The Timelessby Rav Aharon Ben YisraelChaptersMore Than A GameDuskThe BlindingFear and DesireMore Than A Game“The winner of the Friendship Games' first event is Twilight Sparkle and Crystal Prep!” announced the home team’s vice principal as the Academic Decathlon came to a close. The uniformed winner beamed at her solid, and surprisingly hard fought victory. Her smile, however, vanished as quickly as it had appeared, for none of her prep school classmates cheered for her. The public school students of Canterlot High rallied around their defeated champion, complimenting her for her efforts. Among the uniformed students of Crystal Prep Academy, though, only one round of applause could clearly be heard. That applause belonged to a lone freshman, way at the back of the crowd. None of the other students joined in, and some gave him annoyed, even threatening looks. He didn’t notice them, though, as his eyes were locked on the purple-skinned beauty who had just won the match. Only his school’s Dean appeared to share any of his enthusiasm as she announced, “After a careful tally of the points, we'd like to present the students moving on to the Friendship Games' second event.” In his excitement, the brown-skinned freshman pumped a fist into the air and let out a “Woo-hoo!” upon seeing his champion pass the elimination round. At this, everyone around him turned to stare. Sensing his apparent faux-pas, he lowered his hand onto the back of his conservatively cut blue and green hair, smiling awkwardly, before clearing his throat and readjusting his taped glasses. With the situation passed, and the event over, the students of both schools began filing out of the Canterlot High School gym, for an intermission before the next event. He was about to do the same, until the Dean called him back, “Aaron, could you wait a moment please?” “Yes, Dean Cadence?” He replied tentatively. “I found this in one of the girls’ bathrooms. I take it it’s yours?” The pink-skinned Dean held by her thumb and forefinger a bookbag, with the symbols אהרון sewn on the front. The bottom of the bag was wet as if someone had dropped it in a toilet. Blushing a little, Aaron replied, “Yes, it is,” while he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to safely claim his lost property. “I don’t suppose you know how it got there?” Cadence asked, with a look of concern on her face. Aaron couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes, “No ma’am, no idea.” Knowing she wasn’t going to get anywhere, Dean Cadence placed a hand on Aaron’s shoulder, “Well if you do find out, you know you can always tell me.” She then turned and followed the rest of the faculty out, leaving Aaron alone. “Yeah, sure,” he mumbled to himself once the Dean was out of earshot, “If I want to spend the rest of these games stuffed in a locker.” Retiring to one of the, now empty, Crystal Prep buses, Aaron had put away a disinfecting wipe before drying his embattled backpack when the door to the bus squeaked open. In a panic, he ducked under the seats, hoping to avoid whoever had just climbed on board. “Aaron,” called out an orange-haired, brown skinned freshman, “Come on Aaron, I know you’re in here,” the uniformed boy called again. “It’s just me, Button Mash.” Button stood at the center of the aisle as Aaron cautiously peeked around the corner of the seats. Once he confirmed the boy’s identity, he let out his held breath in a sigh, and stood up to greet his friend, “Hi, Button.” “Up for a battle?” Button Mash asked the depressed kid before him. Aaron took his hands from his pockets to open his bag, “If my game survived its dunking.” “Again?” Button Mash inquired incredulously. “Why do you think I have my mom sew my name on my stuff?” he snapped back. “Whoa, easy,” Button held up his hands defensively, “You know I didn’t mean anything like that.” Aaron scowled, “Then what are you here for?” “For a Pokemon battle, just like I said,” Button stated as he sat down next to his irritable companion, “I thought you could use some cheering up. I mean, what are friends for, right?” “Sometimes I think I’m starting to forget the meaning of that word,” Aaron moped. “Hey now, don’t start that again,” Button chastised, “Or I’ll just have to remind you.” At that, Button gave his depressed friend a playful punch on the upper arm. This, at least, got the boy’s attention. Aaron sighed, “Yeah, you’re right. Besides,” he said as he reached up and spun the copter on top of the beanie Button was wearing, “Us dorks have to stick together.” His frown finally breaking. “Yeah,” Button agreed, “Who’d have thought there’d even be ‘nerds’ at a private school that makes as big a stink about academics as this?” “No kidding,” he replied, his mouth breaking into a much-needed smile, “This school sucks.” “Why’d our parents even send us to this hellhole?” Button mused. “Because they think it’ll get us into better colleges to get better jobs.” Aaron snarked back. “Pay to win, huh? More proof that real life is like the worst game ever.” “Hey, at least it lets us help each other, even if it is at a cost,” Aaron joked, “Why, if it weren’t for all the time I’d spent helping you pass your entrance exams, I might’ve been able to skip a grade, just like Twilight Sparkle did.” “True,” Button remarked, “But then you wouldn’t have such an awesome gaming partner.” “And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Aaron stated, as he gave Button Mash a punch of his own. “Hey,” Button yelped, rubbing his arm, “Save it for the arena.” “Oops,” Aaron backed off, “Sorry.” “You don’t know your own strength, do you?” Button asked. “What,” Aaron dead-panned, “You suggesting I punch out whoever did this?” He said, holding up his backpack, “A fat lot of good hitting a girl will do me.” “Yeah, bad idea,” conceded Button, “Still, what do you mean your name is sewed to your stuff? All I see are those weird symbols.” “It’s Hebrew, Button,” Aaron explained, “Aharon, that’s my Hebrew name. You know that I’m Jewish.” “Yeah, I do,” Button replied, walking on eggshells, “but why can’t you just use your given name, like the rest of us?” “Get my old textbook back from that other Aaron who claimed it and maybe I’ll consider it.” “Okay, okay, point taken,” Button said quickly, not wanting to draw any more ire, “Look, let’s just start the game. You really need to blow off some steam.” “You know it,” Aaron replied, turning on his portable gaming console, “You think you can take me?” Button smiled, “Bring it.” “And another one goes to the B-Man!” Button exclaimed triumphantly. “Oh come on,” Aaron protested, “You got lucky. That last Pokemon was infatuated, and confused!” Button Mash grinned as he took a seat in the bleachers, “All’s fair in love and war.” Aaron just rolled his eyes in response. “So, when are you going to ask her out?” “Who?” Aaron blushed, feeling a rare moment of gratitude for the noise around him. The upset loss in the second event had done wonders for Crystal Prep’s motivation. With their undefeated record now in actual jeopardy, they were roaring for a win. “Why, Twilight Sparkle of course.” Button teased, “I saw the way you looked at her when she face-planted in the archery race and don’t think I didn’t notice you cheering for her after she won that math challenge.” “Hey,” Aaron retorted, “That’s not fair! What if I changed my mind. Maybe I’m more into that Canterlot girl who helped her.” “As if, I know you better than that,” Button argued, “Besides, I bet she only did that to cover that her team was cheating.” “Oh come on!” Aaron yelled back, “Don’t tell me you actually buy that crap?” “Seriously,” Button asked, “Then how do you explain that girl sprouting wings in the middle of the motocross?” “I can’t,” Aaron sighed, “But you did notice that that girl never actually crossed the finish line, right?” “Touche,” Button said, folding his arms, “But what about those crazy plant things?” “That the winged girl was fighting off!” Aaron shot back, “Besides,” Aaron started as he turned towards the competitors below, “I don’t think that was Canterlot. Did you see that locket Twilight had around her neck?” “I’m sure you did,” Button scoffed. Aaron shot him a glare. “Not what I meant,” he scoffed. “That thing flew off of her when the speed skating started, and those plant creatures seemed centered around it. Not to mention that, as soon as Twilight got the locket back, and closed it, the creatures disappeared.” “Wait,” Button Mash considered, “You mean the necklace that Twilight’s taking off right now?” “What!” Aaron exclaimed, and quickly pulled out his smartphone. Activating his camera app, he zoomed in full magnification to get a better look. “Oh my God, she’s going to open it!” “Really?” Button said, checking the camera over Aaron’s shoulder, “Cool!” “Cool? Do you know what might happen if I’m right about this?” Aaron stood up, “I have to try and stop her!” Button then grabbed Aaron’s holding him back, “Whoa, man. Assuming that even is some kind of power up, it could help us win.” “Is that all you care about, winning the game?” Aaron asked Button incredulously, “I don’t have time for this; let me go!” “No,” Button maintained, “I can’t let you mess with the event. Do you know what would happen if we lost because of you?” “Button,” Aaron snarled, “You’re starting to sound like the rest of these preppies.” Button was shocked, “How dare you? I’m nothing like them!” “Oh, so you’re not going to just sit back and watch while a bunch of plant monsters tries to eat everyone or worse?” Aaron growled at his companion. “Aaron, this is the Friendship Games. Crystal Prep always wins. I don’t want to be held responsible for our first ever loss!” Unable to wait any longer, at that moment Aaron grabbed Button’s wrist with his free hand, hard, causing him to wince in pain, “Coward!” Aaron shouted. Button Mash fell backward from Aaron’s gaze. He’d seen his friend angry before, but the ferocity on his face, the fire in his eyes, made Aaron appear like a completely different person. “This isn’t a game anymore Button Mash!” He hissed. “This is Playing With FIRE!” Button Mash could only sit and stare, stunned that his friend would direct such anger towards him as that same boy shoved him away and started down the bleachers as fast as his legs could take him. He did not get far. One of the upperclassmen spotted him trying to clamber over him, and grabbed him, “And where are you off to in such a hurry?” he said with a sadistic smile. “Let me go!” Aaron demanded. On the field below, Twilight had stepped forward, starting to open the mysterious locket. “Oh I will,” the upperclassman chided, “After you pay the toll.” That was the last straw. With panic in his heart and hatred in his eyes, Aaron slugged his tormentor for all he was worth. “Ow!” He exclaimed, as his hand flew up to his nose. Looking upon it, he saw that this freshman had drawn blood. That just wouldn’t do. With both hands, he grabbed the kid’s ankle, forcing him to the floor. “Oh, now you’ve done it,” he announced as he hung Aaron dangling onto the next row. His friends sitting there took their cue and commenced beating the snot out of the boy who dared to assault a superior. Aaron could just imagine his bones bruising from the attack, but could only look on helplessly as, down on the playing field, Twilight’s locket fully opened. The beating soon stopped, as everyone present gasped in awe. From the locket emerged what looked like a sphere of pure energy, blowing off Twilight’s glasses and levitating her into the air as it grew as wide as Twilight Sparkle was tall. Aaron looked on in horror, as the sphere enveloped Twilight Sparkle. The energy looked to be consuming her! “Help me!” she pleaded, reaching her hand out as far as she could, seemingly towards him, but it was too late. There was a blinding flash, and Twilight Sparkle was gone. In her place, flew a horrific, purple skinned monster, bearing a crooked horn, and demonic wings. “Twilight,” Aaron cried, blinking through tears. The monster just laughed, “You were right,” she said facing the Canterlot girl that she’d beaten in the first event, “I didn’t understand magic before, but I do now!” With that, what looked like lightning surged up her horn, and into her hand, from which she hurled it at the school’s curbside statue. The charge smashed the marble as if it were Lego, and in its place, a circle of lightning grew, with a glimpse of a strange structure that Aaron had never seen on the other side. This energy then sent spiderweb cracks along the ground, which the demon then used more of her power to widen into more holes. The energy spread, along the ground, up the walls, and even through the air. Space itself, it seemed, was being torn apart around them. Everyone, from Canterlot High and Crystal Prep alike, began running for their lives. Aaron struggled to his feet. His whole body ached, but he had to get down there. This demon had addressed the orange skinned girl as if they had spoken before. Maybe Twilight had spoken to her? It was very little to go on but, if there was anything of Twilight in that beast, he had to try and reach her. He resumed his race down the bleachers, but where he’d expected to find a stair, his foot touched empty space. Another hole had opened up in front of him, this one seemingly pitch black. Before he could even react, he fell, but not before he felt something had grabbed his hand. “Aaron!” screamed Button Mash’s voice, “Hold on, I’ve got you!” Aaron tried to swing his other hand up to get a better grip, but Button was already using both hands just on the one arm. The force of Aaron’s swing had caused his hand to slip from Button’s grasp. His other hand managed to grab the sleeve of Button’s uniform, but his weight was too much for it. The fabric tore. Button, with tear-soaked eyes, thrust both arms into the hole trying to find a new grip. However, Aaron was already too far away, and could only watch Button’s face rapidly shrink as he plummeted into the abyss. DuskAaron awoke with a start as something hit his side, hard. “Get up!” A raspy voice commanded. He opened his eyes to a dimly lit hallway. The only light coming from wall-mounted torches, that somehow were also glowing blue. The wall decor all showed the motif of a crescent moon. His head ached. Was this a dream? Last he remembered, he’d been outside, in front of Canterlot High School. “Where am I?” he asked himself. “I said, get up!” the raspy voice called again before something rammed into him. Stumbling to his feet, Aaron looked in the direction of the voice and assault. It looked to be from a small quadruped, about waist height. The creature sneered at him, covered head to tail in armor, armor that apparently included wings. “Move it!” the creature commanded, rearing up and punching him with its foreleg, “Unless you’d rather die right here.” The soreness in his gut told him this thing wasn’t bluffing, and that it definitely was not a dream. Struggling to stay upright, Aaron turned walked where the creature urged. They came to what appeared to be a throne room, with tapestries adorning the walls that portrayed a black horse reared up, bearing wings and a long horn. “The intruder, your Highness,” the escort addressed the throne. That same horse then emerged from the shadow hanging over the throne. “Very good, Lieutenant Dash,” the horse replied, “And as for you, Aaron, isn’t it?” Before he could process what he’d just heard, Aaron suddenly felt himself immobilized in a navy blue aura, a matching glow emanating from the horse’s horn, and hoisted into the air, “What do you have to say for yourself?” The horse accused. Aaron’s mouth went dry. A talking horse? That apparently can lift people telekinetically? “The Princess asked you a question!” Lieutenant Dash shouted, “If you value your life, you will answer her!” Aaron stammered, he didn’t understand any of this. What did he do? What are these creatures? More importantly, “H.. How do you know my name?” The Princess threw back her head and laughed, “Why, the same way I know how you came here,” she taunted, “Which is the only reason we’re having this … pleasant conversation.” She knows how I came here!? Aaron thought to himself, his mind racing, “If, if you know how I came here, could you, maybe, send me back?” “Now why in Equestria would I want to do that?” the Princess mused, “When I have a new race to find, and to conquer,” she met his eyes with a sadistic grin. “You, my dear, are going to tell me everything you know. If you don’t,” the horse’s mane wisped toward him like smoke, and pushed Aaron’s chin upward, exposing his neck, “Well, let’s just say that would be most unfortunate.” What has my life come to? Aaron thought to himself, looking out the castle window toward the rainbow-colored moon. It had been a week since he woke up in this strange world, or at least, he thought it had been a week. Given that he had not seen any daylight since only clocks and sleep guided his sense of time. The talking horse princess, whom he’d learned later was named Nightmare Moon, had given him a small room and writing desk with which to write daily reports on humanity. She was surprisingly trusting, giving him the same freedom of movement as any tourist of the castle would have. Lieutenant Dash though made it clear to him, in no uncertain terms, that this could change at any moment. Not that it mattered, he mused, as long as he kept to himself and didn’t go against orders, then the zealous guard could do nothing but growl. Nightmare Moon wanted him alive, at least so long as he was useful to her, and the lieutenant dared not disobey. In a twisted way, his new life in this world was actually an improvement. True, he wasn’t any more welcome here than he had been at Crystal Prep, but the talking horses that lived, worked, and visited here would, at least, leave him alone so long as he didn’t cause trouble. Also, Nightmare Moon was way more effective at defending him from those who would actively target him. Dash had tried to pin something on him once, he could scarcely remember what it was other than it being a total lie. The Princess had given Aaron 24 hours to dangle as she considered the charge and then declared him innocent. She had then told Lieutenant Dash that the guard’s next such mistake would be his/her last. Dash quickly fell in line after that and hadn’t bothered Aaron since. The castle had a thorough library, on par with Crystal Prep’s, where Aaron often spent his off hours. There, he would brood away the time reading through the closest thing to the sun he could find, an unmarked book with a picture of the sun on its cover. It appeared to be a collection of letters between some Princess Celestia and someone named Sunset Shimmer. In his reading tonight, Aaron came across a new entry, this one to a Princess Twilight. He was going to dismiss the name as someone in this world named Twilight but then saw that this Sunset Shimmer was apparently writing from Canterlot High School, Crystal Prep’s rival. It couldn’t be, he thought, turning to the next entry. Sunset Shimmer’s next two letters referred to someone named Rainbow Dash “ponying up” when they play music, along with something she called “friendship magic,” that was allegedly “changing.” Nothing could wake the boy up from his stupor quite like a new discovery that didn’t make any sense. He looked for a next entry, but there wasn’t one. He couldn’t find any response from this Princess Twilight, nor any more follow-up letters from this Sunset Shimmer. There was nothing but blank pages. Who would put a book in the library with a good fraction of its pages blank? Hitting yet another poignant reminder of how this world didn’t make sense, Aaron once again could only brood over his thoughts. Thanks to this “Princess Twilight,” those thoughts centered around Twilight Sparkle. He could think only of how he could do nothing as she begged for help, how she warped into that demonic monster, and how she had apparently banished him to this dark abode that was fast becoming his home. Aaron tried to stop his tears that were forming in his eyes; he didn’t want to give Lieutenant Dash anything that could be used against him. However, his mental dam had burst, and his feelings had to go somewhere. Drunk on his own sorrow, he looked to the blank pages of the book. Screw it, he thought; if he got caught, then, at least, his pain would end quickly. Twilight Sparkle froze, grinning like an idiot at some strange girl who had just materialized out of nowhere in front of what yesterday had been the curbside statue of Canterlot High School. The girl looked uncannily like her: the same lavender skin, the same purple hair with the same pink highlight. Her hair flew free, however, and she dressed not in a uniform but a blouse and skirt. And yet, her skirt bore a starburst symbol that matched Twilight’s hairclip. “Um,” Sunset Shimmer began with a sheepish smile, “Twilight, meet Twilight.” “Of course,” the new girl face-palmed, “If there are duplicates of all my friends in this world, then obviously there would be a duplicate me!” A duplicate what? “Excuse me,” Twilight Sparkle asked, “Sunset, is this one of those ‘magical problems’ you were talking about?” Sunset put her hand behind her head while the new girl put what looked like her fists together. “Well, magical yes, problem no.” Before she could explain further, Sunset’s jacket started glowing purple and vibrating like a cell phone. Confused, Sunset reached into her pocket and pulled out a brown book with a picture of the sun on the cover. The white skinned girl spoke up, “Good heavens, how could that be?” “Is it supposed to do that?” the bespectacled student asked. “Only when there’s a new message waiting,” Sunset replied, looking towards the new arrival. “Well it definitely wasn’t from me,” she replied. The pink-skinned girl jumped in, her hair bouncing as she came down from the statue, “Maybe it’s from someone in an alternate timeline who found another book just like it but doesn’t know what it’s for and is using it like an ordinary diary.” Everyone stared at the bouncy girl, Twilight speaking up first, “Um, Pinkie Pie, that sounds … highly improbable.” “Yeah, well,” the rainbow-haired girl chimed in, “That’s what we all thought when she said that Twilight here was a pony princess from an alternate world.” “‘Til o’course we found out she was right,” interjected the student wearing a cowgirl hat. “But who could’ve found such a thing?” squeaked the yellow-skinned girl. “Only one way to found out,” Sunset replied as she opened the book to its last filled page. All seven of the others crowded around as she began to read: Dear Twilight Sparkle, I know you probably will never see this. Given that you sent me to this sunless world, I imagine you might prefer it that way. If your time at Crystal Prep has been anything like mine, then you have every reason to hate it. I can only guess at what was going through your head as your demon form tore apart the grounds, assuming that even was you to begin with. Still, we’re not all like that. Not all of us are bullies. Some of us ... at least one of us, do actually care about you. If there’s even the slightest chance you’ll see this, I wanted you to know, wherever you are, whatever you’re feeling, you aren’t alone. Sincerely, Aaron Sunset’s jaw hung agape, both Twilights’ eyes widened, and the remaining girls wore expressions of shock at the message. The uniformed Twilight began to cry, as the weight of her actions hit her, “I, I sent him there? I trapped someone in another world?” As she was about to break down, she felt a hand land on your shoulder, “We’ll find a way to bring him back Twilight,” the princess said comfortingly, "But I’m going to need to know exactly what happened here.” Sunset sighed, “We should probably pull up some chairs, this is going to take some explaining.” “You mean to tell me that you were using raw magical energy to rip apart the fabric of space-time?” Princess Twilight asked incredulously. Twilight Sparkle, sobbing into her milkshake, could only nod in response. “This is bad. This is very, very bad.” “What’re y’all sayin’?” the cowgirl interjected, “Can’t you just hop through the portal an’ git him?” “Applejack,” the princess began, “The portal only works on command because of a device I built around it that’s holding it open.” “You mean, whoever wrote that letter really is in an alternate timeline?” the yellow-skinned girl asked. “I think so, Fluttershy,” Princess Twilight continued, “Remember that time-travel loop I mentioned when I arrived?” All of them nodded, “That was due to a very powerful unicorn named Starlight Glimmer. She infiltrated my castle and used its magic to travel back in time and try to erase my role in history. I chased her through several alternate futures before I finally managed to talk her down and set things right.” “But then, why didn’t he just pop back into our timeline then?” the rainbow-haired girl asked. The uniformed Twilight sniffled, “Grandfather Paradox.” “What?” She asked again. “What she means, Rainbow Dash,” Sunset, with her arm around Twilight as she cried, began to explain, “Is that Starlight’s attempt to change the past would have erased from history the means that she had used to change the past. Then the past wouldn’t have changed, which means the means would be restored, which means the past would have changed, erasing the means again, and starting a big old logic loop.” “Falling into Equestria during one of those time loops, Aaron must have accidentally anchored that timeline’s existence just by being there,” Princess Twilight added, “If we don’t find him and pull him out soon, it could corrupt the entire time-stream, for both worlds.” “Of all the worst things that could happen, this is The Worst Possible Thing!” the white-skinned girl exclaimed, as she fainted into a very confused Rainbow Dash’s lap. Princess Twilight then took a deep breath, and extended her arm out as she exhaled to calm herself, “Now, let’s not panic just yet Rarity.” “But, if he’s in one out of all those timelines, how are we ever going to find which one?” Rarity responded. “We might have caught a break there,” Princess Twilight answered. Twilight looked up at her with a look of faint hope in her eyes, “The message said Aaron was in a ‘sunless world.’ There’s only one timeline I visited that fits that description: the one ruled by Nightmare Moon.” “Not Nightmare Moon!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, then whispered to Fluttershy, “I don’t actually know who that is.” “Nightmare Moon was a corrupted form of our Princess Luna,” the princess explained, “Long ago, she grew envious of Princess Celestia and tried to overthrow her. If she had won, then she would have banished the sun and brought eternal night. During the time loop, I found a timeline where my friends and I hadn’t stopped her, and she’d conquered Equestria.” “So we know where he is, but how do we get there?” Sunset Shimmer asked. “We’re going to need to replicate the circumstances that sent Aaron there in the first place,” Princess Twilight began, “I can work with Starlight to repeat the spell we were using. Twilight, I’m going to need you to use that locket of yours to open a portal to Equestria large enough for multiple people to cross.” “Search and rescue, huh?” Rainbow Dash spoke up, “Count me in!” “No, Rainbow,” the Princess countered, “We need to keep the rescue party small. If even one of you gets stuck there during the mission, then the timeline will still be in danger.” Rainbow Dash wore a pout in response, and she shoved Rarity off her lap. “Sunset, you understand Equestrian magic and were able to safely handle Twilight’s locket. You’ll accompany Twilight to Equestria to rescue Aaron. You are to teleport in as close to him as possible, and ideally, pull him out before Nightmare Moon has a chance to stop you.” “And, what if we don’t reach him in time?” Sunset asked. “Twilight, you told me that larger portals opened up only after your locket had captured a lot of energy, right?” the Princess inquired. Twilight wiped some tears from her eyes and nodded in response, “Then you should be able to use the excess energy to cast some defensive spells if needed. If you find our friends’ counterparts, that might allow you to recharge the locket.” “Um, what d’you mean might?” Applejack spoke up. “You six represent this world’s incarnation of the Elements of Harmony: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Magic.” the Princess clarified, “Only the Elements can generate a spell that powerful. However, in the alternate timeline, the Elements were never found, and not everyone embodied their virtues. I know this is risky, but it’s the best we’ve got. Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, are you ready to save two worlds?” Twilight nodded, “I’ll fix this,” she looked down at that locket that had caused all this trouble, “I have to.” Sunset hugged her close, “I’ll be right there with you. Don’t worry, everything will be alright.” “And since it is our magic powering this whole thing,” Rarity began, “The rest of us will be with you in spirit.” At this, Twilight couldn’t help but smile. Never before had she felt such encouragement and support. “All right then,” Princess Twilight held her hand out, palm down. “Let’s do it.” “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” “We’ll give it our all.” “And set things right.” “For our world.” “And for Equestria!” Twilight placed her hand atop the seven now stacked in front of her. There was no turning back now. The BlindingAuthor's Note I've updated the elapsed time in the human world based on my latest calculations of the time shift between there and Equestria. Always want to be as accurate and plausible as I can. The Blinding Only the idle scratching of quill on parchment could be heard, as Aaron prepared his daily humanity report in his small study. His eyes were glued to the desk, as it was the only thing he could clearly see. The light of his desktop candle, combined with the moonlight coming in from the window, barely extended far enough to even navigate towards the door. The study was small, some would call it cramped. Aaron didn’t mind, though. There was an odd comfort to be found in the silence of the night, and in having a door between him and Lieutenant Dash. His heart still ached as he wrote about his former home, but he had grown used to it. Nightmare Moon had been very pleased with the reports of human technology and set her scientists to work attempting to reverse engineer it. Sometimes, his assignment was nothing more than elaborating on a previous report when the scientists got stuck. Nights like that, such as tonight, were the ones he most enjoyed. Suddenly, the candle blew out. Aaron glanced toward the dying ember, before blinking about to find a match to relight it. Then, a wind began to blow in the room. He looked to the window, but it was closed. Where could this be coming from? The wind grew stronger, forcing Aaron to shield his eyes with his arm. A crackling sound penetrated the darkness, as a circle of lightning began to form. The circle grew larger, light pouring in brighter than any he’d seen since his arrival. Aaron shut his eyes to prevent being blinded by the light as the fissure grew. The room glowed brighter and brighter. A voice rang out, “Wow, Twilight, no wonder you beat me at math.” Twilight? It couldn’t be. Slowly, Aaron cracked his eyes open, holding his hand up against the light. There, he saw a bespectacled figure standing before him. “Twilight Sparkle? Is it really you?” “Aaron?” The figure asked. He nodded. Then the figure ran up and grabbed him in a big hug. “I’m sorry!” she wailed, “I’m so sorry!” “We can do apologizes later,” the first voice called over her shoulder, “Like back on Earth perhaps?” She had her back to Twilight and Aaron, holding open Twilight’s locket to maintain the portal. Stepping backward to try and usher the two of them in, she tripped over a leg of the study’s chair, tumbling into them and sending all three crashing through the door and spilling into the castle corridor. The blinding light ceased, as an orange-skinned girl with fire-colored hair struggled to her feet, “Oh no! The portal!” She then started feeling along the floor, stumbling in the darkness, “The locket, Twilight, where’s the locket?” Aaron was nursing a bump on his head when he felt something poking into his back. Reaching onto the floor behind him, he found the locket, closed shut by the force of his fall. “Um, miss,” he spoke up. “That’s it!” The fiery haired girl replied, “Give it here!” As Aaron, in a daze, handed it to her, a raspy voice echoed from around the corner. “Hey, what’s going on over there!” “Sunset, open the portal, quick!” Twilight said in a panic. “Damn, we can’t now,” Sunset replied, “We can’t risk anypony from this timeline entering our world. Grab my hand, I’ll try a cloaking spell.” Sunset took Twilight’s hand as she and Aaron got to their feet. She then closed her eyes and focused hard, channeling her will through the locket, to channel the magical energy contained therein. Sunset disappeared from sight, as did half of Twilight, with the part furthest away from Sunset translucent, but still clearly visible. “It’s not working!” Aaron hissed to her. “I know,” Sunset whispered back, “I’m trying!” “You better not be trying anything funny,” called Lieutenant Dash. The raspy voice moving closer. No matter how hard Sunset Shimmer tried, however, her cloak just couldn’t fully envelop Twilight Sparkle. “Oh no!” Twilight moaned. She shut her eyes, fresh tears falling down her face, as failure seemed imminent. Aaron’s mind raced; if only I had time to think! “It’s all my fault!” Twilight blubbered. “‘And just who in Equestria is that?” Lieutenant Dash’s voice sounded, threateningly. “Twilight!” Aaron hissed, “Be quiet! You’re not helping!” In response, Twilight just put both hands up to her face, breaking any semblance of a cloaking spell on her, and wailed, “I’m sorry! I’m such an idiot!” as the guard approached the open door. Aaron froze; whatever he was going to do, he had to do it now. Acting on instinct, he tackled Twilight into the wall and pressed his lips to hers as hard as he could to stop quiet the crying. Twilight’s eyes and mouth opened wide in shock, followed in the next instant by Aaron’s. Lieutenant Dash then came to the open doorway, and quickly raised a wing to obstruct the sight of Aaron and a purple skinned female kissing, “Ew, gross!” Dash exclaimed, her eyes shut, “Biped love.” Aaron didn’t dare look behind him. He instead pressed himself close to Twilight and, tried to listen for the Lieutenant's departing hoof steps. Twilight had since closed her eyes again, wrapped her arms around Aaron, and pulled him closer still, her sudden moaning making it really hard to hear. After what seemed like an eternity, he felt a third hand on his shoulder. Somehow gathering his wits to realize that must be Sunset, Aaron chanced a look back at the doorway. Seeing it was clear, he then shoved Twilight away from him with all his might. However, as Twilight was already against the wall, this only sent him falling back out the door, trying to figure out if his face was more red or blue. Catching his breath, Aaron then shouted, “I cannot believe I just did that!” “You and me both,” he heard Dash groan. She was shaking her head and shuddering, as if desperately trying to unsee what she had just seen, before rounding the corner and walking, thankfully, out of sight. Sunset, having already decloaked, then offered her hand to help Aaron up. He got to his feet and, quickly shut the door. “Well,” Sunset started with a sly grin on her face, “That’s one way to avoid suspicion.” Twilight, meanwhile, just slid down the wall and swooned, “I can’t believe you just did that either.” Aaron’s eyes widened, “Oh my gosh, Twilight!” he stammered, “I am so sorry! I just didn’t know what to do, what with the guard and the crying and the...” His rambling, however, was abruptly cut short by a purple finger to his lips, the face that finger belonged to wearing a wide smirk and lidded eyes, “No one's ever done that to me before.” “Wait,” Sunset interjected, “Don’t tell me that was your first kiss.” Aaron then pushed Twilight’s hand away to respond, “That doesn’t count! It was an emergency!” “A love emergency?” Twilight hummed back. Sunset snickered, “Oh my gosh, it was your first kiss too?” “Shut up!” Aaron snapped back. Sunset, however, just burst out laughing, “Oh this is too precious!” “This isn’t funny, Sunset!” Aaron sneered. “It is precious, isn’t it,” Twilight hummed as she stroked Aaron’s cheek, oblivious to quickly rising fury in his eyes. Aaron snapped. He slapped Twilight’s arm away, pushing her aside, marched over to where Sunset was hunched over in laughter and, slapped her across the face. The laughing immediately stopped, “Hey!” Sunset protested, “What was that for?” “To slap some sense into you,” Aaron bit back, “You want that guard to come back and get us all killed?” With that, the mood died, as Twilight and Sunset both looked to the floor, clearly embarrassed by what they’d just done. “Good,” Aaron snorted upon seeing this, “Now that I have your attention, would you kindly open your portal or whatever it is you used and get out of here?” “Wait,” Twilight retorted, finally coming back to her senses, “We came to rescue you. We’re not leaving without you.” “Oh, so I can face Cinch’s punishment for playing hooky the last two weeks? I should’ve known you hated me, just like you probably hate everyone else!” “All week? Aaron, the Friendship Games were yesterday.” “Whatever,” Aaron retorted, “Just make like a hockey player and get the puck outta here. We don’t have time to argue.” “Actually,” Sunset grimaced, “Yes we do.” “And just what is that supposed to mean?” Aaron growled. “It means that failed cloaking spell used up all the energy this thing had,” Sunset responded, “And we’re stranded here until we can recharge it.” “What,” Twilight squeaked, “What about that portal Princess Twilight took to get to our world?” “Assuming we could find it,” Sunset replied, “It would only take us to this timeline’s version of our world.” Sunset shuddered at the thought of what her life, and Canterlot High School, would be like without Princess Twilight, “And I really don’t think you’d like it there.” “So, you mean I’m stuck with you two?” Aaron deadpanned. “Yes, Aaron,” Sunset replied, “We have no way of getting back now, so you’re stuck with us.” “Well,” Aaron relented, “I guess I could quarter Twilight,” the bespectacled girl looked up, hopeful, “Since the guard already knows about you and accepts a cover story.” he clarified, and Twilight’s face fell back down. “But you Sunset, you’re on your own. Lieutenant Dash doesn’t know you’re here, so you’ll have to stay out of sight.” “Lieutenant Dash.” Sunset mused to herself as Aaron opened the door to leave, “Interesting.” Fear and DesireTwilight Sparkle walked through the hallways of Crystal Prep Academy, dodging and weaving through the dense forest of her fellow students. Expressions of pain and fear dominated her face as she tried to avoid the students’ touch. Her efforts failed however, as one after another of her classmates elbowed her upper arms. Somehow, each strike hit the exact same spot, bruising her more and more with each blow. Twilight wanted to cry, but desperately held back her tears. If she cried, her classmates would only attack her more. If only she could reach her lab. There she could be safe. Turning the corner, she saw the door leading to it down the hall. It opened, and Principal Cinch stepped out. She closed the door and took a key out to lock it. Once the latch was sealed, the door vanished. Cinch turned to Twilight and scowled. “That is not your lab, Twilight Sparkle,” Cinch said, walking towards her. The students in the hall all cleared out, making way for the principal. “It is our lab, just as it is our school. We only let you have use of it to do what we wanted. Now, you have betrayed us to the enemy.” “Enemy?” Twilight stammered, “You mean Canterlot…” “Silence!” Cinch shouted. Twilight could only squeak in response, “You have turned against us Twilight Sparkle, and so you are no longer welcome here!” Twilight backed away, only to run into a door that she didn’t remember being there. The door opened, revealing a black hole on the other side. Twilight gasped. “And now, piece by subatomic piece, you will die.” Cinch shoved Twilight through the door, and into the black vacuum of space. Twilight clutched her throat as she crossed the threshold, her chest burning in pain as the air was sucked out of her lungs. Her body turned sideways, aimless in the microgravity of freefall. Her eyes bulged in horror as her capillaries began to burst, bruising her skin. Her vision faded, until she saw nothing but black. Suddenly, she hit something from behind, stopping her. Barely conscious, Twilight felt herself being spun around, and a warm sensation on her lips. At once, the pain in her chest was gone. As her feet touched solid ground, she swung her arms around whatever had saved her, and sucked in all the precious air she could. Her vision began to return, and the image of a boy came into focus. He had brown skin, freckles, and hair of green and blue. Twilight’s mind swam, still recovering from its recent deprivation, “Aaron?” she asked, “Is that really you?” The boy smiled at her, love and compassion in his eyes, “Yes, Twilight. It’s me.” He held her close, warming her space-chilled body with a full embrace, “Don’t you worry about anything my love, I’m here.” Looking over his shoulder, Twilight saw a beautiful meadow, with birds fluttering and singing in the trees. The sun shone brightly over the two of them, it’s light and warmth soothing her. The only pain left in her body was from the bruises left by the other students. Aaron then released the hug and held Twilight at arm’s length. His hands were over the bruises, and the pain in them melted away. “No one can hurt you anymore, Twilight. You’re safe now.” Twilight couldn’t help but smile, as the tears she’d held back earlier fell from her face. Those tears of pain however were quickly replaced by tears of joy, for Twilight could not remember the last time she had ever been this happy, or ever felt this much peace. Behind her, far overhead, sat a wispy cloud, the only one in the sky. Beyond her notice, the cloud shifted from white to blue. It’s border became more pronounced, as if it were more liquid than gas. Light speckles appeared within, as its membrane began blowing in the breeze. Silently, it shot upward, higher and higher, until it was gone. Aaron sat taking notes at his desk, listening intently to the teacher at the front of the classroom. “Remember students,” the instructor lectured, “Your hormones must be resisted. Your academic achievement is paramount. Whatever ‘protection’ you might have heard of online will not work. If you give in to your animal instincts, even for a moment, then one thing will lead to another, and you’ll find yourself catching a disease, or having a baby, or both.” Aaron dutifully jotted this down as he heard something behind him. “Psst.” “Your life, and career, will be ruined. Your base passions will burn you.” Aaron looked back to see that it was Twilight Sparkle trying to get his attention. Her hand was on her lap, with a folded piece of paper hanging from it. “They will consume you.” Aaron reached into his backpack to grab an extra pen, so the teacher wouldn’t think he was passing notes. He reached back to make the covered trade, and palmed the note before placing his hand on his desk to keep the note out of sight. “You will become nothing but a hollow shell of what might have been.” As the health class teacher turned to write some more points on the blackboard, Aaron took the opportunity to open the note. “I love you” it read. “Case in point, Aaron?” Aaron looked up, stunned and confused, “Yes, sir?” he tried to keep up appearances, and keep a straight face. The light scent of smoke reached his nostrils. “What did I just say?” Aaron quickly read notes and recited, “That giving in to your passions, even for a moment, will burn and destroy you.” The smell of smoke grew stronger, and his hand started to sting. “You heard me, but clearly you weren’t listening. Were you?” Aaron tried to formulate a response, but couldn’t think. The pain in his hand increased. When he looked down at it to see why, it was burning. “I was quite specific, young man; I said that you would be consumed, and become a hollow shell of what might have been.” Aaron screamed as his whole hand caught fire, followed soon by his wrist, and his arm. As the flames reached his shoulder he cried out, “Nurse! Bathroom! Something! Help me!” “You will sit and stay where you are you dog,” the teacher retorted, “Class, pay close attention. This is what happens if you allow yourself a moment’s weakness.” Aaron didn’t even notice the stares and scoffs of his classmates as the fire spread to encompass his entire body. All he could do was scream in agony as the flames consumed his flesh. The room fell silent as his eardrums expanded, folded, and tore in the heat. Ashes fell to the floor as his tissues disintegrated. The screaming stopped as his lungs ruptured. A pool of smoldering ash formed beneath him, made up of what was once his flesh and tissues. With no musculature to support them, Aaron’s charred bones fell and scattered around his desk. His skull skidded and turned towards Twilight, who looked into the eye sockets and giggled. “Was it worth it?” she asked, and then laughed openly, louder and louder. The room faded to black, save for a single clump of blue, shimmering like the stars. That too vanished, and all that remained was Twilight Sparkle, pointing and laughing at the blackened skull that had once been Aaron. Aaron sat up from his futon and screamed, his face coated in a cold sweat. He started feeling around his face, torso, and arms, wondering if they were still there. He then looked to his hand, and found it unmarked. He heard something across the room, and turned to see that Twilight had been startled awake from the makeshift bed she’d made on his chair. Quickly looking away, he saw his quarters in Nightmare Castle. His breath and heart rate finally stabilizing, he remembered where he was. “Ah good, you’re awake.” Aaron and Twilight blinked and turned to see Lieutenant Dash and three of Nightmare Moon’s guards standing at the door to the meager quarters. “The Princess has requested you and your... mate’s presence, immediately!” Lieutenant Dash appeared to choke at that word and, for the first time, Aaron could completely relate. Feeling Twilight’s hands on his shoulders as she hid behind him was not helping ease the dread he felt. This feeling intensified as the guards surrounded them, two flanking on each side, one more taking point and the Lieutenant herself bringing up the rear. “Now march!” Lieutenant Dash ordered. Aaron obeyed, forcing one shaking foot in front of the other. He didn’t know what made him feel worse, the girl clinging to his arm for dear life, or the spear poking at his back, driving him and Twilight forward to her first meeting with the dark monarch.
More Than A Game“The winner of the Friendship Games' first event is Twilight Sparkle and Crystal Prep!” announced the home team’s vice principal as the Academic Decathlon came to a close. The uniformed winner beamed at her solid, and surprisingly hard fought victory. Her smile, however, vanished as quickly as it had appeared, for none of her prep school classmates cheered for her. The public school students of Canterlot High rallied around their defeated champion, complimenting her for her efforts. Among the uniformed students of Crystal Prep Academy, though, only one round of applause could clearly be heard. That applause belonged to a lone freshman, way at the back of the crowd. None of the other students joined in, and some gave him annoyed, even threatening looks. He didn’t notice them, though, as his eyes were locked on the purple-skinned beauty who had just won the match. Only his school’s Dean appeared to share any of his enthusiasm as she announced, “After a careful tally of the points, we'd like to present the students moving on to the Friendship Games' second event.” In his excitement, the brown-skinned freshman pumped a fist into the air and let out a “Woo-hoo!” upon seeing his champion pass the elimination round. At this, everyone around him turned to stare. Sensing his apparent faux-pas, he lowered his hand onto the back of his conservatively cut blue and green hair, smiling awkwardly, before clearing his throat and readjusting his taped glasses. With the situation passed, and the event over, the students of both schools began filing out of the Canterlot High School gym, for an intermission before the next event. He was about to do the same, until the Dean called him back, “Aaron, could you wait a moment please?” “Yes, Dean Cadence?” He replied tentatively. “I found this in one of the girls’ bathrooms. I take it it’s yours?” The pink-skinned Dean held by her thumb and forefinger a bookbag, with the symbols אהרון sewn on the front. The bottom of the bag was wet as if someone had dropped it in a toilet. Blushing a little, Aaron replied, “Yes, it is,” while he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to safely claim his lost property. “I don’t suppose you know how it got there?” Cadence asked, with a look of concern on her face. Aaron couldn’t bring himself to meet her eyes, “No ma’am, no idea.” Knowing she wasn’t going to get anywhere, Dean Cadence placed a hand on Aaron’s shoulder, “Well if you do find out, you know you can always tell me.” She then turned and followed the rest of the faculty out, leaving Aaron alone. “Yeah, sure,” he mumbled to himself once the Dean was out of earshot, “If I want to spend the rest of these games stuffed in a locker.” Retiring to one of the, now empty, Crystal Prep buses, Aaron had put away a disinfecting wipe before drying his embattled backpack when the door to the bus squeaked open. In a panic, he ducked under the seats, hoping to avoid whoever had just climbed on board. “Aaron,” called out an orange-haired, brown skinned freshman, “Come on Aaron, I know you’re in here,” the uniformed boy called again. “It’s just me, Button Mash.” Button stood at the center of the aisle as Aaron cautiously peeked around the corner of the seats. Once he confirmed the boy’s identity, he let out his held breath in a sigh, and stood up to greet his friend, “Hi, Button.” “Up for a battle?” Button Mash asked the depressed kid before him. Aaron took his hands from his pockets to open his bag, “If my game survived its dunking.” “Again?” Button Mash inquired incredulously. “Why do you think I have my mom sew my name on my stuff?” he snapped back. “Whoa, easy,” Button held up his hands defensively, “You know I didn’t mean anything like that.” Aaron scowled, “Then what are you here for?” “For a Pokemon battle, just like I said,” Button stated as he sat down next to his irritable companion, “I thought you could use some cheering up. I mean, what are friends for, right?” “Sometimes I think I’m starting to forget the meaning of that word,” Aaron moped. “Hey now, don’t start that again,” Button chastised, “Or I’ll just have to remind you.” At that, Button gave his depressed friend a playful punch on the upper arm. This, at least, got the boy’s attention. Aaron sighed, “Yeah, you’re right. Besides,” he said as he reached up and spun the copter on top of the beanie Button was wearing, “Us dorks have to stick together.” His frown finally breaking. “Yeah,” Button agreed, “Who’d have thought there’d even be ‘nerds’ at a private school that makes as big a stink about academics as this?” “No kidding,” he replied, his mouth breaking into a much-needed smile, “This school sucks.” “Why’d our parents even send us to this hellhole?” Button mused. “Because they think it’ll get us into better colleges to get better jobs.” Aaron snarked back. “Pay to win, huh? More proof that real life is like the worst game ever.” “Hey, at least it lets us help each other, even if it is at a cost,” Aaron joked, “Why, if it weren’t for all the time I’d spent helping you pass your entrance exams, I might’ve been able to skip a grade, just like Twilight Sparkle did.” “True,” Button remarked, “But then you wouldn’t have such an awesome gaming partner.” “And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Aaron stated, as he gave Button Mash a punch of his own. “Hey,” Button yelped, rubbing his arm, “Save it for the arena.” “Oops,” Aaron backed off, “Sorry.” “You don’t know your own strength, do you?” Button asked. “What,” Aaron dead-panned, “You suggesting I punch out whoever did this?” He said, holding up his backpack, “A fat lot of good hitting a girl will do me.” “Yeah, bad idea,” conceded Button, “Still, what do you mean your name is sewed to your stuff? All I see are those weird symbols.” “It’s Hebrew, Button,” Aaron explained, “Aharon, that’s my Hebrew name. You know that I’m Jewish.” “Yeah, I do,” Button replied, walking on eggshells, “but why can’t you just use your given name, like the rest of us?” “Get my old textbook back from that other Aaron who claimed it and maybe I’ll consider it.” “Okay, okay, point taken,” Button said quickly, not wanting to draw any more ire, “Look, let’s just start the game. You really need to blow off some steam.” “You know it,” Aaron replied, turning on his portable gaming console, “You think you can take me?” Button smiled, “Bring it.” “And another one goes to the B-Man!” Button exclaimed triumphantly. “Oh come on,” Aaron protested, “You got lucky. That last Pokemon was infatuated, and confused!” Button Mash grinned as he took a seat in the bleachers, “All’s fair in love and war.” Aaron just rolled his eyes in response. “So, when are you going to ask her out?” “Who?” Aaron blushed, feeling a rare moment of gratitude for the noise around him. The upset loss in the second event had done wonders for Crystal Prep’s motivation. With their undefeated record now in actual jeopardy, they were roaring for a win. “Why, Twilight Sparkle of course.” Button teased, “I saw the way you looked at her when she face-planted in the archery race and don’t think I didn’t notice you cheering for her after she won that math challenge.” “Hey,” Aaron retorted, “That’s not fair! What if I changed my mind. Maybe I’m more into that Canterlot girl who helped her.” “As if, I know you better than that,” Button argued, “Besides, I bet she only did that to cover that her team was cheating.” “Oh come on!” Aaron yelled back, “Don’t tell me you actually buy that crap?” “Seriously,” Button asked, “Then how do you explain that girl sprouting wings in the middle of the motocross?” “I can’t,” Aaron sighed, “But you did notice that that girl never actually crossed the finish line, right?” “Touche,” Button said, folding his arms, “But what about those crazy plant things?” “That the winged girl was fighting off!” Aaron shot back, “Besides,” Aaron started as he turned towards the competitors below, “I don’t think that was Canterlot. Did you see that locket Twilight had around her neck?” “I’m sure you did,” Button scoffed. Aaron shot him a glare. “Not what I meant,” he scoffed. “That thing flew off of her when the speed skating started, and those plant creatures seemed centered around it. Not to mention that, as soon as Twilight got the locket back, and closed it, the creatures disappeared.” “Wait,” Button Mash considered, “You mean the necklace that Twilight’s taking off right now?” “What!” Aaron exclaimed, and quickly pulled out his smartphone. Activating his camera app, he zoomed in full magnification to get a better look. “Oh my God, she’s going to open it!” “Really?” Button said, checking the camera over Aaron’s shoulder, “Cool!” “Cool? Do you know what might happen if I’m right about this?” Aaron stood up, “I have to try and stop her!” Button then grabbed Aaron’s holding him back, “Whoa, man. Assuming that even is some kind of power up, it could help us win.” “Is that all you care about, winning the game?” Aaron asked Button incredulously, “I don’t have time for this; let me go!” “No,” Button maintained, “I can’t let you mess with the event. Do you know what would happen if we lost because of you?” “Button,” Aaron snarled, “You’re starting to sound like the rest of these preppies.” Button was shocked, “How dare you? I’m nothing like them!” “Oh, so you’re not going to just sit back and watch while a bunch of plant monsters tries to eat everyone or worse?” Aaron growled at his companion. “Aaron, this is the Friendship Games. Crystal Prep always wins. I don’t want to be held responsible for our first ever loss!” Unable to wait any longer, at that moment Aaron grabbed Button’s wrist with his free hand, hard, causing him to wince in pain, “Coward!” Aaron shouted. Button Mash fell backward from Aaron’s gaze. He’d seen his friend angry before, but the ferocity on his face, the fire in his eyes, made Aaron appear like a completely different person. “This isn’t a game anymore Button Mash!” He hissed. “This is Playing With FIRE!” Button Mash could only sit and stare, stunned that his friend would direct such anger towards him as that same boy shoved him away and started down the bleachers as fast as his legs could take him. He did not get far. One of the upperclassmen spotted him trying to clamber over him, and grabbed him, “And where are you off to in such a hurry?” he said with a sadistic smile. “Let me go!” Aaron demanded. On the field below, Twilight had stepped forward, starting to open the mysterious locket. “Oh I will,” the upperclassman chided, “After you pay the toll.” That was the last straw. With panic in his heart and hatred in his eyes, Aaron slugged his tormentor for all he was worth. “Ow!” He exclaimed, as his hand flew up to his nose. Looking upon it, he saw that this freshman had drawn blood. That just wouldn’t do. With both hands, he grabbed the kid’s ankle, forcing him to the floor. “Oh, now you’ve done it,” he announced as he hung Aaron dangling onto the next row. His friends sitting there took their cue and commenced beating the snot out of the boy who dared to assault a superior. Aaron could just imagine his bones bruising from the attack, but could only look on helplessly as, down on the playing field, Twilight’s locket fully opened. The beating soon stopped, as everyone present gasped in awe. From the locket emerged what looked like a sphere of pure energy, blowing off Twilight’s glasses and levitating her into the air as it grew as wide as Twilight Sparkle was tall. Aaron looked on in horror, as the sphere enveloped Twilight Sparkle. The energy looked to be consuming her! “Help me!” she pleaded, reaching her hand out as far as she could, seemingly towards him, but it was too late. There was a blinding flash, and Twilight Sparkle was gone. In her place, flew a horrific, purple skinned monster, bearing a crooked horn, and demonic wings. “Twilight,” Aaron cried, blinking through tears. The monster just laughed, “You were right,” she said facing the Canterlot girl that she’d beaten in the first event, “I didn’t understand magic before, but I do now!” With that, what looked like lightning surged up her horn, and into her hand, from which she hurled it at the school’s curbside statue. The charge smashed the marble as if it were Lego, and in its place, a circle of lightning grew, with a glimpse of a strange structure that Aaron had never seen on the other side. This energy then sent spiderweb cracks along the ground, which the demon then used more of her power to widen into more holes. The energy spread, along the ground, up the walls, and even through the air. Space itself, it seemed, was being torn apart around them. Everyone, from Canterlot High and Crystal Prep alike, began running for their lives. Aaron struggled to his feet. His whole body ached, but he had to get down there. This demon had addressed the orange skinned girl as if they had spoken before. Maybe Twilight had spoken to her? It was very little to go on but, if there was anything of Twilight in that beast, he had to try and reach her. He resumed his race down the bleachers, but where he’d expected to find a stair, his foot touched empty space. Another hole had opened up in front of him, this one seemingly pitch black. Before he could even react, he fell, but not before he felt something had grabbed his hand. “Aaron!” screamed Button Mash’s voice, “Hold on, I’ve got you!” Aaron tried to swing his other hand up to get a better grip, but Button was already using both hands just on the one arm. The force of Aaron’s swing had caused his hand to slip from Button’s grasp. His other hand managed to grab the sleeve of Button’s uniform, but his weight was too much for it. The fabric tore. Button, with tear-soaked eyes, thrust both arms into the hole trying to find a new grip. However, Aaron was already too far away, and could only watch Button’s face rapidly shrink as he plummeted into the abyss.
DuskAaron awoke with a start as something hit his side, hard. “Get up!” A raspy voice commanded. He opened his eyes to a dimly lit hallway. The only light coming from wall-mounted torches, that somehow were also glowing blue. The wall decor all showed the motif of a crescent moon. His head ached. Was this a dream? Last he remembered, he’d been outside, in front of Canterlot High School. “Where am I?” he asked himself. “I said, get up!” the raspy voice called again before something rammed into him. Stumbling to his feet, Aaron looked in the direction of the voice and assault. It looked to be from a small quadruped, about waist height. The creature sneered at him, covered head to tail in armor, armor that apparently included wings. “Move it!” the creature commanded, rearing up and punching him with its foreleg, “Unless you’d rather die right here.” The soreness in his gut told him this thing wasn’t bluffing, and that it definitely was not a dream. Struggling to stay upright, Aaron turned walked where the creature urged. They came to what appeared to be a throne room, with tapestries adorning the walls that portrayed a black horse reared up, bearing wings and a long horn. “The intruder, your Highness,” the escort addressed the throne. That same horse then emerged from the shadow hanging over the throne. “Very good, Lieutenant Dash,” the horse replied, “And as for you, Aaron, isn’t it?” Before he could process what he’d just heard, Aaron suddenly felt himself immobilized in a navy blue aura, a matching glow emanating from the horse’s horn, and hoisted into the air, “What do you have to say for yourself?” The horse accused. Aaron’s mouth went dry. A talking horse? That apparently can lift people telekinetically? “The Princess asked you a question!” Lieutenant Dash shouted, “If you value your life, you will answer her!” Aaron stammered, he didn’t understand any of this. What did he do? What are these creatures? More importantly, “H.. How do you know my name?” The Princess threw back her head and laughed, “Why, the same way I know how you came here,” she taunted, “Which is the only reason we’re having this … pleasant conversation.” She knows how I came here!? Aaron thought to himself, his mind racing, “If, if you know how I came here, could you, maybe, send me back?” “Now why in Equestria would I want to do that?” the Princess mused, “When I have a new race to find, and to conquer,” she met his eyes with a sadistic grin. “You, my dear, are going to tell me everything you know. If you don’t,” the horse’s mane wisped toward him like smoke, and pushed Aaron’s chin upward, exposing his neck, “Well, let’s just say that would be most unfortunate.” What has my life come to? Aaron thought to himself, looking out the castle window toward the rainbow-colored moon. It had been a week since he woke up in this strange world, or at least, he thought it had been a week. Given that he had not seen any daylight since only clocks and sleep guided his sense of time. The talking horse princess, whom he’d learned later was named Nightmare Moon, had given him a small room and writing desk with which to write daily reports on humanity. She was surprisingly trusting, giving him the same freedom of movement as any tourist of the castle would have. Lieutenant Dash though made it clear to him, in no uncertain terms, that this could change at any moment. Not that it mattered, he mused, as long as he kept to himself and didn’t go against orders, then the zealous guard could do nothing but growl. Nightmare Moon wanted him alive, at least so long as he was useful to her, and the lieutenant dared not disobey. In a twisted way, his new life in this world was actually an improvement. True, he wasn’t any more welcome here than he had been at Crystal Prep, but the talking horses that lived, worked, and visited here would, at least, leave him alone so long as he didn’t cause trouble. Also, Nightmare Moon was way more effective at defending him from those who would actively target him. Dash had tried to pin something on him once, he could scarcely remember what it was other than it being a total lie. The Princess had given Aaron 24 hours to dangle as she considered the charge and then declared him innocent. She had then told Lieutenant Dash that the guard’s next such mistake would be his/her last. Dash quickly fell in line after that and hadn’t bothered Aaron since. The castle had a thorough library, on par with Crystal Prep’s, where Aaron often spent his off hours. There, he would brood away the time reading through the closest thing to the sun he could find, an unmarked book with a picture of the sun on its cover. It appeared to be a collection of letters between some Princess Celestia and someone named Sunset Shimmer. In his reading tonight, Aaron came across a new entry, this one to a Princess Twilight. He was going to dismiss the name as someone in this world named Twilight but then saw that this Sunset Shimmer was apparently writing from Canterlot High School, Crystal Prep’s rival. It couldn’t be, he thought, turning to the next entry. Sunset Shimmer’s next two letters referred to someone named Rainbow Dash “ponying up” when they play music, along with something she called “friendship magic,” that was allegedly “changing.” Nothing could wake the boy up from his stupor quite like a new discovery that didn’t make any sense. He looked for a next entry, but there wasn’t one. He couldn’t find any response from this Princess Twilight, nor any more follow-up letters from this Sunset Shimmer. There was nothing but blank pages. Who would put a book in the library with a good fraction of its pages blank? Hitting yet another poignant reminder of how this world didn’t make sense, Aaron once again could only brood over his thoughts. Thanks to this “Princess Twilight,” those thoughts centered around Twilight Sparkle. He could think only of how he could do nothing as she begged for help, how she warped into that demonic monster, and how she had apparently banished him to this dark abode that was fast becoming his home. Aaron tried to stop his tears that were forming in his eyes; he didn’t want to give Lieutenant Dash anything that could be used against him. However, his mental dam had burst, and his feelings had to go somewhere. Drunk on his own sorrow, he looked to the blank pages of the book. Screw it, he thought; if he got caught, then, at least, his pain would end quickly. Twilight Sparkle froze, grinning like an idiot at some strange girl who had just materialized out of nowhere in front of what yesterday had been the curbside statue of Canterlot High School. The girl looked uncannily like her: the same lavender skin, the same purple hair with the same pink highlight. Her hair flew free, however, and she dressed not in a uniform but a blouse and skirt. And yet, her skirt bore a starburst symbol that matched Twilight’s hairclip. “Um,” Sunset Shimmer began with a sheepish smile, “Twilight, meet Twilight.” “Of course,” the new girl face-palmed, “If there are duplicates of all my friends in this world, then obviously there would be a duplicate me!” A duplicate what? “Excuse me,” Twilight Sparkle asked, “Sunset, is this one of those ‘magical problems’ you were talking about?” Sunset put her hand behind her head while the new girl put what looked like her fists together. “Well, magical yes, problem no.” Before she could explain further, Sunset’s jacket started glowing purple and vibrating like a cell phone. Confused, Sunset reached into her pocket and pulled out a brown book with a picture of the sun on the cover. The white skinned girl spoke up, “Good heavens, how could that be?” “Is it supposed to do that?” the bespectacled student asked. “Only when there’s a new message waiting,” Sunset replied, looking towards the new arrival. “Well it definitely wasn’t from me,” she replied. The pink-skinned girl jumped in, her hair bouncing as she came down from the statue, “Maybe it’s from someone in an alternate timeline who found another book just like it but doesn’t know what it’s for and is using it like an ordinary diary.” Everyone stared at the bouncy girl, Twilight speaking up first, “Um, Pinkie Pie, that sounds … highly improbable.” “Yeah, well,” the rainbow-haired girl chimed in, “That’s what we all thought when she said that Twilight here was a pony princess from an alternate world.” “‘Til o’course we found out she was right,” interjected the student wearing a cowgirl hat. “But who could’ve found such a thing?” squeaked the yellow-skinned girl. “Only one way to found out,” Sunset replied as she opened the book to its last filled page. All seven of the others crowded around as she began to read: Dear Twilight Sparkle, I know you probably will never see this. Given that you sent me to this sunless world, I imagine you might prefer it that way. If your time at Crystal Prep has been anything like mine, then you have every reason to hate it. I can only guess at what was going through your head as your demon form tore apart the grounds, assuming that even was you to begin with. Still, we’re not all like that. Not all of us are bullies. Some of us ... at least one of us, do actually care about you. If there’s even the slightest chance you’ll see this, I wanted you to know, wherever you are, whatever you’re feeling, you aren’t alone. Sincerely, Aaron Sunset’s jaw hung agape, both Twilights’ eyes widened, and the remaining girls wore expressions of shock at the message. The uniformed Twilight began to cry, as the weight of her actions hit her, “I, I sent him there? I trapped someone in another world?” As she was about to break down, she felt a hand land on your shoulder, “We’ll find a way to bring him back Twilight,” the princess said comfortingly, "But I’m going to need to know exactly what happened here.” Sunset sighed, “We should probably pull up some chairs, this is going to take some explaining.” “You mean to tell me that you were using raw magical energy to rip apart the fabric of space-time?” Princess Twilight asked incredulously. Twilight Sparkle, sobbing into her milkshake, could only nod in response. “This is bad. This is very, very bad.” “What’re y’all sayin’?” the cowgirl interjected, “Can’t you just hop through the portal an’ git him?” “Applejack,” the princess began, “The portal only works on command because of a device I built around it that’s holding it open.” “You mean, whoever wrote that letter really is in an alternate timeline?” the yellow-skinned girl asked. “I think so, Fluttershy,” Princess Twilight continued, “Remember that time-travel loop I mentioned when I arrived?” All of them nodded, “That was due to a very powerful unicorn named Starlight Glimmer. She infiltrated my castle and used its magic to travel back in time and try to erase my role in history. I chased her through several alternate futures before I finally managed to talk her down and set things right.” “But then, why didn’t he just pop back into our timeline then?” the rainbow-haired girl asked. The uniformed Twilight sniffled, “Grandfather Paradox.” “What?” She asked again. “What she means, Rainbow Dash,” Sunset, with her arm around Twilight as she cried, began to explain, “Is that Starlight’s attempt to change the past would have erased from history the means that she had used to change the past. Then the past wouldn’t have changed, which means the means would be restored, which means the past would have changed, erasing the means again, and starting a big old logic loop.” “Falling into Equestria during one of those time loops, Aaron must have accidentally anchored that timeline’s existence just by being there,” Princess Twilight added, “If we don’t find him and pull him out soon, it could corrupt the entire time-stream, for both worlds.” “Of all the worst things that could happen, this is The Worst Possible Thing!” the white-skinned girl exclaimed, as she fainted into a very confused Rainbow Dash’s lap. Princess Twilight then took a deep breath, and extended her arm out as she exhaled to calm herself, “Now, let’s not panic just yet Rarity.” “But, if he’s in one out of all those timelines, how are we ever going to find which one?” Rarity responded. “We might have caught a break there,” Princess Twilight answered. Twilight looked up at her with a look of faint hope in her eyes, “The message said Aaron was in a ‘sunless world.’ There’s only one timeline I visited that fits that description: the one ruled by Nightmare Moon.” “Not Nightmare Moon!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, then whispered to Fluttershy, “I don’t actually know who that is.” “Nightmare Moon was a corrupted form of our Princess Luna,” the princess explained, “Long ago, she grew envious of Princess Celestia and tried to overthrow her. If she had won, then she would have banished the sun and brought eternal night. During the time loop, I found a timeline where my friends and I hadn’t stopped her, and she’d conquered Equestria.” “So we know where he is, but how do we get there?” Sunset Shimmer asked. “We’re going to need to replicate the circumstances that sent Aaron there in the first place,” Princess Twilight began, “I can work with Starlight to repeat the spell we were using. Twilight, I’m going to need you to use that locket of yours to open a portal to Equestria large enough for multiple people to cross.” “Search and rescue, huh?” Rainbow Dash spoke up, “Count me in!” “No, Rainbow,” the Princess countered, “We need to keep the rescue party small. If even one of you gets stuck there during the mission, then the timeline will still be in danger.” Rainbow Dash wore a pout in response, and she shoved Rarity off her lap. “Sunset, you understand Equestrian magic and were able to safely handle Twilight’s locket. You’ll accompany Twilight to Equestria to rescue Aaron. You are to teleport in as close to him as possible, and ideally, pull him out before Nightmare Moon has a chance to stop you.” “And, what if we don’t reach him in time?” Sunset asked. “Twilight, you told me that larger portals opened up only after your locket had captured a lot of energy, right?” the Princess inquired. Twilight wiped some tears from her eyes and nodded in response, “Then you should be able to use the excess energy to cast some defensive spells if needed. If you find our friends’ counterparts, that might allow you to recharge the locket.” “Um, what d’you mean might?” Applejack spoke up. “You six represent this world’s incarnation of the Elements of Harmony: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, Loyalty, and Magic.” the Princess clarified, “Only the Elements can generate a spell that powerful. However, in the alternate timeline, the Elements were never found, and not everyone embodied their virtues. I know this is risky, but it’s the best we’ve got. Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, are you ready to save two worlds?” Twilight nodded, “I’ll fix this,” she looked down at that locket that had caused all this trouble, “I have to.” Sunset hugged her close, “I’ll be right there with you. Don’t worry, everything will be alright.” “And since it is our magic powering this whole thing,” Rarity began, “The rest of us will be with you in spirit.” At this, Twilight couldn’t help but smile. Never before had she felt such encouragement and support. “All right then,” Princess Twilight held her hand out, palm down. “Let’s do it.” “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” “We’ll give it our all.” “And set things right.” “For our world.” “And for Equestria!” Twilight placed her hand atop the seven now stacked in front of her. There was no turning back now.
The BlindingAuthor's Note I've updated the elapsed time in the human world based on my latest calculations of the time shift between there and Equestria. Always want to be as accurate and plausible as I can. The Blinding Only the idle scratching of quill on parchment could be heard, as Aaron prepared his daily humanity report in his small study. His eyes were glued to the desk, as it was the only thing he could clearly see. The light of his desktop candle, combined with the moonlight coming in from the window, barely extended far enough to even navigate towards the door. The study was small, some would call it cramped. Aaron didn’t mind, though. There was an odd comfort to be found in the silence of the night, and in having a door between him and Lieutenant Dash. His heart still ached as he wrote about his former home, but he had grown used to it. Nightmare Moon had been very pleased with the reports of human technology and set her scientists to work attempting to reverse engineer it. Sometimes, his assignment was nothing more than elaborating on a previous report when the scientists got stuck. Nights like that, such as tonight, were the ones he most enjoyed. Suddenly, the candle blew out. Aaron glanced toward the dying ember, before blinking about to find a match to relight it. Then, a wind began to blow in the room. He looked to the window, but it was closed. Where could this be coming from? The wind grew stronger, forcing Aaron to shield his eyes with his arm. A crackling sound penetrated the darkness, as a circle of lightning began to form. The circle grew larger, light pouring in brighter than any he’d seen since his arrival. Aaron shut his eyes to prevent being blinded by the light as the fissure grew. The room glowed brighter and brighter. A voice rang out, “Wow, Twilight, no wonder you beat me at math.” Twilight? It couldn’t be. Slowly, Aaron cracked his eyes open, holding his hand up against the light. There, he saw a bespectacled figure standing before him. “Twilight Sparkle? Is it really you?” “Aaron?” The figure asked. He nodded. Then the figure ran up and grabbed him in a big hug. “I’m sorry!” she wailed, “I’m so sorry!” “We can do apologizes later,” the first voice called over her shoulder, “Like back on Earth perhaps?” She had her back to Twilight and Aaron, holding open Twilight’s locket to maintain the portal. Stepping backward to try and usher the two of them in, she tripped over a leg of the study’s chair, tumbling into them and sending all three crashing through the door and spilling into the castle corridor. The blinding light ceased, as an orange-skinned girl with fire-colored hair struggled to her feet, “Oh no! The portal!” She then started feeling along the floor, stumbling in the darkness, “The locket, Twilight, where’s the locket?” Aaron was nursing a bump on his head when he felt something poking into his back. Reaching onto the floor behind him, he found the locket, closed shut by the force of his fall. “Um, miss,” he spoke up. “That’s it!” The fiery haired girl replied, “Give it here!” As Aaron, in a daze, handed it to her, a raspy voice echoed from around the corner. “Hey, what’s going on over there!” “Sunset, open the portal, quick!” Twilight said in a panic. “Damn, we can’t now,” Sunset replied, “We can’t risk anypony from this timeline entering our world. Grab my hand, I’ll try a cloaking spell.” Sunset took Twilight’s hand as she and Aaron got to their feet. She then closed her eyes and focused hard, channeling her will through the locket, to channel the magical energy contained therein. Sunset disappeared from sight, as did half of Twilight, with the part furthest away from Sunset translucent, but still clearly visible. “It’s not working!” Aaron hissed to her. “I know,” Sunset whispered back, “I’m trying!” “You better not be trying anything funny,” called Lieutenant Dash. The raspy voice moving closer. No matter how hard Sunset Shimmer tried, however, her cloak just couldn’t fully envelop Twilight Sparkle. “Oh no!” Twilight moaned. She shut her eyes, fresh tears falling down her face, as failure seemed imminent. Aaron’s mind raced; if only I had time to think! “It’s all my fault!” Twilight blubbered. “‘And just who in Equestria is that?” Lieutenant Dash’s voice sounded, threateningly. “Twilight!” Aaron hissed, “Be quiet! You’re not helping!” In response, Twilight just put both hands up to her face, breaking any semblance of a cloaking spell on her, and wailed, “I’m sorry! I’m such an idiot!” as the guard approached the open door. Aaron froze; whatever he was going to do, he had to do it now. Acting on instinct, he tackled Twilight into the wall and pressed his lips to hers as hard as he could to stop quiet the crying. Twilight’s eyes and mouth opened wide in shock, followed in the next instant by Aaron’s. Lieutenant Dash then came to the open doorway, and quickly raised a wing to obstruct the sight of Aaron and a purple skinned female kissing, “Ew, gross!” Dash exclaimed, her eyes shut, “Biped love.” Aaron didn’t dare look behind him. He instead pressed himself close to Twilight and, tried to listen for the Lieutenant's departing hoof steps. Twilight had since closed her eyes again, wrapped her arms around Aaron, and pulled him closer still, her sudden moaning making it really hard to hear. After what seemed like an eternity, he felt a third hand on his shoulder. Somehow gathering his wits to realize that must be Sunset, Aaron chanced a look back at the doorway. Seeing it was clear, he then shoved Twilight away from him with all his might. However, as Twilight was already against the wall, this only sent him falling back out the door, trying to figure out if his face was more red or blue. Catching his breath, Aaron then shouted, “I cannot believe I just did that!” “You and me both,” he heard Dash groan. She was shaking her head and shuddering, as if desperately trying to unsee what she had just seen, before rounding the corner and walking, thankfully, out of sight. Sunset, having already decloaked, then offered her hand to help Aaron up. He got to his feet and, quickly shut the door. “Well,” Sunset started with a sly grin on her face, “That’s one way to avoid suspicion.” Twilight, meanwhile, just slid down the wall and swooned, “I can’t believe you just did that either.” Aaron’s eyes widened, “Oh my gosh, Twilight!” he stammered, “I am so sorry! I just didn’t know what to do, what with the guard and the crying and the...” His rambling, however, was abruptly cut short by a purple finger to his lips, the face that finger belonged to wearing a wide smirk and lidded eyes, “No one's ever done that to me before.” “Wait,” Sunset interjected, “Don’t tell me that was your first kiss.” Aaron then pushed Twilight’s hand away to respond, “That doesn’t count! It was an emergency!” “A love emergency?” Twilight hummed back. Sunset snickered, “Oh my gosh, it was your first kiss too?” “Shut up!” Aaron snapped back. Sunset, however, just burst out laughing, “Oh this is too precious!” “This isn’t funny, Sunset!” Aaron sneered. “It is precious, isn’t it,” Twilight hummed as she stroked Aaron’s cheek, oblivious to quickly rising fury in his eyes. Aaron snapped. He slapped Twilight’s arm away, pushing her aside, marched over to where Sunset was hunched over in laughter and, slapped her across the face. The laughing immediately stopped, “Hey!” Sunset protested, “What was that for?” “To slap some sense into you,” Aaron bit back, “You want that guard to come back and get us all killed?” With that, the mood died, as Twilight and Sunset both looked to the floor, clearly embarrassed by what they’d just done. “Good,” Aaron snorted upon seeing this, “Now that I have your attention, would you kindly open your portal or whatever it is you used and get out of here?” “Wait,” Twilight retorted, finally coming back to her senses, “We came to rescue you. We’re not leaving without you.” “Oh, so I can face Cinch’s punishment for playing hooky the last two weeks? I should’ve known you hated me, just like you probably hate everyone else!” “All week? Aaron, the Friendship Games were yesterday.” “Whatever,” Aaron retorted, “Just make like a hockey player and get the puck outta here. We don’t have time to argue.” “Actually,” Sunset grimaced, “Yes we do.” “And just what is that supposed to mean?” Aaron growled. “It means that failed cloaking spell used up all the energy this thing had,” Sunset responded, “And we’re stranded here until we can recharge it.” “What,” Twilight squeaked, “What about that portal Princess Twilight took to get to our world?” “Assuming we could find it,” Sunset replied, “It would only take us to this timeline’s version of our world.” Sunset shuddered at the thought of what her life, and Canterlot High School, would be like without Princess Twilight, “And I really don’t think you’d like it there.” “So, you mean I’m stuck with you two?” Aaron deadpanned. “Yes, Aaron,” Sunset replied, “We have no way of getting back now, so you’re stuck with us.” “Well,” Aaron relented, “I guess I could quarter Twilight,” the bespectacled girl looked up, hopeful, “Since the guard already knows about you and accepts a cover story.” he clarified, and Twilight’s face fell back down. “But you Sunset, you’re on your own. Lieutenant Dash doesn’t know you’re here, so you’ll have to stay out of sight.” “Lieutenant Dash.” Sunset mused to herself as Aaron opened the door to leave, “Interesting.”
Fear and DesireTwilight Sparkle walked through the hallways of Crystal Prep Academy, dodging and weaving through the dense forest of her fellow students. Expressions of pain and fear dominated her face as she tried to avoid the students’ touch. Her efforts failed however, as one after another of her classmates elbowed her upper arms. Somehow, each strike hit the exact same spot, bruising her more and more with each blow. Twilight wanted to cry, but desperately held back her tears. If she cried, her classmates would only attack her more. If only she could reach her lab. There she could be safe. Turning the corner, she saw the door leading to it down the hall. It opened, and Principal Cinch stepped out. She closed the door and took a key out to lock it. Once the latch was sealed, the door vanished. Cinch turned to Twilight and scowled. “That is not your lab, Twilight Sparkle,” Cinch said, walking towards her. The students in the hall all cleared out, making way for the principal. “It is our lab, just as it is our school. We only let you have use of it to do what we wanted. Now, you have betrayed us to the enemy.” “Enemy?” Twilight stammered, “You mean Canterlot…” “Silence!” Cinch shouted. Twilight could only squeak in response, “You have turned against us Twilight Sparkle, and so you are no longer welcome here!” Twilight backed away, only to run into a door that she didn’t remember being there. The door opened, revealing a black hole on the other side. Twilight gasped. “And now, piece by subatomic piece, you will die.” Cinch shoved Twilight through the door, and into the black vacuum of space. Twilight clutched her throat as she crossed the threshold, her chest burning in pain as the air was sucked out of her lungs. Her body turned sideways, aimless in the microgravity of freefall. Her eyes bulged in horror as her capillaries began to burst, bruising her skin. Her vision faded, until she saw nothing but black. Suddenly, she hit something from behind, stopping her. Barely conscious, Twilight felt herself being spun around, and a warm sensation on her lips. At once, the pain in her chest was gone. As her feet touched solid ground, she swung her arms around whatever had saved her, and sucked in all the precious air she could. Her vision began to return, and the image of a boy came into focus. He had brown skin, freckles, and hair of green and blue. Twilight’s mind swam, still recovering from its recent deprivation, “Aaron?” she asked, “Is that really you?” The boy smiled at her, love and compassion in his eyes, “Yes, Twilight. It’s me.” He held her close, warming her space-chilled body with a full embrace, “Don’t you worry about anything my love, I’m here.” Looking over his shoulder, Twilight saw a beautiful meadow, with birds fluttering and singing in the trees. The sun shone brightly over the two of them, it’s light and warmth soothing her. The only pain left in her body was from the bruises left by the other students. Aaron then released the hug and held Twilight at arm’s length. His hands were over the bruises, and the pain in them melted away. “No one can hurt you anymore, Twilight. You’re safe now.” Twilight couldn’t help but smile, as the tears she’d held back earlier fell from her face. Those tears of pain however were quickly replaced by tears of joy, for Twilight could not remember the last time she had ever been this happy, or ever felt this much peace. Behind her, far overhead, sat a wispy cloud, the only one in the sky. Beyond her notice, the cloud shifted from white to blue. It’s border became more pronounced, as if it were more liquid than gas. Light speckles appeared within, as its membrane began blowing in the breeze. Silently, it shot upward, higher and higher, until it was gone. Aaron sat taking notes at his desk, listening intently to the teacher at the front of the classroom. “Remember students,” the instructor lectured, “Your hormones must be resisted. Your academic achievement is paramount. Whatever ‘protection’ you might have heard of online will not work. If you give in to your animal instincts, even for a moment, then one thing will lead to another, and you’ll find yourself catching a disease, or having a baby, or both.” Aaron dutifully jotted this down as he heard something behind him. “Psst.” “Your life, and career, will be ruined. Your base passions will burn you.” Aaron looked back to see that it was Twilight Sparkle trying to get his attention. Her hand was on her lap, with a folded piece of paper hanging from it. “They will consume you.” Aaron reached into his backpack to grab an extra pen, so the teacher wouldn’t think he was passing notes. He reached back to make the covered trade, and palmed the note before placing his hand on his desk to keep the note out of sight. “You will become nothing but a hollow shell of what might have been.” As the health class teacher turned to write some more points on the blackboard, Aaron took the opportunity to open the note. “I love you” it read. “Case in point, Aaron?” Aaron looked up, stunned and confused, “Yes, sir?” he tried to keep up appearances, and keep a straight face. The light scent of smoke reached his nostrils. “What did I just say?” Aaron quickly read notes and recited, “That giving in to your passions, even for a moment, will burn and destroy you.” The smell of smoke grew stronger, and his hand started to sting. “You heard me, but clearly you weren’t listening. Were you?” Aaron tried to formulate a response, but couldn’t think. The pain in his hand increased. When he looked down at it to see why, it was burning. “I was quite specific, young man; I said that you would be consumed, and become a hollow shell of what might have been.” Aaron screamed as his whole hand caught fire, followed soon by his wrist, and his arm. As the flames reached his shoulder he cried out, “Nurse! Bathroom! Something! Help me!” “You will sit and stay where you are you dog,” the teacher retorted, “Class, pay close attention. This is what happens if you allow yourself a moment’s weakness.” Aaron didn’t even notice the stares and scoffs of his classmates as the fire spread to encompass his entire body. All he could do was scream in agony as the flames consumed his flesh. The room fell silent as his eardrums expanded, folded, and tore in the heat. Ashes fell to the floor as his tissues disintegrated. The screaming stopped as his lungs ruptured. A pool of smoldering ash formed beneath him, made up of what was once his flesh and tissues. With no musculature to support them, Aaron’s charred bones fell and scattered around his desk. His skull skidded and turned towards Twilight, who looked into the eye sockets and giggled. “Was it worth it?” she asked, and then laughed openly, louder and louder. The room faded to black, save for a single clump of blue, shimmering like the stars. That too vanished, and all that remained was Twilight Sparkle, pointing and laughing at the blackened skull that had once been Aaron. Aaron sat up from his futon and screamed, his face coated in a cold sweat. He started feeling around his face, torso, and arms, wondering if they were still there. He then looked to his hand, and found it unmarked. He heard something across the room, and turned to see that Twilight had been startled awake from the makeshift bed she’d made on his chair. Quickly looking away, he saw his quarters in Nightmare Castle. His breath and heart rate finally stabilizing, he remembered where he was. “Ah good, you’re awake.” Aaron and Twilight blinked and turned to see Lieutenant Dash and three of Nightmare Moon’s guards standing at the door to the meager quarters. “The Princess has requested you and your... mate’s presence, immediately!” Lieutenant Dash appeared to choke at that word and, for the first time, Aaron could completely relate. Feeling Twilight’s hands on his shoulders as she hid behind him was not helping ease the dread he felt. This feeling intensified as the guards surrounded them, two flanking on each side, one more taking point and the Lieutenant herself bringing up the rear. “Now march!” Lieutenant Dash ordered. Aaron obeyed, forcing one shaking foot in front of the other. He didn’t know what made him feel worse, the girl clinging to his arm for dear life, or the spear poking at his back, driving him and Twilight forward to her first meeting with the dark monarch.
