All's Right With The World

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten

Chapter One

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter One

⁂❧⁂

Long ago, when the world was still young, the land was founded by the three Goddesses, Faust, The Creator, Celestia, The Sun, and Luna, The Moon. The sisters, Celestia and Luna, looked to their mother to guide them in how they would shape this new land, to which she showed them the importance of Harmony. Learning in this new power, the Sisters created the race of Man. Looking upon their creations, the elder, Celestia gave to them the power over the earth around them, teaching them to plant and sow it, and she smiled upon them, for they were grateful. Luna, the younger, sought to give them also dominion over the skies, and so it was that they began to have wings with which to soar amongst the clouds. Their mother gave her beloved daughters’ children her great gift, the gift of magic. The three goddesses returned to their Heaven, and all was right with the world.

So overjoyed was the race of Man that they began to worship the Goddesses, offering gifts and songs of praise, but not all of man regarded the three as equals. Factions and sects began to form amongst them, casting them into an age of darkness. Fear, famine, and death rampaged across the world for centuries, until at last, the Goddesses returned to see their children. But it was not the same world as the one they had left.

The sisters were appalled at the horror and pain that was wracking the world, and were desperate to end the conflict. The elder sister, Celestia, being the more heated of the two, began to fight against the race of Man, the heat of her rage creating deserts and canyons. Luna, ever as serene as her own night sky, wept tears of sorrow at the scene before her, creating the oceans. Faust saw her daughters’ despair, and divided the gifts amongst their children. Those who kept the power over the earth became the Oreads. Those who kept flight and dominion through the sky became the Seraphim, and those who kept the gift of Magic itself became the Magi. This saw to an end of the powerful conflict, however there were those who saw fault in her choice, and conspired to rise against their Goddesses, and became powerful again, by channeling the dark magics that resided before time itself. They rose up, confident that their newfound would be able to destroy the Goddesses and take their magic from them.

But, in a final bid for peace, Faust and her daughters created Tartarus, a prison to house all of the wicked souls that would threaten the world. Faust sacrificed herself, joining the Demons in Tartarus, waging a war for peace for all time. Her daughters sealed the doors, encasing themselves in prisons of crystal to ensure none would open the door to that cursed hell. Before they left, they left a message, and six artefacts of power. Their message was this;

Learn the power of Harmony, and become great. Fear not, for we will aid our children when their need is greatest.

“Benevolent, omniscient goddesses? What idiot could believe in some kind of ‘higher power’ like that? Well, what the hell ever.” A young girl stretched, closing the book and putting it aside, before reaching for the desk beside her. She felt her hand graze the worn metal and wood of her other arm before grabbing it and laying the appendage across her lap. She looked at it for a second, remembering the day her father made her first prosthetic, and smiled. It had been a simple number, made for looks, not functionality, just a plain wood with a few silver inlays and the locket in the palm. That locket had been her mother’s last gift to her, before she had been killed. It wasn’t fair. That’s why she knew in her heart that there were no ‘Goddesses.’ It just wasn’t fair.

The girl didn’t realize she was crying until a particularly loud sob wracked her body, causing her to jump in surprise and fall out of her bed. She hit the ground hard, kicking up a cloud of dust and scattering various bits and pieces across the already cluttered floor. After lying for a second on her face, the girl turned over, sat up, and adjusted herself. Glaring a hole in the worn and faded clock on her wall, she noticed it was already ten-to-one. She had wasted the whole morning reminiscing and reading that stupid story.

Huffing a bit, she picked her tools back up before sitting back down at the desk to make necessary repairs and tweak the mechanisms in the new prosthetic arm. It was her finest work, she thought, a beautiful combination of magic and technology, its brass tubing and gears shining proudly above the mahogany of the base wood, lit subtly by a power crystal set in the forearm. As she brought it up to meet the base of what was left of her left arm, she made sure it would fit, and with one final tweak, attached it to the stump with a faint hum and hiss. She stared fondly at the locket before placing it into an awaiting divot in the palm, then connected the power assembly on the arm. Nothing happened for a second, and as she watched the hand, she saw it twitch briefly. Then, without warning, the arm slammed upwards, smacking her quickly in the face. She fell back in surprise and pain, voicing her frustration with a loud scream, and hurled a wrench toward the wall and through her door, eliciting another loud yelp from someone beyond the room.

“Damnú ort! Twilight Sparkle! What have I told you about slinging tools around?” yelled a thundering voice from the kitchen beyond the door. “This is the sixth time in a week, there is no need to bean me with every wrench we own! Now put down whatever gizmo’s got you so pissed off this time and come get your damned breakfast. Crap… to think a guy could get a frickin’ break around here.” Twilight walked into the kitchen with a sheepish grin, rubbing the bridge of her nose and trying desperately to look sorry in between giggles.

Standing at the stove was a large purple dragon, toned and muscular, with a row of iridescent green spikes that ran down his neck and back to a tail ending in a deadly looking spade of the same striking green color. He rose up further, cracking his neck and yawning, scratching at a slightly cracked looking scale on his head. He was every bit as terrifying as she knew dragons to be, eight feet of armor and fire, but something was strange about this particular dragon, the dully shining brass and leather wings strapped to his back. Her thoughts were interrupted when the large drake turned to her and spoke, “Not having a good mornin’ are we Twi? Ah, don’t apologize, you know better than I do that dragons from the Northern Isles like me tend to be a little hardier than most. There’s bacon on the table and the eggs’ll be out in a sec.”

Twilight Sparkle gave the drake a gentle hug, before turning to the table, grabbing a slender piece of bacon, and sitting on the counter by him. “How is everything Spike? Wings still opening together? No latency or anything?” She asked, still concerned over her large friend.

“Yes, Twi, I’m fine, wings are fine, scales are… more or less fine, head’s fine, hell, the only thing that isn’t fine is you worryin’ all the damn time and throwin’ tools at me. You know I love you, but you cracked a scale this time, and we both know how stupidly difficult that is to do.” Spike chuckled a bit, turning to muss her hair, before asking, “Juice or milk this mornin’?”

Twilight stretched with a yawn, readjusting her hair with her new fingers, before answering with a sigh, “Whichever one tastes best with alcohol. I had to sear a new coupler link into my shoulder this morning, not to mention there was a malfunction that made my own arm abuse me. That and I haven’t slept in two days, so I definitely need a drink.” She poked the cracked scale, causing the chipped surface to break apart, and fall completely off, before the sheepish smile returned with a vengeance. “You probably need a drink too, heh. Oops.”

“Twilight Ardenia Sparkle, how in the bloody hell you of all people manage to accidentally shatter one of an Earth Drake’s crown scales, I don’t think I’ll ever know, but you really should sit down and finish your breakfast before you find a way to kill me. I’d prefer to live at least another week, considerin’ next Tuesday is the anniversary of the day you saved my sorry hide.” He thought for a second, before adding with a sly smirk, ”Although, it might be a little ironic if you killed me then, eh? Somethin’ worth talkin’ about for sure.” And with a hearty laugh, the dragon set down a platter of eggs, a bottle of orange juice, and another bottle of and amber liquid Twilight knew immediately to be fire whiskey, a specialty of the dragons in the southern colonies. Her greedy bid for the bottle was cut short when a massive claw caught her wrist, and with a snort, Spike chided her, “What is it gonna take to make you stop hurtin’ yourself? End of the world? Demons breakin’ out of Tartarus? Me nailin’ you with a wrench for once?” With that, the claw released her, allowing her to pour herself and Spike each a healthy glass of booze.

The rest of the morning passed without much incident, save the mail girl, a ruddy looking Seraph with mismatched eyes, crashing through a window again. Closer to noon saw Spike heading out to roam and collect metals for various odds and ends, and Twilight working on what looked to be a sturdy yet complicated looking sword, with a heavy, wrought pommel and filigree in the blade. She was deeply fixated on something inside of the hilt, and didn’t notice a figure slip inside the door, never hearing the chains hanging from the ceiling rattling, or the clutter scattered on benches and the floor being swept aside, until a pink blur slammed itself down on the workbench beside her with an unholy shriek:

“Hi, Twilight! How’s my most favoritest mad arcanist on this most bee-you-tiful day?”

“Dear stars! Son of a-”

Pinkie put a finger to Twilight’s lips “Now, now! No naughty words, missy! Auntie Pinkie isn’t like Uncle Spike.”

“That’s right,” Twilight said, pulling pinkie’s finger off of her lips, “Spike isn’t an insanity-wracked rock farmer with a penchant for surprises.”

“And baking. And explosions, which are really just a kind of surprise. I have penchants for a lot of things! Just like you have penchants for building things and cursing the goddesses and hitting the sauce like it was a stubborn ketchup bottle!” Pinkie beamed. “This is fun! Who do you want to talk about next?”

Twilight groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose, before letting out a sigh and retorting, “Pinkamena Diane Pie, I don’t know what kind of things you have rattling around up there—”

Pinkie plunged a hand into her voluminous hair, dug around a bit, and extracted a jangling keyring. “Well, that answers that.” She stuffed it back in, noted Twilight’s scowl, and gave a sheepish grin. “Sorry. You were saying?”

”I was saying that I am most certainly NOT an alcoholic. I just appreciate a fine Chianti or a strong, full-bodied northern scotch in the afternoon, thank you very much.” She sighed, “I feel the appreciation for another drink coming on.”

“Well, if you’re not an alcoholic, then that makes you a social drinker, and you can’t be a social anything all by your lonesome!” Pinkie took Twilight’s hand in hers. “Why don’t we go stretch our legs, take in some sun, see some people?”

“Because people are idiots, I hate idiots, and you aren’t wearing pants. Why aren’t you wearing pants?” Twilight could definitely feel the onset of a headache, and despite her best efforts to do so, couldn’t fault the bubbly girl. It was just her way of trying to ‘help out a friend’ as she put it.

Pinkie blinked. “I’m not?” She looked down. “Huh. That’s weird.” She shrugged. “Eh, I can fix that soon enough. Still, Twilight, you’re people. You’re saying that you’re an idiot, and you hate yourself.” Pinkie frowned. “That’s not a good place to be.”

“You’re absolutely right, Pinkie, I am an idiot.” Twilight admitted with a bright smile, “And as such I have decide to fix that by reading some more books. Maybe we can go out another time, eh? Maybe out to that place that has those… Oh what are those things called, the folded tortilla things you like?”

“You mean chimichangas?” Pinkie shook her head and gave a frown she’d probably describe as ‘teensy-weensy.’ “Twilight, you always do this! You always say you’ll go out ‘another time’! The books aren’t going to run away if you leave the house!” She paused. “Um, they aren’t going to run away, are they? You didn’t put little legs on them or anything?”

“Not to my knowledge, no. And besides Pink, why would I need to go out there when everyone I love is here with me? You and Spike, even my brother comes to visit. Besides that, it’s too hot for my coat, and I can’t go out there without it. My marks are too visible, they’d start asking questions. I don’t need that.” And with that, Twilight stood and stretched, showing the dark purple Tattoos criss-crossing her forearm, and winding upwards like a creeping ivy. As she leaned to the side, her glyph was visible on the side of her neck, a six pointed star with five others around it.

Growling, Pinkie slammed her hands on the table, which shuddered under her Oread strength. “One day, Sparkle! One day I will coax you out of this mechanized monstrosity you have built for yourself. And mark my words, on that day, you will thank me!” And then, like flipping a switch, her scowling countenance went back to the usual smile. “Have a nice day!” She turned and skipped out. “La la la la la…”

“Alright? Now, where did that sword run off to? It couldn’t have grown...legs... Son of a- PINKIE PIE!”

“You want it?” came the shout. “Come and get it!”

“That’s it, you little harpy. I’m gonna shave your eyebrows when I catch you!” With a quick flourish of her wrist, the tattoos on Twilight's arm began to glow, pitching the room around the steaming girl into a bright violet relief, and with a snap of her slender fingers, the room was once again without light, or girl.

Twilight Sparkle dropped out of the sky almost immediately, crashing to the ground with a cry. The pink-haired thief on the side of the building let out an unladylike snort and began climbing faster.

“I’m telling you, Twilight, you’ll thank me for this! It’s for your own good!”

“You still aren’t wearing pants, you idiot!”

“Where I’m going, I don’t need pants!” Pinkie gave a rather worrisome cackle.

With a furious scream and a few well-placed obscenities, Twilight Sparkle was once again back on the hunt for her bright pink intruder. She teleported herself to the top of her home, scanning the rooftops for anything resembling Pinkie Pie, and found nothing of the sort. With a resigned sigh, she stepped back inside to dress herself. Once inside, she found herself in front of her mirror, staring at herself in silence. She was tall, though not nearly as Spike was, with an athletic figure, and a strong build. What was strange about her in particular, she thought as she grabbed her clothes, were the tattoos on both of her arms. Magi usually only had one decorated arm showing their power, and yet, above the prosthetic, violet lines could be seen peeking around the brass. She didn’t know how people would react, so she threw on her usual, worn, brown leather duster jacket, and her boots. strapping the sheath for the stolen sword on her side, she readied herself to find her quarry. Twilight Sparkle took a confident step forward, and promptly fell on her face.

Pinkie Pie picked up the banana peel and moved to the window sill. “Finally ready? Sheesh, I had enough time to go home, get pants, hide the sword, make lunch, hoist the mizzenmast… Okay, not that last one. The point is, you are slow.” Pinkie ducked nimbly as a large wrench was launched at her face, crashing into the crowded street below. She frowned. “Slow and inconsiderate! That could’ve hit someone!”

“It was SUPPOSED to hit YOU, you little—”

Pinkie snorted. “Oh, come on, we both know that wasn’t going to happen. I’ve been dodging your wrenches for who knows how long! But that one could still hit some poor, unlucky person on the street!” She dove through the window.

“Fual amach, you cretin! Now get back here!” With that, Twilight threw herself through the window after the much smaller girl. “Your mother was a hamster!”

“I don’t even like elderberries!” Pinkie was already racing across the roof of a shorter neighboring building.

“I don’t think so you pink demon! Now get back here before I peel your eyelids off!” Twilight screamed with rage, blinking after the younger girl who seemed to dance around her.

“You did hear the part about me hiding the sword, right?” Pinkie asked casually, dodging every blow Twilight leveled at her. “Even if you caught me, I don’t have it. You’re going to have to—oh no!—talk to people to find out where it went! Woe! Calamity! Et cetera!”

Twilight stopped teleporting, and looked to Pinkie with a raised eyebrow, “Oh, so I don’t need to play some cat and mouse game to get you to give it back?”

Pinkie shrugged. “I thought you were doing it for fun.”

”Well, that was simpler than I thought it would be. Guess I’ll just set your eyebrows on fire and leave then.”

Pinkie clapped her hands over her eyes. “Not my eyebrows! I just regrew those after the last time!”

”The only reason I came after you was I thought you still had it. Well then. Auf wiedersehen fraulein, enjoy your night.” and with that Twi leapt backwards off the roof. When Pinkie crept to the edge to see where she went, Twilight popped into existence behind her, grabbing her arms, and with a menacing whisper and smile, asked “Where did you hide it dear Pinkamena? I’d hate for something… dreadful to happen to you.”

“Twilight?”

“Begging won’t help, but if you scream right, we can have more fun.”

“You are an idiot sometimes.” Pinkie whipped her head backwards, crashing into Twilight’s nose. Pinkie’s hair cushioned the blow somewhat, but the shock was still enough to free her wrists. She rubbed them and shook her head. “Yeesh. Someone had two scoops of crazy today.”

Twilight snapped her fingers again, teleporting them both into her workshop, with Pinkie strapped onto a work bench. Twilight began to pull tools out of a small leather bag, laying them just out of sight of Pinkie. “Now miss Pie, don’t be afraid to scream, the sounds of your cries will be beautiful music.”

Pinkie sighed. “Twilight, I’m really disappointed in you. I just wanted to play a game, have a little fun, maybe even find you a new friend or two.” She gave a sad little smile. “I mean, I did get you to play a game, but ‘Pretend Serial Murderer’ wasn’t what I had in mind.”

“Murder? Pinkie, dear, Heavens no. Murder would make these things go much too fast. Now, remember, don’t be afraid to scream or cry.” And with that, she grabbed an instrument and brought it to Pinkie’s stomach.

Pinkie began to laugh uncontrollably, begging for Twilight to stop. “Ha ha ha ha ha! No fair! No fair! You are twisted, Sparkle! You—ha ha ha ha!” Tears began to stream down her cheeks as the tickling continued.

“Alright, you’ve had enough, Come on, let’s go get lunch. On you, you little Imp!”

“Ha… ha… hoo… I almost wet myself.” Once Twilight undid the straps, Pinkie got up from the bench. “Why do you even have those kinds of restraints?”

“Hullo, I’m Twilight frickin’ Sparkle, prosthetic maker and surgeon. Makes sense to me, as people twitch when the arm or leg or whatever gets put on. Violent twitches. Trust me, both you and they want them held down.”

“Well, Twilight Frickin Sparkle, your bedside manner needs work.” Pinkie took Twilight’s arm in hers. “Now let’s go have lunch!”

⁂❧⁂

Chapter Two

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Two

⁂❧⁂

Lunch was a simple affair, with Pinkie leading Twilight to her favorite restaurant, a simple outdoor cafe with a splendid view of the Palomino Ocean, for a smaller lunch than Twilight was expecting from Pinkie and her ludicrous metabolism, but still nice. Twilight had almost forgotten how nice it was to be outside, silently relenting that Pinkie was right about her needing to go out more often. Smiling a gentle smile, she looked over to her exuberant friend, snickering as Pinkie began to balance a plate on her nose, for seemingly no reason at all.

“Thanks, Pink.”

“What was that, Mrs. Grumpypanties?” Pinkie responded by throwing a wadded napkin at Twilight’s head. “I couldn’t quite hear you over the sound of me being right.”

Twilight laughed, shaking her head a bit, before speaking evenly, “I said thank you, Pinkie Pie. If you hadn’t dragged me out of there, I might never have left. I guess Dad’s death hit me harder than I thought. You, Spike, and Shining are all I have left, but somehow it feels like I have everything I need. Thank you.” Twilight wiped a tear from her eye, letting a loud laugh escape her, “Wow, I’m turning into a big baby, huh? What do you say we go to the market district? I have some things I need to get for a present for you, and I still haven’t gone to that clothing shop for a new coat yet. So, how about it?”

“Ooh, you mean Carousel Armoire?” Pinkie beamed. “That’s perfect! I’ve been wanting to introduce you to Rarity for weeks!”

“Pinkie, how long have you been planning this whole thing?” Twilight asked cautiously, trepidation in her voice.

Pinkie opened her mouth, but paused before saying anything. She pursed her lips, tented her fingers, and was silent—eerily so for her—for a brief time before saying, “Define ‘planning.’”

“Yep. Waiter, yes I’d like a glass of red wine please. Thank you.” Twilight sighed, turning back to Pinkie, before saying slowly, “Pinkie, have you been setting this up? And if so, for how long?”

“You mean was I waiting for an opportunity to coax you outside and introduce you to people who I think you’re really going to like and who will make you happy and who you’ll make happy in turn, and while I was waiting was I arranging various courses of action that would further the realization of said goal of mutual happiness?” Pinkie shrugged. “Not really. It just all fell together.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said to the waiter, “Leave the bottle please, I’m going to need it. Pinkie, Half the time I think you’re an insane genius, and the other half that you’re an absolute twit. What goes on in that head of yours?”

Pinkie glanced about, as though looking for eavesdroppers. “Are you really sure you want to know?”

“I changed my mind! I’m not qualified to deal with Eldritch horrors.” Twilight shuddered, as if covered in some horror she couldn’t get off of her.

“I’m not eldritch. I’m only twenty-two.”

“It’s gonna be a long day.” Twilight sighed.

“Well, yeah, if you keep asking silly questions.” Pinkie beckoned a waiter over. “Check whenever you’re ready, Blue Plate. We have places to be.”

As the girls wound their way to the markets, they passed across the grand plaza bridge, the beautiful crystal water reflecting onto the white marble of the bridge and harbor, painting the already breathtaking view in spectacular light. Pinkie danced around on the ledges as they trekked upward around the twisting streets, exploring the sights and smells of a home Twilight had never been through. From sparkling crystal, to shining steel and gold, the light broke off into prismatic bouquets, various tantalizing smells made Twilight’s mouth water, and guiding them from store to store.

As they began to wind towards the heart of the market district, Twilight climbed onto a roof, taking a look at the city below her. There were things Twilight couldn’t remember being there, and Pinkie began to lead her vision on a sort of tour, pointing out more than a few random strangers and objects, including a pair of obelisks, alabaster pearl, and purest obsidian. Twilight found it strange, but continued on. Eventually they arrived at Carousel Armoire.

Twilight tilted her head as she took in the sign. “Isn’t an armoire a piece of furniture?”

“It’s a pun! Rarity makes everything from ball gowns to plate mail.”

Twilight rubbed her temples. “So she has your sense of humor, then?”

Pinkie snorted. “Please. She wishes. Well, actually, she doesn’t. I’m pretty sure there are times she wishes I didn’t have my sense of humor.”

“I like her already.”

“I knew you would!” Pinkie took Twilight’s arm in hers and all but charged through the front door. Tinkling bells announced their entrance. On display were dresses, suits, breastplates, and other works that formed a cross-section of everything that could be worn in times of war and peace.

A lithe woman swept in to meet them, her movements graceful. She was beautiful, the kind of beauty that took a great deal of upkeep. Twilight estimated an hour per day just to get her coiling hair in proper order. The woman gave a smile just a few shades past neutrality and said, “Welcome to the Carousel Armoire, where we meet your every need in apparel.” She then registered just who she was greeting, dropping the professional mask and replacing it with a more genuine smile. “Oh, Pinkie. Always a pleasure, dear. And who is this?”

“Twilight Sparkle, pleased to make your acquaintance, miss…” Twilight stretched her left arm out in a soft handshake, completely forgetting that it was a prosthetic.

“Rarity Belle. Charmed.” Rarity gave a surprisingly firm shake, then quirked an eyebrow. “Mahogany?”

“It would be a crime against design if it wasn’t. I see you even have quite an eye for odd materials such as this.” Twilight smirked, quite impressed, “Color me surprised. Well, shall we move to business?” She removed her duster. “I’m looking to replace this coat, and get this one plated. Adamantium or orichalcum if you have them, cost isn’t too much of a problem.”

Rarity’s smile grew a bit brittle. “The customer is always right, of course, but... adamantium? Fighting dragons, are we?”

“Exactly. You see, Spike was attacked not too long ago, by two dragons. They ripped his wings, wings I made, by the way, and I’m simply looking to get some payback.” Twilight said, with a neutral expression, “It’s a pride thing.”

Rarity nodded. “So you are that Twilight Sparkle.” She gave a little grin. ”Well, always good to hear that rumors are so much fluff and nonsense. I can have the plating done in a few days. As for a replacement, perhaps we could find you something that better suits your complexion?”

“Well, If you’re thinking of putting me in shortsleeve, you can forget it. I know you saw the marks. I watched your eyes dart up to them and widen. I like to hide those, No sense in causing more trouble for myself, you understand of course?”

“As I said, the customer is always right. You asked for a replacement, and a replacement you shall have… though really, there’s no shame in being an Apex. Just the opposite.” Rarity sighed. “I mean, I’m only a Vikan. My marks don’t even reach my elbow. But you—”

“My marks are a burden, Miss Belle. The constant whispers and glances, people moving out of my way when they see me glow, that isn’t me. That’s not who I need to be. I’m happier just to be a normal Magus; the most people think is that I’m an Incantatar, but that’s it. I mean look at me, my marks go to my neck. I can’t wear anything low-cut without being treated like a Noble. I hate it.” Twilight sighed, shaking her head slowly, “You’re lucky, you get to be normal.”

Rarity cleared her throat. “I… suppose I never looked at it that way.”

“Yadda yadda, boo hoo, you can both move stuff with your minds.” Both Magi looked to Pinkie. “Just saying. Carry on.”

“In any case, as I said, a replacement you shall have. Though we can certainly find a piece more flattering than something out of a western saloon.” Rarity pulled over a rack of coats with her magic and began shuffling through them.

“Maybe you can come to my shop with us,” Twilight levelled, “That rapier looks like it’s seen the better part of the decade, and your tiara is about to crack. I can fix both for you, perhaps as a thank you for doing this?”

Rarity flushed a bit as she followed Twilight’s gaze. “Oh dear, I had thought I’d put those out of sight. You must understand, I stock a considerable number of precious metals and jewels. And, well, there are unsavory characters even here in Altenneera, sad to say. In any case, it seems more than fair. A favor to a friend, as it were.”

“I would be more than happy to fix those, the craftsmanship is remarkable. Shall we all come home? I believe Spike is making a stew tonight, nothing too fancy, sorry about that Rarity. I hope you’ll like it.” Twilight offered.

“Thank you. I usually turn my talents to armor rather than weapons, but certain necessities must be addressed. And I would be happy to accept the invitation of a fellow craftswoman. I find the fare is often less important than the company.”

“Don’t worry about that. Spike’s a great cook! And besides, you—”

Rarity tittered as she clapped her hand over Pinkie’s mouth. “That Pinkie Pie, such a delight. Though every now and again she runs her mouth about certain matters we agreed not to discuss.”

“You mean like—”

“Agreed. Not. To discuss.”

“Riiiiight.”

“You know Rarity, If she starts to get to be too much, you can always do what I do, and set her eyebrows on fire.” Twilight found herself trying to suppress a giggle.

Rarity smiled. “You and I are going to be great friends, Twilight Sparkle.”

“You have Pink to thank for that, after all, she’s been my pool of sanity, as it were.”

“Pinkie Pie… has been keeping you sane?” Rarity’s mouth gaped open for a moment before she recomposed herself. “Well, I’m sure I’ll be of great help on that front!”

“I use sanity on the loosest possible terms.” Said Twilight, leaning against the counter and watching Pinkie Pie trying on hats. “Although, she does make good points sometimes.”.

Rarity nodded. “Quite.” After a beat, she added, “I’m positive I don’t stock half of what she’s tried on. I don’t suppose you know how—”

“DON’T. Trust me on this, you don't wanna know. Pinkie, don't tell her. You shouldn't have told me, but you did, and now I'm tellin' you, you don't wanna know. You do not want to go down that rabbit hole. There are some things that we aren’t supposed to know. Pinkie’s… whatever, is one of those things. Just call it ‘hammerspace’ when you refer to it, and Pinkie won’t do her… Pinkie things. Trust me.” Twilight looked somewhat frantic, wide-eyed and scared at the mention of Pinkie’s mysteriousness.

“Yes. Well. Why don’t we just see what jackets you might like, hmm?”

“Sounds nice.”

And so the girls enjoyed their day amongst themselves, oblivious to the world around them.

On the highest peak of the city of Altenneera, in the temple of the Goddesses, were two shining crystals, pulsing and glowing with the power of ancient magic. Inside of the crystals, one could see blurry suggestions of shapes. Many priests and scholarly types insisted that these crystals were in fact the self-imposed prisons of the Goddesses. The temple was built around the crystal prisons to protect them and allow for fervent prayer. And so it was ornate and beautiful, built to reflect the Goddesses themselves. Bright brilliant golds and pearls danced about deep, rich obsidian and mahogany, painting the walls in beautiful and sharp reliefs of light and splendor. At this time of day, all around this hallowed hall one could see nothing but the beauty of the evening and the serenity of the night, with bright suns and shimmering moons adorning the doors and walls. Everything was set about so as to draw upon the mind of the world the true beauty of the Daughters of the world, save for a large patch of weathered, ancient stone between the crystals, reviled as the door to Tartarus itself.

The king of Altenneera, a queer looking sort of gentleman, looked about the temple, seeing that it was empty, before he himself began to pray. He always enjoyed praying at night, as the night was calmer in a way. He felt a rumble in the masonry beneath him, and smiled solemnly, before speaking, “So it’s true then, the war for the world is being lost. I trust you, Luna, Celestia. Guide us through this harrowing trial.” And he sang a solemn hymn as a large crack shuddered down the stone door, arcing across the floor and up the crystal pillar of the Daughter of Night. He watched, in rapt awe, as the pillar shone an imposing light, before breaking open suddenly.

The king stood quickly, looked to the broken crystal, and saw it devoid of the goddess Luna.

“And so begins the End,” he said, shedding a tear for those who would be lost.

⁂❧⁂

Chapter Three

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Three

⁂❧⁂

Twilight Sparkle woke with a start, a searing pain on her neck and chest making its obnoxious presence known quickly. She jumped out of her bed, rushing to her bathroom to find the source of her pain. As she looked at her bare chest, she was left speechless. Across her chest and neck and nearing her cheekbones were the same rich purple filigree tendrils that made up her marks, having spread further across her body like a choking purple ivy. She stared longer at this, before registering that her glyph had moved from the side of her neck to just below her throat. Too shocked to do anything else, she screamed.

After recovering from the shock of her appearance, she stumbled out of the bathroom, intent on having at least a few more hours’ rest before she had to deal with the change. Twilight slowly shambled to the bed and collapsed on it. She settled in to make herself comfortable before realizing that there was another presence underneath the duvet. She didn’t remember Pinkie staying the night, although that had never stopped the miscreant before. She pulled the cover away, intent on surprising her guest. When the cover was gone, Twilight found herself face to face with a gorgeous girl, with skin as pale and fair as moonlight, and indigo hair, wings as black as the night, and jet black and indigo marks winding from her hands, spiraling down her petite, nude body, tracing around the alabaster crescent moon on her right breast and up to her face, framing it in a sharp image. Twilight found herself again speechless, and for the second time that night, before fainting, she screamed.

The young Magus woke in her bed, the previous night flooding back like a bad joke, jolting her up in her bed. She looked frantically around her room, and seeing nobody but herself, berated herself for believing stupid dreams. So she stood up, stretched a bit, and wandered into the kitchen. She didn’t smell food, so she figured she could get away with just wearing her shorts for now. As Twilight meandered into the kitchen, stretching and scratching, she stumbled upon a queer sight. There, sitting at her kitchen table, was the girl from last night, clad in naught but a smirk. Twilight froze, about to scream again, when a deep azure magic shushed her lips and guided her to the table.

“Ah, so the godling awakens,” the woman began. “Not that thou weren’t as radiant when thou wert slumbering. Thy domicile is quite humble for one of thy stature.”

Twilight registered three things, slowly dissecting and digesting what the woman said and her appearance in the morning light. First, the strange female had wings and the marks of a Magus. Second, she referred to Twilight as “godling.” Third, they both were severely underdressed. As she worked this all around in her head, she opened her mouth to give a smart and simple retort:

“Firstly ma’am, what are you doing in my home, and who are you? And second, why do you look like the Goddess Luna?”

That was what she meant to say. What actually came out of her mouth was:

“WhothewahaholygoddessLuna?”

“So thou hast heard of Us. Most pleasing. It should certainly make introductions simpler. Now then, godling, it is fitting for one to gift another one’s name upon greetings.”

For the second time in as many minutes, Twilight Sparkle was left with a gaping mouth and no words. Finally finding herself able to speak, she addressed the Goddess. “Goddess Luna? I-”

“Ah, child, simply address Us as Luna.”

“Um, alright… well then, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Luna, may I ask why you are in my house? And rudely exposed? Also, if it isn’t too much trouble, can you speak more… modern?” Twilight asked, aghast at the situation, and still not entirely sure that this... girl was an immortal deity.

The Goddess of the Night chuckled, a melodious and musical laugh, before speaking again. “Of course, Twilight Sparkle, I simply thought that the elder vernacular was still in favor, as time passed differently for me than for the rest of the world. To answer your questions, I know not why I am here, and as for my nude appearance, I simply disrobed when I found myself here. My vestments are in the room that we slept in. Do you have any more questions, or shall we have breakfast?”

“I have a few more questions, if that's alright. Why did you call me ‘godling,’ and are you behind my marks suddenly travelling across my body, and what exactly are marks?” Twilight spoke with a slight trepidation, her voice shaking slightly. “I know that Magi have them, and that they enable us to use magic, but nobody really can explain them, other than as a gift from the Goddesses.”

“I address you as godling for the sheer amount of magic present inside of you. The growth of your marks are a sign of you growing into your destiny. And as for the marks across our bodies, Mother told to my sister Celestia and me that they signify the pact between the Goddesses and the Aether. She called them the ‘Enochian Lines’. Over time, Man began to simply call them ‘marks’. I trust that I have answered your questions, yes?”

“Um, yes ma’am.”

“As I said before, call me Luna. Now, shall we eat? I haven’t eaten in a millennium.” As if on cue, the immortal deity’s stomach began to growl, fit to rival a dragon.

“Spike? Are you awake yet? Would you mind doing breakfast again today?” A low roar and mumbling greeted Twilight’s call, before Spike emerged into the kitchen.

“Twilight, I thought I told you, and there is a naked girl in my chair. Why is there a naked girl in my chair? Finally get a girlfriend? Well, young lady, I’m Spike. Nice to meet you. What do you girls want for food? Basic eggs and ham?” Spike seemed almost indifferent to the looks on both females’ faces, and turned his attentions to cooking breakfast.

Twilight looked between Spike and Luna, half expecting the goddess to vaporize him on the spot. After a beat, Luna burst into a raucous and musical laugh, effectively breaking Twilight’s mind, then said, “Well met, good Spike. Ham and eggs sound like a fantastic way to break a millennial fast. I am Luna, Goddess of the Night. You may have heard of me.”

“Goddess of the Night, eh? Makes enough sense to me, seein’ as I can see your full moon from here. And I can see that pretty hair of yours is natural too.” Spike laughed loudly at his own joke.

“‘Skyclad’ is the term, I believe, and it is only natural that mine be a midnight blue. And you are one to speak, walking about with your long, thick,” Luna paused long enough that Twilight started to squirm, “tail on full display.”

“Ah, quick lass, you seem a little young to be lookin’ at a dragon’s tail so longingly. See somethin’ you like down there, eh?”

“Oh, this form is merely a contrivance, a pretty fiction I wear to suit my needs. And others’ needs. Physical youth has many benefits, after all.”

Spike burst into raucous laughter, “‘Youth’, eh? You sound like you got plenty of that in you before too long, ‘specially if you went around wearin’ naught but a pretty smile and some shiny shoes. All goddesses must be somethin’ if they’re as pale as your rear-end!”

“Oh no, my sister was sun-toasted all around. Though I can think of a certain godling pale as I…” Luna gave Twilight a wink that would probably cause a heart attack in any priest that saw it.

“Aw, don’t tease the poor thing, that’s my job, that is. I’m guessin’ she’s in her skivvies ‘cause of you and that silver tongue, isn’t she?” Spike leaned down to wink at the girls, “I hope you didn’t show her how slick you are just yet. Did she Twi?”

“I’ve yet to polish my silver, though I should soon. How else to see whether my skills have tarnished after all this time?”

“Ah, food’s ready, care to enjoy more of my company before you go molest Twilight again?”

Luna gave Spike an appraising look from head to toe. “Loathe as I am to admit it, it has been a while. A few stretches would not be remiss, and I have already found a most agreeable partner for warming up.”

“Not that I’m not flattered, I am, but I don’t plan on any strenuous activities this mornin’. Twilight’s handy with a wrench though, have her check out the plumbin’, clean out the cobwebs, as it were.”

Luna nodded. “It would be prudent while I am welcome in another’s parlor.”

“ALRIGHTY THEN!” Came a loud reply from Twilight, now a furious crimson, “Let’s eat and stop talking, after all, it’s very rude to talk with a full mouth, Isn’t it, Spike?” Twilight seemed to almost spit venom with the last word, causing Spike to gulp loudly.

Luna looked from one to another. “My, my. I knew you two were close, but—”

She was cut off by a large portion of eggs wrapped in a violet aura shoving itself halfway down her throat. She sputtered and struggled to swallow before dipping her head at Twilight. “Very well then. I suppose that will have to be enough for now.”

Breakfast was an astronomically awkward affair for Twilight, as she sat in cringing silence, turning redder and redder, reflecting on how everything she believed in was crumbling before her, with a nude, immature eidolon at the heart of the calamity. When they had all finished breakfast, she found herself alone in her own room with Luna. It was then that the dam of her emotions broke.

“You! You’re a Goddess! It’s your fault! How dare you! Everyone told me the “Goddesses” know what is best for the world! It’s because of you that I lost everything. The Goddesses have ruined my life. You leave my home right now, you bitch!” Twilight Sparkle realized too late that she had slapped Luna. She drew her arm back, and closed her eyes, quietly accepting her death at the hands of the immortal she struck.

But death never came. Instead, she felt cool, slender arms wrap around her in a comforting embrace, wiping away tears she didn’t know she had shed, and a quiet, serene voice consoling her. “Twilight Sparkle, you have been very brave, facing the deaths of your mother and father, the loss of your arm, and the rescue, and care, of that dragon. It is true that my sister and I can see all that transpires around us, but we cannot intervene or assist in any way. We chose to seal ourselves in crystal to ensure that the evils of the world remained locked away. I am truly and deeply sorry for your loss, and I pray to Mother that I may help in any way.” Luna pulled away to look into the taller girl’s eyes, “I make this solemn vow to you, Twilight Sparkle, that in any way I may help you, any way at all, I will. It is not fitting for a goddess to leave her children to suffer, and it is against my nature to see you hurt so. I, Luna Aeterna Noctis seal this vow with my life and magic.” With those words, the marks framing Luna’s face began to glow a soft blue, deep as the ocean, and she kissed Twilight.

Twilight’s eyes shot wide open, shocked and appalled that an immortal deity, the personification of the Night itself, was kissing her. Her first kiss, and it was from one of the Goddesses she had shunned, cursed, and hated for most of her life. Then, just as abruptly as it began, Luna pulled away.

“With the meeting of our lips, this pact is sealed, and upon my life and power as a goddess of this world, it is binding.” She blinked, taking in Twilight’s expression. ”Is there a problem Miss Sparkle? It appears you seem almo—”

Without warning, Twilight shot forward, grabbing the slender deity’s shoulders, cutting Luna off with another, deeper kiss, feeling herself drawn to the strange girl.

“Well, Twilight, if you wished to be my consort, you had needed only to ask. A woman as attractive as you would make a fine lover, if not a little young. I’m quite flattered.” Luna said with a chuckle, blushing a soft rose, almost out of place on her pale face.

A sharp whistle disrupted the moment. “Wow. I’ll just show myself out.”

“Gah! Pinkie!” Twilight exclaimed, flailing for anything to cover herself, mentally scolding herself for not getting dressed sooner, before her brain screeched to a halt. There was a Goddess in her room. Right beside her. Completely naked. She threw her blanket around Luna, before quickly pulling on a shirt.

Twilight knew she shouldn’t ask, but her brain seemed to want to continue its idiotic streak, and so she asked, “Pinkie, just how long have you been there?”

Pinkie Pie, in all of her eloquence, merely shrugged and uttered, “Long enough.” She leaned towards her friend with a smirk, before adding, “I mean, I know you’ve made ‘f-word the Goddesses’ your life’s philosophy, but I never thought you’d mean it literally.”

Luna, never one to join a conflict early, smiled warmly, chuckling under the blanket that still smelled of the awkward girl. She softly giggled when wrenches and various other parts and pieces flew toward Pinkie Pie. As the charismatic girl danced about, taunting her friend, Luna barely managed to catch pieces of Pinkie’s taunts over the din.

“‘Utter lunacy,’ you said. Well, you saw all of Luna, that’s for sure!”

“Hold still, damn it!”

“It’s a little late to be shy after she made your twilight sparkle!”

“I will burn that pile of cotton candy you call a hairstyle to your scalp!”

“Oh, you like them shaved? Luna, you’d better be paying attention!” Pinkie sing songed, before breaking out into a cackle.

The daughter of the Creator, Steward to the Night, and Reaper of Nightmares, blushed furiously, her normally pale visage now rivalling that of an over-ripe tomato. It was one thing to banter with a dragon. It was quite another for one of her children to speak so frankly to her.

Stifling another giggle as an extraordinarily large wrench found its mark, Luna dropped the blanket to dress herself. She was aware of a hushed conversation regarding her beginning behind her, but chose to ignore it in favor of her clothing. She slipped on a pair of gleaming silver hose, pulling her shimmering samite skirt over them, before donning a royal blue tunic and gleaming obsidian and silver pauldrons and corset. She finished dressing and fixed her nearly shoulder length hair into a tight ponytail before she registered that there were no more whispers.

She turned to find Pinkie staring at Twilight, and Twilight staring at her. While the exuberant girl had a smile that told of joy and success, Twilight’s look was one of longing and regret, shadowed by disbelief. Luna flicked her fingers, sending an azure butterfly to dance around the Magus, before it landed on her cheek. Twilight swore that she felt the lips of the goddess on her cheek where the butterfly sat.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, Twilight turned to Pinkie as Luna sauntered off with a knowing smirk, and spoke. “Pinkie, did you come here for a particular reason, or just to bother me?”

“Bothering you would be a reason, silly. Though there is something else. Rarity sent me to get you; she said she has your stuff ready. She rushed because she really appreciated what you did for her. Besides, you’re just so much fun to tease, you big ol’ bucket of ‘screw-it-all.’” Pinkie beamed, the effect somewhat ruined by the developing bruise.

“Well, that poses a unique problem, because I have a Goddess in my house, and I don’t want to leave her alone, just in case, but I can’t exactly take her with me. People will definitely know something’s up if a Magus with marks as large as hers and wings just meanders down the street. I’m not sure my illusion spells will even work on her.” Twilight briefly regretted what she was about to ask, but saw no other alternative, “I don’t suppose you have an idea?”

“Duh silly, of course you can’t just have her walk down the street looking like a warrior princess. You need to give her my cloak!” Pinkie was grinning brightly, pleased at her own idea, before she looked past Twilight, and shrugged, “Or not. Eh.”

“Or not?” asked an inquisitive Twilight, tracing Pinkie’s gaze to a now ordinary looking Seraph girl, still dressed as Luna. “How did you do that? Illusion magic?”

“No, I just used the makeup in your cabinet. Much easier.” Luna sounded as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Twilight sighed, already exhausted from the morning. “Whatever, I guess if you’re ready, then we can go to Rarity’s.”

The walk through the city proved far less stressful than Twilight had imagined it would be. She didn’t have her coat to hide her marks, so many people moved aside for them, and they only stopped once, at the obelisks, at Luna’s insistence.

“Once,” she said, “these were part of palaces and holy places that your ancestors built for us.” She shut her eyes and rested her head against one of the pillars. “It is… It is good to see that some part of them remains.”

After the girls finished talking, they continued on, and arrived at Carousel Armoire around midday. Rarity once again greeted them with a welcoming smile. “Welcome, Twilight, Pinkie, oh, and who might you be, miss?”

“Rarity, I suggest you sit down for this. I fainted when I saw it for myself.” Twilight intoned, softly ushering Rarity to a plush looking couch, before continuing. “Rarity, I would like to introduce you to Luna Aeterna Noctis, Goddess of the Night. Luna, this is Miss Rarity Belle.”

“I suppose Pinkie Pie put you up to this? It really is quite dry humor, after she has already introduced me to several, ahem, ‘Nobles,’” Rarity deadpanned, her heavily lidded glare bouncing between Pinkie and Twilight.

“Well then, Miss Belle,” Luna chimed merrily, “I suppose I will have to show you.” With a quick snap of her fingers, the pale girl was engulfed in shimmering blue flames, and when they died down, her makeup had disappeared, and she stood in her full glory, a small smile gracing her thin lips.

Rarity abruptly grabbed Twilight by the collar, before hissing frantically in her ear, “How do I address a Goddess? Does she have a title? Do I bow? What do I do?”

“Calm down Rarity, Luna is probably the most humble person I have ever met. She even threw about some rather interesting jokes with Spike this morning. Just call her Luna.” Twilight tried to suppress the grin breaking out on her face at her friend’s anxiety.

“Ahem. Well then, Nice to meet you, Luna. It is always a pleasure to meet new people. May I inquire as to why someone of your stature would visit my humble shop?” Rarity poured as much grace as she had left into the greeting.

Luna returned her handshake, smiling warmly. “Pinkie Pie and Twilight invited me to join them in visiting you for something you had for her, and I always look forward to meeting the friend of my friends.”

“Ah, yes, Twilight, here are your coats.” They wafted over, carried in Rarity’s magic. “I took the liberty of patching your old one before I plated it to your specifications, and your new one is here. I made it out of a lighter, breathable material made for Seraphim, to ensure you could wear it whenever and wherever you please. I hope everything is to your liking?”

“Yes it is, thank you for this, Rarity. Here you go.” Twilight handed Rarity a pouch full of coins after pulling on the plated coat, “I hope that’s enough to cover the cost.”

“Please dear, your money is no good here, after all, I think we are about even for the repairs you made, not to mention you are a friend after all.”

Unbeknownst to the girls at the counter, Pinkie was busy whispering in Luna’s ear, before a smile that could only be referred to as terrifying began to spread across the goddess’ face.

“Miss Belle, if I may make a request?”

“Why of course… dear, anything for you.” Rarity found it awkward to address a Goddess as she would any other person in her shop.

Luna turned to the fashionista with a blank look and a serious tone, “I wish to know if you carry whips and chains? They excite me so.”

Rarity blinked once, the sound of her mind breaking audible in the small shop, before fainting dead away.

The three girls shared a laugh, thoroughly enjoying the company of one another.

⁂❧⁂

Chapter Four

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Four

⁂❧⁂

Rarity soon recovered. She joined in the group’s laughter for a few minutes before straightening herself out and standing with a sigh.

Without warning, a haunting howl cut through the walls of the store, chilling the blood of everyone inside. Luna opened her mouth as if to speak, but a large wolf seemingly made of shadows cut her off, pouncing on her from the open doorway.

Rarity reached for her rapier, but before she could even move it towards her, the wolf vanished with a pained yelp. In it’s place was Luna, disheveled hair sticking out wildly, a large scythe whose blade glimmered like the night sky in her hands. Straightening her tunic and hair, she said, “Fear not, I merely fell.”

“With all due respect, Luna dear, I think I speak for us all when I say that that wolf was the cause of your ‘fall,’” Rarity stated gently.

Luna paled to an almost ghostly hue. “No, it cannot be. You saw the fenrir that assaulted me? Then— dear Mother,” she gasped, suddenly turning fearful. “We mustn’t tarry. We need to get to the Tartarus Gate, now!” Twilight nodded an agreement, flourishing her wrists and, with a rushing of air, the girls were gone.

Once they blinked back into existence before the Gate, Luna shot forward, spurred by a great gust from her wings, slamming the doors to the temple open. When the girls stepped into the church, they froze. In the center of the building stood the king, clothes raggedly torn and swinging a bastard sword wildly at the masses of snarling shadow creatures that surrounded him. Each swing scattered a few of the beasts, but more quickly replaced them, a roiling menagerie of every creature conceivable, warped into bleak parodies of themselves.

The king delivered a wide swing, leaving a wake of boiling acid and fresh waffles. He looked to Luna and the group behind her. Sweat matted his silver hair to his scalp, but he still greeted them with a snaggletoothed smile. “Welcome back, Goddess Luna. My, it has been quite a while, hasn’t it?” He swung his sword behind him, decapitating a shadow that had leapt over the corrosive, crusty barricade. “As much as I’d love to reminisce, this won’t hold them for long. A little assistance would be appreciated.”

Luna gasped, drawing her scythe again from the aether, before jumping into the combat.

Twilight turned to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, confused, but serious. “Pinkie, where are my sword and your hammer? And Rarity— Oh good, you’ve got yours.”

Pinkie giggled nervously, before replying, “Yours is under your mattress, silly, the last place you’d look. And I already have my hammer.” With that, Pinkie reached behind her, drawing what looked to be a miniature cannon, before pressing a button. It unfolded in ways that didn’t seem entirely possible until it became a rather large pink and blue hammer with a sharpened point on one side.

Twilight knew better than to ask. She just nodded and filed the information away for the next time Pinkie pulled that particular stunt. But now that she knew where her sword was, all it took to retrieve it was a sharp snap of her fingers. When the resulting violet haze settled, the sheathed blade was in her hand. By all rights, she should’ve been exhausted, but it barely felt like a warmup. She strapped the blade to her side, drew it, and filled it with her magic, energy running up the lattice and bursting into large violet flames.

Twilight turned around with a flourish of her armored coat. “Alright, ladies, looks like it’s showtime.” The three girls shot forward as the shadows rushed them.

Rarity took on a distant, almost unfocused look. An indigo mote on the tip of her rapier was the only visible sign of her magic, weaving a trail of light as the sword moved. The shadows came at her like a bolt of cloth, mindlessly trying to envelop her. Thus, she fought like a sewing machine, with regular, efficient, precise thrusts that worked towards a greater vision.

Pinkie Pie didn’t fight. She played, swinging her hammer as easily as a croquet mallet and in ways that would get her banned from any country club. Every downswing on some unfortunate umbral skull came with a burst of pink energy that propelled her up to the ceiling, where she could drop like a meteor and start the bouncing cycle anew.

Twilight unleashed the fire of her magic, channeling the rage in her heart into a massive wave of arcane fury that bit deep into the teeming horde. As she fought, she felt every memory of anger and sorrow surface, pouring them into ever deadlier magic and swordplay.

Luna danced, her scythe’s motions incredibly graceful for what such a cumbersome-looking weapon. Shadows burst into foul vapor when she neared them, her blade moving so swiftly that it seemed they simply could not bear the serene beauty of her motions. The Goddess of Night drifted about the temple like her moon across the night sky, trailing a wake of fading shadowstuff.

The king now stood his ground, faintly warping the area around him, drawing in foes. Impossible colors lined the edges of his blade and the space around him. He dispatched foes slowly, almost teasingly, always with a single stroke but never the same move twice. Two-handed, one-handed, no-handed, even a few blows that seemed to involve legs. Or tentacles.

Soon enough, the remaining shadows fled in dark blurs and hisses. In their wake, the Tartarus Gate became visible, along with the hairline crack that marred it.

As the girls caught their breath, Luna said, “I would speak to my friend of old. Stay near should more of the fiends return.”

Rarity went to examine the stained glass windows, Pinkie chose to watch the people milling about below, seemingly oblivious to the commotion that had occurred, and Twilight climbed to the roof of the temple, watching the star-dappled sunset over the ocean, calmly dangling her legs over the side, humming softly.

“Don’t you move. Can’t you stay where you are, just for now?” Twilight sang out in a gentle, melancholy tune, before humming again.

“You have a beautiful voice Twilight. Might I join you?” asked a calm voice from behind her.

Never opening her eyes, Twilight agreed, “Of course, Luna. I suppose the stars coming out earlier than normal is your doing?”

“Yes, among other things.” Luna leaned back against the next tier of the roof, her thin legs dangling beside Twilight’s. “I owe you an explanation and an apology for what transpired in the temple earlier. I never anticipated that you could see the shadows, and I never meant to draw anyone else into this conflict. For that I am truly sorry, but I thank you for your help.” When Twilight simply nodded in acknowledgement, she continued, “You seem strangely calm, especially for the day you have had. May I ask what is on your mind? My vow still holds; I will gladly help with anything, even if all you need is an open ear.”

When Twilight finally opened her eyes, they sparkled with a faraway, determined stare. “Ever since I was little, after I lost my mom, I hated the Goddesses… hated you. But now, I’m not so sure. I must sound silly, bearing this hatred for someone I never met, thrusting grief and resentment onto someone who seemed infallible, who was supposedly watching over us, guiding fate and protecting us.

“Now? Now I see that maybe you’re just as lost as I am, maybe even more, I don’t know. I used to stare at the moon, and feel this anger building inside, shunning the stars and the sun for the same reason. I look up now, and I see this beauty that I blocked off with a stupid, childish grudge. It shaped my world, turning me cold and cynical. Losing my family changed me. I’ve been broody and quick-tempered, blunt when I wasn’t being passive-aggressive. I avoided friends, drank too much, and never felt moved by anyone. I lost my parents, that much I understood. I never thought I’d lose myself too.” Twilight turned toward Luna, “When you showed up in my house, all of that crashed down around me. After meeting you, getting to know you a little, I feel like maybe if I stay with you I can find my reasons. Maybe I can get the answers I used to cry myself to sleep over. I’ve decided, I’m gonna go where you do. That’s what Mom and Dad would want me to do, I think.”

Luna smiled, turning back to the stars. When she heard Twilight hum again, she joined her. Together under the stars, for the first calm moment that day, the girls shared a nocturne.

After some time, Luna heard a sound from below, and, rousing Twilight from her silence, hopped down from the roof. When they got to the large marble and mahogany doors, they saw Pinkie, Rarity, and the king, sharing a conversation. As the girls approached them, the king broke into a fond smile. “Ahh, dear Goddess Luna, I haven’t seen you in a dog’s age. What has it been? Almost two thousand years?”

Luna chuckled, “Two thousand, three hundred and fifty two, by my count. You have aged quite well, Scoddri. And becoming a king? Well, I knew you were a natural leader after all.”

“You flatter me. Well young ladies, I believe introductions are in order. I am King Scoddri Von Anagram, third king of Alteneera, protector of the west, and second general to the Goddesses during the war of the Gods. Nice to meet you.” He bowed low, sweeping his mismatched robe wide.

And so, introductions and exchanges were shared, and the king invited them all to convene in the castle’s library, at the behest of the Goddess. When they reached the castle, Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie released a collective gasp. Seeing the elegant building up close for the first time brought a new light to it.

The castle was massive, covered in ornate reliefs and carvings, with crenelations dancing atop marble and stone towers that seemed to support the very heavens. Front and center were a truly huge set of iron, gold, and oaken double doors, studded here and there with pearls and pieces of obsidian, all glinting in the soft moonlit glow.

The king guided them through halls and foyers, all elegantly decorated and furnished, before leading the group to the royal archives and ushering them to a table. As he sat at the head of the table, he spoke. “I suppose you all think you’re due an explanation. Fortunately, so do I. After all, you can actually see those blasted things. Given that, both Goddess Luna and I believe it’s time we explain the past. Take notes, there may be a quiz later on.”

His playful expression went neutral, his eyes focused on the past. “Long before the Goddesses came to this world, there existed a primal, dark magic. This magic twisted natural life into dark marionettes to further its own ends, namely the destruction of the resisting pockets of harmony and light on the planet, followed by the rest of the universe and beyond. When the Goddesses came, they fought back against this evil, containing it in a prison made from stone, fire, and the bones of the first Titans. It was before the door to this hell was sealed that the darkness gained form to speak to them. Standing at the gate, clad in fire and shadows, the twisted fiend who was once Azeroth, Titan of Death, spake, ‘Hear me now, harlots of light. I, Morkaidius, will blot out every speck of light from your hearts. I will fill this reality with hatred and fear until it runs over. You cannot contain me.’ As the gates closed, the Goddesses sealed the door with the five aspects of light, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty, using magic as an agent to bind and strengthen the seal. It is only with these six powers that the the doors can be unlocked fully, releasing Morkaidius to fulfill his goal.”

He stroked his goatee lovingly, watching Pinkie try balancing a vase on her nose, before continuing on. “This is where our contemporary ‘scripture’ begins, though it recasts the Battle of the Gods as a simple power struggle. The Goddesses, chiefly Celestia, sought to raise an army to combat this vile spread of Morkaidius’s influence on Man. Four such humans, Chrysalis, Sombra, Cadenza, and I, joined them, along with a small few who also didn’t fear his power. When the Goddesses realized the power we had wouldn’t be enough to silence the dark whisperings of the afflicted Titans, they gifted us four with hidden magics. To me they gifted the power of unbridled Chaos—which has made ruling a country very interesting—Sombra could strike down upon his foes with great vengeance and furious anger, Cadenza was given the gentle sweetness and raw fury of pure love, and Chrysalis could reflect and emulate the abilities of those who opposed her. Using these new powers, we, as their generals, cut down and sealed the shadows and darkened armies in Tartarus.

“When all was done and the war ended, none remained but the four generals and the Goddesses to witness the banishing of the dark legions. Before sealing themselves in crystal, and Faust in with the demons, the sisters assigned us to guard the four boundaries and watch over their growing children. For millennia, we have been the silent watchers, guiding Man along, and keeping the realms safe from Morkaidius’ designs. We decided that Sombra go North, and Chrysalis to the South, leaving me to the West, and Cadenza to tend the East.

“That is how the world has been for thousands of years, up until yesterday. When Luna’s crystal cracked, so too did the Gate. As she gained her freedom, so too did the least of the creatures sealed in Tartarus. That means at least one of my fellow guardians has been compromised. It may also be that Tirek, Morkaidius’ most prized son, is weakening the door while the Titan himself bides his time.” The king sighed softly. “They already have magic at their disposal, thanks to their dark puppeteer, it’s intrinsic to their nature, but the others are things those demons can’t touch alone.” He perked up. “So, any questions?”

“Wait, what?” Twilight blinked, confused. “Titans? What in the name of Luna’s bollocks are titans? I’ve never even heard of titans, not even in the stories that praise the goddesses.”

The king bore a bemused smile, and Luna blushed. “Well, heavenly naughty bits aside, Titans are the guardians and representations of natural magics. There is one for every element, wind, earth, fire, water, magic, and even silly ones for minor things like the oceans and volcanoes. I believe there are, oh, thirteen left. The darkness seems intent on possessing or outright killing them. The important ones just get reborn after getting obliterated.”

“If you’re an immortal guardian, then why are the shades attacking, and why aren’t you stopping them? And why are we the only ones who can see the stupid things?” Twilight glared daggers at the elder Guardian. Suspicious daggers. Tipped with questions. And mixed metaphors.

“Good men mean well. We just don’t always end up doing well,” Scoddri said with a sigh. “A lot of times we fail without a second word or chance to fix things. I may be immortal, Miss Sparkle, but by no means does that make me perfect.

“As for you lot, you can see the darkness because of the power that courses through your veins. Somewhere down the line, the powers that bind the Gates made themselves known through several bloodlines, in people who exemplified these traits. Needless to say…” The king smirked. ”Well, it’s needless to say. You should be able to figure out that much.”

Twilight nodded. “Rarity, Pinkie, and I are some of those exemplars.”

Scoddri beamed. “Good to see you’re as smart as Luna thinks you are. You will know the others when you meet them, as your blood will feel comfortable around them, feel like you have been friends or even family for years. Only the ones who are graced by these powers or the gifts of the Goddesses can see these beasts... for now. As soon as their dark master is free, then the world will be at risk.”

“So basically, we have to go and fix this? Rescue the Goddesses? Find these powers, stare down the evil and fire some weird freaking 'rainbow beams of fix everything'?” Twilight sighed, something she had been doing too often lately, and rubbed her growling stomach. “Incidentally, what is the going rate for rescuing Goddesses these days? Food would be a nice start…the good stuff mind you. And how does an immortal even become king?”

“You are an impetuous little whelp, too brash and angry for the world around you. I like you already.” The king chuckled brightly, rolling his eyes. “I’m king because a girl sitting in a puddle threw a knife at me.”

Pinkie raised her hand. “I thought you were king because you were appointed to watch over humanity.”

“That too,” Scoddri conceded. He turned back to Twilight. ”Any other stupid questions, Miss Sparkle? Done now? Goody. I hope you memorized everything, because I have no intention of repeating myself when you find the rest of your merry band.”

Rarity shuffled in her seat. “Forgive me, Your Highness, but there is something I wanted to know.”

“Go ahead. You could’ve already asked it by now if you hadn’t bothered with the formalities.”

“Er. Yes. Well.” Rarity cleared her throat. ”I understand how we can see these beasts, but I don’t understand how we can fight them. I’ve had my share of confrontations while gathering materials but…” She shook her head. “In the temple… I’ve never felt like that. It was as though something was wielding me as much as I was using my rapier.”

The king nodded. “You’re not far off, Miss Belle. You are, in some ways, an extension of the seal. Fighting those creatures is literally in your blood, an instinct as ingrained as breathing. It won’t guarantee victory against the nastier sorts, but it will certainly put you on a solid footing.

”Now, ‘the good stuff,’ was it? I’m sure that can be arranged.”

Scoddri clapped his hands twice. A woman in a beige skirt and suit hurried into the library, her pink hair giving way to gray. “Yes, Your Highness?” Her tone made it clear where those gray hairs were coming from.

The king smiled. “Ah, Marian. Everyone, this is my majordomo, Miss Marian Maria Mare. Incredibly useful woman, keeps the whole kingdom running more or less. Marian, we would like a banquet. Full spread. Say… twenty minutes from now?”

Miss Mare didn’t even flinch. “Of course, Your Highness. I’ll alert the kitchens.” She left with the same haste with which she arrived.

“You can’t possibly expect a full banquet in twenty minutes,” said Twilight.

“You can’t. I can, because I’m king. One of the perks, you see. Believe me, this is far from the most ludicrous thing I’ve asked for, that Marian has delivered on. As I said, incredibly useful, and she hardly ever plots against me.” Scoddri paused for a moment. ”Well, there was that time I found an assassin in my shower, but it may not have even been hers. Really, I think she just does it because I’d be disappointed otherwise. So considerate.”

Pinkie nodded. “That’s my aunt Marian alright!”

“Oh.” Twilight gave a little laugh. ”Well that explains everything.”

Scoddri quirked an eyebrow. “It does?”

“Is there some forgotten Titan of time and space that had pink hair? Because that would mesh perfectly with my current theory.”

“Not that I can recall.”

And yet, twenty minutes later, the main dining room had in it a feast fit for a king, a Goddess, and three embodiments of ancient virtues.

After the meal, the king offered the four girls rooms in the castle for the night, so as to avoid their walking home in the darkness. (“I suppose you could take the Twilight Express,” he’d said, “but I haven’t had such delightful guests in far too long.”) Pinkie and Rarity agreed to a room for themselves, leaving the pale Goddess with Twilight.

Twilight sat softly at the head of the large bed on one side of the room, watching Luna drag the moon across the sky on the other side. She felt drained, emotionally dead as what had happened that day caught up to her. Nothing she’d ever held onto was true, and it hurt. But now, there was nobody to pin it on. She watched Luna finish her magic, before stripping off her clothing, save the leggings and tunic.

They said their goodnights, and sleep found them.

Twilight felt the shadows coming down around them. She saw her mother standing there, but couldn’t move, couldn’t even scream as she was swallowed by darkness. Her father lay beside her when the darkness finally cleared. It was a horrible scene. She cried, yelling and heaving with terrified sobs and heart-wrenching shouts, until she felt a calm hand on her shoulder. When she looked, there was nothing around her, save a large circle of serene light. As Twilight looked up, she smiled. The clouds that had haunted her dream's sky vanished, and the stars in the sky seemed to move and form softly glimmering images in the darkness surrounding her, and for the first time in years, Twilight Sparkle slept calmly.

⁂❧⁂

Chapter Five

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Five

⁂❧⁂

Morning came swiftly, bringing with it the bustle and noise of the kingdom. Birds called in flight over bright spirals and steaming smokestacks. Children played amongst brass tubes and oaken posts, the Seraph children buzzing about on small wings, chasing the others around, playing ball with the stronger Oread boys and girls, with the little Magi using their magic to amaze new friends and even a few adults who sat watching them play.

The sunbeams brought life and energy to everywhere they touched, except for a large guest room on the first floor of the castle. Twilight curled up further, pressing the pillow over her ears down harder, trying to block out the screaming of children and birds, the bustle of servants and carts going by, all of it like nails being driven into her mind through her ears. Finally she bolted up, unable to take it any further.

“SHUT THE HELL UP!” She screamed, begging the powers that be to give her even a few more minutes of silence. The windows flashed with a violently shining purple light. She threw on her clothes, pulling on her dirty boots and plated coat, before slipping on her sword sheath. She was still glowering and glimmering with violet energy as she stalked through the halls of the castle, searching for the dining hall. Servants ran from her when she approached them to ask where her goal was, and the more weak-hearted of them fainted on the spot. To be honest, it was just making her even more pissed, adding to an already aggravating morning.

She finally found her quarry after searching the lower halls for almost an hour. In front of her were the double doors to the royal dining hall, made obvious by the heavenly scents slipping out from between them. Reaching out a brilliantly shining hand, she gripped the doorknob, only to be stopped when the door flew outward, hitting her in the face. Behind the door, with a frozen laugh still etched on her face, was Pinkie Pie. She started backing up, intent on going anywhere else, when a hand shot up and snapped its glowing fingers. When the light died down a little, Twilight Sparkle was left standing where the smouldering remains of the door used to be, an arcane wind whipped her hair around, blowing her coat outwards. “Pinkamena Diane Pie. You get three seconds to run.”

Rarity coughed from within the dining hall. “Twilight, dear, not that I want to distract you from your murderscape, but you seem to be slightly more... luminescent than before.”

Twilight looked towards Rarity, her marks glowing like lanterns and a faint aurora dancing above her shoulders. The air around them suddenly became heavy and oppressive. It grew increasingly hot and arid as Twilight crept closer, causing Rarity to cough lightly.

Twilight suddenly stopped, nose in the air, sniffing slowly. The pressure lifted as she stalked towards the table like a hungry lioness. “There it is. Breakfast. Finally, I found you,” she purred, almost lovingly. “I missed you.” As she ate, the gathered guests, the king included, watched in a mix of confusion, abject horror, and amusement. The king was fighting a losing war with Pinkie over who would laugh first, while Luna seemed to almost be arguing with herself on whether she should go and talk to Twilight. Finally, though, the young deity mustered up the courage to talk to her.

“Twilight, A word, if I may?” Luna asked, sitting across from the girl. When Twilight murmured agreement over a large amount of eggs and a generous helping of bacon, Luna continued. “It appears that you are going through an enormous amount of internal turmoil, causing the magic in your body to spiral into chaos, and giving you mood swings. Is there anything I can do to help you? Aside from you glowing like a bonfire, you also incinerated a rather large and thick set of metal and oaken doors. I’m concerned about what may be happening to you.”

Twilight swallowed her food, glaring at Luna over her glass of orange juice, before draining the glass and setting it down. She cleared her throat and decided to speak honestly. “You know, I don’t know about this, any of this. Gathering bloodlines and fighting demons, I don’t get it, and I don’t think I want to be a part of it. Besides, you only need the others, Morkai-whatever-his-face probably already opened the magic side of the seal, and he only needs the others. As long as you have them, then he can’t use them. Frankly, I just want to go home and sleep. I don’t know if you noticed at all, but I’m not exactly cut out for all this ‘hero’ business.” She stopped to sigh. “You’re a Goddess, that much I accept, but I refuse to believe that any of this has to do with me in any capacity. You’re welcome in my home, Luna, as are Rarity and Pinkie, and Scoddri, I suppose, but I don’t think I will be going on some suicidal adventure. This isn’t just some story, I can’t just leave my home, journey across the map, gather up a party of people, then come back and fight an ancient evil. That’s just ridiculous. Next thing you know, I’m gonna walk into a cave looking for dragons and some old man is gonna give me a sword. Sorry, but I don’t think this is a journey I want to be a part of.” She shook her head and stood up, placing her hands behind her head and stretching.

Luna watched her meander away, before loudly clearing her throat. “What if I told you that it was possible to speak to your parents again? To be able to see those that you lost, even just once more?”

Twilight stopped cold, the glow on her arms pulsing quicker and brighter, matching her heartbeat, as she whirled to face Luna again. When she faced the Goddess, her eyes were wide and a single tear ran down her cheek, quickly evaporating under the magic that radiated off of her. “What did you say?”

“I said, Twilight, that there is a place that can let you visit with your parents again. It is likely that we will venture near it in our travels. Stopping there may give us a chance to rest. They would likely love to see you again too.”

“You shut your mouth, right now.” Twilight’s voice was calm, but her marks and eyes glowed like the sun and her hair whipped about in an unfelt wind. “You do not get to use them against me. How dare you attempt to bring them into your mess? You and yours started all of this. It has absolutely nothing to do with me. I don’t care if you are a Goddess, you don’t ever use my family against me. I will rip off your wings and burn you to ashes where you stand if you so much as mention them again, do I make myself perfectly clear, Goddess?” She turned and began walking away, before turning back to face Luna slightly, “You never should have shown your face to me. Rot in Tartarus.”

And like that, she vanished.

Twilight Sparkle sat on the roof of the castle, nestled between the pillars of the marble belfry, hugging her knees to her chest and weeping openly. She looked up to see the sun cresting softly, fluffy white clouds drifting lazily across an ocean of neverending blue, and birds flitting here and there. Another loud sob wracked her thin frame, causing her to draw her knees tighter to her chest and shift back into the shade, the echoes of Luna’s words still echoing in her ears.

“She doesn’t mean anything by it you know. She doesn’t really understand what she did wrong.” The voice sighed, “After all, her only family is immortal and trapped. I, on the other hand, well, I see where you’re coming from, and what you mean. By the way, you really could have used the couch, it’s been in the corner there for a little while now.”

Twilight looked up to see Scoddri sitting in a chair, a leather-bound book in one hand, and a wine glass in the other.

“Do you know what becoming immortal entails, Twilight? Losing everything. Once you lose all that you were, and you let go of all that you held dear, then you can be reborn. I never asked for immortality, for power, or any of the things that came with either. It was all thrown into my face, given without my consent. I know how you feel, having your family brought up casually like that. Ah! Don’t go off on me just yet. You see, before all the mess with Tirek and the dark legions, I was a farmer. I carved out a simple life, raising my two daughters with my wife. I was happy. I was content.” Scoddri paused for a moment, a wistful smile on his face.

It soon became a scowl. “When Tirek first struck, I lost my youngest daughter, Immolia. I fought the darkness back long enough to get my family to safety and bury her before joining the fight. When I came back, I didn’t know what had happened to me. I watched as my wife turned old and grey, dying in my arms. I raised hundreds of grandchildren, seeing each of them live full, happy lives, before I buried them too. It crushed my soul, tore my heart out and killed me, each and every time.”

Scoddri shook his head. ”But Luna didn’t become immortal. She always was that way. She has never married, never given birth, never loved any but her sister and her mother. She never had to face the loss that you, I, and every other human on this planet has. She may come off as unfeeling and arrogant at times, but really, she’s still just a child. And I pity her. She may never face that loss, and may never become like us. Don’t fault a child for the inability to understand a pain she never has felt.”

The king drained the glass, holding out the book. “This is for you. It is a compendium of all of my knowledge of magic, metals, and places in this world. Even if you do stay, you may find it useful. Don’t stay out here too long, Miss Sparkle; lunch should be coming soon.”

Twilight took the heavy book, watching as the king stepped away into nothingness before turning back to the sky before her. Something he had said shook her. Maybe she needed to go, at least to see her parents again. She wasn’t sure, but she felt it. Whatever fleeting feelings she had for Luna were just that, fleeting. She wasn’t doing this for the Goddesses. If she was going, it was for herself.

She made her way back to the dining hall, choosing to take the long way. Telekinesis wasn’t enough to make her fly, but it certainly let her drop from the roof of the palace without fear. After Twilight landed, she traced her fingers along the curvature of her lines, still unsure why she was still glowing. She wasn’t actively casting anymore; indeed, she had still been glowing long after she had blinked away from the Goddess. She felt the magic in them, a sense of hot and cold at the same time, and she formulated an idea.

Twilight stopped in the courtyard, summoning a crystal of ice in her left hand and a ball of fire in her right. Noticing the glow surrounding her dimming, she put more power into the evocations, causing an interesting change. The ice around her fake arm shaped itself into a shimmering snake wrapping itself around her arm, leading to a large wing made of the same glimmering ice. The fire billowed out, forming an intimidating halberd of dark purple flames and the same wing effect on her other shoulder. Curious, Twilight Sparkle brought the ice covered appendage up to touch the flaming halberd.

A moment later, there were two things going on inside Mariam Mare’s head: she wasn’t paid enough for her job, and the castle was being attacked. The explosion seemed to have come from the courtyard, shaking loose plaster and dust from every surface, knocking glasses over, and cracking the window beside her. She thought about reacting for a second, before remembering that in addition to the king, both the Goddess Luna and Pinkie Pie were in the castle. While she wasn’t too concerned with the king or Goddess, she realized that Pinkie being in the vicinity almost always led to an explosion of some sort, and continued to read her book.

Twilight groaned, sitting up in what appeared to be a large crater. She realized she was sitting and covered in very cold water, and used her magic to flash the water into steam. After teleporting up to the lip, she blinked slowly. The trees that had previously been ringing the courtyard had been thrashed. Half of them were scorched, some still burning, while the other half were covered in a very thick layer of frost and snow.

A slow clap heralded Scoddri’s appearance. “Well, well, color me impressed Sparkle-butt, I rather like the new look of the courtyard, but I’m probably going to be in the extreme minority. Fortunately, I’m king. Allow me to fix that for you.”

Twilight looked to where he was gesturing, gasping in surprise. Just below her elbow, nothing was left of her prosthetic. She watched in surprise as the arm began to reform before her eyes; even the locket joined the rest of the parts melding back together. She looked up to thank the king, but he was already gone. Instead, her gaze fell upon the last person she wanted to see at that particular moment, Luna.

Luna spoke before Twilight could do more than glare. “Twilight, I know how I must have sounded, and I truly apologize. It was shortsighted on my part, speaking so freely of the pain in your soul. But even if you truly do not forgive me, at least allow me to help you understand and control your magic, lest you hurt more than just your arm next time.” She looked past Twilight, eyes widening in shock at the devastated courtyard. “Come with me Twilight, this is more serious than I had originally thought.”

In a flash of shimmering blue light, they were gone.

When Twilight cleared her eyes, she looked around. They were in some kind of pearlescent cave, surrounded by glowing writing and statues. Pearlescent. Yes, that was the word. It was like being inside a giant, hollowed-out pearl, or maybe in an egg full of gentle rainbows and silvery glyphs. The statues all followed ancient styles, but they almost looked freshly chiseled. There was a serene tranquility to the ambient magic, a sense of the peace that was a prelude to sleep.

“Where are we? Underneath Altenneera?” Twilight asked, marvelling at the massive space.

“This is my space, my magical sanctuary if you will. It is a place to hone my magic and meditate. Welcome, Twilight Sparkle, to the moon.”

“M-moon? The hell are we- what are- what?” Twilight trembled with surprise. “Do you eat here too?”

“Actually, yes, sometimes. Celestia always brought me bananas for some reason.” Luna shrugged, before turning back to Twilight. “Now, without fear of harm or damage, show me what you did earlier. I enchanted your arm when we teleported here, so it should withstand most anything.”

Twilight nodded and focused her magic the same as before, this time not touching the flames. Luna walked around her, silently examining. When she had come full circle in front of Twilight, she nodded and spoke evenly. “Twilight Sparkle, Mother told me of a day when you would be born. She spoke of a day when one would be born to wield both the cold mercy of the moon and the blazing fury of the sun. Now I know, for certain, that it is you. You are destined to tip the scales in this long war. If you do not believe me, focus your magic on that statue.”

Twilight did as she was told, and easily ripped the statue from it’s mooring. Shattering it in her grip, she turned back to Luna, who was staring at the rubble with a gaping mouth. Twilight coughed into her hand. “Uh, sorry. Was that supposed to happen?”

“Twilight, I… I actually don’t have words for this. Everything here is enchanted to only respond to my lunar might.” Luna sighed. ‘Maybe we need to work on your control first, then we can move from there.”

“Don’t you think you’re forgetting something, Luna?” Scoddri’s teasing voice came from nowhere and everywhere.

Twilight groaned. “What do you want?”

“I just think she owes you an apology. Really, Lulu, playing the dead parent card was downright tacky. And that’s coming from a man with an entire closet reserved for his plaid.”

“She doesn’t have to—”

Luna held up a hand. “No, Scoddri is right. I have found his counsel to be strange at times, but he has never led me astray when it mattered.”

Twilight sighed, a headache already creeping across her brow, “Listen, Luna, I am sorry for how I worded what I said, but I don’t need to be manipulated with memories of them. Scoddri already told me the pain of immortality, and how you never learned the hurt of loss. I don’t fault you, but my threat still stands. I’ve killed full grown dragons for less.”

“And I am deeply sorry Twilight. I never meant to dredge up painful memories, nor manipulate you in any way. I was just trying to offer you a chance at closure, a chance for even five more minutes with your family. It’s what I would want, what I do wish for with Mother and Tia. I’m sorry.”

“There, we apologized,” Twilight crossed her arms. “Now leave us alone!”

“Fine, fine. Excuse me for making sure you two aren’t trying to smite one another or something. I could’ve sworn I was a king, but going by the respect I get around here…” The voice trailed off, grumbling good-naturedly.

Twilight gave a sigh of relief. “Now, what was that about control?”

“As of now, you are little more than a walking embodiment of magic. With all of the magic and emotions in your soul, coupled with the celestial magics, you pose the greatest danger to those around you. Basic control of high level magic starts with balance.”

The Goddess and the girl practiced, and talked for a long while, comfortable in the space between them.

The king smirked a bit and closed the door through which he’d poked his nose, leaving the two of them to their devices and turning back to the intricate chessboard on his table. The board was set up as though a game had been in progress, but left for a century. Pieces were missing or covered in thick layers of dust, but none were in the starting position, save the white queen, king, and bishops, and the black king and queen. He picked up the white queen, and moved it forward two spaces.

“Well, that’s my move. Time to make yours, monster.”

⁂❧⁂

Author's Note

Ten points for references!

Chapter Six

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Six

⁂❧⁂

"When you're up high, all the stuff that looks confusing and messed up... suddenly becomes crystal clear.” Twilight said softly, dangling her legs over the edge of the castle’s clock tower. “It’s strange, I know. But it just… yea, it’s just nice to me.”

Luna sighed. “Twilight, I don’t think it even the slightest bit strange, especially with what you have been through. You were forced to grow too fast, and the world has become too big for you alone. It makes sense for you to want to see it smaller.”

“Thanks.”

“Hmm?”

“I said thanks, Luna. For everything. And, I’m sorry for the way I was acting. This has all been one massive surprise after another, especially having to adjust to the constant glowing. I mean, it's cool, but I feel like a human lightbulb. Whatever, I’m just glad that things are going to calm down for a while now.”

Twilight had just finished sighing when a shot pierced her namesake, cutting off the calm air and visibly irritating the shining girl. Luna recoiled and stood, wings flaring menacingly and scythe in hand, to face the intruder. She saw a dark mask and a hat she couldn’t quite see, obscured in a tainted darkness even her sight could not pierce. The large revolver trained on her, however, was all too visible. She drew the weapon back to confront the masked attacker when Twilight spoke in a low tone.

“Well, there goes that. Luna, go get everybody, we’re leaving. I’ll deal with this.”

Luna looked between the girl and the assailant, opening her mouth to protest, but, seeing Twilight draw her sword, decided otherwise. With a quick teleport, she was gone, leaving the two alone in the tower.

Once Luna materialized, she yelled, “Scoddri! Get the others, we must leave at once. We are being hunted, and I suspect that He is behind the Hunter’s sudden appearance.”

The king sighed, stepping into reality. “Should I just trap this mysterious ‘Hunter’ in a pocket dimension? Or is this the agent we were talking about previously?” When he saw Luna nod, he chuckled and opened a door in the hallway, revealing Pinkie and Rarity, much to the latter’s surprise.

“Well, dear girls,” the king smarmed, “I suppose this is where your wondrous and cliched adventure starts. I suggest —”

Suddenly a loud explosion rocked the castle, followed by a disheveled and sooty Twilight appearing before them.

“We gotta go NOW.” Twilight coughed out, breathless, “I give ten minutes before he manages to get out from under all the rubble. Sorry about the tower, Scoddri, but it was that or me.”

He waved it off. “That’s perfectly fine, I was considering some remodeling after all. Well, now that we are all here, best of luck and happy trails. I suggest you take an airship. Ask for a ‘Rainbow Crash’, or something like that, she seems to be building a reputation as one of the fastest pilots this side of the Palomino Ocean. Ta-rah now darlings!” With that, the girls nodded and broke out in a sprint, Luna flying beside them and Pinkie bouncing.

They raced through the sparse and quiet city streets, moving swiftly over the worn cobble and jumping across roofs with ease. They moved swiftly, stopping only for moments, as if demons were at their heels. At long last, they reached their destination, an elegant building bordering a large area for docking.

The airship yard spread both out and up, the docking towers stretching to the sky. Lashed to them was every imaginable craft that helium, hydrogen, or magic could keep aloft: Enormous blimps, nautical ships with spinning propellers, state-of-the-art solid-body crafts that owed nothing to the water, and more besides. Vessels moved in, around, and out of the yard, the lifeblood of the country. The group rushed in frantically, not stopping to take in the breathtaking beauty of the compound, and found the shipmaster’s office quickly.

After taking a few hurried minutes to talk to the shipmaster, the portly man directed them to an air hangar the size of a small house. as they walked up the smooth stone steps to the door, they could hear, faintly, the sounds of a violin and a woman singing softly. Pinkie skipped up the rest of the stairs, peering in the open top of the double door, before banging loudly on the closed half and shouting.

“Hellooooooo~ Is Rainbow Crash in there?” The violin and singing stopped, but Pinkie didn’t seem to notice. She began to reach over to open the door, but was stopped suddenly as a large metal fist on an arrow slammed into her forehead. “I’m okay!”

“It’s Dash, you prick,” said a young, athletic-looking girl with multicolored hair, walking to the door. “And what could… you…” She trailed off, staring at Twilight. “Nine Hells. Twilight Sparkle, out in the open? Now I’ve seen everything. How have you been, you crippled introvert, you?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up in sudden realization, remembering, now, where she had seen the short girl before. “I haven’t seen you since Dad died, Dash. I thought you left after you finally got out of the Orphanage. What happened to ‘I’m gonna see the whole world’?”

“Twilight, life happened. You guys look like you’re in some serious steam, come on in.” Rainbow said, opening the door for them, and setting a crystalline bow aside.

Twilight followed her, noting just how different the woman in front of her was from the girl she had known as a child. Dash had never been a soft child, hardened by growing up in an orphanage, but she used to wear dresses and skirts, tying her prismatic locks back into a sweeping ponytail and playing with the other girls and boys. Every time Twilight had visited the ‘Boys and Girls’ Home’ with her father, Dash would always run up and talk with them about mechanics and magics, her powder-blue wings buzzing with excitement. She had changed little over the years before she left, always talking to Twilight about making her own airships and traveling the globe, making her mark in history had been her goal, but this Dash seemed different.

She wore loose fitting canvas cargo pants, loosely held above her slender hips with a simple leather tool belt, and a dark, stained tank top covered with a short, simple purple vest. But what seemed to strike Twilight as the most different was her hair. Gone were the long, flowing locks that shifted in the sunlight, replaced instead with a short, choppy style that was shaved on one side. There were scars and burns running up and down her exposed limbs, including a long, white gash across her left eye. When Dash turned back to face her, Twilight noticed that one of the other woman’s eyes was gray, while the other shone a brilliant, beautiful rose hue.

“Noticed the eye, huh, gearhead? Don’t worry about it. It’s been blind for two or three years now, I adapted to it. Looks like you aren’t the only one with a gimp on your left side now, eh?” Dash grinned, nudging the shocked Twilight and closing her gaping mouth. “You guys were out of breath when you got here. I’m guessing you need to leave fast? I mean, don’t get me wrong, but you can teleport, so there’s not much faster ways than that. Wait, you can still teleport, right?”

“Tele… port?” Twilight blinked, then buried her face in her palms. ”Crap. I actually forgot we could have done that instead of running. Pinkie, why couldn’t you have reminded me?”

“Because I thought you wanted to get some exercise, silly.”

“Are you… Did… Did you just call me fat?” Twilight asked, turning slightly to the girl, “Actually, nevermind. You still living on Sugar Street, Pink?”

Pinkie nodded. “Yup, just on the corner of Q Boulevard. Why?”

“Alright, Dash, I’m gonna teleport us to our houses, so we can gather some stuff and grab Spike, then we will all make our way back here. Think you can have whatever flying contraption you made ready by then?”

The short girl smirked, looking up to Twilight, “You really don’t remember, huh? Ten. Seconds. Flat.”.

“I think it best if perhaps I went with you Twilight,” the goddess intoned seriously, “incase the interloper comes after us again.”

“I should be able to handle myself anyways, dear” Rarity chimed in.

Twilight returned the smirk. “Alrighty then girls, meet back here in no more than half an hour. Get ready.”

With a bright flash of light, the girls were gone off to their respective homes.

Twilight and Luna appeared in Spike’s room moments later, with Twilight calling for him. “Spike? Come here now, big emergency.”

“The bloody Hells did you destroy this time? Haven’t killed anyone yet, have ya?” Spike drawled, shuffling through the massive door frame, stopping when he saw Twilight’s appearance. “What happened to ya girl?”

“Listen Spike, we need to leave now. Grab what you think you’ll need and I’ll expl—” Twilight was cut off with a cry, as a bullet ripped through the room into her shoulder.

Spike closed his eyes, and reached toward the wall where a massive slab of steel and oak was mounted. He hefted the odd blade onto his shoulder, and sighed. “Luna, take Twilight, gather some stuff, and get to safety. Where are we meetin’?“

“The Shipyard,” Luna replied quickly, somewhat shakily. “In the building with a lightning bolt painted on the side.”

“Alright, go. I’ll deal with this bastard.” He turned, coming face to face with a short figure, cloaked in a dark trenchcoat, a wide-brimmed hat, and an onyx mask. The figure raised the revolver in its right hand, pointing at Spike’s heart, before the drake replied. “Well then, ya daft bastard, ya want to shoot my sister, then you better have the stones to attack me too.”

The figure merely chuckled, a deep, throaty sound, before cocking the gun again. Spike sighed again, breathing a long stream of green fire on his blade, setting all seven feet of it ablaze. He watched as Luna took to the skies with Twilight before swinging the massive thing with a mighty heft.

The masked figure darted back, and Spike’s sword shattered the floor. Its flames reached out and brushed against the stranger’s coat, catching it alight.

“Clever one, dodgin’ my sword like that, but it won’t save you from the Dragonfyre.” Spike said darkly, as the green flames began to eat away at the stranger’s coat.

The intruder beat at the flames, but only helped them to spread. The fire burned even brighter as Spike roared more fire everywhere, spreading it onto the walls around them. He spat onto the floor next to the burning assassin, and extinguished his blade, sheathing it across his back, before walking slowly into the darkness of the city streets. Behind him, the emerald flames ripped through the building, reducing the home to ashes.

Spike landed softly for his size, closing his wings and looking around for Luna or the girls. He spotted Luna carrying Twilight into a building, and thought to himself that he must have fought faster than necessary. Shrugging, he walked further into the yard, following them, and followed in turn.

At the entrance to the Shipyard, a guard scratched his head. He checked his thick notebook again, just in case the Guard code had changed since he’d begun his pursuit. Sadly, it still specifically said to follow the criminal until close enough to say, in a firm tone of voice, “Halt”. He placed the notebook back into his armor, adjusted himself, and followed the reptilian rapscallion.

“This is going to be fun Flash,” he muttered to himself. “First day on the job and you get night shift, and now some random dragon arson? Perfect way to start your illustrious career. Although, the ladies are sure to be smitten with the man who caught a dragon arsonist before he could escape.”

And with that, he strode a little faster, confident in his pep talk. He wasn’t five feet from the door to the dragon’s hideout when the windows and surrounding wall blew apart in front of him, and the criminal he was looking for was flung into a group of crates nearby. He looked back to the wall, and saw a shadowy, masked figure striding menacingly out of the smoke and debris towards the dragon. after consulting his notebook once more, he drew himself up and shouted, “Halt!”

When the figure kept moving, he shouted again. “Halt, or I shall be forced to say ‘halt’ again!” He started a bit when the figure raised a gun and fired twice, now advancing towards him. Flash flinched, bringing his shield to bear, and felt the shots ping off of it ineffectually. He peeked over the top just long enough to catch a boot to the side of his head, before feeling the ground. He heard one last shot, then everything went black.

Twilight sat up from Rainbow Dash’s couch, wincing as the sudden movement sent a fresh stab of pain through her bandaged shoulder. She heard someone shout, and watched as Spike hurtled through a wall, making a hole easily three times his size. She could only watch as the masked figure walked out, drawing a large revolver, and advanced toward the bleeding and helpless dragon. Then another voice rang out, its commanding tone striking out at the assassin, before the figure turned on the owner of that voice. She heard two shots and two deflections, then heard the sound of someone being knocked down. She tried to raise her voice to scream, but time froze around her and thoughts not her own echoed through her mind.

Child, you must act quickly, before much blood is shed this night. I have watched you for many years, aware of the power that sleeps in your veins. Allow me, in my daughter’s stead, to awaken this power, if only for a brief while.

“Who?”

All shall come in due time. There are more here set to harm you than just your assassin. Do you wish the power to save your friends?

Twilight managed a gasped “Yes” before her vision blurred. She blinked, was met by a violet aura surrounding her, filling her with knowledge of magics not known to the world, and stood. The pain from her wounds was forgotten. She manifested the fire and ice onto her limbs, spread her wings, formed the blazing halberd, and calmly strode out to meet the enemy.

As she left the gaping hole, she saw a terrifying amount of shadows and demons surrounding the house. Pinkie and Luna were putting up a valiant effort in trying to keep them away, but the sheer numbers were clearly overwhelming them, and Rarity and Rainbow were too busy preparing the airship to help.

“Twilight…” Pinkie was huffing and puffing as she swung her hammer. Twilight couldn’t remember her being out of breath. Ever. “Now would be a great time to be a big darn heroine.”

Twilight nodded and raised her hands. The aura around her roiled and grew even brighter, tendrils of energy lashing out against the hordes, brushing against them almost gently. Each touch froze some, immolated others, reduced still others to dust. The effects seemed chaotic, but Twilight directed the spells with surgical precision, maneuvering around her friends with ease. Soon, the only remnants of the amassed monstrosities were a few petrified statues.

Bullets bounced off of Twilight, doing all the harm of a light poke. She brought her attention to the assailant. Its mask and hood were charred, giving way to brilliantly golden locks of hair, and a hard, emerald eye. Twilight asked a single, soft-spoken question, and the yard rang out in a tone that reflected eons of power and rage. “Why?”

The figure responded by rushing Twilight, moving almost too fast to see, only to have its blurring roundhouse caught softly in an icy hand, before being lifted into the air and sent down with force that shattered most of the windows in the district. Twilight doubted it would be enough to kill the girl, as she looked down to see a beautiful face, tanned from the sun and labor, and long glimmering locks flowing free.

Twilight felt the presence leave her mind as she opened her eyes again, and took in the faces of those around her. All but Luna and the unconscious guard were shocked and seemingly terrified, but she managed to pull them from this long enough to get them all to the ships, and bring along the guard and the gunwoman. “Dash, are we good to go?”

The pilot blinked and shook herself. “Oh, uh, yeah. Everything’s green.”

“Then let’s get out of here. Spike, keep an eye on whoever that is.”

He nodded. “Can do, Twi.”

Several minutes later, the guard came to. He looked around woozily. “Is this Elysium? Are you all angels?”

Rarity smirked. “Well, aren’t you the charmer?”

Luna harrumphed. “I am far more than a mere angel.”

Flash’s eyes widened. “Oh Goddesses.”

“Just the one. My sister is not with us.”

“Don’t worry!” Flash turned and flinched back as he saw Pinkie about an inch from his face. “You’re not on the moon, so she must like you!”

Twilight crossed her arms. “Are you all done tormenting the poor man?”

Luna dipped her head. “Ah, my apologies, dear Twilight. He is, of course, yours to do with as you please.”

Twilight and Flash took on surprisingly similar expressions of shock, eyes wide, mouths gaping. As one, they said, “What.”

“Did you not take him as the first member of your harem? It is your prerogative.” Luna put a finger to her lips. “Well, the first male member of your harem, at least. I do not know if you have made any official arrangements with your other friends.”

“I just unleashed arcane havoc the likes of which I’ve never seen because of a voice in my head. I’m pretty sure I’m going insane if I haven’t already. We all almost died. Is it really so much to ask that we take this seriously for a minute?”

Pinkie gagged. “After that, why would you want to take anything seriously? It’s called stress relief!”

“Um…” All eyes turned to Flash. “What exactly just happened?”

“We are saving the world,” said Luna.

“Is this kind of thing normal for you?”

“Increasingly so,” Twilight groused.

“Well, uh, maybe you could use some trained backup?” Flash rose and saluted. “Flash Sentry. Private First Class, of the Solar Division. Glad to make your acquaintance ladies.”

Rarity gave him a half-lidded grin. “Yes, I do think we could use a strapping young man in uniform.”

Pinkie tutted. “He’s Twilight’s, remember?”

“He is not!” Twilight’s face went crimson. “Besides, Luna and I…”

“Speaking from experience,” said Luna, “it simply is not done to limit one’s partners to one gender or the other. Variety, dear Twilight, variety is key, lest the pleasures of the night grow stale through rote repetition.”

Twilight put her hands over her ears. “I am not having this conversation. I am not having this conversation…”

“Oooh, oooh, Twilight!” Pinkie had her hand raised, waving it in the air. “Does this mean we’re your harem?”

“No!”

“Obviously.”

“Luna!”

The goddess smirked. “Isn’t it?”

“We are saving the world here!”

Luna shrugged. “Your point? I was fighting for its continued existence when I had my harem.”

Twilight groaned. “Is it so much to ask the lot of you not think with your crotches the moment some decent-looking guy shows up? We need to decide our next course of action.”

“I have already asked our erstwhile pilot to fly us to Sinskaald in the south,” said Luna. “Chrysalis’s aid will be invaluable against the Tartaran hordes.” She grinned. “And in the meantime, there is little else to do.”

Twilight groaned all the louder. Rarity and Pinkie laughed. Flash said nothing. His training had never prepared him for this.

⁂❧⁂

Author's Note

Huzzah, the Harem has Doubled!!

Chapter Seven

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Seven

⁂❧⁂

Pinkie sauntered down the hallway of the airship, listening to conversations here and there, and humming to herself in between. She absent-mindedly curled a lock of her shockingly pink hair around a finger as she began to run the events of the past few days in her mind. She always hated when things slowed down, because that was when the silence made itself known, and silence always brought dark thoughts. Pinkie sighed, smoothing out her red duster, and straightening the lime green vest underneath, before reaching into her brown cargo pants and grabbing a small grenade.

With practiced precision, she deftly disassembled the explosive, separating the pieces and grabbing the fuse. She whistled while she tinkered, an upbeat tune that she had stolen from a few midgets in the coal mine back home. Pinkie blinked a few times, then giggled as she tested out her new toy.

She had used the spoon and hammer from a few grenades and a few other bits and pieces to make a miniature launcher, and the explosive compound from said grenades was mixed with flash powder and flint to create pellets that would cause a loud bang, a flash, and a generous amount of smoke. She was already giggling as she thought of all the trouble she could cause with them. Glancing upwards showed her an open air duct, and with a devilish grin, Pinkie shed her coat and disappeared into the ventilation system.

“Okay, Luna, listen. All I’m saying is that if I were the one who made the universe, I’d have done a much better job. I have a list of several hundred design issues I want to address, but we don’t even have a complaint box! This is no way to run a cosmos.”

“Well, Twilight, why don’t you indulge me in these ‘design issues’ over some di-”

“Wait!” Twilight gasped, as she rushed forward to cover Luna’s mouth, looking about frantically “Did you just hear a giggle? Or an explosion?”

Luna merely shook her head, unable to speak over both of Twilight’s hands pressed against her mouth.

“That’s what I’m afraid of. I’ve known Pinkie for about ten or so years now, and nothing good ever comes when she’s silent.” She shuddered, pulling her hands away from Luna’s lips, “Like the ‘Martock Incident,’ as the guards are calling it.”

“What hap-”

Twilight cut her off again, this time with a loud shush, “Never ask. I shouldn’t have mentioned it, bad things happen when people mention it. It’s probably cursed.”

“You are just making that up so that I will be nervous, waiting for some mysterious happening to manifest. You probably just can’t think of anything funny enough to put in there, can you? That’s just lazy planning on your part.” Luna chided coldly.

“No trust me, sooner or later it’ll happen, no doubt when the pink menace is asleep, just like last time. Why do you think I had hooks hanging from chains in my room? For some kind of kin-”

Twilight was cut off from further speech when a loud bang and a large amount of smoke filled the small chamber. When she had cleared her eyes from the flash, she noticed a new weight in her arms, and looked down to find a sheepish looking Luna curled in her arms, sans skirt, which lay on the floor where she was standing seconds before.

“Really? An immortal goddess, Courier of the moon, and Consort of the Night, scared out of her skirt?” Twilight chuckled.

Righting herself and smoothing down her tunic, Luna turned her nose upwards, “Your speech earlier certainly didn’t help things. I’ll bet this was a ploy. Are you giggling?”

Twilight sighed, ripping the vent open with a shimmering aura, sending pinkie tumbling onto the floor, giggling as she fell, “Nope. Like I said, if it’s quiet, this one is up to no good. And that’s still not the thing.”

“Ohhh, you’re talking about number six-twenty-two, aren’t you? That was fun!” Pinkie giggled noisily, rolling on the floor in pain, more from her laughter than her fall.

The commotion was cut short as Rainbow’s voice rang through the chamber, amplified by sound crystals. “Yo, Twi, situation here. Everybody else better come up here too, got a feeling that the next couple of minutes are gonna suck. Hard.”

“Damn, I thought we’d be out of Altenneera’s borders before any more trouble showed up.” Twilight said thoughtfully, before wincing, “Nine hells, its Garble’s boys, isn’t it? Luna, you might need to stay back to shield the ship if I’m right.”

As they began a brisk pace to the bridge, Luna bore a confused expression. “Why do you seem so cautious of this ‘Garble’ character, and why would he be such a threat to the ship?”

“Dragon supremacist, he is stupidly fond of eating people, believes that everything three feet above the earth belongs to him and his ‘clan,’ which is just a ragtag group of bullying dragons that were banished from their clans for committing crimes beyond even the Black Dragon’s standards, and he is a heartless bastard,” Twilight explained. “Genocide is okay to him, as long as a few dozen are left to repopulate the species, so go beyond that, and you get Garble. Nobody really knows what he did, except for Spike, and he tells me that it’d give me nightmares if I knew. Garble tried to recruit him about a year ago.”

Luna boggled. “The Black Dragon? Geryon? He would never commit such an atrocity. The black drake Geryon is bound to Celestia through an act of peace and guidance. If these accusations are to be believed, then my sister will not be pleased.”

“What’s happening, Dash?” Twi asked, stepping through the door to the bridge. As she looked through the transparent front of the ship, her worries came true, “That’s Garble isn’t it? Damn it all to the Hells and back. Pinkie, grab T three, I know you brought it. Dash, just keep circling him.”

Pinkie saluted, before turning to skip through the door, as Rarity and Spike hurried in.

“And exactly what are you planning to do, huh Gearhead?” Dash said from the controls. “You can’t fight what looks to be an easy hundred-strong dragon flight. Plus, you can’t fly, unless those wings you were rocking back at the yard work. Besides, if the entire Flight Guard and even the freaking Wonderbolts couldn’t put him down, what do you think you can do?”

“I’ll take charge,” Flash announced, stepping forward gallantly, “Page twenty-two of the guard handbook states, quite clearly, that in the eventuality of a dragon encounter, to give them gems and hurry away. I say we give them s-” Flash was cut off when a very large clawed hand covered his face, and pushed him into a chair.

“Sit down you absolute git, you obviously haven’t met any dragons, and you’re about as useful as a wet paper towel. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be watchin’ that girl that tried to murder us? Now, like I was gonna say, before somebody cut me off, if I know Twi well, and I like to think I do, I say she’s gonna turn that flamin’ arm of hers into dragon fyre, then rip his wings off, like he did to me.” Spike mused, “And I’m gonna fly around swinging my hunk of Mage-steel like it’s out of style, while Pinkie launches grenades at the rest of them. Simple really, oughta take about ten minutes. Maybe less if Miss Rarity and Luna join in.”

“Well, Darling, I’m not sure I could even do much to help the current situation.”

“Rarity, Spike can enchant the gem in the hilt of your rapier to cover your blade in dragon fyre on command. He did it to both of the gems I wear,” Twilight explained, showing the small amethyst on the bangle on her right wrist, and the emerald set in the middle finger of her mechanical arm, “Although, make sure you tell him a command word you won’t use on accident. I almost caught the house on fire twice. As for Luna, she is going to stay here and shield the ship. That way we can make sure everybody is going to be safe.”

Rarity drew her rapier, and held it to Spike, who began to breathe a slow stream of fire into the gem, and commanded her to whisper her word into the gem as he did so. When they were finished, the blade floated even with her shoulder, pulsing with her magic, and she spoke, “Kinjarra.”

Rarity let out a small squeak of surprise as the blade burst into life with green flame, the signature of dragon fyre.

“Why Kinjarra? What does it mean?” Spike asked, noticing the Rarity’s eyes turn downward.

“It… it was the name my grandmother gave to it, when she made it. It was always her ‘magnum opus,’ as she put it. No one but one of my blood or one I feel for can use magic on it,” she explained quickly, with a blush.

Spike sat down with a chuckle. “Another time, then.”

Rarity didn’t have a chance to do more than nod, as Pinkie came back through the door, humming a strange tune, her hair straight, and a maniacal smile plastered on her face.

Before anyone could comment on Pinkie’s apparent change, and noticing a pointed, questioning look on Luna’s face, Twilight guided everyone but Rainbow to the top deck.

“Alright, Pink, shoot them from here, Luna, same but with a shield. Spike, Looks like it’s time for a little payback, eh?” Twilight said with a wink, earning her a nod in return.

The marks on her body glowed brighter for a second, before she burst into flame and ice, wings flapping slightly to hover, testing for flight. When she was satisfied she could fly, she stretched out her right arm and shouted a single word, letting her disgust at the dragons in front of her flow into it, “Marú.”

The flames slowly turned a sick, deadly looking green color, the color flowing to her right eye, giving it a green, slitted iris, mimicking Spike’s. Without another sound, save the explosions and growing cackles from Pinkie, Twilight fell head first, backwards over the railing. Her wings spread wide, as she turned onto her front and took off swiftly towards the flight of dragons growing ever nearer.

She pulled up slightly, noticing a glittering blade wrapped in flames moving about the drakes, and small explosions rocking them, knocking some out of the sky. Then she spotted Garble roaring in outrage, and she smiled. Her day was getting better and better.

⁂❧⁂

Author's Note

Sorry for the late update, problems just kept popping up, but I hope to be back on a fairly regualar schedule soon. Have fun!

Chapter Eight

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Eight

⁂❧⁂

Letting out a slow breath, Spike steadied himself. Emerald eyes hardened by pain and loss set themselves dead on Garble.

“Everythin’,” Spike mumbled, letting a roar build in his throat, “You took EVERYTHIN’!”

Screams tore loose from his throat with a burst of flame in sickly green, darkened crimson, and the black of damned rage. The flames darkened the area around him, almost appearing to flow from his scales.

“YOU TOOK EVERYTHIN’ FROM ME YOU BASTARD! I’LL FLAY YOUR HIDE AND HANG YOUR HEAD FROM MY FAMILY’S GRAVES!”

Garble turned, staring ahead with an irritated look that turned to horror at the onyx flames radiating from the drake in front of him. Spike saw him pale, and roared louder, a bestial sound that sent a few dragons running. He unslung the blade from his back and blew a mighty gout of blackened flame onto the cold steel, turning the blade a hateful, thirsty red, filled with the promise of vengeance and bloodshed.

Twilight looked from one dragon to the other, her skin crawling at the display. She could feel the heat and rage boiling off of Spike, escaping into the air in lashes of fire and smoke. Garble hovered a few hundred yards away, red scales glistening through the smoke surrounding him and his flight, his dark yellow eyes scanning about looking for a way to fight, the black flesh between the tendons in his wings looked torn and ragged, scales and spikes missing here and there. He looked at Spike with a mixture of contempt and fear, the horns adorning his crown furrowed in frustration, as he roared an acceptance of the challenge brought to him.

Knowing that Spike could handle this fight, Twilight flew past them as they fought, Spike’s gleaming brass wings keeping out of the reach of the larger drake until he had a chance to strike. She instead began to swoop in and out of the many smaller drakes watching the display.

She drew her sword, letting the emerald flames imbue the blade with deadly intent, as she wove in and out of the flight, striking here and there with bolts of ice or strikes of fire.

After dropping several of Garble’s followers, Twilight noted something small zip by in her peripheral vision. She let herself drop, her altitude more a matter of choice than aerodynamics. A moment later, she was nearly deafened by the explosion overhead. Still, sadistic laughter manage to pierce the ringing in her ears.

Twilight rolled her eyes even as she looked for a new opponent. Chiding Pinkamena would be worse than useless. At least Luna was taking this seriously.

The smaller drakes were soon overwhelmed by explosions, fire, and deadly swordplay, as the remainder either ran away or watched in rapt awe at the display of vengeance and hatred before them.

Spike swung wide, flinging the flames across the wings of the dragon below him, roaring and screaming all the while. Garble fought back for all that he was worth, furiously swiping at the smaller drake, maneuvering to protect his damaged wings while trying to gain the upper hand. A particularly vicious strike knocked the sword from Spike’s grip, sending it hurtling into another dragon, causing both to plummet earthward.

“You should have joined me, whelp,” Garble said, his voice dark and empty, seeming to echo with a hollow soul, “You were always weak, but I could have made you strong, given you the strength to protect that pathetic band you called a ‘family’. You betrayed your own kind! And for what? Weak mortals? These humans are nothing but fodder and toys, meant to be used by those stronger than them! Even their own know this.”

“True strength doesn’t come from thinkin' you’re better than anythin'. Even Geryon knows that. True strength comes from having somethin' to protect, from promises to loved ones, and I still have one I have to keep. I promised my wife I’d bring her your black heart for what you did, and that’s one I’m all too glad to uphold!” Spike yelled, as he roared dark flames onto a clawed hand, rushing forward to plunge it into Garble’s chest. As it sank in past his wrist, he said, “It’s over, you monster. Finally over.”

“It will.... never be over. I see it in your soul, you too carry the Mallacht Tine… The black flames are proof… enough.” Garble coughed, golden ichor soaking every word, spilling onto the landscape below them.

“What do you mean?” Spike glared. “The Cursed Flames are just a myth! Geryon and Emaline said so themselves! Black flames are flames of grief and vengeance, they said. Tell me what you know!”

“My time is done here. Take my heart for your brood.. Spike. Go... to the Anam Farraige... find your answers there. I will… be waiting.” With that, the red dragon’s body fell lifelessly into the gorge below, leaving behind his heart, golden and still, in Spike’s claws.

Spike stared at the heart for a minute, before gliding back to the airship wordlessly, the gathered dragons parting for him without a sound. Twilight watched as the flight began to disperse, journeying back to their homes, before going after him, watching as he and Pinkie disappeared below the deck. Luna waited for her, with more than a few questions.

“Twilight,” she began as Twi landed softly on the wooden floor, “Might I ask a few questions? I think it best to give Spike a moment alone, to finish up with the ghosts of his past. Perhaps you need a moment as well. Why not spend it here with me?”

“I- You-” Twilight sighed. “You’re right. I actually feel like talking, so I guess I can answer what you need answered.”

“What in the name of the Moon was going on with Pinkie? She leaves the room as an energetic, innocent youth, and comes back like a woman possessed.” Luna shuddered. “It leaves me with a feeling of dread and quite a few chills.”

“Few years back, something happened. I’m not sure what; Pinkie refuses to talk about it. Whatever it was, it just… broke her. There’s a reason we don’t call her by her full name, Pinkamena. After that day, the personality that came out called herself Pinkamena, and referred to Pinkie as, well, Pinkie. Whenever the stress of something or the silence gets too much, then Pinkamena takes over. She’s gotten better at controlling it than she used to be though, like when it first started, when even a loud noise could shut her down. Pinkie has naturally curly hair, but for some reason, Pinkamena doesn’t. It makes zero sense, but at least it’s a good tell.” Twilight seemed to chew on the information before she continued. “Just, when you see the hair fall, make sure you keep an eye on her. I’ve seen her crush full-grown ogres when Pinkamena comes to play, and she terrifies the crap out of me.”

“Why not give her a vessel to contain this errant persona? Or at the very least to suppress it? Such magic should be simple work for you, I would think.”

“Ha! Like that would work.”

Each woman jumped, then felt an arm around her shoulders. Pinkie—no, Pinkamena, judging by the hair—leaned in between them. “Sure, let the walking magical accident waiting to happen tinker with a broken mind. No way that could possibly go wrong, am I right, Lulu?”

Luna glared at her. “Do not call me Lulu.”

Pinkamena tilted her head as she considered the goddess. “Hey, if I stuck a hand grenade in your mouth and pulled the pin, what would happen?”

“What?”

“Like, you’re supposed to be immortal. But an explosion right under your brain, that’s gotta at least sting, right?”

Luna turned to Twilight. “I believe I see why you have been hesitant to aid her.”

“No kidding,” said Twilight.

“Aw, you guys are no fun.” Pinkamena released them and went back into the ship.

Twilight sighed, “Well, at least the airship’s still in one piece.”

The moment after the words left her lips, the ship rocked violently.

“You have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!” Twilight glared at Luna “I blame you. ‘The Goddesses will protect you,’ my hind end…” she muttered, stalking off to find what the problem this time would be, leaving behind a very confused and frustrated looking Luna.

“I can’t even have ten minutes alone with that girl without some disaster appearing. If this is you Scoddri, I will castrate you.” Luna fumed, lithely jogging to catch up to the glimmering girl.

Elsewhere, King Scoddri, sneezed, and his meal turned into a bowl of flowers that he suspected were daisies. He blamed Luna.

⁂❧⁂

Chapter Nine

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Nine

⁂❧⁂

Twilight stomped her way into the cockpit. “What is it this time Dash? Magical constructs in the lower engines?”

Dash smirked. “Actually, I sneezed while holding the steering wheel. Nothing world-ending, I hope. Unless we get some kind of butterfly effect going with sneezes. Then everything’s going to go to Hell in a handbasket.”

“Well with our luck, darling, that may well be where we’re heading.” Rarity chimed in, sweat dripping from her brow.

“You ladies really shouldn’t have fought so hard. I’m sure things would have—” Flash was cut off by a combined groan, causing him to slump back against the wall. “Well, I guess I’ll… go… watch the prisoner… yeah, I’m just gonna go now.” He blinked. “Oh, hey Pinkie. What’s up with your hair?”

Pinkamena grinned, her head lolling to one side like her neck was broken. “Funny you should ask.”

Flash paled. ”Oh, no.”

“Well,” Twilight sighed, “I’m not going to rescue him.”

Dash’s smirk widened as she leaned back in her chair, “Hey, he said it himself, he’s a big strong guard. He can rescue his own damsel-in-distress ass. Besides, anybody wanna fill me in on just what in the nine hells happened with our resident dragon out there? Because last I checked, dragons don’t do black fire. Even tall, dark, and gruesome himself’s heart flames are gold.”

“Dash, before I answer that, I have a question. How, in Luna’s name, do you know the color of Geryon’s heart flames?” Twilight asked, a twitch starting in her right eye.

“Ohhh… I never told you. Okay, ladies, and… well, Flash, just keep… yeah.” Rainbow cleared her throat and tuned out Flash’s muffled cries. “Anyways, when we were younger, I told you that when I got out of the kids’ home I’d be flying around, seeing the world, that much you know. Well, after you stopped visiting, I was walking through the city…”

~※~

“Okay, two hours left ‘til Mrs. B gets on my case for curfew again. Eh, I’m good enough to make it in one.” Rainbow shrugged to herself, “Okay, the alleys should be fine.”

Rainbow Dash rounded corners and jogged down a few narrow paths, the lingering twilight catching on the eaves and edges of roofs, casting deep shadows across the alleys. She heard a low, almost warm laugh around the next turn, and stepped around to see who it was.

She saw four guys, each either sitting or leaning against the walls around them, smoking and laughing. Dash didn’t like the way they looked, and turned to go back down the other direction, when a pair of grimy, scarred hands grabbed her and cupped over her mouth. A deep, scratchy voice called out close to her right ear, alerting the others.

“Hey boys, looks like I found some Friday night excitement!” The others called out in agreement, painfully dark emotions etched in the creases on their faces and eyes.

She stumbled and fell as the hands pushed her roughly forward, a breathy yelp catching in her throat as she hit the hard cobblestones. She began to get up, flaring her wings, when someone put a boot between her shoulder blades, forcing her back to the ground. She let out a scream as she felt a knife roughly cutting apart her cargo pants, digging into the skin beneath, then moving to her sweater and shirt, leaving gashes and cuts on her now nearly naked body.

She screamed and cried as she felt them tie her up, thrashing against the coarse rope that bound her wings and arms. She cried and screamed until her throat began to bleed, blocking out the feeling of what they did, hearing nothing but that deep, scratchy laugh, haunting every movement she made.

Her thrashing broke the rope, and she lunged up before being thrown back down.

“Oh ho ho, so she’s a fighter, huh? Let’s see if we can’t just take the fight out of you.”

Rainbow Dash screamed anew, a horrible, chilling sound, as the knife from before began to drag itself down her face, trailing to her eye.

“Hold her down guys, I’d hate to mess up such a pretty face.” The breathy laugh came again, this time from an emaciated looking man.

She screamed again, nearly blacking out as the knife dug itself into her left eye. She screamed and cried as blood streamed down her face. She tried to breath, bracing herself as she saw the knife position itself above her other eye.

‘I’m going to die here,’ she thought, ‘I’m going to die alone and afraid, surrounded by scumbags.’

She stopped struggling, intending to accept her fate, and—

~※~

“Then I stepped in, gallantly staving off the ravenous hordes like a true savior.” Everyone, save Dash and Luna, jumped, seeing Scoddri leaning against a half open dutch door. “Well, don’t all applaud at once, please, it’s entirely too much.”

The twitch in Twilight’s left eye broke into full force, as she stepped around the door. It could only be seen from the front.

Dash just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, old man. Come to gloat or something?”

“Actually, no, Dashie, oddly enough. I came to provide some information, and a way to contact me when you eventually manage to leave my area of influence. First,” said Scoddri, stepping through the door, causing it to disappear like ink into water, “the cracks are spreading. I would give you three months, barring some random cataclysm, and I’m fairly sure the next one isn’t scheduled until next century, but nevertheless, they have spread. And second, here are these.” He held out six small books, “These will allow you to contact me, by writing in them. Sparkles, are you going to keep staring at me in disbelief, or are you going to sit down?”

Twilight managed to shut her jaw. “You shouldn’t be able to do that.”

Scoddri laughed, a booming guffaw that bordered on a cackle. “As I have already explained, I am neither governed by nor concerned with the laws of physics, society, or common sense. That was my gift, and I shall abuse it until such time as it becomes boring. Then I will then make up a new law, and break it for a few centuries.” He yawned briefly. “Now Miss Dash, please do continue. I haven’t actually heard what happened after I heroically leapt into action.”

Dash rolled her eyes. “Whatever, dude. Like he said, he jumped in, turned everybody into waffle-statues, and took me back to the castle…”

~※~

The doctor adjusted his glasses as he considered his clipboard. “Well, Miss Dash, it appears that everything has set correctly, and should heal in due time. Of course, as with most Seraphim, I know that you are likely concerned with your wings, and have been growing quite restless over this past month. I am relieved to say that your wings do not show any signs of damage, apart from a few strained muscles, but those should clear up within the week.” He sighed. “But I should advise against any flight in the near future, especially until you get accustomed more to having half of your vision, and severely deficient depth perception.”

Rainbow huffed indignantly, her one good eye scanning the small room, instinctively searching for a way out amongst the flowers and few bookcases. “You do know that the old man came by and fixed that, right? He told me he can’t do anything to a dead eye, but he used whatever magic he has to give me better perception, or whatever.”

“Well, I did not, in fact, know this. I’ll have a talk with the king at length, but you still should consider staying here, or at least check in with me every few days until things are fully healed. I know it has been a rather large adjustment, being adopted by the king, but I feel that you should be more cautious. Explore the castle, especially the gardens, but please, take a few more weeks to heal before you try anything reckless.” He stood, putting the chair back against the wall, and turned back to see Dash sitting up on the small bed. he began to move towards her, concernedly.

She waved him off, standing up on unsteady legs. “Yeah, yeah, doc. The old man would kill me if I killed myself out there. I won’t fly off anywhere.”

“Thank you, Rainbow. Have a good day, and tell your new father congratulations for me.” He said as he left, not noticing her uncrossing her fingers.

~※~

“Wait, wait, wait. The king, as in the creepy old man beside me, is your adoptive father? And nobody thought to mention it until now?” Twilight asked, her hands shaking in visible stress.

“I thought he told you when he sent you to find me, and nobody asked. Now, like I was saying…”

~※~

She beat her wings a few times, gaining more altitude before settling back into a glide. Rainbow checked her map, making sure that she was set on her path. She had always wanted to go to Mason Hill, and now she was on her way to see the minotaurs. The massive machines and intricate metalworking that came from their lands were always exciting and riveting to her. She was always enthralled by the idea that even she could make anything she wanted to with a few bits of metal and some tools. She beat her wings once more, catching a strong updraft.

“Almost to Drake’s Hollow, huh? Well, I can always steer to the south without altering my - AGHH!” Rainbow shrieked, clutching her shoulder, before her wing gave out. She began to spiral downwards, her vision catching glimpses of fire and scales, before she bounced to a stop onto a pile of bones and ashes.

She writhed in agony, her wings refusing to move, before she noticed the sounds around her. on either side of her were large drakes, enough to fill her vision with teeth and scales. A beat passed, before one of the larger ones set upon her, claws gripping at her sides. as she tried to scream, the air was ripped from her lungs by the strength of the drake that held her.

“I’m dead.” She thought mournfully, her strength fading as she gave up. No scream came when the dragon raised its claws to her face, and no pain came when it dug itself into her cheek. Then, just as the fire began to build in it’s throat, the Dragon looked up. A piercing shriek rent the air, and she fell to the ground.

She laid in a pool of her own blood, watching weakly as the drakes fled from the area, before a looming figure stepped into view. Her eyes caught his, brilliant rose and grey meeting hard emerald, and she noticed a sad look there. His throat began to glow, and she smiled. she knew that dragon fyre was a quick death, and she was being shown a mercy. The air was hot, and golden, and all she knew was black.

She awoke in a cavern, the ceiling to high to see, and fire all around her.

“Oh, perfect. I’m in Tartarus. Never put much stock in the Goddess crap being real, and here I am. Well, at least I don’t feel like I’m dying anymore.” Rainbow mused.

“Hush, child, lest you wake my mate. I may have saved you from the impetuous whelps outside, but even I cannot save you from a female’s wrath.” Rainbow looked to the darkness, as a truly massive dragon, seemingly darker then the shadows around them, stepped forward. “Welcome, child, to Loch Nazdun, and to my home. I am Geryon.”

⁂❧⁂

Chapter Ten

All's Right With The World

Written by Dusty Tome and FanOfMostEverything

Chapter Ten

⁂❧⁂

“Geryon? As in ‘The Black Death’ Geryon? Welp, I had a decent run. Go ahead and do your worst, you overgrown iguana!” Rainbow Dash screamed, readying herself to fight, and to die.

“Silence you petulant child! As I already said, whelp, my mate is asleep and you would do well to make sure she stays that way. I have already told you, I rescued you. I have no intent to harm one of Life’s children, especially not one so young as you.” The great dragon huffed, turning to curl upon himself. “I sense a wanderer’s spirit and an curious heart in you. Perhaps until I can take you back to where you belong, I can answer a few questions, even give you knowledge of this world of ours. Sit, and let me tell you first of how I healed your wounds, then you may be free to ask of me what you will.”

~※~

Rainbow Dash finished her recollection with a sigh, a slight shudder creeping across her feathers at the memories.

“He explained to me that heart flames contained the life of a dragon, and could hold the power to heal, or to even permanently injure an immortal. Still couldn’t fly, but I won’t look a gift dragon in the mouth. He kept me there, showing me treasures from the world and telling me about the dragons, making sure I would heal, before he dumped me back on Scoddri’s doorstep, literally.” Dash took a deep breath and turned to Twilight. “Now that that’s out of the way, you owe me an answer, Gearhead.”

“Spike told me that black flames are signs of grief and vengeance. Garble killed his family, that’s as much as I know, and at this point, I don’t want to pull up painful memories for him. I know what it’s like to lose family.” Twilight answered.

“Wrong,” Scoddri interjected. “ Not about the... family... thing, I meant about the fire!” He said, backing off from the fierce glare from Twilight, “Black fire is the only sign of the Mallacht Tine, or Cursed Flames. When Morkaidius cursed those who stood against him, the Mallacht Tine was the dragons’ curse to bear. It makes them nigh unstoppable, but kills them. Slowly. The only dragons known to have overcome this curse are Geryon and Garble, one of whom was recently rendered heartless. It isn't something to worry about, as Spike still has many centuries left, unless he goes on a days-long binge of nothing but breathing those flames.” He looked at Pinkamena and Flash, hearing another muffled cry, and tried to suppress a chortle as the young guard squirmed for help, heavily covered in makeup and tears. “As for her, take her to see Spike, in, oh… ten minutes. He can help.”

Rarity frowned. “Why would—”

“Don’t,” said Twilight. “I really don’t feel like dealing with this ridiculous looking can of worms. Let’s just make sure she gets there instead of setting something on fire.”

“Oh, would she really set something on fire?” Rarity asked with surprise.

“She is like Pinkie ramped up to about eleven, best not to take chances with either of them.” Twilight stood up, cracking her knuckles, and rolling out a kink in her lithe neck, before motioning to Pinkamena, “Come on, you troublemaker, let’s go see a dragon about something dangerous.”

Pinkamena leapt up, giggling as Flash hit the ground with a thump. “Are there gonna be any possibly highly lethal explosions involving unstable magic and mistranslated magical inscriptions meant to contain an ancient evil bent on conquering the world?”

Twilight coughed, blinking slowly. “That’s… oddly specific. Neither you or Pinkie have future sight, do you?”

“Nope, I just like high explosives and lethal stuff and she has a ridiculous imagination.” Pinkamena said simply, as if it were something everyone should know.

“Actually, Twilight,” said Luna, “I believe that you and I should talk. Do you believe that she can find her own way to Spike’s room without any further problems?”

They both looked to Pinkamena, who was now casually skipping away. “Well, she should make it eventually.” After a moment, Twilight added, “I hope. What did you want to talk about Luna?”

“I owe you answers. You deserve the truth. Now that the Daemon King’s attention is upon us, your lives are on the line, and it weighs heavily on my conscience.” Luna took Twilight’s hand and led her to the door. “Come to my chamber. I will explain everything to you once we are there.”

When they reached Luna’s rather spartan room, she motioned for Twilight to have a seat beside her on the indigo sheeted bed, and Luna began to speak.

“I owe you the truth of who I am, of the guilt I carry. I have been holding from you a great secret, and you, of all people, deserve the truth.”

“In the beginning of everything, there was but one being, The Artist, The Creator, my mother, Faust. She looked upon the Aether, where she dwelled for millennia undisturbed, before she began to wish for companionship, and so it was that she raised her brush and the Aether split, making way for a new place, Maia. Maia is the realm of the stars, upon which sits all universes and life. The Aether itself became a radiant, shining paradise that became known to her as ‘Heaven’.

“Faust smiled upon the life that she had spread through the Maia, but as she created Life, she inadvertently created Death. Death swept through the realm, taking the lives she had painstakingly wrought, some even before their first breath. So it was that Mother called Death to her hearth, to ask why she took life as she did. Death looked into Faust’s eyes and said simply, ‘It is taken upon me that my duty is to return the clay to the urn so it may be wrought anew, as is your will, Madam.’

“It haunted Faust that a child of her own creations acted upon her own will for her, that she didn’t foresee this, and so she sought out Life. When She found Life, She asked her, ‘Child, Does it hurt you as it hurts me to see Death take what you make and return them to the earth beneath them?’

“And again she received an answer that perplexed her. ‘No, mother, for it was with your will that I was born to make Life that lives to be full and then return. What hurts you surely hurts me, and my only pain is that I cannot see my children with my own eyes, feel their embrace with my own skin, for it would destroy them.’

“She returned to her place in Heaven, and sat at her hearth, and for a time, Faust cried, her tears becoming stars in the sky, before she held in her heart the answer to the pain that wracked the hearts of her and her daughters. Calling them to her, she gave them a form of life, and a portion of her own magic, so that they could both create, and be amongst their creations without fear. The younger, Death, sought to bring a light to the darkness, and created the Moon for her sister’s favorite creation, Terranna. The eldest created the Sun so that her children may bask in her kind warmth if ever she wasn’t there. And their mother gave them names so that their children might thank them, Celestia to the eldest, and Holder of Life, and Luna to the youngest, and Holder of Death.

“In the time that came after this, there was much Light that radiated from Heaven, and the happiness of Terranna. But, like all light, it cast a great shadow. This Shadow became Morkaidius. His hatred for Life and Death was only second to his hatred to the great light from Heaven, and Faust, so it became his work to destroy this light.” She finished telling her tale, bowing her head in shame, her voice shaking and petering out.

“Why tell me this? What do you mean I… deserve the truth? I don’t understand.” Twilight said, softly contemplating the smaller woman’s words.

Luna looked up, sorrow and pain sketched in her eyes, tears painting rivulets down her alabaster cheeks. “I am Death, Twilight! I took your parents! I have seen every death in this realm since time immemorial, and you should hate me. Hate me, Twilight! Please! I have taken so much from you, and I never knew it. I tore you apart and never thought twice. Let me feel your pain! Let me carry this burden for you!” Luna cried, clutching Twilight’s shoulders, “Just let me carry the weight for you. Give me something to live for, please.”

Twilight blinked slowly, the realization breaking upon her like waves upon the shore, tears pricking her eyes, her breath hitching in her throat. Ten years of blaming herself for her parent’s death, cursing the Goddesses, hurting, always looking for something to blame, something to ease the pain, and here it was at last, almost as if Fate took pity on her. So why couldn’t she do it? Why couldn’t she blame Luna, blame Death herself? Why did she feel her arms start to wrap around the empty Goddess clutching desperately at her? And why didn’t she feel any pain anymore as she comforted Luna? Maybe Fate felt they had both suffered for long enough.

She didn’t know how long they sat there, clutched in each other’s arms sobbing, but when she finally fell asleep, the moon hung brighter in her dreams.

⁂❧⁂

Author's Note

Ah, yes, the UST continues.