a little, like she was shrugging some weight off. “Most ponies cannot comprehend what the Hedge is, nor the creatures that dwell there. Their minds make them into dreams, or fantasies.”

Sweetie sighed. “At least it’s a small blessing for them.”

Twilight smiled a little. “Yes, it is, but it makes getting them to understand that what we do is important, entirely too difficult.” She nodded to the door. “Get some rest. Vinyl will show you how to run in the Hedge properly tomorrow.”

Sweetie Belle smiled as she nodded to Twilight. As she moved to stand, however, her head swam, her legs seemingly unable to wholly support her weight anymore as a something soft and feathery slid beneath her abdomen to keep her upright.

"Rest will be good, child," she heard Luna whisper as she was hefted off her hooves.

She watched dimly as she was carried into the bedroom, eyelids heavy as she fell into the welcomed dark.

o.0.o

After sleeping for the next full day, Sweetie left the Citadel with Vinyl Scratch and, to her mild surprise, Octavia. They had apparently arrived while Sweetie was still asleep, tried and failed to wake her, before patiently waiting for her to wake up.

At Sweetie’s profuse apologies, Vinyl just laughed. “Don’t worry about it, Sweetie. Get the sleep you can, when you can, while you can. That’s what I say.” She grinned, while Octavia gave her a silent look of long-standing tolerance.

The two changelings led the way towards the same arch Sweetie had entered through, with Vinyl laughing and chattering all the way.

“It’s always nice to have a dedicated entrance,” Vinyl said idly as the trio walked to the iron arch, set into the little alcove. “Makes things easy for defence.” She nodded to the wards carved into the stones. She grinned at Sweetie. “Of course, it also means things on the other side know where to wait, so it’s kinda a double-edged sword.”

As soon as they entered the Hedge though, a discernible change came over both changelings. Vinyl kept talking of course, but her tone hushed significantly. For all her easygoing attitude, Vinyl’s ears flicked at every sound, even just outside the Citadel in the bookshelf-lined area of the Hedge.

Octavia grew more watchful as well, her gaze sliding over everything constantly, settling on anything that felt out of place. Both changelings seemed quite natural in the strange environment. They led Sweetie out from the Hedge around the Citadel into the wilds beyond regular patrols, and it was there that Sweetie learned exactly what surviving the Hedge really was.

Vinyl and Octavia showed Sweetie how to track down edible fruits and berries, how to find safe places to bunk down, and, strangest of all, how to protect her own dreams. Because in the Hedge, dreams and reality were very, very close, it turned out. The first night, Sweetie dreamed of her imprisonment again, in vivid detail, and it began to spiral out of control. Octavia woke her, calm and concerned.

“W-what?!” Sweetie gasped, sitting up fast, heart racing. “What’s going on?” She looked around the little camp they had carved out of the Hedge. The brambles were everywhere, and several of the trees twitched visibly at the sound of Sweetie’s voice. Vinyl was still on watch, looking over from the fire.

The sight of the camp was reassuring, but it was Octavia’s steady presence that helped the most. The stony changeling’s presence was like an anchor in a stormy sea. “You were having a nightmare,” Octavia said quietly, “but you’re still safe.”

“The Hedge makes dreams more crazy,” Vinyl said from the fire, her face uncharacteristically serious. “It’s halfway between reality and dreams anyway, so a little reality bleeds into your dreams whenever you sleep here.” She shivered, as if warding off a chill, before she grinned at Sweetie. “You looked like you were having a real bad time of it, so ‘Tavi woke you up.”

Octavia nodded, and sat back from Sweetie. She let Sweetie soak in the silence of the Hedge, which was reassuringly lacking in stony obsidian walls or the screams of unfortunate changelings. At least in this part of the Hedge. Sweetie shivered as she felt her gorge rising,

“How do you stop it?” she asked.

“You don’t,” Octavia said simply, her glowing eyes locked with Sweetie’s. “But, if you like, we can help you manage it.”

Sweetie blinked. “Manage it? How?”

Octavia looked to Vinyl, who nodded with a friendly smile, “You let us in. It’s pretty simple really: we make a bargain, we let each other into each other’s dreams in exchange for never betraying each other.” Vinyl grinned. “And ‘Tavi trusts you, so I do too.” She stoked the fire, sending up embers that flew away as fiery butterflies. “Whaddya say?”

Octavia nodded and looked to Sweetie for her response, her marbled face calm and impassive as she added quietly, “It’s no small thing. We’d be seeing a very personal part of you, and you’d be seeing our own dreams in return.” Her calm voice was serious, but not pressing. “If you want to handle it alone, we understand, but it might help.”

Sweetie swallowed and looked at the campfire. “I don’t want to be alone.”

Octavia nudged Sweetie up with her nose gently, and nodded towards the fire, smiling. She led Sweetie over to the cheery blaze beside Vinyl. Sweetie felt the tension of the moment grow as if the brambles were growing larger. Vinyl reached out with her hoof, while her telekinesis snapped off a barb from one of the thorns.

“Ouch!” said the thorns, which rippled indignantly.

Vinyl rolled her eyes. “Drama queen,” she muttered at the thorns before she focused on the task at hoof. The barb pierced Vinyl’s extended leg first, where the blood would run down her limb towards her hoof, then she repeated the act with Octavia. When Sweetie’s turn came around, the barb was wet with the other changelings’ blood. It pierced her skin with a pinch, and the blood ran down her hoof as she extended it over the dirt.

Octavia spoke first, as her blood started to drop onto the earth. “I, Octavia Scratch, swear upon my name to protect the dreams of my fellows of this pact in return for their protection of mine.”

Vinyl took up the pledge next, her glowing ichor staining the ground in steady drops. “I, Vinyl Scratch, swear upon my name to protect the dreams of my fellow pact members in return for their protection of my own.”

They looked to Sweetie, who took a breath. She felt the blood of her body dripping into the hungry dirt beside the campfire, and the scent of smoke and blood mingled in her nose like incense as she spoke, “I, Sweetie Belle, swear upon my name to protect the dreams of my fellow pact members in return for their protection of mine.”

Sweetie felt something inside her ‘click’. Octavia bound Sweetie’s small wound while Vinyl bound Octavia’s and her own, chattering once again about her own exploits in the Hedge. Octavia moved a little ways off, and as Vinyl’s chattering petered out, she nodded to Sweetie.

“Get some rest,” Octavia said quietly. “We’ll wake you when it’s your watch.”

When Sweetie finally fell asleep, the nightmares returned.

She was running down an obsidian hallway, the screams of the dying following her like hounds. Then the sounds grew softer, and the dream began to change. Sweetie ran from the shrieking voices, down the hallway, and onto a velvet carpet.

Her hoofsteps became muffled on the plush fabric, while the screams behind faded into the warm silence of a home at night. She slowed from a run to a trot, and then down to a walk as she found herself in a disco. The steady beat thudded through the dreamscape, as Sweetie found herself on a dance floor, surrounded by friendly, dancing ponies. In the background, at the bar, a lone figure watched and smiled, sipping her drink.

o.0.o

With the nightmares curtailed, Sweetie was able to focus on the lessons at hoof. She learned the basics of surviving in the wilderness from Octavia, who showed her how to find good shelter and other concrete things, while Vinyl introduced Sweetie to the dangers of the Hedge.

Sweetie found herself being chased, shot at, strangled, half-drowned, and dragged through the brambles by either mentor or some random hedge-dweller. And every night, she helped one of the two other changelings with their own dreams in kind. Visiting the dreams of Vinyl and Octavia was something that took getting used to.

The process, though, was actually very simple. That first night, she was walked through the process by Octavia.

“Slow your breathing,” the marble pony said calmly. “Match it to mine when I’m asleep, and let your mind drift.” Vinyl stoked the fire as they talked, watching the darkness, “Then think of pushing through the darkness and into my dreams. You’ll pay a little power, but we can show you how to get that back.”

Sweetie nodded, but for all its simplicity, visiting Octavia’s dreams was far from restful. Sweetie, Vinyl and Octavia all suffered for their own experience, and it was often hard, frightening work to help Vinyl and Octavia through their own dreams. To make matters worse, the Hedge itself was becoming more and more strange, and the line between reality and dreams blurred more and more.

Yet even as the world became stranger, Vinyl and Octavia were there to help Sweetie survive, teaching her the most seemingly random acts. Like pawing at closed doors, or drinking milk from a shoe. It was odd, but Vinyl insisted it was essential to surviving the Hedge.

The things Sweetie ate and drank often were distasteful, but Octavia and Vinyl struggled with her. Goblin Fruits, they called them, after the strange creatures that inhabited the Hedge. They were anything from large, waxy fruits to delicate flowers covered in sharp sugary crystals.

They didn’t even seem like very much food by themselves, but Sweetie always felt stronger, more sure of herself after eating, no matter how little or how nauseating the food had been.

“That’s the power getting into ya,” Vinyl said when Sweetie asked. “This whole place is full of power.”

She gestured to the little spring they had sat beside, which glowed and corkscrewed up into the brambles above, sliding slowly through the spectrum, like a light wave given form. There was a small clearing around the little spring, little more than enough space for their camp.

“Power is what runs this place,” Vinyl continued. “Dreams, reality, thoughts and fears, all that junk makes a lotta power running around, crashing into each other.” She grinned. “If you’re happy, that power warps the Hedge a little bit. If you’re afraid, well, that warps it too.”

“And what if you’re trying to sleep?” Octavia asked grumpily from the other side of the camp.

Vinyl snickered, but quieted.

The splashing of the water lulled Sweetie into her meditations that night, while Vinyl stood vigil over her and Octavia.

Helping the two older changelings with their dreams was giving her a deeper insight into them, often to an embarrassing degree. She learned how Octavia and Vinyl had met, more or less, in the basements of their Keeper’s lair. They were both entertainment pieces for the creature, and so their only time alone had been deep underground, amidst the glowing crystals of the basements.

She also learned far more than she was comfortable about both of their love lives. Not that it was particularly deviant, but some of Octavia’s dreams edged into places that Sweetie would have gladly edged right back out of. Still, the knowledge that they trusted her with such deep secrets about themselves was almost touching, terribly embarrassing. But touching.

Yet for all their closeness, it didn’t stop Vinyl from working Sweetie to exhaustion every evening. She learned the ways to tell the brush from a hiding predator, how to tell when something was watching her in the darkness, and how to read the trail in that nightmarish place. She learned about the paths through the Hedge: some little more than game trails, while others cut through the brambles in huge highways. The largest of these were wider than the library in Ponyville, and they continued for what seemed like infinity.

Time, though, moved strangely in the Hedge. so after sleeping and waking for two weeks, Vinyl announced that it was time to go back.

“We don’t want to make you late,” Vinyl said to Sweetie with a smirk. “As much fun as this is, we’ve gotta get back, and earlier is better than later.”

Yet that was easier said than done. The pathways of the Hedge were as perilous leaving as entering, and it took several days before the group found any place they recognized. By the third day, Vinyl was preemptively telling Octavia and Sweetie that she definitely wasn’t lost. Frustrated and irritated, the group started cutting new paths into the brush. It was hard work, but between the three ponies, they soon burst out into a clearing.

Vinyl froze as she stared into the open space, while Octavia behind her did the same. Sensing danger, Sweetie braced herself for flight, but after a moment, Vinyl led the way cautiously into the little break in the Hedge. There were two large stones in the middle of the clearing, which bore the remains of restraints and were stained dark with blood.

The clearing as a whole was surrounded in blood-red bookshelves, most of which were filled with black books that whispered in scraping voices. On the far end, very much out of place, a large apple tree stood like a sentinel against the insanity of the Hedge. Yet its apples were golden, not like Golden Delicious apples, but actual metallic gold. It looked almost welcoming, despite the large, blood-stained rocks in the middle, but Vinyl and Octavia stepped forward as if they were approaching a ghost.

“What is this place?” Sweetie asked, looking around curiously.

Vinyl whirled around, like she’d forgotten Sweetie was there, and for a moment her eyes were wild. Then she shook herself, and looked away.

Octavia, however, explained softly, “This is where we were saved.”

“By Twilight,” Vinyl added tightly. It almost sounded like a prayer or oath to Sweetie. She kept staring at the rocks, her breathing coming a shade faster. “It… it was my fault, and we almost didn’t—” She broke off as Octavia’s hoof touched her lips.

“It was a neat trap,” Octavia said simply, before nuzzling the distressed Vinyl. “We’re all outmatched sometimes. At least we weren’t re-taken.”

Vinyl shivered and nodded, then tenderly nuzzled Octavia’s cheek before turning to Sweetie, her cheeks a little red. “This is where Twilight sprung us. We were”—Vinyl broke off to swallow hard—“we were being tortured, and she just burst in like a wrecking ball. Saved us both, and killed the bastard that trapped us.” She looked at the rocks again, which were still askew from where Twilight had trapped their tormentor. “Dunno what happened to that shit that was cutting us though.”

Sweetie looked at her friends with pity. “I’m sorry. I can only imagine how that was.”

Vinyl shivered. “At least you can only imagine.” Octavia continued past her mate and began examining the apples on the tree. “Oh yeah,” Vinyl said, perking up and following Octavia, “I almost forgot, these apples are actually good stuff.” She began gently tugging on the apples with her magic, plucking only those that came off readily. “They can bring you back from almost nothing, come on.”

After plucking a scant half-dozen apples and storing them in their battered saddlebags, Vinyl announced that they would be back at the Citadel in the next couple of days. Sweetie felt a wave of relief flow through her at that. It had been a hard two weeks of training, and getting lost had taken so much time she had begun to get nervous.

Vinyl, once more in known territory, led the way out of that little grove with confidence. It had been almost disturbingly uneventful, but Sweetie could feel something watching as the little group walked stealthily as possible towards reality.

After what felt like mere minutes, they found themselves back in the pathways of the Citadel.

Sweetie glanced back at the iron gates and sighed before turning back towards the Citadel itself.

There was much to plan.

o.0.o

As it turned out, Vinyl’s timing had been spot-on. Even with the extra time lost to the Hedge and its time-warping nature, Sweetie still had three days and as many hours before the hunt would begin. Their first day back, Sweetie rested and took time to visit the denizens of the Citadel she'd come to know.

Perceival was conscious, but still bed-ridden, up as soon as he spotted her in the Medical Ward.

It had been one of the first buildings to be built, just after Twilight and Luna’s own quarters, and, to Sweetie’s eyes, had likely been repurposed. Arched hallways and elegantly carved stonework gave the whole place an archaic feel that had quite unnerved Sweetie on her way there.

Any feelings of anxiety had evaporated, however, as she walked in on the heavily bandaged but smiling Perceival. He had been all but dead when Sweetie had brought him in, but some time in the care of the ward’s exceptional—bizarre—staff had done wonders for him. As they were all changelings, this was hardly unexpected, but the sight of a brass and steel pony with hands for hooves administering medicine to a grumpy changeling would give anypony pause.

Still, Perceival seemed in relatively good health, as he put down the book he was reading to smile his half-moon grin at Sweetie.

“And here’s my savior,” he said with a slightly pained laugh. “Come to keep the invalid company?”

Sweetie snorted. “Just making sure you’re still with us,” she said truthfully. “How’s the food, Percy?”

Perceival rolled his eyes. “Oh the usual bland stuff.” He put on an impression of one of the nurses: all nasal and stuffy, like he had a cotton ball up the nose. “You had a piece of rock shoved through your stomach, you can hardly expect to be eating oats as soon as you’re awake!” Sweetie laughed, to Perceival’s delight, “Slick even stopped by to try and slip me some decent food, but he got distracted trying to impress one of the doctors.”

“How did that go?” Sweetie asked, relaxing.

She hadn’t realized how much she had missed casual conversations like this. Even with Vinyl and Octavia, she had felt more like a student than an equal. Both ponies were like their counterparts of course, and Vinyl could out-babble a brook, but something about them was reserved.

Perceival snorted. “I’ve heard he’s still limping, but he’ll be fine. He didn’t have a huge hole in his side.” He nodded to the bandages. “Apparently I’ll have a huge scar, but hey, I’ll be alive.”

Sweetie nodded, though she felt something catch in her throat. “Yeah, you’ll be sorting books again in no time.” She pushed the thought away that she wouldn’t ever see him well again, that he could very well pass on before she returned. She swallowed the thought and forced herself to smile. “I heard Spike is doing well in your absence.”

Perceival nodded, and they continued to chat the afternoon away. Finally, once the sun started to set, the nursing staff chased Sweetie away, and she walked back to the tents of the general population.

o.0.o

The day finally came when Sweetie would have to leave to meet the Beast.

A small honor guard had been arranged to see her off in the small corridor before the iron arch. It was mainly the ponies and changelings she had met. Sharp Claw was there, irritable as always, but brushed for once, as was Coal Dust, who stood much like a lump of his namesake. Vinyl and Octavia of course were there, the former grinning and waving, the latter merely standing and sparkling in the waning daylight.

Dame Twilight Sparkle herself stood before Sweetie, her mane a burning, flickering halo of fiery knowledge. In her formal regalia, polished to a deep shine, she looked like a Coltic warrior princess, while beside her Princess Luna looked on with approval. Luminous stood at their side so rigidly she might well have been made of wood, but she looked proud to be there.

Even Perceival had made his way to see her off, smiling and waving from a hospital bed that had been wheeled out there, a disapproving changeling standing next to him, monitoring his vital signs. Beside him stood Rarity, looking like she was on the brink of tears. She had smuggled in the local Sweetie Belle as well, and she stood watching her double with something approaching awe.

“Sweetie Belle,” Twilight announced formally, “Apprentice to Twilight Sparkle, Interdimensional Traveler, Sister to Prince Blueblood, Assassin, Bladecaster Novice, and Vassal of the Citadel of Twilight.”

‘Oh… Celestia. She remembered them all. What was I thinking?’ Sweetie tried not to blush and made a strained effort not to facehoof.

“This may well be the last time we see you in this world,” Twilight said without preamble. “You are about to embark on a dangerous quest with uncertain terms, a small chance of success, and danger around every corner.” She relaxed a little and smiled at Sweetie, her eyes shining with a trace of admiration. “But that’s nothing new, is it?” She looked around at the other changelings. “No matter where you go, we will all be hoping for your success, and the success of your greater mission. Because you are one of our own, bound by our experience... our tragedy.

“I wanted to give you something to help you on your quest, but I suspect more armor or a crossbow wouldn’t fit in the book you carry.” She smiled a little, as she stepped forward, the surrounding ponies and changelings stepping back. Violet fire began to weave glowing sigils around Sweetie, arcing from Twilight’s mane like sparks of raw willpower.

Twilight closed her eyes and Sweetie felt herself start to lift up off the stone floor as the unicorn changeling altered further. Shadows started to gather, as if the little corridor was growing darker. The darkness seeped into the pattern of glyphs and glowing lines, beginning to wrap its arcane pattern around Sweetie.

As the whole design began to shift and merge together, Twilight started to speak in a carefully cadenced voice, “Wherever you go, and whatever you are, let your journey always have at least one door open,”

Sweetie felt the words pass into her and through her, as if they were altering something around her.

“Knock thrice to open a door into a sanctuary hidden, The Hedge will travel with you to do as I have bidden.” Twilight’s eyes opened in pure white radiance as she pulled the spell together. “Let this spell to your fate be bound, and when you hide, you shall not be found.”

Violet fire and icy dark rippled around Sweetie as the whole pattern locked for a few seconds. Then Sweetie sank back to the floor, while Twilight staggered and Luminous was instantly at her side for support. The surrounding changelings looked a little uncomfortable at the display of such raw power, while the ponies looked downright afraid.

“W-What,” Luminous stammered, “whatever did you do to her, Twilight?”

“I—” Twilight began, only to be cut off by the arrival of a runner.

“Ten minutes, Dame Twilight,” the changeling breathed, having apparently run from another entrance to the Hedge. “The Pack assembles beyond the gate.”

Twilight nodded, distracted, and hauled herself upright, while the runner trotted off, breathing hard. “Sweetie Belle,” Twilight interjected quickly, “I don’t have time to explain exactly how the spell works, but whenever you find yourself in danger, knock three times on a doorway, any doorway, and it will give you a sanctuary.” She looked to the iron archway, which suddenly seemed a lot deeper. “It won’t work in the Hedge,” Twilight said apologetically. “But we’ll be giving you other support during the Beast’s hunt.”

Rarity however was not so easily appeased. “Twilight,” she said sharply, “whyever would you give her something she couldn’t use against that horrible creature?”

A growl rumbled through the arch as if the Beast himself were protesting mildly.

Rarity edged a little further from the ancient portal while Twilight shook her head.

“I don’t have time to explain right now, but suffice to say this will not be her worst challenge.” Twilight looked to Sweetie with sympathy. “You have a long, thorny road ahead of you, but remember what Vinyl and Octavia have taught you.” Sweetie saw Vinyl push out her chest in pride. “Trust your instincts, remember who you are and that we are all hoping and wishing for your success no matter where you go.”

Sweetie swallowed hard while Vinyl called out to her.

“Get em Sweets! Show that nutty fleabag what happens when he challenges a changeling!”

Coal Dust gave a hearty agreement, while Octavia pounded her hooves in a slow applause that was taken up by those nearby. Even the irascible Sharp Claw howled his approval, cheerfully deafening pony and changeling alike in that small corridor.

More howls echoed back from the arch, mocking and challenging, so loud and close it felt as though the Pack were crawling up Sweetie’s spine.

Sweetie nodded at the group. “Thank you… thank you all for what you’ve done for me and for how much you’ve taught me.” She risked a small smile. “I’ll make sure flea-bag regrets ever risking a bet against me.”

Vinyl let out another whoop at that, and then the changelings stepped back, making a narrow path to the archway.

As Sweetie strode past Rarity, the elder unicorn stopped her. “You’re still my sister,” she said softly, “and Sweetie Belle’s, I mean this world’s—” She shook her head. “You know what I mean, darling. We’re still a family. Take care of yourself, no matter what happens.”

Sweetie nodded, her throat tight as Rarity nuzzled her.

The local Sweetie grinned beside her sister, “You can do it, Allure!” She was so young, so sure of Sweetie’s imminent success, it was like a palpable warmth was radiated off of the younger pony. For a few brief seconds, Sweetie felt a pang of envy for her local self, but she shook it off and strode through the gate.

“Three minutes early,” the Beast’s voice rumbled with amusement as Sweetie stepped out into the middle of the crystal forest where Perceival had nearly met his end. “I do appreciate a prompt guest.”

For once, Sweetie saw the Beast in his full glory, surrounded by his Pack of twisted wolf-creatures. He towered over the rest of them, crammed into that little hollow like a cat in a box.

His four staring eyes looked down at Sweetie with predatory intent, while his sniffing nose seemed to drag her scent in. His sharp, confident grin was contained in a mouth that was so wide it almost looked like his head should split in half. Every yellowed, shark-like tooth glistened, while his huge, bear-like body steamed in the darkness, creating a misty cloud about him that glowed in the soft radiance of the crystal forest.

His huge, taloned paws were wrapped around some of the sturdier crystals, and his matted pelt was crusted in places with what could only be fresh blood as he peered down at Sweetie.

“Such a scant mouthful to cause so much trouble,” he mused. “But a bet is a bet. And a hunt”—he grinned at Sweetie cruelly—“is a hunt.”

The Beast leaned down further and began to explain, the stench of blood and musk almost overpowering. “The shard of your mentor is hidden in the Hedge, and guarded. You must find it before my Pack finds you.”

The Pack growled their approval, saliva pooling under them as they stared madly at Sweetie.

The Beast continued, his grin glinting in the light, “But to keep things fair, you will have a clue: follow yourself, and you will find your quarry.”

It was a terribly unfair hint, but before Sweetie could protest, the Beast gestured as if looking at a watch.

“You have two minutes before my Pack starts hunting you. Do give them a run-around, they’ve been so bored today.”

Sweetie swore and dashed off through the Pack, which parted for her even as it collectively drew in her scent. She passed through the crystal forest , picking paths at random.

She moved swiftly, with all the speed she could muster, but Sweetie knew this was their territory and that she was at best an occasional intruder. However insane the Pack was, they were certainly better hunters than she was in that place, so Sweetie knew she’d have to play smart.

Sweetie dashed down the path until she heard the howl go up behind her, distantly. She diverted her path at a trickling stream that bounced over rocks that watched her with quartz eyes. They didn’t seem hostile, so Sweetie followed the stream until it joined a larger river, which spoke in nonsensical, burbling tones.

It was unexpectedly wide and deep, and from the way the water rippled, it looked as though it would carry her away if she tried to ford it. Sweetie tried to tune out the river's nonsense—something with regards trickle diagonal histrionics some lower part of her brain noted—as she ran quickly along the bank, looking for someplace to cross.

To Sweetie’s surprise, a tree had fallen across the river at the next bend, just before the river changed course to flow straight upwards into the sky. It was suspiciously convenient, and Sweetie instinctively felt she couldn’t trust it. The water’s discourse was so loud as she passed around the back of the ‘water-fly’ that Sweetie’s ears were ringing after only a little while. Fortunately, the back side of the unusual water formation had a narrow lip against a cliff face that continued to obey conventional gravity.

It was barely enough for Sweetie to sidle along on her hind legs, but she made slow progress in spite of the stinging spray that rattled against her face, shouting vapid idioms and absurdisms at her. She didn’t dare let even a small part of her pass into the gravity-defying water, after she saw a rock get kicked off and fall up into the endless brambles of the Hedge. It accelerated so quickly she’d had no time to do more than register the barest details of its occurrence.

When she was about halfway across, something caught her eye. The huge form of a Pack member was sniffing about where she had gone behind the water. Sweetie froze, knowing there would be more, and she watched as the creature tried to find some way to get its huge body onto the narrow ledge. Sweetie was still deafened by the water, but she saw the creature through the curtain of liquid try to get onto the fallen tree Sweetie had avoided earlier.

Sweetie froze again, trying not to panic. If the creature managed to get across, Sweetie would have to turn around, but with the narrowness of the ledge, it could cross repeatedly until she became exhausted and fell. Sweetie couldn’t see the creature once it had stepped onto the log, and so she cautiously proceeded forward.

To her surprise and alarm, half a tree came whipping through the water, up towards the sky, followed by something that was struggling and thrashing, and then another half of a tree. For a second, it looked like the beast had been cut by something extremely sharp, then it was gone. Sweetie moved as quickly as she could to the other side of the falls.

Her back was sore from where she’d been sliding against the rock, but Sweetie continued on. No hunters were in sight as Sweetie’s battered hearing slowly returned. She moved along the riverbank stealthily until she reached the stump of the tree that had fallen, where she paused.

The tree had been cut cleanly, as if by a blade, and the wood bore little chunks of crystal in it. It was definitely deliberate, and Sweetie felt a chill as she considered how close she’d come to trusting in that log. A howl from somewhere nearby reminded her that she had to keep moving, so she pushed painfully into the brush.

Sweetie had been trained well by Vinyl and Octavia, and she soon found her way onto another path. The only clue she’d been given was to follow herself, so Sweetie thought about where she would have taken the shard if she was going to hide it. It wasn’t much to go on, but it made as much sense as anything else in the Hedge, she thought as she passed by a clock made of birds.

She’d passed into an entirely different part of the Hedge, one that she didn’t recognize. Dirt gave way to brass and steel panels, while the thorns turned into broken bits of glass, twisted copper and dull lead. Ticking began to replace birdsong, and Sweetie noticed more and more moving components in the Hedge itself. Sweetie rounded a corner, and stopped.

She had come to a town of sorts, filled with an enormous labyrinth made of stone buildings and ticking, moving contrivances. In the middle of it, like a looming monolith, a huge grandfather clock tower squatted like a stubborn toad. It was so massive, every tick of its pendulum rattled the floor and set the cadence for everything around her.

Sweetie remembered abruptly that she was out in the open and burst into the first house she found, looking for a place to get back into the Hedge proper. She found herself face-to-face with a Pack member creeping through the house. Without thinking, Sweetie slammed the door in its face, drawing a yelp from inside the house.

Howls came from outside the labyrinth, triumphant and huge, like a hammer intent on smashing Sweetie’s hopes of escape. She steeled herself and ran towards the clock tower, intent on making a stand or losing the Pack in the narrow alleys and dense, ticking gears. All around her, the city of brass and steel ticked like a living being.

She ran into the street and booked it down the road towards the next corner. The brass and steel floors were extremely slippery and hard beneath her hooves, and she couldn’t run in a straight line due to the gears protruding irregularly through the metal surface. A Pack member leapt down from above where it had been climbing over the rooftops, and Sweetie immediately dove into a store.

Inside was the most bizarre scene Sweetie had seen in a while.

Automatons sculpted like ponies endlessly repeated the act of buying and selling, with tiny springs and gears visibly moving their limbs. They looked so lifelike Sweetie balked for a moment, then threw herself forward as the wolf-creature plunged through the glass store-front and over her head. It hit the automatons painfully, and thrashed for a moment before rising to its feet, bleeding from uncountable wounds, bits of glass and steel lodged in its fur and flesh.

Sweetie took the moment of the creature’s agony to dash for the back of the shop, where a doorway promised access to the next street. As she passed the places where the automatons had been attached to the floor, she noted the way they sparked and shuddered, grasping tendrils of wires writhing like angry snakes.

She shoved open the metal door to the back of the shop as the wolf-creature rose and attempted to follow her, while outside the howling grew again in a great tempest of sound and fury. Sure enough, there was a second door leading to an alley just wide enough for Sweetie to slip into. She squeezed in as the first wolf-creature slammed into the back room.

Sweetie scraped out of the alley into the wider street while her pursuer snarled its frustration. Here, wires and cables blocked out the sky and an attack from above would be far more difficult. She saw one distant wolf-creature try to bite through one, and its thrashing screams as hot liquid poured all over it were shrill and pained. The liquid ignited the creature, and it ran off into the distance, while the rest of the Pack started to funnel into the streets.

She knew she had to buy herself time, and spotted a street scene. An automaton was endlessly selling a steel barrel of brass apples to another pony.

“Excuse me,” Sweetie said automatically as she took the barrel, which was far heavier than it looked. Sweetie looked around again and spotted the next component to her gambit: one of the large gears ticking in the middle of the street.

Sweetie placed the barrel in one of the gear’s teeth, where it would be pressed against the street in a few seconds. The Pack pounded down the street, howling and snarling in a mad hunger.

She bolted for another door, only to find it welded shut. Through the thick window, Sweetie saw two automatons locked in rigid combat. One metal pony was endlessly stabbing the other with its horn, while hot, oily liquid sprayed across the floor.

Sweetie tried another, and another, but the doors were all sealed. Behind her she heard the barrel hit the metal flooring. Sweetie struggled with the doors, keeping the panic away with solid willpower. Just as she felt a door give under her touch, she heard and felt the massive tremor of her trap exploding into action.

She had only intended the wheel to spray the barrel of apples at the oncoming Pack to delay them. She hadn’t counted on the huge cogwheel’s mountings giving way and lifting itself out of the street to fling through the wires above and roll down the road, coated in burning oil and thrashing cables.

Sweetie pushed into the door she had opened as screams ripped through the ticking of the city. She didn’t know what was in those cables, but from the cries of the Pack, she knew she didn’t want to look at the aftermath.

Sweetie pushed into the building as hard as she could, and found herself in a crowded bank scene. Automatons were going around on tracks, moving through a line to the counter where they made strange, tinny sounds at an automaton behind the desk, collected a beautifully cast bag of money then moved to the next window and deposited it, and got right back in line.

To complicate matters, there were even automata foals, mothers chasing them, and general passersby crowding through the scene like errant comets. The floor was consumed by the gears and ticking springs to power such intricate mechanisms, and they continued on beyond Sweetie’s sight. At first glance, it looked like a grinder of moving metal parts lay between her and freedom at the far end of the room.

A roar behind Sweetie, pained and furious, reminded her that she had little choice. Sweetie swallowed hard and stepped into the chaos. She had intended to step onto the gear nearest to her and ride it to the next, bypassing the twitching, moving automata. Unfortunately, no sooner had she stepped past the threshold than she was grabbed by a brass and steel mother as she chased after her laughing foal.

It was like being grabbed by a metal windstorm, Sweetie thought as she was hurtled along by the automaton. Its metal coat and body pinched and cut at Sweetie as it jerkily galloped through the simulated bank. The ticking and whirring of the whole room blended with the indistinguishable garble of voices. Sweetie kicked off of her and jumped to the next automaton, which happened to be a businesspony complaining loudly.

Sweetie ignored the metallic tang of the automaton’s voice as she leapt from one brass and steel contrivance to the next. It was like playing hopscotch across the feeding chute of a woodchipper, where any missed step would quickly convert her from pony to pulpy lubricant. She perched on the rapidly moving body of a running pony as he hastened from the collection desk to the deposit counter.

She used the abrupt halt of the metal pony to fling herself forward across the room towards the doorway marked ‘Exit’. For a moment, Sweetie dared hope that she was going to make it, then the door flung open, and a member of the Pack poured in like an injection of lupine fury into the complex bank scene.

Time felt like it slowed down as she hurdled towards the creature, which seemed to be laughing as it waited for her to fly into its roaring maw. Unfortunately for it, Sweetie had other plans. She adjusted her flight angle deftly, then caught one of the automata that was flinging about the place. It snatched her away from the wolf-creature, which could only snarl in fury.

The Pack wasn’t stupid. The wolf-creature could clearly see the damage that the long, dark fall through the wall of gears could do. It hesitated at the threshold, until something kicked it hard from behind and it pitched forward. It tumbled down into the gears, and the whole bank scene barely shuddered as it was horrifyingly pulped by the movement of the intricate mechanisms. Sweetie swallowed hard as gore filled the area by the doorway, but just then a voice she recognized called out harshly.

“To me! We’ve got them distracted!”

Sweetie looked over, incredulous. An irascible, wolfish pegasus stood in the doorway, splattered with blood like some ancient god of the hunt. Sharp Claw noted the way Sweetie was moving on a set track through the bank, and with a whisper that sent a chill of fate down Sweetie’s spine, he leapt at the right moment to intercept her.

Sharp Claw stank of blood, sweat and raw animal musk, but he carried Sweetie back to the edge of the exit so efficiently she was almost prepared to kiss him for it.

“Get moving,” he said shortly, his voice snarling with battle-excitement as he looked out the bloody doorway into the street beyond. “Get to the tower, it’s the highest ground.”

Sweetie started to move, then paused. “T-thanks,” she said to the wolfish changeling. “That was unexpected!”

He snorted and rolled his eyes, but nodded, then took off towards the cables above like he had a grudge against the ground. He might, at that, Sweetie thought, dwelling on the pegasus’s dislike for practically everything.

Sweetie shook her head at the unexpected aid. She pounded down the street, which looked like a caricature of the nobles’ section of Canterlot. It was all marble and gold, with more glass and silver than brass or steel. Sweetie flew down the street on her hooves, thinking quickly. The presence of Sharp Claw meant she wasn’t as alone here as she had thought. She looked up towards the clock tower looming distantly, but she fancied it a little closer.

The ticking was getting to Sweetie as she ran down the wide avenues of the marble and gold simulacrum of a city. It thrummed loudly through every surface, a mechanical pulse, that set the rhythm for the whole plethora of scenes. In every window, Sweetie saw richly-sculpted automata bowing and scraping to one another, or wooing each other in hallways.

She was so occupied with the intricate, foppish scenes that Sweetie almost failed to stop as the street opened into a wide gap. It had once been concealed by the same marble flagstones that made up the rest of the street, but some large impact had ripped open the road to reveal the whirring gears and springs beneath. Sweetie arrested her movement just in time, skidding to a stop before the edge of the pit.

Sweetie stared down into the metallic abyss before her for a second before she evaluated the obstacle with practiced eyes. It was far enough across that even her best long-jump couldn’t carry her across, while down below a disturbingly fluid field of moving mechanisms promised a gory demise for failure. She ran for the first door she could find, and found it was made of stone rather than wood.

The marble door mocked Sweetie’s attempts to break it down. It was elegantly inlaid with gold and mother-of-pearl, and so solid that Sweetie’s initial attempt had merely bruised her shoulder. She glared at the door and closed her eyes. Sweetie bargained with the stubborn rock of the door, which had been worked by some inequine force. It was a matter of moments therefore before she managed to work out a deal and she was able to convince it to shape itself so that she could push open the portal.

Inside, the building was every bit as lavish as the gilded door. Mahogany floors creaked beneath Sweetie’s hooves as she hurried through the building. Servants dashed hither and thither on unknowable, endlessly repeating errands. They were made of steel and brass, clad in cloth of silver and gold, but were still clearly servants compared to the noble automata. Each noble seemed to glow with the gold and silver that made up their delicate mechanisms.

Sweetie dodged fops of silver and dandies of gold until she made her way up to the second floor of the building. One of the windows was wide-open, catching a breeze that stank of blood and oil.

She absent-mindedly apologized to one of the maids that she bumped into as she made her way towards the window, which she climbed up and prepared to jump out of, right as a member of the Pack leaped up.

She had only a moment to react, stepping back instinctively, but not far enough to keep the wolf-creature from snagging her right forehoof. Sweetie instinctively angled herself so her bodyweight would drive her hooves into the face of the lupine attacker as it pulled her out. Things crunched under Sweetie’s rocky hooves and it let her go, but her weight drove both her and the Pack member towards the hellish pit of metal gears and springs. She looked around for salvation, anything to keep her from falling into the abyss. She kicked off of the wolf-creature as it scrambled to grab her mid-air. Her hooves drove it away from her, down towards the gears below.

The wolf-creature let out a howl of distress as Sweetie’s limbs flailed in mid-air as she searched for some purchase in the gaseous medium she was traveling through. The air between the buildings was sadly free of anything besides the smell of oil and blood that suffused the entire area and those precious seconds she had gained were for naught. Sweetie felt each thump of her heart in her ears as gravity took hold of her again and she began to fall towards the gears below, but just at that moment, something in the mechanisms twanged.

Sweetie saw a metal arm streaking towards her from below, driven by some internal mechanism of the large, complicated clockwork that powered the whole city. It caught the wolf-creature just as it was about to smash onto a large clog and drove it into her like a stinking, yowling cushion, knocking her senseless for a few precious seconds..

As her thoughts returned to her, Sweetie felt herself accelerated through the air. She couldn’t remember why she was moving, or what had moved her, until adrenaline and fear hammered the message past her concussed synapses.

Sweetie was flying straight towards the clock-tower. She saw the large, gilded glass clock-face with its finely wrought,-silver hands. It was a beautiful example of glasswork and ingenuity. Sweetie saw the taloned hand of the minute hand approaching, and braced herself.

The impact with the sculpted bar of silver knocked the breath from Sweetie as she scrambled to grab ahold of it. Instincts as old as time forced Sweetie to grab onto the sharp edges of the minute hand of the giant clock, heedless of the pain from it chipping and cutting into her while her adrenaline-addled mind took the time to admire the glasswork on the clock face.

The Pack member crashed only a second after her, but there was nothing for it to hold on to. It barely whimpered as it disappeared into the empty air below her.

It had clearly been cast and gilded as a solid piece, with each imperfection of the gilding celebrated with minute, elaborate embellishments. It gave the whole clock-face a look of wood grain, while the numerals on the face seemed to nail the whole device to reality. Each ancient numeral was wrought of solid steel, rusted and hard against the ephemeral beauty of the gold, glass and marble on the rest of the clock tower.

Sweetie could see the ticking, moving mechanisms through the glass clock-face. Each one moved with a kind of blurry order that added to the general sense of purpose of the clockwork within. This close to the main pendulum, each beat of the mechanism drove a vibration through Sweetie’s bones and vibrated her along the silver hand of the giant clock.

She shifted her grip, and looked for a way out. Down was a stomach-wrenching drop that ground against every one of the white unicorn’s survival instincts. She had no idea how hard she’d been flung to send her this high up, but she couldn’t imagine the Pack member had fared well. To her right, the far end of the minute hand trembled as the internal springs shuddered with the pendulum’s rhythm, while above her the hour hand sat solidly at the eleven mark.

By her reckoning, the clock showed that it was a quarter past eleven, but by the way the shadowy mechanisms at the clock’s center were ticking, she knew she didn’t have much time. Across the city, sounds of battle mixed with the ticking of mechanisms and the tormenting grind of gears.

Sweetie chanced a glance back towards the city, and almost slipped off the clock. The whole city was laid out like some sort of ticking, fungal mat clinging to the Hedge itself. The whole pulsing, ticking city seemed to writhe with a distinctly non-biological life as it sang its regular, metered song, but as of that moment, it was full of the symphony of war.

She watched as changeling pegasi swooping down through the air from the twisting brambles above, to meet leaping, winged Pack members in brief, bloody rendezvous. She heard screams and howls of wolf-creatures mingling in the vast city as dozens of changelings ran through the streets, nipping and picking at the Pack. They were buying her time. Sweetie felt shock running through her veins as she realized that dozens of changelings, many of whom she’d never even met, were fighting to buy her time.

Sweetie was jolted out of her thoughts as the minute hand shuddered past, bringing her closer to half- past when she would find almost no purchase on the mirror-smooth metal. Her hooves scrabbled on the cast silver as she continued to search for some sort of exit. It was a choice between slick metal and smooth glass, but a subtle change in the texture of the glass suggested that there were exits, and below her, a rim of metal promised potential salvation.

Balancing on the minute hand of the giant clock, for a few moments, she despaired. She thought again of her mentor Twilight, of the shards scattered across the multiverse, and it was in that moment that everything seemed to shatter. Gilt glass scattered past Sweetie as two hard hooves wrapped around her. Sweetie was hauled into the clock face, while glass tumbled past her descending towards the buildings below like a thousand thrown knives.

Sweetie thrashed against the pony that had her, who had pulled her hard up onto something hard and metal. For a moment, Sweetie felt the agonizing pain of obsidian, and saw the hollow sockets of The Maestro. Pain and panic seized Sweetie as she kicked and fought, until the empty sockets resolved themselves into violet eyes set into a marbled face.

“O-Octavia?” Sweetie stammered as she stared.

The changeling looked much the worse for wear: Sweetie’s thrashings had split her lip, but it seemed she had already been bleeding from a dozen wounds or so. Yet she wore the same impassive look as always. Her stony body was cracked and worn, and her mane had shattered in places, but she nodded calmly to Sweetie.

At this reassurance, Sweetie could bear it no longer and broke down. In that place, chased by such terrible things through this clockwork nightmare, against such odds, it was too much. Sweetie clung to Octavia, who held her patiently as the younger changeling bawled her eyes out. Octavia held Sweetie with the cool comfort of stone, a bastion of strength in the emotional storm, while around them automata bustled about on their own ineffable business.

After several long moments, Sweetie pulled back from Octavia, her mind filled with images of another Octavia. The changeling Octavia seemed to drink those worries in and quench them in her own deep well of calm.

“Sweetie,” Octavia said softly, her voice just barely audible above the ticking cacophony of the automata and their business, “your shard, it’s above. None of us can approach.” Octavia gestured with a hoof and her expression stiffened as some injury shoved its way into her consciousness. “Remember your mission,” Octavia said gently, visibly forcing herself to relax as more changelings started to run up the stairs.

Vinyl Scratch was among them, bloodied but cheerful. Coal Dust lurked up the stairs behind her, wary and alert, though he smiled at Sweetie as he saw her.

“We shall hold them here,” Octavia said firmly as she rose and smiled down at Sweetie.

“Yeah,” Vinyl added confidently, her voice raspier than usual. “We got this, Sweets”—she jerked her head towards the stairs up—“but I think that’s one thing you’re gonna have to do yourself. We’ll hold these guys off, you go get the shard, and bam!” Vinyl grinned. “Big party afterward.”

Octavia rolled her eyes as Coal Dust chuckled softly, sending up embers from his ashy mane.

Octavia fixed Sweetie with her purple gaze. “Go,” she commanded quietly. “Nothing can stop you, Sweetie Belle, so long as you remember your goal.” Then the marble changeling smiled, and it melted the tension from her face, before the sounds of snarling echoed up from below.

Sweetie nodded, hesitating once before nodding again more firmly. “I will. Thank you so much… all of you.”

The three other changelings smiled at her, Vinyl winked again, and then they took up positions on the stairwell, whispering their bargains to the shadows and the stone, preparing for the onslaught.

Sweetie forced herself to turn towards the ascending stairwell, and started up the elegantly cast, brass staircase. The stairs vibrated as every tick of the massive pendulum sent kinetic energy pulsing through the city and its infinitely complex mechanisms. Sweetie proceeded upwards through the ticking, spinning gears and springs of the clock tower’s inner workings, while the near-mirror-finish on the stairs gave it an eerie beauty in the half-light of the interior of the building.

The the first signs of battle were visible about halfway up the stairs: blood spattered on the wall, sprayed as if something had been slashed with a sharp blade. By the way the railing there had been ripped off, it had probably been a Pack-member, or a particularly heavy changeling. It had likely tumbled off after just the one hit, and fallen down towards the ticking Tartarus below.

It disturbed Sweetie that there was only one, efficient slice. It struck a familiar chord inside of her, and the force behind the cut had spattered the blood all the way up the wall in a thin spray. Whatever had been bled there had been attacked with cold precision,expert training, and with so much force it had propelled the defender backwards.

There wasn’t much else to go on, but Sweetie employed the fullest extent of her stealth as she proceeded onwards and upwards. For a few moments, the ticking died down, and Sweetie felt the cold chill of obsidian beneath her hooves. She knew she couldn’t make a noise, she didn’t dare to, otherwise the Maestro would—

She closed her eyes and shook her head.

She wasn’t in the Theater anymore, Sweetie reminded herself, she wasn’t surrounded by obsidian, and she could definitely speak. She just shouldn’t at that moment, she needed to keep silent, and find the shard. It would be up the stairs, which were definitely brass and not gold and obsidian.

The memories were pushed back with difficulty, the steady beat of the ticking mechanisms propelling her back into the moment. The mechanical heartbeat of that strange place was oddly reassuring to Sweetie as she continued cautiously up the stairs. Sweetie’s ascent, however, was shortly blocked by a corpse.

It was a large, furry body that had at one point been a member of the Pack. The neat hole in the back of its head sent chills through Sweetie. She remembered the attack on the Citadel, the rage and fear that had ripped through her and punched a shard of enchanted diamond through a similar path in an attacking member of the Pack.

Sweetie climbed over the body, still warm beneath her hooves. It didn’t stir, as she half-expected, and beyond the furry mass she could see what looked like a door, torn from its hinges and laying across the stairs.

The door itself was cast silver, and the force of its removal had twisted it out of shape. It was too slick to be safely climbed over, and Sweetie couldn’t quite slip past it along the wall. There was no railing here, so Sweetie carefully shifted the heavy mass of the door with her telekinesis. As the door slipped over the edge, down towards the ground below, Sweetie knew she had only moments before it hit something and rang like a bell.

She hurried up the brass stairs, and spotted the door’s former resting place. The doorway was simple steel, and the bright silver streaks from the violent removal of the door itself stood starkly against it in the yellowish light from outside. Sweetie froze as, at that moment, the door hit something metal down below.

The sound of silver striking steel rang up through the tower, with a chillingly clear tone. Sweetie froze, listening. The sounds of battle still filled the tower as Octavia, Vinyl and Coal Dust held the stairs, and the sound mixed with that of the continued conflict with the Pack outside. The metal, glass and stone took every sound and threw it across Sweetie’s perception, but the doorway remained clear.

Sweetie stepped slowly through the doorway, out onto the narrow ledge around the roof of the tower. It gave her a dizzying view across the mechanical city, which bustled with the pulsing activity of an uncountable number of intricate devices and gears, paired with the violent war of changeling against and the Beast’s Pack.

There was Sharp Claw swooping down, carrying one of the conduits of red-hot oil, to spray it viciously across a mass of struggling wolf-creatures. She saw another changeling with a sword of crystal dueling with a pair of wolf-creatures across a rooftop. All across the strange city, the screams of combat warred with the pulsing life of the city for dominance.

Sweetie was so taken by the sight, she almost didn’t roll aside as something fast and reflective shot past her. There was a railing around the ledge, unlike the interior of the clock-tower. It was made of solid steel, but whatever it was that had shot past Sweetie had cut through it like a hot knife through butter.

Sweetie rolled to her hooves, summoning Akela with nary a thought as another shining projectile shot towards her. Sweetie rolled her head out of the way, only to be met with a kick to the back of the head. Some instinct triggered, and she rolled with the blow, skidding down the narrow ledge, towards the corner.

Sweetie swept her legs around and rolled to her feet, only to have to dodge another shining blade. She reflexively parried with her diamond, and faced her attacker. Sweetie felt her eyes widen and her pulse quicken in her veins.

It was herself, but certainly not the charming, inquisitive version she had saved at the Opera House.

This was a Sweetie made of obsidian and gold, her face a mask of hatred carved into a marble slab. Its obsidian mane was cut short, sharp edges bristled like barbed wire, and its tail a mess of tangled obsidian shot with metallic gold stripes. Yet the worst part was how emaciated its body was. Obsidian bones were covered with a thin sheet of marble, and it seemed to be held up by nothing more than the vengeful hate seeping from its gaze.

Seemingly, Sweetie had looked for too long, as this demonic version of her… this Demon Belle, brought up its weapon again. Sweetie rolled backwards to avoid the cut that sliced into the gold and silver roof without resistance. As Demon Belle pulled back its weapon, Sweetie had to keep herself from staring. It was wielding a diamond, cut similarly to her own Akela, but much larger and with a core that glowed violet.

As it sank into a stance that she recognized, Sweetie remembered what the Beast had called this creature the last time she had seen it: a fetch. It was a cruel copy of herself. Sweetie swallowed hard. This creature clearly knew what it was doing, and if it was a copy of herself, it was at the very least her magical equal.

Sweetie and the fetch stared each other down for several moments, before the fetch said coldly, “So, fake, it’s come to this.” At Sweetie’s look, it sneered. “I knew you’d come for this.” It brought the diamond up into a defensive stance to show off the glowing shard imbedded in the core of the hard mineral. As the fetch pulled the diamond back, its head jerked a little towards the city in combat. “I just didn’t think you’d sacrifice so many to get it.”

“Just give it back,” Sweetie said firmly. “You have no idea what—”

“I know exactly what it is,” the fetch snarled. “It’s a piece of my mentor, Twilight Sparkle, and you have the others.” It set itself subtly, just as Sweetie did. “And now you’re going to give them back, and I’m going to continue on my journey, fake.”

For a moment, neither pony moved.

Then as one, both Sweetie and Demon Belle leapt for each other. Sweetie lunged right as the fetch lunged up towards her, the diamond arcing down.

Sweetie rolled forward, bringing Akela up to hit her fetch as it tumbled past, but to her surprise, Akela hit only air. The fetch had dodged in mid-air, and as it landed, sent its own diamond hurtling towards Sweetie, who stepped aside at the absolute last second.

The passage of the diamond sent a shiver of disturbed air across Sweetie’s side, but she was ready as the fetch followed in its wake. Sweetie spun and kicked at the fetch, sending it skipping up the angled roof of the clock tower, its diamond following closely, the glow of the shard taunting Sweetie as she leapt up onto the slick roof to keep up the pressure on her fetch.

The roof was entirely cast in gold and silver, making every step slick and uncertain, and the main light came from a burning, fiery beacon at the apex of the building. The fetch had made a significant dent when it had impacted, but it was already up and casting. Sweetie felt a little twinge of strangeness as the fetch whispered to the shard of diamond, re-shaping it into a more deadly point, with less of a broad shape.

Sweetie flung Akela at top-speed to distract it, but the fetch had already jumped away. As Akela flew back to Sweetie, the fetch’s own shard followed it, while the fetch herself slid down the slick metal roof towards Sweetie, with the beacon behind it. Sweetie rolled aside as the diamond punched through the roof and kept rolling as the fetch’s hoof landed right where her head would have been had she not continued.

The fetch let out a scream and lunged for Sweetie, her movements fast and powerful... but uncontrolled, Sweetie realized as she landed on the walkway again. She stepped aside as the fetch’s hoof hit the floor hard enough to dent it, and ducked under the next furious kick. It was delivered with the precision of training, but with a lack of control for a follow-up.

Sweetie danced aside as the diamond ripped through the roof towards her, and backed off as the fetch followed through again with another brutal kick. She leapt back from the kick and posed on the railing, elegant and still, like a particularly mocking gargoyle. As she predicted, the fetch leapt for her, almost tumbling over the edge, shard and all, swearing all the while.

It caught itself on the railing with instinctual grace and spun back onto the ledge, straight into Sweetie’s own kick to its knee. She knew she had to immobilize, or outright kill, the fetch, but if it fell, it could take the shard with it. Sweetie watched the fetch move, and noted the lack of stiffness in the knee she had kicked. Either the fetch had abnormal pain tolerance, or it was ignoring its injuries.

Sweetie saw the fetch tense and let herself relax. The expected diamond shot towards her, and the fetch followed through, lunging for where it expected Sweetie to dodge to, but Sweetie wasn’t there. She’d jumped up, twisting her body in mid-air around the shard, intent on landing on her fetch.

The fetch rolled past Sweetie’s landing area and slid around the corner, into the shadows of the tower entrance. Sweetie flipped forward, intent on landing where she predicted the fetch to be, Akela ready to deliver the killing strike, but as she cleared the corner, she had to catch herself on the railing. The fetch was gone, along with the shard.

Sweetie stared for a moment, then realized that it had probably run into the tower itself, seeking a better position to fight. She started to follow when something hit her hard from behind and slammed Sweetie down horn-first into the metal stairs. It was a moment of bleary-eyed agony as she felt her magic shocked into nothingness, and her entire body cringed in simultaneous protective instincts.

Akela hit the floor with a clink, and Sweetie rolled aside just in time to avoid getting her head speared by the fetch’s shard. She knew a kick was coming, so Sweetie rolled again, drawing on all of her training to push aside the pain and disorientation as she rolled backwards down the stairs. The kick hit the stairs instead as Sweetie felt every metal stair punch her in the back and neck.

Sweetie rolled to her hooves right as her fetch was leaping through the air for her, hooves outstretched like some sort of stony feline predator, madness in its eyes and fury etched on every feature. At its side, the shard of Twilight encased in diamond shone with deadly intent, wrapped in the fetch’s telekinesis.

The seconds slowed as adrenaline and training took over. She reared up into a pose, carefully balanced on one of the metal stairs, looking down at her opponent, her whole body tense as a coiled spring and yet appearing relaxed as a flowing river.

In one smooth movement, Sweetie spun and kicked her fetch into the wall horn-first. It let out a yelp as the shard dropped from its telekinetic grip in that moment of painful disorientation, and that yelp turned into a scream as it realized it was falling.

Sweetie watched as it fell past the ticking heart of the city below, its smoothly moving gears promising death for anything so foolish as to try to interrupt its progress, but the fetch fell past, down towards the distant bottom of the tower, screaming.

Its scream was one of horror and fury, but something powerful echoed through its voice. Sweetie felt a chill go up her spine right as she heard a howl rise from the entire city. Then a massive, paw-like hand punched through the side of the building, and grabbed the fetch out of the air. Sweetie ran outside, scooping up the shard and Akela as she ran to the ledge, where she gaped at the sight that met her eyes.

The Pack swarmed over the city in the hundreds: they crawled over buildings, leapt over cables and wires without regard for those that fell to the changelings or the hostile machinations of the city. Down below, clinging to the clock tower itself, Sweetie saw the Beast, pulling his fist out of the wall. She saw the fist flex, and the screaming stopped, then the Beast grinned up at her, mouth pouring drool as the shark-toothed maw opened in another howl.

Sweetie scrambled to start whispering to the the diamond, immediately whispering offers to the stone for the release of its treasure.

She had to bind it to the book with the others, before the changelings killed themselves trying to buy her time. With the Beast there, she knew they didn’t have a chance, but with her still there, she also knew they wouldn’t abandon her.

The tower shook as the Beast started his climb, accompanied by the screams of the metal he was so casually tearing to pull himself up. Howls echoed up through the tower as Sweetie continued her negotiation with the diamond, which was unfortunately stubborn. She heard the sounds of conflict as the wolf-creatures met the changeling blockade in the staircase, punctuated by the screams of the wolves and the noise of bloody combat.

Sweetie finally reached an agreement with the diamond, right as the first wolf-creature leapt howling for her, its wings explaining how it had ascended past the changelings. Sweetie easily danced away from its feral assault, and sent the diamond sheath from the shard into it at high-speed, sending both tumbling down into the city below. But more were leaping and gliding up towards the doorway, while the Beast continued his steady ascent.

Sweetie leapt up onto the slick roof as she summoned her notebook and started binding the shard. But the shuddering tower kept disrupting her concentration, as Sweetie tried her hardest to keep her mind on the task at hoof and not on the horror fast approaching. Another winged wolf-creature emerged from the doorway and charged her, wings beating furiously, and Sweetie had to backpedal up the metal roof desperately, her horn still glowing as she tried to cast.

Fortunately, with the light of the fiery beacon at her back, the wolf-creature fell short and hit the metal roof. Sweetie started binding the shard again as it scrambled at the metal for purchase, snarling and barking in fury, its bright yellow eyes glowing with malice. Sweetie pushed it out of her mind and started to bind the shard again.

She felt the magic click the shard into its metaphysical place right as the Beast’s head cleared the edge of the roof. For a moment extended by adrenalin and the warping of space, Sweetie and the Beast stared at each other. Then, to her shock, the Beast grinned his impossibly wide grin, and winked.

o.0.o.o.0.o

The Beast’s smirk was still on Sweetie’s mind as the usual flash of light faded from her eyes and she found herself gazing upon the town of Ponyville.

It looked so… normal.

There was no sense of malice; no creeping menace as in the towns of the last world. Sweetie took a deep breath and smiled. Whatever the Beast had had planned, it couldn’t reach her here.

That’s when she heard the earth below her. The whisper of rocks and gems… she touched her coat and felt her soft fur, but when she looked at it, it was still marble, with thorns of onyx and obsidian poking out here and there.

She didn’t need to look at the bottom of her hoof to know it would look like solid black marble. She only had to glance up to realize her mane was made out of quartz.

She hadn’t changed back.

Sweetie bit back the urge to scream. Her eyes wide, she finally dared to poke at her foreleg, hard, just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.

The whispers… her body… she was still a changeling! She was trapped being a monster!

She felt her breath draw short.

She had to hide.

She had to go somewhere… not the library, Twilight might recognize that something was wrong with her.

She should—she should just go home. To the Carousel Boutique. Yes.

She took a hesitant step towards Ponyville, and prayed to Celestia and Luna, to any spirits around, to anything, really, that her spell, her glamour still was active, because she was in the opposite side of town… and if somepony saw her… the real her… they might well attack her.

Slowly, she made her way to the edge of town, trying to calm her beating heart through will alone. Silent as a ghost, she walked around houses, avoiding the main road and waiting patiently for anypony that was nearby to walk away… until she neared the market. All the streets were full of ponies.

It was the usual, boisterous market day, and while it wouldn’t be as crowded as Canterlot, it would be crowded from main street to side-streets.

“I guess I don’t have much of a choice,” she muttered.

Making her way into the open, she took a final deep breath, and stepped out of the shadows.

No pony reacted. A few smiled at her. A filly… Twist… waved at Sweetie before hurrying along.

Releasing the breath she had been holding, Sweetie slowly made her way through the market until she reached the other side before immediately stepping into one of the more empty side-streets.

They might be able to see what she was now, but she did not want to risk—

“That shape isn’t yours to wear, Shee. It belongs to somepony else.”

Sweetie turned in surprise to find Bon Bon and Lyra standing before her while Lyra softly and threateningly stroked an iron frying pan with her hoof.

Next Chapter: Mendacity

Mendacity Pt. 1

Edits: The Masked Ferret, Lammy, Super Big Mac, Magical Trevor

Morning in Ponyville shimmered, morning in Ponyville shone.

And Lyra knew for absolute certain that that dirty rotten son of a whatnot was charging too much for asparagus.

“Five bits? Five bits!?” The pale green mare shook an outraged hoof in the stocky merchant’s face as he glowered back. “Daylight robbery, that’s what that is! You think any mare in her right mind is going to shell out that kinda dough for these? Hay, half of ‘em are all wilted! This is crazy! You’re crazy! Bonnie, tell him he’s crazy.” Lyra turned to a wide-brimmed sun hat at her side, which—presumably—hid a pony somewhere underneath it.

“It is a bit much, sweetie, but I think you’re being a tad harsh on him,” responded the hat. “And you know it’s late in the season for asparagus anyways. I was worried we weren’t going to be able to find any.”

“Dern right,” interposed the storekeep. His jaws went through a complicated sort of dance, and the long stem of hay sticking out from between his lips migrated over to the other side of his mouth. “If I’m cheating anyone, it’s myself. Should be selling this for twice as much.”

“Oh, like five bits wasn’t obscene enough! I’ll bet this is illegal. Probably is. Maybe we should get the royal gua—”

The unicorn stopped as her companion pushed forward. The pony raised her head, showing a kind face surrounded by pink and blue curls. “Yes, Lyra, I know, I know.” Turning to the stallion in front of her, she continued, “I’m sorry we’re making so much fuss over this. We’re getting married soon, so funds are just a little bit strained right now, and, well, she gets irritable. Do you think maybe we could have them for a little less?”

Lyra snorted. “Oh, sure, like he’s gonna listen. C’mon, Bonnie, we’re wasting our time with this price-gouger. Doesn’t know the meaning of compassion. I’ll bet he puts chalk in the flour. Or, y’know, whatever the equivalent is for asparagus.”

Bon Bon made a small apologetic face from beneath the brim of her hat. The ‘price-gouger’ considered, and then gave a somewhat grim smile. “‘Dirty rotten son of a whoosit,’ am I?”

“Whatnot,” corrected Lyra and Bon Bon simultaneously.

Bon Bon immediately flinched. “Sorry, it slipped out.”

“I’m not sorry at all,” said Lyra, turning her head away with a snort.

“Whatever.” The storekeep waved a hoof dismissively. To Bon Bon, he continued, “Look, if it was just that firebrand over there, nothing doing. But—Bah, I’m too softhearted. You can have ‘em for three bits apiece. I can’t go any lower, you hear?”

With a grateful smile, the mare bent her head into the saddlebag at her side and tossed a small pile of bits on to the stall’s countertop, holding her neck at an awkward angle to keep her hat from tumbling off. Lyra snickered. Bon Bon ignored her. “I wouldn’t dream of asking you to. Thanks very much for the discount!”

“Yeah, well.” As the two mares trotted away, the merchant called after them, “And hay, Firebrand! Quit yappin’ for a second and listen to your fiancée sometime! You might learn some manners!”

Lyra responded with several not particularly polite words, and then turned back to Bon Bon, chuckling. She raised a hoof, holding it out for a hoofbump, and after a moment’s hesitation Bon Bon raised her own forehoof and gave it a confused little tap. The unicorn grinned. “Aw, yeah. ‘Good guard, bad guard.’ Works every time.”

Bon Bon almost stumbled. “Wait, you were doing the ‘good guard, bad guard’—we were doing the ‘good guard, bad guard’ routine? Oh, for Celestia’s sake. Lyra, you should tell me these things!”

“He was overcharging, you know. I bought a few asparagus stalks last week for just two bits. There’s no way the price has gone up so high so fast.”

“That might be so, but—”

The mare stumbled to a halt, eyes wide and skin tingling. Her brow furrowed as she watched a small unicorn filly scurrying through the crowd some distance ahead, casting nervous glances around her as she ran. The pony soon vanished from sight down one of the side roads leading off of Mane Street, but Bon Bon continued to stare after her, a worried expression on her face. Lyra peered at her in concern.

“Bonnie? Are you alright? Is this place getting too—you know, eerie for you? I figured it’d be fine, what with the morning and the Sun and all, but if you’re having trouble—”

“No, no.” The mare waved her hoof. “I’m fine. But that filly who just ran across the market…” She pursed her lips. “It was faint, but I could feel it. She isn’t who she’s pretending to be. She’s like me. One of the Shee.” The mare turned to look at the unicorn beside her. “I figured that the Unseelie Court would have bigger loaves to bake than us, after Chrysalis’ defeat, but maybe not. She could be looking for us.”

Lyra’s eyes narrowed. “Is that so.” She glanced around, spotted a stall hung with ironware and cookery, and trotted over. Casting a quick, appraising look over the assembled merchandise, she raised a sturdy frying pan, gave it a few practice swings, and then turned to the wizened little proprietor of the stall.

“How much?”

“Three bits, dearie.”

“Right.” Another practice swing. “I’ll give you five bits—one to rent it for the next fifteen minutes, and four as a security deposit. Deal?”

“Um…”

“Great. Thanks!” A flurry of coins clinked down in front of the bemused ironmonger, and a moment later Lyra was back by Bon Bon’s side, the frying pan swinging in her magic’s grasp. With a grim smile, she asked, “So, what’s the plan?”

Her marefriend glanced back over at the side street down which the foal had disappeared. “We talk to her first. And if we have to, we fight.”

“Right.” The unicorn paused. “But for Celestia’s sake, get rid of that ridiculous hat. We’re confronting the critter, not having a tea party with her.”

o.0.o

It took the two mares a little time to shove and shoulder their way through the crowds of chattering, bargaining ponies, but not, fortunately, too much time. As they stepped into the cool air of the little shadowed sideway, their hooves tapping softly against the paving stones, they caught a glimpse of a pink and lavender tail vanishing around the corner of one of the tall buildings lining the side street, its cheery pink paint subdued to a quiet violet in the shadows. Bon Bon motioned with her hoof for Lyra to follow.

Their quarry was standing just around the turn in the little road, evidently trying to choose between two branching side routes before her, and didn’t notice their approach. Bon Bon glanced back at Lyra, who grinned and shifted the frying pan across her shoulder. She seemed to be enjoying the whole thing immensely. With a little roll of her eyes, Bon Bon turned to the foal in front of them, still oblivious to their presence, and cleared her throat.

“That shape isn’t yours to wear, Shee. It belongs to somepony else.” To her relief, her oft unreliable voice took on a strong, almost matronly tone for the little speech. She’d been afraid she would fall into the squeaky helium voice with the Nippony accent again. The foal whipped around to face them, while behind Bon Bon, Lyra nodded her approval.

“Very nice. Deep and dignified.”

“Thank you, Lyra.”

Sweetie Belle blinked at them, then frowned, looking down at her own hooves. “It isn’t? Did my glamour fail again? You can’t see the obsidian, can you? Tell me you can’t see the obsidian!” She tried to ignore the slightly hysterical tone her voice took for a moment.

She kept her eyes on the pair for a bit before glancing around. “So… are you two alone? You didn’t rouse the whole of Ponyville to hunt the monster down? And what does shee mean? Is it like… slang for freak? I’m not from around here, exactly, so you’ll have to forgive my lack of information...”

The two mares stared at her for a moment, near-identical, quizzical expressions on their faces. Lyra gave a long, low whistle. “Dang, Bonnie. I was figuring we’d get an Aldrovanda or Chrysalis. Are all Shee this weird? I mean, compared to each other?”

The cream-colored mare blinked. “Um. No, not… Hm.” She considered Sweetie Belle for a few moments, and then, a little haltingly, said, “I can see what you really are—or feel it, at least—because I’m also of the Shee. The Fae? Fairies? I figured you could tell. I mean, I’m”—she struggled for a word for a moment, and then continued—“domesticated, but even so, I know I still have the touch of Faerie on me.”

Sweetie blinked. Then blinked again, focusing on Bon Bon. There was something, a little sense that the image wasn’t quite right. “Oh. Oh! I get it!” She smiled. “Well, I’ve got nothing against you, or anything like that, I really just want to get to the Carousel Boutique, climb under my bedsheets, curl up and panic.” Her eye twitched. “Out of sight. Maybe get into Rarity’s pantry and drink wine until I pass out. Yep. Say hi to Queen Chrysalis and tell her not to brainwash ponies! I’ll just be going now.”

Bon Bon tilted her head a bit, peering at the little filly as if not quite sure what to make of her, while beside her Lyra stood her skillet on its handle and propped herself up on its pan, her forehooves crossed in front of her. Pursing her lips, the older changeling said, “Right, Sweetie Belle is Miss Rarity’s daughter—no, sister. And your bedsheets…” She paused, thinking, and then continued, “Well. Given that your original may still be in town, you wouldn’t be the only one panicking. And on the subject of panic—Lyra, could you put the frying pan down? Oh good, you already did—are you alright? If you’re on the run from the Unseelie Court, you don’t have to worry about me turning you in. As a frenemy of mine might say, I’m fae non grata with them.”

With each of Bon Bon’s comments, Sweetie’s heart seemed to lurch. “N-no,” she stammered, blinking away tears. “I-she—” She sniffled and angrily used her foreleg to clean the bit of snot. “I’m Sweetie Belle!” she finally cried, eyes glaring accusingly at Bon Bon. “Don’t you dare tell me otherwise! Don’t take me away from- from me!”

She slumped down, staring angrily at the pave work under her hooves. “I know I look like a freak! I know I don’t have the right to call myself Rarity’s sister… but…” She looked up at them, beseeching them to understand. “I don’t know how to be something else! I just want to be a pony again not… not this thing! I was supposed to turn back to normal!” She slammed her hooves down on the pavement hard enough to crack it.

All around the trio, whispers rose from the rocks and shadows... their words barely audible, with a meaning half-understood and half forgotten. Sweetie could feel the obsidian and onyx thorns grow out of her marble fur under her glamour and couldn’t take it. She closed her eyes and settled for crying silently, biting her lip so she wouldn’t wail and draw unwanted attention from other ponies.

The frying pan fell to the street with a clang, ringing against the cobblestones as Lyra jumped forward. “Hey, hey, hey. Kiddo, it’s okay.” She knelt beside the shaking foal, and laid a gentle hoof against her mane. “It’s okay.” Looking back at Bon Bon, who was rummaging through her saddlebag for something, she asked, “You have any idea what’s going on, Bonnie?”

“Not really, no. Ah!” The mare withdrew her muzzle from the cloth sack, smiling in triumph around the loaf of bread. “‘Ere—Schweetie Belle, ‘oo shaid? ‘Ought it was shomefing ‘ike that. Eat thish.” She dropped the loaf in front of Sweetie Belle, tore a piece off with her hoof, and lowered herself to the cobbles with a reassuring smile on her face. “Go on, it’s good. I guarantee it; baked it myself this morning. It’ll keep the piping and whispering away. Then if you feel up to it, you can tell us what’s wrong. Maybe we can help.”

Sweetie sniffled again and opened her eyes, looking down at the loaf of bread in front of her hooves. Despite herself, she couldn’t help but smile. The whispers slowly died away, until they were a little voice in the back of her mind, barely audible, but still there if she ever needed them.

“Thank you,” she said, levitating it and putting it back into Bon Bon’s saddlebag. “I’d definitely like to eat some but… maybe we could do so somewhere other than a back alley?” She sighed. “It’s a long story… and you might have a really hard time believing me… especially now that I look like a monster.” Her lip twisted into a displeased pout. “If this is how it’s going to be from now on, I might as well stop pretending to be a pony.”

Lyra chuckled. “Eh, I bet under all that magic you don’t look any freakier than Bonnie here does, all bug-eyed and beetle-backed and poked full of holes.”

“Thank you for that ringing endorsement,” said Bon Bon dryly, stowing away the rest of the bread.

“Oh hush, filly, you know I love every segment on that thorax of yours.”

Rolling her eyes, Bon Bon raised herself up off the street. “You know you’re going to make her sick, talking like that, right?” She held out a hoof to Sweetie Belle. “But she’s right, you know. Right now I have no idea what you are, but I’m pretty sure you’re not a monster. Believe me, I know; I’ve met monsters. In fact, we have one who comes ‘round for dinner every second Friday. Whatever you are, you aren’t like her.” She gave an encouraging smile. “Anyway—did we introduce ourselves? I’m Bon Bon, and this is my fiancée, Lyra—why don’t you come over to our house, and we’ll get you comfortable and I’ll whip up something for us to eat?”

“And drink? I could use some fae mead right now,” Sweetie said, chuckling weakly. “I-I’ll just follow you… I’m sorry if I don’t talk much right now, I’m still— I’m still trying to deal with this… situation.”

“I think we can manage that,” smiled Bon Bon. “Although you’ll have to settle for wine; I’m afraid we don’t have any mead.”

o.0.o

Liquid droplets of shadow and light wobbled down the walls and furnishings of a cozy, almost-cramped den, its interior cool and dark. Gray, peaceful light suffused the room, flowing quietly in through its rain spattered windows. A sudden summer shower had sprung up as the three had made their way to Bon Bon and Lyra’s cottage, but fortunately they had been close enough that a quick gallop saw them inside with only a mild drenching.

Now, dry, comfortable, and fed, they were gathered around a battered card table—the condition of which Bon Bon had apologized for at least fifteen times before Lyra pointed out that the state of their furniture was probably not the most pressing issue on their guest’s mind—with a stack of empty bowls and a shining copper soup tureen sitting on a tray to one side.

Sweetie sat perched atop a cushion, her limbs pulled tightly around her as she looked nervously at her two hosts.

Bon Bon, her head bent and brow furrowed, was chewing her lip pensively as she reclined on an old moth-eaten chaise, while Lyra was leaning back in a wooden chair and idly trying to balance a spoon on her snout. At length, the green unicorn tipped just a little too far back, lost her balance, and tumbled over backwards with a yelp and a thud, sending the spoon flying across the room.

Bon Bon didn’t even blink.

“You okay, Lyra?”

“Sure, sure.” She clambered back to her hooves, righted the chair, and draped herself over its back, rocking it back and forth as its legs creaked ominously. “Whaddya think? I buy it.”

Bon Bon was silent for a moment longer, and then nodded. “I suppose I do too.” She raised her head. “I’m so sorry, Sweetie Belle. It just sounds like you’ve been through Tartarus. We’ll help in any way we can, of course, although I can’t say I’ve ever heard of anything like the crystals you mention. Lyra?”

“Nyet.” Lyra shook her head before continuing. “Sounds like something that your folk might be expected to have heard about, though. Creepy crystals popping out of empty space and all that. Very Unseelie. Maybe Aldrovanda knows something?”

“Might be.” Turning back to Sweetie, Bon Bon said, “Aldrovanda’s the ‘monster’ I mentioned who comes over for dinner sometimes. We can ask her when this rain clears up, although it might be better to wait until tomorrow; it takes some time to get to Froggy Bottom Bog and back, and she might not even be there, given all this rain. She’s frightening, but don’t worry, she’s really more bark than bite.”

“More snark than bite, you mean,” said Lyra.

“That too.” A smile. “You’re welcome to stay the night, if you want, but given what you said, Rarity will probably be worrying about you.”

Sweetie nodded a bit, but hesitated. “I know I’ll find the fragment… I always do…” She struggled to find the words. “The only…thing… the only reason I didn’t go mad while I was a prisoner, or when my body changed… was that I was sure I would be back to normal.” She looked from one mare to the other. “I killed monsters that used to be ponies. I became a monster there, not just physically, but also in spirit… what type of pony kills? All through that… despite everything, I knew I would be a pony again. That I wouldn’t look like rock or gems… that I would be flesh and blood and have a soft coat of fur… that I wouldn’t have contracts and alliances with the earth under my hooves, or be able to talk to shadows…

“I know that what I did is something I can never take back… but…” Sweetie looked out the window at the rain still falling placidly outside. “I’m not even a real pony anymore. I have memories and… that’s it. My name is even stolen from a real pony who I usually replace whenever I step into their lives, and if not, I put in deadly danger. I’m nothing other than a creature that steals time.”

She shook her head. “I can go back to Rarity’s… and pretend to be her sister. I’ll see Apple Bloom and Scootaloo tomorrow and pretend to be seven years younger than I am. I’ll see Twilight… maybe Octavia and Vinyl, and they won’t know me as their student. I’m a thief. A monstrous thief… because what I take, I can never give back.”

Sweetie fell silent. Raindrops pattered against the windowpanes, beating out their random, arrhythmic song as the puddles nestled in the crevices of the moist black cobbles outside rippled and splattered. For a long, long moment, nopony said anything.

Then Lyra pushed herself up from her chair, falling back down to her hooves. Turning to Bon Bon, she said, “Welp, guess I’d better go make up the spare bed,” and added, in an undertone, “I’d stay, but you’re gonna be better at this than I am. Bun chance, or however you say it.” She shot an encouraging smile at Sweetie Belle, gave her marefriend a quick nuzzle, and then clomped out of the room and up the stairs.

Bon Bon watched her until she was out of sight, and turned to face the miserable foal sitting across the table. At length she sighed. “Sweetie, I’d like to show you something. It’s not a pretty sight, but from what you’ve told me you’ve seen a lot worse, and, ugly as it is, I think it might help.” Hoisting herself up from her chaise, the mare trotted over the windows and undid the curtain sashes, sinking the room into a twilit dimness as the drapery swept over the glass panes. Bon Bon inspected the result, apparently to satisfy herself that the windows were fully covered, and then turned to Sweetie Belle, a dark silhouette against the curtains. “Don’t be frightened, please. This might be startling, but there’s no danger.”

For a moment nothing happened. Then Sweetie heard a faint hissing like damp paper burning, the noise almost imperceptible next to the sound of the pattering rain. A green glow shone around Bon Bon’s hooves and along the edges of her mane, and the hissing intensified. The glimmering witchlight waxed, waned—and then exploded, rushing up around the mare in a roar of brilliant, harlequin-green flames that crackled in great heatless gouts through the air and curled off across the floor in contorting eddies. The twisting column of fire clawed its way up to the ceiling, flaring with a fierce, cold light, and then abruptly collapsed in on itself, vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. A few rogue sparks danced through the air, drifting erratically like wounded fireflies, and then it was over.

At first Sweetie could see nothing, her eyes bedazzled by the flash of light, but as her vision recovered she realized that the room was not as dark as it had been before. A point of green light still shone in front of her, a bit above eye level. As her sight adapted further, she realized that it was a spell swirling around a strangely curved horn, and the creature beneath it…

Bon Bon opened her pale blue, pupilless eyes, glowing with an inner light of their own, and raised a black hoof pitted with sharp-edged cavities. Sharp points of light danced off the glossy edges of her carapace, and as she raised her head Sweetie could see the outlines of wickedly curving fangs descending from her upper jaw like a pair of daggers. The membranous wings on her back hummed to life, and the changeling lifted herself up into the air, drifted over to the chaise she had been occupying earlier, and set herself down.

She smiled at Sweetie, which was more unnerving than comforting, and said, “There are more ways to be a pony than I think you realize, Sweetie, and you’re not the only one in this room who most ponies would be terrified to see as they really are. I’ve deceived. I’ve stolen. My old name—my true name in some regards—literally means ‘liar.’ And like you, I once knew, with every fiber of my being and every beat of my hearts, that I was an irredeemable monster, and deserved nothing.” She lifted a gnarled hoof, and absent-mindedly straightened the little stack of soup bowls left from their meal. “But I was wrong. Very wrong, as it turned out, though it took me a long while to realize.” She chuckled. “Lyra is an excellent judge of character, though, and when she informed me very definitely that I was not a monster, that was that.”

In a more serious tone, Bon Bon continued, “Now, whether you’re monstrous or not, I can’t say. Maybe you are. But there’s one thing I can tell you, and one thing I know is true.” She lidded her compound eyes, and after a moment there was another crackling inferno of foxfire, sweeping up around her and scorching away the darkened exoskeleton, wings, pitted legs, and all the rest. When the last whirling burst of fire had died and the dazzlement had faded out of Sweetie’s eyes, there was just a simple Earth pony sitting across from her, lit only by the pure, pallid rainlight filtering through the closed curtains. With a smile, the mare concluded, “There are many different ways to be a pony. The easiest, of course, is to be born as one. But it’s not the only way, and if you’d like, Lyra and I would be happy to show you some of the other ways.”

Sweetie frowned. “I… understand what you’re saying,” she said, motioning with her hoof to her head. “Here. But, here…” her hoof lowered down to her heart. “I just know different… for now. I don’t know what I’ll tell Rarity so I can spend more time with you and Lyra.”

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “Well, that last point is the least of your worries. I’m a pretty good baker, and Lyra’s naturally very good with music and is probably the only dedicated technomage in Ponyville, although she tells me that Twilight Sparkle has good theoretical knowledge. Pick your discipline, and we can tell Rarity that you’re coming over for lessons or something along those lines.”

“Wait, a technomage?!” Sweetie’s eyes widened, the gems literally sparkling. “I want to learn to cook! Can I skip school? I already know all of that stuff anyway!”

With a chuckle, Bon Bon waved her hoof. “Settle down, settle down. It’s your parents you’d need to ask about skipping school, not me. Lyra will be thrilled to have an apprentice, though. Just be careful not to confuse the two of us; I have all the technical skill of a potato, and between you and me Lyra uses the smoke alarm as a kitchen timer.” Her smile faded. “But to answer your first question...well. I can’t give you certainty, Sweetie Belle; you have to understand that. We’ll do everything we can, Lyra and I, but in the end whether you can be happy the way you are now is going to depend on you.”

“I can promise, though, that we will do absolutely everything we can to help show you that you can be...well, that you can be Sweetie Belle. Not a monster, and not some kind of ideal of pony perfection either, but a living, breathing, thinking, loving being—with all the flaws and imperfections that go along with that. A Sweetie Belle, whatever you end up deciding a Sweetie Belle is.”

Sweetie Belle nodded, a bit more serious. “I honestly don’t know what else to do… I know that sounds horrible, but I feel lost. I think, if either of you is willing to talk to Rarity that I show some skill in your specialties and that you’d take me as an apprentice, it would help me convince her… although I’ll have to alter my glamour to cover my cutie mark…” She slowly breathed in and exhaled. “I’ll spend the night at Rarity’s… and bring her over tomorrow, if that’s okay with you. I’ll just tell her that… I cast some spell… that Lyra thinks would be useful. I’m sure she’ll be delighted that her little sister is showing some magical talent.” She grimaced. “I feel like such a bad pony, making her think her actual sister is making progress.”

“Well, that won’t do.” Bon Bon raised an eyebrow and looked sternly at Sweetie. “You want me to teach you how to be comfortable with who and what you are, yes? Well, here’s lesson number one: you won’t get anywhere if you’re dragging a lie along with you. You’ll just gather more and more, and the harder you struggle the more they’ll weigh you down. My own lies kept me pinned down and miserable for years. Lyra and I believed you, and all we know of our own Sweetie Belle is what she looks like and that it’s wise to duck when she and her friends are on the rampage. Do you think the ponies who love you most will turn you away when we haven’t? I can talk to Twilight Sparkle—she knows about me—and explain things. She’ll understand, and I know she and Rarity are very close friends, so if absolutely necessary you’ll have an ally who isn’t a changeling living as a pony, or a musician who half the town—the idiot half,” she added, without any particular rancor, “—think is out of her mind.”

Sweetie chuckled a bit nervously. “We’ll go meet Twilight tomorrow then… I just… don’t feel like I can handle Rarity on my own right now… things didn’t go so well with her a couple of worlds ago, and I’m still… wary.”

“Goodness, Sweetie, I wouldn’t have asked you to talk to her tonight—maybe wouldn’t have let you if you had wanted to, honestly. You’ve been through the wringer, and right now you need rest. We’ll head out in the morning for the library if you feel up to it, and then we can hash out everything with Rarity and whoever else needs to be brought up to speed that afternoon.” The mare gave her head a little jerk towards the stairs. “Lyra’s probably got the spare room ready now, actually, so if you want you can head up and take a nap, or maybe have her show you around the house. Meanwhile I can head out and let Rarity know you’re alright, just so she doesn’t drive herself mad with worry.” She paused a moment, staring absently off into the middle distance as she tapped her hoof against the floor. Then she nodded. “Yes, I think that’s about it. Make yourself at home, and don’t worry, Sweetie. Just rest for now.”

With an encouraging smile, Bon Bon turned and trotted out into the little anteroom. There were a few bustlings and murmurings, an exchange of shouts up and down the stairs—

“Lyra, I’m heading out to let Rarity know that her sister’s okay! Show Sweetie around if she asks, will you?”

“Sure thing!”

—followed by the creak of the door's latch being undone.

“I hope you know what you’re doing, Bon Bon,” Sweetie said. “Rarity is very, very protective… when she’s not trying to kill you.”

Still, what she had learned here intrigued her. Her days with Blueblood had made her very open to the idea of learning things beyond magic. As much as she loved her dusty tomes and sparkly new spells, the prospect of learning to cook something other than pancakes without setting them on fire was appealing to say the least, and she had never considered the possibility of learning from a Technomage.

She couldn’t believe her luck! How many things could she create now? With the knowledge of a technomage… maybe she could stay here for a couple of years and—

She stopped herself.

“I think I’m losing it.” Sweetie looked towards the stairs. “Maybe not a few years but… a couple of weeks?” she mused.

She went up the stairs, following them until she found herself next to the guest room. And, presumably, where Lyra would be.

“Lyra?” She called. “I wanted to ask you something!”

A tousle-maned head poked out of a doorway down the hall. “Hey, kiddo. I’ve got your room pretty much finished. I was just scrounging around to see if I could find any chairs or stuff. It’s a little bare. What’s up?” Walking up to Sweetie, she continued, “Did you and Bon Bon have a good talk?”

“Yeah, we’re going to pretend that I’m your apprentice or hers… or both!” Sweetie beamed Lyra a smile. “And I hear you’re a technomage? That’s amazing! Can I see your experiments? How do you mix the magic and the machines? Are you using matrices or rune-sketching? Or is it a completely different school of thought and magic? Can you show me something you already made? Does it involve complex math?”

“Hey, whoa, one question at a time!” The unicorn grinned. “Didn’t know you were so into magic. Yeah, I dabble. I could give you a tour of my workshop right now, if you want; it’s down in the basement. Maybe give you a little run-through of the basics of technomancy while we’re at it. It’s cool stuff, but pretty finicky. Turns out there are a lot of failsafes built into our horns that we unicorns usually don’t even think about, but machines, they don’t have those failsafes. You’ve got to really go back to basics when you’re figuring out how to get ‘em to work right.” She tilted her head, eyeing Sweetie with a gleam in her eye. “‘Pretend,’ huh? Yeah, I think we could ‘pretend’ that you’re my apprentice. C’mon, I’ll show you around.”

Sweetie couldn’t stop grinning. “Okay, I lied. I’d rather not pretend! This sounds amazing! No failsafe? So if we input too much magic into it it might explode? Have you thought of using crystals as a focus? I’ve met many unicorns that have made amazing things with them!” The filly couldn’t stop shouting out ideas and theories as she followed the older unicorn. She might not be a pony anymore, but she could still learn like one!

o.0.o

The shadows of Ponyville had grown long and blue by the time Bon Bon had rounded that one last corner and found herself trudging along the street where Lyra and she had made their home.

She had expected to meet a worried, protective Rarity, a Rarity determined to see her poor, ill little sister and suspicious of any attempts to keep her from Sweetie Belle’s side. Bon Bon had planned for it, in fact. She had not expected, however, for her hesitant “Miss Rarity? I wanted to talk with you about your sister” to be met with a puzzled expression and the news that Sweetie had been in Manehattan for the last two weeks with her parents, and would be staying there another month, at least. Bon Bon managed to meet this turn of events by stammering out something to the effect that she had just wanted to let Rarity know that her sister was to be apprenticed to Lyra as a technomage. Judging from Rarity’s somewhat strained smile and her polite but nervous inquiries about runaway clockwork automata, this clearly wasn’t the most welcome bit of news, but all in all she took it in good enough grace.

Still, Sweetie’s presence in town could hardly be kept from Rarity for long, nor should it be. Accordingly, after leaving Carousel Boutique Bon Bon had made a stop by the town library to arrange a meeting to clear the air.

Twilight, unfortunately, was out at the time—according to a letter she had left, she and Spike were off preparing to observe some conjunction or eclipse or astronomical thingamabob—so Bon Bon scrawled out a brief note in Coltic, explaining the situation and mentioning that she, Lyra, and the dimension-hopping Sweetie would be dropping by the next morning. She was reasonably sure that few ponies but Twilight would even recognize the script, much less be able to read it, and hoped she was right.

Then there was the last-minute bit of shopping, and the drop by Sugarcube Corner to check on the sales of her last batch of spun sugar, and of course she had to hunt down and return the weapon of mass concussion that Lyra had ‘rented’ earlier in the day, because four bits wasn’t something to just throw away like that (she only got three bits back from the ironmonger, who—not unreasonably—pointed out that they had kept the frying pan for just a little bit longer than the fifteen minutes Lyra had originally mentioned).

All in all, it was a rather hoofsore and weary Bon Bon who lifted the latch to their tidy little home, wincing as the strap brushed against a raw patch on her hoof. She had tried to be careful when taking that frying pan back to the stall, but cloth slips and accidents happen.

Still, she was back home now. Sweetie, bless her poor heart, would probably be upstairs asleep, and she was looking forward to a quiet evening with Lyra, where they could sit together, maybe snuggle a little, and talk over the events of the day.

The door swung closed behind her. She shrugged off her saddlebag, and trotted into the den.

And then, with a boom like a thundercrack, one of the wooden floor planks on the far side of the room exploded in a hail of splinters, and a small reddish blur smacked against the ceiling, spattering a fine mist of tomato-scented droplets over the den.

A quiet evening with Lyra, thought the changeling mare. Well, given some past ‘quiet evenings,’ this could probably still qualify. After waiting a moment to make sure that there weren’t going to be any more projectiles erupting from the floor, Bon Bon crept cautiously over to the gently smoking hole and called down, “Lyra, whatever it is you’ve made, aim it somewhere else. We’re running out of carpets to cover up the holes. Also—” She sniffed again. Yes, definitely tomatoes. Glancing up, she thought she recognized long, stringy shapes in the flattened goo slowly dripping down from the ceiling. “Is that—are you—” She paused, marshalling her thoughts, and then continued in a calm, clear voice that unfortunately carried a strong nasal overtone, “Why are you launching supersonic spaghetti through the ceiling? It’s cratering the plaster.”

“It turned into spaghetti? And cratered? Awesome!” Hooves clattered across the stone floor of the basement, there was a quick succession of thumps and thuds as Lyra propelled herself up the stairs, and a door slammed open nearby. Bon Bon’s marefriend poked her head into the den, and grinned hugely when she saw the zesty devastation within. “Awesome,” she repeated. “Hey, Sweetie! You think maybe we could try redirecting that second focus? If we shift the anterior piezothaums into a 3:7:1 resonance, I bet we could lock down the momentum instead.”

“3:7:1? Are you sure that’s a good idea? That’s the diametric opposite of the previous calculation!” Sweetie’s voice responded, clearly audible through the hole in the floor. “It might implode!”

“Ooh, you might be right. Hm. I think we’re gonna have to go through the calculations again; do you know where the slide rule landed?”

“I think it’s embedded on the wall over there, above that picture of Bon Bon on your desk.”

Bon Bon slammed her hoof down on the floor, breaking off a few more splinters of wood. “No, Lyra. Sweetie, put down whatever you’re tinkering with, please. No more explosions.”

“Aw.” Lyra’s ears drooped. “C’mon, Bonnie, you just came back at a bad time. We’re on to something really cool, here. You know the Hoofenberg Uncertainty Principle? Well, if you minimize positional uncertainty enough, the resulting increase in uncertainty in momentum—”

“—leads to hoof-sized holes in my nice wooden floor,” finished Bon Bon. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but—no, not you, Sweetie, I meant Lyra.” She shook her head, and in an undertone, muttered something about needing a new pet name before continuing, “I’m sorry, Lyra, but the experimentation comes to a stop when the property damage starts. Remember?”

The unicorn sighed. “Fine, fine. But I’m holding you to that during your next flambé obsession.” Trotting over to the hole, she called down to the basement, “C’mon up, Sweetie Belle. I guess it’s time for a lesson in another important part of technomancy: fixing the mess.”

“Next time maybe you’ll just let me cast a shield spell on the room? I’ve gotten a lot better since Trixie first taught me! I even survived a mountain crashing around me and my friends!” Sweetie piped on her way up the stairs.

Once she saw the hole on the floor and all the splinters around it, as well as the mess on the roof, she cringed.

“Okay, next time I’m going to cast the shield spell even if you don’t want me to.” Her gaze went up to meet Bon Bon’s. “Did you talk to my sister? Is she okay with me staying the night here?”

“Not exactly. In fact, her Sweetie Belle is apparently in Manehattan with her—with your parents. I left a note for Twilight, and we’ll explain everything to your sister tomorrow; I didn’t think you were up to meeting with her tonight.”

A blob of jellied spaghetti, colored a delicate pink by the tomato sauce suffused throughout it, dripped down from above and splotted next to the changeling’s hoof. She smiled wryly.

“Although from the look of things, it might have been better had I not bothered. You seem to have bounced back pretty well.”

Sweetie cringed. “Sorry about that… I just got excited. You see, I’ve never met a technomage. I’ve met immortal versions of Twilight that could do amazing things… and bladecasters and even a version of myself that could see the very fabric of magic… but all through that… never a pony that merged technology and magic.” She hung her head. “I’m sorry.”

Lyra, who had ambled off somewhere else in the house and had been producing assorted rummaging noises, trotted back in with a toolbox and a few planks of wood floating in a web of golden magic. “Don’t be hard on yourself, Sweetie. I should have been the Responsible Adult, I guess, but...well, yeah. Even so, this isn’t the worst thing that’s happened on my watch—not by a long shot. There was that time I made this adorable little Von Neumane bot—based on a real critter, so it wouldn’t spook anypony if it got out. It was really a neat piece of work, had the right behaviors and everything. Anyway, I, uh, kinda underestimated it, and things got bad. S’all good now though, right, Bonnie? Forgive and forget, and all that jazz.”

“I forgave, yes,” said Bon Bon, raising an eyebrow. “I have definitely not forgotten.”

“Heh. Right, right.” The toolbox whipped open, and a sheaf of bronze nails whirled out, along with a gleaming bronze hammer and a little bronze hacksaw. “To work, then.”

With a small chuckle that may or may not have been intended to be audible, Bon Bon turned and trotted off to the kitchen. “Just don’t blow anything else up, try not to corrupt our guest, and listen to her when she wants to use shield spells, is all I have to say. I’ll get started on dinner.”

“Okay!” Sweetie said, looking from the floor to Lyra, and then back to the floor. “How do we start? I’ve never repaired a floor before!”

“What, never? What kind of magic have you been doing, anyway?” Lyra looked up from her sprawled position, both her forehooves splayed out to each side to hold down a strip of measuring tape as she jotted down notes on the intact floorboards with a pencil. “I started doing carpentry about a week after I started tinkering with technomancy.”

"‘Course, I didn’t have a tutor or anything, and the only book I had was written by this Fancy-speaking feller who didn’t really have a good grasp on Equestrian, so it was mostly trial and error for me. I kinda had to learn how to fix things up, at least if I wanted to keep living in a house with walls.” She shrugged. “I guess your case is different. Still, if you’re going to be experimenting, there’s gonna be the occasional Earth-shattering kaboom, and you’re going to need to know how to get the Earth all un-shattered again. How to de-kaboom things, as it were.”

“So! First, you’re going to want to make sure that you know what to repair; no point in fixing a little hole if the wood around it is so broken up that it’ll let water drip through it or something like that…”

o.0.o

That night, Sweetie sat on her bed, staring at her notebook. Fragments of Twilight circled around the dweomer, orbiting it almost placidly. For anypony else, they were nothing more than magical crystals. They would have never guessed that some possessed personality as well as power.

She sighed. The magical properties of the notebook or the crystals were not why she had brought it out. Slipping out the bookmark, she sent the notebook away while it grew and gained mass, revealing its original form: her cello case.

She stood and opened it, running her hoof down carefully on the lacquered wood of her beloved instrument. With a small smile, Sweetie pulled it out and stood on her hind legs, balancing perfectly as she assumed a starting position.

Maybe, if she just let herself relax, she could find some peace. Maybe this would help... it always helped.

She closed her eyes and... she couldn't move. Her foreleg remained in place, but her grip on the bow was shaky at best. Her other hoof held down the right strings, but even then, her hold was starting to slacken.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly, but the energy... or the inspiration... or simply the will was not there.

Slowly, Sweetie fell to all fours, levitating the cello to keep it in place. She stared at the instrument. It seemed normal. But... there was something missing. Silently, she tucked it into its case and secured the bow inside.

She closed the case and instead of using the magic within it to turn it back into a bookmark, she just let it rest against the wall.

Dear Diary,

Who am I anymore?

I can't bring myself to play... so much for the simple happiness my brother's gift brought me. I'd better just go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

Good night, diary.

o.0.o

Sweetie tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep, yet unwilling to make a noise. After writing her diary, she had expected sleep to claim her, but as many times as she closed her eyes, there was no rest.

There was something she needed to do. Slowly, she crept out of bed, and started walking down to the kitchen. Her hooves were completely silent... There would be no death, no stalactites of obsidian falling around her, digging into her skin. She dodged expertly every object in her path, even in deep darkness, her senses were ready and alert for any possibility of noise. There would be no punishment, no songs of pain for her to join in the Maestro’s concert.

She found the cleaning equipment quickly enough. A silent, muted light shone from her horn as she gathered water from the faucet, cringing at its gurgling. She quickly closed it, fearing she had somehow been heard, but no creature came from her, no spikes dug in.

She was safe—for now. Casting a silencing spell on her bucket and the sponge, Sweetie began to scrub the floors, slowly, methodically... and most of all, silently. There was no escape from the silence, because silence was safety... and she would be able to finally sleep, knowing she had done her job and that she would be rewarded with darkness and no more noise.

It was the only way she knew to rest.

When the pain would not come.

And the Maestro would not be displeased.

Sweetie Belle’s ears twitched upright, and she cringed as the silence—the safety—was broken. Distant notes, silvery and delicate as moonlight, were drifting through the night air, accompanied by an eerie piping that rose and fell in time with the reedy melody. There was a strangely mournful quality to the lilting music: a sense of memories misplaced and old grandeurs forgotten.

A pallid light glimmered through the folds of the kitchen curtains, shining from the street outside.

Sweetie blinked and looked down at the soapy sponge pressed beneath her hoof, suddenly unsure of where she was and what she was doing. The threat of punishment and the fear of pain seemed frail, insubstantial things, dreams from an earlier life. She raised her head, grey light gleaming in her mane, and stumbled aimlessly out of the kitchen, unearthly tones echoing in her ears.

There was the sound of hoofsteps to her left, and Sweetie Belle turned to see Bon Bon standing halfway up the stairs, a shawl wrapped around her against the night chill and a candle flickering in her hoof. The mare gave a wan smile.

“They woke you up too, then?” Wooden planks creaked beneath her hooves as she trotted down to join the bemused unicorn. “Don’t worry. They’re just memories; they don’t have any real power, as long as you don’t let yourself be drawn in amongst them. Just don’t let yourself be pulled in by the music.”

Shaking her head to clear it of the dazed, clouded feeling that had overtaken her, Sweetie murmured, “But...what are they?”

“Like I said, just memories.” Bon Bon trotted over, unlatched the upper half of the front door, and swung it wide, filling the little room with pale moonlight. She raised herself up on her hind legs, resting on the lower half of the door as she looked out over the street beyond, and after a moment Sweetie Belle joined her.

Mist drifted across the cobbles of the lane, shining in the light of the moon and swirling in strange eddies and arabesques. Through the drifting haze strode a train of tall, slender beings, translucent and shimmering in and out of existence as they moved forward in solemn procession.

None were alike; some bore great branching antlers atop proud heads, while others trailed long, gossamer wings like silken cloaks, while a few walked on their hind legs, forehooves folded and clutched against their chests. Twisting, gnarled diadems shone on their brows, and their long limbs bore angular bands and markings, daubed onto their skin with some dark pigment.

Their path traveled at an angle to the lane running in front of Bon Bon and Lyra’s home, occasionally intersecting with the solid bulk of Ponyville homes—which troubled the walkers not at all, as they simply passed through the walls as though they weren’t even there. They moved with self-assured grace—the long-dead lords and ladies of the Shee.

For some moments, Bon Bon and Sweetie Belle watched the ghostly procession pass in front of them until Bon Bon finally dropped to all four hooves. She made as if to shutter the upper half of the door, but then paused, brow furrowed as she considered Sweetie Belle.

“This fragment that you need to get—we don’t know how long it will take to find it, or how long you’ll have to stay with us. And since you’re of the Shee, you’re in danger of slipping into Tír na nÓg and not finding your way out again. You should know how to guard yourself from that.” Bon Bon hesitated for a moment. “How tired are you, Sweetie Belle? We could follow the Trooping Fae here, and I could show you some of the ways to protect yourself, if you want.”

“It’s so beautiful…" Sweetie said softly, her eyes almost aglow with wonder. "They have so much grace in their movements, and they seem so detached… I think Fleur would be cantering in place just by watching them.” She looked at Bon Bon, finally considering her words. “If we follow them… do we know where they’ll lead us?”

The mare nodded. “I think so. The leyline they’re following crosses several others not far from here, and that’s probably where they’re headed. There were ruins there, long ago, and the spirits have long memories.” Bon Bon looked out into the lane at the regal phantoms striding through the night, eyeing them uncertainly. “‘Beautiful?’ Hm.” She turned, and trotted back up the stairs. “I’ll just be a moment; I need to let Lyra know where we’re going.”

“Sure,” Sweetie mumbled, still staring at the procession.

It was strange… as much as she knew there was danger involved, whenever the Hedge would produce something harmful, but beautiful-looking, it was almost always active in some way. Aware, perhaps, of those that it was trying to entrap. While she could understand Bon Bon’s warning of being swept away by this other world, it was precisely that sense of disinterest that was so appealing.

The phantoms would continue, whether Sweetie followed them or not. Their mysterious objective would await them, now, tomorrow or never, regardless of what she did. It was another world that was truly its own and it was dangerously enthralling in how uninvolved it was.

Bon Bon’s hoofsteps sounded on the stairs, and Sweetie Belle saw the mare coming down once more, carrying a bundle of fabric with her. Bon Bon smiled, shrugged the folded scarf off her back, and reached up to wrap it snugly around Sweetie’s neck.

“Lyra insisted. It can get a little chill at night, even in this season, you know. Ready?”

Sweetie nodded firmly. “Ready!”

“Then let’s go. Follow my lead, walk where I walk, and again, don’t let yourself get drawn into the music. What we’re seeing happened long, long ago, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still be drawn in if we aren’t careful.” Bon Bon unlatched the door and stepped out into the cold, clear night, and, after a moment’s hesitation, Sweetie Belle followed.

One of the walkers—a tall, gangling thing, its hooves cloven and its mane drifting like lake weed through the air—turned its aquiline head towards them as they left the house, but after gazing at them for a moment in placid disinterest, it turned forward and continued its march.

“Yes, they can see us,” said Bon Bon, in answer to the unasked question. “If they care enough to, that is. Most don’t. To them, we’re just as ghostly as they are to us, and we’re not really worth their notice. In Faerie, it generally doesn’t pay to give too much attention to things that aren’t from your own time.”

“It’s still fascinating, though,” Sweetie said. “To see them moving in another time and space at the same time we’re in ours? Don’t you ever wonder what each of their stories are? What a piece of clothing or jewelry might mean?”

The mare tilted her head, peering at Sweetie Belle with an odd expression on her face. “Not...not really, no.” She gave a short chuckle. “I’ve been too busy hiding from the world of the Shee to have much time for wondering about its mysteries, I guess.” She stepped forward, hooves tapping against the cobblestones as she gestured for Sweetie to follow her. “Stay close.”

The trooping fae drifted onward, solemn and silver in the moonlight. The thin, quavering melody that had broken Sweetie Belle out of her trance rose and fell in the air, sometimes dipping down to near-inaudibility and sometimes thrilling to a high, victorious piping but never quite vanishing altogether.

The two changeling mares followed close behind, although at times their course deviated from that of the marchers—taking them to the left of the town hall, for example, rather than to the right.

As they passed the tall, darkened building, Bon Bon nodded in its direction. “You feel that tension in the air, here? There used to be an altar in this place—probably to Danu. Never go widdershins around old holy sites, Sweetie Belle—or new ones, for that matter. It makes it that much easier to slip into Faerie.”

“Right. Got it.” Sweetie nodded firmly. “Just one question.”

“Yes?”

“What’s widdershins?”

“Oh! Right, sorry. Counterclockwise.”

Their path took them outside the crowded central district of Ponyville. Wide open spaces of beaten earth and clover separated the darkened cottages and shops of the town, and blades of grass, silvered with moonlight, rustled around the hooves of the Shee as though stirred by a faint breeze. The procession was slowing, now, and every so often the trooping fae would pause in their march to bow their angular, uncanny heads, stepping back then forward in a sort of half-dance. They moved like flickering candle flames, and Sweetie found herself gently swaying along with their movements, her head drifting from side to side in time with the motion of their slender legs and the waving of the long chains of beads, feathers, and pebbles dangling from their necks and horns. The music of the Shee floated in the air, mesmerizing and intoxicating…

“Careful, Sweetie.” Sweetie blinked. Bon Bon’s hoof was raised, pressing against her chest, and to her bewilderment she found that she had stepped forward, towards the striding wraiths. The changeling mare lowered her hoof. “Remember who you are.”

“T-thanks, Bon Bon…” Sweetie stammered, eyeing the beautiful dancers warily. “This is so different from what I know… much more subtle and bewitching. There’s no malice in the air. It’s too tempting to simply give in to the music.”

“No malice?” Bon Bon tilted her head, eyeing the fae. “Hm. I suppose not. Not all of Faerie is like the Unseelie Court. Most of it isn’t, really. It just...exists, fading and forgetful.” She paused. “Which doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous, of course. A fire has no malice. A storm has no malice.”

“And yet… don’t you think they can all be amazing to see? A storm is uncontrollable and beautiful!” Sweetie jumped in, eyes shining. “Have you seen a lightning bolt shining through storm clouds at night?” She backed up a little, smiling a bit more ruefully. “I’m not fond of Faerie… I saw too many horrible things, but… Octavia and Vinyl taught me in the wilds of it how to survive and there was so much wonder, hidden between the thorns and memories. I wouldn’t want to go back to certain places but I saw too many things that I would have never found in my own, normal world.” She raised a hoof and looked at it almost petulantly. “Of course it cost me more than I would have been willing to pay.”

Bon Bon considered Sweetie Belle for a moment, brow furrowed. Then, with a quick, whuffing snort, she looked up, peering at the fae striding past them. “Maybe in the long run it won’t be quite as high a price as you think. But now’s not the time to talk about that. I wasn’t paying as much attention as I should have been, and I’m afraid we might be in a little bit of trouble. Are you able to fly, Sweetie, or can you just change how you look?”

“My powers are… different, I’m not a changeling in the traditional way. I can’t change my appearance, but I can talk with the spirits or essence within things. I wouldn’t be able to fly away.” She paused, considering Bon Bon for a moment. “This is one of those times that being able to fly would have been useful, isn’t it?”

Twin gouts of green flame erupted from Bon Bon’s shoulders, carving a pair of broad, feathered wings out of the cool night air. “A little, yes. I was stupid not to think of this earlier; we shouldn’t have stayed to their left.” Kneeling, the mare gestured Sweetie Belle over. “Hop on my back. I’m not the strongest flier—I’ve always preferred to keep my hooves on the ground—but this I can manage, at least.”

“Left side, right side…” Sweetie groaned, following Bon Bon’s instructions. “Really? I mean, I know the Hedge was random sometimes, but this is ridiculous!”

“Less—oof!—ridiculous than you might think.” The changeling mare rose up, Sweetie clinging to her back, and jumped up into the air, wings thrashing at her sides. The pair wobbled for a moment in midair, then lurched up and over the heads of the marchers before coming down to the earth again with a heavy thud. Shaking her head, Bon Bon said, “I am definitely out of practice. I’m going to have to get better at that if the kelpie really does start prancing around as a pegasus...Hoo. Anyway.” Rising to her hooves, she gestured at the fae procession. “That’s why we needed to get to their right.”

Sweetie looked after Bon Bon’s pointing hoof. At first she noticed nothing strange; the marchers seemed to be just as they had been before, swaying and striding to the lilting strains of the unwholesome melody drifting on the night air. Then, across an open clearing and only partly visible past a small cluster of cottages, she caught a glimpse of what seemed at first to be a second line of trooping Shee, proceeding along in the opposite direction to the travelers they had been following. Following them with her eyes, Sweetie saw that they were curving steadily to their left, their path taking them back towards the way that she and Bon Bon had just come.

With a start, the little changeling realized that the distant Fae were part of the same band that they had been following; the entire procession curved around in one grand loop, marching counterclockwise around some central point. She looked forward along the line of nearby faeries, themselves curving to their left. She couldn’t quite trace the path they were taking as they weaved around and through the shadowed buildings ahead, but it looked almost as if…

Bon Bon, following her gaze, gave a small nod and a chuckle. “You see? Widdershins, like I said. Counterclockwise. They’re all marching in a circle around something that is no longer here. It’s just one continuous loop. Or,” she added, “a noose, slowly drawing tighter. One we wouldn’t want our necks in. Look!”

The distant marchers were nearer, now, all striding in front of the far off homes that had at first hidden them from view. Glancing back, Sweetie saw that, somehow, the rear of the procession they had followed was no longer snaking away along the shadowed byways of Ponyville, but had emerged into the open, curving away to join with the fae on the other side of the clearing--while ahead, the marchers veered off to their left, joining up behind those marching opposite them and closing the loop.

She blinked, bewildered. There had been hundreds of them there before, stretching off as far as she could see--but now, somehow, the entire band had fit themselves into this little grassy hollow, marching around in a tight circle. There couldn’t be more than thirty of them now, at the very most. Or...twenty? Fifteen? Sweetie looked back and forth, trying to keep track of all of the solemn, striding fae at once. None of them were disappearing or leaving the circle, and yet, somehow, minute by minute the number of marchers grew fewer and the circle grew smaller, drawing impossibly in on itself. Now there were only ten or so--now seven--now five. Sweetie stared at the remaining Fae, determined not to lose track of any of them, and instantly failed, for now there were only four--then three--had she blinked? No. She was sure she hadn’t. Two. One. The last marcher slowly rolled to halt, perhaps three yards from the two changelings, and raised a slender head, starlight glittering in her deep, black eyes. For a moment she stood like that, poised tall and graceful as a fountain of spun glass, and the brittle, piping music of the faeries rose to a wavering crescendo.

And then she was gone. She had never been there at all.

“That...” Sweetie whispered, barely remembering to breath in, “Was awesome. Does it happen often?”

“It happened once,” murmured Bon Bon, still staring at the spot where the lithe Shee had stood, tall and proud, a moment before. There was a strange look in her eyes, and as she spoke her voice slipped a little. “Once, a hundred--a thousand--ten thousand years ago. And sometimes the world remembers that it happened, late one night when the moon was full, and it happens again--or rather, still only happened once, but happens at a different time, and in a different way. Memories everywhere…”

Sweetie yawned, suddenly feeling very heavy and tired. “It… it was nice… to see them dance again, like they…” she yawned again, leaning her head against Bon Bon’s back. The sound of the wind in the now normal night, too comforting to try and fight. “... like they… used...”

Bon Bon looked at Sweetie in surprise, and then gave a short, whinnying laugh. “Oh goodness, Sweetie, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking; you must be exhausted by now. Up you get.” The mare knelt so that Sweetie could clamber aboard, and with a little grunt, she rose to her hooves again, her wings cradling the little changeling on her back. “That’s enough ethereal wonder and lessons on fae-savvy for one night, I think; you need some rest. Let’s get you back home.” Turning, Bon Bon began to trot back the way they had come, hooves beating out a gentle rhythm on the soft, dew-dappled ground.

o.0.o

Early the next morning, Sweetie and Bon Bon set off for Twilight’s library. Ponies prattled happily nearby and waved hello, birds chirped merrily overhead—and underhoof, the stones murmured and creaked at one another, their strange voiceless voices rising in an excited hum as Sweetie approached and then fading, disappointed, as she passed by. Looking up at the changeling trotting along beside her, Sweetie could tell that she, too, was seeing and feeling just a little bit more than was seen or felt by the ponies around them. Every so often Bon Bon would veer slightly to the right or left, as though stepping out of the way of some invisible passer-by, and once she had come to a stop, eyebrows raised as she looked at an apparently empty patch of road in front of them. She stood there for a moment, surveying the street with a calculating look in her mild blue eyes, and then turned on to a side way that detoured around that section of road.

She offered no explanation and Sweetie asked for none. Just before they had turned, though, Sweetie had heard or smelled—she couldn’t tell which, unnervingly enough—a sinuous, unpleasant sort of softness, shivering in the air and clinging to her bones.

She found herself glad that Bon Bon had made that little detour.

None of the ponies around them, of course, noticed a thing. All they saw was bright sunlight, and all they smelled was the crisp, clean scent of rain-washed air. Rarity, and Twilight, and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom and Babs Seed…they were normal. They were right.

How could they possibly let her into their world?

Although Sweetie had gone through explaining her situation numerous times already, this time it was different. At least the last Twilight had been a changeling, same as her.

’Will she just… accept me?’ Sweetie mused on the way, lost in thought. ’What if she tries to capture me to experiment on? Or what if she and Rarity decide that I captured Sweetie?! What if they—’

“Sweetie,” Bon Bon spoke up. “You’re hyperventilating.”

’Right,’ Sweetie thought, pausing the thought spiral of doom for a moment. ’I’m just going to drive myself crazy if I do this.’ She raised her hoof to her chest and took a deep breath, extending a foreleg outwards as she let it out. 'Think good thoughts. Like muffins. And chocolate martinis.’

Another deep breath and she felt herself in control again.

“Sorry, Bon Bon, I just… I’m just nervous…”

“I’d be surprised if you weren’t. I wasn’t exactly calm when I first explained myself to Twilight, either.” The changeling’s brow furrowed. “Then she nearly blasted me through a wall, and Lyra came within an inch of braining her with the fourth volume of the Encyclopedia Equestriana.

“Everypony settled down eventually, though, and after the dinner a week or so later, we got on quite good terms.” With a smile, Bon Bon continued, “As she’s already accepted me, you shouldn’t—” A moment of thought. Then, with a hint of steel in her voice, “You won’t have trouble. I promise. Chin up, Sweetie.”

Sweetie grimaced before looking up as she noticed they were at the library already. “Well, here we are.”

She raised her hoof and knocked twice.

“Coming! I’m coming!” came a voice from within. Soon enough, the door swung open to admit a young dragon onto the stoop. “Hey! Hi Sweetie! And Bon Bon! What are you two doing here?” Spike asked, looking at them curiously.

“We’re here to see Twilight, Spike,” Sweetie spoke up. “Is she awake yet?”

“Of course I am!” a voice said. “What kind of pony do you think I am?” Twilight trotted up behind Spike, a soft smile touching her lips. “A late sleeper?”

“Remember that one time you cast that sleeping spell, but sneezed and you passed out for two days?” Sweetie asked, watching Twilight approach.

Twilight blinked. “Wait, how do you know about that? I never told that to anypony!”

Sweetie grinned. “I’m just glad it happened to you too and I wasn’t just making stuff up.”

Twilight stared at the filly for several seconds before looking up at Bon Bon. “Okay, I think I’m starting to believe you already.”

“Wait, what’s happening?” Spike asked.

“Oh, Spike!” Twilight chuckled a bit nervously. “I was planning on inviting Rarity over in an hour or so, would you mind going down to Sugarcube Corner and getting some refreshments?”

Spike’s eyes narrowed. “Why do I feel like you’re using Rarity to get rid of me?”

Twilight’s smile grew more nervous. “Well, if I can’t trust my number one assistant with getting what Rarity likes, who else can I ask? Tell you what, since you’re going there already, treat yourself to one or two of Pinkie’s ruby cupcakes.”

Spike’s eyes widened. “Wait, two?”

“Yup! Now, get going Spike, and make sure you get enough for everypony. It’ll be Bon Bon, Rarity, Sweetie Belle and I. And yourself, I guess.”

Spike was already trotting out the door. “I’ll see you in an hour then!”

Once he was out of sight, Twilight sighed. “Okay you two, better come in,” she said, allowing them in and flipping the open sign to ‘closed.’ “We have a lot to talk about.”

o.0.o

It was a very worried Rarity that knocked politely on the library door.

She could hear voices from inside, one of them—surprisingly—being her younger sister’s.

What was she even doing here?

When she heard them keep on talking with no indication that anypony intended to open the door, she knocked again more forcibly, and this time, everypony inside quieted down.

The door opened a bit, and Twilight peeked out, her gaze darting back and forth with all the theatrical shiftiness of a mare who, even if she would never have admitted it to anypony else, had read far more thrillers than was good for her. Her face brightened at the sight of her friend.

“Oh, it’s you, Rarity!” she said with evident relief. “Come on in!”

“Twilight, darling, I’m not entirely sure why I’m here… or why Sweetie Belle is here, for that matter.” Her brow furrowed. “She ought to be in Manehattan, with mother and father. Was there some calamity or other? And why should she have come to you?”

Twilight shook her head. “It’s a bit… more… complicated than that, but not a cause for concern… I think.”

Rarity blinked. “Wait, it is or it isn’t?”

Twilight mulled this over. Then, with great conviction, she declared, “Maybe.”

Rarity regarded her friend for a moment, an unamused expression on her face. “Twilight, you know how I respect and love you, but unless you start making sense I am going to have to—oh, hello Bon Bon!" Rarity stepped forward, looking at her sister, grabbing her face in her hooves and looking into her eyes and mouth. “You seem to be okay! Why aren't you with our parents? And…” Her eyes widened. “You have a cutie mark?!” Rarity hopped around to glance at Sweetie’s flank, ignoring her sister’s nervous shift. “It’s a musical note! And it seems to be… smashing through Twilight’s cutie mark,” she deadpanned. “What does that mean?” she asked, looking up at Twilight.

Sweetie had played through this meeting a hundred times in her mind. She could tell—she knew—what would come next.

Twilight would explain, maybe, or if her own nerves didn’t fail her, Sweetie would blurt out the truth herself. Her sister wouldn’t believe it at first, which would be bad, and then she would believe, which would be worse. Rarity would step back from her, face twisted into a grimace of revulsion as she stared at the changeling golem that had spirited away her real sister. Anger. Fear. Hatred…

“S-step back!” Sweetie stammered, shuffling away from Rarity. “I need some space, okay? Don’t crowd me!”

“Why, Sweetie Belle, what’s wrong?” Rarity asked asked with concern, nevertheless allowing Sweetie to step a bit further away from her. “Did something happen? Are mother and father okay?” she asked Bon Bon.

“Sort of,” Sweetie said from the safety of the other side of the table. “I didn’t… really go to Manehattan, you see.”

“What?” Rarity rounded on Bon Bon, her ears flattened back against her skull in anger. “You! She was here?! Is that why you went to see me last night at such a dreadful hour?”

“I’m very sorry about that, Miss Rarity,” said Bon Bon, stepping forward. “I’m afraid I didn’t tell you all that I could have. Your sister was with my marefriend and I at our home when I came to see you. I know you would have wanted to know where she was, but Sweetie was a nervous wreck, and—well, she’ll explain precisely why she was a wreck, and why she couldn’t have seen you just then herself.” The changeling hesitated, eyeing the simmering unicorn apprehensively, and then continued, “I know I didn’t have the right to decide what was best for her, but she was hurting. With what she told me, I didn’t see another way. I’ll let her explain the rest; it’s her story to tell.”

“We shall see,” Rarity replied icily. Her glare softened as it traveled to Sweetie. “Sweetie… what happened?”

Sweetie Belle looked from Rarity to Twilight, then to Bon Bon. Both Twilight and Bon Bon gave her encouraging smiles and she sighed, before looking back to Rarity. “Sis… I… I’m not your Sweetie Belle.”

Rarity stood there for a moment. “Wait, I think I misheard,” she said, her face a nervous, polite blank. “What was that again, dear?”

“I’m not your Sweetie Belle,” the filly repeated. “I’m a Sweetie from another world, another universe. I’m traveling between worlds trying to find crystal fragments that’ll help me go back home.”

Rarity looked from her to Twilight. “She’s lost her mind.”

Twilight shook her head. “She’s telling the truth.”

“But that’s—”

"Absurd? Mad? Great Aunt Looneybelle levels of completely nutballs?" Sweetie offered before her tone turned serious. "Rarity, look at me, please..." when her sister’s eyes finally locked with her own, she started speaking again. “I’m here for a short while… your sister, the local Sweetie Belle is fine, she’s still with your parents in Manehattan. I just didn’t want you to think I was her—”

“Are you some sort of changeling?!” Rarity gasped, leaning away from Sweetie Belle. “Have you taken my Sweetie away?”

“I’m…” Sweetie cringed. “I used to be like you and Sweetie Belle… And I promise she’s okay! I just… I have no control over my jumps,” she whispered. “I wish I did.”

Rarity walked around the table until she stood in front of Sweetie Belle. “Show me.”

Sweetie shook her head. “No, please… I don’t think you should—”

“You’re here with my sister’s shape and name,” Rarity growled. “And you say you’re still her and she’s coming back as if nothing happened. Why should I trust you, changeling, if you can’t even—”

And suddenly she was looking not at a little filly, but a young mare.

Slightly taller and thinner than her. She seemed to be carved of marble and stone… and yet it flowed like regular muscle or hair. She didn’t devote too much attention to that, though, as there was something more important, more immediate.

This mare, this strange Sweetie Belle was terrified.

Of her.

She looked as though she expected Rarity to attack her. This was Sweetie Belle, and yet not. Just like she had been told.

“Oh, Sweetie,” she said softly, pulling the young mare into an embrace. She ignored the slight prickling of the black thorns that poked through her otherworldly sister’s fur. “You look so beautiful.”

Sweetie stiffened under her sister’s embrace, but soon relaxed into it, sniffling. “Thanks, sis.”

“But, what are you going to do?” Rarity asked after a moment. “Are you setting out to find the gem you were talking about?”

Sweetie shook her head. “I need to do some research first… see if I can find a trace of it so I can do it as effectively as possible.”

Rarity sighed. “And our Sweetie will be okay?”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “I’ve met myself in other worlds before… I usually take it pretty well, but it might take some explaining.”

Rarity grimaced at that thought. “I hope she takes it well.”

“That also reminds me…” Sweetie hesitated. “I…I’ll need a cover story for the rest of Ponyville, like I’m a distant cousin or something… I was thinking of telling everypony that I was apprenticing under Bon Bon or Lyra, since I had a calling for magic or cooking or something.” She smiled sheepishly. “Besides, technomancy sounds really interesting…”

“Well...” Rarity hesitated. “I don’t know, there are som—”

“Please?” Sweetie asked, looking up at her with pleading, shimmering, emerald eyes. “Pretty please with a ruby on top?”

Rarity took a step back.

“Please, sis?” the glittering, gem and marble mare pleaded once more.

“O-okay! Fine! I’ll do it!” Rarity said, waving her hooves at her sister, unable to take more . “Just stop begging!”

Sweetie grinned, and her glamour came up, leaving her looking like a simple filly.

“We’ll have to do something about your looks, though,” Twilight said. “When our Sweetie Belle returns, it will complicate things if you look the same. Can you change the way you look, Sweetie?”

Sweetie Belle concentrated a moment, her horn glowing steadily, but nothing happened. She groaned. “No… I think the glamour is more of a memory of who I was when I was a pony… the cutie mark will be a problem too if I can’t change the way I look before Sweetie arrives. I had already gotten my cutie mark when this happened.”

“Chalk dust, maybe,” suggested Bon Bon. “Or talcum powder or something like that.”

Sweetie shook her head. “It’s a very complicated and involved illusion, remember? The reason ponies don’t feel my true self is that it convinces all the other senses that it’s actually fur, that I’m actually that short and all those other details… when I look at myself, I’m not fooled by it… and as far as I know, neither would one of the princesses. It has to be something else. But I can’t cast a spell to change the illusion… if only Trixie were here…”

“Hmm… changing an already existing illusion,” Twilight muttered, standing up and trotting to one of the shelves. “I think I have a spell for that.” She sifted through the books until she found something. “Hm, that one’s not as easy as it looks…” She pouted as she pulled another book, and then another, until she had a veritable tower of books around her. “Aha! Found it! We’ll get you a small medallion or trinket… and I can enchant it with a secondary illusion, making it seem like you have a different mane color.”

“Oh, I have just the thing!” Rarity said proudly, turning her head to rummage through her saddlebags. “Where is it? I just bought it! Aha! Found it~!”Rarity pulled out a small pin with a emerald on it. “I think it will look lovely with your eyes, Sweetie!” Rarity grinned.

Twilight’s magic enveloped the pin and levitated it over. “This is perfect, Rarity!” she exclaimed, carefully evaluating the emerald. “All I need to do is cast that illusion spell and…” Her horn glowed with magic, which was echoed on the pin itself, and after a few seconds, she released it. “Here, Sweetie, try it on.”

Sweetie levitated the pin and slid it into her mane. “I can’t tell,” she complained after a while, looking up and going cross-eyed. “Did it work?”

“Here,” Twilight levitated a small mirror, reflecting a soft blue and green back to her.

“Wow, thanks, Twilight!” Sweetie grinned.

The door slammed open and Spike shuffled in, carrying three or four boxes of pastries. “I’m back! Sorry for the delay. Pinkie didn’t have any ruby cupcakes and I had to wait for them!”

Twilight and the others shared a look, before she smiled at her assistant. “Don’t worry, Spike! You’re just in time. Rarity is already here and I think all of us are hungry!”

“Well, I—” Rarity’s words failed for a moment when she saw the selection. “I-I shouldn’t, but… I guess a lady would be remiss to refuse such hospitality.” Rarity examined a rather delectable-looking meringue cupcake. “I’ll just one of these. And one of these. Oooh… and that one!”

Sweetie sighed and leaned back, casting a quick, grateful look towards Bon Bon before picking out her own selection of cupcakes.

"Hey!" Spike blinked. "Where did Sweetie go?"

o.0.o

"And what exactly are you sorry for?" Bon Bon asked. "Tell me."

“I’m really sorry that the magically-propelled auto-whipper Lyra and I made for you flew out of control and started chasing those squirrels, Bon Bon…” Sweetie apologized for the third time since they had started pulling out the ingredients to make rose water.

She eyed the simple equipment: pots and pans to boil the water and extract the essence of the rose petals’ essence. It required careful monitoring, and very specific temperatures. The pot would contain said petals, a brick, a bowl and water, while on top, the lid of the container would be turned upside down and, with the use of ice-spells, kept cold.

It usually took Bon Bon a while to do this the Earth pony way, but thankfully, she had two unicorns now to help her keep the temperature steady.

“Goodness, Sweetie, you can stop apologizing.” Bon Bon peered at the long thermometer sitting in the pot and adjusted the heat of the little stove. Several of the heart-shaped crystals atop it glimmered, and the red glow of the ceramic plate beneath the pot dimmed marginally. “The squirrels get after my begonias, anyway. Celestia knows why. I don’t think they eat them, but there it is.” She steadied herself on her hind legs, and clamping the frigid lid in her forehooves, hoisted it off the countertop and set it atop the pot, covering the bowl and the submerged rose petals.

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “You do have two unicorns here, y’know. You don’t have to do everything by hoof.” She chuckled. “I guess technically you don’t have to do it by hoof anyway, but…”

“Shush. I like this shape.” The changeling finished twisting the kitchen timer balanced on her hoof to the appropriate time, and set it on the counter beside her. “Sweetie, don’t let that lid get too cold, okay? We just want to condense the rose water, not freeze it.”

“Right!” Sweetie nodded, casting a very simple cooling spell on it. “That good?”

A satisfied nod. “It should. Now, for the moment, we just need to keep a close eye on the thermometer.” She lifted her forehooves from the solid brass bar running the length of the stove’s front, and dropped to all fours. “How did today’s visit with Rarity go?”

Sweetie shuddered. “It was… okay. She asked a lot of questions about my travels. I had to smudge over some of the more colorful moments.” Sweetie kept her spell going, feeling the steam begin to warm up the lid. “I think she’s okay with me being here but she is worried about how her Sweetie will handle it when she comes back… it’s already been a week and I’ve had no luck finding the location of the fragment.”

Bon Bon nodded. “Yes, I was a little surprised that Twilight hadn’t heard anything. Do you know, I think she might have actually stayed up all night going through her books looking for something? She looked terrible when I dropped by yesterday afternoon.”

“Pfeh.” Lyra snorted. “Gonna wear herself out that way. I mean, it’s cool of her and all, but that mare’s got to slow down. She’s a bunch of nerves as it is.”

“Mm,” responded Bon Bon, raising an eyebrow. “Says the mare who I found slumped over a stack of blueprints in the basement this morning, surrounded by five empty coffee mugs and snoring like a manticore with a head cold.” She shook her head, while Lyra made a number of indignant noises under her breath. “But don’t worry, Sweetie. We’ll find it yet.”

“Maybe there aren’t any ponies who know where this crystal is, but just because ponies don’t know doesn’t mean that no one knows. Our, um, acquaintance I told you about earlier—the kelpie—will be coming to dinner on Friday, and we’ll see if she knows anything about it then. You must be very anxious to be on your way, but don’t worry; I’m sure we’ll make some progress soon. Oops, still too hot.” The changeling tapped one of the dials on the stove.

“This friend of yours…” Sweetie hesitated. “You said anything dry sticks to kelpies like her? So, if I happened to have some aluminum foil, and I happened to put it on her and make it invisible… would it stick to her forever? And would she be really angry about it?”

“Angry? Um.” The changeling hesitated. “Not angry, exactly. At this point, I don’t think she’d actually mind having it stuck to her at all, considering how much else she has stuck to her hide. She wouldn’t be angry, but she would be…petty about it, I suppose. She’d never let you forget it. But yes, it would stick to her forever, although if there were any bits poking up you could break or tear them off.”

Rolling her eyes, Lyra said, “Yeah, if you don’t mind breaking a good saw or two. I mean, sure, it’s nice and all to not have her get stuck in the doorway anymore, but she really did a number on my tools. Do we even know how she got that yoke stuck to her?”

“I thought it best not to ask.”

“Ah.” Sweetie nodded, slowly pushing the box of aluminum foil under a nearby table with her left hind hoof. “Well, it’s a good thing that I wasn’t planning on doing that then.”

Lyra chuckled, and Bon Bon looked vaguely confused. “Well...yes, I suppose it is. But why bring it up in the—”

“Forget it, Bonnie, forget it. The kid’s just got a good sense of humor, that’s all.”

Then the kitchen timer trilled out its announcement that the time had come to siphon off the first batch of rose water, and all conversation was suspended in a rush of siphoning, shifting, adjusting, and general hustle and bustle, and by the time things had settled down again, the thread of conversation had been irretrievably lost.

o.0.o

“I may or may not have heard of something like that, maybe. Perhaps. Are you quite certain that you’re inedible?” The kelpie had draped herself over the rim of the bathtub, her long weedy tresses dripping on the damp rags below and her skeletal, pebble-encrusted forelimbs dangling in the air. She tilted her head and grinned, exposing a set of triangular, lizard-like teeth as she gazed speculatively at Sweetie Belle. “I’ve known more than a few individuals who were very adamant on that particular point and ended up being mistaken.”

“She’s made of rock, Aldrovanda,” said Bon Bon as she entered from the kitchen, a rope-suspended tray swaying from her mouth. “I’m reasonably sure she’s not bluffing.”

“I’ll bet she’s just using that as an excuse,” retorted the creature. “And furthermore, I consider your interruption to be in very bad taste. This is our conversation, not yours. I had hoped that you would have had the common decency to—Eeee! Chicken!”

Rolling her eyes, the changeling said, “Yes, chicken.” She lowered her burden to the den table, grabbed the cat food-stuffed cloth chicken from the tray, and tossed it kelpiewards. With a splash and a sound of tearing cloth, both chicken and kelpie disappeared beneath the surface of the water, and Bon Bon smiled apologetically at Sweetie Belle. “Sorry about that. She’ll surface soon, and then hopefully she’ll have something useful to say. She won’t be any help unless she’s fed, though.”

A door slammed elsewhere in the house, and Lyra poked an oil-begrimed face into the room. “Hey Bonnie. Is the Beast fed?”

“Yes. Wash.”

“Aw, c’mon! I know Sweetie doesn’t care, and I know you don’t care what the Great White Snark thinks. Honestly, it’s not...I mean, look, I know I normally wash up for dinner, but Aldrovanda’s already kinda thrown formality out the window...What if I do the laundry for this...Oh, alright,” she finished, withering under Bon Bon’s steady stare, and trotted off to the kitchen. “You haven’t seen the last of Grimeface the Great, though. I shall return! I shall wreak my revenge! And in the meantime, yes, I’ll get that smudge on my horn, don’t worry.”

Bon Bon turned her head back towards the den and its occupants, chuckling to herself. “Crazy mare,” she said, to no one in particular. She gave her head a little shake, and smiled wryly at Sweetie Belle. “So, you had some time to talk with Aldrovanda while I was getting dinner ready. Any questions?”

“She hinted that she had seen something similar to the fragment,” Sweetie said after a moment. “But then she asked if I was edible and it deviated from that. I’m debating whether or not to increase the iron in my blood with a spell and let her take a bite.”

Bon Bon shook her head, smiling. “She loves to pretend otherwise, but she wouldn’t bite. She may have been vicious when she was younger—she’s probably eaten a few ponies in her time, ugly as it is to think of—but as far as I can tell, now she only goes after prey that won’t put up a struggle. I’ve never seen her eat anything but carrion.” The changeling raised an eyebrow. “Mind, she’s not picky about what kind of carrion. She’s hinted in the past that one of the reasons she’s an outcast among the Shee is that she actually ate some crown prince or other of the kelpie clan before a barrow could be dug for him. Of course, she could be lying.”

There was a splash behind them. “Calumny! Most vile and base of calumnies! Refute it, Bon Bon, I demand it.”

“You’d prefer to be a cannibal than a liar, then?” asked Bon Bon. “Really?”

“Naturally,” said the kelpie, her voice full of honest surprise. “Wouldn’t you?”

Bon Bon’s eye twitched. From the anteroom outside came the sound of Lyra’s hooves, and a moment later the unicorn trotted into the room. She glanced over the scene, taking in the innocent, querying expression on Aldrovanda’s face and Bon Bon’s stammering attempts to form a coherent sentence, and groaned. “Oh, come on! Kelpie, you broke her already?” She draped a hoof over Bon Bon’s shoulder. “Don’t try to come up with a response, filly. Whatever she said, you know there’s no sane answer. Yo, Sweetie Belle. Your turn to play verbal volleyball with the water pony. Bonnie here’s gonna need some time to get herself back into gear.”

“So…” Sweetie rubbed the back of her head with her hoof awkwardly. “What do ponies taste like?” She shrugged. “I mean, Nightmare Moon told me Twilight tasted like Blueberries, but I’m not certain I believe her.”

“Well, now!” trilled the kelpie. “Bon Bon, you should take note. This little morsel shows a proper interest in my experiences. You’ve never asked me what pony tastes like—or changeling, for that matter—and it’s always pained me. Coldhearted, I call it.” Before Bon Bon had a chance to respond, the kelpie chuckled nastily to herself and turned back to Sweetie. With a curt little nod, she said, “Beaver. Ponies taste like beaver, only not as tender. I don’t know where this Nightmare Moon character got that berry comparison; berries are nasty things. Too sour, too sweet, and they make my fangs ache.”

Sweetie made a face. “I don’t like eating animals. Brings back bad memories.”

With a shrug, the kelpie said, “And I don’t like eating plants. We all have these little personality quirks.” She allowed herself to slide back into her bathtub, her long mane slithering up over the tub’s rim and into the water like a slimy green waterfall, flowing in reverse. Goatish eyes glimmered just above the water’s surface. “But your line of questioning confuses me, tidbit. First crystals, and now the taste of pony? Forgive me my obtuseness, but I confess to being baffled by the connection between the two.”

“I’m trying to build rapport before I am reduced to using alteration spells to transform the bubbles of oxygen in the water into little iron fragments,” Sweetie elaborated. “I figure the pony way is better than the way my… captors… chose to pry information out of me.”

The kelpie blinked once or twice, and then burst into shrill, cackling laughter, the detritus clinging to her sides clinking and clattering. “Rapport? Bless your juicy little heart, you really were not prepared for this at all, were you? For shame, Bon Bon! And you too, Technopony! Leaving the poor wee beastie to blunder about with altruism and nonsense like that.” Still chuckling, she said, “I like threats, morsel. Threats and I, we understand one another. There is a beautiful golden solidity to them that simplifies life wonderfully. Don’t try to use psychology on me. A renegade I may be, and a half-traitor to the Unseelie Court, perhaps—but unlike my good frenemy the race-traitor here, I am Fae down to my very bones. Give me flint and blood, and save the soppy squishy sap for the livestock.” With a snaggletoothed grin, the kelpie rolled up and over, twisting so that her head was draped upside-down over the bathtub’s rim. “So. Bubbles of iron, eh? Sounds excruciating. I shall dispense with the tricks, then. Honesty shall be my byword. You’re looking for a crystal, yes?”

“Purple, magical, possibly feeling otherworldly,” Sweetie said, narrowing her eyes a little. “Yes.”

“Mm, yes. Yes.” The kelpie considered, her eyes half-lidded. “A purple, magical crystal with a possibly otherwordly feel. A crystal.” She yawned. “A thousand apologies, but nothing comes to mind. Sorry. I’d wish you good luck, but as that might lead to less luck for me, I’ll just express a vague desire that you experience an amount of luck that isn’t very far below average.” Raising an eyebrow, the black, cluttered creature said, “Now, if you were looking for several hundred thousand such crystals—or maybe a few tens of ‘em? I was never good with numbers—I might be able to help you. But as it is, I can’t say that I’ve ever heard of such a thing.” With quiet swish of water, Aldrovanda disappeared beneath the surface of the water, grinning all the way down.

“Figures you wouldn’t know,” Sweetie sighed. “I was warned that you were pretty much useless, but I guess I told myself it couldn’t be that bad. I mean, you were supposed to be one of the few informed fae around here.”

“Hold up, Sweetie.” Bon Bon trotted over to the bathtub and gave the side a sharp rap with her hoof. Disgruntled bubbles emerged from the water’s surface, but no kelpie. “She’s not telling you everything—or rather, she is, but she’s doing it deceptively.” She gave the tub another rap with her hoof, and this time had a better result. With a slop and splash, Aldrovanda’s refuse-thickened head emerged from the water. The changeling scowled at her. “What do you mean, there are many crystals like the one’s she’s looking for? Unless you’re talking about amethysts—and I know you aren’t, don’t try to pretend otherwise—that shouldn’t be possible. Where are these crystals? What’s special about them?”

“My dear Bon Bon, you are a mass of suspicion. You do know that, yes? I know you have problems with that whole self-awareness thing, so I thought I should check.”

Bon Bon scowled. “We’re not talking about my self-awareness or lack thereof. We’re talking about the crystal or crystals you know about.”

“Fine, fine,” said Aldrovanda, rolling her eyes. “I thought that a little give and take was part of every proper conversation, but naturally I bow to your superior knowledge. Do pardon me for my attempt to encourage the feast of reason and the flow of soul.”

“Kelpie, give me a straight answer or it’s off-brand cat food Friday after next.”

Aldrovanda froze. “You wouldn’t.”

“I would.”

With a faint, venomous hiss, the kelpie said, “That really is low, Bon Bon. Truly. I am appalled at—Yes, okay, fine! Many crystals, as I said, rather perfectly matching your little protégé’s description. I’ve not seen them myself—I’ve never been much of one for trooping, and like to stick to my own swamp—but I understand they’re all piled up in the middle of Lake Loughleah a few leagues runward along a leyline that goes through Crúbbriste Barrow. The tale goes that there are so many of them that the pile rises up out of the water as an entire island.” She licked her fangs nervously.

“Off-brand cat food. And I’ll hide the Neightszche you’ve been reading.”

“You are a positive brute, Bon Bon. But really, there’s not much more to tell. Just, ah, one little last detail. A minor setback. I’m sure you, in your ingenuity, could find a way around it.” With a wide, innocent smile, the kelpie continued, “The lake is practically an open pit that drops right into Faerie. Even morta—” A flicker of something almost like pain crossed the kelpie’s face, and she corrected herself. “—non-Fae, rather, who drew too close to it would find themselves drawn in.” Her brow wrinkled in thought. “Curiously, some of the stories say that ponies that vanish from the mundane world don’t end up in Faerie. They just disappear, it seems, and sometimes reappear a second or minute or a year after—or before—they approached the place in the first place. Wild tales, no doubt. I wouldn’t give them much credence. You probably would, of course, but your follies are hardly my concern.”

“You’re right. They’re not.” Bon Bon frowned. After a few moments, she looked up at Sweetie. “It doesn’t sound very much like what you’re looking for, I know, but it sounds more like it than anything else we’ve come across. I’d be happy to help guide you there, if you want to see if there’s anything in it. Lyra?”

“Yeah, sure, I’d be fine with coming along too,” answered the unicorn, rising to her hooves and stretching. “Besides, there’s just—there’s something about that story. I dunno what, but it’s like there’s something really obvious that’s just out of reach…” She shook her head. “Anyhoo, I wouldn’t mind taking a gander at the thing, from a safe distance, mind.”

Sweetie considered the kelpie’s words. “A lake where a crystal might be sending ponies somewhere else? It could be related. Twilight’s fragments have arrived in some worlds several hundred years before my arrival… and this one might be distorting reality enough to send ponies to other places and times.”

“From what you’ve told us, it sounds like Faerie is either weaker or better at concealing itself in the other worlds you’ve visited,” said Bon Bon. “And Faerie is, well—it’s a hole in reality, sort of. An unreal Otherworld that’s been forced into existence, straining and tearing at the real world. It might be that, if this island is related to one of Twilight’s fragments, it’s having a stronger effect here than in the other places you’ve been because reality is simply more fragile here, and easier to ‘break.’”

Sweetie nodded. “The last fragment was in possession of one of the True Fae of that world… and the nature of Faerie there was already twisted… but I don’t think the fragment had been there too long before my arrival. If the fragment has been here for a long time, it might have also adapted to Faerie’s reality-disrupting power.”

“The crystals,” said Aldrovanda, “which are plural despite your admirable and impressive denial, have been there for at least nine hundred years. The púca who told me the tale said he had originally come from perhaps a hundred years after your moon princess had her little tantrum and was sent off to sit in a corner and think about what she’d done, but had slipped into Faerie one day and come out again to find that nearly a thousand years had passed in the mundane world.”

“Well, we’ll find out, won’t we?” Sweetie Belle retorted, giving her an annoyed look. “And if there’s more than one fragment in there, then my life will be easier anyway.”

“If the stories are true, little one, there are enough fragments there to build a pile of mentors the size of a small hill. Just how big was your world’s talky purple pony, anyway? But stay, I’m being unjust. I’m sure she was just—what’s the pony phrase? Big-boned? A curious medical condition, that, which strange to say I’ve never observed in any of the bones I’ve seen. And I have seen quite a few.”

“Maybe it’s related to magical power rather than physical size,” Sweetie mused, caught in the moment. “I never thought of that.”

“Hmph,” pouted the kelpie, sticking out her lower lip. “Bon Bon, she won’t snark back at me. She doesn’t give me exasperated looks like you and your not-a-pet do, and as if I weren’t already suffering enough, she doesn’t even smell like food. I don’t like her. Make her go away!”

“No,” said Bon Bon, scowling. Aldrovanda clacked her pebble-encrusted forehooves together in applause.

“There! That, see? That look! With the gritted teeth and the ears and the narrowed eyes! She doesn’t do that enough.”

“My heart bleeds for you, Aldrovanda. Do you have to talk right now? Couldn’t you postpone it ‘til later, or... or earlier, or never? Or any time that isn’t now?”

“Earlier?” grinned the kelpie. “But what do you think would ever make me stop? I’d just be talking twice as much by this point in—”

“Time!” shouted Lyra, upon which she promptly lost her balance on the chair she had twisted herself around and tumbled forward with a crash. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, Bon Bon. But what Aldrovanda just said, that—I think that’s it! Talking twice as much! In time! You know, like a rope, with—in a loop, back and forth!”

There was a prolonged silence. At length Aldrovanda raised a pebbly hoof, poked Bon Bon in the shoulder, and said, “So, she’s crazy now. Are you going to keep her, or can I eat her now?”

“No, no, no.” Lyra shook her head. “Bogface—” Aldrovanda stuck her tongue out “—said that ponies that vanish near the lake sometimes come back before they arrived in the first place, right? They get looped in time. Well, what if you had something a little sturdier than a pony—a crystal, say—that got dropped in the same place? If you let it stay there long enough, eventually it might slip out of time and then show up again before it left in the first place—and if it sat there long enough, it might eventually overlap with its own past self.

“And then if that happened again, and again, and again, with the same crystal just sitting there but slipping backwards and forwards and sideways through time, it would eventually—well, not eventually, but it would—it would build up across time, you see? Like how a string looped back on itself over and over again looks like lots of little strings, but it really isn’t. The crystal arrives here, snaps a hole in our world’s already kinda battered reality, and then ends up spreading itself across—Celestia, who knows how long. Millions of years, maybe.

“Maybe the crystal hasn’t even arrived yet, and the island Aldrovanda’s talking about is made up all of past echoes of it. Maybe...Oh, wow. Hay, I don’t care whether you’re going or not, Sweetie; I’ve got to see this. I’m gonna have to bring a thaumometer too, some equipment, maybe see if I can get a stable time loop going…”

Sweetie’s mouth opened and closed before she turned to look at Bon Bon. “Bonnie… she’s a genius! She could be correct! It’s an infinite loop of fragments! Or whatever crystal is powering that! We have to go, even if it’s not Twilight’s fragment, I need to see that! Can you imagine the possibilities for research?!”

“Hah! That’s my apprentice! C’mon, Bonnie, we gon’ do ourselves some science!” crowed Lyra. Then, as an afterthought, she added, “Oh, by the way, kiddo. ‘Bonnie’’s my nickname for this gal. No sweat, just for future reference.”

“I’ll leave a note for the local Sweetie so she’s aware,” Sweetie deadpanned, before smiling. “But really, we have to see this place! It sounds like that world I spent trapped in repeating the same day over and over.”

Bon Bon raised a hoof and massaged her forehead. “And I thought I’d sworn off adventures...Ow! Okay, Lyra, okay, I admit it is an amazing idea. I am curious about it.”

“Good. Thought I was gonna have to disown you for a second there.”

“We’ll need to think about how to go about it, though; it does sound like it’s dangerous, and if we want to get a crystal—the crystal—the crystal, from somewhere in its timeline—Oh my head.” The mare gave a repeat performance of her forehead-massaging routine. “Anyway, we’ll need to think about our approach before we go. Let’s see, provisions, shelter—I think I can beg an extra tent off Sparkler, she’s always going off camping—and what about Rarity, Sweetie? Would she want to come?”

Sweetie hesitated. “I… I’ve been getting along with her but, I dunno.” She bit her lip. “I’d rather not have her with us… we don’t know what type of dangers we might face and Rarity is not ready for the Fae.”

“Probably also not ready to know that I’m a changeling when it comes to that,” said Bon Bon. “And given what we’d be doing and where we’d be going, and that I’d have to guide us… You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that. We’ll have to tell her something.”

“I didn’t understand most of that, but I gathered that lying is involved,” declared Aldrovanda. “You could always take the moral high road now, Bon Bon, and resort to cannibalism. You would be astounded how many problems it can solve. Or, I suppose, you could always revert to type, and live down to your name.” A fanged smile. “Your true name.”

Bon Bon scowled, but made no response, her brow furrowed. At length, and in a faint, whispery singsong voice, she murmured

“Tell all the truth, but tell it slant

Success in circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm delight

The truth’s superb surprise;

“As lightning to the yearlings eased

With explanation kind,

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every mare be blind.”

“Well,” she continued in a normal tone, “I think you’re right, Sweetie, that we’ll have to be careful. We can’t keep it a secret either, though; just vanishing off into the night isn’t going to work. Perhaps ‘camping’ for Rarity, and ‘trip to retrieve fragment’ for Twilight, without mention of any interesting details? This will be risky, after all, and I don’t want to lure more ponies into danger if we can help it. Mind, we’ll have to tell Twilight about it when we get back, no matter what; if it’s anything like what Aldrovanda says, she’d never forgive us for keeping something like that from her.” The changeling chuckled, a wistful smile on her face. “She’s become quite a friend, really. We didn’t used to have friends, Lyra and I; because I was...well, me, we couldn’t really manage it.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I’m blathering. What do you think, Sweetie? Would that work?”

Sweetie frowned. “Was it… hard? Finding friends?” She glanced at Aldrovanda then at Bon Bon. “How many ponies would actually accept you, if you came out?”

The changeling shrugged. “At first? Few to none. Even Lyra didn’t immediately accept me.”

With a nod, Lyra added, “I needed to understand first. I needed to know it was her.”

“Yes,” agreed Bon Bon, “That was what did it, I think. Knowing I was me, and not something else. Knowing that no matter what the ‘what’ was, the ‘who’ was still the same. And it was the same way with Twilight, although naturally it took much longer for her to understand—and even then, I think she would have been suspicious for far longer if she hadn’t been able to see Lyra’s trust in me.”

She started to kneel to bring herself level with Sweetie’s glamour-shrouded form, then remembered that it was an illusion and not a true shift and rose again with a small laugh at her mistake. “They’ll accept you when they understand that it is you, Sweetie, even if you have to realize that some may never quite do that. The ponies that matter, though, will. Rarity will. Your friends will. You’ve already seen that they will, because Rarity—or a pony quite like her—already has, here in this world. And as they accept you, you’ll find yourself able to be your true self to more and more ponies.

“It’s not a life quite like that of a normal pony, maybe, but it’s still very much a full, happy life, and one worth living. You’ll still have friends, and you’ll still make new ones.” Glancing over to the bathtub-ensconced kelpie, Bon Bon added, “And then there’s Aldrovanda…”

“I’m an abomination!” said the kelpie, cheerfully.

“Pretty much.” The changeling shook her head. “And yet, in a weird way, even she’s made… I don’t know if ‘friends’ is the right term, but there are ponies she’s not on bad terms with. Twilight tolerates her.”

“I kinda like her,” said Lyra, with a shrug. “She’s fun to argue with. And I think she’s good for you, Bon Bon. She gives you someone you can be really rude to without worrying about hurting their feelings, and you, miss Polite-to-Any-and-All-Ponies, really need that sometimes.”

Sweetie grimaced, but finally shook her head and slumped down a little. “I guess I’ll have to deal with it,” she muttered. “But what’ll you say if ponies ask where we’re going? Since you’re still trying to lie a little low, shouldn’t you have some story ready? Maybe we can say that we’re visiting an old friend of Lyra’s from out of town? Say it’s something boring, like studying… uh… what’s a boring subject?”

Bon Bon nodded. “I was thinking that if Twilight was just given the truth to tell—or to tell slant, as it were—”

“Changeling, I commend you. That is an excellent euphemism.”

“Can it, kelpie. I thought she’d be able to answer any questions well enough, but better this way, perhaps. Visiting a family friend it is, then.”

“But not one of mine,” piped up Lyra. “Oh, sure, they’re all boring as a pile of deadwood, but if we’re going to be playing games with words I say we go all the way. We’ll be visiting Bon Bon’s home town, full of stuff that means a lot to her and means nothing to us. We’ll just neglect to mention that that hometown happens to be Tír na nÓg, roiling chasm of unreality and source of all that is eldritch and fae, including my main mare here.”

Raising an eyebrow, Bon Bon said, “I really don’t think I’m all that eldritch.”

“Sure you are!” Lyra gave her fiancée a hearty slap on the back. “Why, many’s the night I’ve woken up next to you, screaming in mortal terror.”

“After having the dream about the parade and the worms?”

“Well, yes. But that’s a minor detail.”

“Bon Bon’s family it is.” Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “And… a parade with worms that makes you wake up screaming? This I have to hear, from my otherwise fearless mentor. Although, I guess it would explain why the neighbors never come rushing to aid us whenever something explodes.”

“That,” said Bon Bon, “and there were also one or two accidents. After Silver Note next door was whisked to within an inch of his life by a prototype egg beater—I know, Lyra, I know, one of these years you’ll get that design right—we sort of stopped getting housewarming visits.”

Sweetie couldn’t help but smirk. “Okay then, but one day you’ll have to tell me that story. And the one about the worms.”

“How about two days? That’s about how long it’ll take us to get to the crystals. Er, crystal. Crystals. Something,” said Bon Bon. “Plenty of time for storytelling while we walk. Sound good?”

Sweetie smiled. “Sounds good! I’d better tell Rarity.” She turned and started walking out of the room, but paused and looked over her shoulder. “Oh, and it was nice to meet you, Aldrovanda,” she said. “It’s nice to see I’m not the only fae creature that looks like rocks.” She closed the door behind her before she could hear the kelpie’s reply.

o.0.o

Droplets of dew shimmered along overburdened blades of grass and sank wetly into the fetlocks of the three mares as they hiked up the summit of a long, low hill outside Ponyville. The tentpoles slung awkwardly across their backs gleamed in the morning Sun as their saddlebags, bulging at the seams with supplies and provender, swayed to and fro at their sides. Had she been traveling alone, Sweetie might not have seen much more than a typical Ponyville pastoral scene, quiet and peaceful, surrounding her. A very different and strange world, though, unfolded around her as she walked along, its bizarre realities unfolding along the words of the mare trotting to her left.

That different and strange world had absolutely nothing to do with Faerie. Bon Bon was walking to Sweetie’s right, and was currently embroiled in a disagreement with her eyelids as to whether they should be up or down, having stayed up until three AM the night before trying to figure out the most economical packing method. It was Lyra who was spinning strange worlds and realities out of the mundanity surrounding her, flinging enthusiastic gestures left and right as they ambled along.

“—So, that outcropping over there, right? Those rocks? You’re gonna want to look out for those. They’re rubbish themselves, but you often find some really nice piezothaumic geodes in those kinda deposits, and those things are nice. All the crystals pointing in towards one another give you some really great focusing effects, and because they all grew from the same seed the crystal lattice is interlinked enough that you don’t have to worry about de Hockland discontinuities bustin’ up the resonance. Notice how the grass nearby is a little greener and thicker than everywhere else? I’ll bet you biscuits to bits that that’s ‘cause they’re feeding off the magical flux there.”

“Or maybe,” said Bon Bon, blinking bleary eyes, “because the grass is nearly underneath a rock, nopony’s been able to graze there.”

“Shush, you. I like my explanation better.”

“Suit yourself,” chuckled the changeling mare. She raised her head, sniffed the air, and frowned. “We should stay away from that long, low hill up ahead. It’s not...right. We’d better skirt southward of it, the going’s easier there.”

Sweetie, who had been looking at the place Lyra had been rambling about and wondering whether she should tell her mentor she could just ask the crystals to grow exactly like that or not, and leaning towards a definite ‘no’ the more Lyra rambled on, followed Bon Bon’s line of sight and frowned.

She glanced from the hill to Bon Bon and back to the hill, trying to see what her changeling mentor had obviously detected. “I still can only feel the barest of hints of anything Fae here and you pick it up like nothing.” She shook her head, giving up on her scrutiny. If anything, it just made her feel even stranger. “If I ever get as good as you, I’ll consider writing it down in my resume. I’m sure it’ll be a great incentive for a scholarship at most arcane universities. So, is it always best to take the easier way around here? In the Hedge, it would most likely be a trap.”

“A trap?” Bon Bon shook her head. “There are no traps out here—not intentional ones, anyway. The Unseelie Court has been breaking apart for too long, eating away at itself in the dark, to bother with traps. Chrysalis’ attack on Canterlot may be the very last big thing they ever do.” She raised her head and looked back across the waving stalks of dittany and fennel in the lowlands ahead at the low sloping shape of the distant barrow, and her face clouded. “But just because there are no Shee bothering with big, elaborate traps anymore doesn’t mean that the wildlands are safe, or that Faerie is something you’d want to tangle with. It’s like...imagine a castle left over from the Griffon Wars, all stone and battlements and towers, that’s been crumbling away for centuries. It used to be a dangerous place, because the ponies who lived there made sure it was; they built traps, dug pits, made machines and tunnels and sharp, fast…” The changeling waved a forehoof vaguely. “You know, things. Fast sharp pointy things.”

Lyra chuckled.

Bon Bon gave her a look, and continued, “But now that’s all gone, all rusted or collapsed or rotted away.” She sighed. “But the castle is still dangerous. Maybe even more than it was before. It’s just so big, and everything that’s been holding it together has been breaking away, bit by bit, century by century, millenium by millenium…

”When it was new, a rock might have been thrown at you. Now, if you lean on the wrong piece of masonry or step in the wrong place, half the castle could come down around your ears.”

Lyra cleared her throat apologetically. “Sorry,” said the unicorn. “She gets wordy when she’s sleep-deprived.”

“Mmph,” retorted Bon Bon.

Sweetie nodded. “I understand… but in a way I like it better than the other fae world I discovered. At least the world here is not actively trying to ensnare you and make you suffer.” She shuddered. “Or turn you into something horrible.”

She followed the other two mares in silence for a bit before finally asking. “If there’s so much of the fae around here… why do so many ponies ignore it? I’m very sure that things were different in many other worlds, the changelings there were just, you know, creatures, but not other-worldly like here or in the last world.”

“It’s not that they ignore it, exactly. Most members of the Four Clans keep themselves aloof from ‘mortals;’ they’d consider it a loss of honor, almost, to be noticed by anything that isn’t as exalted as themselves.” A bitter note had crept into the changeling’s voice, but it faded as she continued, “And for the rest, well...like I said, it’s decaying. Most of the remnants of Faerie are little more than wraiths, now, and ponies generally don’t have the senses to see them in the first place. The occasional pony may be taken by a kelpie, or waylaid by a redmane, or...well, or mimicked by a changeling, but that happens so rarely, now, that for the most part ponies simply don’t know that the Court still exists, or that it ever existed at all. It’s dangerous to ponies that go to places where the old memories linger strongest—the castles, so to speak—but for the most part, it’s just...gone. It’s an empire of ghosts and memories.”

Sweetie grimaced. “It feels like there’s always so much potential for wonder, and here we are, ponies and changelings and fae, just… wasting it. It’s sad.”

“My mare here,” declared Lyra, “is going on three hours of sleep, and she is a big ‘ol wad of gloom right now. Don’t you let her get you down. Old things are dying, old worlds passing away, and old fabulosities are going kerblooey—but what else is new? Look, Sweetie. Get your noggin out of the shadows and look. Look at that green grass. Look at that Sun—well, don’t look right at it, can’t have you blinding yourself, but you know what I mean. Look at them purty clouds. We’ve got a whole world here, and it’s always breaking itself apart and remaking it. Here, lemme ‘splain you something. Lemme show you what I mean. The Unseelie Court’s vanishing now, and the Seelie Court vanished—Bonnie?”

“About fourteen hundred years ago, I think.”

“Right. Bingo. And before that the old Equestrian Empire died out when Celestia and Luna showed up and started Sunning and Mooning all by their own selves, and before that Unicornia way up in frozen Hippoborea got froze, and before that, and before that, and before that…” She shrugged. “Point is, if you get all bogged down in what’s dying and forget to look at what’s being born, you are going to be one hay of a sad sack. We’re alive, the Sun’s shining, and the air’s clean. Breathe it in!”

Sweetie chuckled. “I get it, no gloom and doom.” She smiled at the pair. “You know, if I ever find somepony to love, I hope I can have a relationship like you two have.” She frowned. “I guess I could always try to date one of those rock golems that attacked me a few worlds ago...”

“From your description they didn’t sound very appealing,” said Bon Bon. “Though maybe if you forced one of them into a tuxedo, with some nice cufflinks and spats…”

Lyra raised an eyebrow. “Hey, I’m the jokey one.”

“I can’t let you have all the banter, dearheart.” The changeling turned to Sweetie Belle with a smile. “But I wouldn’t give up on flesh and blood just yet, Sweetie. After all, I am what I am, and yet Lyra is perfectly normal.”

Silence fell. Lyra glanced at Bon Bon. Bon Bon glanced at Lyra. They considered one another for some moments, and then they both simultaneously exploded into laughter. At length, Bon Bon corrected herself, “Well, heh, not normal, maybe, but abnormal in all the right ways—and very much a pony.”

Sweetie pouted. “But… imagine the possibilities!” Sighing dramatically, she looked towards a distant mountain. “I think that mountain over there has a very nice voice, and I wouldn’t have to worry about where it’s going.”

“True, true,” mused Lyra. “I’ll granite your point.”

Bon Bon clapped a hoof over her face. “Lyra…”

“It’s schist, I’d worry about them being coal-hearted, y’know?”

“Lyra.”

“I mean, I look on you almost as a gneiss, and agate to tell you, I’d hate to see you—”

“Lyra!”

The unicorn grinned. “Fine, fine. You win. I’ll lonsdaleite.”

“Lyra, I...I…” Bon Bon trailed off, frowning, and then concluded. “...I don’t get it.”

“Nothing to get, I just like lonsdaleite. Real spiffy allotrope.”

“So…” Sweetie ventured. “This… Lachhhh-something, anything else you can tell me about it, Bon Bon? It’s been bugging me for a while now, why would the fragment send ponies all over time for no reason?”

Bon Bon directed one last parting eye-roll at Lyra, who beamed in response, and turned to Sweetie. “Loughleah, you mean? Honestly, I don’t know. If they were just being trapped in Faerie, I wouldn’t be surprised, but as it is? This way, I think, the flutes are quieter. Watch out for that thornbush.” Her brow furrowed. “But back to your question. I suppose we don’t know what exactly is happening to the ponies who come too close to the lake. Aldrovanda said they disappear and then reappear, but what they see from their point of view—whether it all happens in an instant, or whether there’s time in between—that’s not clear. My guess would be that they do go somewhere, simply because they do end up traveling through time. I don’t know of any way to do that that doesn’t involve an otherworld with a different kind of time, but then,” she laughed, “I don’t really know much about time travel.”

“I want to know about time travel,” interposed Lyra, “but I can’t say I know any more right now. I dunno. Maybe if they aren’t going to Faerie, they’re going to other worlds like the ones you’ve visited, Sweetie? That’d be kinda cool. Don’t know if it’s true, but it’d be cool.”

Sweetie gave Lyra a look. “Sometimes. Other times… not so cool.”

Bon Bon frowned and gave her marefriend a light smack upside the head, and the unicorn’s face fell. “Oh, yeesh. I’m so sorry, kiddo, I didn’t—I mean, I know it’s been Tartarus for you. I wasn’t thinking. You’re right, if that’s what’s actually happening—yeah, that would be very extremely not cool at all.” She thought for a moment. “But hey, if that is what’s happening, and it sends ponies to different worlds...what sends them back?”

“The Shee fall in and out of Faerie more or less on a whim, and sometimes less than that,” said Bon Bon. “But I don’t know of any other Otherworlds, and I can’t imagine that a place that wasn’t like that, right on the edge of not existing at all, would be something that would be so easy to slide right out of again.” She crouched and jumped over an old, gnarled log lying in their path, its crumbling bark thick with soft, bristling moss and slender fungal stalks, and gestured back to it after she had cleared it. “That wasn’t easy for me to go over, but I never came close to doing anything but hop over a log; hopping out of a universe, no matter how one got in, doesn’t seem like it’d be an easy thing to do. You certainly haven’t found it easy, Sweetie, given the trouble you’ve had to go through to get those fragments.”

Sweetie cringed. “It’s worse. I think I had it easy until the last couple of worlds. I don’t even want to think how things will go from now on.” She looked at the sky for a few seconds. “If I don’t find Twilight’s fragment soon, I have no idea what to do.”

“Then we’ll just have to make sure we find it,” said Bon Bon, decisively. “We’ll do our best, Lyra and I, to make sure that you get the fragment here, whether it’s off in Loughleah or somewhere else entirely. What’s more, we’ll see to it that when you do move on, you’re ready to handle whatever else this...this curse throws at you.”

“What she said,” nodded Lyra. “And honestly, the more I think about it, the surer I get that this lake we’re headed to really has the fragment. I mean, it all fits too well; a crystal just like you describe, stuck in a place that twists and squishes time, that sends ponies off to different worlds…” She paused. “Well, I guess technically it doesn’t, necessarily, it’d be the lake that—that…” The unicorn trailed off, her eyes widening. After a moment she continued, “But say, what if it does? I mean, I know in the other universes nopony but you could use the fragments to world-hop, but maybe here’s different? What if the ponies who vanished managed to absorb a fragment for a bit, got carted off, and then got dragged back? What if...what if…Bah. Too many what-ifs.” Lyra shook her head irritably. “Thought I was on to something there.”

Sweetie smiled. “Well, at least I know you two will help me when the time comes. And that is a really good thing to know.”

“Bet on it, kiddo,” grinned Lyra. “Right, Bonn—Bon Bon?” She cantered to a halt and looked back. The changeling had come to a halt some steps behind them, her lips pursed and her ears half-flattened in thought. At the sound of Lyra’s voice she looked up, and stepped slowly forward.

“I’m sorry, Lyra, I was just thinking about what you just said. No,” she replied, in answer to Lyra’s half-asked question, “I don’t think other ponies are absorbing the crystal—if it is just one crystal looping back and forth, one pony taking it should cut off the timeline right there, and nopony would be able to absorb it afterwards. But, well… it’s strange. It’s strange that ponies shouldn’t be sent to Tír na nÓg, which would be much easier to reach even for a pony than an entirely different world. It’s strange that they should vanish and come back at different times, as though they were shifting between realities. It’s strange that the lake should behave differently towards ponies and Shee.”

Bon Bon raised her head and looked at Sweetie Belle. “And it’s strange that none of us have thought about what the fragments really are. They can be pieces of Twilight’s mind, can’t they, Sweetie? Parts of what make her her? What would happen if she found herself stranded in a hole in reality, a mountain of magic, with thousands of years to learn how to work with it? No matter what her shape, if she was even a little bit there… what would she do?”

“I-I don’t know,” Sweetie confessed. “Some of them are completely silent, or give no indication of awareness, but then there’s a few, like the one in Blueblood’s maze that was able to form an illusion of Twilight’s body and was able to speak and interact like any other pony. All the fragments have been different so far.” She frowned and thought for a moment. “I don’t see why one fragment would send ponies to other worlds. Twilight herself didn’t have that power…”

“Well, that wasn’t quite what I was suggesting,” replied Bon Bon. “I don’t think Twilight’s doing this to other ponies; if this is the fragment, then its arrival in our world, with its fragile difference between real and not-real, could have torn a hole from here to halfway across the, um…”

“Metaverse,” supplied Lyra, helpfully.

“Thank you, Lyra. The metaverse. If that’s what happened, then anypony—or any Shee—who went near the place would risk falling into the ‘hole,’ and coming out Celestia knows where. Most likely Faerie, simply because it’s closest. But Faerie isn’t, well...it’s not a good place for ponies. The things there aren’t friendly.”

Speaking somewhat deliberately, as if she wasn’t sure she trusted her own words, Bon Bon continued, “Now, maybe if that’s true, and maybe if it’s also true that the Twilight made up of that one fragment, or of the fragment folded back on itself, has gotten some control of the magic around her, and could sense other ponies falling into these horrible, horrible places, well…”

“I think I get it,” said Lyra. “Twilight’s a good pony.”

“Exactly. She’s good. She doesn’t like to see ponies get hurt, and if she could help them, she would. Maybe, if all those other maybes are correct—”

“And that’s a whole lot of maybes,” added Lyra.

“—then maybe if she can’t stop them from falling out of this world, she can at least help guide them into other worlds that are safe and good for them—and eventually, when the time is right, bring them back again. Maybe.”

Sweetie nodded. “We can only hope.”

o.0.o

Sweetie followed Bon Bon and Lyra through the wild, tangled woods beyond Ponyville, struggling past the tough, looping greenery springing up from the ground beneath and trailing down out of the sunlit canopy overhead. She could feel the tiny crystal domains within the rocks twisting to follow her, and even the quartz spicules in the thick, strongly scented grass along their path were bending and swaying at her passage, twittering to themselves in shrill, mindless excitement. Faerie was not a memory here; it was alive, riotous, and laughing in alien exultation.

It reminded her of standing in the middle of swift-flowing floodwaters, the water pressing against her flanks and trying to pull her down into its thick, dark depths.

It was likely that there existed a path to their destination that did not pass by a barrow and run along a leyline. It was also likely that Aldrovanda was a jerk.

The young unicorn looked ahead. A flood… That wasn’t a bad way to think of it. And Bon Bon was having trouble staying above the water. Every so often she would stumble, shying away from invisible thorns—or claws?—and foam flecked her flanks. Lyra walked alongside her, her body pressed against her marefriend’s side as she made murmuring, comforting sounds.

“Oh, Sweetie, no,” answered the changeling, in response to Sweetie Belle’s guilty suggestion that they turn aside and take another path. “It’s really not all that bad, it’s just—excuse me—it’s just a little...intense.”

“Horsefeathers,” declared Lyra, succinctly.

Bon Bon smiled. “Really, though. I know how I look, but I can do this. It’s just that most leylines aren’t like this, and I wasn’t expecting—but then it runs from a barrow to a magical lake. All that power? I should have expected it.” She gave a little half-grin and shrugged. “We’re nearly there, anyway. There’s a glint to the magic, can you feel it? It’s different than the barrow-dwimmer; it’s fresher. Cleaner. It’s not…” She paused, her ears half-cocked and a puzzled look on her face. “...It’s not really very much like Faerie at all.”

Sweetie shook her head. “I’m still amazed at how good you are at feeling the difference. I could tell when we went into fae territory, but it’s so overwhelming. There’s no way I would be able to tell other magic in this place…” She closed her eyes, trying to sense anything. “I can feel the world… the earth and air… everything is so much more alive in this place than other areas we’ve visited… but the magic... it’s just rampant. Are you both going to be safe here?”

The changeling glanced at Lyra, and after a moment’s consideration gave an emphatic nod. “Yes. This might have taken me a few months ago—I haven’t often felt Faerie so strong, except maybe this spring for a little while, in the caves under Canterlot—but now I think I can manage it. Lyra’s mostly safe unless she pokes something she shouldn’t poke, and I’ll be able to easily spot things like that.”

“Hey now, give me some credit,” responded her marefriend. “You’ve taught me a hay of a lot about Faerie. I know what to touch and what not touch. But Bonnie, you’re sure you can handle this? You don’t look like you’re handling it.”

“I’m fine, Lyra. Really.”

“Okay, okay, whatever you say. You start fainting or going all wobbly, though, and I’m getting you out of here no matter what you say.”

Bon Bon smiled. “I’ll just have to be careful not to faint, then, won’t I?”

“Or go wobbly. Don’t go wobbly.”

“All right,” conceded the changeling, “I won’t go wobbly, either.” After a moment’s pause she continued, in a puzzled tone, “What exactly would ‘going wobbly’ involve, any—Oh my.”

They had been climbing uphill for some time, scrambling up plant-choked slopes and clambering around great fallen boulders draped with moss and the slick black remnants of last year’s leaves, and while Bon Bon was speaking they had crested the ridge of the hillock.

They stopped.

“Sun and Moon,” breathed Bon Bon. Lyra said something unprintable. Sweetie just stared.

The ground immediately before them dropped off in a small cliff, maybe four or five yards deep, and beyond it the tangled, overgrowing forest sloped away into a great basin, almost perfectly circular and filled with a vivid green so rich that it was almost painful to look at. It wasn’t the green of tree leaves; the forest itself died away before it had extended more than a few dozen yards into the basin, and although there were a few lonely, blackened snags scattered around the hollow there were no living trees to be seen.

Instead, as the three mares soon found when they had made their cautious, careful way around the cliff and down the gentle slope, it was nothing more nor less than simple moss and lichen—but moss and lichen living with a richness and profusion that none of them had ever seen before. Mat after mat of tiny, intertwined fronds and leaflets had grown atop one another, forming bulging moss-pillows and mounds, weird trailing lichen-ropes spread out across the fierce green carpet, and what could almost be called trees, built up from thousands of layers that had sunk their tiny rootlets down through one another and raised themselves up into bizarre club or antler-shaped growths. Stubby “branches” spread above the heads of the three bewildered mares, swaying in eerie silence.

At the very center of this unearthly forest lay a broad lake, its circular rim blurred by the long scraggly mats of waterlogged moss that had spread themselves out across its dark waters. Its surface was smooth and dark as polished stone, and in its center shone an amethyst island of multifaceted crystals. As they approached it, the tens of hundreds of thousands of gems of which it was made scattered sunbeams back at them in a blinding, brilliant display. Caution almost forgotten, Sweetie Belle, Lyra, and Bon Bon came to a halt at the edge of the lake—of Loughleah, as Aldrovanda had called it—and stared across at the coruscating marvel in front of them, rising up out of the waters at the very center of the basin.

At length, Bon Bon tore her eyes away from the great glittering mound of crystals, and looked down at Sweetie Belle, gazing agape at the scintillating island. “Sweetie? Do those look like the fragments you’ve seen elsewhere?”

Sweetie peered at the island, trying to fight back the overwhelming feedback of empathic energy she felt coming from it. "I-it feels like they are! But... that's impossible, I've never seen more than one fragment at a time in any world before." She licked her suddenly dry lips, before gazing at her companions warily. "They are all fragments, but... they all feel somehow the same, I can't describe it, or even imagine how so many came to be, but... yes, they are all Twilight's fragments."

“Or Twilight’s fragment,” interposed Lyra, still staring across the water, eyes wide. “We mighta been right about that whole time-reflecting thing, after all. This is gonna be incredible…” The pale green unicorn shook her head. “But first thing’s first. Guess we better take one, right? Don’t want to miss our chance while we’ve got it.”

“But… which one?” Sweetie asked, looking up and around them. The whole place was covered in exact copies of Twilight’s fragments. “I mean, if all of them are Twilight, what will happen to the rest?”

“That’s...a very good question. Which one should we take? They’re all the same one, right, only—mirrored, sort of, back and forth through time? Should we see if we can find the one that’s the oldest, or the newest, or does it matter?” Bon Bon frowned, thinking. At length she looked over at her marefriend. “Lyra? Any ideas?”

After considering for a moment, Lyra gave a bemused shrug. “Hay if I know. Why don’t you just grab one, Sweetie, and see what happens?”

“Lyra, you are an incorrigible empiricist.”

“I try, Bonnie, I try. Sweetie Belle?”

“But won’t time and space collapse if I do that?”

Bon Bon cast a worried look over to the crystalline island. “I agree with Sweetie Belle, Lyra. We really don’t know what will happen. I mean, yes, the Unseelie Court has been flirting with paradoxes for millennia, now, but even so—Oh, Lyra, no!”

One of the distant fragments clinked awkwardly against its neighbors, and then sprang upward, enveloped in a glittering shroud of golden magic. It hung there for a moment, turning slowly, and then lunged off across the water, sweeping through the air in a long, low arc towards the three mares standing on the mossy shoreline. With a muted click, it landed on Lyra’s upturned hoof. The unicorn grinned hugely, and turned to her two aghast companions. “See? No apocalypse. Here, Sweetie, catch.” She tossed the fragment across to Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie’s eyes widened in panic before she deftly caught it in her magic. “Be careful! If it touches me and I absorb it I’d be literally killing Twilight!”

Lyra’s face fell. “Oh. Oh. Yeesh, I wasn’t thinking about—I mean—I am so sorry.”

Sweetie took a deep breath. “Well… we’ve got the fragment. It’s okay, just remember to not let me get in contact with it, okay?” She cleared her throat and looked at her two friends. “Maybe we should get going?”

“Yes, I think that might be best,” nodded Bon Bon, stepping away from the water’s edge. “It’s not an Unseelie place, this lake, but still I don’t think we should stay here any longer than we have to. There’s too much magic here.”

Lyra trotted forward, hooves squelching in the waterlogged moss. “What, you mean up and leave, just like that?”

“Yes, Lyra, just like that.”

“But, Bonnie, we were going to stay a little while so Sweetie and I could try to figure out this place, remember? I brought thaumometers, and notebooks, and sample vials, and everything! I had like fifteen different experiments all planned out!”

“Mm.” Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. “Were ‘Nearly kill part of Twilight’ and ‘Gamble with the fate of the universe’ two of those experiments? And were your other experiments anything like as risky as those two?”

“I—” Lyra’s train of thought ground to a halt. She stood for a moment, one hoof raised, and then her ears drooped. “Right. Yeah, that was—I’m really sorry, Bonnie. I was just so excited, is all, I wasn’t really thinking. But I promise, I really was careful when I was working out the tests to do on this place. I mean, I know I’m kinda careless sometimes, and things I’m working on do tend to explode a little bit, but mostly they’re just small explosions. I’ve never really hurt anypony—not even myself.”

Sweetie looked between the two, Twilight’s fragment floating a safe distance from her body. “You know, Bon Bon… Lyra’s right. This is a unique chance to study this kind of effect. If we just do a couple of tests we should be fine. I just need a place to put the fragment and to stay away from the others.”

“Hrm.” The changeling mare mulled this over, her head bent in thought. At length, she said, “Spaghetti.”

Sweetie Belle blinked, and Lyra cocked her head. “Spaghetti?”

A quick nod. “Yes. When you first arrived here, Sweetie Belle, the two of you built a—a thing that exploded a blob of spaghetti out of the basement so hard that it smashed right through the floorboards of the den and cratered the ceiling. Couldn’t that have hit one of you? Couldn’t that have hurt one of you—and hurt you badly?” Bon Bon looked up, her ears held back against head and her eyes pinched with worry. “Lyra, can you honestly tell me that there was something—anything—that stood in the way of that going very, very wrong? Of this going wrong?”

There was a moment of silence. Then Lyra stepped forward. “Bon Bon...Look at me. I’ve got both my eyes, both my ears, my tail, all my legs—everything. I’ve never broken any bones, mine or anypony else’s. I knew that it wouldn’t hit either of us, because I knew that it could only go straight up or straight down, since its positional uncertainty was only constrained in the vertical—that is, I did the math and I checked it, just like I checked things with the experiments I want to do here.” In a softer tone of voice, she added, “I know what you’re afraid of. You’re not going to lose me, Bonnie—me or anypony else you care about, including Sweetie here. I promise.”

At first Bon Bon said nothing. Eventually she gave a smiling sigh. “Well, alright, then. We’ll stay for a while.” Looking back at the still waters of the mere, she added, “But let’s make camp somewhere outside this glen. I don’t think it’s safe, really, inside it.”

Sweetie nodded. “Maybe studying this we can figure out why others have been sent to other places.” She frowned, looking at the fragments around the lake. “It makes no sense.”

“All the better. Means we get to make sense out of it, and that’s where the fun comes in,” declared Lyra.

“That’s right!” Sweetie grinned at Lyra. “There’s probably countless factors that we need to consider!”

They heard a quiet chuckle, and turning, they saw Bon Bon shaking her head with a smile on her face. “Twilight would be so envious.”

“And that is precisely why we need to do this right!” Sweetie added. “The more information she gets, the less jealous, and the more productive she’ll be!”

“True enough.” Bon Bon nudged her saddlebag into a more comfortable position, and began to trot away from the moss-rimmed pool. “But for now, we need to set up camp—and that somewhere where we won’t be spirited away to Tír na nÓg or Celestia knows where else while we’re sleeping. Come on, you two. There’ll be time enough for research after we’ve set up a proper camp. Does that sound good?”

“Well… I could, you know, create a camping place for us. I think it might be a bit tight, but it would be safe.” Sweetie offered.

After some consideration, Bon Bon nodded assent. “Well, okay. That leaves us more time to get settled in, anyway.”

“That, and it sounds awesome,” interposed Lyra. “Geomancy’s pretty cool stuff, Bonnie; trust me, you don’t want to miss this.”

Looking around, Sweetie headed away from the lake to a large boulder that was nearby, surrounded by pebbles. She levitated several of them, piling them against the boulder and slowly making an archway of sorts. Once it was done, she knocked on the hard stone three times with her hoof. “It’s ready!” She said, turning and smiling at her two friends.

The smile on Lyra’s face slowly congealed into a forced grin. “Ah. Oh. Right. I was kinda hoping there’d be a bit more, um, pizzazz to—but this is fine! This is awesome too! Yeah, that works, I, um, think.” She paused. “So, is it like an invisible shelter, or something? We just walk through the arch, and then the rock isn’t solid anymore, or something like that?”

“Something like that,” murmured Bon Bon, walking over and peering at Sweetie’s work with slightly unfocused eyes. “That’s fascinating, Sweetie. It’s almost like what the Bugul Noz—what someone I met a while back could do. Only...only not.” She paused. “It reminds me of Faerie, but without the—it’s different, somehow. Like but unlike. It feels less unstable. Safer.”

Sweetie nodded. “It was actually a gift from Twilight Sparkle,” she explained, looking at the unassuming rock surface. “When you mentioned that she might get a bit envious, it reminded me of it. It was her gift before I left the world before this one. We should hurry though, it’ll close soon, but we can open it up from the inside when we want.”

She proceeded to walk through the arch and into the boulder without missing a beat. Bon Bon followed, pausing on the threshold to sniff at the air as though she had caught some peculiar odor. “Fascinating,” she repeated, and trotted inside, ducking under the low archway. For a moment Lyra lingered outside, staring with wide eyes at the gap through which the two mares had just disappeared, and then she gave a helpless chuckle and stepped forward, wincing despite herself as she passed through the stony gate.

“Well, here you go,” Sweetie said motioning with her hoof at the small clearing surrounded by brambles and plants. “It’s a bit tight, but there’s… I can’t think of anything that can get here right now. Our own little piece of the Hedge.”

It amused Sweetie to see the differing reactions of her two companions to Twilight’s gift. Simple, prosaic Bon Bon took the strange magic in stride, asking a few practical questions and then quietly accepting it, while Lyra seemed almost frightened by the little pocket realm of thorns and vines, and insisted on hopping in and out several times through the portal just to make sure that she could. Her jumpiness eased off into a sort of nervous curiosity before long, though, and was forgotten entirely when she remembered all the tests and experiments that she had had planned for their arrival at Loughleah.

Indeed, it was all that Sweetie Belle and Bon Bon could do to get her to bring her attention around to the dull necessities of getting a fire going, unpacking their bedrolls and other supplies, and setting their camp in order, and even then it was only under protest. All that needed doing was eventually done, though, and after a plain but filling meal they settled in for the night, safe and warm beneath a cloudless sky shining with innumerable stars.

The next day the experimentation began in earnest. With not a little officious ceremony, Lyra produced a list of safety rules she had drawn up, and insisted on going through them, bullet point by bullet point, until she was satisfied that her companions had committed them all to memory. Based on the occasional glances that Lyra shot at her fiancée, and the slow softening and relaxation of Bon Bon’s features, Sweetie Belle suspected that this little lecture on safety was at least partly motivated by a wish on the little unicorn’s part to see her sweetheart comforted. She had no doubt that Lyra would have gone over the rules anyway, but perhaps not quite so… showily.

Regardless of Lyra’s motivations, they set out on their experimentation with a few ground rules clearly in place.

When they set up a little boat holding a weighed-out quantity of sand and pulled it near the island to see if any of the sand would be removed or added, they moved it without magic and without drawing near to the lake itself, dragging it out across the water by means of a long stretch of string looped around the lake and pulled from the opposite side, a good dozen yards from the water’s edge.

When they added a piece of bread to the boat in order to suppress the local influence of Faerie, to see if that made a difference, they were careful to dispose of the bread itself in the wood beyond rather than try to eat it—just in case it might have somehow been contaminated.

When Lyra set up a complicated arrangement of tubes, mirrors, sheets, and brightly-burning powders on opposite sides of the lake, and waited for dusk so that they would be able to easily see the light from one side of the lake cast up on the sheets on the other side—Bon Bon inquired as to the purpose of this, but gave up after about ten minutes of Lyra excitedly “explaining” about diffraction patterns and destructive interference and the Hoofgens-Draynel principle and time travel—she was careful to admonish Sweetie Belle, when the young changeling was marking down the locations on the sheet at which the light fell, to not look directly across the lake at the source of the light as it might have been altered in some unwholesome way by its passage near the crystals.

But the mass of sand remained the same, both with and without bread. The diffraction pattern produced by Lyra’s apparatus was unaltered regardless of whether the light was shone near or far away from the island. And with each of their other tests, nothing seemed to happen. The weird glade vouchsafed them only one hint as to its true nature; during their seventh trial of the sand-boat experiment the little vessel nearly tipped over in the middle of the lake, and Sweetie instinctively steadied it from across the lake with her magic.

When they retrieved it on the other shore, they found that it had grown slightly heavier, although the sand was, to all appearances, still as dry as a bone. They retired to their shelter that night tired, but not entirely discouraged.

A hint, even a slight one, was still a hint.

o.0.o

Brambles twisted and creaked, thorns scraped and scratched against one another, and far above, among a few drifting cloud wracks, the wild wind howled. Bon Bon lay on her back, forehooves crossed across her chest as she stared up into the limitless black gulf of the night sky, the light of ten thousand thousand stars reflected in her eyes. She was thinking.

Lyra lay curled up at her side, warm and snug under the thick woolen blanket draped over the two of them, and a little ways away Sweetie Belle slept under her own coverlet, making occasional small squeaking noises in her sleep. They had both been out for several hours, but Bon Bon had found herself unable to join them in slumber. Her mind was too full; full of the events of the past week, full of worries and plans for her and Lyra’s upcoming wedding...

Should they invite Sweetie Belle?

The little filly would be welcome, of course, but she did have her own quest and her own worries, and perhaps it would be cruel to extend an offer to her that she might not be able to accept—and full of her own thoughts, disrupted and jostled by Sweetie Belle’s coming, about herself and her place in Faerie.

Her mind drifted back to Sweetie’s first day in their world, and her first night—when she and Bon Bon had heard and seen the ghostly vision of a band of long-dead trooping Shee.

Bon Bon had warned her companion of the danger, expecting the young mare to share her fear of the denizens of that strange, unearthly world. She had compared them, she remembered, to a storm or perhaps a fire, without malice but still terribly dangerous.

To her surprise, though, Sweetie had responded that some dangerous things were beautiful still.

She hadn’t really known what to make of that, at least not at first. Sweetie clearly did understand that the danger was there, but she was able, somehow, to also see beauty in it. It was strange.

It had been a long time since Bon Bon had been able to see any beauty in the dwimmer of Tír na nÓg, but that night, through Sweetie’s eyes, she had captured a glimpse of it; an echo, from long ago when she was young. And now here she was, taking shelter—shelter!—in another creation of Faerie: Sweetie Belle’s Hedge. A different version of Faerie, perhaps, but still, there was a familiar taste to the colors of the slender, brittle thorn branches, and a remembered quality to the singing of the stars in the sky overhead. She knew this realm.

Ultimately, Bon Bon knew, she was a creature of two worlds—balanced between reality and unreality, between Equestria and Tír na nÓg, between ponies and the Shee. For a long time, she had shunned the older, darker part of who she was, fearing and casting it away from her, afraid of what might happen if she dared to embrace even a small part of it.

Well. Perhaps, she mused, as she turned and draped a hoof gently over her fiancée’s side, feeling the unicorn mare’s heart beat against her skin, perhaps she didn’t need to be quite so afraid anymore. She had hoped to teach Sweetie Belle how to suppress her heritage, how to be a pony without being of the Shee—but maybe one didn’t have to choose one or the other. Maybe one could be both Shee and pony, living in the sunlight and marveling at the moonlight. Maybe.

The changeling’s eyelids drooped, fluttered once or twice, and slid shut. All around her, the wind whispered gently through the branches and briars of the Hedge.

o.0.o

“Bonnie! Bon Bon! Bon bon bon bon bon bon bon!”

Bon Bon hoisted herself up on her forelimbs with a groan, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with a crooked fetlock. “Mrfn. Lyra? Whatsa matter?”

The unicorn mare beside her hopped up and down in excitement, a slightly manic grin plastered on her elated face. “Nothing! The lark’s on the wing, the snail’s on the thorn, Celestia’s in Canterlot, I’ve got two pots of coffee sloshing around inside me, and all is right with this crazy old world! Come on, sleepyhead. Up and at ‘em. Sweetie and I were gonna let you sleep a little longer—it’s noon, by the way. You really shoulda been up by now, but I figured I’d let you sleep anyway ‘cause I’m awesome like that—but this, this you just have to see. Go on! Up! Up up!”

With not a little grumbling, the changeling struggled to her hooves and, stifling a yawn, followed Lyra out of the shelter and down to the edge of Loughleah—“Should we be going this close?”—“As long as we don’t use magic, we should be fine. I’ll explain. Hurry!”—where Sweetie Belle sat waiting for them, alongside the little boat in which the unicorn and changeling filly had been porting sand back and forth across the lake. Resting in its bottom were two pebbles, small, grayish, and unremarkable. Bon Bon squinted down at them. “You woke me up to come look at this?”

“Yes, slug-a-bed,” said Lyra, amicably. “To look at it. Not to glance at it, to look.”

With an indistinct mutter about caffeine overdoses, the mare peered down again, started to raise her head to utter some complaint or other—and then stopped and looked down again. This time she stared at the pebbles for several seconds before looking at Lyra and Sweetie Belle, standing at her side with near-identical grins on their faces, and murmured, “They’re exactly the same.”

“Wrong!”, exclaimed Sweetie, her voice squeaking with excitement. “One’s older! We’re not sure how much, since the other one hasn’t disappeared yet, but it definitely is!”

Bon Bon’s brow wrinkled. “But...but how? Did this just happen, or…?”

“Nuh uh!” Lyra stepped forward. “Filly, we made it happen! We figured that the spell last night mighta had something to do with the sand disappearing, so we put a weak magical field on the boat, here, and plunked a pebble in it to test it. We were gonna drag it across the lake again, but turns out we didn’t even have to do that—as soon as we brought it over here to the shore, there was this ‘plunk’ sound and then there were two pebbles—or one pebble, but folded back in time on itself, we reckon.”

The unicorn trotted over to a flat stone nearby, and retrieved several sheets of paper covered with scrawled equations, diagrams and notes. “That was nearly at daybreak; we did a lot more tests while you were still asleep, and we’re pretty sure we’ve got it pinned down now. It’s magic, Bonnie, magic! Whenever there’s a source of magic near this place—doesn’t have to be strong, and most of the time it’s probably just random fluctuations in the background thaumic field—there’s a chance for something to fall out of time, or fall in from somewhen else.”

Producing a sheet of graph paper with a bell-shaped curve, Lyra flourished it excitedly in Bon Bon’s face. “Gives you a normal distribution, overall—we tested it with an enchanted patch of ground near the lake, where we planned to put in a grain of sand at a predetermined time no matter what, and then about half an hour before then, sand just started appearing. We waited and put the grain down at the right time, and then the pile just started disappearing again, slowly at first, then quickly, then slowly again—made a beautiful bell curve, we massed it out as it was happening. That first grain was hopping back and forward in time. Next we’re gonna decide to put a grain down, then use a simple quantum collapse spell after the sand starts appearing to decide whether we really do put it down, so we can see what happens when we violate causality. We have to have a chance of us putting the grain down, I think, otherwise it might not start appearing in the first place—but that’s another test. And I want you to be here to see it, because we are making history here today, Bonnie, and—”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Bon Bon raised a hoof. “This really is fascinating, Lyra, and I’m just as interested in seeing what happens as you are—but did you say that any source of background magic makes this time travel thing happen? Any at all?”

“Near as we can make out, yeah,” nodded Lyra. “Isn’t this awesome? And then we’re gonna—”

Bon Bon, her voice a bit unsteady, continued, “A source of magic like, say, a unicorn and two changelings?”

“Yeah, exactly, that’d—” Lyra trailed off, the excited smile frozen on her face. Her eyes widened. Beside her, Sweetie Belle made a small noise like a toad that had been stepped on.

“Aw, horsefeathers,” said Lyra.

The relative calm of the lake was suddenly destroyed by a splash as Sweetie Belle broke through it’s surface, gasping for air and wild eyed. Soaked and trembling she swam to the edge of the lake where they were standing in shock and, after dragging herself out of the water, she simply just collapsed in front of them, making a small puddle of water while she took deep, shuddering breaths.

Sweetie Belle looked down at herself, who stared her in the eye and opened her mouth to say something.

“Wait!” Lyra scrambled towards the two Sweeties, her hooves sinking silently into the moss. Bon Bon stepped forward.

“Lyra, no! We don’t know what that is! I don’t know what that is! Stay back!”

The green unicorn gave an almost maniacal laugh. “It’s Sweetie Belle, don’t you get—NO don’t you dare say a word,” she snapped, whipping around towards Sweetie Belle’s soaked, exhausted doppelganger. “I mean, sorry, just don’t talk yet. Please. Let me finish.” Turning back to Bon Bon, she continued, “Sweetie Belle—this Sweetie Belle, the one who doesn’t look like a drowned rat—is going to be disappeared, or taken into the lake, or something, in just a little bit. Maybe. Oh, I hope not, it would be so cool if she didn’t, it would—”

“Lyra.” Bon Bon raised a hoof. “Breathe. And then explain.”

“Right. Hoo. Sorry.” Lyra took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “They’re both Sweetie Belle. Dry Sweetie gets lake-ified, goes somewhere and somewhen, and then comes back—but because time is all twisty here, she comes back sooner than she left. It’s a time loop.” The technomage’s face spread out into a huge, almost diabolical grin as she sat back on her haunches and rubbed her forehooves together. “And we are going to break it. Nope, nuh-uh, don’t talk yet, Sweetie. Not you, Dry Sweetie, you’re fine.”

Bon Bon blinked. “Break it?”

“Sure! All Wet Sweetie has to do is say something different from what she remembers herself saying when she was Dry Sweetie and saw Wet Sweetie—her own Wet Sweetie—came out of this lake in her own timeline. Then, whap!” She smacked her hooves together. “The timeline’s severed! Or not, if she can’t do it. Right here, right now, we’re gonna figure out how time itself works!”

“And maybe break the universe in the process,” said Bon Bon, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh come on, it’s a tough old universe! It’s been around for ages! What with the Unseelie Court and all, I bet loads of critters have tried to violate causality before.”

“And look where that’s gotten the Unseelie Court.” Bon Bon frowned. “I’m really not sure we should be messing with this. I know, I know, it’s very interesting, but I’m not sure it’s safe.”

“But it’s so cool! Besides, I’m sure that wasn’t the only thing that made ‘em unlucky.”

“It couldn’t have helped.”

“I’m fine with taking a little bad luck, if I get to know something like this.” Her eyes wide and pleading, Lyra begged, “Bonnie, I need this! I might never get another chance like this again, and I could know how time itself works! Time!” She turned back to the two Sweetie Belles. “Please, Wet Sweetie. Say something different. Do something different! Think something different! Anything! You do that, or try to do that and fail, and either way we’ll learn how time itself works.”

The future Sweetie hesitated. Lyra’s shoulders sagged, and in a quieter voice she said, “Please? I need this, Sweetie Belle. I need to know.”

Bon Bon sighed and stepped forward. “If it means that much to you, dear heart, I suppose I’m willing to risk it. Sweetie?”

The Sweetie from the future looked from Bon Bon to Lyra before looking up at herself. “Tell them it was a mirror.”

Lyra’s broad grin lasted for about half a second before vanishing into puzzlement. “Wait, so was that different or the same from the last time that you—hooompf!”

“The water!” yelped Bon Bon, as she jumped back and dragged Lyra with her. “It’s moving!”

All around them, the intense vividity of the moss darkened into a deeper, somber shade as wetness wicked up the tiny leaflets, rising from below. Sweetie scrambled back from her sodden time-twin, but the water followed her, swelling up into a smooth, glassy dome around her hooves—or maybe the moss beneath her was sinking, and the water that had now risen so swiftly to her flanks was simply seeping in from the nearby lake. She couldn’t tell.

Sweetie tried to lunge up out from what was either a nearly pony-sized dome of water or a rapidly deepening pool but the water leapt yet higher, and even as her hooves left the ground her head sank below the surface. For a scant second, she was able to make out the blurred forms of Bon Bon and Lyra rushing towards her, and then all was darkness.

o.0.o End Part 1 o.0.o

Someplace else...

The Gala was in full swing. The three wings of the Palace Menagerie were full of ponies: ponies chatting, ponies dancing, ponies nibbling on treats and drinking cocktails. The discerning ear could pick up conversations in Prench and Germane as ponies from across Equestria mingled freely at the grandest social event of the year. Beautiful mares in serving outfits tended to a colorful array of noble mares and stallions in their finest formal wear, dignitaries from foreign lands laughed at jokes only they could hear, and esteemed guests walked the halls from entertainment to entertainment. In the Wonderbolt section, the flashes of cameras were almost like fireworks timed to the energetic background ambience.

“I’m back in the Gala,” Sweetie Belle realized as she took in her surroundings. “I can’t believe it.”

She smiled, despite herself, only to realize what that meant. Unless this was a new Gala, next year’s Gala, then it meant the Gala Loops had never ended, even after she left. Looking around, she tried to find any sign of this not being the Gala she knew. It could just be a coincidence, after all. So much of it looked the same… the ponies present, the three menageries, the decorations and styles of dress. It was spot on. Which also meant the worst. The loops had never broken.

Blueblood had never gotten free.

Next Chapter: This Platinum Crown

This Platinum Crown Pt. 1

Author's Note

Unusual to make a note at the top, I know. Anyway, this chapter covers what happened in This Platinum Crown, up until the end. If you've already read the chapters in This Platinum Crown, you can skip to the final part of this. The next chapter will be coming out in the next couple of weeks.

~Wanderer D

This Platinum Crown Pt. 1

“I’m back in the Gala,” Sweetie Belle realized as she took in her surroundings. “I can’t believe it.”

Sweetie set her hooves against the floor, ignoring the looks from ponies at her lack of a dress, and pressed. Despite her efforts, the ground beneath her did not rumble or respond… It felt strange, somehow, but it was just as possible that things worked different here when it came to that sort of magic. That was both troubling and a little comforting. Schooling her features, she tried to move through the crowds, searching for a familiar face. And soon enough, she found one.

“Miss Fleur!” Sweetie called, smiling at the model as she approached. Fleur-de-Lis was as gorgeous as Sweetie had remembered her being. Tall, leggy, and gracile, she was a model in many worlds, and this one had also been the duelist who taught her I Quattro Elementi. Just as importantly, Fleur had taught her the importance of poise and beauty, not just in fighting, but in life.

Sweetie remembered how, so many times, so many loops, Fleur had smiled down at her and offered a hoof to help her up or to show her a new pose. For all the troubles she seemed to juggle and struggle with as a financially strained but noble-born pony, Fleur had always been a kind and friendly – even vivacious – mare to the young Sweetie Belle she had trained.

This time, though, Fleur de Lis looked down on her with an inscrutable look, appraising but dismissive.

“I – we haven’t met,” Sweetie said, hoping to introduce herself to a friendly face with some inside knowledge, “but I’m a big fan of yours and--”

“I’ll have to stop you there,” Fleur interrupted. “I don’t associate with fans or hangers-on.”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide at the biting remark.

“Why, look at her.” Another pony spoke up, a stallion with a trimmed blue moustache that took Sweetie a moment to recognize. “You don’t even have a dress! My word! How uncouth! Like a beggar off the streets or somesuch.” Fancy Pants looked down at her with a sneer. He didn’t even address her further, switching to the third person as he waved a hoof at her. “Do you suppose this ragamuffin snuck into the Castle somehow? Where are the royal guards when you need them?”

“I--”

“She’s still here,” Fleur observed, “Worse than that, Fancy, she’s trying to talk to us.” The haughty mare gently tried to herd Sweetie away with her hoof. “Shoo. Go on. I don’t have any bits on me. Go bother somepony else, why don’t you?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head and turned around, galloping away from her dueling mentor. Fleur had often chided or teased her during training, but it had always been playful. Never had a cruel word passed from her lips. Such a thing was too inelegant for the noble model. What in Equestria had gotten into her?

Sweetie galloped, swerving past older ponies all around her, putting some much-needed space between her and the pony who looked so much like her tutor but who just couldn’t be her. The Gala was a press of bodies around any celebrity or lordly noblepony, and the sheer number of adults she slipped through keyed her to the likelihood that somepony big had to be in the center. Sure enough, the crowd abruptly parted a respectful distance from the center of their attention, and Sweetie saw a familiar face emerge.

“Princess Celestia!”

“Oh,” the princess glanced at her, a displeased frown crossing her face. “You’re… Rarity’s sister? What are you doing here?” The tall Princess crinkled her one visible eye, and though her voice had been level, Sweetie could sense a hint of menace in the immortal pony’s tone. “No. You don’t belong here. How did you get here?”

Sweetie felt her breath catch in her throat as Celestia loomed over her like a mountain. The Princess was tall compared to an adult. She was a giant next to a young mare such as herself. Sweetie got the distinct impression that the Princess could simply stomp her underhoof, should she so desire.

“How did you get here?” Celestia asked again. “There’s something about you. Something different.”

“I’m sorry!” Sweetie, acting on some instinct, threw herself into a courtly bow. Her nose touched the tile of the menagerie floor. “I’ll leave right away!”

“Yes, that would be best.” Celestia shooed her with a hoof, and the ponies around her chortled in amusement. “I have no time to waste with you.”

Feeling the sting of the words, Sweetie stepped back, head down. ‘She said there was something different about me. Something different! Maybe they can see what I really look like…? Maybe… maybe they see me for what I am? Maybe I am a monster now. Is that why they’re treating me like this?’

It was then that she heard another very familiar voice.

“You are nothing! You are not my brother, hardly a stallion worthy of my sister, and little more than a pretentious, disgusting son-of-a-mule!” Sweetie Belle, another Sweetie Belle, dressed in a beautiful white dress growled with undisputable malice at some poor pony.

Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but approach.

This was her. This was another her. But how was there another her, here?

She ignored the mutters and glares as she made her way to the balcony, where she could finally see who her other self was talking to. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the white coat and disheveled blonde mane. Blueblood looked miserable, his usually meticulous appearance sloppy and unkempt in a way Sweetie had never seen before. He wasn’t even trying to counter the mean-spirited Sweetie across from him with his usual wit.

For a moment, Sweetie couldn’t even think of what to say. ‘How did this happen?’

“But you… you said you and your friends wanted…” Blueblood’s voice was clipped, hardly more than a whisper. Sweetie had to press past the others to hear. “The last loop… it just doesn’t make sense…”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Sweetie, the other Sweetie, threw something at him. She then stormed away, and Sweetie, the real one – or she thought she was the real one – couldn’t help but notice that the other ponies present treated her normally. But she was normal; that Sweetie Belle was still a pony on the inside and outside, so that made sense, didn’t it?

Left in her wake, Blueblood reached for her with a hoof only to curse and slam his hoof onto the floor. He was angry, Sweetie realized. The Blueblood she knew did not get easily angered. Indignant, yes; pouty, definitely; primpy and fussy, all the time. But angry? She watched on, stunned by the scene unfolding in front of her, as her brother from the time-loops hung his head in silent misery.

She saw him look up, look to Celestia, desperate for some sort of sympathy, and then turn away.

The Princess didn’t even seem to give the scene an iota of her attention.

“I said NO! Get away from me!” Blueblood snarled, pushing aside a mare Sweetie didn’t recognize. The pony looked noble, dressed in a beautiful dress of orange and crimson, but over hundreds of loops Sweetie had learned to recognize almost everypony who had attended the Grand Galloping Gala. She didn’t know all their names, like Blueblood did, but she knew their faces and color schemes. This black and white mare was somepony new.

“My Prince,” she said to his back. “Are you just going to let them treat you this way?”

Blueblood ignored her and stomped away, leaving the seething noblemare behind. Sweetie Belle resolved to follow Blueblood and snaked her way around the guests, trying to keep him in sight. In the confusion, she also tried to get a better look at the noblemare with the white mane, only to find that she had vanished into the crowd. Luckily, Blueblood was easier to keep track of. Sweetie almost caught up to him, only to notice herself… or rather her other-self approaching her adoptive brother.

It then hit her. Even if she was a monster, even if ponies would wince when they saw her or treat her like dirt… even if Blueblood himself was repulsed… she couldn’t simply watch a pony she loved be berated and abused by none other than herself.

Taking a deep breath, Sweetie moved faster, following her counterpart who was in turn following Blueblood to another secluded area of the Gala. If she had to guess, he was heading for the maze. It was a place where he could lose everypony else. He clearly wanted to be left alone, and she couldn’t blame him. Not with how ponies were acting! Had he done something during the day to make them so angry? She couldn’t believe it.

Just when she saw him slinking out of the sight of nobles, she managed to catch up with the other Sweetie Belle, just out of immediate sight from the other ponies and Blueblood.

“Hey!” she called, drawing the attention of the other Sweetie. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Her counterpart stopped and turned to face her.

“You – You’re not supposed to be here,” the native Sweetie said, almost mechanically, and scowled at her like she was some sort perplexing apparition. “You’re… me? But I’m me! What are you?”

“I’m not you,” Sweetie muttered angrily. “I would never, ever, treat Blueblood like that! What could possibly make you say those things to him? He’s one of the sweetest ponies I’ve ever met!”

“He’s a jerk! He’ll always be a jerk, and I hate him!” Sweetie yelled back at herself. She stalked forward with a cold, calculating expression of condescension. Sweetie wondered, for just a moment, if this was how she had looked that one loop where she had torn into Diamond Tiara.

“I hate him,” Sweetie stated. “We all hate him.”

Sweetie felt herself flush with anger.

“Blueblood,” she hissed, stepping up to literally lock horns with her contemptible counterpart, “is not a jerk. Not to me! He’s loyal and strong… stronger than you might think or could ever believe. He’s seen things you never have, done things you never will… he’s changed… and grown! And I. Don’t. Hate. Him. He’s my brother, the only one who could possibly even understand what I’ve been through… and if you take one more step in his direction, I will not hold back. You’ll probably just reset anyway, you dumb-belle, so don’t think I won’t take you down!”

The native Sweetie colored with the same rage Sweetie herself felt. They were eerily alike in that respect, and when her local counterpart smirked, taking a very obvious step back, Sweetie knew she was about to try something. The other Sweetie. This was all so confusing!

The local-her inhaled deeply, no doubt to cry for help. She would scream for her sister or the guards or somepony who would cause a lot of trouble. But Sweetie was a Sweetie Belle, too. So she didn’t just let the other her have her way. Rushing forward, Sweetie tackled herself and quickly clamped a hoof around other-her’s mouth. The angry scream became a muffled ‘rrrgh!’, and the pair tumbled out and onto the grass of the Palace gardens.

Both fillies separated as soon as their roll stopped and jumped to their hooves. Sweetie was dismayed when the local, evil version fell into the familiar stance of the I Quattro Elementi. She groaned. “You learned that too?! How?!”

Quickly shaking her head, she started slowly going around her opponent, only for the local Sweetie to match her movements. ‘Perfectly symmetrical violence never solved anything,’ a wise pony had once said. Fortunately, this was not going to be a fair fight. Not for her opponent.

She followed the familiar basic patterns of an I Quattro Elementi spar, settling into the familiar rhythm and exchange of basic spells. Clearly the local Sweetie was roughly at the same level as she had been before she left. Sweetie still wasn’t sure how that was possible, but it was just what she had expected. She imitated her opponent’s level, allowing the local Sweetie to think that they were on par, all the while whispers echoed around the pair until her other self finally heard them.

“What’s… that?” she asked, ears twitching. “Some sort of sound?”

“It’s the end for you,” Sweetie replied, cantering to the side.

The local Sweetie immediately reacted, trying to turn the right way to fend of Sweetie’s follow-up. ‘Tried,’ being the imperative word. Her legs refused to budge, and when she looked down to identify why, she saw, to her horror, that she had somehow sunken down into the earth. Her hooves had already vanished into the soft grass, and she couldn’t pull them free. Her eyes sought out Sweetie’s, full of indignation and confusion. “But… your horn didn’t glow!”

Sweetie smiled triumphantly as her other-self sunk further into the ground, letting the local Sweetie see a little bit of her true self slip through her illusion. “Don’t worry, nothing will happen to you.”

“You!” Sweetie gasped. “You’re not--”

Sweetie’s hoof cut the statement short.

“Sssh,” she warned. “It’s a secret to everypony.”

The local Sweetie could just gape in stunned silence as the earth closed around her. The remaining Sweetie Belle sighed as the whispers died away. That had cost time. Blueblood was gone. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the maze and stepped in. It had been a while, after all. She hoped she remembered the way.

She found Blueblood in the center of the maze. He wasn’t doing anything other than mutely staring at the obelisk containing the long list of Bluebloods through the centuries. It tore at her heart seeing him so despondent. It was as if he was about to give up. She knew how he ‘reset’ some of the loops back when they had been going through the Gala together. She knew, before she entered the loops with him, he had ‘reset’ the timestream for reasons other than expedience. Peeking around a corner, seeing him from the front, the empty, haunted, hopeless look on his face as he started at the names etched in his family monolith made her want to cry.

She carefully approached until she stood right behind his slouched form. “Blueblood? Are you okay?”

He didn’t seem to hear her at first, but his ears twitched in response. He shook his head and stared at her, and she knew he was expecting her to say something terrible to him.

“Blueblood,” she said, simply, and touched his leg with her hoof. “It’s me.”

“You?” he asked, blinking.

Sweetie’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Don’t you remember me?” she whispered, looking up at him. “After all that we went through? After how you took care of me and helped me?” She smiled a bit, hoping to coax some sort of emotion out of him, but he only stared forward. “I went away, but I’m back for a little while… I don’t think I’d rather spend some time with anypony else than my big brother.”

She looked around the gardens, looking for a way to convince him to believe her. “Do you remember how many times we came here? How many times we went into that pocket dimension with Twilight’s crazy fragment? Do you think I would have done all that with a pony I didn’t trust and care for?” Her voice softened. “Do you remember when I said goodbye?”

He muttered something under his breath and, even as she reached for him, he scooted back and away from her. His hoof was trembling, shaking, as he pointed at her.

“You reset!” he yelled, and though his voice lowered, just those two words ‘you reset’ echoed in Sweetie’s ears. “You reset… after the Gala… after you left… I tried, Sweetie. I tried so hard to make the best of things. You were gone, I missed you, but… but I tried.”

His hooves reached up to bury in his unwashed blond mane, head shaking back and forth.

“And then… then I thought I’d gotten out, too. I got to the next day! Rarity… Rarity she…” He couldn’t finish whatever he was trying to say. His breath just came in short gasps. “I must’ve died again. Some creature killed me, and… and when I did… I was back here. Back here. I’m always back here. There is no escape for any of us. All of it is… just a joke… just a horrible joke… and it never ends. Never ends!”

Tears welled up in her eyes and Sweetie rushed forward to hug her adopted brother as hard as she could. He was still in the loops. He was still suffering. And she had left him.

“No! No, it’s okay! You won’t be trapped! It must be some mistake!” she cried and tried shaking sense into him, accidentally ripping the corner of his suit shirt as she did. He didn’t even seem to care. “Please! Please, Blueblood, don’t lose hope! You’ve kept me afloat for so long! I wouldn’t have made it this far without you… please… let me help you. I’ll stay here for as long as you do… I - I’ll find a way to come back completely. Or take you with me! I won’t let you be alone in this.” She looked up into his eyes, and it was like her words passed right through him. Like he was already dead inside. “I’ll help you…”

“Nephew.”

A chill ran down Sweetie’s spine at the frigid voice that had spoken just then. Sweetie looked up, past Blueblood, to the very top of the royal family obelisk. An alicorn with black wings perched there, glaring down at them with baleful, glowing eyes. Even as Sweetie watched, bats detached from and melded back into her body.

“Auntie,” Blueblood finally responded, tilting his head back against the monolith. “You always find me. Every night. Time…” He actually smiled, tears running down his cheeks. “Time to die again?”

“Our sister asked us to take care of you,” the terrifying visage of Princess Luna explained, and her body scattered into a thousand screeching fangs and leathery wings. “And so we shall,” her disembodied voice promised.

Sweetie closed her eyes and felt Blueblood pull her in close as the swarm descended.

And tore them to pieces.

o.0.o

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes snapped open as a deep, disturbing sense of deja-vu left her wondering where, exactly, she had messed up again. She turned in her bed, drowsy mind starting to recall last night’s sudden and horrific end when her snout bumped with… her snout.

Sweetie Belle looked into the eyes of the local Sweetie Belle and they both froze, staring at each other from opposite sides of the same bed. Finally the local Sweetie spoke. “You! You’re not supposed to be here… wait, what?”

Sweetie grinned. “Do you remember last night?”

Eyes wide, the evil Sweetie shook her head, slowly.

“Well then,” she said, with a widening grin. “It’ll make things easier if you don’t.”

Local Sweetie’s brow wrinkled into a frown. “What do you mean?” Slightly more alert, she started getting angry. “Rari-!!”

She stopped when Sweetie’s hoof touched her lips. “Hush now… quiet now.”

Sweetie Belle carefully closed the door behind her, locked it, and then broke the keyhole mechanism. She had enchanted her local self to sleep through the day, but just on the off chance she would wake up, she had taken a couple countermeasures. Like making the bed sheets unmovable. Even if local Sweetie eventually got out (the traps were not deadly, of course!) the dimension-hopping Sweetie was confident she would have enough time to get to Blueblood first.

Her hoof lingered on the door. She had missed this, just a little.

Okay. Maybe a lot.

Despite the whole trapped-in-an-endless-time-loop scenario, it had become… well… normal. It had even been comforting in a strange way! Every day she had woken up reasonably confident of what was to come, and better yet, she had always woken up knowing there was somepony out there looking out for her. She had never been alone in the loops, not like Blueblood had been. After everything that had happened to her after she left, the time she had spent here in this world and the lessons she had learned were some of the best times of her life.

The question now was if that artifact could keep her here until the loops were done again?

She shook her head. What did it matter? If anything, helping Blueblood would at least balance the karmic scales a bit for what she had become and everything she had done. For a second, her foreleg was not covered in soft hair… Sweetie shook her head, dispelling the mental image. Pushing herself away from the door, she headed downstairs. She had a Prince to meet. A brother to help!

It didn’t take long for Rarity to make her appearance. She did not look happy at seeing her little sister.

“Sweetie Belle.” She paused, blinking dumbly for a second before snapping out of the trance. “Just what are you doing here, hmm?” Rarity huffed, barely glancing at her sister while making her way to heat up some tea. “Are you trying to skip school? Is primary education too much for you, Sweetie Belle?”

Sweetie was taken aback by the venom in her sister’s voice. “I - I’m about to leave, sis.”

“Good riddance,” Rarity stated, calmly sitting down on her end of the table. She had only made breakfast for herself this morning. “Maybe Cheerilee will have more luck knocking sense into that rock you have for a head than I have, but from how disappointed she sounds every time she mentions your name. I fear she’s about to give up on you, too. Honestly!”

Sweetie cringed. Even after she had become Twilight’s student, she hadn’t entirely shaken how some ponies made fun of her for the occasional bout of foalhood obliviousness. How could Rarity – her own sister of all ponies – say something like that? Rarity had fussed about her little sister’s appearance plenty of times, but she had never made so hurtful a jab at so soft a spot.

“Sis…” For a moment, Sweetie didn’t even know how to respond. She shook her head in dismay. “What happened? Why are you being so… so mean to me?”

“I’m not being mean, Sweetie, just practical,” Rarity responded, taking a sip of her tea and unfolding one of her tattler magazines. “Even I have to realize when a wreck is a lost cause, and you, my dear, are one.”

Rarity sipped more tea, seemingly unconcerned by Sweetie’s hurt look. She didn’t even care when the incredulous expression turned into a glare. Sweetie opened her mouth to reply, to bite back or to cry, she wasn’t sure which, but she was interrupted by a series of rapid-fire knocks on the door.

"It seems your ‘friends’ have come to pick you up. You should count yourself fortunate to have ponies who are willing to help you like they are. Now, go off to school, and do try not to be an embarrassment.” Blue eyes peeked over the pages of Rarity’s magazine as Sweetie continued to stare. “Don’t tell me you need me to hold your hoof…?”

“Yeah, well, I mean NO! I can find the door perfectly fine on my own, you--” Sweetie forcefully clamped shut her mouth and stomped her way to the door, opening it so violently with her magic that she loosened the hinges.

“Oh, there you are!” Scootaloo said, with a bright smile, only to pause again. Just like Rarity had. She blinked, and it was as if a switch flipped in her. Her grin melted away like it had never been there. “Finally! I thought we’d have to go into your room and drag your sorry flank onto my scooter if we wanted to make it in time!”

“Yeah, nice to see you too, Scootaloo,” Sweetie muttered. “Good morning and all that.”

“Aw, don’t be too hard on the filly,” Apple Bloom playfully punched Scootaloo’s shoulder. “Not every filly needs a map ta find her own horn! It’s not her fault she’s havin’ a really hard time just makin’ it to the door. You can’t ask too much of her.”

“Well, yeah!” Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “I know that, Apple Bloom, but do we have to do this every day? Be her ‘friends’ and see her to school? Even Snips and Snails can make it there on their own.”

“You don’t expect her to make it otherwise, do you?” Apple Bloom asked. “Ah mean, she’ll probably walk straight into the mouth of a hydra if we don’t watch over her.”

“Maybe we should let her do that!” Scootaloo retorted, fluttering her little wings angrily. “At least she’d stop being an extra annoyance in our lives! Plus, she makes the Cutie Mark Crusaders look lame!”

Apple Bloom tilted her head. “Sweetie, what in the name of Celestia’s Golden Apples are you doing levitating a diamond?”

Sweetie, killer diamond quivering in her telekinetic grasp, gritted her teeth and tried to rein in her self-control. “I’m reminding myself that murder is generally looked down on by local law enforcement.”

Apple Bloom scoffed. “Oh, Sweetie, you couldn’t kill a fly. Literally. Ah’ve seen you try. Come on, it’s time for school. We don’t want to be late!”

“You know what, I remember how to get to school just fine,” Sweetie snapped. “Why don’t you and Scoots here go ahead? If I’m late, you can always tell Cheerilee I got lost.”

“Tsk, you know we can’t do that, Sweetie,” Scootaloo replied, testily. “Simply leaving you on your lonesome? Where will you be without us?”

“Extremely. Happy.” Sweetie’s eyes glowed for a moment as she took two steps back into the shadows. Scootaloo trotted forward to make a grab for her, only to fall forwards with a yelp as the unicorn filly vanished.

“Hey! Where did she go?!” Apple Bloom asked, turning around and failing to see Sweetie. “Aww, we’re gonna get in trouble if we lost her! And since when could she use magic?”

“Pffh! So she bails. What’s the worst that’ll happen?” Scootaloo asked, pushing Apple Bloom towards the scooter. “So you get grounded for a few days. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and a griffon will eat her. Come on, let’s go to class.”

Sweetie sighed from within the shadows and slowly emerged. “If this is what Blueblood’s coming back to every day, there’s no way he’s going to be sane.” She turned to look at the distant spires of Canterlot overlooking the valley and started trotting towards the train station. “I guess I should get going. I don’t think he’ll pick me up this time.”

“You'll be seeing Rain Booms!

Ooo-ooo-oooh!

Equestrian Girls, we're kinda magical!

Boots on hooves, bikinis on top!”

Blueblood remained in bed, letting the song – so often interrupted by his hoof or his magic – continue on to the end. The bed was empty beside him, a hole in it that never filled, no matter how many times he died. That one loop… that one impossible, wonderful loop… he had filled it, and now waking up alone and hearing that song... it was like a stake driving into his heart. Every time it still hurt. Every night he wished it wouldn’t. Every morning his one wish went unanswered.

“So put your hooves up, oh-oh-ohoh!”

As the song ended, the magical radio dissolved into static. Nothing ever played after the song. Just static. It was like the radio station didn’t care either. It was the Gala, but he didn’t need to look outside to know as much. It was always the Gala. It would always be the Gala. And every one was worse than the one that came before it.

‘There’s a ceremonial spear down the hall. Thirty paces. Brush past Light Touch and Sandy. Put it through your throat and sever the carotid artery. Hard reset. Painless. Pointless.’ His mind numbly ran through the possibilities. So far, the best loops had been the ones where he just ran away, rather than try to outright kill himself. Sometimes he could have hours of peace and quiet if he left a false trail for the Royal Guards pursuing him to follow.

‘That dragon from the other day was pleasant company,’ he recalled. The cave was only a few hours away by sky chariot or airship. ‘She ate me… but until she did, she wasn’t a terrible companion. And at least she was honest about her intentions. Plus, being eaten wasn’t the worst way to go. Yes. Maybe I should do that again today. I bet I could beat her in chess this time around, too! She always uses the Queen’s Gambit, and I can counter that in move sixteen….’

“My Lord,” Light Touch’s voice interrupted his daydreaming along with her gentle rapping on the door to his room. “Her Highness has requested your presence at the breakfast table. We must make you presentable.”

“Yes,” he replied, weary beyond description. “Presentable. Of course. Enter.”

Mechanically, he rolled off the bed and trotted over to the same spot as always. Light Touch and Sandy entered, as they always did, and began to comb and clean him for the day. One time, a lifetime ago, the brushes and the gentle ministrations had brought a measure of peace, even in the worst of the Gala loops. The two maidservants were no less competent than before, but even when he asked their names or made polite inquiries about subjects he knew they entertained, the pair wanted nothing to do with him. Where once he had even been able to coax a giggle out of shy maid Sandy – and a smile out of the dedicated, professional Light Touch – all that met him now was a stark and uncomfortable silence. He was nothing and nopony.

He was a pariah.

Then, to his surprise, Light Touch rested her hoof on his heart, bereft of a brush.

“It hurts, doesn’t it?” she asked, to his surprise. Those words…

Not sure what to say – “it does” or “how do you know?” Blueblood merely nodded.

Light Touch leaned closer to whisper in his ear. “It hurts because you let it hurt.”

The Prince recoiled slightly, and Light Touch motioned Sandy to gather up their supplies and leave. The maid’s words echoed in Blueblood’s mind as he tried to make sense of them. It hurt… because he let it hurt?

“I don’t understand,” he admitted. It didn’t matter how Light Touch even know what was in his heart. He reached for her. “How can it not hurt?”

“Hurt them back.” Light Touch contemptuously batted his hoof away. “That’s how.”

Blueblood closed his eyes, fighting the suggestion. How could Light Touch even say such a thing? Hurting others didn’t solve anything. He had learned that. He understood that. How could he ever look his Aunties or… or his Rarity… in the eye again, if he turned his back on everything he had learned from them? Even his old self hadn’t done more than hurt a mare’s pride. Light Touch had to be kidding.

‘Hurt them back,’ his own voice whispered. ‘Just once. Why not? They’ll reset. It’s all pointless. So why not hurt them back?’

Blueblood shook his head. “No. Never. Never again.”

‘Make all of Canterlot pay. Bring this vile city to its knees. You can destroy it. Show me how!’

“Equestrian Girls, we're kinda magical!” Blueblood sang, forcing himself to finish getting dressed and head down to the solemn solarium dining hall. “Boots on hooves, bikinis on top! Equestrian Girls, we're kinda magical! Boots on hooves, bikinis on top! Equestrian Girls, we're kinda magical! Boots on hooves, bikinis on top!”

The hateful thoughts faded away as he repeated the annoying diddy like a mantra. The trick worked, but it took longer and longer and got harder and harder with every loop. Blueblood found himself not just whispering the lyrics but outright yelling them at the top of his lungs to try and clear his mind.

It wouldn’t be hard to make Canterlot pay, he knew.

He still had the suicide spell he had used before to destroy the Palace. All he had to do was repeat it and make a few changes to the containment circle. But why bother being repetitive? The Bluebloods had hoarded the most terrible secrets and magic in Equestrian history. They were sworn not to use them, by all the old gods and the Princess and the living stars, but why not?

This Equestria had gone steadily to Hell. Why not bring Hell to this Equestria? Why not throw open the Gates of Tartarus itself? There were a dozen crisis-level magics sealed in The Black Box that even Twilight couldn’t be allowed to open or explore. Why not just let one or two loose to bring this festering pit to its knees? Why not find a high tower and a bag of popcorn and watch as everypony that spat on him screamed and DIED?!

‘Burn them all. Burn them all. Show me how! You know you want to!’

“Equestrian Girls, we're kinda magical! Boots on hooves, bikinis on top!” He announced at the top of his voice, once again driving away the spiteful, treacherous thoughts. He even added a pronk to his trot, pulling off his best Pinkie Pie as he sang out loud.

Finally stumbling into the dining hall, Blueblood noticed how Proper Place and Stylus, the Chamberlain and his assistant, the Keeper of Seals, began to conspicuously whisper. ‘They’re plotting against you. They loathe you. Look in their eyes.’ Even the serving ponies stopped to stare at him with contemptuous expressions. ‘They hate you. You know they spit in your food. You can taste it.’ Celestia, though, continued to demurely eat her breakfast of oats and apples. ‘You aren’t worth her time. She hates you. She hates you most of all!’ Princess Luna, eating dinner rather than breakfast, simply frowned at her nephew. ‘She’ll kill you. She’ll kill you. She’ll kill you. She’ll kill you. She’ll kill you!’

And, every night at the end of the Gala, Luna did find reason to kill him.

‘Kill her first. You know how. You know how. Show me. I’ll do it for you. Kill her. Kill her before she kills you. Show me how to kill her!!’

“Equestrian Girls, we're kinda magical! Boots on hooves, bikinis on top!” Blueblood blurted out, right there at the breakfast table, and the thoughts slowly receded. “Boots on hooves, bikinis on top…”

He tried to eat, but the food – all food – tasted like ashes in his mouth.

Mirrors.

Auntie loved her mirrors, but not for vanity.

Philosophers and romantics often said that eyes were the window into the immaterial soul. Mirrors, similarly, could be a window into the arcane and the otherwise unseen realms that surrounded ponykind. There were entire rooms in the Palace devoted to certain magical mirrors. As a Blueblood, versed in the mysteries of such things, he knew which ones could be used and, in many cases, how to use them. Standing in front of one such mirror, framed in Braygyptian gold and inscribed with faint geometric shapes that shimmered beneath his reflection, Blueblood imagined for a moment that he could plunge into his reflection and escape.

It didn’t even matter where. Anywhere was better than this.

“Which one of these did you escape through, Shimmer? Are you happy, wherever you ended up?” Blueblood lightly ran his hoof over the crystal. “Or are you dead?” He lowered his head until the tip of his horn scraped against the mirror. “I never thought the day would come when I ended up envying even you.”

‘Sunset Shimmer… one of Celestia’s two old students? Which mirror did she use? Was it this one?’

“No, it was… fifth from the end of the hall, on the right,” Blueblood whispered to himself, though he hardly understood why. “Every thirty full moons… I think…”

‘How strong was she? Is she a threat?’

“No, she was just…”

‘Is she a threat?’

“Maybe,” he finally said, if only to shut the nagging voice up. He growled and slammed his forehead into the mirror. “Damnit! I’m not crazy! Stop talking to me!”

‘You want to escape,’ his treasonous thoughts whispered, despite all his protests. ‘Act on your impulses. Do what you know you want to do! If you use the Archives, maybe you can see the other side of one of these mirrors. Show me! Show me what to do to save you!’

Pressing the flat of his hoof against the cold glass, Blueblood could feel the faint magic dormant in the crystal. It only yielded so much, however, before rejecting him. Like all the magical mirrors, Auntie had locked this one. There would be no escape. He knew that. But it was nice to dream.

Maybe, out there somewhere…

In that lost loop, the one that had lasted all those months, he had funded a project of his own. To construct a new and special mirror. To find a certain somepony. It was all lost now, but… the other night…

“Sweetie,” he asked himself, “was that really you?”

Could she really have been the same pony he had looped with? Could she really be the filly that three years of Gala loops had turned into a little sister? That same filly he had seen do the impossible and escape from the loops? His eyes watered as he remembered seeing her vanish that one Gala night. The Sweetie here was so like her, but… but not. Then, just last loop; she had come back and…

Had it really been her, or was it all just another cruel joke?

‘She abandoned you. You have no one. No one but me.’

His hoof slipped on the glass, and when Blueblood leaned harder to keep from falling, he glared at his reflection. The pony there was so tired. So damned tired. Maybe it was time to try something… different. That one spell hadn’t killed him, though it was supposed to utterly consume a pony’s soul, but there were others. There were… others.

Pressing his hoof against the glass, his eyes narrowed.

‘Do it,’ a voice whispered. ‘Show them all the folly of their ways.’

A magical neon-blue circle extended from the flat palm of his hoof, shining bright against the mirror. A second circle then extended over the first. As soon as it did so, the area between the two circles filled with magical sigils and runes. A third circle appeared, along with another layer of glyphs. Then a fourth and, finally, a fifth. Beyond that last circle, two squares separated, turning forty five degrees until they intersected, producing an eight-pointed star. Behind each point of the star, a large rune glowed white hot.

Blueblood then released his hoof and brought it up to his horn, cutting the frog – the flat – of his hoof enough to draw a few drops of blood. Reaching out for the magical mirror lock, he hesitated. Once the key was empowered and turned there would be no turning back. Twilight already had the dummy-access key, or she had back in that other loop. This was the personal all-access code that only the family heir could use. It would provide single pony teleportation through the security at Hockford. Right to the Black Box itself.

No. There would be no turning back after this.

“We don't know…” Luna explained, haltingly, after pondering his question. When you can't live and you can't die, and nothing you do changes anything around you, can you really say that you exist? How can anypony go on?

"Maybe our advice isn't the best,” she admitted, and he knew the root of why she felt that way. “This was why we didn't want to give it before."

The Princess of the Night smoothed back some of her mane and nodded to herself.

“But," she continued anyway. She looked up at him, and he could see there that she had come to see him as somepony close to family. It would all be gone by the morning, wiped clean by the time-loop, but for now, it was there. And he was glad for it.

"You should endure,” the dark alicorn told him. “And adapt. And grow. You do exist, nephew. My own immortality has cost me everything but what I have with me now." She gestured to herself. "And my dear sister, too, thank the heavens. The only thing we can do, as ponies, is move forward."

What would she think if she saw him do this? What would either of them think? The mares he cared most about in this world. Wouldn’t this be throwing away everything they had once seen in him?

Auntie Luna… Auntie Celestia… Rarity, and…

“Blueblood!”

He sighed. Even now, he could hear the voice of his Sweetie Belle… the one that cared. It was a cruel and malicious taunt. Giving him something precious, only to snatch it away? Would she pretend to be the Sweetie he had spent all those loops with, only to laugh at his face the moment he confided in her? Spit in his face as Rarity had, whenever her affection for him turned to spite? Maybe she would kill him, night after night, as his Aunties did?

‘Forget her. Turn the key!’

“Blueblood! I know you’re around here! Come on! Where are you?” Sweetie’s voice echoed again, making his head snap up and his ears perk up. Even if… even if a thousand times, she said ‘I hate you’ … wouldn’t it be worth it, just to hear ‘brother’ once?

Wasn’t that what he had sworn to live for?

‘She hates you. They all hate you. Turn the fucking key!’

“Equestrian Girls, we're kinda magical, boots on hooves, bikinis on top! Bikinis on top! Bikinis on top,” he whispered the lyrics, drowning out the voice. The knowledge. It was right. Everyone hated him. There was no escape. No end. No solace or joy.

“Bikinis on top,” he said, one last time. His hoof was still pressed up against the glass, the blue glyph-key stained red with royal blood. It was ready to unlock. Blueblood forced himself to take a breath and reassert control.

“I won’t,” he told himself, and even after he pulled his hoof away, the marks on the mirror lingered. Long seconds passed before the runes dissolved in black smoke. Cautiously, almost second-guessing himself, Blueblood stepped out of the room and looked down the hallway. At the crossing stood a little filly he knew… or had thought he had known… so well.

“S-sweetie Belle?”

Her head turned his way and blue eyes met green. Her smile was beautiful and honest. “Blueblood!” she galloped up to him, throwing her forelegs around his neck and hugging him tight. “I found you! Or you found me!”

“Is it you?” he asked, afraid to really believe it. “Really you?” He wrapped a leg around her and returned the hug, emboldened by the first act of kindness he could remember since that monster with Yumi’s face had murdered him during Rarity’s Art Festival. “Not – not the other Sweetie… the one that hates me?”

“I don’t hate you, big brother,” Sweetie’s voice sounded muffled, she was pressing her muzzle so hard against his neck. “I never will.”

This…

Was this real?

“But… how is this possible?” Blueblood stammered, shaking his head and pushing her back so he could look down at her. “How can you be here? You were free! I - I thought I was free, too… but… I think I died and came back here. Did you… you didn’t d--”

Sweetie shook her head. “I came close… but no… and I’m not trapped in this world… I think. And I didn't die. I came here; I went looking for you, because of..." She trailed off, as the words she had practiced died on the tip of her tongue. "Because..."

“Sweetie,” he said, relieved, but now terrified. Not for himself, but for her. “Sweetie, you have no idea how glad I am to see you, but… but you should never have come back here. This place is horrible, and – and no matter what I do, or say, it just gets worse. I don’t understand what’s happening, but you shouldn’t be trapped here.” He gritted his teeth and resolved himself. “You can’t be trapped here. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy!”

“I - I know…” Sweetie looked up at him in confusion. “When I woke up today, there was another Sweetie there. The one that…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it. “A-anyway, after that… Rarity she just… she hated me. She was so mean, Blueblood… I don’t think it’s you; this whole world is just evil…”

“It was never like this before,” he said and quickly led Sweetie into another of the mirror chambers. A pair of royal guardponies were slowly making their way down the hall, and it was probably wise not to raise any further questions with them.

The mirror in this room reached almost to the ceiling, set in a mural of jade and silver. The rest of the room was comparatively bare, with empty shelves and conspicuous spiderwebs in the corners. Sweetie quickly realized why the giant mirror seemed vaguely off. Blueblood had no reflection in it… and her reflection…

“I couldn’t believe it after I died and ended up back here. It was… It was crushing,” he admitted, paying no attention to the giant mirror behind him or what it revealed. “Oh, Sweetie, you’d have been… you’d have liked how things turned out there, before all this!” He shook his head, not wanting to get off on a tangent. “But I ended up back here. It was the exact same at first. The usual Gala time-loop… except you were there, you-you, not the local Sweetie. That made no sense!”

“And you just kept resetting!” He almost spat the word, like it was a curse, and in a way, it was. “So even the you-you, wasn’t really you! And then you… then everypony… started to get worse! Everypony I tried to get close to turned against me.”

“But… that’s not how it worked!” Sweetie said, forcing her eyes from the painful reflection to look at Blueblood. “How could everypony just get worse? The resets should have left them normal… just like that time that I… that I tortured Diamond Tiara… She was fine the next day… She didn’t remember how horrible I’d been.” She shook her head in dismay - the loops shouldn’t just change their rules like this. “Why would it change? It doesn’t make sense…”

She took a deep breath, nodding resolutely. “Well, now you’re not alone, and no matter what, I won’t be mean or nasty to you. I’d… I’d rather die and reset a hundred times than say something like that… me… said to you.”

“Oh, oh, stars… Auntie Luna killed you last night, didn’t she?” he realized, just then, and reached out to Sweetie only to realize his hoof was still stained by blood. What had he been thinking? What had he almost done? Focusing a bit of magic on his hoof, he whisked away the self-inflicted injury.

“I’m so sorry, Sweetie,” he said, the rest of that last night came back to him. “She killed you, and I just sat there...”

Sweetie smiled a bit sadly. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time I died right? Besides, you did do something… I felt you hold me close. I didn’t feel so lonely right then.”

Blueblood allowed a small, tentative smile at her light-hearted view on time-loop resets. “I must’ve half crushed you by the time Auntie finished the job…”

Then, to Sweetie’s shock – she tried to cry for him not to turn around – he glanced back at the mirror. Her shout died on her lips, and her hooves hit the ground with a ‘thump’ that filled the long silence that suddenly stretched between them. When Blueblood turned back to face her, she’d almost expected him to look and act as disgusted by her as everypony else was in this horrible, warped version of the Grand Galloping Gala.

When all she saw on his face was confusion and concern, she sort of expected a joke instead.

Instead, he sighed. “Sweetie,” he asked, simply, “what happened?"

Sweetie couldn’t speak. Her heart beat faster inside her chest, her throat felt dry, and her eyes watered. The illusion broke around her, and the smell of earth and rocks reached her nostrils, as surely as they did Blueblood’s. Whispers caressed her mind as she struggled to speak.

Sweetie swallowed, her eyes meeting Blueblood’s. Her lip trembled. “Y-you don’t hate me? You’re not… afraid of me? Or… disgusted?” She stepped forward and then collapsed, holding onto Blueblood’s chest as her whole form shook with sobs.

“I’m me!” she swore, desperate for him to believe her. “I promise I’m me! How c-can you not be scared? How can you not push me away?” she asked, her mind completely undecided on whether she should laugh, comfort him, cry, or be comforted. “I’m so sorry I left you… I’m so sorry this happened! I’m so sorry I left! I’m so sorry!”

“Sweetie Belle.” She felt his hoof gently rest on her shoulder. He had the sort of serious expression she only remembered from a hoof-full of times, but the concern was still there. “If you’re still you, then I couldn’t care less what you look like.” He coughed, hiding a tiny smile with his hoof. “Though I am sort of curious just what you did to--”

A hard knock on the door instantly caught the attention of the two ponies.

“Is that you, Your Grace?” a baritone voice yelled through the heavy dogwood. “These areas are off limits! Is somepony in there with you?”

Blueblood motioned for her to hide behind him, even as he yelled back, “Indelicate buffon! The mirrors in here contain the souls of deceased ponies! Do not interfere with royal business!”

There was only a brief pause.

“That can’t be,” one of the Guards whispered, too loudly.

“We are opening the door!” the first Royal guard roared back.

“Do so and your plebeian souls will be frozen in Iolite Crystal! Is that what you want, hmm?” Few ponies could sell a lie like the Prince of Canterlot. At least, Sweetie assumed it was a lie. She glanced anxiously at the giant mirror that had revealed her secret self only moments before.

“Now,” Blueblood bellowed, “resume your rounds before I put names to voices and have you flogged for incompetence and insubordination! I am Prince and Duke! Do not presume to question me! Your only concern is following orders. My orders! When I tell you to jump, you ask in midair, ‘is this high enough, your Grace? Should I keep going?’ Do you understand me?”

It was long seconds before the guards formed a response.

“The Princess will hear of this,” the guard promised, but didn’t dare to call the Prince’s bluff.

Blueblood glared at the door, and Sweetie heard under his breath, “As if there’s anything she can do to me that I haven’t been through before.” He actually started towards the door, a sneer on his lips. “But if you’re feeling so damned chatty, maybe I should remove that wagging tongue of yours while I still have the…”

“Um, Blueblood?” He stopped short when Sweetie caught him by the leg. “Why don’t we go somewhere else? I really don’t think being here in Canterlot is good for either of us.”

A dark shadow passed over Blueblood’s face as he continued to glare balefully at the door, a quick shake of his head and a whispered, “boots on hooves, bikinis on top” and he seemed to return to normal.

“Yes,” he agreed, talking a calming breath and nodded down at her. “You may be right.”

o.0.o

“…finally, Bon Bon--”

“Which one is Bon Bon again? Not the green mare?”

“You know who she is,” Sweetie said over the table and raised a hoof to cover up her horn. “The earth pony.”

“Oh, yes,” Blueblood mused with a little chuckle. “The one with candy on her flanks.”

“Maybe that’s how I should tell you about everypony I met. The one with a lyre on her flanks. The one with a bow on her flanks. The one with the wine glass on her flanks…”

“You’ll have to forgive me. I am a fan of flanks – neigh, a bon-vivant of flanks – so please bear with me.” He shrugged, helpless in the face of his stallion-dom. “Anyway, go on! How did a confectioner get her hooves on dimension shattering magical artifacts?”

“Well, the thing is… in that universe, she’s not really a pony… she’s a cha-a-aaa-something else!” Sweetie looked away for a second, mouth still running and threatening to say inopportune things. “I don’t think the artifact is hers… She just took me there. She said it was rightfully owned by all such as us. Um. Her.”

Sweetie took a big gulp of milkshake and grimaced at the blossom of pain that quickly prompted her hooves to fly up to her forehead. “Ah…! Brain-freeze! Why isn’t there a spell to prevent brain-freeze?!”

“There are limits to even magic,” Blueblood remarked with a laugh, and soon Sweetie found herself joining him. And the more she giggled, the more boisterously and freely he laughed, until it seemed like half the ponies in Sugarcube Corner were glaring at them. Best of all, neither cared what looks they were getting. They had each other again, after so long.

Blueblood reclined back, still chuckling, and bit off a corner of colorful vanilla and almond butter cake. Sweetie smiled to herself and finished the last of her milkshake before picking a soft, still hot cookie from one of the plates on the table. For a long while, the two ponies just ate and sipped and relaxed in each other's company. It felt good. It felt almost guiltily good.

“I missed you,” Sweetie said, half whisper and half declaration.

“I missed you, too,” Blueblood replied, and the smile on his face really did fill Sweetie with a peculiar sort of happiness. There was nothing in this world he had to smile about except her, yet there he was, finding at least some peace because they were back together. It had to be what Pinkie Pie felt and sang about back in Ponyville that one time, just wanting to see another pony smile.

If only it could last forever.

There were still fragments to collect, of course, but would it so bad if there was some way her brother could come with her? If only it worked out that way. More melancholy thoughts gradually crept to mind after that, and Sweetie Belle sighed, resting her head on the table. She looked up at Blueblood. Despite the joking before, she could see he was thinking seriously about something. Maybe even about her rather unique situation.

“You said you missed me,” she found herself saying, and the words began to spill out, even as afraid as she was to give voice to them. “But… I can’t go back to what I was before… You saw me. The real me. This change… it affected my soul, not just my body.” She sniffed and made a point to stare at the treats piled up on the table rather than risk seeing a dark expression on his face. “I don’t even know if I’m Sweetie Belle… after all that I’ve done and seen… how I’ve changed… how can I claim to be Rarity’s sister?”

She drew a little, wet circle on the table, using water condensed from her milkshake’s glass. “I haven’t even heard from her again. I don’t know if she’s alive. Twilight’s fragments… I don’t even know how many there are. I’m older, then younger, then older again, then I’ve never existed, or died a hundred years ago. How do I even… Do I even belong anywhere? Will this ever stop?”

Blueblood reached across the table to poke her gently on the horn.

“Wherever I am, Sweetie, you’ll have a place,” he promised, and just like that, she felt a smile begin to form on her lips. Because he meant it. He genuinely meant it. No matter what happened, no matter what she became, no matter what she looked like, there was at least one place in the multitude of universes where she would be welcome. One place where she could belong.

“Don’t cry,” Blueblood said with a pout. “You mares are so emotional.”

“Like you weren’t crying before!” Sweetie objected and laughed as she wiped away her tears. “You cry more than I do!”

“A stallion’s tears are different. They’re… dignified.”

“That’s dumb.”

They laughed again, together.

‘It isn’t just me,’ Sweetie realized, then. ‘He just wants me to smile, too.’

“Tell me all about the good loop!” she insisted, obliging him and grabbing onto his hoof, swinging it back and forth. “I want to hear all the juicy details!”

o.0.o

“Come now, Sweetie! Where’s that innocent little filly I remember? The one who didn’t even realize that crazy DJ wanted to scratch her record?”

“Wait, what?” Sweetie’s eyes went wide as, for the first time, some of what had happened on that drunken night started to come together and make sense. “She… Vinyl… She…? Eeewww!”

Blueblood laughed, unashamedly and untroubled by all the burdens of the loops. He banged a hoof on the table, even. “Oh, you spent the whole night – the whole night! – completely oblivious! It was wondrous to behold!”

“Ugh, Vinyl is weird no matter where I meet her,” Sweetie muttered and blew Blueblood a raspberry. “At least I looked like an adult at the time!”

“I’d have stepped in if things got too messy. I would, wouldn’t I?” he wondered, and the way he played out the question made it clear it was just a joke. “Yes, I suppose I would’ve had to,” he decided. “It wouldn’t do to have anypony else corrupt you but me. But it does seem like you picked some things up while we were away! Who told you about the naughty things us grown-ups do?”

Sweetie frowned at one particular memory. “I once went a world where Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were dating. Let’s just leave it at that. And yes! We were older in that loop, before you ask!”

Blueblood waggled his hoof teasingly. “Now, now, you know if you were my biological baby sister, we’d likely have arranged a marriage for you by now. Or a few! And you’d have the pick of the litter when you hit sixteen. Cadance…” He frowned a bit at the name, and his hoof lowered to the table. “She was your age when she met that chivalrous oaf of hers.”

Sweetie blinked. “She was fourteen?”

“No, I meant…” He trailed off, tilted his head, and boggled at her. “You’re fourteen?”

“Well, I didn’t stop aging! Okay, I did. Sometimes. But I counted most of the days! Even the birthdays you didn’t celebrate for me. Some big brother you are.”

“Fourteen,” Blueblood repeated and sucked in a breath. “I see. And, yes, I’ve been terribly negligent.” Leaning back in his chair, he called for a certain somepony. “Delightful Pink Waitress!”

“Yeesssss?” Pinkie Pie emerged from behind Sweetie without a hint of warning.

“Aaaah!” Sweetie jumped straight into the air and crashed next to the table. Looking up painfully, she glared at Pinkie Pie. “Why? Why do you torture me?”

Both older ponies seemed to ignore the frankly quite relevant inquiry.

“So, yeah, what do you jerks want?” this Pinkie Pie asked, her voice a lethargic, surly grumble instead of her usual hyperactive prattle. The supposed element of laughter had not been particularly enthusiastic when it came to serving Sugarcube Corner’s two loudest customers. She reached a hoof up to brush her limp, rose-pink mane out of her eyes.

“This filly needs six birthday parties,” Blueblood replied, pointing down at the prone Sweetie Belle.

Pinkamena’s left eye twitched. “Six.”

“Six.”

“Two sets of three?”

“Or three sets of two.”

“So six. Six parties. She needs six parties.”

“Six birthday parties, with six sets of presents and six sets of guests,” Blueblood ordered and leaned forward slightly. “You aren’t going to give me trouble with this, are you? I figure the one bloody thing in this whole universe that will change before this dimension completely inverts is your love of--”

“PARTIES!!” The dour pink pony suddenly exploded. Her mane proofed up faster than a unicorn could cast a spell, and she immediately started to bounce. “Oh, oh oh! I do love parties! Even though that voice in my head keeps saying you’re a bad, bad pony, and that I should hate, hate don’t be late, even the worstest pony in the worstest world needs to party sometimes! And that’s only one voice, anyway! All the other ones want to have fun! Democracy rules!!”

In a spray of confetti, she blasted off to make the six-parties-in-one happen.

“Okay, you have proven that I’m not a monster,” Sweetie spoke up from her prone position under the table and pointed at the snickering Prince. “I can still feel fear. Six parties?”

“Six parties.”

o.0.o

“Ugh… do I need to make another wish?” Sweetie asked, glaring at the eleven candles on this cake. It was but one of many, each with their due pomp and circumstance.

“Yep! A wish for each cake!” Pinkie shouted in glee. “What will you wish for!?”

“Maybe she should wish for a cutie mark!” Diamond Tiara sneered.

“I have a cutie mark, you doorknob!” Sweetie retorted.

Diamond Tiara gaped. “What? No you don’t!” She blinked slowly, as if seeing the mark on Sweetie’s flanks for the first time, and instantly, her expression fell. “W-well! Wish for a new one! That one looks like somepony broke it!”

Sweetie rolled her eyes.

“Waaaaaaaaaait! Does that mean you didn’t have a cuteceanera either?” Pinkie Pie gasped, rising off the ground like a balloon, only to turned in midair and glare accusingly Blueblood. “Why didn’t you tell me? We can’t have six consecutive birthday parties and ignore the cuteceanera!”

Blueblood nodded somberly. “This is true. This is very true. And what do you suggest we do, Miss Pie?”

“Well, gee, I don’t know!” Pinkie put her hooves on her hips and pouted. “Maybe, uhhh, I’ve got it! A party!” she declared, her enthusiasm for the same thing never once diminishing. She adopted a thoughtful pose. “But we’re already having a party. Think, Pinkamena Diane Pie, think! She would have gotten it right in the middle, I would guess! So, after this birthday party is done, then we start the cuteceanera party, followed by the rest of the birthdays! WEEE!”

“Please,” Sweetie begged Blueblood. “Please, stop her. I’ll do anything!”

“Maybe that should be your next wish then?” he asked with a wink.

“Wish for an end to the parties?” Sweetie wondered, and turned towards one of her multitude of birthday cakes. “Okay. Why not?” She directed a half-hearted puff of breath at the candles, extinguishing the tiny fires. Then she sat down and waited for the magic to happen.

“Well?” Blueblood asked, nudging her with his hoof. “What was the wish? Do you feel it working?”

“If you repeat your wish, it won’t come true,” Sweetie informed him, crossing her forelegs in a pout.

“HEY!” Pinkie Pie announced, jumping between Sweetie and her Prench vanilla and blueberry cake. “You’ll never guess what just happened!”

“What?” Blueblood asked and Sweetie Belle sighed.

“It better not be--”

“I got YOU a CLOWN!” Pinkie cheered, pointing at the birthday filly. “His name is Homey the Donkey! I found him at the train station, and he seemed really reluctant to play around, but a few special brownies totally helped his mood! I’ll go get him!”

Sweetie was moments from grabbing onto Pinkie’s leg and asking, ‘Please don’t.”

When fate intervened.

With a pop, a pair of ponies appeared in thin air. One of them hit Pinkie Pie in mid-prance, butt-first, and the two crashed to the floor with a comical yelp. A second fell right into the cake, splattering it across half the room. For a second, nopony said anything. Then they began to point and laugh and jeer. It was par the course for the rotten ponies in this dimension.

“Well, at least I won’t have to eat that one,” Sweetie muttered as she edged away from the smashed cake. “I hope…”

“Why do I feel a certain irony in this?” Pinkie asked from beneath a black and blue rump.

“A-auntie!” Blueblood cried, rushing past Sweetie towards the alicorn that had face-planted their party planner. Princess Luna lifted a bare hoof – one conspicuously absent the normal royal raiment – and glanced around her in confusion. She did recognize somepony calling her, however, and quickly stood on all fours to face her equally confounded nephew.

“Nephew,” she breathed, joyfully, and reached out a hoof to him. “Thou art a most welcome sight! But… this is most strange. We had expected a dream, a nightmare, but not this… merriment… and why hast our speech regressed?”

“A nightmare?” Blueblood asked and even after he graced her noble hoof with a respectful kiss, he briefly touched her hoof with his own, as if to assure himself she was still something solid and real. “Oh, no, no Auntie. If you… if you aren’t her, then you’re trapped with me…”

“How do you know it isn’t her?” Sweetie asked, walking up to stand next to Blueblood. “Luna was never trapped in the resets.”

“I know my Auntie’s body language,” he explained, and Luna visibly huffed in indignation.

“We do not have ‘body language’!” she objected.

“Note the wing tips and how they curl slightly,” Blueblood told Sweetie, pointing to the ends of Luna’s outstretched wings. “Her pinions tense a little when she’s relieved or happy. I haven’t seen the Luna of the last hundred loops happy before. Usually it’s all shadows and brimstone and stomping my face in.”

Luna quickly shut her wings tight, fast enough to make an audible snapping noise, like a cracking whip. She coughed into her hoof and adopted a regal, proud pose, chest out and head held high.

“Hello.” Sweetie waved a hoof.

“Hello, Sweetie Belle,” Luna replied, inclining her head in a polite greeting. She smirked, too, though it wasn’t all too clear why.

“Sweetie,” Blueblood whispered, bowing his head to the side. She rolled her eyes and curtsied. This was one thing that would never change about her brother.

“But she thinks I’m like… eight!” Sweetie whispered harshly. “I bet she thinks my informality is cute!”

“Of course she does,” he replied with a shake of his head. “But cuteness and propriety aren’t mutually exclusive.”

“Fine, have it your way…” Sweetie rolled her eyes again, faced the Princess, and curtsied. “You know, Nightmare Moon was never one for formalities. She’d rather put a whoopie cushion on your chair than expect you to bow.”

“I can’t believe that…”

“A whoopie cushion?” Luna asked, walking up to the pair and glancing between them. “Ist that one of thy noise-making contrivances? The one that resembles an inopportune passing of vapors?”

The two ponies just stared at her.

“Yes?” Blueblood asked. “I think.”

“I do find those rather amusing! Vulgar humor, of course, but clever!” She laughed, and it sounded rather like a villainous ‘whahaha.’ Halfway through what would have been a good and proper cackle, she coughed again and shook her head. “But such things are not the reason behind my visit. Nephew, do you know where you are?”

Sweetie smiled smugly at Blueblood with a look that said, ‘told you so.’

“Oh, hush,” he whispered back, and then replied, “I’m at a party, Auntie.”

“Six parties in one!” Pinkie Pie corrected him, still partly flattened by the Princess of the Night’s abrupt entrance.

“A party that is also a part of a time-loop,” Blueblood added.

“A time-loop?” Luna asked, and her eyes settled on Sweetie Belle. “This filly is involved somehow? So she is the one I… To which I mean, she is Lady Rarity’s younger sister… but the Sweetie Belle I know does not have a cutie mark.”

“You would be surprised by how many ponies ignore that,” Sweetie quipped, looking towards Diamond Tiara. The other filly, like most of the other ponies in the room, seemed frozen. A few were in mid-bow, and others were just staring. It wasn’t as if they had completely stopped; a few looked like they were forming words, but caught in a tiny time-loop of their own. It was surreal.

“This isn’t… normal, even for what passes for normal here,” Blueblood observed, and Sweetie couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

“Nephew,” Luna tried to explain.

“Blueblood,” another voice interrupted, coming from the squashed cake. A light pink alicorn was on all fours, brushing bits of frosting and smears of blueberry off her coat. There was no mistaking Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the pony Sweetie knew as Queen Chrysalis. Yet, she knew right away, this was no changeling Queen.

“Cadenza,” Blueblood said, and where he had all but run to Luna, he backed away from the younger Princess.

Sweetie looked from one to the other. “Uh…”

“Blueblood,” the Princess said. “You’re in a nightmare. We’ve come to get you out.”

“So this is all some sort of amped-up super-dream?” Sweetie asked, slowly swirling about the ice-cream head of her latest milkshake with the straw and watching Princess Cadance across the table. She had taken up the very same spot Blueblood had occupied only hours ago.

“How come you only got here now?” she asked. “Do you know what being – what feeling trapped in the loops again did to Blueblood?” She shook her head and lowered her voice. “He was about to do something crazy again when I found him in the castle. Kill himself, maybe, or blow it up… I don’t know, but it wouldn’t have been good.”

Cadance seemed extremely uneasy in a way that clearly had more to do with her just being in somepony’s nightmare. She had kept conspicuously quiet while Blueblood and Princess Luna went off to talk. “That is exactly what Chrysalis and Night Shade wanted him to do. Chrysalis wanted access to the most deadly spells and artifacts in the Family Archives. These… changelings…” The Princess of Love shivered in revulsion. “Just when I think I’ve seen the limits of their evil, they show me a new shade of cruelty.”

Sweetie looked away, more than a little guiltily. It was a good thing the Princess couldn’t see through her disguise.

“They’re… worse here than in other places,” she admitted, closing her eyes as she remembered how she had found her poor brother. This was all Chrysalis’ doing. Damn her. “He was… I had honestly never seen him so desperate… so alone. I thought for a moment that the loops had broken him, that the Blueblood I knew was gone. And if he been… don’t know what I’d have done. ”

Cadance cut short her first response and took a long look at the filly before her.

“All those months in this pit… and I never even considered Chrysalis would be so cautious with her prize,” the Princess said, softly, and forced her attention towards where Luna and Blueblood were having a private conversation. She was supposed to be catching him up to speed: on the changelings, on the wedding, on his abduction.

“How,” she asked, before Sweetie could speak up. “How long have you been here with him? And who are you, really?”

Sweetie sighed, knowing this was a more difficult question to answer than it seemed. “I’ve only been in these dream loops a few days, but the first time… in the real time-loops… I was there for more than two years with him.” She smiled, as the last question was the hardest of them all to answer honestly.

“Two years,” Cadance whispered, trying to wrap her head around it. Hundreds and hundreds of loops.

“As for who I am,” Sweetie continued, “There was an accident on my world. My Twilight Sparkle ended up really badly hurt, and I’m trying to save her, but the only way to do that is to move through dimensions and different version of Equestria. I’m Sweetie Belle… just… not the one you’ll meet on the outside. At least that’s what I keep telling myself, and what Blueblood insists I am.” She smirked and raised her milkshake in a half-hearted toast. “But like I told him, if I can’t trust my older brother, who can I trust?”

“You… he’s your brother?” Cadance squinted, clearly not understanding and taking the phrase too literally.

“My adoptive brother,” Sweetie explained. “I adopted him. Or he adopted me. We’re not very clear on the exact way it happened, but I think he insists that he adopted me because then he can show me off. I say I adopted him because somepony needs to be the adult.” She took in Cadance’s bewildered look. “It’s uh… just, sibling-like love. Not official. We spent a lot of time together in the loops. Did he… did he manage to talk to you at all?”

“Blueblood and I haven’t really talked in years,” the Princess explained and ran a hoof through her mane. “Not since his mother died. There was that time, well before the Gala, when I told him about Shining’s proposal. If that even counts as a conversation.”

Cadance sighed despondently at the magnitude of the task before her: making up with her adopted brother had seemed so easy in her head. She had been so confident in assuring Alpha Brass that she could do it. Now, finally face to face with him again, all she could conjure up was the memory of how he had declined to even attend her wedding. It seemed insurmountable, even in the face of the crisis in the waking world.

“I didn’t attend the Gala,” she told Sweetie. “Chrysalis had already…”

“Replaced you?” Sweetie asked. “I know. She was staying with the Sparkle family.”

“You knew even that?” She paused. “Well, I suppose Blueblood would, so you would, too. No offense, Sweetie, but I’m not really convinced you’re real…”

“So you think I’m a figment of his imagination?” Sweetie asked, sounding a little amused. “Somepony he created to escape being alone again? I guess that’s flattering.”

“He once told me he never wanted a sister,” Cadance whispered, joining Sweetie in watching Blueblood and Luna. “It makes no sense for him to invent one. I don’t think he’s…” ‘Lost his mind,’ she wanted to say, but didn’t. “Aunt Luna will know what to do. I guess… I just don’t…”

“Don’t?” Sweetie prompted. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t know why, if you are somepony he imagined, why you aren’t me,” Cadance’s voice dropped and Sweetie almost couldn’t hear her. “He has a sister. He had a sister. We were family once.”

“He did talk about you,” Sweetie tried to reassure the Princess of Love that she was anything but unloved. “He said you had a beautiful singing voice and that… you were nice.”

“That’s it?” Cadance asked, and Sweetie could see the conflict on the older mare’s face over how much she struggled to believe and how much she wanted to share. “Did he ever… visit me?”

“No,” Sweetie answered, truthfully. “I don’t think so, anyway.”

A flash of anger passed over the Princess’s expression, her brows creasing just a fraction. Sweetie could sympathize. Blueblood could be a very frustrating pony, even by stallion standards. Cadance tapped her front hooves together as she mulled over something.

“I - I was in the cell next to him,” she finally blurted out, careful to keep her voice down enough that only Sweetie could really hear her. “I could feel his heart weakening. Fraying. Chrysalis made sure I could. I know he… we… we’ve had our problems. I want us to… the whole point of this was to work things out, but… will he even listen to me? I wouldn't blame him if he hates me… especially when I tell him I asked for his abduction to be arranged just so I could escape.”

“You what?!” Sweetie whispered harshly, very nearly knocking over her milkshake as she leaned forward over the table. “How… how could you?!” She glanced at Cadance and then at her oblivious step-brother. “I don’t even--”

“It isn’t as if I wanted him hurt!” Cadance snapped, fighting to keep her voice low. She wiped her face with a hoof and took a deep breath to focus herself. “I didn’t want him to go through any of this. Chrysalis was supposed to just put him in the cell and taunt him. I expected she’d try and seduce him in my body or do something similarly depraved. Something to humiliate me. To rub in my face how powerless I am. She’s been torturing me for months, but she never used drugs or dream magic before. I - I made a mistake…”

“And!” she quickly added, gesturing off in the distance, somewhere beyond Sugarcube Corner. “Having Blueblood as an ace… bringing him here… stopping Chrysalis took precedence, didn’t it? I thought so. I thought… it was worth the risk.” She hung her head. “A Princess is the country. Nothing else comes first. That’s… what I was told…”

Sweetie shook her head. She could guess where Cadance had heard that phrase.

“You Bluebloods and your stupid, stupid traditions!” she muttered, but made sure it was loud enough for Cadance to hear. Sweetie visibly shook as she bit back words that would only make things worse. “If you do care for him… if you really want to be a family again… you will apologize, and I hate to say it but he’ll most likely forgive you…”

“You really think so?” Cadance wondered, a little hopeful, a little afraid to take the risk. The way she kept looking down, the worry in her voice… it was becoming very clear that she had never really hurt anypony before, not on anything approaching this scale.

‘She thinks he’ll see her as a monster,’ Sweetie realized. ‘She’s worried that after what she’s done, she really is a monster. And… what nopony knows is… I knew about Chrysalis, too. How would I feel about telling Blueblood about that, after all this?’

Sweetie felt her hooves shake at the thought.

‘Maybe we have more in common than I imagined?’

“He’ll forgive you,” Sweetie assured her – her sister of sorts. And, maybe, if he could forgive Cadance, he could forgive her, too. “I know he will.”

Cadance blinked, owlishly. She even smiled, to Sweetie’s surprise.

“That feeling,” she said, lowering her eyes to get a good, level look at the filly before her. “I can feel it… you love him. I knew he loved you, but you love him back.”

Sweetie nodded, slowly. What even needed saying?

“I suppose that’s proof enough for me that you’re real,” the young Princess decided and stole a quick look at her step-brother. “If what you said before was just as true, then maybe you changed him as much as these time-loops did. To love someone, and to be loved, is to build a bond that transcends reason or explanation…”

“He’s trying hard to earn your love and everypony else’s he cares about,” Sweetie pointed out. “It’s about time he gets it.”

“Sweetie,” Blueblood called to the filly as he and Princess Luna approached. He inclined his head to his other sister. “Cadenza.”

Cadance politely inclined her head in reply, but Sweetie jumped out of her seat – and maybe a little because she could – stole a quick, possessive hug from her big brother and best friend forever. She didn’t miss Cadance looking on with a wary expression, either.

“Allow us to explain... what has transpired in brief,” Luna began, and Sweetie gave the Princess her full attention. A bit of magic and the dark alicorn conjured up an illusion to display a stern-faced unicorn mare with faintly glowing green eyes. Next to her was a dark, glass candle.

“My nephew was poisoned and brought to an unknown location that may, we suspect, be somewhere in the mountain range that is Canterlot’s foundation. It may even be directly under the city itself. His captors have ensorcelled and made use of this pony.” She gestured to the image of the mare. “Her name is Night Shade. The candle to her left is… well…”

Luna rubbed one leg against the other, an unusually shy gesture from the somewhat frightening Princess of the Night.

“The candle is mine,” she explained. “Luna’s Shadow Candle, it is called in this era. It was one of a pair I brought with me from the Old Kingdoms. Among other things, the ever-burning fires produce a magical fragrance. As you may know, when a pony sleeps, all of his or her senses are dulled.”

Luna threw up another illusion, this one of a sleeping pony. The stallion’s skull turned transparent, revealing the brain.

“Sight, sound, touch… these signals are stopped by the inner humor… the thamus it is called now.” A small part of the pony’s brain, buried deep, flashed red as little dots transmitted from the mouth and leg and ears. “Smell, however, is the gateway to the sleeping brain. With the proper magic, it is also the gateway into the sleeping world or the dream-time.” A series of dots propagated from the nose right to the brain itself. “That is where we are now.”

She drew down the illusionary candle until it floated in her upraised hoof.

“The candle adds substance and permanence to the sleeping world. It also allows a skilled pony to actively manipulate the dreams of another… to program it. Is that the right term? Program?”

Sweetie’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I see! So the smell from the candle triggers the dream effect, and Night Shade tried to use the thing that scared Blueblood the most against him, in this case being trapped in the loops again and having everypony he loves hate him!”

“I wouldn’t call it ‘scared’… exactly,” the proud Prince of Canterlot muttered.

“Terrified beyond belief?” Sweetie suggested instead.

“Disconcerted,” Blueblood insisted.

“If you’re here, now, then that means something changed,” Sweetie reasoned.

“Very astute,” Luna replied, nodding at the insightful filly. “Before we were partnered with the moon, we were the patron of dreams. It…” She almost said more, but shook her head, her starry mane swirling majestically behind her. “That is of no matter at the moment. What matters is putting an end to the nightmare here.”

“We were eventually able to sense my nephew’s distress and quickly realized that our vision was being obfuscated by our old candle. We could not penetrate the veil enshrouding our nephew’s nightmare, so we took certain measures… this is where you come in, Sweetie Belle. You were drawn into the nightmare, as the one pony our nephew most wished to have by his side. I had… honestly expected his subconscious would call to and summon our sister, Celestia, but given the details of these time loops… I can see why it was you. He also explained to me that you were similarly seeking him via alternative means. To provide a more modern analogy, it is as if your spell created the radio signal and mine provided the receiver and antenna.”

Sweetie nodded, seeing, for the first time, the broader picture at work. The different dimensions she had jumped through were not all set to the same time frame. Some were in what she considered the future, some in the relative past. It was no coincidence she had ended up here just when she did. Her efforts to reunite with the pony she had wanted to see again had coincided with Luna using magic to draw out a champion for Blueblood to help him with his nightmare.

“You brought hope back to my nephew’s heart and disrupted Night Shade’s control over the nightmare,” Luna continued, smirking. “We owe you our thanks, for that, and for giving us the opportunity we needed to strike. Night Shade is only a minor threat in the physical realm. Subduing her should be easy, but the greater part of her power and her menace will still be hiding somewhere inside the nightmare she crafted for you, nephew. She must be overcome.”

“So there’s a pony out there somewhere, waiting to do… what?” Blueblood asked. “Kill us?”

“Killing us seems likely,” Luna agreed, all too easily, and she used a wing to point to Cadance and then herself. She smiled. “We have not had a dream duel since our banishment. We hope we are not ‘rusty.’”

“But, usually if Blueblood or I die, we start the dream again,” Sweetie reasoned. “Why would it be different now for you two?”

“These loops are unusual, as you describe them. You and little Sweetie here may be immortal within this nightmare realm. You have looped, so you will continue to loop,” Luna speculated. “But we who have not looped…”

“Can die for real,” Blueblood guessed. “Lovely. Auntie, Cadenza,” he said, staring at the two who had come to rescue him. “Your being here is a risk.”

Cadance nodded but showed no sign of backing down. “It always was.”

“Our purpose here is unchanged, no matter the danger,” Luna continued, unperturbed. “I cannot rouse you myself, nephew. Your physical body must awaken on its own and overcome the magic keeping it here. If the candle were extinguished, that may occur naturally in four or five hours…”

“We do not have hours,” Cadance said. “We have minutes of real-time. At most.”

“Then you must break yourself out,” Luna concluded, pointing at Blueblood. “Cadance believes she can assist you in this. That, brother and sister, you will empower one another with common purpose and mutual affection.”

“Blueblood,” Cadance started to say. Whatever else she had meant to share, though, became buried by a long, awkward silence. “We should… talk.”

“One of the more bone chilling phrases a mare can utter to a stallion,” Blueblood noted, drolly, slowly coming around to the task ahead. “We’re going to air some dirty laundry, aren’t we?”

Cadance just nodded.

“Lovely.”

o.0.o

“Hello. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Welcome to our home.”

Those were the first words spoken by the pony that became her step-brother: that it was a pleasure to make her acquaintance. The fifty-second Blueblood was close to her age, just a little older really, with a compass rose cutie mark that he had gotten just the day before her arrival. He was big for a colt, tall and barrel-chested, just like his father was big for a stallion. Where the elder Blueblood wore a serious-looking overcoat, the son was dressed in a little tuxedo with a blue waistcloth. His blond mane had been styled into a very soft wave and curl, and it partly obscured his right eye. Cadance felt a nudge and held out her hoof.

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” she said, and he kissed her hoof gently but quickly. Too quickly, given the frown it earned from the middle-aged mare behind him who could only be his mother.

“Blueblood,” he introduced himself without title. “The fifty-second.”

The reigning Prince gestured his son away, and soon Cadenza’s world was taken up by the Duchess of Canterlot, Vernal Equinox. Lady Equinox was noble-looking but fairly plain mare. She made up for it with great poise and an air of a refinement. Her coat was a soft but clear pink, her mane and eyes both ocean blue. Cadance remembered her smiling warmly and pulling the filly into an embrace.

“My daughter,” she said with a squeeze. “My new daughter! Under our roof, you will want for nothing!”

Lady Equinox had been true to her word.

“You never spoke much about your mother or father,” Sweetie said, an observer to the nebulous memory, conjured in dream around them. It was a dream within a dream, almost.

In-between memory and nightmare, she stood by Blueblood, Luna, and Cadance. The four observers hovered near a fireplace in the manor house as the filly-Cadance met her new family. They were Celestia’s nephews and nieces, all: Equestria’s royal family, embodying all that was best of its noble unicorn heritage and great thousand year history. From a distance, they looked like a happy, little family, except, as Sweetie had said, Blueblood never seemed to find reason to talk about them. Any of them.

Blueblood grunted but seemed unwilling to explain his reluctance.

“He did once say that it was the duty of the Bluebloods to adopt alicorns,” Sweetie continued and turned this time to Cadance and Princess Luna.

“It is one of their most sacred duties,” Luna answered, taking in the scene before her with a neutral expression. “Celestia and I were likewise taken in by Princess Platinum’s family, a thousand years and more before you were born. Though, in our case, they were also our only living relatives at the time.”

“You met Princess Platinum?!” Sweetie’s eyes went wide. “That’s amazing!”

“We would not be here today if not for her,” Luna replied, but said no more.

“You had wonderful parents, Blueblood,” Cadance said, trying to coax the stallion out of his shell. “Your father was a true noble and gentlestallion, and your mother--”

“Must we prattle on about dead ponies?” Blueblood snapped. “I thought we were here to talk about--”

“Blueblood!” Sweetie whispered, cutting the irate stallion off. “They’re your parents!”

He grimaced and she saw his teeth clench. “Yes, they were.” He pointedly stressed that last word. “As you can see, we did our duty. We accepted the new Princess into our home. She was treated as well as anypony could imagine… the finest food…”

Another memory flashed by of a young filly Cadance sitting at a long table, her new father and mother seated a good distance away at the head. She was boggling at the vast array of foods and sweets that had been divided into courses and compliments before her. She reached with both hooves for a stuffed biscuit of raisins and roasted herbs, steaming and hot and filling the air with an irresistible fragrance. A faint magical aura stopped her, however.

“The Celestine prayer comes first,” Blueblood whispered from his seat next to her. Then, more loudly, he recited with head bowed, “Blessed as we by the bounty of peace. We thank you, Princess, for the harmony of Equestria and for those we are honored to share it with. We break bread, always with you in our hearts. Agimus tibi gratias, dilectissima Celestia.”

Cadance tried to join the three nobles in muttering the final verse and looked down shyly when it became painfully clear she had no idea what to say or even what the verse meant. Servants began to tend to the family, sitting primly before their plates. The lord and lady of the house spoke softly to one another while they waited. Cadance only looked up when she saw the roasted and stuffed biscuit she had wanted placed on her plate. She glanced to the serving maid and then to Blueblood, who had directed the food to be placed before her.

“You will learn, soon,” he promised and smiled warmly. “Don’t worry. I’ll help.”

“The finest tutors.”

Cadance glanced up at the stern governess her new family had hired. Blueblood sat at perfect attention next to her, and the withered old donkey jennet introduced a second pony, a tall and shapely pegasus mare with a flowing mane of seagreen and ocean blue. Next to her was another tutor, a stuffy and bookish-looking unicorn mare with thick, red glasses. They were to be her flight and basic magic instructors. When she was older, they said, she would be ready to enter the school for gifted unicorns.

Last, but certainly not the least, Princess Celestia stood behind the hoof-picked mares. She, too, would be a tutor, to teach the young Princess in what it meant to be an alicorn. As one, all the governesses and tutors bowed deeply to their new charge. Even Blueblood’s old crone of a governess lowered her head in respect. Blueblood, however, did not.

“You are Her Serene Highness,” Celestia announced and beamed at the filly. “Congratulations, my little pony, and welcome to our family.”

“Congratulations!” The other adults chorused as one, their heads still bowed. “Your Serene Highness!”

“Congratulations,” Blueblood said, a second later.

“You were taken care of like nopony but a royal could imagine,” Blueblood finished.

“I was given everything,” Cadance agreed. “A new home. A new future, a new...”

After the tutors in Blueblood’s memory vanished, they left only Cadance behind. The little filly trotted across the stately salon towards a voluminous painting of the royal family. In it, the great Duke of Canterlot stood proudly alongside his beautiful wife. The younger Blueblood was dressed in a tiny blue guard uniform, sitting next to his father. An empty cradle lay conspicuously off to the side, having been painted over at least twice. As yet, nopony had made plans to include her in the portrait.

Cadance turned away from the memory as the younger her tried to stand in front of the picture, finding a place where she fit in. “A new family.”

A knocking drew Blueblood across his immaculate, reneighsance-style bedroom. Clearly upset at being disturbed, he used his magic to throw open the great hardwood door. A tiny pink alicorn was standing there, staring at him with wide eyes.

“Not again,” the colt grumbled, but eventually gave in. “Very well. Come on.”

He channeled a hoof-full of magical sparks to pluck a record out of a drawer. It floated, like a flying saucer, through the air and over to a gramophone. A soft orchestral melody began to play, and Cadance quickly scurried up and onto her new brother’s bed. Blueblood followed with markedly less enthusiasm.

“If you kick me, I’ll knock you onto the floor,” he warned, climbing up onto his bed with a bit more grace and the benefit of both a few years and a couple extra inches of reach.

“You never did before,” the little Cadance commented, grabbing one of his pillows. She seemed to need something to cling to before she slept.

“This time I will,” he promised, turning his back to her and magically snuffing out the lights.

“Daaaaaaw!” Sweetie melted. “See? I told you you were a good brother!” She nudged Blueblood, prompting a roll of his eyes.

Luna nodded, somberly, suspicions already forming in her head as to what happened next. “There must be more, nephew.”

“As I said,” Blueblood replied asked and gestured to Cadance with a tilt of his head. “They treated her wonderfully. Do you know why?”

“Blueblood, you highland goat!”

“Cruciger, you old dog!”

The two stallions laughed and clasped hooves at the center of the waiting room. Lord Cruciger was a bay-colored stallion, large enough to dwarf the little colts and fillies standing near him. He even dwarfed Lady Equinox when he kissed her hoof in greeting. Cadance had stood next to Blueblood, groomed and dressed to receive important company. Her new brother had watched the whole affair with a bored expression.

The two fathers, Cadance had learned, were old friends, and Cruciger had visited to discuss family matters. From a present-day perspective, that could only mean the matter of the Blueblood succession and the arrangement of a marriage for the young Prince.

“Why don’t you children go upstairs and play?” Lady Equinox suggested, gesturing to a pair of servants.

“Come with me, young Princes,” a stallion majordomo had said, taking Blueblood and a young Alpha Brass away.

“Why don’t we work on a puzzle, girls?” One of the house governesses, a young one, gathered up the four fillies. They retreated upstairs while the adults talked in a study.

Cruciger had come to Canterlot with his wife and three daughters: Polished Jewel, Chalice, and Antimony. It was the first time Cadance had met any of them, and while she and Chalice worked dutifully on a large picture puzzle with the governess, Polished Jewel – being older and more easily bored – anxiously milled around. The youngest daughter, Antimony, still without her cutie mark, watched with half-lidded eyes as Chalice and Cadance assembled the puzzle. The younger filly’s eyes seemed to be red, like a pegasus pony’s, or an albino’s, but there was something unnerving about them, and whenever Cadance tried to get a closer look the little filly had shied away or covered her eyes with her hooves.

Eventually, Polished Jewel grew too bored to be content watching her sisters. She snuck off, much to the distress of the governess. Cadance had remained in the room with Antimony and Chalice, finishing off the puzzle and trying to entertain her guests. She had even gathered them around her for a little tea party, just like Vernal Equinox and the adult noblemares always had. Chalice had started out shy but she seemed very nice and even eager to play along. Antimony had mostly kept quiet and watched her sister. Finally, after how long, Cadance couldn’t say, Polished Jewel returned with their visibly shaken Governess.

The oldest daughter had then announced, “Father and Lord Blueblood are to duel.”

Three days later, on a cold, drizzly morning, Lady Equinox had returned with her shocked-silent son but not her husband. It was a full day before Cadance learned that her adopted father, the only father she had ever known, was dead.

“Oh…” Sweetie looked down. “I’m sorry.”

Princess Luna nodded her head in understanding, and her sympathy was sincere though less obviously articulated. “We have heard of this sad dispute… a duel of honor taken too far.”

“It wasn’t my fault,” Cadance said, though it was something they all understood. Mi Amore Cadenza becoming a Princess of the realm must have thrown into question the previously established arrangement between the estranged Terre Rare and their distant Blueblood cousins. What might have been a request to push back the engagement a generation turned, tragically, into a duel. But nopony could blame the Princess herself for this, surely.

Blueblood took his time in responding, and when he did, it was with a shrug.

“Nephew,” Luna said. “You must know…”

“‘Don’t blame her.’ Don’t you think I’ve told myself that?” he asked, and by the pained look on his face, he clearly wished he could say the opposite. He shook his head in dismay. “Can you really tell a pony how to feel? I’ve told myself a thousand times not to blame you. I didn’t really even figure it all out until the funeral… when mother told me. But how could I not think: if only she hadn’t come to us, maybe none of it would have happened?”

Blueblood let out a shuddering breath and turned away from the three mares. “It doesn’t matter. I want to put all that behind me.”

“Yet you cannot,” Luna stated, bluntly.

“Isn’t wanting to enough?” he turned and yelled, causing Cadance and Sweetie to flinch. Luna merely stared hard at him, and an instant later, he regretted the loss of control. “Auntie, Sweetie… Cadenza… isn’t it enough that I want to just move on? What happened in the past doesn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter anymore.”

Cadance lowered her eyes, but Sweetie reached out to touch his leg.

“You can’t just say ‘I want to forget it’ and trust in it to go away,” she said, trying to be encouraging. “You need to let it go if you want to leave it behind for real… you really, really have to forgive her.” Sweetie looked at his eyes, her own a bit watery. He had never spoken much about his foalhood, even in all their loops together, and now Sweetie started to understand why. “If you could stop being Bullyblood… I know you can do this too!”

Blueblood looked down at her, only to glance away, his brows knitted together. “It isn’t as if I don’t want to…”

“Wanting it is not enough, nephew,” Princess Luna insisted. “Nor is this the only issue before us.”

It was snowing heavily when Cadance saw her step-brother leave Canterlot. Domed umbrellas floated overhead, shielding her from most of the downfall, but a layer of fluffy white had already accumulated all around the skyport. It trickled from where it lay on top of mooring lines every time the royal airship swayed in the wind. It was beautiful, but so cold. Winters of this severity, whether approved by the Pegasus Weather Bureau or not, were still alien to the young Princess from Bitaly.

Duchess Equinox held Cadance close as Blueblood saw his luggage moved onboard for his trip.

“You shouldn’t have to go,” she objected, and turned to her stepmother. “He shouldn’t have to go. I don’t want him to go!”

“A Princess is the country. Nothing else comes first,” Vernal Equinox told her. “That is as true of Princes as it is of Princesses.”

“But I don’t want him to go,” Cadance insisted and stomped her little hooves. “You said I could have whatever I want, and I don’t want him to go!”

Blueblood stood, facing the airship, his back to his mother and step-sister.

“I don’t want him to go!” Cadance repeated, her voice rising in pitch as she started to whine, and Duchess Equinox frowned helplessly at her new daughter’s behavior. “I don’t--”

“Stop crying.”

It was Blueblood’s voice, a colt’s voice and not a stallion’s, but it was as cold as the snow-covered docks around them.

“I want to go,” he said, still facing the ship and not his family. “I want to go, so stop crying.”

Cadance shook her head. “No you don’t!”

Blueblood seemed to glance upward at the falling snow and the cloudy sky. He was Duke of Canterlot now, technically, but his mother would continue to rule in his name while he was away. The city of lights and magic could be seen past the airship between the envelope of the balloon and the wooden bow of the ship itself. It was just around the bend of the mountain, and like the skyport, it sparkled underneath a layer of snow. There were fillies and colts playing in courtyards, building snowponies and defending snowforts, back in Canterlot.

“Goodbye, mother,” Blueblood finally said over his shoulder, his face still out of sight. His voice was tight and forced. “I will see you in four years.”

“Four years,” Vernal Equinox agreed. She said nothing more to her only son.

Still not looking back, Blueblood ran up the plank of the ship.

“Write us!” Cadance cried to him. “I’ll write you! Write me back!”

“Sssh.” Legs draped over Cadance’s shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Lady Equinox hummed a soft tune, and the two ponies remained in the snow until the airship finally left for Crown Roc, taking Blueblood with it. Cadance felt a kiss on the crown of her head, and heard her new mother whisper, “Just us now, my little pony. My little daughter. My daughter.”

“My Prince, are you--”

“Keep out of my way,” Blueblood hissed, pushing past the royal guard and into his cabin. The tears had frozen to his face; it hurt to try and rub them away with his hooves. Four years. Four years, he would be gone.

Maybe it was for the best.

“I said my mother told me about how your arrival caused the duel,” Blueblood growled, but fixed his eyes down at his hooves and not at any of the ponies sharing in that painful memory. “I thought she’d blame you, like I did, Cadenza. But she blamed me… for not being a daughter like the family needed.” He finally looked up and pointed at his step-sister. “Do you know why she treated you so well? Because you were the daughter she wished me to be.”

“How,” he asked, shaking his head in defeat and dismay, “how could I go back to being your brother after that?”

“Why isn’t he writing?” Cadance asked, holding up another letter for her mother to proofread and send to Crown Roc. “He’s using enough… um… postage, right? Maybe he’s forgetting? Should I remind him? I could write it on the back of this letter!”

Vernal Equinox smiled comfortingly at her adopted daughter, placing a hoof on the filly’s head.

“I am sure he’ll write when he gets the chance to,” she assured the little Princess.

“Three years, and you never wrote me,” Cadance said, her delicate features pulled tight into a frown. “Did you even get my letters?”

“I did,” Blueblood replied, stonily.

“Did you read them?” she accused. “You didn’t, did you?”

It was a long, heavy couple heartbeats before the Prince answered the question. “…No. I didn’t.”

“Why didn’t you write back?” Sweetie asked. “I’m sure you missed them… if I could write to Rarity… or you… I’d want to hear back!” She shook her head. “Blueblood… I don’t think it’s Cadance that you have to forgive… It’s your parents.”

“Your mother loved you,” Cadance said, trying to be supportive. It had the opposite effect, and Blueblood bowled right past Sweetie to glare into his step-sister’s eyes. She was an alicorn, but Blueblood was a large pony, even by stallion standards. He still had enough height to manage to look down on her.

“My mother replaced me the first chance she got,” he hissed and shook his head at Sweetie. “And my father, my stupid, noble, ‘heroic’ father… threw his life away in a pointless honor duel. You’d think my parents were dysfunctional? But our entire line is just one long legacy of buck-ups and betrayals!”

He pointed at Luna, who had been watching and listening with a straight face. “Sisters turn on sisters. Daughters turn on fathers. Sons depose mothers! Mothers manipulate their foals! Fathers march off and die! From that very first generation right up to the present! We persist, Princes and Princesses, and for what? For what?” He whirled on Cadance. “What? What justified us taking you from your real family? Do you even remember what your mother looked like? Your real one?”

Then he turned to Sweetie, heedless of the hurt look on Cadance’s face. “You remember Blue Belle? That - that is the true face of what we are!”

“For what?” he repeated and finally returned to Luna. “You’ll forgive me for holding a few grudges, Auntie. At least I didn’t turn on my own kin. Twice.”

Princess Luna’s wings flared and, without so much as a word of warning, her head surged forward to connect with Blueblood’s own. She turned slightly, so the impact didn’t involve either pony’s horn, but the sound of two thick royal skulls colliding proved wince-worthy. Blueblood yelped and fell to the side with the impact, hooves flying reflexively up to his face. Cadance gasped, a hoof covering her mouth, but only Sweetie really ran over to make sure he was alright.

“Blasted, bloody--!” his cursing, at least, indicated there was no brain damage. “That hurt!”

“Nephew, you know little of which you speak,” Princess Luna announced. Her voice seemed to be both soft with concern and bellowing with anger. The dark alicorn reached down and bodily picked the stallion up by his formerly immaculate suit collar. A bruise had formed over the dark Princess’s eye, but she hadn’t seemed to feel or notice the impact.

“We have never claimed to be perfect nor even the best role model,” she reminded him, pulling the Prince closer to her angry countenance. “We have the weight of many wrongs on our conscience, and we have regrets to spare! We have things left unsaid, worries, fears, insecurities… We let those things rule us once. It will never happen again. You, too, nephew…” She saw him start to stubbornly turn away and yanked him closer. “You are our kin, with all the potential for greatness… and all the potential for abuse. You know what we want of you. You knowwhat is expected of you.”

“To endure,” he replied and slumped in her physical and magical grip.

“And press ever forward,” Luna insisted, releasing him to fall to all fours. “Nephew,” she began again, and there was a note of pleading to her voice. “Please. You are among ponies you can trust. Ponies who love you. Speak honestly… truly… openly… and endure. You are not and never willbe alone.”

“Please,” Cadance spoke up, and for the first time, she tentatively touched his side. “I have things I need to say, too. Just please, I know you want to try, but you also have to believe you can succeed. If we cannot be at peace with one another here… I fear we won’t ever be.”

“Think about how you kept me sane and helped me escape the loops,” Sweetie said softly, leaning against his foreleg. “Without your belief in me, I would have been lost a long time ago. You had the strength to help me… to make the perfect Gala… to win my sister… and to let me call you brother… and you know I’ll always, always be your little sister and be here for you.”

“Sweetie,” she heard him say as he held her to his leg. He lowered his eyes and sucked in a ragged, distasteful breath. “Auntie… alright…”

Behind him, the image of the Blueblood monument from the center of the palace garden maze appeared. A young colt, perfect white coat and groomed golden mane, trotted slowly up to the edifice. It was dusk, and he was the only pony around.

“A sister,” the young colt lamented. “A Princess…”

At last, he came to the monument itself. It took only moments for him to read the names. There were fifty deceased Bluebloods recorded, one after the other in a neat line. At the very bottom, Blueblood saw his father’s name, then his, and then his replacement. A tiny hoof brushed against his own name, and with hardly a whimper of protest or a cry of surprise, a compass rose began to materialize over his flanks.

“My place in the world was made crystal clear that night,” the adult Prince said, head still hung low. He didn’t need to see to know what memories his mind had dredged up. “It was made clear when we adopted you, Cadenza… and when I left for Crown Roc. I was always meant to be just a name. I… I can’t even say I hated it. I was resigned to it. I accepted it. It made sense. It made sense like you count from one, to two, to three. There’s nothing wrong with just being the ‘two’ is there? I was a stepping stone, and… and I accepted that.”

The monument and the little colt vanished back into dreams.

“It all seems so pointless looking back,” he said, angry and confused and hurt. “Brother or sister, husband or wife… my parents and that stupid obelisk…”

He looked up at Cadance and steadied himself to say what he needed to. “I looked at you, and I never forgot how my mother held onto you and let me go. How she loved you, even on her deathbed. And how I…” He choked back his anger, but he couldn’t suppress his tears as they rolled down his cheeks. “How I… resented her for it. How, when she died, I felt… empty.”

The three mares listened as he mixed laughter into his crying.

“I paid for her funeral, and I gave her eulogy, and I felt like I was talking about a stranger,” he admitted, and it was more painful than any physical torture the loops had inflicted on him. He stared at Cadance, not just angry or hurt, but terribly, deeply conflicted. “I think… I think I wanted to take your place. I wanted to be somepony else.”

“You became somepony else,” Sweetie said softly, giving his leg a little shake for emphasis. “And you did it yourself. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“We would be most put-out if our nephew ceased to be the pony we know,” Luna added, beaming with a rare smile. It was only slightly marred by the welt over her left eye where she had viciously headbutted that same nephew. Jealousy, after all, was a sin she understood all too well.

“I never meant to--” Cadance began.

“I know,” Blueblood interrupted before she could explain. “I always knew it here,” he said, pointing to his head. “But never really here.” He pointed to his heart.

The thoughts, spoken aloud, conjured up a memory then, of the Prince and his oldest Aunt, the Princess of the Sun. He and Celestia sat in silence after he had made that first, impassioned plea for her to help explain his Gala time-loops.

"Nephew," Celesia finally said, placing a compassionate hoof on his shoulder. "You are free to search the Royal Libraries for an answer, but I think the problem isn't with magic. The problem…" she tapped his chest. "Is in here."

"Or maybe here," she added, gently rapping her hoof against his forehead. "Perhaps you should see a specialist?"

"Auntie!" the memory of the Prince protested, even as the dream turned to wisps around them.

“In here, huh?” he asked, still pointing to his chest. He took a deep breath and turned to Cadance.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I am sorry, Cadenza.”

The youngest Princess in the realm remained tall as nodded in acceptance. “You said terrible things to me,” she reminded him. “Worse than that… the brother who made my new life bearable turned his back on me. Even when he came back, he was still gone.”

Cadance wept when they laid her second mother to rest. Equinox was beside her husband again, seen off by her friends, family, and a throng of well-wishers. The Grand Duchess of Equestria and Canterlot. A chorus of colts and fillies sang, their dulcet tones juxtaposed with the sea of black that everypony wore. It was a great state funeral and even the Princess herself had made an appearance, her golden regalia draped with onyx cloth. Even her aurora mane seemed to have subdued colors. The sky itself was dark, with only a faint light shining through.

Gradually, as the service came to an end and the earth ponies began to fill in the grave, a long line of ponies appeared before her and before her brother. All offered their condolences. A few quietly affirmed their loyalties. Blueblood had sat next to her, as the family heir, as the true Duke in both name and power. He remained by the headstone, thanking visitors, accepting commiserations, all into the night. Even when Cadance felt the last of her tears for the day begin to dry.

Until, finally, there were only the two of them left.

“Blueblood,” she finally said, knowing that she was the last. Knowing that all they had now were each other.

What he said next hit her like a kick to the stomach.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

Blueblood grimaced.

“Before you say anything else,” Cadance quickly interrupted as he opened his mouth to speak. “I… I always knew how you felt about your parents,” she admitted, and this time she turned her eyes down to the floor. “When your mother held me… and whispered to me and…”

She shook her head and sniffed before building up the resolve to continue.

“It was like I had a new mother. One that loved me.” She glanced up and there was a glisten of tears in her eyes. “I - I honestly don’t know if I wanted to share it. I’m supposed to spread love, and I could have… but I didn’t where it would… where it might have… if she loved you more than me, what family would I have? I…”

“I think I understand,” Blueblood said and held out his hoof. “I’m willing to forgive all if you are similarly amenable. Well, everything except you marrying that obdurate buffon of a royal guard--”

Cadance frowned through her tears and glared at his hoof.

“You’d best get used to your new brother-in-law,” she stated.

“He’d best get used to me, you mean,” Blueblood corrected her.

“It’s my fault you were captured by the changelings, too,” Cadance admitted, all too quickly. It was as if a little unburdening had unleashed a deluge. “It was part of my plan to escape and attack them from inside.”

“Really?” he asked, and stroked his chin. “From what I’ve heard, that’s not a bad plan!”

Cadance boggled at him and at the apparent lack of concern. “You – You’re not mad?”

Blueblood’s confident mask of a grin faded slightly, but he shook his head. “I am quite angry, and I would be lying if I said I held you blameless. But I meant it when I told you I want us to forgive all. Anger comes and goes, doesn’t it?”

The two royal siblings inched closer, hesitant, unsure, shy even. Cadance finally took a long stride forward and wrapped her forelegs around her one-time step-brother. The hug was a little awkward at first, but then the Princess and finally the Prince relaxed and laughed a little. Cadance tightened her embrace and Blueblood lifted one leg up to tentatively return the gesture.

“NEPHEW!”

Everypony turned to the only source of such a magically enhanced bellow, but Princess Luna merely stared back, her mouth closed. Those same eyes then turned skyward as the Sugarcube Corner cafe shook in its foundations. The ceiling trembled and bolts exploded from out of wooden supports before, with a creaking, groaning snapping of wood and plaster, the roof peeled away and off the lower floor, like the top of a can being removed.

A rush of heat and light blasted down into the store as the roof came free and flew through the air. At the center of the tumult was the source of the bellow from before. A white-gold figure hovered in midair, radiating magic and waves of flame. The heat alone was oppressive, melting wax candles on Sweetie’s birthday cakes and sending rivulets of dribbling marzipan off tables and onto the floor.

“Do not fear our sister,” Princess Luna declared, reaching a hoof up to her horn. “She is only as powerful here as you imagine her to be, nephew!”

“The problem being that I imagine her to be absurdly powerful!” Blueblood yelled, having swiftly hidden behind his alicorn sister. “Ugh! And to top it off, cake is flying everywhere!”

“She’s so bright! I can barely see her! I’ve never seen such a powerful Luminescence spell!” Cadance yelled, shielding her eyes from the inferno in the sky. She did, however, find the time to turn to glare at her would-be brother. “And why are you hiding behind me?”

“You’re big, and you have wings!” Blueblood explained, extending one of her wings with his hoof for emphasis. “I’m safe from the cake behind you.”

“He does that,” Sweetie told the alicorn.

“Well, he’ll learn to stop it!” Cadance bodily wrestled with her brother, “I’m the Princess! You’re supposed to be my shield!”

“Never!”

“Nephew! Traitor! Enemies!” Celestia roared from on high. “Seize him, my little ponies! Seize them all!”

“Battle calls! Night Shade reveals herself!” Luna instantly took to the air, surging towards her dream-sister. A single beat from her wings sent everypony present flying and tumbling off their hooves. “HAVE AT THEE, IMPOSTER!”

“Auntie!” Blueblood yelled, reaching for her even as she took off, barreling into her evil sister like a bat out of Hell. The pair of alicorns grappled and tumbled away from the peeled-back roof of Sugarcube Corner, and the threat appeared to pass--

Except for the suddenly dark look in the eyes of everypony else at the party.

“Monsters!” Diamond Tiara screamed, and threw both plate and slice of cake at the three remaining ponies. Blueblood defly snagged Sweetie, ever alert for incoming pastry attacks, and ultimately used his magic to snag a table as a shield. At least inanimate objects didn’t object when you hid behind them.

“You heard the Princess!” another pony yelled.

“Traitors?” a hysterical sounding mare cried before fainting. “Ohhh!”

“Get ‘em!” yet another pony said, surging forward while others found yet more cake to hurl.

“S-stay away!” Cadance warned, holding up her hooves as one stallion made a grab for her. Blueblood snagged the offender when he made another lunge for the Princess, this time using him to absorb a barrage of cake slices.

“This may be where we make our exit!” Blueblood yelled. He threw the sticky and twitching cake-shield away without a care, much to Cadance’s disgust and chagrin. “How… exactly… do we make our exit again?”

Cadance muttered a reply as she ducked another slice of pie.

“What was that now?”

“I’m not entirely sure!” the Princess cried, smiling weakly. “I’m sort of winging it here!”

“Oh, wonderful. She’s winging it.”

“Well, if she can ‘wing’ it and we really control what’s happening here to an extent, then maybe I can dream I’m a lot more powerful than I really am!” Sweetie grinned, jumping from Blueblood’s back and releasing her glamour spell.

The advancing ponies stopped in their tracks at the sight of her, and she couldn’t help but wince slightly at their reaction, before remembering that it was really only one pony that controlled them all. Leaning down, she whispered quickly to the ground under her and for a moment the whole area was eerily calm… before the ground parted, separating them from the advancing ponies.

It was an impressive magical feat, but Cadance’s eyes were not on the tear in the earth, but on the filly that had caused it. She pointed at Sweetie and backed away frightfully.

“W-what…?” she gasped. “You aren’t a…? A pony? What are you?!”

Blueblood noticed Sweetie glance back over her shoulder at the Princess and sighed.

“My poor little sister… puberty hit her like a ton of rocks, you see,” he explained, earning a glare from both mares. “That is, what I meant to say,” he amended himself, waving a hoof to placate the female ire, “is that she’s had to walk down a rocky road… er, she took her time as a filly for granite? Metamorphically speaking, she’s been under a lot of pressure, you know… and she hit rock bottom before she came here, so I told her schist happens and fortune favors the boulder…”

“Blueblood,” Sweetie hissed. “Please. Stop.”

“So many puns,” Cadance gagged. “So many bad puns!”

“Point is, she’s still my Sweetie Belle,” he concluded, “Frankly, I think it would be strange for my sisters not to be odd. One being an alicorn and the other being…” his grin widened teasingly “…other.”

Sweetie could not hold her glare for long and finally giggled, recasting her glamour spell. Soon her coat was white and pristine, her mane wavy, and her horn looking exactly as the local Sweetie’s did. “There, big sis, is that better?”

“Y-yes,” Cadance replied after a moment of the new appearance sinking in, “but… I still don’t really understand…” Another thrown cake prompted her to turn her attention back to the angry crowd now separated from them by a rift in the floor.

“I still can’t believe that I was able to do that,” Sweetie said, dodging a slice of banana pudding. “Do you think it’ll buy us some time?”

“Oh! Wow! You can buy time?!” a voice asked, and Sweetie yelped in surprise, launching straight up into the air.

“I gotcha now!” Pinkie Pie announced, giggling and jumping forward with net-in-hoof. Said net, more suited to catching butterflies than escaping ponies, ended up snagged around Blueblood’s nose and ears.

“The Princess will reward me for catching you!” Pinkie announced with a lopsided grin. “I’ll ask for my own holiday! Pinkie Day! It’ll be the best, super-funnest--”

It was around that moment when Sweetie landed soundly on the pink one’s head, sending her sprawling with an audible ‘bonk.’

“Don’t let them escape!” a pony yelled from the other side of the fissure Sweetie had carved straight down the middle of Sugarcube Corner. They began to throw more pastries from the counters nearby and the conveniently located array of birthday cakes that had been ordered for Sweetie’s multiple birthdays. Though nopony wanted to get smeared, the real threat came from the pegasus ponies who took to the air, easily able to fly over the gap, and the hoof-full of unicorns who began to power up their magic.

A dark look passed over Blueblood’s face as he turned towards them. “As if a gaggle of common ponies could…”

A slice of lemon meringue cut the Prince off, splattering against his left eye.

“I’ll destroy you down to the last magical atom,” he announced, deadpan, only to yell right across the room in the full power of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “I despise flying cake!!”

The sheer volume of the magical bellow sent ponies staggering and clutching their ears.

Sweetie had to sit down. “Blueblood,” she stage-whispered, “you have got to teach me that spell. I will never have to get out of bed again for food.” Her horn lit up and the legs of the table holding the pastries were ripped away from it, covering the nearest unfortunate ponies with several pounds of cake.

“Haha!” Blueblood cheered her on. “Yes! How do you plebeians like the taste of cake, mm?”

“Fighting them does no good!” Cadance yelled, her own ears still flat against her head. “All that matters is syncing up our power and… and working out however we get out!”

Blueblood shook the head and spun around, following his step-sister as she bolted for the door. Almost comically, Pinkie Pie seemed to still be holding onto him, this time wearing a hoof-ball pads and jersey with the ‘number’ 00 on it. He tried to shake her off, but she was basically latched on like an octopus. A crazy, giggling octopus. “And how do we do that?”

“Positive thoughts!” Cadance replied as she threw open the door to the store. “I’m sure of it! Positive thoughts and feelings of love will--”

Before them, a hundred ponies lined the streets of Ponyville. Every single one had a glower on their face and narrowed eyes firmly set on Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Prince Blueblood the fifty-second, and one time and dimension displaced Sweetie Belle. A rather muscular stallion even brandished a pitch fork. They blocked the road through and out of town with sheer mass, and the skies buzzed with angry pegasi, flittering about like enraged bees. Altogether, the entire populace of the town seemed to be forming a living shell around the three objects of their ire.

“I’m not really thinking positive thoughts right now.” Blueblood was the first to speak. He reached a hoof up to his face to wipe away the cake, leaving a streak of lemon filling from his cheek to his forehead. “So maybe I’ll just…”

Without warning, he touched his hoof to Cadance’s side, and tagged Sweetie with his tail.

At the same time his horn glowed, in preparation to teleport--

Only to have the spell fizzle.

“It… it didn’t work?” he mumbled, dumbstruck. “My magic…”

“What didn’t work?” Cadance asked, confused and glancing down at his hoof, still touching her just behind the tip of her folded wing.

“You could always fight your way out!” Pinkie suggested, still holding tight to her prize even as Blueblood tried to free her with a kick of his leg. Clearly the promise of getting her own national holiday had magnified her already super-equine tenacity.

The suggestion, timely as it was, came only moments before the crack of a unicorn teleport spell split the air. A second later, and four lavender hooves landed on the street. As one, the entire crowd of angry Ponyvillains took a collective step backwards. The lavender hooves were followed by cyan, tawny gold, alabaster white, and finally butter yellow.

“Hiya, girls!” Pinkie cheerfully waved a hoof, still clutching onto Blueblood’s backside. “Don’t worry! I got this one! He’s all mine!”

“Twilight?” Cadance gasped, but narrowed her eyes at the hate-filled expression on the unicorn’s face. Celestia’s prize student, like all her friends, had only a glower of a welcome for her former foalsitter.

“You aren’t real,” Cadance repeated to herself, shaking her head and closing her eyes. “Come on, Cadance, get yourself together, now.”

“Alright, girls! You heard the Princess!” Twilight announced, pointing at the three of them. “Since Pinkie’s taken care of Blueblood, focus on Cadance and Sweetie Belle! Time to save Equestria! AGAIN!”

“How is this--” Blueblood drolly gestured to the pink mare trying in vain to tackle his rather substantial mass. “--being taken care of?”

“You just aren’t having enough fun!” Pinkie declared, and suddenly her legs were around his neck and she dragged him down with a shocked gurgle.

“Twilight! Stop this!” Cadance backpedaled, a blast of purple light narrowly missing her only to punch a hole in the side of Sugarcube Corner. “Stop this instant, young lady!” she yelled and squeaked as a rainbow-colored blur shot down and made a grab for her.

“What in the name of Celestia was that?” she gasped and tried to gather magic to protect herself. Sparks danced down the length of her horn and, just like Blueblood’s earlier attempt to teleport, her magic fizzled and failed.

“Oh! … OH! Blast!” Cadance cursed – what passed for a curse anyway – and dove for cover as another purple energy beam shot from Twilight’s horn. It was a simple telekinetic shock spell, basically a magical push amplified.

It also wasn’t strictly real. All of this was part of Blueblood’s nightmare. Just like she had said before: fighting anything in here was pointless! Luna needed to counter that version of Celestia, she supposed, but their focus had to be in breaking out of the dream. Princess Luna wasn’t physically present to wake anypony up, regardless.

“Blueblood! Can’t you…?” Cadance stopped, mid-sentence, upon noticing how the esteemed Prince currently had a pegasus holding him down. A rather timid-looking pegasus at that! The crazy pink mare from before was bouncing happily on his stomach and giggling, all while Blueblood just lay there.

“Oh. My. Celestia. Are you enjoying yourself?!” Cadance roared, already growing exasperated with her step-brother. “You are, aren’t you!”

“Oh, yes, this is truly my dream!” Blueblood yelled right back, even as Pinkie’s next bounce knocked the wind out of him with an ‘oof.’ “Alert the presses! My secret fetish and fantasy is to be double-teamed by an animal lover afraid of her own shadow and a hyperactive mare who smells like molasses and acts like a pixie!”

“You certainly aren’t fighting back!” Cadance’s hoof was not shaking with anger. Well, it was, but it was also trying to shake off a violent, Rainbow colored pegasus. “You’re just lying there!”

“I can’t help it,” he whimpered, pathetically. “Fluttershy… she’s… she’s really strong…”

Cadance’s next response was rudely interrupted by a blast of raw, unstoppable lavender that sent her flying. It would probably have launched a normal pony right into the side of Sugarcube Corner. In fact, it probably would have knocked that same pony right through the wall, into and through the counter by the register, through the pantry, and then out through the back wall to boot. Cadance set her hooves into the ground, flexed her wings, and dispersed the majority of the magic around her with a loud snap.

“Do you mind?” The Princess of Love asked, turning her indignation towards a new target. “We were having a conversation here!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight yelled, pointing a hoof at the Princess. “She’s using earth pony magic! Get her airborne!”

Cadance glanced down at her hooves, momentarily stunned that Twilight had put together what had happened so quickly. She, herself, had mostly just acted on instinct. It had been earth pony magic, but it wasn’t as if she had really put any thought into countering Twilight’s magical blast. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, as most of her friends knew, had never fought a duel nor felt the need to train herself for any sort of combat. She was the Princess of Love, after all.

Momentarily lost in her thoughts, Cadance was far too slow to react when that rainbow missile from before came in and plowed right into her side. Inertia and vertigo briefly turned her vision into an incomprehensible swirl, and then she felt the air rushing past around her. This was a feeling she knew… as an alicorn, yes, but first and foremost as a pegasus! Somepony was carrying her upwards.

She was reminded, for a second, of the old griffin game…

Rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, paper beats rock. Just the same, unicorn beat pegasus, pegasus beat earth pony, earth pony beat unicorn. And an alicorn? Well. An alicorn cheated.

“I will not be mare-handled again!” Cadance cried, “Unhoof me, rainbow-colored mare! Or I will be forced to--”

A cyan hoof clamped painfully over her snout.

“Forced to what?” Rainbow Dash asked, mockingly. Her wings flapped as she reached her desired height, one hoof around Cadance’s mouth and the other holding firmly onto her left wing, keeping it from holding her aloft. She dangled in the smaller mare’s grip.

“This,” Cadance said, her voice muffled. With her free front hooves, she grabbed onto Dash’s outstretched leg. The very same one with the hoof clamped over the Princess’s mouth. Her horn then lit up with magic… fizzled… and discharged the chaotic magic right out of her body and into that of the cyan mare with the rainbow mane and tail.

“Aaaa-a-aaa-aaa!” Dash’s body shook and spasmed from the magical discharge, that same rainbow mane and tail turning frizzy and black as soot. For just a second, the pegasus pony’s wings continued to flap and hold her in midair, even though she more resembled a zapped bug than a weatherpony.

“Ow,” Dash said, in monotone.

She let go and fell away from Cadance, and the Princess also pushed off and angled herself towards the ground. Twilight was glaring up, a veritable tornado of purple magic swirling violently around her horn. Bits of debris had been whipped up in the little maelstrom. It was in that moment that Cadance understood.

She understood not just how powerful she always suspected Twilight Sparkle to be.

She understood that Blueblood – somehow – also knew just how powerful Twilight Sparkle could be. This Twilight was exactly as strong as he imagined her to be, and her stupid stallion of a brother seemed to have a very vivid imagination. With a howl, the purple magic around Twilight’s horn tightened and turned into a slender, drill-like spear of pure magic.

“Oh. Oh dear,” Cadance could feel her alicorn instincts reaching for an earth pony’s defense, but this high in the air… it was gone. There was nothing. And she didn’t know a single barrier or defensive unicorn spell. Right now, she was just a pegasus. A metaphorical scissor. And glaring up at her was the Queen Mother of all Scissor-Smashing Rocks.

“This – this is dangerous…!” she realized, almost dumbly. If she couldn’t avoid that magical spear, it would go right through her like a power drill through a stick of butter. She wasn’t like Blueblood, or even this strange Sweetie Belle pony. If she died in the nightmare…

Panic crept into her thoughts and she started to jerk and zag, wings frantically flapping.

“Somepony! A little help?” she called, and used a bit of the Canterlot Voice herself. “A little help! Please!”

A pony heard her. He was just in little position to do anything about it.

“Um, Mister Blueblood, could you please stop struggling?” Fluttershy had her front hooves pressed down firmly on his own, pinning him on his back like a helpless babe. What, did this crazy mare wrestle bears for a living or…?

Oh, actually, she did.

“Please?” Fluttershy asked again, looking down on him down big, turquoise eyes that seemed just short of tears. “I really don’t want to hurt you any more than I have to.”

“That’s right!” Pinkie Pie agreed, still straddling his midsection and helping to hold him down. She crossed her front legs and smirked, triumphantly. “We’ve got you trapped! Fluttershy and me are the ultimate tag team! Just be glad she didn’t have to use the steel chair on you!”

“Oh,” Fluttershy meekly objected. “I’d never use the steel chair, not unless they deserved it.”

Pinkie Pie seemed about to say something more when a flicker passed through the giddy mare, and her eyes lost a bit of their blue.

“That’s right,” she repeated, more to herself than to him. Though when she looked down at the Prince, there was no doubt who was on her mind. “That’s right. And you can feel it, can’t you? That’s Princess Cadance up there. Fighting. Do you really think she’ll win? Won’t she die for real if something bad happens? What are you going to do about that?”

Pinkie leaned in closer, close enough to tickle his nose with her breath.

“Isn’t Twilight Sparkle’s power something amazing?” She grabbed him by the chin and directed his eyes upwards as Cadance desperately tried to fend off her two assailants. “Since you’re as useless as ever, why don’t you just relax and watch her die?”

Blueblood crushed his eyes closed, but Pinkie’s words never left his mind. There was something entrancing about them. They were the truth. He knew it, just like Cadance did. If he died in here, like he had so many times, he’d just reset. Even Sweetie seemed to be safe, because she was connected to his memories of the Gala time-loops.

But Auntie Luna and Cadance? Cadance was a visitor to his nightmare. If she died here… who knew what would happen to her body? If everything she had said before was true – and he had no reason to doubt her – she needed to live. She needed to escape, but all his other magic fizzled.

Which only left…

A faint green light began to form around him, pooling into a circle.

“So,” he continued, “I won’t let her…”

The circle contracted.

Pinkie Pie continued to stare down at him, her grin widening. She was whispering something to herself, but Blueblood could hardly hear it over the pounding in his ears. It was his heartbeat. Two stellar circles and two reaping triangles. It was so simple, this one spell. The hard part was converting the soul into fire. None of these mares were real. He hated having to harm them… but…

“What is this spell?” Pinkie asked, looking around her as the air began to crackle with jade energy.

It was almost there. It was Almost Fire. He had used this spell, once, hoping it would kill him, body and soul. Before he had burned away himself, he had seen the results. It had destroyed much of Canterlot, and just to add insult to injury, it hadn’t even earned him an escape from the loops. This time, though, maybe it could do some good.

“Ow. Ow. Ow!!” Fluttershy cried, finally releasing him. She stumbled back, looking at her hooves with astonishment. There was no physical mark on them, but she had felt for just a moment what he felt coursing through his entire body. It was the opposite of the Fire to Life spell.

Life to Fire.

“I have to see it!” Pinkie declared, still with that dark look in her eyes. She jumped off him and scrambled away. “Do it! Do it! Do it!”

Not far away, he could see Twilight Sparkle. Her attention was fixed entirely upward, trying to pin down her target. The surging lance of magic coiled around her horn was enough to warp the air around her, giving the impression of a lavender mirage. Blueblood reached for her, feeling his soul begin to ebb out, bleeding and converting into the rawest, most elemental fire.

“Oh! This must be… Potassium's Propitiatory Phlogiston,” Pinkie’s voice came from behind him. “Do it, Blueblood. Do it! Kill her. Kill her!”

And that was when he heard a scream.

“No!” The party pony snarled, whirling on the interruption. It was Rarity.

Blueblood saw it, too, and in that moment he made a decision. He winced as the burgeoning Phlogiston – the almost fully conjured fire – bored back into his body. It flowed through the veins and crevasses of his soul like liquid agony, but it was nothing he hadn’t felt before. He had been fully consumed by Phlogiston once. He knew that pain, and it didn’t matter one lick of salt.

All that mattered in that moment was the sight of Rarity, screaming in panic and fear, as something cut through her fabric shield. It didn’t matter that the rational part of his mind knew she wasn’t even the real Rarity. It didn’t even matter that, last he had seen, she had been chasing after Sweetie Belle. He had imagined her fighting for her life before, against Antimony, and losing. That one thought had driven him to race halfway across Equestria.

His horn burned, and even though his magic fizzled, he still teleported.

And then she was in his embrace, tumbling through the air.

“You!” Rarity all but spat in disgust. “Unhoof me! Villain! Cretin!”

The pair of white unicorns rolled across the Ponyville street, ending in a tumble.

“I said, unhoof me!” Rarity yelled from under him, not caring that he was trying to shield her. She looked at him with anger and disgust. It was the only thing she had shown him in… in a long time. She pressed two hooves flat against his chest and pushed. “Unhoof me at once!”

“You Stupid. Annoying. Mare,” he growled, and smirked, heedless of the insults and the anger. “I love you, you know. No matter how much this version of you says you hate me.” She glared up at him, momentarily speechless. One of his own hooves ran through his blond mane and he glanced over his shoulder to where a small diamond hovered in midair. “Being a bachelor was so much safer. Sweetie… are you alright?”

Sweetie Belle had tears marring her face, the bladed diamond still hovering firmly under her control. She slowly shook her head no, not trusting her voice not to crack. Slowly, she pulled back the diamond until it was hovering protectively next to her head.

“Even this version of her, you…” Her throat constricted before she could say ‘love.’ “And I could only try to kill her.” She closed her eyes and sent her diamond away through another portal. “I have a lot to learn from you, big brother.”

“Well, I am pretty great,” Blueblood admitted, stroking his chin.

Just as Rarity kicked him squarely in said chin.

Blueblood rolled back and ended up standing next to Sweetie. Together, the two stared down Rarity as she struggled back onto her hooves. The dressmaker was trembling, her indigo fabric torn but slowly, defensively circling around her. A dark shadow moved around her, almost like an outline around her body.

“You can’t…!” she cried, yelling into the ground at her hooves. “That doesn’t make any sense! How can… how could… you can’t!”

“A hundred kicks to the face wouldn’t change my mind,” Blueblood said, smiling despite the purpling welt on his cheek where she had hit him. “You saved me from the Gala loops. Even just that once. Even it wasn’t the same you standing in front of me. You saved me.”

Rarity still trembled, even as she locked eyes with him, blue and blue.

“Now,” he said with a smirk, turning his attention upwards. “Cadance! Stop playing around, would you?”

Sweetie turned, too, just as Twilight finally released her spell to swat Cadance from the sky. Except, she, too, had started to convulse. The huge violet lance she had magicked into existence ripped apart under its own power and what did manage to surge upward into the sky was batted away, almost contemptuously, by the empowered alicorn Princess. Alone of the Elements of Harmony, only Pinkie Pie remained unfazed. Even Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash began to violently tremble, as if they were on the verge of flying apart.

And, in the sky…

Cadance shined like Celestia herself in all her fiery glory.

Sweetie sighed and looked down at the destroyed street outside Sugarcube Corner, drawing Blueblood’s attention. He raised an eyebrow, when he noticed her glance at Rarity and wince. He approached his adoptive sister and nudged her. “Sweetie… what happened back there?”

Sweetie pursed her lips and closed her eyes. “It was… back when I escaped the loops,” she explained, stomping a hoof angrily. “I went to another world, where I was taken under my so-called father’s wing. He was… a psychopath… but…”

Glaring down at her hooves, a small diamond flew protectively around her side to float in front of her horn. Sweetie snorted, her mood still sour. “But he… manipulated me. He made me fear and hate my sister… he trained me to kill her, and when she came and saw me… Blueblood, she didn’t try to talk to me, she didn’t try and see if I had been misled… she…”

Sweetie trailed off for a second, looking up at Blueblood in naked disbelief, even so many adventures later.

“She killed ponies, Blueblood.” Sweetie trembled at recalling that one particular dimension. That one place. “She killed ponies in cold blood, and she attacked me. She was going to kill me, too.”

She looked up at Blueblood and at the commiserating expression on his face, his eyebrows drawn together in sympathy, and tears began welling up in her eyes. “Sweetie.”

“Rarity was the one that was always, always, there for me in any world where she was still living!. Even in the one where she was a stallion, she was there for me. But… she destroyed that. I - I haven’t been able to – to…”

She struggled, trying to say more, to put into words just how that one terrible meeting had cost her the ability to trust the pony she loved as both a sister and a mother. Sweetie opened her mouth, knowing what she wanted to say, to explain, but still no words came out. Blueblood could only smile, comfortingly, and rest his horn gently against hers. She didn’t need to say it. He knew.

Sweetie sat back and batted away a piece of rubble that had once been part of Sugarcube Corner’s candycorn-like roof tile. “Maybe what I went through to become… this… maybe I deserve--”

A rather sizable hoof flicked her horn, and the sudden jolt disrupted both her magic and her dark introspection. Next thing she knew, Blueblood was leaning close. He even ruffled her mane playfully, like she was still the little filly he had first met during the time-loops.

“Don’t think silly things like that, Sweetie,” he said, and somehow, he made her feel like she was when they had pranked the Gala or gone on a milkshake binge, or even that one wonderful night when he and Soarin and Spitfire had taken her out on the town. It was still the first and only taste of nightlife – of a scrap of semi-adult normalcy – she had experienced, amid one trial after another. Her adopted brother didn’t say anything else; he just sat in front of her, one hoof on the top of her head.

“Remember the version of her waiting for you at home,” he suggested and turned slightly to glance back at the Rarity she had been fighting. The same Rarity that he had protected, impulsively, instinctively. “That’s what I do. Remember her. All the other ones will come and go.”

Sweetie sniffled and nodded.

“After all, I’m sure you’ve probably met half a dozen absolutely unbearable versions of me since you left!”

That earned a quick chuckle from her. “Usually you’re dead by the time I arrive, but yes, most of the time, if you exist, you are unbearable to say the least.” She stood up and hugged him tight. “Which is why you are so much more special than any other Blueblood in the Multiverse.”

He hugged her back, laughing triumphantly at his apparent superiority over his alternate selves. “I should’ve expected they couldn’t hold a candle to me!”

“If Cadance up there is the Princess of Love, you’re probably the Prince of Ego,” Sweetie remarked, bopping him on the nose.

“Hm,” he didn’t disagree, but he did consider, “So, not even one was…”

“Not even one,” Sweetie confirmed. “All jerks.”

“The Prince of Ego suits you, Blueblood,” Cadance added, landing with a serene halo behind her majestically flapping wings. She had grown in size, and her new appearance immediately evoked a certain comparison.

“And you resemble a bright pink Auntie Celestia,” Blueblood said, pointing at her. “How disturbing.”

“Not to steal a phrase, but it feels like your heart just grew three sizes today,” Cadance said, drinking in the wellspring of emotion only she could see and feel. “At least it did when you focused on Sweetie and… that other pony.” She turned to stare at the now frozen fashionista. “Rarity, was it? I never thought you’d have so much love in your heart, brother.”

She smirked, taking in her own up-sized form. “And, for the first time since we were little, I’m not closed off from it. Our hearts are open to one another again… It feels wonderful! Like I could move the sun itself!”

“As long as you don’t cover the sun and moon with a huge crystal heart and declare that ‘the love… will last… forever!’” Sweetie spoke up, air-quoting the last part. “I think we’re all glad you feel that way.”

“That explains the Big Princess look, atrocious though it is,” Blueblood replied, and Cadance pouted at him, clearly a little upset he didn’t appreciate her powered-up dream form. Maybe it was the mane? Too much flowing-Celestia look? Inhaling and slowly exhaling, she forced herself back to normal. As she shrunk down, the halo of magic around her grew even more brilliant.

“It was just a mirror of your own feelings as they coursed through us both,” she explained and coughed into one bronze-gilded hoof. “And, um, maybe a little imagination on my part.”

“So we got that we wanted, then?” Sweetie asked, and releasing Blueblood from her hug she quickly trotted back to take him in. “You’re the same size as ever.”

“Do you feel any different?” Cadance pressed, walking to stand next to Sweetie Belle. “The only one who can break us all out of this nightmare is you, Blueblood. How do you feel?”

“Like I’ve talked about my feelings enough for one day, or one hundred,” he answered and cupped his chin with a pearl white hoof. “But it feels like something’s missing.”

“Something missing?” Cadance asked, tilting her head slightly.

Blueblood nodded. “Something big and loud and destructive.”

Sweetie and Cadance both exchanged a curious look.

Then, a second after the words had been spoken, a thunderous shock rocked the town and very nearly tossed all three ponies off their hooves. A blast wave of dust shot out from the center of the street, and a wave of magic and air bowled over very nearly the entire populace of the town, assembled to corner the nightmare interlopers. Ponies were sent flying and rolling like tumbleweeds in a hurricane, crashing into walls and buildings that soon turned hazy and indistinct.

In a crater in the center of the town, Princess Luna held a now trembling and convulsing dream-Celestia by one hoof. A contemptuous huff later and Luna released the shocked Princess to fly effortlessly over to her nephew and niece.

“Twast mine arrival inopportune?” she asked, noting their gobsmacked expressions.

“Not at all, Auntie,” Blueblood said with a bow of his head. “We were just waiting for you.”

Cadance blinked, sucking in a breath. “Luna, too,” she muttered softly. “When did all this happen…?”

Sweetie leaned onto Cadance. “Remember what I told you about the loops? Blueblood is not the same… he really learned to love.”

“All that remains is to root out the source of this corrupt world. Night Shade. I had thought her to reside in that version of mine sister, but…” Luna took in a deep breath, no doubt to bellow out a challenge to the other dream-shaper.

“Auntie,” Blueblood interrupted, pointing back at a pink form that had stubbornly resisted both the Princess’s explosive entrance and the earlier emotional disruption. “There.”

“Damn you ponies,” Pinkie Pie hissed, stumbling towards them. It looked like her, but the voice was all wrong. A crackle of magic emerged from her forehead, briefly revealing a dark horn.

“Thy scheme lies revealed, Night Shade!” Luna thundered. “Mine niece and her accomplice have thee in chains in the real world, and you have been overpowered in the dream-time as well. Surrender thyself!”

Pinkie Pie continued to shamble towards them, laughing in both her normal voice and the foreign one.

“Surrender? Me?” she asked in both voices. “That has to be a joke! How can I surrender? I am… I am…”

Night Shade’s eyes, even in the nightmare she controlled, even in her guise of Pinkamena Diane Pie, glowed with the telltale green of changeling mind control.

“I am a servant of the ONE TRUE QUEEN!!” she screamed, spittle flying from her lips. “You should be begging! On your knees!To surrender to ME!”

“Really?” Sweetie asked, tilting her head. “Did she ever sing to you?”

“Sweetie?” Blueblood asked and she avoided the urge to turn her head and meet him face to face.

“Sing?” Night Shade asked, glowing green eyes settling on Sweetie Belle. “What…?”

“Queen Chrysalis only sings to her true servants… her changelings,” Sweetie explained. “The only creatures in this world she genuinely cares for…”

“Potassium's Phlogiston!” Pinkie-Shade hissed, and Luna gasped in recognition. “You know how to use it, my Prince. I know you do. I couldn’t get you to open the deepest archives for me, but I saw how you did it. All but the last part. Tell me.”

She threw back her head, half of her pink mane and coat melting away, leaving behind a unicorn with a black and white mane and deathly pale coat. “TELL ME!!”

“Thou art insane!” Luna roared, “You cannot begin to comprehend what you wish to unleash! Potassium's Phlogiston is among the blackest of all magics! What madness would even compel a pony to…”

The Lunar Princess paused, mid-declaration, and one eye shot over to her nephew.

Blueblood shook his head. “It hardly matters now,” he explained, his own eyes never leaving the half-Pinkie half-Night Shade abomination before them. “I will take Potassium's Phlogiston to the grave with me. Most certainly, I will not share such secrets with a madmare in thrall to a swarm of insects.”

“You say that with such conviction,” Night Shade replied with a laugh. “But I’ve had your mind in my hooves for so long. The seed has already planted and taken root. No matter what happens to my physical body, I can make your every night a literal Hell of fevered nightmares. Do you understand yet, you puffed-up, self-important bastard? I’ve only just begun to torture you, Blueblood!” A fleck of drool dribbled down Night Shade’s lip as she howled at the remaining quartet. “TELL ME! Or I will haunt your dreams until the day you die!”

“Not while we draw breath!” Luna snarled, wings flaring out threateningly behind her.

Night Shade’s sneer was nasty and cruel. “You’d be surprised what enough alchemy and magic can do, even in the face of your powers, Princess.”

“That’s true,” Sweetie spoke up, her voice little more than a mutter, just loud enough to draw everypony’s attention. “But there’s always other ways to solve things than violence. Even Queen Chrysalis knows that… not that she acts on it.”

The dream-mage’s eyes bored into her. “What do you know?”

Sweetie closed her eyes and began to hum. It was an innocuous sound, harmless, yet Night Shade felt herself grow still. It was as if her very mind and body began to grow numb. Her ears twitched, one pale, the other pink. Cadance, Blueblood and Princess Luna heard it, too – the melody – though they clearly didn’t suffer the same effects from it that Night Shade did.

“Wake up, little spider

the web grows tout

Wake up, little spider

there's a way out.”

Sweetie walked towards Night Shade as she sang, the dreamweaver frozen in place. All she could do was watch, mesmerized. The green in her eyes began to dim and spark.

“Wake up, the prey is gone

Wake up, the call is over

Little spider, the job is done…”

“Ugg,” was all Night Shade could say at first. Her throat constricted, and she fell forward onto her forelegs and knees. Green magic dribbled and pooled out of her eyes, running down her cheeks like fat, slimy tears. The half of her still wearing the guise of Pinkie Pie rippled and flared and spiked before finally, gradually, dissolving.

“What… are you… doing to me?” Night Shade cried, green magic leaking from her eyes and ears. “What is this magic?”

“Not magic,” Sweetie said, hoof touching Night Shade’s shoulder. “Just a song. The Queen’s song. Your mission is over. It’s okay… you can go to sleep.”

“But… but it’s so dark. I…. I can’t see… anything…” Night Shade reached for Sweetie Belle, her hoof trembling. “Whose dream is this?” she asked, and when she looked up, her eyes were violet behind all the suffocating ivy-green. “Is it… mine?”

Those same eyes closed as she fell forward in a slump.

Sweetie caught the mare and slowly settled her down on the floor, painfully aware of the gazes of three ponies behind her. She hesitated for just a second, before turning around to look at the three royals. “I don’t know how many times I heard that song…” she said, unable to look up at the one stallion standing in front of her.

“That really wasn’t magic?” Cadance asked, looking to the unicorn and alicorn whose esoteric knowledge surpassed her own. “What just happened?” One in particular she singled out for answers. “Aunt Luna, what was that?”

“Twas a pass phrase of some sort,” Luna surmised. “A deeply embedded one.”

Blueblood just stared at Sweetie Belle.

“That just raises more questions!” Cadance objected, glancing around her as the dream world began to fade away, taking Ponyville and all its residents with it.

“I’m so sorry, Blueblood,” Sweetie said, finally meeting his eyes with her own, scared ones. “At first… I thought it would be like in my world… that Chrysalis would be quickly defeated… it never crossed my mind how different things were here… how early it was… I thought I shouldn’t tell you or that I might change the future and – and you would die or my sister or any of the others…”

“I thought I could just learn what I needed… and she taught me to sing… but she also cast a spell on me, just like Night Shade… but deeper… she trained me to do things… to not make sounds, to stand in shadows… after a while she didn’t even need to cast the spell; she would say something and I would be hers… and then she would sing to me…” Sweetie’s voice lowered to a whisper. “I would wake up to singing lessons with Cadance… I forgot, I completely forgot about who she really was… I even talked to her at the Gala and then forgot she was Chrysalis… I just remembered the whole thing not too long ago, when I was… when I was a prisoner and this strange magic changed my soul and mind.”

She looked down. “I - I couldn’t carry on watching this whole nightmare continue and see you suffer even more… I wish I could have never told you… and never lose you.” She gave him a sad smile. “But I guess we can’t wish for everything.”

Sweetie took a deep breath and looked at the collapsing dream. “You should go… big br— Blueblood. I’m sorry… I know I don’t deserve it, but I’ll always still think of you as my big brother.”

The stallion opened his mouth, but just as quickly shut it.

Instead of saying anything, he turned his eyes skyward, hiding his face from view. Luna and Cadance both looked to him worriedly, but he stubbornly ignored them. If anything, the lack of a response seemed to hurt Sweetie more, though she had dreaded hearing any number of well-deserved invectives from his mouth. “How could you?” he should have been yelling. “You KNEW?” he could have spat in her face. “I trusted you,” he could even have whispered, and that one would have been the worst of all.

“Cadenza…” he finally spoke, and the half-melted dreamscape remained murky all around them, like a painting splashed with water. “Cadenza, you said you’d been replaced months ago so… so I should have known… I should – should’ve put that together. Of course, the Cadenza I sent Sweetie to… wrong one, wrong… one.”

“Oh, no.” Sweetie growled, marching up to him and poking him in the chest. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for this! I should have known better than to keep it from you when I could do something about it! You didn’t know! It most certainly is not your fault!” She hugged him, as tight as she could, just in case this was the one time when he finally – rightfully – pushed her away. “Please. Just… be happy. Get out of this nightmare. Go get my sister. My local self should learn to foalsit, anyway. Maybe Cadance can teach her.”

“Blueblood,” Cadance spoke up, sensing his emotional turmoil. “Who is to say what would have happened, even with forewarning? Chrysalis still had me… She may have killed me if her plans in Equestria unraveled. She may have found a way to kill you.”

“She speaks the truth,” Luna agreed. Even without her connection to his dream, she could read all she had to from his posture, inside or outside of a dream. She saw him tense and then relax a fraction, in resignation. “Nephew…”

“Sweetie,” he finally said and held the filly at leg’s length to look her eye to eye. “No more secrets after this, alright? I really do love you, but what you just said really, really made me want to throw you out of a window. And I have a feeling that if I actually tried, you’d kick my flank.”

Sweetie’s lips trembled, and all she could do was nod very fast before she jumped forward and hugged him again, burying her face in his chest, crying mumbled apologies and promises to never keep another secret from him. He sighed, and this time truly relaxed, the tension and emotion ebbing out of him. The runny colors of the dream world softened, but still continued to steadily dissolve.

“Hold,” Luna commanded, and a hemispherical bubble expanded from her, surrounding the four ponies – plus the unconscious Night Shade – and halting the end of the nightmare. “Before we return to the waking world, nephew, niece, we may wish to delve into this new font of inside knowledge. Our enemy is most devious and insidious. We would be wise to use every resource in combatting her.”

“That’s right,” Cadance said, only seeming to realize it that moment herself. “Chrysalis was smart enough never to share anything vital with me… All she did was torment me, but, Sweetie Belle, if she taught you to sing…?”

“You can help us defeat her,” Blueblood finished, Sweetie still buried in his chest. “Did you hear that, Sweetie? Now, this Queen Chrysalis, she wouldn’t happen to have a dramatic physical weakness we could take advantage of?” He punched with a free hoof. “Or, better yet, a sweet spot I could charm?”

Cadance made a very clear, choking ‘bleegh’ at that last suggestion.

Sweetie chuckled a bit, pulling herself from Blueblood’s embrace and standing on her own, looking at the others. “I know I can't come with you, but I’ll help any way I can!”

o.0.o

“Gah!” “OH!”

Blueblood and Cadance gasped in stereo, sucking in the dank air of the crystal prison that had been his home since his abduction. A third sound followed, that of Night Shade groaning and slumping into a boneless heap on the floor.

The first thing Prince Blueblood noticed, however, was not the bedraggled and filthy pink Princess and step-sister next to him. It was not the unconscious Night Shade who had tormented his dreams and trapped him in that horrible imitation of the already horrid Gala Loops. It was not the shocked look on the face of a mint-colored unicorn mare fretfully guarding the door, her horn lit up with a mixture of twinkling gold and shadowy black. It wasn’t even the shadowy apparition of his Aunt, hovering overhead.

“No. No. NO!” he cried, struggling desperately against the chains holding him splayed over what had to be a gruesome-looking medical bed. “What have these brutes done to my perfect, white coat?! My majestic golden mane?” He turned, wild-eyed, to Cadance. Her mane was a wretched mess, too, and it only seemed to set him off again. “You maniacs! You cut it up! Celestia damn you! Damn you all to Tartarus!!”

He wriggled and writhed beneath the restraints. “Oh, the horror! The horror…!”

“Is… is he always like that?” the unicorn by the door asked, deadpan.

“Unfortunately,” Cadance answered with a bereaved sigh. “Lyra Heartstrings, this is Prince Blueblood the fifty-second. The Unicorn Royal of Canterlot.”

Lyra waved a hoof in greeting. “Hey.”

Blueblood raised an eyebrow, seemingly over his earlier histrionics. “Well, hello,” he replied, suave despite struggling to move his front hooves with the table’s restraints taut around his wrist. “Finally, somepony who doesn’t look like a total mess. I do like what you’ve done with your mane, actually, and green is coming back this year for mares. Rarity simply hates green for some reason but--”

“Uh, don’t you want to get out of those?” Cadance asked, stretching her neck and leaning over him. She pointed to the thick leather straps around his chest and legs.

“Hmm? Oh! These? Yes.” He wiggled around again. “Quite tight. I take it nopony even bothered with a safety word or those wonderful emergency release buckles?”

Cadance opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but seemed to think better of it.

“Miss Heartstrings, how much time has passed?” she asked instead as, with magic and nimble hooves, she began to free him. “Have we been found out?”

“No, Princess!” Lyra responded, and she sounded as eager as she should have been afraid. “There’s been some rumbling, like an earthquake, but I’ve kept the door closed. We should still be good for our escape! And it’s only been a couple minutes.”

“Excellent, then… then! Oh, this thing is just…!” Cadance growled at one of the locks on Blueblood’s restraints. “I can’t seem to…”

“Could you please free my horn?” Blueblood asked, calmly.

Cadance nodded and ripped off the magical containment seals on the cylinder covering the Princes’ horn. It then came apart in two halves, revealing the horn itself. Unlike her own horn-restraint, the seals on Blueblood’s were fresh and untouched. Nopony had expected him to use magic in a comatose state. The precaution had only been applied once and then forgotten about.

The moment the horn restraint came off, Blueblood cast an unnamed spell. There was only a moment’s delay. Then, with a crackle and a snap, every belt, buckle, lock, and knot came undone, flying apart in some cases with a degree of violence. Blueblood immediately clasped his hooves together and stretched his legs.

“Braid’s Bond Breaker,” he explained, at Lyra’s wide eyed amusement. “Useful against both potential kidnappers and mares who leave you tied up… mostly the latter, honestly.”

Cadance shuddered at the implications involved, but kept on-task. “Miss Heartstrings. We’re making our escape. You’re the only one who knows the way out, so we’ll be following close behind you.”

“One moment,” Blueblood objected, floating his detached horn-nullifier over to the unconscious Night Shade. With a click, he locked it in place over the dreamwaver’s horn. He then coiled a loop of his blond mane around his hoof and ripped it free. His horn glowed again, and this time his star field enveloped the strands of hair. They promptly vanished and with a flick of his hoof, turned to ethereal fire.

“If this works as Auntie Luna said it would…”

For a moment, nothing happened, but then the fire circled around an area, where it slowly seemed to feed its glow onto an invisible shape, which slowly became the outline of a young mare. The silhouette's mouth seemed to move, but no sound came from her. She stomped a translucent hoof, but nothing happened again. Finally, the spectral silhouette nodded and turned to look at them, lifting a small hoof. Blueblood touched the ghostly spirit’s hoof with his own, bumping it gently. Then the shadow of a filly nodded, once, and faded away entirely.

o.0.o

Sweetie watched as the world around her melted into a cave, where Blueblood and Cadance met with Lyra.

"Blueblood!" she called, but there was no reaction from her adoptive brother.

Wincing, she observed as Blueblood broke free of his bonds, then walked towards her and cast a new spell. All of a sudden, she knew she could see him. "Can you hear me?"

When no reaction came other than sadness in his eyes, she shook her head and stomped on the floor. "Why do I have to say goodbye to you like this?" she cried, looking up to her brother. Shakily, she raised a hoof. "I'll miss you," she whispered as the world around her shimmered and faded.

Blueblood smiled, raising his hoof and for just one second she felt his hoof. Sniffing, she nodded and once more the world dissolved.

Blueblood, Lyra and Cadance faded from view much more slowly than during Sweetie Belle’s previous jumps, and instead of the usual flash, things seemed to shimmer into different shapes as the world became solid again around her.

Having left Bon Bon and Lyra before her last jump, she had expected to return to them, maybe even moments after leaving. As the world around her slowly came into focus, though, there seemed to be nopony around, nor did her new surroundings take the form of anything she recalled seeing before in Bon Bon’s universe.

Her hooves sunk into soft cushions atop a large chaise lounge embroidered in delicate floral patterns. A flag was draped lazily over the elevated half of the fainting couch and beneath her front legs. The room was dappled in light from a massive bay window that reached up to the decorative barrel ceiling inlaid with stenciled walnut wood. Silk curtains wafted gently in a warm afternoon breeze, permitted entry by eases in the great window. Arranged about the rest of the ornate room, she could see canvases stacked up against the wall or sitting on wooden easels.

There were buckets with all sorts of painting equipment, too, from brushes to little containers; her eyes caught all the colors of the rainbow in oil, waiting to be set to canvas. There could be little doubt. Sweetie had been in rooms like this before; this was a sitting room made over into an artist’s atelier. It was no poor artist, either. The room she was in was magnificent, even by Canterlot standards.

All that was put aside, however, when Sweetie’s eyes fell on one thing above all else; a painting currently on display; a half-finished work depicting no other pony than her, reclining comfortably but confidently on the same chaise lounge she had just materialized on. The her in the painting wore a loose pearl-white dress, almost sheer, and a crown of tiny velvet flowers in her pink and lilac mane. At least the curls were still there, if parted slightly and with more body—an artist’s exaggeration, no doubt. But it was undoubtedly her! An older her...

Sweetie eased off the couch and walked closer to the painting with a small frown.

"Did... I always look so condescending?" she mused aloud, tilting her head at the almost dismissive smile displayed on the image. "The artist must be taking some liberties..."

She pondered for a moment before levitating a pencil and a piece of scroll, saying aloud her words as she wrote. "Please make my smile more sincere. XOXO Sweetie Belle." And then she attached it to the side of the painting, nodding to herself in satisfaction.

o.0.o

To be continued...

This Platinum Crown: Pt. 2 - Bitaly

Edited by: Burraku Pansa, LittleRobotBird, Masked Ferret

Now that a crime against equinity had been prevented, Sweetie took a moment to analyze her surroundings more thoroughly.

Despite some superficial similarities, it didn't feel like Canterlot. The architecture lent itself to a different approach: the stonework was somehow warmer—maybe due to the rusty color of the walls—and Sweetie could’ve sworn the fresh air smelled different, although she couldn't quite place how. She slowly approached one of the windows, relishing the feel of the wind on her face and the soft caress of the silk curtains.

What she saw outside was completely different than any other place she had visited so far.

Wherever she was, this studio was situated on higher ground, allowing her an unimpeded view of hundreds of buildings, all in more rustic and earthen colors than anything she'd ever seen in Canterlot.

The city slowly progressed at a gentle slope towards a great, yawning bay, where she could make out a small sea of ships’ sails—and beyond that, glittering, a sapphire ocean spreading all the way to the horizon.

Sweetie's eyes were wide, and she released a deep, shuddering breath, not realizing until then that she’d been holding it in. Her senses were assaulted by the warmth of the sun and the vibrancy of the elements around her. Even though the water was so close, the earth below felt alive and less restricted than in any other city she had visited since acquiring her new abilities. The air felt more gentle, and she imagined fire would be almost playful here.

She took her eyes away from the city and looked to the streets below, where ponies walked and talked happily—the very image of what an idyllic city should be. Marble plazas stood out between the buildings, connected by what had to be hundreds of bridges arching over bustling canals. Each plaza sported fountains and statues, and around the corner of a large building, she could see the edge of a colorful marketplace. The faint sound of voices mixed with the occasional chime and bell carried by the sea air. Sweetie shook her head in wonder.

"What is Sweetie Belle doing here?"

She turned back to the studio, trying to ferret out any more clues to her location. With nothing familiar around, chances were that she might not necessarily have met anypony from this city in other worlds.

"I guess I could pretend to have amnesia?" she ventured, stepping into the room. She glanced about until she found a small wooden desk, where a scroll detailed the specifics of the current commission: a painting of "Lady Sweetie Belle," commissioned by...

"Me?!" Sweetie gasped, looking at the agreed-upon price, then back at that smile, then back to the contract. "What happened to me? Am I the daughter of some rich noble in this world?"

She turned towards the chaise lounge she had first appeared on.

The flag was draped over the high end of it... A two-toned blue shield, bordered with purple, a central tree with three apples in its boughs, each apple with a silver band. Left of the tree was an open tome, and to the right was a six-pointed star with strange wiggles... What had Blueblood called it? An estoile? Or was it a mullet? No, mullet stars were straight-armed. Heraldry was not one of the fields of study she had picked up over the time loops, but Blueblood had impressed on her the value of identifying noble houses by their symbols and themes.

A tree and a book and a star, though, just wasn’t ringing any bells.

Looking around again, she took note of a pair of dresses hanging near the back of the room. Both were sheer like the one in the painting, the pure white one especially so. The other dress was more conservative, and came with lilac embroidery and lace that matched her mane. They had to have been custom made. More expensive dresses the local Sweetie commissioned for herself, then...

She must be some sort of rich pony. But why here? This wasn’t Canterlot. If she had to guess, based on the languages she had heard from outside, it was Bitaly.

She didn’t have family here. She didn’t know anyone here.

Unless...! That had to be it!

The local Sweetie must be an orphan, and Rarity, too! They’d been taken in by a kindly noble family, like in that famous play, and raised in wealth and privilege.

It made perfect sense!

And if this was like the play, then a suave noblestallion was about to get between them and result in a tragic triple-suicide of doomed lovers! Why oh why did these things have to end in tragedy?!

Then again, maybe not. Maybe that was the farthest one could be from the truth.

But the local her definitely wasn’t lacking in disposable income nor influence. The how and why would have to come later.

Sweetie re-examined the picture of herself. The Sweetie in the painting was a little older, in her teens at least, with long legs and a slim, princess-like figure. She was almost a young Fleur, though Sweetie noted—with a little disappointment—that her muzzle hadn’t quite filled out to complete the princess look every filly dreamed of. Her cutie mark was different, though: a pink heart with a black musical note superimposed, a portamento, and two waving bars behind them that ended in cute little curls.

"Well, that would be a giveaway," Sweetie muttered, glancing back at her own cutie mark. Thankfully, there were plenty of dresses around, and with some luck one of them wouldn’t be see-through.

She levitated the pearl-white one, grimacing at how easily she could see the wall behind it, before putting it down and trying on the lilac dress. She nodded to herself, her cutie mark covered, if only barely. "It’ll have to do for now."

With that settled, Sweetie walked out of the studio to find her sister, or any pony that knew her. Trotting softly down a long hall, she could hear the sounds of conversation from beyond and below. Her ear twitched. It was more Bitalian. Thank the Princess she had picked up those extra languages during the time loops.

Slowly making her way towards the voices, she also got a better look at the building around her. The walls and the ceiling were done in a soft chinoiserie style—a style she recalled as one of Blueblood’s favorites from his many afternoons discussing fashion and all things courtly.

The ceiling in particular was further enhanced with a vast mural, very distinct from the way things were done in Canterlot. It was a barrel ceiling again, just like the room she’d woken up in, giving depth to the depiction of the ponies of Bitaly as they clustered and fought and bartered. As the mural curved with the ceiling, it became blue with sky and clouds and cavorting pegasi. Above them all was a family of unicorns, sheathed in magic and in a long procession behind some sort of hourglass.

An... hourglass.

There was a family Blueblood had mentioned whose noble standing was based around the keeping of an ancient hourglass: an artifact of great power.

Was this the same family?

Sweetie searched the vast mural for Princess Celestia. She had to be— There! There she was, depicted with forelegs outstretched as she bestowed the original hourglass upon a pure white unicorn mare with starry wings. Behind the Princess was mare with a platinum-silver mane and a stallion with a long mane of gold, both holding onto her wings with one hoof and her shoulders with the other, almost as if restraining her.

Sweetie felt comfortable enough guessing at the identity of those two: Princess Platinum and the First Blueblood. Notably absent was any depiction of Princess Luna, who would have also been there.

A mirrored staircase ahead led down into a columned courtyard, shrouded by vines that bore tiny blue and lilac flowers. A small party of ponies milled about below in fine dress and jewelry, waited on by servants. A number of paintings were on display; it must’ve been a viewing party.

Sweetie blinked a few times before gathering her wits. There was a slight chance that the ponies there might actually not know her.

"Yeah, and Luna plays with a duckie in the bath," she muttered as she considered using an illusion to pretend to be another pony. She discarded the notion. "Might as well mingle if I get caught. At least the artist here knows me, so I could gather some information."

With a nod, Sweetie stepped forth, walking calmly across the room, her eyes set on her destination—the exit—and her heart beating rapidly in her chest. 'Please don't let them notice me.'

"Oh! Lady Sweetie Belle!"

Sweetie slowly turned, forcing a smile, to look at the pony that was talking to her. "Oh, hello. I do apologize for interrupting, I was on my way out, you see..."

A tall stallion approached her with a smile somewhat dimmed by his clear surprise and confusion. He was a very lean earth pony, dusky brown, with a frilly brocade vest and red ruffles around his throat and fetlocks. He reminded Sweetie just a little of a stallion Rarity had crushed on for a few months way back before... everything.

Trenderhoof, that was it. Rarity did have odd taste in stallions sometimes.

"Lady Sweetie Belle," he said again, dipping his eyes in momentary deference. "What a surprise to see you still here! Did you forget something in the room?"

Sweetie nodded. "Yes. Yes I did! I had intended to wear this dress today, you see, and so I returned to fetch it"—she took a guess based on the signature on one of the paintings—"Signore Barocchi."

"Of course, my Lady," he replied after just a moment’s pause. His eyes dipped again as if in fearful reverence. "If there is anything else you need, I am your humble servant."

Sweetie hesitated for just a second. "There is one thing, Barocchi," she said. "I'm afraid I’ve lost track of time. Do you recall where I was heading just before I left earlier today?"

"As I recall, you were to leave for the aviary with the young Ser Fortunatissimo." Barocchi coughed politely into his hoof. "He was to take up much of your day, I believe."

Fortunatissimo? That loosely translated to Good Fortune. Wait. Was it a— Was she supposed to be on a—

"A date?"

Barocchi nodded.

"Ah, of course!" Sweetie's smile became a bit more forced. "How could I forget dear Fortunatissimo? This will not do! I shall depart immediately, lest Fortunatissimo grow desperate and his patience exhaust itself." She cleared her throat. "I'll take my leave, Master Barocchi," she said, heading for the door. "Thank you for reminding me."

"Oh, of course, my lady!" he called out to her, only to add, "I shall fetch Miss Tiara to attend to you!"

Sweetie Belle stopped dead in her tracks, blinking a couple of times before she turned around and raised an eyebrow.

"Diamond Tiara?"

She felt tempted. So very tempted.

"To attend me."

She struggled with herself for a moment, wondering if Diamond Tiara would be wearing a maid costume.

"N-no, I will be fine. Waiting longer will only upset dear Fortunatissimo even more than he probably has been..."

Barocchi inclined his head in respectful courtesy. "It is protocol, my lady. Duchess Sand Dune’s orders."

Before Sweetie could stop him, he had already motioned to one of the ochre-coated guardsponies waiting in the wings. The rest of the attendees in the viewing party paid little notice as one of the two guards trotted out into the open and the second took wing. Both wore elaborate steel cuirasses over ruffled white vests, open-faced kettle helmets over stern and disciplined visages. Their armor was lighter than you’d see on the Royal Guard in Canterlot, but each pegasus also had the benefit of a mounted crossbow on their back and a sheathed blade attached to their right foreleg. So much for slipping away without being noticed.

Barocchi apologized for the delay and the wait she had to endure, and Sweetie smiled politely even as her mind raced.

Diamond Tiara. That just raised even more questions! Still, at least it was a friendly faaa— Okay, not a ‘friendly’ face, really, but it was a ‘familiar’ face at least. That was something. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise.

Expecting to have a couple minutes to plan, Sweetie was more than a little surprised when the tap-tap of hooves from at the top of the mirrored staircase caught her attention. Descending with more than a little grace to accompany her hurry, and alongside the pegasus guard from before, was a young mare that could only be Diamond Tiara. All that pink was a dead giveaway.

This Diamond Tiara was taller, fuller, and much more of a proper mare than Sweetie would’ve expected. Sadly, Diamond Tiara here wore no maid outfit—there was an expensive-looking neck ruffle beneath a diamond-studded brooch that encircled her neck. As part of her dress, she was very obviously wearing a corset that tucked in the stomach and accentuated the chest in emulation of the alicorn body type. The rest of her dress was light and sheer, catching the breeze. It was a look more than a few mares here seemed to favor.

With just a hint of annoyance, Sweetie noticed that Diamond Tiara still insisted on wearing a tiara, even after what must have been years. She secretly wondered if the wealthy earth pony mare would end up an old granny someday, still clinging to that silly silver tiara of hers. Sweetie couldn’t remember a time when the filly hadn’t been wearing it. She’d also grown her mane long, to the point where it brushed by her front legs as she walked.

"My lady, please, allow me," were her first words, and she dipped her eyes for just a second. She turned to Barocchi and the two guards. "I shall escort her from here, gentlestallions. Thank you for fetching me."

Sweetie slowly closed her mouth. "Yes. Quite. Shall we, Diamond Tiara?" she asked, heading towards the door.

"Of course," Diamond replied, trotting up alongside her. The doors ahead opened, revealing a colorful courtyard garden interspersed with statues. There were ponies here, too, particularly around a salespony showing off reams of silk and exotic trinkets. Sweetie recognized a trio of zebra totem-masks among the items for purchase.

"You’ll have to excuse me, Sweetie Belle, but where do you wish to go?" Diamond inquired. "I thought you’d left for your date with Master Fortunatissimo."

"Yes, about that. I don't think I'll be meeting with Fortunatissimo," Sweetie said. "Not yet at least. I, uh, don't really feel like going to the Aviary. How about we walk around the city for a bit, just to clear our heads? I'll speak with him later."

"As my lady wishes," Diamond said it as if by rote, only to add, "I guess we’re going shopping, then? I’ll call for a shade."

Motioning to the side, she led Sweetie to an alcove near the gatehouse and quickly stepped away. A moment later and she returned with a lacquered cane between her teeth. Activating a switch in it, a flower-like parasol took form. Tiara held it up to a suitable height and angle and let it go—it hovered in place just off Sweetie’s shoulder, and followed her as she moved.

"Lady Sweetie Belle, Miss Tiara," said one of the guards by the gate, recording their names in a log at his station. "Have a pleasant outing."

"Thank you, Alfonso," Diamond replied.

Sweetie merely nodded, still trying to shake off her surprise.

There was little in the way of grounds between the gate and the street. Merely a few steps and they were very much among the throngs of the bustling city.

"Where to, my lady?" Diamond asked when Sweetie paused.

Sweetie pondered for a bit, eyeing Diamond Tiara for a moment before nodding and looking down towards the sea with a smile. "How does a stroll down to the pier sound to you, Tiara? There should be plenty of shops and more than one place to enjoy a drink or two."

"We should cut through the Plaza of Lady Sand Storm," Diamond suggested, pointing to her right. "This way, you’ll recall."

"Sure!" Sweetie agreed, and she began walking. "I don't mind. You lead." She and Tiara weren’t exactly given a wide berth, but they were left mostly alone as they began their walk. The ‘mostly’ came from the fact that there were small shops on almost every corner, selling foods or drinks or nicknacks—but especially fruit and cooked kelp—and several vendors would call out to the pair to offer their products.

It was hot out in the streets, too, and Sweetie was grateful for the parasol Tiara had brought with them. The cobblestone streets were alive with less well-attired ponies working and playing, but Sweetie’s ears twitched as she heard the bells of ships and the gentle lapping of the sea.

It wasn’t long before she saw it up close.

Tiara had led her to a stone wall that ran perpendicular to a large canal, from which she could see some of the city docks. The wall ended when it merged into the turret of a thick-bodied tower that loomed high overhead. Just past it, she could see another structure, enclosed, but with half-built ships inside.

Some sort of arsenal, maybe? Even more interesting, she could see the systems of locks that controlled the water level of the canals that wove throughout the city center.

Sweetie's mind, however, kept returning to the sea. This was the first time in her life she’d actually been right next to it, and the soft, almost hushed sound of the waves reaching the shore was incredibly calming. Her hooves could feel the earth under her almost singing, so alive were the elements around her, and the language of the sea was like a melody hidden in the crash of waves.

It possessed a power so beyond what she had ever imagined: a promise of hidden secrets and worlds beyond her imagination. There was a constant dialogue between all the elements here, and somehow that helped chase away the shadows that would whisper when she was upset. If this was indeed Bitaly, just like Blueblood had described it, she wished they had had enough time during the loops to have visited at least once. Maybe if she ever saw him again, he could indulge her and they could go sailing together.

She had to stop and sit on one of the several stone benches overlooking the horizon. "This is such a beautiful place, don't you think, Tiara? So different from Ponyville."

Tiara seemed a little confused by the question at first, or at least she hesitated a second, looking out over the water before answering.

"Worlds apart," she agreed. "I remember the first time we came here. I refused to even set hoof on a boat. All I could think about were all those stories of sharks and monsters out there."

Sweetie couldn't help but giggle. "I don't blame you." Her gaze turned back to the water. "The sea is such a magnificent force of nature, with so many secrets hidden just below the surface. I think Apple Bloom once wanted to get a sailing-related cutie mark, but we couldn't find a way to get out of town, reach the sea, and head back before our sisters would notice we were gone. I think the rally call was... 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Kraken Hunters.'"

Diamond Tiara nodded but said nothing. She did give Sweetie a look out of the corner of her eye, though. One that she had to know Sweetie would notice.

"What?" Sweetie asked.

"You haven’t talked about those days, or about those two, in a while," Diamond reminded her, smirking. "Getting nostalgic?"

Sweetie's smile became a bit sad at that piece of information. "Drifting away from your friends... It’s not something I would ever wish upon anypony. Don't you wonder how Silver Spoon is doing?"

"Silver Spoon still writes," Diamond protested, but then she waved the whole affair off with her hoof. "She’s so busy, though. Wants to be Mayor some day. As if being Mayor of Ponyville takes that much effort. Puh-lease!"

Sweetie shook her head. "You never know. Organizing things, dealing with Princesses and the inevitable attack of the month by some unstoppable force? Can't be that easy."

"Being the first to flee in terror?" Diamond Tiara laughed. "But that’s Ponyville for you." Still sharing the sea view with Sweetie, she stole another quick look at her mistress. "I think about it, too, you know. Like that train ride when we left. Ugh!" She groaned. "And Daddy made me help carry your bags! ‘You’ll get used to it,’ he said. I can’t believe he was right."

Sweetie blinked, trying to reconcile the mental image of Diamond Tiara with the words 'help carry luggage.' "Yeah," Sweetie finally said, a bit shakily. "I imagine getting used to a completely different lifestyle wasn't easy."

Diamond shook her head slowly. "Not that I had much choice. But on the other hoof, I have been able to help Daddy and the company by being out here. I’ve learned a lot... Expanded my ‘network of friends’ and all that. You can never know too few ponies, or have too few of them in your pocket. If that means carrying around your bags for a few years, I guess there are worse apprenticeships in Equestria."

She smiled and laughed again, lightly and almost carefree.

"And I had it easy," she added, pointing to Sweetie. "I just had to put up with you, with all due respect. You had to learn from Lady Sand Dune! Those first few months while you were jumping through hoops, or walking those lines to ‘correct your trot,’ I was enjoying myself. Those were good times." She snickered. "At least you weren’t still a blank flank!"

Sweetie rolled her eyes, recalling her training with Fleur. "Well, I'm glad somepony enjoyed my suffering. But are you really going back to the blank flank thing? That was never a shining example of maturity, you know?"

"Maybe not, but it is as much a part of our past as Silver Spoon or Apple Bloom and Scootaloo," Tiara argued. Her smirk remained fixed on her lips. "Don’t tell me it still bothers you? The noble Sweetie Belle, still irked by the teasing of an earth pony?"

Sweetie shook her head. "It doesn't irk me as much as it would disappoint me if you still thought that way. That's hardly the type of pony you've given me the impression of being since I got here, Tiara."

"My my," Tiara tutted. "You have been bit by the nostalgia bug today, haven’t you? Is that why you decided to stand up Fortunatissimo?" She clopped a hoof on the stone floor. "Is that why you were teasing Gentle Swell the other night?"

"I was?" Sweetie shrugged. "I didn't notice." 'Who the hay is Gentle Swell?'

"You don’t need to be coy with me, of all ponies!" Tiara scooted closer and winked conspiratorially. "I’m your wingmare, after all. It comes with the ‘loyal hoofmaiden’ territory. Test your food, carry your things, manage your clothes and affairs, act as second for duels, flirt with the other guy. Right there in the job description. You had poor Swell wrapped around your hoof all night. I thought Lady Margarita was about to explode and challenge you then and there, but you were getting back at her for all the things she did to you when you first came here, right?"

Sweetie coughed. "Well. Perhaps. Maybe I should be more careful about the situations I invite, right? Wouldn't want another duel. All that posturing. Not the best idea. I'm sure Fortunatissimo will be fine, once I talk to him and explain I simply wasn't feeling up to meeting anypony at all today."

"Naturally..." Tiara acquiesced. "I am your company, either way. Actually, I’m glad you didn’t go off with him." She covered her mouth with her hoof and coughed very softly and very purposefully. "He has a reputation as a Don Juan. I know Lady Sand Dune doesn’t care, but your sister would. You know how... conservative she is by comparison."

"Well then, just as well I didn't meet him today." Sweetie nodded weakly. "But maybe it is time for us to go. We should continue our stroll. After all, the day won't last forever."

"Of course. The boardwalk isn’t far."

Sweetie nodded for Diamond Tiara to lead her there, as her mind went over their conversation. The local Sweetie was a completely different pony than herself, even allowing her relationship to her fellow Crusaders to fade away to the point that Diamond Tiara was surprised when she brought them up.

If it was true that her local self was flirting with different nobles, even married or engaged ones, she had to wonder what this Lady Sand Dune had been teaching her local self. It seemed that Sweetie Belle here was behaving more like... old Blueblood.

She did not want to be like old Blueblood. Unless the local Sweetie was still a good pony inside, but then, why would she leave so much of her old self behind? If she came from Ponyville, then she should share some similarities with the local Sweetie beyond appearance and the fact that she could walk like a noble.

Whatever the reason was that she’d been sent to this world, it must have been related to her local self.

There was no way that she could leave without at least mending that friendship. Just like that other Scootaloo had said a few worlds away: Crusaders would always be there for each other.

She shook her head. "Ugh. I need a drink. Tiara, do you know a good place to get something?"

"Most of the seafront establishments aren’t to your standards, my lady," Diamond Tiara reminded her, making a grimace that was all too familiar. "Not mine, either! But... Oh, what about that?"

Sweetie saw what she meant right away: plying the canals were shops on boats, one or two ponies with an open air set of goods on display. Up and down the canals they rowed, selling to anyone either on the canal or alongside it. Most were clearly street cuisine, just like in parts of Canterlot and Manehattan, but some catered to a middling cliente. One nearby, festooned with flags and streamers, boasted drinks from ‘east to west, and all in between.’

Tiara escorted her right to the front of the line, not bothering to even consider waiting with the other customers. Sweetie felt a bit embarrassed, but Tiara knew this place better than she did, and if that was how things went then that was how things went. What had Blueblood said? ‘Royalty has more important things to do than wait.’ He clearly wasn’t alone in embracing that sort of reasoning, at least when it was convenient.

"One of our Duchess’s hoofmaidens!" the float owner gasped, seeing Sweetie and Tiara. She clopped her hooves together and lowered her eyes for a moment. "What can I get for you, noble ladies?"

"Margarita Sunrise," Sweetie said immediately. "Don't be shy with the tequila."

"Chilled sangria," Tiara requested for herself, and she turned over to show the inside of her right hoof near the neatly trimmed fetlock. There was a small sigil there that the vendor needed only a moment to see. "The blackberry, if you would be so kind. Extra berries. Like triple the berry quotient. It should be very berry."

"This will only take a moment!" The unicorn vendor levitated cups and drinks and berries and even cut a lime for Sweetie’s margarita sunrise. She did all this with a smile, even as the boat rocked gently in the canal. The ice and the syrup for Tiara’s sangria came last and the pair of drinks floated the distance to the two mares. Diamond took hers in hoof while Sweetie captured hers in a soft magical glow.

Sweetie sipped her drink and nodded appreciatively, enjoying the refreshing taste as her mind dwelled on the reason behind being here.

What was there to do or learn?

Her last world-jump hadn't even required a fragment, and now she was stuck somewhere else without a clue on how to get out. Hopefully that wouldn't take too long. She did not want to spend years in a world where she had lost her friends.

"Sweetie Belle?"

"Hm?"

"What do you make of this?" Diamond Tiara asked, pointing to a nearby plaza with the same hoof that held her drink. Like all the public plazas here, it seemed, this one was designed around a grand statue or fountain. In this case, it was both: a statue atop a lovely fountain depicting a rearing unicorn mare with an hourglass in one hoof, raised high. Instead of sand, water could be seen within the hourglass, constantly streaming from the top to the bottom. Struggling against the mare was an armored minotaur, trying to drag her down.

"Sienna—you remember her," Tiara went on to explain. "The other day she claimed that the artist who made this, depicting the Unyielding Resolve of Singing Sand, was trying to depict both a battle of wills and a lover’s embrace. She seemed to think that Singing Sand and Iron Heart were doing the nasty on the side. I told her I didn’t quite buy it, especially with how brutally Singing Sand put down the minotaur. What do you think? Did Lady Sand Dune ever tell you anything juicy about her ancestor?"

Sweetie grimaced, thinking back to Blueblood. "You know as well as I do that nobles love to talk about their families non-stop, but they are very careful not to mention anything... specific, which might be interpreted as a stain on their illustrious history."

"But aren’t you learning some of Singing Sand’s magic?" Diamond asked, taking a quick sip from her sangria. "I’m no unicorn, but just learning magic all day seems pretty boring. I refuse to believe the great Lady Sand Dune doesn’t gossip at all. That can’t be."

Sweetie frowned. She had no idea what type of pony Sand Dune was. "Tiara, unless she was teaching me some alliteration spell that required a grander context, I doubt she'd ramble about things that you wouldn't be around to hear." She twirled her drink and looked at Diamond Tiara. "Why the sudden interest?"

Tiara was quick to answer with an evasive, "Just curious."

Sweetie thought for a moment on the conversation so far, and slowly, she started feeling a bit uneasy. She sighed when she heard Diamond Tiara take a breath.

"You know, thinking about Ponyville," Diamond Tiara began, her lips over the rim of her drink. She sipped briefly. "One thing I’ll never forget was during the changeling invasion, when we were all holed up in His Grace’s manor..." She lowered her eyes and stared at her sangria, the berries shifting around the chunks of ice. "I was hiding with Silver Spoon, but you three just had to go out and help. You couldn’t just listen to Miss Cheerilee and stay put. Do you remember that day?"

Sweetie's eyes narrowed. "It's hard to forget."

"In all my life, I’d never been so afraid." Tiara shook her head. "For all the teasing, I was always a little scared... you know, that somepony would finally just snap at me. Maybe that was part of why I did it, too, to see just how far I could push you three. I always thought it would be Scootaloo, actually. Sometimes she would just glare at me."

Tiara laughed again and took a long drink.

"But that day?" she said, and she speared Sweetie with a long look—the type that only came from somepony trying to read your face, and failing that, your thoughts. "Especially when those worms broke into the basement? I was petrified. What I never understood was why you three weren’t. I’ve been afraid of changelings ever since. I still am to this day, no matter how often we’re told to keep an eye out for them. They scare me."

"Why... are you telling me this?" Sweetie asked, her discomfort only growing by the second.

"I just want to know if I’m being unnaturally brave right now," Diamond Tiara explained. She put her drink down on the plaza floor and looked Sweetie right in the eyes. "So tell me: are you a changeling?"

Sweetie blinked and took a sip of her tequila sunrise. "You know, Tiara, there's nothing wrong with being afraid. We Crusaders were scared quite often... And the changeling invasion was a horrible thing to witness. Now, when I talked to you about Ponyville, and being there with you, and being friends with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom, I wasn’t lying. So, if I say not exactly, are you going to freak out even more?" She looked down at the plaza. "Because if my instinct is correct, you figured out I wasn't the Sweetie you knew pretty much from when we left Barocchi. Now everything depends on what you’re going to do, and where that will leave me."

"Don’t be mistaken." Diamond Tiara held up her hoof for a moment in a gesture of non-aggression. "I’m no fighter. I’m not into that dueling stuff you unicorns love so much. I’m not going to do anything."

"But I am."

Sweetie recognized her own voice well enough.

That, and the crack-snap sound of teleportation.

Turning towards the flash, she caught sight of herself falling slowly to the ground. This version wasn’t wearing a dress like in the artist’s atelier and the painting. Instead, she wore a steel cuirass much like the guards from before. It was only appropriate. She’d appeared with two of them by her side, and, like a murder of crows, more appeared on the rooftops all around the plaza.

"Tiara," Sweetie said, taking a moment to sip more of her tequila sunrise. "You were very brave indeed, but you might want to go to your mistress. I'm not sure I'd want to be standing next to me, depending on what they want to do." She winked at the earth pony. "Thanks for the drink and the talk."

"R-right," Tiara murmured, and she backed away. A second later and she galloped over to where the other Sweetie had landed. She whispered to the newly arrived Sweetie before the unicorn mare motioned for her to keep back.

Moving with all the grace of a model, the local Sweetie then started towards her.

"I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes," she said, projecting her voice confidently and loudly.

By now their corner of the plaza had been mostly vacated, but onlookers were hiding behind the statue, the fountains, and under the awnings of shops.

"There are changelings in Bitaly after all," local Sweetie announced, narrowing her bright green eyes. "At least I didn’t miss my date for nothing."

Sweetie slurped the last remaining dregs of margarita sunrise before carefully putting the glass down.

"I think you have my species confused a bit," she said, raising an eyebrow. "But, seeing you right now, I'm less impressed than I thought I'd be. So, given that you came surrounded by guards to do the dirty work for you, I assume you're going to attack with overwhelming odds?" Her eyes drifted to take stock of the amount of guards around, as well as Sweetie Belle's location, just as her body assumed a relaxed stance of I Quattri Elementi. "Just be warned: if you do attack en masse, I will defend myself, and I will not hold back."

Rather than respond right away, the local Sweetie continued to approach for a closer look at the ‘changeling.’ Walking by Sweetie’s right, she shifted her posture to keep the other her to her front. Soon, they were slowly circling one another; the sensation was all too much like when Sweetie had trained with Fleur. She knew the local Sweetie was gauging her as well.

"That’s Elementi," she finally said. "Who trained you in it?"

"Fleur," Sweetie replied. "A long time ago. Before you learned your first spell... Although, I'd venture to say I was a bit older than you at the time."

"Fleur de Lis... or Lis Dee?" Sweetie recognized the name, then. "Her?" Still, she quickly nodded and accepted the challenge. "I’m Alla Breve. You can probably guess who taught me."

"Given where we are and who your patron is, I'd be hard-pressed not to have an idea." Sweetie smiled thinly. "You seem to have all the cards in your hoof, Sweetie Belle. What's your first move?"

"It would be impolite not to ask you to surrender," she answered easily enough. "You’ll be treated fairly, despite being an enemy of Equestria. We won’t do to you what you tried to do to us."

Sweetie giggled, enjoying the unamused glint to her counterpart's eyes when she did so. "You think I'm an enemy of Equestria? What gave you that impression?"

"You’re a changeling." Sweetie saw her own face darken in a frown. This local her did not seem fond of shapeshifters. "You’re wearing my face."

"It's my face too, you know," Sweetie replied, painfully aware that it was not technically so anymore. "I'm not pretending to be you." She tilted her head, feeling annoyed. "I'd rather not pretend to be you, to be honest. I'm glad I don't have to." She snorted. "From what I gathered, you're behaving like Blueblood did before the Gala."

The local her also tilted her head, but in momentary confusion. "What?"

"Paintings of yourself, flirting about with noble ponies, fancy clothing, and that condescending undertone? Yep. That's big brother before the Gala." Sweetie smiled, having realized that she was—somehow—in the same world, if at a different time. Each world was unique, after all, and this many similarities? No. This was Blueblood's world. "In fact, I don't think he would approve."

"I don’t see what my brother-in-law has to do with any of this," the local Sweetie replied, her tone calm but with a definite undercurrent of vexation.

Something, or maybe a number of things, about this conversation was getting on her nerves. She just wasn’t about to show it.

"And a changeling is the last creature in this world fit to judge me," she went on to say, never breaking the tempo of her circling. "I am a noble mare, like my sister, like my teacher. The one who doesn’t belong here is you. No changeling will ever be welcome in Equestria after the horrors you and your allies unleashed, and we will never let you worm your way into power over us again! That is the only topic that bears discussion here."

She abruptly stopped, swirling pale green magic circling her horn and pooling into an ever-growing star field. Green, the same color as her eyes.

Not everypony had a magical hue that matched their eyes. Blueblood had called her lucky once, because of it. Now this version of her was building it up for some sort of potent spell, and the lucky spell color took on an ominous tone.

"Surrender," the noble Lady Belle hissed, just faintly baring her teeth in challenge. "Or I will subdue you."

Sweetie narrowed her eyes and analyzed her counterpart's movements before relaxing her own stance. "You're adorable, Sweetie Belle. But after this nice stroll around town, and seeing the sea for the first time ever, I'd rather not destroy the landscape." She threw her mane back and raised her head, the very image of a noble mare. "Very well, I yield."

"A wise move," Sweetie told her other self, and she motioned to the looming pegasus cadre that surrounded them. "I might be new to fighting changelings, but I’ve made more than a few ponies pay for underestimating me."

Sweetie shrugged. "It seems like the best way to avoid trouble. After all, the last time I got into a serious, life-or-death fight in this world, one of the opponents used a five alliteration spell." She paused and gave her other self a look. "I'm sure you'd be up to par, right?" She winked at the local Sweetie Belle. "Well, lead the way."

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle placed a hoof against the transparent magical barrier, rippling waves radiating from the point of contact and across the plane of force. It didn’t hurt to push against it, at least, but that didn’t make the walls of her prison cell any more permeable.

It was solid, but nopony had been creative or sadistic enough to add an electricity or fire spell to the mix. She pressed a little harder, her hoof flattening against the barrier, but there was no give. Not even a little. Which meant physical force wasn’t going to be an option if it came to breaking out.

Her cell was actually a rather interesting magical construct from a purely academic point of view. Basically, it was a cube made out of a few layers of interlocking barriers. Within the cell, she could use her magic to lift a cup of tea, and even warm it, but the shields wouldn't allow her to levitate the same cup if it was outside. Even the floor was just another plane of force, once again making her quite glad that it didn’t have any malicious spellwork attached.

Still, given the way it was constructed, and the limitations of the barriers themselves, as well as the required stability of the prison, not to mention her very different skills and magic, she was pretty sure she could escape if things went sour...

However, escaping might be the wrong thing to do, since the more guilty she looked, the less leverage for real freedom she would have.

Inside the cell, she had all the basics: a bed, a table, a chair and a small lavatory. Nothing too nice, but as cells went, it wasn't half bad. Actually, just from personal experience, she knew it could have been a heck of a lot worse! As it was, the inherent need ponies in this universe had to be overly polite to enemies of certain threat levels had guaranteed that she would be comfortable, if not lavished with the latest literature and a wine cellar of her own.

This was a prison for another noble pony, not some random changeling off the street... or at least so she thought. No one would leave a fairly high quality saucer with a cup and tea for a changeling, would they? Especially since the changelings here seemed pretty reviled.

Sweetie frowned. "This place really does need a wine cellar."

Her attention was drawn to the stone floor and walls beyond the barriers, as well as the small window that allowed enough light to go through to give the room less of a dreary look, but wasn’t big enough to let her see outside. Her magic couldn’t penetrate the barriers, but she could still hear the whispering voices of the rocks and the cheerful banter of the wind, blowing from the sea. Beyond, she could hear the waves, but not the water itself. That made her captivity less intimidating, but the fact that they would go to such extremes meant that they probably intended her to be here for a while.

Sweetie sighed and sat down, biting down on an apple that had been provided for her incarceration, part of an ironic ‘welcome to prison’ fruit basket. Chewing slowly and thoughtfully, her thoughts went back to herself, or rather, her local self.

How had she grown up to be such a pompous jerk? It's like she had been turned into a sponge and absorbed all that she hated from Diamond Tiara into herself, leaving Tiara almost pure and unblemished.

She would have words with Blueblood. Oh yes.

Spoiling? Good. Spoiling rotten? Not good.

This filly seemed to have forgotten where she came from, who her friends were and what traits were admired by those she used to be around. Sweetie very much doubted that Rarity would have turned into somepony like that.

The door to the cell block picked that very moment to open, the iron grate moving apart like two pairs of screws or a jaw full of interlocking steel teeth. The metal retreated into the walls and a faint shimmer crackled in the air. A moment later and a familiar-looking hoof clopped against the floor, preceding a white leg and a mare’s body. Her body.

As if summoned by her earlier thoughts, the local Sweetie Belle entered the prison wearing the same cuirass from before, but now with a gaudy cloak over her sides and flank. It was a pure white with ruffled lavender edging, fixed around her throat with a silver chain and tiny, bead-like pearls. She held her horn and chin high as she entered, projecting confidence and superiority, the long curls of her mane bouncing softly. Diamond Tiara followed immediately behind her, wearing a smaller but very similar cloak and a notebook affixed to a chain around her neck.

She was also carrying a pillow in her teeth, and she hustled to place it down on the floor ahead of her mistress. Tiara then stood back and the local Sweetie Belle gracefully took her seat.

"Well then," she said, observing her imprisoned doppelganger. "I trust the accommodations are sufficient? You are not uncomfortable?"

Sweetie Belle shrugged from within the prison. "Eh, it'll do for now. But really? The cuirass? Who are you trying to impress this time? With me behind this seemingly indestructible cage and you safely outside, I doubt there's such need for pomp." She took a bite of her apple. "I mean, I get that it was probably drilled into you as you grew up, but still..." She snorted. "Also, I liked the Crusader cape better."

The Sweetie Belle outside blinked her green eyes and shook her head after a moment. "You misjudge my intentions. I merely wish to know where the other changelings are. I will take this cuirass off when they are found and in captivity alongside you."

"Sorry, not the sort of changeling you're looking for." Sweetie finished the apple and considered eating a pear, before shaking her head and looking at her counterpart. "If there are any changelings here, I have no idea who they are or where. Besides, your idea of what I am is way, way off target."

"Is it?" the other Sweetie wondered. "But where are my manners? Can you tell me your name, at least?"

"Sure! I do apologize for the delay and utter disregard for protocol." Standing up, and bowing just like Fleur had taught her, Sweetie smiled. "Sweetie Belle, at your service. Best friend of Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, taught at school by Miss Cheerilee, younger sister to Rarity and adoptive sister of..." She grinned. "Your brother-in-law. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, I'm sure."

"You insist on keeping up your charade," the other Sweetie replied with a soft, ladylike sigh. "Very well, I will humor you. Since you are Sweetie Belle, I can play the role of Lady Belle. I don’t think I need to reiterate my background or my titles."

"Your... titles?" Sweetie shook her head. "I have been wondering about that, to be honest. What happened to you, Sw—Lady Belle? Titles never had any importance for us. I know that Blueblood insisted everypony be addressed properly—"

"Why do you keep mentioning my brother-in-law?" Lady Belle's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Tell you what." Sweetie grinned. "Ask him yourself when you have the time. That way you don't have to hear my side of the story and think I'm making everything up. In fact, ask Cadance, too! Ask how she felt after she woke up. Or, Luna. Ask Luna about the whoopie cushion."

Lady Belle and Diamond Tiara exchanged a quick look. One that Sweetie knew meant something, but she couldn’t quite decipher what.

"For all the good it will do, I will pen a letter to Canterlot that we have caught a changeling wearing my skin and taking my name," Lady Belle promised. She took a long, hard look at the her inside the magical cell. "Not that it will change anything, much less your fate."

Sweetie's challenging grin grew less abrasive and more fond. "That's because you don't know him like I do," she said in a lower voice. Her eyes met her counterpart's and she smiled earnestly. "It's too bad, really."

"In the meantime," Lady Belle continued, unperturbed by Sweetie’s comments. Her ears had twitched, though, so she had heard them. "Until we get a response, why don’t you answer my questions?"

Sweetie shook her head, gathering her thoughts. "First, I want to promise you that I am not one of the changelings that attacked Canterlot, nor am I related in species to them."

"If you are not a changeling, then what are you?" Lady Belle asked, ever polite. "You clearly know about my past. You are pretending to be me. You even know about the Crusaders."

Sweetie sighed and sat down again, looking Lady Belle in the eye. "Changelings are not very good at knowing about a pony's past to the extent that I know yours, so that should give you a hint. They'll copy a pony's behaviour to a degree, but their emphasis is always on getting what they want, while pretending to be somepony they're not. Case in point, Chrysalis acted completely different than Cadance."

"Some are more skilled than others," Lady Belle reminded her, "and you’re clearly not a common drone. Prior to the invasion, many changelings had infiltrated Equestria for months, some for years. That you are good at your job doesn’t convince me of anything other than your cunning and audacity. After all, Chrysalis posed as Cadance—in front of the Princesses, in front of Twilight’s family, in front of her own brother—for how long?"

"Almost a year," Diamond Tiara supplied the answer. "Nopony is sure, but there are many theories."

"Chrysalis..."—Sweetie grimaced—"was a crafty one. But she was nothing like Princess Cadance. Twilight would not be fooled by her, Blueblood had a very long fight with Cadance, and they tended to avoid each other for years, so it would be no surprise if he didn't catch on, and as for Celestia..." She shrugged. "Princess Celestia being fooled is harder to explain, but you'll have to concede the point that if I were trying to really pretend to be you, I'd be more... you. And less me! You can ask Diamond Tiara: the reason she caught on so easily was because I wasn't pretending to be you. If I'm as crafty as you say, then I wouldn't have been caught so quickly. No offence, DT."

"Tiara?" Lady Belle prompted.

"There were some fairly... obvious... differences in behavior," Diamond answered, lowering her eyes at being shoved suddenly into the spotlight. "She acts more like you did when we just arrived, maybe?"

"Then that explains it," Lady Belle decided. "A changeling acting on outdated intelligence."

Sweetie burst out laughing. "Oh wow, I am dense in this world!"

"HEY!" Lady Belle blurted out, but she quickly coughed into her hoof and composed herself. "I am not."

Sweetie smiled at the reaction. "Sorry, no outdated info. I'll clear some things up, first. You asked me what I was? I'm a pony changed into a fae. Another world, basically, with counterparts all over the multiverse. In essence, I am you, in this world, up to the Gala. In others, past Discord and Sombra... Have you heard those names here?"

"Discord and Sombra, of course. That was years ago, before I left Ponyville," Lady Belle replied, motioning to Diamond Tiara, who began writing on the notebook hanging from her neck. "Before we left Ponyville, I mean. And you mentioned a gala. Which gala?"

"The one where Sis and Blueblood fell in love, of course," Sweetie said.

"Luna’s Gala?" Lady Belle asked. "That would have to be the one... But everypony knows about my sister and His Grace and how she became a Baroness. A book was written about Sis—about my sister—only last year. This is no secret."

"A book?" Sweetie grinned, sensing an opportunity. "Let me see. I'm sure the book mentioned that the day of the gala, we woke up when Sis screamed her lungs out because of Opalescence. And then, I'm also sure that the book mentioned that we were late for class, and that Scootaloo got me and Apple Bloom into an accident involving ducks crossing the road, or that we landed in the trash and Diamond Tiara's exact words at the time were—"

"'Hey, Blank Flanks,'" Diamond Tiara recalled the words, saying them in her own voice, "'Why don't you go dig around some more in the trash for your cutie marks?’ Something like that, I think."

"'Hey, Blank Flanks!'" Sweetie repeated the words with her best nasal Diamond Tiara impression. "'Why don't you go dig around some more in the trash for your cutie marks? I'm sure you can find something that'll fit you just fine!' Followed by the usual laughing from Silver Spoon, of course."

"Sweetie," Diamond said quietly, before leaning over to whisper something in Lady Belle’s ear.

Lady Belle merely nodded and closed her eyes for a few long seconds.

"I remember most of that, yes," she finally admitted, and she opened her eyes to re-examine the Sweetie in the cell. "Rarity screaming because of Opal, that stupid trash... Actually, it’s all coming back to me. What a terrible morning!" She briefly gagged before catching her impropriety. "Okay," she added, then she grimaced. "I mean, very well. Color me impressed. But if you are me, what happened later in the day?"

Sweetie shrugged. "I don't remember."

"You don’t remember?" Lady Belle repeated, just to be sure she heard right.

"In my own world, we took an exam on unicorn history," Sweetie explained. She frowned, trying to recall the original way things had gone instead of the thousands of other days she’d spent in the Gala time loops. "Twilight polymorphed a pair of mice into horses... They escaped?" Her shoulders slumped for a second as she realized she couldn’t really remember. So instead, she shrugged again. "I’d bet things played out differently here. Blueblood had this whole thing planned, but I was gone before it happened."

"I see. And you really think my sending a letter to Canterlot will mean somepony will come and set you free?" Lady Belle asked, incredulous. "Do you know what the changelings did to him?" She frowned as well, but it was a sharper, deeper frown than the caged Sweetie’s. "What they did to us?"

"I don't know what they did to you," Sweetie said, her eyes softening. "I was never near Ponyville when they attacked. I was helping Blueblood, Cadance and Princess Luna free him from a trap that Chrysalis' servant had him ensnared in. I couldn't stay, and I wanted to help more, but..." She looked away. "I couldn't stay. I didn't know what happened to him after that until you confirmed he was alive."

Lady Belle craned her neck slightly, examining her captive counterpart with a discerning eye. A hoof rose to her mouth, dabbing at her chin as she thought. Sweetie watched herself watching herself. It was all still kind of surreal.

"I don’t think I believe you," she said at length, but added in the same breath, "though I will write the letter and give you a chance to prove your story. I am a fair mare, after all."

"Thank you, I guess... I just have one more question, if you would answer it for me."

"Ask it, and I’ll decide if I want to answer," Lady Belle replied.

"You still like musical theatre, right? Tell me you didn't get your cutie mark for singing Sapphire Shores songs."

Lady Belle’s frown ebbed away and she even broke into a small smile. "No. Though I did meet Sapphire Shores several times. Actually, I earned my cutie mark when Blueblood sent a pony down from Canterlot to perform. He insisted she stay in the room next to mine."

Sweetie's eyes were wide and she leaned forward, truly interested. "Who was it? Was it... Was it Octavia?"

"Octavia Melody, yes," Lady Belle answered, with a look of confusion. "How did you guess?"

Sweetie's grin wouldn't go away. "Blueblood got me in contact with her and she taught me to play the cello." She laughed. "I'm glad it was her that helped you out," she said honestly, relaxing into her chair. "No matter what happens, it seems that some things are meant to be."

"But our cutie marks are different," Lady Belle reminded her, and she pointed very briefly in the direction of her captive self’s hindquarters.

"Regardless, they came from music, and Octavia was a big part of that. For whatever reason, be it destiny or chance, she’s a big influence for both of us, here and in other places, in the end." Sweetie nodded.

"The similarities are uncanny," Diamond Tiara noted.

Lady Belle’s frown returned and she directed it, however briefly, at her earth pony assistant and one-time tormentor. "Yes, uncanny," she agreed. Rising from her pillow, she sighed. "You’ll have to excuse me a moment. Tiara, continue the interrogation in my stead."

"Of course," Diamond said, nodding with her pen still in her mouth.

Lady Belle left much as she had entered, head held high and with formal poise. Her tail sashayed back and forth behind her, the curls just a few inches above the floor.

"It seems you upset her," Diamond Tiara explained, once Lady Belle was gone from the room. She turned back to the cell. "Before she returns, I’d be happy if you could answer some questions for me."

Sweetie blinked. "Why do I feel like I'm being interviewed for a job?"

Diamond tittered, having to use a hoof to keep the pen from falling out of her mouth. "Oh no, I’m much, much harder on ponies I interview. This is just a simple, casual interrogation."

"Fair enough. Hey, do you still like apple walnut muffins? I like the fruit, but I would love one of those, especially if it's one of Pinkie's." Sweetie's eyes widened. "Does Sugarcube Corner export to Bitaly?"

Tiara shook her head. "Sorry. Only Ponyville products out here are a few Barnyard Bargains stores, and even those weren’t around until I got here." She tapped her left cheek. "Muffins aren’t huge down here like they are back home... but I think I can arrange for something. Actually, yes, I know a good place."

"That's great!" Sweetie nodded in thanks. "Okay, shoot, Tiara. What do you need to know?"

"Like Lady Belle said, we need to know what other changelings are in the city or in the countryside," Tiara said. Before Sweetie could object, she added, "I know you aren’t a changeling. You’re a fay? Fae? Fay. But if you do know anything, I’d appreciate you telling me. There’s been some... hysteria lately about changelings. Ponies are on edge. Lady Sand Dune herself is concerned.

"But"—Tiara nibbled on her pen—"those things you remembered. I hadn’t even thought about all of that in a long time."

"I don't live in the same timeline as you. For me, that happened... a lot more recently. Only a couple of years at most." Sweetie frowned. "Why is everypony so worried about changelings invading Bitaly? Didn't you beat them back? From what I've learned in our conversation, if there are any changelings around, there probably aren’t nearly enough to be a threat to anypony here."

"Changelings are always a threat." Diamond Tiara stamped a hoof at the mere thought of them. "The Hives were devastated after the Battle of Canterlot—their Queens were killed, but some escaped, and they’ve been causing trouble here and there ever since. A few years ago, a group that fled to the north even tried to instigate a war between Equestria and Crown Roc! That’s why, whenever we find them, we hunt them down. Who knows what kind of evil they’re up to here in Bitaly?"

Sweetie sighed. "I can't argue with you on that. My experiences with changelings here were always... negative." She shook her head. "Honestly, Tiara, if I knew about any changelings here I would tell you. I wouldn't want Lady Belle or anypony else here to be their victim, but I just arrived today."

"In the suite where Lady Belle was having her portrait done?" Tiara guessed.

Sweetie nodded. "The portrait needed an honest smile. That's all I have to say about it." She grinned. "You know, I never really thought I'd have an easier time talking to you than to myself."

"Lady Belle has been through a lot. Leaving Ponyville wasn’t easy for her and she wasn’t exactly happy to have me along instead of Apple Bloom or Scootaloo. And... I didn’t do much to endear myself to her at first." Tiara actually looked and sounded contrite, her ears folded back and a look of regret on her face. "Give her some time."

"It probably wasn’t easy on you either, though, was it?" Sweetie asked. "The Diamond Tiara I knew... Well, uh..." She was kind of a bitch, but Sweetie didn’t exactly want to say as much.

"You remember I thought I was a pretty big deal back in Ponyville?" Tiara asked. "The richest girl in town, the prettiest cutie mark, the filly everypony wanted to be around?"

"I do remember that. Not exactly the words I would use, but close enough."

Despite herself, Tiara smiled at the memory. "I was the prettiest young mare in town, too. You, or my Sweetie, she had a crush on this colt, Pipsqueak, so of course I tried to steal him from her!" Tiara sighed wistfully. "Good times."

"Pipsqueak? That little colt from Trottingham?" Sweetie blinked. "The one with the Luna crush?"

Tiara rolled her eyes at the reminder of that little personality quirk. "The one with the Luna crush, yes." She coughed. "But it wasn’t about him, it was about annoying you. I never really liked you, you know? I liked your sister... But anyway, let’s just say we weren’t on the best of terms when we left. Daddy warned me, too. He tried to prepare me for the trip, but I refused to listen. I figured I’d go to Bitaly and—hoofmaiden or not—I’d be the prettiest and most popular filly in the court."

Sweetie shook her head. "Court doesn't work that way... It must have been a really hard time for you."

"Do you know anything of noble courts?" Tiara asked, shaking her head at her own foalishness. "Especially unicorn courts? Hard time just scratches the surface."

"I attended a couple of court sessions with Blueblood and I've seen other courts," Sweetie said softly. "I'm afraid that being a unicorn, it was simply a drag for me, rather than an experience where I learned much. I was much younger and a lot more naive back then."

Diamond Tiara nodded, understanding, at least in part. "Sweetie was much the same way. Rarity had coached her on how to act and behave, but she wanted an adventure when she arrived. She thought Sand Dune would be just like her sister. But Lady Sand Dune is very strict and very demanding. She isn’t cruel, mind you, but she expects excellence in all things and she has no tolerance for ineptitude. She had made a deal with Lady Rarity, so no matter how clumsy Sweetie was, it wasn’t like she’d be expelled from court... but that first year, she struggled. She struggled a lot."

Sweetie frowned, thinking about her counterpart's attitude. No wonder she acted like that, guarded and ready to stomp down any trace of her old personality. It had been ironed out of her with peer pressure, high expectations, and a task master. It must be almost painful for her to meet 'herself' with a more carefree attitude.

"As for myself," Tiara continued, "let’s simply say that I was not accorded the respect that I thought was my due. My rich daddy was far away and no one cared about him. Money didn’t matter to the other fillies, only standing, and that you have to fight for. The other earth pony fillies were the worst. You’d think they’d be more understanding, but it was the exact opposite! Everypony picked on me because I was new. A new foreign filly. New money. Too new to know what to say and what to do and who was important. They even made fun of my cutie mark!

"Can you believe that?" she all but exclaimed, pointing to her tiara cutie mark in obvious disbelief. She nonetheless shrugged it off a second later. "I guess it goes to show you nopony is immune. Through it all, I had to learn to adapt. I couldn't just go running back to Ponyville with my tail between my legs. Besides, Daddy needed me here to help the family business, and for an earth pony, nothing is more important than family."

Tiara smirked. "At some point... Sweetie and I started talking instead of ignoring each other. I guess we both realized we had enough enemies and rivals—we didn’t need to fight amongst ourselves, too." She smiled, a broad, genuine smile having finally come to a positive part of her story. "We became friends. We'd found somepony we could trust."

Sweetie chuckled. "No wonder you caught on so quickly that I wasn't her. I thought at first it was that I was too obvious, but I think you'd have caught on even if I had been trying to act like her."

Diamond Tiara didn’t respond to that. She just smiled and looked down at her hooves. It was about then that Sweetie noticed a faint blush on the earth pony’s cheeks.

"Being alert for changelings is just part of the job, that’s all," Tiara muttered.

Sweetie shook her head, but didn't stop smiling. "Whatever you say, Tiara."

"Well, enough about us!" Diamond declared, then she paled slightly. "I mean me! Enough about me!" She flipped the pen around from the left to the right side of her mouth. "Let’s hear what you know about the changelings. Anything you can tell me is better than nothing!"

Sweetie sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you all I know about changelings, Tiara, but it's probably a lot less than you already know."

o.0.o

Sweetie lay in bed, staring at the faintly shimmering ceiling of her barrier cell and considering her day so far.

The interrogation by Diamond Tiara had not shed any new light on the situation of the world. Plenty of complaining about the court, reminiscing, and even a light jab at Silver Spoon's glasses, but nothing that would allow her counterpart to trust her. Probably, Tiara had been told to divulge as little real information as possible while gaining as much as possible. Whatever else Diamond Tiara was, she wasn’t an idiot, neither before nor after her time in the cutthroat court of Bitaly. She’d picked her words well.

Still, if anything positive could be said about Chrysalis’ indoctrination and training, it was that the spymasters had taught Sweetie very well to pick up hints and body language. Innocuous comments or too-carefully worded replies told almost as much as straightforward answers could, and Sweetie had been trained for two years by the best infiltrators in this world.

It was clear that the battle with the changelings had not been as decisive as ponies wanted to pretend. That one, they hadn't even tried to hide, given that they were pretty much convinced that Sweetie herself was involved. But the unrest, the fear... It told her that whatever remnants of the changeling hives were left, they were active, and they had probably attempted more attacks or tried to re-establish control of their territories.

She hadn't found out many specifics about the battle of Canterlot, but it seemed a lot more violent and involved than the one she had experienced when she had still been a filly.

Sweetie snorted.

Since when had she stopped thinking of herself as a filly? How long had she not been one? Probably longer than Lady Belle.

She snorted again, growing aggravated.

The pretentious git, coming in with lines about how she was a noble and her sister and brother-in-law were nobles. Had she truly forgotten her origins? Was it any surprise that they had just about ended up in a fight?

Sweetie pouted, thinking more on her attitude towards herself that morning.

Looking at it from an impartial point of view, there were probably two sides to the blame game. Lady Belle might’ve been a git, but maybe it was partly Sweetie’s own fault, too, for being so aggressive and judgemental towards the local Sweetie. It wasn't her life after all, not this one... though maybe it could have been, once upon a time, if things had been different. It also seemed like her local version had had a hard time at court, trying to live up to expectations. Chances were that, had she herself not been catapulted into the multiverse, she might have ended up being worse.

On top of that, what had her trip across worlds gotten her? She was a monster in appearance, inequine, and wasn’t that the root and the cause of so much of this current trouble?

If she had shown up looking like her original self, her natural self, her... real self, then who knows how everypony would’ve reacted. They probably would have still accused her of being a changeling.

It was this body of hers. Even Bon Bon couldn't live outside with her true form, lest Ponyville as a whole attack her and most likely end up hurting Lyra as well. Maybe that's why she was so angry with Lady Belle.

Lady Belle was no monster. She had only had to deal with noble families and infighting at court, which was draining at the best of times and would make most ponies callous. That alone had been enough to change Lady Belle’s personality, while Sweetie herself...

Everypony wanted her to be carefree and happy all the time, despite everything that had happened to her. They looked at her as if she still was that little filly sitting at the library and struggling to lift a cup of tea with a levitation spell.

Why couldn't they understand that she had grown? That she was a different filly? Sweetie almost growled. She had learned more magic. She could fight—she had combat spells and moves that could utterly destroy her opponents. She could see that whatever this Lady Belle had gone through, it had never included being chased by hordes of monsters and having to fight them back and kill them. She was willing to bet that this Sweetie Belle wouldn't dare look the Beast in the eye and challenge it. This Sweetie Belle wouldn't have died over and over in a labyrinth of death!

And yet, she, Sweetie Belle, slayer of monsters, apprentice to evil knights, demonic queens, spymasters, dueling experts, musicians, singers, nobles... She had to be happy. No. Not just happy. She had to be innocent. She had to be able to smile and that smile had to reach her eyes and give warmth to others who had not been in her place and had no idea what it was like, being at war!

What type of pony could go through torture, war, years repeating the same day, being transformed all the way to their soul into a parody of what they should look like... losing their home, missing their family... What type of pony could live through all that and not change at all? Why was the local Sweetie entitled to change into a spoiled brat, handed everything she could ever want, while multiverse-Sweetie had to deal with almost having murdered her mentor and almost being killed by her own sister and remain the same?

It wasn't fair. And it was even worse to see that Sweeties in all other universes were continuing their paths and lives and achieving something while she was stuck meeting ponies anew or convincing them that she meant them no harm, just long enough to be flung into another world to repeat the process. They weren’t any more Sweetie, any more deserving of a real life, than she was.

It was true that she had had no plans for her future when she had become Twilight's apprentice, but so what? She had been too young! She hadn’t even known that her talents were in music, or that she had to plan anything so early in her life. She could have been a famous singer, or an actress. She could have been a magical engineer, with her gift for spell matrices. But no... NO. She had messed up—messed up just once—and it had taken away her own future and Twilight's. And now, she couldn't even contemplate a future, since there was no foreseeable end to her journeys. What else would she become?

Sweetie hit the pillow with her hoof. Why didn't she get paintings done of herself? Why didn't she have Diamond Tiara as a hoofmaiden or even a friend? Why— Why couldn't she have grown up with Blueblood as a brother-in-law? Why couldn't she have kept her big brother and sister instead of being trapped in this stupid, neverending journey to maybe, maybe save Twilight Princesses knew when and Princesses knew how? Why couldn't Blueblood have escaped with her? Was it so much to ask to have have somepony, anypony, with her? Somepony that knew what was going on and understood her?

She turned onto her side, trying to fight back the tears she could feel running down her nose.

"It's not fair," she whispered. "It’s just not..."

A grinding sound interrupted her thoughts as the iron teeth that served as the door to the prison block opened wide. Sweetie craned her neck to check and see who her visitor was before quickly turning around, leaving her back to the door. It was Diamond Tiara again, and for some reason, Sweetie didn’t want her one-time tormentor to see how she probably looked at the moment.

"Sweetie Belle," Diamond Tiara greeted in an amiable tone. "Breakfast time. Go ahead and put it through the field."

"Yes, madame."

Sweetie’s ears prickled at the sound of another voice. Tiara hadn’t come alone? It was probably the serving mare again. She heard a gentle fizzing sound as the enchanted meal platter passed through the barriers into her cell.

"I have some news," Tiara added, and there was a pause, probably as the earth pony sat down. "Lady Belle has written your letter, but it will take some time to reach Canterlot. In the meantime, Lady Sand Dune has heard of your capture and is flying back home to see you for herself. I thought you should know and be prepared."

"Oh, joy of joys," Sweetie Belle snorted. "I'll be polite, but I just hope she doesn't intend to turn me into Lady Belle 2.0."

"Lady Sand Dune is an unwavering opponent of changelings, both inside and outside our borders. I’ll admit I am a bit worried for you," Tiara told her with a soft sigh. "It would be smart to get your story straight, and yes, please do be polite. She is a very powerful mare and rather protective of... Lady Belle. She’ll probably also want to study your illusion in more detail. You seem resistant to the magic spells Twilight developed."

"Well, as long as she doesn't become violent or really try to torture me, we'll be okay," Sweetie surmised. Then she smiled, recalling the words of Lady Belle the day before. "I might not look it, but I’ve made more than a few monsters pay for underestimating me."

"Fair enough..."

"Madame, may I be excused?" the servant asked.

"Yes, go ahead," Diamond Tiara said. After the servant was gone, she spoke up again. "Is something wrong?"

Sweetie shook her head, wiping her face before turning around. "No. Nothing... but there's something you should know, Tiara. My illusion is not a lie—it's a reflection of my real self. If Sand Dune tries to rip it apart and manages to do so, it would be like ripping my soul." She leveled her eyes at her counterpart's hoofmaiden. "Worse, it would be a violation of my soul. As much as I don't want to start a real fight, she can't do that to me. I won't let her."

Diamond Tiara pointed to her rather hornless forehead. "I’m not exactly much of a magic type, you know. Numbers and finance I can help with, but magic? Not so much. But what you’re saying is that this isn’t, like, a magical appearance on top of your real one?" She clearly paused to pick a more diplomatic way of describing it. "If it's still an illusion, would you look...different?"

Now facing Diamond Tiara, Sweetie took a deep breath.

"It's not even a real transformation, like with changelings..." Sweetie started slowly. "It's just so complicated that if you touched my coat, it would feel like real fur, and all your senses would tell you that I'm Sweetie Belle in body. It's a blanket that protects me, and dropping it... it's hard. Even surrounded by ponies I trust, it's like I'm exposing myself like a piece of meat ready to be cut into pieces. As if something precious were being taken away from me and I could never get it back."

Diamond Tiara's expression grew slightly horrified. "But what you're describing sounds—" She cut herself short, apparently unable to even continue.

Sweetie looked away. "I’ve only shown my true self to a few ponies... It's not something I enjoyed, and even if I trust them with my life, it's hard to show them what I am now."

Diamond Tiara grimaced. "A... fay?"

Sweetie smiled bitterly. "Whatever you call it, whatever I am, I’m not a pony anymore. Sweetie Belle and yet not." Her eyes grew hard. "I'll fight anypony that just wants to force me to expose myself like that."

"You would be a bit hard-pressed to break through your prison," Diamond Tiara said softly, walking around it. "I heard this type of cell was originally designed to hold Twilight Sparkle, or a pony of similar power. You can't tell me you’re as powerful as she is."

Sweetie chuckled. "Of course not, but I'm pretty sure that, if I wanted to, I could get out. A prison like this requires a very delicate balance of magic... On the other hoof, without going into detail, I'd rather stay here and prove I'm not an enemy than escape and make you all think I am."

Diamond Tiara blinked at the bold statement. "You seem very sure of yourself."

After a pause, Sweetie explained, "What else do I have? I need to be patient." She sat down and warmed some water with magic so that she could prepare some tea to have with her meal. "If Lady Belle sent that letter, patience and endurance are going to be my allies more than desperate fights."

"You could just be trying to scare me," Diamond Tiara countered, although her demeanor betrayed the comment as more of an afterthought than a real challenge.

"To what end, Tiara?" Sweetie asked with a sigh, pausing in her meal. "You’ll be telling Lady Sand Dune and Lady Belle all that we've talked about, but so far you're the closest thing I have to a friend and ally here."

"I am?" Tiara stopped and shook her head. "Well, I guess I might be."

Diamond Tiara took a seat while Sweetie went back to her meal in silence. There was a companionable sort of energy in the room: an unspoken understanding that lasted the whole meal that made both young mares simply feel comfortable with each other for the time being.

Finally, when Sweetie was done, Diamond Tiara asked, "Was breakfast to your liking?"

"It was delicious," Sweetie said. "Thank you." She glanced at Diamond Tiara. "I have to admit, I'm a bit curious about why you're still here."

"My Lady bid me to attend to you," Tiara answered. Seeing the other mare roll her eyes, she continued, "And I asked to. I didn’t like seeing the two of you fighting before anyway. My talking to you makes you happier, her happier and me happier. And a happy prisoner is less likely to cause trouble."

Sweetie blinked, surprised at the straightforward answer. "Well, that... makes perfect sense."

"Unless there’s somepony else you’d rather chat with?" Tiara winked rather teasingly. "Pipsqueak, maybe? He could read you his latest Luna Letter! Or that script he’s working on for I Dream of Lunie."

Sweetie chuckled. "I don't think I'm quite prepared to read those yet."

"I didn’t think so!" Tiara smiled rather brightly. "I guess I’ve stopped seeing you as a changeling and more as... somepony. I don’t want to see you treated like something you aren’t. Plus, I think Lady Sand Dune will reward me for getting information out of you! So"—she leaned forward towards the barrier cell—"if it's true that you have been to other worlds, have you met me in them?"

Sweetie laughed, despite herself. "Very well, I'll tell you about a world where everypony we know was the opposite sex. Including you."

Diamond Tiara's eyes went wide. "You met yourself as a male?"

"Yes," Sweetie said. "And although he was young, I can tell you... he's probably grown up to be a mare-magnet."

"Wait!" Diamond Tiara gasped. "What about me? Was I also a mare-magnet?"

Sweetie smirked. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know?"

o.0.o

Their conversation lasted for a while, but just as Sweetie was about to get to the best part, it was cut short by the soft click of a gaslight knob, the gentle white light of the prison cell block shifting into a painful reddish-orange.

Diamond Tiara, her mouth still open mid-sentence, slowly turned around in her seat. Blue eyes widened as it began to dawn on her that something was amiss. Watching her closely, Sweetie also couldn’t help but look around in dawning confusion. The lights hadn’t changed color before except to dim in what she could only guess to be mimicry of the daylight outside.

"What’s... going on?" Diamond asked, and she bopped her forehead with her hoof for asking a question nopony here could possibly answer. She turned to Sweetie. "I’ll only be a moment."

"Whatever it was, it wasn’t me," Sweetie promised, raising her hooves up in a placating manner. Still, she got up on all fours and paced the edge of her cell facing the door while Tiara stepped over to the jaw-like metal grate.

Sweetie narrowed her eyes for a second, as a thought came to mind: it was the design of the outer cell doors. The inner ones were interlocking magical barriers, which made sense when you wanted to negate magic and contain something seamlessly. The issue was why bother with the interlocking metal lattice for the outer door connecting the cell room with the prison block? Even when it was closed, there was about enough room to squeeze a dainty hoof through the bars. Why have a system that totally encapsulated a prisoner and surround it with one with a bunch of holes?

"Hello?" Diamond Tiara called to anypony outside in the hallway connecting Sweetie’s cell to the prison block beyond. "Gentle Breeze? Ser Latchkey? Is anypony out there?"

Sweetie’s ears flattened against her head as she picked up a soft whine.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

"Oh!" Diamond Tiara smiled to herself as she saw something flashing—a light blinking, outside in the hall. "Blink-blink-blink, pause, and then three more. That’s the emergency signaling system."

"What does it mean?" Sweetie pressed, leaning up against her shimmering cell wall. "It must be code for something."

"Of course it’s code for something!" Diamond Tiara trotted back to where she had left her notepad on the floor, the very same that she had carried around her neck earlier. Holding it up with one hoof, she flipped to the back pages and a double-length sheet unfolded.

Brushing a pink and white bang of her mane out of her eyes, she began to scan the document, apparently for the first time. Sweetie could see the expression on her face slowly shift from casual concern to dawning shock to the sort of fear preceded—like an earthquake—by bodily tremors. Diamond Tiara’s lips parted as her jaw went slack.

"Tiara?" Sweetie asked, trying to not press her face up against the barrier. "Mind sharing the good news?"

"There’s... There must’ve been a breakout somewhere in this pillar of the prison," she haltingly explained, licking her lips anxiously as she double checked the translation document for the light-codes. "This is not good. Lord Sand Stone must have initiated a lockdown."

"A breakout?" Sweetie took a step back from the magical barrier and turned her eyes towards the interlocking iron teeth that separated her cell from the hall. "Tiara, I don’t think I’ve asked this before, but now that I think about it, I didn't get to see what it looked like from the outside in that sealed chariot you brought me in on. This is just a normal prison, right?"

The earth pony mare shook her head. "Ah, no! No, not at all. This is the Quartz Family’s maximum security prison. It’s, well, it’s mostly a prison for monsters."

"Monsters?"

"Changelings. Rampaging minotaurs. Sky serpents. A zebra witch doctor," Diamond Tiara listed. "I think there’s a sphinx somewhere, too. And a troll! I remember hearing that there was a troll in one of the other wings. Creatures we haven’t yet exiled back to the Sunset Lands. Everything except sea monsters." She quickly looped the notepad and its chain back around her neck and headed over to the metal bars once again. "Hello? Excuse me! I’d like to be let out, please? Anypony!"

Sweetie was about to tell her to give up—

When Diamond’s prayers were apparently answered!

"Miss Tiara!" a stallion’s voice rang back, along with the clatter of armored horseshoes on stone.

"Gentle Breeze!" she called to the stallion, and Sweetie saw him a second later. Gentle Breeze was, as the name implied, a pegasus pony. His coat was a darker shade of gray and his mane sky blue. He wore a steel armored cuirass with the ruffled undershirt that Sweetie had seen before. Various derivatives of it seemed to make up the Bitalian version of the ubiquitous royal guard armor back in Canterlot and Ponyville.

"What in Equestria is going on out there?" she asked, as he gently pushed her hooves back past the metal bars.

"I don’t know!" Breeze turned to attend to something next to the doorway. Sweetie watched him as best she could. It had to be the unlocking mechanism for the metal bars. Breeze turned briefly to explain to Diamond Tiara, "But ponies are saying the chaos-cursed Black Sprite got out somehow! Lord Sand Stone’s ordered the chains ready, just in case."

"The chains?" Tiara asked, and she stepped back a hoof. "You can’t be serious?"

"We need to get you off this pillar ASAP, Miss!" Breeze seemed to hesitate a second, his teeth bared in frustration. "No, no, the old code won’t work. The emergency one is—"

"Please hurry," Tiara said, and he nodded as he worked, but she didn’t forget she wasn’t alone either. She glanced back at Sweetie. "Ser Breeze, you must know we can’t leave... our prisoner here to drop with the pillar. We need to move her to another wing of the prison!"

"Drop?" Sweetie asked, starting to catch on to something. "What do you mean, ‘drop?’"

"I can’t open any of the barriers, so there’s no point dwelling on it," Breeze gruffly replied, and he nodded to himself. With a whirr of hidden gears, the teeth of the metal door began to screw back into the wall, retracting. "Here we go!"

"Ser Breeze." Diamond held up a hoof to stop him as he reached for her. "I must insist we—"

"And I said there’s no time!" He reached for her hoof, grabbed hold, and started to drag her out. "Besides, Lady Belle would have my head if something happened to you in here!"

"No! Wait! We can’t just—" Whatever else she was going to say turned into a scream as something in the hall, a mass of gold and black, plowed into and over Ser Breeze. He roared in surprise, and a gust of wind billowed back down the hall.

"Oh, oh!" Tiara gasped, falling backwards, catching herself, and inching away from the now open doorway, her posture low to the ground and afraid. "Ser Breeze?" she called out, wincing at the sounds of fighting beyond. "Breeze?"

The snarling face of a lion leered at her from the prison hall, muzzle wet with blood. Tiara screamed, bolting for the back of the outer cell as the lion—no, a manticore—squeezed impossibly through the comparatively narrow doorway. Sweetie slammed her hooves against the magical barrier around her to try and get the creature’s attention, and it almost seemed like she had succeeded in distracting it, except the manticore snorted and...

Shrunk?

"So you’re the one who blew our cover," it murmured in a throaty, muffled voice that became more easily understood as it changed form. Bloody canines receded into a shrinking muzzle, and a thick black mane rippled and morphed into tawny yellow membrane. Paws the size of a pony’s chest melted away into jagged hooves amid a brief split-second torrent of golden fire. The last to revert in form was the manticore’s scorpion tail that whipped side to side as it withered down into a flap of yellow membrane.

What stood before the two mares was a changeling: a yellow changeling, its body longer and more sinuous, more feline, than the ones Sweetie was familiar with. With the longer body came a pair of wings that folded behind a golden carapace. Most notable of all, though, was the complete lack of a horn. The yellow changeling’s golden eyes darted between the caged Sweetie and the terrified and helpless Diamond Tiara.

"The room’s clear," it yelled over its shoulder, wiping its blood-stained mouth with the back of a black, pitted foreleg.

The fierce, animalistic changeling then stepped aside.

Behind it entered a second changeling, this one not bothering with a disguise. This one was green, more like the kind Sweetie was familiar with. The body of this changeling was black, save for some glittering green carapace around the torso, back and wings. It was taller than a normal drone as Sweetie remembered them, the body type and the extra-long horn more like... more like Chrysalis, but that couldn’t be. This changeling was still too small, too immature looking. She wasn’t Chrysalis, and yet she was so similar...

Her green eyes scanned the room, skipping Sweetie and instead focusing on the walls. "Thank the Hatcher, we got here before the matrix frequency reset." Having examined the room’s magic, only then did she set her eyes on the captive Sweetie Belle. "Are you sure this is her?" she asked, glancing back at the yellow changeling.

"This is the new changeling, isn’t it?" the yellow one hissed at the cowering Diamond Tiara.

The terrified earth pony could only nod.

"Then I’ll have you out momentarily, my young sister!" the tall green changeling declared, her horn awash with unicorn magic. She lowered her horn towards the magical runes that powered one of the barrier walls, electric green starting to eat away at them. "While I deal with this, Sever, you might as well dispose of that earth pony."

"Gladly!" The yellow changeling stalked towards Tiara, her tail alone morphing into an arachnoid stinger while the rest of her remained unchanged.

"Don't harm her!" Sweetie warned the changeling. "Don't you dare harm her!"

The yellow changeling hesitated, glancing at Sweetie in surprise.

"I'll go with you," Sweetie growled. "Although I had no intention of escaping and now my credibility is down to zero. But Diamond Tiara must be left alone."

Chrysalis' lookalike glared at her but didn't stop disrupting the spell. "Why should we let the pony live? She was going to interrogate you! She would simply watch while Sand Dune tore you apart to reveal your secrets!"

"For me, it's a personal matter." Sweetie hoped the less said, the more convincing she would sound. "For you... some mercy will go a long way if things don't work out like you planned."

"Whatever you intend to do, it's best that we do it now!" the yellow changeling called out.

"Keep her safe!" Sweetie Belle ordered, joining the other changeling in channeling magic. "I'll aid from my side, but you must keep her away from us. We are leaving her behind, unharmed!"

The Chrysalis lookalike snorted, but continued her work. "You sound like you're used to giving orders, sister."

"I'm not used to being ignored," Sweetie returned, imitating the magic across from her. Although she couldn't be sure, and this was not the way she would have escaped, she could feel the barrier tremble with their efforts. She glanced at the yellow changeling. "The moment I'm free, I'll take care of her."

She saw Diamond Tiara shiver, and tried her best to smile encouragingly as the barrier finally shimmered and dispersed, not even with a bang, but with a fizzle. "That takes care of that! But I hope you had a plan other than releasing this?"

"Of course!" the green changeling retorted, magic flaring around her as she transformed into a mare in a medical orderly uniform. "Arrangements have already been made. We'll sneak out in the confusion!" She shot Diamond Tiara a glare before leading them out into the hall. The yellow changeling followed close behind her.

Sweetie walked up to and behind the terrified Diamond Tiara and pushed against her back, gently but insistently, until they were out of the room. The changeling pair was lingering over the fallen Ser Breeze, the sight of which made Diamond Tiara feel faint. Sweetie shook her head slightly at the sight. There was nothing to be done for him now.

Instead, she looked around and motioned for Tiara to go ahead, the two disguised changelings moving behind them. Concentrating, Sweetie cast an illusion spell, making it flame around her body as she took on the appearance of Bon Bon in a nurse’s uniform. Diamond Tiara noticed and almost did a double-take at the sight.

"This is a mistake," the yellow-armored changeling hissed, baring her teeth at the trembling Tiara. The entire facility rumbled around them before she could say more, her expression turning from predatory to worried.

"No, this is fine," the changeling leader hissed. "We’ll bring her with us for now... Assurance that our new sister will come with us."

"I'd rather leave her in a cell where she'd be safe," Sweetie retorted.

"There is no safe on this rock," the green changeling corrected her, breaking into a run as she led them down the hall. "The Black Sprite is four floors down. If they can’t contain it and the other things that get loose in the confusion, they’ll drop the prison wing into the ocean’s maelstrom."

"Into the what?" Sweetie gasped. "We’re in the air?" Given the reputation of the Quartz, and their naming conventions, Sweetie had assumed they’d ship their prisoners to somewhere in the desert.

"You really have no idea?" the golden changeling asked, an amused spring in her step. "Oh, you’ll see soon enough."

Tiara tried to say something at that but no sound escaped her mouth. Her lips moved, but it was like watching a mime. Tiara realized this, too, and glared at the source of her ensorcellement.

"Silencing spell?" the changeling leader asked Sweetie, more amused than surprised.

"I'd rather not risk Tiara's safety if she were to attempt saying something that might provoke you two," Sweetie explained.

The feline changeling snorted as she trotted, now fully taking on the guise of a griffin nurse. "Your kindness will be your downfall."

"We'll see," Sweetie muttered. "Anyway, we should hurry. I have no doubt Lady Belle will be here shortly."

"Let her come; I'll tear out her tongue!" the feline changeling hissed menacingly. "Then we can see what she’s like without that voice she’s so proud of." She licked her beak with a black tongue.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. "Ponies always underestimate Sweetie Belle," she said, giving Tiara a meaningful glance.

The young changeling queen that had come to her rescue took the lead again as they came to an intersection, seemingly ignoring them. "Is that why you didn't put up a fight?" she asked as they followed her. "I heard of your capture from one of my agents."

"In part," Sweetie conceded. "But also because it's always better to be underestimated. Like I said, Sweetie Belle is always underestimated."

The group made their way down the hall until they heard the sounds of fighting, then they slowed down. A quartet of pegasus guards stomped past in full armor, followed by a stern unicorn sergeant. None paid any attention to the medical staff. It seemed they had bigger flax to fry.

"Remember to keep your wards illuminated!" the unicorn yelled, directing the stallions forward and past the unassuming mares. "And by the Princesses, don’t let it touch your shadow! This is it, gentlestallions! Go, go, go!"

"We make for the entrance as fast as possible," the lead changeling whispered, glancing back at her three followers. "Do not engage in battle unless there's no other way; we need to get to the outer ring without drawing undue attention to ourselves."

"What about her?" the yellow changeling asked, motioning with her head at Tiara.

"Nothing," Sweetie responded, glaring at them. "She'll behave until we've crossed the gates, or we’re topside, or whatever. I want to leave her for Sweetie Belle."

The lead changeling hissed under her breath, her wings momentarily flexing beneath her pony disguise. "Leave her? To talk?"

Sweetie rolled her eyes. "There’s nothing she can say that they don't already know, and Tiara is no unicorn—she has no clue how you dismantled the cage. Call it foolishness, but I consider not provoking dangerous enemies a wise move. Any damage comes to her and you're not making a statement about changeling valor, but rather a personal attack which will guarantee a witch hunt."

The changeling shook her head but remained quiet, leading them into the chaos of the outer cells. Most were empty, but the group passed by one or two where Sweetie could see trios of glowing eyes behind magically warded bars. The guards were struggling to deal with the escapes in the lower floors, particularly this ‘Black Sprite’ Sweetie had heard about before, allowing for medical and civilian personnel to escape unharmed. Or so it seemed.

"You have to let us out!" a pony cried up ahead, near the exit up to the topmost floor.

"I just saw a shadow move!" Another huddled under her hooves in terror. "Oh Princesses, the sprite is here! I just know it!"

"You can’t keep us locked in here like criminals!" another pony in a white doctor’s coat protested.

"Damnit," the lead changeling cursed, raising a hoof to those behind her. Up ahead, Sweetie could see a small group of ponies milling anxiously. None of them were guards; most likely they were doctors or psychologists or other staff who had been caught in the lockdown. Up ahead of them was a vault-like door, guarded by a pair of humorless unicorns in armor.

"No one gets in or out!" the guard to the right of the door barked. "Lord Sand Stone’s orders!"

"Lord Sand Stone isn’t locked in here with rampaging monsters!" an outspoken earth pony in a white shirt protested. "I’m a lawyer! You have to let me out!"

"If you’re a lawyer, we should probably stick you in one of the cells."

"Hey!"

"Do we try and take them?" the yellow changeling whispered as they all watched the alteration in progress.

"We won’t be able to open that door if we kill them," the green changeling snapped in reply. "There’s another way. Come on."

"Another way?" Sweetie asked as she followed. "If there’s another way out, then why are all those ponies at that exit?"

"That’s a good question," Sever, said. "Cerci, Princess, why aren’t any of the ponies heading for this other exit?"

The green changeling made an aggravated sound, and Sweetie could swear she rolled her eyes.

"Because this isn’t strictly an exit," she explained, trotting past the cells from before with the three eyed things in them. "We’re going to make an exit." She stopped at the occupied cell furthest from the crowd. "This one will do."

Tiara tried to say something, her voice straining against Sweetie’s spell as the changeling, Cerci, held up her hoof. The appendage rippled, shifting in size and color through two mare forelegs and then finally turning into a stallion’s. She then began to fiddle with the clockwork lock next to the enchanted iron grate that led into the cell.

"Are you trying to set that thing free?" Sweetie asked, as a warning light began to flash, the gas-lit flame turning from orange to blue. "Do you even know what’s in there?"

"Troglodyte."

A gurgling snarl emanated from within the cell, and Sweetie steeled herself for when the cell opened... except instead of opening, there was a sudden and forceful ejection! The entire cell block broke away from mooring points in the prison block. Suddenly exposed to the light outside, Sweetie was able to very briefly see inside the cell—a cell similar to the one she had been in—beyond the interlocking iron teeth. She was able to distinguish a dark, twisted, vaguely pony-like figure as the inner cell tumbled away and into the open air—

Only to vaporize as it hit some sort of screen, the remnants falling away in a hailstorm of concrete chunks and glittering stardust.

"What the hay!" she heard herself murmur, but neither of the changelings seemed to notice. They were already moving through the now opening grate-door into the area the cell had just vacated. "What was that?"

"The prison is surrounded by a rapidly fluctuating pair of gravity spells," Cerci explained. "Look for the telltale distortion in the air. If you touch it, the shearing forces will rip you apart."

"Do you have wings?" Sever asked as a howling ocean wind blasted against their faces. Both she and Cerci were already spreading wings, pegasus-like in Cerci’s case and griffin-like in Sever’s. The sound of voices behind them came from what had to be guards alerted to the cell’s ejection and the prisoner’s execution.

"I'm afraid not. I'm not that type of changeling—not all of those of my type have wings," Sweetie admitted, and to her secret relief the other changelings nodded. Clearly changelings without wings were no anomaly to them. It was a small but lucky break. "I could always cast a teleportation spell, but I imagine those have been taken into account to prevent escapes."

Inching closer to the drop beyond, Sweetie could see more precisely just where she was. Below her, the wall of the prison "pillar" stretched downward for maybe two hundred hooves before terminating abruptly. Under that was what could only be called an abyss: a swirling eye in the middle of the ocean surrounded by jagged rocks and titanic crashing waves. Beyond the eye, what had to be the maelstrom she had heard about, was league after league of empty ocean. The shattered and splintered remains of what might once have been a large cylindrical tower were scattered around the maw of the maelstrom below, proof that at least once, the Quartz clan had made good on their promise to "drop" an entire wing of the prison rather than allow an escape.

Overhead, dark clouds loomed, serving as colossal anchors. Magical chains were set into them—Sweetie could see at least one very clearly—holding the physical prison-pillars of wings aloft, high in the air. It was a clearly and blatantly artificial pegasus construction, only marginally adorned with the usual pegasus architecture of waterfalls, pillars and colonnades. Instead, what parts of the structure didn’t support the towers of the mid-air prison complex were dedicated to holding in place a series of coils and at least three thin metal rings that encircled the prison... probably what was maintaining the fluctuating gravity spell. Sweetie knew of gravity spells from Twilight, but she’d never imagined one on this scale before.

"Your star field will end up scrambled if you try and project through a gravity spell," Cerci answered, clearly familiar with unicorn magic. "Grab onto me. Sever. Take the earth pony and follow my lead."

"You’re the princess," Sever consented with a nod.

Sweetie slowly moved behind Cerci. As soon as she felt secure, she nodded at the changeling.

"Alarm!" a stallion’s voice cried. "Sound the alarm!"

Sweetie held on as Cerci spread her wings and trotted right of the edge and into the open air. Changelings typically weren’t as nimble as pegasi, but you wouldn’t have known it from how easily Cerci pulled up and into a climb, hoof-lengths from the faint shimmer of the gravity spell. Sweetie felt the changeling’s body ripple beneath her hooves as she changed form in mid-flight, yet not all of Cerci’s body transformed. She seemed able to stop the transformation at her shoulders and haunches. Instead, only her legs lengthened and grew slender. It took a moment for Sweetie to realize what the partial-change had been to.

"A breezie?" she asked, amazed.

Not only was this changeling demonstrating a level of control over her transformation that Chrysalis herself had never shown or mentioned, but this meant she could scale up or scale down a metamorphic effect. Breezies were tiny and Cerci hadn’t altered her size at all.

"Breezie limbs, good for climbing," Cerci explained, her hooves sticking to the wall like glue. Without a moment’s hesitation, she began to ascend. Sweetie looked around and saw Sever, still in griffin form and carrying an utterly terrified Diamond Tiara, was also making her ascent, using her griffin paws to rise up... with some difficulty. The stone was not that yielding, and griffin claws were meant for digging into animals and the occasional tree, not solid granite.

Sweetie, noticing the difficulty of the griffon and Tiara's horrified gaze, quickly leaned to the side, confident that Cerci could handle her without any problems. She touched the wall, whispering softly to it and to the stone to yield to the griffon's claws. She felt Cerci's body twitch, and could see her ears move, trying to hear what she was saying, but despite her surprising abilities, Sweetie doubted the changeling would understand such an alien language.

She could immediately notice the difference, as under the surprised griffon's claws, the rock changed, allowing her to have a much firmer grasp. She began to climb, better able to keep pace with the green changeling she had called princess. Sweetie hadn’t missed that. But was Cerci really a changeling Princess? Or has Sever just used the term in place of boss or Ser?

"There!" Cerci yelled over the whip-like winds that surrounded the prison pillar, stirred into a frenzy by the gravity spell. She pointed towards one of the massive chains that anchored into the cloud perimeter. There was a walkway on top of it, along with some sort of cable tram.

The wall beneath their hooves rumbled, and looking down, Sweetie was hit by vertigo. Fighting back the momentary nausea, trying not to think about the sheer drop into oblivion, she was better able to appreciate the sight of some... thing, black and shadowy, spilling out of cracks in the wall. An inky tendril wound around itself, pointed upward, and grew a single baleful, beady eye.

"Uh..."

"It can smell our shadows; don’t think too much about it," Cerci said simply, focusing on her climbing. "It’s too bright out here for it to follow us."

Sure enough, the eye and the tendril wavered and shriveled in the light. Much to Sweetie’s clear relief. That was the Black Sprite? Why couldn’t it be some effeminate stallion in pixie shoes? Had the local Sweetie and the rest of her ilk really thought her such a monster that she had to be locked up in a prison with eldritch horrors? Then again, given how hated changelings were in Equestria, maybe it was lucky they hadn’t thrown her through a portal right into Tartarus.

"Just a little closer and we jump," Cerci warned, wings transforming into diaphanous dragonfly-like appendages. "Sever!" She held out a hoof, motioning to her companion. "Get ready!"

Just as Cerci tensed to jump, cries of "Escape! Alarm!" split the air. "There they are!"

A pegasus guard was flying outside the gravitational eddy, a magical spear of some sort in his hooves. He leveled it at the changelings and began to fire as they jumped, but the magical bolts dissipated harmlessly against the powerful gravity spell that surrounded the prison—preventing escape but making it nearly impossible to intervene. Another blast of cold, salty ocean air hit Sweetie in the face, and she clung onto Cerci like a piece of flotsam in a heaving, violent storm.

The two mares slammed into the walkway more than landed, rolling and tumbling in a mess of limbs. Cerci, having anticipated the rough landing, recovered first and jumped up and onto her hooves. A magical spell was already pooling around her jagged horn, discharging as a greenish beam. The cable tram that had been halfway up to the cloud perimeter shuddered and jerked as the changeling severed one of the cables that supported it. The tram—occupied, to Sweetie’s horror—jerked forward and sprang off the tracks. A safety lock activated, thank the Princesses, leaving the tram to dangle helplessly off the giant chain it had been riding astride.

"That should keep those ponies busy!" Sever chortled, smoothing over her ruffled griffin feathers as she paced up to the two magic users. Tiara was still clinging onto her back like a remora, her face buried in the changeling’s lion-like body.

"This is our only chance! We make our rendezvous or we die trying," Cerci yelled, leaving no room for objection or argument. She broke into a gallop, following the walkway that ran parallel to the tram tracks. Sever followed close behind her, loping along like a hungry predator on the chase. She shook off her equine baggage in the process, and Diamond Tiara fell to the ground and nearly hit the edge before catching herself. No doubt she’d be screaming her lungs hoarse if not for the silence spell Sweetie had tagged her with. She looked just about at her wits end.

"Tiara." Sweetie prodded the young mare. "Tiara!" she repeated when she noticed that she hadn't quite pierced the numbing veil of fear that had all but frozen the earth pony mare in place. "Tiara, you need to stay here or go somewhere safe, probably the clouds at the end of this chain," she said, cancelling her spell to allow the other mare to talk. "I don't think you'd be safe with me otherwise... You have to tell them what you saw."

"T-tell them?" Diamond Tiara stammered, still looking wildly back at the prison. From their new vantage point, they could see how it, and two other pillars just like it, dangled precariously from yet more of the sky-chains.

Sweetie nodded. "They won't believe in me. Lady Belle already wants to find a reason to prove me an enemy, and Sand Dune will probably attack me on sight... At least you’ll know the truth." She glanced in the direction of the changelings. "I'll figure out what's happening. Please stay safe."

With that, and wondering if she was making a big mistake, Sweetie took off after the changelings, leaving an utterly confused mare in her wake.

Hopefully, Tiara would be able to follow close behind. Sweetie didn’t feel all that confident leaving her on one of those giant chains when, somewhere, somepony had a switch that would likely cut them loose. Sweetie shook her head, dismissing some of her worry and focusing instead on what was ahead of her: at the end of the chain was a guard station for the cable-borne tram. Already Cerci and Sever were approaching it, the former’s horn unleashing a fusillade of magical attacks.

By the time Sweetie had galloped up to the station, the small number of guards there had already been beaten down by the two changelings. Cerci appeared unharmed, but Sever was sporting a burn across her left foreleg. She spat one of the guards’ spears out of her mouth, having wrenched it free in a struggle using just her teeth.

"Where’s the pony?" she asked, yellow eyes darting towards the newly arrived Sweetie Belle.

"She's staying behind," Sweetie replied, a bit coldly. "There's no reason to drag her with us; she would only slow us down and provoke the powers that be here to chase us even more ferociously."

"That was Diamond Tiara," Cerci stated, also glaring at Sweetie now. "Lady Belle’s right-hoof mare. I thought you’d use her to send a message, but... is there more to it than that?"

Sweetie shook her head, thinking carefully but quickly. "She's loyal to me too, in her own way," she said after a moment. "She'll be doing exactly what I want her to do and that will give me an advantage for any future encounters with Ladies Belle or Sand Dune."

"There’s no time to argue anyway," Cerci growled, and she trotted to the station’s exit. "Know that three of our sisters died breaking you out. They paid the price for our escape today. That mare of yours is only alive because I expect the investment in her to pay off later. If it doesn’t, I’ll collect it myself."

Threat delivered, Cerci slammed open the exit doors and galloped towards a series of nearby platforms suspended above the cloud cover. Waiting there was an extended-length pegasus chariot with a red cross on the side. Less important than the ride itself was the fact that it had a clear and open window to the outside, past the normal security wards.

Cerci and Sever pushed the chariot off the edge and then took wing, Sweetie once again hopping onto the former’s back for a ride. The chariot careened to its doom, but the two changelings and their new ‘sister’ escaped through the gap in the magical shield surrounding the cloud ring.

Endless tracts of ocean stretched as far as Sweetie could see, but she held tight and hoped against hope that the changelings who’d freed her knew where they were headed.

This Platinum Crown: Pt. 3 - Bitaly

Edits by LittleRobotBird & Burraku Pansa

Cerci transformed her wings a second time—pegasus wings now—as she caught an updraft from the ocean below, soaring like an albatross even with Sweetie’s added weight on her back. Though the prison they’d escaped from had been out to sea, a part of Sweetie had assumed it couldn’t be too far from shore—an assumption that proved false, as she and the two changelings ended up flying for hours over a flat stretch of dark, foreboding ocean. Sever’s griffin body seemed to have a harder time of it, and as the sun began to set, it was clear that both changelings were nearing their limits.

It was twilight when a small light pierced the veil of darkness on the horizon, and like a pair of moths, the changelings headed right towards it. Whatever that pinprick of fire was, Sweetie could only hold tight and trust that she'd pull through.

Even in the darkness, she could make out a rocky and treacherous shore ahead. Jagged cliffs broke against the sea, rocks and shoals kicking up a white froth that quickly receded into the dark waters. This was no place for a late night cruise. Which was likely why some smart pony had erected a lighthouse on a promontory. Bitaly, she recalled, was a very sea-bound province, but it was not all warm harbors and clear blue lagoons.

“Hold tight,” Cerci warned, angling her wings as she went into a short dive.

The trio circled the lighthouse, checking for any signs of things being out of place.

Only when her hosts appeared confident that things were as they were meant to be did they land and let Sweetie jump down to her hooves. The group approached a pair of slanted shutter doors that clearly led into a cellar.

Digging up a key from beneath a hidden plank in the scrubby bushes nearby, Sever set to work on the padlock and used her claws to pull free a long metal fastening rod.

The old storage cellar below was much like Fluttershy’s root cellar, with stacked barrels of water and other provisions kept edible in the cold.

Cerci’s magic closed the basement doors behind them and fastened the inside lock, plunging them into darkness. Not that Sweetie saw the dark as much of a hinderance, but still her horn lit up with a basic illumination spell. Cerci’s did likewise, and a few seconds later, she pulled aside one of the barrels and revealed a concealed door. This lead into a second, deeper cellar that Sweetie could see past a short flight of stairs.

It was a room clearly too small for more than a few changelings. Sweetie could guess that this wasn’t their hideout, but it was definitely some sort of safe room. Which could only mean one thing, given that she had been taken here first.

“We’ll rest here for the night,” Cerci told them, or rather, told Sweetie Belle. She smiled, revealing the hint of pointed teeth behind her lips. “It’ll give us time to talk.”

“That’s right,” Sever echoed, still in her griffin form. She paced behind Sweetie and sat on her haunches. She was far enough to not be hovering, but still close enough to pounce.

Sweetie had seen what the yellow changeling could do with that much space.

“Let’s start with your story,” Cerci said, falling to her stomach to rest her legs and wings. A magical ripple passed across her torso like a wave, gliding over her equine transformation to correct any pattern errors. She didn’t seem to be making much of an effort to hide her exhaustion, but given all she had done before, it wouldn’t have been smart to underestimate her.

An old firefly lantern hanging from the ceiling flickered as the insects within fluttered around, detecting the movement of shapes outside their home.

Sweetie tilted her head. "You already know I'm a changeling. What else do you want to know?"

Her eyes studied the other two changelings but she tried not to be too obvious about it. Since they clearly thought her one of their own and had gone to such extremes to save her, it was probably best to continue the deception. But what to say? 'I'm not even able to transform unless I somehow make a contract of some sort... but there seem to be all kinds of changelings. What to say?'

"Ever since Canterlot, I've been travelling trying to find others from my hive," Sweetie added.

“And where is your hive?” Cerci asked, quietly, but with a dark weight to her words. “Where do you come from? You smell like one of us... but your hive was never part of the gathering or The Swarm. Our grandmother never brought you into our crusade. We don’t even know what color you are.”

"And other than your names and colors, I know very little of you two," Sweetie pointed out, mind working overtime to figure out how to convince them that she was telling the truth. "As for my hive..." She sighed, thinking back on the changelings Twilight Sparkle had gathered and was trying to protect from Fae and ponies alike.

"We were invited, but tried to stay out of the fight—we were secure where we were and just about everypony was unaware of our existence. We thought we had fortified ourselves enough and tried to weather the storm. But we were wrong. We were found out. I've kept hope that some of our scouts or spies had escaped, but..." She left it there, not wanting to go into further detail. The more information they had, the easier it would be to pick apart her story.

Sever snorted, beak snapping in distaste, and looked at the wall in anger while Cerci leaned forward.

“The Equestrians will never stop hunting us,” Cerci said, her eyes narrowing as she no doubt imagined the fall of Sweetie’s hive. “This is what some changelings refuse to understand.” She shook her head, putting that aside for later.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Cerci. Granddaughter of Chrysalis and Crown Princess of the Biscione, the Green Hive.” Cerci touched her chest with her hoof and inclined her head in a respectful little bow before gesturing to her companion.

Sever paused in mid-preen, ruffling her griffin feathers. “Sever. I was Inkanyamba before the migration. Golden Hive. Or Yellow. Whatever.”

"Allure," Sweetie said, relying on her old fake name. Biscione—that's a heraldic monster. Monster… She fell back again into memories of Twilight's Changeling fortress and all the crazy stories Vinyl Scratch, Octavia or Luna would tell her. A monster. "Princess of the Jabberwocky, the Pink Hive. Last of my kind as far as I know."

“That makes you a Princess by default, then,” Cerci reasoned, nodding to herself. “How much royal jelly have you accumulated? You don’t look that big, so it can’t be much more than a few milligrams...?”

Sweetie looked down, disguising her confusion with embarrassment. Had Chrysalis ever mentioned anything like that? A memory of the changeling queen mentioning royal jelly did pass fleetingly through her mind, but Chrysalis had never talked about it at length... and Sweetie certainly had no intention of making something up that she would be unable to prove.

"Not even that at this point," she whispered.

“She must’ve been pretty low on the totem pole,” Sever noted, relaxing slightly. “I probably have more swimming around in my head than she does in her whole body.”

Cerci sighed. “Well, it was worth asking, just in case. Still, as the only member of her hive, she should be accorded due respect.” She turned to Sweetie and smiled, albeit a little weakly. “Rebuilding our hives means first creating a new Queen. We must not make the same mistakes of the past. We must remain united while also drawing on our diversity for strength! Once we have a new Queen and new males, then every one of the old hives will have a subordinate Princess, answerable only to the new Queen. For the Pink Hive, you can take up that role, Allure, if you feel you are able.”

Sweetie considered Cerci's words carefully, as she didn't want to upset the changeling princess. "I think I'd like to know a little bit more about what's going on before any compromise is made."

“Hey, Cerci, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you?” Sever asked, resting her head between her paws. “I’m still not entirely convinced this changeling is a real changeling. Remember how the ponies found us in Neighpon.”

“We’ll be sure of her before we make introductions to the rest of our band,” Cerci promised, and she spent a long second or two examining Sweetie. “Every changeling hive has a different manifestation of our ability to transform. The Greens are the best mimics and can use unicorn magic, the Reds can mimic their surroundings and turn invisible, the Browns can transform parts of their bodies to attach to their prey and control them, and the Blues can mimic other changelings... So what does the Pink Hive bring to us?”

“She did some sort of magic before,” Sever remembered. “Made it easier for me to climb the wall when we escaped.”

"My hive specialized in merging with the environment and mimicking it,” Sweetie explained. “We were so in tune with it that we can not only hide in plain sight, but also take on aspects of it and use them to transform us. Illusion was secondary to us, falling behind communion with the elements."

She hesitated, gauging the reactions of the true changelings before her. Neither seemed to be howling about how impossible to believe the story was so far. "Those truly gifted, like myself, were generally used as spies and scouts, which is why I hold out hope that I'm not the last of my hive."

Touching the stone wall, Sweetie's body was encased in rock, forming a second skin around her and growing on her back to emulate wings until for all intents and purposes the statue of an alicorn stood in front of them, silent and still as anything else made of rock.

Until Sweetie smiled. "Don't turn around or even blink," she said, moving without a problem despite being covered in solid stone. "The statues move. And listen."

“Ho! Look at that! Reminds me of those damned Zilant,” Sever growled, watching Sweetie with leonine eyes. “The flesh-eating Reds and their invisibility trick.”

“Environmental mimicry isn’t that far removed,” Cerci reasoned, tapping her chin with her hoof. “If this magic is like the Reds’, then an environmental illusion with no gender component would be resistant to Sparkle’s Sublime Severance. That could definitely be useful.”

“Maybe a little too useful,” Sever warned. “What about testing her with a little Princess Poison? Just to be sure.”

“Poison?” Sweetie asked, glancing back at the feral changeling but doing her best to hide her anxiety as the stone that made her disguise crumbled around her. “What do you mean, poison?”

“Princess Poison is merely a droplet of royal jelly extruded through the poison glands,” Cerci explained, though how her explanation was supposed to put somepony at ease, Sweetie couldn’t begin to speculate. Cerci pointed to one of her sharp, dagger-like teeth. “We discovered after the war that it amplifies the poison’s potency in Equestrians. A pony bitten with it will experience intense hallucinations, nausea and fatigue and eventually death.”

“And in changelings?” Sweetie asked, trying to sound offhoof.

“Drowsiness, dizziness... It depends on the amount of jelly in your system,” Cerci replied with a smile. “I have much more in me than you do, so you might feel it a bit more, but there won’t be any lasting harm. In fact, in many changelings it helps to trigger maturation. And don’t worry—I don’t have to bite you. You can ingest it normally.”

Sweetie Belle considered the offer. 'I'm completely different from a pony now... I can drink and not get drunk. If I get injured, I bleed miniature musical crystals, for Celestia's sake! But poison? Is it magical? How would it even work on me?' She found herself nodding. 'It's either take it or fight them, and even if we fought and even if I kill them, that wouldn't solve the problem that Lady Belle, Tiara and the others have. There are clearly more changelings, after all, and if one of their leaders dies or is captured... who knows what they might do?'

"Well, I guess we'll find out how it affects me, won't we?" she finally conceded.

Cerci lifted her hoof up to her mouth and, very gingerly, wiped a droplet of brackish liquid off the tip of one of her fangs. She then extended her hoof out, clearly intending for Sweetie to lick or kiss it off.

Trying to appear unconcerned, Sweetie leaned in and licked the liquid off of Cerci's hoof.

Sweetie didn't feel any different for a moment. She had thought the poison would taste disgusting, but it was in fact very sweet, like nectar or raw honey. She took a step back, blinking as her body shivered with a pleasant warmth, similar to what she had experienced when drinking a chocolate martini.

At least to start with, there were no effects that made her feel worse, and she didn't feel dizziness or faint. It gave her a feeling of welcoming, oddly enough.... It wasn't quite fae or changeling or pony, but it was somehow inclusive and potent in a strange, emotional way she couldn’t quite describe.

She heard a distant voice, and it took her a moment to realize Sever had said something. She finished her sentence, but it was slurred sounding and incomprehensible. Sweetie blinked and saw Cerci leaning in closer, saying something, but... it all sounded too indistinct, like listening to somepony yelling underwater. In seconds, the strange sensation moved from her ears to her eyes and then settled in the forefront of her mind, lulling her inexorably into a numb sleep.

She slumped forward into a pair of hooves.

o.0.o

Mumbling, echoing voices and the sharp sound of hooves striking rock shook Sweetie awake, although her vision took some time to return. It felt like she had slept a whole night, or maybe even longer, but there was no hangover feeling. She actually felt well and rested—revitalized! Slowly, Sweetie pushed herself up, shaking her head and trying to figure out where she was.

The area was dark, but her eyes quickly adapted to the low light. Her ears twitched as she felt the familiar voices and presence of rocks and crystals all around her. There was another flickering lantern in the corner, partly covered by a dark cloth to shade the light. Beneath her was a straw futon, just the sort she remembered Applejack occasionally bringing into the barn for CMC sleepovers. Like that one, it was adult sized and functional, though not exactly as comfortable as a real bed. The rest of the room was basically bare: plain, white-washed stone, hewn not built, which implied she was underground...

A chittering sound—changeling applause, maybe—interrupted her thoughts. It was coming from outside, past a rather plain-looking wooden door. Sweetie could see light shining from beyond the door; it wasn’t flush with the floor or the ceiling. Rising onto all fours, she crept closer and pressed her ear to the wood.

“Friends! Sisters!” It was Cerci. “Let us observe a moment of silence for Agave, Carnation, and Hyacinth.”

The chitters died down, and Sweetie’s ear twisted as the waited and listened.

After a short while, Cerci began speaking again. “Listen as I tell you how they died in our great cause, Sisters. Agave went below to provide our distraction, just as she swore she would do. Though I did not see her, the Black Sprite was released within the prison. I can only assume she lost her life in this. Know that many Equestrians were traded for her. Too few, but still many. She died well and did honor to our Fallen Queens.”

There was a pause again as the changelings beyond chittered. Cerci gave them a moment and resumed her speech. “Listen as I tell you how Carnation fell, Sisters. Brave Carnation. We were en route to the prison’s Auspex when a pair of the facility’s elite guard came upon us. Carnation dove into them, keeping them occupied while Sever and I delivered killing blows to the beasts. She succumbed to her wounds soon after, but not before seeing us to our objective. Only then could she allow herself to rest. She died well and did honor to our Fallen Queens!”

More chittering, this time accompanied with what sounded like buzzing insect wings.

“Listen as I tell you how Hyacinth died, Sisters. Listen well! Without her, we would not have succeeded in our mission! After our rendezvous with the Auspex, we needed to escape from that wing of the prison and find another of our captive sisters. Yet there was word of the disturbance we had caused. Knowing there was no other way, Hyacinth remained behind, setting fires and causing chaos, drawing the attention of the prison guards to her. This alone allowed Sever and myself to escape in the confusion and find our imprisoned sister. Allure! Three lives were traded for one, and we three will honor that debt! Hyacinth died well and did honor to our Fallen Queens!

“Very soon, My Sisters, we will strike a blow against the Equestrian animals that have hounded us and hunted us! We will begin to pay them back for the Queens that fell that horrible night in Canterlot! It begins in Bitaly, but I promise you, sisters, it will end in Canterlot! It will end in the Palace! It will end in blood!”

The changelings chittered, cheering, but all Sweetie felt was a chill run down her spine.

“They think we are beaten! They think we can be driven to ground!” Cerci declared, and the changelings hissed angrily, like a bed of serpents. “They are wrong! We are not beaten! We are changelings! Equestria is still ours for the taking! A future where all feast and none fear! The dream of my grandmother has not been extinguished, not yet! I still believe in our destiny! We will win it if only we fight for it! Will you fight with me, Sisters? Will you bleed with me, Sisters? Will you?”

The room beyond broke into more chittering cheers, and Sweetie could make out voices with them.

“Princess!”

“Cerci!”

“Queen!”

“Sisters, this dream of mine would be impossible without you. I salute you all. Sever.”

“I’ll get her,” Sever’s voice was soft, but distinct.

Sweetie backed away from the door just before it opened a second later, revealing the yellow changeling in griffin form.

“Oh? You’re up,” Sever said, simply. Sweetie hadn’t quite had the time to jump back on the bed and pretend to be asleep or otherwise play coy.

It wasn’t quite being caught flathoofed, ear to the door, but it was close.

“Yeah,” Sweetie admitted.

Sever inclined her head, motioning for Sweetie to follow. Past the door was a large room, also clearly hewn out of stone, but the size of it was entirely greater than Sweetie had been expecting. A vaulted ceiling rose high up enough that a few changelings were hovering like pegasi, instead of standing. Cuts of stone were left bare and arranged like giant toy bricks and blocks. A dozen lanterns provided ample lighting in the chamber.

Slowly, it dawned on Sweetie Belle that this had to be an old salt mine. The look of the white stone, the way everything was cut, and the scale of the mining... She had read about this. And Bitaly and the Quartz Clan were famous for their salt monopoly.

Sweetie looked down at the comparatively small crowd of changelings arrayed before them. Cerci hadn't been exaggerating when she had said there were very few of them. If anything, the massive cave simply made their small numbers look even more insignificant. Some changelings were in Equestrian guise, a few were more bestial—yellow changelings, all of them, she realized—and others were in their natural form.

There were green changelings, like she was most familiar with, but there were also mantis-like red ones with spines and spindly front legs. There was a small clutch of blue ones keeping to themselves on one of the stone blocks. A trio of purple changelings in cloaks hung off to the side. Then there were the monstrous figures... They looked like minotaurs or diamond dogs, covered in rags, but on each she could see a small brown-and-black changeling attached to the back or shoulder.

“I present to you our newest sister: Allure!” Cerci announced, sweeping her hoof and stepping to the side to motion Sweetie forward so all could see her. “Her hive was recently lost, and I have recognized her as a Princess of the Swarm. Embrace her and welcome her as I have! She will lend her strength to our cause! Our Sister!”

“Our Sister!” changelings greeted her, many bowing their heads.

“Young Princess!” another cried.

Many more muttered amongst themselves.

‘So much like ponies,’ Sweetie couldn’t help but think. Her attention was diverted to the brown changelings. The single one with a pony host seemed to be glaring at her, and Sweetie would have been completely oblivious if the host pony didn't share that look of distaste on his face.

Shaking it off and taking the best approach from her lessons under Blueblood, Sweetie bowed politely to the gathered changelings. "Thank you for your warm welcome," she said, smiling as sincerely as she could and trying to make eye contact with as many changelings as she could while hiding her wonder at the differences in all of them. It was a bit of an assumption, that the rules she had learned for speaking to groups of ponies would translate to changelings, but so far none of them seemed to be interpreting her eye contact as an invitation to rip out her throat.

"It's my honor to join you”—Cerci did seem to like harping on about honor and dying for it—“and it is my honor to ensure our sisters’ sacrifices were not in vain.”

There were very equine nods of approval among the crowd so far, and a few changelings were rubbing their forelegs together—and making a chirping sound of some sort—in what was also likely approval. Probably. Hopefully it wasn’t them just being hungry.

“I look forward to getting to know you all and working together." Sweetie took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts and bringing back memories of what she had learned under Chrysalis for what came next. "In the months leading up to the invasion of Canterlot, my hive was approached by Queen Chrysalis to join her cause. Although we did not have the ability to provide as much backup as we wished we could, due to the small size of our hive, we did send a few changelings to assist the—” Sweetie recalled what Chrysalis had liked calling herself. “...the Queen of Queens as spies, using our abilities to meld with the environment to provide her with information. When things turned out as they did..."

She let it hang for a second, lowering her eyes as if bereaved. Just how things turned out, she wasn’t sure, but it seemed by all accounts like the changelings had gotten a new hole bucked in.

She continued, "We tried to go back into hiding. I hope none here begrudge us that. It did us little good... We were eventually found, our hive attacked... and destroyed.”

Sweetie almost marveled at how the crowd of changelings followed her story. If she ever met up with Blueblood again, she made a silent vow to thank him for showing her just how easy it was to tell ponies what they wanted to hear.

“And now, I find myself surrounded by kin, and though we are all of different hives, born of different Queens, I am sure we can find a way to not only ensure our species' survival, but also a way to thrive!"

Changelings chittered in approval, some rubbing their legs together to produce their strange warbling sound and others stamping their chitinous hooves just like a normal pony would.

With a methodical eye, Sweetie noticed that the changelings who acted the most pony-like were Greens—the changeling color she was most familiar with. Just like Twilight would have, she took the opportunity to study and categorize the different changelings on display. She wondered if they saw one another like unicorns see pegasi, or if it was more divisive, like how ponies see griffins.

There was quite a variety before her, and most of it was totally unknown to her. Where had all these changelings come from?

“Our new sister, Allure!” Cerci stepped in, and she leaned close in what Sweetie almost mistook for an affectionate nuzzle. Except Cerci only darted in, brushed cheeks, sniffed once, and then repeated the ritual on the other side. Sweetie did the same, catching on quickly, though she couldn’t say she smelt anything. Changelings, for all their terrible appearance, didn’t have any particular smell a pony could pick up, neither sweet nor strong.

“Behold as well...” Cerci said, taking center stage again. Her magic levitated out a piece of crystal from a pouch under her wing. She lifted the tiny crystal higher. “The fruit of our labor, as promised! An Auspex Crystal!”

No stranger to crystals, Sweetie schooled her features and simply followed the floating gemstone with her eyes.

An Auspex Crystal, Cerci had called it. She hadn’t much experience with them personally, but she had read about Auspex Crystals. They were produced from resonant quartz and used for encoding and decoding documents. A letter written under the influence of a specific crystal could only be decoded by a similar crystal cut from the same master stone.

Was that what Cerci had broken into the prison to get?

Why had it even been there?

“Rejoice, my sisters!” Cerci floated the crystal down and back under her wing where it could be kept safe. She smiled, revealing two pearly rows of sharp teeth. “Soon we strike back against Bitaly, Canterlot, and all of Equestria! We shall repay our suffering a hundredfold!”

Sweetie had to fight to keep from flinching at how that particular promise drew cheers. She gently stamped a hoof on the floor, one eye on Cerci and the other on the threatening presence of Sever nearby. She tried not to think about how she was the one not-quite-defenseless swimmer trying to blend in with a school of hungry hippocampi.

‘How do I keep ending up in these messes, anyway?’

Stepping down and mingling with the changelings, Sweetie eagerly tried to identify more differences now that she was amongst them. It was truly, truly tempting, even under these circumstances, to summon up her private journal to take some much-needed notes.

'What did Cerci say? Sweetie pondered. That the Reds could also mingle with their environment? What does that mean for the others? Her eyes scanned the crowd. The Yellows seem the most normal of the bunch, insofar as a changeling could be called normal, but just like Sever they seem much more... feline—and feral rather than Equestrian. There's also a distinct lack of horns there.'

She wasn’t sure where to even start with the Blues or the pair of Purples, and then there were the Browns. The Browns and their patchwork of hosts seemed to be almost shunned, as every member of the other hives would shift away from them.

Then there was that changeling that had been glaring at her earlier. Sweetie was sure it had been one of the brown ones, but which one?

She started moving around, observing the little groups that had formed as Cerci’s rally dispersed. Despite their claim of being under one unified flag, the changelings—much like ponies, only more so—stuck to their own.

While they were by no means openly showing any hostility towards her yet, it was clear that—for now—they simply tolerated her presence rather than truly or enthusiastically welcoming it. They were watching her, she could tell—watching her to see what she would do and who she would approach first.

It was thus that her heading towards the cluster of misshapen Browns drew more than one arched eyebrow, but she was sure she had seen one of their hosts looking particularly angry, even if she hadn't seen it again after a second look. If she wanted to sort out enemy from friend, she needed to find out why some changelings might not be too happy about her presence there.

From Cerci's speech, Sweetie had no doubt whatsoever that they would clash... and that she would eventually have to fight Sever as well, given her obvious loyalty to Cerci. But perhaps not all changelings would need such a decisive response.

She stopped in front of the group and smiled.

"Hello," she finally said, taking a step forward and speaking to the first brown changeling she saw. "I'd like to speak to one of you I saw a little earlier, but I don't seem to see her around..."

She was talking to a hunched diamond dog in thick, well-worn rags and was reminded of stories her sister had told about diamond dogs: that bunch had worn simple armor, but not rags. This one looked like he might’ve been a beggar once, but his arms were heavily muscled for digging like any other diamond dog. Only some of the face was really visible, and even then only the toothy lower jaw, the rest concealed by more rags like a dirty mummy down on his luck.

Resting atop the diamond dog, however, was a small brown shape, looking more like a larva at first than a normal changeling. Only on closer inspection could Sweetie see the brown was actually segments of chitin over the usual black underlayer. There were small holes in the weak-looking changeling’s limbs, and rather than end in hooves, they ended in little, sickled barbs—for grabbing hold, she reasoned. The brown changeling attached to this dog reared up slightly so Sweetie could see it in its entirety.

“This one greets you humbly, Princess Allure,” it—she, Sweetie supposed, since they were all supposed to be female—said in a clear if accented voice. Sweetie was struck again by how small she was.

Filly-sized.

“This one is known as Coaxoch.” The parasitic Brown gave a little bow as she introduced herself. The diamond dog itself barely moved. “Do you seek Princess Olinca?”

"A pleasure to meet you, Coaxoch," Sweetie replied. "If Princess Olinca was attached to a pony, that is indeed who I am looking for."

“I shall introduce you, Princess,” Coaxoch said, quite politely, and the diamond dog that she rode—it was easier to think of it that way rather than as a parasite’s host—ambled over to the small gathering of brown changelings. The largest she could see was astride a minotaur, its face concealed, but Sweetie did note the many scars criss-crossing its chest. The smallest was held in the arms of said minotaur, cradled like an infant. It was a strange sight.

They parted so Sweetie could approach the sole Brown melded with a pony—an earth pony in this case. Olinca was, like the others, attached somehow to the back of the pony, but Sweetie couldn’t see exactly where or how. Like the others, she was swaddled in rags, though now that Sweetie got close, it didn’t seem as though they were particularly filthy. It was just whatever they could find.

“Come forward and greet me,” Olinca said in a feminine voice, still strangely accented, but more confident and fluent than Coaxoch had seemed to Sweetie’s ears. She probably meant that ritual that Cerci had done before, but Sweetie hesitated at whether to cross cheeks with the pony or the changeling...

She picked the changeling, and just like Cerci, the tiny, shriveled Olinca inhaled something, moved to the other cheek, and did the same. Sweetie mentally filed it away as the way changeling princesses shook hooves. Why they did it, she had no idea. Something scent based, obviously.

“What brings you to our hive?” Olinca asked, stretching out her little forelegs to encompass her ‘hive’ of five individuals.

Sweetie shrugged. "It was hard not to notice the look you were giving me when I was being introduced, Your Highness," she said honestly. "So I figured I would come to you and talk. I'm not looking to make enemies here, after all."

Olinca lowered her eyes in apparent contrition. “My rudeness was uncalled for. Misplaced. My heart aches for you, Princess. You are more alone than even I.”

Sweetie's smile wavered at the truth of the princess' words, even if it wasn't for the reason Olinca was thinking. "Thank you, Princess. Being lonely is a hard thing, even when you find others similar to you... and I hope you will forgive me saying so, but I sense that the reason for your mistrust goes deeper than how many of my swarm remain." She tilted her head. "I'm trying to understand what the situation here is, and where my place is, and perhaps understanding the motivations of the other Princesses here will aid me in this."

“I see.” Olinca made a small gesture with her jagged little hoof, and the other brown changelings retreated slightly to give the princesses more room. Olinca walked past Sweetie a short distance so they could have an unobstructed view of the changelings that still remained gathered in the chamber.

Sweetie could easily make out Cerci mingling freely with a group of yellow changelings, Sever close by as always. The feline changelings were lounging about, but still listening intently to the green changeling as she spoke.

“I do not know how well you know those who freed you,” Olinca began, gesturing towards the group. “But you must have deduced by now that Cerci is our... Princess of Princesses and First among Equals.”

Sweetie nodded. "It was hard to miss," she muttered, her eyes studying the green princess' body language. "Her resemblance to Chrysalis is uncanny." Olinca's words carried more weight than the obvious, however. "I take it that the title was assumed by her rather than granted? Or does she truly have the most support?"

“I never met or even saw Chrysalis myself... Does she resemble her forebear that much?” Olinca didn’t wait for an answer. “She is the granddaughter of the old Queen, but she did not found our society here in Bitaly. She was brought in by one of her sisters. In time, she convinced the others to become more... assertive towards the Equestrians. She does not call herself anything more than ‘Princess,’ and we are all equals in name and rank, but there is no question who leads and who follows.”

"And yet it seems that you don't entirely agree with her methods," Sweetie noted, sensing the hesitation in Olinca's choice of words. "Is it really wise to court war with the ponies when our own numbers are so depleted? I get the feeling that she is severely underestimating her opponents."

“If we are to survive, as a race, then we must remain united,” Olinca answered, and it was a rehearsed, diplomatic answer if ever Sweetie had heard one. Still, she was quite sure that she’d gotten her measure right in that Olinca wasn’t exactly an enthusiastic supporter of Cerci. Getting her to openly admit as much to someone she had just met, though... Well, that was another story.

“Cerci rescued you,” the princess went on to say. “She has saved many here. They are loyal to her out of gratitude.” Olinca’s little foreleg twitched towards Cerci... and her ever-present shadow. “Sever was being hunted by Equestrians after breaking masquerade in a small town. Frustration and loneliness got the better of her. She killed. Ponies do not forgive those who slay them, not anymore. Cerci saved Sever, risking her own life without fear. Should she ask it, Sever would follow her into Tartarus itself. Understand that this is why Cerci leads, and why opposing her is generally unwise. Her followers are often even more zealous than their princess.”

Sweetie nodded, taking note of Olinca's warning. "Does that mean that others have attempted to oppose her? You said one of her sisters brought her in. What happened to her?"

“Ah. You suspect treachery.” Olinca made a little chittering sound. “ No. Cerci followed her sister, Princess Tagma, loyally. Though they did not always see eye to eye. Tagma was not well loved by the other princesses, however. She kept us hidden, insisting we never risk ourselves.

“Some years ago, afraid we were about to be found out, Tagma organized a change in location that led us into a trap. Changelings died, and we returned to hiding elsewhere.” She pointed to another changeling, this one blue. “A vote was held and leadership passed to another Princess. Svikja, the blue one, over there. Shortly after, Tagma ended her own life. It took time, but Cerci won enough allies to be voted leader. Svikja still openly opposes Cerci to this day... but she is wise enough to know when to pick her fights and when to bow her head.”

"Knowing what fights to pick is definitely a good skill to have," Sweetie admitted. "Which is what worries me." She bowed to the other princess. "Thank you for enlightening me, Princess Olinca. This has been very informative."

“You will fit in, in time, Sister,” Olinca assured her. “We are all different—so very different—but the only ones we have are each other.”

It was hard to read any sort of expression on the brown changeling’s pinched, shrunken face. She sounded pensive, but beyond that, Sweetie couldn’t say.

“When you have matured enough, you may petition for a male. Cerci controls access, as is her right as leader.” Olinca explained, “As our most depopulated swarm, you will want a daughter in case the worst happens. Cerci will understand that and give you priority. We cannot lose another hive. We are few enough as it is.”

Sweetie kept her expression as calm as she could. "We shall see what happens, Sister," she replied, trying not to think about it.

A mother? Her?

o.0.o

Sweetie had been given a small niche of her own (officially a crèche for her non-existent swarm) in the salt mines. She had quickly done what she could to pile stones and discarded equipment far in the back, enticing the elements to hold them in place to form a small gate resting against the wall and, to all appearances, leading nowhere.

After making sure she wasn't being watched, she softly traced her hoof against the wall, speaking words that she didn't really know the meaning of, and yet made perfect sense to say. Slowly the wall faded and she could see the brambles of the little part of the Hedge she had been granted. Letting out a breath she hadn't noticed she had been holding, she whispered what sounded like a thanks and the wall once more became solid rock.

She didn't know if she would need her access to that personal space, but it was good to know that she could access it, if she wanted.

‘Just in case,’ she told herself.

She followed that by walking around the supposed crèche, noting where she could add some spell matrices to provide desired effects should she need to defend herself while in there. Perhaps, if she needed some secrecy, she could start with silencing spells. Maybe even something that would bring down the whole structure?

This was too much for now, however. It had been a long day, and she had too many thoughts clouding her mind to concentrate enough to produce the effects she wanted.

Choosing to lay down, Sweetie Belle finally thought back on the day as a whole. It was clear that Cerci had control of the changelings here. Not just control based on fear, either, or at least not a fear of her. Fear of Equestria, maybe. That was always the worst sort of enemy: the popular one. By all accounts, Chrysalis was dead (or locked in so deep a hole that she might as well be dead), but she had her spiritual successor in Cerci.

Sweetie could even respect how Cerci had kept her sisters alive against all odds, but the relish the princess had for fighting combined with her stated intent to wage war again was what drove most of Sweetie’s reservations about the changelings’ leader.

It was clear that Cerci would opt into any fight she thought she could win, but from the discussions earlier, it was clear as well that Cerci had no idea what she was getting into. How could anyone think that after so many hives were lost in battle, a much smaller group would even stand a chance without risking their species altogether? It was one thing to fight for survival, but another altogether to court destruction. Did she just want to go out in a blaze of glory?

Sweetie rolled onto her side, restless at the thought.

It just didn’t fit. There had to be more. Cerci didn’t seem suicidal. She’d taken risks back at the prison, but they’d been calculated risks. She wasn’t just angry or vicious. Did she really think she could win somehow? Against all of Equestria?

It was impossible.

Was she just doing it all to keep a hold on power? What was her end game? Sweetie realized she just didn’t have enough information to know, not yet. What she did know, deep down in her gut, was that whatever Cerci wanted to do was going to be bad.

Bad for Equestria. Bad for the changelings.

So Cerci had to be stopped, then. Somehow.

Perhaps she could use the help of some of the other changeling princesses? Olinca had obvious doubts, but appeared too cautious, while the blue Princess—Svikja—seemed a little more proactive. It was doubtful that the two of them would be the only ones to have reservations about Cerci's approach, either.

Sweetie sighed, leaning her head against the wall. She hated politics. She didn't have a mind for them like Blueblood did. And speaking of...

What had happened to Diamond Tiara? Had she informed Lady Belle of how Sweetie had pretty much been threatened to join or Tiara would have died? And had her big brother written back to Lady Belle about Sweetie?

Closing her eyes, she briefly entertained the fantasy of him kicking in a wall like a drunk knight, a bottle of alcohol in one hoof and a pair of shot glasses in the other. Sweetie snickered softly to herself. Slowly, though, mirth was replaced by a darker feeling.

Alone, half asleep, Sweetie frowned. ‘I shouldn’t even be here.’

That was the thing that annoyed her the most about Cerci. The changeling princess had spoiled Sweetie’s best chance to prove that she wasn’t a changeling herself... and now she was pretending not only to be one, but the last scion of a lost hive no less.

What did she even know about being a princess? Wasn't it all about drinking tea, eating cake and listening to nobles whine? Now they wanted her to choose a male and have a daughter? What kind of society was this?

‘Family?’ Chrysalis had told her once, offhoof. Sweetie had mentioned family, and asked if changelings had them. ‘My family is my hive, my swarm. I have a thousand daughters. Most are simply drones. A select few are greater, true daughters. You may meet in time, if you are worthy. It is their duty to carry forward my great purpose and embody my indomitable will.’

Apparently they were also expected to pick up the slack when it came to egg-laying. Sweetie shuddered. She’d been through a lot of physical changes lately, but she was pretty sure changelings would notice when she failed the Princess’ First Egg Laying Exam.

‘You must be looking forward to rebuilding your hive,’ a well-meaning changeling had said to her earlier.

Sweetie shook her head.

"One day," she promised, whispering into the darkness. "One day, I'll find out what force controls my jumps. And when I do, I'll buck them in the face so hard Applejack will hire me on the spot."

o.0.o

“Ah, Allure!” Cerci said, raising a hoof to gesture for her to approach. “Come, Sister. You’ll be looking after our clutch today.”

Sweetie stared at the changeling.

"I'm sorry, I think I misheard." She nodded towards the little area up ahead where a number of changelings, some big and others starkly small, were assembled. “You don’t mean...”

The room was very much like Sweetie’s own... if her room had been covered in black wax and sticky mucus. Cerci herself was inspecting the place and Sweetie also got a look at where the princess must sleep: a raised platform of wax near the back of the room. Below it, the floor was layered with more black wax, inlaid with some sort of fibers. The air, she noticed, was a little moist.

A bit more shocking than just how the changelings approached interior decorating was the sight of two strange-looking blobs poking out of the floor and another pair of changelings, these ones tiny and frail looking. They were partly wrapped in some sort of white goop, and Sweetie could see that neatly arranged next to each one were a few sets of mostly intact exoskeletons.

‘Molts, of course,’ the little Twilight Sparkle in her head lectured her. ‘They likely go through a few instars before reaching maturity.’

Sweetie could feel whatever passed for blood in her system grow cold. "I'm not entirely sure this is a good idea, Princess Cerci," she said. "I have no experience whatsoever taking care of anything smaller than a minotaur, and it would be inadvisable for me to attempt such an endeavor without—"

“Nonsense,” Cerci interrupted her, wearing a rather disarming smile. “You’ll have supervision, of course,” she went on, still gesturing the wary ‘Princess Allure’ closer. “It is important we start to stimulate your Royal Gland. One of the best ways to do that is to expose you to young larvae and nymphs. The first duty of a Princess is to provide a future for her hive.”

“Uhhm.”

“So, let me introduce you.” Cerci wrapped a foreleg around Sweetie’s shoulders and pointed to the two blobs sticking out of the floor. “These are my two larvae... Why, Allure, you look like you’ve never seen a larva before!”

“Hahaha. Yeah. I guess I do!”

“My mother’s stories say that Chrysalis could spawn a hundred larvae in a single clutch, such was the power of a Queen.” Cerci shrugged at her rather less impressive contribution. “We make do with what we have, I’m afraid. I have only a fraction of my mother’s jelly, and she had only a fraction of the Queen’s. This one here”—she pointed to the larvae on the right—“is three weeks old. And this one”—the one on the left—“four weeks. She should be hatching soon.”

Sweetie found herself strangely warming up to this side of Cerci. There was a lot more care and love in the princess' words than she had expected. A memory came back to her, unbidden, of Chrysalis smiling once and only once when she had thought about teaching her children how to sing. It appeared she’d never had the chance.

"They look healthy and strong, Princess Cerci," she said gently, not hiding her smile.

Cerci nodded, projecting more than a little motherly pride. “I’m quite happy with them so far,” she stated, imperiously. “They took to their bonding right away. I’ve never had a rejection. We used a unicorn, of course, so they should all have unicorn magic once they mature.”

Sweetie wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but she nodded along. Maybe the chance to look into it would come later.

“I have two nymphs.” Cerci moved on to them. “No names yet. Our hive’s tradition is to assign names only after a year, when they reveal their talents.”

They get their special talents after just a year?! Sweetie twitched. "So unfair..." she muttered.

“This one is on her third molt.” Cerci said, stopping behind the mostly immobile little bundle on the floor. Next to it was a pair of empty shells preserved like insectoid report cards. She gently brushed her hoof against the seemingly unresponsive nymph and then moved on to the other, slightly larger one. “This one is on her fourth and final.”

And unlike the smaller one, this one was roused by the touch. It was mostly curled up, but Sweetie could see thin little legs with tiny pits in them, the edges of little wings partly covered in chitin, and the bands of green that marked it—or her—as a descendant of Chrysalis herself. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a functional changeling drone in miniature.

Sweetie couldn't help but bring her nose level with the little changeling. "Adorable!"

“I’m not sure how they do things in your hive,” Cerci explained, walking around behind Sweetie, “but taking care of larvae and nymphs isn’t particularly hard. I don’t know how equines deal with it...” She emerged to Sweetie’s right, shaking her head. “Luckily, we don’t have any diapers to change or larvae to burp or wild magic to deal with. The most important thing is to occasionally rotate the nymphs while they molt. We Greens also try to expose our young to magic and read to them while they develop. The old Queen found that this helped them to become more... ‘useful,’ when they grew up.”

"It seems simple enough," Sweetie said. "And it makes sense to increase their cognitive abilities by reading to them at an early stage," she added, a bit of her inner Twilight shining through. "By feeding their natural curiosity and building up their knowledge, they can be more effective in any number of ways."

“Exactly,” Cerci agreed, trotting back to her waxy resting place. She sat down, able to survey her little crèche like a proper Queen. “A smart drone will outperform a dumb one in almost every scenario. This is especially true in the Green Hive, where some of our drones are expected to take on leadership positions on the squad level. Not that we have many squads left anymore... but it is a boon to everything from infiltration to magical combat.

“I’m told you are literate; read to them and use your magic,” Cerci told her. “Talk to them if you feel comfortable doing so. I know talking to larvae and nymphs is strange to most changelings from other hives. They won’t respond, of course, but they are listening. We sometimes use magic to throw balls back and forth or play other games to try and stimulate them, and sometimes we also play music, though we’ve been without anyone with musical talent for some time.”

Sweetie grinned. "I might be able to do something about that, but, before we get to that point, who is going to help me? I wasn't lying when I said I am very new at this."

“I will be overseeing things at first. When I need to step out a little later, I’ll bring in one of my drones with experience in nymphal care,” Cerci waved her hoof in a dismissive way. “I’m also training one of my younger sisters. She should be along shortly and she’s also learning to acclimate to the crèche.”

"Oh?" Sweetie asked. "So she is also a recent addition?" She smiled. "It'll be nice to make a new friend."

“Pupa has been with us for some time. She’s my sister’s oldest and most promising daughter,” Cerci explained, and right on time, Sweetie heard:

“Aunt Cerci! I’m here! Ooph!”

A small changeling, scaled down almost perfectly from Chrysalis or Cerci, slowly picked herself up off the ground near the entrance to the crèche. Then again, maybe she wasn’t such a perfect clone.

She was a little gangly—or maybe, as with ponies, it was just a phase. She rubbed her nose and started gathering up the books she’d dropped where she’d slipped on a raised ridge of changeling wax on the floor. Also noteworthy was that she seemed capable of the same partial-transformation Cerci was: her mane and tail were both hairlike rather than membranous, though still two tones of green.

“Oh, hi there!” the young changeling said, giving a particularly pony-like bow and greeting, extending her hoof out. “You’re Allure, right? Oh, Princess Allure, sorry! I’m Pupa!”

Sweetie couldn’t help but grin at the younger changeling and take her hoof. "Very nice to meet you, Pupa. It seems you'll be helping me today since I've never taken care of nymphs." She assisted the younger changeling, levitating all the books into an orderly pile next to them.

“I’m pretty new to it myself!” Pupa admitted, using her own sepia-tinted magic to levitate a book of Equestrian nursery rhymes from the pile.

Sweetie had to resist pointing out the irony.

Everything here was Equestrian-made for Equestrian foals. There were even a couple oversized building blocks that wouldn’t have been out of place in any foal’s play room.

"Well, let's get started!" Sweetie exclaimed, missing Cerci smiling and shaking her head before walking out of the nursery. "What book are you going to read them first?"

Sweetie Belle had never foalsat before, though like many fillies, she had expected to someday. For the most part, she had always assumed it would be easy.

Sweetie didn’t want to say as much, but the way changelings cared for their young—even when they didn’t have to—was downright Equestrian. In some ways, the green changelings in particular acted more Equestrian than changeling. Not that she had any intention of bringing that up to Cerci.

"Okay," Pupa said with a smile. "We have three books excellent books to pick from today. "The Mare in the Moon, A Scholarly Analysis of the Heraldry of Equestria through the Ages, and finally, Pinkie Pie and the Cake Castle Kaboom."

Sweetie blinked. "Pupa. One of these things is not like the others..."

"What do you mean?" Pupa pouted. "Heraldry through the Ages is an amazing adventure through history!"

"I swear, you sound just like Twilight Sparkle."

Pupa recoiled. "What?! Why?!"

"Um, nothing!" Sweetie quickly amended herself, holding up her hooves in placation. Twilight Sparkle was probably some sort of changeling boogiemare. "How about we just read Pinkie Pie and the Cake Castle Kaboom?"

Pupa gave her a dubious look but nodded. "Okay, Pinkie it is... Oh, hey, did you know it's based on a real pony?"

Sweetie smiled. The mental image of Pinkie popped up, a decade older but no less zany and hyperactive. "I've heard of Pinkie Pie."

"Good!” Pupa held out the book invitingly. “Then you tell the story!"

Sweetie sighed, taking the book in her own magical grasp. "Okay, but you read the next one." She cleared her throat and sat down close to the cocooned nymphs and larvae, opening the book and floating it up next to her so that the little changelings could look at the pictures. "Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away but also in the Land of Equestria, there lived an energetic young mare called Pinkie Pie. She loved cake! In fact, she loved cake so much, she decided one day to make her own Cake Castle..." Sweetie's voice went high-pitched as she imitated Pinkie to the best of her ability. "But how can I make a cake soooo big and stupendously, uniquely and deliciously tasty as I need it to be? I can't bake this on my own!

"Pinkie pondered and pondered. Day and night, she would think of a way to make her castle a reality. Then one day, as she woke up, Pinkie thought of all the old pony tales her Granny Pie used to tell her, and she remembered one that might work!" Sweetie's voice went high-pitched again. "Gee! How could I forget about the lake?! I'll go up to the secret grove and make more copies of... me!" Sweetie's voice drifted off and she stared at the book for a moment before looking at Pupa. "Are we sure this is a fairy tale? Because this sounds exactly like what Pinkie would actually do."

Pupa gave her a quizzical look, complete with helpless shrug.

Sweetie stared blankly back. "Anyway. Pinkie Pie skipped out of town..."

o.0.o

After story time was done, the larvae were rotated and the nymphs checked for flaws, the latter job Pupa showed to be mostly a matter of making sure their wings grew unhindered. Pupa had explained that other Princesses had larger and less mature clutches, and that changeling grubs, before they became sedentary larvae, were quite troublesome.

Sweetie had also noticed that, while reading stories earlier, several changelings of all breeds—including some of the other Princesses—had paused on their daily goings to look into the crèche. A couple of their visitors even smiling as they watched the pair foalsitting before leaving them to their work.

"Cerci says she wants this one to be a new princess." Pupa sighed, magically bouncing a plushie in front of the molting nymph between her forelegs. "She’s even been given some ambrosia. You can already see she’ll be a little bigger than her sister.”

Sitting next to the other nymph, Sweetie could see what Pupa meant. So that was how Princesses were normally made? From birth?

“Princess Allure?”

“Hm?”

“Do you have any royal jelly?" Pupa asked, innocently. “You’re a Princess, after all.”

Sweetie cringed. "I haven't been able to produce just about any."

Pupa rolled her eyes. "Well, you never will if you don't try! Come on, try it with this one," Pupa insisted, leaning in to nudge the larger nymph over. "Remember that the princesses have been checking on us; if they don't see you try, you'll have trouble later on."

Sweetie shuffled forward. 'There's no way I can do this! I'm not a real changeling!' She remembered the taste of the jelly and the effects it had had on her. But to produce it...

She looked down at the little nymph. It was unresponsive, but as far as she could tell, changelings didn’t have a ‘foal’-like stage of development. They were more like birds or bees when it came to caring for their young.

'Wouldn't it be crazy if you could?'

Sweetie stopped, eyes wide at the intrusive thought. She thought she recognized the sound of the voice but—

"Allure!" Pupa's harsh whisper made her jump.

"Oh! Sorry!" Sweetie shook her head and leaned down. She felt something soft—which she was very sure hadn't been there earlier—up behind her teeth compress and decompress, and suddenly she had a tiny droplet of ambrosia in her mouth. Eyes wide, she opened her mouth and let it drip off her tongue and into the mouth of the waiting nymph.

"You did it!" Pupa called. She pulled the nymph back and cradled it just like an older sister might do with a baby sibling. “I knew you had it in you!”

Sweetie nodded, still a little rattled.

What had she just done? Had she just done what she thought she had?

Sweetie sat there, looking at her new friend fussing over Cerci’s oldest nymph while her tongue played with her teeth and her brain refused to address the impossibility of what had just happened.

"Aunt Cerci says the more ambrosia a nymph gets, the stronger it will be when it finishes the molt," Pupa muttered. "I thought you said you didn't have any royal jelly?"

"I-I didn't!" Sweetie grimaced, feeling along the inside of her teeth. ‘Great, I have poison fangs or something now, too?’ "I'm not even sure how that happened!"

"Well, it did," Pupa sighed. "When Aunt Cerci gave you some, it probably kickstarted yours. Since you're a Princess too, it's only natural. Soon you’ll be ready to start your own clutch! Won’t that be great?"

Sweetie looked away, fighting the urge to run away in a panic. She gulped. "How about we sing them a song so they can sleep? We can talk about the jelly later."

o.0.o

Despite her earlier misgivings, and the fact that she had suddenly started producing poisonous honey, Sweetie was feeling surprisingly positive about the whole experience.

For her part, Pupa had been a refreshing changeling to deal with, reminding her more of Bon Bon in the previous world with how friendly she was, although the whole thing with the royal jelly was making Sweetie second-guess herself constantly now. The last thing she wanted or needed was more funny business going on with her body. All the changes were supposed to be done and over with. She hadn't messed around with anything to create this situation, and it was really worrying that she had heard a voice of all things just before it had happened.

'Anyway, now is probably not the best time to question myself,' Sweetie thought, her mind turning to darker tidings. 'I should try and see who else doesn't agree with Cerci's politics... and that means Svikja.' She frowned. 'I never really got the chance to meet the other swarms when I was here before. I wonder how many differences they have? The browns were certainly unique.'

Just as with the night before, she headed straight towards where she wanted to go, approaching the Blues' group slowly and making sure that they were aware of her movements. She did have a tendency to creep up on everypony, and if she seemed to suddenly materialize in their midst, there was a chance they would be hostile.

Things were a little different this time when she entered the section of the mines set aside for the Blue Hive, in contrast with her meeting with Olinca. Rather than a gaggle of fairly equine-looking blue-colored changelings, she saw Reds and Yellows and Greens. For a moment, she even wondered if she’d made a mistake and gotten turned around somehow in the maze of shafts and corridors. Then one of the red changelings rippled with blue fire... turning yellow.

This was the ability the Blues had, she recalled: the ability to mimic other changelings. Which might have meant that they fed off of other changelings instead of Equestrians! Looking around, she found she couldn’t begin to tell which, if any, of the changelings here were their genuine color and which were secretly blue.

Going out on a limb, she approached the nearest red-looking changeling. "Hello there. My name is Princess Allure. I'm here to speak with Princess Svikja, if she is presently available?"

The Red hissed, rising to her full height, much like a pony could rear up on hind legs but clearly with more comfort. She then gestured to her left, to the other red changeling she had been talking to.

“I can help with that,” the other Red said, not bothering to rear up or stand. Her body shifted amid azure flames, undoing the illusion and revealing a basic blue changeling. In that state they were very much like the Greens, Sweetie thought, though the blues stood a little taller and had no horn. Instead, a strange flap extended forward from their membrane-like manes. The changeling leaned a bit closer, narrowing her eyes, and her illusion returned, this time copying Sweetie herself.

“I can’t quite feel your magic,” the blue stated, and a second ripple passed over her as she tried to correct it. “Still not quite right! Hmm. You’re a tricky one.” It sounded like a compliment. "Follow me."

The pair marched deeper into the cave, and Sweetie discovered that Svikja was not far away. Unlike the other Blues, she wasn’t in disguise. Much like Cerci, though, she had her seat of power in another crèche. The walls were again layered with a waxy coating—this time having a blue tint to it—with small, neat alcoves along either wall. Sweetie looked around but didn’t see any cocooned larvae or molting nymphs. On first glance, she guessed that if there were any, then they were kept in those little wall alcoves.

“Vyshay, Allure,” Svikja greeted her, motioning her forward. She didn’t stand or rise from her little dais. “What can we do for one another?”

Sweetie considered greeting the princess in the traditional way she had been greeted by Cerci and Olinca, but given that Svikja had shown no intention to move, it might put her at a disadvantage if she did follow protocol.

"Well, Your Highness, I’ve been here for a little while, and I was hoping that we could talk about how this group of different swarms functions. I have heard you are an experienced leader, and being young myself, I am seeking the wisdom of other princesses so that I might find my own place here."

“A wise course of action,” Svikja agreed, and she made a little head bob. “Come. Sit.” Unlike Cerci, she had a spot next to her on her raised platform, large enough to accommodate a second changeling. “What would you like to know?”

Taking the offered seat, Sweetie pondered the question for a moment. She couldn't reveal exactly what she was looking for. If anything, Olinca's unwillingness to own up to her own stance was very telling in and of itself.

"I believe I should learn a little more about the power structure here," Sweetie began. "I understand that Cerci has become the defacto leader, but if you'll forgive my bluntness, there seem to be quite a few leaders here in their own right, so I do wonder how the others view this current hierarchy. We can all aim for the same result, but we don't necessarily want to achieve it by the same means."

Princess Svikja tapped her chin at the question, and posed one of her own. “I take it this is the first group of survivors you’ve run into since your hive was lost?”

Sweetie nodded, opting for a partial truth. "Other than a single other changeling far away, I haven't run into any... much less any of my own. But my experience with bands with several strong leaders, limited as it is, has never indicated a perfectly smooth operation."

“No,” the blue Princess agreed. “Our experience was much the same. Changelings within a hive get along in relative harmony, due to our physiology, but when hives interact, it can be... difficult to maintain order.” She ran her foreleg along her web-like mane. “Chrysalis subordinated the other Queens to her through force of personality and because her Green Hive had the benefits of modernity.”

She explained in detail, “She defeated the Reds, decisively, using Equestrian technology, tactics and magic. She talked the Browns into following her with a sweet tongue and sweeter gifts. She used her new alliance to force the Blues to comply with her wishes and she confronted the Yellows with something they had never seen before—an alliance of all their peers and old enemies. When talk failed, she used force, and Chrysalis did not lack for power.

“All that changed in Canterlot, of course. Those who survived splintered. Some tried to return to the homeland, but we had been revealed and all the world hunted us. In that time, Chrysalis had princess-daughters. She cultivated them into powerful lieutenants: Instar, Exuvia and Ecdysis were the great three, and no other hive had anything like them. Those early princesses led the first splinter groups after our defeat...”

Svikja paused to glance over at Sweetie and read her face.

Sweetie nodded. "It was my understanding that Chrysalis did a lot of things in a different way than other hives, from the way they help their nymphs grow to their tactics. I was aware of her love for her daughters, and it doesn't surprise me that she would groom them all for leadership and efficiency."

“Those princesses are gone now, of course,” Svikja continued, examining her hooves with a bored expression. “No princess has the power to truly command those outside of her own hive. A new system was needed to maintain our unity, so it was eventually decided—at least here, with us—to give every princess an equal voice and an equal vote. Thus our leader is decided fairly based on who is most popular at any given time.”

Sweetie smiled a little. "Popularity among us princesses, or all changelings?" It felt so weird to call herself a princess. "She seems very decisive and aggressive... I imagine that a lot of the anger and resentment at ponies contributes to those ideas."

“The vote is reserved for princesses only.”

'Well that explains that, at least...' Sweetie watched as Svikja faced forward but keeping her in the corner of her eye.

“Cerci believes we must strike back against Equestria," Svikja added. "That to hide is both cowardly and only prolonging our own extinction. She believes that, through force, we can force the ponies into giving us what we want.”

She gave Sweetie a calculating look. “But I’m curious. What do you think, Allure?”

"I..." Sweetie tried to organize her thoughts. "I agree that hiding indefinitely is just waiting for the inevitable, but I am not convinced that outright attacks on the ponies will not achieve the same result."

“What would you suggest we do, then?”

Sweetie sighed. "I'm not sure. If Lady Belle's initial attitude towards me is any indication, things here in Bitaly are not going to solve themselves as peacefully as I would hope, but the fact that both she and Di—her assistant were not only willing to listen to me, but give me a chance... I believe there is a window of opportunity we could use to find a peaceful solution." Sweetie looked away. "Or I hope. After the prison break... it's anyone's guess what will happen."

Svikja hummed and rubbed her lower lip with the edge of her foreleg. “An interesting answer. In your place, I would think most changelings would be chittering for blood.”

Sweetie shook her head, trying to put words to her thoughts. "To what end? Shouldn't we value more the lives we have left than the ones we have lost? Thousands of changelings died because the most pressing intent of Queen Chrysalis was conquest. Are we really just going to repeat her mistakes? Over and over? And if it's really just one of my hive left after all, exposing myself as an enemy would guarantee my hive's extinction.”

Sweetie saw the blue princess was watching her, but it was hard to gauge whether she agreed or not, not yet.

"In any case," Sweetie quickly continued, "we are few, and although our cause and reasons are just, we can't survive another war when we almost didn't at full force."

She gritted her teeth, putting herself in the other changeling's hooves. In the place where Twilight Sparkle had stood several worlds ago. Fighting for acceptance. For her people.

"I'm not saying we should surrender,” she explained. “That is not an option. But if we can survive and thrive without war destroying us all, isn't that a better choice?"

“There is no doubt that the time in which changeling could rule over pony, as Chrysalis promised, has passed...” Svikja seemed to have been speaking a little more measuredly. “But”—she resumed her normal tone—“the obstacle remains: finding a way to survive alongside those who hate us, who will not even let us flee? Not many here think as you do, Allure.”

Sweetie had thought as much.

"I believe we can. I befriended Lady Belle's assistant, and I even broke through Lady Belle's reservations." She looked evenly at Svikja. "Lady Belle, who has been trained by none other than one of the most notorious of anti-changelings nobles out there." She motioned to the ceiling as if encompassing the world beyond. "That was partly why I allowed myself to be captured without a fight. Ponies are not hateful by nature, but the more we give them reason to hate and fear us... the more I fear what will become of us."

The blue princess closed her eyes, as if contemplative.

“Let me share an observation,” she said, slowly. “Not about ponies, but about things here.” She opened her eyes. They were an icy, glacial blue, very otherworldly on a changeling. “I told you every princess here had an equal vote. That includes Cerci, myself, Olinca, Urda, Nkosazana and Sever, though she neglects her princessly duties. Until yesterday, we were six. Now, we are seven.”

“Because of me.”

“Do you think Cerci freed you purely out of sisterly love of her fellow changeling?” Svikja asked, shaking her head. “No. You, the last of your hive, are a symbol of the wrongs done to us, the injustice of our fall. Which way do you think most changelings expect you will vote?”

Sweetie blinked, understanding dawning on her. "You would all expect me to vote for my 'rescuer', of course, backing her every move to attack the ponies and avenge our kin!"

She shook her head. Politics!

“But she affected my own plans to reach a peaceful agreement with them." 'Even if it was for my own benefit and I hadn't thought about changelings at all until Diamond Tiara told me about Ponyville.' "Is the voting so divided on our next course of action that she needs another vote to fight?"

“No, she is not so desperate as that, though there is... dissent.” Svikja was clearly weighing her words on this subject very carefully. Sweetie had no doubt that was because word was slowly getting out that she herself was one of those dissenters now. “Cerci enjoys the support of the Yellow and the Red in all things. The Purples follow her as well, but oft with reservations. The Browns are more wary, as Olinca is a cautious princess, and we Blues... or rather, I personally, have my issues with Cerci as well. Yours could be a vital swing vote, if it came to a vote of no confidence.”

Sweetie nodded silently, weighing what she had just learned. "You know now which way I lean when it comes to conflict with ponies," she said, studying her host. "But I don't know what your intents are, Princess. Do you think we should fight until only one proves superior? Or would you settle for peace between our species?"

Svikja favored her with a wry smile. “We Blues are different from most changelings. We draw our sustenance not from ponies, but from other changelings. If they die, we die. If they thrive, we thrive. I’ll favor whichever option aligns with these interests.” She hesitated a moment, leaned in closer, and whispered, “But between you and me, I would favor a settlement of some kind.”

Sweetie nodded. "It's understandable. After all, your swarm thriving will come from others' victories. I do believe that, handled the right way, we can achieve peace... and if we do, changelings will not hunger for sustenance, and ponies will learn to live with us." She stood up, bowing to Svikja. "I think I'll try to sway things towards peace, Your Highness, as I am sure that it will benefit us all the most."

Svikja returned the bow with one of her own. “I hope it will.”

o.0.o

Dear Diary,

The last few days I have been learning about the different types of changelings and their motivations. It's strange to think that, not so long ago, they would have been ready to kill each other rather than cooperate, but necessity has made them allies and even put them above petty fights. They’re still united even after their mothers and Queens died. I guess that’s admirable, isn’t it? That they haven’t gone back to fighting one another?

They’re unified, but who are they unified under? I'm not entirely sure what Cerci's plans are. She seems ready to go to war with the ponies here in Bitaly. She wants to keep fighting, and it's not a good idea. I don’t think I’m just saying or thinking this because I’m not one of them, either.

I've grown attached to Pupa and the nymphs and grubs, and some of the other changelings—particularly the Browns—are sweeter and less aggressive than I would have ever imagined. I fear that if she carries on provoking Sand Dune and Lady Belle, Cerci's going to bite off more than she can chew and all the changelings here will pay for it. I’m sure she thinks she truly has the best interests of the changelings at heart, but her objectives and the best option for everyone here are not necessarily

“Princess?” came a sibilant hiss from outside her chambers. “You are needed.”

“What is it?” Sweetie asked, looking up and stopping mid sentence.

“A quorum has been called,” the changeling outside answered. “All princesses are to attend.”

Looking down at her entry, Sweetie sighed and shook her head, closing the notebook and dismissing it into its pocket dimension. "I'll be right there."

As she left, she spared a thought or two for her situation, and more than that, the changelings’ situation.

From what she had heard, the Queens during the invasion had all been directly subordinate to Chrysalis, styling herself ‘the Queen of Queens.’ Cerci here did not call herself ‘the Princess of Princesses’—instead, she seemed to both act and refer to herself as a first among ostensible equals. That the changelings had compromised their old hive structures as they had was proof of their adaptability and their tenacity, wasn’t it?

Sweetie was left to find her way, to the quorum chamber. Recognized as the Princess of the Pink Hive, other changelings deferred to her and gestured respectfully as she passed by. To them, she was a future mother of a future hive.

It was the role and the reason princesses had power in changeling society. Cerci herself was likely Sweetie’s junior in actual age, but she was considered mature by virtue of having enough royal jelly to produce fertile nymphs. It was such a strange and surreal situation and society, so alien in so many ways, but with so many trappings of Equestria. It was almost like the changelings themselves could not entirely separate physically mimicking ponies and mimicking their society and culture. Pupa was just one of the more extreme examples of it.

Sweetie passed under an arch made of changeling wax, long since hardened. It was rigid as stone, but softer to the touch. Sweetie had seen some of the green changeling workers regurgitating it and molding it into supports as they excavated and refurbished another part of the mine.

Beyond the arch was her destination. The walls of the room were covered in black, brackish wax that lined every surface like plaster. This was the traditional changeling way, she guessed, but it was marked by the new ways as well. There were patterns etched into the wax as it hardened: squares and hexagons, very simple, and yet the result was a complex and impressive weave that caught the light in an otherworldly way.

Hooks had been fashioned for the walls to support colored banners, much like noble families in Canterlot would display their coats of arms. The simple colors were left as place markers for the princesses of the various hives.

There was no head of the room, built as it was in a circle.

Cerci sat beneath the green banner, off to the right. She sat proudly with her head held high, her jagged horn marking her as the tallest of the princesses present, her black and viridian chitin immaculate and clean. Her bearing often reminded Sweetie of the noble ponies she had met in Canterlot, no doubt another affectation adapted by the Greens in their infiltration of Equestria.

Next to her was Olinca, representing the Brown Hive. Unlike Cerci, Olinca covered herself with rags and wrappings, the hunched form of her earth pony host silent, face likewise obscured. It seemed to be a cultural thing: even amongst their own kind, the browns seemed to prefer to keep their true bodies hidden and act entirely through their hosts. Sweetie had at first assumed they were ashamed of how frail they seemed to be, that they didn’t want others to think of them as parasites. After speaking with some of them, though, she suspected it was something different. They acted through their hosts out of pride and not shame—they took the size and strength of the host to be their own size and their own strength. Of the hives, Sweetie thought them possibly the strangest of all.

Nkosazana sat at Cerci’s left side, speaking for her Purple Hive... all three of them. Sweetie did not know the purple changelings well. They were called the Aida-Weddo by the other changelings, or more commonly, the Death Witches. Like the Browns, they covered themselves in hooded clothes, but their bodies were their own... or seemed to be. The purples covered their faces with wooden masks like those that Zecora had back in the Everfree Forest.

Hyacinth, the Red Princess, was the next in the clockwise circle, and Sweetie took the spot next to her. There were quite a few red changelings around, but they kept to themselves. Their forms were mantis-like, with lean limbs studded with barbs and blade-like grooves for cutting. They could turn invisible, Sweetie had learned, mimicking their environment instead of their prey. Hyacinth was a thin and haggard-looking Princess, and Sweetie knew she only had a clutch of two eggs in her hatchery. All her nymphs had died last year, a fact that upset many in her hive. Her sister and next in line was Urda, a much healthier-looking changeling. Other changelings whispered that someday soon Urda would overcome ‘the compulsion’ and kill her sister and become princess, eating the jelly in her sister’s body in the process.

Sweetie silently hoped she wouldn’t have to watch it if it happened.

To Sweetie’s right was Svikja, the Blue Princess. Her kind mimicked other changelings and fed off them as well, a fact that the other changelings seemed to accept with minimal complaint. Because of this, maybe, the blue changelings were all hale and hearty—and multiplying. Svikja’s children were all strong and healthy—Sweetie had seen them herself—and her hive was on the rise. Svikja herself had a proud bearing similar to Cerci’s.

Finally there was the Yellow Hive, represented by Sever. Until a few days ago, Sweetie would not have assumed the savage changeling to be a princess, given how she acted as Cerci’s muscle. The Yellows were a little different from the other changelings. They didn’t have much of a nursery for their young. They still set one up like the others but they didn’t attend to it. The young ‘lings were left to develop or not on their own. When they were in their larger nymph stages, supposedly the older Yellows would capture medium-sized animals, like dogs or cats, for them to mimic.

All this left the Pink Hive... Sweetie’s hive... unaccounted for.

What were they? How did they practice the changeling ways?

Of course, there were no real answers, because there was no real Pink Hive. It was a growing problem as more and more changelings became curious and Sweetie had to keep making up vague answers. Like Blueblood had told her once: ‘The more you lies you tell, the easier they are to see through.’

How long did she have before they saw through her?

“Sisters!” Cerci spoke when all were assembled. She always called her fellow princesses ‘sisters.’ Sweetie wasn’t sure if it was a calculated bit of wordplay or genuine affection and camaraderie. “My Sisters,” Cerci said, making a show of looking around at them. “I have called this quorum in advance of our next strike against the equestrians. Sever and I will both be leaving, and though we should not see battle... there is always the chance that I may die.

“As before,” she continued, fixing her peers with a brief stare, “I ask that you recognize Pupa as my legitimate and legal successor in this event.”

“And my sister, Impel, as mine,” Sever added.

Around the chamber, the other princesses and Sweetie gave their words. Supposedly, without a body to recover, a new princess like Pupa would be at a severe disadvantage and need extra help to pick up where their fallen predecessor left off. Hence, the agreement for all princesses to aid all the other new princesses rise up and join their sorority. It was a practical solution, really, and even an egalitarian one. Sweetie just wished it hadn’t been developed under such unfortunate circumstances. Not for the first time, the adaptability of the changelings here impressed her.

“What of this strike against the Equestrians?” Hyacinth asked when the formalities were done. “Are you finally ready to procure sustenance for us?” She coughed into her hoof, not to make a point, but out of very real weakness. “My Red Hive suffers, Sister. My children... You know the difficulties I have had...”

“We know it well,” Svikja assured her.

“That is part of our objective, yes,” Cerci said, and Hyacinth bowed her head in thanks. “We will return with flesh for you, but it must be discreet...”

"I'm sorry, Sister, but the meat does not necessarily have to be from those you drain of emotions, correct?" Sweetie spoke up, looking at the Red Princess. "If that's the case, wouldn't it make sense to... disguise ourselves as griffons and procure food for you without drawing attention to captured ponies?"

“Wise words,” Olinca said, her voice soft at first. Sweetie noticed the mouth of her earth pony host moving as well, as if they were both saying the same words. “We Browns have noticed the tension between Red and Green when the former request what few emotional hosts we have for their.... use.”

“Mimicking a griffin is not difficult for us,” Sever said, in apparent agreement, referring to herself and her Golden Hive. “We have papers as well, forged ones, that no butcher will bother inspecting. There is a griffin enclave further along the coast. We might procure some protein for you there.”

“My good Sisters have taken the words out of my mouth.” Cerci nodded. “We will see it done, Hyacinth. And if a problem should arise, Sever, be on the lookout for some street urchin or other pony that none will come looking for.”

Sever sniffed in distaste. “Of course.”

“My hive will be in your debt...” Hyacinth looked to Cerci and Sever in particular and bowed her head again in gratitude. Procuring red meat in Equestria was actually easier said than done, but at least the changelings were trying for an alternative before jumping right to foalnapping.

It was another particularly distasteful thing Sweetie had seen in her short time here. Changelings needed to feed on the emotions of others. The Blues didn’t have a problem; they just mimicked other changelings and went on their merry way. The Browns were also fine, as they fed off their hosts.

The other hives—the Greens, Reds and Yellows in particular—had to foalnap ponies to feed on. The Greens, with their growing knowledge of magic, had developed a way to do this while the pony was unconscious. The poor ponies were simply kept cocooned like batteries, but at least they were unhurt. Some were supposedly even released later, none the wiser, in order not to cause suspicion.

The yellows, though... They weren’t as sophisticated as the Greens, and they kept their own prey locked up, feeding as readily on their fear as the Greens would their love. The Reds were a peculiar problem in their need for flesh and animal protein. It was offset by the fact that they needed much less emotion than the others, but it meant no one would share a table with a Red, so to speak.

Not for the first time, Sweetie was quietly grateful Equestria hadn’t fallen to the Chrysalis in this dimension. By every Princess in every dimension, it would not have been the kind of world she cared to visit.

After a few minutes, talk turn to the other matter at hoof.

“The raid,” Sever began. “We must draw the eyes of Sand Dune elsewhere.”

“Sand Dune. Will no one rid us of this annoying unicorn?” Svikja growled, stamping a chitinous hoof. “We were able to scare off her brother last year, after he came so close to finding us...”

“Sand Dune has control over time itself,” Cerci reminded the Blue Princess. “She is not easily scared or dissuaded. Instead, we must maneuver her out of our way until we are ready to strike. Do not worry, Sister.” Cerci smiled, revealing a pearly row of razor sharp teeth. “Our grandmothers' revenge is slow but sure. Their blood shall be answered with blood, their murders repaid in kind. Until every Equestrian Princess lies broken, as our Queens were broken.

“Baby steps until we get there,” Cerci quickly added, calming herself somewhat, repeating it again like a mantra. “Baby steps. The time when we could darken the skies with our numbers is not likely to return, so we must be more subtle.”

“Nothing subtle about this raid, though?” Sever asked, clearly not a fan of subtlety. She smiled at her fellow princesses. “Sisters, to draw Sand Dune’s eye, we must poke out another’s. It shall be great, bloody fun!”

Sweetie cringed inwardly. She didn't want any more carnage for either race, much less to risk the lives of innocent nymphs or sweet changelings like Pupa.

“The subtlety is in how we poke that eye out,” Cerci explained, the dangerous ice to Sever’s obvious fire. “Some days from now, the ponies of Neighples will be in a rather convenient uproar. While traveling through the streets, the Lord and Lady Sand Castle will be assaulted by peasants. They will barely escape with their lives. Given the disposition of Lady Sand Castle in particular, we can expect a hasty and poorly thought out crackdown that will only further agitate the peasantry.”

“A riot?” Svikja asked. “And leaving these two noble ponies alive, you think they will call to Sand Dune for help?”

'If they start a riot, how many ponies will suffer? How many will die?' Sweetie wondered, worriedly looking at the others and trying to judge how many of them agreed with this plan.

“The opposite,” Cerci answered her with a huff. “They will try and handle it themselves. Only when the situation has deteriorated and word has reached Sand Dune’s ears will she be compelled to travel there and fix the situation herself. When she does, we will strike—our real strike—where she is not.”

"And what would be the real objective?" Sweetie asked. "If they find out that it was us creating these distractions, Sand Dune will more likely try and cut down the root of the problem... and there's no way we could fight them off if they do find us." She looked around the chamber at the other princesses. "I know that we are suffering for a lack of sustenance, that we need to rebuild... and that we can't trust them right now to not attack on sight, but from what I experienced, ponies were already paranoid enough about changelings that they will not question whether the peasants are changelings or not. Their first instinct will be 'yes' and their second will be 'kill them or we will be killed.'"

“There is no reward without risk,” Cerci argued, narrowing her eyes slightly at the supposed Pink Princess. “Let the ponies fear us, as well they should. We have caused chaos in their hearts and their streets already. In this war, the one who fears most is the one who has lost.”

Sweetie shook her head, pleading with her eyes for Cerci to reconsider. "Fear can drive ponies to desperate measures!" She stood up, gesturing with her hooves as she leaned forward, trying to find a way to convey her experience in other worlds without betraying anything.

Her thoughts turned to a certain pink filly in a space suit.

"Ponies, when afraid and desperate, have less to lose than when they feel secure,” she tried to tell them. “My hive was subterranean, but when we thought that ponies were soft and easy to scare, we learned how vicious they can be when fueled by thoughts of revenge. And we are a lot less than we were before. We can't afford to lose any changeling, or worse, have them captured knowing this location."

Hyacinth spoke up, looking worried. “There are tales told of the Dark Princess... the one called Luna, how she tore the Great Tlanextli apart, ripping her in half from the inside out. Equestrians are terrible creatures... especially the damned alicorns.”

Cerci glared at the weak Red Princess, baring her teeth in what was definitely not a smile. “Watch your words and your tone, Sister. I will brook dissent and I will embrace caution, but fear has no place in this quorum!”

“The true danger is not in their magic, but in their insidious ideology,” Sever said with a growl. “It infests all in contact with it, like a disease.”

"Have you ever seen," Sweetie spoke up slowly, not looking at Sever, but rather focusing on the waxy pedestal in the center of the chamber between them as her memory was jogged, “a five alliteration spell, like the ones their Princesses can conjure?" She took a deep breath as the others fell silent. "The ground boiled when it was cast. And I was informed that anyone—changeling, pony, minotaur or griffon—who stepped in the area where it had occurred would still burn slowly in invisible fire." She looked up at Sever and Cerci. "I don't think we have to fear them, as much as realize that they are not the pushovers our predecessors assumed they were, to a conclusion we are all painfully aware of."

“Instar took detailed notes on the magic of those fiends,” Cerci answered with a naughty smirk. “Exactly why we will not oppose them directly. It was a mistake for Chrysalis to join with Alpha Brass, curse his name, and it was a mistake for her to try and use creatures like Celestia and Twilight Sparkle for her own ends. Both should simply have been executed, throats cut while they slept. Demons like that have no place in this world.”

She shook her head, and she held up a hoof for silence.

“Sisters, we are already committed to this fight, this righteous fight for survival. Should we hold another vote as to our plans? To fight or to flee? All here save our newest have agreed to fight.”

"When both options are terrible, pick a third!" Sweetie spoke up. "Peace. We don't feed only on one emotion. We can make it work and feed off of—”

“Enough!” Cerci roared, her wings beginning to vibrate against her back. “I will hear no talk of peace in this quorum! Or capitulation! I will not suffer surrender! Defeatist talk will only engender more fear and more defeatism! You would hollow out our resolve!”

"You will not consider peace even at the cost of those nymphs you educate yourself?" Sweetie retorted. "Or the fact that to even have a chance at a fair fight we would need more mating than we can accomplish in a few lifetimes?"

“Which is why we will not fight their battles their way!” Cerci was in a rage, but it was a slow, simmering rage.

"Cerci," Sweetie sighed. "You will try not to fight like that, but sooner or later, they will find us. And then what will you do?"

“By then it will be too late,” Chrysalis’ descendant promised. “We are too close to stop, too close to relent, too close to second-guess. Our bridge was burned before you came to us, Sister, before I even thought to rescue you from that prison.”

"I was brokering peace!" Sweetie said. "I even got Lady Sweetie Belle of all ponies to consider it!"

“There can be no peace between changelings and ponies.” Cerci said it coldly, like a curse. Like peace was the same as death. Her tone was almost lecturing, the calm just a thin illusion to disguise the fury beneath the surface. “No more than there can be peace between lions and sheep. No more than the hawk flies alongside the dove. It is against the natural order. Even if it wasn’t, the blood of seven Queens cries out for revenge! Would that we had seven alicorns to satiate them!”

Sweetie gaped, looking around the room for support.

Svikja seemed at least partly sympathetic and met Sweetie’s eyes, but she was the only one. Olinca had her host cover her with a heavy hoof as if to shield her from the argument. Sever was grinning maliciously, amused by the exchange and the result it was coming to. Nkosazana of the purple hive was as silent as she had been since the start of the quorum. Hyacinth was coughing softly into her hoof and pointedly staring down at the floor.

“I am duly elected and recognized as leader of this quorum, this council of Sisters and peers,” Cerci said, and Sweetie knew that the Green Princess was not going to be directly challenged, not by anyone else here. “I have sacrificed and bled and fought for our kind all my life! I will continue to do so. Please, Sisters, speak not of defeat... or surrender... or peace. All mean the same thing in the end: the death of who and what we are. Changelings!”

“Changelings!” Sever snarled.

“Changelings,” Hyacinth agreed.

“Changelings,” Nkosazana finally spoke.

“Changelings,” Olinca grumbled. “That is what we are.”

Their eyes all turned to Sweetie. She had to say it. So she sighed, and said what they needed to hear. "Changelings."

'Changelings afraid of change.'

And it was increasingly looking like she’d sink or swim as one of them.

Chapter End

Author's Note

Hello everyone. I know this isn't ideal, but after a long wait on being able to finish this chapter, it was decided to proceed for now without closing this small arc. More information here:
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/712359/oh-hey

https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/712820/okay-so-following-up-from-the-last-blog

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Summary: Bitaly Last Part

Author's Note

Author's Note: One of my favorite things about working with others is just how different we all are when it comes to writing: from planning to completion, everyone has a different style, and Capn' liked outlines.

This chapter DOES contain some story, but please remember that we never finished this, thus, it is mostly an insight into our creative process as co-authors at that time.

Summary: Bitaly Last Part

OUTLINE

More Sweetie Diplomacy
1. Cerci talks to Sweetie
2. Sweetie thinks about what to do
3. Tries diplomacy with other hives, 1v1
  1. over several days, Sweetie does research
    1. like “notes” or “Sweetie’s notes”
  2. has the meetings
  3. Cerci and Sever return
  4. Svikja (Blue)
  5. Olinca (Brown)
  6. Nkosazana (Purple)
the Spy Situation
1. While researching (or elsewise) Sweetie is around when Urda (Red) is captured and accused of spying
2. Sweetie tries one last time to convince the quorum to make peace, using some of her discoveries (like Pupa’s ideas) as proof
  1. but the quorum is either deadlocked or turns against her
3. So she releases Urda with her notes, telling her to give them to Lady Belle
4. But Sweetie is captured soon after
Lady Belle Attacks
1. Sweetie is being held while the others decide what to do with her
2. They’re getting ready to move to another location when advance forces of Lady Belle attack, trapping them
3. Fighting breaks out
4. Pupa lets Sweetie out, hoping that together they can find a way to stop before this becomes a slaughter
Climax
1. Cerci and Lady Belle clash
2. Lady Belle reveals her void form, the result of her corruption at the end of TPC
3. Svikja betrays Cerci
4. Sweetie and Pupa arrive, too
5. Sweetie-Lady Belle-Cerci-Pupa climax

. . .
. . .

“A moment, if you will?” Cerci was less than subtle in drawing Sweetie aside, nudging the smaller ‘changeling’ [whatever you prefer to indicate narrative sarcasm] slightly, much as a pony would in the same situation. The quorum was dispersing, the Princesses going their various ways, returning to their hives to speak to their sisters and subjects.

“Just what was that back there?” she asked, before Sweetie could answer her. She didn’t sound angry, just concerned and even a little upset. No doubt, as Sweetie had already learned, she hadn’t expected the new Princess she’d just rescued to argue against her or oppose her, much less in public or in quorum.

Knowing Cerci’s temperament, Sweetie considered her reply carefully.

"I'm just worried," she confessed, seeing Cerci’s eyes narrow suspiciously. "I've grown close to a few changelings here: you and your sister, your nymphs... I fear that outright hostilities when we're in such a vulnerable position is going to ultimately doom the whole changeling race. We’re the last changelings, aren’t we? The last ones we know about?”

She glanced at the council table. "It's frustrating because I know laying down and doing nothing is not an option, but I had hoped we could at least attempt to reach some sort of peace that doesn't involve genocide or the possible death of hundreds others." She looked up at Cerci. "I'm not trying to move against you, but I do want to do the best I can for all changelings here."

“That’s fear talking,” Cerci chided her, narrowing her serpentine green eyes from a curious squint to a genuine glare. “But think about what ‘peace’ would mean--” she spat the word “--it would be the end of us as a people! The ponies would not need to trample our eggs to destroy us. They would do it with soft words and helping hooves. How could we feed? How could we breed? Our very existence is a threat to them!”

“Do not forget, sister, never forget...!” Cerci leaned closer, until she was almost nose to nose with the smaller Sweetie Belle. “They hate[i/] us. In their bones they hate us. And you would do well to hate them back for what they did to your hive! No. Too much blood has been spilled and above all else, we must be masters of our own fate.”

She rested a hoof on Sweetie’s shoulder, an amiable peace-making gesture as Cerci’s features softened. It was an eerily pony-like gesture from a creature that claimed to hate equestrians. “Do you understand?”

Sweetie nodded sullenly, looking down at the floor and biting her lip. There was too much riding on this to just give up, but what choice did she have? Either she found a way or she'd have to betray some-pony. Either way, if she picked one side or the other, Sweetie knew this world well enough to know there would be nasty consequences even if she didn’t have to remain to see them.

“Can I count on you?” Cerci asked, a little more pressingly. “To stand with me?”

Sweetie said nothing, not turning away, but also not looking at the Green Princess. "I'll do my best," she muttered.

. . .

'So what do I do now?' Sweetie thought to herself sullenly as she made her way to her hive’s creche. 'The direct approach didn't work, and none of them were willing to stand with me.' She kicked a small rock out of the way and took a deep breath. 'But why?'

The thought bothered her more than her lack of success. From her conversations with the brown and blue queens, she had been sure they were not too fond of Cerci's plans, so why hadn't they stood up when they had the chance just now? Did she need to talk to the others first? Make them swear their allegiance to her?

Sweetie shook her head at the thought. That would only guarantee Cerci's anger and most likely Sever's rabid response. A direct challenge wasn’t likely to work, at least not from the get-go. But then... how to approach this?

By the time she found her way back to her Princessly lair, she’d mentally dissected the quorum meeting and assembled a little list in her head of potential points of failure. Most of those points of failure shared a certain commonality. Grudgingly, Sweetie was forced to admit her own inexperience in dealing with situations like this.

Back in her home world, she’d never been one for playing school politics, a game already slanted in one Diamond Tiara’s favor. Her own close friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, bickered often enough but didn’t have any sort of pecking order. It wasn’t like Apple Bloom tossed down a flag of challenge when they formed the group, demanding to lead them or whatever. She just fit in smoothly, organically. It was a perfect, basically natural fit. Not like this at all. Not really.

Twilight’s apprenticeship had also been essentially drama-free. Sweetie knew that sometimes when a unicorn had multiple apprentices there could be trouble—, Rarity had said as much once—, but it just wasn’t an issue. Twilight didn’t have other apprentices, aside from showing Apple Bloom and Scootaloo some tricks to help them get their cutie marks. The lack of drama, again, was proving to be a problem now! It didn’t help!

Not surprisingly, in many of the dimensions she had jumped to mares in power, like Nightmare Moon, did not concern themselves with petty politics. In all their hundreds of loops even Blueblood had glossed over how he did what he did. Sweetie sat still, closed her eyes, and thought back. How had Blueblood convinced Fleur to teach her Elementi? How had he talked his way into introducing her to Sapphire Shores, or Octavia, or Vinyl Scratch? How had he gotten access to the Sparkles’ personal residence to meet Cadance? How had he talked those Archmages into casting the age spell on her that one (totally awesome) time?

Was it just slapping someone over the head with a bag of bits? Yes. Yes it was.

Knowing him, she would well imagine the Prince just knocking someone out by dropping a bag of money on their head. That was probably how he got the Archmages to do some shady things for him. And for her. But it didn’t quite explain the less easily corruptible types like Fleur. What had he said before? That Fleur was also spying for him, that her family owed his? Yet Fleur definitely loved Fancypants... and she had said she was doing it to help him, and to try and bring the two stallions closer. How did that work? Was Fleur playing both sides?

Both sides... for her own end... maybe?

Blueblood suspected that Fancy was a potential rival. He felt threatened by his popularity and influence in Canterlot. Fancy, from what Sweetie recalled, had a grudge against Blueblood because the Prince had blocked some of his commercial projects or something. In the middle of the two stubborn stallions was Fleur, in just the right spot to ease the worries of both of them. To give them both some of what they wanted, and in the process, get what she wanted, too.

‘Hmm.’ Sweetie thought on that, and on Rarity.

It was no secret her big sis had a way with stallions. The mechanics of a lot of it was murky: batted eyes and sweet talking guys, things Sweetie had not paid much attention to at the time. Yet Rarity always seemed to be adept at getting what she wanted. Was that part of the process, too?

Rarity. Fleur. Blueblood. Fancypants.

Celestia. Luna.

There were similarities there. Could it be that the trick was working with others, understanding the obstacles, understanding the variables and elements involved, working around the ones that couldn’t be co-opted, and finding mutual ground with the others. Sweet talking wasn’t possible without knowledge. Compromise wasn’t possible without information. The more Sweetie thought about it the more sure she became, and the more she thought Twilight would feel the same way.

She needed more information. Only then could she understand how to bring others to her side without them even seeing it as ‘her side.’ Instead, it would become ‘their side’ because they had a vested interest in it! Her thoughts went back to the only suggestion she'd made that they didn’t hesitate accepting: getting meat from gryphon traders.

“The ponies would not need to trample our eggs to destroy us; they would do it with soft words and helping hooves. How could we feed? How could we breed? Our very existence is a threat to them.”

Food was an issue... it made sense, too. Changelings worried about their next meal just like ponies did, except they couldn’t just go to a market or to Sweet Apple acres for a bite to eat. They lived hoof-to-mouth. It was a good place to start, and with that realization, came a flood of questions. Once that necessitated a quick jotting down in her notebook.

First on the list: were greens only able to eat emotions from ponies?

This required more data. It was time to channel The Inner Twilight.

The following section was essentially Sweetie's observations. The plan was to either write them down and post the diary "pages" as pictures. Sweetie would now spend some time looking into the different cultures of the changelings from This Platinum Crown, figuring what they specialized in, traditions, and what they liked to focus. Her honest interest would endear her to most of the queens. The Diary entry below was written by Capn as an example of what we could/should write.

SWEETIE’S NOTES [Sec A]

OBSERVATIONS
(compilation) [date: day 6]

GREEN HIVE
(Biscione)

Hornet is totally crushing on Spiracle.
[reproduction][hierarchy]

sub-observation: changeling relationships must pass approval with the Princess.
Pupa: Pupa explained that changeling males are controlled by the Princess.

Biscione hierarchy very rigid. Legacy of Chrysalis or innate socio-political structure? (unknown) Princess controls all aspects of behavior in the hive through reproductive monopoly. Have identified only two males in the green hive: Spiracle and Coxa. Coxa is an older male, previous generation (Gen 3, see: [Exuvia] see: Changeling Genealogy Chart, fig 3.2), darker coloration, shorter horn. Spiracle is younger male, current generation (Gen 5, see [Tagma], see: Changeling Genealogy Chart, fig 3.2), lighter coloration, glossy chitin, prominent horn. Male changelings possessed of thicker barrel, secondary sexual characteristics grossly similar to those of equestrians.

Tentative analysis (fig 3.2) indicates that Coxa is Cerci’s uncle and Spiracle her nephew. Both are subordinate to her and both are considered her mates. Changelings seem to have very different concept re: familial relations than normal sapient species previously encountered. Have spoken to both males briefly. Nature of subordinate position due to ‘royal jelly.’ Hierarchy enforced by sexual selection and pheromones. Princess is primary source of all eggs and nymphs, but establishes secondary sources. Sister-surrogates? Fascinating. TAG: Need more info. The possibilities for this are kinky. I mean informative. Of comparative cultures and biologies and stuff.

Conclusion: Hornet and Spiracle made out three times over the last five days. see: fig 3.4. Observed: Kissing. Petting. No copulation. >:( (will continue to observe.)

Additional note: Pupa has suggested I push my research in “other directions.”

. . .

‘It's good to be the Princess,’ Cerci thought to herself as Coxa groomed her wings. As the most civilized of the changeling hives to comprise the swarm, Chrysalis’ Own, the greens had fittingly adopted a meticulous regimen of preening and grooming. It served a practical purpose as well: good hygiene led to good health, good health led to stronger drones, stronger drones created a stronger hive.

“Oh yes, that’s the spot,” she murmured as her mate’s nibbling reached the base of her left wing’s humeral angle. His saliva was cool on her chitin and a natural anti-microbial. And, yes, it felt sinfully good sometimes, too, but that was of course just a side effect.

“Princess,” Coxa said, nudging her with his nose.

“Hmm? You’re not finished yet,” Cerci slurred, coming down from a bit of a grooming-high. She batted her eyes and noticed the look on his face. “What?”

“We don’t have any potted plants, do we?” he asked, pointing over to a dark green azalia bush in a corner of the chamber. “Was that here before?”

The two changelings stared at the totally inconspicuous and not suspicious in any way bush.

“Pupa’s always moving those things around,” Cerci grumbled and closed her eyes as she relaxed. “Back to it, Coxa.”

“As you command, Princess.”

‘Nature is so fascinating,’ the bush whispered to itself.

. . .

Changeling flight (<) Pegasus flight
[development][combat ability]

sub-observation: green changelings are the most adept flyers and practice frequently in the open vaulted area of the mine.
Pupa: Pupa has explained that changelings must learn to fly, just as ponies do.

The mechanics behind flight in changelings are only superficially similar to that in pegasi (and, I assume, alicorns). Wing structure very different. See appendix B, sketches. Appear to have lower top speed, similar or reduced maneuverability, no ability to interface with or manipulate cloud-matter. Have not observed any others with ability to use partial-metamorphosis and actively alter wing structure aside from Cerci. Unique mutation? Adaptation? Cerci’s nymphs too young to indicate if trait will be inherited.

. . .

“Since we’re the most nimble flyers, green changelings have always made up the bulk of the swarm’s air support,” Pupa explained, wings buzzing as she hovered just out of reach. Sweetie nodded, watching her move and then observing the other changelings in the vaulted underground chamber.

Green and Yellow changelings were in the air, practicing. The Golden changelings were ungainly in their normal forms but those that took the form of manticores or, in one case, a scorpicore, were much more dexterous. The greens likewise seemed to improve in ability when they took on the form of a pegasus pony. It helped them fly, yes, but it didn’t give them innate pegasus magic unless they had previously imprinted on and taken on the identity of a pegasus pony.

“During the Battle of Canterlot, Princess Instar personally led a sortie of more than a thousand changeling air cavalry against the forces of Cloudsdale... including the Wonderbolts and their Captain, Spitfire,” Pupa described the events of that day with more than a little pride. Instar was her great aunt, after all. Sweetie knew this also had to be the battle over Ponyville that had left its scars on Diamond Tiara and her counterpart here. To Pupa, though, it was just history in a book.

“That was at the height of our power, of course,” the little changeling recalled with a shrug. “Anyway, are you sure you don’t want to try transforming into something with wings? Pegasi are super easy once you get the skin right!”

Sweetie smiled anxiously. “Uhm, no, that’s alright, thanks.”

. . .

Changeling Feeding Habits
[reproduction][development][hierarchy]

Green Hive changelings capture ponies and keep them in a form of suspended animation via cocooning (see: cocooning, Appendix D). Suspended equestrians are fed on while unconscious, using magic-assisted emotional extraction, a form of hybrid equestrian-changeling magic. Observed changelings changing appearance while feeding. Instinctive reaction? Autonomic reflex? Assume: taking form of a loved one during feeding. Analysis of feeding habits: three (3) earth ponies (1M 2F), two (2) pegasi (2F), zero (0) unicorns. Preference for earth ponies as prey species? Need more statistically relevant sample size for proper data distribution.
Pupa: Interestingly, Pupa seems uncomfortable with the forays to the surface to kidnap victims. More reticent than normal to discuss this topic. Will have to investigate.

Changeling feeding here is different compared to my own home reference dimension. I think it must be due to the degree to which these changelings have adapted equestrian magic combined with the desire to reduce their ‘hoofprint’ on the surface and reveal their location. Equestrians are not held for more than four days and are returned in what can only be called a fugue state. How the changelings manage this, I have not been able to determine. The pony is largely unharmed by the experience, at least superficially (I have not been able to isolate one to study the effects in full), but the amount of “love-meal” gained by this process is clearly not great. Cerci’s changelings are not starving but are also not entirely content.

Conclusion: If I can find out more, or find a way to improve the process, maybe I can find a way to solve the problem of changelings feeding on ponies. But that still leaves the problem of changeling imprinting. Further research required.

. . .

The changeling pantry actually wasn’t as macabre as Sweetie had first imagined. The changeling emotional diet was almost entirely equestrian but the ponies were kept unconscious and in storage within tough, waxy cocoons. Currently, the pantry held five individuals in five separate cocoons.

Each cocoon was securely fashioned to an alcove in the wall and the Green Hive kept meticulous written records of who they fed on, who fed on them and when, and for how long. To feed, a changeling needed to write her name down at the front, where a green changeling secretary handled all the organization and paperwork. They then had to sign again on a clipboard hanging next to the cocoon. It was all very... methodical. Sweetie couldn’t help but think that Twilight herself would’ve approved, if not for the whole pony-napping and emotion-eating thing.

“If a pony disappears too often it becomes suspicious,” Pupa explained, showing Sweetie the ropes in case she wanted to come by for an emotional nosh or nibble at the changeling deli. “While it is tempting to repeatedly abduct the same ponies to feed off of, a rotation is a safer feeding model. Before I was born, Cerci and my mother were part of a different group of survivors. They got caught because they kept picking up the same ponies again and again. We’ve resolved to be more cautious.”

“And nopony remembers any of this?” Sweetie wondered, looking up at one of the cocooned earth ponies. She looked like she was sleeping beneath the transparent shield of the cocoon.

“Mostly,” Pupa answered, waving a chitinous hoof. “Sometimes they remember enough to think they were abducted by aliens...” She snorted and laughed. “Or humans. Imagine that!”

“Imagine that,” Sweetie agreed, laughing a little less heartily.

. . .

Authority (=) flank kicking
[hierarchy] [combat ability]

If you thought Diamond Tiara was a Queen Bee, she’s got nothing on Cerci. All the other greens I talked to either thought she was the best thing since whipped cream or they were too scared to say anything at all except that they follow “the will of the Princess.”
Pupa seems to admire her aunt but still disagrees with her on a few things. Her higher degree of individuality has to be due to her status as a potential future Princess. No surprise there: princesses have more freedom of thought than drones, just not as much as a queen or alpha-princess like Cerci (which might be the reason Cerci suffers my attitude; she does treat me a little like an older sister would treat a younger one).

Apparently Cerci is a badflank, too. I guess that makes sense, I saw her do some wild stuff when we escaped the prison. I heard that if a Princess becomes stronger than a Queen then she kills the queen and eats part of her. Gross. She’s got that partial-metamorphosis thing plus unicorn magic, and she’s no dummy. Wish I knew more about what she’s capable of.

. . .

“Who were the most powerful changelings?” Pupa repeated the question, rolling her green eyes as she considered the question. The two of them were going over the books in the small changeling library and coming up with notes on stories to tell the nymphs. The subject turned to history, specifically changeling history.

“And how does Cerci stack up to the competition?” Sweetie asked with a sly nudge.

“Aside from the Ichchadhari, who were more monster than changeling, Chrysalis herself was probably the most powerful,” Pupa speculated, tapping her nose with her hoof as she thought on the question a moment more. “Queen Freyja was probably also up there while she was mimicking Chrysalis. She died, but there’s no shame losing to an immortal alicorn’s five-alliteration mega spell.”

“Then there was Tlanextli in her Tatzlwurm-body,” the young changeling princess continued, spreading her forelegs wide. Sweetie still found it surreal sometimes to imagine this changeling was Chrysalis’s great granddaughter. The family resemblance was there in all but personality. “She was huge! But does that even count when her real body was so tiny and helpless?”

Pupa smiled when she returned to more familiar territory. “After Chrysalis you’d have to mention her first generation of Princesses: Instar, Exuvia and Ecdysis. Instar was the oldest and the most ferocious. Exuvia was the more cunning and skilled in magic. Ecdysis was the most dutiful and unrelenting. Instar took on the entire roster of Wonderbolts and Ecdysis held off the legions of the Terre Rare and Lady Rarity’s Diamond Dogs. They were all very powerful! Hard to believe they were my ancestors!”

She looked away, narrowing her eyes. “I’m not very strong myself, but Cerci says my mother had powerful magic, like Exuvia. And Cerci... she’s the strongest living changeling, I think. Not only does she know unicorn magic, she’s also mastered transformation to a degree no one ever has before, even Chrysalis.”

. . .

Have I mentioned that they really don’t like ponies? LOL
[hierarchy]

Maybe sampling bias. They depend completely on ponies to survive. Is it anger at their need or more? Frustration?
Pupa: She’s been more willing to talk about it. No surprise the war didn’t go well for the changelings. Interesting though: they’re afraid of some ponies, too, especially Twilight Sparkle. The loss of their queens completely upended their social structure and organization.

Trying to gauge the opinion of the ‘changeling on the street’ is pretty tough. First of all: no streets. Once you get over that, the drones are kind of insular. Changelings groups tend to stick mostly to themselves. They also parrot what their Princess or Queen says. That individuality problem again. Hierarchical compulsion, pheromones, sexual selection. Drones can ascend to Princess or even Queen status under some conditions, but it seems Princesses are basically selected from birth.

Males also selected from birth.

Universal negative opinion towards ponies, pretty much, but Pupa and some that defer to her seem less adamant about it. Must be element of coercion or ‘trickle-down’ to account for groupthink. Impossible to isolate drones from queen/princess. Can’t test theories yet.

Conclusion: only way to push for peace is to go through the Princesses or near-Princess rank changelings. Unfortunate. Green hive probably lost cause right now. Focus on other hives?

. . .

**!!**

The Red Hive of changelings, also known as the Zilant, were clearly the hive that tried the hardest to appear intimidating. Which Sweetie found a little strange, since the only ones they’d ever need to intimidate here were other changelings. The quarters of the Red Queen Hyacinth were adorned with red and gold: Hyacinth’s room was also a trophy room to display the spoils of war, carted from hide-out to hide-out over years and generations since their landing on Equestrian shores.

Golden trinkets hung from hooks and pointed spiked jutting out of the walls and floor. Sweetie saw horn-rings and necklaces, scraps of dresses and ruined armor, a collection of teeth in a cloth bag from a griffin along with the upper half of a beak... this last one Hyacinth herself had to take out to show her guest and fellow Princess. She held the ferocious, hooked beak in her emaciated hoof, dutifully recalling the history of the trophy.

“Not all of Equestria’s nobles are equine,” the weak Princess said, showing the beak to Sweetie so she could take a closer look. She tried not to balk too obviously at the gesture. “The griffins are especially fierce. This one belonged to a noble of clan Redwing, Gloria Redwing she was called. A deadly foe. She was slain leading a raid on the royal gardens.”

“Very impressive,” Sweetie lied, glancing away from the beak and trying hard not to imagine it attached to somegriffin’s face. From what she had heard of the Battle of Canterlot, Equestria’s nobility unicorn-or-otherwise had been singularly decimated fighting tooth and hoof for the city. So many had been present for the royal wedding... it was almost like it had been planned from the start to be a massacre of Equestria’s elite.

“Yes,” Hyacinth agreed, ostensibly, with how impressive the trophy was. She slowly returned the beak and teeth into their silk bag and looped the string around a hook in one of the room’s many spikes. “In that same raid, fearless red changelings defending Chrysalis also slew the terrible Lady Winewood. Like the infamous Lady Yumi of Neighpon, Winewood had a magical command of plants. This is her necklace right here.”

A fine gold chain hung from another hook. A brilliant jade stone formed a centerpiece and the necklace itself was wrought in the form of overlapping leaves. Sweetie could tell it was a fine piece of jewelry, maybe even a family heirloom. She wondered, for a moment, if there was some daughter of the Winewood family out there, still hunting for the lost family necklace. Even if it wasn’t magical, that sort of attitude would be par the course for an Equestrian noble. No one in Equestria held a better grudge.

“Those were our glory days,” Hyacinth said, coughing into her hoof as she took a seat in her throne. A great panoply of intersecting spines formed the back of the throne, overlapping before jutting out to either side like a fan of knives. More spikes and spines still erupted from the ground at mad angles, adorned with yet more trophies of war and combat. In her mind, Sweetie dubbed it the Hedgehog Throne.

It really would have been an even more intimidating sight if Hyacinth wasn’t so frail and sickly.

As it was, she looked more like a skeleton princess on a lifeless throne, head of a dying hive. Hyacinth struck a proud, regal pose but coughed softly again into her hoof. Pupa had speculated on the reason for her poor health, aside from the lack of red meat. Hyacinth had been desperate to conceive and have nymphs. She had lain eggs but none hatched. All were still-born. It was putting a strain on her body, but still she kept trying. She had to know her station and her life depended on it. A Princess who couldn’t give a hive their next generation would not be Princess for long... and there was no retirement policy for changeling royals.

“Sister,” Sweetie addressed her fellow Princess. “I would very much like to know more of the Zilant Hive and especially how you ended up here. Afterwards, maybe we could talk about the plans I put forward in quorum?”

“Of course,” Hyacinth said, summoning strength into her voice. “Yes, that would be fine. Our current history began when Chrysalis and the Green Biscione returned to the Sunset Shores. We met them in battle on the Red Field... but despite the bravery of our hive we were defeated and driven back. Many years before, we had been the ones to drive the Greens out of their ancestral lands. Their Queen, the mother of Chrysalis, had escaped and slowly rebuilt her power. When her daughter returned it was with a vengeance.”

Hyacinth sighed, a wracking sound in her throat. “Pardon. As you may know of the Red Field, it was a portent of things to come. Two years later, Chrysalis also humbled the Gold Hive, the Inkanyamba. Their time in Equestria had taught them magic and strategy the likes of which we never knew.”

Hyacinth went on to describe how Chrysalis had conscripted the Zilant Hive, the first junior partner in her grand changeling alliance that was soon dubbed the Changeling Swarm. Sweetie could imagine that Chrysalis’s choice in this had been as much to settle an old score as it had been prudently picking off a vulnerable enemy. Despite being conscripted at horn-point the Reds had fought loyally for Chrysalis and the Swarm, all through the unification campaigns and into the Battle of Canterlot. In battle after battle Hyacinth described how they had fought to the last despite their ability to turn invisible making escape almost always the easy way out.

“Cerci found you?” Sweetie asked, as history turned to more current events.

“My mother was the last daughter of Queen Sarai,” Hyacinth explained with another soft cough. She paused a moment to wipe the phlegm off her hoof with a scrap of silk folded up next to the throne. “We had been hoping to secure transport back across the sea to the zebra-lands... but the eyes of Canterlot are ever-watchful. All traffic into or out of Manehattan was closed off and we were hunted down. Cerci personally rescued us and secreted us out of the city.”

“She did, huh?” Sweetie’s ears flattened in dismay. Well, Cerci could be counted on to bail out her fellow changeling, she knew that already. Especially when doing so would earn her a loyal ally.

“We have been friends since then,” Hyacinth answered with a nod. “Cerci looks out for us and keeps us safe.” The frail Princess narrowed her pink eyes. “You were at the quorum so it is no secret: there have been whispers within my hive about my... fertility and my health. My friendship with Cerci had bought me time. I owe her a great deal. I stood by her during the feud with Svikja.”

Hyacinth smiled weakly and touched her stomach. “Very soon I shall have a new clutch and it will be because of Cerci.”

Sweetie hated herself a little when her first thought in response to that was, ‘not likely.’

“And you as well, Allure, my Sister,” Hyacinth added, leaning forward to lift Sweetie’s hoof to her belly. “I pray your scheme with the griffins bears fruit.”

“I do, too,” Sweetie replied, and it wasn’t a lie.

NOTE we should probably change the name of the red changeling who died and is mentioned at the start of the previous chapter. She’s also Hyacinth and it has led to some confusion.

. . .

RED HIVE
(Zilant)

Bad table manners
[feeding][hierarchy]

sub-observation: okay, so, the reds are the ones that eat meat. Like griffins. Need to keep an open mind. Cultural sensitivity. Thankfully my experience with meat and other meat eaters ensures I don't even scrunch up my nose at their table.
Pupa: Pupa doesn’t like the reds much. Considers them wasteful.

Soylent Pastel is made of ponies. Remember that short story Twilight wrote? The only one not in her secret folder, you know the one I mean.

Back in Gen 2, the reds ate ponies. They still want to but the greens don’t let them. I guess we’re part of their ‘catch and release’ harvesting strategy and the reds ruin that. As I understand it, the mechanism is the following: following an emotional meal, consisting of a variety of emotions, the red changelings use raw meat like a powerful metabolite. In other words, their emotional consumption is decreased in proportion to their protein consumption.

According to the greens, that makes the reds more of a primitive throwback in the changeling family tree, a missing link between the flesh-eating changelings and the pure-emotion-draining changelings. No scientific evidence to support this. Anecdotal. Nopony knows for sure and no resources to devote to research on the topic.

Food situation is actually easily resolved. Griffins already a well integrated community in Equestria. Systems already in place to support meat eaters (griffins, minotaurs, diamond dogs). Reds do not need to eat victims, even plant-protein likely sufficient (soy, lentils) or sustainable animal produce (whey, milk). Marked preference for red meat, though, and unsavory cultural preferences, violence. Ironically, much of this has already been weeded out by necessity and the efforts of the dominant green hive.

. . .

“Is this it?” Hyacinth peered down into the icebox with a curious expression. Reaching inside, she pulled out a frozen side of... Sweetie wasn’t sure what it was. Pork maybe? For obvious reasons, Ponyville didn’t have a meat market. Only a few griffin-heavy places in all of Equestria did.

“Oh! So cold!” She quickly dropped the meat back into the icebox and clutched her hoof. “How can griffins eat something so cold?”

“I do believe they defrost it first,” Sweetie helpfully replied. “They cook it, too. There are quite a few famous griffin chefs like General Lagassy.”

Hyacinth just stared at her like she’d grown a second head.

“You know, the BAM! Buck it up a notch guy? No?” Sweetie frowned. “What about Robby Flay?”

The Red Princess simply shook her head. “I... don’t know these names... these are famous griffins, you say?”

“They’re cooks! You’ve never cooked anything?” Sweetie had to resist the temptation to try and teach the other Princess a few recipes. Cooking had always been a fascinating subject to Sweetie Belle, even after her apprenticeship with Twilight. That said, most of her knowledge was academic.

And no academic treatise could explain how she’d managed to make wet cereal catch fire.

“Can you teach me how to cook, Sister?” Hyacinth popped the dreaded question, the one no sane creature should ask any Sweetie Belle, interdimensional or otherwise.

“I don’t know how to cook meat, so I probably, really, definitely shouldn’t,” Sweetie demurred, looking away and blushing. “Surely, someone else could...”

Hyacinth persisted. “But you know so much of the Lagassys and the Flays! You must know at least a trick or two? Allure, please, share your knowledge with the red hive!”

Sweetie nibbled guiltily on her lower lip, fighting the temptation. Fighting and losing.

“Well,” she finally gave in just a bit. “I may have a suggestion or two...”

. . .

“Is it supposed to be burning like this?”

“No.”

“I see... and this hammed-burger, is it supposed to be some sort of ooze?”

“No.”

“Ah.”

“I’m not a great cook, okay?”

. . .

Princess Hyacinth
[hierarchy]

sub-observation: there are currently four red changelings with this name. Confusing. Princess Hyacinth is in poor health, possibly related to lack of protein and/or stress. Lost several clutches of nymphs over the last year. I feel sorry for her. She doesn’t seem like a bad pony. Changeling. You know what I mean.
Pupa: Pupa says that Urda is likely to kill her within the next few weeks to become the new Princess. She doesn’t see anything wrong with this.

First of all: confirmation that the weaker the alpha-Princess gets, the more aggressive and independent the ones beneath her in the hierarchy become. It is apparently completely normal for Princesses to kill their mothers or even sisters if they grow stronger than them (will mention this to Rarity one day—joking). Chrysalis never mentioned her mother, but I’d bet she did it and probably laughed, too.

Have not been able to talk to Urda yet. Seems secretive.

Asked Pupa if she thought Urda actually wants to kill Hyacinth to become Princess. No good answer. Biology? Cultural? Made up story about how Pink Hive had “renewal day” for old Queens. Seemed to work. Pupa thought it exotic and fascinating and wanted to know more. Had to keep making stuff up. Starting to wonder if I was ever like that to Twilight or Rarity.

Anyway, Hyacinth sickly but aligned with Cerci. Tried feeling out her opinions, getting a sense for her politics. I think she mostly just does what Cerci tells her to do. Potentially problematic. Pupa hasn’t said anything, but is Urda pro-Cerci? Or is Cerci propping Hyacinth up and keeping Urda in line? Will need to investigate more.

. . .

Sweetie watched the young red practice fading in and out of view under the careful supervision of two adults. She had been making her way out of their small territory, when she had noticed the training taking place.

She had carefully made her way there, making sure not to draw their attention. She didn't want to distract the young one during such an integral part of their training. Well, that and she was really curious about how it actually worked.

The steps for fading out of view were simple in function. The young changeling would slowly start losing color until it was completely gone, turning it completely transparent. However, it was more complicated than just doing that and walking around. Apparently moving and sneaking meant that the changeling had to compensate for changes around them. If the background changed, a novice changeling would lose some control over their transformation, making them somewhat visible, possibly even completely so if they didn't adapt quickly enough.

Sweetie watched the trio practice, with the young changeling getting more and more frustrated at his inability to dash from one place to another without appearing in the middle of the run.

"I can't!" the changeling gasped, collapsing at the hooves of the other two, who gave her unimpressed glances. "I just can't. Why don't you tell me the trick?"

One of the two adults shrugged. "There is no trick. You just get used to it."

Sweetie couldn't help herself. "Have you tried studying the area you should head to before you run? Or are you just trying to get there as quickly as possible?"

The three changelings had jumped in place the moment they heard her voice and turned to stare at her as if she had grown a second head, much like Queen Hyacinth had done earlier. It was at times like these that the deep connection between members of the same hive became more obvious.

"H-how—where did you come from?!" one of the adults hissed.

"I uh, was standing right here the whole time?"

The three looked at each other in silence before the younger one prostrated herself in front of Sweetie. "Please, Princess... teach us your secrets!"

"Um..." Sweetie cleared her throat. "I-I can't, it's too complicated?" She grimaced when she saw the young changeling flinch. "But! Try turning invisible and study that area next to the well... tell me when you think you've memorized the way there enough."

The young changeling gave her a sceptical look, but nodded. The others watched as he faded from view. After a few moments she heard his voice.

"Ready."

"Now, go!"

The trio waited for a moment before they heard the young changeling's voice calling them from the other side a second before she materialized. "I did it!"

"H-how did you know?" one of the elder changelings asked.

Sweetie shrugged. "Observation! One of the fundamental secrets of science! I imagine that with long practice all reds develop a subconscious ability to study and memorize their surroundings. Therefore, guiding your young apprentice here to do it seemed like a good option."

The reds chuckled. "You really do seem to be trying to help, Princess, like we heard," the other one said at length. "Thank you."

. . .

Invisibility!
[combat ability]

They can turn invisible. Unbelieveable.
Pupa: Pupa says they’ve always been able to do it.

The red changelings can all blend into and mimic the background. Not just chameleon-like, though, they become completely translucent. Some form of intrinsic magic, just like the green changelings change appearance. Apparently Twilight Sparkle also developed a spell to interfere with their magic, too, another reason why they’re so scared of her.

There could be one right over my shoulder right now, watching me write this. In which case: you suck! Did that make you angry? You going to try something? You want a piece of me?

I guess not.

Will have to try and find some way to counter this, too. If Twilight could do it, I should be able to, too. I am her awesome apprentice and--aahah

I seriously hope no changeling ever sees these notes. Or the diagrams. Especially fig 3.4. It was research! That’s all! They signed the consent forms.

. . .

**!!**

This is where Sweetie talks to Olinca and, for the first time, really makes some headway into her scheme. Like a montage, she gets better and better at this as time goes on, and as she builds up her research notes. Montage!

The browns, despite being probably the most loathsome of the changelings (they infest bodies), are very passive now. Their old queens and princesses were very bombastic and arrogant because of their huge bodies, but they’re all dead now, and the remaining browns are much more humble. Juxtapose the disgusting appearance of this group with their generally more peaceful desires. The “true” appearance of the brown changelings is that they’re small, shriveled little parasites, so they know they’re actually rather easily exterminated and afraid of just that happening (they know their appearance is off-putting).

However, a bit like the goa’uld in Stargate, they can actually be beneficial when they take over a dying body. Some of the hosts are this sort now, including the one Sweetie will talk to/with.

BROWN HIVE
(Q'uq'umatz) (say that three times fast)

Surprisingly harmless for tumors
[hierarchy]

these changelings inhabit the bodies of others, ponies are on the small end, diamond dogs are in the middle, and the adults body-snatch giant worms
Pupa: according to Pupa, the browns never interacted with the other hives before Chrysalis talked Tlanextli into joining her great changeling crusade. She confirms that the Queens become more arrogant the larger their host. Tlanextli was on the order of a hundred meters long and weighed as much as city block. That was one Big Worm. She was probably pretty full of herself. According to Pupa and others she was killed by Princess Luna literally ‘ripping her in half.’ Wow.

These guys have to be the weirdest of all the changelings. They invade your body and merge with you, like some sort of symbiote or parasite. Their changeling mimicry is different from the greens or reds. Instead of copying appearance or copying background they copy the organs and immune system. Once they bond with a victim they can’t be removed without killing the host. Sounds like something out of one of Scootaloo’s “Terrifying Tales” horror comics.

. . .

Sweetie watched as the brown changeling attached onto the back of an old, suffering diamond dog.

"And you're saying that this old diamond dog will be able to live at least another ten years?" Sweetie asked, eyes wide as his breathing became easier and color seemed to his previously deathly squallor. "But, how is this seen as a bad thing?"

Olina shrugged her tiny, shriveled body. "When you control huge worms and use them to destroy and consume your enemies whole, it creates a bad precedent."

Sweetie nodded in understanding. "Ah yes, I can see how that could be a problem."
. . .

Parasite or Symbiote?
[feeding]

The brown changelings feed on emotion directly, through their host. They cannot feed on emotive energies aside from those of their host. See diagram 4.1 for known points of entry for brown parasites.

I’m not sure if these changelings are really parasites or symbionts, or rather, if the relationship with their host is primarily parasitic or symbiotic. Certainly, if an unwelcome host is attacked then the relationship would be largely parasitic. This was undoubtedly the case with the changelings before, during and immediately after the war in Canterlot.

However, according to Princess Olinca the old ways have proven impractical. Those browns who continued to parasitize victims were quickly discovered and exterminated with (given her description) rather extreme prejudice. The brown changelings have no way to hide themselves except to physically run away. Until and unless they acquire a massive body, like a Tatzlwurm, they are at a severe disadvantage. They are also gregarious by nature, making them even easier to eliminate.

Consequently, in what you could almost call a form of natural selection, Olinica’s hive is not composed of kidnapped hosts in the prime of their lives. Rather, she and her offspring and sisters inhabit the bodies of sick ponies and diamond dogs. While inherently parasitic, the brown changelings possess the ability to mimic and replace a number of failing or diseased organs, effectively healing their hosts to varying degrees.

Olinca claims that all hosts of the brown hive are now volunteers, however the veracity of her claim is difficult to corroborate. With the host already compromised, any testimony is already suspect. The hive is also small and not growing, with no clutches of new nymphs approaching maturity, so I won’t be able to test the truth of this any time soon. Still, I think I believe Olinica. Why would she even bother lying about something like this to another changeling? Unless she suspects I am not what I claim to be... I just don’t know. It is strange how paranoid changelings are now, and yet how desperate they are that they allowed me in with little to no proof… other than suddenly being able to produce royal honey.

Apparently their idea of 'good-looking males' is something that has more than three eyes.
[reproduction] [hierarchy]

Every filly has her own taste in whatever, and that’s cool. We’re all different. Rarity liked “studly” guys, especially[i/] ones with big horns, Applejack has pictures of work horses in her room, Scootaloo likes wings and horns and draws pictures of red and black male alicorns (patently ridiculous). That’s all fine.

BUT changeling tastes are weird as heck. Then again, the ‘hot bachelor’ is also in the body of a giant worm. Olinca offered to ‘hook me up’ and I had to politely decline. Bad enough that Cerci keeps asking me about when I’m going to start up the Pink Hive again. Since I didn’t show up with a BF she’s betting one of hers will help me along with that.

**!!**

The Golden hive is animalistic and aggressive. They’re the “oldest” of the hives. Pretty firmly in Cerci’s camp, plus there’s Sever. Let’s have them not respond all that well to Sweetie nosing around.

Maybe instead of her approaching them to talk, they confront her about being nosy and remind her to stay in line. This’ll be a good opportunity to show Sweetie standing up for herself, too.

GOLDEN aka YELLOW HIVE
(Inkanyamba)
**!!**

These guys. This is the hive that Sweetie wins over but they later betray her. She’s already talked to the Blues before, and Svikja. We can have them meeting somewhere discreet just to formalize their partnership. We have to sell here that it really seems like Svikja is on Sweetie’s side.

Svikja’s own interest is going to appear partly ideological, that she’s swayed to Sweetie’s side (she isn’t), but mostly personal, in that she wants power and influence over the other hives. The Blues are well off and quite strong and want to take advantage of that. Sweetie, of course, also needs them to offset the greens.

BLUE HIVE
(Nidhogg)

**!!**

The Purples are another small group, like the browns, but even smaller. IIRC there were only like two or three of them present, but they have voodoo and freaky magic. Nkosazana is the current “princess” unique in that she’s really a queen, since the purples handle succession differently (it passes to the oldest, so from sister to sister not mother to daughter). They also don’t travel or stay in big groups.

The Purples are swayed over to Sweetie’s side, honestly. They have a different history than the other hives and used to live among ponies (outside equestria) since they take dead hosts instead of living ones and feed off of the memories of the deceased’s family. Even under Chrysalis they had little interest in fighting and basically abstained once they were sure Chrys wouldn’t turn on them. They’ll be receptive to Sweetie talking about peace, especially once she hints she has the Blues and Browns on her side.

We may also have the wise/freaky Purples notice something is odd about Sweetie or even that she isn’t a changeling “like them.” Not that they’d be upset, as long as it gets the changelings off the path they’re on now.

PURPLE HIVE
(Aida-Weddo)

Cerci and Sever return
The Spy Situation

I HAVE to use this quote at some point: re attacking Equestria itself
“This is not ten years ago. One does not simply walk into Canterlot... its white gates are guarded by more than just ponies. There is a magic there that does not sleep... and the twilight eye is ever watchful. It is mountain surrounded by green fields, ringed with towns and towers and wards. Every rainbow in the sky is a enemy bastion. Not with ten thousand changelings could you do this. It is folly.”

Gens

Chrysalis’ mother (more horse-like, weird voices)
Chrysalis
Exuvia, others
Cerci
Pupa

Sweetie meets with Blue, Purp, Brown... maybe Red/Urda
post-terrorist thing (did it work? it did)
Sweetie tries again to vote for peace
the spying stuff

creche or lair or nursery or retreat

The following part are notes and messages we wrote to each other, and about the story. We were naturally not able to be on the document at the same time all the time, so somtimes we needed to play catch-up.

Cerci (Green Hive) - highest ‘ranked’ Princess, changeling leader
Sever (Yellow) - ‘griffin/manticore’ changeling, loyal to Cerci
Svikja (Blue) - (old) enemy/rival of Cerci, normally challenges her, potential ally for Sweetie but treacherous
Vigil (Green) - older changeling who participated in the invasion, barely escaped Canterlot, bitter veteran of the battles there (paranoid, doesn’t trust Sweetie)
Pupa (Green) - very young changeling (trusting/naive, idealistic?)
Olinca (Brown) - sympathetic to settlement/peace with ponies, natural ally of Sweetie
Bumblebee (Green) - criminal contact (?) changeling mostly forsaken other changelings for life of crime among equestrians (?)()
Urda (Red) - changeling double-agent, working for the Quartz (Hyacinth)(?)
Nkosazana (Purple) - healer and ‘witch doctor’ of the group, Zecora-like, voice of reason/restraint
Skell (Purple) - Nkosazana’s brother-mate in the Aida-Weddo tradition. Speaks for the other cloistered males (?). Surprisingly perceptive, since he had an outsider’s view on things. Another ally of Sweetie’s? Source of info?

WD Note: I want Sweetie to learn Teleport in this chapter. It's going to be easier than she expected, but it comes up naturally in the following stories so... I'm thinking when she's fighting her way to get to Lady Belle and Cerci?

after this, Sweetie meeting with other Princesses in private to secure allies for a new vote

a variety of them. Ponies, although not carnivores, live along griffins, and meat could be procured for the reds. Some are feeble and have become scared of their eventual fragility, they could take the brown's help to "

note, we might want to add in some of the above stuff, before Sweetie speaks up, how she’d building up bit by bit to object. Make it less abrupt.

okay, so did you want to jump to another scene? We could have Sweetie mentally reviewing what she learned during the day before she sleeps?

that sounds reasonable, the conversation has pretty much died and we have some possible allies as well as the general feel of the situation. Sweetie can also worry about Diamond Tiara and Lady Belle's possible actions.

she can find out more, too. No need for her to learn everything right at the start. too easy.

Indeed, but at least some very important bits of information. There's still the other changelings that are more reserved than Cerci

some stuff she can muse over (having learned) ... back ... is some info about the different types and factions among the changelings that she’s picked up on. There’s Olinca, but Sweetie only has a vague idea that she’s wary of Cerci, and the freaky browns. Then there’s the ‘old’ faction of the blues led by Svikja who are the “opposition” in the group. The Blues are the changelings that mimic other changelings, and ironically, there’s a natural distrust most changelings have towards them.... Cerci mostly has the Reds and the Yellows in her camp, plus the greens of course. Sweetie probably hadn’t met the two purples yet (the voodoo couple).

One of the things I’d like to do, of course, is to give an insider’s perspective of these TPC changelings via Sweetie poking around.

Yeah, the voodoo couple will be interesting. Are they going to approach her or does she need to go to them? That would also show a bit of their approach tho.

Maybe she might go them for some zecora-like advice about “being a Princess” and blending in. We could go either way, tho.

Remind me, what did browns look like? Weren't they like, disgusting to look at?

The browns are more complicated. They’re the parasitic ones and can’t (or don’t) survive on their own as adults. They ‘attach’ to larger creatures, typically ones that given them mobility or utility, like diamond dogs. The strongest ones took over giant Tatzlwurms.

Ok, but if Sweetie is to talk to Olin, what is he attached to? And are all the browns there attached to something?

Good question. We didn’t work that one out. I guess it depends on how sympathetic we want the character to be... if it was infesting a pony that would be more squick than if it was infesting a diamond dog or minotaur. What do you think? Which way do you want to roll? We also have to have it jive somewhat with Olin being one of the few wanting to find a way to live in equestria despite her species... peculiarities. Ah. I guess if you want to go the ‘easy’ route, you could have Olin infesting a terminally sick pony, and say she’s keeping him/her alive as a part of her. I think Sweetie - like most sane creatures - would be pretty terrified of the browns on general principle. I’m surprised she’d work up the guts to talk to one right away.

An alternative is that Olin isn’t attached to a host and instead being carried around by a follower or something. That’s kind of self-sacrificial, though.

Well, Sweetie did go through a lot of shit in the Backwards Through the Mirror world. She wouldn't have such a visceral reaction... some of the ponies that were transformed were horrendous in looks. Anyway... I feel a pony would be ironic, more appropriate and also a good way to start that character off... if Olin is helping the pony stay alive, perhaps they can eventually both reason out a way Browns could be symbiotic rather than parasitic. It would be a good sign if Sweetie talked to the pony itself at some point, it depends on the depth of character?

Okay. That seems fine. Yes, let’s go with that and see how it works.

Alright... let's see where she would go first, also you got my chat message about the phone, right?

where she goes next is up to you. I’m guessing we can jump ahead a few hours or some stretch of time, when she’s been shown where she’ll stay in the little part of the salt mines that the changelings are using.

do we need to show that part right now? I was thinking more on throwing her straight into the politics of the situation. Perhaps confronting that changeling that was glaring at her would be a good way to open up the fact that there was more than one stance on pony/ling relations.

This is your place, pursue the plot in whatever way feels good. Do what Sweetie would do, that’s all. What’s extra important throughout all of it is to show her thoughts in the narrative so we know why she’s doing stuff and what she’s thinking. All the other stuff will flow from that.

LOL alright, we can always add a better transition if it clashes too much

okay. next bit is for Sweetie to start to explore some more and try and find allies. She probably doesn’t even know that all changelings aren’t Cerci clones, but she can probably guess it from some of the mixes reactions before. So, yes, maybe have her mingle or start talking to the changelings after the rally or something? She’s new, so it makes sense for her to ask around.

(Assassinate Sand Dune? Blackmail info from family w/decryption code. Cause diplomatic incident w/saddle arabia?)

Cast of Characters (reference)

Equestrians (ponies and otherwise)

Sand Dune (Duchess) - Duchess of Bitaly
Sand Stone - Quartz Clan, prison warden
Lady Belle - this world’s Sweetie Belle

Changelings

Carnation, Bumblebee, Agave, K’larra, Pandinus Imperator, Calyx, Hyacinth, Sazzix, Nester, Aalactli, Flitter

Note to self:
changeling males? We’d probably need to name at least one. Green is most likely, maybe purple. In fact, Nkosazana might have her own if she’s the oldest surviving Purple. The Purps have special rules with their males, who are as functional as the females and not hidden away.

There’s bound to be some changelings who are tired of fighting and running and being hunted down. Even in TPC, during the attack on Canterlot itself, there were factions of changelings (like Exuvia herself) who were in favor of some sort of co-existence setup, though usually still with changelings in the top spot or otherwise in control. They were very Equi-phile. But Chrysalis was the Queen, and her will was enforced by pheromones that couldn’t be resisted for long. After years of fleeing, I’d expect three main groups:

This group wants to keep trying to carve out or destabilize Equestria so that changelings can seize power, either overtly or (more likely now) covertly.
This group wants to flee and leave Equestria and go back to the Sunset Lands where many of them came from. This will also probably mean going back to their old way of life, something the greens in particular would object to, since they’ve all been raised in ‘civilization’ and trying to start anew, openly, in the old homeland would make them a target.
This group wants to try and find a way to acclimate and stop fighting, but it is typically seen as surrender, and with how changelings are hated due to the Battle of Canterlot and the chaos they caused, most don’t think it possible anyway.

I’d guess that Sweetie would be able to ferret or feel out elements of all three groups once she’s exposed to the surviving changelings currently working under Cerci.

She'd most likely be optimistic about it, not knowing how bad the situation truly is. The second important part would be how she becomes really aware of it, her possible competition with Cerci and how to finally reach out before we need to plan the next stage

I’m thinking Cerci is planning something big. That’s why Bitaly is on edge about changelings and why Sweetie showing up got such a response. She’s planning some sort of scheme, either a big terrorist attack to remind Equestria that changelings are still around and not to be trifled with, or a more subtle scheme to try and replace someone important. As long as it is something BIG it fits our purposes. Once Sweetie realizes what Cerci intends, she’ll be forced to try and counter-balance her among the changelings.

She could try, and I mean try, to replace Sand Dune herself? That seems Chrysalis-tier foolishness. But, if she manages to do that undetected, it could be an interesting Tweest. Extremely unlikely though.... they could be planning on sinking the city? Somehow?

I’d have to think about what fits. Right now, I’m not sure. I just have vague ideas. It’ll be something to think about as we go forward, though. And I’d encourage you to think about it, too, in case you hit on a good idea before I do. I’ll already have a bunch of my hands full doling out worldbuilding info on the changeling remnants and how they’re coping in a Queenless underground society.

Once the whole mess with the changelings was solved, a tentative peace between the species would take place. Blueblood would have communicated with the local Sweetie Belle, so there would be no lingering doubt about Chronicles Sweetie being an ally. Cersi and co would not be necessarily 100% happy, but they'd be willing to work with the ponies to ensure the safety of their clans.

The chapter would have ended with a battle between both Sweeties, just for fun, to see how strong they truly were. As for the result? Well... we always intended for it to be a secret.

Summary That Never Was: ME: Shades of Twilight

Author's Note

This was written in July of 2013, and was a crossover with the amazing stories: Mass Effect 2 DLC: The Equestrian Equation and its sequel Mass Effect: Shades of Twilight by the amazingly talented Loyal2Luna. We hashed out details, talked at length about what worked and didn't for her universe and got to work on the intro.

The plan was NOT to make the Sweetie Chronicles chapter an actual canonical part of the story at all, but this was sort of the direction Loyal was taking her story at the time with certain characters and situations.

Also, I apologize, but I haven't posted anything for a while, and although this is not the full thing, I think it's a good chapter to share.

Summary That Never Was: ME: Shades of Twilight

Sweetie Belle opened her eyes just in time to receive a bright flash of white light to her retinas, which caused her to look away and blink wildly for a few moments before she was able to make out the metal floor under her. She shook her head, feeling faint and confused.

There was... something very wrong here. She took a deep breath. The air... it felt different somehow. Her hooves couldn’t feel any rocks under her, even under the metal. Her coat was covered by something... clothes of some sort which pressed, but didn’t grate uncomfortably on her fur.

Trying not to draw too much attention, she glanced down at her hoof. It remained the same. Slowly releasing a breath she closed her eyes and smiled. Her glamour spell was still active... or was it?

Her eyes opened again and she looked at her hoof, this time realizing that there was no spell.

There was no spell!

And her hoof was white and pristine. It looked like a normal filly’s dainty hoof!

She suddenly started looking over her body in a frenzied rush. Sure she was all wrapped up in a surprisingly fancy blue and gold getup. But there was no sign of what The Maestro of Broken Dreams had done to her! She looked—and felt—normal! She closed her eyes one more time, this time relishing the feel of her untainted soul, her normal coat... and then she felt it. Deep within, it remained... but it was so deep... she might as well be free of it!

“Ahem,” an unknown voice interrupted, making Sweetie snap her head up to look at... the strange blue creature in front of her, which happened to be holding a light up on a metal arm. “Miss Belle, would you mind looking here again?”

Eyes wide, Sweetie complied, trying her best to not seem scared. ‘Wh-what is this creature? And she knows my name? She looks... well... odd. A little like what Fire Wall told me humans looked like, but he never said they were blue.’

“Miss Belle, please follow the light...” the blue female said patiently. “And concentrate, I’m sure your friends also want to finish this examination soon.”

Sweetie resisted the urge to turn around and search for her supposed friends, forcing herself to follow the deliberate and clear instructions of her... doctor.

“Hmm, interesting,” the blue woman said after a moment. “I am not an expert on your species yet, Miss Belle, but I never heard of Equestrians changing eye color upon examination. Does this happen frequently?”

“I-I... um, no,” Sweetie stammered. “O-only when we really don’t expect it?”

The strange creature made a humming noise and arched her eyebrow.

“Uh... it’s uh, magic?” Sweetie tried again, earning an exasperated sigh.

“If you don’t know, you can simply say so, Miss Belle,” the doctor chuckled, clearly amused.

“Hold’up, our eyes can change color? Since when?”

Sweetie’s ears perked and her jaw fell open in shock upon recognizing that distinctive twang.

“OH!! Can I get blue? I always hated my eye color?” Came another, also familiar, although not as intimately so, a voice that almost sounded like something out of a half forgotten dream from another lifetime.

“Purple’s good enough for me.” Rang out a third, so individualistic that Sweetie would recognize it anywhere. “Matches my mane.”

“A-apple Bloom? Scootaloo?! And... Silver Spoon? You—” She caught herself. “You were... watching the whole thing?”

“Well ‘duh’.” Scootaloo answered, although Sweetie managed to keep her eyes ahead as the blue-human-like-lady shined one of the lights in her eyes. “You’re the last one up, so could’ya maybe finish up so we can get on outta here?”

The request prevented Sweetie from moving away, as she knew that acting too far ‘out of character’ when thrown into a new realm like this, no matter what was going on, would raise questions... and questions would make everything difficult again.

“Hmmm, complete pigmentation change. No sign of hemorrhage or damage to the optic nerves, no presence of cybernetics or artificial coloring.” The human-like blue woman leaned back, turning to the side and looking at what looked like a piece of thin glass with words scrolling across it quickly.

It was then that Sweetie got a look at the back of the creature’s head... which was lacking in hair and curved in a manner that immediately reminded her of the tentacles of a squid.

Sweetie poked the tentacle hair. Twice.

The doctor responded with a slight giggle and a frown that was too amused to truly be cross.

“Now now Sweetie, watch where you poke with that hoof, we are not on a date here,” The blue doctor chided playfully before reaching up and gripping Sweetie under both forelegs.

Sweetie’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “Wait! I’m sorry! I-I didn’t intend to do that! It was an accident! I’m really not into females! I can’t... I uh... I...” she looked around, trying to grasp something. “Uh... lamp! Yes! I’ll uh... p-poke the lamp. It’s a t-traditional non-mating Equestrian greeting. Right, girls?” When she noticed that they were not backing her up, she smiled. “Heeey, I could use a chocolate martini! Why don’t we go to the nearest bar? My treat?” She glanced at the doctor, who was now holding her up off the ground easily with two hands as she stood up. It was now that Sweetie realized just HOW tall this creature was, easily twice the height of an adult pony. “Purely platonic! I swear!”

“Relax, Sweetie.” The woman shook her head. “You act like you’ve never seen an Asari before.”

“What’s an Asari?” Sweetie asked before her brain could filter for her mouth.

“Hmmmm... Okay, not sure I can rule out brain damage just yet.” The Blue woman gave the small pony in her arms a suspicious look, although judging from her inflection, it sounded like she was joking. She then knelt down and set Sweetie on the metal floor. “But for now, you’re all done. I would like for you to come back in next week for a follow up, just to make sure.”

“Uh,” Sweetie forced a smile. “Y-yes! Certainly! Quite! Absolutely! Würde es nicht verpassen für die Welt! No problem!” She cleared her throat. “Um... which way is out?”

“Uhhh, Sweetie? Are you okay?”

Hearing Applebloom’s voice again and now being freed from the alien doctor’s ‘exam’, Sweetie Belle took a deep breath before she turned to face whatever iteration of her friends this strange world might throw at her.

As they came into view, her heart nearly froze up.

Applebloom was pulling herself up from a laying position, a set of blue denim overalls and a loose red shirt complementing her familiar tresses. Rather than a bow, a small setson was proudly set on AB’s head, although it leaned in a coy, awkward manner.

Scootaloo was wearing a what looked like a set of black shorts on her backside and a jacket that could only be made of leather around her back and forelegs. It’s neckline was coated in a fine looking fur and the jacket itself was left open to expose her barrel and with small slits in the top for wings. The only real physical difference from the pegasus before her and the one she remembered was a scar across the top of her muzzle, which definitely gave the young daredevil a ‘bad-flanked look’.

Also there was a another pony making the trio into a quartet, this one a reminder of her past as well. The amused smile of the rich and ‘fabulous’ Silver Spoon was not as demeaning as Sweetie remembered. In fact, she looked to be quite genuine, although her taste in an outfit was lacking as it resembled nothing so much as a jumpsuit a slightly darker grey than her fur, a zipper running down her front and a hood folded back at her neck line.

“I’m...” She took a deep breath. “I just... well, I need to talk to you girls... alone. It’s personal and I do need you to trust me on it.” She smiled sweetly at her friends and Silver Spoon, who she assumed was a crusader here or something. “There’s a lot you need to know,” she added, giving the doctor an apologetic look. “And uh, it’s really not a medical issue.”

“Well,” Apple Bloom spoke up after sharing a bewildered look with the others, “If y’all are done with the exam, we can get started and head back.”

Sweetie nodded. “Yeah, let’s do that!” She turned to face the asari doctor. “Um, thanks for the check up! Glad you weren’t waving a sonic screwdriver in my face as I thought you were!”

Scootaloo shook her head and nudged Sweetie towards the door. “Okay, we get it, you’re crazy. Come on.”

“And don’t let Rarity hear you talking about getting drunk,” Silver Spoon whispered. “I know you haven’t but if she thought you were serious...” she shuddered as she moved towards the doorway, which Sweetie recognized was also made of metal.

Geeze, was everything metal in this place? Also, what was that glowing red spot on the center of the door?

With Scootaloo and Silver Spoon on either flank and Applebloom at the head of the quartet, Sweetie had a moment to puzzle as the light on the door turned green and then slid open without so much as a wave of the horn.

“Twenty-One, we’re ready to go.” Applebloom stated as she moved forward, barely pausing before nodding to the right of the doorway and drawing Sweeties eyes to...

“An armored Changeling?” Sweetie asked, completely forgetting who she was with or that she was in another world. “No, not armored... this metal casing is completely replacing your chitin armor.” She poked it once. “Forget about that! You’re actually just metal! This is fantastic! Are you some sort of golem? I wonder what would happen if I connected to your core and tried to change your shape! Can you change your shape? It would be odd to call you a changeling when you couldn’t, even if you’re not really reeeally a changeling.” She turned to look towards the appalled group. “Has Chrysalis seen this? She’ll flip!” Her eyes lit up. “Oooh! I should take notes on this!”

“Chrysalis?” Silver Spoon turned for a moment, unsure what else to say, although Sweetie paid her no heed.

For a second her horn glowed with a faint green aura... and nothing happened, other than a small popping sound. Sweetie Belle blinked. “Wait, I got it.”

She concentrated again... and nothing happened. “Hold on a second, why isn’t my notebook appearing?” She tried a third time, trying to ignore the confused and slightly worried looks of her friends. “Um... girls, I can’t open an interdimensional portal. Is that normal?”

“Uhhh... Yeah. It’s kinda... you know... scientifically impossible.” Applebloom nodded, eyeing her friend with a worried concern. “Did Doctor Ashari just fry yer brain or somethin’, Sweets?”

Sweetie glared at a point just in front of her as her horn flashed with energy... something seemed to hover there but before Sweetie could even register it, it faded and she slumped. “Dammit!” She took a deep breath and smiled at her friends. “There’s no magic! Imagine that!” her eyes seemed to lose focus for a second. “I... I need to lie down. There’s no magic.”

“Okay, I’m giving this asari a piece of my mind.” Scootaloo grimaced, clearly self-assured that whatever had happened to Sweetie had been a result of the blue doctor’s tests. Before the young pegasus could return through the doorway however, she was blocked by a black metallic leg.

“That is quite enough of that, fillies.” The changeling spoke up, it’s voice sounding odd.. almost artificial as it moved. There was a firmness, but no real indication of emotion behind the voice as the mech redirecting Scootaloo away from the door. “Examinations are complete, which means we are now required to exit Administration .”

“Ohhhhh, come on Twenty-One! Something’s definitely up here.”

“Currently, the ceiling and three additional levels of the New Ponyville Administration facility are in the gravitational direction of ‘up’. Therefore your assumption is correct.” The changeling, apparently named ‘Twenty-One’, confirmed before it’s glowing blue eyes fell on Sweetie Belle. “Are you feeling well, Sweetie? Would you like to report possible infection or physical trauma?”

“No, I’m fine!” Sweetie said. “I only have no magic...” she lifted her head.

“Uhhh, yeah. That’s because magic don’t exist.” Applebloom informed her, clearly concerned.

“Nonono, I got it, I probably just don’t have enough magic for an advanced spell,” Sweetie insisted. She looked around until her eyes settled on a nearby potted plant. With a turn and a flash of her horn, she set it on fire. “See? Fire works!”

The reaction of her fellow crusaders was far from one of applause.
They looked horrified by the action.

“Twenty-One!” Applebloom barked immediately, her eyes wide.

“Accessing local containment system... engaged.”

A sudden shimmering aura of blue engulfing the potted plant, which burned for a fraction of a second before the flames were completely snuffed out in a manner that could only happen in a vacuum.

“Did anypony see that?” Applebloom continued, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Negative,” The Changeling chirped before it was suddenly up and upon Sweetie, it’s spire-like antenna suddenly sinking into it’s metal carapace before it quickly pushed it’s head up under her hind legs, scooping her up and causing her to slid back down it’s smooth metallic neck and onto it’s back. “Although I recommend we exit the area immediately.”

“Agreed.” Silver Spoon nodded, moving into a walk to match the metal changeling’s pace. With a graceful ease, Applebloom hopped up onto the changeling’s backside to help stabilize Sweetie as the two rode the mechanical pony.

“Sweetie? What the hay? Ya’ll know better than ta start a fire on a space station! Ya’ll could get us in a whole heap of trouble!”

“How’d you do that anyways?” Scootaloo sounded more impressed than horrified. “The fire I mean, I didn’t think that sort of thing was possible with biotics.”

“Combustion is achievable by hyper-excitement of molecules via biotic fields within a confined space.” The mechanical changeling chirped as it walked with an easy grace, easily carrying the two fillies on it’s back. “Although theorized, the fine control required to produce effect has never been documented within an organic being.”

“Whooaaaa, way to go Sweetie!”

“What, you mean I couldn’t do that before?” Sweetie asked shaking her head. “I must’ve been slacking off.” She looked down at the changeling and frowned. “So... you created a vacuum spell, depriving the fire oxygen to feed it,” Sweetie said after a moment. “Smart, but you could have asked me to just freeze it or use water... why use a potentially dangerous spell instead? And one more thing... what are biotics and why would they require hard science to work? I can explain most spells with science, like my lightning by a reaction of particles, or my freeze spell by disseminating all heat into the surrounding atmosphere, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s still magic.”

Silver Spoon leaned towards Scootaloo. “I think Sweetie is very, very confused right now. Maybe we should take her home?”

“How about we stop somewhere and you tell me what’s going on?” Sweetie said after a moment as the four fillies and metal changeling approached a large door, the green light in the center flashing. “I need to clear things up with all of you, but I’m really lost as to what is going on here.”

The door opened up as the fillies and mech emerged... a bright haze of violet light causing Sweetie Belle to blink for a moment before the scene before she registered the view in front of her.

http://blog.fileplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Mass-Effect-Citadel-1200x800.jpg

“Celestia fuck me sideways,” Sweetie whispered in awe. “Where in the multiverse are we?!”

She just couldn’t believe it. She had seen amazing cities made of crystal, forgotten cultures frozen in time, caves full of marvels and ancient magic but... all of that... almost all of it... paled completely with just how indescribable this place was. The sheer concept of where she stood, looking up at what could only be more of this city free-floating in the middle of the universe... it was breathtaking. The only thing she had to compare it with in overwhelming the feeling of immensity that permeated her was the secret grotto Bon Bon had taken her to, where reality had bent and shifted under their very hooves... but even that wasn’t as immediate as this. This was one hundred and ten percent real. Hay, even the TARDIS wasn’t something you took in in one look!

“Milky Way Galaxy...” The changeling answered crisply, not paying attention to the strange looks that the three crusaders were giving the white unicorn filly. “Serpent Nebula, The Citadel. Tayseri Ward. District 2183 : New Ponyville, Administrative Level.”

“Oh, Luna, wait until I tell Blueblood about this!” Sweetie giggled. “Just... how many bars are in here? And libraries? And aliens?”

“BLUEBLOOD? Okay, did you hit your head or something when we weren’t looking, Sweets? Because I’m seriously getting worried here.” Scootaloo started, only to be thrown off as the metallic changeling immediately began to answer.

“New Ponyville contains a two locations that may be classified as bars: The Nightmare Moon Nightclub and Celestial Desires Bakery. No singular ‘Library’ is located within the Tayseri ward, although civilian access to the Citadel Archive or the Extra-Net Codex Database can be granted with proper clearance from any omni-tool. Current Population Statistics indicate the Citadel has approximately Thirteen Point Eleven Million registered sapeints in permanent residence. This number does not account for Keepers or the recent influx of refugees.”

“Thirteen point eleven million...” Sweetie shook her head. “That’s a lot of mouths to feed. Applejack must be making a killing with all the apples. And did you say Nightmare Moon Nightclub?” Sweetie couldn’t keep the incredulity from her voice. “That’s... an amazing name, actually!” She elbowed Apple Bloom. “We should go there!” Then her brain seemed to catch onto what the changeling had said. “Wait! No libraries?! Don’t ponies read? And the Extra-Net... is that like the internet? Because when I had explained to me, it made absolutely no sense at all!”

“The Extranet is...”

“Galdarnit, Twenty-One! DISCONTINUE!” Applebloom suddenly spoke up, and the mech fell silent. “Sweetie, what... the...HAY has gotten into ya? What are ya’ll TALKING about here? Ya’ll have lived here fer over a year...we were there when Nightmare Moon opened up. And AJ don’t grow apples no more, not since Equestria.”

“Yeah, did you have the last thirteen months of your life just wiped out or something?” Silver Spoon asked, although her tone was more analytical than accusatory.

Sweetie was quiet for a moment. “I’m not your Sweetie Belle.”

“Huh?” Scootaloo’s wings buzzed, a sure sign of confusion from the pegasus that Sweetie remembered from her younger, more innocent days.

Sweetie sighed. “We really need to stop and talk, anywhere you want is fine as long as we have some quiet and not a bunch of ponies or aliens looking at us. I’ll explain everything.”

There was a moment of quiet.

“Fine... My place is just over there. AJ and Big Mac are out working so it’ll be empty.” Applebloom nudged the side of the metal changeling with a hoof. “Giddyup, Twenty-One.”

The changeling’s neck clicked as it looked back over it’s shoulder to Applebloom.

Sweetie wasn’t sure, but she got the distinct impression of annoyance from those glowing eyes.

“Command invalid.”

“Uhhh... Ah mean.. Would ya kindly, Twenty-One.”

The lights in the optics of the mechanical changeling narrowed as if asking for something else.

“Please?”

The changeling turned back and immediately started down the way at a brisk trot.

o.0.o

The Apple Family Apartment, as Sweetie realized, was hardly a palace and it certainly wasn’t a barnhouse. Three quaint cots lined one wall while a sofa was set up in front of a rather large looking sheet of glass, although what purpose it had she had no clue. A small kitchen was set up in one corner and a pair of doors that Sweetie assumed were a closet and a bathroom were sealed shut as the four fillies and the mechanical changeling entered.

As the door slid shut, Applebloom stood up on her hind legs and waved a hoof over the green light, which turned red, meaning (Sweetie assumed) that it had been locked.

Twenty-One knelt down to make it easier for Sweetie Belle to pull herself down off of him before the four had formed a sort of semi-circle facing the white unicorn.

“I’m not your Sweetie Belle,” Sweetie repeated herself from earlier. “I’m actually another Sweetie, from another universe. I’ve been travelling the multiverse from world to world to... station, I guess, in search of fragments of my Twilight Sparkle, which I need to find to get back home. I’m actually a bit older than I look... I got my cutie mark, and I’ve been to worlds both reminiscent of our calm Equestria and others... not so nice. I’ve been through wars, travelled through time and and been caught in an almost-never-ending loop. I’ve seen ponies murdered, and I’ve had to...” she hesitated. “I’ve had to fight to survive. Where I come from there’s magic, which seems to either not exist here or has disappeared. The only thing I know for sure is, if I’m here, there’s a fragment of Twilight’s around...” she looked at her fellow ponies and the changeling. “When I’m done, your Sweetie will be back, safe and sound.”

The three ponies stared at Sweetie Belle for a moment.

“Why...do I get the feeling that you’ve gone over this before?” Silver Spoon asked, tilting her head and using a hoof to push her glasses back up her snout.

Sweetie stared at the group. “Because I have... but... wait, wait wait wait. Why are there no shouts of dismay, accusations, investigations, denial and, or, immediate motions to send me to the psy- whatever?”

“Because after you’ve had your life and everything you’ve ever believed in torn away from you, torn up into little shreds, and proven to be a one huge thirty-six million year old joke once, you start keeping an open mind as to the nature of what’s real and what’s not.” Scootaloo stated with a surprising amount of calm. “And as EVERYONE has learned by now, you don’t just dismiss someone out of hoof because they sound crazy... especially if it is coming from someone you trust.”

“Uhhh Twenty-One?” Applebloom looked to the mech, who was continuing to scrutinize the filly unicorn.

“Vitals stable, zero signs of deviation from norm. Biometics suggest no attempts at deception. No registered psychological or physiological trauma detected. Sudden manifestation of unrecorded biotic abilities, lack of memory of events, and sudden alteration of eye pigmentation support claims.” The Mech explained. “Until reasonable data can be found disproving statements, I can postulate no valid reasons to disbelieve Sweetie Belle’s assertions.”

Sweetie looked at the group. “Where were you twenty worlds ago? I could have really used some semblance of normalcy when Nightmare Moon took over Equestria and made Twilight her slave-lover-something.”

“Okay, that’s just...weird.” Scootaloo offered before leaning forward. “But okay, say we believe you. What do you mean ‘fragments’ of Twilight. I mean, I saw the Madam President this morning, she seemed fine.”

Sweetie stared. Then she slowly looked around. “I’m... sorry, this is surreal. You actually... well, don’t exactly believe me, but you don’t throw my claims off as me being a basket case... it’s... just... never happened unless I’ve been dead in that world for some time.” She closed her eyes and took a long, deep, calming breath. “Okay...” she cleared her throat. “The fragment would not be a part of the local Twilight,” she explained, starting to pace in front of them.

“In my original world, an accident caused Twilight to be crystallized in a temporal-dimensional distortion field that fed of off chaotic magic; she had developed the theory that this orb could be used to travel through space and time without being held to the limitations of Starswirl’s spells; however, as tampering with the artifact proved, messing with that kind of thing was not wise.”

Sweetie shook her head, grimacing at the memories. “While the experiment was ongoing, any foreign magical signature would disrupt the considerable energies being woven by Twilight, with completely unpredictable results... the result being Twilight turned into a crystal, like I said earlier, and then being smashed to pieces and sucked into the multiverse by the chaos energies competing with the organized structure of her magic...”

Sweetie took another deep breath. “However, since I was in the same room as her, I was also swept into the multiverse, but unlike Twilight I was not in the center of the singularity, and therefore I was not crystallized.” She shuddered. “I- I don’t know what happened to my original body, all that happens is that I end up inside the local Sweetie’s body, and then I can’t travel forward until I find the next piece of Twilight.”

She paused for a moment to look out the windows at the streets outside. “It is my current theory that Twilight’s fragment in this universe might be the only magical force strong enough to feed my pocket dimension spell so I can add it to the others and continue my travels.” She smiled. “Any questions?”

“Uhhh... yeah... Translation please?” Scootalloo offered.

Much to Sweetie’s surprise, it was Silver Spoon who spoke up.

“In an alternate reality where Equestria was real, her Twilight messed with something she shouldn’t have and exploded and now Sweetie is trying to find the pieces and put her back together.”

“Ah... thanks.”

“And... where is our Sweetie while you’re...uhh, using her body then?” Applebloom asked, her tone not accusatory, but certainly concerned.

Sweetie shook her head. “I’m not entirely sure... but I have it on good authority that the moment I’m gone, she’s back in her body, none-the-wiser.”

“So she won’t remember any of this?”

“Most haven’t,” Sweetie said. “But... well, a few of the Sweetie Belles have been very different, I know one, only, who I supplanted and she remembered everything... but, she had been helped by Discord into an amulet... so she was sorta travelling with me. In that one, and another world I was able to meet myself... it was interesting and... well, I was jealous.”

“Jealous? But that sounds awesome, traveling around to different worlds... seeing all that crazy stuff... and YOUR magic is real? That has to be...”

“Scoot.. it ain’t a game!” Applebloom interrupted the dare devil filly before she could go on, her eyes solidly kept on Sweetie. “So ya’ll have NO idea what is goin’ on here? Ya just got plopped into our Sweetie without warning?”

Sweetie nodded, walking away from the window and sitting down in a shadowed corner of the room. “I never know where I’m going to end up... in the middle of a war... being attacked by a drake... in time to see everypony in a town be massacred... in my room at the boutique... or trapped in a cage and dragged away to— I don’t know... I never know.”

The three fillies were silent, as was the changeling mech as they exchanged worried looks.

“Ah’m sorry.” Applebloom managed after a few minutes. “Ah can’t imagine how hard that must be.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I believe you,” Silver Spoon spoke up, nodding her head. “If for no other reason than I know you’re a REALLY bad liar and I don’t think you could possibly have come up with a story like this as fiction.”

Sweetie choked out a snort. “Thanks. I think.” She smiled, lifting her hoof up and admiring the white coat. “Maybe I’ve been freed of one of my curses... not completely but...” she shook her head. “Enough about me. What happened to everypony?”

“Oh geeze, I don’t even know where to start.” Scootaloo shook her head,

“Maybe we should start with common ground,” Silver stated, her tone certainly more academic than Sweetie EVER remembered her Silver Spoon being. “I mean, what was your old life like? Was it... Equestria?”

Sweetie wasn’t sure why Scootaloo used that odd inflection when mentioning Equestria. In most of her travels, she had ended up in that land, even if it was going under another name.

“Well... it was Equestria... we... I mean, my Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Silver Spoon, grew up in Ponyville. Silver Spoon was always with Diamond Tiara, though...” Sweetie hesitated, taking notice of a sudden wince and downturned expression from Silver Spoon upon hearing the name of the rich little filly. “ Uhhh, anyway, we met a few weeks after Twilight had moved to town, I already knew Scootaloo, but I hadn’t really met Apple Bloom until Diamond Tiara’s cuteceanera when—”

“... Diamond Tiara was makin’ fun of me when you and Scoot jumped out from under a table and I found out...”

“... That you weren’t the only blank flank in school,” Sweetie finished with a smile. “Yeah... it’s mostly the same in all worlds I’ve visited... we all grow up together, form the Crusaders, survive Discord, Chrysalis and Sombra... and that’s as far as I got, really,” Sweetie said.

“Yeah... that happened to us.”

“Or so we thought.” Scootaloo crossed her hooves in front of her, her expression distasteful.

“Where to begin?” Silver was tapping her chin before a sudden sound, like a beeping and mechanical grinding akin to clearing one’s throat was heard, drawing attention back to Twenty-One.

“I would recommend you begin with Shepard.”

Sweetie observed for a few moments as the three fillies opposite of her shared a look of agreement, clearly thinking this a was a good idea.

“Who is Shepard?” Sweetie asked after a moment. “Is he a pony? Or an alien?”

“Honestly... he’s one of only two people ah know of that have ever been both.” Applebloom started nodding. “Now ah don’t know all the details, but everything we thought we knew about life and the universe changed a little over a year ago when Commander Shepard came to Equestria. Sweetie’s...er, I mean ‘our’ Sweetie’ was the only one of us who actually saw him back then, although she didn’t realize that him coming ta Ponyville was the end of our lives there.”

“The only pony who knows exactly ‘what’ happened is Twilight, but long story short...” Scootaloo continued, her voice bordering on reverence, which was odd when speaking of anypony that ‘wasn’t’ Rainbow Dash. “He woke us up... And saved us all.”

“He... woke you?” Sweetie asked. “Was this... some sort of nightmare where you were all trapped? Unable to wake up?” Sweetie shuddered. “I don’t know if it was the same as what happened to me, but... it sounds bigger. Was all of Equestria... asleep?”

“Yeah... it was.” Applebloom lowered her head, “Twenty-One can probably explain it better.”

“Applebloom is referring to the Equestria Facility, constructed approximately thirty-six million galactic standard years ago by the predecessor species of modern ponykind: My creators: The Equines.” The Mechanical changeling explained. “Equestria was originally designed as a luxury virtual resort intended for recreation via highly sophisticated reality simulations for entertainment and relaxation. The designation and purpose of the facility was later altered due to the imminent genocide of the Equine Species. Twelve Hundred and Sixty Seven Equines were kept hidden during this process and lived out their lives within the simulated realities of the Equestrian Facility under the watch of Multiple Overseer programs. Continuation of species was facilitated through selective breeding and eventual genetic engineering, culminating in the Modern Day Equestrian.”

“Us.” Scootaloo bowed her head, clearly feeling a degree of shame. “Our lives, our world, our history... Even Equestria itself was one big lie. Something to keep our minds busy while the rest of the galaxy kept spinning on. Ponyville, Canterlot, Cloudsdale, our entire WORLD was make believe... we really spent our entire lives inside these big glass pods filled up with this goop...”

“Nutrient Fluid.” Twenty-One objected. “Regenerative alginates which provided required nutritional values as well as oxygenation to promote healthy development.”

“... and never doing ANYTHING for real. Our entire species just slept through life, never knowing that it was all a sham.” Scootaloo continued.

Sweetie smiled at her friend. “It’s okay... I understand... a little bit... but, if I have learned something in my travels is that it is who you have grown to be, through whatever difficulties you went through that really matters... I know I would be horrified and angry myself if I woke up from all of this to find it was some sort of... ruse, but I think, who I am will have been changed regardless... for the better.” She cleared her throat. “But... anyway, I... over thirty million years? How can that be possible? Wouldn’t the resources to maintain such a spel— such a thing been staggering? And the population couldn’t have been what it was in my Equestria, there were millions of ponies...”

“So was ours... but it was all smoke and mirrors. The program was designed to keep us from noticing how few of us there were by messing with our minds and making ‘copies’ of ponies when large crowds were needed. But the truth is that there are just under three hundred of us.” Silver jumped in, already realizing exactly where Sweetie was going. “That’s it... In the entire galaxy. The rest of our race died out so long ago that nothing else is left. Even when we found our home planet, we found out that it was long since dead. So now we’re an endangered species.”

“But, why did the Equines have to go into hiding? Why the need to only keep a small percent of the population? Was there some sort of plague? What happened?”

The three fillies looked between one another, clearly pained before all three answered in unison.

“The Reapers.”

“That... sounds ominous,” Sweetie stated. “Alien race? Ancient mythological creatures from Tartarus?”

“Both...neither... don’t really know.” Applebloom looked away, her tone immediately sending up red flags to Sweetie on what was clearly a VERY touchy subject. “What we do know is that they are absolute monsters.”

“I know that look,” Sweetie said softly. “They’re not gone, are they?”

Applebloom shook her head.

“Remember when we said we know better than to dismiss something out of hoof just because it sounds crazy?” The former farm filly stated, her tone low. “It’s because the entire galaxy is regretting doing just that. Shepard warned everyone that they were coming. But they didn’t listen... they called him crazy, a liar, and worse things. And now, they are paying for it... dearly.”

“Oh...” Sweetie looked away, not knowing what to say before turning back to face the three. Even without the details, she could tell from the solemn tone that these ‘Reapers’ were not something to take lightly. “I’m sorry...”

“Well, it ain’t all bad.” Applebloom leaned back, using her forelegs to prop herself up as she sat with her hind legs out in front of her and clearly trying to lighten the mood. “After Commander Shepard woke us up and got us out of Equestria, he saved us from the facility when it blew up and brought us here to the Citadel, the safest place in the galaxy.”

“And as it turns out, we’re pretty special. All that genetic engineering means we’re all really good biotics and we’re more than smart enough to keep up with the other species in the galaxy.” Scootaloo started back again. “We didn’t even know it in Equestria, but everypony got a TON of science and tech stuff crammed into our heads.” Scootaloo grinned broadly. “We’re total geniuses wrapped up in these adorable packages!”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Do ya know how awkward it is ta be trying to have a serious conversation with an asari technician about station engineering just to have her ask if she can brush your mane while squealing like a school filly?”

Sweetie stared. “So... you’re all scientists now?” Her eyes gleamed. “YES!” She started skipping around the group. “Yesyesyesyesyesyes!” She finally stopped and pulled them all into a hug. “Do you realize how annoying it was to try to explain to the other crusaders how temporal-space matrices worked while producing variable but not exhaustible spikes of energy and then how to use those same spikes to predict a reaction and therefore create a 36-point energy net?!”

“Uhhh either of your girls get that?” Applebloom asked, watching Sweetie bounce. “I’m an engineer and that went over my head.”

“It sounded like some really fancy physics. Not my forte.” Scootaloo noted, shrugging. “I’m pretty well set up as an expert chef.”

“I’m a mathematician.” Silver Spoon stated.

“How long do you think she’s gonna keep bouncing like that?”

“Is anypony else getting deja vu here?”

“Wait,” Sweetie stopped bouncing. “Are you saying that it’s not that they don’t get it, but rather that I make it too complicated?” She pouted. “I knew it was too good to be true...”

“Sorry Sweetie, but what you’re talking about isn’t in our fields. We were lucky enough to be old enough to get the education, but it’s specialized.” Silver Spoon explained. “For instance, I’m rated on a doctorate level in mathematics, while my mother is a galactic grade economist. But I don’t have a clue about other sciences that don’t involve math.”

“I’m sure SOMEPONY is good with physics though... Uhhh, Right, Twenty-One?”

“Affirmative. Three theoretical physics trained ponies are registered: Director Pie, Stardust, and Featherweight.”

“Wait... Featherweight? The colt that took pictures for the paper?” Sweetie asked. “He can... understand me?”

“Perhaps. Addendum: there is also a high likelihood that Madam President Sparkle will be able to comprehend.”

“Well,” Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Twilight always gets me. She was my teacher! And... she’s kept teaching me through all of my travels in one way or another.” She looked at the others. “I’d like to meet her here as well... if you think she’ll believe me.”

“Pull off some of those non-biotic tricks and sure she will.”

Sweetie sighed. “I wish I could show her more of the flashy ones... but even that basic fire spell took its toll on me. I think I can only do the simplest of spells...” she said, closing her eyes and concentrating. The light’s in the room seemed to dim for a fraction of a second, but soon Sweetie had to stop. “T-that was much harder than I expected...” she gasped. “And didn’t even do anything.”

“Uh, what were you trying to do?” Scootaloo asked.

“I was just trying to cast a darkness spell,” Sweetie said and sighed. “I guess I’m really limited to just party tricks.” She looked at the others. “Is this a good time to meet with Twilight?”

Author's Note:

This is as far as we got with this mini story. A little bit more was planned, but Loyal2Luna's schedule and mine didn't seem to coincide at all. Full disclosure: I love her work, and although I have some ideas to contributing factors that might've led her to drop work on the ME crossover, those are guesses. The fact is, her story is amazing, and I would have loved to have been able to finish this little crossover with her.

Below is roughly an idea of what we had discussed would happen after all of the above.

We explore a bit of New Ponyville on the way to meet Twilight, and have Sweetie meet some familiar ponies—not necessarily talk to them—and see the efforts of the herd to survive and grow.

After a brief talk with Twilight, where Shepard can be mentioned a bit more, as well as establishing that Sweetie can use biotic-like powers like shield, blasting someone, levitation and such, Twilight can explain what biotics are a bit and Sweetie can draw her own conclusions as to what molds to this universe and what doesn’t. During their talk, Cerberus can initiate their attack.

Sweetie and the others are escorted back to a more secure area, but are ambushed by Cerberus, with the resulting fight ending with Sweetie captured. Twilight asks Shepard for help, and maybe Shepard (and another pony ?) can go (since Twilight would have to stay for the rest of the herd). It would also be more than personal, since Sweetie is the younger sister of one of the most important ponies. Their location can be traced thanks to Pinkie Pie’s implants on Sweetie’s body.

Meanwhile at a mobile Cerberus lab, we get the usual spiel from TIM about the betterment of mankind and how Sweetie will be providing a great service to humanity blahblahblah. They start by interrogating her, but of course she doesn’t know much, so they try torture... waking up Demon Belle*, who basically breaks loose and kills/maims most of them.

Author's Note:

"Demon Belle" was the messed up, subconscious side of Sweetie Belle that eventually became the base for "Fracture." The idea was dropped after that.

By the time Shepard arrives, the mobile lab is stranded, the area where Sweetie is is contained and they are preparing to go in and shoot to kill... her body should be just as valuable. Once Shepard rescues her, they can have a talk about fighting fate and such.

Returning to the station, the Twilight Fragment could be in possession of Rarity as a recent purchase from a merchant who knows she likes rare gems an such. We can wrap up with final goodbyes and promises to visit if possible.

Mente Materia Pt. 1

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

Mente Materia Pt. 1

By Wanderer D & Arad

Based on the story: Mente Materia

Taking place during Interlude Pts. 1-3

Special thanks to my editors: Lammy, Magical Trevor, Masked Ferret, Nick & SuperBigMac

o.0.oo.0.o

The apparent peace of the cornfield was disrupted by a wave of energy and wind that pushed the tightly-packed corn stalks away from its epicenter. Energy crackled and spun, slowly raising in little blue-white tendrils as Sweetie materialized from the hooves up. Her first instinct, once she blinked the glare from the energy away was to run her tongue under her teeth, trying to sense the presence of her "Queenly Fangs". Thankfully they were gone. Not that she minded that much having them… they were really useful for intimidation, but as her counterpart had pointed out, in the end, they were more of a hindrance than anything. Especially if she ended up in another situation where she needed to prove she wasn't a "local" changeling.

Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, she shook her head with a smile at the thought of the other 'her' and the trials that would await Blueblood and the others. But, if anypony could make it work, it would be them.

Clearing her throat, she glanced around, taking in the perfect crop circle she was standing on top of and the feel and appearance of the cornfield. Maybe she had appeared close to Ponyville again? She noticed a structure in the distance… a farm. She started walking towards it, trying to see if it was one of the several that lay scattered around Ponyville itself.

However, something seemed odd about it. Perhaps it was that the scale for it seemed a bit off—structurally, it was very similar to the one in Sweet Apple Acres, but at the same time, not the right size for something made for ponies.

She let her senses tell her what was around her. Much like in Bitaly, the air had a different quality to it than she was used to. The elements spoke... but it was muted. The earth itself barely reacted to her presence, and although she knew she still had her changeling fae-like powers, the rocks seemed even more dormant than usual.

She was sure if she made an actual attempt at communicating, she might—just maybe—get a reaction of some sort, but for now… she might as well not have the ability for all the good it would do. There was magic here... it was just disused and stale.

With nowhere else to go, other than losing herself in the corn field and with no other markers to go by, Sweetie stealthily made her way towards the barn, mindful of any sounds that would betray somepony's presence and keeping herself in the shadows.

Despite her precautions, she was only aware of the rows and rows of plants around her; the only sound being the rustling of thousands of leaves when the wind blew between the corn stalks.

Silent as a shadow, she finally made her way to the edge of the field and gazed upon the structure in front of her. She had been correct in her assessment: the barn was very similar to the Apple family's, and it was even built right next to a two-level house.

It looked pony-made for the most part, but the scale was bigger than a pony required. Not terribly so, but certainly just enough to give her pause.

"Maybe this is a world where ponies are bigger?" she mused in a whisper. "But, where is everypony?"

Her musings were interrupted by an unfamiliar sound—a dull roar that slowly increased in volume, as if it were getting closer. It had a strange cadence to it, a constant thumping sound, almost like the sound of a knife cutting vegetables... only it would have to be a very big, very fast knife.

The wind suddenly blew around her, kicking up dust and bending the corn stalks around her.

Sweetie looked up in surprise at some sort of... machine. It was made of dark metal and glass, looking almost like a cross of Pinkie's helicopter machine and some sort of fish, with giant blades spinning over its body and on its tail.

The roar was now all around her. The wind, dust, lights and the noise the machine was producing was disorienting. Sweetie moved quickly. She needed to get out of sight.

With the idea of stealth tossed out the window, she dashed towards the barn, galloping straight into its open doors. Inside, tall crates and barrels lined the floor; Sweetie leaped behind a haystack up against the wall nearest to her, using her magic to slam the doors shut against the wind.

She carefully hid in the shadows, muting her breathing and preparing her spells. A slight shimmer across her horn allowed Akela to zoom out of the interdimensional pocket where she kept her notebook.

Several abandoned blocks of concrete piled up against the wall in a makeshift outline of a door. Whatever the situation was here, entrances to the Hedge Space were rare enough in their dimension of origin, that the chances of anypony (or thing) realizing what that actually was, would be close to nil.

A glance through a crack in the barn wall showed the mechanical contraption hovering just outside. It didn't take long for sliding doors on both sides of the machine to open, and for several creatures to drop down nearly twenty feet to the ground below.

The roar began to fade as the machine gained altitude, and Sweetie got her first clear look at what it had left behind.

There were eight of them: tall, clad in black armor, and to the unicorn’s surprise, bipedal. The tools they carried in their arms reminded her of the weapons she had seen when visiting Puppysmile's world, and they assembled quickly into formation as they approached. Clearly they were trained soldiers of some sort, and Sweetie cast another glance towards her makeshift doorway, weighing her options, but she paused when she heard voices outside.

“There’s one inside the barn, but it doesn’t feel like any Equestrian I’ve ever been around,” one stated with an otherwise pleasant tenor.

“Intelligence was right, and ahead of Bradford for once. Remember, we need the target alive. If you make a corpse, then Vide will take his time with you,” another said, his baritone voice carrying a threat that Sweetie didn’t want clarified.

“That makes things simple, then,” a third voice said, sounding more feminine than the previous two. The tone, however, left Sweetie with only more apprehension. The words agreed with the second voice, but--

The sharp snap of weapon fire caused Sweetie to flinch, and she didn’t dare look through the crack in the wall as the reports of a dozen or so shots filled the air. She heard roar of the machine approaching again, drowning everything out, only to be interrupted by a loud explosion that shook the walls and roof of the barn.

She felt the ground shake as something large crashed onto it with a screech of metal bending and secondary explosions following soon after. The only sound she could hear for a few moments after was that of fires burning outside the barn.

As silently as she could, Sweetie crept to the crack in the wall and peered outside. A half-dozen bodies littered the clearing between the barn and the house, and the burning husk of the flying machine lay on its side at the edge of the corn field.

Six bodies… where are the other two? Before she could even think to seek out the missing pair, one of the farmhouse's windows exploded outward as the two remaining creatures violently dove through it.

They tumbled a few feet before one planted a kick squarely in the chest of the other and sent it flying. Rather than hit the ground and roll into a defensive position as Sweetie would have, however, the second biped twisted in the air and landed on its feet in an impressive display of acrobatics.

The acrobatic one drew a gun from a holster on its leg. The other creature did the same as it quickly rolled to its knees, and a second later, a torrent of blood-red beams lit the area between them.

A lucky shot from the first destroyed the other's gun, and it quickly followed up with two more shots that knocked its opponent to the ground.

The fight finally ended as the first crossed the distance between the two and planted three beams into the head of the second. With no more apparent targets nearby, the victor sheathed its weapon before turning to the barn.

“Can you hear me in there?” it asked, and Sweetie recognized the feminine lilt in her voice from just before the fighting had erupted. Her empty hands were raised with palms facing outward as either a placating gesture, or to simply show that she had no weapons. “Everyone else is dead out here, so it’s just me now. I’m going to come into the barn alright?”

Whoever—whatever—these creatures were, this one was aware that Sweetie was in the barn. They had somehow seen her through the walls, so there was no point in hiding.

Sweetie prepared herself, Akela floating steadily next to her in the shadows.

"Who are you?" she finally called out. "What are you? And why should I trust you?"

“You speak English?” the creature asked with disbelief in its tone. “Nevermind. You’ve got no reason to trust me beyond my word. The others that were out here would have taken you someplace terrible, and I couldn’t allow that. If you don’t want to come out, then you should be safe until people you can trust get here. Okay?”

Despite the creature's sorely lacking assurances, Sweetie stepped into the light. She had seen the fight, and while the creature was anything but harmless, Sweetie was fairly confident that she could defend herself if worst came to worst.

"I heard you talk to your comrades... before you started the fight. You betrayed them." She circled around the female creature. She was dressed in a tight-fitting uniform designed for combat, even if it was not designed like the armor she’d seen ponies wear. "And another one of you mentioned I was Equestrian... how did he know? And who are these people you think I can trust? Are they ponies?" Her string of questions finished as she came to a stop, ready to react at a moment's even one of the creature’s fingers twitched towards her weapons.

The creature brought her hands to her helmet and lifted it upwards, revealing dark, hairless skin save for a black mane. Green eyes, tiny by pony standards, looked down at her with a mixture of curiosity and caution.

“Betrayal implies that they were on my side, but I will grant that I did shoot a couple of them in the back.” The creature’s right hand grasped the helmet which came to rest on her hip. “As for the ‘how’s and the ‘why’s, that’s a bit complicated and I don’t exactly know all the details. The people that are coming soon will be able to answer more of your questions than I can, and they’ve been working with your people for a while. I haven’t seen any ponies here on Earth for a while though.”

Sweetie considered the creature. "Earth? Is that the name of this world?" She shook her head. "Well, at least it's a new one. I usually end up in Equestria." She sighed. "Okay, I'll play along for now. How will I know these, uh... acquaintances of yours? How should I identify myself so I don't end up on the wrong side of their guns?"

A wan smile appeared on the creature’s face. “They wouldn’t attack a pony unless you provoke them They’ll be wearing black armor that’s bulkier than mine, and they should have an identifying mark like this…” She knelt in the dirt and drew an upside-down pentagon with an ‘X’ through the middle. Beside it, she drew a hexagon with a simplistic eye over a small curve. “But if you see anyone with this symbol here. Run. Don’t try and fight, just run as fast as you can. Okay?”

"I take it those are the enemies?" Sweetie asked, memorizing both symbols. "Do they have names?"

A finger pointed to the first symbol. “This is for XCOM. They’ve got contacts with your people, and they’ll keep you safe until you can get home.” The finger moved to the other symbol. “This is for EXALT. As for who is the enemy… that depends on who you ask. And don’t ask me, it’s above my pay grade.” A sheepish look crossed the creature’s face. “There’s a few more things out there that would better qualify for that label. I suppose the golden rule is: if it doesn’t look like you or me, run.”

"I've met a lot of things that don't look like either of us," Sweetie muttered. "And so far that has turned out to be the wisest choice." She sighed. "How much time do we have before this XCOM comes here? Maybe you can tell me a bit of what's happening in general, just so I have some idea." She cleared her throat as she surreptitiously dismissed Akela making the soldier raise an eyebrow. "My name is Sweetie Belle... and if you saved me, I guess the least I can do is thank you. What’s your name?"

“My name isn’t that important, but you can call me Vivi for now. As for XCOM… they could be here at any moment, depending on how far ahead their commander is seeing things,” Vivi said with a shrug before looking over her shoulder at the bodies outside.

Without a word she closed the barn door and moved to sit on one of the hay bales. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself, giving Sweetie an odd look. “How do you not know what’s going on? Didn’t the Ethereals nab you off of your homeworld and dump you here? There’s no way we would have brought you here, and XCOM wouldn’t be this sloppy.”

Sweetie shrugged, walking over to sit besides Vivi. "I travel to different worlds through different means than these... Ethereals might use." She frowned at the title, pondering.

'Are they creatures without substance? Maybe beings made of pure, ethereal energy?'

She shook her head, bringing herself back to the conversation. "I'm stranded here for now, but I wasn't dragged into this world by them. XCOM is an unknown entity to me... although, if you're speaking of homeworlds... you mean to imply that these Ethereals have foalnapped ponies from Equestria and brought them here before?"

Vivi’s eyebrows rose at the explanation. “We’ve been told only the Princesses and Discord were able to travel to other worlds under their own power… No wonder the Alphas and Vide wanted you so badly.” She waved a hand to dismiss that train of thought. “I don’t know what the Ethereals are doing exactly. They were attacking Earth, but we’ve got reports that they’ve moved on to your homeworld. I don’t know the details on what’s happening there, but it can’t be anything good.”

Sweetie cringed. "Do they have any sort of help?" She looked up at Vivi. "You said XCOM was working with them. Are they helping them?"

“XCOM’s best and brightest are over there to help with the defense. They’ve got every race of the world helping out, too. I just hope it will be enough for them,” Vivi explained, grimacing. “And it seems Bradford’s slipping. Normally he gets strike teams out the door before us.” She slipped the helmet over her head and pointed to draw Sweetie’s attention towards the barn doors. “When you see Captain Matthew Harris, tell him that I would have left that bastard Vide to rot back at the Alpha site if I had known the source of his orders.”

"Matthew Harris," Sweetie repeated, nodding.

A thump outside the barn drew her attention, Sweetie frowning as she felt a tremor run through the ground as if something massive had landed. The thump was followed by several more, softer thumps as whatever or whoever it was drew nearer.

She hadn't heard anything approach. How had they done that?

"Is that XCO—" She turned to ask, but Vivi was already gone.

Sweetie studied her surroundings for a bit, eyes flicking between open windows, doors and even a hole on the side of the barn's roof.

Vivi’d had plenty of escape routes, but it was the speed of her escape that was astounding.

She turned her attention back to the barn doors, backing away and bracing herself for action. Already her usual repertoire of spells were ready to be cast in quick succession, and the barn had plenty of things to use to her advantage if things turned nasty.

The first words she heard from outside the barn were not the ones she was expecting.

“Sweetie Belle? Are you in the barn?” A male voice asked, the words mangled by a thick accent. “If you’re okay, please come out. We’ll be able to take you someplace safe until you can go home. I’m coming into the barn now, okay?”

Right on cue, a gauntleted hand slipped through the gap of the door and pushed it open. Just as Vivi had predicted, another biped stood in the doorway, wearing bulky black armor that covered every inch of his body. Tilting her head, she could see several other soldiers in similar outfits just outside, inspecting the bodies.

Just as Vivi had earlier, the new figure reached up and pulled the helmet off of his head to reveal drastically different features. His face was shockingly pale and his mane was cut short. Despite the somewhat foreboding collection of scars on his face, the smile he wore was wide and genuine when he caught sight of the unicorn.

Sweetie blinked, taking note of what little she could see of the design on the right shoulder of the new arrival.

"You must be with XCOM," she began before falling back into silence. She blinked a couple of times before she spoke up again. "Wait. Hold on. First, how did you know my name? And..." She leaned in closer, looking at another symbol adorning the soldier's armor. "Why do you have Twilight's cutie mark on your shoulder?"

If it were possible, the new arrival’s face lit up even more. “Twilight? You know Twilight? Twilight taught me how to use magic months ago!”

”Me too!” Sweetie grinned. “What type of magic did she teach you? Did you have to study for hours too? I mean, I love Twi but she can be excessive about... hold on, wait, that didn't answer my question." Sweetie shook her head, but feeling that she could trust the tall... whatever he was, she approached him. "How did you know my name? And what's yours?"

“Yuri is my name!” the giant shouted, as though it would explain everything. He even opened his arms in a welcoming fashion. At least that's what Fluttershy had said bears meant, when they did that, although Sweetie could've sworn it meant they were about to crush you.

When Sweetie didn’t release him from her stare, Yuri faltered before continuing. “Commander Bradford told us that you would be here. He said your name specifically. The Commander knows things before they happen, usually. We have learned not to question it.” Yuri glanced to the side as a steady stream of heavy footfalls approached. A massive golem painted gold and silver approached and said a few quiet words to Yuri before turning and marching away from the barn. “As for learning magic, Twilight… Sweetie, are you well?” Yuri asked, blinking in amusement as he turned back to the unicorn.

Sweetie's eyes had widened considerably and a small grin twitched the corners of her mouth. "Th-that... that's amazing!" She gushed out. "Lyra would be—I don't even know!" In a flash of light she was gone, reappearing atop the golem's shoulder, peering into its entrails. "How do you make it work? Does the spell matrix stay active all the time or do you have to recharge it? What's the spell feeding it? How many nodes does it have? Is each one connected independently to a central one, or is it a single chain? How do you command it? Does it do the calculations and behaviours by itself? Oh! Wait! This is some sort of receiver! Is the signal being sent from nearby? What's the range? Who's the pilot? It has to be one of your species since it's bipedal, right? I don't think many ponies could do it otherwise! Can it fly?" She teleported again, appearing next to Yuri. "Did you design it? Or was it Twilight? Is it specifically for combat or have your people developed it for other purposes like safe construction as well? Can I take it apart to see how it works?"

“I… don’t know?” Yuri said once the barrage of questions ended. “I am best at fighting, not so good at the engineering. Doctor Vahlen or Doctor Shen would be better able to answer those questions, I think.”

Sweetie pouted. "That's too bad... I guess I'll have to wait." She followed him outside the barn, giving a curious look at the bodies around the barn, noticing the torn and cooked flesh where they had been hit. "I'm not familiar with your weapons, but they seem excessively violent." She looked around at the other soldiers, noticing that they held their positions and covered every angle effectively, acting just as aggressive in their actions than the group that had tried to capture her earlier. "I can see you guys have been battling for a while."

“Da.” Yuri nodded as he waved one hand above his head. “Most have been fighting in armies for a long time. Some of us have been with XCOM for almost a year. Others have joined more recently. XCOM takes only the best.”

Anything else he might have said was lost due to the sudden roar that filled Sweetie’s ears as an airship riding two pillars of fire seemingly popped into existence above them. A trio of wheels appeared on stubby legs beneath it as it touched down, and a broad ramp extended from the back of the craft. More of Yuri’s race poured down the ramp, though only a few wore armor. The majority carried what looked like hospital gurneys and heavy bags.

Yuri did not pay them any mind as he stepped up the ramp. “Are you coming?” he asked as he turned back to Sweetie.

Sweetie nodded, turning once to take a look at the barn for the last time before trotting after Yuri. She glanced curiously at the other soldiers and the ones that were picking up the bodies behind them before reminding herself that the quicker she went with XCOM, the quicker she would be back in more familiar territory.

o.0.oo.0.o

"Wait, so you're seriously telling me that Twilight only taught you how to levitate a coin?" Sweetie asked as she followed Yuri out of the Skyranger. There were a lot of terms and names for XCOM related things, but Sweetie was getting the hang of it.

"Seriously?" She repeated. "A coin. She was satisfied with that? If you can do that, you clearly had more potential! Can't believe she only taught you how to levitate coins! What use is that? Can't you reach the vending machine’s coin slot?"

She stopped when they reached the metallic floor of what Yuri had called the ‘hangar.’ She finally took a look around, noticing that she was inside a massive cave of some sort... probably dug out by the humans, which Yuri had finally told her was the name of their race. It was lined with metal and had several markers of black and yellow, marking off areas that could be dangerous. Several more humans in uniform were taking stock, organizing things or attaching tubes to the Skyranger.

The soldiers that had accompanied Yuri in her retrieval, as well as the large golem they had called Schutzwald also came down the ramp and funnelled out of the hangar, the soldiers sparing her honest if tired smiles and a blank expression that gave a sense of being smiled at from the golem.

"So, what now?” Sweetie asked.

Yuri raised one hand to point towards a small cluster of humans that were standing near one of the large doors going out of the hangar. “Frank will take you to get food and rest if you need it. He’s the one with the beard. Once you have rested, we may meet again.” The large human grinned widely before jogging to catch up with the rest of the soldiers.

The human Yuri had pointed out hobbled his way over with a cane to Sweetie and knelt in front of her with some difficulty. Although he was shorter than Yuri, she still barely made it higher than his waist.

“Hello, Sweetie Belle,” Frank said. “I don’t know how much Yuri has told you at this point, but I’m Doctor Frank McKendrick. You look well, but it would be best for us to run a check-up to make sure. That can wait, though, if you’re hungry or tired.”

Sweetie shrugged. "I'm okay, I was well rested before I arrived here. And I haven't really exerted myself at all since I got here."

Frank blinked at the response before casting a look to the rather severe-looking woman that approached to stand beside him. “Well, I’m glad to hear that. Let’s get out of the hangar, shall we? We’re a bit in the way,” he said as he struggled to his feet and leaned heavily on his cane. The trio made their way to the hangar exit, which was less of a traditional door than a vault door that rolled into the wall as they passed through it and closing behind them. “This is my colleague, Doctor Vahlen,” Frank introduced the woman when he noticed Sweetie gave her a sidelong glance.

“Lieutenant Romalov’s report indicated several EXALT agents were found dead and their helicopter destroyed near your retrieval location,” Vahlen asked without preamble. “I find it a bit shocking that you aren’t tired from the effort.” While the iron mask of impartiality remained in place, the faintest signs of concern showed in her eyes. “You also seem to be handling the aftermath of such violence… adequately.”

Sweetie shrugged. "I've seen worse. And it wasn't me that killed them... it was one of EXALT's own. One of them killed the others." Sweetie sat down, looking at the two humans. "The last survivor told me to call her Vivi. She also said never to trust EXALT and that I could trust you, since you’ve worked with equestrians before." She hesitated for a second. "She was a very effective fighter... and if she hadn't run before Yuri and the rest arrived I would have thought she was working for you." She raised an eyebrow. "I assume she isn't from your reactions."

Vahlen spared a glance to Frank before covering her face with her palm. A muffled string of what sounded like Germane came from her, but Sweetie couldn’t make out much more than the words ‘blunt instrument’ and Yuri’s name before she turned and walked away.

Sweetie called after her, "Lass es nicht zu dir kommen!" She smiled encouragingly at Vahle, who stopped and turned to look back at her, frowning before shaking her head and walking away.

“Don’t mind Doctor Vahlen,” Frank said with an apologetic smile. “She’s an exceptionally brilliant individual and sometimes gets frustrated when everyone isn’t as smart as her. I suspect she’s going to question our friend Yuri more directly about what he saw.”

The pair crossed through a hallway and into a meeting room of sorts, and Frank sat heavily in one of the seats, motioning for Sweetie to do the same.

“I am surprised by your reactions so far to all of this,” Frank admitted. “When Twilight first arrived on Earth, she had a hard time accepting some of the hard things we do to survive. She gave the impression that such violence was extremely rare back on your homeworld.”

"Twilight... is... a very smart pony," Sweetie said slowly, sorting through her words carefully. "A considerate teacher and scholar, always looking for the best in everypo—everyone." She frowned. "She's never been really exposed to what's out—as the poets describe—in the darkness between the stars.

“There's much more out there than any equestrian has seen, and I imagine her only struggles before this place were Nightmare Moon or Discord." Her gaze darkened. "I've seen creatures that dwell just beyond our sensory capabilities. Worlds that co-exist with ours, full of completely alien intelligences all wrapped in their own agendas... and I've seen what they can do when they try and affect this world." She snorted. "This Twilight had seen nothing until she came here, and then she just saw a little of what evils plague the unwary."

Frank’s expression fell as Sweetie continued, and a long moment of silence passed before he spoke. "Twilight was my patient here on Earth and it wouldn't be my place to tell you what she went through personally. You'll have to ask her once you're back in Equestria."

Sweetie smirked humorlessly. "So you're saying I shouldn't judge her based on my preconceptions of who she is." She sighed. "I guess you're right. It's just hard to reconcile those with Twilight Sparkle dealing with... stuff like what happened with EXALT. I'm not saying she's incapable at all, just..." She struggled for the words to explain herself. "Just... she shouldn't be exposed to this kind of thing. A pony like her should never have to deal with this kind of thing."

Frank nodded silently, but before he could say anything further, the door to the meeting room opened. Vahlen stepped through with a small object in her hands and a suspicious look in her eyes.

“I don’t mean to interrupt, Doctor McKendrick, but I took the liberty of retrieving some of the portraits that Twilight created during her time with us,” she said, giving Sweetie a wide berth as she handed Frank a small stack of papers. “According to the information she provided, there seems to be some… discrepancies between the information she provided regarding Sweetie Belle, and our current guest.” After a minute of inspecting the object, Frank placed it on the table and pushed it towards Sweetie.

Sweetie smiled, looking down at a drawing of herself as a young filly, captured in mid prance by Twilight. She didn't have a cutie mark then. "Aww, I remember when I looked like that!"

The two humans shared a glance at that answer before Frank rose from his chair.

“Excuse us a moment,” he said, and the two moved to the other side of the room.

A flurry of hushed whispers went between the two, who were unaware that Sweetie could pick up on their conversation.

“It’s a reasonable explanation, Frank. The alien modifications have been seen to increase the size and capabilities of those that receive them, and it makes sense that EXALT would attempt to retrieve her if she escaped,” Vahlen hissed quickly and she prodded a flat object similar to the one on the table. “We may need to warn the equestrians about the potential of a local EXALT cell. For all we know, their recovery operation failed deliberately so we would end up bringing her here. If she’s half as powerful as Twilight before modification, she could destroy most of the base.”

"You know," Sweetie called from the table. "EXALT had nothing to do with me being in this world. In fact, I had never even heard of EXALT until today." She glanced at Frank and Vahlen for a moment when they turned to face her with flat faces. "With being able to travel to other worlds, you can't possibly think there's only one reality, can you?" She smirked. "Besides, what good would come from destroying a base full of people that are not hostile to me?"

“The last person to visit us unexpectedly was also full of smiles and friendly words,” Vahlen said tersely. “He killed two guards with his bare hands and nearly killed Twilight, two of my colleagues and myself. If you are who and what you say you are, then you will forgive my skepticism until proven wrong.”

Sweetie tapped her hoof against her chin and leaned back on her seat, weighting Vahlen. "You put me in a difficult position, though. Any evidence I could produce that I am telling you the truth could be in turn be interpreted as me simply making things up to deceive you."

Sweetie leaned on her forehooves, looking at the pair. "For all the magical talent Yuri talked about, you seem to be far more focused on mechanical science than the arcane. I could of course provide some proof of my identity, but there will always be a chance to your eyes that I am literally making it up. What possible way could I prove to you that I'm not lying?"

Frank cleared his throat to puncture the building tension in the room. “I think what Doctor Vahlen is trying to say is that we don’t trust easily. We live in the age of unknowns, and we can’t predict what will—” The man’s face went blank before he covered his face with his palm. “Commander Bradford.”

A look of dawning comprehension appeared on Vahlen’s face as well before she mirrored the gesture and produced an impressive string of inventive Germane profanity. “I sometimes forget that he’s ahead of us when it comes to base security.” The woman tucked the flat device under her arm before heading to the door. “Mederau, your services will not be needed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” an armored human near the door said, and Sweetie did a double take as she tried to remember exactly when he had entered the room.

The point became moot, however, as both he and Vahlen exited into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

"Well," she said after a moment. "That was interesting. Didn't even notice him." She turned back to look at Frank. "Is she always that intense? It can't be good for her health."

“She’s also my patient, so there isn’t much I can say beyond what just about everyone in this organization shares. We’ve all lost someone over the course of this war,” Frank said before moving on to a different topic. “Something you said earlier has me curious, so I hope you will indulge me," He said after a pause. "Twilight was sent to Earth over six months ago by Discord, and since then we have found a way of travelling between the two worlds.”

He pulled out a handful of trinkets from his pocket and placed two silvery coins on the table. “Your world and ours are two distinct destinations that are separate from each other, like two islands in the same ocean. What you’re describing sounds more like travelling to parallel universes of the same world, rather than interstellar travel.” The point was illustrated as one coin was flipped from the portrait of a human to that of an eagle. “Am I understanding this correctly?”

Sweetie nodded. "Exactly. One small change in each one... or sometimes a big one. For example," Sweetie's horn glowed with light and another coin appeared next to the other one. "One change... sexes are inverted." Another coin. "Twilight and the others are immortal." Another coin. "Ponies destroy Equestria and turn it into a Wasteland..." She smiled as the extra coins poofed out of existence. "You get the gist. Discord didn't send me here."

Frank closed his eyes as he rubbed his forehead. “Whatever you do, don’t tell Doctor Vahlen about this. She had a hard enough time trying to decipher how magic worked when Twilight first came here. I don’t want to think about how she’ll handle this kind of revelation.”

Sweetie chuckled. "It's pretty crazy to think about, even when you're used to it." She leaned back in her seat, watching Frank warily. "But to be honest, your people scare me. You’re used to war. I can tell. You hide your secrets, doubt everything, extend a... hand of friendship, but keep the other one on your guns, ready to shoot." She shook her head. "Tricky."

“I would very much like to say that these behaviors were caused by the invaders from the void, but that would be a lie,” Frank said as he clasped his hands in front of him and his gaze grew distant. “Humanity has its fair share of saints and monsters. I’m hoping that once the threat to both our peoples has passed, we might be the better for the experience. Surviving something as monumental as an alien invasion will certainly change things, and I’m hoping that exposure to your culture will help us as well.”

"I wouldn't put so much faith in that... I've seen the best and worst of it in many worlds. I'd say your chances are 50-50," Sweetie said, shrugging. "It really depends on a number of factors, but now that they've been involved in a war..." She hesitated. "I guess finding allies so far away will bring out the good in them, or I would hope so. Tell me something, Frank, what do you really want to find out with this discussion?"

Frank seemed to weigh her before answering, “I’m a doctor, Sweetie, and you were retrieved from a battlefield surrounded by bodies. We had been expecting a filly, not someone as… worldly as you. The point of this conversation was to gauge how you were coping.” A sad look entered Frank’s eyes. “I’m afraid you’re doing far too well for what you’ve seen. Have you… have you spoken with anyone about what you’ve been through? And I don’t mean just the CliffsNotes version. I mean everything.”

Sweetie fidgeted. "I... sort of..." she admitted. "I don't go into specifics... but I've talked a little to most of the friends I’ve made... I don't want to be a whiny victim." She growled under her breath. "I've seen other ponies suffer more than I have. It doesn't seem right for me to put my... needs before theirs."

“‘Everyone is entitled to their own sorrows. The heart has no metrics or form of measure,’” Frank said as he clasped and unclasped his hands. “I’ve had soldiers come to me. Grown men and women come to me at every hour of the day because they’re still haunted by what they’ve been through. Some have done terrible things for their countries, some have had terrible things done to them. The question of ‘is my suffering greater or lesser than anyone else’ is irrelevant because no one but you lived those events. If you don’t let it out to someone, it will eat away at you until you think there’s nothing left. I’m not telling you to share with me or even share with anyone else right now. Just… consider what I’ve said, alright?”

Sweetie nodded, tracing patterns with her hoof on the table. She didn't meet his eyes. "I'll think about it. For now, I believe I'll keep most things to myself... not everypony I meet is ready to hear what I have been through… but thank you for the offer."

Frank continued to eye Sweetie for a long moment before nodding. “My door is always open, day or night. If you change your mind, I’m always available to listen.” With some effort he stood before walking to the door. “The Kaleidoscope chamber will be charged and able to return you home in a day or so, so you may need to find something to occupy yourself until then. If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the guest quarters.”

"Alright!" Sweetie said cheerfully, jumping to the floor and following Frank to the exit, but just before she crossed the door she paused. "Frank?" she called, blinking in confusion. "Who is Cliff's Note?"

o.0.oo.0.o

Transcript of Audio Recording, Dr. Frank McKendrick, ██/██/████

Today was rather more eventful than the last few weeks have been, and that’s saying something. Commander Bradford came to me earlier today to inform me that an equestrian foal had somehow managed to find herself on Earth, and that she would be retrieved under less than ideal circumstances for someone of her age. More to the point, an EXALT extraction team would be killed while attempting to retrieve her.

Therapy with children, especially Equestrian children, is not something that I handle while on base, I will be the first to admit. I am, however, the only mental health professional on Earth who has spoken with any equestrian at length. Twilight, while not a child by her culture’s standards, was still very naive on certain topics by our own standards. This isn’t to say she was unfamiliar with conflict, as she has successfully faced down several enemies with near godlike powers.

Through luck or skill, she had never faced the prospect of death prior to her arrival on Earth. With a child born from the same environment, I was expecting anything from blissful ignorance of the violence around her, to catatonic shock. Neither probability proved true.

The equestrian that was recovered by the strike team was thankfully unharmed due in no small part to an individual identifying herself as ‘Vivi’ that killed the EXALT extraction team, which is something Intelligence needs to look into immediately, but she was not the filly we were expecting. The young mare identified herself as ‘Sweetie Belle’ and appeared closer to Twilight’s age than the adolescent I had prepared for, and she explained the manner of her retrieval with a matter-of-fact tone that I’ll go into shortly.

Shortly after Sweetie had described the circumstances of her retrieval, Doctor Vahlen approached us with some of the art assets that Twilight had drawn back in the spring. One of these art assets was of a filly also named ‘Sweetie Belle’ who shared similar mane style, coat coloration and eye color as the mare we recovered. The only differences were the lack of flank mark and advanced physical maturity. Due to these inconsistencies, Doctor Vahlen had come to the conclusion that we had invited an infiltrator into our midst, a perfectly valid concern given what has happened in the past. Of course, the odds of that happening again has been significantly reduced by the presence of Commander Bradford on base.

[[Dr. Frank McKendrick stops recording, rewinds, plays what has been recorded so far.]]

Dear God, I’m starting to ramble.

As I mentioned prior, I had expected to be treating a child until she could be delivered safely back to her homeworld or at the very least someone better equipped to deal with Equestrian psychology. The revelations about her age and origins were certainly surprising, but what gave me cause for concern was how she explained it. There was a distance in her tone that I hear all too often with my regular patients. She described the deaths of the EXALT agents in the same way Strike operators describe the deaths of aliens: she had distanced herself enough that it could be said she didn't care.

I don’t mean to assert that she suffers from some form of sociopathy as she has expressed both verbal and nonverbal cues indicating a great deal of protectiveness towards Twilight. But the EXALT operatives were never elevated to the status of living, thinking persons, in much the same way the aliens are depersonalized by Strike operators. They are obstacles that must be removed, and obstacles don’t have lives and families. This dehumanization, if you’ll forgive the narrowness of the term, lets triggermen cope with what they do. It’s this mode of thought leads me to believe that this Sweetie Belle has seen a good deal more violence and death than someone of her apparent age normally would.

When confronted on this, she confirmed my theory but declined to go into details with me. I hope she will be able to talk with Twilight upon her return. I suspect her protectiveness towards the princess may enable her to better to disclose her experiences in a cathartic release.

And Heaven knows Twilight could use someone to relate to.

o.0.oo.0.o

Transcript of Audio Recording, Dr. Moira Vahlen, ██/██/████

A rather interesting development presented itself today when Commander Bradford informed me of an Equestrian youth that had somehow found herself on Earth. Six months ago I might have questioned as to why he chose to notify me in addition to the Strike and medical teams. Now though, I realise he has a reason for everything he does. That reason became apparent shortly after meeting our wayward traveller.

She claims to be ‘Sweetie Belle,’ one of Twilight Sparkle’s younger acquaintances back on her homeworld, but the creature that was recovered is most certainly not the one that was illustrated for us earlier this year. She is several years older than expected, as well as being in possession of a flank mark which appears genuine upon cursory inspection. My first thought was a top-shelf infiltrator created by the aliens or EXALT, but Frank put that concern to rest. Commander Bradford would have seen such a deception coming days in advance.

Of course, just because this ‘Sweetie Belle’ isn’t a threat, does not lessen the mystery behind her. How did she get to Earth? Why does she so closely resemble the being of the same name that we are already familiar with? I’m hoping to get some insight into these questions over the next several days until she makes the transition through Kaleidoscope. I was able to have some cursory surveillance equipment installed in her quarters before her talk with Frank was finished. I’ll review the footage tomorrow to see if any answers present themselves while our guest thinks she’s alone.

Even if nothing comes of this, it certainly provides an interesting diversion from my usual studies. There comes a time when vivisection and dismantling wrecks become typical, and even I feel the need for a challenge.

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie awoke the next morning well rested.

Despite the small size of the room—especially compared to the oversized rooms Blueblood or Esteem had insisted she inhabit—it was much more comfortable than she had expected.

It reminded her a little of her own room or even the guest room at Bon Bon's house.

There was little else in the room besides the bed and desk... except for the mini-fridge. The mini-fridge was the best thing she had encountered in a long, long time.

Need a cold drink but don’t want to hoof it all the way to the kitchen? Bam! It’s there right next to you! No need to even get out of bed if you could levitate things!

She needed one. As soon as she could go home, she would invent one. Or maybe see if she could somehow set one up in her Hedge Space. Sure, they had fridges where she came from, but not mini-fridges.

The novelty of it entertained Sweetie Belle for a solid half-dozen minutes the night before, giggling at the concept.

The morning, however, wasn’t nearly as novel.

Breakfast had been provided but had hardly been imaginative. Toast, butter and honey. It was nice, but not very filling. She had mentioned eggs and bacon to the guard that brought it in, and had received a very confused look.

Maybe humans were adverse to eating other animals?

She had just finished up and was in the process of retrieving some orange juice from the mini-fridge when someone knocked on the door.

"Yes? Who is it?" Sweetie called, pulling the bottle of juice out and not hesitating in taking a deep drink.

“Yuri! It is time to show magic!” came the shout from the other side of the door.

Sweetie pressed the button beside the door, causing it to slide open. "Yuri! Are you here to show me some magic coin tricks?" she teased with a good-natured smile. "Or were you thinking of something more flashy?"

The large human had the same wide grin as always on his face, along with the heavy black armor he had worn the day before. “I’ll show you my magic! I can’t do it here though. Doctor Vahlen and Doctor Shen don’t want me destroying rooms anymore. So we go to practice range! Are you ready?”

"That sounds great!" Sweetie said, nodding. "I can't wait to see what Twilight taught you!"

“I am also curious to see what you are capable of, Sweetie,” a voice said from behind Yuri, and it took a moment for the mare to put a face to the voice. “I am very curious to see just how you compare to Twilight while she was here,” Doctor Vahlen said as she stepped from behind the large human.

"Oh, Doctor Vahlen." Sweetie blinked. "I didn't realize you were here," she admitted sheepishly. "What parameters of comparison are you thinking about?"

“Initially, telekinetic capacity for both volume and mass, then the largest number of objects that can be manipulated simultaneously,” Vahlen explained, before glancing down at a small tablet in her hands. “I had also hoped to have a demonstration of any unique spells you might be willing to share, but Lieutenant Romalov insisted on a demonstration of his own first.”

"Sounds like a good deal," Sweetie said, falling in step next to Vahlen as they both followed Yuri. "But I can tell you right now that I wouldn't be able to handle as many different objects as Twilight or Rarity can. Twilight can be obsessive when it comes to organizing things and that translates to her levitation... she automatically categorizes and reorganizes things without a second thought, and Rarity... she's not as organized, but her fine control could easily rival Twilight's. I'm... not as detail-oriented."

“According to our information, Twilight is quite gifted in that regard,” Doctor Vahlen said as she consulted the tablet. “She demonstrated the ability to telekinetically lift several tons worth of weight, and was able to manipulate nearly a hundred individual objects simultaneously when pressed to. One of her preferred means of practice while on base was shuffling a deck of playing cards using this method.”

The trio rounded a corner and proceeded down another hallway, but this one was guarded by two sentries in light armor. Both saluted as Yuri approached, and he returned the salute before joining the conversation.

“I never had magic before meeting Twilight, you know. I went to my physical and they told me to go see a special teacher to develop my talents. She taught me, Fujikawa and Rodriguez how to lift coins first day! Matt and Lana were there too!” The giant man’s enthusiasm seemed to fade as he added, “Only Matt and I are left now. I hope Twilight is alright.”

Sweetie grimaced at Yuri's words. "Twilight loves all her friends," she said. "I'm sure she misses them all."

They all stopped in front of a large door, which opened as they approached. The room past it was dark, although Sweetie's eyes could already pick out shapes in the shadows. When they all stepped in, lights slowly turned on with distant, metallic 'clicks,’ illuminating the warehouse. Inside, she could see rows and rows of statues of some sort of creatures. There were several of the same types, arranged in neat rows.

There was something unsettling about the way they were all crafted frozen in mid-action, attacking, running, shouting...

There were bipedal creatures, larger and bulkier than even Yuri, and smaller ones with bigger heads as well as some insectoid monstrosities with four legs and fangs.

But, although they were made of stone, she found no sense of life in the stone itself. This stone was literally unchanging even beyond her abilities. She couldn't wake it up or even hear it whisper. It was... empty.

"What are those statues made of?" Sweetie asked.

Yuri walked forward. “Two of Twilight’s friends died protecting her from Vide. She was very… angry, and sad,” he said solemnly as he examined the first of the bipedal brutes before turning to walk over to a human that sat at a desk in the corner.

“Every one of these statues was an alien creature that had attempted to attack the XCOM Alpha site,” Vahlen said as she rubbed a pair of fingers down a network of scars along the right side of her forehead. “To date, Twilight Sparkle has the most confirmed kills of anyone that has worked with us at nearly five hundred. The next closest is Captain Harris at just over a hundred and fifty.”

The quiet conversation between Yuri and the other human ended, and the large human came back to join their group.

“Four should be enough for me. Do you want any, Sweetie?” he asked as he waved a hand towards field of statues. “For practice?”

Ignoring the question, Sweetie slowly approached one of the statues.She placed a hoof against one of the biped’s legs, leaning forwards to whisper in the language of earth and stone. Beneath the metallic floor, she felt a muted resonance, but from the statue itself... nothing.

Twilight had eradicated all life from them.

She slowly stepped back. "I'll... see what you do, and go from there," she rasped out. She glanced at the statues. None had any trace of compassion in their features.

Could it really be so clear cut as that when it came to these creatures?

"Maybe four. I’ll take four too."

Yuri nodded and held up four fingers to the human by the desk before he waved his hand for Sweetie and Doctor Vahlen to follow. Another series of corridors came and went before they entered what could only be some form of armory, judging by the care in which the tools were handled as Yuri picked up one of them.

“XCOM weapons rely on various forms of directed energy. Laser weapons fire coherent light to melt and burn targets. Plasma functions similarly.

"Light Armor Negators use magic to punch holes where you shoot. Our older weapons used an explosive reaction to throw a projectile at an enemy with enough speed to hurt or outright kill them,” Yuri explained clinically as he inspected one of the weapons before plugging a curved box into a slot just before the rear grip. Once the box was secure, he retrieved a helmet from one of the tables and turned to Sweetie. “Understand?”

“Basic guns, yeah." Sweetie nodded before continuing. "About five years ago I shot a minigun."

Yuri and Doctor Vahlen shared a look at the mention of the minigun, but Sweetie just grinned.

"It scared the hay out of me… and I kinda missed every single target with it." Her smile faded as curiosity took hold. "So what do you do with that? Is the magic in the gun itself, or do you have to be a magic user to use the magical ones?"

“I am most effective with the projectile weapons, since it works with my gifts," Yuri explained. "Regarding the LANC weapons, anyone can use them. They run off battery.”

Sweetie nodded again. "I see, it makes sense to let everyone use them, although I'm surprised you didn't devise a way to have magic users use their own magic to replenish the battery if needed... I suppose it would depend on the output of a human magic user versus the needed energy to fire the gun, but playing around with the matrix you should be able to lower the resistance threshold for it to improve the efficiency." She clamped her mouth shut, grinning around her hooves. "Sorry... I tend to ramble."

Yuri’s smile was back in full force as he slipped his helmet onto his head. Like the one he had worn the day before, it was almost entirely black glass, with the only metal parts being around the collar and jaw line. “Not everyone with the gift can do the same things. Come! I show you!”

He waved for them to follow into the next room. Doctor Vahlen offered Sweetie what appeared to be a set of ear plugs before donning a pair herself as the next room lit up. The first four statues were spaced around the room, but the amount of damage the room itself had sustained was enough to raise eyebrows.

“Projectile guns are effective against flesh and blood. Not so much against harder targets,” Yuri explained, his voice crackling in her ears. “Watch here,” he continued as he brought the weapon to his shoulder. A burst of muffled thumps could be heard, and several puffs of powdered stone launched into the air around the face of one of the targets. “My gift lets me push things. Now watch.”

A coil of metal wires sprouting from the back of Yuri’s armor began to glow all the way down to the gauntlet on his left hand. Again, Yuri assumed his shooter’s stance and pulled the trigger. The staccato reports of weapon fire now struck Sweetie’s gut like a bass drum, and the statue began to tear apart as he slid the weapon’s muzzle down its torso. He switched targets and the process repeated itself on the second in line.

With the second target rubble from the waist up, Yuri turned to the third and stomped his left foot on the ground.

A surge rushed through the deck launching the target up into the air just in time for Yuri to eject the empty box from his spent weapon. His right foot snapped forward at the box as it fell, and the only sign that the strike had been successful was the third target shattering and a shaft of sunlight trickling into the testing area from a new hole in the ceiling.

With only one target remaining, Yuri charged and swung his left fist. There was a flash of magic and the last statue shattered as if made of glass.

“See? I push things!” Yuri said again, as though it explained everything.

Sweetie whistled appreciatively. "That was amazing!" She grinned. "I particularly like how you kicked the magazine and blew a hole through the ceiling. I can see why Dr. Vahlen would not let you practice indoors."

Yuri scratched the side of his helmet sheepishly even as Doctor Vahlen stepped forward to inspect the second target that the large man had demolished with gunfire.

“It’s less a problem of patching the ceiling so much as worrying about low-flying aircraft. It is rather therapeutic to watch, though,” she said, before planting one foot on the remains of the second target and pushing it over.

A small trolley carrying the next four targets entered the practice area as Doctor Vahlen resumed her post. Once the targets were set in place, all eyes fell on Sweetie.

Sweetie shuffled a little, taking off the ear muffs. "Well, seems it's my turn." She closed her eyes, ears twitching as if listening to unheard voices. As Vahlen watched, she bent low, muttering in whispery words that sounded wholly unfamiliar to the humans. Later on Vahlen would try to describe the experience in her report, but no matter how she put it, she couldn't convey why exactly she was filled with a sense of unease when she had witnessed it.

"This world seems to hate these creatures almost as much as you," Sweetie said after a moment. "And the magic around here is bit more pliable." She nodded. "Alright... I'm more of an up-close and personal combatant," she said before she trotted towards the four statues. "Although usually I wouldn't just march straight at an enemy."

She made her way into the center of the four statues, then, to the eyes of her spectators, she seemed to pose for them for a second. The next, Sweetie was sweeping under the four legs of the insectoid statue, which was suddenly impaled and broken into pieces by a spike of earth that had slammed through the metal floor, twisting it out of shape.

The sweep turned into an almost-glide circle around one of the smaller ones with the big heads, which was suddenly encased in solid ice, while she turned, throwing her mane around in a way that reminded her human friends of conditioner TV commercials. the bipedal, bulky statue was engulfed in flames.

Finally, the final statue, another biped, was struck by a bolt of lightning that leapt from the ceiling, singing it, but otherwise not doing much damage to the solid stone.

Sweetie slid out from the circle and, with the same flowing movements, stopped in front of the statues before something shot out from beside her, exploding through the standing trio too quickly to follow before vanishing once more.

With a grin, she bowed to her audience. "Normally, I’d blind my opponent first... I wouldn't want to risk being hit by one of those big guys, especially if they're faster than they look."

The sound of Yuri’s loud applause and laughter filled the testing area, while Doctor Vahlen continued to tap at the tablet in her hands at an increasingly furious pace.

“Remarkable,” she said, her tone less conversational and more observational. “Twilight’s testing displayed extreme control over telekinetics, space/time, and matter transformation. She never attempted more exotic forms of energy projection such as fire or lightning... “ She looked up to the mare and Yuri before nodding. “Thank you both, this test has given me some very interesting readings to study.”

Without another word, she turned on her heel and exited the testing area.

Sweetie spared a glance at Yuri. "She likes to keep busy, doesn't she?"

“She is very dedicated,” Yuri nodded, pulling his helmet off as they made their way back to the armory.

o.0.oo.0.o

Transcript of Audio Recording, Dr. Moira Vahlen, ██/██/████

Today provided some... interesting revelations.

As I thought, our guest revealed something once she was safely inside her quarters. She produced a book, seemingly out of thin air. Now, this might seem relatively tame compared to some of the things Twilight showed us, which did include the kind of matter manipulation that might be able to reproduce what Sweetie did. However, the examples Twilight provided us were mostly natural objects or things of simple nature, and the book that Sweetie revealed last night was far from simple.

The Thaumaturgical Energy Detectors were not able to recognize the spell that brought the book into being. The TEDs also detected complex layers of magic already present on the book itself. Sweetie seemed to treat it as a diary or journal, but it is clearly far more than that. I can only hope she produces the book again tonight as I’ve had a far wider range of surveillance and recording devices installed to properly document the artifact.

One of the Strike team’s Gifted operators, a tolerable blunt instrument named Yuri, provided an excellent excuse to gauge Sweetie’s capabilities under the pretense of showing off. During the session, she exercised a wide range of elemental effects on the four targets that were present.

This was quite useful for our own studies as the Equestrians that have previously served on Earth have rarely exercised those abilities. She also exercised a level of control over stone beyond what we had been led to believe was only possible by the ‘Earth Pony’ race, and only on their homeworld.

What is perhaps the most interesting revelation is the object she used to finish off the four targets. It moved too fast for us to see during testing, but high speed cameras clearly captured a small crystalline object that appeared and disappeared in rapid succession to strike each target. My initial conclusion was an elerium artifact, a potentially dangerous one if taken back to her homeworld, but further inspection disproves this. I can only speculate on the object’s composition and exact nature, but I am almost certain that it is conjured in the same manner as the book.

I suspect that both the book and this crystalline object are pre-existing and summoned from some unspecified location, rather than fabricated on the spot. If this is a teleport analog that is fast and easy enough to use in close combat, then we may have a new avenue of research for our Strike operators. The Fragarach systems are too cumbersome and slow to be used effectively in the field, so I hope to gain some new insight from our visitor.

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie trotted after Yuri, glancing around at the corridors as she continued to add to her mental map of the complex. "So, where are we going again?"

“Captain Harris will be joining you in Kaleidoscope tomorrow morning for the trip to your homeworld,” Yuri explained. “Twilight also helped him learn magic, though he learned a lot on his own after. I’m a ‘one trick pony,’ all I can do is push things. Captain Harris can do much more.” The large man paused for a moment, as if weighing how much he should say before continuing. “He may not be able to talk with us for long. He is very busy. Doctor Shen should be there, and I’m sure he would love to talk to you, though.”

Sweetie nodded. "I'd definitely like to meet another of Twilight's students! And what about Doctor Shen? I don't think I've heard of him before, but Vivi did mention a Captain Harris... is he the only one?"

“There is only one Captain Harris I am aware of,” Yuri said as his brow wrinkled in confusion, as the pair approached a larger door labelled ‘MEC Maintenance.’ “Who is Vivi? One of your friends?”

"Vivi. You know"—Sweetie waved a hoof—"the EXALT agent that saved me before you all arrived?"

An uneasy expression crossed Yuri’s face, the pair's momentum slowing to a nervous crawl. “Do not mention this ‘Vivi’ to Captain Harris. He will not enjoy such discussions."

Sweetie's brow wrinkled in frustration before she let out a sigh. "Well, it's not like it matters too much. I don't think I'll ever see her again anyways." She shook her head before brightening back up as they resumed their quick clip. "Why don't you tell me about Shen and Harris, Yuri? Do they like combat as much as you do?"

Yuri thought for a moment. "Doctor Shen is less a fighter. He builds things! Most of this base was made using his designs, and he helped with our weapons and armor also.” The pair stepped through the doorway as it opened, and were the subject of more than a few curious glances as they walked towards the small offices lining the engineering bay's outer walls. Yuri’s voice dropped in volume as he added, “Captain Harris is a good soldier, but he does not like it. And he has lived longer than most.”

Sweetie gave him an odd look. "Isn't that good thing?" she muttered. But then, some of what Yuri had said sunk in, and as her inner nerd emerged, the thoughts about fighting were pushed away. "Wait. Are you saying that Doctor Shen designed Schutzwald on his own?" she asked, suddenly giddy. "That's incredible! Do you think he'll let me see his design notes? I was trying to figure out how the matrices connected, and all I could figure out was that they were using some sort of metal to conserve energy because it wasn't self-sustaining!"

“Doctor Shen and Doctor Vahlen worked on the MECs. It would not hurt to ask, though,” Yuri said with a nod as he opened the door to the last office in the row. “Doctor Shen? It is Lieutenant Romalov with our guest. Is this a bad time?”

Sweetie peeked around the doorframe and spotted a pair of humans, an older one—judging by his wrinkled face—standing beside a younger one sitting at a work table set against the far wall.

“Almost done, Yuri,” Shen replied before grabbing a small tool and turning to the other occupant in the room. “Are you ready, son?” he asked as he put one hand on the seated man’s shoulder.

When he nodded, Shen inserted the tool onto the other man’s shoulder, and he tensed. A muffled scream escaped him and what little of his body that Sweetie could see was tensed in obvious pain…

And then the moment was over and his patient slumped forward.

“Connections look stable,” Shen said as he consulted a small device on the workbench. “Run through basic motor functions and let me know if there’s any problems, okay?” He gave the younger man a gentle pat on the shoulder before turning and walking towards Sweetie and Yuri. “Apologies for the delay. Is this our guest? My name is Charles Shen,” Shen introduced himself with a warm expression. “And you’re Sweetie Belle, right?”

"That's right! It's very nice to meet you!" Sweetie smiled in return. "I have to say I'm very impressed with your work, Doctor Shen! I heard that most of the things I've seen here were designed by you, is that correct?"

Shen shook his head, still smiling. "It was a team effort."

Sweetie looked at the lab around them. "There's so many interesting designs! Although your average magical creation seems to require a lot of recharging. Is that intentional?"

Before Shen could even reply, Sweetie continued, "Or is it simply due to degradation of your matrices? I didn’t get a good look at Schutzwald earlier, but from what I saw, your creations seem to operate differently. Why don’t you use standardized modules to keep them working longer?"

She blinked, noticing that all humans were giving her odd looks. Realizing she had gone full-egghead, she chuckled weakly. "I'm sorry, am I asking too many questions?"

Shen arched an eyebrow. “Well now, that’s unexpected. Twilight gave us the basic building blocks for most of our magic-derived technology but we were able to puzzle out some interesting solutions on our own. We’ve been able to shrink our generators down significantly since we completed the first Ea reactor, but they’re far too large for most humans to carry. For handheld devices, we use stored energy, though some devices are capable of receiving energy directly from a gifted individual.” Shen’s explanation trailed off as he glanced at the man behind him, who appeared to be stretching out his left arm.

Sweetie's eyes widened as she noticed the arm in question was metal from fingertip to shoulder blade, the man’s shirt pulled back to reveal puckered burns covering his entire left torso as well as a disconcerting amount of metal that entered the flesh around his collar and shoulder blade.

"That doesn't look like it was pleasant," she half-whispered with a grimace, remembering too many wounds and cleaning a mess of blood in the obsidian palace. "That looked like it was really painful when you activated it..." She continued, clearly curious, but also sympathetic. "How—Do you feel through it as well? Like a regular limb?"

The man with the prosthetic said nothing as he continued to rotate the arm through its full range of motion, followed by the wrist and then the individual fingers. Shen reached an arm out to gently herd Yuri and Sweetie back into the main engineering area with a tired smile.

“Truthfully, I don’t know how exactly the process works, or why it’s painful. It works, though. A lot of soldiers are able to keep fighting because of technology like that, and once this terrible war is over, I hope others will benefit from this, as well.”

Sweetie nodded in understanding. "So the inventions will be used for the benefit of everypony? You think they could be adapted into wings for pegasi that have lost them?"

“We’ve not tried that, but I don’t know if that would work,” Shen said as he scratched his chin. “From what I can tell, pegasi channel magic through their wings to allow them flight. From a physics standpoint, their wings are far too small to generate enough lift to carry something of their size. I’m confident we could create a prosthetic to replace the limb but channeling the magic would be problematic.””

"But what if you use matrices like the ones you use for power on the feathers?” Sweetie asked. "You could use them to disperse their magic the same as regular wings would. Might take some extra effort, but they could compensate for it once they get used to it." She tapped her chin thoughtfully before nodding. "Just splitting the source and focusing on a specific node that emulates the natural pegasi magic could work."

“That would be something to bring up with Twilight,” Shen pointed out with a smile and a shake of his head. “She’s the one who originally designed the prosthetics. My work has largely been focused on modifying and supplementing her original designs.” Shen stopped as the office door opened again and the man with the prosthetic limb stepped out.

Both the limb and the scars were hidden beneath a well-tailored uniform, the metal hand covered by a black glove.

“Everything is one hundred percent. Thanks, Shen,” the man said, his seeming pleasure at odds with his flat, hollow tone. His eyes glanced towards the elderly man and the others beside him but they did not focus on any of them before he turned to walk towards the exit.

“I’m glad to help, Matt. If you need to talk, please stop by anytime,” Shen offered, but it was clear he didn’t expect to be answered.

Sweetie watched the man walk out of the room, frowning. "I've never met him, but there's something oddly familiar about him," she said. "Was that Captain Harris?" She looked over to Shen and Yuri. "He seems really... lost."

“You’re right, that is Captain Harris,” Shen said with a slow nod. A glance to Yuri showed an almost identical look in his eyes which smacked against the usual cheerful expressions he showed. “From what I understand, you’ll be going home on the Kaleidoscope. The Captain will be accompanying you along with a few others." Charles knelt down to look at Sweetie at the same level, a somber expression on his face. "I recommend giving him space, Sweetie. He’s had a rough time lately.”

"Seems like it," Sweetie said in a hushed tone. "He looks like the world's on his shoulders." She remained silent for a little bit. "Did something happen to him? Other than the arm, I mean."

Shen grew very quiet before leading the pair into the now empty office. “Someone died. Well, that’s not quite right. Many died, and he lived. It’s… it’s really not my place to talk about it,” he finished as he sank heavily into his chair. “Don’t be offended if he doesn’t talk to you much. We all need time to cope.”

A sharp knock on the office doorway put a halt to their conversation. “Good afternoon, Doctor Shen. I hope I’m not interrupting but I heard we had someone who’s a bit far from home.”

Sweetie watched as in walked a unicorn mare with a light gray coat and red mane and tail, casting a curious glance at her.

"Uh, you guys know she's a changeling right?" Sweetie asked, looking at the mare up and down for a second before glancing back at Shen and Yuri. "Not that there's anything wrong with that!" she quickly added. "I just... I mean, this is a high security base right?"

The faux mare’s gaze went from bright and cheerful to calculating in an instant. “Well, I must admit that’s a surprise. Unless you’re casting a detection spell on everyone you meet, I can’t come up with a plausible explanation as to how you guessed that. Nobody that I haven’t told has guessed what I am except for one person. I suppose the question now is ‘what are you?’”

Sweetie shrugged. "A pony. And I didn’t need a spell; I'm just used to hanging out with a bunch of changelings. You could say it's almost instinctual by now." She drifted off, memories of her training with Chrysalis flooding back to her as well as the almost-disaster with Cerci and her changeling remnants before she shook them off and forced her thoughts towards Bon-Bon. "And they're not all that bad. When you get used to them, you catch onto certain things."

“Saying that you’ve met plenty of changelings does not grant me any reassurance,” the newcomer said, the look on her face unchanging as she entered the office. “I’ve had my fill of people and ponies feigning ignorance to hurt my friends. It doesn’t matter what you are so long as you remember that.”

“Now, girls…” Shen started in an attempt to defuse the tension, but the effort was futile.

"I normally don't take kindly to veiled threats," Sweetie said, smile slipping a little. "I’ve had very bad experiences with changelings, but I have also met some that are trustworthy and honorable. What you turn out to be is still up in the air, but for now, as long as you remember that, I think we can get along just fine."

“An interesting insinuation, coming from the unknown in the room. The princesses asked me to come here with the original volunteers because I earned their trust. My loyalty to them is absolute, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to—”

“ENOUGH!” Shen snapped. His once gentle gaze had been replaced with a steely glare, and while the majority of his glare was pointed at the newcomer, just a glance was more than enough for Sweetie. “Firecracker, there is no trouble here. Perhaps you should be elsewhere until Kaleidoscope is ready? And put down all of my tools where they were on my desk, please.”

Firecracker winced at the glare that was directed at her, before nodding.

A brief glance at Shen’s desk showed a half dozen screwdrivers and other tools levitating back to their original places.

“You’re too trusting, Charles,” the disguised changeling said as she turned to leave. “Even with Twilight, you are far too trusting.” Without another word, she trotted out of the office.

"Huh... so that's how it feels to be on the receiving end of that trick," Sweetie murmured, wincing as she looked back to Shen."I'm sorry... I didn't exactly react properly there. Especially given my... circumstances."

“It’s an unfortunate convergence that you find yourself in, Sweetie Belle, in even more ways than you realize,” Shen said as he rubbed his forehead. “Trust is precious commodity these days.” The human let out a long sigh, seeming to age before Sweetie’s eyes. “Yuri, would you please see our guest out? I’m afraid I’m not up for much more talking today.”

The large soldier, who had remained serious and quiet through the whole exchange, nodded silently and motioned for Sweetie to follow as he exited the office.

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie groaned as she fell onto her bed.

"What a day," she muttered, rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling. "I wish this place had a bar. I could use a few bottles of something right now," she groaned.

Letting her body relax, she let her eyes wander about the room. Everything seemed to be exactly as it had been that morning, but something caught her attention.

Just under a ceiling vent, there seemed to be some sort of metallic object that didn't appear to fit. She had certainly never seen something like that in any other ventilation system.

Curious, she carefully plucked it from the vent with her magic and levitated it down. It had some sort of thin, metallic-blue mesh on the side facing down, and some sort of glue on the other.

"What is this thing?" she asked, tapping it several times with her hoof. "Doesn't look like it was part of the vent at all! Did it fall from someplace else? I wonder what it does." She twirled it around, trying to figure out how the little light on the back worked. "Is this... electronic?"

Feeling even more curious, she cast a very low-powered lightning spell at it. The little object fizzled and started smoking a bit before the light went out.

"Aww!" Sweetie groaned. "I broke it!" She sighed.

She looked at the thing and the little sparks of electricity on it. "Hey," she whispered, "Hey you, why’d you mess it up? I only wanted you to supply more power!"

She remained quiet for a moment, nodding at the random sparkles.

"What? What do you mean you didn't know that's what I wanted?" She hissed. "Why else would I call you out?"

A snap-fzzt-pop sounded.

"Well, okay, yes, normally I do use you for battle but this thingy was not attacking me!"

Sweetie listened in dismay to the electricity.

"You... but, I—you could have asked!"

The sparks continued.

"Alright! You can look around and see if you can figure out how to make it work but—"

A soft knock on the door startled Sweetie, a brief flush of guilt and panic leading her to the conclusion that the humans already knew she’d broken the thing.

An entirely different kind of anxiety gripped her when the visitor on the other side of the door spoke.

“Sweetie? It’s Firecracker. Can I please come in? We need to talk.”

Sweetie looked to the door in trepidation. Firecracker hadn't been too friendly earlier, but perhaps this was a good thing after all. Changelings were certainly more reasonable than lightning, after all.

She opened the door and pulled the changeling in, closing the door behind them.

"Quick!" she hissed levitating the small thing up to Firecracker. "What is this, why did it fry when I shocked it and how do I fix it?"

A curious series of expressions crossed the changeling’s face, from surprise at being yanked into the room, to a narrow-eyed glare at the object that Sweetie had damaged, before finally settling on a cheerful smile.

“Many of the things that the humans make use electricity to operate. However, they often won’t operate or will simply break if they have too much or too little electricity running through them. They have methods of regulating the power they receive from their batteries or from outlets but power from an external source will ‘fry’ it, as you said. Where did you find this one, by the by?”

"Inside the vent," Sweetie explained, ears twitching. "And there's another under the table. I just heard it."

“Uh-huh,” Firecracker said as she stretched to inspect the vent, as well as under the table. Two more of the tiny devices were found and placed on the table as the changeling moved about the room.

“Listen, Sweetie, I know it’s rather abrupt but I should apologize for our earlier confrontation. It’s my job to be paranoid. My kind is supposedly helping in the fight against the aliens but I wouldn’t trust the Queen any further than I could throw her. The aliens are also capable of creating fakes that try to pass as ponies, too. And then there’s EXALT.” She spat the last word like a curse.

Sweetie shrugged. "I understand... sorta." She sat down on the bed, watching the changeling roam the room looking for tiny devices. "I can be a lot to handle at times as well so... I won't take it personally if you don't." She chuckled a bit. "So"—she cleared her throat—"what Queen do you work with?"

“I serve no queen!” Firecracker hissed, though her anger seemed more reflexive than directed. “Chrysalis nearly drove us to extinction in service to her greed. I choose to serve the Princesses because they are what rulers should be. I don’t know what Chrysalis’s plans are but the sooner this alien threat is dealt with, the sooner she can go back to the Badlands.”

Sweetie rolled her eyes. "Chrysalis is a hassle wherever I go with all her unnecessary drama, manipulation and subterfuge." She assumed a slightly imperious pose. "You! Bring me tea! You! What news from that pest, Celestia? Did you do as I commanded? Heads will roll! You call this a report? I should have you drained and thrown back in a cocoon, you imbecile, but I cannot waste the resources! Off with you! What do you mean Cadance doesn't call her underlings 'minions?' What am I supposed to call them then?"

“I rarely spoke with her directly, but that does sound like mother dearest before the disaster at Canterlot,” Firecracker said with a suppressed laugh as she tossed two more devices onto the table from beneath the bed. “Before that, she was far more cunning and subtle.

“Something about all that love twisted her. She might have initially chosen Cadance as a target to leech emotions from using our usual methods, but I guess the temptation was too much for her. Every creature, no matter how ancient or wise, goes a little bonkers when they’re presented with so much power. In Chrysalis’s case, it was more than just a little bonkers,” the changeling mused before looking up directly into the light fixture above them. “Can you produce a light spell of some sort?”

Sweetie nodded, casting a basic light spell, floating a glowing white orb up to the lamps. "Will that work?" she asked, stepping back to let the changeling do what she needed. "I don't know if the power drove her bonkers, or she was there already, but she's always... scary bonkers."

Firecracker inspected the globe of light before hitting the light switch with her magic. The light fixture winked out, and she began to slowly disassemble the casing. “Chrysalis has always been flexible with her ethics, but that comes from being the matriarch of a parasitic hive race, I guess."

Another small electronic device was telekinetically plucked from the light housing before all the pieces were slid back into place. “I hate how everything comes down to getting power... " Fireckracker sighed as she continued her search. "You know, there was a pair of railroad baronesses who were minority shareholders in the transportation utility. They concocted a plan to undermine the confidence of the other shareholders so that they would vote to buy out Princesses’ shares. I will grant you that they were triple scoop bonkers due to unsafe enchanting practices, but they did it because they wanted more power."

A small smile crept onto the changeling’s face. “I actually use coins from their hoard as telekinetic weapons. Their twisted love for their wealth is actually something I can draw on. I don’t suppose you’ve ever come across anything like that? An object so loved or loathed that an emotional imprint was left on it?”

"I've... heard of things like that in books or stories," Sweetie said after a moment’s hesitation. "But I've never seen any. It would require an unhealthy amount of investment in an object to leave such a mark though." She frowned a little. "The only thing I can think of that might be slightly similar is the Alicorn Amulet, but even then, I believe that was a mistake in the enchantment of the dweomer rather than an actual imprint of ill intentions that affected it."

“Oh, is that so? We’ve a running theory about the Alicorn Amulet that was born from an unfortunate incident with the humans. You met Captain Harris when you were with Doctor Shen, correct?” Firecracker asked as she pulled a power outlet out of the wall to remove another device from it. When Sweetie nodded, she hesitated. “Did you see his scars? And his left arm?” Another nod, though this one was less eager. “On Earth, the humans have technology that uses an alien element called ‘Elerium’ to control and boost their magical control and power. On Equestria, these same devices will burn out. Literally, burn out.”

Sweetie blinked. "I see, sort of like when I fed too much power to that device?" She pointed at the burnt thing she had found earlier. "But that doesn't make much sense in comparison to the amulet... the amulet doesn't only increase power, it actively affects the mind of the user, and it doesn't burn out."

“Excellent catch, and that’s where things get interesting,” Firecracker said, pausing long enough to replace the electrical socket and deposit yet another device on the table. “There’s a strategic resource on Equestria that we know as ‘Arcanite’, and was used during the Tribal Civil War to turn unicorn magisters into walking superweapons. According to popular history, most of it was destroyed once Celestia calmed things down. It turns out that the gemstone that’s built into the Alicorn Amulet is an allotrope of the alien's Elerium. It’s the best explanation we have for the increase in power, but regarding the effects on the mind…

“What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room, okay?” Firecracker whispered.

Sweetie nodded.

“When Captain Harris sustained his injuries, he was performing arcane feats that only the princesses are capable of. He was also laughing like the jackals of the Badlands when they catch an easy kill. Lana—” Firecracker halted abruptly, taking a deep breath. “Corporal Jenkins said that he would have likely killed her if his injuries hadn’t caught up with him. He went from completely sane to total insanity in the span of twenty minutes. The running theory is that because the gemstone in the Alicorn Amulet is an imperfect sample of Elerium, the effects are less severe. But the inevitable outcome is the same: extra power, and insanity.”

"Huh," Sweetie said, tapping her chin in thought. "I wonder what sort of... personality elerium has?" When she noticed the changeling giving her a quizzical look, Sweetie grinned sheepishly. "You know... fire is temperamental, electricity is irrational, wind is playful, water is considerate most of the time and earth is generally lethargic... and don't get me started on metals." She shook her head. "But crystals and I have good ways of... understanding each other. I'm just wondering what I could learn just from looking at a piece of it a bit closer."

“I wouldn’t recommend it, but I imagine it could be arranged,” Firecracker said with a nod before giving the desk on the opposite side of the room a blank stare. She trotted over and removed the drawers to reveal another device beneath one of them. “So, I guess it’s true then. I thought it was a little outlandish that you weren’t from my Equestria, but there’s too many inconsistencies for it not to be true. I’m an expert on the behaviors of just about every race back home and I’ve seen things in you that I have never seen before.”

"Ah, yeah.. hehe..." Sweetie chuckled weakly. "You haven't told Vahlen, right? I heard that it would be bad for her health to have that bit of info..." She then tilted her head. "And what do you mean by inconsistent? Like what?” Another device clacked into the ever growing pile on the table. “And what are those things? From what I hear, there’s dozens of them left in the room: behind the walls, under the floor, every three panels on the ceiling... Are they some kind of weird human eccentricity?"

“I haven’t shared anything specifically with the good doctor, but we may be past the point where that’s our concern. As for inconsistencies with you…” Firecracker turned to face Sweetie directly, and her expression made her appear far older than she had just a moment earlier. “I’ve been following you for most of the day and I’ve yet to hear a single one of your hooves on the floor. Your steps aren’t muffled or reduced, they’re completely muted. While silence spells aren’t too uncommon, there is the fact that I can hear your speech and even your breathing if I try hard enough. There’s also the lack of scent about you. The last thing is more of a general impression. I grew up around changelings, and I know how to spot a faker or when something isn’t quite right.

The changeling raised one hoof to forestall any interruptions. “You’ve got all the idiosyncrasies and behavioral ticks I would expect from an Equestrian mare after significant conflict, but you’re something more than that now, aren’t you? Or something different at least. I won’t ask you to reveal just what you are right now, as I would certainly be uncomfortable if a stranger just trotted up and demanded to see my carapace.” The ancient look on her face turned into a wan smile. “Celestia certainly knows I’m not very comfortable letting anypony see me au naturel. This face suits me just fine, and yours suits you well too.”

Sweetie sighed. "This is my real face... but yeah, I've been through a lot of things that made me what I am today... thanks for understanding." She hesitated, pondering whether to say more but shook her head, deciding to change the topic. "Tell me something though, ever since I arrived here everyone keeps hinting at something having happened to Twilight recently... and Captain Harris seems to have gone through the same thing. Just... what is happening in Equestria?"

The smile on Firecracker’s face slowly fell, and her voice took on an emotionless monotone. “Earlier this week, a joint operation between the allied races of Equestria was launched to liberate a city that had been captured by a hostile human faction known as EXALT. During the assault, several casualties were sustained, including Elaine Jenkins and Yumiko Fujikawa. These two, along with Captain Harris, were the longest serving strike operators working with XCOM. They were also part of Twilight Sparkle’s magic class while she was here.”

Firecracker let out a breath and drew in another slowly before she continued. “Both Corporal Jenkins and Major Fujikawa were slain in Canterlot, and Twilight bore witness to their deaths. She was instrumental in the capture of the two EXALT spies that were responsible. One was guilty of attacking the princess herself and Luna banished him to the moon for eternity. The one that committed the murders is in XCOM’s custody and will be executed upon Captain Harris’s return to Equestria.”

Sweetie shook her head, saddened. "That must have hit Twilight pretty hard. If your Equestria is anything like mine, I don't think anypony would have been ready for this kind of war." She looked at the changeling. "How... how is she taking it? From what I heard she had to deal with something similar while here... Is she, well, not okay but... not too bad?"

“She’s… coping as best she can,” Firecracker answered, and what she didn’t say spoke volumes.

"I see," Sweetie sighed. "I... Twilight has always been a very important part of my life... She's my best friend in one universe, and my teacher in just about any other. I hope we can talk, but I guess that won't happen until we make it to Equestria, huh?” She tapped the bed with her hoof, lost in her thoughts. “Do you think I'll be able to see her?"

“I can check when we get there, but it will really depend on conditions when we get there,” Firecracker said as she swept up the little devices on the table with her magic. “The Kaleidoscope should be charged by tomorrow morning, and then we’ll be in Equestria. Was there anything else?”

"Yes, actually. You still haven’t answered my question," Sweetie said, looking up at Firecracker. "What are those devices you found?"

Firecracker’s expression turned sheepish, and she looked away as she contemplated her answer. “Well… you know how Doctor Vahlen is a scientist, yes? One of the many ways a scientist gains information is through observation, and many scientists feel that if the observed is aware of the observer, the results would invariably be skewed…” she trailed off as she gave Sweetie a meaningful look.

Sweetie blinked.

Then she blinked again, before her eyes went wide and her mouth opened. "Wait. She's spying on me?! Is that even legal!?" She kept sputtering as Firecracker stepped out of the room, leaving her to panic on her own.

"Oh, they're not getting away with this!" Sweetie growled.

She walked to the lamp and started whispering to it. Soon the lights flickered and every electronic device in the room crackled and died, including the lights, leaving her in absolute darkness.

She blinked for a moment, before groaning into a hoof. "Smart, Sweetie. Real smart."

o.0.oo.0.o

Transcript of Audio Recording, Dr. Moira Vahlen, ██/██/████

I knew that Firecracker was trouble.

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie responded to the knocking on the door by forcing it open with magic. "Firecracker?" She yawned. "Is it morning already?"

“Yes, I’m afraid it is, Sweetie,” the mare in question said, and a glance to the door showed that Firecracker’s expression was sympathetic but serious, and she was clad in a uniform marked with Celestia’s cutie mark. “I figured you might need some time to properly wake up or even eat if necessary. The Kaleidoscope will be activating in half an hour.”

Sweetie yawned again. "Well, I could use some food." Her horn glowed and her disheveled mane snapped back into pristine condition, her coat clean and shiny. "Wish that spell worked with morning grogginess as well as coffee does."

“I’m sure they will have coffee available, but we’ll have to hurry,” Firecracker said as she led the way down the corridors to a large elevator. When they both entered, she tapped one of the buttons and the doors closed behind them. “What have you been told about Kaleidoscope before now?”

"People keep mentioning it, but not what it is," Sweetie confessed. "Although I presume it's some sort of portal to Equestria?"

“Correct. With Twilight’s help, XCOM was able to create a chamber that acts as a teleporter to Equestria, and it has been enchanted so two-way travel is possible from the destination,” the changeling explained as the doors opened. The pair trotted down another series of corridors to the mess hall and directly to the coffee machines. “I don’t know how it will measure up to your normal methods of travel between worlds, but it is rather jarring, and not like a regular teleport.”

"I've had all sorts of teleportations... some were pretty bad, but I'll keep that in mind," Sweetie replied, levitating a mug and filling it with coffee. She glanced at the bacon forlornly. "Too bad we don't have time for breakfast. I could eat a whole pile of bacon."

The latter comment elicited an arched eyebrow from Firecracker. “Is that so?”

Sweetie chewed on the single slice of bacon she had shoved into her mouth. "What?"

“You might want to keep a lid on those appetites when you get home. Or at least until I’m back on duty so I won’t have to try and explain it,” Firecracker said, arched eyebrow still in place as she levitated a water bottle from the cooler to drink from. “We best get to the Kaleidoscope chamber. If nothing else, it’s better to be early than late.”

Sweetie shrugged and stole another piece of bacon as she followed Firecracker. "What's wrong with liking bacon? It's delicious!" When Firecracker didn't look back at her, Sweetie simply shook her head.

The pair entered the corridors again and made their way back to the elevators. They descended two floors before the doors opened to reveal a nearly identical set of hallways. “I suppose I should continue where our previous conversation was interrupted. The Kaleidoscope uses an artificial teleportation matrix that mimics a unicorn’s natural spellcasting. The transition can be rather… jarring.”

Sweetie nodded, sipping her coffee. "I imagine it requires a tremendous amount of power on both ends. The originating pull must be a concentrated blast, rather than a regular flow of magic, which causes the jarring effect... such as snatching away a ball rather than letting it roll down an incline."

She considered her theory for a moment. "I think if there was a concentration of magic just as strong on this side, the Kaleidoscope wouldn't have to compensate so much and would create a more stable teleportation. XCOM might want to consider investing in some Elerium-fueled switch that could release an equitable amount of energy on this side of the teleporter so that both could... I guess meet in the middle would be the best way to put it?"

Firecracker shrugged. “I’ll be the first to admit that I’m just a passenger on this trip; I don’t understand the thaumatology behind it. The impression I had was that the jarring sensation was due to the artificial source of the teleport, much like how some pegasi feel uneasy flying in airships.”

She glanced at the machine and chuckled. “I think everyone’s just happy it works. Maybe they can iron out the kinks once the aliens stop trying to kill everyone.”

Sweetie chuckled sheepishly as well. "Sorry I went off on a tangent like that, I tend to do that when I find new magitech... I'll probably have a new theory once we go through it, but I'll try not to share it."

She downed the last of her coffee and left the mug on a nearby desk. "I don't suppose you know who will be waiting for us on the other side?"

“On the other side? In a situation like this it would normally be Captain Armor with an escort but he has... responsibilities.” Firecracker waffled over the explanation. “It might be Captain Shot or Captain Song instead. Truth be told, I don’t know for certain who will be waiting for us.”

Sweetie chuckled. "It'll be nice to see some familiar faces. My last world was far from home, and well, even if I saw some very familiar faces, I miss my family. Even if it's extended through the multiverse."

“They may have been informed already, so you might end up seeing them sooner rather than later,” Firecracker said as the pair approached one of the largest doors yet. Rather than swing on a hinge or split down the middle to open, the massive vault door rolled slowly into the wall beside them. The pair stepped through and the door closed behind them.

The entrance to the chamber was sectioned off from the rest of the area with thick glass windows and concrete walls no doubt intended to resist explosive strengths. Similarly armored control booths lined one wall, while various pieces of equipment had been stacked in an orderly fashion on the central platform.

The platform itself was lit from below as power flowed into the mechanisms, which gave the entire affair an ominous hue. The only person on the platform was Captain Harris, standing ramrod straight and with his gaze locked on the countdown timer on the far wall.

Sweetie silently approached the human, holding at a respectful distance and sitting down to wait. She glanced at the Captain Harris, but he didn't seem inclined to acknowledge her presence. For all she knew, he was not particularly stable if what Firecracker had said was true. So, she took a deep breath and resigned herself to a long wait, looking at the equipment around her but not really feeling like taking a closer look. Harris' attitude seemed to suck the energy out of the room.

The countdown clock on the far wall continued to tick down, and the only sounds in the chamber was the low bass hum of machinery charging up and the human workers scurrying about in their preparations.

Firecracker’s nervous whispers joined the countdown all the way to zero.

And just as the changeling had predicted, the transition was jarring.

In a flash of light, Sweetie lurched, her stomach and various other vital organs seeming to spread out across the cosmos, a burbling flood of bile coursing up through her distended innards soon followed by a flash of brilliant violet light.

...And as suddenly as it had begun, Sweetie was standing in the middle of a large crystal cavern coughing and hacking.

It was not unlike the one she, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom had fought a dragon-creature in. The cavern had enough railings and metallic paths for all of them to make their way down from the platform carefully but safely, and although she had never visited, she recalled Twilight's description of the caverns under Canterlot to quickly realize where she was.

As she regained her footing and control of her gymnastically inclined stomach, Sweetie immediately recognized two ponies at the base.

"Rarity!" she called happily, waving at her sister’s interdimensional counterpart. "Applejack!"

The two ponies stared at her for a moment, before Rarity took a hesitant step forward and said… something completely incomprehensible in a language that Sweetie had never heard before in her life.

"Well, that's... unexpected," Sweetie whispered.

o.0.oo.0.o

Mente Materia Pt. 2

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

Mente Materia Pt. 2

By Wanderer D & Arad

Based on the story: Mente Materia

Special thanks to my editors: Lammy, Magical Trevor, Masked Ferret, Nick & SuperBigMac

o.0.oo.0.o

“Are you sure that’s what they told you, Rarity?” Applejack asked for the third time as the pair followed one of the Solar Guards past one of the several checkpoints leading into the caverns. “That Sweetie somehow ended up on Earth? Despite the fact that we just saw her not ten minutes ago with the rest of the Crusaders?”

“I’m afraid I know as much as you. One of the Guard passed the message to me, and I had quite a fright until I was finally able to track Sweetie down,” Rarity said, worry coloring her tone. “The guard insisted that a mare calling herself ‘Sweetie Belle’ was definitely on Earth, and that she was going to be returning with Captain Harris. I don’t know if she’s simply confused and out-of-sorts or… well…”

“Or if she’s lying. Ah understand,” Applejack nodded. Her next statement was derailed when she banged one of her rear hooves on a loose floor panel, which drew a wince and a painful look at the scar running along her side. “Fluttershy asked that Victor fellow about the situation, and he seemed pretty confident that whoever this filly is, she ain't dangerous. But, he didn’t seem too keen on sharing why he was so confident.”

“A proper lady has secrets, but humans seem to elevate it to an art. Their secrets have secrets.” Rarity kept her voice low as they passed a pair of humans and other assembled workers who were also making their way deeper into the caverns. “I suppose we can at least be glad the humans say she’s not dangerous. After what happened here in the capital, they aren’t taking any chances.”

“Darn straight,” Applejack said with a small nod. “Hopefully we’ll be able to get this mare back to her family. She must be really scared. You read that book of Twilight’s about what happened to her while she was there. Earth ain’t exactly the most friendly place for one of us to be these days.”

The corridor opened up into the largest chamber yet. Multicolored crystals lined the walls and ceiling, and it was dominated by a massive marble platform in its center. Veins of crystal ran through the marble to create intricate patterns that pulsed to an alien rhythm that made both ponies slightly uncomfortable.

“Ten seconds!” An earth pony near some human machinery shouted, and the pulses of light from the platform began to increase. The flashes began to meld together into a single blinding light, followed by a snap of teleportation. The light faded to reveal stacked boxes and crates, as well as three figures standing in the center of the platform. The first was the grim-faced Captain Harris, who didn’t meet anypony’s eyes as he stepped off the platform to speak with one of the humans waiting nearby. The next was Firecracker, whose usually upbeat demeanor was significantly subdued. And the last… could be no other than Sweetie Belle.

But at the same time, it really wasn't the Sweetie Belle they knew. This was no filly, rather it was a young mare, a few years younger than them. She already had a cutie mark of her own, and seemed to handle herself way too comfortably next to dangerous, armored individuals. Her eyes were scanning the platform and soon centered on them, widening in obvious recognition. “Skaaidi! Tolaarbark!” she yelled happily while waving a hoof at the two mares.

"Sweetie Belle? But-you're all grown up! Wha—" Rarity choked. It then dawned on her that she hadn't understood a single word. "How can this be possible?"

Firecracker had just passed the two mares, but stopped and arched an eyebrow at the exchange. “Wait. Wait a minute,” she muttered, before turning back to the Sweetie Belle that stood on the platform. “Do you understand what I am saying?”

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie tilted her head when Rarity had sputtered something completely unintelligible, followed shortly after by Firecracker stopping cold, looking over her shoulder and asking her something in the same language. Probably. "What? I didn't get that, what language was that?"

The disguised changeling’s expression went blank for a long moment before finally bringing up a hoof to her face. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it earlier. Slipping due to old age, is what it is,” she muttered before speaking up. “Sweetie, I have no idea how but the language you’re speaking is ‘English’, one of the human languages. I just didn’t pick up on it because of the translators that the humans use. It’s not a language that Equestrians know. Well, except for Twilight.” Firecracker explained, before presumably providing a similar explanation to Rarity and Applejack, who nodded in muted, yet surprised understanding.

Sweetie shook her head. "But... that's weird! Every world I've visited I've spoken the language just fine. Are you saying that all other worlds speak English except for this Equestria?"

Firecracker’s first response was to shrug. “You’re more of an expert on this than me. It’s possible I suppose?”

Sweetie looked from her to the baffled expressions of her interdimensional sister and Applejack. "Well, maybe how the magic works is that where I land I could automatically understand the local language... so if I landed on Earth, the local area spoke English?" She shook her head. "That doesn't help here though, how am I supposed to communicate with them?"

“Well, we’ve got some things we’ve been sharing with the humans to bridge the language gap,” Firecracker said, and she called out to one of the humans that was sorting through the crates still on the pad. The human in question pulled the small metal clip off his belt and offered it to Sweetie. “Once you wear that, you should be able to understand the native Equestrian languages here,” she explained before turning to leave. “If you need anything, please come see me, alright?”

Sweetie took hold of the tag and looked it over before putting it on her hair as a pin and turning to face Rarity and Applejack. "Um, can you understand me now? Does this thing work at all?"

Rarity nodded, looking at her up and down. "It does dear, it's just taking me a moment to come to grips with this."

Applejack nodded, walking around Sweetie and noticing her cutie mark, while Sweetie herself took note of the long burnt scar on Applejack's barrel, as well as a slight limp on her rear leg. "It's mighty unusual to meet a pony that not only looks like an older Sweetie Belle, but shares her name and seems to know us," she added, glancing warily at Sweetie.

Sweetie chuckled. "It's a long story, Applejack," she said. "But it boils down to: I am Sweetie Belle, just from an alternate world, where things were slightly different." She looked at humans. "Okay, very different. I ended up on Earth during my travels and XCOM decided to bring me here for my safety."

Rarity shared a look with Applejack, who shrugged. "Ah honestly can't tell if she's really tellin' the truth, but it certainly feels like she is. Ah think if she were an enemy, she'd given up the ruse after being confronted about the whole thing."

Looking at her sister and her friend, Sweetie couldn't help but notice that both mares seemed not only tense, but tired. There were slight bags under Rarity's eyes, expertly hidden by makeup unless you were looking for them, and while Applejack looked as strong as ever, there was a slight weight on her shoulders that wasn't her usual burden of a too-busy farm.

It made her think a little of the other Applejack and Rarity she had met in yet another world at war, not so long ago. Back then, she hadn't really understood that battle wariness, or that weight of seeing too much and being unable to do anything about it. She still resented what had happened there, how Rarity had reacted, but if she had visited that world now... well, she'd at least be less angry by the end of it... and Octavia wouldn't have died.

Sweetie shook her head. "It seems the paranoia from Earth has spread here..." She lowered her voice. "Is it... is it that bad? I heard Twilight is going through a tough time... how is everypony? Are Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and... my local self okay? How about you guys?"

“Almost everypony is… still alive,” Rarity said after a slight hesitation. “Those brutes have hurt a lot of ponies. Cloudsdale and Ponyville are… gone. Fluttershy and Zecora were hurt by the most horrifying monsters imaginable, and Princess Luna had to burn the forest to ash to prevent any from escaping. Pinkie did her part to help fight the good fight, and she was accosted by the accursed EXALT. I don’t care if they claim to be brainwashed by the aliens. Some things just can’t be forgiven.”

Sweetie nodded. "I saw some of EXALT while on Earth... it must be really hard figuring out who are your enemies when they look like your friends..." She glanced at the two mares, grimacing at their contained anger. It was a very understandable feeling, especially if they hadn't been much help in the overall fight. "Is that what happened to you, Applejack? Were you hurt in the attack? Nothing happened to Big Mac or Granny Smith, did it?"

“You saw those ruffians?!” Rarity nearly screamed, and before Sweetie could answer, her sister had closed the distance. “Did they do anything to you? Did they hurt you? Dear, you don’t know what they are capable of. Celestia as my witness, they will never get near you or any of my friends again!” All of her concern and worry seemed to boil over and she pulled Sweetie into a tight hug.

Sweetie flailed for a moment before finally chuckling weekly and returning the hug, patting Rarity's back lightly. "It's okay sis," she whispered. "They're all gone. I'm okay."

Applejack approached as Rarity finally released the younger mare, and she put a supporting hoof on her shoulder. "It's family that matters most, in times like this."

"Even if they're 'distantly' related?" Sweetie interjected with a wry grin.

"Yes, even then," she said with a chuckle. "Big Man an' Granny are both alright, though the farm is probably little more than kindling now." Applejack sighed. " Dash and I got hurt when those monsters attacked Ponyville. Just about everypony made it out before the attack, thanks to Pinkie Pie.”

"Pinkie Sense?" Sweetie asked, getting nods in response. "Twilight explained to me once how she attempted to understand how that works..." She shook her head. "And I knew before she even confirmed it that there are questions that will never be answered." She hesitated for a moment. "So... how am I taking it? The other me?"

The noise in the chamber gradually increased as the workers continued to unpack the boxes on the platform, and Rarity motioned for the other two mares to follow. “Sweetie… that is, my Sweetie is doing well for the moment. The Cutie Mark Crusaders are still up to things here in the capital, and Spike tries to keep them out of trouble. Of course, a certain dashing young griffon is doing an excellent job of making sure their plans are safe.”

“Here we go,” Applejack muttered under her breath.

“Oh hush, Applejack! You think it’s just as sweet as I do!” Rarity scolded the earth pony. “I’m pretty sure all three of them have developed a little bit of a crush on the High Talon. What makes it all the more delicious is that none of them seem to realise it’s happening! Alvar plays the role of the experienced and stalwart soldier for someone so young, so I suppose I can’t blame the girls for feeling the way they do.”

Applejack rolled her eyes as the trio continued to walk through the tunnel. “Are you sure you aren’t starting to feel that way, Rarity?”

The unicorn’s response was perhaps quicker and more heated than she intended. “Don’t deny me my vicarious romance! Besides, everypony seems to be developing a taste for the… exotic these days. Twilight rather adorably staked her claim, and Fluttershy has had a rather large number of heart-to-heart talks with that Victor gentleman. Apparently the humans don’t look favorably upon the concept of herds in a relationship, so I’m forced to get what I can where I can. Sweetie’s little romance is all I have now that Twilight took the latest Shining Hearts book right out of my hooves and hasn’t returned it.”

Sweetie giggled. "But! You could date Blueblood! I'm not sure what type of pony he is here, but he's turned out to be such a cool big brother in this one world..."

A borderline horrified expression crossed Rarity’s face at the mention of ‘big brother,’ only for it to switch to annoyance when Applejack smothered a laugh. “What was that, Applejack? I couldn’t quite hear you.”

“I didn’t say nothin’,” the earth pony mare replied, and she looked away with a barely suppressed smirk.

Sweetie chuckled and looked at her sister. "You know... it's been a while since I've had a chance to hang around normal versions of you guys. It's refreshing."

“‘Normal’?” Rarity asked with more than a little trepidation. “What do you mean by that?”

"You know," Sweetie shrugged. "Normal. Even your mention of Celestia when you swore on her name. It's just the normal Rarity, the normal Applejack and everypony else... even Twilight, although she's having a rough time."

Rarity seemed to hang on a couple of the roles that she had occupied in the previous worlds before rallying herself. “Well, I’m glad to provide even a small amount of stability for you, darling. For my part I'm still trying to understand how you are even possible.” The trio finally exited the tunnel and approached a guarded archway where ponies could be seen going about their business. “That you are my sister… I have no doubt, why, it's like… some sort of connection… I just know you are you, but… for the life of me, Sweetie, you're a grown mare!

Sweetie smiled, a bit self conscious. "I'm sorry, it's not by choice that I come to disrupt your life."

Rarity snorted. "Nonsense. You are here and I'll have to get used to it. Where do you want to go?”

"Where do I—" Sweetie paused. "I-I have no clue..." she said after a baffled moment. "This is the first time in years anypony has even asked me that." She looked around, at a loss. "I guess I'd like to see my friends and family? Maybe even reconnect with others that I've met in different worlds and just hang out?" She took a deep breath. "And I want to see Twilight, I might be able to talk to her a bit."

“Oh, I’m sure something can be arranged,” Rarity said as she led Sweetie past the armed guards and into the corridors of the castle proper.

o.0.oo.0.o

Applejack knocked politely before opening the door, and Sweetie followed her inside. The living quarters' spacious walls were decorated in a familiar Equestrian splendor; on the right day, sunlight beaming through the broad windows would have made everything gleam. For the present, the curtains were drawn and the room's occupants were huddled solemnly around the bed.

Sweetie knew Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, but as she walked over to them, she could tell she had never met the plain gray mare who sat with a passive, stony gaze. For a moment, Sweetie almost didn't recognize the mare in the bed, either. Pinkie's usual energy and vigor had gone; they'd been replaced with a sleep that felt eerily serene.

Rarity closed the door behind Sweetie and Applejack, and they joined the other three around Pinkie's bed.

“Hello Rari--” Rainbow Dash started, but halted the moment she caught sight of Sweetie. She turned an arched eyebrow to Rarity and asked, “Did you pull a Twilight and have a secret sister you never told us about for years?”

Sweetie glanced at Rarity in mock surprise. "You didn't tell your friends about my marriage to the hydra king? What, were you going to wait until the invitation came?" she joked before smiling at Rainbow Dash, noticing the bad scarring on her wings. "Sorry, Rainbow, but I'm not a secret sister, I'm Sweetie Belle. All grown up."

“So… Cutie Mark Crusaders Time Travellers yay?” Rainbow Dash asked, confusion clear on her face and in her voice.

Applejack shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"It's a long story, but you're not completely off the mark," Sweetie said, walking slowly up to the bed and looking at Pinkie. "It's... weird seeing her so calm." She looked at the others and focused on the unknown mare, thinking she might be a doctor of some sort. "She'll be okay, right?"

“She will be fine,” the dour mare beside her bed said, the only change in her expression being a blink. “She’s just been through a lot and needs to rest.”

Sweetie shook her head, and looked at the others. "So how did she get like this? How did you all get like this?"

Several uncomfortable looks were shared, but it was the pony beside the bed who spoke first. “Lacerations from broken glass. Electrical burns from a stun baton. Various blunt force trauma. Shock from blood loss. I killed the humans that did this to her. Nothing hurts my sister.” The entire description of events was delivered in the same deadpan tone, as though she were listing something as mundane as a grocery list.

Sweetie nodded. "I understand… Never let anyone hurt family." She sighed, looking at the obvious marks. "Was this done by EXALT then? I knew they were trouble, but how did they even get to Equestria?" She looked up at the pony. "And I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know you, I'm Sweetie Belle."

“Maud Pie,” The mare beside the bed stated.

Silence stretched uncomfortably between the group before anypony worked up the courage to speak and cringed when Maud looked in her direction. “As for how those dreadful barbarians got here, I’m not certain anypony knows. The invaders arrive on airships from the stars, or so I’m told. They have airships as well but are more conventional… or so I’m told.”

"That is very strange, but I guess I should be used to weirdness by now..." Sweetie muttered, before her attention drifted to a small rock on the bedside cabinet. Sweetie stared at it, and then from it to Maud and back to the rock. "Oh, and who is this little guy watching over Pinkie?"

The earth pony in question gave Sweetie the same stare that she had since she had first entered the room. One hoof rose from behind the bed to prod the pebble on the table. “His name is Boulder. He likes you,” Maud explained.

"Hi, Boulder!" Sweetie greeted the pebble with a small wave of her hoof. "I like you too, buddy! You're pretty animated for a rock!"

Maud’s disinterested expression didn’t shift a single bit as her other forehoof came up to reveal another pebble. “This is his brother Tom. They don’t get along. I usually have to keep them separated.”

Sweetie nodded, apparently listening to the rocks, if her ears were any indication. "Well, it's understandable, Boulder being a metamorphic rock, has a few years on Tom. It's just regular sibling rivalry, with enough pressure they'll calm down."

“This has got to be the most bizarre conversation I have ever witnessed,” Rainbow Dash whispered to the other mares in the room, who gave a bewildered nod in response. The confusion immediately transformed into concern when Pinkie Pie began to stir.

“Pinkie, how are you feeling? Do you need anything?” Maud asked, showing more energy than she had during the entire conversation prior and completely focusing on her sister. “Maud is here, okay? I’ll take care of anything you want me to.”

The pink pony’s eyes opened just a bit and slowly focused on her sister. “Water… please.” Her tired gaze shifted to the rest of the room, and she managed a small smile. “Sorry I’m not… the life of the party today. I’m just tired…” Pinkie Pie drifted off mid-sentence, the small smile still on her face.

Maud placed a comforting hoof on Pinkie’s head before hopping off of her stool. “Pinkie’s really happy you all came to visit, but I think she wants to sleep now. I’ll let you know when she wakes up and is feeling better,” she said as she walked over to the pitcher of water sitting near the far wall.

"Alright girls," Applejack said, standing up. "How about we talk in another room?" She turned to face Maud. "Just let us know when she's ready to see us and we'll all make our way back to visit her."

The dour earth pony hardly acknowledged the group’s departure as she returned to the bed with a full cup of water in her hooves. All of her attention was on her sister as she slept.

The group walked down the hallway in Applejack's wake, with Sweetie taking in what had been said and trying to compare it with her own experiences with other versions of her sister's friends. The closest she could think of was the one where Rarity had… killed Octavia. The thought still pained her, but she realized slowly as she listened to them, that she had no idea how to really understand them.

She had fighting experience, and her own share of pain, but she had always had her home be safe, at least as far as she knew. Even Twilight's crazy fragment had shown her that her sister was still alive. Her losses were personal and always at her own expense… not somepony else's.

She remained quiet until Rarity spotted a room. "I'm fairly certain this is one of the rooms Shining Armor mentioned were free," she said, opening the door and peeking in before giggling and trotting inside, followed by the others.

It was another large room with a single bed, but the main difference was that across from it was a fully stocked bar with several comfortable-looking sofas arranged around it. Bottles of all sizes and shapes were stored inside, and a collection of different glasses hung from the top of it or were aligned on the back.

Sweetie quickly made her way to the bar and started rummaging through, levitating several bottles out as well as a metallic shaker. All those thoughts and memories were driving her mad and depressed and angry. And she knew the best way to cure that: "Who wants a chocolate martini?"

Silence reigned in the room before Applejack asked, “Rarity, what have you been teaching your sister?”

Rainbow Dash snorted and doubled over with laughter as Rarity sputtered between denying Applejack’s insinuation and trying to ask Sweetie where she had learned about alcohol before finally settling on the latter. “Sweetie, dear, please tell me that you had a responsible adult with you when you found out about such things?”

Sweetie blinked. "Oh, yeah, sure I did. I mean, there was Spitfire... and Soarin! And Vinyl Scratch was hitting on me. But, Blueblood made sure I didn't get too crazy... although I did end up throwing up over the gala guests the first time with them..."

When Rarity started sputtering, Sweetie grinned. "But the first time I got drunk was with all of you girls. Except Rainbow Dash, she couldn't drink with the foal on the way." Complete silence was all that answered her.

“Say what?” Dash asked. “I’m not certain I heard you right.”

Sweetie used her magic to cool down the metal shaker as she prepared her martini. "Well, you couldn't drink alcohol with a foal on the way," she repeated, fully aware of what she was doing, and yet trying to keep a straight face. "I have to say, I was impressed that you were so considerate... for a future mom."

Rainbow Dash tried several times to form an answer before finally finding the words she needed. “I’m not certain I understand what you’re saying.”

“Well, Rainbow Dash, when two ponies love each other—” Fluttershy started, but was immediately cut off.

“I KNOW WHERE FOALS COME FROM!” Dash shouted before fixing Sweetie with a glare to hide her embarrassment. “You! Make me a drink, and keep making them until you make sense!”

"Right-o!" Sweetie said, straining her martini into a glass. She levitated a couple of bottles and froze some water into a solid ice cube, which she dropped into a low glass, letting the contents of the bottles mix on top of it as they filled it up halfway. "Here you go! It's a stiff drink, but interesting!" She eyed her sister. "Want some, Applejack?" For Fluttershy I'm making something I had in Bitaly..." she started mixing again, waiting for her sister's reply.

Rainbow Dash didn’t hesitate for a second as she stomped up to the bar. She gave a narrow glare at Sweetie before slamming back the drink in one shot, drawing stares from the other mares in the room. “Keep ‘em co--” THUNK Anything else she might have said was lost as the pegasus’s head hit the bar.

Sweetie blinked and checked the bottles before looking back at Rainbow Dash with a frown. "Well... that was... something." She levitated a fruity cocktail over to Fluttershy. "Please don't down it." She quickly mixed another cocktail for Rarity and another one, apple-scented, for Applejack. "Here you go girls, let's take a seat and revive RD."

Fluttershy accepted her drink with a quiet nod and began to sip it slowly while the others sat at the stools. Rarity’s reaction was a mix of appreciation for a finely crafted drink and surprise at its source, while Applejack took a moment to give the glass a long sniff before smiling and starting on her drink as well.

Sweetie proceeded to mix yet another drink, but it was clear that she had used just the barest splash of alcohol in it in comparison with how full it was with juice. She then proceeded to empty a bucket of cold water on Rainbow Dash.

“SOLARIA’S FROZEN FLANKS!” The pegasus sputtered as she fell off of the stool and onto the floor. “Ugh… where am I? My head is killing me. And why am I all wet?” she asked as she stumbled back onto her hooves. “What did you give me? I haven’t felt this bad since…”

"It was a sipping drink, Dash," Sweetie explained, passing her the most recent mix she had made. "Usually when it has ice like that, you're not supposed to slam it down. Here, this one will be more enjoyable." She helped Rainbow Dash sit down on a sofa after using a spell to dry her coat, and then sat down herself. "Enjoy the drinks, girls!"

Several minutes passed as the group enjoyed their drinks before Rainbow Dash asked, “Okay, now I want you to explain to me, as simply as possible, what the hay you were talking about earlier.” All eyes went from Dash to Sweetie as she nursed her own drink.

"Well, I've visited different worlds and met you all in different stages of your life," Sweetie explained, opening a small portal and summoning her book through it. She pulled out a picture and passed it on to Rainbow Dash. "You can see for yourself."

Rainbow Dash looked down at the offered picture, and she nearly dropped her glass. “No. Way.”

“Well, RD, you certainly have that motherly glow about you,” Applejack said with a chuckle, which earned her a dark look from the pegasus. “There isn’t anything wrong with that, sugarcube! I know I certainly didn’t expect it from you, though,” she finished before retreating safely behind her glass.

Sweetie giggled. "If it helps at all, you were all about... three hundred years old in that picture? There were plenty of Apples there too, AJ, direct line from you, although the big competition was mainly from Fluttershy and her hubby... Big Mac."

All eyes immediately shot to the two mares. “What?” Applejack asked, “Apples come from big families, and Apples have big families. Is that so surprising? Though that age comment raises an eyebrow or two. I mean, a foal at three hundred? That’s just unheard of! Now what’s this about you having intentions on my brother, Flutters?”

Fluttershy said nothing, but her face was closer to Big Mac red than her usual canary yellow. “Um… no thank you?” She asked, and she seemed to do her very best to become one with her seat.

"From what I heard," Sweetie leaned in. "Eight foals. Eight." She chuckled leaning back. "It's another world, girls, but... well, you can see that you all were happy." Her smile became a bit sad as she ran a hoof over the picture. "You all had gone through a lot together, but apparently you got to be immortal there... in the end, you all were there for each other and you gave me a lot of hope when my journey began. I didn't ever get a sibling until Blueblood adopted me."

A pleasant smile crossed Rarity’s face at the compliment. “I’m glad we were able to help you there, Sweetie. There comes a point where friends can be just as close as family.” She swirled her drink around as her expression fell. “I suppose that’s a curse the princesses have to endure. Outliving everypony that isn’t blessed with both wings and a horn. I had never spared a thought about that, and I don’t think it would be right to ask Twilight about it now.”

She downed the rest of her drink, and proceeded to mix something else without even looking, although its golden color was reminiscent of what she had given Rainbow Dash earlier.

“Waitwaitwait, Blueblood?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Are we talking about the same stallion here? I mean, he might be totally different but at the Gala he was a total jerk to Rarity.”

Rarity gave the prismatic pegasus an evil glare. “If you knew he was a jerk then why did you laugh when I told you what happened?”

“Because it was funny at the time!” Dash answered, as though her reasoning excused everything. “Since then I have matured as a mare, and I realized that he was a bit of a jerk, okay?”

“The Blueblood we have here isn’t him, though. I had a chance to meet him during a Wonderbolts thingy. Looking him in the eyes and it was like staring into the face of one of Rarity’s marequins.”

“But the marequins don’t have faces…” Rarity said, only for Dash to whirl towards her.

“EXACTLY! There’s nothing going on in that head of his. His eyes, though…” The pegasus shivered on the stool. “I was wearing my Wonderbolts uniform and his eyes made me feel like I was wearing less than nothing. All kinds of creepy.”

Sweetie shrugged. "He had bad days." She sighed. "Anyway, yeah, Nightmare Moon is something that happens often too... one of the first worlds that I visited had her as the queen after the elements hadn't worked against her. She had Twilight in a skimpy dress, and a two day war against me and the other crusaders... you girls simply couldn't be bothered to deal with her since she was a massive prankster, so we got permission to wage a prank war in the palace. I even got to do the test for 'Nightmare Moon's School for Gifted Unicorns." She stood up and prepared another round of drinks for the others, taking care of the old glasses as she replaced them with a fresh one.

“Prank war?” Applejack asked.

“Nightmare Moon’s School?” Rarity added.

“Twilight in a skimpy dress!?” Rainbow Dash blurted out, before once again falling off of the stool laughing. When she noticed everypony was staring at her, she added, “Oh come on! You all were thinking that too!”

Grinning, Sweetie pulled out a piece of paper with a seal of approval declaring her acceptance into the school. "First attempt! And yes, a prank war... we painted Nightmare Moon's room pink, and in retaliation she glued all of the furniture in our room to the ceiling while we were asleep." Sweetie laughed. "It was a lot of fun, although as I grew older I realized there were a lot more implications to what had been going on there... especially when she told me that Twilight tasted like blueberries."

Rainbow Dash was having trouble breathing with all the laughter as she rolled on the floor. All Rarity could manage was an ‘Oh my’ before taking another sip from her glass. Applejack had started to show some signs of embarrassment or inebriation as her face turned red. All Fluttershy could manage was “B-b-b-” before looking down.

"Heh, I'd love to see Twilight's face when she finds out about this," Rainbow Dash added.

Sweetie nodded, her smile slipping a little. "Why don't… you girls tell me what's going on with her? Back on Earth they hinted at what went wrong, but they didn't really say much."

Rarity sighed and the others shared looks. "When Twilight disappeared due to Discord's magic, we thought she was lost forever. Luna and Celestia both spent months trying to figure out where she was..."

"Turns out she'd been dropped of at Earth," Applejack spoke into the small pause. "Y'know that she was there with X-com, but we found out later she was an experiment there for a while, of sorts… she made friends quickly but she was trapped, Ah guess is the right way to put it."

"She couldn't go out of her room, or look at the sky," Rainbow Dash said.

"And she didn't have anypony familiar there, or a way to talk to us." Fluttershy added.

"She grew close to her few friends there, a little tight group of humans in the middle of a base full of them that would shoot her on sight." Rarity sighed. "When some of them died in an attack… she lost it, and she almost died to… shot by one of those she was trying to protect."

"It took her a while to get better," Rainbow Dash said, taking a sip of her drink. "We… didn't understand. How could we? We'd never seen anything like it before. Pinkie took it hard. She saw Twilight there and insisted she wasn't really back yet."

"Eventually Twilight wrote what had happened down and… we read it," Fluttershy whispered. "I-it broke my heart."

Rarity chuckled a little. "Twilight asked me for a secret project in the meantime… it was strange to see her so… overwhelmed."

The group descended into silence, broken only by sips or the clicks of glass on a table.

"The friends she made," Rainbow Dash eventually spoke up. "They were close. Her only hope and comfort for a long time… when she watched one of her best friends die… something else died there and Twilight… she couldn't take it."

Sweetie gulped. "Well.. now I need a stiffer drink."

o.0.oo.0.o

The knock on the door caused a cacophony of groans and mutters as the group slowly regained consciousness. “Sweetie, are you in there?” A muffled voice called from the other side of the door. “Are the Element Bearers with you? Maud mentioned that you had headed in this direction…” Gradually the door opened to reveal Firecracker, who gave the general state of the room and its occupants an arched eyebrow. “Seriously?”

Sweetie yawned and stretched. "Oh, hey there Firecracker… glad you joined us." She glanced at the window. "The next day. What took you?"

Firecracker made her way into the room. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were still sleeping soundly on the sofas, while Rarity and Applejack were just beginning to stir as well. "Party hard?"

"Aw, I'll invite you next time, Firecracker," Sweetie said, rolling off of the sofa she had commandeered and bumping shoulders with the changeling, seemingly completely unaffected by the alcohol she had consumed.

“I’ll pass, thank you,” the changeling answered as she gave one of the bottles a dubious look. “Inebriation makes it hard to hold a form, and I’m not exactly comfortable going au naturale.” Her gaze fell just a bit before perking back up. “You mentioned that you had some ponies you wanted to meet, I’m assuming that’s more than just the Element Bearers?”

"Yes! I wanted to see if some of my friends from my travels were here and how they were doing. I was wondering if you knew Octavia Philharmonica? Or Vinyl Scratch? Fleur de Lis? Lyra Heartstrings? Bon-Bon?" she grinned a little bit. "They won't know me, but it would be nice to make sure they are okay anyway... maybe I could meet with the Crusaders as well?"

Rarity was the first to respond as she ran a hoof over her mane to try and smooth it out. “I’m sure we could meet the Crusaders in a bit." She hid her mouth with her hoof and they both could her a small burp. "I think I’ll need a little bit of time to freshen up," Rarity said sheepishly. "Do you think you could find something to do in the meantime?”

“I suppose we can go looking for the ponies you mentioned, Sweetie,” Firecracker said with a nod to both of the mares. “I’m familiar with some of the names you mentioned but I’m not sure where in the capital they’re staying.”

Sweetie shrugged. "I can wait, I'm just glad they're okay... with things as they are, it's always good to know good friends are safe. For now." She glanced back at the other passed out mares, then to Rarity. "I could just take a walk in the meantime while you girls... um... recuperate?"

She then looked back at Firecracker. "After you, my fair friend! Lest the hives run dry and the courts degrade into chaos!"

The euphemism elicited an arched eyebrow from Firecracker as she led the way out of the room. “I know in your travels you’ve had some experiences with my kind, but I would advise not advertising that fact. Mother dearest and all of my siblings aren’t very popular here in the capital despite our part in the war effort.”

"Ponies should learn to calm down," Sweetie said matter of fact. "I've had really bad experiences with... your mother," she lowered her voice when saying that. "But I learned quickly enough that not every place I go her children are to be feared, or incapable of personal objectives, even desiring peace... I would have never thought this but the mare that first helped me come to grips with... my history, after a really shocking experience, was just like you." She smiled a bit. "Only, she kept messing up her voice all the time... sometimes it would be normal, sometimes too high or low... It was endearing." She sighed. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that maybe the fear and lack of trust is well-earned, but we all have to look past things like that at some point if we want to grow."

“The hive follows mother dearest, and she uses my siblings to further her own goals. There are a precious few of my kind that retain enough individuality to break away, and have the motivation to actually do so,” Firecracker explained. “I suppose I can understand why. Individuality is scary when you’ve lived a life with your family just a thought away.”

Sweetie chuckled. "You must have been a spy or a scout or something, the ability to stay on your own like that in such a society can't be easy..." she glanced at Firecracker. "Maybe we're not so different after all."

“I wouldn’t be surprised about sharing similarities,” Firecracker said as the pair turned into a new corridor. A pair of black-armored ponies guarded the open entrance to the throne room, and the disguised changeling sped up into a trot. “And your earlier estimation of my role was an accurate one. Mother dearest tasked me with finding and evaluating destinations for the family…”

Sweetie, however slowed down. "Oh, wait! Let's check on the Princess! The court is open and I don't see anypony in yet! Come on!"

Firecracker nearly tripped at the suggestion and nearly galloped to Sweetie’s side. “Princess Celestia is quite busy and I’m afraid we’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Do you remember our discussion about the Alicorn Amulet? I was hoping to run a test using your particular skills…” Her speech was non-stop as she continued her efforts to steer Sweetie from the throne room.

Sweetie shrugged, heading straight for the throne room. "Oh nonsense, Princess Celestia always has time to—" she stopped at the edge of the court, eyes growing wide. "Wait, that's—"

Firecracker’s attempts to steer Sweetie from the throne room became much more direct as she began to push her back out into the hallway. “Not a word!” she hissed while pointing a hoof further down the corridor. The pleasant tone in her voice had vanished only to be replaced with steel and just a bit of fear. “We can discuss it in private, but not here.”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow, but clamped her mouth shut and smiled pleasantly as she turned and followed Firecracker away. They walked in silence for several minutes until Sweetie sighed, making sure nopony or human was around. "Fine, so it's not all as it seems," she said diplomatically. "Care to share? Because what I saw back there? That's not good."

Firecracker said nothing as she continued to lead Sweetie down another corridor and to a large vault door. A pair of gold armored earth ponies stood guard, and they visibly tensed when the pair came into view. “Arcanist Firecracker plus an authorized guest. Our entry to the vault will be on file,” the disguised changeling said as she stopped exactly three body lengths from the guards.

One of the guards sidestepped to a podium to check the list posted on it, but the other stood at the ready until the first gave a nod. “Fifteen minutes in the vault have been authorized,” the first guard said. “Do not attempt to touch or remove anything inside.” One hoof tapped on a seemingly featureless spot on the floor near the door, and a small surge of magic slowly pulled the door open. Firecracker trotted past the two guards and the massive door before giving a look back at Sweetie. Only when the unicorn had followed inside did the door begin to close behind her.

Once the door had closed and locked, Firecracker let out a ragged gasp and seemed to deflate. “That was close. Too close. I doubt mother dearest could have anticipated somepony like you showing up, but she should have.”

"Nopony expects Interdimensional Sweetie," Sweetie acknowledged. "But... that was just-How did that happen? Did the queen take down Celestia? Does anyone else know about this?"

“Princess Luna is aware of mother dearest, as well as the other leaders of the alliance here in Canterlot,” Firecracker said as she sat down and put one hoof on the side of her head. “Princess Celestia was… incapacitated during the first alien attack on Canterlot, and during the second, mother dearest rallied the defenders by impersonating her. I suspect she’s been looking for a way to remove herself from the public enemies list since the fiasco with Cadance and Shining Armor, and she used the alien attack as leverage to force her way into the alliance. After all, Princess Luna couldn’t attack her ‘sister’ so soon after the alien attack without severe repercussions.”

"I see," Sweetie nodded. "That seems like classic Chrysalis," she chuckled. "But you should be glad she's at least attempting that... other Chrysalises that I have met... well, they haven't cared as much and didn't end well. For themselves or their hives." She sighed. "I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this..." she raised a hoof at Firecracker's expression. "I'm not going to say anything but it is very unexpected. Am I supposed to just pretend that the changeling is Celestia if we ever talk? Or will you inform her that I know?"

The hoof on the side of Firecracker’s head began to work in small circles as she grumbled. “It certainly is a classic maneuver for her. Maximum risk, maximum reward. If she pulls this off, she’ll hopefully be in the good graces of the major powers on this world and on Earth. If she screws this up, it could fracture the alliance and get us all killed. Ideally I would prefer to keep you as far away from her as possible, as I don’t want to think about what she might try to do if she was aware of what’s in your head. I cannot emphasize enough that this must be kept secret, as Mother Dearest’s presence in Canterlot is only half of the problem. Princess Luna and I have done what we can to lay the groundwork for revealing my mother’s cooperation, but ponies might panic if they think there are changelings everywhere. Well, other changelings.”

Sweetie hummed, but shrugged.

Firecracker sighed. "Okay, we need to discuss something now, taking advantage of the fact that nobody can hear us." She gave Sweetie Belle a hard look. "What is the deal with you blatantly exposing yourself? Outsing ponies. Telling everypony your life story." She started pacing in front of Sweetie, who looked a bit taken aback.

"I'm not stupid, Sweetie, I see how you move... I look back on how silent you were, the maneuvers you pull unconsciously out of constant practice. I see you take measure of things, gauge usefulness, and take what matters into account, store information. You admitted yourself to being trained as a spy if not an assassin. You know the value of secrets and the need for them. You know the cost of life, and yet you babble about loss and what you went through as if you were over it… which by the way, you are not."

Sweetie cringed. "I—"

"Far be it for me to lecture you on hiding things, but this thing you've been doing since you arrived is… excessive." Firecracker interrupted. "Those mares up there throwing up in the room and recuperating from trying to drink at your pace already care about you… on top of everything else that is going on. You could at least take a moment to be honest with them instead of acting like humility is not part of your vocabulary. Sure, you have experiences, and sure you've been through similar things, but you don't need to make things about you all the time…" She peered under her frown at Sweetie. "So why do you?"

Sweetie shuddered, trying to not to look away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do." Firecracker all but growled. "You met me, and suddenly it's advance changeling politics and details I personally never really noticed until you brought them up. You met Shen; matrix design and theumatic theory. You spoke German to Moira. Why do you need to show off?"

"Because I need ponies to like me!" Sweetie snapped, facing Firecracker again. "Because under this," she motioned with her hoof in a sweeping motion at herself, "I'm a monster! Because I'm never going home and I only have limited time to make sure they know I'm not evil and that I can help!"

Firecracker sighed. "Sweetie. I understand what's happening… but you are not a little filly anymore. You can't depend on impressing ponies with sudden knowledge to convince them that you're of value or that you're not their Sweetie or a monster. There's no one to impress, no one that needs to know everything about you to trust you. At this rate you might as well print a resume to hand out every time you meet somepony."

"But… what if they don't trust me?" Sweetie asked in a small voice.

"Then they don't. You can't live depending on other ponies doting on you or trusting you implicitly. Who you are is something they will discover—or not—at their own pace." She paused. "Or yours, but not because you're desperate to share, but because you want them to know you."

Sweetie remained silent and Firecracker took a deep breath. "Come on, let me show you what we came for and you can think about all of that.

“This place is the vault, where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna store the various artifacts and arcane curiosities that they’ve collected over all the years of their rule,” Firecracker said, practically pouncing on the opportunity to change the subject. “Everything here is too dangerous to sit in a museum, either by being able to directly cause harm to the unwary, abused by the ambitious, or… misinterpreted by somepony who doesn’t have all of the facts.”

The disguised changeling waved a hoof into the dimly lit room, and glowing lights began to appear along the walls, revealing shelves and display cases lining the walls and down the center of the room. Firecracker began to trot down the aisle towards the back of the room, making certain to keep a body’s length from both the shelves and the tables in the center of the room. “If you’ll follow me, I had something to show you. And do follow the guardpony’s orders and don’t do anything besides follow me. An errant spell could destroy the room.”

Sweetie blinked at Firecracker's words and took a harder look around, taking in for the first time the spell patterns around her. Her eyes widened and she stood stock-still as the connections slowly made sense in her head. She followed it with her eyes, trying to confirm what she had assumed, and found to her horror it was correct. "I-I would be more worried with being instantly teleported to the surface of the sun than casting an errant spell..."

“It’s a security measure to prevent the discovery, theft or misuse of anything here,” Firecracker explained with no more concern than an art dealer talking about an alarm. The pair passed several seemingly mundane objects, including a wide-brimmed hat and a bangle of bells. “Nopony except the princesses are aware of everything inside, which is probably for the best.”

Sweetie took a deep, calming breath and fell in step behind Firecracker, still trying to avoid stepping on any nodes she noticed. "W-ell, then." She cleared her throat. "What did you want me to see?"

Firecracker remained silent as the pair continued past several more items before finally stopping at a display case. Four telekinetic blades rested inside the case and were engraved from end to end with glittering vinework, and at the center of the case was the familiar shape of the Alicorn Amulet. “Remember our discussion back on Earth?” Firecracker asked as she cast a wary glance at the contents of the case. “You had mentioned some differences between the Amulet that you were familiar with during your travels. You had also mentioned something about ‘personalities’ of different objects such as stone or water. I’m curious as to what you can tell by looking at the amulet here.”

Frowning, Sweetie approached the amulet, but didn't touch it. She blinked, opening her senses to the whispers of the world around her. Her shadow promised unintelligible secrets, the metal in the room was sturdy and silent, but now felt aware in some sense. But she tried to concentrate on the amulet. There was something off about it. "It's not saying anyt—" she stopped. There had been a whisper.

ill them...

She stopped, tilting her head. "Wait there's something..."

...killl...them!

Sweetie jumped back, recoiling as if stung, and eyes wide. "What are those things made of?!"

“The element was originally discovered by Clover the Clever, and was almost immediately banned by Princess Celestia afterwards, according to the records,” Firecracker said. She hadn’t moved an inch closer to the display case, and her eyes remained locked onto it as though it might jump and attack at any minute. “Clover called it ‘Arcanite’, and it’s used extensively in everything the aliens make. Everything from their weapons, to their ships, to the implants they put in their soldiers’ heads… I’m assuming this is nothing like the amulet you encountered?”

Sweetie shook her head. "This thing... it has intent. It's strong and it wants to kill. Anything. Everything." Even now, she could still feel it whispering. "Its voice is... it's dark. Demanding. If anypony... or anyone were to use them, it wouldn't bode well."

“That’s what I was afraid of. The humans had thought the loss of rational thought and violent impulses were as a result of the brain suffering overload from the power that Elerium brings. I suppose this is just a little more evidence that there is something a bit more sinister at work.” Firecracker motioned back down the path and away from the display case before walking back towards the entrance. “Have you encountered anything like it? Or have any theories?”

Sweetie shook her head. "Nothing like it. Not an element of all things that compels you to kill. There's enough cursed items that would affect your personality, but those are very specific spells, not a will coming from a part of it." She looked at Firecracker. "If humans are using these... there is a real chance that they might be influenced beyond help."

Firecracker simply nodded. “After Captain Harris’s incident, Princess Luna forbade the use of any device that uses Elerium until they could develop a way to control it the way the aliens do, with the exception of the devices the humans used on Earth to enhance their magic. The princess was quite specific that such devices would neither be allowed or used on this world again. There hasn’t been an incident since, so the humans must have found a way to control Elerium when it’s used in their technology.”

Sweetie gritted her teeth, looking at the amulets one last time before turning away from them and following Firecracker back to the exit. "Are you sure it's the aliens controlling the elerium? Because I'm not convinced."

“That’s something else that the arcanists have been debating. The humans have yet to catch one of the alien leaders alive, but they ran some tests on a body they recovered. The one that they found was several thousand years old and had none of the implants that the lesser species had,” Firecracker explained before knocking twice on the exit door. “It’s also worth noting that they are capable of magics powerful enough to fight the princesses, too.”

Sweetie sighed. "I think if this Equestria had been more prepared for war, the less tragic this would have been. Ponies can be very, very scary."

Firecracker suppressed a wince as the door slowly began to open. “I don’t think we could have ever been prepared for this. When you go to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I think you’ll see why. Now, why don’t we go see if Rarity has freshened up enough to take you to the three delinquents, yes?”

"Hey," Sweetie bumped shoulders with Firecracker. "I'm a crusader."

The changeling’s reply was led with a nervous grin. “I don’t know if you know these crusaders.”

o.0.oo.0.o

“Sweetie, I’ve been thinking,” Rarity said as the pair wove their way through the crowded Canterlot streets. “I don’t know exactly what we’re going to tell my Sweetie about you. For the longest time it’s just been the two of us so I don’t know if I could believably tell her that you’re a long lost relative.”

"Tell her I'm a version of herself from a dystopian future?" Sweetie offered with a small smile, still thinking about Firecracker's words. "The few times I've pretended to be somepony else, she caught on every time."

“Is that so? Well, I suppose she does have her moments of inspired genius,” Rarity mused as they turned a corner, and the traffic on the pathway abruptly ended. At the end of the alleyway, a pair of griffons in light armor stood guard, and they moved to bar the mares path as they approached. “Good morning, Halfast. Hard at work, I see?”

“It’s the afternoon. State your business,” the griffon on the right said without an ounce of humor in his tone.

Rarity took on a wounded pose. “Do you really have to ask? After all the times I’ve been through here, I would think you would recognize me.” When the griffon didn’t offer a reply besides a glare, Rarity let out a huff. “My name is Rarity and I am here with a friend to see my sister, Sweetie Belle. She is currently in the company of High Talon Alvar.”

The other griffon stepped past the gateway and had a short and hushed conversation with someone beyond before resuming his post and nodding. “Your intent has been verified and you are clear to visit the High Talon’s residence. If you deviate from the path, you will be escorted out of the enclave.” The orders were given briskly as both griffons resumed their original positions, leaving the way clear for the two mares to pass between them.

"Fun," Sweetie remarked, glancing at the pair before following Rarity and ignoring their brief glares. She instead studied the griffons around. "So... mandatory military service? They seem ready for a fight." She took note of the earnest seriousness the young griffons had towards their games, and the wary but resolute looks of the adults as they walked past. "It's hard to imagine such a strong race in this situation..."

“I don’t know all the details, but Rainbow Dash had a chance to speak with some of the refugees,” Rarity said in hushed tones. “Gryphos was attacked and destroyed in the course of a single night. The High Talon’s best soldiers were there to defend the city, and they weren’t enough. Dash said that perhaps one out of five of their soldiers escaped the capital, and less than half of the population made it to our borders. The rest are still there, or worse.”

Another pair of griffon soldiers stopped the pair at a second checkpoint, and the conversation at the entrance repeated itself almost word for word. Once they were cleared through the checkpoint, Rarity continued, “The High Talon was nearly assassinated when the aliens attacked Canterlot for the second time, and I can’t find it in myself to blame them for the inconvenience of all these guards. Alvar is their ruler now, and he’s the last survivor in his family.”

"Huh," Sweetie grunted. "So Sweetie is friends with the king, she's moving up in the world. And at such a young age too!" She grinned. "So tell me, just how many bridal gowns have you already designed in your mind?"

Rarity tried and mostly failed to suppress a giggle. “Oh I think she’s still a bit young to worry about anything like that. Plus she still has to realise how she feels before any sort of formal arrangement is made.”

"So…" Sweetie said after a moment. "Ten? Twelve?"

Rarity looked scandalized. "I would never! The level of assumption that would require does not befit a lady of my standing. I limited myself to eight." She pretended not to see Sweetie's raised eyebrow. "For now."

Sweetie giggled. "Well, I could always model for you so you get some good measurements," she teased. "Lord Alvar might be a handsome griffon, after all, and being an expert on myself, I can say I did notice colts at an early age. Even if I didn't really act on it." The smile wouldn't go away. "Granted, my first crush was a bit older than I was and I think you might have had some issues with it."

“Is that so?” Rarity asked, and she recoiled once the pieces came together. “If you tell me Blueblood was your first crush, I may need to thrash him on principle.”

Sweetie stopped and let out a very unlady-like snort. Then another. Then burst out laughing, leaning on Rarity, completely unable to control her mirth. She was laughing so hard it was getting hard to breathe. She didn't care if she was drawing attention to themselves, it was just too much for her and she sank to her knees, holding on to Rarity to keep from falling.

“I’ll take this as a sign that my guess was thankfully off the mark?” Rarity asked as as she waved off the numerous stares that Sweetie’s laughing fit was attracting. “I’m sure you’re old enough now to… appreciate the reputation he has. Plus he’s taught you far more about liquor than a mare your age should know in my opinion.”

Sweetie snorted and slowly stood up. "Hehe... sorry, sorry. In his defense he taught me courtly manners, history and value of heraldry as well as a plethora of spells. But, no, he was not my first crush." She grinned at her sister. "My first crush was a stallion named 'Dusk Shine'." When Rarity didn't react, her grin grew. "You might not remember what little I told you about that world where you were all the opposite gender... but he was Twilight's double. Only as a stallion."

Sweetie could almost hear the gears turning in Rarity’s head as she processed that bit of information. “Let me guess…” Rarity started, a devilish grin replacing the shock. “The only thing he wanted between the ‘covers’ was several hundred pages of boring history text?”

"Rarity!" Sweetie fake-gasped, bringing her hoof to her chest in pretend-horror. "I was but a filly! I wasn't thinking about such things! I just thought he was dreamy in this adorkable way... so studious and surrounded by books."

Both of them giggled as another pair of griffons appeared in the doorway to the large building at the end of the street.

Before either of them could speak, a far larger griffon emerged from within the building. Unlike the other griffon soldiers who had approached them at the other checkpoints, this one was covered completely in plate and mail armor from his head all the way to the tip of his tail. Several weapons were strapped to every convenient location on the armor, and his gauntleted talons were coated in glossy metal as well. The helmet covered the griffon’s entire face, and the eye holes appeared as two black pits as they locked on to Rarity, then Sweetie.

“Good afternoon, Myrmidon. My name is Rarity and we are here to see my sister and her friends,” the purple-maned unicorn stated without any attempt at conversation.

The larger griffon stared silently at Sweetie for several seconds longer before glancing back down at the other mare. Its head tilted to the side slightly before turning and walking into the building without a word. The two soldiers at the door stood aside, allowing Rarity and Sweetie to pass.

"Now that," Sweetie admitted, "Is someone I would rather not get into a fight with." She kept her eyes on the griffon before her, not caring if he or other griffons could hear her. "And look at that armor! It's fantastic!" she added animatedly. "You can tell the weapons are the highest quality! And... do you feel that magic signature? Whoever created this was knew far more than their own craft! Rarity, this griffon is more than a warrior... no simple warrior would wield such equipment with that grace!"

“Is… that so?” Rarity asked with a nervous laugh. “Rainbow Dash said he’s what the griffons call a ‘Myrmidon.’ There is apparently some cultural significance to the title, it seems.” Rarity’s nervousness was slowly replaced by an impish grin. “You know, dear, flattery is the first step into any stallion’s heart. I bet he’s blushing underneath that helmet. Why don’t you tell me all about that fabulous armor of his?”

Sweetie Belle blinked at Rarity, dragging her eyes from her sister to the armored griffon. "You... are you saying he might be interested?"

Some of the good humor left Rarity’s expression, though the smile remained. “Oh, I’m sorry, dear. From what Dash tells me, they’re rather committed to their nation and all that. Plus, I tried and struck out. Couldn’t get so much as a word out of him.” The last admission came with a pout and an aggravated look.

"Maybe you didn't get into the right type of conversation?" Sweetie ventured, growing into the idea. "You think if I showed him mine...?"

“You might have more luck if you tried elsewhere, Sweetie. Rainbow Dash also told me that the Myrmidons never talk, ever. Well, that’s what she told me after she stopped laughing when I told her why I was asking,” Rarity grumbled. “I swear I will have my revenge on Rainbow Dash…”

Sweetie chuckled. "Who would have thought? Sweetie and Rarity... smitten by the strong, mysterious and silent stranger in armor."

The two sisters shared another giggle which was interrupted by a sound that Sweetie knew very well but hadn’t heard in a while: the sound of an adventure.

To an untrained ear, it sounded like three fillies screaming at the top of their lungs. To Sweetie, it was like coming home. What was perhaps less familiar was the thump thump of heavy footfalls that punctuated the screams, and the sounds were coming closer.

The Myrmidon halted and stepped aside just as the source of the screams came barreling around the corner. A red, black and white golem much like the one Sweetie had seen on Earth sprinted down the hallway, though without the layers of bulky armor and weapons that the previous machine had carried. What it did carry, however, were the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who clung for dear life onto the rails mounted on its shoulders. The golem skidded to a stop and turned to reveal a griffon youngling with a gray coat and feathers in pursuit.

Despite panting for breath, the griffon straightened the moment he spotted the Myrmidon and the two mares beside him. “Ah, good afternoon, miss Rarity. I assume you are here to see your sister then?” he asked as he straightened the sword strapped across his back. His amber eyes crossed over to the other Sweetie, and he arched an eyebrow. “Who’s your guest?”

Sweetie bowed. "I am Sweetie Belle, young High Talon," she said, keeping a straight face and looking forward to her own reaction. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The skeptical look never left Alvar’s expression as he turned slightly to the side. “Sweetie, I think you mastered time travel and came back to visit us. Or your evil doppelganger escaped from Organization X and wants to talk to you. Or was it EXALT now?”

Sweetie grinned at her flabbergasted self and raised a hoof. "Join me, and together we shall discover where Fleur de Lis hides all her chocolates. We shall be... invincible."

“We will never join your evil plot to steal all the chocolate!” Announced the younger Sweetie Belle from atop the shoulders of the golem. The other crusaders nodded in agreement.

"Good," Sweetie nodded solemnly. "It's good to see that the Crusaders are still a force for justice. You have passed my test." She smiled at the group. "Don't tell me that Crusaders have changed so much that everypony else is suspect?"

“The humans from Organization X are mind controlling everypony!” Sweetie explained.

“All of the Element Bearers have fallen under their power!” Applebloom added.

“Only we see them for the threat that they are!” Scootaloo announced.

“And we fight them every day,” Alvar deadpanned.

“OH COME ON!” Sweetie shouted in outrage from atop the golem. “You’ve got to put more enthusiasm into it, Alvar, or nopony will take us seriously!”

“I shall try and muster more effort into our heroic declarations, oh glorious leader,” Alvar surrendered with a bow.

Sweetie grinned. "It takes time to build up enough Crusader energy to fight the forces of evil!" She leaned in a bit theatrically, “but how did you find out that the Elements were under the control of Organization X? I didn't know until yesterday."

“Twilight Sparkle!” the younger Sweetie announced. “She was the first to fall to their diabolical mind tricks! Then it was Fluttershy and Applejack! They’re all acting fishy now! Rarity and Rainbow Dash aren’t taking us seriously, but it’s only a matter of time before they are taken by the conspiracy!”

Sweetie's eyes widened. "Not Rarity! She wouldn't! Unless... does the mysterious Organization X wear... clothes? If they do, we're doomed!" She looked back at her sister over her shoulder. "But don't worry! I will protect her, nothing will happen to Rarity as long as Sweetie Belle, warrior of justice, is here!"

Rarity hadn’t managed to say a word through the entire conversation. She was too busy trying to stifle the impulse to giggle at the whole scenario. “The temptation of having so many willing subjects to make clothes for… it’s so hard to resist!” she managed to say after collecting herself.

"Indeed, dear sister," Sweetie said solemnly. "But you know as well as I do that you must fight these temptations! If you do not, you might end up designing a whole set of uniforms, with so many pockets and stylish variations! Not to mention the berets! With encrusted gems on them!" Sweetie hummed. "And maybe capes. No evil organization should have stylish military uniforms without berets and capes to compliment the look."

“It’s all so true! Just think of all the accessorizing and color coordination I could do!” Rarity exclaimed, before apparently being overpowered by the forces of evil and fainting onto a couch that zoomed in just in time to catch her.

"So you see," Sweetie said turning to smile at the Crusaders, "We must remain vigilant. When not doing other stuff, of course." She glanced at Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. "So any ideas how my humble self can be of service to the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" She grinned. "It's been some time since I last crusaded, but I'm sure it's just like riding a bike."

o.0.oo.0.o

“Okay girls, I think we can sneak in just like last time,” the younger Sweetie explained to the gathered ponies before turning to the older Sweetie. “Zecora told us that she would need a couple of days to gather some things that will help us, but the agents of Organization X are everywhere, so we have to be careful.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. "I guess Zecora we need to find, if our plan is to unwind." She smiled at the fillies' bewildered look. "For a Zebra to heed, maybe speaking like them you'd need?"

Scootaloo snorted. "That one was pushing it."

Sweetie Belle chuckled. "True enough, but I'm guessing that if we're to avoid Organization X we do need to be stealthy. And for that we need to know the layout of where we're going. Have you been there before?"

“Yep! We’ve gone to visit Zecora before, and we were able to get in and out without any problems!” the younger Sweetie said as she waved a hoof at the large building that they currently stood in the shadow of. It had all the hallmarks of Canterlot architecture, but an unfamiliar set of banners hung from the upper levels and near the front doors. A cloaked figure stood near the front door with a spear resting against its shoulder, and the only indication that it wasn’t a statue was the careful movement of the hooded gaze as it swept the area. The younger Sweetie continued to explain the intricacies of her plan, oblivious to the sentry casting the group of fillies a long glance before resuming his scan.

"Hmm," Sweetie nodded. "I can see you three have been practicing stealth! Well done! But we'll need to be extra careful this time. If Zecora is helping us out, then no doubt being seen by any spies could put the whole mission in jeopardy." She forced herself to remain serious. "So, where do we get in?"

“Through one of the windows in the side street! It leads to an office or something on the first floor, and from there we can sneak our way to Zecora’s room on the second,” Scootaloo explained with a smirk. “For all of the zebras that we see coming and going from this place, it is kinda empty inside.”

Sweetie Belle nodded again. "Well, it's a big building, maybe they meet in other areas of it, right? That makes our job a little easier. Let's go inside! I'll follow you."

The younger Sweetie nodded and as she led the quartet into the side street she had mentioned earlier. The window in question was partially open despite the winter chill in the air. It took next to no effort to slide the window open further to allow the Crusaders to enter the building silently. Just as Scootaloo said, the room in question was some form of office, complete with a pair of desks and stacks of scrolls waiting to be read or mailed.

Sweetie Belle tilted her head and blinked. There was a mug of tea still steaming left on one of the desks, and the room didn't feel like it had been cooling down despite the open window. The guard outside seemed too competent for there not to be more in the perimeter, checking for weak spots, and such an obvious entrance would have been detected immediately. She had a nagging feeling she knew what was going on, but, for now she'd roll with it. She made a show of looking around carefully, checking obvious and not so obvious hiding spots before saluting the other crusaders. "Room secure!" she whispered.

Applebloom assumed the lead as she crept up to the office door. After several long moments of listening, she cracked the door open and glanced through. With the hallway apparently empty, she pulled the door open wide enough to allow the Crusaders to slip through. The hallway itself was sparsely decorated aside from modest carpets and rather bland tapestries and, like the office, was completely deserted.

Sweetie slid out without making a sound, her eyes scanning the hallway carefully. One of the tapestries moved slightly, as if shifted by the wind, but there was obviously no space behind it for somepony—or zebra—to hide. Which left...

Sweetie made sure the crusaders were distracted before she looked up. Looking down, and trying to hide a smirk, she followed after them. "So... Zecora's room is close, right?" she whispered. "You girls think she had enough time to make what you need?"

The younger Sweetie replied with a shrug, “She said a couple of days to get what we would need, and it’s been a couple of days, so…”

"Gotcha," Sweetie said, falling in line after the fillies as they lead her confidently towards their objective. They would stop and peer around corners, or hide under tables before moving, drawing more attention to themselves than if they had been walking in the middle of the hallway dressed in Pinkie Pie's Elements of Harmony costumes. Of course, she followed suit and her sneaking was so over-the-top that she could almost feel eyes rolling at her and the crusader's antics. She did pause to wave, once.

Eventually, and taking three times longer than needed, the stood outside a wooden door, where the fillies had paused. "Is... is this it?" Sweetie asked.

“Who is that I hear, who comes from nowhere near?” A familiar voice asked from the opposite side of the door, and the door slowly opened to reveal a tired looking Zecora. The smile that had been on her face morphed into surprise as she caught sight of the older Sweetie. “I can scarcely believe what my eyes see, but you appear quite real to me. I sense that you have come very very far, elder Belle, and that you have quite an interesting story to tell.”

Sweetie grinned. "And a long one! But it's always good to see you, Zecora." She motioned at the crusaders. "My fellow crusaders said that you were preparing something for them?"

Zecora nodded sagely at the young fillies. "To bring down the organization's tower, you'll need items of Ultimate Power."

Scootaloo frowned. "But they don't have a tower!"

Sweetie patted her younger friend's head. "It's a metaphor, Scoots. You'll understand when you're older." She yelped when Scootaloo bucked her shoulder.

Zecora smiled and nodded as she stepped away from the door to allow the four to pile into her room. Despite it being in Canterlot rather than Everfree, Zecora’s room was similar enough that she would have guessed its owner even without the zebra being present. Ancient books could be found along the shelves that lined the walls, as well as bottles of ingredients and various other things that Sweetie could only guess the purpose of.

“Be careful how you use these gifts,” Zecora said as she led the quartet over to a table on one side of the room and pulled the cloth off to reveal its contents. “For they will allow the power to shift.”

Three small torcs rested on the table, each crafted out of wood and intricately carved by hoof, if Sweetie were to judge them. The first was most likely meant for Scootaloo, with a feathered wing design wrapping around the length of the torc and a wheel in the center. The second belonged to Apple Bloom, with elegant vine-and-leaf engraving that sprouted from an apple in the center. As for the last of the torcs…

Straight lines were carved along the entire surface of the torc, which intersected with other lines to create sharp corners and angles that drew the eyes of the observer to the center, where Sweetie couldn’t help but stare at an exact replica of her own cutie mark.

“Zecora, where did you get the idea for this design?” She asked, unable to tear her gaze away from the symbol that couldn’t have existed in this universe prior to her arrival.

“Symbols have power, we all know this to be true,” the zebra explained as she eyed the elder Sweetie. “Dreams and insight led me to the first two, but I suspect that the last came from you.”

Sweetie blinked. "But-that doesn't make sense!" She looked at the torc. "Not that my life ever does," she muttered. "How could you have even seen this one?"

"When I was lost in dreams, I told myself all is not that it seems," Zecora replied, shaking her head. "But it was not my voice alone that spoke, I saw myself step out almost like smoke."

"You mean that you saw yourself in that dream?"

Zecora nodded, turning to glance at a mirror. Her reflection looking right back at her just as intently. "We have secrets to share with spirits, and one such of me had similar merits. The other me was looking for a mare, and took a risk, very few dare." She looked back at the elder Sweetie Belle. "She said Sweetie had been lost in space, but she and others searched for her rightful place. Our conversation was short, but this image into my memory stuck."

Sweetie's eyes widened. "They're... they're searching for me?"

Zecora simply nodded, unable to add much more.

“This is AWESOME!” Scootaloo yelled, all thoughts of their ‘stealthy’ entrance apparently forgotten. None of the crusaders wasted a second as they lunged for their individual torcs and put them on just as quickly. “Thanks a whole lot, Zecora!”

“Yeah, thanks, Zecora!” Applebloom agreed as she looked down at the stylized vines and apple with a smile. “So how do we get them to work? Is there some kind of special pose we need to unlock the power!?”

“Poses are lame, I bet it’s a password!” the younger Sweetie said. “Like… Wonder Foals power… activate!”

“No no no, I’ve got a better one! By our powers combined, we are Captain Crusader!” Scootaloo added.

“Uhm… it’s morphing time?” Apple Bloom asked as much as said.

"For the powers of the amulets to understand," Zecora spoke up. "Much patience first you must command."

"What?" Scootaloo asked after a few moments.

"She means you have to understand them yourselves and that needs some patience and time," Sweetie Belle explained absent-minded. "Come on girls, we should try them out... out there."

As the fillies nodded and started parading out of the room, Sweetie's eyes rested on Zecora, shimmering a little bit. "They're looking for me?"

The Zebra smiled and nodded. "They are."

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie Belle spent the walk back to the Griffon Barracks in contemplative silence. She followed the motions of the other crusaders. Stopping when needed. Ducking when guards walked by. Sneaking behind humans who were all-too-aware of the crusaders and finally coming into view of their destination, where Alvar would take care of them.

Her mind, however, was in another place completely.

They know I'm alive, and they're looking for me! She thought to herself for at least the twelfth time. Could it be that they found out when the Crazy Twilight Fragment used that mirror to show me Rarity? She stopped, letting the crusaders walk in front, shaking her head. What if that wasn't the only time? What if they have been able to see what's happening to me? What if they have been trying to contact me and I haven't been able to hear them?

I always thought... I assumed they would've thought me dead. And then, just like that, there was evidence that they knew she was alive. That they had seen her cutie mark. That they were reaching out into the multiverse. Zecora had been with Rarity when they had seen each other through the mirror. Could Rarity also be dream-walking through time and space looking for her? Were they the only ones? Maybe... maybe the princesses were helping. Maybe the other elements. Spike. Applebloom. Scootaloo... maybe they all were trying... and she had never given a thought to them knowing.

What... what will Rarity say to me, if we meet like that? Will she recognize me? Sweetie thought, trying to sort her feelings out. She could almost hear Rarity speaking to her. She would say:

"Welcome back, Sweetie Belle!"

Her voice would be happy, and full of life, knowing her sister was okay and back safely.

"Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie blinked, her eyes focusing on Rarity, who stood next to the crusaders and a couple of guards, looking at her with some worry. "Are you alright, dear?"

"I-I..." Sweetie stammered. "Oh. Oh! Yes. I am, just... distracted."

Rarity held her sister’s gaze for another moment before accepting her at her word. “So, was Crusading just as fun as you remembered, dear?” she asked with a smile.

"It was," Sweetie chuckled. "Although..." she leaned in. "A proper crusade would have involved more damage. Maybe the palace on fire, or a Minotaur catapulted to bring down a spaceship with his horns."

Rarity offered a polite laugh at the explanation, but her gaze held more than a little trepidation. “Is that the wisdom of hindsight I hear in that evaluation, or were you always aware of the… collateral damage your crusades tend to inflict?”

Sweetie chuckled. "We never knew just how bad our ideas were until the inevitable happened." She smiled a little self-consciously. "Later on we started to think a bit more, but it was usually just one of us who grasped what a bad idea something was, while the other two would be caught up in the moment."

“Well, I certainly hope that spending some time with you will help my Sweetie gain some sense of control over the plans the Crusaders come up with,” Rarity said, before smiling impishly. “From what I understand, she’s toned things down significantly once the High Talon became a regular for their group. Oh, you should see how she hangs on his every word whenever he’s talking about tactics or some military something-or-other.”

“NO I DON’T!” The younger Sweetie objected reflexively. “Alvar’s super cool and he treats us like adults! And he’s brave! And he doesn’t call any of our plans stupid or anything like that either. And he’s… well…” she trailed off and increasingly looked as though she wanted to melt into the floor as Rarity’s grin grew.

"He is handsome," Sweetie Belle nodded, smiling at Rarity. "Such a nice, strong leader too!" She added, well aware that her counterpart was decidedly uncomfortable. "I heard he stood guard over a whole wing of the hospital... that's beyond honorable. It's downright noble. It's no wonder Sweetie here listens to him."

Throughout the entire conversation, the younger Sweetie had begun to blush rather severely and actively look for places to hide. Rarity, being the loving older sister that she was, went for the kill. “Come to think of it, you mentioned that you would be willing to do some wardrobe testing with me, correct?” she asked the elder Sweetie. “After all, we cannot allow my dear younger sister to look anything but fabulous for her wedding with royalty, hmm?”

Sweetie tapped her chin thoughtfully. "No, I don't think we can. That would be... the worst thing! No. This is a crime that must not occur. I shall definitely allow you to do the testing. She can't look anything but fabulous for his majesty. To do less would be... unforgivable."

“Both of you suck!” the younger Sweetie wailed as she turned and bolted in the opposite direction of the two mares.

"I think Sweetie needs a milkshake," Sweetie Belle said with a weak chuckle. "I hope we didn't go too far."

“Heavens, no. Applejack and I have been having such discussions when Sweetie’s been nearby for at least a week, and we’ve just scratched the surface.” Rarity said before nodding and leaning forward conspiratorially. “Truth be told, I think she likes it. If she didn’t, then her ‘crusading’ would have hit my personal apartments with the force not unlike a hurricane.”

"Oh, so you do know me that well," Sweetie teased, grinning. She shook her head and looked at her sister. "Thank you for letting me go crusade a little with them. It was... eye opening, to see how unaware we really are about so many things. But, you know, I will never wish we hadn't done all that."

“I suppose it is a rather rare opportunity, to relive one’s youth not only as an active participant, but as an outside observer,” Rarity mused as her gaze drifted to where the younger Sweetie had dashed off to. “Before we had met the Crusaders, I do believe you had mentioned some other ponies you had wanted to meet? I must confess that I do not how how long it would take to track them down, but we can certainly look for them.”

Sweetie nodded. "Well, I don't know how long I'll be around. Could be a couple of days. Could be a month. I'm sure we'll have time... but... how about Twilight? Everypony seems worried about her, but I haven't seen her at all."

Rarity’s expression slowly fell at the request, and several moments of silence passed between the two before she finally spoke. “Twilight is… she’s trying to cope with what has happened. If you want to see her, I can take you. Just… don’t be surprised if she isn’t in a condition to speak with you. Alright?”

Sweetie nodded. "I understand..." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking at Rarity in the eye. "I would like to see her... she was my mentor... there hasn't been one world where she hasn't been there for me, and I could do no less… even if I end up being no help at all."

Rarity gave a hesitant nod before turning down one of the castle corridors. An uncomfortable silence followed the pair for several minutes before the older unicorn spoke. “You probably are well aware of Twilight’s tendency for perfectionism. As I said, she’s taken recent events rather hard, and I think she’s trying to find out just where things went wrong.”

The pair stopped at a large doorway, where a black-armored stallion stood watch. Rarity gave a nod to the guard, who returned it. “This room is a memoratorium, and it allows the occupants to revisit their memories. If you want to speak with Twilight, you’ll need to go inside,” Rarity explained, before chewing on her lip. “If you see something in there that changes your mind about talking with Twilight, nopony would think less of you, Sweetie. Just… be prepared.”

Sweetie nodded. Hesitating at the door just for a second, and looking at Rarity. "She's strong. Every time. She'll pull through," she promised and then stepped into the room. The door closed behind her with a click, plunging the young mare into darkness.

You killed them.

The voice was stricken with anger, and accusation, and came from every direction. What was perhaps the most unsettling was that it undoubtedly belonged to Twilight.

You killed them all.

The darkness of the room was replaced with flashes, scenes of burning buildings and a trio of humans, man, woman and child, running down an alleyway. The clattering of claws on cement was the only warning Sweetie had as a nightmarish creature ran the man down and dismembered him. The woman screamed a denial which was cut short as the monster bolted from the first kill and tore her to pieces. Only the child remained, until the monster tackled it and repeated the process for the third time.

I’m so sorry...

The scene shifted abruptly to a room not unlike the one Sweetie had stayed in while she was on Earth. Doctor Vahlen and two other humans were in the room. The man near the door gave a comforting smile before pressing the button to open it, only for the monster from the first vision to pounce through the doorway and eviscerate him. The armored bulk of a Muton stepped through the doorway and levelled a weapon at the second human and reduced her to ash. Doctor Vahlen screamed a denial and charged, only to be backhanded into the wall-length mirror and crumple into a bloody heap.

You killed them all when you chose to do nothing.

I’m so sorry… I didn’t… I just…

A second voice answered the first, this one wracked with a palpable amount of guilt and despair.

Then you killed them all because you lost control.

I didn’t have any other choice!

Several scenes filled the darkness, flashing one after the other. The insect-like monster crushed in an alleyway. Waves of magic petrifying the alien monsters that Sweetie had seen back on Earth. An explosion in the night sky heralded the destruction of an alien airship. The steel-eyed gaze of a human shooting before being flung away. A second human slowly being mashed into paste with telekinesis while Twilight screamed her denials at what they had done.

You’re right, there is no choice. Killing is what you’re good at. Killing is all you’re good at. You just hadn’t realised it...

No…

The scene switched to reveal what appeared to be a hospital room of some kind, with a plethora of electronics and machinery present. A dozen doctors swarmed between the beds as medical alarms blared, but Twilight’s gaze was locked onto a single bed. Its occupant, a human woman with only one arm, twitched and trembled as the doctors swarmed around her, before going very still.

All you have to do is admit it. It’s your special talent, Twilight.

“I’m sorry!”

Sweetie’s ear twitched as the last denial didn’t come from whatever magic the room projected, but from the only other occupant in the room. She had missed it in the chaos of the room, but a figure sat in the center. Twilight stared up at the scenes around her, wrapped tightly in a blanket and with some form of stuffed toy in her hooves. With every scene change, she would wince and cringe, but she couldn’t look away.

Sweetie stepped through the memories until she reached Twilight's side. She sat down next to her and slowly wrapped her foreleg around Twilight. "Your voices... they're lying. That is not your special talent, Twilight."

The memories jumbled out of cohesion as Twilight turned her gaze towards Sweetie. Her eyes struggled to focus as the lights around the perimeter of the chamber slowly grew brighter. “You… you can’t be real. If you knew the truth you wouldn’t say that. You can’t be real,” Twilight said as she closed her eyes and hugged the doll in her forelegs tightly.

Sweetie shook her head, pressing Twilight in a tighter hug. "Of course I am, Twilight. And I'm telling you... that's not how it is, that's not who you are..." She waved a hoof at the now-empty room. "Those memories should show you that's not the truth. There's a difference between defending yourself and others and... and killing. I know. And I know you. You are punishing yourself for things you couldn't have controlled."

“But… but they’re all dead because of me!” Twilight nearly screamed. “If I had just been faster, or smarter, I could have saved everyone!”

Another, older Twilight's voice echoed in the room and illusion gave life to a more mature Twilight, still a unicorn, surrounded by her friends singing, of all things, a country song.

"Prestidigitation." A Twilight, younger—but closer in age to the Twilight cuddled next to her—said in a calm, motherly voice as she leaned forward a bit over the tome she had opened in front of her.

"P-pres... ti...di...gi...tation. Prestidgah!" A childish voice repeated. "I'll never get it right!"

"You will, Sweetie Belle, let me get you some tea."

Another version of Twilight appeared, staring in silent awe at the paper construct floating overhead. “Okay, I admit, this is better than looking at books to figure out how to turn mice into horses.”

“Yes, and even better, the pony that did this?” Sweetie's voice whispered. “She only took 4 hours to figure it out.”

The illusionary Twilight twitched and fainted. “Blueblood?” Sweetie called worriedly, “I think I broke her!”

A different Twilight appeared next. She was taller, regal even, exuding power and strange energies. She was also evidently drunk.

Sweetie's voice emanated from the emptiness around them. “You mean... you and my sister actually... you slept with her?”

“Well, not technically...” the illusory Twilight said, looking a little embarrassed, “I don’t think sleeping was actually involved. It was... more in the middle of a dance.”

Twilight stared up at the scenes as they played out around her, a look of empty confusion on her face. “What is all this? I don’t remember any of this.” Her attention came back to Sweetie. “Who are you? What are you?”

Sweetie grinned. "I'm your apprentice. Sweetie Belle."

The grief and misery in Twilight’s gaze lessened just a bit, and in its place was the familiar curiosity and hunger for knowledge that Sweetie was all too familiar with. This look continued for more than a minute, shifting from her self-depreciation to curiosity back and forth before she finally spoke again. “Time travel? No, that wouldn’t account for the memories, and they’re too detailed to be imagined. Dimensional travel? Operation of parallel worlds…” she muttered as her eyes drifted to the new images that surrounded her.

Sweetie was grinning now. "Well done! You have no idea how many times I have to explain to ponies I come from another dimension!" She chuckled. "But seriously, Twilight.. being here listening to that is not doing anypony any good."

As Sweetie spoke, the images of Twilight faded and flashes of moments sped by quickly: a large wolf-like creature about to attack a little colt was suddenly speared through with a spike of ice.

A huge cavern toppling over and around teenage Sweetie, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo as they fought a gigantic wyvern.

A ghoulish pony slamming with deadly force a little filly inside a protective suit of some sort against the wall; flashes in the dark and diamonds flying, gray fur, rapid breathing and blood.

Strangely colored changelings having an all-out battle with ponies in armor and in the middle of it Sweetie Belle battling against herself... the images continued for a few more seconds until they reached an empty hallway, huge and made of glassy black rock and yet somehow more foreboding and scarier than anything before.

Sweetie visibly shuddered and forced herself to stop thinking, chasing the images away just as a tall, bipedal figure started appearing on it.

Twilight’s eyes captured the scenes just as quickly as they appeared. She closed her eyes and seemed to shrink further into her blanket to try and escape them. “Why do these things happen? Did we do something to deserve this? Neither of us should have been forced to make these choices. We don’t deserve this, right?” The last question was pleading as Twilight looked up at Sweetie.

Sweetie shook her head. "You've told me yourself in other worlds, that sometimes we have to make a stand... we don't kill for pleasure, and if we find others that fight to defend themselves we can talk and solve things peacefully. The wolf-creatures were unable to do anything but kill. They destroyed families, hunted the innocent... killed just because somepony was there. We couldn't reason with them, even if they sometimes seemed to have the ability to think. If anything, when you found a smart one, you were fighting for your life even more desperately."

She sighed. "There's intelligences that don't care. They find amusement in our suffering because our sense of morality is as alien and as incomprehensible to them as their callousness and lack of empathy is alien to us."

Sweetie was quiet for a moment, hugging Twilight tightly. "Even if we were forced to only one option, if we didn't do anything, those we love would be gone due to our inaction. And I feel that, as long as we don't kill simply because we can, or because we simply wouldn't think of an alternative, we are not like them. And we still have hope."

Twilight quivered from the physical contact that Sweetie provided, before shrugging the blanket off and returning the hug with a fierce one of her own. She tried several times to speak, but couldn’t find the words. All she could do was return the hug with her forelegs and wings--

Wait, wings?

Sweetie blinked in confusion as the logical conclusion slowly dawned on her, but Twilight's hug was too desperate to pull back, even if she really wanted to see. Forcing her curiosity away for the moment, Sweetie leaned in, holding the other mare tight. This was not the time to freak out about Twilight being an alicorn.

Well.

At least not loudly.

There was, however, something that made her pause. The little doll Twilight had been holding. Sweetie blinked, and spoke up without even thinking about it. "Wait. Is that a little human doll?" She paused, thinking back to something Rarity had said to her. What had it been?

As Sweetie dredged her memories of the overheard conversation, the images in the room changed.

“Don’t deny me my vicarious romance!” Rarity snapped at Applejack, though there was no heat in her voice. “Besides, everypony seems to be developing a taste for the… exotic these days. Twilight rather adorably staked her claim, and Fluttershy has had a rather large number of heart-to-heart talks with that Victor gentleman. Apparently the humans don’t look favorably upon the concept of herds in a relationship, so I’m forced to get what I can where I can. Sweetie’s little romance is all I have now that Twilight took the latest Shining Hearts book right out of my hooves and hasn’t returned it.”

"Oh," Sweetie said. "So that's what she meant." She frowned. "Now that I think of it... it kinda looks like Matt."

“Wha-- no it doesn’t!” Twilight said hastily as she followed Sweetie’s gaze to the doll. “Why would you think it would look like Matt?” Before she had even finished her denials, the scenes in the room began to change again.

“Matt…?” Twilight’s voice asked, and the blurry figure of the human in question appeared. Unlike the scowling pillar of gloom and doom that Sweetie had encountered, he seemed concerned to the point of fear as he sat next to her bed. He wrung his hands as he waited for Twilight to speak. “Could you… scratch my ears, please?”

“No, stop it!” Twilight yelled at the room before turning back to Sweetie. “This isn’t what it looks like!”

His hands are so warm, and that feels so goo--

With no warning, Twilight teleported both of them out into the corridor outside of the chamber they had just been sitting in. Her face was red and she was breathing heavily. “You saw nothing in there, and if you say otherwise I’ll send you to the moon.” The lavender alicorn threatened, but her almost incandescent blush undermined her efforts.

Rarity and the guard both moved to approach the pair, but a quick look from Sweetie forced her to halt in place. She dithered for just a moment before turning to the guard and making enough small talk to divert his attention as well.

Sweetie considered the warning and gave Twilight a measuring glance. "So..." she teasingly said, grinning at how Twilight tensed. "Wings, huh? I think this is the first time I've seen you as an alicorn."

She chuckled when Twilight seemed to calm down a little and couldn't resist the offer. "Besides, you don't need to be embarrassed for liking someone, if you want we could talk about it..."

Twilight’s expression seemed to be three parts embarrassment, two parts denial, and one tiny part giddy hope at the idea. She opened her mouth several times to speak but either couldn’t decide which option to choose and simply elected to remain silent and follow. In Sweetie’s jaded opinion, it was a far better look than the tortured creature she had found in the memoratorium.

The pair had taken only a half dozen steps before Twilight froze, then teleported again. A second later she reappeared with her blanket and plushie firmly in tow. “Not a word,” the young alicorn again threatened.

Sweetie abided the instructions for as long as she could before she smirked. "Ah, to be young and in love."

"Hey!"

o.0.oo.0.o

It would have been an easy mistake to assume Twilight’s rooms were some form of storage space for the Canterlot library. Nearly every flat surface was covered in books, scrolls, or other assorted bits of paper. Subjects ranged from magical theory to history to etiquette. There was even a small stack of paperback books that appeared to be well-loved, judging by their bent spines and dog-eared pages.

Curious, Sweetie went over to take a look at them, levitating the one at the top of the pile, revealing a rather square-ish picture of a human boy. "Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone. Huh. Never read this one."

“It’s a human book that Charles gave to me while I was on Earth,” Twilight explained. “Before I ended up there, the humans had just folklore and legends about magic. The story is about a human boy who finds out that he’s the son of wizards, and learning how to use his gifts.” Twilight hopped up onto the sofa and carefully placed her blanket and plushie beside her before continuing. “I had been working on translating it into our language before all this happened here.”

"A kid gets taken out of the normal world and thrown out of his element, huh?" Sweetie asked, amused. "This sounds very familiar." She smiled at Twilight and looked around. "I like what you've done with the place, it reminds me of the Library.” She peered around the books. “Do you have a copy of Kinetic Fields: From the Simple to the Prismatic?"

Twilight’s expression went blank for just a moment before she turned to a specific stack of books. “The name sounds familiar…” the alicorn muttered to herself before producing a book and turning back to Sweetie. “It doesn’t look like I have that specific one. The closest I could find was A Guide to Shields: From Kinetic to Comprehensive. You’re free to browse it, since it might just be another quirk between worlds, right?”

Sweetie shrugged, sitting on the bed. "It's okay, I was just remembering. You know, that's the first book you pulled out for me to study from, and the first time I saw it I thought it was massive! I thought it would take me my whole life to get halfway through it!" She giggled. "I read it three times."

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I love this. The smell of books, the comfortable feel of book covers, the rustling of pages with a passing breeze... I miss it. I really miss being your student."

Twilight’s expression fell as the tone of the conversation turned. “You can’t go back to the past, no matter how much you want to,” she said as she pulled both the blanket and the stuffed toy closer to her.

Sweetie shook her head and opened her eyes. "Hey, cheer up, Twilight... let me tell you something: yes, we can't change the past, but... do you know how amazing the multiverse is?" Her eyes shone as she grinned. "I'm a bit nostalgic, true but, I've had so many opportunities to learn from you and many others... one day, when I figure out how to control all of this, I'm going to come back here and tell you how much more I've learn from you!"

A small smile crossed the alicorn’s face then, only for her eyes to widen. “Spells, that’s it! I don’t know if you’ll find it useful or not, but my friends on Earth--” Twilight froze mid-sentence and closed her eyes. She slowly took in a deep breath and let it out before continuing. “There’s a spell I made that I think could prove useful for you, Sweetie, if you ever need to go unnoticed. A friend… a very good friend was very good at it, and I think you can put it to good use, too.”

Sweetie's eyes widened. "A new spell! Yes! Yes,yes,yes,yes,yes!" She chanted, springing around Twilight like Pinkie Pie on a sugar-binge. "Yes!" She repeated, finally stopping in front of Twilight. "I love new spells!" She cleared her throat. "And then, you can use it when we sit down to talk about coltfriends."

Twilight’s immediate response was a telekinetic pillow-throw directly at Sweetie’s head. “You’re just like Rarity!”

Sweetie remained stoic as the pillow hit her face. "Maybe." She smirked and tossed her mane just like Fleur had taught her, before striking a pose. "But unlike... other Rarities, I don't read romance novels."

A flat look was all that Twilight could manage before pulling a blank piece of paper and a writing tool from the desk. Intricate lines were drawn in quick succession as she spoke, “I think Rarity was a bit… disillusioned by the Gala. Now she keeps pestering all of her friends about the details about our relationships and buying those stupid books.”

"You know," Sweetie said. "I know a universe where she married Blueblood." She tilted her head. "Although now that you mention it... I have heard rumors about a series of books about alicorns and humans..." She blinked and then slowly a smile spread on her face. "Oh. Oh I see. So I don't get to ask you about it, I need to read the book! That's brilliant, Twilight!"

“Absolutely not!” Twilight huffed. “And mom said the only way she would stop writing them is if there’s a royal decree. I can’t GIVE a royal decree without everypony asking why!”

"Human skin seems very sensitive," Sweetie mused, pretending not to hear Twilight. "I wonder... what do pinions feel like on it? Probably very nice... the slow caress of feathers, warm breath, soft fur... why, I bet that if you use your horn just rig—"

Twilight’s next projectile was the sheet of paper she had been writing on, and it struck Sweetie squarely in the face. “The spell’s name is Wallflower,” she explained forcefully, though her face was flushed a bit. “The underlying mechanics involve the inversion of the ‘Want-It, Need-It’ spell, where instead of attracting attention, it avoids it. I’m also not familiar with what types of spellcasting you were taught, such as alliteration invocation or aria self-hypnosis, so I drew the raw formulae for it. If you imagine channeling your magic in this specific pattern, you’ll get the desired effect. Just watch out, though. Only living creatures are affected by it.”

Sweetie took a glance at it and nodded. "This is a great spell, Twilight! Definitely more potent than a simple misdirection spell." She studied it a bit more. "And it appears to self-sustain for a good period of time too! I don't see additional variables to cast it on others... but... you should be able to make it work on non-living beings." She levitated another piece of paper and a pen, sitting next to Twilight. "Look, if we create a couple of nodes as long as the recipient of the spell is not moving, it would cast the illusion on all levels—even magical scans—that it's not there!"

Twilight watched closely as Sweetie laid out her ideas on the paper before she tilted her head. “It’s a clever work-around, but if we’re going this far with it, wouldn’t a simple invisibility spell be more effective with less complexity?” She gave a sheepish giggle. “To be honest, I had actually made up Wallflower on the spot to keep people out of danger. Full invisibility would have hampered them as much as their enemies, plus once it breaks, it’s done. As you mentioned, I’ve improved the formulae a bit to allow it to ‘refresh’ itself if the observer breaks eye contact with you. The humans have also had to find creative ways to spot magical camouflage like this.”

"Hmm..." Sweetie tapped her chin with a hoof. "Is that why you can't find a spot to hide with your humanfriend? How do you call it? It's not exactly coltfriend."

Twilight’s thoughtful expression once again switched to an embarrassed glare. “You’re not going to let that go, are you?” A sigh escaped her before she threw her hooves in the air. “Fine then, ask your questions, and remember that I can send you to the moon.”

Sweetie smiled sweetly. "Yes. And I have a picture of you as a belly-dancer that might make it to somepony in this world when you do. But we are not fond of threats, are we?" She grinned, then smiled more honestly. "Seriously though, Twilight... I don't want you to feel embarrassed. We can stop talking if you want, but I promise everything you tell me remains between us and I won't tell anyone about it. Pinkie Promise."

“If there’s any force even princesses fear, it’s the fallout of a broken Pinkie Promise,” Twilight said with a laugh.

"So, tell me a bit about why you like him," Sweetie said. "I've always wondered what type of... person, you would date. I never thought it would be a soldier."

A minute passed as Twilight mulled the question over. “Well, when I got to Earth, I was in a really bad place. I saw three people die right in front of me, then I had to take a life to save my own. One minute I’m in Ponyville with my friends and doing normal things, and the next I have blood on my hooves because I panicked. Matt was really sympathetic about what happened, which I suppose is understandable given what he went through. Then Lana told me that Matt thought I was cute, then we agreed to just be friends until everything calmed down, then the aliens attacked Equestria and the humans came to help, and Matt’s been really nice to me this whole time and I’m going to be quiet now.” Twilight’s rambling recollection of events halted abruptly as she wrapped herself in the blanket. By all appearances she seemed to be attempting to merge with the sofa with nothing but willpower.

Sweetie hugged Twilight, letting her calm down in her embrace. "It's okay, Twilight," she whispered. "You've gone through a lot, and the little bit of happiness you found had to be put on hold, but... I don't think you realize how brave you've been, and how strong you have been too." She shook her friend's shoulders lightly. "You probably don't feel that way, but you deserve some happiness, you really do."

“It’s not that I don’t think I deserve it, it’s just that I don’t really know what to do,” Twilight explained quickly, though she didn’t recoil from Sweetie’s hug. “There are some times where I think he forgets that I’m not human, and he’s a little jarred by it. Prior to Equestrians… and the aliens too I suppose, the humans were the only sapient life on their world, so I don’t know how I should really approach the topic with him. I’ve had plenty of chances to read into their history and less than a hundred years ago they had some seriously strict rules about relationships with other humans with a different skin tone! They’ve actually come a long way in the past-- Ugh, I’m deflecting again!”

Sweetie blinked. "Oh... I never even thought about that, but, if it's really an issue for him, I don't think he would forget you're not human. If their society was as hard on it as you read, I would expect him to be much more guarded than that." She sighed. "I don't know Twilight, it seems a bit difficult, but he's probably dealing with it too, and you running away might not be helping."

She rubbed her friend's back when she felt her tense. "I'm not saying you need to run in and declare your feelings to him, but, maybe you shouldn't run away. I saw him briefly, and he really looks like he needs somepony right now, and when you're there for him, wouldn't it make sense that he'll sort out his feelings about it too?"

“It’s not like I run away, exactly. When we’re together, he’s almost always relaxed and he seems happy, but he pulls back. Like when you are fumbling for something on your stove and a hoof gets too close to a burner, right?” Twilight explained, though her gaze fell as she continued. “I really shouldn’t be worrying about that now. We both lost a friend and with his current position, he doesn’t have anyone he can really confide in anymore. I should just try and be his friend, right?”

Sweetie bit her lip. "I'm not sure if that's all you should try, but I think he at least needs one right now. And if you were all close, it makes sense that you should be there for him." She noticed that Twilight was getting depressed again, so she dove in to keep her distracted. "Does he know you're... you know, interested?"

“W-well, I think so?” Twilight stammered before looking away guiltily. “I may have had Firecracker doing some surveillance on him and she says there’s something there. Lana was also giving me lots of encouragement, too. Plus, there was the time when one of the guards took issue with how we act around each other and… well, Matt said some really nice things.”

Sweetie tilted her head in confusion. "Wait. What did the guard say?"

“Well, he said that Matt should keep his distance and his hands to himself, because I’m a princess and such behavior isn’t proper from one who is ‘so far beneath my station’,” Twilight said flatly. “I almost stepped in right then and showed him just who was far beneath my station,” she added with a belligerent grumble.

Sweetie shook her head. "Twilight, I know I'm not a princess, but trust me. I've been around plenty of royalty and soldiers. So, I have some authority to say what I am going to say to you right now: You should have stepped in and put the miscreant in his place. He's a guard. And a random one at that, he's not your friend, not your confidant or a pony who should have an opinion on this, given your station and the diplomatic situation that could arise out of a comment like that. I sure hope he's not the head of your guards, and quite honestly, he needs a reminder of discipline, given that he spoke like that not only to a guest of yours, but also a commanding officer of higher rank than he is, who happens to be an ally in the military group that's helping to keep deadly enemies at bay." She sniffed disdainfully.

“Well, I was going to, but then Matt beat me to it and I may have frozen up while he was talking. I didn’t want to interrupt the moment, you know?” Twilight said with a small smile before she focused on the details. “At the time, Matt wasn’t in command, and the guard in question has been making a pest of himself lately now that I am thinking about it. I wonder if Shiny would let me switch him with a different guard.”

Sweetie shook her head. "That's one way of doing it, but you are a leader right now, and I think if this guard keeps giving the both of you trouble by being passive-aggressive, you should simply pull rank and get rid of him. Your relationship, whatever the stage, or whatever it will become, is none of his business, and it's unprofessional of him to butt into your life and it would do him good to remember his place from your own mouth." She took a deep breath. "Okay. I feel like you should take action, but I guess it's not my place to push you into it either. So just think about it, alright? Now, let's talk about something happier. When was the last time you had a chance to hang out with your friends?"

Twilight brought a hoof up to her chin. “Well, it’s been a while. A long while, really. With everything that’s been happening, plus ponies getting hurt, it’s been over a month at least.”

"Well, why don't we have a get-together, then?" Sweetie said. "Getting things sorted with Matt is not going to happen overnight, and I think you have plenty to think about with that, don't you? I did promise to play for Sweetie and the crusaders too."

“That sounds like a lot of fun,” Twilight nodded as she rose from her sitting position on the sofa and stretched. “Where to?”

A knock at the door and a voice preempted any response from Sweetie. “Twilight? Sweetie? Are you two in there?” Rarity asked from the hallway. “If you’re up for it, I’ve brought the others since they wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“Oh, uh, it should be unlocked!” Twilight shouted back as she tried to hop off of the sofa. Unfortunately, the blanket snagged one of her hooves and refused to let go, which sent her careening towards an unprepared Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie attempted to catch Twilight, only managing to wrap her forelegs around her as the pair rolled on the floor to land with a thump with her on her back, legs around Twilight, who had flared her wings to stop her fall, and their muzzles barely an inch from each other.

Rarity pushed the door open, stepping into the room with a smile. "Twilight! I hope that... that..." her eyes went wide and she took half a step back. "Twilight! That's my sister you're making out with! What will Matt think! This is the worst. Possible. Thing!"

The ponies behind her were knocked off their hooves when Rarity's couch forced its way through, just in time to catch her when she fainted.

Sweetie shook her head sadly. "Why does this keep happening to her?"

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie's bow slid through the strings back and forth, her head shaking with the momentum of the music, as if it were dictating her emotions half as much as she was playing them through the melancholic piece. It wasn't a slow melody, like most of her audience had expected, being fast paced and constantly evoking a sense of adventure, with little moments of calmer moments that somehow managed to build the expectation for when it would pick up again.

Finally, with a flourish of fast movements, she ended the song, and bowed.

Applause from everypony immediately filled the void left by Sweetie’s music, and what the sound lacked in numbers it made up for in enthusiasm. “Simply marvelous!” Rarity said above the din, and the other Element Bearers nodded in agreement. “What was the name of that piece, Sweetie?”

Sweetie Belle grinned. "Ode to the Empress of the Moon."

“I do hope my Sweetie outgrows all of this crusading and picks up the cello. If she puts half as much effort into that as she does with her plans for property damage, she would be a prodigy!” Rarity exclaimed happily.

Applejack chuckled before adding, “I wonder if I could get Apple Bloom and Scoots to do the same. Though some supervision might be good. We don’t need a repeat of their last concert, I think.”

Sweetie pouted. "Aww, you didn't like our concert? We even won best comedy act!"

“That might have been impressive, if that was what you and the girls were aiming for,” Applejack added flatly, before giving Sweetie an evaluating eye. “How long did you say you were going to be here? I think you’re probably going to be the only pony that those three actually listen to.”

Sweetie shrugged. "I'm... not sure. I spent about two weeks with the changelings and about two years with Blueblood. There's no... magical artifact to take me home, this time, so it's really out of my hooves." She gave Applejack a wary look. "But while I will admit little Sweetie, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom playing instruments together properly would be adorable, you should know better than thinking I'd be able to sway them."

“I think you’re selling yourself a bit short,” Fluttershy said, and she cringed slightly when all eyes locked onto her. “I haven’t seen you around the Crusaders yet, but I think they could learn a lot from you. I don’t mean to offend… but… I think that you’re ‘cool’ enough to be a role model for them. You’re also responsible enough to give them proper guidance. I’m afraid Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash don’t have that mix of traits and I think I’ll be quiet now.”

“Aww, yeah, I’m cool!” the chromatic pegasus cheered, before the second part of Fluttershy’s comment caught up with her. “Wait a minute, I can be responsible! Like, totally amazingly responsible! I’d responsibly show Scootaloo how to do an Immelmann turn out of a maximum speed dive to lose somepony who’s chasing her, for instance!”

Twilight’s brow furrowed as she opened her mouth to speak, but her question was immediately overridden by Dash. “Because it’s the coolest way to lose pursuit, that’s why!” Her enthusiasm was apparently lost on the others, which caused the pegasus to grumble and drop the subject.

"That sounds... extreme," Sweetie ventured. "And something she'd need a few years to master if we don't want her to break her wings or worse... Scootaloo really looks up to you. Here and in every world I've set hoof on. You have to be careful what you say to that filly, you're not just her hero, you're her role-model."

“What Fluttershy said makes sense, I must admit. I don’t know if I like being lumped into the drab, responsible ponies category, though,” Rarity said with a huff and a glance at Applejack.

The earth pony caught the glance and her face scrunched up like she had just bitten into something sour. “The orchard isn’t going to work itself, and I suppose it isn’t glamorous to get my hooves dirty doing real work.” The snipe at Rarity faltered halfway as Applejack let out a sigh. “The orchard is going to need a lot of work once this alien business is settled. Granny Smith is right, the trees can be replanted and the farm rebuilt… but it’s not going to be easy. I don’t think anypony’s even been out there since we had to leave last month.”

"Oh, I wouldn't say any of you are boring," Sweetie said, looking at the pair confidently. "You're just too close, and too familiar. I bet Apple Bloom would listen to Rarity more than she would listen to Applejack, and Sweetie Belle would pay more attention to Applejack too." She smiled at Fluttershy. "One of the few lessons that got through my head was from the sleepover we had at your house, Fluttershy."

“That’s a really good idea,” Twilight observed with a nod. “Having a bit of contrast in the ponies who watch them might be a good experience for them. They could also learn a bit about the responsibilities you both have.” The alicorn looked to Rarity and Applejack, who both nodded.

“Oh, oh! Me too!” Rainbow Dash added eagerly, and when she was met with a distinct lack of eye contact, she threw her hooves up. “Oh come on! Immelmann! Split S! Displacement rolls! I can teach them a lot!”

“I’m sure you can, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy finally offered to placate her friend, who simply resumed grumbling.

Sweetie nodded at Fluttershy. "Well, whatever you can each teach them, I'm sure that being with you girls is as important as finding their talent, and more so than me attempting to get them interested in music. We don't even know if they'll like what I play."

A knock at the door halted any further conversation, and the Element Bearers all shared a grin when they heard the voices of the fillies in question on the other side. What was a bit of a surprise was Firecracker’s voice as well. “Cutie Mark Crusaders prison gang, reporting for transfer,” she said with an official air through the door.

“We’re not prisoners!” “We haven’t done anything wrong!” “And that wall was totally broken when we got there!”

Twilight let out a small giggle before she spoke, “The door is open, and you can remand the suspects into our custody for the moment.”

The door opened and the trio of fillies sprinted into the room while Firecracker remained out in the hallway. “I’m glad you seem to be feeling better, Princess. If you need anything, please just let us know,” she offered before closing the door behind her.

Sweetie grinned. "Hi girls! Want to sit down and listen to something cool?"

All three fillies gaped at the musical instruments, but the younger Sweetie was clearly enraptured with them. “Was that you playing earlier? We were listening through the door bu--” the unicorn filly’s explanation ended abruptly as Scootaloo and Applebloom both planted an elbow into her barrel. “Er… I mean, the music was carrying down the hallway and we couldn’t help but hear it. It was really good!”

"I had very good teachers!" Sweetie said with a bit of a blush. "I hope you like the next one!"

Sweetie swayed with the music. It was very different from her previous piece, much more energetic, with almost wave-like sounds that went high and low and high again almost in time with her sways, the bridges in the melody were almost playful and seemed to draw the three fillies in. With a final swinging move she slid the bow creating a long, higher note that faded as she took a deep breath and bowed.

The roar of applause assaulted Sweetie’s ears like a tidal wave, forcing her to wince and cover her ears. She cracked one eye open to see just how her modest audience could be producing so much noise, only to see that everypony was frozen in place. Time itself had stopped.

“Bravo! Bravo!” a familiar voice said from behind Sweetie. She whirled around to see Discord clapping wildly and with a large grin on his face. “Simply unparalleled in its composition and execution!” he added as he stepped forward. He stopped his applause and brought his arms to rest behind his back, and the roaring sounds of approval halted immediately afterward. “I had no idea what to expect when you arrived here, Sweetie Belle, and I must say I am not disappointed.”

"Discord?!" Sweetie gasped, scrambling back. "How... why?" She fell to all fours, levitating her cello onto the table and adopting a fighting stance. "How did you get free? And what do you mean not what you expected? Did you know I was going to be here?"

Discord’s smile remained in place as he ‘tsked’ about her questions. “Now, now, Sweetie Belle, didn’t Twilight teach you anything about storytelling? You’re asking questions about the end of the story, when you really should be asking about how we got here. So, spoiler free answers! Planning, self-explanatory, and yes.” The avatar of chaos paused and let out a hacking cough, and what appeared to be a mangled barstool flew out of his mouth. Without missing a beat, he righted the damaged furniture and sat down in front of Sweetie. “Now, I’m afraid you’re going to have to ask the right questions going forward, or I won’t be able to help you.”

"Should I destroy you by turning you into crystal or make you into a sandwich?"

Discord’s eyebrow rose so high from the threat that it detached from his forehead. “Well now, she said you would be confrontational, but I didn’t expect that. I’ll go with… sandwich! I’m thinking… a jelly sandwich. With a side of Ambrosia. I expect it to be fit for royalty!”

Sweetie grumbled and glared at him. "You know I can't actually turn you into a sandwich. It'd give ponies a stomach ache." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm down... Then she snapped them open. "Wait. what type of sandwich did you say?" Her eyebrow twitched. "Oh. I see. Ha. Ha. That was you! Do you have any idea how badly I freaked out with that little stunt?!"

“Significantly less than when Twilight woke up with wings, if memory serves. Poor dear fainted on the spot once she saw them,” Discord replied, before waving his hands. “Besides, what’s a little discomfort and body alteration in the face of near certain death when surrounded by changelings, right?”

"I had to feed—mouth-to-mouth—a bunch of grubs!” Sweetie screeched in a fairly similar tone of voice to Rarity.

“The alternative would have been being fed into the mouth of one of those icky meat eaters, you realise?” Discord grinned as though such a fate were no more inconvenient than a bout with the cutie pox. Then, just as suddenly, his expression lost all of its good cheer. “You aren’t asking the right questions, Sweetie dear. The right question would be…”

"Bacon is tasty and it's meat," Sweetie muttered before she glared up at him. "Alright, I'll bite. How did you know I was going to arrive to this world? And who told you I was going to be confrontational?"

“Your first question is kinda answered by your second, but I’ll forgive that one. Though I will not forgive your threats and lack of follow-through. I have been threatened with just about every fate you can imagine, and I was rather looking forward to being a sandwich. Change of pace and all that,” Discord muttered before he perked up. “As for the who, that will require a bit of a story…”

SNAP

Discord’s digits heralded a change in their surroundings. The scene around them cracked like a pane of glass and fell away to reveal a pitch black void. “There are many theories about how reality came to be, from an all-powerful deity while another theory is that reality is merely the accumulation of flotsam and jetsam of other realities and possibilities that tried and failed to be.”

A series of lights appeared behind Discord, and slowly approached as he continued. “Truth be told, I do not know where and how this reality came to exist, but I do know about the architects of its maintenance. They were not gods, for they held no moral authority beyond the fact that none could rival their powers to challenge them, and they brought… order to reality.” The lights coalesced into the familiar and comforting shapes of the princesses.

“The alicorns?” Sweetie asked as much as stated.

“Alicorns? What, no, they looked nothing like--” Discord started before he turned around and scratched his chin. “Ah, I see. That’s what they look like to you? Tell me, which one is Celestia?” When Sweetie pointed a hoof at the one in the center, the avatar of chaos giggled and produced what appeared to be a permanent marker, and drew and exquisite moustache and unibrow on the solar diarch. “Now, where was I? Ah, the architects.

“The architects were known by many names over the countless aeons that they existed. The Architects, like I mentioned. Then there was the Travellers, the Old Ancient Ones, the Deep Ones, the Others, the Ethereals, the Wanderers, the dusty old meddlers who should mind their own business… but I digress! As I said, they brought order to this reality. Matter and energy were collected to create stars and planets, and when their mastery was great enough, they began to create life. Everything served its purpose in maintaining the order, and anything that did not serve that purpose was converted or eliminated.” Behind Discord, mindless drones plodded about like ants to operate planet-sized machines, followed by images of a few planets much like Equestria being snuffed out in an instant.

Just as quickly as the scenes appeared, they vanished and plunged the pair into darkness again. “This continued for millions of years, until one of the architects found something that shouldn’t… couldn’t exist.” Discord held out a paw, and the familiar shape of a Twilight shard appeared there. “It was a piece of a creature born separate from the order of the Architects, a creature of great power. The existence of such a creature was utterly alien to the Architects, who knew in their very souls that without their order and maintenance of the universe, it would fall into chaos and ruin. No creature could develop so… and yet, there she was."

"That's one of Twilight's fragments!" Sweetie gasped, looking at the projection in Discord's paw in awe. "But... if what you're saying is true that would have been billions of years ago! Just how far in time and space did I send her?!"

“That’s the start of this little story, not the end.” Discord smiled and the image of the shard disappeared. “The Architect that found the shard knew that he should report the anomaly, that he should erase it from the fabric of reality as an affront to everything that he and his brothers had made… but it made him dreadfully curious. And so he spoke to the shard, and the shard spoke back. It explained to him about its life in a little world called Equestria, in a little town called Ponyville, and of a concept that was as utterly alien to the Architect as the shard itself: Harmony. Not the black and white scale of order and chaos, but of a balance, and what can be achieved from it.

“It was then that the Architect decided to conduct an… experiment. On a little world far from the attention of his brethren, he decided to ‘unhook’ the creatures there from the system that controlled them all.” The surrounding darkness was filled with another world filled with the same drones that Sweetie had seen before, though one had stopped its work to look upwards to the sky. Time zoomed by as the immaculate structures and cities began to evolve in an almost organic manner. Art began to appear, change and disappear, as well as more creative and elaborate architecture. And then it simply vanished in a ball of fire.

Sweetie gasped in shock, eyes looking up to Discord for an explanation. He had yet to move from his sitting position but the look in his usually manic eyes was terrifying.

“It was only a matter of time that his brethren found out about the ‘malfunctioning’ world, and the systems there were purged to preserve the integrity of the larger whole,” he explained, the jovial tone gone from his voice. “After thousands of years of watching a race of people living and growing into their own brilliance without so much as a single ounce of anyone else’s power or control, they were snuffed out because they didn’t conform. It was then that the Architect realised the truth. What he and his brothers had been doing was denying each and every individual, countless trillions, the chance to live and grow on their own. It was pure order, and it was an evil on a scale that this universe has never known since.”

Discord again opened his palm to reveal the image of the shard. He looked down at it as he continued, “It was then that he struck a deal with the shard. It would lend power to the architect to seal away his brothers and their tyranny. It was a battle that had seen the universe torn asunder, but in the end, they triumphed over the other architects and sealed them within a dead world. Now all they can do is whisper sweet nothings through the broken debris of their once mighty empire.”

"So, what happened to this Architect?" Sweetie asked. "And what was his side of the deal with Twilight's fragment?"

“Those, my dear Sweetie Belle, are the right questions.” Discord’s grin grew far too wide for his face to handle, but when Sweetie blinked, it was back to normal. “His part of the deal was to watch, and wait. The shard told the architect many things about the filly who was collecting bread crumbs across an entire string of realities. The shard said that she needed to rest, be with family, and have a place to relax after all the years she would be searching. The shard made the Architect promise to provide all of these things as best he could, and to show her all the things she would need to know. She would need to be prepared for what lies ahead.”

Sweetie stared at Discord for a few moments, while her eyes widened slowly until they got as wide as they could be. "YOU?! You were the Architect?! And you made a deal with Twilight's Fragment to take care of me? Are you the one responsible for me jumping around without fragments to collect?"

As the realisation struck the mare, Discord broke down into giggles as he shivered. “Do you have any idea how good it feels to share a secret that I’ve kept for billions of years? BILLIONS! And everything she said came true! Vindication!” His little episode passed and he straightened again. “As powerful as I am, and as much as I would love to take credit for everything, I’m afraid I can’t. As part of our agreement, the shard has helped me reach across the realities that exist to provide assistance when we could.”

Sweetie groaned. "Why is it that I can't get drunk anymore? This whole mess demands passing out while telling my friends I love them repeatedly." She shook her head. "Is there a chance you could simply help me put Twilight back together and send us both home?"

The manic look on Discord’s face slowly resolved into sympathy. “I’m afraid that I cannot help you with that, Sweetie. When I realised the evils that my brothers were perpetrating, I swore that I would never deprive individuals of a challenge that I know they can overcome.” He held up a claw to hold off any interruption. “I may make meddling a hobby for the moment, and I may even empower a pawn or two when it’s needed, but I cannot do this for you. It isn’t just my own oaths that prevent this. Twilight also made me promise to not interfere.” He let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Plus, my power isn’t quite what it used to be. The reserves that Twilight lent to me are almost gone.”

Sweetie sighed, shaking her head. "I guess there's a reason I saw myself getting out of the lake in Bon Bon's world before starting this part of the journey." Her shoulders sagged and she looked up at him tiredly. "I know the implication is that you think I can overcome this, Discord, but I'm so tired of all of it. I just want the journey to end in a positive note."

“As much as I’d like to say this will all end in sunshine and rainbows, I can’t,” Discord said solemnly, before grinning again. “That would be spoilers! For now, you should take this time and rest. Cause rampant property damage with your friends! Talk about colts with Rarity and Twilight some more. I’m sure those pesky aliens will be around sometime soon if you need a workout!”

Sweetie chuckled and smiled at him. "You know, I think the other me was right: you're not really that bad at all. I never thought I'd say this, but... it's been very nice to finally meet you, Discord."

All of the crazy expressions on Discord’s face disappeared before he looked away. “I think that’s the first time anyone has ever told me that. I wonder if she knew you’d say it… Anywho!” In a flash, the manic look was back on his face. “Twilight did want me to give you a little hint to help you going forward, though. ‘The key for progress is learning your lessons; beware when you wade through the Vortex towards the Lighthouse.’”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“Not my problem!” Discord snarked as he snapped his fingers. All the scenes that Discord had shared, as well as the avatar of chaos himself, were replaced by Twilight’s room and the ponies she was familiar with.

“AWESOME!” the Cutie Mark Crusaders screamed in unison, while the elder mares all grinned and clopped their hooves together in approval.

Sweetie staggered back, surprised at the sudden outburst. "W-oh! Yes! Thank you, thank you very much!" She grinned at the crusaders. "So, would you girls like to learn the basics of playing? If we get you some instruments, I can show you a little of what I know, although I am still learning."

“Sweetie, I know that modesty is a virtue, but I think you’re close to mastering your instrument as a skill,” Twilight said, and Rarity nodded eagerly. “I’ll see if there’s any instruments we could borrow from the schools in the capital.”

"Thank you, Twilight," Sweetie said, smiling a bit at the compliment. "I think we crusaders will have some fun playing." She looked around the room. "How about another song?" She asked, levitating her cello.

o.0.oo.0.o

Mente Materia Pt. 3

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

Mente Materia Pt. 3

By Wanderer D & Arad

Based on the story: Mente Materia

Special thanks to my editors: Lammy, Magical Trevor, Masked Ferret, Nick & SuperBigMac

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie made her way out of her room, all cleaned up, but still yawning. She closed the door behind her with a sigh. "Ugh, by Chrysalis' slimy cocoon, I hope there's some hot coffee ready for me!" she muttered. "Or maybe I'll have time to go to Joe's or something... provided it hasn't been destroyed."

She started walking down the hall, trying to think about how her day would go. "First on the agenda: check on Twilight. I wonder how long it had been since she last slept?" She shook her head, making her way through the palace with a casualness that alarmed some of the servant ponies and guards and raised many an eyebrow. For all intents and purposes, she acted like she owned the place, or at least had lived there for a long time... and none of them recognized her at all, except for the few guards that might have seen her playing with the CMC.

She turned right, instead of left. A habit she had developed while she and Twilight had lived under Nightmare Moon's protection and had plenty of private breakfasts in the kitchens, where they would not be interrupted. "Muffins," she said aloud. "Muffins and... is bacon legal here? Ugh. I have to check, otherwise I'll have to do with my pancakes alone. Hm. Maybe stuff them with bananas and berries?"

“Excuse me, miss?” A familiar voice asked from somewhere to her left. A quick glance revealed Shining Armor weaving his way between a small herd of ponies heading in the opposite direction. He made his way to Sweetie’s side and favored her with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I hope you don’t mind some company for breakfast. I’m assuming that’s where you’re heading?”

Sweetie smiled and nodded, motioning for him to follow. "Always a pleasure, Captain... or can I call you Shining Armor? I was wondering if we'd talk at all."

She led Shining Armor to the kitchens, where she quickly set up a small table. "I'm going have a small breakfast before taking some to Twilight... I think she really needs her sleep."

“You may call me by my name if you prefer… and I had actually been meaning to thank you for your intervention with Twilight,” Shining said. He cast a curious eye at Sweetie as she prepared an eating area without the help of the castle staff before he continued, “My sister… she has very strongly held convictions, and I don’t fault her for them. I think that if none of this had happened, she would have turned into somepony brilliant. Now, I’m afraid she’s going to break under the weight of those convictions and the reality we live in.”

"Shining, I know you worry about her, and you should; she's your sister, after all. But I promise you she's stronger than that. It's... difficult for her to understand why we need to do some things we do…" Sweetie trailed off, thinking back on her previous experiences, the changelings, the Beast's mindless minions, and, well, in this case aliens. "You have to believe in her; it's not something that will break her. It's better that she thinks there's always another way, even if she has to come to accept our decisions too. That way she'll always be herself, and she will remain that brilliant somepony we both care about."

“Thank you, for that. It seems like everypony’s better with words than me,” Shining laughed as he took his seat at the table. “Show me an enemy to fight or an area to defend and I’ll work miracles. I know that this is one battle that Twilight will have to fight for herself, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be frustrated that I can’t fight it for her.”

Sweetie chuckled, mixing the ingredients together. "In a way you are," she said. "You and the others are taking the difficult decisions that save lives, and Twilight is slowly dealing with the fact that it's necessary." She sighed and started making the pancakes. "She's just afraid of seeing those she loves hurt. I think she understands, but she doesn't want to admit that these invaders are simply so... uncaring."

The stallion gave a tired nod at the explanation. “In the guard, we’re taught that as much as we would like to redeem every threat that comes to our lands, there are some that won’t. There are some that can’t. Ideally, banishment or Tartarus is employed. But I’m starting to get the impression that you are all too aware that ‘ideal’ rarely happens as much as we want it to.” His tone dropped as he affixed Sweetie with a stare. “Even as we’ve been talking, you’re always careful to maintain proper balance for sudden movement. I was trained in the more traditional style of combat but I vaguely recognize the hoofwork. There was a mare in the guard that I trained under who had a similar style.” Shining’s expression stretched into a grin. “She hammered me with those hooves enough times for me to at least be cautious about it.”

Sweetie smiled, serving up the pancakes and levitating the honey out of its cabinet. "I am sad to say that you're correct," she said with a self-deprecating shrug. "I'm always measuring opponents. Always on guard. I wish I could go back to being an innocent filly that would never think these kind of things, but at the same time... I think I just want to make sure other fillies don't have to go through this kind of thing." She took a deep breath. "That's why I want Twilight to understand, just a little, that what we do is not something we do lightly."

“I don’t know if I can agree with you there. If I could, I would rather keep her someplace safe where she never has to worry about anything like this again,” Shining said as the grin fell from his face. “She’s a princess in a time of war, though, so that’s just not possible anymore. All I can do now is keep her as safe as I can.”

Sweetie nodded. "How much do you know about me?"

This time, Shining looked sheepish. “Firecracker turned in her report to me the moment she returned from Earth. While I haven’t had a chance to speak with the Element Bearers, I know they all hold a favorable opinion of you. I suspect there’s far more to the story than what I’ve been told, though.”

Sweetie nodded, pondering Shining Armor as she chewed slowly on a piece of pancake. Eventually, she swallowed and nodded. "Let's just say that I'm familiar with a lot of possibilities... where Twilight has grown in many different ways."

She considered her words before speaking up again. "Twilight is always a leader. Even when she doesn't feel like one, she has that ability and charisma to inspire ponies. Your sister here is made of that same stuff that creates legends. I see and accept your need to protect her, but she is strong and she doesn't need to hide away or be hidden, princess or not."

Sweetie took a deep breath. "I know it took exceptional circumstances for her to come out of that room, but with you and a few others, I'm confident that she won't ever need to do that again... if you are there to give her strength."

“Against any other challenge, I would agree, but…” Shining’s words seemed to stick in his throat. “Did… did Firecracker tell you about Cadance?”

Sweetie shook her head.

“She’s gone, Sweetie. She was going home to the Crystal Empire, and she intervened to save innocent ponies fleeing a fight.” Shining looked down at the table as he chose his words carefully. “The aliens know the significance of the alicorns, Sweetie. When they first attacked Canterlot, both Twilight and Princess Celestia were targeted, and during the second attack a half dozen assassins went after Princess Luna. When Cadance entered the fight, every one of those monsters left to pursue her. If they’re given a chance, they might try something to get at Twilight. I understand the point that you’re trying to make, that she’s got a meaningful destiny ahead of her. But before she was Celestia’s student or an Element Bearer or a princess, she was my little sister. I can’t lose her to these things the way I lost Cadance.”

Sweetie placed her hoof on top of Shining's, keeping the comforting hoof there for a few moments, trying to think of what to say, or if she should say anything at all. In the end she could only offer him a reassuring half-smile. "I'm very sorry, Shining, and I promise you, I'll never, ever, tell you to not protect your sister. She's a very important pony to a lot of us as well, and I believe I can speak for the others when I say that we will never think less of you for putting her safety above everything else."

"After losing Cadance… the thought of losing Twilight again and this time for real terrifies me," Shining confessed. "Twilight is smart and powerful, but she's not a warrior… she's seen horrible things, done horrible things, but…"

"I'll do my best to aid you while I'm here, I promise. And the first step we need to take, is to make her realize that defending herself is not something she should hesitate about. That is what I want her to see. That her life matters too much to all of us. That as noble as thoughts of peace are, as commendable wishing that we could simply stop it all is... that it is our responsibility, yours, mine and hers as well, to ensure our survival and that of those we love."

The stallion let out a helpless chuckle. “I get the point you’re making. I just wish Twily would stop ditching her guard. Every time I see her without an escort, I feel like I’m getting an ulcer.”

Sweetie giggled. "Maybe you should change the guard. Twilight doesn't appear very comfortable with him, and from what she's told me... let's just say I'd chew him out if he was under my command."

Shining arched an eyebrow and opened his mouth to speak, but his attention was diverted by an earth pony in guard armor rushing into the kitchen. The guard skidded to a halt beside the captain and whispered a string of messages too quietly and quickly for Sweetie to follow before sprinting back out of the kitchen. “I’m afraid duty calls. We’ll have to continue this discussion later. Thanks again for doing what you can for Twilight,” he said as he rose from his seat and trotted to the door.

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie used her magic to levitate a covered, silver tray, a jar of juice, two large pots of coffee, one with a black cap and one with a red cap, along with two cups and a container full of cookies as she made her way through the hallway towards Twilight's room.

Her thoughts were not on food though, since Shining's revelation weighed heavily on her. 'So Cadance is gone?' she shuddered. 'I can't imagine what Shining is going through. 'I can't believe I even talked to him like I did, but what was I supposed to do? I can't simply bring back those memories, can I?' She sighed. 'And here I am talking like I know what the hay I'm about to the captain of the guard, when I'm just as lost as he is, or even more. I just hope Twilight pulls through. Shining needs her even more than I could've guessed.'

She stopped in front of a young guard, who stood in front of Twilight's room with an intense look on his face.

"I'm here to see Twilight," Sweetie said with a smile. "I've brought her a much needed breakfast."

The guard, a tan coated pegasus with a blue mane, gave Sweetie and the food containers a doubtful expression before stepping aside to let her pass. “Captain Armor stated that you would be delivering breakfast. Princess Twilight is still asleep. If she does not wish to see you, then you will leave,” he stated firmly.

Sweetie blinked. "Well, if she asked for five more minutes I think I'd get the message with or without your assistance, good sir." She smirked. "Now if you'll excuse me," she walked past him, rolling her eyes when she noticed him staring at her.

She closed the door gently behind her and snorted. "Amateur," she muttered. "Didn't even check what was under the tray. Or if the coffee was really coffee. Where does Shining get these guys?"

Sweetie quickly and silently pulled a table to her side, setting down the food and drinks, as she approached Twilight's bed. "Aww, she looks so innocent sleeping like that," she giggled before summoning a bucket full of icy water. "But, Bon Bon always said, nothing like an unexpected bath of frozen water to wake up!"

One of Twilight’s eyes cracked open and locked onto Sweetie. “Did you close the door behind you?” She whispered.

"Hm." Sweetie lowered the bucket. "Yes, I did. That guard is useless. Why did you hire him? Also, I did not actually intend to empty the bucket on you." She cleared her throat and looked away. "I promise."

“I didn’t hire that guard. Shining did. He’s apparently good at something because Shiny wouldn’t assign him to me otherwise,” Twilight stretched as she abandoned her sleep ruse. “If we weren’t at war, I would think that he was being assigned to me as some kind of revenge or a prank. I was pretending to sleep in so that he wouldn’t bug me.” She cast one skeptical eye towards the bucket near Sweetie before rolling her eyes.

Sweetie giggled. "Well, never mind him. I brought you breakfast! I made berries and banana pancakes, some orange juice and I brought coffee for both of us!" She stepped back, dismissing the bucket to let Twilight slide out of bed. "How are you feeling this morning?"

“A bit better. Actually sleeping in my bed for more than a few hours certainly helped,” Twilight answered, though her eyes were almost instantly locked onto the pot of coffee that Sweetie had brought in. “I’m also starving.”

"Well then," Sweetie spoke up, her magic uncovering the food, "go right ahead! I'll serve up the coffee! Do you want cream and sugar in it? Or are you more of an Octavia and you're going to drink it straight?"

“Black’s fine,” Twilight said, still unable to tear her eyes from the coffee pot. “You know, they apparently banned coffee in the office while I was on Earth. I never did find out why…”

Sweetie grinned. "Oh, I bet I know why. But, this time around I'm here to share the caffeine high with you. You'll see, when we wake up tomorrow, Equestria will be made of Lapiz Lazuli and the sky will chant odes to joy." She chuckled. "That, or you'll have to discover decaf." She proceeded to pour some coffee from the pot with a red cap on it. "Here you go."

Twilight accepted the cup eagerly but didn’t immediately drink. The cup rested in her hooves and she took a long sniff of the steam before taking a small sip. “It feels good to have a nice warm drink during the winter. I’m actually a little surprised the wild weather hasn’t been worse than it has.”

Sweetie shrugged, pouring some sugar and cream into her mug before filling it to the brim with coffee from the black-capped pot. "I guess it's not going to be ideal weather for a little while, but nature takes care of itself."

“I suppose that’s true, though I really don’t envy the weather teams going forward. They’re going to have to get everything back under control once things are safe again,” Twilight said as she took a longer sip before setting the cup down to start on her breakfast. “It was actually quite a shock when I found out that no one controls the weather on Earth. What was even more surprising is that their planet orbits the sun!” A rather large book emerged from the piles near the bed and floated over to Sweetie. “There was a human named Johannes Kepler who had some amazing theories about how such a system can work, though it boggles the mind as to how Earth managed to stay in the habitable zone around the star long enough for life to develop without somepony controlling everything like Celestia.”

"Hmm," Sweetie flipped the pages of the book, looking intently inside before taking a sip of her coffee. "So... luck, basically." She grinned at Twilight. "And eat your breakfast! I made it special for you!"

“Insane amounts of luck!” Twilight agreed before stuffing her face with some pancakes. She tried to keep speaking several times only for the food to impede her. She realised her predicament and chewed mechanically before draining her mug of coffee to wash it down. “If I didn’t know better, I would say that Earth was almost designed to host life. Most of the major religions on Earth state that a being of immense power created the world, though they all kinda start to disagree on what happens after that.”

Sweetie coughed into her coffee. "Oh... do they? Ahehehe. I-I wonder where they got this idea?" She cleared her throat and sipped more coffee, trying to not look guilty. "I imagine a lot of it is wishful thinking, of course."

Twilight wolfed down another mouthful of pancakes. “There’s times where it seems that way. Wishful thinking I mean. Ancient humans needed a way to explain how the world worked around them, and they didn’t have ability to study it scientifically for a very long time.” A small grin crossed Twilight’s face as she motioned for her coffee mug to be refilled. “When I first told them about Princess Celestia and Discord, they thought that was my religion.”

"You don't say?" Sweetie laughed nervously. "Well, I mean, from their perspective, the idea is ludicrous. They didn't even know magic was real until recently. Much less that entities such as them could even exist."

Twilight nodded in agreement. “Exactly! It also seems a little lonely for them. You or I can talk to Princess Celestia anytime we need to if we have a problem, but they don’t have anyone like that.”

Sweetie shrugged. "Well, they have us now, right? They know they're not alone and that there's more to the universe than they or us knew. That counts for something, don't you think?"

“Yes! There’s always something new to learn and new people to meet!” Twilight agreed before draining her coffee cup. She set it down on the bedside table and gave Sweetie a searching look. “Thank you for the breakfast, but I suspect you’re here for more than that. Did you need me for something today?”

"Well, I did come to check on you and see how you were doing, and also, I was wondering if you'd like to do anything today? I've spent some time with the others, but since you're my best friend interdimensionally-speaking, I thought maybe we could do something fun today and just relax."

“That sounds really nice, Sweetie. I haven’t really had much of a schedule over the past week, so I really don’t have anything but free time to spend,” Twilight said with a smile. “What did you have in mind?”

"I dunno," Sweetie shrugged. "Visit Ponyville? Hang out with the others? I don't know how busy they are..." She sighed. "Ah nevermind. Rarity told me the town got messed up by aliens, but she didn't elaborate." She paused then looked up at Twilight. "How bad was it?"

Twilight’s expression drooped somewhat at the question. “I don’t know to be honest. When the attack happened there, I was still in the castle recovering.” She perked up a moment later as she continued, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go see. There are some books at the library that I would love to bring back here for safekeeping.”

Sweetie pondered that. "Is it a safe zone? You think Shining would be okay with us going?"

“From what I understand, the aliens don’t attack places where there isn’t anypony, and the town was evacuated more than a month ago,” Twilight explained as she brought a hoof up to her chin in thought. “Of course, Shiny’s willing to let me go with just a lecture if I ditch my guard here in Canterlot. He’d probably chain me to that stupid stallion if I left without some sort of escort.”

"The guy outside?" Sweetie sighed. "Look, I might have an idea. Let me talk to Shining Armor, maybe we can get somepony else to escort us."

o.0.oo.0.o

“Well, girls, I’ve got some good news and some bad news, then hopefully more good news,” Firecracker said as she trotted up to Sweetie and Twilight. “Which would you like first?”

Sweetie shared a look with Twilight. "The bad?"

“While I am pleased to report that Captain Armor has refrained from attaching a platoon of Earth Veterans to your little trip, I’m afraid he isn’t satisfied with me being your only escort,” Firecracker explained, and she casually flicked one ear towards the guard stallion that had been stationed in front of Twilight’s room. Firecracker caught the reactions of the two mares, so she leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Captain Armor has also empowered me to evaluate this escort’s performance, as an independent third party has stated that he might not be… appropriate for this position.”

Sweetie sighed, but nodded. "Well, between all four of us we should be able to contain any problem that might arise... I take it you're in command?" She stated more than asked. "It makes sense, you know my abilities from Earth right?"

“Assuming nothing out of the ordinary occurs, Flash and I will just be your shadows. If there is any sign of recent activity, then I’ll assume command and get us back here as soon as possible,” Firecracker explained before giving an apologetic look to Twilight. “I apologize in advance if I have to cut your trip short, Princess. As for you, Sweetie, I understand you’ve got some sort of hybridized quickstep elemental fighting style and a crystal telekinetic blade?”

"Among other tricks, but yes, that would be my dueling style," Sweetie replied nodding. "I'm not designed to bulldoze my way through enemies." She gave Twilight a reassuring smile. "Not that we'll need to. If there's any danger we'll get out before anyp—anyone gets hurt."

Firecracker nodded before turning towards one of the side rooms. “As confident as I am that this will all go smoothly, the Everfree incident has taught me the value of being prepared. I’ll be back in just a few moments once I get my armor and weapons.” She cast a sideways look at Flash before looking back and whispering, “I’ll try and hurry.” With that, she trotted through the doorway and out of sight.

"So Twilight," Sweetie asked, once Firecracker was gone. "I have to ask. Did... did Rarity ensorcell you into wearing her designs?"

“You mean this?” Twilight asked, indicating the black dress and cloak she was wearing. “Rarity did make this for me, but I asked her to. With it being winter and the wild weather, it’s a little chilly outside.” She then looked away with a blush. “Plus there are some cultural concerns with some of the new people here in the capital.”

Sweetie blinked, then started smiling. "Oh? Is that so? Is it because you'd feel... naked without them?" Sweetie sighed and posed dramatically, raising a hoof to her head and leaning back in abject distress. "The thought of them thinking you're a perv... because they're afraid to show some skin. The horror!"

“Noone thought that while I was on Earth!” Twilight said perhaps too hastily. “And I’m wearing these now as a personal choice to make them more comfortable around me. That’s it!”

Sweetie's smile was predatory. "Really? I didn't think they were uncomfortable around me and everypony else seems to be fine with it, are you sure that's why? Maybe you're self conscious, Twilight. You need to show off that body of yours! How else is you-know-who going to notice it?"

“You would be self conscious if you knew what I knew! And I don’t want anyone to notice anything! Why would you think that?!” the other mare blurted out in a rush.

Sweetie gave her a deadpan look. "Twilight. Are you really trying to deny that you have somepony in mind you'd like very much to feel comfortable around?" She grinned like a maddened cat. "Even... au naturel?"

As much as Sweetie would have liked to bask in Twilight’s sputtering responses, the conversation between the mares was interrupted when Flash interrupted with a glare. “It is not proper to speak to the princess in such a manner,” he snapped.

Sweetie blinked. "Oh, don't worry, I wasn't talking about you."

Any further sniping between the two was halted as Firecracker trotted right through the middle of the group. Unlike Flash’s gold guard armor, Firecracker’s suit was made up of black plates over a black undersuit, and a pair of goggles hid her eyes. The only other equipment on the disguised changeling was what appeared to be a bag of coins at her flank. While her expression was hard to read accurately with her eyes hidden, there was no way that her grin was clearly forced. “So sorry for making you all wait!” she said hastily. “How about we get started now!”

"Sounds good to me!" Sweetie grinned. "Ready, Twilight?"

“Yes!” Twilight answered quickly before muttering, “The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can ditch the baggage.”

o.0.oo.0.o

“Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time before the wild weather decided to cut loose,” Firecracker said as she glanced over the railing of the chariot. Ominous clouds loomed in the sky, and snow was already beginning to fall to the ground. She shivered and ducked back down behind the railing before turning her goggled gaze to Sweetie. “I should probably apologize for not getting you a cloak, Sweetie. Are you going to be alright in this weather?”

Sweetie nodded, a warm glow surrounding her body for a second before fading. "I'll be fine, I cast a warming spell Blue—my brother taught me." She glanced at the others. "Are you guys going to be okay? I could cast it on you, Firecracker."

Twilight shook her head, and Firecracker merely grinned. “I’ve gotten quite good at altering the physical characteristics without changing my appearance,” the changeling explained. “The weather isn’t doing a thing to me at the moment. Though I wish I could say the same for Flash up front…”

Sweetie nodded. "Hey! Flash Sentry! Would you like me to cast a warming spell on you? It's getting cold!"

“I’m fine, ma’am. We should be arriving shortly!” the pegasus guard pulling the chariot shouted against the wind. “The wind will make things rough going down, so I recommend you secure yourselves!”

Just as predicted, the chariot began to shake as it descended. The three mares wrapped a leg around the railing and looked out over the remains of Ponyville. About half of the buildings were untouched, but a significant portion showed signs of fire damage, and more than a few of those were burned down to the foundation. What stood out the most, though, was the wreckage of alien ships scattered throughout the town and around the perimeter.

“Corporal! I counted one extra ship more than what was reported as destroyed during the attack here. Has there been recent activity?” Firecracker said, her jovial tone no longer present as she stared out over the devastation.

“Weather teams reported a ship participating in the attack on Canterlot was winged and went down in this area,” Flash replied. His volume had lowered as the lower altitude had taken them out of the wind. “A scout wing was sent to investigate the day after the attack and saw no movement from surviving crew. Nopony has looked into the wreck yet to confirm but it’s been marked as secure for now.”

The faux unicorn continued to stare out into the countryside before turning to the two mares beside her. “I don’t like surprises like this, but if there were any survivors from the crash, they would have moved into the countryside by now looking for targets. I want you both to keep your ears up and your eyes open for anything out of the ordinary, and for the love of love, don’t wander off. Understood?”

Sweetie nodded. "We'll be careful. I'm pretty good at keeping unnoticed and noticing discrepancies. I'll signal you if I notice anything."

Firecracker nodded before looking out over the railing again. “Excellent. Five seconds to landing.” A few moments passed, and the chariot touched down with a light bump on the outskirts of Ponyville. Firecracker hopped out of the chariot first and slowly scanned the area. Apparently satisfied with her findings, she turned back towards the chariot. “We’re clear. Corporal, I want you in the air on overwatch. If you see anything out of the ordinary, send a message,” Firecracker ordered, and she tapped the earpiece built into her goggles.

“And if I spot enemies?” the stallion asked.

“Observe and report. If there are enemies here, we shouldn’t engage without reinforcements,” Firecracker explained.

“Understood,” Flash said as he freed himself from the chariot harness. He spread his wings and shot into the air without another word.

Once the stallion was high enough in the sky, Firecracker turned to the others. “Well, now that the ‘baggage’ is out of the way, where did you two want to go?”

Sweetie glanced around, wincing at the damage. "I think Twilight wanted to get some of her books back, right? We could go there, and I could check on the Boutique on the way. Maybe there's something salvageable there that I could take to Rarity."

Twilight nodded as she hopped out of the chariot. The light coat of snow crunched beneath her hooves as she turned and offered a hoof to help Sweetie down. “That sounds like the best course. Are you sure that’s the only place you want to go?”

Sweetie winced as she looked around the buildings. "Yeah, I... I was in Ponyville just a few months ago, you know? Not mine but... identical to this one. What happened here is just horrible. Let's get those things and go."

A sad smile crossed Twilight’s features before she looked over Sweetie’s shoulder. “Firecracker, where did you get THAT?”

“Cargo compartment on the side of the chariot,” the changeling explained as she flipped a spear up onto her shoulder. “Like I said earlier, I don’t want to get caught unprepared out here,” she explained before tilting her head towards the two mares. “Why are you staring at me? I don’t know this town. I’ll follow you two.”

Sweetie glanced toward Twilight, and when the alicorn shrugged, she turned and began walking into the ruins of Ponyville. The silence of the town was surreal given how still and quiet everything was. The only thing that could be heard was the hooves of the three mares as they weaved in between the buildings in the direction of the library. Odd snow-covered lumps could be seen occasionally littering the avenues, and Sweetie at first didn’t recognize them until they passed nearby one.

They were the snow-covered bodies of Mutons in varying states of destruction and decay.

“Keep your eyes up, and keep your mind on those books you want, Princess,” Firecracker said quietly as Twilight realised the truth a moment after Sweetie. “The sooner we find what we need, the sooner we can return to Canterlot and forget about what we’ve seen here.”

The dead mutons brought back memories of the Hedge to Sweetie and being a prisoner of the Beast. At least the cold was keeping the smell contained. "Yeah, let's... just go. We don't need to linger here." She looked around, noticing the Carousel Boutique up ahead. "Let's go see if we can get anything for Rarity first."

Twilight didn’t seem to hear the two as she gave a wide-eyed stare at the closest of the corpses. She snapped out of whatever was holding her in place just as quickly. “R-right. Let’s check out the boutique,” she said firmly, and her walk became a trot towards the building in question.

The Carousel Boutique appeared to have been mostly spared from the onslaught that had struck Ponyville. A small pattern of burn marks could be seen along the rooftop and one of the walls, but was otherwise unmarred from the fighting. The door opened easily to allow the trio inside, though Firecracker stayed near the door.

Sweetie scanned the room quickly, making sure they were alone. The boutique felt empty and cold. There were pieces of cloth and gems scattered on the floor and a few mannequins had toppled over, but other than that, it was in pretty good condition. Sweetie slowly made her way through the place, trying to figure out what she could take for her sister, until she reached the closet. Slowly she opened the door and gazed inside, her eyes setting down on an item she hadn't expected, but had been hoping, to see.

"I think I found what I want to take back to Rarity," Sweetie said, turning with a smile and levitating behind her a ball. "This should be fine."

“What’s that?” Twilight asked.

"Rarity's ball," Sweetie explained. "It's... oddly enough a constant through the multiverse so far. It was given to her by our father when she didn't know what her cutie mark would be, and she gave it to me." She smiled a bit sadly. "It wasn't that important to me the first time around. I learned how much it meant much later."

“Oh,” Twilight said as she studied the ball. “I suppose when you’re travelling like you are, you have to pay attention to little details that are the same. If it’s a constant… do you think it might be somehow tied the logic that sends you from one world to the next?”

Sweetie chuckled. "No... I think it was just a significant gesture that is so simple and honest it affects the lives of all Sweeties to a greater or lesser extent. There are many things that are similar in all worlds I've visited, after all. Any of those could be a force that affects my travels, if we go by that logic."

“I suppose that’s true. When you put it that way, you could probably argue just as strongly that you and Rarity are also links.” Twilight said before bringing up one hoof to her chin. “Have you ever come across a world where we weren’t there? Not… there but passed on, but never existed in the first place?” That hungry look that was so typical of Twilight appeared. “Interdimensional travel and the parallel world theory was science fiction before you came here, Sweetie. Oh, I have so many questions…”

Firecracker’s polite cough from the doorway halted the interrogation in its tracks. “I think that conversation might be best saved for later. Did you need anything else here or did you want to look around some more, Sweetie?”

Sweetie put the ball into a saddle bag, and shook her head. "I think that's it... Rarity seems to have grabbed as much as she could take with her. But this might help her and Sweetie keep close." She smiled at Twilight. "Do you want to go to your library? We can talk about the other worlds later on, if you want."

“You’re right. We should probably hurry. It looks like that storm is getting worse by the minute,” Twilight agreed as she cast a look out the window. The small snowflakes had grown in size, and the only thing that would be needed for a blizzard would be harsh wind.

Firecracker led the way out of the boutique and after a quick scan she gave the all clear signal. From there, Twilight led the trio almost on autopilot through the avenues in the direction of the library. Several detours had to be made as the damage became far more severe in the surrounding buildings. Despite this, Twilight would not be deterred.

“The library should be just around-- no…” Twilight breathed, and she fell back onto her rump in shock.

The Golden Oak library appeared to be at the center of the devastation that had struck the town. The massive tree wasn’t much more than a burned out husk, with the second story completely gone and the walls around the first floor being little more than burned splinters and broken wood.

Sweetie winced. "Oh no, this is horrible!" She bit her lip, looking at Twilight. "Do you still want to go in?"

Twilight didn’t respond immediately other than to take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. She rose to her hooves and said, “Yes, I have to. I don’t want to leave without at least seeing if there’s something I can salvage.” The alicorn took another breath to steady her nerves before leading the trio towards the wreckage of her home.

The doorway to the library was missing, a pile of shattered wood lying in its place. The trio picked their way past the debris to find books strewn about. Most were totally destroyed either by whatever had demolished the library, the fire from the catastrophe, or the weather that had happened since. Twilight seemed on the verge of tears as she began to pull some of the destroyed books from the rubble and snow.

Wincing, Sweetie hugged Twilight, keeping her wrapped in her forelegs while the elder mare shook without fully bursting into tears. "Come on, Twily, let's get moving. We can still look around before heading back."

Sweetie and Twilight separated and made their way to the ruined bookshelves, but the froze when Firecracker gave a hissed warning. The disguised changeling cast a quick glance at the others and lowered herself below the level of the destroyed library walls. Sweetie and Twilight followed suit, and they stayed put as Firecracker crept up to a small crack in the wall.

Dragging steps could be heard crunching through the snow, followed by labored breathing as something passed near the ruined library. Firecracker readied her spear but kept it low as she crept along interior wall, but she froze when the sounds of movement stopped. Seconds stretched into minutes as everyone held their positions. Sweetie held her breath as she dared to peek through a crack in the wall.

A muton in black armor stood on the road outside the library, its back turned towards the three hidden equestrians. Even from a distance, Sweetie could easily see that the armor and its wearer had seen better days. Parts of the armor plating had been bent or torn away, and stains of dried blood could be seen leaking from some of the damaged sections. A small thrill of horror entered Sweetie as the muton began to turn in their direction, revealing a horrendous gash in its chestplate that had apparently gone deeply into its torso. It continued to turn, and it managed to make one staggering step away from the ruined library before Flash Sentry attacked.

The pegasus connected squarely with the upper back on the muton, sending it face-first into the snow. A hoof-blade extended from his right hoof and descended into the base of the muton’s neck twice in rapid succession. When the muton didn’t stir, the guard hopped off of the corpse and trotted to the library’s ruined front door.

“What are you doing, corporal? Your orders were for overwatch, not to attack enemies that haven’t seen us yet!” Firecracker hissed as she emerged from cover. “Get back up in the air and signal Canterlot! If there’s one survivor here, there could be more!”

“There aren’t any others from what I could see from the--”

“I don’t care if you can see next week’s lotto numbers and the end to the Helping Hands series from up there!” Firecracker interrupted. “Follow your orders!”

Crack!

Any further discussion between the two soldiers died away due to the sharp sound that came from the muton’s corpse. The body twitched as the armor began to bend and warp. One of the rends in the armor began to break even further as an insect-like pincer forced itself out. A second pincer appeared shortly after, and the sounds of twisting metal and tearing flesh filled the deserted town’s streets.

It could only be described as a monster. It stood on two legs, but that was where the similarities to both the humans and mutons ended. Alien gore stained its black carapace shell, and bulging red muscles could be seen in the joints of its body. The two pincers at the ends of its arms raked themselves across the monsters face to wipe away the blood and flesh from its host as it turned to the ponies. Beady eyes locked on to them, and a wide lipless mouth gave its face the appearance of a child drawing an almost comical grin. And then it moved.

By the time Flash Sentry had spread his wings to try and get airborne, the monster had already crossed half the distance between them. By the time he had flapped his wings once, it had closed to less than two body lengths. Its claws opened wide to grab the pegasus before he could escape, but a flash of gold shot straight as an arrow and pierced its left eye. A second and a third followed immediately after, burying themselves completely in the creature’s skull. It stumbled and crashed into the wrecked lumber of the library. It righted itself for another charge, only for Akela to pierce its other eye and bury itself as far as possible. The momentum of the crystal weapon snapped its neck back at an impossible angle, and the monster fell to the ground thrashing before it finally settled.

“Sentry, get in the air NOW!” Firecracker roared, a nimbus of gold coins hovering around her like a halo. “Contact command for priority mission at this location. New Chrysalid strain that does not discriminate with its targets. Containment and fire teams need to get here now!”

“Yes sir!” the pegasus said as he tore his eyes away from the still twitching corpse to take to the skies.

Akela flew out of the Chrysalis' corpse, twirled in place to get clean and flew into its pocket dimension, just as Sweetie turned to Twilight. "We need to get to the chariot, Twilight."

Twilight, if she even heard the words, didn’t respond as she stared at the broken monster laying in the ruins of her library. It took Sweetie tapping her with a hoof to get her attention. “R-right. Right,” she stammered, and she fell in behind the other mares as they galloped out of the library.

"How dangerous are these chrysalids you're talking about?" Sweetie asked Firecracker as they galloped. "Are those the ones that multiply really quickly? I didn't really pay much attention when they told me about them!"

“Chrysalids were introduced to Everfree in early November. Within two days, everything inside the forest was dead or converted into a hive for more of them! Princess Luna ordered the forest burned to save the rest of the planet!” Firecracker shouted. “These Chrysalids are something new, so I--” The explanation was interrupted as a shout from Twilight pulled their attention upwards Several objects flew through the air at them from one of the side streets on the other side of the buildings.. Firecracker skidded to a halt in the snow, just barely missing a collision with a wooden door, a lamppost… and parts of the chariot they had arrived in. Firecracker made an abrupt turn into an alleyway and into the shadow of one of the larger buildings. The bombardment of debris ended with their course correction, giving the trio a moment to breathe.

“How many more of those things are out there?” Sweetie asked as she wrapped a hoof around a trembling Twilight.

“There can’t be more than a hooffull, perhaps two or three at most. Our air patrols would have spotted the buildup if there were more,” Firecracker explained in a harsh whisper as she looked at the wreckage in the street. “If the chariot is gone, then we should hide until reinforcements… wait.”

The changeling’s train of thought trailed off as she craned her neck and twitched an ear. She rose up into a combat stance as a second Chrysalid burst from the storefront to their left. Its blindingly fast charge was met with a surgically precise stream of gold coins that severed one of its legs at the knee, followed by a spear thrust into its neck. Rather than stay to dispatch the creature, Firecracker shoved it aside, spear and all before continuing her sprint. “Don’t stop running!”

"I don't think stopping crossed our minds! Twilight, we need to teleport Firecracker and Flash Sentry away!" Sweetie shouted. "Can you do it? I can lend you the energy, but I've never teleported more than myself!"

Twilight’s response was lost as the trio rounded a corner and came face to face with the creature that had been bombarding them. It was similar to the previous two that they had encountered, but was head and shoulders taller. Burn marks and healed cracks criss-crossed its carapace, and the thick town hall door in its claws came up to intercept the hail of gold coins that had shot towards it. In the blink of an eye, it had closed the distance to Firecracker, and one massive claw scooped the changeling up as though she weighed nothing.

Firecracker cried out in pain as her armor began to crack under the pressure, and the only thing that saved her from death was Flash Sentry’s diving strike. The stallion let out a battle cry that distracted the chrysalid, though his attack was thwarted when the monster swatted him out of the sky with the door it carried. He collided hard with one of the buildings lining the street. He tried to rise, but was promptly hammered as the chrysalid flung the door at the dazed pegasus.

The beady eyes swept back to Sweetie and Twilight, and it hurled the wounded Firecracker at the former before charging at the latter. The armored changeling collided with Sweetie and knocked them both off of their hooves. The monster closed within five body lengths, then three, then one…

“STAY AWAY!”

A wall of kinetic force struck the chrysalid and sent it tumbling down the street. It was quick to recover its footing, but a second wave of kinetic force came crashing down, forcing it to the ground. It rose and took a single step before the weight doubled, then tripled, pinning it in place.

“Fluttershy was right, wasn’t she?” Twilight asked, her voice hollow as she stared at the Chrysalid. “There really isn’t anything in you, is there? No creature with wants or needs. No person with a life to live. You’re not even a monster, since they have families and a place in the world.” The alicorn’s eyes were wide and contracted, and her horn flared as a small pinprick of pure magical energy appeared beside her. “You and your kind c-can’t be reasoned with. You’re never going to feel the magic of friendship; you simply don’t have the capacity to. I’m sorry it took me so long to realise that, because a lot of my people might be alive if I had figured that out sooner. I pity you for what you can never have. I realise now that if I want my friends to be safe, I’ll have to end you.”

The pinprick of light began to grow to almost blinding brilliance before it lanced out and struck the Chrysalid squarely in the forehead. It screamed and thrashed as the beam of magic cut through the carapace cleanly, bisecting the alien from head to hip. The magic holding the chrysalid in place lifted, and Twilight fell back on her flank to stare at the steaming and twitching corpse.

Sweetie carefully settled a groaning Firecracker next to her and rushed forward, holding Twilight in a hug, pressing her friend and mentor close. "Twilight. Twilight, you did good." She rested her head on Twilight's shoulder. "You saved us."

“I had to do it. It would have killed others if I hadn’t. I had no choice,” Twilight whispered to herself as much as to Sweetie. She didn’t acknowledge the embrace, choosing instead to continue staring down at the corpse she had made.

"Twilight, look at me," Sweetie said firmly, pulling back and waving a hoof in front of her friend until she forced her eyes away from the corpse and locked eyes with Sweetie. "You didn't have a choice if you wanted those you loved to live. It was not sentient; it's more like a biological machine. Don't punish yourself for saving our lives and yours."

Twilight’s muttering stopped and she returned Sweetie’s embrace. Anything else that the pair might have said was lost to the clattering of chitin as the wounded Chrysalid they had left behind crawled out of the alleyway they had just left. Not even the loss of a leg or the broken spear in its neck gave it pause as it clawed its way towards them.

A flash of purple light blinded the mares, and they were no longer alone with the monster. Beowulf was easily identified by his red armor, and a gout of flame lanced out from his left arm to immolate the Chrysalid. Several more flashes surrounded them, and the snowy streets of Ponyville were filled with white-armored humans and ponies. Pegasi quickly took to the sky alongside griffons and spread out. Unicorns summoned orbs of fire and moved out into the streets. Only a hooffull of soldiers and guards stayed behind, and among them was one that Sweetie didn’t immediately recognize as he approached.

“Twilight!” the human shouted as he nearly ran to the mares. “Twilight, are you injured? Are you alright?” The gold-tinted glass helmet turned towards Sweetie and his tone became much harsher. “Was she injured!?”

“Matt?” Twilight asked weakly, and her stunned expression was broken by a choked sob. “I’m fine, I wasn’t hurt. The others…”

The helmeted gaze turned back towards Twilight, and Matt knelt beside her. He reached out with his right hand and gave the alicorn a small pat on the shoulder. “You’re safe now. We’re going to get you back home, alright? I’ll be back soon.” He waited for Twilight to nod before standing and pointing his weapon into the wreckage of the town. “Command, this is Harris. Confirmed Twilight and her escorts…” The helmet turned towards Firecracker as she limped to join the group and a dazed Flash Sentry that the soldiers were helping out from under the door. “Twilight and her escorts are alive but we have injuries. Authorizing teleport extraction for four at my location, medics will be needed for receiving.”

Matt vanished into the streets along with another pack of soldiers as a pair of unicorns took flanking positions around Sweetie, Twilight, Firecracker and Flash Sentry. A burst of magic engulfed the quartet, replacing the war-torn Ponyville with one of the larger balconies in Canterlot.

A herd of medics converged on the quartet and helped Firecracker onto a stretcher before rushing off to medical. Sweetie and Twilight followed in the stretcher’s wake, but they had to stop as the Element Bearers (sans Pinkie Pie) all swarmed around Twilight. They all offered soothing words and warm embraces to the still shocked alicorn.

It was a moment between close friends that Sweetie couldn’t share, but that was alright. There was another pony she needed to have words with, and the stallion in question was within her reach.

"I don't know what your problem really is," she said, sitting next to Flash Sentry and giving him a glare. "But you almost got Firecracker and yourself killed." She narrowed her eyes. "Let me be clear to you, Corporal, you do not dictate how a Princess chooses to spend her time with her friends. You do not dictate who she chooses to like or love and you sure as hell are supposed to follow your orders instead of trying to show off to a group of ponies that would not be impressed by that stunt."

She shook her head. "Ever since I got Twilight out of her self-imposed reclusion, all I have heard of you is how you like to get in her way and overstep your bounds. And this time, she could have died. That muton zombie was not even aware that we were there. Had you not attacked, we could have simply snuck away. I don't know what is in store for you, but at this rate, you're going to get yourself killed, and worse, you'll get others killed."

Flash turned to glare at Sweetie but stopped when the doctor inspecting the gash on his head hissed in protest. “I’ll take your opinions under advisement, miss. But until such time as you acquire a rank in my military that is greater than mine, I will also value it for what it is. An opinion and nothing else.”

Sweetie stood up next to Flash and glared down at him. "I have seen more combat than you have by a far margin, Corporal.. You might not acknowledge my rank, but your superiors all do." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, visibly forcing herself to calm down before she leaned down and her face became a grimace. "Look, I'm sorry. All of that doesn't matter and I'm really not trying to turn this into a contest. The point is that this is not a game, Flash. You'll get in trouble if you don't change! Not just for yourself, but everypony else!" she insisted.

“Are you finished, dear?” The pegasus said condescendingly, and this time he did turn to stare straight at Sweetie. The doctor treating him had long fled, and he hadn’t bothered to stop him. “It’s an amazing thing to claim such titles and accolades when you have very little to back up your word. I don’t know what exactly you claim to be, and to be honest I don’t care. If you were half of what you claimed, then surely you’d have been on Earth with the volunteers. Where’s your black armor then?” He sneered as he continued, “You’re just a little mare playing at friends to a princess. You’ve had your fifteen minutes of fame alongside greatness, and now it’s time for you and that pesky human to become a footnote in her story. You really have no standing to question anything I do.”

“Do I have such standing, corporal?”

Flash’s head whipped around so fast that his neck cracked. He jumped up and stood at attention with respectable speed, but Sweetie couldn’t help but notice the slightest tremble in his hind legs. I can’t say that I blame him, Sweetie thought, as she couldn’t meet Shining Armor’s gaze as he towered over the corporal.

What was perhaps the most disturbing thing about Shining Armor’s anger was how little was actually shown. His stance was at attention but not taut, and his expression was completely neutral. His eyes were the telltale sign, though. They surveyed Flash Sentry with a calm detachment not unlike a dragon gazing down at some impudent snack that had the gall to interrupt his nap. “It has recently come to my attention that you may have been causing some discomfort to Princess Twilight. I had first thought it was merely displeasure at the inconvenience of having a guard, or perhaps some discomfort at having a stallion being ordered to follow her around. My little sister has always been a little awkward in situations like that.”

Flash remained at attention and staring straight forward, and the muscles around his jaw clenched and unclenched as Shining said the words ‘little sister.’

Shining walked around the side of the pegasus as he spoke. “Imagine my horror when I learned that my little sister’s excursion had come under attack. ‘Surely,’ I had thought, ‘with the guard I recommended, she will be safe.’ I was shocked when I was informed that the conflict had been sparked not by the aliens spotting Twilight, but by that very same guard I had such a high opinion of. ‘Surely this must be a mistake,’ I said, and I came down to the medical wings so that I could hear the truth from the guard, so that he could set this misunderstanding straight.”

“Sir, I can explain--”

“You already have, corporal,” Shining interrupted, his words cutting through the general din of the medical area despite never rising louder than normal. “The doctors will attend to your injuries. Right now I need to make certain my sister is alright. She will decide your punishment.” The captain said no more as he trotted towards Twilight and wrapped her in a comforting hug.

Sweetie opened her mouth, but thought better of it, closing it and simply turning away from Flash Sentry, walking out of the room. She felt no pity leaving the shaking soldier behind.

o.0.oo.0.o

Sweetie had gotten less than a dozen steps from the now broken Solar Guard before she was nearly tackled and drug off to the medical wings by a pair of medics that refused to listen to her protests. An entirely unnecessary (in Sweetie’s mind) series of medical scans followed, and only after both medics agreed was she allowed to leave the treatment area.

Outside the medical area, she let herself take a deep breath and forced her shoulders to relax. The confrontation had not been to her liking, and maybe she had allowed herself to try and pull ranks that were not that relevant in this world but that stallion... he just annoyed her with his holier-than-thou attitude and the obvious zealousness he had somehow developed over Twilight.

Sweetie’s escape from the hospital wing was short lived as a batpony in the Night Guard purple armor barred her path and pulled her off to the side. Virtually every facet of the trip to Ponyville had been questioned, from Firecracker’s orders to their landing site, to the brief but terrifying chase through the ruined city, to the ball that Sweetie had retrieved from Rarity’s home. The thestral had inspected the ball carefully before returning it to her, but not before instructing her to stay within the castle’s confines if further questioning was needed.

It was already mid-afternoon when Sweetie managed to leave the medical area she had ended up being swept up into the traffic of the now bustling castle. By the time she had escaped the flow of ponies, griffons, and humans, she had traversed nearly half the castle’s interior. It only took herself a moment to locate just where she was, but her growling stomach demanded her attention.

Since she still had time before meeting with the others, it was best that she have something to eat, and so she made her way down to the mess hall, where the Guard, Griffon warriors and XCOM had their meals. Immediately she noticed one important factor.

There were two lines.

"Huh." She walked up to a guard and poked him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, mister guard, why are there two lines?"

"Hmm?" The unicorn looked at her and smiled. "Oh, you must be new here. The line on the left is for humans, changelings and griffons, that means an omnivore diet, you want the line on the right."

"Ah." Sweetie sniffed the air and grinned. "It smells like bacon!" Her eyes widened. "And steak! Thank you mister guard!" She ignored the strange look he gave her, and trotted off to the left line. The general din of the conversation in the mess hall was nearly deafening as Sweetie took her place in line. She was gradually able to tune out the white noise enough to catch the achingly familiar sound of strings being played by a master musician. A quick glance in the direction of the music did not immediately reveal its source, but the mystery was solved as the piece ended and a familiar voice followed.

“Aaaaaaand, that was… ‘Pachelbel’s Canon in D’, a song from Earth performed by our own Octavia Melody,” Vinyl announced, and Sweetie’s gaze drifted slightly upward to catch the speakers mounted along the perimeter of the mess hall. “We’ll be taking a short break for now, but we’ll be back with some more music to relax to in just a bit.”

Sweetie released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. 'They're alive! she grinned and chuckled. Shaking her head at the griffon ahead of her, who gave her a strange look. "Sorry! Just got caught in my thoughts!" The griffon shrugged and moved ahead. Soon enough it would be her turn.

'I wonder if they'll come here? I don't know if I should approach them though. I might freak them out.'

She finally made it to the front of the line and smiled at the griffon behind the counter. "Steak and potatoes and a side order of bacon!"

"How do you want the steak?" The griffon cook blinked. "You're not wearing a band. Are you a regular pony?"

"No," Sweetie grinned. "I'm a hungry pony! Medium rare! Come on! Please! I haven't had steak in ages!"

The chef chuckled and served her up, adding some broccoli to the plate. "You need a healthy diet, young one."

Sweetie grinned, grabbing a bottle of water and levitating her tray before stepping onto the table area. She glanced around, trying to find a good place to sit. There were plenty of spaces where the Guard sat, but with her plate containing meat... she sighed. Some free seats in the human and griffon area. Maybe she should just head there. And, as her luck would have it, there were seats available along with familiar faces.

“Lyra, don’t you think we should eat somewhere else?” Bon Bon asked, a distinctly uncomfortable tone in her voice. A small plate of mostly ignored hay fries sat before her, which complimented the completely ignored plate that sat beside her dining companion. “If you make a pest of yourself then they’re going to ban you from this place, too.”

Lyra scoffed in response and didn’t bother to look towards Bon Bon as she replied, “This is where the humans go when they aren’t all hiding in their compound! If I want to see them then this is the only place to be! Besides, don’t tell me you aren’t even a little curious about them. I know you’ve got a copy of Helping Hands stashed somewh--” The mint-colored unicorn turned to give her eating companion a sly look before locking onto Sweetie. “Hey you! You’re that mare they found on Earth, right? Come, sit! I’ve got questions!”

Sweetie Belle blinked, but acquiesced, approaching the table to look at both mares. Considering how well informed Lyra seemed to be, she shrugged and sat down across from them. She grinned internally. "Hi Lyra, Bonnie."

Any conversation between the two unicorns was interrupted by Bon Bon’s hoof coming down on the table. “Wait just a minute! Lyra, where did you hear about her being on Earth? There’s been no announcements or anything like that!” The moment Lyra’s enthusiasm melted into a guilty flinch, Bon Bon whirled towards Sweetie. “And you! How do you know our names? I know the human guards know to keep an eye out for Lyra but I haven’t done anything to attract anypony’s attention.”

Sweetie slowly cut a piece of her steak and chewed it, closing her eyes as the flavors flooded her mouth. "Hmm..." she grinned. "I visited Ponyville a couple of times, and we have mutual acquaintances in the castle."

Bon Bon couldn’t maintain her suspicious glare when she realised just what Sweetie was eating, opting instead to stare down at her own food instead. Through either single-minded determination or apparent indifference to it, Lyra seized the opportunity to start her interrogation in spite of the steak. “So, is it true? Were you on Earth? What’s it like? Did you meet many humans?”

Sweetie Belle gave Lyra a look. "You do know most of the information is classified, right? I can't really tell you much about it, even if I wanted."

“So you HAVE been there!” Lyra declared with a cheer, and an overstuffed binder was levitated onto the table from somewhere beside the mint-colored unicorn. “I’ve been keeping track of everything that’s been officially and unofficially shared since the first announcements. The ‘it’s classified’ response might as well be ‘yes’ at this point.”

Bon Bon managed to glance away from her food long enough to spot the binder and shoot Lyra an annoyed look. “I threw all of that nonsense out after Princess Twilight ordered you not to trespass in the human compound. Did you fish that out of the garbage, Lyra? Don’t lie to me.”

“Me, going dumpster diving? Perish the thought, Bonnie. This is one of the copies I’ve made of all my research before you tossed the originals,” Lyra explained, as though she had been asked about something far less creepy. She turned back to Sweetie and grinned anxiously. “So, tell me everything you know! Even the smallest details would be appreciated! I’ve tried asking Twilight but she gets all weird when I start asking about hands.”

"Everything?" Sweetie asked. She ate some potatoes and broccoli before cutting some bacon and eating it together with the steak. She stabbed another piece of broccoli and used the fork to point at Lyra. "Like, you mean all of it? That's a tall order, I mean, I know a lot of stuff." She winked at Bon Bon. "But it wouldn't be fair to just tell you every detail about secret places and important people without you both sharing some stuff yourselves. I'm glad you made it out of Ponyville, by the way. It's not a pretty sight, what happened there. I hope you didn't suffer any injuries?"

Lyra’s flurry of impending questions was cut off by Bon Bon’s hoof slamming on the table again. “Don’t encourage her!” she snapped, before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “I’m assuming you weren’t at Ponyville during the first attacks, then? It was Nightmare Night, and Pinkie insisted on throwing a party on the outskirts of Ponyville, near the forest. Both of us were able to escape, as did most of the ponies. Now that I think of it, I wonder if that was Pinkie’s reason for the party in the first place.”

"Pinke works in mysterious ways," Sweetie nodded with a smile. "I'm glad both of you made it along with the others. The world would definitely be a duller place without your shenanigans." She gave them both a smile and waited until Bon Bon started to drink some water. "So when's the wedding?"

“The what?” Lyra asked, her original line of questioning apparently derailed by the seemingly random subject from Sweetie. Her attention was further diverted by the now coughing Bon Bon. “You okay there, Bonnie? You shouldn’t drink so fast or you might choke.”

"Wedding." Sweetie repeated, doing a circling motion with her hoof. "You know, getting hitched. Taking the plunge. Tying the knot. Saying 'I do'. Dropping the anchor. Walking the aisle." Sweetie grinned. "I mean, you two look so cute together! I bet Rarity would love to make your dresses!"

The reaction from the pair was not what Sweetie was expecting.

Lyra immediately burst into a fit of laughter so violent that she caught the attention of half the mess hall while nearly falling out of her seat. Bon Bon’s response was a bit more subtle, as Lyra’s laughter abruptly stopped and she yelped from the kick she received under the table. “We’re just friends! FRIENDS! I don’t know why everypony thinks we’re more than that,” Bon Bon insisted.

Sweetie chuckled. "Maybe because you already act like a married couple?" she suggested. "But I admit, that doesn't mean you're into each other, even if in other possibilities your were madly in love." She proceeded to take another big bite of her steak. "Oh, Celestia, how I missed this. I shouldn't. But I did."

After a few more bites, she glanced at Lyra who was twitching in her seat. "Okay, so what's the deal with you and humans? You know that since they're allies, sooner or later everypony will have all the information about them right? Most likely spots for commerce and political relations will open up once this is all over. What's the rush?"

“Mythical creatures!” Lyra shouted, and she started to open the overstuffed binder only for it to slam shut again under Bon Bon’s hoof. “I’ve been looking back into our history and I’m seeing things that we cannot explain without the interference of humans! Granted, I didn’t have a name to put on the ancient aliens, but now it all fits!”

“Lyra, nopony cares about--” Bon Bon started, and was promptly ignored.

“There are so many things that cannot be accounted for in the accepted history of Equestria. Take, for instance, the humble hammer. A tool used by carpenters everywhere, but it isn’t something that earth ponies can use easily. All evidence in the past indicates that the majority of carpentry and manual labor was done by earth ponies, so why would they develop a tool for their work that was extremely hard to use?” Lyra explained over the course of a single breath, and she paused just long enough to take in another lungful of air.

"Uh... maybe griffons invented it?" Sweetie ventured. "You know..." she motioned at a nearby table. "Claws? Or maybe it was Minotaurs? I mean, if you localize things to a very small area of influence, it can give you mixed results. Of course earth ponies would do most of the work in that sense, since they are naturally gifted at building, but why would it require humans specifically for this?"

“Hammers aren’t the only evidence!” Lyra continued, apparently ignoring Sweetie’s argument. “Door knobs! Why do so many doors in Equestria use an opening mechanism that’s difficult to use when two thirds of our population would have to use their mouths to operate? It could have been a latch, or--” The rest of Lyra’s explanation was lost as Bon Bon stuffed a hooffull of hay fries in her mouth.

“Don’t encourage the crazy,” Bon Bon said to Sweetie as she held her hoof over Lyra’s mouth so that she’d have to take the time to chew the food.

Sweetie chuckled and raised her hooves. "Alright, alright. No more encouraging." She shook her head in amusement, finishing off the rest of her steak and bacon and started to clean up the potatoes, trying to concentrate on her food rather than teasing Lyra into a frothing spectacle of a conspiracy theorist.

“...I will not argue that it’s a beautiful piece. If you look at the violin and viola parts, it’s hypnotic,” a familiar voice said over the din of the mess hall, and Sweetie’s ears immediately perked up. “But the cello part? It’s the same eight notes, over and over again! I am loathe to add my own interpretation to a classical piece, but when all I am given is eight notes to work with then there’s so much room for personalization.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me adding anything to it? I’m sure I could spice things up with some synth and reverb,” came the reply. “Don’t give me that dirty look. Everypony loves my stuff!”
Sweetie smiled as she saw the pair approaching the table. Seeing Octavia unharmed was always a welcome sight. Despite how long it had been, that single sacrifice in a far away world still plagued her dreams and fed her fears.

"For what it's worth, and with how little I could make out with all the noise here, I did love your rendition of those eight notes, Octavia." Sweetie said, unable to keep quiet at the pout of her mentor.

The earth pony in question raised an eyebrow at the comment as she and Vinyl Scratch moved to sit in the empty seats at the table. “Having only the cello for the Canon feels like having just one shade of one color and being asked to paint a masterpiece,” Octavia said as she continued to give Sweetie a surveying look. “It’s not that it can’t be done, but the conditions make it more difficult. To be perfectly honest I have to wonder if this ‘Pachebel’ fellow didn’t keel over mid-composition and someone else published an incomplete piece.”

Sweetie shrugged. "So add another cello. Vinyl here can probably synthesize it for you. Adding a couple more cellos can only improve the experience." She grinned. "Or you could play something else. That seemed to lean onto the more solemn side of the musical spectrum." Pushing away her emptied tray, she sighed a bit dramatically. "It is true, however, that cellos are often left wanting in classical compositions."

“Exactly! If the music isn’t right, then you need to change the music!” Vinyl threw her hoof into the conversation. “I don’t know why the stuffy classical types treat the ancient stuff like it’s written in stone and must never be changed under any circumstances. Some of the best stuff I’ve heard recently has been remixes of some of my own work, and I love it!”

“Hi, Vinyl! Hi Octavia!” Lyra greeted with a wave as she swallowed the rest of her food before turning back to Sweetie. The deep breath was the first warning of what was to come. “I also have it on good authority that the human world knew about a significant portion of the wildlife here, and they even have similar species there! The only way this could be is if they’ve been visiting us to abduct our wildlife for ages! That, combined with so many of our day-to-day tools that require hands for easy use, is absolute proof!”

Octavia elected not to comment in favor of giving Sweetie a tired look. “I do hope you haven’t had to listen to her conspiracy theories for long. They are rather--”

“You’re refusing to see the truth, Octavia! Haven’t you ever thought that it was hard to play your cello without hands or fingers to grasp the bow?” Lyra interrupted.

"You know," Sweetie said after a moment of poking what crumbs remained in her tray, "the aliens also have hands. I saw them earlier today."

A moment of silence fell on the conversation before Vinyl spoke just as Bon Bon stuffed more hay fries into Lyra's mouth the moment it opened. “So, you were saying about synthesizing more cellos into the music?"

o.0.oo.0.o

After Vinyl and Octavia had also finished eating and they had talked at length about aliens, hands, Ponyville and music, Sweetie excused herself from the table. It was time to catch up with the others, hopefully Twilight would already be done with her own checkup.

She headed up towards the Medical Wing again, hoping to not run afoul of Flash Sentry. Her lunch had put her in a good mood and dealing with the deluded ex-guard-to-be was not something she wanted to deal with right now.

Shaking her head, she resolved to stop thinking about Flash Sentry and to concentrate on her friends. And when she felt the bump on her saddlebag, she knew exactly who visit first.

After asking around and wandering a bit, she eventually found the room where she had been told the Princess and her friends were. She knocked on the door and stepped in, drawing the attention of the mares inside.

If Rarity had moved any faster it might have been closer to a teleport spell. The others smiled and stayed where they were, giving the pair some time to speak alone.

“Sweetie! Are you alright!?” she asked as she pulled her sister into a crushing hug. “Nopony is telling us anything but if so many went out then it must be more of those things! Twilight says she’s not hurt but I know miss Firecracker was taken to the medical wings! Please tell me you’re okay, Sweetie!”

Sweetie leaned into the hug, closed her eyes and nodded. "We're fine, Firecracker will be okay too. It was a bit scary, but we were prepared and we got out of there fast." She grinned. "And, we didn't come empty-hoofed." She stepped back and levitated the ball out of her saddlebags. "I don't know if you remember this, but I figured you and Sweetie could use it."

Rarity sat back on her flank and accepted the ball with her front hooves. “I do remember this… my Sweetie thought it was quite a silly thing since it wouldn’t give her a cutie mark immediately. Thank you for this,” she said, though her focus was more on the ball.

"I know she might think it was silly, I did too, a long time ago... but I came to realize just how important a gift it was." Sweetie smiled and hugged Rarity again. "So thank you for it. And I hope it helps bring you both a bit closer again."

The moment between the two sisters was interrupted by a knock from the doorway. Captain Harris loomed there, his white armor blemished by scorch marks and splashes of what could only be alien blood. His helmet was off and held at his side, and he wore a concerned expression as he looked straight at Sweetie. “Sorry for interrupting, but may I have a word with you?”

Sweetie blinked. "Um, sure." She gave Rarity another quick hug and walked with Matt to the other side of the room. The others looked at them curiously, but they were too far away to eavesdrop on their conversation, especially while Rarity was showing them the old ball she had recovered. "How can I help you, Captain?"

The human seemed to struggle with his words before taking a deep breath and letting out slowly. “I came to apologize for my behavior, both here and on Earth. Things have been hard for everyone the last few days, and I’m afraid I have no patience when the people I care about are in danger. From what I’ve been told, you acquitted yourself well when the Chrysalids attacked. You have my thanks.”

"Hey, we both care for Twilight, I wasn't going to let anything happen to her," Sweetie said with a smile. "I understand that there's a lot of things happening in your life right now... don't feel bad if you were less than friendly under those circumstances."

Matt nodded and looked to the other mares in the room, then back to Sweetie. “I’m glad you understand. I just wanted to clear the air. How’s Twilight doing now?”

Sweetie looked back at her mentor and friend. "She's doing much better; she's strong, but I think she just had too much space to run away..." She glanced up at him. "You know she needs someone to be closer to her, right?" Sweetie smiled.

The human’s expression went neutral as he looked to the side. “I’m inclined to agree,” he said, and after some internal debate, he continued, “I heard you were the one who was able to get her out of that chamber, so you know what she was like. I don’t know if I want to be responsible for that happening again if… if I don’t come back.”

Sweetie sighed. "I might have been in plenty of fights and a couple of battles, but that's really the extent of my knowledge besides training."

When she saw that he had turned to look at her, she shrugged. "So take this with a pinch or two of salt... but I think that Twilight needs a real reason to protect everyone, to step up to her potential and let her resolution stop the fear she lives in."

Sweetie struggled with what words to use. "I guess that if it comes to it, being that special somepo—ahem—someone for her will give both of you hope that you can and will turn this around. Isn't there a saying about giving in to fear by letting it stop you from doing what you want to do?"

She shook her head. "I don't know if I make sense, Captain Harris, I'm really just a teenager and even if I could meet and date somepony, should I? Especially knowing that I'll go away?" She sighed. "Anyway... Why won't you, when you do have the chance of it lasting as long as you both want?" She looked up at him a bit helplessly, not knowing what else to say.

Matt’s initial response was to reach up to cover his face with his palm, but quickly thought better of it when he saw the amount of alien ichor was there. He let out a helpless chuckle as he didn’t quite look at Sweetie. “How often it is that the angry man rages denial of what his inner self is telling him,” he said quietly, and he waved a hand at Sweetie’s questioning look. “To answer your question, I would point out the obvious.” When Sweetie said nothing, he sighed again. “The whole… species thing is a bit hard to get over. Plus I know at least one of her people who feels that a princess shouldn’t be socializing with the cannon fodder.”

"If you mean Flash Sentry, I wouldn't worry too much about him," Sweetie made a face. "He dug his own grave. As for the interspecies thing, take it from me, it's really less of an issue when you realize you're not looking at a different species, but simply a different person who feels and loves just like you do. And tastes like Blueberries, if that remains constant between worlds."

The longer the two spoke, the more Matt’s expression began to morph from a professional soldier to that of a youngster getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. That morphed into curiosity as he asked, “Blueberries? What does th--” Then horror. “I swear to God, Jenkins is laughing at me right now.”

Sweetie grinned. "You two will be fine, I can tell." She glanced back to the others. "Also, please take care of them, too, if you can. They'll be your best friends in this place and steadily there to keep you sane. Come on, let's go say hi to the others." She turned and trotted back to the herd with Matt at her flank.

The rest of the element bearers parted to allow the two new arrivals to join in the circle, and a curious expression crossed Twilight’s stressed features. “What were you two talking about?” she asked as she looked from Sweetie to Matt, then back again.

"Nothing much, Twilight, just talking a bit about the mission and the future," Sweetie said, a smile spreading on her face. "And blueberries."

The reactions from the mares varied from a barely stifled laughter from Rainbow Dash, to an embarrassed Fluttershy, to a thoroughly scandalized Rarity. “Sweetie Belle! Proper mares shouldn’t talk about such things in public! And especially when there are males present!” She hissed to the younger mare.

“Talk about what?” Twilight asked, and none of the other Element Bearers or Matt could meet her gaze for long. “Seriously, what’s going on?”

“Nothing!” Matt said immediately, and he crouched down so that he was eye level with Twilight. “How are you doing, Twily? I… heard you had a bit of a scare.”

“Yes, I did, but it’s taught me something,” Twilight declared, and she bracketed Matt with a determined stare. “I know I’m not like you or Shiny, or even like Princess Luna. I don’t know how much I can contribute, but I can do more than just stay here in Canterlot and let other ponies and people protect everything. I’m a Princess, which is as much a responsibility as it is a position.” The declaration was as much a challenge as anything, and all eyes went to Matt.

The human returned the stare before glancing away. “I’ll back your play, Twily, and I think Princess Luna probably will too. It’s your brother you’ll have to convince.”

Twilight harrumphed dramatically. “Captain Shining Armor can submit his objections in writing for review. BBBFF Shiny will nag me for weeks. He’ll probably try to get my parents to convince me, too.”

"Aww, you know it's because he cares, Twilight," Sweetie said, nuzzling her friend. "He knows already you need to do this. But I don't believe for a minute he's not going to complain every inch of the way."

“It’s the purview of older brothers to worry about their little sisters,” Matt stated with a nod. “Regardless of how much they protest.”

"Isn't that the truth?" Sweetie giggled.

The assembled group had a small laugh at that, but it abruptly stopped as Twilight gasped. “Sweetie! Something’s happening to you!” she exclaimed, and her alarm quickly spread to the others.

Sweetie blinked and looked down at herself. Her coat, illusion and all, was slowly becoming transparent. It would come and go in little pulses, some stronger than others where she could see the floor below her through her body. "Oh."

Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy remained silent, but both Rarity and Twilight became increasingly irate. “Twilight, what’s happening to her!?” her sister demanded, before turning a panicked eye to Sweetie. “Sweetie, don’t worry. We’ll find some way to fix this!”

“Something’s pulling on her existence, something big! I can’t stop it!” Twilight replied, her expression wavering between determination and fear as Sweetie continued to fade away.

Sweetie moved forward and hugged both mares, drawing them close and resting her forehead on their shoulders. "It's okay. It's time for me to go," she whispered, tightening her hug a little bit. "I'm glad I came here and spent some time with both of you and the girls." She sniffed. "I also learned my own Rarity is still looking for me and my Twilight!" She stepped back and rubbed the tears away, smiling up at them. "I won't forget you. If I ever come back, let's hang out again, alright? Just without the alien monsters."

Rarity clung to Sweetie as fiercely as she could. “Try and stay strong, Sweetie, I know you have it in you to beat whatever tries to stop you. But if you run into… well, me, do me a favor and let your big sister take care of you, alright?”

Twilight also returned Sweetie’s hug, but her voice grew distant as the younger mare faded away.

Sweetie closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and promising to remember the love and friendship her sister and Twilight had shared with her just before she left. She prepared herself for whatever would come next.

“...then she prepared herself for whatever would come next.”

Sweetie's eyebrow twitched and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Really, a rather touching end for your little vacation here, if I do say so myself,” Discord summarized as he rose up from behind the frozen mares. His attention wasn’t on Sweetie, but on a book in his paws. A stylized image of the avatar of chaos rested on the book’s cover, and while it was being held at an angle so that the contents couldn’t be seen, a feather quill could be seen scratching at the pages. The usual madness of his voice was gone, and his tone was uncharacteristically pensive as he spoke, “As you’ve probably realised, it’s your time to move on. I wanted to have a word with you beforehand.”

"How... are you even doing this?" Sweetie asked, looking around the room. "Nothing ever stopped the transfers before... although, you did say you met the Fragment of Twilight that's responsible for this trip, so I guess it makes sense..." she shook her head and walked around Twilight, Matt and Rarity to stand next to Discord. "Well, I'm here and we can talk right?"

“I’m afraid this little trick of mine isn’t halting your transition… I’m just choosing to lengthen a moment in time for this little chat,” the avatar or chaos explained, and he snapped the book shut before fixing Sweetie with a calm look that wouldn’t be nearly as disturbing if it was on anypony else’s face. “As I promised Twilight, I’ve done what I could for you here, within the bounds of my own oaths. But you’re far more special than even your teacher realises. For billions of years I’ve meddled in the affairs of other races to prepare them, and I’ve always been met with scorn, fear, anger, or a thousand other reactions that are terribly predictable. I half expected you to react the same after I explained everything, but you didn’t.” He looked down at the book before continuing. “You said it was nice to finally meet me. Nobody has ever said that before, so I want to do a little more for--ACK!”

Sweetie held close to Discord's long neck, hugging him tightly. "It was nice to meet you, Discord. And you should know I'm not the only Sweetie out there that thinks you're great."

For the longest time, he stood frozen in place and as still as a statue. “I… I wonder if she knew you’d be like this, and she didn’t tell me. I’ve gotten so good at predicting what everyone will do that there aren’t too many surprises anymore… ” Discord muttered to himself, before coming to his senses and lifting the book in his paws for Sweetie to see. “You are a truly unique individual, Sweetie Belle, and you’ve given me something that I will cherish until my end comes. For that, I offer this.”

Sweetie studied the book in Discord's paws. "A book? Is it like mine?"

“It’s a very special book, Sweetie. It’s a record of your journeys,” Discord said, and he held up a paw to hold any interruptions. “I said I could not help you any more than what has already been done, and I hold my promises as sacred. However, there are others who might benefit from knowing that your journey still continues. You learned that your sister is still searching for you in your home universe… and this is the only thing I could think of to help her without interfering with what lies ahead.”

Sweetie's heart seemed to stop for a second, and then she felt something running down her cheeks. She realized she was crying, but she couldn't really remember the exact moment it happened. "Y-you mean..." she took a shuddering breath. "My real sister, she'll know?"

This time, she didn't jump. She walked slowly up to him and wrapped her forelegs around him. "Thank you," she whispered, unable to speak louder. "Thank you so much, Discord. I'll always remember you."

“I should be thanking you, Sweetie Belle. You’re more than I could have ever hoped for in an individual, and I’m sure your Twilight is proud of everything you’re doing,” Discord replied sincerely. “Now, it’s time to go. Good luck.”

Sweetie nodded, stepping back as the world started fading away again. "Goodbye, Discord. Take care of them..." she waved a hoof at the ponies and human in the room. "They'll need all the help they can get."

o.0.oo.0.o

For the longest time, Discord stared at the spot that Sweetie had been standing. His gaze drifted down to the book, to all the adventures he had written about and the ones that were awaiting that young mare. Never before in his long, long, long life had he so wanted to break his promise… but the moment of weakness passed as more important things came to mind. He snapped his fingers and the book vanished in a flash. Another twitch of his power sent his mind back to where it was most needed.

“Discord!”

“I’m sorry, yes? I wasn’t paying attention,” the avatar of chaos said as he looked down at a very aggravated mare in a royal guard uniform. Her berating comments continued even as a moustache began to sprout from her snout. “I’m sorry, but you’ve got something there…” Discord said as he pointed at his own upper lip, and he gave a reassuring smile at the outrage his antics caused.

Back to the boring and predictable… Sweetie, I hope you’re able to be as fun wherever you go as you were with me, Discord thought as he went through the usual motions of teasing the staff around Celestia’s chamber.

o.0.oo.0.o

She went from being in a comfy room in the palace, to dropping into the mud under heavy, unrelenting rain. Which would have been annoying at most if not for one little detail.

She had been dropped right in front of an enormous tank.

With a rather loud meep of surprise, she jumped and rolled out of the way, rain water and mud splashing around as she scrambled back and away from the gigantic tank, green eyes wide and mouth agape as she took in the colossal machine that had almost rolled her over.

It rolled past, spraying her with a fresh cloak of mud and debris. “Stop! Stop!” a mare shouted, as it rolled on. Then the mare jumped from the rear of the tank into the mucky ruin. “She’s not dead and she’s not red,” she called out as she walked through the obscuring rain. Step by step she came into view.

The rain sleeted along white hide and black metal. The unicorn’s hide was interrupted here and there by obvious mechanical limbs. Red and black mane and tail lay limp in the wet as she approached. “Hey! You okay?” she called out.

"Guh." Sweetie spit out some mud and shakily stood up, blinking. "I'll be okay, I think... just let me get rid of this." Purple and white energy emanated from her horn and slowly the mud dripped down until she was completely clean, if still soaked through to her crystal core. "I have to say, I've tasted a lot of mud but this is the worst so far," she confessed grumpily. "You really need to watch where you're driving that mech of yours, though. I almost became one with the road."

“Hey, look before you teleport,” the mare said as she nodded back towards the idling tank. “Come on,” she added with a nod over her shoulder. “Let’s get out of the rain.” She struggled to reach the back of the tank, her heavy metal limbs bogging her down more than once before she reached the rear of the vehicle. Hands popped out of the ends of her forehooves, and she clambered up, then looked back at Sweetie and offered a hand up... something most ponies didn’t do.

“Blackjack, what are you doing?” the stallion asked as he peered down at the strange mare.

“Offering someone we almost ran over a ride, okay, P-21?” Blackjack replied without averting her eyes or her easy, slightly tired, very wet smile.

"It's the kind thing to do!" Sweetie added, calling up to whoever was up there as she gratefully took Blackjack's offered hand. "I'm kinda lost here, you know? Just let me hang out until I get my bearings and then I'll be out of your mane. Pinkie Promise!"

Blackjack considered her a moment at that, then shrugged. “No problem.”

Project Horizons Pt. 1

Author's Note

Triggers!

I usually skip on the Author's Notes, specially at the beginning of a story or chapter, but I feel that this one bears some... exceptions.

So let's get this straight. This is FoE: Project Horizons. It's not going to be pretty in there, but I've kept the tone to a solid Teen rating. There are of course some questionable things in there, but as always, with each world, the endgame is for Sweetie to actually learn something important, and also to expand as possible the world's she's visiting while giving the authors of said worlds a chance to poke at other areas of their world-building that they might have left aside originally.

Having said that, Somber and I had fun writing these chapters, so I really hope you enjoy!

~WD

Project Horizons Pt. 1

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

Project Horizons Pt. 1

By Wanderer D & Somber

Based on the story: Fallout: Equestria - Project Horizons

Special thanks to my pre-readers: SuperBigMac, RK_Striker_JK_5 and Kharakian

The Hoofington Rain pounded down with all its customary spite and fury. It wasn’t enough to simply wet the earth. No, the gray skies waged war with barrages of rainfall. The road was a thin, fragile line cutting its way through the edge of the valley, flanked by two growing lakes that chewed at the embankment. Equestrian wartime engineering was normally more than up to the task of handling any weather, be it rain, snow, sleet, or a nearby megapsell.

However, most of those engineers probably hadn’t thought of driving a twenty-ton zebra tank on it either.

Deus, the tank piloted by a brain in a jar, did the best he could as he ploughed forward, but every minute or so his massive treads launched a fusillade of asphalt and roadbed behind him. A slurry of mud and muck sprayed out from his treads. Progress occurred in inches over minutes at times, and more than once the vehicle threatened to get bogged down entirely.

“This is nuts,” P-21 said from the front of the vehicle. The blue earth pony scowled up at where Lacunae’s shield struggled to keep the hammering rain at bay. “He’s going to get stuck for good if the road washes out completely.”

“Well, then we’ll take out his brain and stick him in something a little more maneuverable. Like a wagon,” Rampage drawled as the metal armored mare scratched Tic Tac Toe games in his paint job. The tank’s engine let out an angry growl, and the red striped mare added, “A wagon with guns. And missiles. And maybe a great, big, metal--”

“That’s enough,” Glory interrupted. “He can’t help the rain. Hoofington’s always rainy. We should be glad the road is still here at all.”

Lacunae said nothing, the purple alicorn gazing off into the distance as her magic kept the storm directly off them.

“Except who knows who’s out there?” P-21 persisted. “I get that travelling by tank is fun and all, but ponies could be travelling on the ridges setting up an ambush. Deus would probably be fine unless they bring balefire eggs, but the rest of us would be toast.” His hooves tightened around the olive filly in his grasp.

Then the last member of the group spoke up. “EFS is clear. Nothing red. Nothing-” and then the was a flash of... something right in front of the tank as a pony appeared...

Right in front of the enormous tank.

With a rather loud meep of surprise, the pony jumped and rolled out of the way, rain water and mud splashing around as she scrambled back and away from the gigantic tank, green eyes wide and mouth agape as she took in the giant machine that had almost rolled her over.

The rain sheeted along white hide and black metal. The unicorn’s hide was interrupted here and there by obvious mechanical limbs. Red and black mane and tail lay limp in the wet as she approached. “Hey! You okay?” she called out at the muddy lump besides the road and mire.

"Guh." The lump spit out some mud and shakily stood up, blinking. "I'll be okay, I think... just let me get rid of this." A strange purple and white glow emanated from the lump's head and slowly the mud dripped down as a white coat, purple and pink mane and tail and the obvious shape of a unicorn were revealed. "I have to say, I've tasted a lot of mud but this is the worst so far," the mare said grumpily as soon as she was clean. "You really need to watch where you're driving that mech of yours, though. I almost became one with the road."

“Hey, look before you teleport,” the mare said as she nodded back towards the idling tank. “Come on,” she said with a nod over her shoulder. “Let’s get out of the rain.” She struggled to reach the back of the tank, her heavy metal limbs bogging her down more than once before she reached the rear of the vehicle. Hands popped out of the ends of her forehooves, and she clambered up, then looked back at the unicorn and offered a hand up... something most ponies didn’t do.

“Blackjack, what are you doing?” the stallion asked as he peered down at the strange mare.

“Offering someone we almost ran over a ride, okay, P-21?” she replied without averting her eyes or her easy, slightly tired, very wet smile.

"It's the kind thing to do!" the pony added, calling up to whoever was up there as she gratefully took Blackjack's offered hand. "I'm kinda lost here, you know? Just let me hang out until I get my bearings and then I'll be out of your mane. Pinkie Promise!"

Blackjack considered her a moment at that, then shrugged. “No problem.”

Rampage grinned at their newest passenger, while P-21 regarded her cautiously and Lacunae curiously. Blackjack’s eyes turned to the purple alicorn, then back at their passenger, then back at the alicorn. Glory carefully flew over to land beside her as Deus began rolling again with a sullen growl. “Are you injured? That sure was a close call!” She asked, smiling pleasantly at her.

The mare blinked. "Rainbow Dash? Since when are you a medic?"

She blinked and scowled. “I am not Rainbow Dash!” she blurted, hovering above the tank. “I may look like her and sound like her and might have more of her mannerisms than I should, but I am erudite! I am educated. I am an egghead.” She paused, her eyes popping wide as her mouth twisted sourly. “I mean... smart! Not Rainbow Dash!”

"Hey, I'll have you know that Rainbow Dash is... well, smart is not the word, but she's not just a jock!" the mare grumbled. She cleared her throat. "But, to answer your question, I'm okay, thanks for asking... I just rolled on some mud, but it helped soften the panicked dive."

The olive filly snickered as she examined her brightly. “Don’t mind Glory. Even when Killing Joke turned her into Rainbow, she’s still the most boring pony in the wasteland.”

“Ha. Ha.” Rainbow Glory snorted, landing and rolling her eyes.

“So, who are you?” Blackjack asked lightly, her unblinking eyes staring as if scanning her. Maybe she was. “No offense, but you look like Horse’s Sweetiebot.”

"A Sweetiebot?" the mare asked, blinking. "Is that-like a robot version of me?" Her eyes widened. "Does it sing? Oooh! Does it play a musical instrument? Does it burn the toast?!"

“If by toast you mean your crotch then yeah. I’m pretty sure he used it just for sex,” Blackjack replied. “Vigorously. He seemed pretty fond of it when I saw him with it.”

"I—" the mare seemed at a loss for words. "That's just... I mean. I'm... was... was he at least handsome? Wait. What am I asking? No. I don't want to know. In fact, forget that I ever wanted to know." She shivered. "No. Nononono. Deep breaths. Deep. Breaths." She slowed her breathing, closing her eyes for a moment before she slowly opened them and glared at Blackjack. "That was way too much info."

Blackjack shrugged, smirking back at her, “Well then, I’m guessing you’re not one of his sexbots. So then who are you? Some sort of clone of Sweetie Belle? Time travel?” She asked, as if either of those things were not beyond the realm of possibility for her.

"Alternate dimension, actually." Sweetie glanced at the distant ruins. "And you said I was in the Wasteland? Is this the world where ponies and zebras blew each other up?" She nodded at Lacunae. "I guess that would explain the alicorn?"

“You mean there’s a world where war didn’t happen?” Blackjack asked, her smile fading, face more earnest.

“Well it’s been hypothesized,” Glory commented. “Certain actions could spawn two different worlds. Like one where the bombs didn’t fall. Or the war never happened.”

Blackjack stared at Sweetie as P-21 just watched her skeptically. “Right. From another world. Sure.”

Rampage snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on! That’s not half as weird as most of the shit Blackjack runs into!”

Sweetie Belle blinked. "You ponies are taking this in way too quickly. I'm almost afraid to ask what the hay you guys do on a daily basis." She leaned forward. "But I just have to know." She grinned. "Most ponies by now have either passed out, arrested me or accused me of being drunk. So, how come you're not chaining me up or shooting me already?"

“Blackjack’s generally the one who gets chained up,” Rampage snickered.

“Hey! Only with Glory’s permission!” she said, getting a warm smile from the pegasus in return. “But since you asked... well, I’ve been through a lot,” she replied, holding up one metallic leg. “I mean, look at me. I’m hardly in any position to rule on what’s normal or not. So long as you’re not trying to kill me, I’m fine. Maybe you’re Sweetie Belle from another world. Maybe you’re crazy. Maybe you’re some really cute assassin of Dawn’s who is planning on shooting me in the back. I hope not, but...” she shrugged.

"You think I'm cute?" Sweetie asked with a smile. Blackjack grinned, and Glory sighed and rolled her eyes.

“I think you’re crazy. That’s too much to be a lie,” P-21 said dryly, not taking his eyes off her.

Sweetie nodded. "I understand..." She took a deep breath, before turning to Lacunae. "If you really want to verify my story, you could always ask Trixie."

“THE GODDESS WONDERED IF IT COULD BE!” Lacunae suddenly boomed, Blackjack’s lips silently echoing her. “THE MEMORIES OF THE SEVERED WERE DIFFICULT TO INCORPORATE! YOU ARE THE ONE FROM THE OTHER WORLD!”

“Woah woah woah! Volume down!” Rampage snapped, rubbing her ears.

"Trixie... you really need to work on your illeism," Sweetie said, rubbing her ears as well. "As well as toning down that Royal Canterlot Voice. I swear, every time I see you, you do the same thing." Sweetie smiled. "Still, it's nice to see you again."

“THE GODDESS IS...” Lacunae paused, seeming not sure what the proper response would be. “...SATISFIED!” she finished, and the Lacunae immediate slumped and gave Sweetie Belle a small smile. “I can think of only three ponies who have ever given her pause like that.”

Scotch Tape stared up at her. “So... like... why are you here? Do you just randomly jump from world to world? Oooh! Are you trying to get back home as you hop blindly from one world to the next? Or are you, like, exploring other worlds and stuff?” P-21 didn’t look happy, but at least he wasn’t calling her crazy anymore.

As Scotch Tape spoke, Sweetie's smile slowly disappeared until she dropped her shoulders. "I... I'm responsible for really hurting the Twilight Sparkle of my world," she said, licking her lips. "I have no control where I jump, but I am trying to get home." She looked up at the clouds above. "If I'm here again, then another fragment of Twilight might be here. I need to find it, so I can somehow fix my mistake."

All of them listened closely, but it was Blackjack that reached out and gave her shoulders a pat. “All of us have made mistakes. All of us are trying to do better. If you can tell us how we can help you find it, we will.”

“Right. Because Blackjack has never met a sob story that she didn’t immediately fall for,” Rampage snorted, rolling her eyes.

“Is the Society going somewhere?” Blackjack asked sharply. The armored mare shrugged. “No. So if we can help, we will,” she said as she looked back at Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie smiled. "It's okay, Blackjack. I appreciate the offer, but I'm not defenseless, and seems you guys already have a mission. I don't even know where the fragment is... it should be close, but it could be in any direction from here... until I'm close enough to it, I have no clue on how to find it."She paused. "Unless any of you have heard of any magical artifacts of mysterious origins in the area."

The companions all glanced at each other, and Rampage answered. “Well, Blackjack has a thingy in her pipbuck that a whole lot of people want to kill her over. Then there’s her sword that cuts through anything. I can’t die. She’s Rainbow Dash. Oh, there’s some kinda bioweapon in the sky we’re trying to deal with and--”

Glory closed Rampage’s mouth with her hooves, giving a sheepish smile. “I think what she means to say is, can you be more specific about what this fragment looks like?” Rampage popped her mouth free and snapped, her teeth clacking inches from Glory’s rapidly withdrawn hooves.

Sweetie giggled. "Well, it's none of those! I might have a way to find out which direction at least, I think… I have a theory that I can use the other fragments I have as a compass… but I can't risk it in the rain. As soon as it stops raining, I should be able to at least try. But, just in case you've heard about it, it's a purple crystal fragment, about a hoof or so in length, and it electrocutes wasteland alicorns if they try to touch it. I'm not entirely sure why."

“Sorry. I can’t recall running into anything like that,” Blackjack admitted. “If you need it to stop raining, well, it doesn’t. Not for days, sometimes. If we come across a building or something, can you do your spell stuff there?” Sweetie nodded. "I just need a dry place or some sort of cover to protect my book from the rain. That's all."

“Okay,” Blackjack nodded. “We’ll take a pit stop soon as we can. Or can you do it inside Deus here?” she asked, rapping on the armor.

"I need enough space for a couple of ponies, I suppose, but that's about it," Sweetie replied.

“So a building then. Fair enough,” she replied, standing on Deus and peering into the rain. “I think there’s something ahead at the end of these flats. Hopefully it’s dry.” She glanced at Sweetie Belle. “I know what it’s like to screw up, and I know what it’s like to want to go home.”

o.0.o

“I think it’s a garage,” Scotch Tape said as Deus rolled into the metal quonset building that looked like a rusty oil drum cut in half, laying on its side. “Or it was,” she said, looking at the lifts and oil pits that remained. Deus stopped, hissing and growling. The filly frowned, “That doesn’t sound right. I should look at his engine. Can you give me a hoof, Daddy?”

“Sure,” P-21 answered with a smile.

Blackjack hopped down, peering around. “Is this big enough to do your spell thing?” she asked Sweetie.

Sweetie nodded, stepping inside the garage. "It's perfect! Thank you!" Gathering energy on her horn, she stood in the center of the room, looking straight ahead until a small split in the air, shimmering with magical energy of the same color expanded slowly and a book surrounded by five crystals orbiting around it emerged from thin air.

“Woah,” Rampage said, clapping her hoofclaws together as if she’d done a magic trick.

“Are those... are those pieces of Twilight?” Blackjack asked as she reached for one of the crystals.

Sweetie nodded sadly, raising a hoof to point at her flank despondently. "Yeah, you can see my cutie mark is all about breaking her apart."

Blackjack pulled one to herself and carefully turned it over. “Blackjack, don’t eat it,” Glory warned.

“What?!” Blackjack flushed immediately. “How did you... I mean, how could you even think I’d even try? I was just... it’s just... yeah.” She released the floating crystal. “Not like a little nibble would hurt...”

"Wait, you eat crystals?" Sweetie asked, eyes wide. She stepped slightly away from Blackjack. "T-that's interesting! Um... let me put Twilight away, just..." she shook her head, concentrating on her spell. The orbiting crystals moved faster around the book before slowing, until all four were hovering in the same direction. "Um... that's where we need to go... I uh, I'm putting Twilight away before you k-munch her."

“I wasn’t going to do it!” Blackjack protested. “I might have thought about it, but come on!”

“She was a ministry mare, not rock candy,” P-21 pointed out.

“Would that count as cannibalism?” Glory mused.

“I didn’t do it!” Blackjack whined.

“But you thought about it,” Rampaged grinned.

“If you’re all quite through,” Lacunae said loudly, cutting them off. “The crystals all pointed to the north. Is there a way to judge the distance?” the alicorn asked.

Quickly shoving her book into the dimensional pocket and dismissing it, Sweetie shook her head, still giving Blackjack a dubious look. "Not really, but at least we've figured out that there is a way to send me back that involves the fragments. Otherwise… I might be stuck here for months, if not years."

“Right. We’ll give them some time to work on Deus and we can see what’s north of us,” Blackjack said with a smile, then frowned at her PipBuck. “What IS north of us? I don’t think I’ve been around this part of the Hoof.”

“Well, go far enough north and it’ll be the Core,” Rampage said, then looked at Sweetie Belle and smirked. “If it’s there then kiss your shard goodbye. Nopony goes to the Core. Hell, we went under it and nearly died.”

Sweetie gulped. "I hope not... if it is... I don't have much of a choice." She shook her head. "We can travel a bit north if you want, then I'll check again for a bit more clarification. The mare that taught me this spell wasn't necessarily the type to consider that many factors into her spells, but it's proven useful before. If it points to this Core... well, at least I'll know where to go."

Blackjack nodded and patted her back again. “And then you’ll find a way. As long as you’re not dead or give up, you’ll make it.” She sighed and looked out into the rain. “I’d better go take a walk and see if there’s any trouble out there.” She then gave Sweetie a half-smile. “One of my augmentations prevents me from getting sick. Comes in handy.”

“So do literal hands,” Rampage quipped, getting a snort from Blackjack as the augmented mare trotted into the rain, leaving Sweetie Belle alone with the others.

Sweetie watched Blackjack until she turned around the garage and she couldn't see her anymore, then turned to face Rampage. "So... why do you guys tease Blackjack so much about her helping ponies?"

Rampage snorted, “Cause she does it all the time. I mean, seriously. That mare hasn’t found a lost cause she won’t help. And she’s constantly giving everypony second chances. And third chances. And fourth. When will she figure out that once they’re dead, they’re not a problem?”

“Because she wants to make the wasteland better,” Glory retorted, and Rampage relented.

“Yeah, I know. It’s just annoying. I keep waiting for her to just get it and start squishing her enemies like grapes. It’d make this whole saving the hoof thing so much easier,” the red striped mare grumbled.

“Security saves ponies!” Scotch Tape called over from the tank.

Glory beamed at the filly, then explained, “Security is a nickname Blackjack picked up. She was a security pony in her Stable before she went into the Wasteland.”

Sweetie nodded. "I've been here before, but I only got exposed to a bunch of ghouls and Midnight Shimmer, an alicorn... so, I have no idea how bad does it gets. But... well, where I come from, and in many of the worlds not devastated by war, ponies going out of their way to help and forgive again and again wasn't that strange." Her ears drooped. "It's sad what war does to us."

“It’s sad what it’s done to Blackjack,” Glory replied, her smile fading. “She’s... well... you have to know her to really understand. She does amazing things, and terrible things too. She wants to do better, but sometimes I have to wonder if she’s ever aware of the cost.”

“She blew up a battleship with a pistol, Glory,” Scotch Tape shouted. “You can’t beat that.”

“She also killed everypony in her stable too,” Rampage added.

“Amazing, and terrible,” Glory murmured, looking out the door that Blackjack had exited.

Sweetie closed her mouth, not even realizing she had gasped at Rampage's words. "But... how does she—" She gestured with a hoof. She shook her head. "I don't even know what to say... how do you even deal with that? How can you stay good after that? And smile and honestly be able to help somepony?"

The others grew very still and they shared a look. Worry. Concern. Every single eye had that lingering doubt. Even in Lacunae’s eye was the doubt of an entire Goddess. “We just hope she keeps trying to do good,” Glory said quietly.
“If she ever stops,” P-21 added, his voice soft and grim, “I promised to kill her.”

“Or else she’d really put the waste in Wasteland,” Rampage said, almost sounding eager.

Sweetie paced in front of the others, muttering a little. "I don't understand, where does that... that strength come from?" Her voice quieted. "I remember every pony and sentient I've—how do you deal with something on that scale? Not mindless monsters... ponies. People you knew and lived with?"

“I don’t know how she does it,” Glory admitted. “I don’t think Blackjack does. She just... does. She pushes on and pushes through and does whatever she has to do, no matter the cost.”

“Yeah. Personally, I generally stop caring about my body count,” Rampage admitted. “But Blackjack beats herself up over every single pony she accidentally killed. Even her enemies. It’s... somewhere between super annoying and really...” She trailed off with a sigh.

Sweetie sat down. "One time, I met a Twilight that had in one moment of anger killed about... five hundred or so monsters that were threatening her friends and had even killed some of them. I thought I could help her a little... I had some advice, her friends were there and she eventually understood that it was a life or death choice. But those were monsters." She sniffed. "This is... another scale of trauma."

“Yeah, Blackjack broke four hundred ponies just gassing her stable,” Rampage said with a snort. “Not sure if it counts though, since all she did was push a button.”

“It counts,” P-21 said quietly.

“The... her stable was infected with a virus. It was turning ponies psychotic. Some of them... they were cannibals,” Glory murmured, keeping her eyes low. “I should have caught it.”

“Buck that,” Scotch Tape said, no longer working on the tank, but sitting on her haunches, watching them. “Rivets should have listened to Blackjack instead to tossing them in the recycler.”

“Regardless, there were hundreds more infected. Blackjack used a chlorine talisman to flood the stable with poison gas, with herself inside as well.”

“To make certain none of them could halt the process,” Lacunae said, her eyes glittering. “The Goddess teleported her out before she died, obviously. Still, it was traumatic.”

“Think of Blackjack as the grim reaper. If you cross her, she’ll kill you. She doesn’t want to, but she will if she’s not given a chance to think of it. But if she cares about you, she’ll move heaven and earth trying to save one life,” Rampage said with a nod. “Like I said, really annoying.”

Sweetie shook her head, but still managed a smile. "Well, at least she has you guys. I'm sure her's would be a far different story if she didn't have her friends at her side. All you need is the Elements of Harmony and you're a set."

“The elements of what now?” P-21 asked in bafflement.

“Oooh! Which one am I?” Rampage asked, narrowing her eyes at Sweetie Belle as she grinned manically. “Laughter?”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. "You strike me more as Generosity. You look like you could punch a hole in that tank, and what are punches but the gift that keeps on giving?"

“It’s very true,” Rampage said with a prim nod.

Glory snorted and shook her head. Lacunae only seemed to study Sweetie curiously. P-21 looked to the door. “Where is Blackjack? You don’t think she’s trotting north on her own right now, looking for that crystal?” he mused.

“Ugh, it’d be just like her,” Glory said with a glower. “I am going to positively spank her if she has!”

"Maybe I should go look for her," Sweetie said, standing up. She headed out into the rain, roughly in the same direction she had seen Blackjack go.

o.0.o

There were few places in the Wasteland, few worlds, that sucked as much as the Hoof. The cold rain poured down on Sweetie Belle, with an almost vindictive malice, transforming the ground into a muck that sucked at every step. That muddy slurry’s silent radiation would have been wreaking havoc on another pony, but as it is was simply a challenge to make any progress north whatsoever, let alone finding Blackjack.

Then she came across the fresh corpse of a hulking monster-sized pig slowly sinking into the ooze as a sign that she was on the right track. Or at least she was on a track. Hopefully it was Blackjack and not something worse that pulverized the skulls of giant, irradiated boars.

Just in case, however, Sweetie allowed her little diamond, Akela, into the Wasteland. Better be prepared to drill a hole into something than be caught unarmed. Grimacing at how the muck impeded her movements, she nevertheless moved around the corpse, eyes scanning around for any sign of Blackjack. Her ears strained, trying to ignore the sound of the rain.

It wasn’t just the rain though. This place... it hurt. The stone under her hooves groaned, whimpered, and wailed. It was as if the planet itself had suffered a wound that still festered. This was a bad place. She might be looking at muddy slopes and dead grass as she worked her way north, but there was a scream with every step.

Had it been the same back with Puppysmiles? She hadn't been able to sense the earth when she had been there before. If the whole world was like this, in constant pain to the extent that the rocks themselves—sturdy and unmoving against most disasters—would suffer, she had to wonder if Equestria would ever recuperate.

She gritted her teeth to keep herself from whimpering. Her eyes scanned around, not dark enough to use a darkvision spell, but the rain made it hard to really see anypony.

Ahead of her rose a spur of stone... no, not a stone. A building. Two stories tall, and wide. Her hooves left the mud to find a firm driveway heading to the east. It was shelter from the pouring rain, and as good as any place to look for Blackjack. As she approached, a sign by the parking lot crept into view: ‘Eternity Spas. You’ll want to stay forever.’

"Well, that's ominous," Sweetie muttered. She slowed down, sticking to the wall and unconsciously making her body a bit smaller as she sneaked from shadow to shadow, trying to see if there were any creatures in there.

This building should have been a raider den. Or a beast’s lair. Or rubble. Or any number of things. It seemed inexplicable that this place would be so... intact, and being intact, so empty. The doors were actually unlocked! Lights struggled to flicker to life, illuminating a reception hall that would have been perfect right out of Ponyville.
Minus the remains, of course.

Dozens of them, laying strewn all over. Piles of clothes, leather, rusty weapons and guns. And odder still... nopony had looted them. This had to be a small fortune just lying here for any wastelander... heck, even in other worlds. Yet, none of it was touched. All of it soaked in cold, thick blood.

Sweetie grimaced and stepped in carefully, doing her best to ignore the remains. Still, she could feel bile threatening to climb up her throat just with the knowledge that there had been so many ponies here and had to stop to swallow and breathe. If Rarity had been here she would be freaking out, but that would only get her killed. Whatever had killed these ponies might attack her.

Already a battle plan was forming in her mind. Cast darkness. Darkvision. Control the environment of the battlefield. Hopefully this possible enemy was not invulnerable to elemental magic. "If not," she whispered to herself. "Shred them with Akela."

The creepiness didn’t stop, though. The equipment in the foyer was all fitting wastelanders... but there was a mare’s dress behind the receptionist desk heaped in a pool of blood just as the rest, name tag resting on top! As she went into the side rooms, there were massage tables dripping gore... but no spatters. No bloody hoofprints. No bodies. Not even bones. Just blood... so much blood. When the lights came to life, musak started to play and... wait! That was Sweetie’s voice. Her own singing from two centuries ago. Another life... another time...

The world seemed to roll to a stop, and for a moment, Sweetie could only think one thing: "I need to get that LP." Shaking her head to return to reality, Sweetie finally stopped and concentrated. There didn't seem to be any sign of Blackjack in this room, nor of anything living or un-living for that matter.

“Voice print identified,” a voice said from nearby, from the pool room, which started up its jets as the light came alive, the water the color of strawberry lemonade. A talisman set in the wall blinked, oddly out of place for a spa.

All chances of secrecy gone, Sweetie sighed and approached it more openly, trying to figure the spell matrix of the talisman. "And what do you do, huh?"

“Voice print identified. Awaiting password, darling,” it said in a parody of Rarity’s own voice.

Sweetie blinked. "Password? Uh... Opalescence! Boutique! Chic! Sweetie Belle! Worst. Possible. Thing." She tried to think of other things Rarity might have used. "Tom. Spikey Wikey. Twilight."

“Awaiting password, darling,” the talisman quipped.

"Um... could you... give me a hint?" Sweetie asked, smiling despite the fact that the talisman would not see her face.
“Is this applesauce?” the talisman asked.

"Toast!" Sweetie squealed.

The talisman flashed and a door opened in the wall. It led down a short hallway to a second door with a note that read, ‘Do not disturb for any reason. Knock before entering.’

Carefully considering the note, Sweetie shrugged and knocked. Who knew if there was some ghoul inside or something that might be annoyed by lack of manners. Still, no feral hiss inside. No reply at all, really. This hall and doorway still looked like it was part of the spa. The same wood paneling. Still, something was off. It just felt wrong.

Unable to shake her uneasiness, Sweetie pressed to the wall, before allowing her magic to slowly push the door open. She crouched, ready to dodge or cast a shield spell if needed.

Before her was... probably not what she expected. The room was dominated by a large four poster bed. Racks of tastefully arranged sex toys sat along one wall next to the bed, while another wall had a rather stunning display of harnesses, bridles, and fetish gear. A corner was occupied by a jacuzzi, while the last had a desk and terminal tucked aside, as if ashamed to be in the lecherous chamber.

Sweetie could feel the heat on her cheeks as she stiffly made her way into the room and just as much as she really didn't want to think this place belonged to her sister despite the password, she also really regretted not having the ability to take some sort of picture of the place to tease her sister about it sometime.

She cleared her throat and slowly approached the computer. "I hope it’s not password protected too," she muttered, making sure there was no blood on the chair before sitting in front of the desk.

Fortunately, it was clean. More fortunately, somepony’d been logged in. The terminal flickered as much as the lights, but it was still steady. There were recordings. Dozens and dozens of recordings. Each of them had a date, a number, and a tag: ‘Valuable’, ‘harmless’, and ‘dangerous.’

Blinking, she chose one of the early recordings, tagged 'Valuable'.

The screen flickered several times, and then four film footages from different angles flickered to life. The cameras were hidden neatly in the walls. Two unicorns walked in, a mare in a manager’s dress and a filly. “Now remember. Show him a good time. He likes to play ‘naughty daddy.’ You should be able to play it just fine for the cameras. Be nice and vulnerable.”
“Yeah, yeah,” the filly snorted. “This isn’t my first rodeo.”

“Just make it convincing. He’s vocally opposed to the SPP ‘waste’. Rarity needs dirt she can apply against him,” the mare said as she examined the filly. “Also, his file says he’s more partial to pegasi.”

“Finally! Somepony not interested in horns,” the filly blurted, and flashed into a pony-sized bug creature with buzzing wings. A second flash and the filly returned, this time with wings. “How do I look? Decent jail bait?” she asked as she gave the camera a lewd eyeful.

“I wouldn’t know,” the mare said lightly, stepping out of the door and calling softly, “Councilor? She’s ready.”

A strong pegasus stallion trotted in and eyed her closely, his lips curling, eyes searching. “Daddy,” the little filly said coyly, fluttering her eyes.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” the mare said as she stepped out.

Sweetie didn't notice her mouth was open or that her hoof had come up to cover it in her surprise. A part of her was offended that Rarity would use a changeling like that, even if the changeling seemed to be perfectly fine with it... but the rest of her was much more unnerved by the fact that her sister was creating blackmail material like some sort of criminal.

"Just what the hay did you do for a job, Rarity?!" she gasped, scrolling at the documents and trying her best to ignore what was happening on the screen. She almost didn't want to check the dangerous one, given the nature of the previous one, so she settled for clicking on one of the 'harmless' ones, hoping this would give her a better idea of just what was going on.

The harmless one was more consensual, two ponies, who seemed like average, ordinary ponies here for kinky sex. These two seemed to be aware that they were being recorded, talking about their honeymoon and ‘worst kept secret at Image.’ At least these ponies seemed to be loving in their sexual encounter, and none of them were doing anything illegal.

Had her sister been some kind of pornographer? Sweetie had heard that modeling could take you to dangerous places depending on your choices, but she had no idea having a boutique would end up in this. Unless Rarity had been hiding things all along.
This gave her pause.

Shaking her head, and dreading what would come up, Sweetie finally convinced herself to click on the "Dangerous" tagged recording.

The image was fairly simple. A mare laying on her back, readying herself with her hoof. A pony arriving, all covered up. A hat being removed, exposing a striped head. Clothes falling to the ground as fast as she could remove them, which was fairly fast with the help of the mare’s magic. The zebra mare joining her on the bed. Kissing. Rubbing. Touching. Toys being levitated as the two tried to consume each other in passion. Not that different from the ‘harmless’ video...

...except the mare was Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie opened and closed her mouth, unable to vocalize what she was feeling. Her sister had been using her as sex bait? Rarity? What... how? Or maybe it was a Sweetie Bot? But she looked... just like her! If she had already felt her cheeks warm, now she was really embarrassed and ashamed. She immediately clicked the next recording, hoping it wouldn't be her.

It was. This time with a zebra stallion. And the third with a pony mare. Another zebra mare. It wasn’t just the sex though. It was how much Sweetie seemed to pour herself into those carnal moments. It couldn’t be a sex bot, no robot would talk about how much they needed it or stress.

Then, on the video, as it played past the sweaty parts, the door opened and in walked her sister. She looked... worn. Still, she smiled at the zebra mare, who rapidly cloaked herself. “No, no. Don’t rush on my account, Xa... Xen...” She paused and looked over at Sweetie Belle, lying exhausted on the bed.

“Xensha,” Sweetie supplied. “One of my sound engineers.”

“Xensha,” Rarity said with a smile. The zebra nodded and returned to Sweetie, whispering something and kissing her deeply before trotting out. Rarity watched her go, her smile fading. “Another new one? Sweetie, you know the risk.”

Sweetie Belle watched, mouth agape once more, as she just took partner after partner, not even blinking when Rarity had walked in. The fact that her sister was just taking it in stride... just what type of slut had she been?

She thought back on her own experiences, from experimenting with kissing Scootaloo and Applebloom so long ago... and tried to somehow fit that into this... this version of her.

Just what had happened to turn her into such a sexual creature? At times she had seen her other self show signs of being angry... tired... sad, but the sheer passion she threw herself with was just staggering.

“How could I forget, with you reminding me all the time?” The Sweetie in the video retorted, rolling on her front, hugging a pillow tight and grumping.

“You can’t just do it like other ponies, Sweetie Belle. You’re a celebrity,” Rarity reminded her. “That’s why I invited you here. So you’d be able to do it without getting caught, but even this spa has limits!”

“Right, because I might imperil the illusion you and my manager have built up. That’s all you are now, Rarity. Illusions and lies!” She rolled over, throwing the pillow at a rack of sex toys and sending them rolling every which way. “Oh, Sweetie Belle! She’s so wonderful and innocent! She doesn’t even date other ponies! She’s saving herself for marriage!” Sweetie Belle gushed sarcastically, fluttering her eyes. “That sells better than ‘Oh, Sweetie Belle, she fucks Stripes!’”

“Yes, it does!” Rarity snapped back. “And in case you missed it, we’re at war with zebras, Sweetie Belle! How could you even think to take one into your bed? Let alone two or three?”

“Because I like them and this war is stupid!” Sweetie said, getting off the bed to face her sister. “Xenshia deals with ponies muttering about how she’s a traitor, when all she does is mix sound better than most ponies in the business. Xeran saw right through all the fake smiles and fake goody goody pop star crap, and made me actually feel good. Goddesses, I felt wonderful! And he’s disappeared! Nopony knows where! Do they?” she snapped, her voice hissing with suspicion.

The more Sweetie watched, the less horrified she was, and she started to feel pity for her counterpart.

Her hoof slowly caressed the screen. The local Sweetie Belle had been destroying herself out of sheer loneliness and despair and a need to do something to prove that she was not part of the war, in addition to Rarity being some sort of pornographer that probably sold incriminating videos to the highest bidder probably had broken her counterpart here.

Fortunately there was a fast forward, so she was able to zip through looking for other scenes with her sister, or anypony that wasn’t just an anonymous partner. Then there was one with a pony she knew: Scootaloo. That sex was a lot more awkward than the others, with the pegasus clearly unsure of things. So much so that she put a stop relatively soon. They sat together on the bed. “So, Applebloom and I are about to launch Stable Tec. She’s got the designs. I’ve got the money and contacts. If we can just make it work, maybe we can do some good.”

“Nothing’s good in Equestria any more. Not after Big Mac died,” her other self said as she hugged Scootaloo around the waist. “How’s Applebloom taking it?”

“About as well as you can imagine. That’s part of the reason we’ve got to get Stable Tec going. If we don’t... I don’t want to think about what will happen to her,” Scootaloo said, holding Sweetie back, not like a lover, but like a friend. Scootaloo gave a hollow laugh, “Or me, for that matter. If we can’t get this company to work, I think I might lose it.”

Sweetie sat up a little. “What if I helped?”

“Sweetie, you’ve helped enough. Sorry that I couldn’t get into it,” Scootaloo said awkwardly.

“I don’t mean that,” Sweetie said with an embarrassed flush. “You just weren’t in the mood. But I was actually talking about helping you with Stable Tec.”

“Sweetie, I’d love your help. It’d be great to be the CMC’s again... but how could you help? You don’t know business or engineering,” Scootaloo said, trying not to sound patronizing and failing.

“No, but I do have a lot of fans, and after everything that’s happened with Rarity, I know all about selling an image. You’ll need somepony for the commercials and marketing. I could help with that!” Sweetie smiled, an honest happy smile. “And... maybe we can do something to turn all this horribleness around...”

Scootaloo smiled as well and kissed her ear. “Thanks for the ‘make me feel better’ sex.”

“No problem,” Sweetie said, her smile failing a little. “I’m an expert.”

Back in the present, Sweetie's initially dreadful eyes had warmed up as she listened to the conversation, and by the end of it, despite what her other self had done, she couldn't help but grin. "You go, Sweetie. Nothing can be bad enough to destroy the Crusader spirit." She considered the two friends sitting together and gulped. They did look cute together.

She sorted through the next few files, but only two others were with Sweetie Belle. The next were of Rarity! First with a stallion Sweetie couldn’t recognize. Then, a flash, and...

Spike?

Definitely a teenaged dragon. Bigger than a pony, but not ginormous yet. Yet there was kissing, and holding and... stuff. Stuff done extremely carefully, but stuff done. Really, how did her sister manage... and yet she did. And not only did she enjoy it, but from the look of love, it was more than simple carnality. It was careful. Caressing. Sensual and loving. Clearly, Rarity had learned a bit about taboo relationships from her sister.

Sweetie placed her hoof on top of the computer and looked down. "Talk about robbing the cradle. But did you really have to record it?" she muttered. She couldn't fight the blush at all and brought her hooves to her face and meeped. "And why do they look so darn cute together? I should stop watching!" She quickly scanned to see how many files were left.

There were only a few. The next two were more Spike and Rarity together. For the next one, Rarity had entered in with the changeling she’d seen earlier, the unicorn in a fashionable but concealing cloak. “I’m going to need you more at the office, Image. If Luna found out... or Twilight...”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure she’d freak,” the dragon rumbled from the floor.

“Yeah, I got it. It’s not my first rodeo.” The changeling replied and transformed into a copy of Rarity.

“Be honest, darling,” Rarity admonished. The changeling form shimmered to a more aged mare. “Thank you. Smile and wave at the gala.”

“You bet. I’ll find someone there to nibble on. Blueblood is always good for a bite,” she said with a grin before walking out and leaving the pair alone.

“I always wonder with her,” she said as she dropped the cloak, letting it fall as she climbed into Spike’s embrace…

...her belly swollen with foal.

"No way." Sweetie almost jumped to her hooves as she stared in horrified fascination. "You can get pregnant from a dragon?!"

“This is all your fault, you know,” Rarity went on with a pout. “I’m all swollen up and fat. Fat fat fat...”

“Technically, I think it’s yours. You’re the one with magic, after all. If anything will break the rules, that will,” Spike rumbled, kissing her neck and earning a coo from her. “I wish you’d tell me what kind of magic you’re doing. Twilight seems to think you might be doing something... wrong.” He stared into Rarity’s eyes, his own huge with concern.

She averted her eyes. “No, darling. It’s just a fluke. A wonderful fluke... my own precious baby with my own precious Spikey Wikey.”

“But what are you doing, Rarity? I mean, I’m not Twi but I have picked up a bit here and there,” Spike asked, his voice a deep rumble, like a giant feline.

“I’m going to keep everypony safe, Spike. You. Me. My friends. Everypony I can. Just as soon as I find a way...” She said as she proceeded to snuggling, Spike still looking worried.

Sweetie grimaced, knowing that things had definitely not turned out well. Had Spike and Rarity's baby survived? She shook her head. The last time she had been in the Wasteland, she had briefly seen a robot talking with Spike's voice... maybe Spike was still around somehow? Sweetie felt a bit dirty, having spied the intimate moments her sister had shared with Spike.

Somehow they seemed sacred, perhaps because of the honest love between the pair. She couldn't understand why Rarity had recorded them, but... she shook her head, spying the few remaining recordings. Maybe one of them would tell her the fate of Rarity's offspring.

The first was of her sister and Spike, together, the mare holding a tiny lavender ball of scales with a freakishly huge pony head. So much smiling. So much love.

The second to last... her sister alone. No sex. No Spike. No foal. Only tears. So many tears.

The last dangerous, Rarity waited alone. She looked exhausted. Old. Worn and torn and spent. Then Sweetie stepped in... mature, and a bit worn too. “Sister,” she said, oddly formal. “Here I am.”

“I... I wasn’t sure you would come,” Rarity said, her voice weak. “You... look wonderful, darling.”

“I almost didn’t, Rarity. Your ministry... the stuff it says... the stuff you let it say! Sometimes I can’t believe you’re my sister,” Sweetie snapped, making the older unicorn flinch.

“I tried to do the best I could, Sweetie. For Equestria. For the ponies I’ve loved. My friends. I’ve tried to keep up appearances. Support the war,” Rarity said as her eyes averted. “I’m not proud of everything I’ve done, Sweetie, but I’ve tried to do good.”

“You enabled Luna. You rationalized everything she did. You convinced ponies she was right!” Sweetie saw herself snap. “Whatever good you’ve tried to do doesn’t make up for the harm you’ve done. Zebras afraid to live anywhere but zebra town? That was you. Rumors of blackmail and ‘leaning’ on ponies? There’s way too many for some of them not to be true.” Sweetie took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. “What do you want, Rarity?”

“I want to protect you, Sweetie. I’ve found a way. A way to make sure I’ll never, ever lose what I love again,” she said as she stared aside, looking like a mare desperate to see a way out of the nightmare she was in.

“I don’t need your protection, Rarity,” Sweetie replied, coolly. “I trust Applebloom to keep me safe over anything you’d offer.” She started to turn to leave, when Rarity grabbed her.

“I still have all the recordings! Every single one!” Rarity hissed, jabbing a hoof at the screen.

Sweetie Belle turned and regarded her sibling with utter contempt. “So you’ll, what, expose me if I don’t let you ‘protect’ me? Go right ahead. I’ll drag it all into the light. Everything I can. And you know what, I doubt I’ll be the only one who will talk.” She shoved her sister away. “Get help, Rarity. Resign, and get some therapy. Find some pony or zebra to give yourself a good rut. Goddesses know you need it.” And then she turned, leaving her sister sitting there, stricken in the middle of the floor.

Sweetie couldn't help the tears. After watching Rarity's foal-hatchling, her and Spike's love and the desperation in her eyes she couldn't feel anything but pity. She checked the computer once more. Were there any other files that explained how she wanted to protect Sweetie? Maybe she could give them to Blackjack or something, if they were useful. Use whatever Rarity wanted to do for the others to help the Wasteland like her sister wasn't able to help Equestria. Maybe then Rarity's legacy wouldn't be so dark.

The first time she’d been to the wasteland had been a grim lesson in the physical cruelties the Wasteland could play on ponies. Now she was discovering just how personal, how deeply, this horrible place could hurt her. The computer files didn’t have anything else except a note that they were to be kept ‘just in case’. But what happened between the two? What in Equestria had Rarity done?!

And why was she so... sore?

It was a strange sensation. Not a pain, precisely. More like an ache. Since her alterations she’d been spared a lot of the bad sensations of the flesh, but now... something was wrong. Maybe it was the revelations of what she’d seen on that horrible screen, but she felt... sick, for lack of the better word.

“Sweetie Belle?” A familiar voice said behind her. Blackjack carefully stepped in, levitating her pistol ahead of her, her face set in an expression of annihilating anything that threatened her. For a moment, Sweetie got that look too, but then her face softened, her features tiring. “There you are? Are you okay?” She asked as she lowered her gun, staring around her suspiciously.

Sweetie sniffed. Despite the battles and the many situations she had found herself involved in, there had always been the chance to actually do something to help others, be it her sister, Spike, Octavia... anypony she had met. Even Nightmare Moon, but now, she had just witnessed the horrible past of not only herself, but her sister too. She had seen hope slowly die in their eyes and a rift being created that she would never have the chance to help mend. Sniffling, she stood up, allowing the tears to run down her cheeks.

"I'm..." she lunged forward and hugged Blackjack and started sobbing. "I-I just saw my sister—she..." she tried to speak, but couldn't really put it in words. How do you explain the complete loss she saw in her sister's eyes?

Perhaps the most heartbreaking thing was the confusion in the white unicorn’s face. She trotted over next to her. “She... what?” As if the list of bad things in Blackjack’s experience was so broad that she couldn’t even guess.

"She lost everything..." Sweetie said, glancing at the computer. "Her sister, her friends... her foal." She brushed her tears away. "It was horrible. This Equestria was horrible. It's no wonder it ended up in—" she waved her hoof around the room. "This."

Blackjack glanced around. "To be fair, this place is actually pretty nice for the Wasteland. If it wasn’t for the Enervation, somepony would have torn this place up long ago.” She paused and peered at her. “But since you’re not bleeding out the eyes or anything, I guess you’re... immune? Something?” She sighed and closed her eyes. “But yeah. The Hoof sucks. Equestria sucks. The Wasteland sucks. The good places are few and far between, and even if you look close, there’s usually something nasty close by.”

Sweetie blinked. "Um... immune to what? Enervation? Is that some sort of virus? Am I supposed to get the flu?" Her eyes widened. "Is that why I'm feeling a bit sore?"

Blackjack frowned in worry. “It’s an energy field... thingy. It sickens ponies. Makes them bleed out and kills them. I’m resistant because... well... the most popular theory is this.” She rapped on her metal leg. Then she popped out a finger, scratching behind her ear and asked, “Did you say Rarity had a foal?”

Sweetie nodded. "Um, yeah. And don't freak out but..." she leaned forward to whisper on Blackjack's ear, as if she was afraid of somepony listening in. "She had it with a dragon friend of hers called Spike," she said softly.

Blackjack squeezed her eyes closed, nodding slowly. “Okay. So... That’s... a thing. One second.” She flipped open her leg and fiddled with it a moment. “Ahem. Blackjack to Watcher. Blackjack to Watcher. Come in please.”

Sweetie blinked and looked over Blackjack's shoulder. "Wow, your arm has everything. It's better than XCOM's implants!"

Blackjack just held up a finger, still looking pained as she waited a minute. Then her pipbuck crackled and the tinny voice of Watcher came through. It sounded smoother than the spritebots he normally used, but modulated to hide the identity. “Well, Blackjack. This is unexpected. Usually I’m the one who contacts ponies,” he said with a chuckle.

“Yeah,” Blackjack said as she looked at Sweetie Belle, her brows knitted. “Look, I can’t think of the right way to ask this, so... you had a kid with Rarity?”

Sweetie covered her mouth. "Omycelestia! I forgot he's still around!" she whispered in a panic. She could feel her heart hammering. Nothing good could come out of this.

There was no answer for nearly a minute. Just silence with the occasional bit of scratchiness. “I don’t want to talk about it, Blackjack.”

“I bet,” Blackjack replied. “But I have a person here who says she’s Sweetie Belle from another world who just happens to have discovered she’s an aunt in this universe. I know. Crazy, but given how this strange shit just falls on my back from out of nowhere, I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt. She’d really, really like to know.”

Again, silence, then Spike’s voice issued from the broadcaster. Low, deep, draconic, and dangerous. “Sweetie Belle, where in Ponyville did the Crusaders have their clubhouse?”

Sweetie blinked. "U-um, Sweet Apple Acres... but Spike... you don't need to do this. I'm so sorry!"

“Sing the song that won you your first prize,” he demanded instead, his voice low and even, as if struggling for control.

Sweetie Belle cringed. "If... you insist..." she cleared her throat and looked apologetically at Blackjack. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders, on a quest to find out who we are, and we will never stop the journey... not until we have our cutie marks..."

Blackjack struggled to keep from laughing, smiling ear to ear. Spike let out a long, low, tired sigh. “You sing better than Scootaloo did, Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes and muttered something about that song being horrible no matter who sang it.

“So you believe it’s her?” Blackjack asked.

“I believe... there are many strange things that happen in the Wasteland, and if anypony would stumble across one, it would be you, Blackjack.” the dragon said wearily.

“So, it’s true then? About you and...” the unicorn trailed off, glancing at Sweetie Belle.

“Yes. It’s true,” he said, his voice old and tired and still soft with sadness.

"Oh, Spike." Sweetie shook her head. "I'm sorry, you both deserved better. She should have..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say. "You were both very happy, from what I saw," she finished lamely.

“Yes. We were. It wasn’t easy keeping our affair secret. Rarity’s ministry gossiped like mad, and something like that could have been ugly,” the dragon said in a quiet rumble.

“I’m more like... how,” Blackjack said, tilting her head. “I mean, your thing is almost as big as-”

“I was a teenager, Blackjack,” Spike said with an exasperated growl. “About the same size as a pony. Maybe a little bigger. It worked out fine.”

Sweetie was blushing and tapping her front hooves together. She bit her lip. "Um... it was more than a ‘little’ bigger."

Blackjack gave a little chuckle, but Spike sighed. “We made it work. Rarity was a unicorn. She had magic. Okay?” The dragon grumbled and then sighed. “As for the baby... again... magic.”

“Seriously? Rarity knew spells for that?” Blackjack asked, arching a brow at Sweetie Belle. “I didn’t even know spells like that existed.”

Sweetie shrugged. "Maybe? I never learned them, but I wouldn't be surprised. Nightmare Moon certainly seemed the type to know exactly that kind of thing, along with... other... magic."

Blackjack lost her smile at that. Spike gave another long sigh. “It might as well have been from Nightmare Moon. It was one of those damned spells from the Black Book.”

“What?” Blackjack blurted. “I thought that thing was just evil soul magicy stuff.”

“Apparently it’s got all kinds of tricks,” Spike said softly, his growl barely audible. “Rarity... she wanted a baby so badly. I think the book told her how she could have one with me.”

"But, what happened to the baby, Spike? I know it was born?" Sweetie finally asked. "Did you get to spend time with her or him?"

Spike was silent for a moment, and then let out a little sob. “She was so small. So perfect. So precious... but also... so sick. The book had made it possible but... it wasn’t meant to be. We had to go to one of Goldenblood’s secret doctors. He used all the magic and science he could, but in the end, she didn’t make it.”

Blackjack glared at the Pipbuck. “Was it Trueblood?”

“How... How did you know?” the dragon said, his voice stunned.

“Just that he had a nasty habit of collecting bits of ministry mares,” she replied. “She might be alive, Spike. Sanguine had a dragonpony with him. Called her Precious. She’s a filly now.”

"Oh, Celestia!" Sweetie gasped. "What color is her coat and scales?"

“Lavender and green,” Blackjack and Spike answered in unison.

“Is it possible...” Spike murmured. “Is she... okay? Happy?”

“I have no idea. I think Sanguine had her in one of those stasis pods or something. She’s... difficult to deal with. But she’s in Chapel right now, if you want to send a sprite bot to go check on her now,” Blackjack said with a little smile.

“Yes. Yes, I should do that. I should definitely do that!” Spike gushed.

"Spike," Sweetie growled in an almost unpony fashion. "I might not be that filly's real aunt, but I will be a very upset quasi-aunt if you only send a sprite bot, whatever that is, to see her."

“It’s... not as simple as that,” Spike said, his voice fading. “But, I will... I.... sorry. I need to see her for myself.” And with that, the connection was severed.

“Well,” Blackjack gave a little smile. “Sorry. Spike’s currently guarding the one thing that might actually save the Wasteland and restore Equestria.”

Sweetie Belle sighed. "Okay, I get it, but... this place is not kind to anyone. Let's hope he doesn't miss his chance."

“Yeah. He’s just been hurt a lot. Twilight and Rarity both turning distant, then dying while he took a nap. He’s probably terrified. What if she doesn’t believe him? What if she hates him? What if he thinks she’s just a half-feral dracofilly? I mean, she made friends with Scotch, so probably not, but you have to be careful. If the Wasteland gives you something nice, sometimes it’s just setting you up for a fall.”

"Yeah, well... it's not the only place in the multiverse like that and yet here we are," Sweetie muttered. "There's always some force or magic or entity ready to eat your soul, or force you into servitude while it mutilates your essence into a monster. Well, it can go to tartarus for all I care. We deserve happiness too!"

Blackjack stared at her with the sad smile, “Sounds like you have some experience in that department too.”

Sweetie took a sharp breath. "I'm not... a pony anymore. I look like one to you, but..." she chuckled and lifted her hoof. "If I get cut, I bleed... and you'll see blood, but I'll see the truth. Little pieces of red glass." She sighed and lowered her foreleg. "It's not horrible. I've met friends in other worlds who have seen my true form and they assure me I'm no monster. And maybe I'm not. But, just because I don't destroy lives or or go out of my way to kill or maim... doesn't mean I'm really a pony either."

“Yes, you are,” Blackjack said and lifted her own metal leg. “Look at me. I’m half machine. Do I count as a pony? You bet your ass I do, because I say so. I look in the mirror and no matter how much steel I see, I’m still a pony. And no one can take that away from me. They took my legs and eyes, but I’m the only one who says who and what I am. And if you say you’re a pony, you are. And if you say you’re not... well... then you’ll have to decide what you are instead.” She said, pointing a hoof at her. Then she smiled. “I’m glad that whatever you are, it seems like you’re immune to enervation.”

Sweetie hugged Blackjack again. "You're adorable, Blackjack... and I guess you're right too. I just need to remind myself that I'm still Sweetie Belle. Even if I can talk to rocks." She withdrew and kissed Blackjack's cheek. "Thanks for being kind. Well, I was supposed to find you, but you found me. What now?"

“Try your spell again? Or we can go back and you can come with us to the Society,” she suggested, glancing around. “I’m kind of curious what this place was for. Or was it for exactly what I think it was for?” She asked with a grin.

Sweetie Belle said something that didn't really sound like a language, but the moment she said it, the computer next to her crackled and died. Sweetie smiled. "It's exactly what you think it was for." She glanced at the assorted items. "I can't take any of those for my travels, but you're more than welcome to keep them. I... would wash them first though. Maybe cast a few hundred cleaning spells on them."

“Of course. Some of these Glory will love,” she said as she walked to the shelves and started examining. Down near the bottom, she grinned. “Oooo, porn. This will be worth good caps to somepony.” She said as she started to go through the cassettes . “Huh. All from the same producer too. ‘Visage pictures’.” Blackjack stared at the backs of two or three, as if pondering something. “Huh.”

"What?" Sweetie asked, trying to not let her curiosity win and draw her to the porn. "Found something interesting?"

“Well, it’s your sister’s ministry. She was basically the censor for Equestria during the war. What was supposed to be printed and what was supposed to be kept silent. This place was an MoI love nest or something, right? And there’s a whole lot of porn here from the same producer. I just wonder if there’s a connection.” Blackjack turned one over. “Oh, I am so giving this one to Homage and Littlepip!” she gushed.

Sweetie pouted. "So my sister wasn't the uptight bitch you all thought she was and had her own porn studio for blackmail. That doesn't make her a bad mare!" She bit her lip trying to not snort at her own statement. "She was just... different."

Blackjack regarded her soberly. “I never said she was.” Blackjack started to fill her saddlebags. “The Ministry Mares weren’t supposed to have sexual relationships. They were supposed to be chaste, giving something up for the war effort.It really tore at a lot of them.” Blackjack examined some others. “I bet Rarity didn’t precisely know what ‘Visage Pictures’ actually made. The Ministries were huge.” She frowned. “And... huh. That’s interesting.”

Sweetie opened her mouth to correct her, but chose to just avoid that topic. "Well, it's ridiculous to ask mares to give up happiness just for show. Anyway, how much porn are you intending to carry?"

Blackjack chuckled. “You’d be amazed at how much a cyberpony can haul.” She then showed several boxes showing zebras and ponies having sex. “Notice something interesting in the pictures?” she asked as she showed Sweetie Belle a panoply of BDSM sex.

"Blackjack," Sweetie placed her hoof on her new friend's shoulder. "Are you trying to tell me something? Because you keep waving porn in front of me."

“The ones doing the domming are all ponies. See?” She said as she pointed at the pictures. “The zebras are always bound. Always on the submissive end.” She considered one and grinned, “Okay, this one I’m saving for me and Glory.”

Sweetie groaned but smiled nevertheless. "Politics in porn. Classy. Okay, let's get you packed up before all the waving of toys and porn gets interrupted by somepony that might get the wrong idea of what we're doing down here. We can try my spell later with your friends."

“Pretty sneaky too. Porn’s the one thing nopony would admit to having, but would be eager to watch,” then Blackjack paused and looked around. “Does all this seem a little... much?” she asked as she gestured to the room.

"I don't know," Sweetie answered, shrugging. "I know they used this place to record those things, but I have no experience with how it compares to other secret sex hideouts."

“Yeah, but... your sister knew how to keep secrets and tell lies, right?” Blackjack asked.

"Apparently so, if this place is anything to go by, my experience with other Rarities hasn't really included this kind of situation."

“But she knew how to work ponies. How they thought. She knew how to manipulate.” She said as she looked around the room. “So ponies would come to this spa. They’d come into this room... why?”

"To have sex without getting caught. Possibly with illegal repercussions?" Sweetie suggested. "Like... an important pony that likes his mares a bit too young. Or some general that likes to have sex with zebras, but can't do it outside because he'd get court marshalled as a stripe-lover?"

“Right. Exactly. And so if somepony outside image investigated this place and found this room, what would they do?” She asked as she started to trot around the perimeter of the room.

Sweetie's shoulders' slumped. "This place is boobytrapped, isn't it?"

“Does that sound like your sister’s style?” Blackjack asked, looking back at her with an arched brow and half smile.

"I don't know! She's not my sister!" Sweetie snapped. "My sister makes dresses in Ponyville!"

Blackjack’s smile disappeared. “Rarity would cry if she heard you say that.” She stepped closer. “Think. Even if in this world things went different, she was still Rarity. So I doubt she’d trap the place. If someone came investigating, like Pinkie in the MoM, and found this place, what would they do?”

"Nothing," Sweetie said, sitting down and taking a deep breath. "The ones I grew up with, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash... if they found this place they'd be concerned about her. They wouldn't tell anypony." She glanced up at Blackjack. "I saw how much Rarity was suffering here. And I wanted to see my sister, somehow, still alive in her. And maybe she was, but I can't imagine my own Rarity doing this. I can't imagine any of them. Not even Princess Luna being such an extremist."

Blackjack sighed and shook her head. “I’d like to see those other worlds and what might have been. None of the ministry mares should have been in charge. They were all used. I wish I knew why.” She said as she looked at the room. “I think... I think there’s more here than just sex and porn. I think that this room was an excuse. They’d find this room. Bad, sure. Incriminating, maybe. But a slap on a hoof and a don’t get caught again kind of secret. In other words, they’d stop looking.”

"Maybe they should have looked harder at themselves and put a stop to this, instead of enabling each other," Sweetie muttered. "We should probably go, unless you think there's something else hidden here."

“I know there is.” She said as she lifted a hoof. “This lets me see hostile things. Right now, we’re surrounded. So why haven’t we been attacked yet?” She looked around the room. “I think there’s way more to this place than meets the eye. Just like there was way more to your sister than people assumed.”

Sweetie grumbled, but closed her eyes. She let her senses seep down past the concrete floor, and as always she started hearing the whispers. Nonsense words, half-formed words, promises that were more intent than form.

The earth under the concrete was shuddering in pain, a miasma of energy, familiar and alien ran through the cracks like rivers of slime, but the earth answered her call. "There's... something," she spoke up, frowning a little. "An emptiness... maybe a cavern? It's big, right under us. And there's something else... a feeling of unease... a warning that some... thing is there."

There was something else. Sweetie's eyes snapped open. It was faint. It was pained. But it was very familiar. "Blackjack... the fragment is in there."

Blackjack drew a bright, shimmering silver sword and held it up, regarding it soberly for a moment. “Of course it is.” She strode towards the bed, the blade flashing through the air in the grip of her magic and cut the canopy off the bed, then sliced it into quarters, her cyberlimbs shoving the remains off to the side as she stood like a zebra. The mattress of iniquity was quartered as well, and shoved off to the side. Then she started to feel along the floor under the bed. “Gotta be a secret entrance somewhere around here.”

Sweetie frowned as she kept away from the cybermare with a vendetta against furniture. She could see what her friends had been talking about. “You think it’s under the bed?”

“It has to be somewhere. Check the walls. Ask the stones. Whatever you think might help,” she asked as she knocked on the floor several times. “Solid concrete,” she huffed and then scowled at the rest of the room.

Five minutes later, the room was thoroughly tossed and yet there was so sign of an entrance to chamber she’d sensed. “I really,” Blackjack said with a huff, “don’t want to have to start searching other rooms too. Maybe we can just get Deus up here and he can try mining with his cannons or something. It’s worth a shot.”

“Mmmmaybe save that for plan B?” Sweetie said in a touch of alarm. Blackjack was actually serious about using a tank... of course she was. Sweetie stared at the pool set in the corner. It looked inviting with the steam rolling off it... then she paused. “Blackjack? What about the pool?”

Blackjack walked over and stepped inside. “What I wouldn’t give for an hour with Glory in this.” She said as she stood in the middle.

“It’s still hot?” Sweetie asked, a touch incredulous.

“Equestrian engineering at its finest,” she said with a smile. “Enervation has a way of preserving everything, and this building has power.” Then she lifted the sword and rammed it down into the bottom on the pool. “I think...” she said with a frown, the silvery metal sword cutting through the concrete like butter.

Then there was a sound like an immense toilet flushing as the bottom of the pool gave out and she disappeared into a hole with a deluge of water. A metal hoof popped out, extended its fingers, and gave a thumbs up. “Found it!”

o.o.0.o.o End Pt. 1 o.o.0.o.o

Project Horizons Pt. 2

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

Project Horizons Pt. 2

By Wanderer D & Somber

Based on the story: Fallout: Equestria - Project Horizons

Special thanks to my pre-readers: SuperBigMac, RK_Striker_JK_5 and Serifina

"And just like that, we find our hope down the drain," Sweetie muttered, cantering up to the edge and looking down at the soaked Blackjack. She carefully jumped down to stand next to her inside the tunnel she had discovered. "Is it an entrance of some sort, or did you just burst into a pipe? Because I know Rarity and she wouldn't be sitting in the middle of the pool, flush it, and then join the water going down to access an office."

Blackjack was sprawled out on some waterlogged metal steps underneath the pool. “No, I think there’s some way to open it normally. I just wasn’t going to wait for it,” he said as she shook herself off and rolled to her feet. “Looks like this is some sort of secret facility,” she said as she turned on her PipBuck lamp, not sure if Sweetie could see in the dark or not. “Looks like a pretty big shaft. That looks like an elevator call panel over there, or we can just take the stairs down,” she said, pointing at the stairs that coiled down around the elevator shaft.

Sweetie walked around, studying the structure. For such a straightforward mare, Blackjack was surprisingly observant. Much more so than Sweetie would have originally given her credit for. True, there was no tact, but then again Sweetie had been a Cutie Mark Crusader. Tact was overrated.

"Which one is less likely to get us killed?" Sweetie asked after some thought, turning back to Blackjack. "I mean it's been centuries, right? If we take the elevator, won't it snap and let us plummet several floors down into certain doom?"

“Yeah, but if the spa’s intact, I’m pretty sure this place is too,” she said as she walked around to the call box. “I’m also pretty sure that calling the elevator’s going to alert every nasty thing down here too,” she said as she examined the metal. “Looks pretty solid. We’ll just have to be quiet.” She levitated a pistol. “You know how to use one of these?”

Sweetie, who was looking down at the darkness below, didn't look up. "Huh? Of course I know how to use the stairs. What type of dumb unicorn do you take me—" She turned to face Blackjack and found the gun floating in front of her. "...oh. A gun." She coughed delicately into her hoof. "Well, not exactly. I saw some friends use them and automatic rifles and stuff like that, and I once used a minigun and almost killed myself." She smiled pleasantly, gently pushing the gun away with a shudder. "I can use combat spells and tear monsters apart in other ways if needed?"

“Alright,” Blackjack said with a shrug. “If you’re sure.” he then started down the stairs. Her metal hooves weren’t exactly stealthy, but she was taking pains to not simply clang all the way to the bottom. As they descended, Blackjack examined the surroundings. “You know, I’m surprised I haven’t come across a place like this before. It seems like all the ministries had their secret projects. I guess Rarity wasn’t much different. She was just better at keeping it all hidden.”

"Even in my world Rarity was good at keeping them. Probably not as… decisively as this one, but yeah… when she didn't want something known, she'd do anything in her power to make sure it was out of the way, buried, unnoticeable, possibly enchanted with invisibility and unknown to the rest of ponykind. I'm not sure how she handled that kind of thing once Princess Luna was back in the picture. You know, with the dream walking and such." Sweetie nodded to herself. "Yep. She must've panicked."

“I’m guessing Princess Luna probably didn’t care because she was successful at it. Not like Pinkie Pie, who was one bad trip from publicly humiliating herself.” Blackjack paused as she spotted the bottom of the stairs. It appeared like a natural cavern of sorts, but the rocks were jumbled and jutted oddly out of the walls. Down at the base, was that... “Are those buildings?” she asked, twisting her head at the geometric outlines at the bottom of the shaft. Tiny white motes swirled about like errant stars. “Wow. Soul motes. That can’t be a good sign. Last time we saw them Glory’s wing fell off.” Shegave Sweetie a worried frown. “Are you sure you feel alright?”

Sweetie frowned, taking short breaths. "Ugh. I feel like throwing up… the ground seems like… like it's swaying under my hooves." She very obviously swallowed. "I don't think I'll be passing out, but there's just this oppression, or anticipation? Like something is dragging invisible claws down my coat and making me shiver. It's wrong and poisonous…"

“Welcome to Hoofington. If you were anyone else, you’d be melting right now,” she said as she finished walking down the steps to the bottom. They were ruins! A whole partially excavated town! A zebra town, from the look of broken sculptures rising from the stones. Stars decorated the walls. The wispy-white soul motes crept in and out of the walls. Blackback walked up to one, rapping on it hard with a hoof. “Ow,” she said, shaking her hoof. “I think... I think these walls are soul jars!” She said as she gaped at the ruins. “Soul jars are supposed to be indestructible. I guess that’s why they’re still intact.” Then she pointed down at the far end of the cave. “I think I see something over there.” A raised metal walkway picked its way through the ruined city towards the large, domed building. It was oddly pretty to watch the tiny motes as they drifted to and fro through the air, as if swept by an unseen current.

Sweetie blinked at the structures, following Blackjack's hoof to where she was pointing. "Yeah, I see it too, but… what do you mean 'soul jars'? Are you telling me these buildings have souls trapped in them?" She asked, discomfort slightly forgotten as she looked at the buildings in a mixture of horror and academic curiosity. "How… why? Is this something ponies did a lot here? Experiment with souls? Like… Puppy Smiles?"

Blackjack paused and glanced back at her. “I don’t know the specifics, but since souls are indestructible, putting them into an object also makes it indestructible. I don’t know how widespread the research was, but I do know that Rarity... she dug into that study. How to make soul jars. How to live forever.” She examined the ruins. “I think that this was a zebra community. Rarity was fascinated with zebra magic. She had a black book of necromantic spells. I can see why a place like this would appeal to her.”

Sweetie made a face and shuddered. "This Rarity had some serious issues." She cleared her throat and nodded at Blackjack. "Come on, let's find the shard… if she was experimenting with souls, I don't want to imagine what she might have tried on Twilight's."

omething dripped onto Sweetie’s flank. It was the consistency of molasses mixed with overcooked spaghetti, fluid, yet with texture. And it was moving.

Sweetie turned and looked at the thing that was slowly moving up her flank and blinked. The creature resembled a basketball-sized lump of maroon flesh, glistening wetly, an odd number of eyes scattered errantly over its surface. Two pseudopods tipped with curved barbs slithered over her hide, while its left mouth was trying to chew its way through her stony hide. "Oh hay, no!" she squeaked, making a considerably obvious effort to not scream before flames licked her coat from her horn all the way to the tip of her tail, throwing the creature off and setting it aflame. The creature squelched and spasmed under her attack, twitching this way and that before the flames died and it ceased moving.

"Oh my gosh!" Sweetie gasped, moving up to it and poking it with her hoof. "Blackjack! I think I killed a brown changeling! They're already in danger of becoming extinct!"

Then the blob grew a giant mouth, and with the sound of a glass figurine being shattered, bit her hoof clean off.

As she stared at the broken, jagged stump, there was no pain. The mouth extended and grew, swelling as it stretched out to bite again. From the other ruins, more maroon clumps were perambulating on stumpy legs, slithering on a mismatched multitude, flapping with ragged diaphanous wings, or stalking on long, clawed legs towards them. Then the mouth disappeared in a barrage of magical bolts that tore it’s flesh apart as Blackjack rushed to her. “Oh crap, are you okay?” she asked... as if half of Sweetie’s foreleg missing could be anything but ‘not okay!’

"Blackjack…" Sweetie's voice was low. "Did you say these buildings were indestructible?"

“Probably, and if they’re not I’m not that fussed about it!” she said as she drew a riot shotgun and blew the fleshy creatures to pieces as they drew near. The gobbits, however, simply reassembled themselves into larger and more complex bits of horror. Collections of mouths, claws, and eyes with no thought whatsoever to the needs of biology continuously advanced as Blackjack fired again and again.

Sweetie's green eyes glowed as she growled in a very un-pony manner. "That's good, because I'm not happy." Sigils of swirling energy materialized in the air around her as her horn crackled with electric-like streaks of magical energy. Then suddenly, white hot magic shot out of them, creasing the ground as they scorched it on the way to the bigger creatures, searing through the smaller ones and cauterizing almost immediately. A shimmering shield formed around herself and Blackjack, halting the advance of the smaller creatures that were closer to them, but thankfully not hindering Blackjack's shots.

“We need to get inside that building,” Blackjack said, not wasting ammo if a magic shield could keep these things at bay. The cauterized ones seemed to digest their own charred skins, the larger ones reforming into new collections. The cavern was filled with screams, cries, warbles, hisses, and burbles as the blobs threw themselves against the protection. They had faces... horrible, misshapen faces pressed themselves up against the field as their bodies melted, merged, and reformed. “I’ve dealt with things kind of like this before. They don’t die,” she said, glad for the protection... then she blinked. “Oh goddesses... you’re cracking,” she breathed, staring at the tiny fractures spreading up her shattered limb and along her spire. “Can you walk and maintain that shield?” Tiny bits of Sweetie were crumbling off her shattered limb before her very eyes.

"I can keep the shield up…" Sweetie said, stopping her barrage when she realized it wasn't helping that much. She glanced down at her missing hoof more worriedly. "I'm not sure what's going on down there… I'm bleeding but… I don't feel pain right now. I'll cast some healing magic as soon as we get somewhere safe. I should be able to keep the shield for a while, I'm just not sure how fast I can move like this."

Blackjack moved underneath her and carefully lifted her up. he slowly carried her ponyback towards the domed building. The malformed things attempted to batter their way through her shield. “Just keep it up,” she said as she carried her forward towards the domed structure. “I just hope that thing isn’t filled with these monsters,” she muttered as she approached the metal door installed in the structure. A faint purple light could be seen through the panes of glass in the dome’s roof. Every second, the cracks spread. Sweetie could feel them, like itchy mites burrowing into her hide. Her horn felt like any second it would shatter. Then Blackjack opened the door with her magic and carried them both inside.

The building within seemed to be some sort of temple. Stars decorated the walls in constellations, the pale black and white marble filled with inlays of silvery metal. Dull thuds banged against the door behind them as that purple light shone from a round atrium ahead. “Three guesses where Twilight is, and the first two don’t count.”

"Yeah," Sweetie replied tiredly, releasing her shield once she knew the things would stay outside. She slid down Blackjack's withers to balance a little wobbly on her remaining hooves. "I can see why you'd think that… but first…" She looked at the jagged pieces of crystal, rock and ruby dust that were where her hoof had been. "I need to take care of this somehow… let me cast a healing spell on it… I might need to make some sort of cast or something to be able to walk a bit better." She glanced at Blackjack, "You don't have an extra mechanical appendage I could borrow, do you?"

“Sorry. Scotch is the only one who knows how to detach my limbs anyway,” she said as she frowned. “Also, I wouldn’t do any magic if I were you. Your horn... it’s really cracked,” she said in alarm. “You’ve got cracks everywhere. Are you sure you don’t feel them?” she asked, pointing to a fissure in Sweetie Belle’s flank that issued a steady trickle of fine, glittering ruby dust. “I think the enervation is killing you, just in a different way! We need to get you out of here! To another dimension or something!”

Sweetie shook her head. She felt light-headed and a little detached, but Blackjack's words rang true. "I… I should leave, but I can't, not without Twilight's fragment. I can't leave it in this world."

“Okay. Then let's get it fast,” she said as she walked into the atrium. The round chamber seemed to be some kind of temple. Pillars rose from the floor to ceiling, which was decorated like the night sky. A desk and papers were set up around a stand in the middle made of silvery metal. A dusty purple cloth decorated with golden stars covered it, but the purple illumination was bright enough to shine through.

Blackjack levitated some of them. “I think these are notes... Rarity’s notes. Consulting the black book and how to use necromancy to live forever.” She looked around the ancient zebra temple. “I always wondered how a fashionista learned to unlock necromancy. It seems a little outside her skill set.” She then gestured to the cloth. “Is that it?” she asked, swallowing nervously.

Sweetie approached, stumbling a little as her 'healthy' forehoof, cracked down the middle with the sound of two stones smashing against each other. She still didn't feel pain, but worst of all, she knew she should feel worried or scared, but whatever was affecting her pain perception seemed to have also affected her emotionally. Even though she had an objective, it was more about doing it than any real investment at this point.She knew she was dying—whatever it was that corrupted this world was not functioning with her elemental side. The fae in her blood was not strong enough to combat it. Maybe if she were a creature such as The Beast or the Maester, she would be fine. But not good ol' changeling Sweetie Belle.

She levitated the cloth to the side, revealing under it the largest piece of Twilight she had ever seen. It was a flat piece, a little bit larger than her hoof. More importantly, it was a piece that she recognized: a starburst surrounded by five smaller stars. It was one of Twilight’s cutie marks. It throbbed with an inner light and life, even in this horrible place. How long had it been here? How long had this temple been here?

“Star worshiping zebras... they were worshiping Twilight’s Cutie mark,” Blackjack murmured weakly. “I’m not sure if I should be horrified or snickering right now,” she said as the crystal thrummed deeply.

"I think… I would be sad if I could be anything right now," Sweetie said, raising her cracked hoof to touch the cutie mark carefully. "If the zebras here worshipped Twilight… I probably sent her shard here millennia ago. I can't even imagine what she has been through." She glanced at Blackjack. "Or what she might have been the harbinger of."

And she glanced in time to have a steel hoof shatter her horn like a delicate crystal figurine. “Oh, little murderer,” Blackjack cooed as her eyes glowed a deep purple. “You have much greater things to worry about!” she said as her lips curled in a mad grin, pointing a shotgun at Sweetie Belle’s face. “Die!” she spat, and her world filled with an explosion and darkness.

* * *

Death was dark. Death was still. Cold. Quiet. A moment that was also an eternity. What was supposed to happen now? Was she supposed to return to Tir Na Nog with the other fae? The everafter with other ponies? Something else? Anything?

Anything happened. It was a wind. A great and terrible pull towards something massive that screamed eternally... and she’d scream too. But as she was torn towards it, a purple glow enmeshed her and kept her from that distant, swirling green vortex. “No no no,” Twilight purred in her mind. “Not... yet... I get you first.”

Then she became aware of a purple light all around her. The light congealed into the interior of an amethyst geode. Every surface was inscribed with hundreds and hundreds of notes, incantations, spells, and other theorems of magic. It seemed like gravity was wherever she stood at any moment, her body feeling whole and intact in all its crystal-rock state.

And there was Twilight, looking like a ghost of purple light, with only her cutie mark and eight other small pieces of her body solidified. “Well, now. We can speak properly now that everything’s fair. I killed you. You killed me. I was trapped here for eons. You’ll be trapped here for eons. Everything nice and square.”

Sweetie sighed. "I'm sorry." She glanced at the silent ghosts of the shards. "I can't imagine what you've seen or gone through Twilight…" she frowned. "But you don't get to kill me on purpose, trap me and call it fair. Not after all of this, not after what other pieces of you have endured and are still enduring. Not after what I have been through and would put myself through again for you." She sat down in the emptiness. Not that she needed to, or even knew if she was actually sitting. But it just felt like some sort of demonstration of stubbornness. Silly. But it made her feel slightly better.

“Kill you? Trap you?” She pressed a hoof to her chest. “You were dying the moment you stepped hoof in this place. You simply didn’t know it. Only that brain-addled descendant of mine is resistant to the Enervation due to that lump of moon in her chest, and she doesn’t even realize it.” She sighed and shook her head. “No, I just took the satisfaction of the killing blow, rather than the slow decay of your body shattering on itself as your soul was ripped from your body,” she said with a smug smile. “As for trapping you, that’s what happens here. To almost every soul that hasn’t been shattered into pieces by an inept filly interfering in delicate arcane spell research!”

One of the shards snorted.

Sweetie ignored it, looking down. "It was an accident, Twilight," she said, closing her eyes. "My studies since haven't shown any indication that levitating an object across a room would have caused the explosion… but…" she looked up at the ghostly apparition. "I am taking responsibility for it. I am not staying here… I can't. I'm bringing you and the other shards back home. We're putting you back together… and then, if you feel like I need more punishment… once you're whole and I've seen Rarity once more… then I'll be ready for whatever follows. But I promised you I would be back."

Twilight arched a brow. “Did it ever occur to you to simply let me die? It does happen, you know. I’m hardly the first unicorn killed by a magical mishap.”

For the first time since she arrived in that world, Sweetie felt tears welling up in her eyes. "You're not dead!" she cried, slumping down, almost prostrating herself before Twilight as the other fragments hovered worriedly behind her. "You're not dead! I've talked to you, to many of you. Immortal you. Warrior you. Crazy you. You're not dead! Each fragment is-is alive! Each one living separately from the others, some not long enough to become their own—others… ancient beyond anything I've ever encountered… you're not dead," she whispered. "I don't know if I caused it.. I don't know how, but… I was there and I can't just let you go. I can't make all of this be meaningless! You have family that loves you, friends waiting! A-a stupid filly apprentice! A lonely dragon! You can't just… ask me… to let you die." She sniffled. "N-not if I can at least try to make you as whole as I can."

Twilight didn’t respond as she blubbered, and then she felt a hoof on her shoulder. “Whatever life I had shattered at the moment I did. It’s not something that you can fix. It’s not something that should be attempted to be fixed. You’ve encountered other mes in alternate paradigms. Did you think that maybe that’s where those shards should be? You’ve encountered mes that are horrible, crazy and warped. Do you think that maybe that they were getting what they deserved? I died. I am dead.” She gestured at the geode around them. “I’ve cobbled together this afterlife of my own, but it’s a shadow of who and what I once was. There is no fixing this. There’s only accepting it.”

Sweetie nooded. "Once… one of you opened a portal back home. She let me see Rarity, sick and almost dead, worried to the extreme about me. She offered me to let me go, if I would just quit." She she gulped, looking up at this Twilight. "I would have… if that's what you had taught me, but it's not what you did." She smiled, a bit sad. "I know it's what you taught me back then… and not what you see right now, but it's helped me through assassin training. Being turned into…" she motioned with her hoof at the rock and crystal body that shimmered under her illusionary coat, clearly visible to Twilight. "This."

Sweetie shook her head. "I'm not saying it just to say it Twilight… you didn't die. I think… by my third year travelling I would have learned to accept it. I probably would have stayed with Blueblood or just gone back home." She smirked. "But when your teacher… your mentor in every world you go to is alive, and in some cases suffering and alone? How could I ignore that?" She looked up. "Did you know you were destined to become a Princess? Of friendship, no less. And I was your student. An idiot one, true, but… a student."

“I not only did die, but I can prove it,” Twilight replied calmly, laying down, folding her translucent legs before her, seeming to pity Sweetie Belle for all that bold, heartfelt declaration. “I’ve had millennia to work it out. You can check my notes when I’m done.” She arched her brow. “Or would you rather cling to denial?”

"I was killed by you a bunch of times, and here I am," Sweetie said with a shrug. "Your other selves don't seem to share this conviction. Your oldest self enjoys her life a lot more than I'm comfortable with admitting."

“If I stop your heart with an electrical shock, I’ve killed you. If I start it again within five to eight minutes, you survive. Being killed is not the same as death,” she said simply, that same calm, pitying expression on her face. “We are both dead, our souls ripped from their mortal shells, cast into the everafter.” She turned and looked in the direction of that horrible scream. “Or rather, to be consumed by something far worse.”

Sweetie nodded firmly. "I agree. Therefore, by your own admission right there, we are not dead, given that this is not the everafter, nor have our souls been consumed yet. And trust me, that you would feel. Souls never heal when…" She trailed off. "They just don't."

“There are other destinations for souls than the Everafter,” she said solemnly. “Some far worse than others.” She rose and walked along the geode to a diagram carved into its surface. “When a pony is conceived, the potential for a soul is planted within them. When the foal is born and grows, its soul grows and develops into the greatest expression of the individual. When the soul dies, its energy leaves the mortal shell to travel to another plane of existence.”

She sighed, “In most cases, it is the Everafter, where the soul lingers in harmony with others, seeding new life with new potential soulseeds.” She then touched a swirling diagram. “However, in some occurrences, the soul’s destination is interrupted. Diverted. Such is the case now,” she said with a sigh as she tapped the diagram. “When my soul shattered, the fragments travelled to other paradigms of reality, just as they travel to the Everafter. That is only possible when death occurs. Q.E.D. we’re dead,” he said with a nod and smile. “Any questions?”

"Yes," Sweetie said eagerly. "Is this assumption based off specifically on the experiences from our previous lives in Universe ‘A’ and this one? Because I know for a fact it doesn't work at all like that at least in two different worlds. Also, I need to take notes!"

She smiled and shook her head. “My case is somewhat unique, in that my soul was damaged. Normally, souls divest themselves of specific memories so that when a soul is reborn, the nature of the personality remains, but the details differ. Hence you may be a gardener in one life and a warrior the next, with widely different skills, but same demeanor, even similar dreams and aspirations.” A pair of scholarly spectacles appeared on her muzzle as she talked, as if slipping back into the role. “And I think that the most pertinent case is that you are dead, and your soul’s destination is to be trapped here with me, or to be consumed for eons in the maw of the Eater.”

"Then he will get indigestion," Sweetie said firmly. "Or a kidney stone. But until that happens, it's you and me… and them." She motioned at the other fragments. "And while I don't amount to much in comparison, that's five geniuses right here. And you can't tell me to just give up with those odds stacked in our favor."

She gestured to the geode. “Well, I’ve had millions of years to work out my own notes, but by all means, I’m happy to collaborate.” She gave a little half-smile. “It feels good to work with you again, like this. Unfortunately, I anticipate that you’ll reach the same conclusion as I.”

* * *

“One good thing about being dead,” Twilight said thoughtfully as she and her soul shards poured over yet another theorem or idea. “It does give you rather a lot of time to think,” she said conversationally. It had seemed like years, and yet Twilight assured her it had only been a minute or two in the ‘real world’. She warned not to take it for granted, though, as millenia could slip by in that eternal study if you let it. “So, have you finally accepted the truth, Sweetie? I’m dead. You can’t change that.” It had to be the thousandth time she’d pressed the point... as if that was far more important than finding a way to bring her back.

"Uh?" Sweetie looked up from her own algorithm. "Wait, you did ask me that a while ago… I'm sorry I got caught up in this version of the thunderbolt spell…" Sweetie rolled off onto a standing position. "Fine. I have your answer, but answer me this: why are you so obsessed with me admitting to you you're dead? Why try to convince me so much?"

“Because you’re blaming yourself for my death,” she said quietly. “And you shouldn’t.”

Sweetie sighed. "Look… I don't know if I killed you or not with levitating an object. But I was there, and that I can't change. I am jumping from world to world, gathering your fragments to bring you back… but I know it's not going to be… well, you from before."

Sweetie walked to the floating fragments. "You'll have new memories," she said, touching one. "You'll have new experiences." She walked to stand in front of another. "You'll have fallen in love." She glanced at her mentor. "So yeah… 'you' won't ever be back. I can't bring that Twilight, with all her innocence and wide-eyed love for magic and eagerness for friendship back… I can come to terms with that… but I can at least put you back together within my power, if you want to be put back together. And whoever… the pony that comes out of that might be… I'll be there for her as you have been for me every single world."

“Good,” she said as she put her hooves on Sweetie’s shoulders. “Then I want you to stop looking.”

Sweetie chuckled, touching Twilight's hoof with her own. "No. Because that is also my choice… as yours is to decide whether to come with me or not."

“It’s not your choice, because you started this journey with the assumption that you were responsible for my death. You were not. The blame is solely my own for mishandling magic,” she replied evenly as she stared down at her. “I want you to take the other souls you’ve gathered, and resurrect whatever Twilight you can, and then I want you to live your life... whatever life that may be... unshackled from my mistake.”

"Twilight, look at me," Sweetie said. "You still see me as a filly, and I guess you have the right, given how long you've been here. But look at me. The Sweetie Belle that started this trip guilt-ridden for your apparent," when Twilight raised an eyebrow, Sweetie rolled her eyes. "For your original you's death… she's also gone too. You didn't teach a duelist-turned- assassin-turned-fae unicorn… who I am now is different, just as you are. And I also have a good memory of what happened. It wasn't you. Maybe it wasn't me. Something did happen, but the more I travel… the more I feel the claws of something out there beyond this universe and all the others I've been to involved… the less I believe it was you or I.

"So… if I can admit—reluctantly, mind you—that you are indeed dead, then you have to admit that the fault does not lie with you entirely. Especially in light of these revelations. Time and again, from beings as ancient as you, or more even, have revealed this other force acting against us… so you also have to let go of your guilt." She held Twilight's hoof in her own.

Twilight stared at her, and then waved her hoof. The purple crystals crumbled away, and the swirling green disk of baleful light came into view. “There are things greater and more terrible than I ever imagined,” she said quietly as she stared at it. Then she bowed her head again. “I know a way to bring you back to the world of the living, Sweetie Belle.”

"I'm… not going to like this, am I?" Sweetie asked in a small voice. Things seemed to be coming to a close, and this Twilight was different. She almost wanted to get to know her even longer.

“When I met Rarity in this world, I was overjoyed. Even if she was older than I last remembered, it gave me hope that somehow, I was in the same Equestria as when I had died. I learned, however, that it was far different. This Equestria was at war, and she was terrified of her loved ones dying.” She closed her eyes. “She begged me to help her unlock an ancient zebra tome, one I knew well... and... well...” she gave a little half smile. “How could I say no to a friend after being parted from her for so long?”

Twilight bowed her head. “I shouldn’t have helped her. A real friend wouldn’t. But I had her back, and she needed my help. I did. I taught her the secrets of the black book, and she used them to try and protect her friends, first with unbreakable armor, and then by the creation of a regeneration talisman. It would restore a person to life indefinitely, powered by the souls contained within.”

Sweetie winced. "I'm sorry… I know it couldn't have been easy to deal with what happened… but you had been alone all that time, it was an honest mistake, Twilight."

“A better friend would have refused her,” she said, shaking her head again. “I can transfer you and the other shards you’ve collected into one of these regeneration talismans. I know the means, and Blackjack has the magic and is still under my thrall. But you must understand, Sweetie, this is a perilous step. You risk becoming someone different from you. You might very well become... well... me. Every soul you absorb, the talisman will incorporate it. Memories... your very identity or even sanity may be threatened!” she said, looking anguished. “I may be killing you just as much as the enervation did. Just as much as I did by starting you on this foolish quest...”

Sweetie scratched the invisible floor with her hoof a little nervously. "Um… I uh, already did that." She winced. "At the beginning… one of the Twilights didn't tell me… afterwards another Twilight taught me how to not absorb your fragments. They're not here right now because they're in another dimension, but… I have a way to not take more of you anymore." She looked away. "I'm sorry."

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Sweetie Belle,” Twilight said as she put a hoof on her shoulder. “You’re not really my student any more. You stopped being that a long time ago.” She sighed softly. “If this works, you’ll have your body back. I have no idea if you’ll maintain your elemental powers. And you likely won’t remember all of your time here. A biological brain lacks the ability to truly process the afterlife’s distortion of time.” She paused and closed her eyes. “And you may be immortal. As immortal as princess Celestia. More, even. A soul jar is all but impenetrable, and it only grows stronger with the more souls it absorbs.”

Sweetie's eyes went wide. "Y-you know what the immortal version of you told me was essential for surviving immortality?" She looked up at Twilight. "To have a lot of kids."

“Can a stone have children?” Twilight asked with a sad smile. “You may very well be a unique species at this point.”

Sweetie forced out a chuckle. "I'm a fairy… or half fairy. I'm not dead rock so to speak… but Twilight… I think I'm in shock."

“I know. I’ve been trapped in this existence for longer than most ponies can imagine. I was worshiped by zebras for a thousand years, and that was just an afternoon. You might live that long. Or longer. And as the talisman absorbs more souls, you’ll change. Your nature. Your memory.” She gave a sad smile. “Though, I suppose it really isn’t that different from the other shocks you’ve experienced.” She closed her eyes. “I am so terribly sorry a part of me killed you so many times. I wish... I wish I wasn’t capable of that.” She faced her again, her face twisting in anguish. “Just... please promise me that whatever you do, you do it because you wish to do it, and not because of my stupid mistake!” she sobbed, fresh tears on her cheeks.

"Twilight… that part of you had been trapped with ghosts of her lost love in an alternate dimension they made to escape together… it would drive anyone mad, and I… well, Blueblood and I survived and I managed to rescue her." She embraced Twilight. "I forgive her for being a part of you, and I forgive you for being a pony with feelings that could be hurt. As for me…" She took a deep breath. "I have a way to not absorb any more of you, and I don't think I'll be running around taking other souls… but however it turns out, I'll always have you to thank for being alive."

Twilight just looked pained at that. “I hope you always feel like that.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “Fortunately, Blackjack is my relative. That makes this easier,” she said as her horn glowed. The geode gave a shudder and started to crack, jagged splinters growing across the eons of notes.

"Thank you, Twilight… I'll remember you, "Sweetie shouted as the world crumbled around her.

“Perhaps you will. You’ve come so far,” Twilight said with a fading smile. “Goodbye, Sweetie Belle. Live the life you choose to live.” The geode crumbled to pieces around them, the motes being pulled into the swirling green vortex.

The rest of the geode shattered into dust as she felt herself being pulled away from that swirling green disk. She saw a momentary flare of purple, like a star giving one last brilliant flash, before winking out forever.

* * *

Breath. The first pull of cold air into her lungs. The slow beating of her heart. Had it all been a dream? Getting run over by a tank... meeting a crazy cyberpony... all that stuff about Rarity... Twilight...

Her eyes opened, and confirmed the nightmare. The ancient zebra temple loomed above her. Her green eyes slowly shifted to the altar where Twilight’s fragment floated. No longer. A purple slab of rock, cracked through, lay where the shard of her mentor had floated. No image of the starburst remained. It was dead. As dead as she had been.

“Goodbye,” she whispered.

“Thanks, but I’m not gone just yet,” Blackjack said as the cyberpony walked into her field of vision. Her red eyes stared at Sweetie in bafflement. “So... do you know what just happened? Because I remember us walking in here and then... well... you waking up just now,” she said, groaning softly. “Rampage was right. Not remembering sucks.”

Sweetie didn’t answer at first. She shifted slowly to her hooves, standing before it as tears ran down her cheek. “Yeah. I do. I remember everything.” It hadn’t been a dream. She wished with all her heart it had been, but no. Twilight... this part of Twilight... it was gone. She’d failed to save another piece of her mentor. She sat, covering her face with both her hooves as the despair welled up inside her.

Wait... both? It was a blessed distraction. She stared at her recently truncated limb, now whole. Slowly she turned it over, staring in shock. It felt... normal. She lightly poked it with a hoof. “What... what did you do?” she whispered.

“Me? I woke up. That’s what I did,” she said, gesturing to the floor. “What happened? I have no idea.”

Sweetie’s eyes dropped to the floor, where a star-metal sword had cut an intricate, arcane array into the floor. The glyphs cut into the floor were profane and disgusting. Forbidden. Necromancy. Her time with Twilight’s soul still lingered fresh in her memory, but it tied together so much of other dark magic she’d encountered. A violation of natural order. The manipulation of souls. The creation of life.

And all it had cost her was a part of her mentor.

“I think... I think Twilight made you make me a new... something. Something that regenerated me,” Sweetie muttered, then gasped and reached for her diary. To her immense relief she felt that connection. Whatever had happened to her body, she still was... her. Altered, but her. Such as she was. Then she felt that warmth inside her chest that seemed to suffuse her being. “What... something’s happening...”

“Uh...” Blackjack just tilted her head as she screwed up her face. “You’re... growing rocks.”

“I’m what?!” Sweetie shrieked, but stared in fascination as tiny purple gems seemed to form on top of her like a crystal encrustation. “Well! Make it stop!” she wailed in alarm.

“Um...” Blackjack repeated, then wordlessly drew her sword and levitated her shotgun with a helpless look on her face.

But to Sweetie’s immense relief, the crystals halted their spread, and then slowly slipped back into her. Not a normal body at all! She could feel her glamour spell failing with her emotional state, and risked a look at herself, lifting her hoof up. Her coat was almost a normal, pony coat, but under her glamour, the living rock had mutated... it was less solid, more... crystalline than before... she had been remade, but from the same components, after all. “Nevermind. I think I got it to stop.”

“Well... okay. Let’s get out of here then. Back to my friends.,” she said, taking a place at the door. “I’ll make a hole and you follow me through.”

But Sweetie’s eyes were still drawn to that glyph. The arcane array... the notes Twilight had. She walked over, shuffling through them. to understand, even if none of this could make sense. The warmth in her chest, she could feel others too. In the walls. In the air. In Blackjack.

She closed her eyes and reached out to the nearest one in the wall before her. Warmth there. Warmth inside. She willed her horn to draw it inside her. To add to the warmth in her chest. Her heart. Her soul. Opening her eyes, she saw a white glow, then a mote appeared. It bobbed in the air erratically... then disappeared inside her chest!

“Uh...” Blackjack repeated yet again.

The wall cracked. A large block of it tumbled away before her, opening a huge gap in the temple wall. “How’d you do that?!” Blackjack demanded.

“I don’t know,” Sweetie murmured as she stepped through the hole. The mouthy things immediately surged towards them, but she felt the warm motes inside them as well. She closed her eyes, despite their burbling advance, and thought of the necromantic array. Horrifying pops and squeals filled the air, and then silence.

Over the blobs of flesh and blood, now still, bobbed a half dozen tiny motes. They streaked straight into her chest, and that sensation of warmth grew. “Sweetie... are you doing... necromancy? Like Rarity?” Blackjack asked sickly.

The question was a slap to her face. “What? No! I would never...” Her voice trailed off as her eyes returned to those heaps of once animate life. “I would never... intentionally...” she murmured. “We need to go!”

Sweetie led the way out, back out of the ruined city and up the stairs to the spa. Rarity here had used necromancy to do things. Now was she... was she doing evil magic too? The necromantic array that had brought her back... was it powered by souls? What happened when she took them in? Were they gone forever, like the shard of Twilight?

Sweet Celestia, what was happening to her?

The rain outside cleaned nothing. She sat outside the spa, feeling the rain pouring over her but doing nothing to wash away that sensation of wrongness. She lived. She was back. Was she now some sort of soul-sucking monster? Did she have to eat souls or die? Was she some kind of vampire soul pony thing?!

The one saving grace was the crystalline armor she could summon seemed to obey her will. Being covered with purple crystal armor was definitely unsettling, but at least it would come when she wanted it. Only, if it was fueled with souls too... ugh, was she going to need to suck more souls just to figure all this stuff out?

Was she really getting blase about it already?

“So,” Blackjack asked lightly, watching her experiment with a look of almost envy on her face. She idly tapped her mechanical limbs as she watched her. “Do you have to stay here for another shard or... do you have to go? And if you have to go... do you need to go right now? I mean, you could come with us. We have a Rainbow Dash. Why not add a Sweetie Belle to the team?” she added with a grin.

"Sure! What's the worst that could happen?"

Blackjack laughed, and Sweetie wasn’t sure that it was a good sort of laugh or not. She eyed her and gave a grin. “You know something? Horse might have been a pervert, but he had excellent taste.”

Sweetie coughed, an all too different warmth running through her. Well, she had told Twilight immortals needed to have babies... not that she’d go that far or anything but... well... “It would be nice to see how... sensitive this body is...” she murmured and then leaned towards the unicorn.

Blackjack pressed her lips to hers... but something was off. There was a tingling sensation on her lips, then... nothing. She opened her eyes to empty air, lips still smooching nothing.

“Um...” a stallion coughed. She glanced over at P-21, Glory, Rampage, Lacunae, and Scotch all watching her with alarm. “What are you doing?”

“I was kissing...” she started to say, then blinked as she saw danger signs in Glory’s eyes. “I mean, I was kissing Sweetie goodbye! A nice! Goodbye! No sexing involved at all!”

“Sweetie Belle? What are you talking about?” Rampage asked.

Lacunae frowned and Blackjack heard her voice lightly in her mind. “Don’t expect them to remember her. Few minds can adequately comprehend interdimensional travellers, let alone recall them.”

Blackjack paused, glancing at her friends, and wanting to tell her about all she’d learned and experienced, but from the mixed looks of bafflement and impatience, she knew she never could. Instead, she gave a wan grin. “Um... what’s going on now?”

“That’s our line,” Rampage asked back. “You went to the bathroom and never came back.”

“Seriously?” Blackjack glanced at the Spa again. “Well... I guess when you need a toilet, right?” She started back to her friends. “Come on. We need to get to the Society. Beg, borrow, or steal ourselves an airship,” he said as they trotted away from the spa. She glanced at Glory. “What?”

“Are you... okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. Sure. I’m great. Why?”

She pointed towards her saddlebags The video ‘Stripemistress and the seventy slut slaves’ was poking out.

”Oh! Ah! Just some... some salvage!” Blackjack answered. “Trust me, you’re going to love it!”

“Blackjack, you’re being perverted again, aren’t you?” Scotch asked with a snort. She flushed, stammering her innocence as they returned to Deus. Her five friends all shared a laugh, as if they would be together... forever.

Sweetie’s lips worked the open air, then she blinked. No Blackjack. No rain. No wasteland. She was back in civilization, breathing in clear air that smelled faintly of flowers.

When Sweetie opened her eyes, she found herself in a mundane little room. It was an office, with a oak desk in the corner and a table down the middle where guests could fit. A large window covered one wall, and traces of nighttime city lights could be seen beyond. It was just what she would expect of the office of any Manehatten executive or bigwig.

A fish swam past the window.

Slowly, haltingly, Sweetie walked over to the window. She was at the top of a great tower, and below her was a city of white stone and elegant brass. Whales maneuvered between the buildings. Fish swam in schools around its bridges. Ponies in diving suits lumbered along the ocean floor. What she had taken for the night sky was, in reality, the surface of the ocean. Screaming neon signs covered every free surface, advertising weapons and entertainments and something called "mantles," but one sign caught her eye in particular, worked out of verdigrised brass.

"Welcome to Vision."

Next: Siren Song

Author's Note

https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/818364/regarding-the-sweetie-chronicles

Vision

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

Vision

By Wanderer D & GaPJaxie

Based on the story: Siren Song

She picked up her pen, and wrote.

Sweetie Belle,

If you’re reading this, then you have just recovered from the effects of the phoenix amulet. I am told that it may interact strangely with the magic of this world, and that you may not remember much of what has happened. I have left you this letter, should you require guidance.

You are in the city of Vision, built beneath the water in the western sea. It is a terrible place, and you are in danger so long as you remain here.

There is a Twilight shard on the top floor of the Sparkle Enchantments building. You must find it, and leave this world as fast as you can. Do not stop for anything or anypony. Do not linger. Do not drink anything an alchemist gives you. If you see any treasures or magic, do not attempt to take them with you.

There is nothing for you here.

Everything in the city turns to poison in the end.

Goodbye, and good luck.

-Sweetie Belle

The light around Sweetie’s horn flickered as the wrote. She couldn’t hold the pen still. It trembled in her grip, and the characters it made on the paper were crude and jagged, like knives with a serrated edge. Finally, though, the letter was done. She sealed it in a glass tube and carefully stoppered the end.

With both hooves, she picked up the damaged tin cup on the left side of her desk. She uncorked the bottle of hydrofluoric acid, and filled the cup to the brim. Her hooves shook when she picked it up and she spilled acid everywhere. But she still managed to drink it.

She started to choke at once: half from her gag reflex and half from the burns in her mouth. She gripped her own throat with both hooves and forced herself to keep it down. She rocked back and forth in her chair and waited for the seizures to begin: jaw clamped shut, mouth drawn into a thin line, tears of pain running down her face.

When the seizures finally came, her legs thrashed so abruptly she shot out of her chair and kicked over the table. Down to the floor she went, limbs flailing, heart pounding, blood foaming in the corners of her mouth. Finally, she collapsed into a twitching ball on the floor. Her lungs struggled for breath, and her heart struggled to beat.

Then her struggle ended. Her glassy eyes stared at the ceiling, and a line of frothy foam ran from the corner of her mouth.

She lay unmoving. Her body cooled. The rodents living in the walls emerged, whiskers twitching as they sniffed at the air. One lapped up the blood pooling around her, and when it died, the others left her be.

Hours later, something changed. Heat welled up inside her, and the heart that no longer beat was consumed by literal fire. Smoke curled from her nose as the hairs and minor tissues within her face burst into flames. Within minutes, the intensity of the fire was so great that her flesh could not contain it. Her blood boiled. Her skin wrinkled like paper, and moments later blue and orange flames leapt from every part of her body. The fire consumed her, until nothing was left but a cloud of ashes.

Within that cloud of ashes condensed something new. Somepony new took form, build spec by spec out of the dust. She was a little eight-year old unicorn filly, with a white coat, pink and purple hair, and tail that was just a little bit curled.

Sweetie blinked. Then she blinked again. “What the heck was that!?”

Sweetie didn’t remember exactly how she came to be an eight year old filly standing in a ruined apartment. Last she remembered, she’d been about to kiss Blackjack. They had been at the abandoned station, and she’d been having the most depressing discussion so far with a Fragment. Speaking of which, she glanced at her flank. Twilight's broken cutie mark and the note were still there. "Well, at least I still have my Cutie Mark."

But the instincts she’d honed across a dozen worlds told her she was not in a good place. The apartment consisted of a single tiny room with no windows, and every wall was made from bare stone. It was like being trapped inside a casket. What fittings there were—some cabinets, a sink, a stove, and a bed—were all in states of severe disrepair. Cabinet doors hung at odd angles. The sink was covered in rust, and the floor was covered in water. An overturned table lay at an angle in the pool.

Next to the table was an empty metal bottle, surrounded by a couple of dead rats. Apparently, the owner of the room had at least attempted some pest control before abandoning it with her inside.

“Hello?” she called. The word emerged as a high-pitched squeak, and her voice cracked at the end.

Nopony answered. Sweetie laughed. “Did I really sound that way when I was a filly?” She sighed. It had been that long, hadn't it?

As the silence grew long, she looked down at herself. “Well. It's been a while since I've been a filly, is this temporary? I don't remember jumping worlds at all.”

Sweetie frowned a little, looking down at herself. Her body underneath the glamour was still the usual crystal and rock, but somehow the exterior wasn't an illusion. She had really become younger. Did rock get younger?

She considered her exit, but the apartment’s only door was made of steel, and it had a half-dozen locks on the inside. Little pools of water covered the floor, and papers from the overturned table ran through the mix. “Bad neighborhood, huh?” Sweetie again laughed at her own joke.

Halfway across the room, there sat a glass tube, sealed with a bright blue stopper. It had a label, “READ ME,” and inside was a rolled up sheet of paper. Sweetie tried to levitate it towards her, but a dull pain behind her eyes stopped her, and her horn glowed only faintly.

“Ugh. Whatever happened really messed me up. What am I, like, nine or ten now? I should be able to do this.” Sighing, she took the tube with her hooves, uncorked it, and read carefully through the message.

“Hhm.” She read through it again. “That’s not my writing. That, yeah. I don’t make my As look like Qs. Besides, if I was going to live somewhere, I think I could do better than this.” She let out a loud snort. “Even that abandoned building where Blackjack’s and the others camped out was nicer than this dump. Hay, a megaspell blast would improve this place. I could just live in the Hedge if it came to that.”

After a moment, she tried to summon her diary, but her horn let off sparks and nothing else. Sweetie had gotten used to being able to solve most problems with a flash of her magic forehead, and the realization that she was now half an earth pony made her frown. Whatever had turned her into a filly had messed up her inner magical paths. It would take some time for her body to get used to the restructuring.

So, she folded the letter away, then took a moment to go through the cabinets for supplies. She found food, most of it spoiled, but munched on a few ration bars to ease the gnawing in her gut. She found an extensive collection of medication—potions with fanciful names like Picket Fence or a bottle of pills with a bright pink logo that read Rest Easy. But none of it seemed worth taking. There were no weapons, only minimal clothing not fit for a filly; nothing she could really use.

The bed was messy, and the sheets were stained with oil and sweat. She sensed they hadn’t been cleaned in some time.

There was a picture frame on the nightstand. It showed two ponies wearing wedding rings. Sweetie wore her ring on her horn, and the other mare wore hers on a chain around her neck. They were standing side by side, each in a white dress, smiling like all was right in the world.

The other mare was an orange pegasus with a close-cut sea-green mane. She was cute.

Sweetie stared at the picture for a long time, her mind working over the scenario. Was this the local Sweetie Belle? It had to be, right? The Sweetie in the picture seemed too familiar and comfortable; there was clearly no urgency in her to move on, or she wouldn't have gotten married. Except, that letter.

She shook her head, looking down at the picture of the happy couple. There was no way she'd submit someone else to abandonment. She wouldn't be able to stay. She wouldn't do that.

This pegasus, she was honestly pretty, and the way she looked at the Sweetie Belle in the picture captured the palpable love they held for one another.

Sweetie bit her lip. That was what had been so appealing about Blackjack and why, honestly, she had been attracted to the mare: there was a sense of freedom about sexuality; no commitment, just fun.

True romance? It was something that she would never have. She'd never be able to fall in love and settle down. She'd never have a family of her own unless her travels ended, but before that? Could she really do that to herself? Could she do it to somepony else? Marry them with the knowledge that at any given moment she would fade away?

Still, it was her only clue, so she slipped it out of its frame as carefully as she could. She rummaged through the cabinets until she found an old saddle bag. The cloth was cheap and fraying, but it held around her barrel, and gave her something to carry the picture and letter in.

“Right!” She lifted a hoof to the air. “Let’s…”

Her burst of enthusiasm petered out, and whatever she was about to say went unspoken. After a moment’s hesitation, she went to the door and began undoing the locks. She had to hop up high to get them in her teeth, and the thick deadbolts made a loud clunk when they turned.

Finally, she pushed the door open, and peered into the outside world. The damp smell of brine assaulted her nose at once. She was staring into a stone hallway with many apartment doors just like hers, and the ceiling dripped. Pools of seawater formed on the floor, under doors, in the cracks and crevices. Small rivers trickled across the stone where it rested at an angle. Every other door was steel, as solid as her own, and shut tight.

For lack of anything else to do, she followed the hallway. It merged into a larger corridor, which in turn merged into a small enclosed roadway. Everything around her was dilapidated, except for that which had been actively destroyed. To her left, a vendors’ fruit stall was overturned, the fruit long since reduced to a pile of rotted mush. To her right, what used to be a series of storefronts gutted by fire and abandoned.

Then the hallway turned left, and she came to a window. Rippling white light illuminated her face.

For her, at that moment, it was like standing in a forest of white stone. Skyscrapers rose up like redwoods, so tall she could not see their peaks. Railways were their branches. Walkways were their twigs. The lights from thousands of windows shone like fireflies.

A fish swam past the glass.

Despite all Sweetie had seen across a hundred worlds, she couldn’t help but stare. The city of Vision was the largest she’d seen yet—or at least the largest she had been able to witness from a vantage point that allowed such a view—it was a world of gold and white stone so large that Canterlot could live in its shadow. And there was more! Every structure was decorated with statues, images of ponies, and brilliantly lit signs and banners. Neon signs advertised entertainment, tools, good food, and gambling.

And it was all beneath the water. She could barely see the waves high above. And there! She saw one building that pierced the sky—the only building in all of Vision that passed beyond the surface of the water. It bore a single sign in purple neon: Sparkle Enchantments.

“Hah. Boom!” Sweetie said.

“Boom yourself!” said a voice behind her.

Whirling around, Sweetie found herself facing a unicorn stallion. At first, she thought he was a ghoul, warped and twisted by the toxic effects of the megaspells. But he wasn’t quite like the creatures from Blackjack’s world. His flesh wasn’t so much shrunken as misshapen. Deformed. Bulging.

His lips didn’t quite meet when he shut his mouth, too thin for his jaw. Cancerous lumps pushed out through his coat. A line of black dool ran from the corners of his mouth. And a stunning collection of tattoos covered his legs and face: test-tubes, gears, knives, flames, all painted onto his coat in exquisite detail.

And he wore a suit. A gentlestallion's suit. Complete with a bow-tie and spats for his horseshoes.

“Oh, didn’t mean to startle you there.” He laughed, advancing on her. “You know, this isn’t a very safe part of town. Little fillies really shouldn’t be out here on their own.”

“Uh.” Sweetie coughed, and did her best to make her voice sound even more childish. “Oh yes. Mister. I was just about to run back to my parents. Thank you for warning me!”

“No trouble. No trouble.” He gestured at her with his muzzle. “What you got there in the bag?”

“Oh, uh… just my homework. From school.” She struggled for a moment to remember what her last assignment had been. “Ms. Cheerilee gave us a book report on the history of unicorns. You know. Princess Platinum, Starswirl the Bearded, Clover the Clever. Famous, famous unicorns. Engaging topic, really. Did you know that princesses used to have some wizards carve tiny runes into their horns to resonate with three to four alliteration spells?”

“That’s good! Learned little filly you are.” He learned in close. “Why don’t you let me see that and then we’ll get you back to your parents?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll just head back now. I still have to work on the diagrams. But thanks, Mister! I’ll—” As Sweetie turned to go, she found her path abruptly blocked by his hoof.

“Just give me the bag, filly.” He growled. “I’m sure your homework ain’t worth your life.”

She sighed. Rolled her eyes. “Right,” she said, the saccharine-sweet childish inflections vanishing from her tone. “You wanna do this? Let’s do this.”

Sweetie glared at the thug before her, and charged a laser blast into her horn. She stepped back and braced her legs for two quick shots, aiming one for his face and another for his gut.

A faint whine escaped her, and a spray of harmless sparks emerged from her horn. “Ugh! Being a filly again sucks!”

“Yeah, right wizard you are!” The stallion laughed, then his own horn glowed, and he grabbed her saddlebag. “Now give it over you little—”

Sweetie leapt into the air, and putting all of her combat training to good use, delivered a perfect flying-kick straight into his face.

“Aaagh!” He staggered backwards, clutching his face with a hoof. “You miserable tiny bitch!”

“Sorry, gotta run. Don’t want my homework to be late! And I don't think they'll take the 'mutant ate it' excuse.” Sweetie laughed and ran off, her hooves clattering on the stone as she made her getaway down the hall. She broke into a sprint, weaving around piles of debris as she put some distance between her and her attacker.

Then a soft blue glow surrounded her, and she was lifted entirely off her hooves. Her legs flailed uselessly in the air as she tried to run, but she found herself moving slowly backwards.

“Oh.” Sweetie coughed as she found herself moving back towards the creature. “Look, I can see we got off on the wrong hoof. How about I just give you the bag?”

She stallion wandered over to one of the piles of debris by the roadside. From it, he pulled out a length of steel pipe. Then he walked up to Sweetie Belle.

“Woah, okay. I get it! That mutant comment was a bit much. I see now it's less a mutation and more just general ugly, easy to get confused, right? Did I ever tell you that I talk a lot when I'm nervous? Drives my sister crazy, I tell you. Let’s just—”

He swung for the fences, and brought the steel pipe in across her head. The impact was so sharp it sounded like a firecracker. Sweetie went flying, and hit the stone wall hard.

The crystal inside her rang with the impact. If she’d been a normal filly, the blow would have killed her instantly. It took her half a second to realize that.

She didn’t have half a second. The stallion crossed the distance, and swung again.

“You think you can hit me you little brat!?” The iron bar came down on her ribs. It knocked the wind from her. Crystal sang with the impact. She tried to recall her training, maybe weave her way out, but it was too vicious, too fast. She was disoriented and magic-less.

“Think I’m somepony to push around!?” It came down on her neck. “Well you’re wrong!” Her front legs. “You’re all wrong!” Her rear legs. “Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong!”

He swung it under and up. It caught her in the ribs and lifted her clear off the ground, slamming her again into the wall. Crystal sang. Then it cracked. Sweetie found she suddenly had trouble breathing.

The stallion beat her until he was sure she’d stopped moving. Then he took her saddlebag, found nothing but the picture inside, threw the bag at her, and kicked her in the ribs before he stormed off.

When she was sure he was gone, Sweetie dared to cough, spitting tiny rubies onto the floor. A flash of pain shot through her when she did. The crystal inside her didn’t feel right. Chips of it were loose, moving beneath her flesh independent of the rest.

“Ah. Aaaah. Ugh! Being a filly again really,really, sucks!” She laughed as she rose, and tears formed in the corners of her eyes. “Oh, that hurts. Oh that hurts a lot. Oh.” Something pinched inside her, and she had to bite down hard on her lip not to scream. “That might be some serious damage. I need a nurse. Or a Pie sister.”

With little baby steps, trying to keep telling herself that things were okay, she made it over to the picture on the floor. She picked it up in her teeth, and struggled to push it into the ruined saddlebags. Without the strength to throw the strap over her head and shoulder, she slid her hood through it, and dragged it behind her as she moved.

“Gotta find someplace.” She mumbled through her clamped jaw. “Just need to lie down for a bit. Stupid filly body. I'd have owned his sorry ass if I was normal.”

The window was to her left. She could see beautiful skyscrapers, statues twenty stories tall, whizzing high-speed trains and more. A giant submarine slowly navigated between the towers, and a huge sign on its hull read: “Happy Times Pleasure Cruise!” Through the glass, she could barely see ponies partying.

To her right was the rest of the building. Gutted storefronts. Pools of stagnant water. She passed the corpse of a mare no one had bothered to cart away, bloated by rot. She passed the remains of a school, the glass fronts broken and stained with blood.

She walked for what seemed a very long time. Her hooves splashed in the stagnant water as she walked, and the sound echoed off the hard walls. She passed a window with a crack in it, through which high-pressure water shot in the hallway. Every time something pinched in her ribs, she let out a faint animal cry.

Eventually, she saw another living pony. There was a cardboard box hidden in an alcove beside the main road, and a mare was sleeping in it—a filthy, off-brown earth pony with a docked ear and a noticeable overbite

She lifted her head when Sweetie got close, and so Sweetie asked: “Excuse me. I’m hurt.” She drew a shallow breath. “I’m actually hurt very badly. Can I sleep here?”

The mare scooted over to make room in the box. Sweetie sat down beside her, curled up into a little ball, and waited for unconsciousness to take her.

When Sweetie woke up, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed. The room around her wasn’t any brighter or any dimmer than it had been. Perhaps she’d only shut her eyes for a second, or perhaps it had been hours.

But she was hungry. Ravenous. Her stomach was a pit that felt like it would devour her own flesh from within if it was not filled.

And when she stretched, her limbs felt too long. Her eyes cracked open, and she saw long spindly forelegs ahead of her, obsidian little thorns poking out of her legs, slightly visible under the glamour of her coat. She examined herself, and found that her ribs no longer ached when she moved.

“Oh, hey!” Her voice was deeper, no longer that of a small child, but it cracked a bit when she spoke. She cleared her throat before trying again. “I get to be a teenager?”

“Yeah,” said the mare beside her. It was only then that Sweetie remembered the mare existed. Turning, she found the filthy creature staring at her with wide and uncertain eyes. “You kept growing in your sleep. I poked you, but you wouldn’t wake up.”

Sweetie didn’t know what to say to that. A long silence hung between them. Finally, the mare asked: “Are you a changeling?”

“Um, sort of. I guess technically you could say...” Sweetie coughed. “Yes.”

“Shapeshift in your sleep?”

“Not normally. It usually involves a lot more circumstances.” She clutched her gut with a hoof, and a loud growl emerged from inside her. “I’m sorry, but I’m starving. Do you know where I can get food around here?”

“Well.” The mare in the box considered that. “Alright. I guess I don’t have much else to live for. Can you turn into my husband? He died a while ago. I really miss him.”

Sweetie stared. Slowly, what the mare meant started making sense and her eyes widened. “Oh! Uh, hah! No. No.” Sweetie waved quickly. “I’m not um, I’m not that kind of changeling. I need regular food. Like grass. Or bacon! I don’t know.” Burned by the weight of the box-mare’s stare, she found herself rambling. “Bread? Anything like that?”

It was only when she recalled that they were sharing a cardboard box that she realized hoping for bread might be optimistic.

“There are dumpsters behind the restaurants up at Ceto station.” The box mare pointed up the hall. “First left, then second right, then keep going until you pass the statues of alicorns.”

“Right. Thanks.” Sweetie pulled herself up out of the box, then took the picture in her teeth. She stared down at the mare in the box. Whoever she was, her teeth were black for lack of care, and her ribs were showing. She was starving, Sweetie estimated, and probably sick.

“...well,” Sweetie finally said, looking down, unable to meet the mare's eyes much longer, and knowing that she wouldn't be hungry for long herself. What could she say, really? it was awkward and left her feeling uncomfortable. There was nothing she could really do right now, so she went for as neutral as possible. “Thanks. Good luck.” Then she left.

Once she was out of sight, she hid in an alley, making sure she was alone before summoning her diary. Except it didn't appear.

Frowning, Sweetie levitated a couple of things. Then she sent different, minor elemental blasts around her. She teleported from the alley across the street and back. Then she tried again, but it didn't work.

Eyes wide, Sweetie searched her memory, her spells, every link she had to the Diary until finally, she felt the thread. It was there, just out of sync, and she couldn't recall it for some reason. This had never happened before.

Sweetie started hyperventilating. What was she supposed to do without the Diary? Twilight's fragments were there. If she touched another fragment without it, she might end up absorbing it. She needed to get that fixed, but she didn't know how.

"Calm down, calm down," she muttered to herself. The link was still there. She just needed to meditate. Or something. Find inner peace. Recast the spell. Yeah! That would work.

A loud, rumbling sound from her stomach stopped her train of thought.

She needed food. And then she'd panic. Or find out what had happened. If she did, she might be able to figure out how to fix it. Hopefully without a city-wide matrix. Taking a deep breath, she set out to find the place she had been told about.

Following the mare’s directions, Sweetie found that the city around her gradually improved. It still looked like a slum, but it no longer looked like a warzone. Storefronts had bars in the windows, but the stores were open and doing business. She passed ponies going about their days. A stallion in a black uniform kept order, and seemed to be some kind of law enforcement. He warned her not to make trouble.

Finally, she passed two statues of Princess Twilight Sparkle, their wings spread and hooves held high like she was holding the ceiling up with her own strength. Beyond them was a large space that served as a train station and a market. Rails ran along the left side of the room, and two stories of storefronts and businesses ran along the right. Perhaps a hundred ponies milled about, waiting for trains or just going about their day.

Most of them carried weapons, she noticed. Most of them were covered in tattoos like the monster down below had been. But they were ponies, not mutants. And she could smell food in the air.

Picking a restaurant at random, Sweetie strode inside. She found herself in a rustic sort of place, with booths on one wall and a long counter on the other, everything made of polished chrome. There were only a few other ponies there, and so she sat at the counter directly, signaling the server behind it.

“Hello there!” He greeted her. “I’m Golden Palm. What can I—”

“Four hayburgers, two milkshakes, a daisy sandwich, and keep the hayfries coming.”

He paused. Sweetie cleared her throat. “And I’ll tip you extra if you hurry! Please.”

For the next half hour, Golden Palm and the restaurant's other patrons stared as Sweetie devoured her food like an anaconda devouring an entire sheep. The phoenix amulet smouldered inside her, and as she recovered some of her energy, the feelings of pain and weakness left her limbs. She was healthier, and maybe slightly taller.

She levitated a milkshake in front of her, and heaved a sigh of relief as the soothing flavor cleared the last of her pain and headache. “Thank Celestia.”

Somepony in the back gasped. Another patron dropped their glass in shock. In a moment, the room went quiet, and Sweetie realized everypony was staring at her again. This time, their expressions were less friendly.

“I’m sure you misspoke,” Golden Palm prompted her after a moment. “Temporary milkshake-induced dementia. You meant to say, ‘Thank Twilight.’ Didn’t you?”

“Oh!” Sweetie grabbed onto the life-preserver he’d thrown. “Yes! Absolutely. Thank Twilight. Sorry—I’m really out of it. I needed the sugar here just to wake up.”

After a few moments of awkward silence, everypony went back to their food. Golden Palm leaned across the counter and caught Sweetie Belle’s eye. “Um, so about that tip? Like, not to press…”

Sweetie had no idea how she was going to pay at all, but that did not seem the right thing to say. Insead, she stalled for time with another bite of her fourth hayburger, then leaned across the counter and lowered her voice. “Sure. But uh, answer a quick question for me?”

Golden Palm considered that, then shrugged. He was only a teenager, not much older than Sweetie herself appeared to be. He was a dirty tan, with an unflattering square muzzle, and there was something wrong with his wings. They weren’t mutated like the other stallion, but they weren't right either. The muscles were too thin, and the feathers were sickly.

She held up the photo. “Do you know these mares?”

He squinted at the photo, then his eyes widened along with a smile. “Yeah! That’s Swiftwing and uh, her, wife. Whose name I can’t remember. Swiftwing worked a few shifts here like a year ago.” He glanced at Sweetie Belle. “Are you a relative?”

“Yeah. I’m, uh. I’m a relative. Of the wife. Her name’s Sweetie Belle.” She lowered the picture, fidgeting in place. “So um, if I wanted to find Swiftwing. You know where I could do it?”

“What? Uh. No. Sorry.” Golden Palm gave a forceful shrug. “They haven’t been around here in a few months.”

Sweetie slumped. So much for that lead. She then glanced up, milking the "mare in despair" approach. Tinge of desperation, yes, but also some reluctance. “Maybe anypony who knew them? Neighbors? Friends?” She cleared her throat. “I’m their daughter. And they didn’t come back to the apartment last week. I’m really getting worried.”

"Well, I, uh." Golden Palm paused, blinking slowly then glancing at Sweetie with narrowed eyes. "Heey, you don't look young enough to be their daughter. You look my age!"

Sweetie's mind went blank for a second. Then, "Oh. Well, we, uh, don't like to talk about it, you understand. It-I wasn't planned exactly and—"

“Oh! Oh, jeeze. I’m sorry!” Golden Palm put a hoof on the counter. “Well. I don’t know anything, but Swiftwing used to roll with the abstention crowd. There’s this mare named Apple Bloom. You know her?”

“Yeah.” Sweetie sighed. “I know her. Can you give me directions?”

As Golden Palm rummaged around for a sheet of paper and a pen, Sweetie eyed the other patrons. One earth pony had just pulled out his coinpurse to pay, placing a hoofful of coins on the counter. When he slipped the purse back into his bag, Sweetie levitated it, whisking it out in the half a second before the saddlebag flap closed.

She silently promised herself to make up for it somehow as she tucked it into her own bag just in time for Golden Palm to turn back. “Here you go. Hop on the train going west, it’s the fifth stop.”

“Thanks!” She pulled out what felt like a respectable pile of coins, laying them on the countertop. From Golden Palm’s pleasantly surprised expression, she suspected she’d overpaid. “One last question. How do I get to the Sparkle Enchantments building?”

“Oh, you’re right next door. Get on the train, first stop, you’re there.”

“Thanks.” She rose from where she stood. She smiled at him. “Good luck. Those burgers were great.”

Stepping out into the station, she used the last of the stallion’s stolen money to buy a train ticket going west. She waited on the platform with the others, and boarded when the train arrived. It smoothly sailed away on elevated tracks, navigating out into the water and weaving between the tall buildings.

A few minutes later, it came to a stop. “Sparkle Enchantments!” the conductor called. “All ponies off for Sparkle Enchantments!”

Sweetie bit her lip, but she didn’t move. The train doors shut, and it whisked her onward.

“Poison Joke is POISON!” proclaimed a poster to the left of Apple Bloom’s door, angry red letters slashed across the paper. The image depicted a pony’s corpse in repose, clutching a blue flower to its chest.

“She was somepony’s filly!” shouted the poster to the right. It’s image was considerably more graphic—a filly in a blue dress, vomiting blood into a bucket.

“Sanity not ALCHEMY!” read the one on the door. “JUST SAY NO!”

Sweetie Belle knocked. After a few moments, a metal slit in the middle of the cargo door slid open. A pair of orange eyes peered out at her. From the other side, she could hear Apple Bloom’s voice. “And who in the heck are you?”

“I’m…” Sweetie hesitated. “I’m looking for a mare named Swiftwing.”

“Are you now.” Apple Bloom didn’t sound convinced. “Well, she ain’t here.”

“I know, but I need to find her. I’m, ah.” Sweetie cleared her throat. “I’m a relative.”

“The heck you are.”

“No, I-I am. It’s...” Sweetie Belle cleared her throat. “Apple Bloom? I need you to listen, okay? It’s really complicated, and I know I’m not your Sweetie Belle. But I’m Sweetie Belle. It’s me! And I need help.”

Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and waved a hoof with half-felt enthusiasm. “Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!” The sound made her teenage voice crack. “Remember? I know you probably don’t believe me, but please. Give me a chance to explain?”

The orange eyes on the other side of the door narrowed. Then Apple Bloom sighed. “Cutie Mark Crusaders forever.” Her voice was suddenly weak. She sounded beaten.

She shut the eye slit, and a moment later, the door opened. “Come on in then.”

Past the door, Sweetie found herself inside a large, metal-walled storage container. Holes had been cut in the side to two of the adjacent containers, and doors roughly fitted to the frames. The space around her was some manner of gathering area, with a podium at the front and plenty of room for ponies to stand.

Apple Bloom waited for Sweetie to enter, then shut the door behind her. She didn’t look well. In this universe, she was past thirty, with tired eyes and lines on her face. She walked with a shuffling step, and her cutie mark—three stars—didn’t bear any of the imagery of the CMC.

She walked to the middle of the room, pulled a chair around, and sat. Then she gestured for Sweetie to do the same.

“A little over a year ago,” Apple Bloom said, “this mare named Swiftwing shows up at one of my meetings. She says her wife is addicted and needs help, and asks me if there’s something I can do. I say not much, but the poor thing is scared out of her mind, so I go with her. And what do I find where she leads me?”

Apple Bloom gestures. “I find you." She paused, then repeated in a slightly lower tone, "I find you.”

Sweetie sat there in silence, her face pulled down into a tight frown. She didn’t speak, and the silence grew pronounced.

Finally, Apple Bloom snorted. “I watched you die, Sweetie. I watched Rarity choke the life out of you with her own horn. A telekinetic noose around your neck, legs kicking and flailing. Until you didn’t. Until you didn’t kick no more. You hung there. Didn’t move ever again. But then here you are! Or, there you were. Curled up in Swiftwing’s bed with the sweats. You told me you were from another world, somehow. That you were a Sweetie, but you weren’t my Sweetie.”

“That’s right.” Sweetie nodded quickly. “That’s right. I’m not your Sweetie. I just woke up in this world. And I don’t remember Swiftwing at all, but there was this picture.” She held the picture up. “Is this her? Is this my…” She hesitated. “Is this my wife?”

Apple Bloom inspected the picture: “That’s Swiftwing, yeah. One of you Sweetie Belles married her.”

Sweetie’s jaw worked silently. “Rarity killed me? The me from this world?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” Sweetie didn’t know what to say. She stammered for a few moments. There had been worlds after all where she had seen sides of her sister she never wanted to see again. A mental image of Octavia bleeding to death made its way to her mind and she grimaced, changing the topic back to her original thread. “Swiftwing wasn’t in the apartment. I got—I get. I get the feeling nopony has been around for awhile. Do you know if she’s okay? Or where I can find her?”

Apple Bloom's expression didn't change. “Why do you care? You said you don’t remember her, right? You’re just another alternate copy. You never married her.”

“Maybe. I don’t know. It’s complicated, alright?” Sweetie held a hoof to her chest. “How would you react if you woke up and found a picture of you marrying somepony you’d never met?”

Apple Bloom didn’t answer, and so Sweetie prompted her again: “I don't know if I did something to directly antagonize you, Bloom, but I promise I'm not messing around. I need to make sure she’s okay.” Sweetie looked at the picture. "This mare meant something to me. Just look at the picture."

“Well she ain’t okay. I don’t know where she is, but she ain’t okay. And she wasn’t okay a year ago. That’s cause of you.” Apple Bloom gestured around them, an expansive motion of a hoof taking in the entire room and the city beyond. “Do you know what you’re getting into? Here? This world? You know what this place is like?”

Sweetie was quiet. "Look, I'm out of my depth, Apple Bloom. I've never had to pick up after myself like this. I've never screwed up somepony else's life through, whatever it is I did." She carefully slid out the note she had written. "When I woke up, looking younger than before, I found this. I think, I'm fairly certain I wrote it when… anyway." She levitated it forward so it was within her friend's grasp. "You decide."

Apple Bloom took the letter with a hoof, her eyes scanning down the page. A grim chuckle escaped her when she finished, and she passed the letter back: “It’s good advice. You should take it.”

"Yeah well, when I saw those medicines, I just, I didn't feel like throwing up but, I was uneasy?" She shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'll follow that advice, but I need to know, Bloom. When I look at this picture it's just hope. And laughter. They're happy. I'm happy. What the hay happened? Where is she? How did I do this? Why did I hurt somepony I so clearly loved?"

Apple Bloom sat back in her chair and let out a long breath. “You like yourself, Sweetie?” she asked. “Are you a good mare?”

"I think so? I do try to do good where I go." Sweetie answered, sitting down herself, "I mean, I don't have much control over where I end up at, but I don't hate anything about myself, at least as far as I know."

“Oh, very confident answer there. You’re a real self-actualized mare.” Apple Bloom snorted. “Of course you hate yourself. Everypony hates themselves. Sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for bad reasons, sometimes just because you stubbed your hoof and you’re such a useless stupid klutz.”

She learned forward in her chair, forehooves pressed to the wood. “But not here! Not in the glorious city of Vision. Here, alchemy triumphs over flesh. There’s these potions, see? They’re called mantles. And when you drink one, it changes who you are. You get an extra cutie mark somewhere on your body, and the talents and disposition to go with it. If you’re a coward, we can fix that. Make you brave!” She picked up her tone and set her teeth in a parody of a gung-ho grimace.

“Or we can make you smart if you’re an idiot. Make you hot if you were ugly. Make you kind if you were cruel. It’s a golden age.” She sighed. “There were things about yourself you wanted to change. You know that?”

Sweetie gulped, suddenly not feeling so sure of herself. A world where drinking a potion could change whatever you felt was wrong with you? She bit her lower lip. Where she could… just not ever lose an argument again and no crazy Twilight fragment would torture her, or nihilistic Twilight fragment would argue her out in order to kill herself?

"I—" A world where she could abandon her desperate need to go back home? Maybe settle down? Find somepony? Maybe settle down because she had found somepony? Her lips felt dry and she could almost—almost—feel herself shaking a little. "I did, didn't I?"

“You did! A lot of ponies did. That’s how it starts. See, the thing about mantles is, you get used to them. When you start, a dose the size of a thimble will do you for a month. Then one dose a week. Then a day. Then you’re pouring them into your cereal in the morning. And your friends try to tell you to stop, but do you want to go back to being that mare? You had true love. You want to go back to wandering the cosmos as a friendless loner?”

A smile touched Apple Bloom’s face as she added: “Or whatever. So you don’t listen. Nopony ever listens. They just keep upping the dose, until it gets so high the side effects kick in. Sweats. Chills. Mutations. Erratic behavior. Explosive rage. Blindness. Lumps forming under your skin. Hair falls out! Full on bug-twisted insanity!” Her voice rose to a shout. Then, just as abruptly, it fell. She spoke softly. “And then, finally, your body can’t take no more. And you keel over dead.”

Slowly, Sweetie raised a hoof and touched her coat. Under it, she could feel her true crystal and rock body. She rubbed her foreleg, up and down, slowly, then faster and harder until it started to hurt. "I'm, I just, I lost this leg once and it grew again along with half my face. I was shot. Do you think could I have?" She looked up at Apple Bloom. "Did I really… That letter. I think I was dying, but if I had keeled over, how would I have written it?"

“Markers, is the term. For ponies who are past the brink. When the time comes, it isn’t quick. Weeks of shaking, vomiting blood and pissing themselves. Assuming they don’t go mad first. So a lot of them keep a bottle of poison somewhere around. They’d rather go out on their own terms.” She nodded. “Including you. You talked about it a lot.”

Sweetie's eyes went wide and she lifted her hoof to her mouth. "Celestia… that bottle of hydrofluoric acid I—I must have been very close as it is for it to even work on me." She had died before. Multiple times. Under controlled circumstances even; but it had never been due to despair. And the fact that she was so weak physically that even a simple poison had killed her made her wonder if that was the only thing she had done to herself. "I killed myself…" she trailed off. "Swiftwing. She saw me become that?"

“It’s why she was here. I spend a lot of time working with addicts. Spend a lot of time trying to stop ponies from becoming addicts. She thought I could help you.” Apple Bloom shrugged. “But I’m not a doctor. And even if I was, there’s no pill that stops a pony from overdosing. All I could do was give you advice you weren’t gonna take.”

Apple Bloom paused a moment. She licked her lips. “You were starting to lose your mind. Forgetting things. Showing up for work at a business that closed years ago. Explosive rage. A colt made fun of you and you nearly beat him to death right in front of his parents. She held you back. And she took care of you after. Made sure you were eating properly, took the right dose of your meds, and weren’t around ponies when she wasn’t there.”

Apple Bloom shifted uncomfortably. “She loved you.”

Sweetie closed her eyes. She could feel some tears building up, but a part of her wondered: was she crying for Swiftwing or for herself?

"I didn't deserve that," Sweetie whispered at last. "Not her love. Not if I am that kind of pony."

“Nopony is born a monster. But alchemy will make you one. It’s dark magic, Sweetie. It promises you anything you want, but in the end, all it does is take from you.” She let out a breath and firmly shook her head. “Take your own good advice. Vision is an evil place, and it’s evil ponies that live here. You should move on, before you become one of us again.”

Sweetie gulped. "Just, give me something, 'Bloom. Anything. Let me at least, I dunno, just see her from afar. Maybe say goodbye." She looked at the picture. "I've never seen myself so happy since I left home."

Apple Bloom’s eyes went to the floor. “I haven’t seen her in over six months. She stopped coming around once it got clear that there was nothing I could do to actually help you. Last I heard she was up to her eyeballs in debt to hire this absurdly expensive private alchemist. Maybe thought she could help.”

“I…” Sweetie nodded. “Who?”

“Berry Punch.”

Sweetie stared at Apple Bloom for several long seconds. "No, seriously, what's her name?"

Apple Bloom's solemn face morphed into slight annoyance. "That's her name. Berry Punch. She’s an old Ponyville hoof.”

"The barmaid?" Sweetie mumbled. "She's the most expensive alchemist? Last time I saw her she was making Chocolate Martinis. Either she's gotten really good at those or our worlds are really different."

“She made chocolate martinis here once too. They were pretty good.” A small smile touched Apple Bloom’s face. Then it faded. “She don’t make them no more. First mantle every alchemist learns to make makes them better at being an alchemist. These days she works for Trixie. Rich ponies pay a thousand bits an hour for her to fix what’s broken inside them.”

"And wait, Trixie is rich?" Sweetie mumbled. "Is she also married to Twilight in this world? And Berry takes her own killer stuff?"

Apple Bloom laughed. “Trixie is the most wealthy pony in this city. And one of the most feared. Ponies who cross her have a tendency to turn up dead. As for Twilight…” She needed a moment. “The way this whole thing started. Vision. The city. Is when Celestia killed Twilight’s husband. There’s a bit of a story behind it. But that’s the short of it.”

“Celestia…” Sweetie frowned. “She killed Twilight’s husband?”

“Yup.” Apple Bloom lifted a hoof. “And Rarity killed you.”

"Oh." Sweetie tried to think of a comeback. Nothing really came to mind. This place was ghastly. She cleared her throat. "S-say, before I go… if you have the ingredients, I can replicate that martini."

“I don’t keep liquor around.”

Sweetie chuckled. "Of course not. How silly of me." She shook her head and slowly stood up. "I'm sorry you had to see me like that. Even if I wasn't your Sweetie, I'm sorry."

“It’s not a great world you’ve landed in. But I suppose it’s where I belong.” Apple Bloom rose as well.

“Where can I find Berry?”

“Sweetie…” Apple Bloom frowned. “You do this, you’re going to regret it.”

Tiara Tower was, Sweetie Belle was told, one of the nicest parts of the city. She believed it.

After making an appointment with Apple Bloom’s help, Sweetie arrived via a private train car. Smartly dressed pegasus guards greeted her, and made sure she had everything she needed. The hallways she walked through were made from only the most elegant white stone. The doorways were made of lacquered wood instead of steel. Statues decorated the halls. The shops had glass in the window instead of bars, and they didn’t list prices. If a pony had to ask the price, they couldn’t afford it.

The inhabitants were different too. Everypony was young, fit, and beautiful. Sweetie didn’t see a single pony over thirty. Elegantly dressed mares flirted with smart looking stallions. Young unicorn fillies doing their shopping walked around without fear, followed by obedient earth pony servants to carry their bags.

There were no mares living in boxes.

Sweetie blended in as she walked, moving in the proper courtly style—back straight and head high. Nopony looked at her twice, and soon she sat in a lavish private office. Servants offered her everything from water to tiny cakes as she waited for Berry Punch to become available. Their consultation was only ten minutes long. Her time was very valuable.

Sweetie never let the stress show on her face. In the time she’d had to wait for the train, she had grown another inch, and her voice had deepened. She was no longer a teenager, but a young mare, and the phoenix amulet’s power would soon be concluded.

“Berry Punch will see you now!” said a young pegasus mare. She was gorgeous, young and dressed in fashionable attire. She had four cutie marks.

Berry Punch had six: her natural mark, twin cups, an erlenmeyer flask, a pony biting their own tail, a cluster of heart’s desire leaves, and a poison joke bloom.

One of the marks was on her face. The poison joke bloom covered her right eye, and was only fully visible when her eyes were shut. When Sweetie Belle entered her small office, she was sitting lengthwise on a small couch. One was provided for Sweetie as well.

“Hello,” Berry said. Her voice was flat and dull, lacking any tone or inflection. Her face was much the same. She stared at Sweetie head on with a perfect neutral mask.

"Hello, Miss Punch," Sweetie said with a pleasant smile. "I don't want to waste your time, so I will go straight to the point." She levitated out the picture, letting it hover close to Berry Punch where she had a clear view of it. "I'm looking for Swiftwing. I know she came here on occasion, I was hoping you could help me find her."

“You are asking me to betray a client’s privacy.” Berry’s tone had no anger in it, not even any frustration. She simply stated a fact.

"I understand… but, ahem… generally the law allows for ponies to disclose information to next of kin if the information does not reveal the actual interactions held between client and provider, but does actually help said next of kin confirm that the pony in question is in good health. And I am worried about her health." Sweetie bowed slightly. "So please... help me find her."

“Are you her next of kin?”

"I'm her wife."

Berry stared at Sweetie for some time. Her face remained impassive, her expression blank. Sweetie shifted uncomfortably on the couch. It was like being watched by a statue.

“You are younger than the last time I saw you,” Berry said. “By what means was this achieved?”

"Regeneration amulet." Sweetie leaned forward. "If you saw me before, then you know right? You're the best there is here from what I've heard. I'm not trying to fool you. I just want to see her once."

“Why?”

"Just so I can say I'm sorry. Even if she never forgives me." Sweetie said. "Swiftwing stuck with me all this time and I just caused her pain. I have no right to ask this of her but I want to see her and..." Sweetie sighed. "I don't know, Berry. I wish I did."

“Has she left you?”

Sweetie lowered her head and nodded. "I think… I think she eventually gave up when she saw I was about to die."

“Was she unaware of your capacity to regenerate yourself?”

Sweetie chuckled. "I was unaware that was an option… after I figured out what happened, I decided to look her up."

“A rather spectacular thing to happen by accident.” Berry’s head tilted to one side as she watched Sweetie. Her eyes didn’t move—didn’t flick from side to side like ponies’ eyes do. They were glassy and stared straight on. Sweetie would have thought she was blind, if her head didn’t follow Sweetie’s movements.

Before Sweetie could reply, Berry went on: “You refer to the amulet embedded within your chest. A fascinating piece of magic. But its practical applications are limited.”

"Well, yes," Sweetie shifted, looking down at herself. She couldn't see the damn thing. Was that what Twilight from Blackjack's Universe had done? "If I need to die for it to work, it does have a particular caveat I'm not entirely fond of. However, it being inside my chest, it's not an optional function."

She cleared her throat. "Not to mention that… well, the magic that would go into such a thing is… distasteful." She couldn't help herself. Having been around very rich ponies with Blueblood, she automatically changed some words to better fit. "In any case, this… amulet, might have brought me back to life, and now all that remains is what I'll do with it. I'd like to start by apologizing to a pony that loved me."

“You are mistaken.”

Berry’s word hung in the air. Seconds passed as Sweetie waited for her to elaborate. Without knowing why, Sweetie bit her lip, and her tail tucked in tight under her legs. “Mistaken how?” she finally asked.

“The amulet in your chest does not restore a dead pony to life. At present, there is no known means to revive the dead. It creates a new pony from the spiritual essence of the old one. While the new pony is a nearly perfect copy, it would not be strictly accurate to say it regenerated you. Rather, I would say you were born from the remains of another.”

After a moment, Berry added: “Like a phoenix.”

Sweetie stared for a moment in awkward awe. "Berry, that was borderline poetic."

“Is it?”

Sweetie chuckled a bit self-consciously. "Yeah. You have this... really intense look, but yeah. I understand what you're saying." Even if she disagreed. She had died and come back before. What Berry was suggesting was not something she was going to think about right now. Souls and essence were eternal. The body could be remade. "And it implies also that I wouldn't bear responsibility for my, uh… other Sweetie's previous actions... oh. I see. So you're stating I'm no longer her wife." Sweetie's eyes narrowed. "Can you tell me at least then why I started taking those drugs?"

“You cheated on her.” After a moment, Berry added. “And you were unhappy.”

“Oh.” Sweetie laughed. She bit her lip again. “Well, I…”

“Alchemists who specialize in love do not use ‘love’ as a technical term. It covers too many distinct forms of emotion, ranging from lust to sibling obligation. I believe it would be accurate to say that you two cared about each other, but I do not believe you cared about each other in the same way. You were what she wanted. She was a thing you wanted. You also wanted a stallion you both knew.”

With a methodical, dull cadence, Berry went on. She sounded like a lecturer, speaking on a dry and academic topic. “When you first came to my office, you wanted a potion that would diminish your sex drive, but that would not have resolved the underlying problem. You wished to roam. To seek new horizons. But there are no horizons here. The sun does not shine in Vision. Your body rejected this city. It made you sick. And you sought to medicate yourself however you could.”

After a moment she added: “It did alleviate your symptoms.”

Sweetie gazed down at the picture she had. "I'm not looking at her like an object," she said weakly. "I was probably… scratch that, by all accounts I definitely was a horrible marefriend and wife… and you might not use the word love anymore, Berry but if I wanted to fix those things, doesn't it mean that she meant more to me than a passing thing? Even if I ended up worse?"

“Ponies desire to change themselves for many reasons. Love is one, but shame is another. Or guilt. Or obligation. Or because they can’t admit they made a mistake.”

Sweetie really wanted to argue that, but all she said was: "Yeah." She sounded defeated, even to herself. "You're right, and I'm not going to argue with you on the validity of those reasons. I do feel obligated to at least talk to her. Apologize. Hay, I don't know what I'd do after that."

Berry looked at Sweetie Belle. She didn’t say a word.

“Fine.” Sweetie turned up her head. “You’ve made your point. But the problem remains that I need to deal with all of this regardless." She leveled her eyes at the Alchemist. "Berry, I need you to tell me where I can find Swiftwing. Even after this discussion you know there's no reason to not tell me.”

“It would be betraying a client’s privacy.”

Before she knew what she was doing, Sweetie was on her hooves, glaring at Berry. Sure. She was responsible for hurting Swiftwing. And sure, for whatever stupid reason, she had apparently cheated on her. And become a drug addict. And dangerous to be around. And she would not stay in this stupid city any longer than needed, but she'd be damned by Celestia if she was going to just let paperwork get in the way.

"Listen, you," she hissed, "I've taken down beasts that can rip a pony to shreds. I've been through dungeons that suck the soul of the very planet and contain things that will sizzle their way through your body at the first chance. I've dealt with Queens and Princesses, I've gone through a death maze, and stared down into the abyss." She raised a hoof and placed it down on top of the table, eyes narrowing and magic pouring out of every porous surface of her rocky body. "I've had my body defiled and my mind tortured… and your questionable drugs might have pushed me to suicide in the end, but you know what I'm not going to put up with? Using half-baked philosophy and "client privacy" BS as an excuse to stop me. So tell me, where she is!"

Berry lifted a hoof and reached out to Sweetie, placing it on Sweetie’s shoulders as though to reassure her. After a moment, she placed her hoof on Sweetie’s shoulders again, a little closer to her neck. A pause hung in the air.

“Did…” Sweetie paused. “Did you just try to use the zebra neck pinch on me?”

“Your nerve clusters are not where they should be.”

“Darn right they’re not! I’m made of solid crystal and rock!” Sweetie knocked Berry’s hoof aside. “And that sound? That was my patience with your bullhockey running out! So why don’t you take a nap!” Sweetie’s hoof lanced out, striking Berry at a key point in the chest.

Another pause hung in the air. “Um…” Sweetie poked Berry again. “You’re supposed to have a chakra like, right here? This is awkward.”

“The essence flows of markers are significantly different from those of normal ponies. For instance.” She held up her hoof as though to demonstrate something, but just as the base of her hoof rose to the air, she let out a sharp breath. Fine white dust from the bottom of her hoof billowed out, blowing directly into Sweetie’s face.

Sweetie paused. She licked her lips. “It this poison? This tastes like really expensive poison.” She licked her lips a little further out. “How do you not poison yourself having that on your hooves all day?”

“Earth pony magic.”

"Right." Sweetie smiled. "I always liked this trick!" She said, slamming down on the side of the table. It didn't budge, since Berry had simply pressed down on the other side. A moment of silence passed again. "Well. You're no fun. You were, ideally, supposed to backflip out of that one."

Berry pulled back her hoof. “You first.”

The blow connected with the force of an oncoming train. Sweetie flew backwards, through the air, through the plaster wall behind her, through the wooden wall behind that, and finally into the steel wall that marked the edge of the office suite. Metal rang with her impact, and her ears rang as well. She left a dent in the metal, and tumbled to the floor in a pile of twisted limbs.

“Ahhh.” She struggled to rise to her feet. When she coughed, she coughed up rubies. “Pretty good. Pretty—”

Something moved to her left. There was a blur of motion, and a metal bar connected with her underside. She screamed and crumpled into a ball, twisted up around her undercarriage. There was a stallion standing over her—an earth pony guard in black, holding a practical looking nightstick in his teeth.

“Is that all you got!?” Sweetie shouted. A kick of her hind legs hit him in the front hooves, and he went down to the floor with her. She slammed her hoof on his jaw, breaking some teeth around the nightstick and pulled herself up, grimacing all the way. “That’s what I thought you—”

Then another guard hit her from behind. A steel club cracked her over the back of her head between her ears. She staggered, but still managed to turn in time to dodge the next one and turn his club away. She was in some kind of office. A secretary screamed and fled the room as Sweetie fell into one of her patterns and danced around the officer, making him more and more angry until she stopped right on his face and used a flash of light to blind him.

The guard cried out in surprise, and Sweetie took advantage of that to knock the air out of him, letting him crumble to the floor. "The hell?!” she wheezed around the pain in her ribs. “You ponies should ask questions before you attack somepony!"

As the guards caught their breath, and Sweetie had a moment to catch hers, she gradually became aware of things she’d missed. An alarm was going off—a shrieking whistle and a naval bell. To her left was the hole she’d left in the wall on her way through. She could still see the waiting room on the other side. Berry was gone of course.

“Fine…” The two guards were getting back to their hooves, and Sweetie didn’t particularly feel like fighting them again. Guessing where Berry might have gone, she headed out the nearest door, weaving between frightened staff as she marched through the halls. To her left was another office, to her right was a lab, then another set of doors, then a room full of bubbling tanks. But she didn’t see any sign of Berry.

The double doors ahead of her parted before she could reach them, pushed open by a pony made of steel. Sweetie didn’t know if it was a golem, a robot, or whatever, but it didn’t look like a shambling pushover. It rushed towards her, breaking into a gallop. Sweetie took the first left.

There were another two guards in the hallway in front of her, both in their sharp uniforms. One was another earth pony with a steel club, while the other was a unicorn, some nasty spell arcing off of their horn. The door to her side opened, and the two earth pony guards from before appeared. Behind her, the metal thing caught up, blocking the hallway and her only route of escape.

“You think you can take me!?” She shouted. “Bring—”

The unicorn’s horn discharged, and a bolt of lightning struck her across the face. She staggered, and the steel pony, the robot, the golem, stepped up behind her and grabbed her in a chokehold. It was stronger than any earth pony, throttling her so tight she felt her neck might snap. Gears and motors whined inside its frame. Her forelegs left the ground. The thing pulled her back, exposing her underbelly.

Then the guards raced forward and applied their clubs. They hit her belly, her ribs, her neck, her legs, swinging like a baseball player. Eventually, when she stopped struggling, the metal pony dropped her. She hit the floor with a meaty thump.

When the guards approached her still body, she opened an eye and smirked. Yeah. Being a young filly had sucked. She had been beaten and bloodied by some grunt. But now she didn't have to put up with it. "It's my turn."

The place went pitch black just as the fact that she was not only alive and still able to fight, but also smiling at them started to register with the guards. Sweetie rolled on the floor, her training sinking in again.

No sound. That was her advantage. No sound and no light. The guards gasped and shouted warnings at each other, but Sweetie was already on them. She weaved around them, barely a breeze, before slamming her hind hooves in an Apple-family style buck—just not quite as effective—on the robot pony, then blasted it with a powerful lightning spell.

The guards predictably turned to face her, and she simply hoofed one on the face from the location of the other guard, then quickly rolled away, watching in amusement as the pair started attacking each other with their clubs. That left two more.

The unicorn guard was preparing another spell, and that wouldn't do. She dashed forth, using her momentum to land a solid kick on the unicorn's skull, smashing it against the wall with a dull crack. It wasn't enough to kill him, but he wouldn't do magic for a few months.

The last guard with the steel club was wide eyed and looking around in complete bafflement and fright. He swung his club around, attacking the darkness more than anything. Completely futile. Any sympathy for these ponies from her was gone. They had done nothing but attack her relentlessly, and if violence was the only thing they understood, then that's what they would get.

But first. Psychological warfare. Using a simple projection spell, just like so many years ago, she whispered onto the guard's ear, as if she was just behind him. "Celestia sends her regards."

The moment the guard turned to attack her voice, Sweetie jumped forth, her front leg hooking the pony's head and introducing his face to the wall. Then, when she figured he hadn't gotten to know his new lover well enough, she introduced him again. And again. Until he stopped struggling. And then she let him crumble to the floor, turning her attention once more to the last of her opponents.

Unfortunately, the golem pony was better designed than to be taken completely out with a simple electric spell; as effective as hers was in apparently shutting it down, it hadn't completely destroyed it, which meant she had to improvise. If she could have summoned Akela, she would have just blasted through the damn thing with her magical diamond, but since she still couldn't summon her diary she looked around, then levitated the heaviest desk she could find and dropped it on the robot pony.

She then levitated desk and pony together and threw them both across the hallway. She glanced at the pair of guards, who were twitching on the floor, having beat the snot of each other, and nodded, dispersing her spell.

"Okay, now, where the hay is that stupid alchemist?" she growled, turning around towards Berry's office. As she moved forward, a bottle of something came whirling out of the office door and smashed onto her face, drenching her. Sweetie sputtered and shook her head. "I told you that doesn—"

Sweetie staggered. Her limbs suddenly felt heavy.

“Ah…” Spots appeared in her vision. “Horseapples.”

The world around her went dark and she hit the floor one last time.

“Good morning, Ms. Belle.”

Sweetie’s head lolled like she was a doll with a loose string. It was too heavy to hold. She wanted to sleep. She wanted to sleep more than anything, but somehow she couldn’t. All she could do was lie there, slumped against the hard stone.

“Now, now. There’s no need to play hard to get. I know you’re in there.” Something brushed Sweetie’s left ear. It was a gentle touch, soft and close. She felt warm air flowing over the side of her head. It was a pony’s muzzle.

Her head shot up. Adrenaline flooded through her. There were so many spots in her vision that the world was nothing but spots—patches of dark and light that shifted around her as her heart pounded inside her chest. She gasped for breath, the chains around her ankles going taut as she tried to move.

Somepony was laughing. A stallion. And when Sweetie’s heart finally slowed and her senses cleared, she could see him sitting across from her. She could smell tobacco smoke, and alcohol.

“See, there? I knew you wouldn’t go down so easy.” He was a soldier. An older pegasus stallion, certainly past forty, dressed in a sharp black uniform with silver pins and fittings. His wings were decorated with wingblades, his shoulders with red epaulets, his hooves with brass horseshoes, and his head with a square military cap. His snow-white coat stood in sharp contrast to his immaculate uniform. Once, his mane and tail were sky blue, but lines of silver showed his age.

A thin line of smoke curled up from the cigarette between his teeth. “You’re a survivor, Ms. Belle. Aren’t you?”

Sweetie needed a moment to get her bearings. They were in some kind of prison cell, or perhaps an interrogation room. She was sitting on a couch with a steel frame, and while the pillows under her were soft, all four of her legs were shackled to the couch with short and unforgiving chains. The stallion sat across from her on a small metal chair, and the only way out of the room was an armored door behind him.

Well. She was in deep now. Better make the most of it. "I'm sorry officer, you seem to know me, but you don't look familiar. Have I threatened you before?"

“Oh, you have lost your memory.” He tsked. “That’s a pity. You really don’t remember me at all? The name ‘Echo’ doesn’t ring any bells in that lovely head of yours?”

"Hm. Nope." Sweetie sighed. "Look, I get it, I roughened up a couple of your guys after they came in and started smacking me around without even asking or checking if I was responsible for anything. But, it's very clear it was self defense." She coughed. "Um. initially anyway. And had they just asked…"

“Aaaah.” A broad grin split his face. “Oh, Ms. Belle. It’s really all gone, isn’t it? You’re back to being that sweet young thing you were a decade ago. The mare from a distant world who arrived in our city in a flash of light.”

After another brief chuckle, he shook his head. “Well, no reason to be unfriendly. I can’t do anything about the chains, but, drink? Smoke?” He patted himself down until he found a flask in his saddlebags. It was one of several. “Here. This one should actually do something for you. All the way from the Crystal Empire.”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. "I'll pass, thank you." She glanced at the bottle. "The Crystal Empire, huh? I never thought about that one. But they're not the same as I. And you seem to know me well enough, uh, Echo. So why don't we just get on with it? You know I wouldn't have done anything to your officers if they hadn't attacked first. So why don't we call it even? If it had been a normal pony they greeted with their questionable professionalism, they'd be dead."

Echo kept smiling that bright smile all the while she was talking. “Well,” he said when she was done, “suit yourself.” He unscrewed the top of the flask, shifted his cigarette to the side to make room, and took a long pull.

"Enjoy. Now, can you let me go? I have things to do and ponies to see, and while it might surprise some, I'd rather do it on the right side of the law. You let me go, ergo, I'm on that side. We're all happy, you do your good deed for the day, you can go home, get on your favorite sofa and finish that bottle with the deep knowledge of having done the right thing even if the others didn't."

“Ms. Belle, you don’t seem to fully understand your situation. You attacked a…” He gestured vaguely in the air. “A pony of interest.”

"Wait…" Sweetie blinked. "You mean Berry? She attempted the Zebra Seven Point Nerve Strike on me! And all I did was ask her a question! How is that my fault?"

“It’s not against the law for her to hit you, Ms. Belle. It’s against the law for you to hit her back.” His grin reappeared. “You’ve already plead guilty, you understand.”

"Aha! If that is the case then you can verify with her that I did not, in fact, actually hit her at any point in time." Sweetie countered. "And I did not plead guilty for anything other than self-defense, officer. Echo."

“Contradicting an officer of the law. That’s obstruction of justice. Oh. Um. Oh! Or maybe it’s…” He rolled the words around for a moment. “Unlawful trafficking in dark magic. You do have that amulet. Or maybe you do terrible things to little fillies. I haven’t finished filling out the paperwork yet.”

He shrugged. “Do you have a request?”

"Hm." She glared at him. "So basically, you'll just forge whatever information to fit your case rather than actually do some work." She nodded. "Typical bureaucrat with a power high. I wonder how you actually sleep at night. How did I ever meet you, in the first place? You don't look or sound like anypony I’d care to know."

“We met several times. Once, when you first arrived in the city. You were the subject of some curiosity, and I was asked to make sure you weren’t a threat. After that we parted ways for several years. But I met you once again in a bar in the uptown. That would have been…” He mulled it over. “Eight years ago, now. You were drinking heavily, and asked me why ponies can’t just say what it is they want.”

His eyes slowly traveled down her flanks, resting around her tail. “I told you I wanted to put your hooves up on that bar, spread your legs, lift your tail, and ride those beautiful flanks into the sunset.” He waved a hoof as he spoke, his voice fond. “The bartender had some objections of course, but we made do.”

Sweetie tried to bring her hooves to her face, but the chains prevented it, so she simply gagged. "Go me." She really was a horrible pony. "Well, hey, at least the body you touched burst into flames eventually." She glared at the stallion. At least he wasn't that bad looking. No. Bad Sweetie. "Look, uh, Echo. In all seriousness, what's the point of all of this?"

“It’s known in the logistics department that I’m rather fond of you. When your name came up, they asked if I’d like to have a word with you.” He spread his forehooves. “You’re scheduled to be executed tomorrow.”

After a moment of silence between them, he corrected himself: “Well, not executed, exactly. That amulet of yours! That’s a tricky one. Technically you’re scheduled to be sealed in a block of liquid steel and then dumped into the ocean trench. So…” He glanced back up, his eyes meeting hers. “Not to worry.”

"Huh." Sweetie leaned back as much as she could. "Steel?" she shrugged. "Okay. I mean. Oh. No. Please save me, oh valiant hero. Or something." She glared at him. "Sorry, not going to be scared of that one."

“I suppose Ms. Sparkle—your Ms. Sparkle—will probably save you.” He made a grasping gesture with a hoof. “Pull you from the depths.”

"Who the hay knows. Besides, I'm saving her. Or I was before I decided to waste my time here." Sweetie was starting to get annoyed at his smug look of superiority. "I don't get you, Echo, you're here, telling me that I'm going to be executed because you’re "fond of me", but you're willing to manipulate whatever you can get your hooves on to make me guilty, regardless of whether I am or not." She tilted her head. "What's your take? What do you actually get out of lording this over me?"

“You misjudge me, Ms. Belle. I actually have very little influence over the matter of your guilt or innocence. The paperwork is filled out post-fact.” He paused for a moment, taking another draw off his cigarette and blowing out a cloud of smoke. “I suppose I was curious if I was one of your regrets.”

He gestured with a brass-shod hoof: “If we were one of you regrets, that is.”

Sweetie sighed, shoulders drooping down. "Yes. At least from what I've learned about what happened. I was married and I cheated on my wife. I don't know what my circumstances were, but she deserved better."

“Did she?” Echo flexed his wingblades, pausing a moment to inspect the edge of one for tarnish. “There is, of course, something special about two ponies who choose each other alone. Ponies don’t often think of me as a romantic, but I assure you it is so. Love is a powerful force in our world, Ms. Belle. I wouldn’t be much of a soldier if I didn’t respect it.”

He rose from his chair, pausing to spit out his cigarette onto the stone floor. With his teeth, he pulled another from his uniform front pocket. A spark off the tips of his wings lit the end. “Do you think your dearest Princess Cadence would command two ponies to stay together against their will? That love is a chain that binds us together whether we would wish it or not?”

He stepped up to her, standing beside her couch. So close, she could smell the smoke and alcohol on his breath, and see the sparkle off every little pin on his uniform.

"Probably not," Sweetie said, turning away from him and wrinkling her nose. "But there are things you do to a pony and things you don't, regardless of the situation. From my perspective, whoever I became here, was wrong to act as she did… and to take drugs to try and fix herself."

“Should have suffered in silence, mmm?” One of his wings left his side. With a single feather, he brushed her flank. Her skin crawled, and she pulled away. “Well. Maybe it’s for the best then. We’ll send you on your way, back to your distant worlds, and you’ll never have to bother with us again.”

"Not suffer in silence, but at least stop before doing something that would just be hurtful." Sweetie muttered. "Ponies get divorced. Separated. They figure things out if things are not working, right?" She looked up. "I don't know why I did what I did with you. But it seems like a mistake.”

“Saying something you shouldn’t is a mistake. Getting angry is a mistake. Getting drunk is a mistake. But too much planning goes into an affair for it to happen by accident. Sneaking around, finding…” His hoof brushed her neck. “Time alone. That’s a decision, Ms. Belle.”

He paused for a moment. “I’d hoped—” Then there was a loud pounding on the metal door behind him.

“What!?” he snapped, as the door slid open a crack. There were a number of other soldiers there in the same black uniform. “You had better have a good reason for interrupting.”

“I’m sorry, sir!” A young mare snapped, raising her hoof to her forehead in salute. “But the prisoner is being transferred.”

“Transferred where? She’s being executed tomorrow.”

“New orders, sir.” The mare said. “Princess Sparkle has requested her presence. She is to be moved immediately.”

"Mistakes and accidents are different things, Echo, I never said a mistake couldn't be done without intent behind it. That doesn't mean it's right." Sweetie said as two other officers walked into the room and pulled her up. She shrugged. "Maybe some food for thought while you have some time to yourself?"

“Her Highness will see you now.” The guards removed the chains from Sweetie’s ankles, and opened the door in front of her. Without another look at them, she stepped inside.

Twilight’s office was on the highest level of the tallest tower in the city. It was the Sparkle Enchantments building, just like the letter had said. At first, Sweetie thought she was walking into an unfinished room. The room was huge, easily the size of Celestia’s hall in Canterlot, but it was bare. Bare white walls, bare white floors, a bare white ceiling run through with harsh white lights. And at the end, where Celestia’s throne would have been, there was only a single massive window.

But when Sweetie’s eyes adjusted to the glare, she saw the mare standing in front of the window. This world’s Twilight was tall and rail-thin, like Princess Cadence, but with a more aristocratic build. She sat with her back to the door, looking out at her city.

Next to her, on a pedestal, floated a Twilight shard.

“Um… hello!” Sweetie called, but this Twilight did not answer. Hesitantly, Sweetie lifted a hoof to walk across the gap, but when she put it to the stone floor, her hootbeat rang out in the silence.The sound echoed off the stone walls, and she instinctively froze to the spot.

That was impossible. Her hoofsteps were supposed to be inaudible. She had survived the Maestro's castle due to her ability to not make a single noise. It took a moment to work up her nerve and to ignore the unfamiliar noise. She crossed the gap, ignoring the sounds of her own hooves and her own breathing.

“Hello, Sweetie Belle,” said the Twilight beside her. “You are looking better than when I last saw you.”

Outside the window, the city sprawled before them. From so high a vantage, the towers that had once loomed over Sweetie now spread out before her. There were so many they blurred together, like she was looking at a forest from above. The individual ponies seemed no more than insects, part of teeming millions.

"Um… hi, Twilight." Sweetie said, glancing at the mare. "If you saw me when I was… you know." She grimaced "At my worst. I'm sorry about that."

“Are you a fatalist?” Twilight didn’t look at her, continuing to stare out the window. “Do you believe, put in her circumstances, you would make the same mistakes?”

"Maybe? Maybe not? Depends on what I know." Sweetie said. She didn't know this Twilight, but it was Twilight. "Knowing what I know now? I think I'd act differently. I'm not in the same position as before."

“We think that we make our decisions, but it is our decisions that make us. If you are not the mare who so debased herself, then you have nothing to apologize for. If you are that mare, then your apologies mean nothing. You aren’t sorry enough.”

"Berry seems to think I'm a different pony," Sweetie said, "But even-even if that's true, how can I ignore what I… who I used to be? Why can't I just see Swiftwing and figure it out?"

“Why, you can, of course.”

"Nopony so far has been able to tell me where she is." Sweetie sighed. "I suppose you'd know, Twilight. Why did I do what I did to her?"

“Because you were unhappy. Because you were angry. Because you were drunk. Because you were depressed. Because it was an act of self-harm. Because Echo reminded you of your distant adventures. Because he was good in bed, and got you off in a way Swiftwing never could. Because he had superb taste in alcohol, and could find the stuff that actually got you drunk.”

Twilight turned to look at Sweetie Belle head on: “And because you’re weak.”

Sweetie looked down. She couldn't really argue with that one. "I don't want to be weak. Not at my own expense or others’."

“If wishes were horses.”

"Then I won't be weak again!" Sweetie snapped. "I hate that I… I- became something like that! I hate it! I can barely look at you in the eye without feeling shame." She took a deep breath. "That's why I wanted to apologize to Swiftwing. Not so she could forgive me, but because…" She hesitated, shaking her head. "Somepony with some pride and strength would own up to their mistakes."

“No.” Twilight’s voice was soft, and she gave the gentlest shake of her head. “A pony with pride and strength would make it right.”

She lifted her hoof, and floating above it was an electric blue bottle of medication. “Rainbow Brand Athletic Tonic!” the label read in aggressively friendly script, “For that flying body you’ve always wanted!” The label showed a dumpy, fat, ugly pegasus being transformed into a sporty flyer.

Sweetie Belle stared at the bottle for a long few seconds. “Nopony…” She hesitated. “Why would Swiftwing take those drugs too?”

“If I told you, would it make a difference?”

Sweetie had a nagging feeling. "Because of me, isn't it?”

“Because of you, because of society, because of her parents or her sister or her health, what does it matter?” Twilight’s voice hardened. “Your wife is dying. She is being consumed from the inside out by the same cancer that consumed you. You betrayed her, and she repaid your treachery with kindness. She cared for you every day. She cared for you long after she stopped loving you, because if she didn’t, who would?”

Twilight’s eyes flicked over Sweetie, and her lip curled back. “And now you have the opportunity to go and repay her in kind. To take care of her every day. Now is when she needs you. She has no phoenix amulet. When the final madness takes her, she won’t return.”

Twilight gestured with her hoof. At some point, the bottle had vanished. Sweetie wasn’t sure if it was ever real. “Or you could take that Twilight shard, and your time in Vision will be over. This place holds nothing for the new you. You, effectively, didn't exist until a day ago.”

“I can…” Sweetie swallowed. “I-I shouldn't even be thinking about this! I'll help her… and make up for everything I didn't do. I’ll go back for her. I'll stay until… until the end. The shard can wait for me.”

“Will you go back for Tip Toe?” Twilight asked. When Sweetie looked lost, she explained, “That’s the mare in the box. The one who was starving to death. You never asked her name.”

“I...”

“Just like you never asked why that waiter had crippled wings. Just like you never bothered to hug the friend who hasn’t stopped grieving over you. Just like you never wondered why law enforcement in this city acts like a pack of thugs, except so far as it inconvenienced you.”

She turned away from Sweetie and began the long walk across the room, leaving Sweetie with the Twilight shard. “You could go back, Sweetie. To the ponies that miss you or whom you hurt. Any of them. You could save the world. But you won’t. It’s not in your character. Hear my words and know them to be true: whichever option you pick is final. You don’t have what it takes to turn around.”

Twilight paused when she reached the doorway. She looked back over her shoulder. “I’ll tell the guards to give you directions to Swiftwing if you ask for them.” Then she slipped out, and the doors shut behind her.

Sweetie wasn’t sure how long she stood there in silence. She was alone, with herself.

In a flash of light, Sweetie appeared inside a ruined building of some sort. It looked like an abandoned shack, with several metal barrels pushed into a corner, where they rusted away, forgotten.

Cracks ran through the parts of the walls that were concrete, left by a staggering force of some sort. The rest of the building was basically little more than several mismatched pieces of metal and wood, held together by tape, rope, wire, and sheer luck.

Trying not to think much about how and why she was here, instead of inside a vast, white room, she looked around, trying to find clues as to her location.

A fading poster on the wall advertised Sunset Sarsaparilla. She instantly knew where she was, more or less. There was only one world where the drink was produced. Perhaps she was in Blackjack’s and Puppy Smile's world again. She felt different too. More powerful. Normal.

Looking down, her body seemed to be the correct age again, and closing her eyes, she stretched her senses to the magical ether, reaching for that familiar connection.

Her horn glowed a faint green, and with a loud pop, her diary appeared next to her, floating a few feet above the ground, with Twilight's shards orbiting it in perpetual cycles. The newest one was there as well, and she wished she could talk to her Twilight.

She stared at the diary and fragments morosely for a few seconds, her hoof hesitating on the cover. Did she have the energy or will to open it now?

She shook her head. She felt tired. She felt stupid and angry and disappointed in herself like never before. She wanted to rationalize her choice. Why hurt somepony more? Why stay in a city that was nothing more than a prison for everypony that lived there? Whatever.

She levitated the diary and prepared to send it away. Before she could, a picture fell out, gliding gracefully to rest, face down, on the floor. There was writing on the back of it.

"Distant Shores, 15th day of Fall, 12 AF."

It was her hoofwriting. She stared at it in the dust with a growing sense of dread before she swept it off the floor and brought it up so she could look at it. It took her several seconds to understand what she was looking at.

It felt like her body and mind were unable to fully comprehend what was happening in the picture. It was her, lying in a hospital bed. She was cradling a newborn foal, all wrapped up in bright blue cloth. Swiftwing was there beside her. They were both smiling.

They looked so happy.

Next: Fallout: Equestria

Author's Note

Yes, the original. This part was planned from the beginning, and I even got Kkat a long, long time ago to let me do this. Fear not... it's really the last visit there.

As you might remember, I talked about a re-imagining of where TSC was going, and taking things into account for this six year old story.

There's a blog related to this chapter, just in case you're curious.

Fallout Equestria Pt. 2

TSC: Fallout Equestria Pt. 2

By Wanderer D, based on the work of Kkat

Sweetie gasped and shivered so hard she woke herself up from her dreamless sleep.

She was lying on a blanket, under a thin sheet of metal that passed for a roof, which barely kept the heat away, although at least she wasn't under direct sunlight. Her diary was closed and lay next to her, Twilight's fragments rotating above it like some sort of fancy, magical clock.

She wanted to write in it, clear her mind, but she didn't want to touch it right now either. She knew what was in between those pages. A cruel joke at the cost of her sanity, her life, and her self-respect. Something she had denied herself and been denied after that.

Twilight Sparkle had lied by omission. She had said some truths like how Sweetie had failed, how she had hurt others that loved her. How she had become somepony deplorable and full of guilt to the point of suicide. She had told her, truthfully, that she could make a choice. Stay and hurt more and watch somepony she didn't know now—but who she had hurt deeply—die over a drug addiction, doing more harm than anything, if she thought about it.

She had not been told about her daughter. About the fact that there was filly out there that needed a mother that could—would—be better. But she had left. Even if she didn't know. She had decided to walk away because she was afraid of what she could become again. She didn't want to become Applebloom… she didn't want to become herself in that situation again.

She had known she had addiction problems… she knew. She had gone drinking and drank much more than she should have. She had immediately sought out bars and learned how to mix drinks. All of this before suddenly finding herself resurrected with no ill-effects, her body cleansed to the last faery crystal particle of her existence. How could she? She sniffled. How could she have stayed, being so afraid of herself?

"You're awake."

The voice was familiar, even if she couldn't really place it. Sweetie blinked against the glare of the sun, seeing in contrast the figure of the pony that had approached her. She was tall, slim, graceful and clearly had wings and a horn. "Princess Celestia?"

The female alicorn snorted and stepped into the shade, making the little shelter a bit cramped. Her coat wasn't white, purple or blue, it was a gentle green, which somehow seemed to be melting into a light yellow at the hooves and tips of the mane with occasional deep blue mixed in. She was still attractive and had an air of royalty to her poise, even if she wasn't draped in gold or platinum.

"It's been a long time, Sweetie," the alicorn said, "at least for you, clearly. You've changed a lot."

The voice was very familiar, as well as the odd coat color. A name bubbled in her memory. "Midnight… Glimmer?"

"Close," the alicorn said with a smile. "Midnight Shimmer."

"Oh, yeah…" Sweetie said, pushing herself up to a sitting position. She took stock again of where she was. The fact that Midnight Shimmer hadn't attempted to take her diary meant that Trixie wasn't in control at this time. She had fuzzy memories of the whole thing. Was Trixie even able to control Midnight anymore? "Have you been watching over me?"

The alicorn shrugged, a small self-conscious smile playing on her lips. It was then that Sweetie realized just how much her old acquaintance had really changed, and just really how much time had passed in her own life from those care-free days when she could walk into a zombie-full cavern while singing a country song. Her mind drifted to the diary, and her thoughts remembered old friends, old horrors, and new soul-breaking disappointments.

She tried to hold it in, looking away from the alicorn, who was an odd, unwitting reminder of better days—at least for herself—and trembled, dragging the diary close to herself. She had so many things in there. Notes. Pictures. Confessions. Warnings. Spells. Reminders. Memories. Discoveries… and up until now, potential to be good. And she had failed them all. "I'm sorry!"

"Shh," Midnight Shimmer whispered. "It's okay, let it out."

She hadn't realized when exactly she'd hugged the alicorn and started crying, but now that she was in her embrace, she couldn't stop herself. But it wasn't an emotional, destructive fit of anger and frustration this time. Her tears felt guiltily good, like she was somehow dumping out a cartload of boulders she hadn't known she had been dragging behind her with a wheel missing.

She cried and cried, for Twilight, split and dispersed around the universe because of her. She cried for Rarity, alone and immortal even among friends. She cried for Puppy Smiles and for Blueblood, and for her counterpart in that world. She cried for the ponies lost in the dark, enveloping miasma of the fae world; for Octavia, murdered by someone she trusted, and for the crusaders, lost in the North last she had heard. She cried for Blackjack, and Sweetie Belle, for Swiftwing… a wife she loved and now didn't know. And much more so for her daughter, who would never know her for good or ill.

She cried most of all for herself—feeling tremendously guilty about it—and yet unable to stop or feel like there was any justice to it all. She sniffled, and hugged Midnight Shimmer even more tightly as she wailed, sinking into the warm embrace of the alicorn simply because she couldn't think of anything else to do, and for all alicorns represented in this world, right now, this was the only friend she had.

And she was glad she was not alone.

"I'm sorry."

"For the fifth time, Sweetie, it's fine." Midnight Shimmer shook her head, "I understand all too well… I cried a lot too, once I left the STABLE. There's nothing to be ashamed of, far worse to keep it bottled in."

The pair were sitting in the little shelter, watching the sunset. Sweetie had put away her diary, and didn't remember much since opening the book, then finding out about her daughter, then waking up in the shelter.

She was back to this bleak world created by ponies' own hubris. Was it really a surprise that she was drawn to it? She had been so confident in her growth, in her understanding of herself and her own powers, in the validity of her mission… that she had committed such a horrible personal betrayal of her own values. It was only fitting that she would end up in the same virtueless place as before.

"Perhaps this place is meant to be my purgatory," she said, gazing into the distance. "Perhaps I'm meant to die here, where my immortality was granted. Perhaps I am destined to remain here, in a land devastated by war and ponies doing all the wrong things at the cost of everything, left only with scarred land and misery."

"Or maybe, you're here because this is the place where you can really begin to heal," Midnight Shimmer countered, not looking down at her, her eyes also lost in the distant scenery. "A place devastated and scarred by war and greed and best intentions, but where ponies still live. Where hope fights every inch of the way. Where monsters can become heroes."

Sweetie blinked and glanced at Midnight Shimmer. "I didn't know you were that optimistic."

"I think it was the raider part of me."

Sweetie considered that, nodding in contemplation. Then thought about it again. "Seriously?"

"Surprisingly yes," Midnight said, sounding kind of amused herself. "A part of me remembers a hoof, wrapped in spikes, writing little poems about growing things, if you can believe that."

Sweetie chuckled. "It's kind of hard to do so, but I guess anything is possible." She leaned on the alicorn's shoulder, feeling her tense for a second, before relaxing. For all of her emotional support earlier, it seemed that Midnight Shimmer was still not used to pony contact. "What are we doing now? Did you have a plan?"

Midnight Shimmer snorted. "A plan. No, I did not. I don't know what my place is anymore. I'm not guarding some secret location for the Goddess—"

"Trixie. If you keep calling her that, it'll get to her head."

A smile played on the alicorn's lips. "...or even part of her. I'm my own pony, with resurfacing memories of other lives that I have to come to grips with. For now I am enjoying my freedom.. sort of."

Sweetie blinked. "Sort of?"

"It feels kind of lonely to be on my own," Midnight Shimmer said. "Before I was part of… a lot of minds. Now, it's three in one."

"I have no idea how that feels."

The alicorn smirked. "Probably best that way."

Sweetie sighed. "I'm not sure how long I'll be here, but if you'll have me, I'll stay with you for a while."

The smirk warmed into a smile once more. "That sounds good. But we should get you some weapons and armor."

"I have armor," Sweetie said. "But weapons…"

"It's the Wasteland Sweetie, even just showing off you have a gun will keep others from assuming they can take things from you." Midnight Shimmer bobbed her head. "Think about it as a protection for them. They will be dissuaded before you have to do it for them."

"I guess that makes sense?" Sweetie said. "Where can I get that?"

"Well," Midnight Shimmer glanced around, shifting slightly—but not pulling away—from Sweetie as she studied the destroyed camp. "Definitely not here. There's a town a few miles down that way," she pointed with a wing. "It's called Faded Mirror. I was hoping to stop there on my flight, learn some additional information about the area, and maybe make some sort of decision."

Sweetie nodded. "I guess we know where to stop first."

It occasionally stormed in the Wasteland, whether it was because the Enclave willed it or simply because a series of events made it so, it still was somewhat cleansing, if not terribly nice. It certainly wasn't as nice as a shower as you could get in the STABLE, but it did get rid of some of the gunk and dirt, so she didn't mind staying out in it, as long as the rads kept low.

"Pip, you're going to get sick."

Calamity chuckled, walking up to Velvet, and patting her on the shoulder with a wing. "Ah think she'll be fine, she's just missin' Homage."

Velvet gave her a considering look, while behind them, protected by a large metal sheet, her back to the Sky Bandit, Xenith simply shook her head slightly.

Lil Pip felt her cheeks flush, but didn't answer. Sure, she did miss Homage. Who wouldn't miss a pony that could… do the things she did? It was natural. And nice. And slightly embarrassing to be honest, but if she was also honest it had nothing to do with that, right? Besides, she didn't have much time to waste missing her lover. After all, she still had to deal with the Goddess. And Red Eye. And… well…

"Hello Children, this is DJ Pon3, with sad news. The town of Faded Mirror is now nothing more than empty husks of houses and dead bodies. It was attacked by a pair of unusual raiders and reports are a bit spotty on what happened. Apparently there's a new Raider Warlord-in-the-making out there, and she's accompanied by one of those mutated alicorns. We don't know why or how these two are working together, but we do know that wherever they go, there's only bodies left behind. Another report confirmed that they were responsible for a magical storm that destroyed another, nearby camp. They were seen heading East towards Deep Crevice. Stay safe children, and to those that might have family there, my deepest condolences."

Lil' Pip sighed, pulling up a map on her Pip Buck. At least there hadn't been—

"On a brighter note, if a certain Stable Dweller is about, my dear assistant sends her love and reminds her that she is always willing to try and break her record. I wonder what she means?"

Right. Dammit.

"I imagine we're heading over to Deep Crevice?" Steelhooves' deep voice cut through both her embarrassment and the pitter-patter of the rain.

Lil' Pip took a deep breath. "Yeah. We're not too far away and we can't let a bunch of raiders murder the town, even if we have an important mission of our own."

She could see Calamity and Velvet exchanging glances before they nodded at her resolutely. Behind them, Xenith merely smiled. Lil Pip couldn't help but chuckle as her eyes turned in the direction of Deep Crevice. She was lucky to have such loyal friends.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

Like what you read? Life sometimes throws us curveballs that can really affect writing your favorite stories! If you feel like you can, why not try joining my Patreon, that way you are helping the creation of more stories to enjoy and cooperating towards a lot less stress in my life too!

Summary: Fallout: Equestria Arc End

Author's Note

In order to finish the story properly, I will be updating current chapters at the same time I post the summaries of parts missing. I know... I know this doesn't make up for what these chapters should have been, but I hope it helps bring closure to the visits that we didn't get to experience in full.

After this summary, the story continues.

Summary: Fallout: Equestria Arc End

TSC: Fallout Equestria Pt. 3

By Wanderer D, based on the work of Kkat

"'Let's go to Faded Mirror,' she said," Sweetie growled, then added in a sing-song voice, "'they have food and even a bathhouse!' she said."

Midnight Shimmer rolled her eyes. "You can't blame me for this."

"'Wear your armor, Sweetie!'" Sweetie Belle sing-sang undeterred, "'And pick up a gun! They'll leave you alone if they can see it!'"

"Really now, you're starting to annoy me," the alicorn muttered.

Sweetie motioned with her hoof to the flaming town.

Midnight Shimmer glanced at it askance. "Okay, so things didn't work out as intended. This is the Wasteland, Sweetie, not everything sorts itself out the way we want. You think I didn't want a shower?"

"Aaaaieeeee!" a pony screamed, falling from the second floor of the house they were at into the crates of explosives below. The market ceased to be.

"In my defense," Midnight continued unperturbed as debris showered her shield, "I was under the impression this town was friendly to traders and other non-aggressive individuals."

"I don't know what annoys me more," Sweetie said, "the fact that all of this happened because we walked into town; the fact that I am not perturbed by the demise of the entire current population; or the fact that none of this is our fault."

"Well, if you count instigating—"

"None of it."

Author's Note:

The idea behind the third and final visit to the Wasteland was briefly mentioned in the Sunset's Isekai chapter, or rather touched upon by a comment from Sweetie. Some people were upset in forums, chats, and even /mlp that Sweetie had ended up in the Wasteland a 3rd time, and I hear that's one of the reasons some readers stopped reading.

The thing to remember is that each chapter is about something Sweetie needed, learned or had to confront, and oddly enough this visit was about healing a little from Vision. Imagine that.

The city of Faded Mirror had been destroyed! What DJPon3! and others in the Wasteland had not discovered was that a group of raiders had infiltrated the city and essentially turned it into their little playground. When Sweetie and Midnight Shimmer had arrived in order to purchase a weapon for her, they had been led in, like other travelers and merchants, into one of the largest buildings, where the true identity of the "citizens" was revealed, alongside their plans for two fine ladies like themselves.

Naturally, this did not sit well with either of them. After taking care with the Raiders in the building, they arrange for the surviving citizens and merchants to evacuate, while they stay behind to clean up the rest.

The fight is a curb-stomp if there's any. Midnight Shimmer, as an Alicorn, has potent spells remaining, and it seems like one of the ponies within her was an accomplished mage too, so her instinctual selection is pretty wide. Sweetie… Sweetie is not in a good place, and letting her anger out on Raiders fits perfectly well into her current schedule.

Unfortunately by the time they're done, the only ones around to witness what remained were a caravan of merchants that, unaware that they had been saved, had immediately assumed the worst. It would take some time for the survivors to clarify that misunderstanding, but by that time…

Sweetie and Midnight Shimmer had obtained a reputation. When arriving to another town by the name of Deep Crevice, in search of provisions, they are first greeted by shots, then, when those prove useless, the mayor of the town surrenders, pleading for their people.

The pair has no idea what they're talking about and explain that they have no intention of conquering anything. They're in fact just two drifters, off to see the world, and it's such a lot of world to see… without provisions.

As they walk with the mayor and a group of guards to purchase their supplies, they explain what had happened in the previous town, which does a lot to calm the group accompanying them, although they have yet to hear from the group that escaped the previous town. Chances were that they had headed to another town to the East of Faded Mirror.

Shortly after obtaining everything they need, and leaving the thankfully intact town behind, they are ambushed by Lil Pip and Co. The battle is brutal, but all the ponies involved are fairly efficient. Steelhoof and Velvet are shocked by Sweetie's appearance, and do not involve themselves at first as she fights Xenith while Midnight Shimmer fights Pip and Calamity.

After the fight reaches a point where both groups are ready to go for kill-shots, one of Spike's Sprite Bots appears, remarking that Sweetie is in no way, shape or form a Raider, despite the spiked armor. Velvet interrupts while Steelhooves confronts Sweetie. This prompts a long explanation, including Sweetie helping Midnight Shimmer free herself from Trixie (by accident), knowing Watcher/Spike, meeting Blackjack, which freaks out Spike as… the stuff she described hasn't happened yet.

Sweetie shrugs it off and explains it as interdimensional time travel, noting that she can't share anything else then. With Spike's endorsement, and some questioning from Steelhooves, the group decides to stick together for some time. This results in a few more Raider camps being destroyed, but also with the others noticing just how damaged Sweetie is.

Each of them make an effort to help her heal in their own way, while also helping Midnight Shimmer figure out a bit about her past personas, eventually helping her understand that accepting her mistakes, doesn't mean she can't move forward and find a way to make things better.

The arc would end with Sweetie feeling the pull towards the next step of her journey, and after fading, Midnight Shimmer wishing Pip and co well on their mission as she departs, once more, to find her past.

Author's Note:

The progress that Sweetie has during the Isekai is directly a result of traveling with Pip and Co, and Midnight Shimmer; not just her talk with Sunset. Her later visit to the Isekai helps her internalize the lessons she learned here as well as balance out the good and bad experiences she had before.

Night's Favored Child Pt. 1

Author's Note

It's been a long time. We started writing this chapter/arc originally in February, 2014. While it wasn't intended to be the last arc in the story, it was the one where a lot was revealed, so it makes sense to complete the work Municipal Engines and I started and take it to its natural conclusion.

Alongside the new chapters, I encourage you to take a look at the older story chapters, since I'll be posting previous chapters and summaries alongside new chapters and you should be able to spot them there. That way no one is going to be getting extraneous feed notifications only to find there's no new full-story updates.

Municipal Engines is no longer with us here in Fimfic, and I haven't been able to get in touch with him through the means I had since… well, about five years. I hope to do well by his story as I finish these chapters. For now, I hope you enjoy what we worked on.

And as a last detail that bears mentioning, this chapter takes place after the Sunset's Isekai Crossover chapter. If you want a bit of a catch-up as well as some well-deserved comeuppance for a certain devilish Twilight, you might want to take a look at that specific chapter before continuing.

-WD

Night's Favored Child Pt. 1

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments
Night's Favoured Child
By Wanderer D and Municipal Engines

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and looked around. It was nighttime, and she had found herself in a garden of sorts. As far as she could tell, all was calm, and she took a moment to enjoy it. If this was the last stretch of her journey, then she should be careful, but also take advantage of whatever peace she could get.

It was especially important to do as the first thing into a new world. She glanced down at herself, immediately noticing her transformed self, but more importantly, that she was back in the body of a filly… or at least younger. She looked to be a little older than when she had left Ponyville the first time by maybe two or three years. Certainly a teen, if she had to guess her age, it would be either 14 or 15.

Was this intentional somehow? She couldn't really see the ancient Twilight Fragment sending her here, looking like this, for any specific reason. It had to be one of those strange rules that dominated her travels across the multiverse.

She looked at the bluebells growing around her, and couldn’t help but reflect on her visit to Sunset's Isekai. By the very nature of her transformation into a changeling, she had an instinctive, visceral response to being exposed. It wasn't a problem with other changelings, but when it came to your average Equestrian species… even Chrysalis' Hive, it was… tough.

Even ponies she could trust and knew would see her for herself were a struggle. Blueblood had insisted that she wasn’t a monster, and just like later on with Sunset, she had felt respected and loved… but Cadance’s reaction to seeing her in her true form had shaken her.

Would she have to prove herself over and over to her family and friends? If her glamour spell ever failed, how could she convince them that she really was Sweetie Belle at all? Especially after so long? After changing so much that so little was left of the filly they had seen last?

It was true that she had been offered a home of sorts at the Isekai, but… it wasn't her home. And if she was to ever be happy about being home at all, she needed to get through this, and somehow find her way to Distant Shores.

Sweetie sighed, grateful for the silence and solace while she stared despondently at her marble-like fur and the little obsidian spikes that poked out every now and then. Enough. She shook herself out of her stupor and took a deep breath. She needed to—

A familiar sound made her look up. The sound of somecreature crying.

Sweetie stood up and followed the sniffling until she could make out the form of a young mare about her own age, just slightly younger, sitting down on a bench, looking miserable by herself.

She didn’t realize that she had moved out of the shrubs (without making a single sound) until she was next to the crying pony. “Hey, um, are you okay?”

The young mare looked up, startled, purple eyes glossy with the sheen of tears. Quickly, she blinked and rubbed at her cheeks. “Oh, y-yes, I’m fine.”

Sweetie stared. She couldn’t help it. For all her adventures, it was the first time she had encountered this particular pony in this particular situation, and most importantly… age. “T-Twilight?! Is that—” She shook her head, taking a deep breath. “—Sorry, I’m not making much sense...” Sweetie stepped back to give the young mare some more space. “But you are Twilight Sparkle, right?”

“Oh yes,” Twilight said, quite perplexed. “Are you a new servant, then?”

Sweetie snorted. “Um, no.” She shivered. Twilight’s words brought some bad memories about being forced into servitude that she'd rather not relive. “I’m not, although I guess it would be less unpleasant here than… that one time at that other palace,” she added. She frowned. Something was odd about this. Even with exposures and recent talks, she hadn't thought about that place in… what felt like—and probably was—years. What brought that about? Is there something here that reminds me of it?

“Oh! So you worked for another kingdom? Gallopfrey?” Twilight frowned. “You don’t seem to have an accent.”

Sweetie shifted a little. “I just travel a lot, there’s really not a lot worth talking about when I was doing random jobs.” She looked up at Twilight’s eyes. “Besides, I’m more concerned for you… why were you so sad?”

“Oh, well…” she pawed at the ground, looking miserable. “It’s nothing important. You shouldn’t worry about me. I’d rather just be left alone.”

Sweetie pondered for a moment. She didn't want to push too hard, but seeing a young Twilight so despondent was not something she was really okay with. “Hey," she said after some thought, "how about I show you an interesting magic trick?”

Twilight shrugged. “I guess. Though I doubt it’s something I haven’t seen before. No offense. My mother shows me all kinds of tricks, and Uncle Inky… uh, I mean the Chancellor always has new things to teach me.”

Sweetie grinned. “Well then, feel free to stop me if you have seen this one before. All I need is some quartz…”

The purple filly brightened up at that. She turned and levitated a saddlebag towards them and began to rummage through it. “I was with Spike earlier and he likes gems to, uh, to eat, but he got sick so he couldn’t finish all of… aha!”

She pulled out a little sack and emptied some finely-cut gems onto the ground between them.

Sweetie looked down, pushing aside gems with her hooves. “Rubies, slightly spicy. But no… uh… aha! Quartz!”

Sweetie levitated the crystal out of the pile and set it next to her. “Now, check this out.” She took a deep breath and started talking to the quartz. She couldn't help herself, and her contract magic was less of a whisper and more of a little song.

The world around them grew unusually quiet, the whispers of whatever language Sweetie was speaking became almost blurred with each other, and slowly, very slowly, other whispering voices emerged from around her in answer.

The air now felt queerly alien, definitely not belonging in the tranquil grove. Twilight’s eyes became pinpricks and she steadily backed away from Sweetie, glancing about her, trying to find the source of the voices.

But then, her attention went back to Sweetie as slowly the quartz began to shift. Sweetie Belle smiled, but continued talking as her horn lit up with magic. Like a cloud of light, it floated into the crystal, slowly becoming more focused until it was a single ray of purple-white energy spinning inside of it. It shot from one end of the crystal to the other, leaving behind tiny star-like points. The quartz slowly warped and stretched out into a familiar equine shape, then the light slowly faded.

With a last, almost thankful whisper, Sweetie stepped back, observing her work, before turning to Twilight. “Ta-da! A pony crystal golem with a thirteen-point matrix for continuous energy feedback. And yes, I know that's excessive, but what's the point of showing off a trick if it's not flashy?”

The little golem seemed to regard the ground around it before trotting up to Twilight’s legs and staring up at her expectantly with its featureless face. Twilight stared down at it, mouth agape and eyes wide.

“How… how did you do that? What was that? Where did you learn—” She lit her horn and crouched down to the golem, peering at it. The golem backed away from her as she bumped her nose against, clumsy with excitement, her fear during the spell vanishing. “I can only feel the matrix for energy feedback. Where’re the nodes for movement? For reaction to stimuli? Can it learn and adapt? This… this isn’t etheric magic at all, is it? But it can’t be leymagic, either...”

Sweetie chuckled. “The golem can take and learn some orders, since I overdid it with the matrices, but it won’t really learn anything too complicated. It will react to normal stimuli and avoid its own destruction, and I think it’s a bit playful, but treat it with care, okay?” She grinned mischievously. “As for the rest, it’s a secret.”

Twilight looked disappointed at Sweetie’s undue mystery, but she beamed nonetheless. “Thank you for this. It’s wonderful. You have a gift, a real gift.” She returned her gaze to the little creature for a while. “Oh, and thank you for… you know… for calling me ‘Twilight’. It’s a nice change, being treated like a normal pony for once.”

Sweetie smiled. “Glad you liked it. And it’s okay… I have some experience in being treated differently too.” She paused, glancing at Twilight. “Wait, why would anypony treat you differently?”

The other young unicorn looked perplexed. “Uh, because I’m the Crown Princess? I thought you knew. Why else bother with me?”

Sweetie stared. “You’re a princess?! But you don’t have any wi—” she stopped herself. “Right. Different world, different rules,” she muttered, before smiling again. “Well. I saw Twilight Sparkle being miserable, and I thought I’d cheer her up. That’s what a friend would do, right?”

Twilight brought a hoof to her mouth and her eyes began to water once more. “Nopony’s said that to me in…”

She suddenly leapt forward and wrapped Sweetie in a warm embrace.

“Hey,” Sweetie said gently as she returned the embrace, making sure all the little shards of obsidian were inside her body so she wouldn’t accidentally nick her friend’s coat. She was feeling a bit emotional today, so she needed to be extra careful. “Come on, cheering you up is the least I could do.”

“I-I haven’t had any real friends in so long,” Twilight sobbed. “Not any friends who don’t see me as anything other than Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Sweetie sighed, holding her friend closer. If Twilight only knew how many times the roles had been reversed. “Well, I’d like to be your friend if you want. I’ll be around for a little while, and we can hang out and discuss magic, even play for a bit. Whatever you want.”

Twilight backed away, disentangling herself from her new friend, smiling widely despite the tears in her eyes. “Oh, I’d love that! Where are you staying?”

Sweetie blinked and looked around. “Um. I, uh… don’t have a place yet. I haven’t looked for one.”

The younger unicorn frowned at that. “Oh… well, if you want a place, just come to the palace. I’ll tell the guards to keep an eye out for you, and they’ll let you into the Royal Apartments or someplace else. I’m sure Mom won’t mind.”

Sweetie nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind." Now that Twilight was calmer, maybe she could find out a bit more about this world. "So, what is it like, living in the palace?”

Twilight gave a noncommittal shrug. “It’s big but I’m never alone and there’s plenty to do. Servants and nobles and officials sometimes try to make small talk with me, and I have to answer them or it would be ‘rude and unbecoming of a princess’, but most of the time I’m in the observatory, Apartments or the library.”

A grin came to her lips. “The library is enormous! I’m even allowed in some of the restricted archives, being the Empress’s daughter, though only under supervision. Mom doesn’t like me learning dangerous magic.”

Empress? Sweetie thought, but nodded. “It’s for the best. Dangerous magic can hurt a lot of ponies if there’s any slight mishap… I have some little experience with that.” She grinned morosely. “It’s best to be careful.”

“I guess, though my mom probably knows so much special alicorn magic she’s not telling me about, and it can’t all be that dangerous,” Twilight said, scowling a little. “So… what kind of dangerous magic did you learn about? Is what you did to make the golem part of it? It seemed a little dangerous to me.” Her voice lifted with growing curiosity, though trembled as if the recollection was disconcerting.

“It's not dangerous to witness, or be near to, but that is not magic you want to learn. Ever.” Sweetie said, stiffening and with all hints of humor fading. “It can create many beautiful things but the cost…” she shook her head. “I’m sorry, Twilight, but it’s a really sore subject and too painful to talk about." She sighed. "For some reason this place brought a lot of those memories back and that's why I thought of the golem.”

“Oh, um.” Twilight’s eagerness was tempered, but then she added hopefully, “Maybe you can talk about it with me later? When you’re ready, that is.”

Sweetie’s smile returned, and her stance relaxed. “If we get the chance and it doesn’t feel as… raw, absolutely. There’s nopony I’d trust more.” Twilight blushed at the compliment.

Relaxing on the bench, Sweetie considered her former tutor, now-young friend. “So, tell me a little about the Empress. The rest of us only see her business side.”

Twilight smiled. “Oh she’s wonderful! The best mother I could have ever hoped for. I know she seems stern and kind of scary - I thought that when I first met her too - but she has a softer, more passionate and caring side. Don’t let the dragon eyes fool you, she’s a pony just like you and me at heart.”

‘Wait… dragon eyes? Is her mother—’ Sweetie cleared her throat, and hazarded a guess. “I-I take it Nightmare Moon has that effect on most ponies.”

“Yes, she has to keep up appearances at court and for official matters of the state," Twilight said, confirming Sweetie's suspicions. "Not to mention all the ponies who try to lie or trick her; she can’t let them see her softer side otherwise they might try to take advantage of her.” Twilight grimaced. “Well, that and she has a really bad temper.”

Sweetie chuckled at the comment. “I can imagine. It’s probably not a good idea to reveal too much of yourself in a place where politics rule. I’d rather just live somewhere where I only have to worry about someone lying to keep me from finding out about a surprise party.”

The pony princess giggled. “I never have surprise parties. In the past Mom used to try and make them all lavish and big, but I’ve never really wanted anything like that. She’s a bit too theatrical for her own good sometimes. She caught on eventually, though now she puts all her effort in birthday outings and presents.”

Sweetie nodded. “You know, I never imagined Nightmare Moon as a mom, but you make her sound like a wonderful one.”

“She is… she saved my life too, more than once.”

“How so?” Sweetie asked, arching an eyebrow.

Twilight looked down, tracing a pattern in the grass with her hoof. “The first time was when I was taking the entrance exam for the Imperial Academy for Gifted Unicorns. I had to hatch a dragon egg for the test - it was supposed to be impossible and they were really testing for how I would approach the task and handle failure - but there was some kind of explosion just as I was casting a spell. It was so much of a shock I Flared and my magic went completely out of control. Mom waded into the room even while it was saturated with thaumic energy and helped me calm down and contain my power.” She looked up and smiled nostalgically. “That was the first time I met her.”

‘Just like in my own world, only it was Nightmare Moon instead of Celestia… I wonder if Rainbow Dash caused the explosion?’ Sweetie smirked. 'How nostalgic. I guess hatching dragon eggs is just that much of a classic. I should tell her about my own test, one day.' “Wow. I bet it must have been scary when that happened, I’m glad she was around to help you.” She tilted her head curiously. “And you mentioned a second time? Did you Flare again?”

Twilight turned her head away, wincing. In a weak, monotone voice she muttered, “I was poisoned.”

Sweetie’s eyes widened. “What?! Who would do that?”

“Griffons, I think. That’s what Mom said one of the conspirators confessed.” Twilight shook her head. “Their ambassadors had been invited to the Hearth’s Warming feast to ease relations. I ate some poisoned desert… I think it was meant for Marshal Silverstar. Mom was furious anyway.”

Sweetie huffed angrily. “I don’t blame her! Why, if I could get my hooves on the assassin…” she gritted her teeth angrily, the thought of her friend and mentor dead by poisoning flashing in her mind and making her feel almost sick.

“We blockaded them after that. There were a few skirmishes and Mom was ready to go to war, but she was convinced otherwise.” Twilight frowned. “The blockade still hasn’t been lifted.”

Sweetie shook her head, still appalled. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Twilight… even if it was intended for somepony else, it’s just… horrible.”

The purple princess nodded sadly, staring into the distance for a little while. She shook the daze from her head and smiled. “So where are you from if not Canterlot?”

Sweetie gave Twilight a pained look, trying her best not to lie, but not give away too much. “I was born in Ponyville… it’s been so long since I’ve been home though, I barely even remember what it felt like to be there.”

“Traveling, huh? How far have you been?” Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Have you seen the sun? I’ve heard about it from Inky, but I’ve never been far enough away from Equestria to see it.”

A voice suddenly called out from the darkness. “Twilight! Where are you?”

Sweetie shuffled, making ready to leave. “I guess it’s time for me to go… I’ll see you later, okay, Twi?”

“Yeah, okay. I hope you get where you’re staying safely. It’s pretty late out and like Mom always says: it’s bad for young girls to go out into the city in the evening all alone.”

“I’ll be fine,” Sweetie assured her. “We’ll meet around here tomorrow afternoon, okay?” She quickly stepped away, leaving Twilight with her new pet and merged into the shadows.

At that moment, a tall dark figure stepped out of the treeline into the grove. Great wings and a long horn marked her as an alicorn, and the star-filled mane of ether, the shining obsidian coat, and the draconic eyes of turquoise could only belong to Nightmare Moon.

She looked down at Twilight, who had been left staring at the spot where Sweetie Belle had been. “Twilight? Who were you talking to?”

Twilight looked up. “A friend, Mom. They’re gone now.”

The alicorn frowned in curiosity and peered at the shadows of the grove. Sweetie Belle froze, silently praying she would not be discovered, until Nightmare Moon made a slight shrugging movement and turned back to her daughter.

“Well, it is good that you have made a friend, but it is getting late, and—” she noticed the little golem at Twilight’s hooves. “What is that, Twilight?”

Twilight smiled. “A golem! My friend made it for me out of the quartz I was giving Spike. It doesn’t have any matrices for movement or independence, just energy feedback and management. It’s really strange.”

Nightmare Moon stared at the golem in a manner much like Twilight had done when she saw its creation, though there was a good deal more concern in her eyes. “Is this... contract magic?” the alicorn murmured. She shook her head and assumed an air of regal sobriety. “Come now, Twilight. It is bedtime, and in the morning, I should like to ask you about your friend.”

Her tone was thick with authority, and the purple princess threw a questioning glance her mother’s way. “She’s not in trouble, is she? You don’t sound too happy.”

A thin smile came to her mother’s lips. “No, no. I would just like to… speak to her, that is all. She has performed a very rare and advanced form of magic, and I would quite like to know who taught her.” She began to walk out of the grove.

Twilight seemed placated and motioned for the golem to follow. “So I can keep the golem then?”

“Of course. There is nothing harmful about it, so I do not see why not.”

“What should I call the golem, Mom?”

“I’m sure you will think of something, dear.”

The two disappeared from Sweetie’s sight as they passed through a curtain of hanging willow branches, leaving her alone in the shadows of the grove.

“Well,” Sweetie muttered to herself. “This Nightmare Moon is a lot more serious than the last one.”

Twilight trotted at her mother’s side as they walked to the Royal Apartments, with the little golem following in her wake. Her head was buzzing with questions about her new friend, but most pressing was the need to know about Sweetie’s magic.

Tomorrow afternoon couldn’t come soon enough for Twilight. The gemstone creature behind her had not been created as a conventional golem; that was easy enough to tell from even her cursory studies on the subject.

She had definitely heard her mother mutter something about “contract magic”, which she silently vowed to learn about. If her mother wouldn’t tell her, then the Inquisitor would. He loved to teach her little tricks and arcane lore that they both knew Nightmare Moon had forbidden from her education. If anyone could tell her about the golem, she knew it would be him.

“So how was your night, dear?” her mother asked as they walked.

“Oh, it was… interesting,” she replied.

“Because of your friend?”

Twilight nodded. “She was kind of weird, but in a good way. And it sounds like she’s been all over the world, learning all kinds of magic! I can’t wait to talk to her again.”

“Perhaps you and I can both talk to her. I think I should get to know your friends better, especially this one.” The alicorn definitely had a tone of genuine curiosity in her voice.

“I’m sure she’d love to meet you!” Twilight beamed.

Nightmare Moon absently shuffled her wings, airing them slightly. “Indeed. Well, I will ask you more about her in the morning.” She stopped mid-gait, causing Twilight – and the golem – to do the same. “I do have one question before you go to sleep, however. She made the golem for you then and there, correct?” Twilight nodded. “Did you notice anything strange when she made it?”

“Um, strange as in?”

“Strange as in something you would not normally associate with spellcasting.”

“Well… I’ve never actually seen a golem spell cast before,” Twilight hedged.

There was something heavy and serious in her mother’s voice that made her uneasy about elaborating on Sweetie’s casting methods. It was no longer a tone of absent, casual curiosity.

She had heard this tone when Nightmare Moon discussed matters of importance in court or with her officials. Once in a while, the Inquisitor suggested that sometimes, it was for the best to keep a little truth from her mother, as she could become fairly… domineering about certain things. Things like Twilight’s education and safety.

Nightmare Moon preferred to keep a rather tight reign on her adopted daughter.

Still, even Twilight could tell the little golem was unusual. More than likely, the alicorn knew enough that she would know a lie when she heard it. After all, it hadbeen a strange spell. The flanging, ethereal whispers were still stuck in her head, and when she recalled them shivers ran down her spine.

Perhaps if she told her mother about them, she could find out what they were. But would that get Sweetie Belle in trouble? She desperately didn’t want her new friend banished or imprisoned, or in any kind of trouble because of her.

Nonetheless, after much hesitation and the ever-intensifying imperious glare of her mother, Twilight gave in. “But, yes, it was like nothing I’ve ever seen.”

“How?”

The filly shifted uncomfortably, feeling like a tattle-tale as she explained, “She started whispering-singing to the gem she made the golem out of. I didn’t recognize the language… it made me feel weird, though, and…” she became hoarse as she continued, “and I thought something… whispered back.”

As she feared, her mother’s face became dreadfully grave. She tried to hide it, of course, but with the worsening tensions with the griffons, Nightmare Moon had heard unpleasant news often. Twilight had learned to spot when her mother was unsettled. A pit of worry formed in her stomach and it gave her jitters.

The alicorn’s expression softened and she put on a gentle smile, though the tension in her jaw didn’t completely fade. “Do not worry about it, Twilight. I am sure your friend is a good pony.”

“Are those whispers… bad?” She glanced at the golem, suddenly less inclined towards keeping it. “What about this? How can I not worry when you’re worried?”

“Because I have grown paranoid in my years. This is likely nothing, but I cannot help but be cautious. You, however, can. And it is bedtime, and I want you to have a good night’s sleep.”

At last they came to the Royal Apartments, and the bat-winged guards opened the doors for their sovereign and the Crown Princess. The filly was now eager to sleep, eager to let the dreams chase her worries away. They went through the great hall of the Royal Apartments, up the grand stairs and into the carpeted hallway that housed Twilight and her mother’s bedrooms.

The whispers had been weird, even somewhat frightening when she first heard them. They were worrying, but if her mother assured her there was no danger, then they were no overt threat. Twilight swallowed, anxious to have her questions answered. “Mom, about the whispers…”

“I will cast something for your fears, Twilight. Sleep and dreams are part of my domain, and you are my daughter.” Nightmare Moon was firm in her words, as if she was not making a promise, but stating a fact. “You will have no trouble in my realm.”

Twilight took that as a sign that there would be no more answers today. Still, she was very tired and her questions would have to wait for tomorrow, for both Sweetie and her mother to answer them.

Gratefully, she tottered into her room, with her mother at her side and the golem faithfully at her feet. Patiently, her mother waited while she set about her bedtime routine of showering and brushing her teeth in the en suite. When she returned, she found Nightmare Moon sitting on a large, plush cushion next to her bed, following the golem’s movements around the room.

It acted like a kitten, curious about the new world it had been brought to. Had it a nose, it would be snuffling around the edges of the bed and bookcases, but instead it explored in an efficient and steady manner without eyes, ears or nostrils to guide it. Twilight briefly wondered again how it could see and hear things, but shrugged it off as a question for another time. Instead, she clambered into her bed and allowed her mother to tuck her in. Despite being thirteen, she still enjoyed moments when the alicorn doted on her like this.

As she shuffled further into the covers of her bed, the golem leapt up onto the bed. Twilight looked at it crossly, now more unsure than ever on whether to keep it.

“I think it wants to sleep on the end of your bed,” Nightmare Moon joked.

“Is that safe?” Twilight asked, eyeing the gemstone creature. “It won’t turn on me or anything?”

“If it has been made in the way I think it has been then no. On the contrary, it will do anything in its power to protect you; you are its master. It will be more loyal than a dog.”

“If you say it’s okay, then…” Twilight reached out and touched it. The thing was surprisingly smooth, like polished soapstone. “It’s kind of cold, but I guess being a rock and all, that’s only logical.”

As if in response, the golem buzzed with energy and grew warmer to the touch. Twilight smiled, impressed. “Maybe if I put it in a fur coat, I can pretend I have a puppy.”

“Well, if it will be your pet, what will you name it?” her mother asked.

Twilight scrunched up her muzzle in thought. “Ummm… Zosimos. After the zebra alchemist of Pandopolis.”

Nightmare Moon nodded. “It is as good a name as any. Zosimos was a wonderful person; very wise. For a moment, I thought you would try and make a pun name.”

Twilight made a face. “I think there are enough puns in Equestria as it is.”

They had a good laugh at that, and when that died down, Twilight gladly accepted a kiss on the forehead from her mother and the guaranteed good night’s sleep she had promised. With Zosimos keeping her hooves warm and the trials of her afternoon fading, Twilight curled up and drifted off to sleep as Nightmare Moon closed the door behind her.

This is weird, Sweetie Belle thought the next morning, as she looked around the city of Canterlot with undisguised curiosity. I know it’s morning, because it’s lighter, but… it’s still not day. No wonder Twilight was so intrigued by the sun!

She stepped out of the shadows of the alley she had opened a door to the hedge from, before marching into the main streets of Canterlot, taking in the sights. Her stomach grumbled and she sighed, trying to figure out where to go first. ‘I should find a place where I can get something to eat. Maybe the market?’

The city itself didn’t look too different from other Canterlots she had visited, except for the occasional building or banner in purple or blue with silver where she would have expected the golden suns of Celestia’s rule.

She followed the streets into an open plaza surrounded by several commercial buildings, with smaller stalls and stands in the open area. Ponies offered their wares in a more dignified manner than the usual markets, where they would be calling out for buyers. Here, it was obvious that the nobles expected a degree of decorum from the merchants, simply wandering from stall to stall as things struck their fancy.

The sounds of somepony speaking loudly enough to carry across the market drew her attention, and soon enough, she stood amongst several other ponies listening to a young, beautiful unicorn mare with a mane and tail like waves of gold and a coat of purplish-gray. She reflected her audience well, wearing a fashionable frilled saddle and a choker with an emerald pendant that matched her eyes.

“Ladies and gentlecolts, please gather closer. What I’m about to tell you will well and truly open your eyes and grant you the clarity to see… see past the limited scope of our cousins in the Enlightened Way, and into a realm of greater truth. When you go to chantry to meditate and sing, do you truly feel content? Archeist doctrine would tell you that this life is meaningless; our bodies are temporary, useless vessels and the only truth is in some vague ideal of harmony and perfection. They revere the holy alicorns as mere ponies who have gained this enlightenment and shun their true nature. They teach that the spirit and the flesh are separate; that your pride and your faults will keep you from grasping true happiness in the afterlife. But how many ponies have reached that perfection through Arche’s methods? A few dozen in all our history! How many simply wallow in some nameless lower heaven without knowing the true bliss of the afterlife?” The preacher paused her sermon, leaning in as if she had been sharing the latest piece of gossip and had yet to reveal the juiciest secret. “I speak for a group that you have likely heard of: the Cult Imperia, sponsored by the Holy Empress Nightmare Moon herself. We have discovered the secret, sacred truth that the Archeists have missed. We can teach you how to find happiness and immortality in both this life and the afterlife without the need for such lofty, unattainable goals. We only ask that you celebrate and worship of life in its purist form, and you will learn to reap the benefits that are rightly yours.”

As the neophyte allowed herself to fall silent, murmured excitement rippled through her audience. A unicorn couple next to Sweetie Belle – a blue-tinged light gray bespectacled stallion with a neatly combed and shaped black mane, and a butter-coated mare with a bouffant of lavender and white – talked loud enough for her to hear them over the buzzing crowd.

“Well, Jet Set, it certainly sounds… interesting, but all our friends still attend regular chantry services,” the mare said to her wife.

“Oh, but that is the beauty of it, my dear, this time we will be the trend-setters,” he replied. “My sister Smart Set told me she and her wife had a lovely time; it was like a party, but with a certain esoteric mysteriousness about it. Besides, the nobility are joining up in droves. If we attend, we will be alongside counts and barons!”

“Well, in that case it wouldn’t hurt to try. We don’t have any plans this weekend anyway, so there would be no harm.”

“That’s the spirit! Just you wait, Upper Crust. We will be the envy of our neighborhood when they hear of us associating with nobility!”

Sweetie was intrigued. If Nightmare Moon herself endorsed this cult, why wasn’t it the main religion? She approached the neophyte as she finished chatting with an older stallion. “Excuse me, I think I would like to learn more. Where could I do so?”

The neophyte turned to her and beamed. “Oh, well, we’re having an introductory ceremony in a little while, and I’d be happy to direct you there if you are interested in learning more. The Hierophant herself is actually hosting, and she simply loves to find youths with inquisitive minds. Would you like a pamphlet? The time and place for the ceremony is there.”

She didn’t wait for an answer, thrusting one of the pamphlets at Sweetie. It had little in the way of actual information, just mysterious and vague promises and declarations of “secrets to be revealed”.

“We’ll have ponies of all ages attending, both newcomers and returning members,” the golden-haired mare said.

Sweetie nodded. “Oh, thank you! I’ll be sure to attend. After all, the more you know the better you’re prepared, right?”

“Oh, certainly!” The mare caught the eyes of the same couple Sweetie had heard earlier. “Now, if you will excuse me, I simply must talk to those two over there.”

Sweetie nodded, studying the map. The building in question was relatively nearby, and if she was reading the directions right, she could get there easily before the ceremony began.

Looking around to get her bearings, Sweetie left the plaza behind in hopes of arriving early to meet some of the other attendees. Maybe this afternoon I can ask Twilight if what they teach is the truth for this world, she thought. In fact, I think I’ll have a lot of questions for her.

Sweetie followed the map through the pleasantly meandering streets of upper Canterlot to the building marked as her destination. It was surprisingly close to the palace, in the same neighborhood as numerous small mansions that orbited the even larger mansions which pressed close around the palace.

The building itself was much like the mansions that surrounded it, though it was perhaps the smallest. Judging from the outside, it didn’t serve as anypony’s home; there were ornate pillars and carving on every surface, and while it stood two stories tall, there was no upper row of windows or balconies to suggest a second floor. Rather than the sloping roofs of its neighbors, a polished dome capped the building, shining silver in this world’s strange day-night.

The building was closed off from the public by a network of tall metal fences - as ornate as the rest of the compound - built into a wall that was perhaps just above head height for the average foal. The gate, however, stood open wide and Sweetie could see some ponies walking into it, welcomed by hooded guards or greeters.

Before strolling up to the gate, Sweetie studied the ponies walking in and noticed that while not all of them wore exquisite clothing or saddles, most wore some sort of jewelry or decoration.

Thinking for a moment, she turned casually down a side street, and once she was sure there was nopony around, she summoned her book, releasing the princess dress Elusive had created for her so long ago. She donned the collar with the large purple gem and the matching earrings as well before storing the book away.

Looking at her reflection in a window, she nodded to herself. Just enough to look fancy, but not enough to look like she was trying too hard. Nobles noticed things like that. It had taken her a long time to clue in on that because Blueblood made it seem so natural, but when she had finally understood it, it made their incursions into Canterlot Nobility much easier.

Sweetie Belle returned to the gate and headed through, giving the guards a courteous nod. For a moment, they seemed about to stop her, until they saw the pamphlet she held and relaxed back into their positions.

The front lawn was a lovely garden of trimmed bushes and flowerbeds bisected by a wide gravel path leading to the doorway. She passed underneath a portico and through the opened double-doors, flanked by yet more guardponies. She found herself in a marble-floored lobby that was quite bare save for several columns, some potted plants, and a desk with a robed acolyte standing behind it.

The mare’s quill danced over a ledger as she asked a couple in front of her numerous questions. Sweetie scooted a bit closer, trying not to appear obvious so she could listen in to the next pair of ponies the scribe talked to. ‘Huh, regular questions… Sweetie thought, already planning her own story. ‘Clearly concerned more with pedigree and political influence than actual interest in the cult. I’d better do my best Fleur-de-Lis imitation.

“Are you alone, young miss, or are you with others?”

Sweetie blinked, realizing that she had missed the rest of the conversation. “I’m by myself, for the moment,” she answered. “Should I wait somewhere for things to start?”

“A few questions first, miss, then you’ll just head through those doors and we will notify you when the ceremony begins,” the mare said. “Now, what is your name?”

“Sweetie Belle,” Sweetie answered, offering the mare a smile.

The mare wrote that down. “Age?”

“Fourteen.”

“Okay,” the mare said after a quick flick of her quill. “Finally, I would like your family name if you have one, and your current address.”

“Ah,” Sweetie’s face became very serious. “My family name might not be convenient to mention right now, if you don’t mind… they… do not know I’m here today, you see. But I will say that I, and they, might be found at the palace from time to time.” She pondered for a moment. “However, I realize you probably can’t take my word for it. If you’d like, I can show you a couple of letters of introduction I have from Prince Blueblood himself to prove my identity.”

The mare’s polite smile widened until she looked like a cat who had caught a very large fish. “Well, we can certainly make some… arrangements for a case such as yourself, given your… station. May I see those letters?”

Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “Of course, but I must insist you return them immediately. My family would be distraught if they found out I had misplaced them.”

The mare nodded emphatically and Sweetie’s horn lit up. Next to her head, the air opened up, long enough for a sheet of paper to extract itself from within her book, and float out, to be held, perfectly still in front of Sweetie, and facing the mare. The receptionist needed to only briefly scan its contents before passing it back and jotting down a few notes in the ledger.

“I hope you enjoy your time here, Lady Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie smiled, sending her letter away and nodding. “Just Sweetie Belle, for now, please. After all… I’m not here, remember?” She winked at the mare, as if sharing a little joke between friends, and proceeded into the next room.

As soon as she was inside, Sweetie stepped to the side, careful to not draw attention as she looked around. The waiting room was large enough to hold the two dozen or so ponies attending with room to spare. Several servants walked about, carrying canapes and light drinks while ponies discussed politics, admired the sculptures or simply exchanged witticisms to amuse themselves while the time for the ceremony approached.

Sweetie’s eyes strayed around the room, trying to see if she could recognize anypony that she had perhaps met in other worlds… given the nature of the guests, most likely at the Grand Galloping Gala. The ponies in attendance had already mingled into small groups. She could tell who knew each other and who didn’t. Here and there friends would meet with wide grins and talk animatedly, while others greeted one another with polite smiles masking boredom or guarded glances.

More than one social climber had made their way there as well, marked by their less elegant clothing and hesitant demeanors. She watched one such stallion finally gather the courage to approach a diamond-crowned mare, only to be acknowledged with a polite nod of the head, followed by his objective turning her back on him, purposefully cutting him off from the conversation or even from any further attempts to join again. And then another stallion pushed an empty glass into his hoof and asked for another.

Her eyes kept scanning the ponies around her, seeking a familiar face. Would it be Fleur? Fancypants? Who else was around Canterlot while Twilight was a filly? Octavia, perhaps?

Then, for just a moment, she spotted a familiar mint-green coat. Sweetie’s eyes widened as she moved out of her corner and slowly approached. She recognized the pony immediately, but the filly’s manner made her uncertain.

The last time she had seen her, her friend had been trying to teach her the finer points of Technomancy while only managing to shoot pasta through the roof. This pony, though, held herself with the proud reserve of a noblemare. “Lyra?”

The young unicorn – a filly around Sweetie’s age – turned around to meet Sweetie’s eyes. This Lyra wore a tasteful white blouse with a blue-trimmed collar, and her mane was very unlike the Lyra she knew. The mint-green unicorn wore hers in a long, elegant curl, every permed ringlet placed with painstaking care.

“Oh, hello,” she said, then frowned slightly. “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head, blinking when she realized she had spoken the young mare’s name in shock. Quickly, she gathered her thoughts, and adopted the slight tone that Canterlot nobility liked to share in their manner of speech. “Oh, I apologize. I know of you, but we have not have the chance to meet in any proper manner. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Sweetie Belle.”

Lyra smiled and bobbed her head. “A pleasure to meet you. My name is Lyra, of House Blueblood-Heartstrings. Though if you must call me by my family name, I prefer simply ‘Lyra Heartstrings’. Are you of a noble house, too?”

Sweetie almost had to force a smile, but the image of her exuberant friend acting like a noble made her eyes glitter with more than a bit of friendly mirth. “I’ve been accused of belonging to one once or twice, but until I change my mind, I shall simply remain Sweetie Belle, Lady Heartstrings.”

“Mysterious,” Lyra said, cocking her head with a playful smirk. “I’ve heard of marrying into a noble house, and of course the Empress can ennoble anypony she likes. I even knew the Crown Princess before Nightmare Moon adopted her. But simply deciding to become a noble is quite the trick!”

Sweetie Belle laughed into her hoof. “I like to think I’m full of tricks, Lady Heartstrings.”

Lyra shrugged. “In any case, I think I’d prefer less formality, if you’re okay with that. And please don’t mention to anypony that Lyra Heartstrings has been attending Cult Imperia ceremonies… my parents are not exactly open to me being here.”

“Oh, I won’t, Miss Lyra. I can respect the need for secrecy, and more importantly, informality.” Sweetie nodded, her grin slipping a bit. “Although… if I may, you said you were friends with Twilight. I think she might enjoy a visit from you. She wasn’t very happy all by herself, last time I saw her. I think… I think she really needs her friends.”

Lyra blinked, taken aback. “I… you spoke to the Princess?”

Sweetie looked around, making sure the other nobles were distracted in their own discussions and there were no prying eyes or ears keeping tabs on them. She cast a brief dulling spell, her horn barely glittering, so that her whispers would be hard to understand more than a few paces away.

“She’s alone, Lyra,” Sweetie whispered, stepping a bit closer to the mare. “And I won’t be here too long. She’ll need friends, real friends.”

The noble unicorn’s ears flattened. “But I cannot… I can’t just casually walk up and start chatting. She’s a princess. I know I said I don’t like formality, but with proper royalty… it’s just not done. There is a line, especially for ponies in my social circles.”

Sweetie sighed, nodding in understanding. “I know where you’re coming from but, when you have the chance… if you see her need for friendship… just think about it.”

“Okay, I will. I will try, but I’d hate to think what ponies would think of me if they caught me treating the Crown Princess like a common… I don’t even know what,” Lyra sighed. “I guess when everyone at the Academy and around the palace started treating her differently, I couldn’t help but do the same. And then it just sort of stuck.”

Sweetie smiled at Lyra. “I really do understand. Let me just say what my big brother, who watched me and taught me all about nobility, would have said… actually, he'd probably go off topic and hit on you, but he'd mean to say that there's nothing wrong with being respectful or acting properly. Even when it really didn't matter, he always told me to pronounce certain things a certain way or curtsy in polite company... but it made the casual times, when there weren't any pretenses, all the more precious. He'd ask how Twilight would want to be treated by a friend, not just another stranger or hanger-on.”

“I think I understand. As I said, I will try.” She smiled softly; a smile which quickly grew into something quite a bit happier. “So, how do you know Twilight Sparkle?”

Sweetie grinned. “Oh, I showed her a magic spell she had never seen. And then we discussed magical theory for a while. That, my friend, is how you befriend a bookworm like us.”

“Twilight always has been quite… I shouldn’t say ‘nerdy’, but I think she gets lost in those books a lot. Though we do sometimes talk about archeology, even she isn’t as passionate as I am about it, I think.” She grinned, holding back a little snort of laughter. “Actually, talking about archeology… it’s really the only thing she seems to be able to talk to my brother about without them both ending up wanting to throttle each other. Not many ponies know this, but she doesn’t like my brother much. She hasn’t since... well, literally since day one.”

Sweetie blinked. “That won’t do. We’ll get them to be friends. And then neither will be able to pretend they dislike the other.”

Lyra shrugged. “Well – and you didn’t hear this from me – he did bully her a little bit when they were younger. That annoyed Father. Now there is no chance for the family to get hitched to her, unless she likes mares, though I’d rather not have it come to that.”

Sweetie couldn’t help but rub her temple with her hoof. “I had forgotten about the whole marriage for power thing. Why did I forget that? Oh yeah, because I didn’t want to think about it.” She glanced at Lyra and couldn’t stop a smile. “But you’d make such a cute couple!”

The noble snorted in laughter. “Oh, that is a laugh. Though I have to admit, she can be really adorable sometimes and, well, she is a pretty thing. Better me than Blueblood, I suppose; he’s in his twenties. Every time he and our parents plot a new angle to hook Twilight, I can’t help but think of him and her as a couple as they are now.” Lyra made a face like she bit into a lemon. “It still happens from time to time, but... ew.”

Sweetie shook her head. “Yeah… bad mental image.” Her eyes drifted back to the other ponies. “So, you said your parents didn’t know you were here? Is there something wrong with the Cult Imperia?”

“Oh… not really, I don’t think, but they are sort of political rivals with the Hierophant at court and I guess they just don’t want me associating with her.” Lyra tapped her chin thoughtfully, before a devious smile crawled onto her face. “Then again, there are the orgies.”

Sweetie tilted her head, staring innocently at Lyra’s eyes. “Orgies? What are those?”

Lyra’s eyes widened and a hoof came to her mouth. “Oh my gosh, you don’t know? I thought everypony would know by my age.”

Sweetie smiled pleasantly.

“Oh. I get it, you are joking, right?” A pause. "Right?"

Sweetie chuckled, earning a sigh of relief from Lyra. “I know what they are, but I did not know they were part of this…” she strayed off. Her jaw dropped. “Wait, are you telling me that after we’re done waiting, we’re all going to…” she waved her hooves. “As in... here? With you? And that pony over there?”

Lyra guffawed. “No, no! They are only rumors. I think. But even still, they say that’s for the really committed, high-up members who have been in the Cult Imperia for a long time. Personally, I was just initiated a couple of weeks ago. I’m helping with the ceremony and I can assure you there won’t be any orgies.” She smiled salaciously, giving her new friend bedroom eyes. “Unless you want there to be.”

Sweetie Belle gave Lyra a long, considering look, staring so intently at the young mare that she actually gulped. “You know, you wouldn’t be the first filly I’ve kissed.”

“Oh, nor you I,” the unicorn tittered. “And don’t be silly; no matter how much of a perv— Ah, that is, no matter what the Hierophant is like, we’re too young to do anything like that… at least, officially, I think.” She shrugged once more. “Again, like I said, it’s all rumor anyway, so I can’t really give you any actual details. But why else would they keep most of this a secret? I’m not even allowed to tell you how I was initiated.”

Sweetie winked at Lyra. “Aww, and here you go, dashing my dreams.” She levitated another glass from a passing waiter, replacing her empty one. “I’m eager to see what this is all about, in any case. I love understanding new things.”

“Yeah, I was really curious at first. I still am; they have so many levels of initiations and secrets they teach you. But you can learn most of the general dogma and lore from the priests.” She nodded at the glass Sweetie held. “That stuff is very weak. All of the good drinks are given out during the ceremony. And the good food.”

“I was wondering about that,” Sweetie said, looking down at her glass with a slight frown. “This is almost water.”

“It’s mainly for show. Ponies, especially high-class ponies like the ones here, expect some kind of wine. We don’t want to get them too drunk before the feast begins, so we give them the weak stuff while they wait.” Lyra blushed suddenly. “Oh listen to me, saying ‘we’ already when talking about the Cult. I hope the Hierophant lets me take a bigger part this time. She promised me I would.”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “I see you’re really interested in being part of this.”

“It’s just so much fun! And… well, I have to admit that though I started simply because I was interested about it when my parents forbade me from associating with the Cult, it has grown on me,” Lyra said, smiling wistfully. “When ponies who are really into it come together and celebrate it’s… well, I can’t describe it. There’s something wonderful and magical in the air. It is like you’re completely free and one with everything.”

“I see… well, I can’t wait to experience it myself,” Sweetie said. “I can’t say I’ve ever been to something quite like this.”

“You’ll have fun. I know it sounds weird when you put ‘religion’ and ‘fun’ together, but with the Cult it’s like a big party and we just… celebrate life. There is music and drinking and dancing and everything. You will see me on the lyre, amongst other things.”

“I look forward to that,” Sweetie laughed. “Maybe one day I’ll let you listen to me play the cello.”

“Oh I’d love that!” Lyra clapped her hooves together, before suddenly stopping and staring at Sweetie.

Just then, a pony dressed in pristine white robes swept up to them and smiled genially. “Sister Lyra, we are about to begin. It would be prudent for you to come with the rest of the acolytes and prepare yourself.”

Lyra’s face fell to something a little more somber. “Oh, is it starting already? I will be there, then.” She turned back to her new friend. “I will see you in there, okay? Maybe you will want to hang out later too?”

“For a little while, sure,” Sweetie smiled. “I do intend to go home at some point.”

“Okay, well, just tell me where you live and I’ll see if we can arrange something. I have to go now, bye!” Lyra said as she followed her fellow acolyte to the doors leading further into the compound before disappearing from sight.

It didn’t take long before they were all called in to begin the ceremony. Guided by a white-robed acolyte, the guests passed through the pair of doors that led to a long, winding staircase leading down into the earth. The long train of ponies made their way down twenty feet, then fifty, perhaps as much as a hundred. At last, the walls opened up into a huge grotto beneath Canterlot.

It was well-lit and, much like the rooms above ground, it was decorated with an abundance of columns and potted plants. The natural rock that made up the walls and ceiling was studded with large crystals and gems that Sweetie knew were abundant in Canterlot’s mountain. Unlike the surface, however, it held an array of cushions, seats and tables, as well as what Sweetie could only guess was an altar. The altar was covered in ivy and fruit and other specimens of nature, including what looked like a piece of cloud and a small rainbow.

In front of the altar stood a mare in the same white robes as the rest of the Cult’s clergy, albeit hooded. Her bearing and the attitudes of the other white-robed ponies towards her told Sweetie that this was a mare of importance. Likely the Hierophant Lyra had mentioned. Flanking her on each side were groups of acolytes, including the mint-green unicorn that Sweetie had recently befriended.

At some unspoken command, these acolytes surged forward and guided the attendees onto seats, divans and cushions. Incense burned in braziers hung on the walls and pots on the tables, filling the grotto’s air with a pleasant, spicy smell. Sweetie herself was seated at the front of the congregation on an exceedingly comfortable plush cushion.

“My esteemed guests,” the Hierophant said suddenly. “I thank you all for coming. For many of you, this is only your second or third time attending. For others here, this is your very first foray into our sacred ceremonies. I can only hope you will continue your way on this path towards learning the greatest, most powerful mysteries in the world. For now, I bid you take libations with us as we commence the ceremony.”

Beautiful young acolytes meandered through the seated attendees, pouring goblets of rich red wine for them. Sweetie was pleasantly surprised to find that Lyra was pouring her drink.

“I made sure to get you the best seat in the house,” Lyra whispered as she topped up the goblet.

“Thanks!” Sweetie whispered excitedly, bringing the cup up to smell the wine.

Lyra smiled. “Don’t mention it.”

She left her friend to attend to others of the congregation. Soon everyone had goblets full of wine, though they waited expectantly for permission to drink from their host. The acolytes waited patiently as the Hierophant lifted a jug and said, “There is a mother for all of us, a Great Mother that birthed the world and its peoples and protects her creation. This is the first truth and we tell it to you openly. So before we begin to drink, I ask that you first give libations to the Great Mother in thanks and praise for creating and protecting us all.”

With that, she tipped the jug and a little wine fell to the floor. The gathered attendees followed suite; allowing drops of wine from their own goblets to splash onto the floor. Sweetie frowned at this display but nonetheless copied the actions of the others. It reminded her of a book she had read once, about how ponies would spill some of their drink in honor of those departed, though it seemed a waste of good wine. After this, they all lifted their goblets to their lips and drank.

“The Great Mother made all to revel in the joys of life, but even then she keeps a greater reward in store,” the Hierophant continued, pouring wine for her acolytes. “The alicorns and great Immortals of ages past were ordinary creatures, deemed worthy for their actions and character in life, and reborn again. They were not reincarnated, but ascended to the heavens and entered the womb of our Great Mother to be birthed back to the earth in glorious splendor. This began an era of celebration of life in its totality, and of worship of the Great Mother. That is the mission, the duty and the joy of all who are gathered here tonight: to celebrate life, to affirm oneself and one’s connection with the world, and to worship the Great Mother. We worship by feasting, by singing and dancing and sharing joy and affirming our lives. There is no shame in this. As we feast and celebrate, some of you will be taken by the Great Mother. It is a wondrous and ecstatic feeling, and I bid that you do not fight it. Let the warmth of our Great Mother flow over you and into you, and bask in her glory.”

The Hierophant fell silent and the music started. It sounded strange to Sweetie’s ears, clearly improvised, its rhythms and harmonies determined only by the performers’ desire to work together. The acolytes played an eclectic collection of instruments: drums and cymbals, strings and horns, apparently whatever each individual happened to be best at. A light chanting rose and fell along with the music, mixing with the sound of the instruments in wordless song. Other acolytes brought around all manner of foods for the attendees and cheerfully told them to drink and feast. The incense burned, and as the celebration went on, the air grew thick with fragrant smoke.

Sweetie Belle listened as she sipped on the wine (much, much better than it was upstairs) and nibbled on the dates and pomegranates set before her. The Hierophant continued to preach, but this time her voice turned soft and husky. Most of the attendees still lavished her with their attention as they dined. They heard of how this Great Mother was patron of the earth, the sky and the aether, and how the spiritual world and the earthly world were so connected they were almost one and the same. Much was made of the matronly aspects of the Cult’s goddess, and how She gifted fertility and luck to loyal worshippers.

The Hierophant said, at some point, words that sounded like a mantra: “The Great Mother is life. Life is love, life is pleasure, life is feeling. To revel in life and thank our Mother is to worship Her.”

Soon the attendees were up and about, acolytes inviting them up to the smoking altar to show devotion. The first ones up were, Sweetie guessed, not newcomers. They seemed to know what to do; tasting of the liquid in the bowl that seemed to have been untouched by the Hierophant or any acolyte. The first ponies seemed somewhat nervous, tepidly walking up to the altar and performing some little ritual that seemed vague in motion and purpose. Nothing much happened, however, and they simply went to sit back down, allowing their place at the altar to be taken by others who repeated their actions, most of them to much of the same lack of pay-off. The Hierophant told the congregation that they could come back up to the altar to experience a more personal form of worship any time they wanted.

Some worshippers, however, touched the altar and sipped the nectar with nervous excitement and, as they muttered their prayers, gasped in sudden serenity. One such mare went further, and seemed to be seized by a moment of weakness and had to be supported by the acolytes before she fell to the ground. Sweetie saw her face; she had never seen somepony with such bliss in their eyes. The mare continued in this state for a few minutes, twitching and breathing heavily, before she came back to a proper state of mind just as suddenly as the episode had begun.

The acolytes were dancing slowly, languidly to the steady, lilting music, and the seated lay-ponies were bobbing and shaking their heads dazedly along. Sweetie found Lyra once more at her side, refilling her goblet.

“Do you want to go up to the altar?” she asked, her voice whispery and dreamy. “All you have to do is touch some of the stuff up there, drink the nectar and, uh, pray to the Great Mother. It’s not really praying, you can just talk to yourself, if you’re not into any of that. It can be a little comforting.”

Sweetie looked at her friend with a slight touch of confusion, but shrugged. “Sure.” She put down her goblet and stood up, noticing how the ponies that had been up there seemed to be relaxing even more. Perhaps there was something she was missing.

She made her way to the altar, pondering the words of the Hierophant. For the most part, by her understanding of magical theory, the priestess’s words made some sort of sense… but the level of connection she presumed was a bit too much. Maybe spiritual things worked differently in this world? Sweetie considered that as she mimicked the motions of the ponies before her.

This was supposed to be relaxing and uplifting, but somehow the closer she got there, the more a sense of worry crept up her spine. She slowly stepped up to the altar and sipped a bit of the nectar.

Now this. This was sweet and spicy in a good way, like good liqueur aged in different barrels. It went down smoothly, and the aftertaste had hints of herbs and whispers of wood. If anything, the trip here was worth it for this one. They should bottle the stuff. Then, remembering where she was, she quickly lowered her head and… she had never prayed before.

‘Um, Great Mother, I uh… thank you for… letting me understand this world a little better. I think,’ she thought towards the vial of nectar, feeling extremely silly and unusually disappointed at her lack of inspiration when it came to praying.

For a moment, she thought that was it. Maybe this whole thing was really nothing more than ponies hanging out together and having fun. But then, she felt something. Faint whispers, not of the stone or the air, not the whispers of the smoke or the dry pages of books. It was a different whisper, and she realized it had been there all along, but now, it was whispering to her.

The whispering skittered through the air and brushed her, lightly at first, like an ant walking over her skin. She shivered uncomfortably, gritting her teeth. It came again, not skittering but creeping and slithering - impossible sensations to ascribe to whispers, but somehow, they felt right - and touched her again, this time with more force. Again and again the whispers came and grew until they were more like a flood, pushing against her senses and tapping at her walls. Sweetie gasped, shaking her head in a vain attempt to clear it of the intrusion. Out of the corners of her eyes, she could see the attendees and acolytes continuing with the celebrations as they always had, dancing and feasting, blissfully unaware of this… presence. It continued to tap against her, desperate to be let in, when suddenly Sweetie felt a muzzle by her ear.

“I see the Great Mother has chosen you, little one,” a voice breathed. Sweetie recognised it as belonging to the Hierophant. “You are honoured for Her to have done so. Don’t fight Her, let Her take you. She is our Mother, after all, and Mothers do so love to hold their children. Let Her inside, Sweetie Belle.”

Far from comforting her, the Hierophant’s presence was like an added weight, and the whispers brushing Sweetie’s mind grew in intensity. Her breathing quickened and she could see, under her glamour, the spikes of obsidian growing out of her marble-like fur, like thorns on vines.

The whispers of the rocks and crystals around her increased in answer to the intrusion, feeling her fear and rising to protect her with half-understood threats and unrecognizable promises. As if in another world, the other ponies around them danced and ate, drank and laughed with no cares, unaware of the dark whispers she herself hadn’t noticed until they had noticed her.

The quiet, almost mystical sense of calm from earlier was gone. Ponies threw themselves on their comfortable cushions and shook in ecstasy while others observed in dazed wonder those that were having spiritual epiphanies. The dances were more forceful, as if pure, raw emotions were shaking the ponies from the inside.The music was fast now, and wild; it rose and fell frequently and elicited whoops of delight from the dancers.

“Sweetie!”

Sweetie felt a hoof grab her and she was suddenly dragged away from the altar and the Hierophant. She realised that Lyra was pulling her towards a group of ponies lost in dancing revelry of the music. The whispers followed them.

Lyra turned around and grinned at her friend. Her eyes were half-lidded and hazy, and she was flushed all over. “Let’s dance, Sweetie Belle!”

Sweetie looked at Lyra in confusion. Her friend was clearly having a great time, and nopony else was able to hear the whispers, even at the increased volume and urgency… was she just imagining things? She threw a glance back over her shoulder. The Hierophant was staring at her intently from the altar.

Perhaps she hadn’t imagined— she felt something. Sweetie’s eyes snapped back to Lyra, who was dancing around her, swaying to the music. But there was more than that… there was a sensuality there she had not seen in the unicorn’s eyes earlier. Lyra danced, but her body bumped against Sweetie’s, her hooves caressed her withers and her tail brushed against Sweetie’s nose.

“Oh look at you!” Lyra laughed. “You’re so adorably clueless! Just go with the flow, Sweetie. You’re far too tense.”

“But, Lyra, the whispers, I—”

Lyra put her hoof on Sweetie’s lips. “Shush now, there are no whispers. Just the music and the beat of your heart. Listen to your heart, Sweetie.”

Her mint-green friend took hold of Sweetie's shoulders and in a woozy, passionate display, leaned in with eyes closed and lips slightly open.

Sweetie was caught completely off-guard, and soon, she felt Lyra’s lips on her own, and her friend’s tongue trying to push through her lips. Oh, Celestia… Bon Bon’s going to kill me!

At that moment, the whispers surged against her once more. She felt her glamour shiver, like a window about to crack under pressure, and for a second, she saw her true form reflected in Lyra’s eyes.

Without a word, Sweetie turned and galloped out of the room, dodging ponies until she had made her way out, then faded into the shadows.

Night's Favored Child Pt. 3

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments
Night's Favoured Child
By Wanderer D and Municipal Engines

o.0.o

Sweetie woke up and yawned, rubbing the sleep off of her eyes, before blinking and squinting at the lack of light coming through the window. Although she couldn’t really tell, her instincts told her it was morning already, and the gently receding darkness outside seemed to confirm her suspicions.

A sudden thought ran through her mind and she smiled. “Twilight! Wake up! It’s school time!”

Twilight’s eyes opened and she sat up, quite groggily. It took her a little while to adjust to consciousness, but when she did a smile formed on her face.

“Someone’s excited,” she said pointedly.

“Hey, I haven’t been to a real school for… years!” Sweetie playfully whined. “Can you imagine all the theory I missed?”

Twilight nodded forcefully. “Yes, oh my gosh! You have so many new things to learn! I wish I could experience learning some new magic again, like the first time I levitated something or the first mental entanglement spell I learned.” Her grin then deflated. “Oh, but wait, wouldn’t a lot of your knowledge not translate over to my world?”

“Well, some things.” Sweetie nodded. “Depending on certain worlds, but you know how school is… you learn a lot of little things you never think you’re going to use, and admittedly you don’t—ever—but sometimes you simply have that knowledge and it proves useful? Most of my training was done in very specific things, so my general knowledge suffered as a result.”

“Uh, that’s not really how the Imperial Academy works,” Twilight said, pressing her lips together tightly. “Unlike normal schools, where all the less useful stuff that they just repeatedly tell you from when you are eight to when you’re twelve, my school just skips to teaching you the more advanced general stuff. In the first year. They expect you to have learned all of the little, basic bits in your breaks. Then it just gets harder from then on. At least, that’s my experience with it.”

Sweetie blinked, then a smile slowly formed on her face. “Oh, my Celllle—ebratory synapsis…” she cleared her throat, ignoring Twilight’s bewildered look. “Sorry, that was uh… a lapse. Anyway, that sounds amazing! So, a bit of guidance and then a lot of work?”

“Yeah! It’s really great. The way they cut out all of the less useful and more basic stuff lets us do all our exams earlier than the rest of the country too. We take the exams we would have at the end of high school about three years earlier than everypony else.”

Sweetie nodded. “That… sounds so cool. Come on, let’s go get ready! I can’t wait to learn!”

The two showered in a hurry, wasting no time by taking turns, and ran out to get breakfast. Twilight was busying herself with putting on a shirt, a brown sweater-vest and a tie as she walked. Sweetie Belle trailed along beside her, still unfamiliar with the layout of the Royal Apartments, and she was led downstairs and along one of the hallways into a surprisingly modest kitchen.

There she found something which she thought she would never see in a thousand years. Humming to herself, laboring over a stove, was Nightmare Moon. She wore no regalia, no armor; nothing save for a frilly purple apron that, when she turned around, Sweetie could see read “I kiss better than I cook”. She greeted the two young ponies with a warm smile.

“Good morning! I made you both porridge.”

Sweetie closed her mouth. “Um… thank you!”

“Thanks Mom!” Twilight beamed as she sat down at the table in the middle of the kitchen. “Do you have Sweetie’s school uniform ready yet?”

Nightmare Moon dished up some porridge into two bowls and put it on the table along with a little sugar bowl and a plate of sliced bananas. “I have thought about that actually, and I have come to the conclusion that Sweetie Belle won’t be joining you in school until after the winter break.”

“What?! Why?!” Twilight shot up and leaned forward, propping herself up with hooves on the table.

“Hooves off the table, Twilight,” Nightmare Moon said calmly. “You have only a few weeks left of school, and it would not be fair to Sweetie for her to have to go to lessons when they are likely about subjects she has not learned yet. It is better to give her the winter vacation to catch up on what you have learned so she will not be behind when she joins you next year.”

Sweetie tilted her head. “That makes sense. Especially in light of what you told me about the school, Twilight… I enjoy a challenge, but I’d rather be marginally prepared for it!” She grinned. “I bet I can still learn a lot indirectly, if you don’t mind me doing the same homework you do.”

Nightmare Moon smiled. “I have thought of some possibilities for Sweetie Belle to pursue, but they will take some time. For now, she should learn what she can from you, Twilight, and the library. I might be able to help a little as well.”

Twilight nodded. “I bet you’ll love to learn history too. Mom has given me some first-hoof accounts.”

“An unfair advantage for Twilight that I would be happy to share with you,” Nightmare Moon said, sitting down at the table with her own porridge. “In exchange for learning more about me, I would love to learn more about you, Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle smiled. “Oh, I would love to learn more about you! And feel free to ask me anything, I think it would only be fair!”

“I would like to know if there is anypony I should contact to let them know that you are staying with us for the time being,” the Empress said. “Somepony in this Ponyville place, perhaps?”

Sweetie’s smile became sad. “I’m afraid, your Majesty, that there’s nopony left in this world that—” she cringed. “I really don’t have anypony, your Majesty. Just my long-lost mentor. And I’m the one looking for her.”

Nightmare Moon’s demeanour seemed very sympathetic. “Ah, an orphan then. I can offer the resources of the Empire to help locate your mentor, if you wish.”

Sweetie nodded firmly. “I really appreciate that, your Majesty, but to be completely honest, finding her is something I have to do on my own, both for myself and for her.”

The Empress sighed and nodded gravely. “I understand. I too have had such quests in my life.” She finished the last of her porridge before standing up and floating it over to the sink. “Twilight, try not to be late for school. I have to go and get ready for a meeting now, so I will leave you two to finish up the porridge if you like.” She levitated something, placing it in front of Sweetie.

Sweetie Belle glanced at the medallion in front of her. It was silver and had a depiction of the imperial seal on it.

“This necklace gives you the freedom to visit most of the palace. With it you won’t be stopped at every corner by a guard. Try not to get into too much trouble. Have a good night, both of you.”

With those terse words, Nightmare Moon left the room after hanging her apron on a hook. Twilight peered over at Sweetie Belle, looking rather unsure of herself. She fidgeted and opened and shut her mouth repeatedly, very obvious in her desire to say something without knowing how to frame it. Sweetie gave her friend an arch look and gestured for her to speak.

Eventually Twilight sighed and blurted out, “So you are an orphan? Or do you have parents your other world and just couldn’t tell my mom that?”

Sweetie smiled at Twilight. “I’ll talk to your mom about where I come from soon but… it’s true. My parents died when I was very young, and my sister is the one that raised me. She’s… I’ve always loved her as if she were my mom… although I never got the chance to tell her.”

Twilight seemed suddenly sad. “My parents left me at an orphanage. Miss Loch - the head of the place - always told me they died and they loved me, but I think she was just saying that. They couldn’t have loved me if they just abandoned me.”

Sweetie’s smile went away. “That’s not true. Sometimes ponies don’t have a choice… I can’t say for sure, Twilight but… I doubt your parents didn’t love you. If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t even have tried to find you a family.”

“Except they just left me there, at an orphanage. That’s not finding me a fam—” Twilight stopped herself there and sighed, quite frustrated, before shrugging. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now, I have a home and a mom that I know loves me.”

Sweetie Belle nodded, placing a comforting hoof on top of her friend’s. “And that’s what matters, most of all.”

“Yeah,” Twilight pushed a smile. “So, what are the most interesting things you’ve seen on your travels?”

Sweetie laughed. “Are you sure you have time for a whole story before you go to school?”

Twilight glanced at the clock. “School doesn’t start for almost an hour, and it’s attached to the palace, so I won’t be late.”

“How about I tell you about Knight Commander Twilight Sparkle, and her secret love with Princess Luna?”

The princess grimaced. “You’re lying! You’re just trying to gross me out!”

Sweetie grinned. “Nope. I even got knighted as well. I guess Dame Sparkle and Princess Luna wanted to keep their affair a secret from commoners, but for those in the know… it was kinda cute.”

“Ugh, no more, no more!” Twilight screwed her eyes shut and waved her hoof. “I don’t want to even think about it!”

Sweetie laughed, and elbowed Twilight gently. “I’m telling you, Twi, you get into the strangest relationships.”

Twilight tentatively opened her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Now, that would be spoilers.” Sweetie tapped her chin. “Okay, I have a story for you, it’s about a little filly called Puppy Smiles.”

“Puppy Smiles? Okay, let’s hear that one.”

Sweetie nodded. “It all started when I arrived at this desolate world… we’ll call it the Wasteland. I didn’t know where I was, but I was attacked by mechanical ponies!” Sweetie’s eyes glinted as they stood up and headed out of the kitchen. “They attacked me, but this little filly suddenly came out of nowhere and smashed their heads with a rock! She said her name was Puppy Smiles…”

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle sighed, watching Twilight Sparkle leave for school. “Sure, I’ll find something to do… later.” She shook her head and looked around. “I wonder how different this place is from…” she noticed a couple of ponies glancing her way. “...other palaces.”

She started to walk slowly, keeping close to the walls and mostly out of the way, stopping from time to time to look at tapestries or even admire the gardens and city from a balcony. After a full hour of ambling about, she finally sat down on a bench and sighed. “I guess I should head to the library… I don’t know anypony here and the Empress is most likely really busy to be bothered at this time.”

Everywhere she went, Sweetie received more than courteous, if still quite confused, greetings. All it took was a glance at the pendant she wore and ponies would do their utmost to ingratiate themselves with her. It wasn’t just the servants either; some curious nobleponies cautiously and politely stopped her in the halls and made inquiries. The question they most often asked was if she was being apprenticed by the Empress.

Sweetie was reluctant to claim anything, so she kept her answers polite but short: She was currency under the Empress' protection. Any more information would be forthcoming in the near future, she was sure, but she was pleased to make their acquaintance. She had decided to roll with the Lady title, as it was easier for the nobleponies and staff to talk to her as such.

"I should just go back to Sunset's," she muttered as she bowed once more. Being called a 'lady' was a bit hilarious in her opinion, but a necessary evil for now. It gave other ponies a sense of understanding and familiarity that actually managed to help cut conversations short. Always a bonus, that.

Even out here on the bench she wasn’t safe from being disturbed. From the corner of her eye she spied a young peach-coated pegasus stallion around her apparent age, maybe a year or two older, who wore a strange military twist on the fashion of the Canterlot elite: an aiguillette and a pair of epaulets, both gold, garnished his blue suit. He smiled at her as he approached, his white teeth shining like the snowy mane he sported. Strange considering the lighting.

“Hello there, young miss,” he said, bowing his head slightly. “Do you mind if I have the pleasure of your company for a moment?”

Sweetie blinked and curtsied slightly in return. “It would be my pleasure,” she responded. “I’m sure I can spare a little of my time for you, sir.”

At the invitation, he sat down next to her, keeping a respectful distance. “My name is Sir Cirrus, of the Septentrii.” He thinned his lips for a moment, before adding for her benefit, “We govern the Northern Reaches. Ah, I apologize for explaining, but I am not exactly sure if you would be familiar with my family. I do not recognize you, if you will forgive my ignorance.”

Sweetie nodded politely. “Oh, don’t worry about the explanation,” she said, “I do appreciate the consideration. I am Lady Sweetie Belle, and I am afraid that is all I can say at this time, please do not take offense, it was… requested of me.”

His mouth twitched and his eyes sparkled conspiratorially. “By the Empress?”

“If I told you…” She winked. “I’d have to kill you.”

The young stallion chuckled. “Well, I think it would be worth it to know a little bit more about you, my lady.”

“No,” Sweetie said very seriously. “It wouldn’t. And I would have to deal with a lot of paperwork… unless you intend to learn about me in an unofficial manner?”

“I think I’d like to learn about you in whatever manner that won’t get me killed.”

Oh my. He's laying it on thick. Sweetie giggled, studying the pegasus. He was nice to look at: masculine, but in a more androgynous way. She'd dated a pegasus before, and spending some time with this one didn't seem so bad... maybe she had a type. She should be careful, but flirting was a legitimate way of finding information, after all. She just needed to keep some boundaries. “You sir, are a charmer. My favorite food is chocolate cherry cake, do what you will with that information.”

“Well. I am sure I can ask the chefs to whip something up if need be,” he said, absently brushing his mane back with a hoof. “I am sensing that you’re not a noblepony, or at least a rather liberal one if you are.”

'Cocky.' Sweetie shook her head, eyes measuring Cirrus, trying to guess what he was going to try. “They tried to make me a proper noblepony once." She smirked. "I resisted.”

“The temptation is too great for some.” He shrugged and leaned back on the bench. It was kind of cute. He was slightly awkward… but still aggressive when he was interested. Maybe it was because she didn't feel threatened at all, but she could appreciate his wings looking so fluffy. His attempts at aloofness were adorable. “It has its merits and its drawbacks. I prefer being a soldier to a diplomat or politician, which is what most nobleponies seem to end up as these days. It’s much more… rough and ready, I guess? Certainly a lot… spiritually cleaner than the more cloak and dagger and silver-tongued side of noble life.”

Sweetie frowned and looked away. “Clearly your experiences as a soldier have been better than mine.”

His smile dropped at that, and he became quite a degree more guarded. “What do you mean?”

Sweetie glanced his way and her lip twisted a bit into rueful smile. “Might have to kill you, remember?”

“Oh, I see,” his smile returned. “You are an amusing little lady.”

'Little lady. I suppose in his eyes I'm just another noble or quasi-noble delicate flower in need of a knight.' Sweetie sighed and tossed him a bone, curious to see what he'd do when faced with a little bit more of her real self. “You know that feeling you get, when you first find yourself in a situation where you know you’ll die if you don’t do something—anything, just to not lose a limb at best? That was most of my experience.” She looked at him. “I’m not a soldier in the sense you’re thinking, Cirrus, but even if I can’t tell you anything more, I can tell you there are things I don’t necessarily joke about.”

The young knight’s smile went again, replaced by a much more concerned look. “Oh…” The word came out as a little breath. “Is – if you don’t mind me asking – is that why you wear the imperial seal? Your…” his mouth twisted a little in distaste “child-soldier past?”

Sweetie chuckled, trying to break the mood. “Now that would be telling, wouldn’t it? But no, that’s not it. You can rest easy, it's not like the only things I've known are war and strife.” She smiled a bit more honestly, looking down at the seal. “And don’t worry, it really isn’t for any violent reason that I have it.”

Cirrus seemed to inflate at that news. “Good! I mean, ahem, that is good. For a moment there I thought our esteemed sovereign was in the business of exploiting such a soul as yourself.”

A mental image of Nightmare Moon in an apron making pancakes came to Sweetie’s mind. “N-no,” she giggled. She reminded herself that this young stallion was under the impression that she was not much older than Twilight, rather than closer to his. And that was discounting the years she had accumulated so far. Being 'phoenixed' back into her current age, and with all those years of memories gone, it was hard to argue that she was much older than him. She had a filly her own age, for Celestia's sake! Sure, she didn't have the life, years, or memories of what it was like to get to that point, but did that really matter?

She shook her head, bringing herself back to the conversation. “I don’t think she is at all," she said lamely. "The Empress is a very surprising individual.”

He nodded emphatically, good cheer rapidly returning. “She is indeed. I still remember when she adopted the Princess. I was still a squire at the time. That was very surprising for us all.”

Sweetie’s smile widened. “Princess Twilight.” She shook her head. “I still find it amusing. I have to admit that it gives me an endless amount of teasing material.” She tilted her head, looking at him curiously. “So, Cirrus… what brings you here to Canterlot?”

The stallion pursed his lips. “I am attending the Imperial Military Academy of Canterlot. I have my knighthood but my education is still lacking. I’m also here to represent the house when I can; we are so far away from Canterlot it is a hassle for my mother, the Marquessa, or my father to come down here so periodically just to be heard by Parliament and the Lords.”

Sweetie nodded. “I can imagine, it must be hard to stay away from your family for so long.”

“I was fostered for a few years in Prance and only saw my family intermittently, so I guess I am just used to it.” He raised a brow. “What about you, Lady Sweetie? Do you have family in Canterlot or are you a guest of the Empress while away from them?”

Sweetie Belle gave him an amused glance. “Not even the threat of having to kill you will dissuade you from asking, will it?” She smiled coyly at him. “I’m away for an unknown period of time,” she confessed. “And I am placing a lot of trust in you, sir knight.”

He bowed as formally as his seat on the bench would allow, struggling to mask a grin. “Your trust will be well-placed, my lady, I can assure you that.”

Sweetie leaned a little towards him. “I think I might like to know more about my knight gallant, perhaps he would see fit to find a way for us to enjoy each other’s company more often?”

The peach pegasus maintained his wide smile, though Sweetie could see his features stiffen slightly. “I, ah, I would like that... my lady.” He cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter, bringing his body slightly further away from Sweetie. “I could introduce you to my friend and comrade, Sir Shining Armor. He would be interested in meeting a pony who is friends with the Princess.”

Sweetie blinked. “Wait. Shining Armor? As in, white coat, blue mane?”

Cirrus nodded and gave her a wry smirk. “So you have heard of Arcturus’s son but not me?” He gave her a wan look that barely blotted out the grin.

She cleared her throat. 'He's too cute!' “He was mentioned to me. Once. But…” she smiled sweetly. “Even if I were to meet him, my knight spot might be taken.”

“Oh, so you already have a champion?”

“Oh, yes!” Sweetie sighed and swooned like she had seen Rarity do on several occasions. “He has the surest smile in the empire, and his mane-white as snow reflecting the moonlight… well, he hasn’t pledged himself to me yet but… in my heart of hearts...” she struggled to remember that one novel Rarity had hid under her bed, but couldn’t remember anything more other than… “I so wish he would.”

He coughed into his hoof. “Lady Sweetie Belle… are you asking me to champion you?”

Sweetie gave him a half-lidded look. “Are you offering?”

The pegasus stood and knelt before her, looking up into the teen's eyes and said with a gentle, youthful smile, making her eyes widen in surprise. “Lady Sweetie Belle, I would be your champion and defend your honor and virtue whenever I can. I pledge my fealty to you. Your causes are my causes, and your battles are my battles.” He added, with a strange, sudden sobriety, “You will never have to fight again. I will never let you become someone’s soldier if I can help it.”

'Uh… damn.' “Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but for now, I thank you my knight, and accept your fealty for as long as we both remain friends.”

He climbed to his hooves and quickly adopted a bashful look that made him look rather coltish. “I have never championed anypony before.”

Sweetie laughed. “Just be yourself and be there for me and Twilight, and you’ll be the best champion I could ever hope for.”

Cirrus was about to reply when another voice spoke up, “Oh, my, it seems the the blessings of the Great Mother are indeed never-ending,” the Hierophant stated, stepping into their sight. “She regarded the pair for a moment before approaching. “I was just thinking about you, young Sweetie Belle, and the Great Mother provided, guiding me here.”

Sweetie’s eyes narrowed and she stood up, placing herself next to Cirrus and bowed slightly, keeping alert. “Hierophant, a pleasure to see you again, I'm sure.”

“And you, Sweetie Belle. I see you were indeed more than you let on.” The Hierophant nodded to the imperial seal the mare wore at her throat. “A personal invitation and protection by the Empress herself. However did you manage that?”

“I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to disclose that quite yet,” Sweetie replied as politely as she could. “I'm sure you understand.”

North Star seemed taken aback by Sweetie’s answer and though her sweet smile remained, there was a flash of skeptical frustration in her eyes. “Oh? Well I am sure you can share it with me. I am on the Imperial Council, you know.”

Sweetie bowed slightly again, hiding her grimace. “If I did, I would betray the trust that was given me. To betray that trust would be to betray myself.”

The fuschia mare tutted—as if Sweetie were a little child that said something silly—and began walking closer. “Oh Sweetie Belle, you can trust me. Lyra trusts me. The Empress trusts me. They place me in such high regard and I think–”

Suddenly, Cirrus stepped forward, placing himself between Sweetie and the Hierophant. His face was locked in an iron scowl and he stared down the priestess, stopping her in her tracks.

“I think,” he said, his voice terse but not angry, “That Lady Sweetie Belle has made herself clear on the issue, Your Reverence, and the question of why she has the Empress’s seal is of nopony’s business but her and the Empress.”

The corner of the Hierophant’s mouth twitched. “The Empress’s business is my business, young colt.”

“I am no colt, Your Reverence.” The knight raised his chin, looking down his nose at the priestess. “I am a knight and Lady Sweetie Belle’s sworn champion.”

The mare paused at this, her eyes flitting between Sweetie Belle and Cirrus, before smirking. “I see… you are Marquessa Vaingloria’s son, are you not?” The stallion answered her only with a curt, stiff nod. “I recall your house, the Septentrii, needed funding for new mining settlements in the mountains on their borders. I recall I invested quite a few bits in those settlements. In fact, I continue to send sums over, for little return I might add. Your mother often tells me how grateful she is,” North Star licked her lips, “when she isn’t praising her son for his honor and loyalty to his family.”

Sweetie Belle frowned at North Star’s tone and words. It was easy to forget—even with all that Blueblood had told her—about political implications and the consequences of defying those in power. “And of course his first loyalty is to his family, isn’t it, Cirrus?” she asked, looking at him with eyes that begged him to stand down.

The stallion gritted his teeth, sparing only a quick glance to Sweetie Belle. His eyes locked with North Star’s. “I am loyal to my family, that is true, Your Reverence. But I am a knight. I uphold my vows beyond all else and I vowed to protect Lady Sweetie Belle from all that disturbs her and, forgive me for my frankness, but I believe you are disturbing her at this very moment.”

The smirk vanished. “You do not want to antagonize me, colt. All I desire is a private word with young Lady Belle here. I advise you to not incur my ire over something so trivial as that.”

“Cirrus,” Sweetie spoke after a moment, eyes fixed on North Star. “Would you mind if I spoke to Lady North Star in private? I believe she needs to hear some of what I have to say. I would love to see you again soon, however.”

Cirrus gave Sweetie Belle a pained look of pure worry, opening his mouth as if to say something. Instead, it just hung open for a moment, before snapping shut. He held his head high and swallowed before bowing his head low. “Of course, Lady Sweetie Belle. Should you need anything, I will avail myself to you.” He turned to the priestess. “Your Reverence. I look forward to our next meeting.”

The young stallion retreated from their presence, though not without much reluctance and not without throwing a few glances behind him as he left. Finally, the Hierophant and the unicorn teen were alone in the garden, and North Star smiled like a cat that had just cornered a mouse.

“So,” Sweetie’s voice was cold. “Now that it’s just the two of us, you were saying that the Empress trusts you with everything and so should I. Funny. I would think that if she trusted you as you're so ready to announce, you'd know by now, instead I find you here digging for information. How curious.”

“Sweetie, all I want you to do is be open and honest with me. I can see great potential in you. So can the Great Mother.” Her eyes flickered dangerously. “She spoke to you in the grotto yesterday.”

Sweetie snorted, allowing the shadows to sway behind her. “The Great Mother.” She shook her head and gave her a decidedly unimpressed look in return. “Oh, I know you recognize power, anyone with half a brain could feel it, sweeping through the room full of ponies giving in to their base desires with the obvious intention to shock and awe. But there is more to this Great Mother than a benign force that exalts a pony into the next level. How much do you hear?” Her eyes narrowed. “And how much did you promise?”

The mare stared at Sweetie with a curious expression for several seconds, before breaking out into a thin smile. “I promise Her everything, child, and She lets me hear enough. I see enough.” She leaned into her, a bizarre thrilled intensity burning in the whites of her eyes. “I see a queer little filly with something under her coat that she doesn’t want anypony to know about.”

Sweetie leaned forth, matching her gaze without flinching. “And I see a pony that has no idea what she’s doing, thinks she knows more than she actually does, and trusts blindly in a force that she cannot possibly understand. A pony that leans into danger without really understanding just how close she is getting to the edge of the knife.” She smiled a humorless, almost feral grin. “And if you could really see what I have under my coat you’d be running away right now.”

The grin grew wider. “Ohhh, Sweetie,” she breathed. “I think you and I are going to grow very close in the future. Maybe when you become as close to me as I want you to be, you’ll see exactly what kind of force… what kind of danger it is that supports me.”

“North Star,” Sweetie growled, slowly allowing the shadows to grow behind her and obscure the back of her body from view. “I sincerely doubt we’ll be as close as you want us to be, and as for finding out what sort of force you deal with… I felt enough with its feeble attempts to probe my mind. I have dealt with more powerful beings more than once.”

North Star drew herself up, no longer in Sweetie's personal space and hummed. “Sweetie Belle, I do think you and I will be close. I really do.” She grinned wickedly. “I know Lyra would like that, especially if it means she gets to see you at the grotto again. I know she’d feel… safer if you are there with her.”

Sweetie actually deadpanned. “As if you would allow a member of the Blueblood family—the only member I might add—that goes into your little gatherings, to come into harm under your guard. Try another one.”

North Star shrugged. “There are more things I can do to her than actual bodily harm but if you insist on me finding another pony… hmm… ah! How about that gallant young stallion I had the pleasure of speaking to earlier? Why, by the end of it, he will positively hate you for not acquiescing to me when you had the chance. It would be a shame to have to hurt such a handsome thing, but perhaps I can see what his pedigree is worth underneath that barding before I break him.”

Sweetie had become more and more cold with each word, until she literally growled. “I don’t think you know how close you’re walking to the edge of the abyss, North Star. Watch your words. I don’t think you’d be sorely missed.”

The two ponies stared each other down, one grinning like a predator in bloodlust and the other colder than arctic winter. The tension in their little corner of the garden became palpable until it was cut by a sound. A whistled tune.

The two ponies turned to the source of the whistling, just in time to see the Inquisitor stroll around the corner Cirrus had disappeared behind.

“Good morning, Hierophant,” he said, nodding. He greeted Sweetie Belle with a warm smile. “And you, Lady Sweetie Belle. I see you’ve met our esteemed priestess, Lady North Star.”

“I was about to cut the conversation short,” Sweetie said through clenched teeth.

“I wouldn’t blame you; North Star can be a bit too antagonizing for most ponies,” he smirked, his eyes drifting lazily between the two mares. “Why, I just saw young Sir Cirrus Septentrio walking in the other direction a few moments ago. He looked as if he had a run-in with Lady North Star. You wouldn’t happen to have spoken to the knight, Hierophant?”

“I had the pleasure just a moment ago, Inquisitor,” the fuchsia unicorn answered sweetly.

“Ah, no wonder he was so tense. You do have that effect on ponies.” The Inquisitor gave a boyish grin and raised a brow mockingly. “Do you mind terribly if I borrow Sweetie Belle?”

The mare looked back to the teen, who was still staring icy daggers at her. “Not at all.” She stepped away from Sweetie and began walking away from the two. “Our conversation had run its course anyway. Good night, Lady Sweetie Belle.” She bowed her head to tSweetie. “I look forward to seeing you again. Inquisitor.” She nodded once more to the stallion and was gone, sweeping away from the area, poised as if she had won some great victory. The Inquisitor chuckled as he watched her go.

He turned to Sweetie with a smile. “I trust she didn’t cause you too much upset.”

“She idly threatened the sons and daughters of nobles who happen more importantly to be my friends. I was about to do everypony a favor and get rid of the rabid pest.” Sweetie grumbled.

“Yes, that little dagger you had pressed against her neck was very scary. Fanatics rarely notice the most important little things when they think they’re on a role,” his smile dropped a fraction. “What were you thinking, pulling a weapon on her like that? Don’t draw your blade unless you’re going to use it.”

“I was.” Sweetie snorted, rolling her eyes and letting the crystal dagger fall into the grass and break into little pieces. “Until a witness appeared. I don’t think I could pull the same trick on you to begin with, much less after you caught me.”

He tutted. “You know it wasn’t a clever thing to have done, even if she didn’t notice. You shouldn’t have let her provoke you like that.”

Sweetie took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m sorry… you’re right. It’s just…” she shook her head. “I have done horrible things, and I realized at the same time that sometimes you can’t get away with clean hooves. And I promised myself that I would only go that far if ponies I loved were threatened or hurt. When she threatened Lyra… and then Cirrus, I wondered how far she would go, and how truthful she was about her attempts. Would she stop at them? Or would she go as far as threatening Twilight as well?” she closed her eyes. “I might have not done it this time… but I was really, really close. All I needed was one more word from her mouth.”

The Inquisitor walked closer to her and chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry about North Star if I were you. She is only as threatening as I let her be, and she wouldn’t dream of harming Twilight. Lyra is of too much use to her to irrevocably damage and she’s of too much use to me for her to even try. Cirrus? That’s another story… she can harm him, but I can help there if you’d like.”

“You’re much better at this than she and I are, I’ll give you that.” She grinned and gave him a considering look. “For some reason that’s reassuring. Thank you, Inquisitor.” 'But it's not just her that I'm worried about. She's messing around with forces that will cause harm to everycreature here.'

Unaware of her thoughts, he shrugged. “You can show your thanks by telling me where you got that weapon from… and where you got the inclination to it.”

Sweetie’s smile slipped. “That’s a dark story, and a very personal one at that.”

“I understand. We all have our secrets.” He hummed. “Would you mind if we move this conversation to my office? I was headed there anyway and I think you’re going to be a fascinating pony to talk to.”

Sweetie looked around before nodding. “Yes… I think our conversation is better suited to a more private area.”

o.0.o

He had led her back into the palace and through the labyrinthine hallways and service corridors. As far as Sweetie could tell, they were heading deeper into the mountain. At last, after all the twists and turns, they came to a seemingly random corridor that was very isolated from all the hallways and rooms that saw the usual traffic of servants, residents and visitors. The Inquisitor approached a dusty old still-life painting and swung it on its side. He pressed the wall behind it and the wood slipped away with a mechanical click, revealing a hole. He bent his head and inserted his horn, like a key, and with a quick burst of magic, a hidden doorway appeared where before there had been nothing but seamless wall. The stallion meticulously righted the painting, the keyhole automatically hiding itself, and disappeared into the doorway, Sweetie Belle following behind.

The tunnel was well-lit and even carpeted, though it seemed to be carved straight out of the mountain rock. The walls were smooth and straight and seemed to go on for quite some time. It took many minutes of walking until they came to an old, ornate door that looked quite richly crafted.

“This is the office of the Lord Commander of the Imperial Overwatch,” he said, opening the door. “It’s been here for over three centuries, though the position predates it by two more.”

They stepped into a room that was spacious and floored with polished, smooth wood. Along the walls were many bookcases, lined with an assortment of tomes – many of which were forbidden from circulation around the Empire – and even one extravagant fireplace sat on one of the walls, fires lit and smoke rising to an unseen chimney. The middle of the room was carpeted with a rich wine-red rug, and contained a large, magnificent desk – deep brown wood trimmed with gold paint. The wall behind the desk was non-existent. Instead, it was a large row of glass windows that let the moonlight spill into the office. The view let anypony know that the room had been built into the cliff-face of Mount Canterlot, a pony-made blemish on an otherwise untouched mountain side

“I usually teleport here,” the Inquisitor admitted. “But it’s been so long since I took the secret entrance and I have little opportunity to show a pony that passage.”

Sweetie stopped admiring the office and forcefully tore her hungry gaze from the tomes in the bookshelves to look at the Inquisitor. “Am I going to be sworn to secrecy?”

“I trust you of all ponies knows how to keep a secret,” he said, moving to his desk to take a seat. He waved her to sit. “There are some seating cushions in the corner if you want to make yourself comfortable.”

Sweetie nodded, quietly levitating some cushions and sitting down before looking up at him. She knew what he wanted to know, but somehow retelling it to somepony that pulled as many strings as he seemed to… it just made it unexpectedly risky. All the other times she had confided in ponies that she knew to a certain extent, except for Esteem, and even then, she had shared very little with him. This pony had many more secrets than her alternate father had. He was smarter, and more calculating, yet just as sure of himself, but without that almost palpable flaw that Esteem had. And Sweetie had a lot more secrets now, and this pony had it in him to find out all of them if she was not careful. And most likely would, if she was anyway.

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. “What do you want to know?”

The smile grew. “I’ve made guesses about you. A number of theories I mulled over since I saw you yesterday. You are… a very strange girl. You’ve been through quite a bit of trauma, though that much I knew from your telling us in the throne room. You weren’t telling us the exact truth however, and you are hiding... something else.” He shrugged. “I have many questions for you, but I think it would be nicer if you start on your own terms. So, what are you willing to tell me?”

Sweetie considered the question. “Can I have your word that all of this will remain between us?”

His gentle, boyish smile became somewhat more serious. “You have my word.”

Sweetie nodded and looked at all the books. “Tell me, do you know anything about other worlds?”

His eyebrows raised, evidently not expecting the question. “I know there are different planes… the spirit world, numerous heavens, the Foundation Plane and… others.”

“Those exist in the same reality, ” Sweetie said. “And that is how things work here. But there are other places, outside of this particular sphere, that coexist with this universe.” She bit her lip for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "That is what I sensed…"

“There was a filly once, a while ago,” she started talking in a whisper, trying to organize what felt like a lifetime into something coherent for the benefit of someone that was knowledgeable, but much more limited than say, Sunset Shimmer. “This filly messed up an experiment being done by a great and very powerful mage.

“She ended up catapulted through time and space, beyond the limits of her reality into another, similar world. The faces were the same, voices, places… and yet it was not her home. The history was different. Ponies that were bitter enemies where she came from, were friends or lovers there.” She sighed, drawing circles with her hoof on the surface of one of the pillows. “The filly repeated the cycle, appearing in other places, other times… sometimes her counterpart had been long dead. Sometimes, she was younger. Or older. This filly learned a lot of things during her travels, but she was also used…”

Sweetie’s hoof punched the pillow hard, and she clenched her teeth, forcing the story out. “She became a weapon, a sleeper agent for an evil queen… and then a weapon again, against her own family and trained in killing arts a filly her age should have never learned. This filly was captured and tortured and made into something not equine… she had to find someone that understood what it was living like she was… and then she was thrown again against her will into other worlds. Sometimes she found joy, other times… well.”

She sighed. “This filly… once made a promise, when she was in control of her faculties and the skills that had been ingrained in her: That she would only kill to protect her loved ones and only if they were in serious threat. But she’s been lost, and terribly afraid of what she’s become for so long now and clinging to her friends and mentors in a desperate attempt to fix everything and go home.”

Sweetie gritted her teeth. "It was only recently that I saw a light at the end of the tunnel… but it seems so far away that, even with some very powerful friends, I'm afraid I'll never reach the finish line, no matter what I do."

There was a heavy quiet after all that, with only the ticking of a grandfather clock to break the silence. The Inquisitor sat there, at his desk, with the tips of his hooves steepled together, looking intently at the teen before him, which he could now sense was not exactly as young as she seemed. His smile had been gone the whole time she had been speaking.

“Ah, I see,” he said simply. The smile returned. “The philosopher alicorn Aion thought there were material worlds beyond this one, not the heavens but actual new planets; nevermind that parasitical realm the breezies come from. It is said he died trying to reach one of these realities but, who knows… maybe he succeeded. This is an… interesting tale you have spun for me, Sweetie Belle.”

The smile then became a grimace. “I could see… and sense – more of the latter I suppose – something was… different about you. The deer have this natural glamor that enhances their bodies and charisma, and they are already a beautiful and charismatic race, and I have spent a significant amount of time and energy learning to bypass and ignore this kind of glamor. I suppose that’s why I could sense it with you; that non-equine side that you hide subconsciously. Well, that and I am naturally suspicious.” He smiled kindly. “So, what is it exactly that you're hiding?”

Sweetie closed her eyes. “What you’re asking… would be like exposing my soul. Very few creatures have seen me like that. Lifting my glamour is not… sometimes when I get upset, some of it shows through but my true self… the last time I was caught unawares I thought I might die just because of how vulnerable I felt, how horrified I was that—" She paused, gulping down the pain in her heart, even when someone could naturally see past it... someone that had experienced similar things as Sunset had, possibly more... even then... "—why would you want to look at a broken, tortured and mutated soul?”

“Why would I indeed?” His smile faded. “There is a magic, in this reality, that is a type of soul magic combined with illusion magic. It’s like your glamor, but rather than hide your soul it brings it to the surface. Everypony’s is usually different, like a cutie mark. Some shine with good deeds and others are the same stubborn stone that their owners are. You think your soul is tortured, broken and mutated? I have seen what that looks like, and I assure you… yours is likely positively pristine by comparison.”

Sweetie didn’t look at him. “What does yours look like?” she asked in a whisper.

He smiled again. It was devoid of good nature and entirely self-mocking. “Would you like to see?”

Sweetie was silent for a long time. “Do you want me to?” she finally asked, standing up and looking him in the eye. “All I see when I look at myself is a monster. Others tell me I'm not. When I look at you, I see a pony with secrets and a smile. But still a pony.”

“Sometimes, that’s exactly what a monster is.” He stood up and walked to the other side of the room, giving her a wide berth. “Because this is what it hides.”

His horn came to life with black aura and everything about him changed.

Sweetie stared in silence at the Inquisitor, eyes filling slowly with tears before nodding at him. Without a word, she slowly lifted her glamour, layer by layer until she revealed her true self to him. From the quartz-like mane, to the marble, rock and crystal fur and ebon spikes jutting out like barbs. Her eyes turned golden and red and she looked far thinner than a pony her size should be.

“Strange… almost like a crystal pony. Almost,” he muttered. His voice had acquired a bizarre flanging quality dressed as he was in his naked soul. Like multiple voices struggling over each other to be heard.

“I’m not made of pure crystal though,” Sweetie said, self-consciously looking down at her fur. “I’m more rock with the occasional crystal. The Fae can do horrible, wondrous, terrible things.”

“Like an earth spirit, perhaps?” the Inquisitor wondered aloud. He shook his head. “My soul, as you can see, is hideous because of my choices and the events of my life. All the pain I’ve underwent and inflicted have been mirrored in me like this.” The illusion was dispelled and the normal flesh and clothing of the Lord Commander of the Overwatch returned. “I take it you were changed by some harrowing event?”

Sweetie nodded. “I wasn’t lying when I told you and the Empress about what had happened to me.”

“I hazarded a guess yesterday that those who… taught you your contract magic were what we know as the Forsworn. In our world, the deer are one of the oldest races, and they have had philosophical disputes between themselves, with the greatest being the Forsworns’ rebellion.” His face twisted into a scowl. “The Forsworn are vile, barely even people. They’re more fae-like than the deer are, hard though that is to believe, and are beyond cruel. Did something like them capture you in another world?”

Sweetie rubbed the back of her head. “I was captured by pure Fae. I was only rescued because Twilight managed to bargain with the powers of their realm to allow me a chance to escape.”

“And that bargain brought about this…” the dark grey unicorn gestured to her marble coat “Change?”

Sweetie shook her head. “In part, her influence affected it but… it was being a slave for the Fae and having to survive in their world that slowly turned me into… this.”

“These Fae… they were dark spirits? From another world, or at least from another plane of existence?” he asked, cautiously curious.

Sweetie shook her head, eyes darkening. “They're not spirits. They're something else. Their home... it’s almost like a parasitic plane, like how you described the Breezie's world. The world of the Fae is like an aspect of a cornucopia of concepts, leaking into the Equestria of that universe. You could be walking in a forest and suddenly find yourself lost in a hedge that slowly strips away your empathy and values as thorns dig into your skin." She snorted. "It's not the worst place I've been to, but it is close.”

His face was grave. “We have such creatures here. Not in Canterlot, thankfully, but there are certain things that look hungrily into our world. Like those Fae and… worse.”

Sweetie gave him a wary glance. “You know that North Star has had contact with them, or something similar, right?”

His brow twitched into a slight frown. “I… did not know that.” The frown deepened and he added, more to himself, “I should have known that…” He turned away from her and went back to his seat at his desk. “Tell me,” he began when he sat down, “how do you know this?”

“I went to one of her celebrations… at one point she invited ponies to go to the altar and receive the blessing of the so-called 'Great Mother'. When I went there… I heard them. They were trying to pry into my mind.” She paused. “I don’t think they were the same as what took me… they felt different.”

The Inquisitor leaned forward. “Different how?”

“It’s hard to describe… the whispers were not the same. It was still alien and unintelligible, but there was something… like a will that… made sense…” She smiled sheepishly. “I’m sorry, I just can’t explain it. It’s a gut feeling more than anything.”

He nodded. “I understand. Well, there’s not much I can do about it at the moment. When more information arises, I will endeavor to nip any sort of trouble in the bud.” His lips thinned. “We cannot have creatures such as these infiltrate our empire.”

“I’m worried about Lyra, though.” Sweetie started pacing. “She’s getting really deep into that cult…” She sighed and stopped, looking at the Inquisitor. “But I guess you know what you’ll do.” She hesitated, but swallowed and asked through suddenly dry lips, “So now that you know my secret… what now?”

“Now? Well, now I think you’re not a threat, and you’re a remarkably talented young mare,” he smiled. “But more than that, it seems Twilight Sparkle has taken a shine to you, which is good. Do you know I give her private lessons like her mother does? Sometimes according to the Empress’s curriculum and sometimes not.”

Sweetie felt her glamour cover her again, but she was more interested in what the Inquisitor was saying. “Really? That must be very interesting! I’m sure Twilight loves the extra lessons!”

“She certainly appreciates what I have to teach her.” The Inquisitor grinned and scratched his neck. “What can I teach you, however? I assume you’ve collected plenty of special skills over the course of your adventures.”

Sweetie shrugged, although her eyes were glinting with undisguised anticipation. “I’m not sure… since I’ll be attending school with her after the Winter Break I’ll be catching up on regular magical studies… I know more than I want to know about combat, and my strength’s rely in misdirection, matrices and elemental combat magic.”

“I know a few tricks, if you are interested in learning them.”

“I’m always interested in learning,” Sweetie replied with a smile. “Plus, I get to study with Twilight!”

“Then I suppose you will be seeing more of me later. How long are you staying… in our world?” the question rolled uncomfortably off his tongue.

Sweetie pursed her lips, humming to herself as she thought about it. “I… don’t know. It can be anything from a day to a few weeks to… well, the longest has been two years and a half.”

The stallion raised an eyebrow. “If and when you get home, do you think it will be as if you never left, or will the years advance there as they do for you?”

She looked away. “I don’t know… I once saw my sister through a magical mirror… but it could have been a device to torture me, rather than my real world.” She slumped. “I could arrive in my original world hundreds of years in the future… I just don’t know how relative it is to my own time.”

“Still… two and a half years in a strange world. What was it like, that one? I assume not as dangerous as the one with the Fae.”

Sweetie licked her lips. “I um… repeated the exact same day every single time. I uh… died. Many times. Violently.”

“How odd. I think I read a book about something like that… a fictional scenario, of course.” He grinned. “Though apparently not for you.”

“I wasn’t the only one there,” Sweetie confessed. “Prince Blueblood had been trapped in the loops for a long time already by the time I arrived. He taught me a lot and helped me not lose myself even more.” She smiled at the memory. “He taught me Germane and Prench, sponsored my musical training, organized my birthday party and even adopted me unofficially into his family just to spite other Prince Bluebloods.”

A rueful huff of air left his lips. “Blueblood? That effete dandy? I can’t imagine his influence doing much good… granted, he is wilier than he appears, at least in my world.”

Sweetie huffed. “Hey! My big brother was amazing!” she smirked. “In fact, if you met him, you would like him.”

“Big brother eh?” he chuckled. “Well, I suppose if things vary between worlds, a pony's character can too. I wonder, have you met me before?”

Sweetie frowned. “No… so far you’re unique to this world… there are others I’ve met, but not you.”

“I guess that’s a little comforting, actually, that I’m… unique. I would love to visit one of these worlds.” He creased his brow thoughtfully and stared at his desk. “Perhaps… hrm…” He looked back up to Sweetie and smiled. “I have enjoyed this talk with you, Sweetie Belle. Whatever you need, I will be happy to help. Now, if you don’t mind, I have some work to do.”

She nodded, stepping back. “Thank you, Inquisitor.”

His horn flashed that black-coloured glow and, without warning, the office vanished before her eyes. After she recovered from the shock of being teleported so suddenly, Sweetie found herself staring at the bench she had met Cirrus at.

o.0.o

The Imperial Library was quiet except for the frustrated mutterings and fast page-shifting of a young mare.

“Gah, this translation doesn’t make sense!” Sweetie Belle muttered, looking from one book to the other. “And the numbers are all different in all four books for the exact same period of war!”

She rolled her eyes and turned to the tome she had found on the Griffon Wars in the original griffon language. “And of course Blueblood would’ve not taught me the nuances of the language to the extent that I need here.”

She was quiet for a moment, looking from a book to the tome and back and jotting down notes. “Okay, so the griffons claim that the eyrie in the North Crest was completely destroyed by Equestrian forces, but it was little more than a safehouse for the families of political figures… but none of the other books even mention it.”

She groaned and rested her head on the table. “So much censorship. Did the griffon massacre of the villages next to the border actually help start the war or did they fight over that territory after?”

A large, distinctive shadow fell over her. “Hello there, Sweetie Belle. I see you share Twilight’s enthusiasm for reading.”

The filly turned to find the tall, dark form of Nightmare Moon behind her, a small, elegant smile gracing her lips.

Sweetie’s eyes widened and she bowed so quickly she almost smacked her forehead on the edge of the table. She chuckled nervously rubbing her head. “I guess I do,” she acknowledged, glancing at the books. “I just figured I would catch up a little, if I’m attending school next year.”

The Empress’s draconic eyes fell upon the titles of the books Sweetie had gathered. “Studying history then.”

“What better way to understand the present?” Sweetie asked, turning to the tomes. “As always everypony involved has their own version of the same event… I’m just frustrated because a few events seem to have only happened in one version and never in another.”

“The war happened in the mountainous country of the griffons. It is easy for ponies to be lost in the isolated valleys and for villages to be wiped out in landslides or avalanches. This was only exacerbated by the war.”

Sweetie looked at the Empress for a moment. “It’s easy to forget that you were there.” She looked at a map displaying locations of relevant battles. “Sometimes I wonder, what's it like to have seen so much?”

The Empress shrugged, her wings fluttering slightly. “Sometimes I wonder what it is like to see so little, as mortals do. But I expect you have seen enough in your travels.”

Sweetie was silent for a moment, contemplating her next question. “Your Majesty… I-I do have a question, but I am a little afraid to ask it. It’s… a bit loaded.”

She gave her an arch look. “I would like to hear it anyway.”

Taking a deep breath, Sweetie spoke. “Why have you kept the night ongoing for so long? I don’t think just about anypony I’ve met here even knows what the sun is, much less seen it.” She gulped. “N-not that there’s anything wrong with the night, I just… want to understand.”

Those teal, alien eyes bore into her, and Nightmare Moon was evidently surprised by her words, her jaw stiffening. “Midderland is blanketed by eternal night. Everypony knows this. It is how things are.”

Sweetie sighed and looked down. “I’m sorry if I offended you, your Majesty. I just thought—” she bit her lip. “I guess I wasn’t thinking at all.”

Nightmare Moon let out a sighing breath of air, shaking her head. “No, no it is quite all right. That is just a… rare question I am asked.”

Sweetie nodded. “I just wondered… I have some strange phrases for ponies here, so they tend to notice if I use unusual words, or ask them how their day is going.”

“It is considered more… proper to use the term ‘day’ in reference to a twenty-four hour period.” The Empress snorted. “But luckily that is only relegated to the more learned and world-aware stratas of Equestrian society. Most ponies get used to it, Sweetie Belle, and most visitors from outside Midderland find it an endearing cultural quirk.”

Sweetie nodded. “Thank you for explaining that to me, I thought I was getting everyone confused with my choice of words.” She grimaced. “I had to deal with plenty of politics today, I wouldn’t want to have my words taken as an insult or a sign of some sort… other than me being from out of town, I guess.”

“Politics?” Nightmare Moon frowned. “Ah, I see the imperial seal brought you some trouble then?”

Sweetie shook her head. “The imperial seal brought me a new friend… it was my own doing that got me and him in trouble today.” She took a calming breath. “I might not be completely lost when it comes to it, but I am a far cry from being ready to deal with the likes of North Star without…” she cleared her throat. “Getting ready to throttle her.” She looked at Nightmare Moon with admiration. “How you can deal with them is beyond me.”

Nightmare Moon smirked slightly. “It is not easy… delegation is essential for my sanity.” The smirk morphed into a curious pursing of the lips. “You mentioned North Star specifically. Has she been hassling you?”

Sweetie almost rolled her eyes, but caught herself when she remembered just who she was talking to. “Threatening the few friends I have managed to make.” She paused, letting that sink in. “I… don’t think she knows I’m not much for hiding away from bullying. And the fact that I don’t know how long I’ll be here makes her trying to take advantage of me tenuous at best but…” She frowned. “My friends… my friends should never suffer because of me.”

The Empress frowned, an icy ire suddenly catching in her eyes. “Tell me what she said.” The tone brooked no argument.

“She was trying to convince me to go back to the grotto with her, and she said that Lyra, who I befriended, would feel safer with me there…" she emphasized the word, just like North Star had done, "and then, when I called her out on it she said that there were more things that she could do other than bodily harm... then she threatened Cirrus, who tried to step in and get her to lay off of me... saying that by the end of it he would hate me for not acquiescing to her.” Sweetie already felt angry again, recalling the words of that snake of a mare.

“Grotto? What grotto?” the alicorn’s eyes narrowed.

“It’s where she and her cult gather. They serve drinks and burn incense and I’m not sure what else but ponies there become really…” Sweetie struggled to find the word. “Relaxed. She conducts her ceremonies there.”

“What in the world were you doing at one of those ceremonies, do you not know—” She closed her eyes, sighing. “Of course not, you have been traveling for so long at such a young age you likely know little about Equestria. In any case, I trust that you know not to return to North Star’s ceremonies. They are entirely inappropriate for fillies your age. As for her threats…” Nightmare Moon opened her eyes and continued, her voice was edged with steel. “She will learn that whoever wears that seal is an honored guest under my protection, and I will not tolerate threats on you or the children of my vassals.”

Sweetie shook her head emphatically. “Oh no, I’m not going back there, ever again, even beyond her threats… the very nature of what they do and subject themselves to is… toxic.” She hesitated, recalling her promise to Lyra. “There is… one thing, your Majesty. I promised Lyra that I would not reveal her involvement with the cult to anypony. Although I’d rather have her safe than happy with me, I’d appreciate it if her involvement wasn’t made public.” She winced. “I know it’s a bold request but, I don’t know what else to do to protect her.”

Nightmare Moon thought on this for several moments. “Luckily, we have freedom of religion in this country; I will not forbid her from the Cult. While I would not advise a young mare to attend those ceremonies – they are neither spiritually pure or correct in my opinion – I will not betray the trust Lady Lyra put into you by allowing her secret to be further revealed, though it is admittedly a secret that is more open than not. If I sense she is in danger, I will act and tell her parents of her association with North Star, but I think she is in no real danger. The Hierophant cannot harm the heir of House Heartstrings, especially when I make my displeasure on this matter known to her.”

Sweetie smiled and bowed again. “Thank you.”

The black alicorn nodded and made to leave, stopping suddenly and looking back at Sweetie, her body half-turned. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have good news for you. I managed to secure you a place at the Canterlot College of Music as a special student. Your lessons, performances and tutors will be paid for by the treasury. It will give you something to do while Twilight is at the Academy.”

Sweetie’s eyes became wide. “Really?!” She squeaked, almost jumping with excitement. “That’s—that’s just amazing! Thank you! I have no words… thank you so much!”

“I heard you play for Twilight last night; you are a very gifted pony. It seems that clef on your flank is well deserved.” The Empress smiled. “I hope you are able to refine your talents at the College.”

“I’m sure I will!” Sweetie responded immediately. “I’ll make you both proud! I promise!”

The Empress smiled and glanced at the library’s clock. “Ah, Twilight’s classes should be ending soon. Would you like to come with me to welcome her back? I am sure she would appreciate your being there.”

Sweetie grinned and nodded, quickly using her magic to store away the books she had borrowed. “I would love to.”

Author's Note

In addition to this chapter, I have published another world visit we never got to see, but it was hinted at in the description. And that would be: Summary That Never Was: The End of Ponies which I was collaborating with ShortskirtsandExplosions back when it was still going on.

Night's Favored Child Pt. 4

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments
Night's Favoured Child
By Wanderer D and Municipal Engines

o.0.o

Sitting on the grand bed of the Equestrian Princess, Sweetie Belle and Twilight Sparkle slurped at their milkshakes. The younger unicorn had thrown her uniform on the floor lackadaisically in her eagerness to talk to her friend. A quick detour to the kitchen before they headed for her room rewarded them with their creamy dairy beverages, though Nightmare Moon had disapproved on the grounds that it would spoil their appetites. That disapproval did not last long when Twilight had stared up at her mother with the most pathetic, heartbreaking expression she could muster.

A pang of regret crossed Sweetie's mind at the thought of what she would have been like as a mother for Distant Shores. How easily she would've broken had her daughter asked with those puppy-eyes for something.

She hid her thoughts, however, as soon as she realized where that was going, and that Twilight or Nightmare Moon might catch on to her mood.

“So, what did you do all day?” Twilight asked.

Sweetie sighed, leaning back against the bed and resting her head on it. “Avoided politicians for the most part. I met briefly with the Inquisitor and North Star. The first I like, the second…”

Sweetie pursed her lips, considering the implications of telling Twilight more details about North Star, but soon rolled her eyes. North Star was under the eye of both the Empress and the Inquisitor. If she tried anything, they would know… and if she did something and escaped… well, Sweetie could deal with that herself. “The second should consider purchasing a pacifier just to help her shut up.” She snorted, but looked at Twilight with a mischievous glint in her eye. “I did, however, get my own knight.” She nonchalantly slurped some milkshake. “Swore an oath and everything.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Who? What happened? Why?”

“Well…” Sweetie giggled. “His name is Cirrus, he’s a pegasus, and he thought I was the most interesting Lady in the castle. So we talked and he swore to be my knight!” Sweetie sighed, her thoughts going back to the slightly older pegasus. “He’s charming. And smart. And loyal. I like him.”

"Wait, didn't you date a pegasus before? I thought you were into mares?"

Sweetie felt a stab of pain straight to her heart, and her thoughts went to Distant Shores: the daughter she never met. Then to Swiftwing, the wife she didn't remember, but both of whom she had loved in a life that had been tortured by malignant manipulation to the point where she had been unable to bear it.

It hadn't been the first time she had died. But it was the first time she had truly lost everything. Her wife. Her child. Her memories.

As much as that Twilight was a monster, she had asked a very true question: Was it really her life if there was nothing of it within her at all? Once the broken Sweetie had—

Sweetie forced herself to the present, and deflected her feelings. "Disappointed?" she forced a confident grin, hiding her actual dark thoughts and batted her eyelashes at Twilight..

Twilight blushed adorably. "N-no! Just saying…"

The unicorn shook her head, smiling. "I do like females, but I also never stopped liking males," she sighed, glancing warily at the young princess. "Although as much as I have grown to appreciate other species, it seems like I have a type. That's unexpected."

"How so?" Twilight asked, leaning in, eyes bright.

"Well, my first crush was the intellectual type unicorn, but… I seem to have a thing for pegasi. Maybe it's the wings. Now that I think about it, Gilda was kinda hot too."

"Gilda?"

"Oh, she was a griffon that visited my hometown a while ago."

Twilight made a face. "Griffons."

"Anyway, we're here to talk about Cirrus. And he's definitely all pony." Sweetie said when she saw Twilight's expression sour.

“Cirrus… Cirrus” the Princess muttered, her eyes almost crossing as she sifted through her memories to try and recall the name. “Oh, oh! House Septentrio, correct? He’s Shining Armor’s friend!”

Sweetie nodded excitedly. “Yes! That’s him! When he told me he knew Shining Armor I immediately thought of you. You should have Shining be your knight!”

Twilight tilted her head, thinking on this with eyes glued to the ceiling. “Perhaps… I’ve never really thought about having a personal champion before, but Shining Armor has always been nice to me.” She grinned. “He calls me ‘Twily’ when he’s sure there’s nopony around to hear him say it.”

Sweetie’s eyes were wide and shimmering with emotion. “He does?! Awww! That’s adorable!” She grinned. “It’s like you’re his little sister or something!”

A small smile came to the lavender filly’s lips. “He does act like that sometimes… I’ve always felt comfortable around him.”

Sweetie felt the sudden urge to speak up but decided to fight the temptation by taking a long drink of milkshake. She cut it short, however when the cold got to her head, making it throb painfully. “Gah! Brainfreeze! I didn't know I could still get brainfreeze!”

Twilight giggled. “Here. Mom taught me this trick.” Her horn flashed and the brainfreeze subsided almost immediately. “I usually cast it before drinking or eating something cold.”

Sweetie blinked. “Wait. That spell… it’s familiar…” she thought for a moment, trying to figure out where she had felt it before. “Is that the same spell that Blueblood used on me when I got too drunk that second time?” She shook her head. “No… but he—yes! He did have a spell for brain freeze! And one for sugar high.” She tilted her head, confused. “Now that I think about it, I could swear he cast the sugar high one on me all the time. I should have asked him to teach them to me.”

“I can teach you!” Twilight clapped her hooves together eagerly.

“Sounds like a deal!” Sweetie agreed. “I can’t wait to go to school with you, imagine all the things I’ll learn!”

“It’s not just exclusively magic, remember. For that we have general classes and mentors for one-on-one learning. Mom mentors me but I have no doubt she can handle mentoring two apprentices.”

Sweetie laughed. “It’ll be amazing, learning from you two.”

“Of course, any help I will give you will come at a price.” Twilight grinned devilishly at her friend.

“What do you mean?” Sweetie asked, trying to guess her friend’s intentions, and trying not to think too much of the prize the other Twilight had cashed in without her ever agreeing to anything. “I don’t think I have any spells I could teach you that wouldn’t land me in jail.”

The Princess leaned forward. “Tell me more about Cirrus. You said you like him, huh?”

Sweetie felt her face grow hot and immediately snagged a pillow with her magic, burying her face in it. “I never said that!” she said through the layers of feathers, not daring to look at Twilight.

“You did. And you went on about how loyal and charming he is and you sighed like some of my old friends from the orphanage did when they dreamed about dashing, gallant knights that would come and sweep them off their hooves.”

Sweetie was silent for a moment, before she shouted into the pillow for almost a whole minute. Eventually, she lowered it down, revealing a very flushed face. “I can’t believe you’d call me out on that! But yes, if you really want to know, he’s very handsome!” She looked down and grumbled something.

Twilight’s grin grew with her victory. “What did you say, I didn’t quite catch that?”

“I said… that he has a very nice voice. And I love his mane.” Sweetie mumbled just loud enough for Twilight to hear before slurping at her milkshake.

“He is kind of handsome.” Twilight nodded, blushing herself. “Shining Armor said he is a really big ladies’ stallion though.”

Sweetie frowned a bit, still slurping her milkshake before lowering it down. “He’s not like that… I trust him.”

“He is supposed to be very loyal and very chivalrous,” Twilight added hurriedly. “Shining Armor says he’s a great knight.”

“I know he’s a charmer, but… I—” Sweetie stopped, looking slightly mortified. “Um, never mind.”

“Go on…” A purple hoof motioned for her to continue.

“Is it warm in here? I think I need another milkshake. When’s dinner?”

“Dinner’s not for another half hour and you can have my milkshake if you finish your sentence.” Twilight’s grin threatened to split her head in two and her eyes held Sweetie’s intensely, hungry for information.

Sweetie shouted into the pillow for the second time that night. Twilight burst into uncontrollable laughter, clutching at her sides while the other unicorn glared at Twilight, completely unamused.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop teasing!” She sniffed, wiping the mirthful tears from her eyes. Twilight peered at her friend curiously. “Isn’t he a little old for you though?”

Sweetie shrugged. “Nah.” She sighed, looking at her empty glass morosely. “I don’t even know if he's attracted to me.” Her eyes widened and she turned to face Twilight, a panicking look growing on her face. “What if he does IS attracted to me?”

“Um…” Twilight stared at the white unicorn, looking rather uncomfortable. “I really don’t think I’m the best pony to answer that. Maybe there’s a book on it we can find?”

“A book?!” Sweetie placed her hooves on Twilight’s shoulders. “A trashy romance novel won’t help us! I mean, not right away! I only really know my way around mares! What if he tries to kiss me? I mean, I’ll kiss him back, but—” she took a deep breath, channeling her inner Rarity, hoof to the forehead and all. “W-what if he proposes?”

Sweetie’s face went blank and she stared straight ahead for a full minute before she tilted sideways in a fake dead faint.

It took a moment for Twilight to catch on, but she wouldn't stop giggling the rest of the night.

o.0.o

The following day (or more accurately, night, as Sweetie reminded herself), the Empress, her daughter and their guest broke their fast with oats and cinnamon cereal. Their conversation only consisted of extrapolations of their plans for the night and the occasional ribbing from Twilight on the subject of Cirrus. The princess left Sweetie and her mother with a good-natured laugh. Sweetie felt her cheeks aflame, glancing at Nightmare Moon. The mare wore a sly smile.

“So...” the Empress began when the sound of Twilight shutting the front door reached the kitchen. “I think I share my daughter’s interest about your interest with Ser Cirrus.”

Sweetie felt her face go redder. “Ohno. I-I I don’t know… I promise. I think he’s handsome and loyal but I'm not going to encourage any sort of relationship.”

“Well, I can always grant you a small barony somewhere if you would like. I am sure then his parents would not be opposed to matching him with you.” The Empress’s eyes sparkled mischievously.

“Eep!” Sweetie tried to hide behind the now empty glass of milk she had been drinking. “I-I don’t think we’re quite there yet, your Majesty!”

“He must be taken with you, to have pledged to be your champion after only one meeting.”

Sweetie groaned. “I’m going to have to live with this, aren’t I?” She sighed and poked a stray crumble on the table. “Teasing aside, I am wondering if I did the right thing by accepting his pledge?”

Nightmare Moon considered this for a moment. “If you are going to be staying with us as an honoured guest with my seal, it would do you good to have a champion, especially a knight such as Cirrus. He is well-bred and well-respected and I have heard he takes his duties and vows very, very seriously. Already you seem to have attracted the attention of North Star and I would not be surprised if the Bluebloods or some other nobles are drawn to you as well. Ser Cirrus will ward off unwanted would-be suitors and some of the peers who are less adept at the political game of the Empire.”

Sweetie nodded. “I’m hardly fit for it myself. I’m not made for political warfare… halfway through a conversation I might want to throttle somepony.”

“The Canterlot Music College will be an excellent escape for you then. There are not many opportunities for you to be dragged into a confrontation while you are studying there for the next few weeks,” the Empress said. “When Twilight’s winter break comes, and you spend time with her during the day, I doubt you will be hassled much. Her status tends to make ponies very wary around her.”

Sweetie’s eyes glinted with undisguised excitement, and she leaned forward over the table, all thoughts of Cirrus forgotten for the moment. “I’m so excited! I’ll be learning from the greatest musicians!”

Nightmare Moon smiled and nodded. “I have acquired you tutors in vocals, the cello and the violin. I do not know if you are well versed with the last, but it would do you some good to diversify your talents. You may continue to study at the college part-time when you start your spring semester at the Imperial Academy with Twilight. Provided you do well in your studies, of course.”

“Oh, I will! I promise!” Sweetie swore, nodding her head for emphasis. “I won’t waste this opportunity. Thank you so much, your Majesty.”

Sweetie hurried to finish her breakfast after that, excitement fuelling her actions. She had little in the way of a formal education; it had been years since she last stepped into a classroom and even then it had been Miss Cheerilee’s elementary school, and her tutors had been very specialized. Now she was going to be in one of Canterlot’s most hallowed halls of learning, studying music under what were probably the most gifted teachers in their areas of expertise.

After a quick spell from the Empress cleaned the crockery and cutlery, and Sweetie’s teeth were brushed, Nightmare Moon marched out of the Royal Apartments with Sweetie in tow. At the entrance to the palace, the unicorn found a chariot waiting for them. It wasn’t the golden one most often favored by Celestia. This chariot was silver and dark blue, colors that seemed to be part of the imperial palette if the banners and decor of the palace were to be taken as sources. It was drawn by the bat-winged Honor Guard. Sweetie had learned from Twilight that most of these stallions were normal pegasi and their outfit’s distinctive dark armor were imbued with illusion spells as a salute to the thestrals who made up the Empire’s first Honour Guard.

They were in the air, soaring in an arc over Canterlot. From above, the divisions of the city could be seen clearly. The neighborhoods near to the palace were occupied by manors, mansions and parks, as well as numerous affluent shops. These were all comfortably spaced and there was more green than cobbled roads or pavement. The opposite side of town, hidden away in the plateau of the mountain, was somewhat more crowded, home to the middle class of Canterlot. Nightmare Moon took the opportunity to point out Twilight’s former home, an orphanage that rested on the outskirts of the city – far away enough to have its own field for play and activities. It was apparently a wealthy orphanage, funded by numerous interests.

Between these two districts laid the downtown. There was little greenery here; blocks and blocks of residences and buildings were crowded together. Several large constructs rose above the rest of the city, such as an opera house, a hotel, and a great domed cathedral. It was on the border of the downtown and the middle-class district that the chariot touched down, and Sweetie was greeted by a grand, archaic building that must have been the College of Music. The complex followed the sloping, bulbous baroque architecture so characteristic of Canterlot, though it had a certain flavor to it that made it more jocular, fluid and graceful.

“Here we are,” Nightmare Moon announced. “The Canterlot College of Music, founded circa seven-hundred and forty Imperial Era.”

There was a small reception awaiting them just outside the main door. Several mares and stallions lined up and bowed in unison as their sovereign entered their establishment. The tall black alicorn basked in their admiration with all due regality and stopped before the gathering, beckoning them all to rise.

“I appreciate your coming to receive me at the entrance, Lady Clavel, but I am just here to introduce my beneficiary, Lady Sweetie Belle, to the college.”

A mare stepped forward, dressed in a dark red garment that was long enough to almost brush the floor. It was decorated with black lace and rubies, accentuating the golden tone of her fur and creating a striking contrast with her blue eyes and mane.

“Your Majesty,” she bowed again, quicker and shorter than her first. Her voice was tinged with a husky Iburrian accent. “Muchas gracias for visiting our establishment. We are honored to accept a student personally recommended by you, especially if she is as talented as you say.”

“She is, I assure you that.”

The mare bowed again. “No disrespect intended, Your Majesty.” She turned and clapped, three ponies stepping forward. “Tutors for Lady Sweetie Belle. Don Deep Note of House Gardener, our foremost cellist.” A prim, dour grey earth pony stallion with white muttonchops bowed stiffly at his cue. “Señora Decibella of the violin.” An old unicorn mare, green with a grey mane in a bun and blue pince-nez spectacles bobbed with some wobbling. “And our newest star, Señorita Fleur-de-Lis of House Ambroisie, who has a voice that would make Cheimon weep.”

Although traveling with Blueblood had gotten her used to a certain amount of obsequiousness, Sweetie was still feeling very self-conscious. These grandmasters would certainly expect a lot from her, and while this might be another Fleur, and she would take the place of Chrysalis and Sapphire Shores in teaching her to sing, she now had one more mentor to make proud.

As each tutor was introduced, Sweetie bowed deferentially. She was no Octavia or Sapphire Shores, but she would do them proud. And the first step was to give her new tutors a good impression. Hopefully being personally recommended by Nightmare Moon would not create impossible expectations of her.

“I trust she will not disappoint,” Nightmare Moon said.

Clavel smiled. “She is impeccably mannered, Your Majesty. I think she will live up to the honor of being personally recommended by the Empress of Equestria.”

“I will pick you up at four, Sweetie Belle,” The Empress said and gave a curt nod to Clavel. “Well, everything should be in order. Lady Clavel, thank you for your welcome and for accepting a student under such unique circumstances.”

“Think nothing of it, Your Majesty.” The lady bowed as the Empress left.

Sweetie Belle followed suit, bowing low to Nightmare Moon, listening to her walk away before straightening up. When she faced Clavel, she found the mare looking down at her imperiously.

“Which would you like to practice first, Señorita Belle? The cello, the violin or vocals?” She asked the filly, disarmingly abrupt.

Sweetie blinked. “Um, I have practiced both the cello and singing, I have never tried to play the violin, however.”

“I hope you will take to it as well as Her Majesty says you have taken to the cello.” The golden mare shrugged. “If not, then I suppose you will have more time to spend on refining what you are actually good at.”

Sweetie cleared her throat and straightened out, although her smile made the pose somehow playful. “I’m sure that under the tutelage of some of the greatest musicians I will have no problem stepping up to the challenge, Doña Clavel.”

That earned her a bemusedly-raised eyebrow. Lady Clavel turned to the stallion with the muttonchops. “Don Note, will you be so kind as to take the first few hours with Sweetie Belle?”

“Certainly, Lady Clavel,” the noble answered in a gruff baritone that well-suited his name. He looked at Sweetie with hard eyes. “Come with me, Lady Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle bowed to the others. “It was a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to our lessons.” She then turned, following Deep Note into the school.

o.0.o

Sweetie slowly slid the bow across the strings, letting the last of the notes drag a prolonged deep sound before ending. She lowered her bow, opening her eyes to look at her new tutor.

Deep Note’s eyes revealed very little other than contempt. “That was barely acceptable,” he stated, standing up and walking slowly around Sweetie Belle. “While you have more… ability, than the regular beginner, you hardly deserve as much praise as her Majesty gave you. Make no mistake, I will not tolerate mediocrity in my students!”

Sweetie narrowed her eyes.

“You yank your bow leg like a common cow plows the field. With no grace or understanding of the gentleness required to get the notes you need. If you can’t keep it straight don’t pretend to call yourself a cellist! And what happened with your intonation? A few seconds in and you changed it! This is not modern ‘music’! You were supposed to be playing a classic! And your left hoof! Your shifts almost felt like an attempt to be cute. Either do them right or quit while you’re ahead!”

He stood on his own hind legs, looking down into Sweetie’s eyes. “Your shoulders are too stiff for the vibrato. I do not know who taught you, but he or she did not do a good job!” He fell back onto all fours and kept walking around her. “Your balance… is acceptable. Perhaps the only acceptable part of your performance, and the fact that you are still standing on your hind legs gives me a vague hope that you might, just might, have what it takes in you.”

Sweetie felt anger swelling inside of her, but remained calm, dropping down to all fours as well. “Thank you for your evaluation.”

Deep Note huffed. “There’s nothing to thank me for, girl. You made a fool of yourself, pretending to be a cellist and performing such a pathetic interpretation of The Elements.” He paused to serve himself a glass of whiskey, sipping it before looking at her again. “At least you come from good stock, I can tell. Were you a commoner I would tell you to give up already, but nobles have better blood. Better instinct. You might be too old to achieve true mastery if you were one of them.” He took another sip. “Thankfully, you’re not.”

Sweetie frowned. “I fail to see how whether I was born noble or not has anything to do with—”

“Pah!” Deep Note interrupted, seating down in a large, worn sofa. “You fail to see! Of course you fail to see! That is why you’re still a beginner! Your Noble Blood opens you to arts and understanding that is beyond that of commoners. Their blood is diluted, unfit to achieve perfection.”

Sweetie was about to speak up when he glanced her way. “You’re too young to understand these matters, Lady Sweetie. But not to practice. On your hind legs. Once more, and this time watch the vibrato.”

Sweetie sighed, and assumed her starting position. ‘I can put up with him being a jerk to me, but if he keeps this xenophobic nonsense going…’

o.0.o

Balance was the key in her violin lessons. Without the familiar bulk and reassuring weight of her preferred instrument, standing proved more of a challenge, let alone playing. Even still, Sweetie could stand without the need to lean, though her old cello habits made her totter to the left every so often. Not only that, but the daintiness of the violin was something she was unaccustomed to. The delicate instrument wobbled precariously in her hooves and, after a momentary imbalance through her off, the bow scraped along the wrong strings noisily.

“Oh dear,” the old mare said with all the tenderness of a grandmother watching her newborn granddaughter. It was a nice enough change from Deep Note’s derision, but Sweetie couldn’t help but feel a little patronized by Decibella’s tone and had to wonder which one was worse. “I think you’ve grown a bit too reliant on the cello acting as a support.”

She sipped her tea. It was something of a tick for her. Every time she finished speaking, she would take a sip. The lesson had gone on long enough that the pot should have been finished by now, but somehow it seemed inexhaustible. Sweetie imagined overturning the china and filling the room with a flood of hot brown leaf-juice. The old mare had eased herself into a plumply cushioned armchair that looked as old as she did (so centuries, perhaps) and dragged a small coffee table next to it. Her telekinetic grasp was surprisingly strong for a mare as ancient as her.

Sweetie glared at her. “I don’t need my cello for support. I can balance just fine, it's just… I feel like I’m going to break this thing.” She glanced at the violin. “It’s like the little sister of my cello, still needing to grow, and if I touch it, it will break.”

Decibella nodded absent-mindedly. “Well, you are doing very well in any case. Most ponies find it harder to move from the cello to the violin than the other way around. I say you’ve earned yourself a tea break.” The mare gave Sweety a surprisingly toothy smile as she sipped.

Sweetie sighed, dropping to all fours and carefully levitating the violin onto its resting spot. “It’s just strange… I know I shouldn’t worry about breaking it, but it’s so small… and the sound so much higher, it’s going to take some time.” She walked up to the mare and sat across from her, taking a sip of her own tea. For a moment she lost herself, looking into the cup. “You know, I used to drink tea like this with my first mentor.”

“It’s always good to have a drink when you’re learning. Especially something like tea. Relaxes your muscles and soothes the soul. Good for conversations, tea.” Another sip. “Was your mentor somepony I have heard of?”

Sweetie shook her head, choosing to simply sip her own.

“Ah, well in any case I’d love to meet her. What’s her name?”

Sweetie laughed weakly, “I’m sure she would have liked to. But she’s long gone. Not much chance for that.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. Was she a good teacher?” Decibella asked.

“She was,” Sweetie replied, looking away. “If you don’t mind, I’d… rather not bring those memories back.”

The old mare nodded and drained the rest of her tea. “In that case, it’s best we get back to practicing. Keep your mind busy, eh?”

Sweetie chuckled, standing up to resume practicing. “As you say, Miss Decibella.”

o.0.o

Sweetie hovered outside the door leading to Fleur de Lis’ offices, shuffling uneasily. ‘What if she doesn’t like me?’ She raised a hoof to knock, but hesitated again. ‘Is she really going to be that different? What if I’m not beautiful enough while singing? Is she going to be disappointed?’

She looked at the door. After a few seconds, it was clear it wasn’t going to open by itself, and so, Sweetie sighed. “Come on Sweetie, you only knew her for about a year. And every day you had to introduce yourself to her. You can do this.”

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

“Come in!” a voice called, sing-song and surprisingly chipper.

Sweetie opened the door and walked in slowly. “Um, it’s me, Sweetie Belle. Sorry I’m a bit late… I was just nervous.

The noblemare was laboring over a sheet of music, her quill dancing along as she hummed to herself. “How strange.” She set her quill in its inkpot and looked up with her pale violet eyes. “You have met the holy Empress of Equestria and I of all ponies make you nervous?” Fleur smiled. “I don’t know whether to be flattered or concerned.”

“W-well, first impressions, you know?” Sweetie stammered. “I really appreciate all of you taking time to teach me, after all.”

The mare rounded the desk, now standing in front of Sweetie. “Oh, think nothing of it. This is simply a service for Her Majesty.” The smile grew crafty on her lips. “Not to mention the money we are being paid to teach you is appreciation enough.”

Sweetie nodded. “Well, there’s that too.” She looked up at Fleur expectantly.

“Ah, but where are my manners. We have not made proper introductions. As Lady Clavel has said, I am Fleur-de-Lis of House Ambroisie.” She bobbed in a small, elegant curtsey. “It is an honor to meet you, Lady Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie curtsied in return. “A pleasure to meet you, Lady Fleur.”

A short silence passed with the noblemare waiting patiently, until she coughed politely. “I hate to be the one to remind a young mare of her manners, but I believe one’s house is declared in the introductions. Lady Clavel and the Empress made no mention of yours during their discussion.”

Sweetie blinked. “Oh. Well, that would be because I don’t have a House, officially speaking. I’m under the care of the crown.”

“Oh! Oh, I am terribly sorry. I should not have assumed.” The unicorn mare blushed. “I thought, since… nevermind.”

Sweetie chuckled. “Don’t worry, Lady Fleur, a lot of ponies assume that, given the company I’ve been blessed with.”

Fleur nodded, smiling in relief, then cringed. “I suppose your lesson with Lord Deep Note was more than a little uncomfortable.”

Sweetie made a face. “He’s… special. But apparently I have what it takes due to my noble blood.”

“Not all those who have noble blood are aristocrats, and not all aristocrats have noble blood,” Fleur said, tittering. “There are many ponies who have illustrious ancestors and continue a tradition of goodness in their family despite not being titled nobility. Sadly, there are many nobility who abuse their positions.”

“I understand…” Sweetie said. “Sometimes it’s all they have to cling to. I just feel bad for them.”

“Not everyone can be born with talents as wonderful as music.” She pointed to her student’s cutie mark. “I can see yours has something to do with the musical arts. Do your strengths lie in instruments or vocals?”

“I’ve trained in both.” Sweetie looked back at her cutie mark, hiding a cringe at the fractured pieces of Twilight’s own. “But I’m more proficient in instrumental music.”

“Then it is very good that you have come to me.” Fleur struck a pose, her head held high and her smile proud. “I am one of the best singers in Equestria, and I will make it my mission to make you as good or better than me.”

Sweetie grinned. “And I look forward to that!”

o.0.o

True to her word, the Empress came to pick Sweetie Belle up at four. It was hard to believe so many hours had gone by. She had never practiced music for so long in her life. The echoes of vocals and strings were still ringing in her ears even as the chariot began its ascent to return her to the palace.

“How was your first night of lessons, Sweetie Belle?” the Empress asked her charge, her voice carrying surprisingly well over the wind. Sweetie assumed it to be a spell placed on the chariot.

“Intense,” Sweetie said, after a moment of thought for the correct way of putting it. “All of my teachers have completely different teaching styles. The violin took some adjusting, although I’m sure I’ll get better with time. Fleur was very nice, and I enjoyed my singing lessons with her. Lord Deep Note was… very demanding. But I think I’ll manage.”

“Good. It will be healthy for you to do something both educational and enjoyable while Twilight is at the Academy. It will not do for you to become a layabout, spending your days loitering around the palace.”

“Isn’t that what most nobles do?”

Nightmare Moon laughed. It sounded like coffee to Sweetie’s ears; rich, smooth and dark, yet hearty. “Some do. Others will dedicate themselves to running their lands or pursuing personal projects. Some have professions, mostly as bankers or moguls.”

“I guess it’s good that some of them have better and more productive ways of passing time,” Sweetie mused.

“Idlers are seen as improper by their peers. There is a certain set of duties and responsibilities nobles are expected to perform, and certain ways they are suspected to behave.” The Empress frowned and scoffed. “The Duke has tried to drill that kind of thinking into his son, but Blueblood seems to have developed a taste for hedonism lately.”

“Aw, Blueblood can’t be that bad. I’m sure he’ll get better,” Sweetie said, looking up at Nightmare Moon. “Maybe he just needs a hobby?”

The alicorn gave Sweetie a smirk. “He has a hobby. It has not improved him. If you met him, then you would understand. Admittedly, he is better than he was when he was younger. He was such a brat several years ago.”

Sweetie pondered that for a moment. “Maybe not a hobby… but a job? Maybe having some real responsibility on his hooves will help. Does anypony know what his special talent is?”

Nightmare Moon knitted her brow. “You seem awfully intent on him improving.” Her smirk grew. “Do not tell me you are one of those fillies who are enraptured by the idea of a perfect prince charming?”

Sweetie started giggling. “Not at all!” She smiled. “I just feel like he hasn’t realized his potential… a lot of ponies have it, and never do. And Lyra’s my friend, of sorts… I think she’d also be happier if Blueblood was a bit better, and that would make her have an easier time to be friends with Twilight, and that will benefit all of us.”

“I hope so. He does have his father’s mind, though it is tempered by so many undesirable traits.” Nightmare hummed thoughtfully. “I assume you are not biased against the nobility then?”

Sweetie gave the question some thought and shook her head. “No… everypony has their own place, and Nobles do as well. Sometimes they don’t live up to being leaders, or sometimes they think themselves above those that make them what they are, but… a true Noble is a leader that understands what their duty is to their estate, and sees that what they are is but part of a greater thing.” She blushed a bit. “I’m sorry if I’m talking too much... maybe it’s idolized… I just think there’s usually a reason for ponies to be where they are, even if I don’t see it immediately.”

“Sometimes I elevate ponies of merit to the nobility, as a kind of reward, and to make it so Equestria is run by ponies who deserve to run it.” The Empress showed Sweetie a toothy grin. “Sometimes I give ponies titles when I am feeling particularly whimsical.”

Sweetie blinked. “Wait, so you randomly give them a title to see what they do with them?”

The Empress shrugged. “Yes, but they just show it off, usually. If there are lands attached to it they have to oversee them. It is a very effective way of getting rid of troublemakers, actually.”

“I see,” Sweetie nodded. “Well, I for one have no idea what I would do if that happened to me. Especially if I suddenly had lands and ponies to tend to. It would be horrible. What if I didn’t live up to it? They could suffer a lot.”

“Bureaucrats do most of the work, especially if I give them power over that noble. Still, it rarely happens that I grant a pony such a title, let alone grant them a title with land and subjects.”

“Well, you are the Empress. If anypony knows what they’re doing it’s you,” Sweetie said with a little shrug of her shoulders. “But it must be a huge burden anyway.”

“Sometimes.” She grinned. “It is very rewarding, however.”

The rest of the trip was spent in silence, until, with little fanfare, the chariot touched down in the palace grounds. Sweetie followed Nightmare Moon inside after thanking the guards that pulled it.

“Will Twilight be back soon?” Sweetie asked.

With a glance at the great clock that dominated the wall of the entrance hall, Nightmare Moon said, “In a couple of hours. What will you do until then? Are you hungry?”

Sweetie nodded. “A little,” she confessed. “I haven’t had anything to eat since lunch. But shouldn’t we wait for Twilight?”

“I was about to suggest merely that you can acquire a snack from the kitchens.” The Empress sniffed. “Now, Sweetie Belle, I have some pressing matters to attend to. I trust you can make your way to the Royal Apartments from here by yourself... or wherever else it is you would like to go.”

Sweetie bowed politely. “Of course, thank you so much for everything.”

A brisk nod was followed by a superfluous about-turn and the Empress strode away. Sweetie was left to wonder how to fill her time until Twilight returned. The library held more than enough to wet her thirst for information about this world, though she found herself entertaining the prospect of seeing who she could bump into around the palace.

Ambling away from the library, she allowed herself to contemplate her current situation, the ponies she had met and why she was there. While the library itself was a perfect place to be engulfed by silence, she needed a bit more… somewhere quiet, yes, but where she could feel the wind, and smell the earth.

She walked slowly, returning any formal greetings with one of her own as she made her way to the gardens. Soon, she found the bench she had been sitting on the day before, and decided to sit and think.

‘I already feel like I belong here,’ she wondered, silently watching the clouds above and the rustling leaves. ‘Is this how it’s going to be now? Feeling a part of something and then being taken away? Why is this whole thing so… weird? What am I supposed to do? Wait?’

Sweetie pouted before her eyes drifted down to the path before her. Yesterday, she had almost killed a pony right here.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the idea. “Maybe,” she spoke up, jumping to her hooves. “Maybe I should go find Cirrus.”

She made her way to the garden entrance, where she was quickly able to find a guard. She carefully approached him. “Excuse me sir, would you be so kind to point me towards the Military Academy?”

The guard did not shift his bland expression as he said, “It’s just across the plaza, to the right of Main Street. The big building with all those gothic features and that statue of the three soldiers outside. Can’t miss it.”

Sweetie smiled. “Thank you, sir!” She turned and set out to find out if Cirrus was around. “I wonder what sort of practice they have?” She followed the guard’s instructions, leaving the Palace and making her way across the plaza until she could see the Military Academy in all its glory.

It struck her as an absurdly pointy building. A symmetrical rectangle with fat towers in the corners, it was absolutely covered in spiky gothic parapets. It looked to be hollow in the interior, with a large, menacingly gothic spire rising high from the middle like a spear thrust into the sky. The gates were guarded by a couple of cadets in uniform, looking bored as only young stallions banished to tedium could. They let her through without much of a fuss after she flashed the imperial seal at them, their baffled looks thoroughly entertaining. Sweetie felt a small thrill as she realized just how powerful a key this little medallion was.

She passed the statue the guard had talked about – an impressive statue of three stallions from each tribe clad in armor and bristling with magnificence – and made her way into the academy. The secretary at the front desk was only too happy to point her out to somepony who would know where Cirrus was and, after waving the imperial seal around like a torch a few more times, she made her way to the exercise yard.

Sure, she could've snuck in, but she was reluctant to show her skills in any way after her talk with the Inquisitor. She was in the public eye, which meant that her actions would reflect on Nightmare Moon and Twilight. Being predictable would oddly enough keep others on their toes around her.

Her theory about there being a courtyard proved correct. The academy was a hollow rectangle with a cluster of buildings, greens and ranges, with the towering spire in the dead center. It only took a little bit of searching to find Cirrus in the middle of a sparring match, in a ring of dirt surrounded by a crowd of cadets and an instructor.

The stallion was sweating in his armor, which was rather dusty, and circled his opponent, another pegasus also covered in the dust of their little fighting pit. The other pegasus was breathing heavily and stumbling about, though Sweetie had no idea how long they had been fighting for. Cirrus’s face was set with a tight grin that held more than a hint of cockiness.

“Stop playing with him, Cirrus!” The instructor barked. “Finish Wind Gait off and give the poor idiot a rest.”

Wind Gait was too tired and too focussed on his opponent to look offended at the comment. Cirrus’s grin suddenly turned cruel and he darted forward. Wind tensed and shifted to defend against a blow that never came. Cirrus twisted his body and slid around the pegasus, quickly and easily, with little momentum lost. He struck at his back legs, making Wind Gait crash to the ground. The unfortunate cadet attempted to roll out of the way, but was denied escape by a harsh tug of his tail by Cirrus. He was dragged so his vital neck was within the reach of the white-maned stallion’s heavily-booted hooves, hooves that moved too fast for Wind. In a blur, Cirrus had his boot on his foe’s neck, who made a noise that sounded like a gasp of surprised and a gurgle.

“Cirrus wins,” the instructor declared. Cirrus smirked and let his foot up off Wind Gait’s neck, who coughed and rubbed his throat, glowering darkly at Cirrus. The instructor stepped into the ring and eyed his students ruefully. “That makes eight. Eight in a row in under an hour. I’ve given you lot ample opportunity beat Cirrus over the months, and even wear him down with sessions like this. No wonder he’s a Ser already and you lot aren’t.” He spat. “I speak to the other instructors proudly of my boys, you lot, but now I see my words were just hot wind.” The cadets knew enough to look appropriately ashamed, though some through envious glares Cirrus’s way. The instructor tutted and flicked his head. “Go hit the showers. You all stink of sweat and failure.”

The group of cadets melted away in mutterings and grumbles, loosening or removing their armor as they went. When Cirrus turned, he met Sweetie’s eyes and his smirk turned to a gape of surprise. “Oh, Lady Sweetie, I had no idea you were here. How long have you been standing there?”

Sweetie shrugged. “Long enough to watch the end of your match. Was it really necessary to be so smug about it when he was down?”

The grin returned. “I like it when I win, and how can I not be smug when I am the best in the class?”

Sweetie giggled. “Well, don’t rub it in too much. Those ponies will have your back if you ever need them, right? Better that they have it in a positive way.”

“We’re training to be officers. We will be mustered out to different units. The stallions who will have my back aren’t even here.” He wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and sauntered over to Sweetie Belle, his eyes becoming gentler. “How are you anyway? Did anything happen with North Star?”

Sweetie frowned. “I got her off my back, and she should not affect you either if she knows what’s good for her.”

The pegasus laughed. “You are one devilishly frightening mare if that’s the case.”

Sweetie smiled. “Only when it matters.” Her smile slipped a bit. “I… also wanted to apologize for requesting you to leave me with her. I would have preferred your company.”

“I understand.” He rubbed his damp mane. “I can get a little… stubborn sometimes, especially when it comes to promises I have made.”

“You kept your promise,” Sweetie replied, looking him in the eye. “But I also had to deal with her politics myself. As it is, what’s done is done, but I do appreciate what you did, my knight.”

He grinned again and took hold of her hoof, raising it to his lips. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat, my lady.”

Sweetie couldn’t help but smile. “And I am grateful. But you should probably take a shower, Cirrus, unless you’re expecting another fight? I could teach you a thing or two.” She winked at him.

He shook his head. “The only things you could teach me would be new ways to fight against unicorns. The tactics of pegasi and unicorns are very different from each other.”

Sweetie grinned. “I can imagine. But maybe I could learn how to fight pegasi.”

“You don’t need to learn that, my lady. Not when you have me as a champion.” He raised his head high and proud, flashing her a winning grin. His magnificence was only slightly mired by his sweaty, grubby state.

“Fair enough, my champion.” Sweetie giggled. “Instead of a duel, which I promise you, we will have, how about we enjoy each other’s company?” She smiled sweetly. “You could show me your Academy.”

“Of course. If you give me a minute to go and wash, I’ll meet you out here in a little while.” He dipped his head in a courtly little bow and flew away.

It took little over ten minutes for Cirrus to return, his armor replaced by a smart uniform and his fur washed of all sweat and dirt. He strode manfully towards her, a brilliant smile on his lips and vigor in his step.

For a moment, Sweetie forgot all about her journeys. Right there, she could only look at the approaching stallion and smile while her stomach felt like there were butterflies flapping around inside. It was just her and him.

'Was it like this with Swiftwing too?' she thought to herself, thoughts going back to dark places. 'Did my heart flutter when I saw her? Was her smile just as contagious?'

He stopped with a foot of space between them, looking down at her with gleaming emerald eyes. “Perhaps I can interest you in a pleasant walk around the gardens instead of just a tour of the Academy?” he asked. “We never got to enjoy our time together there yesterday.”

Sweetie found herself having a hard time looking away from his smile, but managed to drag her eyes up to meet his. “That would be lovely.”

o.0.o

Sweetie was still standing in a metaphorical cloud by the time she made it back to the Imperial Palace, no matter how she tried, her smile would not fade and she had noticed she had a spring to her step. “I haven’t skipped in years,” she muttered, trying to rein herself in. “I hope Twilight didn’t see that…”

Then again, why shouldn’t she skip? She felt as light of heart as when she was a foal back in Ponyville, before even her apprenticeship to Twilight began. Those had been carefree days and somehow Cirrus offered her a taste of that lackadaisical time, like a promise of things to come.

As she conquered the final steps to the entrance to the palace and the guards opened the doors for her, Sweetie gulped when the first thing she saw was the less-than-amused faced of Twilight Sparkle, who was definitely not happy.

“Um… hi, Twilight? How was school?”

“Oh, it was good.” Her voice was clipped to an edge. “We had some interesting lessons scheduled. Like the importance of timing for releasing spells and how careful planning and timetabling was as crucial to the military success of the Roaman Empire as discipline and tactical reform.”

Sweetie’s face brightened. “Oh! That sounds interesting! I once read a book about military tactics that emphasized the importance of timing and synchronization of several units for the most optimal result!”

“I was being sarcastic, Sweetie! We had a very clear point in the day we would meet again! Do you know how this affects my schedule for the rest of the night, no... week!” The filly stamped and snorted angrily. “What took you so long?!”

Sweetie’s smile fell. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Twilight! I came here earlier and you were going to arrive a few hours after I did, so your mother suggested I spend my time doing something and…” She trailed off, looking down at her hooves. “I, um… wentandsawCirrus,” she finished in a whispered rush.

Twilight’s rage was dowsed and her ears perked. “What was that?” A ghost of a grin played at her lips.

Sweetie felt her cheeks burn. I wonder how my face actually looks right now? She thought to herself, before she cleared her throat and licked her lips, trying to figure a way to weasel out of this one. “I-I ran into him at the Academy?” She gave Twilight a shaky smile. “Y-you know, the one where he-I mean, uh… military! Yes. Tactics a-and things. To do. With pegasi. And… timing?”

Her friend burst into laughter. “Oh, you should see your face! Maybe I should call you Sweetieberry!” Her laughter devolved into snorts. “Get it? Like a strawberry!”

Sweetie pouted. “Oh, come on! I can’t possibly get that red! My fur would cover it!”

Twilight steadied herself, breathing slowly in and out to halt the guffaws. “Oh, you definitely are. You should see me when I blush. Mom tells me my cheeks go a sort of cherry red.”

“Hmp,” Sweetie frowned. “Maybe we should find you a coltfriend.” She paused, eyes wide. “I just said that, didn’t I?”

“So he is your coltfriend! Did he kiss you in the gardens?”

“N-no!” Sweetie stammered. “We are not a couple!” She glanced at the guards, who seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face. “Look,” she hissed. “Can we talk about this somewhere more private?”

“Sure.” Twilight looked to the sky. “The Bright Moon’s going down so it’s going to get pretty chilly soon anyway.”

When in Twilight’s bedroom, the princess-scholar insisted on pillaging the kitchens for ice-cream and sodas, wrapping themselves in blankets and dressing-gowns and locking the door with a sound-proofing field to prevent distractions. She claimed this was the proper procedure for “girl talk” as she had read it in several books.

“They usually had wine instead of sodas but we’re not old enough to drink,” she said as she finished chilling her bottle with a quick spell. The room was toasty now compared to the cold autumn evening outside, and the cool drinks and ice-cream were perfect compliments.

Sweetie shook her head, following Twilight’s lead and chilling down her own soda with an elemental ice spell. “Are the gowns really necessary?” she finally asked in a faint attempt to detract the conversation from where it would inevitably lead.

“Well, we should have really had scented baths first, but that’d take too long.”

Sweetie blinked. A chance! “Well, I’m not going anywhere! Hehe, why don’t we take long, relaxing, sleep-inducing baths?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at that suggestion. “I don’t know, I don’t want to eat into too much of the evening.” Her eyes widened. “Oh, how about we talk about it in the bath! There are some Neighponese novels where ‘girl talk’ happens in bath-houses. That way we can do what you want and still talk about…” she waggled her eyebrows,“you and Cirrus.”

Sweetie buried her face under her hooves. “Oh my Ce—Nightmare,” she cleared her throat again. “Uh, look Twilight, I really don’t know what you think happened, but I guarantee it's not as saucy as you think! It was barely a peck!” Sweetie groaned when she realized she had spoken without thinking again. “On the cheek!”

“Eeee! Oh wow, I’m not usually a pony for stuff like this but that is incredible! I can’t believe you have a coltfriend. It’s only been a few days since you arrived!”

Sweetie sighed and looked away. “He isn’t. I… I don’t know if he really wants me to be his marefriend. I just… he’s nice, but he doesn't know what or who I really am.” She took a deep breath.

“Well, he’s interested in you at least,” Twilight said, hoping to inject some optimism into her friend. Then she frowned and muttered, “Then again, if anything Shining Armor has told me is true…”

“What has Shining Armor told you?” Sweetie asked, raising her eyebrow. “They’re friends, right? He should know him pretty well.”

“Nothing! It’s nothing!”

“You know something, don’t you?” Sweetie leaned forward, eyes looking straight into Twilight’s. “Can’t you tell me? Pleeease? How bad could it be?”

The princess cringed as she spoke, “I had hoped you forgot, but a while ago when I said Shining Armor said he was a big ladies’ stallion, well that was a little bit of an understatement.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Cirrus… he’s, uh, he’s one of those colts who likes to have lots of fillyfriends but isn’t really into commitment. At least that’s what Shining Armor told me,” she said hurriedly. “He says he likes the challenge, whatever that means.”

Sweetie felt her eyes fill up. “Y-you mean he’s lying? But he’s my knight!”

Twilight waved her hands rapidly. “No no! That’s just what I heard! He made a chivalric oath to you and he’s done all these things so you’re probably the exception!”

Sweetie looked away. “Let’s talk about something else.”

Twilight hung her head. “O-okay.” She peeked up. “So... how are you enjoying Canterlot?”

Sweetie grimaced for a moment, before forcing a smile. “Well, I went to the College of Music today, and met my instructors.” She thought for a moment before continuing, “It was interesting, although I think at least one of them is a classist xenophobe jerk, the other would rather drink tea, and Fleur is kinda different from what I knew of her.”

“Who is this Fleur mare?”

“She’s my singing teacher here,” Sweetie explained, “But in one of my other adventures, she was my dueling instructor.” She chuckled, sitting back and smiling fondly at the memories. “She’s as beautiful as she’s always been in any world… and she’s just as kind as her ‘other’ self. But where my previous Fleur sought to inspire the world with visual beauty, this one inspires with her voice.”

“Wow, so there can be all kinds of differences between different worlds, huh? Even subtle ones.”

That observation was all it took for the two fillies to launch themselves into a discussion about the myriad worlds and their myriad inhabitants. They pondered with a great deal of philosophy and science. For Sweetie, it was almost like talking to one of her crusader friends... except with Twilight being the same age. Another subtle difference between worlds, she supposed, but she resolved to grasp her experience with this Twilight graciously. And she did, well until the weights of sleep dragged her into her dreams.

Author's Note

Also published today: Summary that Never Was: Bitaly (Last Part)

Prologue

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

By Wanderer D

Editors & Proof-readers: Trevor, understatedHyperbole, Cardslafter, Fifth Alicorn

o.0.0.o

It was a gorgeous summer afternoon in Ponyville.

The sun shone in the clear sky, the birds sang and flew cheerfully, the leaves on the trees swayed in the gentle breeze, and ponies chatted, worked, baked, and played merrily in the streets.

I wish I was out there, thought the young filly as she gazed out of the library window, but no, I’m stuck here, studying. She turned to glare at the open tome in front of her.

“Sweetie Belle?” a voice called from the kitchen, snapping her out of her reverie, “Do you like sugar in your tea?”

“Uh, yeah, Twilight! Just one cube!”

“Okay, one cube it is!” came the cheerful reply.

The young unicorn grimaced, partly in guilt at her current thoughts and partly because she knew Twilight would turn drinking tea into practice.

“Here you go,” the purple unicorn said with a smile as she set a cup next to the tome. She levitated her own cup a bit longer before she sat at the table, across from Sweetie Belle. “Did you finish the chapter?”

“Uh...” The filly looked down guiltily.

The purple unicorn gave her a gentle smile. “Don’t worry. Now, do you remember the spell we’ve been working on?”

The filly nodded. She had been right. Practice time. “Yes... Pres... pres - ti - digi - tation?”

Twilight chuckled. “It’s a long name, I know. Prestidigitation.” She looked to the younger unicorn expectantly.

“Presti-digitation,” the filly repeated, earning a slight nod that was Twilight’s way of wordlessly coaxing her on. “It’s... a very simple spell... I mean, an ele-men-tary spell... that has limited effects,” Sweetie repeated from what she could remember of Twilight’s rather exhaustive lecture. “It doesn’t do much, but it allows the unicorn casting it to create ghostly sounds, move small objects, paint things temporarily...” she trailed off, struggling to remember more.

“And,” the purple unicorn said, “it also allows for a bit of temperature manipulation.”

Sweetie Belle blinked. “Temporal what now?”

“Temperature manipulation,” Twilight repeated, she looked at Sweeties slightly blank expression and sighed. “In other words, you can cool things down a bit with it, or warm them up.”

“Oooh... I get it!” Sweetie Belle grinned.

“Good, because you are going to use that to cool down your tea a bit so you can drink it.”

Sweetie Belle looked a bit dubious, but nevertheless turned her attention to the cup. Wisps of steam emanated from her tea, a silent statement of how hot it still was. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the cup, feeling her magic circulate through her body until it concentrated on her horn.

However, her mind was clearly not on the task at hand as she noticed when she opened her eyes and found that her tea was now boiling hot. She watched the bubbles despondently until her mentor slowly cooled it down.

Twilight sighed and looked out the window. “It's okay, Sweetie,” she said after a moment, trying to maintain her cheery attitude, “I know you would rather be doing something else than sitting here with me reading these dusty old books.”

The younger unicorn almost flinched at the badly disguised undertone of sadness in Twilight's voice. “It's not that, Twilight, I promise!”

The purple unicorn glanced at her.

"It's just that... I mean, you're a great teacher and I enjoy learning with you... but... well, I miss Scootaloo and Apple Bloom."

Twilight nodded. “I know,” she said, sipping a bit of her tea, “But they're also taking lessons, Sweetie. Applejack took Apple Bloom to Appleloosa to learn about their apple farming techniques, and from there she's taking her all over, from Manehattan to Hoofington, to visit family. It's...” Twilight shrugged. “A family tradition.”

The filly nodded. “I know... and Scootaloo is being coached by Rainbow Dash for the freestyle competition...” She sighed. “Last summer it was easier...”

Twilight smiled. “Well, it's a sign that you're growing up,” she said simply, “We all need to learn more to be able to be productive ponies of Equestria. I'm still studying under the Princess.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Yeah...”

“And I sent her a message just this morning about taking you as an apprentice,” Twilight stated proudly.

“You told the Princess I’m your apprentice?!” The filly smiled broadly. “Yay! That means I’m officially your student!” She blinked, smile fading away. “But... we've been studying together for a week now. Why did you only just tell her today?”

Twilight blushed and looked away. “Honestly? I thought you would walk away after the second day,” she confessed after a short silence, “I thought that... that you would get tired of my lessons, or find them boring, or that I would talk too much and you would get annoyed and skip meeting me and go play...”

Sweetie Belle smiled carefully and decided not to confess she would have done any of those things instead of coming over were it not for her sister making her Pinkie Swear she would attend each class while she was off in Fillydelphia- or else.

Regardless of her silence, it must have shown in her face, because Twilight's proud smile slowly faded away until it was completely gone. The purple unicorn's shoulders sagged a bit and she looked at the softly steaming cup of tea held in her magic grasp for a few seconds. She stirred the tea morosely. “Oh.”

Sweetie Belle gulped. “I'm sorry, Twilight...” she said after a moment, “I really do want to go out and play...” She cringed when she saw the unicorn's shoulders sag a bit more. “But... I- I am enjoying studying with you,” she said a bit reluctantly. She knew it wasn’t fair to make Twilight feel bad. The studious unicorn was only trying to help her.

Twilight dared a small smile. “I sometimes forget that not everypony loves studying as much as I do.” She chuckled. “And Cheerilee keeps reminding me that taking a break is a good idea.” She smiled as she looked up at the surprised filly. “I'm glad you told me the truth... and that you like my classes, Sweetie. Why don't we close the tomes, finish our tea and I'll treat you to some ice cream?”

The younger unicorn's eyes lit up. “Really?”

Twilight smiled. “Why, yes! You've been very good, Sweetie, you've been studying for 5 hours straight!”

The filly blinked. Had it really been that long?

Maybe... maybe I’m enjoying this more than I thought...

It wasn't long before the two unicorns were ready to go.

“Spike! We're going out for a bit; could you watch the library for me, my number one assistant?”

“Sure thing, Twilight!” the dragon called back from the upper level, where he was shelving books.

“Good.” The purple unicorn smiled. “Ready, Sweetie?”

“Ready!”

o.0.o

The sky was starting to darken by the time that Twilight and Sweetie Belle decided that they had taken enough of a break.

“Twilight?”

“Yes, Sweetie?”

The pair was laying down on the grass, listening to Lyra strum her lyre nearby in the dying light of the afternoon.

“I'm sorry I made you feel I didn't like your lessons.”

They had finished their ice cream, which had been a momentous occasion since Sweetie Belle had managed to hold it with her magic from beginning to end... something she had never done before.

The purple unicorn smiled and nuzzled the crusader. “It's okay, Sweetie. I could see that you were studying hard. And today you managed to levitate your Ice-cream from the moment we bought it until you finished it! I don't think yesterday you could’ve done it! That’s a huge leap!”

Sweetie Belle smiled, pleased with the praise she was receiving. The pair stood up and strolled through the park on their way to the Library.

“I think I know what to teach you tomorrow,” Twilight mused on the way.

“Really?”

“Yes. It's a bit more complicated but... I can start teaching you the basis for the spell.”

“What is it?”

Twilight smiled. “Well, given how you and the other crusaders get into so much trouble... how does a shield spell sound?”

The little filly's eyes widened. “You really think I can do it?!”

“Only one way to find out!”

o.0.o

As they approached the town proper and were just a few blocks away from the Library, they heard several shouts. Turning to look at the source of the commotion, both unicorns stepped back as two very angry-looking wolves in chains and metal muzzles pulled a wagon into the plaza.

Sweetie Belle blinked in confusion, but Twilight immediately groaned. “Oh, Celestia, why her?”

“Who?” the filly asked, confused.

“Watch in awe!” a voice demanded as the wagon stopped in the middle of the plaza. Blue smoke rolled over the ground and into the air as fireworks lit up the sky, drawing everypony to gather around the wagon as it unfolded into a stage, but still keeping a healthy distance from the wolves. An explosion in the stage made them look up as a mare in a cape and magician’s hat reared on her hind legs and addressed the crowd. “As the Grrreat and Powerful Trixie performs the most amazing feats of magic and ingenuity!”

“Oooh!” Sweetie Belle clapped her hooves together excitedly. “A showpony! Let's go watch!”

Twilight shook her head and sighed as she followed the excited Sweetie Belle into the crowd.

In an instant, Trixie's eyes had found the purple unicorn. “I see,” she said with scorn, “Twilight Sparkle is here again, to challenge Trixie!”

Twilight groaned and glared at the showmare. “Trixie, I don't care about challenging you. You said you were here to perform; go ahead, I won’t interrupt you.”

The blue unicorn laughed. “Trixie sees that you have learned your rightful place.” She looked down at the crowd. “Very well, if you are not here to interrupt, The Great and Powerful Trixie shall amaze you all!”

With a wave of her hoof, the two snarling wolves were levitated to stand on the stage on either side of her. “Since her departure from this town over a year ago, The Great and Powerful Trixie has undertaken a glorious quest. A quest of legendary proportions. She has toured the great marvels of not only Equestria, but of the world beyond its borders. And... recently, the most magnificent Trixie captured not one, but two of the most feared and infamous creatures in all Equestria!”

“Wow!” Sweetie said, “That’s amazing!”

“...” Twilight seemed to be about to say something, her eyes were fixed on the wolves, brow wrinkled in concentration. “Those wolves...”

“Behold!” Trixie shouted, pointing with one hoof at the wolf on her left, “Romulus!”

Twilight's eyes became pinpricks.

Trixie's other hoof slowly swept to point at the wolf on her right. “And Remus!”

“Amazing!” Sweetie Belle jumped up and down amongst the gasps of awe and amazement escaping the multitude of ponies around them.

“TRIXIE!”

Everypony stopped to look at Twilight.

The showmare growled. “What is it, Twilight Sparkle? The Great and Powerful Trixie has a show to perform, if you don’t recall.”

“Are you insane?! You caught Romulus and Remus and chained them in iron?!” Twilight's eye twitched.

Trixie snorted. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is not a moron! Nor is she an incompetent fool. She did not use simple iron.”

Twilight sighed and a trembling smile crept into her face. “Of- Of course, Trixie. I'm sorry, I forget you have traveled all over Equestria...”

Trixie smiled and nodded. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has!”

“... so you know a lot of the legends and myths of the world...”

“Yes, yes Trixie knows many legends,” the showmare said.

“... so you would have of course used at least silver thread along magically engraved and enhanced iron shackles with the appropriate runes etched in silver or even platinum...”

“The Great... what?” Trixie had begun to nod again, but stopped as her mind worked out what Twilight was saying.

“And...” Celestia's apprentice sat down, relieved. “You would have accounted for the fact that tonight is a full moon, so you would have included a moon-energy absorption spell.”

“Trixie... wait...” The blue unicorn was starting to get nervous as the oblivious purple unicorn continued.

Sweetie Belle was starting to get a bad feeling as her mentor kept talking, Trixie kept stammering and ponies all around them started shuffling away from the stage. “Um... Twi?”

“I'm really sorry, Trixie, I don't know why I would have doubted that a professional showmare would know to take the appropriate precautions when dealing with legendary were-creatures.”

The crowd looked expectantly at Trixie, who took two steps back. “Were... creatures?” she managed to ask weakly.

“Why yes,” the purple unicorn, still oblivious to the growing panic, carried on, “Like, were-weasels, were-chickens, and other variations of the lycanthropic effect...” Sweetie Belle gulped when she saw Twilight Sparkle's expression change to one of horror as Trixie’s cringing finally dawned on her. “You... didn't know?!” the purple unicorn gaped.

A hush fell over the crowd as Twilight looked to the horizon in horror as the sun finally set and the moon began its ascension, the celestial orb casting its silvery light over the town of Ponyville.

The growling of the wolves stopped. Sweetie Belle turned to look at them, a chill running down her spine. They were... growing. The wolves had already been large -about the size of Big Mac- and while they had looked feral and dangerous, the chains and muzzles on them had given the citizens of Ponyville a sense of safety.

But now, as the wolves grew, their chains snapped one after another with an almost musical cadence and the illusion of safety was shattered. Their forelegs bulged along with their paws, which extended into clawed hands, the fur on their shoulders and back became darker and thicker. They stood on their hind legs which also became solid masses of muscle, easily keeping their bodies upright. Their lips curled back in a snarling smile, yellow fangs almost seeming to glow in contrast with their black coats. The iron muzzles burst as their heads grew and now the werewolves were easily three times the size of Big Macintosh... and apparently hungry.

Sweetie Belle screamed, the sound snapping the paralyzed ponies into action as everypony ran for their lives. In front of them, the two werewolves turned their attention to Trixie with malevolent smiles on their faces.

The showmare took a look at them and immediately her horn blazed into life. Chains magically wrapped themselves around the two creatures as Trixie took a step back, her eyes narrowing in concentration.

For a moment, Sweetie held hope that it would be enough to stop them, but Trixie’s next actions burst that small bubble of hope.

“Catch!” the showmare shouted, her magic levitating both creatures into the air as they started breaking the chains with little effort and threw them into the crowd, straight towards Twilight and Sweetie Belle.

Twilight’s magic flared in response to the threat. For a moment, she caught both creatures in the air, but their continuous struggle made it really difficult for her to keep them in place.

Trixie immediately cast another illusion spell, creating blue mist around her and her wagon. When it dissipated, they were gone.

As the ponies around them ran about in a crazed frenzy, the younger unicorn pressed close to her mentor. “Twilight? What do we do?”

“Just stay close, Sweetie...” Twilight ordered through clenched teeth. unexpectedly, one of the panicking ponies crashed into the purple unicorn, and sent her sprawling to the ground, disrupting her concentration.

The were-creatures landed right in front of them. Sweetie screamed and jumped back as a clawed hand tore the ground where she had been seconds ago.

“Sweetie! Run!” Twilight shouted, jumping between her and the werewolves, horn glowing bright, but a backhanded swipe to the face knocked her to the ground. The young unicorn ran, her eyes wide in panic as she searched quickly for a place to hide. Behind her she heard the werewolves howl and the excited yips of a predator on the hunt drawing closer. She ran around the corner of a building, and dove behind several trash cans, hoping that the smell of rotting food would throw the wolf off her trail as she cowered in fear.

She couldn’t see it, but she could still hear the creature as it slowed down and growled. The pads on its feet silenced its steps, but the creature’s deep, rumbling breaths threatened to make her scream and reveal her location as it slowly approached her hiding place.

Sweetie Belle cringed as she searched her mind for any possible way out of this situation. There was no Twilight right next to her, or even Fluttershy to use her Stare and scare the monster away, her sister would have at least been able to use her magic to fight it off.

It was getting closer now. From between the trash cans, the filly could see other stacks of boxes and trash in the small alley. She was in between Sugar Cube Corner and Ponyville’s four-star restaurant, The Clover, so there was a lot of trash around. An idea began to form in her mind, as she remembered Twilight’s earlier lesson.

Hoping that the trashcans around her disguised her and her horn's light well enough from the werewolf, Sweetie concentrated on conjuring up the simplest spell she knew.

Something shifted in a trash pile further up the alley from where she was hiding, clattering to the ground. The sniffing stopped and the world was silent but for the distant shouts outside the alley. She could hear the creature’s breathing, it was calmer now. She could almost sense it looking intently at the pile on the other end of the alley.

Fighting to keep quiet and afraid to even breathe, she tried again. But this time, she varied the spell.

From the pile of trash a came a soft, whimpering noise. With a scratch of claws scraping the ground, the werewolf bounded forward to land, with a howl, on top of the pile. Its claws tore into the bags, ripping through wood and bags full of trash as they sought their prey.

Sweetie Belle carefully slid out from behind the trashcans, and, without taking her eyes of the werewolf, slowly backed out of the alley. Her heart was beating wildly inside her chest, and she feared that it would give her away to the wolf.

As she stepped back as slowly and silently as she possibly could, she backed into a trash can. The metal lid slid off, scraping its way to the edge of the trashcan before it clanged onto the ground beside her.

The werewolf whipped its head around, eyes ablaze with anger at having been tricked. Sweetie Belle turned and galloped away, desperately trying to find help or another place to hide. But despite her best efforts there was no-where to hide, and being in the middle of the plaza, she could only weave through discarded carts and spilled goods in trying to put off her seemingly inevitable fate.

A paw came down hard on her, knocking the filly off her hooves. The world spun crazily around her and she found herself on her back, gasping for breath as the wolf’s muzzle hovered over her face. There was a vicious gleam in his eyes and Sweetie Belle knew this was it.

“I...” she gasped and closed her eyes tightly. Goodbye sis...

There was a shout and suddenly the weight of the werewolf was gone. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes to see Big Macintosh standing protectively over her, glaring at the werewolf now sprawled out on its side. Slowly, the beast stood up, growling fiercely at the draft pony.

“Good job, Big Mac!” Twilight shouted as she slammed the growling werewolf with his packmate, sending both to the ground in a dazed heap. The purple unicorn galloped to their side and took a quick look at her apprentice. “Are you okay, Sweetie?!”

The filly was barely able to nod, her body was shaking so much.

Twilight trained a fierce look on the werewolves. “Nopony, no creature, no monster threatens my student!” she growled, as her magic enveloped her body.

A blast of magic shot into the air and storm clouds formed high above them, slowly obscuring the moon. The werewolves howled in anger as gleaming chains broke through the windows of a nearby forge, wrapping tightly around them, reinforced by magic. The ends of the chains then buried themselves into the floor of the plaza, pinning them to the ground.

Metal bars followed, slamming down one after the other around the were-creatures, until they were completely surrounded. A large piece of metal landed roughly atop the makeshift cage, sealing them inside.

“Big Mac! Did you get it?!” Twilight shouted, her magic pulsating as she struggled restrain the creatures, chains and all.

“Eeyup!” The stallion quickly moved to the side and brought a cart filled with silver: plates, cutlery and even a vase or two. “This enough, Twilight?”

The purple unicorn’s answer was to levitate the entirety of the carts contents and, in an amazing feat of magical strength, crunch them around the bars and metal top of the cage. It was crude, but soon the bars all had silver cutlery covering them. With another pulse of magic, two more long chains crossed on top of the metal slab that was keeping the wolves inside and buried themselves on the floor of the plaza.

Twilight then released her magic and collapsed, exhausted, right next to a now completely in awe Sweetie Belle.

The wolves broke the first set of chains now that there was no magic to reinforce them, but each time one of the creatures lept at the bars, they would howl in pain and growl. The cage was makeshift, but they would be contained.

"Twilight, that was incredible!" Sweetie gushed, grinning ear to ear at the collapsed unicorn.

"I'm just glad you're okay, Sweetie," Twilight whispered, chest heaving from exertion but smiling. She nuzzled the younger unicorn as other ponies began to venture back into the plaza.

o.0.o

“That Trixie should be arrested!” a pony shouted as a contingent of unicorns from Canterlot slowly transferred the wolves into a more secure cage the next day.

To say the citizens of Ponyville were not happy with the showmare would be a gross understatement. They were livid. Furious even. Although the Ursa Minor had ravaged the town, destroying many buildings, it was the fact that one so young had nearly died that enflamed the hearts of Ponyville's citizens.

Buildings they could replace. Sweetie Belle, nopony could.

“Find her and throw her into a dungeon!” Aloe added, the spa pony stomping a hoof, her eyes ablaze with righteous anger.

“Strip her of her magic!” a pegasus shouted, more than one unicorn wincing at the suggestion, although none of them looked inclined to disagree with the punishment.

Twilight and Sweetie Belle stood side by side, silently watching the proceedings as the crowds began to shout more an more for the showmare’s head... or at least her arrest. The Canterlot unicorns were hard pressed to keep a professional look as the town almost rioted right then and there.

“Twilight?” The young filly looked up at the purple unicorn.

“Yes, Sweetie?”

“I really want to learn magic,” the crusader said, looking at the snarling wolves. “I never want to be so scared again.”

Twilight smiled and nuzzled the younger unicorn. “I’ll do my best.”

o.0.o

“Morning, Sweetie,” Twilight said brightly as the filly made her way down the stairs of the library.

The white unicorn yawned and waved a hoof. “Morning, Twi. Morning, Spike.” It had been a week since the incident with the werewolves, and she was still having trouble sleeping.

“Hi, Sweetie!” Spike’s head poked out of the kitchen. “Guess what I made? Pancakes!”

The filly smiled as she made her way to the table, where she joined Twilight. “What’s the plan for today, Twi?”

“I should be receiving a few things from Canterlot,” the purple unicorn said, “I requested some books and devices to help your training along with some items for my own studies.”

The little unicorn sighed as she looked at the gorgeous day outside. I know I asked her to teach me as much as she could but... we haven’t have a break in days!

Twilight caught the filly looking outside and smiled gently. “But don’t worry too much about it, Sweetie. Why don’t you take a break? I have to unpack a lot of sensitive equipment and it’s a lovely day outside! You could visit Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy while I do that.”

“Really!?” The white unicorn bounced up and down. “Yay!” she hugged Twilight. “You’re the best, Twilight!”

The purple unicorn chuckled and wondered if this was how Celestia felt when she became excited. “You deserve it Sweetie, but breakfast first, and you have to feed Opalescence before anything else, okay?”

“Okay!”

It was late afternoon when Sweetie Belle came back. She had kept her promise and fed Opalescence, and had spent most of the morning walking around town or cleaning up the Cutie Mark Crusaders HQ.

“Twilight!” she called as she walked into the library. “I’m back!” There was no answer. “Twilight? Are you home?”

She walked towards the kitchen until she heard a noise. Walking towards it, she found the door to the basement slightly ajar. Inside, she could see a veritable kaleidoscope of shifting colors inside casting strange shadows on the wall.

“Are you down there, Twilight?” she called. There was no reply, but for a moment she thought she heard her mentor’s voice downstairs.

Opening the door and carefully making her way downstairs, she was able to hear more clearly.

“Okay, Spike, you have to do three turns only!”

“Gotcha, Twi!” There was cranking sound. "Gosh, this thing is labor intensive!" Spike added, sounding somewhat grumpy.

“I know, but I want to finish this before Sweetie comes back.”

Sweetie stopped.

“Why?” Spike asked, unknowingly echoing the filly’s thoughts, “Do you think she’d get in the way or something?”

Is that how she thinks of me? Sweetie Belle thought, tearing up a bit, Even after all that effort...

“Don’t be silly, Spike,” Twilight replied, still out of sight, “Sweetie is a really smart filly; I’m sure if she were around to help we would be fine.”

“Then why...”

“It’s because I want to concentrate on her studies Spike,” Twilight confessed, “She has a lot to learn and magic like this might confuse her. She needs to learn the basics first and she is very curious, so I know she would try and understand this...” The purple unicorn sighed. “It’s like my old professor used to say: You have to build a solid foundation.”

“What is this, anyway?”

Sweetie Belle finally reached the end of the steps and looked into the lab. In the middle of the basement was a huge crystal orb floating over some sort of machine. Spike was patiently watching and switching some levers while every few moments Twilight would cast a spell into it."

“Well, Spike, this sphere allows me to cast spells that affect time and space itself; it is an ancient artifact that I am making the subject of my thesis,” Twilight explained, as she cast another spell into it, “Princess Celestia was very generous to let me use it.”

“You already have a thesis planned?” Spike asked, impressed, “That’s amazing Twilight!”

“Well... I... okay, I really just wanted to study it, I haven’t really thought much about the paper itself...”

Spike chuckled. “Well, you at least know what you’re trying to do right now?”

Twilight shot the dragon a dirty look. “Of course I know, Spike!”

“Right.” The dragon rolled his eyes, clearly not convinced as her glanced to the stairs and spotted the filly. “Hey, Sweetie Belle!”

Twilight stopped and looked over her shoulder with a small smile. “Hi, Sweetie! Don’t be shy, come in, I’m just about finished.”

The filly stepped carefully into the room, doing her best to avoid touching the machines or getting too close to the crystal orb.

“Um, hi Twilight,” she said once she was safely in one of the corners of the room, “So, is this what Princess Celestia sent you?”

“That’s right!” Twilight smiled. “But that’s not the only thing!” She pointed at a nearby table with a lot of other devices on it. “Those are for you to practice! Go on, take a look!”

“I think I’ll stay here until you finish, if you’re almost done,” Sweetie Belle said.

Twilight smiled at her and nodded.

The filly watched the purple unicorn for a moment, but other than concentrating magic while Spike adjusted knobs and wrote down numbers, Twilight didn’t seem to be doing much.

Sweetie Belle sighed. I should have just gone to the table. She glanced at it, trying to make out the different objects on top of it. There was a strange cube and several smaller ball-like items lying there, just outside her sight.

Sweetie Belle stole a glance at Twilight and then at Spike. Both seemed completely fixated on their project, Twilight had even closed her eyes in concentration. Biting her lower lip, she looked back at the table. I wish this thing didn’t take up most of the space in the basement! her eyes followed the contours of cables and machine. I think if I levitate them, they won’t touch the machine and they should just float past the orb... she smiled to herself. Okay... here we go, just like in practice...

Her horn started glowing with a soft white aura and slowly several objects started to float. Sweetie Belle’s eyes narrowed as she commanded her magic to bring them to her. Twilight will be so proud of me!

The young unicorn’s magic carried the objects past the table and over the machines. It was when they were passing the Crystal Orb that things went wrong.

Twilight’s eyes snapped open as she tried to cut her spell short, but she couldn’t! She looked in horror as the white magic aura around the magical items was suddenly sucked into the crystal. The magic items floated there as their magic was forcefully stripped from them.

“S-Spike!” Twilight shouted, “Go to the other room and cut the energy source!”

Spike turned around at her shout and his eyes widened in horror as he saw the items starting to shake and smoke started to pour out of them.

“I’m going!” he shouted as he hopped over the machines and ran into another room. There was a short pause and then... “I can’t! I turned it off an' on, but it won't stop!”

Sweetie Belle for her part couldn’t concentrate much on what was happening. She looked around as things seemed to slow down. She saw Twilight turn to look at her with a horror. The purple unicorn was shouting something, but she couldn’t hear her.

It was then that one of the small ball-like items exploded. To Sweetie’s eyes it seemed as if it broke into pieces with fire slowly making its way out, only for it to very slowly spiral into the crystal, which started to turn orange.

The next one followed the same fate, only slower if possible. She saw, with a horrifying slowness, how the magic exploded into Twilight Sparkle. The purple unicorn was completely engulfed in magical flames, but her worried eyes never wavered from Sweetie Belle.

There was a bright flash of light and when she could see again, she only saw a crystal figure of a unicorn where her mentor used to stand. Another item exploded, got syphoned into the crystal sphere and then it was her that was covered in magic.

As the world bent and shifted around her, she saw, in a dreadful moment of clarity, Twilight shatter into pieces that were caught in the magical maelstrom. They floated in the air and flashing out of sight before Sweetie could even lift a hoof in protest.

The world shook around her. The sphere cracked. Suddenly everything was moving much faster and there was an earsplitting cry as Sweetie Belle screamed.

o.0.o

“AAAAaaah!” She jerked violently violently, finding herself struggling against something warm and stifling before she rolled to the side and fell. “Oof!”

Sweetie Belle shook her head and groaned. “Uhh... wh-what?” She detangled herself from the comforter and looked around, blinking.

She was in her room. She shook her head. What am I doing here?

Her eyes snapped wide open.

The crystal orb.

The magical items.

The explosion.

“Twilight!”

In a panic, she slammed the door open with her magic and quickly ran down the stairs.

“Sweetie Belle!” A voice called just as she was about to open the door and run out.

“Huh?!” The filly unicorn did a double take. “Sis?! When did you get back- Wait... if you’re here... how long have I been out?”

Rarity looked at her younger sister with a bit of trepidation. “I... believe you went to sleep early last night, Sweetie.”

“I... I did?” Sweetie Belle sat down. “Wow. I must have been really tired... and that dream!”

“What dream?”

“I dreamt that Twilight had a horrible accident and... and...”

“It’s okay, Sweetie,” Rarity said, comforting the smaller unicorn, "Twilight is fine, I promise. I just saw her last night before-”

“Wait!” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “What time is it?!”

“About 8:30... why?”

“Oh no! I’m late!” Sweetie panicked.

“For what? It’s your vacation.”

“But I’ve been studying really hard with Twilight, I can’t miss a class! I’m getting really good!”

“You... you have?” Rarity blinked. “Good at what?”

Sweetie Belle’s horn glowed for a second as her saddle-bags floated up to her and settled on her back.

Rarity’s mouth fell open.

“Anyway, I can’t stay! Sorry, sis, I've got a shield spell to learn!" the filly shouted in excitement as she ran out the door and closed it behind her.

Rarity stared at the door for a second before clamping her mouth shut with an audible snap.

o.0.o

“I’m late, I’m late!” Sweetie Belle groaned as she galloped towards the library. She thought she heard somepony shouting her name, but she ignored them as she reached the Library.

Surprisingly the door was locked. Sweetie Belle frowned. “Oh, she must still be working with those items Princess Celestia sent her!” she said, brightening. “But as her apprentice, I know the spell to open it!”

A few seconds later, she had closed and locked the door behind her. The library was quiet as usual, save for the sound of somepony humming to herself from the bathroom.

Sweetie Belle walked towards the bathroom door, but stopped when she heard whoever was behind it approaching.

The door swung open, and Sweetie Belle smiled.

“Sorry about being late... Twi... ligh...” She blinked.

Staring down at her, toothbrush frozen mid-stroke, wrapped in Twilight’s favorite towel, bubbles of toothpaste all around her mouth and eyes wide in surprise, Trixie stood, gaping at the filly.

o.0.o End Prologue o.0.o

Of Mares and Magic

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments

By Wanderer D

Editors & Proof-readers: Trevor, littlerobotbird, GanonFLCL, Cardslafter, Fifth Alicorn

o.0.0.o

Applejack looked down at Apple Bloom as the young filly walked up to her, head down and frowning in disappointment only to sit down next to the apple cart. “What happened, sugarcube? Ah thought you’d seen Sweetie Belle?”

“Ah did!” the filly said, looking up at her sister, “But she didn’t hear me callin’! She ran straight into the library.”

The orange-maned mare nodded at a unicorn as he left a few bits and levitated an apple, trotting away happily. The apple farmer then turned to look at her younger sister. “Into the library?” she asked with a small frown, “She shouldn’t be able to. Should be closed at this time in the morning.”

“Ah, know! And when Ah got to the door, it was locked!”

“Now, that’s odd.” Applejack pushed her hat back, bewildered. “As far as Ah know, only two unicorns know the spell to open it without a key.”

The Library door suddenly slammed open and a towel-wrapped, still-wet-from-the-shower Trixie rolled out of the building, followed by her toothbrush.

Applejack and Apple Bloom stared as a piece of rope enveloped in a white magic aura floated out of the library and began to wrap itself around Trixie’s hooves.

“Stay still!” Sweetie Belle whined, her horn aglow, “I can’t tie you up if you keep squirming!”

“But I don’t want you to tie me up, Sweetie!” Trixie shouted, eyes wide in shock at the sudden attack.

“Hey! What in tarnation are you doin’?!” Applejack asked as she and Apple Bloom galloped up to the pair.

“I caught Trixie in Twilight’s Library!” Sweetie informed them as she concentrated, trying to loop the rope around the azure unicorn, while Trixie fended her off, slowly getting up..

“And?” the elder of the two sisters asked.

“Call the guards! I almost have her!”

Trixie had gotten up to her hooves and, once her heart had stopped pounding from the sudden attack from the formerly gentle and unable-to-perform-magic filly unicorn, began carefully batting away the rope with short, concentrated bursts of magic.

“Hey! Quit it!” Sweetie groaned.

The showmare leveled a look at her. “No.”

Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth. Her brow furrowed and her horn flashed.

Trixie kept a wary eye on the surprising filly. “What was that?”

“None of your business.”

“Now, look here, Sweetie...” Trixie said as she began taking a step towards the little unicorn, but just as she planted her hoof down, it slid on a suddenly very slippery surface sending the showmare to the ground, accompanied by a painful-sounding “Oof!”

“Ha! Never underestimate Twilight’s prized apprentice!”

Trixie growled and stood up, careful to avoid the slippery area around her. “Okay, Sweetie, you asked for it!” Her horn flashed and the rope was torn from the filly’s grip. Before she could blink, the unicorn filly was upside down and hogtied.

“Hey, lemme go!” Sweetie Belle shouted, struggling against her bonds. She thrashed from side to side, horn glowing as she tried to use her magic to break the rope, but it held.

“Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom asked, walking towards her friend carefully, “Why’re you attacking Trixie? And... when’d you learn magic?”

The young unicorn blinked. “Apple Bloom? You’re back!” She smiled in relief. “Quick! Untie me! Maybe we can get a Wanted Felon-Catcher Cutie Mark!”

Applejack and Trixie shared worried looks.

“Sweetie Belle?” Applejack ventured, stepping closer to the tied unicorn, “What you mean by Wanted Felon-Catcher Cutie Marks? There any dangerous sorts around?”

“Oh, I hope not!” Rarity broke in, having overheard Applejack as she approached the group, “The last thing Ponyville needs is ponies of dubious nature!” She stopped and looked down at her sister. “Sweetie, why are you tied up?”

“Trixie tied me up!”

Rarity followed Sweetie’s glare to the showmare who shrugged and released the spell holding the rope. “Well, I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t attacked me!” She glared at Sweetie Belle.

“What did you do with Twilight?!” the young unicorn asked angrily as she shook free of the rope.

“Yes, dear, whatever happened to Twilight?” Rarity asked, “Your challenge ended last night. I thought she would be around for the aftermath so we might avoid certain... unpleasantries.”

Trixie winced. “So anypony can challenge me today?” She sighed. “Twilight left to meet with Princess Celestia last night...”

“Ha! A likely story!” Sweetie Belle bellowed as she jumped to her feet.

Trixie ignored her. “And I haven’t heard from her since. She might write later today, I think. I checked on Spike and there were no messages next to his bed.”

“Ah’ve seen a few new unicorns around town today, sugarcube,” Applejack added, “Ah don’t think you have much time before the first challenger comes up and...”

Sweetie Belle had grown more and more frustrated as she was ignored by the older group. “Wait!” she shouted, drawing their attention.

“Sweetie! What have I told you about screaming like that?” Rarity scolded.

“Sorry!” Sweetie looked down. But her eyes went back to Trixie, a frown set on her face. “So, any pony can challenge you?”

Trixie smiled, glad that Sweetie Belle seemed to have calmed down. “Any unicorn capable of performing magic who feels his or her magic is strong enough to earn them the title of ‘Great and Powerful’, yes.”

The filly smiled. “Then I challenge you! What’s it gonna be? Checkers? A race?”

The group of mares looked at her, wide-eyed. Then Trixie frowned and graced the filly with a calculating look. “That’s... possible...”

“What? No.” Rarity shook her head. “You can’t challenge Trixie, Sweetie. Not only are you too young, but you hardly know any magic!”

“I know lots of magic!” Sweetie argued, “I’m Twilight’s student!”

The group exchanged confused looks.

“Uh, Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom smiled, a bit unsure, “Don’t you mean Cheerilee’s student?”

“Nope! Twilight made me her apprentice!” Sweetie declared proudly, “You’d know, but you went...” She blinked. “Wait, when did you come back from Appleloosa?”

“Appleloosa?” The earth pony filly shot Sweetie a confused look. “I didn’t go nowhere! We played together yesterday and the day before! Remember? Scootaloo tried doing her double-spin ultra-deluxe upside down back-flip to impress Rainbow Dash.”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes were wide. “Did she do it?!”

“Not exactly...” Apple Bloom looked a bit worried. “She lost control on the second spin and ended up dragging the cage-full of weasels and chickens with her onto the catapult... you really don’t remember?”

Sweetie shook her head.

“... the cake?”

Another shake.

“Hogtyin’ that manticore? Blowin’ up that haystack? ... Setting fire to the edge of the Everfree?”

Sweetie stared slack-jawed at Apple Bloom. “You did all that while I was studying? Aww... stupid theory of reverse flow.”

“So...” Applejack’s voice was hard. “If Ah’m hearing this right, y’all responsible fer all that chaos yesterday?”

Apple Bloom looked panicked. “Ah... Ah, uh...”

“No,” the filly unicorn stated simply, seemingly oblivious of her friend's panic, “I was studying with Twilight.”

“No, you wasn’t!” Apple Bloom turned to look at her. “Y’all was there with me and Scootaloo!”

“I was studying!”

“Was not!”

“Was to!”

Was not!”

“Enough!” Rarity was also glaring down at the pair. They both stopped and looked at her. “Sweetie, you are in enough trouble as it is. Don’t lie to cover it up.”

The filly’s eyes were brimming with tears. “But sis! You know I’m Twilight’s student! I even Pinkie Swore to do study! If she was here she would tell you I was studying with her!”

“Sweetie...” Rarity almost growled. “I don’t know anything about Twilight taking you on as her apprentice. And you have never cared about magic enough to spend time studying rather than playing.”

Sweetie’s lip trembled. She looked at Apple Bloom, but the other filly wouldn’t even look at her for not admitting to have been playing with them.

“Now, hold on, everypony,” Trixie said, “Sweetie Belle seems to know quite a bit more magic than I would have expected, and she was rather skilled when she attacked me...”

Rarity glared at her sister.

“I thought she did something to Twilight!” Sweetie Belle replied.

“... anyway.” Trixie shot an odd look at the unicorn filly. “Her style certainly had some elements of Twilight’s influence...” She frowned, tapping a hoof thoughtfully on the ground before turning to the little unicorn. “Sweetie Belle, what are the three basic laws of elemental magic?”

“Correspondence, Control and Constitution,” the filly responded immediately.

Rarity blinked, her glare replaced by a look of awe.

“Aleister’s correction to the statute of limitations proposed that the primordial approach for understanding transmutation was flawed because...”

“... Prestidigitation itself allowed for too many changes with a single spell formula,” Sweetie Belle replied from memory, “Whew, you have no idea how many times Twilight made me repeat that!”

“I can imagine.” Trixie smiled, then turned to look at the others. “I think Sweetie is telling the truth, somehow Twilight has been teaching her behind our backs, unless she somehow managed to sneak into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” She frowned. “I don’t understand why she would do that, but...”

“Wait... you sayin’ that Apple Bloom’s lyin’?” Applejack looked to her sister in confusion and hurt. Honesty was a very important part of their upbringing. Come what may, lying was something the Apple Family could never condone.

“S-Sweetie...” Apple Bloom pleaded, her great big eyes begging. “Please, Ah don’t know how you know so much about magic, but don’t make me inta a liar.”

“B-but...” The filly unicorn stepped back. “Apple Bloom... I was studying...”

“No, you wasn’t!” Apple Bloom snapped, eyes tearing up as the betrayal sank in.

“Enough, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said after a moment, her eyes hard, “Ah don’t want to hear from y’all no more.Yer gonna go right back ta the acres an’ right to yer room, Ah clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Apple Bloom walked slowly and with her head down until she passed next to the unicorn filly. The earth pony glared at her friend. “Ah hate you,” she spat.

Sweetie looked like she had taken a hoof to the face. “I’m... but I was studying! Honest!” she called after her friend, who didn’t bother looking back. “It was all about ki- kinetic forces! I was learning a shield spell for when we go crusading!” she insisted miserably, scratching the floor with her hoof in frustration.

“Don’t worry, Sweetie.” Rarity nuzzled the depressed filly. “Things will go back to normal once we figure out why she lied.”

“Now wait just an apple-pickin’ minute,” Applejack said, turning to look at Rarity, “Ah never said she were lyin’. She’s grounded for burnin’ down the edge of the Everfree Forest and causin’ such a ruckus that the weather patrol had to work right through the night. Ah swear, they could’ve ended up burnin’ down the town!”

“But, darling, you can’t possibly believe that Sweetie here is lying,” Rarity said, raising her eyebrow. “You heard her answer Trixie’s questions. I certainly didn’t teach her any of that!”

“Ah jus’ don’t think that Apple Bloom is lying, s’all.”

Rarity frowned. “So you’re saying that my sister is lying?”

“No... Ah’m not s--”

“Excuse me.” A male unicorn stepped up to Trixie, interrupting the work pony. “Are you The Great and Powerful Trixie?”

Trixie blinked. She had completely forgotten about the challenges. “Uh, yes, it is I, Trixie.” she said quickly, turning to face him.

“I am here to challenge you for the title!” the unicorn said, “My name is-”

“I shall accept your challenge on the hills just north of Ponyville, in...” Trixie interrupted, turning to look at Rarity, “Ffifteen minutes?”

The designer shrugged. “That is as good time as any, I suppose.”

The male unicorn grinned and trotted away.

The showmare turned to look at the others. “Well, I’d best prepare. This shall be a long month.” she sighed as she walked back towards the Library.

“We’ll talk later, Applejack,” Rarity said, ushering Sweetie Belle away towards her boutique.

“Yeah...” The apple farmer shook her head as she returned to her cart.

o.0.o

“Why do you look so down, Sweetie?” Rarity asked, as the pair walked towards the hills.

“Apple Bloom hates me,” the filly answered, “I’m not lying, sis! I haven’t seen them since I started learning under Twilight!”

Rarity turned to look at the hills a small frown on her face. “I don’t know what to tell you, Sweetie,” the older unicorn said.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw you three playing together just a few of days ago and...” she stopped talking and walking when she noticed that she was alone.

Turning around, she looked back to her sister, several steps behind, staring in horror.

“Sweetie?” Rarity asked, taking a step towards the filly, but stopping when her sister took a matching step away from her.

“I...”

She saw, with horrifying slowness, how the magic pierced through Twilight Sparkle, the purple unicorn was completely engulfed in magical flames, but her worried eyes never wavered away from Sweetie Belle.

“Are you okay?” Rarity tried again, seeing her sister’s horrified gaze.

As the world bent and shifted around her, she saw, in a dreadful moment of clarity, Twilight shatter into pieces that were caught in the magical maelstrom.

Sweetie gasped, almost collapsing into the grass, eyes wide and breathing ragged. She could feel her heart going a hundred miles an hour.

“I...” She shook her head, looking around.

Everything’s okay. I’m in Ponyville. The Library is fine. Trixie said that Twilight left last night...

She frowned. “...but that... that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Sweetie? What doesn’t make sense?” Rarity asked, giving her sister a concerned look.

“Sis, I have been studying with Twilight every day for the past two weeks!” Sweetie exclaimed. “How could I have been playing with them when they weren’t even here?”

“Sweetie, are you feeling okay?” Rarity asked, pressing her hoof to her sister’s forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever,” she muttered, “And Scootaloo and Apple Bloom haven’t left Ponyville in months!”

“This doesn’t make any sense!” Sweetie shook her head. She looked up at her sister. “And... why is everypony treating Trixie like she’s one of us?” the filly demanded. “She almost killed me just last week!”

Rarity stood straight. “What?!” Her eyes blazed in anger. “What did Trixie do?”

Sweetie cringed beneath her sister’s enraged glare. “She... threw two werewolves at me and Twilight...”

“What?” Rarity shook her head and her anger seemed to focus on her sister. “Sweetie. I’ve had enough of these lies. You are grounded, young lady.”

“But...”

“No ‘buts.’ I can believe that you were not involved in Apple Bloom’s and Scootaloo’s chaos, but accusing Trixie of willingly putting you and Twilight in such danger is simply preposterous! I am disappointed that you'd think I would believe such a hollow lie.”

“But... sis... I...”

“Go home,” Rarity said coldly. “We shall have to have a talk after I witness Trixie’s duel. Just because Twilight taught you a couple of things yesterday doesn’t mean that you can use that same excuse to convince me of something so ridiculous! Trixie would never hurt Twilight, especially after everything that’s happened the last couple years.”

“What happened the last couple years?”

“I said go!” Rarity snapped. “And I had better not catch you outside your room!”

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to object, but snapped it shut as she found herself facing the full force of her sister's angry glare. Lowering her head and turning around, Sweetie walked slowly towards Carousel Boutique. She could feel Rarity’s eyes on her as she trotted away down the street.

What’s going on? she thought, furious. How could everypony forget about the werewolves?
She shook her head as she passed the first few houses. Just... what’s happening here? She thought as she kept her eyes on the ground. Just yesterday I was with Twilight at the lab... how come she is fine and with the Princess if that spell exploded on her? Her eyes narrowed. And how come everypony thinks Trixie is our friend? Just like that? How come nopony remembers the werewolves?

She stopped and pawed at the ground with her hoof. “Come on, Sweetie, you know how to solve a problem; Twilight drilled it into your head!” she growled to herself.

Okay, let’s examine the facts... Sweetie’s thoughts went back to her earlier memories. I got blasted by that spell, Twilight was... She shuddered, pushing the thought to the back of her mind. Then I wake up, Applejack and Apple Bloom are suddenly back from Appleloosa, Rarity’s back from Fillydelphia and everypony thinks I’m just playing around... and even remember me doing exactly that... there can only be one conclusion!

Sweetie stomped her hoof on the ground. “I didn't kill Twilight, Trixie must have come into the library and done something!” Her eyes widened. “Trixie somehow brainwashed everypony with a spell!”

She blinked. “Wait... does that mean that... I murdered Twilight!?” she gulped as a sudden shiver ran up her spine. “No... nonono... I... no...”

A buzzing sound grabbed her attention and she looked up to see one of her best friends propelling herself towards her on top of her scooter.

“Scootaloo!” she smiled, gratefully pushing the horrible thoughts to the back of her mind as the copper-colored pegasus stopped abruptly in front of the unicorn.

“There you are!” she said angrily, jumping off of her scooter and stomping up to Sweetie Belle.

“Listen, there’s something going on-” Sweetie started to say, but she was interrupted by Scootaloo pressing her forehead and snout right up against hers.

“The hay is your problem, Sweetie?!” the pegasus asked, fuming. “I just saw Apple Bloom on her way to Sweet Apple Acres and she was crying! And guess what she told me when I asked her why! Go on, guess!”

Sweetie fell back onto the floor, eyes wide and staring at her friend.

“She told me that you lied to cover your own sorry flank and let her take all the blame for our crusading!”

“But I-”

“So what is it?” Scootaloo asked venomously, walking from side to side in front of the unicorn. “Did you just not want to get into trouble? I guess being a Crusader doesn’t mean you have to be loyal!”

Sweetie cringed. “Scootaloo, I swear I didn’t lie! I was studying with Twilight and-”

“But you were not studying!” Scootaloo shouted, drawing the attention of several passers-by. “You were with us!”

Sweetie shrank back. “But Scootaloo... you have to believe me...”

“I don’t even know why I’m bothering to talk to you, traitor,” the pegasus said. “You lied, and you hurt Apple Bloom...” She looked away. “And me.”

“Bu- but I didn’t...” Sweetie’s lower lip trembled. “Why doesn’t anypony believe me?!” She turned around and ran as fast as she could into town.

“Sweetie! Wait! We’re not done here!” Behind her, Scootaloo’s voice faded as the unicorn ran away. She went into alleys and side-streets. Ponyville wasn’t a big place, but she wanted to put as much distance between Scootaloo and herself as she could.

She slowed down and sighed, looking up to see where she was.

The Library stood proudly in front of her, the warm wooden interior and the smell of books something she found she needed now.

Funny that I would end up back here... she thought. Now I’m craving a book.

She entered the library, closing the door and locking it behind her.

“Trixie?” a voice called from the kitchen. “Is that you? Where is... oh, hey, Sweetie Belle!” Spike blinked as he walked into the main room. “What are you doing here?” He looked around suspiciously. “Are Apple Bloom and Scootaloo hiding somewhere? You aren’t trying to get a Dragon Slayer cutie mark again, are you?” Spike cringed.

Sweetie Belle couldn’t help herself and started crying at the mention of her friends. She ran up to him and hugged the little dragon close as she bawled her eyes out.

“Uh...” Spike froze for a second, the little dragon flailed about with his arms at the sudden invasion of his personal space, but eventually he managed to return the hug and pat her back, even as he looked around in a panic. “Uh... there there, Sweetie,” he said once he realized he was on his own. “Please calm down?”

The filly cried for a bit longer, but she nodded against his shoulder and slowly stepped back.

“Why don’t I make you some tea? Chamomile okay?”

Sweetie sniffed. “Would it be okay to have some of your special spicy tea, Spike?” Spike tensed. “I... know it’s usually for special occasions but... I really like it.” She smiled a little, and sniffled.

That did it. The dragon couldn’t deny her. “Okay...” he acquiesced. “But just this once!”

Sweetie nodded, still sniffling and went to look at the books as the baby dragon walked into the kitchen. Her horn flared as a tome slid out and floated to a table. Her magic opened the large book on top of the table. She skimmed through the pages until she reached the page number where she had last read the book.

“That’s weird...” she muttered, “I already read this page.” she flipped a couple of pages until she found the correct spot. “Must’ve forgotten where I was...”

She read in silence until Spike came out with her tea. Absentmindedly, she levitated the cup from the astonished dragon’s grasp and set it down carefully where it would not spill on the book. She took a pause from her reading to sip the tea, eyes closed blissfully. "Thank you, Spike... that was really nice," Sweetie said, giving the flustered dragon a quick peck on the cheek.

“Y-you’re welcome, Sweetie,” the baby dragon stammered.

She smiled and turned back to her reading, falling into the routine she had cultivated over the last two weeks, and the dragon, after raising an eyebrow at her choice of literature, let her be. He knew from experience not to interrupt an obvious bibliophile.

o.0.o

It was much later that the door to the library clicked open as the lock was released. Spike perked up as the door swung open to admit a pair of unicorn mares into the room.

“I’m really worried, Trixie!” Rarity said, her eyes reflecting her assertion. “Sweetie was not at home when I arrived! I’ve looked all over Ponyville for her! I went as far as Sweet Apple Acres and their club house but...”

“I think we’ve found her,” Trixie spoke softly, motioning with a hoof for silence. The designer blinked and followed Trixie’s gaze towards the center table of the library. Sweetie Belle was sleeping, her head resting on the pages of an enormous tome and snoring softly.

“She came here a while ago,” Spike said quietly. “She was crying... I didn’t really know what to do. I made her some tea... then she just sat there drinking it and reading that book.”

The two mares stared at the little filly as they made their way to the table. Despite how long it had been since she had arrived, Sweetie still sniffled a bit in her sleep.

“Kinetic Fields: From the Simple to the Prismatic,” Trixie read aloud. “She’s certainly trying her best to learn that shield spell. Too bad Twilight is so insistent on theory; it might benefit her to have a bit of hooves-on experience.”

“Are you saying you believe her about Twilight teach-”

“Just look at her,” Trixie interrupted. “She’s almost certainly Twilight’s apprentice. No other unicorn would force such an innocent filly to sit down and read that!”

Rarity looked at her sister, sorrow flooding into her eyes. “Oh, Sweetie...”

The younger unicorn shifted. “Just a bit more sleep, Twi... I promise I’ll do those equations later...” she mumbled as she cuddled up to the book.

Rarity blinked. “Sweetie... it’s time to go to bed.”

“Oooh... alright Twilight...” Sweetie Belle, yawning and bleary eyed, ignored the lot of them as she made her way upstairs towards the guest room.

“Sweetie, wait-” the white unicorn spoke up, raising a hoof to stop her sister, but an azure hoof on her own stopped her. She turned to look at the blue unicorn in surprise.

“Let her stay over,” Trixie said, looking at the filly as she walked into the room and shut the door behind her, “It seems that she’s rather familiar with the library.”

“A bit too familiar perhaps,” Rarity said, slightly perturbed, “She didn’t even have to open her eyes! She just knew where to go...”

“And which step to skip to avoid the creaking,” Trixie observed.

“Ju- Just how many times has she been here studying?” Rarity wondered.

“Just once... meaning today.” Spike muttered, “As far as I know.”

“Yet another mystery...” Trixie smirked. “But we should all rest. It’s been a long day. I’ll take care of Sweetie.”

Rarity hesitated, remembering the filly’s words from earlier. “Trixie... do you think something could be wrong with Sweetie? She’s not acting like herself.”

“I don’t know... yet.” the blue unicorn said, stealing a glance at Spike, “You say she’s only been here studying today?”

Spike gave her a look. “Trixie, you know as well as I do that today’s the first day she’s willingly stepped into the library by herself and studied.” he looked thoughtful for a minute. “But... I had no idea she could do magic already. Like, she levitated the teacup out of my hands! And she knew about my special blend of-”

“Special blend?” Trixie raised an eyebrow.

“Uh...” the dragon sighed. “I have a special tea that Zecora made for me a while ago. Most ponies don’t like how spicy it is, but even less know about it. Until now, I thought that only Zecora, Twilight and I knew!”

“Zebrican tea? That’s an acquired flavor. At least for ponies.” Trixie smiled, recalling her travels. “Did you know that when hoof-gathering the leaves, they actually separate the leaves by freshness? They have two versions, you see-”

“Can we talk about tea later?” Rarity interrupted, “I hate to be so short with you, I’m sure it would be an enlightening conversation under better circumstances, but I am worried about my little sister.”

Trixie smiled weakly. “Apologies. In any case, I will talk to her when she wakes up. It does seem rather strange how she believes herself to have lived the past few week so differently-” she stopped, eyes widening.

“Trixie?” the fashionista looked at her worried. “What’s happening to Sweetie Belle?”

“I...” the showmare shook her head, briefly considering not telling Rarity anything. However, she knew the white unicorn was very good at picking up on little details and would know if Trixie was lying. The showmare sighed. “I think... I might know what’s happening; it’s unlikely but...”

“What is it? Is it dangerous? Is she losing her mind?” Rarity asked, starting to panic eyes widening with each imagined horror.

“No, no...” Trixie patted the fashionista’s shoulders with her hoof. “I am uncertain if it indeed is what I’m thinking; it’s not a bad thing or particularly dangerous, and as far as I know, it only happens to rhinos.” she raised her hoof to forestall further questions. “So, I may simply be jumping to conclusions, Rarity. Let me speak with her when she wakes up and I’ll find out for sure; it is nothing bad and it is very unlikely that it is, okay?”

“So why can’t you tell me?”

“Because you would worry unnecessarily and begin looking for facts to fit into the theory rather than seeing if the theory fits the facts.”

Rarity still looked dubious, but finally nodded her assent, casting a worried glance towards the guest room. “I see... I... I suppose I can see why you would say that... please, take care of her.”

Trixie smiled warmly. “Of course, The Great and Powerful Trixie can handle a single filly. You needn’t worry at all.”

o.0.o

It was still nighttime when Sweetie Belle awoke. She rubbed her blurry eyes and looked around. She was in her- in the guest room at Twilight’s Library.

She took in a deep breath her thoughts running through her recent experiences. “I guess it was all a dream.” she shivered. “Or a nightmare, more like!” She looked out of the window. The moon wasn’t that high in the sky, so it was still relatively early... for her mentor at least. She would either be stargazing or reading in her room.

Sweetie shivered again and looked at the room for a second time. There’s... something weird going on... but what? She slid out of bed and sighed as she walked towards the door. Maybe talking to Twilight would help.

As expected, the light seeping from underneath Twilight’s bedroom indicated that the mare was awake. She could hear the soft, rumbling snores of a baby dragon coming from within the room.

Sweetie took a deep breath and knocked twice on the door before entering. “Twilight, I’m sorry to be up so late but I had... the strangest... dream?”

Lying on Twilight’s bed, comfortably reading a book as if she owned the place, was Trixie. The unicorn looked up at Sweetie and raised an eyebrow.

“Wha- the hay?!” Sweetie stepped back, eyes wide as the showmare slowly stepped down from the bed.

“Are you feeling better, Sweetie?” she asked, tilting her head to the side as she examined the little filly.

“What are you doing here?!” Sweetie Belle began fearfully before the questions began to spill forth rapidly. “What’s happening here? What’d you do with Twilight? You erased everypony’s memories so they wouldn’t know you killed her, didn’t you?!”

The showmare’s eyes widened a bit but then she smiled and chuckled. “Well, I am not called The Great and Powerful Trixie for nothing... but I dare say brainwashing everypony is still a bit outside my current abilities. Not to mention that killing Twilight is the last thing I would ever want to do.”

“But- but what are you doing here?” Sweetie asked.

“Hush,” Trixie said, pointing at the snoring dragon, “Let’s go downstairs so we don’t wake Spike.”

Barely able to contain her questions, the filly followed the older unicorn down the stairs. She watched silently as Trixie levitated a teapot onto the stove and began to brew a mix of herbs she pulled from a container that she didn’t recall ever seeing in the library before.

“Wha- what is that?” the filly asked.

“My own special Zebrican tea blend.” Trixie smiled. “What, you thought Spike had the only secret stash?”

Once tea was ready, the showmare sat down, placing both cups on the table.

“Now, Sweetie, this might come as a shock to you, but I live here with Twilight. We’ve been living together in the Library for almost a year now.”

“What? But...” the filly shook her head. “That’s can’t be right! I’ve been staying with Twilight for the last two weeks and... and the last time I saw you you almost killed me! And Twilight certainly wasn’t happy to see you!”

A flash of hurt crossed Trixie’s eyes. “Those are words I’d rather never have to hear.”

“Huh?”

“Exactly.” Trixie smiled as she slowly stirred her tea. “Tell me, Sweetie, how do you feel?”

“Confused... really, really confused...” the filly confessed, staring morosely at the cup. The inviting scents emanating from the tea were making her mouth water, but she had to wait, lest she burn her tongue and lips before recalling Twilight’s spell and cooling down the tea a bit.

“That’s good. If you know you are confused, then you know something is not right.” The showmare looked at the library. “Think about how things were and how things are. Tell me... what’s different? Start with the small things.”

“Well...” the filly frowned as she thought. “My stuff wasn’t in my room upstairs,” she said, feeling a bit dumb for not realizing it earlier. “And... the book I was reading had fewer pages...”

“So, even if somepony had managed to brainwash all of us, do you think they would go into enough detail to change that?”

Sweetie looked down. “No...”

“What else is different?”

“Well, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo weren’t in town, and neither was Rarity the last two weeks.”

“I can tell you for certain that all three of them have been here all that time,” Trixie said, motioning for Sweetie to drink some of her tea.

Slowly, the filly levitated the cup just like Trixie was doing and took a sip. She looked at the tea in the cup in surprise. “This is really good!”

The showmare smirked. “I figured, since you liked the spicy tea, you would like this one too. I got it during my travels with the Zebras.”

Sweetie drank more tea before putting down her cup. “So... are you going to tell me you’re not a wanted felon?”

She had to dodge to the side to avoid being sprayed with tea as Trixie spit what she was drinking.

“I... What?!”

“You released two werewolves in the middle of Ponyville!” Sweetie said, glaring at her. “I almost got killed!”

“But... I would nev-” Trixie took a deep breath. “Okay, now I’m fairly certain I know what the problem is.”

Sweetie blinked.

“While I was travelling with the Rhinos-”

“What’s a Rhino?” Sweetie interrupted.

Trixie arched an eyebrow. “Great lumbering beasts with poor eyesight, but with grand magical traditions that go back thousands of years. Almost as long as the Zebras’.”

“Oh...”

“Anyway, they have a ritual which allowed them to see beyond this world and into others,” Trixie continued. “I never experienced it firsthoof, because only they seemed to be able, but it would allow them to find themselves in other dimensions, across time and space itself, and see and experience those other worlds through the actions of their counterparts.”

Sweetie Belle stared at her, silent.

“...” Trixie blinked. “Did... you understand any of that?”

“Nope!” Sweetie said. “But some of it sounded familiar. I think...” she closed her eyes and tried to remember. “I think the experiment where-” she choked.

“Go on, Sweetie, what experiment?”

“... the one where...” She couldn’t bring herself to say the words. An overwhelming feeling of guilt settled on her as she looked at Trixie’s worried gaze. “It was... last night... and Twilight... she...”
Sweetie closed her eyes. “I think I killed Twilight!” she confessed as she collapsed on the floor. “I didn’t know!”

Trixie dropped her cup, the sound of it shattering lost in Sweetie’s sobs.

“You what?!”

“I’m sorry!” she bawled. “I’m so sorry! I was just trying to get something while she worked!”

Trixie looked at the filly, mind racing. "I-it's okay, Sweetie. Just calm down and tell me what happened."

Slowly, between sobs and suddenly finding herself in the surprisingly comforting forelegs of Trixie, Sweetie Belle explained what she had done and what she had seen. “... an- and then she... bro-broke into pieces...” The filly sniffed. “I saw a flash and... and I woke up in my room... I thought it was all a bad dream...” She started shaking.

Trixie felt cold, having imagined that happening to her Twilight. “And you said that the thing she was experimenting on affected time and space?”

Sweetie nodded morosely, not even looking up at her.

The showmare slowly stroked the filly’s mane. “It was an accident, Sweetie... and... I don’t want to give you false hope, but when things like that happen, you cannot simply trust your eyes...”

“What do you mean?” Sweetie asked, her eyes red from crying and rubbing at them.

“There is a chance that Twilight, your Twilight, is still alive,” Trixie said carefully. “Your perceptions of what happened could have been affected by the magic... I believe that’s how you were sent to this dimension. Maybe the same happened to her.”

“So... this isn’t my real home?” the filly sniffled.

“I’m afraid not. That’s why everything you remember is so different.”

“But then... Apple Bloom wasn’t lying! And she got punished worse because of me!”

Trixie nodded. “There’s not much we can do about that right now, but we’ll sort it out tomorrow. For now we should sleep. I’ll ask Spike to send a letter to Twilight; she may know how to get you home.”

Sweetie yawned and nodded. “Thanks... Trixie.” She stood up and went upstairs, leaving Trixie alone.

With a sigh, the unicorn conjured up a blank scroll and a quill. Soon, the only noise in the Library was the scratching of quill on parchment.

o.0.o

The next morning, Trixie trotted down the stairs slowly to a pair of youthful voices.

“So, then you add the bananas now...” Spike’s voice drifted from the kitchen.

“Like this?” came Sweetie’s voice a second later.

“Yep, nicely done! Now, press them down a little bit so that the batter goes all around it. Yeah, like that,” Spike instructed.

“What’s going on here?” Trixie asked, walking into the kitchen with a sleepy grin.

“Morning, Trixie!” Spike called, smiling at her.

Sweetie Belle smiled brightly and waved a hoof excitedly at the showmare. “Spike is teaching me how to make the princess’s favorite pancakes!”

“Ok! Concentrate!” Spike interrupted, shifting the little unicorn's attention back to the task before them. “You see how the batter is starting to bubble? That means that they’re almost ready to be turned over; lift up the side of the pancake a bit: once that looks a bit more solid, use your magic to flip them.”

Sweetie concentrated and three of the pancakes glowing as they flipped under her control, while Spike expertly flipped five others with a spatula. They waited a little bit before placing the pancakes onto a platter which went straight into a preheated oven.

“To keep them warm,” Spike explained, when Sweetie asked why.

Trixie watched in bemusement as the pair of youngsters produced batch after batch of pancakes. It wasn’t long before they had run out of room in the oven, and the group sat down to eat.

“I think I will take over your training for today, Sweetie,” Trixie declared after a pause in the meal, “Twilight is not due back until late afternoon, I would think. And honestly, that mare puts far too much emphasis on theory and not enough on execution, I think you need a bit more hooves-on practice to get that shield working.”

Sweetie looked at the older unicorn in surprise. “Really? You’ll help?”

Trixie nodded. “Why, of course. The Great and Powerful Trixie could not simply leave her beloved’s apprentice unattended to stagnate in her education! Twilight would have my hide for such an offense! So, get ready, we’ll stop by Carousel Boutique to tell Rarity you’ll be with me today.”

Sweetie could only nod dumbly as Trixie walked out of the kitchen. “Did she just call Twilight her ‘beloved’?” she squeaked, wide-eyed as she turned to look at Spike for confirmation.

“Yeah,” the little dragon nodded, munching happily a somewhat burnt pancake. “I thought everypony knew, what with the duel and the competition in Canterlot...”

“But... what about Big Mac?” Sweetie asked.

Spike blinked. “What about him?”

“I always thought he had a thing for Twilight! I even saw them--” Sweetie stammered out before stopping herself short.

Stupid, Sweetie! I forgot this isn’t my home...

“Even saw them what?” Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh... nothing.” Sweetie smiled. “I should get my mane ready, you know...” she trailed off at his expression. “Because of my sister... Who dislikes... messy... manes. I go now!”

Spike watched as she ran out of the kitchen before shrugging. “Well, better get this cleaned up if I want to go with them to see... Rarity.” Spike sighed as he absentmindedly began to wash the dishes.

o.0.o

The walk towards Carousel Boutique was quiet. There were a lot of things that Sweetie wanted to ask Trixie, specifically what to tell Rarity, but Spike’s presence made her feel uncomfortable talking about something that felt so personal.

She really wasn’t looking forward to this.

What am I going to tell Sis? Is she really my sis? Should I talk to her at all? She grew more even nervous as the boutique came into view. What should I do? What should I do?! She looked, wild-eyed to Trixie, who looked back calmly.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure your sister will understand if you need a day to sort things out. And you’ll be with me, so she needn’t worry.”

Sweetie Belle exhaled and felt herself relax a bit at Trixie’s words. I guess if she’s my sister back home, she’s still my sister here... she smiled. I’m sure we’re as close here as we are there... like apple pie.

As soon as they reached the boutique, the door opened and Rarity was looking at Sweetie with a worried expression. “Good morning, Sweetie...” the fashionista trailed off, unsure of what to say next.

Sweetie looked down and scratched at the floor with a hoof. “Morning, sis.”

The two looked very uncomfortable, just standing there, avoiding one another’s gaze before Trixie finally cleared her throat. “Good morning, Rarity. I have talked to Sweetie and she wishes to practice magic with me today, and hopefully to clear her mind. We came here to see if that was okay.”

“We did?” Spike asked, cringing as he received glares from everypony present. “Uh... I guess we did.”

“I...” Rarity glanced over her shoulder at the tea set and muffins she had procured for a quiet talk with Sweetie. “I- if that is what you want, Sweetie,” she said, looking back to the pair of unicorns in front of her.

“I do, sis...” the filly said after a moment. “But I also wanted to talk to you... and Scootaloo and Apple Bloom... but I... I need some time.”

Rarity sighed. “It’s okay, Sweetie. I’m... I’m sorry I made you feel so bad and that I accused you of lying.” She was suddenly being crushed by a hug from the unicorn filly.

“I’m sorry I’m making you worry, sis!” Sweetie cried. “I just... have a lot to think about. I promise I’ll tell you everything.”

Rarity smiled, nuzzling the filly affectionately. “I can work with that,” she reassured her sister.

“Well, we should get going,” Trixie said, casting suspicious glances around. “I’d rather be out of here before I get challenged again.”

“Good luck then!” Rarity said as the trio turned around and started walking away.

“Thanks, sis! See you soon!” Sweetie called over her shoulder.

Spike waved half-heartedly as he rode on Trixie’s back, watching his beloved Rarity walk into the boutique.

Trixie led them out of town and towards the edge of the Everfree Forest, stopping just shy of entering Everfree proper.

“I think we’re far enough...” She turned around to face Sweetie Belle. “Okay, now, we’ll start with you trying the spell while I throw something at you. If your spell works, the shield should stop it.”

Sweetie blinked. “Uh... Twilight always told me that I should understand everything about the spell before-”

Trixie waved a hoof dismissively. “Twilight worries too much. Trust me. I didn’t spend several months tied in a high-magic competition with her without knowing what I was doing.”

“But...”

“It’s okay. I won’t throw anything too dangerous at you,” Trixie encouraged. “This is how the Zebras train their young warriors.”

“But I’m not a Zebra!”

“Well... you like the spicy tea so you could be,” Spike said after a moment. “I mean, you’d need stripes but...”

Trixie rolled her eyes and levitated a small dirt clod. “Ready?”

“No!”

“Well, here it goes!”

“But I-” Sweetie’s eyes widened as they followed the patch of dirt. She jumped out of the way. “Hey! I said I wasn’t ready!”

“You cheated!” Trixie called back, grinning. “You’re not supposed to dodge! You’re supposed to cast the shield spell!”

Spike didn’t look amused. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he asked the azure unicorn.

“Yes,” Trixie admitted, keeping her eyes and her grin trained on the little filly.

Sweetie kept a wary eye on the showmare. “I knew I shouldn’t trust her,” She muttered, only to watch in horrified fascination as Trixie levitated many, many pieces of dirt and positioned them right over the pair. When the sky was veritably blotted out by small balls of dirt, Sweetie decided that it was best to be someplace else...

… and promptly found that she couldn’t move.

Too late did she notice the faint blue aura surrounding her hooves. She looked up at Trixie in despair. The showmare smirked at her. The dirt balls above her shot down in Sweetie’s direction.

Spike, watching from a safe distance away, closed both his eyes for a split second, but soon enough opened one to take a peek.

With a huge SPLAT made out of smaller splats, Sweetie Belle was buried under hundreds of dirtballs.

“Why?!” Sweetie asked after a moment. “That’s not fair!” She shook off some of the dirt, but most of her coat was completely covered in it.

Trixie chuckled, looking proudly at the filly. “But Sweetie, you cast the spell!”

Sweetie blinked and looked at her coat. She had been almost completely covered in dirt. “No I didn’t!”

The showmare shook her head, smile still in place. “Look at your mane, you silly filly.”

Sweetie looked up as much as she could.

“One moment.” Trixie transmuted a small rock into a mirror before levitating it before the young unicorn. “Here.”

Sweetie stared at her reflection. Just like the showmare had said, there was not a speck of dust or dirt on her mane.

“I did it?” she asked in wonder. “I did it! Yay!” out of habit she turned to look at her flank.

Was... was there something there? Even for just for a second?

“Are you ready for another try?” Trixie called as she watched the filly spin around trying to see if she had a cutie mark.

“Yes!”

o.0.o

They spent most of the morning practicing. Once Sweetie had figured out how to make a shield big enough to cover her completely from falling dirt, Trixie had changed tactics, hurling clods from all directions. Some were stopped by the shield, but most of the time, Sweetie was unable to cast the spell quickly enough to avoid getting hit.

Trixie had then alternated between practicing the shield spell to practicing Prestidigitation, and finally having Sweetie levitate three balls which they would toss back and forth between them. As they did, the showmare began to describe the competition she had had with Twilight Sparkle, both of them throwing hundreds of balls at each other.

To say the little filly was impressed would be an understatement.

I’m pretty sure the Trixie from my world would never be able to do that! she had thought to herself on more than one occasion, but she was nevertheless thrilled that Twilight, or this world's version had proven herself so powerful and resourceful as well.

“I think that is enough for now,” Trixie said, looking down at the now brown-coated filly covered in darker patches of dirt panting in front of her. “Rarity is going to kill me. I know it.”

“I think most of it’ll come out in a bath.” Sweetie looked down at herself, taking several deep breaths before closing her eyes and shaking herself, sending cascades of dirt falling to the ground. She opened her eyes to find that, despite the ring of dirt around her, her normally white coat was still a light brown.

“Maybe.” Trixie smirked. “We should have something to eat.” The showmare gave Spike a meaningful look. The dragon, having watched the training with a great deal of amusement, rolled his eyes.

“Fine, fine,” Spike muttered half-heartedly. “I’ll make you some daisy sandwiches.” He sighed as he stood up and walked back towards town.

Thankful for the rest, Sweetie collapsed on the grass. She didn’t think about anything at all, content to watch the clouds pass overhead. However, a passing pegasus in the distance brought more painful memories.

“Scootaloo and Apple Bloom hate me.” she said finally. “Apple Bloom thinks I lied to avoid getting punished, and Scootaloo thinks that I don’t care about them at all.”

“They think that you’re their Sweetie Belle. To them, you were here a couple of days ago playing around,” Trixie said, sitting next to her. “We’ll have to clear it up before we send you on your way to find your Twilight, otherwise our Sweetie is going to find herself in a rather unexplainable situation.”

“Oh...” Sweetie murmured. “I just wish I hadn’t hurt them,” she added miserably.

Trixie sighed. “It’ll be okay, Sweetie. You had no intention of hurting them. You were simply confused. I am sure your friends will understand.”

The little filly nodded tiredly before she looked lazily towards Ponyville, blinking in confusion as she saw Spike running back to them. “Well, that was fast.”

Trixie looked towards the approaching dragon and frowned. “Too fast. He couldn’t have even gone halfway to the library yet.”

The pair watched as Spike jogged up to them, out of breath. “I... *gasp* I got this... *cough* from the Princess...” he said, shakily holding a scroll up in his claw as he bent over, wheezing, “Whew... I gotta lay off the agate.”

Blinking, Trixie levitated the scroll up and opened it. As her eyes scanned the page, she started looking ill.

“Trixie?” Spike asked. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s Twilight,” the showmare said worriedly. “She was supposed to have arrived last night!”

“But what happened? Wasn’t she with the Princess?” Sweetie asked.

“The Princess says that Twilight decided to go home on her own after stopping at a village to investigate a some legend,” the blue unicorn said, rereading the scroll. “She’s worried since Twilight was only supposed to be there for a couple of hours before heading back here.”

Trixie smacked a hoof to her forehead before letting it slide down her face, a frustrated groan escaping her. “She’d better not be in trouble!”

“What town is it? Maybe we can go get her?”

Trixie looked down at the filly. “Marethage. But what do you mean by ‘we’?”

“I’m not staying here while my teacher is in danger!” Sweetie declared without hesitation. “Even if she wasn’t teaching me, Twilight’s still my friend!”

“Since when have you been so close to Twilight?” Spike asked Sweetie, but she ignored him, concentrating on the showmare instead.

Trixie sighed, wilting beneath the little filly’s stare. “Listen, Sweetie, you are indeed very talented in magic and you would make Twilight proud with how fast you are advancing. But, you are still very young. It would be completely irresponsible of me to take you with me.”

“But...” Sweetie looked down at the floor angrily.

Why is it always like this? Sis treats me like that all the time! The only ones that never do are Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Twilight! She blinked back tears.

“Listen Sweetie, you have to stay with your sister. It’s too dangerous. We don’t know what happened to Twilight.” The showmare said kindly.

“No.” Sweetie looked up at the other unicorn. “I can’t! Don’t you see? I can’t go back home... I don’t even know when I will! I have to learn to be stronger and I have to help Twilight! Please! Don’t... don’t leave me behind! I can’t let anything happen to her again... not again...”

Trixie looked unsure. For a moment, she had forgotten who she was dealing with. This might be Sweetie Belle, but it wasn’t their Sweetie Belle. And it was true: there were no guarantees that Sweetie would return home once they figured out how to send her on her way. And if she got into trouble... would she be able to defend herself? A Shield spell was useful, but other than Levitation and Prestidigitation, there was little else the filly had at her disposal danger in some other universe. Was it better to leave her behind, safe in Ponyville? Or would it be better to take her along and try to instill some of the world knowledge she had?

The showmare sighed. This was not what she imagined she was going to spend this month like. Dodging challengers? Yes. Suddenly finding out that the little sister of one of her friends was in reality a dimensional-hopping filly unicorn? No. Embarking on a sudden quest to find her lover? Well... perhaps, considering her lover and friend’s habitual attraction to adventure, but a sudden quest and a dimension-hopping filly at the same time? Certainly not.

And now here was Sweetie staring at her with those big, green, puppy dog eyes of hers. Trixie knew Twilight was probably just caught up in her studies, but still she had an uneasy feeling about the entire situation.

“I’ll be good!” Sweetie promised. “It’s just that... If anything happens to Twilight and I’m not there to help...” She looked down. “I don’t know what I would do. I... I have to make it up to her, Trixie... please let me make it up to her...”

“Hold on!” Spike said, stepping between the two. “Since when does Sweetie Belle hang around Twilight enough to be her student and friend? And how come I never noticed? What is going on here?”

“I-” Sweetie started to reply, but was interrupted by Trixie.

“We will tell you and the others when we return,” the showmare promised.

“We?” the filly asked, looking up at the older unicorn in surprise, “Are you saying-”

“Yes.” Trixie nodded. “I will take you with me. You are not prepared enough for your situation. Be grateful that Twilight managed to teach you the value of study and diligence... it will probably save your life in the future.” The blue-coated mare turned to look at the baby dragon. “Spike, please trust me, I will go find Twilight; we should be back soon. We have to talk to Rarity first though...”

“That won’t be necessary,” a voice said, startling them and making them turn around. Rarity stepped nervously into view. “I... arrived here a few moments ago... I heard you talking.” Rarity walked towards them before stopping a few feet from her sister. “Sweetie...I know yesterday wasn’t exactly a perfect day, but I want you to know that I love you, and that I am ashamed of having doubted you. I don’t know how you know what you do, I don’t understand how Twilight had the time to even teach you while you played... there’s quite a lot I don’t understand about all this...” she sighed.

"How long were you listening, sis?"

"Only since Spike arrived... I had just been to the library to check on you, but you weren’t there... then I saw him running this way, so I followed him.”

“Oh...”

“Sweetie... you are my sister and I trust you. Even when everything I thought I knew told me otherwise... I saw you fall asleep studying last night, I saw you use magic and I heard you when you answered Trixie’s questions. I know that there is something going on here... something you know that I do not... But... must you go with Trixie?”

“Sis...” Sweetie hugged Rarity tightly. “I... I’ll explain everything to you and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo and Spike... but, it has to wait; it’s a long story and Twilight needs us. Please let me do this, sis. I have to do it... for Twilight,” she begged, eyes pained.

Rarity’s eyes met Trixie’s. “You will take care of her? You will make sure she’s not in danger?” she asked, staring at the showmare.

"I promise," the showmare replied before shrinking back suddenly.

Despite knowing that she was more powerful than the white unicorn, Trixie still found herself intimidated by the sudden death glare from Rarity. “Trixie, if something does happen to my Sweetie Belle, I will kill you.”

Gulping, the showmare nodded. “I will protect her with my life.”

"Good." The fashionista's glare faded as she turned to nuzzle Sweetie Belle. "Take care of yourself, Sweetie Belle."

“I will!” the filly said, sniffing as she pulled away from her older sister to go stand next to Trixie.

“Let’s go, Sweetie,” the showmare said, turning around. “The sooner we find Twilight, the sooner we’ll be back.”

Spike went to stand next to Rarity as the pair watched the blue unicorn and the filly walk away. They stood on the hill until they had lost sight of the travelers, and then Rarity looked down at Spike. “Come now, Spike. I need to take my mind off things, and I could use some company while I find some new gems.”

Spike nodded happily and walked beside the unicorn. “Are you going to be making a new dress, Rarity?”

“No,” she said with a smile. “I just have an idea.

o.0.o

The journey began quietly. Both unicorns were deep in thought as they walked along the road to Marethage.

Finally, Sweetie spoke up. “Thank you for bringing me with you, Trixie.”

The showmare shook her head when she heard the filly. “It’s okay, Sweetie.” She looked towards the younger unicorn. “You really do feel guilty about what happened to your Twilight, don’t you?”

The little unicorn nodded miserably. “It was my fault. If I hadn’t messed up her experiment, none of this would’ve happened.”

Trixie was silent for a moment, thinking on how best to express her thoughts. “I think our worlds are similar enough that the um... incident... with the Ursa Minor happened in your Ponyville too, am I right?”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “I didn’t really know about it until after you, I mean, my Trixie threw the werewolves at me. Twilight told me about it afterwards.”

Trixie nodded. “Well, although I wasn’t the one that brought the Ursa Minor to Ponyville, I was still indirectly responsible for it getting there. If I had kept an eye on Snips and Snails, I would have noticed that they were too easily impressed with my feats, that they couldn’t really distinguish showbiz from reality.” She coughed. “Sometimes we do things without thinking about consequences, Sweetie. I inflated my achievements to the point of fantasy to inspire and amaze my audience, but I never thought that it might be too much for... impressionable minds.”

“But at least nothing happened,” Sweetie argued, her voice threatening to break. “I blew up the Library!”

“Just because the Ursa was contained doesn’t mean something much worse wouldn’t have happened,” Trixie pointed out. “I was lucky that Twilight was there to save my and Ponyville’s collective hide.” She looked sadly at the filly. “But you weren’t so lucky. It’s random chance sometimes, how our lack of foresight plays out. I’ve learned a great deal since then, Sweetie, but you’re just a filly, and what you’re dealing with is more than anypony should at this time in your life. Accept that it was an accident... but as you struggle to make up for it, also accept that certain things are beyond your control.”

Sweetie Belle said nothing, her mind replaying the incident over and over... the way the out of control magic had coursed through and enveloped Twilight... the way her mentor had turned to crystal and shattered...

There’s no way I can ever forgive myself, she thought bitterly. How can I ever make up for it? I killed Twilight. There’s no bringing her back.

The pair continued in silence a little longer before Trixie spoke up once more. “I don’t know where you will go next,” Trixie said, looking straight ahead. “But perhaps... would you like to learn some illusion spells?”

Sweetie looked at the mare in surprise. “Will you teach me?”

“Well, why not? I was helping train you with the Shield spell already,” Trixie said. “Besides, I can’t let my love’s apprentice go into the unknown without sharing my amazing magical repertoire.”

Sweetie smiled, pushing thoughts of her original world to the back of her mind.

You’ll have to deal with it sooner or later... a tiny voice in her mind said, but she told it to shut up. She didn’t want to think about it.

“Okay, we can practice a bit on the way,” the showmare said. “This is a little like the Prestidigitation spell, but it is more advanced, so don’t be too worried if you cannot do it yet, okay? Just keep practicing whenever you have the chance.”

o.0.o

The town of Marethage was slightly bigger than Ponyville, but not by much. It had a small library, a couple of restaurants, and other amenities just like their town.

However, unlike Ponyville, Marethage was surrounded by a tall wall made out of thick, sharpened logs plunged into the earth. The outside fields were even protected by a lower wall, but strangely there were no barns or dwellings of any sort outside of the town itself.

“Look at this,” Trixie said, stopping a moment to admire the plants. “I have never seen cornstalks this size! And look at those pumpkins! And those tomatoes! No wonder Canterlot has been buying almost exclusively from Marethage these last couple of years.”

Sweetie Belle looked at the plants for a moment. Thinking about harvests and farms just made her think about Apple Bloom and she didn’t want to do that.

Taking her silence in stride, Trixie guided her charge along the main road towards the town.

It was starting to get a little dark by the time they arrived. A pony up in an observation tower noticed them and waved with a lantern. “Who goes there?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie and her assistant and apprentice, Sweetie Belle!” the showmare announced with practiced flourish.

“Apprentice?” Sweetie asked, looking at the older unicorn with an arched eyebrow.

“Well, yes!” Trixie said. “It isn’t as though Twilight has exclusive rights to you! Besides, I have been tutoring you for close to a day now.”

The gates swung open to admit them, Sweetie Belle smiling as she followed the blue-coated mare into the town. Inside the walls, the town looked to be pretty much the same size as Ponyville. At its center stood a decorative fountain from which a jagged rock rock in the shape of a crescent moon glittered in the light of the street lamps. The houses were less stylized than their hometown, having a more uniform look with its structures. All in all, however, it seemed to be a hospitable, if a bit too orderly, place.

“You were lucky to make it here before sundown!” the earth pony guard said, as he trotted up to meet them. He had a brown coat and an honest smile. His cutie mark was a lit candle. “Lantern Case, at your service, ma’ams,” he said with a curt bow of his forelegs. “Welcome to Marethage; no doubt you are on your way to Viscolt, correct?”

“Actually, this is where we were headed, good sir,” Trixie said. “We’ve come seeking a unicorn by the name of Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh...” Lantern looked suddenly nervous. “I’m afraid that Miss Sparkle is not with us anymore...”

Trixie’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, by ‘not with us’?”

“Well, you see...”

“She didn’t listen when we told her she had to be in town by nightfall,” another guard, older looking and with a grey coat and a lock for a cutie mark, growled, as he trotted up to them. “She said she needed to be out there to find something. We warned her to be careful and to come back here. By the time we had locked the gates, she hadn’t come back.”

“What?!” Sweetie Belle squeaked out.

“And you didn’t organize a search party?!” Trixie demanded, her eyes hard.

“Miss, we can’t just organize a search for everypony foolish enough not to listen to those of us that know better. I’m afraid that, having been gone this long,” the guard said. “It’s unlikely she’s even still alive.”

A burst of energy nearly knocked both guards down as Trixie’s magic manifested in a visible blue aura around her. Her eyes almost glowed with power. “Do you foals even know who she is?!” she almost screamed, drawing the attention of other ponies in the area, who slowly walked up to the guards as they struggled to get up.

“Just some uppity unicorn from Canterlot,” the gray one snorted.

“She is Princess Celestia’s PERSONAL STUDENT!” Trixie growled, anger emanating from every particle of her being, wisps of magical energy curling off from her aura. “She’s gone missing and you didn’t even attempt to find her!” Trixie gritted her teeth in anger as another wave of energy radiated from her. The main gate beginning to protest as her magic slowly pressed on it.

The guard’s eyes widened. “Stop! Stop! What are you doing, you crazy mare!? Do you want to get us all killed?”

“I’m going to do your job and go find her, you useless slob!” Trixie retorted.

“Miss! Please calm down!” an elder unicorn asked, stepping out from the terrified crowd. “There is a reason why we didn’t go after her! Please! Calm down and let me explain.”

Trixie was about to ignore him when she felt a tap on her leg. Looking down, eyes still glowing with power, she noticed Sweetie Belle looking up at her. “Please, Trixie, calm down. We can go find her, but Twilight wouldn’t like it if you destroyed the town.” The showmare took a deep breath and visibly restrained herself, the blue aura slowly dying away.

“Fine,” she spoke through gritted teeth. “You will tell us what happened. And there better be a good reason.”

The unicorn nodded, sighing in relief at the calmed mare. He turned an annoyed look towards the gray-coated guard. “Lip Lock, when are you going to learn some tact? There’s other ways of breaking the news to a pony.”

The guard looked away angrily. “Whatever.”

The elder unicorn shook his head sadly. “Please, come with me. I am the Scroll Shelf, Mayor of Marethage.”

“Shelf?” Sweetie asked with a soft giggle before she could stop herself. “Sorry.”

The Mayor chuckled. “I had cruel parents,” he said with a fond smile. “They were very good at name guessing though, since that is about 80 percent of my work.”

“Mister Shelf, as much as I would like to chat, I want more to know what happened to my- to Twilight,” Trixie demanded.

If the elder unicorn caught her slip, he gave no indication of it. “We’re almost there,” he said, pointing to a small building with a sign that read ‘Council Hall.’

They entered the building and after finding a place to sit down, they did so. The mayor coughed before looking out the window. “Miss Sparkle was here, as you already know, conducting a bit of research,” he said. “She asked me if there were any ruins in the area and I said no.” He looked back at them. “I lied.”

“Why would you do that?” Trixie growled. “Knowing Twilight she headed straight for the nearest library and found out that there were.”

The mayor nodded. “That is indeed what happened. Miss Sparkle left the town by herself when she couldn’t get anypony to talk to her about the ruins...”

“But why wouldn’t you tell her anything?” Sweetie asked.

The Mayor sighed. “A few years ago, something happened,” he said. “Out of the ruins came two enormous wolves. The beasts would attack at night, and drag one of our own with them to the ruins. We tried fighting, but they were far too strong. And when the moon would be full, they would transform...” The mayor shuddered. “We searched the old records for mention of the ruins, and found that the two monsters had been trapped in there in ancient times. They had been turned to stone by some sort of magic. But now... it seems they have broken free.”

“But why did you not warn Twilight?” Trixie asked. “She could have-”

“Wait...” Sweetie Belle interrupted, looking up at the mayor with a frown. “These wolves... are they Romulus and Remus?”

The mayor blinked in surprise. “Well... yes but... how...”

“You know of them?” Trixie asked, surprised, then her eyes narrowed. “Were those...”

Sweetie nodded nervously. “Yeah... but...” she looked at the mayor. “How did they get out of the ruins? I studied their story and the legends. The only way they could leave is if somepony took them out of their cave, or if the spell keeping them inside is broken.”

Trixie looked at the mayor, who shuffled nervously. “We- we don’t know who did it, it just happened!”

“The legend also says that if they capture a mare near the Full Moon, they will try to turn her into one of them,” Sweetie Belle continued. “They were stopped a long ago when they were bent on creating a kingdom of wolves.”

“Who stopped them, Sweetie? And how?” Trixie asked as she tried to calculate when the next Full Moon was.

“I’m not sure, it could have been the Princesses,” the filly replied uncertainly. “But I’m sure we could find out if we researched it en-”

“We don’t have time,” Trixie said, pacing around the room. “The Full Moon is tonight! Twilight will become one of them if we don’t act now.”

Sweetie frowned and looked outside, worry evident in her eyes. “They will try to do it soon after the moon is out... it’s a bit cloudy and they’ll want it to be as clear as possible.”

“Good, that works in our favor,” Trixie muttered, turning her glare towards the Mayor. “You will give us directions to the ruins.”

“I can’t let you go kill yourselves!” The Mayor cried out. “You have no idea-”

“We know exactly what we’re doing,” Trixie interrupted, “And I will have you know that the Princess already knows that Twilight was last seen here, and that we both came looking for her on the Princesses’ behalf. If you do not help us, I will personally make sure that she finds out!”

The old stallion cringed. “Fine. But be warned that if you go, you will almost certainly die.”

“We’ll see about that,” the showmare replied.

o.0.o

“So, Sweetie,” Trixie began as the trees rose above them, hiding the stars from view, “What do you know about these werewolves? How did you stop them last time?”

Sweetie Belle looked around at the darkened woods nervously. “Well, they’re immortal... the story says that one cannot die while the other lives.”

The showmare frowned. “That doesn’t make much sense... sounds like some sort of riddle.”

“I didn’t get it either,” Sweetie confessed. “I also know that silver burns them... that’s how Twilight caught them; she made a cage and wrapped silver all over it.”

Trixie groaned. “We don’t have any silver. Is there any other way to stop them? What about that spell that kept them in the ruins?”

Sweetie shrugged. “I just know that there was some sort of spell keeping them there so only somepony willing would be able to release them.”

Trixie hummed to herself, eyes narrowing. “Somepony must have moved it...” she thought for a moment. “You said that they wanted to create a kingdom of wolves? Why are they sticking to this small area then? If they moved away they would be able to catch more ponies than those in Marethage.”

Sweetie looked down. “I don’t know, Trixie... sorry.”

The blue unicorn chuckled. “I didn’t expect you to know, Sweetie, I was just thinking aloud, that’s all.” Her smile faded. “I think the Mayor knew more than he told us.”

Sweetie didn’t answer, she was more concerned with the forest around them and the possibility of a werewolf attack.

“But why... they haven’t even reported the werewolves were free to Canterlot!” Trixie growled. “Sweetie, tell me more about this legend.”

“Well... the book Twilight gave me said that Romulus and Remus were two brother wolves that wanted to make their kingdom, but because they were the only ones left, they couldn’t have any subjects, so they each went their own way to find a way to create more wolves.” Sweetie paused, trying to remember more of the story. “They eventually found a magic item to help them with that, it had something to do with... uh... fert.. ability?”

“Fertility,” Trixie corrected.

“Yeah! Fertability,” the filly repeated. “They were somehow tied forever to the item, but the problem was that it would only give its power to one of them.”

“I can see where that would be a problem.” the showmare quipped.

“So they fought over it until Romulus almost killed his brother...”

“But didn’t you say that they were immortal?” Trixie asked.

“Hey! I didn’t write the story! Some silly pony did like a thousand years ago!”

“Sorry, Sweetie. Please. Continue.”

“Well, the book didn’t say how, but a group of heroes sealed them in the ruins with the magic item... and they were supposed to stay there forever.”

Trixie nodded, deep in thought.

The pair walked in silence until the forest started to clear around them. Soon, they were standing outside a circle of stones, with a path at one end of the circle going deep underground.

“I guess this is it...” Trixie sighed.

“Do we know what we’ll do?” Sweetie asked.

The showmare grimaced. “I should have asked you about those wolves earlier, had we been in town I think I could have done something...”

Sweetie looked at the path nervously. “Trixie... what if-”

“Don’t think about it,” the showmare whispered. “We have to get her out. Now, come, The Great and Powerful Trixie has a plan.”

The two unicorns slowly made their way into the ruins. At first, the underground passage was little but rocks around them, but the tunnel eventually emerged into a large cavern, where they stopped and stared in awe at the remnants of an ancient city. From time to time a small tremor would shake the cavern and bits of rock and dirt would rain from the ceiling.

“It looks like this place is about ready to collapse,” Trixie muttered.

“Wait!” Sweetie hissed. “I think I heard something...”

It took a moment, but eventually they heard a faint voice in the distance. Looking at each other, they slowly began to move forward.

“... you don’t have to do this, I’m sure there’s plenty of other ways for you to, uh, procreate than turning me into a werewolf!”

“That’s Twilight!” Sweetie whispered excitedly. Trixie smiled and nodded, raising a hoof to indicate to the filly that she needed to be quiet.

The pair snuck into a half-collapsed house and carefully peeked through the cracks in the wall.

Twilight stood inside a small cage, fearfully pleading with her captors as they stood in before of a massive ancient column that reached all the way up to the apex of the cave and seemed to be the only thing keeping it up. Next to her, a familiar looking stone structure stood amongst the remains of buildings and several rocks that had landed around it. It was a bit of jagged rock that looked almost like a crescent moon... or that’s what Sweetie had thought when she had seen it in Marethage. Now, it reminded her more of a wickedly curved fang, albeit a bit duller looking than its counterpart.

“Why isn’t she using her magic?” Sweetie whispered.

Trixie looked down and shook her head, pointing towards her horn.

What about her horn? Sweetie wondered, looking at the showmare blankly. When it was obvious the filly wasn’t getting it, Trixie rolled her eyes and pointed at her own horn, then shook her head. Not her horn? Then the showmare pointed at Twilight, then at her own horn. Twilight’s horn? Sweetie looked back at her mentor and noticed the small object around her horn, some sort of metal clasp wrapped around the purple unicorn’s horn. Oooh... that must stop her magic!

Seeing the light of comprehension dawn on the filly’s face, Trixie sighed. Finally. She turned to look back at the wolves.

“Ready, little mare?” One of the wolves, slightly bigger than the other grinned wickedly as he reached a paw past the bars, gently tracing a claw down the side of Twilight’s face. “You’re cute right now; I think you will make an even lovelier wolf.”

“Um, thank you, but I’d much rather not... no offense, but I have friends and a very special pony waiting for me back home... Maybe there’s some other way I can help you. Maybe a--”

“Don’t you ever get tired of begging?!” the other wolf barked, annoyed. “You’re going to be a wolf, not a dog!”

“I’m just offering a more mutually agreeable solution to-”

“No,” the bigger wolf growled with finality. “I don’t care who you are with right now, and neither will you in a few moments.”

The three looked up, the two unicorns in hiding also following their eyes. Where the ceiling had caved in, the group could make out the stars in the sky above. The weather had cleared and the Full Moon had risen.

“It is time,” the bigger stated as the pair of wolves approached the fang. The pair howled into the air, their lupine shapes blurring as they transformed into their larger, bipedal forms.

Both werewolves, now standing up on their hind legs placed their hands on the jagged rock, lowering their heads in what seemed like prayer.

“Moon!” the larger howled. “It is I, Romulus! He who hast proven beyond doubt to be the strongest!”

Sweetie and Trixie noticed Remus shooting his brother a spiteful glare before lowering his head again.

“Bestow unto me your blessing so that I might populate the world with our kin!” Romulus finished.

The rock pulsed with white light. Slowly intensifying until it began to illuminate the area around them.

Twilight stared, fears forgotten at the revelation of what had to be something a pony would only witness once in a life-time.

Sweetie, for her part, was staring at Trixie, the showmare’s horn shining softly with magic and eyes closed in concentration.

The moonlight slowly permeated the smaller of the werewolves, who glowed for a few seconds, smiling fiercely at the look his brother gave him.

“It seems the moon has chosen me after all, brother.” Remus laughed. “Don’t worry, I will make our kingdom strong.” He turned to grin at Twilight, who audibly meeped and backed into the opposite corner of her prison.

“No, no, no! I don’t want to be a wolf!” she shouted, smacking her encased horn against the bars, trying to forcibly remove the clasp that prevented her from using her magic.

“It is too late, pony,” Remus growled as he stepped closer, but It was then that Romulus’ clawed hand grasped his shoulder.

“This is not going to happen,” the larger werewolf said, a threatening growl emerging. “I am the Alpha here! I shall be the one turn her and we will begin the kingdom of the wolf anew.”

Remus stepped away, shrugging his brother’s paw off. “You were the Alpha,” he growled back. “The Moon Fang has spoken! I am to be the progenitor of-”

He never finished as, with a vicious snarl, the taller werewolf was on him, ripping and tearing at flesh with tooth and fang. Remus replied in kind and soon both werewolves were in an all out battle. Soon, Remus was sent rolling on the floor. Standing up in shaky feet, he lowered his head and tucked his tail as he took on a submissive posture.

“B-brother... I... I yield to you... spare me...”

Romulus paused and was about to speak when the moonlight shone again on Remus, his fur glistening once more with the white light of the Moon Fang’s blessing. “No! The only way to create my kingdom is by killing you! You still have the blessing!”

Eyes widening in terror, Remus turned and bolted, followed closely by his brother, the sounds of their chase fading away slowly.

After a few moments of silence, Twilight started struggling, trying to remove the clasp again, keeping an eye out for the brother’s return.

“Need a hoof with that?”

Twilight jumped and hit her head on the top of her cage. Rubbing her head with a hoof, she turned around and stared as Trixie walked out from a ruined house with accompanied by none other than... Sweetie Belle?

“T-Trixie!” Twilight choked out as tears of happiness flooded her eyes and flowed freely down her cheeks. Both mares pressed against each side of the cage’s gate, nuzzling each other. A lightly blushing Sweetie Belle looked away, her eyes falling on the Moon Fang as something caught her eye.

As Trixie magicked the clasp from Twilight’s horn and unlocked the door, Sweetie made her way to the statue. Something had caught the moonlight, she thought, or maybe she had seen a faint, purple glow from amongst the rocks piled around it.

“Sweetie, we need to go before the Remus or Romulus return,” Trixie said.

“Wait...” Sweetie shook her head. “I... there’s something here...” Her horn lit the rocks with a white aura, and she heard Twilight gasp in surprise as she slowly levitated a few of the stones out of the way to reveal a small crystal shard. “That’s-” her eyes teared up. She would recognize this anywhere... it was a piece of Twilight. Her Twilight. The crystal almost seemed to pulsate with the familiar feel of the purple unicorn’s magic.

Trixie and Twilight stepped up to her, admiring the purple crystal as it spun and pulsed with magic.

“What is that?” Twilight asked softly, sensing that the filly was about to break up crying.

Trixie studied the crystal, eyes widening as she looked from it to Twilight and back to the crystal. “It’s...” Her throat felt dry. “Is that... what I think it is, Sweetie?”

The filly nodded, letting it fall into her hoof before clutching it tight to her chest. “It’s my Twilight.”

“Your Twilight?” the purple unicorn asked, confused. “What do you mean, Sweetie? And... what are the two of you doing here in the first place?”

“There’s no time for that,” Trixie said. “We’ll tell you once we’re safe. We need to get out of here before-”

“Too late for that, little ponies,” Romulus said, walking into their sight. He dropped the carcass of his dead brother and smiled, his muzzle dripping blood. “My brother is no more. I will capture the three of you and receive the blessing of the Moon Fang... I will turn you all and together we shall lead our new kingdom to glory.”

The werewolf pounced, but before he made it even halfway through his jump, he was frozen in place by a mix of blue and purple auras.

Horns flaring and anger shining in their eyes, Trixie and Twilight held the wolf aloft for a moment before hurling him across the cavern.

Twilight’s horn took on a brighter shade as the Moon Fang was levitated into the air and thrown on top of the wolf.

“Do you think you can teleport all of us out?” Trixie asked Twilight.

“I think so!”

“Good!” The showmare turned her attention to the distant cave entrance. With a blast of magic, she collapsed part of the cave wall there before levitating pieces of destroyed building and piling them on top of each other until the whole entrance was covered. “Quick! Before he comes back!”

Twilight nodded and, after placing her forelegs around Sweetie and Trixie, closed her eyes in concentration, horn flaring into life. Sweetie let out an audible gasp as Romulus emerged from the shadows, leaping at them with all his strength and speed, snarling and with bloodlust in his eyes. The massive werewolf smashed against the ancient center column, the force of the impact sending cracks splintering up and down its length.

The werewolf looked up in fear and confusion as the support column split in half and the whole cavern began to groan and shake.

o.0.o

Reappearing outside of the entrance to the ruins with a burst of purple magic, the three unicorns turned to watch in morbid fascination as the cavern collapsed in on itself, burying its contents under tons of rock and earth.

For a few seconds, the mares thought they could hear enraged howls coming from within, but, as the dust settled, all was silent.

Trixie and Twilight looked at each other for a moment before the purple unicorn grabbed her lover by the neck and shared a very passionate kiss with her. After almost a minute, she let go of the dazed blue unicorn, who had to sit down.

“Now,” Twilight said, “I believe you two have some explaining to do.”

“How about you tell us what you were looking for here?” Trixie said, levelling a look at Twilight. “You might want us to explain, but we are the ones that had to come over here to save you.”

Twilight blushed, looking anywhere but at Trixie. “I...” She coughed. “Well... what do you know of the Moon Fang?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Sweetie here told me that it was a symbol of fert-” her eyes widened. “Are you suggesting that-”

“I came here to see if we could... maybe... use it... someday...” Twilight lowered her head as she spoke until she looked almost as small as Sweetie. “To, you know... have a foal?”

Trixie opened her mouth as if to say something, but found that she didn’t have the words to describe the sudden warmth within her.

o.0.o

“... and although they had used the Moon Fang to increase the growth of their produce, they did so fully knowing that removing the magical statue from the ruins would allow Remus and Romulus to escape and attack innocent ponies. The wall around Marethage is a clear sign of their premeditation. They knew full well what they were getting into.”

Twilight paused for a moment before continuing her dictation.

“However, since both werewolves perished, the statue has lost all its power and is nothing more than a decoration now. Thankfully nopony was hurt.

“The Mayor of Marethage needs to be made responsible for his decision to endanger so many innocent ponies.

“Your faithful student,
“Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight took a long breath and released it. “Okay Spike, send it.”

The baby dragon rolled up the scroll, and, in a breath of green fire, it was gone. “Well, it sounds like that was some adventure you three had!”

Twilight nodded. “I agree. But I still need an explanation as to why Sweetie was there. And who taught her magic?” The purple unicorn groaned in frustration. “If Sweetie hadn’t been so adamant on getting to Ponyville first...”

Spike blinked. “But, Twilight... she’s your apprentice. You taught her magic.”

The purple unicorn’s eyes widened. “No I didn’t!” They both turned to look at the filly.

Sweetie Belle, standing next to Trixie, cringed. “I guess I need to explain a couple of things now, don’t I?”

“It’s just about time, Sweetie Belle.” The showmare nodded with an encouraging smile.

“Well...” the filly unicorn hesitated. “I- I’d like Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Rarity to be here too, if you don’t mind, Twilight?”

The unicorn blinked and nodded. “Spike?”

“On it, Twilight!” he said, running out of the library.

It wasn’t long before Rarity walked in followed by the remaining members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, both of whom refused to look at Sweetie Belle.

Rarity sighed, but gave her sister an encouraging smile as the group sat down around the filly.

“I- I don’t know where to start...” Sweetie said, turning to look at the blue unicorn.

perhaps I should,” Trixie offered, looking at each pony in the room in turn before she began. “Last year, while I was travelling through the lands of the Rhinos...”

As Trixie began to tell her captivated audience about the dream-like state that allowed the Rhinos to visit other dimensions, Sweetie sighed and looked down at the purple crystal she held in her hooves. It glittered with so many memories... she felt suddenly nostalgic, and very alone, despite being with friends and family, or rather, versions of them.

The little filly unicorn became aware of a sudden silence and, glancing up, she noticed that Trixie was looking expectantly to her. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were now also looking her way, confused as to what Trixie’s story had to do with anything, while Twilight and Rarity had slightly distant looks in their eyes as they looked at her as they connected the dots.

The filly sighed. “I...” She took a deep breath and looked at each pony in the eye. “For the last few weeks I have been learning magic as Twilight’s apprentice-”

“But-” Apple Bloom started, only to be shushed by Twilight, who was looking at the small unicorn intently.

“At first I just wanted to play with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, all summer, but then Scootaloo went with Dash to a competition and Apple Bloom went with Applejack to Appleloosa...”

The group became very quiet as Sweetie described to them what it had been like living with Twilight while Rarity was away on a business trip; about how she had slowly warmed up to the purple unicorn and started really learning magic. How she had levitated her first stone. How she had accidentally turned Twilight’s mane pink while learning Prestidigitation. She told them about Trixie dragging Romulus and Remus to Ponyville, how she’d almost been killed and of Twilight’s decision to teach her the Shield spell. In halting sentences, she talked about the day that the library had received the packages from Canterlot, how she had come to the library and...

“... I-if... she paused a moment to wipe away the tears. “If I hadn’t tried to levitate those past the experiment, none of this would have happened!” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry!”

She was suddenly held by somepony. She opened her eyes to see Rarity hugging her. She felt Scootaloo and Apple Bloom do so too, and soon enough Twilight had joined the group.

“Oh, Sweetie...” Rarity said. “You’ve gone through so much...”

“I’m sorry...” Sweetie Belle apologized, burying her face in her sister’s mane. “I didn’t want to make Apple Bloom a liar, or Scootaloo angry...”

“It’s not your fault,” Scootaloo said. “I’m sorry I acted that way.”

Twilight stepped back after a moment. “So... that piece of crystal you found, is that...”

Sweetie nodded, levitating the crystal so they could all see it. “It is a piece of Twilight... my Twilight.”

“May I?” Twilight asked, voice little more than a whisper, staring at the crystal.

Sweetie nodded, and allowed Twilight to take hold of it with her magic. The purple unicorn closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling out the magic within the fragment. It seemed to shimmer for a second, before the purple unicorn suddenly gasped.

“I- I heard my own voice coming from it!”

“What? How?” Sweetie asked, a sudden excitement coursing through her.

“I- I don’t know... I just tried sensing the magic in it and... I heard my voice... I couldn’t make out what I said, though...”

Sweetie took the crystal and concentrated, just as Twilight had taught her. Soon everything around her faded and her only focus was the crystal.

“Sweetie...” Twilight’s voice echoed around her. “It’s okay, Sweetie, we can make it back home... Both of us. Draw my magic from the crystal; it will get you on your way... I hope to see you soon, my student.”

“Twilight! I’m so sorry!” Sweetie said, gasping as she opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by the others.

“What happened?” Apple Bloom asked, look of worry etched on the farm filly’s face.

“I think... I think I know how to go home,” Sweetie said after a moment.

“Oh...” Rarity sighed. “I had made this for you, Sweetie...” She pulled out a small notebook, decorated with gems in the silhouette of a unicorn mare in a regal pose. “As a gift for you to take notes in while you studied...” she explained, letting Sweetie take it. “I guess you won’t be able to take it with you after all... and I don’t know if my Sweetie here would ever use it.”

Sweetie’s eyes watered a bit. “Thank you, sis.”

“Wait,” Twilight said after a moment, her hoof to her chin as she thought. “I think there might be a way.”

Sweetie’s eyes were wide. “You really mean that?”

Twilight chuckled. “Of course. What kind of unicorn would I be if I didn’t make sure my transdimensional counterpart’s student had at least a notebook to write down her lessons?”

“But... you... er,” Sweetie looked at her mentor in confusion, “My Twilight always said that scrolls were better and-”

“That’s... not important,” the purple unicorn interrupted, glaring at the others they snickered. “What is important is that between Rarity, Trixie, and us, we can enchant the notebook to be part of your magic... a summons of sorts.”

Trixie smiled. “I see what you mean. If we both provide the power, Rarity the finesse to enchant the gems and Sweetie ties her magic with them she could theoretically pull it out wherever she is.”

“Well, let us get to work then!” Rarity declared excitedly.

o.0.o

It was a much more tired group of unicorn mares that sat around the library watching as Sweetie Belle concentrated her magic, making her notebook disappear and reappear again on command.

“Well, hopefully that should work,” Twilight said.

“Are you ready to go?” Trixie asked Sweetie Belle, who nodded before embracing the blue unicorn.

“Thank you for trusting me, teaching me and helping.”

“It was great, Sweetie. If you ever stop by again, don’t forget to visit,” Trixie said, returning the hug happily.

“Sis... thank you. And I’m sorry I made you worry.”

“Never mind that, Sweetie,” Rarity said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. “Water under the bridge. I love you, little sister, here and in any other world,” the white unicorn declared with a fond nuzzle.

“Thank you for saving me, Sweetie,” Twilight said with a smile. “I’m sorry I wasn’t around to teach you more about the Shield Spell.”

Sweetie chuckled. “It’s okay, Twilight,” the filly said, smiling. “Trixie helped me a lot, and I won’t disappoint my Twilight... I’ll keep studying!”

The little unicorn then turned to look at Spike, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who had fallen asleep while the unicorns enchanted the notebook. “Tell them I’ll miss them, please...”

Turning her back on everypony so that she wouldn’t hesitate, the filly concentrated on the crystal, slowly drawing its magic into herself.

A bright, lavender light flooded her vision and then she was gone.

o.0.o

Rarity gasped and ran towards Sweetie Belle as the filly collapsed. “Sweetie? Sweetie, are you alright? I don’t think it worked...”

“Uhh...” the filly groaned, opening her eyes. “Sis?” She looked around. “Wha-what are we doing in the Library?”

The mares stepped back and stared.

Sweetie stared right back, face contorting in confusion. “Why are you all staring at me like that? Did my horn fall off or something?" She crossed her eyes as she tried to look up at her forehead. She gasped as a new possibility occurred to her. “Oh! Did my cutie mark appear?!” She snapped her head around to stare excitedly at her flank.

Still blank.

“Aww...”

o.0.o

When Sweetie Belle opened her eyes and blinked, she sighed as she looked at the bookshelves in the library. “I guess that didn’t work.”

“Uuuggh...”

The filly blinked as she slowly turned around. The library was a mess. There were upturned couches, boardgames were strewn around, and Rainbow Dash was passed out on top of the table.

Sweetie could hear Pinkie Pie snoring noisily, but the filly could only see the pink earth pony’s flank sticking out of the kitchen door.

Fluttershy was giggling in her sleep, kicking out her legs sporadically as she dreamed, hooves barely missing the unknown white female pegasus sleeping beside her.

Applejack and Rarity were lying on the couch, also completely passed out. She could barely make out Spike’s body beneath the lamp cover he had on his head.

The strangest thing, however, was the swirling magical portal placed where one of the book-shelves was supposed to be.

The sound of hoofsteps coming from upstairs made the filly look up in time to see Twilight emerge from her room. The two unicorns, filly and mare, stared at each other.

“Twilight...” Sweetie stared. “Why are you wearing that belly dancer outfit?”

“I...” The purple unicorn fell silent for a few seconds, blinking as if she were imagining things. “Uh... do I know you?”

“I’m...”

“Twiiiliiight!” a sultry voice called out, making both unicorns look towards the magical portal.

Sweetie couldn't decide whether to scream or run away, the filly’s body freezing up as Nightmare Moon stepped halfway out of it. “You’re late for work, my assistant!”

“Sorry!” Twilight replied nervously, visibly daunted by the dark alicorn.

Sweetie settled on screaming.

o.0.o End Chapter 1 o.0.o

Next: Nightmares Don’t Last Forever

Summary That Never Was: The End of Ponies

Author's Note

A 'summary that never was' is my attempt to fill in the blanks in The Sweetie Chronicles where we never got to visit but was mentioned or implied, or we were unable to finish the chapters. This is one such chapter. Since these are not complete and contain a summary of the events in some parts, I'm publishing them alongside actual updates.

This chapter was written alongside shortskirtsandexplosions for his story The End of Ponies. We never got around to finishing it, but I hope you all can enjoy what we had, and where it was going. For reference, we worked on this chapter from around July 2013 to mid 2014.

Summary That Never Was: The End of Ponies

Sweetie watched through one of the various windows in Bruce’s ship as they burst through a dark, almost black cloud into the lighter shade of gray outside. She didn’t know what the ship looked like, so she imagined a metallic brick simply hovering out of the mist, leaving a contrail of vapor and smoke behind it.

Although the idea was amusing, it did little to cheer her up. Outside, the world was nothing more than a light gray, windy, swirl of clouds and distant thunder, full of snow and ash. It held too much similarity with another world she had visited, although it seemed that at least this particular destruction wasn’t caused by active war.

“So, let me see if I got this straight… all of that, is Equestria.” She motioned with her hoof at the windows. “And it happened because the moon suddenly crashed down on it?” She looked at the dismal world outside, pressing her face to the window, trying to look down and see if she could see the ground far below them. “And there are literally two ponies left as far as anypon-anyone knows, and that includes me.”

Bruce stopped singing long enough to glance at the young mare. “Da. No one knows vhy moon suddenly crash land of ponies. But many still blame ponies for it. Not Brucie!” The squirrel chuckled.

Sweetie sighed. “At least it wasn’t because we engineered the weapons that did it.” She pondered the sky outside for a moment, and she imagined pegasi flying in blue skies. More than the other Wasteland, this one gave off a sense of loss. “So, what can you tell me about this ‘Harmony’ pony?”

“Harmony is good pony,” Brucie said after a few seconds of thought. “She is treasure hunter, and very good one!” he said with a rumbling chuckle. “She very serious. Too serious! Ha! Vhy, Brucie can’t count how many times she’s gotten into fights! Very, how do you say it, bad-ass?”

Sweetie blinked. “She’s sick?”

“No, no, no… just violent.” He gave Sweetie a considering look. “Going into M.O.D.D. looking like dat is not good idea. Costumers very violent group, you need armor. Brucie has something that might fit.”

Sweetie pondered for a moment. “This M.O.D.D. place, you said it was a bar, right?”

“A wretched hive of scum and villainy, da.”

Sweetie nodded. “So I need something threatening.” She smiled. “I think I have just the thing.”

o.0.o

The ‘Monkey o’ Dozen Den’, was the type of building Sweetie had only seen in Scootaloo’s comics, back home. It was a ramshackle, stinking pile of refuse that had been put together to somehow simulate a one-story building on top of a cliff, jutting above the discarded remains of several airships.

A faltering neon sign announced the name with as much pride as a place like that could muster, and it was clear that Bruce had not been exaggerating when he had shared his dismal opinion of the place.

There were a few patrons lying on the hard ground outside of the M.O.D.D., either passed out, or almost unconscious, lying in pools of their own bodily fluids and oil.

A few of the slightly sober ones gave her hateful glares that slowly deteriorated into confused stares. Some seemed scared, and others whimpered in disbelief, stealing glances from her to the empty bottles next to them, and back to her.

When she finally reached the door, she hesitated. ‘Brucie said that I had to be careful and fight if necessary. Don’t let them see any weakness. Don’t let them take advantage of anything and be ready to kick ass.’ She frowned. You’ve been to bars before, Sweetie, she admonished herself. ‘You’ll be fine.’

Nodding to herself, Sweetie took a deep breath and stepped past the swinging doors and into the bar.

The first thing she noticed was that it stank. It reeked, actually. She couldn’t quite place the aroma, but it was so offensive she almost gagged. Almost. However, she trudged on. The last pony’s location should be known to the barkeep, and honestly, she could use a beer. Even if it was in this place.

Creatures of all types were huddled together in small clusters, mostly by species, but one thing she noticed immediately was that every glance directed her way was full of hatred, and then confusion.

“Hey, hey, if it isn’t the glue stick!” A very drunk diamond dog drawled out, pushing himself away from his table and stumbling onto its feet. “Whatcha doin’ here, eh?” he started shambling towards her. “Can-can’t have enough, killin’ some of our best?”

Sweetie scrunched her nose at the fetid smell emanating from the dog’s muzzle. But instead of answering, and risking more exposure, she simply pushed past him.

“H-hey! Just because you’re using a metal armor and grew a horn don’t mean you can do as you want, glue stick!”

There was a sudden silence in the bar. It was even deeper than the one she had initially caused when she had walked into the M.O.D.D.

“Shit,” another dog swore, pulling his buddy back to stick his nose right in front of Sweetie’s face.
“It’s not Harmony! It’s a fuckin’ unicorn!”

“No!” Another dog slobbered. “She has metal wingsss!”

“It’s an armor, ya dimwit!” Another dog growled.

“How many silver stripes can you get for a unicorn horn in the market?”

“I don’t care! I bet her coat alone will fetch a good price!”

“I say we just rip her apart and eat her!”

Slowly, several patrons stood up. Large, hulking creatures, and several diamond dogs. Little green creatures she knew from having read about them in the library were goblins and even some overgrown racoons and a group of gryphons on the bar itself.

“It’s another pony!” Someone shouted, she wasn’t sure who, with the growing mass of bodies around her.

“They’re coming back! They destroyed the world and want to claim it!”

“I don’t want to claim anything!” Sweetie countered. “I want to find Harmony, that’s all. If any of you know where she is, tell me, and I’ll get going.”

“What makes you think you’ll be leaving alive, glue stick?” One of the larger creatures, an ogre, asked, using the back of its long arm to wipe away some drool.

Sweetie lowered herself a little, spreading her legs and casting a warning glare around as her horn began to glow. “I’m warning you, this will not end well if you fight me.”

“Daaaw,” one of the more stinky little goblins snorted. “We’re not gonna fight ya, we’re gonna kill ya!”

“I’ll deep-fry you and feed you to a dragon,” Sweetie threatened, earning a few chuckles from the patrons. She thought she could hear someone hollering for them to stop, but her attention was in the angry and hateful faces of the creatures surrounding her.

And yet, the group remained still for a moment, until two braver (or drunker) diamond dogs rushed at her. Their movements were a mess. Uncoordinated and impulsive. Predictable.

Instead of stepping back, Sweetie stepped in, sweeping around the first one, and combining a mild electric shock with a kick to the lower back, sending him stumbling and swearing into the bigger group, while the first one tried to slice at her armored head, only to find his claws dragging through the air when she was no longer there.

His eyes widened when Sweetie reappeared next to him, twirling her mane and somehow, in a move too quick to follow, his clothes were on fire.

There was a moment of stunned silence, which Sweetie hoped would be the end of it. But then several of them rushed at her, pushing aside tables and chairs to get to her.

Instincts kicking in, Sweetie’s horn flashed as she double-cast, activating her darkvision in time with her dome of darkness. Her telekinesis levitated the crushed chairs, shoving them into the faces of the ogres, or between their legs, making them stumble and fall.

She rolled to the side, gracefully standing and ignoring the few brawlers that slipped and crashed on the ice trail she had left behind. Her position shifted as she leaned down and followed the motion of a diamond dog keeping her back to his as they twirled in place, each tap of her hooves sending a flame or bolt into the body of another brawler, who would, in turn, punch in the direction where the blast had come from, slamming their fists and claws into the confused and terrified dog.

It didn’t take long for her impromptu, unknowing shield to pass out after a particularly vicious encounter with the ripped-off leg of a table, and Sweetie found herself facing the remainder of her opponents. All others had backed away, either waiting for the victor to emerge tired, or content to letting the fray occur without interference.

Allowing her magic to flow through her horn, she projected her voice to the last of the ogres. “You’ll never catch me alive, losers!”

The effect was immediate. The lone raccoon that had joined in howled and launched itself at the ogre, followed by two dogs and a goblin. They all piled up on him, completely oblivious to the fact that she was much smaller than an ogre and started pummeling on him and getting hit harder in return.

After a couple of seconds where her only worries were dodging flying teeth and splattering blood, Sweetie concentrated, creating a whirling bubble of wind in the midst of her opponents. With a burst of magic, it exploded, sending all five combatants flying through the air to crash on the floor, tables and other patrons, with the notable exception of the goblin, which literally flew through the roof.

Sweetie cantered to the center of the room, and, after making sure she looked nice, lifted her darkness spell, revealing the resulting carnage to all other patrons in the M.O.D.D.

The floor of the bar around her was scorched, covered in water, frozen and cracked, and all of her attackers were either unconscious or groaning in pain at her hooves, not even bothering to try and get up. She had dominated the fight in the most efficient manner possible, taking advantage of their ignorance and surprise to dismantle their attacks and take advantage of their weaknesses.

Sweetie looked up smugly, ensured that her show of skill had dissuaded further attempts at attacking her. She was therefore very surprised when another goblin, drunk and stinky threw himself on top of her, circling its arm around her neck, while two ogres tackled her to the floor. She barely had time to register what was happening before a boot was headed towards her face.

Sweetie raised the metal-clad forelegs, protecting herself from a broken muzzle. She managed to block the kick, but the strength behind it smashed her legs onto her face, not breaking anything, but still stunning her and making her see bright flashes for a second. Her eyes searched desperately for a way out, some way to slide between the increasingly heavy pile of bodies that kept landing on her.

She could feel someone trying to pry her armor off: her helm was being pulled in one direction, each metallic wing in another. Someone was tugging painfully at her tail... It was getting hard to breathe under so many heavy creatures. Something smacked against her protected withers, making her wince and earning a clang, another attempt and another followed. She tried futilely to use spells to counter them, but someone noticed her horn glowing, and a heavy blow on it sent lightning bolts of pain into her head, making her cry out in pain and fear.

Sweetie squirmed and pushed, but they had her pinned down. She could feel the warm, fetid smell of her attackers on the few areas of exposed skin that the armor didn't cover. Sweetie cried out a primal, incoherent call for help. She heard something chuckle evilly, saw a metal blade flash in the reflected light of the bar around her.

'This is how I die...' Sweetie thought, desperately gasping for air. 'In the soiled floor of a bar... like a common drunk. Blueblood and everypony else would be proud of me.' She almost chuckled through the pain. Couldn't even get a drink for myself, no wonder I'm not wanted.

Another kick and another thump. The pressure against her protected horn increased, and it felt to her like it was beginning to crack under the constant abuse. The thought of losing her magic terrified her even more than the promise pain by losing her horn. They would strip her of her very essence and make her feel that loss before they took her life and skinned her for cash. It would be like dying twice... but there would be no coming back, no reset to allow her to fix things, no chance to see Twilight or home ever again.

Sweetie closed her eyes and screamed again and again, through the kicks and punches and pressure until something even louder was heard.

The sound was very similar to the time that she had pushed Akela to the most extreme speed she could muster before sending it shooting out with all her power and had managed to fell a stone golem.

It was a loud bang; a cracking sound, akin—and yet so much more violent and deep than—the snap of a whip. Something warm splashed on her face, running down her closed eyelids and the side of her muzzle and was immediately followed by the horrified shout of one of her assailants. The attacks on her horn ceased immediately as the howls of pain increased in volume.

Quickly the pressure on top of her was relieved and Sweetie dared open her eyes, staring without comprehending at the ogre kneeling a few feet away from her, clutching its left ear and hollering in pain, eyes wide and wild. She scanned the faces of the drunk and beaten patrons of the M.O.D.D., following their gazes away from the brute and towards an imposing winged figure seating next to the bar.

A smoking object was pointed steadily at the group as the griffon smiled, golden eyes scanning everyone in front of her with disdain. "Anyone else wants to suck on some lead?" the griffon asked, her tone almost teasing.

She grinned humorlessly at the silence. "I thought as much. You all should know the glue stick is mine. I have work for the wannabe mule marshmallow and I don't want you losers to damage her for real before she gets me my strips."

The goblin that had thrown itself at Sweetie spat and cleaned his mouth with the back of his fore arm. "And since when do you own a unicorn? I think you're lying!"

The other patrons carefully stepped away from him, some even raising objects to clearly intercept any pieces of goblin that might be sent splattering, making him a bit more nervous than he already was, but thanks to either the alcohol or it being as stupid as it looked and sounded, the goblin stayed in place, gulping a little, but still bold enough to give the griffon a challenging look. "What claim or proof do you have to it? I say you let us to our prey instead of trying to steal it from us!"

That's when Sweetie remembered that she could talk. And not only that, the griffon in question was someone she was familiar with, even if they had never talked to each other. "G-gilda?" she gasped, recognizing the griffon from her visit to ponyville and more than one session of Rainbow Dash-worshiping-while-looking-at-old-pictures-of-her-with-Scootaloo.

There was a resounding lack of noise. Then, the goblin simply turned around and walked despondently to sit down and drink the first thing that he saw.

Gilda's eyes had widened slightly at the name, but her confident smirk never wavered. With an inclination of the head, she motioned for Sweetie Belle to join her at the bar.

o.0.o

In the bar, Gilda recognizes Sweetie Belle. Short conversation, she finds out that a group of trolls went out after Harmony. Gilda sends Sweetie with a couple of her crew to drop her off where Scoots was last seen.

o.0.o

The wind pushed ash and snow into the air along the road, blasting around the Last Pony as if were the Windigoes of old themselves trying to entrap her.

She didn't flinch at the biting cold or the howling winds, however. She was used to it, after all, it was the nature of the wasteland. After the moon had crashed, everything on the face of Equestria was pretty much the same.

Scootaloo slowly observed the area, trying to pinpoint the disturbance she had noticed earlier. It was not often that something was dropped around with such ruckus, and the beating of wings had made it sound like it could have been harpies. She didn't like harpies. They were noisy, stinky and deadly, except when they were hunting. Then they were just stinky and deadly.

Scanning the skies from her hiding spot, she narrowed her eyes, trying to see any sign of flying creatures between gusts of swirling ash, but there were none. She seemed to be alone, except for whatever it was that they had dropped.

Scootaloo made her way down the road, clinging to the shadows, and always ensuring something protected her from being seen from above until she reached her objective.

The unicorn in armor had been a young mare, roughly Scootaloo's current age, if she were to guess just from the size. Her body had been well preserved, probably by ice and snow and her armor. But just like all the others, she was gone. Maybe the armor had gotten the attention of the harpies, in which case she needed to hurry.

It was nothing like she had seen before, except perhaps on Luna's guard, although Luna didn't have any unicorns in her service, as far as Scootaloo recalled. It was inscribed with runes, and certainly worth a few good silver strips, but there was something more important to Scootaloo right now; she was running out of horns.

With absolute detachment, she pulled out her saw and other instruments, and glanced around once more. No harpies, yet. They must've gotten into a fight. Well, she wouldn't give up the opportunity to take it now.

She brushed the unusually-well-preserved mane out of the unicorn's face and settled the saw as close to the forehead as she could. She leaned down on it, pressing it against the horn. She hesitated when the unicorn moaned and shifted, then rearranged the saw and prepared to push down on it when it clicked on her.

Scootaloo dropped the saw and stepped back, eyes wide as the unicorn groaned and turned to lie on her stomach, revealing the wings on the back of the armor. Scootaloo's eyes widened when the unicorn pushed herself up and blinked, shaking her head and obviously trying to make sense of what was happening.

Scootaloo scrambled back, hooves sliding on the ashes and sending puffs of white dust around her. She fumbled, drawing out her rifle, and trying to load it unsuccessfully due to her shaking. "T-this isn't happening..."

The unicorn winced and rubbed her withers with her hoof, before looking up and locking eyes with Scootaloo.

They stared at each other until the unicorn's eyes widened. "Scootaloo?!"

“What the?!”

Scootaloo scrambled back away from the unicorn as she struggled to stand up.

“This can't be happening!” Scootaloo sputtered. “I'm the last pony! Nopony else survived! You can't be real!”

The armored unicorn groaned. “If I ever meet Gilda's crew I'll make sure she is the last of her species.”

Scootaloo started screaming.

The unicorn jumped, then stared at hear, saying something that Scootaloo couldn't understand because she couldn't hear her.

Scootaloo took another step back, and another, until she bumped onto a trashcan, and she hiccuped in surprise, causing her scream to end.

“Um... Scoots? Are you—”

She didn’t say anything to the unicorn, ignoring its ramblings. Everypony was dead. Only she had survived.

“Hey! Scoots, I'm talking to you, are you okay?”

Scootaloo turned around and galloped as fast as she could.

o.0.o

Sweetie stared in surprise at Scootaloo when her friend started galloping away. She looked down at herself, making a face when she saw her armor. “Maybe she didn't recognize me?”

Shaking her head, she set after her friend. “Scootaloo! Come on! Don't be like that!”

One thing she had to give to Scoots. She was fast, but Sweetie hadn't trained with the best spies, knights and... models... for nothing. Moving swiftly, she jumped past debris, used her I Quatri Elementi training to not lose momentum when going around corners and her magic to freeze the floor at her hooves and slide through certain areas,, such as under low-hanging pieces of metal or rocks.

She was cutting a lot of corners and giving chase like nopony's business. Hay, a changeling might only be faster because they would change into some sort of bird or something.

And still, Scootaloo was faster.

“Ugh, she's acting like I'm going to eat her!” Sweetie groaned, putting as much speed as she could into her legs. “At least I'm an adult, trying to catch her as a filly...” she muttered to herself before clenching her teeth and charging.

She could see Scootaloo up ahead reaching some sort of ship. [insert Harmony description]

The ship's entrance was already lowering for her friend, and Sweetie knew that if she was stuck outside, she wouldn't be able to make it in time.

Thinking fast, Sweetie cast more ice in front of her, then she jumped on it, sliding forth. She balanced onto her hind legs, and muttering a quick prayer to any Princess that might be listening, she opened her forelegs to the side and used her magic to spread the fake wings of her armor open... then blasted her back with a wind blast.

“Ooooh haaaaay nooooo!” She screached when the air bubble pushed her like a huge hoof against her back, faster and faster. Her eyes widened and she screeched as she created more and more ice desperately.

Scootaloo had barely made inside her ship when the door started to close behind her.

She wouldn't make it in time! Sweetie considered her options until something caught her eye. Gulping, she headed in that direction, blasting herself with wind spells more powerful than the last.

Forelegs flapping wildly, Sweetie propelled herself onto an outcropping and suddenly she was airborne. The feeling of her hooves leaving the ground made her shudder, but the fact that she was halfway there and the door was almost closed was more worrying.

“Dammit, Scootaloo!” She shouted, blasting herself once more with as much air as she could pump onto her back.

She crossed the remaining space within seconds, barely able to brace herself when she slammed onto the Harmony right above the entrance and slid down, landing painfully on the hangar's floor before the door behind her slammed shut.

She groaned and looked up in time to see Scootaloo running through another door and closing it behind her. “Ugh... if this is how she greets her friends, how does she react to strangers?”

o.0.o

Scootaloo slammed the metal door shut behind her, and turned. “Stupid. I let that thing in! Why didn't I shoot it?! It's in the Harmony now!”

She heard the metal-clad unicorn outside, it was calling for something, but Scootaloo didn’t care.

“Think, come on... think. I need to get rid of it, but I can't just waltz out and shoot it, I don't even know what type of creature that is!”

It was when the door handle tried to move that she pulled out her rifle and trained it on the door.

The creature outside banged on it, unable to open the metal door, or apparently burst through it, but Scootaloo was not going to bet her life on it.

She kept her rifle steady, waiting for the moment the creature pretending to be a pony would burst through and attack her. “Come on... make your move...” she whispered, waiting for the creature to break down the metallic door. It was only a matter of time before it tried to break it, right?

She waited and soon the banging stopped. Had the creature quit?

She strained her ears, trying to figure out what the creature was doing. It was rummaging outside.

Scootaloo gritted her teeth. “Come on! Stop going through my stuff! Let's get this over with!”

She heard a gasp.

A flash of light reflected from under the door, and some weird noises, as if the pon-creature were moving things carefully.

Scootaloo frowned. “What are you doing?” She muttered. “There's nothing out there you can use jus—”

She stopped, eyes wide when she heard a familiar sound.

o.0.o

Sweetie coughed and pushed herself up, wincing when her sides hurt. “That's going to leave a bruise...” she muttered. “I'm just glad I had the armor on...”

She looked around at the inside of the Harmony. There was something about it that was very, very... sad. It wasn't the way it was designed, it was the air about it. The way things were laid out. It was just... lonely.

“Scootaloo!” she called, slowly making her way to the door the pegasus had disappeared through. “Come on, Scoots! It's me, Sweetie Belle!”

When no response came, she tried to open the door, but it was locked, as expected. She listened quietly and thought that she could hear some muttering, but she couldn't make out what Scootaloo was saying.

“Scoots! Open the door!” she called, trying again to open it to no avail. “Come on, you can't be scared of me! I'm not some sort of monster!”

She banged the door with her hooves in frustration, before sighing and looking away. “What am I going to do with you? You don't even want to listen!”

Sweetie started walking about, trying to find some clue as to how to open the door without trying to break it down. There was not much around, a few books a few records...

“Huh, I wonder what sort of music Scoots likes to listen to?” Sweetie mused, making her way to the vinyl discs.

She picked one up with her magic and stared at it, gasping in surprise. “Is that—” She grinned. “This is so cool!”

Putting down the record, she summoned her book. After storing her armor away, she took out her bookmark and let it change into its full size. Picking up her cello, she carefully stood on her hind legs and looked down at the disc.

“Damn... I don't know any of those...” She thought for a moment, trying to figure out what sort of melodies they were, just from the title alone. “A bit somber, I think.” Sweetie hummed for a second, before her eyes lit up. “Okay, something simple then.”

She started playing, letting the music envelop her, and closing her eyes as she played for her friend, hoping that it would draw her out.

o.0.o

Scootaloo leaned against the wall, next to the door, listening intently. At first, she had suspected the creature had used one of her Octavia disks, but she didn't know the melody, and it was happier than most of Octavia's pieces.

It was clear that whatever it was, had not simply put one of her records for its own enjoyment. It was somehow playing the cello.

She listened in silence for a couple of minutes, before slowly putting her rifle down and taking a deep breath.

Her mind wandered over what had happened just earlier, and through muddled and panicked thoughts, some of the things the creature had shouted at her finally made their way through her confusion.

“Hey! Scoots, I'm talking to you, are you okay?”

“How did it know my name?” Scootaloo wondered. “Even if it had heard of me, it should call me Harmony, or glue stick. Everyone else does.”

“If I ever meet Gilda's crew I'll make sure she is the last of her species.”

“Come on, Scoots! It's me, Sweetie Belle!”

Scootaloo's eyes widened. The music played soft and comforting past the metal door and walls behind her. “It's impossible.”

She shook her head. “It's impossible,” she repeated. “She's gone, just like everypony else. I'm the last one. She couldn't have survived.”

And yet. And yet there she was. The more she thought about it, the pony under the armor had looked familiar. She hadn't given it a second thought, but now...

The music was what made her pause. It was beautiful. Unique, something that felt like the past, and she had never heard before. It was... it was fun.

“Don't do this to yourself... don't...” she muttered, curling up. “Please.”

And yet, the images came. Running through Ponyville trying to get their own cutie marks.

Laughing.

Flying.

Rainbow Dash.

Sweetie Belle.

Apple Bloom.

Everypony she had only been able to see again thanks to Spike, if only briefly. But this was not the same as being herself as an adult back when... this was... innocence.

Scootaloo pushed herself up from the floor and took hold of her rifle. Slowly, she opened the door and pointed her gun through it, keeping it steady.

She was much calmer now, able to think rationally. But that didn't mean she would let her guard down.

She carefully made her way out, trusting her instincts to know the mysterious creature's location. There was no way it was really Sweetie Belle, but it somehow knew about her.

Her sight finally rested on the pony-like creature. It had taken its armor off, and now stood, on its hind legs, playing a cello it had produced from [gods]-know-where.

The creature was clearly not normal. It's fur had a certain quality to it, as if there were some inner glow that the rest of the world, including Scootaloo, were somehow missing.

Scootaloo shifted forward, maintaining her guard and sat down across from the creature, setting her rifle on the table so she wouldn't have to carry all it's weight, but keeping it trained on the creature in front of her as it played.

It was clear that it was lost in the music. It's eyes hadn't opened when Scootaloo had come out, and it swayed and moved its head in tune with her playing.

It had taken the armor off, as well. Underneath it, the creature looked like a normal young mare would have looked back when there were ponies around. Her coat was white, and her mane was purple and pink, just like Sweetie's had been.

Scootaloo's eyes strayed to the unicorn's flank and she narrowed her eyes when she noticed the cutie-mark.

Still, she said nothing, waiting for the unicorn to finish.

o.0.o

Sweetie Belle drew her bow through the strings one last time before sighing and letting her arm fall to the side.

Everything was quiet for a moment, until Scootaloo spoke up, snapping Sweetie out of her reverie.

“What are you? Some sort of Changeling?” She asked, making it clear by the tightening on her rifle that she was not in a joking mood. “And how did you know my name? Did Gilda put you up to this? Because it's not funny.”

Sweetie Belle carefully put away the cello and bow into a case, before closing it and turning to face Scootaloo.

“Um... no, I'm not a changeling,” she said, looking at Scootaloo with a small smile. “It's really me, Sweetie Belle.”

“That's not true,” Scootaloo growled. “Sweetie Belle is dead. Apple Bloom is dead. Babs is dead. All Crusaders are dead, except me.” She lifted her rifle. “Tell me the truth!”

“I am Sweetie!” she insisted. “Just... from another place and time.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow and Sweetie took it as a sign to continue.

“I'm traveling through time and space, that's why I'm here when the local Sweetie...” she sighed, letting the words hang in the air for a moment. “I know it sounds crazy, but I'm really me. Just not the me from here.”

Scootaloo snorted. “At least you sound like her, completely confused.”

“Hey! I'm a smart pony!”

“So you say.”

They looked at each other for a moment, before Scootaloo lowered her gun and rubbed her temple. “This is just—” she shook her head. “What am I going to do with you?”

Sweetie's stomach grumbled. “Uh... maybe you have something to eat?”

o.0.o

Scootaloo watched Sweetie Belle close her book, frowning and muttering to herself.

Whatever she had written there was clearly not much of a comfort for the young mare.

To be fair, Scootaloo herself had really not written anything at all in her own, only a recount of her findings that day, and little else, but the scribbling had helped ease her mind a little, and bring her thoughts to order. Her mind was still reeling from encountering her old friend again, and whether she was really her friend or a changeling pretending to be her.

Having never seen a changeling herself, it was hard to guess. But so far, unless it was incredibly subtle, there had been no action that might have given it away. For all she knew, this really was Sweetie Belle.

Which still didn't make any sense.

Was she a time-traveler as well? But why hadn't she assumed an enthropic form then? She eyed her guest as Sweetie slumped down on the makeshift bed she had set up with several rags and such, casting some sort of spell to clean them up.

Scootaloo's eyebrow rose at that. She had had a white blanket all this time?

Sweetie didn't seem to care much about whether Scootaloo would shoot her in her sleep, because, with a disgruntled mutter, she laid down her head and soon was snoring softly, chest rising and falling calmly.

Scootaloo shook her head. This Sweetie Belle could not have been from this time and place. She would have never been able to survive if she slept so soundly.

At least her being silent and asleep gave Scootaloo a chance to think without being disturbed.

How much could she trust this unicorn claiming to be Sweetie Belle? Sure, she did look like her old friend would had she had the chance to grow up... it was odd for her to trust this quickly, and not simply dismiss this as a trick. But there was something about Sweetie Belle.

It could have been her eyes, honest and actually glad to see Scootaloo. It could have been that it was simply a unicorn, and Scootaloo hadn't seen any other ponies in such a long time... perhaps just the fact that it looked like a pony, even if it was a changeling, had broken down her defenses.

Or maybe... maybe it was that glow around her. Something that was otherwise missing in this world. She had noticed it earlier, despite her surprise and panic. Sweetie had an otherworldly quality to her that she could only find in the past with Spike's aid.

Her eyes rose to the rusted, metallic ceiling of the Harmony. Could it be... that Sweetie had somehow been thrown forward in time? Was it destiny to find her here?

No. Sweetie had mentioned Gilda. What did she have to do with it? Was the gryphon playing some sort of sick game? She would be the type to send a changeling after Scootaloo to mess with her an— no. Gilda was a lot of things, but this was beyond what she would stoop.

Scootaloo's eyes strayed down from the ceiling and to a small bottle she had carefully placed on the counter before straying out to scavenge for more treasures.

She stared at it silently, looking from it to the sleeping unicorn and back. Wouldn't that be ironic? She snorted and smiled slightly as the idea played in her mind.

Then she paused. “But what if...” she whispered, letting her thoughts trail off for a moment.

Her eyes narrowed and she nodded. There was only one thing to do. And if this Sweetie Belle proved to be fake... well, she would have to pay the consequences.

Whatever happened, Sweetie Belle would not get away without answering plenty of questions. But it wouldn't be Scootaloo alone asking them.

o.0.o

(scene to be moved up to Gilda and Sweetie)

Sweetie sat gingerly next to Gilda at the bar, wincing a little due to her bruises and well-aware of the looks other patrons at the Monkey O' Dozen were giving her.

Gilda growled under her breath and glanced at some of her followers. Soon, there was a small clear area around them, letting them speak in very relative privacy.

“How do you know me?” Gilda whispered harshly, somehow maintaining her composure.

Sweetie could tell the gryphon was bothered however, by the slight ruffle of her feathers and the sense that she was about to pound on her and tear her apart any second now.

“Y-you might not remember me, but I was a filly when you went to visit Rainbow Dash in Pony—”

Gilda cut her off with a glare. “That place is gone.”

Sweetie was silent for a moment. “I gathered.” She nodded towards the door. “There's not much left out there. Is Harmony really the last pony?”

Gilda snorted and downed her drink, motioning for a baboon to serve her another.

Sweetie remained silent when he approached, giving her a very curious look. He opened his mouth to speak, but Gilda growled, making him scuttle away quickly.

Once they were alone, Gilda shook her head. “Apparently not. Unless you're some sort of elaborate prank.” She took a swig of alcohol. “But you smell like a pony. And you can't be. All of them stupid glue-sticks are gone. Except for Harmony.”

“I... I was away.” Sweetie said softly. “Very far away.”

“Wherever you went they should have taught you to fight better than you did.”

“I'm not a fighter,” Sweetie complained, raising her voice. “Besides in a fair fight—”

Gilda rolled her eyes and smacked the back of Sweetie's head so hard she almost slammed her head on the bar.

The griffons around them sneered and more than one patron croaked a laugh.

“Hey!”

Gilda shook her head and put a foreleg around Sweetie's shoulder, pulling her uncomfortably close.

Sweetie could smell not only what passed for liquor here, but also whatever it was that Gilda had eaten that day. She tried to pull away, but Gilda's grip was like steel.

This time her voice was not low.

“Listen, candy mane,” she grinned maliciously. “I'm going to do you a favor, only the one, favor and tell it to you straight: There are no fair fights here. Ever. You shouldn't have brought your fancy tricks unless they included explosions, fireballs or lightning.” Her claws dragged against Sweetie's armor. “If you don't have any of those, you should have brought a gun or something that can blow someone's brains out. Next time, you'll either heed my advice or I'll let these... guys... take care of you.”

A few patrons laughed and other cheered, looking at Sweetie Belle almost hungrily.

“So,” Gilda laughed. “What do you have to say, marshmallow? Do you have any of those?”

“Wait.” Sweetie raised a hoof. “You mean to say I could have blasted someone's brain out with my fireball spell, or electrocuted that guy over there...” she pointed at an ogre. “Until his brains ooze from his ears and I wouldn't get in trouble?”

Sweetie looked around the room.

“So... I could levitate the raccoon, smash him through the table, then use them both to pummel the goblin into a pulp and no-one would say anything? I mean... so, I can split the floor in half and watch everyone without wings or magic fall down the mountain and I would get respect?

Sweetie's eyes went wide. “Hey! So, what happens if I use your shot glass and use it to spear through the Diamond Dog? Or tie everyone's necks together to two ships and make one fall from the sky? What do you use to make it float? Hydrogen? That thing lights up like the sun!”

She was starting to really get into it. “Or-or imagine if I got everyone's guns out, and pointed at each of their owners and shot at the same time?”

The whole room had gone completely quiet, all patrons staring at Sweetie as if she had grown another head.

Gilda slowly closed her slightly open beak. “I think you've had too much to drink, marshmallow.” She pushed Sweetie away from the bar.

“Aww! But I was just starting to get into it!” Sweetie whinnied.

“Yes, and that is the problem,” Gilda muttered, motioning with her head for her crew to follow. “Let's go to my ship, and we can talk there.”

The group stepped out of the silent bar, the patrons giving them a much wider berth than usual.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's Note: This is as far as Skirts and I got through writing. There was originally a plan for Sweetie to have a dark side to her, and this was one of the instances where it would start emerging.

After a bit of discussion, Sweetie was to meet with Spike, and eventually travel to the past, where she was to meet with the CMCs and Harmony. Sharing some of the time-traveling experiences.

Harmony and Sweetie travel for a little while together while the story of what happened is retold to Sweetie, who although happy to see her friend is still in a much darker and despairing mood due to her evil side starting to dominate her personality.

They get a message from the Diamond Dogs, if they want Bruce to live, they must get for them a mysterious purple flame that recently appeared in some ruins (place to be decided) which leads them to Twilight’s fragment at the center of it.

Sweetie then has to decide whether to leave Bruce to die and turn her back on Harmony, or cling to hope, like her friend, and rescue the squirrel... Sweetie doesn’t want to, but Harmony forces her to help if she wants to carry on.

Sweetie embraces Harmony's words and rescues Bruce, with the Fragment being absorbed shortly after. She bids her friend goodbye in this world, hoping that Harmony will achieve her mission... and save everypony.

The pair rescue the Squirrel, which leaves Sweetie with mixed feelings of happiness and relief as well as anger and indifference. Harmony’s last piece of advice before Sweetie leaves is to remember the happy days and hope that they can return. Sweetie leaves, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as one of her best friends is left behind, the last of her kind.

Fallout: Equestria Pt. 1

TSC: Fallout Equestria Pt. 1

By Wanderer D, based on the work of Kkat

Chapter 1

Midnight Shimmer had been free for a little over a month—ever since a certain interdimensional filly had visited the Wasteland and helped the ghouls from her S.T.A.B.L.E. break free of their religious leader. An unintentional side-effect of that battle was that Midnight Shimmer was now truly alone and treated like a pariah by any other alicorn she encountered, even if thankfully they weren't downright hostile.

When whatever the entity that had possessed Eruth was had severed her connection to the Goddess, it had done so in a way that prevented even willing reintegration. Needless to say, Trixie had not been happy. Midnight Shimmer had been placed at that S.T.A.B.L.E. as a punishment, after all, because one of the mares that made her gestalt being had magically removed important memories from her mind just before she was absorbed into the Goddess, denying her of valuable information.

However, Sweetie Belle had seemed to touch something in the Goddess… something deep, very DEEP within the goddess. Something Trixie herself had thought she was beyond—kindness. And as a gift of sorts, in a twisted show of mercy, she had allowed Midnight Shimmer to exist. And there was no doubt that Trixie had the power to destroy her if she so wished. A direct confrontation would be both lethal and stupid for Midnight Shimmer, and if Trixie had felt inclined to, any alicorn that encountered her could have summoned many others to bring her down… but most of her kind saw her with some semblance of horror. A creature that once had been many, reduced to whatever was left.

Midnight Shimmer didn't allow herself to be convinced, however. Having been part of Trixie, she also knew that the so-called Goddess was also a bit afraid that something like that could be contagious and slowly she would lose all of her extensions.

So now she was here, with a familiar sense of being an outcast all over again, flying over the mostly barren surface of the Wasteland, avoiding settlements and landing occasionally on the random irradiated patch to soak up power. She could have stayed with the ghouls, but… that was just not her. It wasn't in any of her mixed natures to be holed up, doing nothing and content to share the place with a bunch of not-quite alive ponies, quite honestly, and the fact that there was so much happening out there… well. She needed clean air (occasionally toxic), freedom to move around and explore.

Now that she was free from both, Trixie and the S.T.A.B.L.E., she could attempt to regain her memories… if only she could remember how. Making sure there were no griffons or other aerial threats, Midnight Shimmer let her mind wander, trying to remember or gain a hint of where she had come from.

She knew, objectively, how she had been born here. Throw a unicorn, a pegasus, and an earth pony into the radioactive goo of a gestaltic abomination, have said abomination play around with their essence and mix them up as she saw fit... Bam. Instant Alicorn.

She could still somewhat feel the remnants of the other two, not slumbering or even aware, but… souls, spun into her own; one a muted, encouraging memory, the other a scared whimper that echoed fear in its current state as much as it had used violence in life to cover it.

At first—when she had been cut off from the Goddess and left in the S.T.A.B.L.E. to watch over the ghouls—the three distinct voices inside of her that made her who she was had warred with each other, cut off from the main gestalt consciousness of the Goddess, it was easy for personalities to try to fight themselves back into reality.

The Earth Pony personality had been the most recent addition of the three, having been obtained years after the war: a survivor-raider mare who had been exploring the Wasteland and trying to obtain resources for her unexpected and mostly unwanted family of murderers and psychopaths.

Whatever she had been in life, her attachments were flimsy at best, and her conviction in her own worth a joke. She survived, fornicated, and survived some more. She had even killed and robbed and murdered and given birth all in one day, one time.

This pony was part of Midnight Shimmer now… something that she'd be unable to forget, no matter how disgusting the whole thing was to her (and even had been to the raider herself, despite her despicable willingness to keep doing it). The raider personality had been loud, obnoxious and demanding at first, threatening and demanding to have full control of the body. She had been the first to break into despair within a week. She had begged to be free and the other two had simply… absorbed her.

It had been somewhat disgusting to mix minds fully with such a creature, but a voice… not another personality, but some hidden memory had said: be kind.

The unicorn had also been a mare. She was… she'd been…

And lastly, the pegasus had been a male guard who had been watching over Twilight Sparkle at some point or another. No one important, but the main source of Midnight Shimmer's passable knowledge of fighting both in the air and on the ground. The raider side of her had been savage, less concerned with efficiency and more with impact. The guard, a family stallion with a daughter, two sons, and a loving wife at the time of his… absorption, was highly trained, efficient and a bit of jughead. What the hell were the Wonderbolts anyway? Had he been as smart as her unicorn side, he would have climbed the ranks fast.

He had lasted a while… and Midnight Shimmer's unicorn side was to blame for that. He had been a comforting side, sensing the fear in her when the Earth Pony Raider could only feel her own necessities. For a jughead he had been very empathic. In her mindscape, he had faded slowly, merging into her as her unicorn side slowly felt more and more confident… until they were a complete, gestaltic being. Three minds, one thought—one self.

The most surprising thing was that—visually speaking—when it came to armor aesthetics or clothes, she shared a LOT with her raider part. Just what kind of unicorn had she been?

Her pleasant internal musings were then interrupted by the tornado.

Gangrene Sawbone was having a great day so far. Yesterday after attacking a caravan, he had acquired a genuine black radigator leather jacket, decorated with sharp, slightly rusty spikes on the shoulders and smaller ones on the sleeves. He'd need to add more metal to it to make it a true Raider wear, but for now, it would work.

After a night of debauchery—inhaling Jet to make the partaking of victims, killing and eating last longer with his fellow Raiders—he had drank himself to a stupor among the bodies of his victims and the whimpering of the females that had survived. After a good-morning romp, he had pushed the broken ponies and occasional dead body away just to stretch, take a crap and prepare himself for a new day of mercilessly ruling the wasteland.

Sure, his camp was small compared to other, larger, Raider gangs, but it was growing, and soon he'd be strong enough to challenge anypony that even looked his way. As he was making his way back to his tent, he heard a voice.

It was too gentle and sweet to belong to any mare in his gang, so he slid towards the supplies shack as silently as he could, and peered in through one of the many holes in the wall.

Inside, a young mare with the whitest coat he had ever seen… pristine, really, was mumbling something and sniffling, looking like the most breakable, sensitive thing in the world.

He grinned, already salivating, his thoughts turning to what he would do to her… chain her up, stab her forelegs as he made her his. Break her mind until she belong to him and his gang. Turning around, he motioned for Bloody Chain to quietly gather the others.

Once they were ready, he kicked the door in.

Slowly, a tear splashed on the photo, soaking the diary pages a little, followed by another. Sweetie shook, her mind unable to fight the overwhelming sense of loss she suddenly felt. "No…" she whispered, gritting her teeth. "No.. nono… Twilight—why didn't you tell me…"

She bent forth burying her face on her diary, pressing her forehead against it as the smell of a freshly-printed photo invaded her senses, preserved perfectly by the magic of her diary. The one thing that she hadn't been able to see or use when she had been reborn in Vision.

The one thing that might have changed her ultimately selfish decision. The one thing she could not make an excuse for to herself or anypony else. She hadn't know… couldn't have known… and yet—

Sweetie didn't hold it in, snapping her head back and wailing in despair as her fully-restored magic created a maelstrom of destruction around her. The metallic barrels shook as Twilight's fragments resonated with the magic, spinning around her, shredding the building and ripped the flimsy roof away.

She heard distant screams, blocked by the roar of magic and wind and thunder.

"You played me!" she shouted, tears not even reaching the ground before they were blown away by the winds.

Twilight had seen right through her.

"You played me like a fool!"

Midnight Shimmer considered turning around and flying in another direction, but then she heard the desperate screams of a pony as a burly, chained-wrapped pony flew past her, caught in the tornado. She could now see several pieces of structures hurling up in the air, sucked up by the force of the winds, and in the eye of the storm, a single, familiar-looking mare stood, shouting something into the sky as lightning and fire swept around her.

Midnight Shimmer quickly flew down, carefully avoiding the worst of the winds, and casting a shield around herself to prevent the debris from hitting her. She landed a few meters away from the origin of the magical maelstrom, and her eyes widened slightly when she realized she had not been imagining things.

It was Sweetie Belle… but looking slightly older. No longer a cutie-mark-less teen, but a young adult mare in obvious distress. The fact that she had several of those purple shards spinning like crazy around her, amplifying her magic, was also a good tell.

Eventually the magic storm died, along with its invoker's willpower, and Midnight Shimmer quickly made her way over to cast her shield over Sweetie as well, protecting her from the falling debris.

She enveloped the young mare in her magic, closing the diary at her hooves and looked around, trying to figure out what to do.

Things had gotten complicated again.

End Part 1

Author's Note

Yes. A much shorter chapter, but this will make it easier for me until I finish the FOE chapters with some consistency. Not all chapters will be the same size... hopefully the following ones will be longer, but hey, progress!

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Night's Favored Child Pt. 2

The Sweetie Chronicles: Fragments
Night's Favoured Child
By Wanderer D and Municipal Engines

Twilight strode along the halls of the palace with great purpose, heavy saddlebags on her back. The Bright Moon hung in the middle of the sky, signaling the beginning of noon. Earlier that morning, her mother had asked her more questions about Sweetie Belle, such as where she came from and where she learned her magic. Twilight had answered Nightmare Moon to the best of her ability, telling her truthfully that she had no idea where Sweetie had learned magic and that she originally came from Ponyville but traveled all around the world. She refrained from saying that they had scheduled a rendezvous that afternoon, as she would rather not have her mother intimidate her newfound friend.

As she had predicted, her mother was evasive when she asked about the golem and contract magic. As always, it seemed, the Inquisitor would have to be her source of education in this matter. She loved her mother dearly, and cherished the lessons she was taught, but sometimes Twilight felt that Nightmare Moon was a bit overprotective, especially when it came to what she could learn. She had learned about dark magic once from a book and when she pressed the Empress for lessons about it, Nightmare Moon simply told her that it was not for her to learn.

The Inquisitor had been much more open. He took great joy in both teaching her and going behind the Empress of Equestria’s back by teaching her forbidden arts. It was, as he had said, their own dirty little secret. Twilight found that keeping such secrets from her mother was exciting and served to strengthen the bond she shared with her “Uncle Inky” – a nickname that the stallion emphatically supported. This new “contract magic” would be yet another secret they shared.

She finally came to the door of the Chancellor of Equestria, whose position as the Lord Commander of the Empire’s security forces required him to give up his name for the moniker of “Inquisitor” as a show of complete devotion to the state. She knocked and the door soon opened, revealing her tutor in forbidden sorcery.

He was a tall stallion, and quite well-built considering his job didn’t exactly give him the opportunity for an abundance of exercise. His coat was a dark ash grey and his mane – combed back so lazily yet so expertly – was as black as ink. For some bizarre reason, the Inquisitor preferred to clothe himself, usually in his closed-neck jacket and pants. The high-collared jacket was straight and neat, with a smooth silky black sheen, and there were no buttons on it. It had a strangely quasi-military feel that would be intimidating to most other foals but Twilight. She had grown up around the Inquisitor and his Imperial Overwatch, so the uniforms didn’t bother her.

The stallion looked at her with eyes so dark the almost blended into his pupils, and smiled. He almost always smiled. It was often a boyish, self-confident smirk that made him give of an air of blasé superiority.

“What can I do for you, Spark?” he asked, calling her by the pet name he had given her when she first came to the palace.

“Can I come inside?” Twilight asked, looking over her shoulder. “I’d like some, uh, private lessons.”

His eyebrows rose good-naturedly. “As Her Highness commands.”

The young unicorn rolled her eyes and stepped into the Inquisitor’s residence. Like most of the important officials and court nobles, he had a luxury apartment within the palace’s residential wing. It was here that they would conduct their lessons whenever secrecy was desired. Twilight went into the living room, which was filled with tasteful and ornate decor and foreign objets d’arte. She had always liked his living room; it was a musty place, filled with the smell of old wood and old paper. It wasn’t gaudily decorated, but somber and refined. It was as cozy as a library, in Twilight’s opinion, which was perhaps the highest compliment she could give a room.

She sat down on a large cushion by the fireplace, which was lit for the fact of winter’s approach. He took a seat opposite her and sighed.

“I will probably come to regret this, you know. I have a lot of paperwork that needs attending.”

Twilight smiled. “Mother commanded that you drop everything if I needed teaching or supervising, so you can’t use that as an excuse.”

“Oh you and I both know this isn’t the kind of teaching she had in mind,” he retorted, still smiling. “So, what new forbidden thing have you discovered that your mother refuses to talk to you about?”

“Contract magic. Have you ever heard of it?”

The Inquisitor’s dark eyes widened. “Ah, that. I am… familiar, yes. What made you interested in it, if I may ask?”

“I met a friend recently,” Twilight said. “Last evening, actually. She made this golem for me.”

She opened her saddlebag and out came Zosimos the golem. The little quartz facsimile of a pony regarded the Inquisitor with a curious, eyeless stare. The gray stallion leaned forward, his own curiosity evident in his eyes.

“She made it for you?” he asked, voice heavy with fascination. “How old is your friend?”

“My age, I think. Probably a little older.”

“Hmm. Rare to see contract magic used this well by one so young, even if it’s only a simple thing.” He poked Zosimos, who staggered back quite passively. “Doesn’t seem to have a lick of violence in its gem body. Though it will protect you if you are threatened.”

“So how did she make it? What is contract magic,” Twilight asked, quite excitedly.

“Hold on.” The Inquisitor lit his horn with a black glow and levitated the golem towards him, his eyes flashing white all of a sudden with some unidentifiable spell. The little thing struggled furiously before Twilight made it lie still. After giving the golem the once-over, the stallion put Zosimos back down and allowed it to retreat to the safety of its master’s side.

Twilight was getting impatient. “So?”

“So do you understand what the spirit world is?” the Inquisitor asked.

Twilight nodded. “It’s the place just outside the tangible plane; where life lives without bodies, just as souls and spirits. It’s where we initially end up when we die, before we’re welcomed into a heaven by a sponsor.”

“I see the Empress’s theology lessons have been useful at least,” the Inquisitor nodded. “Yes, that is all true. But did you know that most things have a spirit of some kind? From trees to rivers to, yes, even rocks like the quartz your little golem is made from.”

“Wait, so everything has a soul?” Twilight frowned.

“Not in the sense that you and I have a soul, but it’s more like… like how a plant is technically a living thing but is no way comparable to an animal or a sapient being. There is life and magic in rocks and rivers too, but only in a vague sense. It’s… quite complicated, but all you need to know is that you can contact these rock-spirits and water-spirits.”

“So is that what Sweetie did?” Twilight wondered to herself, frowning in thought, before saying to the Inquisitor, “She… whispered. Or Sang? Well, it wasn’t really whispered but that’s the best way I can describe it. She whispered to the quartz and it grew into Zosimos here. It wasn’t like any kind of language I have ever heard. It was… I can’t really describe it.”

The stallion tapped a hoof contemplatively on his chin. “Hmm… well, there are numerous methods of contacting a spirit like this, but to me it sounds like she was using the deers’ methods. When they contact spirits, they speak a language that can be best described as the tongue of the wind in the leaves and the babbling brook. It’s all very mystical and fae and rather superfluous in my opinion, but the spirits do seem to like that magic.”

“So what was she doing when she spoke to it?”

“Making a contract, Spark. You say the quartz grew into a pony shape before your eyes?” Twilight nodded. “Well then, my best guess is that she encouraged the spirit of the quartz to grow and act like a living creature, which is a very curious method of golem-building for one as young as her. I’ve only really heard of the deer doing it like that.”

“That… doesn’t make much sense,” Twilight furrowed her brow. “So she just talked to the rocks and told it to become an animal?”

“Uh… hmm,” the Inquisitor hummed, looking upwards into the ceiling. “I guess you can say that, but it’s fairly complicated. Like I said, there are many different ways to build a golem, and contract magic is one of them, and there are still many more ways to do contract magic. Generally they’re used to form contracts with the dead and… and other things, not usually nature spirits. That’s deer territory usually.”

The little unicorn nodded, slightly more satisfied. All she needed to do was press Sweetie about it and they would have a great discussion. Maybe she would tell her where she learned it from; the deer probably. If she had been traveling the world, she must have gone to Cervidia and learned it from one of the fair folk. Twilight felt butterflies of excitement rise in her stomach. She had never been to Cervidia, and the books on it were nebulous at best. Sweetie could tell her so much besides magic!

Then a new question formed in her mind when she went over the Inquisitor’s explanation. She looked up at him. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘other things’?”

The casual smile fell from his face and his eyes steeled. “I mean there are other things, Twilight, besides beings of life and beings of death. I cannot stress this enough, but you will not go looking for them. This is like our little talk about bad things in the palace; secrets that even I won’t teach you. There are things that are too dangerous for ponies such as yourself to mess with; things that ponies were not meant to know. Understand?”

Twilight shrank at the Inquisitor’s words. They were heavy and laden with a seriousness that she rarely ever heard from him. There were boundaries, she knew, that not even the open-minded Inquisitor would dare let her tamper with. She shivered at the implications of the stallion’s warnings and gulped, looking up into his stonily sober eyes. “I understand. Does this mean you won’t teach me contract magic?”

The Inquisitor closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “I need to teach you the dangers and how to avoid them before I teach you the rest. What your friend did had little chance of backfiring, but if you just throw your magic and your consciousness out there like a fishing line in a dark, deep lake, you might just catch a monster rather than a fish. You have to be very specific and very sure. Summoning the spirits of something in front of you, especially if it’s something simple like a rock or a tree, is rather safe. I will teach you that, but first I would like to meet your friend.”

“Oh, I…” Twilight paused, unsure of whether to let the Inquisitor meet Sweetie Belle this afternoon. After all, she hadn’t told Sweetie she would be bringing along anypony, and she had vanished fairly quickly when she heard Nightmare Moon coming. “I think I can do that, though I’m not sure when I’ll next see her.”

The Inquisitor smiled. “When you do, let me know. Does your mother know about her?” Twilight nodded. “Well, I should think we both would like to meet her in that case. Now, if you don’t mind, Spark, I would really like to get back to my paperwork.”

Twilight was about to press for further information, and maybe even a demonstration, but thought better of it. The mood for learning had been killed by the revelation of greater dangers, for both herself and her would-be teacher. Instead she told Zosimos to climb back into her bag and allowed the Inquisitor to show her to the door.

“Thank you,” she said, turning back as she passed through the threshold. “I really appreciate what you’ve told me.”

“And you promise me you won’t go messing around with it until I have the opportunity to supervise?” the stallion asked, his tone very serious again.

“I promise.”

He nodded. “Good, that is… that is good. Have a pleasant day, Twilight.”

The Inquisitor closed the door and Twilight walked away, not knowing what to feel. She had learned more about her friend’s magic, and in doing so maybe more about her friend. But she had also learned… unpleasant things. She shivered again at the thought. She could only hope Sweetie Belle understood the dangers too.

Sweetie Belle leaned against the tree she had chosen to lay down to while she waited for Twilight to arrive. The sky was still light enough to give the gardens a very unique feeling of quiet and peace.

But her thoughts were in other, darker, places. She thought about the Cult. About Lyra and the other ponies giving into such primal dancing and emotions. It might not have been the orgy that Lyra had hinted at, but it had been a very powerful moment… all of it, however, hiding a dark whispering force, not unlike the True Fairies that had enslaved her.

Maybe that was the reason she had started to think about them again. It might not be obvious, but she could feel their influence in this plane subconsciously. She hadn't even used her hedge magic in a while, but here… she shook her head, thinking back on the situation from earlier in the day.

She had thought that flirting a bit with Lyra was just for fun, but after that… she shuddered. At least she hoped that Lyra would not be like that when she wasn’t… whatever she had been.

She hadn’t learned much either. The claims the Hierophant made were half mysticism and half based on what, apparently, the main religion already preached. Even if she had been willing to believe such wild claims, that otherwordly presence had eliminated all possibility of trust.

“I can’t believe I left Lyra behind,” Sweetie muttered to herself. “I wonder how much she’s been exposed to that…”

It was then that she heard somepony approaching. Turning around, she caught sight of Twilight just as she ducked under some willow leaves.

“Hi, Sweetie Belle!” Twilight said, giving her friend a little wave. The golem followed, glued to her hind hooves.

“Hi, Twilight,” Sweetie greeted her back, standing up and nodding. “How was your day?”

Twilight frowned very briefly. “Oh, uh, it was okay actually. My… my mom asked me about you this morning.”

Sweetie chuckled. “I figured she would, I did give you a golem, and from what I’ve seen there’s so much pomp and formality around that she must have been curious.”

“Yeah, she was…” Twilight paused and then opened her mouth, looking like she was about to say something, before closing it again and shaking her head slightly. “I named him Zosimos. At least, I’m thinking of it as a he.”

“Zosimos?” Sweetie asked. “Any particular reason?”

“He was an alchemist – one of the first,” Twilight explained. “Some of his most famous work was with gems and he pretty much invented rock farming.”

Sweetie laughed. “That’s an excellent name for it!”

“I know! But for a little while, I considered naming him something with a pun in it.” Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “Mom agreed that it would have been terrible.”

“My big brother would always make puns. They were horrible, but he didn’t care,” Sweetie said.

“What’s your big brother’s name?” Twilight asked, suddenly curious. She walked over and sat down next to her friend, with little Zosimos planting himself at her side.

Sweetie thought for a moment. “I don’t know if you’d believe me,” she laughed a little, her smile becoming a bit distant. “I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again… but he… I wouldn’t have survived this long without him being there for me.”

Twilight shifted and put a hoof on her friend’s. “I get what you mean… I don’t think I’ll see my brother again either. Well, he’s not really my brother, but we were… we were very close.” Twilight’s eyes misted over. “He left me years ago, and I haven’t seen him since, but he used to send letters sometimes, especially on my birthday. But this year he… he didn’t. That’s why I was so upset yesterday.”

The pair remained quiet for a moment. “It’s horrible,” Sweetie finally said. “Not being able to see him again. He gave me so much of his time, he taught me so much about being a better pony.” She closed her eyes. “I hope he is well. And I hope he is happy.” Her eyes opened once more and focused on Twilight. “He gave me strength to continue and find my way to my sister, who I also haven’t seen in a long time… but I know, here,” she patted her chest. “That I’m in his thoughts, and hers… and that we will somehow see each other again, or at least I’ll know he’s okay.”

Twilight sniffled and hugged Sweetie Belle.

Sweetie hugged her back, before sniffling herself, and cleaning a couple of tears from her eyes. “Why-why don’t we talk about something happier?” She gave Twilight a smile. “We’ll think of them, and remember them, but also do right by them and try our best to be happy.”

“Y-yeah…” Twilight forced a smile and looked away, thinking of a good change of subject. “So… contract magic? That’s how you made Zosimos, right?”

Sweetie blinked. “Well, yes, of a sort, although it's not what you would call unicorn magic or regular magic." She bit her lip, trying to think of how to explain it best. "I convinced it that it would be a good idea to be a nice little golem friend for you, and the quartz agreed, and then I sorta told it that it would be nice if it looked like a pony, because it could move and… yeah. A contract. Pretty much."

“So, you didn’t actually use magic to make it do anything… huh,” Twilight mumbled, half to Sweetie Belle and half just to herself. She looked at the golem. “But why the matrix, then? And don't you think thirteen nodes for the matrix seems a little much?”

“It’s not a little much, it’s excessively wasteful,” Sweetie admitted. “But, I did want to show off a little.” She giggled, nodded and added, "The matrix is just there to give the spirit energy to keep its form and perform all the little things it can do. You see, due to their nature, rock and gem spirits are very static, so, unless they're really motivated, it would just come to a complete stop eventually, so it would have followed you around for a few hours, then gotten tired, and forgotten to do anything again… unless another contract was formed. The matrix, although a bit excessive in power and overly…" She rolled her eyes at Twilight's arched eyebrow. "Okay, it's extremely, perhaps even ridiculously redundant, but the point is that it keeps a constant feedback of energy, keeping the spirit of the quartz active to perform its contract indefinitely.” She smirked. "Besides, the additional nodes grant it the ability to learn a few more things."

“Can I add anything to him?” Twilight asked. “Like make him perform more complex actions or make him bigger?”

Sweetie pondered for a moment. “I… don’t know, I think you can modify the matrix… I guess one of the unexpected advantages of it being so excessive is that you can divert it? But my methods of changing things are a bit different, I don’t think Zosimos would want me to mess around with him.”

“Hmm, maybe I’ll tinker with the matrix later, and see what I can add. I only hope I don’t break him.” Twilight got to her hooves. “Hey, do you want to have a walk around the gardens? I have an all-access pass.”

Sweetie grinned, “Sure! It’s not like they could really stop us anyway if we put our minds to it, though.” She allowed Twilight to take the lead, and followed to her right, and slightly behind her. Despite what she had told Lyra earlier, she was aware of how other ponies might react to seeing her walking side by side with Twilight. So just enough to be respectful… but not too much that she would make Twilight feel uncomfortable. Blueblood would be proud.

“By the way,” Sweetie spoke up. “I don’t know how much you know about them, but whatever you do, do not, ever, go to one of the Cult Imperia’s meetings… there’s something wrong there.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Mom never lets me near any of those places. I still talk to North Star though, but she’s learned not to try and ‘convert’ me.”

They left the grove, with Zosimos hot on their tails, and began to meander through the gardens. The whole place was immaculately sculpted, with the paths forming geometric patterns and the hedges shaped and positioned in the most fetching of ways. Plants and flowers of all kinds were featured, and every so often Sweetie could see a gardener busy with their trade. Servants and government officials alike walked through the gardens, some giving the two friends curious looks.

“I’m surprised you’ve heard of Contracts, Twilight,” Sweetie said after a moment of thoroughly enjoying the magnificent gardens. “It’s not a subject usually talked about by most ponies in my experience, even magicians.”

“Oh, well I heard Mom mention them after I asked her how you made Zosimos, but she refused to elaborate.” The lavender unicorn scowled. “She always does that. Some things are ‘too dangerous’ or ‘too evil’ or just generally forbidden to her. She won’t even make a foal for ponies because the alicorns said you can’t make life millennia ago.” Twilight shook her head. “Anyway, I asked the Inquisitor about it and he… gave me a rough idea of contract magic.”

Sweetie went quiet for a moment, pausing in their walk to turn to look at Twilight. “Look, Twi… I know that you’re feeling like she’s keeping stuff from you but… if I could trade all I have learned of Contracts, or everything I’ve gained, in exchange for never having gone through what I did to learn it… I would. I’d never even look back. There are things that are too dangerous—too alien and evil for us to understand. Things that don’t care if you’re a good pony or if you miss your home, or if you’re bleeding to death. They’ll gather what’s left of you, and remake you, just to watch you suffer until you can escape…” she shook her head, blinking away her haunted eyes, then noticed Twilight's look. “I-I’m sorry… just… I wish somepony could’ve been there to protect me as well.”

Twilight stared at her friend, a growing horror in her eyes. “The Inquisitor warned me about… things that aren’t alive or dead that you could contact with this kind of magic, but…” She took a step towards her friend and placed a hoof on her shoulder in what she thought was a comforting gesture. “Sweetie Belle… what happened to you?”

Sweetie closed her eyes, not pushing away Twilight’s hoof. “When I arrived… they were waiting for me.” Her whisper came out in a shuddering breath and she visibly struggled to keep her composure. “I always thought they were only from one world… but at almost every place I go, I hear them now."

She glanced at the shadows between the leaves of the trees. "Things, dark things that are... there, waiting.” She sighed, not looking at her friend. “And I thought I was safe for the most part… after a while the only whispers and senses came only when I invoked a contract or got really emotional but since I came here... for some reason—" She gulped. "What happened to me…I was-it’s not something I like to talk about, please?”

Twilight enveloped her friend for another embrace, unaware and uncaring of anypony else at that moment. “Okay… we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But I’m here if you do want to talk… or if you want to just keep your mind off it or anything. I’m here for you.”

Sweetie leaned into the embrace. Just like Twilight Sparkle had been there to comfort her after saving her from the Maestro of Broken Dreams, so was Twilight here to be there for her. It always came down to Twilight.

Twilight whom she had doomed to be spread across the multiverse. Twilight whom she had been slowly killing without knowing so. Twilight who had always, always, made sense of things, and who she felt so close spiritually and magically. Her mentor, her savior, her victim… and friend.

Sweetie sobbed once, unable to keep it in. “I’m sorry.” She tried to rein it in, bring her control back, but the more she attuned with this world, the more she just knew… they were here. Perhaps not the exact same ones, but close enough.

Twilight rubbed her back. “Don’t be.”

Sweetie took a deep breath and pulled back, looking at her friend, who was for once, her own age, with her own share of trials and stress. “I’m just glad to be your friend. Thank you for understanding.”

“It’s okay. You’re welcome. And thank you too, for yesterday,” Twilight smiled. She looked at the ground for a moment or two before flicking her eyes back up to Sweetie’s, suddenly bashful. “Do you mind me asking… but you said ‘worlds’ and… well, what did you mean by that?”

Sweetie cringed. “Well, you see… the thing is… remember when I said I had traveled all over? Well I did. Just, further than you might have otherwise thought.”

“Good afternoon, Princess!” a deep, gravelly voice called. “Who’s this here, may I ask?”

They both turned to find a large guard dressed in deep purple armor, with a helmet that had what looked like fins instead of a plume and an overall design that was more alien and menacing than the armor of the regular Royal Guard. This guardspony, however, was obviously anything but a regular Royal Guard, even if he had the golden armor. Bat-like wings were folded at his sides, and his ears were tufted much like a bat’s. The stallion’s eyes were golden and held slitted pupils – like those of a cat or lizard – and his mane was a sleek jet black, long and tied up in a ponytail. He was all muscle and his jaw was square and chiseled.

“Oh! Captain Proud Song, so good to see you!” Twilight said, her smile becoming much brighter. “This is my new friend, Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, this is Proud Song, Captain of the Honour Guard. He’s in charge of mine and my mother’s safety.”

Sweetie gave a small curtsy, using her training under Fleur to look extremely refined while doing so. “A pleasure to meet you, Captain.”

“And you, Lady Sweetie Belle.” The stallion gave a short bow to the young mare. “Any friend of the Princess is a friend of mine.”

“Always glad to make new friends,” Sweetie replied.

The captain turned to Twilight. “Shining Armor has been asking around for you.”

“Oh?”

Proud Song nodded. “He was wondering if you wanted to practice spells together. Fine boy, that. Gentlecolt to the bone, even if he can be a bit of a dolt, but what colt isn’t these nights? Fine soldier too, but don’t tell him I said that, Princess, otherwise he’ll start to get full of himself.”

Twilight smiled. “Oh, well I am sure that’s only because of your training, Captain. You’re a wonderful teacher.”

“Hah! Hardly; he gets most of his skills from his father. In any case, I will see you around, Princess.” He smiled at her, looking at the necklace she wore. “That necklace looks very nice on you, Princess Twilight.”

The unicorn princess’s smile grew as her cheeks reddened. She turned her head slightly. “Oh, well thank you…”

“Take care, Your Highness,” he said, bowing his head again. He looked at Sweetie Belle and repeated the action. “And you too, my lady.”

With that brief encounter, he was off further into the garden, leaving Twilight staring at him as he walked away. Unknown to her, she sighed dreamily and placed a hoof on her golden necklace.

Sweetie coughed. “So, that captain. He certainly is charming. A stallion, no doubt, worth his weight in gold.”

“Oh, he is...” she breathed, then blinked and straightened her posture, repeating in a much less wistful – perhaps overly sober – manner, “Oh. He is.”

Sweetie grinned. “My, Princess, if I were to be so bold, I would even say that you might even fancy him.”

“No!” Twilight snapped, blushing. “No I do not.”

Sweetie giggled. “Sure you don’t,” she grinned. “So, Shining Armor. You practice spells with him?”

“Yeah, I do. He’s Arcturus the Bear-Bane’s son. Have you ever heard of him?” Twilight asked, thankful for the sudden shift in conversation topic.

Sweetie shook her head. “I can’t say I have. Still, sounds like a nice pony, from what Captain Proud Song said.”

Twilight nodded. “Oh yes, he is. He is really, really nice to me, and not just because I’m a Princess, I think. He looks out for me… beyond how a knight looks out for a princess. He takes a… personal interest in me, like a friend.”

“I think it’s a friendship worth nourishing. I’m sure he’ll keep an eye out for you,” Sweetie said. “Like a big brother of sorts.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely,” Sweetie nodded. “He already helps you practice, and by the Captain’s own words, he’s reliable, if a bit goofy for now. Sounds like a big bro to me.”

Twilight giggled. “Well I have known him since I was nine, and he did teach me how to fly a kite. Actually, he did come just after Orion – the pony I was telling you about earlier, who was like family to me – left. He looks a lot like him too, strangely enough.”

Sweetie shrugged. “There you go. And here you thought you had few friends, Twi.” She winked at the princess. “Few, but definitely worth it.”

“Well, he is away a lot on some kind of training or mission from his father, but when he’s here, he’s very… friendly.” Twilight frowned at Sweetie Belle defensively. “You better not accuse me of having a crush on Shining Armor.”

It took five minutes for Sweetie to stop laughing. When she recovered, wiping the last of the mirthful tears from her eyes, she found Twilight staring at her, dumbstruck. “I’m not even going to ask what you found so funny about that.” The princess shook her head, before her smile returned. “Actually, you know what’s strange?”

“Octopi,” Sweetie replied immediately. “Have you ever wondered, just how they can control each tentacle in turn to move? And each sucker in each tentacle? Individually? Can you imagine if… they had more than one brain?”

Twilight’s eyes widened at that, and she stared at the ground in sudden intense contemplation. “No… I haven’t until now. You know what? That is fascinating. I’ll have to—” She stopped and shook her head. “No, no, save that for later. Where was I? Oh yes! What’s strange is that we all have similar cutie marks: Shining, you and me. It’s that big purple star which Mom says is the spark of magic. So I guess your special talent is… singing magic? Voice magic? Something to do with sound?”

Sweetie bit her lip. “Well… I-I can sing, and play the cello.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. I’d love to see you perform some time, if you don’t mind.”

Sweetie nodded. “It’d be my pleasure! I could do it now, if you want?”

“Um, maybe somewhere with better acoustics?” Twilight hummed, thinking. “Actually, you still don’t have a place to stay, do you?”

“Not really, no,” Sweetie replied, looking at her friend. “But I couldn’t impose on your hospitality.”

Twilight grinned. “It wouldn’t be imposing! We have more rooms than we know what to do with. I just have to ask my mom.” Her eyes widened at a new thought and she beamed, closing her eyes in delight and clapping her hooves together. “Oh, we can have a sleepover! I’ve never had one before, but I can find a book that will help me throw the perfect one!”

Sweetie grinned. “We can try that. If you think Nightmare Moon will be okay with it.”

The princess waved a dismissive hoof. “Oh, she’ll be fine. I bet she’ll love you when I introduce you to her.”

Sweetie considered Twilight’s words. “If you think so, but she might be a bit wary, I don’t want her to think bad of me or anything and then we can’t hang out. So don't be disappointed if she's a bit reluctant or downright denies it.”

“She won’t,” Twilight stated, quite serious now. “I’ll make sure of it. Besides, she always wanted me to make more friends, so she can’t complain when I finally do.”

“Even when it’s a young mare with a mysterious past, no family ties, an unexplainable ability to appear out of nowhere, and a suspicious ability to perform Contracts with quartz?”

Twilight smiled in a soothing manner. “Well… I mean, she took me in and eventually adopted me, and I was kind of like you minus those suspicious abilities. Can you at least give her a chance? She will probably like you. Probably.”

Sweetie laughed. “I’m more worried about her giving me a chance to begin with, but sure, we’ll try it and see how it goes.” She stepped to the side and bowed, extending a hoof out gracefully. “After you, my Princess.”

Twilight giggled and pressed forward, leading the way through the beautiful gardens of Canterlot Palace, Sweetie and little Zosimos in tow.

Twilight led Sweetie Belle through the palace, politely shutting down all attempts at conversation with a simple compliment and a lightly-spoken excuse. If she had offended any noble who had tried to curry favor from her, she really didn’t care. For the second time that night, she walked through the halls of her home with a goal: to find her mother so she could keep her friend (and keep her close).

Their path brought them to the gargantuan doors of the throne room. Any formal session or appointment was over for the night, as Twilight had learned from one of the guards. Apparently the room that lay just beyond the doors before which she now stood was occupied by only her mother and the Inquisitor. They often had these little private chats, drinking wine or sipping tea. Sometimes Twilight would be there with them, and they would simply talk about what they had gotten up to recently. She loved those little moments, but she never knew what the Inquisitor and the Empress talked about when she wasn’t with them. She turned to Sweetie Belle.

“Well, that’s a bit of luck. You’ll get to meet both my mom and the Inquisitor,” she said to her friend.

'Good luck or bad luck? There's a pony called "The Inquisitor", that never bodes well.' Sweetie tilted her head. “Is that okay? Simply walking into a meeting might be… a bit much.”

“Oh, they never mind it when I do that. Why should now be any different?” Twilight asked rhetorically.

“Lead the way, then,” Sweetie said, shaking her head in amusement.

Twilight nodded to Sweetie and then, turning, nodded to the guards. The unicorn of the pair used his magic to open the great, ornate doors of the throne room and allowed Twilight through. He called out.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle and guest for you, Your Majesty!”

The throne room was a vast, vaulted place, and was very much like the throne rooms of most Canterlots Sweetie was familiar with; it was tiled and edged by beautifully-sculpted columns and frescoed walls. This one, however, was slightly different. Its own stained-glass windows contained night-themed scenes, and what Sweetie could only assume was a Nightmare Moon posing victoriously in the aftermath of a battle.

The other most obvious difference was the throne. Gone was the white, elegant throne of Celestia, replaced by something that, though still quite elegant, was more alien and imposing, which brought unpleasant memories of another dark palace. It was a high throne of obsidian glass, resting on a massive pyramided dias of the same substance. Sitting on this throne, leaning against the monolithic back of her seat, was Nightmare Moon. She wore regalia rather than her armor, with a peytral, tiara and slippers much like those worn by Celestia, only silver instead of gold. Set almost as an afterthought, several steps below the throne proper was a smaller throne with a much smaller back. Here lounged an ashen unicorn stallion in what looked to be a black tunic and pants, his hair an inky black.

When Twilight, Sweetie and Zosimos stepped inside, the doors closed behind them. Twilight met her mother’s turquoise eyes and smiled.

“Hello, Mom, how has your night been?” she asked.

“Good, Twilight,” the Empress replied, smiling. She eyed Sweetie Belle with some curiosity. “I suppose this is your friend you have been telling me about? The one who made… what was he called again?”

“Zosimos,” Twilight supplied. “And yes, Sweetie Belle here made him.” She stepped to the side slightly and beckoned her friend forward.

Sweetie stepped forward, and in a fluid motion, curtsied low. “Your Majesty,” she said humbly. “It’s an honor to be in your presence.”

Nightmare Moon smiled coolly. “A perfect show of decorum. I suppose you are from a… higher class of pony?”

Sweetie shook her head. “Only well educated, your Majesty.”

“Ah, well, please, come sit by me.” Her eyes went to her daughter. “I hope you have been telling your friend good things about me, Twilight.”

“Of course I have, Mother!” Twilight shrilled, a blush coming to her face. This reaction brought on the rich, velvety laughter of the alicorn empress.

They walked towards the throne just as a couple of large, plush cushions appeared out of the air and were placed on one of the daises below the throne. Sweetie and Twilight took their places, thankful for not having to stand. While the Empress of Equestria stared down at her with dignified imperiousness, Sweetie noticed that the dark eyes of the Inquisitor watched her with great interest.

“So, Twilight,” Nightmare Moon began. “What brings you here, with your friend?”

Twilight blinked. “Oh, well, I just wanted to see if it was okay with you if she could stay with us.”

“Like a sleepover?”

“I’m thinking something more… indefinite,” Twilight grinned bashfully.

The alicorn’s dragon-like eyes fixed on Sweetie’s. “So you have no place to stay?”

Sweetie didn’t flinch. In fact, remembering her previous encounter with Nightmare Moon, it was slightly surreal to see a mare so in control of herself. “My finding accommodations is not a problem, your majesty, Twilight simply extended an invitation despite my admittedly feeble attempts at dissuading her.” She paused. “However, I find myself unable to simply turn down a friend’s generosity. I’ve been taught it’s something to be treasured, when offered so honestly.”

“As good a platitude as any.” The Empress nodded. “So where do you actually live, child? Where is your home?”

“I hail originally from Ponyville,” Sweetie replied. “But I have been traveling for a long time now, I doubt I would even recognize the few places I remember… home, for now, is where I can rest; I saw a couple of inns in Canterlot that would cover my needs until I move on to my next adventure.”

“Oh, very poetic, and very formal. Just enough archaism to sound proper but not too much to sound insincere.” Nightmare Moon’s smile dropped slightly. “Please do not attempt this… verbal superfluousness on me. I get enough of it from full-grown nobles, let alone a teen mare such as yourself. Speak naturally, with vocabulary you would use normally.”

Sweetie smiled, for real this time. “As you wish, your Majesty. What Twilight said was right: I do not have a place to stay for now, but I did speak the truth, I do come from Ponyville. And I have traveled a lot… not all nobles appreciate forwardness, and I was taught to never assume it would be acceptable to simply be blunt in front of royalty.” She bowed again. “I’m sorry if I gave you a bad impression.”

Nightmare Moon’s smile became a bit more vibrant. “No matter. So, why are you in Canterlot, and alone?”

“I’m looking for my mentor,” Sweetie confessed. “I’ve been trying to find her for quite some time, and my journey has taken me to a lot of places… Canterlot is just one of them.”

“Twilight did say you traveled around the world… I suppose along the way you learned how to make that little golem there,” the Empress pointed to Zosimos, who stood at attention next to his master.

Sweetie’s smile faltered. “It was a hard lesson, but yes, you would be correct, your majesty.”

It was then that Twilight intervened for her friend before Nightmare Moon pressed on for more information. “Mom, she has had a very hard time and she really does not want to be reminded of it.” Twilight turned to her friend. “You learned the magic under very bad circumstances, didn’t you?”

“It’s not something I like to talk about,” Sweetie agreed. “And not something… most ponies can bear to hear.”

It was the Inquisitor who spoke this time. “Oh trust me, Sweetie Belle, I think I can stomach most things you can think of. So learning to contract came at a price?”

“Inquisitor, is this really a subject we should be talking about in front of Twilight?” Nightmare Moon asked, shifting uncomfortably. “I have told her not to concern herself with that magic.”

“I’m not a little filly anymore, Mother!” Twilight cried. “And you barely even mentioned it when you ‘forbade me’ from learning it. I can handle just talking about things like this, even if you don’t want me learning it.”

“I was forced into it,” Sweetie spoke up, leveling her eyes at the Inquisitor. “The price was not something I offered nor was I given an option. Had I not been saved, I would have sooner or later taken my own life.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "For a long time I never thought I'd be capable of even considering that…" her voice became weaker. "I've been proven wrong."

The room felt suddenly cold and silent. Nightmare Moon’s face paled and she exchanged knowing looks with the Inquisitor, who pursed his lips thoughtfully. Once again, Twilight reached out to provide comfort to her friend, tears of sympathy welling up in her eyes.

“Making a gift for Twilight, or using my powers to help others I’ve met has been the only positive thing to come out of this,” Sweetie added, eyes downcast.

The Inquisitor leaned forward. “I… think I know who you have met, and who forced you into it. I have met them before, and they are… never pleasant.”

Sweetie turned to look at him in surprise. "I'm sorry if you have."

“I am truly sorry for your ordeals, Sweetie Belle,” Nightmare Moon said, her voice heavy with understanding. “Nopony, especially one so young as yourself, should have had to go through what you have gone through.”

“So can she stay?” Twilight asked, a certain edge coming to her voice. “Or are you going to continue interrogating her?”

“No, Twilight, I think she can stay,” Nightmare Moon said, turning back to Sweetie. “But I must say, your magical potential and understanding is… incredible for one your age. I would like to see you demonstrate your powers of other forms of magic besides… that one which we have discussed thoroughly enough; if you do not mind showing me, that is.”

Sweetie thought for a moment, trying to figure out what she could show them that would impress even Nightmare Moon. Her thoughts went back to the archives of the Blueblood family, where she had been privy to many, many secrets, until she remembered a very important one… one that had even given Princess Celestia pause.

“I have an idea.” She stepped up from her seat and went onto the floor of the courtroom. Standing just far enough to get enough space, she closed her eyes and mentally invoked something she knew would impress them enough, although in reality she had little faith she'd get the chance to ever being able to cast such a thing on her own.

“I’m going to cast a blueprint spell, for a higher-dimensional matrix,” she elaborated. “I don’t have the power to cast the actual matrix on my own… it required a lot of magic beyond what a single unicorn could produce, but I can explain the theoretical aspects behind it.”

From her horn, a neon blue light shot out, flashing around her for a few meters, pulsating a moment before rushing to another point and another, leaving behind a pulsating star of energy and keeping Sweetie in the middle. The room was soon containing a glowing dodecahedron, which then started to interconnect in several places, leaving again little nodes of glowing energy until a veritable web of lines crossing and nodes surrounded her. The flat design then seemed to gain volume, as more lines shot out to create nodes above and below it, allowing it to expand until the lines crossed on many levels and directions creating, for all intents and purposes a tesseract.

Sweetie stepped back, analyzing her work before nodding and turning to look at her audience. “Dimensional pocket capable of containing the palace grounds and allow for the passage of time, while still tethered to a specific location in the original plane of creation.”

The Inquisitor stood up and squinted, studying each node, seeing how they connected and prying them apart to note down their contents. Nightmare Moon also seemed interested in the blueprint, but for now she let the stallion do the details.

“A dimensional matrix this complex must have taken some time to design,” the Inquisitor observed. “I can’t see the usual groupings of sigils, however, but I can still see what each node contains… it’s quite a strange set-up. Did you develop this?”

Sweetie grinned. “I didn’t, but I deduced the mechanism from the incomplete blueprint and finished it.”

He nodded. “This isn’t a usual pocket dimension, is it? Even if you were to simply amplify the volume of a pocket dimension, it wouldn’t be this complex.”

“No, this creates a… gate of sorts to the pocket dimension, keeping it anchored to your world with these nodes…” she changed the color of eight of them. “The energy required is, of course, immense, but the design is supposed to work in conjunction with feeding from ambient energy to compensate for any loss, and recycling the original power, requiring very little to actually open the gate, once it’s all said and done.”

“Very impressive,” Nightmare Moon said, pausing for a little while and frowning in thought. Then she smiled. “Sweetie Belle, how would you like to join Twilight and I for our lessons… and perhaps study at the Imperial Academy for Gifted Unicorns?”

Sweetie’s eyes went wide and she literally started jumping in circles around Twilight. “Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!” She stopped when she realized what she was doing and blushed. “Um… yes.” She cleared her throat, trying to regain some dignity. “I would love that.”

“Well then, I think we can arrange for you to join in the grade above Twilight,” she said. “At least, assuming you are a year older than my daughter. You do look around that age.”

“I’m fourteen…” Sweetie said. Technically. She couldn't really tell them that she was actually closer to twenty and already had a daughter. Distant Shores. She pushed the thought away, as she faced Nightmare Moon.

“Well, I am sure we will find a place for you… unless you would prefer to be in Twilight’s class?” Nightmare Moon asked, eyeing her daughter’s disappointed face.

“My… education has been spotty,” Sweetie’s eyes had wandered to Twilight as well. “And since I’m still learning, perhaps it’s better that I at least get some sort of assessment, I’m sure I have a lot of studies to catch up to, and I wouldn't want to move ahead and give everycreature a bad impression. If that’s okay with you, your Majesty.”

Twilight seemed a lot happier with that, and her mother smiled. “Then it is done. Shall we get you settled in?”

“That would be great, your Majesty.”

“You can sleep in my room!” Twilight said, jumping to her hooves.

Nightmare Moon chuckled. “I think Sweetie Belle would be more comfortable with her own bedroom.”

Twilight scrunched up her face. “Let’s ask her.” She turned to Sweetie Belle. “So, do you want to stay in my room or just be alone and have your own?”

The obsidian-coated alicorn frowned. “Twilight! Do not pressure our guest.”

“It’s okay, Twilight, whatever you like is fine, but if I get my own room, when we do sleep-overs, they’ll be more fun, don’t you think? We can do one in yours, and then one in mine!” Sweetie spoke up.

The bookish unicorn’s face brightened. “Oh that’ll be so much fun!” Twilight clapped her hooves together.

“I think this dilemma has been sorted.” Nightmare Moon stood up from the throne, looking at the ashen stallion on the smaller throne. “I am sorry to cut our time short, Inquisitor.”

He waved his hoof absent-mindedly. “No worries, Empress.”

“Come, children,” the Empress said, striding down from the throne and heading towards the doors. Twilight nudged Sweetie Belle, a wide smile plastered on her face, and took off after her mother, Zosimos following in her wake.

Sweetie nodded and followed behind them, bowing once to the Inquisitor before leaving. As she reached the doors, however, she couldn’t help but glance back, noticing his eyes were set on her. He gave her a little knowing smirk, as if they had recently just shared a secret.

“I hope you enjoy your time here, Sweetie Belle,” he said.

Sweetie blinked, but nodded once, hurrying up to catch up with Nightmare Moon and Twilight.

Nightmare Moon led the two teens down the corridors of the palace. Servants and officials stepped out of her way and bowed graciously. Ponies gave Sweetie Belle curious looks, trying to gauge her relationship with the Empress and the Crown Princess. They eventually came to a cavernous hall with numerous ornate doors on its sides. Right at the end was a pair of large doors even more ornate than all the others, guarded by a couple of purple-armored, bat-winged ponies.

When they approached, the guards quickly opened the doors for them and bowed.

“Welcome to the Royal Apartments, Sweetie Belle,” the alicorn announced.

The entrance hall was - not surprisingly - quite grand. The room was dominated by a sweeping staircase that tapered ever thinner towards the top. Corridors branched out to the left and right of them, letting Sweetie know there was even more she had yet to see. She had the impression that these “apartments” were more like a mansion that had been attached to the main palace complex.

“Why not take Sweetie to see your room, Twilight?” Nightmare Moon suggested. “I need to sort out some things in my study.”

Twilight nodded eagerly and she took hold of Sweetie’s hoof, energetically dragging her upstairs, leaving the regal alicorn to her own devices. The next floor was a cozily carpeted hallway that ended on both sides with closed double doors to rooms that Sweetie guessed were either bedrooms or bathrooms. Twilight wasted no time in taking her friend on a quick tour of the area.

“This is where all the bedrooms are,” Twilight said, before pointing to a couple of pairs of doors that stood opposite one another in their respective walls. “Those are mine and my mom’s rooms.” She began pointing to all the doors on the corridor. “That’s a bathroom, a spare room, another spare room, closet, another bathroom and that’s the changing room.” Twilight finished with her hoof on one of the doors at the end of the corridor.

With the impromptu tour over with, Twilight made a bee-line for her bedroom, once more dragging Sweetie Belle along with her. This bedroom was about as much as Sweetie expected for a princess’s accommodation and Twilight gave her another round of bubbly exposition for. A four-poster bed, far too large Twilight’s size and age, sat opposite a grand fireplace. The room was lined with bookcases filled with so many tomes it looked like it was about to burst - all of which Twilight seemed to recommend - and shelves containing all sorts of knick-knacks separated by what were apparently rare and prized paintings. On the other side of the room from the door to the hallway were yet more doors that Twilight said led to the balcony.

“So,” Twilight began, turning back to her friend after she just finished her last narrative of some strange little object that she had received as a gift from some far away land called Neighpon. “What do you think?” She tapped the tips of her hooves together.

“It’s very nice!” Sweetie said. “It’s a lot more cozy than the last room I stayed in at a palace.”

“Thanks!” Twilight sat on the bed, letting Zosimos wander around the room. “Hmm… I don’t really know what to do on sleepovers, and I don’t have a book about them on me. Ugh, I should have gone to the library before we took you here.”

“Well…” Sweetie ventured. “We can talk? You could tell me about other students, or maybe we could have a pillow fight?”

“Isn’t a pillow fight for later on in the evening?” Twilight frowned.

Sweetie laughed. “Sure, so what else do you want to do?”

“Um… so you said you traveled around the world? Can you tell me about some of the places you’ve been?”

“I’ve been to many places,” Sweetie confessed. “But, not all in this world, necessarily.” She looked up at Twilight, trying to guess how she would take it. “There’s a lot about me that you might not believe.”

“What? What do you mean ‘not in this world’?”

Sweetie sighed. “That’s what I was trying to tell you earlier… I’m a world traveler as in I travel from world to world. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the truth.”

Twilight stared hard at her friend. “I…” She blinked, baffled. “Um, well, that doesn’t sound scientifically possible.”

Sweetie laughed for several minutes, trying, but unable, to get past her mirth to talk to the increasingly annoyed Twilight. Finally, when she had run out of breath, she cleaned the tears from her eyes and and took a deep, calming breath. “I’m… sorry, it’s just, that wouldn’t be the first time you’ve said that, but somehow this time around I just couldn’t help it.”

“Wh-what?” Twilight pouted. “You’re not making any sense, Sweetie! If this is a joke, it’s starting to get very annoying.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Sweetie waved her hooves in a calming motion. “It’s going to get stranger, but I can prove it.”

The purple unicorn opened her mouth, looking ready to launch a tirade, before she suddenly stopped. She held up her hoof, closing her eyes. A little while passed before she sighed heavily and opened them again. “Fine. I’ll hear you out. So explain to me what you mean by traveling to different worlds and ‘this time around’.”

Sweetie settled back, resting her head on the edge of Twilight’s bed. “Imagine that what you know, this world, is not completely alone. There’s a point where it ends, and another begins, usually inaccessible to ponies. When you cross that, you arrive in a place that’s similar, but there are differences.” As she spoke, Sweetie summoned her notebook, making it hover between them. “A world where Nightmare Moon wasn’t the sole ruler for a thousand years, or where we are the same, but different genders.”

She took out the picture of herself with Octavia and Rarity in it, from her counterpart’s graduation. “Doesn’t that building, in plain daylight, look familiar to you? I saw it when I took a walk downtown earlier.”

Her book opened, allowing another piece of paper to float out, a letter inviting Sweetie to join Nightmare Moon’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

“There’s so many places, so many differences. Worlds that have been torn by war, which we ponies destroyed. Worlds where I am long dead, or much younger. Did you know, the first time I saw Nightmare Moon she hadn’t been in Equestria for a thousand years? The second time I saw her, she was an incorrigible prankster… nothing like the Empress your mother is.”

Twilight studied each of the contents of the journal intensely, frowning in thought. She read the invitation to the School for Gifted Unicorns thoroughly, her features etched with bemused surprise, before setting it down and sighing, screwing her eyes shut and rubbing her temples. “I… well, it sounds very strange, and it would make much more sense for these all to be just forgeries, but…” she sighed again and left her hooves drop to the floor. “It does sound like a possibility. Skilled unicorns can create pocket dimensions and tap into worlds closely connected to this one, like the spirit world, but I’ve never heard of anypony actually traveling to a new material realm like ours. Still… there is so much I don’t know about magic that I can’t really be a good judge of what’s possible or not.” She looked at Sweetie. “So, how did you start going to different worlds? You said back in the throne room that it’s not on purpose.”

Sweetie slumped. “It was an accident. I interrupted a very delicate experiment dealing with time and space, and… well, I ended up being thrown out of my own universe into others. I usually stay there for a little while before moving on to the next.”

“Oh… okay.” Twilight bit her lip. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine with me.”

“It… was a bad experience,” Sweetie said, looking down at the floor. “My mentor got hurt pretty bad, and… I was just a filly, and I didn’t pay attention. I ended up ruining both her life and mine. I’m trying to find her, and heal her, so that we can both go home.” She took a deep breath. “It hasn’t been all bad, though. I ended up with adopted brothers.” She giggled. “One of them I believe you know. In one world I was adopted by Blueblood to be his little sister. Unofficially, for two years. I learned a lot from him, and from others… and I learned to sing and play the cello… I was very happy there.” She chuckled, pulling out a little black bookmark out of her notebook. “Do you want to see my cello?”

“Oh, I would love that!” Twilight clapped her hooves together, then did a double-take. “Wait, so Blueblood adopted you? Blueblood? Didn’t you say your brother was a really great guy who you owe so much to?”

“And I also said that Nightmare Moon was an incorrigible prankster. I painted her room pink and she got back to me by knocking me out and putting my whole room upside down, attaching my bed and everything to the ceiling,” Sweetie pointed out. “It goes to show you that worlds can get some ponies to be very, very different.”

“So… how different have I been?” Twilight asked.

Sweetie's smile froze for a second, then looking at the hopeful eyes of the young Twilight, she forced herself to answer. “Almost every time that I have met you, you have been wise. Smart. Powerful, and yet caring. A leader and a friend.”

Twilight blushed, a wide grin on her face. “Oh, well that’s really… really nice. Are these older alternate versions of me then?”

Sweetie laughed, thanking her luck that Twilight hadn't caught her small clarification. She needed to plan ahead a bit more what to say, because she had the feeling that neither Nightmare Moon nor the Inquisitor would let that one slip. “A few, but I can tell you right now that you’ve always had it in you, and that you certainly are all of that right now. I can tell.”

Twilight giggled. “Well, I don’t think I’m wise, or a leader - no matter how much my mom is trying to make me one.”

“You’ll get there,” Sweetie promised. “In your own time of course, but for now, I did promise you a concerto.” Trying to direct Twilight's attention away from asking even more questions about her other versions—which potentially could end up revealing Vision Twilight's role in her life—Sweetie placed the bookmark between the two of them. “You might want to step back a little, she said. Oh, and your mom won’t mind, will she?”

“No, not at all,” Twilight said, stepping back and motion with her hoof. “Please. Continue.”

Sweetie nodded. The familiar aura of magic formed around the bookmark, which absorbed it. After a moment, it stretched until it was longer than the two were tall. Then it widened at the same time it grew in depth. It carried on and stopped only when it had become a container of some sort.

Twilight watched with interest as Sweetie unlatched a couple of small locks on the side of it and opened it, revealing a full-sized cello inside.

Carefully, lovingly, Sweetie extracted the musical instrument, stepping back to set it upright with her magic and checking it for scratches, running her hoof gently on the lacquered wood. She leaned back, standing on her hindlegs, and relinquished her magical grasp on the cello, holding it in place with her hoof, while the other took the bow, just like an earth pony would. “I… really don’t know any music specifically from this world, though.”

“Just play something you do know,” Twilight suggested.

Sweetie nodded, closing her eyes and thinking before remembering a little tune Octavia had taught her, it was about three minutes long, so it wasn’t fancy but... she started playing. It was quirky and fun, just the right pace to be upbeat, and it gave her the chance to be a bit playful. There had been too many somber melodies lately, and she was sure that this one would be something Twilight would like.

As happy music filled the air, Twilight beamed at her friend, nodding her head along to its beat. The energy of Sweetie’s performance continued only for a few minutes, but already the air of the room was much happier. When at last she had finished, Twilight clapped vigorously, eager to show her admiration.

“That was great, Sweetie!” Twilight cried. “I usually hear concerts that are performed for royalty, and they’re always so somber and old. Mostly they’re just playing pieces written by the greats like Beat Hoofen or Moss Heart, but sometimes we get gifted newcomers with original music.”

Sweetie smiled, “Maybe the mare that taught me is one of them.” She grinned. “That would be funny, if I met her at my age, but… I guess there’s no Earth Ponies in a school for unicorns.”

Twilight shook her head. “But there is the Canterlot College of Music, though she might be too young for that if she is our age, unless she’s some kind of prodigy.”

Sweetie smiled fondly. “She’s the Twilight Sparkle of musicians. I bet you’ll meet her one day.”

The princess blushed and waved a hoof. “Please don’t use my name as a synonym for prodigy. But if she is as good as you say she is, I probably will. So many gifted ponies have come to the throne room to demonstrate their talents to my mom and I.”

“I’m sure you’ll recognize her when you see her.” Sweetie winked. “Earth Pony playing the cello. Can’t miss it.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I’m sure there is more than just one earth pony playing the cello in the world. I mean, like you said, ponies can be different world to world, so how do you know if this mare is a cello player in my one?”

Sweetie shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but… she was so talented, and she loves it. At least in every other world. So it would make sense. Besides, where I come from, and in most other worlds, most string players were unicorns, because it’s easier to play like that if you don’t have to train yourself to stand on your hindlegs, or to hold a bow and pluck strings with your hooves.”

“Well, how hard can it be?”

“Want to try?” Sweetie smiled mischievously. “I’ll be ready to catch my cello before you both hit the floor.”

She handed Twilight her Cello and its bow after she gave the purple unicorn a quick lesson in how to assume the correct posture and how to hold the bow properly. Twilight was already wobbling by the time Sweetie placed the cello in her hooves. Twilight struggled against the weight of the thing and propped it up with a flash of telekinetic magic before she fell.

Sweetie laughed along with Twilight, carefully taking the cello in her own telekinetic grasp and lowering it into its case. “It took me the better part of two years to learn to balance properly and play well enough not to be embarrassed about it… I hope I can one day play as well as she does, but… I think you can see why most ponies leave that to magic. Especially if they are skilled in very precise work.”

“Watching you and my mom do it makes it seem so easy,” Twilight muttered.

“Wait. Wait… hold on.” Sweetie’s eyes were wide. “You’re telling me, your mom, Empress Nightmare Moon plays the cello? Like an Earth Pony?”

“Yeah, she likes to have jam sessions with the Inquisitor,” Twilight said, quickly adding, “Who plays the violin… like an earth pony as well, actually.”

“Twilight,” Sweetie said slowly, eyes gleaming. Gently, she took her friend’s hooves in her own, and looked her straight in the eye. “You have got to let me see that happen. Please.”

Twilight bit her lip. “I’m not sure if they would like an audience… it’s really usually just something they do between them.” She saw Sweetie’s face drop and her lip curl into a pout. Somehow, her now shimmering eyes seemed to be a little bigger. It didn’t take long for Twilight to crack. “Okay! Okay! I’ll ask them, but I can’t guarantee they’ll say yes.”

Sweetie’s smile lit up the room. “Thank you! That’s all I ask. You have no idea how ama—no, how simply epic the idea of Nightmare Moon playing the cello is. Even if I can’t witness it, just knowing it happens somewhere in the multiverse is almost enough.”

“Not many ponies know she plays. She’s been trying to get me to play an instrument, but…” Twilight shrugged. “It could be fun, but it would take away time for reading and studying.”

“But Twilight,” Sweetie whined. “Learning to play is studying!”

Twilight crossed her front hooves. “It’s not the kind of studying I like. Music theory just isn’t my thing and it would take away from the funner subjects.”

Sweetie rolled her eyes. “Fine. But you’re missing out.” She chuckled. “So… my turn to ask questions. Do you like anypony? I bet you have lines of suitors!”

The princess blanched. “I have over a dozen different princes asking me to marry them, not to mention the number of ponies who aren’t princes.” Twilight stuck out a disgusted tongue. “I get flooded with stuff on Hearts and Hooves Day from my suitors. One was a barbarian horse from Easterland who sent me some poetry. It was not the usual ‘roses are red’ kind to say the least.”

“Aww,” Sweetie frowned. “I guess I shouldn’t ask you out, then.” She couldn’t hold her frown too long when she saw the look of dawning horror in Twilight’s eyes and burst out laughing. “Sorry! Sorry! I was joking, I promise!” She laughed. “Your face though. It was priceless!”

“Are… are you a… you know?” Twilight waved her hooves about in strange and vague gesticulation before finally giving up. “Are you a lesbian?”

Sweetie sighed. "I don't think I have a preference… if I'm honest, I've already had a crush on a stallion—" she didn't mention that the dreamboat had been Twilight's gender-swapped counterpart "—and I… dated a mare for a while." She gulped, forcing a smile and pushing the thoughts back into the recesses of her mind. "I'm not interested in dating right now."

Twilight rubbed her arm. “I’ve never even kissed a pony before.”

Sweetie patted her friend’s arm. “Well, when you do find out what you want to try, make sure you trust that pony. I know it’s cheesy, but it’s the only advice I’ve been given on the subject that makes any sense. The rest of it… well, Blueblood was… creative. And a pervert.” And I don't remember years of being married and failing at it, so at least I'm not saying something that will ruin your chances at happiness like I did mine.

The lavender unicorn giggled, unaware of her friend's thoughts. Oddly enough, the innocent happiness helped bring Sweetie's attention back to these more happy moments. “He’s tried to court me before, which is weird since he’s about twenty years old.” Twilight then shrugged. “But I guess that’s pretty normal for the nobility. They… I mean—we—do arranged marriages and betrothals and those kinds of things all the time since the beginning of time.”

“Yeah, back in his world, BB told me they had the same traditions… it’s weird for me, not being able to choose who you would marry, but then again, maybe that gives you both a much longer time to figure out if it's really for the best.”

“Mom says I get a choice, but she wants to maintain the traditions of our ancestors and make sure our family gets stronger so…” Twilight’s smile faded a little. “My choice is limited to princes or princesses.”

Sweetie hugged her friend. “Don’t be sad, Twi, I’m sure there’s got to be at least one prince or princess that’s nice. Besides you.”

“Probably… I mean, I’m not really interested in dating or anything, but I’d like to marry some day and…” she sighed. “I would just prefer to not be limited to just other royalty. Especially since Blueblood is technically a prince.” She made a face in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Sweetie nodded soberly. “There is only one thing we can do about it right now.”

Twilight cocked her head to the side in confusion. “And what is that?”

“Raid the Imperial Kitchen for cookies.”

“But I can just go ask them.” Twilight pointed out.

Sweetie leaned in to whisper. “Yes. But… only if we’re caught!”

“So… like an adventure?” Twilight asked.

“Like an adventure.” Sweetie nodded sagely. “This is—after all—A Sleepover.”

“Hmm, well if you want adventure, then there’s a millennia-old dragon guarding a magical tree in a grotto under the castle, but I do suddenly have a craving for some vanilla-chip cookies,” Twilight said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

Sweetie stared at Twilight for a moment. “Do you think we could steal a bottle of whiskey too?” she finally asked. “I suddenly have a craving for a stiff drink.”

The princess stopped rubbing her chin abruptly and stared at her friend. “What? Of course we can’t! I’m only thirteen and you’re…”

“Legally adult in some dimensions.” Sweetie’s face was serious.

“Not here! Not now!” Twilight said, her voice dangerously approaching a screech. “And not only is it illegal and immoral, but we could get caught!”

Sweetie sighed. “Fine. Let’s get the cookies and then you can tell me about the dragon.”

This pleased Twilight greatly, who got to her hooves. She looked down at the golem, who had turned to her expectantly.

“Stay here, Zosimos,” she said, a grin rising on her lips. “We’re going out for a little evening adventure.”

Author's Note

Updated alongside this chapter is a missed opportunity—too much time, and not enough chances to work together, unfortunately, but if you missed it, make sure to look back to what might've been with the Summary Of The Chapter That Never Was: Harpflank and Sweets