To Infinity

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Canterlot Times
Canterlot Archives Undermined!

The Tunneling Thief has struck again, this time digging his way under the Canterlot Archives. Efforts to track the thief failed when his tunnel caved in. Only one item appears to be missing: the Alicorn Amulet. It is an incredibly dangerous and powerful artifact said to grant its wearer unimaginable might. It is so powerful, however, that it will corrupt its user. Police are currently following up other leads as to its whereabouts.

“Hmph. What other leads?” The paper complained as I crinkled it up into the worthless scrap it was. “When I read the newspaper, I expect to glean some useful information, not some foal’s wishful thinking. The police have no leads, and they never will.”

“Those are some pretty hefty words, coming from a filly your age.” The sappy old stallion from the ice cream parlor passed by. “A little girl like you shouldn’t be concerning herself with the troubles of the world. Why don’t you leave that to the grown-ups and come inside, talk to some other young colts and fillies your age? We have a special on ice cream, two scoops and toppings for one bit.” My eyes blazed.

“Oh, I see. Because I’m a little girl I must love ice cream, right?”

“Well, one would assume- ACK!” He stumbled backwards, peeling the crumpled newsprint from his eye.

“Then I’ll assume that all old stallions love newspapers.”

“Why, you little brat!” But I was already gone. One benefit to my small stature was the ability to disappear with the crowd.

Did I like this small size? No. Of course not. But at least the other colts and fillies grew out of it. I was stuck staring at everypony’s hocks. I had been for the last thousand years.

I am cursed. Cursed with immortality. And the infinity symbol staining my flank reminds me of it every day.

I stopped growing when I was a child. I never aged. I watched my parents grow old and die. And my siblings. And their children. I was helpless to stop the last of my family tree from withering away. They were all gone, except for me. I was timeless. And I’ve spent the last thousand years trying to figure out why. Was it merely the prolonged exposure to all of Father’s magical artifacts? Was there something amiss in the zebra potion my brother dared me to drink all those years ago?

I didn’t know. I would never know. All I knew was that I was still here. But why? Everything else came and went, so why couldn’t I?

After years of watching and learning, I finally reached a conclusion. Death brought pain and distress to the ponies who still lived. The only other immortal beings, Celestia and Luna, didn’t seem to see this. But I did. I was the one who couldn’t die. The one who understood. So I would be their salvation. I would end their pain.

I would end life as we know it.

I hatched this plan a few hundred years ago. But to actually enact it took time. Up to this very day, I have been patiently, if not diligently working to realize my vision. I threw myself deep into the curriculum, scouring my tomes for any and all of Equestria’s weaknesses. I dabbled in every subject, but became particularly fluent in psychology, mythology, and government. Admittedly, I found botany intriguing as well, but was reluctant to pursue it, lest it distract me from my goal. I had no idea at the time how valuable such knowledge would prove to be.

I got my inspiration from one of the greats: none other than Discord himself. His plunderseeds were an invention of sheer genius. They took out the high princesses, the two most powerful ponies in Equestria, fed off the Tree of Harmony, the most powerful source of magic in the world, and caused chaos and disorder everywhere else. They overtook entire towns slowly but efficiently, and they were the most resilient plants I had ever encountered. With the princesses and Tree out of the way, no spell, no weed whacker, no plant killer was enough to get rid of them. Despite all of this, Discord failed, and his plunderseeds were destroyed.

I wasn’t going to give up that easily. I would recreate the plunderseeds, and keep that Twilight Sparkle out of the way. This time, they would succeed.

I finally pursued botany, seeking a means of which to cultivate the plunderseeds safely. While I was at it, I might as well create an even more powerful strand. I would not stand to watch these ponies suffer another thousand years. My plunderseeds would work far more quickly and efficiently than Discord’s.

After years of work, I had finally done it. They were ready to be planted. And to sweeten the deal, the fiend known as Lord Tirek had escaped Tartarus and was now wreaking even more havoc in Equestria. No doubt he was hunting down the alicorn princesses to steal their magic. Once he had obtained that, even Twilight Sparkle would be defenseless. The plunderseeds would have no opposition whatsoever. So I planted them, all along the edge of Canterlot.

What I had originally believed to be a time for celebration promptly evolved into a period of mourning. The cursed Princess Twilight, whom I had pegged for nothing more than a thorn in my side, actually turned out to be a spear. She and the other Spirits of Harmony defeated Tirek, not only saving Equestria but also unlocking the full power of the Tree and obliterating all trace of my darling plunderseeds. My life’s work- my legacy- was destroyed before my very eyes. I would be sure to return the favor.

“Mistress! Mistress is home!” The deep, gravelly voice which always felt the need to announce my arrival belonged to Buster. I glanced up at the giant, drooling lump of a diamond dog. The little curly-Q he called a tail wagged pitifully as I neared. His worn, pale denim jacket was too small, but I didn’t want to invest the bits to purchase a new one. The black, spike-studded collar I made him wear was the only intimidating thing about him. Without it, Buster was just an oversized pug who would be perfectly content to dig in the dirt all day.

Tail still thumping, Buster held the door to our home ajar. The house was ancient; when the last of my family had died, I took up residence in our old cottage, and had remained here since. It had been falling apart, at least until I took Buster in. He had taken it upon himself to make minor repairs here and there. He even tried to clean me up- fixing my long, emerald mane and tail in braids while I worked and sometimes brushing the dirt from my pale green coat until it almost appeared white. I didn’t see the point, given how I was about to destroy the world anyway.

“Is there news from Canterlot?”

“None.” I coldly shoved past him. His tail finally stopped flapping about, and after squeezing through the entrance after me, softly shut the door. “Have you got my package?”

“Here, Mistress! It’s here!” His enthusiasm was renewed as though I’d paid him some grand compliment, and the grating *THUMP* *THUMP* of his tail resumed. I gritted my teeth while I waited for him to dig the parcel from his coat pocket.

“At last.” I could feel the sheer power seeping through the brown paper before I even laid eyes on it. I set it on the table, and, hooves trembling, loosened the twine. The metal winked in greeting, and a gemstone as red as blood sparkled with enthusiasm. “The Alicorn Amulet. I have waited so long for this moment.” I wasn’t sure if I was caressing it, or if it was embracing me. I suppose both were true once I clasped it around my neck.

“You look beautiful, Infinity.”

“How many times must I tell you, Buster, I am your Mistress, not your friend!” He hunkered down, and I turned back to my prize. “Besides. This is no ordinary accessory. This amulet will give me access to unparalleled magic.”

“But you’re an earth pony. You have no magic.”

“That’s the beauty of it, Buster. This amulet contains all the magic we’ll ever need. And the best part is, no one can ever take it from me! Hm!” I happily hummed to myself. “With this amulet, no one will be able to stop me. Not even Twilight Sparkle.” Though, I would have to use it sparingly. I knew as well as anyone that the more I used it, the more it would corrupt my heart and distract me from my true purpose. I couldn’t afford to risk losing sight of my goal now, not when I was so close.

“But what about the plunderseeds, Mistress?”

“Don’t worry, Buster. I haven’t forgotten about our little lovelies. With this amulet, I can finally perfect my formula and complete my research. I shall make them more powerful than Discord could have dreamed.”

“Very good, Mistress.”

I led the way down to my “greenhouse.” The plunderseeds required a dank, dark environment to sustain them. The half-collapsed basement had proved suitable thus far. Without a powerful magic source from which they could feed, the plunderseeds were unable to grow any larger than the average houseplant. Their tentacles leaned in to tickle my sides as I walked down the aisle. They sensed the power of my amulet- a food source.

“Be patient, my darlings. Mama’s brought you food, don’t be greedy.” The amulet glinted as I tapped into its power. A weak light sparked in the gem. “Go on, my children. Feed.” The plants grew in spurts. At first it was barely noticeable, but as the pulses of red light emitted by the amulet grew stronger, so did my lovelies. The effect eventually left such an impact that they were nearly doubling in size and began to glow red, oversaturated with the amulet’s power.

“Yes, yes. Isn’t that better?” I reached out to coddle one of the vines, but recoiled in delight upon noticing that they were absolutely covered in thorns. “You are ready. Our time has come, lovelies. Buster?” There was another *CLUNK* when he knocked his head on the ceiling; he had been hunched on the stairs and jolted when I called him, previously stiff with fear.

“I need you to dig a tunnel to the Tree of Harmony,” I instructed. “Then come back for the plunderseeds.”

“The plunderseeds?!” I never allowed him in the basement without supervision, so allowing him to touch the plants was a big leap forward, let alone transport them.

“Yes...” Admittedly, I was reluctant to entrust my darlings to that clumsy oaf, but I had to finish my work here. When we struck, we would have to strike quickly, and preparations on this end were not yet complete. “But I expect you to use extreme care while handling them, just as you’ve seen me do.”

“Yes, Mistress!” The *THUMP* *THUMP* of his tail resumed.

“They won’t be interested in you so long as you don’t possess any magical artifacts, or at least, not until they’re planted. They aren’t powerful enough for that, yet. Once they are, get out of there, and don’t let them catch you, or you will be killed.”

“Of course, Mistress.”

“You’ll have to dig a hole for the plunderseeds. Dig out a space just big enough to fit what’s in the pot. Give them a firm hold, but don’t completely bury them.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“And whatever you do, DON’T plant them until you’ve removed the Element of Magic from the Tree. Otherwise the Tree will destroy them on the spot. And only remove Magic, not all of the Elements.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

“And don’t cave in the tunnel as usual. Come back one last time to fetch me and our supplies. We’ll be moving closer to the Tree until my plan is complete.”

“I know, Mistress. I won’t let you down.” I sighed.

“Very well.”

I was supposed to be preparing the plants for transport while Buster drilled his tunnel. I didn’t pack the plunderseeds up right away. This was the last time I would get to spend with my darlings, and I wanted to make the most of it. For a while, I just sat with them, enjoying our last few moments. I knew they were fulfilling their purpose, and I felt as proud as any mother would.

“I raised you up to become ponykind’s salvation,” my eyes became clouded with mist. I looked directly at one of the plants, whose vine was raised and pointed as though we had locked gazes. It slithered slowly near, and consolingly brushed my chin. A tear dribbled from my eye, and the vine made its way even further down my neck. “Do Mama proud.”

“Mistress!” I barely had time to turn before a huge paw with claws like daggers came down on the vine. It shrieked in distress before retreating back to its pot.

“BUSTER!” In outrage, I slapped him. He, too, shrank away like the vine he had just so viciously attacked. “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!”

“It was going to choke you, Mistress!” He pitifully pleaded.

“YOU IDIOTIC, CLUMSY FOOL! THEY WOULD NEVER HURT ME! I’M THEIR MOTHER, AS I AM YOURS. HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN YOUR PLACE, YOU USELESS MUTT?”

“O-Of course not, Mistress.”

“When I found you, you were an abandoned mutt who had nothing- no family, no food, no home. I gave you everything you have, taught you everything you know. I gave you a purpose. I MADE you! And this is how you repay me?!”

“I was just trying to protect you, Mistress.”

“What, from my own salvation?”

“But Mistress-”

“But NOTHING!” He shut up. Diamond dogs were incredibly dumb creatures, which made them easy to manipulate. Buster was particularly dull, and since I had raised him from a pup, he knew nothing but me. It was for the best that I had stolen him from his litter when he was a pup. Now, at least, he could serve a higher cause than digging for sparkly rocks.

I growled with agitation. “Is the tunnel ready?”

“Yes, Mistress. I dug all the way to the Tree of Harmony, just like you said.”

“Perhaps I should deliver the plunderseeds myself. You are obviously incapable of following simple instructions.”

“No, please, Mistress!” He flung himself at my hooves, tail tucked between his legs. “I want to help. I can take the plants. I can! I can!”

“I told you to be gentle with them. Does this look gentle to you?” I held up the vine of the plant he had attacked, which had an incredible gash through it now. I was amazed the plant was still in one piece.

“I’m sorry, Mistress. I was afraid for you. I won’t do it again, I promise.” I poured some more of the amulet’s energy into the plunderseed’s wound, and the vine was mended in no time.

“Everything we’ve worked for hangs on this moment. There is no room for error.”

“I won’t let you down, Mistress. I promise. I even took out the Element of Magic already. See?” He held up a pink, six-pointed gem.

“YOU FOOL!” He almost dropped the Element. “You weren’t supposed to take it yet! Twilight’s castle is connected to the Tree- she’ll know something is wrong! Go! Quickly! Take the plunderseeds!” He scrambled to collect the pots. I still hadn’t packed them up for proper transport, so he awkwardly fit as many into his arms as he could. The carelessness with which he handled them made me want to pull my mane out, but there was no time to correct him. We had to move. NOW.

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

“Where is that incompetent buffoon?” I growled, wearing down the creaking floorboards. I’d finished packing ages ago. It hadn’t taken him so long to dig the tunnel and get back. I had assigned the simple task of planting the plunderseeds and returning to me. Was that too much to ask? I was beginning to wonder if the idiot had allowed himself to get caught, either by Twilight or the plunderseeds. Either way, my plan was as good as thwarted. I still needed to ensure civilization’s downfall: a task I couldn’t do without him.

I hadn’t been too far off when I assumed he’d been caught. I was getting ready to head after him when a giant paw emerged, scrabbling for leverage. “Mistress!” Buster’s pathetic, wavering voice cried. I peered down into the hole. The diamond dog’s eyes were wide with terror, but I almost couldn’t see them for the blindfold of vines. Buster’s skin was quickly becoming pruney and wrinkled. He was aging at an extreme rate; the plunderseeds were sucking the very life out of him, absorbing his energy.

“You bungling oaf! What did I tell you?” My eyes flashed. Or maybe it was just the amulet.

“I’m sorry! Mistress, help! Please! Mlmph!” The plunderseeds had clamped his jaws shut.

“Of all the henchmen I could have chosen, I ended up with the most feckless of all.” I was almost tempted to leave him to his fate, but I knew my limits. As much as I hated to admit it, I still needed him. So I called upon the amulet’s magic yet again, soothing the vines and easing them off my useless hunk of a diamond dog. As soon as he was free, he scurried behind me, badly limping, clutching at his sides and wheezing like an old geezer. I performed a brief age spell to return him to his strong, youthful self.

“Thank you, Mistress.”

“You fool! Now how do you suppose we’re going to get back to the Everfree?” Buster glanced at the tunnel now completely barricaded by the plunderseeds, then sheepishly back to me.

“Perhaps it was for the best, Mistress. I heard voices in the Tree’s grotto just before I left. At least now they won’t be able to follow us.”

“Even better. Princess Twilight knows her Element is missing. No doubt she’ll come looking for it. We need to be out of here before she does.”

“But Mistress, she can’t follow us,” Buster pointed to the vicious, hungry plants still cropping up out of the hole.

“Numbskull! She doesn’t need your tunnel to follow the plunderseed trail. The amulet infused the plants with powerful magic- a resounding signature that will lead her back here like a beacon, should she track it. And if she’s half as smart as her reputation suggests, that will be the first thing she tries. We have to get a move on. Time is short. Take the luggage- we’ll have to hoof it.”

“Walk all the way to the Everfree ruins?” As a diamond dog, Buster tried to minimize his time spent outside, especially out in the open. He felt uncomfortable without some sort of roof over his head.

“I’ll use the amulet and administer a cloaking spell for cover. But that doesn’t mean you can loiter here. Let’s go! NOW!” I cuffed the back of his head, and for fear of being struck again, slunk away to do as he was told. I waited on the porch as he collected the bags.

“Hurry up!” I barked. After a lot of bumping and clunking from within, Buster emerged, his awkward load precariously balanced in his arms. He almost lost the load entirely when I pounced on his back.

“What are you-”

“Stop your whining. I can save magic and cast only one spell if we’re touching.”

“But-”

“I SAID QUIET!” He slumped a bit, but ceased his complaining. Finally able to concentrate, I accessed my accessory’s power. The surface of our skin and the bags shimmered for a moment, then vanished entirely. Startled by the effect, Buster poked himself a few times to make sure he was all still there, and successfully dumped all my bags in the process. “BUSTER!”

“Sorry, Mistress.” He scrambled to collect them all. I groaned. I could already tell, this would be the longest trip of my entire existence. Considering my age, that was saying something.

“Hmm...”

“Shh!” I rapped Buster so hard to get his attention that he winced. At least it worked; he stopped moving, and with only one bag to go. “Someone is here,” I whispered. Though I couldn’t see him, I felt him nod, and carefully straighten up with the last bag.

“A chaos spirit must live here... look at the state of this place!” A head popped around the corner, one that I recognized all too well. Twilight Sparkle was here, as well as her entourage.

Oblivious to Buster and I, the pink one darted around to the porch and took a look inside. “Or maybe just some old grouchy hermit,” she commented. “What do you think, girls?”

“It’s a creepy old place, for sure,” the pegasus with the colorful mane turned up her nose.

“Won’t argue there, pardner,” the country girl tipped her hat.

“Heeeeeellllloooo? Anypony home?” Pinkie popped inside, out of my sight. The other girls followed, and once they were all inside, I silently urged Buster to creep forward and keep an eye on them. This was no easy task, considering first of all his size, and secondly all the cargo he was currently balancing. It was all in vain, for as soon as Buster made it to the door, the yellow mare reappeared in the doorway.

“I’ll just wait out here.” She was quaking, apparently unnerved by the spooky old house.

“Oh, come, darling. Sure the house... could use some work... but it isn’t all that bad.”

“There’s nothing here, anyway,” Rainbow reported.

“But this makes no sense... the trail leads here!” Twilight reemerged, and it gave me great satisfaction to witness the frustration on her face. “This is either a very clever decoy... or a very well synchronized attack.”

‘Could have been better in the execution... and synchronization, for that matter,’ I thought to myself.

“Maybe whoever’s behind this just wanted to send us on a wild goose chase,” Applejack suggested. Twilight sighed.

“Maybe you’re right. Let’s head back to the castle and see what else we can dig up.”

“Do you think Discord’s back yet? I’m getting worried. His letter was so cryptic... It’s making me nervous.” Fluttershy shivered.

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Twilight tucked Fluttershy’s trembling form beneath her wing for comfort. “Come on, let’s go check up on him. Fluttershy nodded, and making sure the other girls were ready, Twilight cast a teleportation spell. Buster and I were left alone.

“So... the princess sent Discord to look into matters for her. Excellent! My plunderseeds will have assimilated his power. With his chaos magic, they will become unstoppable!”

“Shouldn’t we stop them?” Buster grunted from beneath me.

“The girls? Why? They found nothing. I left nothing behind that could possibly tie me to the crime. Go, Buster. We’ve lost enough time as it is.” He rumbled acknowledgement, and started for the Everfree.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It was indeed a long ride. It wouldn’t have been so bad if Buster hadn’t kept tripping over himself. I was afraid to look in my supply bags now; surely half of my stock would be broken or damaged in some way, given how many times he’d nearly trampled them. He was even more jittery once we neared the expanding Everfree, thanks to his last experience with the plunderseeds. Fortunately, this was where we would part ways.

“Stop here, Buster.”

“Huh? But the Castle of the Two Sisters is further ahead.”

“I know that, idiot. Thanks to your little stunt with the Tree, Princess Twilight discovered my plunderseeds sooner than she should have. No doubt she’ll be looking for a solution. I need you to find out what she knows, and keep me updated as to what she’s planning.”

“But how, Mistress?”

“I cloaked you, did I not?” I jumped off his back, becoming visible once more. Buster realized that I had, in fact, cloaked him rather than myself when I cast the last spell.

“Oh. Very good, Mistress.”

“I’ll come fetch you when I’m ready. Leave the luggage with me. I’ll take it to the ruins and begin preparations.”

“Mistress,” Buster’s voice actually filled with concern, “let me bring them for you, and then I’ll find Twilight Sparkle.”

“No. Go now.”

“You can’t carry all these, Mistress.”

“Fortunately, I won’t have to.” Using the amulet was becoming easier and easier, so I barely had to think when I directed two of the nearest vines. They scooped up my bags for me, and a third knelt at my hooves, offering transport. I clambered up, ignoring the irritating pricks of thorns (I didn’t have to fear their lethal life-sucking properties so long as I wore the amulet). With me aboard, the vine raised up. I didn’t have to see him to know that Buster had shrunk back in its shadow. “What are you still doing here? I told you to go!”

“Right away, Mistress.” He fled without a second thought, leaving a path of trampled grass in his wake. I could only hope that he wouldn’t be so careless once he neared town.

I had bigger things to worry about, though. Buster might be able to delay Twilight from making too much headway, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before Twilight attempted to get rid of my plunderseeds. Without the Element of Magic, her chances of success were slim, but I’d learned the hard way not to underestimate her. I had to keep her focus off the plunderseeds, at least, until I got to the Tree.

The plunderseed vine delivered me safely to the ruin of the Two Sisters, which was already overrun with the parasitic weeds.

“I’m sorry, my lovelies, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to relocate. Mama needs to stay here for a while. Don’t worry, you’ll have the place all to yourselves soon enough, if things go as planned.” The plants obediently withdrew from the castle, allowing me passage. “Thank you, darlings. Mama shouldn’t be long.”

I wandered inside the old ruin, only two vines following me in. These were the two that were transporting my bags, and they carefully dropped them off at the entrance before leaving me in peace. The castle was large, but most importantly, isolated. I could plan for Twilight undisturbed.

I found my way into an old study, and upon deeming it a suitable workspace, casually cleared the desk of cobwebs and dust. I moved a couple of ancient, moth-eaten books out of the way, and then replaced them with my own materials. Just as I had feared, most of my glass containers and vials were fractured or completely obliterated. After a bit of digging around and exploring the castle, I scrounged up a few bowls and pots that would serve the same purpose.

Now it was time for the moment of truth. I held my breath as I peered into the second bag, and heaved a sigh of relief. This one was intact. I picked up the jar, and inspected it to be sure that it was unscathed. This jar was truly irreplaceable. It was enchanted with an old stasis spell. It would preserve its contents as long as it remained sealed. Long ago, I had taken a cutting from the legendary star flower, a gargantuan, magic plant that grew on a hill at the very edge of Equestria. The star flower was said to have untold healing properties. However, what most ponies didn’t know was that the star flower attracted the terrible tatzlwurms like bees to honey. I believe Twilight herself once had a run-in with the creature while trying to make a healing elixir for Discord. She had uprooted the plant not long ago, but fortunately, I had taken my cutting centuries before.

Thanks to my study of botany, I could easily create a plant growth formula to turn the small sapling into a blooming, fully grown star flower in minutes. When Buster returned, I would have him plant the cutting in her castle, and use the formula to draw the tatzulwurm and wreak havoc in Ponyville. It was my hope that this would distract her from the plunderseeds and buy me a little extra time.

I had brought the ingredients for the growth formula with me, so I could get right to work. I was supposed to have had the concoction ready by the time we got here, but after Buster removed the Element prematurely, we were both scrambling to take off, and I hadn’t had time. The potion took great patience and precision, but I had practiced this brew a thousand times before. Thanks to the improvised supplies, however, I found myself babysitting the vials the majority of the time to make sure nothing boiled over. My tongs didn’t fit the new vases and jars, either, so rather than burning myself, I opted to borrow the amulet’s levitation abilities once more. The power felt so good...

The potion was done, and yet... where was Buster? I realized with a groan that I hadn’t told him how long to stay put. That doting puppy could be there all day trying to gather enough information to please me. I’d better go fetch him. Or, why didn’t I just drop the star flower off while I was there? Then I could get the hay out of there before the tatzlwurm arrived, and be safely back here at the ruins with Buster, hopefully plotting how to counteract Twilight’s plan.

I sifted through the contents of one of the duffel bags until I pulled out a smaller pack, one more my size. The plain sage-colored saddlebags were embellished with my cutie mark on the clasps, and it was currently empty. I settled the bag over my back, and placed the enchanted jar inside. The newly-made potion was carefully tucked beside it, and then I secured the flap. Now I was ready.

The plunderseeds parted for me, and I hitched a ride back out of the woods.

I rode the plunderseeds as far as they could take me, and had to walk from there. For a short filly such as myself, that was no easy task. Fortunately, I encountered an unsuspecting merchant heading into Ponyville, and snuck into the back of his wagon. Hitchhiking worked for a while, but the pony stopped at the marketplace, still a good distance from the castle. Rather reluctantly, I slid out to continue by myself from there.

I was deposited in the middle of a bustling square. My heart pounded, surrounded by all these ponies. I was very tempted to cast a cloaking spell for myself, but I knew better. I needed to conserve magic... even if tapping into the amulet’s power felt like heaven. ‘It’s not like any of them know who you are,’ I kept reminding myself. In fact, this was no different from the occasional trips I made to Canterlot. Nopony paid me any mind back there, and this town was no different. I was able to go about my business undisturbed... almost.

“Hey, you!” I stopped, suspicious when I recognized a similar country accent to that of Applejack. I glanced back to find that I was being approached by three young fillies. To the average pony, I appeared to be about their age. They must have been looking for a playmate.

“Are you new around here?” an orange pegasus with pink hair inquired.

“Of course she’s new, Scoots. We haven’t seen her around before,” the white unicorn with pink and purple curls stated.

“Sorry ‘bout them.” It was the yellow earth pony filly that had the accent. “My name’s Apple Bloom. An’ this is Scootaloo n’ Sweetie Belle. What’s your’s?”

“Scram, kids.”

“That’s a strange name,” Sweetie Belle said. Scootaloo face-hoofed.

“That’s not her name, Sweetie Belle.”

“Ya don’t gotta be so rude,” Apple Bloom furrowed her brow, turning back to me. “We’re just tryin’ ta give ya a warm welcome ta Ponyville, is all. Since Pinkie’s off with the Princess, somepony’s gotta fill in.”

“We’re hoping it might help us earn our cutie marks,” Scootaloo’s underdeveloped wings buzzed with excitement.

“Yours is pretty awesome, by the way. What is it?” Sweetie leaned in to scrutinize my flank. In return, I flipped my tail’s braid in her face. She spat out the green hair in disgust.

“Hey!” Scootaloo jumped to her defense.

“Mind your own beeswax!” I shouted back, pressing my nose to hers. My eyes flashed, and so did the amulet.

“Uh... guys? I think we better just walk away from this one...” Apple Bloom gulped.

“But-!” Scootaloo tried to protest, but Apple Bloom dragged her away. Sweetie Belle glared at me one last time, then ran after her friends. I rolled my eyes. Blasted kids.

It took me a moment to realize that they’d run off in the direction of the castle. I didn’t worry about it too much, though. If Apple Bloom was indeed related to Applejack, she was probably just going to pay her sister a visit. I watched the kids dash through the front doors just as the castle came into view. There were two guards posted there; I would have to be careful not to be seen.

There was little shrubbery surrounding the castle, so cover was hard to come by. Now I finally had reason to cast my own cloaking spell. My coat shimmered once again, and the same effect brushed over my saddlebags. Confident that I would leave no trace, I headed for the side of the castle. I still gave the guards a wide girth- I didn’t want them to notice the trampled grass I left in my wake. I tread carefully, even when I had rounded the corner, for now there were even more guards patrolling the castle walls. Time to call on the amulet again. Fortunately, the red glow of magic was disguised by the cloak. My whole body tensed when the magic surrounded me, yet I felt at ease when I began floating to the nearest window. Levitation really did come in handy.

I drifted around the castle walls for a while, searching for the Royal Library. No doubt that was where Twilight would be stationed. Fortunately, due to the princess’ love of books, the library was one of the most extravagant rooms, so it came with a very convenient balcony from which I could watch. I did my best to land softly and quietly so no one would hear me, but it didn’t matter, because EVERYONE was constantly moving. I noticed Fluttershy pacing in the corner, still pining for Discord. Twilight, the girls, and even her little dragon assistant, meanwhile, were moving from shelf to shelf, trying to dig up whatever information they could.

“Applejack?” Apple Bloom tentatively called.

“Apple Bloom?” The orange mare looked up from her book. “What’re ya doin’ here, sugarcube? I thought you three were gonna go crusadin’ today.”

“We were,” Scootaloo confirmed.

“Since Pinkie was busy, we tried greeting all the new ponies coming into town,” Sweetie Belle elaborated.

“Aw! I’m so proud!” Pinkie Pie dramatically sniffled.

“Then we met this filly,” Apple Bloom continued.

“She wasn’t very friendly,” Sweetie shivered.

“Oh, I’m sorry, darling, but not every pony you meet will be,” Rarity consoled.

“That’s not the problem,” Apple Bloom fretted. “She was wearin’ this necklace... and I think...” She trailed off. I tensed. She couldn’t know. She couldn’t possibly know about the amulet. Could she?

“What is it, Apple Bloom?” Now, Twilight’s interest was piqued. ‘Blast!’

“I think it was the Alicorn Amulet. I recognized it from when Trixie came to town.” Scootaloo gasped.

“You know, I didn’t recognize it at first. But now that I’m thinking about it, that was totally the Alicorn Amulet!”

“First the plunderseeds, and now the amulet? Arg!” Rainbow growled.

“But she was an earth pony,” Sweetie recalled. “Could she even use the Alicorn Amulet?”

“I suppose anything’s possible,” Twilight shrugged.

“Quick, girls, what did the filly look like?” Rarity primed her sketchpad.

“She was our age, and she’s all green. Her coat’s real light, and her mane’s darker. I think her eyes were green, too,” Apple Bloom started.

“She kept her hair in braids,” Sweetie contributed.

“And she had the weirdest cutie mark. When we asked her about it, she got really defensive. It looked like a sideways eight... it was also green.”

“A sideways eight? An infinity symbol!”

“Do you think she could be that Infinity?” Fluttershy had stopped pacing. I nearly toppled backward. How did they know so much? Hay, they knew my name!

“But the Infinity named in the deed to the Canterlot house lived almost a thousand years ago. She couldn’t still be a little filly,” Twilight shook her head. The deed! Of course! When they hadn’t found anything in my house, they’d looked up records about my house!

“I still think they’re connected somehow,” Rainbow spoke up. Pinkie’s hindquarters began to vibrate, her ears flapped, her right eye twitched, and her mane briefly deflated before poofing back out to twice its normal size.

“Whoa... I think my Pinkie Sense agrees!” she spoke up, patting the hair back down.

“Can’t argue with the Pinkie Sense,” Applejack urged Twilight.

“Alright. We’ll add it to the board.” I noticed, for the first time, a cork board leaning against the wall. It had all kinds of documents, articles, hoof-written notes and sketches pinned all over it, with red ribbons wound through the hoof tacks like a giant connect-the-dots puzzle. Rarity added a few last finishing touches to the drawing, and gave it over to Twilight. It looked something like myself. Twilight added it to an empty space in the corner, and started tying another ribbon to the pin. Rarity quickly finished another image, this one of my cutie mark, and pinned it so that this one was just overlapping the corner of my portrait. Fluttershy had also located a book all about the Alicorn Amulet, and with Twilight’s permission, carefully tore out a couple of pages, and added these to the collage.

I shifted uncomfortably where I stood, and bumped into something warm and hairy. I had to keep myself from crying out, as I hadn’t noticed it before. When the item I had brushed reeled back and tripped over himself, causing a huge commotion in the process, I finally realized what had happened.

“BUSTER!” I hissed.

“Mistress?” His blundering stopped.

“Hey, did anypony else hear that?” The dragon, Spike, looked around.

“Hear what?” That daft Princess Sparkle had been too caught up in her books to notice. Spike shrugged.

“Never mind.”

“What are you doing here, Mistress?” Buster whispered, now back on his feet.

“I came to give you the star flower and growth potion.”

“Ah, very good, Mistress. Where shall I plant it?”

“Right here, in the library. This is where Sparkle is getting all her information. If we cut that off, she’ll be dead in the water. And, when the tatzlwurm arrives, it will cause such a commotion that you can sneak their corkboard out.”

“Their corkboard?”

“It has all the information they have managed to gather about me. I can’t risk them discovering the truth about who I am before we are ready.”

“As you wish, Mistress.”

“Good. Plant the star flower, and wait for the wurm. Stay well away from the flower- that will be its primary target. You don’t want to be in the way when it arrives this time. When the girls are running away, snatch the board and bring it back to me. I’ll wait for you in the ruins.”

“But Mistress, how am I to get past the plunderseeds alone?”

“The plunderseeds follow my every command. I’ll have them bring you to me.”

“A-As you wish, Mistress,” he nervously agreed.

“And Buster? Don’t let me down.”

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I returned to the castle ruins, but almost immediately began pacing with impatience. What was taking so long? Had the tatzlwurm not sensed the presence of a new star flower? Was it not coming? Or had Buster been caught? Or killed? Was my plan thwarted? What if-

“Mistress!” Buster howled, dangling precariously from a plunderseed vine above me. Evidently, the cloak had worn off. He clung for his life with one paw (literally, as the vines were still slowly draining his energy), and kept the corkboard tucked beneath the other. The plunderseed lowered him a little more through the hole in the roof so he didn’t land quite so hard, but once it let him go, the diamond dog still rolled a good couple of feet. The corkboard went flying, too, and I caught it with the amulet’s magic. Once Buster had stopped rolling, I also applied a slight age spell to reverse my darlings’ effects. I had, admittedly, been accessing the amulet more frequently. The power was like an addiction, especially for a pony who had previously had no magic at all.

“At last, we’ll see what Twilight has been up to.” I moved the board over to my workstation, and began scrutinizing every note and ribbon attached.

“Mistress-!” Buster scrambled back to his feet.

“Hush! What have I told you about interrupting me while I work?”

“But Mistress!”

“SILENCE!” With a whimper, he quieted. I was finally able to concentrate on deciphering their notations.

I was horrified to realize how much information they had managed to gather in such a short time. Twilight really was as smart as they said. Although, it did appear as though Discord had made a few of the major deductions before his untimely death. He was the one who had figured out that the plunderseeds gave off a magic signature, and he noticed Buster’s tunnel. Reading further down his note, I found it almost hilarious that he had as good as outright told Fluttershy that he was dead, but the mare refused to believe it. The things ponies did for love.

I still held the advantage. They now suspected that I was connected to the house, and therefore the plunderseeds, but they still didn’t know how the pieces fit together. Unless and until they realized that it was my amulet that had infused the plants with their power, they were still dead in the water.

“It appears as though I was worried for nothing, Buster. They have learned nothing of consequence about me.”

“But Mistress, they have learned things about the plunderseeds.”

“Not enough to do anything about it.”

“You don’t understand! Before I left with the corkboard, Princess Twilight began reorganizing the girls, so I listened in a while longer. She thinks she can develop a weed killer strong enough to get rid of the plunderseeds.”

“WHAT?!” I yanked on the hem of his jacket, bringing him almost to the floor so he could be eye level with me. “Why didn’t you say something?! What is Twilight planning? How is she going to make the weed killer? Has she figured out it was my amulet that infused the plunderseeds?”

“I didn’t understand most of it, Mistress,” he helplessly shrugged. I threw him back and started wearing more holes in the floor, grumbling all the while. “I don’t think she knows it was the Alicorn Amulet, but she did say something about enchanting the weed killer to counteract the magic in the vines.”

“Then it’s only a matter of time before she realizes where their magic originated. That will be the last piece of the puzzle she needs to link this all back to me. They’ll begin pouring all their energy into hunting me down.”

“I’ll protect you, Mistress,” Buster proudly puffed out his chest. One of my plunderseeds flicked the back of his head, producing a yelp from my useless sidekick.

“Fool. The amulet is all the protection I need.”

“But if that’s true... then why do you need the plunderseeds at all? If Twilight’s magic is no match for the amulet, then why didn’t you just defeat her straightaway?”

“Because, idiot, I can take on Twilight Sparkle, but even the Alicorn Amulet can’t fight all of Equestria. I need the plunderseeds to wreak chaos and disorder, distracting everypony while I move onto the final stage of the plan.”

“Final stage? I thought the plunderseeds were the final stage.”

“Of course not, dimwit!” I swiped at him again, but he actually managed to dodge this time. Slightly impressed with this level of coordination, I left him be. “The plunderseeds are just a distraction. No, Buster, we must think bigger than plunderseeds if we’re to watch the world crumble. We’re going after the Tree.”

“The Tree?”

“The Tree of Harmony, imbecile!”

“I know that, Mistress, but what exactly are you planning to do to the Tree?”

“Once my plunderseeds drain most of the Tree’s power, we’re going to replace the Element of Magic.”

“You want to heal the Tree? But that will kill the plunderseeds!”

“We aren’t going to put the Element of Magic back, fool. We’re going to replace it with something else. Something far more dastardly.” The jewel glinted around my neck. Buster gasped.

“You’re going to replace the Element of Magic with the Alicorn Amulet?”

“Exactly. The Tree will try to access the amulet’s magic to heal itself, but in doing so, will become more and more corrupt. The Tree is these ponies’ last line of defense. If we get rid of it, the plunderseeds can do the rest.”

“It certainly sounds... thorough, Mistress.”

“We must be, Buster. I won’t let my life’s work go to waste.”

“Of course not, Mistress.”

“Now, you must go back. Find Twilight Sparkle, and buy us as much time as you can. Hide their weed killer. Cause a distraction. Split the girls up. Anything! Whatever you do, just keep them away from here.”

“Hey there!” We whipped around to the very pink form of Pinkie Pie.

“You! How did you-!”

“Wow! You’re really tiny! Twilight sent me and my Pinkie Sense to go looking for the culprit, but you can’t be her! You’re so young!” My eye twitched.

“Don’t talk to Mistress like that!” Buster growled.

“Whoa. But you could be him. Are you him? You’re big and scary enough to be him. I guess that would explain the tunnel to Canterlot, huh?”

“Ha! Don’t make me laugh! This insolent fool couldn’t button his own jacket without me!” I snorted. Buster’s ears flattened in displeasure, but he said nothing. Pinkie’s face suddenly contorted into a vicious frown.

“Hey, that’s not very nice. He might be a giant, creepy diamond dog, but he’s still got feelings.”

“This giant oaf will do whatever I tell him, however I tell him,” I stomped.

“But wait... I thought he was the bad guy. So if you’re in charge of the bad guy, then you’re like the ULTIMATE bad guy! What a big- er, little- meanie!” I was practically vibrating with anger.

“YOU WANT TO SAY THAT AGAIN?!”

“Little meanie! Little meanie!” she chanted, dancing around as she sang.

“BUSTER!”

“Right away, Mistress.”

“Uh oh.” Pinkie finally froze in Buster’s shadow. “EEP!” She darted the other way.

“After her!” Instead of replying, Buster let out a genuinely terrifying roar before charging off in pursuit of the pink pony. I waited patiently back in the ruin, still trying to figure out how she got past the plunderseeds. I suppose I would never know. It was Pinkie, after all.

“Dashie! Escape Plan Cupcakes!” I peered out the window to watch.

“I thought we agreed on Escape Plan Rainboom,” Rainbow corrected. It took a good bit of straining before I spotted the pegasus flying above.

“Fine! Escape Plan Rainboom! Just help!”

“Gotcha!” Rainbow Dash swooped down from above, and caught Pinkie by the arms. Buster was finally catching up, and he leapt with a grace I hadn’t realized he possessed. Though Rainbow was already taking off with her cohort, Buster grabbed Pinkie by the ankles.

“YEEEEP!”

“Hey! Let go!” Rainbow’s well-primed wings beat harder and faster, just barely countering Buster’s weight. The three of them dangled midair for a moment, until Buster’s additional weight finally proved too much. Gradually, Rainbow Dash began to sink.

“DAAAAAASSSSHHHIE!”

“I’m... trying...” Rainbow’s face contorted, and her wings were obviously strained. Yet, to my great disbelief, the Pegasus with the Rainbow-Colored Mane began to rise once more.

“No! Impossible!” I was awestruck rather than angry, at this point. If my henchman was unable to retrieve the ponies, I could always step in with my amulet. It was truly a spectacle. The pegasus was pushing herself harder than ever to try and save her friend. A pity, for it was all in vain.

Rainbow had just cleared the tree canopy. I thought I would have to send my plunderseeds after them, but Buster prevailed at the last moment. With one paw still wrapped around Pinkie’s ankles, he used the other to reach back and grab a sturdy tree limb. No matter how much effort Rainbow put into it, she was unable to break free. At last, fatigue won her over, and she collapsed.

“Dash!” Pinkie’s hold on her was the only thing keeping Rainbow from tumbling to the hungry vines below. “Dashie! Are you okay? Whoa!” Pinkie squealed when Buster yanked the both of them back to safety, and tucked one pony under each of his arms. Still watching from the window, I nodded with satisfaction. I waited a moment longer to make sure that the plunderseeds were clearing a path for them, and then slid down to meet them at the door.

“Just who do you think you are? Let go of me!” Rainbow had evidently been revived by the time Buster hauled them in, for she was kicking and fighting again.

“Put them there, Buster.” At my command, a net materialized on the floor, and when my diamond dog tossed them in the center, the net magically snapped taut without any suspension.

“Ooh! Magic tricks!” Pinkie applauded.

“No... magic amulet!” Dash corrected, jabbing in my direction.

“Oh, you noticed? Isn’t it beautiful?” I spun once to model the piece. Pinkie gasped.

“You’re the filly that was being mean to the cutie mark crusaders!”

“Is that what those three little fillies call themselves? Yes, I did have a run-in with them. Annoying little brats, aren’t they?”

“Look who’s talking!” Rainbow shot back.

“I see you haven’t lost your spirit, Rainbow Dash. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that soon enough.”

“H-How do you know my name?”

“I know everything there is to know about the Elements of Harmony, so of course I deemed it necessary to also investigate their bearers.”

“Ugh! Targeting the Elements again? With plunderseeds?! How unoriginal can you be?”

“Didn’t you get mad at Discord for saying that?”

“Yeah, but it sounds way cooler saying it to the culprit’s face,” Rainbow glared.

“Oh! Let me try! Um... you won’t get away with this!” Pinkie pounded the floor, ears back, eyes burning. She couldn’t be serious.

“Our friend Twilight will come looking for us!”

“Yes... Twilight.” I began pacing. “This changes things... you girls have certainly altered our time table. We’re going to have to speed things along... I can’t have Twilight coming in and wrecking all my hard work.”

“What do you want me to do, Mistress?”

“Hush, Buster, I’m thinking.”

“Um... excuse me? Are you going to kill us?” Pinkie casually raised her hoof.

“Perfect. Just how I wanted to go out. Murdered by a power-crazy kid.”

“You’d do well to clamp your muzzle shut,” I rumbled.

“She doesn’t like being called a child,” Pinkie failed to whisper.

“I AM NOT A CHILD! I AM OLDER THAN YOU KNOW!” I came nose to nose with the pink pony with speed that could only be described as supernatural.

“So you are the Infinity that bought the Canterlot house,” Rainbow deduced. I threw my head back and straightened my mane to calm myself.

“I ask the questions here,” I coolly stated.

“Nailed it!” The mares high-hoofed behind me, giggling like the foolish school-fillies they were.

“QUIET!” I rubbed my temples.

“Are you going to kill them, Mistress?”

“Believe me, I’d like to,” I glared behind me. “But they’re too valuable. I need them alive. We can use them to lure in the rest of the girls.”

“We’re going to capture all the Elements?”

“Yes. But we must be quick. Gather the rest of the mares that represent Elements of Harmony, but save Twilight Sparkle for last. She’ll come quietly if she realizes her friends’ lives are on the line.”

“Very well, Mistress.”

“And be quiet about it. The last thing we need is to alert Twilight of what we’re up to.”

“I won’t let you down.”

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

This was such a critical part of the mission, I wasn’t about to let Buster go alone just to ruin all my hard work. So with the pony-filled net draped over one shoulder and me perched on the other, he set off.

“Where am I going, Mistress?”

“Why don’t we ask our guests, here?” I turned and bent down to get a better view of Pinkie and Rainbow. “Would you girls-”

“Forget it! We won’t tell you anything!” Rainbow snapped, looking away and folding her arms.

“Yeah!” Pinkie agreed, mimicking her friend.

“Very well,” I shrugged, facing forward once more. “I suppose I’ll just have to take my best guess, then. Considering that Twilight is most likely working on her weed killer, I’d say that the castle is our best bet. Am I right, ladies?” I received no answer, but Rainbow’s grim expression told me that I was spot on. “Right then. To the castle!”

“Applejack! Did you hear something?”

“Ya mean other than yer whinin’?”

“Hush, you! I’m certain I heard someone in there!”

“Get down,” I hissed to Buster, who was already flattening himself down to the forest floor.

“Rarity? Applejack? HELP!” Pinkie squealed.

“No, RUN!” Rainbow corrected. Instantly realizing my mistake, I slapped gags and restraints onto the both of them. ‘Blast!’

“Rainbow? Pinkie Pie? Are you there?” Rather than fleeing, Rarity wandered closer.

“You guys okay?” Applejack joined in.

“Buster?”

“Right away, Mistress.” I loosened the tight weave of vines we had been using for shelter until they formed a hole large enough for him to fit through. Buster then sprang forward, directly in front of the ponies. Even on all fours, he towered over them, but he took it a step further and rose to his full height.

“What in tarnation?” Applejack gasped.

“D-D-D-D-D-DIAMOND DOG!” Rarity shrieked before promptly fainting.

“That’s just perfect,” Applejack growled, turning back to her adversary. “That ain’t too kind of ya, scarin’ ponies outta their wits like that. Just who’dya think ya are? An’ what’dya do with our friends?” Without answering, Buster lashed out and snatched the mare by her hind legs. Applejack secure, he then slung her unconscious partner over his other shoulder.

“Just what in Equestria do ya think yer doin’?! Put me down!” She kicked and thrashed, but with most of her strength in her hind legs, she was helpless against my henchman’s strength.

“Good. Now, Buster, put them there.” I cleared the rest of the vines so I could get through, and even had one of them tow the net containing our first hostages. Next I provided a second net so Buster could deposit our new prizes.

“You!” Applejack gasped. “Yer Infinity?”

“How perceptive of you, Applejack.”

“Wha-?! How’dya know my name?”

“I know all about you girls, and the Elements you represent.”

“Why are ya doin’ this? Yer hurtin’ a lot of innocent folk!” My eyes suddenly clouded with remorse.

“The pain is temporary, I assure you. Nearly a thousand years ago, I vowed to end all their pain and suffering. I am not about to give up now.”

“End pain and sufferin’? Yer crazier n’ a road lizard!”

“Perhaps,” I chuckled, “but just because I’m crazy doesn’t mean I’m not right.”

“Girls! Are you alright?” Rarity had finally roused. Rainbow and Pinkie, still gagged, vigorously bobbed their heads.

“Quiet,” I snarled, tossing the first net back to Buster. He picked both up off the ground, one slung over each shoulder.

“You have the Alicorn Amulet!” Rarity gasped, blatantly ignoring my order. I took a deep breath, trying not to lose my composure.

“You’re just now noticing that?”

“Infinity, is it? Darling, I understand it’s a pretty necklace, but you must take it off,” Rarity pleaded. “I’m sure you’re really a very nice filly, but that amulet is corrupting you. It’ll make you do things you wouldn’t normally do. It’s making you hurt a lot of ponies. So, please, just take it off, love.”

“I said QUIET!” I decked our new acquisitions out in binds similar to Pinkie and Rainbow. “I know full well what I’m doing. An earth pony like me has no magic, so of course I need the amulet to help me realize my plan. I am in control here. The amulet is nothing more than a tool.”

“Do I continue to the castle, Mistress?” Buster inquired.

“The castle... yes, that is where we were originally headed, wasn’t it? So what were you two doing out here?” I knew that even without the gags, they wouldn’t have answered. Instead, I glanced around, and noticed Applejack’s discarded saddlebags now partially buried beneath the plunderseeds. I gave it one hard yank with the amulet’s aura, tearing the fabric a bit but saving the contents. I found several squirt bottles of a strange brown-green liquid.

“And what might this be? Twilight’s weed killer?” Rarity and Applejack exchanged worried glances, confirming my theory. “I see. She’s working faster than I anticipated. If she’s already managed to produce it, no doubt she’ll be putting it to use. We’ll continue around the Everfree until we run into the rest of them.”

“Which way, Mistress?”

“Northeast, closer to the castle.” There was a long pause.

“Which way, Mistress?” I groaned, leapt on his shoulders and jerked his head to the right so sharply he produced a yelp.

“That way!” He set one of the nets down long enough to rub his neck. I shot him a warning glare in return. His ears flattened, his tail wormed between his legs, and he cautiously picked it back up. I gave him a light cuff to get him started off. Honestly. What did it take to find good help these days?

“Just where do you think you’re going?”

“...Uh... Around the border, like you told me to, Mistress.”

“No, fool, I told you to go around the border until we split off for the castle. Twilight’s palace is that way.” Buster scratched his head, thinking back to our earlier conversation.

“But I thought you said she’d be using the weed killer around-”

“DON’T BACKTALK TO ME, BUSTER!” He hunkered down. “She’s working fast, true, but even Twilight couldn’t be making that much that fast. She herself will still be at the palace making more. Or... what’s left of the palace. They’ll have chased off the tatzlwurm by now.”

“Then... won’t her friends, at least, be at the border?”

“The only one left is Fluttershy, and that wimp wouldn’t dare come near the Everfree alone.” Rainbow kicked at the net in protest. “We’re going back to the castle. Unless, of course, you would like to keep arguing with me?”

“No, Mistress.”

“Then what are you still standing around here for? Get a move on!” Buster ducked before I could cuff him, picked up our cargo and obediently changed direction. He hadn’t made it five steps before we heard voices.

“Phew! Even with the weed killer, these things are tough!”

“But at least they’re coming up.”

“You’re so optimistic, Fluttershy,” a male voice admiringly commended. “It’s almost annoying.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll be quiet now.”

“Nah, keep talking. Maybe it’ll rub off on me.”

“Oh, um, okay. What do you want me to say?”

“Never mind. Are you ready for the next one?”

“No. It looks like we’re almost out of the weed killer. Spike, could you write to Twilight and see if there’s a new batch ready yet?”

“I’m on it!”

Since we had started to split off already, the plunderseeds were too far to use for shelter. I crawled forward under the cover of a freshly pruned hedge instead. Buster wouldn’t fit underneath these tightly woven branches, so he concealed himself around back as best as he could while I shimmied underneath. My head poked through to the other side, and since my mane was a similar color to the hedge, I draped my bangs further over my face. I could still see through the thin, wispy hair, but at least now I’d be harder to spot.

Spike and Fluttershy were waiting for me on the other side, still oblivious to my presence. Spike was scribbling down a note to Twilight on the scroll, and Fluttershy had settled in the grass to wait. She was keeping an eye on the plunderseeds’ growth with her back turned to me. If we struck quickly, they wouldn’t know what hit them.

I attempted to back out of the brambles, but my hair had knotted around one of the twigs. I hesitated a moment to untangle the locks, but Buster obviously took this to mean I needed help. I barely managed to keep myself from squealing when he took hold of my back leg and jerked me free.

“Hmm?” Spike glanced our way when he heard the rustling of branches. Buster hunkered lower so his constricting denim coat wouldn’t be spotted above the bush. Spike squinted a moment longer, and upon finding nothing, he shrugged, scribbled down the last few words onto his scroll, and sent it off in a fiery *WHOOSH*.

“You imbecile!” I rubbed the sore, slightly bloody spot on my forehead where a good portion of my hair had been removed. “You could have given our position away!”

“I was just trying to-”

“Save it!” Thanks to the Alicorn Amulet, the hair regenerated in moments, and the stinging gradually subsided. “Spike’s already sent out his letter. We have to catch him unawares. Wait until Twilight sends a reply, then nab him. I’ll take care of the pegasus- she won’t be any trouble.” Buster nodded his acknowledgement, then hunched down, ready to pounce the moment Twilight’s response came.

It wasn’t an immediate reply, so Spike and Fluttershy had time to chit chat. The hardest part about the wait was trying to keep the others quiet. They couldn’t call out to warn their friends, but they tried everything else, from playing drums on the cobblestone to grunting and groaning. They finally piped down when I threatened to toss them to the plunderseeds.

At long last, Twilight’s letter came through. Spike didn’t even have time to open the scroll before Buster tackled him headlong, pinning the drake to the ground. “Diamond dog!” Fluttershy shrieked, wings locking up in fear. Fortunately, this made her an easy target, and my net draped limply over her stiff frame.

“Too easy,” I chortled, bringing the rest of the prisoners back into view. They looked so defeated, it sent chills up my spine. “And you would’ve gone right past them, straight to the castle.”

“But-! I... you... we...” Buster’s fingers pointed in every direction as he tried to sort out his own scrambled thoughts. I rolled my eyes.

“Enough. Let’s just pack them up and get a move on.”

“You... you!” Fluttershy stammered. I laughed. Pathetic little thing... couldn’t even form a whole sentence. “How DARE you?!”

“Huh?”

“Release me and my friends this instant!” Her eyes blazed and she stomped with rage, though it would have had more of an effect if she hadn’t been on the soft grass.

“In case you haven’t noticed, Fluttershy, you aren’t exactly in a position to be making demands,” I sneered.

“L-Let go of me!” Spike squirmed, having finally pulled his muzzle free.

“And you!” She pointed at Buster, who froze, Spike dangling upside-down in his paw. “How dare you treat such a poor, innocent baby dragon that way? Put him down right now, mister! Or I’ll give you The Stare!”

“The... Stare?” Buster dumbly asked, looking for direction.

“Don’t listen to her, fool! Put the dragon with the others!”

“O-Okay.” Fluttershy’s bag had the most room, so he turned toward her. That was his first mistake. Her fierce gaze locked onto his, and the giant moving mountain came to a halt. Fear filled his eyes, and he hunkered down low. Impossible! It had taken me years to instill that kind of obedience and discipline in the beast, yet this shy, fragile mare achieved the same effect with one look! Even worse, Buster slowly began lowering the dragon back to the ground.

“BUSTER!” I pasted a blindfold on Fluttershy’s head, and the spell was broken.

“Hum?”

“You TWIT!”

“I-I-I’m sorry, Mistress. I didn’t mean-”

“You impossible, USELESS beast! GRAH!” I swiped at him, and he ducked. “You came this close to succumbing to her! After all the YEARS of work I’ve put into training you, you would switch your loyalties just like that? JUST LIKE THAT?!”

“Wow. Jealous much?” Spike just raised an eyebrow.

“SHUT HIM UP!” Buster hastily tossed the troublesome hatchling in the net, and I outfitted him and Fluttershy both in binds. “Now we’ll head to the castle. Bring the ponies, and don’t mess it up, this time.”

“Yes, Mistress.” I turned my back in distain upon the wishy washy idiot I had for an assistant. But I watched out of the corner of my eye, and noticed how hurt Fluttershy looked; she had worked off the blindfold before I added the binds. Buster’s ears flattened, and he looked ashamed upon picking up her bag. She stared him down the whole time, though he did his best not to make eye contact. He was being so sappy about it, I was thoroughly disgusted.

He’d finally loaded up all our bargaining chips. “Let’s get a move on al-” I heard something crunch beneath my hoof; it was the scroll Spike had dropped. “Twilight’s reply... well, let’s see what the princess has to say.” The paper gently unfurled within the amulet’s red glow, and I quickly skimmed through her scrawled writing.

“Hmm... looks like we don’t have to go fetch Twilight after all, Buster. The Princess is coming to us.” I pointed to the lettering in emphasis. Buster crouched low to try and decipher it for himself.

“I... I can’t read, Mistress.”

“She’s coming to deliver the next round of weed killer herself, dimwit.” I crumpled up the slip and tossed it over my shoulder. “She’ll be here any minute-”

“MISTRESS!” Buster lunged, and pulled me clear just before a magical blast scored the ground, leaving a charred, smoking wound in the earth’s surface. I pushed and kicked and squirmed and wriggled, but despite my efforts, I still had to wait for Buster to lift himself off of me before I could stand on my own four hooves again. There, standing tall with her wings spread wide and her eyes burning, stood Twilight Sparkle.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the princess herself.”

“And I’ll assume you’re Infinity. Funny, I was expecting someone... older.”

“I bet you were,” I half laughed, half snarled back.

“Let my friends go,” she threatened.

“No, not yet. I didn’t go through all the trouble of collecting them just to give up now.”

“What do you want?”

“Simple. I want you to come with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“Are you quite sure?” I taunted her, swinging the nets with her friends in the air like dangling a treat before a dog. Her previously impassive, stone-like expression softened a little. Then I saw it. Fear. She was afraid. I had made her afraid. My chest swelled with pride. I’d done it. I’d made the great Twilight Sparkle afraid.

“Come with me and they won’t be harmed,” I smirked. “Refuse, and I’ll feed them to the plunderseeds.” Rainbow and Pinkie hovered over the plants, and a couple greedy vines reached upward, tickling their hooves. Their eyes grew wide with fear, and Rainbow tried ever harder to break free. This only attracted the vines’ attention, and one of the lethal thorns pierced her flesh. She would have screamed if it weren’t for the gag, but the pain showed in her eyes. Her bold coloring gradually began to fade as the life was sucked out of her.

“Stop! I’ll go! Just don’t hurt them!” Twilight pleaded, dropping to her knees and begging like the common mare she was. I snorted.

“Very well. Not these ones, my lovelies. These ponies- and dragon- are our guests.” The amulet pulsed, and the plunderseeds obligingly retreated.

“You... you control the plunderseeds?” Twilight gasped. I replied by forming a tunnel that led safely through the thorny tentacles.

“Walk with me.” I led the way, followed by Buster with the nets, and lastly, Twilight. “Soon, I will control more than just these pretty little plants.” I tenderly stroked the nearest vine. “They’re lovely, true, but not of much use. You developed a formula to fight them off in next to no time at all.”

“Because you linked their magic to the amulet instead of just letting them grow on their own,” Twilight lectured, “I could infuse some of Applejack’s specialty weed killer with a spell to fight the amulet’s magic.”

“The amulet has it’s limits,” I confessed. “But soon, I will be in control of a magic far beyond any of your measly alicorn spells.”

“What kind of magic? There’s no greater magic than the Magic of Friendship.”

“Ah, but your ‘Magic of Friendship’ gains its power from the Tree of Harmony. If I were to cut off your power from the root, or better yet, overtake it...”

“You’re going after the Tree of Harmony?” She stopped dead in her tracks, horrified. The vines began creeping up on her from behind, urging her forward. “But that’s impossible! There’s no way-!”

“There’s always a way. I may be an earth pony, but my father was a unicorn. He studied magic his whole life, and collected numerous artifacts. Believe me, I know the limitations of magic, but this is something well within the realm of possibility.”

“How?” We had come to the gorge where the Tree lay hidden away. I slyly glanced back.

“Care to see?”

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Don’t try to run, please. There is nowhere to go.” I made sure that the plunderseeds had blockaded all available exits. The only remaining source of light was the dim, eerie red glow the vines produced. Only then did I release Twilight’s friends, the nets and binds alike crumbling into thin air. All six of her friends rushed up to Twilight, joining together in a group hug.

“Is everyone alright?” the teary-eyed alicorn sniffed.

“We’re fine, sugarcube.”

“I got a bad feeling about this place,” Pinkie’s teeth chattered, and her Pinkie Sense was going off like crazy.

“You shouldn’t have agreed to come here,” Fluttershy quivered.

“I couldn’t just leave you,” Twilight argued.

“Enough.”

“You... ARG!” Rainbow made a mad dash for me, but Applejack bit into her tail, anchoring the furious mare to the spot.

“Hold on there, sugarcube. That ain’t gonna get us nowhere.” Buster’s growling emphasized her point.

“Listen to your friend, Rainbow Dash,” I advised.

“What do you plan on doing with us?” Rarity demanded.

“It’s not so much what I plan on doing to you specifically, so much as what I plan to do to the whole world.”

“Wow... usually they’re only after Equestria,” Spike whispered.

“Go big or go home,” Rainbow agreed.

“Ha! Big! That’s funny! Ya know, because she’s actually tiny,” Pinkie chortled. I glared at the energetic pink nuisance, and Twilight hushed her.

“Fine, then. What are you planning to do to the world?”

“I’d sound like a bloodthirsty psychopath if I told you straight up.”

“Oh, we already know you’re a bloodthirsty psychopath. Please, continue.” I frowned, flicked my tail and chose to ignore them.

“Instead, let me give you some background information first.”

“Joy.”

“The deed you found to my house is hundreds of years old, I know. I’m actually older. I didn’t purchase the house until the last of my family had died off.”

“But how is that possible? You look so young!”

“That is where your guess is as good as mine. After my tenth birthday, I simply stopped aging,” I shrugged. “As I said before, my father was an avid collector of magical artifacts. Perhaps it was all the exposure to them that rendered me immortal... in any case, I stopped aging. I never grew old, cursed with this baby face. I was the only one that was affected- my family grew old without me, started families of their own, and moved on with life. When this symbol appeared on my flank one day, I thought that my purpose was to look out for them; to guide future generations through life, and teach them what I had learned.

“So I stuck around, but all it brought me was pain. I watched my kin grow old and die, and was only left with the pain of knowing that soon, I would lose somepony else dear to me. And I wasn’t the only pony who saw this; for hundreds of years, I watched other families pass on, leaving their loved ones to mourn them.

“At last, the only remaining member of my bloodline passed away, and I was left alone. I thought my destiny had been to look out for them, but they were all gone. So what was I to do? Grief almost drove me mad.”

“Almost?”

“But I finally realized, I had been looking at my cutie mark wrong all that time! For centuries, I watched ponies grow old and die. I saw the pain death caused. I wasn’t meant to raise ponies up just so they could experience that kind of suffering for themselves. I was meant to do something about it!”

“Like what?”

“Imagine a world without death. What would that world look like?”

“A world without death means a world without life!” mortified Rarity recoiled from me like a snake.

“Exactly.”

“So yer gonna wipe out life as we know it?” Applejack’s jaw dropped.

“And you’re helping her with this?” Fluttershy scolded Buster. His ears drooped, and he stared at the ground.

“He does what I tell him to. I raised him from a pup. I’m all he knows.”

“Mistress... Mistress knows best,” he agreed, still refusing to look at Fluttershy.

“Your ‘mistress’ is crazy! And psychotic!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Don’t say that about Mistress!” Hackles raised, Buster crouched on all fours, drool seeping between his teeth as he snarled. One look from Fluttershy shut him up again, and he resigned to sit quietly behind them.

“You still haven’t explained how you intend to accomplish any of this,” Twilight reminded. “Where did you get the plunderseeds, and the amulet? Where do they come in?”

“I’m just getting to that. Discord’s plunderseeds were actually what gave me my inspiration. Though they failed under his coaching, I saw their potential. Amongst other things, I studied botany, and learned how to recreate my own strand of plunderseeds. I thought I had perfected them just a couple of years ago, when Tirek was loose on Equestria. The conditions were perfect: Tirek had stolen the alicorn magic, the one thing that could oppose me. I planted the seeds... and then you girls unlocked the full power of the Tree, wiping them out on the spot!”

“Hear that, girls? We defeat the bad guys without even realizing it!” Pinkie and Rainbow high-hoofed. I glowered.

“I suppose I should thank you. That incident made me realize that I needed to rethink my plan. I couldn’t rely on the plunderseeds alone- they were too easily defeated. Instead, I could use them as a distraction while I targeted something bigger: the Tree of Harmony.”

“Was the tatzlwurm another one of your ‘distractions?’” Twilight gritted her teeth.

“He was indeed. I had plenty more lined up as well, just in case things started going south. I used Buster and his exceptional digging skills to ‘borrow’ a couple items for that purpose, including the Alicorn Amulet. The amulet, too, was originally intended to be just another ‘distraction’ before I realized I could use it to harness the plunderseeds. After I got that sorted out, everything else just seemed to fall into place. It’s almost a shame I didn’t get to try out any of the others.”

“So you’re the so-called ‘Tunneling Thief,’” Twilight glanced up at the diamond dog. “I read about you in the newspapers. You were giving the authorities quite a hard time.”

“He might be the muscle, but I’m the real mastermind,” I interrupted. Something about Buster receiving the credit for my plan truly irked me. I shouldn’t have let it show; Pinkie caught on, and milked it for all that it was worth.

“But Buster was the one that actually went and got ‘em. I bet you were too scared to do it yourself.”

“Oh, yes. Buster was a big brave boy to sneak in and get those dangerous artifacts for you. Isn’t that right, Buster?” Rarity joined in, tickling his chin and trying to ignore the vile drool trickling down.

“Who’s a good boy? Yes, you are!” Fluttershy scratched his back.

“Hmm...” he sighed with pleasure, one of his back legs beginning to kick with delight to the point where he actually toppled over. Then, Fluttershy switched to rubbing his belly.

“Yeah! Good thieving doggy!” Rainbow cheered.

“He looks happier n’ a pig in a mudbank,” Applejack agreed.

“Are you guys... encouraging this?” Twilight’s jaw hung ajar. I was just as flabbergasted. Fluttershy shot Twilight a look, and somehow, that translated to Twilight realizing what they were up to.

“Oh, uh... g-good boy, Buster,” she nervously chuckled.

“Good dog!” Spike followed her lead.

Now, my jaw dropped. What the hay were they doing?! “Stop! Stop it this instant!” No one was listening to me. Buster continued to roll around like a childish pup, allowing these girls to dote on him. “I SAID STOP!” The amulet caused a massive explosion to emanate right in the middle of them, effectively splitting the group apart. Most of them just skidded through the dirt, but Buster hit the wall of thorns hard, and Fluttershy was still flying his way. Even with the life being drained out of him, he still found the strength to catch her before she met the same fate.

“Buster!” She tried to pull him free from the brambles, and surprisingly, succeeded. He wound up face-first on the ground, panting and clinging to whatever life he had left. “Y-You saved me. Thank you.”

“Me?” He disbelievingly gaze up at her. “No one’s told me that before.”

“ENOUGH! BUSTER! GET OVER HERE!” He tried to slink forward, but Fluttershy caught his paw.

“You don’t have to do this,” she pleaded. “You have a choice.”

“Buster! Do I mean so little to you that you would betray me now? After everything I’ve done for you?”

“I’m sorry,” he bowed his head. “I have to.”

“Buster!” she pleaded. I scowled down at the yellow mare. After all she’d put me through, I’d make sure she was the first to go.

“Climb the Tree,” I ordered, climbing up his jacket. He looked slightly pale and withered from the thorns, but he still had enough strength left for this one last task.

“Yes, Mistress.” Slowly, he shimmied his way up.

“NO!” Twilight tried to stop us, but now I urged the plunderseeds to hold them all back.

“AAAH!”

“Fluttershy?” Buster glanced back at the sickeningly kind mare, now withering away before his eyes.

“Keep going!” I cuffed him. With a whimper of despair, he obeyed.

“W-W-W-What a-are you...?” Twilight gasped, weakened into submission.

“That’s right. I didn’t get to finish explaining my plan, did I? I’m going to take control of the Tree and all it’s magic.”

“Not... possible...”

“Think, Twilight, think. You’re supposed to be the smart one. Your Element of Magic is what harnesses the Tree’s magic. Now, I’m going to replace it with something that also contains great magic. Care to guess what it is?”

“The... amulet?”

“Bingo. The Tree will try and access that magic to heal itself, but the magic in this amulet will corrupt it instead. The vines will be connected to the Tree, the Tree will be connected to the amulet. It’s a self-sustaining circuit!”

“If ya take that amulet off to put in the Tree, it won’t be connected to ya anymore! You’ll lose control!” Applejack pointed out.

“That is of no consequence. This was always a means to an end, for all of us.”

“Mistress?” Buster whined. I noticed uncertainty in his eyes. Without me, he had no purpose, and it was clear that the thought of death frightened him. “I... I don’t want you to die, Mistress.”

“This was always the plan, fool! You won’t get cold feet now that our time is nigh!” I thundered. Buster had finally reached the middle of the trunk where the old indention of the Element of Magic was located. Perched safely on his broad shoulders, I gently pried the gemstone from the setting around my neck. “Just a little higher, Buster. I can’t reach from here.”

His lanky arm was motivated to uncoil, however slowly. He stopped altogether about halfway up, and glanced back at withering Fluttershy. She met his gaze, no longer with the strength to speak, but those powerful eyes said it all. “Forward, I said!” Buster shut his eyes, fighting an internal war. “You are mine, dog! You’ll do as I say!”

He’d made his choice. Buster’s claws sank into the bark just below the indention, allowing me passage. “At last!” I quivered with excitement. “I’ve waited so long for this moment...” I reached around and searched for the clasp to my necklace. It unbuckled with a soft *click*, and fell into my waiting hooves. No longer in control of the plunderseeds, they began slithering up the trunk towards Buster and I. I paid them no mind, and gave the red jewel a light farewell kiss. “Do me proud.”

The amulet was inches within the Tree. I guided it closer, closer, closer, to the point where it was almost touching. Then, with a sudden lurch, Buster’s arm shot out from below me. “WHAT?!” I’d have thought it an accident if he hadn’t caught the amulet so easily, and stuffed it back into his pocket. He reached for something in his other pocket, but I couldn’t see what it was. “NO! What are you doing?!”

I painfully slammed into the plunderseeds beneath me, their thorns sinking hungrily into my flesh. The pain was excruciating. The plants were feeding on my life force, which I had previously thought to be unlimited. But now I felt it being drawn out of me at an extreme rate. “GET OFF OF ME!” I thought the plants were going to pull me apart by the way I was being stretched. But I realized that the vines weren’t pulling at all- it was my own body that was threatening to tear itself apart. I was... having a growth spurt? For the first time in a millennium, I was aging.

“NO! NO, GET OFF!” I knew the plants would eventually be my demise, but I couldn’t die yet. I hadn’t fulfilled my purpose. Buster... he was the one responsible. The vines were in my way- I couldn’t see. What was he doing up there?

Despite the blindfold of vines, I was struck by blinding white light. The vines began crumbling around me, and the reality of what had just happened sank in. “No...” After everything I’d worked for... that fool wouldn’t have... he couldn’t have! Yet, when the light finally died down, there it was: the Element of Magic, returned to its original position in the Tree of Harmony. The vines had all disintegrated, and the girls had all been freed. Even the aging had been reversed, and they had all returned to their youthful selves. But not me... I was still trying to burst from my own skin, writhing in pain on the floor.

“Buster!” The diamond dog slid down to ground level, and was greeted by the elated Fluttershy.

“Is everypony okay?” Twilight called.

“Yeah.”

“Yep.”

“Yes.”

“No.” Everyone turned to give the quaking Rainbow Dash their attention. She pointed, hoof trembling, to the corner of the room where a draconequus-shaped skeleton lay peacefully in everlasting slumber.

“Discord?” Fluttershy gasped, pulling away from Buster. “N-No... no!”

“Oh, heavens,” Rarity covered her mouth.

“Fluttershy...?”

“No!” She shoved through her friends, Buster included, to get at the cold corpse. “Oh, Discord,” she pulled the withered husk into her lap, “I wish we had more time, too.”

“Grnn...”

“Infinity,” Twilight coldly turned. The agony of these growth pains had rendered me immobile. I was unable to do anything but defiantly glare back.

“LEMME AT ‘ER!” This time it was Rainbow holding Applejack back.

“Wait... p-please?” Buster hunkered below Twilight. “Can I... talk to her?” Twilight’s piercing gaze never left me.

“Make it quick.” He nodded, and darted back to my side.

“You... ruined my life’s work,” I spat through gritted teeth.

“I’m sorry, Mistress. I just wanted to save Fluttershy... and you.”

“You didn’t save me. You KILLED me, Buster!” He winced like I had physically struck him.

“I... know. I’m sorry, Mistress. Can you... forgive me?”

“Forgive you?” I was about to let him have it, but a tiny sparkle of light caught my eye. It was coming from his pocket.

“Yes...”

“Yes?” His ears perked up, and his tail pummeled the ground.

“Come here, Buster.” I reached out to embrace him. He gleefully jumped into my arms. I sank farther into his oppressive hulk. ‘Just a little more!’ Twilight noticed my straining.

“Hey, what’re you-”

Once again, the amulet was mine! I slammed it into my neck, the clasp locking firmly into place. Buster was just starting to pull away when I fired the shot. A yelp rang sharply through the gorge.

“No! Buster!” Fluttershy moved from one corpse to the next.

“M-Mistress?” he wheezed. I glowered in return.

“Bad dog.”

“INFINITY!” Twilight’s horn was charging. I cast one age spell after the other to try and counteract the aging effects of the plunderseeds. It was enough to get me back on my hooves again, at least. I simultaneously cast the age spells while trying to summon enough energy to provide an offense of my own. The amulet let off a weak charge, while blazing magic surged from Twilight’s horn. It blasted through my shot and hit me squarely in the chest, shattering the Alicorn Amulet. Where I had tried to reverse the effects, the aging now resumed tenfold. I screamed, crumbling back to the floor.

“What’s happenin’ to ‘er?”

“She’s having a growth spurt!” Pinkie chimed.

“You... ruined... everything.”

“No. You did that to yourself.” Twilight stood over me.

“Are you going to kill me?” She shook her head.

“You did that to yourself, too.” She pointed at my withering body. I summoned enough strength to lift my head, and look back. My hooves were already so withered, I wasn’t much more than a skeleton with skin. But then they started crumbling, fading to dust, right before my eyes.

Blasted Princess Sparkle. She was always right.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

*3rd Person POV*

“Twilight! TWILIGHT!”

“Hm? Wha-?” Twilight rubbed her eyes, rudely awakened from slumber. This was the one day all week she’d been able to sleep in. “Spike? What is it?”

“It’s the map!”

“Are we being summoned? Where are we headed this time?” She groggily opened the curtains and stretched.

“It’s the Tree itself. I think something’s wrong!” Now with some light in the room, Twilight could clearly see the anxiety engraved in his face. That face, so full of concern and dread, looked too old to belong to her little baby dragon. Something must have really rattled him, for Spike to look this scared. She didn’t hesitate to jump out of bed.

“Show me.”

Twilight galloped along behind Spike as he sprinted for the throne room. The map was active, and indeed advertised a new location. All six of their cutie marks orbited the Tree of Harmony itself, but when Twilight looked back to check, noticed that hers wasn’t flashing. It was as though she was disconnected from it, somehow. Not only that, but the glowing images projected by the map were distant and faded, and sort of sickly in appearance, and they flickered dangerously, as though they’d disappear for good at any moment.

“That’s odd...”

“It’s never done this before. What’s wrong with it?”

“I don’t know, Spike,” Twilight confessed. She grasped her already-packed saddlebags in a deep pink aura. “I’ll go collect the girls, and we’ll see what’s wrong with the Tree.”

“Be careful,” Spike clung to her leg. Twilight gently smiled, and nuzzled him back.

“I will Spike. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She finished securing the strap on her bag and bolted out the door. She’d put on a brave face for Spike, but deep down, panic was welling up in the pit of her stomach. Trouble with the Tree usually meant the fate of Equestria hung in the balance. She just hoped it was nothing serious.

“Girls, you know I love these little excursions as much as the rest of you. I just wish we could take a train to the Tree instead of hiking through all this... nature. I just had my hooves shined.”

“The fate of Equestria just might be in the balance, and you’re worried about your hooficure?!”

“Let’s not argue, girls. We’re almost there.”

“Fluttershy’s right. There’s the stairwell,” Twilight rolled up her map and returned it to her bag. She could manage without it from here.

“Last one down’s a rotten egg!” Pinkie squealed, starting to zip down.

“Hold yer horses, there,” Applejack got ahold of her tail before she could actually go anywhere. “The Tree called us here for a reason. There could be somethin’ mighty dangerous down there. ‘Till we know what we’re up against, I think we should stick together.”

“I like that idea,” Fluttershy squeaked.

“I agree with Applejack. Let’s stay close until we know what’s down there,” Twilight nodded, volunteering herself to go first. The other mares huddled close, shuffling down the cold stone stairs as one unit.

Paranoia began to set in as they slipped into the darkness of the Tree’s haven. Every rustle, every bump set the girls on edge. Not even “giggling at the ghostie” seemed to help. It got to the point where Twilight was sure one of them was going to bolt in pure hysteria. She herself was uneasy; the Tree should be giving off a faint light to illuminate their passage, but she couldn’t see her hoof in front of her face. Something was definitely wrong. She was tempted to ignite her horn, but she thought better, considering how jumpy they already were. She didn’t need to add a bunch of dancing shadows into the mix.

At last, they could see some faint light up ahead. But something was wrong. This didn’t feel right. And the eerie red glow ahead didn’t help things.

“T-T-Twilight? Wh-Wh-What’s t-that?”

“If I had to guess... probably the reason we’re all here.”

“So? What are we waiting for? Let’s go kick that creepy light’s flank!”

“Rainbow, wait!” But it was too late. The pegasus had already taken off... and just as quickly turned tail and retreated.

“WHOA!” It didn’t take long for the others to realize why. She was being chased by an enormous, glowing plunderseed vine.

“Rainbow!” Twilight cried. She charged her horn, and fired a blast at the vine. It shrieked with agony before withdrawing. Twilight cocked her head. Even her most powerful blast hadn’t been enough to chase the plants away the first time. At best, they had just broken off, not retreated. What was different this time? And why were the plants glowing?

“Let’s get outta here!” Pinkie gripped Twilight’s shoulders and dragged her back the way they came; an entire wall of plunderseeds was now encroaching on their position to avenge their injured member. Twilight was so overwhelmed, she couldn’t quite comprehend what was going on.

“Wait! But what about the Tree?”

“What Tree? We can’t even get to it,” Applejack pointed out.

“We can’t just leave! We have to fix this! We don’t even know what’s wrong.” Twilight pleaded, beginning to squirm and wriggle out of Pinkie’s grip.

“Don’t worry, Twi. I got you covered. I just got a quick glimpse, but I think I found the problem.”

“So?! What is it?”

“Can we please wait until we’re all safe back in our homes?” Rarity panted, tears of exhaustion and fear beginning to ruin her mascara. Wait? Twilight didn’t have time for that. She charged her horn, and the lot of them disappeared in a flash of light.

Once the girls had landed safely back in the castle, Twilight immediately spread her wings and skidded to a halt, causing poor Fluttershy to slam into her rear. The other girls continued running- it took them a moment to realize where they were. Then, Rarity collapsed in a hysterical heap, Rainbow’s wings played the role of an emergency parachute, and Applejack skated across the crystal floor.

“Owie!” Pinkie, on the other hoof, had reacted too late and wound up slamming face-first into the wall.

“You’re back!” Spike darted forth to give Twilight a “welcome back” squeeze. “Did you figure out what’s wrong with the Tree?”

“Yeah! The plunderseeds are back, and they’re bigger and scarier than ever!” Pinkie shouted upon having finally dislodged her face from the structure.

“Plunderseeds?! But how’s that even possible? You returned the Elements of Harmony to the Tree so it could defend itself.”

“That’s what I was trying to say,” Rainbow spoke up. The usually cocky mare’s expression was grim. She wasn’t laughing now. “The Element of Magic was missing.”

“What?” The color drained from Twilight’s face.

“Are ya sure, sugarcube?”

“Positive.”

“What do you mean, missing? How can it be missing?”

“Somepony must have stolen it!” Rarity was on the verge of fainting.

“But who would do such a thing?” Twilight glowered.

“Who else do we know that uses plunderseeds?” Fluttershy’s pupils shrank to pinpricks of black.

“No! Twilight, don’t!” The alicorn was already casting a spell. “It wasn’t him, Twilight! I know it wasn’t! Just-!” Discord abruptly appeared before them. Before Twilight’s summon, it appeared as though he had been tidying up his home, judging by his crouched posture and the feather duster in his paw. He froze, glanced around, and upon noticing his company, put on a big, gappy smile.

“Ladies! What a pleasant surprise! But you really should warn me before you do that- I could have made myself look a bit more presentable.” With a *POOF* his cleaning attire disappeared.

“Where’s the Element of Magic?” Twilight demanded.

“Twilight-” Fluttershy desperately tried to get between them and make herself heard.

“Why, with the Tree of Harmony, of course. Don’t you remember, Princess? You put it there yourself.”

“Stop playing dumb, Discord. We know what you’re up to!”

“Well, that appears to be more than I know. Please, enlighten me.”

“We found your plunderseeds at the Tree.”

“What are you after this time, Discord? The usual, ‘chaos in Equestria’ deal? I thought our friendship was more important to you, now.”

“What?” He shook his head as though to clear it of a haze. “What are you talking about?”

“Girls, Discord isn’t to blame, I’m sure,” Fluttershy stomped.

“Well, do you have a better explanation?”

“Well, no... not at the moment. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t one.”

“Let me get this straight. The Tree of Harmony is under attack by plunderseeds? AGAIN?!” Discord didn’t seem to care so much that they had wrongfully accused him as that the plunderseeds had turned up at the Tree yet a second time. Finally deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt, the girls all nodded. Discord snorted in irritation. “How unoriginal.”

“Seriously?! You aren’t bothered that Equestria is in real danger? Just that somepony stole your act?” Discord ignored her, lost in his own thoughts.

“It is quite an impressive feat, I’ll give them that. Handling a plunderseeds is no easy task, especially for ordinary ponies. Your culprit is most likely either a powerful chaos spirit, such as myself, or a sheer genius.”

“Well, let’s hit the books. See if you can find anypony, chaos spirit or otherwise, who’s been known to tamper with plunderseeds.”

“Yes, yes. Why don’t you girls head on down to your library? Do your research and all that cute pony stuff.” Discord began nudging them out.

“And you? Where are you going? We could really use your help,” Fluttershy looked up.

“I, my dear, am going to do some field work. Currently outfitted in clothing more suitable for a safari expedition than “field work,” Discord saluted, tore a gateway in the space-time continuum, and stepped through. The fabric of reality snapped taut behind him, and the girls were left to themselves.

“Do you think we can trust him?”

“He did turn on us the last time we gave him an important assignment.”

“He learned his lesson. He won’t do it again.”

“Here’s to hoping.”

Discord had stepped out of the continuum somewhere along the edge of the Everfree. He didn’t want to land too close to the plunderseeds right off the bat. As a chaos spirit, he knew how to handle them, but even Discord was smarter than blindly walking in like that. Once he had assessed the situation, he should be able to keep them at bay long enough to do a bit of investigating.

He began flying to the Tree, but he quickly tired of such an agonizingly traditional method of travel. He then began teleporting to speed things up, but got bored with that too. Finally, he discovered that a yellow-and-purple spotted bubble-powered car was a much more interesting way to get around. For his own entertainment, he even threw in a costume (a top hat and bow tie, to be exact), and hummed along to the vehicle’s built-in radio.

“Take a left in point five miles,” the car’s GPS directed in Discord’s own voice.

“Oh, hush,” the real Discord reprimanded. “This is my favorite part of the song!”

“Okay, but don’t blame me when you get lost,” the GPS shrugged.

“Shut up!” Fed up with the irritating device, Discord yanked it right out of the dashboard and tossed it out the open roof to the trees below. He heard a crash, and the yelp of a manticore, then the whir of his engine as it sped up to accommodate the GPS’s direction. “I think I know how to get to the Tree of Harmony on my own,” he grumbled, finally giving up on paying attention to the music. “Technology these days. Thinks its smarter than I am! Hmph!” (Of course, Discord was the only one in Equestria with access to such advanced technology, it being stolen from another dimension and all.)

Eventually, the automobile began its descent. Discord slid a pair of oversized sunglasses down his snout to get a better view as he sought out the ideal parking space. He finally decided that the back of the unsuspecting cragadile over there would do, and put on the brakes. “Now,” he removed his accessories and tossed them in the trunk, “let’s go see what the trouble is, shall we?” The cragadile gave him a queer look, but Discord took no note as he trotted down the stairwell to the Tree’s grotto.

“Hmm... something smells strange...” Discord ran a finger along the damp, mossy stone, and tasted it. “Now, that is peculiar.” He scampered down further into the dark crevice, interest piqued. A faint glow caught his eye, and Discord faltered, sliding to a halt. “No... it can’t be.” He hesitated, debating whether or not it would even be wise to continue.

“Come on, you aren’t going to chicken out now, are you?” A miniature version of Discord’s own self appeared on his shoulder, sporting a pair of devil horns and a pitchfork.

“Well, it may be the wisest thing to do, considering-”

“Listen to him! The guy’s gone soft!” A second miniature appeared on his other shoulder, this one also dressed like a devil.

“I... I have not!” Discord stomped.

“Come on, chump, buck up,” the first one sneered.

“Think of how disappointed sweet little Fluttershy will be when she hears you turned tail and ran from a few mutated plants,” the second pointed out.

“Fluttershy...”

An image of Fluttershy’s sweet, alluring face formed in the back of his mind. Those soft black curtains she had for eyelashes batted once, twice, thrice, and her mesmerizing teal eyes bewitched his very soul. She gazed directly at him, and Discord fantasized going in for a kiss. She was about ready to humor him, but at the last minute, her eyes turned away, and she pulled from his grasp.

“You failed me, Discord.”

“Fluttershy!” Discord jerked himself out of the nightmare with a start. Heart pounding, he rested against the wall until he was sure it was only a trick of his own mind. Only then did he even attempt to stand on his own two feet.

“So? What’s it gonna be?”

“Shush! That was a pretty rattling vision.” Though they were both equipped with horns and pitchforks, one mirage seemed to be a bit kinder than the other.

“I... I won’t let her down,” Discord ground his teeth, fists clenched with resolve.

“Yeah! That’s the spirit!” The more malicious of the two apparitions hunched over Discord’s shoulder like a quarterback. The second specter just shook its head and vanished with a *PUFF*. “Go on, show those plunderseeds who’s boss!”

“FOR FLUTTERSHY!” Discord howled. He bared his fang, coiled up on all fours, and sprang forward. He didn’t notice that the runty phantasm had abandoned him.

“Well... that guy’s toast.”

Discord, meanwhile, blitzed through the glowing, thorny plunderseeds, keeping them at bay with a variety of different weapons. He couldn’t seem to make up his mind; he started out with a baseball bat, then exchanged that for a sword, and finally swapped out for a chainsaw. The vines shrieked and screeched with every blow he dealt, and doubled their efforts in trying to restrain the draconequus. That was something else new that Discord noticed. Regular plunderseeds would only go after the most powerful and ancient of creatures: Celestia and Luna. These plunderseeds possessed a self-defense mechanism, attacking anyone they deemed a threat. Perhaps it hadn’t been the smartest idea to come blundering in, guns blazing, but he was sure they would have started on the offense soon enough anyway.

He finally emerged at the Tree of Harmony, where the vines should have been at their thickest. Instead, they hadn’t touched the Tree, giving it a wide girth. But, just as the girls had said, the Element of Magic had been removed from the trunk. Without all six elements, the Tree should be powerless. So why hadn’t the plunderseeds gone in for the kill? This was all very uncharacteristic of the parasitic plants, and Discord was utterly confused.

Then, he noticed the hole in the ground. Part of the reason why the room looked so empty was because an entire branch of the plants had grown underground. At first Discord thought the plant might be making its way to the princesses, but something was off. It didn’t look like the plant had burrowed itself. It was almost like the hole had been there first. Was the pony responsible trying to direct the plunderseeds somewhere?

He barely managed to roll aside in time as another thorny tentacle struck from above. He’d gathered enough information. Now it was time to get the hay out of there! He took flight, but alas, didn’t get very far. One of the particularly sneaky vines managed to wind its way around his hoof, and yanked him back like a fish on a hook. Discord screamed in pain as the needles dug into his flesh, desperately trying to squirm away. More and more vines entangled his lithe body, and the more he fought, the more exhausted Discord felt. He couldn’t seem to access enough of his magic for an effective offense. It didn’t take him long to realize that they were feeding, feeding on his power, on his magic, and on his life.

Discord felt like he’d been hit by a brick wall. He’d been such a fool, thinking he could impress Fluttershy this way. This was the end for him. He’d never see her beautiful face again at all...

For the first time in his life, Discord felt real fear. Or perhaps that was just his heart smashing into a thousand pieces. If he couldn’t be with her... then at least he could save her. The plants were draining his magic at an extreme rate. Though he couldn’t expend a large amount of power at once, he thought he could draw up enough strength to send one last letter. It went something like this:

Dearest Fluttershy (and girls),

I believe I’ve found your problem. These are no ordinary plunderseeds- they appear to have been infused with a powerful magic. The good news is that the magic is so strong, you should be able to track its signature. I found a tunnel here that somepony deliberately placed, and the plunderseeds are traveling down it as we speak. I believe that whomever dug it is trying to lead the plunderseeds somewhere. I would look into it, if I were you.

Take caution. These plunderseeds are out for blood. If they catch you, they can, and will, kill you.

I love you, Fluttershy. I’m so sorry we didn’t have more time together. Please forgive me.

~Discord

A single tear slithered down his dirty cheek.

“Goodbye Fluttershy.”