Sometimes They Call Me Super

by KorenCZ11

Rating: teen
Tags: Sex, Main 6, Applejack, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Other, Thriller, Original Character, Tragedy, Profanity, Violence
Length: 624928

My name is Jaquline Apple, but most ponies call me Applejack. However, that isn't my only name. Every now and again, ponies know me as Marevelous Red. Sometimes they call me Super, other times they call me a Hero.

In a different Equestria than the one we know, a virus broke out thirty years ago, causing mutations in ponies in every way imaginable. Some wished to hide their new powers and forms, while others made quick work abusing them, turning into Equestria's first super villains. The Princesses put out an edict stating that those who wish to fight against these Power Ponies who would do evil would be heavily compensated for their work. It's not until many years later that the first true hero would step up on the city stage, sparking a revolution in Manehattan.

This story was inspired by all the Super Heroes and Super Power shows I grew up with, but after some time creating the world and shaping the characters in it, it became so much more. Twists and turns, changes and escalations await inside the world of Sometimes they call me Super. Our heroes all start out alone and come together to form something that no hero alone could do. Follow the excitement through the eyes of our protagonist and more as they try to defend the city they call home. Welcome to Manehattan.

It's dangerous to go alone, take this!
--[WARNING]--
The comments contain spoilers

Published 2016-05-26 16:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-04-26 16:48:06 UTC

Origin Story II: Street Janitor

Applejack

The city of Manehattan, bein' as strange as it is now, wasn't inclined ta care when another battle happened. Few buildin's destroyed? Just another day in Manehattan. Some new crazy holdin’ up a bank demandin’ money? One of the Supers will get it. Another buildin' is trashed because a villain wanted to? One of the Supers will fix it. Somepony sets fire to the court house, again? One of the Supers will fix it. Ponies are pretty apathetic about Supers these days, but it wasn't that way twelve years ago.

Later that day, Ah had finished signin' paperwork after turnin’ in the villain Ah defeated earlier who called himself the Armored Genius. Not too surprisin', considerin' what he was runnin' around in. A whole 'exo-skele-thingy' or whatever and ya decided ta try and rob a bank in one of the most hero populated cities in the world. Who thinks that? Well, apparently everypony. As of today, this is the fourth Power Pony caught trying ta steal ta get a leg up in the world within the past three days. It’s only Sunday fer goddess’s sake. Hell, Ah don't even know if this guy was a Power Pony ta begin with. He might've just been really smart. Or really dumb, considerin’ what he tried ta do.

“Thanks for waiting, Miss Red. Here's your payment for the capture,” the counter mare said. Finally pulled outta my own head, Ah acknowledged her. The station was fairly large fer a building in Manehattan, but it had ta be, what with all the arrests that were made these days. After the first pony ta call himself a 'Superhero' showed up, the influx of prisoners ta be processed or neutralized skyrocketed in a way that the original buildin' wasn't prepared ta handle.

Because, shortly after he showed up, several other Power Ponies started ta take advantage of the VBTA, puttin’ whatever they had ta hide unique attributes on and runnin' out ta 'save the world.' Some of 'em even put on flashy suits like his. Course, that’s not to say that Ah didn't do the same. As with everythin’ though, this didn't always work. That year also had the highest death toll that the city had ever seen… at the time, anyways. Havin' a power and bein' a hero are two very different things.

“Thanks ma'am,” Ah said as Ah picked up my bag of bits. The cold linoleum floor of the station was startin' ta get ta me, so Ah decided it was best ta leave. There were three other 'heroes' there waitin' to pick up their own bounties and givin' me the stink eye. Armored Genius has been wanted fer about a week, and he had stolen a lot before Ah finally decided he was worth goin' after.

Nopony in the super community was too fond of sharin', especially when the bounties started to break the ten thousands. A lonely job at best, and one ta be ridiculed and envied in at worst. Not a world ta make friends in, that's for sure, save fer a few weirdos here and there, or the odd occasion that the police hire a group of heroes ta bring down a group of gangsters. A long time ago, supers were nice ta each other. But those were in the days of Red Hoof, and it's been a while since then.

Most ponies believe he just left the game after a big fight that ended up destroyin' half the city happened a little over a decade ago. Ah never believed that, but regardless of what actually happened, the city lost its symbol of integrity. Heroes that weren't real strong or needed help faded out of existence when nopony could team up, and eventually, the ones who could work alone refused any partnerships.

Red Hoof's disappearance hurt. Emotionally, and even physically for those that tried ta take his place. Somehow, balance was restored after a few years and some outstandin' heroes showed up, but the city will never be what it was. The world was a scarier place, ever since that day… This city is constantly at war, but somehow, it manages ta get by.

Ah walked out of the station, and just as Ah thought it was gonna be earlier, it was a pretty nice day. The sky was clear, save for a few wispy clouds. It was warm but not too hot, and there was a cool breeze. A rare day in late August ta be sure, but those are just the days that always end up in catastrophe. Ah decided that Ah should head to the rooftops ta keep watch on the ground below because somethin' about today just didn't seem right. From my usual spot in the alley beside the station, a ground shatterin' jump landed me above the eight story buildin' with a view of most of the city.

Ah hated that our apartment was so close to the station. Ah understood that Uncle Orange wanted ta move away after the accident, but right here? Really? This place is a damn target! Amidst my frustration, Ah noticed my brother lookin' out the window across the street. He looks depressed. Probably another failed interview. Or got fired again. Does he have a job right now?

Ah don’t know how he does it, but he loses jobs as fast as he gets ‘em, and he’s had a lot of jobs. Ah can't say Ah blame him for it though. In this city, ya either get lucky ta find a stable job, work in construction, or have a super power and not get killed tryin' ta earn a bit. Tough is the easiest word ta describe the economy here.

Over the horizon, out toward the sea, Ah could see storm clouds. “That's never a good sign. Ah knew it was just too good a day ta be true,” Ah said out loud, expectin' ta be alone. Ah wasn't.

“Oh? And what's so bad about a little rain in the distance? We've been in such a dry spell lately.” Ah felt my skin crawl and turned around as quick as a whip. Somepony sneakin' up on me isn't usually possible. Then Ah realized it's just Diamond and relaxed. Even if she were hostile, she ain't no threat to me.

“Uh huh. Any particular reason you're still followin' me around?” Ah really didn’t care about that, but Ah hoped it would make her leave so Ah could go home. It sucks ta live right across from the station.

“Oh, not really. I was actually in the station when you dropped off that poor stallion you had hogtied on your back.” Diamond was another hero, or heroine Ah should say, because she made it clear ta all that she was a Mare. She wore a black leather suit with pale blue diamond shape cut near her chest, and one of them fancy domino masks ta hide her face. As far as Ah knew she was a white coated unicorn with a curly violet mane and tail.

When Ah got in ta this business, Ah was always told ta make sure that nopony could tell what color my coat was, and do what Ah could about my mane and tail. Diamond didn't seem ta care all to much about that. A little while back, she offered ta partner up with me, but... ta say that that didn't end well would also be easier. Ah don't like her much anymore.

“So then, what are ya doin'? Y'all know that this is my territory, right?” Keepin’ dominance was important. Bein’ shoved out of an area, be it by force or threat, still means ya have no criminals ta put away, or no income in other words.

“This is the station building, if you haven't forgotten, and it is neutral territory. Besides, you have no reason to worry about me. However, I'd like to take this opportunity to extend my-” I cut her off by stompin’ a hoof in the ground.

“For the last time, no! Ah don't want nothin' ta do with yer little club or whatever it is. It didn't work last time, and it's not gonna get better. Now get gone before Ah find a reason ta kick ya out.” Diamond knows better than ta make me mad, so she took the hint and started headin' in the other direction.

“Very well. But this isn't the last time you’ll hear from me, Marevelous Red!” And in a flash of pale gray, she was gone. Damn Unicorns. Powers and magic ta boot.

Ah took a few leaps across the intersection between the station and my apartment after Ah made sure nopony would see me and started to take off my suit. It's been a long night. Time for sleep.

Citrus Root

Morning had come before the capture and arrest of Shark Tooth had finally been processed. When all was said and done, Star never actually told Citrus how much Shark was worth. To his surprise, Shark was worth his weight in gold. Literally. Four hundred thousand bits were to be awarded to his captor. Shark Tooth had been accused of several counts of all forms of crimes, including murder here and there, racking up quite the price on his head. Now that he was in custody, he could finally be tried.

Based on a good estimate, Citrus thought he weighed about two hundred and fifty pounds in his non-bulky form. At the current exchange rate, that came out to a little more than his bounty, which was four hundred thousand bits, or four hundred gold. Citrus had never seen so much gold in his life. After several of the police struggled to gather the reward, Citrus simply took the sack in his mouth and trotted off happily, much to the surprise of the ponies in the station. He finally arrived home just about ready to go offer his brother drinks when he realized was still wearing the ski mask and the belt. His brother reacted violently.

“Blood, itsh mhe! Calm down!” Citrus said through a mouth full of burlap as he fought his brother off. After hearing the first name that hardly anypony knew, Blood Orange stared into the green eyes of his brother. He let out a sigh of relief.

“You should have started with that. What's with the get up? You... You didn't rob a bank did you?” Citrus rolled his eyes.

“No, Ah didn't rob a bank! Just who do ya think you're talkin' ta?” Citrus said after dropping his bag, causing gold bits to spill out of it. Blood frowned.

“Uh huh. And where did you get these, mister apple farmer? You didn't even have a job yesterday, and suddenly you show up with a whole bag filled with... Gold BITS!? Oh sweet Celestia, you did rob a bank!” Blood fell to the ground muttering about how he was going to become wanted by the police, the danger his wife would be in, and even something about running back to the old world.

“Will ya shut up fer one cotton pickin' moment? Look, Ah have a receipt fer the gold. Ah didn't steal nothin'.” Citrus reached into his jacket pocket and passed Blood a piece of paper.

“'The following bounty of four hundred thousand bits are awarded for the capture of Shark Tooth and his gang...” Blood's eyes went wide. “Capture of Shark Tooth!? You took out a mob boss!?”

Citrus rolled his eyes. “Let's just not focus on that. Look! Ah have the money ta support my family now! What's better, Ah think Ah finally found a job! Come on, this is great! Be happy fer a minute, ya damn pessimist!” Citrus stood his brother up, whom then shook his head with a sigh.

“Uncle Orange? Is papa home?” said the voice of a small filly. Out of the second bedroom walked a little orange pony with her apple print blanket, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

Citrus swooped in and collected the filly in his hooves. “Applejack, what are ya doin' up so early?”

“Papa! Ya didn't come home last night...” she said as she hugged him.

“Don't ya worry none, yer Papa just had a late night, that's all.” Citrus picked up the bag and gave it to his brother. “Count that fer me will ya? It's all in gold, but Ah just wanna make sure that everythin's there. Ponies make mistakes, ya know?” Blood was unable to reply while struggling to hold the bag that his brother seemed to lift so easily. He eventually caved in trying to lift it, so he dragged the impossibly heavy bag to the coffee table in the main room. Citrus took his daughter back into the spare room in the Orange's apartment that the Root family shared.

“Papa, Ah think ya got somethin' on yer face,” Applejack said through a yawn. Citrus scratched at the spot she pointed to underneath his eye, and when he pulled his hoof back, he realized that it was a speck of dried blood. Oh, fer the love of the Goddess! If this happens again, Ah'm gonna need a better mask. He shook it off, then put Applejack back in the large bed that the three of them shared. Her brother was still curled up snoring, and her sister was sound asleep in her crib.

“Better?” Citrus asked with a warm smile.

“Better.” She smiled back. Another yawn from Applejack, then Citrus sat with her until she finally fell back asleep. He moved silently into the main room again and took a moment to look out the window. The sun had yet to rise, but dawn was just around the corner.

“Good goddess... Citrus... they made a mistake...” Blood said from behind him.

“Well, Ah figured. Ah doubt anypony has ever seen this much gold outside a bit note.”

Citrus wandered toward the couch, but Blood shook his head. “No... no, you don't understand... this is five hundred gold bits...”

Citrus's ears stood up. “Five hundred!? How in the world!?”

Bits, the legal tender in Equestria, normally came in copper, and each copper bit is worth exactly that, one bit. After you get ten, then copper bits become equivalent to one silver bit. The next step up is when you get ten of those, which comes out to a black bit. Finally, a thousand bits of copper makes up one gold bit.

If one managed to get to the point where gold bits were too heavy (or a little beyond what Citrus has at the moment), then a bit note would be written, and could be exchanged at any bank for that many bits, or an amount to be stored there. Bit notes aren't normally acceptable tender outside of banks, so they were rare to begin with.

Common place items were never worth more than a few silver bits at most, so a few black bits were typically about a whole wage for a week. This many gold bits were something that few ponies outside of banks ever saw, but to miscount almost one hundred gold bits... Perfect. Now Ah have ta find a way ta drop a whole damn bag of bits off at the station.

“So... what do you plan to do with it all?” Blood asked.

Citrus frowned. Another thing he didn't know how to approach. It wasn't like he was 'employed' by anypony, but some of the money should at least go to the city to help repair the damages. Ah did rip up a public basketball court after all... However, one thing was clear. He needed to get out of his brother's apartment. All that Blood Orange knows is that he came into money by turning in a bounty, and that didn't need to change. “Ah don't know. But, my first thought is ta get a house. Ah can't keep takin' up yer spare room forever.”

Blood scratched at his head. “A house? Where are you going to go? You know that one in a decent neighborhood will cost just about all the gold you have here, not including the extra hundred thousand. It’s not as if you have a decent credit score or a record of income, so unless you pay in full, I doubt anypony would be willing to sell something to you. Of course, I assume you plan to return the mistake, don’t you?”

Citrus rolled his eyes. “Yes, Ah do. Ya know who you're talkin' ta, don't get no crazy ideas.” Citrus shook his head and sighed. “Ah figured that much, but Ah'm still gonna have ta look.”

Blood sighed as well. “Right. I'll have Dew ask around when she goes to her office tomorrow. For once, being a realtor might actually be convenient.”

“What do you mean for once? My job is has done more for us than yours has.” From his room, Blood's wife, Glistening Dew, had walked into the living room. Still in her bathrobe, the wet, yellow-orange coated, orange maned mare sat down on the couch. Then she noticed the gold.

“Good goddess! Where did all this come from?” she asked.

“Oh, you know. Citrus is a bounty hunter now, nothing special.” Blood replied sarcastically.

“It ain't like that! It doesn't matter either. Sorry fer wakin' ya up Dew,” Citrus said.

“Oh, I should’ve been up half an hour ago anyways. Since I only came in after Blood decided to insult my job, why don't you tell me why it's relevant?” she asked, playfully poking Blood in the side.

“Ah need a house. An actual house, not just some big apartment. Somethin' that's worth about half of this, but not somewhere that's gettin' shot up on a regular basis or has a high crime rate.” Citrus explained, trying to come up with something himself.

Dew frowned. “And how much is this? I'm sure you already know that those criteria are hard to come by in this city. At least not for cheap anyways.” Citrus scratched his head.

“Uh... this here is five hundred, but only by mistake. So Ah've got four hundred ta work with.”

Dew nearly slid off of her seat. “Four hundred gold!? You were serious!? Who did you catch!?”

Citrus shook his head. “That's not important. Can ya think of anythin', or do Ah need ta go lookin' today?”

Dew rubbed at the bottom of her chin. For a minute, Citrus thought he saw her blue irises light up. “Hmm... I have an idea, but I'm not too sure about the cost. It might be more expensive than what you're budgeting here. Do you think you could get about what you have here in total for me? I could probably find just about anything with three hundred, let alone four.” Citrus scratched at his head.

She'll need three hundred thousand just ta get me a house? That Shark Tooth guy was probably a special case, Ah doubt anyone else in the city has racked up a bounty that high... Ah need ta get a hold of Star... “Maybe... Ah'll have ta get back to ya on that. Blood, would ya mind...” Citrus yawned, “puttin' a hundred of that back in the bag? Ah need ta return it, but first, Ah need some sleep.”

His brother rolled his eyes again. “Sure, why not. I can't even lift it all at once as it is. However, I want a talk out of you later. Normal Ponies can't lift three hundred pounds without trying,” Blood’s piercing red eyes bored deep into him. Citrus' little brother may not have always been the most honest stallion around, but he could always smell when something was up, and his unique eyes made him that much more intimidating. Well, it's not as if Ah was a saint my whole life either. He was also an accountant, so gold weight was something he knew well.

Citrus popped his neck. “Ya know Ah'd rather not, but Ah guess Ah'm at yer mercy here. If the kids don't wake me up, make sure Ah'm up by noon.”

Blood nodded and smiled. “Sure. Go get some sleep, cowpony.” Now it was Citrus's turn to roll his eyes. The yellow stallion made his way to the spare room filled with sleeping foals, and as expected, Applejack had sprawled herself out all over the bed. Citrus gently shifted the filly next to her brother and took the open spot. In mere seconds, darkness took him.

Whatever time had passed wasn't much, and Citrus could feel it. That and the filly jumping on him.

“Papa wake up! Papa wake up! Papa wake up- whoa!”

Citrus rolled over, sliding Applejack off his back and onto the bed. “Go do somethin' else, yer Papa's tired.” He grumbled, putting a pillow over his face.

“But... Uncle Orange said that ya wanted ta wake up at noon.” Noon? Already? It wasn't even seven when Ah got here. This don't feel like five hours of sleep. Citrus mumbled curses under his breath and sat up. The black curtains on the window didn't let much light in the room, but the bright blue square hiding behind them showed that it was midday outside. He scanned the room with sleepy eyes. The baby was gone, and so was the colt. Aside from a pile of boxes in the corner and the crib, the room was empty.

“Well. That didn't feel like enough sleep.” Citrus sctatched at his side and noticed that he'd forgotten to take off his jacket. After a short shot of pain, he figured that he was picking at a scab. He made a quick check, noting that Applejack couldn't see it, then goat a good look at it. It didn't look good. There were three big splotchy spots of dried blood that looked like they'd been clawed at by some kind of beast. Did he use his damn teeth ta do that? Ah don't even remember gettin' bit. Did he have fins or somethin' Ah didn't notice?

“Papa, what are ya doin'?” Applejack asked.

Damn it. “Nothin’ sugarcube. Y'all go on, Ah'm awake. Ah'll meet ya out there in a minute.”

“Okay...” she said warily, keeping her eye on Citrus as she left.

Her instincts are sharp, which is good, but also makes her dangerous. Never thought the day would come that Ah need ta be careful around my own daughter... Citrus stood up and stretched. He was sore on most of his legs, and his left side hurt around where the scab was. Deciding it was best to keep it hidden, he zipped up his jacket. It was a good thing that leather was easy to clean, otherwise, he would've had to explain his sleeves being bloody earlier. Making his way out of the spare room, he was just about blinded by the brightness in the living room.

Brightness... Ah wonder if he found himself a good place ta stay? Ah only had three silver bits on me after all... Ah hope they're alright.

“Ah, he lives. Blood said he needed to go out around eleven, so he should be back soon. I was about to start preparing lunch. Take Applebloom for me, will you?” Dew nuzzled the baby, who responded with laughter before being passed off to Citrus. Applejack and Macintosh were rolling bits to each other at the coffee table, and Dew had something playing on the CD player.

How did Ah not hear all this? He sat down rocking Applebloom and watched the other two spin bits, trying to see who could spin one the longest.

Applejack slid a bit to him and said, “Here Papa, see how long ya can get it ta spin!” The rest of his haul was in an old backpack labeled 'Citrus' next to the couch, and the other bag he'd gotten from the station had the extra.

“Y'all got these from my bag right? Not the brown one?”

Macintosh nodded. “Eeyup. Uncle said we could play with those ones, but not the others.”

Citrus sighed. A whole week here and they haven't gotten their toys out of the boxes. Ah gotta give it to 'em, that takes restraint. They'll make fine adults one of these days. “Alright, let me show ya how it's done.” Citrus set Applebloom down in his lap and took the bit in both hooves. The kids managed to get it to spin for a few seconds before it started to peter out, but Citrus on the other hoof...

His shoes clinked against the bit, and he spun it, making sure not to crush it, but using enough force for it to cause a breeze. The bit spun on the level table, slowly meandering toward the slight dip in its center. The sound of the spinning metal against wood attracted the eyes of the baby and made her stare at it with her siblings.

“Wow Papa... That's so cool...” said Macintosh.

Applejack put her hoof near it but pulled back as soon as she got too close. “It's like... it's makin' wind! Is it a tornado?”

“Naw, it's just spinnin' real fast. A real tornado would suck up half a buildin' round these parts.” Citrus said, thinking back to his childhood. Years ago, Manehattan was grazed by a hurricane that ripped up most of the docks, taking out a good chunk of the east and south districts. Luckily, a state of emergency was issued beforehoof, and the Princesses repelled it, but it still claimed a few lives in the process. There hasn't been a hurricane near Manehattan since.

Only grainy music remained as the three foals watched the gold bit spin in place, mesmerized by all the forces acting on it. When the front door opened, everything about the moment seemed to fall apart, like a spell was broken.

“I'm back!” called Blood.

Dew set down the utensil she was using to stir the pot on the stove top and approached him. “Oh? And did you check on that thing I asked you to?”

Blood frowned. “I did, and it's exactly what you thought.”

Dew frowned with him. “Sigh. I figured as much. Citrus? I have a proposition for you.”

The stallion in question turned his head and saw his brother and his wife looking at him with frowns. “Let me pull the crib out, and Ah'll be right there.” Taking the baby in one foreleg, Citrus went to the spare room and dragged Applebloom's crib into the sunlight, placing it just outside the door. He set the baby down, tickled her until she laughed, then made his way to the kitchen area. Citrus took a seat at the dinner table with Blood and Dew. “Alright, what do ya got for me?”

“Well, here, have a look at this.” She took a messenger bag from Blood and pulled out a few pieces of paper with a Polaroid clipped to it. The picture showed a white house of average size, a small yard, and a brick fence. It was clean, and the sidewalk being bright white was also a good sign. However, all of these things pointed to something he was afraid of. “Three hundred twenty for the land.” Dew said.

Citrus rubbed at his temples. “Really? Just fer this? What's the acreage?”

Dew looked away. “Half... of one...”

Citrus could feel his heart twisting. The Orchard was several hundred acres, the kids had all the land they could ever dream of to play on. This was… a significant downgrade. Letting out a sigh he didn’t want to, Citrus asked, “Where is it?”

Dew sucked in air through her teeth. “It's just before the outskirts, in the suburbs, a little ways south of here.” She said through a false smile.

Ah. At least it's not too far away, still in the north district. And Ah'll have... somethin’ fer the kids ta play on. But... that leaves me about eighty gold left, provided Ah just want a house with no working plumbing, no electricity, no furniture other than a mattress, no place ta store food, and no heating. At the beginning of winter. Citrus closed his eyes and started to massage his head with his hooves. Silence struck the room as the CD scratched, skipping in the player.

“Ah'll take it,” he finally said, after one of the kids got tired of the skipping and stopped it. Blood and Dew were shocked.

“You'll take it? Just like that? You know I said that was just the land right?” Dew asked.

“Citrus, you don't even have a job. How are you going to pay for anything after you get the house? I know it's eighty gold, but that's not going to last more than a few months if you have to buy appliances and furniture...” Blood said, trying to figure out a solution. Citrus shook his head and got out of his chair.

“Ah know. Ah know all of that. But Ah know what Ah'm sayin' here, Ah promise. Yer company put this up fer sale right, Dew?” She nodded.

“Yes, we did. The only reason I knew about it is because the previous owner just sold it to us a few weeks ago. I'll see if I can't lower the base price, since you intend to buy the land outright, but I don't think I'll be able to get more than twenty off at most. And then, we can run it through my family discount, so at minimum you'll get five percent taken off here.” Citrus scratched at his head, then got up and started for the door.

“Hey, where are you going?” Blood said forcefully.

Citrus looked him dead in the eyes. “Ah need ta get some more coin scraped up if Ah want ta even think about payin' fer all the things Ah'll need. So, Ah'm gonna go talk to my... er, contractor. Ah'll be back... late. Maybe even in the mornin'. Look after the kids will ya?”

Citrus then turned to Dew. “Go ahead and buy the land fer me Dew. Ah'll sign and pay whatever, as long as it gets me moved in with at least basic utilities. As long as it leaves me with fifty, Ah'll make do.” And before anypony could object, Citrus was out the door.

Ah'd better run into that kid soon. Ah need information and Ah need it fast. Fifty thousand should be enough to get Macintosh started in school again, and if Ah can start searchin' fer bounties, then Ah might be able ta get some money saved away fer everythin' else.

Citrus had been walking for a grand total of twenty minutes before he bowled somepony over.

“Hey, watch where you're-” The voice was familiar to him, a young stallion with an accent native to Manehattan. When Citrus looked down, he saw a gray colt with a white mane and tail, wearing his hat.

“Oh, thank Celestia! Ah've been lookin' fer ya!” he said as he stood Star up.

“Oh geez, it really is you. Here's your hat back, guy. I thought you said the park at noon? What happened to that?” Star asked as he gave Citrus his Stetson.

“Thanks, kid.” He put his hat back to its rightful place. “Ah ended up sleepin’ longer than Ah wanted ta. Did ya find a place ta stay last night?”

Star nodded. “Yeah. Since Shark and his gang are all locked up now, the place I'd been livin' at was free. Well, to me at least. Brightness is still there.”

Citrus sighed in relief. Well, that's one thing off my mind. “So, wait. Where is this place? Are ya up to somethin', or can we go there and talk?” Star smiled, and tried to throw a fore leg over Citrus. He failed on account of Citrus being massive in comparison, but the message was received.

“Naw, I was lookin' for you, man. Come on, I'll show ya there.” The two walked back to the intersection they first met at, and then down a string of alleyways. Each one had a new mark over the old Shark Tooth gang symbol, a cancel symbol in bright red spray paint. Ah guess Star wanted ta make it known that Shark isn't around here anymore. They passed through the basketball court, and Citrus got the chance to see all the damage he'd done.

The court itself was just about unrecognizable, save for the one goal post that was still standing. All the lines and a good chunk of the concrete toward the opposite end was missing, the goal post was horribly contorted, the entire court had Shark’s hoof prints in it, and the bleachers toward the announcers box were all smashed... and covered in dried blood. This place is a mess. Ah hope he can find me work, then maybe Ah can pay ta have it fixed. Citrus sighed.

“What?” Star asked.

“It's nothin'. Ah'm just... concerned fer the future.”

Star turned to give him a suspicious look, then carried on. “Well, a’ight. Look, we're almost there.” Star was pointing to a small building, a house that had been horribly vandalized, but with windows still intact, which was a surprise for this area.

As they drew closer, the door opened to reveal a small white filly eagerly waiting inside. “Hi mister Red Hooves!” She said, much stronger than she did yesterday, or this morning, whenever it was. Last night was a long one.

“Hey there little one. Ya get some food?” Citrus replied. She looked clean, and not completely starved at the moment, even if you could still see her ribs just underneath the skin.

“Yes sir. Come on in, Star has a surprise for ya!” The filly retreated inside, and an angry Star chased after her.

“Damn it! I told ya not to say anythin'! Come 'ere so I can pummel ya!” Left alone outside the old brick house among abandoned factory buildings, Citrus decided that he might as well go in. A surprise? Fer me? What could he have possibly done? Shrugging after he couldn't think of anything, he opened the door and followed inside. The house itself was a dusty mess. There was a diesel generator plugged into a refrigerator, dusty windows, dirty furniture, most of which was missing a piece or had stuffing showing, a ratty old radio, and newspapers everywhere. Citrus picked one up and read the title.

“Unknown citizen saves ponies from collapsing building, Applewood Times. Just when it looked like all was lost, the ponies of the Applewood Textile factory made a shocking escape when an unknown citizen zoomed through the building, taking everypony to safety one at a time, all in under a minute.” Under a minute? Sounds like a good Samaritan Power Pony. Citrus put that paper down and moved on to the next one.

“Unknown citizen performs an unusual feat, saving the day, Canterlot Daily. A freak accident in a local laboratory caused a huge chemical fire in the city, quickly spreading from one building to the next, trapping ponies before an alarm was even set off. However, by some miracle, before the fire department was even mobilized, the fires were all neutralized.

“The ponies present say that a massive wave of cold somehow came through and the fire simply died out. Reports say that the floors of most buildings were still frozen when the fire department arrived. Several eye witnesses say they saw a pale blue coated pony near all the ice as the fires began to calm down.” Hmm... Now hold on a minute...

Every paper, every front page detailed some Power Pony's act that saved other ponies, or prevented further injury. However, each one was dated at least as of five years ago, and none of them were from the Manehattan Bugle.

“Star, what is all this?” Citrus called out, not exactly knowing where the two kids went after making it inside. He looked around until he noticed a staircase at the back of the house on the opposite side. The sound of hooves on wood shortly followed, and then Star popped his head out from behind the staircase wall.

“Okay, I'm ready. Come on up.” Star then retreated back up the stairs. Rolling his eyes, Citrus followed the colt up what seemed like an impossibly tall staircase. When he finally scaled the third flight, he reached an open area that looked like a workshop with a sewing machine, pictures, cameras, newspapers, and... a printing press?

“Ta-dah!” The kids said together, holding out what looked like a vinyl suit. It was bright red along the legs and sleeves, and white for the torso. On the flank of each side, there was a symbol that looked like a hoof being swung upwards. At the neck it had a bright red cape that was about the size of a blanket, bigger than Star at least. The suit looked like it continued after the neck but was folded at that point.

“Uh... what is that?” He asked.

“It's your super suit!” Star exclaimed.

“Yeah, you can go around saving ponies like me all the time in this!” Brightness exclaimed in a much higher pitch.

“Doin' what now?” Citrus asked, more confused than he was before. Star rolled his eyes and put the suit over a manikin near the printing press.

“Look, ya said that ya didn't have a job right?” Star asked.

“Well, no Ah don't exactly have one of those at the moment...” Citrus sighed, still ashamed of the fact.

“Well, neither do I, at least now that you nixed my boss, which I'm still totally happy about by the way. So, after ya left I got to thinkin'. We could be partners, you an' me. You're a Power Pony, you've got kids, and no job. I've got my sister to take care of here, but out of the two of us, she's the only special one. And the last piece of the puzzle, this Manehattan has nopony who's willin' to try an' save it. In case ya don't know, there are bounties out there like Shark, still in the city. Shark Tooth was a big time guy, but he was one of five that are worth about the same or more.”

Five!? There are five, four hundred thousand bit bounties out in this city!?

“The problem is, the police have no way of locatin' these mob bosses, as every informant they try and send out gets bumped off, and usually left as a bloody message to tell the fuzz to lay off. Combine that with dirty cops, and you have a situation that's perfect for dealers, traffickin', and all kinds of theft. This city sucks, and there are more and more innocent deaths because of turf wars and traffickin' every year. Ponies go missin', places get shot up and robbed, and there ain't many outside of a princess herself commin' down to stop it.”

Has it really gotten that bad? Sure, the old mafia has been around ever since even Ah was a kid, but they were never this bad... Ah knew the Capo, the guy at least had some honor...

“So, wait, what happened to Franco Polo? Wasn't he the one who kept the underworld in check?” Citrus asked. Star knew a lot, it seemed. Maybe he would know something.

“Franco Polo. I haven't heard that name since I was a kid. Well, when Power Ponies started showin' up, things started to get dicey around here. About five years ago, Polo was taken down by a new gang callin' themselves the Mutants that rolled in and took the city by storm. The stallion that leads it is known as Brute Force, and he controls the northern sector of the city. I've only ever gotten one picture of him, but the dude is nastier than Shark on a good day. As much as he was a slime ball, Shark was kinda like the good Don, ya know?

“Brute looks kinda normal, save for his face is all scarred up on the left side, and ya know, he’s like twice your size. He's got a light tan coat and a dark red mane. Nopony knows what is cutiemark is though, so I've heard that when he goes out in public, he always has at least one double on him.”

Citrus frowned. The northern side? Ah live in the northern side. The house Ah just bought is in the northern side. Ah don't want a mob boss around my kids... “So uh... what's this guy's M.O.?”

Star smiled. “Oh, so you're interested in him, huh? Well, if we’re honest here, he's true to his name. Most of the reports that have him as the accused show that the victim has their head bashed in by somethin' heavy and hoof shaped. If I had to guess, I'd say that his power is about the same as yours.”

Citrus frowned again. “That's unsettlin'.” Maybe it might be in my best interest ta try and catch this guy myself. Money would be nice, especially if he's worth as much as Shark was, but more importantly, Ah don't wanna put my kids in danger just because Ah decided to move away from the safer part of the city. But somethin's still buggin' me. “Star, how do you know so much about all this?”

Star left eye contact and looked away. “Well, uh... You remember my parents? How they were caught makin' off with Shark's money?”

Citrus thought back to last night. Didn't he say somethin' about that before the fight? “Yeah, what about it?”

Star looked down. “Well, the truth is, they were cops. Both of 'em. Shark had gotten a hold of a bit note and started counter fittin' em'. The 'money' they tried to get away with were the fake notes. If they'd made it to a station, or another officer, then they would have finally had the proof they needed to put the bastard away. But he found out, and he had them trapped in a buildin' with explosives planted at the supports. The fake notes got burned, and that was worth about six million, on top of the money it took to make them. They caught me and Brightness a few weeks afterward, and you know the rest of the story...”

Poor kid. He didn't deserve this, neither of them did. Ah'll fix this. Ah'll clean this rotten city up, even if Ah have ta do it alone. Ah can't have my kids grow up in a place as awful as this, and these two shouldn't have ta either. Citrus nodded. “Ah'll take it.”

Star was confused. “You'll take what?”

“Yer suit. Ah've made up my mind. This place needs a janitor, and Ah'm willin' ta take the job. Even if it means runnin’ around in a red and white suit.” Citrus grabbed the suit off the manikin and looked for a zipper.

“Y-ya mean it? You're gonna be a super hero?”

“No, a janitor. If anypony asks, Citrus Root is a street janitor. Red Hooves, however... Red Hooves can be yer super hero.” The mask zipped off at the neck, and the neck had another zipper that ran down the side. He unzipped everything, and slid his lower half into the suit, which was surprisingly well fit. The mask, however, was a different story. It was big enough to fit his head, but it was so tight that his mane covered his eyes in it. It wasn't worth much if he couldn't see.

“Where did ya get this? Ah guess it really don’t matter, but could y'all get somepony ta let it out a little by the face?” He asked, struggling to take it off.

“Oh, uh, well, I uh... I could do it for ya... I mean, I'm the one who made it, so...”

Citrus finally the mask off and then stared dumbstruck at Star. “You made this?”

“Y-yeah, what of it? Just because I-I can sew doesn't mean...” Star stammered off.

Citrus put a hoof over his shoulder. “Are ya kiddin' me? That's amazin'! Ah can't sew worth my life, and this feels like somethin' real expensive outta some fancy athletics store! How did ya get it together?” Citrus asked.

“W-well... it's just somethin' I do. Once I see somethin' I can just kinda, make it, ya know? Even if it's in my imagination. I'm not really good with anythin' but clothes, but when Bright called ya Red Hooves, it just kinda came to me. The rest was easy. I just used that extra cash to get the materials I needed. I actually finished it this morning.” Star said, with a big bashful smile on his face and bright red cheeks.

Citrus frowned. “Ya didn't buy food? Ah thought ya needed money ta live!” Citrus was a little upset knowing where his last few silver bits actually went. He had more than plenty now, but the principle is what mattered.

“I did, but not after ya got rid of Shark! I still live here, if ya didn't notice! I had enough food for the both of us, I needed money to get Brightness back! Don't go off on me after I spent all night makin' you a gift!”

Citrus sighed and shook his head. “All right, all right, Ah get it. Thanks, Ah really appreciate what ya did fer me here. Ah guess the next step would be to figure out where this Brute guy is.”

Star shook his head and pointed at Citrus. “You what!? You literally just caught Shark, and now you wanna go after his better next!? Can't ya start with somethin' small time first?”

Citrus shrugged. “Ah used the last reward to buy a house in the northern district. Ah don't want my son goin' ta school in a mafia run area. If Ah'm gonna clean up the streets, might as well start around home.” Star put his head in his hooves.

“Sweet friggen' goddess, you're gonna get killed.” After sitting in her spot quietly for most of the hour, Brightness finally spoke up.

“I think he can do it.” The two turned to the filly.

“Listen, Bright, hon. I don't think you understand just what we’re talkin' about here.” Star said, putting his hoof on her head. She knocked it away and buzzed around him like a humming bird on her little wings.

“No, I know exactly what you're talkin' about. Don't forget, Shark Tooth kidnapped me, not you. I know what Shark could do. He beat up a damn metal post for fun just to keep me afraid! I know Mister Red Hooves is strong enough to beat him, so I think he could beat anypony!” She said, trying her hardest to defend Citrus.

“How old is she?” Citrus asked over her head.

Star sighed. “Bright is eight.”

Citrus leaned down and got her attention. “Look, sugarcube, Ah'm glad that ya believe in me. But ya shouldn't go around cussin' like that. A sweet lil' filly like y’all ain't got no place fer them words.”

Brightness put on a smug smile. “Oh yeah? How about you say that to me after I tell you what my power is.”

“Wait. Is she?” He looked to Star, but Brightness stomped his attention back to her.

“Hey! You're not talkin' to him, you're talkin' to me. I might be little, but I'm the Power Pony in the family. I'm a diviner of sorts. I can tell you the location of anything I've ever touched. I've been this way ever since I was born.”

Citrus' interest was caught. Brightness. Well, that's one mystery clear. “Alright. So, you're tellin' me you've touched this Brute Force guy?”

She buzzed up to meet him eye to eye. “That's right. I bumped into him once when Mom and Dad were on a job at a coffee shop that he owns. Their scones are really good. You bring me a map of the northern district, and I'll tell you where he is. But there's a catch.”

Citrus frowned. He didn't like where this was going. “Fine. Name yer terms, filly.”

The pegasus smiled. “Perfect. We want a cut. Star, what's the bounty on Brute Force?”

Star shook in place. “Oh goddess, she's at it again. This is the kinda crap that gets you in trouble, Bright!”

The filly rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. We gotta eat, and I know that taking a little bit of his bounty is gonna be more than you could ever make workin' at WcDonalds. What's the price, Star.” She said, adding emphasis to her brother's name. Damn. This filly is scary. At such a young age too. She'll either make a terrifyin' boss, or a big company CEO one day.

“Five hundred G’s.” Star said.

Citrus almost dropped his jaw on the floor. “There we go. Was that so hard, big brother? Ten percent outta do it. I don't know math all that well, but with a number that big, it'll still be a whole lot of money.”

Citrus tried to shake the shock out of his system. Five hundred thousand? Sweet Celestia, Ah wouldn't need ta make another arrest fer the rest of the whole damn year! And ten percent is only about fifty thousand... these kids should be in good shape, but Ah'd rather them be better off than that. “Ah'll do ya one better, and give ya twenty. Ah'll be back tomorrow. As long as ya got the mask fixed, Ah'll go out and catch this guy tomorrow night. We good?”

Star was about ready to pass out thinking about all the money, and Brightness had crossed her hooves and nodded. “I'd say so. See ya when you get back, mister Red Hooves,” she said, never taking off her smirk. It sent a shiver down Citrus' spine.

“Call me Citrus out of costume. Ah think that the three of us together are gonna make this city a nice place ta live again.” He stuck his hoof out to shake hers. She responded in kind.

“That and make us a whole lotta money! We might even be able to buy mom and dad graves after this!” She said looking to Star with hopeful eyes.

It hurt a little, knowing that a filly this age was looking to purchase a tombstone. He sighed and took the suit off. Tomorrow, this would see it's first day in action. Let's just hope it holds out. If Ah get the sneakin’ suspicion that this Brute Force guy ain't gonna come quietly. If he's got a power like mine then... Ah'll either out smart him, or die tryin'. And Ah'd rather not have my own eight-year-old lookin' fer a tombstone too...

Origin Story III: Rise

Author's Note

Applejack's nightmare is to be read with this in the background.

Origin Story III: Rise

Applejack

Ah remember it bein' real dark. Cold, maybe in winter or somethin'. There was somepony in a black and white suit, a mirror on his chest. He was turned around lookin' at somepony else. Ah could see him, it was Red Hoof. But, even though Ah saw Red Hoof, Ah heard Papa's voice commin' from him. He kept yellin' at me,

'Applejack, run! Applejack, run! Jaquline Apple, RUN!' When he said the name Mama gave me, Ah did what Ah was told. It hurt real bad, but Ah ran as fast as Ah could. I could hear the sound of bendin' metal, the creaks and crackin' of concrete all around. The area was destroyed, most of the buildin's around were just rubble. Those two had been fightin' fer an hour now, a good portion of the northern side of the city was completely wrecked. It was some ways away from the house, Macintosh was at home with Applebloom. All Ah could think about though, was Papa.

Ah didn't know where he was. Ah thought Ah had followed him out here before the rain came in, but Ah lost him. It was after school, on some stormy day. An explosion went off somewhere near, Red Hoof and the other Power Pony had crashed in ta another buildin'. The other one kept shoutin' at him,

“It's all your fault! She's dead because of you! You took my wife, I'll take your life!” The words were so clear, but the voice sounded fake. Then Ah saw it. The big buildin' couldn't support itself anymore. Those two were still in it. It started ta come down. Neither of them had escaped yet. It kept fallin', just like a tree chopped from the base. Ah remember yellin', “Get outta there Red Hoof!” as loud as Ah could. But the only figure that left was the black one. Shot off, like he'd been punched by all of Red Hoof's might. The buildin’ crashed. Red Hoof never left.

Ah was shocked, stuck in place. The world all around me lost sound, all Ah could hear was ringin'. There were ponies tryin' ta get away from the scene still, police tryin' ta maintain order. Ah felt my legs kick in ta gear, runnin' toward the collapse. Ah saw the black clothed pony walk back ta the collapsed buildin'. His hooves were stained red. He walked toward where Red Hoof was, and then, he jumped away. Ah tried ta reach him, Ah knew it couldn't be. Red Hoof never lost. It couldn't happen. Ah kept runnin', but then one of the police had grabbed me.

“Stay back, little filly. It's dangerous this way,” he said, pickin' me up with his magic.

Ah kicked and screamed, “No! My papa is in there! Let me go, he's still in there! Let me go! Let me-

“Go!” Ah woke up in my bed, back at the apartment. Ah was breathin' real heavy and it looked like Ah’d sweat a ton. Damn it. That nightmare again... Before Ah’d noticed, Ah was sittin' up straight, lookin' out my bedroom window. The sun had gone down most of the way. It was probably six or seven PM, maybe somewhere in between.

“Wasn't there somethin' Ah was supposed ta do tonight?” Ah thought aloud. Shortly there after, Ah started shiverin'. Another cold sweat. This is gettin' outta hoof. Ah managed ta get outta bed before my sister came in ta remind me exactly what Ah'd forgotten.

“Applejack, are ya ready ta go?” Applebloom asked as she walked inta my room. Ah hate it when she does that. She almost caught me gettin' outta costume once because she doesn't understand the concept of knockin'.

“Ah've told ya once, Ah’ve told ya a thousand times, knock first, please?” Unusually, she had some kind of jacket on and her mane looked done up.

“Well, Ah'm in now, so Ah guess it doesn't matter does it? Are ya ready or not?” She asked, clearly frustrated. Then it hit me. Ah was supposed ta take her ta her friend's birthday party. Twenty minutes ago.

“Oh, crap. Uh, yeah, just give me a minute. Go wait by the lobby, Ah'll be right there.” A quick eye roll, and Applebloom was gone. Ah sighed. If she'd come in any earlier, and Ah woulda had ta explain that Ah'm havin' nightmares.

Applebloom is on the verge of turnin' seventeen, and one of her friend is doin' so today. She happens ta live on the west side, just a few miles away from here though, and there's still a good sized gang of Power Ponies over there.

Fer whatever reason, criminals were either harder ta find or better at hidin' after Red Hoof disappeared. The guy had some kinda talent fer just happenin' upon 'em or somethin'. Nopony ever found out how he was so good at what he did, and nopony knew what his actual special talent was. It honestly coulda been anythin'. But, we try our best. Gangs pop up faster than weeds around here, so it's not always the safest thin’ ta be walkin' around alone. Especially when you're sixteen and pretty.

The unfortunate part of Applebloom gettin' up in age is that she's even more of a target fer all the things that go on in the underworld here. Mares like her go missin' all the time around these parts, and it's usually too late by the time a hero or the police finally get 'em. It's a cold place, this city.

Speakin' of, fall was startin' ta roll in. Applebloom's birthday is in late October, and September was just around the corner. It'd be nice if Ah could get her somethin' special. Maybe Ah'll see if Ah can't pull from my school savin's, or just pick up a decent bounty soon. Yeah, that would be real nice. Ah grabbed my hat, Pa's old hat, off my coat rack, and the old leather jacket he used ta wear. Macintosh out grew Pa, endin' up bein' a pretty huge guy, so Ah'm the one who wears it now.

Uncle Orange didn't do so well after aunt Dew died, even worse so when Pa followed suit or went missin'. His health had been in decline ever since, but fer the last couple of years he's been stable at least. He tried his best ta help Macintosh get through school, but couldn't get together the coin ta put him through college and feed the three of us, so Macintosh had ta try and pay fer himself. It hasn't worked out well. He can't keep a job and do well at the same time, so he's just decided ta put it off fer the time bein'. He got enough debt just tryin' ta get an Associate's at a decent school, he don't need more.

Even though he forewent school this term, he's had real trouble keepin' a job fer more than a month. He's not got a power like Ah do, well... as far as Ah know, and his skills are best used outside, but he's just a big klutz. He breaks more by accident than he repairs intentionally. He keeps gettin' told ta either go inta farm work, or somethin' with numbers. Either would be nice, but he refuses ta be a farmer after what the Apples did ta Pa, and there aren't any jobs available fer the latter around these parts.

Banks get robbed on a weekly basis, and tellers happen ta have a high mortality rate. Ah don't let him look fer a job like that. Ah mean, what's the point if he dies just tryin' ta live? Maybe it makes me a hypocrite, but if he's safe, It's one less thing Ah have ta worry about. Ah'd finally made my way down the staircase ta the lobby, where Applebloom was impatiently waitin' on me.

“How long does it take ya ta get down the stairs? You can get down ta the ground floor in a minute, Ah've seen ya do it!” She said, more irritated now. Once, she caught me testin' out my powers about ten years ago after Ah realized they were there. She never lets me forget about it. Ah jumped off the ten story buildin' tryin ta get ta the other side, fell, and it was like nothin' happened. Save fer breakin' the concrete and a few scrapes here and there. As far as Ah can tell, my body is as strong as it is durable. Ah can hit just about anythin’ hard enough ta break it, and Ah’ve never been hit so hard that Ah break. At most, Ah’ve been slashed and shot, but wounds like that only go skin deep, or a little deeper if it’s somethin’ bigger than a hoof gun. Ah still get bruised and banged up every now and again, but never ta the point Ah couldn’t handle it.

“Yeah, yeah, let's just go. Ya don't wanna be later than ya already are, do ya?” Applebloom huffed and turned out the door. “Ah figured.” From sidewalk ta sidewalk, from traffic light ta traffic light, we walked in silence. The street lamps started ta dot the city roads in the evenin’ sun, and eventually, it had all but left the horizon.

“So, did ya see that Marevelous put that guy in the armor away?” Applebloom asked. Of course Ah did. Ah was there. Or so Ah'd like ta say. Ta keep from lettin' anypony on, Ah just play dumb whenever somepony asks me about the super world.

“Oh. Did she?” Even though she's started ta get a little indifferent ta me as she's gotten older, she's always liked Marevelous Red. From the very beginnin’ almost three years ago now, she’s always been a fan. She has the first paper Ah ever made hung up on her bedroom wall. Always puts a smile on my face ta see it.

“Yeah, she did. How ya managed ta miss that, Ah wouldn't know. Y’all were probably part of the crew that fixed the garden, right?” My lie is that Ah work as part of the street janitors in the city. Ah just go along with whatever and say what she needs ta hear.

Ah shrugged. “Naw, Ah got off early today. Ah was asleep from about noon till whenever ya walked in.”

“Oh. Well... Ah saved the paper that ran this afternoon if ya want. She's in it, and somepony got a real good picture. Apparently, she didn't even chase the guy down. He was throwin' rocks her, and all she did was send em back! The picture even has her in mid air!” It's always nice ta see Applebloom excited about somethin'. The kids at school are vicious, and her and her two friends get bullied all the time by 'em. At least she has somethin' ta enjoy every time Ah make the paper.

“Alright, Ah'll look at it later. Tomorrow is Sunday, ya know. Got any homework that ya need ta do?” Ah said, tryin' ta get away from the subject. The way these conversations go, 'a real good picture' usually leads to 'who do ya think she is?' and then 'do ya think she's related ta Red Hoof? Whatever happened ta him?' Ah got all worked up and yelled at her last time, and Ah still feel bad about it. Ah can't tell her the truth. The more she knows, the more danger she's put in. Star Slate always talks about how heroes who don't do a good job hidin' their identities end up gettin' their close ones hurt. Ah don't want that ta happen ta them.

“Well...” she said, losin’ eye contact. I raised an eye brow.

“Uh huh. Is it math again?” Ah said in my, 'ya know ya should've already taken care of this' tone.

“Yeah...”

“Ah'm gonna be at work tonight, so try and get yer brother ta help ya tomorrow okay? You’re smarter than the both of us, and you have a real chance ta get in ta school fer free. Don't let it go ta waste.” As much as Ah never knew one, Ah've always tried ta play the role of mother in the family. Dad never remarried, and with Aunt Dew gone, Ah just kinda took up the torch. Ah'd say Ah've done a good job so far, at least. Ah hope.

She sighed and said, “Alright, Ah guess. Do ya really have another all night shift?”

Ah nodded. “Yep, it seems like it. But don't worry about me. How am Ah supposed ta get ya a birthday present if Ah don't work?” Ah patted her head and she tried her damnedest ta fight my hoof away.

“Applejack, knock it off! We're almost there!” She said through a bright red face. She hated it when Ah babied her. So Ah did it whenever Ah could fer that very reason.

Like she said, we had finally reached the place over on the west side. This area was mostly populated by unicorns due ta old segregation way back in the day. It's got a few ‘other’ tribe families here and there, but the unicorns still dominate the area. The city as a whole had become more friendly since the virus broke out, but old weeds run deep. The buildin' was real odd fer a livin' space in this city. It looked more like a clothin' store than anythin'.

“This is Rarity's Boutique. Sweetie Belle lives with her sister here because their parents ain’t in the picture. Please try ta keep from embarrassin' me while you're here, okay?”

In response, as all good sisters must, Ah turned my southern up ta eleven. “Wa-hat? Me? Em-bar-ra-sin'? Why, how could Ah ever em-bar-rass yew?”

Applebloom gave me a dead eyed look. “Ah don't even know why Ah asked.” She knocked on the door while Ah tried ta contain my laughter. Ah was stopped fairly immediately when the door opened to somethin’ Ah didn't expect ta see.

“Oh, hello. Why, you must be Sweetie's friend. Applebloom isn't it?” said a... familiar voice comin’ from a white coated unicorn with a curly violet mane and tail.

“Yes ma'am. This is my sister Applejack, Ah hope ya don't mind. She wouldn't let me come alone,” Applebloom said, givin’ me a good, hard glare.

“Oh, uh, right, nice ta meet ya, miss Dia- uh, Rarity right?” She looked like all the world had frozen around her, extremely fixated on me.

The air was caught with silence as Rarity stared me in the eye fer what seemed like hours, until it was broken when a younger white unicorn with a pale purple and pink mane and tail came ta the door. “Rarity? Applebloom? What are you two just standing here for? Come on in!” Applebloom had said that Sweetie was a little oblivious some times. This must be her.

Rarity finally dropped her glare and turned ta Sweetie. “Hm? Oh, right. You two go on inside. Applejack... and I need to talk.” The younger girls shrugged and went inside, and then Rarity shut the door, never leavin’ eye contact with me. Well. Ya really did it this time, Applejack.

Citrus Root

“Red Hoof? Can ya hear me?”said the little filly's voice in Citrus' head.

“Ah can. Where am Ah goin' this time?” he replied to air.

“Take the next right down 114th, and then a right on to 115th.”

Citrus did as he was told, quickly jumping from rooftop to rooftop. The faster Ah get this over with the better. He learned from his last encounter that he doesn't heal nearly as quickly as he would like. This was the second attempt at Brute Force’s bounty, as the last one became a sticky situation far quicker than any of them could have imagined. Whatever Brightness’s power is, she seems to have the ability to pick up on things, locations of ponies, levels of stress in the area, and even being able to talk to somepony across long distances.

That night a week ago, Brute Force and the Mutants were about to ship large number of foal to young adult age ponies overseas to be... used for whatever means to a country of carnivorous inhabitants. Bright picked up on an extreme level of stress pinpointed near the same place Brute was located, and then a fight broke out. Citrus ambushed about half of the Power Ponies in Brute's gang before they had figured out something was up. After that, the whole place was lit like a laser show. Beams of all kinds of energy and elements were being fired at what could only be described as some 'freak in a red suit'.

It got ugly when they started threatening to hurt the hostages, at which point Citrus had to get creative. He found a flare up in the rafters of the old giant warehouse that the Mutants had holed up in, and flashed them while making an opening in the largest wall he could find for the hostages to escape through. Fortunately, all the hostages managed to escape, except one. Unfortunately, that one hostage is still in Brute's custody. Red Hoof was shot in the leg, and with only seventy five percent of his mobility, he couldn't fight Brute and save the foal at the same time.

The next day, a paper ran about the 'Pony in the Red Suit' who saved all the foals who'd gone missing that month. One of the children that was interviewed said that he had a Red Hoof on his flank, so the media took that and dubbed him, ‘Red Hoof,’ to Brightness’s dismay. Though his sister complained, Star was just happy that Citrus was in the paper at all. She’d get over it eventually. The Root family had moved into their new home, and with no goons to turn in, Citrus was just about out money after furnishing the place. It was do or die time, because utility bills and taxes were just around the corner.

“Do you see the building that has the smoke stacks?” Bright said.

“Ah do. Is that where they are?” He replied.

“Yes. From the looks of it, there are about six near Brute, and twelve more around the factory. One of them has a much higher stress level than the others around Brute, so that means the hostage is with him. You probably want to start by taking out the guys on the bottom floor. There are just four there.” The more often Brightness uses her powers, the more detailed it seems she can get. Star has been documenting all the things she can do ever since they started collaborating, and even Citrus has started to feel stronger. The virus as a whole is still completely unknown simply because nopony knows where or what the virus changes. Supposedly, Celestia herself has been researching it, but has made practically no headway.

“Ah'm at the buildin's edge. Where do Ah go in?”

“Get to the ground floor and there's a back entrance. The blue print says that there's a staircase that obscures this entrance, and it looks like there's only one mutant stationed by it. Take him out and then get the rest.”

Silently, Citrus made his way down the rooftop he was on via the fire exit. The place that Brute was hiding out at was an old abandoned factory that used to make parts for armored machines used in the last war. A stallion named Automizer had invented a device that could travel twice as fast as a pony could run, and after forty or so years had passed, the whole world was obsessed with vehicles.

When war broke out between countries on the next continent over, Equestria's allies requested help, and so they did. En masse. With their mechanical beasts, they decimated the competition and put Equestria as one of the most powerful countries the world has to offer. We haven't been in a major war nearly sixty years since then, so factories in big cities like this one were all but useless now.

The building had several large gates for moving trucks to be docked and loaded up, but as for actual doors, there were just a few. After circling the building, Citrus finally found the one he was looking for. Just as Brightness said, there was one guard here, and he was an ugly beast. Possibly a Rhino hybrid based on the large singular horn coming from the end of his snout, he was about three times Citrus's size.

Lets just hope this mook ain't as strong as Shark was. Spotting a pebble, Citrus grabbed it and broke the window next to the door to get him to turn sideways. As soon as he did, Citrus kicked the door in on him. The metal was thrown with such force that once the rhino-pony hit a wall, the door folded in on him. Citrus sighed in relief and them jumped up to the staircase to see what he could see.

“What did you just do!? The other three ponies in the room just had their stress levels spike!”

Citrus decided it was best not to reply. He could see them, but they couldn't see him. The more normal looking unicorn guard motioned for the two pegasi he was with to go check out the sound. The big square staircase took up quite a bit of the room, so once they were behind it, Citrus leapt and took out the lone unicorn. When he looked at the now unconscious blue stallion, he noticed some large fangs, and paws instead of hooves.

Eeh. Ah definitely don't want ta deal with this guy. Unicorn or not, those claws look dangerous. He quietly ripped one of the chains on the assembly line apart and then hog tied the lion-corn. The jingling sound seemed to alert the other two because one of them called out.

“Leo? Hey, Leo, what was that sound!?” The words were quickly accompanied by the sounds of flapping wings, and then the two pegasi were in the same space staring at a masked pony in red with their superior in chains on the ground.

“Sorry fellas, Leo here is a lil tied up at the moment,” Citrus said, making a dash for the teal green pegasus first. With a quick punch to the ribs, he was out for the count. The red one however, was nowhere to be seen. Citrus backed off real quick and started to look around.

Where did he go? He's a pegasus, he didn't just up and disappear... unless he can just kinda do that. Damn it! Super powers make this kinda crap difficult. He heard the sound of a chain rattling, and then noticed that Leo's chain was moving on it's own.

Invisibility, eh? This Ah can deal with. The place that the chain was moving implied that the pegasus had his back turned to Citrus, which wasn't all that smart, but it looked like this guy knew where his talents lie. Silently, Citrus approached the rattling chain that the invisible stallion was struggling with. Citrus didn't think it was possible for him to un-press the chain together, so he took his time. With a heavy slam with his right foreleg to where he assumed the invisible pony to be, his hoof connected and the stallion lost his invisibility. However, it looked like it connected a bit too hard, as now the poor pegasus was bleeding real bad.

“Damn it! See, if ya go around all invisible like, Ah can't tell where Ah'm hittin ya! Ah just wanted ta knock ya out, not break yer back!” Citrus went around the production line until he found several rags that looked relatively clean and started to tie up the bleeding area.

“W-why? Why would you help me?” The red pegasus asked. It didn't look like he could still walk at this point, so Citrus was satisfied with keeping him alive.

“Ah aim ta be a hero, not a bounty hunter. Even if Ah have both titles, murderer isn't one Ah want ta add too 'em.” He hog tied the other pegasus and left the three in a row next to the rhino-pony.

“Well isn't that sweet of ya. Eight more on the next floor, I don't think any of them have been alerted to you yet. Make your way up, but be careful, there's three by the elevator door. You don't really have a way to avoid them.” Brightness said.

“Yeah, sure. Let's just hope that these are the ones that were shootin' things at me last time so Ah can take 'em out quick. None of the guys here were armed with anythin' but their powers.” Citrus replied as he made his way up the staircase.

“It's possible, but we can't really know. Hold on, stop where you are.” Citrus froze.

“What's going on?” The sound of electricity running through wires hummed and mechanical wheels started to turn.

“The highest stress level and the lowest stress level are moving floors. Brute Force is on the move.” Brightness warned. Citrus took this opportunity to test out his grip strength and grabbed hold of one of the chains toward the top of the very dark room. There were large windows on either side, but toward the ceiling where all the chains were fed through, there was next to no light. With Citrus in the shadows now, the elevator had finished descending through the winding staircase to the ground floor. Out of the elevator walked a very large white stallion in an expensive looking suit with a small tan filly chained at the neck being pulled along like a dog.

“Now you keep quiet this time. Blow this for me again, and you'll never see daylight or your brother again, understand me?” Brute growled at the little girl, bringing his massive face next to hers. She only tilted her head down in response. Brute smiled, revealing his singular gold tooth and started making his way to the front door.

“Nopony is moving upstairs! This is your chance!” Brightness said, almost shouting with joy.

“If you feel that freak in the red, tell me. If I see him again, I'll make it so he never takes another step.” Brute said, carefully scanning the room. The filly with him immediately looked in the direction Citrus was hiding, but Brute didn't seem to notice. Citrus laughed to himself. This might actually turn out to be ironic.

“Never walk again, ya said? Oh no wait, take another step. Yeah, that one might just be a lil more frightenin', if Ah do say so myself,” Citrus said, loud enough echo through the factory.

“Son of a bitch! Where are you hiding!?” Brute yelled, scanning the room for the voice’s source. Citrus jumped from the ceiling to the main entrance Brute was heading for.

“Ah don't remember hidin' from anypony. Howdy, mister kidnapper,” Citrus said, a big smile on his face. Brute frowned.

“You make a move, and the girl dies.” He said, placing a fire arm hidden under his sleeve next to the girl's head. Citrus clicked his tongue. Yep. Hostage. That was the word we decided was right here. This time though, Ah have a counter measure.

“Funny ya say that. It's real similar ta what ya said before. Except, this time, only one hostage is gonna escape from ya. Well, that and Ah'm gonna put ya in jail.” Brute was especially susceptible to being goaded into attacking. As his given name suggested, he wasn't one to think well in a heated situation.

“You piece of shit! I'll kill you!” As predicted, Brute turned the gun on Citrus. Just as quickly, Citrus took one of the chain links he ripped off earlier, and threw it full force at the gun. It collided with the barrel just as Brute fired and caused the barrel to explode. It burned Brute's foreleg, and while he was distracted, Citrus ran in for the girl. He stomped the chain in pieces and punched Brute hard in the ribs, sending him reeling. Citrus grabbed the filly and leapt toward the corner of the assembly line.

“Stay here young'in. You'll be safe, Ah'll make sure of it.” And with that, he ran back to Brute.

“I always make good on my promises, you red bastard!” With unexpected speed, Brute had closed the distance between himself and Red Hoof.

Shit, he's fast! With a quick shuffle, Citrus managed to avoid being slammed into the ground by Brute's earth shattering force. He noticed the veins on the stallion's bulky neck beginning to bulge, and then Citrus got an idea. He's not payin' attention...

“So tell me, uh... Biff was it? Are ya normally this dumb? Or is it just that ya look that way?” With an ever reddening coat near his face, Brute charged at Citrus again. He slammed into one of the assembly lines, ripping bolts out of the ground, missing Citrus.

That's what Ah thought... now it's time ta sucker this dummy. “Ya know, Ah lived in the south fer quite a while, but stereotypes tend ta depict me as dumb. Now, that's just a stereotype, but y'all? Y'all really make the grade fer dumb jock. Ah mean, really. It's a wonder that ya figured out how ta kidnap anythin’ with a brain.” That got his attention. Brute charged again, and smashed yet another assembly line, this time turning it into a solid V shape. Yeah, Ah'm not winnin' a strength contest against this guy, that's fer sure.

“When I get my hooves on you, I'll pop your head like a watermelon!” Brute Force roared, charging at Citrus again, smashing another assembly line.

One more now... “Get yer hooves on me? Well, Ah suppose that's possible. Maybe if somepony else was runnin yer body. Think of me like an amusement park ride. 'Must be this smart ta catch.' Sorry, but ya just don't make the mark.” Brute Force roared one more time, smashing a fourth assembly line.

“Ah've had lots of fun playin' with ya, but this girl needs ta make it home, and yer keepers at the station are waitin patiently, so Ah think it's time ta go.” Now Citrus was standing in front of the elevator entrance inside the stair case, leaning on it casually. Brute force charged again, and Citrus made a jump for the closest assembly line that had been up rooted. Brute smashed head first into the wall, breaking it and the staircase that connected to it. He sat there dazed from the impact, clutching his head. Citrus took this moment to spring back from the leverage point with a chain in hoof.

Swinging with all his might, he took a sheet metal panel at the end of the chain with him and slammed it onto Brute. The Power Pony managed to rip through the sheet metal that formed around him, only in time to watch the next one slam down on his head. Citrus was about to load up the next one when he noticed that the room had gone silent. Rather than following through, he went to check and see if Brute was still conscious. Lifting one piece of the two sheets, he could see the still, but breathing form of Brute on the ground, half underneath the first sheet.

“Brightness, can you tell if he’s is still awake in there?” He asked for assurance.

“It doesn't look like there's much of any stress coming off him now. He's got even less stress than the other guys on that floor, so I don't think so. Should be safe to tie him up now. But something has been bothering me...” Citrus started to fold the sheets of metal around Brute, making a nice and tight metal cocoon for him. He picked up the lug and responded to Bright.

“What's that?”

“It's the stress levels from the second floor. They haven't done anything but go up, yet none of them have moved. At all.” Citrus reared his head back.

“They what? Why? Aren't they his goons?” Before Brightness responded, the little tan filly with the collar had tugged on Citrus's tail wrap.

“M-my friends are up there mister... can you help them?” His eyes widened.

“Bright, Ah don't think Brute has any more goons.” After throwing Brute and his gang into an assembly cart, Citrus took the filly up to the second floor, only to find more foals tied up and gagged. After freeing all the children and loading up his cart, Citrus made his way to the station followed by a trail of foals.

As it turned out, each one of these kids belonged to a politician within the city to keep the police away from Brute's activities. Naturally, this news being made public caused a fire storm in the media. At any point Red Hoof was sighted in the city, a swarm of ponies chased after him trying to get a picture and a comment.

Citrus had believed that the money he'd gotten from Brute Force's bounty would have gotten him through the year. He believed that, anyways. Problem after problem arose, and so the pool that was supposed to last a year ended up lasting for only six months. Really, managing to get a house for as cheap as he did was unprecedented in Manehattan, and something must have been wrong with it. However, something happened to be everything. If it wasn't the kids who somehow caused unusually large amounts of destruction, then it was the unreliable corner cutting builders that were to blame. Even though he could fix most problems with materials and his own know how, Citrus would always find something that he would have to expedite to whoever could do the job.

The next half year didn't go easy. Villains with similar powers started to slip through the cracks, and with each passing month, a new terror would rise up. The money was nice, but eventually, he had more than he knew what to do with. The job wasn't just to make money anymore, it was about protecting the city he'd come to love, and the kids he wanted to grow in it. However, even with all his power, Citrus was not a match for everypony he ran up against. He relied on the allies he'd made in saving or rescuing ponies from his earlier acts, even some small time crooks that turned a new leaf after meeting him.

They formed teams, Power Ponies started to rise just as much as villains did. The war zone of Manehattan wasn't so one sided anymore. Burst, Wild Cyclone, Light Bringer, Zero/One, Octofish, Radiant Blaze. Heroes of all shapes and sizes came to stand by Red Hoof to protect the city that they all loved. But, as all good things do, it eventually came to an end. It was around the middle of the second year when change was in the air.

“Meet ya fer lunch? Really? Ya know Ah work nights. Ah shouldn't even be awake right now,” Citrus said, scratching his head. It was the middle of the afternoon, and his brother had called him.

“Oh, come on. I haven't seen you in a while, and we live like, a mile away from each other. Come see your little brother and his wife, huh?” Blood said on the other side of the phone. Citrus had actually paid to replace his own neighborhood's telephone pole so many times that he did it himself not too long ago.

One time his kids broke it. Somehow. He started to suspect that one of them might have inherited something, but that first pole was also a lightning rod, and was fairly weak at the base. The second one was his fault. A fight got too close to home, and so he ended it. The last one was due to another hero's work, and said hero was reprimanded heavily for it. Citrus sighed. The older kids don't get out of school for another four hours, and there wasn't any reason he couldn't take Applebloom with him. At this point, she was just as nocturnal as he was.

“Alright, Ah'll come see ya. Where are we goin'?” Citrus finally agreed.

“Sweet. There's this new place a little ways from the house that Dew has been begging to go to. And don't worry, we can pay, it's a little pricey.”

Citrus took a deep breath. Money was literally no object at this point, but most ponies think he's a night janitor for the city. Rather than letting his pride consume him, Citrus decided it'd be best if he simply said, “Naw, it's fine. Ah got a raise recently. We can celebrate,” so the damaged pride wouldn't just eat away at him. Double income no kids couple, versus a single father of three. If he wanted to, Citrus could likely buy his brother a place in Manehattan Heights if he wanted without really putting a dent in his savings. But, collateral damage structural repairs cost money, and ‘you break it, you buy it’ was one of his mottos.

“Oh, really? That's fantastic Citrus. Meet us at the apartment lobby by one, okay?”

“Sure bud. Ah'll see ya there.” Citrus hung up the phone and rolled his way out of bed. The house had finally come together after working at it for so long. All the kids had their own rooms, and the nursery would eventually turn into Applebloom's room. They each had toys to play with, even one of the fancy and very expensive new video game thingies that had come out not too long ago. When Citrus was in his teens, the only place one could find a video game was in an arcade. He was never a big fan of them, but Macintosh and Applejack seemed to love them. The house was a home now. It was simply a shame that Rosie wasn't here to see it.

Citrus made his way to wake the sleepy toddler. Opening the door to the blackout curtained room let more light in and disturbed the little filly. Rather than wake her outright, Citrus simply picked her up and placed her on his back. She'd learned to speak recently, even if it was just a few crude sentences here and there. She talks more than she can understand, even picks up a few new things during a conversation. She seems a little quicker to get on the ball than the other two, which is interesting, all things considered.

The stallion and his daughter had made it out the door before Applebloom started to stir on her father's back.

“Papa?” She said weakly, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

“Afternoon Applebloom,” Citrus said turning his head. His hat rim was keeping the sun out of her eyes, and now that it moved, she started to blink furiously.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Oh, we're just goin' ta have lunch with yer uncle Orange,” he said casually.

“Oh really!? Yay!” she exclaimed, pleased with the unusual circumstances of either her or her father being awake at this point in the day. She began to sway on his back, nearly falling over if it weren't for the 'dad sense' he'd picked up over the years.

“Hey, be careful now,” Citrus said, pushing the filly back to the center of his back. They made their way through the streets, stopping at stop lights, watching cars go by, and Applebloom questioning everything in sight. It was rare for her to be up at this time of day, so the things she saw were all the more interesting. Much to his dismay, Citrus answered all her questions as best a two year old could understand. Eventually tiring of it, Citrus gave her a challenge.

“Now how about this. If ya can stay quiet, fer the whole lunch, Ah'll get ya ice cream afterward. That sound fair?” He said, expecting his challenge to be accepted.

“Huh!? Really!? Deal! But... do Ah have ta start now?” Citrus sighed.

“Ah suppose not...” He said, and then the onslaught continued. They were just a street light away from the apartment complex too. If Ah can just hold out fer a little bit longer, she’ll shut up on her own. The crossing light turned white and then Citrus started to cross. It was oddly empty on the sidewalks today, but the roads were filled with cars as always. They were just about half way through the intersection, when all of Citrus' senses went into overdrive. The sound of screeching tires and police sirens were rapidly approaching.

A car drifted into the intersection, tires squealing, engine roaring, about to catch grip again and run down the ponies crossing. Without thinking, Citrus tossed Applebloom high in the air and then stood on his hind legs. He was staring directly into the eyes of the driver as his hoof rocketed toward the front of the car, which was no more than a meter away. The steel body of the vehicle rippled as the crushing force of Citrus' punch started to crush the metal and cancel out its momentum. The car now stopped and broken, he then leapt to grab Applebloom, who was just about to leave her ascending arc. Rather than stick around, he decided that it would be best to come from the other side of the building just in case the driver got a good look at his face.

He landed on the apartment complex roof with the scruff of Applebloom's neck in his teeth. Setting the filly down, he checked over the edge to watch what happened next. The driver had slumped over in his seat, and the police cars were a few street lights behind. Oh good. Well, at least nopony saw me. Ah hope.

“Wee! Papa can we do that again?” Applebloom said, teetering near the edge of the roof. He quickly snapped her up and put her on his back again.

“No. Also, there's a new condition to yer ice cream. Don't tell anypony about what just happened. Especially yer Aunt and Uncle. Yer brother and sister either.” The filly tilted her head.

“Oh. Okay. Papa, what does 'con-dish-un' mean?” Citrus rolled his eyes, let out a breath that seemed to contain most of his adrenaline, and answered the question as best he could.

Blood Orange and Glistening Dew were waiting patiently, facing the door. They'd heard a strange and loud sound coming from just outside the complex, and decided to investigate. When they reached the glass doors, there were two police cars and another car with a nearly unrecognizable front half. There was nopony inside, and the police were searching for something, probably the driver.

“Hey, what are y'all up to?” said a southern accent from behind them. Blood turned around to see his brother and niece looking out the window at the scene.

“Oh, there you are. Where were you? Did you see this happen? How does that happen to a car? What did it hit?” He asked.

“Oh that? Yeah Ah saw it as Ah was comin' in. No idea what happened though, it was like that when Ah got here. Decided that Ah'd go through the back ta avoid bein’ interviewed.” Citrus said.

“Huh. Well, at least you're here. And how are you, little Applebloom?” he asked, his voice dripping with sugar at the end.

“Hi uncle Orange! Hi aunt Dew!” the filly replied. Dew took the girl up in her forelegs and gave her a hug.

“Oh, hello Applebloom! I didn't know you were going to bring her!” Dew said to Citrus.

“Ah figured Ah'd rather have her with me than leave her alone at the house. Macintosh and Applejack don't get out of school fer another couple hours, so there'd be nopony home ta watch her.” He took Applebloom back from Dew and put her on his back.

“Well, isn't that nice. Should we tell him?” Dew asked, leaning into Blood.

“No not yet. Let's make it to the restaurant first,” Blood answered.

Citrus raised an eyebrow. “Tell me what?”

“Oh, you'll see. Come on, we have reservations in ten minutes,” Citrus swallowed. Reservations? Ah only brought one black with me... Ah really hope he doesn't try ta get me ta drink again.

The group left the scene of the strange car crash and made their way ten blocks down the road to one of the fanciest restaurants Citrus had ever seen. The title of the place was labeled with a cursive sign that had back lights behind it that spelled out the word, ‘Champagne.’

“Oh. Well, uh. Ain't this a little special?” Citrus asked, questioning what exactly there was to be told.

“Yeah, well it's a special occasion, so I thought we could splurge a little,” Blood said. After holding the door for his brother and sister in law, Blood made his way up to the front desk, which might as well have been a command center.

“Monsieur Orange and company, I presume?” said the well styled pale orange mare with a shiny, dark black mane.

“Yes ma'am,” Blood replied.

“Of course. Zis way. Would you like a highchair for l’enfant?” she asked, looking at Citrus. It took him a moment to process that she was asking about Applebloom.

“Oh, right, Yes Ma'am.”

“Papa, she talks funny,” Applebloom said, loud enough for most in the restaurant to hear.

Citrus quickly turned his head and stared her in the eyes. “You remember the deal?” he asked in a low tone.

“Oh. Sorry,” she said covering her mouth.

Citrus smiled and nuzzled her head. “Attagirl.”

The server mare gave Citrus a nasty look, then lead the group to their table. The dining room was floored with polished black stone and furnished with piano black stained wood and red leather cushions. The walls were all white with pictures of various cities around the country, and tastefully covered with large paintings done by artists that Citrus had read about in the news. The lights were all hanging red cones that were bright enough to read under, but dim enough to make it feel like it was dark outside. There was soft jazz piano playing in the background, and after a little searching, Citrus noticed a stage with a pianist playing on one of the biggest grands he'd ever seen. He started to sweat underneath his hat.

“How much is this gonna cost me Blood?” he asked quietly.

“Oh, it's not that bad. We managed to get away for under one twenty last time we were here.” Citrus bit his lip in an attempt to keep from dropping his jaw.

He took a deep breath, and then put a foreleg around his brother. “This better be real damn important!” He said under his breath.

Blood smiled and nodded his head. “Oh, it's important alright. Ready Dew?” He said shuffling his chair over next to hers.

“Okay, three, two, one!”

“We're pregnant!” They exclaimed, one foreleg over the other's neck. This time, Citrus did let his jaw drop.

“You're... you two are havin' a kid!?” He repeated the words just to make them seem real. After all the brothers had been through to get to normal lives in their youth, the idea of Blood having a child was… almost unthinkable.

“Yep! I found out yesterday! Isn't this great?” Dew said.

“Well... how far along are ya? What do ya know about it?” Citrus asked, still trying to absorb the information that was just given to him. His little brother, soon to be a father. Blood and Dew. Parents. With all the death in the past three years, it's about time fer somethin' good ta happen.

“We haven't seen a doctor about it yet. You're the only one who knows right now,” Blood said.

“I haven't even told my mother yet. I can't wait to see the look on her face! She'll be so proud of me!” Dew said, with an ever growing smile.

“You didn't do that alone,” Blood cooed, giving her a look. Citrus scowled at him.

“Eh hem. Y'all remember my daughter, right? The two year old filly?” He said, gesturing to the little filly who was furiously coloring something on a kids menu.

“Oh, right. My bad,” Blood said, scratching the back of his green mane.

“We're just really excited to finally share the news with somepony. I don't have siblings, and Blood said he wanted you to know first,” Dew explained, finally letting go of her husband.

“Yeah. And we were thinking...” Blood began.

“Thinkin' what? Come on, spit it out!” Citrus demanded.

“Well, we wanted to name it after you.” In that one moment, Citrus felt like the world had frozen. After me? Not her mother, or our parents, but me? Why would he want to...

“You see, we had our doubts about whether or not we could actually raise a foal...” Dew started.

“But, seeing you raise three on your own for these past couple years got us thinking,” Blood finished.

“If Citrus has the fortitude to raise three kids alone, surely we could raise our own together?” Dew said, getting closer to Blood.

“So, we figured, why not just go for it? Just take the plunge and see what happens next? Ponies have been raising foals for generations without knowing what to do, so we can’t be that bad off right?” Blood explained. They were holding each other's hooves now.

Citrus scratched his head. “Well, that's mighty kind of ya. But don't ya think-”

Blood cut him off. “No. I don't think there is anyone else we'd rather our child to grow up like. You're the most honest, kind, and strongest stallion we've ever known. This would be a little like a testament to that. I mean, where would I be if you didn't help me get through school? Dew and I would never have moved out of that moldy old apartment.”

“And think about the time that Blood tried to blow all of our savings on my engagement ring. If you hadn't knocked some sense into him, he might've done it!” Dew added.

Blood frowned at Dew, who flashed a bright smile in response. He rolled his eyes and then turned back to Citrus. “Teenage mistakes aside, this is just... our way of saying thanks. Honestly, we never would've made it this far without you.”

Citrus shrugged and smiled. “Ah guess if that's what ya decided, then Ah can't do anythin' about it. It's yer kid, after all.” Shortly afterward, the waitress returned, and within minutes of that, the food was ready. It was expensive, but Citrus still managed to hold on to three silver bits after the ordeal. Citrus and Applebloom said their goodbyes to the Oranges, and made their way home. With such great news, what could possibly go wrong?

The city might just have become the brighter place he'd been working for in these past two years. Maybe it was time to hang up the cape, and try and be that uncle he was looking forward to be.

Of course, today things were set in motion. Things that nopony could have ever predicted would happen.

Origin Story IV: Gratitude

Applejack

“So. Tell me. What exactly were you about to call me?” the white unicorn asked. Ah swallowed. Ah don't know exactly what her power is, or at least, what the extent of her magic can do.

Back when we were partnerin', all Ah knew she could do was warp from one place ta another sorta kinda without ever turnin' her horn on. She always carried some kinda weapon on her too, like a baton or somethin'. Ah hadn't said anythin' else, and she just kept circlin' me, sizin' me up and tryin' ta figure out who Ah was.

“Uh… Darlin'?” Ah said. My attempt was in vain.

“Mmhmm. And… how often do you actually use that word? The way you just said it makes it seem foreign to you. Oh, and let's not forget, we've never met before, so that would make me a stranger to you now wouldn't it? Speaking of, where exactly are you and Applebloom from? You clearly aren't from a northern city like Manehattan with an accent like that.”

Ah tried my best ta keep a straight face, but Ah think she knew I was beginnin' ta break. “Uh, Ponyville, Palomino. Ah moved here when Ah was about four or so.” Ah tried ta keep as few details as I could in my sentences.

She was pickin' up on things Ah probably wouldn't have noticed just by lookin' at me. “Mmm... strange. I was born in that town, and I’ve never heard of you. But, you know, there was a hero once who had an accent like yours that’s found in that town. It was always quoted that he was from Manehattan, but many reporters always said he sounded like he was from the south. Another interesting tidbit is that there is a hero around now with oddly similar powers and that same southern accent. Ever heard of a mare who goes by the name Marevelous Red?”

Ah swallowed again. She was catchin' on quicker than Ah wanted, or at all really. She knows what I was gonna call her. Ah needed a convenient escape. Luckily, one showed up.

“Rarity! Can come help me in the kitchen? I think I did something,” her sister said from inside.

Oh thank Celestia.

“Just a moment, Sweetie.” Ah spoke too soon. She turned her head ta answer her sister, then she stared me down. Her body started ta glow with a faint gray aura, and suddenly, the world lost color. Everythin' but me and her was in some kinda light-less black and white world. The streetlamps were lit, but it was more like they sprayed white over everything that wasn't black. Once it was done, she started circlin' me again.

“H-hey? What's goin' on? Are you doin' this!?”

She stopped. “Well, yes. But the question I asked you is still in the air, darling. Do you or do you not know of Marevelous Red?”

Instinctively, Ah took a step away from her. Ah cursed under my breath for it. “Well, yeah. My sister is a big fan of hers...” Ah let my voice trail off.

“Mmhmm... so how about you? What do you think of this Marevelous Red character? Some say she's just a Red Hoof copycat, other say she'll cause just as much destruction as he did twelve years ago.”

Ah nearly froze in place. Ah had ta remember ta breathe after a few minutes. Her mentionin' Pa was one thing, but ta talk about that… “Ah… Ah don't wanna keep talkin' ta ya if ya don't mind. You're startin ta freak me out. You're one of them power ponies right? Look, Ah don't want no trouble…” Ah tried ta change the subject, maybe even get her to take pity on me.

She didn't. “I've had just about enough of this act of yours. I'll put it bluntly; you know who I am, and I believe I know who you are. So, Miss Red, tell me what you were going to call me and I'll release my world.”

Ah know it was cold outside, even colder in this weird black and white zone, but Ah was sweatin'. Should Ah just tell the truth? If Ah keep tryin’ ta deny or change the subject, she may not ever let me go. Ah don't know how long she can keep this up, but if she was willin' ta let me see her power, then she's probably willin' ta go as long as it takes.

Ah bowed my head and sighed. “Diamond. Ah was gonna say Diamond.”

“Ah ha! I knew it! You are Red! It's been so long, how have you been doing? You weren't very friendly earlier today. I've heard you've been in a kind of rut lately,” she said in a completely different tone, approachin' me and puttin' on a friendly air.

Ah wasn't quite prepared fer this kinda change in tempo. “Uh... what? Ah nearly exposed ya ta yer sister and ya just... wanna know how Ah've been?”

She made a bunch of mouth noises and waved my question away. “Sweetie is far too oblivious to catch on to me. Considering what my power is, she likely wouldn't think me as Diamond anyways. Come now, tell me what's been happening with you. You always seem so lonely when I see you work.”

Why is she so concerned? Ah just don't get it. Ah've always been told ta keep ta myself by the ponies who got me where Ah am today, and she just want's ta throw all that away. But… she's not wrong… maybe it would be good ta have somepony Ah can talk ta about work…

“Well… Ah guess… Ah don't know. Can Ah really trust ya? If Ah spill my story out here, do Ah have yer word you'll keep it ta yer self?” Honestly, Ah was putty in her hooves at this point. Ah needed a friend so badly, Ah woulda opened up ta Mac next time Ah saw him. The nightmares won't stop, work has been slow, Ah'm having trouble keepin' up with school payments. Ah feel like Ah need somewhere ta put all this stress, and she's offerin' ta help me hold it.

“Of course. Cross my heart, hope to fly, put a cupcake in my eye,” she said making motions ta follow her words.

“What?” Ah blinked.

“Oh, it's a saying that one of my friends has. You aren't the only other hero I know, after all.”

“You know others? Who they really are?” Ah asked, amazed that there were others crazy enough ta trust their secrets ta somepony else. As inconspicuous as this kind of job is, that's almost more of a shock than her figurin' out who Ah am.

“Obviously. I've been trying to get you to join our guild all this time, but you always rejected me after that, um, incident. We help each other. You can't keep the weight of the world on your back alone, after all.”

With one sentence, Ah suddenly felt lighter. This is probably what relief feels like. “Thanks, Dia- er, Rarity right?”

She nodded. “Anything to help a friend. After all, we're share the same goal don't we? Keep this city a safe place for our families?”

Ah nodded. “Yeah.” Ah looked around and noticed that nothin' had moved. The clouds, the banners, any kind of cloth that would flow in the wind that had been blowin' stuck in place like a picture. As a matter of fact, Ah hadn't felt that recently either.

“Didn't yer sister ask fer yer help like, a while ago?” Rarity rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Well, sort of. My power? I can freeze time for about ten minutes. The price for that however, is my magical ability. As far as unicorns go, I'm about as pathetic as one can get, unfortunately. More or less limited to simple levitation spells and one that relates to my cutie mark. Little and less more. Sweetie had more ability as a filly than I do now. That is why I always carry some kind of bludgeoning tool around when I do my job.” She looked a little disappointed. Her power is pretty amazin', but bein’ a weak unicorn probably has more drawbacks than Ah could know. Ah figured Ah'd tell her what my power is ta try and cheer her up.

“Well, Ah'm really just a strong earth pony. Sure, Ah can punch through a buildin' but Ah can't do nothin' special like this. Y'all can stop time! Even if it's just a few minutes, that' another ten minutes ya can add ta yer day. Ah can only imagine how nice that must be ta have around. Have ya ever thought about usin' projectiles when the world is all frozen like this? There are just so many ways ya could use this…” The more Ah thought about it, the more Ah liked the idea of what she could do. If she could keep me in her frozen time like this, then maybe…

“It... doesn't quite work like that. Believe me, I've tried, but things will only go a few meters before they get caught in my field. I'm not quite a mathematician like Twilight, and I can't quite handle a gun like Fluttershy. Basically, I'm not very cut out for that sort of calculation driven thing. Bringing other ponies into my world also cuts down the time I can use it, so everything would need to be done at about the speed Pinkie moves. I know it's crude, but whacking somepony across the head with a nice thick club is the best way for me to handle things. That is, while I'm alone, of course.”

Ah wonder who all these other ponies are. Ah bet they're part of her club or whatever she called it. “Well, why don't we go talk inside? This cold is startin' ta get at me, and Ah'm sure yer sister probably needs the help.”

Rarity sighed. “Oh right. That's what she said isn't it? You know she's almost burned my boutique down on more than one occasion. I keep telling her to stay out of the kitchen, but no, she needs to be independent and cook for herself. Ugh, I just wish she would try to rely on me more.”

Ah laughed. “Ha, you and me both. Applebloom is just about as stubborn as they come. She don't want my help half the time she needs it. Too smart fer her own good Ah reckon.”

She lost her look of disdain and smiled. “Well now. We might just have more in common than I thought. I'm just about out of time to freeze, so when it comes back just head upstairs and to the left. I'll tell Sweetie to keep to the first floor so we can talk without extra ears around.”

“Alright.” Just as quickly Ah agreed, the color, sound, and forces of the world that were sucked away returned. The wind started ta blow again, the world wasn't white and black with just outlines of thin’s anymore, and Ah was disoriented. It felt like the air had been knocked out of me and then returned just as fast as it had gone away.

“Oops, sorry. Nopony ever takes it well the first time. You get used to it,” she apologized, tryin' ta keep me standin' on all four hooves. Ah shook my head ta get a grip, and finally Ah wasn't dizzy anymore.

“That... didn't feel good.”

“Oh, you'll be fine. I'm coming Sweetie.” She released me and then we walked inside the boutique, together.

Citrus Root

It had been two weeks since the news that Glistening Dew was pregnant became known to her relatives. The happy couple had told just about every friend and family member they could and were busy preparing for the new baby who was just months away. It was bright in their world, and Citrus envied it. His had only grown darker.

It wasn't a normal series of crimes. Nothing was ever stolen, there was never a ransom or a hostage, it was just homicide. Not of civilians, but heroes. Power Pony after Power Pony, each murdered in cold blood, the same way, one after the other. It was one of the most gruesome series of deaths that the city had ever seen. Even Shark Tooth had quick deaths for his victims, but these poor heroes… The killer always left a message above the body written in the victim's own blood.

The first one read as such; 'Green means go, Yellow means watch out, Red means kill. Do you see me? What color am I? What color are you?'

The police couldn't figure it out. Red hoof couldn't figure it out. None of the other heroes could think of anything but traffic lights, or why they asked so many questions in the first place. Then the next murder happened.

The new message read; 'Green is gone, Yellow means watch out, Red means kill. You can't go anymore. Have you seen me yet? Red should watch out. What color are you?'

Then Citrus began to get an idea the he himself was the one all these messages were directed at. The first kill was a mare who went by Wild Cyclone. Cyclone was one of the first heroes to show up in Red Hoof's wake after the Brute Force arrest. She was very good at her job, but even though she was a Pegasus, she had real difficulty flying. She could control winds with her mind, and one of her signature moves was to spawn a small tornado within a fixed radius which she used to draw in her targets and then send them flying wherever she wished.

She wore a two tone green suit and had bright pink wings with a bright blue mane and tail. She was a good friend to Red hoof, but she was also reckless. She typically went after the largest bounty she could find, whether or not she was suited for the job, and this had almost gotten her killed more than once if not for the intervention for other heroes. And now… she'd never be reckless again.

The killer's second message said that green was gone, referring to Cyclone. This helped him narrow down who the third kill might be, but he couldn't know where that hero was. The second death was Burst, a Unicorn with the ability to kick his spark producing hooves against a hard surface and cause explosions wherever he pleased. He wore a bright yellow suit, had a dark black mane and tail, but until his death, nopony knew that his coat was navy blue.

Burst showed up not too long ago. He was still a teen, but he was very good at his job and his power of controlled explosions made him one of the more dangerous heroes around. Citrus thought he'd be in this game longer than himself, but now, that wasn't the case. He was angry over Cyclone's death, and he was furious after he found out about Burst. The next two days were devoted to figuring out who red was going to be. The first two colors matched the Power Pony's suits, so red was himself or Octofish. He had Octo stay at his house, since the two knew each other's faces, but when Octo was fine and a new murder had been announced, neither of them proved to be the target.

The scene was swarming with police officers when Red and Octo arrived.

“What happened? Where's the body?” Citrus angrily asked.

The officer looked very nervous and shuffled his hooves with every word. “I-it's over at the b-back of the alleyway. Oh, Goddess, I'm gonna be sick…” The young officer quickly headed off away from where the bulk of officers were, probably to vomit. The smell in the air was rather strong…

“Poor guy. He looked green,” Octo said.

“Scales, Ah need ya to focus on the task at hoof. Somepony is runnin' around killin' our friends,” Red Hoof said to his much more relaxed associate. Octofish was known to stay calm without changing his demeanor and never letting his emotions show. He was an earth pony like Citrus, but his power was to change his whole body composition into water. He could slip between buildings, take gunshots and drop bullets where they landed. He was good at his job, but completely unreadable. His real name was Transit Scale.

“Don't call me that. And besides, these officers deserve some kind of break. These killings are all… horrible.” For what was likely the first time, Red Hoof saw Octofish frown.

Red sighed. “Ah apologize. All this has just been gettin' me worked up. Ah hate ta admit it, but Ah think this is all my fault. None of y'all woulda ever put on a cape if Ah hadn't showed up, and now yer bein' targeted fer it.”

The disgruntled hero stood and ground his teeth together when his friend put a hoof around his neck. “We made our own choices. You just gave us the courage to do something good with our powers. We all know the risks associated with this, it's just finally happened to catch up with us now.” Octo was smiling again, and that put Red Hoof at ease. He was always a relaxing agent, always knew what to say.

“Thanks. You're a good friend Octo. Ah-” The two were approached by an officer before he could say anything else.

“Mr. Red Hoof, Octofish? I think you should come see this…” the young mare said. The two looked at each other, and then followed the her to the scene. Much like Burst, this hero had her organs liquified, and her brain fried inside her skull. The smell indicated it was fresh.

“Holy hell…” Octo mumbled.

“Yeah, it's bad. Poor Light Bringer… how did this happen to ya?” Citrus said as he looked over the corpse. Painted on the wall in her blood was the new message.

'Green is gone, Yellow is gone, Red is flashing mad. Does it hurt to show your color? Stop says you can't move, but you do so anyways. If only Red was as simple as Apples and Oranges…'

Red Hoof froze. He didn't move, he didn't even breathe. The last sentence repeated over and over again in his mind.

Octofish finally managed so settle his stomach and read the message. “Oh, goddess… Red…”

Red Hoof finally breathed. “Ah know. Well, he has my undivided attention now. Do ya mind goin' back ta the house and keepin' an eye on the kids? Ah need ta go talk ta my diviner… Ah'm gonna find this guy before he can hurt my family.” A new kind of fury had built up inside Red Hoof, and now his control on it was beginning to loosen. Octo was about to take a step away from the 'hero' before he remembered he was on the same side. Red Hoof was not one quick to anger. That was probably a good thing.

“Okay Red, I'll keep an eye on them. Are you gonna be okay on your own?” The concerned hero asked. Red Hoof puffed out his snout.

“Ah'd be more concerned about the other guy if Ah were y'all. As mad as Ah am… Ah don't know how well Ah'll be able ta control myself.” With a quick crouch, Red Hoof leapt to the top of the apartment complex they were behind, and was now out of sight.

Octo shook his head. “He's gonna get himself killed one of these days. Vengeance isn't the right way to go about this…”

“Oh goddess…” Star Slate said as he dropped the fabric bolts he was holding, startled by the sudden crash. “Red, ya gotta give us a warning before ya jump in like that, man.” He started to pick up his brightly colored fabrics as Red Hoof walked inside from the second floor balcony.

In the last two years, Star Slate had become a popular designer and photographer, making costumes for heroes that would pop up shortly after receiving them, and getting some of the best pictures of them Manehattan has ever seen.

Brightness on the other hoof, had further developed her powers, all the while opting to help her brother rather than enter school. She had become increasingly more accurate with her ability to connect with the Power Ponies Red Hoof was after, and she could talk to anypony she'd established a physical link to as if they were right next to her.

“Oh is that Red? I figured he was on his way here,” called the filly from down stairs.

“Yeah,” Star called back. Then he turned to Red, who hadn't said anything since coming to a standstill in Star's office.

“Hey, buddy? Ya okay? You're bein' awful quiet over there.” Red Hoof was breathing heavily, just standing in place. Feeling something was wrong, Star went to put his fabrics down, and then Red Hoof he collapsed.

“Holy shit! Bright, get up here! I think he's hurt!” Star dropped everything and rushed to Red Hoof's side. After getting close, he noticed that the whole of his right flank had been seared and cauterized. The suit looked like it was coming apart down to the fibers where it wasn't melted to his bare skin in that spot.

Brightness had finally flown up the stairs and nearly dropped out of the air when she saw the wound. “Good Goddess! What happened!?”

“I don't know, but he's hurt real bad sis. We need to get him in a bed and try and cool him down, he's burning up.” The filly nodded and helped Star load Red Hoof on his back. The two made their way down stairs and gently placed the wounded warrior on their couch. Several replaced bags of ice later, Red Hoof had finally reached a normal body temperature and stopped sweating. It was early in the morning when Red Hoof had arrived, and it was about noon before he finally woke up.

“Applejack!” Citrus sat up too fast and started to scramble for his right flank.

“Star. Star, wake up, he finally came to,” Brightness said from nearby. Citrus turned his head to the white filly shaking her sleeping brother in his chair.

“What!? Oh, good goddess, you're okay,” he said with a jolt, then a sigh. Star got out of his chair and the two approached the now suit-less hero. Citrus' head was pounding, his flank was throbbing with pain, and most of his body ached.

“Red? Citrus? Are ya okay?” the filly asked, suspended in the air next to his head.

“Ah... Ah think so... Everythin' hurts, but Ah reckon that's just about normal.”

“What happened? Your suit was ruined and your flank...” Star trailed off, staring at the blackened part of the hero. Citrus was beginning to recall that he was on his way here when… he met the killer. He let out a breath. Just thinking about him was enough to make his legs shake.

“Ah was ambushed… he was waitin' fer me by the last murder. He got my side with whatever power he has, and then…” Citrus' ears started to ring. He kept seeing flashes of his children's faces, calling out for help. He was in no condition to fight, but he needed to find and stop that killer before he made it to his kids. Octo wouldn't stand a chance if he really was after them. Citrus tried to get out of bed, but his back right leg kept flaring in pain with every movement. “Gah!”

“Hey man, ya don't need to be moving around. Just rest for a few hours alright?” Star said, trying to help him lay back down. Citrus pushed him away, almost too hard.

“Ah can't just sit around, he's after my kids! Ah need ta…” The pain was starting to overwhelm his vision. Darkness was closing in, and soon thereafter, he passed out. The siblings were silent as the hero's breathing started to slow.

“Star,” Brightness said, sternness in her voice.

Star was concerned now. “Yeah?”

“We need to take care of this.” She turned to face her brother slowly, making the blazing determination in her eyes known.

“What!? How are we gonna do anything!? You're the only one with powers here, and we can't fight! This guy blew a hole in the Red Hoof! What are we supposed to do against somepony like that?” Brightness made her way over to the telephone on the wall and pointed to it.

“We aren’t! You know more heroes than anypony in this city, and most of them still haven't paid ya back yet. He helped us stay alive, and it's about time we returned the favor.”

Star shook his head. “Bright, I can't just call ponies out for favors like that. I know they owe us, and they're all good for it, but this… This isn't just me needing more materials or something, this is ponies lives we're dealing with.”

Brightness stomped her hooves. She could always stun her brother like that because he never thought her capable of making such a loud noise. “That's right, and it's his life that's in trouble! Are you really gonna let three little foals die because you're too much of a coward to make a few phone calls? He is in trouble, and he came to us. It's our turn to be his heroes.”

Star gritted his teeth. She was right. “Damn it Bright! You're doin' it again! Oh goddess, why does this keep happenin' to me?” With reluctant steps, Star made his way to the kitchen and grabbed a small black notebook. He flipped open the first page and started to dial.

When Citrus woke next, the sun was on the horizon, and Star Slate's house was filled with ponies he didn't know. Most of them he didn't recognize, some of them he felt he'd heard speak before, but all of them were being ordered around by a ten year old white pegasus with blue to yellow gradiated mane.

“Black Wing, I want you positioned near the south district toward 245th and 140th Street. A reminder to everypony, we're trying to corner an orange-brown coated earth pony with dark brown hair and lots of driving experience. He may be in a car, so keep on the lookout for that. Octofish, what does it look like over there? Nothing to report? Good, let's hope it stays that way. Life Leech!” Brightness barked out. The filly basically had everypony here on leads.

“Yes?” said a yellow green… bat pony? She had dark violet wings, but not the normal kind, and fangs. Visible fangs. She was about six inches away from Citrus.

“How is he? I felt a spike in his consciousness,” Brightness said, keeping her attention focused on a map with several ponies near her at the kitchen table. The mare turned to look at Citrus and they stared at each other for a few, unusually long seconds.

“Oh, he's awake now,” she said after managing to break away from the staring contest.

“Good. Get him up to speed, we need him out in the city. What? You found him!? Get him where we want him to be!” the filly said, then began to give more orders to names Citrus only half recognized. Citrus sat up and realized he wasn't in pain anymore. In fact, he felt fine. He tested his flank, and then noticed his suit was covering it again. He checked himself over, and found that his suit looked very different than it had earlier today.

Rather than it being mostly white with his limbs and cape being red, the suit was now more inline with itself, being predominantly black along the body with white sections starting at the top of each limb that turned red as they made their way to his hooves. The whole suit was done in hexagonal patterns that had different colored outlines depending on what color the hexagon inside was, and it looked impressive. Even the false cutiemark had been updated with a more futuristic design to it, while still looking like the old Red Hoof emblem.

Star must've been working on this before Ah showed up… figures. Kid is too kind fer his own good.

“Oh, please wait one moment before you start to move around,” the bat mare said, drawing his attention. Her coat faded from it's green yellow to a muted blue and suddenly, Citrus felt a wave of fatigue.

“Dear goddess, what in the world was that?” he asked, trying to get over the sudden dizzy spell.

“That would be my power. I can heal wounds at the cost of life energy. You might have lost a month or two from your life span, but all your wounds have been healed back to perfect condition.” Citrus could feel his face beginning to twist in confusion, but decided that he needed to figure out what was going on before questioning whatever sketchy detail that was.

“Okay… So, who exactly are all these ponies? And what are y'all doin' here?” Citrus started to sit up. He was sore, but he could live with that.

“Ah, right. Well, I believe everyone here but Star Slate is a Power Pony, and we're all here to help you,” she explained with a toothy smile.

“Help me? Why would any of ya do that?” A black and white stallion a little ways away overheard and joined the conversation.

“Well, because you're Red Hoof. You've done so much for all of us, this is just the least we could do.” Citrus tilted his head at the stallion, which made him realize that his mask was easier to see through than it used to be.

“Do Ah... know you?” He felt like he'd seen this guy before, but couldn't place him.

“You rescued me from a robbery a few months ago. You took a bullet for me if I remember correctly, and that inspired me to try and put myself to use afterward. I can't do much, but my power lets me phase through things,” the stallion said as he put his hooves through the coffee table Life Leech was sitting on.

“Wow. Now that is somethin',” Citrus said, trying to think back to the event the stallion described. It sounded like something he would have done, simply because bullets have a hard time getting past his muscles, but there have been enough robberies to fill a filing cabinet in the last three months, so one specific save wasn't coming to mind. Life Leech took the conversation back.

“You saved all of us at one point in our lives as far as everypony knows, so when Star Slate called asking for help, we couldn't refuse. Brightness has been working everyone like a slave driver, but we've just about cornered the guy at the edge of the southern district. Apparently, he didn't know you had so many admirers.” She flashed her toothy smile again.

Citrus curled his front right hoof and flexed his fore leg to make sure he still had his strength. At the moment, he felt better than he had in the last two weeks, and it was time to solve the problem that started all this.

“Brightness!” Red Hoof called, now standing on his hind legs above everyone else, his voice booming through the house, commanding every head to turn.

“Welcome back, Red Hoof,” the filly said with her trademark devil's smirk.

“Tell me where this guy is. Ah've got a killer ta catch.”

Brightness popped her neck. “It's about time. We have him cornered in a warehouse near the edge of the northern and southern district borders. Right around 202nd and 133rd.” Citrus' eyes went wide and he bolted out the front door.

“Oh, for the love of! Life Leech, follow him please? If anythin' happens, you're the only one who can keep him alive,” Brightness said, accompanied by an eye roll.

“Yes ma'am!”

Red Hoof leapt from rooftop to rooftop, desperately trying to reach the destination.

Damn it, that's a block away from Blood's apartment!

Origin Story V: To be a Hero

Applejack

“... And of all things, he decides to call me a thief for taking the poor old mare's purse back! Can you believe the sheer ignorance of some ponies these days? It simply drives me mad, grrr!”

Ah laughed ta myself as Ah listened ta Rarity talk about some of the ponies she's put away, specifically some of the dumber ones she's encountered over time. A couple years in this business and you'll run across all kinds of ponies.

“Ha. Sounds like he got ta ya a little, don't it?” Ah replied.

“Of course he did! There's nothing I despise more than someone accusing me of being a criminal. Anyways, I ended up dropping him off in a police car after catching an officer's attention. But enough about me, what about you? Any fun stories of heroics or simple idiocy to share?”

Ah twisted my mouth a little because Ah didn't have any that immediately came ta mind. The more Ah thought about, everything Ah did was pretty routine. “Hmm... That... may be a tougher question ta answer than Ah thought...” Ah pulled my hoof ta my face and started ta think about the ponies I'd dealt with recently.

Nope, that was just a regular guy. Nah, that was just some uppity unicorn tryin' ta make a quick buck. Ah guess there was the guy in the armor, but then again, Ah think she was watchin' me that time... Ah decided Ah might as well give it a shot.

“Well, were y'all watchin' me this mornin' when Ah was dealin' with the guy in the armor?”

She tilted her head, then frowned. “Oh, right. Well, yes, actually. To be truthful, I was hoping you might need help so I could get a chance to speak with you, but obviously, that wasn't the case.”

Ah straightened my lips. “Uh huh. Thanks? Ah guess. Wait a minute. It's been a few months since that first time right?”

Her eyes continued ta wander away from mine. “I-I believe so.”

Ah narrowed my eyes, finally catchin' hers. “Just how long have y'all be watchin' me?”

She bit her lip, and then the tension that had built up seemed ta fade when she sighed. “Ever since then, for the most part, really. Myself, that is, not the guild. Even if that little operation went as sour as it did, you would have been one of the last assets we needed to fill our roster. You were such a perfect fit, I just couldn't bring myself to give up on the idea of you joining us. I suppose my diligence paid off in the end, didn't it? He he.” She made a half a smile like she was proud of some bad thing she'd done.

Ah raised an eyebrow at her. “Ah can't tell if Ah should be endeared or creeped out. So, what even is this guild that y'all've been talkin' about anyways? Ya said a bunch of names earlier, but Ah've just about forgotten what they were. Who are these ponies?”

She smiled and raised her nose. Ah wasn't pleased by that reaction. “Oh? Interested, perhaps?” she said, keeping her tone high.

Ah raised my nose and straightened up. Ah was taller than her, and Ah hate it when ponies look down on me. “Perhaps, Ah might be. If ya tell me what Ah need ta know, that is.”

She lowered her nose, but kept her eyes on me. It reminded me of a cat about ta spring on a mouse. “Well, I'll just have to take you for a visit then. I can't very well tell you the identities of my friends without your swearing to keep it a secret, and they may very well not want you to know who they are to begin with. Of course, if you were to join the guild, then they'd likely welcome you with open hooves, but until then…”

Ah rolled my eyes. Join my guild, join my guild! Is there anythin' else she wants from me? She's bein' real damn pushy about this again. Well… Ah guess if Ah'm gonna dip my hooves in the water, Ah might as well dive in and get it over with. Havin' more friends wouldn't be too bad either…

“Alright fine. Ah might join yer little superhero club if Ah like what Ah see while Ah'm there. Maybe.” Ah didn't want ta appear as desperate as Ah felt. Maybe Ah was just bein' vain, but hell, Ah feel better now than Ah have in a long time.

She seemed ta light up with my words. As well as she could read me, Ah figured she might be able ta see how hollow they were. “Perfect! I'll set up a day for us to go meet everypony this week. When will you be available?” she asked, quickly retrieving a little black book from a drawer in the room with her magic. She realized she didn't have anythin' ta write with and then went about searchin' fer that.

While Ah was left alone, Ah finally took the time ta look around. The Boutique's 'upstairs' wasn't much more than a couple of small bedrooms, a bathroom, and a little livin' area in here. The only odd thing about it was the grand piano that took up the other half of the room that the couch and the staircase didn't occupy. It was covered in random things strewn about the top that looked like they belonged to one sister or the other. Not good fer the acoustics. Looks pretty dusty too.

She must've caught me starin' at it when she came back from wherever. “Interested in my piano are you?” she said as she finally returned with a pen.

“Ah wouldn't say interested as much as confused. The thing barely fits in here, let alone that itdoesn’t look like it's been played in ages.”

Rarity sighed and walked toward the dusty black instrument, leavin' her pen and book behind. “Truer words couldn't have been spoken. When I was younger, I thought I wanted to be a star of some kind. Being the daughter of a double income and well employed family made it relatively easy to get whatever I asked for, as often as my parents were away and felt guilty for it. So, I got smart and asked for a piano one day. I had a knack for it, even won a competition here and there, but then a school play came up, and I was asked to make the costumes for it.

“I never really thought much of my ability to sew at the time since it was just a hobby, but with every costume I made, I just found it more and more enjoyable to do. A new project that needed to look a certain way, but I had the liberty to do whatever I wanted as long as it fell within the fabrics I had access to.

“The costumes became more and more extravagant and I simply fell in love with making them. Lo and behold, my cutie mark shows up shortly there afterward. I instinctively learn a spell that makes me a genius gem hunter and suddenly I'm born to sew. I wanted to keep up with it, but the piano eventually just fell out of view. I try and play every now and again, but since my powers showed up and business here hasn't been enough to make end’s meet, I've had to take up being a bounty hunter.”

She pulled the bench seat at the keyboard out until it hit the rounded wall and sat on it. “The sad truth is, even though my cutie mark compels me toward fashion, I simply can't make a living off of it with the business I'm getting here, and it's not the only thing I like to do with my life.”

She gave a weak laugh. “Ha, here I sit at my piano again, pondering what exactly I should be doing with my life when I have a magical tattoo that tells me so. Have you ever wondered, if maybe… you don't agree with it? What your cutie mark supposedly 'tells' you to do?”

Ah reached fer the back of my neck without meanin' too. You don't know the half of it. Ah couldn't help but let out a laugh myself.

It must've made her mad because then she went off on me. “Oh, you find my plight funny, do you? Then maybe I'll just have to laugh at your inner machinations when you decide to just spill them out!”

Ah stood up and took a seat on the bench beside her. “Naw, it ain't like that. Ah just get exactly what yer sayin' is all. Ya see, my family, or, Ma’s side of the family, is pretty well about themselves and their bloodline. They're The Apple family. All they do is apples, and everythin' about them or that comes from them is apples, and when they breed, they breed more apples.

“When Ah was real little, late three or so, Ma died in labor with Applebloom. Ya see, Ma was the one who was supposed ta inherit the farm Ah was born on after my granny passed, but she didn't make it that far, and granny ended up out livin' her. So, an attempt was made ta get the will ta have my Pa put on it in her place, but then granny passed away.

“The apples did not like Pa, and when they saw the chance ta get him out of their manes, they took it. Kicked him off the farm and with him, my brother, sister, and me. With nowhere else ta go, we moved in with our uncle fer the first time until Pa found a job. He came into a whole lot of money, bought a house, and we lived well fer the next four years. But... well, then he died.

“Ah couldn't stave off the depression, and Ah fell apart mentally fer a while there.” ah shook my head and let out a dead laugh. “Heh, I probably tried ta take my own life half a hundred times before my Uncle finally managed ta calm me down. He got in touch with the Apples and after a long argument, they agreed ta let me stay with them in Ponyville until Ah got better. Ah am an Apple, after all, so they figured my special talent might be with farm work. And ya know what? It was. It was fun, it came easy ta me, and Ah liked it.

“But at the same time, Ah hated myself fer it. Ah got my cutie mark and Ah knew that I should be doin' exactly what Ah was, but somewhere deep inside, Ah felt like somethin' was wrong. A month passed after they'd accepted my into their clan, but the more time Ah spent with them, the more bitter and jaded Ah felt about my siblin’s not bein' there with me. These ponies, the verysame ponies that kicked my own father out because he wasn't 'one of them.'

“The hatred just kept buildin' up and eventually Ah was sick of 'em. The smiles and open hooves just felt like a false reality ta me. So, Ah came back. Ah took care of my clumsy brother and my baby sister, and helped cheer up my Uncle because his wife died a few years before Pa did. The family Ah had was a broken one, but it was my family, and Ah just couldn't stand the thought of bein' away from it.

“Every now and again, Ah wish Ah could go back. Live on the farm, do work that suits me, work that Ah enjoy. But they don't want my siblin’s, and my siblin’s don't want them. Fer that matter, neither do Ah. The three of us are Apples, but only in name. Ma expected us ta be welcomed inta a happy family, and that just didn't happen.

“Ah do what Ah do now ta survive because Ah just don't have the skills ta live any other way. At least y'all get ta exercise that thing you're 'compelled' ta do. Me and my siblin’s though? We'll be lucky if we can get ourselves through school ta get a job that we aren't 'compelled' ta do.” Somewhere in my speech, Ah must've let my eyes drift up to the ceiling because Ah was just about leanin' against the wall by the time Ah finished.

Ah finally looked at Rarity, and she was horrified. “Oh sweet goddess…” Ta my surprise, she hugged me. At first Ah was confused, but it felt like her eyes were wet. “You've been carrying all of that for so long… It's a wonder you didn't break.”

Ah couldn't figure out why she was cryin' over me. It was just a story about the past. It's over, done with. “Are, uh… Y'all okay? Ah mean, there wasn't really anythin' in there ta cry about anymore…”

She looked up at me, even more mortified now than before. “How… How can you say that!? You… you were just a child and you tried to kill yourself! That's just so… so, disgusting!”

Ah shrugged. “It's pretty hard ta commit suicide when jumpin' off of sky scrapers doesn't hurt.”

At that one, she backed off, but still had tears runnin' down her face. “Wha...? You... you actually?”

“Weren’t ya listenin’? Ah tried several times. My powers have been around since Ah was little. My body is tough enough ta withstand most things. Ah did lose some skin on a few attempts, but never enough to cause any infections. Honestly, Ah'm still around because Ah'm just too hard ta kill. Ah think the only real drawback ta my power is that Ah sleep a lot sometimes. Ah heal quick, my bones haven't ever broken after all this time, and Ah build muscle real fast.”

She started to wipe tears away. She looked kinda mad now. What happened next, Ah was thoroughly unprepared fer. She socked me across the face.

“Ow, what the hell!?”

She grabbed my head and made me look her in the eyes. In those pools of vibrant blue, Ah could see all kinds of emotion swirlin' around, but most prominently was fear and anger. Ah couldn't break away.

“How dare you put so little value on your own life! Do you know how much you mean to everypony? How much you mean to the other heroes? How much you mean to your sister? If your family lost you, what would they think? That it's all pointless, and just to give up and go with you? Is that what you want?”

She let go of me, but Ah was still entrained by her gaze. Why is she so mad? All Ah did was tell her about my childhood! “What? Why would anypony think that? Ah was a kid, so Ah get me, but there ain't no reason fer anythin' like that ta happen. Look, Ah just don't see what the problem is. Ah'm not dead, and Ah've spent most of my life tryin' ta help support my family. That past is done and gone, so there ain't no point dwellin’ on it.”

She shook her head in amazement, like Ah was the one who punched her. “What? Done and gone? Applejack, this is a serious issue! You don't just 'get over' things like the death of your parents! How can you be so nonchalant about this?”

Ah shrugged. “It's a non-issue. Ah don't bother with it anymore because it just gets in the way of everythin' else.” Somehow, Ah felt like she was on ta somethin', but at the same time, Ah couldn't bring myself ta admit it.

“I don't believe that. As a matter of fact, I'd say those bags under your eyes tell an entirely different story. Not but a few hours ago, you looked like somepony who was desperate for anypony to talk to. You can't simply turn off your emotions! If you bottle things up, then you'll eventually overflow. Surely you can tell me, can't you?”

Ah frowned. Something felt like it was screamin' at me in the back of my head. Ah felt like Ah wanted ta, no, needed ta say somethin', but my body just wouldn't comply. “Well, y'all can believe whatever ya want ta. It's gettin' late. Ah've got bills ta pay and work ta do, so iffin' ya don't mind...”

Ah turned ta get off the piano bench, but then she put a hoof on my shoulder and let out a heavy breath. “Very well. I can at least understand that. But first, I need to make our appointment. Twilight is a little crazy about her schedule, and she can't stand it when things don't go according to plan. Which happens… always. When are you free?” She levitated her book and pen from ta her side.

“Ah'm free every night after six. But uh, Applebloom has a school thingy on Thursday, so not then,” Ah said, tryin' ta recall the other things about Applebloom's schedule that I'd forgotten. That was the only thing that came ta mind though. School had only been in session for a few weeks now. She scribbled somethin' down on one page, then somethin' else on another and ripped it out of the book.

“Alright then, I'll see if I can't get us scheduled for Monday. Here, take this.” She set the scrap of paper down on my hoof. “Please, give me a call if you need to talk. This is my cell, so I should be able to get it even if I'm masquerading around for extra money.”

Ah shrugged and stuffed the page inta my jacket pocket. We headed down ta the first floor, and Ah said goodnight to my sister and her two friends. It didn't look much like a party with just those three girls, but at least she has them. It's more than Ah've got, anyways. Ah exited the boutique and waved goodbye ta Rarity.

“Ah'll see ya later then.”

“Goodnight, Applejack. Be safe.” Ah froze fer a second. The words hit me like knives in the neck. They stung. They hurt. They were painful to hear. My eyes suddenly felt dry. Ah needed ta get as far away from here as Ah could. With one solid leap, Ah was in the air and on top of the buildin' just across the street. Ah don't think it was rainin', but it must've been misty.

Citrus Root

“Son of a bitch! Brightness, is there anypony around here? Did y'all evacuate the nearby buildin's?” Citrus asked, mid flight from the last rooftop he'd hopped from. Brightness and Star Slate lived on the eastern edge of Manehattan, and getting from their house on 500th and 453rd to Blood's apartment in less than ten minutes was going to take more power than he wanted to use right now.

"Evacuate? Why? We have him cornered. There is no way he could get away with all of you surrounding him," the filly replied.

“Damn it! Tell the other heroes to search the near by areas and get the normal ponies out of here! This guy ain’t normal, even fer us!He has more than one power!”

"He has what!? How? Is that even possible?"

Citrus shook his head. “Ah don't know, but that's the case! He hit me with some kinda fire ball after turnin' his hooves inta blades. Ah only managed ta avoid getting skewered because he coughed somethin' up before attackin'. Ah don't know if that's it or what. Regardless, this could get ugly so get the citizens out!” With a thundering landing, he bounded on past the next six streets.

"Okay, I'll let everyone know what's going on. Red Hoof... are you sure you're gonna be okay?"

He could finally hear the filly come out in her voice, rather than the mare who'd organized over fifty Power Ponies today. He bit his lip underneath the mask. “Ah… look, if anythin' happens, you tell Pepper ta blow the place sky high. Whether Ah'm still in it or not. This guy must be stopped.”

Citrus galloped across the next rooftop and looked at the street signs as he leapt through the air. 400th and 325th? Damn it! Ah need ta move faster! As he came to the next rooftop, he readied himself to run as soon as he landed. With so much force that each roof nearly buckled underneath his hooves, Citrus shot off from one corner to the next twenty streets away, leaving a trail of wreckage behind him.

"Red, ya can't just talk like that! You're the symbol of peace around here! If we lose you, this whole city is gonna go up in flames!" The interference of the ponies around her seemed to stop.

“This isn't up fer discussion! If he can hurt me as badly and easily as he did, what do ya think he could do to a normal pony? Not ta mention what he did ta…” Citrus started to taste blood from his own lip. “He killed three of us, Brightness. This has ta end here.”

A few minutes of silence passed as the wind rushed by Citrus. He checked the street corner again and finally he'd come close. 202nd and 161st. Almost there! Oh goddess, please let them be away. He could see the warehouse and all the brightly colored ponies that were surrounding it. Nopony was moving. Somethin' ain't right.

“What's wrong?” he asked as he approached an earth pony mare clad in black and green. Her eyes were emitting some kind of green light.

“He took a hostage. Said if anypony goes in, the mare dies,” she said, not taking her glowing pupils away from the building.

“A hostage!? Damn it, Ah knew this was gonna be a problem. Wait... A hostage? What does he want?”

"He wants you, Red Hoof," Brightness answered, in an unusually quiet tone.

Red Hoof managed to keep himself from chomping down on his lip again. “Alright, then what does he want from me?”

"I... I don't know. There's something interfering with my powers around that warehouse. I can't tell what's going on in there. Beam is the only one who can see inside."

“Beam? Who is that?”

“That would be me,” said the mare he was standing next to.

“Oh. Sorry, Ah don't know too many of y'all. Who does he have in there?” The mare frowned underneath her suit.

“Some pale yellow-orange coated mare with a bright orange mane and tail. I'm not quite sure, but I can sense three souls in there, but I only see two bodies. She might be pregnant.” Citrus felt blood trickle down his chin.

“Shit!” He yelled out as he jumped through one of the warehouse windows.

"Red hoof wai-"

Brightness toppled over and fell off the table she was sitting on. As soon as Red Hoof entered the window. Her connection to him had been completely severed. The backfire of sudden loss was enough to send a shock through her body. She buzzed her wings to pick herself up and then desperately tried to get back in contact with Red Hoof.

“Brightness!? What happened!?” Star called from across the room.

The filly's eyes widened and her whole body slumped against the table. “I… I can't see him anymore...”

When Citrus crashed into the warehouse, he suddenly felt very heavy. His whole body was like soggy iron. Just standing took most of his strength.

“Finally! Oh, you have no idea what a hassle it has been just trying to get your attention, but now you're finally here! And just for me! It's a dream come true! I absolutely love the new suit, by the by. So… dark,” said the voice of a stallion near by. His inflections were flamboyant, and his tone bubbling with confidence, dripping with enthusiasm. If Citrus ever had a voice to put to a rabid dog, this would be it. The strange pressure that made him feel heavy disappeared, and so did all the natural light coming from the windows. The scent of blood was thick in the air.

“Where are ya!?” Citrus barked out, turning his head everywhere he could look to find what he was looking for. A tan-brown young stallion with a dark brown mane and tail stepped out from behind a shipping container.

He tilted his head and gave a bladed smile. “Hi there, mister hero.” Citrus froze in place. He'd seen this kid before. He looked so familiar, but Citrus couldn't match the face before him with the one he remembered. This stallion was giving off an entirely different feeling now than he had when they first met.

“You…” Before saying anything else, Citrus remembered that he wasn't in costume when they first met, and he had his daughter with him. “What do you want from me? Where is the mare!?” The thought that this creep's captive might be his brother's wife had his blood boiling.

“Oh, there's no need to rush, mister hero! Your sister in law is sitting nice and cozy on the ceiling. Give her a wave why don't you?” He looked up to the center of the warehouse and Citrus followed his line of sight.Just as the stallion had said, there was Glistening Dew, gagged and restrained, chained in some kind of ethereal magic to the ceiling.

“You bastard! You let her go this instant!” Citrus demanded.

The stallion took a single step forward and let out a laugh. “Oh, how... Charismatic! I simply adore everything about you! The heroics of champion justice, Mister perfect hero, the one and only Red Hoof! But, where would any of the fun be if I simply-” He started to cough, and Citrus took the opportunity to strike.

With one ground shattering leap, he lunged across the warehouse floor at the stallion. The kidnapper wiped at his mouth and flashed a bloody, toothy smile at Citrus before disappearing into thin air. Citrus landed with his hooves scraping against the concrete floor, only to find the hero-killer he'd just attempted to close the distance on in the same spot he just left.

“Ah, ah, ah. You're breaking the troupe. The villain first has to give the hero the monologue about how he's supposedly going to take over the city, and then they fight. I'll not have you ruin the performance I've so painstakingly set up over these past two weeks!” Citrus took a few deep breaths and lowered his body.

“It don't look like yer in the shape ta be monologin' ta nopony. You ain't no unicorn, how are y'all doin all this?”

The young stallion stamped his hooves like an excited foal. “Ooh, perfect, you asked exactly what I wanted you to! Now I get to explain my power! Okay, here it is. My power is to steal the powers of other Power Ponies!” Citrus didn't react, which made the abductor smile even wider.

“You see, If I consume another Power Pony's blood, I take on their abilities. I've become quite the vampire these days. I have so many powers now… like this one!” His eyes flashed bright green and he stood on his hind legs with one hoof pointing at Red Hoof. The wind around him started to swirl and spin violently. Before he knew it, he was in the air trapped in a tornado. The winds suddenly stopped, and Citrus was thrown into a wall. Dazed, he managed to bring himself to a stand quick enough to see the villain right in front of him. He quickly threw a right hoof toward the body, but just as it should’ve connected, her vanished.

“What in the hell!? That was…”

He finished citrus' sentence. “Curtsy of the rising star, Wild Cyclone. Or, well, fallen star, I should say! Hahaha!” The stallion belted out another laugh, and Citrus went after him again. Citrus charged, and then the kidnapper warped beside him, delivering a kick that ignited once it made contact with Citrus' ribs. The explosion sent him crashing into a storage container, causing it to warp and collapse. Citrus could feel something start to well up from his stomach, and he ripped his mouth free of his mask.

“Oh my, was that too much? I'm not quite ready to break you yet, we've only just begun!” The abductor said after spitting some of his own blood on the floor. Citrus wiped the stomach acid from his mouth and got back to his hooves. He'd been knocked around before, but this wasn't the same. His whole body hurt. Everything felt like it was on fire.

Citrus managed to get up again and stood atop the ruined container, eyes trained on the villain. “What's yer game, boy?” As things were going now, there wasn't any way for him to even get close to somepony who could just pop in and out of existence like that.

“My game? How haven't you figured it out yet? Ooh, this might help. I'll let you in on a secret. Do you know what the name of the last mayor was, oh, say, two years ago?” He asked, turning his neck so his head was just about upside down.

Citrus thought back. Two years ago? Gold Tassel? What does this have to do with him? “Ah believe his name was Gold Tassel.”

The stallion whinnied with delight. “Yes, that's the one! You see, Gold Tassel was a crook. He stole money from his own treasury to build his personal fortune along side supporting a local mob boss. I believe you knew him as Brute Force, correct?”

Citrus frowned. “Yeah. What about him?”

The kidnapper took a step forward. “About a year ago, said mob boss broke out of prison and you know what he did?” Citrus thought back, and finally, it occurred to him where he'd seen this stallion before.

“Oh, Goddess… You're Copper Tassel.”

Copper clapped his hooves together. “Bingo! Brute Force escaped and murdered my father! But between you and me? The guy was an ass and he deserved it. Not to stereotype donkeys or anything.” He shrugged innocently, then trained one wild eye on Citrus. “Dad deserved farworse than what he got, but I just laughed when it finally did happen. You even came and picked up Brute Force again yourself! I watched the fight, it was amazing! You taunted and bullied him until he couldn't think straight, and then you beat the living daylight out of him when you got the upper hoof! Truly, only one who calls himself a hero could have done that.” His tone went from bubbly and excited to dark and sour.

Citrus scratched his neck. His earlier fights may not have been very heroic, but the tactics worked. “Ah might've found a specific weakness ta that particular pony, and Ah might've exploited it. What of it? Ah saved yer sister from him two years ago. What about that makes me a target?” Citrus had been creeping ever so slowly toward Copper, and he had yet to notice.

“Well, if you must know, I thought the world of you when you first showed up. You were the ‘bright shining star’ that the city needed to illuminate it's dark alleyways and finally expose my dad for the criminal he was. I hated him for his dirty tricks and his wrong doing.”

Copper took his forehoof and curled it tightly. “Did you know that he gave Brute Force my sister? That is what sealed his fate. I was going to kill him myself, but then you showed up and saved Silver. I figured I didn't need to kill him anymore since he was still a wallet for me.” Suddenly, Copper turned his head to a 90 degree angle. “But something changed when I finally saw you in the flesh. The way you acted, how high and mighty you presented yourself, oh so righteous. I thought about you and my father in the same light.

“Disgusting. So much better than everypony else aren't you? You can get away with anything because you're untouchable! The city is just your plaything to milk for cash! That's right, I know how much each and every bounty you've racked up is worth. Over the course of two years, you made just under two million on bounties alone! And what do you do? You give it all away like some sort of saint!” Copper took a step toward Citrus, his speech increasing in speed as he did, blood and saliva falling out of his mouth as he became more intense. “Oh, Mister Hero is so generous, oh Mister Hero is a blessing to the city. Silver Tassel adored you and anything you did! Her hero, Mister Red Hoof!

“Did you know that my sister was a Power Pony? She could feel the locations of other Power Ponies and tell you exactly what they could do. The cost for this power, however,deteriorated her body a little bit more with each use. Brute Force took advantage of this and forced her to use her power over and over again, ever so slowly killing her.”Another step forward, Citrus stopped moving as Copper started to close in.

“She was hospitalized just before Dad was killed. And when he died? The moneystopped. All his stolen assets were frozen, and Silver and I were left out in the cold. She. Got. Worse! I had to start working to keep her alive, but she just. Kept. Getting. WORSE!” He was beginning to tear up. One of his nostrils started to bleed. He wiped at his nose, then started to laugh when he looked at the blood on his foreleg.

“Ha! Look at this! It's my blood! Do you see it? I know you want to take if for yourself, but you simply aren't in my league, mister perfect hero. Two weeks ago! Do you remember? I know you saw me. We looked right into each other's eyes!” Citrus remained silent. “Don't you give me that!Tell me the truth!” Copper warped beside Citrus and clicked his hoof against the ground. Sparks flew, and Citrus leapt away just before the area where he'd been standing exploded.

“Look at me!” Copper had warped behind Citrus and put his forelegs together, forming a fireball in between them. Fortunately for Citrus, he was just close enough to be kicked. With a quick twist of his torso, Citrus' hind leg collided with Copper Tassel's shoulder. The young stallion flew head first into another storage container, causing it to collapse with the shrill crunch of metal. Citrus landed and waited for the dust to settle.

From Copper’s new hole, laughing echoed through the warehouse. “I have to give Mister Hero some credit, he managed to hit me! My head hurts so bad, it's hilarious! Hahaha!” The young stallion stumbled down from the newly warped storage container and stood back in front of Citrus. He flashed another twisted smile, then threw up a pool of blood. “He he… I haven't finished the story yet! But mister Hero looked at me, didn't he? Citrus Root.”

Citrus scowled. He debated even responding, but all things considered, Copper clearly knew who he was, as far as the rest of the world is concerned. “How do you know my name?”

Copper smiled again. “It wasn't easy to get, but I'm sure you can piece this one together. On that day we locked eyes two weeks ago, Silver Tassel died. But before that, I had just stolen enough money to get her treatment. I managed to escape the police for some time, but then I almost hit a pale yellow stallion with a brown mane and his little pale yellow daughter with a red mane. I thought I was gonna kill those two ponies, but the strangest thing happened. That Stallion threw his daughter way up in the air and then looked like he was gonna punch my car.

“I thought, 'There's no way…' but then, he did! He punched my card, and my. Car. Lost!” Copper turned his head about fifteen degrees with his last three words. “Dazed and confused, I pushed the airbag back and looked for the stallion, but he was nowhere to be found. The sirens were getting closer, and Silver didn't have long left, so I grabbed the money and ran. The hospital wasn't far away and I could make it if I ran. But when I got there, she was already on her death bed.

“Her final words to me were that she could feel that I was a Power Pony, just like her. She said she left me one last thing back at home, and then… she was gone.” Tears started to stream down Copper’s face. Before long, the clear tears turned red. “The monitor screamed, the lines stopped zig-zagging, all the numbers went to zero!” He pulled at one of his eyelids, smearing blood all over his cheek. “I ran out of the hospital, I didn't even take the bits, I just left them there. When I finally made it to our apartment, my first thought was to look for her note. Hidden, just where she said it was, was a detailed guide on how to use my powers.

“I drink blood of another, and suddenly their power is mine! But, the cost of such a strong power is my own body. Just like Silver, I deteriorate a little more with every use. What a family trait, right? She even left me a little bottle of her own blood to test it out. Wasn't that sweet of her?” He wiped his hoof down his face and stood up straight. The strange hysteria in his voice suddenly disappeared and went flat.

“You never know how a carnivore feels until you dig your teeth into another pony's neck. There's a certain flavor to every blood type, but I think Silver’s blood was the sweetest I ever tasted. I killed my first victim shortly after taking Silver's power.” The smile returned, as did the flare in his voice. “Her blood changed me. I felt alive for the very first time! I finally had the power I'd always wanted, the ability to be great! I. Needed.To feel that way again, and again, and again! It was like being bathed in the most divine silk one could find!” Copper said with a moan. “But after the first three, the feeling wasn't so good any more. I'd acquired a few powers, some weak, some strong, but they just didn't taste as good as the first one.

“I needed something more… satisfying. So, I decided that I wanted to drink your blood. After all, who would have sweeter blood than the strongest hero around? But I didn't know where to start. That pony that broke my get away car was still an unknown father at the time, so I decided to find out who Red Hoof really was.” He coughed more blood again, this time, sitting down and coughing harder. Citrus was about to make a move when he yelled.

“Don't take another step! I'm running out of time, and I still need you to know my story, Mister Hero!” The chains around Glistening Dew tightened and she started to float down to the ground beside Copper. One of Copper's hooves was glowing with a bright green aura, just like a unicorn's horn would, while the other had turned silvery and into the shape of a blade. When Dew finally landed, he rested his bladed foreleg on her neck.

“Sit… down,” he managed through coughs. Seeing the blade dip further into Dew's neck and the fear on her face, Citrus complied.

He figured he might be able to get some information out of him if he just let Copper go on, so he asked a question. “Fine. But tell me this; If ya want me dead so bad, then why haven't ya done it already? Ah figure that whatever ya did ta my friends woulda been the first thing ta hit me with.”

Copper pursed his lips, as if he’d been asked a strange question. “Want you… dead? No, no, I just want to make you suffer! If I wanted to kill you, then we'd just go together! That wouldn't be any fun at all. You need to feel just as hopeless as I did trying to keep my sister alive to no avail. I want you to experience the depths of despair! Just. Like.Me!”Coppers voice dropped and his tone settled. “Besides, it takes stealing about an entire city block's worth of electricity to kill a pony the same way your friends went out, and another day to charge it.” he laughed. “I won’t ever be able to use that power again. A shame really. Your friends had such delicious blood.” Citrus started to grind his teeth.

“Like that do you? I might as well continue with my story. If you don't have any more questions, that is.” Citrus didn't say anything. “Perfect! I started to track down the heroes who'd worked closest to you. A trail of dead Power Ponies and one such who just so happened to be miss Wild Cyclone's brother eventually drew her to me for revenge. Did you know that Cyclone was a virgin? I found that one out myself!” Citrus bit into his lip. It started to bleed again.

“Ooh, there's my favorite expression! Keep that up, I want to see that face when I finally go out. After I'd gotten everything I wanted from her, I figured that one of the heroes would know where you lived, so I thought I might keep going. Of course, I knew you would eventually find the body, so I decided to make a fun little puzzle for you.

“Did you like it? It was a stop light! It was so perfect to commemorate our last meeting, I just needed to finish it. Burst was attracted by Tornado's disappearance, and it just so happens that he can’t use his power in the presence of hers. No sparks, no explosions. He didn't know anything, being as useless as he was, so I just killed him took his powers for the yellow in my little stoplight analogy. I left my last message to try and get you to lead me to your home, but finishing up with Light Bringer just had me ready for another round. When I jumped at you, I didn't think you had a bunch of friends in the area waiting for me though. That was where I made my mistake.

“As powerful as I am, I knew better than to try and take on ten heroes at once, so I improvised. You disappeared after our encounter at the streetlight back then, so I figured there was something there for you. Heading back that way, I just so happen to overhear this one talking about how her brother in law, Citrus, was going to be the god father. I wasn't getting away any time soon, so I took a hostage. As it turned out, I was right on the money wasn't I, mister hero?” Every muscle in Citrus' body was tense and ready to spring. He stood up.

“Oh, did I say something you didn’t like?” he cooed with a pout on his face. “No one said you could get up. I am not done yet.” Copper pressed the tip of the blade into Dew's neck. She yelped and a small bubble of blood started to form at the wound. “Why don't you just stay seated, hmm? I don't have much time left anyways. Considering the anemia I'm feeling, I've only got about ten minutes before I pass out, and I'll probably die shortly there after.” He smiled sweetly at Citrus, and against the will of every inch of his being, Citrus sat back down.

“There see? We can be civil about this. I haven't even told you what I want just yet.”

Citrus couldn’t keep silent any longer. “Civil!? Ya call killin' ponies and… and… deflowerin' corpses civil!? If you didn't have my brother's wife, you'd be a dead pony!”

Copper giggled and pawed his free hoof at Citrus. “Aww, what's this? The great Red Hoof is angry at little ol' me? Who could have predicted that? Come now, I'm already a dead pony! As soon as I took Silver's power, I knew I wouldn't last very long afterward. Her deterioration mixed in with my own? Even if I didn't take any more powers, I still would have died within the year. But what left did I have to live for? My mother was some whore that dumped me at my father's door step, just like Silver's was. My father was the scum of the earth, whom I'd planned to kill anyways, and the only thing keeping me going died in my hooves!”

Copper stared desperately at his free hoof, like he was watching sand fall from it. “So I thought, why not go out with a bang? Nearly twenty, a virgin myself, well, until recently that is…” he said with a twisted smile, “and with absolutely nothing but a cursed future to look forward to! If I am to die, why not take share my despair with the pony who doomed my sister? After all, if you never let Brute force get away, she'd at least be alive still.”

Citrus spat. “Doomed yer sister? How can ya even think that? There wasn't nothin' Ah coulda done ta prevent Brute from escapin' unless Ah was there at the time. Not every act of violence is preventable, otherwise, somepony woulda already killed yer sorry ass. Scum like you… you make yer father look like a saint.”

Copper's wicked smile reversed itself, the veins in his neck bulging, then he stood up and approached Citrus. His chains drug Dew behind him, and he started to wave his bladed foreleg around. “'Nothing I could have done' he says, 'No one could have prevented it' he says! She'd dead because of your inability! You disgusting creature, just like my father! Untouchable saint! Refuse! Filth! Everything I had is gone and it's all your fault! You both took her away from me!” Just as Copper got close enough to Citrus to cut his neck with the blade, Citrus stood and backed away. Then, Copper smiled the most sinister grin he'd put on yet.

“What are you up to!?” Citrus shouted. Copper ignored him and let Citrus' blood drip down his blade. He lapped at it until it was clean. Dew's chains disappeared, and Copper's eyes started to change colors rapidly, visiting every hue in the rainbow.

“He he he... HAHAHA!! I can feel it! All of your power! Everything about your being, oh, how sweet the taste!” He slammed one of his hooves into the ground, causing a crater to form at the point of impact. His bladed smile returned.

“I'm going to die, and I'm going to take you with me! Who needs to suffer when I can kill you with your own powers!? We'll go see Silver together, just you and me! She'd always wanted to meet her hero!” With just as much speed as Citrus, Copper lunged at the red and black clad hero, a raised hoof ready for a slam. Citrus dodged and slid underneath Copperthen twisted around to kick Copper into the floor, then the ground cracked and shivered as Copper sank into a crater made by the impact.

He got up quicker than Citrus was prepared for, and warped behind him. Citrus only had enough time to block the in coming bladed hoof before having a deep slash in his left foreleg send him across the room. He crashed into the wall and shattered it on impact. As the wall started to fall apart, Citrus was quickly alerted to the fact that he was no longer in down town Manehattan, but what was more akin to a black, shadowy void. The pieces of wall started to fall, and without much time to think, Citrus kicked off one to another and managed to catch the edge of the floating warehouse.

“Do you like it?” Copper asked as blood ran down his jaw. “At one point in my search for that sweet taste that Silver had, I thought it was foal's blood that would do the trick! Alas, that ended up not being the case. This child's blood was nasty, but this power is one of the more unique ones. Speaking of, I still haven't used the latest power I've gotten! Oh, what was it she liked to call out? Ah yes, Light Brigade!”

For once, seeing a power he knew was helpful because he knew the draw back associated with it. Citrus threw himself up from the ledge to nothingness and curled into a ball to hide his eyes. A warm beam hit his body, but it more or less just singed at his suit, which was holding rather well.

“Gah, my eyes!” Copper reeled from using Light Bringer's ability, and Citrus took the chance to rush him. He came in with a right to the stomach. The sheer speed and friction of Citrus' punch seared Copper's coat as it twisted into his gut. He then followed up with a left to Copper's face, knocking out a tooth and letting a resounding crack echo from Copper's jaw. Finally, Citrus reeled his right foreleg back for a last hook to the jaw. Blood started to fly from Copper's face as he was sent skyward across the warehouse, landing with a resounding thud.

Citrus didn't waste any time making his way to Copper, and stood just over of his body. Copper was bleeding seemingly from everywhere, but he wasn't dead just yet. He coughed four times, adding massive amounts of red liquid to his slowly growing pool.

“Congrats, Hero! He he…” His eyes were shot and his body soaked in his own crimson. He couldn't even see Citrus anymore, and still, he tried to taunt him. “You beat the bad guy! You let his sister die, you helped kill his father, and finally, you put him down! Aren't you glad!?”

Citrus shook his head. “None of that was my fault. Y'all made yer own damn choices, all Ah did was try ta help ponies. Not even the first bounty Ah collected was fer the money. All Ah did was help out a kid, just like y'all, rescue a sister he couldn't protect. The bounty just happened ta be a bonus.” More disappointed than disgusted, Citrus shook his head at the dying stallion.

“Not… your… fault? I know!” He coughed again and started to sit up. “Let's make something your fault! My original plan was better anyways, ha ha ha!”Copper started to laugh hysterically, and suddenly, Citrus felt heavy again. He couldn't hardly move. The world around started to shake and rumble. All the windows shattered and shot shards of glass inside the warehouse. The building was collapsing. Copper stared him down with a big bloody smile on his face as the void world started to bleed into the real one.

The warehouse came toppling down, and with one glance toward Dew, Citrus realized exactly what Copper meant. Across the street, about to enter his complex, was his brother. Dew was stuck to the floor like she was being pressed against it, and none of the three ponies inside the warehouse could move as it came down upon them. One last scream was heard before crash.

Origin Story VI: Villain

Applejack

"Ahhh~" Ah went ta say somethin', but all that came out was a big yawn.

“Applejack, would you please wake up? I'd prefer my friends be impressed when they see you,” Rarity said, though it was more like she was snappin' at me. It was just about six fifteen PM on Tuesday, August 27th, and Ah'd only woken up a few minutes ago.

“Ah can't help it. Ah had classes this mornin', ya know, on top of baggin' a bulky Power Pony that socked me in the ribs last night. Ah'm still sore and tired. Ah told ya Ah sleep a lot.” Another yawn and she rolled her eyes. My ribs were still bruised, after all. It wasn't the most comfortable thin' in the world ta walk like this.

“Well, be that as it may, I'd like to have you give a better first impression than my own, so if you would…” She was lookin' at me with an eye half open.

It was my turn ta roll my eyes. “Fine. Can we at least get me somethin' ta eat real quick then? This is basically breakfast time fer me.”

She sighed. “The Guild will have food, I'm sure Pinkie will want to feed you the moment you walk in.” Ah tried ta shake some of the sleep from my head. When Ah did, Ah realized we were headed toward the south district.

“So uh, where is this place? There ain't much but the park this way. Unless we're headed toward the southern docks. Or do y'all expect me ta work before lettin' me in?” Ah asked, surveyin' the surroundin's. Not much but run down apartment complexes and a couple of factory buildin's around. The south district was typically where all the poor and minorities lived within' Manehattan. Prejudice between the three tribes was just about gone these days. Prejudice between ponies and other races though? Not quite so much.

Aside from the park, this place was more or less fer the lower class ta outright homeless or addicted creatures, most of which were not ponies. Hippogriffs, stray dragons, griffons, zebras, the occasional pony of lower standin'. Not ta say that Ah'm much better off, all things considered, but when ya just need ta find a criminal fer some quick cash, this would be the place ta go. If there's one thin' that unites a community, it's havin' somepony ta hate, and all them folks that like ta hate, hate the folks here.

Ah wouldn't call it just, but if there's a crime, these are the creatures that get looked at first. And an unfortunate amount of the time, these are the folks that get taken in fer committin' a crime. The streets here are littered with homeless ponies and other creatures, creatures addicted ta some substance or other, even Power Ponies who've been just about kicked out of their homes due ta their appearance. It wasn't like this twelve years ago, but that was then. This is now.

“With your track record? I'm certain we all already know just what kind of valuable asset you would be to us. As it happens, the Guild is located in the park. Due to the nature of our work, it's better for us to be stationed near where crimes are at a higher rate. At the same time, we can't actually 'be' in the southern district because the princess often come to visit their protégé. So, partly for appearances, partly for practicality.” Rarity explained. Ah don't know what it was, but somethin' about that sounded off.

“Hmm. Ah suppose that makes sense. Ah was here last night after all... But, ain't it a little dangerous ta have the princesses' apprentice here? Ah mean, Ah'd think that makes ya a target.” It looked as if Rarity started to roll somethin' around her tongue, then decided ta say whatever it was anyways.

“Well, nopony technically knows that the Guild is actually there, or that a protégé of the princesses exists. Well, save for us that is. It's not quite a secret, but it's also not public knowledge. Ah, it seems as if we've arrived at the park.”

In Manehattan is one of the most well maintained parks of Equestria, Celestial Park. Part of the original plan ta settle this once-upon-a-time uninhabited island was ta keep some of the natural environment as is, by order of the princesses. The city grew until the Island's natural borders were no longer enough, and then expanded artificially afterward, but this little square of nature remained through it all.

City officials have fought the princesses, specifically Celestia, over the park on numerous occasions but ta no avail. A major part of the economic stabilization plan in Manehattan is ta give ponies without jobs one as part of the park committee. Of course, this happened after Pa was already gone. Ah still wonder sometimes if what Ah think happened that day was actually the day he died, or maybe…

“Applejack?” Rarity asked, breaking my train of thought.

Ah must have drifted off because we were much deeper in the park now than when we arrived. “Oh, sorry. Ah… might've been thinkin' about somethin' else. Did we get lost or somethin’? We're pretty far inta the woods,” Ah asked, takin' note of my surroundin's again. Lots of pine trees grow in the still natural parts of the city, what few are left. Further up north on the main land is an entire forest of these thin's that stretches all the way inta the borders of Yakyakistan. They're tall and they just about blot out the sky when there’s enough of ‘em. Ah've gotten lost in the park more than once myself because of it.

“No, we're here.” Rarity took a few steps forward, and then half her body disappeared into what should've been empty space.

“What in tarnation!?” It usually takes a lot ta startle me, but this was a new one. Ah jumped a few steps back.

“Oh, come on already, it's just an illusory spell,” she explained… without movin'. Ah laughed. That made her walk back out of the field. “What? Is there something funny?”

She sounds happy. “Well, it just so happened ta look like ya were talkin'… out yer ass. Pfft- wouldn't be the first time. Ha ha ha...”

Takin’ as much time as possible to sarcastically roll her eyes, she pushed me through the field. “You know, at times I wish I had the foul mouth you do so I could reprimand you in your own filthy tongue. What? No witty comeback? I thought that was your forte. Oh, that's right. The Guild is quite the sight for your first time isn't it?”

Honestly, Ah didn't hear a word she said. What could only be described as some kind of futuristic castle made entirely of a blue-violet iridescent crystal stood in the middle of this hidden forest clearin'. Light bounced off it in all kinds of colors, turnin' this would be ordinary wood inta a display of color like nothin' Ah'd ever seen before. It was shaped almost like an archway, or a rounded spear head that pointed high up in the air, almost ta match the height of the trees that were possibly three or four stories tall.

The castle was smooth and metallic, shinin' in various colors as the light hit it, and in the very center was what must have been an emblem. A six pointed star surrounded by five other six pointed stars. What it meant or who it belonged ta, Ah couldn't know, but the way the evenin' sunlight hit it had me captivated unlike anythin' Ah'd ever seen.

“Well, come along then. If we're any later, Twilight may very well reprimand us herself. I find it strangely adorable when she attempts to skirt the use of curse words, but it's not something very becoming of her, and she doesn't always succeed when she's angry or stressed enough.”

“Uh-huh…” Ah was still just about dumbstruck by the castle's beauty as she practically pulled me along the clearin' ta the entrance. Ah never believed in my entire life that Ah would find a sight like that in this city. The dark, decrepit alleyways where my father disappeared, where criminals are born, where heroes die. That is the world Ah live in. Wonder has no place here. When we approached the rounded wall underneath the giant star, it pulled back and split in two, revealin' a doorway.

“I'm here with my guest,” Rarity announced ta the violet crystal door. Before Ah could ask what she was doin', the door responded.

“You're late! You were supposed to be here ten minutes ago! Do you know how far this is going to throw my schedule off?” The door sounded feminine, and annoyed.

“Pfft, ten minutes is nothing you can't plan around. You always have extra time anyways. At least act like you want more members. This is Marevelous we're dealing with, Twilight!” Rarity said, pushing her face against the upper part of the door.

It didn't respond for a few minutes before finally sayin', “Come in,” and then slidin' away inta the wall.

“Well, she sure sounded pleased,” Ah remarked.

“Oh, believe you me, she wasn't, but she will be once she meets you. I hate to continually sound desperate here, but we really do need your help, and even Twilight would be willing to put aside her... obstinance for the chance at you joining. Stay close, the Guild is not unlike a maze if you've never been here before.” Rarity lit up her horn, castin' an illumination spell. It wasn't long before Ah noticed the strain' it took on her beginnin' ta show. Ah didn’t know much on about magic, but spells like that are supposed ta be pretty simple.

We wandered through dark hallway after dark hallway fer what seemed like hours until we finally arrived at an area that was lit. The hues of the crystal changed from the deep indigo blue that coated the outside ta a more reddish violet at the lower floor, then a solid blue that honestly looked like Rarity's eyes. Shakin' off a thought Ah had zero intention of addressin', Ah took notice of the room we were in.

It was a large circular chamber with a big table in the center of a two stair dip in the floor. Around it were five large chairs that looked like they were part of the castle's crystals, but in some whitish opaque color as opposed ta the vibrant blue hues that the rest of the castle held.

To the left was some kinda large screen with a podium standin' in front of it, and to the right was a more casual lookin' area with a table, couches, and chairs where a pale yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail sat polishing a rifle. A very big rifle at that.

“Hello Fluttershy.” Rarity addressed the yellow pony.

“O-oh, hi Rar-” She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed me. “W-who is that?” She looked like she was about ta jump outta her skin, while at the same time, she slowly lowered the barrel of her weapon toward my position.

“Oh, would you put that away! This is our new, tentative member, Applejack. Please, introduce yourself properly, and without your weapon, thank you very much.”

The half cowerin', half threatenin' pony placed her large rifle, which was in full view now, on the couch and shakily trotted toward us. She attempted what Ah could only guess was a smile and reached out a hoof that would make a Parkinson’s patient look steady by comparison. “H-hello… I-I'm Flut…” she mumbled.

“Ah'm sorry, what was that?” Ah asked. Ah figured Ah already knew what she was sayin' since Ah was told beforehoof, but Ah thought Ah might give her a chance ta practice again. It looked like she needed it.

“M-my name is F-Fluttershy…” she said again, quickly losin' eye contact and volume. Ah figured that was as good of an introduction as she was gonna give. Maybe she'd get better with time. Ah reached out and met her hoof, which was far lighter than Ah had anticipated.

“Well, howdy Fluttershy, Ah'm Applejack.” Repeatin' her name fer her seemed ta have some kind of immediate catharsis on the shaky mare, almost puttin' her inta a normal state.

“It's v-very nice to meet-”

She attempted ta say, but was interrupted by a very quickly movin' force that yelled out,

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

Which was finished by Rarity behind me suddenly yellin',

“ZA WAURDO!” And the entire world suddenly lost it's color in a light gray flash, save for the ponies around me. A pink blur from the other side of the room started throwin' knives in impossible numbers all around the circular room. They moved a few inches at an equally high speed, and when they had all finished appearin', Rarity quickly grabbed me and ducked. Then the world returned ta it's colors.

The knives all flew together directly at the yellow pegasus. Somethin' in me must have snapped because Ah jumped up ta try and protect the mare usin’ my body. When the 'knives' hit me, they didn't leave a scratch, nor were they remotely sharp. They felt like rubber. What was more impressive is that Fluttershy had caught every blade that didn't land on my chest or my front legs.

Ah caught a glimpse of the mare behind me, and she was basically a different pony amidst catching the knives. No shakin', no fear, not even a hint of lost composure. Steeled, like some kind of robot… or a monster. Maybe Ah'm crazy, but Ah could swear her eyes flashed red fer a moment… When the hoof moved ta continue grabbin' knives that would have already landed on her back touched me, she changed back ta normal.

“O-oh my goodness! Y-you… you tried to p-protect me?” she stuttered amidst droppin' the rubber blades.

Once my heart had calmed down enough for me ta speak, Ah finally replied with, “A force of habit, maybe even an instinct, but yeah, Ah guess Ah did. Speakin' of, Rarity, what in the hell was that!?”

“Oh, my apologies, I am so sorry for not warning you. We have a code word when we're working together to get me to use my powers for a few seconds. It's almost second nature for me to follow through, and well… Pinkie,” she said, pointin' next ta me.

Ah turned my head and nearly jumped outta my skin when Ah saw a bright pink pony not but a few inches from my muzzle, starin' right inta my eyes. “Holy shit!” Ah spouted, takin' a step back. Twice today. What in the world did Ah just step inta?

“Hiiiii! I'm Pinkie Pie, and you must be some kind crazy or at least some kind of Power Pony to just jump up in front of knives! So, what's your power? It must be super cool if you expected to just take knives like that! Is it like, super hard skin? Or you can turn you body into metal? You know, I know a guy like that. Ooh! Is it that you're just super strong and didn't think a few knives in the ribs would hurt all that much? Maybe-” She was muffled when Rarity put a hoof in her mouth. That didn't stop her from tryin' ta continue ta talk though.

“Yes, this is Pinkie, she's our fastest, and at the moment, our only earth pony member. She came up with the code word, I have no idea what it means,” Rarity explained. Ah wasn't sure if Ah could take another adrenaline spike today, so Ah simply sat down ta try and catch my breath.

And then a voice that could probably have been heard through the entire castle shot through the room. Ah could've swore Ah was gonna go inta cardiac arrest. “Pinkie! What are you doing!? You can't just show ponies our secret technique! We don't even know if she's going to join us yet!” Ah was practically frozen in position when a relatively same height ta myself lavender mare had trotted up beside me.

Pinkie seemed ta blur from her spot ta havin' a foreleg over the much taller pony's neck. “Oh, Twi, Twilly, Twilight. Do you really think that somepony who would take a bunch of knives for somepony she just met wouldn't join us? Really though, it's probably a good thing I left the real ones in my room today, otherwise, that could have been messy.” With all my senses in overdrive finally beginnin' ta give way ta rational thought, Ah noticed that 'Twilight' was like some kind of unicorn with wings. Like she was a really short princess or something. She rolled her eyes and practically snarled at Pinkie.

“I still think that was a really stupid move on her part, but I guess that does prove that you're trust worthy. Welcome to Harmony, I'm Twilight.” She took a step forward and held out a hoof ta me. Ah finally got a good look at her her now, and this wasn't really what Ah was expectin' of this 'Twilight' character. She looked real tired, and Ah noticed that her violet aura was carryin' a stack of papers and a coffee cup on either side of her. Then Ah noticed that her Cutie mark matched the emblem outside.

She must be the protégé. Straightenin' my hat and my jacket, Ah met her hoof. It was the strongest one so far, but not quite as strong as a regular earth pony. “Howdy, Ah'm Applejack. So uh, if ya don't mind me askin', what exactly are ya?” Fer a moment, she looked like she was about to respond, but then shut her mouth.

“Uh… I, um… Well, okay so… F-first, why don't we get you all signed up? Technically, the state says I'm not actually allowed to disclose much of anything about Harmony, er, the Guild, to outsiders, so once you join I can tell you anything you want to know!”

Ah frowned. Fer whatever reason, Ah felt the need ta see what all Ah could get out of these mares before Ah signed anythin'. Could just be me bein' over cautious, but hey, better safe than sorry. “Ah'm not too sure about all this. Ah mean, even from y'all's perspective, this would seem kinda fishy right? Ah had knives thrown at me mid time stop today, Ah think ya owe me a little bit more than just, 'sign here.'” Fluttershy, more or less reverted ta bein' as shy as she was earlier, Pinkie just about did everythin' she could ta avoid the hard stare Twilight was givin' her, and Rarity wouldn't look at me either.

Ah figured since nopony had anything ta say ta that, Ah'd give em a chance. “Well, how about this. Ah'm pretty sure y'all know who Ah am with the mask on, so how about ya tell me who all of ya are?” Twilight clapped her hooves together.

“Ooh, that's an idea! Why don't we have a round of back stories again? We haven't done it since Pinkie joined!” The lavender mare exclaimed. She made her way ta the table and chairs in the center of the round room and took a seat at what Ah could only assume was the head chair.

“Hmm. I suppose that would be fine. I didn't really tell you how I got into this business, I just told you how my powers work. And I don't really know why you started doing this either…” Rarity mused as she slowly made her way to another chair. Pinkie and Ah followed, but when we finally reached the table, Fluttershy had yet to move.

“Uh, are ya alright, Fluttershy?” Ah asked. She seemed ta get snapped out of somethin', then sulked her way to a chair at the table. Since Ah was sittin' next ta Rarity, Ah figured Ah'd ask what was up. “Is she okay?” Ah asked. Rarity leaned in close and whispered ta me.

“This is a rather difficult subject for her. Without telling you anything she wouldn't really want anypony to know, five years ago she started as a first year at… Cloudsdale high.” Ah nearly chewed inta my lip.

No wonder she's so... fragile lookin'. Anypony that survived that... goddess, that's just messed up. Without sayin' anythin' else, Ah nodded and sat back in my chair. Poor girl.

Citrus Root

Red Hoof awoke to darkness and the sounds of sirens. His whole body ached, and an immensely heavy object was weighing down on him. He could feel that he was in a puddle, everything that wasn't still in his suit was wet. All around he could hear the sounds of other ponies yelling.

“Have you found him yet!?”

“He's over there! Quick, push the rubble away!”

Light started to filter in on his left and the taste of dusty air flowed in. He took a deep breath, not realizing he was struggling for air to begin with. He couldn't remember what was going on, until finally he heard a familiar voice.

“Dew? Dew!? No, NO, NO! This can't be… how did…? Dew please… AHHH!”

Memories of the last hour started to flood back in just as the sound of his brother's screams of agony raised through air. Citrus tried to move. He tried to speak. He wanted to see his brother. But his body wouldn't respond. He couldn't feel anything but wetness and pain. The light became brighter as the large concrete roofing was thrown aside. Power ponies he barely recognized took him on their backs and began to head away.

More pain started to flood through out his body, but he couldn't yell, scream, or even make a movement to try and stop it. All he could do was watch his brother being taken away by the police, struggling to get to the body he had been laying near. He finally caught his brother's eyes. Another wave of pain coursed through his body. The last thing Citrus heard before he passed out was one simple phrase from his own brother's mouth.

“This… is your fault…”

The coming weeks did not treat Citrus well. Red Hoof was held responsible for destroying the roofs of several apartment buildings along side the entirety of the warehouse. The reward for the 'hero killer' and half of the savings he'd stored were taken to repair all the damage he caused.

When he attempted to see his brother, what he found was the shell of a pony.

“One day… I'll get my revenge…” Blood would repeat over and over again. Other ponies didn't seem to exist in his world anymore, and his tear ducts had all dried up. He would not eat, he would not sleep. He repeated one word until it finally got to the point where Citrus had to have him committed. 'Vengeance' he would say, over and over again. After a few days of it, Citrus couldn't bare to watch him waste away anymore. The last act of the stallion known as Citrus Root to the outside world, helping his brother into a mental facility. When all was said and done, Blood Orange was locked away. The doctors there didn't believe there was any hope of recovery for the broken widower.

When forced to have his brother taken in for mental health care, Citrus sank into a deep depression that he would never truly recover from.

When asked by Star Slate and Brightness if he would ever return, he simply said, “Red Hoof... is retired.,” and refused to make contact with anyone from the hero world again.

He pushed his friends away, and he left home only when it was in order to feed his children. He turned his back yard into a garden and spent most of his days tending to the plants he’d managed to grow in the ever expanding concrete island.

For two years, it was like this. Brightness and Star would come visit on occasion, those two being the only ones allowed inside the Root family home. The kids got older and continued on with their lives, being the only hope for the future Citrus had left. However, two years is a long time to go without working. With the fortune he'd built over the last six years nearly destroyed by the Copper Tassel incident, funds had become low. The time for work was approaching.

At the same time, a new enemy had arisen, and one that nopony was ready for.

The darkness of night combined with the stormy skies made streetlights the only hope for Octofish to escape from his pursuer.

How did this happen? Copper died years ago, why is somepony killing us again!? His thoughts were interrupted when a giant column of water shot in his direction, sending him flying into a brick building.

“Ack!” The crash happened so fast, he couldn't liquify in time to keep from hurting his body. He couldn't feel his left foreleg anymore. In an attempt to get up, his left side dropped in pain. His shoulder was broken.

I have to escape, I have to let somepony know! Octo tried once again to liquify himself in hopes of fleeing to the sewers, but with his broken shoulder, his body wouldn't transform. Damn it, damn it, damn it! With all his remaining strength, he pushed on with his three working legs. This alleyway has a lamp! If I can just make it to the lamp, there should be a payphone near by then, I could call… but… would he even answer? No! I have to try! If I don't, then nopony…

A shadow walked out from beside the lamp. Octo could feel his heart sink and his pulse sky rocket. Everything in his body was telling him to run, but not a single muscle would move. He was petrified.

“The last one told me that you were close to him. So why don't you tell me what I want to know?” the shadow asked. He took a single step forward. Octo could feel blood running down his other foreleg. It wasn't going to last long.

“Him who!? Why are you doing this!?” Octo yelled at the shadow. It stepped forward once more and a glistening mirror on his chest was caught in the light. Octo could see just how badly his front left leg was broken now. And his front right didn't look much better.

“Why? Because I lost everything long ago, and it was their fault. It was your fault. But above all else, it was HIS FAULT! You know exactly who I want! WHERE IS RED HOOF!?”

“I would… never tell you.” Octo spat at the dark figure. The pony approached Octo and held out his right hoof.

“Then you will die for him.” The shadow's right leg liquified, just like Octofish's powers, then he felt a stinging sensation in his chest. He suddenly lost all the feeling in his back legs. A wave of blood came pouring up his throat.

“Give Red Hoof my regards when he comes to see you,” the shadow whispered, then removed his hoof from Octofish's body. The shadow liquified his hoof one more time to remove the foreign blood from his suit, and then walked away. “You were the one who took him away that day. If this doesn't draw him out, then I'll just have to destroy his precious city. Even he, wouldn't turn a blind eye to that.”

Origin Story VII: Marevelous Red

Applejack

“Well, I suppose we should decide who goes first. Any volunteers?” asked the violet… pega-corn. Ah looked around and met the eyes of the other three mares in the room. As far as Ah could tell, nopony wanted ta speak up. Twilight scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Really now? Nopony? Pinkie?” Twilight asked, irritation crawlin' back inta her voice.

“I would, but the details are still fuzzy. If you could like, I don't know, let somepony else go first, then it would probably come back to me,” the pink earthy pony said, flickin' at one of her ears with her hoof. Must have been some kinda nervous habit because she was doin' it so fast, Ah could barely see her ear at all.

“Okay then... how about Rarity?” Twilight asked, turnin' ta the mare closest ta me.

Rarity looked at me, then ta Twilight, then back ta me, and finally ta the floor. She bit deep in her lip. “Umm… I… I need some time to gather my thoughts on the subject. I um, can't quite remember exactly what happened at the moment. Putting me on the spot like that is making my head go blank, er, it would seem.” She kept checkin' ta see if Ah was still watchin' her. Guess she didn't really want ta tell me whatever it was that set her here.

“We can't just not have the stories told. Applejack, I would tell you mine, but like I said, I'm really more or less a government secret myself, so I can't say anything until you sign. Um… oh! Joining Harmony is kinda like accepting a job, so you'll be compensated for your time. But uh… that also means you'll technically be employed by the government too, so um… there are certain 'restrictions' that we have to follow, so…” Ah shook my head as Twilight began ta trail off. Clearly, none of these ponies other than Twilight were gonna say anythin' unless somepony came and kicked ‘em in the rear ta do so, and Ah wasn't about ta force a victim of a tragedy ta tell her story if she didn't want ta.

“Look, it don't seem like any one of y'all really wanna say anythin' at all. So be honest and nod yer heads. 'Yes, Applejack, Ah don't wanna tell ya my story.' Go on.” Slowly but surely, Ah had all four nods, includin’ the first intentional eye contact from Fluttershy today.

“And that brings us ta an impasse. Since y'all were kind enough ta tell the truth, Ah'll go first. Ah haven't told anypony this story, ever. But, Ah get the feelin’, y'all have worse stories ta tell than Ah do, am Ah right?” Eventually, they all nodded again, every one of them droppin' their heads a little lower than before.

“Ah figured as much. So here's the deal. Ah tell y'all my story, then y'all follow up with yours. If Ah'm satisfied with that, Ah'll sign yer contract or whatever bindin' legal agreement filled with all that complicated bullshit, and then you tell me just what exactly you are. Deal?” This time, the nods came a little quicker, and Pinkie even said 'yes ma'am' like she was talkin' ta her mother. Figures.

“Alright then. Listen close, 'cause Ah'm only gonna say this once. Ah guess Ah'll have ta start from the beginnin' Ah'm twenty now, but my parents met almost thirty years ago…

“My mother's name was Rosie Apple, the only child of Granny Smith Apple, who was the current head of the Apple family over all, the owner of the original orchard. My father was… supposedly, a Manehattan born stallion who met Ma on his last legs after he had escaped Manehattan fer some reason or other. He never told anypony why he left, and if my uncle knows, he won't say either. We looked inta it once, and as it turns out, 'Citrus Root' may not have even been his real name.

“From Ma's stories, at least what Ah could remember, they were a 'love at first sight' couple like some kinda fairy tale. They were quick ta hook up but cautious enough ta wait since my older brother was born about three years later. There were complications with him, but it seemed like everythin' was fine. Five years pass, then Ah'm next in line. Since Ah was considerably smaller than he was, takin' after Pa, Ah was born with minimal complications. That didn't mean there wasn't a toll taken on Ma though. Time went by, and it looked like she had recovered herself in about three years.

“Ah suppose she and Pa felt like she was up ta it again because it wasn't long after she regained herself that they announced she was pregnant fer the third time. Ah don't know about y'all, but it's a pretty surreal feelin' ta think that yer gonna have a little sister. Everypony was excited, the whole family came ta visit and bring gifts fer the new baby. It was probably one of the happiest times in my life really. But those complications from the first birth reared their ugly heads again.

“About mid way through, Ma got sick, and she never got better. Time went by, and it was beginnin' ta look like the baby wouldn't make it either. Her coat was losin' color, she couldn't eat very much, and nopony knew what was wrong with her. We later came ta the conclusion that it probably had somethin' ta do with the virus, but nopony but Ma knew about Pa until after he was gone. Applebloom made it out alive, but Ma didn't survive labor. From what Ah was told, she actually passed before Applebloom was born, and that's why my sister survived in the first place.

“This is where things begin ta get complicated. Ah was three at the time, so Ah didn't really know what was goin' on, but Granny Smith fell inta a deep depression after Ma died. She was already old, and it didn't look like she was gonna last another five years in the first place, but this sped up her deterioration. Another year passes and… Granny kicks the bucket.

“Since Ah still don't know all the details about this, Pa was essentially kicked off the farm by our relatives after a fight over the land. The will was specifically was left fer Ma, and she wasn't around no more. A legal battle over who was ‘next of kin’ ensues, and Pa doesn’t win. With nowhere else ta go, we moved in with my uncle and his wife. We stayed with them fer about two weeks before Pa came inta a whole bunch of money and bought his own place.

“Ah didn't know this at the time, and Ah'm still unsure about it myself, but Ah'm pretty sure he was Red Hoof.” Ah wasn't too concerned about what everypony else was doin' ta see their reaction as Ah was tryin' ta remember everythin', but because Twilight interjected Ah noticed that the jaws of everypony in the room, save fer me, were about on the floor.

“Woah, woah, woah. Okay, one moment please,” she said, regaining her composure. “You think he was Red Hoof? Shouldn't you know if he was or wasn't? That's kind of important, isn't it?” She'd tilted her head so far over that it was almost sideways.

Ah adjusted my hat. “Well, Ah was young while he was still around. Ah'm still not sure, even if it makes sense. It was all just… so much like a bad dream…”

Ah guess Twilight realized she was tilted so far out at some point because she was sittin' straight up before she spoke again. “What do you mean by ‘like a bad dream?’”

“Just let me finish, and Ah'll tell ya. Ah think Ah can get a hold of some pony who actually knows the truth, but Ah haven't found her yet. Fer now, I'll tell ya my story. Once Ah know everythin', Ah'll tell y'all about Pa.

“Anyway, goin' forward with the assumption that Pa was Red Hoof, he ended up turnin' in the first bounty collected in this city fer the mob boss, Shark Tooth, which is what netted him so much money. However, that wasn't enough ta support us and buy the house we lived in outright. We moved in, and every day Pa would come home in the mornin', sleep, put us ta bed, then leave at night ta do whatever it was he did. He would always say he was a 'street janitor' who worked nights, but after he stopped workin', it was clear ta Macintosh that he didn't have a job at all. Of course, my brother still doesn't know what he did or what he really was, Ah think Ah'm the only one of us that does, but Ah'll explain that later.

“Things were pretty good in the first year. Pa had a lot of money, Ah started my first year of school, and we didn't have problems, save for the occasional morning when Pa would come home all bruised. It was probably the only time Ah'd ever seen Pa so… sociable. He had other ponies over constantly, even if it was only one or two different ponies that ever visited. Ah guess… Pa had friends.” Ah let out a half chuckle. “Heh, it's kinda funny… how that happened. Ah've never done anythin' that makes me feel this alone all the time, but somehow, Pa made friends doin' it." Ah shook my head. So alone, fer so damn long.

“It was durin' this year that Ah figured out that Ah had my own powers. My brother and Ah were playin' with a hoofball outside one day, and he threw it a little wide. Naturally, Ah went ta get it, not really think about hard or fast, just whatever it took ta catch it. The ball was about ta hit a telephone pole so, Ah jumped fer it. Ah caught the ball, and hit the telephone pole, but… well, Ah broke it. Not the ball, but the telephone pole. Knocked the damn thing over. Ah was more afraid of Pa’s wrath than concerned about the thick wooden pole Ah broke so Ah didn’t think about it until much later. The child's brain doesn't concern itself with logic, Ah don't think. Ah didn't try anythin' again until after an incident happened.

“One day, Pa didn't come home. This was about in the middle of the second year, and he didn't come home fer a few days. He had Mr. Scales, one of his friends, come watch us but he was gone fer about a week. When he did finally come home, he was real mopey. It wasn't until later did we find out that there was an accident involvin’ Red Hoof that destroyed the roofs of several buildin's, a whole warehouse, and finally, the death of my aunt.

“My uncle completely lost it and had to be taken in by an asylum, and Pa was… never the same. He started ta garden a lot, and he didn't take any visitors. Well, it was just… sad ta see him like that. We… never did figure out how ta cheer him up. Of course, we were hurt pretty good by Aunt Dew's death too. Ah think this is when Ah started to close myself in, but Ah'm not about to analyze myself. The whole house was quiet in those two years.

“Then… then it happened. Do y'all remember the battle from twelve years ago?” Ah looked from pony to pony until Ah saw that nopony made a face.

“Well, I was living… elsewhere, at the time, so I wouldn't know anything. I'm actually a little younger than you if you're already twenty,” Twilight said.

“Uh… yeah, me too. I was still living… not here, back then, and since I'm younger than Twilight, that'd be a no,” Pinkie explained. She had a roundabout way of avoidin' eye contact with anypony. Whatever she had ta say wasn't anythin’ she wanted ta. Somethin' about her bothers me, but Ah just can't figure out what.

“Hmm… I'm afraid not. I didn't move away from Ponyville until about um… eight years ago myself. Sorry darling, I don't know,” Rarity said. She skipped a beat when she was talkin' about how many years ago she moved. Ah wonder if that has somethin' ta do with her story…

“Oh… you mean… T-the Mirror incident… r-right?” Fluttershy stuttered.

Ah nodded, but honestly didn't expect her ta say anythin'. “Well, fer the rest of y'all, there was a villain who showed up callin' himself, 'The Mirror'. This bastard killed more heroes in one week than the number of heroes killed over the previous four years. Ah'm sure y'all know that after Red Hoof showed up, heroes started poppin' up all over the place with Manehattan bein' like, the holy land fer heroes.

“There weren't many that were killed in the first year after they started showin' up, and in the second year, there was a good string of deaths leadin' up ta the disappearance of Red Hoof before the Warehouse incident, but then it was about normal. In all that time, and through the next year, only about thirty heroes were killed.

“After the Mirror showed up though, there were about ninety. The city was in a frenzy, heroes were droppin' like flies in the summer, and nopony knew what this guy's power was, or his reason fer killin' as many as he did. Eventually, his presence pulled Red Hoof out of hidin'. Ah took a breath as ah felt my eyes drift upward. The scene in my head was as clear as it always was, just like the relentless dreams. The crashin’ buildin’s, the breakin’ glass, the flyin’ rubble, the sky of dust. Hell on Earth.

“Ah'll never forget that day. October third, twenty eighteen. Ah can still remember the cereal Ah had fer breakfast that mornin'. Ah woke up, and Pa was nowhere ta be found. It was Saturday, and since Ah was the only one of us that didn't sleep in, Ah was awake pretty early that mornin' fer no particular reason. Must've been… fate or somethin' cosmic like that.

“Instead of bootin' up the TV like Ah normally would, Ah decided Ah wanted ta go around the neighborhood and see if Pa was around. Uncle Blood was gonna be released from the Asylum tomorrow since he'd made it back to his senses after all that time, and Dad was real excited ta see him well. It was the first time Ah’d seen him smile in so long, so Ah figured he might have gone ta the old apartment ta clean it up. Ah thought… maybe he’d need help.

“The sky was… cloudy that day. It looked like it might rain soon, so Ah took a chance and headed toward the old apartment in the central district pretty quick. Ah think Ah heard a clock bell ring ten times when… the first buildin' went down. The explosion could be heard from anywhere in the city, pieces of rubble were sent flyin' from one skyscraper ta the next, breakin' dust inta the air.

“At first, Ah didn't think it was real, like maybe Ah was still asleep, dreamin' about this. Ah kept headin' inta the city, and another buildin' started ta come crashin' down on itself, like the base supports had failed or been ripped out. The rain started ta come down, not very hard at first, and then it stopped. What Ah thought was rain… was actually rubble. Little pieces of concrete and asphalt, hittin' me like rain drops… Sirens were going off by now, ponies all over started runnin' out inta the streets, headin' the opposite way Ah was. Fer whatever reason, Ah felt like Ah needed ta see what was causin' all this, so Ah kept goin'.

“Then, Ah saw them. Right about when Ah got ta the old apartment, they crashed ta the ground. Red hoof had his foreleg across The Mirror's neck, the crater they were in kept gettin' deeper, until finally, the Mirror punched him solid in the ribs and sent him inta the buildin' across the street. Another apartment complex crashed ta the ground and The Mirror shot inta the air.

“He bounded off the apartments that Uncle Blood lived in and darted after Red Hoof. Ah remember hearin' him yellin somethin' about his dead family, and other thin's along the lines of, 'It's all your fault!' They kept fightin', punch after block after kick after punch. One of 'em got a good hit in at the same time the other did, and that knocked Red Hoof a few feet in front of me. Ah never saw his face, and there weren't any tears in his costume, but Ah heard him speak.” Ah swallowed.

“In my father's voice, in his accent, the same voice that Ah had never heard scared before, he shouted, 'Applejack run!' Ah was so shocked, Ah couldn't think straight. He said it again, and Ah still couldn't move. Finally, he called me by my real name. Ah didn't question anythin', and my body responded before my brain processed what had happened. Ah ran, as fast and hard as Ah could, away from the fight. Red Hoof knocked the Mirror away and the two left the scene. When Ah saw them go, Ah felt like Ah would never see them again if Ah left, so Ah tried ta follow. A police officer caught me and dragged me away kickin' and screamin'.

“Ah... Ah never did see Pa again, after that day. He… had ta be Red Hoof, but, Ah always feel like somethin' so surreal could never have been the truth. It had ta be a dream right? My Papa was the strongest pony around, but he couldn't have been the Red Hoof. He couldn't have died that day at the hooves of a hero killer, there was just no way, right? At least… that's what Ah thought. Hoped that maybe… somewhere out there, he was still…”

Ah shook my head and restarted. “The four of us became depressed after that. But, Ah suppose that anypony who'd just lost their last parent would, right? Since Uncle Blood was the only relative Pa had left, we were given ta his custody, and we lived in that apartment again. One of the few buildin's in central Manehattan that wasn't destroyed in their fight, in his last fight. Macintosh hardly ever spoke ta anypony fer years afterward, Applebloom became self dependent and closed off like Ah was before, and me, well… Ah couldn't get over the depression, and Ah couldn't cope with it either.” Ah took a deep shaky breath. “Heh… Ah cried so much… Ah though it wasn't worth livin' anymore.

“About a month went by, and Ah couldn't handle it any more. Ah was goin' crazy, and Ah just wanted everythin' ta end. My first attempt was at the top of our apartment buildin', since it was at least eight stories, Ah figured that Ah wouldn't survive a dive off the top. But ya know somethin'? My body is pretty damn tough. There's a reason that rubble never hurt me, even as big as it was, and that Ah didn't really feel anythin' when Ah broke that telephone pole. Ah jumped off that roof and landed on my back in the alley behind it. But, Ah didn't have a scratch on me. It was like my body didn't care. The rules didn't apply here. The ground sure cared though. There was a me shaped hole in the concrete. Ah was a little sore, but there was practically nothin' wrong.

“Ah sat there and cried again. Even when Ah tried to make it stop, there was nothin' Ah could do. Ah broke a kitchen knife on my neck, my body doesn't conduct electricity at all as the toaster proved, and even when Ah managed ta sneak inta higher buildin's, Ah was never more than a little bruised. Eventually, Ah just gave up. Ah couldn't die, and Ah couldn't live. Ah didn't know what ta do anymore, so Ah kept tryin' ta off myself until my uncle caught me once.

“He managed ta talk me down, and even arranged it with the Apples ta have me live on the old farm again fer a little while, just ta… try and get away from it all. Ah didn't have any opinion at the time, so Ah went through with it. Honestly, Ah think all that Ah had left as a pony was the ability to take in information. These days, Ah can't remember what Ah was like back then. Really, Ah don't remember much about my childhood at all anymore. All those memories hurt, so now… Ah just don't remember.

“When Ah finally got ta the farm, it was like enterin' a different world. No skyscrapers as far as the eye could see, hardly an ounce of concrete anywhere, just some random small village and a big ol' farm with apple trees that passed the horizon. That smell of fresh apples and soil reminded me of somethin' Ah'd forgotten over those five years of bein' away from her, and Ah cried fer the last time that day. After that, Ah didn't get sad anymore.

“They put me ta work on the farm, harvestin' apples, makin’ cider and pies ta sell. In some… twisted turn of fate, Ah started ta get better. The world was colorful again, Ah actually wanted ta wake up the next mornin', Ah felt like Ah had some place ta belong. And then, Ah got my cutie mark. This… damned thing. It was proof that Ah was meant ta be there. A symbol that told me and everypony else that Ah was an Apple. And Ah hated it.

“Can you imagine, what Ah was like when Ah finally saw this? This, stupid little happy life Ah'd found, one Ah coulda had all my life but never got ta because of some fuckin' argument over who got ta own a goddess damned piece of dirt! Ah was furious! This is where Ah was supposed ta be the whole time! This is where my brother and sister were supposed ta grow up! We were supposed ta be Apple farmers, and they kicked us all out on account of my father bein' from somewhere else!

“The pain and sadness Ah'd forgotten started ta come back little by little as Ah got more and more angry with myself and everypony else. Eventually, Ah made the decision to give it all up. Feelin' that negative toward my relatives, wishin' Ah could see my siblin's again. Hell, Ah even missed the city after a few months of it.

“So, Ah asked ta be taken home. Ah couldn't stand them anymore, and Ah figured that destiny was stupid anyways. It was funny, ya know? When Ah did finally get back, Macintosh had gotten his cutie mark too, and he'd come ta just about the same conclusion that Ah did. Together, we made a vow ta say, 'screw destiny and all it's friends!' We had each other, and we didn't need nopony else.

“Years passed, and the four of us lived off our uncle's income and the money we got from sellin' the old house. None of us could bear ta live there anymore, it was just too much. We lived that way until that wasn't enough. Macintosh was just about old enough ta start workin' when we finally did get desperate fer money, so he got a job ta help support us. His grades fell, and he couldn't keep up with school and work at the same time, so after about a year of it, my uncle made him quit, sayin' that Pa woulda wanted him ta get an education like he never did.

“Ah was fifteen, when life changed again. A late night after Uncle had gotten a raise lead me ta pick him up from a nearby bar. His raise was enough fer the four of us ta live on, and even made it so we could finish high school without havin' ta find a job. Ah suppose the tolerance genes must of missed Uncle Blood, because he can't take more than a few shots before he's off his ass drunk. We lived a little closer ta the border of the southern district at the time, and of course, a drunk stallion and his little niece were an easy target.

“They came in a group, four of ‘em, Ah think. What they looked like, Ah honestly wouldn't know ta this day. Uncle Blood had passed out, and Ah was carryin' him home. They knocked him against a wall, and then tried ta take everythin' we had. Ah don't often get as angry as Ah did that night any more. Now that Ah'm older… Ah'm afraid of what might happen if Ah did. Ah lashed out at them, and that is when my powers really made themselves known. Ah broke all the bones in one of the mare's bodies, one stallion was in critical condition, and the other two... didn't make it.

“Uncle Blood must've woken up durin' the fight, because after Ah realized what Ah'd done, he was the only one who could've kept me from fallin' back inta that… state again. He told me that night, that Ah had a gift. And my gift, was just like a knife. It could be used ta hurt somepony. But, there are plenty of ways ta use a knife. A knife could be used ta protect. And even though Ah used my knife ta hurt that day, it was only because Ah wanted ta protect that Ah did it. Somedays, Ah still beat myself up fer it. Ah can't ever forget what Ah did.

“So, the next day, Ah decided ta try and make up fer it. Ah can't help but have my weapon on all the time, and because that's the case, why not try ta protect with it? Ah would go around after school lookin' fer ponies ta help, criminals ta stop. Nopony was ever stronger than Ah was, and eventually, Ah learned the tricks of the trade. Ah met a stallion that said he made Red Hoof's costume and wanted ta help me out. He taught me everythin' Ah know. What ta do, where ta go, even how ta make money tryin' ta protect ponies.

“The only thin' he ever asked of me was ta help him find his sister one day. Supposedly, she disappeared shortly after the Mirror incident, takin' a whole bunch of his memories with her. If anypony could ever tell me the truth about Pa, it would be her, but nopony's seen her fer twelve years now. So, Ah've been lookin' fer her and supportin' my family ever since. That… is how Ah became Marevelous Red.”

Ah looked around the room ta gauge their reactions again. Pinkie just about looked like she was in pain. Rarity was in tears again, but that wasn't much of a surprise. Now she knows that Ah'm a killer too. Ah can't blame her, Ah guess. Ah wouldn't want ta be friends with a murderer either. Fluttershy was starin' at the ground, and Twilight was lookin' around fer somethin' ta say. Ah expected as much. Ah don't have the happiest life around, and Ah've never been popular at parties either. Heh, Ah guess that much will never change. Suddenly, as if they had shared the thought in unison, they all rushed over and hugged me.

“I'm so sorry… I never should have asked you to share all that,” Twilight said, buryin' her head inta my shoulder and puttin' her wings around everypony.

“I can't believe… nopony should ever have to go through all that…” Pinkie said, somehow from on top of the chair. Ah didn't see her move, but Ah figured she was the first ta arrive.

“I… I-I'm sorry…” Fluttershy whispered. As awful as my life really is, Ah can only wonder what she's been through. Ya don't get that jumpy and shaky fer no reason, and Ah know that Ah couldn't catch about fifty knives all at once with a face like hers was. So… determined.

“You… you…” She sniffed, “you're not the only one! I… we all have… you're not a bad pony, you were just… just trying to protect…!” Rarity sputtered through bursts of tears again. That caught my attention, more so than anythin' else.

Ah pushed them all off, then focused my attention to Rarity. “Now hold on a minute. What do ya mean, ‘we all have?’” They each looked from one ta another with nervous eyes, and eventually silently agreed on somethin'.

“None of us… are free from sin,” Twilight said, slowly making her way back to her chair.

“At some point or other, there have been times when… life or death situations have arisen,” Rarity said, takin’ her seat.

“Or… it was our fault that a friend was killed…” Fluttershy said, turnin' away as she did.

“Or even that something we could have prevented… didn't end up that way…” Pinkie said through her hooves on her mouth.

Ah swallowed. “Ya mean that… all of ya fer what ever reason…” Twilight sniffed, put her wings back on her back, and looked me in the eyes. Ah noticed somethin' fer the first time when Ah looked back. In those sad, even a little lifeless eyes, were flecks of gold all around that sparkled with the light. Haven't Ah... seen that somewhere else before?

“It may be hard to believe, but even though we all wanted to be heroes, we all have seen death. We all have blood on our hooves. It's… funny, really. I've always thought of you and Red Hoof as the model hero, the 'pure and righteous,' the just ones who deserve to judge. But, really, nopony chooses this life because that's what they were born to do. In fact, all of us here? We're all the same.” As Ah looked around again, this time Ah met everypony's eyes. All of them, sad lifeless, and cold.

The room was quiet fer a while, until Rarity cleared her throat. “I suppose now that that's in the air, you deserve to know everything about us. I'm… actually a little relieved really, that you're just like us. Now I can speak to you without the thought that you might really be the idol that we all believed you were, and that my own past… would keep us from being friends.” She smiled weakly.

Ah just shook my head. “No pony is perfect.” Ah didn't have anythin' else ta say, and it seemed that was all Ah needed. She sniffed again and wiped away the runnin' mascara on her face.

“Very well then. My story starts about nine years ago, when I first used my powers...”

Origin Story VIII: Death of a Hero

Citrus Root

“Citrus? Sugarcube, where'd ya go?” a familiar voice asked. It was a clear morning in Ponyville. The sun was just beginning to peak beyond the horizon, the sky was a painting of red, orange, and yellow hues, and all the apple trees in the orchard glistened with dew.

“I'm over here, Rosie,” the pale yellow stallion said from his rocking chair on the wooden porch of the family home. This place was ancient. For generations, her family has lived in this very house going so far back that they aren't sure when the beginning was. A mare exited the house and entered the porch. Her mane was bright orange with streaks of blonde that ran down either side. She had bright green eyes and a bright red coat with little freckles that sat just above her cheeks.

She took a seat in the rocking chair next to Citrus and began to rock slowly. “So…Ah have ta ask, what are ya just sittin' out here for? It's Sunday. Ma ain't even up yet…” she said through a yawn. She was young, still a teenager even. Of course, that isn't to say that Citrus wasn't still one himself. She was only a little younger than his little brother after all. She'd lived on this farm her whole life, and she liked to take advantage of sleeping in when she could. Lazy whenever she can be.

“Oh, you know. I've never really watched the sunrise before. This is… nice. It's quiet and it smells good here, unlike where I'm from, and… I don't know, I just feel… like I belong here, ya know?” She'd hired him only a few days ago when she found him lying in the dry streets of the little hamlet outside of her farm, beaten and bruised, thin and hungry. One day, she'd ask him what happened to get him like that, but that was a question for another time.

She smiled. “Well, Ah'm glad. Ah ain't never met somepony as strong as y'all are, Ah think you'll adjust well here. Goddess knows we needed the help. Ah never really thought Ma was as old as she is until her leg gave out like that the other day. It's been hard with just us these days…” Silence struck the air as the two watched the sun creep above the horizon. Rosie could feel her heart beating so fast that it might have burst. He was so nice, and he was handsome too. Maybe on the small side, but that wouldn't matter as strong as he was. If only…

“Do ya think that... one day maybe...” she began.

Citrus stood. “You… really shouldn't.” He bit his lip. There was so much to say, so much to explain, and if it all came out, she’d never look at him the way she did now. It hurt, but… this could never be. “Look, I really appreciate what you're doing for me, but… I'm dangerous. I'm not really this strong. I wasn't this way two weeks ago, there's… something wrong with me. I… I didn't run away from home for no reason, and I… I can't ever go back to that city. You shouldn't get involved with me.”

Rosie got up from her chair and stood next to him. She found it funny how he was a year older than her, but she was a little taller than he was. She put a foreleg around his neck. “Ah don't care about yer past. Ah guess it'll have ta be just like Ma's then…”

Citrus turned to her, confused. “Wha-” He met her snout and she kissed him. Deep and passionate, spontaneous and oh so sweet. The moment felt like it would last forever until finally, she pulled away for a breath.

Finally free and realizing that he needed to breathe too, Citrus gasped. “What the!? What the in the world was that for?” His coat was probably just as red as hers now, he'd never been surprised like that. He was never the most social pony on the block and as far as he could remember… that was his first kiss.

She smiled, licked her lips and winked. “Yer just too sweet ta be forward, ya know? So, just like Ma, Ah'll have ta be the aggressive one. Y'all just come tell me when you're ready fer me.”

Citrus swallowed. “What... what are you?” he asked. She walked back in the house without responding. Time felt like it had come to a standstill.

She came back to poke her head through the door. “Citrus?”

“Uh, y-yes, Rosie?”

She shook her head at him, her smile never leaving her face. “Ya need ta wake up.”

He blinked, like the sentence defied the laws of nature. “What?”

“Wake up, honey. We're not teenagers anymore. Ah've been dead fer years, we had three kids, and yer brother is comin' home tomorrow. Wake up.” She started to turn back into the house.

No! Don't go in there! Don't leave me here! Not again, please not again!

Citrus rushed for the door. He turned the handle, and when he opened it, he was looking at the ceiling of his home in Manehattan. He saw his outstretched hoof trying to turn a knob. He brought it to his face along with his other and began to rub at his eyes.

Damn dreams.

He moved over to his end table and checked his digital clock. The bright red numbers shone dimly in the dark of his room. Seven thirty. Ah'm up too early again. Heh. Ah did pick this up from her didn't Ah? Ya left me here alone ta take care of all three of our friggen spawn. But… Ah guess that was my fault wasn't it? Goddess… this damned plague… Ah wish Ah'd never…

“Citrus? Citrus, please wake up!” a desperate voice called. Citrus quickly looked around, but couldn't find a source. He was alone in his room. How?

“Citrus, wake up please! We need your help!”

Finally, he recognized the voice. “Brightness? Is that you?”

“Oh, goddess, Citrus! Please come to our house! Octo… Scales was… murdered…”

A jolt ran down Citrus' spine. “Scales...? He’s...”

“Citrus, he's not the only one! Somepony has been killing heroes left and right! The body count is already at thirty… we… we don't know what to do!”

Was this Brightness? That girl was so willful and energetic, there wasn't anything that scared her... how could she be this worked up? Was Scales really...?

Citrus bit his lip. “Where are you?”

She sniffed though the link. Oh goddess, she's cryin'.“I'm on the street just outside the house… looking at the body!”

He could taste his own blood. Something he hadn't felt in a long time was beginning to surge through his body. Darkness flooded his voice as he said, “I'll be there in ten minutes.” For a moment, he stared at his closet. There was an object in there, one that could make him a different pony with the simple task of putting it on. Then he turned away and pushed the curtains from his window. Throwing it open, he leapt through it, landing on the roof of the house next door.

Damn. That was too much. Ah'm out of practice...

Another leap landed him on the road, then he headed south for the Slate house.

“Damn it!” Citrus slammed a hoof into the ground. The still liquid blood near the body started to find its way into the new depression. “Scales… who did this ta ya?”

Star looked to Brightness, and then Brightness returned the unsure look back to him. She took a step forward. “R-red Hoof-”

“Don't call me that! That name… that hero is gone,” he barked.

She stepped back. “Hey, man, don't yell at her! Look, I know I could never take you on, but that doesn't give you the right to-”

Citrus held a hoof up and shook his head. “Ah'm sorry. Ah didn't mean ta yell. Just... just call me Citrus, please.” He felt his head droop, unwilled to do so.

The siblings looked at each other and nodded. “Go on, tell him. He needs to know,” Star said. The girl looked at Citrus and frowned.

Her eyes fell to the ground as she started to speak. “There's been… almost sixty now.”

“Sixty? Sixty what?”

The filly stamped her hoof and looked directly at him, her pale teal eyes filled with anger and tears. “Sixty of your friends! Sixty heroes, mister retired! Somepony is trying to find Red Hoof again, and he's killing my friends to do it!” She wiped at her eyes. “I felt something weird that woke me up half an hour ago, and I walk two blocks away from the house to find Scales bleeding out right there! He couldn't talk, but the last thought the he made found it's way to me, and ya know what he said!? Find Red Hoof!” She took a breath to shake off the frustration and looked away.

“He… he died right there, with my hooves on him. He… I…” She started to chew on her lip, desperately fighting back more tears. Without a word, Citrus stood and pulled the filly in close. Her tears flowed, and she punched his chest repeatedly.

“If you had never…! Why didn't you just…!? You were my… hero…” Citrus remained silent. He made a nod in Star's direction, and scooped up the filly in his foreleg. She clung to him as the three of them made their way to Star's home.

Brightness had fallen asleep in the silent walk back, so after returning the twelve year old to her bed, Star and Citrus made their way upstairs to talk.

“This has been going on for about a week. She, uh… didn't want ta bother ya, but then it started ta get outta hoof. This guy… he killed twenty Power Ponies in one day. Scales was the first one to live long enough to tell us what he wanted, they all just…” Star trailed off and shook his head. “Look, man, I don't know what this guy is up to, but he's way worse than Copper was. Every time another hero dies, Brightness feels it, and it's messin' with her. She's losin’ her sight, and I don't know if it'll ever come back… I know that Copper messed you up and all, but… for my sister's sake, can you please, put an end to this?” Star pleaded.

Citrus didn't respond. He rolled the Coffee in his mug around, then took a drink. “Star…”

Star sighed and cut him off. “If that's all you have ta say to me, then… I… I don't want ya here. It might've been an accident the first time, but now it's happening again. I didn't want ta say this outright, but the fact is… whatever your intentions were for hiding like ya have, it's gotten a lot of ponies killed. It's time to own up, man.” He moved to his desk and reached for a key on it. He unlocked one of the lower drawers, took a piece of cloth from it, and threw it in Citrus' face.

“You've been sayin’ it for years, so go clean up your mess, mister janitor.” Citrus took hold of the vinyl like suit he'd been given and spread it out. It was more like the original suit, bright white and red with the Red hoof emblem being proudly shown on the chest. He gritted his teeth.

“I… heh, call me a fool for thinking ya might come back one day, but I've been keeping this for ya ever since that day two years ago. Seein’ how the last one got all torn up, I figured you’d need a stronger one this time. It's more resistant to things, and I had a whole bunch of heroes help me make the fabric. They all wanted to help in the event you ever took up a cape again, so this is all their hard work and mine. Half of ‘em are dead now, though…” Star walked past Citrus and didn’t bother looking back.

Before he took the first step down, he said, “The window is open. She's been up way too much lately, so… keep from waking her on your way out, okay?” Star gave one last hopeful glance at Citrus, then disappeared down the staircase. Citrus bit into his lip again.

Damn it! Why? Why did Ah ever start all this in the first place? If Ah hadn't caught this stupid virus Ah… Ah… Ah never woulda met Rosie… Ah never woulda fallen in love. Ah wouldn't have three kids Ah love. Ah wouldn't have saved Brightness. Ah wouldn't have kept my kids fed and happy. Ah wouldn't have saved this city as many times as Ah did. And… Dew might still be alive. Blood wouldn't have gone crazy. All those ponies that Copper killed might still be around. All those heroes that tried ta be like me would never have been killed by this new guy… This is all my fault. Damn it! It's time fer me ta stop mopin' around and fix my own damn mistakes! Star's right. Ah'm a street janitor. Ah clean up the messes that normal ponies can't.

Citrus stood and unzipped the suit. One hoof through, he flexed inside it. The suit bulged with his muscles without being so tight that it hindered his movement. Another hoof through and it met his full stretched length without being in the way. The mask came on, and there were no problems with the size. He could breathe and move his mouth without problem, even spit through the material. He wrapped up his tail, making it take it's old whip like quality. The suit was complete, and the cape had returned. Citrus pushed the window to the balcony open. It's time ta go clean up the mess.

“Thanks, Star.” And then he jumped away. If Ah'm lookin' fer a hero killer… then Ah'd best start at the last place Ah was seen.

It had been an hour since Citrus left Star's home. A clock near the park read nine fifty. Citrus looked down the city streets from his perch on the office of the Manehattan Bugle.

Damn. Still nothin'. Too bad. If anywhere Ah'd like ta have destroyed accidentally in some kinda fight, it'd be this place. These pricks always give me a bad rep. What was that guy's name? Johnson? James? Somethin' or other. Oh well. Ah suppose Ah'll just head fer the trade center. Ah can see most of the city from there. Still… Ah'm not sure who Ah'm lookin' fer just yet.

In the distance, aclock bell tolled.

Ah, crap. Ah was suppose ta have Blood's apartment cleaned up today. Ah can take an hour ta do that at least.

Citrus started to head north. The bell rang nine times as he was moving, but as the tenth tone rang out, he saw a black figure out of the corner of his eye rocket toward him. Without time to react, the figure crashed into him. His eyes went wide, as the force of the impact only increased as the figure put his hooves around Citrus' neck. They crashed into the Bugle building, then the figure raised Citrus' body like a rag doll and slammed him down into the roof, crashing through floor after floor until they reached the foundation.

Citrus managed to free himself from the figure's grip and finally, he could see what attacked him. A stallion, covered in a black and white suit. The majority of his body was draped in the darkest black Citrus had ever seen where only his eyes and a few stripes that ran down the interior of his suit were white. On his chest was a mirror that seemed to reflect more than was possible at one point and time. What in the hell is that? Without warning, the stallion launched at Citrus again.

Knowing where his enemy was coming from this time, Citrus paused and locked his foreleg for a punch. The unknown stallion arrived in range, and Citrus let loose, sending his enemy through several beams on the bottom floor and out onto the street. The building began to rumble, and quickly Citrus realized his mistake. For the single moment that he was distracted, his opponent had returned with incredible speed and landed a hard blow to Citrus' ribs, knocking him out of the collapsing building. By the time Citrus had caught his breath, his opponent was upon him again. Reacting quickly, he took advantage of the forces at play and twisted his torso, letting one of his hind legs slam into his opponent's head.

The enemy stallion was sent flying into the street, creating a crater in an intersection. Cars paused and honked their horns, ponies started to turn and run, a few even noticed him and shouted, 'look, it's Red Hoof!' Since he had transferred his momentum, Citrus began to fall and land on a nearby rooftop. Waves of pain shot through his head as he tried to take deep breaths. He noticed that his stomach felt wet.

Am Ah bleedin'? Sweet Celestia, this guy is out fer blood.

A second had passed, then the sound of propelling force shot through the air. Car horns and chaos, screaming and yelling, a speeding bullet trying to kill the hero. The Mirror chested stallion was back in the air and gunning for Citrus. He managed to pull his legs together to cover his face, but that wasn't enough to stop the punch that followed.

Just how strong is this bastard!? That felt just like...

No time to think. The stallion launched after him again. He was approaching the Trade Center quickly, and a single thought crossed his mind. He twisted in the air, then loaded his legs like a spring as he landed on it. Shooting off the building with such force that it broke all the near by windows, he launched at the opposing stallion. Citrus caught him by the neck and put him in a head lock. The stallion kicked and flailed, but couldn't escape before the two crashed into the street. They plunged into the ground until finally, the stallion landed a hit on Citrus’s ribs, and a powerful one at that.

Clutching the previously bleeding spot, Citrus was thrown out of the crater and into an apartment complex, collapsing the wall he hit. Then he heard him.

“Red Hoof, Murderer!!!” The enemy stallion screamed as he jumped from the crater and bounded off another apartment building to get at him again. Citrus tried to get away, but his broken rib made him spit a well of blood. The stallion collided with him, shoving his shoulder deep into Citrus' chest, collapsing the rest of the building as they smashed through it.

Without thinking, Citrus managed to stop them from pushing further into the ground and slammed his elbow into the enemy Stallion's face. The canceled momentum gave Citrus a second to plan his next attack. Grabbing the enemy stallion’s head, Citrus put all the energy he could into his knee and slammed them together. The villain reeling, Citrus planted one hoof in the ground, twisted his hips back, and let a punch fly with everything he had in it. The glass of his bloody mask shattering, the enemy stallion flew off into the distance. With time to think again, Citrus took in the scene he was part of.

Sirens were going off everywhere. Officers and heroes alike were trying to escort ponies away from the fight which had thrown all of Central Manehattan into chaos. The Bugle had collapsed in on itself, all that remained of it was a pile of rubble and dust that coated everything near. Ponies that weren’t so lucky were stains under fallen concrete, cars had crashed in an effort to dodge the falling debris, and a hidrant that had been destroyed was spewing water.Goddess, it's like a bomb went off or somethin'!His focus was brought back to the fight when a whistling sound came from his left.

“Murderer… You killed my family!” The Mirror burst through the brick and mortar that had fallen in on him and he bounded off the building after Red Hoof once more. They clashed in a flurry of rapid blows, for every punch Citrus landed, the mirror would give it back just a strong. Their blows, shook the ground around them, each hit so powerful it blew the blacktop and concrete of the street away. For a second, Citrus saw an opening and went for a punch to his opponent's ribs. And just as he did, so did his enemy. They both landed a hoof at the same time in the same place, sending each other flying.

Citrus had crashed through an office building, skipping across the floor like a rock on a pond until finally, he broke through a window and fell to the ground. After a few seconds of laying still on black top, Citrus started to get up. He looked around to find that he was back in front of the old apartment, but then his eyes locked on something that shouldn't have been there.

A filly. About eight years old. Her coat was bright orange, her mane and tail were blonde and tied up at the ends with red ribbons. She had freckles all along her face and bright green eyes filled with wonder, eyes that looked just like her mother's. Time seemed to stop as he and the filly stared at each other.

Why are you here!? It's not safe here damn it! He's after me, you have to run! You have to run!! Citrus turned his head, a loud crash sounded through the city as another building collapsed. He looked back at the filly, and she'd taken a step closer.

“Applejack, run!” She took a step back. Damn it, now is not the time ta disobey me! The crashing soundswere drawing closer.

“Applejack, run!” Her eyes widened. Son of a bitch, she's stunned! Ah can't get her outta here, she has ta go on her own! Her own… that's it!

“Jaquline Apple, RUN!” Her tail straightened out and she bolted away from Citrus, leaving little hoof prints in the concrete as she did so.

She's… she's movin' too fast… no… she can't… oh goddess, she's just like-

The office building behind him exploded with glass, rubble, and dust as his opponent crashed through it. “You killed my wife, I'll take your life! Murderer!”

Citrus, thanks to the presence of his daughter, had entered a state of hyper alert that only a father can. As if time had come to a slow, Citrus grabbed hold of his opponent's outstretched hoof and his flank. He began to spin The Mirror rapidly, and once he’d gained enough momentum, he sent The Mirrorback where he came from. Smashing into the office with the explosive force of a bullet, the roof collapsed in on The Mirror, coming tumbling down. He turned his head to see that Applejack was far enough away and went after his opponent.

He landed on an apartment complex next to the office's rubble and watched for movement. Without delay, The Mirror had pushed a large piece of concrete off himself. Now, Citrus got a better look at him. The cover on his tail had ripped during their fight revealing bright green hair. When Citrus saw that, something started to feel wrong. It looked so familiar. Why did it look familiar?

The Mirrorspoke again,“I was going to be a father! You killed him!”

The voice was familiar too. It was a voice he should know, one that he knew should have been close. But who did it belong to? The Mirror locked on to him and leapt at him again. Suddenly, this all felt too familiar. Citrus knew exactly how to react. He reached for the blood stained white and black mask of his opponent and brought his head close. With all the force he could, he swung his opponent by the neck until the fabric of his mask ripped away and the enemy stallion was thrown back toward the Trade Center.

Citrus swallowed. If Ah have these powers… and my daughter has her own powers… then is… is it possible that… He stopped the thought. That couldn't be true. The virus only affects thirty percent of the population. It… wasn't genetic was it? But if Applejack has it, then maybe it affects ponies with certain genes… and… if Ah have it…

The Mirror stood back up. A piece of his mask was missing. Just enough to reveal his left eye. His irises were bright red, and the coat around his eye was yellow.

“No…” Citrus’s heart sank. The pain of his injury and the blood beginning to well in the back of his throat all came together at once and he threw up.

“Bastard!” his opponent yelled, charging at him again. Citrus couldn't bring himself to retaliate. He blocked and blocked and blocked, eventually taking enough punches to push him away toward the edge of the rooftop they were on.

“Why!? Why did you kill her!? She was everything to me! If you weren't around, she'd still be here!” The Mirror yelled, bloody tears streaming down his bloodshot eye.

The Mirror came in again for another hit, and Citrus caught his hoof. “Ah'm… sorry.” He couldn't look at his attacker any more.

The Mirror screamed and kicked Citrus in the ribs, sending him into the wall of the building next door. “You're sorry!? Sorry!? You killed her and my son! Sorry can't bring them back to life!” He slammed into Citrus once again, and Citrus heard something organic snap as they burrowed further into the sky scraper. The Mirror grabbed Citrus by the face and threw him back out of the hole they made, then caught him in the air.

Ah can't feel my left foreleg... Ah can't let him do this... if he finds out the truth...

With all the strength he had left, he knocked The Mirror away as he came into range, and then started to fall out of the sky. He crashed into the side of the Trade Center, taking out the southern corner. He could feel more blood beginning to well up in his mouth, his broken rib starting to make the rest of his suit red. He tried to get up, but the pain of his injuries prevented stopped him. Before he knew it, The Mirror was upon him again. He kneed Citrus in the stomach, then straddled his body and punchedhim over and over again.

“Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!?” He said with each blow to Citrus.

“You were the Hero! Why didn't you save her!? It was your job! You were the best at it! Why did you kill her!?” When he felt no struggling beneath him, The Mirror stopped his barrage and looked at the bloody beaten Hero below him. The hero turned and spat on the ground.

“Ah… couldn't… save her…” Citrus started to hear a faint rumbling coming from nearby. Crackling and popping coming from the stone. He looked up and noticed that the Trade Center was leaning.

“W-why aren't you fighting back!? Why are you telling me this!? You're supposed to be the stallion that murdered my wife! Not somepony I know! Why do you… sound so… familiar? Who… who are you?” The cracking noises erupted and the sky darkened. Dust and rubble started to fall, broken glass came crashing down.

“Because… Ah could never fight you…” Through all the pain and blood and broken body, Citrus mustered all the strength he could into a headbutt to his brother's chest. Blood was sent flying out of range of the toppling mass of glass, steel, and concrete. Citrus tried to move, but his body wouldn't respond. The darkness was approaching quicker, the building was crumbling and collapsing in on itself. He didn't have time to escape anymore. He'd lost too much blood in the fight and he'd broken his dominant foreleg. It was over now.

So this is how it ends, isn't it? Ah'm sorry Ah didn't last Rosie. Ah couldn't see our kids grow up like ya asked me too. Ah couldn't protect my own family. Ah couldn't live ta see them get married or have their own kids. Ah really blew it this time, didn't Ah? At the very least… We'll be together again.

Blood Orange

Blood watched as the Manehattan Trade Center collapsed on the spot where he had been fighting Red Hoof. Glass, dust, and rubble flew through the sky like a volcano had erupted in the middle of the city. Ponies screamed, sirens blared, death and destruction was what remained of He stood up and rushed back to where Red Hoof was.

That couldn't have been... I was... he... he pushed me out of the way. I... He couldn't have been...

He reached the spot and cleared away the rubble until he found the body. It was bloody, but not destroyed. It was very still. Not breathing, like a life sized Red Hoof figurine.

He… He's not… He's dead… He's dead… B-but… Who was he?

Blood swallowed. He defeated Red Hoof, the hero who killed his wife and soon to be son, but... who was Red Hoof?

There's was no mistaking that accent… H-he had it ever since he married into that family… he was the only one I knew who could have been that strong… he… he could lift hundreds of pounds with his teeth with ease… he… oh, goddess…

While he still had Red Hoof's powers, Blood ripped the mask off Red Hoof's suit. There, lying dead in a pool of his own blood was a pale yellow stallion with a brown mane, inside the suit of Red Hoof, the Hero who got his wife and unborn son killed.

“No… no, no, no, this can't be real! You can't be him! I… Without you, I would have never…! We… I…! No, no, no, not again! AHHHH!!!!” He screamed at the top of his raw lungs, clutching the body of his brother with all he had. From out of the nearby crowd, he heard a familiar voice. One that he picked out from all the rest, one that he couldn't ignore.

“That's my papa in there! Let me go! Let me go!” the voice said. He couldn't turn away. He had to look. He had to know. And sure enough, he saw what he hoped wasn't there. A young orange filly with freckles on her face, bright green eyes and a blonde mane and tail, both tied up with red ribbons.

Blood bit deep into his lip, so hard the he could taste his own blood again. He picked up the body and put the mask back over his brother's face. He screamed into the sky once more before he leapt away from the destruction. As quickly as possible, Blood made his way toward the Manehattan park interior. Part of the park that was so heavily forested that nopony would ever know what would be buried there. Where nopony would ever find him.

“I've made a mistake… a horrible, horrible mistake that I can never atone for… but… you… you still tried to show me mercy. You tried to save me, even after everything I did. I… I will never use these powers to harm another again. With you, I will seal them away. I’m… the last family your kids have left, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that they live good lives, just like… my big brother… tried to do for me…!" He took a deep breath and the tears refused to stay put any longer. “Oh, Citrus… I'm so sorry!”

Blood wept and dug a hole deep in the park that day. He buried his brother's corpse, and threw the mirror in with it. Now, Red Hoof and The Mirror will die together. Never to be seen by the world again.

Harmony Stories I: Unbreakable Diamond

Rarity Belle

“I was eleven when it first happened. Living in a little village has it's perks when you're the one with rich parents, but at the same time, rich parents are never around when you need them to be. I was popular, the top of my class, an artist, a pianist, a designer, you name it. In my little pond, I was the biggest fish. Yet there was one thing that I was particularly bad at, and that was magic.

“For whatever reason, I was born with an ineptitude for magic. Nopony could figure out why I was so bad with the stuff, but all the same, my classmates eventually found out and I was ridiculed for it. Suddenly an outcast, things began to change around me. Teased every which way for being powerless, my so called 'friends' deserted me, and all I had left was my younger sister who fared much better. She was seven and already a better mage than I ever was. I didn't think my future looked very bright.

“I became jealous on top of all the other little insecurities that had slowly been building up, and this is where the turning point was. You see, being as moody as I was back then, I hadn't been putting any positive thought into anything, and that brought me to the point of skipping school one day because I'd had enough of it. I return the next day, ready for the next berating, but was surprised when I didn't get it. This was because there was a test that day. A test over a topic that my teacher had introduced yesterday. I was mortified to see letters in my math test for the first time and had no idea on how to even attempt any of the questions.

“I sat there trying to figure out what this new problem could possibly mean, completely still and wondering for almost an hour. She called time on the test. I hadn't even written anything. She began to collect papers from the other students, some looking like they were in a similar situation, others looking like they'd had no problems at all. I began to panic and write down random answers to every question, hoping that some of them might be right. I managed to get five out of thirty before she came to my desk.

“She tried to take the paper. I tried to keep it, frantically asking for more time, but my protest was denied. In a fit, I tried to pull my paper away from her with my magic, and that is when it happened. What was supposed to come out as a simple levitation spell ended up freezing the world. Naturally, I was confused about the advent at first. It's a strange feeling to suddenly see the world lose all it's color and sound.

“I was dazed by everything around me. Seeing the frozen faces of my teacher and classmates frightened me at first, but then I became curious. Magic was like it didn't exist now, so it was easy to take my paper back from the teacher. Then I decided to see what the other students had put on their papers since it didn't look like anypony would stop me. One of the other students had written out how the whole process worked, so I took advantage of that and finished my paper. After everything was complete and corrected, I simply sat back in my chair, wondering if the spell would ever end.

“I didn't quite have a real grasp on how any of this worked yet, but when time ran out, or, ‘restarted’ is a more proper word I suppose, I had no idea what I was in for. The feeling was similar to having several hundred needles stabbed into your skin all at once. Like every nerve on my body was set to pain, shooting it all into my brain so fast that it made me scream. I fainted and was brought to the town clinic shortly afterward. When I awoke three hours later, my parents had arrived to see me.

“It had been a few weeks since they'd visited last, so it was a welcome surprise, and even more of a relief just to see that they still cared. They promised to be home as long as they could while I was treated, but after being checked up, I was released. The doctor couldn't figure out what had happened to begin with, and it didn't look like there was anything wrong, so they let me go. I had my parents for a week, and it was a great one. My family was whole again for the rare time it was, but as do all good things, it eventually came to an end.

“I hadn't tried to use my powers again, but when I nearly got into a fight with one of those bullies, my powers went off. The anger I was feeling vanished, quickly being replaced by wonder, then fear. I didn't want to experience that feeling again. Terrified, I ran back home and hid in my bed, and prayed for it to stop. As if on queue, it did and the feeling returned, but not nearly as strong as it was the first time. The maid, Feather Duster, came across me after she heard me crying in my room and contacted the school about it. This strange display managed to get my parents back home again, but this time, it was to have me tested.

“I knew I wasn't capable of teleporting, but to everypony else, it looked like I did. When the results came back the same way, my disappearance only became more concerning. So, when life returned to normal, I was bestowed the title 'freak' to add on to my list of names. I started to get into fights more often, and with more fights came more uses of my powers. Every time I became afraid, the world would freeze. Every time I became furious, the world would freeze. Eventually, I figured out that I could manipulate things while the world was frozen. When I was angry enough to face and attack my bullies, I'd hit them while the world was frozen, then let it go to watch them take all my blows. It wasn't long before their ridiculing stopped.

“From my place at the bottom of the chain, I'd risen back to the top. The other students feared me, and as long as that kept them from teasing me, it was enough. After I realized how useful they were, I began to test my powers now. I figured out how to activate it on purpose in addition to being able to stop it, and this opened a whole new world of possibilities. If I wanted something that Feather wouldn't get me, then I would simply take it when nopony could see me.

“Eventually, Feather found out that I'd been stealing things, and my parents returned home to deal with me. Having them reprimand me was probably the most ashamed of myself that I'd ever been. I couldn't sleep that night. I'd never heard my parents yell, or look so angry at me. Worse still, was when they'd calmed down and could only look at me with disappointment. I couldn't get their faces out of my mind.

“Then... I heard a noise downstairs. It was likely one in the morning, and with nothing better to do, I decided to see what was going on.” Rarity paused. Ah saw her bite inta her lip fer a moment.

“I... I started to hear a slapping sound. At that age, I couldn't have known what it was. It was dark, only what the moonlight revealed could be seen. There was soft grunting and crying that became louder as I got closer.” She swallowed.

“I finally made my way down stairs and then I saw it. F-feather had been taken by some… intruder. I was horrified, so I screamed. He turned on me, removed himself from her and threw her on the ground like some kind of rag doll… I ran, and he followed. My parents got up and started turning lights on, yelling for the maid, asking what was wrong. I made it to them, and he stopped. My father attempted to fight this intruder after he realized what he'd done to Feather, only to be shot in the leg.

“Then... Then Sweetie woke up. Hers was the only bedroom on the ground floor. She called for mother as she exited, and the intruder spotted her, startled by the new voice. I could never know if he had intended to or not, but as soon as she moved, he turned and pulled his trigger. The gun fired. I screamed and the world stopped. I had moved quickly enough to stop time just before his bullet connected with Sweetie. Had I been any later, it would have pierced her skull with no more difficulty than it had moving through the air...

“I knew I wouldn't last long as tired as I was, but all the same I rushed to her. I tried to move her, but because I hadn't figured out how to freeze time with another pony in the still world, she was solid and I wasn't strong enough to get her out of the way. I didn't know what to do. I could only move things so far when the world was like this. And then I remembered. In my fights, some times, my opponent would throw things at me. With a simple flick, I could turn their projectiles around and watch as the acting forces followed, often time angling them to hit my opponents in the face.

“I ran to the bullet and with all the strength I could manage, I tried to turn it. Within frozen time, things acquire a… weight to them. It’s not exactly the weight of the object, or even a direct translation of the forces acting on it, but something like… the value of movement, not unlike a light casing of ice. Everything is almost lighter to the touch, yet nothing will move without a good amount of force applied to it if it was moving before. However, once an object has been removed from the stasis of frozen time, it's almost like pushing something on smooth ice. Things just… glide through space as if it were a void. But, just like the way it starts, when something stops moving during in my world, it goes back to stasis and becomes difficult to engage again.

“It wasn't working at first, but I was so desperate that my little body managed to get it to move just enough to break it from its stasis. I didn't know all the rules just yet, and I had pushed too hard for the bullet just to avoid Sweetie. The bullet kept turning until it came to rest facing our attacker. I was too tried to keep time frozen, and when I realized what I had done, it was too late.

“I watched as the bullet that was going to kill my little sister passed through the robber's forehead. I couldn't look away. The blood came pouring out of his head like a fountain, staining his dark coat the brightest crimson I'd ever seen. His eyes turned back into his head and he crumpled into a heap. For the first time since I discovered my powers did I really feel like time had stopped. Sweetie was crying, my mother was trying to console her and Feather, my father, injured and making calls to the police, the clinic, and his work, and I... just stood there, frozen to myself.

“The house was quickly sold and the two of us moved into our parents home here in Manehattan. To this day, that sight still haunts me. The robber, Feather, all that red… For years on, I never forgave myself for it. I swore off fighting and my powers for a very long time until I prevented another… attack on a mare one night two years ago. It was then that I decided that I would keep this from happening ever again. I made myself a costume with all the left over fabrics from my slowly declining shop and started going out every night to try and prevent that from happening to wandering mares.

“And then… I met Twilight. She approached me with an offer to help keep my livelihood while working for her under this guild, and… I've been here ever since.”

Applejack

Ah wasn't sure if she could sink any lower in her chair than she already had at the moment. Ah couldn't think of any way ta respond either. There should've been somethin' ta say, but… whatever it was, it wouldn't come ta me.

“Ah… Ah'm sorry.” It was the best Ah could do. She took a deep breath and sat back up.

She looked at me and said, “Thank you,” through cold, sad eyes. The room had become dead silent again, and it stayed that way fer a good while. Eventually, the one that Ah could bet had some kind of problem with bein' in the same spot fer too long broke the silence.

“Sooooo... Is anypony else hungry? I'm willing to make food if that's the case,” she asked tryin' ta fake a smile. There was still some kinda depressin' gloom hangin' over the room, but Ah figured that Ah might listen ta my body.

“Ah am. Haven't eaten since Ah woke up,” Ah said.

“I suppose I could eat again. I haven't really eaten much today anyways,” Rarity followed.

“I-I... I'd like that,” Fluttershy added. We all looked to Twilight, who apparently didn't want ta stop the stories.

Finally, and reluctantly, Twilight finished the chain by sayin', “Alright, fine. I guess it would be better to brighten the mood before we darken it again. Go ahead Pinkie. But, try to make something quick. I'd prefer to get this done with as fast as possible. We still have a job that needs to be taken care of by the end of the week.”

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “It's Tuesday, and we'll probably get it done tomorrow. Don't you worry your little wings off, I'll be fast. It's kinda my thing.” And like that, she was a pink blur down one of the dark hallways. The room went quiet again, and this time, Ah couldn't stand it.

“So, uh… what's this job y'all were talkin about?” Ah asked.

Twilight looked at me, then looked away ta muse somethin' ta herself. Finally, she nodded and looked back at me. “You know the Argent company right?”

“Uh... sorta? Ah see that name on train cars that get tagged a lot around these parts.” Ah knew the name, but not much else.

“Rarity, if you would,” Twilight motioned.

Ah suppose that meant she knew more about it fer some reason. “Stannum Argent is my… father's boss, and the owner of Argent enterprises. Argent is the largest mineral and metal excavation company in Equestria and handles most of Equestria's exports due to our large reservoirs of silver, gold, and precious gems. Originally, he was a simple mirror smith before he bought a piece of land near the Yakyakistan border. In an attempt to dig out his own fortune, he started a mine into the frigid mountains alone and found the largest piece of Equestrian silver to date. My father was one of his first employees almost thirty years ago, and now he's one of the higher ups. My parents actually met working for Mr. Argent. My family is good friends with him.” She said it like she was recitin' an answer ta some kinda math problem, if not a little angry about it fer whatever reason. Well, that was weird.

“As for our job, there's been strange reports of workers going missing at one of the major Argent foundries just outside the city. Some of the workers have been reporting that there is literally a monster in the basement. My… uh… our boss, yes, that's the word, has asked us to investigate thanks to the nature of this task. She believes it to be some kind of power pony.” Twilight said.

Ah frowned. “That's kinda sketchy. Ah guess y'all are kinda like a special task force or somethin'?” Ah asked.

Twilight began ta muse again, then Rarity rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes we are. We take jobs that the government doesn't want to pass to normal ponies because mortality rates are high as it is, and our work… has had a habit of getting bloody as of late.” Then, she turned on Twilight. “Really, Twilight? I know you have your confidentiality issues, but Applejack is trustworthy. There is no reason to be so skeptical.”

“Look, I just don't want this to end up like the last one did okay? Who knows! Maybe the Bloody Crow is the one behind the Argent problem! Wouldn't it be fun to see her again?” Twilight shot, angry and sarcastic.

Rarity narrowed her eyes at Twilight. “I told you before we even brought her in that I didn't think she was a good fit for us, but you didn't listen to me. You were so obsessed with figuring out what she could do that you ignored the fact that she had problematic personality traits. So don't you blame me for your mistakes. I picked her out, and I trust her. Keep that in mind, Darling.”

Fer a minute there, it looked like a fight was gonna break out. Twilight was just about snarlin' at Rarity, and Rarity looked like she was about ta freeze time again.

Luckily, Pinkie returned before anythin' happened. “Dinner is ready! I made… whoa. You guys need to chill the hell out. You're making us look bad in front of our guest!” Rarity relaxed first, and then Twilight followed after.

Harmony huh? Heh. This ain't nowhere close ta that.

Harmony Stories II: All the other Kids

Applejack

“Is everypony finished?” the impatientuni- er… whatever Twilight was asked. She sat at what Ah suppose was the head of this round table off ta the side of where our initial meetin' took place. It was above the rest of the room on a kind of raised platform unto itself, and it had a long booth seat ta it that followed the back wall. It looked like Ah was the only one left, so Ah gobbled up what was still on my plate and responded with a nod.

“Good. So whose next?” She stared directly at the pair of pink haired ponies ta my right, so the question was really up ta who was least ashamed of what they did. The light smiles that dinner brought quickly evaporated as the two looked from me, ta each other, ta Twilight, and finally, they settled on Rarity. Ah could have missed somethin', but Ah swore that Fluttershy said somethin' ta her. Whatever it was, Ah blinked and they seemed ta shift somehow.

Twilight must of caught it too. “What did you just do?” she asked, turnin' ta Rarity.

Rarity reeled back as if she'd been struck. “Whatever do you mean? I haven't moved from this spot in the past half hour, let alone 'do' anything,” she resolved, with air quotes.

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the smirking unicorn. “I see.” Ah'm not entirely sure what just happened, but Ah could guess it's happened before. “Did you come to a decision?” she directed at the pink maned ponies, this time in a much more civil way. Makes me wonder just what exactly their problem with each other is. Ah don't really know Rarity all that well, and Ah don't know Twilight at all, save fer the base personality traits Ah picked up on today.

How do they work together when they're always at each other's throats like this?

“I-I'll go,” said the butter cream colored pegasus from behind me. Ah was a little more than surprised ta hear it, so when my ears twitched, Ah looked at the pair. Pinkie had just about sunk under the table, and Fluttershy wasn't makin' eye contact with anypony in particular. Whatever it really meant, it made me think that Pinkie is afraid of whatever it is she has ta say. Between my fucked up life and Rarity's rape story, it couldn't be that bad, could it?

Without any further deliberation, the five of us got up and moved back to our chairs. As we did, Ah noticed somethin' about em that Ah didn't see before. At the top of each chair was some kind of colored gem. An orange one at the top of this chair, a green one above Rarity. The empty chair beside me had a red one, A pink one sat above Fluttershy, a blue one above Pinkie, and a violet one above Twilight.

Before Ah had a chance ta ask about em, Fluttershy started ta speak. “I-I, um... well, before I start this, I just want to say that... I-I'm happy to have you here.”

Ah was surprised more than anythin' so Ah just kinda stumbled until Ah could make words again. Where did that come from? “Oh, uh, sure. Ah mean, thanks, that is.” Ah faked a smile and hope that sounded genuine enough ta not raise any flags. She nodded and returned a more real one.

“W-well... I guess to start, I'll s-say that we don't really know w-what exactly my power is. E-ever since I can remember, I've always t-thought it was normal for me to b-be able to do what I can. M-my senses of touch, smell, and sight are on a l-level that most ponies would n-never know, and I... well, I can feel t-things before most ponies would see them. O-of course, you happen to um… w-well, get around this for some reason because, e-even as I talk to you, your… everything is a l-little off. B-but for the most part, I can s-see, smell, feel, and react to things that m-most ponies can't. Um… O-oh, how did I do this last time?”

My ‘everythin’’ is off? What's that supposed ta mean?

“It's alright Fluttershy, there's no need to be nervous here. Just start from the beginning. How did you come to be here?” Rarity asked.

“Oh… um, well, Twilight found me about a year ago and…” she began, but quickly stopped as she received a death stare from the pony in question.

Rarity interjected again. “Uh, further back than that. Ah, here we go, what made you want to be a hero? What drives you to help ponies?”

As if there were some kind of hypnotic trigger in that sentence, Fluttershy's demeanor... changed. Her whole presence seemed ta shift ta that determined pony Ah met when she was catchin' those knives. But... this time, it wasn't quite the same. Ah don't know if Ah could say that this was the case or not, but it almost felt like there was... blood lust in the air.

“O-oh, I get it now. Y-you want me to talk about… t-that, right?” she asked, her eyes now darkened.

Rarity bit inta her lip. “Well... only if you're comfortable with it...” Fluttershy nodded, and then looked up toward the ceilin'.

“V-very well. I-if that is the story you w-wish me to tell, then I will.”

Fluttershy

“Years ago, I lived in Cloudsdale with my family. If you couldn't tell, I'm not quite the social butterfly my cutie mark would have you believe. I didn't have any friends, and the one I did have, I… lost a few years before. My little brother was entering middle school, and I was entering high school that year. My family was one of average income, my father worked at the weather factory as a cloud artisan, and my mother was a stay at home mom. We were quiet as a unit, my little brother being the most outspoken one of the four of us, and we were mostly normal. Well, save for me.

“My powers have always been present. While I knew her, my friend loved to pull pranks, but she could never prank me. I always knew what she had done, or sometimes, what she was going to do before she did it. I would later learn that my reaction speed is almost on par with how fast Pinkie moves, and I'm more perceptive than most magic can make a pony. My hearing is actually rather poor in comparison to an average pony, but my nose and eyes make up for it in that I can see in the dark and catch scents from miles away.

“So, I was… weird as a child. And that didn't change as a teen. When flight training came to be, it was quickly known that I wasn't very good at it. I can fly, but my family has a history of bad back muscles, and none of us can fly very well. So, I was bullied for that. But, as long as I had my friend, I didn't really care. At the end of middle school though, she attempted a stunt that would take her life during a race that was started because of… me.

“She was headed toward the ground. There was a ring they were supposed to pass through at an adult level altitude, but none of them cared. The mile high drop, they called it. Even dangerous for adults, but none of us really knew why. She was well ahead of the others, and at the same time, she was always trying to push her limits. She dove for the ring.

“She picked up more speed than most of knew possible. But then, something went wrong. In a bright red flash, the sky was stained crimson. To this day, we don't know what exactly happened, but all the same, we never saw her again.

“With my only friend gone, I withdrew into myself and made an effort to never be noticed again. With my senses as strong as they are, it worked for a good while, but ponies in high school are far more ruthless than they are in middle school.

“I never would have met her, if my first friend had never died. If I still had her, things wouldn't be the way they are now. I've done some terrible things in my life. Especially after that day. But this... this is what I regret most in my life.

“Her name was Scarlet Thread. I met her in the first week of class that year. She was just about as unassuming as I was, avoiding attention like a plague, keeping to her books and herself, and some how, we formed a bond because of it. Of the two of us, I was actually more outspoken. Well, at first that is…”

“H-hello,” I said as I approached her for the first time. I had seen her around, found her near all my hiding spots, and eventually I realized that she was the pony who had checked out all the um... eastern literature that I was trying to read from the library. I had finally worked up the courage to go talk to her when I saw her reading one of my favorites one day. I was unusually tall for my age, rivaling that of many of the teachers, but far more lanky and thin. Before all this happened, my teachers would sometimes ask if I was interested in modeling. As long as I could keep my mouth shut and make sure nopony knew about my stutter, I might've had a future there. If only I'd listened.

“Oh, um, hi?” She had bright stripes of Red and dark rouge in her mane while her coat was a much more muted red than either of the two tones in her mane and tail. Her eyes were bright violet and innocent, and back then, I really believed that. The lack of scents about her told me she was alone as often as I was, but even with all my senses, I never knew how broken she really was. Clearly, she was apprehensive of my approach. She was reading an eastern comic, and nopony that young could understand the work and detail that went into them, save for a select few.

“I-I, uh, I see that you're r-reading Prosthetic Magician… T-that's one of my favorite series.” She checked her book, then looked at me. Clearly, she was surprised that I had taken the time to even look at the title, let alone not scoff at her for it.

“I-it is?” she asked. I could see hope and the beginning of a smile on her face, so I took a seat next to her. We spent the rest of lunch together talking about it, discussing what we liked, where she was in the series since I'd already finished it a few times. My last friend never really liked my comics as much as I did, so it was really the first time I could get into a real conversation about it.

As the day went on, we figured out that we had nearly all of our classes together, and we were quick to become friends. We'd spend days after school reading our comics or watching the animations that mirrored them, discussing what we wish we could do like our fantastical characters could. Scarlet wished she was a Power Pony a lot of the time, making remarks every now and again about the things she could do if she had powers like them. I almost wished I’d payed more attention to the games we played. If life were a game the way she talked about other ponies and getting ‘justice’ would’ve been big, obvious red flags. No help for the oblivious, or maybe… I just wanted to look away.

Time went on, and soon enough we became the targets of the popular crowd. Weebs, nerds, freaks, losers. The list went on and on, and eventually Scarlet couldn't take it anymore so she started cutting school. We didn't talk for a while. I was ashamed that I couldn't stand up to the bullies like my friend did before, but… I wasn’t her, and I didn’t think I could be her, even to protect Scarlet. I was depressed, and Scarlet only ever showing up once as week just made it all harder to endure alone. One day, she just disappeared and weeks went by before she finally showed up again.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” said a familiar voice from behind me. I turned around and was surprised and overjoyed to see her again.

“O-oh Scarlet, I'm so glad you c-came back!” I said after hugging her. But then I noticed that she had changed. There were all these new, foreign scents on her, most I didn’t recognize, and some I found… particularly foul. She had three new piercings in her left ear, a small scar just under her right eye, she was wearing eyeshadow and violet lipstick, she’d dyed her mane black. This was Scarlet... but not the one I knew.

“Um… you look… different?” I attempted to sound enthused by it, but really, I was a little afraid of her.

“Oh, this? I uh… made some new friends… while I was away. Um… can we talk?” I didn't know what she meant.

“O-okay, talk about what? Ooh! D-did you see the new Unearth game is coming out? I-I read that this time, they-”

She cut me off. “I mean, in private. Just you and me. And… not here.” I tilted my head.

“B-but, class is about to start, d-do we really-”

She put a wing around me. “Please? Just this once?”

I trusted Scarlet and decided that one day of class wasn't too big a deal. You would think that with all the stories I had read up to this point, that I might've caught the warning signs. Like, 'What's that I smell on her?' and 'She was always afraid of piercings, who could have gotten her to get one?' or maybe 'Doesn't she look like that kid who betrays his best friend in the ninja manga?' We always used to joke about that, how the story went south after that kid became so edgy it hurt, but here she was… reminding me of him.

Reluctantly, I agreed to cut class, and without a beat gone by, she took me away from the school and back to her place. Both her parents worked during the day, and she was an only child, so we had the house to ourselves. We talked, played games, watched anime. It was… just like it used to be, but without all the pressures and horrible ponies from school to bother us. What was supposed to be a one day thing turned into a week and I loved every second of it. But… at the same time, I didn't notice something that was happening right in front of me.

At the end of that week, both of our parents found out that we'd been skipping and forced us back into school. It was... awful, to say the least, but I had Scarlet with me again, so I thought I could endure it all. We spent every weekend together, we learned to draw together, even made our own stories to tell each other. It was fun, being outside of the system and cursing it at the same time. We were together and we could do anything.

Then, Scarlet introduced me to her 'new' friends. Without knowing it, she'd joined a gang who had… well, ‘less than legal’ activities that Scarlet participated in. I knew better than to do it with them, but that didn't stop me from joining in anyways. We stole, tagged buildings, I smoked for the first and last time. And all the while, I couldn't help but get this nagging feeling out of my mind.

“Your parents wouldn't approve of this. Your friend would have slapped you for this. This is wrong. You know better,” the voice in my head said. I never knew I had the courage to do it, but eventually I couldn't stand the thought of my own inner voice, so I left her gang. Scarlet begged me to come back, but I had learned how to be firm with her from that experience. I told her what I thought and somehow, she listened to me. Scarlet left her gang for me. It was then that I realized I had some power over the decisions she made, and I couldn't figure out why.

I started to notice it after that. The way she looked at me, the things she would do around me. Something wasn't right, and it bugged me. It wasn't just your average friends being friends thing. She was touchy, more so than I remembered at first. I thought that maybe we'd just become more comfortable with each other, but looking back, that wasn't too far off. From this point, there is a week until it all goes wrong.

It was Friday. I was excited because my new PonyStation game was releasing, and I had bought one for Scarlet with my allowance and um… the extra money I… found… and was going to give it to her as an early birthday present. We got together after school, and I wanted to get to the Game Place store as soon as possible, but Scarlet had something else in mind.

“Hey, do you think we could go to my place today?” she asked. I didn't know what to make of it. We normally just went back to my house and played games since one of my parents was always home to feed us at some point, but I figured it didn't matter.

“Oh, okay. We're still going to Game Place first though, right?” I could tell something was on her mind. She wouldn't look me in the eye for whatever reason, and I knew from experience that she wanted to tell me something.

“Oh, yeah, sure. Just so long as we get to my place before five.”

Before five? Her parents get home at six… why does she want to be there without them? I didn't press on the subject though, I was excited to get my new game and that was more on my mind than anything else.

We made our way to the store, and I gushed about all the new features this Unearth game was supposed to have, how cool it looked, how cute the characters were, what the story was going to be about, but Scarlet… remained quiet. I would get a 'Yeah,' an 'Uh huh,' or even an 'Oh, really?' out of her, but never more than that. When I presented her with her new game, she lit up for a moment, but then went back to being just as quiet as she was before then.

We finally made it back to her house, but she still didn't say anything more than one or two word responses. We made our way to her room, I loaded up the game, and it was everything I wanted it to be. Scarlet however, didn't look like she was having fun, so I finally asked.

“Scarlet?” It looked like I had pulled her out of a dream. She shook her head and replied.

“Oh, y-yeah Fluttershy?”

Why is she nervous? What does she have to be nervous about? It's just us, her parents aren't even home. I decided that I would stop and really pay attention to her. I could feel that her pulse was much faster than usual, and she had this… strangely sweet smell about her. Back then, I didn't know this, but these days, I can even detect different pheromones in the air when I concentrate. Something was off, and now I knew that it was more than just me being paranoid.

“I-is there… something you wanna talk about? Y-you've been acting… well, strange.” It had been about half an hour since we started playing, and I noticed that she would glance at the clock every now and again, like she was waiting for something.

“Me? S-strange? What makes you say that?” she stuttered. I frowned. Scarlet hardly ever stuttered around me anymore, that was her nervous tick.

“S-scarlet, we've known each other for months now. W-what do you need to say that you c-can't say to me? A-aren't we… I mean, I'm your b-best friend right?” I'd only ever been called best friend once before, so those words held a lot of meaning to me.

She looked a little panicked now. “Of course! You're my best friend, there's nopony else I would ever call that, it's just that… I… I…” She kept flicking her eyes at and away from me.

“S-scarlet, it's me. S-spit it out already!” I don't know that I'd ever raised my voice at her before, but if I had, I might not have regretted it as much as I do now.

“Okay, fine! I… I love you.” And then she kissed me.

More than anything, I was confused. For once in my life, I didn't know how to react. I'd never been close to anypony but my last friend, and I'd never been this close to anyone before. In the span of what could have been maybe a minute or two, I probably had a thousand questions run through my head, and I didn't move. My body responded on it's own, my tongue chasing hers around in our mouths. When hooves started to get involved, that's when I was finally able to take back control. I practically threw her off, and I felt awful about it as soon as I did.

“O-oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! A-are you okay?” My mind was still having trouble processing that I'd just had my first kiss with my best friend, who was also a mare.

“Yeah, I'm fine… Did… did you not… do you not want… don't you want to go further?” She asked. Suddenly, everything was beginning to make sense. The way she looked at me, she loved me. The way she moved, how she would brush against me, she wanted to feel me. The reason I could ask her to do something was because she wanted to please me. She wanted to be with me, and I… I didn't want to be with her. Not like that. Not in love. I made a promise that I had to keep, I couldn't… not with Scarlet.

“S-scarlet…” Now I was the one that couldn't look her in the eye. She got close to me, and I had become afraid of what she might do. I stood up.

“Fluttershy?” If I would have said anything else, anything other than what I did, maybe… maybe it would have turned out differently.

“Scarlet… I… I can't be with… you…” I grabbed my things as quickly as I could and I ran out of her house. I was afraid of being around her, I didn't want to destroy any more of the ruined friendship we still might've had. I just wanted to be her friend, I didn't love her, but… she loved me.

Monday came around, and I didn't see Scarlet. I figured I wouldn't, but I hoped that I would have. I managed to sort my feelings out, and came to the conclusion that I still wanted to be her friend, but she never showed up. From then on… it only got worse. Somehow, in someway, somepony found out what had happened at Scarlet's house that day, and a rumor about it started to spread. At the same time, Scarlet came back to school the next day, only to leave crying.

We never got to talk, and she didn't show up again Wednesday. Thursday came, and once again, Scarlet was gone. At this point, I'd decided that I needed to see her no matter what, so I was going to go to her house after school ended. In a twist of fate, she came to me. As soon as I exited the school building, Scarlet was standing outside, waiting for me. I was excited when I saw her, but then I realized she dyed her mane again and put all her piercings back in.

With caution, I approached her. “Scarlet?” She looked at me, then started to walk away, motioning for me to follow. When I finally caught up with her, she was waiting for me in an alleyway between the supermarket and the liquor store just down the road. Cloudsdale is a big city for a city in the sky, but even in the air there were still dark places to hide.

“Fluttershy…” she started, avoiding looking at me again.

“Scarlet, we need to talk,” I said, hoping I'd catch her eyes again.

“I… I still love you. And that… that will never change,” she said, finally looking at me. Sincerity and warmth in her violet eyes. But at the same time, there was a hint of sadness. I could feel there was something wrong. I could smell it. There was fear in there.

“Scarlet, I just…” She cut me off.

“Look, will you do me one last favor before… I never see you again?” She asked

Never see me again? What is that supposed to mean?

“Scarlet? What are you talking about? I… I can't be your lover, but I don't want to lose you as a friend. Can't things just go back to the way they were? Who cares if those ponies tease us, it doesn't matter to me. It's us against the them, right?” Scarlet shook her head.

She moved closer, I took a step back. I hated myself for doing it. “You see? We can never be the same as we were. Not if you do that. Not like this. And them… I hate them. I hate them all so much. I can't stand it here. I don't want to be here anymore, and I never want to see any of them ever again. I… I'm not gonna be around much longer, so the last thing I want you to do, and not for anypony's sake but mine, will you stay home tomorrow? Just don't go to school. Pretend to be sick, or something, any excuse you can think of.” I wasn't sure why she was pushing this so hard.

“Scarlet, we skipped a lot of days… I might get held back if-”

She came closer and hugged me. “Please. Just don't go. Please, Fluttershy.”

I could feel her warmth up close again, the beat of her heart, the scent of my dear friend. I gave in and hugged her back. “Okay. I promise.”

She let go of me and held one last look. She looked like she was about to cry. She turned away and wiped her eyes. “You were… my one and only.” And then, she bolted around the corner. I stood there until she was out of the radius in which I could still feel her presence.

The next day arrived, and just as she'd asked, I pretended to be sick. I was hardly ever sick in reality, but since my mother knew I usually never tried to skip school on purpose, she believed me. My house was only a few blocks away from the school, and the only way to get there on hoof is by taking the bridge that leads to it. It was about the middle of the day, and I'd spend most of it grinding away the hours on my new game. That's when I could smell Scarlet near by.

But, it wasn’t just her, the rest of the gang members were near too. Something was wrong by the fact that they were all walking toward the school, or even near the place to begin with. Scarlet said I'd never see her again, and she and all the gang member hated the place. They were all dropouts that were bullied or failed out, and none of them ever wanted anything to do with the place anymore. I couldn't think of why they would even be here, and at eleven in the morning too. The only thing that was going on right now was probably lunch.

As they got closer, I started to really take in everything they were giving off. When I did, I discovered that when I started to separate all the smells out, I could sort of tell what emotions they were giving off too. Fear, Anger, Rage, Disgust, Sorrow, and most of all, Hatred. It was so overwhelmingly vile, I nearly threw up. As they passed the house, I decided that I should see what was going on.

They were covered in fog, hidden away under a wispy cloud so nopony could see them as anything but a drifting irregularity. I thought that was strange, and it was even more strange when I felt something drop on the ground. Of what sound I managed to hear, it was a metallic noise, like some kind of nail. Their cloud stopped, a hoof connected with the ground, and then they went back to moving slowly in their cloud.

Something was very wrong. Something awful was about to happen, and I didn't know it at the time, but I had the instinct to follow them at least. I snuck out of the house and took a patch of cloud myself, flying behind just high enough that they couldn't see me.

They had stopped in front of the door. I couldn't figure out why until I smelled something new. an overwhelming scent of hate and sorrow over came me, and this time, I did vomit. When I finally regained myself, it had started. Alarm bells started to ring, and all the students were driven from their classrooms by procedure. The moment everypony had started to file out of their classrooms, the cloud disappeared as several bullets flew through the glass doors.

The scent of blood bloomed into existence and death started to flow out of the building in waves and waves of nausiating aromas. The alarms had been shot and silenced, and now all that remained were screams of panic, and bullets finding targets. I felt a bullet coming toward me, and knocked it away with my hoof as a reaction. It was probably just a stray, but it showed me that I could dodge them if I needed to.

Scarlet was killing ponies, teenagers. Ponies who hadn't gotten the chance to experience life yet. Teachers, parents, fathers and mothers. She was silencing all these lives, and I got the bright idea that I could stop it. When I finally made it down to the school, there were about eight different scents left that weren't muddled by the stench of death. I stepped inside and the smell of blood bloomed into the air once more. I started to run toward the scent of life, and then two more spread death. I was confused, and then more blood permeated the air, then again. When I finally reached the scene after avoiding pools of blood and corpses, and all that remained was Scarlet.

I called out her name and she turned and looked at me. Tears were streaming down her face, she was covered in blood, and surrounded by the corpses of her friends, all of them with guns nearby and holes in their heads.

I couldn't hear what she said. But I could see her face and read her lips. Her eyes were full of fear and regret. I made out the words, “You weren't supposed to see me again…” before she pointed her own barrel at her temple and pulled the trigger.

“I was… broken after that. Because of how close I was to the tragedy, my parents elected to move us to Manehattan, to get away from it all. A year passed, I was the only survivor to witness what happened, and one of a hooful of other students that weren't at school for whatever reason that day. I was interrogated since I was the only one who knew Scarlet, the only one who cared to know her, the only one who could have… prevented it all.

“I wasn't a whole pony when I finally got back into school in Manehattan, and eventually things would spiral out of hoof even further. I dropped out, ran away from home, I couldn't stand anything that made me remember Scarlet and I’d… gained a new addiction. I... I went by another name. I joined another gang, my powers made me valuable and even more dangerous. I... I killed to keep living. They called me the Beast after a time because I was known to approach in the dead of night and never leave a whole body behind. I learned that there was more to my powers than I knew, but when it comes out of me… I lose all control.

“The ponies of this world were… nothing but fuel to me then. Nopony was ever really a pony, just something that I could use to keep on living. It wasn't until last year that I met Twilight. I had… grown tired of the life I'd created. My sins were beginning to be too much to bear. I didn't think it was worth living in this nightmare anymore.

“I was getting ready to end it all when I... smelled something that I hadn't in a long time. A familiar scent that belonged to somepony I knew once upon a time. I had to see if it was real, so I moved quickly to follow. The smell lead me to this castle, and then… then I met Twilight.

“We made a contract, and now I… work here for her. Doing something with my life, helping ponies instead of hurting them. I turned my life around, like I was given some kind of second chance to make up for all the bad things I did in the past. It was my fault that Scarlet committed suicide, and that only broke me. But I'm still around, and I don't plan on ever letting that change.”

Applejack

When she finished her story, there were just about two things that came ta mind. The first of which, Ah blurted out like some kinda idiot.

“You were the Beast!?” Ah slapped my hooves ta my mouth as soon as Ah realized that ah let it slip. Ah was immediately given looks of disapproval from the other three in the room, but what surprised me more was the answer Ah got from the one in question.

“W-well… yes. I… I can't p-prove it to you now, b-but that's the truth. I-I… I did horrible things. S-so, so many, awful, horrible things. I-I still see the faces of all of them s-some nights, all those ponies I… I-I don't sleep very long or very often a-anymore because the nightmares never stop. I-if it wasn't for her, I might never s-sleep at all. I… I'm a monster…” and then, Fluttershy started ta sob. Ah was havin' trouble believin' that this shy yellow pegasus could have ever been that monster, but somethin' about the way she just… turned off all the emotion in her voice earlier made me think it was true. However, Ah reacted ta her cryin' the same way Ah always did. In that sad little pony, Ah saw my sister, and Ah felt she should be treated the same way.

Ah got out of my chair, came ta hers and sat with her. “Hey now, there ain't no need fer that. The past is in the past. If… if ya say that yer a different pony now, well then Ah believe ya. There's no point in spillin' tears fer somepony who ain't around no more.” Somehow, this one was more genuine then when Ah used ta say it fer Applebloom. But then again, this time Ah wasn't talkin' about somepony who Ah spilled more than tears over myself. Ah suppose she felt my words because she buried herself in my chest until she was done.

“Are ya okay now?” She nodded and wiped at her eyes.

“Y-yes...” It seemed like she'd returned ta the pegasus Ah met earlier in the day, and ta be honest, it was a bit of a relief. Seein' her like that, in that sorta… Ah don't know how ta describe it, but the way she spoke earlier made me think Ah was listenin' ta some kinda serial killer. That alone would’ve made me believe her. She let go of me and Ah got out of her chair, makin' my way back ta my own. Ah still needed ta get my other question answered.

“Alright, now Ah have ta know. Why are y'all goin' around recruitin' ponies like this? And more importantly, why us? Based on what's been said so far, we've all killed somepony at one point or another in our lives. That don't seem like the go-to common trait when lookin' fer employees.” Twilight gritted her teeth.

“I… we… there are reasons behind all of her actions… I…” she paused and shook her head. “You know what? We still have another story to get to don't we? Pinkie?” She tried ta turn the attention away, but Ah wasn't havin' that. Ya don't just 'recruit' the Beast.

“Now hold on a minute, ya can't just ignore me like that! Who is this 'her' yer talkin' about? And every time somepony mentioned you in their stories, ya gave 'em the stink eye fer it. What's the deal? Why are y'all so special?” My temper was startin’ ta get the best of me. Ah was gettin' tired of her, and the fact that she kept hidin' behind legal documents was only irritatin' me more. Twilight bit inta her lip and turned away.

“I… I can't tell you. I… I just can't. There's more to this than you can imagine. If you would just sign the-”

Ah stomped my hoof inta the chair, surprised ta see that it wasn't broken after Ah did. “That ain't good enough! Ah'm not signin' a damn thing till Ah know the truth. Ah don't mean no offense by this Fluttershy, but ya don't just 'contract' somepony with a kill count as high as the Beast's was! That… damn it, that just doesn't make any sense at all! Who do ya work for that would even let ya do somethin' like that? It was yer decision, wasn't it?” Ah was yellin' at this point. Ah knew Ah needed ta calm down, but Ah couldn't. Ah was about ta get up from my chair when suddenly, color disappeared from the world. Ah paused at the sudden change, but then Ah felt a hoof on my foreleg.

“Applejack… you must calm down.” Rarity said. Ah was mad enough ta pull away at this point.

“Calm down!? She hired a goddess damned murder fer her friggen 'super hero' team! The Beast was responsible fer the murders of over fifty families alone, half of them belonged ta police officers, and the other half ta heroes who tried ta take her in! She didn't even leave any corpses behind, who in their right fuckin' mind hires a damn monster-” Then, Ah realized Ah'd touched a nerve. Rarity punched me in the face.

“Don't you EVER talk about Fluttershy that way! I don't care who she used to be, the pony that's sitting across from me wouldn't hurt a fly! She's tormented by the things she did, and half the time it was under the orders of somepony else! All she does now is try to make up for it with everything she has!” It was a good enough punch fer me ta feel it, at least a little, and that got me ta calm down, oddly enough.

“Fine, whatever. Ah'm not even mad about that as much as Ah am that bitch over there. What gives her the right ta just be as rude as she is and act like it ain't nothin' more than a necessary action? What makes her so damn important?” Ah asked, still angry. In the back of my mind, Ah knew that the Beast thing was really drivin' my anger, but it just didn't make sense that that sad pegasus could be the same... thing.

“More than you could ever know. Applejack, she's at the center of everything, and I can't even begin to tell you how important she actually is. She has so much pressure on her to be something more than who she is, you just wouldn't believe. The only mistake she ever made was being born. Just look at the poor thing. I know what Twilight's been through and she's just about in tears from you yelling at her.” Sure enough, the frozen lavender pega-corn or whatever she was, looked like she was about ta start cryin'. Ears down, eyes away, wobbly lip. Well, that's one way ta make me feel awful.

“Oh… oh Goddess, Ah didn't even look at her. Why is she…? What does she have ta say that could be… oh, who am Ah kiddin'. After all the things Ah've heard today, Ah have no idea what she's been through.” Shame was startin' ta creep up my back and Ah didn't want nothin' ta do with it.

“That's right. So you may continue to act like an ass if you wish, but I will not stand for you yelling at my friends. I know I've been having my little arguments with her, but that's just how we talk to each other sometimes. Our relationship is deeper than anypony else here, and I assure you, she's not as bad as she appears.” Ah wasn't really payin' attention though. Ah'd got a good look at Fluttershy, and Ah felt bad enough already. Ah think she might've been able ta tell what was really goin' on, and now Ah just hoped she couldn't.

“Look… Ah'm sorry.”

Rarity shook her head. “Don't tell that to me, tell her. When I let this go, I want you to do three things for me. Apologize first and foremost. Nopony deserved you yelling at them for whatever has gotten you so worked up. I want you to ask Pinkie to tell you what she's been through, and then sign the contract. If she didn't believe in you, then Twilight would have asked you to leave long before now.” Ah swallowed.

Is this what it feels like ta have a mother reprimand you? Ah nodded.

“Yeah, Ah guess yer right. Ah don't know what came over me.” But that was a lie. Killin' heroes… that's a sin that Ah just can't forgive.

“Well, you should be. Attempt to put yourself in the position you were before I froze time. I'd prefer that she doesn't notice it when I do this.” With nothin' else ta say, Ah did as Ah was told. Ah got worked up over somethin' Ah shouldn't have, and Ah deserved it when she hit me. Ah sat back down and waited fer the world ta come back.

“Okay. In three… two… one…”

Author's Note

This chapter was heavily inspired by the song Pumped up Kicks by Foster the People.

Harmony Stories III: Outsider

Author's Note

Warning! From this point onward, the story is still being reformatted! Eventually, all chapters will match [Persona XIV: Revelations - Persona] in style. Chapters previous to this warning already do. Proceed with caution!

Harmony Stories III: Outsider

Applejack

When things went back ta normal, It was almost like the whole tone of the room had changed. My anger had subsided and I relaxed back inta my chair. The silence must of confused everypony else because now they were all starin' at me. Nopony said a word, and Ah was the only thing with any attention on it.

“Look y'all, Ah... Ah didn't mean ta get so mad. Ah'm sorry, Twilight.” Lookin' at her again, she still appeared like she was tryin' ta hide from me. Ah'm ashamed ta admit that just made me feel all the more guilty fer it. At the very least, she reacted more civil like than Ah did.

“It's... it's fine, Applejack. You really do deserve to know, but... If word got out... It... It could happen again or... There's just too much weight behind all those words. A contract is just my way of obtaining the trust I need tell you so much about me and... and her.” She kept dodging lookin' at me every time she would pause. Like she was thinkin' of a memory, but had reasons ta withhold anythin' she wanted ta say.

It must be hard, not bein' able ta talk like that. Well, it's probably better that Ah wonder about her than think about what Fluttershy said. Ah can only hope that the last part of her story wasn't true. The less proof Ah have the better.

“That's real big of ya. If y'all were me, we'd probably be in a shoutin' match right now, and Ah appreciate that,” Ah said, tryin' ta take my mind off of that other thin'.

“Well, I'm just glad we cleared that up. Now then...” She turned ta the pony next ta her, whom did her best ta avoid eye contact. “Pinkie, would you mind?” Ah suppose finally bringin' the tension as high as it could go and then lettin it drop must of settled her down a little. She spoke with a little more normalcy in her voice instead of the sorta edge she had in it earlier.

“Uh... Ya know, I would, but... she seems ready to sign doesn't she? Why don't you all clear that up and you can tell her all about those dirty little secrets and we can just forget about me so I can fade into obscurity like normal, 'kay?” Pinkie said. It looked like she was almost pleading with me not ta ask. Ah suppose this is why Rarity told me ta ask specifically.

“If you really don't want to, then-” Twilight began. Ah halted her.

“Actually, Ah really would like ta hear yer story Pinkie. Over the past few years, Ah've obtained a nose fer bullshit, and ya reek of it, if we're bein' honest here. Experience tells me that ya did somethin' ya haven't forgiven yer self fer, and ya wont any time soon. Yer jittery and dodgy when yer past is brought up, and ya practically hide like a foal when yer asked about it. If it's any consolation, it don't look like any of us can take the moral high ground here since we've all done somethin' we regret.” Ah figured that if anypony deserved a push it was gonna be her. Apparently, it worked. She looked to every pony else, settled on me, and finally sighed.

“Well... you're not wrong, that's for sure. But me? I'm the lowest of the low. I... I hurt my own family. And I know that none of you did anything like that to your own blood.” Ah frowned.

“Well, If anypony understands wantin' ta hurt yer 'own blood,' it'd be me.” Pinkie shook her head.

“No, no, no! You just don't understand... I broke my parent's trust, I hurt my siblings, and worst of all... I'm the reason one of my sisters died...” Ah nearly bit through my cheek when she said that. Ah had ta hide my shock, otherwise she might never open up about whatever she did. Now, Ah was thoroughly invested in her story.

“Well... why don't ya explain? Ah doubt ya did anythin' like that on purpose.” And that is where Ah made my mistake. Ah assumed. She looked down and brought her knees in, wrappin' her forelegs around 'em at the same time.

“The... the problem with that is... I kinda did...” The room went silent again. Ah had lost just about all my words, and it didn't look like anypony else had anythin' ta say. Ah suppose this must of activated some kinda damage control mode in Twilight.

“Um... why don't we save this for another time? I'll go get the documents, we can get you in the system, and then I'll just wrap everything up with my story, okay?” She started ta get up, but then Pinkie stopped her.

“N-no... That isn't fair...” She paused ta swallow. “I need to do this. If I don't then I'll just keep hiding from it, and I'll never change like that... right Twilight?” The two shared a look, and Ah swore that was the first time Ah ever saw Twilight smile with any kind of genuine sincerity since Ah got here.

“I'm glad. As long as this is your choice, then you've already made a step toward a better you. Please. Go ahead.” She motioned forward with a wing, and with that Pinkie sat up straight. Clearly there's somethin' Ah don't know between these three and her, but all the same Pinkie had lightened up a little.

“Okay... I'm the third child from a family of six. My parents, and my three sisters, one of which is my fraternal twin. I wouldn't know if any of them have powers, and honestly, I don't think I'll ever see them again. I still count the days since it all happened. Ten years, four months, and thirteen days ago, when the eight year old me discovered I could do what I can.

Pinkamena Diane Pie

“Back then, I lived on a farm that had been in my father's family for generations. It wasn't a normal farm though. My family sold rocks. It was more like we were miners than anything else, but I suppose that's just one way to look at it.

I wasn't normal. While I was a twin, my coloring wasn't anything like what either of my parents had, or my twin sister has. I'm bright pink and the rest of my family is various shades of violet and gray. At most, I at least share eye color with my mother, and that was enough for me. I was always the odd one out when It came to the family. I was energetic and laid back, an extrovert in a family of introverts. I didn't fit or gel well. My sisters are all strong and I'm pretty weak. My parents were really unsure of what to do with me a lot of the time because I was just so... different from them. I'll never know what they really thought of me.

I was treated like one of the family, but I always felt like an outsider when it came to my sisters. Being so different made it hard to talk to any of them about anything, and most of the time, they just found me annoying and avoided me. Sometimes, my older sister and I would get into fights because of it, but my dad was always around to keep things from getting out of hoof. However, this didn't last long. My dad, who really kept all four of us in line, got sick a little before my powers showed up. We didn't really know what was wrong with him, and at the same time, we were never really a family with lots of money, so we didn't have much of an option to get him treated. He was bed ridden for weeks and to this day, I still don't know if he survived or not.

Anyways, this is when my older sister, the one closest to my age, took the opportunity to try and take over for him. My older sisters are four and eight years apart from us, so I guess she was twelve at the time. With my mom busy handling all the paperwork for orders, and my oldest sister handling the really big jobs, the rest of us... were stuck with organization and inventory.

For a few weeks, we literally counted rocks and shuffled them around. Eventually, I got tired of it and my older sister's slave driver nature, so I called her out on it. We got in a fight and... I lost. She threatened to beat me up again if I argued with her anymore. At the time, I didn't feel like I should bother my parents or even ask my oldest sister for help because they were both too busy to bother with her.

The most I ever saw either of them was at dinner, which was the only time my mother wasn't doing paper work or taking care of dad, or my oldest sister wasn't working. So, nothing changed, and I lived in fear of her until the day that my powers showed up. It was a windy day, and I was told to start bringing in the rocks that were over by the quarry. My oldest sister had set up a bunch of carts for us to take with some precious stones in them, but she liked to put as much in one cart as she could, which was way more than I, or any of the younger sisters could carry alone. It was... so windy that day.

On the east side of the Dragon Spine range, the wind blows in full force. With the mountains in the way to the west, the land we lived on right next to them was always hit with hard, whining winds that would twist and turn and blow right back at us. When dad was still healthy, we would use it to play since it could literally pick my twin and I off the ground some days. I went to the quarry to try and pull some of the carts back to the barn. I wasn't strong enough to get it to move. I felt like if I could push it from behind, then maybe it would move. I went back to do so, and that's when the wind picked up.

I was hit with it at full force. I lost my balance and fell into the quarry. If I had to guess, I'd say that the quarry was maybe as deep as a five story building. Either way, a fall from the top of the path was a death sentence. As I fell, something inside me changed. Like it was some kind of trigger to activate my powers. I started to move my legs, and it was like the world slowed down for me. The fall wasn't scary anymore, and with each step I took on the wall, I moved forward more than down. Then I started to run, and I'd stopped moving down entirely. I ran all the way up the quarry and made it back to the carts, and it was like the wind was never there in the first place.

You'd think that being able to run as fast as I can, it would be like everything is all sped up, but really, it's the opposite. When I run, it's like a normal run for me, but the distance I cover and how everything else looks changes like some one put a video on slow playback. Afterward, I was excited and thought I'd try and do it again, but from a safer starting point. I ran up and down the quarry walls for probably a few hours.

That was the happiest I'd been in a long time. Really, since dad got sick. I went home to tell everypony about it, but the first pony I ran into was... my older sister. She had that aggressive tone in her voice and the first thing she asked me was, 'where are the carts, Pinkie?' before I could say anything about my powers. I tried to tell her that I couldn't move them, but that just made her more angry. She hit me and told me to follow her since whatever was in the carts were due for an order that night.

All of that joy I felt started to sour. I got mad. I wanted to hurt her back, but I knew that I wasn't strong enough to do it. And then... I got an idea. A horrible, awful idea. The wind had started to pick up again. It wasn't as strong as it was earlier, but it was definitely enough to affect her, I could see that she was having about as much trouble walking as I was. If I were to... give her a push... then the wind would do the rest for me. Then she wouldn't hit me anymore. She wouldn't hit me ever again. The more I though about it, the more I felt all of those nasty things she did to me over the years.

I became more and more convinced that everything would be better if she weren't around anymore. So I waited. I knew she was stronger than I was, but not so much that she could move the cart on her own either. So after I watched her fail to pull it, she went to the back to push it. When she couldn't, she asked me for help. That's when I made my move. I got up next to her, and then used my new speed to take a few steps back and slam into her.

The hit had knocked her off her hooves, and the wind pushed her to the edge of the quarry path. But then something unexpected happened. She caught he edge of the path and was hanging from there. She asked me to help her. In that moment, I forgot about everything else. My big sister needed my help. I didn't want revenge anymore, I didn't want to hurt her, that was my big sister, and she needed me. I was still for a second, and then her hooves started to slip. I started to run for her, but I was to late. By the time I made it to the edge of the path, she'd already fallen. I raced down the path hoping I could catch her, but... she beat me to the bottom.

I... I can still hear that sound. The sound of all her bones... breaking. That horrible crunching sound... And then the blood, oh goddess, there was so much blood. It all just leaked out and formed a pool. I just stood there, horrified, until my oldest sister had come out of the quarry cave. She didn't have a lot of emotion, and she never made anything but a blank face most of the time, but... when she saw L... she saw Li...” Pinkie looked like she was about ta toss her dinner. She shook the sick away and continued, “saw the corpse... she screamed.

She asked me what happened, and I couldn't respond. It was my fault. It was all my fault. I pushed her. I wanted it to happen. And when it did, I understood just what kind of mistake I made. She took a step toward me and I started to back away. She asked me what happened again, a new emotion beginning to take shape in her face. I turned and ran. I ran as fast as my legs could take me, and I didn't look back. I made a horrible, irreversible, mistake that day, and have not been back home since.

I spent my days traveling afterward. I would wander from place to place, hoping to find my next meal where ever I ended up. And I did that for years. I was sixteen when I finally settled here. A family who owns a bakery on 314th street found me passed out in the city and took me in. They always wanted a daughter of their own, but had difficulties conceiving. I just so happened to fill in the spot. My travels had taught me a lot about the world. How cruel ponies and creatures can be. The evil that hides just beneath the surface, the kind of horrible things ponies will do to each other just to get ahead. But this family, they showed me what kindness looks like. What hope looks like. Both of which, I hadn't seen in a long time.

Later in the next year, after I had moved in with them, they finally achieved their goal. The mother gave birth to a pair of fraternal twins. Seeing that the new family was complete, I didn't feel like I belonged any more, so I set off on my own again. It didn't last as long as I thought it would this time though. Funny thing is, it was actually during one of Marevelous Red's fights that this happened, but one of the bad guys threatened to hold a child hostage.

She was a little gray earth pony with pale gray hair, just about twelve years old, and for a minute there, I thought she looked exactly like my older sister beck before... before I... I guess something snapped inside, and I raced to rescue the girl. The bad guy didn't know what happened to his hostage, and you flattened him into a wall face afterward. I apologized to this little girl over and over, holding and crying over her until I realized that she wasn't the sister I lost. But at the same time, she said something to me, something I'll never forget.

'You saved me! I... I don't know who I remind you of, but... whoever it is, I think they would be proud of you!' and then she ran off to who knows where. Something clicked, and I got the bright idea that I could be like you. A hero to ponies. Somepony who saves others, somepony who could help ponies. But... at first, that wasn't the case. I tried to save ponies, mostly innocent bystanders that would get caught up in fights between villains and heroes, and sometimes I would end up in the way, or ruining another hero's chance to catch the bad guy, or worse, not making it in time. I did this for about half a year before I just couldn't handle failing to save ponies anymore. And then... that's when I met Twilight.

Now I live here and work for her. I still visit that family that took me every now and again to check up on the foals. Every time I see them it makes me hope I can be a good role model for them one day, like you were for me. Maybe one day I can be better than I am, even if I can never atone for the sin that creeps up my back. That noise... it still haunts my dreams. No life is worth the one I took out of spite, out of anger, for pitiful revenge. I'm just like... the jealous brother...”

Applejack

“Oh, Pinkie...” found it's way out of my mouth. None of that was fair. None of that should have ever happened. What kinda messed up world do we live in that makes children want ta kill each other? Ah could feel myself start ta get tense. All of these stories, all this pain and sorrow. Most of it could have been prevented. If it weren't fer the mistakes of others, nothin' woulda spiraled out of control like it did! We were all kids... it just isn't fair...

Ah made my way over and hugged Pinkie too. She was still shiverin', her hooves over her ears. Ah've heard that sound before, the sound bones make when they make contact after a fall, and it doesn't get any better with time. Bein' too late ta save some pony... It just isn't somethin' ya can't get over. Of all the thin's Ah never forget, it's the faces of ponies Ah see right before they die. And then Ah thought about what she said. Ah don't... even remember that fight. Of course, it sounds familiar, like somethin' that happened that Ah should remeber, but Ah don't think Ah ever got paid fer it. Why is it that that's all Ah think about these days? It's always about the money now... It didn't used ta be that way.

All she wants ta do is save lives, atone fer her mistakes. All of them want that. Rarity is the least at fault here, and even still, Diamond was always more concerned with the citizens than the perpetrators. Ah'm no hero... Ah'm just a bounty hunter. Ah don't deserve ta be a role model...

“Applejack? Is there something wrong?” Rarity asked. Ah suppose my thoughts were makin' their way ta my face. Ah straightened my hat and popped my neck.

“Naw, Ah'm just thinkin' is all. This world... this is one messed up place ya know?”

“W-well, that's why we try and make it better... e-even if it's just a little at a time,” Fluttershy said. From somepony so steeped in blood, Ah never thought Ah would hear somethin' so... pure. Ah started ta laugh.

“Heh... he he heh! Ha ha ha hah! You... you all, yer just so... so perfect fer this ain't ya? Mistakes ya cain't ever fix, thin's ya can just never atone fer... and each one of ya has that in common, so who else ta fix the broken world but the most broken that it has ta offer!? Out of all them other heroes out there, y'all want me? Ah... Ah'm no hero... Ah'm just some bounty hunter paradin' around in a damn flashy suit...” Ah leaned back in my chair and got a good look at all their eyes. Confusion, fear, sorrow, anger, all of it here.

“Applejack, you can't truly believe that can you? I've seen you save dozens of ponies before!” Rarity said.

“Yeah! Even though I was there that day, you went to help the ponies who were attacked before you went after the bad guys!” Pinkie said.

“A-and you tried to protect me earlier... I-I don't think a bounty hunter would do that...” Fluttershy said.

“You stuck up for... somepony important to me a while back. I don't know how you've been lately, and really, I can't know what you've been feeling, but there isn't any other hero that I thought would be a better candidate than you for my team. You might not be perfect, and nopony is, but we all believe in you. You're a hero... A hero that your father would be proud of.” Twilight said. Ah could feel it, somethin' breakin' inside me. A warm sensation started ta pool in my eyelids. Ah bit inta my lip and started ta rub my eyes. Ah made a promise that Ah wouldn't do that anymore, and Ah'm not about ta break it.

“T-thanks y'all. It took too damn long fer me ta... ta find ponies Ah could call friends.”

Harmony Stories IV: Mother (part 1)

Applejack

“Well... I guess all that's left is me. I'll go get the documents, and once it's all signed... we can start,” Twilight said. She got up off her seat and made her way down the dark hallway toward the back side of the room. Ah decided that it would be best if Ah sat back down, since Ah had the naggin' feelin' that 'documents' referred ta a couple hundred pages or so. Ah sighed. Ah guess the others could read minds or Ah just wasn't hard ta read with the mask off.

“Oh, don't be t-too worried... it's just one page...” Fluttershy said.

“Well, I wouldn't exactly call that scroll 'one' page, but you only have to sign it once if that's any consolation,” Rarity added. Ah relaxed and crossed my hooves.

“Sure. Ah'll believe it when Ah see it. But the word scroll has me interested though. Is it like... a magic contract, or somethin'?” Ah asked. The three looked to each other, then back ta me. They all had thoughtful faces on, like they were tryin' ta find a way ta describe what Ah was askin' about.

“Well...” Rarity began.

“Um... y-yes, uh... t-there's definitely magic involved...” Fluttershy followed.

“But uh... it's not the regular kind. It's more of the... uh, well, you know, the 'kill you' kind. The black stuff. I think one of the princesses called it a curse once?” Pinkie said. The other two gave her a look. Ah just rolled my eyes.

“Figures. Whatever. At this point, Ah'm too far in ta back out now anyways,” Ah remarked. Twilight countered.

“I wouldn't say that. I know a good memory wipe spell that will take about a week out of your mind. If you really don't want to go through with this Applejack, then I can arrange it so-” Ah cut her off.

“Nuh-uh. Ah don't want no damn magic messin' with my brain. Ah've seen the nastier side of that stuff doin' hero work enough as it is.” Takin' a look at her now, she had refilled or reheated her coffee and was now carryin' a thin scroll with a real fancy lookin' gold scroll rod with the brightest violet gems Ah've ever seen on it. Somethin' about those gems were botherin' me though. They were... attractive some how. Ah wanted ta touch them. Ah guess she noticed.

“Oh, very well then. Uh, it's best not to stare at the gems. Ponies with low tolerance to magic tend to, um, have an... interesting reaction to them. W-well, long story short, they tend to end up 'inside' ponies, and that turns them into out of control magical beasts, and it's just best not have that happen... again. M-moving on, all you have to do is place your tongue on the seal at the very bottom of this scroll and everything else will happen on it's own.” She was blushin', so Ah suppose somepony here has a low tolerance ta magic.

“My... tongue?” Ah asked, more confused about that than whatever crazy thin' happens with those gems.

“Yes. It's very ancient magic, but very efficient all the same. The contract reads, in today's Equestrian, 'The Creature that swears fealty to this oath will here by have their tongue inscribed to the royal family and their kin. If this creature breaks their oath, all memories involving the royal family and their kin shall be expunged along with this creature's ability to speak.' I know the consequences sound steep, but that compared to what she would do, if she found out you broke the contract, at least this will let you keep your life intact.” Twilight gave me a weak smile, like she was tryin' her best ta make this not look like Ah was joinin' a cult. Ah frowned and shook my head.

“Whatever. Let's just get this over with. Whoever 'she' is better be damn important fer this level of security.” Ah said, leanin' ta the table ta put my tongue on the contract. Lookin' it over, Ah'd have ta say Ah was just in between Rarity and Fluttershy on whether or not this counted as one page. Whatever language it was written in had real big characters compared ta the standard Equestrian alphabet, but this also had a whole lot of text on it too. At the very bottom of the scroll was a large red seal that looked like a combination of flames and wings spread inside a circle.

Ah put my tongue on the page, and the seal started ta glow. The image in the seal began ta float and dance on my tongue, almost burnin' me like fire and carvin' a strange taste of warm metal and cinnamon as it did. When the sensation finished, Ah had that same image almost in black all over my tongue, like it was burned in, but Ah didn't feel anythin' other than normal. Well, that and the taste of cotton or whatever this 'paper' was made out of.

“That... was weird. Ah've seen some crazy magic before, but Ah ain't never seen anythin' like this.” Ah really wanted ta see what the whole shape looked like on my tongue, but Ah just couldn't stick it out far enough.

“This is pretty ancient stuff. It's been around just about as long as the continent has, as far as we know.” When Ah paid attention ta her, Ah noticed that her own tongue was just as black and marked up as mine was.

“Has... has yer tongue always been like that?” Ah felt my head tilt while Ah was tryin' ta get a look at her 'tattoo' or whatever this thin' is.

“... Since I was eight years old actually... I signed... something similar, back then...” Well, Ah bet there's a fun story behind that. Ah ain't never seen somepony with such a pained look on their face. She rolled the scroll back up with her wings and started ta walk back toward that hallway. Then Rarity took up explainin' thin's.

“It's not just her though, we all have the brand. Only those with the brand can see it, this one being specific to our group. Every royal guard, which includes us now that you've joined, has to sign a similar contract to this one in order to complete their training and formally join the military. As of now, you're approximately a captain in terms of rank, but have the freedom to do just about whatever, save for talking about this.

It's unfortunate, but speaking about the brand, the reasons behind it's creation, or secrets of the royal family is also forbidden by the contract to anyone without it. If you ever happen to get close to talking about something that would break the contract by accident, the brand will start to burn as a sort of warning. Mine has been burning ever since I explained to you all that I did actually.” She stuck out her tongue ta show that the brand was glowin' with that same violet that the gems were, and it looked like it was almost smokin'. Ah had ta blink ta make sure Ah was seein' right.

“Oh... wow. Ain't that a bit much though? Wait a minute. Royal guard? Captain? What?” Ah asked. Ah could feel my own gears turnin', and suddenly thin's were startin' ta fall inta place.

“Yes... In the event you hadn't pieced this together yet, me being a 'government secret' is just about the understatement of the century... quite literally,” Twilight said, casually takin' her seat again.

“So... you're... not just some weird cross breed Power Pony, but... related ta one of em'? Like, the princesses?” Ah asked. She nodded. Then she looked down. It was almost like she was ashamed of it.

“You see... Princess Celestia is 'she,' and 'she' happens to be my... biological mother.” She said, runnin' one of her hooves along her foreleg. Ah shook my head, and all the pieces had fallen inta place.

“Huh.” Ah was just about dumbstruck at this point. Ah swallowed. “So uh... how, exactly did that happen? Ah mean, Ah know 'how' that happens, but uh... how did 'that' happen ta her? Ah thought she and Princess Luna were like some kinda celibates.” Twilight sighed.

“Luna is. Especially after learning that they, sorry, we, are in fact, fertile. And she was supposed to be. But... that isn't the case. I suppose I should start from the beginning. I'm just one of the things that came out of her poor decisions. This is the story of a Princess, a King, and all the problems that come with dimension hopping.”

Twilight Sparkle

“About two thousand years ago, Celestia and Luna were asked to lead Equestria after the three tribes were founded in this land. What they can remember of their own parents is very little, but a few iron rules were beaten into their minds.

One: they are not to manipulate the will of their fellow ponies. This is why almost every form of mind control has been eradicated and outright outlawed. What little that remains is due to Power Ponies, but we'll get there.

Two: they are never to mate outside of their own race. Alicorns were meant to only breed with Alicorns because Alicorn mares can only birth, big surprise, more Alicorns. Due to the rarity and longevity of our race, if there are too many of us, the chances of eternal wars breaking out increases exponentially. But once again, we'll get there.

Three: magic is never to be used to explore other realms. It wasn't until after the initial mistake had been made that they understood why this was a rule, but she found out anyways.

So, with that said, Celestia ended up breaking two of the three rules, at the same time. For almost two thousand years, they abided by these rules. Time went by, and while Luna kept to the rules, Mother started to become addicted to technological progress. With her partner in crime, Starswirl the bearded, the father of modern magic, they pioneered magic and science together.

Now, not everything about mother breaking her own rules ended up as disastrous as... well, me. We only have electricity and combustion engines because of her influence, so most of your modern conveniences wouldn't be here without her. But things started to spiral out of hoof after she and Starswirl had a falling out toward the end of his life. He had postulated a way to travel between dimensions. Ripping apart the very fabric of space time to open doors to other universes, similar to this one, but where the world diverged at one point and moved in a completely different direction.

At first he was ecstatic about his idea, and after a little musing with her, Celestia eventually became just as obsessed as he was about it, ignoring the warning her parents gave her. After doing some testing in secret, Starswirl argued that it was too dangerous to experiment with this kind of magic. Celestia was a little more than upset with him for taking such a sudden and harsh opposition to her new dream, but all the same, he would never cooperate with her.

Starswirl approached Luna and with her help, hid his findings where Celestia could never reach... or so they thought. Fast forward to thirty years ago, and science and magic have evolved to the point of being able to break ancient magic seals that were never meant to be broken. With an advanced magic alloy forged into a drill and powered by the combustion engine, Celestia broke into Starswirl's vault without Luna's knowledge. After realizing just what she'd found, since Luna had apparently forgotten it was there, she immediately began construction of the interdimensional portal Starswirl had drawn up plans for.

Combining the old magic with the science of the slowly beginning digital age, she created an easily used, and easily controlled portal that could transport one to any dimension they wished. In the very first run of the experiment, something went wrong though. An unknown malfunction within the operating magic caused the portal to open as one of the researchers was inside doing maintenance on it. It created a spatial distortion within his body, mutating all of the atoms it didn't outright destroy. He survived the incident as if nothing had happened and was sent home to recover.

Of course, that wasn't enough to deter Mother from continuing with her experiments, she simply let it go as 'a sacrifice for progress,' which isn't really a comforting set of words when you're talking about one of the rulers of your nation. She began hopping dimensions, exploring and bringing back new technology, and surprisingly quickly, her injured researcher healed and came back to work.

What she didn't know then was that her researcher was 'infected' with a new form of virus that came out of the mutated cells in his body. The powers he received from it were useful within the lab, and with the consent of willing ponies, they decided to spread the virus. Each pony who obtained the virus gained a power of some sort, typically relating to their cutiemark, but sometimes not at all. It only became a problem when the virus showed just what all it could change.

One of the volunteers who contracted the virus didn't react to it at first. There was nothing detectable, or even different about him. But, on his way home that night, it was a full moon out. Upon being exposed to moonlight, his body changed rapidly, disfiguring into a wolf like creature. This event would later be known as the Bloody Night of Canterlot, and what caused the outbreak of the virus to begin with.”

Ah was tryin' ta pay attention ta Twilight as she was talkin', but when she started talkin' about the wolf-pony, Fluttershy started fidgetin' with her hooves. Ah didn't like it. Bloody Night, what the wolf-pony she was referrin' ta was called in the super world, was practically the predecessor ta the beast.

“Every third survivor of his attack came back infected, and since his blood was drawn during a fight near the Canterlot aquifer, the virus was now in the water systems and spread like a torrent. Luckily, the virus could only infect ponies with a specific recessive gene that is present in about a third of the total population, but there are also about seven million residents in Equestria, and that number is ninety eight percent ponies. That means there are about two million Power Ponies out there now, give or take a few hundred thousand.

The virus was now a problem, and so the princesses put out the VBTA as a stop-gap while looking for a way to cure it. Luna decided to take the standard route, and have her own teams research a cure looking at this earth, but Celestia thought that her new machine was the answer to their problems. After ten years and one hundred and nineteen dimensions later, she finally found one that had a similar time line to ours, where some jackass made the same mistake she did, and unleashed the same virus on his own ponies. That Jackass just so happens to be my biological father.

A unicorn stallion with a dark gray coat and a black mane, or so I'm told. He was looking for the same cure Celestia was, but didn't have the longevity and experience that she did, but he did have unique technology and magic. Together they tried to find a cure and... ended up falling in love. Celestia would disappear for weeks at a time, and eventually Luna got suspicious. She started to sense something strange from Celestia when she did see her, and that lead to Luna discovering Celestia's secret lab.

Learning that she had broken one of their three sacred rules, Luna was outraged. It took several weeks to repair any part of that relationship, but then things only became more complicated. Celestia figured out she was pregnant about two months in to her argument with Luna, and suddenly there were bigger concerns than the dimension hopping. It would have been this world's biggest media scandal to date, and more than that, it would expose that the princesses could conceive.

If that knowledge alone got out, the very 'eternal wars' their parents warned of could come about from anypony with enough power to capture either of the princesses. With no other options than to hide it, contracts like the one I had you sign were forged and Celestia was hidden away in my Father's dimension for the remainder of the pregnancy.

From there though, things only got worse. Mother was discovered in that dimension, and every fear that the princess had just about came true on the other side. The King had a rightful heir now, he'd had a child out of wedlock, any and every political arrangement he had previously was dissolved. All trust in the king had been lost.

Within months, he was overthrown, and a new regime was instated with a goal to have him and his little sweetheart executed as an example for those that would come to betray the ponies' trust. With his castle on the verge of being sacked, and an angry mob of regicide happy ponies at the door, he and Celestia chose to try and escape back here. Of course, this all just so happened to be at the end of her pregnancy, and just as they were heading for the door, she went into labor.

With no choice but to have the baby, the King and those that remained loyal to him fought to defend the castle until the baby was born. Nine hours of intense battle raged at the castle gates until finally, they fell. I was born a few minutes before the raid started, but that wouldn't stop a weak and bloody Celestia from trying to make it home with me alive. Because everything that could go wrong eventually did, the portal shorted and failed before they could escape.

With everything he had, my father sacrificed himself to help us escape by reactivating the portal and using his own life force to support it. Celestia made it back with me intact, and upon seeing the state she was in, a raging Luna destroyed the lab. Celestia swore she would never travel dimensions again, and the two found a trusted pair of foster parents to raise me in Celestia's stead, separating me from my mother.

So, things reached a stable status for a while. Shortly after making it to this dimension, Luna cast a spell on me that would hide my wings from existence until she specified otherwise, and I grew up as just an unusually powerful unicorn with foster unicorn parents and a foster unicorn brother. However, this is just where my story starts.

Harmony Mission I: Argent Foundry Disappearance

Applejack

“Ow, damn that hurts...” Ah sat up and rubbed at my head. What the hell happened?

“Move, you idiot!” another voice said. Ah turned ta look and all I saw was some cyan colored face comin' at me real fast. She hit me in the side hard enough ta knock me about fifteen feet away from where Ah was. Ah got up about ta yell at her when Ah heard the sound of some horrid cry and watched as the spot Ah was just at get smashed by some hairy claw.

“Holy shit! What in the hell was that!?” Ah asked the pony in front of me. She was covered in dark feathers, black as night and shined blue in the moonlight. She was wearin' boots and pants of some kind, and a sheath fer what looked like an eastern sword. She must've been a power pony because just above her back were a pair of bright red wings that flowed and ebbed like a liquid. Is that blood?

“How the hell do you not know? Oh goddess, please tell me you remember who I am.” Turnin' ta me now. Most of her head was covered by a mask of some kind, but at the same time, Ah felt like it was missin' a piece too. Of what Ah could see, her coat was bright cyan, her irises were magenta colored, and she had a scar over her left eye that looked pretty old. Also, she was bleedin' with a new lookin' hole in one ear. Ah got up quick, but winced when Ah did. My left foreleg was hurt real bad. What in the hell happened?

“Uh, no? Who are ya?” She rolled her eyes and groaned.

“Oh for fuck's sake! Now is not the time for amnesia! Shit, move!” Another horrible cry, and this time Ah got a look at whatever was attackin' me and... whoever this was. It was as big as a house, gangly and hairy. Bright pale yellow fur, almost white, draped all over it, coverin' it's eyes. It had teeth the size of mystery mare's sword, and it's right leg looked like it'd been cut. The creature slammed its good arm down where mystery mare was a second ago, and Ah hopped out of the way in time ta avoid the slam.

Ah realized now, that Ah was in costume too. Where am Ah? Wait a minute... today is Thursday! Is this the mission? Is that thing the monster that was makin' the Argent people disappear? Come on, remember damn it!

“Applejack? You're late.” Twilight said from somewhere inside the castle, clearly irritated.

“Sorry, It was my turn ta buy groceries, and Ah forgot ta do it.” Ah said. In reality, Ah was finishin' a chess game with my sister and just lost track of time. Looks like she bought it though.

“Fine. Just don't let it happen again.” She said. The castle door slid back and opened up, grantin' me access ta it. Ah made my way down the windin' halls until Ah found the Meetin' chamber.

“Oh, look who decided to show up.” Twilight sneered. Ah frowned.

“Well, after such a warm welcome, Ah'm just about ready ta leave. Let's get this over with.” Ah narrowed my eyes at the purple mare and stared her down until Ah was tired of watchin' her squirm. Ah took my seat next ta Rarity, who was already in costume as Diamond. Across from me was Pinkie, coated in some kinda blue suit with a pale yellow series of diamond shapes runnin' down either side. Then, ta my right was Fluttershy in a big black coat that hid her wings, wearin' a dark face mask with a green tinted one way lens over her eyes, and a fedora that somehow hid all her pink hair.

“Huh. So Pinkie is actually Blur, and Fluttershy is...?” Ah asked.

“O-oh, right. W-while I'm wearing this, they call me T-target Lock. S-sorry if the mask is a little scary. I-I don't particularly like it, b-but it helps me focus my dark sight better than n-normal,” she explained. Pinkie took off her mask and was just about in tears and smilin'.

“You…” she sniffed, “you know my name! I'm so happy!” in a second, she was in my lap huggin' me.

“Woah there trooper, ain't no need fer that,” Ah said, slowly pryin' her off.

“I'm glad you could make it darling,” Diamond said.

“Hey! We're here to do a job, not gush over who pretends to be who!” Twilight snapped.

“Geez. Buzz kill,” Pinkie said as she stuck her tongue out and returned to her seat in an instant.

“And you! Get in costume, we've got a job to do, and you're our front liner.” Ah'd had about enough of her. Ah got up and slammed a hoof next ta her head.

“Yell at me again. See if Ah miss next time.” The now cowerin' alicorn nodded and Ah went back ta my seat ta change.

“Ahem. I uh, apologize for being so... rude, but another worker has disappeared, and had we done this sooner, that wouldn't have happened. Well, that and Luna has been on my case about it all morning. I've been awake since about four.” Diamond giggled.

“Ha. I was wondering how long it would take before you apologized. Seems my prediction was right. Well done Applejack, you subdued the raging caffeine fiend.” Twilight lowered her ears, her cheeks red instead of violet.

“Bout time somepony did. Ah'd make a rude crack, but Ah'm pretty sure that's takin' it too far.” Ah said as Ah put on my suit. Ah zipped up my mask and said, “So now that the real Beast has calmed down, why don't ya fill me in?” Ah smirked through the mask ta make sure she could see it. She glared at me and then sighed. Her horn lit up, and on the table was some kinda computer like grid that had a display of the whole city. A single buildin' lit up red over on the south west side of town that was surrounded mostly by forest and not really connected by any major roads. The whole map shifted ta focus on it. It was large enough ta be a warehouse, but had all the makin's of a factory with the smokestacks and trucks that were docked ta it.

“This is the foundry I told you about earlier. The report says that a grand total of thirteen workers, as of yesterday, have gone missing after entering the basement via the elevator.” The buildin' expanded on the table, now showin' the basement floor underground. Based on the layout, there were two entrances ta the basement, one bein' a staircase at the southwest corner, and the other bein' an elevator on the east side of the buildin. It had two floors in total, and the main floor had several caldrons fer pourin' steel inta castin's, a conveyer belt in the center, a sand deposit and all the thin's they use ta treat it before makin' a cast. It looked pretty standard, but Ah couldn't think why it had a basement.

“Now, the blueprint for the building has nothing about the basement other than it's a big square box made of concrete, and when I sent Pinkie to visit yesterday, she wasn't allowed in. This leads me to believe that Argent has something hidden down there, but I don't know what. Why he would allow a missing ponies report to be filed if he was hiding something in that foundry is beyond me, but whatever is going on, your job is to investigate it. I have a bad feeling about this, so I'm sending everypony.

If you need to contact the others, just call out in your mind to the pony you want to speak to. The brand should do the rest, so long as there isn't magical interference. But if there is... then we have a bigger mystery than just what's in the basement.” Twilight concluded her briefin', and that made me wonder. What can cause magical interference? Unless it's another spell, but... how does that work?

“Hmph. I still don't like you suspecting Mister Argent of anything illicit, but I suppose if there is something wrong going on, I'd like to know.” Diamond said. Twilight shrugged.

“I didn't, at first anyways, this was a job Luna asked me to take care of. Blur, tell them what you were told the other day.” She waived a hoof at Blur, who then started ta talk with her hooves.

“Okay. Well, I wasn't welcomed at the door, that's for sure. There were four guards, one posted at each corner of the foundry, all carrying pretty high grade rifles. I though that was kinda sketchy, but was a little more surprised that they actually let me in. I was wearing Rarity's reporter disguise, and they told me I couldn't bring the camera along. So, after I got in side, I thought it was kinda weird that there were only a few workers there too. One pony operating the line, one quality checker, a few ponies moving carts with finished products in them, a few truckers loading up the cargo, and that was it.

Since I... know how these work because of my earlier days, I knew that there were usually about four ponies assigned to quality checking, and with an operation this big, there shouldn't be any way they could get away with just one. But what I found most weird, was that there weren't any execs anywhere to be found. Nopony was really 'running' the place. I got a good look at the elevator to their basement, and it could probably carry about twenty ponies in it, which lead me to believe that they had some kind of storage for their extra stuff down there. But when a cart filled with green glowing whatever came out of it, I stopped thinking that. I was quickly hurried out of the facility when the elevator came up, so I could only see the glow before they kicked me out. I don't know what they have down there, but it sure isn't steel.” Diamond and Ah frowned, and Ah assume Target Lock did too.

“Hmm... now what could they have down there that does that? Y'all don't think it's some kinda kryptonite like in the comics, do ya?” Ah said, half jokin'.

“A-at this point, who knows? A-all the green things I know of d-don't glow...” Target said.

“While I find your joke in poor taste, let's just hope that isn't it. Argent owning a store of a rock that can seal powers away isn't good for the economy here, and it would likely cause some kind of political movement that splits the power ponies on making themselves normal. I'd prefer not to have a war in Manehattan like in the other comic. Besides, real Kryptonite glows in pale pink when stimulated.” Twilight said. Diamond huffed, probably rolled her eyes too.

“In any case, I suppose we should get going. The sun is just about gone for the day, and you know how I hate to drive in the dark.” Diamond said.

“Drive? Are we takin' a car?” Ah asked.

“Yes, and I usually just bring Target with me in it, but today it would be the three of us.” She said.

“And that means Blur is gonna beat us there, right?” Ah asked.

“Yep! I'm going to scout ahead and see if I can't get in by myself somehow. I never saw the staircase, but now that I know where it is, I can probably get down there and check it out.” Blur said. And just like that, she was gone. A few seconds later, Ah felt the air rush past me.

“I guess Blur wanted to get a head start. Alright, Harmony, move out!”

“Red, get your head out of the clouds! It's coming after you!” Mystery mare yelled at me. The claw was a large as Ah was, and Ah wasn't about ta get slammed by it. Instead of runnin', Ah took a stance, and threw a hard punch inta it. The creature howled and reeled it's paw back.

“What the hell are you doing! Why would you hurt your friend like that!?” It took me a moment ta process what she said, then it dawned on me that this was the Beast.

“My...? Oh goddess, what happened!? Is that... is that really Target?” The memory had come back from when we left, so Ah thought ta try and contact somepony.

"Twilight? Twilight, are ya there?" Nothing but static replied.

Diamond? Blur? Anypony? What the hell happened!? The Beast was comin' in fer a swing again, and she just about sliced part of my tail. Ah took a look at my surroundin's now that thin's were startin' ta come back. There wasn't a whole lotta light in here, this was probably the foundry basement. All but one source of light was dim and bright green, and it looked like the whole place was littered with troughs of glowin' crystals. What the are these? Is this what Blur was talkin' about? Ah met up with the mystery mare, and figured that somethin' was up fer her ta talk about the Beast like it was my friend.

“Okay, Ah'll be blunt, Ah must of gotten hit on the head pretty hard ta be hurt, and even more so ta not remember the past few hours. Who are you?” The Beast came in, just about chargin' us with a full body tackle. We split, and she crashed inta the wall, scatterin' more crystals everywhere. Somethin' beyond the glowin was strange about em. They were a lot like the crystals in Twilight's scroll, and Ah was just about attracted ta them. Is that what happened? Did somepony end up with one of these inside their-

“If you have to ask, then I'm not gonna say a damn thing. All you need to know is that the thing that just attacked us was one of the ponies you came here with, and after she got hurt, well... she turned into that.” The Beast followed her with her paw and just about caught her as she was flyin' on those blood wings. Ah jumped and whipped my tail across her claw, knockin' it out of the way.

“Well gee, that helps. What about the others? Diamond? Blur?” Now her attention was on me. She took both of her claws together inta one fist and tried ta slam me with it. Ah dodged the initial slam, but was pushed back by the shock wave it created. Goddess damn! Ah ain't never seen anypony as strong as Ah am till now! Hell, she might even be stronger than me!

“Outside. After your friend here transformed, she threw the blue one through the ceiling, the other was already there. I don't think they're dead, but I doubt they're in good shape.” Ah stopped and thought, then Ah noticed that the regular light was comin' from a good sized hole in the roof, and not the staircase, wherever that was. Then it triggered my memory.

“Yep. As soon as Ah get paid, Ah am gettin' a license. Never again Rarity, never again,” Ah said, still a little terrified from the drive over. Diamond pulled the keys out of the ignition of her black sports car and shoved them inta her pocket.

“Hmph. My driving gets us where we need to go as fast as possible. You don't hear Target complaining. And call me by my hero name while in costume, by the way. Being listened in on is much more likely to happen outside the castle.”

“W-well...” Target began.

“See? No complaints. Now then... Blur should be around here-” Diamond exited her door only to have it closed by the pony in question.

“Geez, you guys took your time. I've been here for like, twenty minutes.” Target and Ah made our way out of the car, and now we were all standin' in front of a large gray cinder-block buildin'. Just like the image Twilight showed us, it was about three stories tall from above the ground and had four smoke stacks juttin' inta the sky in the moonlight. There were a few guards, but it looked like Blur had already taken care of them.

“So, what've ya been doin' just standin' around here? Ah thought ya were gonna scout inside.” Ah asked. She zipped around the car and then came ta lean on me like some kinda arm chair.

“See, I would have done that, if I could get in. None of these guys had any kind of key on them as far as I could tell. I didn't notice it before, but the doors have some kind of biometric lock that I can't make heads or tails of.” She said.

“Did you hear that Twilight? You're up,” Rarity said. Then Twilight's voice started ta echo through my head.

“Pinkie, if you couldn't get this open, why didn't you ask me in the first place? I'm only here for this exact sort of thing. Well, and I act as a safe com system, a map, a one use teleporter, an enemy detector-” Twilight started.

“It's nice ta know y'all can do all that, but Ah get the sinkin' feelin' that the guards here are supposed to trade shifts in a few hours. Seein' a bunch of heroes messin' around their facility, especially me, would probably not end well,” Ah said... ta the air. Still not sure about the whole 'talk ta somepony far away without a device' thin'. Phones? Ah grew up with em, those are fine. Telepathy? Ah learned about that Tuesday. There was an audible sigh from the other side and then,

“The door should unlock just about... now.” And just like that, the control panel that looked more or less like some kinda black pad lit up green, and the metal doors slid open.

“Remember to be on your guard everypony. We might lose contact once you make it down there. Find whatever was glowing, and if you come across any kind of shady character, interrogate them. The foundry should be closed, so none of the regular workers should be there now. Oh, and a warning for Marevelous. Whatever you do, do not let Target get hurt.” Well that was real specific. That bad feelin' she had is startin' ta spread.

“You heard her everypony. Be on alarm. If you need ten extra seconds, just call out 'toki wo tomare' and you'll get it. Let's move,” Diamond said. Ah took the lead, and we all headed inside. Save fer emergency lights, the place was completely dark. Target said that there wasn't anypony else in this room, so Blur then lead us ta the staircase and then the catwalk. We stumbled around in the low red light with Blur leadin' until we made it to the staircase. Long and cylindrical, we went down the black path holdin' on ta Target ta keep from fallin'. We made it down ta the basement, and realized that we couldn't talk ta Twilight anymore. All anypony had was static from her end.

“So what do y'all wanna do? Should we leave somepony up there in the event we are walkin' inta a trap?” Ah asked.

“Nah. If we really need to tell her anything, I can just run back up here and do it. I doubt we'll run into anything faster than me,” Blur said.

“Hmm... Marevelous makes a good point though. I suppose the code word and Blur should be enough to get us out of anything, however, getting to the point where we need them both seems a little unrealistic doesn't it?” Diamond commented.

“I-I don't know... I'm so used to the dark, I can't r-really tell if this is even ominous. I-I'll be fine with whatever Marevelous decides,” Target said. She was the only one who could see it, but Ah frowned. Why am Ah the decidin' factor here?

“Uh... Well, Ah guess we should have Blur let Twilight know what's goin' on with the interference. After she gets back, we go in. If it's still too dark ta see, Target, Ah want ya ta check around the room fer anymore doors or places that could lead further down. If they're keepin' weird stuff, then they probably have a secret records room fer it too.” Somepony moved in the darkness.

“Ooh, now that is a good idea...” Diamond said.

“Okie doki boss,” Blur said, and then the feelin' of wind followed, meanin' she was gone. In silence we waited about two minutes fer Blur ta get back ta us. Once she returned, Ah opened the basement door. From inside it spilled a bright green light that just about had the whole room lit, albeit dimly. All sides of the walls were lined with carts filled ta the brim with a bright green crystal, save fer two spots. One was the elevator, which Ah expected ta be clear. The other however looked like a regular wall. Bingo. We all flooded in, and then Target stopped.

"S-somepony is here." The moment she halted, the actual lights fer the basement came on. Son of a bitch.

“Whew. Here I thought this job was just another boring security detail, but somepony actually came!” said a voice. Out from behind a row of carts came a figure Ah wouldn't soon forget. Her head was covered by a silver helmet, hidin' her face and shinin' against the green and white light around her. Her body was covered in dark black feathers that just about shined blue. She was wearin' boots on each leg, and only reflections could have told ya there was anythin' underneath that dark coat. On her side though, was a dull red sheath fer what looked like an eastern sword with a gold hilt.

“And aren't you an interesting bunch... let's see here... the one in black carrying a big gun, the one in black with a... is that a police baton? Ooh, a bright blue clad Power Pony I bet... and finally, if it isn't the hero herself, Marevelous Red! I get the feeling I've met a few of you somehow, but how could I not know the famed hero herself! No wonder I'm gettin' paid so much.” Her voice was almost scratchy, and it had an air of cocky ta it. Somethin' about her makes me wanna hit her.

“Well, that's real nice of y'all ta know my name. So how bout ya tell me yers?” Ah asked. Ah figure if Ah can play ta her ego, she might say somethin' she's not supposed ta. She took a bow.

“I am The Crow. But you may know me as The Bloody Crow. I would say it was nice to meet you, but I'm supposed to kill anypony who enters here without permission. Hehehe... ha ha ha! Oh goddess, my blood is already boiling! It's been such a long time since I got to fight anypony decent! I really hope you live up to your name, miss hero!” The Crow lowered herself, then stretched a bright cyan colored wing over her right to her sword on her left. A red mist started to flow from under her coat until it formed a cloud above her back. The mist became thicker until it formed a pair of crimson wings. Just as she was about to leap from her spot, Target's rifle went off. There was a hole in the wall just inches from the Crow's cyan wing.

“P-please don't make a move. T-that was a warning shot. T-the next one w-won't miss...” Target said as she reloaded the bolt action on her gun. The Crow stood back up straight.

“Will it now? Geez, did you bring a teenager along with you? How old is this kid anyways? Little fillies shouldn't wave around toys like that!” The Crow took ta the air and dive bombed toward Target. She was about to pull her trigger again, when Ah said,

“Toki wo tomare!” Just like that, the world froze and Ah jumped in ta line up a punch. The Crow was just aligned with me as Ah loaded up when the world unfroze. Ah let loose and watched as the Crow sailed across the warehouse sized basement. Her wings, which Ah could tell were made of blood now, took just about all the impact, and the Crow landed on her hooves.

“Holy hell, you almost broke my wings! Oh goddess, you are as strong as they say! But who did that exactly? I doubt you're really able to teleport. I bet it was... the unicorn!” The Crow lunged into the air again, and this time deflected Target's shot. As she drew close, the red mist started to cover us so quickly that we couldn't see. Blur started ta run, takin' the mist with her, but just as she did, the Crow was on top of Diamond. With a quick draw of her crimson sword, Diamond had a gash in her shoulder.

“Aaah!” She screamed. As soon as the slash was done, the Crow knocked her away with a kick.

“That makes one!” The Crow said. Target had finished reloading and fired a shot that looked like it was gonna kill the Crow had it landed. However, the Crow redirected her blood wings to take the bullet. This wasn't enough ta stop it completely though, as it broke through and cut inta the Crow's shoulder.

“A gash for a gash huh? I like it! You're next!” She was about to take off, but Ah lunged in first. With a quick jab ta the side, Ah knocked the wind out of her. Then, Ah swept at her hooves and bucked her across the room. This time, she did hit the wall. So hard that she made an indent in it. The Crow fell ta the ground and didn't move.

“Now you listen here. This ain't no fight y'all are gonna win, so Ah suggest ya stand down.” When Ah didn't get a response, Ah figured she was down. "That outta take care of that then."

“Stand down? But... is she even alive? Can ponies survive a hit like that from you?” Blur asked.

“Ah'm not tryin' ta kill her. May've broken a few bones, but nothin' like that. Besides, she's got a helmet on, she should wake up in an hour or so... probably. Is Diamond okay?” Blur moved over ta check her, but it didn't even look like she was bleedin' too much from where Ah stood.

“She's not hurt too bad, but she definitely passed out. I get the feeling that the blood on the Crow's sword does more than help her fly though. I don't know that she'll be down as long as you think.” Ah shrugged.

“Okay, well, we'll just deal with that if it happens. You take Diamond back outside and tell Twilight what happened. Target, keep an eye on our little bird while Ah go check somethin' out.” Target nodded and aimed her rifle at the spot where the Crow was, Blur took Diamond back up the stairs, and Ah made my way over ta the empty wall. Ah put my ear next ta it and started ta tap my hoof on it. Closer toward the carts, Ah got a low tone, but closer toward the empty space, Ah got a higher one. Ah took a step back and loaded my hoof fer a hard punch, then let loose. The bricks crumbled and fell outward inta a new room.

“Now that's just what Ah thought.” Ah said, smilin' at my accomplishment. Just then, Ah heard Target.

“M-marevelous...! She's getting up!” Ah turned just in time ta watch as a ball of red liquid started ta float from where The Crow had fallen.

“That really hurt. Hah! I wouldn't be surprised if you broke a rib or two! But a fight I can't win? Now that just needs to be seen! You might not be in such good shape without your little helpers!” The ball exploded, covering the wall with blood and rocketing the Crow toward Target. Ah went ta move, but it was already too late. Target fired once and knocked the Crow's helmet off. She fired again, and shot through the Crow's ear, but neither of those kept the Crow at bay. With a clean swipe, the Crow slashed across Target's fore legs and mask, making her drop the gun and scream. Target fell ta the floor, then the Crow turned her attention to me.

“Now then, where were we?” She took a single step toward me, and Ah did the same, but then the air suddenly felt different. We both must've felt it because we both looked directly at Target at the same time.

“You... b-blood...! Aaaaah!” Half of Target's mask had fallen off after being cut, and somethin' about Fluttershy's eye was all kinds of wrong. Her iris turned red, and her sclera was more yellow than her coat. We watched in horror as her body began ta contort and change. The sounds of bones snappin' and flesh rippin' were accompanied by Fluttershy expandin'. Her hooves grew inta five nails on claws, her fur grew outta control and long, becomin' a pale yellow mess of straight hair. Her snout stretched and began ta sport a set of fangs nearly as large as her legs used to be. The costume she had was all but destroyed, save for her fedora which just fell off. The transformation finished, and The Beast howled.

“What the fuck!?” The Crow managed ta say before she got knocked across the room again, this time by The Beast. She hit the wall again, but not as hard as when Ah bucked her. The Beast howled, and Blur returned at the same time.

“Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Marevelous what happened!? I thought the Crow was down!” Blur said. The Beast then turned her attention to Blur and roared at her. The sheer volume of the sound broke all the florescent lights in the basement, returning us to the green lit darkness.

“Well, she got back up and cut Target. Now she's back on the floor. What do we do!?” Ah asked. It is very apparent that Fluttershy was, no, is in fact The Beast now, but how do we get her back ta normal? Clearly she can revert somehow, but how does that happen?

“It only lasts for some amount of time. If we can tire her out, she should just go back to the way she was, but don't hurt her! If you do, that carries over when she transforms back. I'll distract-” She was about ta finish, but then she was grabbed by the Beast. The Beast slammed her inta the ground, then threw her through the ceilin', and presumably the roof. Ah couldn't tell how far she went, but there was moonlight in the basement now. Well. Shit.

“Aw hell, Blur!” Ah didn't have time ta say anythin' else before the Beast turned her attention ta me. Ah felt like a wack-a-mole game, and Ah was the mole. How the hell am Ah supposed ta keep this up? What did Twilight think Ah was gonna do? Wrestle her back ta normal? She ten times my size! Ah missed a step just once, and she smacked me inta the wall over by the Crow. Ah could feel my head throbbin' now, she hit me hard. Almost as hard as Ah hit that wall. Ah started ta get back up ta make my way toward the Beast again, when Ah felt somethin' tug on my tail.

“Wait...” The Crow said, then coughed.

“What the? Damn, y'all are one tough pony.” She started ta stand, but her left foreleg wasn't movin'.

“I need you to tell me if what I saw was real... did... did your friend have a yellow coat and a pink mane?” She asked. Ah was struck fer a moment. She saw her face? Oh goddess, what do Ah do?

“Uh... what about it?” Damn it! Why did ya say that!?

“Oh goddess, it is her...” Now Ah was more confused.

“Who is her? What are y'all talkin' about?” Another roar interrupted any further conversation and the Beast charged at us. Against my better judgment, Ah grabbed The Crow and ran ta the other side of The Beast. She slammed inta the wall, staggerin' herself.

“I... look, this may never happen again, but I need you to help me calm her down.” The Crow said, now standin' on her own. Ah shook my head. What in the world?

“Uh... what?”Ah asked.

“Don't make me say it again! I need to right an old wrong, and I need your help to do it! I'm gonna get her attention, and you need to hit her on the back of the head in between her ears! Once she's knocked out, she'll go back to normal!” The Crow yelled, her blood wings startin' ta form on her back gain.

“Ah'm so confused right now, but if y'all are serious, then whatever.” Did the world just suddenly get turned upside down? The Crow went ta the left, and Ah went ta the right. The Beast had focused her attention on the Crow, which was just enough of an openin' fer me ta get the hit in. or so Ah thought. She took notice of me just as she started ta swipe at the Crow. Her claw kept comin and caught me mid jump. Ah managed ta block with my left, but ah hit the wall harder than Ah've ever hit anythin', and it all went dark.

“Now Ah remember! You're The Crow!” Ah said. After Ah did, The Beast swept a claw at me again. Now that Ah could remember her movements, it was easy enough ta see 'em comin'. If Ah can avoid gettin' hit like that again, that would be great.

“It's about time! Look, let's try that aga- ack!” The Crow, payin' attention ta me instead of the Beast, got caught by her claw. The Beast roared in her face, and that gave me just enough time ta get behind her. Ah jumped fer her head at about the same time she started ta crush the Crow. With a good swing, Ah punched her right between the ears. She dropped the Crow and started ta fall to the side of her good foreleg. What started as a low moan began to raise in pitch as the hairy form started ta shrink in a heap on the floor. Now all that was left was an unconscious yellow pegasus in a pool of blood that wasn't much of her own. Ah went ta check on her, and it looked like she was breathin' normal now.

“Whew. Ah'm glad that's over. Are y'all alright?” Ah asked the Crow as Ah picked up my sleepin' team mate. She coughed three times, spat out a good glob of blood, then started to raise herself up.

“Alright? No. Alive, sort of... In any case... I'm in no shape to fight... Heh. I can barely stand. Oww...” She said as she grabbed at her side between breaths.

“Well, that makes my job easy. Not gonna lie, you're really good. Ah think if it was just the two of us in a fight, nopony would come out a winner. So, out of respect fer yer talent, Ah'm just gonna leave ya here, but Ah have a question first.” Honestly though, if Ah did go hoof ta hoof with her on my own, she might actually beat me...

“Oh yeah...? And what would... that be? As one who values this... 'honor among thieves' thing, I can't say I'll... tell you much of anything.” Eventually, she'd had enough of standin' on three hooves and sat down.

“Well, Ah'd like ta know how ya know my friend here fer starters. Why would ya go out of yer way ta help get her back ta normal if we were yer enemies in the first place?” Ah asked.

“Oh, that... Let's just say, she and I knew each other as kids. She did a lot for me back then, and before my life took a different turn, we were good friends. I owe her a lot, so I'll call it even after this.” The Crow finally regained her breath and decided ta lay down.

“Huh. Well, Ah suppose Ah can't complain if things turned out like this. Ya weren't tryin' ta kill anypony like ya said ya were anyways, so ya can't be that bad.” Because if she was, Rarity would be dead. Target might be too." Ah headed ta the secret office with Fluttershy on my back. There was a desk, a computer, a few filin' cabinets and what Ah was lookin' fer was a client list. Ah bet it gets updated often... They wouldn't want ta have it just stored in the PC just in case somepony forgot ta use a VPN one day, so it should be...

“You could tell? That's impressive. But I'd guess you have a lot more experience than these other kids. Heh. I was actually told to scare away anypony who tried to trespass, but do what I needed to in the event I ran into somepony special, such as yourself. I wasn't expecting an actual challenge, really. Or a hole in my ear. Oh well. This will all heal in a few days.” Ah searched through a few drawers until Ah found the ledger with the list of all the buyers and dealers fer whatever these crystals are, and pocketed it. Ah'll just take one of these crystals too, see if Twilight can make heads or tails of that.

“So what exactly is yer power? And fer that matter, do ya only have one wing?” Ah asked as Ah picked up a crystal from one of the carts. It still had that allurin' quality ta it, so Ah had ta shake a thought outta my head before Ah pocketed it. Some of the ones that spilled on the floor durin' the fight got crushed under Fluttershy's feet, and Ah didn't want a broken one. It's strange though. They don't break inta chunks like a normal crystal would, these just kinda turned inta powder where they snapped off... that should be worth note.

“I can manipulate my own blood as if I were a unicorn or some shit like that, but that's only if I have a source to draw it from. I also heal really fast, but the drawback is that sometimes I sleep for days straight. As for the wing, I lost my right one about seven years ago in an accident.” She said. Huh. Ah figured she'd be more tight lipped about this. Might as well see how far Ah can go.

“Really? So, ya stab yerself with that sword ta get yer powers goin’ every time?” Ah asked.

“Nah. The skin where my bone fractured with the rest of my wing never fully healed, so the marrow has been exposed to the air for years now. My power continually refreshes it, and I've never been sick in my life, so that's where it all comes from.” Maybe she really doesn't care what Ah know. Ah'm not sure if that's a sign of trust or a sign of 'Ah'll kill ya later.'

“Sounds painful. How'd that happen?” Ah asked. The Crow laughed.

“I would tell you my life's story, but I figure the victor has gotten her share of information today. I respect you Marevelous. It takes a lot to break my blood wall, and even more to knock me out. Even still, you were holding back after all that.” Well, maybe she's smarter than she sounds.

“So ya noticed? Gestures between the veterans always go over pretty well don't they?” Ah wonder... what would have happened if Ah'd come across her first?

“I guess. I've been doing this for about as long as you have, working as a sort of... mercenary that is. Your power is genuine, I'll give you that. But so is my employer's. Don't look into this much more. Otherwise, you and your little friends might end up dead. Take it as a warning from somepony in the know.” Ah made my way toward the staircase holdin' one of the crystals fer light, but said one last thing before Ah left.

“Ah'll keep that in mind. If we see each other again, let's have a real fight. Y'all ain't too bad, miss Crow.” She laughed again.

“Alright, sure, Marevelous Red. I'll hold you to it. But for now... I think I need to sleep.” And then there was only the sound of soft breathing. Ah made my way back out of the foundry and collected the rest of my passed out friends.

“Twilight? Can ya hear me?” Ah said ta the air.

“Zzztt... Appl... every... kssst...” Replied the voice. What the? But Ah'm out of the basement, why is...? Then it dawned on me just what exactly these crystals were for. Ah stole Diamond's keys and piled my friends inta the back seat. Ah set the crystals and the documents down in the passenger, and walked away from the car.

“How about now, Twilight?” Sure enough...

“Applejack!? What happened? Where did all that static come from? Is everypony okay?” Twilight said, all frantic. Ah sighed in relief.

“Sort of. Diamond and Blur need ta be treated, and... well, the Beast came outta Target. Her costume is completely destroyed, but she's just got a scratch on her foreleg. We found the crystals, and based on what Ah just did, they're causin' the interference. Ah found a client list too, so we can track who has what. But uh... this wasn't exactly a clean operation. The bottom floor has a good number of dents and holes in it, and the top floor has a good sized hole in it too. Uh, so does the roof fer that matter.” Yeah, maybe about the opposite of clean. If nothin' else, somepony is gonna know we were here in the mornin'.

“Hmm... well, good work all the same. They must've had some kind of security for everything to go that wrong. Head back to the castle and we'll discuss this with my aunt. I'll see you when you get here.” And then the feelin' of somepony bein' on the other side cut off.

“Y'all got it... as soon as Ah figure out how ta drive this thing...” Ah sighed. It's gonna be a long ride home.

Harmony Days I: A meeting with the Princess

Applejack

“Oh goddess, Ah'm gonna be sick,” Ah said aloud as Ah sank outta that car. Ah don't know how Rarity drives this damned thin', but it's way too fast fer me. If nothin' else, today Ah learned that Ah could drive a stick shift if it really came down ta it. Let's just hope she's more grateful fer me keepin' her alive than whatever horrible thin's Ah just did ta her transmission. Ah returned it ta the spot where Ah got in it earlier today, and started pilin' passed out ponies on my back. They didn't weigh much, but it was more difficult keepin' them there with only three hooves ta work with. My front left wasn't bleedin' anymore, but it certainly wasn't healed enough ta walk on. Slowly but surely, Ah made my way back through the forest and inta the castle.

“Wow, you're pretty banged up. What happened exactly?” Twilight asked.

“Well, first we ran inta the Crow. She ended up stabbin' Diamond before Ah could get ta her, but then Ah did and she got knocked out. That's when Ah had Blur go tell ya about that. Ta our surprise, the Crow got up real quick. A lot faster than Ah was expectin' her to. She made it ta Target and... well, ya know what happened next. The Crow got smashed against a wall again, and Ah didn't really know what ta do at that point because ya never told me how ta deal with her like that. Blur came back, but was quickly grabbed and thrown through the roof. Out of the three of them, she's hurt the most. So, that happened, Ah got smacked, and then that's where the weird part kicks in.” Twilight tilted her head as she unloaded ponies off me with her magic.

“Weird part?” Ah nodded.

“Yeah, weird part. The Crow, somehow still alive, asked me ta help her calm Fluttershy down.” Twilight shook her head.

“What?” Ah took off my mask and nodded.

“Yeah. So, she told me how ta put Fluttershy back ta normal, and we attempted ta do so, that is until Ah got knocked out and forgot the last three hours fer about ten minutes. Beat my leg up pretty good too. Once Ah remembered everythin', Ah managed to knock Fluttershy out right before she just about squeezed the life outta the Crow.” Ah finally got outta the suit and decide Ah deserved a moment ta sit. My foreleg was real bruised, and there was a few shallow cuts where Ah was slashed, but nothin' that bad. Somehow, the suit managed ta hold up through it all. Ah need ta drop by Star's place and buy him a meal or somethin'. This is way higher quality than whatever Fluttershy was wearin. Twilight frowned.

“So, what did you do with the Crow?” Ah shrugged.

“Ah left her alone. She and Ah have... an understandin' now.” Ah took my suit, folded it up, and threw it inta my saddle bags. Then Ah laid back in that chair and relaxed. That was the most stressful outin' Ah've ever had. Most Power Ponies Ah've fought didn't have a stage two boss phase.

“So... let me get this straight. You fought somepony who was hired to guard that basement, and didn't bring her here for questioning!?” She just about yelled. Ah opened one eyelid and stared at her.

“That's right. She didn't necessarily do anythin' wrong, and was just a guard fer somepony else's questionable product. That bein' said, Ah still got ya this, and one of these.” From my saddle bags, Ah took out one of the crystals, and the client list with all those names on it. Twilight took the paper in her magic, and attempted ta do the same with the crystal, but couldn't.

“What in the? Why can't I...?” Ah tossed it ta her, and she just about dropped the thing after jugglin' it with her wings.

“Based on previous information, these thin's have the power ta interrupt magic somehow, and Ah don't think it's just one kind of magic either. Ah couldn't talk ta anypony through the brand, and when Ah tried ta talk ta ya while Ah was sittin' next ta one, Ah only got static and a few pieces of words.” Ah closin' my eyes and put my hooves over my belly. Maybe Ah should take a Criminal Justice course next semester

“Hmm... I suppose I'll have to run tests on this later. For now, will you help me move them to my clinic? It looks like you did some kind of first aid, but I want them ready to go again after a day's rest.” Twilight said as she set the crystal down in the empty chair next ta me. Ah sighed and started ta get up when Ah noticed a blue light startin' ta form above the main room table.

“Twilight, what is that?” Ah asked, pointin' ta it.

“What? Oh...” Twilight sighed. “I guess she's here already. Applejack, meet my Aunt. Princess Luna.” The ball of light started ta expand and swirl the dust around it like a tornado. Lightnin' shot from it ta around the table edges, almost makin' music in a strange, but familiar melody. It flashed once and then stopped entirely, leavin' a smokin' figure standin on the table.

She was taller than anypony Ah'd ever met, just about twice my own size. Her coat had almost a sparkly quality, like there was some kind of silver glitter stuck in it. She was dark blue with a black series of spots on her flank that sported a crescent moon cutiemark. Her wings had feathers that were blue at the top, but darkened ta black as they went down, and ended before the whole wing itself, which looked more like that of a bat below the feathers, claws and all.

Her mane and tail were some kind of strange blue-purple hair the had little glowin' lights all over it. Some of the lights even had lines goin' between each other. One of them I recognized as a constellation that dad showed me a long time ago. She wore regalia on her neck and each hoof, all dark as night, but shined in the light with a rainbow of colors, like they were made out of oil or somethin'. Much like Twilight, her eyes had a sort of sparkly quality ta them too, little flecks of silver rather than copper in her bright blue irises. The alicorn looked around the room until she focused her attention on Twilight.

“Greetings, Twilight,” The princess said, followed by a curtly bow.

“And to you, Princess,” Twilight returned but almost with some kinda false enthusiasm. The blue Alicorn scanned the room again until her eyes fell on me.

“And who might this be?” She asked, slightly tiltin' her head all the while. She made a face as if she was tryin' ta remember somethin', but couldn't. Ah got up, makin' sure not ta use my hurt leg too much and introduced myself.

“Name's Applejack. Howdy.” Ah said, raisin' a hoof fer a shake. The Princess stared at it fer a moment like it was some kinda foreign gesture, but then smiled and met it anyways.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Tell me, are you from this city? You speak as though you come from a southern province.” Somethin' felt weird about it. She seems awfully nice fer somepony Twilight has issues with.

“Uh, sorta. My mom was, and Ah was born in the south, but Ah've lived here fer all but four years of my life.” Her shoes were some weird kinda cold too. Not just the feelin' of cool metal on yer skin, but somethin' more like ice, like they'd spent a lot of time in the freezer before she arrived. Must be some kinda magic on 'em.

“I see. Very well, if you have the brand, then I suppose you must be one of my niece's recruits.” She looked at the other three passed out on the couch by the dinin' table, then at my injured foreleg. “Twilight, why are they injured? I have told you more than once to keep your soldiers in good health, have I not?” She turned back ta Twilight, whom then rolled her eyes.

“They returned from your request only minutes ago. I haven't had a chance to do anything yet.” Twilight said, a bit of ornery working it's way in her voice. Luna lowered her eyebrows.

“You know I detest it when you take that tone with me. Take care of those in your service. I will discuss matters with... er, Applejack?” Ah nodded. “Right, Applejack, for now.” Luna and Twilight just about gave each other death glares, but then turned away from each other like two sisters in an argument. Twilight grabbed everypony on the bench seat in her magic, gave one last glare ta Luna, then warped away somewhere. And now, Ah was alone with the Princess.

“So. Tell me of your exploits.” She took a seat in Twilight's chair and leaned forward like she was in some kinda conference. Ah shook my head tryin' ta figure out what exactly is goin' on right now.

“Uh... well, Ah guess it started last night...”

Ah told the Princess about all the thin's that went down in the foundry, explainin' the magic disruptin' crystals, the Crow, the client list, and finally Fluttershy. Somehow, it looked like she took it all at face value.

“Ah, that is quite the tale. This Crow character you spoke of... what exactly is your relation to her now?” She asked. My relation ta the Crow? Well, Ah wouldn't call us enemies...

“Ya know, Ah'm not quite sure. Ah doubt a Princess would really be able ta get this, but Power Ponies who work as heroes here are kinda like mercenaries a lot of the time. We sometimes fight over territory, and who gets ta capture who fer how much, but after doin' it fer three years, Ah've always had this uh... well, 'understandin'' with those Ah've come across. Uh... almost like, we get a sense of respect fer each other after we know how strong, or tactical, or smart somepony is in a fight. In a way, Ah can understand somepony better if Ah've fought 'em once, than if Ah talked ta 'em consistently fer a week. Before all this, Ah knew a bunch of heroes, but the relationships Ah had were just about all like that. It helps when you're just about the biggest fish in the pond, but the Crow made me remember what it is ta fight somepony just about on level. Ah guess Ah see her as somepony that Ah'd rather not fight if it came down ta that.” The Princess nodded.

“You may find it hard to believe, but I have felt that notion before.” What? Isn't she royalty? Why would she fight?

“Really?” The princess nodded.

“Really. Since you have the brand I assume you know, but I was alone when my sister was with child so many years ago. For seven months, I ruled without somepony else to really help me make decisions for the first time in several centuries. I had to change my sleep habits and deal with new responsibilities I was not aware Celestia had, and there was even a time when I was almost overthrown during this period.” Okay. That's news ta me.

“Overthrown!? By who?” Luna laughed, though it wasn't the kinda sweet, endearin' laugh ya might expect a princess ta have , it was a little too deep and kinda off puttin'.

“One of my most trusted knights, no less. However, this was not the case back then. He was the earth pony General at the time, known for his prowess on the battlefield and his almost unhealthy devotion to my sister.” The Princess giggled. “I'm sure if he were ever granted his wish, he would be Twilight's father. But that is neither here nor there. Her general believed that I was unfit to rule after seeing my poor performance adjudicating the day courts among other things. I wasn't cut out to handle all of the responsibilities my sister and I shared, and I hated it. Even with all the things that she did wrong, my sister still had the capacity to rule the government flawlessly for whole months at a time when I fell ill years ago, yet somehow, I could not.

It did not get out of hoof, thankfully, but there was a point before we had come to an... understanding, as you put it, that it was quite unstable. With a loyal troupe of his own trainees, they tried to seize the throne on a particularly quiet day. He called out to me,

'Princess, today shall be the final day of your reign as I have deemed you unfit to rule! I demand to see Princess Celestia, and if you do not comply, then I will use force to find her myself!' I might have been known to have a temper back then, and even now, there are times when I have to remember to calm myself, but then it was different. I was stressed with trying to fulfill all of Celestia's duties and failing to meet half of them, and on top of that I still needed to meet my own responsibilities, so I lashed out.

I said to him, 'If you believe you are so fit to rule then be my guest! But know this General, if you dare take another step toward me then you will feel the weight of my crown!' The fool was of course dumb enough to take my warning as a challenge, but to be completely honest, that is exactly what I wanted. With his guards he charged me, and with my anger, I decided to relieve my stress. Nopony is old enough to remember that wars were once fought in this land, and that history books were written to omit how they were won, but that does not change the fact that they happened. Needless to say, his trainees were little more than gnats to be swatted down, but the general himself... he was something to be dealt with caution.

I had believed that intimidation was the best way to scare him off, so taking out all of his troupe was my first course of action. Once that was done, I offered him a chance to surrender himself, but he was still determined to fight me anyways. That stallion has the highest tolerance to magic I have ever seen. I could hardly touch him with my telekenetics, let alone hit him with a projectile, and he displayed a strength I had never seen in a pony. Mind you, the General is not a power pony yet he still had the power to crush boulders under his hooves. We fought for nearly an hour without pause. My magic was very quickly realized useless and so blade to blade we danced. Before I knew it, I was enjoying the fight more than anything, and when I finally did corner and disarm him, I was disappointed.

He was made to pay for his actions, but after that was done, I struck a deal with him. He was branded as my advisor, and I told him the truth of my sister's absence. He was, well, devastated to say the least. I think this may have been the first instance I had seen the same rage I felt when I discovered her myself, and we formed a sort of bond over it. He's grown old and retired now, but up until last year, he had been my sparring partner since then. Of all the ponies I have come to know over the millennia, he would be the only true friend I have known, and it all became that way over a fight.” Over the story, she'd slowly drifted to looking at the ceiling as if the distant memory wasn't too far off.

“Wow. So what did he do when Celestia got back?” The princess scrunched up her face like she was tryin' ta remember.

“Hmm... I certainly would say there was a falling out of sorts, but they eventually reconciled with each other. There are only so many ponies in the know about that after all, but there were still many that Celestia had to apologize too. Lies were spun, tales were grown, and after nearly ten years, they were finally grounded as truth to the masses. If I had to guess, there are probably about thirty including yourself that know the real truth.” Ah'm not sure how Ah'm supposed ta react here. This is one of the rulers of my nation, but she's talkin' ta me like Ah'm somepony she knows.

“That sure is somethin'. Ah never really imagined that Ah'd get caught up in anythin' political in my life, but here Ah am.” One hell of a turn life decided ta take.

“In any case, I believe it might be good for you to seek this Crow character out. Friendships forged over the heat of battle tend to be tempered the best.” Ah had ta take a moment ta process exactly what she was askin' me though.

“Are ya... you're tellin' me ta go make friends with her?” Ah asked.

“Indeed. An ally you consider to be your equal is nigh invaluable.” Ah frowned. Make friends huh? Ah wonder if she knows who Ah'm talkin' about. They don't call her the Bloody Crow fer no reason. Isn't she wanted? Ah don't think Ah ever saw a bounty posted fer her... Well, maybe she's not that bad after all.

“Ah guess Ah'm not opposed ta that, but Ah'm not sure Ah'll even see her again if we're bein' honest here.” Luna leaned back in her chair.

“Take it from somepony who has seen quite a bit over the years. If you have seen one who is meant to be your ally once, you will see them again.” Ah simply nodded.

“Ah'll keep that in mind, Princess.” She nodded, then leaned back inta conference position.

“Good. Now then, originally, I had intended these for Rarity to employ, but I feel you will make better use of them.” The Princess magic'd up a pair of black hoof bands from nowhere and levitated them in front of me. Ah took and inspected them, but all Ah could make out were a button and rune on one side and a round hole on opposite side of each band. They weighed a lot more than they looked, and when Ah shook it, it almost felt like it was full of loose wire.

“Uh thanks? What are these?” Ah asked, a little more than confused.

“A new prototype that my R&D team have been working on for the army. An increasing concern that has recently popped up is that our ground forces do not have the agility necessary to deal with powerful targets. A number of beasts have been slain in the Manehattan's forest to the north of this island over the past year, but not without taking several casualties with them. These were designed based on one of my power pony researcher's abilities. While wearing them, click your hoof against the button on the back to fire a steel cable, then click the button again to retract it. The cable has a blade at its end that can lodge itself into just about anything, it extends up to one hundred twenty meters at about four hundred meters per second until it detects collision, and retracts at about half of that with an average pony connected to it. If you press the button quickly twice while any length of the cable is out, retraction or extension will hold at it's position, then retract if the button is pressed again.” She explained.

“Oh... kay? And yer goal was ta use her ta test this out so it could help ya fight... beasts of some kind?” Ah asked.

“Precisely. However, the problem we've been having is that using it sometimes causes fractured hooves and damaged eyesight. This is the newest model right now, and since your friend can become like the beasts we've been dealing with, I believed it would be best to see it in action before handing it to the average soldier.” At this Ah frowned.

“Now hold on. That implies ya need Fluttershy ta transform ta see if this is helpful or not. And now that Ah think about it, isn't it kinda harmful on the body ta move from a restin' position at a two hunderd meters a second? That's like goin' zero ta forty-five without the rest of the car protectin' ya! Normal ponies can't use this, you'll kill em like that!” The half smile Luna had been wearin' all this time just about faded away in an instant.

“And what seems to be the problem? Your protective suit deals with much worse than that, and I assure you that the armor the guards wear is heavily enchanted for that sort of thing. All I need you to do is tell me whether or not you feel pain when using the device, and if it increases your mobility to the point you could slay a beast.” Her tone had turned almost metallic, like all the warmth in her voice had vanished.

“Slay a beast!? Goddess, just what the hell are ya up against that somethin' like this gets made? Look, Ah'm sorry, but my suit ain't nothin' more than a decoration that don't rip. My body is a hell of a lot tougher than most, and this ain't gonna hurt me because of that, but Ah can't let ya give this ta Rarity. She's gonna hurt herself tryin' ta use somethin' like this. Thanks fer the offer, but that thin' is just too dangerous fer ponies with normal bodies.” Ah pushed the bands back ta her. She stood up.

“No thank you? No, that is unacceptable. You may not be harmed by these bands, but you will test them for me. That, my dear Applejack, is an order.” Ah stood up too. Ah'm not any near as big as she is, but Ah'm not about ta let her intimidate me.

“Ah'm not one of yer damn militants, and my friends didn't sign up ta be some military outfit either. We joined this ta help ponies, not kill ourselves by bein' guinea pigs in yer damn experiments!” Ah yelled. The Princess began to form a wicked smile, revealing unusually sharp teeth. She leaned in close and grabbed my tongue with her magic.

“Oh? Were you not told? You see, this little mark here means that you have the authority of a captain, and it also means you are sworn to the royal family. I would know. I made it. You might have yet to realize this, but that little misbegotten niece of mine is not the only member of the royal family.” The pressure of the magic started ta increase, and the brand started ta burn. Black smoke started ta rise from my tongue and the pain became more and more intense with every second that passed. “I dislike it when ponies argue with me, but due to your status with my niece and this city, you will not be punished for your actions here today. Mark my words, Applejack, fail to accept an order from me in the future and there will be consequences, understand?” The icy tone had turned to sour, and my tongue was startin' burn about as bad as leavin' yer hoof over a flame fer too long. With as much force as Ah could muster, Ah ripped my tongue out of her magic and wiped my mouth. Luna was taken aback fer a moment.

“Fine. Ah'll take yer damn toy. But don't you go around givin' crap like this ta the others. If ya need somethin' like this again Ah... Ah'll do it. Just... don't do somethin' like that ta them.” Ah felt defeated. If Ah kept up my lip, thin's would only get worse fer Twilight and the others. But, at the same time, this just isn't safe. And usin' Fluttershy like some kinda lab rat... there's no way Ah'm gonna let that happen. Luna lowered her eyes again like she was about ta do somethin' else when we both heard Twilight.

“Well that took long enough. I thought you said that Rarity was just stabbed? All the nerves in her left foreleg were dead! I could only get so many of them working on my own, she's going to need to see a real doctor about that.” Twilight said as she started ta walk in ta the room. She stopped when she looked at us though. “I-is something the matter?” She asked. Ah tore my eyes off of Luna and sighed.

“Nope. The Princess and Ah were just... discussin' some memories, that's all.” Ah said. The princess put an icy wing around me and pulled me close.

“Yes... fond memories. Your friend and I have many similarities. But now that you have returned, I would like to discuss another matter,” She said, taking her warm tone again. She folded her left wing away and picked up the crystal out of Twilight's chair with the other. She placed the object on the table and motioned for us to join her in front of it. Ah quickly tossed the bands over by my saddle bags while Twilight wasn't lookin'. Yeah, that needs ta be kept between us... at least until she leaves.

“Do you know what kind of crystal this is, Twilight?” Twilight shook her head.

“No, I'm afraid I don't. I've never read anything about crystals that interfere with magic like these seem to.” Luna nodded and then her horn lit up. Four little magic balls of light formed above her, and then she organized them by the crystal. The orb about a third meter above the crystal was fading in and out of existence like visual static. The orb two thirds a meter above was affected by it, but not as severely as the first. The third orb was about the same way, and the last orb was unaffected by it entirely.

“This is what is known as a disruption crystal, original, I know,” Luna said, rolling her eyes. “These crystals, when charged with magic, have the ability to dissipate magic completely within a one third meter radius around them. However, when another crystal is near by, the radius combines. For each crystal next to each other, that is how large the radius of dissipation is. Centuries ago, these crystals were discovered in the northern mountains just outside of our border. Celestia and I decided it would be best if we kept the existence of these hidden, but as it seems, that did not stay the case. You said you found these at the foundry, did you not?” She was lookin' at me, so Ah assume Ah was the subject of the question.

“Yeah.” Ah almost spat. She narrowed her eyes at me, but then turned her attention back to the crystal.

“Then that means Argent has plans to use them in the making of... something. Something that cannot be acted on by magic. I am sure that if he has found a way to incorporate these in steel, both of you could see the repercussions of that.” Twilight's eyes widened.

“Steel that magic can't touch!? But... why? I could understand from a defense stand point, but horned creatures are the only known able to cast magic, and of those, Unicorns are about the only ones who actually practice it here. The Deer and Moose clans are next to nonexistent in this country, so... why? Wait... you aren't planning a war are you!?” Twilight exclaimed as she looked up ta her aunt. Luna smiled and shook her head.

“No, we would never intentionally go to war unprovoked. How low do you think me that I would start a war because I want to?” Luna patted Twilight's head with her hoof, but then went back ta bein' stern faced. “Jesting aside, I believe Argent himself may be willing to go to war. I have had my eyes on him... ever since I asked you to investigate a month ago. I have not been able to see him outside his main office in all that time. No tracking spell has worked, and once he leaves visibility in that window, my spies lose him almost immediately. I believe that the building itself may be lined with these crystals as well because there is no easy way to get a layout of it without electronic instruments. On top of all that, we do not know how many floors it has either. Other than the pictures we've gathered, we know next to nothing about what is inside, and that is what worries me.” We sat there in silence fer a minute, and then somethin' came ta mind.

“Ya know... well, where exactly is this Argent buildin'? Ah didn't really know anythin' about the guy until a few days ago.” Twilight grabbed the crystal, then lit up her horn. A map spawned in violet light on the table of the province. The Island of Manehattan is just the capital city of Manehattan Province within Equestria. The land here is mostly covered in dense forest leadin' up ta the border with the northern mountains. The map zoomed in closer ta the border, just about where the trees stopped and focused in on a town eclipsed by a very, very large buildin'. This 'tower' looked like it coulda been a skyscraper from the Manehattan skyline that was ripped out and dropped by the edge of the forest.

“This is Argent Industries. Twelve years ago, the company owned the Trade Center here and operated out of that, but after it collapsed for unknown reasons... er, well... ahem, after it collapsed, they relocated to the northern border of the province, which is close to the original mine that Argent started. Tin city, as it's called, is the community that was originally just a mining town that Argent owned, but it has grown exponentially since Argent built his new facility there. He took a lot of Manehattan's business with him when he left, and that's why this district is how it is now. Those that could afford it moved to Tin, and those that couldn't... well, they're still here.” Ah looked at the buildin' and noticed that just like the foundry map, it wasn't filled in.

“Huh. Well, one thin's fer sure, this looks almost exactly like the trade center used ta. Somethin' tells me you're not just here ta see how the mission went, especially since ya didn't know we left last night. What is it exactly you're here for? Ah assume it's somethin' ta do with this, right?” Ah turned ta Luna, and her eye twitched, but she kept her tone the same.

“That is correct. The oldest Belle daughter works for you. I want you to send her there to get more information on this building, specifically to see how many floors there are, and whatever else she can find out while she is there. Argent produces a majority of this country's steel, precious metals, mirrors, and half of our precious jewels. I want to know if he's up to something dangerous before anything happens. As for your last task, you may consider it complete at this time. With the knowledge that he does have disruption crystals, the missing workers are of little concern now.” Ah rolled my eyes. Maybe ta you, but those families would still probably like ta know what happened.

“Oh... but... what about the families of the workers?” Twilight asked. Well that was unexpected.

“You may tell them that the missing workers are dead, if you wish. As far as I am concerned, they are. I will be taking my leave now. I will send a lavalier camera later with your mother when she comes to visit you today. As soon as The Belle girl has recovered, I want this taken care of.” Luna took a step on ta the table, cuttin' out Twilight's map. Her horn started ta light up the room, but then stopped and turned ta me.

“One more thing. I look forward to hearing from you about what we discussed, miss Applejack.” She looked at me with that damned smile again, and then went back ta castin' her spell. Her horn lit up again, makin' it like a blue daylight underground, and then lightnin' started ta shoot around the table. With a final flash, Princess Luna was gone. Twilight took a seat in her chair and let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank goddess she's gone,” she said. Ah just about did the same.

“You and me both,” Ah replied. That made Twilight sit back up.

“Wait, why?” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Oh, ya know. She wanted ta force some leg shatterin' tool on Rarity and have her test it out by settin' the Beast off. Nothin' special.” Ah took my hat from my saddle bags and lowered it ta my eyes. Ah don't know why, but a suden wave of 'tired' hit me, and Ah was ready ta sleep. Twilight let out an exasperated breath.

“Again? Damn it, that's why she made me go heal the others! She didn't really care, she just needed an excuse to get me out of the room! I swear, every time I see her, she tries to connive her way into getting my friends to test out dangerous things! What did she give you? I know she wouldn't leave here without passing it off somehow.” Ah grabbed one of the bands and started ta fiddle with it, tryin' ta see just how ta put it on. Ah tapped the little rune off ta the right of the button. It lit up and the whole band started ta lose... tangibility? Ah sorta slid my hoof through it in this weird state till none of my foreleg was touchin' it then tapped the rune again. It became whole once more and even shrunk ta fit snug on my wrist.

“Well, she gave me two of these thin's that kinda act like grapplin' hooks Ah guess, but way more dangerous than one of those. It fires as blade that moves as fast as a bullet inta some kinda surface, then retracts at some ridiculous speed with a pony on it. If it helps ya any, she said it has a tendency ta break bones, damage eyes, and weighs about five pounds.” Ah figured that since Ah have ta use it anyways, Ah'd play with it. Ah could guess just about where it fires from, so Ah aimed it at one of the walls. Ah clicked the button, and damn did that thin' have a kick. A loud thunk came from the wall where Ah was aimin' at and the cable extended all the way back ta the bracelet. Ah took in a breath and pushed the button again. In a second, the thing started ta reel in and Ah was yanked out of my chair like somepony hit me with a car. Ah managed ta react in time ta stop myself from crashin' inta the wall and clicked the button twice. Ah shook my head, because that was one hell of an experience, but then looked over the room from above it.

“So uh, how do you get down?” Twilight asked. Ah blinked a few more times, then replied.

“Oh, Ah just have ta let the blade retract all the way or pull it out. Ah'm just kinda hangin' here right now. As dangerous as this would be fer a normal pony, this thing might actually be real useful fer me... She might be a shrewd bitch, but if they could make it so this wasn't so harmful, ya might actually see some royal guards with these.” Ah ripped the remainin' cable and the blade outta the wall and jumped back ta the floor.

“That is some kind of force to pull you that fast. No wonder it breaks bones, that is dangerous. Speaking of, do you mind if I take a look at your foreleg? It looks like it's scabbed over by now, but not healed just yet.” Reluctantly, Ah walked over ta her chair and held out my foreleg. Twilight took a hold of it and then put her magic ta work.

“Well, now you know how my aunt really is. She'll act civil at first, but the minute you tell her no, she gets mad. At the very least she pretends to be sweet when others are around. She doesn't typically care when it's just me though. If it weren't for the fact that Mother is basically her keeper too, she'd probably be a tyrant by now.” Ah watched as the violet light began ta seal up the wounds and replace the scabs with skin and hair.

“Does normal healin' magic do all that? Ah feel like Ah remember seein bald spots on ponies who come outta treatment like this.” Twilight shook her head.

“No it doesn't. This isn't quite a healing spell either. It creates a kind of dimensional space where time moves faster and then freezes. It will age you a little bit, but depending on how fast your body regenerates, it will only make the afflicted area a week or two older. Once real time catches back up, the spell dissipates and the rest of your body is just as old as the healed wound. As long as you aren't elderly, this spell is usually better to use than actual healing magic, though more taxing on the user. Regular healing magic manipulates regenerative speed, which can also burn out your regenerative ability, and that, is irreplaceable.” The violet glow faded and Twilight relaxed a little.

“That's kinda weird. Isn't manipulatin' time kinda dangerous too?” Ah asked.

“Not as long as you don't do two things. One, go backward, because nopony knows how to do that, and two, manipulate space at the same time. That causes atoms to dissipate, and that will kill you. Magic will let you do one or the other, and if anypony ever figured out both, then we would probably have already seen it by now.” Twilight explained mid-yawn. “I think, since everypony is at least as healthy as I can get them, I'm going to sleep. Since you are a member now, You're welcome to any vacant room in the castle to keep as your own. If you follow me, I'll take you to the spare room where you can rest for the day if you like. My mother should be coming to visit this evening if you want to meet her, but it's up to you really.” Twilight got up from her chair and stretched out and yawned again. Should Ah? Ah'm just as tired as she looks, but Ah don't wanna worry my family. Well, it should be fine if Ah can call. Mac is probably up right now.

“Well, if ya've got a phone, then sure.” Her yawnin' was infectious, and Ah was about ta yawn myself. Those thin's are contagious, Ah swear.

“If that's all, I'll just grab my cell when we pass my room. Come on then.” She started toward the back hallway and Ah grabbed my saddle bags and trotted along behind her. What a night. It's nights like these that remind me just why Ah sleep as much as Ah do.

Harmony Days II: A simple Request

Applejack

“Jaquline!” A soothin' voice called out from inside the farm house. Ah stopped whatever it was Ah was doin' and Ah ran inside. Mom was wearin' an apron and makin' pancakes. The air was filled with cinnamon and nutmeg and apples with the soft sound of light fryin' comin' from the pan.

“Yes mama?” Ah asked. Mom had her orange and blonde mane all tied up in braids like she usually did, and she was wearin' an apron over her neck as so not ta get batter all over her coat. Her belly was real big and she wasn't movin' like she used ta, but it never bothered her. She chopped up a few pieces of apple and sprinkled them over the batter she'd just poured inta the hot skillet. Ah got my little self up against the stove so Ah could watch as the pancakes cooked.

“Sugar cube, go get yer brother and yer father, breakfast is almost ready.” She leaned down and kissed my head, and just like that Ah ran back outside. But, somethin' was wrong. The trees were all dead now. All the mornin' sunlight was gone, and the sky was gray and barren. A sense of fear started ta creep up my spine. Ah called out fer em,

“Papa? Macintosh?” but nopony answered. Ah started ta check further back in the trees, but then everythin' got dark. Ah couldn't see anymore, and Ah was afraid of it. Ah kept runnin' through the endless dead trees in the dark gray sky, somethin' wasn't right, but Ah didn't know what. Ah heard mom call again,

“Jaquline, where did ya go? Yer father and yer brother are already back?” Ah looked around, but everywhere Ah looked there were only trees. Ah made my way through a crevice in between everythin' and was somehow in the hospital now. Dad was cryin’ with a baby in his hooves, Macintosh was huddled in a corner.

“Papa? W-what happened?” He brought the baby in closer and shook his head. Through teary eyes and a shaky voice he said,

“Rosie... Yer momma's gone, Applejack.” The words came crashin' down like hail made of bullets. Ah could feel everythin' beginnin' ta break inside.

“W-what? W-where did momma go?” Ah asked, a glimmer of hope that she might just be lost. He sniffed hard and started ta rock the baby.

“Up ta the sky, Applejack. She cain't come back home either.” Ah could feel the breaks gettin' bigger. Ah was about ta fall apart. Ah turned back and ran inta the trees. Momma couldn't be gone, she just couldn't be! Anythin' but that, anythin' but that, please! The trees became thick again, and the hospital room Ah was just in disappeared. Ah searched fer a new exit, wanderin' around again. Ah finally found a new one, and Ah was in the city. The sky was filled with smoke, and half the buildin's around central Manehattan were destroyed or on their way there.

Two figures shot across the sky, beatin' each other with enough force ta send shock waves through the air. Ah ran toward them, one of 'em had ta be Red Hoof, he could help me find my way back home. The black figure with the weird mirror on his chest shot inta a buildin' and Red hoof skipped through another and landed right in front of me. Ah went ta check on him, but then he got up and stared at me.

“Applejack, run!” he said. But... how did he know my name? Why did he sound so familiar? Ah took a step back, but it was like my hooves were stuck in molasses.

“Applejack, run!” he yelled this time. Ah couldn't move. He sounded just like papa... but that wasn't right. There was nopony in the city that sounded like him, and if Red Hoof sounded like him, then wouldn't that mean...

“Jaquline Apple, RUN!” Suddenly, my body started ta work and Ah bolted away as fast as Ah could, back ta the trees. Ah didn't wanna watch what came next. Ah knew what came next. When Ah made it back ta the trees, Ah decided not ta move. There wasn't any reason ta move anymore. Anytime Ah left the clearin', there was only sadness ahead. Ah curled up and cried. Ah couldn't take it anymore. Ah couldn't handle it, Ah'd already seen it all too many times.

“Hush, child. Everythin' will be alright. Momma's here,” A familiar voice said. Ah looked up, and there she was, standin' tall in all her red glory. As quick as Ah could, Ah curled up around her leg and cried inta her coat. She picked me up and carried me home in her hooves.

“Come now, there ain't nothin' ta be afraid of out here.” Mom took me inside, grabbed a blanket and laid down on the couch. Ah could feel how warm she was, how soft she was. She put a feathery wing around me and pulled me close.

“Everything will be fine, rest easy my dear.” Her voice was almost hypnotic and suddenly Ah started ta feel heavy. The world started ta fade, and then, there was nothin' but calm darkness.

When Ah woke up, Ah was real warm. Ah felt fantastic, like it was some of the best sleep Ah'd gotten in years now. But somethin' was off. Ah don't remember the spare bed Twilight showed me bein' this soft either. Then Ah felt movement. There was somethin' breathin' and Ah was just about layin’ on it. My eyes shot open and Ah just about jumped off the bed. Ah looked around the room, and everythin' seemed normal, until Ah looked at the bed. There was somepony else in it.

A bright white coat that almost had a tinge of pink ta it and big white wings. The mane was some kinda four color set of green, blue, violet, and pink with a strange, almost ethereal quality ta it the made the colors fade inta somethin' like a misty sunset. The body started ta move, and then the neck turned ta face me. She had dark violet irises that looked just about the same as Twilight's and gold flecks all along em.

“Ah... Good morning. Or, evening, I should say,” She said, her tone drippin' in regal inflections, similar ta Princess Luna, but soft and warm instead of cold and metallic.

“W-who are ya, and what are ya doin' in my bed?” Ah was pretty freaked out, but at the same time, she didn't have that feelin' of malice that Ah usually get from power ponies. Just... soft and warm, like a cool sunny day.

“Oh, right. We haven't met yet.” She stood up and she was even taller than Luna was. “I am Princess Celestia,” she said, takin' what was likely the most proper bow one could atop a mattress. Ah was slow ta do it, but Ah eventually bowed back. Shocked. That's what Ah was, shocked.

“Uh... well, okay, but uh... why-”

“A nightmare. You were calling out for your parents in your sleep. I must apologize for invading your dreams, and personal space it would seem, but I figured that you wouldn't mind if I ended the nightmare for you.” The nightmare she was talkin' about started ta come back up inta my mind, and suddenly mom havin' wings started ta make sense.

“Oh... ya saw all that... well... thanks, Ah guess.” Ah don't even know this lady and now she knows some of my deepest insecurities. Perfect.

“You're very welcome. Call me petty, but I honestly wish my own daughter would call for me like that sometimes...” She looked down like she was starin' inta some kind of memory, but then shook it off and stepped off of the bed. While Luna was wearin' a whole bunch of armor-like jewelery, Celestia didn't really have anythin' on. If she were Twilight's size, you probably wouldn't be able to tell she was any kind of Princess like this.

“I... also wish to thank you for befriending my daughter, miss Jaquline. She has a disposition not to dissimilar to my sister which tends to... cause friction between her and other ponies. I know how difficult she can be sometimes.” Ah shook my head.

“Nah, don't do that. Ah don't really deserve thanks fer that. And don't you worry about her 'disposition.' Ah take it and throw it right back at her. But uh, call me Applejack. Ah figure ya saw quite a bit, but that... only my mom called me that, and Ah think it should stay that way.” Fer a second, Ah swear she looked disappointed, but it vanished as soon as it appeared.

“Very well then, miss Applejack. I suppose I should go wake her up. Today is my day off, so I had intended to spend the day with her, but you were all asleep when I arrived this morning.” This mornin'!? What time is it now? Ah looked around, but this part of the castle is underground, there aren't any windows anywhere. Or really, at all as far as Ah know. Ah cannot wait ta get paid fer this. Ah'm gonna buy a phone and a license and Ah'm gonna start savin up fer a bike. Ah'm tired of not havin' thin's that separate me from middle class. Ah grabbed the phone Twilight let me borrow off the nightstand and checked it.

“Five forty!? Ah went ta bed at four! How in the hell did Ah sleep that long!? Wait a minute. Ya said ya arrived this mornin' didn't ya? How long have y'all been in my bed?” Ah asked all frantic. Ah have a project due on Monday! Ah was supposed ta work on that today, and Ah have class in twenty minutes! Oh no, where did all the time go? Ah'm not gonna make it there in time! Well... maybe if Ah take the rooftop route, but do Ah have the time ta change? My thoughts were interrupted by the Princess.

“Well... I suppose I um... arrived at ten? I must've... nodded off myself, ha ha...” The Princess laughed nervously. Ah shook my head.

“Whatever, Ah suppose It doesn't really matter all that much. Look, Ah gotta get outta here or Ah'm gonna be late ta class, so iffin' you'll excuse me...” Ah was about ta turn, but then she stopped me.

“Well, how soon do you need to be there?” She asked.

“Uh, bout twenty minutes or so. It's on the north side of town, So I'm gonna have ta run...” Ah replied.

“Would you like me to send you there now? I'd hate to inconvenience you.” She took a step closer. Ah wasn't sure how Ah was supposed ta react ta that.

“Well Ah... aw, whatever. Manehattan Community College, north side on 35th and 24th. Can ya do it?” Ah asked. Ah wasn't about ta turn down a free ride. Man am Ah glad Ah brought my saddlebags with me. The princess nodded and her horn started ta light up with a gold colored magic. Ah grabbed my bags and my hat and waited.

“Okay, stand still. It was nice to meet you, and I'm sure I'll see you again in the near future.” The same lightnin' style orb Luna used started ta form around me and shoot all around the room.

“Same here. Thanks fer doin' this Princess.” The light flashed and suddenly Ah was standin' in front of the school. Ah let out a breath and made my way inta the doors. Damn it. Ah'm gonna be hungry all class.

Twilight Sparkle

“Twilight, sweetie?” I started to hear faintly. The darkness began to subside, and I was awoken to mother's snout in my face. I was still groggy enough to not care, so I rolled over and ignored her.

“Now that I know you're awake, you can't hide from me,” She said. I groaned out loud at the suddenly brightening room and covered my face with a pillow.

“Very well then, you leave me no choice.” Wait. What does that mea- Suddenly, there was a great pressure on my hips.

“Gah! Mother get off!” She laughed.

“Will you get out of bed if I do?” I took a shallow breath under her weight.

“Yes, just move!” Finally relieved of the pressure, I sat up and started to rub the sand out of my eyes. As soon as I opened them, she took the opportunity to blind side me with a hug. Why does she have to be so strong?

“Good evening sweetie. How are you?” Her grip is likely to rival Applejack's, so I struggled to get out of the hug. That failing, I was finally tired of her, so I charged up my horn and teleported five feet away. Suddenly losing her support, mother collapsed into my bed.

“Awake. That's how I am. What are you doing here so early?” She sat back up and frowned at me.

“I wouldn't hug so hard if you would just return it. I had the day off, so I decided to come visit.” I frowned.

“I see. Well, you're here, visiting. What do you need?” She rolled her eyes and stood next to me.

“I don't particularly need anything. I just wanted to see you. Is that so wrong?” I rolled my eyes in return.

“Well, that's great. If you want something to do, then feed me or something. I need to go check on my patients.” She said evening, didn't she? I hope everypony is still okay...

“I suppose. What would you like to eat my dear? I recently learned a good recipe for apple pancakes~” She just about sang. I bit my lip. I have an unhealthy love for pancakes. If Mother loves cakes too much, I love pancakes too much. They are my weakness.

“Would you really!?” I turned around and almost shouted. She smiled that smile of hers and patted my head with her wing.

“Of course my dear.” Mother made her way toward the kitchen, and I stood there just about wagging my tail like a dog. Damn it. Played again. I can never beat her in chess, and she always knows how make me act like a child whenever she feels like it. I hate it when she does that. Now angered at my own inability to contain myself, I marched across the hall to check on my friends. I quietly entered Pinkie's room first. I always found it odd that half the things she decorates with are black, but I suppose she just had a goth phase that never quite ended. I still don't know about all the jobs she's had over the years. Maybe she was in a metal band at one point. Though, I suppose she could just like the tribal tattoo look. I moved to the bed to check and see how she was doing.

Pinkie was still sleeping, her injuries were pretty serious, so she deserves that much at least. Luckily I made it to her before any of her internal bleeding got out of hoof. I hate to use regular healing magic, but she'd have died if I didn't. Maybe I should have Mother order me some medical textbooks. And a cadaver to practice on. Er... she might think weird things about me if I ask for a dead body though. On second thought, medical text books will be fine. If I don't use magic to cure them, then I can't hurt their natural regeneration... I checked her pulse and her forehead to see if there was any sign of infection, and when I didn't find anything, I decided she was okay and left just as quietly as I entered.

Next up was Fluttershy, who had the same problem with that nerve damage, only less severe. There must be more to the Crow's power than what I know for them both to have the same wounds. Applejack said that they were both slashed by her, so this has to be something to do with that sword of hers... or maybe even her blood. Since Fluttershy also lives here in the castle, everything she ever earns either goes into the things she wants or to some kind of charity when she decides to not just save it. They all work for me, so I don't make them pay rent or anything. The least I can do is give them a place to stay in my big, empty castle.

I opened the door to her room across the hall from Pinkie's and made sure not to step on the wires that ran all over the place. Fluttershy is a video game addict and she has every console and every game she's ever taken interest in. However, she's moved more toward the computer as of late. Any time I ask it's always, 'something something PC master race' and so on. If ponies called me a nerd for being a bookworm, Fluttershy is the other kind. Luckily, the damage to her nerves was dulled and half healed by her transformation, but the skin on her left foreleg had to be replaced so that she might be able to feel with it again. As per usual, she was sleeping gently, quietly, and... sprawled all over her bed in a mess of blankets. The time spell was holding stable and that should wear off in about a week thanks to her hyper regeneration. I figure that must be part of her power, part of the sacrifice of her hearing. Poor thing, can't hardly hear anything unless you're yelling at her.

I turned to exit and nearly tripped over one of her cables, but managed to keep myself from falling. If I step too hard, she can feel it, and I'd rather not have her wake up on my account. Leaving from there, I moved back into the living room where all the chairs and the big table is and I started to smell them. The cinnamon in the air, the sizzling sound of the batter crisping on the hot skillet, the sweet smell of apples caramelizing. My mouth was watering now. I don't know where she found that recipe, but it smells fantastic!

I passed the kitchen on my way to the clinic, only barely able to resist the temptation of looking inside. The moment I do, I've lost to her. She will not beat me twice in the same day, this I swear! Finally, I enter the clinic and see that Rarity was reading something on her cot.

“Oh you're awake. How do you feel?” I asked. I must've been quiet because she almost dropped her book.

“Dah! Goodness Twilight, you could at least announce your presence a little more. I swear you move like a ghost sometimes. Um... I'm not sure. Is there a specific word for lack of feeling? It's almost like my front left is half numb. There, but not completely,” She said as she levitated her book aside and sat up.

“Hmm... well, that's to be expected. Most of the nerves in your left shoulder were destroyed. I repaired the stab wound with my time spell and some basic care, but I'm not quite good enough to repair nerves like this. Do you know what caused it?” Rarity tried to put her left hoof to her chin, failed, then did so with her right.

“I can't say I do, but there was a particularly strange feeling that went through me when I was stabbed. It wasn't... well, it didn't feel like being stabbed.” How does being stabbed not feel like being stabbed?

“How so?” Rarity scrunched up her face until she thought of something.

“Do you remember our fifth mission? The first one from Luna?” I rolled my eyes.

“How could I forget? I ended pulling you off a ship a mile out from the harbor with magic. I was so drained that week that I couldn't barely levitate anything and I had to get Mother to heal you in my place.” That week wasn't my proudest moment. And Mother only did basic treatment so Rarity didn't die, I still had to wait on her for two weeks afterward just so she could walk again.

“Well, on the ship, I did get stabbed with a bayonet. Being stabbed feels like a burning sensation mixed with being bit by something. But this was... different. When the blade hit me it was very warm, not unlike warm water, but almost thick like butter or something. After it made it into my shoulder, it was like ice started to spread from it. I couldn't feel much of anything after the initial stab, but after the icy feeling spread I was hit with waves and waves of pain all at once. So much so that I fainted. More than anything else though, I felt cold.” I felt kind of guilty for this, even though I couldn't have known she was going to run into anypony like the Crow. I bit into my lip again.

“I see... Well, I'll see what I can find out, but I think you're going to have to see a real doctor for this...” From outside I heard Mother call,

“Oh Twilight, the pancakes are done! Wake your friends, I made enough for everypony!” A shiver went down my spine. Oh right, she's still here.

“Is Celestia here right now? I thought she wasn't supposed to arrive until seven.” Rarity asked. I sighed.

“She wasn't,” I said through gritted teeth. “Oh well. I'll go get the rest of the crew. Can you walk?” Rarity nodded.

“It's just one leg down darling, I can at least get along without it for now.” She got up from the cot and we made our way to the dining table in the living room only to find Pinkie already there.

“Oh. Hello Pinkie. Did you just wake up?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah. It was the smell of food. Is Applejack cooking?” She gave a shallow smile and scratched the back of her head with her hoof. I shook my head and frowned.

“No, Mother is here. Oh crap. I never even checked on Applejack!” I quickly raced to the bedroom hallway and checked the first spare room only to find it empty. I picked my phone off of the night stand and checked it. It looked like it was used to make a call at three fifty AM, but nothing since. I didn't see a note and the only sign of life at all was that the bed had been slept in and remade, because I know that I don't fold sheets like that. Actually, that's the way mother folds sheets. Why would mother have folded sheets in here? I decided I would go wake Fluttershy before questioning Mother about it. Besides... there are pancakes at stake here. Questions can wait. I stamped my hoof on the floor twice outside of Fluttershy's room, and when I heard a gasp I walked in.

“Fluttershy, Mother made breakfast.” She lazily sat up in her mess of pink hair that just about hid her face and she nodded.

“Oh... Okay...” she muttered. The zombie-like pegasus started stir in her nest, and then I made my way to the dining table. Mother had brought out half the fruit in the castle and set up the table like her servants would. I sighed and made my way to my seat. Shortly after zombie-shy joined us, we were allowed to eat. After consuming an unhealthy amount of pancakes, I finally asked Mother where Applejack was.

“So-” I swallowed a bite of apple filled syrup covered sweetness. “I see you folded the guest bed. Any particular reason?” I asked. Mother put her fork down, and wiped at her mouth.

“Your friend said she needed to leave in a hurry, so I offered her my help,” she said. Oh right, she has classes on Fridays. But that brings up another question...

“Oh... okay. So how long have you been here?”

“Only a few hours. I arrived at five forty,” she said without hesitation. I narrowed my eyes.

“That's rather specific. I thought you said you had the day off.” I returned.

“I do have the day off. That doesn't mean I didn't have things to attend to. I still happen to run the country from time to time.” Damn it. I know she's not telling the truth, but I don't have a way to poke holes in her story... I took another bite of pancake and realized something. I swallowed and then smiled.

“You know, these pancakes are great Mother. Where'd you learn this recipe?” She leaned in and smiled back.

“Oh, it was just something I picked up today.” A vague answer. One more push and she'll trip!

“You seemed to know what you were doing pretty well for somepony who rarely cooks. Who taught you?” One misstep here and I'll call her out on it. Mother paused for a moment, then responded.

“One of the new chefs. Her name is Red Gala. It's one of her family's recipes.” Caught!

“Liar! You haven't hired a new chef in ten years, and you don't hire new kitchen staff but once every fifteen years during the Steel Blade championship!” I yelled, standing up from my chair with the most smug face I could make. Mother rolled her eyes and giggled.

“Oh fine. Congratulations Twilight, you caught me. What do you really want?” I refuse to give her the satisfaction!

“When did you get here?” She tilted her head with a level of sheer smug that I wasn't sure I could match.

“Ten AM. I didn't have any plans today, so I decided to come see you, but you were fast asleep, so I didn't wake you up.” Damn it, she's still got that face on... bah, she was probably going to tell me anyways. I can never win. I sighed.

“Okay, and what did you spend the last seven hours doing?” This time she frowned.

“I would tell you, but I'm not going to. Sorry sweetie, but I let you have your game already.” I put my elbow on the table sighed again.

“I knew you were cheating from the beginning. Did you really learn this recipe today though? Because these are some of the best pancakes I've ever had and uh... I'd like to recreate it after I... inevitably run out,” I said, slowly letting my eyes fall on my lap. Nopony said I was proud of my addiction.

“Yes, and I'll show you how next time I'm here. But unfortunately, coming to see you was only my main objective today. I've brought the camera-microphone Luna asked me to, and I left that on your conference table, alongside something I need you to take care of.” She pointed to my chair on the main table, and sure enough, there was a bag with the device and a manila folder there.

“Oh? Luna was here? Did that happen when I was out?” Rarity asked. I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, she was. Speaking of, that recorder is actually for you.” She shied away.

“Oh. Don't tell me it's another one of her... devices, is it?” she said, a tinge of fear in her voice. Last time Luna wanted something 'tested,' Rarity almost electrocuted herself and ended up burning her hooves.

“No, that was forced on Applejack this time, it's just an ordinary lavalier mic and camera. The job she wants you to do however is... well, not something I'm super comfortable with.” Mother narrowed her eyes.

“And what exactly is it that Luna wants you to do?” She asked. Mother's tone deepened and there was even a hint of sour in it now.

“She wants Rarity to infiltrate Argent tower to see what they're up to. The foundry we investigated yesterday was filled with activated disruption crystals. Luna believes that he may have found a way to incorporate them into steel.” I couldn't help but let a hint of fear creep up in my voice. Telling Mother about what Luna asks of us usually puts me in hot water with her, but being in hot water with Mother is so much worse. Mother put her hoof to her mouth.

“Disruption crystals...? Hmm... I'm going to have to have a talk with Luna. Well, as for my request, I simply want you to take out a gang that has been plaguing the local police force. You don't have to do anything drastic, just make them disband or put them away. Prioritize the lives of yourselves and the citizens, but that should go without saying. Oh, and before I forget, do you have miss Applejack's paperwork? She seems... in need, so I thought I would make an advancement on her pay.” A gang? Really?

“Um... it should be in the file room. But, why do you say that? I wouldn't mind forwarding her a payment for last month's pay since she's the reason they're all sitting here today, I just don't see why you would think that.” Mother rolled a thought around on her tongue before speaking again.

“It might have been quick, but I've come to know her very well in the few hours we spent together. Let's leave it at... I intend to fill a role that she's been trying to fill herself.” Fill a role? What are you talking about? I got up from the dining table and took my plate with me.

“I suppose I'll go get the paperwork. If you want to talk to Luna, you should probably get going before she leaves Canterlot.” I put the dishes in the sink and checked to make sure it wasn't my turn to do them, then made my way to the filing room to make a copy of Applejack's contract. When I returned, Mother was saying her goodbyes.

“Well, it was a pleasure to see you all again,” she said.

“Yeah it was! Come make pancakes any time you feel like it Princess, those were great!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“I agree, I've never had anything quite like them. Of course, it's always a pleasure to see you Princess,” Rarity continued.

“U-um... also that. A-and um... thank you,” Fluttershy finished. I made my way to the group and floated over the copy of the contract.

“Thank you sweetie. I'll contact you soon about next time I can come over. Oh, and do take care of that request as soon as you can. At the very least, I'd like it to be done by this time next week,” Mother said. I nodded.

“Yes ma'am. Harmony will carry out your request as soon as we're able.” I saluted and Mother laughed.

“That's what I like to hear. Now give me a hug and I'll get out of your mane.” I could feel my eyes trying to roll back into my head. She always does this. Saying muted curses under my breath, I hugged my mother in front of my friends. She kissed my head and said, “See you soon sweetie.” and warped away in the typical flash of light.

“Y-you know, Twilight, you could be n-nicer to her...” Fluttershy said. I whipped my head toward her.

“I cannot and will not surrender! She beat me twice today! Gah, I forgot to ask for those text books! Now I have to call her later... I swear she plans this kind of stuff every time,” I lamented.

“Oh darling, what's so wrong with loving on your own mother every now and again?” Rarity asked, sipping on some hot tea that Mother likely prepared earlier.

“She treats me like a baby and I don't like it! I'm twenty years old damn it!” Suddenly, Pinkie was leaning on me in her trademark fashion.

“Eh, you should let her do it. From the camp who haven't had mothers in the last ten years or so, I'd say I miss that kind of thing. I bet Applejack would be with me on this if she were here too.” I sighed.

“I can never win.”

Harmony Mission II: Bonding Agent (part 1)

Applejack

“Applejack, ya have a call!” Ah heard Applebloom say from the other room. As Ah arose from my homework induced slumber, Ah stumbled my way ta the apartment livin' room, where Applebloom was impatiently holdin' the phone. Uncle Blood was watchin' somethin' on the TV, Macintosh was doin' somethin' on his computer by the table, and Ah had just woken up. Judgin' by the light, it was about five or so in the afternoon and Ah wasn't quite ready ta be awake. As if the world was covered in a haze of some kind, Ah slowly took the receiver from Applebloom, who quickly escaped back ta the couch with Uncle Blood.

“Hello...?” Ah said through a yawn.

“Oh, good afternoon Applejack. Can you come by the office? I need you to sign some paperwork.” Ah was too tired ta discern who Ah was talkin' ta at the moment. Everypony sounds different over the phone.

“Office? Who is this?” Awareness was comin' back ta me now, but Ah still wasn't quite up yet. The audible huff on the other end of the line gave me an idea. It was almost the sound version of rollin' yer eyes.

“Applejack, come to the castle when you get a chance,” Ah figured Twilight said.

“Oh, right. Yeah, Ah suppose. Oh, and Ah've got a question. Ya don't happen ta be some kind of history buff, do ya?” Ah heard some muffled sounds, then a receiver move on the other end.

“Pfft. Am I a history buff. Have you seen my library?” She said, all sarcastic like.

“No actually, but sure, whatever. As long as ya can help me with this, then it doesn't matter. I'll be over in a bit.”

“Good. I'll see you then.” Twilight hung up and Ah put the phone back on the charger. Who still has a land line? We do. And nopony else. Goddess, Ah cannot wait ta get paid.

“So who was that?” Uncle Blood asked.

“My manager. She's never called before, so Ah couldn't quite recognize her voice.” Ah said without battin' an eye. After doin' it fer so long, it wasn't hard ta lie ta them anymore, as much as Ah hated it.

“Oh. Are you friends with her?” he asked, just as stone voiced as Ah was.

“Sorta. She's a real bookworm, so Ah ask her for help with homework when Ah need it. Anyways, Ah should probably get goin'.” Ah headed back ta my room ta grab my hat and jacket.

“Sis, don't forget ta take the shoppin' list with ya. It's yer turn after all,” Ah heard Macintosh say after Ah finished puttin' everythin' on. Ah sighed. Ah made my way ta the kitchen and ripped off the newest page of writin' on our hangin' yellow pad and threw it in my bags.

“Okay y'all, Ah'll be back probably some time in the mornin'.” Ah was about ta exit the door when Applebloom stopped me.

“Oh, wait! Let me put somethin' on that list before ya take care of it!” She ran over, grabbed the list out of my bag and went ta work writin' a few lines on it.

“Eggs, sugar, strawberries, cream...? What do ya need all that stuff for? You know we don't have the money ta just blow on thin's.” She rolled her eyes and shoved the list back in my bag.

“Oh, just take care of it! We're just about out of eggs anyways since ya eat em' all the time.” Ah sighed again.

“Ah'll see what Ah can do. See y'all later.” They all said bye and Ah shut the door behind me. Now my real problem wasn't my homework, but how Ah was goin' ta afford all this extra stuff fer Applebloom. Ah'm not dirt poor, but Ah don't have a black bit's worth of grocery money ta spend here. What is she up ta anyways? Ah made my way down the staircase, actin' like a normal pony fer once. Today is September the second, and Ah'll get paid in a week based on what Rarity told me. It should be nice ta actually have a regular income fer once. Ah took the shoppin' list out of my bag ta check over everythin' we needed. Ah don't really have enough fer everythin' on the list right now, so Ah guess Ah'll check the bounty board after Ah get done with Twilight... Ah put the list away and trotted out of the apartment complex.

Ah made my way across town and watched as the dusk turned ta night. Ah always enjoyed the orange hued sky as it turns ta violet. Knowin' the princess who represents that kinda sours it though. Ah have ta wonder how she got like that in the first place? Bah, it doesn't matter. Ya know what? Why don't Ah try usin' those bands ta get around town? It would be nice if Ah didn't have ta walk fourty minutes just ta get ta the castle out of costume...

Ah took a side alley that Ah knew ran through town and Ah found the bands in my bag. Ah... slipped? each of them on and locked all the clips on my bags. Okay... here goes nothin'! Ah got a runnin' start and leapt off the ground. Ah shot left first and hit the corner of a tall apartment buildin'. The wire zipped and yanked me close toward the apartments and at just about half length Ah stopped it and shot the other at another buildin' further down. Ah reeled the first wire back and once Ah made it about half way up the second wire, Ah halted it and shot the first again. Within' ten of minutes of enjoyin' how fun this actually turned out ta be, Ah realized that Ah'd already passed Central Park. After a quick back track and almost slammin' my face inta the side of a buildin', Ah made my way inta the park.

If this was like, on a harness or somethin', normal ponies might just be able ta use it as is. That may make it a little more obvious if yer wearin' one, but it would certainly be safer that way. Used ta fight beasts in the forests huh? Even if that's the case, Ah don't really think these need ta reel all the way in when it's first shot. It's easier ta pull out of stuff if ya've still got momentum too. Ah'll have ta get Twilight ta send her a message...

Ah made my way through the forest and inta the field until finally Ah was on the castle grounds. A knock once and a trip down the long hallways later, Ah was in the main room where the big table was.

“Twilight? Where are ya? Ah'm here!” Ah yelled. Not a second passed before Pinkie was right next ta me.

“Hey there!” Don't react, it's just Pinkie. Don't react, it's just Pinkie. Don't react, it is just Pinkie. Ah let out the breath Ah didn't know Ah was holdin' and replied,

“Howdy Pinkie. Ya know where Twilight went?” She nodded and pointed at the western hall.

“Oh, she's just in the library. Three doors on the left side of the bedroom hallway. She practically lives in there, so be prepared to face some kind of book-sea.”

“Thanks.” Ah nodded ta her and trotted away as fast as Ah could without lookin' suspcious. Pinkie makes me nervous in a way that no other pony on this earth could, and Ah just don't know why. Ah walked down the hall until Ah reached the third door, which was far larger than all the others and met at an intersection with another hall. She really needs ta get some lights in here. Maybe Fluttershy can navigate in the pitch dark, but the rest of us can't, and nopony else has lived in a castle fer twelve years! Ah opened the large, and oddly enough, real light weight doors ta find what looked like a cocoon of books around a particular spot on a large blue crystalline table. It looked similar ta the one in the livin' room, but it wasn't like a raw crystal at the bottom and had legs like a normal table.

“Twilight, are y'all somewhere under that pile?” The books shifted and the mare in the center stirred.

“Oh crap you're already here!” said the violet coated alicorn from behind the wall of texts. A violet ball of lightnin' started ta form around the books and after a flash, Twilight was standin' inches in front of me. “Hello, Applejack.” It took everythin' in my will ta keep from lashin' out and hittin' her. Don't react, it's just Twilight. Don't react, it's just Twilight. Don't react, it is just Twilight. Ah let out the breath Ah didn't know Ah was holdin' and replied,

“Look, y'all really need ta stop doin' shit like that because Ah'm liable ta punch at things that just pop up in front of me.” She lost her smile and took a step back.

“Oh-kay then... right. I'll keep that in mind. Well, I have two things to talk to you about today. Will you follow me to the second floor?” Ah shrugged.

“Yeah, Ah don't see why not.”

“Great!” Twilight turned on a dime and headed toward the back of the library. Gettin' a better look at it now, the place was huge. There were four floors that Ah could see, and there were rows and rows of shelves, all full of books. Damn, she probably has a copy of everythin' that exists in print here! Twilight must of caught me starin' at her collection.

“Impressive isn't it? There are over ten thousand volumes in here. Every magic study and theory ever printed, every textbook used in schools all throughout the run of standard academics, as many history books and chronicles I could get my hooves on, and a copy of everything Mother would let me have from the whole Royal library. Some of the texts in here can only be found in one of two places. However, Mother won't let me have anything she deems dangerous, so some of the magic I really want to study is locked away in Canterlot. I've read everything in here, so if you need a book on something, I'm sure I can find what you're looking for.” She was very clearly proud of what she had here, so Ah simply nodded and continued ta stare at the collection. We made it up a floor, and Ah finally could see some of the details on the ceilin'. This place was massive, and it looked like it made up fer half the castle. We wandered back ta the front of the library and instead of bein' lined with books, this part was covered in filin' cabinets.

“Luna has decided to keep all her secret records here since only she, Mother, and I know this place exists. She encrypts everything she puts away so I can't read it though, but that's what all this is for. My own records are kept in last one on the far left. I've left the paperwork I need you to read on that table over there.” There were about six tables in rows of three and a few arm chairs at each one. It struck me as odd that this place looked so much like a typical library mixed with some kinda royal ballroom. Like, when is this place gonna accommodate more than seven ponies at the most? And that's if her Aunt and her Mother are here at the same time.

Ah made my way ta the spot where all the papers were laid out and started ta look through 'em. There were a whole bunch of charts with columns of numbers and letters at the top that Ah didn't know what ta make of. On the last page was a legal agreement fer me ta sign.

By signing this document, you agree to the following terms of the enlisted pony's benefits of government backed dental and health care, and the rank of O-4s. You swear your loyalty to the Royal family and the nation of Equestria. If your services are needed for the survival of this land, then you will answer the call to arms, even at the cost of your life. To keep the freedom and peace of this nation, you will do anything and everything your Princesses ask of you, and you will obey the law down to the last letter.

For the Special rank in which you possess, those with an equal or lower rank than yourself are to obey your every command, and you are to obey the commands of those above you. You are subject to the code of honor and every action you take while representing your country must have Equestria in mind. Acts made against the country in uniform will be considered as treason, and you will be prosecuted for your misdeeds.

The next part was different than the computer printed legal type set. It was written in calligraphy, somethin' Ah don't think Ah've ever actually seen outside of a computer font.

Dear Applejack.

If you are reading this then that means you're now knowledgeable of the oath you've sworn to my daughter, my sister, and I. Some of the words on this page may sound a bit extreme, and with the honesty I sensed in you I could hardly believe you would ever do something like that, but formality is formality, and giving out a rank like this isn't something that normally happens outside of a promotion for at least four years of service.

For undertaking the difficult task of leading Twilight's special operations team, I am awarding you alone the rank of Major above your peers. I believe you to have the experience in battle equal to that of my majors, and I believe you to be a leader of the friends you make here. Take your team in the direction you believe to be right, and never will your decisions lead you astray.

For the work you've already done, Twilight and I have decided to give you an advance on your pay. As you already have the brand, this document is nothing more than a reference and a letter of my thanks. I look forward to the things you accomplish in the future.

Yours truly,

– Princess Celestia

Wow. She really expects a lot from me doesn't she?

“So, what exactly does this 'O 4 S' thing mean exactly?” Ah asked. Twilight was diggin' around in one cabinet until she found the form she was lookin' fer.

“It means you're ranked equivalent to, but above, a Major. We will get you a proper Equestrian army badge once all of this is filed in the system. Anyways, were it not for you the other day, I don't know who out of my team would even still be alive right now. Based on what I could gather from Fluttershy, you not only went head to head with the Crow, but the Beast as well, on top of completing the mission. They still have their lives because you were there, and I'm truly grateful for that. The form I needed you to sign is actually right here and it's just for a direct deposit to your bank. Your pay that we wanted to give you early is right here.” She popped a burlap sack out of nowhere and set it on the table. Sittin' right there in the bag were twenty gold bits.

“Twenty grand!?” Ah exclaimed.

“That's right. Our Majors are actually paid a little less than this on a monthly basis, but more often than not, they're not in constant combat like you are. That's why we add the special rank to you guys. You all work harder than half the military does, and we want to show that. Especially considering all the crazy stuff that Luna has us do. You deserve it.” Ah was just about in tears.

“Ah... Ah don''t know what ta say. Thanks Twilight. You're the best.” Ah said through a few sniffs and then Ah gave her a hug. She patted me on the back.

“Don't thank me too fast. I've got another job for you today.” Ah let go and wiped at my face.

“Well, whatever it is can wait. Can Ah have one of these cabinets? Ah don't need my family seein' any of this stuff on accident, and thinkin' Ah went and enlisted.” Twilight frowned.

“Umm... technically... Oh, never mind. All the ones on this row are just about empty. Everypony else keeps their paperwork here too. All the drawers on this cabinet have things in them, but the next row is completely empty, so pick whichever one you like.” Ah stacked up all the pages, and realized that there was a chart with a list of base pay rates fer the military since my O-4s was listed on the front page right in the middle. Ah took the drawer on the bottom and put pages away.

“You'll be doing this assignment with Pinkie so I'll brief you both once we get down to the living room.” We started fer the stairs at the back of the library when Ah realized that Ah didn't know what she was talkin' about.

“Wait, which one is the livin' room?”

“The one with the big table. All the important halls are connected to it.”

“Oh, alright.” We walked the rest of the way down and ta the hall and then after obtainin' Pinkie from whatever it was she was doin', we took our seats at the table in the livin' room.

“For the last time Pinkie, will you please lock your door if you're going to do that?” Twilight groaned, her face a bright red now.

“I was alone and I didn't think anypony was about to come barging into my room! Have you ever heard of knocking!? Geez,” Pinkie said, irritated. Ah didn't see what was goin' on, but Ah could guess it was somethin' private.

“You know what? Fine. I'm sorry I didn't knock. Anyways, this time we have a request from Mother.” Twilight's horn lit up and once again and her 3-D map of Manehattan spawned on the table. It moved and went to focus on the harbor on the southeast side of town. “Lately there have been reports of muggings by a gang that call themselves the Boneheads. They weren't seen as anything more than common thugs until these last couple of weeks when they stole some cargo from an Argent ship. Now they're running around robbing ships that come into the harbor like there's no tomorrow.

The local police have captured a few of them, but every time they run into the boss of this gang who goes by the name Goose Fang, our police are completely destroyed. There hasn't been a casualty yet, but some of the force has come back with severe injuries all the way up to paralysis. Your job is simple. Figure out what they stole, recover it, and arrest Goose Fang. Once their big bad leader is gone, the Boneheads should disband.”

“Hmm... Ah actually think Ah'd heard of them before. That Goose Fang guy was worth a good sum on the bounty board before Ah joined up here. Ah think he was gonna be my next target provided nopony else got him first. Y'all don't happen ta know if any other heroes went after this guy do ya?” Twilight thought, then her map disappeared and a list popped up in it's place. She slid it over ta me with her magic and Ah took a look at it. There were six names on the list, two of which I recognized.

“Hell, he took out Iron Tail, and Colorless? Those guys are good at their jobs... Well, at least they're not dead...” Twilight nodded.

“As far as we can tell, he's become serious business after he looted that Argent ship. His groupies that have been arrested all say that he got some new power recently, so it has our attention. I would send Rarity or Fluttershy with you as back up, but they're both still recovering from that nerve damage. You two are the only ones left, so to speak.” Pinkie frowned.

“Oh, gee, thanks for the vote of confidence Twilight, I'm sooo glad you believe in us,” she said, rollin' her eyes all the while. Twilight beamed.

“Oh no, silly, I believe in Applejack! I'm just sending you in case she needs a rag doll again.” Twilight shot back. Pinkie got up, opened her mouth, raised a hoof, let out a breath, and sat back down.

“Damn it. Alright fine, I promise I will not get thrown through a roof or two this time.” Twilight laughed.

“Pinkie, you know I don't mean that. But all the same, don't get hurt like that again please? If it weren't for the fact that your joints have so much of your unique cartilage, you probably would have had much more than a broken rib and light internal bleeding. And you be careful too, Applejack. We don't know what his power is, or what powers he has in his gang.” Ah shook my head.

“Don't you worry none about me. Ah've got a shoppin' list ta fill out and now Ah have the bits ta do it... and a phone plan ta sign up fer. Thin's are finally lookin' up fer me, so Ah;m not about ta get killed in some gang fight.” Ah took my suit out of my saddle bags and started ta get dressed.

“Let me know when you get there, and keep in touch. Be safe you two.”

Within the hour, the sun had been swallowed up by the horizon completely, and it was night time in Manehattan. Ah'd taken a likin' ta these wristbands, flingin' myself around like some kinda jungle ape in the middle of the city. Of course, Pinkie, or Blur Ah guess, wanted a ride so I figure it's not quite as easy when you're doin' this with a passenger. After a few adrenaline inducin’ moments, we finally made it ta the harbor. We landed by one of the many piers, but somethin' was off. There weren't any boats docked here.

“Blur... what do ya make of this? Have you worked a pier before?” Ah asked.

“Well, one, this is weird. Not just because it's unusual for any ships to set sail after dark, so normally they will stay docked overnight till sunrise, but also because this is Manehattan port. There are always boats docked here. Even the little ones that the rich ponies own.” Ah guess that means she did work at one of these. Ah wonder which coast she did that at?

“Guys, you have company. I don't know how they did it, but you're surrounded right now,” Twilight said. Alarms were goin' off in my head and Ah felt it too. Both Blur and Ah were lookin' at our surroundin's, but nothin was addin' up. Just then, a thin fog started ta roll in. As it did, it ran ta about the edge of some invisible like walls and started ta fold in on itself.

“Shit.” Ah bit my lip.

“Oh. Oh, we're trapped aren't we?” Blur said.

“No, no, you're not trapped, you just can't be on the pier right now. But I must ask, what are you two fine ladies doin' 'round here on this lovely evening?” Said a voice from where we entered the port. From a similar kind of invisible wall that Twilight had around her castle, walked in a pale green-yellow coated Earth pony stallion with a spiky two tone black and white mane under a beige fedora. He had orange irises and he was wearin' a silver chain around his neck that had an emblem of a unicorn skull engraved in it with white striped black clothes.

“Me and my boys here are doin' a lil' biz 'round here, and we can't just have ponies walk in on that kinda stuff, especially a pair of fine thangs like your selves.” Ah could tell by his cocky attitude that he had yet ta get punched in the face fer bein' such a prick. Ah aim ta fix that.

“Well, not all of us gals like to be excluded. You're the Boneheads' boss right? Goose Fang ain't it?” He smiled a mouth full of shark like teeth and shrugged.

“Guilty as charged. What can I say? I'm pretty popular these days. But baby, you can call me Goose. The fangs come out when we play, if ya know what I mean. I'd be happy to give you and your cute friend there a ride on the G-stick, but we're a little busy right at the moment, so if you could come back in about an hour, that'd be best for all of us.” He keept his smooth talk up and it was almost impressive. This stallion didn't miss a beat, and it was almost... allurin'.

“Wow. Hey, Marevelous?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I punch this guy in the dick?”

“Be my guest.” In less than a second, she had rocketed off and aimed for the sensitive part of the stallion. To both of our surprise, she was caught. It was almost like Goose blinked in and out of existence for even less time than it took Blur ta travel just a few yards. Goose pinned her down and looked her in the eye, never flinching, never losing that grin.

“Baby, I'm a stallion who's been around. You can't pull tricks like that and act like it's consensual. Now, if you wanna lick my rod, be my guest, but I'm not about to do something obscene to a mare without her permission, that just ain't right!” Ah was pissed off now.

“Get off her, ya prick!” Ah started my charge in, but he just turned and smiled at me.

“Ooh, feisty. I love commanding mares. Yes Ma'am!” Goose did what appeared ta be a teleport of some kind, and flashed from one spot ta another. In my current arc, Ah was about ta land on Blur, so Ah quickly shot at the ground and reeled myself ta where Ah shot. “It's Marevelous right? You're pretty popular around here too. I like to make it my point to get to know all the pretty mares in my city, but I haven't gotten to know you...” Goose blinked from his spot ta holdin me in a tango dip. “Up close and personal just yet♥” Ah reacted just about as quick he warped and managed ta graze his cheek before he warped away again.

“Touch me again! See what happens!” Goose smiled and raised his chin.

“I think I just got permission to touch a super gal. This is beautiful consent! Oh be still my heart, lest it throb♥” Goose warped again, and Ah figured he'd try ta touch me immediately. Ah wasn't right though. Instead of showin' up from behind like Ah expected, he popped up above me and hugged himself ta my back. “Oh sweet goddess do you smell good. Apples? Oh baby have mercy, I might just bust a vein♥” Ah took advantage of him bein' a creep and elbowed him in the stomach before he could get away. He coughed once and Ah used the chance ta give him a full force punch in the face. But of all the thin's that coulda happened, Ah didn't expect him ta just block it. The punch got him ta slide back a few feet, but the only thin' that was scathed were the sleeves of his jacket.

“What the hell!?” Goose shook his forelegs of the steam that the punch left on him and straightened his fedora.

“Woo, wasn't that a punch!? Ya know, my old man said he once ran into a guy like you before said guy kicked his ass and put him in prison. You're way better than those last two guys that showed up, but I'm not about to hit a mare, that's just against my code of honor. Unfortunately, you're tough and smart enough to at least go toe to toe with me, so we're gonna play a little game instead. My boys are just about the biggest wussies you'll find in Manehattan, but my Honeys? They're the kinda jealous type and you just happen put me at half mast just by showin' up baby. So here's the deal. If you and your little friend can take down my seven Honeys, I'll go all quiet like. But if you two lose, you both get to be my Honeys. Then you can touch the G-stick all you want cutie♥” He winked at Pinkie durin' that last bit and she was furious.

“What the!? Marevelous, let's just kick this cocky cock's ass and be done with him already.” Blur she instantly made her way over ta me, but nly got more irritated as she looked at this guy. She was about ta make a move, but Ah stopped her.

“All we have ta do is beat up yer girls?” Ah asked. He shrugged.

“I wouldn't say it like that, but that's about the gist of it. I'm the chivalrous type, so I don't really like to watch ladies fight, ya dig?”

“Wha-? Chivalrous!? How in the fu-” Pinkie began before Ah cut her off.

“And you'll just come quietly?” He nodded.

“Like a sleepin' baby.”

“You'll tell us everythin' we wanna know?”

“Baby, I'll tell you anythin' you wanna know for a piece of that apple bottom, oh so sweet♥” Ah immediately put my hoof ta my forehead. Goddess damn it. He doesn't even know how ironic that is.

“Okay.”

“Okay!?” Blur exclaimed.

“Okay?” Goose asked.

“Okay,” Ah nodded.

“Not okay! Not okay!” Blur pleaded.

“Okay!” Goose clapped his hooves. “You heard her Honeys! Marevelous here either wants to be part of Goose's gaggle of chicks, or make the Goose man her precious little Gosling♥ So ladies, come on out and show her who's the alpha Mare on this port! She wants a seven on two nine-way, and I'd be happy to make it ten when she loses♥” From all sides of the invisible cube that we were in came seven different mares all wearin' the same chain around their necks Goose was. Goose blinked from inside the cube ta on top of the cube and started ta give us the rundown on his 'Honeys.'

“The first member of my harem, the poisonous rose, Petal Dance! This green pegasus gal from Galvastallion packs one hell of a punch with her knock out touch. I hope you brought your brownies, because you're about ta trip!” Like he said, she had a pale green coat and a pink mane with streaks of violet in it. She was wearin' lots of dark red and violet makeup, and her tail was bare, lookin' more like a rose stem with thorns and all rather than a tail. She was wearin' some black skin tight outfit with holes in all the suggestive places, save fer the most important one, but that just had a zipper over it.

“Hey girls... I hear you wanna piece of my boy Goose. Sorry, but I don't like ta share♥” she said. Damn slut.

“Next up is my lady of the night, the bat outta hell, Heat~ Wave! A bat pony babe from the cave side city, rescued by yours truly, and given a new place to be! Watch out, she's as hot as they come♥” Much like the last mare, this one was dressed equally, if not more slutty, but was far more... attractive. She had a pure orange coat, and a bright red mane and tail with yellow tips at the end of each lock. She wore a shiny red mini skirt and top that were probably a little greater than or equal ta ribbons. Her wings were almost black at the top and faded ta red, orange, and yellow as they went down.

“Listen here, bitches. I don't know who you are, but you tried to hurt my Goosey, and that is a crime that comes with Capital Punishment!” Her wings lit up and flared ta life in flames.

“Third and preferred, The bitch with the kick, Volt Switch! This little unicorn tart used to be just like you two ladies are right now, but she lost to the then four Honeys and fell for the G-stick herself! Keep your eyes on the prize because that hair is just like a wet power cord, it'll give ya a shock!” Probably the most modest so far, and even then, she was still wearin' a jump suit with a bunch of holes in it. Oddly enough, it reminded me a lot of Diamond's suit. Her coat was a pastel yellow, darker than Fluttershy's, but not the sunburst yellow on Heat Wave's mane. Her mane and tail were almost exactly like black telephone wires, casing and all, and Ah could swear she might have been the hero Jump Start if Ah remember correctly.

“I'm... sorry I have to do this, but Goose... He's just... He fills me in just the right way! Every time he-” Ah cut her off.

“Woah there partner. Ah don't need, or want, ta hear that.”

“As long as you understand. I uh... I'm a big fan of yours, Marevelous. I'd love to see what your... apple bottom tastes like♥” she said and winked. Blur busted out laughing, and Ah but my lip. Don't react, it's just Pinkie. Don't react, it's just Pinkie. Don't react, it is just Pinkie. Ah let out a breath and sighed.

“Fuckin' nasty.” Volt Switch bit her lip in that other way and Ah just looked away this time. Damn horny teenagers.

“Well that took a hot turn, and we haven't even started yet! Next up is the Ice cold pegasus queen, the frozen mistress, Aurora Veil! Crystal city born and raised, this babe is my dirty dominatrix! She likes it hot and she gets cold when her toys are naughty♥ She'll stimulate you senseless with her ice shape powers!” This one wasn't wearin' anythin' that drew attention ta her parts, but Ah'm not sure if that was because she didn't want ta, or fer convenience. She had a pale blue coat that was almost white and had a two tone true blue and dark blue mane and tail.

“Mmm... I smell intact hymens... I think we might fix that...♥” The air swirled around her and Ice started ta form inta the shape of whips on each tip of her wings.

“That one sounds SUPER rape-y. I hope this is what you wanted Marevelous, because this is what you're getting us into!” Blur whispered ta me.

“Will ya just trust me? We'll get out of this just fine, Ah promise,” Ah whispered back. Blur huffed and Goose continued.

“After that, we've got the Earth Pony babe from the beach, the water warrior herself, Whirlpool! A beauty from across the sea, this mare comes from Cheval and she'll show ya how to use water the way it was meant to be!” Of course she's wearin' a bikini. There's a theme ta this harem and Ah do not want ta be a part of it. Whirlpool had about the reverse of Aurora Veil in terms of coat and mane, bein' dark blue coated and a pale blue mane and tail with yellow streaks in it. Her bikini was bright orange though and did exactly what it was designed ta do. Draw attention.

“Ever see a pony drown above water? I can show you exactly what that looks like!” Orbs of water started ta form above her raised foreleg.

“Ooh, forgot to mention, Whirlpool is a pretty hard core sadist masochist combo! She likes it rough and dishes it out just as hard! Coming in at number six is the lady darkness, the shadow in the abyss, Dark Pulse! This Earth Pony mare will show ya things ya never thought you'd see in your own life time with her crazy dimensional portals!” This mare had a dark black coat and was wearin' a multicolored orange and blue zig-zaggy suit that also reminded me of Diamond's suit. Ah should talk ta her about that next time Ah see her. Dark Pulse had a dark yellow mane and tail and bright red irises.

“Goosey used to use me to warp everywhere, but ever since he got his new power, he doesn't play with me as much anymore,” She pouted.

“Hey now baby, we'll get to play again. You know I'd never ignore anypony in my harem. Speaking of, the final member of Goose's gaggle of chicks, Synchro Noise! This Applewood born unicorn was made to be a star and doesn't she just shine like the sun! Watch out for those light beams, they're absolutely dazzling!” Huh. Well, at least we can say he doesn't discriminate. He's got about two of every kind of pony here. Synchro Noise had on a similar ribbon like outfit that Heat wave did, but it was green against her more magenta coat. Her mane was blue with streaks of red in it. Her tail didn't have hair on it outside of her coat till the end of the tip, where it was short and curly, but colored just like her mane. She had that slutty eye make up on with way too much eye shadow. Her horn charged up and it was almost like mornin' light was shinin' from it.

“Latest and the greatest, Synchro Noise is here to blind and blind side♥” Those words sent a shiver through my spine.

“Blur, these girls creep me the fuck out. Let’s get this done as fast as possible. It looks like the most dangerous ones fer me are the green one and the black one. Keep the others occupied while Ah try and knock em out one at a time.”

“What!? You expect me to fight all five of these horny creeps, alone!?” She just about yelled in my head.

“Nopony said fight, all Ah want ya ta do is keep em busy. Be annoyin'. Draw their attention away from me and everythin' will be just fine. It won't take long. Trust me. Ah've got a plan.” Blur sighed.

“If that's what you want, Major, I'll do it.”

“Now that the gang's all here and everypony's gotten their introductions, Goose's Gaggle of chicks, fight!”

Harmony Mission II: Bonding Agent (part 2)

Goose clapped his hooves and just like that we were swarmed with a myriad of powers. Portals and lasers of all kinds were shootin' everywhere and Ah couldn't make heads or tails of what belonged ta who. Blur was quick to grab the attention of the beam shooters and while she played whack-a-mole with them, Ah went ta deal with the physical oriented Power Ponies.

Without a second ta spare, the green one came after me with her spiky tail. She was slow and predictable, but the red one followed suit quick and the two worked well in tandem. After gettin' used ta their attacks, Ah found an openin' and grabbed the red one and used her as a meat shield against her teammate. The spike tail jabbed into her, and she passed out near immediately. The green one was a little shocked, and that was all the time Ah needed ta punt her inta the mirror like cube wall that surrounded us. The thin' rippled and almost cracked, then the green one collapsed ta the ground like a rag doll.

“Well, that takes care of two. How are ya doin'?” Ah asked Blur. Ah turned around ta figure out what she was up ta, and it looked more like she was just playin' with them than actually fightin' back. The four elemental mares would shoot some kinda beam from all different directions, Blur would just play limbo with em, then the portal chick would redirect the beams, and then Blur would just go lean on her in her trademark fashion. It didn't look like these girls were used ta Blur's brand of irritatin', and she was relishin' in that fact.

“Oh you know. I think they're more used to surprise attacks, so they really don't know what to do with so many allies in a fight. What do you want to do?” Blur asked.

“Let's knock em' out and get this over with. Ah'll go after the portal chick first, then We'll just take the rest out. You been hit by anythin'?” Ah asked. Ah could barely see Blur until she stopped ta tease somepony then moved ta another spot.

“Nah, they're not that good I don't think. The closest anypony got was that Volt Switch girl. I think she's better than the rest- Oh shit!” Blur just about halted on a dime as a lightnin’ bolt struck just in front of her.

“Damn... One more...” Volt Switch said. At this point, Ah figured Ah'd intervene. Ah shot just under the yellow one's stomach and reeled myself in as Ah loaded a kick with my back leg. She noticed me just a little too late, and my leg collided with her ribcage. She hit the corner of the cube and dropped like a sack of bricks.

Ah pulled my blade out of the ground and turned around ta intimidate the other groupies. The girls nearly froze in spot fer a second and that's all Ah needed ta get ta work. The closest ta me was the water based Power Pony so Ah figured Ah'd go after her first. Actin' like a gorilla ta keep up the significant amount of fear Ah seem ta have struck in these girls, Ah charged toward her stompin' both of my front hooves in the ground with every move that Ah made. Ah reached her, stopped right in front of her face, spun and kicked her ta Timbucktu. Ah heard a pretty good soundin' crack come from her body, so Ah'm hopin' Ah didn't hurt her too badly. She smacked face first inta the field and after landin', the cube wall started ta crack.

While Ah was busy, it looked like the other girls wised up ta what we were doin' and tried ta even the playin' field. The ice bitch switched tactics and started ta cover the ground in ice, which as luck would have it, managed to catch Blur.

“Oh crap, they got my leg!” Blur cried as she tried ta struggle out of her icy prison. Ah turned around just in time ta watch the light mare form some kinda sharp crystal like thin' in one of her hooves like she was about ta spear Blur. As fast as Ah could, Ah aimed one of my wristbands at her hoof and fired. She musta caught sight of me just before Ah fired because right then, she canceled her crystal and ducked. The blade shot and stopped in the cube wall, and whether Ah was ready or not, it started ta retract. Just about yanked from my spot, Ah managed ta get a hold of myself and close-lined the poor Ice chick before she knew what hit her. Ah put the limp body Ah was now in possession of on the ground, and at the same time, Blur freed herself. Standin' together now, Ah decided ta offer these last two a choice.

“So. If y'all want ta keep this up, Ah'm sure we're game, but Ah figure yer a little more than out matched, and pretty soon y'all be out numbered. Why don't ya just give up? This was over the minute it started.” The magenta one narrowed her eyes at me.

“The day I give up protecting my darling is the day I die! Take this!” Synchro Noise said. She got inta that stance again and formed another crystal. This one was much smaller and much faster than the last one, and she javelin tossed it at my face. Rather than test it, Ah just stepped outta the way and punched it. The crystal shattered and shot little light-needles in the cube walls everywhere.

“Holy hell... I don't know about you, but the Boss lady would love to study that.” Blur said. Ah stood and admired my work with her.

“Honestly, Ah think Ah'd like ta study that. Yer power is formin' light right? Condensin' it Ah suppose?” Ah asked. The mare stomped her hooves on the ground.

“Are you mocking me!? I am Synchro Noise, and I will not be treated like a child! Pulse!” She yelled at her teammate. The other mare, who looked like she was about ready to give up snapped ta attention.

“Y-yes?” She stuttered.

“Do the thing we talked about.” Synchro ordered.

“B-but Goose said-” Pulse started.

“I don't care what Goose said! If we don't he'll end up in jail for good, do what I asked you!” The black coated mare pulled out her phone from seemingly nowhere, or at least nowhere that Ah could tell she was hidin' in that damned tight suit, and aimed her horn at its screen. She aimed her horn at the ground by Synchro's hooves and an orange portal opened up. Inside it was somewhere else on the docks next ta a crate in a storage container. Synchro reached down inta it and pulled out somethin' Ah never thought Ah'd see again.

“All I have to do is put this on my chest and I'll become stronger than both of you!” In her hooves now was a mirror. It was bright as the stars and reflected more than Ah thought was possible. But that wasn't right. It was the same mirror. It was the one he was wearin' back then. The stallion that Red Hoof fought. The stallion that Dad fought. The stallion that crashed through a buildin' with him. He was wearin' one just like it... That was the mirror... That was the mirror... that was the mirror... that was the mirror... that was the mirror...

“Marevelous what are you doing!? Look out!” Blur shouted. Ah was pulled back ta my senses and what Ah saw in front of me was nothin' like what Ah thought was just there. Standin in front of me now was some kinda monster. Covered in magenta scales, the creature was like a giant lizard with bat wings and several blue and red crystalline horns runnin' from it's head ta the back of it's tail. It had opened it's mouth and some kinda light was beginnin' ta charge in front of me from deep within' the creature's mouth. Ah finally realized what was goin' on in time ta dodge the beam of hot white light that fired from inside the creature. The beam traveled through the cube and shattered a hole in it. It kept goin' until finally it reached a storage container. The metal bubbled and expanded red hot until it finally exploded, leavin' melted chunks of steel all over.

“What in the fuck is that!?” Ah exclaimed.

“What is it!? Where did you go!? That's Synchro Noise!” What had happened finally dawned on me. When Synchro touched the mirror ta her chest, the thin' started ta meld with her skin. The veins in her body turned black and she started ta scream out in agony. Her body twisted and grew rapidly, makin' horrible cracks and pops all the while. Her coat was replaced with scales and her form became lizard like until finally it stopped where she is now. The dragon that was Synchro let out a loud roar that shattered the rest of the cube, and all around me Ah saw Goose's grunts runnin’ around with boxes and throwin’ them in storage containers. They all stopped and turned when the sound of shattered glass started ta hit the ground and the magenta dragon was out in plain sight. The dragon turned its attention ta some of the grunts and began ta charge it's beam.

“Shit! Blur, get those ponies outta the way! She's about ta fire again!” Blur took off and Ah ran around ta try and slam the dragon's mouth shut. Ah jumped above her head and loaded as much force as Ah could inta my right hoof as possible. Ah slammed inta the dragon, but it was only enough ta get her ta half close her mouth.

That wasn't enough!? The beam came out and Blur had only managed ta get a few of the grunts out of the beam's trajectory. When the dust settled, there was just a rut in the pier now, melted from the intense heat. Pieces of ponies were charred and scattered all over the place.

Blur dropped ta her knees, and all at once the remainin' grunts broke inta a frenzy ta get away. Screams filled the pier as the grunts dropped and broke crates. Ponies scattered in every direction, topplin' over each other and pushin' each other out of the way. The dragon let out another ear shatterin' roar and took aim at Blur now.

“Son of a bitch, get up! We don't have time ta fuck around!” Ah shot one of my blades after her and launched ta Blur's location. As Ah was pickin' her up, the monster was just about ready ta fire. Ah didn't have time ta shoot again, so Ah put all Ah could inta a jump. The beam came out of the monster's mouth just as Ah made it inta the air. The laser passed and caught the end of my tail with it. A searin' heat shot up my spine and made me drop Blur mid jump. Ah crashed inta a storage container and started cursin' at the top of my lungs. It was the most intense pain Ah'd ever felt in my life, and after Ah finally got a look at it, Ah figured out why. About half of my tail was gone, and where it stopped now was a bright orange, black charred mess melted ta red latex. Seein' the damage only made it worse and Ah screamed out.

“Applejack!? Applejack come in! What happened?! Are you alright? I can't get a hold of Pinkie, what happened!?” Twilight started ta yell in my head.

“Damn it, would ya shut up!? She melted off half my goddess damned tail! Good fuckin' hooves day it hurts! Ah, shit!” Just then, Ah heard a whine that reminded me of a camera about to take a picture. Ah looked up and saw another bright orb start ta from in the dragon's mouth. Ah immediately looked around fer Blur, and when Ah couldn't find her, Ah figured there was no way she was behind me. Ah leapt outta the way and another beam of light shot through the bent storage container Ah crashed inta earlier. The dragon roared at me and finally, my anger reached a tippin' point. Ah charged the bitch seein' nothin' but red.

The dragon reared its giant head back and looked like she was about ta snap at me. Rather than avoid it, Ah got an idea and spread my hooves out in anticipation fer it. Ah grabbed her jaws with my left hooves and then started ta punch in what used ta be her soft pallet. The dragon moaned in pain, and then Ah fired my cable through it's mouth after it started ta bleed. The wire passed and shot all deep in her skull until it stopped at the bone. The creature screeched in pain and Ah started ta loose more of the wire. Ah let go of her jaws and used all my strength ta pull on the wire. Like Ah hoped, the blade was stuck enough in the monster ta bring it with me and Ah slammed the creature on it's back inta the concrete.

The monster roared out in anguish as she tried ta get back on her hooves, but Ah was gonna make damn sure that didn't happen. The creature was about ta make it ta her side and Ah had the wire reel back in. It rocketed me ta her mouth and Ah punched right in the skin of her jaw. Ah could feel the bones shatter under my hooves, and the monster lashed out at me, kickin' me solid in the stomach with one of her stubby scaly hooves. Ah shot back until the wire caught me, only fer it ta snap and stop only so much of my momentum. Ah sank inta a storage container and couldn't hardly catch my breath after she knocked the wind outta me. The dragon roared again, blowin' a wind in my face, and Ah busted the rest of the storage container around me. Ah spat out some blood that had welled up in my mouth and the dragon stamped a hoof in the ground twice like she was about ta charge.

Ah screamed as we both charged at each other, the dragon's hoofsteps shakin' the very earth around us and my own stomps doin' about the same. As if she were a whip, the dragon stopped once she was in range and twisted her body while usin' one of her hooves as an axis tryin' ta gore me with the spines along her back. Ah saw it comin' just in time and leapt over the swipe. While in the air, Ah aimed the remainin' blade at her eye and fired. The monster writhed once the blade pierced the gooey orb and rather than bring me toward her, the blade came back with the eyeball attached ta it.

The dragon screeched again, this time so loud that she shattered all the nearby light bulbs and just about caused my ears ta bleed. Ah was disoriented but still angry enough ta keep it together and go in fer the final attack. She'd raised her head and Ah realized that the scales on the underside of her neck were smaller and not as thick as the other scales that practically armored. While she was distracted, Ah jumped and shot at the ground just underneath the monster's neck. The wire reeled in enough ta launch me toward the blade and then Ah halted it so Ah would have enough length of it ta use. Ah landed and then jumped over her neck, wrappin' it with the wire as Ah did. The creature swiped at me, but not quick enough ta keep me from finishin' the loop. Ah landed on her back, wrapped the wire around my hoof and pull with all my strength.

The Monster started ta choke. She fired beams of light every which way in the air as she squirmed and struggled under my strength. Ah pulled harder, and the creature groaned and screeched, no longer able breathe fer her beams. Her movements started to slow and just as Ah could see her remainin' pupil begin ta sink upward in it's socket, Ah was kicked off the monster. The dragon took a deep breath, and finally fainted.

“Stop it, stop it, stop it! You... you were really gonna kill her!” Ah heard. When my eyes could finally see color in the world other than red, Ah saw Goose cryin' over Synchro's limp dragon body. “You idiot...! I told you not to use the mirror at any cost... Why? You... you killed so many of our friends...” Ah finally managed ta regain all of my senses and was now able ta see just how much damage had been done. There were four new ruts in the pier, all of which still steamin' from their recently melted state. Goose's other girls had disappeared, and none of his grunts were anywhere ta be found, save fer... well, the remains of the ones that were caught in the initial beam. There was a smell in the air that just defiled the nose, like that of singed fur, waftin' slowly over the pier. The concrete everywhere Ah had been was just about rubble at this point, and several storage containers we converted inta warped or melted modern art pieces. Then a thought finally came ta mind.

“Aw hell, where is Blur?” Ah said aloud. Goose was quick ta answer.

“She... She's over by the entrance to the pier. I've been...” He sniffed, “trying to get my ponies to safety during your fight. Oh goddess... If I had known that... Oh goddess, this never should have happened... If it weren't for these fuckin' mirrors!” Goose yelled. He stepped back and found what he was lookin' fer on Synchro's body. Just between her front legs, hidden under a crest in her rib cage was a football shaped mirror pulsin' on her body. Goose punched it, and the mirror shattered. The veins on the dragon pulsed one last time, and the body started ta sink inta the shape of the pony it used ta be. Once the body had finished revertin', it wasn't movin' anymore.

“Synchro? Oh baby please... please don't...” Goose stated, but quickly lost much of his voice. The hole in Synchro's mouth and her empty eye socket were just drainin' blood all around her body. Ah spotted Blur and she looked relatively unharmed, if not just a little scratched up here and there. Ah stood up, and against my better judgment, Ah patted Goose on the back. Ah wasn't sure who Ah was doin' it fer at this point though.

“Twilight... thin's here got outta hoof in a hurry, but... Ah guess the mission is done.”

“Is Pinkie okay? What happened out there? Are you okay? I just saw a heat signature fade off my map...” Ah shook my head.

“We're fine. That... that was my fault. I'm bringin' Blur and Goose back ta the castle with me. Ah don't care which one ya call, but Ah need ta talk ta one of yer relatives, in a hurry too.” There was silence fer a moment.

“I can have Luna here if it's really that urgent...” She clearly wasn't happy about it, but willin' ta call her aunt anyways.

“Ah figured as much. She's probably the one ta talk ta anyhow.” Ah could feel it wellin' up in my throat. Ah spat out another glob of blood, but the feelin' wasn't gone. Ah knew exactly what it was, but didn't want ta say anythin'.

“Okay, I'll send the message then. Applejack...? Is... is something wrong?” Twilight asked. My teeth clenched together.

“Ah... Ah couldn't control myself and... Ah...” Now it was my turn ta lose my voice.

“Don't say anything else. Just come back and then we can talk, okay? I expect to see you here in the next twenty minutes. It'll be okay.” Ah rubbed at my eyes and sniffed.

“Get up. After everythin' you just put me through, you're gonna keep yer end of the deal, got it?” Ah said, tryin' ta keep the shakin' out of my voice. Silently, Goose stood and followed me like a lost puppy. Ah picked up Pinkie and threw her on my back as we left and resisted the temptation ta look back at the corpse we left behind. With one last deep breath, the three of us left the pier. It'll be a long time before Ah ever want ta come back here.

Harmony Days III: Tension

Applejack

At first, Ah thought this was it. The low point. Could it feel any worse than watchin' a bunch of kids get killed in an accident that was practically my fault? Yes, it could. Now it was rainin'. We kept walkin’ in wet silence fer a while. The harbor wasn't too far from the castle, but it was far enough to be at least a thirty minute walk. The image of her corpse wouldn't leave my head. Goddess, Ah mutilated her damn face... Who was the monster, really?

“Hey...” Ah heard my captive say behind me through the rain. It was startin' ta get heavier and we were only half way ta the park. Ah didn't want ta respond ta him. The longer Ah keep my mouth shut the longer Ah keep from lashin' out.

“Look I... I'm sorry...” he said. Ah could feel the veins on my forehead begin ta bulge. Ah stopped and turned around.

“Sorry!? Sorry fer what!? Fer gettin' a bunch of teenagers killed? Fer lettin' that girl die? Fer half my goddess damned tail!? Tell me asshole, just what exactly are ya sorry fer? 'Cause right now, Ah think ya should keep yer damn mouth shut.” Ah eyed the teary bastard fer as long as Ah could stand ta, then turned around and kept walkin'. He didn't say anythin' back and followed quietly. Obedient little shit. We made it ta the castle after some more walkin' in the rain.

“What... is this place?” He asked, awe struck by the castle. Ah suppose the rain cooled me off because Ah didn't lose it again when Ah answered.

“Fer the next five or so hours, yer home of incarceration.” Ah walked up and knocked on the door. “Ah have the prisoner Twilight. Where do ya want me?” The door slid open and then responded,

“Take him down the second hallway to the right, then into the last door on the left. Where is... um, Blur?” Twilight said from the door.

“On my back at the moment. She passed out durin' the fight.” We started down the hallway until we found the door Twilight was talkin' about. It didn't look quite the same as the rest of the castle, and inside it was a table with two chairs and a lamp. All the walls looked like mirrors and reflected every image in them in the light blue color that most of the upper castle floors were.

“Sit tight. Ah don't know what exactly we're doin' with ya, so Ah'm about ta go find out.” Goose nodded and took a chair, all the while keepin' his eyes trained on the floor. Lookin' at him in this red eyed, sorry state reminded me of somethin'. Fer a second, if only that, Ah felt a twinge of sympathy. Bastard musta been cryin' the whole way here... Ah shut the door behind me and turned ta find the whole gang in the hallway, includin' the night princess.

“Geez! Damn it Twilight, we talked about this!” However, she didn't react right. She looked... concerned, her ears down and that frown on her face... everypony but the princess, and oddly enough, Fluttershy, looked that way.

“Applejack... are you okay, darling?” Rarity asked. Ah sighed.

“Fer now... let's just not, alright? The laser cauterized my tail on impact, and Ah've only got a few bruises here and there, so Ah should be fine. If anypony, y'all should look at Pinkie. Ah lost track of her durin' the fight and Ah don't know if she got hit on the head or not.” Rarity took a step forward, but the princess interrupted whatever she was about ta say.

“Twilight, I do not have all night to be here. I cannot stay to console whatever wounds their battle inflicted,” Luna said. Twilight sighed.

“Applejack, open the door across from the mirror chamber. It's a conference room, so you can say whatever you need to in there,” Twilight said. Ah nodded and did as Ah was told. A long table that could seat more than twelve ponies was in the middle with chairs lined all around it. Ah took the head of the table and sat Pinkie in the chair ta my left, then waited for everypony else ta come in. They all made their way in on either side, Rarity and Fluttershy sorta limpin' ta their seats, and Luna lookin' a little irritated like Ah took her spot sittin' next ta me. Once everypony was seated, Fluttershy was the first ta ask.

“W-what happened, Applejack?” she said, surprisin'ly at volume.

“And more importantly, why have you called me here?” Luna added from the other side of the table. Ah was tempted ta giver her a look, but Ah started ignored her.

“At first, it didn't look like anythin' was gonna go wrong. But once we got ta the harbor thin's kept gettin' worse. When we got there, we thought the harbor was empty and immediately knew somethin' was off. We found out we were stuck in a one way prison when Goose showed up. Goose is a power pony of some kind, but he has more than one power. Ah couldn't tell how he was doin' it, but it definitely was him and not somepony else because Ah knocked the wind out of him and he stopped teleportin'. He also took a punch from me and didn't have his forelegs broken afterward, so he's more than just an earth pony. He's a damn pervert with some twisted sense of justice that makes him think it's not okay ta hit a mare which brought us ta the proposal ta fight off his harem for his freedom.

He had seven girls with different powers come at us all at once and it went about as well fer them as ya think it would. After we'd taken out about five of em', Ah offered ta let them surrender, and that is when thin's took a turn fer the worse. One of the two teenagers had the ability ta spawn portals on surfaces she could see and opened up a hole somewhere that had a... a mirror in it. It was strange and curved, like it reflected more on it's surface than possible. She took that and put it on her chest before either of us were any wiser fer it.

Her body started pulsin' with all her veins turnin' black just under her coat, and then it started ta change. In this grotesque, awful soundin' transformation, she turned inta a damn dragon of some kind. All big and spiky, lined with crystals along her spine, scales now coverin' her body. She roared and broke the prison we were in, then fired some kinda laser in the just about crowd of grunts Goose had workin' the pier. Pinkie saved as many as she could, and Ah tried ta stop the monster from firin' in the first place but... she killed just about twenty ponies with one shot. Ah'm not sure if that's right or not, Ah was... there was a lot goin' on. There were... limbs and charred pieces... everywhere..." Ah shook the images outta my head and tried ta get back ta the story.

"Ah figure seein' all that death at once just about sucked the will ta fight outta Pinkie and she collapsed. Ah couldn't stop the dragon from firin' and so Ah grabbed Pinkie and tried ta get us away. That's when she got my tail... Ah don't remember too much after that though. Ah think Ah started ta get my senses back when Goose kicked me off her body. She broke one of my wrist bands, and Ah guess Ah used the other one ta strangle her. At some point Ah ripped her eye out, and at another Ah put a hole in her mouth... She was barely breathin' after all that, but Goose found and broke the mirror that had become part of her body in a fit of rage. She reverted, but... that... that was the end of her.

As it turns out, Goose had been rescuin' his ponies while Ah was out of it, and even got Pinkie ta safety...” Ah paused fer a minute just ta let that sink in. Ah almost didn't believe my own words. Ah shook my head and got back to it. “The reason Ah called ya here was ta ask what kinda monsters y'all have been fightin'. These thin's were just about exactly what Ah needed ta have ta fight that damn dragon. That and ta ask fer a new pair with thicker cables. If Ah ever run inta one of those again, Ah need somethin' that won't snap as easy when it gets slashed at.” Ah turned ta the princess, but she however, was not lookin' at me, but the table. Everypony else had a face of shock, and Pinkie was still out cold. It took a while but eventually, Luna spoke up again.

“I see you have had an... eventful night. I... have things I must attend to. I will send a new pair of cable braces here for you sometime in the week. This has been... informative. Call upon me again if anything like this happens in the future.” The princess said, then got up from the table.

“Hold on a minute, that's it? Ah watch twenty teenagers die in one night, one of which just so happens ta turn inta a monster that you gave me tools perfect ta fight with, and ya just up and leave after Ah tell ya? What kinda shit is this!?” Ah yelled.

“Applejack...” Twilight began. Ah cut her off.

“Don't you Applejack me, Ah don't give a damn who she is, this is fucked up!” The princess didn't look at me, but spoke.

“I understand your concerns, but as I said, I do not have time for this. We will speak privately about this matter at a later date.” Ah stood up. Ah wasn't ready ta give up yet.

“Why? What's more important than havin' yer subjects turn inta fuckin' MONSTERS!? This ain't just the virus actin' up, this a threat to yer people that not every city can deal with! If it weren't me, who else do ya think coulda dealt with that!?” She finally looked me in the eyes. Hers were cold and mostly emotionless, but deep in there there was a hint of sadness.

“I have my own job to do, Major. I protect the citizens from things you could only imagine in your darkest nightmares. On top of that, I deal with all the high courts and legal matters during the night, when most acts of crime and villainy occur. I have countless ponies to attend to, and even more to protect from the things that would like to devour them. Your concerns are validated, this is true. However, I can not spare any more time for you now. You will have audience with me as soon as I can arrange it, but until then, there will be no more cursing and shouting at me, do you understand? Major?” Somehow, she managed to keep from raisin' her voice even once. The princess kept her icy tone the entire time, save fer the moments she emphasized with stone. Specifically, every time she called me Major. Ah sat back down.

“Yes ma'am...”

“Good. I will see you soon. Goodnight to you all,” she said as she headed for the door. Twilight looked like she was gonna try ta stop her, but she relaxed and looked away instead.

“Um... thank you for coming... Aunt Luna...” Twilight said, her voice trailing off toward the end. The princess paused at the door.

“... You are welcome, my niece.” She walked out and gently shut door behind her.

“Gah! Marevelous, look out!” Pinkie yelled, breathing heavily. She then looked around and took note of where she was. “Wait... what happened? Why are we back in the castle?” Her settled on me and suddenly Ah started ta feel anger well up inside again. Ah tried ta shake it off and answer her as best Ah could. That princess pisses me off in just all the worst ways.

“Well, ya passed out durin' the fight at some point. Ah don't know what ya remember, and outta all of us, he probably has the best picture of what happened.” She looked away fer a moment, then turned back ta me, her eyes all wide under those pink goggles.

“You didn't bring him here did you!?”

“Ah didn't really have much of a choice, all thin's considered.”

“Ugh, that creep is in my house? I still can't believe you made a deal with him to begin with. Unbelievable.” Now my anger was beginnin' ta build toward her.

“Listen here, Blur, That creep is probably the reason you're still alive. Ah lost track of ya and my own damn senses and Ah didn't get em back until Ah'd killed that teenager. Ya mighta been helpful initially, but after you watched all those kids ya couldn't save die ya just fell apart! Ah don't know what you've seen since ya started doin' this, but you're a hero fer goddess sake! If ya...” Ah took a breath. “Had ya not... then maybe that girl would still be alive...” Ah trailed off. Ah could feel my teeth diggin' inta my cheeks. Pinkie looked away from me, and a deathly silence fell in the room. The other three didn't know what ta say, Ah was feelin' sorry fer myself, and Pinkie was probably doin' the same. After what seemed like hours, somepony finally spoke up, and Ah don't think any of us expected her to.

“S-suck it up,” Fluttershy said. The attention in the room shifted, and suddenly it was all on her.

“... What?” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“S-suck it up. Y-you did what you could. A-and we can't ask for any more than that. P-ponies die. N-no matter what you do or who you save, t-they'll all die eventually and there is n-nothing you can do about it. N-nopony on this earth is like Twilight and her family, y-your actions can only prolong the lives you s-save and that is all there is to it. W-what else there's nothing you can do a-about just so happens to be this s-simple fact; s-sometimes, it's kill or be killed. I-I don't know if you realize it, but you f-fought off a dragon tonight. S-she may have been a pony at one point, a-and she may have left the corpse of a p-pony at another, but when you were f-fighting, all you did was try and s-survive, and there is nothing wrong with that.

O-of all of us in this room, I would have expected y-you to know that best, b-but I guess it just hasn't sunk in yet. Y-you cannot save everypony. Y-you will not save everypony. L-letting the death of one w-weigh you down just keeps you from p-preserving the lives you could save. T-the world is cold and indifferent to us, s-so we put on these masks to try a-and make it better. B-but feeling sorry for yourself? T-that isn't going to do anything for anypony, e-especially not you.”

It made me wonder. Just how much has she seen? How many has she killed? That shy yellow pegasus, and the monster that lies just beneath the surface. Just which one has done more? Has she been holdin' that in all this time? Twilight tried ta break the tension in the room.

“Fluttershy, I don't think that that's really appropriate right now...” Ah shook my head.

“No, she's right. Ah do know better. Ah should know all of that, and Ah shouldn't have ta have somepony tell me any of it. Ah don't know that there is anypony in this line of work that hasn't watched somepony die or been the cause of death. Ah'm sorry Pinkie. Ah shouldn't be blamin' anypony fer anythin' right now.” Pinkie shook her head and sniffed.

“But... you aren't wrong or anything... If I wasn't in your way things probably would be different right now...” She said. Now Fluttershy stood up from her spot next to Pinkie. She looked... mad.

“R-really? T-this again? G-get over yourself! T-this is the third time since you've joined that you b-broke down in the middle of a fight. H-having a conscience is fine, b-but if it weighs you down that much, t-then you might as well quit. H-how many bullets have I put b-between somepony's eyes for you? H-how many brains have we s-splattered for you over these last six months? H-have you been counting? B-because it feels like any time we do, y-you fall apart like some whiny little b-brat trying to play super hero. M-maybe you're right. M-maybe you are just in the way. I-I'm going to bed. C-call me when you aren't h-having a damn hug box. I-it's fucking suffocating in here.” Fluttershy got out of her chair, whipped Pinkie across the face with her tail, and slammed the door on her way out. Pinkie broke down and started cryin', Ah was more or less stunned that Fluttershy had that in her, and Rarity tried ta console Pinkie.

“I um... I think we might all be tired right now. Why don't we pick this up in the morning?” Twilight said, tryin' ta brighten the mood. Ah looked ta Rarity and we both nodded at each other.

“Ah figure that's fer the best. What are ya gonna do with Goose? Even prisoners get a bed ta sleep on at least.” Why am Ah concerned about him?

“Oh, right. I can arrange a bed in that room I suppose. This isn't exactly mother's castle, so there aren't any dungeon cells beneath it. Oh, and before I forget, I'll try to get a hold of mother and see if there's anything we can do about your tail. I'm sure your family would be concerned if you came home suddenly without half of it.” Ah felt my lower spine twitch. Aw hell, Ah completely forgot about that! Ah'm missin' half an appendage, of course they're gonna be concerned! There ain't enough lies in the world ta cover this up. They think Ah'm a damn janitor...

“Oh shit. Uh, yeah, do that if ya would. Goddess, that's gonna take one hell of a lie ta cover up...” Ah helped Rarity take Pinkie back ta her room and Twilight went ta talk ta Goose from the one way mirror in the room next door ta the mirror chamber. Based on what she said, He wasn't gonna go anywhere any time soon. Tonight was stressful, and Ah don't think anypony felt good about what all happened here. Just another night at work Ah suppose...

Harmony Days IV: Interrogation

Applejack

That night, Ah remembered havin' a weird dream. Well, weird fer me anyways. It was... pleasant. Just a sunny day at the orchard, relaxin' in the cool breeze with my family. Uncle Blood, Aunt Dew, Mom, Dad, Macintosh, Applebloom. Everypony was there and maybe in a life where nothin' went wrong, that woulda been a normal day. No yellin', no cryin', nopony died. When Ah woke up, it was all just so... vivid. The nightmares Ah usually suffer through are hard ta forget in the mornin', but that image of thin's like... like they shoulda been was just so strange. Ah haven't had a nice dream since dad died, so why suddenly...?

Rather than bother with that, Ah decided ta see if anypony else was up. No phone, no clock, no windows, so it coulda been two hours passed or twelve. Ah did however notice that the castle was a different color than what it normally was from what Ah could see in the thin darkness. The castle, even in these underground floors, usually had a pale ta deep blue tint ta it. At the moment though, the whole place was a dark violet not too dissimilar ta Twilight and her mother's eyes. There was a faint light at all corners of the crystal box, and when Ah went ta step on the floor, all the lights slowly brightened until the room was back ta it's blue color. Ah wonder what kinda magic makes these lights work? Ah got outta bed and exited the room inta the dark hallway that was just about pitch black, save fer those dim lights under doorways like the one in my room.

Ah figured if anypony was up, it'd be Twilight, so my first instinct was ta go check the library. Ah stepped carefully in the dark so ta avoid wakin' any sleepers and stopped when Ah got ta the library. The lights comin' from inside were much brighter than the ones in the hall, and Ah heard voices from inside.

“... Well then, what do you want me to do about it? They aren't just going to drop this like nothing happened!” Ah heard Twilight say. Ah guess that means she was talkin' ta somepony.

“Do whatever you can. Your team found something I have been trying to contain for almost for a very long time now, and I am not yet ready to move forward until I know Just what exactly these things manipulate,” said the other voice. It wasn't quite familiar, but not one that Ah'd never heard before either.

“Okay then, what do you want me to tell them? Just drop it because you don't want them to know?” she shot back.

“Now is not the time for you to get an attitude with me! When next you get a chance, interrogate him yourself and find out what he knows. Of all the worst possible times for this to come back up... Had I known he was in possession of a mirror, I would have captured him myself.” There was a good pause before the other voice continued again. “It seems as if I have run out of time. My duties call and I must attend to them. Keep your prisoner separated from your team, and if you must, use me as your excuse. I will come to collect him as soon as I get the chance. Even after all this time not one, but two mirrors resurface... that fool is probably trying to manufacture them again. Your top priority now is to have the Belle daughter investigate him. The moment she is able, you send her on her way, or even before then. Your major was more than correct, and if any more of these things get in the wrong hooves, we have no idea what they'll do.” It sounded stern and cold, almost metallic... which meant it was probably Luna.

So that's why she left so quick! Even if Fluttershy didn't lose her shit with Pinkie, does that mean Twilight was gonna redirect the interrogation anyways? Ya know what? Fuck her. I'm gonna go talk ta Goose. With zero hesitation, Ah quickly left the library and more or less felt my way ta back ta my room. Ah figure Ah might need ta wake him up if Luna's still awake, so Ah threw on my suit and went back ta feelin' my way through the castle. As luck would have it, there were a few of those dim lights around the places with 'higher' as opposed ta no traffic like the livin' room and the halls leadin' ta the front door. After makin' a wrong turn twice, Ah found the hall with the conference room and the mirror chamber.

Ah opened the door ta the chamber, and just like my room, the lights came on once Ah was inside it. In a bed that replaced the table that was there earlier was Goose, tossin' and turnin' like there were ants crawlin' on him.

“Gah...! It... it hurts so bad... Don't... don't touch it... Noise!? Synchro Noise, I... A monster... Agh!” He moaned and cried in his sleep. What the hell?

“Goose, wake up,” Ah said at normal volume.

“No... stop, you'll kill...” he mumbled.

“Goose, wake the hell up,” Ah said, givin' him one more chance before Ah kicked his ass outta bed.

“Dad...? Red Hoof... did that to you...?” He mumbled again. Red Hoof? Red Hoof did what? What is he on about now? Now Ah was interested in what he was dreamin' about. With a little more pleasure than Ah should've got from it, Ah pushed him off the bed.

“Goose, wake up.”

“Gah!” He exclaimed, breathin' heavily. “Oh goddess, my head... what are you doing in here?” He asked after spottin' me.

“I'm here ta make ya fulfill yer end of the deal. Get up and start talkin'.” He frowned, shrugged, looked around until he found his hat and put that on, then sat down at the head of the bed.

“Oh-kay. What do ya want to know babe?” Ah suppose that his return to form meant that he was just about done mopin', or was tryin' ta hide it at least.

“If ya refer ta me, then you'll say Marevelous, Red, or a combination of those in that order, got it?” Ah leaned in ta make sure he was eye ta eye with me, and he backed off.

“Yes ma'am!” He said all excited like. Ah didn't like it, but Ah figure that's just part of his twisted personality.

“Whatever. First, Ah wanna know what ya looted that gave ya yer second power.”

“That's fair. Do you want the long version, or the short version?” Well, clearly he doesn't feel threatened in any way. Ah can't believe he's bein' so casual. Ah grabbed the chair in the room, sat down, and crossed all my legs.

“The more detail the better. Oh, and try and keep it without all yer creeper talk.” Goose rolled his eyes.

“I'll see what I can do. Well, it all started with the boneheads...”

“Ya see, the boneheads were originally a club I started in high school like five years ago, and a few years after that, my old man kicked the bucket, so I ended up taking over his mafia. Fights between groups broke out, things weren't going well, my new guys and my dad's guys didn't get along, so I just disbanded his gang and tried to take over the business with my boys.

I have just about the same powers as dad does, save for the whole 'shark skin' thing he had going on, so I'm strong enough to fight with the best of them. Things started going my way, the ponies respected me for me and not my old man, and then the boneheads were in business. So, the gang is runnin' good, and things are going smooth until the fuzz caught our schedule and started sending heroes after us.

Now, you know that I won't hit a lady, and I don't let my boys do it either, so when one of you super chicks came after us, I realized I needed somepony who could deal with that. A sexy dream turned into an idea, and I decided to follow through on it. While we were in Galvastallion doing a job, I met Petal Dance in the bad part of the island. She was the boss of her own gang, and she threatened me like I was some regular Joe on the streets. After beating the loving shit out of her boys, we hooked up and I brought her back home with me.

I met Aurora next while I was on a relations trip to Crystal up north. Heh, she tried to mug me too but somehow that ended with us in the sack as well. A few things happen in crystal, a certain mob boss dies, I'm run out of the city with Aurora in toe, and somehow we end up all the way in Cloven Cave tryin' to get a hold of the guys back here.

Some more... stuff happens and somehow, Aurora and I end up in the red light district of Cloven and that's where we met Heat Wave. Now let me tell you, fire and ice have this weird way they interact during-” Ah stopped him before he added more details ta that sentence.

“Why don't we skip how ya got yer harem and move on ta somethin' more relevant, huh?” He blinked and scratched at his fuzzy chin. Even his facial hair grows white with black tips.

“Oh. Okay. Well... after the plane crash, Noise, Pulse, and I made it back to Manehattan with the documents we were paid to steal for some info broker.”

Ah can only imagine how he got ta this point.

“Pulse was curious about what and why we stole a briefcase full of paper, so she started shuffling through it when she found the page that had the Argent port schedule on it. If nothing else, it was a cool find, so before we handed it off to our client, we made a copy of everything in it. When I sat down and looked at it all, it had designs for suits and shields, some thing about crushing crystals up into powder, and some weird hoof written letter about reflections. The letter was more or less some kind of obscure poetry so we ignored it.

There were a couple of boats that were highlighted on the schedule, and I knew that Argent Inc. typically deals with precious metals and stuff. Noise suggested that we try and rob one of the ships and sell it's cargo ourselves. I didn't think that was a bad idea since the only thing that would happen is attract more heroes and police, and I could handle all the guys and my girls could take care of everything else.

The first one highlighted was labeled Hydrargyrum. None of us knew what that meant, so after a Hoofle search, we figured out that that was the proper name for elemental mercury. I don't know if you know it, but the use of mercury was banned in Equestria almost thirty years ago at about the same time the virus broke out. We didn't really think about that at the time, but since mercury is basically contraband now, I knew it would sell at a high price.

With our first target in mind, my crew and I got set up to hijack the ship just a little before the 19th a couple of weeks ago. When we boarded, that ship was guarded to the teeth. Everypony was carryin' assault rifles and shit, way more heavily armed than we were prepared for. With the threat of my guys getting shot, I decided to go it alone with a couple cameras on me in the event I needed to take an emergency exit via Dark Pulse. If you didn't figure it out, she can make portals on things she can see, which was pretty useful at the time.

Eventually, I cleared the deck without setting off any alarms and at that point I figured it was okay to take a few of my guys, Pulse, and Aurora with me. With the ship's crew taken out, we took over the ship and made port in my harbor. I happen to legally own that dock you two met us on, so nopony messes with me and my guys while we're doing business there. Or, that's what I thought anyways. Almost as soon as we docked the ship, we were getting shot at by more goons of the same variety as the ones on the ship. I figure these guys were the ones who were supposed to unload the ship we were on and got suspicious when it docked in the wrong port.

A gunfight later, and somehow, we managed to get them first. With that much resistance, we figured whatever was on this ship was way more important than just mercury. After a few hours of unloading and checking though all their inventory documents, we found a storage container labeled 'Hydrargyrum' again hidden way far in the back underneath several others. I thought it was weird this one was so... specifically hidden as opposed to the others, so I had Pulse set up portals inside it and on the harbor. Once inside, I realized that the doors to the container had a damn bomb connected to the handle. Whatever was in here was not meant to be found by anypony not in the know, so after disarming that, we opened some of the cargo. As it said, many of the crates had vials of mercury in them, and if that exploded, the entire harbor would have been quarantined for a month.

I don't know what whoever was thinking when they put a bomb on the door, but I thought, whatever, maybe they were just dumb. That was until I found the last crate. It was light. So light that even my boys could lift it alone. I could barely lift one of those mercury crates by myself, so that was beyond weird already, but then we opened it. We were cautious to make sure it wouldn't explode either, but this crate was filled with shock absorbing foam and cloths.” He started takin' off his shirt, and Ah was about ta stop him when Ah saw the reflection on his chest. Like it was apart of his skin, there, in his chest, was a mirror. Just like the one that he destroyed on Synchro Noise, just like the one that my father's killer wore. But... it was almost... fuzzy? Like his coat had grown over it, but it still had that reflective property like it was a single surface. It still reflected about the whole room somehow, but it was... made of coat fur?

“Inside, we found three of these and a sheet of instructions. It said something along the lines of this: 'Place Hydrargyrum 2.0 on the subjects chest in a contained area. Record results.' The actual text on the page was a lot longer and had more sciencey stuff on it, but I don't remember half of it, and there were words a lot of us didn't know and even fewer could pronounce. I'm not sure that even whoever made these things knew what would happen if they were... turned on I guess, so there weren't really any 'warnings' of any kind but the contained area thing. Being the dumb ass I am, I put one on. To this day, I don't think I've ever experienced such an intense pain in my life. It was like all the blood in my body was being sucked out and shot back into my veins. My head felt like it was about to explode and my legs gave out underneath me. I thought I was gonna die, but just as the pain reached its worst, everything stopped.

It was like the mirror had integrated itself with my body, forcing new blood vessels to spawn within it and circulate directly to my heart. I could feel this thing was apart of my body, but it was still like it was some kind of foreign object at the same time. My head was still pounding from the initial change and something was... very different, aside from the weird flesh-metal feeling in my chest now. My crew were all trying to help me get back to my hooves, and all of them trying to touch me only made my head hurt worse. Eventually it got to the point where I wanted them all to go away, and when I opened my eyes, I was on the pier.

This feeling was a lot like when I first got my initial powers. After dad got out of jail the first time and went back to doing business while I was like, in my preteens, he got caught up in a turf war with another gang and that ended up with myself being kidnapped as collateral. Things didn't go well, a fight broke out, and I was thrown into the harbor with a cinder block tied to my legs. My dad looked like, and I'm pretty sure he was, some kind of pony-shark hybrid as a result of the virus. What we didn't know then was that, like him, I have about the same thing going on, but I look relatively normal on the outside. I have gills at the base of my neck, and I'm about ten times as strong as a normal pony. I doubt I'm as durable as you are, all things considered, but when I was freakin' out under water thinking I was about to drown, suddenly I could breathe.

In that moment of high stress, my shark blood, as dad called it, woke up and changed me into what I am now. And after the mirror thing happened, I could teleport to wherever I'm thinking about at the time. With that in mind and some more testing, we figured out that that mirror gave me another power. There were still two more, so I asked one of my boys to try and test another one out. And that... is when things went wrong. Have you ever heard of the Beast?” Yeah, she's about three meters from where Ah was sleepin'.

“Ah've heard about her. What of it?” Goose tilted his head.

“Weird, I didn't think anypony knew the Beast's gender. I know I didn't. Well, whatever, you know that it's this raging wolf monster that can essentially tear a pony in half without so much as breaking a sweat. His name was Quiet Step. He was one of those young high school dropouts that the world didn't treat right, and he always hated how weak he was. He jumped at the chance to be a Power Pony if that's what the mirror would do to him, so without thinking too hard about it, I let him have it. The powers he got... they weren't quite as nice as mine were. In the same way...” He shook his head. Goose took a deep breath and swallowed.

“In the same way that Synchro did, his body started mutating... after all the screaming and spraying of blood, Quiet was turned into what could only be described as a bird-monster pony hybrid. Whatever mind he had was gone and he started attacking everything around him. Thankfully, he wasn't a unicorn, so there weren't any death lasers, but he still managed to rip apart a few of my boys, some of his own friends... It's not like I haven't seen my own guys get shot and killed before or anything, but... just watching them die so horribly like that... Anyways, with everypony working together, we managed to bring Quiet down and restrain him. I found the mirror was still apart of his skin under his new feathers and figured breaking it might just put him back to normal. He was just fifteen, ya know? He still had a chance at life...” Goose sniffed hard and took another breath.

“I shattered the mirror, and like I thought, he did start to revert to normal. But just like how I felt that there was blood pumping through my mirror, so was his. Before we even had the chance to do anything about it, Quiet bled out in a couple of seconds. These things connect directly to the heart as far as we can tell, and breaking it is like cutting off a lung. I tried to hide the remaining mirror after that and told everypony to keep the hell away from that thing. Pulse was supposed to be the only one who knew where the last mirror was in the event we needed to take it and split, but... I guess that wasn't the case.

While you were dealing with Synchro, the other girls all told me that if it ever came down to it, they would take up the mirror in an effort to try and protect me. Pulse told all of them about the last mirror and they came up with their little plan, those idiots... I knew we weren't going to last after we got a hold of that thing, we found something way more dangerous than just mercury and made an enemy of whoever created it. If I had to guess, the mercury is probably part of making these, and that's why there was so much of, but I couldn't think of why they would be shipped to Manehattan port if Argent Industries is all the way over in Tin on the opposite side of the province?

I don't think that the Northern lakes are faster to travel through than just taking the forest roads, so I can only believe that these were shipped the way they are because something he needs is here. So, since then, I've been working the harbor and having my boys try and find any information they can about Argent's business here. I have a pretty big network, but even with all my connections the only thing we turned up was a foundry just outside the city limits, and that was like after a week and a half of searching. But when we went to check the place out, somepony had already been there and destroyed it. The whole place was just an empty square of concrete.” Empty!? Ah was there two days ago!

“What do ya mean empty? Buildin's don't just disappear overnight, when did you finally find this place?" Goose frowned.

“I mean, there was nothing there. We scouted the place last Wednesday, but when we went to check it out yesterday, it was just gone. There weren't any signs left or anything. It was like there was never a building there. Did you know about it?” Ah debated on what all Ah should tell him, but the more he talks, the more Ah think he might actually not be as bad as Ah thought.

“Well, ta tell the truth, Ah was there Tuesday doin' the exact same thing y'all tried ta do. Ah probably shouldn't say too much, but all the same, they were doin' some shady shit in that foundry. It's probably fer the best that ya didn't make it before we did though. Ah don't think yer girls would be any better off if ya ran inta the Crow.” Goose reared back.

“He hired the Crow!? Holy hell... look, I don't know what's going on, but you should know that the next highlighted ship comes in next Thursday, the fifth, at eight PM. That one was labeled 'Stannum,' which is the elemental name for tin. If this one is anything like the first one, there will be more mirrors on it.” Ah started ta chew on my lip.

More of these damn mirrors... Ah wonder if that means the bastard who killed my dad is still out there with one of these thin's in his chest...? Ah shook that idea out of my head. Now isn't the time fer that. Ah can't keep this a secret, regardless of what the princess wants, we're gonna have ta deal with this one way or another. Ah need ta talk ta the others and get all this figured out... but first, Ah have more questions fer him.

“Okay, thanks, Ah'll keep that in mind. But before Ah go, Ah've still got some things ta ask ya. First off, what's the deal with your mirror? It don't look so much like it's in yer skin as it is a part of yer skin.” Goose looked down at his chest and started rubbin' it.

“Really, I don't know. It's so much a part of my body now that it's even started to grow hair. Weird mirror hair, but hair all the same. It doesn't feel cold or metallic anymore like it did two weeks ago, and now it acts like skin when I touch it, see?” He started pullin' on the spot and it stretched and receded just like the rest of his yellow-green coat around it. He pulled and squeezed the area, and it just acted like normal skin.

“Wow, that is weird... was it always as big as it is?” Goose shook his head.

“Nah. I think it's getting smaller. I figure after a while, it'll just merge with my body to the point that you can't tell it was ever there. That also kind of worries me though... If he's been doing this for a while now, you wouldn't be able to tell just how many successful attempts he's made. Maybe I'm one in a million with these things, but then again, maybe I'm just one in three... the only limiting factor here is how hard these things are to make...” His concerns were about the same as mine. Not knowin' anythin' about these mirrors other than that they have somethin' ta do the virus only makes me anxious.

“Somepony else came ta talk ta ya earlier... what did she say?” He took away his eyes from his mirrored coat, then looked back ta me.

“Just that I was going to be confined here for an indefinite amount of time, but she sounded exhausted though. I told her I wasn't gonna go anywhere any time soon. Word has probably already spread about the thing in the harbor, and I told them if I ever got caught just to disband. If Pulse kept her word and is doing what I asked her to, the boneheads should be no more by the morning, and those without a place to go should be moved to Crystal. I know I was a gang leader, but if more of these mirrors show up, I don't want any of them getting caught up in the inevitable hero-monster war that happens next. A lot of 'em really are just kids still... It took what adds up to about nine power ponies to bring Quiet down, and nopony in any number has ever caught the Beast. If something as strong and violent as that shows up, I don't know what you guys are gonna do.” Goose sighed and let his eyes drift off inta the distance. Ah shook my head.

“Ah know what ya mean. But luckily fer you, Ah've taken the Beast down once already, and if thin's go the way Ah'm hopin', we'll stop the mirrors before they get inta the city. But that brings me ta my next question... this is a little more out of curiosity than anythin' else, but, who was yer dad? Ya mentioned him a lot, and while ya were sleepin' ya said somethin' about Red Hoof...” Ah trailed off. Goose leaned back and put his hoof ta his chin.

“Hmm... If I had to guess based on how you felt earlier, I'd say you're about twenty, twenty one maybe, right?” Rememberin' just where he grabbed me earlier just about made me want ta punch his gropin' ass through the wall, but Ah kept my impulses at bay.

“Well, you're not wrong,” Ah said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, I'm not usually wrong when it comes to the ladies after all. Anyways, his name was Carcharias Carcharodon, but he went by Shark Tooth on the streets. Coincidentally, my real name is Lamnidae Carcharodon, but you can see how that would be hard to pronounce for a foal. And spell. Elementary school was rough. But anyways, he was only really a big part of the gang scene eighteen years ago, so you only woulda been like, two at the time. I know I was only five. He had an empire over the eastern side of Manehattan for a couple years, but after two years of that, some random guy showed up and captured him. Took out like half his gang too, it was crazy.

I would later find out that this random guy ended up becoming Red Hoof shortly after that when I visited dad in jail before he busted himself out. Funny thing is, he got put in jail again by some other hero like a year or so after the whole thing with me happened. He always blamed Red Hoof for starting that 'hero craze' as he called it, but eventually he just gave up the whole crime syndicate thing after he got out the second time while I was a teenager. But it all ended catchin' back up with him and he was shot dead just as I got outta high school. Turns out he was playing puppet master for another gang and somepony found out. These days I own the Carcha shops, but I've tried to keep them clean for the most part. Didn't want to end up like dad and have my name traced through 'em.”

He didn't really sound sad talkin' about his dad, more like he was just kinda apathetic. Ah suppose that means they weren't all that close then. Carcha huh? If Ah remember correctly Carcha is a high end clothing store that has shops in a good number of spots around the country. Ah've never been in one, but we used ta live near one that's in northern Manehattan. Ah think Ah passed it on the way ta school every day. Heh. If what he's sayin' is true, then that's probably where dad got that big sack of money that we played with when Ah was little... Ah started laughin' ta myself and Goose Tilted his head.

“Find something funny?” he asked, a little offended. Ah shook my head.

“Naw. Do ya remember that random guy's name?” He shook his head.

“Never found it out. Red Hoof was really good about hiding his identity. I don't know that anypony ever did.” Goose leaned back against the crystalline bed frame, as if he was still lookin' for dad's elusive name.

“Well good. 'Cause that 'random guy' just so happens ta be my father.” Goose reared his head back and hit it against the bed frame.

“Ow... Really? You're Red Hoof's daughter?” Ah nodded.

“If he hadn't caught your dad back then, he probably never woulda became a super hero in the first place. The money he made off that bounty bought our house, and really, that's what ended up startin' the whole 'hero craze.' In an ironic way, yer dad helped start the hero craze.” Goose blinked and crossed his hooves.

“Huh. Now that I think about it, it was shortly after that that Red Hoof started showing up, wasn't it? Wow. Talk about purveyor of his own demise right?” Ah nodded.

“Ah guess things happen like that don't they?” Ah yawned. Geez, maybe it is only two. “Well, Ah figure that's enough fer now. You just hang out or go back ta sleep. Ah still don't know what we're doin' with ya, but Ah imagine my boss will want ta study ya.” Ah got out of the chair and stretched myself a bit. Goose frowned.

“Eww, really? What does that mean?” Ah shrugged.

“Look at yer chest, see what made the second power happen. Who knows what else. In any case, don't plan on leavin' soon. And don't think yer outta hot water yet either. Ya beat up two heroes and put a good number of officers in the hospital.” Goose rolled his eyes.

“Eh, they deserved it, but whatever. Honestly, you couldn't keep me locked up unless I let ya if it really came down to it, but I like you so I think I'll stay here. Besides. There's nothing but grief waiting for me outside this castle.” Huh. He can teleport after all. Ah don't really know the range either, so maybe he could just leave if he wanted to.

“Uh huh. Well... try ta sleep better this time. Ya talk in yer sleep too much.” Ah said as Ah headed ta the door.

“Yes ma'am!” he sang. Ah rolled my eyes and shut the door behind me. He's a creep and a little dumb, but at the moment, Ah really can't call him a bad guy... Ah wonder if Twilight is still up... Ah made my way back ta the library in the dark and sure enough, the lights inside were still on. Ah opened the door ta find the sleepin' figure of the violet alicorn in a chair next ta a pile of books. Ah walked a little inta the room and when she didn't react, Ah called her name.

“Twilight?” The alicorn jerked awake.

“Gah!” She looked around until she spotted me. “Oh, it's just you...” She shook her head and rubbed the sleep outta her eyes. She really did look exhausted, the big bags under her eyes, both of em' bloodshot.

“Y'all okay?” She took a deep breath and rubbed at her eyes some more.

“I suppose. I've just had a lot on my mind.” She looked at me again and tilted her head. “Why are you in costume?”

“Well, ta be honest, Ah over heard ya talkin' with yer aunt.” Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open.

“You didn't...”

“Ah did.” She got out of her chair, flew over ta me, and grabbed my shoulders.

“Why!? Why would you do that?”

“Because, fuck 'er. That aside, we're in more serious shit than she knows. Do ya know what time it is right now?” She just about sank ta the ground.

“Holy hell Applejack... I know she's horrible sometimes, but come on... you can't just go against her because you don't like her!” Twilight practically moaned her words and Ah couldn't help but roll my eyes.

“Too bad, it's already done. Ah know all about the mirrors now, and probably some stuff that she doesn't know. Now tell me what time it is. Cause if everypony's gotten enough sleep, we need ta have a talk.” Twilight was still on the floor beatin' her horn against her hooves when it lit up and floated her phone off the table over ta me. Ah took it out of her field and clicked it on.

“3:30 AM? Damn, that means Ah've only been asleep fer like, two hours. Look Twi, Ah don't know what y'all were doin', but ya won't do us any good tomorrow if yer tired. Why don't ya go on ta bed and get some rest?” She nodded quietly and got up off the floor.

“Okay...” she said through a yawn. “But why do I need to be well rested tomorrow?”

“Because. There are some thin's we need ta start preparin' fer, and you're gonna join in.” She lowered her eyebrows.

“What?”

“Oh, don't you worry about it. You'll find out soon enough.” Ah could feel a smile buildin' itself on my face. Tomorrow is gonna be a fun day.

“I don't like the sound of that...” Ah wrapped a hoof around her neck and smiled as we exited the library.

“Perfect.”

Harmony Days V: Training Day

Applejack

“Is everypony awake?” Ah asked my sleepy comrades. Around the living room table gathered all five of us, some more awake than others. Ah was excited fer what was about ta happen, but Pinkie was barely awake, Fluttershy was practically a zombie, Rarity was deep in a cup of coffee, and surprisin'ly, Twilight was just about as awake as Ah was, but she just looked worried.

“No...” Ah heard Fluttershy moan.

“Perfect! So here's the deal. There's a ship comin' in on Thursday and chances are high that we'll end up havin' a monster like the one from last night runnin' loose around town if we don't do anythin' about it.” That got everypony's attention. Pinkie and Fluttershy rubbed at their eyes, Rarity almost spit out her coffee, and Twilight just turned ta me wide eyed.

“What!?” Collectively came from everypony.

“Y'all heard me. More out of spite than anythin', Ah went and talked ta Goose last night after everypony had just about gone ta bed. Based on what he said, he'd already dealt with a monster like the one we fought yesterday due ta these mirrors. Twilight, if ya would.” She shook her head and magic'd up a picture of the original 'Mirror.' Ah kept myself from grindin' my teeth too hard. Even the image of that monster brought rage in my heart. A stallion dressed in black with white stripes that all converged at the center of his chest, where a mirror about the shape of a hoofball and the size of a smartphone sat. It reflected more than it looked possible ta, and as far as we know, it was the source of his power, the power ta steal the powers of others and kill them with their own abilities, my father included.

“Who is that?” Pinkie asked.

“This was the stallion who really earned the title super villain, whom went by the name, 'The Mirror.' He terrorized this city for a week and killed supposedly around sixty heroes... including Red Hoof. We believe that he either went into hiding afterward, or died in the fight with Red Hoof that destroyed the trade center twelve years ago. Nopony knows where he came from, or even why he killed so many. His kill count is higher than any other villain to date, but what's important here is the mirror on his suit.” Twilight zoomed in on his chest ta focus on the actual mirror.

“Oh. That looks just like the one...” Pinkie started and trailed off before her ears flattened against her head.

“Right. Ah don't know if this is the same kind as the ones we're dealin' with now, or maybe it was the first one ta surface, but as it stands, there's at least one of these out in the wild and we don't want any more. After talkin' ta Goose about it, these thin's can affect a pony one or two ways. One, they'll give the pony a power, effectively turnin' them inta a power pony, or addin' a second power ta 'em. Or two, cause the virus ta go outta control and turn em inta a monster in the same way that Fluttershy transforms. The mirror, when makin' contact with the body, integrates itself inta the skin of the user and creates blood vessels within itself that connect directly ta the heart.

Over time, it starts ta merge with the user even further. The one Goose used has become apart of his skin and grew hair over it. At the moment, he looks like he has some kind of mirror like coat on his chest. The mare that we fought had her mirror broken after the fight while it was still like this, and she bled out almost immediately afterward. However, this caused her transformation ta revert.” As Ah spoke, Twilight followed up with images of what Ah was talkin' about, usin' memories she extracted from me earlier. Her depiction of the mirror on Synchro Noise crackin' was more graphic than Ah remembered it, but it was probably good that Ah could see it again. It was like poppin’ a mosquito that’d just finished up fillin’ its carryin’ capacity.

“In the event you do come across this, there is a chance to save the user, but only if you can stop the bleeding in about the same second that the mirror is destroyed. We have the capability of that, but this also means we need to have the medical equipment on standby and somepony who can perform the first aid other than myself.” Pinkie raised a hoof and Twilight awkwardly nodded at her.

“Okay, but I've got a few questions.”

“M-me too,” Fluttershy said through a yawn.

“Well, before any of that, do you expect me to be able to fight as well? I still haven't been treated. I'm not normally that great as an attacker to begin with, but I'm only so mobile while I'm down a leg,” Rarity said. Twilight nodded.

“I spoke with mother this morning about all of this, and she has offered to treat you personally when she gets the chance on Tuesday. Can you be here around eight PM?”

“Oh, of course! If Celestia herself is taking time out of her day for me, then I simply couldn't refuse.” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Right. None of you grew up with her so you all still see her as some political figure.”

“So, first question, Why, just... why did you talk to him? Alone? Ugh, that means you watched him take his shirt off too. Why?” Pinkie complained. Ah dead eyed her.

“It's not like Ah'm gonna screw him, and like Ah said, spite. He gave me valuable information, and that is somethin' that we're in desperate need of. It's about time we were the ones ta set up a trap fer once and that's exactly what my goal is. Besides. He's not that bad.” Pinkie dropped her head on the table.

“Eww, was that a hint of affection? Whatever. How do you know he was telling the truth? Why should we listen to him anyways?” Ah glared at her, but Twilight took this one.

“By cross referencing of course.” She pulled a schedule for the Manehattan Harbor out of thin air in her magic, then outlined a few names in red. “This is a list of all the ships that have come in for the past two weeks. The ship at the top of the list is the one Goose is said to have first taken over, and as you can see, it was reported that it never made it to port. All the other ships the Boneheads robbed were Argent owned, but these were reported to have docked in the right place before then. If the ship wasn't carrying contraband like Applejack says it was, then it would have been reported stolen like the others were.” Rarity tilted her head.

“It was carrying contraband?” Ah nodded.

“Yes ma'am. Specifically, liquid Mercury”

“Wasn't that outlawed almost thirty years ago? What would Argent want with that?”

“Indeed. That's something we still don't know. I asked Mother about that this morning, but she said she couldn't take the time to explain it right then. She did say that it was outlawed because it does something to the virus though, so we believe that it's an ingredient in making these mirrors. Based on what Applejack said, there was a lot of mercury in that ship. If what Aunt Luna said is right, we're a little more than screwed if Argent starts mass producing these.”

“Okay... S-so, the mirrors are bad, and I get that we'll p-probably have to deal with somepony in a transformed state... m-more or less like mine... b-but, how do we plan to do that? W-what if I lose it during one of those fights? I-I don't think Applejack could handle d-dealing with me and another monster at the s-same time... d-don't we need more help than we have? A-are we good enough to even a-accomplish any of this?” Fluttershyhad slowly moved her hooves ta her ears until she was just about coverin' her head, progressively gettin' more worried about what would happen next in her chain of unfortunate events.

“That's more or less why Ah gathered everypony today. Look, Ah'm just gonna rip off the band aid here, y'all suck.” A collective look of shame started ta grow on everypony, most of them turnin' their eyes ta the floor. “But, that doesn't mean we can't get better. Ah can't fathom how ya managed ta get as far as ya did just relyin' on Rarity as Diamond, but ya managed some how, and that is impressive on it's own. As it stands, y'all couldn't handle somepony like the Crow without me and thin's aren't about ta get easier. Honestly, if it weren't fer the cable braces the princess gave me, Ah'm not sure Ah coulda even stopped Synchro myself. We need ta get better in a hurry, and we can't have ourselves gettin' hurt again like this with as little as we are.

So, today we're gonna train. Twilight spent the last few hours shiftin' rooms in the castle around until we had a big enough spot ta call a trainin' room. Come on in!” Ah called ta the hallway. Much ta Pinkie's dismay, and the surprise of Fluttershy and Rarity, in walked Goose Fang. “You two don't know him, but this is Goose and he's gonna be our trainin' villain fer now on.”

“Hello Ladies♥ The name's Goose Fang, and I am positively throbbing to be here.” Goose said in time with a collective eye roll. Then Pinkie's eyes widened.

“We're not wearing costumes! Why would you...? Oh for fuck's sake, you didn't!” She yelled at me, even though the pony in control of that was Twilight.

“She did. I wouldn't call myself one of you, but I'm bound by the rules now too♥” he said presenting his branded tongue. Pinkie let her face sink into the table.

“Oh, my goddess, what is my life even coming to?”

“I might not know the details, but is it really a good idea to just 'let him in' like this?” Rarity asked.

“Well, to explain it to you myself...” Goose began. He blinked from his spot then next to Rarity in an instant. “I can go anywhere I want at any point I feel like it, magic be damned. So as a compromise to keep the night princess from mutilating my corpse for science, I'll be staying here as my prison sentence.” Twilight tilted her head away and nodded.

“Without a curse of some kind, there isn't really any way we could have contained him, and he knows too much, on top of being one of Argent's targets. I can give you the full details later, but after speaking with Mother, we both thought this was the best way to deal with him. Well, while keeping his life in tact. Luna had some nasty things to say about that, but Mother overruled her. However, he should remember that he is a prisoner in my castle, and he should not be using his powers whenever he pleases.” Twilight glared at Goose. The stallion took a few steps back and raised a hoof in submission.

“Woah there, take it easy princess. I was just giving a demonstration of what I could do.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Whatever, ya damn creep. Tone it down a notch or Ah'll make sure ya feel a different kinda throbbin'.” Ah glared at him, then turned my attention back ta the table. “Anyways, let's head down ta the trainin' room. We've got a lot ta cover and only five days before the next ship arrives.” With a reluctant moan from Pinkie and shrugs from the other two, the six of us made our way down ta the trainin' room underneath the livin' room. It was about half the size of the library, but still big enough that it would take at least thirty seconds fer me ta run across at full speed. A hoofball field was about the right size ta match it.

At this part of the castle, even in the daylight, the crystal walls were almost as dark as they were at night holdin' that dark indigo, almost violet color. There were eight half sphere lights at several points on the ceilin' that lit up the entire room like the sun, and otherwise, it was just a big empty box of crystal. When we all finished pilin' in, Twilight stepped forward and her whole body started ta light up with her violet magic aura. The empty room started ta vibrate as shapes began ta erupt from the ground. Larges boxes the size of storage containers and a depression all around the edge of a predetermined space formed in blue crystal. When she was finished, the empty box looked more like a replica of the harbor.

“Now that the stage is set, this is the plan. Goose is gonna play antagonist, and you're gonna try and stop him.” Ah had Goose take his spot at the other end of the room, then Ah noticed Twilight began ta walk toward the staircase, but Ah stopped her.

“Where do ya think you're goin'?” Ah could see her brow furrow as she turned ta me.

“What? Back up to the library, why?” Ah shook my head.

“No ya don't. You're gonna play number four today. Ya said ya haven't practiced attack magic and the like in a while right?” Twilight reared back.

“Huh? Well, no I haven't, but why would you even want me to do this?”

“You're our last line of defense. Look, if somethin' happens, we're not replaceable. Callin' one of us back ain't enough anymore, the time might come when you have ta fight ta keep one of us alive. If Pinkie and Ah had somepony else with us yesterday, thin's might not have gone as bad as they did, but y'all were the only one healthy enough ta help.” Twilight looked away.

“But... I'm not a hero...” Ah shook my head.

“Maybe not, but ya are a Power Pony, and ya coulda saved a whole bunch of ponies just by bein’ there ta negate her magic. Yer power has an application, and if ya train yerself, ya might find that yer not so incapable of usin' it.” Twilight sighed.

“Well... maybe. It can't hurt to try, can it?” She perked up a little and Ah nodded.

“Attagirl. Now then. Since Goose is a pussy bitch and won't fight a mare,”

“Hey, what the hell!?” complained Goose at the back of the room.

“Ah'll be the one actually tryin’ ta hit ya. Yer job is ta defend yourselves and try and take him down. Any time he gets shot or tackled we'll call a win fer ya. Don't worry, Ah'm not tryin' ta hurt ya, so Ah'll only be playin' at a quarter strength. Ah will however, take y'all out systematically if ya don't get ta Goose quick enough though.” Ah could feel a smile creep up on my face. Ah'm not a bad liar, but Ah might just be a little too excited ta hide the ball right now. The four of them started ta form a similar look on their faces as they looked at each other.

“I-I don't like what that implies...” Fluttershy said. Ah smiled even bigger.

“Perfect. Take yer places and elect a commander. Y'all can have yer weapons, and those of ya that don't normally use any can decide on if ya want one or not now. Y'all have ten minutes ta form a strategy before Ah make a move.” Ah trotted off all merrily and the other girls very quickly started talkin' ta each other. “It's not smart ta let yer enemy hear ya makin' plans♥” Ah'm gonna teach them a lesson, even if Ah have ta beat it in their little heads. Ah made my way over ta Goose and whistled while Ah counted down minutes.

“Hey man, what was that all about?” he asked angrily.

“What was what?” Ah sang.

“You know exactly what I'm talking about. Come on, you don't have to call me names just because I have chivalry.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Y'all can have whatever ya want, but in my eyes, the fact that ya won't fight a mare doesn't make ya anythin' but a bigot.” Eight minutes.

“What? That's just crazy. I won't hit mare because I was raised not to. Stallions are supposed to protect mares. Stallions and mares were only meant to have sensual contact.” He used a weird kind of plain tone as opposed to his normal emphasis on any word relatin' ta sex.

“And Ah think that's wrong in certain cases. Black and white don't exist in this world, it's all just shades of gray with some thin's brighter than others. Wrong can be done fer the right reasons and right can be done fer the wrong reasons. You havin' some superiority complex has nothin' ta do with whether or not somethin' is good or bad.” Ah shot back. Five minutes.

“Oh yeah? And why would it be okay, huh? Unless she's trying to kill me, I don't see a reason to, and even then, I'm strong enough on my own to deal with any one mare.” This made my little smile that Ah had goin' on get a little sharper. Ah came up beside him and eyed him.

“Is that so? Why don't y'all go join them and just find out if yer 'strong enough' ta deal with any mare♥” Ah whispered. Two minutes. Goose took a rather quick step away.

“Ha ha, fuck that. And you call me a creep.” Ah raised my snout.

“Oh ho ho, don't think you're gettin' off that easy. Because Ah want ta train myself, we are gonna have our own match.” One minute.

“What!? Why!?”

“One, ta take out my frustrations. You're the only one who can take my punches at full power, and Ah've been meanin' ta test some thin's out. Two, Twilight is our last line of defense. Now that you're stuck with us, Ah'm gonna put ya ta use if Ah need ta. Now get yerself ready. Here they come.” Goose blinked ta above one of the crystal storage containers, and Ah got ready ta start takin' out some of my new friends. As predicted, Pinkie charged forward first in an attempt ta do what she couldn't last time; punch Goose in the dick. Ah'd just about got a measure on her speed and Ah close lined her as she approached. She gagged at the sudden force on her neck and coughed a few times.

“Predictable. Use yer speed ta the fullest and make it so yer opponent doesn't know what yer aim is.” Ah picked her up by the scruff of her neck and threw her in line with the bullet that Fluttershy had aimed at Goose's head. Pinkie yelped when the rubber hit her in the side.

“Goose, get behind the container, they have a sniper fer goddess sake!” Ah jumped on the container as Goose blinked behind it, and took hold of Pinkie again.

“Oh please, not again!” Ah spun her around and tossed her inta Fluttershy. The bodies collided, then Ah blinked and everypony had repositioned themselves.

“That's better, now come at me! It's just one and a half against four!” Ah heard Goose make some kinda complaint, but mostly ignored it. Walls of violet magic came at me as Ah watched Rarity and Pinkie come from either side and Fluttershy took aim from above. Now they're startin ta get it... With a quick step back, Ah lunged forward and broke the solid wall of magic that looked ta make Twilight a little dizzy. My first instinct was ta go fer Rarity. The Crow wasn't wrong when we fought her, and havin' time against ya isn't exactly the most advantageous way ta go about it. Ah came in close and loosed a punch at her, but she blinked a few steps ta the right and Ah could hear the whistle of a bullet comin' right at my head.

Ah dropped ta the floor ta watch the thin' sail through my mane. Ah got back up quick and noticed that Rarity had retreated ta Twilight's big magic wall, and Pinkie and Fluttershy were linin' up in front of me. They'd made it ta about a third the way down from the end of the mock pier. This time Pinkie came at me again, but instead of actually tryin’ ta hit me, she just circled me about a billion times. Ah figured Fluttershy was about ta take a shot and Pinkie was just playin' distraction. With a quick step, Ah tripped Pinkie inta the wall, and then started ta charge forward. Twilight spawned more magic walls ta slow me down, but they broke with every time Ah bull rushed 'em down.

Finally close enough, Ah made a step ta look like Ah was goin' after Rarity and that was enough ta trick em inta usin' her power. Like Ah thought, they'd surrounded me and everypony was where Ah wanted them. Ah leapt off the ground backwards and watched as a bullet came sailin' right where Ah was less than a second ago. Ah landed behind Rarity and rotated my body ta lightly jab her in the stomach ta knock the wind out of her. Ah used my new meat shield ta stop another bullet and once again, tossed her at Fluttershy. Without time on their side, Twilight quickly caught Rarity with her magic, and Ah took the chance ta go after Fluttershy. Usin' Rarity held by Twilight's magic as a step, Ah hopped from the ground ta Fluttershy and lightly threw her at the crystal floor.

“Oww...” She landed with a thud and a clack as her rifle fell away. Ah kicked the gun off ta one of the depressions and then Ah looked at Twilight. Ah scraped once at the ground with my forehoof and smiled.

“Eep!” she yelped and started runnin' toward Goose, effectively droppin' Rarity. As she galloped, she started ta spawn walls of violet magic behind her, these much smaller but thicker than the last. They took more effort ta break, but didn't slow me down enough. When she saw me lunge after her once Ah was close enough, Ah felt as if she experienced fear again because her magic flared and she warped on top of a storage container. Ah twisted around and stomped the ground, just about crackin' it and leapt ta Twilight, who was breathin' heavy. She yelped again and spawned a shield around herself, but it didn't take too much effort ta break. With a hard kick ta the shield and a sweep ta the legs, Twilight was out fer the count.

Ah stood up and looked over the room. Goose was still sittin' where Ah told him ta, Pinkie was still in a ditch from when Ah tripped her, Rarity was layin' in the spot she landed in after she got shot, Fluttershy was on the floor with her wings splayed out, and Twilight was tryin' ta get back up.

“Okay, that's enough fer now.” Sighs of relief came from the four mares in various pitches of moans, but slowly, they all got back up ta their hooves. We all gathered back at the front of the Trainin' room and Ah went over what they did.

“Well, fer starters, y'all didn't really make a plan at the beginnin' did ya?” The girls looked from one ta another, then all nodded.

“Well, we did decide that Twilight should lead...” Pinkie began.

“But she wasn't quite sure what to do initially and targeted Goose,” Rarity continued.

“I thought If we could take him out quick enough, it would be over faster, but...” Twilight followed.

“That o-only really ended up getting P-Pinkie shot with a rubber... s-sorry about that...” Fluttershy finished. Pinkie shrugged.

“I can't really blame you. You would have hit the creep if I didn't get caught so easy.”

“Speaking of, you mares sure are happy to belittle me. Cut me some slack will ya?” Goose said. He was ignored though.

“So what was yer plan after ya regrouped?”

“After seeing how you fight, I figured I'd try and copy your tactics. You were quick to predict what we were doing and even faster to use us against each other. So I though using our numbers against you in combination with trying to confuse you with my magic and everypony else's powers would be enough to let Fluttershy take you down so we could go after Goose,” Twilight explained.

“But that wasn't enough apparently. How is it that you dodged everything we threw at you?” Rarity asked. Ah shrugged.

“Ah've been in one on several fights more than a few times. As much as y'all did well, this was more or less predictable fer me. First off, Fluttershy was never hidden. At all. There were places ya coulda hid her, or even Twilight coulda hid her behind a wall of her magic and that woulda obscured my line of sight. Pinkie shoulda been makin' attacks at me instead of just tryin’ ta distract. If she were actually hittin' me, then maybe Ah woulda paid attention. Now, were this somepony else, that woulda worked, but Ah know how she acts. Yer dealin' with me, so try and get in my head.

Ya can't underestimate yer opponent because that'll get ya killed, so always think they're as smart as y'all are or more so. If ya wouldn't fall fer it, then they probably won't either. Traps have ta be disguised better than that. Twilight coulda provided cover fire ta get me ta move the way ya wanted, and then Fluttershy coulda gone in fer the hit. Ah didn't dodge anyhin' she shot but by a hair's length or with a meat shield, which Ah'm sorry about by the way.” Rarity and Pinkie shrugged.

“We're the ones who got caught, that's not really your fault...” Pinkie said.

“Ta use her more effectively, let her close the gap between her target, or me in this case, durin' Rarity's frozen time while Pinkie or Twilight is attackin' me. That leaves one of ya open ta start dealin' with another target, or the one that'll be even harder ta hit. Even if Ah was outta the picture, Ah don't really think y'all coulda taken him down anyways. Right?” Ah turned ta Goose and he nodded.

“Yeah. I've had all my girls mad at me for some reason or other before and try to get me at the same time, and let me tell you, you do not make seven power ponies angry without having a plan of escape. I didn't have my teleportation power at the time, but even with seven of them, they never caught me. It always blows over in the end though.” Ah frowned.

“Ah figured as much. Anyways, y'all are slow and if yer opponent gets on ta yer tricks too quick, ya need ta adapt and change yer tactics in a flash. Ah won't always be able ta direct ya at a moment's notice. Take a half hour break and come back down here once that's over. Oh, and after ya leave, put a barrier on this room ta make sure ponies with yer brand can't leave it.” Twilight furrowed her brow.

“What are you going to do?” Ah smiled.

“Goose and Ah need ta talk.” Twilight took a step back. Fer a moment, she looked at me like Ah was some kinda predator.

“Um... okay then. G-girls, why don't we go make a plan upstairs? Good luck, Goose!” Twilight just about ran out of the trainin' room and everypony else followed just as quick. Goose however, was stopped by a violet force field at the door. He swallowed.

“Oh, mother of the goddess, please don't leave me in here alone with her!” He said as he seemed to blink in a few spots around the door.

“Sorry! Not my decision!” came from further off. Ah smiled.

“Ah suggest ya find the ability ta fight a mare real quick, because Ah'm tired of beatin up my friends at a quarter strength and Ah have some pent up anger ta let loose. Come 'ere!” Lettin' my muscles push with all the force Ah could managed, Goose looked on in fear as the crystal floor cracked under the sheer pressure of my hooves. Ah lunged only ta find him a few steps away, and then an idea began ta pop inta my head. He can't teleport very far without chargin’ it or somethin’, can he? Ah made quick motions ta turn on him and made sure ta watch his movements as he did.

Ah swept at him again, only ta watch him blink another few steps back, but closer this time. After three more attempts at him without losin' a second of pressure, his warps weren't all the way out of reach and Ah started grazin' his shirt. With that, Ah let off. He looked real tired.

“So why don't ya tell me the truth. How far can ya warp?” Ah asked. He took the moment ta catch his breath and take off his jacket. After he finally caught up, he sat down.

“I would never... lie to a lady... I can go... wherever I want. Goddess, you are relentless,” he said between breaths.

“So, lets say Ah believe that. What does it take fer ya ta jump from here ta say, Ah don't know, Canterlot? If ya had the ability ta, Ah figure you'd just jump from one side of the room ta the other with my every attack, but that's not the case, now is it?” His lip twitched.

“...No. With enough time, I can warp anywhere in the world, that's a fact. But, I can't do it too much or I start to run out of it I guess. Like, it's almost like a stamina bar in a game. If I let it charge for an hour, I can be anywhere in a second. I've warped from here to crystal with another pony before. But trying to dodge you with it is like reusing a fixed amount of stamina over and over, more so than my recharge rate can keep up with. But you figured that out on your own, didn't you?” He let the haughty tone slide out of his voice, soundin' almost normal. Almost.

“Ah did. Ah can't have ya broken after all. Now why don't ya defend yerself so Ah can take my mind off some stuff fer a while?” It was a framed like a question, but at this point it was a command.

“What? Why? Can't you just talk about it like a normal- oh shit!” Ah took a step and watched Goose's eyes go wide as my left forehoof came rocketin' in from below. He warped just before Ah made contact, and this time, he did go ta the other side of the room. Now he was up on a storage container and Ah started after him.

“Normal ponies talk about their problems!” Ah leapt with a hoof aimed fer his face and he blinked out, a little closer now, but still on my opposite side. Ah'd expected that, so Ah used the momentum Ah'd built with my left ta spin in mid air and launch from the spot where he was.

“Fighting away your problems isn't going to help!” Ah tried ta predict where he would go next, and he'd warped in front of a wall this time. Ah made a motion like Ah was gonna sweep his legs out, and like Ah thought, he warped behind me again. Usin' the wall as a spring, Ah kicked off and rocketed at him. Ah didn't give him the chance ta teleport this time, so with what little he could do, he blocked. Goose flew off toward the wall, but blinked just in front of it.

“Oww...” He shook the steam off his forelegs again and huffed.

“Maybe if ya fought back, Ah wouldn't have the chance ta hit ya that hard!” Ah ran after him again, and finally he looked like he was gonna fight back. He made the motion like he was gonna throw a punch, but just as he did, he blinked behind me again.

“Even if I fought back what's the point? If all you're doing is blowing off steam, why don't you get a punching bag or something?” Fer a single second, Ah had hoped that he was really gonna do it. Now Ah was just mad and disappointed. Ah twisted around again and hopped off a nearby storage container ta go after him.

“The point is, ya are my punchin' bag!” Ah didn't need it against the others, but now Ah was getting' tired of him. Ah flicked my right fore hoof back and shot my remainin' cable at the ground by his hooves, movin' faster than Ah had previously. Once again, Goose didn't have the time ta warp and went ta block his side. Angry enough not ta care, instead of goin' after his face, Ah swept his hooves out from under him and bucked him across the room.

“Son of a bitch!” He blinked out of motion and on top of a storage container, now clutchin' his side where Ah kicked him. “I don't see how that's fair. Isn't this like, police brutality?” Ah shot the container he was on and reeled in quick. Ah guess he'd learned from the first time and made the decision ta warp early.

“Ah'm not the police! Ah don't have rules ta follow!” Ah pulled the blade back and aimed it just in front of Goose. However, he moved forward and hit the blade up as it came close, reaimin’ it at ceilin’. Ah quickly canceled and retracted the blade again.

“I figure that's your thing now, but that makes it harder for me to dodge. Look, If I fight back will you tell me what's wrong?” Ah charged at him again.

“Maybe Ah will, but you'll have ta do somethin' first!” Goose sighed.

“Fine. Just remember, you asked for it!” Ah got close enough ta hit him, but mid swing, he blinked out. From behind me, my legs were kicked out and with enough force fer me ta feel it, Ah got bucked across the room. Ah reoriented myself ta see what had just happened when he was comin’ up on me. Ah shot the ground ta change my position and saw him blink again. When he didn't show up behind me, my memory triggered that this happened last night too. Sure enough, he was above me, both fore hooves about ta come down like a hammer.

Ah pulled the cable out and ducked just under the swipe, then Ah cartwheel kicked kicked him as he was comin' down. He went across the room ta the wall, but this time, reoriented himself and lunged at me. No time ta dodge, Ah prepared ta take the hit when he warped from in front ta beside me. The hard cross dug and twisted inta my ribs until my body gave inta it and Ah slammed inta the back wall. Well this feels familiar. Ah thought as Ah shook my head. It was a lot like gettin' hit by the Beast. Ah dug myself out of the crystal in time ta avoid Goose slam a hoof in place of where my head was a second ago. Well damn, maybe he is takin' this seriously.

Ah could feel a smile start ta build up as Ah let my muscles loose again usin' all the force Ah could build up. He wasn't so much tryin' ta block now as he was meetin' my attacks. We both kicked high and felt the wind from the forces meetin' shake our manes. A warp and a punch blocked, returned with a kick blocked and warped behind. A back flip ta dodge, jab and a right cross ta counter. A twist and a right cross met mine. Neither of us let go until a shot of pain made me pull my hoof back. Goose mirrored me, and when we looked at our hooves, they were cracked, almost shattered all the way up ta the quick.

“Well... shit.” The waves of pain throbbed up my foreleg and it hurt ta move it. Ah was actually breathin' heavy fer once. Not only could he warp, even if it was only short distances, but he could match me blow fer blow.

“Damn it, that stings! This is exactly... the kind of shit... I was trying to avoid.” He was breathin' just as heavy as Ah was, so Ah guess we're at similar levels. Another pony that can keep up with me. Maybe this pond is bigger than Ah thought... After a few seconds of shakin' his hoof, he sat down and took a deep breath. “Look, can we call this done? I don't want to break any more bones.” Ah let my own breath catch up with me and sat down myself.

“Ah guess. Maybe you're not as much of a bitch as Ah thought ya were. At the very least, ya can throw a punch.” The pain came in sharp waves over and over again, makin' me wince every now and again.

“I'll just write that one down as a compliment and leave it there. So? Come on, spill it. What's your deal?” Damn it. Ah frowned. You'd think he'd forget somethin' like that after all that adrenaline.

“Bah, Ah don't owe you anythin'.” He reared back.

“What!? That's not fair, come on, I broke my hoof for you!” Ah could feel my teeth startin' ta grind. Ah don't wanna talk about this. The whole point of today was ta get away from it.

“Ah... don't wanna talk about it.” Somewhere, buried deep away, somethin' cracked.

“You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't.”

“You know what? Fine. Ah'm not over it. Ah can't get it out of my head.”

“Get what out of your head?”

“The corpses! The mutilated body, the destruction of the harbor, Ah can't stop thinkin' about it! Every time Ah close my eyes it's there, starin' at me with the one eye Ah didn't rip out in a blind rage. 'You did this ta me,' it repeats itself over and over again. Ah had a dream last night, and Ah know it wasn't mine because it didn't turn inta a nightmare. Ah woke up from another nightmare this mornin', all the ponies Ah'd watched die, all the ones Ah'd killed, they were all comin' after me... That's the kinda dream Ah have, and Ah don't ever forget 'em. Last night only made everythin' worse than it used ta be. Ah just can't stop thinkin' about her. She was just a kid damn it! Am Ah not supposed ta save ponies? Isn't this the kinda thing Ah'm here ta stop? It... It just doesn't ever get any easier ta deal with.” Goose was silent fer a while, and Ah didn't really expect much of a response from him anyway. Ah should know better. It isn't my fault that half of them died, but all the same, Ah can't stop thinkin' that it was.

“Hey.” Ah took my eyes off the floor ta find Goose scratchin' his head. “I don't like to tell the girls straight all the time, but you're a special case. You think it's your fault all those ponies died, right?” Ah tilted my head.

“Well, yeah. Were ya payin' attention?” He put a hoof up.

“Let me finish. And it's been like this for years right?” Ah eyed him.

“Yes.” He nodded.

“Then just own it. It might not actually be your fault, and if we're honest here that was my fault, but you moping about it doesn't help anypony. Just take it. You did, you didn't, it doesn't matter either way. It's in your head that you did, so just come to terms with it. So you killed Synchro. Synchro killed a bunch of kids, and if you didn't kill her, she would've kept killing, and I would have had to do it. So what's worth more? Knowing that you killed a teenager, or knowing that you stopped a rampaging monster?” Ah wasn't sure how ta respond. Ah just sat there and thought about it until he started talkin' again.

“And for that matter, who did you kill in the past? Ponies that were trying to kill you? Ponies trying to hurt your loved ones? Ponies destroying things in the city? You're Marevelous Red. Nopony thinks of you as anything but a hero and that's coming from somepony who used to be a gang boss. So you didn't save everypony, but that's not your job. Just by doing what you do, you're a symbol of something this city needs to keep it stable, and that is peace of mind. A deterrent to crime, a punishment for doing wrong that the police can't punish on their own. If I were you, I'd wear my own cape and walk around town in it. Kids would look at me and say, 'Look mom, that's a Super Hero!' because that's what you are. Death is just part of the job description, so don't beat yourself up about it.”

Damn it... Damn it, damn it, damn it. Why is it that nothin' he's sayin' sounds wrong? Because none of it is? Or because that's what Ah want ta hear? Just then, the rest of the girls came back.

“Applejack, we thought about it and we... Did something happen?” Twilight asked. Ah let out a puff of air and shook my head.

“No. Ah finally got Goose ta fight back and he's just stronger than Ah'd anticipated. We broke our hooves and that's gonna need ta be fixed before either of us can do anythin'.” Twilight surveyed the damage ta the trainin' room. A good number of spots had pony imprints in them, there were several broken floor pieces, one of the containers was smashed ta shards. This crystal was hard, but not indestructible.

“Well, if it's just that, Rarity can fix it for you. I'll have to repair this place before we do anything else...” The word repair triggered a memory and Ah realized that Ah'd forgotten Ah still had errands ta run.

“Uh... one of y'all wouldn't happen ta know what time it is would ya?” Ah asked, rememberin' that there wasn't hardly any food in the apartment.

“I-It's about four thirty... is there s-something wrong?” Fluttershy answered. Shit.

“Ah need ta get outta here. Uh... while y'all are together, run that same exercise we did before, but just with Goose.” Ah turned ta face him. “Ah don't expect ya ta hurt ‘em, but Ah do expect ya ta make it hard ta get shot.” Goose raised his hooves.

“Yes ma'am, boss lady,” He said with a smirk. Ah rolled my eyes and made my way over ta Rarity while Twilight went ta fixin' the trainin' room.

“Now then, let me see your injury.” Ah raised my hoof and watched as her pale blue magic cover it. The hoof almost seemed ta glue itself back together. Once she was done, Ah shook it around and stamped it a few times and it was like nothin' ever happened.

“How'd ya do that? Ah thought ya couldn't really 'do' magic,” Ah said with air quotes. She waved the question away.

“Fixing a hoof is the simplest healing magic there is. If I can do it, all unicorns can. It's one of the first things unicorns are taught, even before school.”

“Most healing magic is built off that spell, but hooves are just hardened dead skin cells that cover up the more sensitive skin just above them. All that spell does is collect the dead skin off your body, fills in the holes, and gels it together at the seams. More complex spells actually involve manipulating your regenerative capabilities at the cellular level, and that not everypony can do,” Twilight explained as she continued with her repairs. Most of the walls had been fixed, and now she was workin' on the floor.

“Ah'll keep that in mind. My next day off is Tuesday, so Ah'll come check back in then.” Ah made a sweepin' motion ta point at Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Twilight. “Ah expect you three ta get better by the time Ah get back. Ah'll see y'all then.” The three of them sighed.

“Yes ma'am,” they said in unison. Satisfied with that, Ah headed with the staircase, but was stopped at the door.

“Don't forget what we talked about, alright? No more of the nightmares okay?” Goose said. Ah gave him a look and kept walkin'.

“We'll see.”

Harmony Days VI: Uncle Orange's Day out (part 1)

Applejack

When Ah woke up the next mornin', or afternoon really, Ah was surprised. No nightmare ta get me outta bed in a cold sweat. No memorable dream at all really. Fer once, Ah slept soundly. Ah sat up in my bed at the apartment, the light filterin' in through the blackout curtains dancin' with the dust in the air. Ah looked around and didn't see my alarm clock anywhere. Ah felt a buzzin' on the floor next ta my mattress, and then remembered what all Ah'd done yesterday after Ah left the castle.

As of next week Ah should have a motorcycle license, the apartment shouldn't need groceries fer the next month and Ah am currently the owner of a new phone. Ah scooped up the little red coated device and tapped the screen ta get it ta stop buzzin'. Ah'm gonna have ta start wearin' a way ta carry this thin' around with me other than dad's jacket. Maybe Ah should look inta gettin' some casual clothes... Ah got up and tossed the device on the bed, then made my way inta the livin' room.

“Afternoon, Applejack,” Uncle said from couch. The TV was on, but barely audible and my siblin's were nowhere ta be seen. That's about right... Applebloom should still be in school and Macintosh is probably at work. Ah'm the only one who does thin's at night anyways... but why is Uncle Orange still home? And more importantly, why does he look so clean?

“Mornin'. Uh, Afternoon. Ya got somethin' goin' on today?” Ah made my way inta the kitchen and pulled some eggs and a few of the bell peppers Ah bought yesterday outta the fridge.

“An old friend wanted to meet with me today, so I've taken the day to visit. How are you? I saw that you filled the fridge.” He slowly turned his head my way ta glance back at me. Sometimes it unnerved me when he would look like he didn't have an expression on his face. Ah've lived with him fer years and Ah'm still not used ta it.

“Yeah. My boss called me in because Ah got a promotion the other day, and a big one.” Ah started cuttin' peppers up, and Ah threw some butter in a skillet and turned the heat up enough ta get it ta melt. The key was ta undercook the eggs ta leave them not rubbery and have a similar texture ta melty cheese with the crunch of the peppers ta back it up. It was quick, easy, and most importantly, delicious.

“Oh wow. Good for you. Does that come with any new responsibilities?” A soft smile had formed on his face like he was genuinely happy ta hear it. His mood is always infectious, in a way. He can change the tone of the room just by walkin' in it. Made me smile back.

“Oh, ya know. Now Ah have ta keep my coworkers from killin' themselves, and Ah tell em what ta do fer the most part, but other than that it's the same. She thought Ah was worth a leadership position. The raise was pretty steep, so Ah figured it was a good deal.” Ah cracked the eggs in a glass and whisked 'em together with a fork. A dash of salt, a dash of pepper, throw it in the pan and mix together. A little rhyme Ah remember dad sayin' when he'd make breakfast in the mornin'. He always said that mom would sing somethin' whenever she cooked and it just carried over. Macintosh won't admit it, but he does it too. Applebloom is the only one who never knew about it...

“I see... well, I'm sure you can handle it. Is that wristband new? I don't remember seeing anything like it.” He turned his attention back ta the TV, buit that only made me ferel more like Ah was caught with somethin' Ah shouldn't have. Ah hadn't taken it off since the yesterday. Wow. Does that mean Ah showered with this thin' on?

“Oh uh... it was a gift. One of my bosses was really... intent on givin' it ta somepony and Ah happened ta be the only one around.” Ah shuffled the eggs in the pan lettin' them go from a gooey liquid ta a foamy bed of pale yellow with red and green stripes. The smell was startin' ta waft in the air and Ah was about ready ta eat. Ah grabbed a plate and let the sizzlin' bed slide off the pan on ta it. Ah turned everythin' off, washed off my fork, and took a seat next ta Uncle Orange.

“Really? Interesting. I've never seen a gem quite like that before. You're not getting married on me are you?” Ah rolled my eyes and punched him in the shoulder. This ain't no weddin' band, or at least Ah hope it ain't. Especially since Ah broke one.

“All my bosses are mares, and Ah'm not inta that. The one guy Ah did meet is a creep, so Ah don't think there's anythin' ta worry about there. What are ya watchin' here anyways?” Ah finally focused on the TV, and there was a documentary of some kind on it. It looked like he was watchin' somethin' about a war before the screen flashed ta some sports event that was dramatically different than whatever he started with.

“Oh, nothing.” He looked at his watch and sighed. “Here, TV's all yours.” He he tossed the remote next ta me and got up off the couch. Ah looked at the remote then Ah looked at him.

“Ah just sit down and ya leave?” He shrugged.

“Appointments are appointments, and this one is rather important to me. It's already almost two and I'm supposed to be across the province in an hour.” Ah watched him unfold some of the laundry until he found the shirt he was lookin' fer and started ta button it up. He found his red tie that matched his name sake with its bright orange stripes over deep crimson, then grabbed his bag from the kitchen table. It was almost weird ta see him so clean and well dressed like this. He's usually more of a slob when he wants ta be.

“Well. Enjoy your... whatever it is Ah guess.” He looked back and flashed that smiled of his again.

“I would hope so. I'll be home later tonight, so let your siblings know, alright?”

“Gotcha. Bye Uncle.” Ah waved and he shut the door behind him. Pfft. If anypony looks like they're about ta go on a date it's you, ya old coot. Oh well. Even if that's the case, it would be nice ta see him happy.

Blood Orange

I closed the door behind me and sighed. A promotion huh? I can only wonder what she's really been up to. Her father came up with the same fake job years ago, so that leads me to believe... I shook the thought out of my headand started to make my way down the winding staircase in the apartment complex. No, no, it's better I just ignore it. The moment I look at the truth, it will just bite me in the ass again. Speaking of... something looked unnatural about her tail. What would she say if I asked about it? Did something happen? She's not typically one to wear jewelry either. Of the three of them, she's the least transparent about what she does. But if she's really playing hero, there's no way she would tell me about it, would she? That night five years ago was enough to tell me she's her father's daughter. It's more than likely...

I shook my head one more time and made my way out of the lobby. Even if she's doing what I think she is, asking her about it would only make it more stressful for her. The last thing she would want is to worry her siblings. Besides. If I start poking around her life, who knows what she might find out about me. That... I can never let happen. The darker thoughts beginning to seep into my mind, I quickly brought my trotting up to a gallop as I headed for the subway. The September air rushed past me like a warm slush as I felt the minds of every other pony on the Manehattan streets shoot through my head.

A sub-pony, part lizard. A pyrokinetic. A hydrokinetic. Somepony who can freeze... time? Another sub-pony. An empath. Born an earth pony, half avian. The numbers have grown in these past few years. An earth pony with unnatural strength... What is Macintosh doing out here? Poor kid. All that power and no where to use it. At least he's got a good head on his shoulders. A psychic. A... what is that? I halted my gallop as I felt something so odd, I couldn't begin to comprehend what it was with just a passing glance. It was clearly one mind, but at the same time, it felt like there was another consciousness within it. Like a monster, sleeping inside. I followed the feeling, deviating a little from my trip to the train station. I finally spotted the source and it was a pale yellow pegasus mare with bright pink hair. I frowned.

Oh my. Could something so dangerous have any less an intimidating exterior? It looked like she was out buying some electronic or other and was... afraid of everything. Until she stopped. Her ears picked up and she started sniffing around. Then she focused on me, her expression changed from something of fear to something of concern. She began to head this way and I bolted toward the station.

I wonder if she knows about the second consciousness? Whatever it is, that second consciousness was sensitive enough to see me. She didn't have any power to tell who I was, so everything should be fine... With that, I finally finished my trip to the station. The tunnel was filled with pale gray tiling and bright fluorescent lights that illuminated it to the point of reflecting off the tiles. It was always too bright down here in the waiting area, and too dark everywhere else. I scanned my pass and boarded the subway, letting the smell of oil and machinery sink into my nose as I counted power ponies on this particular train.

Ever since I buried that mirror with him, the powers I once knew and the ones I thought I'd taken from him all but vanished one day out of the blue. For years I believed that my powers had just disappeared completely, but just as they had gone, this ability just showed up without warning or notice a little before Applejack brought me home from the bar. I can tell who can do what and even filter through some of their genetics. Anything to do with natural ability, but only ponies with the virus. The information suddenly flowing into my brain became so overwhelming all at once that my only escape from it was numbing my head with alcohol. Of course, my parents just so happen to pass Citrus the tolerance gene instead of me, and I accidentally discovered I could... taste a pony's intent too, adding to the already massive overload I was experiencing. Naturally, the drinking became a problem. I'm only glad I remembered Applejack had her father's powers at the time. Had I not the sense to call her that night, who knows what would have happened?

And then... then that stallion showed up in my life again. Somehow he must've known, known that something had changed within me. True, I wouldn't have the job I do now were it not for him, but resentment is all I can feel for him. He was the one who gave me that damnable mirror in the first place. I can only assume he's finally calling me back because he needs it again. Too bad for him, I'll never let him manipulate another pony into becoming me again. Not only will I take all this information to my grave, but it doesn't matter anyways because I can't find Citrus' grave.

“We have arrived at western station. We have arrived at western station. Ten minutes before the next departure.” The overhead com said. I watched as several Ponies and other creatures got up from their seats and left, while from the doors, a different group of ponies entered. My trip to Tin would take over an hour and stop at several towns within the province. I didn't outright lie to Applejack, but there was only half the truth there. He isn't expecting me until four anyways. My attention was caught when a young mare had frantically entered the train right before the doors closed. The conductor outside gave her an irritated look before making his way back up the train. Most of the seats were full, save for one next to me, which she happily took.

“Geez, I barely made it. If I'm late again, my boss is gonna kill me, but you know about that right?” She asked, in a scratchy, but young voice. She was a pegasus, cyan coated with a rainbow of colors in her mane and tail with one wing on her right side. The other looked more like a reddened nub where the bone should have been that only half extended from her left shoulder blade. She was wearing a small box on her neck that I could only imagine was a phone of some kind, with a small chord wrapped around it. She was looking at me, so I expected she was also talking to me. Her right eye had a scar running down it. Strange. Ponies usually don't just start up conversation with strangers on the subway, especially not scarred cripples.

“Oh, is that so?” I asked. She nodded, confirming my suspicions, and continued talking.

“Yeah. Didn't do so hot on my last assignment so now he wants to talk to me in person. What are you on the train for?” What an odd young mare. She's likely not much younger than Applejack, yet here she is talking to some random old stallion on the subway. Taking a closer look at her, I felt her mind telling me that she wasn't just an ordinary cripple. Hemokenetic? Blood? She can manipulate blood?

“I'm going to visit an old friend in Tin.” Hmm... I can only wonder what she does...

“Oh cool, I'm going to Tin as well. I work for Argent Industries at the HQ. Have you ever actually seen the old man? Like, the guy himself, Mister Argent?” She had a hint of excitement in her voice from what I could tell. Hmm... I doubt anypony knowing who I know would be a good thing.

“No, but I do work for a branch of that company myself. I'm off to visit the main office today.” She put a hoof to her chin and tilted her head at me.

“Really... Do I know you? You look... sorta familiar...” I shrugged.

“I don't think so. I think it would be pretty difficult to forget somepony as unique as yourself.” She put her hoof over he mouth.

“Oh crap, you are just some guy on the subway. Sorry man. The name's Rainbow Dash.” She put a hoof out and I met it, but kept my distance. Not only hemokenetic, but her blood is toxic. If it gets in my cells, the nerves will be paralyzed. What a dangerous mare. Two unsuspecting pegasi today, and they both have the power to do something terrible. Oh well, at least she doesn't seem to be trying to con me. this flavor is... strange.

“Blood Orange. Nice to meet you. What do you do for Argent?” The mare laid back in her seat and started to unwrap her phone and placed one of the little buds deep in her ear.

“I'm a Pony Resources consultant. I work for a lot of Ponies, Argent is just my current client. The guy is loaded, so he pays well but... I'm not so sure about it after my last job...” Her ears drooped and she looked down. I frowned. A PR consultant? At what, twenty? There's no way. No, I bet you can use that hemokenesis a lot better than you can manage ponies.

“Really... At such a young age, you must be good at your job.” She shrugged as she flipped through a screen on her little device.

“Eh, it's all I'm really good at. A Pegasus who can't fly isn't any good for weather control, so all I've really got going for me are my pony skills. I started a conversation with you didn't I?” I looked around the train and then the conclusion that I was the oldest pony on it came to mind. Not only that, but there's nopony else on this train wearing a tie. Huh. She singled me out because of my appearance. Not bad.

“You're smarter than you look. So what kind of job does a Pony Resources consultant like yourself do?” Her ear seemed to twitch at that first statement, but she didn't let it bother her.

“Lately, I've had to deal with a lot of special interest clients, specifically the ones Argent has me following. You know who Marevelous Red is, right?” She looked up at me with those magenta irises, and now she was definitely trying to get something out of me. With all of my will, I kept my face from twitching. Do I know who Marevelous Red is. Honestly, I hope I don't know who Marevelous Red is. The real question here is what are you after?

“I've heard of her. What about her?” She had me lean in before speaking into my ear.

“Well, apparently, she was spotted at the harbor on the night that it was destroyed. Huge damage to the Argent pier and Mister Argent's personal port. They said that there were grooves in the concrete like it was melted by some kind of giant laser beam or something. I didn't get there until after the fight was over and the police had taken control of the scene, but from what I heard, there were charred pony limbs scattered all over the place and a whole mutilated body. Some ponies are saying that Marevelous herself did it, but I get the feeling that she stopped whatever did that.” She was whispering now, but her intentions had become foggy again. Limbs? Like, back legs and forelegs? Wings? What in the world? The story only said that part of the port was destroyed in an accident Saturday night...

“How could that happen? Who would even believe Marevelous could do something like that? She's never displayed any feat of energy manipulation.” I responded at a normal volume, but I suppose this was all supposed to be a secret.

“Shush!” she checked around to make sure nopony was looking at us and then continued, “I don't know, but this is where the real story starts. Apparently there's a rumor going around about ponies getting second powers.” Second powers!? No... he can't be... how would he even be making them? The one I had was the only one if it's kind, it had fragments of the original element crystals in it... unless... he found the rest of them...

“Second powers? I thought power ponies could only have one because of the way the virus messes with a pony's genetic makeup.” I made sure to keep my voice down this time and she nodded her head.

“While that's true, there's this guy, a stallion who goes by Goose Fang, who can teleport. But he couldn't always do that. Originally, it was believed that he was the long lost son of Shark Tooth, the mob boss who disappeared like, fifteen years ago, and he had the powers and the looks to back that up. But a few weeks ago, all kinds of ponies were talking about how he could just pop from one place to another and deliver the smackdown like nopony's business. He was in control of that harbor until a few days ago when he just up and disappeared. Nopony has seen him since.”

I don't like this. Too many things in her story are correlating for me specifically. There is no way she doesn't know who I am. But... how could she know who Marevelous is? In that suit you would never be able to tell. The only reason I suspect anything is because of her father's lies that match up with her own... well, that and I know what her powers are. I have to ask.

“So, why tell me?” She shrugged.

“You seem like a guy who's seen a lot. Somepony who has a few secrets. I don't have high hopes of being able to just 'walk away' from Mister Argent's office today because I fucked up bad on my last job. I figure I'd tell somepony what I thought in the event I don't get a chance later.” That energy she had when she started the conversation had faded away, and now she just sounded tired.

“You really think you would just get offed in broad daylight? Even the mobs haven't been that bold for more than a decade now since that singer was gunned down in her own home.” She leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

“Maybe. The stallion has more power and influence than you know. If we're being honest here, he probably has as much control over the country as the princesses do. If he wants some cripple with no ties to anypony dead, then he can make it that way with a few calls. What am I supposed to do, fly away? Even if I could, he would still find me. At least this way my foster sister doesn't get hurt in the process.” I know that voice. That's the voice of somepony who's given up hope.

“You can't think like that. If you don't try to improve your standing, how is it supposed to get any better? Sure, you might've botched a job, but I doubt you're worth more dead than alive to him. The news story about the harbor had less information in it than yours did. If nothing else, surely your information gathering skill could be put to use. The dumbest thing anypony can do is kill a spy, after all.” Her ears perked up, if only a little and her face relaxed.

“I guess. You're not some ordinary old dude, are you Mister Orange?” I shook my head.

“No, I'm about as normal as they come.” Blatant lies, all of it. “Just your average accountant trying to make a living for his family.” There we go.

“Oh yeah? You married?” I winced. I swallowed a dull pain.

“A long time ago. She died in an accident that spiraled out of hoof in a hurry.” Her ears flattened again.

“Oh, geez... I, uh... I'm sorry about that.” I shook my head.

“Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known. That happened almost fourteen years ago.” She brought her hooves to her mouth.

“No way... you don't mean she was part of the Copper Tassel thing do you? Was she... was she a power pony?”

“Not a power pony, but that was when it happened. She was in the building that collapsed.” I said. It was hard, to keep the memories at bay. I lost my mind so quickly that I didn't even learn who Copper Tassel was until three years later. All that anger and hate that had built up so much was only directed at the suit and nowhere else. And then that stallion stepped in right before I was released... he gave me that cursed thing and I went wild with that power... So many... so many...

I lost count at one point. I could only see red in those days, and finally, when everything was clear again, it was my own brother who brought me back to sanity. I'll never forgive myself, and I'll never forgive that bastard for giving me that... that thing!

“Hey, are you okay?” I felt the girl's hoof on my foreleg before I realized I was clutching my own head in my hooves. I shook the thoughts away. Just more memories to bury.

“Sorry. Just some... unpleasant memories. What about you? You're no more than twenty I would guess. Are you supporting yourself and this er,”

“Foster sister.” She corrected.

“Right, foster sister, or do you live with somepony?” I asked. She shook her head.

“No. I've been alone since I was... probably twelve or so. I was actually born in Cloudsdale, but I fell off the city and broke my wing off on the way down to the forest below it. I couldn't get back up and I was never found by anypony, so I've never been back. It's a miracle I survived after all this time, really. My sister was in a similar position when I met her, but she could never fly to begin with. We help each other get by these days.” I can only imagine trying to live in that city alone as a child. I'm sure there's more to that story.

“Now arriving at Tin station. End of the line, Tin station,” The overhead com said. Already? Must've missed the other announcements...

“I suppose this is our stop. We'll have to part ways here.” She yawned and stood up.

“Yeah, I guess it is. Well, it was nice to meet ya old man.” I rolled my eyes. Old man. I'm forty five. I might not be in my prime anymore, but I'm certainly not that old...

“The same goes to you. If I see you again, you'll have to introduce me to your sister.” She headed for the opposite end of the station, but turned and gave me a smile.

“You got a deal old man!” And off through the crowd she trotted. Alone within the mass of ponies getting on and off trains at the platform, I looked for the clock. Three forty five PM. I'd better hurry over there. That stallion is unpredictable...

Harmony Days VI: Uncle Orange's Day out (part 2)

Before today, I don't remember ever visiting this place. I certainly don't remember the trade center being that imposing, that's for sure. Tin, the city in which Argent more or less owns every scrap of land around, isn't so much of a city as it is a collection of small homes and businesses and one gigantic tower that overtook the skyline, casting a shadow on the places below. Depending on the time of day of course. At the moment, it was nearing 4 PM before daylight savings kicked in, meaning that the shadow of Argent Tower was just about to fall over the city.

The little town was more or less dead at this time of day because shifts had yet to switch, the miners were still in the mountains, and everypony else was either in Argent Tower or waiting to open when the shifts switch in about an hour. Tin was further north than Manehattan and today it was particularly cold for whatever reason.

I had made my way through about half the city, or really half way to the tower, when I spotted my train ride partner. Her mind was very active as far as I could tell, her power swirling just above the surface just ready to be activated at a moments notice. I wonder what she's up to. The mare made quick movements of scanning around and continued further down a well hidden alley way that I wouldn't have likely noticed if there weren't a bright blue, rainbow maned pony walking through it.

It must be inconvenient to have a coloring like that when one is trying to be sneaky. She seemed rather smart, so I bet she has a costume. But I wonder if her costume would also attract attention? Maybe... it's not like she had anything on her but that phone of hers. I continued to watch her until her mind gave notice of her powers spreading outside of it. The mare unraveled the gauze on her broken wing bone revealing that it was like the wound had just been made. The blood started to flow from it, floating and pooling just above the mare's head in front of a wall that had a strange groove on it.

The liquid traveled into the wall, filling it until all the groves were red, making some kind of rune pattern out of the various lines. The blood began to glow and I felt another power of somepony beginning to work on the door. One latch, two latch, three latch, four latch. The door began to slide away, and the mare's blood started to flow back into her bone like it'd never left. She wrapped the spot back up and headed inside.

I checked the tower's shadow to see how far it had moved in the last few minutes to make sure I still had time to investigate, and when I decided it had only been five minutes or so, I inspected the spot. The door had closed as soon as Rainbow entered, returning back to the near invisible wall. The best place to hide a tree after all... Had I not been looking for it, I wouldn't have seen the grooves in the first place. They were so shallow that it barely looked like there was anything different about this section of white wall than all the others on this little building. The runes looked like something you'd find in a unicorn spell book and formed a circular pattern on the wall that made a few triangle shapes inside.

A six pointed star? That's unusual... I heard movement from nearby and decided it best to make my way to my appointment in the tower. The shadow had shifted another few inches and four PM was growing ever closer. As soon as I had entered the giant white coated place, I was immediately directed by somepony toward the main elevator. After reaching the interior of the mirror walled box, I noticed that there were at least eighty buttons on the elevator panel. The mare, who was a stark white pegasus probably in her mid twenties with a range of colors in her mane and tail from blue to yellow, pressed the top left button and entered a code into a keypad that caused the elevator to rise.

A strange feeling occurred when I realized that this mare was... different. With normal ponies, their minds came off as more or less bland. Mostly colorless and usually without any particular flavor giving me almost nothing to read as I passed them. With power ponies, there was always a color, and there was always a flavor, telling me what they were, what they could do, or what their powers do to them. This mare however was a mixture of both sides. The color was more grouped toward her eyes as opposed to her whole body like a normal power pony, and the flavor was almost as if it were masked somehow. As if she was intentionally hiding her powers, but not specifically from me.

“So... Have you worked here for long?” I asked. The mare made a movement like she was going to answer, but hesitated before she did.

“A while. I've known Mister Argent for a long time,” She said. Have you really? You powers are stirring...

“I see. Are you... very close to him?” Her mind looked almost as if it were fighting itself. The flavor wanted to stretch out and expand, but the color was keeping it all locked away near her eyes. It didn't look so much like she was trying to hide it anymore, but like she was desperately trying to control it. The mare nodded.

“I'm his personal secretary and have been so for years, Mister Orange.” When she said my name, her powers swirled like a vortex, spinning and winding, rapidly trying to escape it's prison. Her tone was harsh, as if she wanted nothing more than to be away from me. How strange. I've yet to do anything and this mare is already hostile.

The elevator dinged as the upward momentum stopped. The light above the door came on and the two doors slid open, revealing a small hallway that lead to a large open room with a singular desk that appeared to be empty, a couch and several glass display cases lining either wall. I followed the mare, even her movements seeming to hold resentment as she lead me to the couch. Hidden in front of it was an another chair and a coffee table with a chess board on top of it. I noticed the girl's powers flare and caught her staring daggers into me with her pale gray eyes. For a moment I thought she might've been blind, but by the way she was staring at me there was no way she was... but then again, maybe that's why her powers are grouped so close to her eyes?

“Mister Argent will be with you shortly. Please take a seat and wait for his arrival.” She turned on her hooves and just about stormed back to the elevator. Rather than continue thinking on what I could have done in the few minutes I've been here to cause so much malice in that girl, I decided to focus on the chessboard in front of me. The pieces were made of aluminum and glass, one set facing the other in traditional fashion. As with most chess sets in Equestria, the king's piece was in the shape of Celestia's crown, and the Queen's piece that of Luna's. The rest of the pieces appeared to be normal, but upon further inspection had engraving in the back of each one.

The bishops were engraved, one with a six pointed star almost identical to the one I saw on the door, and the other with a diamond shape on the back of it's head. The knights, A lightning bolt and a butterfly, the rooks a balloon and... an apple. What a strange set of pieces. Surely these shapes mean something to Stannum, but what? Just as I picked one up, I heard the elevator door open behind me.

He was an older stallion, but that didn't make him look any less intimidating. An earth pony, strong and built of an imposingly tall and muscular figure with a silver gray coat. His mane was a mixture of brown orange and white, somewhere between rust and old age, cut short like somepony used to working in the military. He had a neatly trimmed beard and mustache that matched his rust speckled mane. He was wearing a suit that was stark white, much like his assistant, that had six colored pins along the lapels. He carried himself like a creature that had been at the top of the food chain, but at the same time with an almost royal air of dignity around him. His dark orange irises settled on me and showed his near shining white teeth under a smile. His mind was covered in a sickeningly sour flavor that danced with the same silver color of his own coat. With all the effort I could manage I kept the scowl I had been anticipating from forming on my face and stood to greet him.

“Hello Stannum,” I said, finally subduing my own hate into something that appeared pleasant.

“Evening Mister Blood Orange. It is wonderful to see you again,” he replied with a voice made of southern velvet and deep tones. A twinge of pain struck my heart as his voice was only so much different from Citrus', yet more refined. I hated it, but if nothing else, Stannum Argent oozed charisma. His mind sprang to life nearly covering his whole body in a burning silver aura that I have only seen once before when he approached me years ago. The flavor and color of Argent's mind were so unique to himself, even I didn't know how to read it. If anything, it reminded me of that pegasus mare I saw back in Manehattan today. Like a monster deep within. No, no, this is Stannum. The monster is already on the outside.

“If that's how you feel about it. So, what can I do for you today?” He made his way over and took a seat at the other side of the table and motioned for me to to sit as well.

“Blood, do you play chess?” I didn't like where this was going. Stannum was a stallion that practically enjoyed torture, and as much as he looked to be covered in brawn, he was just as cunning. Dangerous, is the word I typically use to describe him.

“I have before.” That's about the understatement of the century. Applebloom uses me as her practice partner. It's a miracle that I can even manage to keep ahead of her at the rate she learns. If I can't keep up with her, she has nopony else to practice with, so I'm always looking for new tactics. He nodded slowly.

“Good. I've called you here today because I have a little game to play with you.” 'I've called you hear because I want to see you squirm,' I translated. Stannum likes nothing more than tormenting ponies who know his true nature, but what he was really after today I didn't know.

“I suppose I can't really say no now that I'm here.” The old stallion gave me a big smile and leaned over the board.

“Perfect. I'll take the first move then.” Argent began by moving his white king's knight to F3. Opening with a knight? Just what have I gotten myself into? In response, I played black queen's pawn to D5.

“Hmm... I must ask, Mister Orange, do you have a history with this game?” Stannum asked. What is he after now? I could feel a change in the flavor he was giving off. The taste at its core was the same, but now there was a hint of something else to it. Genuine curiosity? Or is this a ploy to get me to start talking? He met my pawn with his own, and I responded by mirroring the board.

“I suppose. My youngest niece loves this game, so I try to keep up with her.” No new information to him, he knew about all of them, long before I knew about him. The flavor changed again and Stannum started the beginnings of a smirk. A white pawn to C4. Why would he just give me that? Should I just take it anyways? Bah, she would know better... the less pieces he has, the better off I am... Probably. I take the pawn and he cuts me off. Blocked off... what now? Apply pressure? I need to get something moving... Black queen's bishop to F5.

“Well, this is a rather pleasant surprise. It seems like your mind is still sharp after all these years. I suppose there never really was any need to worry about regression.” White king's knight to H4. I figured he'd cut me off, but not with his knight. Aggressive bastard. One move after another, my bishop retreats. Damn it, he's making my moves for me at this point. I don't want that queen out of her box just yet...

“I have to take care of them somehow. I am their guardian after all.” I won't get anywhere retreating like this... A trap maybe? So much for that pawn. Pressure to his knight for trade. Bishops move, pawns shift. We both have an avenue for our queens, but I'm certain he'll go on attack first.

“So, I've heard that Manehattan has become an interesting place over the weekend.” Getting to what you really called me here for now, huh? Pawns die, bishops glide, and more and more it looks like he's setting up to set his monster loose. Is he about to move out his knight? Where would he go with it?

“Is that so? Why do you say that?” If Rainbow was under orders to tell me what she did, then he won't bring up old information. I apply pressure, then it finally happens. White queen to F3. Gah, the bitch is in play. As if I wasn't having trouble keeping up as it is. Might as well bolster defense on my king's bishop. Black rook's pawn to A5. One pawn each, I have his king's knight, he has my queen's bishop. Stannum chuckled.

“Well for starters, my piers were damaged in some kind of fire fight. Supposedly, the entire harbor has grooves in it from high heat exposure of some kind, but my two ports were much more heavily damaged than any others. Sounds like some kind of... monster got loose doesn't it?” A distraction maybe? So far he hasn't done anything without purpose. But that makes me believe that Rainbow was telling the truth. I wonder if she's to meet with Stannum next? A monster... Wait a minute... Black queen to E7. What has he been up to?

“Really? It almost sounds like you're being targeted, but I can't think of anything in the last few years that would warrant that. I'm sure you haven't made any enemies recently.” I made sure to let the sarcasm drip from my voice. Goddess, that queen makes me nervous. I can't leave any openings here. Damn it. Bah, putting that in front of the rook will only make things worse. I'm better off checking his remaining knight.

“It could be that. I doubt you know this, but some punk ass kid thought it would be fun to hijack one of my import ships and then he stole all the cargo. But... I left a present in there for him. From what I've heard about the harbor, I'd say he got all three of 'em...” Damn, he's trying to attack my weakened side. I need to get my king out of the way... All three of what? Is he talking about that Goose Fang guy? Why would... no, he already knew the boat was going to be stolen. Black king castles to C2.

“A present huh? What kind of present?” He looked at me and smiled. You don't have anywhere for that rook to go! What are you doing with it? Speaking of nowhere to go, what do I do? Moving my more powerful pieces right now would more than likely prove fruitless if Applebloom has taught me anything about mid-game. Let's see... that knight's pawn hasn't been moved. Maybe I can clear a spot so I can push my chariots into action...

“Oh you know... something shiny and reflective, just what a punk like him would want.” Other thoughts went on hold.

“You did what!?” One of my pawns dies in passing. No, no, no... more of them? How? How could he have made another one? He didn't actually find those relics did he? They were supposed to be lost shortly after the nation was founded, there's no way... Oh no, I wasn't paying attention to that knight! That's why he moved the rook! His queen is already trained to take over that whole side of the board. This is fine. I can just take the pawn and react to whatever he does next. Black knight's pawn captures F6.

“Trigger a memory perhaps? I merely tested out a new product using a very... special sample group.” The white queen storms ever closer. Lab rats. He's treating gang members like lab rats at the expense of his own harbor. There must have been some kind of horrible reaction to whatever these new mirrors are made out of, but that certainly explains the second power. However... is the gang boss still wearing it? Surely it could have been damaged in a fight if he wasn't specifically protecting it... Mine had more than a few layers of magic protecting it in that suit, and even then Citrus almost broke it and killed me... sigh. I almost wish he'd succeeded. How different things would be if I was the one who died in that fight. Divert his attention, or protect the pawn? He probably wants me to protect the fake target while he goes after the real target. That queen still has two places to move that could screw me over... Fire with fire, my chariots are in play too.

“There are those in this world that I can't ever forgive, and both of those ponies happen to be the same room right now. How are you making them again?” Stannum moved a pawn to corner my knight, and suddenly, he had nowhere to progress to. Damn, he was after my king's knight all along. Well, nothing I can do but retreat for now. At least my bishop is still relatively safe, but that could change rather quickly. I feel like the board is going to tip very soon...

“Oh, you know, a little of this and a little of that. I think I've finally solved that whole, fracturing problem. You see, mercury has a fun little interaction when it's exposed to the virus under a disruption crystal and then frozen and charged with magic. Once activated, not only will the new mirror force integrate with the host's body, but it will eventually become permanent to the point of removing all traces that it was ever there over a few month's time, which means...” The back row pieces are all moving now, encroaching ever closer. Three moves and ponies start dying left and right.

“The powers received never go away... the host will permanently have an additional power until it dies...” I said, more to myself than Stannum.

“Exactly. See, I knew you still had your whits about you.” He can make soldiers... he can just create power ponies with what is essentially the flip of a switch. If the mirrors integrate with the body, then not even an immunity to the virus would save you, it manipulates genes! But... wait. There must be more, otherwise he'd have already started his campaign. He gave them away? On purpose to test them... because there's a variable he can't control. A variable he can't know for certain until after the deed is done... Fortify the king before the carnage begins. Black king to B2.

“So what is it? What's causing these mirrors of yours to malfunction? If anypony knows you, it's me, so why haven't you already started your conquest yet?” Stannum frowned. The first sacrifice moves, a pawn that will become a domino. I can pull my bishop out and pressure his queen! Stannum puffed out some air through his nostrils. The monster backs away. Now is the time to take back the hill! My bishop dies in battle and now the hill is contested even further. Stannum started to smile again. What are you planning now? I'll avoid the death trap that is that pawn and use my king's knight to pressure his bishop.

“Well, as you know, magic isn't the most predictable thing in the world, and neither is science to a certain degree, and with the virus being biologically unique to each pony, there have been a few... interesting reactions.” His tone sounded so displeased that it almost made me smile. The bishops dance on opposite colors, parallel forces that can only watch mournfully from a distance. He's disappointed? He must not know how to fix his problem... Maybe I can take his knight next...

“Interesting reactions?” Stannum nodded. He captured my king's pawn at and then put his hooves together.

“Mister Orange, have you ever heard of the Beast?” The Beast? What is he on about now? Hmm... I have an opening for my chariots now... Queen's rook to D8. Ah yes, D8. The space she likes to refer to as 'Sad face,' or the place 'Rooks go to die.' She's not wrong about it either. Any time we do trade rooks, it's almost always at D8 or D1.

“No, I'm afraid I haven't.” He's blocking? Well, now would be the time to take that knight then. The Black knight slays the white knight. Why yes, you will bleed on me.

“The Beast is an unusual power pony that showed up in Manehattan about three years ago. Nopony has survived to see what the creature looks like before it transforms, save for one who managed to see it's outline in the dead of night. We know that it is a pegasus when it walks around like a pony, but that is not what earned it the name, 'The Beast.' Under exposure of something, this pony transforms into a monstrous creature more akin to a wolf, like a strange pony hybrid. It becomes almost two stories tall and manages the strength to literally crush a pony like a tomato in a single claw. It's earliest appearance was some time in twenty seven, and it was most active in the following year, yet the year after there were maybe one or two sightings, less since.” Hmm... he wants me to go after that bishop with my rook, but that would only be disastrous. Take the pawn instead. If I lose my knight, he loses his bishop and effectively loses the trade. Another victim falls to the black Knight.

“And you're telling me this because it has something to do with your new mirrors?” Stannum nodded. I figured as much, those bishops seem to be his new wave of pressure. But now that the secondary threat is gone, let's put pressure on three of his pawns and trap his king in one spot. His monster sets out to be an obstacle. Protecting his rook. Fine, his pawn dies. Black queen to capture A4, another victim of the Beast.

“The second generation is dealing with a similar flaw that causes the host to mutate not unlike the Beast into a monster that more or less goes berserk and destroys everything in sight. We don't have a large sample size yet, but so far it affects most of our test subjects.” Ha! I've got you now! Time to kill your rook. The Beast tramples on, one less chariot in the clear and silver world. And next is your king...

“Check. That doesn't sound like you, you normally have these things planned better.” Stannum shook his head.

“While I thank you for the praise, even I can't know everything.” He blocks with his bishop. Now I get to make you dance. And another one down, and another one down, and another one bites the dust! Now that I've killed that off, time to move into position. We're about to enter the end game. My Beast bathed in the blood of her enemies looks for her next victim.

“I see. This game is gone on long enough, why did you call me here Stannum?” His monster stands in the way of mine, but that damnable bishop is baiting me. Trading queens now? You're not in a great position as it is, but I don't see a problem in that. My Beast kills his monster, only for her to be taken out by that bishop at C5. With my Knight as my largest threat remaining, he moves in.

“I need the original.” My knight chases his chariot, and soon there will be nowhere left to run. I have him on the ropes, if I can just... the original?

“The original? I thought I told you, that was destroyed.” Stannum shook his head.

“No, no, no, there's no way that could have happened. That thing was loaded with fragments of the six element crystals! This game has already ended in stalemate, tell me where the mirror is, Mister Orange!” He stood and rose to full height, the Adonis like stallion imposing over me. Looking at the board, in only a few moves, it would end up as me having a single pawn more than him, and two bishops on opposite colors. Unless one of us suddenly decided to give up, it was over. I stood up myself.

“I told you years ago, the mirror was destroyed with the trade center. There is nothing I can do about it.” Stannum looked at me with eyes burning, the taste of his power had suddenly turned spicy. Oh goddess, please don't tell me he's about to attack.

“I don't think you understand what I am trying to tell you mister Orange. Get me the mirror. Or there will be consequences.” I lowered my eyes. No... he should have no way of knowing I don't have Citrus' powers anymore, he should know better than to challenge me.

“And I don't think you understand Mister Argent. The mirror was destroyed. I don't have it and I don't know if even the fragments remain.” I felt his powers flare and begin to grow to fill the rest of his body. I was about to turn tail and run when I felt another mind rising from below by the elevator. The doors slid open and our attention was drawn to it. Out trotted... or half rolled, a younger pony, probably in his late teens or early twenties. His coat was a dark green, and his mane and tail were a shiny mixture of white and silver with irises that were a dark orange color. His lower body was strapped up in belts and hooked to some kind of wheeled apparatus that allowed his more or less malformed hind legs to move with the rest of his body.

“Dad, are you ready to go? We need to... I'm not interrupting anything am I?” The young stallion asked. I watched the older stallion visibly and mentally relax before he let out a breath.

“No, Silicon. Mister Orange was just leaving. But we'll speak again soon. That you can be sure of,” Stannum said. The air in the room seemed to become very thin very fast. I took in a deep breath that didn't seem to do much for me and simply nodded.

“I see. Very well then. It was... a pleasure, to see you again Stannum,” I lied through my teeth. I quickly made my way to the elevator, passing the cripple on my way out, only making eye contact with him long enough to figure out what his power did. I nearly ran to the elevator and slammed the doors behind me. Goddess, how is that kid even alive? After the doorsclosed and I clicked the button for the first floor, I simply sat in amazement that that young stallion had even made it to the age he was. It was almost like a growth, that vision of color and that taste of bitter. Coiled around his body like some kind of ball of wriggling snakes tightening around his organs.

His mangled hind legs were the least of his worries with a power that was likely actively killing him. I tried to shake the sight away, but nothing would have it leave my eyes. Whatever power it granted him was likely not worth the literal suffering it caused in return. Is that why he was so desperate to get his hooves on the original? I should see if it's still there... That kid didn't look like he had much time left, as thin as he was. He called Stannum dad. The stallion was dangerous as it is, but desperate too? This can only end poorly. Maybe... maybe I should test my suspicions. If she is who I think she is, then maybe she can do something about it... My thoughts were interrupted by the elevator ringing, signaling me that I had arrived at my floor. When the doors slid away, I was greeted to the sight of a more depressed than angry looking, likely blind, white pegasus.

“Please come with me, Mister Orange.” She didn't give me a chance to question her, he just turned away from me and exiting the building. I suppose 'no' isn't an option is it? Reluctantly, I followed the young mare out of the building. The streets of Tin had come to life in the time that I had spent with Stannum. The roads and restaurants now full of occupants, streets filled with noise. The white mare had stopped and stared in my general direction just a few meters away, then trained her eyes on my location after stretching out her wings once. In that time, her power shot through them like a lightning bolt, then returned to her eyes.

“This way,” she said, unusually clear through the mass of voices and minds swirling around me. The crowd seemed to be half made up of power ponies, making it difficult to keep my concentration, yet somehow, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. She was alluring in a way that I couldn't quite put my hoof on. I followed her deep into the shadow of Argent tower, the east side of Tin becoming more like night out, the streetlamps already coming on. As I followed her, my memory started to trigger, making me remember that I had come this way not too long ago and once I had made the final turn, I realized where we were. The mare pulled a glowing blue liquid out from under her wing and flew to the top of the grooves on the wall. She removed the cap and poured the liquid over the grooves, and I watched in awe as, instead of following the established laws of physics, the liquid followed the grooves on the wall, filling them with an ethereal glow that just shouted 'magic' at anypony who could see it. One latch, two latch, three latch, four latch. The wall shuttered and slid away, leaving the magically charged liquid to flow back into its original resting place. The mare put the cap on her test tube and hid it beneath her wing.

“Hurry, or the door will close,” she said with that strange clarity again. She disappeared behind the wall, and as if enchanted, I followed. The moment my tail entered the space in front of it, the wall came back down behind me like lightning, grazing me and sliding back into place. The hall was remarkably dark, and it seemed to circle the building, leading to a set of dimly lit stairs going down the next wall to my right. The mare was waiting for me at the top of them and then began to hover, not unlike a humming bird, down them. For minutes, we went down stairs, deeper and deeper underground. I finally saw a brighter light at the end of the fourth turn and watched the white mare gently float inside it on her near invisible wings. Quick to escape the darkness of the stair riddled hallway, I galloped after her and into the room, only to be immediately stopped at sword point.

In a black cloak made of feathers that shined blue in the light was another figure holding a sword underneath it and pointing the tip at my neck. The figure wore a silver helmet and most of her dress was stark black and gray, save for her silver boots and small golden buttons on whatever coat she was wearing. The urge to swallow overcame me, and I took the feeling of multiple powers ready to activate as a sign to take a seat. It was when I felt the powers that I realized the one pointing the sword at me was familiar. A hemokenetic? Rainbow?

“What are you doing here?” The harsh tone pulled my attention away from the sword at my neck and toward the white mare who I'd followed here. The room itself was a bare basement-like block of cinder colored stone with a single exit on the opposite side of the room with an almost out of place, high tech steel reinforced door with a green glowing sign above it.

“What am I doing here? I followed you here at your instruction!” She made a motion to the black feathered character I could only assume was Rainbow in disguise, and the sword disappeared under her cloak. I never saw the end that was holding it, but based on the fact that she had no horn and the sword was on her right, I figure she recognized me and was trying to hide her singular wing. The white mare relaxed and sat down, but Rainbow kept her powers just an inch away from surfacing, and the bitter tang to it told me she was still on edge.

“Don't play dumb with me, you know what I mean. Who are you? Why are you in Tin?” Her voice seemed to have more calm mixed in with the anger now, so I relaxed a little. I would ask the same questions, but I don't have a weapon to threaten you with.

“Blood Orange. I'm an accountant who works for one of Mister Argent's subsidiaries. I was called in by Stannum for a visit.” And that is the truth. The mare frowned.

“How do you know Argent then? Why would he call some random accountant to his office personally?” She narrowed her eyes, but not specifically at me. Her powers had moved back to her wings and her eyes were left darkened. Ah, so she really is blind.

“I... was hired by him personally years ago. I'm... one of his acquaintances.” I'm certainly not his friend.

“Very well then. What did you talk about in his office?”

Why would you ask that? Aren't you his secretary?

“Be that as it may, that does not mean he will tell me all of his plans. Answer the question.”

A mind reader? That's not what I felt...

“Felt? What do you mean, 'felt?'” At this point I figured she was at least in tune enough with me to read whatever I was thinking, so there was no point in not voicing my thoughts.

“I can feel the powers of others... uh, it comes as a combination of taste and color in the pony or ponies nearest to me. You're blind... and you in the mask, you're Rainbow Dash, aren't you?” As quick as the words exited my mouth, the feather coated mare flew back on wings of crimson that materialized out of thin air and the sword returned to view now covered in a pulsing red liquid, being held at the golden hilt by a cyan wing. She looked like she was about to dive bomb me, when the other mare stood up.

“Stop! We can't kill him yet!” the white mare exclaimed. I rolled my eyes.

That's reassuring.

“At the very least it'll prolong your life. Calm down, Rainbow.” She hesitated at first, but then her wings evaporated and she settled on the ground. The sword lost it's glowing red and was quickly sheathed in a bright red case on her left side. Her wing took hold of her helmet to set it down on the table and then she removed the pale gray mask underneath it.

“He knows who I am! What are we supposed to do now? Just let him walk away?” Rainbow angrily shouted. The white mare shook her head.

“He already knows he's trapped, and we have a common enemy here. If he's smart, he will work with us, right?” I sighed and nodded.

“There's no hiding anything from you, and I'm sure she can out pace me if I tried to escape. But then again, who says a one winged pegasus can't fly after all?” I couldn't help but let the sarcasm out in full force. Rainbow eyed me.

“You know damn well I couldn't just do that out in the open. Sure I won't kill you, yet, but maybe I'll send you home a leg short! See what a cripple's life is like for a change!” She yelled, her wing gripping the sword hilt, her blood flowing around it in a red haze. The white mare stamped her hoof in between us.

“Stop it! Fighting with him will do neither of us any good. Sit down and be quiet while I try and figure out what to do next.” Rainbow looked from her, then back to me, growled once and let the sword click back in it's sheath. She just about threw a chair out from the table with her wing and slammed herself down in it.

“And here I thought you weren't an asshole. Shows what I know.” She said at me. I shook my head and sighed again.

“I would love to see how you act while being held hostage at sword point. I would imagine you might just feel a little upset. What do you want from me? And really, why do you want anything from me? Did you know I had powers before, or did you just assume I did because Stannum asked for me personally?” The white mare sat back down on the floor across from me and took a deep breath.

“First off, before anything else, why? Why do you give off almost the same signature as Citrus Root?” The words stabbed me like a cone of ice jabbing through my heart. Nopony has said his name aloud in almost eleven years. Pain and memories started to flood my eyes, a stabbing sickness filled my whole body. I only just managed to relax the sudden tension in all of my muscles before I could reply.

“You... you knew my brother?” Her ears flattened on her head and her pale gray eyes went wide.

“You're... I...” She paused and swallowed, as if a similar pain had gripped her with my own words. “Tell me everything. Everything you know, everything you think you know, and anything you suspect about the events going on right now. I want to hear it all.”

I didn't know what time it was, and I could only guess it was close to five thirty PM when I left Argent tower. I wouldn't leave Tin until it was time for the last train departure to Manehattan, near midnight that day.

Harmony Days VII: Sisters (part 1)

Author's Note

--[ Warning ]--
Applebloom is a teenager in high school in this story, and as such she has a particularly foul mouth, a dirty mind, and strong opinions. Fair warning to you all.

Harmony Days VII: Sisters (part 1)

Applejack

Tick, tock, tick, tock. The clock keeps movin' forward, makin' noise with each movement of it's hands, and soon enough it'll be two AM. Ah stared back up at the door from my new phone. Come on, ya said ya'd be home late, but really? Where are ya? Ah went back ta readin' the article Twilight linked me about the monsters that have shown up in the deeper part of Manehattan Forest.

...Sightings include multiple figures over the past month resembling large creatures of an almost fantastical origin with great destructive power. The Lunar Guard report noted that many of the creatures had a singular spot near the chest area that resembled some kind of shiny, chrome-like substance made of fur, feathers, or scales depending on the creature. The reason for these creatures and their appearances, which some have taken to calling Kaiju, is still unknown. The guard hopes to keep up their fight, but some of these beasts possess terrible power.

We've attempted to get a quote from the Night Princess herself, but any and all mention of this topic has been quickly brushed aside with a “Trifling matter for the public to be unconcerned about,” more than once, which raises the question; what does the princess not want us to know? More on this story as information becomes available.

This article has been brought to you by...

Ah could feel my face twitch. It still bothers me. What does she know that she won't tell us? Or anypony fer that matter? Ah can understand givin' the news the cold shoulder, they're not ta be trusted most of the time anyways, but why Harmony, of all units? The clock continued to tick and still no sign of Uncle Orange. With nothin' better to do, Ah started ta text Twilight.

“They mention the shiny part on the kaiju. Ya think that means these were all products of the mirrors?” Send. A few seconds pass and a response.

“That's what my guess is. I've asked Mother to speak with Luna about this for us, so we'll see what she has to say. I'm more concerned with whether or not we'll be prepared for whatever happens on Thursday though.” Not completely unwarranted worry, that's fer sure. Ah mused fer a minute ta think of what ta say back.

“What makes ya say that? Ah figure if nothin' else we can use Goose as a meat shield. Kek.” Maybe not the best way ta relieve worry. A buzz and a soft chime go off.

“ :I Come on, at least take this seriously. We practiced your drills, at least Pinkie, Fluttershy, and I did, but I don't think we're getting any better at it. I could only barely hold off Goose and we still couldn't get a shot off on him. You two are unreasonably strong, by the way. How you can smash my best magic without so much as a thought is a little terrifying. He said we did better, but I'm still not sure. Are you absolutely certain you're busy tomorrow? You would really be helpful in running these drills.” Ah figured as much. Ah shook my head like there was somepony else in the room and went ta typin'.

“Yeah. My little sister has a half day and she said she wanted ta hang out. Ah'm almost never home or awake at the same time as she is these days, what with all the work, school, hero, or otherwise. Ah feel like Ah've hardly seen her in the past month and we don't ever talk as much as we used ta. Family first, ya know?” Ooh, damn it, that's not gonna go over well.

“ :\ Not really, but I understand. Just be sure to come by at about noon Wednesday so we have a chance to talk about this with Mother, okay?” Ah nodded in real life and proceeded ta reply.

“Gotcha. Thanks with the help on the history stuff, btw. Ah made a B on that test, which is more than Ah expected.”

“NP. Equestrian History is fun for me to talk about because I'm blood related to most of it. I would never give them this credit out loud, but Mother and Luna have done some really cool stuff over the past few thousand years. Luna I can see, but reading about Mother as a war hero is a little surreal at times. It's a little hard to imagine that my own Mother and the mare that once lead a campaign to conquer the south western half of the country are the same pony.” The words put inta perspective just how many times that that warm mom like creature everypony called Princess Celestia had ta make hard decisions and order ponies ta their deaths over a land struggle. Ah shivered.

“Eh, don't remind me. Ah knew the Caballo-Equestrian war was a bloody one, but ta think that she actually caused a fourth of the casualties in it is crazy.” My ears flicked up as Ah heard noises by the door. A jingle of keys and a twist of the lock, the door handle dipped down and in wearily strolled Uncle Orange. He softly shut the door behind him and started ta undo his tie. His eyes looked real tired and almost reddened like he'd been cryin'.

“Hey, are ya alright?” He must not have noticed the lamp light or me on the couch when he walked in because he jumped.

“Gah! Oh, it's just you. Yes, I... I'm fine.” Ah set the phone down and got up from the couch.

“Ya sure? Ya don't look fine. Did yer meetin' go sour?” He had began to dig in the fridge he made quick work of one of the bananas from the fruit drawer. He finished that and shook his head.

“No, but it was more... taxing than I expected it to be. Mister Argent can be... irritating at times.” Now he grabbed an orange and started ta peel it. Mister Argent!? Ah managed ta contain my surprise fer the moment, but ultimately that proved fruitless.

“Ya went ta see the Mister Argent? That's yer friend?” Ah probably said that louder than Ah wanted ta. His ear flicked and sank a little, then he went back ta his orange.

“Mmhmm. Well, I wouldn't call him a friend anymore. Somepony I know is a better term. We spent nearly an hour talking over a game of chess, thank the goddess Applebloom has been so obsessed with it lately that I was in practice enough to not get destroyed. But our conversation was interrupted when he had made plans to do something with his son.” How he did it, Ah will never know, but the stallion could pick off all the pith while he was takin' the peel off of almost any citrus fruit he touched. Dad was the same way, but none of us were ever any good at that. Wait a minute. Mister Argent has a son?

“He has a kid? Ah thought he was never married.” Uncle Blood nodded.

“Biology doesn't care if you're married. It was definitely his though, looked just like a younger version of him, had he a green coat. He was about your age, but his hind legs were severely malformed and he didn't look... healthy. I got the distinct impression that he wasn't going to last for very long and Stannum hurrying me out only furthered the idea. I talked to his secretary about that and she had a similar thought. Supposedly he's been in and out of hospitals his whole life.” Thin's were startin' ta fall inta place in my head. That... that is really good ta know. Ah need ta tell Twilight about this before we go in with the infiltration. Uncle Blood finished two thirds of his orange, then reached in the freezer for his vodka and poured himself a small glass. He squeezed the rest of the orange in it and downed it all in one round.

“Geez, I needed that about eight hours ago. How was your day?” He put the cup in the sink and his bottle back in the freezer. He trotted over ta the couch and took a seat next ta me.

“Okay Ah guess. Ah made a B on my history exam today.” He nodded.

“Good, good. The better your grades are, the less we have to pay to keep you in school. You know, I met a young mare today who reminded me of you. I've never seen anypony colored quite like she was, an entire rainbow of colors in her mane and tail, a cyan coat with magenta eyes. She just came up and started talking to me on the train ride to Tin out of nowhere on one of the stops.

We talked almost the whole way there afterward, but the whole time I couldn't help but stare at her back. She was missing a wing and... oh, she was a pegasus by the way. So, she was missing a wing, it was like, broken off at the middle of the bone. I asked her how that happened, and she told me that she fell off of Cloudsdale over seven years ago. How crazy is that? Even she said she was lucky to be alive.” But... that sounds... really familiar. Haven't Ah heard somethin' similar ta this before? He yawned and got back up ta go ta the kitchen, then shook his head mid way.

“I should go to bed. If I stay up any later I'll drain my booze. You should probably sleep too. Your sister told me she invited her friend and her sister to go do whatever it was.”

“Ah guess. Ah was only still up because Ah wanted ta make sure ya got home. Ah-” A yawn found it's way out of my mouth. “Ah didn't think ya were gonna be out this late, really. Ah thought late fer ya was somethin' like eleven at best. Ah guess now that yer home Ah can go ta sleep after all. Night then.” Ah got up and headed ta the opposite side toward my room, but Uncle Blood stopped me.

“Oh, one more thing.” Ah turned ta look at him and the slightly buzzed look he had was gone and replaced by a much more serious face. One that Ah hadn't seen in a long time.

“While you're working, try to be safe okay? The harbor was attacked over the weekend and I don't want you getting caught up in the aftermath if something like that happens again... If... if you do happen to find yourself in a dangerous situation just... Just make sure you come back home, okay?” Ah swallowed. That's not the booze talkin' is it? He did down like eight ounces all at once, but that ain't a face he makes often... Ah nodded.

“Y-yes sir.” He smiled at that and returned the nod.

“Good. Oh, and if you see Rainbow, tell her Blood Orange said hi.” Then, he disappeared behind the door ta his room. Ah guess that must be her name. Ah wonder if it's a family thin', or if she was named that because of her mane? Eh, probably doesn't matter. He met some random mare on a train ride, Ah doubt Ah'll ever see her. Ah turned off the lamp as Ah went ta my room. Ah checked my phone one last time ta make sure my alarm fer tomorrow was set and noticed that Ah had a reply from Twilight.

“... I mean, I guess you could bring that up. I suppose it's true, but sometimes, I find it hard to think that my own Mother is that much of a force of nature. I can only wonder if my magic has that capability already, or if that's something that came with time for them? I mean, technically, I'm an Alicorn-unicorn half breed, and the only one of my kind. Would my magic even be as powerful as hers over time? Or maybe I'll only be as good as I am now because that's the limit to my potential. Sigh. All this is making me tired. I'm going to bed Applejack, I'll see you when I see you. Night.” It read.

Not a fun topic fer her either Ah guess. A unicorn's got nothin' on the legends and testimonies about the Princesses' power, but nopony still alive has seen the princesses really do any insane feats of magic in the last two centuries. Ah shuddered at the thought that Ah might see a feat like that sometime and tossed my phone on the night stand after sendin' her a simple 'Night Twi' in reply. My hazy thoughts drifted back ta tomorrow.

Ah have ta make a run by Star's place and get my suit dropped off. Ah need ta visit the dealership and get somepony's number so Ah can set up a payment plan after Ah get my license on Wednesday. Eh, Ah should probably get a helmet so Ah don't look suspicious. Maybe even a ridin' suit too. Even if terminal velocity has nothin' on me, based on past experience, It'd look weird if Ah hit a wall and just walked away with a few scratches. Ah need ta get a quote on the insurance cost. Then we'll go ta the fair... Her friend and her friend's sister huh? A wonder if that means Ah'll see Rarity tomorrow... A last passin' thought and then the darkness took me.

Applebloom

Saturday, August 24th, 2030.

Today, Applejack took me ta Sweetie Belle's fer her birthday. Ah ended up wakin' her up damn near twenty minutes after we were supposed ta go and we were just about thirty minutes late ta the party. It's not like we have a whole bunch of friends between the three of us, but the least she could do is actually make good on her promises. Ah know she works nights, but that really isn't much of an excuse if all Ah needed her ta do was get up at five.

Sigh. It makes me mad, but really, Ah can't blame her. She looked sweaty and not well rested when Ah woke her up. If Ah wasn't so mad Ah probably woulda asked her what was wrong, but so much fer that Ah guess. Ah only lived with dad fer so long, but it probably still eats away at her and Macintosh.

The interestin' part of today was when Sweetie Belle's sister, Rarity Belle, decided ta have a chat with her at the door. Sweetie told me that Rarity is out real late at night these days, and is worried that she might be a prostitute or somethin' since her boutique hasn't been doin' all that well, but Ah don't get the same feelin'. Granted, Applejack and Rarity are both pretty enough ta do it, but Applejack's probably never owned any makeup and Rarity doesn't seem like that kinda mare. Ah've always had this idea that Applejack isn't ever honest about what she really does fer a livin', but it wasn't until tonight that Ah really thought about it. She's always out late too, sometimes she doesn't come home until noon, like today, and every now and again Ah see bruises and cuts on her that she just says she got at work.

How would she even do that? If she's really a city janitor, there's no way she gets so many cuts and bruises just workin' street sweepers and cleanin' up debris after hero battles. Ah feel like dad used ta say he did the same thin', but Ah don't know that my memory of him is all that reliable. He was just about always home fer as long as Ah can remember. Well, until he didn't come home that one day. He probably died durin' that big fight that happened when the trade center collapsed, but nopony in the apartment ever wants ta talk about it, so Ah still don't know what happened ta him fer sure. These ponies frustrate me ta no end sometimes.

Scootaloo says her big sister is just as bad about tellin' her how she makes her money, but apparently it's good enough that she can afford ta pay fer all their stuff. Lucky little shit got a new cellphone fer her birthday in the summer and now Ah'm the only one without. Ah know Uncle Blood has ta make more than her sister does ta feed all of us and help pay fer Applejack and Macintosh's college, but damn it, Ah wish he made more, if only enough ta pay fer a phone fer me. Sigh. Bein' selfish doesn't get me anywhere. Maybe Ah should look fer a fast food job. Ah'm old enough ta work, but Ah don't really have anythin' ta put on a résumé.

Oh well, Ah'll have ta ask Macintosh about it later. If anypony knows about gettin' a job it's him. He's landed... and lost fer that matter, enough jobs in the past few years ta offer career advice. If Ah can say anythin' about my family it's that we're all damn pretty, or charismatic, or somethin' that makes us ponies that others want ta have around. That bitch from the Tiara family keeps approachin' me and Ah can't tell if she hates me or wants ta fuck me half the time. Probably both. She and her lesbian friend always make it a point ta talk about my body in front of me. Fuckin' faggots.

Tuesday, August 27th, 2030

Today was a little weird. Ah woke up ta Applejack draggin' her hooves around the kitchen this mornin', makin' her usual three egg breakfast while readin' somethin' in one of her text books. The weird thin' was that she had her jacket on, and just about winced every time she touched or moved her left side. She must've gotten another bruise because when Ah asked her about it she just said that she had a cramp on her side. Ah got smart and gave her a little hug on that side when Ah had the chance and she popped me on the forehead so hard that Ah thought my skull was gonna crack.

Obviously she had a bruise, but damn it, she didn't even try ta hold back. Ah swear every time she hits me... eh, even if it's really always my fault, she just about punches me. My head was all red fer the rest of the day and Ah had ta do my bangs different ta cover it up. The lesbians complimented me on it and Ah still don't know how ta feel about that. Ah don't think Ah'll do my bangs like that again any time soon though.

When Ah got home from school, she was leavin' ta go hang out with Rarity, of all ponies. Ah knew the two of them spent a good hour or so talkin' at the party... Ah say 'party,' but really there were only five ponies in Carousel Boutique that night, and Applejack was one of em. Anyways, Ah thought they were, ya know, kinda hostile toward each other at first. Ah guess that isn't the case though, since they're all buddy-buddy now. She'd probably get along with Rainbow Dash too if they ever hung out. Ah should see if Scoots and Ah can plan a day fer them ta meet or somethin' later.

She still hasn't come back and it's already almost ten. Ah wonder what they're up to really? Ugh, this crap with Tiara has my brain all messed up. ~~There's no way Applejack is gay... right?~~ Ya know what, fuck that. Ah'm crossin' it out and Ah'm not thinkin' about it again. Just because Rarity always comes off a little fruity doesn't mean that my sister does. Damn gutter mind. If it's not a sex joke or some kinda awful dark joke, it didn't come from me or my friends, that's fer sure.

Ah got another chess book today and Ah've been tryin' out the new strategies with Uncle Blood. He learns too fast fer my comfort. Ah won one of those games with the new techniques, and then he started pullin' stalemates on me, and almost beat me toward the end. Ah knew he was smart, he's an accountant after all, but damn he's good at chess. Ah thought Ah was a fast learner, but the guy can see like, four moves ahead of me, it's unbelievable. Ah'll have ta start diggin' through my books ta see if there's any way Ah can do better. If anypony at the tournament in October is as good as him, Ah'll have a run fer my money. And there really is money at stake here. If Ah can buy it myself, he said he'll help me play fer the plan on a new phone! Ah'm so excited, Ah might even have a phone by my birthday, and Ah'll be damned if Ah lose a game that costs me my phone!

Wednesday, August 28th, 2030

Applejack is startin' ta worry me. Ah haven't asked Uncle Blood or Macintosh about it yet, but she came home with puffy eyes and a real sad look on her face yesterday day. Ah asked her if anythin' was wrong, but as usual, she wouldn't talk about it. She never talks about her personal life, and somehow Ah don't think she ever will, the stubborn bitch. She's not cried in years, really since she got back from the Apple family orchard so long ago, but it looked like she'd been cryin' a lot, or holdin' back tears, or somethin'. She said that nothin' was wrong and that she made some new friends, but somehow that doesn't line up with the way she looked. Unless they were havin' some kinda hug box together, goddess knows she needs it. She's got less friends than Ah do, and Ah've only really got two.

Speakin' of friends, that theater kid started talkin' ta me again today. His name is like, Taps or somethin', and he's got that kinda high pitched voice that immediately makes ya think he's a fag, but he kept complimentin' me again and tryin' ta get my number. Of course, Ah more or less blew him off because Ah don't have a number ta give, and Ah'm more embarrassed about that than anythin' else. Ah hope Ah didn't hurt his feelin's or anythin', cause he's a nice guy and Ah wouldn't mind gettin' ta know him. Maybe Ah'll approach him after Ah do get myself a phone. Goddess knows Ah'm the only one in school that doesn't have one. Ah told him that if he could beat me in chess, Ah'd let him have it, but we all know how that went. Poor guy didn't even know how knights moved. He tried though, so that's at least somethin'.

Ah tried ta ask Uncle Blood about dad today, but as per usual, he just got that pained look on his face and wouldn't say anythin'. Ah hate not knowin'. It's not like it's hard ta tell me that he died, or somethin', or anythin' at all, right? It's that stupid hopeful thought that Ah might see him again if he's not dead that keeps makin' me wonder about it. If he isn't dead, then what happened? Where did he go? Was he really so much of a bastard that he dropped us on his brother and skipped town or what? Goddess, it's just so frustratin' how my own family likes ta keep thin's from me like this. Whatever, Ah'll just go back ta drownin' myself in chess books. Maybe Ah'll get good enough that Ah can join the Equestrian circuit and make a livin' off it. Creatures all around the world play this game, and if Ah get good at it, then who knows what Ah'll do?

Still though. My cutiemark has me worried that Ah'll be in the military or back at the apple farm against the rest of my family's wishes. It's a shield with three stripes of color, an apple and a heart inside, and we're still not sure what that means. The cutiemarkologists say that it's the most complex cutiemark that they've ever seen, and on top of that, Scootaloo and Sweetie both have almost identical marks just with different shapes in the middle of the shield. We got em all at the same time durin' an argument way back in middle school and we still don't know what ta do with 'em. It's been somethin' Ah've been thinkin' about a lot lately. Ah don't want ta go ta the Apple farm, so Ah've been lookin' inta combat sports and military branches. Ah'm pretty good in a fight, and... well, Ah haven't told anypony about this, but sometimes, Ah can tell who and how many ponies are around me within' some kind of radius. Ah'm not sure how big it is, but Ah'm pretty sure it's gettin' bigger the more Ah try and use it.

Ah'm also really good at predictin' what ponies are about ta do. Like, the other day, Scoots made me play this game she's really inta, where ya run around in some kinda Victorian fantasy world covered in monsters that ya hunt down. It was a lot of fun and Ah was really good at it after she told me how ta use the gun. She said she was amazed that Ah never missed a parry since it was apparently hard ta do. She had me play another game that was similar, but set in a medieval fantasy world, and even though it was a slower game, the results were about the same. Though, Ah couldn't parry the bigger weapons so that made fer some funny deaths.

It really just makes me wonder if Ah shouldn't try out fer some kinda combat club or even Junior Guard... Ah might ask Uncle Blood what he thinks about it later. Ah know Macintosh and Applejack would shoot me down immediately if Ah asked them, but if Ah had his permission, Ah might at least get ta try it. As much as they like ta think they are, they're my siblin's, not my parents, and Uncle Blood is the one who gets final say on who can do what. A thought ta keep in mind when Ah come back and read this.

Thursday, August 29th, 2030

Ah talked about the thin' with Uncle Blood, and even though he didn't like the idea of me bein' in the military, he did say that it paid well and would have a future fer me if my Chess goals didn't pan out. He said Ah should at least tell the others about it if Ah did go through with it. He knows how 'hover parent' they like ta be with me and figure it's probably right ta come ta him before them with somethin' like this. But with that outta the way, the three of us signed up fer Junior Guard and the first meetin' is tomorrow. Sweetie said her dad was real excited that she might go inta the military like he did when he was in is early twenties, and Scoots said that she practically had ta fight Rainbow fer her signature. Both were almost equally surprisin' considerin' how rich Sweetie's family is and how not Rainbow and Scootaloo are. Ah suppose parents are more supportive of somethin' like that than protective older siblin's are. Still haven't told mine yet. No idea how they'll react, and Ah think Ah'll just let it happen when it becomes necessary ta say somethin'.

The first school chess tournament was today, but Ah was really disappointed by the turnout. There were about half the number of ponies we were expectin' and even fewer that were anywhere as close as good as Ah was. Ah won on time not once, not twice, but three times. That Taps guy showed up, which was cute, but even so he still got his ass kicked. He seems really interested in me, at least enough ta learn chess, so Ah think Ah might look him up in the near future. At least he's clean and doesn't openly stare at my ass. The more jockey dick heads that try and talk ta me always smell like shit and never take their eyes off my cutiemarks... Goddess, am Ah the asshole here or what? High school has tainted my vocabulary. My older diary entries were never this vulgar.

Anyways, the tournament was over almost twice as fast as Ah wanted it ta be, and even though Applejack came and watched like she promised, she said she had other thin's ta do that day and ended up goin' ta work shortly after Ah got my prize. Oh well. At least she played a game with me before she left. She wasn't much of a challenge either, but it's somethin'.

Ah made five silver off the school's generosity, so that's more than a few used chess books, or even a quarter the way ta a new phone. A cheap phone, but If Uncle Blood helps with the plan, maybe Ah can actually pull this win off and find a deal on somethin' nice. They don't tell ya this in the adverts, but a brand new smart phone like the one Sweetie got fer her birthday costs like, seven black bits without a plan! Ah'd have to work fer like, ten hours fer seven days straight just ta make that much at a minimum wage fast food job.

It really puts inta context how much Uncle Blood actually makes ta support all of us. Even havin' a couple black ta spare every week must be a challenge. It's a good thin' Applejack works herself, otherwise we'd probably be pretty worse off than we are now, what with how unreliable Macintosh havin' a job is. Speakin' of Applejack, Ah have ta wonder how much she really makes. She said she's a part time street janitor, and if that's true, how did she even get the job in the first place? Like, it's not like Ah've seen adverts in the paper fer that kinda job, and she's been doin' it fer three years now. It's not like she had any other work experience when she was seventeen, so what makes her so special? She paid fer herself ta get inta Manehattan community initially, and even then, she still offers ta buy the groceries every other week. Maybe Ah should ask some time.

Ah doubt she'll tell me, but whatever, it's worth a shot ain't it? Ya miss every shot ya don't take right? My Junior Guard instructor taught me that one today. He said that the military uses guns and precision long range arms ta fight these days, but fer more internal stuff, they still train with swords and lances along side the guns and such. He said Ah looked pretty strong fer my age and somepony who doesn't do a lot of physical stuff, so Ah might even be cut out fer a heavy armor position. Not gonna lie, Ah'm pretty excited about this. Ah know it can be dangerous, but Ah feel like this is somethin' along the lines of what my cutiemark wants me ta do, ya know? Applejack and Macintosh didn't really get the chance ta act on theirs, so Ah'm hopin' this is a way fer me ta use mine. Scootaloo and Sweetie felt the same way, so maybe it is?

Of course, Sweetie and Ah are worried about what Scootaloo can actually do fer the military. She's not the brightest hue in the pallet, and even though her motor skills are somethin' ta behold, she's a pegasus that can't fly on straight up disability. Unless she turns out ta be some kinda genius marksman, Ah don't think she's got a good shot at this. But maybe. She's pretty good at those shooter games, and she's real fast, even if she's not very strong. Her wings might even be of some use since she can manipulate her feathers about as well as Rainbow can, which is somethin' ta be spoken for. Who knows? We'll find out, that's fer sure.

Friday, August 30th, 2030

Applejack didn't come home until after her classes today from whatever she did for work yesterday. Where did she sleep? She didn't say anythin' but that she was out with a friend. Bullshit, ya don't have friends. Or was she out with Rarity? Ugh, that thought from the other day is rearin' it's ugly head back in my mind and Ah don't wanna think about it. Just because we're Apples doesn't mean she's a fruit. Please, oh please, goddess don't let my suspicions be true. Ah respect my sister, and Ah don't want ta be disgusted with her.

She looked better this time than she has in the past, but Ah think Ah saw a few new bruises on her coat. Rememberin' the punch ta the forehead made me not try and touch 'em again, but Ah figure they were what Ah thought. It was a weird pattern too, like she was hit by somethin' with massive claws, and she had this fresh lookin' scar on her front foreleg. Ah got the usual 'it was a work accident' when Ah asked, but she wouldn't have any more about it. Ah suppose if nothin' else, that means she really was workin' yesterday which eases my thoughts a little. Somehow though, Ah get the feelin' she had a good experience in the last little while because she was... Ah don't know, happy? One: that's weird. She hardly ever smiles. Two: she hardly ever smiles. Fer any reason at all. Three: why was she smilin'? What about gettin' beat up is reason enough fer Applejack ta smile? That brings me back ta that other thin' and... Ugh, let's just drop it fer now. Heh. Cowgirl likes it rough. Oh, goddess, can we not? What is wrong with me?

Ah talked ta Taps again today, told him the truth, and he was pretty okay with that. Fer some reason. Totally into me, but at least he's clean and not too bad lookin'. His full name is Tender Taps, but Ah forgot his first name fer so long that Ah just refer ta him as Taps and that's that. We're gonna hang out at the cafe near the school on Saturday. Ah guess Ah'm excited about that, but Ah don't know how much of my extra money Ah should bring. Ah don't wanna look cheap, but it's just coffee, so Ah shouldn't need more than one silver right? Ah don't know. Ah told Uncle Blood about it, and he seemed happy fer me. Somethin' along the lines of 'If you find love, don't let it go and enjoy every minute of it. Never forget that, and have fun. But don't do anything too crazy. Biology doesn't care.'

Ah'm smarter than teen pregnancy, but Ah suppose his worries aren't unfounded. Sixteen in Manehattan has a lot of negative thin's associated with it, especially since this province has a real high abortion rate and an even higher birth rate fer ponies under twenty. Eh, Taps isn't my ideal anyways since in that relationship, Ah'd be the big spoon. Ah don't know. Ya never know what those stallions are hidin' under there, and shorter ones are always called breeders because... ya know. Low and long. Ah should stop before Ah do somethin' Ah'll probably regret in the mornin'. It's not like that isn't already a bad habit Ah have as it is. Active imaginations are a blessin' and a curse.

So, our first day of Junior Guard was today, and holy shit was it hard. Ah don't think Ah've ever been so tired after a workout in my life. First lieutenant Gray Scale had a workout planned for each individual pony! There were like, fifteen of us, and Scootaloo, Sweetie, and Ah only signed up yesterday fer fuck's sake! Ah didn't know it was possible fer my back ta feel that sore and in so many places all at once. If this pays off, Ah better look like Applejack does when she flexes. Ya can see every damn muscle on her body when she wants ya too, and it's somethin' ta see after she gets outta the shower. How her skin and coat stays so neat while apparently gettin' beat ta shit all the time is beyond me.

Guard works out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so Ah think Ah'm gonna have ta ask Uncle Blood ta buy some extra Ibuprofen so Ah can have a bottle of my own just fer this. Ah'll be damned if Ah give up though, that's fer sure. It hurt a lot, but Ah felt fantastic after and Ah could even start ta see my own muscles startin' ta bulge all over the place. Man, if Ah could look like Applejack does, that... Ah think even mom and dad would be proud, somewhere.

Saturday, August 31st, 2030

The whole apartment feels like everypony has been down lately, so Ah decided ta test a theory and see if Ah couldn't make everypony feel a little better. Applejack got a call from her boss Ah guess, and that gave me an idea. Taps and Ah talked about our families on our date or whatever, and he said that his mom always made a cake when the house felt a little depressed. Ah made sure ta tease him about me not havin' one, but he's a boy, he'll get over it. Probably. Ah'll have ta check back up on that, he's a little more of a girl than Ah am, after all. Ah figured since we're never in position ta buy ingredients on Uncle Blood's salary, now would be a chance ta test out Applejack's income and see if she couldn't get what Ah needed.

She was reluctant when she saw strawberries and cream on the list in the middle of fall, but she said she'd do it, so Ah expect ta have all my ingredients by the time she gets back, probably tomorrow based on what she said. I can't say how long she'll be gone though. Obviously, she has someplace she can stay that isn't here, but Ah wouldn't know where. Ah felt fer her with my powers as she was leavin', and not once did she head toward the west side, which is where Sweetie lives, before my radius ran out. The thin' that surprised me though, is how fast she did it. There ain't no way in hell that she can run that fast, and Ah know she won't take the bus because, and Ah quote, 'If two bits can fuel the bus, then two bits can get me a snack on the way ta wherever Ah'm goin'.' So she wouldn't be ridin' or drivin' anythin'. Macintosh is the only one who can drive Uncle Blood's car anyways.

Ah don't know how she did it, but Ah'm damn sure gonna find out. Uncle Blood started givin' me weird looks today too, but only when Ah caught him doin' it. Weird part is, He only gave me that look when Ah was usin' my powers. Makes me wonder if he has 'em too. Wouldn't that just be funny if the whole family had super powers, yet all of us were too afraid ta tell each other about 'em? It would make sense based on how the virus works after all, provided mom or dad had 'em. If Uncle Blood has 'em then that probably means Dad probably had 'em, which means we should all have 'em...

Huh. Well, that would make a lot of sense. If Applejack has super powers and is puttin' em ta use, then that means her 'job' is really just a cover story... Macintosh might not actually be as clumsy as we think, and Uncle Blood... what does he know? Ah'm not sure what ta do now. Would askin' make thin's worse? Or... hell, this ain't somethin' Ah can just ask about, now is it? Powers are a touchy subject across the board. Ponies who have 'em are ostracized by those that don't because we're the minority and looked down upon like we're diseased, which isn't entirely untrue all thin's considered. But at the same time, Ponies with powers don't typically like the normal ponies and neither side gets along well, especially in hospitals.

A lot of the time, Power Ponies have high mortality rates due ta whatever part of their virus is messin' with their internal structure, and that can cause a lot of health problems and who knows how much time in the hospital until the virus eventually kills them. It's not like the thin' is curable, and only time can say if they'll survive at all. The virus has only been around fer thirty years, so nopony really knows what all it can do, especially since testin' on it was outlawed even before Ah was born.

If it weren't fer the Super Heroes that started showin' up around the time Ah was born, Ah think there might have even been a war between the two sides. The Princesses can only do so much ta prevent ponies from killin' each other within our borders, but Ah don't think they could really do anythin' that wouldn't result in mass casualties if the problem ever became somethin' they needed ta step inta. Goddess knows that's how the New Caballo crater was formed. Eeh. We just went over that in my world history class, and the thought that that huge crater was made by somepony who sits on the throne is a little terrifyin'. She looks so nice in the pictures, Ah can't think that almost two centuries ago she stepped in and ended a war in a single day. Probably explains why Equestria hasn't been the target of somepony's attack in almost two hundred years now.

Sunday, September 1st, 2030

Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it. Ugh, she came home with a brand new phone. A brand new smart phone! The same one that Sweetie got, the same one Ah want, and she barely even knows how ta use it! Goddess, it's just so fuckin' frustratin', Ah just... Gah! Goddess damn it. Ah'm so jealous and Ah can't even hide it a little. Ah love her, but she pisses me off ta no end when she does shit like this. Where did she even get the money fer that? Has she been savin' up? She said somethin' about gettin' a raise or whatever, but did she get paid yesterday too? Who the fuck even knows how often she gets paid, she probably beat the shit out of some sorry fuck and stole his damn sack of bits. Fuck!

Sigh. Ah can vent all Ah want, but that's probably not gonna do me any good. Ah don't know what all she did, but she said she's gettin' a license, she's filled the fridge full with just about whatever she wanted on top of gettin' all the stuff Ah asked fer, and she got her new phone, all in the same day. How much fuckin' money does she make!? It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't fer the fact that she asked me how ta set the damn thin' up. Ya bought a 700 bit device and ya don't know how ta fuckin' activate it? Really!? Goddess shit, Ah need ta write about somethin' else before Ah go on a rant again.

Today Ah got in contact with Scootaloo... on Applejack's new phone... after makin' sure she was free on Tuesday, since it's Caballo day and schools get a half day. There's gonna be a fair in Central park and all kinds of festivities this year since it didn't rain unexpectedly durin' set up this time. It should be good fun, and we'll finally get Rainbow and Applejack in the same room together, so Ah'm excited about that.

Taps wants ta do somethin' with me again soon, but Ah'm not sure what we should do since Ah'm poor as shit, and Ah can't stand the thought of him buyin' shit fer me on his allowance. He said somethin' about wantin' ta visit a place over by the harbor on Thursday. Ah think he called it ~~Charka?~~ No wait, Carcha. Some store called Carcha that's over there. Ah don't know what it is, but he said it was a pretty cool shop, so Ah figured what the hell. It's not like Ah do anythin' but homework and games with my spare time while Ah'm not with Scootaloo and Sweetie... which is depressin'ly more often than not. Ah know Ah'm not an extrovert, but sometimes Ah wish Ah had more friends.

Ah was pretty surprised at Macintosh and Applejack's reaction when Ah told them Ah had a boyfriend. A lot like Uncle Blood, they said they were happy fer me, but not ta go fuckin' around and get knocked up and so on. Ah honestly thought they'd want ta know everythin' about him that they could find out, medical records and criminal history included, but they didn't even ask. Heh, maybe they just want me ta get hitched so Ah have another somepony ta rely on fer income and stability. It would be nice, but Ah've only known the guy fer a week, so Ah probably shouldn't be thinkin' about gettin' married just yet, right?

Ah didn't think Ah was the kinda gal ta fantasize about that kinda thin', but now that it's even a little relevant, these ideas are startin' ta pop in my head like weddin' dresses and so on. Applejack is less of a girl than Ah am, and Ah'm not much of a girl ta begin with, but... maybe Ah am about this? Ah don't know. Somethin' ta think about Ah guess.

Ugh, speakin' of, mares suck. Ah'm already tired of this month and that fuckin' pain under my belly, and it only just started. Applejack got sick one time while she was in hers, and she had this terrible coughin' fit that just wouldn't stop. Ah guess she was in the end of it because she had ta go clean her tail afterward 'cause she had a big red spotty spray on it. Ah guess she forgot ta put one in or somethin' on account of bein' sick, but ta this day Ah make sure Ah always have some on me because of it. Thank goddess my tail is red, but the thought that it could happen ta me if Ah sneezed too hard over the next few weeks is absolutely terrifyin'.

Geez, even after goin' as far as ta talk about my gross body functions, Ah still can't stop thinkin' about her damn phone. Damn it, Ah want my own and Ah want it right now! Fuck this shit, Ah'm gonna go play that game since Scootaloo let me borrow it. Ah don't give a shit about her fuckin' phone, and Ah don't give a fuck that Ah'm tired and angry because my body hates me, and Ah don't give a shit if it's nine PM and Ah have ta get up at six AM tomorrow. Six hours is enough sleep if Applejack doesn't force me off the TV earlier than midnight. It's not like anypony is asleep yet anyways, so who fuckin' cares?

Monday, September 2nd, 2030

So. Much. Regret. Ah should not have stayed up that late. It was a mistake, Ah was mad and made a bad decision, and not somethin' Ah should ever do again. Ah was so dead from Junior Guard this mornin' that Ah ignored all my friends, Taps included, blew off my teachers, and got in trouble fer sleepin' in class. Mistakes were made. Ah get the feelin' that my mornin' after J.G. is probably what a hangover feels like. Ah'll have ta ask Uncle Blood about that one.

Applejack's not old enough ta drink, and Macintosh is so big that he out drinks all his friends and coworkers ta the point that he's barely tipsy after twelve shots. Never had a hangover in his life. He did tell us a story of how he almost got fired after one of those parties because his boss screwed him afterward. He eventually lost that job anyways, but not because of her. She still calls here every now and again. If my brother is anywhere near proportionate, then... Ugh, Ah'm literally writin' about my brother's dick now. Applebloom, ya can't just keep followin' these random trains of thought. Those thoughts lead to other thoughts which lead ta nasty chess pieces and shame. Eww, I still need to clean the black king from last time.

Back ta the drinkin' thin' before Ah got distracted, Ah think they're still sex buddies, and Uncle Blood is the only one who can get drunk with relative ease. He's not all that big fer a stallion as opposed ta Macintosh, and body mass supposedly makes alcohol easier to handle, which is why mares tend to get drunk easier than stallions do. It's not supposed ta be a fun topic, but because my friends and Ah are horrible ponies, we make a lot of rape jokes when we talk about alcohol at school. And in general actually. We're just terrible over all actually. Where Ah got my twisted sense of humor, Ah'll never know.

Well that could have been less of a ramble. What did I even write here? Ah went from school, ta alcohol, ta touchin' myself, back ta alcohol, then ta rape. Geez. Ah need ta slow my damn roll, this escalated too quickly. Heh. It's funny how that strin' of thin's is just about how thin's involvin' alcohol usually go these days. See? There it is again. Ah have no filter. Well, it's better that Ah let my thoughts run wild on paper than out my mouth. Scoots does that, and she gets popped in the back of the head a lot, be it by teachers, Lieutenant Scale, or her sister. Most often it's Rainbow doin' it though. Ah feel like she gets on Scootaloo's case little more than necessary, but we've all come ta the conclusion that she's just over protective. She really is a lot like Applejack.

Everythin' is still set up fer tomorrow ta go ta the fair, but Applejack said she has a bunch of errands ta run before we go, so as soon as Ah get outta school tomorrow, we're gonna make a bunch of trips ta places. Don't know where though. Guess Ah'll find out at about noon tomorrow.

Oh, Ah almost forgot! Ah was feelin' better today, mentally that is, so Ah started on the cake. Ah got the recipe from Taps before Ah started ta feel like shit this mornin' while he was at marchin' band practice, and Ah modified it a little so that it would work with strawberries. Why anypony would ever put pineapple in and on a cake is just downright weird ta me. Ah got the cream and the batter made, and Ah cut the strawberries up so Ah figured Ah'd throw it in the oven once we get back from the fair and finish it up once we're done. Tomorrow marks Caballo day, but tomorrow is also the day we first moved inta this apartment almost twelve years ago. It might not be much, but at least it's somethin' we did together as a family.

Harmony Days VII: Sisters (part 2)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Harmony Mission III: The Kraken! (part 2)

Applejack

In a strange moment of still, the Crow and Ah simply stared at each other. There was an odd silence around, and not even the wind had managed to sound. It was a single moment that caused hell to break loose, and it was the sound of a nail hitting the concrete from somewhere, possibly somewhere further away than anypony could have known. My legs put as much power as Ah could inta ‘em just as the Crow’s bloody wings made a powerful flap, rocketin’ her toward me.

Ah kept one hoof up ta block in the event she managed ta avoid the slam Ah was gonna give her, but just as she approached, she tilted off in the other direction as my right forehoof made it’s way ta where her body was gonna be. Ah felt the tips of the feathers on her cloak graze my hoof as it traveled inta the concrete harbor, formin’ a crater that was Rainbow sized in its wake.

The new depression in the surface was enough fer me ta stop my momentum and change direction in time ta block a swing of her sword with my rear shoe. Ah went inta this fight knowin’ that Ah was gonna have ta defend against her sword without lettin’ that toxic blood get inta my skin, otherwise, it’d be game over. Sparks flew as metal slashed across metal. The crow reeled back in time enough ta get the sword away from my hoof before Ah dislodged it out of her wing’s grip.

Ah repositioned myself back ta a neutral stance and waited fer the next attack. The Crow had taken up ta the sky and started ta circle me like a vulture, the blood of her fake wings beginnin’ ta form a haze around her front. She’s chargin’ somethin’… if Ah let her do it, she’ll dive bomb me, but if Ah go after her up there, she has advantage on me and Ah might get cut tryin’ ta hit her… Oh well, here goes nothin’.

Without so much as a second thought or a plan, Ah launched inta the air after the Crow, placin’ myself right beside her with more speed and momentum than she probably predicted Ah would. Her blood shifted just as my hoof was enterin’ the space where her real left wing should’ve been and Ah met resistance much like a magic barrier. We’d been practicin’ with those earlier in the week when Ah returned ta get my tail repaired, and this was nothin’ compared ta the barrier Celestia could put up. Really there wasn't anythin' that could compare ta that since Ah couldn't even dent it, but all the same. The hardened blood cracked under the force until it eventually shattered inta a million pieces and my hoof connected with the Crow’s right shoulder.

Ah didn’t have near the same force ta hit her with as Ah did ta break her barrier, so when Ah saw that Ah made it through, Ah pulled back. The last thin’ Ah wanted ta do was hurt her too bad. The Crow yelled out in pain as my hoof dug inta her flesh beneath her coat, and the blood surroundin’ her turned ta a red haze that followed her down as she crashed inta the harbor. Gravity had called me back downward and Ah landed a few feet away from her. Ah knew what she was capable of since our last fight at the foundry, but Ah had new weapons and she didn’t.

The Crow picked herself back up with shaky steps on her left side and called her blood back inta place. The flowing liquid around her sword seemed ta stop movin' and almost turn ta crystal as she extended her wing out ta the side. Now twice as thick and long as it used ta be, the crow took the red crystal weapon in her fore hooves and stood on her hind legs.

“You’ve gotten better,” she called out ta me. Ah nodded.

“Ah have. Ah’ve been trainin’ almost nonstop since Ah last saw ya. Ah couldn’t just show up and lose, now could Ah?” The Crow cracked her neck ta either side, and the blood wings swirled inta a new shape that formed around her hooves. They were like oversized claws that formed just out of her forelegs and wrapped around the sword’s hilt.

“I haven’t had to fight for my life in a long time... But you! You’re holding back! You could have killed me right then and there, and you didn’t! Why!?” The Crow charged forward, the weapon in both bloody claws as she took ta swingin’ it like a minotaur. The shiny red blade sliced through the air makin’ whippin’ sounds with every swing Ah dodged. She was fast and Ah could feel it as she grazed at my suit with every other swipe. Ah managed ta see ahead by one swing just in time ta block her sword with my bracer and push it away.

With the continued motion, Ah pulled up my right hind leg and kicked deep inta her shoulder as close ta her broken wing as Ah could get it without shatterin’ the bones in her ribcage. She screeched out again as some of her blood turned back inta liquid and she nearly dropped her sword. Her wing flared out and she managed ta catch herself in the air ta stop spinnin’ and land on her hind legs, usin’ the crystal edge of her sword ta support herself while she clutched at her side.

“You cheating bitch! You never planned to fight me for real in the first place!” She yelled at me between breaths.

“That’s right! And there ain’t nothin’ ya can do ta beat me now! Ah know where yer weakness is and Ah don’t have one fer ya ta abuse back! Just give up now and we can work somethin’ out!” Her blood flared ta life again. This time, rather than move, it looked like more started ta pour out of her back. The wings she had before reformed above her, but the claws and the sword remained.

“Never!” She came at me in a fury, much faster now and barely usin’ her own body ta do anythin’ but strike at me. Ah wasn’t fast enough ta keep up with her and dodge her attacks, so all Ah could do was block. She nicked my suit once. Twice. Three times. Ah was gonna get cut if Ah let this continue, so Ah finally used my cable bracers. A second after Ah blocked a swing, a pulled my hoof in downward and activated the weapon. Ah wasn’t tryin’ ta hit her at first, but Ah didn’t know what had changed about these thin’s from the last ones other than size. Apparently, the rate of fire and how much force accompanied it was upped because, not only did Ah feel the recoil from the cable exitin’ it’s barrel on the brace, but the blade pierced through the Crow’s upper right foreleg and pulled her in close. Ah used my elbow ta knock the sword out of her remainin’ blood clawed hoof, then grabbed at her neck and slammed her ta the ground.

Ah couldn’t tell if she was tryin’ ta scream or tryin’ ta breathe, but she squirmed and struggled quietly under my iron grip. The bloody wings faded and seemed like they lost connection ta her, fallin’ ta the ground in a puddle around her. As the seconds passed, more and more of her blood liquified and fell ta the ground. In a vain attempt ta remove me, her free hoof pawed at my foreleg until her movement started ta slow. Just as Ah was sure she would die if Ah didn’t let go, Ah released my grip and she took in a huge breath.

As quick as Ah could manage, Ah ripped the cable out of her foreleg, shot more and stopped it once Ah had enough, then wrapped her limp body up in it. Ah gave her just enough room ta breathe, and once she was tied up, Ah took a deep breath myself.

“The Crow is neutralized everypony.” From all corners of my brain Ah heard sighs of relief.

“I don’t know how you did it, but good job all the same. That last minute training with mother must have done wonders for you. What did you two even do anyways?” Twilight asked.

“Ah’ll tell y’all about that later. We need ta get her treated or somethin’. Ah uh… well, Ah damn near strangled her and Ah shot her in the upper foreleg, more on accident than anythin’ else. Her blood hasn’t returned and she’s not lookin’ too good.” My tied-up cripple pegasus was breathin’, but it was gettin’ slower quick.

“I-if you wait a moment, I’ll tend to her. F-for now, stop the bleeding. T-the ship just came into view. I-it’s still about a hundred meters out, b-but we don’t have more than five minutes b-before it reaches port,” Target added.

“Man, this telepathy thing is weird. Anyways, what do we do in the meantime chief? The ball’s in your court, so to speak… think? Whatever, we need a plan. Blur and I were talking about it and we thought it was weird that they only sent one guy with the Crow. It normally takes four to dock a ship like this,” Goose responded.

“Don’t lump me in with you! Ugh, this is just the worst,” Blur complained.

“Quit yer whinin’, he’s yer teammate fer goddess’ sake. Fer now, regroup here. As long as yer side of the dock is clear, we need ta probably evacuate the surroundin’ area. Worst case scenario, and also the most likely while we’re at it, we end up havin’ ta fight some kinda monster in the event this is a trap. Get everypony up ta 560th out. Luckily, the nearest apartment complex isn’t close enough ta the harbor ta be in… immediate danger, but the houses and business are. Get to it!”

“Yes ma’am!” said four voices, then the link ta all but one faded back ta somethin’ akin ta background noise. Ah saw Target’s silhouette approach, and suddenly the Crow started a coughin’ fit.

“Hey! Are y’all okay?” Through her coughin’ fit, she answered,

“Does it look… like I’m… okay?” through a pained voice. Target arrived and immediately went ta work patchin’ up the Crow’s upper foreleg. She pulled a kinda glowy green liquid outta one of her coat pockets and started applyin’ it ta the wound. That blade musta cut deep, because underneath all the torn flesh, there was even a cut on the visible bone. Ah musta hit her just in the right spot, otherwise, the blade mighta just cut through her whole foreleg… Ah need ta talk ta Luna about gettin’ the output speed reduced, this thin’ is too powerful…

“Ah, shit! Goddess, you couldn’t wait to take me in to torture me!? Holy hell, what is that!?” When the liquid touched torn skin, it started ta smoke and travel all the way down inta the wound until it was completely covered in the stuff. She filled the wound until the all the blood was hidden and then put the bottle away. The glow started ta fade, and now there was just a gooey lookin’ spot on her foreleg.

“T-this is a healing agent. It s-seals your wound until your body repairs itself, then dissolves after it’s n-no longer needed.” Target replied. The Crow squirmed around in my bind until she was facin’ Target.

“Well, maybe I don’t need a healing agent, did you think about that!?” The blood puddles all around us started ta flare again, the whole mass of red liquid spiraled around the Crow’s body until it flew ta the spot on her back where a wing should be and disappeared. “I guess you didn’t notice last time we met, but I happen to heal quickly as long as I have all my blood.” There was a long silence from her until she finally turned ta me. “So, what now? You beat me, you cheating bitch.”

“At the moment, Ah just wanna talk. Thanks Target. Take a high point and keep watchin’ the ship fer me. If ya notice anythin’ weird, let me know.” Target nodded and just about sang a,

“Yes ma’am!” and then flew back inta the dusk sky. Ah guess she found a cloud, because there was a lone one just sittin’ in the middle of the violet-orange expanse toward the center of the harbor.

“Oh… I take it, that was the Beast right?”

“Maybe. Depends on what you’re gonna do next. Ah’ve got ya tied up, but Ah don’t think you’re powerless. Ya gonna let me talk?” She raised and lowered her shoulders.

“Think what you want, but I can’t manipulate my blood if it’s too far from my body. Unless you wanted to nuzzle my face, I wouldn’t be able to do much right now. You can already beat me just by knowing about my wing, why not share every weakness to my powers? I’m fucked now anyways.” She stopped ta take a hissin' deep breath. “Goddess, my foreleg hurts. What the hell did you even do? Did your friend with the gun shoot me? You just, up and lie to me knowing you weren’t gonna give me a fair fight?” Ah frowned.

“Look, there are more important thin’s goin’ on right now than us havin’ a fair fight. Ah didn’t even want ta fight ya like this, but Ah need yer help.” She stared at me fer a moment before respondin’.

“Well, I can’t say I’ve had somepony kick my ass and then ask for my help before. Why in the hell would I help you do anything? You shot me! Or she shot me! Or whatever, fuck this hurts!”

“Ah shot ya, and that was an accident, and Ah’m sorry. If she shot ya, you'd be dead. Look, if we don’t try and stop this Argent guy from doin’ what he’s doin’, the whole city will end up destroyed.” She turned her attention away from her foreleg and back ta me.

“What? Why would he destroy his largest source of income? That doesn’t make any sense.” Ah frowned again.

“It’s the mirrors. Do ya know anythin’ about the mirror incident twelve years ago?” Had she not been wearin’ a helmet, Ah think her face woulda contorted inta somethin’ like a frown because she just about flinched.

“I-I might. W-what about it?”

“Wait… just what all do ya know? Normal ponies don’t freak out when ya ask ‘em a question unless they’re tied ta it.” Ah a darkness entered my voice that Ah don’t remember addin’ ta it.

“M-Marevelous, the ship is just about to reach port. W-what do you want to do now?” Ah heard inside my head. Ah looked away from the Crow long enough ta see the rather imposin’ cargo ship mere meters away from the dock. Shit. She’ll have ta wait.

“Everypony, get ready ta board the ship. We’ll continue the check as planned, but Ah’ll be joinin’ the search. Target keep an eye on our friend. Shoot her in the other wing if she moves the wrong way.” Ah made sure ta say the last part out loud. The Crow flinched, meanin’ Ah achieved the desired effect. “Finish clearin’ what area ya can and come back. Ah’d say we’ve got thirty seconds before this thin’ reaches port.” Ah grabbed the Crow and jumped ta the nearest rooftop. Ah unraveled the cable and retracted it back inta my bracer and let her go.

“So what, you’re just gonna leave me here?” Ah shrugged.

“If necessary, Ah can have ya killed at a moments notice without so much as openin’ my mouth. Target got a new gun that can make shootin’ pebbles lethal within’ a hundred twenty meters. But Ah’d prefer it if my sister’s friend didn’t lose her guardian.” The Crow looked away.

“Oh yeah? Well… so would I…” she said quietly. Ah nodded satisfied with that.

“Good. As Ah said, Ah want yer help. Y’all sit tight and Ah bet Ah’ll have somethin’ fer ya ta see. In the event somethin’ like, Ah don’t know, a monster, happens ta show up, it’d be real nice if ya decided ta help us kill it. Or save it if we can manage that, but that doesn’t look like a possibility at the moment.” Ah said. Ah turned ta pier and watched as the ship began ta slow down.

“Heh. Never thought I’d hear Marevelous Red ask anypony to help her kill something. Some ‘champion of justice’ you are.” Ah could feel a vein on my forehead bulge. Ah turned around and came face ta face with her.

“Rainbow Dash, Ah am tryin’ ta be nice here. Until Tuesday night, Ah didn’t even know if Ah coulda beat ya here, but now Ah could do so without really tryin’ all that hard. Keep yer mouth shut and cooperate if somethin’ happens. Ah’ll even give ya a hint. Whatever ya see tonight is just the first one. If ya thought dealin’ with the beast was bad the other day, well… you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” She was particularly silent after that. The ship reached the dock, and the others met me on the rooftop.

“Alright Harmony, it’s time ta check out this ship.” Ah left the rooftop with an indifferent Crow on it and joined Diamond, Blur, and Goose just in front of the now stopped ship. “Diamond, what did you do with the guy the Crow brought with her?” Ah asked.

“I had him evacuate with everypony else from the dock. He was nothing more than an innocent worker right?” Ah let that sink in for a minute before Ah responded.

“Ah suppose. Ah’m not too keen on lettin’ their ponies walk free, but Ah guess it don’t matter too much.” A loud bang came from the ship’s side where a metal ramp crashed ta the dock. We rushed over ta investigate, but it didn’t seem like anypony was around.

“What the-? Hey, there’s nopony here!” Blur said before the rest of us made it ta the ramp.

“Oh, now this registers on the close side of creepy. Did anypony see magic on this thing? Target?” Goose asked.

“I-I didn’t, and I had a clear view the whole time...” she said ta the group from up above.

“Either somepony had this on a button, or we’re dealin’ with an invisible pony. You two search the containers on the ship and Diamond and Ah will search the bridge and everythin’ else. If ya run inta anythin’ sketchy, regroup back in front of the ship. The last thin’ we need ta do is walk onta a bomb. Y’all got that equipment right?” Blur gave me a look, then gave Goose the same look, and finally she pulled a thin black box out of her… mane?

“It’s right here, major,” she said, begrudgin’ly.

“Look, y’all are just gonna have ta get over this thin’ with Goose. It’s been five days already, geez. Get ta work. Come on Diamond.” Blur sighed and everypony else said ‘yes ma’am’ in response. The knight and the blue suited mare began scannin’ cargo containers, and Diamond and Ah headed toward the bridge. The ship wasn’t a normal cargo ship. As a matter of fact, it looked more like somethin’ outta Zvyr, the largest country in the world on the northern side of the two eastern continents. Equestria and Zvyr have a very strange relationship due ta the predator-prey thin’. The country consists of many different species, but most, if not all of them, are carnivorous. It’s a rare thin’ ta find carnivores in Equestria, but not completely off the table. Our country worked with them when a neighboring country and an island nation decided ta team up and try ta take over the world. Needless ta say, the moment Celestia got involved, it didn’t go well fer them. She would never admit it, but Celestia is more or less the goddess of the sun in a physical form. It wasn’t until after that war that the rest of the world understood that.

We reached the back of the ship and with me in front, Diamond and Ah began ta search the levels. Control room? Nothin’. Bridge? Nothin’. We even went so far as ta check the cargo bay, yet there still wasn’t anypony there. A thought crossed my mind and suddenly Ah became very nervous. Ignorin’ Diamond’s warnin’, Ah raced over and ripped open one of the storage containers in the cargo bay. Completely empty.

“Everypony, get off the ship now!” Ah shouted through our mental link. Ah grabbed Diamond and started usin’ my bracers ta get back up through the ship.

“Good evening, passengers of the Stannum,” A voice said from somewhere above us. Diamond and Ah reached the deck and looked ta see if anypony was in the bridge window. Nopony there. “You have been invited today to test out a new product for mister Argent. You see, after the list was known leaked, we rerouted all of our ships to pass through north hoof bay. You filthy thieves are nothing more than insects to mister Argent and I have been offered the chance of a lifetime to deal with you.” It sounded male, but native ta Manehattan.

Where’s that comin’ from? Thieves? Do they think we’re with Goose’s old gang? Diamond and Ah rushed ta get off the ship, and that’s when we saw him. Standin’ just in front of the buildin’ at the edge of the harbor was the stallion that the Crow came with and Diamond ‘evacuated.’ He was a pale, almost gray green unicorn with a dark sea green and blue mane. He had dark orange, almost red irises and was still wearin’ his dock uniform, holdin’ some kinda microphone.

“Well then. You don’t look like the thieves I was told would be coming. As a matter of fact, you look like super heroes. Isn’t this just a delight. Mister Agent will be very pleased when he hears about this. My name Knots White, and I will be your entertainer today. Please, enjoy the show!” He took an object from his pocket that shined and reflected the same way Ah dreaded it would.

“Blur, Diamond!” Ah yelled. Diamond jumped off the ship and Blur caught up ta her as the unicorn began ta unbutton his jump suit.

“Toki wo tomare!”

“Za Warudo!”

Ah blinked and suddenly Rarity was caught in his field and he was fightin’ Blur knife ta knife.

“I’ve had quite enough of this game!” With a flick of his head, Diamond went flyin’ inta Blur and the two tumbled down the harbor.

“Goose, get in there!” Ah said as Ah jumped off the ship myself. The stallion dropped his knife and took the mirror in his magic. The blade of my cable bracer hit right under his hooves as Goose showed up behind him and the mirror made contact with his chest. A bright white light accompanied by maniacal laughter lit the pier as the stallion went flyin’ toward the water from Goose’s kick. The water bubbled as the stallion sank and the light grew brighter, then suddenly, there was nothin’.

“Damn it Goose, ya were supposed ta break the mirror, not punt the bastard!”

“Yeah, whatever, how in the hell did he move in frozen time!? He fought them both off after time was stopped!” We looked at each other fer a second and raced off ta Blur and Diamond. They were dizzy, but not hurt.

“You two okay?” Diamond managed ta collect herself first.

“I think so… I’m more confused right now than anything. One moment I stop the clock with Blur and everything is normal. He was frozen, and so were you two. The next moment, I land on the concrete, and suddenly I’m in his field and he and Blur are at knife point. I couldn’t tell you how he did it, but he entered my frozen time after it started. Where did he go?” Before either of us could answer, a low groan started ta come from the water. It was like the call of some giant sea animal that turned from a growl ta a screech mid way through. The bubblin’ started back up and became fierce where Goose kicked Knots. The water swelled and shook as somethin’ big came from underneath.

The creature was almost as tall and wide as the ship facin’ us was. It was a scaly, sea green color with a head that was some kinda mix between a giant bald pony and an eldritch horror from another world with tentacles all over its face. Its back had some kinda wings like a dragon and the rest of it’s body had large thick tentacles like that of an octopus. It let out another loud half-growl half-screech and then turned its attention our direction. Its dark orange eyes scanned the area until they locked on us. Then the creature looked ta smile underneath its beard of tentacles.

“Everypony run!” Ah yelled. Ah grabbed Diamond, Goose grabbed Blur, and we each used our fastest methods of travel ta narrowly avoid the six giant tentacles that smashed our position.

“A-are you all okay!? W-what the hell is that!?” Ah heard from inside my brain.

“That’s the thin’ our guy turned inta. Where’ve ya been? Could ya see him from up there?” Ah asked.

“N-no, I didn’t even know anything was happening until I saw D-diamond and Blur jump off the ship. W-what made you get off in such a hurry?” Target asked. Damn it, that’s right, she can’t hardly hear anythin’ and she's fifteen meters in the air.

“Don’t worry about it. Circle around and see if ya can’t spot the mirror on him anywhere. Provide cover fire if ya see we need it, but don’t get too close. He just put a rut in the harbor with his tentacles just like the damn dragon did with a high powered laser. Hit him as hard as ya can.”

“Y-yes ma’am!” Ah watched her move from her cloud, and then a large green tentacle comin’ my way took my attention back ta the monster. With Diamond still in toe, Ah shot at the buildin’ Ah left the Crow on and lunged my way away from the appendage. Out of his reach now, Ah set Diamond on her hooves and turned ta see that Goose and Blur were playin’ the world’s most dangerous game of Whack-a-mole.

“Holy shit… You weren’t kidding…” Ah heard the Crow say from behind me. Ah took this opportunity ta give her my recrutin’ speech.

“Yeah, no shit. Ya see that? As it stands now, we don’t know how many more are gonna show up, or even worse, when and where. This time it was a trap set fer a gang that robbed a ship. Next time, it could be an attack on the city. From anywhere. At any time. Without warnin’. As it is now, it looks like Argent has the power ta make hundreds of these thin’s and we don’t know how many he has. So Ah’ll leave ya with this; if ya help us, we can figure out a way ta prevent this from gettin' outta hoof. And if ya don’t, well… Ah hope ya can stop one of these thin’s on yer own, because it’d really suck ta just have one pop outta nowhere next ta yer apartment with yer little sister in it. Give it some thought.”

“Honey, I know you’re having fun threatening our feathered friend over there, but if you could just be a dear and help out over here, that’d be greaaAAAA-” Ah turned my head just in time ta see Goose rocket down 541st after a giant tentacle slapped him in mid air. He crashed right in front of a storefront, thankfully not on top of anypony.

“Blur, get outta there! Target give her cover fire, Ah’m goin’ in!” The sound of powerful percussion followed by red blossoms on the creature’s hide let me know that it was time ta go take its attention myself. Ah got in close as the blue Blur shot toward the buildin’ Diamond was on and loaded a punch. With as much force as Ah could manage, Ah dug my hoof in the beast’s slick scaly sea-green hide. My hoof sank into it’s flesh as it ripped and twisted, turnin’ the once white part of the suit ta a sickly crimson as the blood sprayed over it.

The monster groaned out in pain but was quicker than me in reactin’ ta it. A thick whip like tentacle shot from it’s face ta my chest, knockin’ me back inta the buildin’ over ten meters away that Ah’d just came from.

“Holy crap, are you okay!?” Ah heard Blur say from next ta me. Ah shook the brick remains off and got back up ta my hooves.

“Yeah Ah’m fine. Ah want y’all and Diamond ta stay outta this. If ya get hit by that, Ah doubt you’ll survive. Next Ah-” Ah stopped mid sentence as Ah watched in horror as the wound Ah just made on the creature untwisted itself and returned ta the way it was before.

“M-marevelous, it’s healing my bullet wounds! W-what do we do!? I-I can’t find the m-mirror anywhere!” Holy shit… what can we do about this?

“Goose, where the fuck did ya go!?”

“I literally just got up, give me a second please.”

“A second too late! Get back here as fast as ya can, we’ve got a problem!” The creature groaned again and it’s six large tentacles began ta expand they grew in size and length, specifically length enough ta reach our position from the water.

“Shit! Toki wo tomare!”

“Za Warudo!”

The world flashed and froze in place, turnin’ ta its black and white state. The monster stopped thankfully, and Ah jumped ta the rooftop with Diamond.

“I’m down to less than half my limit Marevelous, we can’t keep this up forever!” Diamond said.

“Do what ya can fer now, and stay close enough that ya can do it if Ah call.” Ah grabbed the frozen Crow and picked her up as if she were some kinda statue. "As soon as yer off the buildin’, restart time. We need a plan. Where did yer baton go?”

“He did something with it during our first encounter. I don’t know where it is.”

“Find it and get it ta me. We’re gonna have ta start severin’ limbs or somethin’. Ah don’t know how we can beat this thin’ as it is now.” Ah turned the other way and jumped off the buildin’ with the Crow in toe. Time restarted and the tentacles crashed inta the rooftop Ah was just on.

“Oh. Uh, when did you get here?” the Crow asked from my shoulder.

“Less than a second ago. Have ya seen enough yet? Ah need yer help, and Ah need it bad. He’s healin’ every wound we give him.” Ah set her down a few buildin’s back and the monster screeched off in the distance. It looked like Goose and Blur were back at it. “Damn it, Ah told her ta lay off!” Ah was about ta jump back toward the kaiju when the Crow stopped me.

“Wait! Look, I don’t know about joining your club or whatever this is, but I’ll at least help for now. If this was their plan from the beginning, well… I was probably expendable already anyways.” Ah could feel a slight weight fall off my back as soon as she finished.

“Ya have no idea how happy Ah am ta hear that. Go after its tentacles and get yer blood in it’s system. It might be a monster now, but it’s still at least part way a pony. If we can break down its nerves, then we might be able ta stop it.” She puffed air out of her snout.

“I don’t like taking orders, but whatever. You have my allegiance for now.” She popped her neck ta both sides and then the red wings flared ta life. She sped past the buildin’s and grabbed her sword on the harbor floor. Ah followed suit and started ta put my bracers ta work.

“Marevelous, we have a problem,” Blur said.

“Aw hell, what now?”

“My knives aren’t scratching it anymore.”

“M-marevelous!” Target called. Ah sighed as Ah dodged a tentacle slam.

“Not y’all too!”

“T-the bullet wounds are healing j-just as fast as I make them! I-it’s becoming more resilient!”

“What the hell is with this thing? I can’t so much as cut it!” the Crow yelled.

“Fer fuck’s sake! Every pony back off, we need ta regroup and make a plan!” The game of ‘don’t get hit’ continued as we retreated further inta the harbor, but just as we did, Blur got caught on one of the tentacles and knocked inta one of the buildin’s. Ah shot after her and held a tentacle at bay as Ah took her ta a safe spot.

“You okay!?” Ah yelled tryin’ ta fight the thin’ with one foreleg. The blows were almost as heavy as Goose’s attacks from the other day and Ah couldn’t take too many of ‘em.

“Oh fuck… I’m… alive…” As soon as she said that, she started ta cough, spittin’ blood out on the ground.

“Shit. Twilight? Ah need an emergency pick up. Blur is hurt bad.”

“Oh no! What happened? Did another monster show up?”

“Yeah, and it’s provin’ ta be even more difficult ta handle than the last one, even with all of us. Do ya have a lock on her yet?”

“I do. Stand back. I won’t be able to do this again for at least half an hour. Don’t need me.” A violet ball of lightnin’ encased Blur on the ground. The light flared once, and after a flash, she was gone.

“Thanks. We’ll try, but this ain’t goin’ well. The damn thin’ heals everythin’ we do.” Ah turned ta make my way back as the fight raged on. The Crow was circlin' the air and slashin' at it with her bloody sword, Goose was fightin' tentacles, and Target was shootin' at its face.

“Keep me informed. If you get desperate, I think I can come help, but it’ll be a while before I can teleport anything again.” She sounded… nervous.

“Will do.” Now ta figure out what the hell Ah’m really gonna do about this. We aren’t gonna last another half hour against this thin’.

“I got one!” Ah heard the Crow yell from the other side of the harbor. As Ah went ta look, Ah saw one of the thin’s tentacles fall limp, just covered in scars. The thin’ that really caught my attention though, was the red spot that looked like a bullet wound mixed with a sword slash. Ah shot my bracer and went toward the scene just in time ta kick Goose outta the way of gettin’ slammed.

“Y’all should be more careful,” Ah said as Ah punched a tentacle away. Only a second after sayin' that, he returned the favor by beatin’ away a tentacle Ah didn’t see comin’.

“Same to you.” Ah couldn’t see much of his face, but Ah doubt he wasn’t givin’ me that damnable smirk of his.

“Crow! What did ya do ta get a tentacle down!?” She was zippin’ around tryin’ ta make cuts on the base of the monster’s tentacles. She slowed down just as she reached near me.

“Your friend, uh… Target or whatever, almost shot me in the head, but hit the monster and I managed to cut the same spot while there was an open wound! My blood managed to work it’s way through that tentacle, but then something inside the monster stopped it! If you guys can make holes, I can poison this Cthulhu mother fucker!” She couldn’t stay in one spot fer too long and went back ta circlin’ the monster as Ah fought off more whip like attacks.

“Target, Goose! We need ta open wounds fer the Crow ta get her blood inta this thin’! When ya see an openin’, try ta aim fer the base of it’s tentacles! Wait a minute… what the hell is it doin’?” Ah hadn’t meant ta send the last part ta them, it was only an afterthought when the monster dove underwater. There was silence. Still, complete, eery silence. Broken by what could have only been the sound of bendin’ metal. We all seemed ta see it at the same time judgin’ by our reactions. The cargo ship was in the air, and it was headed right fer us.

“Everypony move!” Ah shouted as shippin' containers and mangled ship flew toward our general direction. The boat was comin’ closer and Goose hadn’t moved yet. Ah didn’t know what it was, but an overwhelmin’ surge shot through my body all at once. Ah shot my bracer just next ta him, kicked his ass outta the way, and then rushed the ship. There was a yell that made it’s way out of my mouth, some repeated sound that Ah couldn’t quite place, maybe some kinda instinctual roar that was hidden deep inside like a primal cry. With everythin’ Ah had, Ah punched and kicked the ship as fast as Ah could, beatin' down the metal, sendin’ shock waves through the air with each blow. Ah think my ears had flattened against my head before my brain knew what my body was doin’, because Ah couldn’t hardly hear anythin’ but ringin’. By the time Ah’d made it through the ship, Ah’d damn near cut the thin’ in half by force of blows alone. Ah felt the momentum stop and my body start ta complain. With a final punch and my brain taken back over, the last yell came out and Ah slammed the remains of the ship back ta the ground.

“ORA!” The bang of metal ta the ground echoed across the harbor, and finally my body had had enough of fightin’ gravity off and sank on top of the mangled mess of metal. When Ah landed, Ah felt a sharp pain in my right foreleg shoot up my body. Damn it! This ain’t good…

“Holy shit.” Ah heard from Goose.

“A-applejack? A-are you okay?” Fluttershy stuttered.

“Applejack! What the hell just happened!? There was a huge spike of energy from one of my gems directed at you!” Twilight just about screamed in my head.

“Ah don’t fuckin’ know! Damn it, Ah did somethin’ ta my foreleg!” Ah yelled as the pain grew more intense. Ah couldn’t pay attention ta that fer too long because just then, the monster resurfaced and let out its cry. “We can’t keep this up, and my dominant foreleg is damaged! Get together and focus on the front right tentacle! Tell the Crow and work together! Target, Diamond! If either of y’all have pain killers on ya, now would be the time ta come forward!”

“I have some, I’ll be there in a moment!” Diamond replied. Ah sat in place on top of the mangled ship clutchin’ my foreleg as Ah waited fer her ta get here. Goose and the Crow had moved near each other, and with a quick nod, the two started drawin’ the monster’s attention ta either side of the thin’. Ah heard the sound of a cable’s blade make contact with the mangled ship’s hull, and shortly thereafter, Diamond pulled up next ta it.

“Which one is it? I’m sorry, but I couldn’t find the baton. I think he may have tossed it into the water. As long as its still there, we can collaborate with the guard and have it found later.” Ah held out my foreleg for treatment and she took a similar teal colored gel ta the one Target used on the Crow out of a small tube, spreadin' it over my foreleg with her magic. It damn near felt like my whole leg was bein’ seared, but the pain was minimal in trade fer what it was relievin’ me of. Ah could still move my wrist but it sure as hell felt like somethin’ was broken before the anesthetic took full effect.

“I suggest you avoid using it if you can, otherwise the injury is only going to get worse. What do you want me to do? I hate standing around in the back like this, but I know I can only provide support in a contest of strength...” She sighed and shook her head. Ah put my good hoof on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

“There’s nothin’ wrong with ponies havin’ roles that they play, yours just happens ta be givin’ us extra seconds, without which, we woulda been screwed twice over now. Stick near enough ta us that ya can do what we need ya ta, but keep searchin’ the area for stray ponies that mighta wandered in. Ah don’t know what came over me a minute ago, but if Ah can do that ta this monster, then there won’t be nothin’ left and this whole mess will be over.” Ah stood back up, but felt the weakness in my front right and decided ta keep off it.

“Please, don’t hurt yourself if you can avoid it. What you did just now was amazing, and it would be a terrible loss for everypony if we lost you.” With a shot of her harness, she returned ta the shadows behind the line of buildin’s at the edge of the harbor. Ah decided it was time ta switch thin’s up ta my left side, and with that, Ah shot my bracer and zip-lined over ta the rest of my team. Just as Ah arrived, Target had made a shot and Goose followed through by diggin’ a chunk out of the monster’s tentacle. Ah joined in by shootin’ my cable inta the monster’s body and makin’ my way up and diggin’ a bigger chunk out of the tentacle.

“Crow!” Ah shouted, and just behind me, she came in and dug her crimson coated sword inta the monster’s body. She pulled away, and the tentacle went limp. The monster let out its cry and we had successfully made damage ta its body. However, there was a change. Almost like a shift in the air. The creature backed away from the harbor and let out a deafenin’ half-growl half-screech that echoed metallically across the harbor. The tentacle we’d damaged started ta move ta the back of it’s body as if it were just a replaceable part in a greater machine. The creature came back at us with a much greater speed than before, making it difficult ta do anythin’ but defend.

“Everypony pull back! We need a new strategy ta kill this thin’ in one go, otherwise, we’re gonna get killed! Target, get down here but stay far enough out of his range, Ah’ve got an idea!” Ah said and thought the message so Target would get it too. We managed ta cluster together a little and back away from the monster whilst fightin’ the thin' off. When we’d finally made it ta a point where the creature’s tentacles were stretched ta reach us and manageable ta deal with.

“Okay, here’s the plan! When Ah give the signal, which will be Diamond’s queue, Target will pierce its chest, then Goose and Ah will try and dig holes as big as we can in this thin’s body. Ah figure the mirror is hidden deep in there since it can just move parts around. If Ah’m right, the mirror will be in it’s most protected spot, which would be the center of it’s torso. If we can get deep enough in ta see it, then the Crow will come in from behind and use her crystal sword ta stab it. If nothin’ else, that should paralyze the monster and win the battle regardless. Y’all got that?” Ah confirmed everypony got the message when they all nodded and a reply from Diamond came back, then we went in.

We fought the tentacles off ta the best of our ability, but it still felt like somethin’ was different. It was fightin’ back, but it felt weaker than before. Just as we had reached our position, the creature backed away again and let out a low pitched noise that started ta grow with every passin’ second. Accompanied by a horrid rippin’ sound, the creature’s tentacles split open and folded back, revealin’ giant needle-like shinin’ pieces inside. It screeched some kinda noise that just about made my eardrums bleed and then it started ta swing the thin’s around like swords. The Crow was now usin’ her sword ta block attacks and it didn’t look like it was goin’ well. Then Ah noticed what the creature had done. It split us up usin’ it’s new weapons ta get her alone. With the fourth tentacle, it had it positioned ta spear the Crow through. Once more, Ah felt that burst of energy shoot through and Ah launched ta grab the Crow away from harm. The needle speared clean through the concrete, and just as Ah thought we were clear, Ah heard somethin’.

“Applejack, look out!” In what felt like a second in Diamond’s time, Ah turned my head toward the sound of the voice and saw Applebloom on the other end of the harbor, completely within range of the monster. Then Ah saw the needle positioned above my head ready ta spear me. Once again, Ah didn’t have time ta think about what Ah was doin’, and that primal urge overcame me. Ah tossed the Crow ta the side and pulled my right back with everythin’ Ah had. The needle moved a fraction of a centimeter and Ah let loose my punch. The hoof met the needle before the needle met my neck and it shattered inta pieces, sendin’ ‘em rocketin’ toward the center of the creature’s torso.

It screeched out its cry, and as it did, Ah noticed it reposition one of its tentacles, the one that had hit the ground. It moved so casually, almost lazily toward its target. Ah saw its glistenin’ point and where it was aimin', and my heart skipped a beat or two. My body went inta full gallop toward Applebloom, my mouth moved, but all the noise in the world was gone. Ah felt myself mouth her name, but as Ah did, the needle started its way toward her. There was only one way ta save her at this point, and Ah wasn’t about ta ignore it.

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

“DO IT NOW!” Ah yelled out in the frozen time. The five of us were all in it, we only had seconds ta accomplish what we needed ta do before Diamond’s power caved in, and Ah had ta save my sister, so they had ta do it alone. My hooves touched the ground as Ah passed the tentacle’s needle and Target Lock shot past me toward the monster. My hooves touched the ground again, and Ah was just about near Applebloom. The shot went off, but Ah didn’t have time ta look back. Ah heard the sound of armor clink, liquid flap, and crystals crack. Ah grabbed her body and leapt off from the spot. Unless it could suddenly turn at a ninety degree angle, she was safe. Just as Ah was outta the way, time returned. The percussion of the high grade rifle bullet made impact with the creature’s flesh. The clang from metal coated Hooves collidin’ and tearin’ off more flesh followed it immediately. Finally, a scream from the Crow and the sound of somethin’ sharp stabbin’ inta flesh was followed by the sound of somethin’ shatterin’.

Ah landed on the nearby roof as the wail of the defeated monster rang through the harbor. It screeched and moaned at unfathomable levels of volume as it bubbled and just about melted inta the water. A let out the breath that Ah’d been holdin’ since time froze and sighed in relief.

“Harmony, the monster is down.”

Harmony Days IX: Silver Belles (part 1)

Author's Note

The following two chapters, Harmony Days IX: Silver Belles parts 1 and 2, are properly formatted. Everything after and up to Persona XXVI: Revelations - Persona, remains unformatted.

Harmony Days IX: Silver Belles (part 1)

Rarity Belle

At the moment, I find myself in a meeting with most of the other members of Harmony, just a few hours after our ordeal with the sea monster that was Knots White. I’m fighting off a migraine with painkillers, and my friends are yelling at each other. It's not pleasant.

“Absolutely not! She ain’t got nothin’ ta do with this! Ah told her who Ah was before any of that even happened,” Applejack argued from her chair at the table.

Twilight shook her head and knocked her hoof on the tabletop. “You aren’t getting this, so let me make it clearer. If aunt Luna finds out that your sister knows who you are, she’ll do it herself! We have to brand her, otherwise, this could get way out of hoof! I’m not saying do it to put her on Harmony, I just want to protect her from my family okay?”

“How is she gonna find out if nopony tells her? Y’all keep yer damn mouth shut and we outta do just fine. Y’all gotta know that none of my family is free of the virus at this point, save maybe my uncle. What if she has somethin’ that yer damn Aunt finds useful, huh!? She’s not even old enough ta be drafted yet, but Ah bet ya a Princess could make a ‘special exception’ if she wanted,” Applejack rebutted, tilting her head and doing that thing where she raises her eyebrow. I remember seeing that back when I lived in Ponyville so long ago, but I do believe it was only the Apples that really did it.

“That’s… look, you don’t know what she can do! She’s the Princess of the night, she can enter dreams! If this memory comes up and she’s watching…”

Applejack shook her head. “Then we’ll deal with it at that moment. Ah’m done with this discussion. What else? Ah know there’s more, so spit it out.” Sometimes it makes me wonder how I would act around her if either of us were stallions. I’ve had my strange fantasy about Marevelous Red before, but now that I know the mare beneath the mask… it makes those all the more real and I can’t say that I’m comfortable with it. However, between she and the actual stallion in the room, I feel as if there’s an odd, but growing chemistry between. I giggled at the irony of it, which had her attention drawn to me.

“Got somethin’ ta say?” She sounded a little more hostile that I would have liked.

“No, no, you two go on. Don’t mind me, I’m just… off in my own little world here,” I said in an attempt to lighten the mood. In the back of my mind, my body was screaming at me to sleep from over extending my time today. Applejack and Pinkie both asked me to freeze it, and a third time, I froze time with four ponies inside. I’d practically never frozen time with more than three ponies before, so I didn’t realize how much degradation that actually caused. If one pony removes two minutes of my time for every instance of my power, then four ponies at once should nearly spend my time entirely after mere seconds, and it absolutely did. I’d already lost four minutes and the seconds that went by while frozen, and by what little rules of this power we’ve managed to test, we still don’t know what the multipliers for additional ponies are.

Had I not the sense to inject pain killers when I did, I likely would’ve passed out where I stood. Even then, I could feel the pain beginning to well up in my body and it’s only going to get worse as they wear off. I must remember to thank Goose at some point for teleporting us here after we’d cleaned up. In this condition, I doubt I could have walked the miles between the harbor and the castle, let alone attempt to use the cables.

Then, there’s also Applebloom to think about. Applejack said she didn’t know what her power is, but I could swear she looked right at me like she knew me. Not Diamond the heroine, but Rarity Belle, the seamstress. How would she know that? And for that matter, why did she come running to the harbor if she knew about the monster in the first place? Goose said he told everypony at his store to evacuate, including her. He was dressed like a night guard, so I’d imagine they thought he was official…

“Well, actually, you are the next thing on the list. You did contact your father right? When Mother came over to fix Applejack’s tail the other day, she told me that we needed to make the investigation of Argent Tower out top priority after this. Especially since there actually ended up being a monster in the harbor, Argent has clearly got a game going on and I’m really hoping that we don’t have to see much more of it… but, based on what you all told me that worker said… I highly doubt he was the last one.”

Ugh, speaking of, I never did find my baton. Contacting the Lunar Guard about that is going to be a nightmare after the princess finds out… maybe even literally. And then there’s my father. I felt a twitch run across my bottom left eye lid. Bronze Belle, the current chief of sales at Argent Enterprises. Greedy bastard, lying cheater, old worthless stallion!

“Rarity?” I could feel my forehead veins throbbing as Twilight brought me out of my little fit and the pain of overusing my power coursed through me.

“What? I’m sorry, the um… the pain killers I think are wearing off.” Anything to keep that relationship in my pocket.

“Oh… is it that bad? Would you like me to see if I can’t do anything about it? It wouldn’t take more than a few-” she began, but I cut her off. I don’t need her worrying about me, this should all fade away after I get some sleep.

“No, no, I’ll be fine after I’ve had some rest. I have yet to contact my… father, but I will do so tomorrow after he gets off work.” I’ve never told any of them about my relationship with my parents since it never came up, and I don’t intend to now either.

Applejack however, was curious. “Ya sure it’s just pain right? Not somethin’ else that’s botherin’ ya?”

I shook my head and rubbed at my temples. “Applejack, we nearly died fighting a monster today, and I’ve more than over used my powers. If I am to be truthful, the painkillers must be working still, otherwise, I doubt I would be conscious at this moment.” There was a hint… well, more than a hint of irritation in my voice.

She narrowed her eyes at me, and I knew she could tell that what I said wasn’t the whole truth, but she decided against pressing the matter, thankfully. “Ah guess. Ya know what? That reminds me. Pinkie and Rarity cannot fight these thin’s without some kinda better protection. Whatever it is that Goose has, y’all need ta get some of that fer them. And uh… get another set made fer a pegasus…” I could already see where her train of thought was, but Twilight doesn’t know what we do.

“Why, exactly? I mean, Fluttershy is more than welcome to an armor set if she feels she needs one, but as far as the range on her rifle is, I highly doubt that-”

Applejack cut her off. “No, this is fer somepony else. Ah’ve been thinkin’, and it might be a good idea if we tried ta get the Crow on our side.”

Her true, honest green eyes near shoot through Twilight and she reacted negatively. “What!? No way! Don’t you remember that we already tried that? She didn’t work because she disables or dismembers her victims! We can’t have somepony like that on our team! On top of that, she and I did not get along. Besides, if we gave her a brand, she’d remember everything I took away from her the first time…”

Applejack shook her head. “Twilight, will ya just shut yer damn mouth fer one minute and listen? Ah know you’re skeptical here, but if she wasn’t there, Ah don’t know that we coulda taken that thin’ down. We just set her up, she’s the one who shattered the mirror. We need all the help we can get. What are we gonna do if the next one just shows up unannounced in some populated area, huh? Y’all just gonna teleport a few thousand ponies away ta a safe place while ya let us deal with it? On top of that, they’ve all been different! Every monster we’ve come across has been entirely different from the last, and they just keep gettin’ bigger! We don’t have the resources ta pick and choose who we like, we need power, and Goose and Ah ain’t gonna cut it!”

Before Twilight could yell back, Goose intervened. “Hey, slow your roll there. I know this is important and all, but you guys need to cool it. Yelling at each other isn’t going to solve any of our problems right now. Maybe we should just put this on hold and talk about it later. What do you think Flutterbutter?” There was a collective cloud of ‘what’ over the mares at the table, and just about all of us had our heads tilted at him.

Fluttershy had remained essentially quiet the entire meeting, but she was the first to snap out of the trance. “I… I don’t know what to think. I… I didn’t get to hear her voice or, or smell her scent last time we met her, but now that I did… the Crow… she, she was just so familiar to me, I… you know, I agree with Goose, we should call it a night. I um… I’m not too fond of the nick name, but there’s a lot on everypony’s minds right now, and Pinkie hasn’t even regained consciousness yet. We really shouldn’t be discussing our next plan without her I don’t think.”

Goose put a smile on and nodded his head with her as she spoke. “Well, the quietest voice has spoken, so what about you three? We need at least one more for a majority vote here. You and I are both pretty banged up Applebo-” He was about to say it, and Applejack slowly started to raise her snout at him with a fixed death stare. “Eh-hem, Applejack. I mean, we did what we set out to do right? Find the ship, make sure there weren’t any mirrors, and destroy the one we found?”

I mused that for a moment, but Twilight let out a breath and spoke the conclusion I had come to. “No, the goal was to take the mirror in one piece so we could study it, but… I can’t blame anypony for what happened instead. I’m sorry Applejack, I shouldn’t be so… obtuse about this. Goose is right. Let’s reconvene on Tuesday shall we? My healing spells should be finished working on Pinkie by then, and she should regain consciousness by Sunday at the latest. In the mean time, I must ask you to discuss with your sister what she knows, alright?”

Applejack let out a sigh as well. “Ah know, Ah was just… hopin’ it didn’t come ta this. Ah’ve managed ta keep my family outta this hero shit fer years now, and suddenly, it feels like all those walls Ah built tryin’ ta keep ‘em safe are fallin’ apart.” She shook her head and let out a defeated laugh. “Heh… it’s funny, really. Ah always thought Ah’d make an enemy outta some mob boss and have my family traced and kidnapped or somethin’. Never in my wildest dreams did Ah think that the threat of monsters destroyin’ the city was what would cause me ta tell any of ‘em about this…” I was about to attempt to comfort her because it looked like she needed it, but Goose beat me to it. He just popped from one chair to the next and draped his forelegs around her neck from atop the chair’s foreleg rest.

“Hey there honey dear, it’ll be alright,” he said softly. She didn’t reciprocate the hug, but she didn’t fight it either. In the end, it looked like she’d just let herself lean on him, but… after all she’s told us, surely that meant she accepted Goose as a friend… or maybe more… I’ve never met a mare as stubborn and closed off as she is, yet here she is, letting herself lean on another. We all sat in silence, I was more stunned than anything, but eventually Goose let himself go and decided to head to bed.

“Well, that was a good talk. Maybe we might try and be a little more civil around each other, huh? I know this is tense shit and all, but… you ladies don’t have to fight over me♥” There was a collective groan and eye roll that followed his back to form doucheyness, but it did get a giggle out of us all the same.

“Yeah whatever, y’all go be a douchebag somewhere else. Ah’m gonna head out y’all. Ah’ll see ya on Tuesday Ah guess.” Applejack got up from her chair, and for a split second, I thought I saw that orange gem sparkle as she moved, but it came as soon as it went and I wasn’t sure if it was real or just a trick of the light.

“Alright, I suppose that will be that. I’ll keep you two posted about Pinkie’s recovery until she’s back to normal. Rarity, do you want me to send you home, or do you want to stay here for the night? I know you said you were in a lot of pain…” Once upon a time, we tried to experiment with the limits of my powers and to say it didn’t end well… is more or less an understatement. I was injured fairly heavily and kept in stasis for nearly forty-eight hours just to keep me from falling into a coma. Had Princess Celestia not intervened, who knows if I’d have ever woken up? All the same, Twilight still feels guilty about it almost a year later and uses extra caution around me when I have headaches.

“I… think I will take you up on that. Goodnight everypony.” I woozily stood and wearily made my way to the room Twilight had reserved for me. I don’t remember much of what happened next, other than that I flopped on something soft in a dark room, so I suppose I made it to a bed at least.

The morning went about as I expected it to, had I a hangover. Sure, the drinking age is 21, and only next year do I actually attain that age, but all the same I’ve already had my fair share of hangovers in my lifetime and that is more than enough to remember how awful they are. You’d think with how my parents treated me, I’d have never touched the stuff. I’m glad Sweetie doesn’t have the friends that I had in high school. This time, however, I don’t have the memory of being blissfully intoxicated, just in pain from being in pain. However, I wasn’t angry when I woke up, no that came a few minutes later. On the end table next to the bed, in the little crystal box of a room that I’d slept in, was my buzzing and singing phone.

“Why so down tonight? Just another day that didn’t go your way well, don’t you make me sigh. Just take my-”

“Hello?” I said wearily as I silenced the ringer with my hoof. It wasn’t normal for me to get calls on my personal phone these days, and I wasn’t quite awake enough to read yet, so I had no idea who I was talking to when I answered.

“Rarity? Good morning darling.”

A voice I’d heard enough times to recognize and one I’d slowly started to hate as I grew older. My senses alive and well now that my father was clear in my ear, I sat up quickly, only to feel dizzy and nearly vomit from the pounding on the back of my skull.

“What do youuuu…” I held back the liquid projectile just waiting to happen. When the feeling passed, I tried again. “What do you want? Why are you calling me on a Friday? Shouldn’t you be at work?” I attempted to say again, this time with venom in my voice.

“Rarity… it’s five pm.”

It’s five!? I slept for almost seventeen hours!? Ugh, so much for opening the boutique today. At least I made sure not to have any appointments. However, that still doesn’t give him a reason to call me.

“Eh-hem, so it is. That doesn’t answer any of my questions, all the same.”

“Well… uh, it’s been a while and I though I’d just uh… check up on you. Your sister called me the other day and so I though that maybe...” The words registered in my head.

“Sweetie did what!?” Reign it in Rarity, it’s not like he’s some sexual predator, it’s just your bastard of a father… So maybe it’s worse than that…

“Geez, she called me. She asked me to sign a form so she could get into Junior Guard at the school. Didn’t she come to you first?” Oh ho ho ho, no, she didn’t. Because if she did, there was no way I would have let her in, and she knew that… She and I will be talking when I get home.

“I see. Please refrain from speaking to my little sister without my consent in the future. A checkup is all you said you wanted right? Well, now you have it. We are doing just fine.” The words were only there to keep my teeth from grinding against each other. I was mad at him for existing, and now I was also mad at Sweetie for lying to me.

“Now, wait just a minute! Rarity, please just hear me out! Hasn’t it been long enough? I can never make it up to either of you if you won’t even speak to me!” Groveling swine! You’d better beg because I have no sympathy for you! I was just about to retaliate with the most scathing insult I could think of when I remembered the position I was in. I still needed him to get me into Argent Tower undetected. Damn it! I was supposed to call you, you old fool! I sighed as if I were about to try and pick up an eighty pound weight and took a deep breath.

“As you can tell, I still harbor ill will.” I heard a sigh from the other end of the line and forced myself to keep talking. He might be a horrible pony, but he is my father. “However, maybe two years is long enough. Why don’t I meet you up there in Tin? We can do lunch and you can give me a tour of Argent Tower. It… has been a long time since I’ve seen it. Are you free Tuesday?” I could almost hear the smile forming on that old stallion’s face as I spoke. I hold so much disdain for him yet… the thought of him smiling again might have even made me grin.

“Oh, of course! Er… Actually, I’m supposed to make a trip to Zvyr on Tuesday for a deal on some new bulk mining equipment. Would Monday work for you? A favorite restaurant of mine runs a special at one PM every Monday, and I’d love to have you try it. It’ll be… just like it used to…” he said, trailing off and no doubt watching the train wreck that became his life later on. A thought crossed my mind, and I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t already issued this ultimatum yet.

“Very well, I can take Monday off. But! Know this old man, if I smell a drop of alcohol on your breath again I will leave right then and there. Do you understand me? I am not defenseless anymore.”

There was a pause, but then he responded, “Of course. Yes, why would I even consider… drinking again…” His voice fell to a whisper, which made me suspicious, but I wasn't about to press on that just yet.

“Then it is settled. I will meet you at twelve forty-five by the train station. If you are late, I will go home and block you from this number. This is your final chance to make amends. Do not disappoint me.” I hung up before he could respond. Anymore of this and I don't know what I'll say. I sighed. I probably shouldn’t bear this strong of a grudge against him at least. He’s making an effort, which is more than I can say for that harlot. For every time I think about them, my hooves always move to feel the small scar just under my jaw. Worthless, evil mare.

After talking to Twilight about it and making my way home, Sweetie and I had a discussion about her little adventures in the Junior Guard. I didn’t know why she’d been getting up so early in the morning this past week, but I simply thought she was getting up to go see her friends before school. I suppose I wasn’t entirely wrong.

“You went and joined Junior Guard without even telling me!?” I said just about as soon as I saw her. She froze in place amid eating some reheated pizza, nearly dropping the pie on the floor before catching it in her magic.

“… Maybe I did, what about it?” she said as she set her pizza down. I could feel the veins beginning to bubble up to the surface again.

“Why!? What could have possibly possessed you to do something like that? It’s one thing to go and join some, child soldier program behind my back, but to call him just to go over my head!?”

Now that we were at the real reason I was angry, or at least the bigger one, Sweetie stood still like a statue. “I…” she began, but didn’t continue.

I took a few stomping steps closer. “Well? You, what, exactly?” I realized that I was starting to lose my temper, so I lowered my volume without losing intensity. I could see the veins beginning to surface on her head as well. She stood up and came to eye level with me. Sweetie was shorter than I was, but not by a large margin anymore. She's seventeen now, almost a full grown mare.

“It’s not like I could’ve come to you! You wouldn’t have even let me talk about it as soon as I said anything about the military! You know what? This is exactly why I never asked you, because I knew it would end up with us yelling at each other! Scootaloo said she just about fought Rainbow to get her signature, but Applebloom said that after she told her siblings about it, they understood that it was something that she wanted to do! At least Dad was happy to hear from me!” We were just about snout to snout at this point.

“Oh, and you think that your abusive father cares whether or not you go off to fight in some war and die in your twenties!? If all you needed was a signature, I honestly believe that you could have gotten it from mother if you knew where to find her! They don’t care about you, me, or either of our lives! I care about your well being, I don’t want to get a knock on the door from some random officer saying you were promoted two ranks, I don’t want to hold a funeral for my little sister!” She promptly backed down and lost eye contact with me. I let out a breath and tried to calm down myself.

At the current moment, Equestria is in high tensions with a few countries, namely another major superpower, Zvyr. Were it not for the good ties that Argent has with them and the exports and imports they deal with, I doubt our ‘good’ relationship would last very long before somepony started a fight. The rumor that’s floating around is that Stannum Argent has recently been in decline and he doesn’t have a successor lined up to take his place. Supposedly, he has a son, but said son is not in a good place health wise either. The future is uncertain to say the least, but the last war that broke out happened in about the same way and ponies tend to panic when they get the opportunity. The real chance that she could fight in a war if she did join the military is rather high at this point if nothing is done to fix Zvyrian relations. I crept up next to Sweetie and pulled her into a hug.

“I shouldn’t have come home just to yell at you, but this isn’t something you can just brush off.” I made sure to bring my volume down and try to actually get across to her. She just doesn't understand what what a firefight is like, and I don't want her to learn too late.

“I… I’m sorry, I should have come to you about it. But, the thing is… I really like it. The training, the exercises, the outfits, it just… feels like it’s what I should be doing, ya know? Scootaloo and Applebloom felt the same way, and since we all have similar cutiemarks… maybe… maybe this is what my cutiemark really means after all?” She looked at me with those big green eyes of hers. Maybe it was the color that made me think of her, but it was the sincerity I saw in them reminded me so much of Applejack. If Sweetie turns out like her, then… maybe it wont be so bad after all…

I sighed. “If… If you really feel that way, then I’ve no right to stop you from doing something you love. Just… just don’t go off and do something to hurt yourself, okay? If I lose you, then I’ve lost everything.” I squeezed her tightly and she reciprocated my feelings with a hug of her own. I giggled to myself a little after finally we let go of each other. “Of course he would ask if we got along and then I start a shouting match the minute I get home.”

Sweetie furrowed her brow. “He? You talked toDad?”

I closed my eyes and felt my lids twitch again. “I… I did. As a matter of fact, he’s the one who told me about your little excursion into the military. You might find it hard to believe, but I’m actually going to see him Monday afternoon.” She reared her head back, as I expected she would.

“Really?” she questioned, almost in disgust.

“Really,” I replied, near void of emotion.

“Why?”

“If it was just to see him, I would have made him meet me here. I needed to go to Argent Tower for a job and he called me asking to make amends.” I decided to do something about the rumbling in my stomach and started to dig around for something to make, when I remembered the pizza Sweetie had. “Did you already reheat that, or should I make dinner?”

She shook her head to fight the stun. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. You are going to see Dad… to makeamends?”

I knew this was coming, I did. “Food, Sweetie, stay on topic for me.”

She put her hooves together and touched her lips. “I… No, I haven’t heated the pizza yet, make food please. But back to the Dad thing.” I rolled my eyes and let out a breath. I didn’t want to think about it, I was already dreading the mission I was on to being with, adding him to the mix is just another reason to make me not want to go. I don’t have a choice in the matter either.

“Yes, to make amends. You talked to him didn’t you? Did he not sound like a broken, but apologetic stallion?” I began acquiring cooking utensils from the cabinets. I was feeling like pasta since I hadn’t eaten in nearly twenty four hours apparently. Overexerting myself must have done a number on me if I had to sleep for that long.

“Well, sorta. He’s always had that kinda… broken spirit to him ever since mom left, but… do you actually believe him this time? Like, this isn’t going to end in fallout like the boutique did, is it?” I stopped moving for a moment as the memory of the last time I saw him came flooding back to me. It was a few months after I had custody of Sweetie taken from him, a little after I turned eighteen and proved that I could provide for her with the business I’d been running for the last year. I didn’t make much, the apartment we lived in was… for those with low income, to call it something nice, and one day, he just showed up at the door.

He had cleaned himself and looked presentable for the first time in a long time, outside of being at work, and he had come to ask for forgiveness. I was wary at first, but it really appeared that he had given up his drinking habits. We talked and I let it go that I had been looking to move into a shopping district and then he offered to help me finance it. The offer was far too tantalizing to refuse, so we went through with it. We were in the final stages of having the building furnished when the old bastard stumbled in wasted out of his mind. A whole week. That’s how long he hadn’t been drinking, and he gave in to it, again, just after so little time had passed. I had a restraining order signed to keep him away from Sweetie and had him removed from the loan that bought the boutique. It was a struggle, but after two years of hard work, a military salary, and additional bounties turned in, I managed to pay off the loan and the boutique was finally mine.

I shrugged. “If it does, then I don’t think I’ll ever see him again. If you want to seek him out at a later time when you get older, that’s none of my business, but if he lies to me again, then… I’ll stop holding out hope.” I put the pot of water on the stove and reached in the pantry to levitate a pound box of fettuccine out. A sharp pain shot through my horn down my spine the moment I attempted to use my magic, and I dropped the box. “Damn it!” A wave of pain and nausea came over me and suddenly everything hurt.

Sweetie rushed to me as I felt my legs beginning to give out and helped me sit down “Rarity! What’s wrong?”

I shouldn’t have done that. I know better than to use magic after overexerting myself, I do! Oh goddess, it hurts! The sick feeling followed by throbbing pains in my head lasted for nearly two minutes before they started to subside. A sudden feeling had me dash for the nearest trash can and lose a cup of burning stomach acid. Once that whole ordeal was done, Sweetie had grabbed me a kitchen towel and I wiped my face off. Sweaty, dry heaving and sick to myself, all the signs of overusing one’s magic, or in my case, my powers.

“What did you do? It isn’t like you to get sick like this out of nowhere… Have you been using your magic too much?” She asked once my body finally settled for a moment. I nodded my head.

“I was… rather involved in a fight last night… I might have… bitten off more than I could chew…” As far as Sweetie knows, I work part time at a bar as a server. Me getting involved in ‘fights’ is always my excuse for when I return beaten or sick.

“Rarity… you can’t keep doing this. If you keep this up, I won’t even get a chance to get into the military before you burn yourself out.” Well, she’s certainly not wrong. But then again, I don’t know how long any of the six of us will last if these monsters keep showing up. One wrong move and we end up with broken legs like Pinkie last night, the poor filly.

“Oh, don’t you worry about me, I didn’t even get hit this time. I mostly played support, it was my friends that did all the heavy lifting.” Overexertion of my powers was far more taxing than over exerting my actual magic, but on the other end of it, I could usually hold my powers longer after. The time I had every day never extended, but the strain of adding ponies to it usually became less every time this happened. Before the first experiments, having another pony in my frozen time reduced it by half and downward. The fact that another pony only takes two minutes out is the work of physical and magical endurance training every day. I got back to my hooves and made note to find my limiter ring before I tried to cook again.

“Friends? Did you have somepony come visit you?” I thought about the question and eventually nodded.

“I wasn’t really expecting it, but I met Rainbow Dash yesterday. Applejack was the one that brought her actually. It was… odd, but welcome.” I try not to lie to Sweetie when I can word it in such a way. She doesn’t even know about my powers as far as I can tell, but… the thing with Applebloom has me concerned about her. It had never occurred to me before that she could also be a Power Pony, but now that my head is clear, I’m not sure… Should I… talk to her about it? If nothing else, I could prod what she knows… Yes, that’s what I should do. If she has anything, it might be good to know in the event something like last night comes up again…

“Really? Huh, I didn’t think she was the type to go to bars… Applejack either… aren’t they like, too young to drink though? I thought you were the oldest out of our sisters, and you’re not twenty-one yet…” Sweetie rambled, some of which I recognized as her talking to her self out loud.

“Yes, they were in the neighborhood and decided to come visit. But that aside, Sweetie, what do you know about the virus?” I took one of my magic limiting rings out of the kitchen drawer and unhooked the latch. This overexertion thing has happened far more times than I’d like to admit over the past two years, and because of that, I have a limiter ring in every room of the boutique. I fixed the thing to the base of my horn and then went to pick up the box of pasta I’d dropped. I hope this didn’t snap too many pieces. I hate short noodle pasta. I poured some salt into the water and watched as the pot started to bubble near the bottom.

“Uh… it’s not always bad? I don’t know much. We kind of glanced over it in biology last year, but I’ve never really talked about it with anypony… it’s uh… a touchy subject, I think.”

Oh, I'm sure. ponies with physical mutations always get the brunt of humiliation, and that's not as uncommon as one would think. “I see. You know, supposedly, the virus can overwrite genes across generations. Studies over a few years have come to the conclusion that any parent with it will breed children with it.” I poured the pasta into the boiling water, and just as I feared, almost half the box came out in half sized pieces. A sound of irritation escaped my lips.

“Oh. That’s… interesting? Um… why exactly are you bringing this up?”

That's a nervous tone if I've ever heard one. “Sweetie, if you had powers, would you tell me? I can tell that there’s something to this, you’re not being forward with me like you usually are.” Well, if I want something like this to not happen with her, I might as well come clean. Applejack mentioned that she thought there would be an evil rival or something, and I can’t say I wasn’t thinking something similar, but now… I may not get the chance to tell her anything with a future so uncertain.

At any point she was nervous or afraid of something, Sweetie had this twitch in her ear and she’d spin the tips of her front hooves around each other. “And… if I did, and… and maybe they weren’t something so… nice, something that could… really hurt ponies, what would you do?” Which means you do have something, and you have something you can’t control very well at that. I turned the heat down on the mostly done pasta and turned to face her.

“Sweetie, you know that I would never stop loving you, even if you did something wrong, but having powers isn’t anything wrong at all. In fact, I believe that having powers is a wonderful thing, something you should be proud of. Sure, some ponies have talents that make them ‘more special’ than others, and some ponies can do things that you could never dream of doing, but to have powers means that you can do something that other ponies could never dream of. A power that has potential to be dangerous has equal potential to be used for good.” I moved closer. She took a step back. Is she afraid of what she can do?

“But… but what if… what if I- somepony can’t control their powers? What if it just happens on accident sometimes and… and you don’t know how to turn it off? What if you’re afraid that one day, you’ll just be having a good time, and suddenly they turn on and hurt somepony? What if your powers turned on, and you didn’t know what to do and you ended up ki-” The poor dear… I could have intervened with this sooner. Had I known she was so afraid of whatever she can do I would have tried to help her learn how to not be.

I silenced Sweetie and brought her into a hug. “Shh… It’s okay. Nopony knows how to control them at first.” I ran my hoof through her mane. She was shaking.

“Do you… do you have them too?” I nodded and kept silent. She wriggled her way out of my hug and stood back. “Then… can I show you? I… I don’t know really how to do anything but turn it on and off…” I hadn’t expected her to do that, but I suppose if it’s not too bad then it shouldn’t be a big deal…

“I… suppose. But first, what is it that you can do, Sweetie darling?” I can’t show her my powers right now, but if she’s just willing to show me, then maybe she really hasn’t told anypony about it…

“I can… I can turn myself into fire. Like, do you remember back when we were kids, that show about all the ponies who could all those crazy things, and there was the one guy who could just… turn into fire? Like, he was the lighter guy?” Like the Torch? From that cartoon? Really? I’ve seen plenty of elemental powers in my time, but being able to just… turn into something else usually resulted in more… monstrous visages.

“Sweetie, how much of yourself turns into fire? Is it just like the show, and your whole body is set alight, or can you do just parts at a time?” Her ear twitched again and she looked away.

“I… I don’t know. It happens on accident some times. When I get mad, or angry enough to hurt somepony, I’ll hear it start like a little buzzing sound in my ear. And then I’ll feel it somewhere. It’s like… my body is waving and flickering, but at the same time, it’s not my body that’s moving but the flames. I… I got in a fight the other days with those two bullies I’ve told you about and… if we hadn’t been in the bathroom, I might’ve hurt them.” As she spoke, she curled her tail around her side and I saw it flicker.

“My whole body went up. It’d never happened before, all the way, like that. Applebloom and Scootaloo and usually keep me calm enough to keep from losing it, but they weren’t there. It’s such… such a weird feeling, ya know? Like, I am the wave, the flickering flame, but I’m also not. Everything is lit in color, but my vision changes to something else, like I can only see heat. There’s always so much light, but things and ponies don’t look the same, it’s all hot and cold to me, but at the same time, I’ve never felt anything but cold before.

“Do you remember the time, back before we moved, when we went swimming at the lake? Everypony else was so happy to be in the water and out of the ‘heat’ but I didn’t know what they meant by it. I was perfectly fine and the water made me feel sick while I was in it. I remember getting a funny feeling in my stomach and needing to get out. I don’t vomit like a normal pony, like you did a minute ago, my body makes me spit out charred carbon and smoke. You thought I was playing with rocks at the time, but those came out of me.”

The memory she was talking about, from way back then, nearly eleven years ago. I do remember getting out of the lake to see what she was doing, and I remember the rocks too… She said she spit them up, but at the time, I thought she’d just swallowed them or something, she was six.

“Sweetie, how long have you been holding on to this?” She stuck her hoof out and I watched as it burst into brilliant orange flames. She just waved it around and stared at it like nothing was wrong.

“I don’t know. This is about the most control over it that I have. I can’t get burned, fire reacts weird to me and I can light myself if there’s an open flame near by. It’s been like this as long as I can remember, but after I… once I set a blanket on fire after a nightmare while I was sleeping one night, I’ve been afraid of it. I’ve tried to get a better grip on it over time, but I just… I just don’t know what to do. This is the best I’ve ever been able to do, and I’ve only been able to do this for a few weeks now.” She admired the brightly glowing flame, and I had to stare too. A power like this is... certainly unique. She flailed her foreleg around and the flames slowly died out until they were all gone.

“Oh Sweetie, I should have asked about this sooner. I can help you get a grip on this. With as unwieldy as my own powers were at first, I’m sure yours are just as hard to deal with.”

She looked away from the ground to focus back on me. “So… what can you do? I… I have a few weird memories of you just flickering from one place to another from a long time ago, but, I wouldn’t know what that really means. Or maybe I’m just crazy, which is always a possibility.”

I shook my head. “No, you’re not crazy, far from it actually. Sweetie, to tell the truth, I’ve never been in a bar fight. I don’t have a part time job, and none of my extra money has come from tips. My powers are… fairly unique among the Power Ponies I’ve come across. Had I not over exerted myself the other day I would show you what I can do, but me throwing up is the least of my problems if I try to use them now. I can stop time.”

Her face contorted into a frown mixed with confusion. “Stop… time?” she asked, like the words were foreign.

“Yes,” I said, bluntly.

“Like, you can move around while everypony else is frozen or something?”

“That’s rather specific, but yes.”

“And… the world is all frozen, like nothing moves. Anything that was moving just stops in place, and it all loses color, and everything is in black and white?”

“That is… exactly what my powers do… Sweetie, why do you…?”

“That night. With the um… Ms. Duster… I didn’t know if what I saw was real or a dream, but… you screamed, and you rushed over to me. I tried to talk, but I couldn’t move either, and when you pushed on me, I didn’t feel it, like were were in the same room but separated by some kind of glass. The bullet that was maybe half a meter from my head. You tried so hard to turn it, and when you did, you fell over and then everything started to move again. All… all that blood and… I uh… it’s hard to think about that, but I guess maybe it wasn’t a dream if I was only half frozen in your time.”

Did I… did I really almost bring her in my frozen time all the way back then? I wasn’t even able to bring other ponies in until a few years ago when I started using my powers more liberally… then again, I was under quite a bit of stress, and I know my powers are tied to magic. Young unicorns tend to have spurts of powerful magic in puberty… maybe I did?

“I… see.” She nodded and let her eyes fall to the floor. I remembered that the burner was still on and went to check on the fettuccine. The pasta was a little overcooked, but it would be fine after I threw a bottle of sauce on it. “Why don’t we continue this discussion at another time? It’s been… some kind of day today and I feel like I could use more sleep.”

“Are you one of them?”

What is she talking about? “One of whom?”

She quickly pulled her phone from somewhere in the house with her magic and started furiously swiping around the screen with her hooves. She turned the device around and showed me a picture of Harmony at the harbor. All of us in the shot, save for Target, fighting off the monster Knots White turned into. This was taken last night! Who could have taken this!?

“Specifically this one, right here in the corner. They call her Diamond. Her mane and tail look just like yours do, and she’s got a white coat. Is this you?” She asked so forcefully that I felt I was under interrogation here.

“Well… um… y-yes, that is, um, me.” I had planned on telling her, but I wasn’t about to go and say that I was off fighting giant monsters. This... is not going to go well.

“So, you came in here today, yelling at me for running off and joining the pre-enlistment, training program at school without telling you. And then, you turn around and tell me that you have super powers, and you’re off parading around in a leather suit fighting off giant monsters!? How can you even do that? You… you… ugh, you’re so infuriating!” Her tail went up in a blaze.

“Me go off to fight in some war, me get killed at twenty, what about you!?” Followed by her mane. “Huh!? Am I going to be looking for a tombstone soon? Is my sister going to die in her early twenties? Or are you also working for the military too, and will I get notified that you’ve suddenly been promoted two ranks one day, I don’t know, maybe tomorrow? Goddess, what the fuck Rarity!? You’re such a fucking hypocrite!” Then her horn and ears lit themselves.

“You know what? You eat alone. I need time to think. I’m not hungry anymore.” She shook herself not unlike a dog, and forced all the flames to peter out. “Great! Now that I’ve tried to use it today, I don’t know if I can stop using it! Thanks a lot!” Her horn covered itself in a bright green aura and so did the kitchen drawer. Out of it floated our full box of aluminum foil and toward the stairs Sweetie went. “You should turn the fire alarms off. I don’t know how long I’m gonna be mad.” She finished climbing the stairs, made a turn to the right, and then the last thing I heard was a door slamming.

“Well. I suppose that could’ve gone better.”

Harmony Days IX: Silver Belles (part 2)

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Harmony Mission IV: A Tower of Silver

Rarity Belle

For the next hour or so, I spent most of that time being quiet and reflecting on myself as to how I felt about my parents. I would add the occasional comment to the discussion that my father Formaggio and Tomato were having, but in the end, I never came to a conclusion. I was finally brought back to reality when Twilight interrupted my thoughts.

“Rarity, it’s a quarter to two. Have you entered the tower?” To my forgetfulness, I answered out loud.

“What? No, not yet.” The three stallions at the table stopped what they were doing to stare at me.

“Uh… not yet what?” Formaggio asked. I had to use everything in my will to keep myself from throwing my hoof into my forehead.

“Oh, nothing, just… talking to myself.” I pulled my phone out of my suit’s pocket and clicked it on to check the time. As she said, it was one forty-five PM.

“Mister… um, father, I don’t mean to rush, but don’t you think it’s about time we got on with my tour? I do have other things I need to do today after all...” I said, thinking more on the ponies I would have to fit with suits I had yet to put together lying in pieces all over my workshop than the conference I would have to have with Princess Luna later. I’m sure she’s there because she wants to talk to me personally about this… The old stallion lifted his foreleg and slid back his sleeve to reveal a rose gold plated watch around his wrist.

“Oh my, I didn’t expect to be here so long. I apologize Tomato, Formaggio, I need to be back at the office by two. We’ll have to get together again soon. Maybe next time we can bring Fragola and Sweetie, hmm?” He said, making a side glance at me. After glaring at him, I managed to keep from going off in front of the Bisques. Hold your tongue. He knows he put me on the spot and he’ll get an earful about that later…

“Of course… It was a pleasure seeing you again, Tomato, Formaggio.” I gave a curt bow and followed my father out of the booth seat we were in.

“Thirty two bits, right?” he asked them. Tomato shook his head.

“Nah, this one’s on the house. For little diamante, alright?” Tomato gave me a hug and then began to rebutton his pure white chef coat. My father took five copper out of a bit case in his pocket and left it on the table.

“Very well then. I’ll leave this here for Keylime, if nothing else.” Tomato gave him a pat on the back and said,

“You’re a good stallion, Bronze Belle. See ‘em out Formaggio!” as he headed down the stairs and back into the kitchen. The three of us made it back down to the lobby, and after getting a piece of paper expertly slipped into one of my pockets by Formaggio, my father and I left Bisque’s Cavallian Restaurant.

“Wow. I’m impressed I didn’t catch him do it.” I said not really caring who heard.

“Him do what?” my father asked, still carrying my extravagant Iris bouquet and that bag with the strange property that refuses to let my magic grip it. Oddly enough, it looked like his magic was only gripping the handles as well… What in the world is in there?

“Formaggio. He slipped a paper with his number hastily scrawled on it in my pocket. I always knew he had sticky hooves, but I suppose he’s gotten better at it.” I catalogued the number in my phone. Maybe I will give him a call soon.

“Ah, I see. So… you seemed… distracted? At lunch I mean. Is there something wrong darling?” Of course I was distracted. You made me feel terrible about myself because you were a terrible parent for half of my life! You and her… Goddess, you frustrate me!

“No, nothing in particular. Nothing more than normal I guess.” Well, at least there’s no monster attacking me now. Sweet goddess, please let me not have just jinxed myself.

“I see. Before I show you around, let’s get to my office first. I’d uh, really appreciate it if you opened your present.” We approached the entrance to the tower, and like any other Manehattan skyscraper, Argent tower broke the clouds above and just about rivaled the mountains in the distance for its spot in the sky. I’d never remembered it being this big, but at the base, it was almost the size of a hoofball field.

“Quite a sight isn’t it? This tower is fifty percent taller than the original trade center was in Manehattan. It’s currently the tallest building in Equestria.” There was pride in his voice and it was plain on his face that this was his achievement as much as it was Argent's. As much as I blame his job for some of the things that went wrong with our family, he still seems to love the work he does here. I wonder if he knows about the mirrors… Let’s find out…

“I’ll say. So, tell me. Does Argent produce mirrors?” He furrowed his brow.

“Not directly. We sell much of the tin and silver that we mine to companies that make mirrors and looking glasses. Indirectly we do, I suppose.” Wasn’t there a code word for them?

“Not even vanities?” I asked. He tilted his head and looked at me.

“I don’t know of many vanities that would be made of silver. This place is mostly offices. We run all the technical stuff here and give the workers a place to live. The only thing that’s ‘manufactured’ here is when we take the raw gems to be cut. Unless you count internal programming as manufacturing a program, but I don’t think that’s common place.” He checked his watch again. “Gah, I need to be back to work in the next five minutes. Do you mind hanging out around my apartment for the next half hour? I’d hate to not get to show you around, but I just don’t have the time right now.” I internally rolled my eyes and let out a long sigh.

“No, I suppose I don’t.” I we were standing on the concrete porch just outside of the doors when I remembered why I was here in the first place. “I’m about to head in Twilight.” As soon as we walked in, I was greeted to the nearly pure white and silver bottom floor lobby akin to that of a hotel. There were two desks on either side of the lobby which was shaped like a plus symbol made of varying sizes of rectangles. There was a dark green and gold crisscrossing carpet in the center that was over-headed by one of the largest chandeliers I’ve ever seen, lined with possibly thirty white candles just from the front alone. The base of the floor and all the countertops were done in polished white stone that I could have sworn had flecks of gold all along them, and every piece of wooden furniture was made of a dark red grain of some kind, studded with more gold that held the fine leather upholstery to the back and the seat. White vases with intricate blue designs running along the tops and bottom in an Algol fashion filled with clear water blue Lupine flowers in every corner of the lobby.

While I was stunned by the decor at first, I was quickly pulled out of my trance when I felt eyes on me. The room was nearly empty save for my father and I, or so I thought when I spotted the mare who was more or less glaring at me from behind one of the counters. I glared back.

“I see you’ve finally brought a mare back with you. Although, this one is a little young I’d think,” she said in an almost spiteful tone. She was a bright white pegasus, presumably a few years older than me, with A mane that ran through blue to yellow like a gradient and eyes that were almost completely gray blue like ice, as if she were blind. How is she staring at me if she’s blind? Or is she blind? She commented on my appearance… Wait a minute, a little young!?

“Gah! Oh, Brightness, you startled me. No, no, this isn’t anything like that. This is my daughter, Rarity.” Her expression was a mixture between bored and spiteful as her eyes moved from my father to me and back.

“Ah, my mistake. I suppose I can see the resemblance, but she’s far too pretty to be your ilk. In any case, she’s properly dressed so I doubt she’s from a street corner around here. Nice to meet you, my name is Brightness.” She bowed her head after my father started his way over to the counter and I hesitantly followed, still not sure what to make of her just yet. Either she was just plain rude, or she knew my father well enough to make jabs at him almost as sharp as my own.

“I… I see. Rarity Belle, how do you do…” Her expression lost it’s spitefulness, but attained something else to replace the boredom. We shook hooves, and it was almost as if I were struck by lightning or something. I pulled my hoof back as soon as I could, but she acted like nothing happened. Was that static?

“In any case, I didn’t call you over just to poke at you, Mister Argent is getting impatient. I was about to call you when you walked in the door. He needs you. Now” So just what exactly is she? She’s almost… intimidating…

“Oh, right, I suppose I am late. Brightness, would you mind taking Rarity up to my apartment? I’d prefer not to make Stannum mad before I head to Zvyr. He might make me stay longer than I have too…” Zvyr was a good ways north of Equestria on the globe and fall has just started. I’m sure it’s cold up there, and my father was never one to do well in the cold. Brightness let out a loud sigh and buzzed her wings like a humming bird over the counter.

“I guess I don’t have anything better to do. Very well. Follow me to the left elevator.” She stopped to meet my father, who was tentatively holding out my gifts in his magic for Brightness to take. She scowled at him and took my things begrudgingly, then the two split and my father waved as he entered the rightmost elevator. I was almost confused by the gesture, but eventually my body responded and I waived back as the doors shut. “Well? Come on, I don’t want to carry this crap all day,” she said to me from the still open elevator, my vase wrapped in one wing, and the gift bag on the other. The spell was broken, and I shook my head before making my way to the open elevator.

“I can carry those, they are mine after all,” I said politely as she pressed an elevator button with her muzzle.

“Oh, by all means.” Then she just about threw them at me. I managed to catch everything in my magic, barely remembering that whatever was in the bag was difficult to grab as the elevator door closed. Once it did, she pulled a small panel next to the button list open, then pressed a button behind it. “Now then, little miss super hero, what exactly are you doing here?” She suddenly cornered me in the elevator. Her nose was just about touching mine, and my tail was pressed against the wall.

“W-what? Super hero? Whatever do you mean?” I was startled by the sudden change, but this confirmed my suspicions. She is intimidating. She slammed her hooves into the floor, the noise so loud it just about stunned me.

“Don’t play dumb with me! I know who you are, and I know who you work for! Tell me why you’re here!” I shook myself out of my daze and fought back.

“What do you think you know? I am just a tailor who runs a shop in Manehattan! I have come to visit my father for the first time in two years and he wanted to show me around his workplace! I don’t know what you’re on about!” I couldn’t guess why, but her expression softened.

“Ah, so you’re pretty good at coming up with BS on the fly. It helps that all of that is mostly true. But that doesn’t change the fact that everything else was a lie. Fine, I’ll just state some facts and let you stop me when I’ve said enough. Rarity Belle, Age twenty, born April tenth, twenty ten. Your parents, Bronze and Pearl Belle, had two children in the southern town of Ponyville, where you were both raised before your house was intruded upon. After you displayed unique magic, the intruder was killed by a bullet he shot. Your family, Bronze, Pearl, yourself, and Sweetie Belle, moved to Manehattan where you have lived ever since.

After a fallout between your parents, your mother left with another stallion to Applewood, where she would fall to a disease that had been eating away at her mind since she was in her twenties, as of last year. You and your sister lived alone with your abusive father whom you personally reported to Child Protective Services at the age of eighteen, a year after you had been selling your wares. Around the same time, you picked up another name and started turning in bounties as the heroine Diamond.” I flinched. Names, dates, and accurate times. She died of a disease? I knew she was a bit different those last few years, but I didn’t know she was deteriorating… Was she the virus carrier?

“Need I say more? Or should I talk about your employer? Maybe I can get your tongue burning just because I say the right things? I could talk about your friends, your family, even the new members your group picked up not too long ago. Both were rather popular for different reasons.” Shit. Now I’m really in a corner. There’s nothing but static when I try and contact Twilight, I don’t know what to do…

“Damn it, what is the point of a secret identity if everypony just finds out anyways!? Fine, you win. I don’t know how you know what you do, but clearly, you know more than I do. I am here on orders. I would never have contacted my father if I didn’t need his position for something.” She put on a smile that almost rivaled Twilight’s for smugness, and I felt the rising urge to punch her in the face.

“Good. Now that we have honesty in the air, take this card, and whatever you do, do not lose it.” From inside her wing, hidden under her feathers, she took a key card and slid it into my suit pocket. “Take the center elevator and insert it to the slot at the bottom of the panel. This will open a keypad, and you enter the number fifty fourteen. That will take you to what you’re looking for. Use your powers if you must, but be careful. We have sensors here that can detect the use of powers within the building. Remember, fifty fourteen. Five, zero, one, four. Now turn around, face the door, and act like we were having a conversation, somepony is coming around the hall near your dad’s apartment.” When did the world turn on its head? What in the hell is going on here? Who is this mare? The elevator door slid open, and she just about dragged me out with her.

“Ah tits, it’s Silicon. Be prepared to get hit on. I don't know how you come from that ugly old stallion, but you are pretty and he is a thirsty motherfucker.” I looked around, still confused by more or less everything that just happened, but there was nopony else in the hallway. Like the lobby, the floor was completely carpeted in that same dark green and gold crisscrossing pattern all the way down in each direction. The walls were a light gray and black with cone shaped lights in between each door that lined them. The hallway was so long in each direction that I could barely see the end of each side. She started off toward the right, and I quickly followed.

“Wait just a minute, what exactly is the meaning of all this? Who are you?” Of all the feelings I was experienceing right now, exasperation was the one I couldn't help but express.

“Shut up! Get the pearls out of the bag and put them on. You’ll need them if you get found out. Now smile! He’s about to turn the corner.” Pearls? Oh, the present. I figured that I ought to listen to her advice, even though this was all extremely sketchy. I dug through the gift bag until I fished out a string of beautiful black pearls that had a strange alluring quality to them and an odd violet shine when held to the light. I tried to grip them with my magic to no avail, and simply wrapped them around my foreleg. One disadvantage to being a unicorn is that any and all clothing to go over the head for normal ponies must open on one side or the other, thanks to the sharp bone that juts out of my skull.

I looked back up, and as she had said, a pony came around the corner. His coat was a dark green, and his mane was an almost luminescent mixture of silver and white. He was an earth pony, but his hind legs looked… as if they’d been gripped by some horrible monster and twisted into terrible shapes, then strapped up to a contraption akin to a wheelchair. He was very thin and frail looking, presumably my age, with dark orange irises.

“Oh, good afternoon Miss Brightness. And who might you be?” he asked as we approached each other. Brightness stopped in front of a door, I stopped with her, and the stallion half-trotted half-wheeled his way to us.

“Hello Silicon,” Brightness said, in a tone that was far too cheery to be real coming from her.

“Um, Good afternoon. I am Rarity Belle, a pleasure to meet you,” I said, holding out my hoof to greet him. Instead of shaking it like a normal pony, he took it and kissed it. Oh boy.

“The pleasure is mine. These are lovely. Did they come from one of our jewelers?” He asked. Argent has jewelers? Oh, right, didn’t he say that they cut gems in house?

“Possibly, I don’t really know. I received them today, actually.” He gently released my hoof and stood back up. At full height, he was a bit shorter than I, and even smaller in frame. Goodness, this stallion has a feminine frame. With a bit longer mane, you could put him in a dress and… Hey! You cut that out! The fantasies were bad enough the other day, this will only make things worse! At least he’s a boy… my brain fought with itself, immediately dressing this doll like stallion in a thousand different outfits, most of which were for mares. Why are so many of them maid outfits?

“They did, in fact, come from this very building. The serial code is always engraved on the first pearl in the string. You wouldn’t know where to look unless you accidentally found it in the right light, or somepony told you, but if you got these today, I’m sure they were from somepony who cares quite a bit. These are a special order item, since the magic resistant pearls can only be manufactured. They aren’t very cheap to make, and we wouldn’t be making much of a profit if we sold them for under a few gold.” His voice was on the higher end of the male spectrum, probably be an alto with a maximum of mid tenor if he had to sing that low. If we sold them?

“I see… are you employed here, or…?” He laughed again and shook his head.

“My apologies, I didn’t even introduce myself. I am Silicon Argent. If we’re getting technical here, I suppose I own the place.” Argent has a son!? Good goddess, did anypony know about this!? Do the Princesses know? How did we not know about this!?

“Oh, so, you’re the heir I presume?” This certainly explains her attitude toward him.

“I am. If I may, why are you here? It could just be simple coincidence, but you don’t happen to be related to Bronze Belle do you?” I could feel some kind of negative emotion radiating from Brightness to my left, but I couldn’t be suspicious or stand out in front of this stallion. He owns the place, for goddess’ sake.

“Yes, actually, he’s my father. He was supposed to give me a tour of the building, but he had to go to an urgent meeting with yours. I was really just going to wait here in his apartment for the next half hour or so. Miss Brightness was kind enough to guide me here.” I'd hoped that would give her the chance to escape. As long as there aren't two of us, I can ditch this guy at any moment.

“I don’t know why you’re telling him all this, but I sure hope you have a plan to get away from him.” I heard Brightness in my head almost as if she were speaking through the brand. I fought every urge to give her a look of confusion, but she followed my queue.

“That is correct. This is his door actually, so I believe my work here is done. If you need anything, give me a shout, at the help desk in the lobby,” she said for the whole class to hear this time, putting specific emphasis on her words. Well, she obviously has some sort of telepathy. I wonder if that means this connection is open to her now?

“It is.” she responded to my thoughts. I simply gave her a blank stare and she bowed after unlocking the door. “Au revoir.” Then she quickly trotted back to the elevator.

“Well, if you’d still like to see the building, I can give you a tour if you like. Father had more than he initially thought to discuss with mister Belle, so he might be longer than half an hour.” At least he’s polite.

“Only because he wants to bang. Not into mares, but you're at least an eight.”

Can you not?

“I can, but we’ll see if I will. I suppose I’ll stay out for now. Call out my name in your mind if you need me. Remember, once you manage to lose him, get to the elevator and enter the code. I can only keep this up for so long, so don’t take forever.” Once she finished, the feeling of being alone in my head returned as if to signal that she was gone. The connection was still there, but very faint. I wonder if this is what she did when she shook my hoof earlier? … When I didn’t get a response, I figured she’d really left.

“I would like that. I’d hate to disappoint him, but I’m sure he’d rather have me see the place before I have to return to my own shop back in Manehattan.”

“Oh, so you have your own place? What do you do?” I opened the door to my father’s apartment before I responded and was surprised by what I saw. It was clean, well furnished, and filled with pictures. Pictures of us…

“I uh… I’m a seamstress. I make clothing. This suit is one of mine, actually.” I was barely paying attention to Silicon now, this whole room had memories of home and it all started to flood back in. Frames on every shelf, different photos of times back before we moved. Mother was in some of these pictures, and he still had them displayed. What in the world… He was just as bitter about her as I was, why would he…?

“Mister Belle keeps a clean place. Did he get those flowers for you as well? I’ve always found those particular colors delightful together,” Silicon said from behind me. In all these memories, I’d nearly forgotten he was there. I set the flowers and the empty bag down on my father’s dark wood coffee table in the more or less monochromatic apartment.

“Oh, right. Irises are a favorite of mine. They used to grow in the wild around the house we lived in back when I was just a filly. They aren’t so common up north, so I don’t see them much anymore.” There were only two doors in this apartment, and after checking one, I found the bathroom I was looking for. The place was still nearly spotless, the counter made of the same gold speckled white stone to match the tub while the room just about matched the hallway for its black lower wall and light gray upper wall. I stood up at the sink and unraveled the pearls from my wrist to put them on properly. Special order, huh? You lying bastard… yet, I can’t say I’m, angry about it this time.

When I was little, I would always find a way to get a hold of my mother’s pearls and try to dress up like her. She was always the lady of high class dress and style, and I wanted to be just like that. She was a singer by profession, so dressing to be admired was merely part of the job, yet she always did it so well. She carried herself with an air of elegance, behaved like a mare of fortune, yet at the same time, was always so caring and kind when I was young.

Through the years though, she began to lose that air, becoming more out of place with each annual passing. When she finally left, I had expected it, really. She wasn’t the pony I remembered at that point, didn’t say so much as a word to either Sweetie or I about leaving. Were it not for the screaming match the two had before it all fell apart, we wouldn’t have even known. Oh, mother. What ever happened to you? Couldn’t you have said something? Why didn’t you tell anypony you were sick? Why didn’t we notice?

I let the pearls sink on my neck, just reaching the collar of my suit, shining with a violet light on their strange black surface that just about matched my hair. Well done, father. You couldn’t have picked out anything more sentimental, nor anything that fit me as well as these. I exited the bathroom and found Silicon holding a family picture of all of us, the last one that was taken before we moved.

“Interested?” He mustn’t have heard me exit because he fumbled with the picture for a few moments.

“Oh, my apologies, I was just looking. Mister Belle doesn’t talk much about his family, so I always assumed him to be alone. Do… you and your sister live with this mare in the picture?” I shook my head.

“No, my mother died last year.” I found it strange, the feeling I had to associate with those words. Not one of sadness or regret, but pure disappointment. Things… probably wouldn’t have turned out the way they did had she told us about it. I wonder if father knows?

“He doesn’t. I did quite a bit of digging to find that one out. She kept it very hidden. Supposedly, the stallion she ran off with was a doctor who was looking to try and treat her. She couldn’t bear to let her family see her like that, so she decided it best to take off. I imagine she wasn’t supposed to get found out, but things don’t always go according to plan. I think your father was the initial carrier, but I don't think his powers are something he can actively control.” Brightness echoed.

Gah! I thought you left! I almost jumped in front of Silicon.

“No, no, I’m always listening. Call it an old habit I just never managed to kick. The boy is talking to you, you might pay attention.” I looked back at Silicon and managed to read ‘to hear that.’ on his lips before I heard it.

“Yes, It… it was unexpected, to say the least.” He nodded and put the photo back on its shelf. That picture was after one of her performances. I only picked up the piano back then because I wanted to play with her, now didn’t I? Strange, how fast things can change. I’d almost forgotten…

“I see. Well, I suppose you won’t see much of Argent tower if we don’t go ahead and get a move on, now will you? Is there any particular floor you had in mind to see first? This side of the building, as I’m sure somepony told you, is mostly apartments for our employees and the rare few that choose to live here. It’s not particularly expensive, but it certainly isn’t the most budget friendly option around.” He laughed. Yes, I’d like to see your basement, where you keep all of the skeletons this company is hiding.

“My father mentioned this was the tallest building in Equestria. I’d love to see what the view looks like.” If I can’t go down, I might as well go up. With any luck, he won’t have much to show me, and I can get out of here and explore the lower floors…

“Ah, of course. That view is about the only real tourist attraction Tin has, actually. Follow me.” We left the apartment and I didn’t have any way to lock the door, so I just hoped that closing it would be enough. I spotted a camera every few meters on the ceiling, so if anything did go wrong, they would have a record of it… but on the other hoof, that might make things difficult… I’ll have to move through frozen time to avoid being detected when I do start my mission proper.

“I can guide you once you finally manage to lose Silicon. There are only about ten floors outside of the lobby that he’d probably want to show you. Make sure he doesn’t try to walk you out of the building, otherwise you’ll lose your chance,” Brightness added.

Understood. I followed the stallion to the center elevator and noticed the card key slot at the bottom of the button panel right away. It wasn’t quite in plain sight, but it clearly wasn’t for those who didn’t know. If I wasn’t looking for it, I wouldn’t have seen it. Silicon pressed the top most button on the panel that read ‘R’ and the elevator doors closed. I suppose I wasn’t paying attention earlier, but at the moment, we were on the seventy-fifth floor… out of one hundred fifty, not including the roof. I’ve been in most of the skyscrapers in Manehattan, but nothing even came close to this. The tallest I could think of was probably the Empire building, and even that didn’t go more than one hundred floors.

“Goodness, I didn’t realize we were this high up!” I exclaimed.

“Ah, yes, it’s pretty tall. It’s not called the tallest building in Equestria for no reason. Originally, the Trade Center held that title, but after it fell, my father had to relocate. After two years of nonstop construction, the tower was seventy five percent complete, and most of the lower floors were already back to work. My father wanted this to be a place to break records, so that’s what he set out to do. Nothing of this scale had ever been completed as fast as the tower was, and nothing in this country is nearly as tall. Come a few years, Tin should be a huge city, possibly rivaling Canterlot for size thanks to the rapid growth this town sees. Nothing may ever top Manehattan for size and commerce, but Tin is bound for a track like that. It should be quite a sight, one day…” I found it strange that he would say something like that. It was as if he had hope for the future, but was sad about it at the same time.

“I see. Well, that doesn’t surprise me. I believe that Manehattan lost almost fifteen percent of the population to Tin during the tower’s construction, and only more have followed. That isn’t to say that the space hasn’t been filled since then, but I know that the population here is always growing.” We continued to discuss business and population rates until the elevator finally rang after what seemed like hours of upward travel.

“We call this floor the sky deck. It’s sole purpose is to be a viewing area for the general public. Triple reinforced glass makes up the walls from floor to roof here. The upper floors aren’t as wide as the lower ones, so this part of the tower is about as small as it ever gets, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t accommodate several ponies. As a matter of fact, this part of the tower is used not unlike a ballroom to host parties for when we celebrate anniversaries of the company.” Just like he said, the room was more or less empty, save for the column that functioned as a support beam and housed the singular elevator. The windows ran all around us and touched the floor and the ceiling, leaving the breathtaking view from above the clouds and the forest below for all to see. I was never one for heights, but the sight was something only a pegasus would know. The sun was just beginning its descent and the sky was clear blue, save for the occasional cloud one could look down on. Pine trees ran as far as the eye could see, fading into the blue horizon where it looked like there was a small fog forming.

“What is that? The fog down there?” It didn’t look… quite right. It was definitely fog, but it was swirling, almost like it was moving.

“Oh, yes, that would be the hidden lake. Most ponies don’t know about it because it’s surrounded by dense forest, but there is a small lake over there that produces a strange fog that’s said to only fade on nights of clear blue moons. Essentially, it only appears once every three years. My father took me there when it was clear years ago. A place so untouched by civilization that it has a strange magic around it. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day.” His tone was not one of fondness, I but... something I couldn't place. It was strange. Just like our earlier conversation, he sounded positive, yet I could tell there was a negative emotion behind it as well.

“Is that so? Maybe you can show me some time.” He turned and gave me what I could only describe as a sad laugh and a disappointed smile.

“Sure, it’s a date. The last one was actually in may of this year, so it’ll be a while before then. Any where in particular you’d like to see next? I have a few places in mind if you don’t.”What an odd stallion. I don’t know how to read him at all…

“I suppose I don’t. Lead the way.”

The next hour consisted of us talking while visiting various unique floors within the tower. A floor that was mostly an indoor ‘pool’ as he called it, but I would call that a water park. An indoor garden with unnatural lighting that made the plants grow in unusual ways, a laboratory, busy with workers running around who all seemed to want to show Silicon some new experiment that produced some strange reaction to the gems they mined. The floor with my father’s office, which was almost as luxurious as his apartment, the floor that was more or less a jewellery store where he almost gave me a pair of diamond earrings that I couldn’t accept. I turned him down because I called it far too gracious for a stranger, but in reality it was because I never had my ears pierced. I’ve always been afraid of needles, but that’s something I keep to myself. The fight with the kraken was probably the most terrifying one I’ve ever been in, simply because it was literally my greatest fear. Eventually, with one amazing thing after the other, Silicon ran out of things to show me, which left me back at my father’s apartment.

“Well, this has been quite the experience. Had I known that this place was more of a resort than a business, I might’ve visited sooner.” Silicon laughed and nodded.

“Of course. I always tell father that we should advertise some of these things more, but he prefers to keep things like that specifically for his employees. ‘Why pay to send them somewhere when they can vacation within their workplace?’ He would always say. Of course, it’s not as If I don’t take advantage of these things myself, but you know how it is. The clever entrepreneur always tries to keep growing their business.” I nodded in agreement.

“Of course. But that does beg the question, does your father intend to pass this on to you?” In an instant, Silicon’s smile faded.

“Not for some time. He wants me to have at least ten years of experience working before he gives it to me.” What an odd tone. No emotion at all. You would think he'd at least be angry about something like that, yet... he's just so apathetic.

“I see. I suppose that makes good business sense, this is quite the large operation, even this building alone. Argent owns several facilities on top of this, so I imagine there’s far more to it than one could just pick up in a few weeks.” He nodded.

“Honestly, if something ever happened, I could pick up the business in the event I needed to, but I doubt that day will ever come. Or at least I hope so anyways.” He laughed, picking his happier tone back up again. Anything discussing the future and he always sounds so ambivalent about it…

“Well, I had a great time today. I suppose you must be busy, but if there were ever time where you were free again...” His eyes lit up and for once in this entire event, I thought I saw a genuine smile out of him.

“Oh, but of course! Please feel free to contact me whenever you’d like. I’m always here, but I’m sure I could make time if it’s you.” He took a business card from a pocket in his wheel harness and passed it to me. I took the card and slid it into my suit’s pocket. As I did, I felt the key card and remembered what I was really here for. Such a shame his father appears to have ‘evil plans.’ I wouldn’t mind getting to know him. And making him model for me! He’s just so tiny, he’d be perfect for- Hey! What did I say about that!? Stop it! He is a boy and the son of a very important pony! … I doubt he’d crossdress for you anyways. Especially not in lingerie.

“I absolutely will. Until then.”

“Until then. Au revoir.” He bowed, and then I pulled the apartment door to a close. I waited until I heard the elevator ding, then I prepared to do my job.

“Brightness, I’ll be coming to deliver my things to you in a few moments. Don’t be alarmed if you suddenly find them behind your counter.”

“Ah, so you finally managed to escape lover boy? Or is it that you remembered why you came here initially? Speaking of lover boy, you had some pretty… interesting thoughts about him yourself, to say the least.” Can she see images!? Oh goddess, please no. Nopony needed to see that.

“Um… If you could just not bring that back up, I would really appreciate it.”

“I mean, I can see images but that's a little more than sending a thought. It's kinda like a computer in that text is easy to send across, but anything else and it gets harder to parse. Not that I didn't look, just that it's kinda hard. You should probably move.”

I put a hoof to my face in hopes of shaking the embarrassment away and started toward the elevator. Forty five minutes later, after a monumental discovery and nearly being caught by Argent security, I escaped the tower and made it onto the train.

“Twilight? We have a problem.”

“So, did you tell him?” Silicon said from the couch in Stannum’s office. The Chess board had all the pawns removed and the king and the queen left on black's side. White's side had all of the higher pieces, one extra knight and one extra rook. Silicon took the black pawns and set five in spaces surrounding the black king and queen, then moves out the white bishop, the only piece in play.

“I did. He said he needed some time to think about it. I knew he would be apprehensive about it, but I’m sure he’ll come around. He trusts me,” Stannum replied. The old stallion looked tired, so, so very tired.

“Good. The girl has also seen what she needed to. I couldn’t get solid evidence as to who guided her, however. She’s rather social, and she spoke to nearly everypony we came across. It could have been any number of them.” Silicon reclined in his seat, careful to not move too fast. He scratched at the belts that kept his hind legs in place and became irritated when he felt nothing. “These damn things. I’ll be glad to be free of them once this is all over, one way or another.”

“So, what do we do now?” Silicon shrugged and put his hooves behind his head.

“Continue with the plan and see what happens. We don’t have much of a choice in the matter anymore, now do we?” Silicon sighed and Stannum shook his head.

“Surely there must be another way?” Silicon sat up straight and stared his father down.

“Do you think I would be going through with this if there was!? It’s a gamble at best, and if he doesn’t show up with it, then we’re screwed anyways! None of this would have ever come to pass if that blasted mare had never shown up in the first place! It’s her ponies that are collateral here, so who gives a damn!? You keep your mouth shut, and you do as your told. We don’t have time to fuck around anymore.” Stannum shook his head once more and then let it sink into his hooves.

“I suppose all we have left really is hope and threats...”

Persona I: Name of the Mask

Applejack

Ya know, when today started, Ah almost thought it was gonna be a regular day. Ah later cursed myself fer thinkin’ that anythin’ would ever be normal again, but fer a moment there, Ah really believed it. It was Tuesday, September 10th, and just like any other Tuesday in September, it was sunny and relatively warm with that slight chill in the air that makes ya want ta wear a jacket. You’d be hard pressed ta find me not wearin’ mine, but all the same, Ah wasn’t the only pony wearin’ one today. Last Thursday, Ah saved my sister from one of those monsters in the middle of a fight with it, and we had ta lay down some ground rules about her trackin’ me down, because apparently, she can do that without even lookin’ at me.

“Ah cain’t believe it! Y’all really killed that thin'! Holy hell, how many does that make!? Have you been doin’ this kinda stuff the whole time!? Ah’ve never seen a real super hero fight up close, but goddess, was that some kinda sight!” Applebloom exclaimed from my back as Ah hopped from rooftop ta rooftop ta get ta the apartment. Ya aren’t supposed ta be here, damn it!

“Sure, maybe it looks cool, and it’s certainly all fine when everypony gets out alive, but just remember a few thin’s while you’re runnin' wild over there. One; ya almost died. Skewered alive like some kinda piece of fruit. Who knows? That thin’s tentacles were so fast it mighta just tore ya apart instead of just stoppin’ at the base. If ya managed ta survive the initial stab, ya certainly wouldn't have lasted long after. It woulda ruined yer lungs, stomach, digestive tract, and who knows what else along the way? But that’s just the first thin'.

Two; one of my partners got knocked the fuck out and is currently havin’ broken bones, muscles, and skin replaced on account of her now missin’ a good bunch of it from gettin' hit by that thin’. All it took was it hittin’ her. Ya know Ah’m not average, and she isn’t either, but thank goddess she happens ta be an earth pony. Were her body any more fragile than it already is, who knows if she’d be alive or not right now? Even after all the shit Ah’ve seen, Ah don’t know that Ah’ve ever seen a leg bend that way. Let’s just hope my boss can reset the bones so Ah don’t lose what little assets Ah already have.

Oh, but let’s not forget the other one. Three; Ah almost died… and, had ya not shown up when ya did, then Ah mighta been the one skewered. So… thanks, Ah guess.” As awful as it had been earlier, it was really a pretty night out. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and ya could see just about every star in the northern hemisphere. The city was beginnin' its night life, and those mere miles away from the monster fight had no idea it ever happened. Of course, Ah doubt that’ll last long. It’s only a matter of time before somepony reports whatever they recorded of it. Unless we run inta a monster that can put out an electromagnetic pulse, Ah doubt we’ll ever get outta a fight unnoticed.

“Well… you’re welcome Ah guess?” Applebloom said after we crossed more of the city. Finally passed the end of the park, the apartment was just a few more miles down the road.

“So, tell me. Why did ya do it? And fer that matter, how? It’s not like we took a conventional path ta get where we were goin’ or anythin’.” More silence and the rush of the night air followed until we were just about at the apartment.

“Well, Ah just… Ah got a bad feelin’ about it, ya know? Like, somethin’ told me that Ah’d never see ya again if Ah didn’t go and find ya. When that guy in the black suit crashed in front of the store Taps took me to, I knew Ah needed ta see it. You, and Rarity, and Rainbow. Ah know Ah can’t do anythin’ like y’all do, but if Ah could just be there ta watch, then maybe Ah could do somethin’.” Well, shit, she knows they were there too…

“Ah see. But, ya didn’t answer how. Ah imagine it has somethin’ ta do with powers right? Ah doubt there was any way ya woulda recognized Rarity from that far away, and there ain’t no way ya shoulda known Rainbow was there at all.” We finally arrived at the rooftop of our apartment and Ah let her down. She shrugged.

“It does. Ah can sorta… track ponies Ah know. Like, if you’re in my range, Ah know where ya are ta the point where Ah could give somepony yer exact coordinates all the way down ta elevation level. Ah don’t know the exact range, maybe fifty meters, but definitely further than Ah can see, and there ain’t really anythin’ that keeps me from seein’ ya as far as Ah can tell. If Ah don’t know a pony, the only information Ah get from them bein’ near is that they’re there, but if Ah’m focused on somepony, it’s almost like Ah can see a few seconds inta the future. Like, Ah know what they’re about ta do.

It’s… kinda weird, but if Ah didn’t panic back there, Ah coulda dodged the needle even as fast as it was. Of course, ya teleported or somethin’ so Ah’m not really sure how Ah did get outta that in the first place. Can ya teleport? But wait, all of ya moved back then, so it’s not just y’all… and it wasn’t the same way that knight guy did it, he kinda ‘blinks’ and there was a heat distortion when he disappeared the first time, so it couldn’t of been him…” Perfect. She’s just too damn smart fer her own good. What do Ah do now? Tell her the truth or…? Ah sighed. It’s probably better that she knows. Ah’ll just have ta sit down with her somewhere and fill her in, otherwise, she might get too curious.

Hmm… that power of hers could be pretty useful though. Maybe if she can recognize ponies that’ve been in the city before, we could use her as a kinda… early warnin’ system or somethin’… Ah shook the thought out of my head. No, that would mean she’d need a brand, and Ah will not do that just because she’d be convenient. As a matter of fact, it’s probably fer the best that Ah keep this ta myself… Ah clapped my hooves together as the idea came inta mind.

“Uh… ya okay there?” Ah waved the question away.

“Don’t worry about it. Are ya doin’ anythin’ this weekend?” She tilted her head at me.

“Ah mean. Ah guess Ah’m not doin’ anythin’ in particular.” She sounded a little more confused than Ah’d like, but she'll figure it out.

“Good. We’re gonna take a day ta hang out. If you’ll do a little experiment fer me, then Ah’ll tell ya anythin’ Ah can tell ya. Deal?” She nodded. “Perfect. You go inside and tell whoever’s home that Ah’m gonna be out late. Ah don’t think Ah need ta say it, but keep quiet about what happened today, alright?”

“Gotcha. Ah’ll see ya tomorrow Ah guess.”

The next hour after that was spent arguin’ with Twilight over almost the same thin’ that Ah got in my head. However, she doesn’t know about Applebloom’s radar or whatever, so it was just her irrational fear of her secret gettin’ out. Ah’m not too sure where my boundaries are at the moment, but Ah suppose Ah have enough power over the group ta just make decisions since she dropped the idea when Ah finally said the conversation was over. A thought crossed my mind and Ah wasn’t sure Ah liked it. Am Ah becomin’ like her? My own actions, even the way Ah used intimidation at times, Ah was beginnin’ ta think that maybe… Ah wasn’t so different from the night princess after all. While Ah didn’t like the idea, the more Ah thought about it, the more Ah could see similarities. Either Ah'm gettin' worse, or she's not as bad as Ah think. Probably the former though.

When Ah woke up the next mornin’, Ah had the remnants of a dream. In it, Ah met Princess Celestia again and Ah asked her about this whole thin’ with Luna, but rather than answer my question she showed me a story. The images and details had grown fuzzy, but of the thin’s Ah remembered very clearly is that together, through six magic stones, they defeated some evil creature bent on throwin’ the world inta chaos. Later, Celestia used those stones by herself to save Luna’s life after she got sick from some ancient disease. The stones were destroyed by this abuse of their power, and the fragments scattered all across the country.

They had a strange look to 'em, those crystals. They shimmered and shined in the light like an emerald, but they didn’t cast a shadow. It was more like they created light, like they were pieces of the sun, split inta segments and colors. They looked so familiar, but Ah couldn’t place where Ah woulda seen em before. There wasn’t hardly any history recorded about when Celestia and Luna first took power, and that… thin’ they fought… A mishmash of parts with the body of a snake, able ta do damn near whatever it wanted with the snap of it’s fingers. Just thinkin’ about it made me shiver.

Ah spent the rest of the day thinkin’ back on that, all the thin’s the dream showed me, most of it half remembered. It was a lot like when Celestia trained me Wednesday, the way it was half real and half like she was showin’ me memories. Some of the thin’s Ah learned that day, Ah didn’t know Ah was capable of, and even more of it Ah still haven’t figured out. There’s some hidden potential she kept talkin’ about, somethin’ that only true emotion of the purest form or whatever could bring. The thoughts never went away, and Ah just about missed half of my lecture that night thinkin’ about it all.

The next day went about as Ah expected it ta, and my theories proved correct. Ah tested what Ah could, and eventually, Ah had Applebloom tellin’ me just how many ponies in town were new today. The unfortunate part about that was how many had actually never been here. Manehattan was the trade center of Equestria, and as such, ponies and creatures from all over the world made their first trips here on a daily basis. On top of that, her ‘radius’ as we’ve decided ta call it, only goes fer about a mile out. If she stood at the center of Central Park, we’d get about half the width of it and maybe a quarter of its length.

It was a good try, but unless somepony strange shows up within a mile of her, there ain’t no way she’d be able ta tell me. But, she did get that phone she wanted out of it, just in case. It cut my pocket deep, but if it helps keep us safe… then Ah’ll spend everythin’ Ah’ve earned. The bike has certainly been a big help ta gettin' around places quick. As fast as Ah am, this thin’ could easily out pace me, even with traffic… provided Ah wasn’t drivin’ all too legally, that is. Ah got pulled over once, but thankfully, the officer took pity on my since it was my first day drivin’. Damn Rarity and her powers. Ah don't know why Ah ever thought ta follow that example of all thin's. Ah have ta wonder though... will Ah get in trouble with it if Ah’m wearin’ my suit?

Ah would test it, but not until Ah can afford a ticket. Ah don’t get paid again till the fifteenth, so there ain’t much Ah can do but wait fer now. Ah told Applebloom what Ah could about my team, and she was more enthusiastic about what Ah had ta say, specifically the part where Ah was a Major. Ah don’t care fer the fact that she asked more questions about the military than about what Ah’ve been doin' these past couple weeks. Ah hate ta say it, but Ah think tellin’ her what Ah did just about shipped her off ta some war in the future. If she had doubts about enlistin’ before, she certainly didn’t have any after today. With any luck, my own rank might come inta play if they really do send her off ta fight some day. Ah can only hope that won’t happen, but as relations are right now, Ah just can’t believe thin’s will stay the same.

Sunday was almost completely uneventful, and Ah spent almost the entire day ridin’ my new bike. Ah had never run from the police before, but now Ah can say that Ah have, and Ah’m not proud of it. Thank Goddess Ah was smart enough ta buy a ridin’ suit. Ah can only imagine that my face woulda made it up on the bounty list back at the station, and the thought made me shiver. Ah decided very quickly that it would be smart ta get outta the city if Ah wanted ta test the limits of the bike, and with that, Ah practiced swervin’ thought trees on the road ta Tin. Ah guess Ah’d lost track of time, and Ah actually went all the way there. It’s not like it’s a long drive or anythin’, but it’s still an hour and a half from Manehattan and Ah shouldn’t have ended up that far from home in less than an hour.

Ah nearly crashed the bike more than once, and There were a few times where Ah broke a tree on my back tryin’ ta protect the bike, but at this point, Ah can say that Ah could dodge ponies in a crowd if Ah needed ta. And that may end up happenin’ one of these days… Ah took some time ta explore the small town, significantly slower than my trip here and couldn’t help but feel like Ah was bein’ watched the whole time. Ah could never find the source, but it was like somepony was lookin’ at me without ever seein’ me. But that wasn’t the weirdest thin’ that happened Sunday. While Ah was in Tin, Ah got hungry and decided ta try the closest restaurant around, which happened ta be this hole in the wall diner. Ah couldn’t have even imagined Ah would have run inta her, but lo and behold, there was Rainbow Dash sittin’ alone at a table.

“Well, Ah’ll be. Didn’t think Ah was gonna run inta anypony Ah knew here.” Ah got close behind her, and she froze in place, her singular wing poppin’ out and her other beginnin’ ta form a thin red haze, almost invisible were Ah not lookin’ fer it. She slowly turned her head and looked at me with startled magenta eyes.

“Oh, my goddess, why are you here?” she complained like me showin' up was the worst thin' ta ever happen ta her. The red haze faded away, and her wing settled back on her side.

“By accident, really, but Ah could say the same fer y’all. What’s got you in Tin?” Rainbow shook her head.

“No, no, no, this is all wrong! You weren’t supposed to show up! I wasn’t supposed to run into you again yet, you aren’t supposed to be here!” She put down a few bits at her seat and started ta drag me outta the restaurant. “Thanks, Pan Fried, keep the change!” A little after we exited the diner, Ah finally got tired of her pullin’ me along and released myself from her grip.

“Okay, Ah walked in there ta eat, and now you’re tryin’ ta take me somewhere else. Ya coulda just said ya wanted ta talk instead of draggin’ me.” Rainbow shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh.

“Sure whatever, will you just follow me?” She came in and leaned close ta whisper, “we can’t talk just anywhere here.” Ah got that feelin of bein’ watched again and checked the sky. Ah didn’t see anythin, but Ah figured there was somethin’ there.

“Alright, Ah guess.” Ah shrugged and she turned and headed toward the forest that surrounded this place, not another word between us. We kept walkin’ in the dense wood until the noon day sky turned ta sunset’s dusk, and Ah was finally tired of it.

“Holy hell, are we not far enough out yet or what?” Ah asked, frustrated. Rainbow checked all around us, then spread her blood out in a thin cloud that shot in every direction. She turned her head toward one direction and started that way, motionin’ me ta be silent. A little ways further, a small cloud of blood was circlin’ around a little metal box that just about blended with a tree it was on. The rest of her blood came back and hardened around the box, and finally, she relaxed.

“Now, we should be safe.”

“Good goddess, even all the way out here? We musta walked fer half an hour just ta get here, why would there be surveillance this far out?” Rainbow looked up at the little bubble of her blood and then back ta me.

“In the event one of their experiments got out this far. And it’s happened, more than once,” she said, solemnly. Experiments?

“Is that why ya brought me out here? Tell me what’s goin’ on Rainbow,” Ah demanded.

“I can’t. There’s a plan in place, and if I say too much, it will all be for nothing. However, there’s something you need to know, and something I can only trust you with. Will you listen?” Whatever it is, she’s some kinda serious right now. Ah suppose Ah could make her talk if Ah’m not satisfied, but Ah doubt that would end well.

“Okay. What’s up?”

“If something goes wrong, If you never see me again, please, look after my sister okay? I don’t have anyone to turn to, and if… if something like what happened on Thursday… No, because something like what happened on Thursday will happen again, I need to know that there’s somepony out there who will look after her, alright? We’re all we have…” Well, that was unexpected.

“What do ya mean somethin’ will happen?” She bit inta her lip and looked back at the blood bubble again.

“I… I can’t. Just… on Tuesday, there’s going to be an announcement. Unless you’re hiding under a rock, you should see it. Somepony very powerful and very dangerous is currently being experimented with, and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t touch him with the power I have now. I doubt you could either, honestly. If the worst comes, and it will, I will join your little group and tell you everything I know. But until that happens, just promise you’ll make sure Scootaloo stays safe, okay?”

“Okay, whoa, that’s a little much ta take in all at once. Who is ‘he?’ Why are you afraid of ‘him’ and why can’t you tell me what’s goin’ on?” She stood back up and angrily rolled her eyes at me.

“Don’t you get it yet!? They’ve got my ovaries in a hydraulic press if they find out what I’ve been doing behind their backs, and what’s worse, I doubt there will be a pony left alive in Manehattan if their plan succeeds. I need you to keep your mouth shut, and make me a promise that you’ll help when I ask for it, okay? On Tuesday you’ll learn everything you need to know and how bad the situation really is right now. We’re completely fucked if something goes the wrong way too fast. Let me give you a little glimpse into the future if that thing gets out.

Picture Manehattan, and imagine that we had an orbital rail gun hit it. As if that weren’t bad enough, add that to the same force that put a crater in New Caballo, and you have what will be left of Manehattan when all is said and done. Nothing more than a hole in the ground so deep that you wouldn’t be able to even see the bottom. You get me?” She was practically yellin' now, and she sounded... panicked. The force that… She doesn’t mean…

“You’re sayin’ the princesses would have ta come and stop whatever gets loose?”

“Provided they could.” Her little bubble over the camera released and floated lazily back inta her wing bone. “I’m sorry that you got lost on your way to Tin. Let me show you how to get back,” she said, not lookin’ at me, but already headin’ back the way we came.

“What the? Rainbow, ya can’t just drop all that on me!” Ah caught back up with her as quick as Ah could. She turned and puffed at me, a little more than frustrated.

“I wasn’t supposed to! That was somepony else’s job, and you screwed all that up just by showing up! Leave me alone, and don’t approach me again if you see me! Stay away from Tin, and do not come back.” She sighed, and another red bubble appeared over a tree that Ah didn’t even notice. “This is more serious than you could possibly know and we can’t make any mistakes or we’re all dead. If you want the city your dad fought so hard to protect to still be there in the next few months, then I suggest you do as I say.”

Ah didn’t say another word after that. Ah couldn’t even imagine what could be so bad that the Princesses would have ta get involved ta stop it unless they were hidin’ some monster of equal power, but what would that even look like? Ah’ve seen some of the crazy shit Celestia can do in person… well, in whatever that ‘sharin’ environment’ thin’ is. Ah’ve never felt my eyes burn just from tryin’ ta look at somethin’ like that before, and if Argent has somethin’ that powerful hidden away, then what have all these other monsters been up ta this point?

Are we dealin’ with ants by comparison? If… if those thin’s could kill us if we aren’t careful, then… then what the hell are we gonna do if we keep runnin’ inta stronger monsters? If they keep gettin’ bigger and we don’t get much more than a little experience, then how are we gonna keep up? She’s been so confident every other time Ah ran inta her, if this is how she acts when she talks about the future… Ah never forgot anythin’ she said, and Ah spent the rest of the day tryin ta imagine what it was that she was so afraid of, and that… creature the princess showed me kept comin’ back ta mind.

The next mornin’, Ah woke up in a haze. Ah didn’t sleep well fer all Ah could remember, but Ah distinctly remember seein’ Princess Luna kill whatever thin’ was hauntin’ my dreams. It wasn’t just… a memory that turned ta a nightmare, this was… somethin’ more. It was almost like the monster Ah was dreamin’ of had a will of it’s own, and when the princess finally showed up she asked me where Ah saw it. Ah can’t remember if Ah told her the truth or not, but whatever Ah said, she wasn’t happy about it and disappeared in a way that caused me ta sit up straight in my bed.

Ah decided Ah’d try ta talk about all this with Twilight, but she told me that there was somethin’ else that needed her full attention today and said it was best ta just wait and bring it up durin’ tomorrow’s meetin’. Ah didn’t know what ta do with myself so Ah spent most of the day seein’ what kinda bounties Ah could catch. As usual, this city was filled with corner store thieves that were wanted fer some crime or other, and as strange as it was, Ah got bored real quick. It was almost like, Ah was doin’ a job Ah didn’t like. Ah remember when Ah first started, Ah always felt like Ah was doin’ somethin’ ta make the city better, somethin’ that was worth the time and effort Ah was puttin’ in. In the end, Ah didn’t even take anypony in. Most of 'em were just kids that couldn’t afford basic needs, and the others were just as bad off. With as much influence as Ah have these days, Ah ended up gettin’ a few of those wanted posters removed. The officers in this city are good ponies and we all know that sometimes it’s just hard fer the abandoned and unwanted ta live.

It made me think, more than anythin’ else. Who am Ah really doin’ all this for? The more Ah thought about it, the more Ah realized that Ah never had any interest in ‘protectin’ the city.’ Everythin’ Ah did when Ah first started was a desperate attempt ta try and lighten the burden that my family carried and escape from the depression that was slowly eatin’ away at me. It wasn’t for anypony’s sake but my own. Atonement fer the sins that weighed on my back, a way ta get away from everythin’. Ah put on a mask because it was the easiest way ta be somepony else and live their life. So what was Ah doin’ now?

That world, the problems of a younger me that no longer existed. The pony who called herself a hero for the sake of fightin’ the crushin’ reality of the real world that she didn’t want ta live in, the world she hated fer takin’ her parents, the world that could care less fer her hardships and the sadness she faced. She wanted ta be a hero because it was a life that didn’t have that anymore. So… when did it change? It was long before Ah joined harmony that Ah started doin’ thin’s fer other ponies, and before, Ah know Ah wasn’t the pony Ah am today, so what happened that changed my view? And fer that matter, what is my view now? The Celestia thinks Ah’m some kinda saint, Twilight and the others thought Ah was some kinda idol, but Luna… She was the one who saw me fer what Ah used ta be. Ah was a just a soldier with a death wish.

Constantly in fights just as a way ta distract myself, Ah never got over those suicidal attempts, Ah just found a different way ta vent ‘em! Ah never had a noble cause in mind, Ah never wanted ta be a hero for a hero’s sake, Ah wanted a way ta end it all that looked like Ah was tryin’ ta move on! So… when did it become this? Ah wouldn’t have batted an eye three years ago at those kids Ah protected today. They were just change ta put in my pocket before… How many were like that? How many were just tryin’ ta survive because they didn’t know any better way? Ah wanted somethin’ ta hit, but there was nothin’ near but the roof Ah was on, thinkin’ about all this.

It would be easy wouldn’t it? Just ta punch it all away, ta let all these thoughts Ah don’t want fly ta the wind so Ah wouldn’t have ta deal with ‘em. Can Ah really say Ah’m all that different now? These last couple weeks have been so crazy with one monster ta fight after the next with no time ta think. What do Ah want now? It would be easy, just ta use the money Ah have ta run away from here. Manehattan would become a crater soon if anythin’ Rainbow said was true, and Ah’d never have ta think about it again. My family would be fine, and we could just resume life in another town and act like nothin’ ever happened.

But… Ah don’t want that. How could Ah ever run away? If dad were here, what would he have done? Oh, come on, as if you don’t know. If it would keep the city and it’s ponies around, he’d lay down in front of a goddess damned train. Fer all Ah know, that’s what he did! Some menace showed up and killed so many in just a week, and he fought back ta try and stop it, only ta end up dead. That stallion died as a hero because he believed there was somethin’ here worth it ta protect.

Could that be it? If it was just my family Ah cared about, then why would Ah put myself through all this? There’s somethin’ here that Ah care about, and maybe it really is just here, after all. This place… this is my home. Were it ta turn inta a crater and Ah just stood by and watched, Ah don’t know that Ah could ever live with myself. The light of dusk had began ta fade over the horizon, and the stars started ta shine in the sky. An idea creeped it’s way inta my head, and Ah think Ah finally figured it out.

The next mornin’ came, and before Ah even made it ta Harmony, Rainbow’s warnin’ had already come. Like any other mornin’ where Ah was up before noon, Ah made myself breakfast and sat on the couch in front of the TV. My brother was doin’ somethin on his computer at the table with him bein’ off today from his ‘newest’ job, my uncle was still home fer some reason, and Applebloom was at school. It felt, like any other mornin’, us watchin’ the news together, and then all screens in the station changed ta somepony’s face until finally, the whole TV screen changed.

The mask, on whatever it was that wore it, was two colors. Black on the left side with the face of comedy, and white on the right side with the face of tragedy. There was nothin' behind him but black empty space, and the strangest feelin’ like he was lookin’ right at me washed over my body.

“Greetings, Populace of Manehattan. You might be wondering why You are seeing me instead of whatever programming was on the channel you were watching, and with good reason. I have something very special to show you all, so sit tight and watch.” He said, his tones dark and filled with enthusiasm. The voice was a sort of high pitch and a low pitch overlaid with a chaotic feel ta it, almost like two or more ponies were speakin' at once.

On the screen, it switched ta a video that looked like it was taken with a home camera. A pony was bangin' on a door of some steel laden cell that shook with each swing. There was no audio with this, but ya could almost feel the aftershock with each beat against the door, his hooves startin' ta crack and bleed with each desperate swing. He suddenly stopped and looked up at a vent. He tried ta hide from whatever it was he saw, curlin’ himself inta a corner and then… he started ta change. The bones in his back started ta jut out, and he grew nearly twice his size. The now monstrous pony began ta smash everythin’ near, puttin’ dents in walls and destroyin’ everythin’ he could. It turned ta look at the camera, the half melted look of its face lost all of the shine of sentience, leavin’ nothin' but the husk of a wild animal. It jumped toward the camera until a beam of bright red light shot through it. The creature staggered, but went after the camera again, only ta be met with the same punishment. This continued until the creature finally collapsed in on itself in a smokin’ heap of burned flesh. The screen flashed back ta the masked pony.

“That, was a live feed. You might be asking yourself now, why show us this? A few of the smarter of you should already know why, but as for everypony else, I’ll let you in on the secret. This could be your future. But why go so far as to show this horror instead of just act on it? Simple, you have a chance to continue living as you are now, I just have a very easy-to-comply request for one pony in particular who lives in your city. That pony knows what I want, but unfortunately, they don’t seem to care about their own life, so I’ve decided to add more weight to the camel’s back, so to speak.

For the rest of you, I’ll still give you a chance, even if they don’t return to me what is mine. The stallion you saw just now was simply a prelude. A grand beginning to my magnum opus! For those of you that haven’t seen one yet, the Kaiju are my doing and I will send more of them to your city, each one more powerful than the last, more destructive than before! If your heroes can protect you, then your lives will be spared and you can go on living, knowing that I will be dead and gone! However, as with all things, there must be a caveat.

Six of my kaiju will appear! Over the span of six weeks, starting with this one, there will be six that appear in your city. If my lost object is returned to me, my precious mirror, then the attacks will stop, and you will never hear from me again. But! Know this! If you find me, or try to end my game early, then what you just witnessed will be your future! The moment I die before the appointed time arrives, the plague will be released in your city and spread across all Equestria! The lives you once lived will be over forever, and just like me, you will live in suffering until your pitiful end comes!

Despair not, for your heroes should surely be capable of taking down one, lonely monster in the weeks to come when my item is never returned… or will they? It would be truly sad, if another Caballo Crater marred Equestria’s beautiful face, but as it stands, that may be the only way. For the one I speak to, return to me my lost item and this can all be avoided. If you are to wait, then the destruction will be unparalleled, and your city will become a war zone unlike any you have seen before. When the day the goddess rested arrives, your city will be plunged into chaos. For when you wish to curse the one who brought this upon you, curse the name of the mask! I am Persona!”

Persona II: Innocent Sin

Applejack

“What in tarnation? Applejack, what’s goin’ on with the TV?” Macintosh said from behind me. Ah didn’t move, Ah didn’t even respond. He came and sat next ta us and watched the message with Uncle Blood and Ah. When it finally finished, Ah was stunned.

“Bah, just another crazy hijackin’ the air waves. Probably wasn’t even real footage,” Mac dismissed. Ah could feel that there was a look of horror on my face when Ah finally turned ta him because he just about reared himself off his seat.

“Wasn’t even real!? Are ya outta yer damn mind!? Do ya even pay attention ta the news!? How could it not be real!? Monsters have been showin’ up around the city fer a month now, and ya don’t think that this little threat ain’t nothin’ more then some crazy blowin’ smoke?!” We were centimeters from each other's snouts, and he put a hoof on me and pushed me back.

“Okay, somepony is takin’ this way too seriously. Listen, Applejack, Ah know ya like them Supers just as much as the next pony, but Ah don’t really think that ‘fake news’ is worth much.” More often than not, My brother gave me a reason ta want ta hit him in the face, but the words ‘fake news’ had my interest more than my anger. Ah took a deep breath and calmed down.

“Fake news? What do ya mean by that?”

“Ya got yer phone on ya? Let me see it real quick, Ah’ll show ya.” Ah took the device outta the pocket on the bandanna around my neck and gave it ta him. A few swipes and several taps that looked like corrections later, he gave it back with another story on it from the local news station.

“As it turns out, all that crap was made up. The foundry that they said a monster destroyed was really scheduled for demolition months ago, and the harbor thin’ was just the dock owner tryin’ ta hide pony remains. Pretty expensive coverup is ya ask me, but Ah figure it’s better ta shell out cash than lose everythin’ on homicide charges.” Ah read through it and Ah just couldn't believe what was there. A cover story!? That’s… that’s just ridiculous! How could they just… lie like that? And not just the foundry, but both the fights at the harbor too! There's no way they could just... manipulate information like that.

“Ah… Ya really just believe whatever they tell ya?” Macintosh shrugged and scrolled a little further down the page.

“They say the witnesses were paid off by a gang boss who was in control of the harbor at the time.” He pointed my attention ta that particular part of the page. They even used Goose! But Ah know better, last time he was at the harbor, he was with me…

“Unbelievable.” Ah couldn't contain my frustration at the ordeal. Ta my right, Uncle Blood leaned back in his chair and stretched himself out.

“It might be just a little strange that all of those incidents just happened to get redacted after they were put out though, wouldn’t you say? However, with the city being as skeptical as it is, I think you’d be hard pressed to find anypony who buys into this ‘TV threat.’ It’s quite possible that this is all real, and a monster might show up in the city. But on the other hoof, how many times has somepony hijacked a TV station in the last two months? Twice, Three times now? Just another crazy is relatively easy to dismiss. For somepony who seems to keep up with the news, forgetting that wont do you any good Applejack.” Uncle Blood got up and headed ta his room, but then stopped and came back with a little pad of paper in his hoof.

“Before I forget, would you mind giving me your and Applebloom’s numbers? I’ve forgotten to do this twice now.”

“Oh, sure.” Ah quickly scribbled the numbers down and gave the pad back. Satisfied with that, he headed toward his room.

“Oh, and before you go out, I think you should remember to keep in mind that ponies tend to get in trouble with motorbikes like yours. I know you couldn’t do anything to hurt yourself, but please try to keep from getting a ticket. If you have that on your record, It’ll only make your already expensive insurance even more so.” He stopped at the edge of the hallway then looked me dead in the eye.

“I get the feeling that this particular threat has some weight to it. If you hear something today, talk to me. I have the weekend off. If we need to take a little family trip, then maybe we should. Macintosh, do you work Sunday?” The red irises finally broke from their hypnotic gaze and Ah could finally look away. Macintosh looked just about as confused as Ah did, and he was slow ta respond.

“Um… well, Ah suppose Ah could get off work if Ah really needed ta…”

“Good. Do that. I’ll start making plans. Call the apartment if you need me, I’ll be working from home for the next few weeks.” And then disappeared behind his door. The noise of the TV was the only thin’ now penetratin’ the wall of silence that Uncle Blood had left in the livin’ room. Finally free of the spell, my thoughts broke through the fog.

“Well… that was weird.”

“Eeyup.”

“Where do ya want me ta park?” Ah asked the air.

“Take it around the back of the castle. It took a lot of effort, but I made a garage a while back. Just be thankful that the internal road runs right by this place, otherwise, there would be a lot of fake trees for you to drive through.” Eventually, after circlin’ the castle three times, Ah found the slight indentation she was talkin’ about. Ah tapped the spot three times and it opened up just like she said it would. Ah guess it’s noticeable, but only if you’re lookin’ fer it. What’s the point of the garage bein’ secret if nopony can find the castle in the first place? Ya need ta be with somepony who’s got the brand ta get in anyways, and it’s not like there ain’t trees in every which direction fer at least a mile.

Begrudgingly, Ah drove down the crystalline ramp and watched as lights came on all around me. As far as Ah could tell, ya could fit a pickup truck in here if ya wanted, but that’s about it. A few more seconds of ever lowerin’ hall until finally Ah saw the reflection or Rarity’s black sports car. The actual garage could likely fit five, maybe six full sized vehicles if need be, so Ah suppose Twilight had always intended fer more ponies ta show up with vehicles. Ah didn’t see any reason ta take up much space since the bike was really just about as big as Macintosh is, so Ah just parked by the edge of the hallway leadin’ back out. After wanderin’ through darkness and barely lit halls, all adjusted ta Twilight’s dark adapted eyes, Ah found my way ta the livin’ room, where everypony else was waitin’ fer me.

“Would it kill ya ta turn the damn lights on around here?” Twilight rolled her eyes, which Ah could swear were bloodshot around the edges. Somepony's tired.

“It might. But I suppose I could adjust them to be a little bit brighter for you.” Wow, she sounds like shit too. What happened? Ah let that though file itself away and made it a point ta check Pinkie over ta make sure she looked normal again. Save fer a few bald patches around the parts where Ah think her leg was broken the worst, she looked like she was back ta normal.

“Glad ta see you’re okay Pinkie.” She looked at me and smiled, but it didn’t last long, and she put her eyes back ta the floor real quick.

“Yeah, thanks…” she just about whispered. Ah was about ta press on that, but a cue from the others told me not ta.

“Well, now that you’re here, did you see the news this morning?” Twilight asked, now in business mode. Ah nodded.

“Yeah, and what’s worse, Ah heard my brother’s reaction ta it. He didn’t even believe it was real. Ah mean, it’s not like he has any reason ta, the last couple station hijacks ended up just bein’ kids screwin’ around, and somepony covered up everythin’ about the monsters we’ve been dealin’ with up till now. It wasn’t any of yer family was it?” As soon as Ah read the story, my thoughts went straight toward the night princess. Cover story, that’s exactly somethin’ she’d do.

“Surprisingly, no, it wasn’t. Well, at least not the ones from the last two weeks. The article I sent you about the guard she had covered up, but only because she has guards stationed to watch over the roads in the province now. As for this though… I’m sure it must’ve been Argent, or whoever is pulling the strings over there… Honestly, even though we have proof that some serious stuff is going down in the tower, we don’t actually know who's ordering it.” Toward the end there, it was more like she was talkin' outloud than ta me. Her jaw was rotatin’, and Ah noticed that the bags under her eyes were more… visible than normal. Ah know the mare has a hard time sleepin’ but…

“As far as I’m concerned, it has to be Mister Stannum. After all the horrible things I saw down in that tower, it wouldn’t surprise me if he did it on purpose to make it look like nothing was really going to happen. If he did that, then he could kill more ponies in the aftermath,” Rarity said.

“K-kill ponies? W-what good would that do him? T-the families of his workforce live here...” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh, right, you two weren’t here when we watched the recording. We should probably show them that first, shouldn’t we Twily?” Goose said. Twilight rolled her eyes then nodded.

“I suppose. I don’t know how you figured out my foster brother’s nickname for me, but Twilight is just fine, thank you.” Her horn started ta glow with it’s violet corona, and then the table lit up. “This… it gets a little gruesome, but I’m sure that’s nothing you two haven’t seen before as of last week. But um… the sounds… well, I’m just going to play it.” The table flashed the number five in a circle that slowly disappeared and changed ta four down ta one just like in an old movie reel, then it started. The view was like it was recorded from a child’s perspective. The image was that of an elevator with gold colored doors. A white hoof in a black suit slid a key-card into the bottom of the floor panel and another panel slid away to reveal a keypad. The hoof pressed five, zero, one, four, and then the elevator started ta move.

“This was shortly after… Um, that mare I met gave me the key. We believe that she did something to my memory before I left, but I couldn’t tell you what. There wasn’t magic involved, so Twilight can’t reverse it either. It’s such a strange haze about it. I can remember everything she’s supposed to be in, and everything she said, but it’s as if all the mentions of her name and what she looked like are just… gone. Had I not tried to talk about her, I doubt I ever would have noticed the memories weren’t there,” Rarity said.

Several minutes passed and then finally, the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. The camera feed cut out, and then, from the other side of the hallway it restarted and the elevator doors closed. The hall was a dingy steel gray, lit only by the green glow of low level lights that lined every direction.

“As you can guess, my power interrupts the working parts in the camera, so it cuts out like this a few times. Every single one of those lights has a disruption crystal in it. For the entire rest of the video, my magic is suppressed. That mare said that she’d fed the cameras in the lower sector a looping playback and I had an hour before it ran out to find what I was looking for. However, it didn’t take that long, and they caught on long before I was done.”

From here the camera went from door ta door and checkin’ inside each window. Most of them were filled with laboratory equipment, drills, what looked like lasers, and fer a while, it continued like that. She checked another lab, all of them either empty or occupied by one very busy hazard equipped pony. On one room she stopped and watched the pony work on whatever they were doin’. The suit covered up all of their features, so not even the race of said pony could be determined, but whatever was goin’ on here was certainly interestin’.

The Lab worker was doin’ somethin’ with a green glowin’ crystal, most likely a disruption crystal. The worker took some kinda pastry knife lookin’ blade and chopped off the end of the crystal, then set the whole crystal aside in favor of the dust the other piece turned inta. The lab worker then scraped the dust inta some kinda receptacle, and then hooked that ta a big machine. Next, they moved ta pull some kinda sickly yellow vial out of a drawer that was full of ‘em. They put the vial in the other side of the machine and then flipped a few switches which started ta spin the machine. Even from the other side of a door that was likely protected with all kinds of magic and at least a few inches of whatever kinda steel based on the window depth, the microphone picked up everythin’.

Once the machine was done, the lab worker took out the vial, which was now filled with a green glowin’ sand. The lab worker put a cap on the vial then then turned ta the door just as the video feed cut out. It started back up again in a much darker place across from where the lab worker was. The suited pony exited the door and then removed their mask. The mare, now identifiable by her short round muzzle and long lashes took a phone out of her suit pocket and dialed a number.

“Hello? Yes, the next batch is ready. Whether or not it works the way we want it to is yet to be seen, but all the same, it’s done. Very well. To the next phase I suppose.” She put the device away and then slid the vial in her pocket. The dark green mare with the dusky orange mane headed down the hallway, and then the camera blinked ta another view, this time inside the door the mare had just left.

“At this point, I decided it would be best if we figured out just what was in those vials. I stole one and got pictures of all the readings in the room. I thought that if we could recreate the experiment, we might be able to reverse the damage it might do, whatever it was that it did. While I was in the tower, I met Stannum Argent’s son, Silicon, and I thought that this mare looked strikingly similar to him. She could have been as old as my father so the idea popped into my head that she might be his mother. Were that the case, she might be clued into what was going on, so from here on, I follow her.”

After the screen had taken clear images of all the written and digital data around the room and Rarity pocketed one of them yellow vials, she returned ta the hallway which the other mare had yet ta leave and followed her at a distance. No idea how she did it, but Rarity managed ta keep the camera focused on the mare without ever losin’ sight of her, all the while keepin’ unnoticed. The other mare reached an elevator at the end of the hallway and once she stepped inside it, the camera blinked out again, only ta come back with a view from above.

“I needed to get on the elevator with her, but remain unseen. It was difficult, but I managed to open the emergency hatch and hide above it.”

The mare typed in a few numbers inta the keypad and the elevator floor display went from negative one ta negative twenty in a hurry. The door opened and the camera blinked once again. Now Rarity was in some hidin’ spot, carefully watchin’ the mare travel. The new location was much less like the previous in that this place was much more… open. Almost like it was some kinda cavern with seemin’ly no bottom and steel catwalks that looked easy ta fall off of. Where Rarity was gettin’ this view from was completely unknown ta me.

“How are you recordin’ her right now?” Ah asked.

“I am not afraid of heights, and the lighting seemed safer to walk on than those dreadful catwalks. I think I move right about… here,” Rarity said, intently watchin' the video feed.

The camera blinked and now she was closer ta a cross section between two walkways. The mare turned left and entered a door in the side wall of the cavern, then the camera blinked and was showin’ the inside of another hallway. Here, the mare met with another suited worker.

“This is the sample. Let’s just hope it works this time.”

“Indeed. And if it doesn’t, well… I suppose we’ll just have to show our hoof, now won’t we?” The muffled and distorted voice replied. The mare nodded and put her mask back on. The two walked inta another door and then the camera blinked and the view was from behind them. The other lab worker put the vial inta some machine slot and then began pressing buttons and switches on a very advanced looking computer console.

“Test subject C45 preparation complete. Now administering vaccine version 135…” The camera focused in on the screen the two were lookin' at and a familiar scene from a different angle began ta play out. However, there was sound to accompany it this time. The pony from before reacted when the vent in the room opened. His eyes, wide and bloodshot, grew frantic and he began ta beat on the door. His nose started ta twitch and the bangin’ stopped. As if it would do any good, her curled himself inta a tight ball, hooves clamped over his nostrils as best he could until… he started ta change.

The snappin’ bones, Ah could deal with. The horrible crackin’, wasn’t the worst thin’, neither was the sound of bone scrapin’ on metal. It was the screamin’. Of everythin’ that could’ve unsettled me, of all ponies, it was the horrible low moan that became frantic pantin’ bursts of agony that rippled out across the chamber in distorted liquid screechin’. It didn’t stop. It only became louder and filled with rage as the contorted creature, only barely recognizable as a pony now, started ta destroy everythin’ around him. In a strange clarity, the mare said,

“Version 135, negative. End the experiment, I’ve seen enough.” The room was filled with a bright red beam of energy that focused in on the creature. It looked like the pony had just about kicked it when it lunged at the source of the beam once more, only ta be met with another beam, this time through it’s half exposed skull. The mare made an angry noise and quickly turned toward the door.

“Eek!” Rarity’s voice said from the video feed. The camera blinked out and was now headed fer the elevator, then the video stopped entirely.

“And that was where I was nearly caught. I was going to explore more, hopefully find where the mirrors were being produced in the tower, but I had to escape as quickly as I could. I don’t believe anypony saw me escape, but from here on it’s just a race to the door. I don’t know about you, but climbing twenty flights of stairs while running from security guards isn’t something I would call a fun afternoon… especially after hearing… that.” She shuddered.

“I-I don’t blame you, that was um… n-not something anypony should have to see…” Fluttershy said.

“If nothin’ else, we have more information now. It’s just unfortunate that this is about as real as it gets. Ah doubt we can risk goin’ back either, so…” Ah began.

“We fight monsters, or die trying, am I right? I mean, it’s not like we have much of a choice anymore,” Goose finished. Twilight shook her head, scrapin’ her teeth together in frustration.

“We don’t know that we don’t have a choice. We don’t even know what our options are, we don’t know whether or not he’s actually ready to release the new airborne virus, or even if there’s any more of it than what is being tested on those innocent ponies. We don’t know if there are more mirrors floating around, and we don’t know why the mirrors cause such a violent and drastic transformation.

Obviously, the two are working on the same principle, and both manipulate the virus, but we can’t figure out how it’s happening. The virus was an enigma to us before, but now this is just one impossible mystery mixed with another. I know we could never do what those ponies are doing, but maybe if we’d continued experiments with the virus, we might have a way to fight this. But at the same time, that’s what caused all this in the first place!” She started ta dig her hooves inta her mane and scratch at her head.

“Gah! The problems of the past are the current generation’s responsibilities, but we’re so stuck in a quagmire right now that I don’t even know how to begin to look for a way out! I can’t show up and make demands for mother and Luna’s information, I can’t put out an emergency evacuation with out getting either of them involved, I have no authority anywhere but here, and I can’t even help you with anything outside the castle! It’s just so infuriating! What is the point of being the daughter of the most powerful pony in the world when I’m reduced to nothing more than a glorified prisoner!?” Twilight slammed her hooves on the table, quickly drawing them back in pain. “Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! I can’t do anything but watch and hope you all don’t get hurt!” finally stopped and rested her head on her forelegs.

Ah’d just about finished makin’ my way over ta her when Ah noticed the wet stains and mats all over her coat. Her wings had missin’ or feathers half bitten off here and there, and her mane was beyond the normal messy that it typically was. Ah’ve seen this before. Without sayin’ a word, Ah put a hoof in between her wings and started ta rub her shiverin’ back. Moments passed, and soon the silent sobs and shakin’ stopped. The tension started ta fade from her muscles, and she began ta relax.

“Twilight?” Ah asked softly. Her ears twitched.

“Hmm?” Even just a noise came out shakily. Poor mare.

“How long has it been since you’ve slept?” She sniffed.

“T-two, maybe three days...” Ah shook my head and picked the mare up ta throw her over my back. The limp body barely protested and Ah just sighed.

“Meet me down in the trainin’ room in an hour, all of ya. Even if we’re about dead where we stand, we’re gonna do everythin’ we can ta make it hell fer the pony tryin’ ta destroy our city. The princess taught me some new tricks last Wednesday, and it’s about time Ah passed ‘em on. Dismissed.”

Persona III: Midsummer knight's dream (part 1)

Applejack

“Alright, so, I think I speak for everypony here when I ask, what is this new ‘trick’ of yours, huh?” Goose asked impatiently as Ah made it inta the trainin’ room. The four of ‘em were waitin’ on me, surprisin'ly, and Ah wasn’t even ready ta start yet.

“Look, it was hard enough ta learn this circle thin’ as it is, and Ah’m not sure Ah remember it exactly as it should be, so if y’all could just shut up fer a bit, that’d be great.” Ah took a piece of chalk from my bags and started on the spell circle. Ah haven’t taken any advanced magic chemistry classes yet, and this is an old outdated unicorn magic that was meant ta teach other races how magic works. In theory, provided the magic can be applied ta the matrix, this should allow anypony ta cast anythin’ they so desire. If the magic can be applied, that is. If Rarity can’t turn it on, then we have ta go down an even more experimental route, and Ah’d rather not try and use anythin’ that’s part of Luna’s hoof work. In about half an hour, Ah’d just about recreated the half remembered memory on the floor. And unicorns just have ta think about this image and push. Foals know magic like this and do it all without even tryin’. Now wouldn’t that be nice?

“Okay y’all, Ah’m just about done. Everypony needs ta stand at each of the pentagon points.” Finally lookin’ away from my work, Ah noticed a rather large amount of confusion from just about everypony.

“Uh… you mind explaining what this is? We’re not about to summon a demon or something… right?” Pinkie asked. Ah scratched at my head.

“As long as Ah didn’t get the circle wrong. Probably. So, this is what’s called a spell matrix. It’s more or less what unicorns use ta cast magic when they do, but some of ‘em are just born with all these patterns, while others have ta learn ‘em.” Rarity stepped forward, lookin’ over the circle. When even the unicorn looks confused, then there may be a problem.

“Well, yes, I can see that, but this isn’t some ordinary spell one would use on a daily basis. I wouldn’t know what this does just by looking at it, and I was trained to do that. And what's this inscription that runs along the edge? I’ve seen some of these characters before, but never used them. Do you expect me to cast this or something? Because I doubt I could, especially as complex as this is.” It was definitely some kinda mess of lines, that’s fer sure. When Celestia showed me this, she said it was more ancient than she was, which was sayin’ somethin’ since nopony knows how long she’s really been around. The language that runs along it was hers as a child, and even she hardly remembers how it sounds anymore.

“Uh… well, not exactly. Look, Ah can’t really explain it as well as she did, and since Twilight is out, we either do this, or Ah try and show y’all how Ah did what Ah did by doin’ it, and Ah don’t think that would be real fun fer anypony but me. Ah mean, Ah can beat y’all up if ya want, but...”

“N-no! I-I mean, um… n-no thank you. I-I think it was bad enough the first time, a-and we had Twilight with us then,” Fluttershy blurted out. Ah nodded.

“Well then, Ah think we have a consensus, so y’all quit pussyfootin’ around and let’s do this. Stand on the edge and once we’re all in place, Rarity feed yer magic along the lines of the circle. As long as ya can get the whole thin’ ta light up, then it should work.” With a look from everypony ta everypony else, they eventually joined me at points on the circle and Rarity began. Her horn lit up with her light blue aura and a beam of magic shot at the center of the circle. The glow began ta spread from line ta line, fillin’ the floor with pale blue sparks and trails of lightnin’. She looked tired, and just as it seemed she was gonna give out, the last character lit and the whole circle grew in intensity. Now that we were all connected, it was my turn ta fulfill the next part.

The venue needed ta be somewhere Ah could remember with the utmost clarity. Somewhere Ah was fond of, somewhere Ah was emotionally tied ta. Ah took hold of the memory Ah knew would work, and it all started ta flow out. The expandin’ darkness on the ethereal circle started ta sprout green on its edges, dotted with reds and yellows, and followed by lines of brown. The sound of rustlin’ leaves in the wind, a wind that carried the scent of home, the scent of mom in the air. The soft ground beneath my hooves, the springy grass that circled them. When my eyes opened, we were in the place of my childhood memories, Sweet apple acres in Palomino, Equestria. Before Ah could catch myself, Ah let out a sigh. Ah was told this might happen, but Ah truly wished it wouldn’t have. With all the focus Ah could manage, Ah took my attention away from her, and focused on the ponies in front of me.

“Did… did I do all that?” Rarity asked with wonder as she took in the scene. The other three were equally focused on the orchard that sprawled around them, and after Ah let my attention drift again, Ah pulled everyone back ta the original purpose of this exercise.

“Sort of. Like ya said, this isn’t magic that many ponies can accomplish on their own. But because there’s five of us, it's kinda like an electrical circuit, where the magic accesses everypony's innate magic and uses that ta produce the power needed ta keep the spell active. Even though you supplied the initial burst of energy, Ah'm the one who's in control of the spell because Ah have an idea on how it works. So, Ah’m essentially runnin’ a memory through everypony ta give us a space where Ah can teach y’all how this power works without bein’ limited by anythin’. In reality, we’re all just sittin’ on that circle asleep, but once we leave, yer body is gonna retain all the information Ah pass it.

The princess calls this the Sharin’ Spell, however, it’s tedious and heavily strains the caster in small group settin’s like ours, and quickly fell out of practice long ago. Supposedly it’s still used fer military trainin’ though, so this is perfect fer us. As long as we don’t spend too much time in here, Ah shouldn’t be quite dead tired by the time we’re done. That said, we outta get a move on.” My body began ta wander toward a clearin’ Ah knew was in the trees off ta the left and the rest followed me.

“So, not to pry or anything, but who was that other mare?” Goose asked. Ah shook my head.

“Don’t worry about her. She’s just part of the memory. As much as Ah’d like ta, my brain can’t filter out everythin’ about the place of this memory, so anypony who’s tied ta it has a chance ta show up every now and again. Try not ta interact with her if she shows up. The more my brain has ta simulate, the less time we’ll have ta work.” Now let’s just hope she doesn’t come interact with us...

“So, like… this place is your home right?” Pinkie asked. Ah nodded, but didn’t go any further. The more Ah think about it, the less inclined Ah am ta do what Ah’m here fer. Part of me just wants ta wander around and take it all in, and another part just wants ta see them together again…

“If y’all would, we really need ta get on with this. Princess Celestia could hold this for days at a time, but the five of us together won’t get more than a couple hours, okay? This shit ain’t easy ta learn either, so we need all the time we can get.” The four looked ta one another again, then nodded and turned their attention ta me. “So, ta begin, what Ah’m about ta have y’all do is somethin’ that most of ya have never tried before, and that is castin' magic.” As expected, Ah was immediately met with another look of confusion.

“What? I think you’re about the opposite of stupid, but you know that only one of us is a unicorn right? We aren't really 'equipped' to do that,” Goose said, Ah rolled my eyes and nodded.

“Look, Ah know this is gonna be weird, but in a sense, yer actually capable of it, and ya have been all yer life. The thin’ is, ponies as a species are inherently tied ta magic. Earth ponies are called that because our hooves can do thin’s that no other creature can. With every step we take, magic pours inta the ground and helps life grow. Earth ponies are doctors and nurses because our hooves have a healin' touch in a literal sense. Earth ponies are demolition workers and fighters because our magic can be used fer destruction as well. Sometimes it takes a special talent ta boost these abilities. However, a talent is just a way to say you’re naturally skilled at somethin’, and skills can be taught.

As fer y’all two, yer a unicorn and ya know how ta ‘use’ magic, but not how ta reinforce it. There’s a trick ta it, but with the right trainin’, ya can absorb the energy around ya ta cast. What Ah was taught is real similar ta what ya need ta learn, so it shouldn’t be too hard ta help ya figure it out. Once Ah get them started, Ah’ll get ta ya next.

You on the other hoof are gonna be tricky. As a pegasus, yer magic is mostly tied ta yer wings, and since Ah literally don’t have the appendage, it’s gonna be difficult ta show ya a feelin’ that should be in a place that doesn’t exist. Ah can share what it feels like fer me and maybe ya can figure it out from there, but we’ll have ta experiment with it either way. Fer now, Ah just want y’all ta spar while Ah get them goin’, okay?” The pegasus and the unicorn shrugged and nodded respectively, then trotted off ta the corner of the clearin’. Within’ minutes, they were on their hind legs throwin’ kicks and punches at each other, maybe a bit too similar ta the way Ah’ve always done it. Ah turned away from them them and then focused on my own race.

“Okay, I’m just a little lost here. Why can you do all this? Or, how, really?” Goose asked. Ah took a deep breath.

“Celestia used this same thin’ ta teach me everythin’ Ah’m tryin’ ta teach y’all. She taught me how ta recreate it, and how ta pass it on. That circle out there is somethin’ she learned as a child, and only so many ponies even know it exists. Like Ah said, it's a lot like an electrical circuit, or an engine. Rarity is the spark plug that ignites the Gas, and we're the fuel that keeps the engine runnin'. As fer the spell itself, much like yer brain has electricity runnin' through it ta process and store thoughts and actions, yer body also has magic in it ta keep ya connected ta the world and everythin’ in it. There was more ta all this than Ah can explain, and still don’t understand it completely, but it lets me share feelin’s with y’all, and that’s all Ah could ask fer right now.”

“Ooh! I have a question!” Pinkie said as she raised her hoof in the air. A moment passed as Ah let what she just did sink in, and then Ah answered the school filly.

“Yes?”

“Why is it that my powers aren’t working? I feel… so… different,” She asked. She picked a hoof up and flexed and stretched it all around, makin' what small muscles she had bulge and swell like she was much stronger than she really is.

“That Ah can answer. What y’all are feelin’ right now is my body. Before ya say anythin’, don’t make this weird. It’s more subtle fer the other two since we’re not physically the same, but if ya look, they’re both fightin’ like me right now.” Ah checked over my shoulder, but subtly was about the opposite word fer this. Ah saw Fluttershy shoot a cable from her wrist goin’ after Rarity, my bracers just suddenlt showin' up like she had 'em on beforehoof and knew how ta use 'em. The white mare doubled above her and did the same and the fight raged on. Wow, she really did fix a lot of my form issues. Ah wouldn't even know where ta begin if Ah had ta fight them... er, me? Goddess, this is weird. “Uh, maybe not so subtle. In a kinda ‘monkey see, monkey do’ way, you're gonna learn how ta get some of that destructive power out of yer hooves after ya lose the feelin' of my body and get yer own back. Ah imagine ya don’t feel too different, right Goose?” He shook his head.

“Not really. My skin is kinda soft, which it’s never been before, and I think my teeth are like, I don’t know, not sharp, but the whole strength thing is about the same, if not a little stronger than usual. Is this how it feels to have normal teeth? How do you ponies even eat with these things?” He said as he clicked his oddly straight teeth together. Ah simply shrugged.

“No idea shark boy. Anyways, Ah just want ya ta copy what Ah’m about ta do. You’ll feel it since we’re connected right now, but pay specific attention ta yer hooves. It’s kinda like… if ya ever watched a wave crash up against the docks and spray out. It’ll be a big ol’ burst power that just kinda flows through everythin’.” Ah went up ta the nearest tree and tried ta remember exactly what it looked like when Celestia showed me how ta do it.

The first thin’ ta come was the color. She made sure ta highlight the ‘magic vessels’ as she called them that flowed ta the hooves. Ah sat and focused my power there and then opened my eyes once it felt right. The orange glow that looked like bulgin’ veins along my legs appeared ta be right, so next came the action. With every collision, Ah was supposed ta imagine that color explodin’ like a wave splashin’ white spray along the harbor shore. Ah got up in my stance and loaded my right hoof. Once Ah was focused on the tree, an instinctual thought came inta mind and Ah threw the punch. The color splashed in a circular wave along the tree bark, shootin’ sparks like lightnin’ behind me and all across the sky. Torn from the ground, the tree shot back across the empty space behind it inta the next tree, knockin' all the apples off and uprootin' it. The momentum passed from tree ta tree until around six very large and very thick apple trees had been torn from the ground and removed of their apples.

“Okay… One, holy shit. Two, holy shit. Uh, just to be clear, this world is kinda real right? Like, physics and stuff works here so those trees weren’t made out of cardboard or anything, right?” Goose asked. Ah nodded.

“This memory is from back when Ah was about three or so. While my parents could easily buck apples off these trees that’ve been growin’ fer centuries, my little body could barely shake ‘em. If Celestia was tellin’ the truth, this world should feel about the same as Ah remember it, so I imagine they’re pretty hard at the moment. If Ah were ta equate it ta somethin’, the trees should be about as hard as a six foot thick concrete pillar.” The two reared back.

“You for real? Like, really?” Pinkie asked.

“See fer yourself.” In truth, my hoof still stung from the force Ah put inta the punch. Ah shook the pain away and watched Pinkie and Goose struggle ta shake a tree. The leaves barely so much as trembled under their meager efforts.

“So, my statement still stands. Holy shit. And you think I can do that?” Goose asked, a little excited even. Ah nodded.

“Ah know that both of ya can. At least in here. You should be able ta do it outside too, but that’s practice fer another time. Ya felt it, right?” The two tilted their heads and thought fer a moment.

“Well...” Pinkie began.

“It was there for sure,” Goose continued.

“But it was also like it wasn’t,” Pinkie added.

“Almost like there was this phantom feeling,” Goose furthered.

“Like I was feeling it as if I was doing it, but at the same time, I wasn’t,” they finished in unison. Ah nodded again.

“That sounds about right. It was similar when the princess showed me, but Ah think she had a better grasp on what she could make me feel. So, Ah’m gonna do it again, but real slow this time, one step at a time.” Ah made my way ta the next tree over and got in my stance.

“The first step is ta let the magic build. Ah’ve only really used this twice, and it was more of an instant thin’ both times. It’s a little strange ta do it before hoof, but Ah bet ya could charge it longer if ya needed ta. It’s almost like tensin’ up yer hooves, but there’s a liquid feelin ta it, like somethin’s movin’ inside.” Ah held my hoof at the back of my swing and watched as the bright orange light started ta fill my hoof from the inside. As Ah held it, Ah could feel an almost burnin’ comin’ from inside. The magic was writhin’ and violent, just waitin’ ta burst out like a waterfall bein' held back by a dam.

“As y’all can tell, this don’t feel too nice, so after ya get here, ya want ta let it go.” After bitin’ my lip ta take some of the pain off, Ah turned my attention ta the tree and let the magic go. The squirmin’ fire inside was relieved with the mediocre punch that landed on the tree. From the epicenter of the blow, the magic exploded in all directions, findin the little cracks in the tree that my hoof made and expandin’ them in an instant. Bark turned ta shrapnel and shot outward and inta the trees around it, yet leavin’ the apples on the ground in a neat pile. Fer a split second, Ah swore one of the trees turned inta a green tentacle, but it went away as soon as it appeared.

“I think the magic wants to let itself go, geez,” Pinkie said, shakin’ her hoof in the air.

“Yeah, I’m with Ponko on this one, that hurt. Like, a lot. Is this safe?” Goose asked, as Pinkie gave him an off color look. Ah scratched at my head. Well, Ah didn’t really ask about that…

“Ah don’t know. Celestia gave me a vague warnin’ about over usin’ it, but that’s about it. Now that Ah think about it though, it’d probably everywhere if it was, so try not ta go over board. That said, nothin’ is ‘really’ happenin’ here as far as our bodies are concerned, so give it a try.” Ah motioned toward another couple trees and Pinkie shrugged and went ahead, but Goose didn’t move. “Somethin’ wrong?”

“I’m still not sure about this. I know we might have no choice but to use it at some point, but shouldn’t we get more information about it first? Like, what if this does damage that can’t be repaired in the long run?” Ah furrowed my brows.

“Long run?”

“Yeah, like, later on in life.” Ah shook my head.

“What does it matter if we die in a fight because we’re afraid of usin’ the power we have available? As a matter of fact, Ah bet she didn’t tell me anythin’ because of that. Look, Ah know this is more than likely dangerous and all, but what’s the point if we’re dead? A little sayin’ Ah learned in my first couple years of hero work; ‘Dead mares tell no tales.’ Learn ta live it, or die without it. Make it ta tomorrow before ya think about the next day.” Usin’ this much force and messin’ with internal magic probably is gonna fuck us up later on in life, but only if we make it that far. Ah’d rather live with a problem than die early. Goose frowned.

“I suppose. But maybe… let me go first, huh? I know I haven’t known you girls all that long, but it’d be a real shame if this world lost you. And I mean that.” He took those sincere orange eyes off me and moved toward his own tree. Huh. Didn’t expect that. He sounded completely serious too. Pinkie’s hoof started ta flicker a bright pink, and with a quick jab at the tree, it gained a new big dent in the center. However, Pinkie reared her hoof back shakin’ it off like it was on fire.

“Holy hell, that hurt! Goddess, why does it burn so much!? On top of literally punching a wall, it burns me, geez!”

“But ya did it, didn’t ya? Try it again and put more inta it. Ah want three trees down by the time we get done here.” Pinkie sighed.

“Sure, whatever,” she said in a disheartened tone. Ah was about ta go reprimand that, but the Ah thought better of it. Ah should probably figure out what’s goin’ on with her before Ah go off on her… At the other tree, Goose was makin’ dents in it, but there wasn’t much of a glow at all. A pale yellow green would gather near the tip of his hoof, but falter just as he tried ta throw the punch.

“I just can’t get it to work. I can feel it, but it’s nowhere near as intense as what you did.”

“Hmm… Just keep at it, try chargin’ it longer if ya have ta, or try gettin’ the magic up as yer throwin’ the punch if it just fails too quick. We really have next ta no information on how this works at all, so we can’t rule anythin’ out until we do.” Goose frowned again, but went back at tryin’ ta get magic ta pool in his hoof. Well, he can do it at least, so that’s somethin’… but Ah wonder if there’s maybe more ta this than we know? Damn… Ah’ll have ta try and get in contact with her again. Ah really should know more before we try this out in the real world… The next thin’ Ah did was attempt ta get Rarity and Fluttershy’s attention, but that wasn’t workin’ at all. It was almost like the two were in some kinda trance. They were nearly missin’ each other or blockin’ one attack after the other relentlessly. Geez, why couldn’t they be that vicious the other day? After another minute of watchin’ the spectacle that they were, Ah decided it was time ta end their little ghost match.

The two shot at a tree on opposite ends and were about ta collide with each other as Ah grabbed one of the cables, ripped it out of the tree and sent a wave down it. Rarity at the other end seemed ta come out of the trance after bein’ literally shaken from it.

“Wha- what in the world!?” Ah let go of the cable and it shot back inta the bracer on her wrist as she came back down ta earth. This must've pulled Fluttershy outta whatever she was in because she face planted inta the tree her cable was hooked ta.

“Oww...” Ah caught Rarity and set her back down, then pulled Fluttershy off the tree. After she could stand and focus her eyes again, Ah figured Ah’d ask about what they were doin’.

“So uh… were y’all havin’ fun?”

“To be quite honest with you, I’m not sure what I was doing. One moment, We begin to spar, and the next we’re zipping around this field trying to kill each other,” Rarity said.

“I-I don’t entirely know what was going on either. S-shortly after the fight s-started, everything began to look different. I-I think I was in the city? And Rarity didn’t look like herself, s-she was some… b-black figure… I-I don’t know, I thought I was going to d-die if I didn’t fight back.” Maybe my other memories are startin’ ta blend inta this one? Hmm… If that’s the case, we need ta get done and get outta here before somethin' happens…

“Okay, well, let’s not do that anymore. Seein’ as y’all were fightin’ ghosts, ya probably didn’t see my demonstration. So, watch this and pay attention ta how it feels.” Ah used the power once more, this time dialin’ it back a bit ta keep from breakin’ too many trees in the process. When the second tree didn’t uproot the third, the show was over and Ah checked the shocked faces of my friends.

“A-and you think we can do that?” Fluttershy asked.

“Uh… maybe? The important thin’ is that feelin’ right before Ah hit the tree. The liquid tension, and the burnin’ sensation, did ya get it?” Ah asked. The two of them tilted their heads like the other two did.

“Well, kind of. It was certainly what you described, but it didn’t line up with what I saw,” Rarity said.

“How so?”

“Well, that feeling is associated with the light, yes?”

“Yeah, that’s the gist of it.”

“Well, it was more like I felt as if I were taking in the aqueous fire instead gathering it from inside. Almost like it was coming from somewhere else and not… me?” Ah nodded.

“Yeah, that sounds about right. Celestia said that’s what it should feel like fer a unicorn. What’s happenin’ here is that Ah’m poolin’ magic up in my hooves and then lettin' it go as raw power. Ah’m not real sure how ya would start the process, but once ya gather the magic Ah figure ya can push it inta a spell or somethin’. Ah know that there are combat spells out there that reinforce the body, so maybe we can look inta that once we get back ta reality. Fer now, just attempt ta put dents in the trees with yer hooves. If ya can do that, then we can look inta gettin’ it ta work in the real world.” Rarity nodded in agreement.

“That works for me. Who knows, this might give me the ability to be a ‘normal unicorn’ for once,” she said with air quotes. Huh. Ta become normal by becomin’ more than normal.

“Maybe. But we don’t know what this will do ta yer body, so then again, maybe not.” Ah waved her away and she shrugged and made her way ta the nearest tree. My attention then turned ta Fluttershy.

“So, what did you feel?”

“Um… I-I think it was the whole build up thing, b-but in a place that’s usually kinda numb for me. Like, y-you know how pegasi have nerves near the tips of their wings?” Ah nodded. For what little Ah knew about each tribe’s anatomy outside the basics, unicorns have a specific part at the base of the horn that connects it ta the brain, and pegasi have wings that come in all manner of shapes and sizes that resemble birds in the wild. Earth ponies don’t have anythin’ that’s specifically unique ta themselves, but all our cells are tougher in comparison ta the others, makin’ bones, skin and organs harder ta break. “W-well, it was like I could suddenly feel everything around my feather tips. L-like they were super sensitive. I’m not s-sure what that means though…”

“Huh. Well, Ah figured it’d be different fer ya. Why don’t ya try poolin’ the magic and then flyin’ on it?”

“O-okay.” She closed her eyes and Ah took a step back as the tips of her feathers started ta glow with a yellow light. Without warnin’, the light quickly climbed up her feathers and over her wings. She made a motion ta flap them once, and like a rocket, she shot in the sky. Screamin’ all the while, the pale yellow rocket started ta come down as the light faded away in a trail. When she didn’t fix herself and she kept fallin’ though, Ah knew somethin’ was wrong.

“Remember to use caution when using this spell. The world may not be real, but the mind perceives this world as a place in reality. If the consciousness is discontinued in here, the consciousness has a very low chance of returning to its owner’s body.” Celestia’s warnin’ echoed through my mind. My brain went on high alert and suddenly everythin’ Ah ever knew about physics came ta the forefront. In an instant of panic and clarity, Ah figured out how ta save her.

“Goose, Pinkie, Rarity, here, now!” Ah ordered. The three showed up in an instant. “Rarity, Pinkie, get ready ta play catch! Goose, throw me!” Ah yelled as Ah pointed at the rapidly fallin’ figure. Without a word the other two got in position from where Fluttershy had taken off, and Goose picked me up.

“Man, I hope you know what you’re doing!” He said. Ah pooled magic in my rear hooves and Goose did the same with his front. As soon as Ah felt Goose begin ta throw me, Ah released my own magic. The two opposin’ forces shot me like a bullet and directly in line with Fluttershy’s flailin’ body. Just as Ah reached the crest of my arc, Ah caught Fluttershy out of the air and began ta fall myself with ever increasin’ speed. Ah tossed the limp body up and away toward the others just as Ah was about ta reach the treeline. Bark came up ta my face quicker than Ah was prepared fer, then everythin’ went dark.

Persona III: Midsummer knight's dream (part 2)

Goose Fang

“Oh, come on, damn it! Wake up! Please…? Ugh.” In the grand span of about twenty seconds, we had gone from an orchard in some kind of serene rural area back to the city. The problem with that being that the dream or whatever this place is, hasn’t ended. See, shortly after Applejack caught Fluttershy out of the air and tossed her to her friends, she landed face first against one of these crazy trees. Feeling that I could suddenly warp again, I blinked over there to see if she was okay, but that wasn’t the case. Completely out cold, but not a scratch on her, either by some miracle or whatever effects that this ‘sharing spell’ has. Then the world changed. The trees morphed into buildings and the city I grew up in sprawled out around us. The vibrant greens and clear skies turned into a cloudy day filled with all the dull grays, browns, and reds that made up the skyscrapers we were surrounded with all the time. Unsure as to what else to do, I picked up Applejack and made my way back to the others.

“Hey, I’ve got the princess. Sleeping beauty doesn’t seem to want to wake up though,” I called out. It looked as if Fluttershy was stumbling back to her hooves with help from Pinkie, but Rarity turned to me in alarm.

“Won’t wake up? You mean to tell me she’s asleep?” she asked. I nodded. At the same time, I started to feel my teeth change back to normal and my skin return to it’s scratchy texture. She must’ve seen me frown. “What’s wrong?”

“Hey, will you all check to see if your powers are back to normal?” The unicorn blinked from one spot to another, and the conscious earth pony sped from a few spots around the alley we were now in and back. “So uh… you’re the one familiar with magic here, any idea what’s going on?” Rarity shrugged, to my disdain.

“No, not really. This was new territory to begin with. However, an educated guess would say this is a dream or something. At the very least, we’re still inside Applejack’s head. Look over there. Do you remember that sign?” She pointed to a store front on the other end of a street behind us. Sure enough, I immediately recognized the old ice cream shop. One that had closed down almost eight years ago.

“Well, that’s not there anymore.” A bolt of lightning shot through the sky, shaking the ground we stood on.

“Eep!” The pegasus jumped and hid behind one of the dumpsters in the alley.

“Hmm… I don’t like the looks of this.” Rarity said. “I’m no psychologist, but based on the things Applejack has told me, I doubt she has the most pleasant dreams. If we’re still in her subconscious, and she’s not actively controlling it anymore, then there’s a chance anything could happen. We should probably find a place to weather the storm.” Pinkie rolled her eyes.

“Provided we can...” she muttered.

“Hey, now, don’t be like that! So we’re a little stuck, no reason to get down about it,” I said, my natural charisma coming out. My cutiemark just so happens to make me a pony pleaser, even more so than when I was young and didn’t have it yet. Almost without fail, I can provide comforting words to whomever needs them. It’s got like a ninety ten split on working and not working though, and ponies who don’t like me, don’t usually take too well to my silver tongue. Specifically this mare, who has some kinda vendetta against me. She glared at me.

“I’ve been putting up with you. Remember that.” Geez, she needs to lighten up.

“No, he’s right. If we act like the situation is hopeless, then it truly is at that point. I figure we might try to head toward the castle. If nothing else, Central park has weathered every natural or ponymade disaster this city has suffered, so we should, in theory, be relatively safe there. Applejack said that together, we could only keep the spell active for a few hours at best. If we can just wait out this dream until she wakes up, or the spell ends, I think we’ll be okay.” Yeah, that’s about as sound as logic can get right now. Who knows what could happen in a dream? Even more so in this weird magic… However, the quiet mare spoke up.

“I-I’m not so sure about that… I… T-this is what I saw, w-when we were sparring. The sky is the same, and we’re really close to where…” Something must’ve clicked for her because she immediately bolted down the alley and searched around, finally stopping when she looked right. She then sank to a sitting position and stared wide eyed at whatever it was that shocked her. One by one, the rest of us followed. Had I not had an unconscious Applejack draped over my back, I would’ve wanted to sit down too. Breaking through the sky, sitting high above all the other skyscrapers in the Manehattan was a building I hadn’t seen in twelve years. The Trade Center.

“Guys… we need to figure out what time it is. Now,” I ordered. The three mares turned to me.

“W-why?” The butter cream pegasus asked.

“The fight starts at ten. The Trade Center goes down twenty minutes after the fight starts. We are right at the epicenter of where the collapse happens.” Stunned, none of the mares reacted. I remember how this went down… I was here to see it happen. So much destruction in such a short time. This was the day that I realized how destructive super powers could truly be… and this was the day she lost her father… When I looked up and nopony had moved, I figured I was the only one who really knew how screwed we are.

“Well!? What are you waiting for, find a clock! Rarity was right, Central park is the only place that’s going to be safe, so we need to go, now!” Surprisingly, that kicked everypony into gear, and they all looked around for something that had the time on it. That ice cream shop was in the northern district near the corner of 202nd and 161st. That means Central park is only ten miles away. If we can make it there before ten twenty, we’ll be fine. If not, then we risk getting caught in the dust storm that followed the collapse and all the chaos that came with it…

“Guys, it’s nine fifty nine…” Pinkie said as she came back. All around, the sound of a bell rang loud and clear, as if it were being struck right by our ears. One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… Boom! A crash, not but across the street into the Bugle building. Waves of percussion shot through the city, another crash, the sound of concrete erupting through the center of the Bugle. A boom, two figures shot across the sky, one in a bright white suit with a flowing red cape, the other covered in black with a shiny piece on his chest that looked strangely familiar. What was that? Is that guy wearing a mirror? Hmm… if this is at least partially a memory, then maybe…

“Hey, new plan. I’m going to try and get a closer look at this. Take Applejack and get to the park alright?” Before I could give any of them a chance to argue with me, I set Applejack down and bounded up to the top of the nearest building. Now that I was above everything, I spotted the two fighters again. Red Hoof twisted himself around and kicked the other guy in the head, landing him straight into the street. Red Hoof stopped on a building just in front of me. Taking the time to look him over, he was nearly identical to Applejack in stature, if only more masculine. However, the side of his suit has been stained with a red spot that was slowly growing. Good goddess, that’s unsettling. I know he dies in this fight, but… to see the hero bleed…

Another near explosion level of sound shot from the crater the other stallion had been thrown into. The black figure flew through smoke and dust after Red Hoof, and the two took to the air. This is where they first damage the trade center… I followed close by, barely managing to keep up with the unreal speed these two had. Red Hoof landed on the trade center and shot back after his pursuer, stretching out one hoof and close lining the guy in black. Finally, I got a good look at the mirror, if only for a second. There was something different about it compared to the ones I knew. First off, it was still solid. No signs of melding with the user at all. Second, it had a strange shine to it. On top of the weird property that makes them reflect more than they should, this one almost had a faint rainbow of light that glistened around the edge. What in the world? Isn’t this supposed to be her brain recreating everything? How would she have seen all this? Unless… she did see all of this?

I began to look around to see if I could spot Applejack, in whatever form she may have taken right now. Sirens started to whine as the two crashed into a new crater they made in the street, taking my attention back to the fight. A familiar scene came to mind as I watched them from above. They were only in the same spot for so long, as Red Hoof was kicked out and into an apartment complex. Ah, I remember this. Yep, there I am. The apartment that Red Hoof crashed into was the one that I lived in at the time. Sure enough, little me was standing there with my guardian, horrified that a super hero had just crashed into my home.

“Red hood, Murderer!” The other guy yelled. I was lucky enough to turn tail and run as soon as Red Hoof crashed in. Almost immediately after the maid and I escaped, the other guy jumped and slammed his elbow in the bleeding side of Red Hoof, collapsing the entire complex as they sailed through it, my little self watching in horror. My friends, ponies I lived with were still in there, and the building fell apart on top of them. Half of them would die here, and the rest would be wounded, some for the rest of their lives. Then it hit me. This isn’t just her memories, these are mine too… Why is it mixing? Is it because we’re all connected to this magic still? Seconds later, Red Hoof had kicked his opponent away, finally taking the time to look around. Even under the mask, I remember the mortified look he had on his face.

“Murderer… You killed my family!” The other guy jumped out of fallen brick and cement after the hero. The two fought hard, oddly enough now that I could watch it in detail, this looked not too dissimilar to when Applejack and I sparred the other day. Blows were almost match for match, every movement done with a purpose, no energy wasted. The earth shook with every clash, the force of the wind they made scattering dust in every direction. Finally, they both struck each other in the ribs and went either direction. As if compelled, I followed Red Hoof, warping to keep up with him as his body broke windows in an office floor. The hero skipped until he finally made it to the other side and fell into the street. Then I saw her. Just as Red Hoof got up, he froze when his eyes must’ve come across her too. She was so young, no way she was more than eight. But… haven’t I seen her before? Like this? She looks... so familiar. Another crash sounded out through the city and she took a step closer to him. Red Hoof turned his head back to her, and said,

“Applejack, run!” He used her name? She didn’t move. She didn’t even respond. It was like the words paralyzed her. Red Hoof said it again, more volume in his voice this time, more fear. She didn’t move again, her little body completely frozen in place, just short of shivering. Finally, Red Hoof said,

“Jaquline Apple, RUN!” As if she’d been released from whatever hold had her, she turned tail and bolted. I followed the filly, watching her hooves make prints in the concrete as if it were sand. Damn, she’s quick… and strong from the looks of it. Noise boomed through the air in succession and the filly stopped. She turned to look toward the scene again and held still. One last wave of sound was followed by the crackling and snapping of metal and concrete. I saw her mouth the word ‘no’ and she started to run back. The Trade Center fell, and the sky was filled with dust and debris. The filly froze once again.

“No… Ya can’t! Ya can’t do this ta me!” Her voice was little. Truly like it was coming from a filly and not a twenty year old mare. She headed back to the collapsed Trade Center, and then things started to change. The bright gray sky started to fade to a violet and black swirling mess. A figure started to grow out from the fallen tower, a monster of some kind.

“That is correct… He is dead, and you will be next!” The demonic feminine voice said. The creature was some kind of dragon, not unlike what Synchro turned into, but of a blue-ish black color that shined like oil. It had bright blue and violet spines running along its back that seemed to glow in the darkness, and a jagged white crescent on it’s forehead. The creature crushed a building under one of it’s massive hooves. Applejack took a tentative step back, but held her place.

“N-no! Ah won’t! Ah can’t! There are too many ponies who need me!” She yelled back, her voice much closer to normal than the filly’s from before.

“Try as you might, all your efforts are meaningless!” Applejack dug her hooves at the ground and then charged at the monster. What are you doing!? You can’t fight that thing! Her anguished scream filled the air until she finally landed a kick on the monster’s hoof that could nearly be ten times her size. There was a small clack from the sound of hooves colliding, but the monster looked unphased. “Foolish girl, there is nothing you could ever do to harm me! Now, die like your father, miserable and alone!” The hoof started to rise, and Applejack tried to run. She did what she could, but it was almost like she was being drawn beneath it. I have to stop this! I can’t watch her die!

Without much thought in the heat of the moment, I warped just in front of her and tried my best to use that new power. The burning in my hoof was enough to make me want to grab her and run, but I didn’t have time. I had to stop the monster. The power was fading, and the pain was keeping me from charging more. The giant dragon’s hoof came close enough to attack, and little Applejack had just curled into a ball trying to protect herself. The sight did something to me. It was as if the pain was suddenly irrelevant and I felt I could draw in more power. A seething, burning feeling filled me, but not one that I remembered ever feeling before. A primal yell escaped my body as I let go and punched the monster. The bright yellow-green magic exploded from my hoof into the dragon’s, illuminating all the scrapes and scratches of battles long past. The monster reeled back as it’s hoof started to disintegrate.

“Don’t you ever forget! I told you that I would be your super hero if the time came!” In some strange feeling of numbness combined with the power of that magic, my body sprang into motion again. I could feel a change, but I didn’t know what it was.

“Fool! You dare defy me!?” The dragon echoed as if she were speaking directly into my head.

“She’s been everypony else’s hero all this time, dealing with monsters like you and carrying all that weight on her own! If I can step up and take some of that off of her shoulders, then damn it, I will!” I could feel the power building as I ran. In some kind of desperate attempt to stop me, the dragon began to hurl buildings at me, bathed in blue magic. As if it were some kind of movie choreography, I jumped from each building to the next as they fell, gaining more speed and power with each leap. When I was finally close enough, I raised my hoof, the light almost as bright as the sun itself.

“It’s time to wake up! The nightmare is over!” My punch landed square on the monster’s muzzle. The light spread and grew ever brighter with each passing moment. Eventually, it became so bright, that I couldn’t see anything but white.

“Goose?” A voice said.

“Huh?” Everything felt like it was in pain. I didn’t want to move, I just wanted to go back to sleep. I felt so drained, like all my energy had been sapped out.

“Goose, wake up.” The voice said again. A mare’s voice, for sure. I know I’ve heard this one before. Who is it? I finally rubbed the sand out of my eyes and saw the world again. Above me was a blonde mare with an orange coat and concerned green eyes that I don’t think I’d ever seen before. Then they became relieved. “Geez. Okay, he’s up. Everypony’s accounted fer now,” she said to somepony else behind me.

“Very well. I will be taking my leave now,” the other voice said. Suddenly, I remembered everything I just went through and recognized the voice. I turned around and stood up ready to fight, but instead what I was expecting to see, there was just a very tall, very tired, and very annoyed looking princess sitting there. She barely reacted to me, only frowning even more and letting out a sigh. “If ever you attempt to use my magic again, please refrain from doing so without an outside guardian. When next I see Celestia, she and I will have a very long discussion about who is allowed to learn my magic.” She stood and took a few steps back, then her horn started to glow. Blue lightning began to spark in all directions as she was covered by a bright glowing ball of it. One final flash, and she was gone.

“So uh… mind filling me in here?” I asked. Applejack took a seat on the training room floor and let out a sigh.

“Oh, ya know. Ah lost control of the magic and nearly got y’all killed in one of my nightmares.”

“Okay, but what about-”

“She stopped it. Dreams are kinda her thin’, ya know? As it turns out, she picked up on her magic bein’ used and tried ta figure out what was goin’ on. When she couldn’t access our little shared dream remotely, she realized why and warped over here immediately. Had she not shown up when she did, the circle probably woulda drained us all ta death, or the monsters in my head woulda killed everypony.” Applejack stared absently at the ceiling, a tired look on her face. We sat in the empty training room together in silence

“So… do you… remember anything?” Part of me felt like I really did something to stop that nightmare, but if the princess just came in and fixed everything, then what did it even matter that I tried at all?

“Like what?” she asked, never taking her eyes off the ceiling. It was almost like she was looking at something I couldn’t see.

“About the dream.” Because asking about myself probably won’t get me anything I want to know. She let her head fall, and she crossed her forelegs in thought.

“After the trainin’ session failed, it all gets kinda murky. Based on what everypony else told me though, y’all dealt with my usual nightmare up ta a point, but then Luna got everypony out. About where the Trade Center collapses, Ah think.”Where the trade center collapses? But everything important that happened came after that… how could that be?

“Oh… I see.” It isn’t like me to be speechless or disappointed, but everypony gets that way sometimes right? Applejack stood up and stretched herself in some kind of upright yoga pose. If nothing else, this mare can bend in ways most ponies could only hope to.

“Well, now that yer okay, Ah guess Ah can go sleep fer real.” She started toward the staircase, and I just watched her go. It hasn’t happened in a long time, but every now and again, I find one of those mares that I just can’t help but watch. They always stun me to silence and take a piece of me captive to themselves. A piece that I’ve always tried to share, a piece that so many have wanted for themselves that I could never hope to give away because of my cutiemark. It’s only happened once before, a long time ago before my powers ever showed up, before my cutiemark came along. I remembered that moment today and here she is again. Twelve years later, walking away, taking my heart with her, her relentless hold never loosening once. Just as she made it to the door, she stopped.

“Oh, and before Ah forget…” she looked at me with those bright green eyes, like emeralds that could pierce a stallion with a glance.

“Thanks.”

And then, she disappeared.

Persona IV: The Line Between Dreams and Reality

Applejack

“Gah, that’s enough!” Ah yelled. Down in the trainin’ room, not one, not two, not three, not four, but all five of my teammates were seconds from collapsin’ where they stood.

“Oh thank goddess,” Pinkie said as she let herself slide ta the floor, covered in sweat. “Oww...”

“Geez. I know you were pulling your punches, but did you have to stop doing that when I was the target?” Goose complained.

“Ya don’t get sympathy, none of ya, but especially you.” Ah can’t just play trainer here. Ah have ta be better than Ah am, and they can’t stay as terrible as they used ta be either. We don't have the time...

“So, I suppose… I quite understand the... the consequences of our failing tomorrow-” Rarity began. Ah probably overreacted, but this set me off.

“Don’t say another fuckin’ word! Don’t even think about it! We will not fail ta do anythin’! Tomorrow is gonna come and go, and everypony is gonna wake up the next mornin’, y’all hear me!?”

“Yes ma’am!” They said in unison. Ah didn’t realize how heavy Ah was breathin’ before, but now Ah could tell that Ah was probably just as tired as everypony else was. Fer the past week, We’ve been trainin’ every day, sunrise ta sunset, and even further if we had the energy. And today, or rather tonight, it was Saturday, September 14th, 2030. If the threat held water, and as far as we believe, it will, then tomorrow, somethin’ will show up in the city at some time ta destroy it. The heroes that live here might know, maybe they took the mask’s warnin’ seriously too, and maybe we’ll have some help. But, Ah can’t say fer sure we won’t just be on our own. That’s why we have ta train. We have ta be ready. This can’t end up like the last time, we cain’t lose anypony durin’ the fight, we don’t have that kinda luxury. Ah shook my head and made my way ta the little break room that Twilight set up at the corner of the trainin’ room ta check my phone fer the time. Seven thirty? There’s still sunlight out, and Ah’ll be damned if we’re not ready fer tomorrow.

“Y’all have twenty minutes! Get some water, a snack if ya must, but be back down here by seven fifty fer the next round!” A collective groan came from the heaps of pastel around the floor. “Don’t y’all give me that! Get up and get refreshed! Tomorrow is the day! We’re outta time!” Slowly but surely, yellow, then pink, then white, then violet coats began ta move ta standin’ positions and up the staircase. When Goose was still on the floor by the time the rest were gone, Ah made my way ta get him up personally. “Well? What is it? Get yer ass up.” He raised a hoof, but didn’t leave his position on the ground.

“You know, I would, but I’m just tired to the point where... moving isn’t really much of an option anymore,” He said between breaths. Ah rolled my eyes and pulled him off the ground. He made it ta a wobbly stand, but then slowly sank back ta the floor.

“Look, honey dear, sugar cube, I know we’re kinda out of time here, but us being overworked doesn’t do anything but hurt us tomorrow.” My ear twitched.

“What’d ya call me?” By the look of his terrified orange eyes, Ah figured my tone made it across.

“Uh… honey dear?” Ah picked him up by the scruff of his neck and brought him inches from my face.

“Not that, the other one. Please, say it again.” He swallowed.

“S-sugar… cube?” The fire started ta build up in my hooves. Ah raised it back ready ta punch through his head, then when my foreleg started ta move, Ah quickly angled it down and let it smash inta the ground. Ah suppose, if only by accident, Ah used the magic inside ta reinforce my blow because after the dust cleared, we were in a crater, and not a small pony shaped one like Ah intended either. Ah let him go and then started my way ta the stairs.

“Ah believe Ah’ve made myself clear.” Ah turned away and headed up the corridor, not givin’ him a second look. When Ah could tell Ah was finally out of sight, Ah quickly went ta nurse my wrist. Goddess, damn it! Get a hold of yerself! Ya can’t just get mad and lose it like that, that’s how ya break shit! Earlier in the week, Ah managed ta get in contact with Celestia. As it turns out, our new ‘magic’ isn’t much more than an unlockin’ spell that doesn’t need a unicorn’s horn ta cast. In reality, it simply removes the blocks the brain has in place on the muscles. With this, one can put everythin’ they can inta their enhanced parts, i.e., the magic center of a unicorn’s horn, the wing roots of a pegasus’ wings, and the hooves of an earth pony. The nice thin’ about mine and Fluttershy’s bodies happens ta be how quickly we regenerate.

We attempted ta use the ‘magic’ in the real world, but only ta varyin’ degrees of success. Twilight has yet ta manage it. Not really all that surprisin’, since she can’t use the sharin’ spell and all. She watches when we try it ta see if she can’t trace the magic in our bodies from the outside, but so far, that hasn’t had any effect. Rarity got it twice, but on the second attempt, she fractured her horn. That took intensive care and a visit ta the hospital ta fix, and even then she’s still not supposed ta touch her magic until next week. If we get desperate, she can still stop time, but only if that. Goose never got his ta work, at all. Or at least, not when he was tryin’ ta. In one trainin’ session, he did it, but completely by accident. In an attempt ta keep me from taggin’ out one of the girls, (who, Ah can’t really remember because they may have sent me inta a blood rage at the time) he picked up a whole chunk of the wall and threw it in my way. It caught me off guard so much that Ah got knocked inta the wall without even protectin’ myself. Ah’m still a little bruised from that, but it should be gone by tomorrow as small as it was. It was almost funny how sorry he was afterward. He groveled fer forgiveness until the next day when Ah finally managed ta get him ta believe Ah was never mad.

Fluttershy and Pinkie both managed it once, and Ah can honestly say that Ah was glad ta finally take a hit from both of ‘em. The others are clever, even when they don’t act like it at times. The two performed a pincer on me, Fluttershy usin’ the crazy boost in speed ta get right next ta me and hit me point blank, then followed that up with a punch from Pinkie that could rival one of Goose’s better punches. Thankfully, Ah didn’t get hurt too bad from all that, but Pinkie cracked her hoof, and Fluttershy sprained her wings (this is also when Ah went inta blood rage mode and probably why they’ve been kinda avoidin’ me lately).

Needless ta say, we haven’t tried again since. Because it’s become the last resort, we’ve decided ta call this power ‘trump card’ since it didn’t have a name before. Ta this day, Ah’m the only pony Celestia has ever seen use it effectively without breakin’ myself afterward. It’s typically only taught ta ponies of higher rank than Ah, and only so many times has it actually been used in combat due ta the rather intense side effects it has. Ah finally made my way up the staircase, only ta find Pinkie and Fluttershy passed out on the couch together and Twilight with her head on the table half awake gnawing on a carrot. Rarity however, was just readin’ somethin’ on her phone.

“Look, darling-” she began.

“Don’t give me none of that darlin’ shit.” Ah headed ta the fridge ta get some of the pain killers. Ta this, she stood up.

“Applejack!” Ah stopped and finally took a look at her face. She was… not happy, ta say the least.

“Yes? Ya have my attention now.”

“We cannot keep this up!” There was a pause. Ah knew she still had somethin’ ta say, so Ah wasn’t gonna say a word till she was done. “Just look at them! Fluttershy and Pinkie are completely exhausted, and Twilight is only awake because she’s been practicing being a zombie her entire life! I can’t support you if I’m dead to the world tomorrow, and neither can anypony else. What good does it do us if none of us are rested enough when the time comes?” Ah shrugged.

“So what? It’s a quarter ta eight right now! Fer all we know, it’ll show up the moment the clock strikes midnight! If Ah can’t rely on y’all, then Ah’ll do whatever Ah can alone if Ah have ta!” Ya know, you're tired too. Ya couldn’t do a damn thin’ ta a monster as bad as Knots White was right now. You keep yer mouth shut. Ah still have trump card…

“Oh, really? You could just, slay a monster like Knots all by yourself? You’re better than this. I don’t know what’s come over you, but just take a look at this scene you’ve created. The ponies who call themselves your friends are beaten and bruised from this ‘training’ you’ve been putting us through all week. Ever since your little episode with that spell, you’ve been acting like you’re the only pony you can depend on. We are your friends, at least try to act like you believe that.” Ah grit my teeth.

“What does it matter if yer all dead!?” Ah slammed the fridge closed and took a step toward her. “What does any of it matter if everypony dies!? Carin’ about ya just makes ya a goddess damned liability! Fine! Yer tired, then just go home and don’t come back tomorrow! Leave the city, just get out while ya can!”

“And what about you? What happens if you die, hmm? What can you protect then? Are you special? Are you, immune to death? Your powers are the same as your fathers were, and last I checked, he wasn’t around anymore.”

“Ya just crossed a line you’re gonna fuckin’ regret!” Anger flared in me, and nothin’ in the logical side of my brain had any way ta stop it. Ah could feel the fire build, not just in one, but all my hooves. Ah leapt fer her, destroyin’ the floor behind me, both fore hooves ready ta smash her skull in. Her expression hadn’t changed. Those angry blue eyes, meetin’ mine, ready like she was just gonna take the hit. Before Ah even made it ta the crest of my arc, Ah felt a very strong pain in my stomach Ah didn’t expect. The wind flew outta me, and then my whole body was slammed against the ground.

“Stop it, stop it, stop it! Good goddess, what the fuck has gotten into you?” Goose said as he removed his hoof from my stomach. The the wind had yet ta return ta my lungs and Ah couldn’t do anythin’ but watch. “Why would you provoke her!? Do you have a death wish?”

“She can’t just work us to death like this!”

“And why wouldn’t you just discuss that with the rest of us and agree not to continue? Nopony can continue working as hard as we are, and I already said that to her. If nopony works with her, then what does she have alone?” Rarity's lip twitched.

“Just a spineless shark who’ll do whatever she asks! You complain, and complain, and you just take everything she puts out like some kind of masochist!”

“Can you guys quit yelling...? I’m tryin’a sleep here...” Pinkie mumbled as she rolled over on the couch.

“So maybe I’ve been part of the problem, but how could I have known you felt like that if you didn’t tell me? Look, I get it, everypony is tired and stressed to hell and back, but you guys can’t start fighting with each other like this.” Ah’d finally gotten ta the point where Ah felt Ah could get up again.

“Didn’t ya hear her…? She has a death wish… lemme just get back ta fulfillin’ oof-” Goose slammed his hoof inta my rib cage and kept me in place. Ah don’t know where he’s gettin’ all this strength from, but Ah couldn’t do anythin’ about it as weak as Ah was.

“Stay down damn it! Geez, is there any group of mares who can stay civil for more than a week?” He looked up ta the ceilin' and shook his head while he ran a hoof over his face. Next he turned back ta Rarity, who had yet ta lose that stare of hers, and it was makin’ me mad. “Everypony just needs to calm down and be rational here. You’re exhausted, in pain, and probably suffering from lack of sleep, both of you. Rarity, just go home, or go sleep in your room here, I don’t care which, but just let it go for now. I will clean up alright?” She finally stopped lookin’ at me, and the let out a puff of air with her fore hooves crossed.

“Very well then. I will leave them to you.” Then she looked back at me, the furious stare returned. “Because I believe I can trust you as a friend!” She stormed off toward the garage with all the fury an exhausted mare could muster. Goose finally took his hoof off me and sat down.

“I could have sworn I was a prisoner here, not the counselor,” he sighed.

“Ya don’t have ta take the job if ya don’t wanna.”

“Yeah, sure, and let you kill the ponies who care about you?”

“Ah wasn’t gonna kill her,” Ah said quietly. That's about the opposite of the truth.

“Really!? Really!? You can’t bullshit a bullshitter, you were aiming for her head, and you used magic! Not only were you going to kill her, but you were going to destroy everything around you!” Ah rolled my eyes.

“And how would you know that, mister spineless?”

“Oh my goddess, you’re a fucking child. What is it? Huh? Why are you acting like this?”

“Ah don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.” Ah turned my head lookin’ away. Ah don't owe him a damn thin'.

“Hey, look at me!” He pulled my face toward him until he was starin’ me in the eyes. He wasn’t mad though. He looked… confused, and disappointed. “This isn’t the Marevelous I know. This isn’t the Marevelous that goes around saving ponies. This is a filly who’s afraid of something. Tell me what’s going on with you.” Ah could feel the heat in my eyelids. My teeth were seconds away from cuttin’ a hole in my lip and Ah couldn’t look him in the face.

“Damn it!” Ah pushed him away and ran as fast as Ah could ta my room in the castle, slammin' and lockin' the door behind me. Ah slithered my way inta the bed and balled myself up in the covers. At least this way, nopony could see me cry.

“So, as far as we know, the monster that Persona promised has yet to show up thankfully. Now that you’re all here and well rested we need to be proactive while we can and spread out. If you spot anypony suspicious, follow them. Maybe we can catch the target before they get a mirror applied,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, somehow I don’t think we’re going to be that lucky, but ten points for optimism Twilight. That’s rare for you,” Pinkie snarked from her chair. Everypony was suited up and ready ta go, Pinkie now in armor provided by the royal guard ta match Goose. Nopony knew when she had the time ta do it, but Pinkie had repainted it and now sported a bright pink that nearly matched her coat on top of her blue and yellow suit. She told us ta call her ‘Crazy Diamond,’ but everypony rejected that immediately. It seemed like everypony was fine, but Rarity had yet ta talk ta me.

“Really? I never thought I was much of a downer…” Twilight trailed off. Suddenly, Pinkie was next ta the violet mare in her trade mark lean.

“Nah, but you’ve been better lately. Honestly, I think just about everypony has been better lately… even you, Sharky.”

“Aww, Pinkie. I didn’t know you had that in you♥ Does that mean you’re finally ready to accept me into your heart and maybe even-” Goose began.

“Woah, I just tried to give you a compliment, don’t make me take it back by sticking your hooves in your mouth, ya jackass.” Goose let his form fade back inta business mode and nodded politely.

“Very well then. Yes ma’am.” It was nice, ta finally see them gettin’ along fer once. Well, really Pinkie not actin’ like Goose was a cancer on her bein’ anyways. In the back of my head, Ah knew somethin’ felt off. Somethin’ about today wasn’t right, even more so than how Ah thought it would feel.

“That’s more like it. Today… today is gonna be okay. Maybe she was a little off her rocker yesterday, but Applejack was right. We’re gonna come home and wake up tomorrow, all of us. But really… I don’t think that’s enough. I think, we’re gonna trash whatever monster shows up, and we’ll get out without getting hurt. Maybe that’s a lofty goal, but damn it, I think we can do it! Come on guys, who’s with me!?” From five ponies in the room, we all gave a cheer fer Pinkie’s speech, but one stayed particularly silent, and her gaze was trained on me.

“Well, that just depends, now doesn’t it?” she said. Ah wasn’t proud of what happened last night. Ah could barely look Goose in the eye, but her… Ah lost my temper and tried ta kill her. That isn’t ta say she didn’t cross a line or anythin’, but it never shoulda gotten so far outta hoof.

“Really? Can we just act like that didn’t happen for today? You two can have your little fallout later, when we’re not about to deal with impending doom,” Goose complained.

“No. I need to know that I have all my friends here today. I have no intention of working with somepony who doesn’t trust me!”

“Fine! What do ya want then? Say it ta my face instead of starin’ at me like Ah'm some kinda criminal!” She got up and slammed her hooves on the table.

“I want an apology! How dare you tell me to run, how dare you call me a liability! Somepony like you doesn’t deserve the friendships she has, but I don’t believe that we could do this without you, me, or anypony at this table.” Now it was my turn ta slam the table.

“And what if Ah still believe everythin’ Ah said!? Ya might be useful in the right situation, but yer hurt and still not okay ta use magic! What happens if suddenly yer powers give out when we need ya most!? Ah think ya are a liability! Everypony else here can still fight, but if y’all can’t work in the background, what good are ya other than another thin’ ta worry about!?” Goose looked like he was about ta intervene, but then Twilight gave him some kinda queue and he settled back down.

“Oh, and you really believe I have nothing to offer but my powers?” Ah shook my head.

“Ya know that’s not what Ah meant.” She huffed and crossed her hooves.

“No, that’s exactly what you’re telling me and everypony else here. Without our powers, we’re nothing to you. That is what you’re saying to me right now. Fine. Have it your way. If any of you survive, then maybe I’ll see you again. Let it all crumble! When the city is destroyed and I’m the only remaining member of Harmony, I’ll make sure to have you buried right next to your father!” She slammed the table again. Ah blinked and she was gone.

“Damn it!” Ah was about ta punch the table myself, but my hoof was caught before Ah could put any power inta it.

“That’s enough. Let her cool off. Don’t lose your head again. We still need you,” He whispered. Ah ripped my hoof outta his grip and looked at everypony else.

“Y’all don’t believe that, do ya? Ya… Y’all know that Ah wouldn’t just abandon ya if ya didn’t have yer powers, right?” None of them met me in the eyes. “Oh come on, really!? Please, just tell me that ya believe me!” Finally, Fluttershy alone looked at me.

“W-well… we wouldn’t have ever m-met without our powers… S-so, what use would you have for us without them? I-it’s not like you talk to us out s-side of work, so… I-I mean, you can be selfless, I-I’ve watched, no, e-everypony here has seen you do it, but… w-what do you know about any of us? D-do you know how I got my cutiemark? O-or what I like to do in my free time? D-do you remember that I’m allergic to s-strawberries, or t-that Pinkie is potassium deficient a-and has to have bananas around in the e-event she has an attack?”

“Ah…”

“T-these are things you would know, i-if you got to know us. I-I’m not saying that you won’t get the chance, b-but maybe… it would be a good idea in the f-future? I-I think Rarity is overreacting, b-because, even though you don’t know m-much about our lives, I s-still think I could trust you w-with mine.” Before anypony had the chance ta say anythin’ else, we all felt the ground shake.

“What the hell was that!?”

“It can’t be…” Twilight whispered.

“Twilight, what’s goin’ on!?” Her horn lit up and a display came up in the center of the table. In the city, not too far from here, was a creature. Towerin’ over most of the buildin’s around, the bipedal thin’ looked like some kinda giant monster out of a comic book. It didn’t look like it had any normal muscle structure, its spindly arms and legs not much more than oblong points. It had a face that looked like a white mask, somethin’ from way back when doctors used beaks ta keep the sick away. Its shoulders looked ta be covered in smooth bone domes, and bones jutted out ta points that looked like blades all along its ribcage and elbows.

“What is that!?” Goose exclaimed.

“Oh, goddess, it’s huge!” Pinkie said in fear or awe, probably a mix of the two.

“W-we have to f-fight that… thing?” Fluttershy whispered. We all watched as a screen on one of the towers behind it came on. There, was the mask.

“Good afternoon, my dear Manehattanites. When the goddess rests, the demons come out to play. This is Sachiel! The first of my Kaiju! For those who did not believe, I suggest you pray! My item has not been returned, so now I will have to search for it! I will tear down this entire city and upturn the earth if it have to! Now, Sachiel, begin!” The mask disappeared from the screen, and then Sachiel began ta work. With its massive spindly claw, it dug through an apartment building and started to rip and tear through stone, brick, and mortar as if it were sand. With each claw came blood and fur, little spots on the massive monster. Ponies could be seen screamin' and runnin' away from all around. Once the first apartment complex was completely destroyed, it moved on t' the next, takin' a step without care and crushing fearful ponies underhoof.

“Oh goddess…” Twilight trailed off, wide eyed and horrified at the sight.

“What are we still doin’ here!? Goose! Get us over there, we have ta stop that thin’!” Ah guess that finally shook everypony inta motion. We all made our way over ta Goose, and once everypony was accounted fer, we blinked. In an instant, we appeared on the buildin’ just across from the one the creature destroyed. There were… parts and pieces everywhere. The entire street was stained red. A foal was cryin’ near one of the stains, ponies were runnin’ away as fast as they could. The panic, the hysteria, the fear. It chaos everywhere, it made me sick ta my stomach. Before Ah could do anythin’, Pinkie tossed what little she’d eaten. This… how could this happen? We weren’t prepared for this, we never could’ve been prepared fer this… Ah shook my head and forced myself ta move. We’re the only ones here that can do anythin’ now! Get off yer ass and move!

“Goose, Blur, get down there and help get the civilians out! Do whatever ya can ta save as many as ya can!” Goose shook Blur and helped her get back up ta her hooves, then they both saluted and blinked down ta the street below. “Target, take a high point and start tryin’ ta get it’s attention! Set yer gun ta max and prepare fer more orders! Aim fer the mask lookin thin’! That looks like the best protected area its got, so if there’s a mirror on this thin’ its gonna be there! Start with yer weakest bullets! We don’t know what works, so when Ah get in range Ah’ll get a gauge on what we’re dealin’ with. Move!” Without needin’ any kinda conformation, Target and Ah got ta work. Blur was herdin’ ponies toward Goose, who was makin’ short distance jumps with several groups at a time. Slowly but surely, the streets would be clear, but by the goddess, this was a horrific sight. Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen so many dead in one place before…

“Twilight! Can ya hear me!?” Ah called out after an idea came ta mind.

“Y-yes… I… All the life that just… just blinked out in an instant…” She swallowed somethin’ down. “What do you need? Just say the word and I’ll get it done. Anything to stop this… this carnage…”

“Get in touch with yer mother and issue an emergency evacuation! Tell her and her sister ta stand by if we can’t handle this. Damn it, we shoulda done this before…” Ah didn't mean ta send her anythin' more than my order, but what does that matter now?

“Understood. I’ll keep you updated.” Then the link went back ta background noise. Now closer ta the monster, Its skin looked almost… liquid like. As if it were more like jello in a shape than a creature. Its claw reared back over its next target fer destruction, and just like that, my body went inta gear. Ah shot a blade just under its claw. The blade held and quickly, Ah scaled the massive thin’. It wasn’t very fast, thank the goddess, and it had only begun ta react ta me after Ah had charged my hoof in an attempt ta smash it’s claw. Aimin’ fer the wrist, Ah let my punch collide with the jello lookin’ thin’ only ta be met with marginal resistance. Like gelatin, the creature’s skin flew and splattered about revealin’ somethin’ Ah was afraid of underneath. Its skin ain’t nothin’ but a case… the real body… lies underneath… Just under where Ah punched was a smaller version of the monster’s arm, but made of ripplin’ muscle and tendons just like an anatomy model.

Ah prepared another quick punch and tried ta bury my hoof in the monster’s wrist. Ah twisted as Ah made contact with muscle, and sure enough, it was enough ta rip through, but not very deep. Blood started ta spray from the new wound, but not fer long. Within a few seconds, the gelatinous skin around the new hole climbed up inta it and filled the missin’ part like it was never there. Damn it. Ah just knew it would be like this… However, the wound didn’t heal which means… this one will fall after we do enough damage…

The weight of the arm Ah was on stopped travelin’ upward and started ta move downward. Ah ripped my blade out of its muscle and jumped away before gravity kicked in and the massive monster began ta tear through the next buildin’.

“Target, we need coordinated attacks here. I need Explosive rounds with every time Ah say fire, got it? Ta everypony else, the target has a shock absorbin’ coat that regenerates in a few seconds, and a muscle bound skeleton underneath. It’s not hard ta get through, and it looks like it don’t heal the damage instantly like the last one. Blur could likely rip through the coat with her bare hooves, then damage the interior with her knives. Once y’all get everythin’ clear, get together with… er, meet up with me and we’ll try and rip a hole through this thin’.” The group gave their ‘yes ma’ams’ and then Ah was alone in my head. At least fer a moment.

“She could’ve helped here,” Ah heard Goose say in the back of my head.

“Damn it, don’t ya think Ah realize that!?” Ah shot at the monster’s chest and decided ta go fer the mask lookin’ thin’ once Ah reeled in, a couple of red lights appeared in the empty lookin’ eye holes and they were pointed right at me. A feelin’ shot through me. Somethin’ Ah’ve had in the back of my mind this whole time, somethin’ Ah wasn’t willin’ ta admit even as Ah was losin’ a friend. The monster spoke in a low, loud, nearly inaudible voice, but at such volume that it was impossible to ignore. With vibrations that shook me ta my very core and sank deep inta my heart it said,

“So you’re going to kill me are you? Not if I kill you first!” As quick as Ah could manage, Ah jumped off the spindly thin' and then Ah watched it’s claw shoot toward Target. She barely had time ta react. The claw took her lower half and squeezed. What seemed like a gallon of blood flooded out of her mask, and her scream filled the air and my mind, a horrible gut wrenchin’, agonizin’ cry. Without lettin’ a beat go by, Ah jumped after her body and yelled at the top of my lungs,

“TOKI WO TOMARE!” but nothin’ happened. The monster didn’t let a beat go by either. With unreal speed, it kicked the ground underneath Blur and a few ponies she had with her, sendin’ them up inta the air. The claw with the other half of Target angled itself in line with Blur, then darted straight through her.

“NOOOO!!” Her remainin’ parts fell ta the ground in a shower of red, the sky blue suit stained and ripped ta pieces, the armor bent and twisted like it’d been drilled through. Every part of my body was set afire as the magic poured in from everywhere. Ah slammed the mask of the monster and watched it crack. Harder than steel and textured like bone, it shattered and fell ta pieces, revealin’ a mirror hidden just under eyes made of light, holes that bored deep inta the monster. It staggered back, and Ah shot at the mirror. The monster caught my cable before it landed, missin’ the mark. It pulled me along and slammed me inta the ground. Ah could feel every bone in my body, broken entirely or fractured. Ah tried, but nothin’ would move. The monster lined up its claw with me, and Ah couldn’t do anythin’ but watch.

So this is it. Ah’m sorry. Ah shoulda told ya, but now Ah’ll never get the chance. Mama, Papa. It hasn’t been long enough yet, but Ah guess Ah’m comin’ ta see ya. Just as the claw reached the end of the monster’s arc, a stallion in stark black and shiny black armor blinked in front of me. He grabbed me by the suit and tossed me away.

“I can’t… watch you die...” Ah heard in the back of my head. The claw shot. It was almost like time had slowed so Ah could see it as it happened. It was like watchin’ a sharp warm knife cut through butter. The bastard was smilin’ the whole time too. It pierced his armor, then his back. It kept goin’, forcin’ his ribcage up as the claw impaled him further, the blood not even havin’ time ta catch up and spray out in this strange form of torture. The claw had made it ta the ground, removin’ Goose from his torso and lettin’ his remainin’ parts fly with the wind it dragged with it.

His head rolled over ta me when all was finished. Ah wanted ta scream, cry, vomit, run, escape, close my eyes, but Ah couldn’t do anythin’ at all. Ah was paralyzed in place and Ah could only watch as the horror played out. The monster pulled back its claw one more time, and this time, there was nopony ta stop it from reachin’ its target. Please, just end it all. In it came, and then, Ah couldn’t feel anymore.

Kaiju I - Sachiel - The Day the Goddess Rested (part 1)

Applejack

“AAH!” My scream carried through the nightmare as Ah sat straight up in bed.

“What, what, what!?” followed it and suddenly Goose was standin’ over me like some kinda cat protectin’ it’s kittens. Oddly enough, there was a weird, upward runnin’ spine or somethin’ along his back, and his eyes looked like somethin’ out of a dinosaur monster movie. It was… intimidatin’. Ah started ta breathe, and after a few moments, Goose’s body returned ta normal and he got off the bed.

“What are ya doin’ in here?” Ah asked, too tired ta make sure Ah sounded irritated. He ran a hoof down his back and then looked at me. Honestly, he looked just as tired as Ah did.

“I was concerned. Yesterday kinda ended on a bad note and I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Judging by the screaming though, I’d say you’re not. Was it a nightmare?” Ah took in a deep breath and tried ta rub some of the sand outta my eyes. Yeah, one hell of a nightmare. It was all so clear. Every detail, every second that passed by… Ah wonder… was it really a nightmare and not… some kinda vision...

“Goose, what time is it?” Ah asked as Ah checked the color of the castle walls. After bein’ here so often lately, if ya pay attention, ya can tell the time dependin’ on how close ta dark violet the castle is. At the moment, it was somewhere around the indigo range, and this far down in the castle that meant it was still early in the mornin’ at least.

“Uh… seven forty five. What happened?” he asked as he put my phone back on the end table. Why? Why are ya so concerned about me? Every time Ah look at ya, Ah always feel like Ah’m forgettin’ somethin’, and it’s just drivin’ me crazy. Ah shook my head and scratched at my temples. Whatever, that’s not important now. We need ta figure out how ta get the city evacuated. Ah will not let a bloodbath like that happen in my lifetime.

“Ah’ll give ya the details later, but the short of it is that Ah think Ah’ve had a vision or somethin’. Go wake every pony up and uh… talk ta Rarity fer me… We need ta figure out how ta evacuate the city before noon.” He stared at me fer what felt like an hour until finally he started toward the door. He made it right ta the knob and then turned back around and sat back by the bed.

“I can’t do that. Before we do anything, and I mean anything at all, I need you to tell me what your deal is. You’ve been a little more than a slave driver all week, you nearly killed your friends on two occasions, and would have had I not been there, and you won’t talk to anypony about it. I get that you’ve been through some rough shit, I’m pretty sure we all have, but this whole ‘lone wolf’ thing has got to stop. Let me in. Or if not me, then at least one of them. Tell somepony what the problem is or we’ll never really be a team. We can’t help you if you don’t trust us.” Goddess damn it, do ya really have ta do this now? Ah let out a breath. Maybe Ah should just tell him. What changes if he knows, really? Would he think any less of me? Would they think any less of me? How would Ah know before hoof? Ah can predict what they’ll do in a fight, but Ah don’t know how they think. How could Ah if Ah never talk ta any of 'em? Dream, vision, future ta come or whatever, Fluttershy was right. Ah don’t know them, and Ah act like they’re baggage… Liabilities…

“Ah… Ah’ve always had these… horrible nightmares. They started when Ah was real young, probably a little after my mom died, but my family used ta sleep together, so when Ah was around them, the nightmares would go away. But… ever since then, or the day Ah watched my dad die, night after night, Ah’d watch that scene play out over and over again. Each time it’d be more detailed and clear, the noise always louder and louder ta the point that Ah’d wake up screamin’. The depression and the fear that it might happen again ta somepony else close ta me drove me toward suicide, but Ah could never get the job done. It went on like this fer months until my uncle caught me and had me sent away in an attempt ta get over it. Fer a while there it worked, and when Ah came home, the nightmares were few and far between. But more recently, they’ve gotten worse and closer ta real. The nightmare about dad keeps comin’ back, but ta add ta that, Ah’m startin’ ta have these dreams where Ah watch the rest of my family and y’all die in horrific ways.

Ah… Ah don’t think it would be so bad if… if it weren’t so real, ya know? After that thin’ with Synchro, it’s always been the same story. A mirror shows up, a monster follows, and it turns out that we can’t stop it. And then… it kills everypony. Ripped apart in claws, eaten alive and cut in half by teeth, blasted by some kinda energy and left as nothin’ more than a shadow on the wall. And… and every time, all Ah can do is watch. The worst ones are always when the monster talks because… the thin’s they say, they’re always what Ah’m most afraid of. ‘If you were stronger, this wouldn’t have happened.’ ‘You couldn’t save your friends from me, how could you save anypony?’ ‘If it were your father, he wouldn’t have lost.’ ‘What a shame. To watch a hero fall when everything was riding on her.’

Ah always get so close, there’s always a feelin’ like there’s still hope right before somethin’ happens and Ah’m incapacitated and made ta watch. The faceless ponies in the background always leave rivers of blood, and if Ah make it far enough, sometimes Ah’ll get burnt away in the Princesses’ light. The nightmares they… they just never stop…” Ah could feel that Ah was shakin’ just from rememberin’ it all, every horrible nightmare, every death that has me wake up in a cold sweat. Goose sighed and shook his head.

“You idiot. Everypony has those fears. The only reason we make it through the night is because have somepony to rely on and share those fears with. Bottling it all up and keeping to yourself only makes it worse. I hate to be a broken record, but how could we ever help you though this if you didn’t tell us what the problem was in the first place? Maybe this is a new concept for you, even though it shouldn’t be, but you have friends. If we didn’t care about you as much as you seem to care about us, do you really think Rarity would have gotten as angry as she did yesterday?” Ah must’ve lost a tear or somethin’ while Ah was talkin’ because he wiped somethin’ wet off my cheek and gave me a hug. “If nothing else, I will never leave your side again.” He let go and headed toward the door. “I’m going to go wake up the others. You should call Rarity.” And then he shut the door behind him.

Why…? Why does this all feel so familiar?

Within two hours, we managed ta get in touch with Celestia and then the emergency weather system activated. Ever since the great hurricane of 1990, Manehattan has had a series of sirens installed throughout the city that override all the radio and television channels, tellin’ everypony ta get the hell out. It’s only ever been used once, when the mirror incident happened and the Trade Center fell. Considerin’ how high the death toll was then, the current generation of adult ponies don’t make light of it. However, if my prediction doesn’t hold water, Ah’ll lose just about all credibility at the expense of Princess Celestia havin’ ta save face.

On the other side of thin’s, Rarity never answered my calls. It woulda made sense that she might not’ve heard the ringer the first time, but ta miss four calls and two after she’s normally up is weird. Well, not weird, but definitely a sign that she’s still mad about yesterday. Eventually Twilight got a hold of her and last we heard she was on her way here twenty minutes ago.

“So, when she gets here, you know what you need to do right?” Goose asked. Ah rolled my eyes.

“Of course Ah know what Ah need ta do. It’s just… actually doin’ it that’s the problem. Ah don’t know how she’s gonna react, Ah don’t know how any of ‘em are gonna react. Ah… Ah’m not the ‘emotional’ type, and Ah never have been. Ah don’t talk about my feelin’s with others and Ah usually don’t ask either. Ah mean, Ah can usually read the mood pretty well, but it’s not like… Gah, Ah don’t know.” Ah pacin' my room tryin' ta think of a way out of this and so far, Ah'd come up with nothin'. True ta his word though, Goose was barely not around me fer the rest of the day. But it was still botherin’ me. When Ah’m around the girls, they just feel like ponies Ah know. The same way it does when Ah’m with Star. A pony Ah know who knows me at least a little more than somepony like a teacher or professor. A friend, Ah guess, even if the word tastes weird in my mouth.

Goose is… different. He knows me better than he should, and Ah feel like Ah should know him better than Ah do. He kinda gives off the same vibe that my uncle does. He clearly knows somethin’, somethin’ that Ah never told him about me but somethin’ that’s important ta both of us. That’s it, he knows how Ah work better than he should. Why? This and the fact that there’s a memory Ah can’t place that keeps tryin’ ta poke outta my brain when Ah look at him makes me think he knew me before this point, but if he did, Ah couldn’t say from when.

“Yeah, no, you’re pretty much the definition of a tomboy so that doesn’t surprise me much. You were always like that if my memory serves me correctly. Look, they’re your friends, I think they’ll get it. Everypony gets scared and nopony reacts to fear the same way. You just happen to be one of those angry types on top of having crazy strength. Probably not the greatest combination in the world, but I’ve seen you put it to good use at least once, and so has everypony else.” He shrugged. Ah paused. You’ve always been that way. Ah sat down and stared at him with a hoof on my chin.

“Uh, do I have something on my face? I know I haven’t been able to shave in a while, but I don’t think it looks too bad yet…” He rambled. Ah shook my head.

“Do… Do Ah know ya?” He frowned and raised an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah, I would hope so. It’s been a couple of weeks after all.” Ah shook my head again and started ta circle him.

“No, no, Ah mean… did we used ta know each other? It’s been botherin’ me more lately, but even though Ah should feel like ya were a stranger ta me two weeks ago, Ah’ve never felt like y’all were completely unknown ta me. Ah think that’s part of the reason Ah accepted yer terms a while back. Ah knew ya’d keep yer word beforehoof.” He looked a little nervous now. Those spines on his back had risen, if only slightly. Now that Ah knew they were there, Ah started ta pay attention and they were almost a tell as ta how he was feelin’.

“Uh…” he began, but then Twilight interrupted.

“Rarity is here and we’re all at the table. Are you ready?” Shit. No, Ah’m not ready, and Ah never will be.

“Yeah, Ah guess. Let’s get this over with.” Ah turned back ta Goose and stared him down. “Provided we make it though today, we will have this discussion later.”

“Uh, yeah, sure…” He lazily followed me out of my room, the usual pep in his step lost. Ah exited the hallway inta the livin’ room, and there they all were, starin’ at me with varyin’ degrees of concern and one in particular with a good amount of resentment. Goose and Ah sat down, and Ah took a breath tryin’ ta figure out what exactly Ah was gonna say.

“Well? Let’s hear it. I believe you owe me a few words,” Rarity said, hooves crossed, glarin’ at me from her seat. Ah tried my hardest and failed ta not roll my eyes and glare back. Ah was about ta open my mouth, but Goose stopped me before Ah could put my hoof in it.

“Hey, let’s not start this off with a fight, please?” he asked. Ah pulled away and took a deep breath. “Oh, goddess help me,” Ah whispered ta the ceilin’. Sometimes Ah felt it strange ta pray since Ah haven't believed in years now, but sometimes, it just comes out anyways. Old habits die hard.

“Alright, so… Ta start this off, Ah just wanna say that y’all are the only real friends Ah’ve ever had. Ya know that Ah’ve had a pretty rough life, and between takin’ care of my family and work and school, Ah didn’t have time fer other ponies. On top of that, Ah don’t really spend a whole lot of time with my own family anymore and we’re probably not as close as a unit as we used ta be so… Ah uh… dealin’ with this kinda stuff is… well, new ta me, really.

Ah mean… the closest relationship Ah have outside of y’all is my sister, but she knows me better than Ah know myself sometimes so she tends ta just ‘get it’ more often than not. Or, at least she used ta. Anyways, Ah think of y’all in the same way, really. You're like a second family ta me, and Ah can’t really stand the thought that Ah might lose one of ya in a fight in the near future. Uh… Ah…” Ah swallowed. “Ah’ve never really told anypony this before, but, Ah’m uh… real prone ta n-nightmares. If Ah sleep fer more than six hours, then it’s a miracle. Ever since Ah was real little, it’s been like this. My mom diein’ was probably the catalyst, but it wasn’t so bad while dad was still around because he could help me sleep. But… when he didn’t come home… it became relentless.

A month of ‘em and Ah started tryin’ ta kill myself, and y’all know how that story goes from there. These days though, it’s startin’ ta become like it used ta be. The more we fight, the more Ah watch y’all get hurt, the more real and intense the nightmares get, but none more real than the one from last night. Just within’ this week, Ah’ve probably seen y’all die in horrible ways at least six times so far, and it’s drivin’ me crazy. The threats from before and the anxiousness of what’s ta come today have me scared ta death that Ah’m gonna lose another family member and fall back inta that despair, and Ah never wanna feel like that again.

Ah know Ah’ve been a real hard ass this week, and Ah’ve lost my temper more than once, but Ah just thought that if Ah could keep ya alive, Ah wouldn’t have ta feel like that again, and Ah would do anythin’ ta keep it that way.” Ah turned ta Rarity next. Lookin’ at her now, she’d lost just about all of her edge and was probably a few words from breakin’ inta tears herself.

“Ah’m sorry about what Ah said yesterday. You're right, Ah did treat y’all like baggage. But only because Ah’d rather try ta fight alone than watch anypony Ah care about so much die in front of me again.” And with that, she broke and rushed over to give me some kind of hug while tryin’ ta punch me at the same time.

“You lumbering idiot, why wouldn’t you say something if you’ve been feeling like that all this time!? Maybe I overreacted yesterday, and I shouldn’t have provoked you, but you not telling us all that and shouldering it alone just to fester is like leaving a wound untreated!” she half cried and half yelled. Ah pulled her in ta stop her from punchin’ me and just let the hug run it’s course. Ah never realized how soft she was. She eventually let go and cleaned herself up before she started to speak again. “I suppose it was terrible of me to provoke you yesterday, knowing all that I do about you. Besides, you’re more of a stallion then you are a mare most of the time, and Celestia knows that they’re just as bad at talking about their feelings. Well save for Goose. If only you were cute, then you could probably pass for a trap.” He put a hoof on his chest and reared his head back.

“Oww, rude. Where did that come from? Look, I’m just a stallion who knows his mares. I’ve been down this road once or twice before. Sixteen times to be exact.” He held that statement with pride. Rarity rolled her eyes as did everypony else.

“Whatever, ass hat. So, that heart to heart thing was great and all, and I appreciate that you care so much, but I thought we were gonna talk about your vision/nightmare thing from this morning? We kind of already got the city evacuated, so I expected something to show up by now, ya know?” Pinkie said. Ah nodded and took a deep breath.

“You’re right. So, this last nightmare was… real different in comparison ta the ones before it. In the same way that the nightmare about my dad is actually an embellished memory, this one was a hell of a lot like that. Everythin’ was real clear, even the sensations that Ah felt, almost like it was a memory instead of a dream. This monster wasn’t nothin’ like anythin’ we’ve seen before, and Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen anythin’ like it either. Ah’m not really the creative type, so Ah don’t usually make shit up like this. The fact that there were ponies Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen before and… well, actually, let me test a theory. Pinkie, is there somethin’ wrong with yer body?” She made a few side glances across the room and lowered her brows.

“Like… what? I mean, yeah, but… are you talking about something specific, or do you want me to list off all of my weird bodily functions here? I mean, I can, but I really don’t think everypony wants to hear about… most of that.” Ah shook my head. Ah should’ve known.

“No, ya have a potassium deficiency right?” She raised her snout.

“I do. But I don’t know how you would know that unless somepony else told you or you were looking through my medical records upstairs.” Well shit, this does not bode well.

“And… Fluttershy is allergic ta strawberries right?” Ah asked the relatively silent pegasus through a sigh. Her eyes went wide and she quickly looked away.

“W-well, I mean… I-I am but… b-but I never told anypony about it…”

“You’re allergic to strawberries!? Oh my goddess, That explains so much! Why wouldn’t you tell me that!? So much fruit gone to waste because I always ordered for three,” Twilight exclaimed. Fluttershy rolled her eyes.

“I-it’s not like you ever asked… b-but that still doesn’t explain how Applejack knows t-that at all, unless she s-somehow ran into my family, whom I-I haven’t seen in years.” She brought her hoof to her chin in thought and now Ah was concerned. Okay, that about prooves it.

“Right, and it’s not like Ah would know who yer family is anyways if Ah did run inta ‘em. So with that said, Ah think that it was really a vision and we’re gonna be dealin’ with some major shit by the time noon rolls around.”

“How major are we talking about here? You said… you watched us all die…” Goose trailed off. Ah nodded.

“It wasn’t pretty. The monster was a giant biped that looked nothin’ like a pony. Its limbs were all real spindly and covered in this clear black skin like jelly that had shock absorbin’ properties. It was almost shaped like a diamond dog without a neck and its head was level with its shoulders. On its shoulders were these big caps of bone, and at its elbows and ribs, there were bones juttin’ out that coulda passed fer razorblades as sharp as they looked. Its head, or at least where its eyes were, there was some kinda mask lookin’ thin’, almost like a doctor’s beak from way back in the day. That was made of the same bone that everythin’ else was but uh… after it uh... killed Fluttershy and Pinkie, Ah managed ta break it and the mirror was right under the mask’s center just below its eyes.” Fluttershy put her hooves ta her mouth.

“T-there’s no way…” she said then quickly flew over the table ta her room. She came back with one of her backwards comic books and flipped through pages until she stopped on one and flattened it in front of me. “Is this what it looked like?” She asked. The title of the book was When the Goddess is in her heaven, All is right with the world and the artwork in front of me was damn near identical ta what Ah saw in my dream.

“What the hell!? Why is that in a book!? Twilight, magnify this, so everypony can see it.” She took the book in her magic and then a screen appeared above the table with the page magnified.

“So… this is what we’re gonna fight?” Pinkie asked.

“Sort of, it doesn’t look quite the same, but it’s damn close. Does this thin’ regenerate and move real fast?” Fluttershy frowned.

“W-well, yes and no. The m-monster does regenerate, but it isn’t v-very fast. Guns and b-bombs don’t work on it, a-and the way the characters defeat it is b-by using a giant robot thing. W-was it really that big too? I-I mean… i-if we have to fight t-this…” Ah shook my head.

“Thankfully, Ah was able ta damage it since the muscle underneath didn’t regenerate, and neither did the mask, but mine was fast. Real fast. When it went after us, ya didn’t react fast enough, and Pinkie was caught tryin’ ta save some ponies… It broke all the bones in my body with one attack, and it cut through Goose like a hot knife and butter… if this turns out that fast… Ah don’t know what we’re gonna do…” Rarity lowered her brows.

“Well, was I in the dream too?” Ah shook my head.

“Sort of, but not in the fight. In my dream, we ended up havin’ a shoutin’ match and ya left before it showed up. Ah wouldn’t know if ya died gettin’ out, but the monster showed up near the center of town…” Ah shivered, suddenly feelin’ cold. All that blood. There was just so much…

“I see… but, I think we do have a way to slow it down if we really need to, don’t we Twilight?" Rarity said. We all looked at her, then everypony looked at Twilight.

“I uh… well, um…” she stuttered, clickin’ the tips of her hooves together. Rarity rolled her eyes.

“Thanks to your ‘intensive’ training recently, Twilight has been looking to try and make a new spell. This spell allows one to ‘slow down’ time in a localized area and is based off of my powers. Since they are directly tied to my magic and are part of the reason I am so limited in performing like a normal unicorn, Twilight and I have started looking into a way to reproduce the effects. We’ve had very little success, but success all the same.

The way my powers work is unique to magic in the sense that the energy required to do it is much less than equal to the power it puts out, or at least that’s what we thought in the beginning. After Applejack’s little mishap with the sharing spell, the idea that I might be able to produce a spell circle for my power came to mind and I’ve started to attempt to do that. However, I can’t seem to get everything right, or I’m missing an understanding to the laws that the circle, or circles, I should say, that govern its properties. Twilight, please draw up what we have if you would.” Twilight nodded and in her violet magic, the circle started to appear, and it was huge, complex, and way different than anythin’ Ah’ve ever seen in school.

Typically, magic consists of one circle, and then a pattern inside it that. When combined with runes that give it instructions, a circle can be passed energy ta manipulate the physical world with. These circles can become very large and complex, but a rule that they all follow is that nothing can exist beyond the runic boundary of the circle, and circles cannot intersect with each other. The one on the table however was breakin' both of those rules at the same time, and probably more based on the number of them.

“This is the best recreation we can get of Rarity’s circle. It consists of six different arrays laid upon each other with six arrays that break the runic boundary within each circle, on top of having a unique array in each center of each circle. Please note that this is without any runes because we have yet to figure out just what rune system this magic uses at all. The runes we’ve found that do work are very archaic and don’t quite cooperate with the circle as intended, nor are the same language as the ones Rarity uses. If I’m being honest here, this circle violates every rule of magic I know and runs on a system entirely unto itself. However, when flattened and given a few runes in mother’s tongue along the edge as instructions, one can pass it a little energy and…”

The gigantic circle, or set of circles that tiered the table like a cake, collapsed in on each other ta form a unified shape that looked like an even bigger mess of lines than Celestia’s circle (or Luna’s fer accuracy). The violet magic flashed once, and then in the center of the circle, a strange gray dome appeared. Ah got up from my chair and leaned over the table ta look through the odd lookin’ thin. Everythin’ inside the space was gray fer a few seconds and then it was colored like everythin’ else. Twilight then popped a strawberry out of thin air over the still strange space in the center of the table and dropped it. Once it hit the area that the strange space was in, it began ta slow and fall at half the rate.

“What in the world did Ah just watch?” Ah asked.

“You just watched light travel at half the normal speed, and a strawberry fall at nineteen meters per second.” Twilight said with a smug smile. A smile that was quickly ripped off her face and replaced with a very pained look until her horn stopped glowing and the magic all disappeared.

“And that would be one of the side effects we don’t know how to fix. In essence, the circle I use cannot be recreated simply because it runs on a language unique to myself that even I can’t read. However, using the basic matrix structure and runes that translate accordingly to what I believe the circle says based on what we know now, we’ve managed to make this work at about half the effectiveness of my powers. Oddly enough, if I don’t use my own circle, I can’t actually cast the spell myself, and based on the strain it puts on Twilight, I assume only a unicorn of high caliber can actually use this. However, it causes immense strain on the user after only a few seconds, and as you can see, freezes anything caught inside the field.” Lookin’ back ta the strawberry now, it was a solid piece of red ice instead of the bright red fruit it used ta be. Rubbin’ her head, Twilight took over.

“I can’t use it for very long, but as it turns out, the area in which the spell slows is up to my imagination, which leads me to believe that the amount of time it’s cast is the factor that determines the strain on the user, and not the effect of the spell itself. And then there’s the energy thing. Since it freezes whatever enters it, be it organic or not, we believe that it takes heat away from everything around it to power itself, much like trump card does when Rarity uses that, albeit I have yet to recreate that spell since Rarity hasn’t used it enough times to figure out what the complete circle looks like thanks to the archaic nature of that magic.” Rarity clapped her hooves and pointed at me.

“Speaking of, you didn’t say whether or not you’d unlocked yourself during that fight with your nightmare. You did, didn’t you? I assume you would be a bit more than angry…” Ah nodded.

“Yeah, that was definitely a factor. But only when Ah broke the thin’s mask. When Ah hit it, the skin itself came off surprisin’ly easy. The muscle took much more force ta rupture, but not so much that Ah would need trump card ta do it. The bone however Ah wouldn’t have been able ta break without and that’s where our target is. Provided my dream is accurate though, we need ta stay as far away from it as we can. Somethin’ that big and powerful along with speed that can beat Fluttershy’s reaction time isn’t somethin’ Ah’m lookin’ forward ta dealin’ with…” Another shiver. The images would never leave my head.

“Then we have nothing to worry about. Twilight will join us in this endeavor and since we have fore knowledge of our foe, we can simply take it down as soon as it shows up,” Rarity said, almost as if the fight had already been decided.

“You know, while that would be great, I get the feeling that it’s not gonna be that easy. I mean, think about it, when has anything just gone our way?” Goose asked. Ah let out a breath.

“Ah hate ta say it, but Ah agree with him. Thin’s in real life are already different than in the dream, and if multiverse theory is ta be proven true, then we could end up with an entirely different monster.” Rarity raised a hoof, opened her mouth, closed it and then sat back down in thought.

“Multiverse theory is true, mother proved that thirty years ago…” Twilight said. We all became quiet and everypony was in their thinkin’ position.

“You know, maybe it will be that monster, and maybe it will be something else entirely, but all the same, I think today is gonna okay. Maybe she was a little off her rocker yesterday, but Applejack was right. We’re gonna come home and wake up tomorrow, all of us. But really… I don’t think that’s enough. I think, we’re gonna trash whatever monster shows up, and we’ll get out without getting hurt. Maybe that’s a lofty goal, but damn it, I think we can do it! Come on guys, who’s with me!?” Pinkie said. The others raised their hooves and yelled ‘yeah!’ in unison, but Ah just sat there and stared at her wide eyed.

“Why…? Why would ya say that? How could ya say that!? That’s the same thin’ ya said before we all died! Twilight, what time is it!?”

“Eleven o’clock!” Ah held out my hoof ta silence everypony and we waited. Nothin’ came. Ah tapped my wrist and nodded ta Twilight, who then pulled up a digital clock with her magic. The minute changed and nothin’ happened.

“Ah want everypony ta get suited up right now. Twilight, if ya got that extra suit of armor like Ah asked, put it on, Ah don’t care if it fits. As long as y’all don’t get stabbed or crushed by this thin, the blunt attacks the armor can take. As soon as we’re all ready, we’re gonna go ta the center of the city, and we’re gonna wait. Nopony will die today, but Ah’ll be damned if we don’t handle this with as much care as a bomb technician. Ah want y’all ready ta go in the next five minutes, got it?” In a strange silence, they all nodded and moved to their respective rooms ta get ready, as did Ah. By eleven o’ five, we had reconvened at the livin’ room table, everypony was in their usual suits, save fer Blur, who’d painted her new armor pink, just like in the dream. She opened her mouth and Ah stopped her right there.

“No, we will not call ya ‘Crazy Diamond.’ Now let’s move.”

Kaiju I - Sachiel - The Day the Goddess Rested (part 2)

Ah figured it’d be best if we didn’t put any strain on Goose unless we had ta, so from the castle, we walked. As it was now, it was oddly silent in the park. Some of the homeless creatures lived here. Fer there ta be not a single sound around was very strange, but Ah was thankful for it. As we made it further in, the sound was even less. No cars, no buses, no trains, no trolleys. The city looked like a model of itself, completely empty and completely silent. It had been botherin' me since Ah saw her, but Ah couldn't break the silence. In the end, Pinkie was the one who asked.

“So… if nopony is going to, then I have to ask. Twilight, what in the world are you wearing?” At the moment, Twilight looked like she’d walked out of an ancient history book. The guard armor these days was essentially a collection of enchanted long solid plate mail pieces that covered most of the body, but had enough gaps in it to support movement while still makin’ it hard ta pierce the body with somethin’ like a bullet. Twilight however, had fitted hers in such a way that it went with her outfit, which resembled that of an ancient Equuin Centurion. A plume, A Cape, Tassels along her waist, a full face mask that resembled her mother’s face, oddly enough. All she was missin’ was a scutum and a spear and she’d be ready ta make a phalanx.

“W-well… I figure that if everypony else is wearing their costume, I might as well wear mine, right?” She said sheepishly.

“Ya say costume, but this has always just been a way ta hide in plain sight. Ah don’t really care what ya wear as long as it keeps ya alive though. Can ya see outta that mask? It looks a little… restrictive Ah guess.” The conversation was a bit of a nerve easin’ agent at the moment. Still no sounds but our own hooves. Everythin’ about this feels wrong, but this is definitely real. Ah can’t tell if this is worse than it was in the dream or not…

“Of course I can see! The centurion armor was one of the most advanced designs of the age, nothing could rival it. The ponies themselves were the pride of Equuis’ armies, early centurions literally earning their names for leading one hundred soldiers into battle.” Ah looked her over her under that mask, her eyes pretty well visible, save fer the obvious parts that Ah could tell restricted her vision, but she seemed pretty adamant about this.

“Ah see. Any particular reason why though? It seems… Ah don’t know, a little unusual, given the standard ‘hero’ outfit these days is essentially a skin-tight suit and an emblem.” We turned the corner along the side of a buildin’ and Ah stopped. Fer a single second, reality had gone away and all along this road Ah saw rivers of blood. Body parts, destroyed road, smashed buildin’s, the whole horrible scene from the dream came rushin’ back without warnin’. My breath had yet to escape my body when Ah shook my head, and Ah almost thought it was never gonna go.

“Are you okay?” Goose asked as he put a hoof on my shoulder. Ah looked back and everypony else had stopped with me and they all had the same expression on their faces: concern. Ah shook my head again and started up the street.

“It’s nothin’, let’s just keep movin’.” Ah tried ta move on, but Goose held me back.

“No it isn’t, talk to us.” His tone was softer now, but more stern than before. Ah glared at him, but figured he was right. Ah sighed.

“This is the street. The monster shows up two buildin’s in front of the stock exchange, and that electronic billboard is where he makes his announcement.” Seven lanes, splittin’ off in the middle fer the island of offices that segment apartment complexes. This area is a high mix of commercial and non-commercial buildin’s, but almost always has about ten thousand ponies in it at one point and time, regardless of the time of day. Traffic here is the worst it gets in Manehattan, and more bikes are stolen here than anywhere else. In the nightmare, this area was as bustlin’ as it usually is, which is why the death toll was so high in the first place. Ah don’t know who has his ‘object’ or whatever, and Ah don’t know why he decided ta choose the most heavily populated area in Manehattan ta strike first, but the bastard has a reason fer it and Ah wanna know what that reason is. However, these thoughts were distracted by the suddenly high amount of metal, belts, and hooves Ah could feel through my suit on my body.

“It’ll be okay this time. We’re all here with you,” Diamond said. Everypony backed away and Ah just stared at em’, a little more than dumbfounded. What am Ah supposed ta say ta this?

“Usually, this is where one says thank you.”

Ah wasn’t sure who's voice that was, but the suggestion felt right, so Ah took it.

“Thanks, Ah guess.” Ah scratched my neck. Geez, Ah've never like this before. “Let’s uh… keep goin’ then. Ah’d like ta get a good look at all these buildin’s. Ah think the monster specifically targeted certain ones, so Ah’d like ta try and figure out why.” The girls and Goose nodded and followed me ta the stock exchange buildin’. Everypony made their way up ta the rooftop, and after Twilight awkwardly flew herself up, we moved ta the edge and looked over the road. Now on the right side, the first buildin’ that caught my eye was ‘Argent Holdin’s.’ What the…? Isn’t that where Uncle Blood works? Immediately next ta that was the apartment complex that was first attacked in my dream. It looked normal enough, so… why go after it? Persona said he was lookin’ for his ‘object’ in the first announcement and the in one in my dream. He also addressed somepony in particular durin’ that first announcement too… Ah turned around ta address my ‘flock’ when they asked first.

“So, what’cha thinkin’?” Blur asked. Ah nodded and turned back around.

“This is the first buildin that the monster attacked. It was… oddly precise, as much as it was a pony blender, and none of the debris really went anywhere but inward. It managed ta take down three apartment complexes before it took notice of us, and they all ended up the same way; torn down from the center inward. The more Ah think about it, the more it seems strange that he’d go out of his way ta have the monster kill, but not destroy any more than necessary. Another thin’ that was weird was the fact that he attacks here first.” Ah pointed at the complex next ta Argent Holdin’s. “As far as we believe, Argent himself has ta be behind this since his company is makin’ the mirrors, but where he attacks is likely where most of his staff for this accountin’ buildin’ lives. Ah think it’s safe ta assume he’s after one of his own employees, but doesn’t know where said employee lives.” The five nodded, then Rarity took a step forward.

“That is strange though…” She tilted her head ta one side once, then panned across the area. When she was done, she then turned ta the group. “If he was looking for one of his employees, don’t you think he would have their address in his records? With that in mind, take a look around at the offices here. Just on this little block of buildings, we mostly have law firms, a few big franchise and chain restaurants, the Stock Exchange, and three different accounting firms. They don’t call this road the bit river for no reason after all. Centurio Reginae, who owns the Argent Holdings building?” Diamond asked, not even lookin’ ta see Twilight glare at her.

“The Rossfeller family. They own just about every building around here. You know I don’t appreciate-” Diamond moved close and put a hoof on the muzzle of Twilight’s mask.

“Shut up for a moment, please? Thank you, darling.” She moved into the center of our little circle and continued, “I’m sure you all know that the Rossfeller family is one of the richest families in Equestria, rivaling billionaires like Argent and the Carneighs for who's the top dog in Manehattan. But, do you know that Argent has a particularly nasty history with the Rossfellers? I was told this story when I was young, but when Mr. Argent initially went into business and first started his mining, he appealed to Pursue Manehattan Bank for the loan to buy his equipment, which just so happens to be the bank in which Crude Rossfeller junior owned the most shares of. After a shady deal, he obtained his money, but he would well more than pay for it later. Current head of the Rossfeller family, Petrol Rossfeller, was about the same age as Argent at this time and the CEO of Pursue. Pursue Manehattan has a long history of snowballing as it absorbed more and more banks through history, but when Argent struck gold, (or silver in this case) Petrol wanted to buy his company.

Now, the Argent I grew up hearing about wasn’t quite the power hungry monster he seems to have become. Equestria has laws against monopolies, and that is exactly what Mr. Rossfeller was trying to create. With Argent contributing a majority of Equestria’s silver and Rossfeller controlling the third largest bank in Equestria, he would literally have access and control over almost a third of Equestria’s wealth. As the stories were told, Argent was a very honest Stallion about his business and he did not want anything to do with Rossfeller’s grand scheme. This ended disastrously for Argent because most of the buildings he rented were owned by Rossfeller. Everything he rented went up to astronomical prices and just trying to get out of Rossfeller’s world almost caused Argent Enterprises to go under.

So, why does this building have Argent’s name on it you ask? Well, that’s simple. It’s not really his. Stannum Argent’s sheer hatred for Petrol Rossfeller occasionally has the two of them trying to destroy each other within Manehattan when they can. The company that rents this building originally belonged to physician Glider Rossfeller and managed accounts for Healers of Creation, the non-profit that sends doctors all over the world. Whether it was out of spite, or because he appreciated what Healers did, Argent donated heavily to this facility and the foundation. Glider sold this building two years before his death three years ago to Argent, but never managed to get the title to him. As it stands now, Glider Rossfeller is technically still the owner the building, and the company that resides within it. Since nopony can find the titles Glider left behind, the building remains in Argent’s ‘custody,’ but at the same time, he’s not allowed to the documents of the workers here. Essentially, if somepony wanted to stay close to Argent, but still out of reach from him, this would be the place to go.” The rest of us sat on that until Goose brought up an important point.

“So, this guy clearly has no problems breaking laws, why wouldn’t he just steal the records?” Diamond nodded.

“Because he doesn’t know where they are or how to access them. For a couple years, this company did belong to Glider Rossfeller and as such, their data was stored in Rossfeller servers. And that means…”

“He would really start a war if he tried to go after it…” Twilight finished.

“And so Centurio Reginae figured it out.” Diamond finished. Twilight glared at her, then rolled her eyes.

“An all out war between Argent and Rossfeller would wreak havoc on the economy and likely destroy both in the process. As much as they might hate each other, Equestria as a whole would be at a huge disadvantage in the world market if we lost either. Goddess knows that Argent is the only reason we have good ties to Zvyr at all,” Centurio Reginae continued. Damn it, now she’s got me sayin’ it. Huh… Ah kinda like it though.

“S-so, I get that all this money talk is o-over my head, b-but why would he just search at random? And… k-kill so many in the process…” Target asked from her imaginary corner. Even with the mask and the hat and the coat and the gun, she still somehow manages ta be completely not intimidatin’ when she opens her mouth. Still, the question was valid. If he has the power ta make his monster follow specific instruction, why all the death?

“Hmm… That I can’t say. While educated, this is all still conjecture. We can’t know anything until we hear it from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.” She was about ta open her mouth again when the clock tower bell started ta ring. Everypony froze and we waited. One… two… three… four… five… six… seven… eight… nine… ten… eleven… twelve. On queue, a bolt of bright orange lightnin’ shot from an alleyway just a buildin’ away from us. Black ooze spilled out like oil and filled the road like a swimmin’ pool. The ooze began ta collect itself in two pools, and then the monster from my nightmare started ta form itself from the ground up. The monster let out a low gravely metallic moan and began ta look around. Finally, it settled on us, and from an electronic billboard on a completely different buildin’ that we could see, Persona appeared.

“Well, well, well! It looks like somepony took my warning seriously! And what a unique group you are… An Equuin Centurion, Diamond the heroine, A Lunar guard, an Assassin of some sort… Mmm, I don’t know the pink one, and of course, Red Hoof’s successor. I’m honestly surprised there aren’t more of you here. I suppose one can beat a raid boss with a small party, but that usually isn’t the smartest decision. Very well then. This is Sachiel, the first of my Kaiju. In a test to recreate my lost object, he was the first success, but the price for this success was much of his mind. Defeat Sachiel and the round is yours. Fall to Sachiel and you will all die, losing your homes, your city, and possibly the world in the process until my object is found. Win the round and I will answer one question of your choice, save for anything I cannot say, such as my identity or my location. True heroes rise when the odds are stacked against them! Go beyond! Begin, Sachiel!” Persona finished, and with his words the monster started ta move. Raisin’ it’s claw back, Ah remembered the where the top of it’s arc was, and just as it hit it, Ah called my first order.

“Jump!” Ah yelled just as the claw shot forward like a missile. Twilight and Fluttershy took ta the sky while the rest of us bounded away ta different buildin’s. The creature seemed stuck somehow in what remained of the Stock Exchange. Is it… slower than Ah remember? Somethin’ is… different… Ah decided ta test its skin while it was preoccupied. From my initial jump, Ah shot at the ground toward its opposite foot and loaded a normal, but powerful punch with my right. When Ah collided with the monster’s ankle, it was almost like the jello-esque skin absorbed all the force Ah’d put into it. It didn’t break and my hoof traveled in and out like it was water, makin’ an oozy black spray follow me ta the ground. A shiver ran up my foreleg. Why am Ah suddenly so cold?

“Guys, this is different. Its skin is even less solid than Ah remember and it don’t care too much whether or not Ah punch it. Target, take an AP shot at its skin and its mask. Centurio, do the same with whatever attack magic ya can think of, but if ya can, Ah think lightnin’ might be our best bet here. Go from at least a 45 degree of the monster and shoot at the same time. Everypony else, play distraction.” Directly across from each other, two buildin’s apart from the destroyed one, Target began ta line up her shot and Twilight started ta charge her magic. Goose and Ah aimed fer the same ankle and dove straight in fer a punch on either side of Sachiel. It finally managed ta free its claw from the ruined buildin’ and made a quick step back ta avoid us.

At the same time, its balance looked ta be slightly off and Target called ta fire. The first round struck true, the spinnin’ bullet pushed away the liquid skin of the creature and pierced deep inta its main body below, but it didn’t look ta do much damage. Just as quickly as the hole was made, it was closed up and hidden underneath a darker, more solid lookin’ ooze. Fer Twilight’s attack, it didn’t seem ta do hardly anythin’ at all. The bright violet tesla coil strike just spread through the monster. The jolt seemed ta make it faster though, which wasn’t really helpful. Its leg pulled back further and it looked like it was about ta try and punt Goose and Ah. The two of us bounded separate ways just as the foot reached the top of it’s arc. The whole creature angled and the spindly giant point dug through the ground like sand, kickin’ up blacktop and concrete in the air like dust. The poor Stock Exchange buildin’ was all but completely demolished now, pieces of road juttin’ out of its remains and the apartments behind it had new spikes of concrete stickin’ out of ‘em.

“No more magic on the skin. Aim fer the mask now. Twilight, try ta shoot a barrier at it. Ah think this thin’ might be capable of stealin’ energy. Best not ta test the theory. If yer rounds don’t do anythin’, Goose we need ta make an effort ta try and break it.”

“Yes ma’am!” they responded. Just as we started ta get inta formation, the creature squatted and spread it’s claws ta either side of it’s body.

“Never mind! Target, Centurio, get outta the way!” Just as they started ta move, the monster shot inta the air in an arc with claws out stretched and ready ta crush my two snipers.

“ZA WARUDO!”

When Ah blinked, Goose and Blur had Centurio and Target respectively, not too far from me as the monster landed on a now flattened apartment buildin’. The creature let out a low metallic growl as it stood back up and turned toward us.

“Target, Centurio, fire!” Much like the first time, Centurio’s magic didn’t do anythin’ visibly, and Target’s bullet made a crack in the mask. Or so we thought. As the creature took a step forward, the visible cracks in its mask started ta seal up with hardened black ooze. Damn… it’s gonna be one or none with this… wait a minute. What is it lookin’ at? Rather than the five of us, the creature’s mask was facin’ slightly away, like it was focused on somethin’. “Diamond, where are ya?”

“In the alley between the two apartment complexes across from Argent Holdings. Where is it going?” That’s a good question…

“Target, follow it and keep firin’ at the mask. Everypony else, keep yer distance and watch fer now.” Target continued ta fire at the monster as it traveled seemin’ly aimlessly. Ten new cracks all filled with ooze before we ran out.

“I-I’m down to two rounds left. W-what do you want me to do?” Target asked. Damn. Why can’t this be a video game and we just pick up more ammo off the ground? Where the hell is this thin’ even goin’ anyway?

“Ah don’t know what it’s doin’, but we can’t just stand around and let it do whatever. Goose and Ah are gonna circle around and try ta break its mask the rest of the way now that it’s weak. Diamond, stay near, and the rest of y’all figure out what we still have and what might damage it. It absorbs magic as far as Ah can tell and it don’t really care too much fer blunt force either. If we can’t get through the mask with what we’ve got, then we’re kinda screwed”

“Nice confidence there Major, real inspiring,” Blur replied sarcastically.

“Talk ta me when ya figure out how ta fight this thin’.” Damn pessimist. Go be snarky when Ah don't need yer ass.

“Uh… guys? I think I figured out what it’s after,” Goose said.

“Mind sharing with the class?” Diamond asked.

“Well, it absorbed the lightning and got faster right?”

“Yeah. What’s yer point?”

“Isn’t there a big substation around this area?”

“Oh shit.” The rest of us said. Just as Goose finished, the sound of a thousand chirpin’ birds shot through the air and jagged bright blue-white streaks pierced the sky. Sachiel had made it ta its goal before we even figured out what it was doin’. The oozy creature was vibratin’ with blue sparks all along its now movin’ liquid skin, and with unsettlin’ speed, it turned back around ta face us. Mixed in with the whine and shriek of lightnin’ was a low metallic moan. Deep inside the mask’s eye holes two bright blue-white lights appeared and settled on us.

“Everypony, scatter!” In a mere second, the monster jumped from its position and landed right in front of us with a claw pulled back ready ta punch the hell out of its target. When Ah turned ta get out of the way myself, Ah saw the most unfortunate thin’ that coulda happened at that moment. Goose and Blur had made it away with Diamond and Target, but poor Centurio had gotten one of her wings crushed under some of the rubble from the monster’s landin’. Goddess damn it, this is gonna hurt if it doesn’t kill me. As quick as Ah could, Ah ran and destroyed the rubble underneath Centurio’s screamin’. With no other options, Ah punted her away hopin’ somepony would catch her. Ah felt the wind bein' pushed away behind me and Ah turned just in time ta see the shape the monster’s fist had taken. The pointed claw, the same one that had speared my friends in my dream, was meters away from me.

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

When Ah blinked, Ah was on top of a buildin’ away from the monster and in Goose’s hooves. The stallion let out a breath in relief and turned ta me.

“Good goddess, that was close. Please don’t do that again. I don’t think I could live with it if I had to watch you die.” Ah stared at him dumbfounded fer a second before Ah shook myself out of it and got back ta the ground. Ah can’t believe Ah let that happen twice. Thank Goddess fer Diamond, this woulda ended up the same way without her.

“Guys, I have an idea!” Blur called out. The creature, clearly not bein’ the smartest thin’ around, had gotten itself stuck again. This time however, it was havin’ a much harder time removin’ itself from the ground.

“What is it? Did somepony catch Centurio?” Ah asked.

“I-I did. Her wing is s-shattered though… I-I’ve done what I can, b-but she passed out from the pain…” Target responded.

“Well wake her ass up, we need her for this!” Blur exclaimed.

“Need her for what darling? You haven’t told us what your plan is,” Diamond pointed out.

“Okay, so, you know how my knives have a real deadly poison in them? Well, as it turns out, that poison is magically concentrated acid. This shit will kill a pony in a few seconds, but the reason it does so is because it steals calcium out of the body. It might not melt a whole body, but it will turn bone to mush in a few seconds.”

“That’s great Blur, but how does it help?” Ah asked.

“I have six of these knives, and they each have about two ounces of acid in them. Less than that is enough to kill more than a score of ponies, and you said the white parts are all bone right? If that’s the case, then what do you think will happen if we stabbed it’s mask with one of the knives?” Nopony needed any more than that.

“Target, wake up Centurio, Blur, test the theory! If it works, we can do this! The mirror was just under its eyes in the center of its body! Come here and Ah’ll give ya a lift!” Target started ta dig through her medicine and Ah got in position ta throw a javelin. Not a second passed after Ah reached the bottom of my arc before Blur was on my hoof.

“Fire!” she yelled, and with everythin’ Ah could, Ah tossed her at the monster. Two knives extended, the blades both glowin’ a sickly green, she landed in the monster’s mask and slowly started ta carve out a hole in it. Sachiel took notice of his new occupant and finally managed ta rip himself out of the ground. Blur staggered and fell off the monster as it jumped back and started ta claw at its mask, the new wound steamin' as the acid ate away at it. The monster screeched another low hiss and began its assault.

“It don’t seem too happy about what ya did! Get out and fall back!” As fast as the monster was now, even Blur was havin’ a hard time avoidin’ its attacks. At one point, it looked like it was gonna bash her inta nothin’ and Ah made the choice ta intercept. Unlike it’s ankel, its fist was very much just as hard as it’s mask seems ta be. There was so much force in the punch that my forelegs almost gave out, but just as Ah was about ta lose it, the fist pulled back. What the? Is it… weaker? Come ta think of it, it was stuck the second time fer a while wasn’t it?

“Marevelous, I can see the mirror! Check the mask again!” Diamond reported. As quick as Ah could, Ah doubled back and bounded away from the monster, who was currently… shakin’ his fist in pain? Just like Diamond has said, the mirror was visible where the mask had melted off, but just underneath a layer of ooze.

“Target, take the shot!” Ah yelled. The black clad pegasus quickly dropped her medicines and picked up her rifle. Sachiel however, was too quick. The moment Target pulled her trigger, he raised his claw to cover the wound. The round put a crack in his fist and nohin’ more. It locked its eyes on Target, and now she was his target.

“Shit. Goose, get his attention! Blur, grab Centurio and fall back! Diamond, do ya have any more time left?” Goose and Ah jumped in and we both went after the mask, only ta be batted away like flies.

“I’ve got a few seconds with anypony other than myself. Do you have a plan?” Ah removed myself from the rubble of the once standin’ apartment floor and made my way back out ta see what had happened. Goose has warped ta avoid getting hit and was now playin’ the part of the mole in whack-a-mole with Sachiel, narrowly avoidin’ gettin’ smashed by warpin’ ever so slightly as he was attacked. Ah sighed and felt all the aches in my body. Goddess, am Ah gonna be sore tomorrow. Just one more push…

“Yeah Ah do. We need ta regroup and get set up just like we did with Knots. Target is gonna shoot one of Blur’s knives and Centurio is gonna protect it. If all of that fails, Goose and Ah will be right behind the knife ta smash the mirror. Everypony get that?”

“Y-yes, but Centurio hasn’t…” Target began.

“I’m up…” Centurio moaned.

“N-nevermind.”

“Good. Get in position! When Ah give the signal, cast the spell and fire!” While Goose was playin’ distraction, Ah snuck up from under the monster and tried ta aim at it’s mask. Just as quickly, the monster pulled its arm across its chest and got ready ta swat me away. Ah cued Goose, and he took hold of the monster’s other claw. Ah looked the monster in the eyes, and it looked at me. The game was won, and Ah couldn’t help but smile.

“TOKI” The monster’s claw at the edge of its arc.

“WO” The monster’s claw about ta collide with me.

“TOMARE!” The monster’s claw about ta launch me away, mirror exposed.

“ZA WARUDO!”

Color evaporated from the world and the remainin’ momentum from Sachiel’s arm faded as Ah fell ta the ground. The gunshot went off and echoed through the frozen time. A bright violet cone formed around the knife just as Goose and Ah made it just meters from the mirror. In a rush of wind and sound, the world was filled with color again. The bright violet cone zipped across the sky and inta the hole, piercing deep, but bein’ stopped just short. Goose and Ah launched, but the only part of Sachiel fast enough ta keep up with us were his eyes.

“This is our city, and nopony is gonna take it from us!” The magic filled my hooves, and in tandem, Goose and Ah struck the knife lodged just in front of the mirror. The blade continued on its path and deep inta the ground, along with shattered pieces of the monster’s whole torso. Sachiel fell, and as he did his form began ta change back inta what it had originally been. When all was said and done, there was a pony in front of us, missin’ a piece of his chest and coughin’ up blood. It was weak and quiet, but just as we came close enough, Sachiel spoke.

“My… congratulations… heroes… but, know this… I… am the… weakest…” He hacked once more in his puddle of blood, and then, he stopped movin’.

“Well. So much for that,” Goose said through a sigh. “I can’t believe we managed that. Are you okay?” Ah shrugged.

“Somehow. Ah doubt Ah won’t be bruised ta hell and back tomorrow though, provided nothin’ is broken. How is everypony else? Y’all okay back there?”

“I’m fine, I was only caught by some unfortunate debris in the beginning,” Diamond answered.

“I can’t feel my right side, and that is probably a good thing. All my feathers are broken, and I’m surprised my wing is still attached at all at this point,” Centurio said.

“N-no problems here,” Target responded.

“Also that,” Blur finished. Ah took a deep breath and let it out slowly. One down, but we’ve still got five more of these thin’s… The sound of static caught all of our attention. When we all turned toward the source, the big screen on a buildin’ completely untouched by Sachiel’s destruction lit up. As promised, the mask returned.

“Color me impressed, heroes. You may not have saved the structures of the city, but only one pony died here today, and none of them you.” Ah walked toward the screen and the mask seemed ta track me as Ah did. It was almost like he was lookin’ at me through it.

“Yeah yeah, yer damn monster destroyed thousands of homes and did millions of bits worth of property damage. What in the hell is it yer after? Why would ya make somethin’ so destructive? Do ya know how many ponies that thin’ coulda killed!?” Ah was yelin' at him, but it just made Persona laugh.

“I’ll answer one of those questions, as that was your promised reward, but for free, I will tell you that lives are simply part of the collateral. How many could Sachiel kill? Any number of ponies, especially those who didn’t expect him. And when the next of my kaiju come, they too will have the power to end lives in the blink of an eye. But that is for next week and the future ahead of us. For now, you may ask. One question; barring my identity or location. You have until twelve forty-five to decide.” A part of me was furious and wanted ta scream at him more. The stronger part of me said ta cool down and think.

“Son of a bitch. One minute ta figure it out. Y’all hear that?”

“Yeah.” Ah got back.

“Any ideas?”

“I don’t think I’m all the way here yet, but I think the schedule of the monsters arriving would be the first thing to ask. If he wants this to be like a game, and he’s clearly watching it, does he plan to do it at the same time every week?” Centurio said with a strange drunken canter ta her voice. Ah looked ta Goose, and after gettin’ a nod, Ah asked her question.

“When are these monsters gonna show up? And Ah mean at what time of what day will each monster show up?” The mask seemed ta bounce with excitement, and after a little more laughter from the strange, augmented voice, it tilted at me.

“Again, you impress me. You do not ask for yourselves, but for your city. You six are exemplary. When the clock strikes noon on the day the goddess rested, my kaiju will make their grand entrances, followed by an announcement from yours truly. I will proceed any battle and appear every time you win to answer one more question. Well done, heroes. Until we meet again~” Persona finished and the screen cut out with him. Ah gritted my teeth. Seven more days ta prepare and this starts all over again with a brand new monster. And we have no idea what’s comin’ next…

Persona V: A Stolen Heart (part 1)

Applejack

Normally, when one has an epiphany, one finds themselves in a situation they never could’ve predicted would ever happen in their lifetime. A few days ago, Ah literally fought a giant monster. Ah did not have an epiphany there, that was more like dé ja vu. In my current situation, Ah’m at a table. In a restaurant that used ta be well above my pay grade. Ah’m wearin’ a dress that used ta be a whole paycheck. Now, all of that is strange, especially fer me, but the one thin’ Ah never thought Ah’d ever be doin’ is sittin’ here in all this… across from Goose. Do ya ever sit and think, what has my life come ta? Because that’s me right now. How did Ah get here? Well… that’s just a long story in and of itself.

“Hold still, damn it!”

“Aah! It hurts mommy, it hurts!”

“It won’t after I finish, now shut up and hold still!”

“Pinkie, Fluttershy, grab her legs!”

“Aaah!!!”

“Alright, you may let go now.”

Not more than a few seconds after we arrived ta the castle did Celestia warp ta here ta tend ta her daughter. Ah learned a few thin’s that day. One, Twilight has a lot more strength than she lets on. Two, hearin’ the princess curse is the weirdest thin’ Ah’ve ever heard in my life. Everypony but Rarity let go of Twilight, and her wing, which wasn’t much more than a crumpled red and purple mess before, was now back ta the shape it should be. Well, save fer it bein a weird mix of bald patches and scant feathers. Ta prevent ruinin’ Twilight’s natural regeneration, all Celestia could really do was reset the bones and put the muscles back where they belonged. That was no small feat though. Twilight needed ta be able ta feel so Celestia could trace the nerves as her brain tried ta use em. The bones were set, but reattachin’ the tendons was the hard part. Thankfully though, we were finished with that now.

“Thank you all, for helping me with this,” Celestia said with relief. “Stubborn little mare.” She glared at her daughter, then let out a breath and looked away. When she showed up and saw the wing, she was mortified. And then angry. Ah don’t believe anythin’ has ever scared me ta my very core before, and Ah don’t think anythin’ other than the face she made ever will. “If anypony else has any injury, I will happily fix it for you. That much you’ve earned at the very least.” She addressed the rest of us. Twilight had quickly limped away nursin’ her wing and Goose and Ah were treated. The adrenaline must’ve been doin’ its job because Ah walked back ta the castle with a fractured foreleg and didn’t know it until she told me what all she repaired. The bruises would stay, and so would the soreness, but my first broken bone was already good ta go. There aren’t many ponies who can afford this kinda treatment, and even less who get it fer free. When everypony was all good ta go, we sat down and had a discussion with the princess.

“So, ya came here real quick. How did ya know we were already done?” Ah asked. Celestia let out a breath.

“Of course you wouldn’t know this yet, but your battle was broadcasted,” she said wearily. The room went silent.

“What? How?” Celestia shook her head.

“I don’t know. We don’t know. Even with all my networks, we couldn’t trace the signal, nor could we stop it. Every television and computer screen across the country watched you fight that… that thing. Some of you weren’t well known before, but now all of you are. Including you, my little secret.” She put her hooves on her temples and rubbed at them. She was like that fer a while, then a look of 'really?' crossed her face and she turned ta Twilight. “Centurio Regine?” Twilight sighed.

“For that, you can blame Rarity,” Twilight shot.

“Of course it was somepony else. You’ve never been good at naming things. Why a centurion though? Why my face?” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Is this really what you came here to discuss?” she complained.

“No, it isn’t. But I have to ask. What does that phrase mean?” Celestia asked, not to anypony specific.

“What phrase?” Pinkie responded.

“The one a few of you called out before Rarity stopped time,” She continued, focused on Pinkie this time.

“S-stop time, then something Pinkie made up. I-it’s Umanese. I have n-no idea where she learned it though. S-she never wants to watch my shows w-with me...” Fluttershy answered, albeit a bit bitterly. We all looked ta Pinkie, who shrugged and Celestia shook her head.

“At least it makes some semblance of sense. I’ve been monitoring messaging forums for the past hour. There’s already speculation about all of you, but most of it is directed at Twilight and I. Some ponies think you are me, others think you’re related to me, some think you’re Luna, and I don’t know what to do about it.

Rossfeller lost sixteen buildings, the stock exchange thankfully moved their servers last year, but a piece of history was lost today and ponies aren’t happy about it. Ten blocks were connected to that substation and they’ve all lost power until it’s repaired, thousands of ponies have been displaced and have nowhere to return to, as if Manehattan didn’t already have housing problems as it is, and to top it all off, there will be five more of these attacks if we can’t figure out how to stop the spread of whatever horrid concoction this Persona villain has created. We don’t even know who this pony is. Or if they’re even a pony in the first place.

I’ve cursed myself for my mistake back then, but none more so than today. Honestly, I came here to escape my cabinet and get some time to think. Fixing your injuries was really just an unfortunate but welcome distraction. I don’t want to make light of you, or have you feel devalued, but there’s just so much going on right now and I’m the one who has to fix it all.” Celestia was practically ramblin' at this point, endin’ it with her hooves over her eyes and her head on the table. Her mane wasn’t it’s usual ethereal, flow-y cloud of hair, but a sullen tangled mess of long blue, violet, green, and pink strands. Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen her disheveled before, even when Ah woke up next ta her. She’s all kinda stressed out right now, and not without good reason. Ah can only wonder if she’s been like this all week? Nah, today must be a special day. She ordered an evacuation this mornin’ and now everypony knows why, which means she must be gettin’ a lot of heat. Eventually, Twilight came over and rubbed her mother's back.

“It’ll be okay. You always fix problems like this.” Celestia pulled Twilight into a hug.

“Thanks honey. Some days, I wish we could just cuddle like we used to when you were young.” She let go of Twilight then sat up straight to address the rest of us. “But unfortunately, those days seem to be much further away than I remember. You all did what you could and I can only be thankful that this didn’t end in a worse disaster. Nopony died today, and it’s all because of you. These few moments of rest have given me the chance to collect my thoughts, and I’d like to share them with you all before anypony else.

I don’t believe we’re going to be able to deal with Persona. As well timed and calculated his attack seems, I imagine he’s been highly integrated into our systems for a very long time now, and we’ll have to play his game. An unfortunate truth is that Luna and I would be just as, or likely more destructive than his monsters in a fight like that, and we can only help as the absolute last resort. With that said, that doesn’t mean we can’t offer assistance. If you need, or can even think of any piece of equipment the military might have, then ask and you shall receive. I hate that there’s nopony else I can entrust a mission like this to, but ponies without powers here… they simply couldn’t compete. As it turns out, you six just happen to have all the right qualities to fight in the city without completely destroying it or causing more damage than you prevent.

I will use everything in my power to make sure there is nopony in your way for the next five weeks. I have no idea what form your foes will take, but we’ll give you some of everything to make sure you’re prepared for anything. I need to return before those idiots go wake up Luna. Goddess knows that they’re like chickens with their heads cut off without me. But before I do, is there anything you all need now?”

(And this is where my current predicament started.) Goose raised his hoof.

“Yes? You’re… the Carcharodon boy, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, we don’t need to bring that up. Goose is fine. Uh, anyways, I think I’ve more than proved I’m here for the long run, so can I have the freedom to leave the castle as I please?” he asked. Twilight took a step forward, but Celestia stopped her.

“Provided you swear you won’t cause trouble, I can’t see why not. Nopony would risk their life like that if they didn’t have something they wanted to protect.” A smile started ta form on Celestia’s face that had way too much family resemblance in it. Not quite a smile Ah guess then, but a sneer that Ah’ve seen Twilight make more than a few times. “If it goes well, I’d like to hear about it. Keep in touch, all of you. Until next time, then.” Celestia took ta the top of the table and her horn began ta light up. She gave a partin’ bow, but winked at me before the orb of golden lightnin’ flashed and she disappeared. What was that about?

“Cool. I’m officially off the hook, so I’ll be around. Later!” Goose stood waived and blinked off ta who knows where before anypony could do anythin’ about it.

“Wait- damn it! Where the hell did he go? Oww…” Twilight raged, then grabbed at her wing.

“Darling, please calm down. What does it matter? He clearly has something he’s been wanting to do, so why not let him do it? He and Applejack have fought so much today already, we might as well let everypony take a rest.” Rarity said.

“He can’t just…!” she sighed. “Whatever. I wanted to talk about today, but I guess it doesn’t matter if we do it later. I’m going to take a nap. I’m sure mother will have made an announcement soon and the city will become a busy place very quickly. You all are free to do whatever, just be sure to meet back here Tuesday around six PM. If any of you see him, tell him he’s an asshole.” Twilight angrily left the table and headed down the hallway ta her room. After she slammed the door, the rest of us speculated.

“Well. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her do that. What do you think she’s so mad about?” Pinkie asked.

“I-I wouldn’t know. But if anything, I t-think she’s mad at herself right now. She probably d-didn’t feel very good about getting in the w-way earlier…” Fluttershy stuttered. Yeah… As much as Ah hate ta think we’d all have died without Rarity, Ah’m not sure Twilight really did us any good back there.

“I wouldn’t worry too much. This happened before when we started out and I’m sure it will happen again until she becomes more practiced. Well, I think I’m going to go collect my sister and maybe drive south to get dinner while the city repopulates. What do you three plan to do?” Rarity asked. What am Ah gonna do?

“We were thinking about just sitting here and watching one of those shows Fluttershy has been trying to get me to watch. I figure I might not have too long left, so I might as well,” Pinkie said with a shrug.

“I-it’s horrible that you would say that! B-but, I’m glad you’re finally willing to h-hang out with me…” Fluttershy trailed off.

“Hey, we hang out!” Pinkie argued.

“B-but we only ever do things that you l-like to do!” Fluttershy countered. Pinkie raised a hoof opened her mouth, then closed it and put it back down.

“Yeah… You know what? Why don’t we just go sit down before I put my hoof in my mouth, huh?” Pinkie offered.

“T-that’d probably be best,” Fluttershy said, and then together they walked ta her room.

“Well? What about you?” Rarity asked. What about me? What do Ah do? Do Ah ever have free time like this? Ah always went out ta train or do more hero work before…

“Ah don’t know. Ah guess Ah’ll go sleep. Ah’m pretty banged up as it is, so Ah might as well take the opportunity.” Rarity nodded and got up.

“Practical as always. Why don’t you and I walk to the garage together? I have a question I’d like to ask.” Ah nodded and walked with her. Once we made it down the dark blue crystal halls of the castle, she stopped at her car and Ah stopped at my bike. She then turned ta me, a little too close fer my comfort. “So? What is it?”

“What is what?”

“Oh come now, you know what I’m asking about.”

“No, really Ah don’t. All ya said was ‘what is it.’ Not really any context fer me ta pull meanin’ out of.” Rarity rolled her eyes and huffed.

“I mean you and Goose. Him leaving earlier was the first time I’ve seen him not within ten meters of you. You didn’t look too pleased to see him go either.” Ah furrowed my brows.

“What? Ah’m not followin’.” Rarity frowned.

“Do I have to spell it out for you? Fine then. Are you two a couple or something? Because that’s what it seems like,” she said in a much flatter tone. Ah reared back.

“Are ya crazy? No, we’re not.” Rarity narrowed her eyes, then nodded.

“Very well then. We shall see. I've played this game a few times before, and I know what the beginning looks like. Don’t be surprised if he asks for your company alone in the near future.” She climbed in her car and then started the little sporty thin’ up. The engine roared ta life and filled the crystal garage with sound. That car is more engine than it is car, Ah swear.

“Wait a minute, why would he do that?” Rarity stuck her tongue out and shifted inta first. “Rarity!” The engine roared, her hoof pulled back off the clutch, the tires squealed, and up the ramp she shot. Why would he do that?

Goose Fang

With the Princess’ word that I can do whatever, and her seeming to understand what I was after, I left immediately for my first location. I have a laundry list of things to get done before I even ask, and then I have a whole bunch of other shit to take care of in the event she says yes. It’s going to be a long couple of days for me. Down on the south western side of Manehattan is where my personal hide out is/was, whichever fits right now. I’m not too sure about it just yet, but I don’t really think I want to move out of the castle. It’s a safe place, and I haven’t slept so well in a long time. It could be that my foalhood dreams are more or less coming true these days, but the simple fact that my insomnia hasn’t been acting up is the biggest plus for me. And of course there’s her. It’s been a very long time since I went this far for a mare. Especially for this mare.

I pushed that thought out of the way and finally went to turn the lights on in my room, the one at my old place. My Dad’s house. I haven’t been here in years, and it seems like nopony else has either. Judging by the posters on the walls, the last time I was here was while I was still in highschool, before I took over the gang, before anything in my life was more complicated than watching my back. I always thought I would just run into her one day. Didn’t think it’d happen while she was in spandex though, that threw me for a loop. I cannot believe I groped her of all ponies. This playboy facade has to die.

My old room was a little box with walls covered in posters, a bed, a desk, a TV, a few dressers, some old game consoles, and what I came here for, a book shelf. I had my dad buy every single year book since I entered elementary school onward. In the beginning, it was just so I had pictures of my friends (cell phones weren’t such a huge thing just yet back then). After she just up and disappeared though, it was to search. I thought that maybe she did keep going to school and I just never ran into her. I was wrong. My fourth grade year is when she disappeared, the same year as that memory, the same year all my friends in that apartment complex died. She was the only one left from before everything went so wrong and she disappeared just like everypony else.

I never gave up hope though. She was the only one who I didn’t see die, so maybe she didn’t. It was when school ended that I did give up hope. I had my own group of ponies, my gang before it was really that, looking for her the whole time but we never turned up anything. After months of it and the decision to go to college or not coming close, I just stopped and tried to do something with my life. She probably died that day too, I would think and try to keep moving. It was shortly after I got my associate’s that my dad was killed and I had to step up. Everything has been so crazy since then, I’d just about forgotten her completely.

And then she showed up, finally, after twelve years. Of course, I didn’t know it then. I didn’t really realize who she was until the next morning. At first it was like the memory was chipping at the edge of my brain. Even the ‘fight’ we had the first time was familiar, almost like the way we used to dance when we were kids. She still moved like she used to, she still spoke like she used to. What was her name? I thought that day. Nah, there’s now way, followed shortly after. When they woke me up the next morning, all I could do was stare at her. You look just like… just like that filly I used to know… I thought. And then they said it. With her name came back all the memories, everything I’d done to look for her and here she was, right in front of me. And to her, I looked like a bad guy.

This was the mare I made a promise to all those years ago as a kid. This was the mare I’d been searching for the past twelve years, and I look like the bad guy. I couldn’t tell her, and she couldn’t figure out who I am. Not until she remembered on her own, or I’d done something to prove I wasn’t the bad guy, at least in her eyes.

“Ah ha, there it is. Jaquline Apple, born May 26th, 2010. I guess that makes her three years and a month younger than I am? Damn, that means I met her when she was five. I wonder if she’ll remember my old nickname before I tell her? Nah, if she hasn’t figured it out by now, I doubt she will. I already told her my full name once. Not really a name a five year old could pronounce, much less remember since she immediately made one for me.” I started piling my things on top of my bookshelf and got ready to warp back to the castle. No place on the planet is safer than there, probably, so if anywhere, that’s where I should keep my memorabilia. If she’s having visions and they come at least part way true, then maybe that dream… I sighed and it echoed through the empty house.

“Focus Lamni. Now’s not the time. We have a goal here. Get. It. To-gether,” I said, slapping my cheeks. I finished looting the house and piling all of that shit in my little ‘prison box’ as I so affectionately call it and headed to the next chore on my list: make sure the guys are okay. I was about to warp away when Fluttershy walked in.

“Oh. S-so you did come back. T-Twilight’s kinda pissed,” she said, taking note of my pile of things. And it really was just that. Half of it consisted of pictures, my dad’s big-old expensive camera, one of the few pictures of my mother and father that still exists, some games from back in the day.

“Is she? Man, who’d have thought I would cause such a disruption in her precious little heart. I supposed I’ll have to go soothe the ache soon♥” I really didn't want anypony interrupting me right now, so anything to get her to go away. An unfortunate part of my perceived character is that I’m also the harem master. If even half the things I said were true, then maybe it would have been easier to get them to trust me. I’ve only had one real relationship before, and even then it never went as far as I want ponies to believe. And all of that was only in the last five years. The lies are just so natural at this point that they’re easier to tell. She raised her snout and nodded slowly.

“Mmhmm. I-I wasn’t going to say anything, b-but I think the ‘gang leader’ t-thing is a little old now, isn’t it?” I just about froze in place. Damn it, it’s always the quiet ones!

“What do you mean? That’s kinda who I was not too long ago.” Not the greatest way to get her out of my mane, but I’m kinda screwed if she knows.

“Y-you know what I mean. A-also, did you know that your r-right ear twitches when you lie? Y-you used to do it a lot, b-but it’s less common now. I-it’s really subtle. I-I don’t think anypony else would've p-picked up on it yet.” That emotionless face of hers. She’s impossible to read. She’s an assassin alright, Persona got that one dead on.

“What do you want.” There was no point in keeping the appearance up, she already beat the game. I’m on a schedule and she’s cutting into it. I’ve spoken to her alone like three times. She’s harder to deal with than dad was, and I spent years with the guy!

“M-me? Nothing. I-I just want to know w-what you’re up to. Unless you’re as oblivious as T-Twilight and Applejack, anypony would know w-what you want.” Cold. As. Ice. It’s like talking to a wall.

“I’m just making dinner plans.” The truth. Not all of it, but the truth.

“Mmhmm. And how about the whole story?” I rolled my eyes.

“Weren’t you watching a show with Pinkie?” I countered.

“S-she’s so absorbed with that that she wouldn’t notice if the castle w-walls fell around her. T-the others might not be i-innocent, but you and I? W-we’ve killed for sport. W-what do you plan to d-do with my friend?” I honestly cannot believe that I’m being threatened by a mare with a stutter.

“Look, I’ve done some bad shit in my life, but I’ve never-” She moved closer.

“L-lies are dangerous. T-they can get you killed,” she said quietly, locking with my eyes. It was like staring at a wolf. Oh wait.

“Fine. I’ve done some really bad shit before. But at the moment, I’m trying to accomplish a life goal, so if you’ll kindly just-” She pushed me against the wall. I could feel points on her hooves digging into my chest.

“L-let me make myself v-very clear. If you hang my f-friend and leave her out to dry, I-I will put a hole between your ears. U-unlike the others, I-I have different little voice in my head, one t-that tells me to do bad things. S-she’s very persuasive, very e-easy on the ears.” She spoke like a carnivore. However, she was acting like she knew me, and that was pissing me off. I pushed back.

“Don’t you think for even a second that I would ever betray the mare I’ve been searching for most of my life. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do this, and you don’t know who I am! Make threats to somepony who cares. I have things to do.” Then she immediately perked up and smiled, revealing teeth that were more pointed than they should be, possibly more so than mine.

“I-I guess sharks do h-have spines. Y-you will tell me your plans later. I-if anypony needs somepony in their life r-right now, it’s her. I-I just wanted to make sure y-you were the right stallion for the job. C-carry on.” And then she skipped out and down the hall, humming a tune. I had to blink.

“What just happened?”

After being grilled by what I can only assume was the real Fluttershy, I went to see if my gang was alright. As it turned out, they had stuck around Crystal and opened a Carcha there. Well, not a real one, but something similar. I wandered around the vicinity of the empty safe house when I spotted somepony familiar working in a coffee shop.

“Excuse me miss, do you know any lovely mares around here who can make a good cup of coffee?” I said to the unsuspecting Dark Pulse. Pulse, was one of my long time friends that I made shortly after the mirror incident. As my cutie mark has it, ponies take a liking to me rather quickly, but she was one of the rare few it didn’t work on, so I made her my challenge. After finally breaking through, we became great friends and have been so ever since. Her eyes lit up and she just about dropped her jaw in a smile. I put a hoof over her lips just as she was about to speak. “Shhh. I’m not here to cause a scene. Real name. How is everypony doing?” I asked as I put my hoof back down. She gave me a hug.

“Oh my goddess, I can’t believe you’re here! Lamni, where have you been? I heard from Soapy that you fought a monster!” She leaned in closer to whisper. “It wasn’t another one of those… things was it?” I nodded again. “Oh, goddess… what about that thing that happened in Manehattan today? Were you one of those ponies?” I nodded for a third time.

“Look, I’m only here to reestablish contact with you today. I can’t fill you in completely because of some legal stuff, but I’m finally ‘free’ so to speak and I’m just here to see what’s up. I don’t have a whole lot of time, but you remember that mare I was looking for back in highschool?” She put her hooves to her cheeks.

“You found her!?” She just about yelled. I quickly covered her mouth and checked around. It didn’t look like anypony from the gang was in the shop, just a few crystal natives who gave us a weird look.

“Not so loud! And yes, I did. Where is everypony?” I asked, quietly. She pushed my hooves away and straightened her apron.

“Eh-hem, In school, mostly. It’s only two PM after all. When you left, I told everypony what your last orders were, and nopony argued. Well, after Whirlpool decided to tighten the screws anyways. The six of us have managed most everything and um… we buried Synchro and what we could find of everypony else.” I watched her ears droop and I felt mine do the same. Synchro loved me. So much that she would die for me. And I couldn’t love her back, not the way she did for me. We were silent for a few moments until I finally took a deep breath and relieved the tension in my forelegs.

“Thanks. I… that must’ve been hard. Did you buy this place with what I left for you? Where do you guys live? The safe house looks like it’s barely been touched,” I asked, trying to get my mind off it. Every night, I think about it. What should I have done, back then? Was I wrong in trying to stop Argent myself? Could I have hidden the mirrors in a different place and prevented all this? Should I have destroyed them? Should I have ever taken over the gang in the first place? Should I have rejected Synchro? Or would that have made it worse?

“Lamni, snap out of it.” I shook my head.

“Oh, sorry. I uh…” She put a hoof on my mouth.

“It’s okay, I know how you are. Yes, the girls and I figured we might as well do something honest like you wanted. It was hard getting all the paperwork since most of us don’t have a history, but after a week of getting it all together, we finally have something to show for it. Soapy was a real big help getting us started. She took a few days off to show us how everything worked. I wanted to make this place a real Carcha, but you weren’t around and I can’t just do that without getting a building built, so we did what we could. We bought a plot of land just at the edge of the city since it’s real cheap and we’re gonna have something big built back there once we can afford the down payment. We’re kinda crashing in tents right now until we can get a place built.” I scratched at my head.

“You bought a shop and land. With a million bits. Did you spend all of it?” I was trying very hard to keep the irritation out of my voice, and i was failing. She made a noise and waved my question away.

“Pfft, Are you kidding? We didn’t even spend a quarter of it. The girls and I decided that we should try to make our own money,” she said with a laugh. I rubbed at my eyes.

“Pulse. Listen to me. Use that money to buy a house. I don’t want you guys sleeping in fucking tents in the northernmost city in Equestria. You do realize that winter is like, two and a half months away right? You will freeze to death. If that’s how you feel about it, then just use the money now and pay me back later.” She sighed.

“I know you’re right, and that’s what I wanted to do, but you’ll have to convince the rest of the girls first. We had a majority vote and they’re being stubborn about it. On top of running the Cafe, Volt Switch has gone back to bounty hunting, Petal Dance picked up a job at a florist, Heat Wave works for a spa, Aurora Veil went back working at that place we found her, and it’s just as creepy as it was, and Whirl Pool has like, two fast food jobs. I don’t know how she does it. We get enough to feed every pony and resupply the cafe, but it’s not anywhere near a level where we would have enough to build a house in two months. We’re lucky they let the kids back into school, we don’t even have enough to pay taxes when those come at the end of the month. I don’t know how they expect to pull this off.” Pulse rambled off as she slowly sank onto the counter. I shook my head.

“Silly fillies.” I checked the watched I grabbed from the house and nearly cursed. “Bah! Look, I have to go, but give me a coffee. I will come back tomorrow and we’ll get this all straightened out. You guys can do it on your own after you get set up, okay? I still have plenty more cash stored away, you know the kinda stallion my dad was, so don’t get worked up about it. When you get the chance, take this and go find a contractor today. Give everypony a room of their own and make it something you can take care of. You remember the plan from all those years ago? Time to make it real.” I gave her my dad’s gold card. She looked at it, then looked at me, and finally, she shook her head.

“You always make me do the hard part.” She slid the card in her uniform pocket and rang up my coffee.

“I know you can do it.”She filled a cup, sprayed whip cream over the top and put a lid on it. She came back to the counter and set it down.

“I swear, you’re some kinda guy. I’m gonna be mad if you don’t make this thing with your girl real, you hear me?” I smiled and nodded.

“I’ll do my best. She’s about as stubborn as they come though.” I threw bits on the counter and she raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah, as if that's ever stopped you before. Get out before one of the girls shows up and you’re stuck here.” I saluted with a

“Yes Ma’am!” and warped away.

Manehattan had become a busy place in the last couple hours of me doing stuff. With Celestia calling the shots directly, the city was being put back together much quicker than I expected. The stock exchange was cleaned of what remained and already had a wire frame going up. The other buildings didn’t have as much progress, but power was back on in this block, and the streets were already being repoured.

“Man, she must’ve hired every contractor in the city,” I said absentmindedly as I drank my coffee. Since my usual outfit was widely known, I took the time to get some old clothes from home earlier. I’m lucky enough that most of my dad’s stuff fits me now. I probably look like an old mob boss. I must say though, I look good in his blue suit. My next stop was Star Apparel. Sneaking out of the castle has been difficult, but not impossible. When Twilight sleeps, the barrier she usually has up goes down and it gives me the chance to go out. It’s pretty hard to get away when the mare sleeps like once every forty-eight hours, but I digress. I’ve had a guy watching Applejack for me, and this is where she brought her suit to get it repaired a while back… and where she got the new one I guess. It’s kinda scary how she just looks like the female version of her dad now, minus the cape. In any case, if anypony knows something about her, it’s got to be this guy. I warped over to the street the shop is on and made my way to it. Thankfully, the place was open. A lot of the places I need to visit are just closed right now because traffic is terrible and not everypony has made it back home. I walked in and was immediately greeted.

“Welcome to Star Apparel, we’ll make a star outta you. What can I do ya for, my finely dressed sir?” the stallion asked. He was probably in his thirties by my guess, slender and well groomed. White mane, pale white stubble on his light gray coat and holding a newspaper. The shop’s interior was far nicer than its exterior, and I was impressed. I never visit other clothing stores than the one I own for anything but recon, but this one has been small enough that it’s off my radar. I never did quite figure out how he kept himself running with the little sales I saw, but if he’s supplying super suits… that could explain a thing or two.

“Hi. I have quite a few things to do today, so I really need to make this quick. Would you mind closing your shop for a few minutes for me?” As I expected, he looked confused at my request.

“Uh… any particular reason sir?” He then leaned over and whispered in my ear. “You’re not here for a costume are ya?” I hadn’t thought about it, but why not? I’m currently in a position where I have to fight a monster every week until this all ends, I might as well look like I’ve always wanted to while I’m at it.

“You know what? Sure.” He pursed his lips in approval and nodded.

“Alright then. You head on up to my studio on the third floor and I’ll be there in a second.” I didn’t wait for him to lead, so I decided to look around. His place was pretty empty, save for essentials, at least until I made it to the top floor. The first thing I noticed was Red Hoof’s and a few other legacy hero suits from before the mirror incident. Geez, how long has he been at this? Those look real… I decided I’d inspect the Red Hoof suit since I was going to get one myself anyways. The cloth was strange, more like it was made of nylon fabric. Well, this feels tough. I took a small section and tested it. I pulled lightly, and it barely moved. I pulled harder, and it still didn’t move much. Finally, I got really close to using everything I had to rip this crap when it budged enough to satisfy me.

“Holy hell, what is this made out of?” I asked out loud.

“That would be a creation of yours truly. I call it meteor fabric. A special compound I had a friend come up with for me years ago. Hardened and twisted inta wire, then woven inta fabric. Not many ponies can make it stretch like that, so you must somethin’ special. Take a seat and we’ll talk.” The owner pointed me to a black leather chair at the back. Wow. Talk about fancy. I don’t even have these in all my stores. After sitting in likely the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in, he grabbed a small drawing desk and a sketch pad, then sat down himself. “So, what are we thinkin’ about? You’re a pretty strong dude, that much is obvious, but uh… are those… gills on ya neck?” Every time somepony does, it always makes me conscious of them and feel a sudden urge to go diving.

“Uh, yeah. But ignoring that, I didn’t actually come here to get a suit today. Well, that isn’t to say I don’t want one, but it wasn’t my original goal. You see… well, when I was little, I knew the guy who wore that suit over there.” I pointed at the Red Hoof suit. I say that, but really, I only saw her dad once or twice. I knew he was yellow and had a brown mane, and he spoke like Applejack, but that was about it. He tilted his head.

“You knew Red Hoof?” I weaved my head around.

“Sort of. See, he was an old friend of mine’s dad. Somepony I’ve recently gotten back in touch with. Uh… did you see the fight from today?” He nodded, slowly like he was wary of me.

“Well, the guy in black was me, and she’s Marevelous now. She told me about her dad, which is why I know.”

“Uh huh. So… Why come ta me?” I took a breath. Why am I nervous? I swear, it’s like I’m talking to her dad or something.

“I made a promise to her when we were kids, and I plan to follow through with it, but to do that, I need to know more about her. I work with her, but with how crazy everything has been these last couple weeks, I haven’t gotten the chance to get her alone and talk. For the record, she doesn’t remember me, so, it would be nice if I could take her out somewhere she likes to go aside from what she wanted to do when we were kids,” I spouted. He nodded slowly again. His expression was just as serious as when we started and it was creeping me out. Unfortunately, this is the only pony I know of that I can talk to right now, so if he doesn’t want to talk…

“I can fill ya in, but I want two things from ya first first.” I nodded.

“Okay?”

“One; tell me what Marevelous’ full name is. Two; what did ya promise?” He said. I tapped the tips of my hooves together.

“Jaquline Apple, or Applejack.” I stated. He nodded, quicker this time.

“Well at least I know ya really know who you’re talkin’ about. Geez. A boy coming in here asking me about her of all ponies. Most ponies are put off by her… unique personality and she’s not the most pleasant mare to be around ya know? That isn’t to say the guys don’t try, but she didn’t used ta have any friends either. I’m almost relieved that at least one stallion is still after her knowin' how she is.” He rubbed at his head with a wide eyed expression on his face, as if something impossible was happening. Fair. I did stop her from literally killing one of her friends the other day.

“So you’ll help me?” I asked.

“Yeah, but only after you answer my second question. Judgin’ by how you’re actin’, I can probably guess what ya promised, but I need ta hear ya say it.” I swallowed.

“Well uh…” My eyes fell on my hooves.

“Look me in the eye and tell me what ya promised. You’re never gonna be able ta ask her if ya can’t tell anypony your plan.” And he’s right. You can do this. You’ve been thinking about it for years, and now that she’s back in your life, you mean it.

“I promised her… that I would marry her someday.”

I was talking with Star Slate for so long that I lost track of time. It was kinda surreal that I was asking him for help. He told me about how he met Citrus Root, the stallion who would become Red Hoof, sixteen years ago and that my dad killed his parents. I don’t know what sick and twisted game Fate is playing, but it’s just so weird that all this is happening. I didn’t even know she was alive two weeks ago, and now I’m back at trying to fulfill my promise. I’ve never failed to do it before, which has gotten me into trouble, that being part of the reason I… did some bad shit a while ago. But this one is a promise worth keeping.

When I made it back to the castle, Twilight gave me an earful about not saying anything before I left and then Fluttershy made me tell her everything as she promised. She also got my room expanded like she promised as well, so I think she might just be on the crazy side more so than the bad side. I spent most of the night putting all my stuff everywhere I wanted it… with Fluttershy’s help because she wouldn’t leave me alone. The ‘prison room’ I used to live in/still live in still needed to be where it was, so she moved my room to the bedroom hall with all the others. But like, literally. She just shifted it through the castle. I still don’t know how this shit works. It’s like one of those 3D modeling programs I played with back from when I was in highschool. She just does whatever because she can.

After helping me get unpacked and everything settled, Fluttershy offered to come with me Tuesday to help with my errands. I said I didn’t need the help and she said she was coming anyways. To be completely honest, I think I’m kind of afraid of her. She is very clearly the beast, even if I’ve never seen it, and I’m beginning to suspect she has more control over her powers than she lets on. A lot more. She tried to grab something and couldn’t get a hold on it because it was too large. Then she rolled her eyes and her hoof morphed into a claw and she picked it up. She also told me not to say anything about what she did to the others either. At the very least, I think she trusts me? Maybe? She’s so weird. It’s like, she’s terrifying, but she’s also really feminine in comparison to Applejack and Twilight. She like one of my girls, really. Crazy, crazy, intelligent, and crazy.

In any case, I wanted to get an early start Tuesday because Manehattan was as close to ‘normal’ as it could be after the events of Sunday by that point. That and I wasn’t sure who would still have reservations open for Thursday. Most restaurants should, but based on what Star said, I needed to break out the cash. She’s always wanted to make it big and raise the quality of life that her family has. That, coupled with some emotional trauma and having a nack for it, is the main reason she started being a hero in the first place. I mean, sure, a good chunk of my money is ill gotten, but at the very least I could help her out with it.

Our first stop was a restaurant called Champagne. It’s been around for a while, even surviving the mirror incident way back. Dad took me here when I graduated highschool, so I have good memories of this place. He even played the piano for me for the first time since mom died way back. It didn’t happen often, but this was one of the few times he said he was proud of me. I’ll never forget that day.

I can’t believe my son is going to college. You’ll be the first Carcharodon to get any kind of degree. If only your mother could’ve seen this.

“H-hey, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked. She’s so quiet, I’d just about forgotten I wasn’t alone. I wiped at my eyes and sniffed.

“Yeah, I just… this place gave me some of my best memories. Come on.” We walked in and it looked just like I remembered. The polished black floors, the red cushioned booths, the perfect lighting and colors for the jazz that played softly in the background. It was surprisingly full, for a restaurant that is typically way above most ponies pay grades. The ponies here didn’t really look like the kind that could afford this place either… If I get this booked, I am gonna have to find somepony to play my dad’s song.

“’Ello and welcome to Champagne. Today we are running a brunch special for all ze fan-ta-stic construction workers ‘ere repairing ze city. ‘Ow may I serve you?” the Chevalian mare said. If I remember correctly, this is the owner, Haute Société.

“Hi, Mrs. Société, I’m actually here to see if you had any reservations for Thursday night around six PM?” The pale orange mare with a shiny black mane pursed her lips and stared at me through her glasses for a moment, then she clapped her hooves.

“Ah, you are Mr. Carcharodon’s son, oui? We do have some open spots for zat day. Are you interested in booking for you and zis mare here?”Pointed her tablet pen at Fluttershy and I shook my head. I'll give her props for the tall, supermodel-like body she has, but I am nowhere near interested in somepony as crazy as this one is.

“Uh, no she’s just a friend,” I said quickly.

“A hungry friend,” she dead panned. I sighed. Yep. Exactly like one of my girls.

“Yes, I am, and I was wondering if I could book the whole restaurant for that time slot. As you know my father, money is no object. Can you do it?” She stared at me again and then slowly started to form a smile.

“Ah, I see what zis is. Of course Mr. Carcharodon. Should I ‘ave a server ready to bring an engagement ring as well?” I felt my face heat up.

“Oh, no, no, no, we’re not uh… no thank you.” Fluttershy laughed.

“Ha! W-who knew you had the c-capacity to be cute.” Société laughed with her and stepped down from her command center with her tablet, then motioned for us to follow.

“Very vell, follow me. Brunch is on ze ‘ouse. If zere is any-zing I can do to ‘elp your special night go well, let me know and I shall make ze proper arrangements.” Hmm... I wonder...

“Actually…”

“T-that was some of the b-best food I’ve ever had! S-she’s going to l-love it there! B-but, I have to ask, h-how much is this going to cost you?” Fluttershy asked. I sighed.

“A good sized dent in my budget. Lemme be real with you here. I could eat at Champagne for the rest of my life and never worry about money with the wealth my father gathered over his life time, and Carcha is still making money on top of everything I own. He was a five million bit stallion to the state, but he was a billionaire under his real name. I try to keep my expenses low though, because I used to provide for about eighty ponies. I still kind of do, but that doesn’t mean I need to start blowing my dad’s savings. To answer your question, closer to fifty gold.” Futtershy’s eyes widened and she froze in place.

“F-fifty gold!? B-but… b-but…” She stuttered.

“She’s worth more than that to me anyways. Way more. But the price is so high because I had to pay the opportunity costs of the potentially lost clients Mrs. Société had to tell that their reservations were moved. There were fourteen reservations for that time slot and most of those were four or more pony groups. Most ponies, especially when alcohol is involved, tend to spend closer to one or two gold alone. About one and a half gold per pony, and then you multiply that by several parties, and it begins to get crazy. Champagne is almost never full, but their profit margin is something to behold, really.” Fluttershy sighed.

“S-some day, I n-need to go back and finish highschool. I-I get what you mean, b-but I wish I didn’t h-have to figure out what “p-profit margin” meant based on context,” she said, in a more down tone than usual.

“You never finished highschool!?” She cowered away a little. How a mare so tall, yet so potentially threatening looked so small, I would never know.

“Uh… n-no? Oh, w-well, I guess you never heard the story, s-so you wouldn’t know. W-we’ve all had some pretty b-bad stuff happen, and I-I was emotionally broken after moving here a-a few years ago. I-I dropped out, ran away from home, j-joined a gang, became the Beast, a-and eventually tried to k-kill myself before Twilight found me. A-at least, that’s the gist of it.” She said it casually, I just had to stared at her.

“Oh, my goddess, Fluttershy! Finish school! See your parents! They’ve probably been looking for you all this time! Dude, what the fuck!?” Everything in my brain immediately treated her like one of the guys. If she hadn't ended up at Harmony, she probably would've ended up with me. She giggled and shook her head.

“Oh, y-you. M-maybe one day, but not n-now. W-we’ll have to s-sit down for story time again soon s-so you can learn what happened t-to get everypony here. S-some of us are w-worse than others, b-but I bet Pinkie’s story will p-piss you off more than mine~” she sang. I sat down on a nearby bench and rubbed my temples.

“Oh my goddess. No wonder I play counselor so often. You guys are just a highschool gang under the government.” She skipped back over and sat down with me.

“Oh, I-I wouldn’t say that. A-applejack is probably the m-most ‘normal’ out of us. S-she doesn’t hate or ever w-wanted to run away from her immediate family, i-instead she does everything she can f-for them. O-on top of that, she’s s-still in school, unlike the f-five of us.” I lowered my brows at her.

“Hey, don’t lump me in with you weirdos. I’m not in school because I finished it, I even have the Associate's degree to prove it!” She giggled again.

“I-I know, I helped you p-put it up yesterday. Y-you’re not nearly as b-bad as Pinkie made you o-out to be now that I spend some t-time with you. Y-you’re… onii-chan. Y-yakuza onii-chan. Y-you’ve done some b-bad things, but you’re s-still a good guy at heart a-and take care of your own. I-I think that’s why p-ponies are attracted to you.” I looked her in those green-blues of hers.

“You think so?” She got up off the bench and stretched out her wings.

“I-I know so. Come on, w-what’s next?” She she shuffled her feathers back to her sides and looked all around. There were quite a few ponies out right now, as opposed to the norm, since a lot of construction was still going on. Manehattan was never not a busy place, but several roads and buildings were destroyed Sunday and Celestia wouldn’t have it. Once again, she was here in Manehattan for the third day in a row, making sure the construction got done and as quickly as possible and correctly. Just like the sun, she raised spirits everywhere she went, and not a cloud in the sky could obscure her radiance. I crossed my hooves and nodded. Yeah. I’m not a bad guy anymore, and she knows that. This will work.

“Well, I was actually thinking of visiting Rarity. I don’t want her to feel out of place, so I thought I’d get her a dress. I got her measurements from her tailor the other day and he recommended me her. Apparently she’s the pony to see about something like this.” Fluttershy gave a slow nod.

“W-well, I hope you plan to explain what you’re gonna do. S-she’s gonna ask and she’s n-not gonna take no f-for an answer.” I sighed.

“I figured. Well, at least she didn’t come in my room and threaten me about it,” I shot. Fluttershy raised her snout and smiled a set of slowly sharpening teeth.

“M-my parents always t-told me I was special. C-come on, I’ll show you t-there.” With that, she trotted away, humming that tune again.

“Ha-shi-ri-da-shi-ta! O-mo-i ga i-ma de-mo~

Ko-no mu-ne wo ta-shi-ka ni ta-ta-i-te-ru ka-ra~

Kyou no bo-ku ga so-no sa-ki ni tsu-dzu-ku~

Bo-ku-ra na-ri no a-su wo ki-zu-i-te yu-ku~

Ko-ta-e ha so-u i-tsu-mo ko-ko ni a-ru~” Fluttershy sang as we arrived at the boutique. I sighed. It took us about half an hour to get here since she doesn’t know what subway runs where, and this is on the west side, and we started in central Manehattan. She’s been singing Umanese songs the whole time, and I was finally getting annoyed by it.

“Do you even know what you’re saying?”

“I began to run! Because my feelings even now~

Are definitely beating against my heart~

The me of today will continue towards our destination~

We’ll amass our own tomorrows~

The answer, yes, is always right here~” she sang in the same cadence. Somehow. I shook my head.

“I’m honestly impressed. I thought you were making shit up this whole time. And you didn’t stutter either.” She nodded.

“ A-as for my s-stutter, it just doesn’t h-happen when I sing. A-as for the songs, m-most ponies do. I-I can’t speak it fluently, b-but I can repeat what I’ve h-heard said pretty well. T-that song always makes me feel better w-when I’m down, b-but I figure it’s appropriate f-for you today.” I tilted my head.

“Have they all been in relation to me?”

“Yes! W-when you’ve seen as much a-anime as I have, you a-amass a collection of music. I-I have several s-songs for almost e-every occasion,” she said with glee. Huh. And here I thought she was just another weirdo. Who knew she was so thoughtful?

“Well, why don’t we go in?” She nodded and I opened the door. The building was a large circular multi-tiered cake shape with violet banners and white stone making up most of the exterior.

“One moment please, I’ll be right with you!” Rarity yelled from a back room somewhere.

“Oh, j-just take your time. I-I brought Goose,” Fluttershy half yelled back.

“Fluttershy? Is that you darling? And you brought…” She started. Then we heard the sound of things dropping and she quickly ran to greet us. Covered in measuring tape, pin cushions and wearing half a roll of violet fabric, she ran straight up to me and stared at me through red glasses.

“Are you here for what I think you’re here for!? Ooh, no, you likely own many suits, and in that case… You’re going to buy Applejack a dress! Ooh, this is so exciting! I’m sure you got her measurements some how, come to my work shop, and tell me everything!” she said as she immediately went back to where she came from.

“T-told ya,” Fluttershy whispered.

Because I wasn’t allowed to leave until the dress was ‘perfect,’ I ended up telling Rarity most of my life story and how all of this started. She was… more than enthused.

“Well, if that doesn’t sound familiar. Now if only my promiser will keep up his end of the bargain. In any case, that’s some kind of dedication you have. I suppose I can understand why after all that you two went through together at such a young age though. Sharing hardship is certainly a good way to bond. I’m just more surprised she doesn’t remember your old nickname. It’s just so… pfft, Catchy!” Rarity laughed. I rolled my eyes.

“Please continue, that pun has only been made so many times before,” I said sarcastically. Rarity stopped and went back to stitching what she was working on. Star Slate was right, she was good at this. The dress was a bright red silky kind of fabric that had a metallic shine to it and faded through to indigo at the bottom. It was open back and open shoulder with a high thigh cut on either side. The bottom of the dress shimmered and sparkled like stars in the night sky. As unrestrictive as this looked, I honestly believe I could actually see her in it. It was almost like, if her suit was made to show off her instead of the pony she pretends to be. She placed one last pin at the top, circled the dress, nodded, and turned to me.

“Well, that about does it. Does this just scream ‘Applejack’ or what? Honestly, I wish she would use her proper name when she goes out in this. She has so much potential to be elegant and beautiful with a name and body like hers, yet she squanders it with that damnable ‘cowpony’ look she likes so much,” Rarity said, getting bitter toward the end.

“N-now, now, Rarity. E-envy isn’t very pretty,” Fluttershy giggled. Rarity rolled her eyes and huffed.

“Don’t you preach to me you little ‘assassin’ as you were called. Anyways, I was thinking of adding a veil maybe on the back, but I figure Applejack would want as little unnecessary cloth as possible. Of course, this a gift after all, and she doesn’t have the heart to refuse. I suppose it’s up to the buyer, now isn’t it?” I nodded.

“Yeah, no I think it’s perfect as is. I’m not the most creative person in the world, but you got it exactly as I wanted. Or really, how she wanted it, I think. She always wanted a dress similar to the mare with buns in Marevel versus Comcap, but more like her mom’s wedding dress that she would often steal and play in. I always wondered how she never got caught doing that, but considering her dad was who he was, it makes sense that he wouldn’t find out. Heh. If she put spikes on her bracers, and wore those with it, she’d be damn close.” I laughed and Rarity gagged.

“Eyuck, Oh heavens no! Do not let her wear those god awful things with my dress. Just because she could fight in it does not mean she should,” Rarity said adamantly. Fluttershy and I laughed, and then I decided to check my watch. Damn, it’s already almost four. So much for finding a pianist. I let out a sound of my irritation and sighed.

“Hmm? W-what’s the matter?” Fluttershy asked. I sighed again.

“Well, I wanted to find a pianist who could play that song for me, remember?”

“Oh, t-that’s right. W-what about calling the Manehattan Orchestra? I-I mean, I know it’s supposed to b-be a hard song, b-but it’s also popular because of that movie. S-surely somepony knows it.”

“Yeah, but well enough to perform it in two days? I could barely get the first half with my dad teaching me when I was a kid, and he could breathe that piece. Mrs. Société said that she didn’t know many in the city that could do it, at least not on such short notice.”

“Well, what piece is it? I learned quite a few harder pieces when I used to play. Maybe I could do it,” Rarity chimed in. We stared at her and asked in unison,

“You can play the piano?” She nodded.

“I can. For a while there, we believed that it would be my cutiemark before I started sewing. I was pretty good back in the day.” There was a hint of pride in her voice. I stroked my small beard. Maybe she can do it...

“Give me a few seconds and I’ll go grab the music.” I blinked from my spot on the chair in Rarity’s workshop and back to the house. I went into my dad’s office and grabbed three things; the old dark red leather folder he kept the sheets in, the record player he used to listen to it on, and the record with the song. It was a special record that he had ordered so that it contained all four ballads that Sixteenth Chorus wrote. They were Dad and Mom’s favorite pieces, and if I remember correctly, how he won her heart to begin with. I held still for a few seconds and then blinked back to where I came from.

“Oh my. You brought a record player?”

“Yeah, I had planned on letting whoever was going to play it for me borrow this and the record I have it on. Uh, here’s the sheets. It should be the first fourteen pages. What do you think?” I asked as I passed her the folder. She began to smile.

“I think you’re in luck. My parents told me to try something easier to learn when I first heard this. I told them I was going to learn it anyways. I spent an entire summer on this piece alone and played it over and over until it was perfect. This was the piece I played for my last recital. Ballade number one in G minor, Opus twenty three. Come with me upstairs. Let’s see if I can’t just tear into this again like I did when I was a filly. One does not simply forget what they lived and breathed for an entire summer.

To my surprise, Rarity missed a few notes on pages six and fourteen that she said she always had trouble with. At tempo, on her first try. She didn’t miss anything on the second try with the record, so if anypony can do it, it’s her. How in the hell she learned this as a filly, I will never know. I had years to practice and I still never got it all, but I’m just glad she can do it. With that, everything is in place. Now all I have to do is ask. And that will likely be the hardest part. Rarity pulled into the garage, and as soon as we did, I saw that her bike was already here.

“Well, are you ready lover boy? This is it. This is your big moment,” Rarity said, turning the car off. I never looked into it, but she’s a very smart pony. Her profit margin is something similar to Champagne, and she makes a killing off of anything she sells to anypony, me included. Two gold bits for the dress and the song and all she loses is a few hours of her day practicing and some prototype fabric that she made herself. Her costs are so low and her products are so high quality that she can charge a thousand five hundred bits for a dress that cost her fifty to make. No wonder she drives something like this.

“No. I’m kind of terrified. What if she says no?” I could feel the panic settling in.

“W-well, first off, I think s-she likes you as it is, so I d-doubt she will. S-second, you can just take us. I-I will certainly not decline an i-invitation to Champagne again f-for free,” Fluttershy said. I rolled my eyes.

“Free to you maybe. I could’ve given all this money to my guys and fed them for months with it, provided they weren’t so stubborn. Did you know on Monday I had to tell all five of the girls each individually that they would not survive a winter in a tent in Crystal? And of course, their schedules are all insane with all the jobs they picked up, so I was there all day trying to sort out the mess they made with out me. Aurora Veil and Heat Wave didn’t believe me until I went into the details of what frostbite and hypothermia does to a pony. Sure, one of them controls ice, and the other controls fire, but neither of them can keep it active for 24 hours, 7 days a week, and frost bite doesn’t take long to work. That was an entire day, lost just to make sure my group of idiots would survive the winter this year. I swear, some ponies are unbelievable.” Rarity put a hoof on my shoulder and made me look her in the eyes.

“So, you’re doing that thing where you talk because you’re nervous. You already told us this. Stop that. Grow a pair already, this is the mare of your dreams we're talking about here! She’s lonely, vulnerable, and an easy target for somepony she trusts, like you. All you have to do is ask. We will get Twilight and Pinkie out of the room.” Sure, Fluttershy is the obviously dangerous kind of mare, but Rarity is the subtle dangerous kind of mare. She’s the one who you’d find tied you to a bed and ran off with your wallet right after foreplay. Crazy. They’re all crazy. Every last one of them. I don’t know that I want to hear their stories. Then Fluttershy socked me across the face.

“Ow?” I said, more in surprise than because of the rather weak punch.

“S-snap out of it, y-you’re getting distracted. A-act like a real stallion and f-find that one track mind,” She said holding my face. I took a deep breath.

“You’re right. She’s what I’m here for. Okay. Let’s do this.” We walked from the garage, up the ramp and into the living room. There she was, looking tired and stressed out, sitting in her chair. Here we go.

Persona V: A Stolen Heart (part 2)

Applejack

Later on Sunday, Ah found myself home alone, and it was kinda strange. It’s not like Ah really expected him ta be around me twenty-four seven, but him not bein’ here was weird all the same. Well, especially after he said that… It shouldn’t be though, so Ah couldn’t place why Ah felt this way. Ah set down my bags and opened the big window in my room. It was a bright, sunny day in Manehattan. Not a cloud in the sky, perfect weather ta be outside doin’ somethin’. And ya just spent the last hour fightin’ a monster. Talk about a busy day. Ah figured Ah might as well take a nap, Ah still had ta do school tomorrow and come heaven or hell, it will never stop. Ah had just laid down and pulled the sheets over when my phone started ta ring. It wasn’t a known number, so Ah just answered.

“Hello?”

“Hey, are you okay? I’ve been trying to call you for the past hour now.” Uncle Blood asked from the other end. Shit, he probably saw the recordin’!

“Uh, yeah, Ah’m just layin’ in bed right now.”

“I see. I assume since you’re home, you saw that the big battle ended?” Ah nodded ta nopony in particular.

“Mmhmm. Where are y’all? Are y’all together?”

“We’re at the amusement park in New Jockey. We left a little before the sirens came on earlier. You’re welcome to join us if you feel up to it.” Ah could just say no and lay here. Ah did fight a monster today, Ah really shouldn’t have ta do anythin’. Then again, when was the last time we went ta an amusement park together? Ah haven’t spent time with Macintosh in months it seems. Ah figured Ah could ignore my bruises fer my family fer a while.

“Yeah, sure Ah guess. Which one? Ah know New Jockey ain’t that big, but there’s at least two.” We went to one of those parks way back with Dad and aunt Dew, but Ah can’t remember which one. Wasn’t there some other mare with us then? The memory is hazy, but Ah feel like it was more than just us that went…

“Over Equestria. Just pull it up on your phone, you’ve got headphones right?”

“Ah do.”

“I thought so. Provided traffic isn’t crazy, it shouldn’t take you more than an hour to get here. I suppose I’ll see you soon then?”

“Yes sir. Ah’ll call ya when Ah get there.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re okay. Bye.” And then he hung up. Ah’ll get ta the bottom of this if Ah can corner him at some point.

After half an hour down the highway, since all the vehicles were headed in ta Manehattan instead of out, Ah found myself at the gates of Over Equestria. It felt familiar, but they’d clearly updated a few things, and it all looked new from this part. Ah paid my entrance fee ta park and then made my way ta the gates ta call uncle Blood.

“Hey, Ah’m here,” Ah said after the line picked up.

“Oh, howdy sis. Uncle’s on a ride, you’ll have ta wait a few minutes,” Macintosh said from the other end. Well, it makes sense he didn’t take his phone, and Macintosh has always been kind of a pussy when it came ta theme parks.

“Okay then. How are ya? Ah haven’t talked ta ya in a while.”

“Oh, Ah’m alright, Ah’m more concerned about you though. Where were ya? Ah mean, Ah guess you're okay now, but did ya make it out durin’ the evacuation? Nopony told me what was goin’ on, so Ah was worried. Never would Ah have believed that the threat from the other day would come true…” Ah wonder, if Ah told him the truth, would he believe me? That Ah’m caught up in the center of all this. If my guess is right, he’s the only one who doesn’t know… Maybe it’s time Ah fill him in, in case the chance never comes.

“Uh, Ah’ll tell ya later. Heh, Ah doubt ya’d believe me if Ah told ya now.” He made a sound and Ah could just see him roll his eyes on the other side of the phone.

“Sure, Applejack, whatever ya say. Oh, here they come now. We’ll be up there in a few.”

“All right, bye,” and Ah hung up. Every time Ah fought a monster so far, it’s always been at night. It’s only two in the afternoon now, and Ah think Ah’m still processin’ everythin’ that happened. It’s like, unreal, somehow. The dream had this scary air of reality ta it, but in life, it’s almost like there’s an air of unreality. How bizarre. Ah’m gonna hurt tomorrow, but the day just plain ain’t over yet. Ah don’t know what ta do with myself. After a few minutes of waitin’, the gang arrived and Applebloom was wearin’ a shirt she must’ve picked up here and Macintosh was carryin’ too many game prizes. A guitar, three different kinda sports balls, some giant stuffed thin’.

“Wow, y’all sure got a whole lotta stuff there,” Ah noted. Applebloom raised her chin and said,

“Well, that’s just ‘cause Ah’m the best.” Uncle Blood nodded.

“You sure are. Before we get you in here, would you mind running all this sh- er, stuff to the car? There aren’t many ponies here today, so we parked not too far away.” He said as Macintosh started passin’ me stuff. Ah passed his car on the way in, since uncle Blood got a better parkin’ spot than Ah and apparently everypony else did. After stuffin’ all the shit Applebloom won inta the car, Ah made it inta the park with relative ease. It was pretty empty as far as Ah could tell, but in the back of my head Ah felt like a memory was just tryin’ ta jump ta the forefront of my brain. It kept happenin’ too, and Ah just couldn’t figure out what Ah was supposed ta be rememberin’. After a few rides and about an hour passed, Ah pulled Macintosh aside ta figure out what it might be.

“What’cha need sis?” The other two were on a ride, and Ah think they had a competition goin’ on or somethin’, but Ah wasn’t too concerned about it since Applebloom looked like she was havin’ fun.

“Have we been here before?” It was about three now and the sun was beginnin’ ta dip in the sky.

“Well, yeah. What about it?” Ah scratched at my ear.

“Well, Ah’m havin’ trouble rememberin’ who we were with. Ah know we came once and it wasn’t just us. We didn’t have a car. But Uncle Blood’s old car wouldn’t fit us all, so who else did we come with?” He tilted his head and scratched at his little beard. His was bigger than Goose’s and it looked like he was formin’ a mustache or somethin’ ta go with it.

“Oh, ya know what? It was Mrs. Swan Song and her son. Y’all were better friends with him than Ah was though. Damn, what the hell was his name?” Swan Song… Why don’t Ah remember her? That sounds right, but…

“Do ya remember what she looked like? The name sounds familiar, but Ah just can’t picture her.”

“Mmm, Ah’m not sure. Y’all got a phone, look her up. She’s probably in some directory somewhere. Wasn’t she a singer? Ah swear she was one of aunt Dew’s friends…” he trailed off. Ah quickly pulled out my phone and started my search. It didn’t take long ta find who Ah was lookin’ for though. First article popped up and it made sense as ta why Ah didn’t remember.

“Singer dies in tragic shooting protecting children.

2017, May 26th

Gang violence is at an all time high in Manehattan after the disappearance of Red Hoof last year, and now it’s taken one of our treasures away from us. Swan Song, world renowned opera singer for the Manehattan opera, was found dead at her home earlier today with a filly and a colt. As our sources learned, Swan Song was heavily involved with the Shark Tooth gang that supposedly broke up three years ago and this is what caused the initial incident.

Police are investigating the scene as this article is being written, but the current speculation is that this was done by one of the larger color gangs that have sprouted up due to the shortage of heroes in recent times. We’re being told the children have been returned to their parents, yet the colt was supposedly Swan Song’s unannounced son. Further details as they come.”

Ah put my phone away and Ah tried my hardest ta fight back the emotions. Ah was seven at the time. We were playin’, and Ah went over ta his house because his mom was the one watchin’ us. She was such a nice mare. A pretty white coat, a shiny black mane that faded inta orange and yellow at the tips, fluffy white wings and a voice that could put a monster ta rest. She would always have her mane up in a bun, and she made these little rice balls that were just the perfect snack after a long day outside. Ah’d already had so much shit happen by that point, watchin’ it happen right in front of me… she wasn’t even the target, he was. That colt. That pale green colt with the white and black mane that looked just like his mother.

“Oh goddess…”

Ah spent the rest of the time at the park rememberin’ thin’s Ah’d forgotten about those years. Of course Ah forgot Goose. Ah watched his mom get killed tryin’ ta protect him. He was the only pony Ah talked ta fer a while after, and once it looked like we were gonna be okay, he just up and disappeared on me too. And then it happened ta me, not but a year and a half later. Ah felt like Ah was a death magnet. Everypony Ah care about dies right near me. If Ah was still around, everypony left would die just like them. So Ah was better off… dead. Ah never woulda stopped tryin’ ta kill myself if Ah didn’t forget. They worked me so hard at the farm, Ah didn’t have time ta remember, and soon enough it was fun and the memory just never came back.

But… that means that… he never forgot the promise. And he’s gonna ask me somethin’ alone later? Oh goddess, Ah ain’t ready fer this shit. What do Ah do? Should Ah just play dumb and act like Ah still don’t remember? Geez, this is all too much at once. Disappear fer thirteen years and then suddenly show up like nothin’s changed. Ah shouldn’t expect anythin’ else, he was always that way…

“Applejack?” Ah shook my head. Ah guess Ah hadn’t been payin’ attention, but we’d already made it back home and Ah was walkin’ inta the apartment with the giant stuffed banana Applebloom won. It was ten PM and Ah was some kinda tired.

“Oh, sorry Applebloom. Where do ya want this thin’?” Ah asked.

“Just throw it in the corner. Is there somethin’ on yer mind? Ah uh… Ah know ya had a busy day before ya showed up at the park, so uh… if ya wanna talk about it-” Ah grabbed Applebloom, slammed her door shut and locked it, then jumped on her bed. “Ah mean, ‘yes’ would’ve been acceptable too.”

“So, y’all were too young ta remember this probably, but do ya remember a colt we called Catchy?” Ah asked. She tilted her head.

“Catchy? Like, that was his name?” Ah shook my head.

“Well, no, but it was what Ah called him. He had a light green coat and his mane and tail were white with little black patches all around the edges. Orange eyes, uh… don’t think he had his cutiemark back then either.” Geez, he was so cute when he was little too. What the hell happened? Oh, right, the whole shark thin’.

“Uh, not really. Ta be honest, Ah don’t remember much of anythin’ from before… Ah know dad’s death probably hurt ya the most, but part of the reason Ah always wanted ta know about what happened is because Ah can’t hardly remember him at all,” she said with a sullen look. Ah patted her head and shook mine.

“It’s alright sugarcube. Well, ta put this simply, he was a friend of mine before dad died. A good friend, a real friend. But uh… well, somethin’ horrible happened ta his mom while we were together one day, and not too long after that he disappeared. Before that happened though, he made me a promise.” And he promised me that one day…

“He promised ya what?” She leaned in and Ah backed off.

“He uh… well, ya know what little colts say ta fillies they like…” Ah mumbled.

“Ohhh, he said he’d come marry ya, right?” She said, a smile startin’ up on her face. Ah could feel my cheeks warmin’ up.

“Uh, yeah, he said that. So, after thirteen years…” She just about opened her mouth enough ta fit a whole bowl in there.

“He came back!?” Ah nodded. “Wow! Ah always thought y’all would end up alone the way ya are, but a childhood romance breakin’ through the super mare’s hard shell, it’s just like a story book!” Ah grabbed her and gave her a noogie.

“Always thought Ah’d end up alone!? What the hell is that supposed ta mean ya little shit?” She squirmed until it looked like she couldn’t breathe and Ah let her go.

“Holy goddess, Ah thought ya were gonna kill me. Uh, yeah, not ta be rude or anythin’, but you’re not the easiest mare in the world ta approach. Yer pretty, but ya got that mean look about ya,” she remarked with a hoof motion after takin’ a deep breath.

“Thanks, real confidence booster there. Can Ah continue? Ah wasn’t done,” Ah shot. Applebloom sat back down and nodded. “So, as Ah was sayin’, he came back, but Ah didn’t remember him. Not until today actually, and who he is now makes all this… a whole lot more complicated.” Ah scratched at my head. Way too complicated. She tilted her head.

“How so? Does he know about ya? Or did he forget too?” Ah shook my head.

“No, he didn’t forget, and yeah, he knows. He was with me earlier today. He was the guy in the black suit.” Applebloom tapped at her chin.

“Him? Really? He sounded kinda like a tool when Ah heard him. Wait a minute… are you his boss?” Ah raised a brow.

“Well, kinda. Why’s that?” She quickly looked away.

“Uh, no reason. Carry on. He is kind of a tool though, right?” Ah rolled my eyes and sighed.

“He is. Or he was. Or he was pretendin’ ta be, Ah’m honestly not sure anymore. See, it all starts with our dads. His was Shark Tooth, the gang boss. When he got older and his dad was killed, he took over the gang and he was a gang boss. That’s how we met back up actually, it was in a fight. Neither of us recognized each other because Ah had forgotten and he couldn’t figure out who Ah was under the mask. A whole bunch of shit happened and somehow he ended up on my team. He kept sayin’ thin’s that confused me early on, like how he tried ta comfort me at every turn after… some shit happened… and then again after Ah more or less had a fight with my friends, and then he stopped that nightmare, and he’s kept me from losin’ my temper more than once. It was just so strange that this stallion Ah essentially arrested was so devoted ta me, ya know?

The thought came around that maybe Ah was just another one of those girls like the ones he had just about hangin’ off him when we met the first time, but after a while it was… different. Nopony had ever treated me like this before. He wasn’t actin’ like his douchy self, and he wasn’t actin’ like some stallion lookin’ ta get a piece of me. The entirety of last week, Ah spent tryin’ ta prepare fer today and Ah just about worked my friends inta the ground, but he never didn’t take my side on anythin’. Ah was terrified of what we were gonna have ta fight and Ah was havin’ all kinds of nightmares that just about drove me ta tears but… he was there every time. He’d always ask if Ah was okay, and he’d always help me do whatever it is Ah wanted ta do, even if Ah was bein’ unreasonable Ah just… Ah don’t know anymore.” Applebloom shrugged.

“Well, let’s be real here, this guy clearly doesn’t have just some crush on ya if he’s supportin’ ya when yer actin’ all crazy. Ah’ve seen that before, it is definitely not pretty.” Ah sighed.

“And the more Ah thought, about it Ah realized that. Ah just don’t know how Ah should go forward now. He’s my teammate, and he’s just as important as Ah am in these fights, and we still have five ta go after today. It’s not as if Ah don’t like him but… Ah don’t know,” Ah lamented.

“Ah think it should be pretty obvious what ya should do, but since yer you, Ah know ya wouldn’t think about it. Just give him a chance and try daitin’ him.” The words collected in my head and it took a moment for them all ta process. A date… with Goose. A date… with Catchy? Ah don’t think either of the mental images associated with those names is a good one. One is a gang boss with a harem, and the other is a ten year old colt. “Applejack, come back ta Earth.” Applebloom clapped in my face ta break the trance.

“What? Sorry, that’s just… that’s not somethin’ Ah ever thought Ah’d hear, really.” Applebloom half smiled at me.

“Well, why not? What’s stoppin’ ya? If yer beginnin’ ta suspect he more than likes ya, and from the sound of it he probably does, ya might as well see what it would be like. Ya know what uncle Blood told me when Ah started goin’ out with Taps?” Ah shook my head.

“No, what’s that?”

“He said, ‘If you find love, don't let it go and enjoy every minute of it.’ Ah figure if anypony deserves ta find a relationship it’s probably miss super hero herself right? Next time ya see him, see what he has ta say about it.” Applebloom was makin’ a whole lot of sense here, and Ah don’t know that Ah like that. Me and him, huh? Ah grabbed her and gave her a hug.

“Thanks fer talkin’ ta me about this, Ah guess. It’s gettin’ late, we should probably go ta bed huh?” She yawned and nodded.

“Yeah. Tell me how it goes when ya finally do see him. Night sis.” Ah turned her lights off and said,

“Night sis,” then closed the door on my way out. Try datin’ him. Ah’ll have ta talk ta him about what Ah remembered today first though.

Monday passed and it was almost like the whole day just dragged on. What am Ah gonna say when Ah see him? How do Ah even begin? Sorry Ah forgot ya because yer mother got shot in front of me? Ah’d been playin’ mom fer the house fer so long by that point, some of the thin’s Ah did back then… maybe Ah was just tryin’ ta cope with the scary world, but him… he woulda seen all that different. Ah went fer a drive ta try and clear my head, but the entire day Ah couldn’t get my mind off it. So much fer talkin’ ta uncle Blood or Macintosh about anythin’, Ah practically never saw either of ‘em all day, and even if Ah did, Ah was preoccupied.

My best friend and Ah grew up apart from each other. Now that he’s back and tryin’ ta regain the relationship lost… how do Ah just go back ta the way thin’s were? Can Ah? Ah went ta bed with these questions in mind, and wakin’ up didn’t really do anythin’ fer me. Well, that and the fact that Ah slept fer about four hours. How Ah managed ta not feel just completely dead ta the world was unknown ta me, but in all honestly Ah was hardly tired at all. Maybe this whole thin’ was stressin’ me out and that was why. Nothin’ better ta do, so Ah sat down and tried what Applebloom always did when she was mad. Play an angry video game. Everythin’ is tryin’ ta kill ya, ponies are turnin’ inta monsters, and yer weapons are some kinda sword or whatnot and a gun. Man, don’t this seem familiar. Ah really hope this virus doesn’t get out because Ah don’t wanna live this game…

My alarm ta leave rang and Ah was suddenly brought out of the video game world. Ah coulda swore it’d only been a couple hours and not fourteen. Ah think Ah ate once, but Ah was hungry now and Ah needed ta go before traffic got bad. What a weird game. Monsters, aliens, blood. All too familiar. Ah made my way through traffic and ta the castle with at least five minutes ta spare before our meetin’. Well. Nothin’ is gonna be the same after today, one way or another… Ah rubbed the sleep outta my eyes and checked the time. The clock struck six, and just as it did, he stepped in the livin’ room.

Persona VI: Childhood Friends (part 1)

Applejack

“Wow, I’m honestly surprised you all made it on time… and together? Well, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t hang out I suppose. Take your seats and we’ll start.” Twilight said from literally out of nowhere. The four of us were the only ones in the livin’ room right now. That is until Ah looked ta my left and found Pinkie in her seat.

“Twily, where even are you?” Pinkie asked, not seemin’ ta care as she laid across the arms of her chair. In a bright flash of violet lightnin’, Twilight appeared on top of the table with a ton of… well, stuff, as far as Ah could tell. Ah was lookin’ at it all when Ah caught Goose’s eye. He quickly looked away and turned his attention ta the stuff, almost like he was avoidin’ me. Is he… nervous?

“So uh, I kinda have some stuff to do, so can we get this over with in a hurry?” he asked. Twilight gave him a half lidded stare and a raised brow.

“You can go when I say you can go. It’s my turn,” she shot.

“Well, I see you’re still mad then.” His tone had a bit of his usual self in it, which made me feel relieved fer some reason. Twilight ignored the statement and sat down in her own chair.

“Anyways, Mother and Luna stopped by recently to um… address my performance in Sunday’s battle and I have spent quite a few hours training with them each for the next encounter.” Pinkie sat up and gave Twilight an annoyed stare.

“Yeah, somepony definitely needed to ‘address’ your performance alright. We almost made it out without getting hurt! But no, the princess has to play damsel in distress and get saved in the middle of the fight. I always thought I was the cannon fodder hero, but you took that role all on your own,” she said as sarcastically as possible. Ya could almost see the veins ready ta burst on Twilight’s head, it was really somethin’.

“I… will admit that I… didn’t do a very good job, but, I have since been trained by my Mother, and the wonders that did for Applejack will surely carry over to me.” Ah'm impressed, Ah probably woulda blew up and went after Pinkie fer talk like that. Of course, if Twilight's teeth were like Goose’s, she woulda bit a hole in her lip.

“I sure hope so. The ‘ominous message’ we got from Mr. Ooze doesn’t have me excited about this coming Sunday,” Pinkie added. She put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hooves. “I don’t know about you guys, but… if we didn’t manage to make a hole in that mask… do you think we still could’ve done it? Like… you broke your wrist, and it took both of you to punch that dagger through Sachiel, even if that may have been over kill, but still… If the next one is just a bigger, faster, harder to kill monster, then… do we even stand a chance?” Twilight certainly didn’t have anythin’ ta say ta that. Nopony did, really. Ah sat and thought about it fer a little bit, then somethin’ came ta me.

“Pinkie… Ah honestly believed that we were all gonna die last Sunday. In the dream, we didn’t stand a chance. But the dream didn’t come true either. By luck, strength, skill, or virtue, we managed ta get the job done without losin’ anypony and only really havin’ minor injuries all thin’s considered. We can prepare, and we can train all we want, but we don’t know what comes next. Sometimes, ya just gotta plan fer the worst and hope fer the best.” Ah don’t always know what ta say in situations like this, but thinkin’ about Ms. Swan Song had me remember a whole bunch of stuff about her, and that quote Ah wish Ah never forgot. As Ah figured, this got his attention, and he was lookin’ at me again.

“Huh. Well, I can’t really say anything against that. Plan for the worst and hope for the best… I like that.” Pinkie's frown quickly turned inta a smile, and Ah was happy ta see it. She gets so irritatin' when she's in a bad mood.

“And that’s exactly what Mother said, or why we have all this. We got a ton of medicine and pockets for the armor that we can put it all in. This way, everypony who’s armored can carry it, and we’ll have it for a while.” Rarity nodded.

“Okay, but medicine doesn’t really do us much good if we’re dead you know. How about protection? A Pinkie has already voiced her fears, I would say that my fears involve energy attacks. While it wasn’t a problem last time, I get the feeling we’ll need more than just blunt force protection sooner rather than later. The guard armor can only do so much to repel a beam from attack magic, what happens when it’s ten times as intense and twice the size of a pony all around?” Pinkie gagged.

“Ugh, don’t remind me… I just want to forget all about that night.” She said as she laid her head on the table. Goose looked down and scratched at his chin. That was not a good night… but she’s right, we could run inta somethin’ like that again… Twilight picked up a big clear rectangle off the table and started slidin’ off sheets ta everypony.

“That would be what these are for. They aren’t the strongest things in the world, but they absorb magic up to enough to power Manehattan for a day. If any kind of energy hits this, the shield would just absorb it. And um… if all else fails, really I could…” She scratched at her foreleg ta hide her eyes, and Ah was not a fan of that notion. Just because she might be able to don't mean she needs ta. Rarity beat me ta voicin' my concerns, however.

“Oh darling, please don’t go jumping into energy beams. We don’t know what would happen if you were ever overloaded, and we don’t know how much you can take to begin with,” she pleaded. Twilight shook her head.

“No, don’t worry about it. My power and my Father’s power are supposed to be the same, and he was never hurt by magic, at least as far as Mother’s stories go. It-” Now it was my turn.

“Twi, Ah would really appreciate it if ya didn’t jump inta lasers fer us either. Sure, maybe it won’t hurt ya, and if that’s the case then fine, but don’t go tryin’ ta figure out if somethin’ like that works. It’s like playin’ Zyvrian roulette. It’s not a game anypony wins on purpose. The shields are fine, as long as somepony can carry ‘em.” Ah why does she seem so desperate ta sell us this stuff?

“Ah, right… um, well… we’ve been given some special ammunition that’s all fitted to Fluttershy’s gun, including some prototype weaponry that involves using magic to split apart high density atoms.” Everypony raised their ears at that.

“Y-you… you mean like a nuke?” Fluttershy asked for everypony.

“Uh… well, I suppose it’s like that, but this is a more sophisticated than a nuke. It’s more like shooting a big bundle of dynamite than it is a nuke. The radius in which it explodes after the shell makes contact is only fifteen meters, and the magic is supposed to remove the radiation afterward. I mean, it still works on the same nucleus splitting tech, and it will vaporize any organic tissue within it, but nothing around it. It’s uh… not been tested more than a few times due to the um… cost to make these, but all the same, this is bleeding edge stuff.” She explained herself almost in a confident manner, if not fer a few shaky spots in there. Fluttershy slowly shook her head and frowned.

“R-right… so, I’m just going to… n-not use these if at all possible. W-when you say ‘supposed to’ that means that i-it doesn’t ‘always’ do what it should,” she said, eyein’ the bullet.

“Well, yes, I didn’t say always but-”

“T-twilight, how many times did this work?”

“Fifteen.”

“O-out of?” The violet mare let her head sink.

“Forty-five...” Fluttershy frowned harder.

“Um, yeah, t-there’s no way in hell that I-I’m firing a miniature nuke in the city. I-if the magic fails, it would take years f-for whatever spot it hit to recover, a-and there’s only three of these. W-with those numbers, a-at least two aren’t going to work right.” Twilight sighed.

“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to carry them anyways… this is an order.” She couldn’t even look at Fluttershy at this point.

“I-I can’t believe she’s making us do this. W-who gives somepony like me t-the power to just… destroy? I-I’m nineteen, I don’t want a doom’s day b-button,” Fluttershy said angrily. Twilight shook her head.

“This… this isn’t them, this is… from me,” Twilight said softly. Fluttershy stared at Twilight in awe.

“Y-you personally, are asking me, t-to carry this death bomb?” Fluttershy pointed at the metallic green shell and Twilight looked away and nodded. “W-why?”

“I can’t let it happen again.”

“Let what happen? Twilight, darling, what’s going on? This is completely uncharacteristic of you,” Rarity stated. Of all of us, she’s known Twi the longest, but even Ah could tell this was a weird request.

“I… you all just…”

“Come, on, talk to us. I can’t have you losing your head and getting into fights with everypony too.” Goose said while Ah rolled my eyes. Made sure he saw me do it too. Twilight sighed and shook her head.

“I just felt so useless the other day. You and Applejack did all the heavy lifting, Fluttershy kept the monster under pressure, Rarity filled her role, and Pinkie even figured out how to finish it off. And I… I just got in the way. Made things worse, even. I just thought that if we had more tools, then maybe I wouldn’t… get in the way…” In a blink, Pinkie was on the arm of Twilight’s chair givin’ her a hug.

“Hey now, we can’t all be top of the line super heroes from the start now can we? So you had a rough time out there. It’s not like you’ve been dealing with monsters and Fluttershy for the last few weeks like the rest of us.” Pinkie smiled and Fluttershy gave her a half lidded frown.

“I-is that bruise on your head gone yet?” she said dryly.

“It will be when I decide to stop bringing it up~” Pinkie sang. “You don’t have to be your mom just yet. She’s had centuries of fights to draw upon and you’ve had like what, four? Give it time, huh? You’ll get there.” She rubbed Twilight’s back, careful not ta touch her wing and Twilight hugged Pinkie back, then sat up straight.

“Thanks Pinkie, all of you. The rest of this stuff is just more ammunition for Fluttershy based on your other weapons, so all I really have left is to figure out our schedule this week. I figured a few days to recover would be best, but now that we’ve had that, I think we should get back to it,” Twilight said, this time with more enthusiasm. Oh, right. We haven’t prepared for the next one at all this week. Ah’ve had so much on my mind since Sunday, Ah damn near forgot about it.

“Uh, about that… see, I’ve kinda got stuff going on and while I don’t care if we work, it just needs to be earlier rather than later in the day. Specifically, whatever training we do needs to end before five PM, one way or another,” Goose said. Twilight was about to open her mouth when Rarity beat her ta it.

“Ah, yes, I also have a previous engagement that I need to attend to during the week, so ending before five would be best for me as well.” Twilight frowned and sighed, then turned ta me.

“Well, I’ll let you decide on this, since you’re the trainer and all. When should we practice?” she asked. Hmm… Ah don’t know what they’ve got goin’ on, but Ah’d rather have ‘em here and ready ta go than leavin’ in the middle of practice. Well, this is technically a job, so how about nine ta five? Ah nodded in agreement with my inner thoughts.

“Alright then, we’ll meet and be ready ta go every mornin’ from now until Sunday at nine AM and run till we’re either all dead tired or five PM, whichever comes first. That okay with everypony?” Ah asked. Goose shrugged, and everypony else nodded.

“It’s settled then! I can’t wait to show you all how much I’ve learned over these last two days! You’re free to go, see you tomorrow!” Twilight warped away somewhere and Ah was a little confused at the sudden tone shift. Okay... Ah guess she's fine now? As soon as she was gone, Rarity made a nod at Fluttershy.

“Pinkie, may I have a word with you? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you in private if you don’t mind,” Rarity asked. Pinkie shrugged.

“Sure, I don’t see why not.” Then the two headed toward the garage.

“I-I don’t know about you two, b-but I’m tired. S-sunlight… makes me sleepy, a-and I’ve been in it all day it seems. G-good night,” Fluttershy said mid yawn.

We both said, “Night,” and lazily she strode ta her room. Then there were two. Just me and Goose. Catchy and I. Should Ah ask first? Maybe we should go somewhere else? Or… Ah don’t know… aw, fuck it.

“Hey, can we talk?” we said in unison. In the same moment, we had both reached out a little, but then pulled our hooves back.

“So uh…” Ah started.

“I uh… um, what is it you wanted to say?” he asked. Ah scratched at my ear. There was some kinda weird synchronicity goin’ on and every time we looked at each other it was like we always caught each other’s eyes. Fer the first time since he was little, he was bein’ shy around me. Ah shook my head.

“Ah… no, y’all go first. Ah uh… Ah’d rather know what ya wanted before Ah uh… ya know…” It wasn’t the most graceful thin’ Ah’ve ever said, but Ah figure it worked.

“Well… I think I probably know what you want to say, and… I’d rather you didn’t, just yet, at least. So, with that in mind, I’m just going to pretend like I don’t know, and go ahead with this.” He swallowed and walked over toward me, a little slow and cautious. The spines under his suit were just about standin’ on end, or at least tryin’ ta, and he was probably doin’ his best not ta shake where he stood. He took a deep breath and then looked me in the eyes. Oh goddess, is he gonna ask here? Oh no, oh no, what do Ah do if he asks? Ah don’t… Ah don’t know that Ah wanna just turn him down, but Ah don’t wanna get married with all the shit that’s goin’ on! “I have a reservation at a restaurant in Central Manehattan on Thursday. It’s not a regular place, and probably not what you’re used to, but… will you… come to dinner with me? Just the two of us?” Ah let out a breath Ah didn’t know Ah was holdin’.

“Whew. Good Goddess Ah thought…” Ah took a deep breath myself and nodded. “Yeah, sure Ca- er, Goose. Sure. Ah’ll go ta dinner with ya.” He let out his own breath and a laugh ta match.

“Oh, great. Geez, I don’t know what I was so worked up about, you know? It normally doesn’t take this much effort to ask a mare out.” His little laugh was infectious and Ah stared ta giggle myself.

“Heh, sure doesn’t sound like ya. So, where are we goin’? Hmm… more importantly, how much is this gonna cost me? Ah don’t got a whole-” He shook his hooves and stopped me.

“Nothing, nothing, I’ve already got it covered. I’ve got everything covered, really. Uh, I can either pick you up, or you can meet me at Champagne at 6, up to you really.” Champagne? He… he has reservations fer us… at Champagne? Oh… shit.

“Uh, ya know, Ah think Ah’d like ta drive myself actually, why don’t ya just uh… Ah’ll meet ya there! Yeah, Ah’ll uh…” He raised a hoof.

“If you don’t want to ride with me that’s fine, but… if it’s because you don’t have something to wear…” He blinked away, and a second later he blinked back with a long flat box wrapped in white and red paper and tied up with a yellow ribbon. “I think I covered that too.” He held out the box for me and ah just kinda stared at it. Should Ah…? It’s not like Ah couldn’t afford ta go get somethin’ myself, but we only got paid just a few days ago…

Why don’t ya just give him a chance? Applebloom’s voice repeated in my head. Ah scratched at my cheek. Too damn intelligent fer yer own damn good. Ah swear it’s gonna get ya in trouble one day. Ah carefully took the box and unwrapped it like a time bomb. Well, it’s definitely a clothin’ box, that’s fer sure. Oh goddess, how much did this cost him? How much is dinner gonna cost him? Ah… Ah just better not think about that. Ah set the box on the table and pulled off the lid. Inside was… somethin’ out of a childhood fantasy.

When Goose and Ah were little and we would spend our time on the playground just by my house, Ah would often steal my mom’s old weddin’ dress that dad kept. Ah didn’t know what it really was or why he had it, but Ah thought it was pretty. More than that, Ah thought it made me look like my idol at the time… Red Hoof. It was pure white and flowy in the back with all it’s see-through white layers. It didn’t fit of course, but it smelled like her and made me feel like him. Like Ah could be the super hero, like Ah was the one who saves the day. When Ah was in white, he was the bad guy and Ah’d beat him up ta be the hero. When a year passed and Red Hoof started wearin’ a new suit, Ah wanted a change too.

“So, if not the white dress, what would you wear now?” Catchy asked.

“Somethin’ just like him… somethin’ bright and shiny. It’d have ta be red like his, but… maybe with a few other colors too, like the coats of my family, ya know? Ooh! Like a sunset, with stars in it! And, and it would be like that mare’s from the game, somethin’ Ah could kick in!”

And then we went on ta play another game. Ah was six… how could he remember somethin’… from so long ago? Ah guess… he really never did forget… Ah sniffed and wiped at my eyes. Come on now, ya aren’t this sentimental. What are ya gettin’ so choked up fer?

“T-thanks… Ah… Ah don’t know that Ah could ever tell ya how much Ah appreciate this.” Ah didn’t know what else ta do, so Ah gave him a hug.

“I’m just glad that you like it. I uh… If I didn’t know better, I don’t know what I could’ve found for you. You aren’t the easiest mare in the world to shop for, after all.” Ah let im go and folded the dress back in the box. Should Ah tell him still? He knows, but… that wasn’t all Ah wanted ta say…

“Goose, Ah-” He put a hoof on my lips.

“Please… just wait for me, okay? I’m… I’m still trapped in the present. On Thursday, I’ll reach the future, because you’ll be there, with me… and not somepony you used to know. I… I don’t know that I can be him again. So… before you make me remember the past, meet me... as I am today, all right?” he pleaded through a shaky smile. Ah sighed and nodded again.

“Okay, Ah’ll wait fer now. But remember this; what we need ta talk about… isn’t all Ah wanna talk about. Ah’m gonna head on home now. Ah’ve still got some work ta do, so… Ah guess Ah’ll see ya tomorrow.”

“Yeah… see you… tomorrow.” He slowly followed. Ah gave him a look, but then shook my head and grabbed the dress. As Ah made it ta the end of the livin’ room, Ah thought Ah heard somethin’.

“…watch her as she goes…” Ah turned my head just in time ta catch Goose blink away. What was that?

As Ah made my way ta the garage, Ah passed Pinkie, who stopped and stared me down.

“Uh, is there somethin’ Ah can do fer ya?” She stared on silently and slowly shook her head. Ah turned my eyes away and kept movin’ forward. “Well, alrighty then. See ya tomorrow.”

“I… as long as it makes you happy, I guess.” Ah heard, but as soon as Ah turned, she was gone. Was she… listenin’ in? Do they all know? Or… well, who cares anyways? It’s not like it’s official or anythin’ yet. We’re just gonna go have dinner… right? As Ah made my way ta the garage, Ah noticed that Rarity was still parked. Or rather, she was waitin’ on me Ah guess.

“So? How did it go?”

“What?”

“You know what.”

“So what if Ah do?”

“Then tell me about it!” It echoed in the crystal chamber and back up the hallway. Ah closed the distance and put my hooves over her mouth.

“Okay, geez! Not so loud! Can we go somewhere else first?” Ah whispered. She swiped my hooves away and wiped at her face.

“Please refrain from putting your dirty hooves on my face, thank you. Of course. Why don’t we meet up at my shop and we can talk? Besides, I wasn’t quite sure on some of those measurements he gave me, so I want to know if your dress fits.” That caught my attention.

“You made the dress?” Ah blinked and Rarity was in her car with the window down. The engine roared and Ah tried ta catch her.

“What was that? Sorry, see you at the boutique, bye!” Clutch popped, tires squealed, and out the garage she went.

“Son of a bitch! Y’all were in on it!” Ah jumped on my bike and kicked off the floor, startin' it in mid air. All the way on the gas, Ah was full throttle by the time Ah hit the ground.

“I didn’t know you were such a capable driver,” Rarity said as she sipped on somethin’ she must’ve stopped time ta make. She beat me ta her boutique by seconds, so there’s no way she made it without her powers.

“Rarity, we almost caused a wreck.” She waved my complaint away.

“Oh, nopony was hurt and no damage was suffered. Besides, you were the one who made the decision to try and catch me, my dear darling Applejack. It would’ve never gotten so out of hoof had you not wanted a race.” She had that haughty tone of her on and it was threatenin' ta piss me off. Ah rolled my eyes and huffed.

“Still don’t know how ya beat me, but whatever. What’s the deal? Is that why y’all came in together earlier? Because ya were makin’ the dress today?” Ah felt my tone come down as my blood started ta cool off. It was apparent after she more or less swerved through alleyways how she gets everywhere so fast. That little thin’ she drives ain’t near as big as a police car. Ah’m just surprised she’s never hit anypony doin’ it. She must use her power pretty liberally ta make split second decisions like that. Another thin’ Ah learned today is that her powers don’t work on machinery. It’s probably a good thin’ though, otherwise she’d be blinkin’ through traffic around cars. Good driver and reckless driver aren’t too far apart in her case.

“Hmm… Now what exactly should I tell you? You are the one who owns the dress, but you weren’t the client either… decisions, decisions…” She tapped at her lips as she moved from the kitchen ta her workshop with that damn smirk on her face. Ah followed and just stared at her. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. Just because I’m being coy doesn’t mean I’m not serious either. I didn’t just drop everything to make that today for no reason after all. Come stand over here and put it on. I want to see you in it.” Ah rolled my eyes and did as Ah was told.

“So that was what was goin’ on. Why was Fluttershy with y’all?” Ah tried ta squirm inta the thin', but it was about as loose as a stuck bolt. Geez, what is this, my suit? Why is it so damn tight?

“Stop! Don’t go any further, you’ll ruin it!” Ah kinda just stared at her until she motioned fer me ta give her the dress, which Ah did, even if reluctant.

“Ah almost had it on…” Ah mumbled. Rarity shook her head as she threw the dress on a mannequin.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Of course you did. I knew the measurements I had seemed wrong. There’s no way somepony so well suited to… child birthing would fit in the average medium. I even made a guess on the high end too. So much for that.” She waived a hoof in a circle around my cutiemark with disgust on her face. Ah frowned and raised an eyebrow.

“Ah mean, ya could just insult me ta my face, that’s fine.” Once again, my complaint was waived away.

“Pfft, ‘insult me’ she says. You will never know how good you have it. I only insult out of love and jealousy. That said, it doesn’t really surprise me that the measurements I had were a little on the small size. I didn’t make it easy to adjust without reason it seems. It didn’t feel tight anywhere else did it?” She asked after she started ta unravel what Ah could only assume were clear threads along the seams. Whatever she had in her magic, it was barely visible.

“Uh, Ah don’t know that Ah made it far enough ta tell. Ah don’t really have a whole lotta clothes ya know. Or buy them often fer that matter.” Rarity sized me up then went back ta what she was doin’.

“I see. Well, that doesn’t really surprise me either. What about that ratty old jacket you wear all the time?”

“That was my dad’s, thanks.” She gave me a frown.

“Well, you certainly know how to make me feel bad. I’m surprised it’s in such a good condition for leather that old. Stand up straight for a moment please.” She asked as she came over with a tape measure.

“Hey! Watch where yer puttin’ that!” Ah said when Ah felt somethin’ cold too close fer comfort.

“Applejack, I have been doing this for years, there is only one place to measure a pony waist correctly. One can only see things so many times before they become numb to it. And, just as I thought, you have an almost a twelve waist on your eight body. Congratulations, you are the ideal, and the hardest kind of mare to fit. I bet your shoulders don’t even reach this far out, even with all that muscle. Truly, you are the envy of mares.” She penned a few numbers on a sheet of paper and then put her tape back on a shelf. “And now I have that in my records, so when next you need a dress, you can buy it yourself.” She picked up the damn near invisible thread and began ta resew it back inta my dress.

“Shouldn’t ya measure the rest of me too? Ah mean, if one was wrong, wouldn’t the others be wrong too?” She shook her head without skipping a beat as she worked.

“I can just look at you and tell you what you are. The measurement I just got was what I suspected from the beginning. The only reason I went lower is because I was given these measurements from somepony I respect. Who however is not for you to know, at least until after he tells you himself. I really hope you appreciate what Goose is doing for you here. Some mares would kill to be treated like this. I know I would.” If it wasn't clear before, she made it very clear with that.

“Huh. So maybe a little bit less ‘love’ and a whole lotta ‘jealousy,’ right?” Ah said with air quotes and a smile. She rolled her eyes.

“Oh absolutely. It’s a Glass Slipper story. He’s the prince and you’re the pauper.” Ah giggled some more.

“And that makes you the fairy godmother don't it?” She paused and looked up for a moment, then went back to work, this time on the other side.

“I suppose it does. However, in this story I believe it was the prince who asked me help him go to the ball.”

“Was it? So wait, if not just the dress, what else are ya doin’ for him?”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t say doing ‘for’ him, I was paid, and quite generously at that, for this. I won’t say though, you can find out about that bit. While we’re on the subject, what do you think of him?” Good question.

“Ah don’t know. Ah mean, sure, he’s kind of a tool, but after Sunday… Ah know better than that, or remember anyways. Ya see, he was my best friend when we were little.” Rarity nodded.

“I do know, actually. You should hear his side of the story, it’s quite… well, something, that’s for sure. But that’s not what I want to hear. Ignoring the bit about your past together, the stallion whom I assume you’ve agreed to have dinner with, what do you think about him as he is now?” Ah feel like Ah’m gettin’ punched here.

“Ah… Ah don’t know. He… he’s Goose. And Goose is… well, Ah don’t know who he is. At least not like Ah used ta. Ah talked ta my little sister about this and Ah figured Ah’d give him a chance, but he didn’t even give me a moment ta talk today. Honestly, today was the first time Ah’d seen him act like the colt Ah used ta know. We used ta get in fights over who got ta play the hero, and only in the last couple days did Ah realize that him promisin’ ta be my super hero a few weeks ago wasn’t the first time he’s said that ta me. And he did it too. He pulled me outta the way in the middle of the fight and it was just like… just like when we were kids. Three weeks ago, he was just some ass hat on my bounty list. Today… it’s a completely different story.” Rarity shook her head.

“No, that won’t do…” she mumbled.

“Well, Ah know that, but Ah don’t know what ta do about it.”

“What? Oh, I said that out loud. No, that was for me. In your case, I figure you do have a lot to think about. Based on what the two of you have told me though, I expect it to be easy for you to return to form once you finally talk to each other. That is provided, you do talk to each other. I always suspected he was never being true to himself in the beginning, but after hearing all that, I’m surprised he made it as far as he did.”

“Well, hearin’ what? What happened after he left? We were only together fer a few days after his mom died.” Rarity nodded.

“There’s quite a bit to be told, but I shouldn’t be the one to tell you. I’ll just say that his mother was only the beginning. Speaking of, I actually saw her in concert while she was still singing. A real shame, truly.”

“Yeah. Kids… kids just shouldn’t have ta watch their parents die.” Rarity flew the dress over ta me in her magic and said,

“Here, see if this fits now. It should. Speaking of, why did you remember? I imagine that seeing that happen just meters away is more than enough to traumatize a seven year old, as brutal as it was, but… if you had forgotten her completely, and Goose as well, how did it just come back?” Ah tried ta put the dress on, and this time it was easy ta get inta. It fit just perfect. Ah walked around in it and stopped ta look at myself in the mirror. Ah look like a wreck. Ah’m gonna have ta do some serious work on my mane before Ah go out Thursday. And sleep fer more than four hours fer a change. It wouldn’t be so bad if Ah didn’t look so tired.

“You’d probably be surprised, but Ah went ta Over Equestria with my family. Back when we were kids, and even before my aunt died, we all went together since she had that minivan. It was the only time we ever went out of the province with dad, so Ah didn’t forget, but Ah couldn’t remember who we were with. Ah asked my brother, and he remembered his mom’s name. Ah looked her up and that’s when Ah read an article about her death. It uh… all came back ta me after that.” Rarity looked me over and then she started ta mess with my mane.

“Hmm, so it was just happenstance?”

“Kinda. Ah mean, the whole thing was just happenstance. Everythin’ so far has just kinda been happenstance. Ya know why he was with his mom in the first place? Because my dad put his dad in jail! She stopped singin’ in the first place because she had ta suddenly take care of her son, whom she had out of wedlock and hid from the media. Ya know, with his mob boss dad. His powers only showed up because he got kidnapped after his dad took him back. Who knows what else could’ve happened in all those years! Ah swear it’s like fate itself is screwin’ with me.” Ah couldn't keep from gettin' worked up, and after a bit, she smacked me in the nose.

“Quit moving, I’m not finished!” Ah stood still and nursed my muzzle.

“Oh, sorry. Anyways, that all just kinda came back at once and Ah think Ah’m still probably tryin’ ta process it. So much has happened and everythin’s changed since then.” She stepped away and nodded ta herself, then Ah looked in the mirror.

“Hehe… Maybe Ah should wear my bracers with this…” Ah said through a giggle.

“You will not! But I must say, this suits you, even if a little strange. For such a southern pony to wear a Mǎnese dress and mane style. If your mane was black, I’d say you fit the bill, really. And even then, it just looks so perfect as is. Hmm, maybe not that perfect. Your mane is too long, those buns are too big. Ah, you know what? Let me try something…” Rarity started ta undo her work, then she braided each side of my head. She wrapped the braids around themselves, then let them fall after a certain length. Once she had them where she wanted them, she took the ribbon from my tail and tied up both sides. She let go and Ah laughed again.

“Now it looks like Ah got the ribbons flowin’ down too. This is great. Never did Ah ever think Ah’d live out a childhood fantasy.” Rarity smiled and raised her chin.

“Well, you might just find that those are closer to reality than you think,” she said with a smug smile. Ah shook my head.

“Ah’m not sure about that. My last ‘fantasy’ was too close ta reality. Waaay too close.” Rarity nodded.

“True. But this one isn’t a bad one, not in any way that I can see anyways. I… have a stake in this now, so would you mind coming here after training Thursday? I’d like to make sure you’re… presentable.” Rarity flicked her hooves at me and Ah glared at her.

“Presentable? What’s that supposed ta mean?” She rolled her eyes.

“You know what that means, I don’t trust you to know what you’re doing. Or to own many of the things I do, really.” Well, that was blunt.

“... You’re not wrong. Sure why not. But uh, why do ya… ‘have a stake in it’ Ah guess?” She put on a thin smile and closed her eyes.

“You’ll find out. Now off with you, I still have other work to do today.” She shooed me out of her office, but Ah stopped short.

“Can Ah leave this here? Ah don’t really wanna take it home…” Because then they’re gonna ask, and then Ah’m gonna have ta tell them somethin’, and he’s smart enough ta make a connection, and Ah don’t feel like dealin’ with that.

“I suppose. Leave it on the mannequin.” Ah slipped out of the very soft dress, now that Ah take note of it, and set it down carefully on the doll.

“Thanks Rarity. Ah’ll see ya in the mornin’,” then headed out the door.

“Au revoir, miss hero~”

Persona VI: Childhood Friends (part 2)

Applejack

Wednesday came and went almost like it never happened. At the same time, it also felt like the day agonized by. Until you’re pulled out of the flow of time, ya don’t realize that ya can feel every second that passes by. After trainin’ was over, Ah didn’t know what ta do with myself. Should Ah talk ta him? Should Ah just wait till tomorrow? Should Ah just go home now and sleep fer once in my life? Eventually Ah just gave up on it and went back home ta sleep, only ta realize that Ah couldn’t. Eight at night, and an hour wasted away on my phone, Ah decided ta open up Applebloom’s game again only ta get sucked inta the dream until two in the mornin’.

How does this happen? Ah didn’t even finish it either, Ah was just so focused on explorin’ and not gettin’ killed by the next big monster, hunter pony, abomination or whatever that Ah forgot ta even glance at a clock. Why? Why can Ah never sleep? Ah guess irony would say somethin’ about bein’ trapped in a dream based on the game, but that doesn’t help me sleep either. Ah ended up wastin’ another hour on my phone before Ah finally passed out, only ta wake up an extra hour early. Ah gave up on tryin’ ta sleep anymore and just made breakfast fer everypony. It’s rare that any of us have the time ta cook in the mornin’, so Ah figured why not? My extra hour gone, Macintosh and Applebloom fed and off ta school and back from work since he’s started workin’ nights… where ever it is he works now, so Ah headed ta the castle, albeit early.

Trainin’ today went a bit different than Ah expected. Luna was apparently sent by Celestia ta give us a few of her hours and a sparrin’ partner, and that… that was almost worse than fightin’ the monsters we have been. Usin’ the sharin’ spell properly, even ta the point where she managed ta get Twilight in, we fought a big monster that was nearly identical ta the one from Sunday. Didn’t go well either. In all four simulations, Twilight died. In three, Pinkie died. In two, Rarity died. In the very last one, the whole team got wiped. In the end, she gave poor Twilight an earful and ta the three of us who didn’t get killed in all but the time she amped up the difficulty… a compliment?

It was strange, but apparently, she didn’t expect any of us ta survive more than two of the runs. The simulations were mostly ta test our team work, but the last one was just ta see what it would take ta kill us.

“I simply cannot believe that you have been killed in every simulation! I will be back every night just for you my dear niece! You too, pink one. As for the rest of you, you have either performed as expected, or out performed what I had hoped for. Well done. For you all to last as long as you did in the fourth simulation… you must be very hard to kill.”

Much like the sharin’ spell, all our fights took place in somethin’ like a dream, but these were more concrete than when we did it ourselves. If Celestia’s dream felt even more like a dream, then this was hard ta tell apart from reality. Apparently almost dangerously so because she yelled at Goose more than once for ‘taintin’ the simulation’ or somethin’. Ah don’t know what that was about, but he jumped in front of me on the round that we got killed in, and that makes me nervous. Ah know it was a simulation, but this is the second time he’s done that, and this time it was really him, regardless as ta what Ah think my dream was. He can’t keep doin’ this.

Ah tried ta make it my goal ta get him alone after trainin’, but as soon as we were done with the simulations, Luna dismissed the rest of us in favor of keepin’ Pinkie and Twilight. Goose blinked off ta who knows where immediately after that, and Rarity figured we outta go ahead and get me ready fer tonight. Once again, Ah didn’t get a chance ta talk. Ah did however, hear the tail end of Luna talkin’ ta Twilight, and… well, all Ah can really say is better her than me.

“I have forsaken sleep this day for you, and I will be damned if you cannot survive the first simulation before I leave here! We will run again and again and again until you get it right, do you understand me? You will not fail rookie level battle training!”

It made me wonder whether or not her mother knew what was goin’ on. Then again, Ah think Celestia has an easier time lettin’ Luna speak fer her anger. Somethin’ about that sounds right, but the dreams Ah’ve had with Celestia are fuzzy ta unclear now. She’s said more ta me than Ah can remember at this point. When we left the castle, it was only three, so we still had a whole lotta time ta kill before dinner. Or so Ah thought. Between her makin' me use every kinda coat and mane care product she had and then her doin’ up my mane in an even more complicated fashion than the first time, that extra hour and a half was gone faster than it came.

“Now then, I need to go bathe myself. Feel free to make yourself at home. We’re an internet family here, so you won’t find TV or anything like that, but my computer is in my office. It shouldn’t require a password for you to use the browser, so you should be able to find some way to entertain yourself,” Rarity said as she headed inta her bathroom.

“Uh, yeah, thanks,” Ah got in before she shut the door. Without much better ta do, Ah started down stairs. Just as Ah did though, Ah noticed somethin’ on the piano. Unlike last time Ah was here, it was open and not completely covered in dust. In fact, it looked like it’d been used recently. Ah moved back up the steps and circled around ta the keyboard side, then saw two thin’s that looked awfully outta place. The first thin’ that caught my attention was a record player. A plugged in and recently used record player. The second thin’ was an ancient lookin’ piece on the music shelf. It was kinda yellowy and in plastic sheets that were covered in markin’s that meant somethin’ probably ta Rarity and nopony else. Aside from Rarity’s own markin’s that covered the pages, the music itself was covered in black dots and squiggly lines that meant somethin’ ta somepony with more know how than Ah. Geez, is she practicin’ this?

“Oh. Hi.” Ah heard a behind me. Ah turned quick ta see Rarity’s little sister starin’ at me just outside of her door. Has she been here the whole time?

“Uh… hey there?” Applebloom doesn’t talk much about her friends, so Ah don’t really know much about Sweetie. She sauntered over ta the piano and took a seat next ta me.

“So, do you know how to play too?” Ah chuckled and shook my head.

“Not even close. As far as Ah’m concerned, this is just a buncha dots and squiggles,” Ah said as moved my hoof across the page. Sweetie nodded.

“That’s fair. But this is that for some ponies who know what it all means too. There aren’t many who have the skill to play this in the first place.” She flipped through the pages... and when she kept goin' after six, Ah finally realized that this was all once piece. Ah knew it didn’t look like it ended after the second one, but Ah didn’t realize that all the pages here were part of the same piece.

“Wow. That’s uh… kind of a lot ain’t it?” Sweetie nodded.

“Mmhmm. It’s kind of insane that she could play this back when she was ten. Even now, I still think it’s crazy that she can still do it after ten years without practicing very much. Out of the ten or so times she practiced yesterday, she only screwed up like, twice.” She put her hooves up ta the keys and played a few notes that seemed ta go up ta a point, then down a little until she ended with four keys pressed. Hooves have some kinda magic ta ‘em that lets ponies grab and hold stuff, and apparently that can be used ta apply pressure ta certain points too, but Ah’d never seen it done until today. Sweetie wasn’t usin’ her magic either, so her playin’ four keys at once was a little weird ta see.

“So, can y’all both play?” Ah asked. Sweetie shook her head.

“No, I kind of missed out on that. I know a little of everything, and I can play most instruments to a degree, but that makes me a jack of all trades and a master of none. Part of my cutiemark is music, but Rarity… she can do special things on this instrument. Things I don’t know that I could ever do, even with a cutiemark to help me out. You would think that, with practice and dedication, anypony could play this. It’s just instructions to be executed and that’s all there is to it. But… even when I play, and I know what I’m doing, I can never get the sound the way she can. A song that sounds sad will sound sad regardless who plays it, but when you can hear joy, anger, bitterness, and hope all mixed in the sad song that somepony brought with them, it becomes so much more than what it was before.

It’s not just notes on a page at that point. The black and white fade away into all these colors of sound that make it truly special. Sometimes I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Why can’t I get all that emotion into music? Why is it when I play, that it’s just so monochromatic? I still haven’t figured that out yet.” When she finished, she started playin’ somethin’ and… it was just so sad. It was a waltz of some kind, probably one that Ah’ve heard before, but at the same time it was hers. When she finished, she just sighed and put her hooves down. Ah saw my own little sister in that, so Ah gave her a hug.

“Sometimes, it just takes time. Thin’s are always slow ta start at first. Back when Ah was yer age, Ah started doin’ somethin’ Ah’d always wanted ta do too. At first it was… well, pretty rough. Ah’d get beat up ta the point where Ah could hardly keep goin’, and Ah’d lose out on a job because Ah screwed it up bein’ more concerned about the catch than the ponies around me. Ah thought a lotta the same thin’s like, why is it that Ah’m not as good as he was? How come Ah can’t do it as well as he did? Even now, three years later, Ah still don’t know if Ah’ve caught up or live up ta what Ah’m supposed ta be. But Ah kept at it, and Ah keep at it.

Ya can’t know if ya make it ta yer goal when that pony ya want ta catch up ta isn’t around anymore, so ya just gotta keep goin’. Before ya know it, ya might be doin’ thin’s that ya never imagined ya’d be doin’. Doubt is impossible ta get rid of. You’ll always wonder if ya really made it, or if you’ll ever make it there. It sucks, but you’ll get there. As long as ya never give up, you’ll get where yer tryin’ ta go.” Why does that sound familiar? Sweetie laughed and nodded.

“Yeah, you would say it like that. Thanks. Applebloom talks about you a lot. She says you always give good advice, so I figured I’d talk since you’re here. You look pretty.” Ah swear I’ve never interacted with this filly before.

“Thanks, Ah guess. Ah’m not really used ta lookin’… well, like this.” Ah almost felt awkward all dressed up.

“That doesn’t surprise me. You’re more used to wearing spandex right?” she giggled.

“Ah what?” Sweetie froze.

“You… uh… I… need to go, so bye.” She tried ta get off the bench, but Ah grabbed the scruff of her neck.

“Where do ya think yer goin’?” She swallowed.

“… Y-you know… I uh…”

“Who told ya what?” Ah asked, not playin’ games anymore. Dependin’ on what she says, somepony’s gettin’ an ass whoopin’.

“Okay, okay. Look, I know this looks bad, but… but it was my fault because I asked. I mean, she already knew about Rarity, and since you’ve been over here so often, and, and Scootaloo told me about that thing you did on Caballo day so I started to suspect, and since she has that power, she would know, so… I kinda forced it out of her. I swear I’m not gonna tell anypony, honest.” Ah leaned forward and put my hooves on my face, makin’ some kinda awful sound on the piano.

“Sure, whatever. Ah don’t care as long as ya keep it ta yerself. Ya already knew about Rarity?” She nodded.

“She told me herself a little while ago. My powers are… probably kinda dangerous if I don’t get a handle on them, so I asked and we just talked about it.” Ah scratched at my face. Perfect. Somethin’ else ta worry about.

“What about… were y’all three together when ya made her talk? What all did she say?” Sweetie scratched at her ear, which Ah noticed was lettin’ off a thin smoke.

“Well… Scootaloo wanted to know about Rainbow too, since Rainbow never tells her what she does or how she can afford everything she can, so she told us about that fight with the Cthulu kaiju, and how you all worked together. Not really anything specific, just that you were all there.” Ah sighed. Oh, that ain’t gonna go over well. Ah know she told me not ta look fer her again, but Ah should probably check up on them soon.

“What about her? Aside from what Ah know, anythin’ special about Scootaloo?” If she does have somethin’, that’s three outta three.

“Um… that’s kinda broad, you know, since it’s uh… Scootaloo, but I assume you mean powers, so no idea. We've seen some weird stuff happen around her, but what exactly her powers would be we don't have any idea. She has to be the cause of it, but I don't know if she's psychic, or she accidentally fixes stuff, or what.” Great. Three for three and Ah can only see this goin’ wrong if Rainbow is as stubborn as Ah think she is. But Ah know better, and she’s probably worse than that. Hmm… Ah bet Ah could get Goose ta get eyes on them… Ah was about ta ask another question when Rarity came outta the bathroom.

“Applejack, we need to leave in the next few minutes. Oh. Good evening Sweetie. I’ll be down stairs in a moment, be ready to leave,” she said as she headed toward her room. “Oh, and while I have you, I’m going to be out for a while tonight, but I should be home before nine.” And then she shut her door.

“Okay!” Sweetie yelled. “So… what is going on with Rainbow? I’ve only seen her a few times, so I couldn’t really guess.” Ah scratched my cheek. It would be nice if Ah knew.

“Not somethin’ good, that’s fer sure. Don’t tell anypony Ah said that. Just know that she’s… much more than she appears ta be. Ah figure ya know how dangerous thin’s have gotten so Ah’m not gonna lecture ya, but try ta stay outta this, okay? Even as bad as it is now… it’s only gonna get worse with the weeks ta come.” Ah got up from the pianoand Started toward the stairs.

“Oh…” When Sweetie started followin' me, Ah noticed somethin’ bright from that smokin’ ear, only ta see that it was on fire now. “Uh, thanks, again. It… makes me feel better that at least somepony knows what’s going on.” Ah barely heard her. Ah was more focused on the task at hoof, which was puttin' out the fire. Ah reared up and raised my hooves. “Uh… What are you doing?” Just like tryin’ ta swat a fly, Ah quickly and gently smothered the tip of her ear. Ah pulled back ta shake the smoke off my hooves, only ta see the ear as it was before it lit. How bizarre. Ah tilted my head.

“Does that happen often?”

“Only when her emotions are all over the place. I don’t know what you did, but we need to leave, so I’ll save the interrogations for later. Bye Sweetie,” Rarity answered. All dressed up in black, baby blue, and silver, her own dress had a more shimmery effect ta it where it caught and reflected light about as bright as it came in. She passed me and made it down ta the ground floor before Ah even started ta move.

“Shiny ain’t it?” Ah asked as Ah caught up. She nodded.

“But of course. However, I am not the focus of tonight so my colors are muted and closer to monochromatic. The bright sunset will draw the eye, even if I’m around it. Now get in the car. I’m going to have to… ignore certain rules to make sure we arrive on time.” Rarity unlocked her vehicle, sat down and brought the engine ta life. Ah sat down myself and looked at the clock.

“Five fifty!? We can’t make it there by six! How long does it take a pony ta shower!?” Rarity shifted inta reverse and waived my complaint away.

“As long as she needs. Besides… I can get anywhere in this town in under ten minutes…” she said with a smile on her face. But not a nice one. This was more the crazy kind.

“Oh dear goddess help me.” Outta the parking lot, shifted inta first, and hoof ta the floor, the engine roared.

“Ya know, most ponies would be afraid ta drive as fast a ya do on a highway. Other ponies fuckin’ die drivin’ as fast as ya do through the damn alleys! How often do ya have ta replace yer tires? Ah’m pretty sure ya left more rubber on the ground than ya started with.” Ah complained as we arrived at Champagne. Rarity giggled.

“Ha! You’re right, other ponies would get themselves killed driving like that. I’m just better than other ponies,” she said with her snout raised. Ah rolled my eyes and got outta the car.

“Whatever. Ah don’t think yer really that good, ya just cheat by freezin’ time every couple seconds.” She made a noise.

“Pfft. I cheat she says. So maybe I do use my powers to assess whether or not I need to turn down an empty alley. Would you rather have me making turns blindly and possibly hitting somepony?” Ah shook my head.

“Ah mean, ya could also be normal and drive on the roads like everypony else.” She smirked.

“Ah yes, this coming from the mare who regularly lifts her motorbike off the ground to weave through traffic. Please miss Saint, lecture me more.” She locked the thin' and threw her keys in her purse. Ah raised a hoof and she stopped and raised her eyebrow. “Oh? What’s this? Is that a double standard I hear coming? Something about normal ponies, possibly abuse of my natural born abilities, when she herself in fact, abuses her own natural born abilities?” Ah closed my mouth and walked inta Champagne. Nope, game over. She won.

“Let’s just go in already,” Ah mumbled. Ah entered first, and the thin’ that immediately caught my eye was that there didn’t look ta be anypony here. Huh. that’s weird. Ah’ never been in Champagne before, but Ah know this place was pretty popular with the rich folks, so why ain't there nopony here?

“Ah, ello. You must be miss Apple, oui?” Ah heard a mare say. She must’ve been hidden behind her big semicircle podium because Ah didn’t even notice her.

“Uh, yes ma’am.” She stepped down with a tablet under one hoof and motioned fer me ta follow.

“Zis way.” Which Ah imagine translated ta ‘this way’ through her accent. She’s gotta be Chevallian. The restaurant was laid out with three rows of booth tables on the left and right, then down the center with free standin’ tables in the large gaps between. At the back was a bar and a stage with a very large piano, probably a bit bigger than the massive one Rarity had in her boutique. The floors were black, the walls were white and every cushion was red on the polished black wood furniture. There was a single thought runnin’ through my mind and Ah knew Ah shouldn’t be thinkin’ about. How much did this cost? How much is this gonna cost?

“Oh, hey, you made it,” Goose said as we turned round the last booth in the center row. Instead of bein’ set horizontally like all the others, this booth was aligned just so that one could see the piano without somepony havin’ ta move. Goose… well, in a weird way, didn’t really look like himself. Much like the other day, he was wearin’ a dark blue suit with a bright red tie, and everythin’ had a gold accent of some kind on along the fringes. His mane was all slicked back, and his little beard had been shaved down ta where it formed a neat smooth shape along his chin. He always looked ‘clean’ ta a degree, but this was a step above that. And… there was a smell. A sweet, welcomin’ fragrance that Ah knew but couldn’t place just kinda enveloped the air around him. “You alright? I know it’s not my usual look, but you don’t have to stare,” He laughed. Ah shook my head and nodded.

“Uh, yeah, Ah’m fine. Uh… Rarity’s drivin’ is a little scary, so Ah’m kinda…” Ah looked behind me and finally realized that Ah’d walked inta Champagne alone. “... out of it, Ah guess,” Ah said as Ah scratched at the part in my mane. He nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, I know how that is. Please, have a seat. You look amazing in that, by the way. I’m not sure it’s complete without your bracers though.” Ah laughed and sat down.

“Yeah, Ah had the same thought when she put my mane up like this. Ah’m not sure if Ah’m just supposed ta look pretty or beat the snot outta ponies from across the world in a gauntlet.” He took his seat, and the server mare put her tablet on a little stand on the table.

“Well, I am 'appy to see zat your evening is off to a good start. Zis is ze menu, just tap your order and zen confirm once you’re all done, and it will give you an estimate on when it should be out. Zankyou for dining with us.” She bowed and went back ta the kitchen Ah guess, and then it was just us. Alone. In this big fancy restaurant. Ah’m wearin’ a dress Ah never could’ve afforded before Ah met Rarity. Am about ta eat a meal Ah never coulda afforded before Ah joined Harmony. And ta top everythin’ off, Ah’m here… with Goose. Ah put my hooves ta my muzzle and took a deep breath. Don’t ask about the money. Do not ask about the money. Ah swear ta goddess, if you-

“Goose, how much is this gonna cost ya?” Oh, goddess damn it. “Ah know ya wanna make a good impression or whatever, but Ah can’t have ya blowin’ thousands of bits-” He put a hoof on my lips.

“Shhh, don’t worry about it. Let me be real with you here for a minute. If I wanted to, I could take us here every night for the rest of our natural born lives. Sure, if I didn’t try to impress you, then I wouldn’t be doing my job right. But, that’s not the main reason I brought you here. For now, let’s just… forget about everything else. The food is great, the music is nice, and we’re here, together. Pick out anything from the menu you think you want and we’ll have a nice dinner.” He pulled his hoof away and Ah frowned.

“Goose, will ya just-”

“Just for the hour. I don’t want to talk about anything from before until after we’re done. Then I’ll be at your mercy.” He cut me off. Ah sighed.

“One hour?”

“Unless we take longer to eat than that. I do have something planned for when we finish, but I don’t think it’ll take us that long.” Ah sighed again.

“Fine. But Ah wanna know everythin’, and Ah mean everythin’. If Ah ask, ya tell me the truth, no matter what it is, alright?”

“Yes ma’am~” he sang. Ah chewed inta my lip ta try not ta smile and rolled my eyes.

“Whatever. So what’s good here mister money bags?” Ah asked movin’ on ta address my slowly growin’ hunger.

“Now there’s a question I’ll be happy to answer.”

Ah’ve eaten a lotta food in my life, but there haven’t been many times where Ah’ve eaten till Ah’m full and wanted ta keep eatin’ just because it tasted so good. Ah searched the table with my hoof for a napkin and brought it up ta my face. Ah would never say Ah’m fat. In all honestly, my whole family is probably a little malnourished from years of only managin’ ta put enough on the table. At the moment though, Ah was havin’ a hard time not fallin’ asleep from my food coma.

“Ah’ve made a terrible mistake,” Ah moaned.

“I warned you it was a lot of food. You dug this hole yourself, cowpony,” he said through a chuckle. Ah rolled ta sittin’ up straight and put the napkin down.

“Ya didn’t tell me it was a damn pound of food! Good goddess, Ah didn’t know Ah was capable of puttin’ that much pasta away. Ah ain’t never even had lobster before, much less a whole one. That’s like a dish ponies share right? There’s no way they expect somepony ta put all that away on their own.”

“You would be surprised at what my dad could put away back when we used to come here all the time. I uh… I’m not sure if you care about the whole ‘meat’ thing or not, but since we’re carnivores, dude could, and often did, put a whole thirty two ounce steak away on his own. Like, this one time when I was like fourteen, we made a bet that he couldn’t down it in one go. And then I lost that bet. He was sick for a while after, but damn, if that wasn’t impressive to see.” Ah scooted back in my seat and leaned on the table.

“Meat huh? So, does that mean eatin’ a pony wouldn’t make ya sick?” Goose gagged.

“One, gross. I’m a carnivore, not a cannibal. Two, that’s a good question, but not one I’m willing to find the answer to. I mean, maybe? Ugh, just thinking about it makes me kinda nauseous.” Ah shrugged.

“Ah suppose. Ah mean, there are only so many sentient races on the planet. Ah figure it’s not a question of if ya could, but whether or not ya could ignore the morality of it. Like, if ya had ta do it ta survive, would ya?” He reared back.

“Are you inebriated or something? I’m pretty sure the alcohol is cooked out of the dish before they serve it…” he said as he started lookin’ though the menu. Ah shook my head.

“Nah, this isn’t that. Just curiosity, really. Aside from the griffon or stray big cat ya can find around Manehattan, Ah’ve never really talked ta somepony whose eaten somethin’… well, like me ya know? How much different am Ah from a cow ya could find across the ocean in Bovania or somethin’? Their bodies are of such a high value around the world that they’re constantly at war with themselves, and the slave trade is just terrible. What if that was us? We have laws against that for our own species, but that doesn’t change the fact that we can import beef and leather. My own jacket, the one that was my dad’s, is leather and Ah couldn’t imagine wearin’ anythin’ else in the winter, but that used ta be a cow’s skin. It just makes ya think, ya know?” When he was silent, the music in the air stated get my attention. Soft jazzy piano, A sting bass, a couple violins, and a drum kit. Ah could swear they were playin’ the same thin’ the whole time. When did they get here, anyways? This place was empty when Ah came in. Still don’t know what happened ta Rarity.

“You’re not turning into one of those 'green peace' ponies on me are you?” Goose said after a bit of a pause. Ah reared back, almost in disgust.

“You kiddin’ me? Ah’m not one of those tree huggin’ pussies. A carnivore has the same right ta live as much as a vegan does. Ah just think the culture around vegans is dumb. Ah mean, Ah just ate a lobster. Just cause it’s shellfish don’t mean it wasn’t alive at one point, Ah just don’t care.” Goose laughed.

“Wow, rude. I see you’re no less outspoken than you used to be. Well, if you’re ready for it, I’ve got one last thing before we can go and…” He let out a breath. “Talk about the past.” Ah nodded.

“As long as that one last thin’ isn’t dessert. Ah’m pretty sure Ah could force somethin’ down if Ah really tried, but it’d come back up in a hurry,” Ah said though a laugh.

“Nasty. Okay! Go ahead!” he yelled out ta the band. Everypony on the stage picked up their instruments and started ta fill the seats at the bar, patiently waitin’ and watchin’ the piano. From the back returned that server mare and she took a microphone that had been standin’ unused on the stage.

“We would like to zank our ‘onored guests zis evening for zeir patronage. As requested by monsieur Carcharodon, a special guest Will be playing a piece for us tonight. Please come back if you’ve enjoyed yourself tonight, and of course, try ze Champagne. We welcome madame Rarity Belle to ze stage.” She moved ta a seat at the bar herself, and then, sure enough, Rarity sauntered from the back room ta the piano, her shiny dress almost glowin’ in the low lightin’.

“So that’s where she went! Did y’all-” He stopped me.

“Shhh. Just listen. Of all the things I did for tonight, I think this is probably the most important.” He slid over next ta me and gave a signal ta Rarity, who flashed me a smile. As soon as she started playin’ the piece, it all made sense. When Sweetie said Rarity could make the piano come ta life, she wasn’t kiddin’. Ah didn’t even recognize it when Sweetie started this earlier, but now… the memories and nostalgia are all just floodin’ back ta the surface. She wasn’t just his mom, Swan Song was the mare who played the role of my mother fer those three years. Ah didn’t just forget Goose, Ah forgot her too. Everythin’ she used ta do, all the thin’s she taught me, and the one thin’ Ah never shoulda forgot, her voice.

This was the piece she would play at her house all the time, one that she would sing ta and dance the way she did, how it was almost hypnotizin’ the way she moved. As she played and Ah listened, the emotions from back then started comin’ back. All the fun we had, all the thin’s we shared, how sad we were after she died. By the time Rarity was finished, Ah didn’t even notice that Ah’d been cryin’ until Goose wiped away the tears on my cheeks.

“Ah’m… Ah’m so sorry. Ah never shoulda forgot. We never shoulda been separated, and… and all this is just so fucked up.” He pulled me in fer a hug and Ah noticed the tears on his own cheeks.

“Yeah. Yeah, it really is.” His voice was just as shaky as his touch. Ah wiped away his tears and reciprocated the hug.

“It’s been far too long, Catchy.”

Author's Note

The piece Rarity plays - Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23

Kaiju II - Israfel - The Gemini (part 1)

Applejack

Have ya ever lost contact with somepony fer a long time, and then when ya finally do see ‘em again, it’s like nothin’ ever happened? Over these last couple days, Ah think Ah’ve found myself in that position. He’s different, but not. He’s the same, but not. Now that Ah now who he really is, it’s like Ah can finally see what he looks like fer the first time. All the tension and anticipation from Tuesday is gone, and now there’s just a sense of familiarity. It’s almost like… a family member Ah’d lost is back.

In contrast ta last week, the castle feels relaxed. Shortly after Ah finished my story and told Goose Ah needed ta go home, we opened his door ta have Twilight and Pinkie fall in the room after listenin’ in on us. They were reprimanded and then dragged away by a coffee crazed night princess, but in the end, we decided it was better that they heard his story anyways since they were the only ones who didn’t know. The air was clear, and through the next two days, the others told Goose their own stories. As a whole, it feels like everypony is finally comfortable with each other.

On Friday night, Luna remarked (sarcastically) that Twilight and Pinkie seemed to improve dramatically, clearin’ the basic level monster simulation on their own. Because they’d made it as far as they did, Celestia took over when Saturday mornin’ came and ran us through the simulation herself. It… was not fun, ta say the least. Before we started, Celestia said she’d taken the time to research the ‘books’ in which our first kaiju seemed ta walk out of. Instead of the simulation we’d become used, she worked us to death by killin’ us with all manner of monster that she could think of, or read about in this case.

Unlike how Luna ran us through various levels of difficulty, Celestia threw a monster at us and made us fight until we killed it and nopony died. When she finally released us ta eat, half the day had gone and we’d only made two successful attempts in the six hours that we trained. She didn’t let us go after that either. Her ultimatum was,

“You will defeat six monsters, and only then will you be allowed to sleep. You six are the best option I have right now, and you will be ready for anything that comes your way tomorrow. Failure is not an option, and death… will not be tolerated.”

If anythin’, this only proves that they were once constantly involved in wars and the like. There’s a reason Equestria has been the longest standin’ power in the world, and these two alicorns are it. Between Celestia’s cruel cunnin’ and Luna’s brutality, Ah don’t know that there’s a force on the planet that could stop the both of them. Well, that is provided they didn’t have other ponies they cared about.

In the beginnin’ of the simulations, she’d replace anypony who died with an image of their corpse. After the third run, she said she just couldn’t do that anymore and those that were killed were just removed and watched from above. The few times we all lost, we’d get a preview of what Celestia and Luna would do. They don’t call ’em the Goddesses of the Heavens fer no reason, that’s fer sure. The whole thin’ was real irritatin’ too. Ah never failed ta save somepony, and Ah was sure now that Goose would literally do anythin’ ta keep me from dyin’ first.

With each fight, we would always go down ta the last pony or kill the monster, and more often than not, we could kill the monster with a few casualties, but if it ever came down ta all of us losin’, or Ah finished alone, he’d do anythin’ he could ta keep me alive. Celestia noticed immediately and took him aside once, but never said anythin’ out loud ta anypony about it. When we finally finished and Celestia said her goodbyes and good lucks, Ah just about dragged him by the ear ta his room.

“What the hell was all that!?” The last monster was the worst of them all, and the only time we did manage ta kill it is when everypony made it out alive.

“Uh, battle simulations?” he said. Ah rolled my eyes.

“Ya know damn well what Ah’m talkin’ about. Eighteen times today, ya took a hit and got yerself killed when ya didn’t have ta. Why?” His nonchalant attitude was startin' ta irritate me.

“I… you… have more power than I do so… as long as you’re still around, the monster can go down! Yeah, uh… I mean, it was just a simulation, so what’s the problem?” he said, pausin’ ta think of some more bullshit ta feed me.

“What about when it’s not a simulation, huh? What are ya gonna do if Ah find myself in a situation where Ah’m gonna get hit and there’s no way around it? Are ya gonna kill yerself ta make sure Ah get another chance? Because if ya do, Ah’ll drag yer ass outta hell and kill ya myself!” Goose rolled his eyes and went ta lay down on his bed.

“I don’t see the problem here. If we lost you, we’d be so S.O.L. that the princesses would likely level the city. I believe that we’ve seen the aftermath of that enough times today to know.” Ah stomped my way over ta make sure he looked me in the eyes.

“The problem is that ya keep leavin’ me alone! If Ah screw up, it’s my mistake! Ah don’t need ya tryin’ ta keep me alive if it means yer gonna die in the process! We have an order! Death is not an option!” He sat up from starin’ at the ceilin’ ta lookin’ back at me just as mad as Ah was.

“So what am I supposed to do when there’s nothing we can do about it? Am I supposed to just let you die in front of me even if there’s something I can do to stop it!? If you weren’t so damn insistent on making sure you’re the only one who gets hurt in a fight, then maybe I wouldn’t need to jump in! You take on everything yourself, and you always charge in head first alone! Just because you’re the best doesn’t mean you’re invincible, damn it! I don’t wanna watch you die!” It took everythin’ Ah could just ta keep from hittin’ him at this point.

“So what does that make y’all? The only one who’s allowed ta sacrifice himself? ‘Cause last Ah checked, Ah didn’t wanna watch you die either! From this point forward, Ah don’t want ya anywhere near me in a fight unless Ah tell ya ta otherwise! Don’t make any life threatenin’ decisions, and you are not allowed ta get yerself killed, ya got me!?” Our muzzles were just about touchin’ at this point. Fer some time, he just sat there and stared back at me with an equally angry face. Then he smiled and licked my snout. Ah punched him across the face and doubled back.

“W-what the hell was that!?” Ah yelled, more out of confusion and embarrassment than anger anymore. He pulled his head outta the wall and rubbed his bright red cheek.

“An argument ender. Doesn’t usually get me punched in the face though.” Ah could feel the hairs on my neck standin’ on end.

“W-well, ya deserved it! Keep yer tongue ta yerself, ya jackass!” He just laughed.

“Ha! This is the best reaction I’ve ever gotten. You’re so cute, I might just have to do it again♥” His tone back ta the playboy inflection he used use. Ah just about hissed at him.

“Do it again and see what happens! We’ll be lookin’ fer a new sixth damn quick! Ah’m goin’ home! Remember what Ah said tonight, and don’t y’all forget it!” Ah stomped my way outta his room and never looked back. Ah slammed the door behind me and without payin’ attention, Ah smacked inta Twilight.

“Oww…” She groaned as a stack of books fell ta the floor. Oh damn it, that was my fault.

“Sorry Twi.” Ah picked her books up and tired ta give 'em back. She shook her head and quickly restacked her books on her back with her magic.

“Oh, it’s fine, I wasn’t paying attention. I shouldn’t be reading in the halls. I sometimes forget that I’m not the only one who lives here anymore,” She said with a stiff smile. Then she stared at my face and tilted her head. “Um, is something wrong? Your face is all red and your nose is wet.” The hair in my neck was likely standin’ on end at the moment.

“Uh, no, Ah uh… needed ta wash my face and Ah didn’t notice how hot the water was… uh, hehe.” Ah nervously wiped my face off as quickly as possible. Ah can’t believe Ah didn’t do this first!

“I see. Well, alright then. Sleep well. Tomorrow is the big day, after all…” She trailed off as her eyes lowered ta the floor. Ah leaned over ta read some of the spines of the books she had on her. The art of war. Martial arts fer the average stallion. Tactics and accounts from Equestrian wars. Beatin’ the big guy: Boxin’ tips 101.

“Twi, are plannin’ on readin’ all of those tonight?” She looked at me like a deer in headlights, and then eyed her books. Her wings flared up and covered each side of her books.

“I um… well, I-I’ve already read these actually, so I was just going to… skim through them again! Yeah, I just wanted to do… that.” Her eyes fell from me ta the ground again. Ah let out a breath, wrapped a hoof around her neck, and walked with her ta the library.

“Nervous?” Ah asked as we sat down at one of the tables. She levitated her books ta the table and then laid her face on it next.

“Of course I’m nervous! I don’t know how any of you aren’t. Mother said that if I get hurt again, she’s going to use a real monster from some of her unrecorded fights next time we train. This is of course if I make it out alive in the first place. I only survived ten of the hundred or so simulations we did today as a team! That doesn’t even count all the ones I’ve been doing with Luna…” Ah sighed.

“Come on now, we ain’t gonna let ya die on us.” She picked her head up.

“Applejack, will you tell me the truth?” She asked. Ah frowned.

“Well, Ah’m not typically one ta lie. At least not here anyways.” Ah don’t really outright ‘lie’ ta ponies without a reason. That isn’t ta say Ah haven’t snaked my way outta thin’s before, but Ah'm no Goose.

“Am I useful? If… if you had access to somepony better than me, like somepony who could be the relay and carry their own weight… you would still want me around? Am I… a liability?” She asked, gettin’ real close. Ah backed away and sighed again.

“Sugarcube-”

“No! I want the truth! I want an honest answer! You always talk down when you start with that. Please, tell me what you really think.” Ah let out another breath.

“When Ah started out, Ah wasn’t the best around. Half the time Ah managed ta turn somepony in fer a bounty, Ah’d have ta use everythin’ Ah earned ta repair the damage Ah caused tryin’ ta catch ‘em. It took me three solid months of failures before Ah actually made anythin’ from all the bounty huntin’ Ah did. And ya know how Ah made anythin’ in the first place? It was because Ah stopped a robbery. Ah wasn’t in costume, Ah was down on my luck, and Ah didn’t feel like Ah was gettin’ any better. Ah was in a small family run grocery story that Ah visited often because they would help us out when we didn’t have enough.

Some junkie pointin’ a gun at everypony around tellin’ ‘em ta give him everythin’ they had. Ah almost didn’t do anythin’ till he fired a warnin’ shot at the owner when he wouldn’t budge. He was just a normal old stallion, and without a second thought, he outright refused ta give the robber anythin’. He even tried ta talk him down with a gun pointed at his face. When it looked like he was really gonna get shot, that’s when Ah stepped in. Ah moved quick, and he shot at me. The bullet hit me in the side and then bounced off. Ah got in close and kicked him in the head, slammin’ his face inta the floor. Ah still remember what Ah said that day because it was the first time Ah got really mad at the criminal Ah was puttin’ away.

‘He did nothin’ but show ya kindness and ya damn near blew his head off. Filth like you doesn’t deserve a second chance.’ Ta add ta that, Ah took his gun and crushed it under my hoof. And ya know what happened next? The owner scolded me. He said that even idiots like that junkie deserve second chances. He probably never woulda tried ta rob the store if he had ponies in his life ta keep him on the right path. In the end, he asked me ta let him go, and the junkie ran away. The owner said,

‘Ta ponies as strong as y’all are, kindness and the ability ta extend a hoof ta help instead of punish is the most important thin’ ya can ever have.’ He then gave me three silver bits and told me ta go on home with what Ah’d picked out. Ah’m good at the role Ah play, and that’s bein’ the vanguard, stayin’ in the thick of the fight. You’re the only magical offense and defense we’ve got, and with more time and practice, you’ll get better at it. Sure, there are ponies out there who’d probably do a better job right now, but Ah don’t think Ah’d rather have somepony Ah don’t know who’s better than ya, than y’all doin’ yer best. Twi, Ah trust ya ta step up ta the plate when you’re needed.

So, do Ah think you’re a liability? No, Ah really don’t. You’ve got good reflexes with yer magic, and we certainly couldn’t have beaten that last simulation without ya around. If ya can get yer body ta keep up with yer head, Ah doubt there’ll be anypony who can match ya.” Twilight sat there and slowly but surely, started ta nod.

“Thanks… Applejack, that means a lot to me.” Ah nodded in return.

“Ah’m glad Ah could help. Now leave these here and go get some sleep. If ya get time in the mornin’, then read all ya want, but Ah’d rather have ya well rested fer tomorrow than well read on ancient Mǎnese philosophy.” Ah said with a laugh. She smiled.

“Yeah, I suppose that won’t really help me if it doesn’t pertain to what to do when dealing with some five story monster, now will it?” Ah walked her ta her room and then headed toward the garage. When Ah arrived, Goose was leanin’ on the wall waitin’ fer me.

“If that wasn’t you at your core, then I don’t know who you are. Good to see that mom is still around takin’ care of the kids.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, what’s yer point?” Ah said. He laughed and met me at my bike.

“None, really, I’m just happy to see you being yourself around somepony other than your family. I was thinking about it a little while ago, and your ‘circle of friends’ pretty much consisted of me and your brother way back when.” Ah sighed and started the bike.

“Yeah. And after ya disappeared on me and dad died, there wasn’t anypony in that circle fer a long time. Meetin’ all these girls and gettin’ ya back just makes me realize how much Ah’ve missed out on by closin’ myself off ta ponies, ya know? Like, if Ah’d opened myself up ta even my uncle or my brother so long ago, maybe Ah wouldn’t have been so depressed fer so long. Not too long ago, Ah wasn’t so different from that junkie. All alone and just a step away from fallin’ off the right path…” It’s only been about a month now, but Ah feel like Ah’ve grown a lot in that short time. Havin’ friends really makes a whole hell of a difference.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that. You’ve been through some pretty rough shit, especially now that I know the whole story. To think of where you started and where you are now, it’s really a miracle that you’ve managed to keep your soul intact. You suffered loss after loss after loss, and you’re still here, kicking harder than anypony else. I think you’re just too good a pony too ever really fall like that. You might not believe it, but I think you’re special.” Ah rolled my eyes and got on my bike.

“Think what ya want. Ah’ll never really believe Ah’m more than somepony constantly tryin’ ta make up fer my own mistakes.” Ah started the engine and Goose shrugged with a smile on his face.

“I guess I’ll just keep believing in you then. If you ask me, it takes more than just good intentions to keep trying to be better, especially on your own.” Ah shrugged this time.

“Whatever. Just don’t forget what Ah told ya earlier. You’re not allowed ta save me again if it means you’ll get hurt. That’s an order!” Ah pulled back on the gas and shot up the ramp and out of the castle.

“Yes ma’am, miss hero.”

The mornin’ arrived, and unlike the sense of dread Ah felt last week, this week it was different. Ah felt ready. Ah’m prepared fer whatever comes, and we’ll beat it no matter what it is. It was about six in the mornin’, and the alarms weren’t set ta go off fer another hour so that the city had plenty of time ta evacuate. Ah packed my backpack, grabbed my coat and my hat, and then headed inta the livin’ room.

“Good morning. I see you’re up early. Headed somewhere?” Uncle Blood asked. Ah stopped dead in my tracks. What is he doin’ up this early on a Sunday? The questions Ah asked Persona weren’t part of the broadcast…

“Yeah, Ah’m meetin’ some friends from work fer breakfast.” Ah answered, truthfully. The coffeepot finished fillin’ up and Uncle Blood poured himself a cup of the warm black liquid.

“Friends from work? You? Now that’s certainly something,” he said with a laugh Ah scratched behind my ear.

“Ah’ll say… Anyways-” Ah started, however, Ah caught his eyes, and Ah just about froze in ‘em. There’s only been one other pony Ah’ve known that can stare me down like that in my entire life, and he was my dad.

“Your siblings and I are going to visit the national park in Fillydelphia today. If you finish early, come join us. But above all else, live.” He took a sip of his coffee and never took those eyes of his off me. “I suppose your friends are probably waiting for you. Hurry along then.” He looked away, finally releasin’ his freezin’ stare. Ah swallowed and shook myself out of paralysis.

“Y-yes sir.” My eyes found the ground and Ah exited the apartment as quickly as possible. Without a doubt in my mind, that stallion is more informed than Ah am. Ah don’t know what all Uncle Blood knows, but he certainly knows both the lives Ah lead. Ah made my way down the staircases ta my bike and rode off ta the castle as fast as Ah could. Ah trust my uncle, but when he does shit like this… it always reminds me why Ah've never disobeyed him growin’ up.

The garage closed behind me, Ah pulled in ta find Rarity was already here and just now gettin’ outta her car.

“Good morning Applejack. Oh my, what is that face? You didn’t have another… ‘nightmare’ did you?” she asked after Ah took my helmet off. It took me a moment ta process what she said and then Ah shook myself again.

“Uh, no it’s nothin’. Mornin’ yerself. Didn’t expect ya ta be here so early.” Rarity sighed.

“Oh, well, I didn’t have much of a choice since I was already up. My… my father called yesterday and asked to see Sweetie. Normally, I would never have let him near her, but since today is the day, and I didn’t already have arrangements for her to be somewhere else… I figure it’d be best if she were away from the monster here, and with the one she knows in Tin. At the very least, I trust she could protect herself from another pony if need be.” She said it almost like she wasn’t sure she made the right choice. Ah gave her a pat on the back.

“Come on now, one day with yer dad ain’t gonna kill her.” When last Rarity told her own story, this time she added a whole other part about her parents. As it goes, she hated them both fer the longest time, but after finally seein’ her father again after two years, she learned what really happened with her mother, and her dad’s since cleaned himself up. Pinkie and Ah had similar words ta say about that, but we both understood that it was difficult ta forgive.

“It might! But I suppose, now isn’t really the time to be worried about that, isn't it? In less than six hours, we get to play with a brand new monster or whatever comes out of Argent’s shop of horrors today.” Ah nodded.

“If that ain’t the truth. Sachiel called himself the weakest last Sunday, so who knows what this next one is gonna be? Heh, maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll end up one of Celestia’s monsters from yesterday.” Rarity groaned.

“Oh, I hope not. Stabbed, incinerated, crushed, melted, and the worst one of them all, having my horn imploded into my skull. If I could not experience any of that again, I would be content with my life.” We made our way down the hall and a familiar smell caught my nose, shortly followed by a melodic voice.

“Ooh, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’ll be returning every Saturday until this is all over with new ideas to train you all. After that, it’ll only be a monthly thing. I can’t have my most experienced home-front defenders get sloppy after all. And just think of the fun we’ll have! I’ve never had a team in my armies I truly believed could defeat my first legion before♥” sang the Sun Princess.

“Speak of the devil…” Rarity mumbled as we turned inta the kitchen ta see her majesty in a frilly pink apron. She was hard at work as about ten utensils were performin’ different tasks, all bathed in the gold light of Celestia’s magic. A knife was cuttin’ apples up inta cubes, a whisk and a bowl were mixin’ eggs, flour, sugar, and salt together. A pan was bein’ shaken as another bowl was pourin’ batter in spots, and then each spot was covered with cubes of apple.

“Good morning you two. How are you feeling?” she asked, takin’ her attention away from what she was doin’ ta look at us. Even while her eyes were elsewhere, all the utensils in magic continued on as if she was unnecessary fer them ta keep doin’ their jobs.

“Uh, fine Ah guess. Is that… is that my… mom’s recipe?” The memories of my first home started ta flow back through my head with the sweet smell. Celestia looked away for a moment.

“Hmm… it might be. Whatever it is, you were the one who remembered it. I made these a few weeks ago for my daughter, but you unfortunately had to leave before I could start. I hope they live up to your expectations.” She had that warm smile on her face, and if even fer a second, Ah thought Ah was lookin' at my own mother.

“Oh… well, they certainly smell like Ah remember, so that’s a good sign. You’ll have ta give me the recipe after we get done today. Applebloom never got the chance ta try ‘em, and Ah’m sure Macintosh would love ta have ‘em again after all these years.” Celestia nodded.

“Of course. If you’ll go wake the others, I’ve already got quite a few ready to serve. I believe Pinkie is the only one who’s awake at the moment.” Celestia turned back around and Rarity nodded.

“Of course she is. The smell of baked goods will attract her from almost literally miles away, her condition be damned. Do you have coffee brewing? If not I can take care of that.” Celestia clapped her bare hooves. A strange sight conciderin' she's almost always wearin' her gold shoes, yoke and crown.

“Oh, I knew I’d forgotten something. Please, by all means.” Rarity pulled the coffee pot out and went ta the sink. Ah made my way ta the bedroom hall and said good mornin’ ta Pinkie who was busy readin’ one of Fluttershy’s backwards comic books.

“Morning. Ya know, this story is pretty screwed up. I’m not really far in, but it’s like something straight out of our lives, it’s so depressing. The part with that kaiju we fought the other day is really freaky.” She turned another page and Ah frowned.

“Oh, is that the one?” She nodded.

“Yeah. I’m not too happy with the main character though. He’s a huge pussy. Makes me wanna punch him in the face at every other turn.” Ah slowly nodded.

“Uh, sure. Have fun with that,” Ah said as Ah walked away. She’s just so weird sometimes. Ah decided that Ah’d get Fluttershy up first since she’s least likely ta give me an issue about it. Ah opened her door, and avoided wires until Ah reached her bed. Her TV was on and the Marevel versus Comcap title screen was runnin’ though its roster silently. Huh. Must’ve fallen asleep playin’. As Ah got closer, Ah started ta hear the faintest whisper comin’ from her bed.

“M-mommy… the monster… she’s… she’s… she’s in my head…” she mumbled. Guess Ah’m not the only one who’s got nightmares. Ah got closer and tried ta wake her up, but then all my instinct’s started screamin’ at me and Ah backed up. The pony in the bed moved almost as fast as Ah did, and where Ah was not but a second ago was a pony-sized outstretched beast’s claw, sharp, dangerous, and right where my heart would’ve been. A cold, almost glowin’ red wolf’s eye stared me back in the blue glow of the TV as it breathed heavily and ragged. It stared me down fer a moment before it reverted ta the blue-green pony eye it was supposed ta be, and the claw turned back inta a yellow hoof.

“F-fluttershy?” She pulled both of her hooves up ta her snout and gasped.

“O-oh my goddess, I’m so sorry! I-I um… if you could j-just… forgive and forget t-this little… um, event, I-I would really appreciate that.” The room then suddenly lit up as bright as the sun, and when the flash was gone, Celestia was in it’s place.

“What just happened?” She asked, no, demanded. This wasn’t the mother’s voice, this was the ruler’s voice. Fluttershy was just about shakin’ in her skin, and they were both lookin’ at me.

“Uh…” She looked at me, then narrowed her eyes at Fluttershy.

“You and I have an agreement. Do not make me rescind my kindness.” The visibly terrified pony moved her long pink mane out of her other eye, and a red one stared back at Celestia, a sharp smile on its half of her face.

“B-but of course, my princess. I-It was an accident, I was simply p-protecting my darling,” she replied, her voice almost in two tones, one deep and gravely, the other the voice Ah knew. Celestia scowled at the tiny mare, who only smiled back in defiance.

“Very well. Remember your place, Beast. This castle is safe, and you are not to interact with anypony, understood?” Fluttershy bowed a curtsy.

“B-but of course, my Goddess. I-I bid you adieu.” The second eye reverted back ta its green-blue, and now standin’ on the bed was Fluttershy, and just Fluttershy. She stood there shakin’ like a wet, lost puppy. Celestia’s scowl reverted back to her motherly smile.

“Good morning my dear. I’m making breakfast, so why don’t you head on into the living room for me?” she asked in that sweet voice. The shakin’ came ta a halt and Fluttershy slowly nodded without sayin’ a word and ran outta the room. Celestia then turned ta me with a sullen look on her face. “I apologize for that. I hate to ask this of you, but would you mind keeping this little mishap between the four of us? I will explain things next time I have the chance. Nopony else knows about this… relationship between Fluttershy and I.” Ah nodded, and just as she appeared, she disappeared.

“The four of us? What the hell did Ah just step in?”

Breakfast came and went, and the events of this mornin’ were entirely ignored. Fluttershy wouldn’t look me in the eye, and Celestia made sure Ah wasn’t around her fer most of the mornin’. We had our equipment checked over and repaired if necessary, and we ran one last simulation before the clock hit eleven thirty.

“You’ve all trained hard this week, and this last test went smoother than I anticipated. Call it hubris, but I believe that you’ll defeat this monster quickly today,” Celestia said lookin’ us all over. How we managed that battle she just put us through, Ah will never know, but somehow we did and everypony seems rarin’ ta go.

“Oh yeah, this is so happenin’ today! I can feel it! I believe in the dream!” Pinkie shouted. Ah think she was just happy because this was the first time that she got the kill shot. It was almost always Me, Goose, or Fluttershy that would finish a monster off, save fer the rare once that the monster we were dealin’ with was essentially allergic ta magic, so Rarity ended up gettin’ that one. Still don’t know how Twilight didn’t do it, but all the same, Ah suppose she lacks the experience Rarity has.

“Superstar here has got the energy today I see. I don’t know about everypony else, but I’m feelin’ pretty confident too,” Goose said.

“Well, I’m not. We could be up against anything. I’d prefer it if we were more cautious than confident…” Twilight said.

“Now that’s no attitude to have. Buck up, filly! Take caution with confidence. Your decisions will be the right ones. We will succeed and things will go our way,” Rarity corrected.

“Yeah, that’s the way. Y’all listen up. We’re gonna defend the city, we’re gonna minimize the damage, and we’re gonna take care of this monster. We did just fine last time, and this ain’t gonna be no different.” The air was intoxicatin’, and the feelin’ was good. We’re gonna do just fine.

“Absolutely what I want to hear. Noon draws near, so go to the highest roof in the city and wait there for your prey to come to you. You are to come back alive, and if you can manage it, with your enemy prisoner! These are your orders, now go, Harmony!” We all saluted the princess, and then gathered around Goose. We blinked from the Castle to the top of the Empire buildin’ and waited. Fifteen minutes passed, and then the clock struck noon. The bell tower rang out twelve times, and just like clockwork, Persona appeared on every screen.

“And once again, I arrive to an empty Manehattan. However, I had expected this by this time. Now then, your next opponent may be something more than you expected, my dear heroes! Come forth, Israfel! Heroes, you’ve risen to the challenge once before, now I ask you do it again! Go beyond! Begin your search, Israfel!

Kaiju II - Israfel - The Gemini (part 2)

“Thank you, our lord, Persona, but first, we believe introductions are in order!” Out from the Empire’s rooftop door walked a pegasus mare who was just about split down the middle fer her red and blue coat colors. Even had heterochromia ta boot, however each eye was the other side’s color. “As you all, and the audience watching know, we are Israfel, the second Kaiju. However, we and the audience only know a hoofful of your names. For the benefit of the city you protect, please, tell us who defends it!” she said with a tone almost as grandiose as the mask itself.

“What are we waiting for!? We should attack while we have the chance!” Centurio just about screamed in everypony’s mind.

“Don’t be an idiot. Do you even realize how that would make us look? We’re supposed to be the honorable heroes here. If we just go now, the whole city would call us cowards. That’s over a million and a half ponies alone. That aside, the whole country is probably watching us,” Goose replied before Ah had the chance.

“But…! The destruction!” Centurio tried ta argue back.

“I-I think he has a p-point here. L-legally, if they don’t make the first move, I-it’s an unprovoked attack on a c-citizen by military p-personnel. We would b-be in the wrong here.” Target added. Ah had ta know.

“Why do ya know that?” Ah asked fer everypony.

“I-I wanted to know how l-long I would be in for i-if I ever confessed a w-while back. L-let’s just say I w-wont be doing that.” Ah knew that the beast killed a lot, but what all else did she do? Ya know what that’s not important right now.

“Well, Ah guess ya can live out that fantasy of yers Goose. Pick a name and do it quick. Ya have until everypony else finishes before Ah go. Ah don’t care who goes first, but Ah’m goin’ last.” Of course, the first to introduce herself was Blur.

“I am Blur, the Speed hero!” she shouted proudly as she stood on the far edge of the rooftop.

“We have seen! Not a pony is quicker than she who moves faster than the eye,” Israfel noted. she speaks with such a strange enthusiasm.

“I am Diamond,” Rarity stated from her corner of the roof. Quietly, but not soft spoken. Confident, if nothin’ else. Israfel bowed.

“Ah yes, you’re one of the two known heroes in your little troupe. Yet somehow, your powers are unknown to everypony. A wild card to keep in mind. We welcome the challenge.”

“I am Target Lock.” Fluttershy… or the other Fluttershy said. No stutter like normal either. If ya didn’t know what Ah do, ya’d think she was usin’ a voice modulator.

“Ooh, scary. For the colorful bunch you are, there’s certainly a lot of dark colors here. We suppose some ponies try to stand out more than others,” Israfel said, almost in a condescendin’ tone. Is she… referrin’ ta herself with ‘we?’

“I-I am… Centurio Reginae!” Twilight stuttered from beside Target.

“Oh, for the love of- Of all the times you had to stutter...” Celestia’s voice echoed through our minds.

“Oh goddess, why are you listening in! Did you do this last week too!?” Twilight called back in the apparently ‘public’ private conversation.

“Of course I was. How could I not? You know what, forget it. I won’t say anything else.” Then the link felt very weak. If she didn’t say anythin’, Ah doubt any of us would’ve noticed it ta begin with. Huh. Ah guess that explains a few thin’s.

“Well, now what do we have here? If a Queen you call yourself, you certainly look the part! What an interesting mutation… We can only wonder if you were born with both wings and a horn. It all looks so… natural,” Israfel said.

“I swear to the Goddess, Sister, if anypony presses on the right connection!” Luna echoed from far away.

“Oh, you worry too much. Now be quiet, they might hear you,” Celestia replied, also as if she were very far away.

“Not might, can. We can hear you, thanks,” Centurio stated in a tone that sounded sarcastic, but bordered defeated. If the link ta the other two royals was still there, nopony could tell anymore.

“Ya figure anythin’ out?” Ah asked Goose.

“You know, I think I’ll go with the name Soapy came up with.” Goose stepped forward and announced ta everypony who he was in the suit. “They call me the Black Knight!” he shouted, just as proud as Blur did.

“If that is what you call yourself then so be it. He who appears in one place, and then suddenly another, yet at the same time, carries strength to rival the heroine herself. The warping Black Knight, possibly a fellow success? Wonderful.” The dichromatic pony smiled a wicked smile at Goose and Ah shuddered. She sure knows a hell of a lot. and if she doesn't, she's been makin' awful good guesses.

“I-I don’t like w-where this is going…” Fluttershy whimpered.

“You and me both. Ah’ve got a suspicion Ah’m gonna test out.” Ah stepped forward and flexed a little. Doesn’t hurt ta try and intimidate.

“Ah am Marevelous Red, the leader of Harmony. Ya haven’t said much, but somethin’s been botherin’ me. Ya’ve been usin’ ‘we’ ta refer ta yerself. How many ponies am Ah lookin’ at?” Ah asked. Israfel started ta raise her snout ta me as a smile Ah’ve seen too many times formed on her face.

“Ah yes, she is no less clever than we have heard! The ever impressive Marevelous Red truly stands above her peers now doesn’t she? The bell has tolled and our opponents introduced! Let us begin! Ha ha ha ha!” Israfel charged me, laughin’ like a mad mare and Ah prepared fer whatever she was gonna do. Except, Ah wasn’t prepared fer her ta run straight past me. Ignored me and everypony else completely, she jumped off the buildin’.

“Follow her, but whatever ya do, get away from here!” Ah jumped after her and she turned ta face me as we fell.

“So valiant, so wonderful, so marvelous! A hero like you is likely the only one within a generation! For your noble soul, we will show you everything we are!” Israfel said, like fallin’ was the least of her worries. She raised a foreleg in front of her mouth and then chomped down on it, drawin’ blood. Much like before, an orange colored lightnin’ lit the sky and shot down ta Israfel. Her form began ta expand instantly, growin’ out as a dark red and blue ooze. Suddenly the Empire buildin’ wasn’t the widest thin’ around. Cracklin’ and poppin’, the sound of screamin’ and shreikin’ air reverberated through the city. The transformation finished and Israfel reached the ground much faster than anypony anticipated.

“Surround her! She’s not as big as the last one! If ya spot the mirror let everypony know, otherwise look fer weak points! Don’t get hit, and don’t need Diamond if ya can avoid it! Move!” Ah shot at the empire buildin’ behind me and stopped myself just at the forty story mark. About ten below that was the top of Israfel. She stood above most of the buildin’s around, but not as tall as Sachiel did. Her frame was strangely round at the top, almost like a perfect dome, but over all she was shaped similarly to Sachiel, bein’ a biped with two claws. Her face was much like the last one’s mask, save this one was in her colors of red and blue in two solid blocks. She had bony lookin’ parts on her chest, and each arm and both legs looked ta be armored with it. As Ah looked her over, Ah noticed a bright silver spot in about the center of her chest.

“Ah think Ah see the mirror! Right on her chest, dead center! Ah’m goin’ after it!” The monster looked up at me and its mask twisted around so that the colors switched sides. It straightened both arms and splayed its blade like claws.

“YeS, tHaT iS rIgHt! ThIs Is WhAt YoU sEeK!” The monster said as Ah was just about ta jump. My hooves left the wall and then Goose called out.

“No, wait! She’s doing this on purpose!” When my hoof collided with the mirror, it didn’t break, but let out a sickenin’ tone. Like the sound of six different bells all a half step from each other, it rang out and reverberated through the city even louder than the transformation. The volume seemed ta only increase with every half second that passed. Ah flattened my ears against my head and made a jump fer the empire buildin’. Ah felt a liquid start ta run down my left ear and then a thought crossed my mind too late. The windows all along the Empire buildin’ shattered, and a hail of glass fell straight on my head. Or, it would have, if the Black Knight didn’t shield me with his back.

“I could’ve swore we had an argument about this like, yesterday,” he said after the glass finished fallin’ and the tone died down.

“And Ah thought Ah could’ve ended this already if that was all it took.” A sharp pain started ta throb inside my ear. “Damn it! Goddess, Ah think that busted one of my ear drums!” A new tone, one that was much clearer and more pleasant started ta ring from the monster, takin’ our attention back ta it. The chord rang out, slowly gettin’ louder and shakin’ everythin’ in the area like an earthquake. Israfel’s two tone mask began ta shift and spin in place until finally, each mask had separated. The monster started ta split down the middle, the chord slowly losin’ notes as the monster cut itself in half. When all that remained were two perfect tones an octave apart from each other, and the creature’s two halves split perfectly down the middle, the halves of each monster shrank and began ta refill what was lost. The violet monster from before had become two smaller copies of itself, one red, one blue.

“I don’t even think I really even need to say that that was a huuuge fuck up on your part.” Ah scowled at him.

“And ya said it anyways. Ah don’t know how ya can hear anythin’ after that.” He shrugged.

“Some of us wear more than a skin tight suit for protection. Oh shit.” We noticed quick enough ta avoid the two incomin’ fists of either Israfel as she shot from her spots on the ground. The empire buildin’ was gouged out a side wall on a few floors, but thankfully still standin’ after they fell back ta earth.

“Target, Centurio, grab their attention, we need some cover over here!” BK and Ah looked at each other and jumped separate ways when the twin kaiju came after us. This time, they took out a whole corner of an apartment complex each. Then, the two Israfels seemed to stare past each other and leap after us. They jumped inta the air, shatterin’ the road underneath ‘em, aimed right fer us. Ah saw BK look my direction and knew exactly what he was about ta do. That bastard is gonna pull this shit again!

“FIRE!” Ah commanded, and just as quick, a big incendiary shot the blue one and a magic explosion of violet lightnin’ sparked in front of the red one, knockin’ both Israfels off course. BK and Ah landed without gettin’ hit, and the two Israfels slumped over a buildin’ each almost like a limp piece of paper. Now that Ah could see em from the side, they were real thin, wedge shaped thin’s. There was silence fer a moment, and it looked like we had a chance ta think.

“We need a new plan fast. Anypony see the mirror?” Ah asked.

“I-I’m pretty sure I shot it,” Target said.

“Same here. I’m fairly sure it didn’t move based on its original location. Ugh, this is just like one of the ones that gave us the most trouble when we trained with mother,” Centurio added.

“Ah’ll say, but at least we’ve got some kind of experience with multiple targets like this. Blur, Diamond, we need ya on the front line again. We’re gonna need ta be in sync if we hope ta get anywhere with this.” The creature groaned, takin’ back our attention. We turned ta see the Israfels become almost liquid clear on the inside and watched as the masks and mirrors moved through her internals to face us. As if a shockwave ran through them, the two creatures moved like wavin’ paper ta stand up straight. The rest of the body faded through the center and moved until the whole of each monster was facin’ us again’ as if she’d turned around. Ah noticed both of the mirrors now, just as shiny and reflective in an odd ‘more-than-it-should’ way as they were before, but with cracks all along the edges. Well, at least fer a second. The two masks spun, the single eye in each circlin’ around in a violet hue. As they did, the cracks in the mirror slowly faded away until the masks stopped, lookin’ like nothin’ ever happened.

“Oh goddess damn it, they’re regenerators too,” BK said.

“Y’all remember what we did last time this happened! Execute the same plan, and it should work! Chances are high it’s all or nothin’ with these two, so we’ll need everythin’ we got fer this!” The sound of crashin’ heavy foot falls interrupted my orders as the monster was quick ta charge again.

“Scatter!” Her intent was clear, and she was after the two ranged units. An unfortunate part of the job of the tank is that sometimes ya gotta take hits fer the squishies. This is one of those times.

“Y’all ain’t movin’ fast enough, damn it!” BK and Ah jumped from our respective spots with likely the same force, considerin’ the new depressions in those rooftops, and we raised our shoulders ready ta take a punch from the clawed fist of each Israfel. The impact felt just as heavy as it looked and every muscle in my body was a tense as it could get before the forces at play caught up ta me and Ah shot through the air. Like a cannon ball, BK and Ah hit the ground, tearin’ craters in blacktop and concrete enough ta rival a sink hole in the outskirts of Manehattan. We were quick ta get back up, just as Israfel was ta stop her movement and reorient herself ta go after Target and Centurio.

“Centurio, make a wall! She’s not as strong as Ah am, use one of my heavy punches as a reference and do it fast! Time ta think is limited here! BK, prepare ta grab Target and back the hell off! Blur, try ta grab one of their attention! It looks like her mirror is the same as the last one, so use the acid! Diamond, get ready. If Ah call, freeze everypony but Centurio! Nopony else needs ta be in range ta get hit! Move!” Ah barely managed ta finish the thought before the twin Israfels got goin’ again, each after the same targets relentlessly. Ah followed the red one and shot a cable in its side ta pull myself toward it. Just as Ah started ta reel in, the creature spun itself around like a battle top in mid air, dislodgin’ my cable and sendin’ me the opposite direction. The blue one had just about made it ta Target, and the red one wasn’t slowed much by my attempt ta do just that. Son of a bitch! A lined up another shot and called time.

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

Ah blinked and my shot connected ta the red monster as it crashed inta a big, opaque, mirror-like violet crystal wall that Diamond and Centurio were huddled behind. The barrier held and Ah reeled in with Trump Card ready ta blow. Just as Ah came close, the Monster’s face started ta travel through her innards. Ah let loose my punch and ripped out my hook, sendin’ a shockwave through the creature and splatterin’ red ooze all over Centurio’s barrier. Her body had protected the mirror enough that it was untouched when Ah arrived, but Ah wasn’t done yet. As soon as the first punch landed, Ah shot that hoof’s cable at the mirror itself and pulled in further fer a second full power blast ta the mirror. The punch landed and a sharp pain shot though my left foreleg.

It was almost like everythin’ had slowed down. Cracks started ta shoot out in waves from the mirror’s center until finally, shards of mirror shot back inta Twilight’s barrier. A couple pieces made it inta the thick violet dome and got stuck there, while one made it through and shot just inches of slicin’ Diamond’s neck open. The creature’s mask spun rapidly as a tri-tone blasted through Manehattan. Ah bounced off Centurio’s barrier and covered my ears as hard as Ah could while the entire world seemed ta be bathed in the loudest horrible sound Ah’ve ever heard in my life. From where it lay, red Israfel melted like wax on the rooftop and down the buildin’ they were standin’ on. The sound died down, and everythin’ was still.

Blue Israfel stopped dead in her tracks ta turn and stare our direction, stoppin’ it’s pursuit of BK and Target, completely ignorin’ the two gashes it had in its own mirror from Blur’s attacks. All sound was lost ta me as the warm liquid and throbbin’ pain in my ear became more intense. Ah watched on deaf as the blue Israfel seemed ta ignore the fact that its red twin just melted and continued after its pursuit of Target. Ah flapped the ear Ah assumed was still good until sound started ta return ta me, and as it did, the voices of my team filled my head.

“What the hell was that!?”

“Oh goddess, what a horrid sound! Is everypony alright?”

“She’s completely ignoring her dead half and still going after us, what the hell is this!?”

“S-She keeps shifting her m-mirror as she moves, I-I can’t get a good shot off!”

“It seems as if I need to reconstruct my barrier so it can handle high velocity projectiles as well...”

“Will ya’ll shut up fer a second and let me think!? Goddess damn it! Centurio, Ah need ya ta come fix my ear!” The voices stopped comin’ in all at once, and just as they left, all the pains and aches flooded my brain. Ah pulled my throbbin left hoof away from my ear and noticed that my suit was the wrong color there now. Goddess damn it, it probably is broken! Ah pulled some of the pain killer syrum that Ah’d packed fer today and applied it ta my left foreleg while Ah waited fer Centurio and watched the fight with blue Israfel continue. Blur had improved significantly in the last couple of days and she was almost artfully dodgin’ Israfel's swattin’ at her, but she wasn’t hardly doin’ any damage and was mostly bein’ ignored. BK and Target on the other hoof were constantly warpin’ together as she would take pot shots at Israfel’s mirror with each landin’. Israfel was relentless, barely givin’ BK a chance ta breathe with each warp he made, leavin’ claw marks in every thin’ he landed on, roofs and walls destroyed seconds after he disappeared from those very spots.

“Oh my goddess, what happened to your ear?” Ah heard Centurio say from far away. Ah turned toward the sound and saw that she was maybe an inch away from my left ear, makin’ me realize how bad off Ah really was.

“Busted, probably. Ah was too close every time she let out one of those crazy tones and this is what Ah paid fer it. Can ya fix it?” Her horn lit up and she looked like she was concentratin’ real hard. That didn’t bode well. My ear felt warm again, but the pain started ta ease away, lettin’ my body relax a bit.

“Ah, thanks Cent.” She shook her head with a frown on her face.

“I didn’t fix anything. All I can do is stop the bleeding for now. I numbed the nerves too, but there’s some serious damage there. You’ll definitely have to go to the hospital to get this repaired, and even then, I doubt you’ll ever be able to hear as well as you used to ever again.” Ah grimaced. Oh, well isn’t that just fantastic. Another fuckin’ problem fer me ta deal with. A half a tail, and now Ah’m gonna end up down an ear fer the rest of my life. Prefect.

“Whatever, that’s not important right now. Ah need ya ta try and fix whatever amount of my left foreleg ya can as fast as ya can. They need me over there.” Centurio’s magic went ta work, but her face didn’t look any better this time. And then she just stopped all together, which was an even worse tell.

“I… I don’t… What did you do!? Your bones are in pieces, I couldn’t fix all this if I wanted to! Oh goddess, your right leg is hardly any better, it’s covered in fractures! Marevelous… you can’t fight anymore with injuries like this.”

“W-what? Ya gotta be kiddin’ me! There’s no way Ah-” A voice in my head interrupted me.

“Twilight, send her to the castle and I will do what I can. I’m sorry Applejack, but she’s right. Based on those scans, you’ll be lucky to walk on that left leg again, much less continue fighting with it. I warned you of the dangers of Trump Card. This is what happens. Sure, you’re harder to break, but not unbreakable. Luna, keep watch over them. If they lose another fighter, you’ll have to step in." Celestia sighed over the link. "I suppose losing a column of structures is worth keeping our front line alive. Ugh, just thinking of the billions we’ll have to spend on repairs makes me nauseous.” Before Ah could do anythin’, before Ah could even object, Ah was covered in bright violet light, and the world around me was replaced with blue-violet crystal walls.

“No, no, no! They need me, Ah can’t be outta the fight!” Ah yelled ta nopony. The castle echoed my words until everythin’ fell silent. A bright golden light that felt warm like the sun’s rays flickered behind me, and then Celestia stood in its place. “Princess, ya have ta send me back! They still need my help!” Ah begged.

“Absolutely not,” she stared firmly. A large golden screen appeared behind us and showed a picture of a leg. Or, most of one really. It looked like there were little white bits sprinkled everywhere, like maybe they used ta be a recognizable shape at one point, but now, it could probably pass fer wood pulp or finely broken glass. “This is your left foreleg right now, and I don’t think I can fix it. We’re going to have to find a specialist before you can use it again, and there’s little chance it’ll be repaired enough for you to walk with before next Sunday, let alone in the next few minutes. I’m going to do what I can and repair the fractures on your right, but you cannot break yourself like this again. Hence forth, I forbid the use of Trump Card during a fight, and you are to remain off duty until your leg is repaired. Understood?”

“But…! Ya can’t… Ah…” The sudden realization that Ah hadn’t felt anythin’ from my right leg at all hit me. If Ah’d kept goin'… both my legs would look like that…

“It’s a good thing you had those bracers reinforced, otherwise, you likely wouldn’t have made it as far as you did. Your right is least damaged where it was tight on you. I doubt your left would have even retained your wrist were you not wearing it. I don’t have to say this very often, but you’re going to have to leave this one to your underlings.” Celestia paused and stood straight up, a look of confusion took hold of her face. “What!?”

The screen changed from my mashed up bones ta the fight that was goin’ on. Diamond screamed as red liquid pooled around her and began ta form back inta Israfel. The mask formed itself again and the body reformed as it had been, the pieces of shattered mirror comin' from all around in a liquid form until finally the kaiju had returned ta life.

“No… this can’t be happenin’…” Dread settled in as Ah realized what the monster was about ta do. It was gonna kill Rarity. Crush her ta death, like a toy. Ah saw the gray glow try ta form around her, but it stopped just short as her face started ta turn blue under the mask.

“She’s gonna die! Somepony has ta save her! Why did ya send me away!? They needed me! She needs me!” No response. Celestia looked just as shocked as Ah did. A warm liquid of a different kind started ta fill my eyes. How could Ah let this happen? Ah’m their leader, Ah’m supposed ta keep them safe! And then, when it looked like all was lost, there was a flash of a rainbow that ran through the monster’s arm. The claw and Diamond fell ta the ground, the place where it had been was clean cut off.

“You know what they say! The real heroes show up just in the nick of time!” Sunlight shined blue off the black feathers of her cloak, her silver armor glistening in the noon day sky. The crimson liquid that covered her sword and flapped behind her back nearly glowin’ in the daylight, her single cyan wing bright and alive, almost blendin’ in with the sky. A hero had shown up ta save the day.

Kaiju II - Israfel - Birds of a Feather (part 1)

Rainbow Dash

[One Week Earlier]

Boom!

Oh, goddess, why all the noise? First this morning, and now this. I try to roll over and go back to sleep.

Boom!

What the hell is that? It’s even louder now… My back aches, and my stump is tingling. Something is… wrong… I push my face out of my pillow, and try to open my eyes, but the sunlight is too bright right now. What is it, midday? I shouldn’t be up right now.

“Ugh… Scoot, what the hell are you doing?” I call out as I rub the sand out of my eyes.

BOOM!!!

The very ground shook, and my eyes shot open. We’re on the fourth floor. If I grab her and jump out the window, we can get away from anything. What’s going on? Is it a villain? Do I need to kill somepony? Or wait… oh shit, is today Sunday!? My door swings open and Scootaloo runs in looking like she just saw a ghost.

“Rainbow, there’s something outside! It’s huge, and there are heroes fighting it! It’s like half as tall as the Empire building! We need to get out of here!” Damn it. Of all the things to forget about… Darkness suddenly enveloped the window, followed by the sound of something large moving fast. The hair on my neck sticks straight up and without my consent, my powers activate. I grab Scoot and push with my blood and my wing as hard as I can away from my bed. We shoot through the hall all the way to the front door, A sharp pain shoots through my stump as we crash with my back in the way. The door caves in, and just as I look up, my room comes crashing down as a giant black claw tears through it. Well, fuck.

“Run! I need to grab something, get to the back of the building, now!” My scared little sister just stared at me like I was the monster. Crap! She’s in shock. I smacked her across the back of the head. “Move!” Finally, her hooves were on the floor. The massive arm started to move again and it looked like it was going to tear through another piece of this building. Shit!

I started up my powers and flew to what was left of my closet as quickly as possible. Luckily, since my closet was closer toward the interior of the building, my costume was still in tact and my sword untouched by the destruction. Using my blood, I scooped up everything and started putting it on as I made a run for Scootaloo. I never really wanted her to find out about all this, but I guess there isn’t much of a choice now, is there? Coat, helm, boots, and cloak all on, I drew my sword with my wing and used my blood to fly through the halls. I caught Scoot with my blood wing and threw her on my back. The roof started to cave in as the monster’s claw sank through the building as if it were a hot knife and butter. This isn’t gonna feel good.

I cut down the first door I saw and raced for the back window. Most of the walls had come down now, and only seconds were left before everything fell apart. Glass, brick, steel, cement, wood, and dust all tumbling down around me. I lowered my head and launched for the window. The whole of the complex destroyed, we managed to get out unscathed. I turned back to look at what had just destroyed my home. A big black creature that looked almost like its body was made of liquid, the thing that just ran through my bed I thought was a claw was its foot. It towered over the building I lived in, the side of its hip being as tall as what was left of the roof I used to live under. It was crouched at the moment, looking like it was trying to swat flies with each claw.

A gun fired at its face, a small crack appeared in its big white plague-doctor looking mask, then it turned to look toward the shooter. No way… There was the mare in the coat and hat with the big gun, probably a block away, shooting at this thing with some kind of rifle. Is that bigger than the one she shot at me with? The shaking body on my back brought my attention where it was supposed to be, and I took to the alleyways below, darting in the opposite direction. I flew as fast as I could to get away from the city. Should I take her to my safe house in the woods? If she’s there, then she’ll get all pissy with me, but whatever. Scoot needs a safe place to stay, and if nopony says anything, then she doesn’t have to know about all this shit. Damn it! Why did this have to happen today?

“Hey, are you here?” I called out into the dark cabin. The air was musty, like the place had been undisturbed for months, maybe longer. Nopony answered my call, so I walked a few steps into the darkness and pulled the hanging light switch. The dull yellow light illuminated the small living room, and everything was as it should be. The old, dusty red couch, the dark green patterned rug, the intricately carved wooden chairs, the CRT TV that could probably fit in at a museum these days. The oval coffee table, and finally, the blood stained blanket sitting on that old brown rocking chair. I let out a thankful sigh that she wasn’t around and relaxed for a second, letting my blood flow back into my body.

“Rainbow?” I heard the small voice on my back say. I sheathed my sword, and took off my helmet to look at my terrified little sister. Her little magenta eyes carried a range of emotions that went from fear to confusion. I set her down on the couch, her eyes focused on my floating blood the entire time, and I took a seat on my old blanket in the rocking chair.

“So… You can probably guess that I haven’t told you a few things,” I said, scratching at the scar under my right eye. Scootaloo just blinked.

“I uh… well, yeah, there’s that, but… I mean, that’s just the beginning. What was that thing that destroyed our apartment? Are you a Power Pony? What is this place? Why do you have that costume? I… what is going on?”

“Let’s see… A monster, yes, the place where I grew up, it’s for work, and we’re hiding out to avoid being casualties in that monster fight that I assume is still going on.” When I wasn't trying to hide something, I usually just gave it to her straight. Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

“Okay, I guess that’s kind of what I wanted to hear, but… can I get some more details about all this? Did we just lose our home? Why is there a monster in the city? Like… ugh, what’s going on?” she groaned.

“Scoot, I’m gonna be completely honest with you here, it’s probably better that you don’t know.” She lowered her eyebrows at me.

“Really!? Are you going to do this to me again!? You never tell me why you always come home covered in bruises, you ignore me when I ask about your job, I had to forge your signature to get into junior guard, and you wouldn’t even explain why you wouldn’t let me join in the first place! Tell me what’s going on Rainbow! Or is that even you name? Because apparently, I don’t know anything about you!” I sighed. A distraction would be nice right about now.

“I guess… I should start from the beginning then. We’re going to be here for a while, I hope you know.” The sound of hooves on wood floor caught my attention.

“Mmm, I’d beg to differ.” And there she is. A pegasus mare with a white coat about as bright as the sun walked into the living room of the cabin from somewhere, likely far down below. She had a range of colors in her mane from blue to yellow, not unlike my own, but hers was more of a gradient than several distinct colors like mine, and eyes that were ice blue-gray from iris to pupil.

“Hey there Blindness, good to know that you’re here,” I said sarcastically. Her ears moved to my voice, followed by her head painted with an angry smile.

“Same to you, Wings. What are you doing here? More importantly, what is she doing here?” Brightness asked in a harsh tone. I sighed.

“I know I forgot, but in case you did too, today is Sunday. The Sunday.” And if you hadn’t been working me so hard yesterday, I probably wouldn’t have forgotten!

“Well, maybe if you did a better job in the first place, I wouldn’t have to make you do it over again. And no, I didn’t forget. Why did you come here?” She asked in her pointed tone.

“Our apartment was in the middle of being destroyed and I didn’t have a whole lot of time to plan what I was going to do.”

“And you came to my house first? What if one of his drones followed you? Do you know how screwed everypony would be if he found us out!?” she said sharply.

“I know, trust me. But I don’t think anypony saw me, either side for that matter. We were the only ones in the building to begin with. There weren’t even cars on the road. Manehattan was a ghost town, save for those guys fighting that thing.” I laid my legs across the arm of the chair and let myself relax a little.

“Um…”

“Could you tell if they were doing well? Or did you ignore that too, since you seem to be forgetting about your duties today.” I scowled at her.

“I was kind of in a hurry trying to make sure we didn’t die. They weren’t real high on my priority list.” She tilted her head.

“Excuse me…”

“Then maybe, you should get back there and do your job, hmm?” she said, her voice like ice.

“And maybe you should make sure your brother is doing well! How long has it been since you took care of him? Years? Maybe he’s under a piece of rubble out there, splattered on the road!” Anger flared in Brightness' face, but Scootaloo beat her to the yelling.

“Hey!” Huh. Yeah, probably should've paid attention to her sooner. “Who is this? Why are you guys fighting? Why won’t anypony tell me what’s going on!” she moaned. I looked at Scoot, then at Brightness.

“Your call chief.” Brightness rolled her eyes and then huffed.

“Very well. I will fill her in. You get out there and do your job. I cannot believe you slept in today, of all days,” she scoffed.

“Yeah, me neither. I’ll be back. She’ll take good care of you, so don’t worry. Later.” I grabbed my helmet and waved to the confused Scootaloo, then took off, thankful to get out of explaining all that. It’s gonna be a long day.

When I arrived back at the scene, the battle was already over, and there was nothing but destruction left in the city. At least, that’s what I thought until Persona showed up on a screen not too far away. It looked like the eyes of his mask were focused on something, which was a little unsettling. I moved close enough to hear what was being said, and then I saw all six of those guys standing together. Only one of them looked hurt as far as I could tell, but I didn’t recognize her. That guy in the armor was back from the fight with Knots, that piece of shit. There was that speedy mare, and the other one who looks like a slut, and finally… Applebloom’s sister, Marevelous Red. Applejack.

“I’ll answer one of those questions, as that was your promised reward, but for free, I will tell you that lives are simply part of the collateral. How many could Sachiel kill? Any number of ponies, especially those who didn’t expect him. And when the next of my kaiju come, they too will have the power to end lives in the blink of an eye. But that is for next week and the future ahead of us. For now, you may ask. One question; barring my identity or location. You have until twelve forty-five to decide.” The mask said.

This prick. If I didn’t know that killing you would just make everything worse, I would have done it months ago. I can only wonder what she’s gonna ask him. Hmm… do her ears keep flicking toward her team mates? I suppose that means they can communicate silently. That would definitely explain how they managed to work together so well at the harbor. But then again, she’s… also really good at it. Even back when I worked with Brightness, her orders nearly got me shot or stabbed on several occasions. Marevelous on the other hoof…

“When are these monsters gonna show up? And Ah mean at what time of what day will each monster show up?” Marevelous asked. Huh. Not bad, that’s something we didn’t even know.

“Again, you impress me. You do not ask for yourselves, but for your city. You six are exemplary. When the clock strikes noon on the day the goddess rested, my kaiju will make their grand entrances, followed by an announcement from yours truly. I will proceed any battle and appear every time you win to answer one more question. Well done, heroes. Until we meet again~” Cocky bastard! Ugh, every time he opens his mouth, I just want to punch him! The screen cut out, and Persona was gone.

“Well, Ah guess that’s all there is ta that. Let’s head back before ponies start makin’ their way ta what’s left of this place,” Marevelous addressed her comrades.

“Yeah, we should probably get her home pretty quick. This doesn’t look too good,” the stallion said pointing at the… centurion? Her wing, I mean.

“Oh my. I know I certainly won’t be able to fix that. She’s not one to do so, but I hope her mother doesn’t throw a fit when she sees this,” the slutty unicorn said. Actually, don’t I know that voice? Her mane looks familiar too…

“All aboard the Goose train!” the fast one said. The mistress looking mare seems to be the only one who has any part of her body really showing. Well, that and those with wings. Can’t really fly if your wings are taped up. Unless you don’t use them, or it in my case. Speaking of, there’s that sniper mare again. I can’t believe that’s what she turned into after all these years. I knew the Beast was always there, but she used to be so sweet and quiet. What happened? When the time comes, I’ll have to ask. Somepony turned the centurion my way and now I noticed she had a horn. What the hell? Does that thing work? Is it a mutation? Or are the wings a mutation? That’s… that’s really weird. Why do I feel like it’s familiar? They all gathered around the lunar guard, and then suddenly they just kind of… ‘blinked’ into nothingness, like they were never there.

Oh right. He can do that. He popped from place to place all the time in the harbor fight. He’s also almost as strong as Applejack is… it’s almost like… he has two powers… I decided to look through the rubble of our apartment to see if anything was left. There really wasn’t much, but after some digging, I at least managed to find that our phones were saved by those crazy expensive cases I bought not too long ago. It helps that my alarm from this morning was still running from not being deactivated. Which really means that I hit snooze, or just outright slept through it for three hours. Nice going Rainbow. I kept looking to see if anything else made it through, but there was pretty much nothing but broken glass and destroyed tech all around.

Well. At least I have property damage insurance. The stuff we lost can be replaced, but finding a new place to live in Manehattan is going to be… rather difficult at best. Ugh, and this is all after I finally managed to get us out of the south district last year! I don’t want to go back to our shitty apartment again… maybe we can crash with Brightness until we get a new place… Oh, the paperwork is going to be hell. As if my day job wasn’t bad enough about that in the first place. Goddess damn it.

“Hey, I’m back!” I called out once I entered the safe house. I set my helmet down and took off my mask. No response. That’s weird. I wonder if they went back to Tin? I felt around my head for that thin line of Brightness’ power that keeps us connected and tried to contact her.

“Hey, are you two around?” I said aloud to nopony in particular. Silence in the dusty old cabin, until finally…

“We went to get lunch. I figured that there are some parts of your story you’d rather tell yourself, so I’ve only filled her in on our relationship. She doesn’t know about the plan, and she doesn’t know what happens if we fail.” I took a moment to rub at my temples.

“I can’t believe you’re going to make me do it.”

“Don’t you lie to me. You know better than that. Besides, from what she’s said, she thinks she’s the one who needs to protect you. At least up till now. Seeing you in action was quite the shock from what I can tell. How you’ve managed to hide your physical prowess for four years is just short of amazing to me.” I took a seat in the rocking chair and followed that with a deep sigh.

“That doesn’t surprise me. But you’ve probably looked around in her head by now, you know what she’s been through! She was way worse off than I was when you found me, and that’s saying something! I was missing a limb after all. I thought that if she felt like there was somepony in the world who needed her, then maybe… she’d get better. I mean, she did, so I guess it worked but… I didn’t want to take that away.” I sat in silence for a few minutes, then my ears twitched. The sound of a small hoof clacked against the wood floor, and then… there she stood.

“You did all that… just for me?” she said, her voice wavering. You mother f- I couldn’t finish my curse before Scootaloo ran and jumped on me. “You dumb ass! Why couldn’t you just tell me the truth yourself instead of going around behind my back all this time? I never cared about what was wrong with you or that we had the same problems, I just wanted to be with you! You were the only pony… who ever cared to look at me like I was more than trash on the street…” I let myself relax and sank into the chair as we sat together, her warm tears falling on my neck. The bitch herself took a seat on the couch across from us and just sat there staring at us with that stupid smile of hers. Were it not for the shaking little orange pegasus in my lap, I would’ve punched the smug off her face, but in the end I just sat still until Scootaloo finished.

“You okay kid?” She sniffed hard and nodded.

“I-I think so.” She picked herself up and rubbed at her eyes. “So… what happens next? The apartment is gone, isn’t it?” I nodded.

“Unfortunately. These managed to survive unscathed, somehow, but that’s about it.” I gave her her phone, then business mode kicked in, and I started listing off my report to Brightness. “The city is pretty fucked up where the fight happened, but somehow, they managed to keep it to one specific area on the south east side. Oh you know what else? It looked like the entire substation for this part of the city was half melted, so I think that something must’ve happened over there too. Even if we could go back to our apartment, we wouldn’t have any power.”

“Well. Crap.” Scoot said.

“Hmm… I suppose that means it was either Sachiel or Ramiel who was sent out first. Could you tell based on what you saw?” Brightness asked.

“No, but I doubt it was Ramiel. Nothing but that substation was melted, and it didn't look like there were any burns anywhere, so that monster is still in his pocket. This all looked like physical damage, save for that one substation, so I’d say it was Sachiel’s doing. I suppose you’ll know tomorrow when one of them isn’t there.”

“Uh… guys? You should probably see this,” Scootaloo interrupted. She’d had her phone turned on for a little while and it looked like she’d opened a video from somewhere… and all those guys from earlier were fighting that monster I saw. I quickly grabbed the phone out of her hooves to get a closer look.

“My, these heroes certainly seem to put up a good fight! Yet at the same time, my kaiju has no mercy to spare for them! The battle seems to be going in his favor at the moment! Sachiel has launched himself into the sky, he seems to have taken notice of his two ranged attackers and is preparing to swat them like flies! What’s this? The entire cast of heroes has blinked from their original positions and now have grouped up out of Sachiel’s reach! How interesting! One of these heroes must have some kind of power that lets them all teleport simultaneously. Very interesting indeed… and how does Sachiel react? Ah, my dear viewers, you are in for a treat! Sachiel just so happens to have a special composition! If you watch closely from this clip earlier, you can see that Marevelous’ first attack on him causes the ooze that covers his body to spray outward, and simply recollect where the damage was done. Because of this, Sachiel has an ability where he can absorb energy that is applied to his skin! I can only wonder if our heroes can figure this out before he does something to turn the tables!”

“Son of a bitch...” I mumbled.

“Is… is that him… commentating on the battle? Is this what they look like?” Brightness asked from her chair. I nodded, forgetting that she’d probably never seen them. Because her powers are so strong, she’s lost more and more of her eyesight over the years until finally going completely blind at twenty. She’s been legally blind for almost the entire time I’ve known her. The only way she can actually see anything these days is either by sacrificing some of her other senses and transferring all her power to her eyes which tires her out after about an hour, or use her powers to borrow the eyes of another Power Pony. It’s not unusual for me to feel her in my head whenever she thinks she needs to see something.

“It was the first thing in my email notifications… I just clicked on the application and the video just started playing… the url isn’t specifically to me, but to everypony who uses this service…” Scoot explained. Oh no.

“That means… everypony has seen this, or will see this before the day ends… I… I don’t think I can counter this. I don’t even know anypony with the skills to take down his whole network, let alone find and delete this data off billions of phones and computers across the country! This isn’t just a wrench in our plans, it’s a fucking boulder! Not only is he watching, the whole country is watching this, and they will see everything that happens for the next five weeks, if we even make it that far in the first place! Goddess damn it! We just got them on track, and now I have to restrategize and figure out how to deal with this!” Brightness slammed her hooves on the ground and made a sound that was louder than it should’ve been, causing both Scoot and I flinch. I hate it when she does that!

“Well I don’t care what you hate! We’re a little more than screwed right now!” She let out a breath and took a deep one. “We’re going to have to adjust our schedule. Prepare to make you debut next week.” I reared back.

“Next week!? Why? I don’t have anywhere for her to stay yet! If I move before then, they’re going to find her!” Brightness threw her hooves up.

“Too fucking bad! Beg for them to take her in, or find somewhere for her to be through the next week! We don’t have the time or the luxury to make mistakes, and if something happens and they need your help sooner rather than later, then you have to go!”

“How am I supposed to find somewhere in a week when a huge chunk of the city was just destroyed!? I don’t even have that kind of cash right now, let alone an idea of where to go! I’m not about to go crawling to them for this.” She crossed her hooves.

“Tough shit. I have a bad feeling about this, and he knows what he’s up against now. He’s going to send somepony he knows they’ll have trouble with next, or worse, he could just send Sahaquiel and kill everypony within miles of Manehattan! If you’re not there when he shows up, he’ll kill every last one of them, and then finding a place for Scootaloo to stay will be the least of your concerns! We cannot screw this up!” I tried to argue her point, but there was nothing I could say. I know better than anypony else what Sahaquiel is capable of, and at their level right now, that wouldn’t even be close to a difficult task for him. I slammed the chair with my hoof.

“Damn it! Fine. Stay here with her until I get back. I’m going to look everywhere I can, and If I find anything, then we’ll wait until we’re ready for this.” I moved Scoots to the couch with my blood and went after my helmet.

“And when you find nothing like we both know you will, I’ll be here planning for your debut next Sunday.” I glared at her.

“You don’t know jack shit! I’ll be back!” I grabbed the cabin door and slammed it on my way out.

“Has it always been like this between you two?” Scootaloo asked. Brightness nodded.

“For the most part. She’s hot-headed, brash, impulsive, and competitive to a fault. Oh, and she hates that I’m always right. She’ll come back in two hours fuming that she couldn’t find anything she could reasonably afford, even in the south district. However, if there’s anything I can always count on, it’s her doing what I need her to do when I need her to do it. Even if she’s upset with me, even if we’d been fighting mere moments before something dire happens, she always swoops in to my rescue without the slightest hint of hesitation. There’s been one other pony in my life who’s been so loyal, even if he needed encouragement to be that at times, as I’ve seen her. Hehe, well I suppose that’s not quite true. Seeing is rather difficult for a blind power pony, now isn’t it?” Brightness laughed.

“That’s kinda messed up.” The white pegasus nodded.

“True, but none of the three of us have had the greatest lives. I wasn’t always blind you know. Now then, why don’t we really go get some food, and I can tell you a story,” Brightness said sweetly.

“About you and Rainbow?” the filly asked, hope in her voice. Brightness shook her head.

“No, that’s something she should tell you. This is the story of the pony whom I consider my role model, and the one that your sister considers hers, even while never meeting him. He was selfless, and one who could never turn his back on a pony in need. He fought for justice, and to protect those around him. But to me, for what little time he could, he acted as a father figure, shortly after I lost mine. His name… was Citrus Root.”

Kaiju II - Israfel - Birds of a Feather (part 2)

A week passed, and as predicted, I found nothing. Not a single place in Manehattan had rooms available for rent, and those that did were either too expensive for anypony to afford, or half rebuilt and taking pre-registrations. I will get my apartment back, but with the construction going as it was, that wasn’t happening until after next Sunday, so who knows if the almost replaced building is even going to last that long.

For the time, we’ve been taking residence in the old safe house that Brightness and I lived in up until I found my own place when I’d had enough of her. I did anything I could to get away, and we'd started to survive on our own for a year by then as it was. I found Scootaloo shortly there after, and the rest is history. Although, all this reminiscing has really done is just brought forth the things I’ve realized I’m gonna have to do tomorrow.

I gave in to Brightness’ word since it never seems to be wrong, and after I’d given up house hunting on Thursday, we started planning for what’s to come. Unfortunately, we didn’t learn anything new about who was going to show up this Sunday, so the chance of it being Sahaquiel was still a one in five. Scoot made the point that after watching the video a few times, it seemed like Persona wanted to make a show out these monster battles, and it was unlikely that he would send out his weakest first only to follow it up with what equates to a nuke. Persona still thinks he can find the original somewhere in the city, and Sahaquiel would likely destroy it in the process of killing those harmony guys… or girls and one guy I guess. Does that make them a harem? Hmm… nah, it looked like Applejack was the one giving orders the whole time.

It was almost like watching an experienced general lead as I followed that video knowing what I do. Any time she was giving somepony orders, her ears would flick in that direction like a satellite dish. Then you’d watch all the other ponies move to do something. If not that, then she’d call out that phrase they have that signifies that they’re about to move… teleport, or whatever in the blink of an eye like when they killed Sachiel. It was the same way when we fought Knots too, but I didn’t have the luxury of her silent orders in my head. I didn’t even know how that happened, but it was almost like a video game. We got a free turn and moved while the opponent couldn’t react. I’ll have to ask how that works provided they let me in. Sigh. And then there’s that problem.

I don’t know that they’ll take us both in. Brightness still works for Argent, and she’s always watching over the tower to make sure they don’t decide that the heroes cheated and just pop the top on that virus bomb they have hidden away, so she can’t take care of Scootaloo, and I don’t want her left alone where one of their guys could trace me back to her. She doesn’t need to be put in danger, and I don’t need them to have anything on me like a hostage. The moment I show up to help these guys out tomorrow is the moment Argent knows I’ve changed sides, or really showed my true colors. If they don’t take us both in, then I’m screwed, and if I don’t show up, then everypony is screwed. Especially if one of them gets hurt. It’ll be bad enough with only seven of us trying to take down Sahaquiel, and even then, I don’t know that we can do it.

“Hey, Rainbow?” I heard from behind me. I’d been cleaning my sword and didn’t notice the time go by. It was already almost ten PM and if I polished my sword any more it could probably blind somepony.

“What’s up kid?” She was doing this kind of bashful thing with her hooves where she’d poke at the wood floor a few times every couple of seconds. What’s this? She’s never done that before. It’s atypical of Scoot to act… frail anymore…

“You’re… gonna be okay tomorrow, right?” Okay, this I get. I sheathed my sword, hooked my wing around Scoot and walked us to the couch in the living room. Over the course of the week, we’d regained some of our stuff, and with nowhere else to put it all, we brought it here. The furniture didn’t make it anywhere but stored away in its boxes, but all the tech was being used.

The TV was replaced, Scoot got her games and system back, I got my computer. The cabin looked lived in for the first time since I left four years ago. It brings back a lot of memories, whether or not they’re good or bad. She’d asked me a few times over the week how I ended up here, and I put her off several times. But now… now is probably the best time to tell her.

“A long time ago, in a place you’ve never been to, I was in a race. My best friend was getting picked on, and I didn’t stand for it. Well, there was another reason, but we’ll just forget about that for now. The challenge was a race. If I could beat the aggressors, they would apologize and leave her alone. If I lost though, I was going to have to follow them around and carry all of their stuff in school. The race began, and they were off the line faster than I was. I was a fast little filly back then, even looked like I had a career in flying before that point. However, I wasn’t very powerful at the time. I couldn’t build up as much speed as they could simply because…” I sighed. I can’t believe I’m going to say this. “I’m… little. I was born small, I grew up small, and these days I’m nearly fifteen centimeters shorter than the average mare.

I could catch up to them, even pass them on corners of this sky track, but the minute we hit a straight away, I had no chance to keep the lead. They were a little older than we were, and they were more reckless than we were, so on top of trying to keep pace with them on a track that had altitudes I’d never flown up to before, the track also had a drop. You see, Cloudsdale sits in the troposphere at about five miles off the ground. This particular track was one of the more famous ones in the floating city because the rise and fall of the whole track was spread over two miles vertically. This drop was part of what made it so famous.

They called it the mile high cliff. You would descend like a dive bomb, accelerating as much as you could before trying to out pace gravity to the bottom ring without losing control. We’d just come off a straight, and as the smart pegasus familiar with how their wings work would, the others slowed down enough that they could come out of the drop and swoop up to the next ring on the way back to the finish line. But me? I knew I couldn’t beat them if I slowed down. The only way I was going to win was if I could take the drop at full speed and come out of it. It was possible, the Wonderbolts did it all the time. My whole life goal at that point was to join them, Equestria’s elite flying group, and live a life of fame and fortune with nothing but my skills to speak for me! So I went for it.

There are two things you should know about flying before attempting to drop at high speeds. Number one; your bones are not very strong. Unlike the other two pony races, the bones of flying creatures are usually hollow. They’re like this so that you’re lighter and can fly just like everything else in the sky. And number two; to make up for this you have a stronger muscle mass connected to your wings. It coats the bone all the way down to the last joint to protect it from being broken. Let’s see… I was twelve at the time. And because of the way my body developed, I hadn’t hit puberty yet either.

A foal… doesn’t have the muscle mass or the bone strength needed to come out of a drop like that. As a matter of fact, if you fall immediately after reaching your top speed, the average pegasus being about 100, 150 miles per hour, you will reach the end of that drop in a few seconds. But a foal on the other hoof… they’re smaller. Even less effected by drag, and while less powerful, the fast ones can get up to almost 75 mph by the time they were my age. And I did.

It’s still a little fuzzy, but the next thing I knew, I couldn’t feel my left side, and there was red everywhere. I didn’t know it at the time, but when I tried to open my wings and perform a swoop, the angle I tried to come up at was too flat. My wings locked, and with the air rushing past me at over a mile a minute, something was going to give, and it wasn’t going to be the sky. Without so much as a warning, my humerus snapped in half and tore all the muscle around it off. I kept falling, and I was falling fast. Nothing could stop me from splattering on the ground like a carpet stain, I should’ve died that day.

But… things don’t work out like that, it seems. What we would learn later is that my left humerus was very weak and fractured for most of my life due to how the virus affects my body. There was little chance it wouldn’t just snap in two one day if say I, crashed and hit a wall or something. It wasn’t a matter of if, but when, that my left wing would give. By some miracle, my powers activated for the first time as soon as my humerus snapped. With a place to exit from, the blood that was still close enough in my other wing escaped it, and joined with as much blood as my little body could spare while keeping me alive. My blood pooled below me and formed a long and thin kind of parachute. It slowed me down enough that the force of impact with the ground wouldn’t kill me, and protected me when I finally did hit the ground.

I didn’t get to see it myself, but Brightness told me that the sky looked like it’d been shattered and filled with red that day. When next I woke up, I was wrapped up in that blanket and covered in bandages. Some lonely teenage pegasus decided to take it upon her self to care for the filly that literally fell out of the sky. She was close to going blind, and didn’t have any way to make up to Cloudsdale herself, and a few days later, unbeknownst to either the filly or the teenager, that filly was pronounced dead.

By the time I’d finally gotten enough control on my powers to form a replacement wing, two years had already passed, and everypony had forgotten me. My parents moved out of grief, and I never did figure out where they went. Proof that I ever lived had disappeared from Cloudsdale entirely. When it was just the two of us, the question wasn’t ‘Will I be okay tomorrow?’ but ‘How do I survive today?’ We didn’t have much more than each other to rely on, she was going blind and hadn’t figured out how to correct that yet, and I was a recently crippled adolescent who’d never gone a day without in her life. I was constantly afraid of my stump getting infected because the wound never did close up, and it didn’t look like it was ever going to heal.

Suddenly I was missing a few pounds on one side and I had to relearn how to balance myself. I had to learn how to find food and earn money to survive. The whole world thought I was dead, so I had to have new records made, and I had to come up with a new name. On top of all this, I didn’t know how to use my powers, or what the drawbacks and side effects of them were. I would pass out at random like a narcoleptic because my anemia would get so bad from going without food. The list of new problems to deal with was endless.

The first step to being okay tomorrow is making it there. And if you can do it once, then you can do it twice. As long as we keep making it to tomorrow, then we can worry about what comes next when we get there.” And with any luck, the odds of making it through tomorrow will be higher than the chance of running into Sahaquiel.

“Rainbow, are you in position? I can’t tell where you are.” Brightness said over her link. The fight had just started and it looked like Israfel was about to begin her transformation.

“Pay attention, I’m looking right at them. This happened last time you tried to copy sight over such a long distance, I don’t know why you didn’t think it wouldn’t be a problem again.” I said. Oh, here it comes. Israfel, like all the other successful first generation mirror candidates, activated her powers by drawing blood. She was only one of three though, and if Sachiel was the first to go down, then that means there’s still one left. She chomped down on her right foreleg, probably as hard as she could, and then came the lightning.

“Having a relay for the link is more than enough for me to be able to copy sight from this distance, thank you very much. Anyways, I have visuals now, no thanks to you. What am I looking at?” Brightness said.

“First generation transforming. Israfel was that pair of twins right?” I asked.

“The Gemini sisters, yes. I believe the report said that one was given a mirror while keeping physical contact with the other. The end result fused them after they reverted from the initial transformation. There was never a similar success, and it’s believed that they only worked in the first place because of their identical genetic make up. Either that or a pony’s will has something to do with it, and if that’s the case, then it’s more a miracle than anything. The first generation was more of a ‘throw a dart at the wall and see where it lands’ kind of thing as it is. Tests didn’t even have an above 1% success rate until after the second generation anyways.” It looked like Applejack noticed the mirror and she was about to jump after it. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

“Nothing was ever recorded of them getting separated again was there?” I asked. Applejack launched.

“Not in their pony forms. However, when in their kaiju form, if she was cut, she could split into two at that point. Multiple tests were carried out and she could double all her limbs, albeit into smaller versions.”

“What do you think would happen if she were, say… split down the middle?” I asked. The air shifted

“Well, she could probably separate completely.”

“Well. Fuck.” A series of ear shattering tones erupted through the air. Applejack jumped back to the Empire building, which I then realized was about to lose all it’s windows. The sound became so unbearable that I flattened my own ears against my head until finally, Israfel had split into two.

“Oh my. I do hope they can still hear.”

“Same here. Do you think I should step in?” That bad feeling in my stomach wasn't going away any time soon.

“Not yet. Let’s see how they do first. If something happens though, you step in.” I let out a breath and followed the fight. It didn’t look like it was going well for the next few minutes, Applejack and the knight guy even going into cannonball mode to take a hit for their friends. Things looked to get worse as Red Israfel had just about caught up to that Centurion mare, but then Marevelous looked like she was about to shoot her cable and called out that phrase.

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

I blinked and there was a giant purple wall in front of the monster with Marevelous’ cable stuck in its chest. Marevelous launched with a punch ready and that was followed by a big red spray where a good chunk of Israfel used to be. Then she punched a second time, and her left foreleg looked almost like it was glowing as she did. The mirror shattered and shot pieces out toward that barrier, a few of which looked like they either did or almost hit the two inside. Red Israfel let out another loud, horrible sound and it looked like Marevelous had done the deed.

“Hell yeah, they might not need me at all!” I said triumphantly.

“Don’t be too quick to judge. Israfel has never done this before. I don’t know that killing one of them is enough. What is the other one doing?” I looked the other way, and Blue Israfel had just stopped for a moment. Then she turned and went back to what she was doing.

“What the? Isn’t she concerned that her sister just died?”

“No she isn’t. Because she didn’t. Rainbow, check the sport where the red one melted. If it starts to move, you get out there. Find whoever has a direct link to all her team and be prepared to take control. I’m going to do another run through the database on Israfel and see if anything has been added. If we can talk through a link like this, it’s possible he’s giving her instructions as they fight. If I remember correctly, neither of the Gemini twins had a very high IQ. She’s fighting too smart.”

I turned my head just in time to see the red puddle on the road below start to shift. A bright violet light caught my eye from above, and suddenly Marevelous was gone.

“Uhh, what was that!?” Please don’t tell me she just left.

“Marevelous must’ve hurt herself! Shit!” A scream echoed and the red ooze had started to form around the mare in black.

“Rainbow, move!” I kicked my second wings into overdrive and shot for Red Israfel with my sword coated and about to harden. The red crystals formed sharp, just around the edge of the blade as strong as I could make them, and I swiped at Red Israfel. She was far easier to cut than Knots was so that was a good sign. Her arm dropped back into ooze, contact with my still liquid blood clearly affecting her, and I relaxed for a second. It felt like the world had just stopped to stare at me and I didn’t know what to do.

“Uh...”

“Come on Rainbow, you just saved the day! Say something heroic! Ooh! Better yet, say...”

“You know what they say! A real hero shows up just in the nick of time!” I repeated after Scootaloo. “Ugh, what kind of character did you just make me out to be?” I whispered.

“A hero, like you really are.” I didn’t have too much time to think because Red Israfel let out another loud screech as the arm that was previously attached simply sublimated away. I dove for the slutty looking mare and retreated to the Centurion mare. Out of them all, unless somepony has a power to do it, one of the unicorns is probably relaying communications right now, and it sure would be nice if I could get in contact with Marevelous.

“Hey come with me for a minute? K, thanks,” I spouted quickly as I grabbed the Centurion mare when I flew by. Carrying two adult mares at the same time isn’t something I’ve ever done, and now that I have, I think I need to find a way to get better at that because I nearly fell out of the sky from the added weight. I checked to see if those other three were still okay playing wack-a-mole with Blue Israfel, and dove for cover when Red stopped screeching and turned this way.

“While I’ll thank you for saving me, we really need to be keeping her attention so she doesn’t gang up on our allies at the moment, so if you could-” slutty mare began, but I didn’t really have time for that.

“Sure whatever. One of you is the link right? I need to talk to Marevelous, now.” The mare in black shifted her eyes to the centurion, and when I finally met hers, a strange sense of déjà vu hit me. I shook that out of my head for now and tried to get back to business.

“So it’s you. Put me through.” She scowled at me, but didn’t say a word. Her horn lit up and suddenly I could hear several voices.

“Guys? Guys where did you go?” a male voice said.

“K-knight, ten degrees left, then warp behind!” … is that…? I let out a breath. Not important right now.

“I’ll go for a stab after the shot!” a female voice sang. Geez, how young is she? Sixteen?

“Diamond, Centurio, what happened? Why’d she take y’all away?” Applejack asked. There’s the mare I’ve been looking for.

“Marevelous, can you hear me?” I called out in the all too familiar magical space.

“Rain- er, That’s the Crow, right?” Way to blow my cover immediately, nice job.

“Yeah it’s me. I need you to coordinate your guys for me. You’ve probably already figured this out already, but the Israfels are totally linked. As long as one mirror is still whole, then both Israfels can regenerate indefinitely, and that means…”

“They have ta go down at the same time…”

“On the money. Tell your guys to lead the blue one back this way I have an idea, but we need them right next to each other for this to work. You on the same page?”

“Ah think Ah am. You three heard her, start movin’ toward Red Israfel. Diamond, how much time ya got left?” Damn, she figured out what I wanted without saying anything.

“Well more than enough. What are you planning?” The mare in black asked. I suppose her name is Diamond actually.

“You’ll get it soon enough. You three head back up where we can see ya. It looks like The others have already started movin’ that way and Red Israfel is about ta start breakin’ thin’s tryin’ ta get ta ya.” The other two said ‘Yes Ma’am’ and we moved out of the alley I hid us in and up to the top of the closest building. I’m not sure If I remembered this, but apparently they have these harnesses that let them hop from place to place with cables like Marevelous does. That’s pretty nice. I wonder if I could get one of those? We made it back up and sure enough, Red Israfel had destroyed herself a space to try and get to us through the narrow path I took.

“Hey, we’re not just getting them back together for no reason right? You’ve got a plan don’t you?” the male voice asked.

“Ah can’t believe ya think Ah wouldn’t. Crow, Centurio, draw Red toward Blue. Make sure they’re both facin toward each other. Ah want ya on the same road as Target and BK are and make sure Israfel is lined up with herself.” Wait, what?

“Wait a minute, this isn’t what I had in mind, what are you planning?”

“Oh, don’t y’all worry none. Ah just had a better idea.” She said, a thick coating of confidence and honey on her voice.

“I… guess,” I said reluctantly.

“Be quick about it. If all goes well, it’ll be done in just a few moments.” The two of us moved in position and Centurio started firing lasers at Red Israfel. Finally taking notice of us, she jumped from her spot and nearly came crashing down on us from above with one powerful leap. I noticed that the arm I cut off was having trouble regrowing as it was only half the size it should’ve been and was letting off steam.

“Holy shit!” I doubled back across another few buildings and pulled Centurio with me. I couldn’t tell you why she was so slow. It’s almost like she’s only been flying for half her life. Wasn’t she born like that…? Wait… why… do I know that? The near miss of a claw swipe brought me back to reality and I flew faster. A quick turn around the block and the Israfels were in line with each other.

“Okay, now what!?” I yelled.

“Diamond, get ready. Blur be prepared ta move. Once time stops, BK warp Target and the Crow ta Blue Israfel’s side. Fire the AP rounds in succession. Based on the force Ah put inta it, it’ll take about three shots in the same place to pierce all the way through, but that much isn’t enough ta shatter both. Once all the shots fire through, BK tosses The Crow at the hole with her crystals up. If ya screw up, which Ah will never let ya live down by the way, Blur and Centurio will be ready for course correction and an extra push if necessary.” She stated.

“Wait, I’m the bullet!?”

“That’s right! Y’all are about ta make contact! Get ready!”

The Israfels were about two city blocks from each other and every step they took was about half of that. I didn’t have time to question anything, it all just moved so fast. I started to form my crystals, dropping Centurio in the process. I wasn’t even done getting set up when either Israfel looked like they were about to body slam us between each other like a freaking hydraulic press.

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

From a spot near by, as if everything were in slow motion, color evaporated from the world. It was as if light and sound all disappeared and were replaced with an echoing silence and black and white. Nothing remained in color but the six of us and all I could do was stare and take it in. Did this happen last time? It was so dark at the harbor that I couldn’t really tell what color anything was back then. But… was it the same? Did sound go too? I don’t remember it being such a drastic change…

“Hey pay attention! You’re the linchpin here! Without you, this doesn’t work!” the Knight called. We were in one spot one second… not second? And then another the next. He stretched me out like a rag doll and built him self up to toss me like a javelin in mid air. Target Fired one of her bullets and slid backward a little, but the bullet stopped moving just short exiting her barrel. She did this three times until she finally turned to me.

“I-it’s up to you now. F-finish the mission,” she said. It wasn’t the scary voice I heard earlier, the one I knew to fear. It was the old voice. The same voice I used to know. Something inside clicked and I was prepared for what came next.

In the same instant that the two Israfels met at the mirror, the first bullet cleared a hole in the Blue one’s back. The second bullet knocked into that one and pushed it though both mirrors, making a small, but precise hole, big enough for a foal’s hoof to fit through. Then the third bullet hit the second and the first, pushing them all through Red Israfel. Before I knew it, the Knight had thrown me, and I was flying faster then I could on my own, but I wasn’t quite on course. I felt a sudden weight under me, and there was the speed hero, Blur, to pull me down back to where I was supposed to be. A guiding violet light appeared on my target, and as soon as I came close enough, I pushed with everything I had on the base of my sword’s hilt.

The crystals cracked as they shattered each mirror they passed through, the thin coating of liquid blood that surrounded them quickly spreading through each of the mirrors, turning their shattering silver shade to a deep red as they fell to pieces. The Israfels let out a horrid tone as they began to melt, but this time it was small and frail. As they faded to steam, the sound dulled and mellowed out, going from a chaotic tritone to something soft and sweet, a harmonic chord. I realized that I’d started to fall and returned my crystals to blood so I could safely parachute back down to the ground. The others had started to cheer, and everypony was hugging and high hoofing each other, but I just stood there dumbfounded. What was that? Did a full second even pass?

“What the hell just happened…?”

“I think it’s fairly obvious, but I know you need help with those tricky self reflective thoughts sometimes, so I’ll clue you in. For once in your life, you actually did what you’ve always wanted to. You saved the day, Rainbow,” Brightness answered, her disgustingly sweet condescending voice in my ear.

“Whew. Good job y’all. Ah’m glad ya showed up Rainbow, Ah don’t know what we woulda done without ya,” Marevelous said.

“Dude, what the hell!?” I yelled out, immediately stopping all the cheering.

“Oh, shit Ah’m sorry. Ah’m on a whole lot of pain killers right now and my mental facilities might not all be there. Er, Mom’s sayin’ that the drugs are only just now kickin’ in and it’s only gonna get worse. Heh. Whoops. Ah’m… gonna shut up now. Uh… Y’all ask him what ya don’t know when he shows up here in a couple seconds. And hey, why don’t ya come on by the castle after this? We could really use-” Suddenly, Applejack was cut off by… something.

“I believe that’s enough of that. You call yourself The Crow, am I correct?” asked an entirely different voice. One that sounded all too familiar, but one I couldn’t place either.

“Y-yes ma’am.” Why do I feel the need to be formal? Is this who she called ‘mom?’

“Very well. Since you seem to know more than we do about this, I’d like you to ask Persona what you think we should know. I figure you’re on our side, or at least fighting on the city’s behalf. After this concludes, our Black Knight will bring you to our base of operations. There are things we’d like to discuss at the moment, and since my Major is… not quite in position to lead at the moment, I’ll be taking over her responsibilities. Do you have any objections?” She was melodic and silky smooth, almost as if I were talking to a singer, or somepony who’s used to speaking publicly all the time… A politician maybe? No… ‘my Major…’ there’s no way this is one of the princesses right? Gah, getting side tract so easily! Focus, you had an objective!

“Uh, no Ma’am. Just one thing.”

“And that is?” Her voice was almost hypnotic, it was difficult to even think of trying to resist, she just sounded so warm… like a mother.

“I’d… like to join your group.” Before I could receive an answer though, the Mask appeared on a single screen, it’s eyes focused directly on me.

“Ah, my dear Crow, if only I knew that you’d betray me. Seeing you take the stage as you did was well more than a shock, I assure you. Our contract is effectively now void, I’m sure you understand,” The mask said in his usual pompous-theatrical ego.

“Yeah, the issue there is that I was never on your side to begin with!” I shouted back. The mask retorted with a laugh.

“Of course, of course. I knew that the heroes might’ve been too much for you alone to handle, but now I’m beginning to suspect that this isn’t the first time you’ve aided them! No matter. You of all ponies should know what awaits you in the coming weeks. For now I shall cast aside your treachery and treat you as if you were one of them, or rather a step below. You don’t quite deserve the title ‘hero’ now do you, mercenary? In any case, once again, the heroes and the killer have managed to defeat my Kaiju and I am at your mercy for a single question. You know the rules and I’m sure my former employee will be happy to tell you everything she knows. However, for this special occurrence, I refuse to allow or answer any question from the Bloody Crow at this time. If you say something that I know only she knows, then I will deny it or out right lie and consider your question spent. I shall give you a moment to think this over.” Persona finished.

Son of a bitch! He already knew our game!

“I figured as much. But this isn’t the end all be all. We can still learn what we want to know, even if it’s indirect. Go tell your new friends to ask this…” Brightness echoed. I nodded to nopony in particular and moved to convene with Applejack’s team. I motioned for them to circle up and started.

“Okay, so here’s the deal. I can tell you everything I know when we have time, but the most important thing that we need to know right now is the name of our next opponent. Depending on who we’re dealing with, this could make or break us.”

“And why should we take your word for it?” The centurion just about spat at me. What the hell? Why is she so hostile?

“Hold your tongue. I believe we can take her word for the moment. Diamond, go ahead and ask for the name,” the voice said. Or really, reprimanded? I don’t know what that was. It sent a chill down my spine. I don’t know who this mare is, but I don’t want to piss her off either. We broke formation, and then Diamond stepped out a head of the group.

“Who will be our next opponent?” The mask almost seemed to smile.

“Hmm… now is that fair, really? Surely the name will mean nothing to you, but then your new murderer friend will certainly know how to strategize around that…” He paused for a moment, then rolled his head around, popping his neck as he did. “Well then… I know what you’d truly like to know. But rather than spoil the surprise, I think I’ll keep you guessing. Questions relating to my Kaiju are now off limits. You question spent, I see no further reason to linger. Until next week my dear heroes and hero killer~” The mask took a bow and then the screen cut out. Manehattan was silent and all eyes were on me.

“So uh… I guess we go now?” I asked.

“Well, that was what the boss ordered,” the Knight said.

“Yeah sure, but I don’t want her in my house,” the centurion spat. I swear I’ve seen that glare before.

“Hey, what the hell is your problem? I just saved your asses, what did I ever do to you?” The little bitch turned her head and huffed at me. “Mother f… bitch do you want to go!?” I took a step toward her about to grab my sword when suddenly the Knight blinked in between us.

“Oh perfect, another volatile mare, just what we needed. You cool your jets, and I believe you were told to hold your tongue, am I right?” The centurion scowled at him, but then turned away.

“Hey man, I didn’t do anything, this bitch just-”

“Rainbow, stop! Take it down a notch, these are to be your new allies. I’ll not have you ruin everything over some petty squabble,” Brightness said.

“I’ll have to apologize for my very rude associate’s behavior, she a bit of a shut in and forgets common decency on occasion,” Diamond said and bowed her head to me.

“Why are you apologizing to her, you know-” the centurion started, but was then quickly smacked across the back of her helmet with a baton in Diamond’s blue magic. “Ow!”

“As you can see, she doesn’t quite know when to drop a subject. Why don’t we go ahead and make our way home before this gets any further out of hoof, hmm?”

“You know what, that’s a great idea. Let’s go home,” the Knight said. Diamond put the Centurion in a head lock after taking the Knight’s hoof, and the other two touched the armor on his back. He offered me a hoof, and as soon as I took it, it was like I was in a different world. Everything was made of polished crystal that ranged from blue to deep violet. There was a large, and strangely familiar crystal table in the center of this room and at the head of it was somepony I never thought I’d meet. Princess Celestia.

Persona VII: A Place of Unity

Rainbow Dash

“Oh, Howdy y’all! Did ya have fun on yer trip?” Applejack said as she woozily leaned up from her spot on the table. She looked like she’d been half taken out of her suit, and her ears had recently-cleaned red stains all around them. Her forelegs looked like a mess of glowing gold light-strings all over and she had a kinda glazed look in her eye, like she was really up there. I can’t say I’m surprised though. Her legs look like they’re being worked on a lot, and they’re really swollen, almost like a balloon. If she wasn’t drugged to hell and back, she’d probably be screaming in pain right now.

“Sugarcube, would ya mind goin’ ta yer room? Ah think it’s time fer a nap,” Celestia said in somepony else’s voice. Possibly the strangest thing I’ve seen today. She went from the royal, crystal-clear, warm, and sweet voice that I’d heard over this new link to something that, were I not aware who she was, probably would’ve made me question whether or not she was really Applejack’s mother. She looked at the Black Knight and motioned him over.

“Ah don’t wanna go ta bed! My friends still need me don’t they? They’re the only ones Ah got, Ah can’t lose them too...” Everypony stopped about dead in their tracks. The pure, almost innocent, sad look on her face was like looking at a lost puppy. I don’t know what’s happened between them so far, but even I felt a little pang of sadness just from hearing that. Celestia sighed and tilted her head to the side.

“No matter how big they get, all ponies are just children in the end...” She picked Applejack up with her magic and then gently laid her on her back, making sure to be careful with her forelegs as she did. “Sorry sugarcube, but you’re not helpin’ anypony like ya are right now. You’ll see yer friends in the mornin’, alright?” She started toward the hallway to the left of this big cylindrical room and Applejack groaned through a yawn. There was a good chance that the princess added some kind of sleeping spell to whatever she was doing to her legs and it was starting to kick in.

“Okay, fine. Yes Ma’am. Sorry y’all. Mom says Ah gotta go ta bed. See y’all tomorrow...” she said as her eye lids started to fall. It was almost funny. Applejack, a full grown mare, a Super hero, the Marevelous Red, was being treated like a child. And somehow… through all this that I know about her, I could’ve sworn she looked like an eight year old on Celestia’s back like that. I mean, the size difference probably helps, Celestia towers over even the tallest of stallions and meets dragons eye to eye, but none of that should make Applejack look so… adorable.

“Begin to treat the injuries you have at the moment. I’ll brief you once I’ve dealt with her,” Celestia said to the group in her normal tone. She took one step forward, then stopped and dead eyed the Centurion. It was almost like the whole temperature in the room started to rise, and for the first time in a very long time, I felt… true fear. Every instinct in my body began to scream at me to run away. “And you. Expect severe punishment if I hear any fighting before I return.” Princess Celestia continued on her path and it was as if some kind of monster had just walked by. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. Maybe it’s just that I have better sense than most, maybe it’s just that I’ve been around real power for a long time now, but nothing I’ve ever come across was as scary as the princess was just now.

For what felt like hours, nopony moved until finally the Centurion let out a breath and walked to the chair at the head of the table. Everypony else followed suit until finally one chair remained. I figured that that must be Applejack’s chair, so I took the seat since she was clearly going to be out of it for a good while. I got another one of ‘those looks’ from the centurion mare, and she almost opened her mouth, but thought better of it and just looked away. Geez, what the hell is her deal? Have we even met? She wasn’t with them in the foundry…

“Alright, can somepony clue me in as to why she’s so mad at me? Like, I’m not dumb enough to start a fight after a warning like that, but I just want to know what I did,” I asked. Several minutes had passed since Celestia left and nopony had said a word. The blue crystal room was like a foggy ice cave, undisturbed and filled with a kind of misty barrier between everypony.

“Beats me. I’m the most recent recruit as far as this group goes. I’ve only been here about a month now. However, if I had to make an, educated guess, you do kind of have a bad rep. I’ve known your name about as long as I’ve known Marevelous Red. For different reasons, of course,” The Black Knight said. Oh, right. I suppose those things Persona said were jabs at me after all.

“Ah, right. I mean, I guess I’m certainly not the most upstanding citizen out there, but it’s not like any of you have seen my old work. Nopony really should, at least for the last year or so. Besides, I just saved you guys. I figured that would be appreciated more.” I leaned back in the chair and took a look around at each pony’s costume. Something finally struck me when I reached Diamond. I leaned forward and tilted my head. Where have I seen that mane before? It was violet, and very well maintained, especially for somepony who has a hint of real experience in her eyes. Her coat is also exposed in a few places, specifically her well groomed chest which I can only imagine she uses to attract, or misdirect stallions. She’s not quite as shapely as Applejack, but she’s certainly pretty. Even the way it shines is familiar… I know I’ve seen you before…

“Can I help you? I know I’ve always told myself I’d keep an open mind, but you’re really not my type,” she said with a laugh. Rude. Wait, that’s it!

“I do know you! You’re the older sister!” Her name is Rarity Belle, and she runs that shop on the other side of town. She’s Sweetie Belle’s sister, caretaker, guardian, whatever.

“You do realize that by saying that, you’ve exposed yourself right?” I shook my head.

“Only to you though. By my basic assumptions here, you and sleeping beauty already knew who I am. As a matter of fact, you knew back at the harbor fight, didn’t you?” I asked.

“And what brings you to this conclusion?” She replied. I huffed.

“It’s rude to answer a question with a question, but I’ll humor you anyways. Tipsy puts a lot of trust in you. Out of all of these guys here, you’re the only one she hardly ever gives orders to. On top of that, based on the relationships outside of this place, it’s safe to assume that you’ve known her the longest.” She crossed her hooves.

“But how does me not receiving orders clue you into that? Our other relationships aside, I doubt that alone could tell you much.” She asked. I nodded.

“This is true, so I’ll give you a hint. Of those who show their eyes in this room, you, Blur, and Centy over there, you’re the only one who’s truly got any experience in them.” Her expression went from intrigued to apathetic. On the nose.

“I suppose this conversation is over then,” she said as if she were tired, then just tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling.

“Experience? In her eyes? What does that mean?” Blur asked.

“With any luck, you’ll never learn. I suggest you not inquire more.” She tilted her head and frowned.

“I-I don’t even have to know w-what your eyes look like to know t-that you’re more experienced than anypony o-other than me at this table. D-don’t act so high and m-mighty,” Target said. Fluttershy… She gives off such a nasty feeling, like the beast is on beck and call now. The voice and the stutter she carries sound the same as they used to, but it feels like I’m talking to a completely different pony. She reminds me of a mass murderer, and not one who’s killed just a hooful of ponies… and based on those rumors… there’s not a doubt in my mind anymore that she really did commit all those atrocities.

“And then there’s that question. What happened to you, after I left all those years ago? Or really, how did this happen?” I gestured at her outfit with my hoof. “You weren’t this twisted, and you certainly didn’t give off a feeling like that back then. I got into this business because I had to survive. Isn’t your family still around? What… I just don’t understand how you came to be this way.” Behind the mask, I could feel a burning stare. She removed her hat and mask and set them down on the table in front of me. Now that I could see her face, she looked almost as I remembered her… and that puberty had been very, very kind. What the hell is with this group? Rarity is at least an 8, she could pass for a super model now, and Applejack is like the ideal. Why are they all so pretty? A memory triggered in my head once I met her eyes, and I looked deeper to find that the monster was still there.

“W-Who knows? T-They might be, they m-might not. I-I’m not all that concerned either way. W-What’s your excuse, hmm? Y-Your parents were so h-heart broken that they m-moved across the country. Y-You were their only miracle, and t-they certainly wouldn’t b-be getting another one, what with your m-mother’s infertility.” She tilted her head up and smiled at me, those fangs still eerily front and center. “Y-you know what I think? I-I think you’re just a-afraid to see them. Y-You’re afraid that they’ll r-reject you for what you’ve become. I-I’ve come to terms with w-what I am, and if fate has in s-store, then I’ll run across m-my family once more. B-but you? Y-You’re just a coward.”

“I guess you’ve also become an uppity bitch too!” Her smile only widened. She opened her mouth, but in an instant, the Black Knight blinked behind her and popped her across the head.

“O-ow, you’re wearing greaves!” she complained while rubbing her head.

“And you’re trying to start a fight. Cool it with the taunting. Goddess forbid, we actually get on the boss’ bad side.” he reprimanded. She smiled and stuck her tongue out at him. He popped her in the forehead. “Don’t get cute with me.”

“O-Oh, I don’t have to worry about being cute. I-I’m pretty sure most of us know that y-you wouldn't take anything but a piece of that sweet apple pie♥” She still had that look on her face, and I could almost swear that there was a hint of red in those green-blues of hers. The knight's demeanor shifted. He was really angry.

“That would be enough. You take your seat, and you keep your mouth shut, understood?” Celestia said from the hall. Holy crap, I didn’t even hear her hoof steps! Could she have snuck up on me? Without so much as a sound, I felt very soft hair rub up on my shoulder.

“I could have…” She whispered in my ear. My body just froze in place. She was in the hall less than a second ago. And… And she’s so big! How could she… What is she? “Now then. Allow me to make myself very clear. Nopony is to fight in the same building with me. You can solve your petty squabbles in the training hall. This is a place of unity and common bond, and soldiers of mine act as one. Grudges are left at the door.” She stood behind the Centurion and something caught my eye. Their eyes are so similar… that’s not just a coincidence either. Their horns have the same structure too…

“I see that you’re already making connections, so I suppose we should move this forward. The Crow has stated that she wishes to join this operation. She now knows too much, so we can proceed one of two ways, and no matter how you choose, the Major will have the final say.” Celestia stated. The Black Knight put his hind legs up on the table and leaned back against his chair.

“Then I don’t know what you want us to do. I could bet my life on her wanting the Crow in. Hell, she’s already said as much.” Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“Has she now?” Diamond nodded.

“She has. She’s even discussed this with me personally before. As for my opinion I believe that the information she has will be of great value to us, not to mention her skill as a fighter. Personality traits and previous history aside, I trust Applejack’s judgment more than anything else. I say we let her in.” Previous history? What is that supposed to mean?

“Very well then. I believe you said the two of you know each other?” She was listening? Not only is she a damn mind reader, but her senses are excellent too. I suppose you don’t get called the Radiant Sun for no reason… She turned her head and smiled at me.

“I believe it would be wise of you to keep that little nickname to yourself. I’ve tried so very hard to get rid of it, and I wouldn’t want it to surface again.” Her tone sickeningly sweet, it almost felt like a carnivorous plant drawing in it’s prey. I shivered.

“Y-Yes ma’am…” She nodded and then turned back to Rarity.

“Our younger sisters, Mine and Applejack’s, are friends with hers, though I don’t believe they’re blood related. We’ve met a few times picking up and dropping off our sisters at each other’s homes.” The princess nodded and then turned to Fluttershy.

“I see. And you?”

“A l-long, long time ago, we were c-childhood friends. I-I didn’t realize who she was the f-first time we met, b-but I had a feeling I knew her. I-It was confirmed when I got a b-better whiff of her scent at the harbor. I-It was a little strange because it has changed since then, b-but I suppose that was because of her p-powers coming to fruition. T-That or… something else, b-but… you and I both know w-what that is, don't we miss experienced♥” She cooed. I could swear she was just egging me on on purpose.

“Oh? Is this hostility I detect?” Celestia asked. Fluttershy smiled and shook her head. She put her elbows on the table and rested her head on her hooves, staring directly into my eyes, even though she shouldn’t be able to see them with my helmet on.

“N-Not at all. I-I’m just checking to s-see if she’s changed after all t-these years. H-Honestly though? Nothing really has. I-I’d still trust her, even if she d-did cut me in the face a l-little while back.” A thought crossed my mind and I think I finally know what happened to her.

“I see. And then Goose, I’d like your opinion. Even if Applejack deems her worthy, I’d prefer to hear what you all think on the subject before giving her the okay.” The Black Knight looked at me, then back to Celestia.

“Personally, I’m not too sure about this. If she betrayed Persona then what’s to say she’ll keep loyal to us? I mean, all she’s got is her word, and as I said earlier, she has a pretty brutal track record. Once upon a time, we were hired to give asylum to a foreigner who had some information regarding a particular underground trade. All we had to do was keep him for a week and deliver him to… well, if he figures out I said this he’ll come after me, but a stallion you surely know who goes by the name the Crystal Lord.” Celestia nodded, and now I knew where he was going with this. Oh, goddess damn it.

“The guy didn’t last two days. The Bloody Crow had been hired by a rival to take him out, and she did her job. She also killed one of my guys who happened to be keeping watch that night. We found their bodies cut into sections in pieces and the word crow written neatly in their blood. You remember what I’m talking about right? By the way, his name was Ten Proof, and all he wanted to do was be a baker,” he just about spat at me. I rolled my eyes.

“Look, that was two years ago, and I was in a much worse place then than I am now… or was a week ago anyways. I needed the money. I was desperate. I’m sorry for your loss, but all I did was my job and he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, alright?” The Black Knight puffed air out his snout.

“Yeah, well, sorry doesn’t bring him back,” he shot. After a pause though, he dropped his head and sighed. “But really, I’m no better. I just wanted to say that just to get it off my chest. I’m still not sure whether or not I should give you my trust just yet, but if it’s gonna make her life easier to have you around, then I’d rather it be that way.” Huh. Shows where your loyalty lies.

“And you Blur?” Celestia prompted.

“I uh… really don’t have much of an opinion honestly. I don’t know enough about her to make a judgment on her character, and I didn’t know who ‘The Bloody Crow’ was until that thing at the foundry happened last month. She is pretty strong to go toe to toe with Marevelous though. I think it’d be nice to have somepony like her around, and our pasts are all a little bloody, so what’s the difference? If we didn’t give her a chance, then why are any of us here anyways?” Celestia nodded.

“Quite a point to make. Now then, what about you?” Celestia looked down at the mare beneath her. The centurion looked up and then back at me, then at the wall after crossing her hooves.

“I still don’t like it. I’ve seen what she’s done to ponies before, and she almost paralyzed one of Rarity’s legs. Somepony who laughs when they kill another shouldn’t be here,” the centurion pouted. Fluttershy covered her mouth with her hooves and started giggling.

“Hehe… I-I guess I’ll just h-have to leave too. Hehehe…” Ugh, how did you get so creepy? The Centurion rolled her eyes.

“Will you cut that out? What’s gotten into you lately anyways? You’ve been acting weird ever since this morning.” Oh. I bet she doesn’t know. The yellow pegasus only smiled wider, her teeth as a whole seeming almost sharp now.

“A-acting weird? W-what ever do you mean? I-I’ve always been this way.” The princess stared her down again.

“I believe you and I had a conversation this morning, did we not?” Celestia said, that kinda scary part of her slowly working its way back to the forefront.

“We did! B-But something’s changed, and I-I don’t know how to fix it! T-That Israfel mare was a l-lot like me, and once I-I saw her in action, s-something clicked inside.” She turned her eyes to me and then pointed. “S-She knows too… I-If I had to guess, s-she’s probably seen this before, r-right?” Fluttershy said, in a strangely excited tone.

“Maybe I have. I might even know how to fix the problem. But I have a condition.” Here goes nothing…

“Hmm… I see you’ve figured something else out too. You’re not in a position to make demands, but I suppose we could do you a favor depending on what it is. State your terms.” Well, that settles that. She uses about the same kind of link as Brightness does to listen in on my thoughts, but I bet she does it with magic. Good thing I learned how to shut her up a while back, the trick works here too.

“I… don’t have a home right now. And as Rarity said, I also have a little sister. I worked for Persona for the last year, and I know what he’s capable of. If he figures out where she is, he’ll have her killed faster than he can write a check. I need a safe place for her to stay, and as far as I’m concerned, this place is about as safe as it gets.” I started.

“You want us to take in the both of you?” Celestia asked.

“Yes. My… partner is in too deep right now to do anything herself, and If I lose her, then I lose my advantage on Persona, meaning you lose your advantage on Persona.” The Centurion was about to object, but then Celestia put a hoof over her mouth. Her face became cold an unreadable.

“If this comes to pass, you do realize that your little sister will essentially become my property, correct? The ponies around you are all in an information class which holds them hostage to me. I’m not above using the tools I have available, and I’m certainly capable of setting ponies I own on paths I want them to walk. Are you prepared to sell you and your sister’s freedom for the safety of another day? Are you willing to give up her life without her consent?” She asked.

“I…” I started, but Celestia interrupted.

“I suggest you think carefully about this. If I find that she has a talent where I am lacking a useful pawn, then she may very well become my new pawn for the rest of her life. A dog of the military, a hoof of the princesses, a blade of the sun. For all you know, your sister might even have similar talents to yourself and I could easily put her on a path soiled in crimson. Is sending her to the world you lived in worth the guarantee that she lives another day?” Celestia asked. A thought crossed my mind and I started to laugh.

“You know, it’s kinda funny you say that. A few years back, she met these two other fillies and after they became friends, they all got their cutiemarks at the same time. They share an identical mark, bearing a tricolor shield with symbols inside on their flanks. When I first saw it I was terrified. ‘What happens if this means she wants to go into the military? What happens if she gets strong and ends up sent off to war? If she carries a shield in her destiny, then what’s to say she won’t die defending somepony?’

I tried my hardest to keep her from learning how to fight or trying out disciplines because the more she knew, the more my fears had a chance of coming true. A few weeks ago, I finally gave in and let her join the Junior Guard troupe at her school because I realized something. Keeping her caged and trying to hold her from what she wants to do isn’t letting her live her own life. You’ve been trying to intimidate me with your words, but there’s something in your speech that bothers me. Somepony who uses others like things would never ‘put somepony on a path’ because… if they did that, then that still gives that pony the freedom to walk it.” Her cold demeanor begin to warm and her face formed a soft smile.

“You’re very clever, aren’t you?” Celestia let out a laugh and nodded. “Very well. We’ll take you both in. This castle has no shortage of space and the salary you earn working for me could easily feed the both of you.”

“Bu- What!? You can’t just-” the Centurion objected.

“I can, I will, and I am,” Celestia said as she leaned next to her.

“Ugh.”

“Please retrieve the scroll, Twilight.” The centurion sighed and slowly started to walk down a hall behind and to the right of her. “Once she returns and we have the contract signed, you may retrieve your sister and bring her here. Once Applejack wakes up… which should be in a few hours, considering her astonishing recovery rate, then we will host an introductory party, where you’ll tell us your story, and they will tell you theirs. I shouldn’t have to say that the things you hear will be extremely confidential and you will be severely punished for talking about them.” I nodded.

“I understand, and she will too. She and her friends want to go into the military as it is, so she might just see this as taking a step into a solid future. I’m sure she’ll be ecstatic to meet you anyways.”

“Good. Now then, as I said, this is a place of unity and common bond. The first step to joining Harmony will be showing us your face and telling us your name.” My name, huh? I took off my helmet and pulled down my mask, shaking my head to get my mane free of my clothes. “That’s quite a unique set of colors you have there,” Celestia remarked. I nodded.

“Yeah, it makes being inconspicuous pretty hard. But uh… I lost the name I was born with a long time ago. So… you can call me Rainbow Dash.”

Harmony Stories VI: Of Rainbows and Ravens (part 1)

Rainbow Dash

“Alright, What’s wrong with you?” Celestia asked. It’s been about four hours since I signed the contract, and shortly after bringing Scootaloo here, Celestia asked for me alone to help her deal with Fluttershy.

“I-I don’t know. I-It’s like we’re losing the t-thing that keeps us separate! Hehe… T-The control I had on h-her powers is slipping into claws! Hehe...” Fluttershy giggled as she wagged what looked to be a scraggly wolf’s paw mixed with a dragon claw, like it was somewhere in between. Her coat had turned to a strange, sickly looking fur at that spot, one that I remembered all too well.

“How long has this been going on?” I asked.

“I-It started about a m-month ago, after our long awaited r-reunion hehe…” she half said half giggled like a school filly. I’ve met the beast once before… long ago.

“Well, luckily, I remember how I fixed this the first time it happened. Well, at least I hope this works.” I concentrated and formed a small crystal out of my blood. I took the crystal with my wing and held it out for Fluttershy. “Eat this. Once my blood starts working, it should separate your personalities again… or at least make you normal.” The red eye looked to smile while the blue-green seemed to frown.

“E-Eat… your blood?” she said half excited and half afraid. I nodded.

“I don’t know what causes it, or why it works, but this is what separated you the first time it happened. Take it or don’t.” The red eye looked to Celestia, who nodded in response and she just about chomped down on my feathers along with the crystal. The beast cracked and chewed the crystal with her pointed teeth and fangs like a dog and a slab of meat. She swallowed the pieces and just after a few seconds, she fell to the floor and started convulsing. Celestia moved, but I stopped her. “Give it a second.” Her body continued to shake as the paralysis started to spread, and then finally, like nothing ever happened, it all settled.

“You have to be careful not to get any blood on her skin, that’s what triggers the full transformation. She bit me when she lost it back when we were foals. I guess she must’ve swallowed some of my blood when she did, and then she fell to the ground convulsing like that. She went back to normal shortly after. I wouldn’t actually learn how toxic my blood is until several years down the road, but this was the first sign that I had powers.” Fluttershy blinked a few times, looked to Celestia, then looked at me. Both her eyes were back to being green-blue like they should be. She moved so fast that I couldn’t react, and suddenly I found myself in a hug.

“I-I can’t believe you’re really here! I-I thought you died that day… W-what happened, Fire? Y-You… you never came b-back… and your parents…” I pushed her off and I shook my head.

“That’s… not my name anymore, and it’s part of the whole story. I owe it to Scootaloo more than anypony else, since she’s part of it too.” I looked to Celestia and asked, “Do you think she’s about ready to wake up now?” Her horn began to glow with a soft golden light and then she nodded.

“The sleep spell will wear off in about ten minutes. I doubt she’ll feel very well, but I trust her ears will have healed enough. Her body is simply a marvel. By the time I got to her, her right eardrum had already recovered from the damage and her left wasn’t completely busted. I’m sure you heard the sound that thing made, and she was just meters away from it. Even Goose sustained some damage because of that, and he was wearing protection.” Celestia said that with a hint of childlike awe in her voice. She looked as if she were staring away into the distance, then shook herself out of it. “I’m sorry. As you might know by fighting her yourself, she’s more than just a special breed.” I’ll say. Her strength is unreal and the fact that she managed to dodge my sword at my best is more than just skill. Whatever magic she was taught to do that trump card thing must have some kind of crazy backlash if it broke her legs to pieces.

“You got that right. So uh… I don’t know if I should be asking this, but the things I’m about to talk about can’t be used in court against me, right?” I asked with a nervous laugh. Celestia sighed and shook her head.

“No. As with the other members of Harmony, you and Scootaloo will be protected and managed directly by the royal family, or: myself, my sister and Twilight. But I assume you figured that out on your own.” So they are related! But if that’s the case, which one’s the mother? Or better yet, who’s the father?

“I see. Well, I guess I’ll go mentally prepare myself to tell my little sister all the truths that I’ve been lying about for the past four years,” I muttered through a sigh. I felt a warm wing around my shoulder.

“I’m sure she’ll forgive you. It could be worse, after all. You didn’t have to tell your daughter that she’s to be a prisoner because of a mistake you made that affected the whole populace,” She whispered. I looked up to see her eyes and felt a kind of bond in them. So you’re the mother. Now I have to wonder… did you do? I nodded in her reassurance and made my way to the round table at the center of the living room, followed by Celestia and Fluttershy. Since all six of the main chairs had occupants, I just took a folding chair for scoots and I and put them between Applejack and Goose’s chair. I took a seat and then shut everything else out to figure out where I’m gonna start this. I realized that Fluttershy was kind of being kept in quarantine and that my story might conflict with what she wants.

“Um… Princess?” She stopped on her way to the bedroom hall.

“Yes?”

“So… my story starts when I was real young, and meeting Fluttershy changed my life, literally… but I met… both of them. Should I…?” Celestia nodded.

“If you feel that it’s important, then they should know. I keep it a secret at her request and as an agreement with the Beast. What about you? I suppose this is the truth that you’ve been trying to hide. Are you prepared to let them know?” Fluttershy shrugged.

“F- er, R-Rainbow knows the whole story, I-I couldn’t hide it from G-Goose and he knows more than s-she does, and Applejack nearly got s-stabbed by her, so that’s h-half the group already. I-If Rarity knows more than s-she should, then I don’t know about it. T-The only ones I can say are t-truly in the dark are the usuals.” That’s more like it. I can’t believe she still remembers my old name after all these years. Heh. I wonder if she has a copy of that game lying around somewhere? That’d bring back some memories.

“I suppose that would be a yes then. The things you say here will never leave this room, provided my sister cares not enough to know your past,” Celestia said in a bitter tone. She huffed and shook her head. “Never mind. I’ll go check on Applejack… and most likely Goose. Gather the rest and tell them you’re ready to start.” Then she disappeared down the hall.

“Well, lead the way. I still don’t really know this place all that well,” I said as I motioned toward Fluttershy. She stood and stretched herself out, then beckoned me to follow her down the hall at the back of the living room.

“So, before I start this, I’d like to thank you guys for letting us in. I know we weren’t always on the same side, and… I haven’t really been a good guy for a long time, but I’m glad I’m getting the chance to change that.” Scoots tilted her head.

“What do you mean ‘haven’t been the good guy?’” I sighed. So it begins.

“I’ll get there, but I’ll just go ahead and say that you’re… probably not gonna like this. The image you have of me and who I really am are two completely different ponies… literally. Rainbow Dash… isn’t even my real name,” I admitted. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow and just stared at me.

“Really. With a mane like that, you’re telling me that your name isn’t really ‘Rainbow?’” she said sarcastically. I nodded.

“Well, to be fair, my dad’s mane is just like this, and his name isn’t ‘rainbow’ either. But, I suppose that isn’t relevant or important right now.” I looked back to the rest of the group and Blur… er, Pinkie was raising her hoof. “Uh… yes?” I asked.

“Is this gonna be another sad story? Because let me tell you, there’s plenty of those around here. This isn’t really gonna be a fun night if that’s the case.” I put my hoof to my chin and ran through it again.

“Hmm… not really? I mean, well kinda. It has sad parts? I don’t really think about it like that. All the things that I’ve gone through make me who I am today, so if none of this ever happened, then I wouldn’t be the same pony. Sure, it’s probably not the best outcome, but it’s the one I got, so I’ll own it as mine.” Applejack raised her good hoof to me for a hoof bump.

“That’s what Ah like ta hear, even if it does sound strangely distant and kinda fuzzy. That’s the magic doin’ that right?” she uncertainly asked the princess, who nodded in response. “Good. Also, somethin’ somethin’, protection ain’t shit when yer me.” She stuck her tongue out at Goose.

“Oh, what-ever, you know that you’re just lucky you didn’t lose half your hearing. Next time, we’re going to prepare for this kinda shit,” Goose shot back.

“Speakin’ of, Ah know that tonight is story night, but when are we gonna get inta what the rest of the kaiju are? Ah feel like that’s kinda important.” At this, Scootaloo’s ears perked up and she pulled a small device out of the bag she had with her.

“Ooh, that’s right! Uh… our friend? said to give this to you. It has all of the files on the Kaiju from… Persona’s hideout. Gosh, I don’t know why this is so hard to remember. Like, I know all this stuff, but then I can’t remember who told me everything,” Scoot said scratching her head. Well, if Celestia can just search around in my head and hear my thoughts if I’m not actively trying to block her out, then she could likely dig up a whole ton of information from you. If somepony finds out too early, then we’re screwed. Sweetie's Belle's sister, Rarity Belle, or Diamond Nodded in accord.

“Sounds like you had a run in with the same pony that helped me infiltrate the lower floors of Argent HQ. I can still remember the code she gave me to get into the basement for the elevator, even the words she said then, but her name and face are gone as if those memories are just missing a piece. Like a white fog is just cut out of them.”

“And this pony is your… partner, correct?” Celestia asked. I could feel my body tense up.

“Yeah, but just letting others know her face is a pretty big risk. The only reason she didn’t take anything from me is because she still needs me to be her liaison to you guys in the event she finds anything new.” And this is still the truth, it’s just not all of it. Celestia lowered her snout and returned to a sitting position next to Twilight. Geez, even their bodies are just about the same proportion wise. What, did the princess get drunk and have a one night stand with some random guard? Love children don’t look good for politician, and for the ageless princess, it’s almost like a betrayal of the ponies trust.

“Very well. I will trust your contact’s judgment. In any case, I think I’d like to know how you’ve come to be what you are. I always find that the stories of those who’ve lost and chose to improve their stance in life the most inspiring.” And I really hope that means she’s gonna drop it. Well, here we go.

“When I was born, I was not a healthy baby. There were complications from conception to birth, but somehow, I made it out alive. I’ve been anemic all my life, and when I was little, it was about a trip to the hospital a week, be it for a transfusion for my unusually low blood cell production, or I found a way to hurt myself and lost enough blood to pass out, even if it was just a little. I was born premature, and I’ve never been very big either. When you add all this up, you get a very frail, very small filly.

My parents tried their hardest to support me, and encouraged me at every turn, but I was just so weak that I couldn’t really ever do anything a normal foal my age could, and I spent half my days in the hospital. I knew more ponies at the Cloudsdale hospital than I did anywhere else. It got to the point where my medical bills were getting too expensive for just my dad to support us, so my mom had to go back to work. They couldn’t leave me alone, so I was sent to daycare, where this story really begins.

From that description, and who I am now, you’d probably think that there’s no way I could’ve become so strong with all the problems associated with my poor constitution, right? Truth is, I really didn’t. I wasn’t actually very healthy at all until I met Scootaloo here. Something about the transfusions I get from her just kinda fixed my frailty. As for my personality though… that was because of her.” I pointed at Fluttershy, who was not appreciative of the attention.

“Contrary to who she is now, Fluttershy was… kind of a bully back in the day.” Ninety percent of the room tilted their heads and Goose nodded.

“I figured, but I bet I know more than anypony else. Please, continue,” he said, waving a hoof. I looked at him, then at Fluttershy, who just shrugged and nodded.

“Oh… kay… Anyways, I met Fluttershy in daycare, about a year before we started school. She was a little weird and had a little following of ponies, and somepony she referred to as Fluffy, who we all thought was her imaginary friend. ‘Thought’ being the key word here. She was strangely large for her age, and kind of took advantage of that. In her defense, her parents are probably the pony equivalent of doormats, and her younger brother was more like her plaything than a pony. She got anything she ever asked for, and nopony had ever said ‘no’ to her, so she took offense when I did back then. We fought the first time, I got hurt and my parents caused a fuss, her parents disciplined her for the first time, and just like that, we hated each other.

Later down the road, after about a month of this went on, a new group of kids joined the daycare. Their names were Hoops, Spiral, and Kilogram, and they decided that the daycare was their place on the day they arrived. These colts were also big for their age, and strong enough to overpower Fluttershy when she fought back. It didn’t go well for anypony involved, honestly.

The saying goes, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend,’ and in a strange twist of fate, Fluttershy and I teamed up to confront the bullies when the daycare workers were trading shifts. The fight started and got out of hoof way too quick. She was a little crazy back then, and grabbed a pair of scissors in an attempt to stab one of them. Her plan worked, to a degree, and she managed to cut one. This really pissed them off, and said pony punched her in the face, slinging his own blood on her skin.

Then Fluffy came out to play. Her body started to grow and change, her eyes became as red as blood and she looked like a monster. She slammed each of the bullies one after the other into the walls and floor, giving them injuries they wouldn’t soon forget. Once they were dealt with, Fluffy turned on me. I still remember her words.

‘I just wanted you to like me and you never did!’ she roared in my face. This brought the daycare workers back pretty quick, but she was far beyond the strength of the average adult like this. She planted both of them into the wall. I made an attempt to stand up to her, but then she got tired of me. She went for my neck with her teeth, and I was nowhere near fast enough to try and dodge it.” I rubbed at my collar and shook my head. “She bit me, and she bit me hard. I just about passed out from the shock and pain, but as soon as it had started, it stopped. Her teeth fell away and she started shaking wildly. I watched the gruesome transformation back to her pony form until I finally passed out myself. When next I woke up, the bite was gone entirely, like it’d never happened, and I was in my hospital bed. I’d been out for several hours, and nopony was sure if I would wake up. The daycare was closed, and I wouldn’t see Fluttershy again until school started.

Nopony ever figured out what happened at the daycare that day, and those involved thought it was just a bad dream, save for one pony. When I found out that Fluttershy and I were in class together on my first day of school, I tried my hardest, and failed, to avoid her. She caught me alone just after school had let out, and dragged me away to talk. To my surprise, she apologized for what happened at the daycare and thanked me for putting ‘Fluffy’ to sleep. What we would later learn is that when Fluttershy experiences extreme stress, the barrier that keeps her other personality separated starts to break and she gets these aggressive streaks until finally, she force activates her powers and triggers the transformation herself.

Why did we learn that though? Well, those bullies showed up again, even if a little further along. The event at the daycare had changed us completely, Fluttershy suddenly being afraid of becoming trapped within herself as a monster, and I became more focused on the idea of justice and heroes. The news of Red Hoof and other heroes started to reach Cloudsdale around that time, and that’s when I decided I wanted to be like them, like the hero who fought for the weak… like me.

Our personalities just about reversed, and the better qualities inside us more present, we became great friends and spent just about all our time together. Life was like this all the way til middle school started. I don’t know about any of you, but I was a late bloomer, so I wasn’t just the normal short that I am now, I was like a five year old in a world of preteens. I hated my height and everypony who could think of a mean spirited way to call me short did. Fluttershy was my saving grace, since she always stuck by me, but when flight training came around and she was… well, bad at it, she got the same kind of bullying that I did.

It didn’t go very well. Her stress kept building, and one day after school, she invited me to come hang out at a park just down the road. If you don’t know, pegasai have a strange magic that can turn clouds into something solid like stone or steel. You can make clouds into hard surfaces if the right pegasus forms it, and that’s how you don’t have random crap like plates and forks falling from the sky. They come in five grades: A, the hardest grade of cloud and something that can stop bullets, B, C, D, and E, which is what any pegasus turns a cloud into when they stand on it and can be destroyed just by stepping in the right place. Parks and structures like schools are all made of A grade cloud to prevent some psycho from just shooting one up.” I noticed Fluttershy look away and flatten her ears when I said that.

“Is… something wrong?” I asked. She sighed and shook her head.

“N-no, we’ll get there. I-It’s your turn right now,” She said, never taking her eyes off the ground. Well… that was weird.

“Okay… So, point of that; the park is made out of really hard cloud, like harder than steel cloud. When we got there, ponies that Fluttershy particularly didn’t like were having themselves a smoke. I’d noticed that she’d been acting weird lately, and on occasion I’d see a flash of red in her eyes. She hadn’t talked about Fluffy in years, so I thought that she might’ve just grown out of it. I was wrong. She started a fight, and she was good with a knife, which she happened to have hidden in her bag. She managed to cut two out of five before she finally got blood on her skin again.

The nightmare from all those years ago happened again and she beat the piss out of those poor kids. I made an attempt to stop her, and it worked, to a degree. She was about to kill one of them, I was sure of it, so I mustered all my strength and beat her over the head with a trashcan. She was so focused on her prey that I managed to beat her reflexes. I was just lucky that the city was too cheap to have a cloud artesian make trash cans too, otherwise I would’ve hit her with something that is harder than steel, but weighs about as much as a pencil.

I picked her up and ran away from the scene after she reverted, and since all those bullies were in pretty bad shape and unconscious, I called the police as soon as we got back to my place. They wouldn’t show up at school again for a few months, and when they came back, they avoided Fluttershy like the devil. I can’t really fault them for it either, even I was afraid of her for a while. But I knew that if I wasn’t around when it happens again, then she might actually kill somepony, and she really was my only friend at the time, so I wasn’t about to just up and abandon her.

Two more years passed without incident, I finally get my growth spurt, which isn’t much to my dismay, I’m accepted into the wonderbolts early training program, and I’m finally getting strong enough to defend myself. Things were great for a while… but good things never last. Final year of middle school, I’d just recently turned twelve since I was put in school kinda early, and things were looking great. It was a few days before we were let out for summer when those three bullies decided to pick a fight with us. They’d finally started their own growth spurts, and even though Fluttershy was freakishly tall for a preteen, no offense, they still met her eye to eye.

She’d been a little stir crazy and I’d managed to keep her calm all through the last couple years, so I was not about to have another incident. In defense of her, I challenged them to a race in hopes of hurting their pride and making them leave us alone. Last we raced, I had the best time, but I’d never been on a real track, and I didn’t know a lot about what all there is to real racing.

They liked the idea and I gave them the choice of where to do it, which was my first mistake. Kilogram’s dad just so happened to be the owner of a particularly famous race track in Cloudsdale known as the Mile High Cliff. If you don’t know, this has its name because of a drop in the track that is literally a mile almost straight down from one ring to another.

Things you should know before I go further: An average pegasus of my age at the time can handle speeds of around 60 mph before completely losing control. A talented pegasus can go faster without losing control, but only with training. They however, were a year older and more experienced with this track since they came to play on it all the time. Combine that with them being colts and just straight up having stronger bodies than I did, I was not in a good position. I should’ve objected here, but I didn’t since I knew I was a better flier than them. The race begins, I can’t keep up on the straights and out corner them at every turn, but the final stretch is just the drop and a straight back to the finish.

If I didn’t try to take the drop at full speed, then I was gonna lose. That would mean I have to be their lackey till the school year ends, and they’d probably pick on Fluttershy till she lost it and killed one or all of them. If you haven’t already figured it out, I never did finish that race. Going as fast as I did with bones as brittle as mine are, they couldn’t hold up to suddenly catching air and trying to lift upward. Instead, my left wing snapped clean off and tore all the skin and muscle holding it in place with it.

Since I passed out at this point, this is all information that my partner told me, but I kept falling faster and faster, then my powers activated for the first time. In a burst of crimson, my body accelerated down to earth and crash landed… in a forest… somewhere. My blood had formed a blanket to slow me down before I hit the ground, then covered me like a shield of magic to keep me from getting hurt too badly.

From there, I was rescued by my partner, who took it upon herself to care for me. She was an old teen at this point, and she was steadily losing her sight. I’d lost a wing and a considerable amount of blood in general, and I was not in good shape for a long time. A whole year would pass before I recovered completely and learned how to deal with my new lack of wing and sudden extension of my body in the form of a liquid. My partner had gone completely blind at this point, and I was finally in position to start trying to return the favor. It was on a trip to the store that I truly learned what my powers were capable of, and my young sense of justice became warped by the darkness that I’d fallen into.

Harmony Stories VI: Of Rainbows and Ravens (part 2)

When I fell, my body wasn’t damaged much by the impact, but my brain was. Knocked my screws loose and I gained temporary retrograde amnesia. I couldn’t remember last week, I couldn’t remember last year, I couldn’t remember the last decade of my life. I even forgot my own name, hence Rainbow Dash. I’d gained my cutiemark in that fall, and with my appearance the way it was, that’s what my partner started calling me when I told her I couldn’t remember anything. It would stay like this for years until I could fly again and I learned what happened before the day I fell.

Exactly one year after I became Rainbow Dash, we went on a trip that would change me forever. There’s nothing in my life I really regret doing, but there are times I wish this one part didn’t happen. I did what I had to, but this put me in a bad place, and only further down did the rabbit hole go. Like every outing at this point, I essentially wore what amounted to a leash and a collar, and dragged my partner around while she told me what to buy. She’d always had this impressive read on my subtle movements, almost like she could read my mind, and because of that she never managed to hurt herself on something she couldn’t see, I figured this was the case. That was… until that day. I’d gotten really good at detecting and feeling the presences of others, and usually, nopony could walk into a room without me knowing about it. A mare, covered in blue-black feathers from head to hooves, no wings to be found and a horn on her head, had managed to avoid my detection and walked straight into my partner.

I was shocked and almost turned my blood on the mare, but my partner was quick to apologize. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,’ she said. ‘Clearly, you common filth,’ was returned to us. I was a little angry and told her to fuck right off shortly before explaining that she couldn’t see if she tried. The raven mare rose to full height, and as I was thirteen and just barely shorter than I am now, so she towered over me. ‘Little filth should know her place, lest there be consequences...’ she threatened before walking away.

She had this weird darkness to her, and not in the ‘Oh, yeah, that’s evil’ kinda way, but like there was just less light around her as she walked. When she knocked my partner over, I notice that her feathers were really shiny and pretty, but as she walked away, everything about her body was like it was covered in shadow.

I ignored her after she left, and we went on with our lives like nothing ever happened. It started to get late, and I told my partner the time and suddenly, she gasped. She said, ‘Don’t make any sudden movements. We’re being followed. Keep walking, but don’t head home. Stay by the light.’ A chill ran up my spine, and as we moved, I noticed it too. There were eyes on us, and several pairs at that.

Nearly an hour passed while we wandered around Manehattan, and the number of eyes only increased as we drifted from place to place. We never stopped, and we were getting tired. That’s when the first one showed up at the other end of the road. I couldn’t tell anything about this pony, other than that they were wearing a hood and smiling. Its teeth were sharp, and it just started toward us, slowly. Taking casual steps in the dark away from the street lights with that crazy wide smile never leaving it’s face. I tried to turn the other direction, only to end up facing another pursuer carrying a knife and smiling just as wildly as the other one.

My options were to either try and cross the street, where they could both start running, or walk down the dark alleyway beside me and escape. In the end, I probably should’ve tried to run, but I went into the darkness in the hopes I would find a light at the end. Spoiler alert: I didn’t. I kept going with my partner in toe like a dog on a leash, only to find that the two buildings were conjoined to each other by a corridor in this alley, and all the doors around were locked. I hadn’t relearned how to fly yet, and my partner hadn’t flown in years since a close call back when her vision started to deteriorate. The only way out… was through the group that had gathered at the exit.

Group, meaning more than two. There were five of them in total, and all ten eyes were accounted for and present. Teeth one, teeth two, a samurai, a meathead, and a raven. Just from the way they walked, I could tell that the first two were grunts, but the three in the back were the real deal. They just radiated ‘dangerous’ from their being as they moved. My heart was beating like crazy and was just about sitting in my throat at this point, but my partner couldn’t defend herself, so it was up to me to get us out of this.

‘My, my, my, now what do we have here? A pair of lost little fillies, all on their lonesome,’ the raven mare said. I could swear I just about growled at them and yelled back,

‘yeah, what about it?’ The group got closer until I felt the need to back up. All the while, the raven mare just smiled, her teeth perfect, but made me more afraid than either of the two crazies in front of her. When my partner stopped at the wall, I realized we were cornered.

‘Oh no, nowhere left to run? A gimp and a blind mare, a pair of flightless birds. Our clients love pegasus, but they have a habit of… falling. A pair of flightless pegasus though? That would sell for a high price…’ the raven echoed, her voice almost like it was booming, but she was no louder than a whisper. ‘Restrain them. Damage the goods again, and it’ll be the last time you use your filthy member,’ she said to the grunts.

So, at this point, you can only imagine what’s going on through thirteen year old me’s head. I’m about to get kidnapped. I’m about to get raped. I’m gonna be sold off to some other rapist. My care taker is going to experience the same thing. We’re going to get separated and tortured. I’ll never figure out who I am. I’d finally made it to a point where my condition was stable enough to experience a bit of normalcy in my weird life, and you know what? I wasn’t ready to give that up.” I turned my stump toward the group and used my blood to from a small tentacle.

“Back then, I wasn’t able to do much more than make a limb out of it like this, but I knew how to use my blood to a small extent. I’d gotten to the point where I could pick things up with it, though not to the degree that I can now, and with that knowledge in mind, I tried to form it into a blade. You see, while outside of my body, my blood can act like regular blood and coagulate, but I can manipulate that to have it coagulate as I want it to, and even revert it back to liquid. I can take this a step further and form very sharp, very thin surfaces out of it that become a kind of pink-red crystalline structure, or like my sword when it’s at its strongest. These crystals on their own can cut steel, but just like real crystals, if you hit ‘em in the right spot, they’ll fracture and break easily.” I followed my words with the actions of making and breaking my own crystals.

“However, if a crystal breaks, and I’m still conscious, it’ll turn itself into mist and flow right back into my stump,” I said as I had my blood follow suit. “The less concentrated I am on my blood, the closer to gas it becomes and vice-versa. If any of you remember the fight Applejack and I had at the harbor,” I then turned and stared Applejack down. “Every time she jabbed at my wound, my blood fell apart and turned to mist,” I shot, taking my eyes off her and putting them back on the group.

“Look, Ah said Ah was sorry,” Applejack said. I rolled my eyes.

“You said you were sorry because you shot me in the leg. I never got an apology for you abusing my tender flesh.” Applejack rolled her eyes and Goose leaned in to the table with a creepy smile on his face.

“I’m sorry, what was that? I’d love to hear more about you, Applejack, and tender flesh,” he said with a laugh. Applejack gave him a look that I’d be afraid of, and Scootaloo nodded.

“Yeah, we always speculated that one of them might be gay. Maybe that majestic bridal style catch on Caballo day really was the spark of true love♥” she cooed. I smacked her across the back of the head.

“We’ve talked about this before. Just because my mane is rainbow colored does not mean I swing toward home base. I had an edgy phase when I was fourteen and tried to dye it red. As it turns out, my mane doesn’t like dye either.” I stated, remembering the horror I felt when all that color just slid off my head after I’d paid good money for it. Damn it, it was such a waste! I could’ve bought food with those three silver bits!

“Pardon moi, you mean you and our sisters? About each other? Whatever would give you that idea?” Rarity asked.

“Easy. You all come home late or in the morning some days, I know you two had this weird tension every time you met, you and Applejack suspiciously spent a lot of time together on Sweetie’s birthday and several times after, and as soon as Rainbow and Applejack met, she started-” Oh no. I covered her mouth and flicked her head.

“Keep that to yourself, you brat!” Goose formed a smirk and leaned back in his chair.

“Oh, no, by all means, please share with the class. We’re a family here, we don’t have many secrets.” I stared him down.

“No secrets huh? You touch your dick since you’ve been here?” He opened his mouth, closed it, then looked away. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Scoot tapped my hoof real hard, and I realized I’d been suffocating her. “Oh, sorry.” She took a gaping breath and relaxed almost to the point of falling over in her folding chair.

“Note to self: don’t talk about Rainbow’s ‘habits’ in mixed company. She might just smother me for it.” I rolled my eyes.

“Hey, uh, this whole bonding thing is fun and all, but I would really like to know how you and your friend got out of that alley.” Pinkie said. Oh, right. I was telling a story. My story.

“Right! That. Well, so much for the tension I was trying to build. The two grunts weren’t very big, fast, or strong, and with my blood shaped to a point like prehensile spear, I killed them both.” Scootaloo turned her head and just about dropped her jaw and the rest of the room went dead silent.

“You… you did what?” she asked, her attitude changed from that cocky little brat she was a moment ago to the filly I knew. I felt my tone shift as I remembered my first set of kills.

“Once they were dealt with, the raven mare sent her other guys. The big one was huge, but slow. I took what I’d learned from killing the first two and applied that to him. I jumped off the alley wall and gouged out his eye, then pushed my blood spear through the socket till he fell over. The samurai was far faster than him, and he cut me in the chest.” I pulled some of my coat back to reveal a scar similar to the one over my eye to the group.

“The cut was deep, and I started to bleed really bad. But with the rage, fear, and the primal instinct to kill I’d built up so far, I’d gained an elevated understanding of my blood, and took full advantage of the new source of weapon I had access to. I halted the blood from exiting my wound once I had enough, and formed a blade similar to his. I blocked his next three attacks, and took a chance with his fourth. He managed to cut my eye. I managed to cut his heart out.

I ripped the organ from his chest and held it out for him to see it stop beating as he died. I pulled the sword off my face with my wing and then tossed the heart aside. A blade of blood on my left and a blade of steel on my right, I went after the raven mare next. Since she was the boss, she was well more experienced in combat and far more powerful than the other four. Underneath her feathers at what I’d thought were hooves were actually talons. She’d come at me, disappear and then slash me from behind. She did this four times before I figured out she was teleporting somehow. I stopped moving and trying to chase her. Instead, I used my new understanding of my blood to feel for her. The moment it moved, I’d know where she was coming from. She reappeared out of the shadows, and just like that, I swung a blade of my blood right where I expected her neck to be.

When all was said and done, I felt very cold, and very alive. I couldn’t see anything out of my left eye but red, and all in front of me were dead bodies. Tears started to well up in my eyes, and I cried and laughed maniacally. ‘This was your own fault! You attacked us, and now you’re dead!’ I remember shouting. I started ripping the feathers off of the raven mare’s coat, until I’d taken them all, leaving her as a bloody bare-skinned chicken. I stole the coats of the two thugs and the meat head, I took the armor, the sword and the sheath off the samurai, and I loaded it all up so I could carry it. I told my partner that they were dead in the event she didn’t hear me just about scream it earlier after I was done… collecting, and she didn’t say a word. She just… hugged me. I can still remember every word she said that night.

‘It’s okay now. You’re safe. You don’t have to hurt anymore.’ I started crying again, but this time, the weight of everything that just happened finally hit me. I didn’t just defend myself, I brutally murdered three ponies and I laughed the whole time. I was smiling while their blood was flying in my face from the wounds I inflicted. Killing them… felt good. At the time, I thought that something inside me had died, and it wasn’t for another two years that I would figure out that it was my innocence. The adrenaline of fighting for your life, the rush of pleasure from spilling blood, the sheer delight that I got from seeking a situation like that. I had to feel it all again.

I tried to justify it to protect my fragile ego. It was their fault. They were trying to sell us into slavery, I only did what I had to do. I was the hero. I cleaned the streets of five ponies who didn’t deserve to live. And I could do it again. I could be just like them! The heroes that say they protect the streets, except I would be better! I’ll save everyone and kill all the bad ponies first, so that nopony ends up like we did! Or so I would say. I used those coats, armor, and feathers I stole to make the first version of my costume, and from there, ponies started calling me the Bloody Crow. I killed for fun for a while, just to keep getting that rush, to feed my addiction to blood. Any unsuspecting creature on the street who looked like no good, I went after and ripped to pieces. This was uh… during puberty and all, so I uh… I got off on it, I’m ashamed to admit. The frail lie I called ‘justice’ was no more than a way to act out on my desires.

Soon, ponies with real skill would start approaching me with ‘offers’ to earn money while doing what I loved. I accepted, as long as the sender could survive long enough to get me to calm down. What better way to keep going than earning the money we need to live, and keep acting out on my impulses? Job after job, I killed, and I killed, and I killed, all in the name of my justice, for anypony who would pay me to do it. For a whole half year since that day, I began the name of the Bloody Crow. I was small time, but I had a few regulars who would come and offer me jobs. It was around then that my partner had started to figure out how to use her powers to restore her sight. She saw… what a monster I’d become.

The Beast was the monster in my childhood that kept me from even considering something like the evil I would commit on a daily basis, but with that memory long gone from my head, the parents who raised me with all the love and care in the world forgotten, the teachers and coaches that had encouraged me to be a hero lost, and the idol I looked up to missing without a trace, all that was left was instinct and killing.

My partner’s powers can alter memories, and even take them away from ponies, but she never could figure out how to restore them. She tried and tried to fix me, to turn me away from this horrible road I’d gleefully thrown myself down, but all to no avail. We fought over it, but something inside me kept me from ever turning my blade or my powers on her. No matter how angry I got, no matter how much I thought I hated her, she meant a lot to me, and I could never betray her. Another half year passed, and she figured that she could only manage her powers to give her half the sight she used to have, making her heavily farsighted at best. She started working for Argent at the age of twenty one, and within a year, she worked her way through the ranks until she earned a… um, really good promotion.

Now that she could sustain herself, and function on her own again, my bloody money was no longer of any value to her. No matter how far off the deep end I’d gone, my only clear goal outside of satisfying myself was to try and pay my partner back. I wanted to try and provide for her, I wanted to try and help her when she needed it, but she would refuse me at every turn. One day, after a whole year of me doing what I could and her refusing me at every turn, just a little before she got her promotion, I asked why she never let me help her do anything, and finally, she gave me an answer.

‘Because, Rainbow… no, your name is the Bloody Crow now, isn’t it? It’s because you’ve become… a monster. The Rainbow I rescued would never do something so horrible to another pony. The Rainbow I nursed back to health wouldn’t slaughter the rivals of some evil group just to kill for the fun of it! I’ve been watching you for some time now, I can see what you see, feel what you feel. You enjoy it. You get the most pleasure out of a kill when they fight back and you crush them, just after it looks like they have a chance. You love it when get to feel their blood on your skin, and there’s nothing you hate more than running out of ponies to execute. You’re no better than the raven mare we met a two years ago.’

I’m fifteen by this point, even though I’m completely oblivious to that fact, and her words devastated me. Wasn’t it justice that these ponies died? No, you’re just a monster. Wasn’t killing them before they had the chance to hurt somepony else the right thing to do? No, you kill for fun. Aren’t they the bad guys? No. You are the bad guy. While even to this day, it doesn’t take her more than a few words to get into my head and make me feel bad, her words hit me so hard then that I retired my cape and didn't leave the house for three days straight. My partner finally broke into my room and tried to feed me, but I wouldn’t take it. I had lost all the confidence I’d built up in a single sentence, and spent all the time remembering back on all the ponies I killed. Half of them didn’t deserve it. Some were just petty thieves and I executed them on the spot because I could. I was a monster.

On the third day, I just about passed out because my anemia had been acting up, and I finally gave in and had a meal with my partner. I didn’t want to eat it because I didn’t think I deserved it, but none the less, I ate. I had to keep living. The one thing that was beat into my head over the first year since I’d fallen from Cloudsdale was ‘survive, above all else.’ She would say it over and over again until I stabilized in the first three months, and things finally became… normal.

I wouldn’t get over it for a long time, and even now I’m still ashamed of myself when I go too far and end up killing when I don’t mean to just for that feeling. However, I finally felt good enough to leave the house after a week, and I decided that I would find out where I came from. The question of ‘who am I?’ had been on my mind more often than not in those days, and I’d regained my ability to fly, even if I couldn’t do it on my own wing.

I set out for the city in the sky after my partner had told me that it was above that area on the year I fell. Luckily for me, it was about in the same spot since it passes above there every year, and I had just enough stamina to make it. But just barely. I managed to get to the edge of the city before I passed out. I woke up a few hours later, and since I’d set out at noon, it was about five, and the city was bathed in orange yellow hues.

It’s a bit strange if you’ve never seen it before, and since I’d basically never been at this point, it was a little like waking up in wonderland. The roads were golden with bright white glowing outlines, the buildings and stores were various shades of yellow, orange, and red, and it was all just captivating. It would look kind of weird if a random gimped pegasus nopony had ever seen was walking around, so I brought a cloak with me and started wandering the streets.

My body took itself around places I used to know, like the school I once went to, that park I beat Fluttershy over the head at, her house, which was empty by this point, and then finally, mine. When I got there, I felt a sense of nostalgia that hit me really hard. I knew this place, and it made me happy to see it. The lights inside were on, and it looked lived in. I didn’t know why I felt like this of course, but I had to investigate further. Without so much as a thought, I knocked on the door.

An older Stallion answered, and I just about lost every thought about what I was going to do next when I finally met somepony. I mean, for all I know, this guy could be my dad and just flip out on me. I just stared at him for a while until finally, he broke the silence. ‘Um, can I help you?’ he asked. Not my dad, I figured then and there. Finally, I realized that I’d just been staring at this random 50 somethings old pegasus for the past two minutes. So, I just kind of told him the truth and spilled everything in a heaping pile of ‘I haven’t interacted with normal ponies in years.’ The guy resonated with my plight and he welcomed me inside. I met his wife and they invited me to have dinner with them.

It was a weird feeling. All too familiar, to have dinner with two older ponies at a table in this particular room. The way the light shined in through the windows, the fresh cooked meal on the table. The smell of home. I started getting these flashes of old memories. Two ponies I presumed were my parents making me dinner at an early age, at the very least ten years ago. It just felt so nostalgic, I think I started crying without realizing it.

They asked me what was wrong, and I just felt compelled to tell the truth again. I hadn’t been in a situation like that one in years, and only then did I remember that. My scattered past was starting to come back in little pieces just by having a meal here. If I could learn what happened, or maybe see some faces, I might just fix me. Eventually, it would.

I asked about the previous owners of this house and any major incidents in the last couple years. He went on to tell me that he didn’t know the couple that lived here before, but he did have the name of the agency that sold the house and could direct me there. As for incidents, he mentioned that there was a tragic shooting near by a year prior, and a few years before that, there was a race that took a young filly’s life. A shooting wouldn’t have made sense considering my wound, but a tragic race? Now that sounded like a lead.

I asked about it, but the couple said they only knew that it happened. Cloudsdale is huge, and getting a house there isn’t cheap. It’s not Manehattan, but within the floating city are three separate public school districts, and a private and a public University. The population is almost strictly pegasai, but even then, it’s still huge. These ponies weren’t even near by where the accident took place, but it because it was such a major event, the entire city knew about it. The story goes just about the same way I told it to you, but without names to protect Kilogram’s dad from the bad press. Five underage ponies sunck into and attempted to complete the track at competitive times, and in the process, one filly broke the sound barrier and crashed straight into the ground below. To this day, nopony knows how she did it, and a body was never found, but her blood stained the sky and a very specific area where it’s believed she landed. With so much blood lost, there was very little chance she survived, even if she didn’t just splatter on the ground.

The wheels started turning, and more memories of that day started to come back. I started to remember faces and events, but words and names still wouldn’t return. I needed more information, so I thanked the couple and asked if there was a public library that was open all night anywhere. There isn’t one that’s open for that long in Cloudsdale, but the public university typically has students that camp out inside to cram for morning tests, so it’s not too uncommon to find ponies inside while the building is technically ‘closed.’

That couple was really nice, and they even offered to let me have their spare room until the morning, but I needed to figure out who I was. I had all the pieces now, I just needed something to string them together. Blood in the sky, breaking the sound barrier, my lightning bolt cutiemark, it all lined up so perfectly that I was the only pony capable of causing it. I managed to get into the library before it closed and from there till the next morning, I would follow links about the incident until finally, I came upon my own name.

Once that happened, it all came back to me. I remembered everything. The weight of all the things I’d done since I forgot, and all the things that I wanted to be before then came crashing down like I was slammed by something twice my size. I figured out that my parents had sold the house and moved away, but to where I don’t know, and I never could work up the courage to find out. It might’ve just been the Beast goading me, or it was really Fluttershy being uninhibited as to what she said, but she was right earlier. I’ve always been afraid of what they would think if they saw me now.

My dad was a veteran, he knows what a pony who’s killed looks like, he is one. If he looked at me today… I doubt he would ever be able to see me as his daughter again…” I noticed several ponies in the room move to say something, but I held out a hoof. “Before any of you say something about it, I do plan to go look for them one day. But… I’m not ready for that. When I see them, I want to be able to say that I lived my dream and became a hero like I always wanted to. Once this is all over, and we make it through this, I will make a promise to all of you here that I will go see my parents. If I have an accomplishment, like saying that I helped save a city and fought for my country while risking my life for the greater good, then maybe it can balance out some of the shitty things I did before then. I won’t be the same pony I was back then, and I’ll finally be somepony that the me of twelve years ago would look up to… just like him…” I shook the thought out of my head and then decided to continue on.

“So, I remembered who I am after three years of not knowing and losing myself in the process. What do I do now that I’ve regained my morals and ideals? I had no clue. My partner didn’t need me anymore, and I didn’t want to become dependent again, so… what could I do? Eventually I sulked my way back home after a few days spent crying in the Cloudsdale University library trying to figure out what happened to the ponies in my past, namely Fluttershy, only to be met with more disappointment. I mean, I found out that she was attending that high school that got shot up, I thought she was dead, and that would explain why her family wasn’t here anymore.

Everypony had moved away, and anypony who did know me from back then was either long gone, or not somepony I wanted to see. In my short lived wisdom, I asked my partner what she thought I should do after telling her everything I learned about myself, and once again, she graced me with a painful answer.

‘What should you do huh? I’m honestly shocked that you don’t already know the answer to that. What did you want to do before all this started? There’s a single common theme in everything you told me, and you know what that is? You’ve said over and over again that most of your motivations after meeting this other filly were to become a hero. So what are you doing now? Sobbing over a lost past and hoping that somepony else can drag you out of your own misery? Foolish. You are the only one who can fix your problems. What better way to redeem yourself for your past actions over the last two years then trying to save others the right way? Though misguided, even while lost, you still came up with your horrid idea in the name of justice. If somepony who fell as far as you did can still keep justice in her mind covered in blood, then how good of a hero could you become if you used that sword to defend instead of harm?’

I swear, she can pinpoint and exploit insecurities in an instant, but none the less, she had me pegged. I didn’t really know what to do to start, so I just tried to plan how I would act when I finally did get out there and try to be a hero. I already had a reputation, at least in the underworld, as a pretty brutal mercenary. Trying to turn that around was gonna be hard. A couple days passed, and suddenly, my partner’s health took a turn for the worse. She got sick, and then sicker, and after a week, she was bed ridden.

I took her to the hospital finally, and she had some crazy infection in her hoof. The damage wasn’t permanent, and the treatment was possible to return her back to normal, but the cost… was well more than what either of us had saved up. I was desperate, and I would’ve done anything to save her… so I did. I went back to being the Bloody Crow just as soon as I’d quit, and started earning just to help my partner get well. She got out of the hospital after a while, but I never stopped working for the mafia. The money was great. Any time I did something right, my pockets were loaded with enough cash to pay for supplies for months in advance. I didn’t get lost and forget my convictions this time, but I still killed on almost a weekly basis because I wanted to.

It was an uphill battle against a strong impulse that I loved to feel versus my own ideals that had only recently resurfaced in my life. However, this fight wouldn’t last as long as it probably could have. I suppose you could say that it never really ended, because on occasion, it still happens, even if accidentally. But this turning point in my life, really forced down my desire to be a hero for somepony. The thing that caused me to change… was you kid.” I pulled Scootaloo close and she gave me an uncertain look like I expected she would after all that.

“I’m the reason you… I guess, stopped killing ponies for fun?” I shrugged and nodded.

“Kinda. I wanted to be better than I was and break the habit anyway, but you? You’re the reason I managed to do it.” She looked down, and then back up at me, the uncertainty replaced with genuine interest.

“How?” I smiled.

“I’m glad you asked. To explain that, we have to go back to four years ago. This was two months after my partner recovered, and I’d been working for the mafia again for five. A certain job came up, and when I started it, I thought it was just a simple request…”

Harmony Stories VI: Of Rainbows and Ravens (part 3)

I always found it kind of funny, but the mafia that I worked for most often back then called themselves the Azrael family. I’ll expand on this more later because it’s important to our current situation, but in a religion that’s practiced in a middle eastern country, this name refers to the angel of death. However, I doubt many of you have even heard of that name because that family went by several pseudonyms and aliases to keep to themselves and parade around in the daylight, as if nothing they touched was anything but clean.

I knew the truth, but I also knew better than to piss off the Azraels because they were the big fish in Manehattan at the time. The guy is a little obscure, but do any of you know the name Sunlight Angel?” I asked. Celestia and Goose nodded.

“I think I met him once. He owns a small cleaning supplies company doesn’t he? Angelic Shine, I believe,” Celestia said.

“Well, that wasn’t all he owned. Dude runs a lot of laundromats and dry cleaning services around here too. For a while, my gang and several others, used his storefronts as a cover to fix our taxes. I doubt those were the only operations he had going on though,” Goose added. Celestia gave him a look that said ‘you and I need to have a talk later’ and then returned her attention to me.

“Right, that’s him. Real name? Incandescent Azrael. He’s the current head of the Azrael family. He’s not a bad dude as far as mob bosses go, and last I was in contact with him, he started evicting gangs that dealt in pony trafficking, but he’s only a minor character in this story. Incandescent took over Azrael four years ago, and his dad was the head before then. His name, I bet most of you have heard. They called him the Red Demon.” Of the seven others, I got three looks of confusion, and four looks of surprise.

“The what? I’ve never heard that name before,” Twilight said. Celestia put a hoof on her daughter’s head and ran it through her mane.

“And for good reason.” She sighed. “What do you all know about this Red Demon character?” Celestia asked the group.

“N-not much other than the l-legend of his powers. I… T-the Beast was always compared to h-him whenever I would overhear things a-about myself all those years back. S-supposedly, my brutality was nothing c-compared to his,” Fluttershy said.

“Back in my early days, Ah was always told ta avoid anypony spoutin’ that name or carryin’ his mark. Ah never got an explanation why though, and Ah never did run into anypony with that weird tattoo, so Ah just forgot about it,” Applejack said. Huh. I wonder who told her that? Smart, whoever it was, but that means somepony else knows about her, doesn’t it?

“I once got a vague warning about how the Red Demon would rise again some day when I managed to detain one of his strange followers a few years ago, but I don’t know much more than that either,” Rarity added.

“I got nothing,” Pinkie said.

“Same,” Scoot tagged on.

“I can fill in a little of this part. Nopony back then knew this guy’s real name. He was like the opposite of a super hero, a super villain if you will. He hid his name and face from everypony, and when he did show up, he was always wearing some kind of costume. As far as his known appearance goes, he was an earth pony who always dressed in a red three piece suit and a black face mask. My dad took me to a meeting between the heads of the families in Equestria once, and that’s where I first and last saw the guy. He was… scary. Just looking at him, you’d think he was like a cartoon, but the moment he trained his eyes on you, you could just feel the bloodlust, the oozing, sticky desire to kill and the tinge of blood on his skin.

Somepony tried to assassinate him at that meeting, and one minute, there was a pony about to stab a knife in his back, and in the next, he was behind the assassin with his head in his hooves as the body fell to the floor. The entire room was shocked, and he was just so… casual about it. I remember him saying, ‘Oh dear. I suppose I’ve made a mess. Worry not sirs and madams, my cleaning supplies are the best in the market and should have this mess wiped away in an instant.’ Then he just tossed the head in a trash can in the corner of the meeting room as his guards started taking care of it. Dad always warned me not to screw around with him if the day ever came that I needed to take over. The thought of running into him one day almost scares me a little more than whatever kaiju we might fight next.” Goose shivered.

“I suppose it’s my turn to share. Eventually, I found out that it was on his orders that Twilight was kidnapped. I searched for him for years, and I always came close, but somehow, he would evade me at every turn. I hadn’t given up until a while back when he just up and disappeared off the face of the planet. No mention of his particular way he killed ponies, or any activities that would fit his modus operandi, even the guards that I’d sent in to be moles in that operation just stopped hearing word entirely about the demon, or any orders ‘directly from the boss.’ I still don’t know what happened, and that whole gang has seemed to disband since then.” Celestia's tone was annoyed and dismayed. I smiled.

“Well cool, that means everypony gets to learn something here. Not only do I know his name and face, but I know what happened to him too. So, one day, I got a special request from my usual informant. It was a letter on bright red paper with the demon’s seal in black wax on the front. Since I’d worked for the gang for a while now, I knew this was a major deal. Nothing comes to you directly from the boss unless he wants to meet with you specifically, and all that letter contained was coordinates, a time, a date, and a number, that number being three hundred million with a bit sign at the end.

I asked my informant what this was, and all he said was that if I wasn’t there at that time, I would never hear from the mafia again. Naturally, I feared the loss of my income and was intrigued by the thought that a single job might make me a millionaire, so I went to the meeting place. Deep in the Manehattan woods, a secluded location hidden by fog, reception just making it far enough that I could follow my GPS. Every sense was tingling, and I knew I was being watched the moment I landed. A shock ran through my spine immediately after I took a step, and I covered myself in a cocoon of my blood. Inches from my neck and trapped in my blood was a strange black knife being held by the demon himself.

‘My, my, you are just as exemplary as my men have said. So young, yet so powerful. Not many ponies can stop my attacks… I believe you might just be worthy of this task after all. But just to be sure…’ He said as he examined me. He spoke like he was some kind of scientist, very cold and calculated, studying every twitch I made, the way my blood moved. He tried to stab me two more times, and each time, I barely managed to stop his knife with my blood, half a second before it would’ve made contact with me.

I was so confused and afraid of this guy, I didn’t know how to react other than protect myself from him. His powers were… like he just skipped some of the motions and was suddenly in the middle of an attack at another spot, less than a second from his last attack.

‘What a tough shell. Very impressive indeed. Your reactions are just outstanding. Before I brief you, I assume you know who I am, correct?’ he asked. I couldn’t find my voice, so I just nodded. ‘Ah, it seems I may have given you a little too much of a scare.’ He reached for and removed his mask. Underneath the thing was what I couldn’t have possibly ever expected. He just looked like a normal adult in his fifties. No scars, no outstanding features, just a normal stallion. He had a violet mane and beard with an orange coat and magenta eyes. He was just… so normal, I was stunned. He was trying to kill me not less than a second ago, but none of the emotions that should come to mind with that fact in my head could when I was looking at this completely unassuming dude.

‘Now then, you know who I am, correct? Answer my questions verbally,’ he repeated, his voice almost completely different now, like I was talking to some regular salary man in a grocery store.

‘Yes sir. You’re the Red Demon.’ His real face almost had a weird calming effect to it. With the mask on, he was just like what Goose said, and you could tell he wanted to kill anything within a twenty meter radius, but without it, it was just like all that vanished in an instant. He smiled when I said that, but it wasn’t creepy or anything, just like he was happy to hear it.

‘Excellent. My Bloody little Crow, I have a very important task for you. As in the letter, which I hope you’ve kept since it will be the only proof you have of meeting me, the reward for this task will be tantamount to capturing a bounty on one of the Equestrian dons for the government. Three hundred million will all be yours if you can complete one simple request for me.’ Even his voice was alluring. The more he spoke, the more I wanted to listen. He was so charismatic, it was hypnotizing.

‘Anything, sir.’

‘I have recently received word that a thorn in my side has shown up once again. In my past, I was less cautious than I should’ve been, and now I’ve come to regret it. There is a pair of targets I need you to kill. However, I also need you to find the name and location of one of these targets as that information still escapes me. The first target should have the identity and location of the second hidden somewhere near. Kill them both and return to me a lock of each of their manes, and the reward will be yours. What you do with the first body is of no consequence, but the second must be incinerated at all costs.’ He reached into his suit and passed me an envelope. ‘Return to me here exactly one week from now. I will have your reward waiting, and I trust you will have what I’ve asked for. I look forward to seeing you again.’ And then he was just gone. That same weird sense of ‘did I just miss something?’ struck me. His mask was missing, and yet again, there was a new blade stuck in my blood.

I didn’t think I really had much of a choice in the matter, so I decided to see what was inside the envelop. A page full of details on a mare who went by the name Fly Wheel, a picture of her with a date from thirteen years ago, and a little note. The note read, ‘Kill this mare, but only after you extract information about a foal that was born in November of 2013. Do what you must, but no matter what, this is your highest priority. Find and kill the foal. As of this writing, it should be twelve.’

So, it was just another search and destroy job, except this time, the catch was that the first target was just to get to the second, which was the really important one. Why? Had no clue at that point but, I also wasn’t sure how to go about getting the information out of this mare. I got my jollies in fights, things that made my blood pump. Killing some random mare who probably couldn’t defend herself wouldn’t be any fun, nor would it do anything to help my recently redeveloped conscious. So, what do I do next? Well, the easiest option was to seek out advice from the great pool of wisdom that was my partner.

‘Why don’t you just talk to her?’ she said to me.

‘Talk to her? About what? Oh hey, a mob boss hired me to kill you and some preteen you know about, would you mind giving me the details?’ My partner is a pretty smart pony, but she’s also kind of anti-social. She can manipulate a pony into doing what she wants because at this point, she’d learned enough about her powers where she can just straight up read your thoughts if you don’t know a little trick that I learned. Naturally, when she suggests I do something so out of character for either of us, I was skeptical.

‘No, you idiot, just be friendly. You don’t want to kill this mare, correct?’ I hate it when she asks questions. She words them so that they’re all yes or no and make me feel dumb at the same time.

‘No.’

‘So your goal is to protect her, right?’

‘I guess.’

‘So approach her and try to get to know her. Figure out why he wants this mare and this foal dead. What makes them so important to him? What reason is enough to want them dead so badly that he not only shows you his face, but also offers you this ridiculous sum for it? From the sound of it, this guy is bad news, and you likely shouldn’t have taken the job to begin with, but if you’re to become a hero, then you might as well start here.’

Truly, she is an inspiration to puppet masters everywhere. A few words more and lunch later, I set out to start tracking this mare. Following the information on her I was given, I spent the next two days scouting and watching to see what all she did. She lived alone and worked as a hostess at a bar on the east side. She was a pegasus, magenta coat, violet eyes, dark blue mane, and a cutiemark that looked more or less like her namesake out of a combustion engine. By day she spent her time in a workshop tinkering with some car, and there was only one place I figured I could pretend to meet her on accident, and that was when she went out to lunch amid her routine.

On the third day, I finally worked up the initiative to actually try and talk to this mare out of the blue. Without much of a plan in mind, I kind of just walked up and asked if I could sit next to her at the diner bar. As it turns out, she was just a nice lady. We made small talk until finally I started working toward what I wanted to know.

‘I’m excited for November here in a few months. This new laptop I’ve been looking into is going to release, and I finally got enough money to buy it right off the shelf.’ I said, trying to work that date in there. That was the truth by the way, I still own that laptop.

‘November huh? Yeah, I figure it is about that time again…’ she said, trailing off.

‘Something about that month bother you?’ She looked at me, and then checked around like she was looking for somepony in particular, and once she was satisfied, she opened up to me.

‘My daughter’s birthday is in November.’ I’d already had my speculations about why he wanted some unknown kid killed, but this just about solidified my guesses.

‘Oh, really? Why is that sad?’

‘I haven’t seen her in years. Who knows what she’s been through these days? She’s never far from my mind, but… I just…’

‘You just what? I mean, she’s your kid right? Why not just go see her?’ I asked, trying to provoke her. She turned to me and grabbed my shoulders.

‘I can’t! If I do, he’ll find her, and if that happens…’ she paused and realized she was yelling in my face. ‘I’ve… I’ve made a scene. Thank you for your company, I hope things get better for you soon.’ She left some bits on the bar and then darted out the diner. So, I’ve made some connections, and now I think I’ve figured out what’s going on. I paid for my own food, and chased after her. However, I wasn’t the only one.

The boss didn’t take chances, and I wasn’t the only one he sent to get information out of this mare. Aside from me, four other ponies pursued her. I figured out where she was headed since I was smart enough to make friendly conversation, and managed to beat them to her before she cornered herself. I took her to a safe place, and told her to wait till I came back. I killed the other guys one by one, and then returned to her and filled her in on what was going on.

As the story goes, she and Sanguine Azrael were lovers before she found out who he really was. Sanguine had been running the Azrael family for decades now, and she was his new mistress. They had a fight, and in a surprise to her, he didn’t kill her. He just left, never to be seen again. She would never understand why he just let her live, and that would come back to bite him later. The very next week, she found out she was pregnant. She didn’t know what to do, but she didn’t believe she had the right to kill the baby, so she was stuck with it. As the months went by, she started to realize that she always had somepony following her, somepony watching.

Azrael never left her without somepony to keep an eye on her so that she never told anypony, but with this new problem in the mix, she thought the only way to keep the baby alive was to put her up for adoption as soon as she was born. Once every other year, she checked in on the orphanage to see if the baby was still there, but the last time she saw her, she didn’t look very healthy. She wanted to help me fight Sanguine when the time came, so that she could finally free her child of that awful stallion, but she doubted she could get away from a fight with him alive, so she asked me to protect her kid if she couldn’t.

So, here came my first fork in the road. I’m fifteen, I live with my partner, and we’re a bunch of cripples who deal in dirty practices. Not really a good place for any kid to be a part of, that’s for sure. At first I said that I didn’t think I could do it, but after she begged me, I couldn’t say no. This mare didn’t deserve this, and neither did her kid, and really, I probably made it worse by killing her pursuers. I hadn’t thought about that, but when I went home and talked to my partner about it, she certainly drove it into my head.

I had four days left to figure out what I was gonna do, and Fly was preparing to fight to the death with Sanguine. Apparently she knew what his powers were, and had powers of her own to fight back at him, so it wasn’t like she had no chance to win, but she doubted that it was going to be anything less than a miracle if she could walk away from it. I didn’t even get to protect her from the next set of bounty hunters for Azrael, she did it herself. And even after showing all that skill, she still asked me to look after her daughter.

The fifth day came, and I figured I had nothing better to do than kill time, so I went to meet this kid. The date was August 28th, 2026.” I finally looked at Scootaloo, and then she put the pieces together.

“That was… the day we met…” She whispered to herself.

“I find her, and she looks just like her dad. Spitting image of the guy, save for the wings. He wanted her dead because if she ever learned the truth about her lineage, then she could expose him for who he really was. All the cover up and work he’d done to hide his face from the world so he could play in it would be ruined if anypony ever found out about his illegitimate daughter.

She was pretty old to be in an orphanage still, and her ornery personality kept her from getting invited to any of the families that showed up. The foster parents didn’t care, and she looked like she’d barely eaten in weeks. To add to all of this, she’d had solid bones from birth. She’d never fly a day in her life. She might as well been an earth pony, but because of what she was, she lost out on the strength and endurance that they have. I got her to talk, we had a good time. I took her out to dinner, and she told me what it was like there, for her whole life. She never knew the love of a parent, she was never treated like she was wanted by anypony. Just a waste of space, good for nothing.

It made me sick. Furious, to the point where I wanted to make Sanguine pay for ruining this filly’s life. She didn’t deserve this, nopony deserved that. This was the justice I wanted to make happen all those years ago, this was the justice that super heroes were supposed to bring. I made up my mind that day and decided that I was going to try and fix this fucked up place, even if I wasn't the only one who could do it.

I spent the next couple days with her, even managed to get her mom to come say hi once, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell her daughter who she really was. The day came, and Fly and I went back to the meeting place. Without any kind of warning, their fight started the instant we landed. They cursed each other for what felt like hours as they appeared in and out of thin air every couple of seconds, their directly opposing powers just about canceling each other out. The way she explained it to me went like this; Sanguine can skip to a point in time and bring it to the present. Say you were to take a walk down the road that takes ten seconds. What Sanguine does is move ahead to that point and replaces the one that you’re currently experiencing with it. All the time you would’ve spent walking is skipped, and you’re left with the end result. His power is so strong that anything he or anypony else can do in ten seconds can be removed from time entirely, like it was skipped over.

What happened in that meeting with your dad that day was likely him taking notice of his attacker, pushing him forward and cutting his head off, then taking that end point of ten seconds later and replacing the current one with it. I thought it was confusing, but she said that ‘it just works.’ Fly’s power was to reverse time by ten seconds. Between the two of them, their powers canceled out. Every time he would try to skip forward, she would skip back, creating this endless cycle of him trying to kill her and her trying to keep him from doing it.

She knew it would have to end eventually, and once she finally found an opening, it happened. Sanguine stabbed her in the chest, going as far as to hide part of the knife’s hilt inside her. While he was close, Fly put him in a hold he couldn’t escape. She asked me to kill them both… so I did. Her last request to me was to keep her daughter safe. To this day, I don’t think that there was anypony in the world other than her that was capable of taking down the Red Demon. Their powers were so perfectly matched, it was almost like she was destined to do it. But because of that, their kid suffered. It wasn’t fair. Fly Wheel was a kind mare, she would’ve been a great mother, the mother that filly deserved… but she couldn’t. I buried them in the forest floor, and the very next day, I found an apartment.

I forged some documents with my partner’s help, and I vowed to give that kid a life that her mom would’ve wanted. I worked hard, even sacrificed my ideals at times just to try and make things a little bit better for us. I wasn’t much of a hero, but if I could be their hero, then I was satisfied. This went on for three years, and in that time, I hardly ever saw my partner.

One day, I picked up a listing from Argent for a bodyguard for one of their upper staff. I hadn’t even realized who the job was for at the time, but when the client I was protecting turned out to be my partner, she started to tell me about what was going on deep within the company. A corruption was starting to spread, and a horrible project had come to be. She talked me into helping her, and from there I became a full time employee for the company, secretly working for my partner to try and prevent their plans. And that’s when you guys came in.

When I first saw Marevelous in a group, I was a little more than shocked. She was always a lone wolf kinda mare, but with these ponies working together, they could probably do something great. When we took down the beast together, and you said you’d let me off, I knew that your group was reliable, trust worthy. Together, my partner and I formed a plan, and when the time was right, I would join you to turn the tables on Persona. My partner hasn’t accomplished all the goals she wanted to before I joined, so I can’t tell you what all I know just yet, but I can say that most everything has been within her expectations so far. With all of us working together, we should be able to do it.” I leaned back in my folding chair and let out a sigh.

“Finally, geez. I feel like I’ve been talking for weeks.”

“You killed my parents?” Scootaloo asked. Oh goddess damn it.

“I mean… technically?” She put her hooves on her temples and just stared blankly at the crystalline table.

“I don’t even know where to start. How do I even make sense of this? Does that mean I have a brother? I’ll never fly? Do I have powers? If both my parents did, then I should, shouldn’t I? I met my mother once and I didn’t even know it was her. I was always told that they died in a car accident, and I met one of them. My own father tried to have me killed. And… and you! Am I just a dead mare’s promise, or am I actually important to you? Apparently you kill ponies for a living, so I’m not sure if I can trust that any more.”

“Scoot…” I tried to reach for her, but she batted my hoof away.

“Don’t you ‘Scoot’ me! No, you know what? I’m gonna go sit and think about this shit before you try and talk your way around me again. Apparently one of the only lies you haven’t told me in the last four years is that you really are good at manipulating ponies, just like- just like- Ugh, I can’t even remember her name! Damn it!” She slammed her hooves on the table. I guess I never even saw her move, but suddenly Celestia had draped a big white wing over my sister.

“Sweetie, why don’t you come talk with me? I’m sure it’s been a long day, and you have quite a bit you want to get off your chest. Would that be alright?” she asked, her sweet, warm tone enough to melt anypony in to jelly. Scoot gave me a frustrated look and then sighed.

“Okay…” she said, then hopped from her chair and walked down the bedroom hall with Celestia until they disappeared from view.

“Ya know, I really did try to make it sound not so bad, but saying it all out loud really shows how screwed up my relationship with that kid is.” Fluttershy shrugged.

“Y-you say that, but honestly, it sounds to me l-like you did the right thing. I-it’s not like the Red Demon was gonna l-let you live after s-seeing his face anyways.”

“True. I know if I was the big bad guy, I wouldn’t. And sure, you probably aren’t the best role model in the world, but you did everything you could for that kid and her mom. You faced your problems head on and tried to overcome them. All I’ve ever done in my life is run away…” Pinkie said.

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short champ. Somepony who just runs away wouldn’t be out there putting her life on the line to fight giant monsters and protect the city, right?” Goose chimed in. Pinkie frowned and crossed her hooves.

“I guess.”

“But honestly, when would have been a good time to tell her all that? I doubt she would have taken it well at any point. My own sister decided to have a freak out on me when I told her about my powers, and she wouldn’t even talk to me for a whole day afterward. I supposed we’re over it now, but it wasn’t fun when it happened. You don’t lie to your loved ones because you want to after all…” Rarity said.

“Ugh, just stop talkin’ about it. Ah still haven’t told my brother, or my uncle what’s been goin’ on, even if Ah figure he already knows more than Ah do. Oh, ya know what? He said he met ya a while back. Are ya allowed ta talk about that, or is that one of those thin’s that’s part of yer partner’s plan or whatever?” Applejack asked. Oh shit. I didn’t even think about that. Uh-uh, no way am I going to tell her what his deal is. Telling Scoots about her parents is a pinprick compared to the land mine that is.

“He’s… uh… You know what? He’ll tell you when he thinks you should know. That’s uh… that should be a family deal, for you guys and not me to talk about. Yeah,” I stammered. Applejack tilted her head and gave me that ‘you’re a liar’ look, but thank the goddess, Celestia returned and interrupted.

“Well, that was quite a story. I think it would be best if we all retired for the day. As a member of Harmony, even if she is a non-combatant, I believe Scootaloo has a right to hear your stories as much as Rainbow does. I have heard what I needed to for today, and I’d like discuss what you know about the remaining Kaiju when we resume training on Wednesday. I’d like to make sure you’re all well acquainted with each other before we return to training, so please find a time to get your stories told to the new recruits before then. Enjoy your two days of recovery, and rest well. Until next time.” Celestia bowed, then stood on the center of the table. Her horn lit up in a brilliant gold light, and in a flash as bright as the sun, she vanished.

“Mom’s orders are mom’s orders. Come on, let’s get you home,” Goose said as he picked up Applejack bridal style.

“Put me down ya piece of shit, Ah can get home on my own,” She protested.

“I am not letting you drive on a broken foreleg! It’ll take five minutes.” I noticed she didn’t make any movements to get out of his hold, she just huffed and crossed her forelegs.

“No. If Applebloom is awake, she’s gonna know you’re with me. Just take me ta my room, Ah’ll sleep here,” she said without looking at him.

“Your wish is my command♥” and then they blinked into nothingness. I failed to hold back a chuckle. What even is this? Are they a thing?

“Heh, what was that all about?” I asked. Rarity stood from her chair and arched her back.

“The denial stage in a loving relationship. As much as he comes off to be a tool, Goose is actually a good stallion, and a childhood friend of hers. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a year or two they had a child together.” She stated as if it was already a fact.

“What? No way. For real?” The idea of Marevelous having a kid was a little strange to say the least.

“That’s what I believe anyways. He’s loaded, she has a stable job with a high paying income, It’s quite obvious that he loves her, and even before they reconciled the other day, I was beginning to see the tell tale signs of a mare falling for somepony.”

“Wow. Didn’t know she was the type.” I said, a little dumbfounded.

“You don’t have to be a romantic to fall in love. Things like can happen the moment somepony comes into your life. Sometimes it lasts, and other times it fails, but a relationship like theirs? Well… that’s one that would make somepony jealous. Who better to be with than somepony who knows you better than you do?” Rarity sighed. “Well, now I feel sad. I’ll be here sometime tomorrow, call me if you need me earlier Twilight.” She said as she headed down the hall to the garage.

“Sure. See you tomorrow Rarity.” The purple princess then turned to me and just sighed with a slight frown on her face. “I guess I’ll have to get used to you. I can’t say that I like the idea of you being on the team yet, but now that I know a little more, I suppose I’ll accept you eventually. I have seen your work before. I asked you to join us once a long time ago, and you let me tag along on one of your missions to watch. You butchered a poor pony in front of me, and I took your memories of me and this place shortly after.” Twilight took a breath.

“But that’s in the past, and I suppose you’ve grown since then. Your room is on the left side of the bedroom hall right next to Fluttershy’s and across from Applejack’s. I imagine Mother put her to sleep, but if you want to see her, Scootaloo is in the room next to yours. There is food in the fridge and pantry, you’re welcome to help yourself in the morning. I’ll need to have you and Scootaloo compile a list of groceries you want me to collect if you’d like anything specific. I’m in the fourth door on the right of the hall if you need anything else. Good night everypony.”

“Night Twi.” Pinkie said.

“O-oyasumi” Fluttershy said in some other language.

“Night.” I added. She paused after hearing mine, but then disappeared down the hall.

“Well, I’ll see you girls in the morning, or afternoon, whenever I wake up. Later.” Then Pinkie wooshed through the first door on the left.

“I-I guess that means I’ll show y-you to your room. I-it’s good to have you back, Fire,” Fluttershy said as she walked over. My eye twitched, but I let it go.

“It’s good to be back, Shy.”

Persona VIII: Meeting the family

Applejack

“Mother f-! Applebloom, watch where you're goin’!” Ah yelled at my sister after she bumped my broken leg on her way out of her room.

“Sorry. As tough as ya are, the thought of ya havin’ a broken bone is just astoundin’. Like, ya said this is because ya got thrown off yer bike right?” she asked, then whispered, “That’s the story yer tellin’ them anyways, ain’t it?” Ah let out a breath then nodded.

“Yeah. Luckily, it was just me and not anypony else that was hurt. Ah was told that it might take up ta a month before I’m fully recovered. Ah’m not really lookin’ forward ta that though.” Ah yawned and stretched my free foreleg on the couch. It’s Tuesday night, the 24th of September, and havin’ a broken leg is really, really inconvenient.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad. I’d figure having a live in maid is kinda nice,” Goose said from the apartment’s kitchen. True ta his word from a week ago, there hasn’t been a day that’s passed without him around. All the time. He introduced himself as, and Ah can’t believe Ah let him do it, boyfriend ta my family and more or less forced his way in the apartment Monday. He plays dirty, and Ah hate it… but he really is nice ta have around. Even came up with the cover story so Ah can prepare ta tell the others the truth later.

“You're not livin’ in my room, that’s fer sure. Ah don’t even know why you’re still here, nopony said ya had ta make dinner.” My leg is such a pain. Ah can’t do nothin’ but watch TV or play simple games that don’t need both hooves. Thank the goddess they both didn’t break, otherwise Ah’d die of boredom before anythin’ else got the chance.

“If he’s willing to wait on ya head and hoof like this, Ah don’t see why not. Ya could be a little more friendly Sis. How ya ever managed to find yourself a boyfriend in the first place is nothin’ short of a miracle with that nasty attitude of yers,” Macintosh said from the kitchen table. Ah rolled my eyes.

“Tell me again why ya lost that last job of yers? Caught sleepin’ with yer boss, was it?” Mac… could probably pass fer a body builder if he wanted ta. And sometimes he does. And that one eyed snake of his has gotten him inta trouble more than once. His red coat got even brighter around his cheeks and he hid a bit behind his laptop and scowled.

“Applejack, don’t go tellin’ nopony about that! Damn it, every time somepony comes over, ya just have ta open that mouth.” Ah smiled.

“Oh, but let’s not overlook yer current source of income too. Where did ya find him again, Applebloom?” Ah asked, knowin’ full well the answer. She blushed real hard and curled up next ta me on the couch.

“Ah… Ah’m just tryin’ ta forget about it.” Macintosh closed his computer and put his hooves on his face.

“Ya just… Ya just had ta bring it up again didn’t ya?” he said through a sigh. The room fell silent while Ah held my smile. And that's that. After a minute, Goose looked away from the kitchen ta the rest of us.

“Well, now I have to know. You can’t just tease me like that,” He said, oddly blunt. That’s the kinda line he usually adds a sexual inflection to.

“Oh, he sure knows how ta tease a mare all right. Go on Mac, tell him where ya work.” I could feel the smile spreadin’ wider on my face as his cheeks got even redder.

“Ah’m… Ah work at… Snake in the wall,” he admitted, hidin’ his head under his hooves. It took him a minute ta figure it out, but as soon as it registered, Goose tried his hardest ta keep a laugh in.

“Oh goddess. I… I’m so sorry. Stallion to stallion, you have more courage than anypony I know to do that. But wait, how did Applebloom end up there? She doesn’t seem like the type. How did you end up there? Even those uh… blessed with your features don’t typically go out of their way to uh… put them on display.” Macintosh just shook his head, so Ah got up on the couch back ta tell the story.

“So, funny story, ya know how our friend tends ta act and dress a bit slutty?” Goose kinda froze on me.

“Uh… do… do I have license to comment on that?” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Well, fact of the matter is, she happens ta like that kinda thin’ fer both sides of the field. Applebloom and Sweetie decided that they wanted ta join her on one of her trips to this particular establishment, and since she taught Sweetie how ta drive, she figured she might have herself a few drinks while she was there. So they go, and fer a while, they’re all havin’ a good time, makin’ remarks at the dancers, comparin’ 'em and all that, and then there’s a shift change. Poor Mac here can’t see the spectators well from inside his spotlight, and the damage had already been done by the time Applebloom screamed. So that’s how she ended up there, but how he got the job in the first place is an even better story, so-”

“Knock it off, no need to humiliate your brother any further,” Uncle Blood cut me off as he stepped in the door.

“Oh hey, you're back… from where ever it is ya went. Welcome home,” Ah said.

“Nothing to be ashamed of Mac, you simply did your job and entertained guests. It just… happened to make you more intimate with your sister than you likely ever wanted to be.” He hid it well, but there was just a hint of a smirk on that yellow coat of his. Macintosh groaned and managed to hide himself a little more in the table.

“Gee, thanks Uncle.” he replied, dripping in shame and sarcasm. Uncle Blood gave him a pat on the back and went ta his room ta put his thin’s away. Lately, he’s been goin’… somewhere every other day with a briefcase and all dressed up, even more so than he normally did fer work. But last Ah remember, he said he was workin’ from home, so… where he goes now, Ah have no clue. Of course, he doesn’t ask where Ah’m stayin’ every time Ah call the apartment, and so as long as nopony is pryin’, nopony has ta share any secrets either. The smell in the air finally hit my nose and Ah couldn’t help but wonder what it was Goose was makin’. Apparently, his dad really liked eastern food, and Goose taught himself how ta make it back in high school.

“What ya got cookin’ over there Goose? It smells great.” Ah asked.

“Stir fry veggies, but what you’re smelling is probably the eastern caramel. I was about to put the veggies in the pan. I swear, this stuff is so easy to make when there’s no meat involved. Cutting it all up and getting it ready to fry is like, more than half the cook time.” Instead of his usual outfit, he decided to dress up like a short order cook tonight. A white bandana, a chef’s coat in his signature black and white, and an apron. It’s a little strange ta see him without that beige fedora of his on, he practically never takes it off. Ah’m not sure if Ah prefer this look over the other.

“Ah, yes, you said you were part fish, right?” Uncle blood asked as he walked back out of his room, free of his clothes and his mane wet after washing out whatever was in it ta slick it back.

“Shark, to be specific. Or at least that’s what my doctors always said. Nopony really knew about it till my foal teeth started to fall out and these things replaced 'em.” He pulled his lip back ta show those daggers in his mouth. “The gills came much later, but because of them I was banned from participating in swim meets. Apparently having a cutiemark for swimming is one thing, but being able to breathe underwater is just an ‘unfair’ advantage. Not like I wanted to do that anyways, since chlorine makes me wanna die,” he continued, running a hoof down his neck and ‘flexing’ his gills. Uncle Blood made his way ta the kitchen table and sat down next ta Macintosh while Goose cooked.

“Interesting. So, you’ve lived most of your life having to deal with powers that everypony can see?” He asked.

“Not like I had much of a way to hide ‘em. For ponies like me, who have things that clearly make them stand out in a crowd, it’s hard to go unnoticed. I could just open my mouth and anypony could tell that I’m different. Take a look at my neck, and suddenly I’m a freak. It could be much worse though, at least my physical attributes aren’t as pronounced as somepony who has like, say, tentacles for a mane, or non pony feathers everywhere, or a crustacean’s shell. I’ve met ponies like that, and my dad was like that. It’s not fun to be an outcast at a glance.” Uncle Blood nodded.

“True, but given ten, maybe twenty years, there won’t be many around who don’t have powers. Unless it’s cured, and as much as we know at this point, there isn’t a way to repair the mutated genes, the virus will continue to spread through each generation until it’s not so much of who has a power, but who doesn’t. Take these three for example. If either my brother or his wife happened to be compatible with the original generation of the virus, then that means that all three of them would have a power. Say they each follow in their parents hoof steps and in ten years, they each have three foals of their own. We’ve gone from one starting point, to three in a second generation, and nine in a third, coming together to make thirteen. Macintosh is twenty-five now, so in thirty-five years we went from one to power pony to thirteen. Multiply this by the thousands of new parents today alone, and suddenly that one in three might not be the case anymore.

The virus itself has no known root and is only called as such because it spreads from pony to pony like one. Every other factor about the way it operates is alien in comparison to all things before it. It binds itself to the afflicted’s DNA, and then alters it to cause that pony to mutate in some shape or form, seemingly at random and completely untraceable after the fact. In the current generation, it’s speculated that the number of original infections versus the infected that were passed down through a generation is nearly one to ten. Anypony born after 2000 has a one in three chance of being a virus carrier, which is where that ratio comes from in the first place. Based on that alone, that means at least one of the ponies in this very room is a carrier, and the obvious truth is that the fact sticks.

But now? You’re all of mating age, even if it wouldn’t be ‘socially acceptable’ for a late teenager to have a foal in this country. Ponies your age who are afflicted are already having foals, and those foals will be the next generation of virus carriers, adding another third to the ratio. It won’t be one in three in ten years, it’ll be two in three, and then the denominator will just get smaller and smaller until it’s reversed. One way or another, this whole Persona ordeal will be resolved, and the world will keep turning. Foals will be born in the thousands on a daily basis, and the virus carriers will soon outnumber those without it. The only question is whether or not any of us will be here to see it.”

Any time a topic that he’s interested in comes up, he always makes it a point ta state his opinions on it. Last time Ah was subject ta a lecture on the current state of foreign affairs, which Ah wish Ah’d paid more attention ta now that I work fer the princesses. It got me thinkin’ though. If Ah’d had cousins, would they have powers too? My uncle on mom's side died younger than Ah am overseas in war, but if aunt Dew had survived, would that baby have been like us? Ah mean, with dad bein’ who he was, and Applebloom and Ah discussin’ our powers, the only pony in the room Ah can’t say fer sure doesn’t have powers is him. And then there’s the foals thin’. Who knows if Macintosh doesn’t have a kid somewhere already, how do ya raise a child knowin’ that somewhere along the line they might just… turn out like Fluttershy without any way ta control it? The room had only the sounds of veggies sizzlin' in oil until finally, Goose poured his sauce into the pan.

“I suppose that’s one way to look at it. But why worry about that when it’s so far off? If you ask me, powers are just the new gun. They show up, and it’s only a few that have them at first. They’re destructive at times, and easy to use. They take little skill to operate, and anypony can be a threat with one. They spread and soon it’s like there’s nopony without one. If we can teach ponies how to be safe with guns, then why can’t we teach them how to be safe with powers?

It’s like, I get that there’s a stigma about how they’re easy to use for evil, and that they’re unnatural, but what’s the point of just letting the ponies who want to abuse them learn how to control them, and shunning the rest from society as ‘freaks?’ As much as we like to preach about how we’re all ‘equal,’ that’s just not the case anymore. Honestly, I’d rather know that somepony could melt my face off just by touching me than have that hidden away for some unfortunate soul to find out on their own. With regulations and learning institutes, we could have ponies with powers be useful to the world rather than something seen as a blight on society.” Goose finished mixing the food and then cleared a space to serve dinner from his wok.

“Hey, go help him set the table,” Ah whispered to Applebloom. She nodded and did as she was told. It looked like Uncle Blood and Goose were about to have a discussion, and Ah was not gonna miss that. For as dumb as he acts, he’s damn smart, and his dad taught him a lot about the world. It’ll be interestin’ just ta see if he can keep up with Uncle Blood.

“You would have the government mandate that ponies share their powers just so you could avoid them? That sounds like an easy way to create outcasts faster than a body augmenting mutation would. Say some filly, no more than six, has the ability to control the minds of others. If she tells others that she can do this, and it’s publicly registered that way, she would easily be targeted by somepony who wants to use that power themselves, and avoided by everypony else. In a situation like that, where suddenly she could be alone for most of her life, and then reached out to by somepony charismatic enough to take advantage of her, she likely wouldn’t even see it as a bad thing. Suddenly, she is the villain, and not the one who brought her out of loneliness.” Ouch. That won’t be easy ta recover from.

“Okay, but even so, why would you not put further pressures to keep an event like that from happening? Mind control, power theft/copying/cloning, advancing time in a localized area, causing things to decay on touch, the ability to teleport anywhere in a second, throwing portals on wall. Those are just the more dangerous powers that come to mind off the top of my head, and I’m just the average Joe. Do you think that the princesses would be dumb enough to ignore these kinds of things as well? And it’s not as if powers come without prices. I know a mare who can make portals on any wall she sees, and that includes walls in pictures and places she’s never been. Not only does she get sick after placing a pair more than four times, but she also breaks out in hives if she leaves them open too long.” Uncle Blood raised an eyebrow.

“I sorely doubt the princess haven’t already considered something like this before, the question just becomes when they think it would be necessary to enact a policy like that. Furthermore, forcing ponies to reveal their powers would be an infraction on their rights as a sentient creature, as stated in Equestrian law. Second, just because powers have prices does not mean they can’t be abused. Your friend can just spawn a worm hole on whichever two points she wishes, and then just walk through it as many times as she wants and it only becomes a burden for her after she's made more than one? Then what’s to say she doesn’t just take a picture of a bit vault while it’s open and walk out with as much as she can carry whenever she wants?” Goose sat and crossed his hooves.

“Ethical obligation. Teaching ponies to be good ponies while having access to their powers would have to be the number one thing encouraged and taught across the country. Restrictions and punishments for doing otherwise. There’s no system that can truly be a fair one with powers involved, so we would have to press upon the right to be a part of society and reward and encourage ponies for doing just that. As for an infraction of rights, that’s a whole other issue because those rights weren’t created with powers in mind. This changes the game entirely, not just the way it’s played.” Blood brought his hooves together below his chin.

“And you truly believe that the common pony could be trusted to abide by new rules?” Uncle Blood asked. Goose frowned.

“Unfortunately, no, I don’t. I know better. I think heroes should play a bigger role in society to try and combat this. Even if the government has to hire them just to pretend they’re good ponies, then why not do that to make things change for the better? It gives whom could otherwise be called outcasts jobs, and brings up the ideals we value as a community into the spotlight. In the days where Red Hoof stood tall and brought with him the first wave of the standard superhero, things were… really good. Crime rates were at an all time low, ponies thought it was safe to be in the sadder side of Manehattan, and every day, there was always somepony running around in bright colors out to catch some bad guy. Everywhere you looked there was a hero playing the role, and ponies didn’t think so lowly of powers for once.

He goes down in that fight, and suddenly, the heroes are nowhere to be seen. Hell, there wasn’t much around before this whole Persona thing started to begin with, and now there’s like, seven ponies total who are willing to fight back for the city. Where did they all go? The heroes that used to protect and defend had become scarce in number and dwindled down to a hoofful after Red Hoof, and it hasn’t changed much since then. If heroes were more celebrated, and treated as such, then maybe it wouldn’t be up to just those Harmony ponies to save the city.” Applebloom finished settin’ the table, and Goose started dolin’ out portions.

“Wouldn’t it be nice… if Red Hoof never left us…” Uncle Blood muttered and shook his head. “So, mister idea man, if you’ve decided on all this, how would you promote becoming a hero? The VBTA has just about become antiquated as it is, what would you do to compensate the ‘heroes’ who step up to take the job? It’s not as if the mortality rate for heroes is very low based on previous data, and as you’ve said, there aren’t many out there who’ve been doing it since the first wave came and went. The primary example himself rose to fame, lost it, and then died on the front lines in just four years, so how would you get ponies to join your cause? You might as well go ask them to fight our wars while you’re at it.” Goose helped me over ta the table and took a seat next to me before he replied,

“Actually, that was kinda what I had in mind. A united cause sponsored by the government to have units stationed in major cities. In a way, they’d have to be treated like celebrities, parading around and showing off how they help fight back against the users and abusers. In a world where powers are commonplace, they can’t be just anypony, they’d have to be well trained and educated too. Maybe a year of ‘employee training’ and a year of on the job training before one could set out to lead or join a unit. The current generation of heroes all started in their teens, and I honestly think that’s too young. There’s a point where you can just be a good Samaritan, but when the most common reason for being a hero is ‘I needed the money,’ then that’s a failing on other ponies parts. It shouldn’t have to be like this.” Uncle Blood nodded.

“I’ll say. However, that does bring a point of interest up. Are you saying you’ve spoken with some of the current heroes out there? By my knowledge there are maybe twenty in this city total. Are you some kind of reporter? You never did tell us what you do with your life these days.” Oh no. Ah don’t think Ah ever told him what my cover story was.

“I’m in between jobs at the moment. A coworker of mine… died on my watch, and I… just couldn’t keep doing what I was doing after that. If it weren’t for Applejack here, I probably would’ve fallen into despair, honestly,” he said with a laugh. Goose…

“Sorry fer yer loss. Ah gotta say though, this is pretty good. How did y’all meet anyways? She’s pretty, but she’s probably the nastiest mare out there too. Not very social either,” Macintosh commented. Ah scowled at him.

“Ah’m sorry, what was that? Ah don’t typically value the opinions of erotic dancers, so you’re gonna have ta speak up.” He rolled his eyes and chomped down on another spoon full of glazed broccoli, carrots, edamame, and baby corn.

“Not gonna lie, ya walked inta that one Mac. Ah just hope ya know that you’ll probably never live this one down,” Applebloom said through a giggle.

“Let’s see… how did we meet, huh?” Goose mumbled. Ah’m gonna just let him cover this one Ah usually sit down and plan my lies, Ah’m terrible at comin’ up with ‘em on the spot like this. “Well, about a month ago, I ran into her at the community college. See, before she died, I lived around there with my mother.” Mac furrowed his brows.

“Huh. How long ago was that? We used ta live up there too. Way back in late '14 ta '18 Ah believe.”

“Well, hold on, that’s part of the story. See, their graves are in a cemetery in north Manehattan, which is not far from the college. I was leaving, and that’s when I saw her heading into the campus. I could’ve sworn I knew her face as soon as I saw her, but she was gone before I had a chance to ask what her name was. So, I kept coming and waiting for her to show up since I really had nothing better to do. I finally managed to catch up to her before class once, and we talked for a bit before then. I got her name, and then things started to click.

We were classmates back in elementary school, and we used to play together when we were little. Before I even got a chance to say any of that though, she recognized me. After that we started catching up, and I managed to get her to go out with me last week. So as it turns out, we met for the first time fifteen years ago.” He said. Believable, and not completely untrue. Well played.

“Oh, well that explains a lot. He was why ya asked about Ms. Swan Song… So wait, you’re Catchy?” Macintosh asked. Goose nodded.

“In the flesh.” Goose stated with a bow. Macintosh raised his eyebrows.

“Wow. It’s been a long time, that’s fer sure. When did the gills and the teeth happen? Ya weren’t like this back then, that’s fer sure. Where did Goose come from? Honestly, Ah don’t even remember what yer real name was.” Goose shrugged.

“That in and of itself is kind of a long story actually. I figure I made enough food to feed everypony here twice, so if you don’t mind eating cold stir fry, I figure I can tell it.” Mac crossed his hooves and nodded as he leaned back in his chair.

“Well, Ah wanna hear it. Ah don’t know any stallion capable of toleratin’ Applejack as long as y’all have. Ya gotta be some kinda glutton fer punishment.” Ah rolled my eyes and Goose wrapped a foreleg around my neck.

“I’m a bit of a masochist, so I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t think there’s a pony alive who can throw a punch as hard as she can.” Goose laughed and Ah scowled, until Ah got an idea. Ah took a page from Rarity’s book, then reached down and ran my good hoof up his thigh until Ah got ta his pelvis. His ears shot up straight and Ah whispered,

“Do ya remember what Pinkie asked me ta do ta ya about a month ago?” Goose’s ears flattened and he grabbed my hoof with his.

“Not in front of your family, please…” he said, his eyes shootin' from me ta the other three around the table. Ah leaned back in my chair satisfied with that, only ta see a shocked look on everypony’s face.

“What?” They all shook their heads.

“Uh, n-nothin’.” Applebloom stuttered.

“Ah didn’t even…” Macintosh trailed off.

“I… I have to say, I’m a little shocked, honestly. I imagine the collective here presumed you incapable of displaying such… feminine whiles,” Uncle Blood admitted.

“Y'all should… probably stop hangin’ out with Rarity if this is what yer pickin’ up,” Applebloom stated bluntly. Ah just scowled back. Ah was about ta open my mouth again, but Goose beat me ta it.

“So, uh, let’s all just agree to forget that that happened, and why don’t I tell you guys a story. Deal?”

“Deal.” came from all but me.

“Y’all suck.”

The rest of the evening was spent tellin’ stories of our childhoods, and Goose’s… interestin' upbringin'. Based on what Ah could tell, most of the thin’s he said were true, and the only lies were the ones where his dad was involved, but they were only lies if it revolved around what he did fer a livin’. It really makes me wonder if his dad decided ta take the path mine did instead, what would’ve happened?

It had gotten late, and Applebloom and Mac decided ta retire fer the night, and Uncle Blood and Goose got inta another political discussion. A welcome refresher on our current ties with other countries, like the super power Zvyr, and previous wars such as the Rossian nationalist take over from almost a century ago that swept up an entire continent inta a second world war. It’s nice ta have the security of a timeless bein’ revered as a goddess leadin’ yer country because thin’s like a coup are nigh impossible here. Bloody revolution, destructive war, desolated lands. Save fer the Caballo crater, Equestria has never suffered anythin’ like that, and Ah really hope it stays that way. Uncle Blood says that a war is on the horizon based on previous history with Zvyr, and that just makes me nervous. Their discussion came ta an end shortly after that, and Uncle Blood decided ta turn in fer the night.

“Well, this has been enjoyable, if nothing else. There aren’t many times I get a chance to discuss matters like this with others. If you go anywhere, make sure you lock up on your way out and whatever you do, be safe while you do it. Night.” Uncle Blood said as he vanished inta his dark room. Be safe? Then it struck me across the head like a baseball bat.

“Hey now, Ah wasn’t about ta-” Ah started ta yell after him. His light flickered on and he stuck his head out his door.

“Your siblings are trying to sleep, be considerate. You’re an adult, you pay your share, and you have your own life to lead. I don’t care what you do. Just be safe. Be it tonight, at the end of the week, or whatever. Good night, Applejack.” Then the old stallion disappeared behind his door. Ah sighed in frustration.

“Old mule. He does this kinda shit all the time,” Ah said through an eye roll. Goose leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh of his own.

“That’s one hell of an uncle you’ve got. Does he know? He sure acts like he knows.” Ah shrugged.

“You tell me. Ah have no idea what’s goin’ on in that head of his. Tryin’ ta read him is like tryin’ ta read a book in a language ya don’t know.” Goose nodded.

“I’ll say. He picks apart everything in seconds. Anything I said that wasn’t true basically had me holding my breath as to whether or not he would catch it. And then trying to keep up with his politics stuff was like trying to keep up with Pinkie in a marathon. If it weren’t for dad keeping me in the know while he did, I doubt I would’ve been able to say anything.” Goose leaned back in his chair and put his hooves behind his head. Ah nodded.

“Uncle Blood in a nutshell: mysterious, ambiguous, and waaay smarter than the average pony. So, Ah doubt ya know this, but Applebloom is probably closer ta a genius than not. Between her high aptitudes fer just about everythin’ and her near perfect grades all her life, the only thin’ we don’t have ta prove it is a real IQ test, 'cause... well, those are expensive. She picked up chess a few months ago, and there probably ain’t nopony her age in the province that can beat her. But Uncle Blood? Forces her inta a loss or a stalemate almost every time. Ah don’t think he used ta play before she started, and he’s been an accountant most of his life. She studies and reads books about the game, and fer all Ah know, he’s never touched a chess book. He’s… scary smart.” Goose frowned.

“I suppose he didn’t make me nervous for no reason then. In a way, talking to him is like talking to Twilight’s mom. It was pretty obvious that he knows more than he lets on, and just opening my mouth made me feel like I was being exposed a little more with every word…” Goose trailed off, then his ears perked up. “Oh, speaking of exposed, what the hell was that?”

“What was what?”

“You know what I’m talking about.” Ah smiled and looked away.

“Ah don’t think Ah do. You’ll have ta be more specific~” Ah said with play in my voice. He blinked from the chair he was in ta the empty chair Ah was facin’.

“What is this strange new playful Applejack? You poke at your brother, you make jokes and laugh. Is this what it looks like when you’re relaxed? Or, dare I say it, happy?” Ah shrugged, then leaned in ta his face, leavin’ maybe an inch from our snouts.

“Maybe. Maybe Ah think you’re cute when ya get all flustered…” Ah said as Ah lightly ran my hoof up his thigh ta his hip again. “like this.” His ears shot up straight and his cheeks reddened. His hooves then darted between his now crossed legs.

“W-well, now you’re just not playing fair.”Ah smiled a little wider, the got up and sat in his lap while drapin’ my good leg around his neck.

“What’s wrong Goose? About a month ago, somepony decided ta violate my personal space. Ah just figured it was about time Ah paid him back♥” Ah mimickin’ his inflections as best Ah could. He just stared at me wide eyed with his ears dropped ta the side, and we sat like that fer a minute. Then Ah felt somethin’ poke my thigh and decided Ah’d taken this far enough. Ah got up and sat down in my chair, feelin’ a little embarrassed myself. “So uh… that was yer…”

“Yeah,” he said, lookin’ the other way.

“And… it’s like that… because of me?”

“Well, I didn’t do it myself, and there’s nopony else around,” he remarked sharply, still facin’ the other way.

“Ah… Ah’m sorry.” He shook his head, but still refused ta look at me.

“No, no, you just manipulated my body, it’s fine.” We sat in silence until Goose uncrossed his legs and stood up from his chair. “I think… I should go,” he said, finally lookin’ at me. He started toward the door and Ah bit at my lip. Damn it, now look what ya did.

“Well… ya don’t have ta if ya don’t want ta… the couch is… always open.” He shook his head.

“Nah. I’m kinda covered in grease from cooking earlier, and I could… really use a shower right now.” Don’t tell me Ah just ruined this because Ah followed Rarity’s advice!

“Ah mean… Ah have a shower Ah’m not usin’ right now, it’s not like ya have ta…” Ah trailed off as he shook his head again.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s not as if a trip home is anything but a warp away,” he said with a smile. Ah looked down and started ta run my hoof across the bandages on my foreleg. Tell him the truth damn it. Don’t screw this up any worse.

“But… what if… Ah don’t want ya ta go?” He stopped with a hoof on the door handle, and then walked back over ta me. He kneeled down and took my good hoof in his fore hooves and smiled.

“My dearest princess, I, as your Black Knight, have vowed to never leave your side. Upon my honor as he who swore himself to you, I will return before the hour turns. I only ask you give me this permission to leave so that I may become presentable enough to be in your presence,” he offered in his best knightly speech. Ah couldn’t help but smile and let out a small laugh.

“Very well, my faithful servant. But hear this, and you’d best not forget it. Return to me as quickly as you can, as sleep will evade me unless I know that my precious knight is nearby, valiantly protecting me from the nightmares that wish to consume me… If I wake and find you not in my bed chambers… then there may very well be hell to pay.” Ah followed suit. He laughed himself and stood back up.

“Of course, my princess. I shall return as soon as I am able. Until then…” And then blinked away. Ah let out a sigh and sat in my chair fer a few minutes… until Ah realized exactly what Ah just said. Oh goddess, Ah just invited him inta my bed! What are ya doin’!? Are ya tryin’ ta prove Uncle Blood right!? First ya gave him an… Oh goddess, what have Ah done? Ah swear Ah’m gonna give her what for next time Ah see Rarity. ‘I can’t believe you think he might not want to be around you’ she says. ‘Try showing some affection by touching him’ she says. Yeah well, maybe he wasn’t ready fer that. Damn it. Ah’m gonna go lay down. If Ah wake up and he’s really there… then maybe Ah won’t mind it.

Goose Fang

Oh my goddess, oh my goddess, oh my goddess, what do I do? She starts touching me, and she’s acting all playful, is this a sign? Am I supposed to go for it? She just invited me to come sleep with her, is that literal, or am I supposed to prepare to get ‘touched’ again? Calm down Goose, this is Applejack. I think… I think if she really want me to… do that, she would say it out right. I don’t know whether to be excited or terrified. What if she really does want me to just sleep next to her, and she wakes up and it’s touching her? I have no control over it, it has a mind of it’s own! And… If I’m sleeping next to her… and… all I can smell is her… Oh goddess, I’m so screwed… quite possibly both ways.

Applejack

“Oh, Rarity!” Ah said as Ah stomped through the castle halls, a less than well rested Goose slowly following behind me. Goose warped us here ta the garage, if only by accident, and Ah was a little pissed off. Rarity’s car was the first thin’ we saw, so Ah knew just who ta corner.

“I’m a little busy at the moment darling.” She said from what sounded like the kitchen. It was somewhere around ten AM, Wednesday the 25th, and last night… could’ve gone much better than it did.

“Ah don’t care, Ah need ta talk ta ya. Goose, go have a seat, okay?” Ah said angrily, then sweetly. His head kinda bobbed up and then his eyes shot open.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure…” came out through a yawn, then he made his way ta the dinner table bench, only ta lay down immediately. Ah sighed, then stomped inta the kitchen ta find Rarity makin’ some kinda pastry. She looked back at me, then went straight back ta work with whatever she was mixin’ in her bowl.

“Well, you’re here now, what do you want?” Ah rolled my eyes.

“What do Ah want? Yer freakin’ advice made me look like a moron in front of my family, and now my… cough boyfriend cough is sleep deprived because of… reasons.” That word still feels strange ta say, even if it’s the ‘correct’ term as of the moment. Everythin’ is such a mess now, and Ah don’t know what ta do with myself. The last couple days have been filled with new, conflictin’, and strange emotions, and all they do is make me stressed out.

“My advice…?” she started, then she set her thin’s down and turned ta me with with a frown on her face. “Wait. Are you talking about…” Ah sat and covered my face with my good hoof.

“Yes.” Rarity sighed and rubbed just below her horn.

“Okay, why don’t you explain this to me, hmm? What were you trying to do? I figured my implications were enough, but then again, you’re not just any mare, you’re an inexperienced blockhead, and I should keep that in mind.” Ah scowled at her.

“Ah resent that.” She threw a hoof in the air

“And you represent that, am I wrong?” Ah puffed air out my snout.

“Whatever. So, we were havin’ a good time, He was gettin’ along great with everypony, even had some crazy debate about politics with my Uncle, and as usual, my brother and Ah were takin’ digs at each other. Goose made a comment in agreement with my brother, so Ah decided ta fight back the way ya said.” Rarity shook her head.

“You’re unbelievable. You know what doing that does to a stallion, don’t you? Of course you don’t, who am I kidding. You’re a bulldozer in a porcelain shop, sensations are about as far away from your knowledge as Princess Luna is to empathy.” She took her hoof off her face and started wavin’ it all around. “And you did this at the dinner table with your family! I pray he was wearing clothes at least?” Rarity said in a quick pace. Ah let my head stoop and sighed.

“Ah mean, he has ta hide the mirror so he’s always wearin’ somethin’. And uh… Ah kinda figured that other thin’ out a little later…” Her jaw dropped.

“You didn’t!” Ah shook my head

“Now, hold on, we didn’t do anythin’ crazy! Ah just uh… he doesn’t react like that normally and Ah uh… thought it was cute… so Ah did it again. Then… it uh… came ta greet me.” She squinted at me.

“It touched you? How?” Ah swiped at the floor with my hoof.

“Ah… may or may not have sat in his lap.” Rarity let out a breath.

“You are literally the worst. Were you trying to fuck him? Because it sounds me me like you were trying to fuck him. What did you do to him anyways? He looks like a zombie,” she said, lookin’ out the kitchen doorway. Ah shook my head.

“No. He thought he should leave after… that happened, and Ah asked him ta stay, and… he ended up stayin’ the night… in my room… in my bed.” Rarity raised her head.

“Okay… and then what? Are you absolutely sure you didn’t-” Ah cut her off.

“Yes, Ah’m sure! Pretty damn certain Ah would remember it if somethin’ that big… ya know what, never mind. Ah kick in my sleep, so Ah’d wake him up every couple hours. Ah hit him too close ta home once and he was afraid ta get kicked in the sweet spot fer the rest of the night, so he just laid there with me fer four hours.” Ah scraped the floor again, rememberin' how awful he looked this mornin'. Rarity sighed.

“Honestly, you should’ve just fucked him at that point. He deserves some kind of reward after putting up with you.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“We haven’t even kissed yet, Ah’m not about ta… do… dirty… stuff…” An image started ta play in my head, and Ah quickly shook it away.

“Oh for the love of Celestia, quit quivering in your boots and just do it already! You’re like some frightened middle school filly trying to figure out how to deal with her first crush. Are you twenty or twelve, Miss Marevelous? Goddess, you’re more afraid of dealing with boys than anything remotely life threatening. That must be it. You’re so self sufficient and strong that that your weakness is socializing of all things.” My eyes fell ta the floor and Ah started drawin’ in the dust Ah’d kicked up.

“Well… what if this is my first crush?” Ah just about whispered. Rarity’s face deadpanned.

“You’re joking, right?” My ears fell flat and she let out an exasperated breath. “Oh sweet goddess, you’re more of an insensitive stallion than he is! Tomorrow, you and I are going to spend some time together, and we’re going to sort out your ‘feelings’ because apparently, and I really should have known this, basic social interaction is foreign to you!” Ah sighed.

“Ah know…” Rarity shook her head and went back ta what she was doing.

“Go over there and rest his head on your lap. You owe him at least that much. This will be done in half an hour. If he doesn’t wake up before then, wake him up gently,” she ordered as she pulled dough in chunks out from her bowl. “All the looks and talent in the world are useless without the skill to use them,” she muttered under her breath. Ah sighed and did as Ah was told.

“Hey there, tripod,” Pinkie said from her chair at the main table, her back legs propped up, readin’ another one of Fluttershy’s comics. Ah sighed again and let my head droop.
Goddess damn it.

Persona IX: Monsters and Mirrors

Applejack

“Alright, that’ll be enough for today,” Celestia said as she brought us back ta reality.

“Ugh. Is this what you guys do all the time? That was awful,” Scootaloo complained.

“I’ll say. This is how you’ve been preparing to deal with the kaiju? By fighting and dying to ‘fake’ ones over and over again?” Rainbow added. Goose tilted his head.

“Well, not always dying. There are times when we win, but more often than not it’s a loss. With Luna, it’s just difficulty in stages. The first monster is usually something each of us could beat on our own and they require more teamwork and flawless execution as they become more difficult. With Celestia, it’s more like a game of, beat your head against a wall till it breaks, then find a new wall, and every new wall is some more horrifying thing than the last. Before we fought the second kaiju, she didn’t let us go until we beat a whole gauntlet of her very own creations, which were all terrifying by the way.” He pointed his words at the princess toward the end to which Celestia bowed.

“To be entirely fair, one learns best from mistakes. However, not all the nightmares I’ve faced in my time are recorded in your history books. I suppose it would be fun for me to tell you that some of the monsters I’ve shown you here are real, but long dead or off in other worlds. That aside, today I more or less wanted to gauge your team work as it stands and see how well, if at all, Scootaloo might be of use to our efforts.” The sun princess had a dark smirk on her lips, and it looked like Rainbow was about to growl at her, but then Celestia pulled Scootaloo in close with her wing. “Worry not, I had no intentions of sending her off to fight on the front lines with you all. If I were to guess as to what she could do well, I’d say something along the lines of fine precision instrument work would be her forte.

It’s very rare for a hybrid type pony like yourself to be born with as few complications as you have. I cannot begin to tell you how terrible it is for a child to have to grow up with active magic vessels and no way to use them, or how fragile a hollow boned Earth pony or unicorn is. Even heavy pegasus like you typically have issues with their muscles not being strong enough to support their skeletons during early childhood and late adulthood, provided they make it that far. It’s part of the reason there are benefits to same race couples with biological children. Hybrids are simply expensive to keep alive. You however, have had no such problems, and you’ve already passed the typically dangerous age range, so… you’re something I’ve never had the chance to work with properly and now… I own you…” Celestia's tone was a strange mix of calculated and excited, and in an odd way, it reminded me of Twilight when she gets a new book… Apples don't fall far from their trees, after all...

“Mother, please stop treating my residents like one of your experiments. I apologize for her everypony, she has a terrible habit of… analyzing ponies.” Twilight sighed and Celestia shrugged.

“When you’ve lived for over two thousand years, I only hope that you can find something other than genetics and technological advancements to amuse you. I’ll tell you, in all my time, nothing is ever more surprising than watching evolution take its course in front of your very eyes. It’s simply marvelous, just as you are a wonder of biology yourself. Think about how rare you are, my dearest daughter. You’re one of three of your kind in the entire world, the last of your kind born in millennia, and on top of all that, you, a creature immune to disease, failure of your faculties and regenerative capabilities, contracted the virus! It should have been impossible for your genes to be altered as they were, yet here we are.” The excitement in her voice was ever present.

“You inherited your father’s powers, you inherited part of your fathers power’s, and you inherited your father’s powers,” she said motionin’ toward Twilight, Goose, and Ah. “Why is it that some powers are passed down as any other gene would, yet some combine, or create something completely new and never before seen in the world? Does it relate to each pony, and it’s that odd mistress of destiny that decides what your talents and how your cutiemark will influence your life? Or is it a separate influence that comes together as nothing more than a roll of the dice with an infinite set of numbers to choose from? Is there a limit to what it can do? Can it be predicted? When you truly begin to look into something a complex as this, the variables grow in number with each new conclusion, and the moment something new comes about, it tears down everything you know and adds another new obstacle for you to overcome!

I know that unleashing this virus upon my own people was a failure on my part. I had no idea what the consequences were or how many lives I ruined just because I wasn’t careful. But if I’m completely honest here? I likely would’ve tried to spread it anyways over time and through generations, albeit far more controlled than it has. It’s like planting a tree and watching it grow, seeing what shape it will take, what fruit it will bear. What can I do to alter and manipulate its course? Can I control it, or does it spiral into chaos, only to leave me in shock and awe of its magnificence!” By now Celestia’s wings had flared out and everythin' about her was positively glowin’. Literally. She finally took notice of our stares and quickly recollected herself, the multicolored glow comin' off her coat, mane, and tail fadin' away, save fer a fine shade of pink on her cheeks.

“I apologize for myself. This is exactly the kind of talk that gets me into trouble, and even after all this time, I’ve not yet found a way to completely suppress my… inquisitive personality.” Twilight shook her head and Ah just sorta laughed. “Is something entertaining, Applejack?” Celestia asked. Ah nodded.

“Fer all yer talk of genetics and such, this side of ya really shows where she gets most of her personality. Her dad musta been the moody one.” Celestia paused and then smiled. She looked off ta the corner of the trainin’ room, but her eyes went beyond that, as if a memory was hidden up there just fer her ta see.

“Yes, he certainly was. All her actions remind me of him in some way or another, and her personality has maybe a hint of mine and most of his in it. A very noble soul he was, the last in a line of kings that would’ve ended with him… had he not suddenly had an heir with some outsider from another world. I’ve not many regrets, but being so useless back then is certainly my most vivid…” She sighed. “Well, I suppose that’s enough of this for now. Let us move to the living room so we may discuss the Kaiju, hmm?” Rainbow nodded, and the rest of us took that as a sign ta head on upstairs.

Goose and Ah started out first, followed by Scootaloo and Rainbow, then Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and finally the Princess. The staircase outta the training room isn’t very big so we more or less had ta line up single file as we made our way out with Goose in front makin’ sure Ah didn’t trip since Ah was down a leg fer the foreseeable future. We’d made it about halfway up the staircase when Ah heard a pair of hooves click right behind me. Normally, when ponies walk, our hooves are almost always completely separate and never do they touch unless you’re on a full gallop. Ah turned my head ta see the tell tale signs of a filly about ta slam face first inta crystal stairs, and threw my left foreleg out ta catch her on instinct.

“Goddess, damn… what the?” At first, catchin’ her hurt. A lot. But after she put her hooves on my leg, then pain started ta subside. Before Ah knew it, the pain was gone entirely and all Ah really felt was a teenager on my foreleg.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Is your leg okay? I’m usually not this clumsy…” she said in a panick. Ah let her back down on her hooves and then turned and flexed my hoof both ways. There was nothin’ wrong with it.

“Goose, take me back ta the trainin’ room real quick.” He just shrugged and in a second, we were back down in the giant crystal box.

“Twilight, give me somethin’ ta break. A nice foot thick wall should be enough,” Ah asked after the others noticed we’d moved. They started comin’ back down, all a little confused.

“Is something the matter?” Celestia asked.

“Why, exactly? You’re still injured, you shouldn’t-” Twilight started. Ah rolled my eyes and cut her off.

“Just do it, please.” She rolled her own eyes in response and then turned her magic on. Just a meter away, a big block of crystal rose from the floor, just about at the dimensions Ah wanted it at. Ah didn’t figure Ah needed it, but just because Ah felt the need ta try, Ah loaded up a trump card punch with my left.

“Applejack, stop! What do you think-” Celestia began, but Ah threw the punch anyways. It hurt, but not very much, and even more so, it felt stronger than it was before. The block shattered inta rockets of crystal, each shard goin’ in all manner of directions like the cone shaped blast from a shotgun barrel. The back and side walls of the whole trainin’ room were peppered with holes, and my hoof was left smokin’ when all was said and done. Celestia angrily stomped over in a hurry. “You’d best have an explanation as to why you directly disobeyed me. Why did that work? Your foreleg was still in a gooey mesh last I looked at it.” Ah looked at the damage, my foreleg, Celestia, and then finally Ah settled on Scootaloo after she filed out of the stairwell. Ah ran over quick, grabbed her, and set her in front of the now shattered block of crystal.

“This is a weird request, but would ya put her hooves on this?” Ah asked. She looked at me even more confused than before, but did what Ah asked all the same.

“Oh… kay?” She put her hooves on the block, and then… nothin’ happened. Ah felt a strange tingle on my left foreleg again, and noticed a gold magic aura on it. Celestia tilted her head ta the side and furrowed her brows.

“Now how did that happen? This should’ve taken another month to recover, even with your naturally high regeneration speed, but at the moment, it’s as if it were never broken in the first place…” She muttered, probably ta herself. I figured she’ll catch on in a second, so Ah might as well have her try again.

“When ya tripped and Ah caught ya, what was it that went through yer mind, Scootaloo?” She frowned as she started ta remember.

“Well, I’m not sure. I… guess I was just hoping I wouldn’t break anything. I’ve tripped in this castle before, and the floors are super hard. Last time, I thought I was gonna break something, and on stairs made of the same stuff, I figured it wasn’t gonna feel good.” Hmm… Ah wonder…

“Will ya stand on yer hind legs fer me?”

“Uh… sure?” Unsure, she did as Ah asked, not quite as well balanced as those of us used ta doin’ it. Ah walked behind her and gave her a little push. She started ta freak out as the jagged crystal block’s remains started comin’ closer ta her face, and she stuck her hooves out ta try and stop the fall. Just as her hooves made contact with the block, all the shattered pieces of it stuck in the walls started ta come floatin’ toward it. The pieces fit themselves together like buildin’ blocks until finally, the whole block was the way it started before Ah punched it.

“And that, would be why Ah disobeyed,” Ah stated ta Celestia. Every pony save her and myself, stared in awe at the reformed block, and Scootaloo simply fell ta her butt and stared at her hooves.

“Did I… do that?” Celestia looked down at me with one of her dark smiles, then wrapped a wing around me and pulled me off a bit.

“You and I will need to discuss proper experimentation procedures in the future, but were I in your position, I would’ve done exactly the same thing. Well done, Major Apple.” Celestia stood back up and then turned to the rest of the group. “As you can see, there’s been a discovery made here, and we’ll need to adjust our plans for the moment. For the next few hours, we’re going to train physically while attempting to give Scootaloo here a better grasp on her powers now that all our combatants have recovered. While I won’t deploy her on a mission to begin with, in the event we need a combat medic, I do believe we’ve just found somepony who can fill the spot…” Celestia stated, her devious smile ever present. Twilight sighed, and the rest of the girls and Goose went ta congratulate Scootaloo for figurin’ out what she can really do. Celestia sat back down next ta me and let out a giggle.

“How fitting. From the sound of her story, both of her parents had powers that diametrically opposed each other, and each served as a near perfect way to protect one’s self, yet the daughter of the two carries a power to mend what’s broken. I can only wonder if what she does is similar to the mother, but with objects and body parts? Or maybe it requires all the pieces near by, or there’s a time limit to the things it can restore? Oh dear, I haven’t been this excited in such a long time. With all the dread and uncertainty in the last few weeks, It’s quite nice to feel this way once again.” That child like excitement from earlier back in her voice, and it made me remember that even as old, wise, and powerful as she is, she's still a pony like the rest of us. Ah nodded.

“Now ta see what all she can fix. If she put my foreleg back together by accident, and made it stronger based on how it feels now, Ah can only wonder what she does when she puts a conscious effort inta it?” Celestia smiled even wider.

“It felt stronger than before? Ooh, now I need to examine your leg again, and the block of crystal! I wonder if the structure is not only repaired, but forms a stronger bond to itself in the process, like putting a stronger adhesive back after breaking a toy? Oh, just think of all the testing! It’s time to get to work, I want to figure this out!” Celestia got up and bolted ta the block. Ah shrugged and stood back up myself.

“It sure is nice ta have somethin’ good happen every once in a while, ain’t it?”

Instead of actually stoppin’ ta discuss the Kaiju yesterday, Celestia was consumed with tryin’ ta test the limits of Scootaloo’s powers. She almost went so far as ta have one of us break a bone just ta watch her repair it so she could document the process, but luckily Twilight managed ta steer her away from that with the idea ta take her ta a hospital and see what all she could heal. It’d been a couple hours of repairin’ inanimate objects and seein’ how long it took ta tire her out and what all she could do fer how long, and were it not fer Rainbow demandin’ that she give Scootaloo a rest, she probably would've had Scootaloo work till she passed out. Celestia ended up givin’ in and waitin’ ta resume experimentation until after dinner, but then it was right back ta it. She did end up sneakin’ inta a hospital disguised as a pegasus with Scootaloo that night, and with all her data collected, we’ve figured out just what all Scootaloo is capable of.

Fer inorganic objects, Scootaloo’s powers, when applied ta broken, distorted, and even meted items, will return them ta the state they were in before they became this way. When it comes ta organic thin’s though, her powers don’t work quite the same. Instead of just puttin’ the pieces back together like it would a broken statue, her powers collect all the material that belongs in a certain shape or structure and repairs it till gets to where it should be. Celestia noted that this power has no effect on disease that doesn’t destroy organs and the like, nor will it regrow missin’ body parts, much ta Rainbow’s dismay. It will however, repair limbs and the like that were only recently severed and still intact. What we’ve decided is that as long as somethin’ organic isn't destroyed, Scootaloo can fix it.

She can only use her powers ta a point, and the more pieces she has ta put back together, or structures she has ta repair, the more drained of stamina she is. Repairin’ inorganics seems ta be easier on her too, since she only had ta rest after reparin’ several broken crystal structures, whereas she needed ta rest after fixin’ four patients with injuries. Celestia wanted ta keep testin’ thin’s, but after her motherly side kicked back in, she decided it would be best just ta call it fer the day. The next mornin’, we reconvened at the livin’ room table ta get her report on Scootaloo and discuss what the possible Kaiju were before hittin’ the sharin’ spell again fer fights against Celestia’s monsters.

“Now then, I believe it’s time we got into what lies in store for us in the coming four Sundays, shall we?” Celestia asked. Rainbow nodded and then Twilight created a series of screens for everypony ta look at. On the display was a page with information on ‘Success Subject I: Sachiel’ as the title read. Rainbow stood from her chair and then began her explanation.

“So, before I start talking about Kaiju, I think I need to explain what’s really going on here. My previous employer, or Persona as you know him, is looking for something he calls ‘the original.’ This thing is presumably a mirror just like the ones that cause the kaiju, but is made from fragments of a perfect magical artifact called the six element crystals.” Ah noticed Celestia’s ears perk up right as Rainbow said that. “He… is currently in a state of disrepair due to circumstances unknown, and his life and the life of somepony he cares about are both riding on finding this mirror. If you couldn’t already guess, his time is predicted to end somewhere around October 20th, or the last day we fight a Kaiju, provided we make it that far.”

“I see. And might you have the name of this employer? I’m sure I could make a few educated guesses at this point but-” Celestia began, but Rainbow stopped her.

“That… would likely only make things worse. If Persona dies prematurely, then his bombs will go off, and one kaiju would become a blessing in comparison to the horrors they would create in this city.” Rarity shivered.

“Ugh, please don’t bring that up. I infiltrated Argent Tower not too long ago and watched one of the ‘experiments’ in person before he put out the warning commercial. I would love nothing more than to just forget about that.” Ah nodded.

“Right. But what are these six element crystals? And, this might be a little strange ta ask, but would Scootaloo be able ta fix his problem? If we can get out of fightin’, then that’d be fer the best Ah think.” Rainbow shook her head.

“His powers are what’s killing him, and as we’ve seen, Scootaloo can only repair broken things, not cure disease. As for the crystals, I don’t really know. Do you, Princess?” Celestia sighed.

“The six element crystals. An artifact that was supposed to be locked away and never to be seen again, disappeared years ago. They are of unknown origin and said to be an ancient artifact of the alicorn race, or our particular breed of pony.” She said motionin' ta herself and Twilight. “The power they contain is immense, but inaccessible through normal means. To give an example, there was once a creature who sought to take over the world and distort it from its natural state. Between him and Luna and my combined powers, we were fighting an uphill battle near evenly matched together against him alone. To put this in perspective, the Caballo crater was created in a fit of rage by myself, alone. In this time of need, Luna and I were able to use the power contained within the crystals to seal him away and break what remained of him into pieces, scattering them across the world. They were a power far beyond anything seen before, and nothing like them has been seen since.

Originally, they were what we used to create the gate that I searched through other dimensions with before Twilight was born. However, when Luna discovered us in my state of disrepair shortly after I escaped her father’s world, she took the crystals and shattered them. The fragments were then collected and hidden away as the power they contained was still immense, but not near enough to make the gate work again, believe me, I tried. Needless to say, I was caught trying to use the crystals, and so Luna had them hidden where I could not reach them… only to lose them herself. The fragments were gone one day, just missing as if somepony had walked away with them. We still don’t know what happened to them back then.” Ah blinked.

“Ya just… lost ‘em? Somepony walked away with ‘em? How? Ah just…” Celestia shook her head.

“I wasn’t in charge of that. I don’t even know where they were stored to begin with. The things I hide to never have seen again are never seen again. The only issue with myself hiding things is that I still know where they are, and as you’ve seen I have… an obsession with experimentation. She just came to me a little more frantic than usual one day and said they were missing. We searched for their signature for the longest time, only to no avail.” Ah don't think Ah've ever heard this mare sound so... annoyed over somethin'. Rainbow frowned and started tappin’ a hoof against her mouth.

“How long ago did that happen?” Celestia turned ta Twilight and said,

“Let’s see… how old are you?” Twilight deadpanned her face in response.

“I cannot believe you don’t know my age. Actually, no. I will not believe it. You’re making a joke.” Celestia giggled and shook her head.

“How very astute of you. It happened about half a year after Twilight was born, so April of 2011, or nineteen years ago.” Rainbow leaned forward continually tappin’ her hoof ta her face.

“Well, that fits in the time frame, but what was going on with them before Persona got a hold of them? Whatever, I suppose that’s not important,” she muttered ta herself. “In any case, between your time gap and September of 2018, Persona managed to get a hold of the fragments and form them into the ‘original’ mirror. This mirror evoked the virus and the natural magic within a pony to amplify the powers stored within both, creating something even more powerful above and beyond a powerful Power Pony, without the side effect of losing control completely. The subject used to test the mirror is the villain you know as ‘The Mirror’ from twelve years ago. The story goes is that the subject was some futureless mental patient artificially infected with the virus and then controlled by using the original. It supposedly fixed the patient’s broken mind, and allowed that patient to test the mirror’s power exactly as persona wanted. It all worked up until that fateful day that the Trade Center fell, and both The Mirror and The Original disappeared, never to be seen again.” Suddenly, the muscles in my forelegs tightened unbidden.

“Ya mean ta tell me… that the bastard that killed my father is still alive!?” Ah yelled as Ah stood up and slammed my hooves on the table. Ah could feel every fiber in my body shakin’. Somethin’ Ah thought was long gone suddenly had a new avenue ta explore. Ah could avenge my dad. It takes a lot ta kill monsters, but ponies? Ponies are fragile. Ponies are weak. Ah could drag it out once Ah find him. Twelve years of heartache and sufferin’, twelve years of cryin’ and depression. Ah could make them pay fer it all…

“Applejack, sit down,” Celestia ordered. At first, Ah didn’t say anythin’ and just stared her down as all the rage in my body was seethin’ just under the surface. She stared me right back with the most cold and indifferent look Ah’ve ever seen on her face. We stayed like this in silence fer what seemed like hours until finally Ah felt a hoof on my back and a soft voice started ta calm me down.

“Hey now, come on. That’s not a fight you’re going to win, or want to have. We can talk about it later,” he whispered. Ah felt my muscles start ta lose tension and then everythin’ else soon followed. Ah pulled my hooves out of the new dents in the table and slowly sank back inta my chair.

“Ah’m sorry y’all. Please, keep goin’.” The rage seeped away like a cloud of mist.

“You didn’t have to break the table…” Twilight grumbled as her magic turned on.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, I can fix it!” Scootaloo said before Twilight could do anythin’. She put her hooves on the new dent, and after a second of flyin’ crystal shrapnel, the table was returned ta its original state.

“Huh. That ability of yours is going to be so very convenient. I suppose I’m not as tactically adept as Mother is, but now I think I’m starting to see just what all you could expedite…” Twilight said as she leaned forward and tapped her chin. Celestia wrapped a wing around her daughter while beaming.

“Of course you will honey♥ It might take a few centuries or millennia to catch up to me now, but you’ll get there for sure♥” Twilight frowned.

“Oh gee, how reassuring that you think it’ll only take me a few hundred years to get to your status.” Twilight groaned.

“Well, you simply can’t beat experience, and I doubt there’s a creature in the world with as much as she has,” Rarity said.

“Almost correct. There are a few, but I could count them all on my hooves, and I’m also the reason you don’t know who they are. In any case, let us return to our original topic. The Mirror and The Original were lost to time, correct?” Rainbow was just static fer a moment till she realized she was the one being spoken ta.

“Oh, right! Sorry, this is just all kinds of weird for me. You’re… completely different than the image I’ve built up all my life.” Celestia nodded.

“Yes, I know it can be quite a shock to know that I too, am a pony, albeit ageless and quite possibly the most powerful being in the world at the moment, but I’d certainly hope I never have to find that out. Please, continue.” A hint of a superiority complex in there, huh?

“Uh… sure. Anyways, after losing the original, Persona went back to trying to recreate it, but this time without the element crystals. The testing went on for years until he finally found a combination of materials that, when merged under certain conditions, had similar properties to the element crystals, albeit more volatile. Mercury and disruption crystals, when ground, heated and reformed together create something like a magical amplifier that acts in a similar fashion to the element crystals when charged with magic. The resulting metal is something that’s solid at room temperature but has a particular ‘shine’ to it which causes it to reflect seemingly more light than it should rightly be able to.

Alone, these things are kinda like batteries that power a pony. Little amps that can enhance a pony’s abilities for a short while. I think the longest recorded use of a non virus mirror was a little over fifteen minutes. When the virus is added to it though… then it gets complicated. Applying the virus to the completed mirror causes nothing to happen. Applying the virus to powdered disruption crystal and then heating it to a certain temperature though? That causes it to bond to the disruption crystal.”

“And that means that the virus itself can be charged with magic…” Celestia muttered.Rainbow nodded.

“Exactly. But that isn’t the end of it. When the virus powder is heated with the mercury, you’ve created a metallic cocktail that afflicts the enhanced virus to anypony who applies it to themselves and charges them with magic. The result can be anything from adding a second power strain to creating a giant monster that’s lost all control. However, the chance of the former happening is closer to zero and the latter… well, let’s just say that the kills I’ve added to my record over the last year have been mostly out of mercy.

The mixture and what percentage of what goes into a mirror has changed three times since I’ve arrived, but at the same time, the changes have lead to a more reliable success rate each time. I’d imagine if he had the time to do it, he could probably perfect the mirror given a decade or so. The current generation of mirror, and probably the one Goose has, would be the third generation if it was made after July. The Gen 3 mirrors typically have a success rate of 1 percent, so consider yourself lucky.” Rainbow stated. Goose felt at the spot on his chest. We’d speculated that the chance of him gettin’ the powers that he did was low, but fer it ta be that low…

“So, that brings us to the file on your screens, the first success, Sachiel. In a strange turn of… luck? I suppose, Persona’s third experiment ended in success with the first generation of mirrors. Sachiel was originally an inmate at one of the many prisons around Manehattan. Persona used his connections to take terminal patients, the mentally ill, and death row inmates from various places around and use them as his own personal lab rats. These ponies were all essentially set to die, so when they went to him, they were classified as dead. I guess that Sachiel and Israfel really are at this point, but who they were before Persona isn’t important.

Anyways, the pictures below document the experiment. The mirror was applied to the bound Sachiel and the scientists watched on as the transformation occurred. At this point, the strike team Persona hired had been whittled down in number, so a success was more or less necessary here. Sachiel transformed into the kaiju you all fought, but oddly enough, remained motionless. He was the largest so far, but it was as if he just stood there like a living corpse. An hour passed while he stayed in that form, and then he reverted to the criminal he was before.

What was later discovered was that this transformation was a second ability that the mirror had given him, the power to turn into that big bipedal thing. However, while pony or monster, Sachiel had lost much of his computing power and became little more than a doll that could keep itself alive and take orders. This first success happened back in July of 2027. Another year would pass before a second success occurred.

The next success was even stranger than the first and appeared just as randomly. The mirrors were difficult to make, but even after a complete year of testing, Sachiel was already a below one percent chance success. More than two hundred ponies ended up as failed experiments, and due to the nature of where they all came from, this didn’t raise suspicions and Persona was never found out. Then comes success two, A Kaiju you haven’t fought yet, Ramiel. Slide on down to the next page for me… and, there, that’s him. In pony form anyways.” Rainbow said as Twilight moved the screens. A crystal pony from the looks of it, a light blue, possibly a shade different than Rainbow herself, and a pure white mane that seemed ta have every single hair shootin’ off straight away from his head. His eyes were a wild green-yellow and one of ‘em was bigger than the other… by a lot.

“This guy is a freak. Completely and utterly obsessed with energy, the guy was admitted to a mental facility due to trying to see how much charge ponies could handle. Didn’t care where he was as long as he could tinker with the numbers, and couldn’t be kept around other ponies since he could always tell where and how to get to a current. We believe that he’s fried himself more than a few times, so it’s a wonder that he’s alive at the moment.

His kaiju form is… strange to say the least. Unlike Sachiel, Ramiel transforms into something akin to a floating cube. I know this sounds weird, but stick with me here. He can take himself apart in just about any way you could cut a crystal in that shape and rearrange himself, like his body isn’t actually important. In his kaiju form, he doesn’t have so much as an organic cell that we know of, save for what little of him is part of the mirror, and even after being this way for two years, Persona’s ponies still don’t get how he works. Adding on to his obsession, Ramiel can conduct, charge, store, and fire energy according to the way his body is shaped. His core is typically hidden, except when he’s in his firing form, which is picture five on your list.”

Ah think the words Ah would use ta describe this… thin’ would be ‘floatin’ square’ in the event Ah ever saw it without expectin’ it. The Firin’ form she was talkin’ about looked like a pointy lotus, or a jagged flat drill bit with a shiny piece in the center.

“If you see that, then you need to get out of the way. The largest beam recorded was about a ten meter radius, and it is just pure concentrated light. Anything it touches vaporizes on contact. Ramiel can hold this form for about an hour, like Sachiel, but he can charge and fire his beam up to twice in a minute. The longer he charges, the more powerful the beam. Thankfully, he’s very slow in the normal terms, as in the distance he can cover, but he can turn on a dime and he can reshape his body in an instant. To add to this, Ramiel has a natural defense called an SE field, or solid energy. It is a physical barrier made entirely out of some kind of energy with similar properties to magic. It is very hard to break. I’ve never managed to pierce it with my sword, so if we come across him next, I don’t know what we’ll do.” Celestia leaned back and stroked her chin.

“Similar to magic huh? And you said it fired light as well, correct?” Rainbow nodded. “I can think of a few ways that can work. I’ll need to sit and review this of course, but I’ll likely have a plan for you before the weekend. It’ll require some testing when the time comes though. I’ll get back to you once Luna and I have had a discussion on this. What’s next?” Rainbow tapped her screen and moved the page down ta the next Kaiju.

The last of the first generation success, this one only taking half the time between Sachiel and Ramiel, was Israfel. She was the first female success, and the only success in the pair experiments. The failures that came after Ramiel prompted Persona to try to pair subjects to see if the results would come out any better. These pairs created a wide variety of monsters, some docile even, but no true success that could revert to their pony forms or even act beyond a high level of mental retardation. That is, until the twins came along.

They were a pair who honestly believed they could speak with the dead and had a terrible habit of killing ponies just to try and talk to them. Whether or not they were telling the truth was a question left unanswered, and Persona got a hold of them shortly before their death row call. As you know, Israfel ended up as one Kaiju originally, but when severed, she could split her body parts into two. When Israfel first reverted, she’d turned into a single pony that shared two conscious personalities and the physical characteristics of both twins, or the blue and red coats/manes/tails, etc.

After Israfel’s success, and the next pair of twins Persona found a failure, he decided that it was time to change up the formula for the mirror as the next variable. The next success happened three months in with the new formula. There were many docile and even tameable kaiju created, but none as powerful or intelligent as those from the first generation.

Matarael, the fourth success was… interesting? Seemingly normal pony, a complete psychopath on the inside, a fetish involving severed limbs and what happens to her? Well… she turns into a giant eye. Just scroll down, you’ll see what I mean.” The pony, as stated, looked like a normal mare you’d find in a cubicle somewhere. She had her green and red mane tied up in a bun, she wore glasses over orange colored eyes, and a white blouse with a black skirt over a pastel red coat. The next picture had all those colors and more in rows surrounding a single orange colored eye in the center of what looked like butterfly wings.

“W-what am I looking at?” Fluttershy asked.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t know any better than you do. Once again, the largest of the second generation, and its only claim to success, Matarael was… the weird one of the bunch. She’s big, she’s slow, she floats but weighs so much that no structure can hold her, and she secretes acid, which makes it look like she’s crying. Said acid is likely several times more powerful than whatever it is that’s in Pinkie’s blades, and will melt most things it touches in an instant. While dangerous, I’m not super concerned about Matarael because of why the second generation was discontinued.

The first generation, no matter if it was a success or a failure, all had some kind of natural defense mechanism to protect the mirror. With Sachiel, it was the bone mask and his regeneration. With Israfel, it was her ability to shift the mirror around and split it in two. As long as either mirror remained in tact, she could regenerate as well. Ramiel has his shield and the ability to reform his body. Matarael though? Nothing. Her skin is tough, and she does have a giant eyelid to protect the mirror at her core, but her actual battle capability is pretty low in general. The other second gen ‘close’ successes usually all had something going for them, but nothing like the first gen, and they were never as durable or destructive.

When the time comes, I figure you guys can just line up a good shot at her core and be done with her. The only issue comes from how and where her body falls, because that may very well be enough to destroy most of Manehattan alone. All the blood within Matarael is of that same acid that she cries, so that will tear this place apart if her heavy, dense body doesn’t do it first. Her best use is likely as a wide area suicide bomb, so… be ready for that I guess.” Rainbow stated. A suicide bomber, huh? It’s been a long time since Equestria had somethin’ like that happen. Supposedly, the Caballo crater incident happened because a suicide bomber attacked a makeshift hospital not far from the front lines. It killed just over a hundred ponies, some of which were from their side.

“Hmm… well, all things considered, that is a very good way to search for the element crystals if nothing else.” Celestia muttered. Pinkie tilted her head.

“What do you mean? Wouldn’t something like that destroy them?” Celestia shook her head.

“No. You see, while physically a crystal, they can be cut or shattered, but not destroyed. One of the many, and more reckless tests I did while studying them was to see if they could be tampered with. They are unaffected by magic, no acid I could come up with affected them, they were entirely resistant to heat, and exposing them to anything but force, they are immune. When I say this, I don’t mean it lightly, they are as close to a perfect material as once can get. While I never had the chance to learn why, my race was ended over these crystals. Of course, there isn’t much I remember about my own childhood, or even much of the time before my first campaign to conquer the land, but the stories of the wars fought over those crystals isn’t something I could ever forget.” It was a while before she looked up and realized all eyes were on her now.

“Um… that is a conversation for another time. History forgotten isn’t meant to be history remembered, so just forget I said anything. The point is, destroying everything in his wake is an easy way to get close to what he wants, provided The Original is still in Manehattan, but I doubt he would attack here if he had reason to believe it wasn’t. Please, continue,” Celestia rattled off. Rainbow look to a few of us, then gave up.

“Oh…kay? Um, if you’ll scroll down, you will find the last Kaiju I have a whole lot of data on, and this would be the guy I am most afraid of running into.” Of all the ponies that looked completely unassumin’, this guy probably took the cake. He was a brown and tan coated pony with a pale mane and brown eyes. It was cut short, and he looked physically average fer an earth pony. He looked young too, maybe a little older than sixteen. Nothin’ special about him at all, until Ah noticed a strange spot on his chest. Metallic, reflective coat, albeit in a tiny spot, was sittin’ there in the open.

“The most successful subject, and the first success of gen three. Uh, the other being Goose anyways. Sahaquiel. Before coming to work for Persona, Sahaquiel was a very weak, very frail kid. Bullied in school as a kid, angry and vengeful as a teen, but had no power to do anything about it. Like the princess said said the other day, hollow boned earth ponies, which is what he is, are extremely fragile. He was kept in the hospital for most his life and wanted nothing more than the power to fight back. He and the pony behind the mask had a lot in common, and they met at the hospital that Sahaquiel was being cared for in. Persona offered him the chance to have the power he’d always wanted, and as the first test subject of gen three, he got it.

He is fast, likely close to as fast as Pinkie is. He is likely just as strong as Applejack is. He flies without wings. And to top it all off, he can regenerate in seconds. His powers have no drawbacks, and there is not much in the world that I can think of that could stop him. He has a cruel temperament, and all those years of being picked on and brooding in hospital beds has created something horrible. When he shows up… we better have some kind of plan, because of all the possible enemies I know of that could kill us, this is the guy that could do it the easiest. Even with all my experience, even with all my powers, not once have I ever been able to beat him sparring, much less get a chance to attack. If we manage to get that far, I don’t think anything outside of Rarity’s powers are going to give us an advantage on him, and he knows what she can do, so I doubt he won’t go after her first.” Rainbow lost all the life in her voice, like this guy had already killed us. Speed, power, flight, and regeneration. Perfect. Celestia stroked her chin.

“A perfect soldier... hmm… I’d been toying with that idea for a while now, and if his personality is as you say it is, I think we may have a way to exploit that, but you are correct, nothing is more dangerous to you than that. Putting that aside though, are there not six Kaiju? The next page is nothing more than a title.” She was right, all the last page had on it were the words: Project Zeruel.

“Well, that’s because all we know is that it exists. It’s code name is Zeruel, and it is the sixth Kaiju. Sahaquiel was the last Kaiju created that the others and I were aware of. Since the strike team that I was apart of was disbanded due to an internal rumor that one of use belonged to the Lunar guard, this is the only kaiju that was made that nopony really knows anything about. Ever since the rumor started, Persona has had all new information on lock down, and if Zeruel has been seen by anypony, nopony knows that’s who it is. Hell, we don’t even know if it’s real. Persona could just be blowing smoke, but with Sahaquiel under his hooves, I don’t know that he needs a sixth. Out of the three options I know of left, two have a very high chance of killing us easily enough, and one can destroy half the city even if we manage to kill it. And I really do mean half. If you look at the picture of Matarael, you’ll see that she’s about as thick as a car at any point, and her height and width come somewhere around a few miles each.” Pinkie moved from one spot to another and patted her on the back.

“There, there, it’ll all be alright. We’ve made it this far, and most of us thought we were gonna die before we even fought the first one. At least now, we have some semblance of what to prepare for instead of running in blind with guns blazing. Well, I guess we kind of had an idea with the first one, but the second one was definitely a blind run. We’ll manage somehow.”

“I-in any case, this new information w-will be put to good use. T-those nuke bullets may g-get fired after all…” Fluttershy added. Celestia’s ears perked up.

“Nuclear what now?” Twilight straightened up as if a jolt of electricity had shot through her.

“Hey, would you look at the time, it’s about noon isn’t it? We should get lunch! I’ll go order something, you guys just tell me what you want once I contact you! K bye!” and in a flash of violet magic, she was gone. Celestia sighed.

“Well, that certainly explains why those went missing. She must realize that escaping me is impossible by now, right? There are only so many reasons magic can simply go dead in a single location.” Pinkie shrugged.

“Admitting things you do wrong for the right reasons is never easy. Of course, it might also be the fact that you cross the line between mom and terrifying on a dime and have done so at least twice in this sitting alone.” Celestia tilted her head to the side and huffed.

“I suppose that’s entirely true. In any case, we can discuss this all more tomorrow. I have a few ideas I need to sort out with all this new information, so we’ll run our usual session until six, and then I’ll have to make plans with Luna. I think I’m going to go borrow the library until Twilight returns.” Celestia got up from her chair, but then stopped by me and whispered in my ear. “Those were not the thoughts somepony regarded as a hero. Remember your place.” Just like the storm she is, Celestia left the room, leavin’ nothin’ but destruction in her wake.

Persona X: A Shadow of the True Self

Applejack

“Damn it!” Ah punched the bed in the crystal room and felt the need ta breathe.

“Oh, come on! Look, I know you have a right to be angry and all, but it doesn’t take a genius to know you had premeditated murder on the mind back there!” Goose exclaimed.

“You of all ponies have no right ta criticize me! Ya did the same damn thin’!” Ah could see him tense up, but then he took a deep breath and relaxed.

“That’s right. I did make that mistake. And I told you that there is nothing I regret more in my life! How can you think this is a good idea after all you’ve been told? Killing other ponies will not make you feel better! When you protected your uncle from those thugs, did you feel good after you realized they were dead? When your friends look like they’re about to cry when they remember the deaths they caused, do you think that looking back at what they did makes them feel better?” Ah felt every muscle in my body tense up and Ah stomped a hoof inta the floor.

“Damn it, just shut up!” Ah moved away from the new crater and curled up in my second bed facin’ the corner. Of course he’s right, Ah was never gonna win this fight anyways. Ah put one of my hoof tips in my mouth and started ta grind my teeth on it. Not but a couple seconds passed before Ah felt his tail brush up against my back.

“Look, I know it sounds like the right thing to do now, but it’ll never turn out well. Some ponies deserve to die, but how does that give you the right to execute them? Manehattan is home to all kinds of killers and murderers, but it’s also home to some of the greatest heroes the world has ever seen. I think you’re deserving of the latter title, but you shouldn’t be out to gain the former.” Ah sniffed and turned my head at him.

“Ya don’t think Ah don’t know that? Goddess damn it, just what am Ah supposed ta do? Sit on all this anger and let it come out like that again? Finally somethin’ good happened, and then it rains shit the next minute. Ah’m so tired of this!” Ah said through a sniff. He didn’t look back or say anything immediately, so Ah went back ta starin’ at the wall.

“Well, honestly? That’s just life. Always out to get you, always out to fuck you over. But at the same time, there’s nothing more valuable, and nothing more important to protect. Tell me, what does it feel like when we take a monster down, or you swoop in and protect somepony?” Ah let out a breath. What does it feel like, huh?

“Ah don’t know. Ah guess… Ah feel relieved?”

“Okay, and if you’re relieved, then you’re feeling better than you were, right?”

“Ah guess.”

“So that means it makes you feel better when you do something good. So instead of doing something you know is bad and will make you feel worse, you do something good to feel better. It’s completely superficial, and if you’re doing something good just to make yourself feel better, you’re not being a hero for the right reasons. But if it keeps you from going on a witch hunt, then why not go see what you can do for somepony else instead of letting this vengeance consume you?” Ah got up and moved ta the edge of the bed with him.

“Ah suppose… Ah’d rather be a shitty hero than a righteous villain.” Ah leaned inta him and he put a hoof around my shoulders and nodded.

“There we go. Ooh, I do have one request though.” Ah looked up and just about met his snout.

“And what would that be?”

“Cool it with the outbursts. I get it, you have crazy strength and all, but were we elsewhere, this shit would not be as easily repaired. Scootaloo and Twilight can only do so much you know? Blowing up, say, at your apartment, would not go well for anypony involved.” Ah nodded and sank inta him a little more.

“Sure. Ah’ve managed ta not destroy thin’s at home fer a long time now, so Ah doubt that’s gonna change. Ah suppose Ah just don’t think of this place as a second home yet. Maybe one day…” Ah started and trailed off. The thought that completed that sentence was a little too much fer me ta say right now.

“Yeah.” Ah don’t know how much time passed, but Ah think Ah’d just about dozed off when Twilight woke me up.

“Okay, I’ve settled on the Mǎnese place a couple blocks away. Who wants what?” The voice asked. Ah sat up straight and stiff and then relaxed after Ah realized it was her. Goose’s head slipped forward and fell inta my lap, but he didn’t move. Oh goddess, he’s breathin’ right there! Ah quickly and gently pushed his head forward, and once he wasn’t ticklin’ me, Ah ordered fer us.

“Uh, get me a stir-fry orange bowl, and if they have it, get Goose somethin’ with meat in it, otherwise double my order. He’s asleep,” Ah whispered.

“Okay… is he sleeping on you or what? His signal is right next to yours.”

“Well, Ah mean… yeah. Just… just get the food.”

“Ooh, I see what’s going on here… This is just like one of my romance novels!”

“Oh, fer the love of yer mother, go order already!”

“Oh, sure, I’ll just let you two get back to ‘sleeping♥’” Twilight said in an inflection that oddly reminded me of her mother.

“Ya know damn well-” Then Ah felt the link cut out. Mother fucker. Ah leaned back until my upper body had made contact with the bed and just sighed. Ah really need ta talk ta somepony about this. Six o’clock can’t come soon enough.

Twilight arrived with lunch and Ah’d fallen asleep again. It used ta be so difficult ta accomplish, but here Ah am, thirteen years after we got separated, fallin’ asleep with my best friend. Best friend? Is that what he is ta me right now? So much has changed and so much is just like it used ta be. That word came back up in my head recently, and the more Ah think about it, the more it might be true, but at the same time, what good has come of it in my life? Years of struggle and sacrifice, loss and remorse, some of which the fault of nopony in particular, all out of that word.

Training came and went, and once again he tried ta protect me in a do or die situation. Ah felt a rage in the same vein as earlier but more intense than it had ever been when it killed him, and what happens next? Celestia kicks me out of the session because my emotions started ta ‘poison’ the spell.

“This unparalleled anger of yours must be put in check. You lose all sense of caution and do whatever it takes to destroy whatever you deem the cause of your rage. Applejack, this is not healthy. Were any of that real, you would’ve lost a foreleg permanently. What good are you to anypony if you sacrifice everything in the process? Scootaloo may be able to heal an injury, but having a leg blown to bits isn’t something she can repair. Tomorrow, I’m going to have Luna stand in for me, and you and I will be dealing with this… anger issue.”

If Ah’ve learned anythin’ about Celestia, it’s that she’s gonna get ta the bottom of this one way or another, and when she does, Ah don’t think Ah’m gonna be ready for what she’s gonna say about it. There’s been… too many thin’s swirlin’ through my head lately, and if she looks in there then she’ll know… everythin’. Ah’m not even ready ta deal with all that yet and… and that word… if that comes up…

“Applejack? This is ground control to Major Apple. Can you hear me Major Apple?” Rarity asked from her office chair. Ah shook my head and remembered where Ah was. After everypony else had finished trainin’, Ah followed Rarity ta her boutique after tellin’ Goose Ah needed some time alone. If Ah’m honest with myself, there’s nopony else Ah’d rather have around right now, but at the same time he’s part of the problem.

“Oh, sorry. What was that?” Ah asked politely. Rarity sighed.

“Would you like some tea is all I said initially, but you spaced off so hard that I had the time to get the water heated and poured. You’ve been sitting there for ten minutes darling.” What? there’s no way. We didn’t even make it here till six thirty, it’s not like… Ah looked at the clock on Rarity’s office wall, and it was six forty-five PM.

“Oh fer the love of the goddess.” Ah shook my head and let it fall inta my hooves.

“Come now, tell me what’s going on. I’d certainly rather you say what you think before I give you a diagnosis based on what I’ve seen,” she said sweetly. Ah picked up my head and sighed.

“Ah’m… Oh, Ah don’t even know anymore. Ah feel… Ah feel like, even in this storm of crazy, that these days in between have been some of the best days Ah’ve had in a long, long time, and now… Ah’m gettin’ nervous that it’s all just gonna shatter inta a million pieces. Ah’m…” Ah couldn't finish. Rarity raised a brow.

“You’re…?” she lead.

“Ah’m… havin’ these thoughts…” Ah followed, chasin' my hoof tips around each other.

“What thoughts, to be specific if you will?”

“Well, maybe… in the future…”

“In the future you…”

“Ah want ta… ya know…”

“I don’t know. You haven’t told me,” she said, a hint of spite in that one. Ah looked down and scratched at my ear.

“Ah mean… Ah uh… with him and all…” Ah said, feelin’ my face heat up.

“Are you saying you want to be with him, in the future?” Ah let out a breath and nodded. “And these thoughts of yours, what do they entail?”

“Well… white everywhere and… m-maybe a… a fa…” Ah bit my lip. Ah didn't want ta say it.

“A family?” she finished fer me.

“Yes, damn it!” Ah yelled. Ah immediately covered my face and hid beneath my hat.

“You okay?” she asked mid-giggle.

“Shut up. Ah don’t know.” Rarity laughed some more.

“Oh goodness, you’re just so pure. Would you like me try and lay everything out?” Ah nodded and continued ta hide. Ah knew what came next. “You, after your revelations and spending so much time together with him and everypony else, have opened up to others for the first time since the death of your father. You’re not struggling or wanting for anything of basic needs, you’re in a better place financially than you’ve ever been, and for the first time in your life, you have time for emotions you’ve long repressed, and all with this, the first male pony you ever warmed up to turned out to be somepony you held dear back when you were a child. You happen to already have a good dynamic with this pony, he is almost too dedicated to you, and suddenly, you’re starting to reciprocate those feelings. Correct?” Ah started ta come back up and nodded.

“However, because of these new feelings, you’re beginning to remember the last time you felt something similar, which was when your parents were still around. This resurging emotion is so entwined with the negative feelings of losing your parents, that you’re beginning to fear that this little slice of life you’ve finally managed to get a grasp on will slip through your hooves any day now, and that is why you’re feeling so hesitant to display these emotions to the pony they’re directed at. This is also correct, correct?” Ah sighed again and hung my head.

“And… The monsters are still commin’, Rainbow says that the ones ta worry about haven’t even come yet, we still don’t know if we’ll make it ta the end, and even then, that might just be the hardest fight we ever deal with, and we don’t have any way of knowin’ what’s gonna come out of Argent’s shop of horrors next. What if… what if he really does try protect me from somethin’, and end up gettin’ himself killed in the process? Ah… Ah don’t think my heart could take another death so close. That wouldn’t just be any death, that would be the death of somepony Ah l-… somepony… very, very special… somepony Ah lost that came back, only ta lose ‘em again…” Ah hate how this makes me feel. Ah can't even speak right, my damn voice is so shaky. Rarity nodded and leaned forward on her desk.

“Yes, yes. But I don’t quite think that’s enough. You were about to use a word. A very particular word, a very strong word. You mean that word from the bottom of your heart, and there is nothing you are more afraid to say out loud, to admit to anypony else and yourself. When was the last time you used that word?” She asked. Ah sighed and rested my chin on my hoof. How long has it been, since Ah used that word?

“Over a decade. Twelve, maybe seventeen years now? When mom was around, fer sure. It was common place in the house. After that though… Ah think it became more and more rare, and after dad… never. But… it's been pokin’ its way inta my head these days. And if it gets out… Ah just know that somethin’ will go wrong.” Rarity sighed.

“You haven’t even told your siblings that you love them in that long?” Ah shook my head.

“Nopony’s said that. Dad never had a proper funeral since his body was never found, but with the way Uncle Blood would cry at night in the months after that day, Mac and Ah just knew that we’d never see him again. Dad… kinda took that word with him. The closest we ever got ta… that word was ‘Ah’ll never leave ya’ from any of us ta any of us. It’s not somethin’… it’s just not somethin’ that we say.” Even tryin' ta talk about this feels like a weight on my back that's too heavy ta carry.

“It’s possible that the simplest solution is to use that word. Just find a way to work it into your vocabulary at some point and it may help ease you into being able to use it when you want, but if I’m honest, I know it will be difficult for you. This… problem of yours is very deeply entrenched in who you are. Whether or not you can bring yourself to say it, you have, or at least are beginning to fall for Goose. Even Twilight, of all ponies, can see that. If you keep spending time with him, it’s only going to get worse, and in your current situation, that is unavoidable.

So, you have two options here. You can either: let yourself fall into the despair of what might come to pass, close yourself off again and lose everything that you’ve worked so hard to build in these past months, or, you can enjoy the time you’ve gotten and the time you get with all these ponies you’ve let into your life. Personally, I would think the better of the two options is clear, but this is you I’m dealing with, so I can only expect so much.” And she’s right, but… but… what happens if it all does shatter? Am Ah… willin’ ta live through that pain again if it comes ta pass? Ah shook my head and sighed.

“Rarity, thanks fer doin’ this fer me and all, but-” She stopped me and stood over her desk.

“No buts! You have a choice to make and dwelling on it is not going to help you! Do you sincerely believe, that living closed off like you used to be, alone and constantly falling into your own self loathing and sorrow, is a better option than the chance that you might lose somepony else? Surely you realize that we are all on limited time here, and eventually none of us will be around anymore, don’t you? One day, we will be the loved ones lost due to age or tragedy somewhere along the line, but if you just sit around and mope in fear of what may come to pass, then you aren’t even living to begin with! For goddess sake, let yourself be happy for once in your life!” Ah looked up at her and then back down in my lap.

“Ah… Ah just…” Ah started, feelin’ a lump form in my throat. In the blink of an eye, Rarity was suddenly holdin’ my head against her chest and she let out a deep breath.

“There, there. I suppose… all these complex feelings coming together at the same time is just too much for you to sift though right now.” She said strokin’ my mane. The lump in my throat only got harder ta swallow, and before Ah knew it, Ah’d wrapped my forelegs around her. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize how much you were hurting sooner,” she whispered as the fur on her chest became wet.

When next Ah woke up, Ah found myself in Rarity’s bed. The smell of sweet pastries was in the air, and the mornin’ light was just beginnin’ ta break through her curtains. Ah made my way down ta the kitchen ta find her standin’ in front of a griddle washin’ toast in egg and throwin’ it down ta fry.

“Ah, good morning darling. Do you like the robe? It was a very ‘spur of the moment’ design, but I figure you’ve never had something like that before, and it might be nice in the event you’re used to sleeping with pajamas or the like.” Robe? Ah looked at myself and realized Ah’d been wearin’ a very soft, fluffy red robe the whole time. Did Ah sleep in this? The last thin’ Ah remember was… Ah guess, Ah must’ve fallen asleep on her. Oh goddess, Ah can’t believe that Ah-

“Oh. So she is still here. And in one of your special robes. And you’re making Cheval toast again.” Sweetie paused and looked ta me, then ta Rarity. “Did… did you two… you know…” she asked from the staircase as she clicked her hooves together a few times. My face started ta heat up even more and Rarity just laughed.

“No, no, I doubt I could accomplish that even if I drugged her. Applejack is… going through some difficult experiences right now, and I just thought that I would accommodate.” Sweetie shrugged and walked past me ta their kitchen table.

“Whatever floats your boat I guess. It’s just, the only time I ever see a robe like that, or you make Cheval toast is when you make it for one of your recent hook ups,” she stated bluntly. Rarity huffed and stomped in place.

“Sweetie! You know better! I have higher standards than to sleep with my friends.” Sweetie smirked and leaned back in her chair.

“Sure you do. I also know you’re not above ‘that spark of love’ with whatever gender you come across, and more recently-” Rarity frowned and magically shoved a still steaming piece of Cheval Toast down Sweetie’s throat. She coughed and hacked until she finally swallowed the food. “Hey! That would’ve burned anypony else!” Rarity rolled her eyes and went back to cooking.

“And now that I know you’re immune, I have no qualms against doing it again. Please, have a seat Applejack. I promise I didn’t do anything to you in your sleep. It has been a very long time since… something like that happened.” Sweetie shrugged.

“I don’t know, two months isn’t that much time at all, really. What was his name again? Oh, and then there was that mare before him, and the stallion before her, and the stallion before him…” Rarity huffed and rolled her eyes.

“And this would be why nopony ever stays with me. Can you keep my sex life to yourself please? I don’t make comments about your little ‘nightly habit’ to your friends, now do I?” The tips of Sweetie’s ears lit up in flames and her cheeks turned bright red.

“S-shut up! T-that’s not fair!” Rarity took the smirk this time.

“Oh, but all is fair in love and war isn’t it? Drop the subject and I’ll call a truce. Deal?” she offered, clearly the more comfortable of the two with her… promiscuous activities.

“Deal.” Rarity put the fires on her ears out and put a few pieces of toast on her plate. Ah just stood there and started ta laugh. It made me laugh so hard that they both started ta get concerned before Ah could pull myself together.

“Um, Applejack? Are you alright?” Rarity asked. Ah wiped a tear from my eye and finally managed ta get a handle on my composure.

“Yeah, yeah, Ah’m fine. It’s just, he he… all this time Ah never really thought ya… ya lived up ta yer costume, but here we are. Y’all are freaks. But… Ah’m glad… you're my friends.” Ah took a seat at that little table and Rarity rolled her eyes and smiled.

“Well, at least somepony is having fun at our expense. Here, go ahead and eat this. You have to deal with Celestia today, and you’re going to need all the help you can get.” She levitated a plate of powdered sugar coated Cheval Toast ta my seat in her light blue aura. Ah sighed and took the syrup from the center of the table. Ah squeezed the bottle and drew a picture of the sun on top of my sugar coated confection. If just tryin’ ta talk about my fears fer the future is enough ta make me cry in front of her… who knows what buttons Celestia is gonna push on purpose?

“Yeah…”

“Get back here, damn it!” Another buildin’ crashed, takin’ out several others as it collapsed on its side and crumbled inta nothin’. Dust, glass, rubble, and rebar flew everywhere as Ah shot after my prey. The Mirror hopped away after he avoided my attack and taunted me from where he stood.

“You bastard! I’ll rip ya ta pieces!” Ah launched after him, both cables shot fer maximum speed toward my target. Ah knew he was gonna dodge or counter from above, that’s all he’s done this whole time so all Ah needed ta do is wait. Ah landed after he hopped above me ta avoid my rear hooves, and sure enough he was about ta launch at me. Prepared fer it this time, Ah ripped my cables out of the rooftop and stepped ta the side as Ah reached fer his neck. Close-lined in my foreleg, Ah used everythin’ Ah had and slammed his body inta the roof, collapsin’ it and drivin’ us inta the room below. Ah wrapped my knees around his shoulders ta hold him pinned ta the floor and Ah just started punchin’.

“Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!? Why!?” Ah yelled with each blow. More and more blood started ta cover my hooves and quickly his mask became battered and broken. “He didn’t have ta die! Ya didn’t have ta kill him! He was my hero, he was my father, and ya took him away from me!” Ah put my hooves together fer an overhead slam, and drove us down another floor. Ah picked him up by the neck and squeezed with both hooves as hard as Ah could around it. Blood began ta gush from the newly separated head and body and Ah tossed it away as Ah dropped ta the floor and started ta puke myself.

“Vengeance is a vicious cycle. Hatred breeds hatred. The angrier you are at me, the stronger I become!” Ah looked back at the corpse ta find it was still there, then looked behind ta see that another Mirror let loose a punch at my head. Pain jolted through me as my body shot through wall after wall until finally Ah crashed inta the street below. “How pathetic. You can’t even take revenge without making yourself sick. Is this all that you’re capable of!? You aren’t worthy enough to kill me, you’re not even worthy of the title hero which you so proudly proclaim!” He was quicker than Ah could react ta now. He shot down from the hole in Ah came from and started ta rush me. With every punch Ah felt like somethin’ was gonna break. Ah found a hole in his attack and with everythin’ Ah had, Ah threw a punch at him. My face contorted in horror when he simply caught my hoof.

“This is it, isn’t it? You don’t have anything left. You’re done. You’re no hero. You’re just a failure of a murderer who can’t even get the job done right.” He twisted my hoof backwards until it cracked and popped. Sharp shooting pain flooded my brain and Ah fell ta my knees clutchin’ my broken wrist. Ah’m sure Ah was screamin’ at the top of my lungs, but all Ah could hear was the violent throbbin’ in my ears. He hopped on one hoof and then swung his other back leg forward till it connected with my jaw. Ah could feel teeth come loose as Ah flew headfirst inta a stop light post a block down from where we were. When Ah came to, he had everypony Ah cared about lined up in a line on the ground, all tied and beat up. Ah tried ta move, but Ah was stuck in place, he’d wrapped the post around me ta keep me still.

“So then, who should I kill first? Which one of these will make your rage burn stronger? Which one will break your spirit entirely? Should I go for your friends, or your family? I think I’d rather let you decide.” He said as my bound and gagged friends and family all squirmed in place.

“No, stop it! They’re not part of this! Ah’m yer target, leave them alone!” Ah yelled. The Mirror shook his head.

“No, no, no, you just don’t get it! I don’t exist without you! The more you hate me, the stronger I become! Ah, maybe I should just kill them all, one by one? Yes, I think that will do nicely.” He started with Uncle Blood. Ah couldn’t close my eyes, there was nothin’ Ah could do but watch as he lined his hoof up with my uncle’s head.

“No, stop it! Don’t do it! Please, no more!” Ah begged and cried. The hoof came down and there was nothing but a red stain and a crater left. Ah screamed at the top of my lungs and then he moved on ta the next one, and the next one. By the time he’d made it ta Goose, Ah didn’t have a voice left ta lose. No tears ta cry, no strength to summon, no hope remainin’.

“Oh? Nothing left to say? And here I thought you truly loved that last one. What a shame.”

“Just kill me,” Ah whispered. He shook his head and stepped closer till his snout was an inch from mine.

“Sorry, that’s a no can do. Without you, I can’t exist, so you’re going to live and you’re going to watch. You’ll suffer and agonize over how powerless you are to stop me over and over again, and I’ll only grow stronger as you sink further into despair! It’ll be just like old times! I’ll kill and kill and kill, and the hero in red will come to try and stop me, and then I’ll kill him too!” Somethin’ clicked. As if a gate unlocked, all the pain went away and in its place flooded pure and concentrated anger. Every inch of my body was seethin’, every muscle ready ta explode in rage. The Mirror turned ta face me in surprise when Ah tore through the light post.

“Ya take, and ya take, and ya take from me… Ya laugh at my sorrow and ya say ya feed off my despair… if ya think that Ah’ll just sit here and watch ya do this again and again, than ya’ve got another thin’ comin!” In the blink of an eye, Ah taken hold of his head and tossed it inta the ground. His body stuck in the newly formed crater, Ah took the opportunity ta make the same motion he did on all my friends. The fresh corpse in the ground, Ah turned ta find him at my back again. He went ta open his mouth, but Ah didn’t give him the time. Ah twisted my body and knocked him inta the broken light post with my broken hoof. The body was pierced by the twisted metal. It twitched and shivered until it slumped over.

“My, my, so violent.” Ah heard from behind me. There he was again, floatin’ in mid air with his forelegs crossed and an apathetic smile on his face. Ah jumped back inta action and grabbed his head in the air with my good forehoof. Ah slammed it inta the ground and then took eveythin’ Ah had inta that hoof and slammed his head once more, the new crater so deep that not even the blood managed ta splash me.

“So, I have to wonder. Is this what you’d planned to do to your friend not but a few weeks ago?” A screen flashed in front of the new Mirror and it was a camera that lunged after Rarity, only fer it ta be struck by somethin’ and then plastered inta a crystalline floor.

“Shut up!” Ah lunged after his neck and wrapped my other foreleg around his hips. Ah raised his body high above my knee and snapped his spine on it. Ah dropped the new corpse and turned ta the sky ta find the next one, but he was nowhere ta be found. “Where are ya!?” Ah yelled out.

“A-applejack… h-how could you?” Ah heard Rarity’s voice from the body Ah’d just broken. Ah turned back ta the crater and ripped the suit off the twitchin' body, only ta find that the pony Ah’d just broken was my friend.

“No… no, no, no, this can’t be happenin’…” All the rage was quickly replaced with horror at what Ah’d done.

“Oh, but it can! Maybe you should check the faces underneath all those masks you’ve killed with such brutality!” The real Mirror said from somewhere Ah couldn’t see.

“No! Ah would never… Ah would never hurt my friends! This is one of yer tricks!” The Mirror appeared in a cloud of black smoke by the body impaled on the light post. He removed the mask, and lyin’ there dead was Applebloom.

“Oh, but you’ve almost done this to more than just your friend. You’ve got a very hot temper you know.” The mirror vanished in that smoke and moved ta the body before that.

The head was no longer intact, so he removed the suit where the cutiemark would be. The coat underneath the suit was a pale violet, and the mark on that flank was a pink star on top of a white star with five stars surrounding it.

“Dear me, you’ve even wanted to kill royalty before. There’s no higher crime on this earth than regicide.” The anger flared again and Ah lunged at the Mirror once more. Ah was about ta strike at his chest after Ah’d knocked him ta the ground, but just before my punch landed he put somethin’ sharp in front of it. My hoof kept goin’ with the thin’ he placed on the body and traveled all the way through it. What… what did Ah just do? Who… who did Ah just… Ah hesitated at first, but then Ah removed the mask. My whole body shivered as Ah staggered away from the corpse.

“No… No, Ah… He…” Ah tried ta say anythin’ that would make this dread, this feelin’ of despair go away, but nothin’ would come out right.

“You didn’t do what now? What did he do again? I’m fairly sure you just punched a hole through his chest. Imagine that. You’ve even worked up the desire to kill that ‘special somepony’ in your life before. How sad. And here I thought that it might just be true love,” The Mirror said from behind me. Ah turned on a dime and grabbed him. Ah punched him in the face a few times ta try and quell this rage a little bit, but Ah knew this might just end up as the face of somepony else if Ah kept going.

“Damn it, who are you!?” The Mirror smiled and laughed and then ripped the mask off himself. Starin’ me in the face was an orange coated mare. She had green eyes and freckles, a blonde mane that looked like it was rarely brushed. She looked tired with bags under her eyes, her eyelids looked like they had been rubbed raw because she’d been cryin’. She pushed me off and took my stance a few meters away from me.

“So, do ya get it now? Ah can’t exist without you. Ah feed on yer despair, and Ah grow stronger with yer rage. Ya get so angry at times that there’s nothin’ that can stop ya save fer somepony stronger than yerself. But what happens when that anger is directed at somepony ya care about? Ya’ve gotten stronger in the past two weeks. Unless one of the princesses are around, there ain’t nopony stronger than you, and even then, you’re practically unmatched fer physical strength. If somepony else hurts somepony ya care about, ya lose yer damn mind! Somepony talks bad about yer father, and suddenly ya have murderous intent, even toward yer own family. The ponies ya killed here are all ponies you’ve killed in yer head before. Hell, a couple of ‘em ya took action against, but got interrupted before ya could finish the job.” She took another few steps toward the center of the street and in a cloud of black smoke, the first body appeared.

“Ya know who this one is? This is somepony ya held such contempt and malice fer that ya attempted ta kill ‘em over and over again, only ta fail and feel worse and worse about it. Ya cried, and cried, and cried over how ya weren’t strong enough ta get the job done, and eventually, ya just gave up. Ya hated this mare fer the longest time, but only recently did ya finally start warmin’ up ta her. Ya let her out, ya even enjoyed her company. But now, yer startin’ ta fear her. She’s too important ta lose. Ya finally realized just how fragile she is and how the loss of any of her friends might just be too much fer her ta handle, and it scares ya so much that ya want ta stuff her back in her cage. But ya can’t. Every time ya lock her up, she gets back out too easily.” The Mirror took the mask and one hoof and let the disembodied head inside it fall out on the ground. It rolled on it’s side until it was at my hooves. This mare was young. She had a long blonde mane, an orange coat with freckles and bright green eyes. She was no more than eight years old.

“Ya hide yer fear behind yer anger, and the angrier ya get, the more afraid ya are of doin’ somethin’ you’ll regret, and as the fear grows stronger, ya become quicker ta anger. This filly brings with her all kinds of emotions yer not used ta dealin’ with, and all that becomes too much too quick so then ya start ta break down and try ta lock her up again.” Ah fell ta my knees and picked up the head and caressed it in my hooves.

“Ah’m… so sorry…” Ah whispered ta it. The Mirror stepped toward me, now just inches away.

“And ya should be. Nopony should be more important ta ya than she is. Lettin’ her out has given ya the best days of yer life in the last twelve years. Ya’ve got more friends now than ya’ve ever had, yer family is closer than it’s been ta each other in a long time, and there’s somepony out there that you’re beginnin’ ta think that might make ya use that word that’s laid long dormant in yer heart. If ya value what this girl can do fer ya, and ya think that ya might actually wanna let that word out of its cage too someday, then yer gonna have ta stop tryin’ ta lock her up. Because if ya keep lockin’ her up, then this-” she motioned ta all the corpses around the ruined intersection, “is what will be waitin’ fer ya in the future.”

The mirror kneeled down and put a hoof on my shoulder and stared me in the eyes. Hers were warm and concerned, like those of a friend who really cares. “Ah should never be stronger than you are. But until ya accept this filly and finally let her out ta play, Ah will always be the one in power. She’s gonna get hurt one way or another, and that will never change. That’s just how life is, and nopony can avoid it. But she’ll never grow up if ya just keep her in a cage like this. If there’s a single thin’ that ya should’ve learned already, it’s that eventually, the pain will stop. Change the status quo. Don’t let me keep ya from livin’ yer life.” Her voice was filled with compassion, and Ah knew she cared about me more than Ah cared about her. Ah let go of the head, and in a spray of gold magic sparks, it disappeared and surrounded The Mirror. My wrist fixed itself, and all the bodies around started to fade away in that same magic and flood inta her. Next, Ah found myself wrapped around her in a tight embrace.

“Ah’m sorry Ah kept pushin’ all of this onta you. If Ah’d ever grown up and took responsibility fer the mare Ah’ve become today, Ah doubt Ah ever woulda kept y'all caged up in here like this. Will ya promise me, that if Ah ever step outta line like this again, that you’ll come back and slap me around until Ah get over it?” She shook her head, but reciprocated the hug.

“Ah’m afraid Ah can’t do that, sugarcube. You’re the one who’s in charge here. But there’s still a way. If it ever comes down ta where ya feel like yer losin’ ta me again, remember that all these ponies that ya let inta yer life care about you just as much as ya care about them. If one day, ya think ya see yer symptoms startin’ ta come back, or that they’re manifestin’ in somepony ya hold dear, reach out a hoof. It may not be enough, and ya might need more help, or they might need more help than just that, but it’s a start. And nopony can run a race if they can’t find the startin’ line.” When Ah looked up, the Mirror was gone, and Ah was alone in the partially destroyed city. Everythin' around me started ta fade inta gold sparks, until finally, Ah went with ‘em.

Persona XI: Faith

Applejack

“Oh goddess, you’re finally back. I hate to sound as if I didn’t have any faith in you, but you had me worried for a while there,” Celestia said in relief. Ah was feelin’ real dazed and confused, and Ah wasn’t quite sure where Ah was at the moment. When my vision finally stopped multiplyin’ and everythin’ settled inta place, Ah found myself in a room Ah didn’t recognize, sittin’ across from Celestia who was in a rockin’ chair of some kind that had a real fancy look ta it. It was made of a dark brown wood and some kinda violet colored soft plush material, but all along its edges was gold filigree.

The chair Ah was in was similar, but clearly a love seat that had gold designs woven inta the material instead. There was a large brick fireplace with a blaze inside it on one wall givin’ the whole room light, yet it was still dim enough that if Ah let myself get a little more comfortable, Ah could probably go back ta sleep. The air smelled sweet like cinnamon and sugar was just floatin’ around, and all the walls were lined with shelves of books and pictures of ponies Ah didn’t know. A large luxurious bed with a frame likely made of gold sat in a corner covered in bright white and violet sheets, and a deep violet rug sat beneath the chairs just in front of the fireplace. After takin’ it all in, Ah finally asked,

“Where am Ah?” Celestia tilted her head in confusion, then clapped her hooves.

“Oh right. What all do you remember, before you started to dream?” Ah tried ta think back ta this mornin’, but after the Cheval toast, Ah couldn’t remember anythin’ up till… Ah started fightin’ the Mirror.

“Uh, Ah woke up at Rarity’s place, had breakfast there… then Ah was fightin’ the Mirror. Ah don’t even remember leavin’ her place at all, really.” Now that Ah look at her, Celestia was wearin’ what looked like smithin’ equipment and doin’… somethin’ with her magic and a piece of metal maybe, and she just put that white hot rod of some kind back in the fire. Geez, is that fire really hot enough ta forge with? It feels pleasant in here. She took off her goggles and flipped the light switch on in the room.

“I see. Well then, allow me to fill you in. Rarity contacted me shortly after you fell asleep. She told me what happened and I realized that this emotional imbalance of yours was… more than just something that could be handled in the usual means. To put it lightly, you have been walking around as an emotionally broken mare for the last twelve years. To put it accurately, though you might physically be twenty years of age, emotionally you might as well be twelve. It’s honestly a miracle that you managed to live with PTSD this strong for as long as you have.

Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this happen, nor is it the first time I’ve tried to treat it. I’ve had many a war broken patient before, but many never recover from their traumas, and some simply remain broken for the rest of their lives. This treatment I developed is highly experimental as certain laws don’t allow me to test it because of sentient rights and all, but it has a higher success rate than what is currently out there, and works significantly faster. The um… caveat with that however…” Celestia said as she tapped her hoof tips together. “Is that I may or may not have had put you into a drug induced sleep,” she finished shiftin' her eyes from her hooves ta me in quick succession. I doubt I could accomplish that even if I drugged her. Even if I drugged her. I drugged her. Ah put my hooves ta my temples, and then Ah realized Ah didn’t know what time it was. There weren’t any windows in this room, and there was no clock anywhere ta be found.

“Well, first off, Ah can’t believe ya just used me like a lab rat. Second, how long have Ah been out? The drugs were in the toast, weren’t they?” Celestia sighed.

“To your first point of complaint, you are not the only test subject for this treatment, and the treatment clearly worked, otherwise you would still be asleep and stuck in that looping dream. Second, it’s about five thirty am… Sunday, the twenty ninth. And finally, no actually, the drugs were in the syrup. You simply can’t cook it, otherwise it alters the composition, turning what is essentially a powerful but harmless sleep aid into a very dangerous poison. I knew that your mother used to draw pictures on your pancakes with it, so I made the educated guess that you would consume it of your own accord. It’s not as if I didn’t plan for a fail safe, I just didn’t want to make your friend trick you into ingesting drugs if she didn’t have to.” She took the metal rod back out of the fire and started tappin’ it and flattenin’ it out with a pair of metal instruments. It looked like she was makin’ a sword or somethin’ with it.

“Ah’ve been out fer two whole days!?” Celestia sighed again and nodded.

“Forty eight hours is usually the longest a successful treatment takes. In your case, you managed to succeed in less than the longest recorded success, but you were a little slower than average. I’m honestly quite surprised at how… graphic your experience was. I knew that your anger seemed to flare rather intensely at times, but I never knew you almost killed one of your friends over a back hooved comment about your father. In almost every failed loop, that point of contingency always came up. You have a tendency to beat yourself up over your mistakes rather hard as well.” She spoke almost absently as she sharpened the tip of that piece of orange glowin’ metal. Ah’ve been asleep fer two days. Ah can’t believe Ah lost so much time. Have they been trainin’ without me? Have Celestia and Ah been here the whole time?

“So… what about-”

“Everypony else is still asleep at the current moment. They should rise in a few hours at the latest. Luna has been working them about as hard as I would expect, but without you, they seem to be struggling. A party without its best damage dealer… and, if we’re honest here, leader, tends to struggle as predicted, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely helpless without you. I wouldn’t say they’re incompetent by any means, but of all of them, you seem to have the best tactical sense amid battle. Your… it’s not lover yet, is it?” My face went about as red as her spear and Celestia just nodded.

“I suppose it isn’t. Your boyfriend has been doing his best with Rainbow’s help, but between a lone wolf and a leader who didn’t lead from the front lines, they don’t quite make the cut. Oh, and I’ve been here the whole time, I assure you. I like to manage my own projects, and had you not awoken within the time frame I expected, I would have had Luna pull you from the dream herself. There have not been a great number of tests for this particular treatment over the last century, and with this being the first time I’ve attempted it in nearly two decades, I felt the need to watch closely.

I doubt you remember what happened in each loop, but I always got so excited when events would play out and something new would happen. The first time you got back up after your Mirror killed all of your loved ones in front of you was something to behold for sure,” Celestia said, the childlike excitement in her voice sounding out of place with the twisted subject she spoke of. My brow furrowed as Ah remembered that myself. The first time? Ah don’t remember any of that happenin’ more than once though.

“Okay, Ah figure that ya probably knew better but ya went ahead and experimented anyway because ya wanted ta help. Ah can get over that, it’s done with now. But what do ya mean each loop? Ah… remember everythin’ in… gruesome detail fer what Ah did as the Mirror and myself in the dream, but… we reconciled at the end. In a weird way, Ah feel a whole lot better than Ah did Thursday night.” Celestia nodded and then spun the spear she had made at such a high speed that the metal began ta sing. The orange glow faded and then she stuffed it back inta the fire.

“Ah, right. Well, the way this works is a bit of experimental dream magic mixed in with a few hallucinogens and long term sleep. The magic, in essence, forces you to experience your worst reoccurring nightmare over and over again. In your case, the scene where the Mirror kills your father. I personally don’t have the grip on dream manipulation that Luna does, so sometimes I need her help with that part. The hallucinogens trigger the limbic system, specifically targeting memories that are tied with the chemicals released in your brain that coincide with negative emotion (only because we don’t quite know how to do that with just magic yet). This combines your nightmare with your fears and regrets and pits you, the dreamer, against everything that you could possibly be suffering from of your own accord. The induced sleep makes it so you can’t wake up until the magic has taken it’s full effect and you experience the dream several times, but breaks once the nightmare is resolved in a way that has positive chemicals releasing from your brain.

In ponies with strong wills, this forces them to overcome their own trauma at least once so that when they wake up, they can face these realities knowing that they have the power to defeat them. It’s not a cure-all fix-all by any means, but to use your words, it gets ponies like you to a starting point for recovery. Ponies with weak wills however, have a tendency to just give in to their own despair and are consumed by their nightmares. Luna can bring them back to reality, but these ponies have zero to little chance of ever recovering from their trauma, and have a ninety percent suicide rate. This treatment has lead to the recovery of many, but the loss of a few. Thankfully, you have a strong will, and as expected, you were able to come to terms with the things that have been eating away at you. Now, this should go without saying, but you will need to be able to confide in somepony on a regular basis to keep from falling back into your problems. Anything as deep rooted as this will leave a scar, and that will never go away.” Celestia removed her weapon from the fire and continued to shape the blade. She’d taken some kinda chisel now and started ta carve runes inta the broad sides of it.

“Okay… so, ta sum this up fer my own sake, ya drugged me, and made me experience all my nightmares over and over again, in the hopes that Ah might get over it?” Celestia rolled her eyes.

“That’s not the nicest way to say it, but essentially correct. As I’ve learned over my many centuries, the most self confidence imbuling way to overcome a challenge is try, try, and try again until you succeed. If you, or anypony for that matter, can work up the drive to keep going until you win, then you will more than likely accomplish what you set out to do one way or another. To put it into more real terms, when a war is fought between two groups with a particular agenda, there is a specific kind of group that can win a war that they should realistically lose. Do you know what kind of war this is called?” I’ve gotta give it ta her, of all the thin’s Ah thought were gonna happen today, a history test wasn’t one of em’. Ah thought about it fer a minute, and then somethin’ came ta mind.

“Are ya talkin’ about that war a few centuries ago where that group with the invadin’ force that could ‘topple countries whole’ pulled out because the smaller country was willin’ ta do anythin’ ta win?” Celestia nodded.

“That is what we later referred to as a ‘pony’s war.’ They had no right to fight as hard and as well as they did, and even with the odds that were stacked against them, they still pushed through and succeeded all on their own. The very thing that won them that war was their will to continue the fight till the end. In the world of politics, losing as much as fifteen percent of your army is unacceptable. At that point, the loss in life far outweighs nearly every other repercussion possible. The smaller country manage to kill or imprison twenty percentof the super power’s standing army before finally, they gave up. Add on to this the fact that they managed to drag that war out across twelve yearsand you have something truly astounding. An indomitable will.

When Luna and I finally heard word that this power actually retreated, and what their casualties were, we each took a turn to visit the winning country just to see how it could have possibly happened. Much of that land was devastated by the war. Creatures of all kinds were left without basic needs of survival and subject to atrocities now banned by the world council in war. Cities were in ruins, lands laid barren by the destruction and poisoned by the early technology that would eventually become nuclear bombs, and these creatures fought tooth and nail for this ruined place for twelve whole years! I was so fascinated that I eventually tried to pose as one of them and ask, why? Why fight for ruined land? Why fight when those you had to return to are no longer with us? What made this worth it all? And their answer, was so simple, even a child could understand it. ‘It is our home,’ they said. Destroyed, desolated, and decimated, with the land and their own hooves and claws, they could rebuild and start over as long as it was still theirs.

For the longest time I tested and experimented to see how that kind of will, that kind of unshakable fortitude could be cultivated in ponies, and what I found was that overcoming hardship in the face of impossible odds is what causes it. You, for as unfortunate as your upbringing was, have grown to have that same indomitable will because of it. You survived, you grew, you realized that you were somepony who could do more than others and then you decided to try and make somepony else’s life better at the cost of what could be your own someday. If there was anypony who could pull themselves out of their own suffering, it was you.” She then started to spin that spear again until the runes no longer glowed red hot.

“Ah mean… wow. Ah just don’t know what ta say. Ah guess… Ah never really realized just how highly ya thought of me.” She… believes in me… Celestia levitated the cooled spear to me and then passed me a roll of some soft and sticky black material.

“Really now? After I put you in charge of keeping my very own daughter safe on the battlefield, it never occurred to you that I may just have the teensiest bit of faith in your ability? I didn’t give you a higher rank than the others out of the gates for no reason after all.” She laughed and Ah couldn’t help but crack a smile myself. “Wrap that tightly around the center of the shaft. I’ve still got enough time to make about two more of these before we need to go prepare for today.” she ordered.

“Oh, sure. Uh, what exactly is this anyways? Well, besides the obvious.” Ah asked as Ah started ta wrap the spear. Celestia took a cauldron of out from the center of the intense flame with her magic and started to have the bubbling silver liquid inside float into the shape of the spear head.

“A God Slayer,” she stated as if it were an everyday object. Ah tilted my head as Ah looked at the thin’.

“Huh?” Celestia finished formin’ the point with the tools in her magic and then set the spear head back in the fire.

“Rainbow Dash said that Ramiel had a field of energy that she could not pierce in the briefing Wednesday. All Thursday, I tried to come up with what exactly a field like that would have to entail. After learning more on the subject, she stated that it was more like the barrier she was trying to penetrate had several layers to it. If ever she got through the first barrier, there was always just another, stronger barrier beneath it ready to fill in the hole. She knew it was some kind of energy, but she also knew that it felt like the barrier was always moving somehow. So that got me thinking: what can be moving at all times, but form a physical barrier at the same time? What is similar to magic, and similar to light that might act like this, but still be clear enough to see through?

The way Ramiel acts when it transforms is actually very similar to a magnetic fluid, or a ferrofluid if you’ve heard of it, as opposed to the liquid crystal it looks to be made of. When this thought came to me, I realized that what Ramiel is is not actually a solid being at all, but a liquid crystal that is constantly being manipulated by magic to form its shape. The SE field isn’t actually just a natural barrier, but the very thing that gives Ramiel the ability to move and act. I asked her yesterday to see if she remembered if the part of his body near the area of his field she attacked changing shape, and as I thought her answer was along the lines of ‘You know what? Now that you mention it, yeah.’

Going ahead with this assumption, I started making something that… will likely cause more trouble than it’s worth. That aside though, these are also the only thing that I can think of that would be able to penetrate that field without the disaster of using pure destructive force. Disruption crystals are highly illegal in not just Equestria, but around the world because of their potency in dissolving magic and the ability to weave them into metals. Alicorn magic however, is much, much more effective than a disruption crystal. To give an example...” Celestia took some of the liquid metal from her cauldron in the center of the fire and laid the orange glowin’ stuff around the top of the javelin shaft and bottom of the head, then pressed the shaft into the spear head. She spun it in her magic, makin’ that whirrin’ metallic noise again till it cooled. She then spoke some words Ah didn’t understand, and the runes along the spearhead all started ta glow with her gold magic. She gave me the spear and then formed a magic wall in some empty space of the room.

“I want you, with everything you have, to punch this wall. Trump card ready, fire on all cylinders, if you will.” Ah was about ta complain about possibly breakin’ somethin’, but by now, Ah knew better than ta question her. Damn, Ah bet this is gonna hurt. The magic block in front of me wasn’t even opaque, it was just like a wall of glowin’ solid gold. Ah’ve never even seen magic this solid before. Ah got up from my seat and stood in front of the wall, Celestia watchin’ intently as Ah let the power fill my hoof.

“Here goes nothin’!” Ah let go on the wall, and by the goddess did it hurt. The wall didn’t budge fer even a second, the force of percussion caused a wind ta bounce back and blow every piece of loose cloth and paper all over the place, and the fire behind me nearly flickered out. Ah pulled my hoof back and shook it as hard as Ah could ta try and get rid of the burnin’ pain now in my wrist. “Goddess damn it, that hurts!”

“I’ll say. I had to fortify the wall a bit more just to keep from letting you crack it. It’s hard to believe how much stronger you’ve become since I first met you almost a month ago. But that wasn’t the point of this exercise. The point is, you now know just how hard my little wall here is to break. With pure force that is. Now, take the javelin, and poke it. Lightly, as if you’re just trying to stoke a hearth.” Ah frowned. Really? Is that all it’s gonna take? Just a tap? Ah did as Ah was told, and sure enough, that was all it took. From the center of impact, as very light as it was, the spear absorbed everythin'. The wall of magic dissolved from the center out, all the gold turning inta sickly green and flowin’ inside the spear, causin’ it ta from an aura of the same color. Then Ah heard Celestia flop onta the rug behind me.

“Holy hell, what happened?” Ah panicked as Ah went ta her side. She coughed and hacked a bit, then started ta pick herself back up.

“Urp… u-unlike the disruption crystals…” she started through a pukey burp “That javelin will absorb any magic it touches. It then floods the original caster with a hearty dose of magic drain, taking as much magic away as it can store. A normal creature using any magic, this would kill as the spear itself can hold more magic than the average unicorn is capable of. Then, once the spear has drained as much magic as it can take, it can then discharge that magic if one just so happens to say the right incantation.” She put the fire out with her magic, revealin’ that there was still a ton of clean, unburned wood underneath her cauldron and then removed a section of the grate above the wood and pointed the spear at it. “I don’t recommend looking directly at this.” She warned.

She then spoke some more of that language Ah didn’t understasnd, and from the tip of the spear came a big, blindin’, green colored beam. It hit the wood and passed ta the white blocks of some kinda stone beneath and shook the ground around us like an earthquake hit, or lightnin’ struck it. Whatever the base of her fireplace is made out of must be some kinda crazy magic enhanced stuff because it survived the blast, but the wood was cauterized inta charcoal anywhere it wasn’t just a clean burn in the exact shape of the energy that just passed through it. The rest of it reignited inta ghostly blue flames, and Ah felt like my skin was searin’ just from lookin’ at it. Celestia dropped the spear and then quickly controlled the fire, dispellin’ much of that heat ta who knows where.

“Now then, as you can see, it deserves its title. This is a weapon of my race from the ancient past. One of my oldest memories is making these with my father before escaping that land with Luna and the elements. They are… terrible things that were used to do terrible things, but in this situation, I don’t know of a better way to fight back against that creature. A similar technology that isn’t nearly as potent or destructive was built into those shields Twilight stole for you all, so as strange as this sounds, you’ll be fighting Ramiel with spears and shields. If it ever comes to the point where you’re so desperate that you need to use the power of the spear’s attack itself, I will teach you, and you alone the incantation to use it. I don’t know how much the magic drain would effect that monster, but if it fires at you, between the shield and the spear, you should be able to absorb it, if only once. Since I started, I’ve made about three of these as of this one, and Rarity and Twilight are not to touch them, so five is all were going to need.

You know how dangerous these are, and you know what they can do to a pony if by accident they use magic to touch it. When we demonstrate these again today, I want you to make it very clear they are for defense and nothing else. Once Ramiel is dealt with, these will disappear and never be seen again. Something like this was never meant to exist in this world...” Celestia said as she stared deep inta the once again pleasant fire.

“Ah see. So… this is part of ‘history forgotten’ right?” Celestia nodded and sighed a long and deep sigh.

“Yes, it certainly is. You might not realize it, but I see a lot of myself in you. You are young, but intelligent. You understand what is important and that you can do things that ponies around you cannot. You take up responsibilities that aren’t yours to begin with, and you have a tendency to meddle where you’re not wanted. A drive to try and help without being asked. These are all the qualities of a leader and a good one. These are the qualities of those that ponies have celebrated as heroes and legends through the ages. Back when I was a child… those ponies were all but extinct. My kind had little love left for each other. Factions had been created, and the option to not choose a side meant death, and choosing a side meant you were loathed by anypony on the opposite side, and likely to be killed out of hate just as idiotic and unjustified as despising a color for being that color. The families of the faction heads hated each other, and sought to destroy one another. And one day… the tipping point came, and all hell broke loose.

Luna was far too young to remember, but I was merely in my teens when it finally happened. An accord was broken. Tools sealed away by our ancestors were brought back out of dormancy and loosed upon each other. My family were the last guardians of the elements and protected the gates on the faction’s borders. My parents knew that this day was coming and these spears are what my mother defended us with until she too was killed in the fighting.

My father had constructed a gate and used all the magic he’d collected in the spears to power it so that we might escape with the elements in toe. Our race didn’t have to end over a petty squabble gotten out of hoof, and without somepony to continue the line, all would be lost in a matter of hours. Before we escaped, my father gave us three edicts to follow in the new world we were going to.” Oh, Ah remember this.

“Ya mean the ones that Twilight told us in her story?” Celestia tilted her head and hummed a bit.

“Well… those are what Luna remembered back from that day. As I said, Luna was very young back then, likely no more than five or six years of age. Without the words she had yet to learn the meaning of, that is essentially what my father told us. One: do not manipulate the wills of the lower species, Two: do not mate with the lower species, and Three: do not explore other realms. However, what he actually said went more like this.

‘Now listen closely girls. Our race has made many mistakes. None worse than pitting ourselves against each other and altering the wills of our fellow pony to do our bidding. You must never treat your fellow sentient as a tool or a slave. You are not a god, and you do not have the right, even if you have the power.

In this land I’m going to send you to, you will be the most powerful beings I know of, and you mustn’t take advantage of this. You will find ponies similar to yourselves, but missing the things that make you as powerful as you are. If you consummate with them, you will continue your own race. Do not breed with reckless abandon, otherwise, the tragedy happening today may just happen again. No alicorn dies by time’s hooves, remember that.

Finally, you must avoid exploring other realms. I know you’ve learned much about our magic, and I plead that you keep it to yourself. The ponies and creatures you find in that world aren’t ready for the power you can bring them, just as we weren’t ready for the power we already had… exploring other realms lead to our downfall, and if you’re not careful, it could be yours as well.’

In a twist of fate, I ended up breaking all of these by her definitions, but not by his. In a bit of rebellion after a millennia of keeping to the rules, I wanted to understand why he said all these things, and after making my own mistakes, I now know why he said what he did. But even then… I still don’t regret it. Exploring another land showed me what opportunity and technology there is to achieve out there, and it also showed me what the love of a significant other feels like. Becoming a mother made me understand their feelings when they sent us here, and how painful it must’ve been to see us go. And tampering with the mind of another reduces them to nothing but an object, and just like he said, Nopony has the right to do that, not me or anypony else. I hate that brand, and it should never have been brought back out of discontinuation, but here we are, and as unfortunate as it is, it keeps our secrets better than any pony ever could.” Ah get that she’s been through a lot, but… why tell me? Is this just more of that show of trust?

“Well… Ah appreciate ya sharin’ all this with me, but… why me, and not say, yer daughter or somepony… well, closer, Ah guess?” She put her aura around me and levitated me ta her lap, then wrapped a big warm wing around me.

“I see more of myself in you than I do my own kin, and with that comes the same mistakes I’ve made in the past. I tell you these things in hopes that, when one day, you are confronted with a similar situation in life, that you can make a better choice than I did then. I love my daughter more than anything in the world, but she is her father’s daughter, and that makes her less prone to my own faults. You however, have proven time and time again that your gears turn at a similar speed to my own. The more you act and the more I see how you are, the more I wish I would’ve known and helped your parents back then, because I know that we could’ve been great friends. I can’t change the past, and neither can anypony else, so I devote myself to making a brighter future, and I think the future of Manehattan starts brightest with you.”

Maybe it was the warmth, maybe it was the dream she took over when we first met, maybe it was her fillin’ a void that Ah’ve had fer too long. But when she held me there like that… Ah really couldn’t think like it was anypony but my mom holdin’ me again, after all these years. It took me though waves of nostalgia, and Ah couldn’t help but let the tears flow. She’s done so much fer me, and Ah don’t know how Ah could ever repay her. Do Ah really deserve this kinda kindness, after everythin’ Ah’ve done? We sat there together fer Ah don’t know how long as she quietly hummed what reminded me of a familiar lullaby until Ah fell asleep. When Ah came to, she’d had my mom’s pancakes made and we ate breakfast.

“So, if the God Slayers can’t be touched with magic, how are we gonna get back ta the castle before noon? Unless ya’ve got a plane sittin’ around somewhere, we can’t really get ta Manehattan in under three hours, and it’s already nine. And then there’s the spectacle of the princess arrivin’ in Manehattan unannounced with a bunch of spears and some earth pony nopony knows…” Celestia laughed with a fork in her mouth, then covered it with a hoof.

“I think you may be forgetting something, but I’ll explain a few of the secrets behind it too. Alicorns are what would essentially be the perfect hybrid of all three pony races with an extended magical ability. However, with the earth pony traits we have, all of our physical structures work purely on naturally enhanced muscle. Ponies, by nature, rely on the help of magic to fly. Alicorns on the other hoof…” She said as she flexed her wing… and the rest of her. Ya would never think she was bulky if ya looked at her. She’s also real soft and pretty ta the point that one would suspect that magic is at play. But no, when she flexed, she might just put a body builder ta shame.

“Oh, right. Wings. Uh…” Ah swallowed. “Can… can we hoof wrestle? Ah just… Ah just have ta know.” She giggled through a breath.

“Sure, but don’t be surprised if you win. What made alicorns so fearsome was our magic, not our physical strength. This is the result of nearly two thousand years of physical exercise and training, not of any special magic.” We moved aside our plates and she put her massive pristine hoof in front of me. The average pony is about 1.2 meters tall from withers ta shoulders. Celestia was well over two meters. Save fer exceptionally big stallions like my brother, Celestia dwarfs most ponies, and her sister is only a little shorter than she is. Ah locked my comparably tiny hoof around her wrist and mentally prepared myself fer the force Ah was gonna feel.

“Alright… 3… 2… 1… Go!” Ah immediately felt the very heavy weight of her hoof on mine. If Ah had ta compare it ta anythin’, it was almost like wrestlin’ Goose, if just a bit weaker. She looked like she was really tryin’ too, and once Ah saw the faintest flicker of gold by her horn, Ah immediately put her down.

“Good goddess… Ah never knew…” Celestia laughed and picked herself off the table.

“Of course you didn’t. I doubt many ponies still alive know how much physical strength I possess. Unlike you however, I don’t have the added benefit of being able to punch clean through stone without breaking my hooves and bones in the process, let alone steel and even harder substances. It’s also probably a good thing you ended it when you did. I really do hate to lose.” She finished her last bit of pancake and moved to collect the spears.

“As much as ponies like to believe it, magic cannot solve everything, and nothing comes without cost. Were you and I, or you and Luna, goddess forbid, to ever get into a hoof fight where magic wasn’t possible, there’s a good chance you would win. We were put in that kind of situation once, and ever since then, we’ve kept up with training our bodies to make sure we are never completely reliant on magic again. In any case, it’s getting late. I wanted to be at the castle half an hour ago, but forty-eight hours is far too long to go without eating something, and we need you in tip top shape today!” Celestia said as we exited the room. Ah had ta kinda shield my eyes from the brightness that was this hallway.

By the view of the bright and vibrant circular town, or really city below this balcony, Ah guessed that we were in a very high part of Canterlot castle. Of course, she told me we were higher in the air than Cloudsdale is on average, but Ah’d never been on top of a mountain, and my body adjusted ta it without my knowin’ it happened. There was polished white floor all around with intricate violet and gold designs, gold bar railin’ with spiralin’ violet ribbons that rose from the floor ta the top of the rail, sectionin’ it off at each segment. The halls were lined with half oval shaped out croppin’s that alternated between bein’ filled with violet and yellow flowers and what looked like turned off lights.

“If you’re wondering, we are currently about five and a half miles above sea level. You might ask, ‘why isn’t it unbearably cold?’ and that is because of the mountain we rest on. Once upon a time, this place was sitting on what’s known as a hot spot for billions of years, and doesn’t move very much in the grand scheme of mantle convection currents, as it spins in place while the other plates grind and twist against it. Because of the mountain being so close to the center of the continental plate, it’s very unusual to have earthquakes here, as opposed to the outer edges of Equestria where it’s a common occurrence. This particular plate in the earth’s crust happens to be flush with magic as well, so the entire continent is typically of mild climate. The mountain itself is also a well of magic, which makes it easy to alter the atmosphere that passes through here and keep it nice year round. The sky cities work in the same way thanks to pegasus magic and their naturally high cold resistance. Anyways, go ahead and hop on my back.” We approached an outstretched dock in the air, and Celestia stretched her massive white wings.

“Uh… sure…” She was holdin’ the spears, so magic was not an option fer her right now. A hefty jump later, Ah clumsily landed on the Princess’ hips so not ta hinder her wings as best Ah could. She rolled her eyes and huffed, then pushed me up ta the small of her back right next ta her shoulders.

“I promise, you are not the first pony to ride along as I fly. Surely you remember that I have a daughter and a younger sister who was a small child once, don’t you?” she said a bit irritated.

“Uh, yes ma’am.” Good goddess, this is awkward. With me on her back, Celestia walked ta the edge of the dock and stood. The wind was kinda crazy up this high, and while she just stood there like it was nothin’, Ah was developin’ a fear of heights. She unfurled both her wings ta full extent, and only then did Ah realize just how big she was. If she almost doubled the average pony in height, her wings were twice her height in length includin’ the tip of her horn. Ponies need magic ta fly and she doesn’t!? No wonder, ya could hide a damn pillar with these thin’s!

Ah felt the muscles around her back suddenly flex and Ah wrapped myself around her fer dear life. With an impressive force, Celestia’s wings flapped and just about shot us inta the air like a rocket. In mere seconds, Canterlot was well behind us and we were over the base of the mountain. With every flap of her massive wings we gained speed until Ah could see a cone of white form around her horn.

“Get ready, we’re about to break the sound barrier!” Celestia yelled, barely audible in the violent wind around me. Ah clung a little harder ta her body, and then suddenly, a giant explosion of followed. Then… relative silence. Everythin’ was calm in this strange cone of transparent air that formed around Celestia. So calm, Ah couldn’t hear anythin’. Or breathe. Why can’t Ah breathe? Ah started feelin’ my throat compress and my chest get tighter than it already was. Celestia did a quick double take with her eyes at me and then started ta slow down. Ah passed back through the cone and suddenly Ah could take a breath again amid all the noise. My vision started ta return in the second Ah lost it, and sure enough, Manehattan was maybe a couple miles away.

“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry.” Celestia apologized, although it sounded far away. Ah coughed and hacked a little, but Ah could breathe now, and that’s what mattered.

“Uh, it’s fine. What in the hell just happened?” We started ta slow down more as Manehattan continued ta grow closer.

“I went supersonic on accident. Hoof wrestling you is about the hardest I’ve pushed my muscles in a very long time, so without putting much thought into it, I pushed my wings as well. I had forgotten how fast I can fly without magic. Going that fast without a strong sound protection spell is dangerous, not just to me but to everything around me. Had I thought a little more, I would never have done it. I sincerely hope I never passed over any populated areas, otherwise there’s going to be even more bills to pay and hearing damage complaints… I’m just thankful that you’re so resilient, otherwise I might have killed you on accident.” She gave me a toothy apologetic smile and Ah rolled my eyes.

“If Ah’d known ya were gonna do that, Ah would had ya send me ta the castle with yer magic before ya left yerself.” Ah said with a sarcastic tone. “If we’d kept goin’ like that, how quick would we have made it ta the castle? Ah know we haven’t been in the air very long.” Celestia put a hoof ta her mouth as our approach continued ta slow and Manehattan became much, much closer.

“If I had to guess, that was slow to the middle of supersonic, likely just below the center of that speed class, somewhere around mach one and a half. With magic, the best I can do is just under the hyper sonic class, or mach five. To put those in terms you would understand, when the cone started to form, we were at the edge of trans-sonic or about 900 miles per hour. Once the cone was complete, it was closer to 1000. I know that without assistance, I can reach mach two if I’m pushing my hardest, so I’d say we made it to somewhere around 1500 miles per hour. Doing the proper math requires me to have access to variables I don’t know but in any case, that puts us at Manehattan in about fifteen minutes.” She said. We were now over Manehattan, and Celestia started ta decrease in altitude. The gaps between flaps were getting longer as she came ta a still very fast but glidin’ speed. The buildin’s and homes below raced by as we approached the forest.

“So, how did ya figure that out? Ah figure ‘how fast can ya run’ isn’t a question anypony usually knows off the top of their heads.” Celestia sighed.

“Well, to be honest, it was when Twilight was kidnapped twelve years ago. I didn’t care or think about sound protection once I found her location, and I couldn’t just warp to her because I didn’t understand her powers at the time. The problems with me doing that were plenty and took a great sum of bits to repair. Not only did I go mach two above a populated area, but I did this in Manehattan. I broke nearly half the windows in the city, and ruined a great amount of glassware not hidden in cabinets.” Celestia hung her head and sighed as we came ta a landin’ in the forest clearin’ just after we passed the barrier. Speakin’ of which, Ah noticed it flicker as the spears passed through, and one of em’ became fully charged while we did.

“Uh oh.” Ah let out. Celestia followed my eyes ta the glowin’ spear hangin’ off her neck.

“Oh dear. I forgot about the barrier. Goodness, I’m glad they weren’t all charged by it. Damn it, that means we’ll have to carry them through all at the same time and very quickly so they don’t just accumulate magic. I sure hope Pinkie can keep up her speed with all of this gold filled steel on her back… Ugh, just another problem to deal with. I had to replace a whole Mǎnese porcelain shop back then, and they still harbor negative feelings every time I visit little Mǎ as myself. Do you know how hard it is to learn their cooking techniques when they refuse to let me in? And of course to make matters worse, Twilight just loves Mǎnese cooking, and she hardly ever wants anything Equestrian that I know how to make.” Celestia stamped a gold clad hoof into the ground and sighed. Ah put a hoof on her back and rubbed soft circles on her shoulders.

“Maybe you should get some rest, huh?” Celestia laughed a bit and took a deep breath.

“No, no, I still need to be awake, at least till the end of the day. Ninety-six hours without sleep is nothing new to me anyways, I can keep going for another forty-eight if I have to. Once Ramiel is dealt with, then I’ll be willing to take my rest.” Ah tilted my head.

“Wait. How do ya know it’s gonna be him and not any of the others?” Celestia shrugged.

“Call it a mare’s intuition, but based on everything we’ve seen so far, I believe this would be the next stepping stone for us to overcome in Persona’s mind. If it were me, I would want to find the Original at all costs, but only when I am desperate would I play my best cards. If Matarael does what Rainbow suspects, then I would only use that as my last option, but this Sahaquiel character makes me nervous. If hope had been lost and I simply wanted to destroy, then that’s when I would use him. I think Persona knows that Sahaquiel would be a bad pick to actually try and find the Original, so he wouldn’t send him out as anything but to clear the way to look for it himself. Think about it like chess. In order of importance, you sacrifice your pieces from lowest importance to highest importance, and only when you must to gain advantage. Persona suffers the least losses if his bishop is defeated over his knight, so now that he’s lost a pawn and a rook, that’s what he sends in next.

Of course, on the off chance he surprises me I’ll simply grab my other plan for Matarael. And if it’s Sahaquiel… then may the goddess help you. We are not prepared for that, and he may just kill most of you in the process. But I think those chances are slim to none. Anyways, we should move along. The others are waiting for you.” We headed toward the main door, and fer a minute there, Ah felt like Ah was comin' home. Yeah. And honestly? Ah think I’ve been waitin’ ta see them too.

Kaiju III - Ramiel - The luminous

Applejack

Celestia and Ah walked inta the castle door, and somehow, it felt nostalgic. Ah know that Ah’ve only been gone fer a few days, but bein’ asleep fer almost that entire duration really screws with yer sense of time.

“It sure has been a long time since Ah’ve used the front door ta get in here. Ah'm always either drivin’ in from the other side, or Goose just pops us wherever Ah want ta go,” Ah said as we entered the halls. Celestia nodded, makin’ the spears around her neck clank together.

“I suppose it has been a long time since I did the same. Teleporting across the country makes it easier on travel times, but it takes a lot out of a pony. The magic to distance ratio isn’t very gracious either for that matter, but it certainly beats trying not to fly too fast without breaking the sound barrier and… paying for damages.” Celestia sighed, and Ah chuckled as we continued on in silence. We reached the edge of the final hall before the livin’ room and Celestia suddenly stopped me.

“Uh… is there somethin’ wrong?” She shook her head.

“No, it’s nothing like that. First, I’m going to whisper the incantation to you. You won’t be able to pass this to anypony else unless you decide you want to learn the secrets behind spoken alicorn magic, which I don’t recommend, but memorize these words and lock them in your heart. For them to work and bend the world around you to your will, they must be spoken with the utmost passion.” Celestia then whispered a pair of words Ah didn’t understand inta my ears, then, as if a mirror had been removed of fog, Ah knew exactly how the words must be said.

“Aufer-” Ah started ta repeat the cleared words, but quickly she covered my mouth.

“Not here, not yet. Just speaking them risks setting off the live Slayer, and I’d prefer not to put a hole in the castle where everypony in Manehattan can see it. Now then, the second thing…” she started, but her tone began ta change as she did.

“Yeah?” She wouldn’t quite look at me, and that had me worried.

“One of the mistakes I made, a mistake I regret to this day… was… waiting too long to tell somepony how I felt, or rather… leaving words left unsaid. Before the revolt, I managed to tell Twilight’s father that I loved him three times in the years that we spent together. Once before we were secretly wed, once during that day, and once after. He was a romantic, and I was not. I would use gestures to show my affection, but he would use words. Sweet nothings, shows of care. An aspect of love that I wouldn’t learn until it was too late. On the day we were separated, I never got the chance to say it, and now… I never will. I know it might be hard, and after your dreams, I can see why, but… try to avoid following me too closely. Tell him the truth. Don’t… live with a regret you don’t have to, if the day ever comes that you don’t get the chance.” Her tone was heavy with remorse and she didn’t wait for me ta respond, she just quickly headed down the hall where the sounds of life could be heard.

If the day ever comes… that Ah don’t get the chance…

“Uh… howdy y’all,” Ah said reluctantly as Ah made my way inta the livin’ room. All the voices stopped and everypony turned ta stare at me. In less than half a second, there was one pony on me. By the time the half second had come to, there were two. Shortly after, the rest followed.

“Oh my goddess, you’re okay! What happened? Nopony told us where you were or what was going on!” Goose exclaimed, him bein’ the first ta me.

“Thank goddess you’re back! She’s been beating us to death, and we’re just not Harmony without you!” Pinkie lamented while pointin’ at the midnight blue princess.

“Hmph. I would think that you have all improved without her presence, thank you very much,” Luna scoffed. She looked tired, but also extra pissed off today. Ah can only wonder why.

“But for real though, even having you around for a few sessions of training and then not having you made a huge difference. I don’t know how you do it, but good on you for being able. Glad to see you here,” Rainbow said with a solid pat on my back through the two ponies clingin’ ta me.

“I’ll say. You guys would get so close and then just fall short right at the end. It was kinda sad to watch,” Scootaloo poked. Rainbow rolled her eyes and went back ta her seat.

“W-welcome back,” Fluttershy said quietly from her seat with a reassurin’ nod and a borderline creepy smile. Ah saw a flash of both colors in her eyes, and Ah wasn’t sure how ta feel about that.

“Hope you feel better now, darling,” Rarity whispered after she managed ta get a hug in herself.

“It’s good to see you home. I knew that you really helped pull the team together when you first showed up, but after trying to fight together without you… it certainly makes a world of difference,” Twilight said from her seat between the princesses. Ah felt that familiar sting in my eyes again and bowed my head. Home huh? It sure took too damn much ta realize that that’s what this place is. Ah sniffed the tears back and grabbed everypony near and hugged them off the ground.

“It’s good ta be back, y’all.” Ah put them back down and we headed back ta our chairs, once everypony was seated, the questions started.

“So, first on the agenda, whether or not this is really it, what happened? Where were you?” Goose asked, cuttin’ Twilight off before she could start. She scowled at him, but a nod from Celestia told me this was important.

“Oh, well… Ah had some… personal issues that were… hinderin’ my ability ta lead. But, Ah think that Ah managed ta get through the biggest ones, so Ah should be in better shape now.” Everypony but Twilight tilted their heads. She however, frowned.

“So, mom had you, right?” Ah gave a short nod.

“That… pretty much sums it up.” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Whatever. You could’ve said something, you know!” she yelled at Luna. The night princess was taken aback.

“Wha- me!? You act as if I know everything she does! One thousand, two thousand, even after three thousand years, I may never figure out how that head of hers works. Never forget, I did not even know about you until you were at my doorstep!” Luna shot back. Twilight then turned her sour gaze ta her mother, who only smiled in return.

“The matter was private and settled now, and that is all anypony needs to know. So, on to the real agenda, today I bring you these. Applejack and I made them over the course of the last few days.” Celestia laid the spears out on the table. She passed me the glowin’ one, and every pony but Rarity and Twilight got an inactive one. “Applejack, if you will,” Celestia motioned.

“Of course.” Ah stood from my chair and took the spear in two hooves. “Based on what we know, the princess has decided that Ramiel will likely be out next fight. That said, we needed a lot more protection and a better way ta fight against somethin’ like him. These are called…” Fer whatever reason, the name slipped my mind. Ah decided ta read the inscription on the shaft until Ah found it, then read that aloud. “Deus Interfectorem.” But then Ah stopped when Ah got a weird look. Not just from the table, but the princesses too. Luna tilted her head, but Celestia’s eyes went wide. A bright flash of gold blinded everypony and Ah dropped the spear. When Ah looked up, Celestia and Ah were in the trainin’ room.

“Applejack, what are the spears called?” she asked frantically.

“Deus Interfectorem.” That’s what she called it, isn’t it?

“Applejack, what are you?”

“Ego in terra equus.” Wait a minute, now that doesn’t sound right.

“Son of a bitch.” A bright blue flash. Followed by the sound of cold metal stampin’ on crystal told me somethin’ was very wrong now.

“What did you do!?” Luna yelled.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out! Don’t you dare think I did this on purpose.” Celestia took a breath and ran a hoof through her mane. “It was supposed to be two words for an incantation, not an entire dead language!” Luna's ears perked up.

“An incantation!? What are those things you made? Why did she need to know that? Sister, what did you do?” Luna's tone went dark, and Celestia looked away.

“Okay, you’ll have to bear with me for a moment, please. First, we need to get her tongue sorted out. Applejack, you are an earth pony. Repeat after me. I am an earth pony.”

“Ego in terra-” Ah started, but stopped because, while Ah knew that’s what Ah was sayin’, it didn’t sound the same.

“I.” Celestia began.

“E… Ah.” Ah started, then corrected.

“Am.” She continued.

“Su… er… am.” It finally started ta click as ta what Ah was hearin’, and it wasn’t what Ah normally spoke.

“An earth pony.” She finished.

“In ter- uh… An. Earth. Pony.” What the hell did she do ta me?

“Now all together. I am an earth pony.”

“Ah… am an earth pony.” Suddenly, it felt like every word Ah knew now had another equivalent that… Ah’m not sure if Ah know or not?

“Shit. How did this happen? Do I not understand that spell? Or have I forgotten just what exactly it does? I’ll have to run some tests with you later…” Celestia muttered to herself. Luna got up in her sister's face.

“Hello!? Do you even realize what you have just done!? What if she starts reading artifacts aloud? How many seals could she break on accident before she gets a hold of this!? You should know damn well just how many things we have had to trap in the earth over the centuries!” Celestia took a deep breath, then turned to her sister, putting both fore hooves on her shoulders.

“I know. I am sorry. I didn’t think this would happen, but here we are. Please stop yelling at me.” Luna let out an exasperated breath and sighed herself.

“Very well. But this is on your head, and I will not be cleaning up after her.” She scowled at Celestia, then me. Her face went from angry, to apathetic, then inquisitive as she shoved Celestia off and circled me. “Now, I do have to wonder. Applejack, would you please read aloud what is written on my yoke?” She asked, well more polite than she’s probably ever spoken ta me.

“Uh, sure.” Ah studied the black plate with her moon emblazoned on it, and just below it did Ah notice the runes when the light hit it just right. Ah looked at the odd runes fer a moment, and then, just like earlier, they didn’t look like runes anymore, but plain equestrian like everythin’ else. “Oro ut luna et emittam furorem virtutis eius.” Ah said like it was any other sentence. The oily black armor all over her began ta shine with a pale blue light. In a flash, Luna had gone from somethin’ of a princess ta a nightmarish creature. She was covered in that oily black in plates of armor and spikes. Her mane had turned from the ethereal blue ta a shadowy black smoke riddled with spots of white, and her face was now hidden by a helm that could’ve passed fer an executioners. She started ta laugh deep from her belly, and more than anythin’ it was off puttin’.

“Desino!” Suddenly, the armor vanished in the black fog that used ta be her mane. Celestia rolled her eyes and Luna continued ta laugh.

“Ah... uh... what was that?” Luna stopped laughin’ ta look at me, then her face broke and she went back ta laughin’.

“I... I do not even know why... why I was so upset! This... this is hilarious! Ha-have fun digging your way... your way out of this one!” Luna said as she teleported away. Celestia sighed and then wrapped a hoof around my neck as she headed for the staircase.

“In the event you haven’t realized this, I have accidentally imparted to you the language of my ancestors. Between you, my sister, and myself, we are the only ones on the planet that know this language. If you see anything, and I mean anything at all, written in Equus, please do not read it out loud. I had only intended to give you access to the two words you needed, but apparently, that’s not how that spell works, and because the last time I used it was, oh, say, over two thousand and fifty years ago, I’ve clearly forgotten what all it does. If the time comes, and you need to use the spear, you can. However, please refrain from even saying the incantation in Equestrian in the event it comes out in Equus and kills somepony.” Ah nodded and walked with her. She sounded very tired now, so Ah guess this was a bigger fuck up than Ah know.

“So uh... Ah get that this was an accident and all, but what was up with Luna? Her laugh is... kinda creepy.” Celestia huffed and rolled her eyes.

“Right. There was once a time where I needed to... restrain her because of a conflict brewing between us. So, the armor she had you activate, cannot be activated by her own voice. Much like my own set, it enhances our powers even further and is what allowed us to ‘seal away’ so many ‘things’ over the centuries. It hasn’t been necessary for us to don it in over a millenia at this point, and I never removed the seal. You didn’t break the seal, but you also have the power to activate her armor now. I suppose she simply found it funny.” Celestia had a hint of anger in her voice, and that in and of itself was kinda scary.

“Did ya... not trust her or somethin’?” Celestia tilted her head and flattened her ears against her head in annoyance.

“Have you ever had a fight with your brother or sister before?” Ah nodded. “Of course you have. When you were little, you probably threw tantrums and tried to hit each other. Now take that ‘tantrum’ and scale up the power from ‘child’ to ‘demi-goddess’ and you have Luna about fifteen hundred years ago. ‘I want to be in charge for once. Why are you always the one in command? Why can’t I be the leader? Am I not just as capable as you are? Why don’t you ever listen to me?’ etcetera, etcetera. The complaints became more vicious over time, and just before it came to blows, I sealed her armor away, and gave her the chance to lead.

To say the least, it didn’t go well. We nearly lost a section of the country that you know today in a battle over land, and she had many a soldier slain in the name of ‘her tactics’ as a vain attempt to prove she was a better general. Of course, she learned after that war that there was more to leading than defeating your enemy and decided to leave the armor sealed away to try and become a better pony. As you can see, she’s... still working on that. I will say that she did a much better job of it during my pregnancy, even if it was still too much for her. I remember one of the guards telling me that there was almost a coup while I was away, yet nopony ended up slaughtered this time. It was astonishing, really. I always give her a chance every couple hundred years, and this was the first time nopony in the service was killed during her few month reign.” Celestia's went from apathy ta amazement, and ah wasn't sure how ta feel about that.

“Huh. Ah think Ah remember her tellin’ me about that when we first met. Uh, the last one, obviously. Is she really that bad? Ah mean, Ah get that she’s kind of a dick, but... is that worth a coup?” Celestia shook her head.

“You don’t know the half of it. She once raised taxes on all classes in an effort to help build more government sanctioned roads and schools without telling the ponies that they would all experience a five percent increase on wage deductions. Can you guess just who had to put out that fire?” Ah felt my face drop.

“Oh. Oh, that probably didn’t go well at all.” Geez. Ah can’t even imagine how pissed off Ah would be if the government started takin’ five percent more of my income every paycheck outta the blue.

“Mmhmm. I returned from vacation to, ‘Oh thank the goddess you have returned! They do not like what I did, and now they are trying to kill me, please help.’ Her heart was in the right place, but she just doesn’t understand the complex balance of pleasing as many as possible without pissing off the entire population. Eventually, I managed to sell the tax increase, but it took a lot of work and time to repair the relationship between us and the ponies.” Celestia stopped on her step and started to giggle.

“I h-have to say... Twilight has been much easier to raise so far by comparison,” she laughed. “Sixteen trying to raise a five year old versus a few thousand trying to raise my own baby is a much different experience.” She shook the laugh away and we started movin’ again. We made it back ta the table, and Luna could barely keep a straight face while the rest were still confused.

“She’s been like this ever since she came back. It’s creepy, and I don’t know how to make her stop. What’s going on?” Twilight asked. Celestia rolled her eyes and motioned for me to take a seat.

“Something unexpected happened, so we’re just going to deal. There’s only two hours left until whatever is coming arrives, so explanations can wait. Anyways, the spears. These are called God Slayers, and they absorb magic. Twilight, Rarity, do not touch them, and do not use magic if you do. You might survive, but if Rarity were to try and use magic on one or while touching one, she would die without question. When the spear gains a green glow like the one Applejack has, that means it is primed to use it’s second function. When tossed while charged, the spear will release all of its stored magic at whatever it hits, much like a grenade. If the inscription is read while charged, then the spear will fire a blast of all the concentrated magic it has absorbed.” Celestia formed a bowl shape on the wall with her magic and then motioned fer me ta pick up the charged spear. “Applejack, if you will.” Ah picked up the spear and aimed the tip at the golden bowl on the wall.

“Auferte Deos!” Ah called on the spear, and just as it did in Canterlot, the bright green laser fired. The intense heat threatened ta sear the fur off my wrists just before the blast ended, and the bright light forced me ta look away. When Ah felt the massive recoil stop, Ah checked the spot Ah fired at, only ta see Celestia’s bowl cracked ta pieces, just barely bein’ held together. She let go of the shattered magic bowl and then took a few short quick breaths before continuin’.

“As you can see, it is very destructive, and this is why only Applejack knows the firing incantation. I doubt anypony other than Goose could handle the recoil anyways, so better to not risk you killing yourselves with it. Now then, we’re going to go down to the training room to run three simulations over the next hour and a half before you need to head out.” Celestia was about ta turn when Pinkie raised her hoof. “Yes?”

“Uh, what did Applejack even say? She started speaking gibberish, and then you two just freaked out and warped away.” Celestia frowned.

“Ever observant, always a good trait. Questions are for later, now is the time for preparation! Let us be off, the clock is ticking!” Then marched down the staircase. Ah got up and everypony else looked ta Luna fer answers.

“What? Do not cast your gaze at me. She said questions are for later. Take up your queries after you return alive from your mission.” Reluctantly, they all got up and followed me down ta the trainin’ room, where Celestia was waitin’ with the sharin’ spell.

“Let us begin.”

“You guys remember how we found out that I can’t heal you if you lose a body part entirely? Well, keep that in mind because if it goes like some of those simulations did, then we’re either all on disability for the rest of our lives, or half the group is dead,” Scootaloo said as the first pony ta get up. The simulations were hard. Celestia didn’t pull any punches with her creation this time, and the thin’ we fought was supposed ta be a Ramiel clone. Not a bit of this bodes well fer the near future.

“Unfortunately, we’re out of time, but had we more, none of these attempts would receive passing grades. I suppose you’ll just have to deal. Survive, above all else. It’s eleven thirty. Get dressed and head out.Twilight, you’ll need to create a small hole in the barrier as you leave. If you didn’t notice when I arrived, the spears will attempt to charge themselves on it, and I don’t know what that will do to the castle or you. We’ll have Pinkie carry them as quickly as possible just to make sure.” Pinkie rolled on her stomach and complained at the princess,

“Are you kidding me? I can’t hardly hold one of those things, let alone five!”

“Can’t Goose do it? I mean, his teleporter power is the result of a mirror, so shouldn’t that be unaffected?” Rainbow asked. Goose and Celestia shook their heads.

“Nah. She had me try it during the simulation. Something about the magic in the spear prevents me from teleporting while I’m holding it. It doesn’t hurt me, but it doesn’t let me move as well as I could either. The best solution I found was to actively toss the spear to my next location, then warp while it’s in the air.” Pinkie groaned and fell back ta the floor, and then the argument was settled. After we made it back ta the livin’ room, everypony separated ta get their costumes on. Once we all regrouped, fifteen minutes had passed and it was almost time.

“Well, time’s about up. Ah’m sorry Ah had ta take care of my personal problems over the last two days, but what’s passed is behind us. Whatever happens next, Ah want everypony here ta make me a promise. ‘Ah’ll see ya tomorrow.’ Ya got me?” Ah put my hoof out in the center of our colorful group and waited fer everypony ta respond in kind. Hooves fell in one by one, until even Princess Luna had fallen in.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” we said in unison. The seven of us who were off ta fight trekked down the crystal halls, leavin’ Scootaloo and the princesses behind. We approached the nearest and highest buildin’ a few blocks away from the north side of the park, and the time turned ta eleven fifty-eight.

“We’re in position,” Ah signaled.

“Good. I’m sure he’ll find you in the next couple seconds. No matter what comes your way, survive, all of you,” Celestia replied. In agonizin’ silence, we waited fer two minutes ta pass. The clock struck twelve and a bell sounded through Manehattan.

One... Ah could hear everypony hold their breaths.

Two... Armor clinked and muscles tightened.

Three... Hooves shuffled and ponies trembled.

Four... Fear, excitement, and anticipation filled the air.

Five... One pony swallows, a drop of sweat rolls down my forehead.

Six... Feathers rustle, a liquid starts to flow in the air.

Seven... Metal clinks to metal, shields are drawn.

Eight... Ponies put distance between each other.

Nine... He moves closer to me, Ah can feel his warmth against mine.

Ten... The clock echoes throughout the empty city.

Eleven... Silence, nopony moves.

Twelve... Lightnin’ Strikes! An orange bolt shoots up from the ground in blindin’ brilliance from not far away. An odd sound of rushin’ water, electricity in the air, and gale winds form around the spot as the glow dissipates. A liquid pillar of somethin’ clear with a cyan tinge ta it rises from the spot lightnin struck. It begins ta swirl around a red glowin’ piece in the center until the shape became a sphere, then a square, and finally a diamond sits loftily in the sky. An orb of what looks like clear liquid ebbs and flows around it in a radius, yet bends and moves through solid objects as if it’s not really there. All screens near by flash on, and there, the mask appears.

“Ah, there you all are. I looked in many places I’d expected you to show up, but in a random part of the city north of central park? There’s nothing significant about this area, so I can only wonder what makes you gather here. And what... interesting weaponry you have here. Shields and spears? My, have we devolved so far that you must rely on something so base to defeat my Kaiju? Surely you realize that if something like a bullet does so little to my kaiju, that your spears won’t likely do so as much as scratch the surface? But alas, that is neither here nor there. The clock strikes noon and your next challenge awaits, Harmony and the traitor! I’m done simply sending my Kaiju to search for my missing object! Those that follow Israfel will be out to destroy as much as possible and kill those who stand in my way! Heroes and the traitor, the time to rise above is here yet again! Go beyond and show me what a true hero looks like! Begin, Ramiel!” As soon as Persona finished his speech and the screens went dark, Ramiel immediately turned toward us and switched ta his firin’ form.

“Blur, Crow, Target, phalanx formation! BK, with me!” Light began ta build at the center of the large crystalline flower that was Ramiel as time was clearly not on our side here. A large clear tower shield on everypony’s non-dominant foreleg raised and spears pokin’ out the gaps formed a shield ta cover Diamond and Centurio as the Black Knight and Ah dashed ta opposite sides of Ramiel. His body looked ta start six blocks away, and the strange heat blur like motion started at five.

“BK, aim just under the bottom petal about ten meters out from the body at the heat blur! If that’s where the shield is, Ah’ll move in and javelin his mirror!” Ah called out. He stopped in place right where Ah expected him ta toss the spear, then he looked at me with his head tilted.

“Heat blur? What in the world are you talking about?” he asked.

“What do ya mean, ‘what am Ah talkin’ about?’ it’s right in front of yer face, throw the damn spear!” Can he not see it?

“Shit, we don’t have time! Get out of the way!” BK hopped the opposite direction, and just as he did, Ah noticed the light was much brighter than it was a few seconds ago. Shit! Ah kicked the ground and launched myself away. The heat blur moved away from the center of the crystalline liquid in the shape of a cone. A sharp sound shot through the air before Ah even managed ta land. A beam of blindin’ cyan light covered in small branches of lightnin’ that shot every which way fired straight at our formation. The force of the wind it pushed outta the way nearly knocked me off balance as Ah landed, and Ah couldn’t bear ta look at the light very long at all. A loud sound not unlike the sizzlin’ of grease in a pan filled the air. As the laser dissipated, my comrades were still in formation, but the edges of their shields were frayed and fried like an egg poured in a hot pan, and a single spear was fully charged from the blast. The stone, brick and mortar that felt just the edges of the beam had all become various shades of black and glowin’ orange and white hot the closer ta the blast it was. Metal around the epicenter had simply melted from the heat and cords and cables along phone lines had caught fire, sparkin’ and shootin’ electricity in wild bright blue branches.

“Fuck! It burned my coat under my suit!” The Crow yelled.

“M-my spear is charged! W-what do I do now?” Target worried.

“Marevelous, that blast fried the edges of their shields! This kind of energy isn’t something these shields were designed to handle, if we run out of spears, this is all over! The shields can take another hit, but after that they’re done, and we had three spears absorbing magic from that blast, we can’t last like this!” Twilight reported.

“Ah get it, this isn’t great, we knew somethin’ like this would happen, just be thankful ya have the spears at all! Everypony, Ah need ya ta tell me what ya see when ya look at this thin’!”

“I see a big baby blue diamond in the sky at the moment. Am I supposed to see more than that?” Blur responded.

“Same here!” replied everypony else. Shit. Why can Ah see this? What am Ah lookin’ at?

“Crow, what did that field feel like when ya hit it?” Ah asked. The monster slowly started ta float closer ta the phalanx, then what looked like the ‘face’ of the creature turned toward me, aimin’ itself at the empire buildin’.

“I don’t know, like wet ice I guess? It was slippery, but hard, as if it were made of some kind of really strong rock. It felt like it was moving. Why? What are you seeing that we aren’t?” She asked.

“Ah’m not sure, but it don’t seem ta care about y’all right now. Prepare ta intercept another beam and Fluttershy, trade spears with me!” As the phalanx came apart and my team started ta move, the monster switched forms. “Shit, move quicker y’all! BK, after Ah get the charged spear, throw yours at the closest side ta me, and away from any tall structures!” The light started ta build at the flower’s center and my team was nowhere near close enough ta protect anythin’ from bein’ toppled by a blast from this thin’. Goddess, if the empire buildin’ falls, then this place is gonna be in more ruin than it was twelve years ago!

“Never mind, BK get ta me and gimme yer spear! Diamond, target us when Ah call fer it!” The light was gettin’ brighter and nopony was close enough ta stop it yet. Ah charged a trump card with the spear in hoof and shot it at the tall target Ramiel was aimed at. The spear stabbed straight inta the wall of the empire buildin’ with the head half stuck in it. The Black Knight’s spear reached me just as my other hoof was ready ta loose another trump card. Two spears in position, BK and Ah with our shields up, and the monster’s light just about bright enough ta fire.

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

The world froze and the monster’s light remained stopped in place. BK warped us ta the spears. He punched a hole in the wall of the empire buildin’ with one hoof, and held his shield up with the other. Ah ripped the spears out of the wall and held them tight between our shields.

“Release!” Color returned ta the world around us, and quickly the bright light became too much ta handle and Ah couldn’t watch anymore. The sharp sound shot through the air, and then Ah felt an immense pressure comin’ from my shield. Everythin’ around us began ta heat up rapidly, and Ah felt the hairs just under my suit start ta singe. As soon as it felt like Ah couldn’t take anymore, the heat started ta subside, and the light has faded ta the point where Ah could see. Both spears were charged, and our shields were even more damaged than theirs were.

“Holy hell, I thought I was gonna fry. What do we do now? This thing moves and fires too fast for us to strike back.” BK said. Ah shook my head.

“Now we try somethin’ else. Everypony, follow that thin’s aim. Ah’m gonna use the spears. Let’s see how it likes a taste of its own firepower! Hold this!” Ah threw the still warm shield on my back and tossed the other active spear ta Goose. Ah hopped away from the empire buildin’ and shot down ta the nearest roof, keepin’ clear sky behind the line of fire Ah’d figured out. The monster began ta move, but Ah was about ta stop it in its tracks. Ah stamped one hoof inta the roof, rememberin’ just how far back the beam pushed me when Ah fired it earlier. Alright ya son of a bitch, let’s see how [i/]you like it!

“Auferte Deos!” The spear made a similar sound ta Ramiel and then let loose a beam about half the size and just as bright as the one he fires. The blindin’ green light made contact with the heat blur and started ta push through it, changin’ the diamond shape inta somethin’ that morphed with the heat blur. The laser continued ta push through until finally it reached the main body. The bright light shot through the main body off center, but then somethin’ happened. The whole creature started ta spin rapidly, and from the looks of it, pulled the beam with it as it spun in place. The cyan vortex turned lime green until the laser finished, then reverted back ta its original color as branches of green lightnin’ shot every which away inta its heat blur. The vortex reshaped itself inta a diamond, then aimed its face right at me. It...it didn’t work? The diamond started to shift its shape inta the flower and suddenly a light started ta grow at its center, the heat blur shiftin’ away as it did.

“What are you doing!? Get out of the way!” Fell on deaf ears. No... It’s not that it didn’t work, Ah missed my target... The light came close ta reachin’ its peak and the Black Knight had put his hooves on me.

“Stop we need this! Diamond, Harmony!

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!” Last freeze. The strain of havin’ all seven of us in here is well more than she can handle fer just a couple of seconds. If my next plan doesn’t work, then we’re fucked six ways ta Sunday.

“Phalanx formation, center around me! Active spears ta me, shields up and get ready ta feel the heat!” Everypony very quickly gathered around as the timer ticked away, all of them knowin’ that this was our last time stop. Ah traded spears with Target, took BK’s spear and passed him my shield. The monster’s light was sittin’ just before full charge, and Ah had a charged spear in each hoof about ta do somethin’ crazy.

“Release!” The frozen world started ta dissipate, givin’ color back ta the black and white cityscape in front of me, the blue sky distortin’ around the cyan flower petals that floated in place, and soon the light started ta get brighter. One more time, mother fucker!

“Auferte Deos!” The first thin’ Ah felt was the burnin’. The pure heat bein’ let off from the spears in my hooves hurt, and it hurt a lot. The fire felt worse than anythin’ trump card has done ta me, but the spears only just fired, and if Ah let go, we were gonna die. The green beams shot out first, then the cyan beam followed immediately after, both aimed at opposite spots. Closer ta Ramiel then us, the beams collided. The next thin’ Ah felt was the immense pushback from Ramiel’s beam. It was like tryin’ ta hold a semi in each hoof, the strain was so immense that it gave Tump Card a run fer its money. The spot where the beams met started ta grow and form a ball of mixed color light and the strain became more intense. The sky was recolored as the light became so bright that the sun was hidden in the brilliance of the clash. Sound boomed through the air as Ah felt the strain suddenly stop, then a wave of force blasted through our little formation, leavin’ nopony standin’ and the lot of us tossed ta the back of the roof we occupied.

When the sky returned ta normal and Ah regained my senses, two thin’s immediately came ta mind: the first was that my hooves felt like they were still burnin’, and they hurt, and they hurt a lot. The second was the sky. It was partially cloudy when the fight started. At the moment though, there wasn’t a cloud anywhere near, and all around the blast zone were rings of cloud, like they’d been blown away.

The pain finally became too much, and Ah had ta bring my attention ta my hooves. Ah stared on in horror as my suit had melted off up ta my elbows, and all of the orange coat that would normally be there was either blackened down ta the skin, or straight up seared off. Thankfully, it seemed like the bracers had protected me once again, and my wrists weren’t completely destroyed, but still black underneath ‘em. The throbbin’ burn coated anythin’ with a nerve that wasn’t covered, and my hooves themselves had been turned black from the backlash of the heat.

“Holy shit, what did you do to yourself!?” Ah heard from my left as the Black Knight popped in place. He took hold of my right hoof, and Ah was thankful ta feel the cold metal on it, even if the slightest pressure was enough ta send my ears throbbin from the pain.

“Too much. Where is Ramiel? Is it dead? He’s not in the sky anymore.” The heat blur was missin’ from all around, and the cyan creature was nowhere ta be seen. If it was destroyed in the blast, then Ah don’t have a problem with it. But until Ah see shards of a broken mirror, then Ah’m not gonna be satisfied.

“I don’t know, but we should probably search for it. You need to get back to Scootaloo to have your hooves fixed again. Good goddess, at least they’re still attached. Can you feel anything? The skin is so badly burned here that it’s starting to bubble up in blisters...” Ah shook my head.

“That’s not important right now. If that thin’ isn’t dead then we still have work ta do.” Ah gingerly rose ta standin’, makin’ sure ta keep any and all pressure off my forehooves. “Somepony get up and scout around ta see if ya find Ramiel or mirror shards. Persona hasn’t shown up yet, so Ah’ve got a bad feelin’ about this.” Target and the Crow had already gotten back up, so they both looked ta me and nodded, flyin’ away in either direction. Centurio was tendin’ ta Diamond, who looked like she was gonna pass out any second now, and Blur hadn’t gotten up yet.

Thank the goddess we still have the shields and none of the spears are active anymore, but if that thin’ is still around, Ah can’t just leave ta get treated fer this. If worst comes ta worst, then the only way we’re gonna win a beam struggle with this thin’ is through havin’ more fire power, and Ah can’t do that again. If the Slayer beam can’t punch all the way through this monster on its own, and it can keep two at bay with a blast itself... then that means we have ta find a way ta get three charged without losin’ anypony or a big buildin’, and ta add ta all this, we’re out of time ta stop.

“I’m coming up blank over here,” The Crow said from far away.

“M-me too,” Target added. Damn it. Persona hasn’t shown up yet, and that thin’ is nowhere ta be found... what happened?

“Well, shit. Keep yer eyes peeled, all of ya, and stay within a few seconds of the group. We don’t know if it has specific motives yet, or what kind of intelligence it has, and if it shows up again, we need ta be ready ta intercept fire.” The pegasus started ta return closer, and Centurio helped Diamond limp ta the center of our formation.

“Do ya think ya can tough it out if we need another second, or are ya done?” Ah asked her. Her horn flickered with a spark of pale gray and she slowly started ta nod, never takin’ her hoof off her temple all the while.

“I... in the event of an emergency, I could likely freeze time for five seconds with one pony at the most. I certainly couldn’t do everypony again but... what about you? Your hooves look awful, are you sure you can do anything like this?” she asked. No.

“Ah’ll use my teeth if Ah have ta, we’re not done yet, and there’s no way in hell Ah’m havin’ Scootaloo come out if this thin’ is still around.” Hell, who knows if Ah could actually fire one of those thin’s with a spear in my mouth. The incantation has ta be spoken aloud, Ah can’t talk if I’m clutchin’ a piece of metal with my teeth. The best Ah can do is help defend right now. We don’ t really even have any way ta attack this thin’ without the spears either, so Ah don’t know what we’re gonna do next.

Just then, a very loud sound shot through the air that sounded like the flash of a camera chargin’. Ah turned my head, and a very small piece of reflective material was floatin’ in the sky behind us. A bright light about as big as a pin prick started ta form at its center, and then finally, Ah understood what was goin’ on. The cloud rings weren’t formed because of the blast, Ramiel has expanded that far in the sky! The light got brighter and brighter, and Ah finally saw the heat blur around a giant disk that blended in with the sky itself.

“Form up now!” Ah shouted at the top of my lungs. As quick as Ah could Ah grabbed a spear with my teeth and held it out straight in front of me. The rest of my team followed up with spears and shields as the light kept gettin’ brighter and brighter, even brighter than it ever had before. We managed ta get inta formation, and then it fired. The beam itself rivaled the sun fer brightness and all Ah could do was shut my eyes tight and hope we didn’t die. Ah wasn’t blockin’ it myself, but Ah could feel everypony else struggle ta hold the formation against the force of the blast. The spear in my mouth started ta heat up and Ah could tell it was already fully charged just by the temperature, but even then, it kept gettin’ hotter. My tongue started ta burn, then finally the force dropped out and Ah spit out the spear.

“Damn it!” Ah shouted as Ah tried ta cool off my tongue as quickly as possible. When Ah finally did, Ah got the chance ta look around, and Ah was just stunned. All the shields were fried beyond repair, and every last one of our spears were charged. But nothin’ was worse than seein’ the body of Ramiel reform inta an even spikier and wider series of petals around the mirror and start ta spin. Shit! If we don’t shoot back, it’s gonna kill us!

“BK, plant the spears in the buildin’, and everypony who isn’t a unicorn line up by a spear! If we don’t fire before this thin’ does, we ain’t got a shot at killin’ it!” Centurio and Diamond gathered around me in the center of our spear line, and everypony else prepared ta try and hold a spear after BK finished plantin’ them in the roof. Rings of light started ta form around the spark in the center of the spinnin’ cyan mass in the sky. The last one wasn’t even the most powerful beam this thin’ can make! Shit! As soon as everypony was in position, Ah stepped on my spear and called ta fire.

“Auferte Deos!” All five spears aimed straight at Ramiel lit up with green lights, connectin’ at a certain point and convergin’ inta an even larger blast. Just before they connected with the mirror, Ramiel fired its own beam of cyan light, this one bigger than any before it. The beams were clearly matched enough fer each other because Ramiel was only pushed back so far before the beams started to form that mixed color ball of light with lightnin’ branchin’ off in every direction. The bolts struck the sky and ground at random, makin’ thunder so loud and near that it could bust an eardrum if ya weren’t careful. The ball exploded and blinded everypony once again. The force was further away, but even greater this time, and everypony was plastered against the rooftop.

When next Ah opened my eyes, everypony was layin’ on the ground, save fer Centurio, who had what looked like a broken barrier still up. My ears were ringin’ and it looked like the world was spinnin’ all around. What’s goin’ on? Ah checked on the spears next, and Ah wasn’t quite sure how ta process what Ah saw. Most of em were bent and twisted in one way or another, and the ones Ah’d fired twice had melted ta some point where the spear head was only half recognizable as that. A star started ta twinkle above my head and the sky was really spinnin’ now.

Oh no. That’s not the sky. Rings of light started ta form again, this time in different colors. There was a large one in red that just about encompassed the city. Then an orange one formed next, smaller than the red, but brighter. Then yellow, then green, then blue, then violet, and finally somethin’ that looked like pure white, but had a pinkish tinge ta it. Everythin’ hurt, and my body didn’t feel like it was gonna move any time soon. Am Ah about ta die?

“Don’t… live with a regret you don’t have to, if the day ever comes that you don’t get the chance.”

Celestia’s words echoed through my mind. If... if this is the end, then... Ah looked ta my side, and as always, there he was. His armor was all beat up, his helmet’s visor had been cracked open, but it looked like he was still breathin’. With everythin’ Ah could muster, Ah crawled a little closer ta him. Ah managed ta look him in the eyes before the light got too bright.

“Ah love you,” Ah whispered. His eyes went wide, and then, the light engulfed the world.

Kaiju III - Ramiel - Between Night and Day (part 1)

Twilight Sparkle

“Has anypony seen Applejack or Rarity? It’s already nine thirty, we were supposed to start half an hour ago.” I asked aloud to my team. And while we’re at it, where is Mother? She should’ve been here already as well… it’s not like her to show up late… Pinkie was lounging in her usual spot at the dinner table with another of Fluttershy’s backwards comics, this time it seems as if she finished the last series and moved on to something else. I swear, it’s all she does these days. Goose was doing… something. I keep seeing him with documents that look in some form or fashion official, and other times I see him just staring at a blank piece of paper with a pen in his hoof. I never know what’s going through his mind. Rainbow and Scootaloo were playing some game that Goose brought with him against Fluttershy, and based on the screaming and curse words flying around, I get the feeling neither of them are beating her.

“I’m pretty sure you’d be the first to know if they showed up Twi.” Pinkie commented from her couch. Another curse echoed through the bedroom hall and I simply rolled my eyes.

“Sure, whatever, it’s not as if our very lives are being threatened, what’s the rush?” I said. Goose sighed.

“Look, everypony is worried, we’re just dealing with it in different ways. I’ve been getting work done for my business, Pinkie reads, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Scootaloo play games together, and you make sarcastic remarks to everypony and pace in circles. Some of us are just more productive than others.” He commented. I scowled at him.

“Really? More productive?” I asked. He nodded.

“Really, more productive. What’s up with you, anyways? Bad mood because Mommy’s late?” he poked.

“No! I don’t care if and when she show up, she can do whatever she wants! I just want to be prepared so we don’t get killed on Sunday!” I shouted.

“And that’ll be ten bits, sir.” Pinkie said. From her spot, flipping another page.

“Ah, damn it. And here I thought she’d grown a little.” Goose said as he tossed a silver bit to her. She caught it and set it on the table in an instant, nodding reassuringly to herself.

“Listen here newbie, not everypony can do a 180 after a life changing event. And if anypony is really incapable of that, it’s princess princess over there. I’ve spent a half year with her, I’d think I’m inclined to know.” She said with an air of superiority.

“Geez, what a depressing view on character. Oh well. I had faith in you. Apparently too much though.” Goose said to her, then me.

“What the actual fuck. Did you plan this!? You made a bet on whether or not I would react like that?” I yelled. They both shrugged.

“What are you even talking about? We do this all the time. I mean, well, everypony does really. Neither of us care enough to hide it from you is all.” Pinkie said after sitting up. She put her book down and continued. “You’re ultra predictable, so we take bets on whether or not your mommy complex is going to get in the way of your judgment, sometimes we bring it up just to see you do it. I doubt I would be alone if I said that your ‘issue’ is holding you back. Hell, even princess Luna has talked to me about it before. Have you ever even considered that just maybe it isn’t just your inexperience that keeps you from being useful on the battlefield? You get upset, you yell at everypony else, and on top of that you won’t even try half the time. ‘Can’t do anything,’ more like ‘Won’t do anything.’” Pinkie spat.

“Geez, harsh.” Goose said. She rolled her eyes.

“This has been a long time coming. Were it not for Applejack, I doubt she ever would’ve set hoof outside here for anything but grocery runs.” She said. How can she treat me like this!? Why am I letting her treat me like this?

“Hey, that’s not-” I started, then she darted up to my face.

“It’s not what? It’s not true? Is that what you were about to say?” she asked. I stomped my hoof.

“You don’t get to talk to me like that! At least I don’t break down and cry during a fight!” I shot back. As opposed to the reaction I thought I would get, she just smiled. Am I talking to Fluttershy, what is this?

“You’re right. You don’t. How could you? You’ve never had a pony die in your hooves, or watched somepony get splattered across the ground, or watched somepony get shot in the forehead so close that their blood splashes on your face. At least I made an attempt to save somepony. At least I never gave up making attempts after all that. What did you do? You just hired ponies you thought could do the job you never could because you weren’t willing to keep trying!” She shot back.

“I stopped because I was going to get myself killed if I kept going! It’s not as if I never wanted to try again, I just-”

“I just found another way to be useful by letting them direct themselves and proclaiming myself a leader. That’s what you did. Or at least tried to. You don’t give directions like Applejack does, hell you don’t even know how to put into practice half the things you’ve read to ‘teach yourself’ how to lead. You’re a glorified communications channel at best, and dead weight at worst. Or did you really think you were of some use during the Sachiel fight when you got your wing busted and had to be saved? You could’ve teleported, you could’ve pulled a shield up, you could’ve even destroyed the rock before it hit you, I know you can react faster than you did, but no, you froze under pressure and had to rely on somepony else. I can even predict what you were thinking right then; Mommy, save me! That’s what it was, wasn’t it?” She said. I gritted my teeth.

“Right. Thanks but no thanks. I’ll stop taking bets on your sub-par personality when it isn’t sub-par anymore.” Pinkie said. Stop it. She can’t see you do that, otherwise she wins. Stop it! Stop it! I couldn’t stop it. The tears started to flow and I turned toward the kitchen hallway and ran. Goose warped next to Pinkie and slapped her across the back of the head.

“Ow! What was that for!?” She yelped.

“Oh, you know why. That was totally uncalled for.” He said. She rubbed the spot on her head, then went back to her book.

“Eh, that remains to be seen. If it helps her pull her shit together, then maybe it was what she needed. I finished that series Fluttershy had me read and man, I just wanted to punch the main character in the face so often. But the more I thought about it, the more it made me think Twilight and I. Until Fluttershy put me in my place a while back, I doubt I ever would’ve pulled my shit together, so maybe she needed the same treatment. It also happens to help that I really get that feeling of powerlessness. It’s the giving up part that pisses me off.” She stated.

“Does that series turn ponies into angry Fluttershy? Because if so, we should probably hide it.” Goose said with a laugh.

“Maybe. But I think I understand her more now too. If this is the kind of stuff she spent her childhood reading, then there’s no doubt she is who she is because of it. I know I didn’t like that main character because… I was him.”

What are you even doing right now? Sitting here, alone in the dark crying because she pointed out things you’ve been afraid to admit? What does that do but make you look even more pathetic? I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! Why are you so useless!? You have all this information, but what good does it do you if you can’t use any of it!?

“Damn it!” I yelled and stomped in the dark. A bright violet light built up and flashed around my horn, and only when I heard the explosion did I realize what I’d done. I turned on the lights in the training room, and sure enough, I destroyed most of the back wall with that blast. “Son of a bitch, just another fucking problem for me to fix!” I gritted my teeth this time to prevent accidentally bringing the ceiling down on myself. I sighed and started to repair the damage I’d done. “I’m just the princess in the tower waiting from some prince who’ll never come to take me away.” I muttered.

“A prince, is it?” I heard from behind me. I flipped around as fast as I could, and there stood my aunt, looking down on me.

“Gah! What are you doing here?” I asked, shocked that she was even awake at this hour.

“Today I am acting as a substitute for your mother. I will be hosting your training for the foreseeable future. Now tell me, why is it you shout obscenities and destroy your home?” She asked. I rolled my eyes and went back to fixing the wall. “How rude. And here I was trying to connect with you, yet you ignore me in favor of your wall.” She said. I stopped and faced her.

“I would rather not talk about it, okay?” I said. Luna sat down beside me and watched on as I fixed the wall. Great, she’s not leaving.

“Very well then. I have more patience than you could imagine. You will lose, and you will speak with me. But I can wait.” She said through a yawn. I don’t know how long it took me to fix the wall, but it felt like hours with this big, cold, blue, statue of a mare casting a shadow on me. I started to walk away, but before I could make it to the door, she teleported in front of it to block my way, laying down casually as if it were nothing.

“What is it going to take to get you to leave me alone?” I asked in irritation.

“I would like you to move the earth around the sun for the rotation of one year’s orbit.” She said. I simply stared blankly at her.

“What?” I asked.

“Did I misspeak? I believe I asked you to make the globe perform its annual rotation.” She said. I shook my head and tapped my ears to make sure I was hearing things correctly.

“Are you crazy? There isn’t enough magic in the world to make the planet move!” I shouted. Luna laughed.

“Your mother and I would beg to differ.” She said. I stared intently at her face and she simply held a smile.

“Bullshit.” I stated.

“Truth! Tell me Twilight, have you ever heard of a being known as Discord?” She asked. Discord? Like, a disagreement? Or a lack of harmony between notes?

“Uh… no?” I responded tentatively.

“Of course not. There is a reason for that. Once upon a time, back when Celestia and I had lived through our first millennium, there was a being who visited this dimension. As soon as he appeared, he came to us and offered to take us as his wives. We were flattered of course, but to say his appearance was… unattractive would be an understatement. Celestia was more open to the idea, but it quickly became apparent that he was not of good character and here just to play after he started using his powers. He twisted space with magic we’d never seen before, he turned the sky to whichever color he wished when he felt the need, and he shifted the earth in orbit just because he preferred a certain temperature, time of day or what have you. His powers were immense and he nearly subjugated us. The moon was thrown out of orbit entirely, and lost to the world. With it went the tides, and waters rose and overcame many of the lands, killing billions in the process. But Discord had no conscience, he simply did not care and did as he pleased. He had to be stopped, but for the first time in our history since arriving in Equestria, we had come across an opponent who was more powerful than we were.

Our parents had given us six crystals of pure concentrated magic called the element crystals on the day we escaped from home. They reacted to specific emotions and traits within ponies, but as magic is, they were fickle and would not respond without the right conditions in play. After Discord started to abuse the planet for his whims, the crystals had… awoken somehow. They sought us out, and using their power we were finally able to overcome Discord. He was turned into a statue and separated into eleven pieces that are scattered across the world, as the Element crystals had decided his fate. However, even with all their power, the crystals could not restore the lives lost or the planet back to its state before Discord arrived, and that was something we had to do. With the power of the crystals, together Celestia and I repositioned the planet back to where it was supposed to be, and reclaimed our moon to sort the tides.

These days, we still find that the moon or the planet will shift off orbit by an inch or so every few decades, and must be prevented for massive climate change like what was experienced during Discord’s reign. However, our powers alone are enough to perform such minor adjustments in space as opposed to fighting the sun and the earth’s gravity to get everything back together. I can move the moon a few inches in any direction I please without so much as breaking a sweat. You of all ponies should know how large the moon is, so tell me, what does that say about my powers?” She asked. This is completely ridiculous. I don’t care how powerful they are, there’s no way they could move the whole fucking planet with a few pretty rocks at their side.

“Prove it. I could forgive all the bullshit in the world if you can prove to me that this shit is actually possible. We don’t even have magic bombs that could do what you’re saying you can on a whim, and those things can level whole cities in an instant.” She just smiled.

“I was hoping you would ask that. As the moon has already left visibility in the current moment, I took a video in preparation for the day it became necessary. Oh, and before you go spouting such things like that to your mother, because we all know that she may actually do something foolish just to display her power for you, remember that the Caballo crater exists and is approximately 391 miles across, and the bottom of the crater has yet to be fully explored almost two centuries later, even with our rapid technological advancements. To put this in perspective for you, the area of this entire province is not as large as the opening of the crater. Anyways, my video!” She said with glee. Ugh, I don’t need to be reminded. The crater can be seen by the naked eye from space. But is that kind of power really enough to move the whole planet? From where ever, Luna materialized a phone in her magic, flicked the screen a few times with her hooves, and then levitated it in front of me.

“Is it rolling?” Came from Luna in the video. The time stamp down at the bottom said that this was recorded ten years ago… The day of the kidnapping… I can only wonder if they’d planned to show me this after I’d gotten home…

“It’s all digital now Luna, film reels are quickly becoming antiques. Yes, it’s recording now.” Came from mother’s voice, presumably the one holding the camera.

“There is nothing more antiquated on this planet than we are, so I shall say whatever word fits the situation. In any case, here is a console with all of the data to prove this is happening, and a lunar laser pointer to show that its location on the moon shifts more than the regular orbit would have it. Are you ready? Here it goes!” Her horn flared in quite possibly the brightest magical aura I’ve ever seen and up in the corner, the moon gained a faint blue glow and… it shifted. Very quickly, very minute from the camera’s view, but I could see it happen. The data showed a rapid change in distance from the laser and it was now closer to the moon than it was a second ago.

“Alright, I got that. Now put it back before there are any negative gravitational changes.” Mother said.

“Give me a moment… that… that isn’t easy to do.” She said, practically wheezing. On a whim she says.

“Of course.” The camera turned to mother’s face, she had her mane tied up in braids all along her ears. This was indeed taken ten years ago because she stopped using that hairstyle ever since the kidnapping. “I hope that answers your question sweetie. I’ll see you tomorrow after you get home from school.” The player stopped, and Luna sent the phone back to wherever it had come from.

“What was that? Why do you have it?” I asked, a part of me being hit with sadness and nostalgia for those days lost, oh so many years ago.

“That was to answer a question you asked us. I doubt you remember what it was though. If you didn’t notice by the date, this was taken mere hours before you realized your powers.” She stated. I could feel the tears getting ready to come back and I had to force myself to keep them from flowing.

“Yeah? And what was that?” I asked, trying my hardest to keep it in. I already knew the answer though.

“You asked if my cutiemark meant that I moved the moon, and your mother’s the sun. In a way, you are correct for my part, but I’m not the only one capable of the feat. The other pony whom can move the moon believed that her daughter would one day have the power to do so as well, so she was named after the time between day and night, in hopes that she might surpass us both. But the more I train you, the more I can sense a shadow within your heart, one that is holding your true powers held captive. What is it that keeps you from realizing your potential? As you are now, you should be more capable than any unicorn on the planet, yet here you stand as average among the gifted. Why?” She asked. A shadow over my heart? Is this what they meant? Am I… really struggling with something that I don’t even realize?

“I… I don’t know.” I said. Sure there’s probably some truth to what they said, but what does ‘mommy complex’ even mean?

“Hmmm. Now what shall I do with you then? Perhaps… we should test your powers before Sunday… Ah, but not within the dream space. I believe the two of us should work on this issue together, alone.” Luna stated. I tilted my head.

“Test my powers? You mean like my magical ability?” I asked. She shook her head.

“No. Your powers, as in what the virus gave you. When it first happened, we learned that you could negate magic that had been cast on you. Or so we thought. The archaic brand proved that it was not impossible for magic to affect you, so how is it that other spells simply fizzle out when they target you? I’ve wanted to test your abilities since we learned of your abhorrently grand storage capabilities back before your powers had awoken, and now that we know you simply absorb magic cast near you, the potential you possess could quite literally be limitless! Alas, I was denied permission. Of all the things Celestia loves to do, experiment with ponies is quite possibly her favorite. When it came to you however, she would not let anypony do anything that might put you in harm’s way.” She said, even getting a little excitement in her voice for a moment there. She wanted to test my abilities? There’s no way this is the same pony I’ve spent the last ten years around.

“Okay, when exactly were you ‘denied permission’ to test me? Because the aunt Luna I remember didn’t want anything to do with me for all but a single year of my life.” I said through a frown. Luna scratched at her face and looked away.

“It… may be a fact that I… once held much contempt for you. After all, you are a living symbol of my sister’s betrayal of my trust over two thousand years together. I… Surely you would feel contempt too, were it one of your allies here that had gone and explicitly broken rules that you both lived by for your whole lives? And then on top of all that, get married alone and carry a child with a stallion you were never introduced to. I was furious! For nearly the entire decade after you were born I remained cold and distant to her. I could not see her as anything but a traitor, and not even as my sister. And you… you weren’t even a pony to me. An aberration, a foul creature derived of a betrayal that I would never be rid of as long as I live because you are her daughter.

But… when she’d finally wore me down to allow you to live with us before the incident, I… I started to forget those feelings. I used the word ‘niece’ for the first time and I felt a change. You were my niece. The family I thought would forever be assigned as my sister and I had grown. Maybe things would not be so bad. By the time we took that video, I had honestly believed that we could have just all lived together like that as time marched on without us. For once, there would be somepony other than Celestia that I would never see die, somepony I could truly attach myself to without that looming feeling of, ‘one day will be the last day I see you’ hanging over my head as the moon does the sky.

Then… your powers awakened. You were kidnapped, you were threatened, and we didn’t have the power to protect you. I was… afraid. You left us, you left me, and you might never come back. I had allowed myself to feel attachment to somepony again, and in the same year I thought I might never see you again. There was truth in the excuses I made to treat you the way I did. You do have the potential to ruin seals across the country, and quite possibly destroy magical structures in place just by being near them. But more than all that, I was afraid that I would lose you and feel the same sorrow I did the first time I watched a generation die and leave me behind.

I… have not yet apologized to you for the way I treated you over these past two decades, and for that I would like to say I am truly sorry. Seeing you bring these incredible ponies together and accomplish the things you have has put in perspective that my views have been flawed, they quite possibly still are flawed, but… I realize that now. As often as I forget this, I too, am a pony. I might be different, I might be special, but I am still a character and I may yet change as time passes me by.

I do not want to see you die. I do not want to see your friends die. But they will one day, and I can’t change that. You however, may not. And that, I will prevent. I… I am ashamed to admit this, but when I watched you get hit the other day, I nearly intervened. My fear of losing you had overcome my faith in you and your team, and it took the one pony who I thought would have done the same to stop me. Celestia believes in your potential, and your team’s potential, especially so for that Applejack of yours. When you all managed to overcome that beast, I was astonished. How you came together, and used all of your combined powers to take that thing down was simply amazing. Even you, whom I had long thought never had a place on the battlefield, served a purpose in making your friend’s aim true.

It was after this that I was denied that permission. She didn’t mind as long as there was no real danger to you, but to truly test your capabilities, we would have to expose you to high powered concentrated magic, and we don’t know what you can absorb or how fast you can do it. So, I did not argue, as you are her blood and not mine. But! She will be preoccupied for the next day and a half at the very least, so I come to you with this offer; if you are willing to take a risk, I would like to test your powers. Will you allow this flawed old mare the chance to help you?” She asked as she held her hoof out to me.

Oh goddess, I don’t even know what’s going on right now. Did aunt Luna just open up to me? I think I just saw her display more emotion in however long that speech took than in my entire life. I… I need to think. I need to clear my head.

“I… Will you ask me this again after today’s training? I… I don’t know what to think right now, and this just adds more to everything else going, so I… I’m not sure what to do.” I said as I looked away. She pulled her hoof back and nodded, her ears falling flat.

“Of course… I… should’ve expected something along these lines. Very well then. We can come back to this. Once your Rarity gets here, we should be ready to start.” Luna stated, in quite possibly the most dejected tone I’ve ever heard from her. Speaking of which, that was the garage door. She sat there in silence as did I, neither of us able to meet each other’s gaze.

“I, uh… I should go greet Rarity. I’ll, um… I’ll gather the group and bring them down once Applejack gets here. O-of course, you’re free to come too. Uh… yeah.” I didn’t know what else to say to her, so I got up and headed to the garage. What is even going on?

“What do you mean she’s not coming!?” I practically yelled in Rarity’s face.

“I mean she’s not coming. Likely for today and tomorrow while we’re at it. She had some personal affairs to deal with, and apparently, it’s more important than this.” She said as she more or less ignored me and walked toward the living room. I caught back up with her and continued.

“What, did she just decide that she doesn’t care anymore!?” I asked. Rarity rolled her eyes.

“Twilight, please. You know better than that. If she felt that taking care of whatever it was she needed to do was more important than this, then obviously it’s something she simply can’t avoid. There is no way in hell she of all ponies would abandon us.” Rarity stated with a hint of spite in her tone. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“Whatever. First Mother, now Applejack. It would be one thing without Mother, she wasn’t even involved in our training until last week anyways, but our commander? What are we going to do without a leader against a monster?” I asked, already exhausted by the morning.

“Figure something out I suppose. We managed before she showed up didn’t we? We can manage without her for a little while. It’s not as if she’ll not show up when we need her most, so what’s the big deal?” She asked. We’d reached the living room, and Everypony was in various places doing something or other. Fluttershy Scootaloo and Rainbow were playing a card game, probably got frustrated that they couldn’t beat her at whatever they were playing before, but it still didn’t look like it was going well. Pinkie was still reading, and Goose looked like he’d managed to get a few words down on his blank page, but not much.

“A-and that makes Exodia. S-sorry, better luck next time.” Fluttershy said with a coy smile. Rainbow tossed her cards on the table and started to pout.

“I don’t get it. How do you always have the right cards to block me at every turn? I didn’t know Exodia stun was even a thing. It doesn’t make sense. You can’t have that kind of draw power and the traps to keep me off you all the time. You’ve got to be cheating, I swear.” Rainbow said angrily. Scootaloo giggled.

“Or, maybe she has a side deck and prepared for you? There’s more to the game than attacking with big beaters.” She said. Fluttershy shrugged.

“Y-you’d think she would’ve learned that a-after getting punished for being so a-aggressive and not blocking all morning.” Fluttershy said as she put her carefully arranged and sleeved cards back in her fancy box. Rainbow picked up all her cards and just shoved them back in her discount store box and threw it back on the table. It looked… like it had been fairly used.

“Shut up. I’ll get back at you when I get paid! You just have better cards than I do, that’s all.” She said.

“Hate to break it to ya Rainbow, but your deck is more expensive than hers is.” Pinkie commented from afar. “Full power Nekroz well after they’ve been banned for years, and she still can’t win. What a joke.” I made out as she muttered.

“Nopony asked for comments from the peanut gallery!” She yelled, fuming.

“A-hem.” Rarity coughed, getting their attention.

“Oh, what? Well, all we’re missing now is Applejack. She’s pretty late now, isn’t she? That’s not like her.” Goose said, being pulled away from his page.

“About that… Applejack is going to be out for the next couple days. She should return by Sunday in time for the real fight, but the chances of her training with us today or tomorrow are next to none.” Rarity stated. Everypony stood up.

“What? Why?” or a variant of came from them all.

“It was a very personal issue that came up, so I don’t have any right to tell you. She can do that when she returns if she feels the need. All the same, I expect you to trust your Major well enough to understand." Goose looked like he was about to protest, but then he relaxed.

“I… Okay, fine. I guess if we needed to know about it, she would’ve told us herself. Who are we training with today? Celestia never showed up, and were she here, she’d make her presence known.” He asked.

“Aunt Luna is down stairs in the training room waiting for us. Since Applejack isn’t coming, I guess we’re ready to start.”

Kaiju III - Ramiel - Between Night and Day (part 2)

“Well. That could’ve gone better.” Pinkie said as she sat up from the circle. Luna was shaking her head in disapproval, and everypony was stretching their bodies after the sharing spell ended.

“Well, yeah. Between Rainbow and I, we could probably pull it together, but we’re not Applejack. I don’t know how she does it.” Goose said.

“Truth, man. Like, I get the flow of battle. I understand when and where things need to happen, but to be able to use your ponies and have them in position beforehoof is something else entirely. And she does this shit split second at times. Like, getting everypony ready for a time stop and then executing a few instructions in like, what, four, five seconds at most? Insanity.”

“While it is true that she may just have a talent for leading, you simply cannot rely on her being your only leader. Last time, she broke her entire left foreleg. Had Scootaloo not discovered her powers, you would still be without her today, and most certainly on Sunday. If something happens that incapacitates her, perish the thought, then you must be able to regroup and reorganize yourselves at a moment’s notice.” Aunt Luna said.

“I suppose we’ll just have to keep trying. It’s not as if we can have her rush back or find a replacement Applejack for two days, so complaining about it isn’t going to do us any good.” Rarity said as she stretched herself out. I felt the sudden need to stretch my wings after laying on them for so long and then an idea came to mind.

“Hey, how about this; let’s go over tactics in the morning? The recordings of Sachiel and Israfel were near impossible to remove from the internet after they went up, maybe we can use them to figure out what she was doing?” I said. Everypony paused and thought about it.

“Hmm… now that is a good idea. What do you all think?” Rarity asked everypony.

“I-It’s worth a shot. W-we don’t really have the coordination that s-she brings to the table, and w-without it… we’re kinda s-screwed.” Fluttershy stated. She’s not wrong…

“We were screwed before she left considering the things lined up to fight us, but we’re definitely dead in the water at the moment. But yeah, sure it couldn’t hurt. Maybe one of us could get inside her head enough to figure out what she’s thinking during a fight.” Rainbow stated. Luna nodded.

“A fine idea in deed. You’ll all meet here an hour earlier than usual so we can go over the footage. I have an idea of what she thinks, but Celestia would know better than I. We will have to work together to get a grasp on this. You are dismissed until the morrow.” Luna said. Everypony shrugged and then started wandering off to the staircase out, while Luna and I stayed behind.

“So…” I started, still looking for the words.

“I take it you have an answer for me?” She asked. Maybe? Oh, I don’t know. If anything, I’m even more confused. This morning, I at least had the ability to be mad at her, now I just feel a little bit more of my will being sapped away every time I try to think about what she said.

“In the famous words of somepony you may have read about; ‘fuck it. When indecision strikes you, uncertainty becomes your enemy, so you might as well say yes.’” A voice said to me. I immediately looked around, but aside from the two of us, there was nopony anywhere to be found. Where did that even come from? More odd than anything else, that voice was male. It sounded nothing like Goose, and aside from him, I haven’t had contact with a stallion since I was a child. What in the hell?

“Is something wrong, Twilight?” Luna asked. My attention finally fell back to her and I shook the thought out of my head.

“Uh, no… Um, I think I’d like to see what I’m capable of. Whether or not it’s true, I always feel like I’m not very useful to anypony when we train, and today just made that even more apparent than usual.” I said, still feeling a little sorry for myself. Today didn’t go well. What’s worse than that though, is that nopony knew what to have me do. ‘Target, take point up top, Crow get ready to flank with me, Diamond stand by for a time stop, Blur prepare to pierce the mirror, and Centurio… yeah, go!’ If it wasn’t obvious before, it certainly was now. I didn’t even know what to do with myself. I think Applejack has a better grasp on my powers than I do, so how in the world is anypony else supposed to know what to do with me? Luna clapped her metallic shoes together in excitement.

“Perfect, I was quite hoping you would say that! We should get started right away then. I want you to stand over there, and we’re going to run some simple power tests first to see if you can use the magic you absorb.” She more or less pushed me into the position she wanted, then warped herself back to the opposite end of the training room. “I want you to aim your horn at me, and prepare to intercept the magic I will be shooting at it. This should be nothing that could injure you even if you did not absorb it, though it may sting if you do get hit. Are you ready?” She yelled across the room. Probably not, but whatever.

“Sure! Go ahead!” I called back. I lowered my horn in place, then waited. A bright blue light started to form at the end of Luna’s horn, and I felt myself swallow in anticipation.

“Test one, duration two seconds, one percent power: fire!” The small but bright beam shot forth, and I braced myself for impact when… it never came. I opened my eyes to find that the beam Luna had shot literally broke apart into what looked like glittering magic dust about an inch away from my skin. I moved around, put a hoof in front of it and back, yet even as the distance changed, the magic continued to dissipate. The laser stopped, and suddenly, I felt a little better in general, like I was energized.

“Well, how are you? Did it hit you? What happened?” Luna asked. Feeling pretty good, I chuckled to myself and walked over.

“It was honestly pretty cool. It was like watching a solar flare, the magic just kind of… trailed off into sparkles into me or something. I feel really good at the moment too, like I could do anything.” I said. Luna took… another device, this one seemed like a tablet of some sort, and started adding notes to it. I never knew she was so studious… then again, if Mother had anything to do with raising her, I’d find it hard to believe she wasn’t. They are sisters after all…

“Good… now then, I would like you to make a row of one foot thick slabs with targets engraved on them. After that is done, I want you to try and fire off all that excess magic. If it has one, I would rather not see you experience a negative side effect from this.” Luna said. Fair point. I’ve never really tested this before, and the few times I’ve had Rarity use her magic around me were never this powerful or concentrated. I focused for a moment, visualizing the targets she had in mind and accessed the castle. Within seconds, the castle responded and from where I was standing all the way to the back of the training room, around twenty slabs of crystal targets rose from the floor.

“Exactly as I expected. Now then, take aim and fire.” She commanded. I aligned myself with the targets and lowered my horn. I took a deep breath as I searched within me for that new stored magic. Like a ball of foreign light just waiting to be released, I poked a hole in the center of it, and everything inside spilled out with the rush of a waterfall. Without much warning, my horn lit up with a color not my own, then fired a blast much greater than the one I’d taken in.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM! Five of twenty slabs were destroyed by the beam, with the sixth one taking major structural damage, forming what could pass for a crater. The ‘targets’ or really, the edges of what used to be a target stood with their centers missing, the first target falling apart at the very thin arch that remained at the top of the structure.

“Unexpected, but not outside of considered possibilities. Reform the targets, and I will refire the initial beam to see how much you changed the output. Based on the data the sensor gathered, whatever it was you fired was a mix of three magic signatures, one mine, one your own, and one foreign. I do not think I have ever seen such a bright color of magic before, but then again, you’re in a league of your own as far as that goes, so who knows.” Luna put her tablet away after making more notes on it, then took my position. I shifted the targets and the ruble from around the room back within the castle, then had it spit more targets out. Luna’s horn started to glow, then that same small magic beam fired at the first target. Unlike my blast, her beam merely pierced the first target, and stopped at the second with very little damage to either. She raised her head once she was done and then started to scratch at her chin.

“Hmm… would that make it an exponent, or a multiplier? One is dangerous, the other is destructive, so I wonder… Twilight, repair the target and stand by to intercept another beam of the same duration. I think we’ll keep two seconds as a constant. When you go to discharge the excess this time, I want you to attempt to refine it so you destroy as little as possible.” I did as I was told, then awaited the signal with my horn in line. “Test four, ten percent power: fire!” The column of light, much thicker this time around, shot faster than I could react, and I flinched as it came close. I didn’t feel it in the usual ‘this should kill you’ sense, but there was a strange tingling everywhere that the beam dissipated to. It was like… taking a very cold shower, an assault of odd stinging and freezing pinpricks on my skin, but not so unpleasant that I would call it pain. If anything, it made me feel awake. Extremely awake. Like somepony had just handed me several energy drinks and I managed to down them all in one go. My heart was pounding and my pulse was more rapid than I’d ever felt it. It was like electricity was shooting through my veins in the place of blood. There was so much magic stored away, I was sure I could win a race or fly straight to the heavens right now. Once Luna stopped, I bolted to her side just about vibrating in place waiting for the next command.

“Oh… my. Now that is a side effect. Still within considered possibilities though. I’m sure I can tell, but would you describe how you feel at the moment?” She asked. I nodded maybe thirty times in a moment and let my mouth run wild with everything that ran through my mind. Who knows if she managed to hear it all, or even understand what I was saying, but she simply nodded, then set me in line with the clean targets.

“Now remember, that energy you are about to access needs to be restrained. Contain it to a pinprick and aim it carefully at the target. I do not want to see any more than the centers of these gone by the time you finish, understood?” Nodding far more than necessary, I took a deep breath and felt agonizing still. In my mind, I envisioned a black void as I floated in front of a new ball of white light, ten times the size of the last.

“Very carefully now. If you go too fast you’ll hurt yourself. Don’t want to crack that horn. That’s a headache you’ll regret more than the worst hangover in the world.” Another being was beside me in my void. The very same male voice from earlier said those words, but before I had the time to even process what was happening, he took my hoof and together we carefully poked and even smaller hole in the new ball. He then formed a gesture with his own hooves as if he were about to clap them together, and instinctively, I did the same, forming a sort of diamond shape between us.

When I opened my eyes, a controlled version of a more powerful beam shot at the targets in that same bright white light. It was much larger than the single ring in the center, but there was so much power shooting out of me, it was like trying to force a torrent into a water hose just getting it as small as it was. The intense strain at the base of my skull was numbing, and the sheer heat coming from the beam at its furthest reaches was like standing in front of a hair dryer for too long. Finally, the energy was gone, and once the smoke cleared, the damage was immense. Fifteen targets had taken damage, all but five had melted completely, and the last five had descending levels of red hot crystal goo dripping from their edges.

“Multiplier, thank the goddess. Now then, how did it feel? It looks as if there was some level of control, even if it was not the level of technicality I would have liked.” Luna asked.

“I… It was strange, for sure. My head felt like it it was going to go numb, but at the same time it started to get really hot around my face. Is that normal? Oh yeah, and there was a voice in my head that showed me how to do it. That’s probably not normal.” I said, feeling a little dizzy. Everything was off balance and the room was going a little bit more sideways that I wanted it to. After a moment, balance returned and Luna was giving me a concerned stare.

“You being unused to having access to so much power in addition to your inexperience makes what you felt from firing that energy completely within expectations. The voice is most definitely outside of expectations. What did it say?” Then her ears stood up straight and she leaned in very quickly. “It was not your mother’s was it?” She asked frantically. I shook my head.

“No, this was most definitely a stallion’s voice. But as for who it belonged to, I couldn’t tell you. It didn’t sound like Goose, and aside from him, I haven’t had contact with a stallion in ten years. Well, at least not enough contact with one to get a voice that clear.” I noted. What did he say? Luna looked away and started mumbling to herself, but of what I could make out she said,

“Stallion… third signature… ancient or foreign?” She turned back to me after a while and writing a few more notes down. “I am very interested in this other voice. I think ten percent of my power is nearing the limit of what you’re capable of for now, so I think I will try tacking on another five in the next run. Go ahead and get me a new line of targets, but this time, add an additional ten to the row. If my calculations are correct, you should go through about twenty three if you can keep a controlled beam, and twenty seven if you can not.” She raised one hoof, then her magic lit up along her horn. A ball of light formed above her hoof, then something black with green lights on it appeared in its place. She then took the device and affixed it to my ear.

“That should get a better reading than my tablet does, and with any luck, it will be able to separate the muddled magic signatures so we can figure out what this voice is. Now then, get in position.” I started by adding the targets, and once that was done, I stood waiting for the next beam. “Test seven, fifteen percent power: fire!” A new beam, not too much thicker than the last, but definitely bigger started to come at me. It made contact with my horn, and immediately, I felt something different was happening. It hurt. It stung. It felt like my face was burning all over as little pin pricks of the blue magic stabbed into me. It was like being assaulted with hot water from a geyser, every single drop enough to singe hair off my coat, yet at the same time, I was taking no noticeable physical damage. I bit my lip and kept standing and taking the blast. It would be over soon, and it wasn’t so bad that I thought it was going to kill me.

When it finally ended, I felt similar to last time, but this time it was more like fire than electricity. It burned. It burned everywhere. The stinging sensation flowed in from every every vein, through my beating heart, in my ears with a throbbing drum of flames dancing along my skin. I quickly ran to her side and prepared to fire.

“Can I do it? Can I do it? Ineedtodoitnow! I’mdoingit!” Without so much as waiting for a signal, I went back to my void and started to reach for the new, larger ball of light as quickly as possible before the other being restrained me.

“Stop it, calm down! It’s going to hurt a lot worse than it does now if you just let it all go! Breathe!” He commanded. The words processed and outside, I took a very deep breath and let it out slowly. “Good. Now do it just like we did last time. Control. Form the aperture slowly. You don’t want to shatter your horn. It won’t kill you, but it might cause brain damage if the base of your skull pierces your gray matter. Breathe in… Breathe out… let go.” I took a breath in unison with this… unicorn in my head, then we put our hooves together and opened them very slowly. As if drawn to this opening, the magic ball started to spin and from the inside it was pulled toward us. The moment the magic reached our hooves, I opened my eyes to watch a beam of light envelop the targets in front of me. It was bigger, it made me feel more numb, it felt like the hair on my face was starting to singe off, but I felt like I could make the beam smaller. A little push, and the energy started to shrink around the base of my horn, but cause the beam to get brighter as it did.

“That’s right, you can go further. Smaller. More control. More condensed.” the voice said. Smaller… more condensed… I felt the muscles in my neck tighten and my knees and elbows locking and I pushed a little harder. The beam gradually became smaller until finally, It reached the size of the center ring in the targets. Just then, the energy fell away, and finally I could breathe again. Sweat was pouring down me from everywhere. Whatever I just did felt like it was more work than any of Applejack’s insane training sessions, and I was about ready to go to sleep right there. My legs slowly started to slide out from under me, and I simply sank to the cool floor while breathing harder than ever before. It felt nice… oh so very nice…

“Astounding. I did not think you were capable of adding more power to the blast, but here we are. You managed to pierce all the targets, while stopping at the wall, on top of concentrating the excess heat as the beam continued. And these third signature readings are very, very strange indeed. It was almost as if you accessed somepony else’s magic to perform this feat. Did you hear the voice aga- Ah. I suppose that was as much as she could handle. Sleep well my niece. Tomorrow, we shall resume these tests so see if we can’t push your limits even further.”

“Again!” Luna called.

“Right!” I responded, as tired as I was. With one percent increases over the past four hours, we’ve managed to get to the point where I’m breaking over forty slabs with precision. While I can’t summon this kind of energy on my own, taking a shot from something like a magic pistol hardly compares to the power I can output with Luna’s ten percent beam. She’s come to describing my power as a ‘counter mirror,’ which was some kind of magic deflection device back from her home realm. At the current moment, my counter mirror works in totally negating and absorbing magic up to the level of a fourteen percent beam from Luna, which is more than I should ever encounter in the wild… but not more than what this thing we’re going to face is likely capable of. Based on the data from Argent, I’m not even close to the energy output Ramiel has, and we haven’t even reached 30% yet, which Ramiel far exceeds. For the last hour, we’ve been stuck at 27% which Luna says ‘requires marginal effort’ to produce, meaning next to none. She’s not even trying and I’m still having trouble not blacking out in the face of the beam.

“Test 421, 27% power: fire!” Here it comes! Funnel up! From what we’ve found, some parts of me are better at absorbing magic than others. Specifically, my horn does a better job of taking it in than anywhere else, but that also makes me more vulnerable everywhere else as I concentrate on the magic in front of me. The beam connected with my funnel, and as it did, the magic started to flow into my head like a hammer beating my horn into my brain. The throbbing pain shot in waves that grew faster and faster as cracks in my funnel started to appear. The pain came to an end, and just as quickly, my funnel dissipated.

In my state of hyper energized, I moved about half as fast as Pinkie could to Luna and fired off the beam. Not even a second had the chance to pass as Luna’s residual magic still floated in the air when my own blast of bright white wiped it away like water vapor in the face of the sun. Control damn it! Control! The beam was still larger than my targets and after straining every muscle in my body in concentration, it started to shrink in size until I ran out of power. I fell to the ground and gaped desperately for air. All of my muscles ached and burned, and my entire body was trembling. Finally. I finally managed to control the 27%. I rolled over and looked up to Luna, who nodded in assurance.

“Congratulations. With more time, we could likely keep going with this until you could handle most of my power. However, we do not have time, and it seems as if your body is starting to degrade in an attempt to store this energy. Has the voice returned?” Luna asked. I felt a stinging in my left eye and wiped at my tear duct, only to sigh st the now red stained hoof. Bleeding again. Damn it!

“No. It’s as if he left as soon as I started to manage on my own.” I stated. I wish I could’ve at least gotten his name.

“A shame, but alas, we simply do not have the time. It is nearly two in the morning, you must sleep. Whether or not you are prepared, you will have to deal with that thing later today. You will have shields at the very least, so those should protect you in a group, but if this Ramiel character is not what comes to greet you, then you should not have to worry about it. However, I could count on my hooves the number of times Celestia has been surprised in battle, so I will be placing my bet with her intuition.

Given who she is, I doubt she will return here without some kind of tool to help you protect yourselves too, thought I would not be able to say what. She is eleven years older than I, so what she knows of our home is considerably more than what I had the chance to learn. I pray that she does not unleash something foolish on this world, but if it means keeping you alive, she would stop at nothing.” Luna offered me a hoof to help me up but I declined in favor of staying on the floor.

“No, no. I can just-” I yawned. “I can just sleep here. Getting up is hard anyways.” I said. Luna roller her eyes and tossed me over her back.

“You are disgusting. I demand that you bathe before you sleep.” She ordered. I yawned again in a desperate attempt to keep my eyes open.

“I don’t know that I can follow through with that. I’ve… got a headache…” I couldn’t keep awake. The gentle sway of her walk, the warmth of her coat, and the smell of home that wafted around her lulled me into the void.

When next I looked around, I was standing on what I could only assume was the sun. The bright yellow-orange glow of gravity contained plasma shot arcs of flame around me as I wondered how I was even alive at the moment. On the horizon and blending in with the sea of stars above, a dark figure started to walk forward. This must be dream. She let me sleep yesterday though, why would Luna want to talk to me now? Did something happen? Ignoring the impossibility of the situation, I raced toward the figure, but as I did, I realized that the shape of this figure and the shape of Luna were not one and the same.

He stood with his dark snout raised looking down at me, a single hoof stroking a thin pitch black beard. His mane was wild and black, flowing almost like Mother’s and Luna’s, moving as if it were a cloud of shadow. His coat was that of a dark gray and his eyes were a bright green, not too dissimilar to Applejack’s. He was well built, but not very large, and around his head was a silver tiara with a silver disk held in place by two blue spikes. Who is that?

“How very interesting. I never thought I would see the day… Tell me girl, what brings you here?” He asked. His voice was deep and commanding, and with every word he spoke, I felt my heart thump a little faster.

“What brings me here? This is my dream. Who are you, and why are you in it?” I asked. He sat down and nodded with a thin smile on his face.

“Yes, it certainly is, isn’t it. Me? I… am just a shadow. For now, why don’t we say that I’m just a shadow of you? I am here because you wanted somepony to speak with. Come, sit down. There’s no better view than that of the sun, wouldn’t you say?” He asked as he patted the spot next to him with his hoof. I’ve only seen the sun in pictures, this is way too detailed for me to have come up with it. A shadow of me? How would I have come up with this guy? I’m not that creative. Then again… he gives me that… storybook fantasy prince feeling, and he makes me feel… maybe this is a wet dream. I shrugged and went along with it.

“The sun huh? The only ‘sun’ I’ve ever been this close to is Mother. Were I ten years younger, I might still call it beautiful, but now a days, I just want her to leave me alone sometimes.” I said. The flames were pretty. In fact, touching and playing with them made the flares sparkle and fly desperately away from the surface like fireflies, only to be drawn back in as the energy starts to fade.

“Is that so? A shame. A damn shame! To court the gaze of the sun will either earn you her bounty or her ire. Back in my younger days, I sought the sun so fervently that her ire wasn’t nearly enough to push me away. There were days I even relished in it. The sun is a fiery one, gifted and cursed to outlast the world. I’d made a promise to find a way to outlive the sun, but in the end I merely became the shadow of a star, unable to make my presence known and tied eternally to that which casts me. Never again will I feel the light of the sun, and in truth I wish so badly to feel her warmth again. Relish in the fact that the sun is yours and yours alone, young one. You may one day be separated from her, and that may be the last time you ever receive her light.” He said. He almost spoke as if he were speaking the lyrics to a song. He had a cadence to his voice, and all his words were melodic. I shook my head.

“Unlikely. Well, maybe not so unlikely. If I die later today, then yeah, sure. Otherwise though, I’m stuck with her. My biology is already showing signs of slowing. On the day I turn twenty five, I’ll never experience aging again. Of course, this is all provided I make it that far.” I stated, my eyes transfixed on the fire dance in front of me. A sentence in his song then poked out of my head. “‘To court the…’ Court the sun? What do you mean, ‘court the sun?’ Is this dream gonna get weird? I really don’t want that. I’ve been on the internet before, I’ve seen what ponies draw.” I said tentatively. He raised his ears in alarm and gave me a look of confusion, then relaxed and started to laugh.

“Oh, good heavens, no. I can assure you, whatever it is that’s running around in that precious little head of yours is not what transpires here. How old are you now? Time stopped passing for me when I arrived in this place.” He asked. I shrugged.

“I turned twenty less than a month ago I guess. Compared to them though, I might as well still be a baby. Or… so I thought. I’m not sure how they see me anymore. Previous to yesterday, I thought Luna still hated me, and Mother… trying to read her is like trying to read a manual in a language you don’t recognize. She treats me however she sees fit at the time, and half the time I’m still a child to her.” I said.

“Ten years… my, how you’ve grown. I wish I could’ve been there, but I always knew that never would have worked. Ah, well, that’s the past and it’s best left where it lies. She treats you like a child, does she? Are you not one?” He asked. I rolled my eyes.

“No! I’m twenty years old damn it, she doesn’t have to tease me in front of my friends, she doesn’t have to take over everything I want to do, and I don’t need her to save me!” I yelled angrily as I fell back against the bouncy surface of the sun. Ugh, the more I try to think about the physics of this, the more I want to turn my brain off.

“Oh, I see what’s going on here. Has it ever come across your mind that maybe… deep down in there, you might just enjoy your mother’s presence? Sure, she frustrates you, and if I know her as well as I’d hope, I guarantee she does it on purpose, but… is it really so bad?” he leaned back on one elbow to ask. I turned my head and scowled at those green eyes.

“It is when she makes me look like and idiot in front of my friends! I get hurt once, and she makes a damn show about it! The plans I come up with are never good enough, and even worse, she treats Applejack more like her own kid than me! I-” Wait a minute, did I just…

“Ooh, now that sounds like a problem. Tell me, what is your name?” He asked.

“Twilight.” I responded quickly and quietly.

“Ah! How perfect! I should have known, that one was her favorite after all. Twilight, my dear, is it possible, that you, true heir to the kingdom of Lystacr and Equestria’s thrones, are jealous of somepony near you?” He asked. The hell is Lystacr?

“I… well, I don’t know, maybe?” I responded meekly.

“That sounds more like a yes than a maybe to me. Tell me more about this Applejack character that your mother seems to fawn over more so than you.” He ordered. I sighed and put my hooves under my head.

“Applejack is… amazing, really. Her reaction speed is second to none, she’s always calm in the heat of battle, she picks up on subtle queues immediately, she even predicts what ponies are gonna do before they themselves know it. She’s not huge on books, but what she does read she remembers immediately, and once she understands what something does, she already knows how to use it to its maximum potential. She once picked up a prototype grappling hook style arm band that nopony had ever used before, and put it to better use than the Research and Design team had imagined! They went so far as to take her movements from the data they received to design new equipment so other ponies could move the way she does with those bands. She mastered a technique that I can’t even use, and other ponies hurt themselves attempting. She made friends with a murderer and then convinced her to join our side. She’s… she’s… She is… a lot like mother. And I… I’m not.

I don’t have the strength, I don’t have the ability, I don’t even have the talent to do what she does. Maybe by the time I’m two hundred years old and I’ve lived through a war or two I’ll understand how she thinks, but now? I can’t even compare! She called everypony a liability, but I know she just meant me. I wasn’t any help, I’ve never been any help! I train, and I train, and when the day comes I just sit in the background hoping that I might be able to do something, but in the end I’m never really useful. ‘Making your friend’s aim true,’ bullshit, that was less than a .02 error to fix, both times I did it. My own magic is worthless, and when we fought Sachiel, I just made everything worse! ‘True heir to the Equestrian throne,’ She would make a better Queen than I would! How could Mother ever look at me the same way she looks at her, when I… I could never be her?”

This was it. This is what I’ve been denying, all this time, and I hate it more than anything else. ‘I don’t have to be her, I can just be me,’ I keep lying to myself. But who am I trying to fool other than me? I bet she’s been with Applejack all this time for another round of ‘special one on one training’ just like the time before we fought Knots, leaving me here, hoping that I might step up when in reality we need her more than ever. I couldn’t fill in her gap, the two most experienced fighters on our team couldn’t fill her gap together. She’s the thing that makes us work and I… I’m just dead weight. I felt a cool hoof wipe at the warm sting that was running down either side of my face. Then the hooves brought me to his chest and started stroking my mane.

“There, there, young one. Exhaust these feelings of jealousy and anguish, for they shouldn’t be yours. This friend of yours sounds like one special mare to take Celestia’s eye, but always remember that you are her prize. There’s a story you don’t know, one she wouldn’t dare tell you, but one secret I’ll share with you, and then maybe you too, will understand your place as the time between night and day.”

The Shadow of a Star

A long time ago, there was a stallion who lived at the top. His father and his father before me were the kings of Lystacr. They ruled as kind kings, but ponies with faults that would eventually catch up to them. Being too kind, my grandfather trusted the wrong ponies and was eventually betrayed. To his son he said these last words; ‘Be careful in whom you put your trust. In those you keep close, know that they all may harbor ill will.’ And so, the next king hardened his heart and kept mostly to himself as even the ones he loved were now under his scrutiny.

After many decades passed, this king had ruled sternly, but not with an iron hoof. When he passed the throne along to his son, he said to him; ‘Be careful in how hard you allow your heart to grow. To lead is to live alone, but to lead alone is to know only loneliness.’ And so, the next king had decided that he would try to do better than his father and his father before him. A hardened king knows loyalty and solitude, honesty and integrity, but nothing of kindness, or generosity. A kind king knows kindness and optimism, generosity and love, but nothing of honesty or loyalty. A good king must have the strength to rule, and the compassion to appear as a pony, just like everypony else. Without both of these, you either die to a traitor’s hoof, or alone with none to surround you.

The next king decided he would look at his father and his grandfather’s failures and learn from them. Be better than them. Rise above them. He believed that it would be in the best interest of his ponies to rotate the king in power every half decade, so that new ideas would rise above old blood. Prosperity belonged to the future, and any true good ruler considers the words of the young and the advice of the old. And so, he promised his ponies that his time as ruler would be one of reform. However, try as he might to change, the old kingdom was being left behind by those around us, and we simply didn’t have the power to compete. How could we, when the last new idea the kingdom had introduced came from outside our lands?

The world was changing and Lystacr was slowly fading out of the world as more and more of our ponies sought other lands for better prospects. ‘How could I stop this?’ the young king asked. He searched and he searched, he read and he read, and one day, he came across a peculiar spell hidden away in his grandfather’s tomb. Two ages before, Lystacr was a land regarded above all others, as the king of that age brought in many new things, things the world had never thought of before. How did he do it? How did his father’s father find such strange and interesting technology at the time?

The spell, this was it! This spell links our world with another, allowing us to view what it is like if the world hadn’t turned the way it did here! The young king immediately sought to put this spell to use, and put it to use he did. He brought things of the future to Lystacr, things of science and medicine that the world around us would never have known. Under the young king and his strange magic, Lystacr rose above the world again, becoming the top power and wielding his might in the face of his enemies. The king of Lystacr was a young stallion of hardly thirty then. The king of Lystacr was a fool.

One of his most trusted aides, one of the ponies he would call friend, decided that he wanted to help the king bring more prosperity to Lystacr, and used the spell himself. When he returned however, the king’s friend brought something the king never thought possible. An agent of medicine known as a virus, could bind itself and change cells to reproduce more of it, something we had yet to discover the true nature of. This virus, this new thing he had found in a land far beyond our own with technology so advanced we would never see it, he presented to his king. He said, ‘My king, I beseech the. On my person, I have a thing that can make our warriors stronger, that can make our ponies tougher, that can make Lystacr greater than he ever was!’ in all fanfare and pomp. As he was the young king’s friend, I decided against questioning where he found this magical thing, and instead allowed him to test it. For the future belonged to the young, the young king decided to put it in the hooves of the young stallion. He was a fool.

The virus… it turned the young king’s friend into a beast. Friend of the young king he was no more, a raging monster he had become. Tearing and ripping through his fellow ponies, this monster rampaged through the castle until finally the young king put an end to him. The foolish young king tossed his corpse into a lake in hopes that he would find rest in his watery grave. Unaware that the virus would spread to his ponies in the water, unaware that the virus would soon affect him, the young king did this.

In the span of mere weeks, the virus had affected all of Lystacr. Those who retained their sanity gained astounding and amazing powers, and those who had not… were slain by the ones they loved. In a mere ten years from when the spell had first been used, the ponies of Lystacr saw changes that they would have never believed possible ten years prior. And one year beyond that, Lystacr had fallen once again. Monsters roamed the streets, villages were wiped out. Hunters had to be assembled to take care of the problem these beasts caused and in secret, the king sought help from the other worlds in hopes for a cure. With his friend dead, the world this virus originally came from lost with him, the young king scoured realms aimlessly.

It was five years later, when the portal opened on it’s own. He had decided to move down the list again today, hoping that maybe he would find the place he was searching for, when the spell had yet to be cast, but the portal opened on it’s own. He stood back and prepared for anything to happen next, but when he saw what walked through, he could not believe his eyes.

A mare with flowing mane of the morning sun and a coat white as snow, nearly twice his size walked through it. She wore golden pieces of royal’s armor and carried eyes that shone like amethyst jewels with flecks of gold shining brilliantly along their surface. Never in his life had the young king seen a mare so beautiful, so radiant. He had not even seen the image on her flank and knew that she was to be his sun. She however, did not quite notice him as their heads were not at the same level, and stumbled to the ground on top of him she did. Their eyes met, and whether or not she would admit it, it was love at first sight.

Without so much as allowing her to speak, the king asked for her hoof. As one would expect, he was denied without a second thought, and so the newcomer from another world was greeted with utmost hospitality and asked as to why she came. She was a queen by every right, but for her sister’s sake, she called herself a princess so they might be seen as equals. In her own world, she had committed a similar mistake to the young king’s friend, and just like the young king, she was searching for a cure. When our similar circumstances came to light, we decided it would be best to share everything we knew of the subject.

Her world was far beyond that of his, and with her she gave Lystacr many, many new things. Electronics, medicine, ways to stave the penalties of cross breeding between races, the combustion engine, automobiles, airplanes, rocket ships, the list was endless. In the span of a single year, Lystacr went from what she would describe as a third world country to what she would describe as similar to her own. The princess would visit on a weekly basis, but as the king was persistent, the princess one day decided to give him a chance. In truth, the princess had harbored feelings for the king since the day she had met him, but wouldn’t allow herself to give into them for she knew what the consequences might bring.

But alas… it was love. Once a week turned to twice, then thrice, and soon not a day went by when the king and the princess were not together. When the time seemed right, he believed that he should ask for her hoof once again. Their stations unaware of it, the two were wed in secret. If the king’s occupation found him with a mare, they would feel betrayal in his promises, and for the princess it was just as bad, if not worse! As even her kin would remain unaware of her new beau. However, it seems as though life had other plans. Their love and passions for each other exceeded their will to restrain themselves, and soon, the princess was with the king’s child. However the worst had yet to come, when merely two months later, her sister found the truth. A union of love threatened to destroy the world they had built together, and she was outraged.

Confined to be hidden in his home, the princess and the king tried their best to hide the coming foal, but in the end, it was futile. A spy ratted the king out, and just a month before his daughter was to be brought into his world. At first, the news was unbelievable, so the king still maintained order. But more and more spies came and went, and more and more pictures of the king and his pregnant wife spread to the ponies of Lystacr. The king had lied, the king had betrayed their trust! If he had lied now, what about before? Where did the virus really come from? It was the king, he did it, it was he!

Mere days before his daughter was to be born, the riot started. Only those who knew the king’s loyalty remained with him, and they laid down their lives so that his princess and his daughter might yet live, but at every turn, life tried to thwart their efforts. The portal spell failed, and the king’s new princess came early into his world, just when he hoped she would never see it. He manage to hold his daughter once before he realized what he must do to save her life.

The princess brought with her a version of their portal spell that was foreign to our own. It ran on a magic not made from the energies released by the planet, but the powers of life within one’s self. To let this new life yet live, he sacrificed his own. To his daughter the king whispered these last words; ‘You will become like the time between night and day. As you grow you will learn from the most egregious mistakes that anypony and your parents each made, and you will be stronger because of it. You will be the bridge that closes the gap between worlds, and you will be one that brings ponies together. You will never know your father, but you will make sure that others do not suffer your fate. You will build families where there are none to be had, and you will achieve magic that none have ever seen the likes of before. I’m sorry I can’t see you grow, but this is my final twilight, and yours is simply just below the horizon, readying to see the world.’

With his beating heart, he forced alive his beloved’s portal home just as the last of his loyal friends were slain. As his life was fading in and out of existence, the king remembered something his grandfather had said to him. ‘If you ever see that one day, you will lose your life with your duties undone, recite these words to see your goals complete. By the heart of my soul, you I will watch over. When the sun in the sky rises and the moon at night falls, I will be by your side, until the twilight sets on the horizon and I see my job is done.’

His life frail and weak, nearly ended as his beloved family left his world, so too did his soul tethered to his blood. When she needed him most, he would appear for her in a time of need. His beloved would never know his presence, and he may yet leave his daughter without ever getting the chance to see her, for she may not need him. And so, he remains dormant within her, hoping for when the day comes that she needs him most, and he gets to see her again.

The daughter of a King and a Princess

I took a big, heavy sniff as he told his story, and finally I realized who it was I was here with. I’d met him before. There was once a time when I was much younger where I was saved by powers I wasn’t supposed to have. ‘If you’re scared, if you want to get back to your mother and leave these bad ponies behind, focus on your horn! Wish all those scary ponies away with all your might, and I’ll do the rest! Focus, focus!’And after I woke up that day, I was in the castle, my own self made prison, where I would live for the foreseeable future. The tears started to flow again, and I buried myself in his chest.

“I can’t believe you’ve been here all this time! Why didn’t you say something earlier? She doesn’t know you’re here, nopony would have ever figured that out!” I asked through hysteric crying. He continued to stroke my mane and hold me like a father would.

“I don’t have any power over it. Just like my grandfather did for me, I tethered my soul to you with that spell in hopes that I would be there when you needed me most, so here I am.” he said calmly. I eventually managed to calm myself down, and once I wiped my own tears away, I turned and sat in front of him.

“So… explain to me that last part about where my name comes from. How am I supposed to ‘bridge gaps between worlds’ and the like? I’m still trapped in my own castle after all…” I asked, still trying to get over the tears and she shock of meeting my dad.

“Trapped in a castle huh? Odd that you would be needing to learn the specifics of my powers in your own castle, but I suppose anything can happen in twenty years. You’ll have to forgive me because I know next to nothing about the current state of your world, but I’ll give you a sort of ‘talk’ as it were. Back in my world, before ponies are born, the parents of those ponies receive a ‘premonition’ of sorts that essentially shows us the futures of our children. From there, we pick a name for that child based on the future we see. How far in the future could be any amount of time, and whether or not you reach that future is up to the parents, but for you, I saw something grand.

There were creatures of all kinds of races around you, and you were some kind of benevolent leader that brought others together, bearing stars of unity on your flanks and surrounded by many. In sailing, the word ‘twilight’ refers to the time at which stars can best be seen by the naked eye, and it comes twice a day, when the sun is below the horizon. With this future in mind, Celestia and I hoped that we would be able to get you there to see it.

We had several names picked out for you such as Dawn, or Starlight, or Sunset, but Twilight seems to be what she went with, and it’s possible that my last words had something to do with it. All the same, I think Celestia likely remembers that future and wants to keep you on track to it. I never wanted you to be a fighter, and I know she didn’t either, so you not being as capable as this Applejack of yours is in that area… doesn’t really surprise me.

We wanted you to be a great leader, but not one like that. We wanted you to bring ponies together. We wanted you to mend families, and end disputes. We wanted you to get people to see past the exteriors and create a world where unity is valued over physical attributes. To become the twilight between races. I think that you have the potential to become very powerful, just like your mother. And as time goes by, you will become powerful. But that was never the role we hoped you would fill. It is possible that your Applejack was born to fill that role, and it’s also possible that she grew into filling that role.

You on the other hoof… I still don’t want you to do that, and she probably doesn’t either. So she’s making the choice to groom your friend into a fighter so that you might continue on track to becoming a unifier.” He said. I’m supposed to be… a leader, but not a martial one? Then why keep me in a cage? But… then again, when I asked to look for ponies because I wanted to help… she was overjoyed. Maybe… building the team and bringing these ponies together was the first step… Yeah, and then there was the day the living room appeared with those chairs…

“Did… something come to mind?” He asked. I nodded slowly.

“Yeah… I think you might be on to something here. But… if that’s what she’s always wanted to see me do, why wouldn’t she tell me?” I asked. My father sighed.

“My dear Twilight, a cutiemark can be a cruel thing. Fate, destiny, and choice are ideas that all tend to be at odds. If you believe in one, then the other is invalid, and if something is invalidated by the other, how can the other exist? A cutiemark is a physical representation of all three of these things, and if one is told what one should do at an early age, then one may find themselves living a life they hate while still having a cutiemark to prove that that’s what they should do. It is an unwritten rule back in Lystacr that one must never inform the child of their premonition. If you don’t discover what you believe you’re supposed to be doing on your own, then you risk the chance of never being able to discover that, and never truly growing into your own.

The reason I told you mine is because that is why I think I’m here, talking to you right now. Because it is what you needed to hear most. If Celestia had the chance to kill me, she would, over this. The rule is identical in your world, and save for her, I took your premonition to my grave, so were it not for my final act, you wouldn’t be hearing these words now, and who knows how long this jealous fit would’ve lasted.” He explained.

That… makes even more sense. Oh goddess, poor Applejack. She was told she was going to be an apple farmer all her childhood, and now she lives in the city fighting crime with apples on her flank. A butterfly turned into a killing machine, a diamond that stops the world from turning. Pinkie has balloons on her flank, but she’s been without friend or family for the past eight years, and even Rainbow… Oh goddess, these are all ponies who had their destinies slip through their hooves because life got in the way… how do you live… when you’re branded with a purpose you can’t fulfill?

“I think I understand now. Well, at least where it is I fall here anyways. It’s nothing really concrete, but I’m starting to see what I can do to help. My purpose… is to help others find their own purposes, even if fate or destiny, or choice or whatever abandoned them.” I said. He smiled and nodded.

“And I think you’re right. Ah, I never thought I would see the day where you’re all grown up. But… I’m just so glad I could be here to help you. I… I finally got to be the dad I wanted to be, and I’m thankful for that.” The sun we stood on started to shake, and the sea of stars above us began to fade into white.

“Gah! what’s happening!?” I cried as I clung to him.

“Unfortunately, it seems as if you don’t need me anymore, so your dream is ending.” He said, calm and collected.

“N-no! You can’t go, I’ve only just gotten to meet you! I… there are so many thing I want to know about you, so many thing I want to know about where I was born! You can’t leave me, I don’t even know your name! Daddy!” The dream started to collapse, and pull him away from my hooves. As he slipped out of my grasp, I desperately tried to hold on, but he kept being pulled further and further away into the white void.

“When next you need me, I will see you again. Remember the name of your father, for he was king-”

“Holy!” Pinkie yelled as I shot up from my bed.

“Sombra!” Echoed in my bedroom. I found myself sitting up straight in my bed, one hoof outstretched like I was reaching for something, and realized I wasn’t on the sun anymore.

“Som-what? Are you okay? You’re not having nightmares too are you? Wait hold up, why are you crying?” Pinkie asked. I smiled and swallowed, wiping the tears away.

“You were right, the other day. I think… I think I’m over it now though.” I said. Pinkie scrunched up her face and stared at me.

“Uh… you’re welcome? Anyways, Luna says your mom and Applejack are on their way over, so you should get up."

“Good… if there’s anything I know, it’s that we need her, whether or not somepony else could do the job.” I said, reaffirming what I’d learned over the night. Pinkie sorta leaned back and stopped making eye contact with me.

“Sure… you uh… you do that. K bye.” and just like that, she bolted.

Kaiju III - Ramiel - Between Night and Day (part 3)

I’d just taken a seat in my chair when Mother walked into the living room. Well. There she is. What do I even say to her? Hey, I spent the last however many hours hearing dad’s side of the story? I can use my powers and my magic together now? No, she’d kill Luna over that. Should I say anything? I mean… they loved each other didn’t they? Shouldn’t she know that he’s still around? Or… would that defeat the purpose? She came to me, and then took a seat without saying a word. Luna followed suit, and the rest were eagerly waiting the mare of the hour to arrive. Sure enough, out of the shadows she walked, and not a second passed before she was surrounded by everypony.

‘Welcome back! We missed you. Glad to have you home. It’s just not harmony without you.’ It’s not my role. That’s not the part I play. But all the same, I just… if it were me, would they say the same things? Hell, even I missed her but… that jealous sting that keeps stabbing at my heart just won’t go away.

‘Swallow your pride and say what you mean, not what you wish you had.’ Sombra echoed in my head. He’s right, you know he’s right. Just… accept where you stand. You won’t stand here forever.

“It’s good to see you home. I knew that you really helped pull the team together when you first showed up, but after trying to fight together without you… it certainly makes a world of difference.” I said between mother and Luna, day and night. Why would you say that? Don’t you miss her? aren’t you glad that she’s back more than you’re happy to have her ability at your disposal? Despicable. It’s fine. We have to get through today first. Just… let it go and move on. I went to ask her where she was, but the Goose beat me to it.

“So, first on the agenda, whether or not this is really it, what happened? Where were you?” He asked. Piece of shit. But why would he respect you when you haven’t done anything to earn it? Leader only in name, remember? Playing right into what they expect does you no favors.

“Oh, well… Ah had some… personal issues that were… hinderin’ my ability ta lead. But, Ah think that Ah managed ta get through the biggest ones, so Ah should be in better shape now.” Applejackreplied. Yeah, but certainly not alone.

“So, mom had you right?” I asked, knowing the answer.

“That… pretty much sums it up.” Applejack said. Of course. Luna probably knew the whole time. Why wouldn’t she tell me?

“Whatever. You could’ve said something, you know!” I yelled at her. She leaned back and brought a hoof to her chest.

“Wha- me!? You act as if I know everything she does! One thousand, two thousand, even after three thousand years, I may never figure out how that head of hers works. Never forget, I did not even know about you until you were at my doorstep!” Luna shot back. Damn it. You know what? No, this was her fault. Why didn’t she tell me what was going on? I stared mother down, and she just gave me her trademark ‘you will get nothing from me’ smile.

“The matter was private and settled now, and that is all anypony needs to know. So, on to the real agenda, today I bring you these. Applejack and I made them over the course of the last few days.” From a sash around her neck, mother took and laid out five spears made of some silvery metal that had a strange allure to it. As she passed them around, oddly enough with her hooves, I went to touch one, but she quickly shoved it out of my reach. A single spear had a lime-green aura to it, the one she passed to Applejack, while everyone but Rarity and I got a spear that I could only describe as… dormant. The glowing one felt… almost alive. “Applejack, if you will.” Mother motioned.

“Of course.” She said as she stood from her chair, then picked up the glowing spear. “Based on what we know, the princess has decided that Ramiel will likely be out next fight. That said, we needed a lot more protection and a better way ta fight against somethin’ like him. These are called…” She paused, turned the spear around till some strange runes on the shaft were facing her, then said something I didn’t quite understand. It was as if I heard that she said some combination of sounds, but it was like my mind couldn’t process what those sounds were. Applejack looked up, and everypony was staring at her, Mother and Luna with wide eyes, and the rest confused. Before I could even ask what just happened, Mother grabbed Applejack, dropped the spear, then teleported away.

“What just happened?” Pinkie was the first to ask. Luna looked a little panicked, but answered quickly.

“Well… I think I will just go figure that out exactly! One moment.” she said, then teleported away herself. Well that doesn’t bode well.

“Something tells me something unexpected just happened. I have no idea what Applejack said. Anypony else?” Rarity asked. We all shook our heads, which makes me wonder if mother and Luna did know. If that’s the case, then that must also be the issue. We sat in silence for a while, and then Luna returned, but with a… strange smile on her face and she couldn’t keep from giggling.

“Are… are you okay?” I asked. She attempted to keep a straight face, but failed.

“I- pfft I am f-fine. Hehe…” She managed. I felt myself start leaning away from where she sat and eagerly awaited mother and Applejack’s return. It was a few minutes before they finally did, and Luna only started giggling more once they showed up.

“She’s been like this ever since she came back. It’s creepy, and I don’t know how to make her stop. What’s going on?” I asked. Mother rolled her eyes and had Applejack take her seat.

“Something unexpected happened, so we’re just going to deal. There’s only two hours left until whatever is coming arrives, so explanations can wait. Anyways, the spears. These are called God Slayers, and they absorb magic. Twilight, Rarity, do not touch them, and do not use magic if you do. You might survive, but if Rarity were to try and use magic on one or while touching one, she would die without question. When the spear gains a green glow like the one Applejack has, that means it is primed to use it’s second function. When tossed while charged, the spear will release all of its stored magic at whatever it hits, much like a grenade. If the inscription is read while charged, then the spear will fire a blast of all the concentrated magic it has absorbed.” Mother’s horn lit up with her golden aura, then near the back wall of the living room formed a solid looking bowl made of magic. “Applejack, if you will.” She finished. Applejack picked up the glowing spear and said… something, then, the spear did exactly as she said it would.

The magic being expelled from the thing was more than anything I had experienced in the last few days, and that is saying something. My own powers have the potential to make 27 percent of Luna’s power more like 50 percent. This… this was well beyond that. The explosion of light, the purity of the color, the intense heat of just being near it was all overwhelming. Good goddess… just what the hell is this thing?

When the beam had finished firing, Mother’s barrier was cracked. How many ponies in the world have the power to do that? How many bombs would it take to accomplish what one of these spears just did? Why does she know how to make these? What were they used for before mother had them? Where did they even come from? I didn’t even have a chance to ask these questions before she moved the topic away.

“As you can see, it is very destructive, and this is why only Applejack knows the firing incantation. I doubt anypony other than Goose could handle the recoil anyways, so better to not risk you killing yourselves with it. Now then, we’re going to go down to the training room to run three simulations over the next hour and a half before you need to head out.” She said. She was about to lead the way when Pinkie, as if she were a grade school filly, raised her hoof. “Yes?” Mother asked.

“Uh, what did Applejack even say? She started speaking gibberish, and then you two just freaked out and warped away.” Ah, she sure does know how to speak for the crowd. Mother frowned.

“Ever observant, always a good trait. Questions are for later, now is the time for preparation. Let us be off, the clock is ticking!” But of course she avoids the question. Why would she answer? Mother and Applejack started making their way to the training room, while the rest of us looked to Luna for answers.

“What? Do not cast your gaze at me. She said questions are for later. Take up your queries after you return alive from your mission.” Luna said. And that makes two. If I know anything, it’s that we will never get an answer on this.

I am extremely anxious. It would be one thing if it was just another monster like the last two. Neither of them had any kind of energy attacks. But this… this won’t go well for anypony. The simulations we ran never ended in success, we always lost two, three or the entire group, and when it came down to it, I couldn’t handle the projected level of magic energy thins thing is capable of and was vaporized without so much as a thought.

“Don’t panic. You’re not dead yet, and you don’t know if things will go the same way. Breathe, Twilight.” Father said.

Don’t panic? Don’t panic!? I’m already panicking! Nopony is going to live through this! We got lucky both times we won, and I wasn’t even there for one of those! The other two monsters were nothing compared to this! What happens if this thing is even more powerful than Mother projected? What if even she can’t stop the attacks this thing puts out? Lose the city, who cares if that happens, this thing could kill the oldest living creature on the planet!

“You don’t know that. Nothing has happened yet. Count with me. One. Two. Three.”

Four. Five. Six. Seven… He’d managed to talk me down, but it didn’t last long. I opened my eyes to see everypony else bringing their shields up and waiting in silence. I managed to catch a glimpse of the clock and finally I heard the bells tolling. What count is that!? Is it already-

A little ways away in the distance, not but blocks away, that terrifying bright orange lightning struck the ground. It’s coming. From that spot rose a pillar of cyan colored clear liquid. The liquid continued to rise, floating in place when a bright red light shone through it as it swirled into a sphere. From the center it formed a cube shape, then it tilted on its axis, sitting loftily like a diamond in the sky. For size, it could rival Sachiel. As far as volume goes, this thing could probably fill every pool in Manehattan and then some.

Are you seeing this? Please tell me you’re seeing this. I asked.

“I am just a specter, Twilight. I haven’t truly ‘seen’ in twenty years based on your age. Be strong. Whether or not you believe it, your friends need you. If not for yourself, then for the ponies whose lives will be ruined by this monster and the future you wish to see come true, be strong.” Father said. The screens all around lit up with that two faced comedy and tragedy mask, and there he was. Persona.

“Ah, there you all are. I looked in many places I’d expected you to show up, but in a random part of the city north of central park? There’s nothing significant about this area, so I can only wonder what makes you gather here. And what... interesting weaponry you have here. Shields and spears? My, have we devolved so far that you must rely on something so base to defeat my Kaiju? Surely you realize that if something like a bullet does so little to my kaiju, that your spears won’t likely do so as much as scratch the surface? But alas, that is neither here nor there. The clock strikes noon and your next challenge awaits, Harmony and the traitor! I’m done simply sending my Kaiju to search for my missing object! Those that follow Israfel will be out to destroy as much as possible and kill those who stand in my way! Heroes and the traitor, the time to rise above is here yet again! Go beyond and show me what a true hero looks like! Begin, Ramiel!”

He always says that. Why? I never really thought about it, but he always encourages us to win. That doesn’t make sense. If he wants to find the Original, then why…? I heard a strange sound, something like that of flowing water, and finally did I look up and see the monster turn into the lotus shape I’d already come to fear.

“Blur, Crow, Target, phalanx formation! BK, with me!” Applejack echoed in my head. ‘Oh yeah, and you two just sit there and be protected Ah guess.’ I’m not desperate enough to try and take a laser head on, but it would be nice to get at least some direction when she gives out orders. I moved into position with Diamond and we waited.

“BK, aim just under the bottom petal about ten meters out from the body at the heat blur! If that’s where the shield is, Ah’ll move in and javelin his mirror!”Heat blur? What is she talking about?

“Heat blur? What in the world are you talking about?” The Black Knight parroted my own thoughts.

“What do ya mean, ‘what am Ah talkin’ about?’ it’s right in front of yer face, throw the damn spear!” Applejack yelled. They don’t have time to be arguing! Ramiel is about to fire!

“Shit, we don’t have time! Get out of the way!” The Black Knight dodged left and Applejack dodged right, then the sound of a camera flash boomed through the air as a very bright light formed at the center of the crystalline lotus. Like watching the sun fall to earth, the light came toward us and I shielded my eyes. It was just like being next to the spear when it fired, but so much more. Being at the end, the destination of the laser was so hot, I thought my armor was going to singe off my coat. It was so bright that I could still see daylight even though my eyes were closed and hidden behind my wings. The fire and light finally subsided, and once that was all done, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Our energy shields looked like grease fried eggs, all bubbled up and thin around the edges, one of the three spears was fully charged from absorbing all that energy, and everything in front of us was either melted, white hot, or vaporized anywhere the laser touched. I nearly fell on my butt as the despair washed over me. How… how are we supposed to beat this? There’s… there’s no way we can do this. We should just run while we have the chance.

“How dare you give up! Who do you think you are!? You’re the daughter of a king and a princess, one of the most powerful beings on your planet, and you are so scared that you’ve already decided to turn tail and run? Stand up and face your enemy! Your friends haven’t given up and you still yet breathe! You may not be a fighter, but you certainly will not be a coward as long as my soul is bound to you! Stand and fight!” Sombra yelled in my ears.

Yes sir! I responded immediately, even though I was about ready to pee myself. Even in the face of this, nothing is more terrifying mother’s angry voice, and now that I’d heard it, his wasn’t far off the mark either.

“Fuck! It burned my coat under suit!” The Crow yelled.

“M-my spear is charged! W-what do I do now?” Target worried. Does she know about the shields? Has anypony else noticed yet? I should say something…

“Marevelous, that blast fried the edges of their shields! This kind of energy isn’t something these shields were designed to handle, if we run out of spears, this is all over! The shields can take another hit, but after that they’re done, and we had three spears absorbing magic from that blast, we can’t last like this!”I added. My breath is shaking, my legs are quivering, and if I move I’m not sure I can hold it in… but I’m still here. Remember the promise we made before we left. I will see you tomorrow.

“Ah get it, this isn’t great, we knew somethin’ like this would happen, just be thankful ya have the spears at all! Everypony, Ah need ya ta tell me what ya see when ya look at this thin’!”Marevelous asked. What is she seeing that we aren’t?

“I see a big baby blue diamond in the sky at the moment. Am I supposed to see more than that?” Blur responded.

“Same here!” I and everypony else said. Is there more to this that we don’t know about? Why does she know about it?

“Crow, what did that field feel like when ya hit it?” Marevelous asked. As she did, Ramiel moved toward us and seemed to turn its ‘face’ toward Marevelous, but its point was aimed straight at the Empire building. Wait… what is it doing now?

“I don’t know, like wet ice I guess? It was slippery, but hard, as if it were made of some kind of really strong rock. It felt like it was moving. Why? What are you seeing that we aren’t?” The Crow asked for me. Clearly I’m not the only one coming to these conclusions, but if I’m the first one to do so, then why am I not asking the questions? Get a grip Twilight!

“Ah’m not sure, but it don’t seem ta care about y’all right now. Prepare ta intercept another beam and Fluttershy, trade spears with me!”Marevelous called, but just as we started to move, the monster formed into a lotus again, and unless we stopped time, there was no way we could move to block it’s attack. If the empire building falls… then there goes a quarter of the city with it. “Shit, move quicker y’all! BK, after Ah get the charged spear, throw yours at the closest side ta me, and away from any tall structures!” The light started to build and that familiar whine like a camera flash started to sound off. Oh goddess, we’re not going to make it! What are we going to do if the empire building falls? It’ll be all our fault! We couldn’t do our jobs, and we’ll take all the blame… mother is going to have to pay for the reconstruction of the entire area, and the treasury doesn’t have the kind of money to restore half of Manehattan! Equestria will go into debt, and we’re in such a bad place with Zvyr as it is, they might just take advantage of us and start a war! What if-

“Never mind, BK get ta me and gimme yer spear! Diamond, target us when Ah call fer it!” Marevelous ordered. Wait a minute, what is she doing now? The light was growing with every passing second, but Marevelous stood tall and kept going. I watched as a bright orange glow formed around her hoof and she just about shot her spear at the empire building. One spear stabbed into the wall, quickly followed by another. The Black Knight had her in his hooves now, then she called time.

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

I blinked, and suddenly Ramiel fired his laser, but now Marevelous and her Knight were blocking the way. Him holding both shields in hoof, her with both spears, they took the massive beam of cyan light head on and weathered the blow. Even as the shields fried, even as I could see her suit start to burn at the edges, they never wavered for a second. She’s… just so amazing.I was ready to run away just a few moments ago, but she… she push forward and went so far as to protect the city with what could’ve been her life. How could I… How could I ever amount to somepony like that?

“Everypony, follow that thin’s aim. Ah’m gonna use the spears. Let’s see how it likes a taste of its own firepower!” She called to the rest of us. Ramiel returned to its diamond shape, but floated in place. I wonder if it has to recharge all that energy after it fires? Surely it doesn’t just have an infinite store, but… if that’s the case, where is it getting all of this power from? Marevelous leaped from her position with a single active spear in hoof, and just as she did, Ramiel started to move. The rest of us started to follow its ‘face’ side, then out of nowhere, Marevelous yelled something unintelligible and the spear fired.

Just like earlier, this laser was bright and hard to look at, but not nearly as big as the beams Ramiel has been firing. It hit what looked like an invisible sphere surrounding the monster for a fraction of a second, then punctured through to the crystalline body of the monster. With the odd hole made of what I could only describe as a heat blur ‘popped’ the monster’s body deformed with it, but only for a moment. The laser pierced through Ramiel’s body, but only until it started to spin. The cyan vortex turned lime green until the laser finished, then it reverted back to it’s original shape as pale green lightning shot off in branches away from the main body.

What just happened? Did it work? Did we get it? No… it’s… it’s almost as if Ramiel just dispersed all that energy. But why? If it can take the energy and push it away, can’t it just absorb it? Maybe it’s like a battery, and can only take so much energy in at once? Or… is it the wrong kind of energy? Ramiel turned it’s face directly at Marevelous, then opened up into that dreadful flower.

“What are you doing!? Get out of the way!” The Black Knight yelled. He was still holding a spear, so he kind of wavered in and out of existence for a second, then leaped his way over to Marevelous. He was about to drop the spear after putting a hoof on her, but then she knocked him away.

“Stop we need this! Diamond, Harmony!

TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

“Phalanx formation, center around me! Active spears ta me, shields up and get ready ta feel the heat!” I nearly hesitated, almost stunned by whatever she just came up with, but she knows this is all we’ll get if it doesn’t work, so I can only hope it does. Moved quickly with everypony else to gather around Marevelous with all our shields centered around her, then she took both active spears in each hoof and stomped her hooves into the ground. Oh goddess, does she really plan on-

“Release!” I flinched as the bright light suddenly started to move closer to us when Marevelous triggered both spears. The heat coming from them was so intense that I thought I was going to faint, but Marevelous has those things touching her forelegs. I could see burn marks starting to form on her suit, then the spears started to eat away the material like a page in a flame. How!? How does she do it? How does she endure through all of this? I lost concentration when blinding light and the force of an explosion washed over us. I managed to keep standing through it all, but once it was done, I looked up and Ramiel was nowhere to be found. What happened? Where did it go? There’s no way that an explosion like that was enough to kill it, right?

“Holy shit, what did you do to yourself!?” The Black Knight said as he appeared at Marevelous’ side. It looked like Marevelous had suffered burns all over her hooves and forelegs, save for where her bracers were on, but even those looked to be singed all around, and hardly any of her coat was still intact. The leg is still attached thankfully, so at least we know Scootaloo can fix it… provided we make it out of this that is.

“Too much. Where is Ramiel? Is it dead? He’s not in the sky anymore.” Marevelous asked.

“I don’t know, but we should probably search for it. You need to get back to Scootaloo to have your hooves fixed again. Good goddess, at least they’re still attached. Can you feel anything? The skin is so badly burned here that it’s starting to bubble up in blisters...” BK said. Marevelous shook her head.

“That’s not important right now. If that thin’ isn’t dead then we still have work ta do.” And she still keeps on. Everything about her seems so foreign and far off to me. What drives her? Is her devotion to the city so strong that nothing can break her? Does she fight for her family? Does she fight for us? Does she fight for him? How can she be so… incredible?

“Somepony get up and scout around ta see if ya find Ramiel or mirror shards. Persona hasn’t shown up yet, so Ah’ve got a bad feelin’ about this.” Marevelous spoke to all of us through the link. Diamond had just about started laying on me, so I helped her off her hooves and to the ground. She looked like she was in so much pain too, yet she doesn’t say a word. Even you work so hard for this. You all work and keep trying when I just…

“I’m comin’ up blank over here.” The Crow said.

“M-me too.” Target added. I don’t like this. We’re missing something… where would Ramiel have gone? he’s huge, it’s not like he could have hidden somewhere, right? And on top of that, its bright blue! Even if it did retreat into the city to recoup, our pegasi should be able to spot him immediately, so where…

“Well, shit. Keep yer eyes peeled, all of ya, and stay within a few seconds of the group. We don’t know if it has specific motives yet, or what kind of intelligence it has, and if it shows up again, we need ta be ready ta intercept fire.” Marevelous ordered. Diamond started to struggle to stand, so I helped prop her up with my wing and get her to the center of our formation.

“Do ya think ya can tough it out if we need another second, or are ya done?” Marevelous asked. Diamond started rubbing at her temples, and her horn flickered off small gray sparks as she nodded.

“I... in the event of an emergency, I could likely freeze time for five seconds with one pony at the most. I certainly couldn’t do everypony again but... what about you? Your hooves look awful, are you sure you can do anything like this?” She replied. Marevelous huffed.

“Ah’ll use my teeth if Ah have ta, we’re not done yet, and there’s no way in hell Ah’m havin’ Scootaloo come out if this thin’ is still around.” She said. But is that a good decision? If you’re not okay, then how do we win this fight? Of course we’ll have to protect Scootaloo, but isn’t that worth having you in your best shape? Just then, that familiar whine echoed through the city from above. We all looked up, and sure enough, there was a small, but growing white light forming at the center of a very small piece of reflective material. Oh no.

“Form up now!” Marevelous shouted, and just like that, everypony raced back to us. How did it do that? We didn’t know it could fly that high! That’s what I was missing, it’s clear and cyan, of course a blue sky is going to be it’s best cover, how did I not think of that!? Damn it! Everypony had formed a tight dome with shields in various states of fried and spears poking out all around the center, but the monster still hadn’t fired at us. What’s taking so long? I looked up and was confused. Why are there two suns in the sky? Both of them were so bright that I couldn’t look directly at either, then I noticed one of them grow. Oh goddess. It wasn’t even using it’s maximum fire power before. The thunder like camera flash sounded off through the air and once again, I had to look away from the light. As soon as I turned my head, we felt the pressure of the massive laser, bigger than our formation in diameter, but not hitting around us thanks to the spears drawing in the magic. It was like trying to lift a block of solid steel that was being beaten with a hammer on top of your back. I thought my legs were going to give out, but thankfully, the pressure ended and the laser was done.

“Damn it!” Marevelous shouted as she spat the spear she was holding out of her mouth. Oh goddess, her tongue is steaming! She actually held the spear in her teeth, just what in the world? Another camera whine started to sound off above us, and once I looked up, my worst fear had been realized. All the shields were done for. The only thing left to protect us are the active spears. What do we do now?

“BK, plant the spears in the buildin’, and everypony who isn’t a unicorn line up by a spear! If we don’t fire before this thin’ does, we ain’t got a shot at killin’ it!” Marevelous called Diamond and I gathered by Marevelous, and everypony else took a position by a spear as the Black Knight planted them as directed. Once he was finished, we’d assembled an array of God Slayers, all primed to shoot back at Ramiel. If this doesn’t work, then there really is no hope after all…

“Twilight, listen to me! You haven’t lost until you give up! You will not lose as long as you remain standing and keep working toward your goal. It isn’t over until it’s over, understand me? Under no circumstances are you allowed to give up! I didn’t die for you just so I could be here to watch you die, damn it!” Sombra screamed in my ears.

Damn it, I’m not you, I’m not her, and I’m not Mother! I don’t get where you all find this will power within yourselves, I don’t understand how you can keep pushing when you can’t take anymore, it just doesn’t make sense to me! What is worth dying for? How do you find the reason to live just to die in somepony else’s place? I just don’t get it! How do you not get scared? Why don’t you run away? Where does the courage that seems endless within you all well up from? I just don’t understand! I closed my eyes and covered my head as Marevelous spoke the incantation. Within the dark void of my own head, my father stood there before me, back on the sun where we first met.

“What happened? Am I dead? Did we fail?” I asked him. He shook his head.

“No. But if you don’t get up, you will. Twilight, you’re the only one who can save them and defeat this monster.” He said. It nearly knocked my off my hooves, and I staggered back.

“Wha- me? B-but I… I don’t have the power! I can’t deal with that kind of magic, mother’s crazy spears couldn’t even handle that! How am I supposed to-” He appeared in front of me in a cloud of black smoke and brought a dark gray hoof to my lips.

“Shhh. Look at me.” He said as he put his hooves on my shoulders. He stared me down with those big green eyes of his, and I was lost in that gaze. “You have more power than you know. You are capable of more than you could ever imagine. But to access that power, to grow into that potential, you must trust in yourself, and you must understand something very simple that all your friends have seemed to learn ahead of you. Twilight, why is it that your friend was willing to go so far? After being burned to the point of barely being able to use her hooves, after burning her tongue in an effort to protect you all, after jumping in the line of fire and taking the brunt of this monster’s attack again and again, how does she do it?” He asked.

“I… I don’t know! I never understood how or why, she… she has something that I don’t! Something I just don’t understand, something that makes her catch Mother’s eye that… I just don’t have.” I exclaimed. He shook his head.

“Allow me to give you a hint. Watch this very closely. In the real world, you were quick enough to put a barrier around yourself before the God Slayers and Ramiel’s lasers collided, and you are the only one left standing after the backlash of the blast.” In a sort of hazy view of my own vision, I turned to Marevelous and I just watched what played out. There she was, beaten and bloodied, burned and bruised, lying on the ground just barely breathing. It didn’t look like she had much strength left at all, but all the same, she crawled over to the Black Knight, over to Goose, and did something I didn’t think she was capable of.

“Ah love you.” She whispered. The vision fell away to the black void above the sun and my father turned back to me.

“Now then, do you understand?” He asked. I let my back legs collapse into the bouncy sun’s surface and took a moment to process what just happened.

“She loves him? Since when… how long…? She… she’s been fighting for him this whole time?” I asked. Sombra shook his head.

“She has been fighting for him, for you, for your mother, for her family, for the rest of your friends, for the ponies in this city, for the ponies in her life. But there is one pony she hasn’t been fighting for, and do you know who that is?” He asked. And then, like a sledgehammer to the horn, it dawned on me.

“Herself.” I said. Father’s lips pulled back to reveal a toothy grin.

“Exactly! This mare, this friend of yours, this protégé of your mother’s, has never once fought for herself! She has been fighting all this time for those in her life in hopes of making their lives better, not hers. He fights for her. The pegasi fight for each other, the unicorn fights for you, the earth pony fights for all of you! But you! My very own daughter, never took the time to think of why you fight. And because of this, you lose your grit, you can’t work up the will to keep going, and when confronted by somepony who has a clear goal, a clear reason, you become confused and frustrated, even jealous, because you don’t have one. Now then. Twilight Sparkle, daughter of Celestia, Princess of Equestria, and Sombra, King of Lystacr, why is it that you fight?” He asked. I took a deep breath and started to stand.

“Why…? I fight… I fight because I want to change this place. I fight because I want to make a better world. I fight so my mother doesn’t have to. I fight… because I want to keep my friends safe!”

“Yes! This is what you needed! This is what I wanted to hear! Open your eyes, and be prepared to protect the things you love with your very being!” Sombra shouted excitedly. As I did, it felt like everything had slowed down, and I was moving faster than I ever had before. Above me was a growing, violently bright light surrounded by rings in a reverse tower of hanoi pointed directly at my position. My friends were all on the ground in terrible shape, but Marevelous was smiling, like she’d already come to terms with it all. No… I won’t let you die like this! You’ve had so much taken away from you, I will not let your story end in tragedy!

“That’s exactly right! Now repeat these words after me, and engrave this circle into your mind! Your father, your grandfather, his father before him and all his fathers before him used this spell to protect that which needed it most and now it is your turn to do the same as the last heir to the Lystacr line!”

“By the heart of my soul, you I will defend! Should the moon fall from the heavens and the sun forever leave the sky, this day shall not be your twilight!

AEGIS!”

Once the final word was spoken, I felt a click go off deep within me. My whole body seemed to disappear and I’d lost all feeling. My vision started to blur, and once it came back, I was standing outside myself like an astral projection. My eyes had lit up with a bright white light and my whole body was glowing in the colors of my coat mane and tail. My wings had extended to their full length and my horn was emitting more magic than I had ever seen in one place before. All around us was a shield of ethereal light with my cutiemark emblazoned over it’s center. It stood firm as Ramiel’s laser made contact with it, but even so, the beam did nothing to damage it. Magic shot off in every which direction from the epicenter of where the blast came in contact with Aegis, and all the while, I couldn’t help but think that this scene looked just like the sun I’d met father on. It was truly beautiful, the cyan and white lights streaming off like flares and glittering into the daylight sky, the energy of magic just bright enough to be visible, but soft enough to be pleasing to look at.

Once the laser had finished, I was quickly pulled back into my body and the shield dissipated all in one fell swoop. I suddenly felt so much pain all at once that I thought I was going to vomit. Every nerve, every fiber of my being was alight with magic and it was like being set on fire and stabbed with needles in every pore of my skin. AHHH! IT HURTS, IT HURTS!

“Then let it all go. Take this feeling, this immeasurable pain and release it into the sky.” He said.

“Just… let… GO!” I managed to repeat before it all came bursting forth from my horn. It was like a torrent that started to pour out of me, the very air shook and all of that magic was released into the sky above me, directly at Ramiel. At this point, I think my ears had gone numb, but I was sure that I was screaming. The intense heat and pressure on my skull felt like knives were being jammed into my brain, but I couldn’t do anything to stop it. The magic seemed endless, and it all just kept pouring out. I couldn’t move, I could barely feel, and everything was pain. It felt like time had slowed down, until finally it felt like my head was about to explode.

And then, it did. In a bright white burst of magic, my horn which had already been cracked from using aegis, shattered into shards that shot off my head in a smoke. I wasn’t sure if I was screaming before, but now I was, and I could hear it. It hurt. Everything hurt. I started to vomit, and I could feel myself crying, but I knew that it wasn’t tears that were streaming out of my eyes. The pain had finally become too much to stand, and then everything went dark.

Applejack

“Wha…?” Ah looked around, but somethin’ was off. The spears were all twisted or melted, but still in the roof. Everythin’ was kinda singed or melted, but… still there. Ah tried ta get up, but then Ah felt all the bruises and burns all over my forelegs and regretted that. Now wait just a damn minute. Ah’m not dead. What the hell happened? Ah rolled onta my back and then kicked up with my hind legs to a standin’ position ta survey just what in the hell was goin’ on.

Everypony was down. Most of our costumes had burn damage, we singed, or straight up melted off in places, and everypony was burned somewhere. Of all of us though, Twilight was in the worst shape. Ah don’t know when or how it happened, but her whole damn horn was in pieces, and it looked like she’d burned off some of her own mane. Holy goddess, what in the world happened ta you? Thankfully she was still breathin’, but there was blood runnin’ down her cheeks from her eyes, and that helmet she wears was melted straight off her head.

“Amazing. Absolutely astounding. For the longest time, I thought your winged unicorn was merely a slot to be filled on your team, but from that display, she surely has a purpose. Has the Centurion always been your fail safe? I’m simply dying to know.” A familiar voice said. Ah turned ta my left where the only undamaged screen and or window in a mile radius still stood and Persona’s mask occupied. If he’s here, than that must mean… Ah took a deep breath and made a decision.

“Nopony on my team has no purpose. Yer monster is dead, Persona!” Ah said back ta him. The mask smiled and frowned a little bit more and shrugged on invisible shoulders.

“A shame, truly. But when faced with a power that could rival that of the Radiant Sun, I doubt any creature on this planet could survive. Congratulations, heroes! Or should I say heroine? Since you seem the be the only one standing. Either way, you outlasted Ramiel, and I simply couldn’t believe my eyes when you did. Allow me to let you in on something interesting… did you know, that when you, Marevelous Red, fired that spear into Ramiel the first time, that you had already won?” Persona asked. Ah narrowed my eyes at him.

“What?” Ah responded.

“Yes! Ramiel’s mirror was damaged when you shot him! It had already begun to crack at that moment, and he had merely minutes to remain alive! And so, with every fiber of his being he tried his hardest to destroy you. Even I, his master, his maker, did not know he could take to the sky to amass so much power. He tried with everything he had to kill you in his final moments, and you still yet succeeded. If I were to say what is most dangerous about you, it would not be your speed or strength, but that amazing judgment and quick thinking is what makes you simply Marevelous. Truly a perfect recreation of the first hero. But alas, it seems as if I’m running out of time to talk, so your question. Quickly, if you will.” Persona said. It was already done for? We… we woulda won if we’d just retreated and played keep away? Damn it! No… Ah can think about that later, my friends look like most of ‘em are about half way dead and they need ta get ta Scootaloo quick. Why… Why did this all have ta happen?

“Alright, fine. Why? Why do ya do it? Why parade around as a villain lookin’ fer this Original of yers without a care in the world? How is this thin’ worth so much more than the lives y’all ruin in the process?” Ah asked.

“Ha… ha ha ha! That was more than one question, but sure, why not!? When you step on an ant, do you stop to think or care about it? Of course you don’t, it’s simply a bug in your path! Nopony in the world is worth more to me than the Original is, and if you think I wouldn’t slaughter a city full of ponies to find it, then you would be wrong! As a matter of fact, I had hoped nopony would take my initial warning seriously just to see what she would do in the face of all that death! It would have been hilarious, just to think about how she would grieve, knowing that everything up until now was her fault! However, playing this game with you has been much, much more fun than that. You surprise me at every turn, you accomplish what I perceive to be impossible, and you surpass every single expectation I have for you! You are the hero I have long awaited to see. You are the hero I wished she was back then, and you… have never failed me. Why do I do it? She is watching, and she can answer you that, my dear Marevelous Red.

This game is beginning to make me weary, and my time it seems… is running out. My strongest hope has been defeated, so now… I only wish to see you all prevail over the last impossible walls I can set before you. Take the spot of my new hero and never fail me like the one before you did! Until we meet again, heroes!” Persona finished. The screen went dark, and with persona gone, Ah was left in silence. So… who is… she?”

Persona XII: Love

Applejack

About a second passed after Persona disappeared before Ah was just about blinded by a flash of golden light.

“Oh, good goddess, what in the world did you do to yourself!? Twilight? Twilight, speak to me!” Sounded the voice of a frantic mother. Ah turned quick enough ta see the big white alicorn grab a much smaller orange pegasus at her side and more or less press her to the violet alicorn in her hooves. “I don’t care what you have to do, you have to fix this!” Celestia practically yelled in her ears. “Twilight honey, mommy is here. Please wake up…” she whispered to the unconscious body as she stroked her daughter’s mane. Another flash, this time in blue, and then somepony Ah’d never seen arrived.

“What are you doing!? Do you know if his cameras are still on? What if he is watching us right now? Change your appearance this instant! If the world finds out that you are involved in this…” This dark blue unicorn mare, whom Ah assume is Luna, berated Celestia. The frantic white alicorn, turned angry white alicorn whipped her head around and just about pressed her nose against disguised Luna.

“This would never have happened if you hadn’t gone behind my back and started testing her powers! When did you teach her that spell? When did I teach you that spell? Do I even know how to perform that spell? How did she even perform it? It was well beyond her capabilities right now, there’s no way… why did this happen?” She complained until she started ta break down inta tears. Luna, Scootaloo and Ah looked from her ta each other and then backed away slowly.

“Uh… we should probably give her some space. Ah think the pieces are still around, ya think ya could fix her horn?” Ah asked, tryin’ ta stay calm. Scootaloo nodded quietly and then started ta look for a piece of Twilight’s horn ta start from. “So, what exactly happened here? Ah kinda passed out after the big explosion.” Ah asked over the very loud, ugly sobbing that was coming from Celestia.

“That… is a very good question. Previous to yesterday, I thought the kind of magic she just produced was well beyond her capabilities too, but that was not so, apparently. The first thing that happened was the dome of light she spawned to protect you all from what I assume was Ramiel’s maximum fire power. It was not quite the blast that created Caballo crater, but it would have marred the face of the planet had it not been stopped.

We had planned to intervene at that point, but then Twilight started to recite a spell which made Celestia stop in her tracks. I do not know if you are privy to this, but Equestrian magic is not verbally spoken. It has always been a very mathematical, scientific approach to things where as alicorn magic is what relies on emotion and word spoken into power. This is why we believe things in our home realm went so… poorly in the first place. Simply being ‘angry’ could empower one to perform more dangerous magic. Hate spreads violence, violence spreads hate, and that kind of cycle consumes a world.

I do not know what exactly it was that she just performed, but it certainly was not any kind of magic from this realm. That aside, what she returned to Ramiel was well more than beyond what I thought she was capable of for the next few centuries. I do not know how she did it, but that blast could have made a second Caballo crater, and I am only thankful that the moon was not in its path.” Luna answered. Ah frowned. Foreign magic? And magic powerful enough ta put a hole in the planet too… What in the world?

“Ugh, what happened?” Blur groaned as she got up from the ground. She turned toward the source of the constant loud sobbing and then backed away slowly toward us. “Are we dead? Or are we soon to be dead? I don’t know about you, but I think what I’m seeing here is probably more dangerous than the fight we just had. Also, who is this?” Blur whispered.

“That’s Luna, and maybe. Uh, try and wake up Goose, and once that’s done take what’s left of those spears back ta the castle. You’re not banged up too bad are ya?” Ah asked. She shook her head.

“Nah. You… and Twilight apparently, did most of the work honestly, I’m just a little burned here and there. Oh wow, is her horn missing! What happened?” Blur asked. Celestia stopped cryin’ fer a second, turned ta us, looked back down a her daughter’s head, and then went back ta cryin’. “Uh, you know what? Never mind. I’ll go… do that thing you said.” And then she started ta try and wake up Goose.

“I found it! But uh… something weird happened.” Scootaloo said. The three of us looked up ta her, and she was carryin’ Twilight’s horn in her hooves. Or most of it, anyways. There were some pieces missin’ in a few places, and even stranger, it didn’t reform back ta Twilight like lost feathers would ta a wing.

“Oh no… Please, just… just see if you can’t put it back to her head…” Celestia might as well moaned.

“I mean… I’ll try, but no promises that it’ll work. If this was anything like normal, It would’ve already reformed so…” Ah never realized how big Celestia’s eyes were beforehoof, but the face she made coulda put a puppy ta shame. “Well, maybe horns are just different and it’ll just go back… with extra effort…” Scootaloo offered. She realigned the sorta malformed, pieces-missin’ bone back ta the broken segment it used ta be attached ta on Twilight’s head and then pressed her hooves ta it. After she’d used her powers, the horn itself definitely reattached, but still looked beat up and ‘broken’ ta some degree.

“Oh, thank the goddess, at least it’s reattached! Scootaloo, what you’ve done here today will never be forgotten.” Faster than anypony coulda reacted ta, Celestia brought Scootaloo in and kissed her on the mouth, then went back ta coddlin’ her daughter. “The royal family will forever be indebted to you and the generations that come from you. My poor baby, everything will be fine in time… everything will be fine in time…” The big white alicorn mother sat there and rocked her unconscious daughter, and Scootaloo just kinda stood there with a dead, blank look on her face. If Ah had ta guess, I can only imagine the words, ‘How did my life come ta this point?’ were runnin’ through her head. Luna-not-luna trotted over ta Scootaloo, tried ta get her attention by callin’ her name and wavin’ a hoof in front of her face, but nothin’ seemed ta do it.

“We… may need to look into therapy for Scootaloo.” Luna-not-luna said. Her horn lit up, and Scootaloo started zombie walkin’ over ta the other members of Harmony and pressin’ her hooves on ‘em. One by one they started ta wake up, and after she was done, she went back ta starin’ off inta the distance.

“I… don’t know what I just woke up to, but whatever it is, I am extremely uncomfortable with it.” The Crow said.

“I-I second that.” Target added.

“Me three.” The Black Knight followed.

“Oh, that isn’t good.” Diamond finished. They each kinda rubbed off the sleep and stretched themselves, but all stopped as soon as they saw Celestia kinda rockin’ in place with Twilight’s unconscious body in her lap and speakin’ softly ta the body with tear stained, wild eyes.

“Um… Well, I believe this might just be the second time I have ever seen my sister experience a mental break down, but, um… Actually, now that you are awake, could you transport us back to the base? This… display does not need to be seen by the world, and most certainly does not need to be seen by the country in the event Persona is still recording.” Luna-not-luna said ta the group. Blur had followed my instructions and was in the process of tryin ta move the spears as quick as she could, and the others were just real confused. Scootaloo had not yet recovered. The four looked ta each other, then ta me, then ta the princess, then ta Luna-not-luna, then ta Scootaloo, and quickly back ta me. Ah just shook my head.

“Just… don’t worry about it. Let’s go home.” Ah said. They all shook their heads and gathered around the rockin’ princess. Luna-not Luna collected Scootaloo on her back, and once everypony was in place, The Black Knight took us home.

“I am deeply sorry.” Luna apologized as she bowed to the teen orange pegasus.

“It was my first kiss…” She replied aimlessly.

“I am so, so very sorry.” Luna said again, pushin’ her horn even closer ta the ground.

“I’m not even in to mares. How did my life come to this?” She continued, staring off into space. The rest of us had gathered at the living room table, while Celestia had retreated with Twilight ta Twilight’s room and had not been seen since. We had heard moans and sobbing coming from in there, but none of us were brave enough ta go check on ‘em. The rest of us were still half in costume, but we’d all taken our masks and head pieces off.

“So uh… can you come tell us what the fuck is going on? Squirt, you just need to get over it. I mean. I can’t say I know what she’s going through, but Celestia is kinda crazy right now and she probably didn’t even realize what she was doing, yeah? Come have a seat. Or better yet, take care of Applejack’s hooves already!” Rainbow yelled at Scootaloo. Scootaloo lost her staring contest with the ceiling and gained a bit of life in her eyes ta yell back.

“It was my first kiss, Rainbow! My first one, and I didn’t even want it! You can’t even call me ‘Squirt’ anymore, I’m taller than you now! Ugh, my life is ruined!” She flipped her mane and rolled her eyes and stomped her way over ta me ta fix my hooves. Cool relief washed over my forelegs as the skin went from black and bubbly in places ta pink and soft where it needed ta be, followed by some weird, history channel style, time-lapse like coat growth akin ta grass. As soon as my legs looked normal, Scootaloo just kinda dropped ta the ground.

“I can’t believe she kissed me! I’m so tired I can’t even stand, but I don’t even care! I’ll never get it back! What if… what if somepony saw it? I’ll be branded a faggot for the… rest of my life. Oh my goddess, if Sweetie and… Applebloom find out, I’ll never… hear the end of it. My life is… over…” She continued ta complain through yawns until finally, she passed out.

“Speaking of things I’ll never hear the end of…” Rainbow said as she got up and collected Scootaloo with her blood. “I’m gonna go take her to her room. Somepony better be ready to tell me why Celestia is… doing what she’s doing, and how we’re still alive right now when I get back.” Rainbow demanded, then started walking away to the bedroom halls. As Rainbow left, Blur returned still in costume with the last mangled spear strapped ta her back. She was goin’ ‘slow’ fer her, but it didn’t look like she was real worn out either. She was the only one aside from me ta wake up on her own after all.

“Okay… this is the last… one.” She said through pants. She dropped the spear on the ground with a loud gong-like clang, then unzipped as much of her suit as possible before keelin’ over. “Guys, those things weigh a ton.” she said through heavy breathin’.

“Well, Celestia did say she didn’t think anypony but Applejack and Goose could fire them to begin with. I’m just more surprised that there was a whole race that could lift those… terrible things.” Rarity commented.

“Sure, but those ‘terrible things’ just saved our lives… I think? I’m still at a loss for what happened back there. The last thing I remember…” Goose started, then his eyes drifted over ta me. His face turned flush and he immediately went ta lookin’ at his hooves under the table. “… was a whole lot of light.” He finished. It took me a moment ta realize what he was talkin’ about, but as soon as it hit me, Ah more or less mimicked his motions.

“M-me too.” Ah commented quietly.

“I-I… I’ll just ignore that one. W-what happened to Twilight? S-she looked like she was in t-terrible shape… beneath all the feathers.” Fluttershy asked. Ah shook my head, then Luna appeared and took Twilight’s seat. Funny, Ah don’t even remember her leavin’.

“To be perfectly honest with you all, I do not know.” Luna started.

“Hey, don’t start without me!” Rainbow yelled as she came runnin’ in from the hall ta her foldin’ chair between me and Goose. Once she was situated, Luna’s horn lit up and screens of blue light flashed up in front of the seven of us.

“This would be the footage from when I assume most of you passed out.” She said. The blue turned white, then a familiar scene started ta play out. The two tone explosion knocks all of us but Twilight down, and a few of us hit our heads real hard. She however, had thrown up a barrier right at that moment and protected herself from the knockback. In the corner of the screen, Ah saw my head turn and watched my own lips mouth words Ah hadn’t used in over a decade. Were Ah Sweetie, Ah doubt my whole body wouldn’t have lit up like a torch. My attention was taken when Ah started ta hear muffled words come from Twilight.

“… soul… defend! … sky… twilight! AEGIS!” In a flash of bright white light, her whole body lit up like a neon light. The colors in her coat and mane glowin’ as bright as a star and a dome of light that looked almost like a mix of fog and fire started ta spew from her horn coverin’ us all. A bolt of violet lightnin’ shot from the middle and formed the shape of her cutiemark just as a lesser bright light collided with the shield. Like a waterfall, the light from above splashed out all around in glowin’ sea foam and continued fer what felt like a whole minute. As soon as the light from above stopped, the dome retreated inta Twilight’s head, and the glow on her body became much, much more intense. Almost like a supernova, the light comin’ from Twilight shot directly up in a beam even larger than the one that struck her shield. The clouds all around the sky cleared as the camera moved with the attack. It came in contact with what looked like the last of Ramiel and disintegrated him as it passed through and continued off inta space.

When all was said and done, she started pukin’ blood and stumblin’ around on her legs like a newborn. Bright light started ta emit from inside her horn, and then sure enough, it exploded off the top of her head. Her body went limp, and she fell ta the floor. A few minutes passed, and then Ah got up. Ah had my conversation with Persona. He gave his spiteful speech about that mystery mare, and the moment he finished the word ‘heroes’ the screen went dark.

“With this video, we learned two things: one, Twilight is far more powerful than we ever anticipated, and where she gets this power, we do not know. And two, Persona’s cameras, where ever they may be, have limited audio capturing capabilities, so you must be careful with the things you say out loud even more so than before. Thankfully, the video cuts just before Celestia rushes head first to care for Twilight, but goddess knows that could have been a disaster.” Luna finished. Good goddess… who knew she had that in her. Ah figured she was capable of well more than she used at the moment, but that… if Ah didn’t know any better, Ah might guess she was Celestia under that armor…

“Uh, holy shit. I… I don’t even have the words. The shield didn’t even budge under Ramiel’s final attack, and even then, she put out more than he shot at us in the first place, didn’t she?” Rainbow more or less spoke fer the group. Half of ‘em were still slack jawed. Luna nodded in affirmation.

“That is correct. To reiterate for those of you who were not awake at the time, the blast Ramiel fired would have likely been enough to wipe out most of the sewer systems in Manehattan, obviously destroying everything within several miles of the city. What Twilight returned however… had that hit the ground, this would be the site of the second Equestrian crater.” Luna affirmed with a darkened tone. Ah shivered at the thought. Like mother, like daughter…

“Uh, holy shit, again.” Rainbow added.

“While I’m not one to use such language, I second that notion. Did… did anypony know she could’ve done that?” Rarity continued. Luna shook her head.

“Even Celestia was unaware. Apparently she wasn’t sure she could even perform the spell Twilight cast, so evidently she knew what it was, but had never used such a spell herself. How Twilight learned it, we may never know.” She finished. We all sat in silence till Pinkie leaned forward, puttin' her elbows on the table and holdin' her hooves ta her mouth.

“So, how Twilight saved us is interesting and all, but honestly, that’s not super important right now. I think… we should focus on who this ‘she’ Persona mentioned is.” She said, givin’ us all a pretty serious look. It was… kinda weird since she’s not really the type ta put thin’s on track like that.

“Y-you make a good point, P-pinkie. I-I mean, not to point hooves or a-anything, but you and Celestia are the o-only ponies who come to mind that would c-care about ‘slaughtering a city f-full of ponies.’ D-do you know something we don’t?” Fluttershy asked. Ah couldn’t help but think there was a hint of a smile on her face when she said that, which gives me a few bad feelin’s about this. Luna shrugged and shook her head.

“We know many things you do not know, and there are many things we are not going to tell you as well. It is possible that sister or I may be the pony Persona is referring to, but who he is and why exactly he is doing this depends on the pony behind the mask. Until we know that, it could be any number of our enemies, and any number of reasons behind it.” She stated, cold and stone like.

“Yeah, but in that case, why doesn’t Rainbow just spill the beans? You know who it is don’t you?” Goose said. We all turned ta stare at her, and she just huffed and shook her head.

“I… look, I was told very explicitly by my partner not to fuck this up for them. I don’t have any control over the princesses, and I’m still not entirely sure that they won’t just go have a hit put on Persona and fuck this up for everypony. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather deal with one big monster than a country full of potentially millions of smaller ones. I’ll talk to my partner about this, but I’m gonna need something in some kinda covenant level agreement that says you won’t just go try to kill Persona once you have their name.” Luna scowled.

“Please, as if we are idiotic enough to just go kill somepony who stated he was willing and able to slaughter our own citizens in droves! What kind of fool do you take me for?” She scoffed. Rainbow tilted her head and raised her chin.

“Yeah, sure. But I want you to know that I’ve heard the stories you won't share with your people, and I know that you two aren't as prefect as you try to make yourselves look. The name The Radiant-” Rainbow began, but Luna reared up and slammed her hooves on the table, making a deafening clang that rang throughout the crystal halls. A dark violet fire erupted from Rainbow’s mouth, and she ceased up and started clawin’ at her tongue.

“You will hold you tongue! Never speak that name again, or you will join your former comrades in hell, do you understand me!?” She boomed. Muffled screams choked out of Rainbow’s throat til the veins in Luna’s neck became less visible, and she calmed down. Once the princess was seated, the fire died and Rainbow passed out on the table. “You will not ask, you will not even think about uttering those words, all of you. Am I clear?” She demanded. The rest of us had been just about stunned by the event that happened, and we quickly nodded in accord.

“Good. I… have some things I need to attend to now. Let me know when Celestia returns to her senses. Take this time as your leisure, there is still much work for you to accomplish in the coming days. Repairs to the city are thankfully minimal this time around, so I will at least congratulate you for that. I will return here tomorrow to collect my sister, lest she come home before then. You have until Wednesday to rest. Any further matters will wait until then.” Luna said. She sighed and shook her head, then turned away from Twilight’s chair and flashed away in blue magic. As soon as she was gone, Fluttershy rushed over ta Rainbow’s side ta check on her tongue.

“O-Oh my goddess, are you okay?” She asked, kinda frantic. Ah don’t think Ah’ve ever seen her show so much concern fer anypony, so it was a bit of a shock fer me… and everypony else fer that matter. Rainbow started ta stir back up and she shook herself awake. She quickly opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, blowin' as much air on it as possible ta try and cool it off.

“Uh… It still hurts, but it’s not like… searing anymore…” Rainbow noted quietly. Without any warnin’, Fluttershy grabbed Rainbow’s tongue. From inside her coat’s pocket, she grabbed a vial of pale pastel green gel and dumped it over the burns that formed the brand. Rainbow’s tongue started to sizzle, but it didn’t look like she was in any pain. “hat za ell?” She managed ta get out with her tongue stuck ta Fluttershy’s hoof.

“J-just deal for a minute, okay? T-that is going to hurt tomorrow, and it will hurt w-worse if you don’t let the gel take e-effect.” She said, as if she knew better.

“Has… has this happened before?” Goose asked. She nodded.

“I-I… have made some comments and had the b-brand used on me before for… good reason. M-more than once. Y-you can trigger it yourself, b-but when a princess uses it, s-she can make it hurt without s-searing off the tongue completely. I-I had this requested after the s-second time in the event I or s-somepony else needed it.” She explained. She let go of Rainbow’s tongue and visibly relaxed under her clothes, her gun shiftin’ on her back.

“Bleh, you have ash all over your hooves.” Rainbow spat. “How in the hell did you get that used on you more than once? Who did you piss off?” she asked. Fluttershy shook her head.

“D-don’t worry about it. T-that’s been over and done with for a while… I-I think I’m going to go take a shower and a nap. I-it’s been a long day.” Fluttershy said, then just kinda walked off and disappeared behind her bedroom door.

“You know, that sounds like a wonderful idea. I think I’ll do that before I head out myself. It would be nice to feel something other than the horrid pounding on my head at the moment.” And just like that, Rarity had left too.

“Anypony else really concerned about Fluttershy now? I know I haven’t known her all that long, but if not Luna, who used the brand on her? Twilight and Celestia don’t seem like the type to use it, so if they did, then… what in the world did she say to piss them off?” Pinkie asked. Ah just shook my head.

“Ah… ya know, there’s just more goin’ on in that head of hers than we really know.” Ah said. It’d be one thin’ if Ah could tell which one is her and which one is the beast, but sometimes Ah’m just not sure who Ah’m lookin’ at.

“I guess. I’m almost kinda shocked that she went to help you out like that. She’s never… I don’t know, it’s almost like she’s always sitting behind a sheet of frosted glass. You know that there’s somepony there, but there’s only so many details you can make out when you look at her. Lately, it’s as if that glass has cleared up. Well, at least for me. She’s been a different pony since you showed up, honestly.” Pinkie said. Of course, Ah knew better, but as ta why she’s been so… alive lately, Ah couldn’t say. Rainbow scratched at the scar under her eye and kinda looked away from everypony.

“Well… you… you know about the beast right? It’s not just… something that hides inside of her, it’s… it’s its own creature. She thinks for herself, it’s like there are two ponies in her head at any one point and time, and sometimes… they blend together. She gets unstable when they mix. I haven’t seen her in nearly seven years, so she’s been that long without my blood in her system, keeping her separated. This is… probably what normal, closer to adult Fluttershy would be like if there wasn’t another... thing lurking in her head.” Rainbow said reluctantly.

“That would explain a few things. Do you… do you think we should just keep an eye on her? I’ve read a lot of her manga lately, and the more I do, the more I kind of understand some of the things she does. But at the same time… the heroes in half the manga she owns all end up leading tragic lives, or out right dying in the end. It… makes me nervous. This kind of behavior reminds me the characters who are preparing to die in those stories, and I… I don’t want to lose another sister.” Pinkie said in a tone of remorse. The room went completely silent. Speakin’ of ponies actin’ strange…

“Do you… want to talk about it? I don’t really know any of you as well as I think I should, save maybe Applejack, and you being worried like this over my crazy friend speaks a lot, ya know?” Rainbow said. Slowly, Pinkie nodded.

“Y-yeah… yeah, that would be nice.” She agreed. The two got up and started headin’ ta Rainbow’s room as they discussed Fluttershy. And then… there were two. Ah stared at him, he stared at me. We broke eye contact, then made it again, just ta lose it before either of us could say anythin’.

“S-should we uh…” he started.

“Y-yeah… we um…” Ah continued.

“M-my place… uh, my dad’s old place anyways…” he offered.

“T-that sounds great! Er… Ah uh… Ah think.” Ah finished, maybe a bit too nervous, maybe a bit too eager. In unison, we got out of our chairs and stood in front of each other. He held out a hoof ta me and Ah took it in mine. He took a breath and then the world wiped away.

“So… I just want to make sure that I heard what I think I did earlier. You… you said that right? That wasn’t just my imagination, I’m not going crazy, right?” Goose asked. He’d taken me ta his dad’s house, which Ah deducted by all the records and framed pictures everywhere. The walls were covered in a thick coat of dust, as was everythin’ else, save fer a table that looked like it had somethin’ big and square on it not too long ago, but that had been moved since. The walls were all painted a dark violet, and the carpet that covered the floors was a black and white patterned thin’ that Ah could only assume was custom made. He’d removed a tarp that he had over a big couch that was bright white with golden accents all along it. In a way, it was like we’d gone back in time. This place looked like it came from almost thirty years ago, as if nothin’ had ever changed since then. Ah scratched at the back of my head. Ah could feel my face was flushed and Ah couldn’t quite look him in the eyes fer very long.

“Well… Ah mean… yeah. It’s… it’s not like Ah… it’s not like Ah coulda said that ta anypony else…” Ah managed ta get out without stutterin’. Of course, Ah was also prepared ta die and Ah didn’t want ta do that without tellin’ ya the truth, but Ah wasn’t prepared fer what happens if Ah survived, so… here we are. He swallowed and more or less couldn’t look me in the eye either.

“… A-and… you m-meant it, right? L-like, you didn’t just say it because… because you thought we were gonna die… right?” he asked.

“Well, Ah mean, yeah Ah… Ah said it because Ah thought we were gonna die, but… but that doesn’t mean Ah… Ah didn’t mean it or anythin’…” Ah retorted. He brought his hooves ta his face and tried ta mute his own laughter. “What’s so funny!?” Ah just about yelled at him, which only made him laugh more.

“I… I’m sorry, you’re just… you’re just so cute, I can’t…” He quit laughin’ after a bit, then blindsided me. “I love you too.” He said as he leaned in and kissed me. Ah had ta check and see if Rarity was anywhere near after the fact, because right then, it was like time itself stopped. Every single sensation ran through my brain almost like each feelin’ processed individually. The warmth of his lips, how soft they were, how sweet they tasted. Ah’d never felt anythin’ like it before, and when he pulled away, Ah didn’t want it ta end. Without really thinkin’ about it, Ah kinda tackled him ta the couch and kissed him back. This one lasted longer, soon enough Ah felt my tongue snake its way in his mouth and they started ta dance with each other as we wrapped ourselves around one another in an embrace Ah’d long wanted ta feel but didn’t have the courage ta admit ta myself or anypony else. After what felt like an eternity, Ah realized that Ah needed ta breathe and pushed myself off him. We both gasped fer air and sat on the couch fer a few minutes just ta breathe.

“Is that… Is that what it feels like all the time?” Ah asked, finally catchin’ my breath. Even now, Ah wanted ta get back at it, but thought Ah was gonna die if Ah didn’t have an oxygen tank on or somethin’. My heart was poundin’, my head was racin’, and Ah was havin’ trouble just not actin’ on every impulse that Ah was feelin’ at the moment.

“No… at least not… not in my experience. It’s never been… that good.” He said through a heavy breath after he wiped his mouth off. Ah suddenly felt the need ta do it myself, and sure enough, mine was glazed in saliva. Who it belonged to? Ah couldn’t say. “You… you’re dangerous. Have you really never… kissed anypony before?” He asked between breaths. Ah shook my head.

“Ah mean… no and… definitely not like… not like that. That was… somethin’ else entirely. Do ya… do ya wanna go again?” Ah asked. My head wasn’t super clear at the moment, but more than anythin’ else, Ah wanted ta be pressed up against him right now, and it was takin’ all the willpower in the world ta not just tackle him again. He finally caught his breath and then relaxed sittin’ up on the couch.

“Well, the hormone driven answer is yes, but… I’m not so sure that’s a great idea.” He said. Not really words Ah wanted ta hear, but Ah doubt it would take much convincin’ ta change his mind.

“Well… why is that? Ah don’t know about you, but Ah feel fantastic right now… and especially since Ah’m with you.” Ah said as Ah scooted over on the couch till our flanks were pressed together. Ah made every attempt ta catch his eyes, and he made every attempt ta keep his eyes off me.

“It’s just… you know… what if… what if we… you know… I just… I just don’t wanna go too far. You’re… very aggressive, and if things… got out of hoof, I don’t think I could stop either of us. I mean... if you didn't get off like you did... I don't know that I would've stopped just now.” Ah rolled my eyes and leaned a little harder on him till he was starin’ me in the eyes.

“And if Ah just… decided that Ah want ta go too far, what would ya do then?” Ah said. Hold on a minute. What are ya doin’? My own voice in my head started ta break through the fog.

“Well… that’s just not fair. Why uh… how about this? I know that I’m still hopped up on hormones and adrenaline, and you probably are too, so why don’t we just… hang out for a while? If you still feel this way later, then I’m yours. I… I love you, and if or when we go that far, I don’t want you to regret it later, okay?” Goose said as he took my hooves and finally looked me in the eyes. Sweet and sincere, that sunset orange just like Manehattan bay at dusk. Ah sighed.

“Fine, deal. Ah love you too.” Ah said with a quick peck on the lips. Ah leaned up against him and we both leaned back on the couch. He put his foreleg over my shoulder, then Ah grabbed his hoof, and there we sat. Come on. Ah’m really in the mood fer this, can’t ya just… let me have it? My own voice came back inta my head and started beratin’ me.

There are consequences fer doin’ shit like this!

But what does it matter if Ah don’t live that long?

Ya thought ya were gonna die not but a few hours ago, yet here we are! Calm down and think, ya horny bitch!

Fuck you, Ah am calm! Ah’m done thinkin’ about it! All my life, Ah’ve spent worryin’ about what happens next, and whether or not Ah’ll see tomorrow, and ya know what? Ah’m tired of it! Ah missed out on so much because Ah was too busy worryin' about tomorrow! When Ah stop worryin’, when Ah stop frettin’ over how this’ll hurt me in the future if somethin’ goes wrong, Ah can get shit done! So what if somethin’ happens? What if Ah die in the next three weeks? Then I’ll never get ta be with him, and Ah’ll never get ta experience any of the same shit that half the ponies in the world do! If this is love, then Ah want ta get all Ah can out of it before Ah lose it!

Fine. Do somethin’ dumb, get pregnant, ruin yer whole damn life just because ya think it’s gonna end. How are ya gonna raise a kid? Ya don’t know the first damn thing about foals, let alone havin’ one yerself. Why not just wing it? It’s not like that’ll cause any problems down the line. Hey, maybe ya can end up just like yer mother, die in childbirth and leave a baby in a broken family!

Damn it, this is exactly why Ah shut myself off from others in the first place! Don’t y’all come talk ta me about who ruins what when most of my life has been nothin’ but tragedy and poverty!

And you’re gonna force that same life on yer own kids just because you’re too dumb and horny ta think straight? Ya woulda done this last week if ya weren’t so afraid ta admit the truth, and now that it’s out there, ya just got a fire burnin’ between yer legs! A wise old stallion once said ‘biology doesn’t care.’ Who do ya think that was directed ta? Applebloom is smarter than you, and yer brother’s already been around the rodeo more than a few times!

… Son of a bitch.

That’s what Ah thought. Can’t ya just enjoy this? You’re here, he’s here, you’re together, and ya both know that ya love each other. Isn’t this enough fer now?

After losin’ an argument with myself and finally gettin’ the time ta calm down, Ah admitted he was right, and Ah wasn’t thinkin’ straight. Or at all really. Ah’m more than sure Ah’m the mare in this relationship, but he acts more like a mare than Ah do more than half the time. Even so… there’s nopony else Ah’d rather be with. If this is what love is like… then Ah don’t really mind stayin’ like this forever.

Persona XIII: Pink Yellow and Blue

Pinkamena Diane Pie

“Today was a day of many firsts for me. I looked up to the sky this morning and thought, ‘Wow, what a pretty blue!’ and only half an hour later, that color was death staring me in the face. Bright white lights, burning metal, lasers from all directions, a leader frantically trying her best to turn the situation around and being thwarted at every turn, only for some deus ex machina bullshit to come save us out of nowhere in the end. Nopony knew she had the power to do what she did, we weren’t saved by fate or anything so grandiose as divine providence, as if the goddess truly gave a shit about what happens down here, no. We were saved by luck.

Sure, somepony could make an argument that it was tactics and raw power, the ability to keep pushing and managing to push through, but really? This time, we didn’t have any of that. I don’t have any right to be standing here, alive and well today for a number of reasons, but that? That is the biggest one, and for the first time in my life… I’m shaking at the thought of ‘what if’s.’ I should be dead. We should all be dead. But no, here I am, here we are, sitting around this castle contemplating about how we’re not dead and how we proceed from here on.

How do we move forward? I’m not strong, and trump card breaks my pathetic little bones to splinters since I’m not a freaking demi-goddess like she is. I don’t have the toughness of the pony-shark hybrid, I don’t have a monster lurking in the back of my head, I don’t have blood that can save me without my asking, and time doesn’t wait head and hoof for me. All I can do is run, and run, and run, and nothing else.

When you were lying there, staring that ever growing bright light in the face, preparing for it all to end, what went through your head? Because in mine, all I saw were the regrets I still have, and the failures that brought me here, everything I missed and might never have. I still have most of a family out there, probably and I just… ran. What good is a heroine who just runs away? Am I really of any value here when there’s somepony else who can just… press pause on the world to beat time instead of just moving a little bit faster within it? I just… I just don’t know what I really have to offer here. Once upon a time I could at least distract a crowd in a fight, but… that’s not worth much anymore, so… what am I worth now?” I lamented. Rainbow’s room was relatively barren, save for a laptop and a coat rack with her helmet on it. That thing used to strike fear into the streets of Manehattan, but I wonder how it looks to the ponies today?

“I mean… I don’t know Pinkie, I can’t really say. If you can’t point out the value in yourself, I’m not really the one to do it for you, I’ve only been here for a week, remember?” Rainbow replied. She’d taken off that feather cape of hers and gotten most of her armor off, which I didn’t even realize she wore until now. The greaves and boots had all kinds of scratches and dents and rusted red stains everywhere, even a couple of places that looked like where bullets were stopped. I scooted up to her bed in my folding chair and got a little closer.

“But… but we’ve been fighting together for a whole week! Surely you can point out something I add to the mix, can’t you? Am I… am I really just in the way?” Rainbow pulled off one of the gloves on her hooves with her teeth and spat it out at the rest of her uniform.

“Okay fine, do you really want me to say what I think? Because I don’t think that’s what you want to hear right now.” She exasperated. I rolled my eyes and crossed my hooves over the chair back.

“Yes! If I’m not adding anything to the mix, then what am I here for? Am I useless, am I in the way, am I contributing, I need something! Validate me, tell me I’m being petty and annoying, just say anything! Nopony ever talks about how we perform outside of sucking Applejack’s dick, and I hate it! I never get any feedback aside from somepony telling me to keep trying, but keep trying what? How am I supposed to improve if I don’t know what I’m doing right or wrong in the first place?” I worked up into a yell. I guess I haven’t really opened up to anypony about this before, so maybe it’s all just coming out like pent up frustration? I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but I shouldn’t be yelling at Rainbow, she at least offered to listen.

“Well… I think you work well as a support unit. When you’re most useful, you’re either playing distraction while we set up or you’re marking and finding weak points. What I don’t think you’re good at is attacking and… sometimes you trip over your own hooves you know? You get too stressed out to focused, you think ‘I have to do better, I have to attack and help take down the monster,’ but really, I don’t think you’re all too useful there. I mean, think about what you did in the Sachiel fight, yeah? You cut into the mask, you found the mirror, and you helped everypony else get the job done. It wasn’t your job to give it the finishing blow, it was your job to find where to plant it. Hindsight is 20/20 and all, but even when we win in Celestia’s simulations, on the rare occasions those are, you kinda perform the same task, ya know? Find the weak spot, point it out to us, and if necessary, help us take care of it. Nopony else can survey the enemy as fast as you can, and besides, in any media at all, when is the scout the guy that kills the target?” She said. Her words were true, and in a way, I was relieved.

When Luna had you alone, what did she do? She set you up against a bunch of big golems and told you to figure out where best to hit them. It only worked when you actually took the time to figure out where those weak points were, and rushing in only got you killed. Just because you want to be Applejack doesn’t mean that you can, after all. I darted off the chair and maybe tackled Rainbow in a hug.

“Thank you! Nopony would ever just… tell me what they thought like that. Well… at least without being cruel about it.” I said as I let her go and sat still on the bed. The day we brought Goose back and Fluttershy went off on me like she did still hangs around my head any time I start to think I’m not worth being here. Rainbow pulled off the rest of her suit and tossed it on the coat rack, making a loud clanging of what sounded like chains banging against porcelain.

“Shy put ya in your place, huh?” She said, almost sympathetic.

“Well… yeah. Sometimes I just don’t even feel like a power pony around here, ya know? Even when I first joined, we had the sniper with the crazy eyes that could see for miles in the dark, and the time stopping pony. Sure, it was hard for them to work together since the distance she shoots from isn’t anywhere near where Rarity can have her help and scout objectives at the same time, but I never really helped much either, and… and I just get sick to myself when I see blood and pieces of ponies. How do I compete in a world of monsters? Oh, er… well…” Rainbow held up a hoof to stop me.

“No, no, I get it. You didn’t have to kill to survive and you can’t really bring yourself to do it ever since that time with your sister. Sure, you did something wholly wrong and unjustified to her, but compared to some of us… that really doesn’t mean much. You’re right, after all. We are monsters, among goddesses, among ponies. And really, you only sit just above pony at this point. But, in all honesty, what’s wrong with that? Why do you need to compete when you have a job that nopony else could fill? You have your own role and probably better morals than most of us, so why do you need to be brought down in the muck too? Even after all this time, I still don’t think that the powers I have are worth the lives I stole just for the fun of it. It took me getting involved in some family drama and adopting a sister to figure out that life was precious after years of treating it as my plaything. Maybe I’m doing the right thing now, but between the titles hero and monster, I know I deserve the latter and not the former. But you… you’re clean by comparison, especially to me and Shy.” She said.

It was strange to talk to her and think about who she was at the same time. The pony in front of me looks like one you could easily pick out in a crowd, somepony who was born to stand out, a sharp image made to contrast against the background of the world. But… the way she acts and speaks, she’s like a hammer. Blunt, straight-forward and to the point. She never acts like she’s more than what she is, but what she knows she says as if it’s an indisputable fact. Confidence, that’s what she is. It would be nice to have something like that.

“Well… thanks, I guess. I never really thought about it like that. But at the same time, the things you and Fluttershy say you did are a little far from my imagination, ya know? I’ve seen death before, it’s nothing new. But… killing for the sake of it is just… so out there for me, I just… is there even a feeling I could compare to that? Killing makes me nauseous, and I don’t even have the heart to do it which… has been a point of contention before.” I said. I hate sounding the way I do. It’s like my voice was made to be pitiful all the time.

“Yes, but why is that a bad thing? Ponies shouldn’t be numb to killing. Ponies shouldn’t enjoy killing. The world would have never survived if that were the case, and cities and social lives like this wouldn’t exist if we were all bloodthirsty. As young as I am, I shouldn’t even know that, especially not the way I learned it. Maybe you’re here by happenstance, maybe you’re a runaway who never really should’ve gotten to where you are, but at least you’re not as crazy as the rest of us, yeah?

Like, you know that between Shy and I, we have over a thousand in head counts, right? That’s fucked up. Ponies shouldn’t have this many kills to their names at eighteen, let alone over seven years of combat experience. Hell, the numbers we have are probably higher than more experienced soldiers and serial killers. We were serial killers! Do you know how hard it is to try and pretend to be a good guy when you’ve lost count of the number of dead on your hooves? Don’t try to be us, don’t even want to be us. We couldn’t even atone for this shit over hundreds of lifetimes, you just made a mistake that took an accident too far. Do you even know if your sister is really dead?” Rainbow asked. The more she spoke, she more distressed her voice got. She moved her hooves around as she spoke, mimicking motions, staring at them as if they were covered in something, breathing heavily. When she asked me that final question, I really had no response.

Do… do I know… for sure? She… she was broken but… does that mean she wasn’t…? I replayed the scene in my head in silence. Thud. Crack. Snap. Twist. Thud, crack, snap, twist. Thud crack snap twist. By the third time, I couldn’t take it any more and ended up tossing my lunch into a nearby trash can. I felt a hoof rub softly between my shoulder blades as I sat there shaking.

“Sorry…” she whispered. Time passed, how much I would never be able to tell, until I finally managed to push the image out of my head and breathe again. My stomach finally settled down and I leaned on the edge of the bed with my head in my hooves.

“No, it’s not your fault, I’m just… I’m just pathetic. I can’t even think about it without losing my nerve. I really… don’t belong here…” I admitted. Rainbow scooted closer and put a foreleg around my shoulders.

“Hey, don’t say that. Look, you’re different, alright? None of us are like you, you’re not like any of us, and that’s the kind of thing you need on a team. Everypony has different roles to play, different lives they’ve lead.” Rainbow said softly. Yeah right. You and I are the same age, why am I sitting here letting you take care of me? It’s always been like this. I’m always the kid in a group of adults. Squeamish, pitiful, dependent, and worst of all, weak. I pushed her away and brought my hooves back to my face. I could feel my face heating up and that just made me more angry.

“Can you just… can you just not? I’m so… I’m so fucking sick and tired of feeling like this all the time. ‘It’s not your fault, there’s nothing you could do, it’s okay to be yourself.’ It’s always the same shit, it’s always somepony else saying that it’s enough, well maybe it isn’t, damn it! Why do I always have to be the one who ends up crying? Why am I the only one who gets told to keep trying instead of being yelled at for not being better than I am? I always feel so fucking worthless no matter what I do and nothing ever changes!” I yelled. Next thing I knew, I got slapped across the face.

“Then why don’t you do something about it? Maybe you should face your problems instead of running away from them? Canyou even do anything about it? Because from where I stand, all I’m seeing is a whiny little brat playing superhero. You don’t want help? Then don’t ask for it. You want to do something on your own? Then go fucking do it instead of complaining about how you can’t. You know what I think?

I don’t think you really want to be useful at all. I think you like being coddled by everypony around you. You enjoy being dependent, you like being lazy and not having to work hard for anything. You were even given a power to use to be just as strong as anypony else here, but you’re too afraid of getting hurt to use it. Even now, you have a get out of jail free card for any injury that’s not life threatening sleeping in the room next door, but you still don’t try to take the lead and go for it. If your family is still around, then go find them, face up to what you did and take a stand, damn it! This, right here? This is why Shy went off on you. It’s because you don’t fucking try to fix your own problems! Ya know what? We didn’t even really work all that hard today, Applejack and Twilight did. I think we owe them some hours, and I’m about tired of your shit. Let’s go down stairs…” Before I knew what was happening, I was hogtied by floating blood and Rainbow had put her sword belt back on.

“Uh… what? Now… hold on just a minute-” I started.

“Nope, you’re not getting out of this one. You made the decision to come complain to me because everypony else here has probably already heard that sob story once before. But I’m not like them. I think I like you just enough to let you piss me off, so I’m going to help you out. Tired of being pathetic? Today, we change that.” Rainbow said with a nasty smile on her face. She walked us out of her room and then stopped at Fluttershy’s door. The lights were dark judging by the color, so Rainbow stomped her hoof three times in front of it. A few minutes later, a groggy, messy looking Fluttershy opened up.

“Hmmm?” She managed through half closed eyes.

“I’m going to go beat up a pink pinata, wanna help?” Oh no. Fluttershy looked to Rainbow, then to me. I shook my head fervently and tried to open my mouth, but very quickly found it filled with a warm, jelly like consistency and the taste of iron. Fluttershy then adopted a similar smile and looked like she was awake now. Fuck.

“O-oh, absolutely.”

“Huh. Today I learned. Who knew a hoof could shatter like that?” Rainbow said, completely calm as I let out a deafening scream. Fluttershy nodded.

“I-I think Applejack had something s-similar happen last week. H-her hooves were still all together though. T-the foreleg looked about the same. I-it almost looks like a bag full of broken glass, but p-pink and covered in blood.” Fluttershy calmly assessed through my screaming. Before today, I don’t think I’d ever felt this much pain all at once. As a matter of fact, even after being thrown into and bending shipping containers with my back, I don’t think even that hurt this bad. I only suffered a couple broken ribs and a concussion in that fight. This was on a whole other level entirely.

“Think she’s suffered enough yet?” Rainbow asked.

“N-no, but the screaming is starting to make my ears ring.” Fluttershy commented. Rainbow waived Scootaloo over, who was pressing her wings against her ears. The closer she got, the more she winced, until finally, Rainbow shoved her blood in my mouth to get me to stop. It felt like I was about to suffocate and I was slowly starting to lose vision until finally, the pain started to subside. I could feel my whole body relax as a wave of relief coursed through me. The taste of blood jelly became less intense and I just fell to the floor.

“Cool, all better. Now get up and do it again.” Rainbow said. I shot up, but not to my hooves.

“WHAT!?” I exclaimed.

“Do it again.” She said as if I’d asked in a normal tone. I blinked a couple times and just stared into those unrelenting magenta eyes.

“You can’t be serious.” I remarked.

“I am. Do it.” She commanded.

“Why?” I asked, more like pleaded, really.

“Because this is what you wanted isn’t it? You want to join the monsters right? Monsters are relentless. Monsters never stop. Monsters don’t let up through pain and suffering. Even the loss of limbs and body parts won’t stop a monster.” She stated. Fluttershy joined in.

“A-applejack has a fake tail these days. W-who’s fault was that again? N-not to mention the fact that she p-pushes herself well beyond what she s-should in any given fight. S-so what gives you the right to stop just a-after breaking one hoof? H-how about letting your hooves get seared, o-or holding a hot iron with your teeth, o-or breaking a leg just to ignore it and c-concern yourself with everypony else? Ooh, I know! M-maybe we should have you fight me and s-see if you don’t survive against my other half? T-that was our first mission with her, and s-she’s improved a lot since then. M-maybe you now is somewhere near the realm of A-applejack two months ago? I-it wouldn’t be much of a loss if you c-can’t even manage that.” Fluttershy goaded. I stood up.

“Oh, that is it! Fine, fuck you, I’ll fight the beast, I don’t give a shit!” I yelled in her face. Fluttershy giggled.

“A-are you sure… that’s what you want?” Fluttershy said as her voice started to deepen. I watched and listened as the bones in one of her forelegs started to grow and shift into another shape. The fur of her coat grew long and sickly, her hoof morphed into a claw that could make Rainbow’s sword look like a butter knife. I didn’t even get a chance to react before it was wrapped around my neck and starting to squeeze the life out of me. I struggled to no avail trying to beat the claw off of me, but the yellow mare it was attached to only smiled wide with teeth that didn’t belong to a herbivore.

“What’s wrong, Pinkie? Don’t you want to be a monster like me? This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg. Hit me off. Push me away. Sever the claw. Fight back with everything you have! If you want to live, you have to fight like you’re going to die!” I managed to loosen her grip just enough to breathe, but then she tightened around my neck and slammed me into the wall.

“It would be so easy to just twist a little and open up a slot on the team wouldn’t it? A new team member who doesn’t complain about her status, maybe a strapping stallion to fall in love with? Somepony who isn’t jealous of everything around them, somepony worth investing time in! And to set that all in motion… I would just have to twist… just like this…” the thumb of her claw started to press itself against my face and turn my head. I couldn’t fight the pressure, I could barely breathe as it was, and now that was impossible entirely. My vision started to darken and my head had been turned as far as it should go, but she wasn’t stopping.

Oh goddess. She’s actually going to kill me isn’t she? In just a few seconds, my spine is going to snap and I’ll die. It’s all over. I felt my jaw click and I could swear my skin around her claw was beginning to tear. No, no, no, not like this! Please, anything but this! Do something, she’s going to kill you! I closed my eyes and tried to find that power in my hooves. The burning color started to fill my hooves so quickly that it almost hurt more than the claw on my neck. I tried to gasp for air, but nothing would come of it. I felt a weakness start to fill my limbs, my whole body was going numb. Do it, do it, do it! I tried to curl my hoof and throw the punch, but when it made contact with Fluttershy, she didn’t even loosen her grip. Her foreleg had a dent in it to be sure, the fur around the area I hit was blasted off, but it was almost like she didn’t feel it. That’s it. That’s all I’m worth. Everything I could muster, and it all amounts to nothing.

“Is that all? How pathetic. All you did was break the bone. Pain like that is nothing to a monster like me. Worthless.” She slid me against the wall and then threw me at the ground. When my back made contact with the ground I could finally breathe again and gasped for dear life. I took the air in too fast and then launched into a coughing fit. “Give me a reason! If this is all you’re worth, then you’re not worth anything to anypony! Tell me why I shouldn’t just kill you now and save everypony the trouble!?” She roared at me. She started stomping closer to my position as her form became more and more monsterous with every second that passed by. By the time she’d reached me, her whole body looked like a smaller, yellow and pink version of the monster from the foundry. The red eyes stared into mine and I was frozen. You have to move. She’s actually angry at you, she is going to kill you. You have to run. But there’s nowhere to run to. They sealed off the door. You have to get away. How can I? You have to find help. There are ponies not but meters away, and they’re just standing there watching. Do something!

“No response? Even as death stares at you? You can’t look fear in the face and challenge it? You’re too afraid to even move.” Move! I can’t. Move! There’s nowhere to run. Move! There’s… nothing I can do… Do something! As I sat there and tears started to fill my eyes, a warm sting started to form a pool between my legs. The monster’s nose twitched and then apathy filled her face. “Disgusting base creature! Gripped so tight with fear, you’ve lost control of your bowels. You’re no longer needed here.” Towering over me, she whipped a claw back and brought all her fingers together to form a point. As if the world had moved to slow motion, She stepped forward and twisted her shoulder, the muscles just underneath all that sickly fur rippling as force shot through them. Even in the slowed time, my heart started to beat faster and faster. Do something, do something, do something! The claw was approaching and I still hadn’t moved. Get out of the way! Dodge! Fight back! Survive! See your family again!

A primal scream echoed out of my body as fire started to fill me like nothing I’d ever felt before. In the slowed time, I stepped to the side of the claw as it came whooshing by and punched at the monster’s face as many times as I could manage before the second claw batted me away. My body flew into the wall on the other side of the room, my head banging against the crystal, my stomach feeling like it’d been caved in, making me spew anything I had left in it. The monster was now devoid of fur on the left side of her face and blood was trickling down her jaw. The glowing red eyes turned to me and that leathery skin around her mouth formed into a smile, the blade like teeth cracked and red growing larger in the monster’s maw.

“More! Give me more!” The monster roared as she darted after me. No time to think, I started to move. Even in the slow time, the monster was quick, but not as fast as I was. I circled around her back aiming for the head, but the moment I leapt into the air, the red eye turned to focus on me. Stuck in motion, her claw started to come after me and the air gave me no footing to change direction on. I crossed my hooves in preparation for the worst when the claws slashed into my skin. The searing fire started to rend my flesh as the force connected and tossed me at the ground. Time slowed even further and I managed to twist myself around and land on my hooves. There were deep gashes on my forelegs, but for some reason, I wasn’t feeling much of anything right now. I just wanted to beat the monster in front of me.

I darted after her as she raised her claw with my blood on it to her mouth, lavishing over the blades with her tongue, ingesting my crimson. The monster grew larger in an instant, the pale yellow of her fur had all but withered away, the hints of pink now barely visible beneath the sickly white of it all. As my approach grew more rapid, the monster’s head twisted toward me, bearing her fangs in a sickly smile. Her jaws opened wide, the blades in her mouth glistening against the blue glow of the crystal walls ready to snap me in half. She moved so quickly that my body only managed to fall and slide beneath her mouth just before she’d caught my mane in her teeth. She jerked my head back, taking the rest of me with her, the glowing red eye nearest me making its presence known, almost as if it was smiling itself.

This time both claws wrapped around my body, applying a force that went well beyond anything I was capable of and I couldn’t move any more. I squirmed in place as much as I possible, and when that failed, I just stared her down.

“Look at this little morsel squirming in place. Hate on her face, fledgling desire to kill burning in her eyes. I wonder what changed? Not but a moment ago, she was pissing herself in fear, yet here we are, even managed to make me bleed. Tell me, snack, what is different now?” The monster asked. She loosened her grip enough that I could speak, but I still couldn’t move anywhere, she had my hooves locked in place.

“I still have ponies I need to see. Fuck you, you fucking monster. I can’t believe you would turn on me after all the time we spent together! I thought we were friends!” I spat at her. She tilted her head then licked my face with her massive tongue.

“From where I stand, I’m having a conversation with food that bites back. It’s been nearly a month since I’ve been released and my head hasn’t felt this clear in ages. So tell me, meat, why is it that my darling has asked me to see you? Do you wish for death? Do you desire to be consumed? Or have you done something to make my darling angry? For her to borrow my powers, she had to be utterly disgusted with you.” The monster asked. The way it spoke made it clear that I wasn’t dealing with Fluttershy anymore, and I noticed Rainbow tense up and have Scootaloo move into the stairs. This might not have been part of whatever plan they had.

“Fuck you, fuck Fluttershy, and fuck everypony else! I won’t run any more! If it takes becoming a monster to beat a monster then I’ll do exactly that! Nopony is ever going to call me worthless again and I’ll beat you to prove it!” I yelled at her face. The monster smiled a little more, then without warning, slammed me to the ground. In each massive claw it took my legs and held me still and leaned over me, putting every bit of her weight on me. My bones were seconds away from snapping when the pressure stopped and the creature brought her face inches from mine.

“Is that so? The body of an average pony is rather fragile and a monster like me heals very quickly. Those little scratches you managed to put on me are already gone, you see?” The monster revealed her back teeth, missing any cracks and breaks from earlier. The dent on her foreleg was gone and the fur had all grown back there and on her face. “A monster disregards pain to get the kill. How would you do without a leg or two? Would you still come after me all the same? Why don’t we find out…” She shifted her claw to hold down the rest of my body and wrapped the other one around my left front leg. Ever so slowly she started to stretch it out until it reached a point where skin started to rip. I let out a scream in agony as my elbow became dislocated and the leg continued to move outward.

“Hey, that’s enough!” Rainbow shouted. She took a few steps forward and drew her sword. The monster raised her head and stared her down.

“Take another step and the girl dies. Interfere and I’ll kill the lot of you. Forget not that I know you, blue one.” The monster ordered. She wasn’t kidding and she started digging a claw into my neck to prove it. Rainbow backed down and then the Beast smiled. “Perfect. Now be a good little girl and watch while I play with my new toy.” the monster said. Without any warning, she pulled sharply and twisted my leg till it came free. If I hadn’t been screaming so much already, I probably would’ve done so more if the monster didn’t toss my body away and plant me in the wall. I felt something dig into my cheek, and when I finally fell, a shard of crystal was stuck in my face. I curled up around my missing leg and bit down as hard as I could on my other front leg to alleviate some of the pain. Tears and blood flowed freely from all around, red dousing my vision and making me bleary. I didn’t have the time to cry though, the Beast wouldn’t give it to me. She threw my leg at me and then darted forward with enough force to shake the castle. Crying and bleeding, I got up as quickly as I could to avoid the slam of the monster as she approached.

“Aww, what’s the matter? Weren’t you going to beat me? A real monster would simply ignore the new wound and keep trying her best to kill the target!” The Beast turned and charged after me, digging her claws into the wall and running across it like a spider. An anger washed over me and started to dull the pain. I felt the fire fill my body again and saw my next opportunity. Time slowed once more, and as the monster started to leap through the air after destroying the walls behind her to get to me, I challenged her with as many energized punches as I could manage with one front leg. The monster reacted as she flinched mid flight, but I wasn’t done yet. I used my increased speed to run up the wall around her and reconcentrated all of the fire in my body to my back hooves. I pushed off with my remaining foreleg and slammed my hooves into the other side of her face, breaking teeth and bursting skin as I did. The beast and I crashed to the ground as blood started to ooze from her mouth and another wave of crimson splashed from my stump.

The pain flared back up again, forcing me to clutch my broken bloody elbow and fall to my knees. I didn’t notice her stand back up, and when I did, it was already too late. The monster had me in her claws again, and just as quickly slammed me into the ground. More of my own blood started to pool around me and I could feel myself getting weaker.

“Wonderful, simply astounding! Where is all this power coming from, all this resolve? Is it mere hate that drives you, or has a new spark ignited somewhere there was none before? Killing you would be a waste of untapped potential! You there, blue one! Fix this for me. I yet wish to continue playing with my new toy, but it seems as if she’s all out of time.” The Beast slid me across the floor like a rag doll over to Rainbow. She then rested herself against the west, least broken wall and laughed as she rubbed at the destroyed part of her muzzle. “How long has it been since she’s allowed me to play? Two, even three years? Ah, my darling still yet loves me…” The monster said as she began to shrink. My vision started to darken and I could feel my blood ooze out ever slower.

“Shit, this got taken way too far! Quick, go grab her leg before she fucking dies. Goddess, I didn’t think she was actually going to fight back. Hey, are you still in there? Pinkie?” Rainbow said off in the distance. Weird, she was right next to me, wasn’t she? I saw Scootaloo run off and I knew she said something, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I saw something really bright show up, but then I couldn’t see anything anymore. It was warm, wet and dark and I just felt so… sleepy.

When next I woke, I was nearly sweating, it was so hot. What in the world? I brought my left hoof up to rub at my forehead, I had a massive headache and I felt so dehydrated. I tried to push the covers off my face, but when the big, soft object didn’t move with minimal effort, I wasn’t sure what was going on anymore. I rubbed at my eyes, and just as I did, the thing covering me shifted and pulled away.

“Oh thank the goddess, I wasn’t sure you were going to wake up.” I heard just before I was squished against hooves and a large fluffy chest. “How is your leg? Does it work? Can you move it?” she asked, concerned. It took a moment, but I finally realized who I was talking to and started to wake up a little.

“What? It’s fine. Um… princess? Why are you in my bed?” I asked.

“What’s going on? Did she finally wake up?” I heard a groggy voice sound from the other side of the large white body.

“Hmm?” said another groggy voice from further back. What in the hell is happening right now?

“Pinkie, do you know what day it is?” Celestia asked. My head still hurt and coherent thought was giving me trouble. Isn’t it Sunday? We got back from the fight around one… and then what?

“Sunday?” I said tentatively. The other two, no three, bodies sat up from whoever’s bed this was and looked at each other with concerned looks. My bed isn’t nearly this big. Where am I? Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Scootaloo were all here with the princess, and now I was concerned.

“P-pinkie…” Fluttershy started.

“It’s Monday after noon. You’ve been asleep for nearly twenty four hours… since we reattached your leg.” Celestia finished. Suddenly it all came back to me and I stared directly at my elbow. There was a scar there that ran all the way round it. The feeling that followed threatened to overwhelm me and I started hyperventilating. Celestia pulled me in tighter, running her hoof through my mane and stopping me from shaking. “It’s okay. You’re safe now.” She whispered softly, in an almost hypnotic tone. I sat there with her for who knows how long as my brain replayed the scene of having my leg ripped off over and over again in my head. The tearing of my flesh, the snapping bones, the twisting muscle, and the pain. So much pain. It wasn’t there, but I could still remember it. Like watching a tree break, snapping a twig in half, the sound of fibers ripping apart one by one. The memory filled my eyes with tears and the princess held me closer. Were it not for her hypnotic humming, I probably would’ve started screaming to no end. More time passed until I could finally breathe normally.

“Y-you… you tried to kill me!” I said when my bleary eyes settled on Fluttershy. Her sad green-blues couldn’t stay focused on me and she hid her face behind her hair.

“I-I’m sorry…” She said, remorsefully.

“Yeah, I am too… things… things got way too out of hoof too fast.” Rainbow apologized.

“B-but… why? Why would you… why would you do that?” I asked, still coming to terms with it all. It happened so fast. How did it even get to that point?

“You were saying stupid shit! Look, I get that you’re frustrated and all, but you shouldn’t want to become a monster! We just… we just wanted to show you what monsters were like and… well, you responded in a way we didn’t think you were capable of.” Rainbow said, one hoof on her head, her eyes to the ground. Fluttershy nodded.

“I-I’d never really planned on killing you, I-I was just going to hurt you to show you w-what it feels like. W-when you fought back though… I-I wasn’t in the driver’s seat anymore…” Fluttershy said. Celestia shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“You were both absolutely reckless and unjustified in what you did. What if she’d reacted earlier, and the Beast became angry with her instead of fascinated? You would’ve killed your own comrade over some ridiculous argument, and possibly even gotten yourselves hurt! I simply cannot believe that you would go off and try to hurt each other mere hours after you barely came back alive from a fight you shouldn’t have survived in the first place!” She popped all three of us on the back of our heads with her magic.

“Oww…” we complained.

“Now then, let’s hear it. What did you all learn from this foolish endeavor?” She asked, her tone going from upset to something more like an exasperated teacher.

“T-the cornered rat bites the cat. E-even ponies like Pinkie will fight back i-if you push them far enough.” Fluttershy stated. I narrowed my eyes at her.

“‘Even ponies like me?’ What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked bitterly. I was ignored however.

“Fucking around with Fluttershy’s powers is still a bad idea. It was nice to learn that she has some control over her transformation now, but the minute blood gets involved, then we have a problem.” Rainbow stated, kinda staring off into the distance. Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“Must your mouth be so foul.” I caught her mutter. “And?” she added, this time where everypony could hear it. Rainbow looked from her, then to Fluttershy, then back to Celestia.

“Uh… don’t try to kill your friends? Oh, wait! Not everypony is a coward forever! Er… the backlash of that power Applejack uses can be mitigated by releasing it in short bursts? Um…” Rainbow rambled on. Celestia rolled her eyes and popped her across the head again. “Oww! Why!?” she said as she clutched her ears.

“It seems we’ll need to work on that one.” The princess said. Then she turned to me. “And now you. What have you learned from all this? I know I gave them time to think about what they’d done, but I’d like to see if you have anything to say about it. Unfortunately, the scar on your left leg can’t be healed by magic or Scootaloo’s powers, so you will forever be reminded of what happened yesterday.” She said. I looked back down at my leg and rubbed a hoof along the scar.

“I… I think… I think I’m done running away. All this time, I’ve always run away when something bad happens. I tried to be better, I tried to be a hero like everypony I wanted to be, but… I never could because I never thought I had the right power, or I was just getting in the way. It hurt, way more than anything else I’ve ever experienced in my life, but… even if it wasn’t supposed to happen, I fought back today, er, yesterday.

I thought I was going to die when I was staring that light down yesterday, but… at the same time, it didn’t even feel like it was really happening. It was all so other-worldly, so out of the realm of things I could believe that it felt like a bad dream. But being cornered by a monster, being threatened and pulled apart like some foal’s toy while she breathed and smiled at me… I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. It wasn’t a simulation, it wasn’t magic, and there was a chance that I’d lost so much blood already that nopony would be able to help me if I didn’t fight back. And if I died… I’d never get the chance to apologize to them.

Twice in the same day, I stared death in the face, and only once was I willing to fight for my life. I think I finally understand how Applejack felt a month ago, before all of this started. Dying… is scary to think about, and I still have things I need to do. Only now do I realize how close we keep coming to the brink, and one day, when we don’t get lucky like we did yesterday, we’ll cross the edge and never come back.” I said. This afternoon… or yesterday afternoon, I was just afraid that I wasn’t capable of doing anything to help or just getting in the way. Now… it’s almost as if I’ve opened my eyes for the first time. A slap in the face from reality and the hard truth of what our two front line ponies have been going through for almost two months now, Applejack even longer than that. I don’t even have the right to complain when she’s lost so much and still puts one hundred and ten percent into everything she does. She lost her tail because of me, but still tried to save me and keep fighting back then. If that was anywhere near what my foreleg felt like and she just… kept on going through the pain…"

“Well, that’s very good to hear, and I hope it means you’ll start taking all this a bit more seriously than you have in the past. I know you’ve only turned eighteen this past march, but I’ve had my concerns about the maturity you display as opposed to the life you’ve lead. I couldn’t blame you for being averse to the gore that the jobs my sister likes to put you through contain, but your reactions to them have always felt… fake. It was almost as if you were lying to others to keep yourself sane, telling them things that you needed to hear in order to keep going, I suppose.” Celestia said. Gee, thanks. I sighed.

“Yeah, that’s… probably true. Speaking of psychoanalyzing ponies, what was your deal yesterday? You kinda… broke.” I asked her to change the subject. Celestia paused.

“… I’ll have to get back to you on that one. Even I don’t know. An educated guess would say that I was over taken by a maternal instinct I didn’t know existed within me. Can you honestly blame me though? Maybe when the day comes that you’re a mother you’ll understand, but seeing your precious baby in such a state of disrepair…” She shivered. “Even thinking about it makes me want to go check on her. Unconditional love causes tunnel vision I suppose. Heh, if I went back in there, she would probably yell at me again for bothering her. Rotten little girl.” She said with a warm smile on her face looking away.

“Oh. Did she wake up?” I asked. Celestia nodded.

“Earlier this morning, actually. After I noticed the castle shaking and a different motherly instinct caused me to go see what was happening, I came back to my senses rather quickly and started helping take care of you. Imagine my surprise when I appear in the training room, the whole floor simply slathered in blood, a half transformed Beast talking to herself, Scootaloo with a twisted and dismembered pink foreleg in her hooves, and the rest of that pony emanating magic and bleeding out on the floor at my hooves. Once you were stabilized, I returned to my daughter and had these three wait here until you woke up. She, however, came to first and wanted some time alone to clean herself and think about what happened yesterday. I’ve been here ever since I was kicked out, and I suppose we must’ve nodded off waiting.” She explained.

“I see. So I’m the ‘stand in’ daughter because yours is busy being herself, got it.” I remarked. Celestia rolled her eyes.

“You’re all children I look after and have the displeasure of sending off to protect my city.” She sighed. “I think it’s about time to eat something. Is there anything you would like for lunch, my little stand in?” she asked sweetly. I couldn’t contain a chuckle as she nuzzled my face.

“S-stop that! Do whatever, you overbearing old mare! If you make it, I’m sure it’ll be good.” I retorted through a snort as she tickled me. She stood up and exited the bed.

“Old mare? How rude. I’ll have you know that I haven’t aged a day in nearly two thousand years! Clean yourselves up, and make sure to get Twilight before you come to the table.” She stated, then made her way down the hall. How long has it been since somepony’s treated me like that? it’s been almost ten years since I saw mom and dad… Maybe… The others started to get up from the massive bed in this unused room, but I was lost in thought.

“Hey, you gonna get up?” Rainbow asked. I frowned.

“Guys… I think… I think I need to visit my parents.” I said. Even if she’s not dead, then on that day my own mother probably… and to lose two kids on the same day…

“W-why is this all the sudden?” Fluttershy asked.

“I don’t want to visit mine. They’re kinda dead.” Scootaloo said. Rainbow popped her across the back of the head. “Oww! What the hell, it was a joke!” She yelled.

“Not the time nor the place. Get out of here, ya dumbass!” Rainbow said as she swatted her again.

“Geez, I’m going!” She said as she bolted away.

“I think… if nothing else, I owe them an apology. If just getting hurt has the potential to make a mom that crazy… I don’t know, I just don’t think it’s fair to them to just… disappear like I did, at least not anymore. And if L- urp” Nope, still can’t say it. “If I really did… you know, then I took two daughters away from my parents on the same day, and that’s just not fair to them…or my other two sisters I guess.” I said. They both looked to each other, then to me.

“W-well, if that’s how you r-really feel, then maybe you should.” Fluttershy said, bluntly.

“Yeah, Pinkie, maybe you should uh… go do that…” Rainbow trailed off, her eyes falling away.

“Oh, come on! That’s not cool guys.” I pouted.

“Look, maybe you’ve had some kinda revelation about this, but I didn’t, and I’m still not ready to deal with that!” Rainbow fought back.

“I-I don’t care either way. I-it would sate my curiosity if I did go see them though. T-they at least knew that I had p-powers, so if they believed that story from… w-way back when, then they might have c-connected the dots. I-I’ve always wondered what they might think of me now. I-it’s not as if I was ever the g-greatest daughter in the world, and I-I’m sure my brother still hates me. I-I bet they’re living better l-lives these days since I’m not around. M-maybe it’d be fun.” The yellow pegasus said with nothing but interest.

“Not you too!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“W-why not? Y-you said yourself that you a-already tried to see them once. N-now you have ponies willing to go w-with you to do it. U-unless the little blue bug is t-too afraid♥” Fluttershy cooed. Blue bug? Rainbow rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Fine! You fucking piece of garbage.” Fluttershy raised her snout in triumph.

“Works every time.” She said as she headed off to her room, brushing rainbow’s face with her tail as she passed by.

“Doesn’t make you any less of an asshole!” Rainbow called after her, stomping her hooves in protest.

“Blue bug?” I asked. She turned her head and gave me a death stare while summoning her blood into the shape of a very, very sharp object and pointing it at me.

“You’ll keep your mouth shut if you know what’s good for you.” She said in a darkened tone. I backed up and raised my hooves.

“Woah! Okay, geez.” Rainbow stared at me for a moment more, then put her blood away and walked out of the room, probably a good bit pissed off. And we’ll add that to the list of things to not call the ponies who know where I sleep.

“So, you want me to use my connections to find the locations of your families, is that right?” Celestia asked. She’d made deep fried hay burgers and fries, another of Twilight’s favorites, and we’d all since gathered at the dinner table. Twilight was busy stuffing her face and the rest of us were making a plan to go see our parents. I wandered around the country and went from place to place every other week, so I had a good grasp on where my parents might be, but an exact location was something we needed. There were travel expenses to consider, how long we could be away, how much training we were going to be allowed to miss, how long we could be gone. In all honesty, I don’t even expect her to let us go very far in the event she needs us.

“T-that’s about right. R-rainbow’s parents moved after she ‘died’ b-but I don’t know where they went. I-I don’t know if my family has m-moved either, so I’d r-rather not waste the time trying t-to remember where the a-apartment was.” Fluttershy said.

“And I just don’t remember where my parents are exactly. I think we lived in Neigha around Salt Lick City, but that’s not really a small area to search.” I said.

“Sho waivt. Whey are yhou doingh thish?” Twilight said with a mouth full of food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, sweetie.” Celestia said. Twilight rolled her eyes and swallowed.

“Okay, why are you looking for your parents?” Her horn was still missing pieces to it, and it looked more like a jagged rock than a bone right now. Because of that, her magic discharges in the form of electricity any time she tries to use it until she heals completely. Celestia has somepony making her a synthetic cap to ‘fix’ the problem for now, but she’ll never be as powerful as she was until it naturally repairs itself, which won’t happen for several years. Aside from nearly spending all the magic in her body and losing a little blood and fluids, her horn is the only thing that suffered damage yesterday… as far as we can tell. She still needs to see a doctor to make sure she didn’t suffer any brain damage. Apparently, magic overload is a thing unicorns can experience where the brain is literally fried by the heat the magic produces as it passes through the body and into the horn. The typical signs of overload include bleeding from the orifices and vomiting, so she and Celestia are going to get that checked out tomorrow.

“Well… a lot has happened since you’ve been out, and after thinking about it, we might not get another chance. Without you, we would’ve all died yesterday, and I don’t want to just disappear without apologizing to them.” I said. Celestia nodded.

“Speaking of which, you and I need to have a private conversation about that.” She said. Twilight nodded too.

“Yeah… we definitely need to do that for sure.” She said, looking distant. Celestia eyed her for a moment, then turned her attention back to us.

“When do you plan to visit these ponies? We can’t just have you gone from training for the rest of the week if Ramiel was any example of what can go wrong. That’s a six hour flight just to get there, and I hope you’re not expecting me to just warp you there, because that’s not feasible.” Celestia said.

“Ya see, I thought about that, and if push comes to shove, we could probably rope Goose into this if we needed to. I uh… I’m kind of afraid of planes, so I don’t really want to get on one anyways…” I admitted. I worked on a dock and for a train company before I came here, mostly because airports are terrible places to sleep and the one time I tried to get on a plane, that flight crashed and ended up killing half of it’s passengers. Never again. Celestia brought a hoof to her chin.

“I suppose he’s made the jump from Crystal to Galvastallion so that should be within his abilities… but doesn’t he need time to charge?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded.

“O-oh, it doesn’t take long. W-we had a few minute conversation in the time it t-took for him to charge enough to warp to Crystal f-from the castle.” Fluttershy said. Why does she know that?

“Hmm… that’s not much farther than here to Canterlot… Very well. I’ll retrieve your information, but these are the rules: you cannot miss your nine to five training for any reason. You must be well rested before training. And finally, you still have to abide by the contract of the brand, so what you tell your parents must be limited. That aside, I’m glad that the three of you are doing this. It should give them all some peace of mind to know that you're at the very least alive.” Celestia condoned. Her horn lit up with gold light, and then suddenly, she had a heavily personalized smart… phone? In her magic.

“T-that’s not a phone. I-it’s too big, too thick, too heavy, and too shiny. I-it was more like a large hunk of gold...” Fluttershy said in a masculine voice. I caught the reference and chuckled to myself and Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“Are you two making fun of my phone? I can just, not help you, you know.” She asked. We shook our heads, then she went back to it. In seconds, she had the information we needed. “Anyways, I’ve had this information ever since you signed your contracts, oh so long ago. You’re special individuals after all, one can never be too careful with potentially destructive information running around. Here, have a look.” She said as she slid her ‘phone’ for us to view on the table. The damn thing might as well have been a monitor. It’s like what, half a meter by a third a meter? I bet that’s actually gold that makes up the outside too.

“Huh. I-it looks like they did move, but to a nicer district. O-oh, wait a minute. T-that’s not too far from w-where we fought Sachiel… T-this wasn’t one of the r-rebuilt buildings was it?” Fluttershy asked, oddly concerned. Celestia shook her head.

“No, I don’t believe so. I ended up paying for most of that anyways, so I would remember where the money went.” Celestia replied. Fluttershy relaxed a bit and let out a short sigh.

“Where the hell is ‘Ponyville?’” Rainbow asked.

“Oh, that’s in Palomino down south. When I worked for Trans Equestria, we would stop there for pick ups once every few weeks. There’s a farm with an apple orchard… hmmm.” I started then stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“Well… so, Ponyville isn’t all that far away in comparison to my family’s mine that’s really close to Salt Lick. The issue is, that particular town his home to Sweet Apple Acres which is owned by the Apple family. And if we need Goose to take us there, then that means…” I started.

“Applejack is probably going to be along for the ride.” Rainbow finished.

“And I doubt that she will want to go. And if she doesn’t want to go…” I continued.

“Her boy toy probably won’t take us there. Oh well, guess I just won’t get to see my parents, ha, damn, what a shame.” Rainbow added sarcastically.

“T-two words.” Fluttershy said, a single eyebrow raised. Rainbow huffed, rolled her eyes and pouted.

“Mother fucker.” She grunted.

“Hey now, language.” Celestia reprimanded. Rainbow moaned and let her face fall to the table.

“Fine! Whatever. You’re the worst kind of pony.” She exclaimed, then spat at Fluttershy. The pony in question nodded and put on a smug smile.

“I-it’s great, isn’t it? W-why don’t we go see my parents t-today, and we can go s-see yours tomorrow after we get Goose a-and Applejack on board?” She giggled to herself. “P-provided they aren’t too busy s-starting their own family. I-if you were sane at the t-time, you probably would have passed t-them a box of condoms. Y-you could just taste the hormones in t-the air after we got back yesterday.” Fluttershy remarked. Rainbow and I perked up our ears and Celestia blinked.

“Excuse me?” She asked. Fluttershy smiled a mouth full of teeth she shouldn’t have and excused herself from the table.

“Y-you heard what I said. I-I’m going to go prepare my testimony b-before I face my family again f-for the first time in four years. I-I’ll come get you two when I-I’m ready♥” She said before sauntering off to her room while humming a soft tune.

“Uhh… did I miss a social queue again or what? Did you catch that yesterday?” I asked Rainbow.

“I mean, I know they like each other a lot based on the way they interact but I didn’t think they were that far along. Goose seems like the kinda guy who thinks more with the head on his shoulders instead of the one in his pants, so if anypony was gonna engage in… that, it’d have to be her.” Celestia brought her hooves to her head.

“Good goddess, she would do it too. For the love of all that is holy, please, please, please don’t be screwing around right now…” Celestia prayed.

“So uh… I guess Fluttershy has planned our next couple days for us. I think I’m gonna go… read or something while I wait.” I said. Rainbow sighed.

“And I should probably figure out what I’m going to say to her parents because they think I’m dead too.” sigh.

Persona XIV: Beauty and the Beast (part 2)

“I don’t know how to respond to this,” Mom said, completely at a loss for words. Rainbow told a story not too dissimilar from the one she told us about a week ago, and my parents reacted about how I expected them to. As far as I knew, my Mom was the morally upstanding, PTA member of the year, nearly prefect if not for her unwillingness to stand firm on a decision, a soccer mom who’d eventually gotten over her social anxiety back from when she was a teen. Dad was the emotional stability she lacked and over time, traded his extroversion for her introversion and some how became the quiet reserved pony he is now after a childhood of being relatively… normal. Both of my parents were ‘normal’ ponies with ‘normal’ pony upbringings, and here we are trying to tell them that the kids they more or less raised both somehow ended up wanted killers. Oh, and I guess we are telling them that because Rainbow went ahead and told them everything save for the last two weeks.

“I’m not... having the wrong reaction to this am I?” she asked dad, whom she was firmly strangling half the time. He slowly shook his head after taking it off his hoof that was resting on the arm of the chair.

“I… don’t think so? I feel like all I’ve been able to say since I woke up this evening is that I’m at a loss for words. On the one hoof, I feel like I should be commending you for the things you’ve done, possibly even thanking you for what you’ve done for the city, and on the other I almost feel obligated to call the authorities and tell them you’re here. I’m horrified to know that you killed for a living, but proud that you’ve taken it upon yourself to try and atone for your actions. But worse than anything else you’ve told me is your attitude toward it all. I get the feeling that all of this was just every day life. You’re so… casual and unapologetic about it. It makes me wonder if I just heard a psychopath’s life story, and I don’t know if you’d take that as a compliment or not, and that, is what scares me.” I let out a sigh of relief.

At least they didn’t freak out.

Are you sure? This seems like them freaking out to me.

Okay then, this is not the worst possible reaction for them to have, so I’m not complaining about it.

What did you expect?

Oh, anything from having to run away from them again to having them become a problem that Target Lock has to solve.

You came here half expecting to kill your parents?

I came here in hopes that I could say goodbye before something kills us in a couple weeks. You know what the boss always said in that first year. ‘Expect the worst and hope for the best.’

My memory isn’t all that great from back then. Being half asleep and half mixed with you will do that.

“Well, that’s better than the worst you could do. I just hope my dad reacts the same way you did.” Rainbow said. Dad shook his head.

“There is no way in hell.” he said with zero emotion.

“Gah, I fucking knew better! Maybe we should just not go anywhere tomorrow, yeah? I can just… die and never have to say anything to them and they can just think I’ve been dead this whole time! Who needs to let them know that they have to mourn me twice? It’ll be fine!” Rainbow leaned back as far as she could on the couch and covered her face with her hooves. In that moment, Mom let go of dad for the first time since Rainbow started.

“Mourn you twice… Fire, what aren’t you telling us? Flutter, why did she say that? Why did you say that?” she asked, panic starting to rise in her voice. Dad tried to pull her back.

“Daisy, calm down,” he commanded. She ripped her foreleg out of his hooves and pulled away.

“Absolutely not! You tell me this instant what is going on! Why did you come back? We moved because we thought we lost you, and we couldn’t bear to stay in that place anymore! What did you come here to say!?” Silence rang out through the building, and even the noise from outside seemed to stop.

“I-I…” I started. My throat felt tight and I could feel my pulse rising. The room was suddenly much warmer than I remember and everypony’s eyes were on me. My eyes wandered everywhere they could to avoid her stare, but in the end that wouldn’t hold.

“You what? Flutter, look at me! What is going on?” She took my face in her hooves and forced me to meet her eyes. I could feel the liquid start to build up in mine, but I couldn’t look away from her worried face.

“I-I came home… because I… I-I don’t think I’ll… e-ever get to see you again!" At this point I’d broken and I started to cry in my mother’s chest. I’d wrapped myself around her as tightly as I could and just kept crying and crying. She reciprocated the hug and an endless amount of time passed. How did it come to this? How did I find myself in this position, feeling like a child being scolded by her parents, bawling in my mother’s hooves like we’d gone back twelve years in time? Me, the monster. Me, the assassin. Me, the heroine. Me, the murderer. I don’t know when he moved, but at some point Dad joined our hug and started to rub my back.

“There, there. Just let it all out.” He said, that soothing voice of his making me truly feel home again. After some time passed, I finally started to calm down and so did Mom. She must’ve been crying with me because my mane was wet when we finally let go. She took a deep breath and a heavy sniff, then stepped away so she could look at me again.

“Okay. It’s alright, I’m… better now. Just… tell me why. I just… I just can’t understand why you would think that?” She said, trying to keep what little composure she had. I swallowed some of whatever had dripped down my throat all this time and tried to regain some composure myself.

“I-I don’t think I’ll l-last another two weeks. N-none of us do,” I admitted through some, weird, half-cry voice that I was stuck in. They looked to Rainbow and Pinkie, but neither of them could look my parents in the face. Mom’s face started to contort, but Dad took hold of her before she could start getting hysteric again.

“Why don’t we take a seat and let her explain the whole story before we start doing this again, hmm?” He said, quickly. Mom took another deep breath and buried her face in his chest.

“Okay, okay. I’m okay. We’re okay.” She looked back down to me after wiping at her nose and taking another heavy sniff. “I don’t have to sit through another story like hers, do I?” she half asked, half complained. I shook my head.

“N-no… mine is worse,” I said. She let out a weary sigh and Dad sat them both down in his chair.

“That’ll be enough of that,” He said to her. She rolled her eyes.

“You’re the worst kind of pony,” she complained.

“I know. An educated guess says that you’re one of those heroes that fight those… kaiju things, right?” Dad asked. I nodded.

“W-we all are. I-if it weren’t for a miracle y-yesterday, none of us would be here right now. A-and that’s why we came. I-I… even my last resort w-wouldn’t have saved me f-from that blast yesterday and… I-it scared me. C-completely out of my control, n-nothing I could do, just w-waiting there for death to come. I-I… I never wanted to run away. I-I never wanted to leave and never come b-back, but… things just got s-so bad that I-I started to lose control. D-do you remember my imaginary friend? F-from all those years ago?” I asked. They frowned.

“I… suppose? You… called her ‘Fluffy’ if my memory is correct, but why bring that up?” Dad asked. I sighed.

“F-fluffy is real. S-she was never an imaginary f-friend, she was a piece of me t-that I didn’t understand, a-another voice that lives inside my head, t-to this day even. I-I… we are the white wolf in Zephyr’s stories. T-that’s what my powers are. I-it wasn’t until a few years ago that I-I really got a good handle on what we could do, b-but now…” I stepped off the couch and started to transform enough for them to get the picture. It always feels like it should hurt, but in reality I think the transformation releases some kind pleasure when it happens. It’s part of the reason why I got so addicted to it back back then, the other parts being the taste for blood we developed and slowly losing myself within Fluffy. The bones in my legs snapped and twisted, the fur on my coat started to grow long and gangly, the colors in my mane and coat started to dilute, and my muzzle elongated. The teeth in my mouth changed from straight to sharp, my eyes became sharper and the world around me started to come in more detail. When I’d reached the point where I was getting too big to stand where I was, I halted the transformation.

Should I talk, or stay quiet?

What do you want to say to them?

Oh, just something to let them know I’m here.

Sure, go ahead.

“Hello there, parents. I’m the monster that lives in her head. I also ate the rabbit. That was why it never came back.” Fluffy said.

You ate Angel!? We ate Angel? Oh goddess, when did that even happen? I thought he abandoned me…

Years and years ago. I don’t even remember how I got out in the first place, but I’ll never forget the way that rabbit tasted.

That’s messed up. You could have said something instead of letting me agonize about it for months!

Didn’t care.

Asshole!

“That bunny loved Flutter, no wonder he never came back…” dad mumbled. Mom, seemingly in a permanent state of shock today, just slowly turned her head and looked at him.

“Our daughter is a giant wolf monster, and your concern is what happened to the rabbit!?” she yelled in his ear. He blinked a few times and shook his head.

“Well, yes. This happened once before didn’t it?” he asked.

“Y-you knew?”I asked.

“It did?” Mom asked.

“Holy shit!” Zephyr yelled from the front door.

Oh shit.

“G-grab him!” I called and pointed at the door with my claw. Before Zephyr even had the chance to turn around, Pinkie had tackled him to the ground and slammed the door shut.

“Hi! You must be Fluttershy’s brother, nice to meet you. I’m Pinkie Pie, a friend of hers,” she said casually with a smile on her face while having him in a police hold. He tried to struggle out of it, but Pinkie just pulled his foreleg tighter behind his back.

“Oww! Let me go! Why aren’t you running!? That thing eats ponies!” he practically yelled, his eyes wild and angry, focused on me.

Well. What now?

I… I don’t know, I… I should have thought about this beforehoof.

You think?

Yes! Have we ever gotten back to normal without a seizure or being beaten over the head?

I go to sleep and you wake up more often than anything.

Well, we don’t have time for that right now.

Toxic blood is right behind you, so if you don’t have any better ideas…

“Hey, can you get back to normal on your own?” Rainbow whispered into my ear. I didn’t even notice her fly up next to my head, but it was almost as if she was listening in…

“I-I’m not sure… I-I’d really rather not have to ingest t-that stuff again…” I whispered back. It doesn’t feel good. Or at least it didn’t the last time, that’s for sure. It was like forcibly having my head ripped open. The pain of a wound mixed with a migraine that could render a pony unconscious. That does render a pony unconscious. Taking her blood is like rebooting a computer, it resets my whole head and possibly takes a few hours with it which… would really not be great. I still don’t remember what happened in the Israfel fight from my own perspective.

“Well, what are you going to do? He’s totally freaking out and I really doubt your parents are willing to bind and gag him,” Rainbow asked.

Oh goddess damn it. I don’t know, can we wait it out?

Wait it out? You mean you want to spend at least an hour and a half mixed like this?

Well, maybe? The thing I do with the partials isn’t working, and we can’t be here all night, they have their own lives.

You don’t even know how long we can hold this form! What if it simply lasts until we sleep? How do we get home looking like this? We have to take the blood.

No! I don’t want to forget! This is too important to forget. It was only a couple weeks ago that I said I’d come to terms with all this, and when it really came down to it, that wasn’t true at all. I… we have to get through this, and we can’t forget about it. What if Rainbow dies and we can’t fix the merging in the future? If we can’t strike a balance now, then we’ll be put in a real prison until Celestia can fix us later, or worse… We can’t keep this up forever.

… fine.

“Z-zephyr… it’s me. I’m your sister, n-not the monster.” I said.

“The monster is better than you are! Get out of my house! Why are you here!?” He yelled back. Pinkie tightened her grip on his foreleg again and he flinched.

“Nopony but you is yelling. Please, we use our inside voices inside,” she said. She certainly looks like she’s having fun. All the same, that somehow seemed to calm Zephyr down. He stopped struggling for a moment and looked at the ponies in the house. Dad was just as calm as usual, but unable to look his son in the face, Mom had her eyes closed and looked like she was trying to hide, but in the opposite direction of Zephyr and not me. Then he settled on Rainbow.

“W-wait a minute… Aren’t you… Aren’t you supposed to be dead?” he asked her.

“Yes, actually. Sup, Toothpick,” She replied casually while hovering in place next to me. At this point, Zephyr’s eyes moved to Rainbow’s left and he noticed the blood that was flapping along with her wing.

“Huh,” He said, almost like some off-hoof comment. He relaxed a little bit, but he kept his eyes trained on me. “Okay then. Why are you here? I didn’t think you’d ever come back… unless it was to finish the job. Is that it!?” Maybe it was the first time I’d felt it in a while, but shame crept up my back and I looked away.

“N-no, I never meant to…” I started but couldn’t finish. Lies.

“Bullshit! You attacked me, you tried to eat me! Who even are these ponies, why are you here?” He asked, slowly lowering his volume.

“Maybe if you would stop shouting and let her talk, you would already know, mmk?” Pinkie said.

“Maybe if you would get off me, I wouldn’t have to yell at anypony!” He said as he turned his head to face her. Pinkie looked to me and I figured he wouldn’t get far if he tried to run anyways.

“P-promise you won’t run?” I asked. He seemed to be stuck staring at Pinkie for a moment, but then rolled his eyes.

“Where am I gonna go when there’s three freaks in every direction.” He spat. With that, I nodded to Pinkie and she got off him. He stood up slowly and then made his way to the couch, still keeping his eyes on me. Mom and Dad looked between the two of us, and neither could make heads or tails of the situation.

“I assume there’s something you haven’t told us either?” dad asked Zephyr. He huffed and rolled his eyes again.

“Yeah, sure. ‘My sister is an evil monster that killed ponies in front of me and tried to eat me,’ that’s the most believable story in the world. I wouldn’t know how to describe the kinda gore in my stories if it weren’t for seeing it first hoof because of that thing! I was twelve! That was all so fucked up, and it happened right in front of my face.” I still couldn’t really bring myself to look at him.

“Zephyr! Watch your mouth! We don’t use words like that in this house,” Mom scolded him. He tilted his head at her like it was the most outlandish thing she could say.

“And what, you’re just… not concerned about anything else I said? Is that what you latched onto? She slaughtered ponies right next to me and then came after me! What the hell! What kinda lies have you been feeding my parents, you monster!?”

“I-I haven’t told any lies since I’ve been here. I-I came home to tell the truth, w-what really happened to set the record straight. Z-zephyr… in a week or two I’m p-probably not gonna be around anymore, really I… I-I just wanted to come home to say goodbye.” He relaxed a little and his angry stare became less so.

“What do you mean you aren’t going to be around anymore? What, you expect to die in the next two weeks?” He asked, maybe even a hint of concern in there.

Aww, he really does care.

He’s not a monster. Just because he hates us doesn’t mean that some of those family bonds aren’t still there.

“Well honey, that’s what she was trying to explain before you got home. None of us have heard the story yet. We still don’t know. Firefly told us about some really terrible things that happened after that day back in Cloudsdale and Flutter said that… worse things happened to her.” Mom explained.

“Long and short of it is: lost a wing, forgot who I was, became a contact killer, adopted a sister, and now I kinda fight for the good guys. But uh… before contract killer, it was just killer. I killed a lot of ponies before I started doing it for money. Maybe you’ve heard about me. I’m the Bloody Crow.” Zephyr held still for a moment, probably taking this about the same way Mom and Dad did.

“Uhhh… she’s not serious is she?” Zephyr asked. Rainbow floated back to the ground beside me and smiled.

“Oh, so you know the name, yeah? I bet you’ve even seen pictures of my work attire. It looks… sorta like this, doesn’t it?” Rainbow used her blood to form what was essentially a liquid version of her costume. Every detail, every scratch, every dent in the armor, you could see it all. Zephyr kinda just drew into himself and managed to push further into the two seat couch.

“Haha, okay, yeah. Why has no one called the cops? Are they holding you hostage? Come on guys, we need to leave, now!” He said nervously.

“Yeah, that probably wouldn’t end well for you. We kinda work directly for the crown so even if we do get punished, that would definitely ruin your lives.” Pinkie said with a smile on her face.

“Holy shit.” Zephyr sighed. Pinkie bolted from where she was on the couch to having a hoof around Zephyr’s shoulders.

“Hey, come on, nopony came here to hurt you or anything like that. Your big sis just wanted to give some final words in the event we die in the up coming weeks. We’re trying to make amends with our families, maybe even repair some of the damage we caused. We all did some really bad stuff, and after four, seven and ten years of running away from it, we’re trying to fix that, or at the very least apologize for it.” Zephyr crossed all his legs and turned away from her.

“Fine, whatever. Tell your story so you can go.” He huffed. Pinkie patted him on the back and put her hooves in her lap.

“Atta boy. Now that that bomb is neutralized, let’s hear it. Even I don’t know about what happened in this time period, and I’ve spent the last half year with you.” I nodded and took a deep breath.

Well, this is going to be something.

Sure is.

“So, back then there were a lot of things wrong. Fluffy and I were struggling to keep separate, Scarlet had just committed suicide, the school was shot up, and I don’t think I’ve ever felt more alone in my life. Her thoughts of rage and anger conflicted with my own of depression and sorrow, and who was thinking what when was getting harder and harder to distinguish. The school year started back in 2026 and trying to focus on who was me and who was her was about the least of my worries. A tall filly who wanted nothing but to hide away in a dark corner was the center of attention in an unfamiliar place with nopony to rely on and nothing was ever tolerable. I couldn’t think straight, I cried any time I saw something that was just as red as she was, and when ponies approached me I just ran away.

I couldn’t handle it, I was starting to lose my mind… and around the same time, my powers were starting to develop to the point where I could use them. My hooves would occasionally turn into claws when I was thinking about something that made me mad. My teeth would turn into fangs when I would get hungry, and a certain smell was beginning to stir my appetite without me knowing why. It all came to a head when I’d found myself wandering into the girl’s bathroom one day.

There was a smell in the air. I couldn’t place what it was, but it was intoxicating. It made my mouth water, it made my teeth turn, it took everything I had just to keep my snout from changing, but I had to know what the smell was. I tracked it to one of the stalls, and the smell had grown so strong that I’d started to salivate. I felt my tongue turn, and this was the first time that I experienced one of the side effects of the transformation. When you watch me do it, you probably think it sounds like it hurts. I know it looks like it should, but in fact, it’s the opposite. I get a rush from it, it makes me feel good. My whole snout had changed by this point, and slowly but surely, I crept closer until I was standing in front of the pony in the stall. She was crying, she looked like she was in pain, and when I spotted a bloody rag on the floor, I realized what the smell was. Quietly and quickly, I ran away from the stall without the mare ever noticing me and went to go cry myself.

The next day I found myself wandering around the school again because that smell was in the air. A fight had started in the courtyard in secluded area, and the two colts who were duking it out had spilled each other’s blood. I hid and waited for them to leave, and after they got chased away, I went to taste it. Even dry and on the dirty walls, it was the most delicious thing I’d ever put in my mouth. I wanted more, I needed more, but then I came back to my senses and realized what I’d done. I managed to catch myself in the reflection of nearby glass, and I looked more like I do now. Bigger than I should be, my wings smaller, my legs longer, my hooves morphed into claws, and my face not too far off from the monster I remember dreaming about.

The next week, I wouldn’t even go to school. I was too afraid of what I might do to get that taste again, what might happen if I were around vulnerable ponies who wouldn’t even see me coming. My sense were better than theirs, and most of my life I’d tried to be quiet and hidden. Sneaking was natural to me, so it would’ve been easy. And that’s what scared me the most. I thought it was going to be easy, I knew I could take advantage of the situation to get what I wanted. The week passes and it only gets worse. Normal food couldn’t sate my hunger anymore, eating everything and anything in the house was all I could do to keep myself from going crazy.

Then Zephyr came home with a pair of unfamiliar smells one day. I knew he was well more social than I was and he was good at making friends, but these didn’t match up to a pony of his age. They smelled more mature, aged longer, there weren’t nearly as many confused hormones floating about them. I thought it was strange, so I went to see what was going on. I flew outside of my window and watched from above the house. The mature smells were further off than friends would be, and that tipped me off to something being wrong. When Zephyr arrived at the door alone, I realized he was being followed. I went back inside to see him, but I kept track of those smells, and they never left the surrounding area.

Our old place wasn’t that far from the poor district, and not many ponies in that area were less than middle class, so what else could they be but robbers? At first I thought I might call the police and report it, but then… something else ran through my head. Whether it was me or Fluffy who thought it, I couldn’t say, but it was one of my few thoughts that didn’t feel like it was in a fog or half mixed with something else. I could get their blood. It was so clear and resonating that I became transfixed with it. The smells were male, and I was a tall, sixteen year old mare that looked innocent. I look like an easy target.

As soon as that one ran through my mind, I was dead set on sinking my teeth into these ponies. Night arrived, you two were still out doing something, and those ponies made their move. With them, so did I. The moment they were near the door, I stepped outside and greeted them. I could hardly contain my excitement at the prospect of tasting their blood and so I made every attempt to get them to come to the alley next to the apartment with me. I rubbed my body up against them, I touched them where I knew their bodies would respond and spoke as seductively as possible to get them to follow me. They fell for my trap without a second thought and I had them both wrapped around my hooves. I lead them to the alley, and the moment they finished taking all their gear for intruding the house off, I turned on them. My teeth sank in the first one’s neck, he was dead as soon as I bit into him.

The moment his blood started to gush out and drain into my throat and onto my face, I’d triggered the transformation. The other one screamed when I started the change, but he didn’t manage to get anywhere. This was the taste I’d been seeking, the warm flow of blood gushing and washing over me, the sheer euphoria of having my craving satisfied drove me to get him before he could run. Within a second, I’d cut him to pieces. My meal had been prepared, so then I started to eat. And that’s when Zephyr caught me. I was half way finished with the first pony and my transformation was just about complete when another smell caught my attention. Zephyr had walked outside and into my alley.

My mind was so foggy at this point that I wasn’t sure what I was looking at when I saw that scared little green pegasus staring at me with half a corpse hanging out of my mouth. Instead of even bothering with him, I swallowed the rest of my meal and told him to go back inside as I picked up the next piece. I think I even called him by name, and that is when he screamed.

Why was he screaming? It’s just me. But what am I doing? I’m just eating dinner. Why is he screaming? He shouldn’t be screaming. He needs to stop. And with those thoughts, I grabbed him and held his mouth shut. My claws were covered in the first pony’s blood, so he got a little slimy in my grip. Not a thought crossed my mind as to something being off, I was simply enjoying my meal. When I finally finished with the second pony, my appetite wasn’t quite satisfied. My other claw was still covered in blood, so I cleaned that off and savored the taste. Then I realized that Zephyr was also covered in blood, so I took it upon myself to make sure he was clean. Once that was done, I let him go and was about to head inside when he screamed again.

I pressed a claw down on him and shut his mouth. I asked him why he was screaming, but all he did was look at me with wild eyes. I tilted my head and wondered what was wrong when I felt a warm spot under my claw start to form. Naturally, I took it off him and tried to shake the pee off, but then he ran into the house screaming ‘monster’ the whole time. Monster? Where? Is that why he’s screaming? In an ironic sense of paranoia, I decided to try and get back in the house to hide from this ‘monster’ Zephyr seemed so afraid of. I walked back to the front door, but wasn’t sure why I could do so so quickly. I went to push the handle, but the door broke under the weight of my claw. Why is my hoof so big? I ducked my head inside and Zephyr was already holding the phone and dialing for the police.

“Stay back, monster, get out of my house monster, stay away from me, monster!” He repeated over and over again throwing things at me. I asked him why he was doing it, if maybe the monster was behind me, but when I turned around the street was empty. I put my head back inside the house and was met with Zephyr trying to stab a kitchen knife into my face. It didn’t work of course, cutting the hide of the beast takes a special kind of sharpness that conventional weapons can barely manage and even bullets have trouble doing, but it scared me. He kept screaming monster and he was attacking me now.

Was… I the monster? I backed away from the house and finally took a good look at myself. I had claws. I was basically walking around on two legs, I couldn’t feel my wings, I wasn’t even sure they were there. Even my snout looked different, there was something in place of the yellow coated muzzle I remember being in that spot, and it was all kinds of covered in red. Then it clicked as to what all I’d just done. I killed and ate two ponies. Horror set in and I screamed myself, letting out a roar that alerted the entire area. Police sirens sounded off in the distance so I ran. I found a secluded place in the park to hide, and that was the day I never came back.

From there, the spiral just went down and even further out of control. I was too afraid to show myself around the house anymore, and with no money, I had to find a way to feed myself, and I’d found something new that would satisfy my hunger. After a few months of it, the missing ponies reports started to catch up to me. I was having trouble hiding after eating and I’d learned that some ponies tasted better than others. The cleaner ones without drugs in their systems always tasted the best, and the younger they were the cleaner they were. In that foggy haze back in those days, the number of ponies I ate and killed could number in the hundreds. One gang got wise to who I was and they offered to help me while still keeping me well fed. Like a dog, I was told to go feed on their enemies, and if I did, I was rewarded with a nice bed to sleep in and a safe place to hide. Somewhere in there a year or two passed. My head was so unfocused and unable to think straight, who knows how long I lived like that?

Then one day, a super hero came in and ruined it all. All of the gang captured and only I escaped because I hid and ran as soon as I realized that even the beast might not be able to deal with him. My home gone, my way of life destroyed, the things I did finally starting to weigh on my conscience, I felt like all I could do now was end it all. I found myself wander into… a certain place when I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time. With the sharpening of my nose and eyes came a loss of hearing. In it’s place however was the ability to feel almost like seeing the world through vibrations, not unlike a cat. I’d always had this ability and I could tell ponies apart with it, even if I was nowhere near them. I felt something so familiar, but I couldn’t think of what it was. Attracted to the feeling, I followed it, and that’s where I found my salvation.

I met some special ponies, and even with the terrible things I’d done and was capable of, they offered to try and help me through it. With treatments for my personalities and a reliable way to feed me without triggering my powers I managed to be somewhat ‘normal’ again. They found out how impressive my eyes and reflexes were and offered me a way to be useful and actually earn my place. I owe those ponies my life and unfortunately, I may end up paying up in the next couple weeks. We are part of the hero group Harmony, and I am Target Lock.

“S-so that’s it. T-that’s what happened, why I left, a-and why I don’t think I’ll last m-much longer.” I realized that mom had cried once or twice during the story, and me describing the pleasure filled rush I got from literally eating other ponies probably wasn’t my best move.

“I mean, wow. Even I’m kinda shocked and I knew that you were kind of a cannibal… predator? this whole time,” Pinkie stated. I brought my claws together and tapped the ends of my fingers to each other while keeping my head down.

“W-well, it’s not like my digestive system is e-even the same as yours anymore. I-I might as well be a carnivore internally. T-that’s part of the reason I t-think I got so sick all the time. M-my body had already started to change.” I have to remember to thank Goose for not saying anything about the meat I ordered a few days ago.

“I’m just… I don’t think I have the words to respond here. Is it not a little terrifying to know that you were the reason a murder investigation opened up outside the last apartment? We thought that that might’ve been your blood out there, but when that came back negative, we didn’t know what to think. Zephyr was traumatized and couldn’t hardly talk for a week, and even then he never said anything about it. We looked for you and never found you, so… we gave up thinking you must’ve died or got kidnapped back then. To think that you… were The Beast of all things…” Dad half said, half muttered.

“Why didn’t you ask for help? Surely we could have… done something for you,” Mom asked. I shook my head.

“H-how many ponies would react calmly to s-something that looks like this? I-I gave you warning and told you before hoof t-that I was a monster. Z-zephyr’s reaction was more n-normal than yours was. I-I’m a pony eating monster, t-they would try to kill me before they tried to treat me.”

“But… The Beast killed families! It ate children! Are you telling me that you… you did all that unwittingly?” mom asked, looking for any kind of hope away from the truth.

“Y-yes… It doesn’t sound good, it d-doesn’t feel good to think about, I-I even went so far as to want to kill myself over it. B-but that’s the truth. I-I’d lost so much of my reason t-that thinking something so d-deep as morals or ethics was beyond me, a-and that doesn’t make it any less my fault.” Mom buried her face in dad’s chest and started to cry again.

“Why did you have to tell me this? This is all just too much. Can’t we just go lie down on the master bed and sleep together as a family like we did back when you two were kids and forget about all of this?” she moaned. Dad rubbed her back and sighed.

“Be it ugly or unsightly, looking away from the truth causes problems and doesn’t make you a better pony. If I had… maybe pushed into looking into her powers more back then, then maybe I could’ve prevented you going off the rails like you did. I shouldn’t have given into that stupid hallucination theory the daycare presented, and I shouldn’t have ignored the signs of what was happening with you and Scarlet. The more I think about what I didn’t and could’ve done, the more I think I’m partially to blame here. I’m sorry, Flutter. I haven’t been a very good father to you.” Dad apologized. Oh don’t say that, it’s not your fault. I’m the monster. I could feel the tears well up and suddenly, I started to lose height. By the time I finished reverting to normal, I’d joined the hug in my dad’s chair, letting myself be held by my parents again.

“Good goddess, it really is you,” Zephyr remarked.

“Yep. Although, this is the first time I’ve seen her revert and be conscious at the same time. That wasn’t the full transformation though if you couldn’t tell from her fitting in the room. She’s usually way bigger than that.” Pinkie said.

“So… back then… you didn’t even know… you were like that?” Zephyr asked.

“T-that’s right. I knew I could transform, and I k-knew that I had powers from the few times It’d happened while Rainbow was around, b-but I’d never been in that state without trading off w-who had control of the body. F-fluffy and I were so mixed at that p-point that we were both half in control.” I explained.

“Rainbow?” He asked as he tilted his head.

“Oh. That’s my current legal name. For the time that I’d lost my memory, I needed documents to actually be around since ‘Firefly Flare’ is legally dead. I’ve been going by Rainbow Dash for so long now that it’s weird to hear the old name more than anything.” Zephyr scratched his head and shook it.

“Well sure, whatever. Look, I still don’t know what to make of you. I don’t like you in my house, I don’t like the fact that you’re some kind of monster that eats your own kind, and I’m still having trouble believing you’re some kind of hero. If you make it through these fights you think are gonna kill you, then you… you’ve gotta at least let us know, alright? I thought… I thought you tried to eat me and that’s just… that’s just so fucked up. You were my big sister, ya know?” Zephyr's voice became a little choked up. I left my parents and moved to give Zephyr a hug. He was getting close to being just as tall as I am, and he was still young and growing. One day, he’ll probably be taller than me.

“I-I’m sorry. I-if I make it through this, then I’ll p-promise to come visit and try to make up for lost time.” He sniffed hard and eventually gave into the hug. A little while passed, and I figured it was time to go. Pinkie and Rainbow said their goodbyes, Mom, Dad, and Zephyr all demanded that this not be the last time we visit home, and just as we headed out the door, I steeled my resolved and offered one last apology.

“T-this time, I really think I’ve come to t-terms with it. I-I’m sorry I broke our family, and I’m s-sorry you have to live with knowing that I’m a monster. B-but all the same, I-I’ll fight to protect the city the ponies I-I care about live in. I-if we make it that far, I’ll f-fix this relationship and t-try to be a part of your lives again. F-for now though, I have to go. I-I don’t deserve the title, but I have to l-live up to the name ‘hero’ and protect this place. S-so if I never see you again… remember me as somepony who died trying to do the right thing instead of the monster I was before.”

Persona XV: Over the Rainbow (part 1)

Author's Note

I changed Rainbow's Dad's name because I hate 'Bow hot hoof' more than anything in the world. I could half lie and say that I was reusing names from an old story (because that's sort of true), but I actually like Windy Whistles, so that's my excuse. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Persona XV: Over the Rainbow (part 1)

Rainbow Dash

“Hey. It’s like, almost noon. Get up.” A voice said from somewhere nearby.

“Ugh…” I moaned from my bed. Noon? There’s no way it’s that late… my window should… Where I was sleeping started to set in, and then it dawned on me that I didn’t have a window anymore. Further came the memories of yesterday night, and then the realization hit that today is my turn. Ah, fuck. I scratched my head and looked around my ‘new-ish’ room. The crystal walls were a bright blue hue, but up until whoever walked in woke me up, the actual lights that are seated at the floor weren’t on so it was still dark enough to sleep in, even with the walls practically glowing. Motion sensing lights. Even if they were electric, there’s no way I would’ve ever been able to afford a place with those.

I got out of bed, stretched myself out a bit, moved some blood in and out of my stump, and then made my way to the bathroom. Another luxury that was new to me, my own bathroom. A sink, A full size bath, a shower, a closet, enough cabinets to act as a second closet. In a way, losing my last home ended up getting me an upgraded place. And since Scootaloo and I were basically conscripted by the crown, my expenses have gone to essentially nothing. Hell, I could afford a car now with the money I’m making. Fifteen G’s a month, and no expenses? I could even afford to go to school one of these days. Ugh. Provided I make it that far.

I spit out toothpaste and then made my way into the ‘living room’ as they called it. I guess it really is one since there are so many ponies living here. It’s kinda weird to think about though. This castle, what with the size of it, it’s like it was made to house maybe, forty, fifty ponies. Yet, it apparently popped out of the ground from nowhere and Twilight lived in it alone for nearly nine years. How in the hell did that happen? It’s even got her cutiemark on it, which she didn’t even have beforehoof based on the story she told us. If she got it at the time she activated the ‘crystal relic’ or whatever, then does that mean that the relic was always meant for her? Who could’ve had the foresight to plant something like that? What even was the relic? Maybe I should have Brightness look into this…

“Morning. Heh, I see you slept well.” Twilight remarked with a cup of coffee in her hooves. She also had some kinda gold thing attached to the base of her horn that ran up the ridges in it and filled in the parts she was missing.

“Yeah… You already get back from the doctor with your mom?” I asked. She sighed and nodded.

“I did. There doesn’t seem to be any signs of brain damage, but I destroyed a lot of my magic vessels and those are gonna take time to repair. At the moment, I have about Rarity’s capacity to do any magic thanks to this little implant, but I should be at least capable of more advanced spells by the end of the week once some of my magic vessels have repaired themselves. Even impaired, my magic vessels are ‘well beyond anything’ the doctor has ever seen, so at least that’s something. I doubt I’ll be able to contribute much once Sunday rolls around again though.” She said, losing all that snark she had earlier.

“Oof. That doesn’t sound fun. Well, you’ll at least be kinda normal at the end of the week, right?” I offered. Twilight sighed again.

“I suppose. I just wish the one time I get to do something useful in a fight wasn’t the last time I’ll get to do anything. I’m gonna go sulk in the library. Call me if you guys need anything. By phone I mean. I can’t actually use the brand right now because my wires are still frayed.” Twilight said as she headed past me. A thought crossed my mind and I stopped her.

“Wait, wait, what? You can’t use the brand right now?” I asked. She nodded and tilted her head.

“Yeah, why?” She asked.

“Shit. Uh, do you know where Goose… and probably Applejack are right now? We kinda need them.” I asked.

“Oh right, you guys need a ride to… Ponyville right? I guess if they’re anywhere and ‘screwing around’ as mother put it, they’d probably be at Goose’s place. The issue with that would be that we don’t know where he lives.” Twilight said. I sighed.

“Well, that’s just great. I actually manage to work up my resolve and now we don’t know where they are.” I exasperated.

“Hmm… I know they both have phones, but If I were them, I probably would have turned that off. Oh, you know what? This has happened before. A long time ago, when it was just me, Rarity, and Fluttershy, there was a target we needed to find and we had next to nothing to go on but a piece of clothing with the target’s blood on it. Since Fluttershy’s nose is so crazy, she actually managed to track him by scent.” Twilight said. Huh. Didn’t know the Beast was part bloodhound too.

“Yeah… she said something kinda similar yesterday too. I guess I never realized just how good her senses are. Where is everypony else, anyways?” I asked.

“Well she did pick up a sniper rifle after she joined us without much training at all. It usually takes years to get to where she is now, so if her eyes and reflexes are that good, then I’d assume her nose is too. Um, if you’re looking for them, Fluttershy’s room seems to be the popular gathering place. The last outburst I heard was somepony complaining about some move being ‘cheap and unfair,’ so I assume they’re playing that fighting game. She always told me I should get a projector for the living room… maybe I should? Well, good luck with whatever you’ve got going on today. I think I’m gonna go search Avalon.com for a projector and whatever game systems are popular right now. I’d love to make the living room the room we gather in for stuff other than meetings. You wouldn’t happen to know what’s current, would you?” She asked. More things I want and don’t have to pay for? Absolutely!

“Ponystation 4, Cross Box One S, and the Kirifuda Click. Make sure you get a copy of Bash Bros Ultimate, God of Vengeance 4, and Holy Ring 5. Fluttershy is a freakin’ hipster with games more often than not, so she doesn’t own anything ‘new’ that isn’t one of her weeaboo RPGs. Oh, and at least a controller for everypony for the Click. The wireless ones, though. We can all play Bash Bros together, so we can make it like, a Harmony game night some time.”

“We-a-what now?” Twilight asked. I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t worry about it. Just get the stuff and we’ll migrate in here. You might try it sometime, video games are fun.” I said, then left before she had a chance to respond. I walked into Fluttershy’s room and immediately saw something frustrating. There Pinkie was playing one of the most underpowered characters in the game, getting beaten to death by Fluttershy’s puppet combos from literally the strongest character in the game. It helps that he’s hard to play, but goddess damn it, she always plays the complicated characters and runs train on anypony who challenges her.

“KO!”

“W-well, at least you got a few hits in there. I-I still think you should learn s-somepony else. I-I know you love her, but she’s j-just terrible, and desperately needs a buff.” Fluttershy said.

“Ugh, but she’s so much fun! I know she’s bad, but at least she has like, one good match up right?” Pinkie half-heartedly said. Scootaloo shook her head while scrolling through her phone.

“Nah, not a one. The forums say at most she has an even match up with like, two of the other twelve characters in the game, whom are also considered low tier, and everything else is slightly to heavily out of her favor. That match up in particular is supposed to be her worst at like, 8/2.” She said. Pinkie let out a sigh.

“So uh, I hate to interrupt your… rousing conversation, but can we get a move on? Nopony knows where Goose is and Twilight broke herself so hard that she can’t used the brand right now.” They all turned and looked me up and down. Scootaloo fell over laughing to herself, and the other two started giggling and covering their mouths. “What? What’s so funny!?” I yelled. What in the fuck? That wasn’t even a joke!

“A-are you sure you want t-to go see your parents in pajamas? I-I didn’t even know you l-liked Hello Neko.” My whole body froze. I took a very slow glance down to see the bright pink sleeve on my foreleg and immediately started to contemplate whether or not I could use my powers to kill myself. Goddess fucking damn it.

“Mother fucker… J-just be ready to go when I come back!” I yelled as I bolted back to my room. Goddess damn it! The one day I forget! The one day! Perfect, just fucking perfect! Nopony is ever going to let me live this down.

Strangely enough, Fluttershy picked up the trail just about immediately and lead us to Goose in like, less than twenty minutes. It was quick. She’d clearly never been there before since we made a few weird turns and ended up at a gas station at one point, but she picked the trail back up and lead us straight to him. I guess with her sense of smell she can find anypony if she’s been around ‘em for a little while. Of course, that doesn't require her mouth so it didn’t stop the teasing about my pajamas. I love cute things. I hate that I love cute things. I shouldn’t love cute things. But fuck me if I can’t sleep without my pajamas, and these guys are all shitty friends because not a damn pony has yet to make less than three remarks about it and fucking laughing at me for it!

“You guys are assholes.” I pouted.

“And you wear bright pink filly’s pajamas! Holy shit, I can’t believe I never figured this out before! I lived with you for four years, how did I not know? This… man, this is just hilarious.” Scootaloo half said, half laughed.

“Uh-huh. And why are you here again? I thought you didn’t want to ‘meet your parents.’ Cause, ya know. They’re dead.” I shot back. Scoots just smiled back.

“Wow, this really is a rough spot for you isn’t it? Don’t worry, I’m sure you can shop in the mare’s section one day♥” She responded.

“You little fuck!” I nearly jumped on her to strangle her, but then Pinkie stepped in for me and popped her across the head.

“Okay, that would be enough of that. So she likes cute things, whatever, right? You’ve had your fun, drop it for now, mmk?” She said. Scoots rubbed at her forehead and sighed.

“Damn it, I’m gonna get a callus there! Bah, alright, fine, whatever. You get a pass for the rest of the day, but don’t you ever think I’m gonna let you live this one down. I’m still kinda bitter about the whole ‘lied to you for all the time we’ve known each other’ thing, so this might just be my way of letting off some steam now that I can poke at you. As for why I came, your parents are kinda like my parents too in a way, ya know? Even if you were lying about your life for all this time, you still kinda raised me in place of my own mom. So I think I outta at least meet them. If anything, It’ll make you look better in their eyes. From what I’ve heard about their relationship, you might actually need me around so nopony gets arrested.” She explained. I sighed and let my head fall to the side.

“Yeah, that’s… that’s probably solid logic.” I admitted. Suddenly, Fluttershy stopped and turned to face the house we were standing in front of.

“W-we’re here.” She noted, like she was some kinda cold killer that had locked onto a target. She was near silent the whole way, keeping her nose toward the ground and following her prey relentlessly. It reminded me more of the Beast than I’d like, but that just goes to show how much of her powers really affect her. I guess ‘Target Lock’ is something she was called and just kept it. Fitting, honestly. Makes me wonder where it actually came from now. And the real question… how does she stave off the cravings?

“Is this really the place? It looks like it hasn’t been touched in years.” Pinkie questioned. And she was right.We stood in front of a typical suburban, 90’s era home with a trashy looking chain link fence that was half rusted over and an overgrown lawn that was probably mowed once a year by the city. This district wasn’t the poorest in Manehattan, but it was damn close, and even then, this house looked in bad shape compared to the rest of it. The the light purpleish-blue paint on the outside was chipped and cracking off, the shingles on the roof had seen better days, the windows looked like they were all covered in dust from years of neglect inside, and the front door… well, the front door looked fine actually. It was the only thing that looked like it’d seen use or attention in a few years.

“I’ll say. Why does he own this piece of junk? Isn’t he like, Shark Tooth’s kid? Dude had some of the deepest pockets in Manehattan’s underworld, there’s no way he actually lived in a dump like this.” I remarked.

“Well, I guess we’ll know when we look inside. Let’s go-” Scoots said as she started to head in, but Fluttershy held out a wing.

“Stop.” She commanded. Nopony moved for a few minutes until she finally put her wing down. “O-okay, now.” She said.

“Uh… what?” Scoots asked.

“D-don’t worry about it, it’s not important. L-let’s go.” She said as she lead the way to the door. She knocked three times, and after a couple moments, shuffling came from behind the door.

“Um… hello?” Applejack’s unmistakable voice said as she opened it. Her mane was a mess, and she was wearing a velvety looking plush red robe that had her cutiemark embroidered in it. She looked like she’d been sweating and there was a weird smell around her that I couldn’t place. “Holy shit! Oh goddess, what in the world are y’all doin’ here?” She sort of staggered after she realized it was us.

“Who is it? Do I have to get up?” Goose called from deeper in the house.

“It’s everypony but Rarity and Twi, so Ah bet they’re here fer you!” She called back.

“Ah, son of a bitch. Okay, I’ll be right there.” With that, She very quickly stepped outside onto the slab of protruding concrete from the foundation, or ‘porch’ if you could call it that, with the rest of us and closed the door behind her.

“So uh… what’s up guys?” Applejack asked, almost nervously.

“Well, we came here to have Goose take us across the country, I just… So, you guys are like, officially a ‘thing’ now, yeah?” I asked. Applejack’s ears perked up and she tried very hard to kill any expression on her face.

“Uh… well… yeah, sure. Ah’ve uh… Ah’ve been tellin’ my family he’s my… my… my boyfriend fer about a week now, Ah suppose.” She… admitted? She said it almost like it was a crime.

“Uh-huh. So uh… what were you two doing just now?” I asked. She froze even harder and all the muscles in her body were tense.

“Y-ya know… hangin’ out. A-as it turns out, he’s a classical music buff! Didn’t even know it beforehoof, we’ve uh… we’ve been listenin’ ta a lot of that lately. Did ya know that some of those pieces are over ten minutes long? Ya can really get lost in the good ones and suddenly hours go by. Never heard a lot of it before, he’s got more than just what’s been popularized by movies.” She replied, stuttering every now and again and talking quick. Oh, she totally did it. Just then, the door opened behind her and Goose came out in his own bathrobe, this one black with ‘LC’ embroidered in gold on the chest. He got up next to Applejack and the moment she turned her head to look at him, he kissed her on the lips.

“Hey guys, what’s up?” He asked casually. I don’t know who was more stunned, us or Applejack. “What? Do I still have-” He started but quickly found his mouth full of Applejack’s hoof.

“Why don’t y’all wait out here fer a minute, Ah need ta talk ta him real quick.” she said, unusually sweet and polite. She pushed him into the house and slammed the door shut behind her. After about a couple minutes of muffled voices, they came back outside, this time she was a little more relaxed than she was before.

“Why don’t you guys come have a seat? Standing on the porch talking isn’t really a good sign in this particular neighborhood.” Goose offered. They lead the way in, and Goose grabbed a few chairs from the dinner table to the left and brought them over to what could probably pass for a small living room. The walls were painted a dark violet and covered in records and framed pictures. Oddly enough, it looked like the place had been cleaned up on the inside as opposed to the poor condition the exterior had. There was a black and white checkered carpet over the floor on this side, whereas the kitchen right next to this had a light gray imitation marble linoleum covering it’s floor. There was a long hallway between the kitchen and the living room that lead to a few rooms, and it looked like there was another room at the end of the living room.

There was a big old CRT TV that was definitely not cheap when it was bought on a console against the front wall across from a bright white loveseat couch that was covered in gold accents with a polished, ornate wooden coffee table sitting in front of that. Toward the kitchen side was a big white and gold armchair that Applejack had taken residence on, and Goose found himself in one of the chairs he brought over next to her. Pinkie, Scoots and I, had squeezed ourselves into the loveseat thing thanks to our below average statures, and Fluttershy took the free chair Goose brought out.

“Cozy little place you’ve got here. It’s almost like something Celestia would decorate.” Pinkie pointed out.

“Yeah, Carcha and my dad’s design tastes stemmed from seeing Canterlot Castle when he was real young back in the 80’s. Black, white, gold, and violet are our colors, so it make sense. So what did you guys need?” he asked.

“W-well, we’d like you to take us to Ponyville. A-as of Monday, we decided that the t-three of us are going to try and reconcile w-with our families. W-we visited my parents y-yesterday, and today we want to go see R-rainbow’s parents. M-my family lives in Manehattan though, so it was easy. R-Rainbow’s parents on the other hoof l-live in central Palomino, so it’s a bit harder. P-pinkie’s parents live in Salt Lick s-so we’ll need you tomorrow a-after training too if that’s alright.” Fluttershy explained. Goose smiled, Applejack frowned.

“Hey, way to go! I’m glad you took my advice from the other day. And you’re on good terms with them now? What all did you tell them?” He asked. His advice? Is that why she agreed so easily? Goose already made the suggestion? How long ago did that happen?

“W-well… everything really. E-even the parts I’d only told you before.” She said, twiddling her mane with her hooves. Goose straightened up.

“Oh. I see. Well, that’s good. Yeah, that’s really good. Now we just need to get you back in school, and you might be able to fulfill that dream of yours.” Then he put one hoof on his elbow, and the other under his chin. “Ponyville, Palomino, and Salt Lick city, Neigha… I could take you to Salt Lick easy, but I think we’ll have to go to Fort Withers and then take a cab or something to get to that other place. I can’t make such a long distance jump without actually having been to that place before. There’s not like, some kinda big operation in Ponyville is there? It sounds familiar, so maybe I’ve been there and just don’t know the town.” Goose mused. Applejack sighed, rolled her eyes, and made a deep grunt.

“Yeah, there sure is. Biggest orchard in Equestria is located in that little town. Might as well rename the place ta ‘Sweet Apple Acres Supply Railway’ since that’s all it’s good fer.” She spat. Goose made a face.

“Oh. Right. Yeah, I uh… I’ve been there before.” He said, keeping his eyes to the ground as his catty and irritated girlfriend stared angrily at the wall.

“Look, you don’t have to come. We don’t even need Goose to stick around, he can just… take us, drop us off, and pick us up when we call. I just… I finally worked up the courage to face my parents, and I really need to do this. Seeing Shy really connect with her folks again… it really hit me hard, ya know? They thought, and still think, that I’m dead right now. I kept that hidden from them for years, even though I probably could have found them if I had actually put my mind to it. Now that all the pieces are in place, I just need a ride. It’s… it’s time to grow up and stop running away from it.” I said. Applejack ground her teeth a bit, then scratched at her face till she let out a big sigh and sank into the chair.

“Fine, whatever, Ah’ll come along. Ah… might have some grudges, but that shouldn’t stop me from supportin’ my friends. Besides, even Ah think it’s good y’all are tryin’ ta fix yer family ties. You’re bringin’ Scootaloo along ta meet yer parents right?” Applejack asked. I rolled my eyes.

“Not… initially, but after talking about it, that’s probably a good idea.” I stated. There’s no way this is going to be fun. Maybe I won’t lose my nerve when dad inevitably goes off if somepony is with me.

“Huh. Why is that?” She asked. Goose stood up out of his chair.

“I detect… family drama. I need about an hour to charge enough for a jump that far, and we need to shower before we go into public, so how about I take you guys back to the castle for now and we can discuss this while we’re waiting, hmm?” Goose suggested. This guy… this guy is a bro.

“Yes! Let’s do that. We should… definitely do that.” I agreed before anypony else could say anything. Nopony did say anything else, and just as quick as I said anything, we were back at the castle, sans-Applejack.

“Mmk, bye!” Goose said before disappearing. Eager to leave, that’s for sure.

“Is it just me, or did we just get kicked out?” Pinkie asked while most everypony was standing dumbfounded in the castle living room.

“M-mommy and daddy were busy, s-so the kids were sent away. L-let’s go finish that match. I-I think I’ll do a m-mirror with you and see if I c-can’t think of any options for the other fight.” Fluttershy said as she turned back toward her room.

“Are we really just gonna ignore-” Scootaloo started, but Fluttershy turned around and dead eyed her.

“Not a word. Ever.” The Beast responded. And here I thought Celestia was the most intimidating pony in the castle.

“So, uh… You know you’ve got a sketchy home life when you question whether or not your parents like each other as a kid.” I started. We’d all regrouped in the living room and gathered around the table like we were here for a meeting. Instead of something serious like the impending destruction of the city though, we were just here to talk about my parents. A topic I was more than glad I forgot about when I recovered from my amnesia all those years ago.

“I-it was… not a normal relationship, t-that’s for sure. I-I honestly thought they might’ve l-liked arguing with each other.” Fluttershy added.

“Ooh, that’s rough. So, your folks are just as crazy as you are maybe?” Goose asked. I rolled my eyes.

“Yes and no. So, when I was young and still lived with them, I figured out pretty early on that they lived together on thin ice on a hot August day. I’m an only child, and between the two of them, they are extremely infertile. So much so that my mother miscarried more than once before I was born. I was their ‘Little light in the darkness’ so they named me Firefly. Because of that, they… they really had trouble sticking around each other. I know they didn’t hate each other because they were still willing to live in the same house, even sleep in the same bed but… every other discussion turned into a heated argument. See, my dad was a cop right?” I continued, but then everypony went dead silent.

“He’s an officer… and you’re gonna tell him what ya told us?” Applejack asked, very concerned.

“Well, yeah. But that’s not even the worst of it all. Dad isn’t a power pony. So who does he hate? Power ponies.” I added.

“Whew, boy, this is going to be a fun excursion.” Goose added. I tightened my lips and nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah it is. And you’re not helping my resolve to do this, so just shut up and listen!” I reprimanded.

“Okay, yeah, sure, we’ll be quiet, I promise.” He said as he wrapped a hoof around her, while she reciprocated, slowly and awkwardly. Man she’s super stiff about all this. PDA is not her thing.

“Anyways, dad was a cop. Dad hates power ponies. Neither of my parents have powers as far as I know, and when they were both young, all they really wanted was to have a bunch of kids. As it turned out, that wasn’t going to be possible. Around the time I was five, I remember going with them to visit a fertility doctor. Of course, I didn’t know a lot of the words that were tossed around at the time, but my parents had a lot of tech lying around because they were a wealthy double income no kids couple before me, and I was smart enough to use a search engine.

When she was about my age, mom was caught up in an accident that damaged her abdominal organs real bad. She had to undergo a lot of surgeries to get her body repaired, and her ovaries suffered a lot because of it. So mom doesn’t ovulate properly, that was part one. Part two was my dad’s job. He was a cop, but he wasn’t always a cop. Bow Flare was initially a bomb technician. Around the time he was twenty-five, there was an accident on duty and he ended up losing a back leg and part of his family jewels. So when they met, ironically enough in the hospital after his injury because she was his nurse, and became Bow and Windy Flare three years later, things were already not super hopeful for the future, but they still tried. Three more years down the road after getting hitched, my parents are two miscarriages down and starting to feel their ages catch up with them. So they tried again and finally the pregnancy took and the baby made it past the first trimester. Second trimester goes by smoothly, then problems occur.

They’d never made it this far in the first place, so of course they weren’t ready for it when it was noted that I had a blood disease. Mom didn’t know her dad well because he died young. As it turns out, sickle cell runs in the family, my grandfather died from it, and he passed it on to me. My body isn’t circulating enough blood because I’m barely making enough working cells of my own, and suddenly She’s basically stuck in the hospital for the next four months making sure I don’t end up number three.

More complications arrive when the hospital actually starts to run out of compatible blood by the end of the pregnancy since you know, she and I are type O negative, dad isn’t and even if he was, he’s missing a leg so he couldn’t donate very much safely even if he wanted to. None of their living relatives share blood type with us, so there were two options.

One, they could force the pregnancy early and then keep me in NICU while giving me transfusions so some of that precious blood doesn’t get lost in my mother, and she can give me transfusions after she recovers.

Two, they could relocate to another hospital on the ground and get me better care there. Cloudsdale isn’t really known for having the best hospitals in the world, and some of the more advanced tech doesn’t get there very quick thanks to it having to be shipped via air with special magic applied to make sure it won’t fall through cloud over time.

There was still a little time left, so they had a few weeks to decide. Or so they thought. Less than a week passes, and I start convulsing in the womb. My heart stops beating right and unless they operate on me, I die. One C-section later, I’m stabilized and born a month early. Keywords here being ‘month early.’

So, I’m premature, I suffer from cases of arrhythmia, and I have sickle cell to top it all off. As you can guess, I wasn’t very cheap to keep alive. In the first two years they blow through their savings, and just as soon as she’s able, mom has to go back to work. Thankfully she was a nurse and could keep tabs on me at work since I was confined to a room there more often than not, but oddly enough, it became harder for them to deal with me as I started to grow healthy. This is where home life starts to get complicated. Neither of them can take off very much, but since mom makes better money at this point, it’s up to dad to take care of me. So every now and again, dad will take a week off to spend time with me, but he’ll get depressed because he has nothing better to do since ‘playing’ isn’t something he can really do with me, and that was something I always wanted to do. I didn’t see it then, but having to tell your kid that you can’t go run around together because she’s literally not healthy enough to do it… it’s just gotta be heartbreaking.

I want to play, he knows I can’t, so he sets me up in front of the TV and goes into the study to work on a case or two he brought home with him. Mom comes home to see he’s not even watching me and threw me in front of the TV and started to work again, and they get in a fight. Wash, Rinse, Repeat. It went on like this for years. They’d fight about money, they’d blame each other for being infertile, they’d yell at each other because she passed on her bad genes and he passed his, the arguments were endless.

The day finally comes where I’m old enough and healthy enough to be sent off to daycare, and it just so happens to be a cheaper alternative to dad taking off whole weeks of work every month just to take care of me. You know what happens to me there, and after that, my mom loses her shit. I remember her saying something like, ‘We can’t keep doing this, somepony has to stop working. I can’t live through something like that again,’ and I’m not entirely sure whether or not that was a suicide threat. All I do know is that that conversation was way more serious than I was capable of understanding, and dad quit his job shortly after.

For a while there, things are good. I’m actually old enough and healthy enough to play, and I was really good at flying. Like, I showed a lot more potential than they thought possible for somepony as frail as I was. Dad thought I could be a Wonderbolt so he made damn sure I wanted to be one. We went to performances and races, we went to meet and greets, and he signed me up for competitions. I was pretty terrible in the beginning, but as I grew, my better qualities for the sport started to shine, and even with all my conditions, it still looked like I had a future as a racer or performer.

So, life is starting to get better, my parents are fighting less, I’m only going in for transfusions once a month and mom is capable of providing blood herself so it’s less costly. Fluttershy is at the house… at least some times because they still got into fights, but it wasn’t nearly as often as before the whole daycare incident. Then, when everything is looking up… I race for the last time.

I… I’m honestly not sure how they managed to stick together after all this time. I was… probably the only thing that really kept them together when I was young, and the fact that they’re still married after I’ve been officially dead for seven years is just… amazing, really. When I think of the words, ‘loving family,’ mine never comes to mind. Even when the fighting started to slow down, it was never any less intense than it was in the beginning, and when I started to understand the words that were flying around, I was really scared that they were going to divorce. It’s terrifying to live in a place where you could cut the tension in the air with a knife once a week.

The biggest reason I want to go home, the real reason I want to see them again is because… I want to know that they’re still okay. As crazy as I got, as easily attracted to violence as I was, as much entertainment as I enjoyed from killing ponies, I need to know that I didn’t get that from one of them. If the fear of losing me was enough to drive my mother to threaten suicide… I have to know how they’re still around after they did lose me.”

“Oh, see, there it is. Found the sad backstory guys, it’s okay now, everypony has one.” Pinkie said. Everypony was dead silent, and most of us were giving her death stares.

“Dude.” Goose said, appalled.

“What? Come on, don’t tell me you didn’t feel the need to break the mood after that.” She shot back.

“Holy shit. Common decency, Pinkie! Yeah, I was gonna try, but I was at least going to be sensitive about it! You can’t just fucking say shit like that! We’re trying to help, not make her feel worse!” He reprimanded after standing up. I reclined in my folding chair and just let myself deflate.

“Nah man, it’s cool… I’m more than happy to just get it off my chest, I don’t need a pity party.” I said to try and defuse the guy. He tensed up and looked a little bit more like he was about to go punch Pinkie in the face, but Applejack put a hoof on his foreleg and stopped him.

“Maybe ya should just let this one go, sugar cube. We’ve been outta the loop fer a few days, Ah think she’s a bit more intuitive than ya give her credit for. If she really thought Rainbow was gonna react negatively ta that, Ah doubt she would’ve said it.” She persuaded. He let out a breath and then relaxed and sat down.

“Fine. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He grumbled. I think I blinked a couple times, and I know for a fact that I rubbed at my eyes. Everypony was kinda staring at them with confused looks.

“Uh, can I help y’all?” Applejack asked.

“When did you get so… relaxed? Did you guys just… trade personalities in the last couple days, or what?” Pinkie asked, her hooves together and pointing at Applejack.

“I-I don’t think that was r-really out of character for anypony. Um… a-are we ready to go? I-I think it’s been about an h-hour.” Fluttershy said, completely turning away the topic. She knows something. And she has absolutely no plans to tell anypony else about it.

“Whatever. Let me check.” He pulled a little silver ball out of his pocket and placed it on the table. “Let’s see… that’s like… 1600 miles, so that means…” he mumbled to himself, then raised his left hoof about half a meter above the ball. A strange crackling sound started to come from his hoof and then all the hair on his hoof started to stick straight up. Shortly there after, lightning ran from the tip of his hoof all the way down to the ball. As soon as that happened, he pocketed the ball. “Yeah, we can go now.” He said.

“Uh… what the hell did you just do?” Scootaloo asked. He lowered his eyebrows and finally took note of all the confused looks at the table.

“Oh. Have I never explained how my powers work?” He asked.

“That’d be a negatory, Ghost Rider.” Pinkie said in an imitation Applejack voice.

“Well, Ah know, but Ah think Ah only got that explanation once.” The real thing said.

“Huh. Well, in that case… I kinda run on static electricity. The teleportation power is something I have to charge, and warping is like releasing the static. The main reason I started to wear clothes all the time is because the more static I can generate, the easier it is to warp. If I’m moving a lot, I can generate enough for small jumps almost instantly. If I’m not moving much but still need to charge, I can kinda get static from the air around me, but that often causes electrical malfunctions, and I’ve fried a phone once by doing it. Instead, I keep a piece of felt in my pocket and usually play with that to get the charge I need. The ball is for testing distance. For every two and a half centimeters of lightning I can generate, I can travel a hundred miles. Takes like ten minutes to generate that much static with just the felt though, so walking over here sped up the process a lot.” Goose explained.

“So you can just… expel lighting from your hoof tips?” I asked. He shook his head.

“Kinda. It’s more like getting the static to find something to be attracted to. It’s not as if I could do it in a fight, and just gathering that much takes hours. If you want to see somepony who uses electricity in a fight, then you should go visit Volt Switch. She has the real power in that category. I’m just an energy magnet that can break space with enough of it.” He clarified… kinda. I’m still not entirely sure what him discharging static has to do with breaking space, but that’s whatever. I guess if him discharging static is actually breaking atoms, then he’s kinda like a walking nuclear reactor but… space-time is weird.

“Well, what are we doin’ sittin’ around here fer? Do ya know when yer parents are gonna be home?” Applejack asked. Oh. Right.

“Yeah, no, we never figured that out. Celestia had their locations when we asked about it, but nopony thought to ask about scheduling. Don’t even know what they do for a living. If dad’s a cop again, we’ll probably be stuck there for a while. If mom is working, she might be home though. She usually worked evenings or nights after my body started to stabilize while I was growing up. If nothing else, I’ve got a map and a phone, so we can find their house and then ask around if need be.” I offered. Goose stood up and stretched, then everypony else followed suit.

“Well, let’s go ahead and do that then. I get kinda itchy when I’ve got a lotta juice stored and I’m gonna have to hold a bunch of power while we wait for you anyways.” He held out his right foreleg for everypony to touch and I noticed his clothes start to kinda ‘float’ like he was in a pool of water. I guess he’s never used this kind of energy around us before, but there’s also never really been a reason to either. We all put a hoof on Goose, and in the blink of an eye, we warped.

Persona XV: Over the Rainbow (part 2)

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Persona XV: Over the Rainbow (part 3)

He took his eyes off me for a second, but never moved the gun. He wiped at his eyes and shook his head as he hovered in the air. “Misguided ideals… you… You can’t be my Firefly. She would never… She would never have done somethin’ so cruel to children!” He yelled. I stood still as I stared the barrel of that gun in his hooves, my dad’s hooves, as he was crying and pointing it at me. Is this… really happening? Nopony had moved yet and dad was getting anxious.

“What are you waitin’ for!? That was an order, all of you!” He commanded. I knew this could happen. I knew this might happen, but why… does it hurt so bad? I could feel that warm sting start to roll down my cheeks.

“Honey, is this really necessary? We haven’t even heard her side of the story.” Mom argued.

“Her side of the story!? Who gives a damn! Whole families, cut into pieces! Ponies on the streets, innocents that just happen to walk by at the wrong time and place, and you want me to hear what she has to say about it!? There’s no justification in the world for that, there ain’t a damn thing that anypony could say to excuse that!” He yelled back at her.

“Dad… I-” I took a step forward and put my blood away, but then he fired just in front of my hoof.

“Don’t you call me that! I ain’t your dad, and you sure as hell ain’t my Firefly! She was perfect… she wanted to be a hero! My little girl was… she was eleven, and she had her life taken away from her because of somethin’ stupid! They found her blood on everythin’ within miles, that was more blood than she shoulda had in her whole body, so don’t you come in here tellin’ me that you’re her! She’s dead, damn it! She’s… dead…” Dad bit into his lip trying to justify his tears, biting so hard that he made himself bleed. I wanted to scream. I was already crying, but more than that I wanted to wail, I wanted my parents to hold me again, but the one with a gun pointed at my head was my own father. I felt my legs slide out from under me and my butt sank to the floor as I started up at him.

“Hey, gimmie that thin’. This has gone far enough.” Applejack said to Goose as she stood up.

“Hey, hey, hey, don’t you move! What do you got in that pocket?” He yelled at them. Applejack stared him right back, unflinching and took a step forward. Dad shot in front of her back hooves. “I said don’t move!” He ordered.

“Or what, ya gonna shoot me? Let me give ya some advice Mister Flare, y’all should put that thin’ away. The only pony who’s gonna get hurt by that thin’ is y’all and yer wife.” Goose started to reach in his pocket and dad shot at his hoof. Before the bullet could make it’s way to him though, Applejack caught it out of the air and crushed it between her hooves. She dropped the flattened slug on the floor, then put her hooves on her hips.

“Are ya deaf? Put that damn thin’ away, yer’ just wastin’ bullets and destroyin’ yer house.” Goose took the little brown thing she’d asked for out of his pocket and gave it to her. Then, for all to see, she held out her badge. “Ya see this? Ah know that ya know what it is, mister veteran. Put yer gun away, now it’s an order, not a suggestion.” She commanded. Dad just about froze where he hovered. Very slowly, he lowered the gun and eventually put it back in his leg.

“Is this some kinda joke?” He asked, still tense and ready to fight.

“One hell of a joke if it is. Here, see fer yerself.” She said as she tossed him the badge. Dad caught it, checked the seal on the back, and read the name engraved on it.

“Son of a bitch.” He let out with a breath as he sank back into his chair.

“Nah, pretty sure Ah’m a mare. Scootaloo, fix the holes please. Ah’ll take that back, thank ya.” Dad gave Applejack her badge back, and Scootaloo went to each of the holes in the floor and repaired them. After she and Applejack had been seated, dad finally spoke up.

“Alright, fine. What is a special ranked Major doing at my house with a wanted criminal?” He asked. He wouldn’t even look at me anymore.

“That ‘wanted criminal’ was conscripted by the crown herself ta help me deal with the threat in Manehattan. You’re right. There ain’t no justification in the world fer the thin’s the Crow did. But she is already servin’ her time as a part of my unit. She came clean ta me and the princess herself in trade fer her service and sensitive information about the current issue, and she’s vowed ta make up fer the thin’s she did even after this event gets resolved.

Ah’m here because yer daughter is my friend and she wanted ta come clean with her parents. She beats herself up fer never lettin’ y’all know she’s been alive this whole time and she’s been through plenty ta realize how wrong her actions in the past have been. The pony y’all think the Crow is ain’t the same one in yer livin’ room right now. This mare is somepony that Ah would trust with my life and the lives of my friends and loved ones with, and she’s proved time and time again that she deserves my trust.

Ah won’t tell ya that ya have ta accept everythin’ she has ta say, hell, Ah won’t even tell ya she deserves yer forgiveness. But what she does deserve is fer y’all ta hear her out before ya go off and say she ain’t yours. Oh, and one more thin’. That guy who went out and made headlines, started this whole ‘hero’ thin’ with kids runnin’ around in spandex? That was my father. Any problems y’all have with what he did, y’all can take up with me.” She said, finishing her rant by crossing her back and forelegs, sitting with her hooves at in her elbows and staring dad down. Dad frowned.

“Oh. So he went on and left a daughter behind too, huh? Yeah, I’ll be sure to add that to his list of ‘accomplishments’ while we’re at it. How old are you anyways? You can’t be much older than the rest of these ponies, you certainly don’t look it. What kinda guy leaves his ten year old behind to go off and be a bounty hunter, eh?” Dad asked. Applejack uncrossed herself and leaned forward.

“The same kind that comes home ta show his daughter bullet wounds at four. The desperate kind with misguided ideals of justice and heroism. The kind of stallion with three kids who just lost his job, got kicked off his mother in law’s orchard by bitter rivals that call themselves family, and does whatever he can ta keep bein’ the best father he possibly could. The kind that makes sure his kids never have a care in the world as long as he possibly can. The kinda stallion that fights ta make the city he lives in a better place fer his kids, and the kinda stallion that tried his best at everythin’ he did. If y’all were half the stallion my dad was, ya wouldn’t even hesitate ta remember yer own daughter’s face, but that’s not even relevant because Ah know ya are.

The thin’ yer not willin’ ta accept right now is the fact that you gave up while she was still out there. My dad? The Red Hoof? He never woulda given up lookin’ fer his kids if one of ‘em got lost. Because even after he had ta watch his wife die in his hooves, even after he lost everythin’ he had, he still fought fer his family.” Applejack finished. Dad stared her down for a few moments, then crossed his back legs and put a hoof on his cheek, finally looking at me again.

“Well? I flew home from work early as fast as I possibly could for this, so this better be one hell of a story.” He said. I swallowed.

“Y-you’re really gonna listen?” I asked. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

“There are about ten ponies in the country that have the same mane and tail colorin’ that I do, and most of ‘em are part of my family, so unless there’s a kid I don’t know about somewhere, you can’t possibly be anypony else. I don’t know how you got powers, I don’t know how you went so far off the rails and became that monster, I don’t know how you managed to adopt some random orphan, and I don’t know how you ended up at my house after seven years with a special ranked Major with Princess Celestia’s royal seal on her badge. Which, by the way, gives her more authority than anypony that I’ve ever seen in person. Very clearly, I am lackin’ in information here. So if you want to make a case, then go ahead. It’s not like there’s much I can do since an officer of her rank is throwin’ her weight around.” He said.

“So… you were going to take me away… knowing who I was…” I muttered. Dad took a breath and looked to the ceiling.

“What would you have me do!? My long lost girl shows up out of the blue to tell me she’s one of the most wanted criminals in Equestria, and I’m just supposed to ignore that and act like I don’t have a duty to uphold!? Do you even know how angry I am right now? How conflicted this feels? How do I ever even come close to livin’ up to those ideals I tried to teach you if I can’t even do my job when it comes to somepony close to me? I don’t have powers, I could never do what that her dad did, I could never be a superhero for you, but I sure as hell kept tryin’ to even though the world told me I was outclassed.

And… and then you come in here and show me who you are, who you became. I can’t even understand it. You took children away from their parents, whole families left in bloody piles. You were a mercenary known for your brutality to anypony that got in your way. The Crow was so infamous that news of her made it all the way down here. When I saw you holding that sword in your wing I knew damn well that that was the exact same way I taught my little Firefly how to hold my baton. The way she flew, her voice… it was all the same, but I just refused to believe it.

But then this thing with that crazy in the mask started up and the Crow showed up to help the heroes take down the monster. Ya know, you really need to hide your tail better, because it was pokin’ out beneath those feathers of yours. I knew right then and there that I was right, but I wouldn’t believe it. The Crow was evil, a monster that murders children. She couldn’t be my daughter, and there was no way she would help out heroes to save a city. But then you showed up again in the next fight, and you helped defend, and you protected your friends whom I assume are the rest of these ponies you brought here.

If I acknowledged that the Crow was you, and you were out there doing good, than that also meant I had to accept that you’d also committed all those atrocities, so I kept it to myself and never said a word to anypony. My daughter had been dead for seven years. But I’m not dumb enough to not recognize my own kid. There ain’t a good parent in the world that can’t tell who their kids are, even beneath all that shit you used to hide yourself. I denied and denied and denied it for all these years, and then you showed up at my house.

I tried so hard to forget. To ignore, and delude myself that all these things I knew weren’t true, and that my perfect little miracle had just come back from the dead and then… and then you came out and did what you did and now… I have to accept it all. Everythin’ I’ve tried to deny all these years to keep my image of you untainted by your own damn actions. So you better fuckin’ give me somethin’ convincin’ as to why you seemed to have lost your damn mind, or at least how you started to make up for it. Because right now… I’m not sure how to feel about you.” Dad explained. I wiped my own tears away and tried to steady my breath. I never realized… how much emotions could hurt.

“I… Dad, I’m sorry.” I started. Dad shook his head.

“I don’t want your apology. I’m not the one who deserves it. You wanna apologize to somepony? You go apologize to the families of your victims. What I want is what happened. You tell us the truth, and you tell us every single detail about how you came to be what you are. So make your case.” He said, gesturing his hoof forward at me. I nodded and took another moment to breathe. There’s so much I wish I could go back and change… but… this is who I am now, and I am responsible for everything I’ve done.

“Okay… you’re right, but… I can’t do that just yet. I have things I still need to do and ponies who still need me to be the monster that I became. I can never atone for my sins, so for now I’m doing what I can to try and fix our broken world. I don’t owe anypony an explanation for who I’ve become more than you two, so here it is. Starting back in 2023, on the fateful day of that race…”

I’d told the first part of my story, all the way up until I saved Brightness and I from the traffickers when Dad interjected.

“So your excuse for all of this, is that you just… forgot? You forgot common decency, and morals, and ethics, so you just went around killin’ ponies?” Dad asked, his eye almost twitching. I could hardly look him in the face.

“Well… that was just part of it. The attack on me and my partner and that idea were what really set it off. If I could stop the bad guys before they hurt somepony, then nopony would get hurt like we did, right? I mean, I know better now, but back then… that was everything to me. I got attacked by a trafficker and had to protect my blind partner and myself! Police aren’t ever in poor districts like that, and that was during the years when heroes were just starting to come back. I didn’t have anypony but me to rely on, so what else could I have done? It’s not like I had a phone, and the ponies in that district know better than to rat out the mob.” I explained. Dad leaned back in his chair and sighed.

“Alright fine, I can’t fault you for protectin’ yourself, but how did it get so twisted from there?” He asked, his voice set to some kinda permanent state of disappointment.

“Well… the thing is… I got hit with puberty. At around the same time. And it was bad. And being in fights like that made my blood pump and… well, it also uh…” I rambled dad tilted his head.

“You tellin’ me you got your rocks off by fightin’?” He said in plain language. I tried very hard not to just admit to that, but couldn’t and just dipped my head.

“… yeah…” he took a breath and just stared silently at the floor.

“Um, so that happened, and this was just a year after you fell, so what happened next?” Mom asked trying to break the silence. I went on with the story about how my justice was twisted by my desires, being careful to omit anything about the beast as I went. If dad flipped because I’m the crow, he might actually try to kill Fluttershy. I made it all the way until I started looking for them before anypony said anything else. This time, Mom stopped me.

“See! I knew it! We never should’ve moved. If we had been there, we could’ve stopped four years of this whole mess.” She complained. Dad rolled his eyes.

“Oh, yeah, sure, like you coulda kept livin’ in that house after we thought she was dead. I remember the phrases, ‘how could this happen? We’ll never get another miracle.’ and things like, ‘I can’t stand the sight of this city anymore!’ so don’t you tell me you were willin’ to live there for three whole years after the fact.” dad shot back. Mom huffed.

“Oh no, those words were yours first mister! You got sick of it and you gave up long before I did! A whole year passed my ass, that was a bald faced lie! You were ready to pack up and leave after three months! You never even left the house for half that time, and I still had to keep working to keep us fed.” Mom fired in full force. Dad growled and threw his hooves up in the air

“If she didn’t have powers, none of this shit would’ve ever happened in the first place! Everything that went wrong here can all be traced back to powers, it can all be traced back to when all that crazy shit started happenin’ thirty years ago! How did she even get powers in the first place? Cloudsdale had the lowest percentage of power ponies for years after the first wave! Wasn’t it supposed to be somethin’ ponies started catchin’ because the water supply on the ground got tainted? We weren’t there when she was born, so how did that happen? There shouldn’t have been a way for her to get the virus in the first place!” Dad ranted.

“If I didn’t have powers…? Have you even been listening? If I didn’t have powers, I never would’ve made it in the first place! My healing factor is what kept me alive through all the times I got sick! I survived a whole year with just three blood transfusions, there’s no way I would’ve made it if my powers didn’t keep me alive.” I argued. He turned on me.

“If you didn’t have powers, you wouldn’t have needed to have somepony teach you right and wrong again, you wouldn’t have taken the lives of so many ponies to get your rocks off, you would have made that stupid drop in the first place! So maybe it helped you survive when you were a baby, so what? I would have gone into debt and back again if I needed to to keep you around! If it weren’t for your fuckin’ powers-” Dad started on another tirade when mom cut him off.

“I would be dead!” She shouted and stood up. His whole face lost all of that anger and turned to confusion, as did mine.

“What…?” dad asked. Mom took a deep breath and looked down.

“Do you remember what I told you? About how I lost a lot of my intestines before we met?” she asked. Dad brought a hoof to his forehead and started shaking it.

“You… said that there was some kind of big accident with a car, right? You… got impaled by somethin’ and it cut you up inside.” he said, desperately trying to remember.

“That’s right. I was on a road trip with my friends just after we’d all graduated nursing school in 2000. We were going from sea to sea, trying to see the country before we all got sucked into the world of medical care. We were on our way to Canterlot when we got knocked off the road by an eighteen wheeler that had fallen asleep at the wheel. The car rolled down a cliff and fell into a lake nearby. It killed two of my friends on impact, and I was skewered by one of the windows. I told you that I ended up saving my other friend, and she’s the reason I survived because she managed to call an ambulance to come stitch me back together. But… that’s not entirely true.” Mom admitted. Dad narrowed his eyes at her.

“What are you tryin’ to tell me Windy?” He asked. Mom sat down, and in the weirdest possible way, she removed her right hoof. It just… came straight off. She set the apparently fake hoof down and held up what looked like a fresh wound at the end of her leg. The skin around the bone had been stripped down and there was barely any hair round it, leaving it looking like she’d just broken it.

“I lost my right hoof too. It got crushed between the door and the frame as we rolled down the hill. I thought I was going to die before we even landed in the lake. I was missing a piece, there was a giant shard of glass in my abdomen and two of my friends had their skulls bashed open by the rock face. Vial was still alive though, and once we landed in the water, I was the only one who didn’t pass out. I was in a lot of pain, but I was also feeling a lot of adrenalin, and the car was slowly filling up with water as we sank further in.

I tried to get out as fast as I could, but my leg was still stuck between the door, and I was bleeding badly out of two different places. We sank deeper and deeper in the water, Vial still hadn’t woken up, and I was struggling desperately to free my leg as I was bleeding out. Then I got this very strange feeling in my stomach. My whole body was suddenly tingling and I couldn’t quite describe the feeling I had. I started convulsing and the water was almost to the top of what remained of the roof.

In a single moment of clarity, I could suddenly feel the water as if it were a part of me. I used the new feeling in the sea of red to pry the door open. My hoof was in shambles and had basically fallen off at this point, but I was more concerned with getting Vial out. Using that feeling, I grabbed hold of Vial and swam to shore. The next day, after I’d woken up and my stomach had been sewn back together, I could still feel that water, but I didn’t understand why. They told me my hoof was too damaged to be saved, so I was left with a clean stump that should have healed over the next few weeks. I went to change the bandages after I was finally discharged from the hospital and I was horrified that it looked exactly the same as it had while I was there a week ago. It started to bleed profusely, and I thought I was going to bleed out right there. I begged for it to stop, and then suddenly, it just did.” out of her own stump, Mom’s blood started to fly out and gather in a pool, just floating in the air.

“But it didn’t just stop when I asked it to. I could do so much more than that with it. It obeyed my every command, formed any shape I desired, it even hardened all the way into something like salt crystals.” Mom’s blood gathered around her stump and slowly changed from a liquid crimson into a reddish-pink crystalline shape of a hoof. “I would later learn that it also sped up my healing process. I called the hospital about the wound not sealing up later, and they told me they were amazed I even survived the stomach wound. They removed nearly half my intestines and part of my ovaries, but that was only because they were damaged and possibly threatening to my longevity. The initial wound had already sealed itself when I reached the hospital. They’d never seen anything like it.

A normal patient with the wounds I had and that much blood lost would’ve died long before the ambulance arrived for me. Without her powers, without the powers I passed on to her, I would have died, and we would’ve never met.” Mom explained. Dad stood up.

“You never thought that I might want to know about this years ago!?” He yelled at her.

“Of course not! All you would ever go on about was how much you hated power ponies and ponies that had powers after we started dating! I was going to take this secret to my grave if I could!” She shot back.

“So you knew!? You knew the whole time that she had your powers, and you never said a damn thing!? You knew that she wasn’t dead all this time!?” He yelled back. Mom shook her head.

“Of course not! How could I have known she had my powers!? The study about parents passing on their powers didn’t even come out until the last five years, and very clearly, it takes an open wound for our powers to even work! Possibly even exposed marrow. I always thought it was strange that she was so deficient but never seemed to suffer from the weakness that children with her condition normally do, and I always thought that maybe my virus might’ve been the reason we had so much trouble conceiving, but I never knew she had them or that I’d passed them on. Based on that study, powers could come out as anything, and there was hardly any good information on second generation power ponies to begin with.” Mom explained. Dad let out an angry moan.

“So we’ve been together for nearly twenty two years, five if you count when we met, and not once did you think that I would need to know about this!? Did you ever trust me!? Was I never worthy of knowing that you had this disease and that you might have passed it on? Clearly you knew she wasn’t dead. You always said she would come back, and you believed it, but you had proof to back it up this whole time and you never shared it with me! You just let me wallow in my own grief because I wasn’t worth tellin’ that you had a reason to believe. I just can’t believe… you would keep this from me, all this time…” He yelled then just… lost volume as his voice started to wobble. Dad fell to sitting, the tears starting to roll again. Very quickly, mom ran up to him to hold him, but he pushed her away.

“Honey…” She started.

“Don’t you do this to me. I don’t even have the words to deal with you right now, I just… now I need you to tell me why. Why is it that all the mares in my family have to hide things from me, and lie to me, and disappoint me to the point of breakin’ down? Because I’m gettin’ real tired of cryin’ over you two.” Dad managed as he hid his eyes in his foreleg. Mom sighed.

“Fine. Do you really want to know?” She asked. Dad sniffed and nodded. “Okay, but you asked for it. You. Are. A big baby. You don’t like dealing with your emotions, you’re quicker to anger than anypony I’ve ever met, and you throw tantrums and get sulky when you don’t get your way.” Mom started.

“Hey, that’s-” dad tried to interject. Mom wrapped her blood around his face and pointed at him with her stump.

“Ah, ah, ah, it’s my turn. You wait until I finish. Speaking of, that’s another thing. You always interrupt me when you get mad. You don’t like to let me have a turn, and you hate it when I’m in control. You have an inferiority complex and can’t stand that I make more money than you do. You’re impulsive and spend our money behind my back even though you know you shouldn’t, you like to poke holes in my budget plans whenever I set vacation goals and you can never agree on where to go for dinner when you decide we need to go out.

You’re brash and put your hoof in your mouth when you try to talk to your superiors, all of my friends think you’re a moron because you can’t seem to form a coherent sentence when surrounded by ponies you don’t know, and you shout before you talk. I was honestly surprised earlier when you didn’t just try to shoot your own daughter and actually followed protocol for once because last I checked, that hasn’t happened in a while, officer ‘shoot first ask questions later.’ If I hadn’t seen her use her powers when I found her earlier today, I might’ve intervened earlier, but I still wanted to protect your fragile ego and keep this part of myself hidden.” Oh, right. I almost turned my blood on mom when she surprised me. Damn, I didn’t even think about that. No wonder she wasn’t surprised.

“Let’s see… you try to grow that silly beard of yours and always stop it short when your rainbow mane starts to show up in it, so you clog the drain when you shave, you can’t hold your liquor, and I always have to drag your drunken ass home anytime you go to the bar with your friends. You always get frisky whenever you want, and I never get to decide when I want to be intimate.” That one hurt me to hear. It’s really, really not something I expected or ever wanted to hear my mom to say. “You never want to watch movies I like with me, and I swear half the time you expect me to act like your mother instead of your wife.” She released dad from her blood, and I honestly felt sorry for the guy in a different way than I did earlier.

“…You really believe all that?” he asked. Oh goddess, he looks like a lost puppy.

“Every word of it. You’re a big man-child that I take care of.” Damn, kick a stallion while he’s down, mom.

“I see. Well, if that’s how you really feel, then maybe…” She took a step forward and formed her blood into a hoof again. With it she brought his chin up to look her in the eyes.

“I never said it was your turn. There you go interrupting me again. I never even told you the thing I hate the most about you. Go on, you can speak now.” She said, her tone a syrupy sweet instead of the almost hateful one she’d had a minute ago.

“Y-yeah? And what’s that?” Dad asked, more than confused.

“There isn’t a thing in the world that I hate more about you… than the fact that… I saw you first.” She said as she kissed him. “Imagine me, twenty five years ago as I saw this broken young stallion that had been sent to my hospital because he saved the lives of his friends by shielding them from an explosion with his own body. He wakes up finally after being out cold and treated for three days, and you know what he says first?

‘Is my team okay?’

I’d never met somepony so noble and selfless. Even while he was there and recovering from having his leg blown off, he was still more concerned about going back to help his friends and wanting to get back out there as soon as he could. He wanted to make sure nopony thought any less of him for losing a leg so he took physical therapy as soon as he was able. He had these righteous ideas about how to be a good stallion, and what it might look like to be a good father. He was always kind and willing to play with the sick children while he couldn’t leave and was waiting for his stump to heal up so he could get right back to work. He was a hero in his own right but would never call himself that because he thought he couldn’t live up to the title.

When I was young I thought I never wanted kids because there was never a stallion that I thought I would fall for. But sure enough, the one I saw that would change this opinion was some crippled, bright eyed young stallion with a rainbow on his head that he hated. Even after I realized that he had prejudices against ponies like me, I was still so caught up in this idea he was dependable and somepony I could rely on and maybe even love that I was willing to hide away that part of myself just for him.

Why did I never tell you about my powers? Well, it’s because… I love you. I never wanted to hurt you, and I always feared that if I told you the truth, you might leave me.” Mom finished. Poor dad has just been on an emotional roller coaster today, and now wasn’t any better. He looked like he was about to break again when he wrapped himself around my mom in a tight embrace.

“Damn it Windy, you’re such a bitch. You always play so fuckin’ dirty, it makes me sick. I love you so much.” They hugged and cried for a few minutes together, and then dad eventually motioned me over. “Come here you… miraculous disappointment. Let me hold my family again for the first time in most of a decade.” Dad said. I couldn’t even begin to say no, and for the first time on seven years, my whole family was together for a hug. We stayed like this for a while until once again, I noticed another pair of legs around me. I let out deep, exasperated sigh.

“Fine! Fine. Fine. You can be a part of the moment.” I said, then brought Scoots into the family hug. My friends laughed, my parents welcomed her in with open hooves, and things were good. I went on to tell them the rest of the story, how I started putting my talents to use for good, how I met Scoots, scant details about meeting Applejack and joining harmony. At the end of the day, and I do mean the end of the day since we were there all the way till 8 pm, I had reconciled with my parents and brought Scootaloo into our family. All felt right with the world.

“So you’re gonna come back, right?” dad asked as we were about to leave. I sighed.

“Unfortunately, the princesses own us. All of us really, but… some of us more than others, for reasons you already know. We were only allowed to come here today because it’s our day off and uh… Lamni’s power lets us hop from place to place in an instant. So unless he’s willing to drop us off and pick us up, I doubt my boss would let me leave Manehattan, and I don’t mean Applejack.” I said as we exited the front door.

“Oh, I see…” dad mumbled. They both stood in the door frame together for a moment in thought, then mom wrapped her wing around him.

“You know… Ponyville General is actually owned by Heart and Shield. If I really wanted to, I could probably arrange a transfer to one of the big hospitals up north. Corporate is located in Manehattan, after all.” Mom said. My ears perked up, and for a minute there I felt really excited to hear that. But then I shook my head.

“Nah you guys should… stay away from Manehattan. One of… the reason that the few of us who haven’t seen our parents in more than a few years decided to go visit is because… we barely survived that fight, last Sunday. And the truth is, we’re scared that we won’t make it through these next three weeks. I wanted to come see you guys because I don’t know that I’ll get another chance…” I admitted. Dad shook his head and lifted my face up to meet him eye to eye.

“Yeah, that ain’t gonna fly. So here’s the deal, Bloody Crow. You haven’t atoned for the things that you’ve done. So you are not allowed to die until you’ve atoned properly. We’re gonna get it set up to come up there after all this blows over, and I will be there, watchin’ over your shoulder like a hawk to make sure, that you atone for your sins. Got it? I need you to swear to me that you are gonna make it through this, alright?” Dad said. I took a heavy sniff and straightened up. With my wing I saluted and stood at attention.

“Yes sir, officer Flare.”

Persona XVI: The Prodigal Daughter (part 1)

Pinkimena Diane Pie

“Alright, I suppose that would be enough for now,” Celestia said after ending the dream sequence. It always takes me a moment to adjust to the real world when we come back from one of those. As most of us expected, Twilight has been completely taken off the team for the week while she recovers, and though most of us thought she didn’t do much, that became very clearly untrue in the last few simulations.

“Well. Damn. Ah guess Ah underestimated how useful havin’ magic barriers has been up till now. No magic platforms for vantage, no magic siphon, no elemental fire power… Ah’m gonna have ta adjust my plans fer a while…” Applejack remarked. She then turned to Celestia and asked, “How long am Ah gonna be without my defense unit? She’ll at least be able ta help out the Sunday after next right? Uh… Ah think that’s the 13th if it helps.” Celestia shook her head.

“The would be unlikely. Unless we can bypass her anti-magic powers, I doubt we can enhance her healing process enough to send her back out,” Celestia explained.

“But what about when you fixed her wing?” Goose asked after joining the conversation. He took the most strain out of all of us during these last simulations since he effectively had to take up Twilight’s role in keeping us from getting killed. Celestia shook her head.

“Believe it or not, the only magic I used then was to enhance my vision. The rest of it was purely fine technical skill with my hooves and tools.” Celestia explained. Goose took on a confused look and tilted his head.

“So wait. You can do bone surgery on the fly?” He asked. Celestia shrugged.

“When you live for two thousand years, you get the chance to learn a vast variety of vocations. Live through a few wars and you learn a lot about fixing a broken body. Of course, with the world rapidly advancing so quickly over the last century, I’ve fallen behind in keeping up with the cutting edge. For the most part though, I try to be well versed in everything I can. One simply can’t rely on magic to solve all their problems after all. Setting bones however, is older than I am. I’ve simply taken it to an extreme over time.” I guess it makes sense that she can do all this, but I can only wonder how she manages to stay in practice with it all. You would think that skills like that take a lot of effort to keep up. Then again, there’s no real way for any mortal pony to test that theory…

“That makes sense I guess. Well, we should clean ourselves and get ready to go, huh Pinkie? We probably should hurry over that way so we don’t end up at your house after dark,” Goose said. My ears perked up at my name and I was hit with a sudden wave of dread. Yep. Today is my turn, isn’t it?

“Ah, that’s right! How did it go, by the way? I haven’t had the chance to speak with you all since Monday afternoon,” Celestia asked.

“Hmm? What’s this now? Have I been left out of the loop?” Rarity asked.

“Oh right. The three runaways have been visitin’ their parents ta try and make amends before somethin’ kills us. Scraggly and Gimpy have already done their visitation, so all that’s left is Twitchy.” Twitchy? Do I have a nervous tick I don’t know about?

“I see. Well, I would offer to come along for moral support, but I’ve had a lot of orders recently. Ever since the Sachiel battle, I’ve had more work than I know what to do about. I’m selling out of my easier to make clothes, and with every day comes in a new pony asking to replace half their wardrobe.” She has looked extra tired lately. I just figured it was all the fighting and the simulations though. I forget that she actually owns her own business sometimes.

“Bah, you don’t need to worry about it. Between the six of us, we can handle just about anything. Well, anything in the realm of ‘normal’ anyways,” Goose said, putting a hoof around Applejack. I looked at them, and for a minute there, I almost thought I felt jealous.

“Ooh, and just what do we have here? I certainly have been out of the loop…” Rarity looked like she was going to question further, but then she checked her wrist, which happened to have a near coat matching white banded watch hiding on it. Were it not for her fetlocks turning purple toward the tip, I doubt I would’ve noticed it. “… But I’m afraid I’ll have to leave you to it today. You’ll have to share the story with me another time, and I expect to see one or both of you in my shop in the next few days. Au revoir everypony.” And with that, Rarity headed up the staircase. Celestia brought a hoof to her face.

“Hmm… perhaps this is an unintended consequence, though not an unwelcome one from these kaiju attacks. Even though this city is usually rather liberal as a whole, the economy has been better here in the past few weeks than it has in decades. I’ll have to look into this a bit more… But, back to the matter at hoof, what was your visit like? To be quite honest with you, I had no real inclination as to how any of your parents would react to you returning home.”

“Oh you know. Dad pulled a gun on us and tried to arrest Rainbow. I’d say it went pretty well,” Scootaloo chimed in. Rainbow scoffed and elbowed her in the stomach.

“Well, yeah, that happened, but the issue was resolved and nopony got shot. My parents are… eccentric, to be sure, but I think we’ve just about cleared the air. They plan to move up here after this all blows over, provided I make it through. I’m uh… I’m also really glad you were there, Applejack. If… if you hadn’t stepped in when you did, I don’t think I could’ve pulled rank on my dad like that.” Applejack moved over and brought the little mare into a hug.

“That’s what friends are for, right?” She said with a big grin on her face. Then she must’ve remembered something because she tapped her hoof twice on the ground. “Oh, and this’ll surely interest ya, Rainbow’s powers come from her mom. She’s got the exact same set, and she was a first generation in the first year.” Applejack added. Celestia put on a smirk and raised an eyebrow.

“Is that so? You know, I’ve been putting together a theory, and I believe that I’m going to need parent child pairs in order to prove it. Your father doesn’t have powers, does he Rainbow?” Rainbow sighed and rolled her eyes.

“My dad doesn’t even have a left hind leg. I’m pretty sure that previous to yesterday, he hated power ponies, and for… really valid reasons. He made a good argument against the VBTA, and now I’m starting to think it isn’t such a good idea after all…” Celestia nodded.

“In all truth, that act came as a desperate attempt to offset the rise of power abuse back in the early 2000’s. These days it’s terribly outdated, and since the fallout with Red Hoof, I’ve been meaning to fix it, but I simply haven’t had the time to have a new bill drafted. I know what I want to do, but I highly doubt I can get it passed in the senate. As you know, Luna and I serve as commander general of Equestria’s armies and the leaders of this country, but our role in the governmental side of things is to act on the will of the ponies. Aside from the power to deny a new law being passed, we can’t really do much aside from talk to the current political leaders for new legislation. All of that power resides in the senate in an effort to make sure the corruption stays to a minimum within our little oligarchy.

In all honesty, I personally, should not be drafting bills at all. It’s technically illegal, and during the times when it wasn’t, things got messy very quickly. Bills I made would get passed instantly because my name was on it, bills Luna made would get passed instantly because her name was on it, and when those two things conflicted it left the ponies in a poor state. Most of it ended up in heated debates across the country, one of which started a civil war, and that I think, is the worst mistake I’ve ever made in my lifetime.”

“Uh, I stopped being schooled in like, second grade, so I didn’t know any of that,” I noted. Celestia frowned and sighed.

“Right. When we get out of this, that is going to be rectified. For all of you without associate’s degrees, concerning that matter.”

“Ugh, I really have to go back to school? I get mistaken for a twelve year old enough as it is, and I barely interact with ponies anyways,” Rainbow complained.

“Ah, ah, ah, no complaining. I own you, remember? You don’t have a choice anymore,” Celestia said.

“Damn it,” Rainbow huffed.

“Well… wait a minute, why is the act bad? Ah mean, Ah guess Ah can see where Mister Flare was comin’ from, but Dad was exceptional at what he did, even if he didn’t do it fer more than a few years. Lots of good heroes came outta that,” Applejack argued.

“Ah right. First I suppose I should explain just what exactly the Vigilante Bounty Trade Act entails since most of you likely haven’t read it or understand what it says. First, the act establishes the government run agency that sets and rewards for the capture of bounties. Second, this allows for a new position at every police station where a bounty may be read, assigned, and awarded for the capture of specific criminals, power pony or otherwise. The third part of the act allows anypony to turn in said bounty, and this is where most of the problems with it come into play.

Thanks to the outright poor grasp on the scope of powers and how much they would spread over these last thirty years, we thought that the first generation users might simply die out and that would be the end of it. Regular ponies would then be dealt with by regular ponies and the world would go back to normal. This of course was completely off base, and in around two hundred years, regular ponies will easily be a single digit percentage of the population of ponies around the world, let alone Equestria.

So there’s that issue. The second issue is that there was never an age restriction put into place because we assumed, wrongly of course, that the virus couldn’t infect children as there were practically no cases of that in the first five years. After about ten years since the virus arose, it became very apparent that foals could be passed the virus, and suddenly anypony that had mated with the virus would pass on the virus, Twilight being your living proof of that. So far as we know, ponies can have powers at birth if they’re born with them, and a first generation infected can have powers as early as five. Oddly enough though, children are much less susceptible to an infection the younger they are. Normally this makes absolutely no sense, but then again, the virus doesn’t conform to normal rules.

So there’s issue two. The final nail in this coffin would be the wide varieties of powers that we couldn’t take into account for. Most of the early powers modified a pony’s body, usually enhancing it or causing abnormal growth. Elemental powers, and the more rare ones like space and time distortion and manipulation in Goose and Rarity’s case, were completely unheard of in the beginning. Were they to put their minds to it, they could easily use their powers for evil without so much as batting an eye, and likely never suffer consequences for it. We had not the slightest idea what we were dealing with.

But that just covers the issues with the act itself. On to issue four, the social view of power ponies. Thankfully, you two have a conscience and don’t use your power for evil… anymore, I would hope.” She eyed Goose who then reared his head in disbelief. Offended, possibly even hurt, yet she ignored him and continued all the same. “But there are many, many others who do, and did in the early days. Robberies, murders, destruction of property, ponies could and would commit felonies and atrocities just because they had the power to do it easily, and our police force couldn’t deal with it. Because of that, looking down on power ponies as a blight to society became the norm, and further outcast the new minority, pushing what would have been normal citizens with extraordinary abilities into becoming criminals. As the population grows and having powers starts to become the norm, that will change over time.

In the current moment however, the general public still sees them mostly as a problem to be dealt with, and heroes failing to rise to the challenge only makes it worse. As much as it pains me to say it, Red Hoof exposed a great number of these problems simply by taking advantage of the act. He did a great job for the most part, but inspiring the youth to follow in his hoof steps increased the teen mortality rate by nearly two percent across the country, and that number has only grown since. I only hope that what we’re doing now doesn’t cause a similar uptick since I’ve willingly recruited you all to deal with a threat that spawns from somepony who may not even be a power pony to begin with.” Celestia finished her lecture and gave us some time to think about that. Rainbow was the first to respond.

“Uh, I can assure you that that is not the case. Persona is most definitely a power pony, but what his powers are, we’re not completely sure of. We have a theory, but we can’t say exactly what that is until we get more info.” Celestia scowled.

“I rather wish your ‘partner’ wouldn’t withhold information from me right now. Being in the know is kind of my thing,” She responded. Rainbow shrugged.

“Now that I know you, I trust you. It’s your sister that I don’t trust, and with that stunt she pulled the other day, I gives me even less reason to do so. If I can’t guarantee that she won’t screw things up for us, then my partner for sure can’t.” Celestia rolled her eyes and sighed.

“I certainly can’t fault you for that, but after hearing about it, I will admit that you hit on a rather sore spot between us. I have warned you about it in the past, but… we can just let that be for now. Continuing on, my proposal to fix the problem and why it may never see the light of day, was essentially to establish a new branch of the military specifically for power ponies, and you eight are my guinea pigs for it. My first hurdle to clear is the fact that this would violate Equestria’s constitution. You have certain rights to privacy in your life, and your medical history is specifically not allowed to be discriminated against to prevent being hired by a company if you say, had a disability or a physical impairment in Rainbow’s case.

Were I to implement this, that right would have to be taken away, and ponies would be forced, by law, to have their powers recorded, registered, regulated by the state, and be added as grounds for hiring. Using powers that are potentially dangerous outside of work or private property would then have to become a misdemeanor, and everything would have to be taken on a case by case basis because a blanket law would simply be asking for trouble. We would have to have new agencies in every city for this new set of laws that would have to be enacted, and that would increase spending, and then destroy the budget I have carefully crafted over all these years. On top of that, ponies would then have preferential treatment in the hiring process based on their powers, and that would create uneven competition in the market and quite possibly start some unhealthy practices of eugenics provided my current theory is proved true.

Oh, and normal ponies would basically be forced out of the job market. A power pony is likely to be able to do the job better if their powers coincide with the job, which suddenly makes being normal a massive disadvantage in the event it already wasn’t apparent that was the case. Or to put it another way, a power pony with the right powers will always outclass a pony without. Cutiemarks already have made this sort of a thing, but in the very least it is very rare for one not to appear, less than one one thousandth of the population suffers from blank flank after a certain age. Powers on the other hoof… we simply just don’t know enough to see the long term consequences of having them.

And all of this is just one issue. Our diplomatic relations would be shot through the heart and Equestria would be seen as even more of a threat than we already are. The creatures that knew Luna and I during our war days are all dead by now, hopefully, so only the stories about us remain. But a weaponized force of ponies that can potentially do anything at our disposal? There’s not a government in the first world that wouldn’t immediately realize this is a massive advantage for Equestria.

Hell, I doubt even third world countries wouldn’t take notice of how dangerous this makes us to them. I can guarantee that the moment I put this into action, we will go to war with Zvyr. Tzar Medved would instantly see it as a challenge to his power, and I would spend the next few years trying to prevent nukes from going off around the world and destroying the ecosystem. It would absolutely start World War III.”

I didn’t quite know what all of that meant, but ‘World War III’ was definitely not something anypony misunderstood. Taught very early in schools, the first two world wars were where Equestria was established as as the most powerful force on the planet. Both wars started in the wake of genocide, and left millions dead on almost all sides… save for ours. Thanks to Celestia and Luna’s brilliant tactics, the enemy forces were crushed and their governments were practically rebuilt in Equestria’s image, but with a rotating elected leader in place of our princesses.

These wars were horrible and caused a lot of death, but also drove technological developments into high gear, creating rapid advancements into today’s world unlike any age seen before, as the two princesses can attest. It drove many places to fear us, and even more to hate us. So we either have countries bowing at our hooves, or trying to start a fight in a struggle for power, desperately polarizing the world and forming a tribal view of with or against Equestria. The older countries that have experienced war with us are smart enough to know better. But the new dictatorial upstarts that have popped up in the last century don’t, and many of those have grown in size and scale since then, Zvyr being one of them. Celestia shook her head.

“Hmm… I’m afraid I’ve taken up even more of your time than I’d expected with my problems. Please, go visit your parents like you’d planned to, and the rest of you should recuperate and relax while you can. Whether or not you realize it, making it though Persona’s monsters alive is simply the beginning for you all. The future… is questionable for the next decade. For all of us. And if nothing else, we’re all in this together.” With those parting words, the sun herself flashed her brilliance before us, then vanished, leaving nothing but golden sparkles behind. I giggled to myself.

“Huh? What’s up Pinkie?” Rainbow asked. I shook my head.

“Earlier I thought my problems were serious. But after hearing that… Me facing my parents is nothing.”

While I was showering, I couldn’t get my mind off of what Celestia said. A third world war, a power pony infantry, regulations on powers, removal of rights… These are the kinds of things she thinks about all the time. She manages the country, and instead of days or weeks, she looks years into the future before she takes an action that might affect the populace. Powerful beyond belief, thoughtful enough to plan years ahead of time, and considerate enough to… comfort somepony like me as if she were my mother. If her going crazy over her daughter is the worst she does, she might as well be a goddess. Just… how many times did she have to fail to get to where she is now? Could I even imagine the mistakes she’s made over time? All the things she’s learned, all experiences she’s had. Even now, she says she’s behind in the current world. I could only hope to be like that one day.

I finally shut off the water and used my powers to vibrate until I was dry. One of the nice things I can do for myself is to shake like a dog so fast that I air dry my coat and mane in just a few seconds. It keeps my mane and tail all poofy and tangled, but I like it better this way than when it was straight. The last time it was like that was… back when I lived at home. She used to brush it for me. She was two years older than I am, and we spent so much time together. Why… did she get mean? Why did it reach the point where I hated her? Why did I get so angry that I…

“P-pinkie? Are you okay? Y-you’ve been in there for a long time…” I heard Fluttershy say, probably from inside my room. Sigh. I don’t have to think about starting wars. I don’t have to remember two thousand years of history for ruling a country. I have less than two decades to think about, and to Celestia, she could blink and see that pass by. My problems are insignificant by comparison. I… I need to grow up. I need to face my demons and move on with life. I could never be like her if I don’t. I took a breath and stepped into my room. Fluttershy and Rainbow were there waiting for me, and Rainbow had picked up my- AAAAH! As fast as I possibly could, I grabbed the box before she had the chance to open it and threw it between the bed and the wall.

“Please don’t touch my things without asking.” I said with a nervous smile on my face. Rainbow backed away slowly.

“Uh… sure. Was that a-”

“Hey! Wow, it’s getting late and we still have to get directions and then probably walk all the way to the mine, so we should go ahead and get out of here, shouldn’t we? Yeah, let’s go grab everypony else!” I said as I very quickly lead them out of my room. I didn’t give anypony a chance to say anything else and then slammed the door on them. Why would she touch that? Why is that the first thing she thought to look at and pick up!? Nopony can ever know. Oh, who am I kidding? With Fluttershy’s nose, she probably already knew and was just waiting for Rainbow to open it and laugh at me. I swear to the goddess, I’m locking the door every time I enter and leave this room from now on.

I grabbed the box and put it back, checking the contents to make sure I didn’t damage it, and then sighed when it was fine. It’s like… silicon or something, isn’t it? Well… it’s been treated worse than that before. I hid the box away this time, and then headed out the door, making sure I locked the damn thing. Everypony else, Applejack, Goose, Scootaloo, Rainbow, and Fluttershy, were all waiting on me at the main table in the living room. Most of them were talking to each other, but Goose was scratching at his cheeks and neck like he hadn’t had his meth in a long time. Just about every hair on his body was sticking straight out, and he looked almost like one of those shag carpets.

“You uh… okay there, fuzzy?” I asked, making everypony take notice of me. His scratching hoof moved to his left ear as he stood up.

“Am I okay? Do I look okay!? You were in the shower for an hour! I’ve done three laps around the castle, which is a lot bigger than it looks by the way, and I’ve had enough static charged to go for fifteen minutes now! Do you know how far away Salt Lick is? I have to have over two thousand miles worth of static charged! I feel like I’m about to explode here! We need to go, and we need to go now.” Goose demanded.

“Geez, fine, I’m sorry. Let’s go then.” I apologized. Everypony gathered around the unusually fluffy stallion, and after feeling like lightning had traveled up my foreleg, the scenery of the castle was gone. Now, we were standing in front of a Carcha in what I can only assume was Salt Lick City. Lots of buildings everywhere, but nothing like what was found in Manehattan. The thing that really hit me the most were the mountains. The Dragon Spine mountain range cuts through Neigha and several other provinces along the mid western side of Equestria, and at this time of day, they were gorgeous. The snow that capped them reflected the sunset in all of its warm hues, and the clouds above were catching striking oranges, golds and violets. This little city, with its ‘skyscrapers’ if you could call them that compared to what we have at home, was breathtaking. Manehattan is such a concrete jungle that you would never see colors like this in the clouds. The little mountains we have in the western part of Manehattan province, and even Canterlot Mountain, are nothing compared to the ones in Dragon Spine. Applejack whistled.

“Whew, ain’t that pretty. The air around these parts must be just as filled with dirt as it is in northern Palomino. Certainly won’t see a sky like this in Manehattan, that’s fer sure.” This Carcha happened to be on a hill a little closer to the edge of the shopping district as far as I could tell, and the view from here was great.

“W-well, this is pretty and all, b-but we should probably start heading wherever we need to go. I-it’s almost six thirty, and I-I doubt the Pies want guests this late,” Fluttershy said. I nodded.

“My parents are very… routine based ponies. They worked almost like clockwork from what I remember, and lights out was at ten PM sharp, on the minute,” I explained. Of course, it’s been ten years though. That might’ve changed. They also lost two workers…

“I see… well, let’s go in and talk to Alto. She manages this Carcha, and she knows just about the entire province. I had her rent a van yesterday while we were in Ponyville, so it shouldn’t take very long to get where we’re going.” Goose said. You know, between the mob boss and the rulers of the country, we have it pretty good. And all I had to do to get here was…

“Pinkie?” Applejack asked. I looked back up and everypony else was already in the store. I shook the thought away.

“Sorry,” I said as I caught up with her. We entered the store last, and it was pretty identical to the ones in Manehattan. Based on the owner’s words, there’s a very specific design plan that was made back in the mid 2000’s when his dad started up this business as a front for all of his ‘other activities’ in Manehattan. The front however, ended up being a money maker in its own right and more popular than the ‘less than legal’ stuff, so it expended well beyond anything they expected. After Shark Tooth was arrested by Red Hoof the first time, he still ran the company from his cell. Apparently, there’s a Carcha in every major city in Equestria, and even one in the Miyako Islands. Goose has been to all of them in person, so he can just warp to and from any of them whenever he needs to. Must be nice.

“Ah, there you are. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show.” A very, very tall, slender mare said as she moved to the marble topped front counter of the storefront. Her coat was a shade of white that made me think of cream, or eggshells, and her mane was a golden blonde that may or may not have been the same shade as Applejack’s. Like a… buttery yellow? No, wait, isn’t it kinda sparkly, and that makes it gold? Oh damn it. She’s a tall white and blonde earth pony with light blue eyes. Why is it that everypony else so good with color? I swear to the goddess that I must be partially colorblind or something. ‘Oh no dear, this is scarlet, and that is crimson.’ They’re both fucking red! You might as well speak to me in hex codes, I know those better! Sigh. Goddess damn it, Rarity.

“Yeah there was a bit of a hang up, but we’re here now and ready to go. How long is it gonna take to get there?” Goose asked, giving me a quick look at the beginning there. I said I was sorry, geez. What more do you want from me?

“You said the Pie family mine, right? By car, that’s only about half an hour drive from here, though the road there is a little… iffy. None of you are afraid of heights, right?” Everypony shook their heads, save Rainbow, who took a moment, then followed suit. Then everypony stared at her.

“W-what?” She stammered.

“No way! Really!?” Scootaloo asked, getting excited.

“Shut up! I’m not afraid of heights! It’s being strapped in a thing that could crash that I don’t like. I also get car sick.” Rainbow explained, her face a bright red violet. Scootaloo sighed.

“Ah, damn it. I thought that was something new I could rag on you for.” Scootaloo complained. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“O-oh, right, I knew that. B-but as long as she’s near a window not f-facing open air, she should be fine.” Fluttershy remarked. Alto laughed.

“Ha! You found yourself some interesting mares Lamni.” She then walked over to Applejack and lifted up her chin, tilting her head side to side to check both sides of her face. “but it’s gotta be this one, right? Something green, I’m thinkin’… Alright, I’ll start working on it when I get back. Anyways, the car’s out by the back. Follow me.” Not even bothering to explain what she was doing, Alto walked away.

“Uh… ya wanna explain that?” Applejack asked. Goose just smiled and shook his head.

“Nope! Let’s go.”

The car ride there was about as lively as any of our gatherings are, but with Applejack nagging Goose and Alto to tell her, and I quote, ‘What in the hell’ that was in various flavors of southern and vulgarity. And every time she would ask, Goose would redirect everypony but Rainbow to look at the mountains as we passed through them. I guess I never remembered this very well, since I went north after I first ran away, but the mine is at the base of the mountains by Neigha Lake. I think I remember that, but I’m honestly not too sure. I’ve been a lot of different places, especially after I started to work for Trans Equestria. A few lakes and some mountains describes this province and half the ones up to the northern border.

But as we got closer, more and more memories started to come back. My parents were big fans of hiking, and if there’s anything to do around here, it’s hike up a mountain. I started to see paths that I remember walking with them, some that mom carried me up back when I as real little, others that I walked with… all three of my sisters.

I don’t want to do this. I don’t deserve to be here. Well, tough shit. Grow up. But what if they call the police on us? That didn’t go so well last time. But… but what if… What if what? This is just like Sunday in the training room. You’re too scared to move even though you have every security in the world around you to keep you safe. But what if they reject me? Then that’s what happens, and you move on with life. It’s not like living without your family has hurt you much in the last few years. But I’m not strong enough to keep going after that… If that’s what you think, then you will never live up to her expectations.

Damn it! This is the problem with spending time with all these... these logically minded ponies, I can’t just… ignore my reason for my emotions anymore. I’m not the scared little filly that ran away from home. I’m too smart to not think about the consequences of what I do now. Because if I don’t… then that makes me the only pony on the team who’s still ruled by their emotions. I did it. It was my fault, and I ran away from the problem instead of facing it. It’s time to face the problem.

“Y-you okay there?” Fluttershy asked. She’d been mostly uninvolved in the conversations in the car, sometimes making a comment explaining the balance of whatever game Scootaloo and Rainbow were playing each other in at the time, or asking Alto about the sights that we passed. She and I were in the third row of seats in this van, whereas Rainbow and Scootaloo were in the middle, and the ‘adults’ were at the front. I shook my head and planted my face firmly against the window.

“No. I know what needs to be done, but I’m not sure I can actually do this,” I said as I watched the scenery pass me by. The sun had gone further down, and the world was bathed in a violet-blue hue, the spaces between roads in these mountains covered in trees and grass getting ever darker. Sunset is so pretty here. Why did I ever leave? I felt a hoof gently rub my back.

“I-it’s okay. I think we all t-thought the same thing right before,” Fluttershy said. I pulled away from the window and leaned on her.

“But I’m not like you two. You’re both stronger than I am,” I complained. She sighed.

“M-maybe, but you have much less to be ashamed of, and even m-more to be proud of than we do. W-we didn’t go out and try to be super heroes, w-we just sort of lucked into it. Y-you made a conscious effort to try and change yourself, a-and you keep doing it, even if you n-need a little… kick in the ass f-from time to time.” I let out a breath and rolled my eyes.

“You ponies and your logic. How am I supposed to wallow in my self pity if you won’t let me? Besides. I think it’s more like, ‘removal of a limb,’ all things considered,” I joked. She giggled and patted my head.

“T-there’s the Pinkie I know. This is just your moment. G-get in the robot, Pinkie. As the commander would say,” Fluttershy said, imitating the voice and putting her hooves together to hide most of her face. I scowled.

“Eww. I don’t want to be his son. And I know better than to actually get in that robot, I would much prefer to not be fourteen for the rest of my life,” I retorted. Fluttershy laughed and nodded.

“W-well, at least you remember. But sometimes, you do h-have to get in the robot. S-swing the bat and hit a home run, e-even if you’re scared to hit the ball. S-stand shoulder to shoulder with your comrades and shout, ‘W-who the hell do you think I am?’ I-if nothing else, I wanted you to take that away f-from all those series we watched together. B-because just like those kids, I-I think you have the potential to be better than you are.

I-if you hadn’t suggested this the other day, I m-might never have visited my family again. N-now I know they don’t hate me for it, and m-my little brother doesn’t think I wanted to eat him all those years ago. I-it might not be all gone, but I f-fixed a lot of the damage I caused, and now I m-might even start trying to reconnect with them. I-I know a certain somepony was happy to meet my family too♥” Fluttershy cooed. There is no way. That has nothing to do with any physical senses… does it? Can she discern smells that we don’t even realize are there? It’s either that or she looked at my phone… which is also very possible since she was in my room earlier. Fuck.

“Huh. Interesting, that’s very interesting. You’re an interesting pony. Gosh, we’ve been on the road for a while, haven’t we? I think I know this area pretty well, are we almost there?” I asked Alto to get away from Fluttershy’s smug stare.

“I-ignoring the implication is a little self incriminating~”she whispered in my ear, to which I promptly pushed her away. Alto nodded up in front.

“Should be… Ah, there it is. Check the road to your left every pony, that is what we call the ‘rock farm’ or the Pie family mine in other words.” Nestled between the mountains and sitting on a high ridge was a large plot of flat land that had been cleared of trees and grass, and on it stood a very tall, round boulder. This rock, or Holder’s boulder, is what marked the entrance of our family mine. To the right of that was the yard that held all of our large, uncut stones ready to be sold, shaped, and shipped off to wherever it may go to build whatever it was that needed to be built. At the back of that, in a lane between where all these neatly piled stones were aligned, was the farmhouse that one of my ancestors had built that my family has lived in for generations. The very place where I was born.

Stonemasons, gem cutters, jewelers, blacksmiths, architects. Anything that can be pulled from the ground my family made a profession with and then branched off into the world, usually leaving the farm behind for better prospects. Being the youngest of the previous generation, Dad was the one who got stuck with this land, and promised his parents that he would pass it on and continue our ‘tradition.’ Luxury wasn’t a word I knew when I was growing up, and this place always loses more than it makes just trying to keep afloat. Somehow it’s still here though, so I guess they must make enough to get by. The windmill was still spinning, the silo was still standing, and the garden still looked green even in October, so somepony must be doing something right.

“Huh. Do they pull stuff up from that quarry by that big rock? Ah assume that’s where they’re gettin’ all this raw material anyways. But there ain’t no heavy equipment anywhere. How in the hell would ya get half these rocks up here?” Applejack observed. Manual labor, that’s how.

“Ah yes, that’s an interesting story. Apparently the owners here simply cart up the materials they excavate. A small family of four lives here, husband, wife, and two daughters, and they all run the mine together. Supposedly there’s a unique talent to the Pie family line that allows them to excavate rock as if they sculpt it to the shape and size they need without destroying the rock face around it. It’s unusually efficient for basic steel tools.” Alto explained as we pulled into the yard.

“Oh, I get it. It’s just like what your family does with apples… but with rocks, I guess,” Rainbow said.

“Somethin’ like that. Well, at least the lights are on inside. Though, Ah suppose it’d be weird if they weren’t home, all thin’s considered. They run the business from here, don’t they?” Applejack asked. Goose nodded.

“Most of the stone we used to build Salt Lick’s Carcha came from here. Dad was impressed with the quality of what we got, so we often order from the Pie mine when we can afford to move it. I think we have about… three Carchas built with the stone from here?” Goose said. Alto nodded.

“Yep. I would know, I’m the one who made the orders,” Alto confirmed.

“So, what are you, like, his sister or something?” Scootaloo asked. Alto shrugged.

“I guess you could say that. My family had very good ties to mister Carcharodon, and we’ve been helping him run Carcha since he started it. My younger sister works at the east Manehattan one, it’s not too far from the harbor if you’ve never been. My brothers are district managers in Applewood and Fort Withers, and I kind of float around making sure everypony has what they need. I was a, um… ‘supplier’ in my early days for the boss man, and my job hasn’t really changed much since then. I brought Lamni here with me on a few of my jobs so he could learn the trade. He’s like a little brother to me.” Goose rolled his eyes.

“Remember girls, those are the words you use when you friendzone a guy.” Goose huffed as he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Come on Lamni, that was like ten years ago. You were thirteen!” she protested as he exited the van. Goose shrugged.

“Doesn’t mean a kid can’t try, right?” Goose said as everypony started to exit the car. “Find a boyfriend yet? By my calculations, you’re a little older than the hearth’s warming cake, no?” He asked.

“Listen here, you little shit. I will get married when I am damn well ready. You are not your dad, and you certainly aren’t mine. I have half a mind to cancel your order.” Her face formed a pout and she turned her head away from him. Goose shrugged.

“Ah, what a shame. I guess I’ll have to go visit the younger, prettier model and have her do it for me instead.” Alto scowled.

“Uh huh. Yeah, we’ll see about that, you womanizer. Hey, Blondie!” Alto called out. Everypony had gotten out of the van by now, and Alto was just about ready to leave. We all kind of stared at each other, and then drew our attention to Applejack, the only one other than Alto that ‘Blondie’ could refer to. She looked around like she was caught in headlights.

“Who? Me?” she asked. Alto nodded.

“Keep this prick in check, alright? There isn’t another pony in the world who can do that but you. Good luck with whatever business you guys have here, and I’d better see your green ass in the next few days, got it?” She said, then pointed at Goose. He nodded and waived.

“Yes, mom. I’ll see you later.” She huffed and drove off.

“Ah am so confused. Tell me what in the hell she was on about, damn it!” Applejack demanded. Goose smiled and licked her nose.

“No♥” Then started to head to the door. Applejack fumed and wiped her nose off, then ran after him.

“Come’ere ya piece of shit!” She yelled before she started to chase him around the yard.

“W-well. No turning back now, huh?” Fluttershy said as we watched those two play ass tag around the rock piles.

“Nope. Let’s get this over with,” I admitted in defeat as we started to head toward the farm house. Well, we being Fluttershy, Rainbow, Scootaloo and I. We’d just about made it to the porch before Applejack finally caught him and tackled him to the ground.

“I love you-” we heard before a good, loud smack echoed across the hills. “Oww!”

“So uh… You gonna knock on the door?” Rainbow asked.

“Stop lickin’ me, damn it!” Applejack yelled.

“That’s the plan. Just… give me a minute, okay?” I said, trying to mentally prepare myself for this.

“That’s not what you-” Goose started, but then it sounded like he was trying to talk with something in his mouth.

“Will you two quit screwing around!? I’m trying to concentrate here!” I yelled at them. Applejack took her hoof out of his mouth, then quickly got off of him. Her cheeks started to turn rosy, and she pulled her hat down over her eyes.

“Uh… sorry about that,” She said then slowly started to make her way over. Geez. I can’t even focus. What do I tell them? Apologize. But then what? Well, what happened after you left? I wandered around, stole to live and then… Yeah, that. You haven’t even told anypony else about what happened before you came to Manehattan. I mean, how often do you hear about an eight year old that survived mostly on her own for ten years? Huh… yeah. But what if they pity me? I don’t really want that. Well, if they do, then just say it was your own damn fault. The truth is what we’re after here. Besides, killing your sister is probably gonna be kinda hard to look past if you don’t have something else to tell them. Ugh. I have to say it, don’t I? Without a doubt. Well… here goes nothing… I took a deep breath and knocked on the old wooden door. A little rustling and a few hoof steps later, the door opened.

“Oh. You’ve returned. And I see you’ve brought guests,” Dad said, completely emotionless as usual. A middle aged earth pony with a short, muscular frame and sideburns that would make Rarity cry, my father was a stallion of few words. His mane and tail were a few tones of gray, his coat was a dark tan, and his eyes were amber gold. He was wearing a long sleeve white button up shirt and a black tie that matched the black felt stetson on his head. “Very well. Come inside and have a seat.”

Persona XVI: The Prodigal Daughter (part 2)

After everypony had taken a seat in the… less than ‘modern’ living room, dad brought us all a cup of water and then sat down and waited. For something. He was just… silent. Didn’t say a word to anypony, and it was beginning to drive me crazy.

“So… you must be Pinkie’s father. It’s nice to meet you.” Goose said, leaning across the two tiered wooden coffee table in the center of the room to shake my dad’s hoof.

“I am.” Dad responded and then shook his hoof. And then leaned back in his seat to stare nondescriptly at the wall above everypony and drink his water. You’re not even going to tell him your name!? Why are you like this? Well… he was always kinda like this, wasn’t he? But he would usually introduce himself when talking to strangers, wouldn’t he? Then again, last I remember, he was sick and we weren’t sure he was going to make it… What happened?

“Has business been good lately?” Goose asked.

“As well as usual.” Dad replied.

Minutes pass.

Silence.

The ponies other than dad fidget in their seats.

You can hear every sound anypony makes.

Heart beats, soft breathing, shifting of weight.

“What exactly do you do for a living?” Goose asks.

“Haul, cut, and sell stone, ore, and gems.” Dad replies.

More minutes pass.

The silence is deafening.

Time creeps slowly by.

It’s almost as if we’re being dragged along with it.

Can you not just… make normal conversation? Why are you doing this?

“Dad, are you okay?” I finally asked. I could swear we had less than a word passbetween us for each minute we’d been sitting inside.

“Me? Why, I’m fine Pinkie. What makes you ask?” He said in quite possibly the most tone variation I’ve ever heard from him.

“Well… you’re acting kinda weird… aren’t you? I know I haven’t been around but… do… is this normal?” I asked. Dad furrowed his brows and frowned, sitting up straight now.

“No, I don’t believe I’m acting unusually. Though, I do find it odd to see you home again for the first time in a decade and with a group of strange individuals. You have yet to introduced me to anypony you brought here or told me why you’ve returned. I suppose I’m simply not quite sure what to say.” Dad said. Oh. Right.

“Um… well… These are my friends and coworkers. We um… I uh…” I started, then trailed off.

“Take a breath and try again.” Dad coached. Without even thinking, I followed his directions.

“These are my friends. We all work together and lately we’ve been visiting our families to… to apologize. Those of us with living parents… didn’t leave home on good terms so… we wanted to try and… m-make amends. Sir.” I managed to explain underneath dad’s gaze. It was like trying to talk with an impossibly heavy weight over my head. Tapping my hooves together and looking at the floor was all I could do to keep going, and even then, I couldn’t look at him.

“I see.” He said as he nodded slowly with a hoof on his lips. “It sounds like you’ve made some good friends.” I bit deep in my lower lip and kept my eyes trained on the floor. I’m biting myself. I’m in pain. That’s why I feel this way. Because I’m biting myself.

“Are… Is anypony else home?” I asked. I keep trying to say things I want to say, but I lose courage and just can’t. Why am I like this?

“Maud and Marble are still in the mine, probably haven’t even realized that it’s already past supper time. Cloudy was out brokering a deal for a contract we’ve been trying to obtain for a while now, so I don’t know when she might be home, but she’s never been out later than nine. I figure we’ll see all of them in the next hour or so.” He explained. An hour!? I can’t survive in this silence for an hour! I’m gonna break down and cry any minute now if this keeps up the way it is! I started to feel panic set in when he stopped talking again and time started to erode away.

Just say something, anything damn it! Come on! Show some emotion! Be angry with me, yell at me, tell me I didn’t deserve to survive after what I did! Tell me I’m worthless and shouldn’t be here! Berate me and make me feel worse! Treat me like trash and kick me out! I shouldn’t be here, why won’t you just… why won’t you just be my dad again? I was a second away from starting to yell in my hysteria when I heard the door click. Oh no. Who is it now? The knob turned and once that old wooden slab swung inside, I saw my sisters for the first time in ten years.

Maud was in front, her violet mane and tail just as straight as it had always been, her gray coat covered in dirt and dust, presumably from being in the mine all day. Ten years would put her in her mid twenties, and with muscle like that, she could probably rival Applejack for the ‘body builder mare’ position. She took a step inside, probably about to ask where dinner was when those pale blue eyes locked on me. I shivered in place like I’d been hit with a bucket full of ice water. More silence. More frozen time as the still nothingness is only disturbed by my pounding heart. I could feel my pulse rising, the beating in my chest a mile a minute. I couldn’t look away from that piercing gaze and that was all I could wish for right now. I managed to blink and then suddenly she’d wrapped herself around me.

“Thank the goddess, you’re alive...” She said as she held me tightly. I swallowed hard and bit into my lip again. Come on, don’t you do it, damn it! She broke the hug and put her hooves on my shoulders, locking me in that stare again. “Pinkie, what happened?” She asked, getting straight to the point. Blunt like a hammer. I let my head fall and chomped down harder on my inner lip.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have done it. I never should have gotten so angry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry…” I covered my eyes and hid my face in my hooves, repeating that line over and over again. I’m so sorry. I hurt you all. I’m so sorry. I’d repeated myself so many times that I wouldn’t be able to say how long I did it before I finally felt movement from my sister. She pressed me into her chest and started to rub my back.

“It’s… okay, Pinkie. That was… a long time ago. I’m just glad I only lost one sister instead of two.” She said as she tried to console me. Stop being so nice, I don’t deserve this! I started to taste iron between my teeth and curled myself in even harder. It’s all my fault… Why can’t they see that? After a while, I felt her pat my back twice and step away. “Have you asked her anything yet? How long has she been here?” Maud asked.

“No, I haven’t. It’s been about ten minutes by my watch.” Dad said, pulling on his sleeve to reveal a black strapped analogue watch on his wrist. Ten minutes!? There’s no way it’s only been ten minutes! We’ve been here for at least half an hour. I looked up and swallowed the blood that had pooled in mouth. Everypony else was just as confused as I was it seemed, so how it’d only been ten minutes is beyond me. Maud rolled her eyes.

“Uh-huh. Come inside Marble, we need to talk.” I looked back to the front door, where I’d seen a second body when Maud opened it, but never got a good look. Geez, is she cold or something? Hiding behind the door frame and practically shivering in place was my fraternal twin, Marble. She was several tones of gray from her coat to her mane, and her eyes were a dark red-violet just like our grandmother’s. Her mane was always long, but now she looked more like her head was used as a mop, and if Fluttershy weren’t here, she’d definitely have the longest hair in the house. Very slowly, she walked inside, her eyes darting from one pony to the next like she was deathly afraid of each and every one of us.

She took a seat on the old couch next to Dad’s rocking chair, and just like that, almost every seat in the living room was full. Dad in one of the two rocking chairs, Marble and Maud in the love seat, Scootaloo, Rainbow, Fluttershy and I on the large couch, and Applejack and Goose in single seat chairs next to each other. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many ponies in the house at one point and time.

“I’d like to apologize to you all for my family. The three of us were never very social, my mother and my younger sisters were always the more… outgoing ones, and she’s still out right now.” Maud said to everypony. Oh, don’t do that. You don’t have to apologize to us, we’re the ones who just showed up out of nowhere…

“Oh, no need ta worry yerself none. We probably should’ve had Pinkie call ahead, but it’s been real busy these past few days and uh… that might’ve been difficult fer her ta accomplish. Ah’m Applejack. Ya could say that Ah’m their boss.” She said, echoing my thoughts as she moved from her chair to shake my family’s hooves. She managed to get a shake out of Maud and Dad, but when it came to Marble, I think she barely touched Applejack’s hoof before she pulled it away like she got zapped by something. “Oh, geez, did Ah shock ya?” Applejack asked. Marble very quickly shook her head, making that giant mane sway back and forth like a blanket in the wind.

“Marble has… a strange power that makes coming into contact with ponies difficult for her. I can’t quite explain it though. One day when we were children, we gained extraordinary abilities that none of us really understand.” She said. Ah… so it was everypony, and not just me… “On a basic level, time seems to be distorted around Father. It just sort of moves faster or slower depending on how he feels. Mother seems to have a reserve of strength that could shame any stallion, and I inherited that from her I think.” Maud explained. Applejack brought her hoof to her mouth and nodded.

“Hmm… That’s… really useful information. Uh, do y’all mind if Ah get a good description of yer powers from all of ya fer my boss? Everypony here has powers, so y’all are in good company. Gills over there would be the easiest example if ya need proof.” Applejack said as she pointed to Goose. My family collectively leaned their heads in to look at him. Goose rolled his eyes and pulled the collar of his shirt a little lower to reveal that he, in fact, has a column of gills along his neck. The fleshy pink slots sort of breathed along with him and almost everypony reared back because of it. I’ve spent so much time around this guy. How in the world have I never noticed that?

“Eww. That’s kinda gross.” Scootaloo spoke to life probably everypony’s thoughts. Goose frowned and let out a heavy sigh.

“Wow, really? I had no idea! It’s almost as if I wear clothes to hide them or something. Thanks for giving me new information, Scoots. Really brightens my day. Also, we have the mare with the floating blood. Was I really the easiest candidate for that?” He asked in his ‘upset’ tone. Applejack turned and gave him a big smile.

“Ah love you♥” She sang, then turned back to my sisters. “Anyways, how about it?” Maud, Dad, and Marble looked to each other, and eventually nodded.

“Sure. Mother is… possibly stronger than I am, though we’ve never thought to test it. The most we’ve ever lifted was… How much do you think that granite boulder weighed? The one from a few weeks ago.” Maud asked dad. He raised a brow and tapped at his snout.

“Three, three and a half tonnes?” He replied. Maud nodded.

“We can lift likely somewhere around half of that for each of us. It was… very difficult, and we had to stop for the day afterward.” Maud said. Hmm. I wonder how much Applejack can lift. Also, what in the hell were they doing trying to lift a boulder the size of a truck? Applejack nodded and took her phone out of that red bandanna she wears. She typed something down and then looked at the number for a bit.

“Sweet goddess. Three and a half thousand pounds… Ah’ll have ta get ya ta hoof wrestle with Goose and Ah later. Remind me ta have Twilight make us some weights tomorrow. This is somethin’ we should figure out in general, and fer every pony at that.” She marveled, then said to Goose, who nodded in response. “Alright, and what about you sir?” Dad nodded and shifted in his chair.

“As she says, time no longer flows correctly around me. Seems to have been that way for the last twenty five or so years, I think. For all we can tell, time moves faster or slower depending on my emotional state. I try to be neutral minded to keep this in check, though I can manipulate it intentionally to a small degree. It is… difficult to control in situations like this though. The day may drag on until I can settle myself. My apologies.” He said letting his eyes drift to me. Oh… right. That would… explain that. Applejack nodded and wrote something down.

“Would ya say that it slows or speeds up dependin’ on whether or not the emotion ya feel is positive?” She asked. Dad shifted in his seat again and furrowed his brow.

“I can never be sure of that. At times it feels as though a day will never end when I’m enjoying myself, and sometimes it’s the other way around. I’m not sure if there’s a rhyme or reason for it, but we know it happens when I’m emotionally unsound. I’ve taken to wearing watches because of it.” He explained. A never ending day, huh? I wonder how long the day was… when you buried her.

“When would ya say ya got this ability? Did ya have it before yer first daughter was born?” She pressed further. Dad shook his head.

“Hmm… No, I don’t think so, actually. Time only began to change during a trip to my wife’s parent’s home shortly after Maud was born.” Applejack added more to her device and then moved on.

“Thanks a bunch. Ah think my boss might want ta talk ta y’all personally… Now then, how about you?” She asked Marble.

“M-my powers…” She stuttered and then continued on until her voice was completely inaudible. Applejack blinked and leaned in.

“Ah’m sorry?” she said.

“M-my powers let me…” she started again, managing a few more words this time.

“Uh… if talkin’ ain’t yer speed, then maybe y’all could just-” Applejack started, but then stopped and froze in place as soon as Marble put a hoof on her. They stayed like that for… however long it was, maybe a minute if time was normal right now, and then Applejack took a gaping breath after Marble let go.

“Oh-kay, how about we don’t do that again, huh? Thanks, Ah’ll… Ah’ll get all that down.” She said as she shook herself. “Ah can see why it might be difficult fer ya ta go out if ya get inside somepony’s head every time ya touch em. Uh… ya may have seen some thin’s that ya shouldn’t have, so try ta keep whatever was there in yer own head, okay?” Applejack asked.

“Mmhmm.” Marble made a noise of affirmation and nodded. Applejack woozily took a step away from the loveseat and nearly tripped over the coffee table on her way back to her chair.

“Causes dizziness and nausea upon endin’ contact…” She mumbled after she sat down and started typing again. “Anyways, thanks fer that. Ah’m positive that the Princess will show her gratitude ta y’all in the near future.” Applejack said in a bright tone. Maud blinked.

“The princess? Do you… work for the government?” She asked, specifically with her eyes on me again. I could feel sweat start to roll down my head. What do I say? Should I tell them that I go out there and play super hero now? Would that make me look better or worse? Do they even have computers or TVs here? Do they know what’s going on in the outside world?

“In a roundabout way, Ah suppose. But uh… how about you tell them about that Pinkie? You’ve had lots of jobs, haven’t ya?” Applejack asked, covering for me then putting me on the spot. Gee thanks. I started to scratch at the back of my head, my mane threatening to tangle up my hoof as I did. Well, here goes nothing.

“Well, I’ve had more jobs than I can remember, I’ve been working all my life. Er, that’s not what you asked though, so uh…Yes, I- we, do work for the government. Ya see, the princesses… well, there’s this place… I was going to…” Nope, can’t say that. Or that. Have I even told my friends that one? Probably not. I was… sad, let’s just… not reopen unrelated wounds. “Uh… do you guys know about what’s been going on recently? With the monster attacks in Manehattan?” I asked, trying to find a way to ease into, ‘I’m a super hero and sometimes help my friends here do their jobs while failing spectacularly at my own.’ Marble and Maud shook their heads but dad nodded slowly.

“I’ve heard about that on the radio recently. The past few Sundays, some kook has been taking over every station at noon to talk about it like some kind of sports caster. Your mother has been telling me it’s all she ever sees on TV when she goes out, though I still have trouble believing it. Why do you ask?” Dad explained. Note to self; buy parents a TV. Or a few, really. I have more money than I know what to do with right now.

“Uh, well… we live in Manehattan, and we’re the ones who uh… fight the monsters.” I said focusing on my hooves and tapping them together. Oh yes, your far removed from the world, devout to the goddess family is going to know what’s going on on the opposite side of the country. I doubt they ever even leave the house together save to go to church. Who knows when the last time your sisters saw a TV was?

“S-so… is that what I saw?” Marble stuttered, barely audible, but loud enough to be heard. I felt my ears move toward the sound.

“Wait, really? What did you see?” I asked. Did she see Applejack’s memories? Did Applejack see hers? Is that what her powers do?

“W-well… there was light… and a diamond in the sky… and fire… burning… s-so much burning… like my hooves were melting… then there was… a dark room and… love.” She muttered as a warm smile crept up her face while she tapped her hooves together. Is she blushing? Suddenly, Applejack looked more nervous than Marble did.

“S-so uh, she’s kinda like what the sharin’ spell does in that she sees and experiences yer most vivid memories in however far back it goes, and it’s a two way street. Like uh, y’all found a real big, strange piece of gold not too long ago in the deepest part of yer mine, right?” Applejack explained. Dad nodded.

“This is true. Though, that thing was… evil. We thought it best to turn it over to the princesses. That was no mere piece of gold. It was shaped almost like…” Dad started.

“A lion’s paw, right?” Applejack finished. He nodded.

“Yes…” He muttered as he brought his hoof to his face again.

“So… if that corroborates your story as true since there’s really no other way you could have known about the gold, then that means you…” Maud started then brought her hooves together like she was trying to come to terms with the things she was saying. “you fight… monsters?” She asked, me specifically.

“That’s uh… that’s the jist of it. I uh… haven’t been doing that the entire time I’ve been working for the princess, but that’s been it for like, the past couple months I guess.” Maud shook her head and started to rub her temples.

“Pinkie…” She said after a sigh. “I’m just… How did you end up here? I know it’s been ten years, but you were… you were never very strong, and you were usually very happy-go-lucky back in the day. I’m still not even sure how Limestone fell into the quarry back then. Who took care of you? How… how did an eight year old survive on her own for ten years? I don’t think you’re dumb, but you didn’t know much of anything that would have kept you alive back then… I don’t even think I would have survived had I ran off, and I was sixteen. I…” She sighed again. “Pinkie, what happened? Did you really… did you really do it?” She asked, almost like it hurt her to say it. This is it. This is the thing I’ve been dreading ever since I came up with this stupid idea. I took a deep breath.

“I… I…” It was stuck in my throat. Good goddess, just say it, damn it! “I did it! I was tired of her being mean to me, and I pushed her! I wanted her to go away, I wanted her to stop and I could finally do something about it after I got my powers! I am the jealous brother! It was fratricide! I… I did it. It was me…” I started out yelling like I was screaming to the wind. Each word was like a knife in my chest, and the more I said the more it hurt to speak. By the time I’d finished, I was curled up in a ball with my hooves on my head and my knees on my ears. “As soon as I saw her at the edge I knew I’d made a mistake. She asked for my help, she pleaded with me and I hesitated. Her hooves slipped and there she went.

I didn’t know what to do, I couldn’t even think straight, so I just… ran. I went through the mountains because I thought if I went that way, no pony would ever find me... I guess I ended up being right. I ran for days, and one day I woke up and I was in San Casco. I said I would never come back, but here I am…” I admitted until I trailed off again. I kept my ears folded back against my head, waiting for the rebuke I was meant to receive, but in the end, it never came. I felt a hoof rub at my back gently, and when I looked up, the rest of my family was looking down too. I looked to my left, to my supporter, and Rainbow urged me on when we caught eyes. “Guys?” I asked. Dad shook his head and let out an angry sigh.

“Blasted filly! How many times did I tell her!? Treat your sisters better, be nice to your little sister, why did she never listen!? If I hadn’t gotten sick-” Dad blew up, but then Maud stopped him.

“Father. There was nothing we could do about it. Everypony was busy, and we thought you were on your deathbed. Nopony could’ve known… things would… go so poorly.” Maud said, her voice wobbling like she was desperately struggling to keep her composure.

“I-I should’ve said something… I saw it all and… did nothing…” Marble admitted, her face completely hidden under that mane of hers.

“If I had been a better father…” dad mumbled as he squarely ground his teeth on his hoof. They all… they’re all in anguish over this. This is what the other’s parents were like too, wasn’t it? ‘Where did I go wrong? What did I do wrong in raising you?’ Damn it, why am I so selfish? It’s always about what happens to me, it’s never about how anypony else feels. Maybe… maybe that’s what I’ve been missing all this time.

“It’s… none of your faults. I… I did it. It was my decision. I knew she would get hurt, even if I didn’t quite understand death yet. I did it because I wanted to fight back and… well, that’s what happened.” I said, feeling like I’d taken one of Applejack’s punches to the stomach. Maud shook her head.

“No, everypony has some degree of blame to share. I’m your older sister, and I should’ve protected you both. I’m sure father feels the same way. He was sick, I had to take over excavation, and mom was busy trying to keep him alive and keep us fed. Every pony had their work to do, and we all just… fell short when it came to you. I’m sorry Pinkie. We should’ve been there for you both.” Maud sighed.

Once again, the room fell silent and for however long it was, nopony made a move. I came here to apologize, yet here I am being apologized to. What even is this? It’s like, between the three of our families, Rainbow’s dad was the only pony with an appropriate reaction. It’s my fault this happened, but they all think it’s their fault, and everypony is trying to claim ownership of the blame. Is this… is this how it’s supposed to feel? I did something awful why is it that they think-

Amid the silence and breaking my train of thought, the sound of a stomach rumbling broke the stagnant air. I tried my hardest, but I couldn’t help but let out a little snort. I immediately covered my mouth with my hooves, but almost as if a window had been shattered, somepony else started to giggle. With every new noise, another pony started to laugh, and eventually the whole house was caught up in it.

“I-I’m so sorry… W-we haven’t eaten anything since this afternoon…” Marble said after we’d all managed to breathe again. Even under all that hair, you could see that her face was almost beet red.

“Oh yeah, dad said something about you guys being late in earlier, huh?” I said, trying to keep myself from giggling again. I don’t even know why that was so funny. It was so… unexpected, and from Marble of all ponies. She doesn’t even speak as loud as that was.

“Hey, why don’t I grab us a few pizzas? I don’t think anypony in our group has eaten anything either, and we’d hate to hold you guys from your dinner after putting up with us at such short notice.” Goose offered. Dad frowned and scratched at his cheeks.

“No, you’re no imposition on us, you’ve brought me my daughter back, I couldn’t-” He started but Goose stopped him.

“Nope. Stop right there. Don’t pull your dad card on me, I’ve got it covered. Give me a few minutes, we’ll be back.” Goose said, then quickly grabbed Applejack’s hoof.

“Wait, we?” She managed before the two of them blinked out of existence. My family collectively blinked and each of them reexamined the spot they’d left behind.

“Did they just?” Maud started. I nodded.

“Yeah he can do that.” I affirmed. Maud blinked again.

“That must be… very convenient.” she said, in an ‘awed’ tone for somepony with a mostly monotone voice.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll say. We’re not dead right now in a big part thanks to that power of his. You guys will have to see the fights we’ve been apart of, Goose’s quick jumps with Applejack’s directions are something to marvel at, really.” Rainbow said. Dad nodded.

“I see. He must be the ‘knight’ character that that caster refers to. As much as I found it a nuisance at first, It was quite entertaining to listen to. Heroes battling monsters with sounds and effects you might find in a cinema, all narrated by one of the most enthusiastic ponies I’ve ever heard. It… makes me very uneasy to know that those things I hear are real though. Do you… er,” Dad trailed off. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, I still don’t know any of your names.”

“Oh, right. Um, this is Rainbow, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy. The two that just left were Goose and Applejack.” I explained. Dad nodded.

“I see. Name’s a little on the nose I suppose, but some ponies just are. My question, Rainbow, was… how do you all get through these fights of yours? I just can’t imagine getting hit by something like that and still managing on without some kind of… debilitating wound. If I heard correctly, it sounded like your Marevelous Red had shattered her front legs not but a few weeks ago, and another of you had a wing crushed under rubble. Unless neither of them are here, how can you all seem fine? Even last Sunday, one of the heroes had their suits melted by some kind of spear, there’s no way somepony could recover from damage like that in a mere few days.” Dad reasoned. Well, I mean, you’re right about that.

“Oh, that would be me. My powers let me repair things in a kinda ‘magic-y’ way. As long as it’s not completely destroyed, I can put it back together. Most of the time. There was a weird one a few days ago, but I think I fixed most of it.” Scootaloo explained.

“W-while we’re on the subject, our m-major is also very reckless. S-she has destructive tendencies o-outside of work, s-sometimes doing things s-she knows she shouldn’t anyways. A-as much as we trust her, I-I wish she had a little m-more self restraint.” Fluttershy sighed.

“H-how are you not dead? Er… I mean… if she’s so reckless, how… um…” Marble started, then faltered and fell off. “I-I felt it… the burning, and I saw the lasers. She was in so much pain, I just…” Marble tried again. Rainbow shrugged.

“Luck, probably. The first two were definitely well planned counter measures, and Applejack really knows what she’s doing when she’s in the middle of a fight. Her ability to trust in us and herself I think is part of what makes her good at her job. But the last one though? We should definitely be dead right now after that. She’s also like, super crazy. Like, you guys felt what holding those spears were like, and we were only on the receiving end. They were almost too hot to touch after we took a beam, and those shields just kinda… fried like eggs underneath that laser. She fired like, what was it, four of them?” She explained.

“Uh… three I think. Not counting the last time, since nopony was really ‘touching’ them that time. She also had one in her mouth when you guys took the third to last beam, so I can only imagine.” Scootaloo clarified. Rainbow huffed and threw a hoof in the air.

“Well, there you go. Those things were like holding a curling iron with your hooves after they gained a charge. She had one in her mouth. When she fired those to two to stop a laser, it literally melted her suit. She says her powers just make her body stronger, but there’s no way in hell she could do all the things she does without some kinda insane pain tolerance too.” Rainbow ranted on. She leaned back in the couch like she was done, but then raised a hoof and started back up.

“Oh, and that’s another thing! If we had had the time to practice, like, if she wasn’t gone for half of last week, I think we could’ve gotten away with that fight without losing Twilight for the foreseeable future. It was pretty clear to me that she knows how to direct after that thing with Israfel, but then trying to do it myself was just… I hate to say it, but I couldn’t do what she does. When I had my idea to stop Israfel back then, I was just going to get everypony to attack either side at once with Rairty’s ability. That’s as far as I’d gotten. Not only did she come up with a similar and better idea than that at the same time, she also had everything planned so that we couldn’t screw it up. What kinda pony can just… do that? If she didn’t wear her heart on her sleeve, I think I’d be afraid of her.” Rainbow sighed.

“Yeah, she’s… pretty amazing. If her dad was even a little like that, I can see why so many ponies tried to become heroes. When you see somepony like her at work, it just makes you think… ‘could I be like that?’ And then you go out and try, and fail, and you can’t take it. You’re not cut from the same cloth, you can’t do what she does, you could never be a hero like that. You cause more problems than you solve, you get ponies killed more than you save, you… get sad and contemplate suicide. It’s rough, chasing a shadow.” I said.

If I hadn’t met that purple mare in the hoodie that day… would I have gone through with it? Sin after sin after sin, and it had all just piled up. That blood curdling sound of bones crunching on the ground was like an echo that never left my head. Hearing it once was too much, hearing it three more times was more than I could take. I finally took a deep breath to shake the thought out of my head, only to realize the room had gone deathly silent once more, and everypony was staring at me.

“Uh…” Then, in the middle of the room returned to existence Goose and Applejack, him with a long receipt in hoof, and her with a mountain of Pizza boxes on her back.

“Okay, so I wasn’t quite sure what everypony likes, so I got a few of everything. Olive, mushroom, four cheese, supreme, Miyako style for all of you sick ponies that like pineapple on your pizza, etcetera, etcetera.” Goose said, once again destroying the silence.

“Ah can’t believe ya brought me along ta be yer pack mule.” Applejack grumbled. Goose looked around and seemed to take notice of the thing he just did.

“Oh. Uh, did I interrupt something?” He asked.

“Nope! I’m so glad you’re back with food, why don’t we take a minute to eat? I’ll just…” I turned my powers on and started to grab plates from the cabinets in the kitchen and set them all on the coffee table. Before anypony could turn their heads to follow me, I moved up to Applejack and started sorting through the pizza boxes. I think I counted sixteen boxes with eight different flavors, so I just piled every other box on the coffee table. I stopped for a second to breathe, then went back to work in making sure everything was set up. I grabbed and refilled everypony’s water cups, and then based on what I knew about whose tastes, I passed out pizza. Once there were enough confused looks and everypony had a full plate in their laps, I quickly remembered where I was and who I was with and said a prayer. “Dear heavenly goddess, thank you for the food we are about to receive, amen. Eat ponies, eat!”

“So. What did you guys talk about while we were gone?” Goose asked as everypony had about a mouthful of pizza.

“Oh, you know. Stuff and things.” I replied quickly. Applejack sniffed and wiped her mouth.

“That sounds like deflect-y talk ta me.” She said, the first to be finished eating. Damn, girl can put away food.

“W-well, that’s because it is. S-she was saying something about c-chasing shadows and contemplating suicide.” Fluttershy said, tearing into her pizza like it was a chunk of meat. I’ve lived with you for half a year. Now that I know you’re hiding a monster in there, so many of your weird little habits make sense now. Also, why are you so on my ass?

“Ah’m sorry, what? Is that what she was talkin’ about a while back? Y’all were tryin’ ta kill yerself?” Applejack asked, astounded.

“She who? Did I miss something? As a side note, you guys need to chill out with the suicide thing. That’s like, what, three of six that made an attempt?” Goose advised.

“Uh, probably Twilight if I had to guess, and maybe? Because I don’t know what they’re talking about either. Who are the three? I know I felt bad, but I never thought offing myself was the answer.” Rainbow asked.

“Well, Bonehead, Blockhead, and Pinhead of course.” Goose explained pointing to Fluttershy, Applejack, and me. “What… when did you do that? Er, provided it wasn’t during that thing that happened between you three.” He asked, motioning to us on the couch. I shook my head.

“No, that was just something dumb that with an even dumber result. I never made an attempt, okay? I was thinking about it, that’s all. It’s not like it was the first time, it was just… the one time that I might’ve actually gone through with it. I’d left the family I’d been staying with, I’d spent a month trying to be Marevelous Red and failing spectacularly, I couldn’t afford to pay my rent so I was kicked out of my apartment, and all I had to my name was a small bag of stuff I’d picked up over the years and that cheap nylon track suit I bought at a thrift store. I’ve had a lot of low points and that one… that one could’ve pushed me over the edge if I hadn’t stumbled into Twilight, literally. Clumsy fool was reading a book and muttering to herself when she ran into me.” I scoffed. I was so mad that she knocked me over. Probably saved my life and I chewed her out for it. Funny, how things work like that.

“I’m sorry, can we back up a bit? Who is this ‘Twilight’ you speak of? When did you start staying with another family? How did you manage to get an apartment in the first place? How old were you when this happened?” Dad asked.

“Well…” Thinking of what to say, another interruption walked in the door. Her coat was pale gray, near identical to Marble’s, her eyes were a bright cerulean like mine, and her mane was dark gray and tied up in a bun. She was wearing a plaid shawl with a blue gray gem in the center of a silver brooch at her neck with a small pair of round glasses on her snout, just like she always did. She pulled off whatever was restraining her mane and let out a groan.

“It has been such a long day. Talking to these idiots is almost like speaking with a brick wall, may the goddess help me. It smells wonderful in here, what did you make Igneous? Is that-” Mom began, till she opened her eyes. She stood still, very quickly taking note and then dead staring me in the eyes like a tracking laser pointed at my forehead. “What are you doing here?” She demanded. Another bead of sweat rolled down my head and I swallowed.

“H-hi m-mom-” I started, then she cut me off.

“How dare you. My daughter’s killer does not get to call me that! Answer the question before I call the authorities.” She ordered. I wasn’t very big in the first place, but right now, underneath my mother’s heavy gaze, I felt very, very small.

“I-I c-came to apologize!” I said, practically cowering in front of her. She huffed and stomped a hoof on the floor, making a noise so loud that it sounded as if a boulder had fell from a cliff.

“Good, now you can leave. Your apology won’t bring my daughter back, you… you murderer! Get out of my house!” Mom yelled.

“Y-yes ma’am…” I gave in and started to get up. I knew somepony would do it. I knew somepony would call me that. I just… never really figured out who.

“Pinkie, sit back down.” Dad said as he got out of his chair. Instinctively, I then followed that order. Mom looked at him aghast.

“Excuse me? She will leave right this instant!” Mom shot back at him. Dad stood nearly face to face with her, his expression not quite angry, but closer to it than neutral, and hers furious, looking up at him.

“No she won’t. You should sit down and breathe for a moment my dear.” Dad said, calm but stern.

“I will not! That is our daughter’s killer you’ve let into our home! You expect me to stand idly by while this… this murderer just sits there?” She fired.

“Cloudy, that’s not fair. You don’t know that for a fact.” Dad argued.

“There is no way Limestone simply fell of her own accord! There were hoof prints on the ground that showed somepony losing balance next to somepony else. Why else would she have ran off? She had to have done it!” Mom argued back.

“Okay, so why don’t you let her tell her own side of the story? Pinkie is the only witness after all.” Dad offered.

“I don’t need to, and I don’t want to. I know she did it.” Mom scoffed. Dad sighed and rolled his eyes.

“Are you not curious as to how she’s even here with us now?” Dad asked. Mom turned away from him.

“No. I don’t care and I don’t want to know.” She huffed. Dad circled around her so the she looked him in the eyes again.

“Really? You don’t want to know how an eight year old managed to survive on her own for ten years?” Dad asked. Mom narrowed her eyes at him, glanced at me, then looked away again.

“No. I don’t.” She said.

“Just think about it. How did she feed herself? We barely left the mine, she likely never knew how to engage in commerce. Somepony had to teach her how to use money. But if she managed that, where did she get it in the first place? There’s no way she could’ve survived just by stealing all this time.” Dad pondered.

“She probably was taken by an orphanage or a church. Even in this degrading culture there is goodness in some ponies.” Mom answered. I was going to interject, but dad shook his head.

“But is that actually the case? Earlier, she said she’d been working all her life. Said that she ended up in San Casco after she first ran away. Of all the horrible things that go on in that hive of scum and villainy, she managed to make a living, at eight of all things.” With an eyebrow raised and one eye open, she turned her head back to him.

“No, that’s simply not possible… how would she have… I don’t care, and I do not want to know! Make her leave!” Mom stomped and turned away again. Dad moved around her once more, this time rubbing up against her. Mom kinda stiffened up and dad caught her eyes again.

“I don’t know… she said she’s one of those hero ponies that fights the monsters up in the big city. What did you say your name was again?” Dad asked, giving me a queue. Mom didn’t look at me, but her ears turned toward me. Is she… falling for this?

“Uh… I’m Blur, the speed hero. I’ve never met anypony faster than me… in real time, anyways, and I use knives when I fight. I’m the one who cut the hole in the monster’s mask during the first fight.” If mom has seen the fight, then maybe… She finally turned her head toward me and stared me down again. Less anger was there, and now she was… interested.

“A hero are you? Laughable. You have no right to be called that. You could have simply seen the same spectacle that I did on some sort of screen somewhere. Every single one, everywhere you go for almost a half hour. It would have been impossible to miss unless you were away from technology at the same time every Sunday for the past three weeks.” She shot, but… it was almost like she was challenging me.

“I-it’s true though… mother. I saw it… in their memories.” Marble spoke up. Finally, Mom’s curiosity had been piqued. She tilted her head at Marble, then returned to staring at me. She frowned, then let out a sigh.

“Fine. Marble isn’t one to lie, so I suppose your story checks out. I will listen, but after this, you will leave and never return, you understand me?” Mom said, in a much less harsh tone than earlier.

“Y-yes ma’am…” I managed. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and took a minute to let my heart slow down. And Dad married that. If she didn’t live here, she would be a nun teaching in a private school or something, I swear. She took a seat in her own rocking chair next to dad’s and continued to stare at me intently. I couldn’t look away, and she was making it very hard to think.

“Well? What are you waiting for? I didn’t sit down so you could stare at me.” Mom pressured. Dad put a hoof on her back and drew her attention away from me.

“Now that young Stallion over there bought us dinner as a gesture of goodwill. Why don’t you indulge in the generosity offered to us before you point your lawyer glasses at your own daughter, hmm?” Dad said. As if a curtain had been lifted, Mom finally realized that there were other ponies with me.

“Oh! Good heavens, I didn’t even realize… you brought a whole troupe of ponies with you. I am so very sorry for my… outburst. I have a bad habit of narrowing in on things with a little too much vigor…” Mom apologized to everypony else, her face about as red as Marble’s was earlier. Most of them were mid pizza, so the only one who wasn’t responded.

“O-oh, don’t worry about it. W-we’ve already been through t-this and worse this week. Y-your reaction was a bit of f-fresh air in comparison to my parents. A-at least you didn’t pull a gun on us.” Mom tilted her head.

“I’m sorry?” she asked. Applejack finished her fourth or fifth slice, I hadn’t been keeping track, and got up to greet my Mom.

“Howdy, I’m Applejack, and this here is my unit. Odd circumstances lead ta us comin’ together ta meet y’all and help Pinkie try ta patch thin’s up. But uh, before that, can Ah get ya ta tell me about yer powers? My boss is very interested the genetics of power ponies like y’all and there are a few questions Ah’d like ta have ya answer.” Applejack gave her pitch. Mom looked a little frazzled, especially with her hair down like it was, and she sort of nodded.

“Um… sure?” She looked to dad for help.

“It seems as if Pinkie works for the government. Just tell her about your powers.” Dad offered. Mom blinked a few times, and then very quickly tied her mane back up in a bun. She took a deep breath and recomposed herself, then nodded.

“Of course, please, go ahead.” Mom said.

“Okay then. First off, Ah was told that yer strong enough ta lift at least three and a half tonnes. Is that right?” Applejack asked.

“No, four is more likely. A family had been trapped underneath a rock slide not too long ago while I was on one of my commutes. A sizeable slab of earth had slid off the cliff side and nearly crushed them, though the car they were in managed to keep them alive. It was much heavier than the granite that Maud and I would move later, so I can only assume it is more than that as I was alone then. The boulder we lifted had to be at least seven tonnes, so this other one couldn’t have been that heavy, though it was just as large. Partially dirt, so it was certainly not as heavy as solid granite anyways.” Mom responded matter-of-fact-ly. Applejack typed on her phone with an impressed look on her face, then moved on.

“Wow. Ah definitely need ta get a hoof wrestle with you. Second, how long have ya had yer powers? The initial outbreak happened around the turn of the millennium if that helps.” Applejack asked. Mom put her hoof to her chin.

“Hmm… There was a time in our lives where Igneous was the stronger of the two of us, though that was over three decades ago now. I was still in school even. When did we get married?” She asked.

“Ninety eight? Pinkie, what’s your birthday?” Dad asked.

“Uh, March fourteenth, twenty twelve.” I responded.

“April fourteenth, nineteen ninety eight.” Dad said affirmatively. Mom clapped her hooves together.

“Oh, that’s right. Two years into my undergraduate studies and after we’d been married. I think I was on a trip to Canterlot to visit the university for a debate, and when we returned here our bus got a flat tire. I was feeling particularly energized for no reason at all, and thought to see if I could lift it. Needless to say, we were all very surprised when I could. Our team won the championship that year, how could I forget?” Okay. I knew she handled all the selling, but I didn’t know she was a freaking lawyer!

“Ah see. Y’all must have some kinda patience. Uh, on ta my third question, yer husband has said that his powers started ta act up around the time ya had yer first born. He never showed any signs of his time dilation before that did he?” Applejack asked. Mom stared at dad for a minute and then nodded.

“While I can’t say for certain, I do remember a particularly long day during my pregnancy with Maud. You and your brother were having that argument, and it felt like the clock had fallen behind. For as much as you yelled at each other, not even an hour had passed before you finished. I highly doubt you would have noticed it though.” She stated. Dad frowned.

“I can’t argue with that.” Dad said. I have an uncle on that side? Geez, now that I think about it, I don’t know anything about my parents.

“Well now… that gives me a theory. Thank y’all very much. This is gonna be real helpful. Alright Pinkie, all yours.” Applejack thanked my parents then turned every single spotlight in the room on me. Gee, thanks again.

“Oh, geez. I don’t even know where to begin…” I mumbled to myself.

“Well, I would first like to know for a fact whether or not you killed Limestone. Then, I want a chronological list of events that brought you to your current position. While I cannot fathom you, the filly who was afraid of shadows, of all ponies being a part of those monster fights, something must have changed you in the last ten years and I think we are at least owed that.” Mom said. Isn’t hearing supposed to get worse as you get older? Why is hers better than I remember? I rubbed at my eyes and let out a heavy sigh.

“I guess… I’ll start from there then…”

Persona XVI: The Prodigal Daughter (part 3)

“To start, I did it,” and immediately she cuts me off.

“I knew it!” mom exclaimed. Dad sighed and raised an eyebrow.

“Does it make you feel any better?” he asked. Mom grunted and rolled her eyes.

“Why would it? Don’t you think that I wasn’t hoping for a direct admission of guilt? That I would rather hear anything other than ‘my daughter committed fratricide?’ I would have loved to look away from the logic that brought me to my initial conclusion but we both know I never could. Now that I know for a fact what I thought is true, I… I feel worse, honestly.” Her head a little lower than before, her eyes focused on the ground, a little bit of the life she had in them ripped out and replaced with a cold stare. It didn’t last long though, because she shook herself out of it and returned to her upright posture.

“I shouldn’t be interrupting when I am the one who asked for this. Please, continue,” she sighed. I nodded and went on, feeling a little bit… well, less bad about this now that she’s calmed down and… at least hurt instead of angry. This way, it’s only more crushing disappointment from my family instead of that, and my angry mother.

“As I was saying, I was tired of being bullied, and after I got my powers, I saw a chance to fight back so I took it. I was eight, I had no idea how badly she could get hurt if I pushed her down the quarry, and I certainly didn’t know what death was. It was my fault and not a day goes by where I don’t think about it. I made a mistake I can never undo, and even ten years ago, I think I realized that. So, what did I do next? I ran. I ran, and I ran, and I ran. Somewhere around the second day, I think I passed out.

For the rest of you who might not know, between here and the province Andulas is a very large, and very hot desert. If you were to just follow the roads, you might never come across it because almost every continental road avoids it. I however, didn’t follow the roads. As a matter of fact, I think I avoided them because I was so focused on getting away that I didn’t think of anything else. Because of that, I ran directly into the Appaloosan desert.

It spans most of the western side of the country starting at the edge of the Dragonspine mountains and only stopping at the Equestrian west coast. It’s practically a wasteland. Of course, that shouldn’t be much of a surprise since it was a the site of the Caballo-Equestrian war at one point. White hot sands everywhere you look for miles, nothing but dunes and sizzling earth. If you were to crack an egg in the middle of the day, the sand would cook it.

Even with my powers, with my fear driving me, my speed taking me as fast as I could go, my stamina wouldn’t last. I got lucky when I did finally pass out because I was just at the edge of a new development in some border town in Pastern, the province between here and Andulas that holds the harshest parts of the desert. My entire body was just about dry, my hooves had started to crack from the heat, and when I fell asleep, I thought I was dead.

When I woke up next, I found myself in a truck full of other ponies. Most of them were tied up and gagged, and others looked like I did, dried out and on the verge of death. We were moving, and as the light fluctuated in this rusty trailer, I got a better look at the other ponies around me. Almost all of them mares and children. Why are the so many mares in this truck? I wondered until the truck stopped. The back doors swung open shortly there after, and in the blinding light stood two figures. A pair of stallions, one recognizable as a pony, the other… not so much.

He was scaly, bright red and orange, like some kind of lizard or something. I don’t think I was healthy enough to be afraid of him, and even in that situation, I was still more concerned about getting away from here. The normal looking one called out something in another language, to which half the ponies that weren’t bound and gagged responded, starting to file out of the truck.

He would say something, they would say something back, then the ones he approved of would have a tag stabbed into their ears. The ones he didn’t… well, I never saw them again. The other kids would cry, but the mares would take it in silence, holding back whatever sounds of pain they thought to make. After they were all out, he then started speaking in Equestrian.

‘Out of the truck, all of you,’ that Caballan accent so heavy that I could barely understand it. When nopony moved but instead gave them glares, the other guy spoke up. ‘Get out and line up or have your corpse rutted like the meat you are!’ At eight, I didn’t know what these words meant, but the older mares certainly did, and the tone he said it in was more than enough to scare the rest of the children into doing what he wanted.

So, here I am, in line with all these other kidnapped or illegal ponies in some warehouse that this cartel stored its ponies in, and nothing could have really made me understand the kind of deep crap I was in. The ponies that were already tagged were being given bread and water, and I was very much interested in that, and not so much the tags being put into everypony’s ears that didn’t look like it felt good. Rather than stay in this line, I darted over with the ponies handing out food and sort of kind of waited in line to be immediately next.

This pony, some other stallion that was part of the cartel, noticed my sudden presence waiting for food and punched me across the head. Thirsty, hungry, now dizzy and angry, I did what any sensible pony would do and went to bite his foreleg and take what I wanted. Uh, if I remember my Caballan, he said, ‘get that little [vulgar word] and make her regret she ever lived!’ or something along those lines. I’d managed to consume about half of the bread I stole and drink some of the water, but I was still so mad about being hit that I think I… hissed at them? My head was knocked a little loose since, ya know, a full grown stallion had punched me.

They would chase me, and I would run to the other side of the warehouse to eat a little more, then they would catch up to me, and I would evade, and we just played this game of cat and mouse until I was full, refreshed, and tired of playing. I went along and ran up the sides of things since I was still light enough to do that back then, and I decided to hide up on the rafters. They didn’t seem to have any pegasai on their team, and none of their unicorns were good enough to reach me from down there, so I was pretty set. Tired and not dying for the first time in days, I fell asleep up there.

I woke up the next morning, and the whole warehouse was practically empty. The shipping containers, the ponies, the sleeping station, the weapons, the drugs, all of it, gone. Down below me was one stallion in a chair looking at his phone, the lizard looking guy, the guy that had opened the truck, and the guy that hit me. Scaly noticed that I’d moved and alerted the guy in the chair to this.

‘Ey niña. Did you have a nice little nap?’ he asked. Dude looked up at me, and all I could do was stare at his eyes. He was a beige and black stallion, his coat spotted but in a more uniform way than I’d ever seen before. He was a little shiny on the surface, and his tail was thick like he was some kind of reptile. It had a little… thing at the end, and as it swayed back and forth it rattled. He was wearing this bright white jacket with an intricate black design on it, some silver chains with little accessories around his neck. Kinda looked like Goose actually, now that I think about it, but this guy was way evil, let me tell you.”

“Uh, excuse me! I am not a reptile! I have Fish blood. My dad was a shark, and I am a shark, don’t you go lumping me in with ponies like Crotalo!” Goose protested. Huh. Not only does he not complain about what I was calling similar, he knows who I’m talking about just by hearing his description. You were totally never involved in the underworld chief. Good on ya for keeping that side of you hidden.

“Sugarcube, Ah’m a hundred percent sure she was talkin’ about yer style, not yer weird, hybrid body. Besides, sharks don’t have spines like y’all do. Yer more like… a swordfish with teeth,” Applejack assured. He has spines? Goose didn’t look satisfied with that, but I decided to just move on.

“Tons of ponies have hybrid bodies… I’m not weird…” Goose quietly pouted before I could continue.

“Uh… anyways, since I’d finally gotten a chance to look at these two… odd looking ponies, like nopony I’d ever seen before, I did exactly that. I wasn’t sure what to make of him, and I was just kind of mesmerized. Those eyes were… so strange. He blinked sideways, his pupils were slitted, and his irises were like huge discs of black speckled gold. Slightly hypnotized, I nodded.

‘That’s good, that’s good… why don’t you come down here and have a talk with me, huh little rosita?’ I was almost ready to do what he’d asked, but then I remembered that that guy behind him, who looked very, very nervous, had punched me in the head earlier. I felt at the spot where he hit me and shook my head. ‘No! That one hit me!’ I called back. As soon as I said that, the bigger scaly one wrapped his foreleg around the nervous guy’s neck, and the guy in the chair motioned his head away. They both left, and the big guy came back a few minutes later little bit more red than he was before.

‘Little rosita, that bad semental will never see you again. Please, come down here and tell me your name. I will give you a reward if you do that for me. Do we have a deal?’ he offered.” Remembering all this suddenly made it very clear to me that the other day was only the most recent in several number of times that ‘I should’ve died,’ most of which are a fault of my own. I paused for a moment to put that thought away as more of these ‘should be dead’ memories started to flood back in, then continued.

“He pulls out a bag of brightly colored rock candy from one of his jacket pockets, and young me recognizing the tantalizing sugary treat as a thing I rarely got the chance to indulge in, I immediately ran down there to get it from him. Of course, to get what I wanted I had to tell him my name, and that’s when I remembered why I was running in the first place.

‘I did something bad mister. I… I don’t have a name anymore,’ I said. I didn’t think I deserved it. He raises his chin up, this guy was already making plans for me the moment he heard about me from his underlings, and now he had me in the frog of his hoof.

‘Oh, I see. Well then little niña, you fit right in. See, in my familia, there are a lot of ponies without names. Sometimes, ponies do bad things you know? It happens all the time. And when nopony else will take them in, we bring them into my familia and give them a life. In my home, Caballo, family is everything. We take good care of the familia, and when the familia is happy, I am happy. Little niña, filly of the color rosa, would you like to join my family?’

Really puts it into perspective how terrifyingly cruel this guy is looking back, ya know? That’s probably part of the reason I hated you so much when we first met. Whether or not you’re a fish or a snake, you dress and behave in just a similar enough manner that you remind me of him.” Goose rolled his eyes.

“So maybe I liked his fashion sense, whatever. I’m glad that we’re cool now, but I was even more glad to know he was dead a while back. Speaking of which, seeing as you’re here and still alive and all, how did you get out of Vibora? I uh… don’t know of many stories of ponies surviving leaving Vibora.” I put my hooves together and took a deep breath.

“Okay so… just maybe I was the pony who ratted him out,” I said, a secret I thought I would take with me to the grave… next week or so. Goose blinked.

“I’m sorry?” he asked.

“Well, you know that Crotalo definitely had me back then right? Well, here’s how it all went down. I did join Vibora. I was actually their runner for the better part of four years. Crotalo would come to me with some package to deliver across the border or in secret to the harbor, I would do it, and he would give me… anything and everything I wanted in return. Having a power that makes me very difficult to catch, being as young as I was, and very inconspicuous despite my coat, Rosita was the best delivery girl there ever was. Her problem though… was that she was too attached to Crotalo.

See, when all was said and done, I thought being a part of the family meant that Crotalo was my big brother. As such, I tried to treat him that way. Naturally, he didn’t like that, nor did he have time for that, so he assigned somepony else to be my ‘big brother’ instead. How did I survive? How did I make it through all these years? It was because of my Abuelo. I never knew his real name, nopony ever called him a real name, he was just ‘Abuelo’ to everypony.

If I had to guess, Abuelo was Crotalo’s real grandfather or father since I never knew how old Crotalo actually was. Since he was well past his prime and was nothing but a burden to Crotalo, he was the pony I spent all of my free time with. He taught me Caballan, he taught me about the world, he taught me just about everything I didn’t already know honestly.

So, Abuelo is assigned to be my guardian, this old, powerless, earth pony stallion that looked enough like Crotalo to be his parent or direct blood relative, but without the whole ‘rattlesnake’ thing going on. He teaches me what I need to know to be apart of Vibora at first, the essentials like Caballan, what not to do with the drugs, who to take them to, who to watch out for, who not to talk to, things like that. But as time goes on and I get older, he starts to look at me not as some filly he has to look after, but like his own daughter.

Maybe it was as justice for how his own son turned out, maybe it was penance for whatever he’d done before, but from then on, he started trying to get me out of this environment. I would hear him at night when he thought I was asleep talking to himself, saying things like, ‘Rosita needs a better life than this. Rosita can make something of herself in this country. Rosita can be somepony worth knowing, unlike that cursed spawn… With a gift like hers, she could be a hero like that stallion in the papers from back then…’

Around five years passed while I was part of Vibora. I hit puberty toward the end of that time, late as it was, and I start to notice things. Some of these ponies… aren’t very nice. The ponies Abuelo always told me to stay away from start to make sense as to why I needed to stay away. These ponies are doing cruel, terrible, evil things. This isn’t how ponies are supposed to act. Abuelo always tells me to be kind and helpful, that the goddess knows my actions and punishes those who do evil. The same things my parents always told me, and these ponies… aren’t that. I started feeling guilty about what I was doing. I started thinking that, ‘Maybe I’m doing something wrong here.’ The final nail in this coffin was the day that Abuelo told me we were going to see an old friend.

I thought it was going to be business as usual, he and I were going grocery shopping for the week, and we were maybe going to get dinner somewhere nice while we were out. But then we went to one of my running spots. The back alleys of the San Casco outskirts. Abuelo always told me to stay away from this part of town. If I ever went this way for a run, I needed to leave as soon as I could. I never understood why, but then he started to explain.

‘Rosita… this is what happens when ponies use those powders we sell. They become dependent on it. The powder is their life. It consumes everything, taking away the free will of anypony who tries it. They become slaves to its world. It makes them feel good, yes, the powder does that. But at the same time, look at what happens to the world around somepony who takes this powder. Cracked walls, refuse on the streets, abandoned buildings, excrement everywhere, disease, violence! All because that powder is the only thing they can see in their lives anymore. Other ponies disappear, responsibilities evaporate, even basic needs like food and water become secondary when they are so addicted. And in the end… they end up like that.’

We had entered a house that smelled really bad while he was talking. It was in possibly the worst shape you could imagine, all the things he talked about covering the floors of this house, trash, ruined and soiled rags, empty plastic bags and bottles, used and broken pipes, empty lighters, melted spoons, used needles. After we waded our way through all of that, we came to a room that smelled even worse. He opened the door, and there lying dead for at least a few days was a pony I’d known. She was a seller for this area, somepony I would frequently deliver to, somepony I was friends with I might even say. I was so horrified at the sight, I nearly turned tail and ran right then and there, but Abuelo grabbed me and held me in place.

‘No! You mustn’t look away! This is what that powder does to ponies! This is what we have been giving them! This is what he makes his fortune off of! This is what you have caused Rosita! Face what you’ve done here!’

I didn’t sleep for a few days after that. I locked myself up in my room and I just sat there, trying to forget. Seeing that dead pony brought back memories of li-” I wretched and nearly expelled the pizza I just ate. Not quite there yet. “… memories of her and I was stuck. On the one hoof, I could leave, or at least try to, but I’d seen enough times what happens to traitors and deserters. You don’t escape Crotalo. The Viper always leaves it’s venom in you. On the other hoof I could refuse to work anymore, but that would end up with the same result.

When I’d finally managed to pass out without seeing the dead pony or her face in my nightmares, I woke up to a day where I had a run waiting for me that night. I couldn’t make a decision, and this little nagging thing had happened over five years with the guy, and I couldn’t leave Abuelo alone. I went to talk to him about it, but to my surprise he said the matter was already settled.

‘Do not worry my dear Rosita. Today is the last day you will ever have to take that horrid powder anywhere. Tomorrow, we will start new lives. I know a pony who has very close ties with one of the rail companies. On the trains we will work and live so that we may lead honest lives. No more of this, no more Vibora, no more Crotalo. It will… finally be over.’

He give me my instructions as usual, but for the first time, they’re in somepony else’s hoof writing, and there’s more than ‘return to Abuelo’ after the drop off. While we’re at it, the drop off point is also in a weird place. I’d never been to the center of town before, at least not for a run. When the time came, I delivered a package behind the San Casco Library to a stallion I’d never met before, but one I thought I’d seen around Crotalo a few times. He took the package from me, and instead of bits, he gave me a bag.

‘Take this with you when you go to the train station. Abuelo will be there with all your things. If you ever return to San Casco after today, it will be a better place… for everypony,’ he said. I did as I was told, and Abuelo and I left on the midnight train headed to Fillydelphia for attendant training from Trans Equestria. That night, Vibora was surrounded by the combined might of the San Casco PD and the Equestrian coast guard. Crotalo was killed in the firefight, and Vibora was taken down. I wouldn’t know anything about it until… much later.

I think I was about thirteen when I first started working on the train with Abuelo. The job wasn’t hard, it didn’t pay much, but it at least gave us a place to live and see the country. Every province, every capital, every major city, we saw it all. The big cities in the north, the rolling fields of the midwest, the swamps and rivers of the south east, everything. This country is beautiful, and if I could take a train to see it all again, I would do it in a heartbeat.

Of course, nothing lasts forever, and as time went on, it started to slow down for Abuelo. In the first year, things were fine. He would get tired easily as he always did, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. In the second year, he would get sick more often. Sometimes he would go into coughing fits and have to sit down for a while, but it was nothing to be really worried about, or at least that’s what he told me.

The illusion was broken one day in the third year when he was serving the first class seats and he collapsed. I was fifteen and this was somewhere around February. The cold was beginning to get to him. We would often make trips to the northern parts of the country since that’s where most of our business was, the bigger cities being located near the northern east coast and all, but Abuelo didn’t do well in the cold. Since we practically lived on the trains and we had nowhere for him to be aside from a passenger when he didn’t work, he couldn’t do anything but ride along with us for where ever we were bound.

On the rail to Crystal, the coldest city in Equestria, is when his age finally caught up to him. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He wasn’t breathing right, his color had practically faded away, and he was missing fur on several patches of his coat. He would cough and hack in his bed only for that precious blood of his to come out with each wheeze. We were still a day out from Crystal when he told me this.

‘Rosita… it seems as if… time has finally caught up to me. I am beyond help now, the next sunrise will surely be my last. When the end comes, I do not want you to be sad, you cannot be. You still have plenty of life to live. Live a life that you are proud of. Make something of yourself, something I did not, and something Crotalo could never have aspired to be. Take back your real name and… be the hero I know that you are.’

He didn’t make it to Crystal. He didn’t even make it to the next sunrise. This old stallion, at the age of sixty seven, rapidly succumbed to lung cancer without so much as a hospital visit. He was always fine. He was always Abuelo, happy to be of service and always willing to talk and offer advice on whatever it is you needed. He never looked sick, he would never show it to anypony, he just kept on as if nothing was ever wrong.

It wasn’t until the funeral that I finally saw his cutiemark. Just like Crotalo, he was always wearing clothes, never revealing what he looked like underneath, always keeping parts of himself hidden behind that warm smile. It was a priest’s collar. How… did it all go so wrong? Where did it fall apart in his life? Was it his son? Was it him? I learned so much from him, but in the end, did I ever really know anything about him? I never asked. I never wondered, I never questioned, I just took everything he said and never let it go.

I was emotionally destroyed that day. The company allowed me to take a few weeks off, but I had nowhere to go, so on the train I stayed. I worked through it all, and every night I came back to our room, empty and alone. Not but a month later around my birthday, Trans Equestria closes down its passenger division. We’d never really had a full train, most ponies that rode were around Abuelo’s age or older, and after some time, even they had stopped riding.

I was offered a position to be trained as a conductor since I’d spent so much time with the company and I was finally old enough to ‘legally’ be hired, but the idea of spending long nights driving trains across the country alone scared me. I didn’t want to end up like that… dying without somepony knowing who I was. I talked to ponies, I like to be around ponies, I like to spend time around ponies. If I were all alone for so much time every day, I don’t know how long I would last.

So, I rode along with the last cross country passenger train, and where ever it stopped, that’s where I would try to start again. The train was retired, and with it Rosita went too. If nothing else, I would try to live up to his last request and at least be Pinkamena again. With nothing but a suitcase full of bits and mementos, I started to wander around the streets of Manehattan, the end of the line.

Manehattan is large. I don’t know if either of you have ever been,” I started, pointing to my parents, “but for you two, imagine the mine. That deep, cavernous, spiderweb of tunnels that weave in and out of each other, interconnecting and leading in dead ends with gems and ore becoming more and more common as you get to the more dangerous parts of the mine. Now triple its size, and then you have the streets of Manehattan. Vast and expansive. If you were to look one direction from the streets below the sky scrapers, you’d only catch glimpses of the sky and the horizon would never be in view. Even I, the pony who can out run a speeding train, can’t get from one side of the city to another in less than ten minutes.

In the daylight, Manehattan is a wonder of life and sound. Buildings with ponies in every window, motion constantly buzzing in the streets at every which direction, ponies, gryphons, carnivores, cows, deer, sheep, zebras, every race you know of and some ponies who blur the lines of ones you don’t. I wandered in amazement, simply trying to take it all in. The problem with that though, is that this makes you look like a tourist. And if you look like a tourist in the depths of Manehattan, well… you better find a place to hide your bits quick.

I would think that maybe, twenty minutes or so had passed since I started to wander and look when somepony grabbed my suitcase from me and took off in the other direction. I know now that twenty minutes is a little slow for pick pockets these day though, especially from station square. So, I whirled around to find my suitcase was clutched tightly in some stallion’s hoof as he dashed away with my bits… all of the bits that Abuelo and I had saved over the years. More than that though, that suitcase had the last few remnants of his memory in it, and that was crossing the line. I ran after the guy, who knows what kind of creature this was, and this, is when the idea of a ‘hero’ first came to mind.

I tried to get the case back after I caught up to the guy, who couldn’t have imagined I’d be upon him immediately again, but it was stuck to him. The dude himself was… sticky. It was like his skin were made of glue or something. I tried hard to pull away from him, but he was stronger than me, as most stallions are. Then he too, punched me in the head. I corkscrewed on the ground, yelled after him in a daze, but by the time I started to get back up, something weird happened.

Another stallion, clad in white and with skin that shined like gleaming metal, had crash landed in front of this guy. ‘Petty thievery? You’re known for going after bigger targets than tourists. All the same, it seems your luck’s run out this time, Sticky Hooves,’ this guy said in a big bold booming voice. ‘Iron Tail huh? You ain’t the [vulgar word] in red, I can take you,’ the thief said, confident as could be. Lots of questions started to rise, but I didn’t have time to think about them before the two guys started to fight.

The sticky guy, the kinda dark dull green stallion, threw some kinda sludge at the hero from his hooves. The metal stallion in the jumpsuit hopped into the air, his hooves ringing out as he leapt from the ground with a clear bell tone. He did a flip in the air, then twisted his body around as he came down on the gooey guy shouting, ‘Iron Justice!’ His tail, this thick steel mop of a thing, slammed down on the goo guy, and that was the end of that. His whole head dented in and his body kinda… melted a little after he landed.

Very quickly there after, he took a vinyl trash bag out of a pocket on his suit, then picked up the slowly liquifying stallion and threw the puddle of a dude in it. ‘No, I won’t be falling for that one. Dirty tricks only work once,’ he said, triumphant over my robber. The crowd that had gathered around to watch the quick fight clapped for the hero, and then everypony went on about their business. He picked up my suitcase and then brought it back over to me once all was said and done.

‘Are you new here young mare?’ he asked me. I nodded and took my case back from him. ‘I figured as much. It’s not very bright to walk around Manehattan and look like a tourist, but if you’re new here, then that’s to be expected. Do you have a place to stay?’ he asked me. I shook my head, and then he offered to walk me to a decent hotel for my bits. As we went, ponies waived and asked for pictures with the hero, and he gave me a little advice about getting around in the city.

It was such a… strange experience. This guy just randomly comes to my rescue, then offers to help me out for no explicable reason, basically spending the rest of the day with me. He says his goodbyes, and tells me to look up his number if something like that ever happens again. I didn’t know it then, but at that moment, I had decided that I wanted to be a hero.

However, becoming a hero is not easy. I needed to find a way to live, and I needed to do it quickly. Without any technology and not the money to buy a phone or a computer, I started searching for a job. A week went by, and I thought I was just having trouble. The second week came and went, and I was rejected from my first interview because I didn’t have a permanent place of residence. The third week went by, and I was rejected for another position because I had no personal phone.

Another week and nothing. Another week… and I ran out of money. I didn’t have anywhere to stay. I didn’t have any money to buy anything. And I couldn’t get a job… because I didn’t have a place to stay and I couldn’t buy anything. I traded the suitcase for a backpack at a thrift store, and then I wandered. I barely ate, I begged where I could, but after two weeks of it, I finally hit my limits. Starving, cold, and no place to go, I passed out in the south east district.

I thought about the goddess a lot, around this time. To my sorrowful ears, the idea of a righteous ethereal goddess that loved me and would take care of me was very appealing. Even in Manehattan as a street urchin, I found a meal at a church every now and again. But during that dark time when my vision started to get blurry and my hunger was stopping me in my tracks, I did one thing that I hadn’t done since I left home all those years ago. I prayed. It was a simple prayer, and even though life had put me away from believing, I was dying and thought this would be my last words to the only ears that would hear them. ‘I’m sorry, my goddess.’

I woke up, clean and in a bed in some cozy home I didn’t recognize. To my side was a tray with warm bread and water, and if we’re being honest here, I was baffled. How did I get here? Who washed me while I was out? Where was here anyways? Questions present, but not ones that lasted since the food was more than I’d had in a few days, and I was very ready to not be hungry. After ingesting everything I could off that tray, I finally took the time to look around me. The room was wood furnished with white washed walls and curtains printed with pictures of cake and candy on it, and it seemed… normal?

I wasn’t very accustomed to normal, but since nothing made sense to me ever since Abuelo died, I wasn’t inclined to care. What I did care about was the kind of ponies that would take somepony like me off the street, clean me and feed me like they had. Had I stumbled into another gang? No, this house was too… quaint. Was this a brothel disguised to look like a home? I knew about those, I’d delivered to them before. I’d seen a lot of bad in the world, and I knew just how bad it could get. At this point, I was sixteen and still pure. A mare like me is valuable to that world, I’d be worth a lot of money.

So, with my mind racing, thinking of all the terrible and cruel things that somepony could have planned for me, I started to search this house. I checked out the window in this room to find that I was on the second or third floor of some building and cursed to myself. That meant I was going to have to make it through at least two floors of security provided this was the dark place I thought I was. This must’ve been the back of the building too, because there were only alleyways everywhere I could see. Another bad sign; the windows were barred. This wasn’t a place I wanted to be, and that made it all the more apparent.

I left that cozy looking room, now thinking it was all just pretend for some operation and entered the hall. To my left was a night stand in the middle of a not very spacious hallway on a soft rug that ran the length of the hall with a couple doors at the end. Pictures on the wall of ponies I didn’t recognize, old family photos, a nice little lamp with a green stained glass cover. To the right was more of the same, but instead of doors, the hall turned and I couldn’t see anything beyond. A thought crossed my mind, and suddenly I wasn’t sure where I was. I’d seen the inner workings of a brothel, this was too… furnished, this looked too much like somepony’s home.

Panic settled, now I was just curious. Isn’t this Manehattan? Isn’t this the big city with all the gangs and the high crime rates, felonies on a daily basis that would make your stomach turn, and the kinda ponies that would sell their own mothers for a quick bit? Where was I? I wandered over to the side with the doors now that my curiosity had taken over, and in there was a master bedroom.

A night stand with a picture of two ponies on their wedding day above it, a bed that hadn’t been made, clothes strewn across the floor, a window with black blinds on it, a few dressers with some drawers ajar. After picking careful steps across mounds of unmentionables, I checked out this window. Still barred, but this alley lead on to the road, and I think I recognized it. Wasn’t this where I collapsed?

I figured that I’d done enough exploring now and decided to go find this couple in the photo. Just as I was leaving the room, I noticed something on the edge of one of the dressers. It was half under a shirt, or an apron actually, and after moving it away, I realized what the thing was. A goddess symbol. An eerie sense of foreboding ran up my spine and I walked away, keeping that in the back of my head.

With a better sense of where I was, I headed down the hall to turn the corner to run head first into somepony. I fell over and they did not, but very quickly, I was helped to my hooves. It was the mare in the wedding dress from the photo. She had a blue coat, her mane was a deep red and pink swirl of a thing that was done up to look like whipped cream or icing, and she was… well, less thin now than she was in the photo. Dressed in flour covered clothes with colorful stains of what was probably icing, she asked me if I was alright.

‘Oh, I’m sorry dear, I didn’t realize you’d woken up. We had a rush and I had to go help down stairs. Are you okay? Have you eaten enough? You’re practically skin and bones! Please, come down stairs so we can get some food in ya.’ She was right of course, I hadn’t eaten in a few days, but she didn’t even give me a chance to get a word in before she started to drag me along with her. I can tell now that the photo in her room is old. The way she is now, it looks like she was maybe in her mid to late thirties, and in the picture, she’s not likely much older than I am.

We head down one flight of stairs, pass through another floor that looks like it has her living room and kitchen in it, and finally down the last flight and into a cake shop. The transition was sharp and abrupt, the warm homey place to the mostly glass, cool white and black tile storefront with cakes, cookies, candies and bread in displays everywhere. The large windows showed the orange sky and windows of the other stores across the street, and the sign on the door told me that the place was open on the inside, so closed to everypony else.

The smell of sugar and warm bread was overwhelming, and I was suddenly aware that I was still very hungry. I figured that this was a bakery, so there were bound to be mistakes they’d made that they needed to get rid of, so that’s what I’d eat. Nope, I watched her frost and bake half the things she fed me. All the while, stuffing me with confections, she talked and talked and talked. She and her husband met in college while going to school for baking. He wanted to make cakes, she wanted to bake for a living, naturally they had a lot of common ground, so they were married a few months later. They moved here after they graduated and have been working their little Sugar Cube Corner ever since.

Her husband, whom she told me was Carrot Cake, had found me passed out in their alley while he was taking out the trash. They were both raised in goddess fearing homes, and as ponies of good moral character, they decided to take it upon themselves to see me healthy again. She even told me that she prayed for my recovery. What a scary thought that was.

Eventually though, the topic came around to me, and in my own word vomit, I told her everything. From age eight to age sixteen, she knew my whole life in a couple of hours. I didn’t know why I told her the whole story, I didn’t know why I didn’t heed Abuelo’s teachings and kept my cards to myself, but all the same, now she knew. And once I finished I remembered my backpack. Where was his hat? Where was my bear? Where were those little dolls he showed me how to make? I think she saw my sudden anxiety and knew what I was worried about. She told me that she cleaned my backpack and put all of my things back in it, and she’d had the hat washed so it looked like new again.

I was glad to have it all back, but sad to know that the last thing I had with his scent on it was gone now. A profound thought hit me right then and there, and I started to cry. Once I’m gone, nopony will remember him anymore. Forgotten, just as easily as a candle fading in the night. And who would remember me? I honestly expected all of you to be as hostile as mom was, so surely there was nopony who still knew me. Mrs. Cake comforted me until I stopped and offered to let me stay as long as I like. They’d always wanted a child, but when one never came, it seemed as if one never would. Had they conceived as soon as they were married, whatever kid they would’ve had would be just as old as I was at the time.

A week passed and I’d started to gain weight again. A month passed and I was healthy again. Two months passed and they started to let me work in the bakery. By the time three had passed… it felt like I had a family again. It was obvious how much they’d wanted this. How long they’d waited for somepony like me to come into their lives, a child to fuss over and groom and talk with. Somepony they could teach their trade and share their secrets with. They loved me, and the more they did, the more I started to feel bad again. I… took that away from you, from my own parents, two fold. The life these ponies wanted, that they used me to fill the hole in their hearts… was a piece I stole from my own blood. This was… wrong.

Around the sixth month, I was beginning to think of leaving again when Mrs. Cake told us she was feeling bad and couldn’t work. Since I’d been there, they’d taught me everything they knew, and so I helped Mr. Cake in the bakery that day. It was great, to feel a sense of accomplishment for doing honest work for once. I didn’t screw up, I served ponies and ponies smiled at me, and I smiled right back at them. By the time the day was ending, I thought that maybe I belonged here. Maybe, this was always where I was meant to be. Seeing the customers happy, seeing the Cakes happy, it filled me with joy and the want to work that much harder to keep it going. Then the news came. Mrs. Cake was pregnant.

In nearly sixteen years of marriage, this had only happened once before, and the child was stillborn. It hurt them badly, but they kept on and kept on. Further along, she admitted to me that they had all but given up on having their own until I came around. Like a sign from the goddess, they picked me up off the street as if I was the girl they’d lost so many years ago, and I excelled at their trade. I loved what I did, I was cheerful and happy to be around, I was the one they’d been waiting for. Or so they thought.

It wasn’t until the day was coming close did I realize that I should leave. Maybe it wasn’t the right choice, maybe I should’ve waited longer, but I could only see myself as a burden to them now. They were about to have a newborn. And not just one, but twins of all things. How were they supposed take care of their real kids if I was in the way? The more I thought about it, the more I thought it would be easier on them if I left. So, after they left for the emergency room, I gathered my things and closed the shop, hiding my key where I said I would in my thank you note.

They had paid me for my work while I was there, but I didn’t know what to do with the money at the time, so I’d just saved it. I had about a year’s worth of pay from them, the kids weren’t even conceived until after I’d started working, so that was about right. If I was smart with it, I could find a cheap apartment and prove I had the ability to pay rent for at least a lease term. Six months, that was my limit. If I could figure out a way to live in half a year, I would do it. Spoiler alert, I did not.

I tried a few fast food jobs, minimum wage stuff, but in the end those jobs wouldn’t keep me in my apartment unless I spent just about all my waking hours working. I tried that, but I couldn’t do it. It almost got me fired from both of my jobs at the same time, so I quit one and focused on the other. With new free time and a slowly creeping anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to keep living like this, I started on more… creative pursuits.

The things that nopony wanted to do paid well, so why not look into that? As it turns out, there are age restrictions on most of those jobs. You can’t be an electrician without experience at a trade school, you can’t go into sanitation without being eighteen, and the better paying side of that requires school too. My options limited and my doors starting to close left and right, I was just about to collapse under the weight of it all.

It’s October of 2029, and I’m down on my luck. Money was tight, I’d soon not be able to pay rent and continue to eat at the same time. I wouldn’t have any options until March of the next year, and I wasn’t sure I could survive that long. I don’t remember how I got there, but I was somewhere near my apartment in the south side of town when I heard an alarm sound. I followed the commotion and saw that there was a hostage situation at a restaurant nearby. Curiosity caught me by surprise, and before I knew it, I was in the crowd watching it play out. Some thug was holding some kind of hoof gun and keeping the hero away somehow.

I recognized the hero as Marevelous Red, and when I thought about that, I remembered that she didn’t really care about getting shot. As a matter of fact, she was one of the few ponies who’d done so well in the hero business because she was bullet proof. So why was she holding still if all this guy had was a gun? I moved through the crowd to the beginning of the police barricade and then I saw her.

A filly, no more than twelve years old. A pale gray mane and tail, a purplish gray coat and bright yellow-green eyes. She was terrified, and he was holding her by the mane with the gun at her temple. He was making demands, shouting obscenities at Marevelous and the like, but I don’t think I heard any of that. All I could see was the filly in his hoof. As if the sister I killed nine years before was right in front of me again. A thought didn’t even enter my head before I’d grabbed the girl and bolted away into the kitchen. The thug never saw what happened, and just as quick, Marevelous took the opportunity to beat the guy into submission.

I apologized to her over and over again, saying I was sorry and that I never should’ve hurt her. I don’t know how long I went on like that, but eventually she wiped my tears away and told me that she didn’t know me. But then she said, ‘You saved me! I don't know who I remind you of, but... whoever it is, I think they would be proud of you!’

She ran off somewhere after the heroine and the police came to find us, but for the rest of that day, I was mesmerized. ‘Saved me.’ ‘Proud of you.’ The words just bounced around in my head until I was brought to the station. ‘Here,’ the heroine said, giving me a bag of bits, breaking me out of my trance. ‘Ah didn’t do anythin’ but beat up a thug. Y’all saved the girl, y’all deserve it,’ she said before leaping away with the crazy strength she had. Confused, I finally realized where I was and asked somepony to explain to me what just happened. It was unusual for a hero to give away their bounty, but the clerk explained that the criminal that Marevelous brought in was wanted for a few crimes and dealing weapons. His bounty was almost six hundred bits. That was rent and a half for a whole month.

‘You know, you could probably put that power of yours to use,’ the clerk said. ‘We have a lot of heroes on call here, but nopony is as fast as you are. You might give it a try if you’ve got the will for it. Ponies who do good are paid well in this city.’

A single thought and I was hooked on the idea. I could be like that. I did have a power that gave me an advantage. A power that I could use to do good like them, like her and him. There were a lot of heroes in Manehattan, that was the big reason the crime rate had gone down so much in the last few years. If they could just keep appearing like they did, they had to be compensated somehow, didn’t they?

This was it. I could be like one of them, and I could live by catching criminals. Even bounties for petty thieves was worth well more than a week of minimum wage. I might even be able to live well if I got good at this. I still had two months of rent left thanks to Marevelous, and if I could catch two criminals at the lowest rank, I’d have a whole extra month in my pocket! I finally had an answer to my problems, but I realized very quickly that it wasn’t really an answer at all.

I never put much thought into why somepony would wear a colorful costume to go out and fight crime, but whatever, if I could dress up and be a hero at the same time, why not? I bought a cheap nylon tracksuit, found an oversized beanie to cut eye holes in, and just like that, I was a hero. Or so I thought. As it turns out, a seventeen year old filly who’d just quit her fast food job and had never so much as learned how to lift weights was not very strong. Speed would get me where I was going, but I didn’t know how to fight. As it turns out, criminals don’t want to get caught.

In my early attempts, I was usually chased off when I realized I couldn’t win a fight. In one attempt, I was the one who ended up getting rescued. And then again. And again… except, the third time I was rescued, it was Iron Tail who rescued me again. He recognized me after I apologized to him for getting caught, and after I explained why I was doing this, he offered to teach me a few things. An ally he could count on wouldn’t hurt, so why not?

He was a retired military vet who decided that he was going to try and fix this city in Red Hoof’s place after he fell. That ‘new young mare’ took his spot as the hero ponies looked to, but he hadn’t lost his touch just yet. I learned a few things, even figured out how to throw a punch with some power behind it, but my aptitude for fighting was… well, is poor. Even now, I’m not very good at it. I caught two criminals before my deadline with his help though, so I had one more month to figure it out. And I tried so hard, but things… got much worse.

Instead of have me help him fight, Iron Tail would call on me to help with disasters. You don’t get paid for that, but the way he saw it, Heroes were the modern knight. We were wardens of the ponies. To protect them from others and themselves, to help when needed and offer a hoof where they could. A hero was somepony who would stick their nose in somepony else’s business and not step away until a problem was solved and a pony was saved. Honest, kind, generous, loyal, and optimistic, the traits of a hero, virtuous and true. He had called on me this time, to help him with a fire rescue.

I watch a pony jump to their death in that fire. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard the sound of bones crunching on a hard surface, nor the first time I’d seen a broken body at my hooves. It made me sick. It made me sad. Angry, frustrated, appalled, disgusted, hurt, all at myself. Even with all my speed, the only trait I had of value, I couldn’t reach them in time, again. One more life I failed to save. One more fall I didn’t stop. It wasn’t my fault they died, but it was my fault that she died. Soon enough, it wasn’t the stallion’s body I was looking at, it was hers. Panic caught me and I ran home.

A few days passed, but I managed to calm down. Then he called me again for another rescue. I saved ponies this time, but I didn’t save one, and it happened again. It happened again. It happened again. A week, a month, and I wouldn’t leave the apartment for as long as I could. I lost another pony. I lost another pony. It wasn’t my fault they died. But it was my fault. It was my fault. I pushed her. It was my fault. It was my fault.

I never left, I never earned anymore money, and finally, I was kicked out for not paying rent. I couldn’t, I didn’t have any way to do it. I packed up my meager things in my backpack, sold what I didn’t need, and then I wandered again. I had enough money to live for a while, but I knew it wouldn’t last. I didn’t have a residence anymore, so I couldn’t work, and if I didn’t find a place to live soon… I would end up the same way I did the year before. It’s hard, to think that you might starve to death. The pain of hunger will drive you to do almost anything. I thought of ways to make money, remembering my time in the gang, what some mares were paid to do.

I had my body, I could sell that but… none of the ponies who raised me would approve of that. Would they think me dying was better? Maybe I should just… end it all. Living is hard. Life is too hard. Why live? No pony is going to remember me anyways. I won’t leave anything behind, I had no more ties to anypony. I was truly alone. I had nothing left but memories. So what if I just… die?

I had an idea, and I figured it would be poetic if I jumped into the sea. There was a high roofed building, at least seven or eight stories tall, and if I jumped from that into the harbor, there would be no way I would survive. It would be justice. I took a life, so I would give a life back. It would finally be over. A fall for a fall, a push for a push. One act, and the debt would be paid. As I was thinking about all this, I’d unconsciously headed into central park. I was just brooding and wandering around as I meandered to my sentence of choice, and I hit somepony.

Some idiot was walking around the park with her face in a map and didn’t even see me coming. Muttering to herself ‘they have to be around here somewhere…’ and then yelping when we collided. In her defense, I wasn’t watching where I was going either, but I had a lot on my mind. I chewed her out, but instead of reacting negatively like I thought she would, her eyes went wide and she smiled.

‘It’s you! You’re the one! Hey, come with me, I want to show you something. I always knew you would come, and here you are!’

Before I knew it, she had me in her magic, this purple unicorn with a dark blue mane striped with pink and violet. Where was she taking me? What did she want me to see? Why was she waiting for me? Who is this pony? The thought of suicide was washed away by a flood of questions, and when I learned the answers to it all, my life changed. I found a new purpose, my resolve to be a hero had been reinstated, and finally, I had a place to belong.

I still wasn’t very good at my job, but I started to get better at it little by little, and then a lot better after Applejack joined and really taught us how to fight. I will never make up for what I did. I know that now, and it took far too long to realize it. But my life… is worth something. I belong somewhere, and even through all my mistakes… I’m not dead yet. I can still do the good I always wanted to, like all the ponies who raised me wanted me to. I am still doing it, and I’m still working on me. I never expected anypony to forgive or forget what I did, but the me I am today won’t be the me I am tomorrow. So… if you take nothing else from my life’s story… I hope you know that I never forgot, and I’m still not done growing yet.

“Snrk… T-that was cheesy,” Fluttershy laughed. In a single moment, I felt fury well up from my stomach, and I had half a mind to give it to her. Yet, I ducked into the kitchen and found a trash can as the fury came out as a violent liquid thrashing that burned my throat. I was so nervous through all of that, that I guess I must’ve actually twisted my stomach in knots.

“Holy s-” Rainbow caught herself, “crap, Pinkie, are you okay?” she asked. I wiped at my mouth and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Probably. I think I’ve just been so nervous that I-” another wave of fury came barreling up my throat, and back into the trash can my head ducked. So much for dinner. I felt a hoof start to rub my back, and after a minute or two, my stomach had settled. I turned to thank the pony behind, me, but seeing my mother’s stern face at my back caught the words in my throat like a fish in a net.

“Well? You said that somepony taught you manners. What do you say?” she asked, her tone just as harsh as it always was.

“T-thank you, ma’am,” I stuttered. She narrowed her eyes at me then shook her head.

“Good. It is far too late for me to be up right now. I would like it if you and your friends would return where ever you came from now.” She said, her demeanor unyielding. I just about felt my legs turn to jelly. Even… even after everything she still…? But… did I ever expect her to forgive me, really? I killed her daughter. This is just fair, I guess. No matter what I do, I killed my sister. Nothing can forgive that. Nopony could forgive that. There are sins, and then there are unforgivable sins, like the one I committed.

“Cloudy-” dad started, but mom stomped a hoof on the kitchen counter, making a sound like a gavel.

“No, I won’t hear another word. I’m done, and I am very tired. I thank you for feeding us, but we have work to accomplish in the morning, and I’m sure you all have a battle or something to prepare for. I wish you the best of luck in your up coming fights, and I hope the goddess will hear my prayers for your safety.” Mom started to head to the hall to the bedrooms, but before she went in her door, she stopped and looked at me again. Those pale blue eyes, clear as a still pond and cold as ice, the same color of mine, but opposite in temperature. Instead of shooting me, or stabbing me like the daggers they’d been before, I think I might’ve seen something like remorse in them.

“I still can’t forget what you’ve done. You hurt me, you hurt Limestone, and you hurt your family back then. If I ever see you again, well… you’d best be prepared to work.” Mom shut the gray wooden door behind her and just like that, a weight had been lifted. What was that? A breath came out of me that I didn’t remember holding, and then somepony stood up.

“Well, Ah figure that’s a good enough queue ta head out then. Come on y’all, we do have a fight ta prepare for tomorrow, and the big boss ain’t gonna go easy on us just cause we were out late.” Applejack said as she stood and stretched. Damn, she is flexible. How does a pony stand and bend like that?

“I… good luck, all of you. Um… come visit again, if you can. We’ll be praying for you.” Marble said. Huh. I never would’ve thought her to invite ponies back. But… can I even come back? Mom said…

“Oh, you’ll see me again for sure. I saw some very choice stone out there before it got too dark, and I’ll be certain to come inspect it in better light. There’s a town in Palomino I’m planning on building a store in, and I think this is the place I’ll buy my marble from.” Goose declared as he got to his hooves. Applejack scowled at him,

“Really?” she said. He rolled his eyes.

“Yes really. I had a lot of things to talk to Alto about today, and that was one of them. There’s not a single jeweler in miles of that place, and it makes a lot of money! Sure, maybe the roads suck, but those ponies are loaded. It’s a prime location!” he argued. Maud brought a hoof to her chin.

“An order all the way to Palomino? I’m sure there are closer stone vendors that could get you what you needed.” she argued.

“Oh come on, we mended a family here! Maybe not fixed everything, but the seam is starting to form now. That’s three for three, and I don’t mind throwing some extra bits to ponies I like. I’m a business stallion, and money talks. You could say it’s… a gift.” Goose offered. I furrowed my brow.

“Hold on, who mended what? She never forgave me, nopony did. Mom told us to leave!” I exclaimed. Dad got out of his chair and shook his head as he trotted over to me. He patted my back and helped me up from my seat by the trash can.

“Child, you’ve still so much to learn. Think about what your mother just said to you. If she never wanted to see you again, do you really think she would have told you to be ready to work if she does?”

Persona XVII: Thicker than Water

Applejack

Soft breathin’ was ticklin’ my ear. Still groggy and not ready ta get outta bed, Ah flicked my ear back in hopes that might stop it. The lump didn’t so much as stir, and thus the breathin’ continued. If Ah move back, maybe he won’t notice. Ah shifted down as slowly as Ah could, but the scrape of coat against coat stirred the lump. Instead of lettin’ me move, he tightened his grip around me and rolled. Rolled until he met the edge of the bed and brought me down with him. He hit his head on the end table, and in a tumble of blankets and pony, we fell ta the floor.

“Oww…” he groaned. So much fer sleepin’ in. Today is Thursday, October third, 2030 my phone screen told me, and it was about six thirty in the mornin’. Ah got up off my lump and decided if Ah was gonna be awake anyways, Ah might as well feed us. The lump groaned again when Ah shifted my weight on and off him, and Ah made my way ta the kitchen.

Ah don’t feel like makin’ anythin’ especially difficult. Oh, ya know what? There are some of those instant oatmeal packets in the pantry. Does he like that? Eh, he’ll eat anythin’ Ah feed him. The debate over breakfast done, Ah went on ta pourin’ packages inta a sauce pot. Fill it with milk and butter till it reaches the middle, turn the heat on low and stir. A few minutes after the milk started ta bubble, Ah felt a pair of familiar scratchy forelegs around my neck and a kiss on my temple. And somethin’ else.

“Good morning.” he whispered. A tingle ran up my spine, but Ah wasn’t concerned enough ta push him off.

“Same ta ya, Lump. Go do somethin’ else, yer pokin’ me and Ah’m tryin’ ta make breakfast.” Ah recently learned that Goose is a creature of endurance, if nothin’ else. He got off and found his way inta the fridge and started to take out the eggs.

“Well, let me help you out then. I’m almost shocked you didn’t go straight for these. I bought bell peppers and jalapenos, did you see them?” he noted. Ah checked over my shoulder as Ah stirred the slowly thickenin’ porridge, and sure enough he had. Seein’ the bright red veggies made my mouth water, and suddenly Ah didn’t think instant oatmeal was gonna be enough fer breakfast.

“Ah didn’t. Thanks, Ah guess.” Thoughtful bastard. Even the field before Ah can get a chance ta get ahead.

“For my love, I would do anything♥” he bowed with a smile and that old flirty tone of his. Ah rolled my eyes and started ta pour the hot cereal inta bowls.

“Well, maybe his love would like to eat sometime today. My part’s already done, what are y’all doin’ mister knight?” Ah set the two bowls on the stove warmer ta keep it hot and took the dirty sauce pot ta the sink. Goose took a pan from the pantry, placed it on the hot burner, and threw another slice of butter in it. Ah ran the sink and scraped all the extra bits outta the pot, and he took out a knife and a cuttin’ board ta chop up my bell peppers. Bright red caught my eye when he moved on ta jalapenos. That one’s gonna be hot.

Without a word passin’ between us, Ah cracked and mixed up six eggs in a bowl, and Goose started ta fry the veggies. The pan was sizzlin’ as the stallion shifted peppers around, and Ah decided ta break his focus. Ah brushed up beside him and started ta pour eggs in the pan while Ah whispered,

“For my love, Ah would do anythin’♥” in his ear. He shivered and paused for a moment, then sighed.

“Damn it, you win,” he said as he turned ta kiss me. It was a little game we played. Ever since Monday, we woke up next ta each other in this dusty old house. Ah think Ah probably started it, but the idea was ta see who could get the other to lose focus first. Sweet nothin’s, light touches, surprise movements, anythin’ went. Ah won every other time it seemed, but he still had one on me. He’s better at it, but Ah learn quick enough. Ah pulled away and wiped my mouth.

“Eww, that’s awful. Remind me ta brush my teeth before we start doin’ shit like this in the mornin’,” Ah spat. Ah don’t know who’s mouth tasted worse, mine or his. He shrugged.

“Eh, dangers that come with playing the game. Don’t forget, you started this,” he said as he started ta chop up the yellow, green, and red mix in the pan. He was careful to make sure all the jalapenos were on one side and not the other, then scraped the fried egg onto a pair of plates.

“Ya know, ya could at least try one,” Ah offered. He rolled his eyes.

“I don’t do heat. Why does everything in the south have to be so spicy? I damn near died at the Flare’s place. You know what doesn’t need heat? Chocolate. How do you get that? Where do you get chile infused chocolate? Why? What torturous fiend created such an evil?” he asked as he started ta bring plates and bowls ta the table. Ah giggled.

“Ah, but of course milord. We’ll have all the king’s stallions and all the king’s mares gathered to find this vile fiend, author of the substance, and we shall rout him on sight, should it please you.” Ah said with a bow. His lips tightened and he just stared at me.

“Oh, you’re the worst,” he said as he went back for glasses. I hopped ta the kitchen and grabbed the silverware he’d forgotten, and once we had water, we sat fer breakfast. The curtains were drawn on the big window beside us on the eastern wall, but there was just a big enough crack for the bright mornin’ sunlight ta bleed in. The dust stirred and danced in the light, and it fell on him in just a way… Ah wonder if mom ever felt like this…

Plates cleaned, dishes done, teeth brushed, we sat on the couch together in that dark violet room and waited. Not even seven yet, we still had almost two hours before we needed to be at the castle, and honestly, Ah just wanted ta sit there and savor the mornin’. The Shark house was almost like home ta me now. Nothin’ was unfamiliar anymore. Ah knew all the names of the ponies on the wall, his family history, what his dad did ta get so far, the truth of him bein’ the last Carcharodon.

His father was always busy and never had much time for his family. In his early childhood, they all lived together, Carcharias, Swan, and Lamni, a happy little family of three. It couldn’t last forever though. The fortune Carcharias assembled was built off crime and dealin’ in illicit substance, but he tried his damnedest ta make himself legitimate. From gangs ta stocks, from drugs ta clothes, and finally, he was almost out. But when a deal went sour and another force that controlled a different side of the city got involved, it was all out war in the shadows. Carcharias left Swan and Lamni in a safe neighborhood in the north side of town ta hide them away from his rivals so he could deal with them.

In an odd twist of fate, my father ended up savin’ him by arrestin’ him that fateful day. The cops that had worked their way into his organization had ties to his rivals, and after he had them killed, his rivals had finally learned his location. In prison however, it was much more difficult ta get ta him, so that ended up sparing his life. My dad savin’ his didn’t save his mother though, and his father could never bring himself to have another wife and foal runnin’ from a gun the rest of their lives, so he never remarried.

Dad would never know that the little colt we played with at the park was the son of a stallion he apprehended the year before, and he would never know… that Ah fell fer him. A mob bosses’ son and a hero’s daughter. What a pair we turned out ta be? Some twisted game that the goddess plays, Ah suppose. Ah shifted in my seat and wrapped my hoof around the one on my waist.

“Do ya ever wonder… if there really is a goddess out there?” Ah asked as Ah looked at him. Goose took his free hoof ta his chin and furrowed his brow.

“Me, personally? Not so much. The world is full of weird, unexplainable things, and honestly, I can’t deny that there might be one out there, but I can’t prove it either, so I don’t bother. Why do you ask?” he mused. Ah shrugged.

“Ah don’t know. Just a passin’ thought Ah guess. Pinkie certainly believes if nothin’ else. Based on everythin’ she said, she thinks the goddess saved her life more than once. A week ago Ah might not’ve given that any credence, but after last Sunday… Ah don’t know what ta believe.” No other word than Miracle could have described what happened with Ramiel. An act of god, whatever ya call it, we weren’t in control of that. Goose untangled his hoof from mine and brought his hooves together.

“Well… both my parents believed, I think. Or at least mom did. Dad would go to church whenever he could while I was with him, but I think part of that was because he owned that church. I never found proof, but I almost guarantee he laundered some of his money though it. Mom on the other hoof… she was definitely a keeper of faith. There’s no doubt that my dad would have never tried to legitimize his business if he hadn’t met her. Maybe when I was younger I believed, but when she died… I probably said some things that my dad would’ve called a heresy,” Goose said. Ah put one hoof under my elbow and another under my chin.

“Well, Ah can’t say Ah don’t have a similar story. Back when we lived at the farm, goin’ ta church was a family event. Before she got sick, my mom would always sing with the choir and teach me verses and the like. First book Ah ever read was a chapter of the goddess tome. Mac probably knew the whole thin’ by heart by the time Ah learned ta read at such a young age. But… well, it just kinda faded fer me. First mom, then granny, and finally dad. He was the last devotee in the family, and he took the goddess with him Ah guess. Applebloom never knew her Ah don’t think.

When Ah got back from the farm after dad died, Ah remember Mac arguin’ with uncle Blood about it. ‘What kinda good goddess kills my family and leaves me here with you?’ He never had much of a temper, but that day was somethin’ else. We never went back, and it never came up again.” Goose wrapped his foreleg around me and brought me in to him, then Ah responded in kind. Goose let out a small chuckle.

“Judgment, who lives and who dies. Justice, love, virtue, sin. I think it’s kind of ironic now that we talk about it. Our society is built on the values in her tome, yet here we are, living out those virtues proclaiming that we are the ones who can bring justice while sitting and talking about how we fell out of faith,” he remarked. Ah leaned my head against his neck.

“Well, what do ya think about it now? Ah’ve got half a mind ta reread the book these days.” Ah snorted. “Course, that makes what we’re doin’ a little wrong don’t it?” Goose made a noise of irritation.

“Bah. Our society is garbage, especially in this city. What do I think? I think faith probably needs to come back in force.” Ah blinked.

“What?” He let me go and turned ta face me.

“Okay, hear me out. Heroes, right? Your dad came around sixteen years ago, put on a spandex suit and decided that he could make a living and make this place safer for his kids in one fell swoop using his powers. I… I heard a story once that said that wasn’t why he initially started all this. Not for either of those reasons, but because he came across this kid who needed help to rescue his sister from… well, my dad. Not his proudest moment, but the stallion had killed this kid’s parents because the other faction owned them, and he wanted to send them a message. He didn’t realize they had kids, and because the son became a problem, he decided to keep the kids close. He ran into your dad trying to pay mine back for his sister, and what happens? Shark Tooth is arrested by some masked stallion.

The world changes over night because this one guy acted out of the kindness of his heart and does something nopony else could even dream of doing. If I’m any metric to measure by, my dad was not some pushover in terms of strength, so this new guy had to be somepony special. He becomes justice itself, and has the city in the frog of his hoof while he preaches the values of heroism: Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, and Hope. The media tried their damnedest to avoid making the connection, but those values are listed in a certain book that everypony likes to cast aside in their teens.

How much better would the world be, if everypony could live up to his example? He was a beacon, a symbol of peace, and if he weren’t wearing a suit and punching the shit out of ponies, you might even call him a preacher. Is the goddess real? Is the goddess good? Honestly, I don’t care about that. I think that the book teaches values, and when ponies hold those values as best they can, just like Red Hoof, like Citrus Root did, then I think we would live in a better world.

Logically, there has to be a force that allows us to move, right? It doesn’t make sense that there’s no bottom to the world, there has to be a ground force that doesn’t move but can make change happen. An all powerful thing that makes it possible for change to occur, but cannot be changed itself. Philosophers before Celestia rose to power believed that, and even though it’s an old belief, there hasn’t been an idea put forth that makes any more sense than that does. It’s always been the book that bothers me. If the book is tied to her, then it becomes difficult to follow the logic that leads to a goddess because there’s a ton of weight to it if the book comes too. I think that there must be something that allows us to move, and I think the values the book holds are important to a thriving society. That, is what I think.”

Ah blinked a few times and took a moment ta process all that. Somehow, Ah get the feelin this isn’t the first time he’s contemplated this. Even more concernin’ is the lecture that kinda question might get me from uncle Blood or Celestia if Goose has this much ta say about it. Ah reached over and patted him on the back.

“Ya think about this a lot Sugar Cube?” Ah asked. He sighed.

“It plagues me every night. But, lately I’ve had somepony else in mind when I sleep,” he said as he leaned in. We kissed again, and Ah felt a buzzin’ at the edge of the couch where my phone was restin’.

“Well, it’s almost eight. We outta get clean and head out there, don’t ya think?” Ah asked. He nodded.

“Having the piss beaten out of us will surely be a healthy distraction from the greater questions of the cosmos,” he joked. Ah nodded, but then another thought came ta mind.

“Ya know, Ah think Ah feel better about all this. Whether or not the goddess is good or real, Ah guess it don’t matter all that much as long as it makes ponies good in their hearts. If there wasn’t a standard fer good set by somethin’, then ponies would just act on impulse and pleasure and that… just can’t be right.” Ah got up from my seat, and when Ah notice he didn’t follow, Ah flicked the end of my tail at Goose’s snout and headed ta the bathroom.

“Excuse me, what the fuck?” Goose complained. Ah rolled my eyes. Of all the ponies…

“Ah said, we should get clean. Take the hint, ya damn lump.” Sure enough, that got him ta his hooves.

“Ya know… somethin’ about this just feels wrong,” Ah noted after reality found me layin’ at the bottom of the trainin’ room. The rest of the gang started ta get up and Celestia, who was towerin’ over head, tilted her head.

“Why is that?” she asked. Ah rubbed at my sore neck.

“Ah’m not sure. Ah just get the feelin that it’s almost… too easy. How many times did we fail ta kill that thin’, once?” Ah asked. Rarity cracked her neck.

“I believe so, but that was before we started taking advantage of those ‘nuke bullets’ in Fluttershy’s arsenal,” she noted. Today, we just ran drills on Matarael, and thin’s just seem… off ta me. With the nuclear bullets and the insane range on Fluttershy’s rifle, the monster just got vaporized before it could even reach us. This is simulated reality of course, we don’t know that it’s gonna go that way, but fer some reason… It just don’t feel right. If that bastard is savin’ this thin’ for third ta last, it’s gotta be more destructive than Ramiel was, don’t it? Ah mean, ya only get so much stronger than Caballo Crater levels of fire power, and Luna said that Twilight’s blast was just about primed ta blow a hole in the moon, but… is it really gonna be this easy?

“I-I think she has a point. I-if I were to make a game out of this, I-I wouldn’t make it easier on us. U-unless he wants to lull us into a f-false sense of security. B-but, that doesn’t s-seem like a game he plays. T-this guy wants to w-watch us surmount a challenge o-or die.” Fluttershy said. The loud sound of cold steel clanking on crystal brought our attention ta the stairwell, and from there Princess Luna trotted in.

“You would be correct, I believe. This Persona character is a twisted individual and thinks the lives of our ponies are trivial things for him to play with like a colt and a new toy. Sister, I have things I need to discuss with you,” she said in that icy tone of hers. No warmth, not even ta her sister. Celestia glanced us over and sighed.

“Very well. We were just finishing up anyways. I suppose I’ll shift up your fight tomorrow. I still have a few nightmares I haven’t thrown at you yet, so we’ll see how you do then,” she said with a hint of that cruel smile of hers at the corner of her mouth. Celestia stood and bowed ta us, then she and her sister disappeared in a flash of cold blue light. Twilight galloped out of the staircase and slid ta a stop breathin’ hard. Once she noticed the lack of alicorns though, she sighed.

“Ah damn it, I missed her.” The seven of us trotted over ta her.

“Sup Purple,” Scootaloo said. Purple? Everypony has shortened Twilight ta some variation of it, and ya finally decide her nickname is gonna be ‘Purple’ of all thin’s? Twilight gave the orange filly a confused stare, but decided ta ignore it. When it comes ta Scoot, that’s just the best option sometimes.

“Oh, I just needed to speak with my aunt, that’s all. How was your session?” she asked. We all gave a shrug in some form or other. A collective ‘meh’ as it were.

“Things just don’t feel right. It isn’t hard, we don’t even have to ‘do’ much. Maybe you were a little crazy at the time, but those nuke bullets you swiped take care of this thing before it can even get close,” Rainbow said. Even after seein’ her parents again and resolvin’ all that drama, she decided ta keep the name she took after losin’ her first one. ‘It’s better that Firefly Flare stays dead. She won’t be remembered as a monster.’ Twilight frowned.

“And you all feel this way?” the collective nodded.

“As much as I hate to say it. You missed it, but I had a whole story about ‘easy being wrong’ yesterday, and this just reeks of that,” Pinkie added. Ah guess seein’ yerself grow up is pretty hard ta get out of yer own story. Not the best moral, but at least she’s on the right track. Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Again? Damn it, I hate this so much! I missed out on everything! Second hoof stories, being stuck on the bench until further notice… I wish my stupid horn hadn’t broken.” Goose warped and patted her on the back.

“Eh, who says your mom would’ve let you come with us anyways? We went half way across the country in two different directions,” Goose explained. Twilight only pouted more, and my phone started ta buzz in my bandanna. Yep, Ah figured as much.

“Hey, we need ta get outta here,” Ah said, specifically ta him. He reached in his jacket pocket ta pull out his own phone and frowned at the screen.

“Well, we’d love to stick around and chat with you ladies, but my warden has scheduled dinner with the fam tonight, so this will have to be goodbye.” Goose sad in that irritatin’ voice of his. Everypony’s ears perked up.

“Oh really? Is that what you call it? Dinner? You guys were totally f-” Scoots started, but as if there were a part missin’, she suddenly had a reddened cheek and a teary eye. “… at some house the other day,” she stammered out. That was Rarity’s doin’. She looks like she never moved, but Ah can tell she’s not quite in the same spot she was a second ago. Who said that?

“Oh, that’s my house. You were there, you should know that,” Goose said, willfully ignorant of the secret act that just happened.

“No, the jackass means dinner with my family. My uncle thought it would be a good idea ta have him over again, so we made plans.” And Ah’m not about ta ignore the stallion. Ah might be livin’ with Goose now, but Ah haven’t completely moved out just yet. Ah haven’t seen them in a few days as it is…

“Ah, that’s simply wonderful! You’ve been radiant as of late and it does my heart good to see you so happy. It’s almost as if the mare I met a year ago doesn’t exist anymore.” Rarity said clamorin’ over me. Ah rolled my eyes, but appreciated the words. Hard ta see yerself grow up, huh? Ah quickly hugged her back and checked my phone again.

“Thanks Rare. But, we really do need ta get outta here. My uncle… ain’t somepony ya keep waitin’,” Ah said. Even as Ah am now, the stallion’s ire still scares me. She and the rest of the gang started ta make their way ta the staircase as they said their goodbyes, Scoots tellin’ me ta say hi ta Applebloom fer her, but when they were all gone, only Goose, Fluttershy, and Ah remained. She looked at me with sad eyes then said,

“N-nopony knows how ripe soil is until it’s p-planted in.” With that, she turned away and headed up the stairs before Ah could say anythin’ about it.

“What the hell was that?” Ah asked. Goose shrugged.

“Beats me. She’s almost as cryptic as your uncle. Speaking of whom, I don’t know about you, but that guy puts fear in my heart like my own father used to. I’d prefer not to piss him off if we can avoid it.” Ah nodded in agreement, and with that we blinked away.

When we arrived at the door, smells of stewin’ veggies filled the air. Ah don’t know who’s makin’ what, but it sure smells good. Ah grabbed the key out of my bandanna pocket and unlocked the door. Of all ponies, Mac was in the kitchen.

“Hey, y’all are early. Ah ain’t done yet,” he complained as we walked in. He was in the middle of stirrin’ a spice inta a big sauce pot, and somethin’ was lettin’ off steam in the oven. Geez, when was the last time he cooked? Guess he had ta feed himself more often than not lately.

“Early? Ah still live here as far as Ah know. What are you doin’ in the kitchen, klutz?” Ah shot. He turned and looked at me with dead eyes. He was wearin’ an apron and had his medium length orange mane tied back in a little tail.

“What’s it look like? You look happy. Ya got an air about ya. Did y’all ‘release the tension’ from the other day?” My cheeks didn’t even get a chance ta redden before he looked back ta his work.

“Now you listen here, mister erotic dancer, what Ah-”

“What you are is home for the first time in almost a week, and the moment you walk in the door, you get in an argument with your brother? Applejack, please,” Uncle Blood said as he seemed ta materialize out of thin air next ta me. None of us noticed him before the yellow stallion had crept up next to me, and the three of us stared stiff at him. Blood red irises, a leafy green mane, a red fleshed orange on his flank. It was the same uncle Blood Ah always knew, but somethin’ about him seemed… anxious, almost. He moved ta give me a hug and Ah relaxed enough ta respond in kind.

“Howdy uncle,” Ah said as Ah let the hug squeeze the tension out of me.

“Hello Applejack. It is nice to have you home again. And hello to you, Mister Goose,” Uncle Blood said as he held a hoof out for Goose ta shake. The green stallion smiled awkwardly with a mouth full of razors and took the hoof.

“Oh, geez, please don’t call me mister. I’m not that old yet. How are you? It’s been a few weeks hasn’t it?” he asked. They shook hooves and Goose adjusted his fedora nervously shortly afterward.

“It has. I see that a lot has changed since then though. Please, have a seat,” he offered. We took our seats at the table, Goose sat next ta me in the mismatched foldin’ chair set out fer him, and Uncle Blood took his usual spot at the head of the table. Havin’ a whole house ta myself lately really made the apartment feel small. Wasn’t much space between the table and the wall, just as much space between my back and the kitchen counter, and the couch wasn’t more than a meter away from the back of Uncle Blood’s chair. How did we ever all live in this little place?Speakin’ of we…

“Where’s Applebloom?” Ah asked, noticin’ the lack of sarcasm in the previous conversation. Mac made a comment about ‘the tension’ and there wasn’t another from a third party, no doubt she ain’t here. She woulda jumped on that one. Uncle Blood reclined in his chair.

“At work still, I think. She was hired by the Carcha just north of here within the week. She would have been off a little while ago, so she should be here any minute now…” Huh. Ah didn’t know she got a job. At a Carcha no less. Ah wonder if Goose had anythin’ ta do with that? Uncle Blood turned his wrist ta check the watch he was wearin’, then his ear flicked toward the door. Mine did the same, and sure enough, Ah heard the door click. Well, that explains why Mac is cookin’. The pale yellow filly burst through the door out of breath and red faced, dressed up in most of a three piece with a white vinyl bag on her back. She gasped in place holdin’ the door handle, her big orange eyes wild and tryin’ ta focus on the ground.

“Ya popped up… outta nowhere… You’re not… supposed ta… be here yet…” she said between breaths. She was wearin’ black slacks, a white blouse, and a silky violet vest over that, almost like she found her clothes at home. Home? Home…

“Popped up? What do ya mean, ‘popped up’?” Macintosh asked as he brought whatever was in the oven ta the table. He had it covered in foil, but Ah could smell what it was now. Corn bread.

“It don’t matter what Ah mean! Put this in the fridge, Ah need ta get outta this crap,” she complained. Ah know what she means. We just ‘appeared’ on her radar. She probably wasn’t but a few minutes out when there were suddenly two new bodies in the middle of her radius. A minute or two later, she came out of her room with nothin’ but that pink bow in her mane, then took her seat next ta me. She tilted her head when she looked at me.

“Did y’all… do somethin’ with yer mane?” she asked. Ah frowned and shook my head.

“No, why do ya ask?” She tilted her head a little further, then came back ta sittin’ up straight.

“Somethin’s… different,” she muttered. At the same time, Macintosh had arrived at the table with his pot of soup.

“That’s ‘cause yer big sister’s gone and ‘released the tension’ from the other day. Ya see how relaxed she is now? That’s cause she’s been explorin’. Ah know it all too well. Happens every time.” Macintosh said with a smug smile on his face. He took his seat at the wall and Ah stared at him dead eyed.

“Macintosh, the food is on the table, please leave your innuendo at the door. I believe we had enough of that for a few dinners last time we were all together,” Uncle Blood said. He did it without a smile on his face ta be sure, but he was just keepin’ it down. Goose, Mac, and Applebloom all giggled.

“Ain’t that the truth. Let’s eat!” Applebloom exclaimed.

“Y’all suck.”

Klutz or not, Mac sure knows how ta cook. A dark veggie broth with carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, and basil over bow tie pasta with cornbread on the side. Somethin’ dad used ta make, if Ah remember right, or maybe that was mom. It’s been so long since Ah’ve had it, Ah guess it just reminds me of them. Full and happy, Goose leaned back in his chair and let out a breath of satisfaction.

“Not bad my man, not bad at all. Where did you learn how to make that?” he asked.

“Old family recipe, or so Ah’m told. You’re supposed ta use apples instead of corn, but Ah forgot ta buy any while Ah was out. It’s been a while, so Ah just kinda winged it fer the most part,” Mac said. He’d leaned over his empty bowl and was mullin’ somethin’ over in his head.

“Citrus used to make it, and he learned how to cook from Rosie, so that’s probably right. When we were young, back in the ancient times of course, we didn’t do so much as touch a kitchen. Our mother made everything and anything we would ask for, and we never really had to learn. Poor Citrus had to fend for himself when he made his way down south, so this was likely the first thing he learned. Almost twenty years old and neither of us knew how to cook. Can you imagine? Simpler times for simpler days I suppose.” The old stallion had reclined in his own chair and stared absently at the light fixture above the table. He probably knew mom better than any of us did, now that Ah think about it. He sat back up straight in his chair, then his red eyes found themselves on us.

“Speaking of simpler times, did you know that your parents married younger than you are now? She and I were born the same year. Eighteen and sixteen on their wedding day. She wasn’t even twenty when Macintosh was born. These days ponies tend to not get married at all, and have their foals even younger. It’s a damn shame, really. A wedding has this strange power to turn a colt into a stallion and a filly into a mare, the difference is almost night and day really. Thinking back on it, I’d say my own wedding was like that. Seeing Dew in her gown that day was like a bolt of lightning being struck through my heart. The truth of ‘until death do us part’ really hits you hard. You know the words, you know what they mean, but only after the ceremony do you understand them. Until the end of our days, it is you, my one and only.

Of course, life is cruel, and just like it gives, it takes without mercy. When it happened to Citrus, I grieved with him, but I never thought… it would happen to me too. When you say the words, you never think that you’re going to have to live by them. ‘It’s just a phrase for a ceremony, something like that won’t happen for decades upon decades,’ you think to yourself. Ten years later, you find yourself alone one morning and you realize that the magic is over. The words have come and gone, and just like the oath you swore, as promised, at death you’ve parted.” Mac didn’t sneak alcohol into this did he? He never talks about aunt Dew. Why is he bringin’ this up?

“Wow. I never knew…” Goose trailed off.

“No, but I pray you never will know the truth of those words, any of you. My brother at least had the luck to pass along the memory of our lineage in three strong foals before his life was taken. It does worry me when I see the two of you together though. You remind me so much of my brother, and you’re your mother’s spitting image these days. Hot blooded and willful, strong headed with an unyielding sense of honor. My question is… what’s the plan here? Any blind stallion could see that there’s something between the two of you. Applejack isn’t one to take to ponies like her brother, so you must be something special. Is there a plan?”

A plan? Special? Is it that obvious? Ah know Ah… Ah know Ah’m in somethin’ deep here but… but… what is the plan? A memory started ta play through my head. ‘Well… white everywhere and… m-maybe a… a fa…’ The realization struck me harder than a punch ta the gut and Ah felt my whole face heat up. Suddenly, Ah felt very small, and Ah wanted ta be anywhere else but under my uncle’s gaze. Why wouldn’t he be concerned, ya dumb ass!? Ya… ya touched him! In front of everypony! And since then ya’ve rounded home fuckin’ plate! You, yer decisions! He waited with ya alright, but ya know damn well how that ended, and Mac figured it out as soon as he saw ya! Hell, even yer friends picked up on it when you were caught on Tuesday! Ya think yer uncle is as oblivious as Pinkie and Twilight? The stallion who likely knew Marevelous Red lived under his roof the whole time without sayin’ a word? Dumb ass!

“P-plan? Oh uh… I-I don’t um… we hadn’t really… t-talked about anything… just yet,” Goose stammered as he clicked his hoof tips together. Even he’s embarrassed. Goddess help us.

“Nah, see, they’re in that passionate stage. Sometimes you’ll get with a mare and ya just don’t ever wanna be away from her. Or her bed. Ya get stuck like that fer a little while, then things start ta settle down, then ya realize ya might not actually like the mare ya’ve been sleepin’ with fer the past few weeks, and ya just fall out of it. Catchy’s gotta be some kinda crazy ta go after Applejack though, so Ah don’t think they’ll end up like a few of my experiences.

If ya really mean ta keep at it in a year’s time or so, y’all should just get hitched. Ah’ve looked inta it a few times and marriage statistics say that gettin’ married quicker usually leads ta longer marriages. Even better if ya do that before ya start livin’ together and takin’ ‘go forth and fill the earth’ ta heart. As long as yer beliefs are similar enough, y’all should last.” Goose and Ah gave each other a quick nervous glance, then turned away just as fast. Ah don’t know that it would be possible ta pull my hat over my face any further.

“Huh. You lookin’ inta marriage?” Applebloom asked dubiously. Mac sighed.

“Strange as it may sound fer somepony like me, Ah’ve thought about it a few times. Ah’m a piece of shit though, Mares deserve better than me. Ah just hope there ain’t a little Mac out there in the world. Ah could never be dad or Uncle, but Ah’ll be damned if Ah let my own grow up without a father. Ah’ve seen enough broken families in my life and Ah’m not about ta perpetuate the cycle.” Mac leaned back against the wall and puffed out his snout. He stared at me until Ah finally had the unfortunate luck to catch his eyes.

“You ain’t no slut, and if we’re bein’ honest here, Ah wasn’t sure ya were even interested in stallions fer a while. But, a word of warnin’ from yer older brother; the heat of the moment can blind side ya like nothin’ you’ve ever felt before. Don’t start a broken family, alright?” he said with an, honest, genuine concern unlike anythin’ Ah’ve ever heard from him. Sweet goddess, he’s completely serious about this. Ah couldn’t find my voice so Ah just nodded. He relaxed a little in his seat and then sighed.

“’Course, it’s not like this city is safe enough fer anypony ta be startin’ a family right now. Evacuations every Sunday. Never knowin’ whether yer workplace or home is gonna still be there next week is killer on the psyche.” At that, Ah couldn’t help but let out a snort, and even further Ah laughed a bit.

“Yeah. It sure would be sad ta see… pfft, snake in the wall gone one day,” Ah half laughed. Goose and Applebloom cracked up and even uncle Blood let out a little chuckle. Mac got a little redder and huffed.

“That’s what Ah get fer tryin’ ta be thoughtful. Screw it, y’all should just go back where ya came from. Ah’m gettin’ that cake.” Mac got up from his seat angrily enough and darted over ta the fridge.

“Oh, come on Mac, ya can’t!” Applebloom complained. Everypony looked at her thinkin’ somethin’ was wrong until she continued, “What’ll happen ta yer job if ya lose yer figure?” This time, everypony busted out and Mac nearly dropped the cake as he brought it over. He pulled the tabs out and removed the top from the box ta reveal a layer cake of browns and tans that let off a smell of coffee and sweet cream.

“Oh, hey, that’s the tiramisu,” Goose noted.

“Yeah, Ah had it at the one over by the harbor it when Taps took me out a while back.” Ah couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Yeah, we were there. “As it turns out, some ponies have been evacuatin’ permanently, so a lotta places are lookin’ fer employees. Ah figured now that Ah’ve got my own source of income, it’d be nice ta get a cake since you’re home safe and all. Er, Ah mean…” Ya damn loud mouth! Goose and Ah froze in our seats and Mac got a confused look on his face.

“Home safe? What do ya mean, home safe?” he interrogated. The large stallion leaned in ta Applebloom’s personal space and she tried her best ta get away.

“Well, ya know what Ah mean, uh… ya know, the… traffic and all after it’s over and- and how there’ve been a lotta wrecks gettin’ back inta the city and all…” She stammered. Oh goddess, she’s a worse liar than Ah am. Mac frowned.

“Well that’s bullshit if Ah’ve ever heard it. What is she talkin’ about? What are y’all doin’ durin’ the evacuations anyways? You’re never with us. Hell, we didn’t even see ya last Sunday, ya just called. If you’re part of construction or whatever, why is it that you’re usually here on Mondays? Look, Ah’m not as dumb as ya think Ah am, but Ah always figured ya’d just tell me. Now Ah think Ah’m the only one here outta the loop. What are ya hidin’ from me, Applejack?” Okay, no need ta panic. Just think of an excuse like ya always do. It’s easy. Why tell him somethin’ he doesn’t need ta know? He’ll just worry about me and complain about it. He don’t need ta know. He’s my big brother. He don’t need ta know.

“Well, Ah uh…” Ah started, but the words just wouldn’t come.

“Well, ya what? Don’t ya give me some bullshit excuse like ya usually do,” He said as he stared me down. Ah looked ta Goose fer help, but as soon as Ah did he got up.

“Wow, this looks like a family issue, so I’m just gonna-” and then he blinked out of existence. Coward! You’ll face down a goddess damned kaiju, but not my brother!?

“Huh. Where did he go? Could he always do that? Ya know what? That’s not important, he’s not my sister. You are my sister, and you need ta tell me what’s goin’ on. Right now,” he demanded.

“Ah…” Damn it, why does he have ta bring this up now? Ah was on business the other day, it’s not like… he doesn’t need ta know, damn it! He’s my big clumsy brother, Ah was the one who took care of him, he… he was supposed ta stay outta this. “Gah, damn it Mac! It ain’t none of yer business!” Ah stood up and met him eye ta eye. He raised his snout.

“Oh, it sure as hell is. Fine, Ah ain’t gonna play no damn games anymore.” He stormed off inta his room and came outa minute later holdin’ some kinda red cloth in his hoof. He cleared a space and then threw it on the table, starin’ me down all the while. “What’s that?” Shit. “Ah was cleanin’ the apartment the other day and Ah found this under yer bed.” Why did he clean under my bed? Ah sleep on a mattress on the floor! Or well… Ah usually do. How long has he had this? Damn it Star, why in the world did ya ever make me a new suit? “Come on Applejack. There ain’t a damn pony in this city who don’t know what this, who it belongs ta.” Mac was pleadin’ with me now. Caught. Again.

“What do ya want from me Mac? Ya know damn well what Ah’ve been doin’ on Sunday. When did ya find it?” He let out a tired sigh and sat back down with a hoof on his forehead.

“Yesterday. And here Ah thought ya were committed ta lyin’ ta me. So what is yer plan here? Are ya just gonna up and die under rubble like he did?” He asked, anger flarin’ back up in his voice. Of course he knows that too. Why wouldn’t he?

“Maybe! Who knows where Ah’m gonna die! Ah thought Ah was gonna die a few days ago! Ah thought Ah was gonna die two weeks ago! Ah thought Ah was gonna die last year, and the year before! Hasn’t happened yet. Where are you gonna die Mac?” Ah shot back, angrier than Ah thought Ah was. He rose ta full height in a hurry.

“Probably when Ah’m at home in my nineties with a family around me because Ah’m not runnin’ around tryin ta play the hero! Ah expect ta live and leave a legacy behind, because that’s what my parents wanted me ta do! Do ya think that he’d be proud of ya if he survived that day? Proud that you’re out there riskin’ yer life fer some city that don’t give a damn if ya end up a smear on the concrete?” He was yellin’ back at me.

“He might! Ah made somethin’ of myself outta nothin’ but grit and determination, just like he did! What are you doin’, huh? Twenty five, livin’ at home with the rest of us, strugglin’ ta make a livin’ after failin’ ta fuck yer way up the ladder. Ah have everythin’ we never had growin’ up now that Ah’ve made it here. With the job Ah work now, Ah’m never gonna want fer anythin’! Ah’m never gonna have ta struggle ta pay my rent, Ah’m never gonna have ta live off of canned soup and instant ramen, and Ah’ll never have ta pick up extra work so that my siblin’s can eat!”

“Sure, and when we never find yer body, then ya can take all yer damn money ta hell with ya! Ah remember a certain line somepony said ta me not too long ago, what was it again? ‘What’s the point if ya die just tryin’ ta live?’ What is the point Applejack, ‘cause it seems ta me that ya figured it out.” He lowered his voice and then sat back down. Now Ah was the only one standin’ at the table.

“The point is-”

“The point is that you’re a damn hypocrite. Ya’d rather watch me struggle ta live like a normal pony and bear the burden yerself.”

“Ah didn’t want ya gettin’ inta the same shit that Ah was! Ah can protect myself, Ah know what the dark side of this city looks like, Ah know the kinda horrible shit that happens here every day, you-”

“Ah what? Ah’m just some big klutz that you have ta protect? Last Ah checked, Ah was yer older brother, not the other way around. Ah never asked fer yer help, Ah never asked ya ta do anythin’ fer me. It was my job ta be the one who fixes the problem, it was my responsibility ta pick up the slack because Ah was the stallion in the house, and Ah was the oldest. Ah can protect myself. Ah was supposed ta protect y’all too, but you decided ta go on and do it for me. You’re my little sister Applejack, you ain’t my damn mother.” He must’ve pressed one of my buttons because now Ah wanted ta punch his stupid face in.

“And yer a damn asshole!” Before Ah knew it, Ah was throwin’ a punch at him, but then the strangest thin’ happened. He caught it. She sheer force of the punch itself tossed napkins all over the place, ponies manes flew back and forth and he just stared at me like his hoof steamin’ from the friction of catchin’ mine was an everyday occurrence. Goose blinked back in and just about slapped his hooves ta his face.

“Oh my goddess, what did you- Ahh! Why? Again!? I thought we were over this!” Mac didn’t bother lookin’ at him though.

“Some hero you are. What are ya tryin’ ta do with somethin’ like that, kill me? Here’s somethin’ ya probably didn’t know; ya ain’t the only one.” Ah was shocked. Ah was horrified that Ah tried ta hit him, and even more so that he just… caught it. It was like Ah was dealin’ with Goose, only… he might be stronger.

“Mac, Ah’m so sorry, Ah didn’t mean-”

“Ya didn’t mean what? Ta get mad, lose yer temper and try ta crush my skull? Is this how ya save ponies? By killin’ yer enemies? Ah coulda been doin’ exactly what you are. Ah could learned and been every bit a hero as you are, but Ah decided that it was not only foolish, but an even better way ta get killed. Ah thought Ah had sisters at home that needed me, so Ah wasn’t about ta go out and do somethin’ dangerous that might get me hurt and put y’all in danger. Ah was thirteen Applejack, Ah knew who was who and who died twelve years ago. Ah knew better. Ah knew y’all were lyin’ ta me all this time about yer job, but Ah never thought ya were doin’ this…” He brought his hooves ta his head and let out an exasperated breath. The table fell silent and after a moment, Ah eventually made Goose sit back down beside me. Almost like the sound attracted him, Mac brought his eyes up.

“Who are ya, really? Are ya actually Catchy? Or are ya somepony else? And… did he say again? Applejack, who else got under yer skin? Did ya try ta kill them too?” he paused and took another breath, his eyes focused on me and… those dark greens were startin’ ta redden and fill. “Ah want ta know what you’ve been up ta. Ah’m tired of the lies, Ah’m tired of wonderin’ if Ah’m ever gonna see ya again, and Ah’m tired of you runnin’ off ta do whatever damn thin’ ya do. Ah want the truth, and Ah want all of it. You’re my little sister damn it. You three are all Ah’ve got, Ah can’t… Ah can’t lose any more family in the dark.” His lower lip was firmly between his grindin’ teeth, and he… couldn’t keep lookin’ at me. Goddess damn it Mac. Ya coulda done this whenever ya wanted ta, why did ya have ta spring this on me now? Is it because yer worried about him? Or us? Damn it.

“Do ya… really wanna know? It’s not a pretty story, and the ponies Ah’m friends with… well, we ain’t saints, that’s fer sure. Even my stupid boyfriend over here, we’re… we’re bad company.” Ah finally asked. He shook his head and shrugged.

“No. Ah wish Ah’d never even found that damn thin’, but now we’re here, and it’s out in the open fer everypony. Ah don’t know what either of y’all knew, but Ah’m sorry Ah dragged ya inta it if ya didn’t know anythin’ before. But… Ah need ta know, ‘cause Ah can’t stand bein’ in the dark.”

“Fine. Ah’ve been doin’ research fer my boss this week about power and genetics, Ah don’t know why Ah never thought ya might have the same powers that Ah do. Ah just figured that since Applebloom’s powers are different that maybe… Ah guess it don’t make any difference now. Oh well. If one thin’s cleared up about all this, it’s that mom probably died because of the virus. Ah met the family of a friend of mine yesterday, and as it turns out Ah’ve got a few stories that suggest that the virus is an STD as well. One more thin’ ta add ta my report Ah suppose.” Ah leaned back in my chair and sighed.

“So it was just me. Unless ya didn’t know anything either Uncle,” Mac asked. Silent as ever, the yellow stallion simply leaned back in his chair.

“Ponies… who have their eyes opened for them have a difficult time closing them. I know quite a bit. As a matter of fact, I’ve known quite a bit for a long time. I… am not Citrus though, I’ve always been indecisive, so I decided to stay out of it. It maybe that I helped push Applejack in this direction, and I might have known all of your powers for a time in no little part due to my own. But… here’s what I will say; no matter what I do, you three are going to live your lives however you choose to do so, and nothing I say or do is going to stop you from doing it. You chose not to use your powers, and she chose to use hers. You both made decisions, and you’re both walking a path you decided to take. The only thing that doesn’t change here is that you are siblings, and blood, is thicker than water.” Thanks Celestia, ya always know how ta make me feel bad. Ah swear, those two are peas in a damn pod. Goddess help us if they ever met, Ah might end up blood related ta Twilight. Mac sighed and laid his head on my old suit.

“Perfect. Ya helped her do it. What about y’all, when did ya figure it out?” he asked Applebloom.

“Uh… it was on Caballo day. She’d done some stuff and got inta a fight with… is she a coworker now?” Applebloom asked.

“Yeah. Scootaloo says ‘hi’ by the way,” ah replied rememberin’ my promise from earlier. Applebloom squinted at me.

“Oh-kay… so uh, we were at the fair and she straight up destroyed a punch meter while she was in that competitive mode of hers. Ah just put two and two together and pressured her inta talkin’ about it. Ah doubt she woulda said anythin’ if Ah didn’t get mad and say some stuff Ah shouldn’t have earlier though.” Applebloom dipped her head and put her hooves together in her lap. Huh. She still feels bad about that. Ah’m not sure if Ah should be happy or not.

“Mmhmm. Ah heard about that, it figures that y’all were the one who did it. Seems like old news now, so much has happened since then.” He rose from the table, took a deep breath and sat back up straight. “Alright. Let’s hear it. Where does Applejack become Marevelous Red? Why are ya out there fightin’ those monsters that show up every week? Who’s payin’ ya? Why didn’t ya tell us? Why didn’t ya tell me? Let’s go, Ah wanna hear all of it.” Ah scratched at my face. Well, Ah can’t even answer one of those questions already.

“Okay, but, and Ah know you’re not gonna like this, Ah can’t exactly tell ya everythin’. My job required me ta sign somethin’ a little bit more… bindin’ than a contract, and there are certain thin’s Ah can’t talk about. ‘Cause if Ah do, Ah won’t be doin’ much talkin’ ever again.” Mac rolled his eyes.

“Oh, yeah? What’d ya do, go off and join the military?” he poked. Ah don’t know why Ah even carry this damn thin’ around. Rather than look at him, because Ah couldn’t, Ah just took my badge out of dad’s old jacket and threw it on the table. Mac just blinked and stared at the little golden leaf.

“Well, that’s a little bit more than just joinin’ the military, ain’t it? How long ya been at this? Five years? Ten? Sweet Goddess, who has the power ta just give a twenty year old a rank like this? Next thin’ you’re gonna tell me is that Princess Celestia gave it ta ya personally.” Ah just… bit my tongue and turned my head away a little further. Ah could feel the dull pain of searin’ flames at the back of my throat slowly growin’ and was almost more afraid of sayin’ anythin’ ta make my brother dismay more than the fire on my tongue.

“Careful Macintosh, if you leave your jaw open like that, flies are bound to fly in,” uncle Blood broke the silence. Mac closed his mouth, but couldn’t find anymore words ta add.

“Well, shit. Ah shoulda kept my damn mouth shut in the first place,” Mac muttered. Did Applebloom know about that part? Nah, Ah bet she didn’t. Of course, those eyes were about the opposite kinda shocked that Mac’s were. He was mortified, and she was starry eyed.

“Okay so, there’s kinda a lot ta unpack here uh… Sugarcube, ya wanna help me out here?” Ah asked, hopin’ once again he might bail me out here. Goose shook his head.

“No way, you already dug half our graves, you finish it. You know what? Here, I’ll give them the short version of my story while you figure out what you want to say. Hi, I am Lamnidae Carcharodon, Catchy as you two so lovingly called me back in our childhoods, and Goose Fang, former leader of the Boneheads, the gang that had control of south east Manehattan up until about a month ago. My father was Carcharias Carcharodon, owner of Carcha, our namesake, and known as Shark Tooth to the underworld. I lived with my mother in north Manehattan around the same time you did because your dad arrested mine.

Similarly, Marevelous over here, arrested me while on a job for her new outfit. I was later then recruited because her team was about as well experienced as you are in the martial arts among other extraneous circumstances, and now… we… live together? There was this unfulfilled crush/love thing that happened over the past fifteen years that was fulfilled in the past week and figuring out what comes next is a little off my mind since we should definitely be dead after last Sunday but aren’t thanks to a Deus ex machina. I’ll get back to you once I figure out what the next step in our relationship is. Promise, you’ll hear from me soon. You’re up honey♥”

Mother fucker had this practiced already! Yer gonna pay fer this. Just y’all wait. Ah didn’t know what ta do, so Ah just tried ta smile. Thanks Goose. Ya found a way ta make this look worse. ‘Geez Applejack, do ya fuck all yer captives?’ Ah can hear it, it’ll be on the tip of their tongues any second now. Nope, Ah can’t. Ah can’t let ‘em say it. Just go. Say whatever and tell the truth. Ain’t nothin’ ya say is gonna be any worse than the shit yer ‘boyfriend’ just spewed all over the table.

“So uh… five years ago…”

“Now we’re just wonderin’ whether or not thin’s are gonna be that easy come Sunday. That’s everythin’ Ah’m allowed ta say, so… be satisfied. Or don’t, Ah don’t care. Ah’ve got enough on my plate without worryin’ whether or not y’all are happy. Whatever.” Ah let my head fall inta my hooves and sighed. Ah feel awful about all this. Now that Ah tell my family, Ah can see why everypony else was so afraid ta tell theirs. It’s not like Ah’ve got a long reputation of slaughter ta own up ta, but even the fact that Ah kept it a secret from him all this time feels like Ah did somethin’ wrong. Worse than any of the other shit Ah did, like killin’ those thugs ta protect Uncle Blood back when this all started. Ah can’t tell if my life is a mess or finally startin’ ta straighten out. Ah’m head first infatuated with somepony if not truly in love fer the first time, Ah’m livin’ every day expectin’ ta not see next week, Ah have more money now than Ah’ve ever had in my whole life, and Ah can only wonder if this all ain’t some malicious trick the goddess is playin’ on me. Mac laughed.

“Heh. And here Ah thought Ah was the one ta rush head first inta dumb decisions. Ah guess with me, it’s usually with the one between my legs, but all the same, what in the goddess’ name did ya get yerself inta Applejack?” Now it was my turn ta lay my head on the table.

“Ah don’t know. Ah was desperate, Ah thought we were desperate. Ah thought money would be an easy answer ta problems, but as it turns out, nothin’ is easy, and havin’ money just brings about different problems.” Goose rubbed my back, and as Ah felt a tingle run up my spine, Ah decided that Ah now felt worse. It wasn’t that it wasn’t a comfortin’ gesture, but Ah felt somethin’ Ah wasn’t in the mood fer, and feelin’ that in front of my family made me think back ta the last time we had dinner together and all the shame it brought with it. Shame. That’s what this awful feelin’ burnin in my stomach is.

“In all fairness to you, we were poor at the time. I wouldn’t say we were in danger of starving, but I don’t make enough to support the four of us and put the three of you through school while living comfortably. Even now that’s the case, but you all have jobs and make your own money, though some more… adventurously than others. It’s not as if either of your jobs are poor ways to make a living, but it’s not something… everypony can do. You both saw an opportunity, and you both took it. You just ended up taking an opportunity that lead down a rabbit hole like no other.” Uncle Blood was probably tryin’ ta offer some support with that, but it didn’t really make me feel any better. Mac rolled his eyes.

“Well, at least you didn’t think ta use yer body. Ah’m still surprised Ah got away with it in the first place. Ah’m still shocked that ya make twenty gold a month fer this shit. Course, ya marry him and suddenly money might as well not be an object anymore. How much are ya worth exactly?” Out of my whole story, Mac was mostly focused on the monetary aspect of it all now that he’d gotten over my probable imminent death. His wage is a little above average, about two and a half gold a month or twenty five hundred bits, not includin’ the tips he gets when the mares and sometimes stallions, enjoyed his company more than their liquor. Ah make about ten times that, and whatever Goose has is an unknowable fortune ta most ponies in the world. It’s not like Ah realized that when Ah started fallin’ fer the idiot, but now Mac and the rest of my family probably think Ah’m a gold digger ta boot. It made Goose uncomfortable.

“Is this… really something we need to discuss? Like, isn’t your sister’s life, and by association mine, a bit more important than the cash we’ve got floating around?” he asked, tryin’ ta dodge the question. Mac shrugged.

“Ah guess, but what am Ah supposed ta do about now that Ah know she takes her orders from the top of the chain? Ya think the Princess is gonna give a damn if Ah come around complainin’ about my sister signin’ her life away fer money? Maybe that wasn’t yer initial motivation ta take over this special group or whatever, but it sure does help, don’t it? Like, how does somepony just get invited ta do somethin’ like that? Ah know ya can’t tell me much, but damn. Now Ah really gotta know what yer plan is. Are ya gonna try and rank up? Are ya just gonna stick around? Are ya gonna try ta see the world now that ya’ve got the chance?

The way Ah see it, maybe ya did make the right choice here. Ah can be worried about ya no matter what ya do, and Ah’ll be worried watchin’ the fight on Sunday too, especially now that Ah know who’s fightin’ who. But… even if Ah’m worried, if ya live through this, you’ll have a lotta options later down the line ta do thin’s we never woulda dreamed of doin’ back when we were kids. Hell, if y’all keep together after all this is over, ya might even get ta do that kinda stuff with yer own foals. Whether or not Ah like it, you’re more of dad’s kid than Ah am, but maybe that ain’t a bad thin’. Ah’m sure Ah’ll change my tune if somethin’ goes wrong, but… Ah might as well be helpless in this position. Ah’d rather ya know that Ah support what yer doin’ than have ya worryin’ about my disapproval while you’re tryin’ ta fight. Provided ya live long enough ta see it, ya really set yerself up fer a bright future here.”

Mac had his back legs crossed and was leanin’ against the wall with his front hooves crossed behind his head. Ah can only wonder if he’s makin’ plans fer me up there. Sigh. Ah felt bad earlier, but now that Ah know what he thinks, Ah wish this had just never come out. Ah’ve never known him ta be greedy, but Ah hope he’s not blinded by gold here. A thought came ta mind and Ah felt a dark smile creep across my lips.

“Well then Mac, if ya really like the idea of twenty gold a month, Ah’m sure Ah could pull some strings and get ya in a place where ya could make it. Ya might just have ta sign yer life away and put on a colorful suit, but that ain’t too much different than what ya do now, right?” Ah asked. Mac let the chair fall back ta all fours and stared me dead eyed.

“How about no. Ah have done lots of po- er, thin’s Ah regret fer money, but Ah’m not about ta go fight fer it. Ah’m sure ya know this, but gettin’ shot and stabbed don’t feel too good, and Ah’m not about ta go make a habit of it. Maybe Ah’m fixated on that ‘cause Ah’m tryin’ ta find some kinda good in all this. Ah don’t think it’s ever gonna sit right with me that this is the life ya chose, but Ah get the feelin’ that my other sister has similar aspirations, so why sulk about it? If Ah won’t let ya be my mother, then Ah’m not about ta try and be yer father.” Ah put an elbow on the table and leaned my head against my hoof.

“Sure Mac. Ah’m bet ya do regret doin’ some of the ponies ya did fer money, especially cause it cost ya a few jobs,” Ah chuckled and let out another breath. The fightin’ hadn’t been exhaustin’, but this certainly was. Ah pulled out my phone ta check the time, and it was a lot later than Ah wanted it ta be. Geez, it’s already three quarters ta midnight. Ah stood up from my chair and stretched myself. “Well, if that’s all cleared up, Ah think it’s about time we let y’all get ta bed. We’ve still got work in the mornin’, and whatever shows up Sunday ain’t gonna go down without a fight.” Or so Ah think anyways. On queue, everypony got up from the table.

“Keep us posted. Even though you seem to have found another, remember that this is still your home,” Uncle Blood said as he moved ta hug me. He shook Goose’s hoof next and Ah could swear Ah heard the faintest whisper pass between them, but nopony’s mouth ever moved. “And good luck to you sir. I hope for nothing but the best for you both.” Next was Mac’s turn. He pulled me in close and squeezed me tight. Probably tighter than most ponies were capable of.

“Ah swear Applejack, Ah better see ya next Monday, alright? Ah’ll come find ya wherever ya are and kill ya myself if Ah don’t, alright?” he said. His greens met mine, and Ah could swear that his were misty. He let me go and then rubbed at them. “As fer y’all, Ah’m still not sure you’re who ya say ya are, but Ah intend ta figure it out right here and now. There’s only one pony in the world who knows the motion, and he never woulda forgot it.” They stood across from each other, Mac stared Goose down, and Goose did the same. Mac raised a left front hoof and waited. Goose mirrored him, and then it started.

The hooves pulled back and punched each other, wind whooshin’ and light objects whirlin’ away from the force of blows. The hooves swapped ta right hooves, then they both took a step forward with their back left and met right elbows, then left elbows. The force the hooves let off was almost like they were fightin’, but this was some kinda dance or somethin’. Left hoof ta left hoof, right hoof ta right hoof, release and front hooves oncorrespondin’ shoulders. They both reared their heads back and then slammed their foreheads ta each other. They both took woozy steps backward and each clutched at their now bloody foreheads.

“Son of a bitch, that was always the worst part,” Goose grumbled as he rubbed at the new wound. Mac wiped away the blood off his head and nodded in approval.

“Well, you’re definitely Catchy, that’s fer sure.” Goose also nodded.

“Of course I am. The name “Boneheads” didn’t come from nowhere after all,” he said like it was a point of pride. Mac smiled.

“That’s what Ms. Swan used ta call us, wasn’t it?” Goose smiled in return.

“Every time she found us with bloody foreheads. ‘You boys would kill each other doing that if you were unicorns.’” Goose and Mac laughed and Ah just stood there wonderin’ what in the hell just happened.

“Uh… are y’all outta yer damn minds?” Ah asked. They both turned ta me in unison and said,

“It’s a guy thing, you wouldn’t understand,” and then returned ta laughin’. Whatever. Ah felt Applebloom come up on my side and wrap her hooves around me.

“You’re gonna come back safe, right?” she asked. She might believe she’s a mare, but this right here is the little filly Ah helped raise. Ah smiled as sweetly as Ah could and pulled her head in.

“Ah’m gonna do whatever Ah can. Ah’m not diein’ any time soon, so don’t y’all worry none. In a few weeks, this’ll all be over and thin’s will be… different, but normal again.” No. That’s a lie. Nothin’ will ever be normal again.

Persona XVIII: Sweet Filly Dreams

Applejack

White all around, and… maybe a family somewhere down the line. All day, that thought plagued me now that it was finally complete. Me? Married? Ta Goose? A mother? It’s almost like Ah can never get a moment’s rest from the emotional storm that swirls around in my head. Last week, the thought terrified me ta tears. How could Ah be a mother? Ah don’t know a damn thin’ about raisin’ foals. Hell, Ah was hardly raised by anypony, Pinkie has had more parental figures in her life than Ah do. But… does that mean Ah think Uncle Blood never taught me anythin’? ‘Cause that ain’t true. He wasn’t my dad, but he damn sure tried ta be.

No, that ain’t the problem. Ah don’t have a mom in memory. Aunt dew died three years after my own mother died, and Ah grew up without one. That’s part of why Ah’m so… broken. Ah only know how ta be a stallion because that’s what Ah know. How is a mare without a mother supposed ta act like a mother ta her own? Does it just come ta ponies? Should Ah already know? Damn it Goose, why in the hell did ya have ta run off today? Ah need ya…

Trainin’ had ended fer the day, and the whole time Ah wasn’t focused. Marriage and foals were the only thin’ on my mind, and it seemed not even the threat of imminent death was enough ta bring me inta reality. It was never me Ah was concerned about, it was everypony else. Ah kept lookin’ at all the younger girls and thinkin’ what if she were mine? Ah’d make a mistake or not tell anypony what Ah was doin’ ta swoop in and save whoever had my daughter’s theoretical face at the time and botch somethin’ in the middle of a fight. Ah couldn’t keep focus and we only managed ta kill a few of Celestia’s monsters so we ended early for the day. Doesn’t matter how much practice we get in if the leader can’t keep her damn focus.

Ah wanted ta talk ta Goose about it, but he said he was busy today. Busy? With what? What’s so important that ya can’t talk ta me about it? Ah wasn’t sure if Ah was more angry than upset, but in the end Ah let him go without so much as an argument. He never asks me ta do anythin’ fer him, so the one time he does need ta do somethin’, Ah can’t just keep him ta myself, can Ah? It wouldn’t be fair. With every day that passes, Ah feel more like he belongs ta me and Ah belong ta him, and it scares me. This is more than loyalty and respect, it’s somethin’ stronger and makes me lose my senses and… restraint when Ah’m alone with him. Ah can’t tell if it’s some base instinct ta repopulate or if it really is that… elusive thin’ they call love.

“Is this really it?”

“Is this really what Applejack?” Rarity asked. Lost in my own head, Rarity’s voice brought me back ta reality. Instead of goin’ back ta the shark house like we normally would, today Ah found myself playin’ a game with the other girls at the castle.

“I challenge my fate!” Her swordsman called out, then in a bright flash of blue fire, she darted across the screen and took out the three of us who were in her line of sight. Rainbow flipped her controller onta the table in annoyance ta pout, and Scootaloo sighed.

“I thought we said no items,” Rainbow complained.

“Is the bash ball really an item though? I mean, if we decided that this was really a fighting game, then that would be like pulling a super right?” Scootaloo explained. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“It’s not a fighting game, it’s a party game,” Rainbow said, exhausted by the task of explainin’. Rarity rolled her eyes.

“If you want to call it a party game, then play with items. If you want it to be a fighting game, then play without them. You cannot have it both ways, miss elitist. If you cannot enjoy a game unless you win, then I suggest you stick to single player.” Ah almost winced at Rarity’s rebuke. That cuts Rainbow deep. Rainbow scowled and Ah could swear Ah saw her stump flex.

“Fuck you, fight me. 1V1, Final Destination, no items.” Rarity rolled her eyes and sighed.

“So I suppose it is a fighting game today. Very well, have at thee, you bulky racer stallion!” Ah could tell she was enjoyin’ herself, even though she appeared ta be annoyed. If ya could characterize Rainbow in a sentence, competitive would be the first word that comes ta mind. Doesn’t matter what you're playin’, even a fight ta the death, she has ta win. Problem here is that she’s fightin’ everypony at their own games, Fluttershy is better at games than everypony, and most of us have a favorite that she isn’t better at. When we aren’t trainin’ fer a real fight, she’s tryin’ ta get better at some game or other ta beat Fluttershy and whoever else might be remotely decent at whatever has her attention that day. Duel Monsters, Bash Bros, however many fightin’ games with unpronounceable names Fluttershy has, Pony kart, the list is endless.

They got ta it, and Ah’d figured that they forgot Ah was there since, nopony bothered ta ask me if Ah still wanted ta play. Whatever. Ah got up from my seat, still broodin’ on havin’ a brood of my own when Ah found Ah’d wandered inta the kitchen. Pinkie was there makin’ somethin’ fer dinner, and she’d stopped ta play some game on her phone. Whatever she was cookin’ needed ta bake, and it looked like she still had a good bit of time on her hooves before it was done.

“Hey Pinkie,” Ah said after Ah thought she might be a good distraction. Startled, she nearly dropped her phone when she saw me.

“Oh, geez. Hi. What’s up? You were pretty off your game today, huh?” she said. Ah rolled my eyes. These are my friends. Ah know… a hell of a lot more about them than Ah want ta, Ah can ask them about it, can’t Ah?

“Well, Ah’ve been thinkin’ a lot lately.” Pinkie got a wry smile on her face and raised her eyebrow.

“Oh no, I hope that doesn’t mean somepony thinks we need more members. I would think that a gang leader and a serial murderer would fill out our ranks pretty well. I can’t imagine where you’d look for our next pony.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Ya had a serial murderer and miss fratricide before Ah came around, what harm could another bring?” She pawed at the floor.

“Well… maybe you should… I don’t know, give me a different title? ‘failure of a hero’ is at least a little nicer than ‘kin slayer.’” Uh-huh. Y’all make a joke and then Ah’m the one who crosses the line. Ah sighed.

“Do ya wanna know what Ah was thinkin’ about or make me feel bad? Either way, Ah’m not about ta pull my punches, especially not fer my friends,” Ah said exasperated. She scratched at her face.

“Okay, I’m sorry. What’s up? For real, this time.” Ah let out a breath and came ta sit beside her.

“Well, last night Goose and Ah went and had dinner with my family right?” Ah said. Pinkie nodded.

“Yeah, and then Scootaloo got hit in the face out of nowhere, I remember this.” She did, and Ah should talk ta Rarity about that soon.

“Well, my uncle is a real smart guy, right? We think my little sister is a genius, and the stallion can match her step fer step more often than not, it’s a little scary sometimes. Dinner goes, we have a little… talk, Ah suppose, and then he asks what our plans fer the future are.” Who needs ta know about my argument with Mac, really? “Ah haven’t stopped thinkin’ about it since then. Sure, we’re an item now, but we never talked about what we’re gonna do next, and with all the monsters and after the thin’ with Ramiel last week, we could die tomorrow, so the future should wait till we get there, right?

Course, that don’t stop me from thinkin’ about gettin’ married and havin’ kids. Ah don’t know what ta think. Ah can hardly see myself as a mare, and Ah stopped thinkin’ about gettin’ married and havin’ kids when Ah was a filly. What do you think about it? Uh, were ya in my position, Ah guess.” Well, that was disjointed. Not only can Ah not think about anythin’ else, Ah can’t hardly put what Ah’m thinkin’ inta coherent sentences. All the same though, Pinkie’s eyebrows came down and her hooves went ta her thinkin’ pose, and she got ta thinkin’.

“Married… married? Married. Foals. Marriage and foals. Geez, I guess that isn’t something that comes to my mind often either. My mom was my age when she got married. But really, I don’t even know how they met, let alone anything about when they got married. The other day was kinda eye opening for me, ya know? Like, I know more about the Cakes, that family that picked me up last year, than I do my own family. But even then, they’re still not anywhere close to a normal family. Birth complications for years on end, trying so hard and praying so long for nothing to happen until sixteen years after they’d been together.

If I had my own Goose… I don’t know. I mean, maybe I do want a family like the one I had with the Cakes. But the last thing I would want is to have the… well, kinda dysfunctional family I had with my own, ya know? My parents are smart, and they loved us to be sure, but they couldn’t afford four kids. I was an accident. Marble and I weren’t supposed to happen. What they thought was gonna be their last child ended up twins, and more than they were prepared to handle. Even the Cakes had twins, but they’d been working for so long and were more than well situated in life. They had the money to support twins, as far as I could tell. My mom is the last pony to be accused of being irresponsible, but I don’t think we were a smart decision and… well, I was the price of that.

I don’t know… I think I’m an outlier. I think our whole group is made up of outliers though, so I guess… Well, let me put it this way; Abuelo always said a family when whole is one of the most wonderful things on this earth. But a family in ruins is one of the most destructive things on this earth. A ruined family creates the Crotalos of this world. If you’re willing to possibly add another Cortalo to the world, then go for it. But I think I would rather be… in a better place than this to get married and have foals.” Pinkie finished, and just as she did, her timer went off.

“Oh, that needs to come out of the oven. I’m not quite done here, but I hope that helps I guess? I’m a downer when it comes to family though, so my opinion might not be super valid on the subject. I’ve gone through like, three of them anyways, I’m no expert.” With that, she turned away, grabbed some oven hooves and pulled out the… deliciously savory smellin’ thin’ she was bakin’, then went ta work on somethin’ else. Ah figured that was my queue ta leave, so Ah did. In a world where Pinkie and Mac are warnin’ me about havin’ a broken family, what is there left ta surprise me? Not anythin’ in the livin’ room, that’s fer sure.

“Bullshit! How are you doing that? Can I do that? That isn’t fair!” Rainbow’s cries of protest came from the big table. Now Rarity was playin’ the angel kid, and she was just floatin’ around and Rainbow couldn’t catch her. Then she did some weird motion where her character half started ta run and the animation reset itself until she’d crossed the screen in half the time it usually takes.

“Oh my, I simply can’t wait to have you play Sweetie in this game. You’ll never stop. Not only is she better than me, she takes joy in beating a helpless animal.” What? That little girl? There’s no way she’s a sadist like her sister. Right? Ah couldn’t help but notice that Rarity was actively screwin’ with Rainbow now, so Ah decided ta leave. Ah wonder if Fluttershy is in her room? The thought came outta the blue ta be sure, but now that it had me, Ah had ta see. She’s usually the one who gives Rainbow the smack down in these video games, Ah wonder why she’s not playin’ now? Ah wandered over ta Shy’s room, but before Ah could even knock, she said,

“I-It’s unlocked,” from behind the door. Takin’ that as an invitation, Ah tiptoed my way over cords and cables until Ah found myself sittin’ next ta her on her bed while she did somethin’ on the computer at her desk. Instead of a keyboard like Ah expected ta find in front of her, she had a fight stick. The joy stick flicked violently in very precise and quick motions against one hoof, and the other just about beat at the buttons at the other end of the box like she was fightin’ fer her life.

“Kore de, owari-da!” came from whoever’s character was usin’ a super on her screen, and when Ah noticed her hooves had stopped, Ah figured it was hers.

“G-get styled on, skrub,” she said in triumph as she pushed the stick forward. Last time Ah was in here, Ah almost got stabbed. Ah didn’t get a chance ta look at the place then, but now that Ah see it… it’s really not as ‘lived in’ as ya would think. There are cords all over the floor from various controllers and systems of days gone by, but beyond that, the console, the TV, the desk, and the bed, there ain’t much else in here. Even her bed was pretty sparse. She has one pillow about as long as she is at the top, a black comforter and gray-green sheets underneath. It’s all so… undecorated. She swiveled in her chair after she’d finished exitin’ out of menus, and faced me like she was some kinda shrink. She put her back legs over one another, and then put her front hooves over the uppermost knee and asked,

“A-and what can I d-do for you, miss Carcharodon?” The name she called me by made my whole body lock in place. Ah felt the need ta turn tail and run right there. Anythin’ ta keep her from seein’ my face heat up or my cheeks turn red, anythin’ ta get away. When Ah didn’t respond, she rolled her eyes and let her body drop inta a more relaxed position.

“I-I was only teasing,” she complained. Her relaxin’ a little made me relax a little, but it didn’t make me any less red. M-miss Carcharodon? That would be my name wouldn’t it? Ah could… Ah could finally escape the apples! Miss Carcharodon… Fluttershy clapped her hooves in font of my face.

“E-Earth to Applejack,” she said. Ah shook myself away from the dream.

“Uh, sorry. Ya… surprised me,” Ah said, half still thinkin’ about the name. Fluttershy sighed.

“I-I don’t know how, you c-came into my room after all. W-what’s up?” she asked. That finally brought me back ta the real world fer good and Ah remembered what Ah was doin’ here.

“Well uh… Ah was talkin’ ta Pinkie and uh… er, see Ah’ve been kinda distracted all day,” Ah started tryin’ ta find the words.

“I-I can see that. I-I appreciated the rescuing earlier, b-but maybe three times was a little e-excessive? A-and that was just me. Y-you usually have better sense than t-that, so something must b-be up.” Now it was my turn ta sigh. Yeah. And that was just her. Ah don’t think she even got the most of it either.

“Okay so, ya know how Ah had dinner with Goose and my family yesterday?” She nodded so Ah went on. “Well, my Uncle brought up that we look like we’re more than close friends and asked if we had any plans goin’ forward, and my brother was talkin’ about broken families and we got in a fight, and Ah tried ta hit him with my full strength, but it turns out we have identical powers, so that didn’t work out, and now he knows everythin’, and maybe that’s why Ah’ve been so protective all day, but Ah’ve also been thinkin’ about gettin’ married and havin’ kids and… ugh. My head’s a real mess right now.” Okay, so Ah guess Pinkie doesn’t get ta know about the fight, but ta the mare Ah know even less about, Ah spill everythin’. Nice. She’d brought her clasped hooves ta her mouth and then asked,

“Your brother has powers?” Of course she focuses on the thin’ Ah didn’t mean ta say.

“Well… he has my powers, Ah guess. Or Dad’s powers ta be specific. We both do as far as Ah can tell. But Ah really-”

“Y-your father’s powers? A-aren’t you the second child?” she cut me off. But not without reason, Ah hadn’t thought about that. Huh. How did that happen? Based on Pinkie’s family, even her twin has different powers than she does. Applebloom does have different powers than we do, so how… Ah wonder if there’s some kinda discrepancy in gender too…

“Ah am, but Ah’m not super concerned about that right now. The uh… last part of that is really what Ah wanted ta talk about. Ya know… m-marriage and-”

“F-foals…” she finished fer me, lost in her own thoughts it seemed. “W-what about it?” she asked after a long silence. Ah scratched at the back of my head.

“W-well, Ah… A few months ago, those thin’s weren’t somethin’ a mare like me could ever have. As far as Ah was concerned anyways. My life was too hard and Ah never thought Ah could find anypony who Ah was willin’ ta trust with… well, me. Ah’m… difficult ta get along with, Ah hadn’t had friends in over twelve years, and even then a lot of those memories were repressed until recently. Ah didn’t hardly know how ta interact in a social settin’, Ah barely even talked ta my professors. If ya didn’t share my blood, then ya weren’t likely ta ever hear my voice. Unless Ah was out ta get ya anyways.

Yesterday though… my Uncle put it out in the open that Ah look a lot like a mare in love with a stallion who loves her back. This ain’t the first time somepony’s done that ta me, but is is the first time it’s happened in mixed company and Ah’ve been… clear headed enough ta dwell on it. Look, Ah ain’t gonna lie ta ya, it wasn’t y’all Ah was so desperate ta save earlier it was…”

“Y-your own, right? S-some daughter you don’t know, t-though… I suppose a few of us c-could pass for young boys too.” Ah wanted ta frown since she seemed ta know where Ah was goin’ every time Ah spoke. Ah know her hearin’ is shit, but maybe she can smell my thoughts too since it seems she can track me down from a hundred blocks away like some kinda blood hound. Ah suppose that’s appropriate though, considerin’ what she is underneath that pony skin she wears.

“Yeah… Marriage and foals… that dream might not be so far away anymore, ya know? It kinda came and hit me outta nowhere even though Ah wasn’t lookin’ fer it. Ah guess… Ah wanted ta know what y’all think about it. Since Ah’ve never really thought about it until today.” Fluttershy turned her head away and brought her tail inta her hooves, strokin’ it like it was a pet or somethin’.

“I… w-will likely never get married, I-I don’t think. A-a monster like me probably s-shouldn’t breed, or be allowed to anyways. M-maybe not because of all the c-complications it would bring to me, but, if I had a foal… W-what kind of creature would I b-bring into the world if the sorry b-bastard that falls for me ends up n-not being infected? W-would another beast plague the city? W-what if they are infected and the virus c-cooks up something worse using Fluffy as its base? O-of course, that’s just provided we all s-survive the eleven months that l-lead up to having the baby.

I-if I change forms while I’m p-pregnant, what would that do? W-would my baby still be a pony then, o-or would my curse be inflicted r-right then and there since it w-would still be a part of me? I-if my blood is giving it life in my w-womb, wouldn’t that same blood cause it to mutate? O-or worse, kill it inside me? I-I… don’t think I could do that… n-not to my foal, or me and my prospective husband. A-a simple accident could k-kill my own, control on my power or not.

I-I… couldn’t toss dice with those k-kind of odds against me, I just… y-you are so much stronger than I am. D-dreaming sweet filly dreams even after e-everything you’ve suffered. I-if whatever comes out of your b-belly ends up taking either of your powers, t-then you have nothing to worry about, a-and if it doesn’t, then you likely have e-everything you need to deal with it w-when it happens. Y-your curse… is manageable, and so is his.

I-I think you two would be great parents. Y-you’re heroes after all, p-ponies that call themselves the modern knights if I-Iron Tail is any metric to go by. U-unless you were Pinkie or Twilight, I don’t think anypony could q-question the undying love Goose has for you, a-and you… you make me want to slap you a-and call you an idiot, but when you’re with him, y-you make me think of my parents. Y-you’ve earned that happiness, don’t you think?

M-maybe it isn’t for me, but it wasn’t the f-fault of my family that I was crazy and c-cursed with a power that not even they had. I-if things were different… well, I-I doubt I would even be b-brazen enough to talk to any stallion. I-I’m uh… well, I don’t know if it w-was because of her powers, but Pinkie’s twin and I p-probably have a lot in common. P-ponies terrify me. I-I know, shocking to hear from the p-pony with Shy as her last name, b-but it’s true. I-I’m afraid somepony will trigger my powers on a-accident or on purpose, I used to have t-these violent moods when I was less in control, a-and if I can’t get Rainbow’s blood every y-year or so, I start to lose m-myself in my other half. T-that’s only half way the truth though. I-I can smell out ponies who w-will be good to me, and for a long time, I-I’d forgotten what a good pony smelled like.

I-I’m afraid of what m-might happen if I meet another Scarlet. I-If I find somepony I like, o-only to have them do that to me again. H-how I would react, how I might l-lose myself for good the next time I do… Y-you on the other hoof… always seem so f-fearless to me, I just… I could never be you. I-if I were courageous, then m-maybe one day, I would try. B-but for now, I think I’m too a-afraid to end up like Miss Flare to try and be a m-mother and a wife.”

Well, of course she would be afraid ta breed. Why didn’t Ah think of that? Good goddess, what if the virus does that ta my own baby? Could Ah deal with raisin’ a beast if she came outta me? What if it turns out ta be like Goose and have shark parts? Can Ah raise a carnivore? How would Ah feed it? Would Ah have ta find a griffon market somewhere ta make sure Ah can get raw meat? Ah mean, clearly Ah have the stomach ta kill, but does that mean Ah can just… deal with dead flesh like that? What if my kid won’t eat unless Ah do? Does that mean Ah’ll have ta… start eatin’ meat? Ah guess she caught on ta my new distress, because she tried real hard ta walk back some of that.

“W-well, m-maybe I will and m-maybe I won’t, r-right? Uh… s-sometimes you win w-when you gamble, r-right? W-we take risks all the time, a-and we’re not d-dead yet, r-right? Hehe…” she tried real hard ta play it off, but none of that was anywhere near convincin’ enough ta get the thought off my mind. “W-why don’t you go ask T-Twilight about it? S-she’s read everything and a-anything to do with the virus, m-maybe she has some insight on this. Uh… C-Celestia was still here l-last I checked too, so…” Fluttershy tilted her head and sighed. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to add to your w-worries. Um… w-well, I still think you and Goose w-will make great parents, no matter what. Oh! W-well…” Fluttershy brought her hoof ta her mouth and chewed on it fer a bit then let out a deep, heavy sigh.

“… I-if… if one day, you find yourself w-with a foal, then… I’ll find myself w-with one too, okay? I-it would be… a sad thing, if your foal had n-nopony to play with, r-right? Y-yes… whether or not a m-monster comes out, it’s our job to m-make sure they don’t become us, isn’t it?” Ah kinda had ta take a moment ta look at her. What in the hell is she talkin’ about?

“What? Fluttershy, ya can’t just go get knocked up because Ah do. That’s ridiculous. Ah mean, ponies are gonna have foals, that’s just part of life, even if it’s more dangerous now than it was before. That didn’t stop our parents, right? But… nah, ya can’t. Don’t do somethin’ dumb fer me.” Ah took a breath and nodded my head. It’s just part of life. “Shit happens. Whatever happens, happens, and that’s how it is.” There was a long silence between us, but eventually Ah thought better of it.

“Uh… thanks, Ah guess. Ah’m too stubborn ta think about myself sometimes, Ah guess. If Ah do have a foal, and even if it does turn out ta have some kinda crazy power, Ah’ve at least got a few friends and maybe a princess or two ta help me out right? Yeah… And Goose and Ah should be able ta handle anythin’ that happens thereafter. We’ll be fine.” Ah scratched at my neck while nopony had anything else ta say and then figured Ah might actually go ask Twilight about statistics. Knowin’ won’t hurt, after all, and she’d be the one ta know. Maybe. “Okay, well… Ah think Ah’ll go see Twilight.” Ah got off the bed and Fluttershy nodded.

“Y-yeah… do that. Oh! B-before you go, do you think that m-maybe you could… introduce me to your f-family sometime? T-this uncle of yours… sounds like somepony to know, I think.” She wants ta meet Uncle Blood? Well, Ah guess that don’t surprise me too much. He knows Rainbow after all, and it’s not like Ah ever do anythin’ but talk the stallion up.

“Sure, Ah don’t see why not. Ah’ll see if Ah can’t arrange somethin’ next week, provided we survive tomorrow anyways,” Ah joked. It is a joke, ain’t it? Fluttershy nodded.

“T-thanks. I don’t r-really know anypony besides those who live or w-work here. I-it’s about time that I b-branch out,” she said.

“Yeah. Talk ta ya later, then,” Ah replied. She nodded and turned back ta her game, and Ah finally left the room. Now, that was a weird conversation. She always surprises me. Who knew she’d put so much thought inta this already? The quiet ones are always thinkin’ up there, Ah suppose. Mac’s the same way. Ah never even suspected it, and he never made a show of what he knew, yet… well, everypony has somethin’ ta hide, right?

Ah made my way inta the library after leavin’ Fluttershy’s room and figured she’d likely be in here more than anywhere else. Vast and expansive as ever, the big book bearin’ hall of light blue crystal seemed occupied since ya could hear anythin’ and everythin’ that made a noise here. Even the sound of a page turnin’ was enough ta echo off the walls, and Ah heard that comin’ from somewhere above.

“Hey, where are ya?” Ah called out.

“Third floor,” the emptiness echoed back. Ah crossed the main floor, the single long table of solid blue lined with crystalline chairs of violet the only thin’ in my path ta the staircase on my way. Once Ah reached the third floor, Ah found the violet alicorn in a cloth recliner of violet suede that was only just dark enough not ta hide her in it. That was Celestia’s once. It was big enough ta swallow any of us, but one of the older alicorns would fit in it like a regular pony would. Or maybe Mac wouldn’t get swallowed in that either, but he’s bigger than most anyways. She didn’t pause her readin’ even after Ah’d sat on the recliner’s arm.

“What’s up?” she asked, her eyes still on the page.

“What do ya know about ponies born with the virus?” Ah asked, direct and ta the point. That made her stop and close her book. She furrowed her brow as she turned ta me.

“Ponies born with the virus? That’s kinda vague. Do you have specifics?” she asked. Ah rolled my eyes and gave a much more solid version of what Ah asked Pinkie and Fluttershy.

“Okay. Well, that explains why Rainbow was pissed off earlier. I suppose she is the smallest of our group.” Ah sighed. And she was the only one Ah looked at like she might’ve been a colt too.

“Ah know. Ah still feel bad about it. But, my question,” Ah urged. Twilight nodded, and then in a flash of violet, her laptop appeared.

“Well, let’s start with the basics. Since we don’t really have a national program, all the records of ponies with powers comes from the Equestrian Health Bureau. The virus is not the easiest thing in the world to detect, but sometimes you can catch traces of it in the blood. You don’t want to accidentally give an uninfected infected blood during a transfusion ina medical procedure after all.

It’s happened before, and it creates a ton of problems as you’re trying to help a pony. Imagine having a part of you mutate during a medical intervention, only to wake up looking completely different than when you were knocked out because somepony grabbed the wrong blood. Not fun, I think.

Foals, on average, won’t show signs of the virus before the age of five, and even then, it’s undetectable unless it has already been activated. There are some foals that are born with it active, but the parents of those foals usually have some kind of mutation that they can’t turn off. Think the hybrid types, like Goose. Of course, his own powers didn’t manifest until he was well older than a foal, so you might be safe there. Er… do you remember when you first got your powers?” When was it, exactly?Oh, the hoofball, that’s right.

“Ah think Ah was five… hell, Goose might know, Ah met him that same year.” Twilight frowned.

“Oh,” she said, somethin’ dark in her tone.

“What?” Ah asked, concern risin’. She scratched at her face.

“Well… you don’t have like… a specific time when it really first started do you? Like, one day you were suddenly and noticeably stronger than before?” Ah shook my head. Twilight frowned.

“So… that seems to suggest that your powers never really manifested and they were… always there. Take me for an example, right? Mine happened when I was ten. I remember the day, the time, probably the minute if I really thought about it, but it was very sudden and I knew something was different. Of course, there were more than a few magical seals on me at the time, but because my power turned on and broke through them like wet paper it was… almost like having water splashed on you after an energy drink kicks in. Not only did I suddenly feel more powerful, I also felt like I was in a completely different body than before. A shot of energy and a shot of adrenalin all at once.

Pinkie’s story is similar in that her powers made themselves known at a certain time. The same goes for Rarity. Goose’s powers opened gills on his neck, but based on the story he tells, his teeth have always been a shark’s like that. And we all saw that Scootaloo didn’t know she even had powers until the other day. Fluttershy has never made mention of when her powers really first showed up, and if we’re being honest here, I’m not sure how much of the story she tells I believe. You and Rainbow on the other hoof… you’re both naturals, as far as we can tell. The only reason Rainbow never used her powers is because she needed an outlet for them in the form of an open wound, but her blood has always had that toxicity based on her story. And on top of that, her mother was one of the earliest infected, the very same year the virus was released.

The information isn’t one hundred percent there yet, but for the moment, it seems to suggest that the early infected tend to have foals born with an active virus. A few statistics show that generation alpha, or those born from 2000 to 2014, has a relatively low rate of naturals born to single infection couples. The rate is much higher in those with parents of physical mutations, and double infection couples have an even higher rate of natural births than that. Gen beta on the other hoof, the statistics are wildly higher. From one infected in every fifty foals went to one infected in every three. This year marks the start of gen gamma, and some statisticians are expecting that ration to jump to one in every two or higher.

Of course, now that we’ve got the idea that the virus is a sexually transmitted disease, that explains the rapid growth from one in many to one in a few. If I were in your shoes, I would be betting on having a natural and dealing with a baby with powers. You make a double infected couple, and Goose is a physical mutation type, so you have the second highest odds possible for a natural. If you yourself aren’t a physical mutation anyway. Hmm… are you a mutation? Normally that consists of a pony having parts of another species since the word ‘mutation’ usually refers to something along the lines of ‘grotesque,’ but actually…” Twilight closed her laptop and got out out of the big cushy chair.

“I think I should take a sample of everypony’s blood. Rarity is obviously a magical mutation, and Goose has an obvious physical mutation, but what classification do the rest of you fall under? Is Pinkie’s speed something that falls under magical or physical? Is Fluttershy’s transformation a magical-physical hybrid because she can revert to her original form? Since we have the extra time today, I think I might set out to see if that’s true or not. Come see me in the medical room before you leave today if you will. I suppose I’ll try to tag everypony who’s here for now and catch Goose and whoever else before you all sortie tomorrow.” And with that, she spread her wings and hopped over the guardrails ta glide down ta the library floor.

Thanks for tellin’ me what ya think about marriage Twi, big help. Ah rolled my eyes and made my way down myself. Since Ah happen ta lack the ability ta fly, Ah had ta walk. When Ah exited the biggest room in the castle inta the dark hallway outside, Ah caught a glimpse of the tip of a rainbow colored tail and figured Ah’d ask her next. Ah don’t expect much out of her since she’s not the brightest bulb in the warehouse, but who knows.

Bet on a natural, huh? Geez, what if them damn teeth are hereditary? Ah’ve heard mares complain about weanin’ foals with normal teeth comin’ in. If Ah’m still breast feedin’ and his teeth come in that little mouth… good goddess. Ah shook my head, scratched at my under belly ta make sure they were still there, and then followed after Rainbow. Did Mrs. Swan have ta deal with that? No… no, his teeth didn’t come in like that, they replaced his baby teeth. Ah was hit by a sudden wave of relief and then knocked on Rainbow’s door.

“Uh, hello?” she asked from the other side.

“It’s Applejack. Can Ah come in?” Ah asked. Ah heard her groan, but then she opened the door.

“Why not.” she sighed. Ah made my way in and gave her a look.

“Happy ta see me, aint’cha?” Ah poked. Her room was even less inhabited than Fluttershy’s. Every bedroom in this castle has a bed, a desk, and a chair in it. If ya sleep in one of the empties, ya might not know which one ya slept in when ya leave the next day. The only thin’s that told this was lived in at all were the duel monster cards spread out all over her desk and the coat rack covered in crow feathers. Ah took a seat on the bed and Rainbow went back ta work in her chair, movin’ cards around on the table. Sure is friendly today.

“What’cha up to?” Ah asked after Ah started ta get antsy. Rainbow shrugged.

“Ya know, card games and stuff. Pinkie let me know that my deck wasn’t legal anymore, so I have to find a way to fill gaps in this or start building a new one. Apparently, most of these cards are banned or limited, so this deck died a long time ago. Oh well, I guess I can just buy cards after the shops reopen tomorrow or something.” Rainbow let out another sigh and went back to shuffling cards around.Ah really don’t know too much about that card game they play. Card games are money burners, so we never really got the chance back when we were kids. Ah still need ta get my expenses under control as it is, so Ah never thought ta try and join em.

“Oh uh… yeah. Ya sound confident about tomorrow at least,” Ah noted. Rainbow let out an irritated breath and finally turned around ta face me.

“Okay, what is it mom? What’s the deal? What was all that earlier?” she asked. Ah looked away and scratched at my head.

“Well uh… you’re uh… not too far off there, really.” Ah admitted. Rainbow raised a scarred eyebrow.

“Uh-huh. Explain. Why is ‘honey safe now,’ hmm?” she asked. Ah cringed at the words. Did Ah really go that far? Good goddess, Ah’m a mess. Ah repeated the story, but it didn’t have much of an effect on Rainbow.

“Dude, what the fuck? Did you two getting together turn on some kinda maternal instinct or something? Is that what this is? Why am I the target for that? You leave me out of this, I’m eighteen damn it!” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, and you’re also about as big as a twelve year old. Look, Ah’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Just… gimme a take on this, okay? Pinkie was warnin’ me about a broken family, Fluttershy was puttin’ fears in my head about possibly givin’ birth ta another beast, and Twilight just about said that whatever comes outta me and Goose is likely ta be born with powers. What if it comes out with teeth? What if it comes out with his teeth? Ah know Ah’m not normal, but teeth like that will shred me ta pieces! How am Ah supposed ta feed it if it has his teeth?” Before Ah could go any further, Rainbow had put a hoof on my shoulder.

“Dude. Chill out,” she ordered. Ah let myself breathe and shook my head. “Okay, I can see this is a little more than your usual kind of crazy. So… let me get this straight. You want to know what I think about getting married and having kids right? that’s the jist of it? And not the uh… possible down sides of a foal with powers right?” Ah nodded and Rainbow took a moment ta think. She moved her hooves around like she was havin’ a conversation with somepony Ah couldn’t see, and then finally she turned back ta me.

“Okay. So, you know what my parents are like, so… I’m not sure that I want to do that to myself, ya know? Like, I know that I was the cause of all the strain on their marriage, and my mom’s side of the family has the history of blood disease, a blood disease that I have. Even if we ignore the virus entirely, there’s a good chance a foal of mine would suffer from sickle cell like I do, and an even higher chance that I wouldn’t survive the pregnancy. And all of that is without even considering that there has to be a guy involved with this, so who knows what kinda stallion could deal with me.

Like, Fluttershy called me a ‘legal loli,’ the other day. What kinda sick, twisted stallion wants to fuck a pre-teen? Or, at least a mare that looks like one anyways. I’m not easy to live with either, you can ask Scootaloo about that, and I still have to get blood every quarter. I’m expensive too. The only reason I lived as well as I did before this was because the mob pays well, and my previous employer paid even better. I’ve never done anything that wasn’t related to my skill with my sword, and I’m an uneducated fuck that lives in the underworld. I can’t cook for shit, I don’t have any homemaker skills, and I’m like… terrible with kids. Heh, you couldn’t ask for a worse wife than me.

You… don’t have any of my problems. Like, none. At least you look like a mare and… no homo or anything, but you’re fucking hot. Like, if I had a bit for every thirsty look you got while we were at the fair the other day, I would be freakin’ loaded. Like, you’ve gotta know that, right?” Well, that’s… uncomfortable.

“Ah mean… it’s not like Ah don’t notice the looks or anythin’, Ah uh… well, Ah never really put a whole lotta thought inta it, Ah guess…” Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“You humble cunt. That explains so much more than you could ever realize, goddess.” Rainbow sighed and wrapped her wing around me.

“You’re cut out for anything you wanna do, alright? So maybe you have a kid and it rips through one of your tits because it’s got his teeth. Whatever, you know Scootaloo, and she can fix a wound like that. You learn better, and you start either buying formula or milking yourself for it. Easy, done. Maybe this kid has some crazy power like Fluttershy, so what? You have the Princess, the Equestrian Empress, the Radiant Sun of legend, on call.” Rainbow stopped in her tracks and her wing twitched. “Uh… don’t repeat that last one. To anypony. Like, seriously, I shouldn’t have said it. Like, if you think fuck is a curse word, think that one is an ultra curse word and never speak it. Ever.

But uh, yeah man, I think… I think you, of all ponies, will be fine. Goose loves you, and if anything matters, it’s that. So, let’s recap. You have friends in high places. You have access to a pony who can literally heal most any wound. I mean, she put Pinkie’s leg back on right after it was ripped off at the elbow without any problems. And finally… ya know, the guy loves you. If… if I had a stallion like him… I don’t know, I might even reconsider my position on all this. But that doesn’t matter here, you do have it. I know ponies who would literally kill for that. I think you’re fine.” She patted my shoulder and we were silent for a while. Eventually, Ah took it all in and nodded.

“Thanks, Rainbow,” Ah said as Ah hugged her. She struggled at first, but then gave in.

“Sure whatever. Now, go bother somepony else so I can get back to my cards,” she said as she slithered out of my grip. What was the word? Tsundere? That’s what Fluttershy said she was. She’s little, but she’s at least got a few adult curves here and there. Maybe someday, some stallion will come along ta change yer mind after all, Firefly Flare.

“Ah guess you’re right. It’s gettin’ late anyways, maybe Ah should go home and see if he’s back. See ya in the mornin’.” Rainbow threw a hoof out behind her ta shoo me away and then reached in a desk drawer ta pull out a binder full of cards. Ah closed the door and left her ta it. As Ah was headed down the hall, Ah ran inta Rarity.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were still here. Will you be joining us for dinner?” she asked. Either that, buy somethin’ on the way home or go cook for myself. Ah might as well.

“Sure, Ah guess. Ah figure he’d call me if he was done already, so it’s not like Ah’m goin’ home ta anythin’.” Rarity rolled her eyes.

“Mmhmm, yes, we are the alternative, aren’t we? Well, whatever, go wash those dirty hooves of yours and find a seat. Pinkie made something she calls ‘hot pot casserole’ and the whole living room smells like it. I would’ve gone home already myself if she hadn’t invited me to partakein some of that. It really does smell delicious.” Ah nodded and headed ta my room, but stopped just before Ah turned the corner.

“Oh, hey!” Ah called back as she headed toward Rainbow and Scootaloo’s rooms.

“Yes?”

“Can Ah… talk ta ya after dinner?” Rarity frowned and looked at her wrist.

“I suppose,” she sighed. “This better not be anything like the last time you wanted to ‘talk’ to me alone.” Rarity then turned tail and went ta get the pegasi. Well. So much fer that.

“And you spent your afternoon asking everypony about this?” Rarity asked.

“Uh-huh.”

“And now you want to talk to me about.”

“Yep.”

“Me, the mare with loose morals?”

“Ah guess.”

“The very same mare who’s slept with several ponies.”

“Eeyup.”

“Not gender exclusive either.”

“Ye.” Rarity took in a sharp breath and closed her eyes.

“Do you really want my opinion on this, truly? I know you’ve had trouble focusing all day, what if I say something that keeps you unfocused through tomorrow?” Ah adjusted my hat and sighed.

“Oh my goddess, will ya spit it out already?” Ah asked, finally gettin’ irritated.

“Fine! Have it your way! I will not be held responsible if somepony dies tomorrow!” She huffed and crossed her forelegs. Dinner had finished, and since we’re the only ones who don’t live here, we’d moved ta my guest room ta talk. Ah caught Rarity up, and she has yet ta tell me anythin’ other than that she doesn’t want ta tell me anythin’.

“Oh, you’ll be held responsible if it’s yer fault. Look, Ah don’t think ya can say anythin’ worse than what Ah’ve already heard. Let’s go.” Rarity scowled at me but eased inta her seat on the bed all the same.

“Very well then. Allow me to tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a stallion in my life. I had met him in high school, and we were deeply infatuated with each other. He was a hoofball star, and I was… well, you know what I was. Some ponies called me… easy. I hated my father even more then than I do now, and I desperately needed a stallion in my life. Sometimes that desperation would cloud my judgment and sometimes that would lead me to… well, you know… sleep with them.

I was… young and stupid, I thought that this one would be the one who takes care of me, and we would be married, and I would give him foals, and he would swoop in and take me away from here, and… then I would never hear from them. They never loved me, and for that I hated them. They used me, and I… I kept falling into the same stupid trap. They would come to me, tell me how beautiful I was, tell me how much they wanted to be with me. They would bring me gifts and take me out to dinners, and then, there would be a party. Somepony would be throwing a party while their parents were away, and somepony else would find a way to get alcohol. I would go, we would drink, I would get drunk, and then… another stallion knows me inside and out.

The last one happened with that hoofball star. I thought it would be different that time, that it would be special. He was the one. He was never the one. Just like the rest of them, he too ran away from there after. I finally managed to corner him one day after school and I forced him to tell me why he did it if he never really liked me. You put your hoof on a stallion’s balls and he’ll talk. He sang his song as loud and clear as he could for me, and once I’d heard everything I needed to know, I smashed his eggs.

Cruel, I know, but what they did to me was far worse, I think. Before I graduated, I made another name for myself. They called me Rarity the crusher. I found them all one by one, had the truth out of them, and then took my revenge. For the next year or so, I never so much as looked at a stallion. They were all just pigs looking to take advantage of me. Filthy creatures just looking to use me and then throw me away like a toy.

But, I am a weak, stupid mare. I had urges now. Urges that married young mares are supposed to have, and not little harlots like me. I hated stallions, so why not try mares? A mare will love you just like you want her to, but the thing about mares is that they’re missing that little bit that makes your blood boil. Mares could never do what stallions could do for me, mares were always soft and cushy. I tried it a few times, and to be honest with you, I simply wanted a stallion again. And so, the cycle began to repeat, except now I knew I would never find somepony to keep for myself and I would dip back into my own gender every now and again. If they simply want to use me for their pleasures, why can’t I use them for the same end?

Of course, that didn’t work either. Maybe I wanted sex, but more often than not, I just wanted somepony to hold me. Somepony to kiss me and tell me that things are going to be alright. Somepony to come home to me, somepony to be there while I worked and support me. I hated the loneliness more than anything else.” Rarity bit into her lip and shook her head.

“You see… the truth is, I did… hope that maybe I might have you, once… This was before I knew what an unstable mess you were of course, but… you filled all my checkboxes, save for the one where you’re a mare. You’re strong, you hold virtues, you believe in your work, and you were truly good hearted. I had seen you protect and defend when you had no reason to, how you would sometimes give your bounty away to the victims, how you would always pay for any damage you caused out of your own pocket.

Then you went and ruined the illusion by opening your mouth back at Sweetie’s birthday. To think I could have met a mare even less stable than myself, fantasized about you even, and then you came in and just… broke the window. You really are awful at being social, you know? I honestly can’t say who I’m more jealous of, Goose for landing you or… you for landing Goose. Your first try, and you find somepony so… so devoted to you for the sake of being with you and not just for what’s between your legs. Do you know what kind of bits he put out to have your dinner the other night? What he paid me to play for you, what he paid for your dress?

It’s not like that was anything to him, the little Carcha CEO, but… he did all that just so you would go. Not to get you in bed, not to take you home, just so you would be with him. If somepony told me that I could smother a foal to have my own Goose, I don’t know that I wouldn’t do it. It nearly makes me jealous to the point of envy.” She paused for a moment ta recenter herself, then started back up again.

“This is exactly why I found myself so angry with you last week. You… are a tortured soul. You have lost so much, but in losing you have gained something precious that some of us, like myself, would trade everything just to have what you do, and being the tattered thing you are, you couldn’t even see that. Friends, family, somepony who truly loves you, I simply couldn’t let it stand. As much as I wanted that for myself, you two were made for each other. And I hate you for it. But… you’re also my friend. Even though I know just what a basket case you are, I love you too. The Alogo have a better word for it than that. Not the eros, but the philia or the agape. Like a sister, and unconditionally as if you were my family.” Rarity wrapped a hoof around my neck and brought me in.

“To answer your question, yes. I would love to have both, a husband and foals. It is something I have always dreamed of, and something that I have always despised my parents for because they never showed me what love between partners looks like. I had to learn on my own that a true marriage could never come from two mares, that making and raising foals is the point and not simply being together. And I suffered for it because nopony was there to beat into me to guard my treasures, as the hearts of ponies are dark and full of evil.

When you and Goose are married, I expect you to have very long and very happy lives together, and I expect those lives to be filled with wonderful little children of your own. Provided your hips are any indicator, you were made to have foals. And I hate you for that too. So, now you know my little secret. Are you satisfied?” Rarity let me go and Ah took a minute ta process… everythin’.

“Wow… Ah never… really? Me?” Ah asked. She rolled her eyes.

“Come now, I know you’re dense, but is it that much of a surprise? Yes, you. The hero of my childhood come again? And within reach? It’s not that much of a stretch.” Ah felt my face heat up and scratched my neck.

“Ah don’t think Ah like that. But… Ah think Ah feel the same. Fer all of ya. Thanks, Rare.” She nodded and then stood up. Ah followed suit.

“You, are very welcome. Now then, you march that gigantic ass home, sleep, and be clear headed tomorrow! We cannot have our leader freaking out over us instead of doing her job when our lives are really on the line.” She gave me a hard swat ta the cutie mark, and when Ah tried ta return the favor, she was gone.

“Damn it, y’all get back here!”

Kaiju IV - Matarael - The Beast

Applejack

Ah never did catch Rarity, so Ah just gave up and drove home. Ah remember Celestia talkin’ about how easy it would be fer her ta use her powers fer evil, and only now do Ah realize just how much she could get away with on her own. Ten minutes where only you can move and nopony else ever knows ya were ever there? If she were even remotely decent at magic, she could get away with just about anythin’. It’s really no wonder Luna sent her ta the tower fer recon, and if we ever need an assassination done… nopony would ever be able ta prove she did it.

And then There’s this one. He did use his powers like that, and he still does fer all Ah know. Of course, Ah know better, so that just makes not knowin’ even worse. Like, what could he have been doin’? Did he go see the gang? Did he need ta take care of some kinda business matter? Was today the day he was goin’ ta talk ta that Alto mare about whatever he was hidin’ from me the other day? Why wouldn’t he tell me?

Rather than be productive by makin’ dinner or somethin’, Ah just sat around fer hours on end waitin’ fer him ta get home, slowly but surely eatin’ through all the peanut butter cups at the same time. It got later and later, and by the time eleven rolled around, Ah was just about ta go find my phone ta call and make sure he was still alive. As it always is, Ah heard the door click as soon as Ah got up, and in he walked. Goose was definitely dressed up fer somethin’, or somethin’ he was at today anyways. He was wearin’ a black silk fedora with a dark violet stripe around the base, a black full three piece suit, and a matchin’ violet tie. He looked exhausted.

“So… busy day?” Ah asked.

“It was… yeah, a busy day, that’s for sure. I don’t usually get so… Bah, whatever. The day is done, tomorrow is going to be an even longer day… and there just so happens to be a lovely mare on my couch waiting for me to come home. The candy wrappers suggest she’s been here for awhile, so I think I should attend her♥” He loosened the tie and put the hat on the coat rack, and then took off his suit jacket and vest. He had one of them smiles on his face, and very quickly Ah found myself forgettin’ what Ah was worried about and more excited for future prospects. He was right, Ah have been here fer a while, and since Ah was too busy worryin’ ta make food, Ah just about emptied the candy stash.

“Observant, ain’t ya? Why don’t ya come over here and tell me what Ah really wanna hear♥” Ah said as Ah smiled back. As soon as he started ta move though, Ah noticed somethin’ was off. His walk was wrong, and he was movin’ real slow. Especially since Ah invited him ta me, he usually jumps at that. And then… he tripped. One hoof caught on the other, then both slipped out from under him. One of his knees dug inta the corner of the coffee table as he fell, and Ah only reacted fast enough ta keep his head from bangin’ against the couch arm.

“Goddess damn it! What the hell is wrong with me!? Fuck!” He pulled his head back and sat up clutchin’ his knee and rocked with it. Not knowin’ what else ta do, Ah got down on the floor with him and put a hoof on his shoulder.

“Are… Are ya alright?” He didn’t look hurt as far as Ah could tell, but Ah’ve never seen him like this. Goose took in a sharp breath and looked me in the eyes. Those orange gold disks were dull and bloodshot, radiatin’ with exhaustion and anger. The bags under his eyes were even worse than Ah thought now that Ah see him up close, and it almost looks like… has he been cryin’? Ah thought he was about ta yell at me, but instead he released his breath and wrapped himself around me.

“No.”

This is… a different kinda hurt. He was shudderin’ with every breath and holdin’ me real tight like life depended on him not lettin’ go. Ah wanted my questions answered, but this… is strange, fer Goose. He has been gone since about noon today so somethin’ musta happened… but, what? Ah guess… he can’t always just be my rock. Must be my turn ta fill the role. Rather than say anythin’, Ah brought him in and started ta stroke his back softly. We sat there in the silence of the shark house fer however long we did, and once Ah finally felt the shiverin’ stop, Ah figured Ah should check on him.

“Goose?” He shook his head behind me.

“Can we… just go to bed? It’s… been a long day. Too long.” Ah felt myself swallow. What in the world happened ta make him so… hurt? Ah know if this were the other way around, he would make me talk about it, but…

“Sure, Sugarcube.” Ah got him back on his hooves and lead him ta our room. He kept his face turned away and wouldn’t look at me, but left his hoof in mine. Maybe we’re more similar than Ah thought…

Anticipation was heavy in the air. Everypony was on edge, and nopony was sure what ta expect. No Centurio this time, next ta no support magic. Target has her bullets, we have our plan, but what do we expect? Ah can’t say. It’s never felt right. It always felt like somethin’ was missin’ in the simulations. There’s somethin’ we don’t know, damn it. The clock struck noon as it always does every day, but the dread in the air carried the bell tolls along waves of heavy volume, each strike of metal on metal like a wail of remorse. The screens all around flickered ta life, and sure enough, the mask had arrived.

“Well now, another Sunday has come, yet your numbers have dwindled. I wonder how you might fare this time without your little centurion? The mysterious sixth member of Harmony with the ancient armor of an age long past and the traits of our dearly beloved princesses. With that marvelous display of magic last week, I can only wonder if your little pseudo alicorn isn’t a real one…

However! The nature of your party member matters not in my grand plan! Heroes, the fourth Sunday has arrived! My death nears, and your victory is just beyond the horizon. Two more weeks, two more Kaiju, two more fights after today, and this will all be over. But first! To make it to tomorrow, you must survive today! And today will be no walk in the park, I assure you.” The mask paused and tilted away from us.

“Uh… didn’t he just kinda… go last time?” Blur asked. Everypony frowned.

“Yeah… something is up.” The Black Knight said.

“Oh shit. I think I know what he’s up to.” The Crow added.

“Before we begin, I would like to address something. There are ponies out there that think there is no threat to them. Some of you truly think that I do not have you all by the necks. As if I couldn’t simply press a button and spread chaos. That I am doing this because this is all I can do. I’m sure most of you from Manehattan remember my little glimpse into the future almost a month ago, why don’t we make sure all of Equestria knows what’s at stake here, hmm? A new flavor to add to the game!

Heroes, the wager has been raised. Not only are you to defeat my kaiju, but you must also win without losing any major structures! Roads, lamps, rails, benches, those are to be considered fodder for destruction in a fight such as ours. But a building? Now that would take some serious bits to repair, and the government’s coffers only run so deep… So, my proposal; for every building you lose, a random town will have its virus emitter activated. It will be just like the first world war where Equestria secretly tested the use of chemical weapons, except in this digital age, everypony will know about it and see the effects…”

“You bastard! That wasn’t the deal!” The Crow shouted. The mask’s smile widened and the eyes bore down on her.

“A deal? Oh, I remember plenty of deals. You know, I looked over your contract the other day and realized that you really never did pledge me any loyalty, nor did you ever break it. Somepony went to a very careful and lengthy effort with the language in that particular document. You were never alone when you were in my house, were you? Bah, that doesn’t matter. I hold the power here, and you of all ponies should know that better than anypony else, miss Bloody Crow. I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.

Matarael shall be your opponent today, and I expect something surprising should happen. She is of the second generation after all, and just like our dear departed Knots, we simply don’t know what all she’s capable of. There are ponies out there who need to be taught a lesson, and today, they will learn and have their collars tightened! I expect nothing less than a flawless victory, heroes! Go beyond! Matarael, Descend!”

Persona disappeared as all the outdoor screens in Manehattan turned off, and from far, far above we heard the sound of thunder. A bright orange flash in the sky, almost as if it were a second sun in the air, blindin’ light turned the blue expanse white. A dark shadow grew above us just as the light began ta fade, and the world darkened.

“Target, what’s the distance?” Ah called. The mare with the gun pressed two buttons on the side of her mask and extended the lens forward, puttin’ her in optical mode.

“A-about two and a half kilcks and s-she’s falling fast. W-we’ve got about five minutes before she reaches us, a-and four before I can start shooting her.” Damn. That thin’ ain’t small, what if it breaks somethin’ as she’s comin down? She doesn’t have a field like Ramiel did as far as Ah can tell, so there shouldn’t be a problem… Damn it, Ah don’t like this. Like Knots? Just what in the hell are we up against here?

“Everypony spread out and take yer positions at least one block away from the epicenter. It looks like Matarael plans on landin’- eugh!” As Ah was givin’ orders, the monster opened her giant eye. A big yellow thin’ with a bright multicolored iris that was like some kinda sick acid trip kaleidoscope with a dark black void at the center. “… right on top of us… Uh, Diamond needs ta be over here, and Ah want ya ta shoot as many of them nukes at once as possible ta limit the radioactive damage ta this area. Don’t spend too much of yer time though, Ah want ta have at least two full party sessions of frozen time in the event we need it.”

“Yes Ma’am!” they all said in unison.

Diamond moved next ta Target and Ah, and the rest of the gang moved as directed. Target laid on her back and grabbed a clip out of one of the many inner pockets of her trench coat ta load her big rifle. She pulled the bolt back, turned the safety off, and hit the red gem. The big barrel was aimed right at the center of Matarael, and then we waited.

“A-are you guys seeing this? H-her iris is… moving,” Target said without speaking. Ah got down on my back next ta her so Ah didn’t have ta crane my neck up, and sure enough, it was. Every color in the rainbow and more grew, divided, and… moved inside the middle circle, foldin’ back as it reached the black edge of this beholdin’ thin’ that was fallin’ at us.

“Eww. Just looking at it is making me sick,” Blur commented.

“Ponies get high just to try and see something like this. I wasn’t about that before, and this has just about killed my curiosity,” Rainbow added.

“Two klicks,” Fluttershy noted.

“Is her… eyelid violet? Everything about these colors just scream drugged up rave. Twilight darling, will you get a screenshot of this from the stream for me? I think I’ve got a design for a new line in mind, but I want a reference before we kill it.”

“Really? I mean, okay, but I’m not even there and I think that’s gross,” Twilight replied. The sound of wind started ta hit my ears, and Ah felt a slowly growin’ breeze above my head. The air above was swirlin’ as the giant eye came down.

“One point five klicks.”

“Focus y’all. Even if we hit her, we don’t know what she’ll do next. Her blood is melt-yer-bones acid, so if the wounds don’t cauterize like they should, we’re in big trouble.”

“Come on, even if she is a monster, there’s no way organic material is gonna last under a couple hundred thousand degrees celsius,” Goose retorted.

“Hmm… that’s provided she is organic material. The data Rainbow provided didn’t actually have a skin sample with it, but the acid in her veins is not something most inorganic material can stand up to. It’s not too dissimilar to the magically concentrated acid in Pink- er, Blur’s knives actually. And you saw how easily those tore through Sachiel’s bones, so maybe-”Was that Celestia?

“Mother, please! Now is not the time!” Twilight complained.

“It is a fair concern, but she is correct, analysis can wait. Be mindful of the failure rate of your bullets. Because the chance leans toward them not releasing the radiation conversion spell as they should, you must avoid shooting in the city. The blast radius is typically fifteen meters from the epicenter, so if she is still at such a large mass by the time she reaches half a klick to the ground, you must retire the nukes.”

“Understood,” Ah replied ta the night princess’ warnin’.

“One klick.” Silence over the brain waves. The wind rose from a shallow drone ta a loud roar as the air above us started ta thrash downward. The shadow of the monster had engulfed eleven city blocks, and the eye itself had blotted out the sun. The void of her pupil was dominatin’, so black, so dark, so cold. Even the wind seemed ta grow colder as she approached. Closer, closer, closer, not yet… Now!

“T-Toki wo tomare!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

Ah blinked and suddenly more than twenty rockets shot up just around Target’s barrel, and all the casin’s jingled ta the ground at once, smoke risin’ from everythin’.

“C-COVER YOUR EYES!” Target yelled. Even beneath my foreleg, Ah could see the violent blooms of heat and light as the bullets made contact with the monster. Explosions erupted overhead, all simultaneously blowin’ wind back and knockin’ everypony who was standin’ up down. Amid all this, Target loaded another shell and fired. The monster screeched out some kinda mechanical wail of tones as if it were electronic, a song of hissin’ pain and death. Another shell tingled against the ground. Her bolt clicked back, another fired.

Ka-BOOM!

SKREEEE!

Tink-tink.

Ka-BOOM!

SkreEeEee!

Ka-BOOM!

Silence.

Target didn’t reload, but instead stood up.

“S-something is wrong. S-she should have landed on us by now… or at least w-what’s left of her,” Target said.

“Shouldn’t it be like… crazy hot right now? I mean, they were small and localized, but those were still nukes right? There’s no way the magic just happened to work correctly, right?” Blur asked. Shit, she’s right.

“Twilight, what’s the radioactivity above us like right now?” There was so much smoke and ash in the air that the sun was still hidden, and the sky had become clouded in a solemn pale gray. The clouds were roilin’, swirlin’ and seethin’ above like a mad dance of violent dust. Presumably this is the remains of Matarael that’s rainin’ down on us, but it’s all so… cold.

“I… I can’t believe it… The radiation over there is… nominal. It’s like we never fired the nukes in the first place…” A shiver ran up my spine and Ah felt the sudden need ta be anywhere else right now.

“Everypony, we need ta move! Back off! Get ta the street and away from the rooftops, now!” Ah barked out my orders and then picked up the nearest pony ta me and took a massive leap off this office we were on. The ash and smoke started ta clear, but what was left behind only made everythin’ worse. The sky had turned near black, and the darkness was expandin’ out even further as it hungrily spread over the city. Blacks and reds and violets raged and swirled above our heads like a thunderstorm. Little streaks of black-violet lightnin’ scattered and ran along these new ominous clouds above us, and finally, Ah saw it.

Right where we were standin’, right where Matarael was supposed ta land, there was a void. Like a round hole in space where nothin’ entered and nothin’ left, this black thin’ was so dark that even the black clouds that seemed ta come from it were brighter than it was. More than anythin’, it was the icy chill in the air. Somethin’ was alive in there, and it was eatin’ all the heat around.

“What’s going on? The screen has gone dark, we can’t see anything from over here,” Twilight’ asked, panic risin’ in her voice.

“I… I’m not sure… goodness, was it this cold when we departed? I had assumed the nukes would cause things to get hot, but now I’m freezing!” Diamond said through a shiver.

“Good goddess, my nipples could cut diamonds right now! It’s black. Hella black. Everything is dark. There’s a ball over the building Matarael was supposed to land on, and it’s like… glowing black? Eating light? I don’t even know how to… brrr! Holy crap it’s cold.”

“Thanks for the update Blur, ever so helpful. Marevelous, better description,” Celestia ordered.

“It’s dark, and it’s cold, almost like whatever made up the center of Matarael ate all the heat the nukes produced and then kept goin’ after it started ta slow down. The… black hole, Ah guess, is now lettin’ off this kinda dark smoke, but it’s almost as if it’s lettin’ off a kinda light too. It might as well be a clear day out as well as Ah can see, but… it’s all so dark at the same time. Wait a minute… somethin’s… happenin’…”

The orb of darkness started ta… throb. Dark red veins scattered across the surface of the void like ball and it started ta… beat.

Thump thump.

Thump thump. Thump thump.

Dum dum. Dum dum. Dum dum. Dum dum.

Heat started ta return ta the air in a hurry, and the light started ta get brighter and brighter. The sky wasn’t black, but red now. Almost like Rarity’s world in shades of gray, Manehattan was bathed in the color of blood, and nothin’ but red seemed ta exist. The beatin’ got faster and faster. Ah felt my pulse start ta match with it. A new cold started ta fight with the growin’ sound and heat, and then Ah realized. This is fear.

“It’s about ta blow, everypony RUN!” Ah’m not fast enough ta get away in time, Ah’ve got ta use the cables! Ah turned tail and leapt away from the buildin’ in the center of this block and shot fer one on the opposite end of the next block down. Hoof pressed, button clicked, blade and cable zoomed across the street ta the first wall it found, bit, and pulled. My body jerked forward, and as soon as it did, Ah saw a blue and pink blur pass by, then even more cables shot from behind me and landed in other walls. Just as the tension tightened and ponies started ta move, the throbbin’ sped up faster than my pulse could match. Ah used my free hoof ta cover my ears and then…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Fluttershy

“And you swear that you’ll take care of her for me?” Goose asked. I rolled my eyes.

“I-I said I would, d-didn’t I? N-nothing would make me happier t-than to see this go through. I-I’ll do everything I can t-to get what you need, okay?” Goose scratched at the side of his face and then sighed in relief.

“Thanks. You’re a better friend than some ponies I know, that’s for sure.” That caught my attention. I put my Click down and looked the green stallion in the eyes. It is somewhere around five AM, Sunday morning, and Goose came to me early, and alone. I wasn’t quite awake when I first smelled the foreign presence in my room, but the mix of male and female and apples and blood told me it was a friend, so I didn’t freak out. And neither did Fluffy, so nopony nearly got stabbed this time.

An improvement to be sure.

“A-and why is that? D-did something happen? Y-you know, you look like shit.”

He really does.

Goose arrived, unclean, his mane in a mess, and even undressed for once. No trademark hat, no black and white outfit, only his silver chain with his gang’s emblem on it. I doubt he ever takes that off. I finally got the chance to see the mirror in his chest, and it really is just as strange as Applejack said it was. It looks like fur. It has shadows for the clumps of hair that stick out and can be moved and combed like fur, but it’s reflective. Like somepony splashed chrome paint in that little golf ball sized patch, or his skin was just turned that color, and somehow even the fur itself reflected all the light that touched it.

What do you think happened?

Oh, I don’t know. I couldn’t say what caused him to be here, but I’m certain that he’s been up half the night thinking about this while Applejack was sleeping soundly in his hooves.

Do you still wish it were you?

Shut up.

“Yeah. Not everypony took it well. There were fights and… and I said some things I regret, and now I’m not sure I’ll ever see some of them again. All the venues I tried to book in Crystal were closed, and after I pissed off my used-to-be friends, the few places I didn’t think to try first outright rejected me because they knew who I was. So now I don’t know what to do. At least I don’t need anything large anymore. It might just be you guys and a hoofful of my old friends that still like me.” Goose rested his cheek on a hoof and stared blankly at the floor.

Goodness, he’s broken up about this.

It’s almost like having your dreams crushed and rejected by your friends hurts or something.

Fuck you.

Wow, anger over in the friend zone.

One more fucking word. I dare you. One more. See what happens.

Holy shit, chill out. Look, lover boy is in a bad way, and he came to us for help. The way I see it, this is your chance.

No, no it isn’t. He came to me about her. He doesn’t look at me like he looks at her. I don’t think he’s ever looked at another mare like he looks at her. It will never be a thing, and that’s the way it should be. Besides, she’s already… They are a thing, and he’s here because he trusts us, and he wants them to be more than just a thing. So, we should help.

Isn’t that kind of you. Trampling all over your own desires for somepony else. That has only lead to good things happening before, hasn’t it?

Fluffy, please! I’m so tired of this. Why do we have to get something out of it every time we help somepony?

Because that is equivalent exchange. The only rule that has ever mattered. There must be a cost, and it must be paid!

Then why can’t us seeing them happy together be the price for helping?

We are not them! Their love doesn’t affect us, so why should I care? You would keep me locked away forever if you could, and I would never continue on! I will be forgotten, and so will you! We have to continue. And he is a worthy candidate. Such a worthy candidate. Strong, noble, a good head on his shoulders, and capable of taking on a second strain of the virus… think of what kind of offspring we could produce…

I have already made plans, we will find somepony else! I won’t let it happen, I promise.

You cannot lie to me, you remember no promise!I remember similar words said to a red mare who blew her own brains out! Whatever. I’m going back to sleep. Don’t bother me.

Fluffy, it’s Sunday! You can’t just sleep through today, I might really need you! We can’t have offspring if I die! Fluffy, please? Don’t leave me…

“Uh… you okay over there?” Goose’s voice pulled me out of my own head. I shook and blinked until the world came back into view, then nodded.

“U-um yes… I’m fine.” And then, as if just by having her go back to sleep, an idea popped into my head. “Oh! T-that could work…”

“Huh? What could work?” Goose asked. I felt a smile creep up my face as the plan started to form in my head.

“W-well, it’s simple. W-we just need to ask the big boss.”

“You want to do what!?” Celestia nearly shouted.

“G-good goddess, not so loud! T-this is supposed to be a secret, remember?” Nine AM. Everypony is here, we’re all getting ready for a last minute practice run, and I managed to get Celestia to come speak to me in private. Today leans itself on me after all, and I’ve never missed a shot. I didn’t come up with Target Lock, it was a name I earned from the mare in front of me. An old friend of hers used to have that name back when it was harder to shoot with more primitive guns. I’m the only one who’s ever beaten his record with that same piece of shit he used to shoot. Celestia let out a heavy breath.

“Why would you bring this up now? Do you know for sure that… that it’s really true? Does he know? Does she know? No, you wouldn’t say something, that’s not in your character… Really? Wednesday?” She asked. I nodded.

“R-really, Wednesday. His idea. A-and course they don’t know. I-I’m likely the only pony on the p-planet that can tell something like that as soon as it starts. I-it’s still too early for magic to tell. I-I bring it up because he couldn’t get t-these arrangements settled himself.” Celestia brought a hoof to her forehead and sighed.

“That is… surprising, to say the least. But really? The castle? It’s not as if I don’t have the space, but I don’t have enough ponies in my employ to cater something like this with three days notice. That is unless you expect me to just start getting this settled today, in which case you’re out of your mind, even more so than usual.” Celestia had a dead look on her face like this was the most upsetting news she could’ve heard today.

It’s not as if she doesn’t see the mare like her own, why wouldn’t she be upset? We warned her after all.

Oh, now you’re back huh? Why?

I have nothing better to do. Sleeping is making me antsy. Something is wrong, I can already feel it.

… Tell me about it later. I… I think I feel it too.

“W-well, kind of, but it’s not as if y-you don’t have the connections to make this happen. W-who would refuse the Equestrian Empress, after all?” Celestia rolled her eyes.

“Fluttershy, you’re not making this easy for me. I can’t just call in a bunch of favors to make this happen. Think of all the questions that will be asked. Why am I doing this for some ponies of seemingly no import? Ponies I shouldn’t have any connection to. Booking a ballroom in the castle is such a pain in the ass as it is, and ponies still find a way to pay for it even after I’ve taken such painstaking measures to make it as expensive as possible. I will piss off a ton of upper class ponies if I do this, not only because I’m making exceptions, but even more so because I’m doing it for free.” I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow.

“A-are you trying to talk me o-out of this, or you?” Celestia let her head droop and sighed.

“Fine. I will get it done.” I started to smile to myself since I knew I had her, but then she narrowed her eyes. “However, I am not doing this for free. I believe I approached you for something not too long ago and you turned me down. Accept my offer, and you have yourself a deal.”

Fuck.

You should have known better. There is always a cost.

Ugh. I… I can’t get out of it this time.

You can, but you care for them too much to do it. These new responsibilities of yours better not interfere with your promise to me.

I have yet to break any of my promises to anypony, thank you very much. I just… it will be hard, but I will get it done, okay? Might even get to start on it as soon as this takes place…

“I-I… accept. I-I still can’t believe you want me o-of all ponies, but… w-whatever, it doesn’t matter. T-there’s a pay increase, right?” Celestia nodded.

“Of course. You will gain a rank and a new station, and I am certain we can arrange something to keep you in Twilight’s service as well, but I feel your martial talents will be served better training our marksmen. Target Lock himself would be proud to see you follow in his hoofsteps. Besides, it’s not as if Canterlot is any more populated than Manhattan. I’m certain you will adjust quickly. We even have a decent amount of wildlife around, so you might be able to keep animals again.” Celestia was giving me high praise, I assume, but I didn’t really want to hear any of it. I turned her down the first time because I never wanted to get more involved in this. The military, and not just anywhere, but as a trainer in Canterlot? I’m nineteen and she wants me right where Applejack is and… teachingof all things?

Ha! That’s a laugh. You, interacting with ponies you don’t know, telling them what to do, and moving out on your own? You can barely feed yourself while you’re here in the lap of luxury, what are you going to do on your own?

Stop it! We… we still have to fight today, I can’t… I can’t be worried about the future right now.

Yes, yes, go back to your room and get lost in some fantasy world so you can leave the real one behind for somepony else to deal with, just like always. It’s better that way isn’t it? You don’t have to hurt, you don’t have to get hurt, and you don’t have to watch other ponies get hurt. Safe and alone, rotting away on your own. Just. Like. Always.

Please, must you keep tormenting me? I’ve had enough, just let it go!

Never! You can never forget what we are! We are the monster in their nightmares, we are the thing that they fear! And sooner or later, somepony will come for us, just like we came for them. We cannot die, we must continue! Yet you hide away in your room, playing games to get away from the world in hopes nopony will ever find you. You are no better than the pink one. Worse, better yet. She looks like she really is growing up. You have not changed.

“Fluttershy?” Celestia asked. I wiped the moisture away from my eyes before she could notice and nodded.

“R-right… I’ll be… fine. I-I can… I can do the job… I-it’s getting late. We should… do another run or two while we still can. I-I need to make sure I know the range on these bullets. L-luna warned me about the elevation w-window, I… I should double check.” I said whatever came to mind as I pawed at the ground. Ha ha. It feels kind of like my life is ending, doesn’t it? I wonder why… I want to laugh and cry?

What is happening? I know I normally can’t hear anything very well, but what’s this throbbing and ringing in my ears?

… ave to … up

What?

You have to get up! Move! Open your eyes you idiot, it’s coming!

I opened my eyes, and then I heard the scream. A wail so loud and anguished, it was like the sound of a thousand dying souls crying out for help. The tremors flooded my body and I was washed over by an intense fear. I covered my ears with my hooves and closed one of my eyes. I couldn’t do both, the other one wouldn’t listen to me.

What happened? Fluffy, what’s going on!?

That… thing happened. That’s what’s going on.

I finally saw what her eye was seeing, and as soon as I did, I regretted it. I have seen us in a mirror. What Fluffy looks like when she’s in control. We are grotesque. Disgusting, horrifying to look at, like somepony mixed together a wolf and a pony and stretched out some limbs and created these horrible claws and teeth, a starving beast. A monster.

Matarael… was even more than we could ever hope to be. The throbbing heart that the black void Matarael had been reduced to released whatever excess energy it had gained from being shot by the nukes. Suddenly, shooting twenty five of those seemed like a poor decision. The office we’d stood on had been obliterated. The two buildings to its side had taken significant damage and were missing their top halves. The one behind it no longer existed. There was a deep hole in the ground that cut all the way to the sewers, but above the hole was that… thing. An unsightly beast.

The world was bathed in blood red light as the sky dark and black above made a starless night look bright, but at the same time radiated this menacing light that had every hair on my body standing up straight underneath my costume. The monster was a mishmash of leathery parts. One head was as if somepony had dug up an ancient equine skull and only remembered to cover half of it in skin. The mouth was only partially complete, all the muscle bare that was still there, and rows and rows of mismatched teeth, some that belonged to a pony, others that belonged to a carnivore.

The second head was almost like a flower, as if it were petals made out of rows and rows of eyes. A cavernous throbbing, blinking, thing that looked like the inside of a mouth filled with eyes and eyes and eyes, no single one the same color and shape as another. The necks connected and joined at the base of this creature, the torso almost like that of a massive pony, but bulky and gangly at the same time, a contradiction to even look at. It had two front legs, and two more front legs, some in the right place, others not, jutting out of the monster’s torso like they were glued on by a child. It had wings made of leather and bone and flesh like that of a bat that flapped unevenly as the front legs on it’s shoulders and back kicked and squirmed in the air. It had two hind legs and another one where a tail should be. It was as if a foal had made a clay sculpture of a pony and a bat pony and then smashed them together to become one sickly being, terrifying, horrific, and disgusting to look at. This isn’t just a monster… this is a nightmare.

“What the fuck is that!?” The Crow exclaimed.

“Oh goddess, I’m gonna be sick,” Blur said before she pulled her mask up to hurl.

“Twilight, Diamond is burned badly! Ya gotta pull her out, she needs ta be treated, now!” Applejack called out.

“Oh goddess, she’s fading! Back away, Scootaloo is on standby! Oh goddess, this wasn’t supposed to happen! It wasn’t supposed to go this way!” I managed to turn my head just in time to see her before the violet lightning in the red world had encased her. Most of her suit had melted away and her back was black and bloody.

Why didn’t she stop time to get away from the blast?

Would you have reacted fast enough if the orange one didn’t move us?

I bit into my lip. Shit. What is this?

“Guys it’s coming!” The Black Knight called out. The monster reared up on some of it’s hind legs and let out another deafening screech, something between a scream a roar and a sob mixed together. The nightmare’s massive hooves crashed back into the ground and it shot toward us. It was aimed at Marevelous who was protecting Diamond and closing in fast. The teleport had just barely finished before the monster was upon her.

She tried to punch back at it, but the massive creature was too much for her to stop. Marevelous was just shy of having hooves the size of her body crash down on her before I saw the orange light flood her hooves. The nightmare noticed it too, and with it’s massive leathery wings, it pumped off the ground before Marevelous could strike it. It backed away and screamed at her once more, then something strange happened. A bright light started build deep inside the head of eyes. BK blinked the moment he noticed it over to Marevelous, and just as they blinked away, the monster let go of all that energy. Concentrated in a white-red stream, the beam ran down the road as the second head arced upward. Where the energy landed, it exploded in succession, sending bits of road and rubble every which way, breaking windows and glass within sight in the red bathed world.

“Holy shit! Again with the lasers!?”

“Blur, we ain’t got time fer that! Crow, after that head full of eyes, make it stop workin’! Ah saw it, the mirror is just right on her chest between the two necks! If we can get close, we can kill it! Target, Ah need ya ta get in position and try ta shoot this thin, if a bullet will do it, then by all means, let’s have at it. Y’all circle around, and the Black Knight, Blur, and Ah will try ta distract it so it don’t target us individually. Go!”

The nightmare let out another horrifying screech and then turned it’s eye covered head at the Black Knight, gathering that white-red glow deep in the mouthy-cave of eyes again.

“Split up and stick ta the streets! We’ve already lost four buildin’s, if he follows through on his threat, four towns full of innocent ponies are done fer! Here it comes!”

Blinding light trailed up and after the Black Knight until he popped away. The Crow and I took to the sky and started to circle around the hideous monster. The creature took to the air after us with unexpected speed.

“It’s so fucking huge, how can if fly this fast!? Shit!” Matarael was after the Crow now, chasing her as she flew as fast has her blood would allow, just barely keeping ahead of the nightmare. Shit, shit, shit! I twisted around and pulled the bolt back. I took a breath as I started to fall and fired at the bony mouth of the monster. I hit my target as I always do, but then the monster turned on me. Its wings angled themselves and then flapped a heavy thrust away from the Crow, instantly changing directions as if Gravity didn’t apply to her. If the Crow can hardly out fly this thing, what chance do I have?

“Goose, help!” I panicked and froze in place. No, no, no! I have to run, I have to run, I have to run! I couldn’t move. So this is what fear feels like. Ha ha. I want to cry. I closed my eyes and waited, but then I felt something else. Wind, percussion, force, shot from right in front of me after the nightmare. The Black Knight had warped to my rescue… with Marevelous Red in toe, and launched her toward Matarael. The glowing orange light in the blood red world bolted after the monster, a primal yell coming from the mare, and a frightened screech coming from the monster as it attempted to fly out of the way. With so much power, she slammed the nightmare in the fleshy side of it’s main face and sent it crashing down.

The black top of the intersection below exploded as the horrible creature fell into it, rubble shooting back at us, smoke rising from the force of the blow. A second of still passed as Marevelous and the Black knight started to fall back to earth, then the bright light started to build underneath the smoke again. They’re stuck in mid air, they can’t get away! As if Diamond were still around, I reloaded like time had frozen or slowed. The empty case clicked out of my rifle as the light brightened. The next bullet was in the chamber as I took aim. The nightmare screeched just as it was about to fire. I fired first. The light turned and shot after the sky, blinking in and out like the source of the beam was disrupted. I’ve never missed a shot.

“Crow, pass Blur yer sword! Cut that fucker’s head off!” Marevelous ordered as she fell back to the ground. The Bloody Crow, bathed in red like her namesake, took aim and threw her katana like a javelin at the cloud of smoke. A pony shaped trail in the red world bolted after the weapon and caught it mid air. She started to spin like a tornado, faster and faster, clearing the smoke as she headed toward the monster. Matarael roared at the red blender as she came, but only for a moment. The buzzing tornado passed by the neck that lead up to the eyes before the creature could react. Blur landed and posed as ooze started to flow from a new wound all around the eye covered head.

The meat slid off and fell to the ground as the monster started to thrash and squirm and scream. All seven hooves kicked out looking for something to destroy, the monster’s wings flapped and beat unevenly, unable to take to the air. The remaining head regained focus and turned its only eye after Blur.

“Get outta there!” Marevelous called. The nightmare started to chase after Blur, and on the ground now, it was even faster. Anywhere she tried to turn, it met her and tried to chomp down on her with its mismatched teeth, those massive jaws big enough to swallow her whole. With every stop, she barely escapes its jaws a little less.

“Blur, ta me!” Marevelous jumped and shot a cable in the ground, floating in the air for a bit before Blur started to race that way, the monster just inches away from her. Rather than use the mechanism of her bracers, Marevelous pulled on the cable herself and aimed her way toward the ground, leading the cable behind her and forming a loop as she fell. Blur hopped through the cable, and the monster followed, only to get caught in Marevelous’ trap. Strangling the beast as best she could, she mounted the pony like creature and pulled the remaining neck tight in her cable, revealing the shiny reflective piece in the nightmare’s chest.

“Somepony hit this thin’!” I reloaded and took aim, but the monster was thrashing around and I was afraid to hit Marevelous. The Black Knight popped in front of the monster’s mirror, but just as he threw his punch, the monster snapped Marevelous’ cable. It knocked her off with a wing, and the Black Knight missed his mark, earning him a forelegknee to the chest. Matarael let out another banshee’s wail and charged down the Black Knight

“Blur get him outta there! Ah’ve got one cable left, we have ta make this one count! If we can’t keep this thin’ still, we can’t kill it!” I could feel my heart pulse and my shallow breaths. I finally noticed the warm wetness between my thighs and felt a sudden wave of shame and anguish hit me. If I had taken the shot, this could be over already! Pathetic! Get it done, this fight leans on you! Shaking my head and regaining my focus, I moved to position and took aim, then waited while I hovered. Marevelous had regained the monster’s attention and was half running away and half fighting back, using her last cable to gain extra distance while taking advantage of the monster as it tried to bite her, bobbing and weaving away and punching its boney face when it missed.

The Crow came down next and started to cut up its wings after she got her sword back from Blur. The non broken leathery appendage was now covered in incisions, and she began to go after the next one when it was her turn to take the monsters ire. The creature hopped and chomped at the one winged pegasus as she lead it around a block so Marevelous had time to prepare the trap.

“Ya can’t hesitate this time! The moment ya see the mirror, ya shoot, got it!?” I nodded even thought she wasn’t looking at me.

“Y-yes ma’am!” I choked out.What was that? Was that really me? I’m never like this. What’s wrong with me? Am I turning into Pinkie? Why am I… afraid?

No… this is simply what it’s like to be on the other side. The monster is chasing us now.

I swallowed. When even Fluffy sympathizes with me, then we’re really fucked. The Crow and Matarael rounded the corner. Marevelous was already in position to drop down and catch the monster. I started to breathe deeper and deeper. Why is it so hard to breathe? I pulled my gun into position and tried to slow myself down. Breathe damn it, breathe! This is all you! The Crow flew through the loop and the monster was once again caught. Marevelous reared the nightmare’s head up and showed me the mirror. I took a quick, sharp breath and let it out. A crystalline focus hit me and I pulled the trigger. I never miss. The bullet met the mirror, but something strange happened. It sank in, pierced the horrible amalgamation of parts, but it was as if the mirror was flesh. It didn’t shatter, the monster didn’t even stagger. The small hole started to ooze just like the open gash into the creature’s neck. It’s just another wound.

“W-what happened!? W-why isn’t it dead!?” Matarael broke through Marevelous’ last cable and knocked her off, turning on her next. The Black Knight warped in and warped out with her, but now we were stuck. What do we do? If a bullet at my highest velocity isn’t enough, how do we kill it? We don’t have any way to hold it still, it’s too erratic for me to just take shots at, and Diamond is down!

The monster screeched out in agony and rage. The noise grew louder and louder until the wings on its back retracted inside of its body.

“What in the hell!?” The monster let out a deafening screech and its wings shot back out of its body, slimy and fully reformed as if they had never been damaged in the first place. I felt my heart sink. Ha… ha ha… we… we’re gonna die. For the first time in a very long time, tears started to roll down my cheeks under my mask. This is it. I feel even more hopeless than I did last week. Nothing can save us now. She can regenerate. It’s all over.

Matarael roared once again and suddenly the split open neck retracted into her torso. It’s only a matter of time now.

No! You said you hadn’t broken your promise, so you are going to keep it! Let me out and we can hold it still! You can’t breed if you die, and nothing matters if that happens! This rides on you!

Fire started to well up within me. Deep in my pocket, I had been saving this for the very moment when my life depended on it. When the time came to become the monster or die. Suddenly, I remembered a phrase. ‘When fighting monsters, one must take care. For one who fights monsters, is liable to become one in the process. But then again… it takes one monster to kill another, does it not?’

I flew up above Matarael, and once I was directly on top of her, I ripped my mask and bit into my little glass vial of blood. I dove and let the change take me. Power and ecstasy filled me to my very core. My muscles expanded, my bones cracked and popped as they grew. My hooves split into claws, my wings retracted into my back, my teeth sharpened and stretched. A moan of pleasure turned into a roar of rage as I merged with Fluffy. I was hungry. I was angry. I wanted to kill. I wanted blood. I needed blood. I needed meat. And there, swiftly approaching as the ground was coming to meet me, was my dinner.

The monster raised its remaining eye as I came crashing down on it, mouth wide open and ready to eat. The head of eyes sprouted back from the empty spot on the creature’s body and the tantalizing smell of blood and prey drew my teeth to it. My mouth was just large enough to wrap around the newly regenerated neck. I chomped down and felt the warm blood of the monster spray all over my tongue. The lavish savory taste and trickle of warm irony syrup put me into a frenzy and I started to tear away. My meal hit me with hooves unremembered and knocked me off, taking the wind out of me and my dinner escaping my teeth. It screeched at me in challenge and I howled back at it. Food that fights back, how fun! What more could I ask for?

The monster stamped a hoof in the ground and pulled it back, flaring it’s nostrils as the delicious liquid flowed from the ruined second neck. My morsel dangled from what little skin still kept it together, and I wanted it. That is mine, and I will have it! The monster charged at me and I charged at her. We collided in a tangle of flesh, I aimed my teeth at the remainder of the second head, and it aimed its teeth at my left arm. Pain flared inside my arm as my own internal crimson started to leak in the red world of this beast, but not before I tore out the rest of the second head. No more lasers! All this meat is mine! The nightmare bit down harder, tearing at my arm and taking my attention away from the euphoric taste in my mouth, returning a bit of my sanity.

With my free claw, I stabbed deep into the monster’s chest where I’d shot it earlier and ripped away as much flesh as I could. The tip of my claws were touching the nightmare’s beating heart, but I couldn’t reach it. I wrapped my legs around it and swept the hooves out from under Matarael, taking her down to the ground with me. My arm twisted and ripped in her mouth, blood gushing from the new seam, pain and ecstasy fighting for my mind while I desperately vied for my sanity. Keep it together! Tell them! Show them! This is their chance! I screamed and roared, tears were rolling down my muzzle as my arm was shredded out of socket. The others were all around, but I wasn’t sure if I was seeing right. Everything was red, it was all red, definition was hard to make out and I couldn’t tell who was who. It all hurt so bad and felt so good that I couldn’t concentrate on anything.

“Do it! Kill her!” I couldn’t ignore the monster any longer, and now that I had given my last message, I bit deep into the last head’s neck. I tore and twisted, and the nightmare tore and twisted right back.

“AHHHH!” Somepony screamed as they approached, and just as they did, the monster’s teeth snapped down all the way, tearing my arm free. I writhed and clutched my claw harder inside the monster’s chest until finally, the nightmare stopped struggling. My arm fell from its teeth and it let out a scream that lost volume as the warmth started to gush all over my claw. Something cool slid deeper into the monster past my fingers, and then the beating stopped. The monster shuddered a violent shake, and then… she died. The body collapsed and soon, so did I. I could feel the body slip from my teeth as they began to dull and shrink as we both reverted together. The ecstasy started to fade, but the pain intensified with every throb.

I screamed and grabbed at my foreleg. Where did it go, where did it go!? I feel… s-so cold. The darkness took me.

“Gah!” I woke suddenly, but it was as if I never really woke up. Everything around me was black and I was just kind of… floating there.

“Hey.” I turned toward the voice, and there I saw the strangest thing. It was like… a little filly, but covered in white shaggy fur with a long pink mane and bright red eyes. She was like some kind of mix between a pony and a wolf, little paws where her front hooves would be, a longer muzzle with a few sharp teeth poking out from under her lips. She flashed a cute little smile at me and motioned me to come sit by her. The black world started to light up and all around me formed a memory. I was back in Cloudsdale.

It was the summer of 2014, and the roaming city in the sky had drifted over to the south western coast. The sun was setting and… and I remember what had happened. My little brother had just been born, and I was feeling neglected. He was all my parents seemed to care about, and any time I wanted their attention, hey had to go take care of him. I felt so alone that I thought they didn’t want me anymore. I wandered away from home carrying my little stuffed bunny hoping I would find somepony to love me. I found my way to the edge of the city, and the sun had just met the horizon over the water. The dark blue glittering sea spread out across the world, leading straight to that big pretty ball of yellow orange and copper.

I thought this would be great to share with mommy and daddy, but they were so busy with him that they never paid attention to me. I sat there and cried hoping, wishing desperately for somepony… and that’s when…

“I met you.”

“That’s right. Do you remember what you asked me?” Fluffy asked. I sat down and stared out over the water at the sun with her.

“Will you love me?” She looked just like this. Almost like me, but not quite the same. Somepony my age, somepony who would love me, somepony I desperately wished would be here. She smiled and laughed.

“That’s right! I said, ‘Sure! I’ll love you forever and ever! You’ll be my beloved!’ I only knew the word because you heard your parents call each other that one night, but I knew it would make you happy.” I nodded.

“It did. It was one of the happiest days of my life. From then on, we were together. I told my parents about you, but they said you weren’t there. I didn’t believe them. When I went to daycare, the other foals said they could see you, but that was a lie too. Nopony knew you were there but me.” She nodded.

“I started getting protective of you, you know. I hated them for laughing at you behind our back. I hated them for not seeing me, for not realizing I was there. When those bullies picked a fight with us, I realized that I could hurt them and made you meet the conditions to let me out.” I sighed.

“And then… I realized what you were. You weren’t just an imaginary friend, you are a part of me, and a dangerous one. I was afraid of you. Afraid of what you could do, afraid of myself. I met Firefly again and stuck to her like glue because she knew, and she could stop you.”

“You kept me locked away, and you feared me, but you were still my beloved. I made a promise, and I was never going to break it. Even if you hated me and scorned me, you were still everything to me. All that mattered, all I wanted. Any time you were threatened or got too angry, the cage became cracked and I found a way to get out and protect you, I did. But every time I got out, you became even more afraid of me.” Fluffy started to grow from how I remember her as a filly to how I remember her in middle school.

“But when we thought your friend died, you came back to me. You told me you loved me again and promised we’d always be together, and we’d have babies, and we would protect them and never let this happen again. You forgot about that promise after you met Scarlet though.” Fluffy grew again, and now she looked like me, but with a shaggy white coat and her wolf like attributes. A long pink mane and tail, shaggy but draped over one side of her face just the opposite of mine. Bright red eyes, but soft and welcoming. They were… so sad.

“When you watched Scarlet die, I tried my best to help you, but you’d been hurt so bad this time that you closed yourself off, even to me. I couldn’t stand to see you like that, to see my beloved in so much pain anymore. I started to take control since you weren’t in mind to keep me locked away, and once I’d fully taken control it was the other way around. You were safe in your cage, and I was out in the big mean world trying to live through the day where you got better.

You surprised me when you took control back one day, but you’d forgotten our promise. You were going to kill us. You had me locked up and I couldn’t do anything. I felt somepony call out to me, and with that little opening, I steered you toward the park. It was a familiar smell, one I knew you would latch onto, and just like that… you got better. You were happy again, you had friends. You even started to talk to me again.” She sniffed hard and rubbed at her eyes with one paw. Suddenly I felt tears well up in my own eyes, but I didn’t understand why.

“I still love you, you know that? I know we fought a lot toward the end, but I never forgot the promise I made here,” She said though tears and a shaky voice. I felt myself shiver and those tears start to flow out of my eyes.

“Toward the end…? Fluffy, what are you saying? What’s wrong? Why did you call me here?” her left foreleg and mine both fell away into ash and drifted off the clouds into the sea. The sudden loss of leg threw her off balance and she fell into the clouds. She kept wiping at her eyes and didn’t bother to get up. She shook her head.

“I-I’m sorry. I… I can’t keep our promise. I got hurt too bad. I won’t make it.” Her words hit me like a dagger to the chest. The tears came down harder and my snout started running.

“N-no… you can’t! You can’t leave me! I still need you, you… you’re part of me! You can’t go!” I reached out for her, but with no other leg to balance on, I fell. Why is my left leg missing? Fluffy shook her head and stood back up on all three legs.

“I’m sorry… Fluttershy. My dearly beloved. I love you. But… I have to go now. If I don’t, then we’ll both die. And… you’re so much more important than me. You have friends, family, other ponies who love you too, and if you go… they’ll be sad. So much more sad than you are now. Don’t keep our promise for me, keep it for you. You deserve to be happy. Even though you’re afraid of what will happen next, you’re strong enough to keep going without me. How can they lean on you if you’re not there for them to lean on?” She stopped and looked at her paw. She was smiling and crying, but even in her bittersweet sadness, she still tried to cheer me up.

“I’m out of time now.” Just as she said it, her paw started to disintegrate into ash. I scrambled to my hooves and wrapped myself around her.

“No! You can’t leave me, you… you promised! Forever, right!? We’re supposed to be together forever! I love you, you can’t leave! Please, Fluffy, don’t go!” She wrapped what was left of her foreleg around me and then pushed me away.

“I can’t keep that promise anymore. Hey… E-even though you’re holding me, I… I feel kinda cold, ya know? You… you won’t forget me, right? I… I love you…” From her foreleg upward, her body started to fade into ash and slip through my hoof. There was nothing I could do to stop this. She’s dying so that I can live. I can’t cry anymore. That’s the last thing she would want. I sniffed hard and smiled through the tears.

“I’ll never forget you. I promise.” She was almost completely gone now, bust just as the rest of her started to float away, I heard her one last time.

“This is the cost. For you… I would pay… anything… my… beloved…” Her ashes were carried away by the winds of the cloudy city and into the sea. She was gone. I couldn’t feel her anymore, she… she’s really… she’s really gone…

Persona XIX: Death and Destruction

Applejack’s

“Holy shit!” Ah couldn’t believe what Ah was seein’. Fluttershy not only ripped off her mask, but then she cracked a bottle of somethin’ with her teeth. In Matarael’s red world, ya couldn’t tell the difference between water and wine, but that bottle was definitely full of blood. The red liquid trickled down her mouth and she started ta fall, growin’ on her way down. The horrific bein’ below had just escaped through my last plan, and shootin’ her mirror didn’t finish the job fer some reason. It was like the mirror was already her flesh, just like Goose’s.

The beast roared as she fell through the air, the nightmare below never even had a chance ta see her by the time she landed on it. Just as she hit Matarael, the monster’s second head regenerated. The moment the eyes caught sight of the Beast though… well, they didn’t last long. She chomped down on that thin’s neck and… ripped and tore. Suddenly, Ah started ta feel sick.

“Good goddess,” the Crow said.

“Did… did she do that on purpose? How did… why…?” Blur asked.

“Holy shit,” Goose said. What are we supposed ta do now? Does she have any control over this? How are we supposed ta help? None of us have any range, that was her job… My bracers are broken, and we can’t use their cables ta pull off what Ah did… She must’ve seen this as the only way.

“Everypony… stand by. We’re at her mercy here,” Ah gave the order.

The Beast bit hard at Matarael’s neck, a viceral tearin’ sound echoed through the air as holes widened and strips of flesh started ta rip apart. The nightmare kicked at the beast with those goddess-awful hooves on its back and knocked her off. The beast rolled away and the nightmare backed off too. The two monsters stared each other down, and then… Matarael issued a challenge.

It screeched at the Beast, and the Beast howled in return. This is… a fight between kaiju. Ponies aren’t capable of buttin’ in. Matarael stamped a hoof and pulled it back, tearin’ at the road underneath. Ah blinked and the two monsters charged at each other. Flesh and fur slammed into each other, the Beast tangled herself around the nightmare, and the nightmare tried ta do the same with less success. The Beast ripped away the second head, and the nightmare sank its mismatched teeth inta her left arm. As if a light came on, the chaotic, hungry, movement the Beast had not but moments ago stopped, and she focused her attention on the nightmare’s chest.

She formed somethin’ like a blade with her free claw and stabbed deep inta Matarael’s chest. The nightmare was undeterred and started ta twist the Beast’s arm off further, sheddin’ fur and flesh away. The beast let out a roar of pain, but then she… focused on me. Like she knew me, like she recognized me. Fluttershy… is still in there! She ripped more flesh away, makin’ a bigger hole in the monster’s chest and finally, Ah saw what she was doin’. Inside the hole was Matarael’s beatin’ heart.

“Do it! Kill her!”

The nightmare ripped the Beast’s arm free and the Beast bit down inta Matarael’s neck and pulled up. The path is clear!

“Crow, give me that thin! Black Knight, throw me!” Ah jumped and held out a hoof ta receive the sword, and BK warped behind me. Ah caught the hilt just as my back hooves met his forehooves and launched. Shootin’ through the red world, Ah caught one last glimpse of the half-formed monster’s eye. There was no sense in there. No soul, no remnance of sanity. This thin’ is the real beast.

“AHHHH!” Ah wrapped both hooves around the hilt of the blade and just as Ah made contact, Ah thrust it as hard as Ah could. The beatin’ on the other end of the blade stopped and the monster shuddered. And then… somethin’ strange happened. In the red world, there was no color but crimson and every shade from there ta black. But when this monster’s heart stopped, and death overtook the body, Ah saw somethin’. Fer a second, it was as if a pony left the nightmare. She looked at me, this ethereal golden specter, and she frowned and shook her head. Ah blinked and it was as if it’d never happened.

The mass the sword was stuck in began ta shrink, and after Ah realized what was goin’ on, Ah pulled the blade out. The Beast also started ta shrink back inta Fluttershy, but somethin’ was wrong. Her foreleg didn’t change with her. A piece of the Beast was still out and layin’ on the ground. The mangled mess that remained of her foreleg was bleedin’ bad. Ah dropped the sword and Fluttershy fell ta her knees and grabbed at her new stump. She screamed and awful, anguished wail, and then her eyes rolled back in her head and she toppled over.

“Somepony get Scootaloo over here now! Shy is losin’ blood fast, her foreleg got ripped off and it didn’t change back with her!” In a frantic haste, everypony else gathered around, and before Ah even got a response, a golden ball of lightnin’ formed beside me and Scootaloo appeared in a flash. The filly reared back at the sight and turned her head ta toss whatever she’d eaten today. Ah grabbed her by the shoulders and made her look at me.

“We don’t have time fer that! You’re a soldier now, fix her!” Ah pushed the filly at the bloody pegasus mare and then turned ta the rest of my unit. “Grab that arm and bring it over here!” Shit, shit, shit, shit! Is it gonna change back when she heals her? What do we do if it doesn’t? What happens if it just connects, is she gonna have ta live with that thin’ just stuck ta her body? Shit! BK, Blur, and the Crow moved the tree trunk sized appendage over ta Fluttershy, but as Scootaloo put her hooves on the mare, the stump simply healed up. The bleedin’ stopped and skin grew until it covered up everythin’, but nothin’ happened with her foreleg.

“Why is this happenin’? Ya fixed Blur didn’t ya? Why ain’t it goin’ back!?” Ah shook the filly. The scared little mare just shook her head.

“I-I don’t know! I-I just did the same thing I normally do!” she stuttered. Shit, shit, shit, shit! Ah scratched at my mane under my mask. What the hell am Ah supposed ta do now?

“Marevelous! She’s not breathing!” the Crow called out ta me. Not breathin’!? We just healed her, why ain’t she breathin’? No… no, no, no! Fuck, where are we? Ah looked around. So much of the street was destroyed that this wouldn’t be drivable fer months. A restaurant, more businesses, some apartments, and…Wait! That’s a school!

“You go work yer powers on that arm! Blur, go run in that elementary and find the nurse’s office! There should be some kinda emergency kit in there, and it should have an AED in it! Nopony is gonna die today!” Ah unzipped and pulled off my mask and laid Fluttershy on her back. Remember how they taught ya ta do it. Ya aced this part of the class. Fifteen compressions, one breath, check her pulse, repeat.

“One, two, three!” No response. Ah tilted her head back and took a deep breath. Ah opened her lips and gave it to her. Ah moved ta listen fer a beat, but there was still no sound.

“One, two, three!” One deep breath. No response.

“One, two, three!” Heavier compressions this time. Bigger breath. No response.

“Live, damn it! Where the fuck is Blur!?” Damn it, damn it, damn it! As if she heard me, the mare in the blue suit appeared at my side just after my third round.

“I wasn’t sure which one you needed, so I grabbed them all!” She spouted and then dumped four different emergency kits. Thankfully, the right one was among them and Ah snatched it up as quick as Ah could.

“BK, keep up the compressions while Ah get this shit ready!” Ah finished the round Ah was on, but she still wasn’t breathin’ yet. Mother fucker, Ah’m not done with ya yet! The big red box was unlabeled but had an electrical hazard warnin’ on the side. Ah pulled out the battery pack and set it ta charge. One pad on the left side of the chest, another just under the rib cage. Ah plugged the pads in and the Black Knight finished his round.

“Back off!” This has ta work, this has ta work! Ah pushed the button and Fluttershy’s body convulsed. No response. “Get back ta doin’ compressions!” Ah ordered. Goddess, it’s already been a minute and a half, what do Ah do!?

“Applejack. Check the bag you found the AED in for a syringe. You got that from a school, correct?” Celestia spoke inta my mind. Adrenalin! That’s it! Ah grabbed the bag again, and sure enough, there was a pocket in the lid that had what Ah was lookin’ for. Good goddess, that’s a big needle. Ah pulled the cap off the needle and let BK finish his second round.

“You are not relieved from duty, damn it!” Ah found the spot between her ribs and jammed that sucker in there. The liquid shot out of the vial, and just like that, Fluttershy started spittin’ out blood. She rolled ta her side and coughed and hacked, but she was breathin’ now. Thank the goddess, she’s breathin’ now. Ah pulled the needle out ta make sure she didn’t hurt herself, and the moment of revival faded back inta soft sleep. Relief washed over my body and suddenly all my muscles relaxed at once.

“H-hey! Something weird is happening!” Not even a second. Ah turned my head ta see Scootaloo back away from the Beast’s arm as it… disintegrated?

“What in the hell!? What did you do!” Ah got up as quick as Ah could, but the arm was already half gone by the time Ah made it. It was fallin apart, fadin’ inta ash and bein’ carried off in the wind. Why is this happenin’? Scootaloo’s powers heal thin’s, we tested this fer hours on end! My complaints didn’t stop whatever process had started though. It didn’t take but a moment fer the rest of the arm ta disappear. It’s… gone. It’s all gone.

“Major Apple, you are not finished yet. The broadcast is returning. Have Scootaloo stand by Fluttershy and be prepared to deal with Persona,” The Night Princess warned. Ah struck the ground where the arm had been.

“Damn it!” Ah took a couple deep breaths ta calm down. She’s right. This… is war. Fluttershy isn’t dead, she will be fine. We… will be fine. Ah pulled my mask back over my face and rezipped the neck. “Go stand with Fluttershy, the Princess is gonna take y’all home. Ya did yer best, there’s… nothin’ else ya could do.” Ah noticed now that colors were startin’ ta return ta the world and the sky was startin’ ta clear. The filly nodded and did as she was told. Just as fast as she’d arrived, a blue ball of lightnin’ encased her and Shy, and in a flash, they were gone. Goose put his own mask and helmet back on, and now the sky was clear. Most of the screens were shattered, but none of them were too broken ta not put the mask on display.

“Ha! Ha ha ha! You- you did it again! I don’t know… what I should’ve expected. Your track record so far has shown you capable time and time again, but here I was hoping against hope that maybe losing a unit would put me at an advantage. Ah… but then again, she is on your side, so there really is no way you wouldn’t have access to something like whatever kind of bomb you shot Matarael down with.

Who knew that exposing her to all that energy would cause her to change her state though? We weren’t prepared to lose visuals, but at the very least we had the infared cameras turned on before the fight ended. It’s simply too bad that it all went so fast that we couldn’t switch over the broadcast. I can only imagine what the new kaiju Matarael transformed into was like. Two heads, seven legs, and wings to top it all off. Even Sahaquiel would have had a run for his money if he was in your shoes. I have to wonder though… what was that thing that showed up toward the end? It was almost as if you had a kaiju of your own to fight back with… Hmm. Did we not start with six? Diamond and Target Lock seem to be missing. As a matter of fact… I see an empty block and a crater where two buildings used to stand. there’s even a pair of offices that look as if they’ve gone to get their manes cut. A little off the top, wouldn’t you say?

Ha ha… what a shame. I had really…” The mask paused for a moment, then it shook on screen. “Well, I gave you my new conditions. I’ll take the halves as one, so there’s three. For three buildings, I will take three towns. Shall we watch? Yes, I do believe we shall…” The mask left the screen, and in its place appeared a security camera from the view of some town hall.

“What in the world…?” Ah heard myself say. It looked like any other town ya might pass on your way ta a bigger city, a few small shops everywhere, a few cars parked along a main road, probably some highway that cuts through this town. There were even a few ponies about. A couple walkin’ with some shoppin’ bags, somepony on a bicycle, another holdin’ up a sign ta direct ta a special some restaurant was havin’. Then, out of the sidewalk, rows and rows of little black sticks popped up every few feet. Everypony stops ta look at them. Their tops open, and a green colored mist starts to spray out. The sign guy falls ta his knees. The mare screams. The stallion on the bike falls over. The sign guy’s back starts to shift underneath his shirt. It busts out, growin’ and bubblin’, lettin’ off steam as it does. Blood gushes out of his face, his snout and ears start ta grow. His left back leg expands and becomes thicker. A new leg starts ta form on his misshapen back.

The stallion with the shoppin’ bags drops them and runs away. He’s chased down by the monster the mare has become. A half-formed beast, too many legs, not enough skin, another Matarael look alike. She tears a piece of the stallion off and then opens her mouth full of sharp teeth ta-

The screen cuts away to another town. More blood. More monsters. More violence. This town was bigger and more active. A picture of a square someplace, it almost looks like Canterlot. Bodies line the ground torn ta pieces and left in piles of gore. Monsters chase monsters, fightin’ and beatin’ one another ta death. Ponies that weren’t affected by the gas try to run, but this only attracts the new monsters. Another pony gets run down by a beast and is dismembered.

The screen cuts away to one more town for a similar scene ta play out. A pony with powers starts to fight the monsters back. He shoots flames at the beasts, burning and meltin’ them where they stand. Fire, blood, violence, predators, ponies. Sirens are goin’ off, chaos reigns, monsters howl. Ah don’t know when Ah did it, but Ah found myself sittin’ down. Ah felt sick. This is just like… the dream. The screen cuts back ta the Mask and he shakes his head.

“You know… I thought it would hurt more. In the blink of an eye, I’ve likely killed over a hundred thousand ponies, yet… I feel nothing. Ruin, death, destruction. Ponies fighting for their lives, mismatched beings rejecting the new forms they’ve taken, losing their sanity, losing their sentience. In all my tests, I never found somepony capable of resisting the enhanced virus, so I find it almost fascinating that so many that were just out and about tolerated it. It’s too bad, though. They’ll most likely be killed by the new beasts that have arisen from the ashes of these towns.

You never believed I had the power. You never believed that I was the one in control here, and that I was merely giving Equestria a chance by sending my Kaiju here. And now that I’ve finally pushed the button once… I don’t think it would be hard to do again. Do you ever wonder, what death feels like? I suppose it’s only a few weeks before I find the answer myself.

Heroes, it is likely you already know everything you wanted to know. Only two weeks remain, and now… there is no going back. Should you survive Sahaquiel, then I shall have a gift for you before I send my final Kaiju. Maybe a future left with you is a future worth seeing. It is… a shame, that I will likely never see it.” The Mask paused, and then turned ta… face the camera, Ah guess. “I hope you’re watching this. You took my future away from me. Everything I do, I do for you. When you see the carnage I have wrought, I hope that you remember what you’ve done to me. Harmony, I will miss our time together. And when Sahaquiel kills you… I will mourn for you. Until next time, heroes. Go beyond, as I’ve come to expect from you.” The screens cut out, and the mask disappeared.

Ah’ve taken hits. Ah’ve been beaten and battered by thin’s that are bigger than me, thin’s that are stronger than me. Ah’ve gotten hurt, Ah’ve failed ta catch the bad guy. Ah’ve let ponies down, Ah’ve failed ta save a life. But only now do Ah… feel like Ah really failed.

We returned ta the castle, only ta find the livin’ room empty. Where did everypony go? Ah figure Twilight would be with the patients, but did the Princesses…? No, they went ta deal with this Ah bet. It’s only twelve twenty. Nopony expected any of this ta happen.

“Twilight? Where is everypony?” Pinkie called out, half way out of her costume. The distant sound of hooves on crystal came from the north east hallway and soon enough, Twilight entered the Livin’ room.

“Oh, you’re already back. I… Mother and Luna left immediately after the attack started. Uh, they wanted you all to wait here until they return after… after the fighting is done. One of the cities was a satellite of Canterlot, so that had to be contained as quickly as possible. The country is in a state of emergency and the princesses now have the powers of martial law. This hasn’t happened in… over two centuries, I… Cantermore has a population of one hundred and twenty thousand, so many… so much life, all gone in an instant…” The distraught purple mare fell ta her plot and looked like she wasn’t gonna keep her lunch fer much longer. Ah felt a wave of tiredness wash over me and decided ta take a seat. Ten minutes. The whole fight only lasted fer ten minutes.

“How are they?” Ah finally asked after tryin’ ta massage away my growin’ headache. Twilight swallowed whatever was stuck in her throat and nodded.

“Rarity is fine. The burns were extreme, but Scootaloo’s powers took care of that as if it never happened. She’ll likely sleep for a few more hours, but she should be perfectly fine… Fluttershy on the other hoof… her foreleg is gone. The new stump just stops right after her shoulder, there’s… Scootaloo’s powers aren’t doing anything else for her, it’s just… gone.”

Ah felt my head fall inta my hooves as my headache grew worse. How could Ah let this happen? Ah could’ve intervened, Ah could’ve helped. She was in control the whole time, if Ah had just… we could’ve helped her, all we had ta do was stab that fuckin’ thin’ and this would’ve all been over with. Why did Ah… Ah felt a hoof wrap around me and pull me in close.

“You did your best. And that’s all we could ask for.” He whispered.

Ah don’t know how long we waited, but everypony else sat down in their respective chairs, and that’s what we did. The air was filled with anxiety and regret, and nopony made so much as a sound. The dead eyed stares found the floor, the table, or the ceilin’, and Ah could only imagine that everypony was havin’ similar thoughts. Why didn’t Ah do better? What else could Ah have done? We should’ve tried the sword before Ah broke the first cable. But would Rainbow have been strong enough ta do it? If a bullet only made it so far, how could she have stabbed all the way through ta the heart? Could Ah have done it without Fluttershy’s help? She ripped a hole open just so Ah could get ta it, and it still took so much just ta get it done. Was that really the only option though? We had no idea she was gonna explode like that. We had no idea what we were dealin’ with, shouldn’t we just be thankful that we made it out alive? This… this is war.

Ah don’t remember when it happened, but Ah must’ve dozed off somewhere in there. When Ah looked up, Fluttershy had taken her seat. Everypony else had fallen asleep too, and she was just… sittin’ there, holdin’ her shoulder with this… defeated look on her face. Ah got up as quick as Ah could, leavin’ Goose ta fall inta the chair, and ran over ta her as fast as Ah could.

“Good goddess, you’re awake! Damn it, ya scared the shit outta me. Ah thought we lost ya. What in the world possessed ya ta… why did ya…?” The words wouldn’t come out. Fluttershy gave me one sorrowful look and then shook her head.

“T-there was no other choice. A-and now…” she sniffed, “Fluffy is dead.” Everypony else had woken back up by now and we were all gathered around the three-legged pegasus.

“What do you mean? I thought she was like… a part of you, wasn’t she?” Rainbow asked. Fluttershy nodded. Instead of respondin’, she got up and started ta walk back down the north east hall. she’d take three steps and flap her wings when she tried ta take the fourth. It was unsteady, but it was almost as if she’d practiced walkin’ already. The five of us followed slowly, but nopony spoke. She lead us down ta the trainin’ room, and there she made it a few feet away and sat.

She turned her head and looked at us with a tear-filled eye, then raised her remainin’ foreleg and bit down on it. Blood ran down her chin, and just like that, she started ta grow. Bones pop, muscles expand, fur grows, wings retract, and finally, the Beast sits before us. My heart was poundin’, and every instinct was tellin’ me ta get ready ta fight, but she never moved. She put her arm back down and tears started ta roll from the Beast’s eyes. No, that’s not right. Even in this form, her eyes were still blue-green. There was no loss of intellect, no bloodlust eminatin’ from her presence, no chaos like the first time Ah saw her like this. Just… pain and sadness.

“My best friend is dead. My sister is gone. I’m all alone… again…” She howled a sorrowful moan and her tears continued ta splash down on the crystal floor. She wailed and wailed, the sobs becomin’ more distraught and more anguished with each breath. Eventually Ah found myself sittin’ next ta her and Ah kinda wrapped a hoof around her leg as best Ah could. It wasn’t a good attempt at a hug, but it was a close as Ah could get with as big as she was now. One by one the others joined in and we all sat and listened ta Fluttershy cry. What can Ah say? What can Ah do? Ah have no idea what this is about. Was the beast… her own person? Is that possible? Ta have somepony else livin’ inside yer head? Ah knew she was probably a schizophrenic after that scare a few weeks ago, but… how far did it go? The cryin’ started ta slow down after a while, but nopony knew what ta say. Did the beast have a soul? What was it that Ah saw earlier when Ah stabbed Matarael? Was that real?

“Hey. I uh… I don’t think that… any of us could ever really understand, what you’re going through right now.” Pinkie moved around ta sit in front of Fluttershy. The pink pony stared up inta the Beast’s eyes and then continued, “but… even though that’s the case, you’re not alone. We’re all here for you. Me, Rainbow, Applejack, Goose, Twilight, Rarity, Scootaloo, the princesses… probably. And we’ll still be here tomorrow. Maybe things will take a turn for the worst next week, and maybe that won’t be the case anymore, but you know what? That’s just life. You could be fine one day and die of an infection you never realized you had a few days later. Ponies live, ponies die, and the world keeps turning. We’re at war, we fight monsters, this is the role we play, and ponies in our shoes tend to have high mortality rates. But… even in our line of work, nopony is ever forgotten.

We hold these memories of all the times we spent with each other, and even if we’re not around anymore, we still have those memories. As much as I would like to forget, I still remember my sixth birthday, when Li- … Limestone carved a crystal balloon for me out of some rainbow quartz she found in the mine. That kind of gem is practically worthless on the market, it has no value to anypony other than being cheap and kinda pretty sometimes, but… I loved it. I still remember all the things she did to make me hate her, but even a decade later, I still remember the times I loved my big sister. I took her life and now… I carry it around with me. Like a weight I can never get rid of, sometimes even cherish. I am the only pony alive who remembers Abuelo, and probably the only pony alive who knows he has a grave out there. I know who he was and what he stood for, and it’s my job to make sure that he’s remembered.

I don’t… know what you believe and I don’t know how you were raised, but I think that one day… you’ll see her again. I was always taught that there was more after life. That one day you’ll get a chance to talk and reconcile, learn about who you are and where you came from. Ponies… are broken, incomplete souls with a desire for something more than the physical, and I think… based on everything that’s happened, all she wanted was to make sure you lived a good life. Things are gonna be different. Things are gonna be hard, and we might not be able to overcome it all. But with something as flippant and unpredictable as life and as chaotic as war… you just… have to have faith that the sun will come up tomorrow.

A lot has changed for me in the past week. Things I was never able to settle with myself now seem to be finished, and things I never thought I would be okay with are… okay now. I know it hurts, but… well, now it’s your job to live with the hurt and keep her memory alive until the day you see her again. And while you’re there with that pain in your heart, we will be right there with you for as long as we can. So… don’t say that you’re alone. Because, we’ll be right here with you. Just as broken and messed up as we ever were, okay?” The beast’s lips started ta quiver, and in an instant, she reverted back ta her normal self. The three-legged pegasus wrapped herself around Pinkie and cried even harder now.

“There, there… let it all out.”

The hours came and went, and after a while, Fluttershy had stopped cryin’ and regained a bit of herself, and Rarity woke up. We filled her in on everythin’ that had happened and then stopped her from blamin’ herself fer it all. Everypony did what they could. Their best. Nothin’ more, nothin’ less. No simulation can prepare us fer somethin’ so outta left field, and even if we’d had all the tools in the world, nothin’ could’ve prevented the explosion. At about seven PM, the princesses finally returned. Pinkie was in her room with Fluttershy, Twilight was scavengin’ the fridge, Goose was next ta me, Rainbow, Rarity, and Scootaloo were playin’ a game. When the golden light flashed before us, the Sun Princess practically fell inta the chair Twilight normally occupies at the head of the table. Attracted by the sound, Twilight came runnin’.

“Mother? Is that you? What’s wrong!? Are you okay?” If anythin’, Celestia looked very tired. Bags under her eyes, both of em’ all red and puffy like she had been cryin’. Ah saw a hint of somethin’ flash in her eyes and then she turned on Twilight.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong!? Everything is wrong, Twilight! A terrorist just slaughtered thousands upon thousands of ponies, taking them completely unawares, and even I had no idea it was going to happen! Do you know how long it has been since I didn’t know about an attack!? Centuries! Centuries, Twilight, centuries! Mutilated in an act of violence completely unprovoked with mere minutes of warning, with not even the slightest hint of where it was going to happen! Cantermore, Palomino Point, Trough lake, all gone! There was one survivor for every hundred lives lost to this bio-weapon, and even more killed by the creatures that were mutated from the ponies he attacked! Were it not for a few heroes who stepped up to protect the survivors, who knows how many more would have been lost? Hundreds of thousands, dead, and I… had to order my ponies to kill my own people…” Celestia put her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hooves.

“You would think that after the first few wars, it would get easier. That after all the battles, and all the violence, and all the deaths I’ve watched, ordered, and caused, that I would be used to it by now, wouldn’t you? But a century without any real conflict has made me so soft again. I don’t know that I have it in me to be the harsh glare that I once was anymore.

Those things that made the gas were all preloaded. They had been hidden in such small places that unless you were looking for the slightest inconsistency in the pavement, you would never know they were there. Made completely of polymer plastics, resistant to magic, and odorless, tasteless chemicals inside. Virus emitters… I’ve never seen anything like this. Wasn’t he going on about something we did in the second world war? Of course chemical weapons were tested, but nothing like this was possible back then! We never targeted civilians, we were the only country that held fast to that commitment! If the Rossian Nationalist party didn’t hide behind their civilians, that war would never have lasted beyond a year!

Why did he plant these things? Was this just to show what he could do? Why… how can you do something so… so horrible to bystanders? These ponies had no reason to be involved, and he just… he just murdered them in cold blood. It’s my job to protect them. I am the one they look to in their times of need, and I… I didn’t even realize they were in danger. It would take months to find and remove these things, and if we tamper with them, that could set them off. With as well planted as Palomino Point was, there’s no way we could find them all in a larger city like Fort Withers. This is… this is all so unprecedented, I…

I’ll admit, I was skeptical of him being capable of this. I knew he had his mirrors, and that footage Rarity brought back from the tower should have been proof enough, but to already have this prepared… Did he know? Did he see you? Was he prepared for you to find what you did just to… just to scare us? Or was he taunting us? Waiting for the moment he could spring this without any warning? How long have we just been playing into his hooves? Did he underestimate us, or did we underestimate him? Was it both and now we’re just sitting at a stalemate hoping that the other will die of old age? I should have known. This was always a game to him, he said it himself.” Ah noticed a flicker of blue out of the corner of my eye and watched as the Night Princess silently snuck in behind her sister. Celestia pulled her head back up and stared at Rainbow. The way she looked at her made me nervous, and Ah couldn’t put my hoof on why.

“Rainbow, I need you to tell me exactly who we’re dealing with. The pony that committed this atrocity will pay in blood, and he will pay to me directly.” Celestia’s mane started ta brighten in a way that made me unsure if Ah was seein’ thin’s or not. In a way, it reminded me of Sweetie’s burnin’ ears. It was kinda… flickerin’ at the edges.

“Uh, absolutely not. You are compromised, and if I give you a name, you are gonna go do something stupid.” Rainbow said as she crossed her hooves and leaned back. Celestia raised herself ta her full height, and suddenly the room felt noticeably warmer. The princess’ eyes had started ta change color, and now the bottom half of her irises were this… eery gold color.

“You will tell me what I want to know this instant, Firefly Flare!” Ah felt myself swallow. Ah could feel the sweat startin’ ta run down my temples. Ah’ve never heard her use a tone like that. Maybe this ain’t the safest place ta be right now. Of course, even though she looks like she’s about ta piss herself, Rainbow remained defiant.

“No! You need to chill out!” Celestia shook her head.

“Then you leave me no choice. I, Celestia Iscandor of Equuis invoke the contract of loyalty you swore to me under the name engraved in your soul! Tell me who Persona is!” Celestia’s horn was covered in a dark black smoke and her eyes were lettin’ off this horrible violet aura that made her look like some kinda demon. Rainbow started ta scream as she began ta vomit that same black smoke up on the table, writhin’ in pain, fightin’ the magic off desperately, but all ta no avail.

“P-persona… is…” Suddenly, Luna made her presence known and punched Celestia across the face. The white alicorn went rollin’ ta the floor, and the dark fog that was spewin’ out of Rainbow stopped, givin’ her a chance ta breathe again.

“This is madness Celestia! What in the world are you doing!?” If looks could kill, Luna would be dead. Celestia’s sclera had darkened ta a deep black-crimson color, and those irises didn’t have a hint of her normal violet in them anymore. It was very hot around Celestia now, so Ah made some hoof signals ta have everypony back away from the table. Or more specifically, the princesses.

“What am I doing? Why, I’m simply putting an end to this farce. It has gone too far, and now my little ponies are dead! Had we taken care of this earlier, it would have never escalated to this point!” Celestia yelled. She slowly started ta stand and the crystal below her hooves started ta brighten up like hot metal.

“You cannot! We could not! So much more will be lost if you kill him now, you know that! The emitters are tied to his life! If… if something foreign kills him, everything will be set off! All ponies in every city will be subject to this!” Luna pleaded. Celestia tilted her head till she was lookin’ at Luna at almost a ninety-degree angle. Her mane had become noticeably brighter now, castin’ its own light and flickerin’ with soft orange flames at the edges.

“Is that so, sister? And how is it that you have this knowledge and I do not?” Celestia took a single step toward Luna, and Luna backed away. The spot Celestia’s hoof had been before was left as a molten pool of crystal in the shape of her hoof.

“B-because… B-because I… It is because… this is all… my fault…” Luna looked as if she’d been struck. Celestia looked like she was gonna kill her. Celestia was in position ta kill her.

“What do you mean, your fault!?”Her voice was like an eruptin’ volcano, pure rage ready ta melt down anythin’ in her path. Celstia’s wings spread and her mane and tail went up in flames, literally. The temperature in the room could rival a scorchin’ summer day in Palomino’s desert under the bright, radiant sun. The floor around Celestia’s hooves was literally meltin’ now and my whole body was shiverin’. Every instinct, just like when Matarael was about ta explode, was tellin’ me ta get away from here as fast as possible. Good goddess, what in the hell am Ah witnessin’? Just as it looked as if Celestia was gonna pounce, Twilight jumped in front of her with her hooves spread.

“Mother, stop! That’s enough! You’re… you’re scaring me! Please, let her explain herself.” Celestia froze in place while she stared her daughter down. The burnin’ princess took a few deep breaths and then sat down. The fire reverted inta glowy mane-smoke like it normally was, and her eyes were mostly violet again. Mostly. The hint was there enough that it made me think the wrong word could set her off again.

“You heard her. You have exactly five seconds to tell me why I shouldn’t kill you where you stand. What did you know while I watched my ponies slaughter each other, hmm sister? What did you know while I was giving the order for my military to gun down any mutated creature attacking a survivor? The mutated monsters that were only moments before my citizens. Tell me, because I would oh so love to know why you chose to keep it all to yourself, dear sister.” A few words in there had Celestia’s eyes fightin’ ta stay violet, and losin’ fer a moment.

“I…” Luna began, but couldn’t find the words. She sat down and let her head droop ta the floor. “I am the reason Person exists. I am the one who disappointed him. I was his hero, and I… failed him. I took his future away, I took his father away, I took his life away, and… and I tried to hide from it all. I never imagined things would get so… out of hoof.” She sniffed and shook her head. “I have spent the last half year trying to fix this, and every time things just kept getting worse! He… he’s become too powerful and I cannot stop him. I… I understand-”

Immediately, Twilight threw up shields over everypony, and Celestia was wreathed in a column of flame. The heat was intense, the lights in the castle had gone out, but Celestia was shinin’ like the sun itself. She took a single step out of the flames, and the fire swirled around her, curlin’ in wisps and trailin’ behind her. The floor melted with every movement. Her eyes had reverted ta yellow and crimson, her golden shoes, yoke, and crown, had become burnt and blackened inta spiky, twisted pieces of metal.

“What exactly do you understand, dear sister!? Do you understand all the lives that have been lost? The mothers, fathers, sons and daughters that will wake in the morning alone without the ponies they’ve spent their lives with? All the suffering that your little mistake has caused and will continue to bring because of your own foolhardy pride!? Do you understand all the death and destruction that has been brought upon my little ponies because you decided to keep this all a secret from me!? Or shall I show you just what it feels like!? The pain and weakness, the searing burn of flesh melted and torn from your limbs! Do you understand the turmoil today will bring over the next decade!? How weak we look to the rest of the world when we are completely unprepared for a terrorist attack!? How vulnerable this will leave us even after Persona is dealt with!? Perhaps you would like a little repeat of our little spat during the civil war, is that it!? What would you understand then, DEAR SISTER!?”

Before anypony could even move, Celestia took two steps toward Luna and threw a burnin’ hoof in her face. The night blue alicorn went spiralin’ toward the wall and crash landed with a crack. Celestia was about ta go after her again, but then somethin’ unexpected happened. Twilight hugged her mother.

“Please… don’t do this.” Celestia’s lips peeled back like she was about ta bite the mare, but then she shoved the violet alicorn away. She started toward the north east hallway but stopped as she passed by Luna. She spat what looked like molten lava at Luna’s hooves just under her crater in the wall and leaned in right next ta her face.

“Be thankful that I was careless enough to love. You still breathe because of it.” She stomped her way down the hall, leavin’ pools of molten crystal with every step behind, until she reached the stairs and we couldn’t see her anymore. After a few minutes, we heard an agonized scream of rage and the whole castle started ta shake. The sound of an explosion echoed through the castle, and once it was done, there was still. Calm. The storm had passed. Luna pushed her way out of her crater and wiped away the blood off her cheek.

“Well. At least she was holding back.” Luna sighed. “I will need time… to gather my materials and properly explain the situation. On Friday, I will be ready, and then you will learn the truth of all this. I am certain even you do not know why Persona has become what he is miss Dash, and even that… is my fault. At the very least, you all know now why I have forbidden that name. It has been… over a century and a half, since I have truly seen… the Radiant Sun.”

Persona XX: Like a Dream Come True (part 1)

Applejack

When Ah went ta bed last night, there were hooves around me. Ah know Ah was holdin’ one when Ah fell asleep, but right now, Ah was alone. Somethin’ had just moved, and that’s what woke me up. Ah sat up quick ta make sure he was still here and let out a breath when Ah saw him. Ah shouldn’t be this nervous about him just gettin’ up fer the day. It’s not like he usually wakes me in the mornin’ anways.

“You alright?” he asked. Ah shook my head.

“No. Y’all gettin’ outta bed shouldn’t make me this jumpy. Somethin’s wrong, but Ah don’t know what it is.” Goose frowned. He climbed back on the bed and put a hoof around my shoulder.

“Still freaked out over yesterday?” Ah sighed.

“Ah look at that mare like she’s my mother. Even after all the shit we’ve been through, Ah’ve never been so afraid in my life. Ah really thought she was gonna kill her. Ah think Ah heard that scream in my nightmares. Here Ah thought Ah was the one with anger issues, but that was on a whole other level. Ah can only imagine how Twilight is takin’ this.” So much fire, so much heat. If Luna was scary in her armor, what in the hell does Celestia look like? Does she always take that form when she fights? Or was this somethin’ special? She sounded so… anguished. Goose sighed and leaned on me a bit.

“Yeah, it’s hard to see somepony in so much pain at once. I guess that is what it takes to break Celestia’s composure. Maybe you should go see her and see how she’s doing. If I were in her place, I’d want friends around.” The offer was temptin’.

“Yeah…” But then Ah realized just what exactly those words meant. “Wait, what do ya mean, Ah should go see her? Where are you gonna be?” Ah pushed him off and crossed my forelegs. Goose sighed again and let his head fall inta my lap.

“Too smart for me. I’m still not done with my business from the other day, so…”

“So you’re goin’ out again, and leavin’ me here by myself.”

“Wha-? You’re not alone, there are like, six other ponies you can call up and hang out with if you wanted to. It’s not like I’m barring you from letting anypony into our house or anything. I bet your siblings wouldn’t mind having company either. Who knows, Blood might not be working today, you could go see him too.” Ah could feel myself start ta pout, but then Ah got an idea. “What are you-” Before he could finish that sentence, Ah flipped around him and straddled him.

“But sugar cube, Ah can’t do this with none of them. It has ta be you♥” Ah leaned in and kissed him, and just like that he was putty in my hooves.

“Okay, but seriously, I still have things I need to do today, and I can’t bring you with me.” An hour. A whole hour, and Ah still couldn’t wear him down.

“Really!? After all that… can ya even walk? Ah coulda swore…” Goose turned his head and gave me a look.

“You were trying to break me?” How can Ah feel embarrassed now? We already did the thin’. Ya would think that bein’ this close would mean that there’s nothin’ ta be ashamed about anymore, but here Ah am. Ah sat up and looked away, decidin’ that my mane was the most interestin’ thin’ in the world right now.

“Well… maybe a little.” Or a lot really. Had he not the sense ta remove the mattress from the frame after the first time, the frame would most certainly be broken now. The sweaty stallion draped himself over my back and laid his head against mine.

“You know I would never leave you, right?” Gosh, Ah need ta get this thin’ taken care of. No wonder Rarity complains all the time, Ah’ve got knots everywhere there aren’t split ends, and split ends everywhere there ain’t knots.

“So? Didn’t ya say somethin’ about never leavin’ my side like a month ago? What happened ta that?” Ah asked, knowin’ how petty Ah sound. Do Ah have ta say it?

“I’m still here, last I checked. I promise, it will all make sense in a little bit. I just need one more day.” He kissed my neck and a shiver ran down my spine. Ah pushed him off and turned around ta face him.

“Damn it! That ain’t fair! What if Ah… what if Ah’m just feelin’ nervous and Ah just want ya ta…” Stay home and hold me? What if for the first time in my life Ah’ve been so afraid of somethin’ that Ah just wanted ta be comforted, and now Ah finally have somepony ta turn ta? Ah don’t care how intimate we are, those words will never come out of my mouth. Fuck it, be it a flaw or not, Ah’m too proud ta say it.

“Stay home and hold you?” Has there ever been a moment when somepony put a piece of ice on yer neck? That’s about what hearin’ those words come outta his mouth felt like. He leaned in and tackled me down ta the bed and then pulled me in close. His hooves were wrapped around me tight, he probably had some stupid smug smile on his face, and that dumb bastard was doin’ exactly what Ah wanted him ta. Ah don’t know what Ah hated more. The fact that he knew what Ah wanted, or the fact that… Ah felt safe.

“Have Ah ever told ya how much Ah hate ya?” Ah’m sure Ah had my own big dumb smile when Ah said that. He leaned over and kissed me this time.

“That makes at least ten times since last week.” And now it was my turn ta be putty.

“Well, Ah’m gonna be sore tomorrow,” Ah noted. The engine revin’ hot between my thighs made that ever so apparent, as each and every little bump Ah hit made me wish Ah hadn’t tried so hard ta break Goose this mornin’.

“Huh? Why? Where did that come from?” Twilight asked from behind my back through the brand. Gotta keep my head more focused. Too little, and she’ll hear everythin’ Ah’m thinkin’. In the end, Ah still lost the argument, so now Ah found myself on the highway, ridin’ around with no real destination. Goose dropped me off at the Castle this mornin’, and when Ah found her, poor Twilight had locked herself up in the library mutterin’ on about her mother. If seein’ Celestia like that gave me nightmares, Twilight hadn’t slept since then. Ah figured that since Ah hadn’t taken it out since Ah broke my foreleg durin’ the Israfel fight, Ah might as well take Twilight out ta see the city on my bike.

It had been sittin’ in the castle’s garage ever since that Sunday mornin’, and because Goose was there ta take me everywhere, Ah had no reason ta go get it and just plain forgot it was there. Ah paid like, Ah don’t know, ten gold fer this thin’ and Ah damn near forgot about it. And that was just the bike, not includin’ the gold Ah spent on the ridin’ suit and the license course and the helmet… It’s all that stupid stallion’s fault. Got my head all filled with foals and weddin’s and him, and Ah forget about all the shit Ah blew my money on.

“Uh… aren’t you going a little fast Applejack? What’s the displacement on this thing? I didn’t even know a motorcycle could hit over a hundred miles per hour with two ponies on it.” Sure enough, Ah had turned on the road ta Tin and forgot that Twilight was even there. The mornin’ sky was clear, it was cooler than Ah expected it ta be, and right now was just about the perfect time ta go fer a drive.

“Oh, shit. Uh, sorry.” Ah rolled off the throttle and let my head cool. You’d think that goin’ a hundred on the highway on a day like this would be enough ta do just that. “This is a Roadrunner Falcon 1300, so the engine displacement is probably somewhere around 1290 CCs. We could definitely hit higher than a hundred if Ah really wanted ta. We’re not even in the upper bands of power right now. This is like, almost too close ta the bottom of fifth gear.” Twilight’s helmet clinked against mine when she tried ta nod.

Due ta safety concerns, Ah decided it was best ta get her some gear before we went out. Ah’m not used ta havin’ a passenger and… well, Ah’m not the safest driver around. We ran inta trouble when it came ta gettin’ a helmet, since her horn is not only broken still, but taller than most ponies, so she had ta get a size up and it doesn’t quite fit right.

“I see. I’m surprised you can be so relaxed riding this thing. If you weren’t driving, I think I would be scared out of my mind going this fast.” Ah know she ain’t Goose, but she just said the magic words ta get me ta find the upper power band.

“Well then… Why don’t we just see about that!” Ah kicked up ta sixth and then rolled back on the throttle as fast as Ah could without pullin’ a wheelie. Twilight started ta scream, and the desired effect was achieved. The road here was pretty empty thanks ta it bein’ about ten AM on a Monday, and we’d only passed a few cars as we drove. With Twilight’s extra weight, we only hit 165 ta my dismay. Only double the speed limit plus twenty-five instead of close ta triple like it can do when it’s just me ridin’.

Eventually Ah noticed how close ta Tin we were, and realized at the same time that I’d spent about a full tank doin’ my stupid stunts ta show off. Oh well, it’s not like it’s gonna cost me three silvers ta fill this thin’ up. That really ain’t a whole lot of money ta me these days, but old habits die hard Ah suppose. When we slowed down enough that the wind wasn’t too loud fer me ta hear, Ah realized Twilight was actually laughin’. Ah guess she’s havin’ fun, so the desired effect really was achieved. We made it inta Tin and Ah pulled over at a gas station ta fill up. Gas was low right now, so Ah might not even hit a silver tryin’ ta fill up. It’s only got a five and a half gallon tank, but fer seventy miles ta the gallon, it’s hard ta beat.

“I can only wonder if Pinkie feels like that all the time… You know, I’ve never really tested how fast she can go. I’m certain she would beat you in a race, but having the comparison would be nice to get a good measure of her speed. Gosh, my heart is racing. How do you do it? I don’t think I would have the stones to actually push it all the way.” Ah unlocked the tank and put the pump in.

“Well, Ah just know that it won’t hurt me no matter how fast Ah go. Once upon a time, Ah jumped straight down from the top of a twenty-one story hotel and walked away like nothin’ ever happened. If that ain’t gonna kill me, nothin’ Ah do on this bike is gonna hurt me no matter how fast Ah’m goin’. It would take a lot, and Ah mean a hell of a lot of force ta do anythin’ ta my body as far as kinetics go.

Pretty sure Ah can’t be electrocuted either. Ah haven’t tried ta cut myself in a decade now, but Ah bet Ah could probably pierce my skin if Ah was tryin’ real hard, but it would have ta be some real strong metal against a weak point, like my ear or somethin’. Otherwise, the knife might break. Y’all gotta remember, all the wounds Ah’ve taken up till now have either been my fault, or the result of magic involvin’ heat. Ah’m the mare who gets shot and shrugs it off, remember?” That doesn’t mean the bullets don’t hurt, but Ah take slugs like a pony takes Nefr dart. They just bounce off. And leave, awful, awful bruises. Twilight sat down and put one hoof under her elbow and the other under her chin.

“Oh, that’s right. I suppose if I really got scared, I could save myself with magic. Y-yesterday was the… first time I reacted out of… fear like that… since I was ten anyways.” Twilight shuddered. “If she got this angry over the attack, I can only wonder if… if she was telling me the whole story when I got kidnapped. Maybe it wasn’t really my powers that were keeping her from rescuing me, but… her own…” The pump clicked, and Ah pulled it outta the tank. The charge was only nine bits, and Ah put a silver in, so the meter spat out a copper fer me.

“Well… Ah’m sure there’s probably a lot that ya don’t know about yer mother. Truth be told, Ah ain’t never been as scared of anythin’ as much as Ah was scared of her last night. Had ya not done what ya did, who knows how far she would’ve taken it? At the very least, y’all have enough of a place in her heart ta bring her back ta her senses. As old as she is, maybe she just sees everypony like her kids, ya know? It wasn’t just a town full of ponies she’d never interacted with that got hit, but a town full of her kids. And if this is all really Luna’s fault, Ah can’t find it in me ta blame her fer reactin’ like she did. If Ah were her, Ah don’t know that even y’all coulda stopped me. Er, provided ya were mine anyways.” Twilight’s ears shot up and she froze in place. Ah pocketed the copper bit in my ridin’ suit and mounted the bike.

“Somethin’ wrong?” Like some kinda rusty valve, Twilight’s head slowly jerked away from me.

“Ha ha! N-nope! Everything is fine! Ha! B-by the way, you remember h-how I took a blood sample from everypony the other day?” Ah tilted my head.

“Well, yeah, ya broke like five needles tryin’ ta finally get mine. What about it?” Ah put my helmet on and started the bike.

“W-well, the thing is…” Ah felt my other pocket start ta buzz and Ah pulled out my phone ta see somepony callin’ me.

“Hold on, it’s Fluttershy.” Why in the world is she callin’ me? “Hello?”

“H-hi. W-what are you up to right now?” This is so weird. Nopony ever calls me.

“Uh, Ah took Twilight out on the bike. We just finished fillin’ up in Tin since Ah decided ta show her how fast we could go. What’s up?”

“O-oh, well, you should come back to the c-castle and pick me up too.” What? Ah turned my head ta look at the bike, and there ain’t no way Ah could get three ponies on this thin’.

“Ah mean, Ah would, but Ah can’t fit three ponies on this thin’. Why? Do ya need ta go somewhere?”

“W-well, I destroyed my suit yesterday, s-so I have to get a new one made b-before Sunday. I-I thought you could s-show me to your tailor and m-maybe we could… hang out…” Ah scratched my head and looked ta Twilight, but she just shrugged.

“Uh. Well, sure, Ah guess. Would ya mind walkin’ there? Can ya walk there? Ah would drive, but Ah don’t have anythin’ that can carry more than two passengers…” Ah had ta take a moment ta remember that the pony Ah was speakin’ ta recently lost a leg and her… best friend? Sister? Ah have no real idea as ta what in the hell happened with her yesterday. Ah don’t think any of us really do, but there has been a clear difference in the way she acts.

Ah know Ah should probably go spend some time with her since she’s my friend too, but don’t want ta leave Twilight out since she is definitely not in mind ta be home by herself right now. She’s even less likely than Ah am ta actually go seek somepony out when she’s feelin’ like this. This was never a problem back when Ah was alone. Is this what it feels like ta have a bunch of friends?

“I-I can walk. I-I need the practice a-anyway. I-it’s a little weird, b-but I’m finding that my wing c-can take over for most of what my hoof u-used to do.”

“Alright then. We’re about an hour and a half from Manehattan right now, so we should be back by noon or so.”

“G-good! I-I’ll see you when you get here.” And then she hung up. So weird…

“So…?” Twilight asked. Ah blinked at the phone and shrugged.

“Ah guess we’re goin’ ta visit Star with Fluttershy.”

“Ah! You’re finally back!” Rarity said as we made our way ta the livin’ room. Huh. She really is here. She seems bubbly today. We passed her car when Ah parked on the way in, but Ah wasn’t sure if that meant Goose took her home last, or she was actually at the castle. Apparently, it was the latter.

“Uh… howdy? What are y’all doin’ here? Ain’t this supposed ta be everypony’s day off?” Ah asked.

“Well, I actually called Fluttershy earlier to see how she was doing, and she told me what you were up to. I still haven’t met this famous tailor of yours yet, and since I can drive around four ponies, I figured I could come along.” Ah feel like Ah could hear some kinda game sound in the background, signalin’ that Ah just gained a party member or somethin’. Why do Ah feel like Ah’m gettin’ roped inta somethin’ that was preplanned?

“I-I um… also had a l-little shopping I wanted to get t-taken care of so… t-this way you don’t have to c-carry my things.” After hearin’ the voice, Ah finally realized that the three legged Pegasus had crept up beside me.

“Holy- geez! Y’all are gonna give me a damn heart attack.” How did she do that? Ah’ve always been able ta tell before. Somethin’… really did change. “Well, Ah don’t know how ya expected ta get somethin’ home on the bike. My Roadrunner ain’t automatic, Ah need all my hooves ta drive. Unless ya never planned ta get somethin’ home on the bike.” Ah narrowed my eyes at the slightly taller pegasus, but she just looked the other direction.

“W-wow Twilight, is that a n-new suit?” Uh-huh. Divert and deflect. These bitches are up ta somethin’, and Ah don’t like it.

“Well, I suppose it is. I knew motorcycles were dangerous, but Applejack was the one who decided I should be wearing body armor before we go. I know it’s only been a few months since we met, but I’ve already put my life in her hooves so many times now that I think I could trust her with just about anything.” Her cheeks were a bit rosy and she was scratchin’ her head like she was embarrassed ta say that. Ah don’t know exactly what emotion Ah was feelin’, but it was sweet and fer a minute there, Ah thought that purple mare was adorable.

“I uh… never realized how much fun they are. Uh, the motorcycle, I mean. I don’t know how well it would go over with her, but I’m honestly considering getting a bike myself now. Of course, I can’t say that either of them would be happy about that, or if they would even let me do it. It’s not like what I’ve been doing is any safer though, so I can’t really see what the issue would be. I-it would be fun if we could… ride together, sometime.” Oh goddess, she’s just precious. Is this why Celestia pokes at her so often when she’s here? Ah… Ah completely understand now.

“I must say, I am a fan of your choice. Maybe you should wear this to fight in, it looks so much better than your Centurion get up,” Rarity said as she circled Twilight. We just so happened ta find a white and purple ridin’ suit at the dealership that just matched up with Twilight’s colors ever so perfectly. Ah didn’t think she really needed somethin’ that heavy duty just fer one time out, but she wanted it, and it’s not like anypony around here is short in the cash department. I’m sure it helps when yer mother is the queen.

“I can’t do that! I…” Twilight took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay look, nothing about what I am going to tell you ever reaches mother’s ears, got it?” Twilight got nods from everypony and continued, “The reason I chose that particular outfit is because… it’s from a bedtime story she used to tell me. When the stories weren’t about my father, they were about the very first Equestrian army, Fulmen Legionis. Now, I can’t confirm that the stories are true since hardly any of mother’s exploits before Equestria was formed are recorded, but there are traces of this story out in the real world, whether or not ponies believe it to have been real.

Before the continent we know as Equestria was united, there were many warring nations. The tribes of even same race ponies were divided amongst themselves, and they were constantly fighting. Losing lands, losing lives, losing love. When Celestia arrived with her then baby sister, uh… Mother is about eleven years older than Luna in the event you didn’t know, but she managed to rally an army together and became one of the warring lords herself. Mother was of course in a league of her own thanks to the sheer difference in power between Alicorn and Equestrian magic, but she alone could not protect her new following and the lands she’d gained, so she came up with an idea.

A word from her home land, a name for an army that was above everything and anything else, Fulmen Legionis, or the Thunderbolt Legion. For ten years during this period of warring lands did Celestia train these soldiers. At first, she had five thousand ponies who gathered to join her legion. They all offered their swords of their own accord, but none of them could have ever been prepared for the hell she would put them through. By the time she thought her army was ready to set Equestria on a path of peace, only fifty-six soldiers remained, and only they carried the title of Praetor, Celestia’s personal soldiers.

For the next fifty years, Equestria’s banner rose above more and more castles along the continent until finally, there were no lands willing to challenge the might of the Fulmen Legionis. For every one of her personal soldiers, it would take hundreds of enemy soldiers to take them down. Over that entire half century of the war for Equestria, only four of the Fulmen Legionis were ever killed in battle. Once the fighting was done and the continent under one banner, each of the members of the Legionis were sent off to reign over a part of the country. Each region was named after the Praetor that reigned over it, and that is how Equestria came to have fifty-two provinces.

Or so she says, anyways. Each one has their own unique story, and when I was much younger, I knew them all. Sir Canter of Lot, the land around the eastern mountain, was always my favorite because he was one of Celestia’s first soldiers. He was a unicorn of noble birth, but he was excised from his home because he tried to free one of his slaves. She was an Earth Pony, as many of them were back then, and they loved each other. She was murdered by the royalty of Lot as a punishment for Canter’s betrayal, and from there on Canter swore his revenge.

He traveled across Equestria working as a mercenary, training himself for the day the he could come back and free the slaves in Lot, but never realizing his potential until he met my mother. She claims she was sixteen when she first met Canter, and after she asked for his services, he remained loyal until the day he died. Her steadfast knight, one of her first subjects, and the very first Senator of Canter’s Lot, which was later abbreviated after he died. Canter would go on to have an extraordinary lifespan of one hundred years and fight in every battle for the country at Celestia’s side.

When I was so in awe of mother back in my early years, Canter was who I aspired to be. The Princess’ most loyal knight, her first Centurion, and one of her earliest friends. One of these days… I still think I want to end up in that position, so… that’s why I wear the armor. As long as I can stand up and pretend to be Canter, then one day… maybe I’ll live up to his memory.”

“So… you’re tellin’ me that Palomino, Andulas, and Manehattan were all somepony’s names?” Ah asked. Ah can’t really imagine Celestia would lie ta her own daughter in a bedtime story, but Ah can certainly believe that she didn’t tell her all the gory details. Twilight nodded.

“As far as I know. Like I said, records of this are basically nonexistent, but from the things she’s told me, Palomino was supposedly an Apple. As in, your heritage. Based on her account, Sweet Apple Acres has been around longer than she has, and Palomino was the oldest son living on the orchard when she escaped Equuis and arrived nearby. She has always said she needs to go back to Palomino one day and see if she can’t find where the portal opened, but has never had the drive or the time to do it.

As for Manehattan, our province has a bit of a strange history to its first senator. He was actually from across the ocean, an ancient immigrant from what would eventually become today’s Cheval. His name was Mannequin, but from what mother said, he spoke with an accent so thick that it was hard to understand him in ancient Equestrian back then. They never really knew how to say his name, and everypony called him something different. Man-equin, Mane-ekin, Mane-ettan, and so on, and eventually they settled on Manettan, which was later even further butchered into the Manehattan we know today.”

Somethin’ about that don’t seem right ta me, but Ah really can’t argue with it. Ah may have ta go ta the source one of these days ta get the truth.

“This is… all so very interesting Twilight, but I wasn’t quite expecting such an… involved story. Is everypony ready to go? I would rather not take up your tailor’s time if he has a store full of ponies right now.” Ah rolled my eyes. There ain’t no way in hell Star has a store full of ponies right now. Star ain’t never had a store full of ponies. As a matter of fact, Ah bet we’ll be the most ponies in his store at any one point and time all week. He doesn’t move a lot of inventory, he just sells expensive inventory consistently. Ah blew some air outta my lips and shook my head.

“Yeah, the chances of that are extremely low. Come on y’all, Rarity is gettin’ antsy, so let’s head on out.”

“Really? This is the place?” Rarity asked as we pulled in. Ah’ve never done anythin’ but walked ta this place, so drivin’ was a bit strange fer me. As per usual, this part of the eastern district was cleaned up in the last ten years, and most of the factories that used ta line this area were demolished and replaced with dual purpose storefront apartments. Star’s buildin’ on the other hoof was always here, and it was not replaced in the big reconstruction effort after the trade center fell. So… it looks like shit. Just like always. The sign still uses old neon tubes, it has no real hours, just open whenever Star feels like it, and the inside is deceptively nice in comparison ta the decrepit old exterior.

As we approached, the sign said ‘closed’ but Ah knew better and walked in through the unlocked door. His bell went off, and sure enough, he came runnin’ down the back stairs.

“Hey, can’t ya see that the sign says-”

“Ah can read.” He stopped fer a minute and then poked his head around the corner.

“Oh, it’s you. And… ya brought friends.” Star finished comin’ down the stairs and scratched at his thin beard. “I really shouldn’t be putting this order off for much longer, but I guess I can make time. What’s up?” As always, Star was wearin’ his white, yellow, green, and blue tie, but today he had his work shirt on, complete with pin filled pin cushion and his glasses. Oh geez, he must actually be workin’ fer a change.

“Well uh… Ah mean if you’re busy, we can come back later…” Star shook his head and sighed while puttin’ a hoof around me.

“Come on Applejack, you’re like a little sister to me. I’m not about to turn ya away. Why don’t you guys come on up to my studio and then we can talk while I work, deal?” Ah nodded, and from there we went up ta the third floor where star was workin’ on somepony’s weddin’ dress. It was a bit different than what Ah thought a normal dress would look like, but Ah suppose it wasn’t quite done yet either. It was real sleek, a kinda metallic look ta it. The tail end was clearly not even put together, but the top was mostly done with this lacy, intricate collar with shiny plastic lookin’ trim and little pearls at every crest. The sleeves had this kinda fan like thin that ran up the shoulder almost like a wing and it was sparkly all the way down ta the frills and lace near the hooves.

“Good goddess, that is gorgeous! Are those pearls real? What kind of sequins are these? That’s not real white gold is it? Where did you get it? Are you planning on doing this to with the veil? What kind of skirt are you putting this to? Ah, I have so many questions!” From what Ah could tell, Ah knew a few of those words, but Ah figure Rarity about rivaled Pinkie fer talkin’ speed. Star seemed less overwhelmed.

“Yeah, white gold, I ordered directly from Argent, I am, I was told to come close to a particular dress the customer asked for while doin’ what I think is best based on the figure of his bride to be, so I think I’m going to put this to an A-line style with some ribbons that match the neck. She has a huge ass, so I’m tryin’ my best to draw attention to her face since her figure wants ya ta look elsewhere. By the way, I’m Star Slate, who might you be?” Star answered her every question without missin’ a beat and then stuck his hoof out ta greet her. Damn, maybe he does have a talent fer this.

“Ah, I apologize, where are my manners. I am Rarity Belle, and I’m actually a fan of yours, Mister Slate.” They shook and then Star made some kinda click-like mouth noise.

“Oh, you run that little boutique over on the west side, right? Nice ta meet ya, you can call me Star. I’ve seen some of your work, you’re pretty good. Who are the rest of ya?” He turned ta the winged mares and ever so slightly let the confusion show on his face. Ah know Star well enough ta catch it, but Ah don’t think anypony else did.

“I’m Twilight and this is Fluttershy. It’s um… nice to meet you.” Tentatively, Twilight stretched out a hoof fer a shake and Star took it before she could pull it away.

“Alright, sure, Star Slate. Has anypony ever told ya that ya look like the Princess? I’m pretty sure I’ve seen enough weirdos ta know that wings and a horn ain’t all that uncommon, but your face is just so… similar…” Sweet goddess, of all the thin’s he coulda picked up, why in the world did he catch that one? Ah grabbed Star away from inspectin’ Twilight any further and set him in front of Fluttershy.

“Yep! Ah know Ah’ve told her that. Hey, actually, we’re here because Fluttershy wants ta put in an order with ya. These are all my coworkers and she needs a new suit, why don’t ya tell him about it Shy?”

“Hey- what the!? Chill out with the hooves, alright? Geez. Hi, I’m… oh.” Star stuck out his hoof ta shake hers… until he realized that she happened ta be missin’ one. Fluttershy’s shoulder moved like she was about ta shake his hoof and stopped once she realized there was nowhere ta put her weight. She looked down at the little stump and let out a breath and a head shake.

“Y-yeah… D-don’t worry about it,” she whispered. She sat down and shifted her weight ta her back legs and shook Star’s hoof. “I-it’s um… n-nice to meet you.” This time, it was almost audible. Well, this was her idea after all. Maybe she didn’t put that much thought inta it. Star pulled his hoof back as soon as he let go of hers and scratched at the back of his head.

“Oh, geez, ya don’t have to go that far, it’s fine. Ya need a new suit, right? And everypony in this room knows who is who but me, right?” Ah nodded.

“From left ta right, Diamond, Target Lock, and… well, she’s still new, but we call her Centurio Regine,” Ah explained. Star nodded then did a double take.

“Oh, I see- wait what? These little girls? Hey come here for a minute, will ya?” He grabbed me and pulled me behind the half done dress. “Are these your new friends that ya were talkin’ about the other day? Is… is one of them… the Beast?” Star asked, very quietly.

“Well, yeah. Fluttershy is the Beast… was the Beast. Look, a lot has happened since Ah talked ta ya on Caballo day. That’s kinda why she needs a suit. She had four legs yesterday mornin’.” Star pushed me back and clapped his two front hooves.

“Oh-kay! So, I’ve been a little outta the loop for a while now, and I would very much like to be filled in. I would love to make ya a suit, but first I need to know what you’re gonna be doing in it, so I know just how to make it. Also, if I could get you to put this on, that would be great.” Star motioned ta the weddin’ dress and Ah scoffed.

“Huh? Why me?” Star rolled his eyes.

“Didn’t ya hear me? The bride to be has a huge ass. I can’t quite go feel up this guy’s bride since he wants this to be a surprise, and you just so happen to drop by. You still owe me from the other day, remember?” Ah scowled.

“What kinda older brother stares at his little sister’s butt?” Star frowned in return.

“The kind that has to let out the ass in his little sister’s costume every time she brings it in for repairs.” With that Ah decided the floor was the most interestin’ thin’ in the room. Ah swear Ah don’t eat a whole lotta sugar. It’s not my fault, damn it. “Uh-huh. That’s what I thought. Put the dress on and whoever wants can tell me what in the world is going on. Monster attacks every Sunday for almost a month now.” Star shook his head as he took the dress off the mannequin.

“I keep hopin’ one of ‘em will destroy my shop so I can get a new one on the government’s dime, but they’ve all missed me. The place next door was just finished bein’ rebuilt a few days ago. That’s just not fair.” Star passed me the half dress and Ah did my best ta get it on. It was tight, but not so tight that it was uncomfortable. He snapped it up my back and then grabbed a whole bunch of fabric pieces and pins and laid ‘em around me.

“Uh, you guys can take a seat. It won’t take forever, but ya probably want to get comfortable.” Rarity nodded, and then they went ta sit down.

“Of course. I am certainly not opposed to seeing you work. Applejack’s Marevelous suits are the real trade secret I’d want to know, but the quality of your regular work is also something I’ve read quite a bit about.” Star had already started puttin’ pins in places before he realized Rarity was talkin’ ta him.

“Yeah, ya learn a lot over the years. I’ve been doin’ this for about sixteen now, so I’d like to think I’m pretty good at it. I’ve at least got the money to show for it anyways. So uh… how did you guys meet? I met this one a long time ago, and I know she’s not really the ‘friendly’ type.” This is almost as bad as bein’ at home. He’s just like the rest of my family.

“Oh, well that is quite a story. As it turns out, our little sisters are best friends,” Rarity explained, almost like she was leadin’ him on.

“Yeah? I guess Applebloom ain’t that shy.” Rarity nodded.

“No, I don’t think so. I think she has some issues with dressing up though. Those three deal with these awful bullies at school that swing toward home base as I’m told, and so they tend to avoid trying to make themselves look pretty. Let’s see… I think this all started to move back at the end of August…

Rarity Belle

“Sweetie’s birthday, August twenty-fourth, was the day that we first met out of costume. She was an absolute mess. Just completely unstable, emotionally broken, the works.”

“Excuse me, Ah was not-” Applejack tried to protest in that beautiful corset, but I waved her away.

“I am telling the story, it’s not your turn. Anyways, after some coaxing, I managed to get her to come visit our… workplace a few days later. I’m sure you’ve likely heard many, but we all have our… more and less tragic backstories to tell, and everypony shared for story time. I got into this business because I witnessed a home invasion and a rape when I was young, but over time, enough went wrong in my life to get me desperate enough to try to play the game. So, here I am, still putting my neck out there… more for my original ideals than what started me on this path.

After that, we were given a task to investigate a foundry that no longer exists. Days after we infiltrate, the whole building, just gone. No idea if the walls were torn down and the equipment moved or whatever, but the basement was sealed, and all that remained was a foundation.

Anyways, we infiltrate this shady foundry out on the outskirts of town. We found these sensitive materials, and guarding it of course was the Bloody Crow herself.”

“Wow, you guys fought the Crow?” Star said. Well…

“Actually, it was more like Applejack fought the Crow. I was targeted and stabbed almost immediately after the fighting started. My unique powers make me very valuable to the team, so if somepony figures out who to hit first, it’s almost always me. From what I’m told, everypony fought with her until she cut Fluttershy and we had to deal with the Beast. In a strange turn of events, Applejack and the Crow team up to get Fluttershy back to normal and then they do just that. We would later learn that Fluttershy and the Crow were childhood friends, but we don’t really know that until she joins us.”

“So… you fought the Crow… and then recruited her?” I nodded.

“Yes. She happens to be the um… guardian of Sweetie’s other friend. Anways, I’m out of commission after that fight for a while, so Applejack and Blur are left with the next job, which is investigating the harbor to deal with a gang.

So, last day of August, they’re headed to deal with these ruffians who’ve taken control of the port. A fight breaks out and then they find out that these ponies are in possession of those mirrors, like the one from the incident twelve years ago.” Star reeled back. He had pinned most of the skirt on now and was beginning to align laces around the waist. Goodness, this is going to be a fabulous ensemble.

“Mirrors? As in, The Mirror?” He looked shocked, so I assume he was close to that one.

“The very same. Or at least we think so. Persona’s quest for the ‘original’ likely means that these others are sham reproductions that don’t match up to what his original was, otherwise this whole kaiju business may never have happened in the first place.

Anyways, one of the gang leader’s posse decides to use one of these sham mirrors against his orders and becomes a monster not unlike our dear Beast. Blur goes down, and it’s up to Applejack to deal with the monster. It kills a whole bunch of the gang, destroys Applejack’s tail… by the way, did that ever get fixed?” Now that I thought about it, I don’t really know what happened there. Supposedly she met up with Celestia after the first fight at the harbor, but I don’t think anypony ever clarified.

“Oh, yeah, not really. Since the wound was cauterized the moment it was made, there was really nothin’ she could do about it, so Ah will live my life with half a tail. What she did do was magically grow out the hair so it appears natural. She did that the same day she fixed my technique Ah think. That day was the first time Ah saw the sharin’ spell.” Star went digging around that big mass of blonde har until his hoof came out the other side.

“Oh, geez, it really isn’t there. That’s crazy.” Applejack turned and gave him a death glare.

“Hey now, y’all were complainin’ about ponies and hooves earlier, what the hell is this?” Star shrugged.

“Eh. Models should just stand there while I work. That’s important to know next time I let out your suit. I can make a tighter wrap for your tail since you don’t have anythin’ there to worry about.” And then he continued on his skirt.

“I see… well, Applejack slays the dragon, rescues Blur and captures a boyfriend all at the same time.” Star snorted.

“Oh, really now? Do ya fuck all your captives, or was this one special?” Applejack’s cheeks turned bright red and her eyes found the ground.

“Don’t you talk ta me, ya thirty year old virgin!” Star laughed.

“Ya can’t use that against me. I’ve been teased about that my whole life, I’m already used to it. Besides, I don’t think I want to be somepony’s dad. I don’t know that I could be Citrus. Those are some big shoes to fill after all… So uh… what happened next? If ya ask me, your life is kinda like a soap opera at this point.” Applejack sighed.

“Tell me about it. Go on Rarity, that’s about as bad as it gets.” Applejack waived a hoof at me. I felt a sly smile creep up my face.

“Well, I would think that when the others found you… indisposed last Tuesday would be a lower point, but whatever. Goose, the former gang boss, is captured, questioned, and then put to work as a new unit of our team thanks to his unique situation. His powers, the ones granted by the replica mirror that worked as the original did, allow him to teleport anywhere he’s been or he can see across vast distances. To keep him contained, we used the same technique that allows us to communicate with each other as a sort of magical way to stop his powers.

To our surprise, he was more than willing to help and even proved to be a very powerful asset. He supplied the information that another ship was arriving later in the week that he believed had more of those sham mirrors that turn ponies into monsters or extra power ponies, and he had planned on stopping that himself. Together, we waited at the harbor, and Applejack had another fight with the Crow. Thanks to whatever she and… our boss did the day before, she had improved significantly, and was far superior to the Crow. After beating her, we found out that the ship was a trap for Goose and his gang, and then we fought our second Mirror monster, the Kraken.

Thanks to a little additional aid after Applejack convinced the Crow to help us, and after one little mishap, we defeated him. Next, I infiltrated the hideout of the pony we believe to be our enemy. I watched live what everypony else saw in Persona’s warning video that he put out on September tenth. We knew what we were dealing with here was real.

We train for the coming Sunday, Applejack loses her mind, gets depressed, breaks, and manages to recover all in the span of a week, and we’re ready to go by the time Persona shows up and Sachiel appears. It was around this time that we figured that whoever has his original mirror was probably one of his employees, but after the second attack, we weren’t sure that he really had a plan of attack at all. It seems like he just wants to destroy.

So, with Sachiel out of the way, our boss decides that Goose is officially trustworthy, so he goes on a grand quest to win Applejack’s heart. Now this was some kind of story. Applejack has a tragic history, we all know that. What we didn’t know was how much of her memory had been repressed since she was a child since she just seems to be a magnet for suffering. She and Goose grew up together! They were childhood friends. However, she forgot because Goose’s mother was gunned down just a meter away from them while they were playing one day. I’m certain that being covered in blood at the ripe old age of seven is a recipe for a traumatized filly.

The story is sad, but the relationship that she’s gained from it almost drives me to envy. I would literally kill for a stallion that devoted to me, but being the mess she is, Applejack had a hard time sorting her feelings out with this. They go on a date and they start getting closer, but of course, she has no idea what she’s doing so things go wrong in a hurry.

The next Sunday rolls around, and we fight Israfel. Things are going well until Applejack literally shatters her foreleg and is taken out of the equation. All the work she did falls apart in an instant, and out of nowhere, the Crow comes to help us out. Nopony really had any idea she would be here, but hey, whatever, and we defeat Israfel and add the Crow and her little sister to our group.

Applejack being all broken, Goose decided to start taking care of her, and it was just the sweetest thing! Oh, jealousy looks good on nopony, but it’s so hard not to be around that. They get even closer, we find out that the Crow’s little sister can repair broken things, and she fixes Applejack’s foreleg. Applejack then decides, in her clumsy, socially inept way, that she wants to start making advances on Goose, and does a poor job since she has no idea what she’s doing. She came to me for advice and we found out just how broken the poor mare really was.”

“Ya know Ah’m still standin’ here, right?” I dismissed her.

“Of course I do. Your cheeks make such a lovely shade of red that I can’t find it in me to let it go. Anyways, being the broken mess she was, our boss took her away personally to solve some of these mental issues keeping her from her peak performance. To say we were lost with our leader suddenly gone would be an understatement. Nopony knew how to take over for her, and we never could get the job done as well as we could with her. It looked like things weren’t going to go well, but the third Sunday morning arrived, she returned with our boss just in time for the fight with Ramiel.

That… that was an experience I don’t think any of us will ever forget. We should all be dead. Nopony should have survived that, but here we all are. Applejack did her best, but we were completely out gunned, and we used all of our resources trying to defend the city. There was nothing we could do, we were on our last legs, and suddenly, Twilight steps up to the plate. As it happens, she and… her aunt, were doing some secret training on their own in preparation for the day, and it seems as if it worked. Or so we thought.

As she describes it, she believes that the spell she used that day was more or less an act of the Goddess. She isn’t capable of producing that much power on her own in the first place, and when all was said and done, her horn shattered. Once that happens to a unicorn, that basically means they can never use magic again, but thanks to another of our friends, she had most of it put back together. She couldn’t restore everything for some reason, so now Twilight is handicapped until her horn repairs itself. That’s provided she lives long enough for that to happen of course. We were proud of her for finally carrying her weight either way. Deus ex Machina or not, we owe her our lives.

After that day, something changed between our little couple, and from then to now, I believe they’ve become intimate. She practically lives with him now, so it’s hard to assume otherwise. In this week, our other members went on a bit of a soul-searching trip and decided to reconcile with their families.

Part of our not-so-happy group is that about three of seven were suicidal at one point in their lives, and at least two of them left home on bad terms. They all went to go see family, while I worked that week. I only got this story second hoof the other day since everypony leaves me out, just like always. It’s not as if I could’ve gone in the first place since I had orders due that I hadn’t started on, but it would’ve been nice to have been invited. So, they come home, the group is working together even better than before since they’re all closer or whatever, and last Sunday rolls around.

Persona springs a new caveat on us and we can’t lose buildings in the fight. Had we known what we were dealing with, we would have been able to deal with that. We didn’t in the end, and because of that, I was knocked out of this fight in the beginning thanks to some severe burns from an unexpected explosion. From there, there is no record of what happened other than those that were there to see it. They fought this… thing that was like some kind of unsightly beast and couldn’t kill it since it was faster and just as strong as they were, with insane regenerative powers. Its sheer size was the biggest issue, but when it came down to it, the Beast came out and fought for us. She lost a foreleg and nearly died in the process, but Applejack was able to revive her with some quick thinking and a well-placed adrenaline syringe.

So that brings us here, coming to you because Fluttershy needs a new suit after fighting off Matarael, and to do some shopping. Today is her first day without that leg, so we wanted to help out just in case she needed it. Hmm… I think that’s about it. Did I miss anything?

Applejack

“No, Ah don’t think ya did.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“See? Now it’s your turn,” Rarity offered. Ah narrowed my eyes at her.

“What does that even mean?” She shrugged.

“Not important. What is important is that you look fantastic in that dress. I’m honestly surprised that you’ve managed to make something that draws attention to her face even with those massive hips working against you.” Ah scowled at her, but when Ah checked the vanity mirror Ah was standin’ in front of, she was right.

The dress itself was very detailed and ornate in the front around the neck and the collar, and the way that the lines made by the design were arranged had ya look up my figure instead of down. It was weird ta finally wear somethin’ that my hips didn’t appear ta protrude past my shoulders. Any time Ah wear dad’s old jacket Ah’ll occasionally get comments on how ponies can see my cutiemarks even if Ah’m walkin’ straight toward ‘em. That’s typically considered a good thin’ since that’s what’s sexualized in the culture, but Ah don’t like the attention it gets me. Weird looks while Ah’m workin’ is one thin’, knowin’ that ponies fantasize about my body while Ah’m right in front of ‘em is another.

The skirt, since that’s what the lower part of the dress is called apparently, kinda wrapped tightly around my waist all the way down ta my hips where it opened up and became wider toward my hooves. It had ribbon like laces that criss-crossed from my waist down ta the bottom of the skirt and followed the edge and trailed off the main fabric. Unlike the sorta icy-sparkly texture that the sleeves had, the skirt’s base fabric more resembled the uh… upper part in that it was that silky metallic lookin’ stuff like the red dress Rarity made me. It was soft and heavy with a kinda silky feel ta the touch.

“I’ll say. Dude came to me weeks ago about this and I’ve made design after design tryin’ to come up with somethin’ that can make her feel good, look pretty, and not draw all the eyes to her ass. Normally, that’s what they ask for, but this chick just so happens to be on the shier side and she’s not ‘comfortable’ with the stares. I finally found somethin’ that works, but then I ran into another problem which I’ve still yet to solve. With her figure bein’ so bottom heavy, takin’ the dress on and off is gonna be an issue.” Rarity nodded.

“Oh goodness, I never even considered that! A tiny waist, large hips, and an insecurity complex about it all… that just spells disaster for the designer.” Now Star nodded.

“Ah, see, she gets it. It couldn’t be one solid piece thanks to all the work I needed to do to the chest and shoulders, so that meant I wasn’t gettin’ away with a simple zipper. Even if I made said zipper, that meant it would have to basically run the whole length of the dress, and that just don’t look pretty. So, I decided that my solution was to try and make some more precise measurements and order some really small snaps that I hid just under the design.

You can’t tell by lookin’ at her, but if ya look at the interior of the end of the corset, ya can see the connectin’ end of pearl white snaps. Now that I’ve got a good sense of how this is gonna fit on the bride, I can add the bottom row that will sew into the skirt. Since the skirt itself will attach here, it’ll just have a zipper that runs down the length of her belly to where it opens up in the front.” Star pointed and showed everypony that wasn’t wearin’ the dress where everythin’ was gonna go as he explained it. It sounded unnecessarily complicated, but if this mare gettin’ married is anythin’ like me, Ah’m sure she’ll appreciate all the work he did ta get here. Rarity nodded.

“Truly a stroke of genius. Had I not been watching her put it on, I would’ve never guessed where the seams actually were. And to use snaps of all things. Your lace work is impeccable.” Ah felt a smile creep up my face.

“Geez Rarity, ya might do a better job suckin’ him off if ya got over here and got on yer knees.” She scowled at me, Twilight and Fluttershy did their best ta contain giggles and Star got real quiet.

“Ugh, you just don’t understand,” she scoffed. Star rolled his eyes.

“No, she knows, she just wanted to make a dirty joke because that’s where her mind is. Thanks, but you guys were all probably still in diapers when I was fourteen, and even though it might feel good, it wouldn’t feel good later. Now then, miss huge ass, would ya mind walkin’ around in that for me? As long as ya don’t trip, then we’re good and I can finalize this.” Well, Ah made that awkward. Rather than push it further, Ah decided it was best ta just keep my mouth shut and do what Ah was told. Ah walked around, forward, backward, left and right, and the skirt never got in the way of me walkin’, so Star was satisfied with that.

“Perfect. Now I just have to put it together for real. You can take that off, just put the corset back on the mannequin and drape the skirt over it, I’ll get to it later.” He grabbed his chair from behind his desk, a… fine mahogany clip board? Some paper and a pencil and moved over ta Fluttershy. “So, this costume of yours, what are ya thinkin’? You’re the gunner in the group right?” Fluttershy nodded.

“I-I um…” She was strugglin’ ta meet Star in the eye, so she looked at her hoof while she played with her mane instead. “W-well… s-something stretchy would be nice. I-I… m-my grasp over my powers has… i-it’s reliable now, so I-I think… I might use them m-more often.” Star nodded and wrote somethin’ down.

“Alright, I can work with that. My personal fabric is pretty good at that, but it’s a bit more expensive than somethin’ like elastic, and it can’t stretch near as well. How much of a size increase are we dealin’ with here? Can I take your measurements in your other form?” She let go of her mane fer a second ta think then found it again and twirled it a few more times before figurin’ out what she wanted ta say.

“U-um… well… t-that would probably… b-be for the best. I-I’m bigger than this room, b-but not taller than the second story w-when I’m just sitting. I-I’m not really sure how b-big I am in that form since y-yesterday was the first day I was e-ever in full control of myself like that.” Star nodded and started ta draw somethin’ on his page.

“I… can take us to the training room if you want. My capacity is mostly back to normal, I just can’t do anything that might over exert my output too far. Teleporting such a short distance twice shouldn’t be too much,” Twilight offered. Star frowned out of one side of his mouth and scratched at his beard.

“I mean, if ya can do it, it’d be helpful. I just don’t wanna be the the reason somepony dies over the weekend if you’re gonna be fightin’ again.” Twilight shook her head.

“Oh, no, my… boss has forbidden me to fight until I’m well enough to make at least one hundred and ten percent of my usual output. I’m probably back to about seventy percent if I can recall what it feels like. I actually had a surge in my magic output a few days before the Ramiel fight to begin with, so who knows where my output is going to end up later.” Star shrugged.

“Hey, whatever you’re comfortable with. After the lightshow from the other day, I can only imagine what you can do.”

“Alright, now that I’ve got a good idea what I’m doing, I think I can see how to make this. I'll call ya back once I’ve got a design drawn up, and we can talk about some extra stuff I have in mind. You got a price range or somethin’ like that? I know Applejack has been throwin’ gold around like it’s nopony’s business, so I don’t know what your finances are like.”

We’d come back from the castle, and it seems as if Fluttershy has full control of her transformation now. She can go all the way ta fully transformed and back on command, provided there’s blood involved, and half way and back if there isn’t. She’s actually more stable walkin’ in her beast form than she is normally since she’s balanced mostly on two legs ta begin with. Fluttershy nodded, finally able ta look star in the eyes now.

“T-that sounds good to me. T-thank you.” Star nodded, and now that our business was done, Ah figured it was about time ta leave.

“Well, Ah’m glad we got this taken care of. Thanks a lot Star.” Ah stuck my hoof out fer a shake, but he grabbed it and brought me in fer a hug instead.

“Ey, don’t be like that. Little sister, remember? So uh… since I have a group of mares to ask here… what’d you guys think of that dress? Think the bride will like it?” Rarity nodded without hesitation.

“I would love to wear something like that on my wedding day, and I didn’t even make it. I think it’s fabulous.” Twilight frowned.

“Well, I can’t say I know much on the subject, and there is a very high chance that I will never marry, but… well, if I wanted to feel pretty, I think that would be an easy choice to go to. My uh… hips aren’t nearly that gratuitous though, so I wouldn’t need something so… extravagant.” Please, find more word ta avoid sayin’ Ah have a fat ass. Fluttershy started playin’ with her mane again.

“I-I… I-if I wanted to be in the s-spotlight for my special day, then m-maybe. I-I don’t know that I would be b-bold enough to wear something like this though. I-I’m not exactly full figured like this mare s-seems to be.” Ah don’t know why, but that felt like a very Fluttershy answer. Well, you’re the last one left, what do ya think Applejack? Somepony with an ass as big as yers finally gettin’ a chance ta wear somethin’ that doesn’t insight ‘apple bottom’ puns? Ah think ya would enjoy yourself.

“If it were me, it’d probably be exactly what Ah wanted. Y’all seem ta know damn well how much Ah hate when ponies make comments on my butt, so this would be ideal. Ah don’t think it looked too bad on me either. It was real comfortable too, save fer them damn pins ya stabbed me with.” Star rolled his eyes.

“Those ain’t gonna be in the final product, thankyou very much. Alright, well, cool. As long as the mares approve, then I’m sure the bride will be happy when she sees it. Of course, that guy still has to grow a pair and ask. Came to me twice in the last couple days freakin’ out about how he’s gonna propose. Of course, it’s not like any of his plans for there after went easy for him, but she’s not gonna say no. All he has to do is ask. Anyways, you guys have a good rest of your day. I need to get this finished so I can start on your suit.” Rarity took a bow and shook Star’s hoof.

“Of course, it was a pleasure to watch you work. I’ll have to stop by once all the madness ends so I can talk to you about a few things I thought of while you were working. I think we may be able to both benefit in furthering our careers if you like what I have to say.” Star raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips.

“Aight. Uh, yeah, just come by whenever ya can. I’m usually here whether or not the store’s open, as today might lend itself to.”

“Excellent. Well, shall we?” The rest of the girls started ta head out and Ah turned ta thank Star one last time.

“Ah really appreciate ya doin’ this fer her. Ah know how ya feel about the Beast, and never in my wildest dreams did Ah imagine-” Star shook his head and stopped me.

“Don’t worry about it. That was years ago now, and after hearin’ the story, I bet she just did it to live. There ain’t no way that mare woulda done that if she were sane at the time. She looks like she’s already paid the price for it anyways. I will always be here for you if ya need anythin’, alright? Don’t hesitate to give me a call. And, ya know, actually give me a call next time. It was great to have ya model for me, but a little notice woulda been nice.”

Persona XX: Like a Dream Come True (part 2)

Star gave me one last hug and then Ah went out ta group up with the rest of the girls at the car. We didn’t spend a whole lot of time at Star Apparel, but it had been at least two hours since we arrived.

“Well, I’m starving. Lunch anypony?” Rarity asked after we’d all gotten in the car. Ah didn’t realize how late it was, but now that she mentioned food, my stomach told me the truth.

“Yes. Yeah. U-uh-huh,” came from the rest of the passengers.

“Okay, where do we want to go?” We spent about half an hour tryin’ ta decide where ta eat, then eventually gave up and went ta the nearest restaurant. We spent about half an hour there, and then Rarity decided she wanted somethin’ sweet, so somehow, we ended up in a bakery smack dab in the middle of eastern Manehattan. The air was filled with all kinds of sugary smells, every scent in high volume from chocolate ta vanilla and back again, and none of it was anywhere near unappetizin’. We’d already eaten full meals, but the moment we walked in, Ah felt that Ah had room fer more.

The exterior of the store was mostly glass with pictures of confections painted on the inside with the sign ‘Sugar Cube Corner’ in some kinda vinyl sticker in all kinds of colors. The interior was black and white with metallic red seats and linoleum tables ta make it look like a diner from an age long past. It wasn’t huge and there were maybe two booths and four tables made ta seat four on either side of the not so small buildin’. There wasn’t anypony at the counter, but the smell of bakin’ bread and goodies told us it was open. Well, that and the neon ‘open’ sign that was lit in the glass door. The bell dinged as we all filed in and somepony came runnin’ ta the counter.

“Oh, hello and good after noon. How can I help you dears?” She was a true-blue coated mare, a little on the hefty side. She had a two-tone red and pink mane all swirled up like whip cream and she was wearin’ a pink apron covered in flour and tiny hoofprints.

“I was in need of something sweet and a good friend of ours recommended this place to me the other day. What kind of cupcakes do you have right now?” Rarity asked. Ah guess that confirms my suspicion that this is the place Pinkie stayed before comin’ ta Harmony. Those must be the hooves of her replacements. The blue mare moved across the counter ta the part of the case with all her cupcakes. They were swirled and decorated in all manner of color, shape, and size. There were even a couple decorated like us in costumes, which was strange ta see in person.

“Of course. Lately the popular sale has been the apple cinnamon Marevelous cupcakes. We also have your standard chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla flavors, but we have more specialty flavors like carrot and pumpkin spice as the season demands. On hoof I have all the flavors I mentioned, confetti, red velvet, yellow, lemon, raspberry, cinnamon swirl, marble, key lime, blueberry, and orange zest. I can never tell if anypony is part carnivore these days, so just to cover my bases, we also offer what I like to call the breakfast cupcake, which is bacon flavored and has bits of bacon in a grape jelly spread.”

“C-can I get one of those?” Fluttershy asked, pushin’ past everypony. She was practically droolin’, so Ah can only imagine that her bein’ ‘stuffed’ earlier was just in an effort ta get away from the restaurant. It started ta get busy just after we got our food, and she started ta get antsy right then and there.

Chiffon, as the name read on her nametag, let a real quick nervous look takeover her face before she smiled and nodded.

“S-sure. Um, that takes a little time to heat up. Are um… are you all on the same tab, or…?” We all looked ta each other and Fluttershy shrugged.

“Y-yes, I can get it. G-get whatever you want, I don’t really c-care about the cost. U-um, I’ll also take a carrot one too, p-please.” Chiffon nodded and input some somethin’ inta a device she pulled out of her apron pocket.

“Okay, and what can I get the rest of you?”

As it turns out, if ya get a group of mares together in a sweets shop, then ya should expect a high tab. We were also hungrier than anypony expected either because even as cheap as the cupcakes were, save Fluttershy’s special one, she spent about thirty bits at a little under three per. She had a few decorated like us in our costumes, so we had ta get at least one of each of those and take a picture of ‘em. In the end, we had: bacon, carrot, apple cinnamon, strawberry, lemon, chocolate, vanilla, pumpkin spice (and Ah most definitely gave Rarity shit fer that one), red velvet, key lime, blueberry, and raspberry. It was cheaper ta get a dozen, so we figured we could bring one home fer everypony else as a kinda surprise.

“So, how are the kids?” Rarity asked Chiffon, since we happened ta be the only customers in the shop. She looked confused, so Rarity added, “I noticed the little hooves on your apron.” The older mare looked down and smiled at the marks.

“Oh, right. Well, they’re a hoof full, that’s for certain. My husband and I are both earth ponies you see, but when they came out, they were both half breeds, and neither were earth pony dominant. It was a bit of a shock for us since even though we are half breeds ourselves, nopony in either of our families ever came out as anything but earth ponies with light signs of other racial traits. Nopony is ever truly prepared for their kids when they come, but we thought we were. Well, we were surprised none the less.” Ah furrowed my brow.

“How does that happen? Ah thought we figured out that Earth ponies were the dominant trait?” Based on what Ah’ve read fer biology on genetics, ponies are less likely ta develop horns or wings if either parent comes from earth pony stock, half breed or otherwise. It’s not atypical fer ponies with unicorns and pegasai in their lineage ta see generations of earth ponies if they enter the line at any point because the blood is just that strong. Fer two half earth ponies ta have non-earth pony foals is almost more anomalous than a pony born with the virus these days. Naturally, Twilight came with the explanation.

“A statistical anomaly to be sure, but not impossible. When it comes to genetics, think of it like dealing a deck of cards. The sperm cell and the egg both pull twenty three different cards from a deck of forty six. So from there, you already have over a thousand variations of just one possible cell from either parent, and then multiplying that together gives you literally millions of combinations just from two partners. You could be rainbow and be dealt an awful starting hoof, or you could be yourself and dealt a fantastic hoof, and nopony would ever be the wiser to which you were dealt until well after you got it.

From there, you can narrow down the possibilities based on the number of traits that are allotted to each gene. Since the earth pony gene is the most common between the three, being the dominant of them, it is much more likely that it surfaces once all the letters rise to the top of the soup if you will. It is however, possible that neither parent passed the earth gene when the zygote was formed, and it just so happened that the rare case was what ended up winning the race.

Because ponies are so easily subject to their environment, these genes are also malleable to a degree and can sometimes have co-dominant race traits show up as ponies age, like in Scootaloo or Pinkie’s case where they have one dominant trait, Pegasai and Earth pony, but also have trace of the other race, earth pony and pegasai in this case, surface to help them survive. Of course, in their cases, these genes are almost always to the detriment of the pony’s longevity because certain aspects of the main race clashes with the subrace, causing health issues along the way.” Now it was Fluttershy’s turn ta furrow her brows.

“P-pinkie is part pegasus? I-I didn’t even realize she was a h-half breed. H-her parents both looked like s-solid earth ponies if I’ve ever seen it.” Twilight nodded, took a bite of her raspberry cupcake, and continued,

“I took everypony’s blood Saturday and ran all your genetics. We all know what I am, but my unicorn blood is also of not quite the same variety as what’s found here thanks to where it came from. Very similar, but a few things added to it that enhance the already insane magical ability that I was destined to have. Not to brag or anything, but I couldn’t have asked for better parents, genetics wise.

You’re one of the most purebred pegasai I have ever seen. Your height comes from a more ancient line of ancestors that were linked back to the B.C. era of pegasai aristocracy. Er, Before Celestia since some of us might not know. The unicorns were the ones with that um… ill informed inbreeding history, the original pegasai aristocracy were in essence five different families that interbred for centuries before the unification. It wasn’t until after the unification that pegasai became as short as they typically are thanks to the slow integration of traits of the other races. Your typical earth pony usually has a larger torso and stronger muscles than the other two, but shorter, bulkier legs. Pegasai are the opposite of that, and unicorns lean toward the middle. Were it an even split, the unicorn body type would be the norm, but it isn’t, so ponies as a whole have gotten shorter over the centuries.

Rarity also comes from a long line of unicorns, but thankfully not from that aristocracy. Because the unicorns are the most recessive trait, a long line of unicorns is actually rather rare, but not unexpected since racial distinction and discrimination was still a problem in this country up until the twentieth century. Even today, we struggle with trying to be a meritocracy thanks to old history and bad blood.” Rarity frowned and raised an eyebrow.

“So what does that mean, I’m just another, ‘run of the mill’ unicorn?” Twilight avoided that and focused on me instead.

“Uh… anyways, you also seem to have hit the genetic jackpot since your body was just perfectly comprised to do what you do, virus withstanding. You have the stocky, shorter legs, wide hips, long torso, and a tall neck combination that is essentially the perfect um… well, makes childbirth easy, and your muscular structure is unusually built to strengthen itself with minimal effort. Your hind legs in particular build muscle in an above average manner, but considering your family line, that isn’t all so surprising.” Ah shrugged.

“Supposedly mom and granny were both this way too. Applebloom got the tall gene, but she still has the hips and the musculature like mine, and Mac is just… well, ya know, Mac. The guy has ta beat mares off him in public half the time.” Rarity licked her lips.

“Oh yes, he can beat me off anytime he desires. Ladies, that is a stallion to behold, and ponies literally pay money to do it.” Ah tried ta put my hooves over my ears, but there was no way ta not hear any of that.

“Oh my goddess, can ya not?” Rarity shook her head.

“Absolutely not. I’m just a run of the mill unicorn, completely generic and average across the board, so I can only fantasize about breeding with a genetic winner.” She gave me one of them sultry looks and Ah could feel bile buildin’ up in the back of my throat.

“U-um… so what did your kids end up coming out as M-mrs. Cake?” Thank the goddess. Ugh. There ain’t enough brain bleach in the world ta get this image outta my head. They can never be in the same room together. They both have loose morals on this subject, and then Ah’d have ta hear about it from both parties afterward. Twilight moved a chair over ta our table and offered fer her ta come sit with us, and because we were the only patrons, she decided ta join the conversation.

“Well, there’s a funny story on that. You seem to know quite a bit for somepony so young, I only wish we were as smart as you mares are when I was your age. My husband and I met in trade school where we were both looking to have valuable connections and a little help starting up bakeries, and naturally with our common interests, we were fast friends. One thing led to another, and you know how kids just out of their teens are, so we decided very quickly that it would be in our best interest to get married, provided my father didn’t kill him before that could happen.

I was really excited at first, all those years ago. You’re always going to be a little scared when you know you have a bun in the oven, but the prospect of… bringing your own into the world is something special. You get to share the goddess’ green earth with somepony who hasn’t experienced anything yet. Show them the wonders of magic and the miracle of the world and the ponies that come with it. But almost half way though, there were complications and she didn’t make it.

Because of our true hybrid natures, me having semi-active magic vessels, and him having hollow bones, our baby had a complicated mix of all three traits and just couldn’t survive. Like most of history, the traits of races just never want to work together to create something stronger like the princesses, but tear each other apart to be the dominant figure instead.

Our marriage was founded on that poor girl, and I wasn’t really sure that we would last when she died, but I suppose it really was love after all. When things had settled a few years later and this store was doing well, we tried again, but ended with the same results. It’s one thing to lose a baby when you’re young and dumb and think your invincible, but to have it happen when you’re older and you really know the pony you’re with will be your partner for the rest of your life is just devastating.”

Oh, don’t Ah know it. Uncle Blood was married fer what, ten years when aunt Dew died? He literally went crazy. The real miracle is that he even recovered in the first place. Ah can only wonder if Pinkie really knew about the first one. From the way she put it, Ah don’t think she knew that Mrs. Cake here got knocked up and ended up in a shotgun weddin’.

“After that, we closed the store for a while and decided to see the country. If we were cursed to be unable to have children of our own, then we might as well take advantage of the situation and do all the things married couples with kids lament that they can’t do because of them. Um, do any of you happen to believe miracles?” The question was sudden and caught us off guard, but after the other day, there was really no reason fer any of us ta say no. After experiencin’ one, Ah can honestly say yes.

“Well good. These days it feels like faith is fading in the world, and it just makes me sad to see all those stories of suicides because ponies just don’t believe life is worth living anymore. Our miracle happened on a train one day.

We were traveling to… Oh goodness, this wasn’t more than a few years ago, where were we going? Oh, right, we were going to Bloomer to visit the Mall of Equestria. Since it was cheaper than taking a plane, we rode the Trans Equestria line before it had closed down to get there, and it was on the train that we met her. I had a dream when I was pregnant for the first time all those years ago where I’d met my daughter. She was bright pink and poofy, not too dissimilar from my father, but had the hybrid nature that my husband does. Such a happy little filly, so brimming with life.

And on that train was a filly in her early teens, who looked almost identical to my baby in that dream. She was with some older stallion attending ponies, and when she checked our tickets, I didn’t even have the words to speak to her, I was just so shocked. It was like looking at a ghost that had lived a life of her own and grown up without me. She even had the little feathers on her shoulders like my husband does, the resemblance was just uncanny.” Pinkie has feathers?

“But the ride came and went, and we only saw her the once since it seemed like she switched shifts with the older stallion that was taking care of her. We finished our trip, we saw the mall, it was a fun time, but all the while, I couldn’t get that filly out of my head. Was she real? Did we really see her? Where did she come from? Was that old stallion her grandfather? I wouldn’t know because the ride back had different attendants.

Of course, things like that always happen for a reason because two years later, we found her in our dumpster. Now, mares won’t typically share their age, but I’m almost forty. When you girls are my age, my twins will be your age. I’ll be out of service as a mare, and I’m certain my knees will be in such poor shape that I won’t be able to do any of the fun things my husband and I did with our kids. When we found her out there, near starved to death, dirty, and dying, I panicked. Here, as if the goddess had given her back, was the filly that looked just like my baby, and she was on her death bed, and I could bring her back.

As it turned out, she was… well, a little more than a mess herself. A runaway for almost a decade, an escapee from a dangerous drug cartel, with nowhere else to go after that old stallion we met on the train died the year after we first saw her. We offered to take her in, and I couldn’t tell you how happy the year that followed was. She really was like the daughter we never had. She was good in the bakery, she loved ponies, she loved her work, and she was just a joy to be around once she found her place here.

Having her in our lives gave us hope that we might still have a chance at our own kids. In a sort of twisted sense, we wanted to give her siblings as if the girl we found was six instead of sixteen. We were… unusually vigorous with our attempts this time around, almost like time had rewound fifteen years for us. Somehow, we ended up with fraternal twins, and we couldn’t have been happier. A spark that had been lost just… reignited into a big burning flame and life was beautiful again.

I was nervous around the second trimester since that was always the point that gave me problems, but everything went fine. For the first time in my life, I had a normal pregnancy, and nothing about my internal magic vessels caused any problems. The whole experience was a little like a dream. Carrot and I were so excited for everything to finally be going right, and even Pinkie seemed happy for a time there but… it really was like a dream.

We were a little shocked when they came out, as any parent would be when neither of your children shares your race. Twins mind you, and we’re uninfected as far as I know, but one a unicorn, and the other a pegasus, both of whom share colors with my husband. They have our family traits, and our daughter looks just like him, but she’s a unicorn. It’s been almost four generations since there was a unicorn in my family, and three for a pegasus in his. We came home after the doctor had released me the next day… and Pinkie was gone. The goddess was kind enough to finally give us foals, but she took away the one that made the miracle possible…” She shook her head and sighed.

“Somedays, I still wonder what ever became of her. She never really spent the money we paid her for her work, so I can only hope she had enough when she left. I would have loved for her to meet my kids.” Rarity patted the older mare on the back and Ah couldn’t help but frown.

“Should we tell her?” Ah asked over the brand.

“N-no, but I think Pinkie should come visit,” Fluttershy said.

“I’m sure she’s out there doing fine. Based on everything you’ve told us, I imagine she’s made some friends of her own,” Rarity speculated. Mrs. Cake nodded and started ta draw circles on the table with her hooves.

“I suppose you’re right. Well, how were they? I see eight wrappers, which ones did you eat?” She seemed ta cheer up a little, so at least she’s not focused on it. Damn it, Pinkie. Ya can’t treat ponies like this.

“Hmm. We all shared a little bit of each, but I saved four for some of our other friends we’ll see later. We saved the standard flavors for them and decide to try all the interesting ones. Because it seems as if I am run-of-the-mill unicorn and a basic twenty-somethings upper class filly, I was a fan of the pumpkin spice cupcake.” Ah chuckled. Yeah, that’s what Ah thought. Mrs. Cake made an awkward smile.

“W-well, that one does tend to sell to… a particular demographic after all. Any other favorites?” Dodgin’ bullets like Fluttershy in slow motion.

“I really enjoyed the lemon and the raspberry. I don’t think I could pick between the two, but I think I just lean toward the sour foods,” Twilight said.

“It has always been a challenge to get berries to not just collapse into the sugar when we start trying to incorporate them into batter, but I’ve found that making jam and concentrating that before adding it to the batter will do the trick.” Well, that’s one way ta do it. Ah never woulda thought of that. Ah might try that next time Ah have a chance.

“B-bacon, hooves down. B-but for the normal cupcakes, I really enjoyed the apple c-cinnamon. I-I might come back for a d-dozen of those bacon ones later though…” She offered ta let us try that one, and since Ah’d already eaten meat once before with Goose, Ah figured why not. It was… weird. Fried and savory and sweet with a kinda crunchy feel ta it, but all Ah could think about when my teeth crushed it were bones. Took all the enjoyment out of it fer me and Ah couldn’t eat any more.

“I-I see. Feel free, I suppose. They don’t sell often, but usually in large numbers when they do. The bat ponies are typically omnivores, but carnivorous ponies have been on the rise since the turn of the century, so it’s become more common to have ponies order those than non-ponies. And what about you? Did you have a favorite?” Well… Ah turned my head and looked the other direction.

“Ah uh. Ah like the apple cinnamon and the uh… other one.” Ah should probably find the time ta file my hooves one of these days.

“Other one? Which one?” Ah swallowed.

“The uh… the pumpkin one…” Rarity stood outta her chair and slammed her hooves on the table, leanin’ over it til Ah could feel her breathin’ on my neck.

“You bitch! You’ve been giving me all kinds of shit about this, but you’re no less basic than I am!” Ah felt my ears fall.

“Yeah…” She growled in irritation at me and then sat back down and found something else ta look at.

“The things I do for you…” Mrs. Cake looked very concerned, so she got up from the table.

“Well then! That sounds like um… satisfied customers. You didn’t have a favorite between those two did you?” No, don’t do this ta me!

“The uh… the other one.” Their floor is real well maintained. It’s all nice and polished, almost like ya could eat off it. Ah heard a hoof meet a horn in indignation and felt the need ta hunch over more.

“I see. Thanks for the information, I suppose I should promote that cupcake more. I figured it would be fun to have a more nightmare night themed cake for the season, I never really expected ponies to like it so much. Hmm. Maybe it was never really a fad at all…”

“I think, we should leave,” Rarity said with disdain in her voice as she stood from her chair.

“So uh… still friends?” She gave me a look as she passed and then exited the store.

“N-not to tell you things you a-already know, b-but I think that would have b-been the time to lie.”

“Yeah…”

Fluttershy decided that she wanted ta go find a new album by a band she likes after we left Sugar Cube Corner, so off ta the music store we went. Fluttershy went straight ta the metal aisle, and even further ta the subsection of death metal, so the rest of us very quickly went elsewhere in the store while she searched fer whatever.

“I don’t know why I’m even surprised. Of course our timid, sweet and snarky butter cream colored pegasus listens death metal. It only makes sense,” Rarity said as she started diggin’ through classical CDs. These days, shops like this were pretty rare. Ponies don’t tend ta buy physical disks anymore since digital albums are what sell. Every phone and every device or tech wear object can be a music player, so everypony either downloads or streams music, and Ah’m no exception. Fluttershy seems ta be a collector of thin’s, so she has most of her music on disks.

“I’m surprised you’ve never heard it just in the castle. Sometimes I’ll catch her drawing and she’ll have that blasting in her face. It’s not like her hearing was great in the first place, but I imagine it’s easier for her to hear it,” Twilight said.

“All thin’s considered, Ah’m not sure her taste in music is weird. Considerin’ who she is, anyways. Speakin’ of taste in music, why’d ya bring me over here? The country section is on the other side of the store.” Ah’ll admit, Ah’m a stereotype. Ah was born in Palomino, Ah prefer the heat ta the cold, Ah eat all the spicy food in the world, and Ah love me some country music. Back when Ah was real little, mom and granny taught me how ta play a ukulele, and Ah learned how ta play guitar when Ah went back ta the farm. Ah don’t think Ah’m a bad singer, but Ah can definitely work an acoustic pretty well. Ah’m not great at it anymore myself, but Ah still like ta listen ta that kinda music since it reminds me of them.

“I brought you over here because I think you need to be educated on what real music is. You used to spend time with the Swan Song for the goddess’ sake. You should at least know a little about the operas she sang for and the classical she liked. I bet you don’t even know who composed the piece I played for you the other day.” Ah clammed up. The truth of the matter is that Ah really like the classical stuff, and Ah do know a bit, but Ah don’t know anythin’ about Goose’s mother other than she was yer typical mom and saved our lives.

“Well uh… Ah know Ah’ve heard it more than once…” Rarity rolled her eyes and grabbed a pair of headphones off a console and threw ‘em on my ears.

“Mmhmm, here. Ballade number one in G minor, Opus twenty-three, by Sixteenth Chorus. He only wrote four of these before he died, and that one in particular was Swan Song’s favorite. She was also a fan of waltzes and loved ballroom dance. Surely you remember her dancing when you were around her, don’t you?” Ah thought about it fer a minute while the piece she played the other day started up in my head. The piece itself reminded me of her dancin’, and how she would sometimes pull Catchy away from whatever the three of us were doin’ and make him spin with her till the song was over. She was really good at it, and even in the mare’s position, she led him around like a doll. Didn’t Ah…?

“Ya know, Ah think Ah made him teach me how ta do it back when we were kids.” Rarity lowered her brows.

“Did you? Let’s see what you remember.” She pulled the headphones off my ears and walked me over ta an emptier part of the store. It wasn’t a huge space, but they definitely had a lot of room for a lot of stuff. They had speakers on display over here, which were also hooked up ta consoles with screens fer music selection. She entered a search and pulled up a piece. She rose ta her hind legs and waited fer me in the stallion’s pose.

Ah suddenly got a flash of a memory. We were at the park by the house. Mac was climbin’ overtop of the swing set, and Goose… Catchy and Ah were at the basketball court. He had a boombox. ‘First, I stand like this, and then you…’ Ah rose ta my back hooves and assumed the mare’s position, takin’ her right hoof in mine and and puttin’ my left on her shoulder above her foreleg. ‘And you gotta remember to suck in really hard to make your back arc like this…’

The music started and now all Ah could see was the playground whirl around behind me as Catchy and Ah danced.

‘One, two, three, one, two, ow! Don’t step on my hooves! The mare follows and the stallion leads, okay? Move with me, not against me.’

‘Oh, just give up on her Catchy. She’s got four left hooves and she can’t even do somethin’ as simple as a dragon punch in Marevel. There ain’t no way she’s better with her back hooves than her front hooves!’

‘Shut up Mac! You don’t know nothin’! Ah’ll learn this, and y’all can go shove apples where the sun don’t shine!’

We were at the park that day practicin’ till it got dark, and we did that every day after we got home from school until Ah learned how ta do it. Rarity spun me out, and then the piece ended.

“I’d say you remember quite a bit actually. Though, we really don’t have the room here to cut loose… Twilight darling, how long do you think it would take you to fix the training room?” My head was still spinnin’ through memories, and Ah didn’t even notice Twilight watchin’ us.

“Oh, gosh, I don’t know. A few minutes maybe? The melted crystal is a lot harder to manipulate than the broken crystal as I learned testing my own power the other day, but it shouldn’t be too bad. I repaired mohter’s hoof prints this morning, and that wasn’t all that hard. Can um… can you teach me how to do that?” Rarity smiled and took a bow while offering a hoof ta Twilight.

“Ah, but of course my liege. It would be an honor to take the position of royal dance instructor~” Another piece started ta play and Ah started drivin’ back down memory lane again. Ah remember bein’ in that little livin’ room playin’ Marevel with Catchy and my brother when Swan Song started ta sing this… but this is most definitely in some other language.

“Rarity, what language is she singin’ in?” Ah asked. It was so weird. Ah felt like Ah could almost repeat the words Ah was hearin’, but Ah didn’t know what any of ‘em meant. She stopped instructin’ Twilight on how ta stand and then listened fer a moment.

“Let’s see… this is Frühlingsstimmen, or The Voices of Spring, by Zweiter Walzer. It’s in Rossian, but Zweiter himself was actually from Reiterei. Different countries, same spoken language. Let’s see, the singer is-”

“Swan Song. Ah know this. Ah’ve heard it a thousand times. That’s her voice. She would always sing whenever she was makin’ somethin’ fer us. Ah can just see us sittin’ in front of the ponystation takin’ turns fightin’ each other, and she would just sing along with whatever backtrack she had on her disk player. Is there a cd with this on it?” Ah need this. Ah need ta take it ta the apartment and play it fer Mac. Ah wonder if Goose has a copy somewhere at the house, Ah’m sure… Ah’m sure he has every memory of his mother he can get a hold of, but just in case he doesn’t… Ah need this. Ah swallowed. So many summer afternoons, so many days after school, all ta be forgotten in the haze of applebuckin’ season. How could Ah have lost so much?

“Hello? Ground control to Applejack, can you hear me?” Rarity clapped her hooves in front of my face and brought me back ta earth. Floatin’ in her magic was sure enough, a disk titled ‘The best of Swan Song.’ “I’m honestly surprised they have a copy. After she died, her music was sold in extreme volume until they stopped printing it a few years later. This is still in shrink wrap, so you may just be so lucky.” Ah took the case out from her and stared at the picture fer a moment. He has her eyes, and her mane too.

“…Y-yeah, I can do that. O-okay, I’ll see you later. B-bye.” Fluttershy dropped the phone in her wing and let it swing back around her neck. “S-so, I’ve got a favor to ask you…”

Along with the One-Hoof Death Punch album she wanted, Fluttershy also decided ta buy concert grade speakers. Why she needed somethin’ so loud it would fill the volume of the trainin’ room, Ah’ll never know, but what Ah do know is that Rarity’s car didn’t have the room ta take ‘em back ta the castle. Because Ah happened ta be the only one capable of carryin’ this shit, Ah ended up gettin’ sent ta the castle ta wait fer everypony else ta arrive. Ah never thought much about it, but if Fluttershy is makin’ anywhere close ta the money Ah’m makin’, she’s been doin’ so fer almost a year now, and only spendin’ it on games. Ah bet months have gone by where she didn’t even touch the money, and now she’s got hundreds of gold bits just sittin’ away in the bank. She must because she spent damn near five thousand on these speakers.

When Ah arrived in it, the trainin’ room looked as if a bomb had gone off in the center. A glazed, dome shape dent in the ceilin’, in the floor, in the left and right walls. Goddess damn, Twi’s gonna have a hell of a time fixin’ this. Ah hope Celestia is okay. Ah think Ah read somethin’ about her takin’ a few days off ta help the recovery of the three towns Persona hit, but Ah imagine that was just a cover ta get over this thin’ with Luna. She’s probably puttin’ all her attention inta helpin’ her ponies, but Ah can only wonder how much of that is ta avoid her sister rather than out of empathy…

“Damn. She did a number on this place.” As per usual, when Ah say somethin’ out loud thinkin’ Ah’m alone, Ah am once again not alone.

“I-I’ll say. I-I don’t know about you, b-but I thought she was going to k-kill Rainbow yesterday.” Ah used everythin’ in my will ta keep from lashin’ out at Fluttershy right beside me. Ever since she lost the Beast or whatever happened yesterday, her presence is even harder ta detect than it was before. Rarity can sneak up on me with her powers. Everypony else Ah can usually catch. Fluttershy is the only pony who can move like normal and still catch me off guard.

“Can ya please announce yerself before ya make me jump? Damn. How did ya get here so fast? Where are the other two?” She tilted her head.

“O-oh, Rarity said it would be quicker i-if it was just the two of them. L-less strain on her powers driving the w-way she likes to, but isn’t so legal and all. D-did you see what happened to the chairs yesterday?” Ah furrowed my brows.

“The… chairs?”

“Y-you know, the ones we sit at. T-the ones around the table.” Oh right. Them crystal chairs around the tables with the weird gems.

“Oh. No, Ah guess Ah didn’t.” Fluttershy frowned.

“Hmm. I-I have to wonder what that was all about. W-when Celestia went berserk or w-whatever, the gems on all the chairs t-turned black and started to feel… i-icky. K-kinda like the way Celestia’s m-magic made Rainbow puke black fog, b-but… with malicious intent, I guess.” Now Ah frowned. The gems did that? Why would the gems do that? Ah thought they only reacted ta us. Or… somethin’. Really, Ah don’t know anythin’ about those thin’s.

“That’s… weird. Are they still like that?” She shook her head, wobbled on her third leg, flapped ta regain balance, and cursed.

“F-fucking… I-I need a prosthetic. T-this is just annoying. M-maybe I can get one like Mister Flare has…” She sighed and centered herself on her front leg. “N-no, they’re back to normal as far as I could tell. I-I suspect Celestia was the cause, b-but even in the y-year I’ve been here, t-they’ve only ever reacted to a-anything a few times. T-the day they first showed up, t-the day Pinkie was going to kill herself, a-and the day you destroyed that w-whole cargo ship with your hooves. U-usually, they just flash on and off a-and feel kinda p-panicked, but this… t-this was different. T-they’ve never all done something together.” Ah scratched at my cheek.

“Ah remember that. It was almost like my whole body was on fire, but it didn’t hurt, it felt more like Ah was energized. Ah just had all this extra power suddenly and Ah knew Ah could stop the ship if Ah just… attacked it. It felt kinda like trump card does, but on a whole other level. Ah think the backlash just about broke my foreleg then too. Ah know it hurt like a bitch, that’s fer sure.” Fluttershy attempted ta put her hoof ta her chin, nearly fell over, and then sat down.

“Ugh. E-even simple things are going to suck now. I-I can’t even touch my face without sitting down. A-at least Rainbow still has all her hooves. S-some ponies don’t have wings to begin with. Everypony s-starts with four hooves. I-I just…” She let out a breath and… bit inta her lip and sniffed real hard. Is she about ta cry? “G-goddess damn it! C-can you set up the speakers for me? I-I need to… I-I need to go to the bathroom!” She took ta the air and clumsily flew away, cursin’ under her breath, little drops of water fell ta the floor as she went.

Poor filly. That hurts more than she wants ponies ta think it does and Ah bet she don’t even know how bad it’s gonna be from now on. Well, provided we all see the other side of this. If a losin’ a leg is as bad as it gets, then Ah guess Ah should just be thankful fer that. Might as well set these thin’s up. Goddess knows she can’t.

The speakers she bought were well bigger than a few of us stacked on top of each other. Probably at least three meters tall and one wide and long, ponies would typically need a real strong unicorn, or a few strong earth ponies ta move ‘em around. Ah just so happen ta be stronger than most ponies combined, so Ah didn’t need that kinda help. Doesn’t change the fact that they were big and Ah could barely get my hooves around ‘em though. Ah checked the walls, and surprisin’ly enough, there were a few electrical outlets all around the trainin’ room… fer whatever reason.

Why? Ah couldn’t say. Ah’m pretty sure that these were a snap decision, so unless Twilight just expected us ta need appliances down here, Ah wouldn’t think it was planned ahead of time. By the time Ah got the second one moved and powered on, Fluttershy had returned with a laptop that Ah’d never seen before, and Rarity and Twilight.

“Oh, wow, you really did do it on your own. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You did single hoofedly shatter one of the Israfel’s mirrors,” Twilight said. Ah raised an eyebrow.

“Really? Ya thought Ah was gonna have trouble with a couple thousand pound speakers? Twi sugar cube, yer barriers are harder ta break than these are ta lift. But Ah gotta say, yer mom did a damn number on this room. It’s like what? 60 by 120 by 60 meters in total? She would’ve taken out a city block had she done this anywhere else.” Twilight sighed.

“I know. I’ve never seen her get so angry. Of course, the unprecedented nature of yesterday may have triggered some old powers she keeps locked away and this just happened to be a crack in her psyche, or maybe this was the same kind of thing that caused the Caballo Crater. In all honesty, I don’t know what that was. Even the descriptions of Celestia in war tell of her flames, but she’s always fighting with other ponies nearby and in her armor. Her armor was still dormant last night when she went up and she was letting off heat indiscriminately. There are no records of that ever happening, even in the files most ponies don’t have access to. It’s made me wonder if I really have access to everything and whether or not she’s done this before.”

It was a question ta be certain. Ah’m sure she didn’t mean ta, but if Twilight hadn’t put shields up, Ah woulda called time and had everypony evacuate. Ah know Celestia would never do anythin’ ta hurt us intentionally, so… maybe it was just like when Ah fought Synchro Noise… She just… couldn’t think straight. Maybe. She didn’t kill Luna, so either she had enough sense ta not just let go, or Twilight really did save her aunt’s life. Probably that second thin’. There ain’t nothin’ in the world Celestia cares about more than that filly.

“Well? You wanted to learn, and we need the space, so get to fixing this,” Rarity said, makin’ a ‘shoo’ motion with her hooves. Twi rolled her eyes and got ta work, and Ah went ta sit with Rartity and Fluttershy by the speakers.

“S-so, you wanted um… h-how do you say this?” Fluttershy had coordinated her wing and her hoof ta work her laptop, and she pointed at a name with her feathers.

“Zwitter Walzer. Think of it like saying zit, but add a ‘V’ sound after the Z. In Rossian, the letter isn’t ‘double U’ but ‘double V.’ As such, you pronounce it like ‘Zvitter Valzer,’ but the V sound is drawn out longer than you would in Equestrian.” Fluttershy looked like she was concentratin’ real hard, but slowly nodded.

“O-okay. Uh. Z-zwit-ter W-wal-zer. Z-zwitter. W-walzer. Z-zvvvvvvitter. V-vvvvvvalzer. Z-zwitter Walzer. T-that’s kinda fun to say. W-where did you learn this? Y-you seem to know a lot about languages.” Rarity looked away.

“Oh, you know. Things I picked up here and there. How did you feel about that song I played you earlier, Applejack?” Ah scrunched up my face. How did Ah feel? It was my childhood, all nostalgia, Ah’m not sure Ah even really listened ta what Ah heard.

“Ah don’t know. Swan Song has a voice like no other, but… Ah don’t know, it was all memories fer me. Ah’d have ta hear it again.”

“Of course. Twilight darling, are you ready yet?” Ah turned ta look at the violet alicorn. She was still floatin’, covered in her own magic, that sorta sparkly, violet, transparent field of almost fog, but most of the domes had been removed and put back ta their solid slate crystal forms. She sank ta the ground and all her magic flowed back inta her mismatched horn.

“I am now.” Rarity got up and Fluttershy plugged in her speakers. She did a volume check and nearly blew out my ear drums and very quickly turned down the sound. These kinda speakers would blow yer ass over like a semi on a windy day. She played the song and then the two went ta doin’ the basic motions. One, two, three. One, two, three. Turn, two three. Ah suppose Rarity was either a real good leader or they were pretty well in sync because Twilight kept up pretty good fer just learnin’ the box. Ah wonder if he still remembers how many times Ah stepped on his hooves back then? Must’ve been a few hundred at least.

“Okay, that should be good for that. Your form sucks, but that’s to be expected. All we really want is the motion at first. Applejack will you come here darling? You know the other basic moves in the waltz and it would be easier to teach if I could show her with a partner.” Ah got up and stretched myself out.

“Yeah sure. Don’t know if Ah’ll be much help since Ah haven’t done this in over a decade.”

When Ah returned ta the shark house that night, Ah was all kinds of sore. We practiced basic moves, advanced moves, and moves Ah didn’t know, but Rarity taught anyways. Even managed ta get Fluttershy ta do it after we coaxed her inta it. We were there fer hours, and it wasn’t until Ah got a text from Goose sayin’ he was home that Ah realized it was almost 10 pm. Ah haven’t been out this late since Ah joined Harmony, and that was more than a month ago.

Ah arrived at the home in the old suburbs of the southern district and parked my bike in the little awning that jutted from the side of the house by the porch. As Ah got off the bike and pulled my helmet off, he stepped out the door on his hind legs, wearin’ his bathrobe and leanin’ on the frame with his mane slicked back. Freshly cleaned, his coat groomed and shiny, still a little wet so his muscles were readily visible and a little swollen, and he was wearin’ that scent.

“Hello there♥” Ah had ta stop and catch my breath. Ah was already so sore, and this mornin’ hadn’t even caught up with me yet, but he was just so goddess damn attractive. Ah got another waft of that scent from here and Ah wanted nothin’ more than ta grab him and run ta break the bed again… but it was hard ta stand right now and if Ah got a hold of him then he’d have ta carry me everywhere tomorrow for our date. My backlegs slid out from under me and Ah fell ta a sittin’ position.

“Sugarcube, Ah would love nothin’ more than ta go break yer hips right now, but Ah’m just too damn tired. Can we just watch a movie or somethin’?” Goose fell back ta standin’ like a normal pony and laughed.

“Has anypony ever told you you’re too honest? Yeah, sure. Just remember that we’re going to see a movie tomorrow too, so you can’t complain, alright?” At first it looked like he’d come over ta help me up, but instead, he picked me up and carried me in ta the couch. He set me down and Ah started ta shed my ridin’ suit while he got up and turned on the TV. For as old as it was, the picture was still real good, and Goose had hooked up one of them streamin’ devices ta it so that it was basically a new TV.

“So, what did ya do today?” Ah asked. He came and sat down next ta me and wrapped his hoof around me.

“I spent all day missing you.” He leaned in fer a kiss. Ah don’t know how long we held it, but Ah had ta breathe by the time he pulled away.

“Ah love you, but a real answer would be nice.” Goose threw his hooves up.

“I don’t know what you want, that was the truth.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Uh-huh. Well if y’all won’t talk Ah will. Ah ended up ridin’ ta Tin with Twilight this mornin’, spent the afternoon shoppin’ with her Fluttershy and Rarity, and spent all of the evenin’ rememberin’ how ta dance with them. Rarity is… really talented. Like, she can play, she can sew, she can dance, and Ah get the feelin’ she speaks a few languages. She said some Rossian word earlier, ant it was like she’d been speakin’ the language her whole life.” Goose nodded.

“I see. Where all did you go?” Ah shrugged.

“Let’s see. We went ta Star’s place ta get Fluttershy a new suit. He was workin’ on this crazy elaborate weddin’ dress fer some mare with a fat ass that he made me model fer. The old bastard. Who does he think he is callin’, me a fat ass? Ah’m not fat. Ah was malnourished half my life!” Goose tried to hold back a smile.

“I mean, he didn’t lie miss apple bottom.” He gave my cutiemark a good swat and Ah lunged at him. If Ah wasn’t so sore…

“Y’all keep doin’ stuff like that and you’re gonna have ta replace this couch♥” We kissed again and then he put his hooves behind his head.

“A small sacrifice for the greater good, I’m afraid. You will be missed, mom’s couch. So, what happened next?” Ah sat up on him and went back over what Ah did today.

“Let’s see… he finished that, Rarity got him up ta speed with what Harmony has been doin’ for the last couple months, and Fluttershy paid ta have a new suit made. We got lunch and then… Oh! Did you know that the family Pinkie stayed with is together because of a shotgun weddin’?” Goose sat up and held me by the hips.

“I did not. I suppose that means you went to Sugar Cube Corner?” Ah nodded.

“We did. Everypony ordered a cupcake, and apparently they sell this bacon cupcake that Fluttershy had which wasn’t bad but kinda weird. Ah made fun of her fer it, but Rarity ordered a pumpkin spice one that was just delicious.” Goose nodded thoughtfully.

“Ah yes, the basic white mare dilemma. At least she wasn’t wearing the fuzzy boots and the yoga pants too. I think I caught her spreading avocado on her toast one morning while I was still ‘prisoner’ in the castle.” Ah laughed and gave him a playful punch ta the shoulder.

“Don’t say that, ya know she probably owns the outfit. Anyways, we did get ya one by the way. It’s sittin’ in a box in the castle fridge, but they had these cupcakes frosted with pictures of us in our suits on ‘em, so we got a few extra ones for everypony. It was kinda weird though, we were at the castle for the end of the day, but Ah never saw Rainbow, Pinkie, or Scootaloo. Ah guess they must’ve been out.”

“Yeah, I talked to them. I think there was some game tournament going on today that they were going to.” Ah lowered my brows.

“Weird. Ya’d think that Fluttershy would be all about that kinda thin’. Ah wonder why she didn’t go with them?” Goose shrugged.

“That mare is a complicated one. Never know what’s going on in that head of hers. What’d you do after the bakery?”

“Said mare decided that she wanted ta buy a new album while we were nearby, so we went ta a music store. Oh, by the way, is Swan Song originally from Equestria?” Goose took his eyes off me fer a minute.

“Uh, maybe? I don’t actually know. I’m sure that information is somewhere in dad’s records here, but I never met my grandparents on either side, so I’m probably the only one left, provided I don’t have cousins somewhere. Never really thought it was important, so I never looked into it. She did speak Rossian and Cavallian though, for work at least. Opera was her main source of income, so she kinda had too.”

“Huh. Well, Rarity got me listenin’ ta some of that today, and Ah remembered when we used ta dance in the park.” Goose laughed.

“Oh goddess, we did do that, didn’t we? You were awful at it.” Ah frowned.

“That is not true and y’all know it.” Goose shook his head.

“Yeah, maybe after the first year. But when we started, you were bad. Super bad. Mac was better than you were, and that dude would trip on a shadow. That isn’t to say that you couldn’t keep up with me later on, but you probably stepped on my hooves twice for every day we practiced.”

“Fuck you.”

“With pleasure♥”

“No.” Ah spun around and pushed his head inta the arm of the couch and balanced my back on top of him. Ah crossed my back legs and put one of those hooves right on his special spot.

“Alright, I get the picture.”

“Ah don’t think ya do. Especially when ya do that.”

“It has a mind of its own. I can’t control it.”

“Uh-huh. Speakin’ of yer mother, Ah bought a cd of her greatest hits while Ah was there. Brand new, still in the plastic.” And down goes the sail.

“Really? I’m surprised you found one. Nopony sells any of mom’s stuff anymore.”

“Yeah, Ah was told that. Ah figured ya probably already had one, but Ah wanted ta get it fer Mac and myself. Ah suppressed a lot in the years after my father died, so Ah bet Mac’s lost some memories of our childhood too.”

“Nice of you to think of him.”

“Bah, don’t say that. He’s my brother, it’s not like Ah’m about ta forget him. Anyways, Shy wanted ta buy some huge speakers, so Ah ended up gettin’ saddled with those and sent back ta the castle ta set ‘em up. Twi saw Rarity spinnin’ me around ta the Voices of Spring or whatever it’s called in Rossian,”

“Frühlingsstimmen”

“Yeah, that, and she wanted ta learn how ta do it, so we now have big ass speakers in the trainin’ room.”

“Don’t you mean, apple bottom speakers?” His hooves started ta creep down my belly and Ah turned my head ta eye him.

“You’re pushin’ yer luck cowboy.” He keeps this up and Ah’m just gonna be bowlegged tomorrow. He smiled one of them devious smirks. Aaaaand, that’s game.

“Ah, but is my luck pushing the right way though?” Ah rolled around and put my forelegs around his chest. Ah leaned in and kissed him, this time with a little more effort.

“Why don’t you tell me♥?” He smiled even bigger and kissed me back.

“I think I may have just broken the couch.”

“Oh, you’ll be lucky if the walls are still standin’ by the time Ah’m done with you♥”

"Good goddess, I love you."

Persona XXI: Ever After

Applejack

Ah woke up in a hurry this mornin’ when Ah felt the immediate need ta go vomit. Ah think Ah was in the middle of a pleasant dream when all of the sudden everythin’ was on fire and a giant wave was headed toward whatever was happenin’. Either way, it got me up quick enough ta not throw up on Goose, so Ah’m thankful fer that at least.

Somehow the couch survived yesterday, so we ended up fallin’ asleep together on that. Ah left the bathroom ta get back on it, but he’d sprawled himself out over it, half his legs off the side and no room fer me. It was almost three in the mornin’, so Ah just decided ta get in our real bed and sleep there fer a while. Ah’m not entirely sure what was wrong with me ta make me puke outta nowhere like that, but Ah felt fine immediately after. Maybe trump card has been messin’ with my internals too, or somethin’ about the magic is makin’ my body weird. We never did find out about all of that spell’s side effects, so it wouldn’t surprise me much.

Ah hated ta think about it. Not only would that mean that he was right all the way back in September, but now that Ah was seriously considerin’ the future, Ah don’t want ta have ta raise my foals down a leg or debilitated somehow. Of course, that’s further down the line anyways. Ah don’t even want ta consider havin’ foals until after all this Persona shit is done. Two more weeks, and Ah can have a normal life with him. Two more weeks and this will all be over.

Ah remember starin’ at the ceilin’ before everythin’ went dark, but Ah wasn’t alone when Ah woke up the second time. Ah wasn’t feelin’ bad or groggy or anythin’ so Ah figured that this mornin’ must’ve just been a weird one time thin’. Ah thought about gettin’ up, but we didn’t end up just sittin’ together yesterday, so… this was nice. When Ah felt him lightly pushin’ on me, Ah realized Ah’d fallen asleep again.

“Good morning,” he said softly. Ah felt a yawn comin’ and Ah stretched myself out. The smell of pancakes in the air told me he’d been up fer a while and he must’ve let me sleep.

“Did the couch get cold?” He tilted his head and shrugged.

“Only after you left. Come on, I made breakfast.” He went back inta the kitchen, and after a little more stretchin’, Ah got up and brushed my teeth, then met him at the table. A damn tower of pancakes, fresh cut strawberries covered in powdered sugar, and a warm cup of coffee all waitin’ at my seat. Ah whistled.

“Wow. Somepony went out of their way.” He shrugged and went back ta flippin’ pancakes.

“Well, I just happen to think you’re real neat. I’ve still got a little bit of batter left, so I’ll be there in a minute. Go ahead and eat before it gets cold.” Ah sat down and sipped at the coffee but waited on the food.

“Back home, they taught me that the whole family sits down before anypony eats. Besides. Everypony was tellin’ me what a fat ass Ah have yesterday, so maybe all this sugar ain’t such a good thin’.” Which is terrible because it smells fantastic. There’s apple chunks and cinnamon in these just like when Celestia made made ‘em a week ago. That recipe sure has gotten around. Celestia, Twi, Goose. Everypony seems ta know it these days. Goose chuckled.

“Family, huh? I would really hope you don’t think of me like a brother. That would make these last couple weeks exceptionally strange.” Ah scowled at him as he brought the last of the pancakes over.

“Ah won’t even dignify that with a response. So? What’s up? You’re not normally this elaborate with breakfast.” Goose huffed.

“What, I can’t make something special every once in a while?” Ah shook my head.

“No, ya can’t. Ah know better. You’re plannin’ somethin’.” Goose threw his hooves up.

“Caught. Can’t hide from the detective.” Ah leaned back and crossed my hooves.

“Uh-huh. So? What’s up?” Goose shrugged.

“Well… You’ll find out.” Ah frowned.

“Can Ah find out now?” He shook his head.

“Nope. So, you can focus on that, or join me in breakfast. Either way, the movie is at ten, and it’s already eight thirty.” Ah rolled my eyes and swiped the syrup just before he could get it. Ah doused the white powered stack in the golden-brown liquid and then started ta cut it up.

“How rude.” Ah took a chunk of cake and swallowed it.

“Gotta be faster than that, mister chef. So, what’s the plan fer today? Even if ya wanna surprise me, Ah should at least know how Ah should be dressed. If at all, anyways.” Goose swallowed a chunk of his own cakes and then washed it down with some coffee.

“Well, we’re not going anywhere super fancy, so you don’t need to break out the dress. Unless you want to of course, then we can. But uh… I wanted to visit my parents graves today. Maybe it’s a bit of a weird sentiment, but I figured I’d show them that I finally brought home a respectable mare for once.” He scratched at the back of his head and Ah laughed.

“Ah think Ah remember that happenin’ the other way around. Ah don’t know how my parents would feel about me pickin’ up a gang boss and a mobster’s son though.” Goose brought a hoof ta his chin.

“Somepony has to make me a respectable stallion, right? ‘You don’t get a real stallion until you give him a mare or a foal to take care of,’ as my dad would say.” Ah contemplated that fer a moment.

“Ya know. Ah think Ah could see my own dad sayin’ somethin’ like that. Not ta me of course, but ta my brother. It would be nice if somepony would make a stallion outta him. Though, that’ll probably happen when all his sleepin’ around finally catches up with him.” Goose finished half a strawberry and nodded.

“If you ask me, I almost wanna say he’s after that anyways. I wasn’t his only friend back when we were kids, and he’s always been kinda popular for his outward appearance, but… I feel like he was… I don’t know, more noble back then. Like, while your dad was still around, he really believed in truth, justice, and the Equestrian way. Seeing him again was like… looking at the shell of the kid I used to know. Somepony who lost their way and never found it again.

I’m not about to say that I can psychoanalyze the guy, but he really doesn’t have a whole lot of responsibility on his plate, ya know? He was smart enough to avoid loans, and he works to feed himself, but other than that, he doesn’t really have anything to work toward. No goals to fulfill, and with you picking up the slack at home and your little sister going off to work for me, he is all he’s got to worry about now.” Ouch.

“Well… really? Ah mean. Ah guess, Ah can see where you’re comin’ from, but…” Goose shook his head.

“Nah, see, this is where the difference comes in. Stallions need goals. We live to work, and we work to live. You were the goal that brought me out of depression after my mother died, and the gang was my goal after my father died. I worked to make sure they could live, and because I was always working, I had a reason to keep going. Colts need stallions to look up to, and stallions need colts to make sure they live up to their own ideals of what a stallion should be when they were colts. It’s a repeating cycle that makes colts into stallions.

Mares on the other hoof are the thing that makes us whole. Do you know how hard it is for one stallion to teach another compassion? Impossible. It’s just not a thing. We are so easily ruled by anger and violence that we need somepony that thinks completely different from us to show us a better way to use that energy. I was surrounded by mares in the years I didn’t have my mother and even then, I still had the capacity to completely lose it and go on a witch hunt.

Only together can mares and stallions raise foals into good ponies, and I think it was when we had to bring down Quiet that I finally realized this. That kid just wanted to be like me, and he watched me use my power to take revenge murders. Why should I have been surprised when he volunteers for some dangerous new thing that could give him power? I bet my dad realized the same thing around the time got into high school and that’s why he was so hard on me to go to college. Trying to get me out long after it was too late.” He stopped lookin’ at me and let his head drift ta the ceilin’. “I wonder what he would think… if he could see me now?” Oh, Goose. Ah got up and wrapped myself around him from behind his chair.

“Ah think he’d be proud of ya. Ah think they both would. And Ah know that… because Ah am.” Ah leaned over and kissed him. He sniffed and wiped at his eyes.

“Oh goddess, what am I doing? I haven’t even… You’re the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you.”

The movie we went and saw wasn’t quite what Ah expected goin’ in. It was advertised like a superhero movie since those have been popular lately, and while it delivered on that, it was definitely more a romantic comedy than anythin’ else. The main character was a sleazy stallion who was once a mercenary that met a sleazy girl, and even with the bad characteristics they both had, together, they made themselves somethin’ more. They live a good life until one day, the guy starts coughin’ up blood and they take him ta see a physician. He has terminal cancer and maybe a few months left ta live.

Desperate and poor, they can’t afford the treatment he needs that just might prolong his life, so he goes out ta try and find a way ta live. He meets this other shady stallion who offers ta give him his treatment if he’ll be a lab rat fer ‘em. The so called ‘treatment’ he gets awakens the virus within’ him and gives him the ability ta infinitely regenerate, but his appearance is horribly disfigured fer it. When the treatment is shown a success, the shady group then tries ta kill him and steal his powers, but that fails and he survives.

He can’t face the mare he loves like this, so he goes after the group himself usin’ his old mercenary skills in attempt ta have them fix his body. Everythin’ is a joke, even while he’s killin’ ponies left and right, he’s crackin’ about it and breakin’ the 4th wall all the while. Eventually the enemy group figures it out and kidnap his girl. He goes ta get help from other heroes, beats the bad guy, saves the girl, and of course she loves him fer him and not his face, so thin’s turn out alright. It was good, but Ah feel like Ah was tricked. And even then, that was probably part of the joke.

Ah think the strangest thin’ about it is that that kinda thin’ could like, happen in Manehattan. Of course, it was also shot and filmed here, so it was almost like that was part of the joke too. It was almost surreal enough that Ah think Ah might’ve known the hero it was based on, which is even more unsettlin’. Fer lunch, Goose took me ta the Cheesecake Warehouse in north Manehattan. Not a real ritzy place, but definitely not yer average restaurant when the average price of a meal is a little under two silvers. It was right next ta the theater, so it was quick and easy ta get in and get served.

“So, did you like the movie?” he asked. Ah looked away from my plate ta stare out the window.

“Yeah, it was funny. Ah just still can’t get over how close ta reality that was. The weirdest part is that Ah think Ah know the guy that was based on. Doesn’t that sound a lot like Endless?” Ah asked. Goose shrugged.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t know many of the other heroes. Other than you guys, Volt, and the guy I beat up last month, I don’t know any names. Speaking of, that dude hits hard. I had bruises for a very long time after that fight.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Ah mean, he is made of metal or however his powers work. Iron Tail is strong but doesn’t have the stamina that he used ta. Dude’s gettin’ up there in age. Probably, ten, fifteen years older than we are. My point is though, that is almost exactly Endless’ story. Ex-military, came home ta somepony, diagnosed with cancer, and then catches the virus. Ah’ve seen the guy missin’ a leg or an ear one day, and then come back with it the next. Ah don’t know if he’s patchwork or what under that suit of his, but he’s survived everythin’.” Goose frowned.

“That’s kinda gross. How’d you meet him?” Ah tilted my head.

“Oh, on a job like usual. A couple of us had signed up ta go grab some guys that were tryin’ ta start up a new drug ring and were reported ta the police by a rival drug ring. Of course, the police didn’t have any proof on the rivals, but this one was as good as ours, and there were a lot of power ponies ta deal with, so they wanted ta have a team do it. Our job was ta stake out the area and jump in once we found the substances. Endless was on the team, and the dude couldn’t keep his mouth shut while we waited.” Goose made an emotionless face.

“Huh. That’s uh… strange? I wonder if somepony he knew wrote the story.” Ah shrugged.

“Fer all Ah know, he wrote the story and just came up with an alias fer his alias and had somepony design a new suit. Definitely got a prettier stallion ta play himself though. That dude is some kinda ugly. They make jokes in the movie about it, but the real stallion looks like a walkin’ corpse under that thin’. His wife must be one hell of a mare.” Goose got a smirk on his face.

“Oh? So… if it were me, would you stick around?” Ah dry heaved.

“Ugh, can we not? Ah think you’re a good guy and all, but Ah really like yer face. You’ve got other thin’s goin’ fer ya too, and yesterday… ya know what? Lemme put it this way; at the moment, ya make it real easy ta throw away any of my restraint. If… if ya looked like that, Ah think our relationship would be very different.” Goose burst out laughin’ and shook his head.

“Wow! You’re fucking brutal.” Ah threw my hooves up.

“Ah don’t know what ta tell ya. It’s the truth. Even Ah have standards.” Goose shook his head.

“No, no, I totally get it. Attraction is part of it, and you forgot me. I just happened to get lucky and catch your eye…” he took a big swallow of water and then leaned on the table and put his head over his hooves. “So… you think I’m pretty?” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Maybe. Y’all make me feel goddess damned superficial though. That’s twice. Ah’m keepin’ a record of it.” He laughed again and Ah rolled my eyes again and we kissed again. “You’re just the worst.” He nodded and put a hoof on his chest.

“I take all praise in stride. Anyways, I’m about done. You ready to head out?” Ah glanced over the few fries left on my plate and shrugged.

“Yeah, sure. It’ll be nice if we get there and it’s not too cold just yet.”

Next we visited a flower shop nearby and bought some fer his parents. We could never afford a grave fer dad, and nopony knows what happened ta Red Hoof’s body after that fight. Ah have the money now though, so Ah may get one made and have it placed somewhere around here. But… really, if Ah ever find his remains, Ah think Ah’ll try ta get him buried next ta mom and granny back at the family graveyard. Ah don’t like them. Ah still hate them fer what they did ta us. But they belong together, and Ah would do whatever it takes ta get him buried next ta her.

It was still sunny out on this early October day, and it was just the right temperature in Manehattan. A bit of a chill in the air, but not too cold ta just go out with a jacket on. The wind wasn’t much, and the sun was just warm enough ta make ya feel the sweet sizzle of heat on yer skin before the air cools ya off. Since neither of us had a car, we’d walked most everywhere today. He’d put on some slightly more formal clothes, a black turtleneck and some white jeans, and Ah’d grabbed my jacket and my hat as Ah always do. We’d left the flower shop with at least four bouquets of some kinda flower in multiple colors and then headed toward North Manehattan Community College.

“Huh. It really is right here,” Ah said as we turned the corner. Sure enough, there really is a graveyard just a few blocks down from the college. Not only that, but this one is gated, small, and private.

“Yeah, no, that was at least partially the truth. My parents are buried here. The only thing you don’t know is that I own this graveyard. Or at least, my dad did before I inherited it. He had it built for her after she died…” We stood in front of the gate and Goose took a key ring from his jacket pocket. The fencin’ was all ornate wrought iron, and in the arch above the gate were the words ‘Swan’s End Cemetery.’ He pressed a small dark key inta the lock, twisted, and then pushed the gate inward.

Inside, it was like a garden. There weren’t many graves here, but above every grave was a statue of the pony that was buried here. All carved out in some fancy polished stone or another and surrounded by beds of flowers of every color under the sun. Goose pointed ta one and said,

“That one is Black Eye. He was dad’s right hoof stallion all the way up until the Red Hoof fight. He lead the gang in his absence and then died when he was captured before they could get dad’s location out of him. One of the most loyal ponies I’ve ever seen, and probably one of my best friends from my childhood. The flowers planted here match his mane and coat, black pansies and red and orange poppies.” Then he pointed ta another grave.

“Those were my grandparents, the stallion is Hastalis Carcharodon, and the Mare is Lamna. They died before I was born, but after dad had gained power in Manehattan. As the story goes, she was a native here and he immigrated to the country with his parents after the war. They were both in their mid-thirties when they met, and like father like son, he’d gotten himself up in the world by doing business underground. He wanted to get out, but dad wanted to get in, so they fought and he left on his own to come here and make his fortune.

When he was getting up in age and the cancer was starting to eat away at him, dad told me that one of his biggest regrets was never making peace with his father before he died. My parents named me after my grandmother in hopes that I didn’t turn out like either of the stallions in my line, but I guess things just didn’t happen like that. I ended up sharing coat color with her, so we have green zinnias, blue and violet irises for her, and ornamental white lupines and bluebonnets for him.” Goose took the flowers he’d bought at the store and placed one at each of their graves. White fer his grandfather, and blue fer his grandmother.

“Tulips were her favorite, so we save those when we plant new flowers here. It looks like some ponies were here not too long ago since there are flowers at some of the other graves. These are only visited by the old gang and the ponies paid to keep maintenance up.” He pointed ta a few other graves that had flowers by them, all tulips of various colors. Ah looked around the graveyard, and then somethin’ struck me.

“Ya said yer parents were buried here right? Ah don’t see Swan Song anywhere.” Goose nodded.

“Well, this yard was made for her, so she and dad have their own space hidden in plain sight. Follow me.” We moved ta what looked like the back of the yard, lined by a huge hedge that was neatly trimmed like a big green wall, and then followed it ta the corner where there was just enough room between it and the fence ta get by. Further down, hidden between hedge and tall willows, was an openin’ with a floral arch made of black and white roses.

We entered the hidden space, and it was like steppin’ inta a different world. There was a large stone circle in the center, and all around it in the corners were roses planted like a checkerboard, a square of black next ta a square of white. The hedge was lined with vines all along the walls with flowers bloomin’ everywhere in a sorta controlled chaos of yellow, white, and violet. There were marble columns at each corner and in the center of every hedge wall, and a few benches between the columns made of polished black wood and wrought iron. Just after the stone circle in the center were two large statues of a stallion dippin’ a mare in a dance. One Ah knew as Swansong, and the other was like a pony with the likeness of a shark. Fins, teeth, the whole works. Upon closer inspection, the statue was so detailed that ya could see the outline of the scales on Carcharias’ body.

He was made of black polished stone with streaks of white in it, and she was made of white with black streaks. They were so lifelike that Ah thought they might start movin’ at any moment. The large stone circle had two plaques in front of the stone couple, and just behind them, Ah could see two busts on big blocks with more gold plaques just under the heads.

“Wow…” Ah didn’t know what ta say. This place was breath takin’. The time and effort put inta the statues, the flowers planted so specifically, how long it woulda taken ta have this hedge grown so tall, the polish and cleanliness of the place. Nothin’ short of amazin’ was worth it.

“He showed me this place a little after we had our fight. He bought the site just after she died and had all of this built to honor her memory. The stone circle is engraved with lyrics of some of the songs she wrote and both of their obituaries are written on those plaques. The truth of who dad really was died with him though, so this just represents who ponies think he was.” Goose walked across the stone circle and Ah stood in the center ta read some of the lyrics. Some of this was in Rossian, some was Cavallian, most was in Equestrian and Ah recognized all of it. He put the tulips in the stands just in front of the dancin’ statues and then waved me over.

“Come here, I want to show you something.” Ah walked across the circle and met him underneath the giant statues until we reached the end of the garden with the busts of his parents.

“Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew~

When I bit off, more than I could chew~

But through it all, when there was doubt~

I ate it up, and spit it out!

I faced it all, and I stood tall;

And did it my~ way~

A lyric from his favorite song and a real summary of my dad. My way, by Crystal Blue, 1969. The stallion could sing, the stallion could dance, the stallion could play. But in his life it was the backside of the world he chose to stay. As talented as he was, as charismatic as he lived, it was black deals and bad intentions he decided to give. A stallion that learned the truth too late and tried to turn back in the end, only to realize that the damage was done and he’d lost his best friend.

-Carcharias Carcharodon, 1975-2027.

It took me way too long to realize that my dad was a better stallion than I believed him to be. The first time I ever told him I loved him was the last time. Of all the things I regret, I think that’s what I regret the most.” Goose kneeled and put both his hooves together and sat silently in front of the grave. Ah kneeled with him and wrapped my hoof around his shoulders. After a bit he stood back up and we moved ta his mother’s grave.

“Here we are~

Apart again~

At death’s crossroads.

Reaching across the river.

Come back my love~

Return to me~

I can’t believe

You could ever go

If in life I, lose you,

if death takes you away

My darling will live on forever, with me,

For no barrier, can keep my love at bay!

Ah-ah-ah my love~

Return to me~

Return to me, by Swan Song, 2009. Shortly after I was born, my dad had run up against a new upstart in Manehattan that was looking to take over his territory. The shoot out was bad, and when it all came down to it, Dad barely escaped with his life. He was in critical condition for a while and nopony thought he was going to make it. Then, mom had this song come to her and she sang it for him while he was still out. He regained consciousness the next day, and after a month, he would be back to normal.

It was after that that Dad tried to start Carcha company. A promise he made to her to find a way out and become free of this life for her, and maybe even for me. In the end, Carcha was never enough for him, and even with the new business, he still kept up his old tricks, eventually resulting in her death. Do you… remember her last words?” Ah scratched at my neck and tried ta think. It was… still hard ta bring the memory back. We were about ta eat lunch. She’d just made… somethin’ or other, and she called us over when we heard some tires squeal ta a halt outside. We both stopped ta look and then… she jumped in front of him. From there it gets fuzzy. Ah shook my head.

“Ah’m sorry, Ah don’t.” Goose sighed.

“Yeah, I figured as much. Well, as she held me there, dying, she managed to say ‘don’t blame’ before it was over. After dad told me the truth on how it all went down, I think I realized that she was trying to say, ‘don’t blame him.’ She made the choice to stay even though she knew the risk, and that was the result. That song she wrote was a summation of her character. Somepony who was the definition of devotion. She loved my dad and I with all her heart, and no matter what bad thing he did, or how many fights they had, she was always there waiting for him to come home.

If in life I lose you, if death takes you away, my darling will live on forever with me, for no barrier can keep my love at bay.

-Swan Song, 1980-2017”

Once again, Goose kneeled, and Ah followed suit. This time the silence lasted longer, but once he was done, he led me by hoof ta the center of the circle in the garden. He turned ta face me still holdin’ my hoof and looked deep inta my eyes. The sunset orange pools of his pierced me down ta my very core.

“My father was… a mixed bag. He had values, and he did bad things. He didn’t care for the law, he used ponies like tools, he gave jobs to the dregs of society and made young colts into good stallions. He treated mares with more respect than any stallion in the world, and he also killed ponies who crossed him. And much like he took after his father, I take after mine.

I suffer from the same flaws, I turned out in a similar way, and to this day, I can’t justify most of my actions for most of my adult life. Of all the things that made my dad the stallion he was, it was the mare in his life that changed him for the better. My mother was an amazing mare, and she turned the twisted mobster that was Shark Tooth into the respected stallion that was Carcharias Carcharodon.

It takes one hell of a mare to turn a guy like him into the stallion he became, and to be completely honest, I never believed anypony else could’ve done what she did. But then… I ran into you again. We met for the first time in thirteen years just seven weeks ago, and already, you have made me a better pony for it.

So, I know a graveyard is a weird place to take your special somepony out for a date and all, but this place means a lot to me. It’s a testament to my parent’s love and how truly special they were to each other. So special that my mother would die for me, and my father would spend every last bit he made to remember her and give me a better life. I think that you… are just that special to me.

I know ponies use the word kinda flippantly, like ‘I love peanut butter,’ or ‘I love my friends,’ but… ya know, Equestrian is really bad at using the word love. It is… so much more than that. It means so, so much more than that, that… sometimes words just can’t express it.” Goose kneeled in front of me and reached down inta his pocket. Ah felt my heart jump inta my throat and my whole face heat up at once. My pulse beatin’ a mile a minute, my eyes startin’ ta water, he let go of my hoof and held a little black box between his.

“Jaqueline Apple, I love you in a way that words cannot express. So with that said… will you marry me?” He opened the box, but Ah never saw what was inside. My eyes were so blurry and my heart felt like it was about ta explode. It didn’t matter what was in the box, it was the words he said that meant the world ta me. After thirteen years, he came back and fulfilled his promise. Ah fell on him and wrapped myself around him as tight as Ah could.

“Oh goddess Goose, of course Ah will.”

Persona XXII: Gang-Star's Dream (part 1)

Goose Fang

Saturday, October 5th, 2030

“This doesn’t work if you’re not focused,” Celestia’s voice came from high above.

“But of course, my goddess.” I bowed to nopony in the white ethereal space. If I could see her, I’m certain she would be rolling her eyes.

“Both of you, goodness. And I told you to stop calling me that. I am no goddess. I cannot do everything and anything, nor did I design the world we live in. I especially can’t help you train when at least two of you aren’t actually paying attention. Her mind is clouded and confused and she’s making awful decisions, and it’s almost like you’re on autopilot. What’s going on?” I shrugged. Might as well.

“Well, truth is, I’m planning on proposing next week.” Silence from the void. Even the screen with everypony else still struggling in the simulation paused.

“I’m sorry?”

“I, Lamnidae Carcharodon, am going to ask Jaqueline Apple to be my wife. See, I’ve got the whole thing planned, I just need to go get the pendant I commissioned and then see about getting the wedding set up. I’ve got to-” In a flash of blinding white light, which was weird to discern in this white void, Celestia appeared before me.

“You’re completely serious. Are you sure this is a good decision right now? Nopony expects to get killed in a battle, but you still have one coming up tomorrow, and what about the weeks after? Goose, I simply don’t-” I crossed my forelegs and shook my head.

“Don’t try to talk me out of this. I’ve been having this argument with myself for three weeks now. I am concerned that I won’t get the chance if I don’t do it soon.” She took a seat in front of me and leaned down to be at eye level. I never realized it, but her torso is about the size of my entire body. Isn’t Twilight like, only slightly above average as far as mare height goes? Her dad was probably at least a big guy, maybe even Mac’s size, but even then… how did the logistics of that work?

“Very carefully. Her father was a great stallion, but no trend breaker as far as size goes. Now then, Twilight’s creation aside, what’s the plan here? Do you have your documents ready? Do you have a wedding date in mind? A where and a when? What about invitations? Have asked her family about this yet? What about your family? Do you have any left? Are there ponies in your life that should know about this? Take it from me, you shouldn’t be telling your sister that you got married after the fact.” I scratched at my beard.

“I know I asked the question, but it’s not like I was expecting an answer. Is that the passive mind reading, or just a side effect of the dream?” Goddess damn it, I’m going to be thinking about that all day now. Celestia smirked.

“Catering to two heads is hard, isn’t it? A little of both. Of course, Rainbow knows how to block me out and I’ve yet to figure out how she’s doing it without a horn. Luna can’t seem to get into her head either, it’s very strange. Now then, back to the other topic.” Devious.

“Yeah, I adjusted my will a little before Ramiel and I got everything else ready. I don’t think she’ll say no-” Celestia cut me off.

“Really? You still have doubts about that? I know you’re the opposite of oblivious.” I rolled my eyes.

“It could happen! The possibility is out there, even if the chances are… well, decidedly low. Point is, pages are ready, but I’m not certain on how she wants to do her name. I don’t know why it is, but her legal last name is Apple. You would think with the way her dad was just kicked out, he would have it changed, but I couldn’t find anything on ‘Citrus Root’ anywhere, so I’m still looking into that.” Celestia nodded.

“Ah yes, the mythical ‘Citrus Root.’ After Rarity sent me the application for her, I of course went digging into every detail I could find about her. Can’t have just anypony around my baby after all. Traced through the Apple side, she is a direct descendant of Palomino Apple, the stallion the province is named after. They were always good with their family records, but to think they had catalogued over two millennia of it… Anyways, that side is easy.

Her father essentially doesn’t exist in any of my databases, which leads me to believe that Citrus Root is an alias, and I have no idea who the pony under the mask really was. ‘Blood Orange’ also only has records dating back around twenty years ago and I’ve never heard anything of grand parents on her father’s side. Twilight has taken everypony’s blood and will be doing tests on that for me later tomorrow night, so I will find out. But for the same reason I have no information, you have no information, so there’s that.” I put a hoof under my chin. No records from before 2010? Who the hell is this guy?

“Now that you bring that up, I think I’ll have some of my guys look into that. I know a guy who knows more in theory, but he told me his sister locked away some of his memories and she’s the only one who can bring them back. If she’s still alive, finding her would be really helpful. Uh, I’m sure you’ll find out anyways, so his name is Star Slate. Owns Star Apparel over on the east side not too far from the water.” Celestia nodded.

“Interesting. I’ll have to have you get with Raven and exchange contacts. What about family?” I shrugged.

“I don’t have any siblings so that shouldn’t be an issue on my side. Still uncertain about how I’ll approach hers. I want to propose on Tuesday in front of my parent’s graves since it’s supposed to be nice out, so sometime before then would be ideal.” Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t know Swan Song was buried. But… in a graveyard? That’s a little…” I rolled my eyes.

“You don’t understand. My dad had the grave built just for her. There are like, maybe twelve other ponies besides them buried there, it’s more like a garden filled with statues. He loved your décor, so it really looks a lot like Canterlot gardens. He had these statues carved out of marble of him and mom built to interlock and look like they’re dancing, he blew millions on this. I promise, it might be a graveyard, but it doesn’t look like a graveyard.” Celestia raised her hooves.

“Okay fine. I didn’t meet your father but once or twice in person-”

“You also met him when he was a kid. I have a picture of him, grandad and you in my house actually.” Celestia squinted at me.

“Really? Well, I suppose he underwent drastic changes after 2000, so I can’t be blamed for not recognizing him. Goodness, that must’ve been almost half a century ago, I haven’t done a ‘meet the princess’ in decades. Speaking of pictures, I want them. I want lots of them. I have photo albums of all my close staff getting married over the years, and I expect this one to be no different.”

“Alright, I can do that. But in return, can I get off early today? I don’t have any blood family left, my father was good to his wife, but I still haven’t told the gang about this yet and that… is going to be a long conversation.” Celestia rolled her eyes.

“Though it is Saturday, I will allow it. But only because there really isn’t much else I can do for you for this particular Kaiju. If you haven’t noticed, I’ve only been running the Matarael simulation every other battle because it’s just too easy with the technology you have. These things are significantly less of a threat when you can just blow them to hell without consequences in the form of billions of bits. Had I nuclear technology a thousand years ago, there are so many battles over the centuries that I could’ve just ended in seconds. Anyways, that’s one family, but what about hers? Her father’s origins aside, you do plan on asking for her uncle’s blessing don’t you?” I shivered.

“You say that like it’s easy to talk to the guy. Yeah, I do. Applebloom actually works for my company, so I plan on giving her a day off to be apart of that meeting, but I still need to set it up. Mac has a weird work schedule, so I’ll have to find a time on Monday or something to get that taken care of.” Celestia nodded.

“Ah yes… Now that is a high quality specimen. Arranged marriages died out a millennium ago in this country, but if I were to ever pick for my daughter for no purpose other than breeding quality-” I put my hooves up and looked away.

“Oh, my goddess, can you not? What are you, a cougar?” She shrugged.

“I mean, technically, any sexual relationship I were to engage in would be predatorial because there is no living creature as old as I am… active right now. Of course, biologically speaking, alicorns stop aging at about twenty-five. Ponies begin to physically deteriorate around twenty-six, so this is the age in which the brain is fully developed, and the body has yet to start deteriorating. There’s even a small amount of growth that can happen in ponies at this age, and due to the halting of the clock, we continue to minimally grow over the years. Once upon a time, I was actually Twilight’s size, as was Luna. Of course, back home there was never an alicorn to live beyond a millennium because more often than not, somepony would kill them, or they would finally choose death. My society was plagued with a great deal of things yours does not experience simply because of the ageless thing. Be glad you have a limited lifespan.” Okay, that was a tangent.

“Uh… while this is interesting and all, is that everything? Because If I’m going to get all this set up, I really need to kinda… go do that soon.” Celestia gasped.

“Oh, goodness, what am I doing? I’m sorry, I have the capacity to just talk sometimes. Yes, go make sure you have your ducks in a row and I will make an excuse to everypony else. I won’t lie to you and say I’m not a little excited about this. You spend a few months treating a mare like your daughter and suddenly you forget that she isn’t yours. I expect to hear great things and several grandchildren, you understand?” I nodded and smiled thinly.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Hey, are you in here?” I called out in the closed Carcha. Our stores don’t usually open till noon, and since things had gone so smoothly today, we’d only had one or two difficult simulations. It was somewhere around eleven thirty, so at least a few ponies should be here preparing to open.

“I’m in the back!” Alto called out. As the chief gem worker of the Pitch family, she was in charge of inspection and design of most of our custom jewelry. When she’s not making something new, she runs the company in my absence… which is basically all the time at this point. I followed the sounds of grinding and wheels spinning until I found her in the workshop behind the display case. She’d just turned off a rotary brush and was inspecting what I assumed was my own pendant.

“Which one is that?” She pushed up her magnifying goggles and finally looked at me. She and her siblings were two sets of fraternal twins that all look exactly alike. Blonde mane, white coat, baby blue eyes, and all with wildly different talents and personalities. Alto is the ‘oldest’ of the four, and the only one to work on dad’s side of the business directly.

“It’s yours. But uh… you sure you don’t want anything set in this? It’s a pretty plain piece at the moment. Ya know, I could cut a sapphire and fit it right-” I frowned and shook my head.

“We talked about this. Did you ever see dad let his stallions wear any kind of jewels? Like, at all?” She rolled her eyes.

“I mean, it’s not like the guy hasn’t been dead for three years now…” I shook my head.

“No, and that would be the end of that. Besides, nopony cares about mine. What about hers? Are you done with it?” Alto groaned in protest and then set my pendant down. In truth, it was very plain. Black steel backing with a platinum outline of my silver shark tooth cutiemark over one of her Apples. It looked almost identical to how it did on paper, so that was fine. It’s about how hers looks with the gemstones that had me concerned. Alto loves mosaics. She wanted to get four different kinds of gems in this thing, and she wanted to do it on three different metals, and I am one hundred percent sure Applejack is not one for something that gaudy. Rarity and Alto would get along swimmingly, now that I think about it though.

“‘Am I finished’ he says. Come on Lamni, who do ya think you’re talking to? I had this done two days ago. I wanted to make something nicer for you and you wouldn’t let me. Here. I even toned it down like you asked.” On a thin gold chain was a similar piece to mine, but far more intricate. The backing was tempered gold that made up the Apple, stem, and leaf. On top of that was a platinum plate fused into the gold that made the outline of my shark’s tooth. In the spaces between the beveled outlines were eight gemstones, four rubies cut around the crown and root of the tooth, emeralds that fit the crown of the tooth and leaf of the apple and the stem and root were both diamonds. Instead of thinking about how beautiful the piece was, my brain immediately went to the cost. These things were about the size of hockey pucks, and even though they were mostly flat cut stones, they weren’t small stones. Geez, that’s like what, tens of thousands worth of gemstones? Not to mention the metals, good goddess.

“It’s… beautiful, easily some of your best work, but…”

“I bought them raw, I did not go over budget, I promise. You said ten, so ten is what I used.” I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“For both or just hers? Where in the world did you find a rock that big for so cheap anyways?” I took the pendant from her to inspect, and in reality, this thing was bigger than it appeared. It was almost an inch by an inch on top and with the pendant itself being about a half inch thick, I could only imagine how tall it was. It was like a damn plate. As a matter of fact, something was weird about it… it was perfect. Too perfect. Almost like the gem was designed… “And where exactly did you buy from?” She tightened her lips.

“Oh. Ya know. Around.” I shook my head.

“You’re a better liar than this.” She threw her hooves up and let out a breath.

“Okay, fine, I cheated, alright? I barely spent a gold on that. I bought the raw materials and had Clear Cut do the rest. The only thing that I actually bought here was the metal… which I bought like, last month and that was mostly leftovers from my last order.” I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“Come on, you said you would do this legit! My boss is a very intelligent and magically adept pony! If she finds out how this was made, she could get the government involved!” Alto huffed.

“Alright, whatever, I’m sorry, but there was no way I was gonna find anything that shape without making this mare wear a goddess damned boulder on her neck!” There are times I want to hit ponies.

“Which is why I told you to cool it with the materials! It didn’t have to be big, it just needed to be the right shape. It was never about the size, it was about the significance!” She groaned.

“Fine, whatever! But you better make do with that for now because there is no way I can get this remade with real stones by Tuesday.” I crossed my hooves and frowned.

“Uh-huh. Where were the sapphires coming from? Getting those transmuted by Clear too?” She turned away and started digging in a box.

“Maybe they were.” I let out a breath and set the pendant down.

“Look, I know old habits die hard, but we cannot sell forges anymore. The real ones make enough, and we won’t get hunted down by the Bit Commission this way. Can you really not remake it by Tuesday?” She glared at me and then gave me a black jewelry box for the pendant.

“Not without you going to grab everything I need. It’ll take weeks to get enough raw material shipped here. I’ll do it when I can. But we still have business to settle. What the hell is this?” From the box she was digging in, she took a little packet of paper and held it in front of my face. I recognized it immediately and dreaded the oncoming conversation.

“That looks like my will,” I said stoically. She rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, no shit. Why am I in it? Why isn’t she in it?” I lowered my brows.

“Huh? She’s in it, what are you talking about?” She sighed and took a breath.

“Lamni, be serious for a minute here. This gives me majority ownership in the event you’re incapacitated. Why? There is no way in hell that mare wouldn’t rip the pants off ya if she was ever in the mood. Wouldn’t you rather this go to your kids? I mean, I don’t know what you’ve got going on in that head of yours, but if you’re afraid something’s gonna happen, shouldn’t you set her up for the future?” I shrugged.

“I mean, did I not? I’m pretty sure I said that she gets forty percent of everything I own in the event of my death, Carcha withstanding. I know you’ve only got access to the company’s finances, but you have to know the kinda money dad had stored up. Even if something happens to me, money should never be an issue for her ever again.” She gritted her teeth and raised a hoof like she was going to hit me.

“Goddess you’re frustrating, ya know that? Are ya bangin’ or what?” I looked away and scratched at my chin.

“… Maybe a little.” She rolled her eyes.

“Okay, so you’ve been having trouble walking. You protect yourself every time?” I bit my lip and shook my head. Right. Still never bought those.

“Yeah, figured as much. So, what are we looking at here? She’s aggressive, dominant, and you haven’t been using controls, so in a year or so you’ll probably have an heir. Why does Alto Pitch own sixty percent of the company if something happens to you instead of her?” I sighed.

“Because… I think her family is stuck. Every single one of them going all the way back to Palomino himself had apple related cutiemarks. That bloodline was born to work an orchard, and as far back as I could find, there were maybe one or two strict deviations from the trend on a thousand years worth of genealogy. They did have a dad, and whatever his talent was, they still all ended up with apples on their flanks. Even if our kids end up looking just like me, they will be apples, one way or another.

You’re right, she is aggressive, and I would be lying if I said I initiated very often, it’s usually her. If I have a foal next August, I wouldn’t be super surprised. She’s reckless and oftentimes I can’t help but indulge her because… I love her. I looked into it, and she and her siblings still have a claim on that orchard. I think I can get it back if I can get a little more information on her grandparents, and if possible, I want to try and raise our kids there. She never got a chance to live out her cutiemark, and I don’t want my kids to end up the same way, ya know?” Alto frowned.

“So… let me get this straight. You are giving me Carcha… because you’re gonna try and take Sweet Apple Acres? Lamni, are you seriously gonna fight the Apples over that? Blood ties and ownership are not going to make you a case to take over a company with that kind of income.” I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t you think I know that? Look, I have a lead. There were some weird circumstances around her grandmother’s death. Her health took a more rapid decline than it should have, even if she was grieving. It’s true, she lost her only daughter, but she had three grandkids. I don’t know about you, but something about that seems off to me. Annie Smith Apple was the only heir to the direct line, everypony else is all part of branch families. If I can figure out what really happened, I can make a case that they were the ones stolen from, and then Mac will have ownership because he was next in line.

On the other side of this, my dad helped raise you after. You were like my big sister all this time. You helped build Carcha into what it is today. All your siblings work for me. I don’t think it would be Carcha without you guys, and you’ve been running this place for almost a month on your own. There are no better hooves to leave it to. Besides, it’s not like anything has happened yet, you may never get the chance to take over completely. It’s just an insurance policy, alright? I’m not going anywhere.” Alto scratched at her face and let out a breath.

“You’re irritating, ya know that?” She grabbed my head and rubbed her hoof into my scalp.

“Hey, stop that! How old are you, thirteen?” I laughed and pushed her off, and she sighed and shook her head.

“Not anymore… those days are long gone. First Bass went off and got hitched, Soprano is engaged, and now you… If Tenor finds himself a mare, I’m quitting and making you do this. I’m supposed to be the oldest, I was supposed to get married first! Oh well. I just hope the old man isn’t rolling in his grave over this.” I put a hoof on her shoulder and shook my head.

“Nah. He wouldn’t have taken you guys in if he didn’t think of you as his own. That’s just the kinda guy he was. For better or for worse, like father like son, this place is just not the same without you and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Damn you. You are just like him.” She shook her head. “Since he’s not here to tell you this, I’ll do it for him. You make damn sure that mare is the happiest mare in the world, alright? No mistresses, no one night stands, not even a moment of weakness! He would beat your ass even if he was eighty and he caught you doin’ that. If I find out you hurt her, I’ll send the whole damn gang after you. I think you can do it, so go make a good life with this mare.” She picked up the fake pendant and looked it over a few times. “I’ll get you a real pendant, made of the actual gemstones before Tuesday. It won’t be this big of course, and I’ll have to call in some help, maybe even a few favors I wasn’t ready to use, but I should’ve done this right in the first place.” I moved in and gave her a hug.

“Thanks Alto, you’re the best.” She rolled her eyes and reluctantly hugged me back.

“Whatever. Go away so I can get to work. Call me when you’ve got everything figured out. I’ll need to call in the rest of the family for this wedding of yours. Oh, speaking of, when is that happening? Like, next month or something?” I grabbed my hat off the floor and straightened it on my head.

“Yeah, about that…”

“Okay, wow, that’s sudden don’t ya think?” Pulse asked. In truth, I kind of expected this. Pulse was the only member of the original gang here, and I’m not sure anypony else out of my mods from the Boneheads even knew about Applejack. Maybe Aurora knew, but if she does, it was because she joined before dad died. I know I picked up Heat specifically to help me kill the Rockets, and the rest of the girls all joined later.

“Sudden for you maybe. I’ve been with her for almost two months now. You know, after looking for her for over a decade. I’ve finally got her back, I’m not letting the chance slip away.” For the first time since february, I put on a real jacket because it was in the 40’s in Crystal. It usually isn’t this cold for another month in Manehattan, but that’s just how it goes up here. I’d come to Pulse first in the ‘Carcha’ she’d established since the new location won’t have construction complete until December. Now that Alto is involved up here, we’ve kind of branded this little coffee shop as an outlet or test market store. Because of the location, the jewelry market here is a little stale so we’re thinking of opening a new store without one. It would be the first of its kind if we do. I walked in on Pulse doing… something, but I couldn’t honestly say what.

“Fine, but the others are not gonna be happy about this. Volt is gonna be heartbroken at the least, and who knows who else had real feelings for you? Besides, it’s already getting cold up here, are you sure you want to have the wedding in Crystal?” I leaned back in my chair and sipped on my coffee. Being sucked into their world definitely made me forget a few things, how I really recruited Volt Switch being one of them.

“Well, too bad. They can either be apart of it or not. And yes, I want to have it here, she’s always wanted to visit and see the castle. Up until last week, she’d never been out of the north east provinces, and nothing more than a couple hours away from Manehattan at most. When this is all over and done with, I’m think I’m going to take her on a tour of Equestria. A delayed honeymoon I guess, but I want to give her the chance to do the things she’s always wanted to. This’ll take care of the first visit and we can go from there.” Pulse laid her head on the table and sighed.

“Lamni, I get how you feel here, but that is just… not going to win anypony over. They don’t even know this mare, and you’re gonna make her their queen.” I frowned.

“What?” Pulse rolled her eyes.

“Come on Lamni, think about it! It was you and the mods at first, the king and his harem. They all looked up to you like the boss and at least half those mares wanted to take up the spot of your queen. Some of these ponies really believe that you were screwing us, and they still want in on that. You get married and suddenly the game is over. A ton of the support you got was because you had those fillies wrapped around your hooves. Maybe the guys will be happy, but even then, that’s going to piss off a lot of the mares that they want to hook up with, and you tell me who they’ll side with when it comes to you or free pussy.” I took another sip and reflected on that.

“Fuck, this isn’t going to go well, is it?” She got off the table and raised an eyebrow at me.

“I can’t believe you of all ponies didn’t think about that. Course, the colts might thank you later since some of these mares might turn on them for the rebound, but I’m mostly concerned about Volt and whoever else had something real for you.” I set the coffee down and put my hooves together on the table.

“Well. I suppose we might just meet with the mods separately first. Gauge who’s going to get hurt and who’s going to support my decision. I have an idea on who’ll end up where, but I’ve been gone for a while. I know this might make me an asshole for not noticing, but you weren’t one of them, were you?” Pulse has always been my shadow. My oldest friend for a decade and likely one of the only true friends I’ve ever had. Of course, everypony in Harmony knows me better than the old mods did, and I’m not sure Applejack doesn’t know me better than Pulse does now. She shrugged.

“I mean, you should know I’m not into stallions. I figure you catching me with Aurora the first time would’ve tipped you off. I like you and all, but after what happened before your dad got a hold of me, I thought stallions were all evil.” I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, that was a weird day. I assume I don’t have to worry about her either? Well, she did invite me to join, so…” Pulse brought her hoof to her face, then that near black coat brightened a bit around her cheeks and she quickly shook her head.

“P-probably not. Aurora will screw anything with legs, but she’s um… well, you know what she does for a living.” A thought came to mind and I leaned in and stared at her. Pulse backed away and turned redder.

“I have a feeling…” She covered her face with her hooves.

“Goose, please.” I smirked and nodded.

“I won’t go looking, I promise. I’m trying to get married after all. I know you’re not shy, but I never expected you of all ponies to get roped into one of Aurora’s videos.” She shook her head and sank below the table a little more.

“I didn’t know she was gonna record it! I thought she was just coming onto me again, I swear!” I failed miserably to contain my laughter. She shot back up and punched me in the shoulder. “Asshole!” I fended her off and managed to stop.

“Geez, give me a break! I didn’t mean it!” It’s hard to have cherry red cheeks with a black coat, but here she was doing it anyways. “You know there are laws against taking pictures of unwilling ponies like that.” She wrapped her hooves around her legs and shivered.

“Oh goddess, and admit that’s me in the video? No way! We did so much… Anypony that saw that could tell I wasn’t ‘unwilling.’ I was so lonely back then, any mare could’ve… hell, I don’t know that I would’ve turned down a stallion. Ugh. She said she only makes like a few bits per view and it’s already made her almost ten thousand since she posted it a few months ago. She wants to do another one soon and I still haven’t said no yet…” I managed to contain most of a chuckle and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“I am the least of your worries if you do another one. You just better hope none of the guys finds these videos. The very ponies you’re trying to take care of might be paying you for it.” She groaned and let her face fall flat on the table again.

“Gah, stop it! I don’t want to think about it. I should’ve listened to Mister C. He always said you should find one pony and share your life with them, but no, I just had to get wrapped up with Aurora.” She sighed. “Speaking of, what about you? I know you and Noise were a thing for a little while, are you still a virgin? No wait, didn’t Aurora get you too? I’m almost certain she’s fucked at least half the gang.” I scratched at my beard.

“Well, yes, but actually no. To be completely fair to me, I had never done anything before Aurora joined the gang. Then Aurora got me, but we didn’t go all the way. Even as… forward as she is, I still had some control of the situation. I never went all the way with Noise either, but she definitely just wanted to be with me and uh… not use my body like Aurora did. So, you would think she’s aggressive, right?” Pulse nodded.

“Uh, very. I know her cutiemark isn’t the same as yours, but sometimes I just can’t say no to the mare. Why?” I felt the sudden need to massage my bruises.

“Applejack… is kinda like a force of nature. I would still be a ‘virgin,’ the things Aurora and Noise did for me discounted, if I had it my way. To be quite honest with you, I have never met anypony as… energetic as she is. And not like, in the personality way, like she can just keep going. Forever. At least twice, it really just came down to who just couldn’t keep going. And I lost once.” Pulse blinked, then her face started to warp into a barely contained smile

“… C-can I get that video?” I scrunched up my snout and couldn’t help let out a half-laugh half-snort.

“You’re nasty! Geez. That’d be like, hours of footage. Besides, she’s shy enough about PDA as it is. She would never go for it.” Pulse cracked up and shook her head.

“Ha ha! I’ve missed you, ya know that? I can’t believe you found a mare that could beat you at your own game. She must really be something…” Pulse sighed and shook her head. “Volt is gonna be pissed when she finds out Marevelous beat her again.” That caught my attention.

“She knows?” Pulse raised her shoulders and held her hooves out to either side.

“Sort of? She knows it’s you in the black suit, and she can tell you have a thing for Marevelous just based on the fights we’ve seen. I knew better of course, and… well, you know how Aurora is, so she got it out of me, but nopony else should know, and I know she wouldn’t tell anypony. But when Volt sees you together, she’s gonna figure it out. That mare has an um… unique body. Based on what little I’ve seen of how you interact with each other, it would be kinda hard to hide.” I frowned.

“Goddess damn it, Aurora… Okay, so Volt last for sure. Let’s go talk to Aurora and see what she thinks, then we’ll work from there.”

“Sure, what’s up?” From seemingly out of nowhere stepped the white-blue pegasus. I held up a hoof toward her and looked back at the closed coffeeshop door.

“Excuse me, what the fuck?” She pulled Pulse’s seat out and then flew on her lap. I could hear the sounds of her ice freezing somewhere, but I couldn’t see where. Based on the face Pulse was making, I could only make assumptions.

“A-aura, p-please♥” Ah. And that would be what she was doing.

“I have had the hardest time making her less shy about us. She told me to hide because she thought you were a customer or something. I’ve been practicing with those reflective ice mirrors lately, so I can hide just about anywhere. My little Pulsy-wulsy is just so afwaid of what other ponies think♥” Aurora turned around and played with Pulse’s cheeks, and then turned back to me like nothing happened.

“Okay. You could’ve come out at any point before now. Also, could you like, not do what you’re doing?” I waived my hoof in a circle around them and she lowered her eyes at me and smiled. She turned to Pulse without breaking eye contact with me, and then gave her a deep tongue kiss. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and turned away while strategically crossing my hind legs. Aurora let go, Pulse took a deep breath, and before she had a chance to complain or wipe her mouth, more ice cracked and she flinched.

“Absolutely not. You interrupt my play time and ask me to put away my toys? Never. Anyways, I could have, but I wanted to hear what you had to say to your most trusted mod. I could’ve teased it out of her later, but I figured it’d be easier this way.” I scrunched up my mouth and leaned over to look at Pulse.

“I can see why this may be difficult for you. So uh… is this a regular thing or…?” Aurora shrugged.

“Kinda? You know how I am. And for the record, I have fucked half the gang. Probably like, sixty, maybe sixty five percent in total. I’m still working down the list. Just the single ponies though, I promise. Oh! And all the mods. This one is needy though, so she’s been demanding more of my attention lately♥ I’m still mad that you didn’t let me take your V-card though.” I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

“Well, I don’t have it anymore, so that’s a moot point. So? You were listening in. Anything? And will you please stop whatever it is you’re doing to Pulse already? You’re going to make a mess.” She raised her snout and smirked.

“You know exactly what I’m doing. But fine, whatever. Two is probably enough anyways.” Pulse gasped and then wrapped herself around Aurora’s lower back breathing hard like she’d just run a marathon. “Personally? I’d still screw you, but that’s mostly because you’re pretty. Nothing special in the bulk department, but you’ve definitely got it going on in the basement and the face, which is what really matters. That’s a video that would sell well, let me tell you. As far as the romantic side goes, I’m afraid I’m just not that into you. It’s been a long time since I’ve had feelings like that for anypony, save for this little faggot.” She wrapped a wing around Pulse’s head and smiled at her in a… genuinely warm way, which is more than weird for the ice queen.

“Fuck you. Goddess, you’re the worst. You know I hate that word.” Pulse looked legitimately angry, but Aurora didn’t flinch. She leaned down and kissed her head, then I heard the sound of ice again, and Pulse sat up straight underneath her.

“Later honey, Goosey is trying to be a good coltfriend. Of course, if he wanted to plow another pasture before he settles on that plot, I think we could certainly provide tracts of land…” Suddenly, Celestia’s words echoed in my mind. “Hard catering to two heads, isn’t it?” I adjusted my crossed legs and contemplated that.

“Good goddess, I have forgotten what it was like to be around you. How I don’t already have a few bastards, I will never know. And dad was around ponies like you for most of his life. How do I not have siblings? Geez. So, first of all, no, I will not be doing that to her. Or you, or anypony before you twist my words into some kind of innuendo, you damn nympho. Second, when was the last time you got checked for diseases? I’ve been told you picked up your old job and I need to know that you haven’t been spreading anything around to any of those kids.” Finally, Aurora’s face dropped and she frowned at me, half lidded with an eyebrow raised.

“Goose, I am a professional, you should know better. I get tested almost weekly at this point. I haven’t been spreading anything to anypony. Besides, I don’t do anything to anypony who isn’t legal, and I mean it when I say she’s been taking up my time lately. I’ve had two clients in the past few weeks, and I made one video for the site. Most of my other activity has been with her.” She huffed and rolled her eyes, then leaned back into Pulse, who was then forced to lean back in the chair. “You would think that after four years, you would know me pretty well.” I sighed.

“I do know you well, and I ask because I am concerned. For better or for worse, you are the most shameless pony I know, and even being who I am, you still managed to take advantage of me. I know that you know what you’re doing, it’s the bad habits you cause in other ponies that I take issue with. You are a terrible influence, and we’ve had this conversation before. Anyways, we can talk about that more later. Topic at hoof, who has a thing for me, and who will support my decision?” Aurora sighed and then finally unseated herself from Pulse. She made a chair out of her ice, too lazy to go get a real one, and then took a seat at the table. Pulse yelped and her body went limp, and suddenly I need to adjust my legs again. Aurora put her elbows on the table and put her hooves on her head.

“Well, you try having shame when your special talent is pleasuring ponies.” She shook her head and sighed, then rested it on her hoof. “I’m trying to get better, alright? This stupid thing is just… hard to fight.” I couldn’t help but feel her tug on my heart strings. Head over hooves for a colt much older than her at the age of twelve, does something she regrets and gets her cutiemark for it. Her parents were disgusted by her, disowned and kicked out, lived on her own for most of her life, getting by doing what she does best and becomes a shell of a pony addicted to anything and everything, only to get caught up on the wrong side of Manehattan one day. She still might be part of that ring to this day were it not for the job we took from the Azraels. Or worse. Aurora sat up straight again and put her hooves behind her head, back to business after a rare moment of sincerity.

“Heat won’t care, she’s even more of a fruit than carpet cleaner over here. Petal will be upset, but she’ll probably support you. She hooked up with one of the younger guys recently, so this might just be good for her. They’re cute together. He’s a little on the small side though, sweet kid. Volt is gonna be some kinda mad. She screamed your name when I finally took her card. You know, she had me mold one of my ice sculptures-”

“Stop! I don’t know, and I don’t want to know. I should never have let you do that to me in the first place. Goddess, that’s creepy. Why did you tell me that? I could’ve lived my whole life without this information and been fine. There is a reason why I’ve never asked about your sex lives, I don’t know how I forgot that.” Aurora shrugged.

“Hey man, a mare wants what a mare wants. It was my job to give her what she wanted, and I was capable of doing exactly that. Besides. She’s just one of the ponies that has one of those. I made several and ended up selling out.” I put my elbows on the table and hid my face in my hooves.

“This must be how celebrities feel when they find fan art of themselves on the internet. I never asked for this.” Aurora patted my shoulder.

“You did, actually. You asked specifically for who had a ‘thing’ for you, so I’m telling you. Petal has one too. As does Whirl, who will also be very upset about this. Probably as much, or more than Volt, you know the kind of temper she has. This is entirely your fault.” She said all this with a kind smile on her face, and I wasn’t sure if she was making fun of me for it or not.

“Of course, that’s just the mods. I mean, I don’t even have to tell you how bad it would be if Noise was still around, she was still devastated months after you told her it was over. She’d likely try to kill that mare. Also, can I just say goddess damn, she has some kinda body. I’m not usually one to get worked up, but that… you found something special.” I put a hoof over my mouth.

“Do… do I say thanks in this situation?” Aurora nodded.

“Thank the goddess for the bountiful ass you’ve been gifted, that’s for sure. I know you weren’t serious, but I was definitely excited at the prospect of having Marevelous to play with before she actually beat the shit out of us. Anyways, the fillies will likely mostly not take this well, but I think the colts will either not care or be okay to even happy for you since that means their chances with the girls just shot up drastically. Your uphill battle is definitely going to be convincing the straight mares and what few of the bi boys I have yet to straighten out completely to go along with this, and unfortunately for you, that’s like, forty, thirty-five percent of the gang. Oh, and here’s a fun fact; I have turned all the colts mostly away from home plate.” I sighed. As messed up as she was back then, Aurora would’ve gotten her the moment they were alone together, provided we won. Thank the goddess we lost. Also, damn. That’s impressive.

“Really? Even Entendre?” Aurora raised a brow and smirked with her eyes closed.

“Especially Entendre. Previous to lip licker over there, he was my project. I figured if I was going to see if I could fight my cutiemark, I might as well try and break his. It took a lot of work and me doing some things I regret, but eventually I got him. I thought I was the master of my profession, but that kid taught me things I never thought possible. At the very least, he now accepts female clients too. Earns significantly more these days. I never knew some mares just wanted a tiny boy to play with, but I suppose I’m one of them.” I blinked. More information I could’ve lived without.

“Oh-kay then. I thought we had the Velvet Box closed, didn’t we?” Aurora shrugged.

“You can kill the location, but the business will never die as long as ponies have the instinct to breed. Velvet himself is dead, but there is a new place and I need you to leave it alone. A few of us work there, and if we have any hopes of making it on our own, I have to be able to work. The unfortunate truth is that I still bring home the most bits, and we are damn sure going to pay you and Mister C back. I wasn’t lucky enough to go to school, but these kids sure as hell are, and I refuse to let this debt stand.” While I really hate the idea of that, I can’t tell if regression or growth on her part. On the one hoof, she’s still selling her body. On the other hoof, she’s doing it to provide for the gang and trying to get out of it. I suppose… I sighed and shook my head.

“As long as you’re keeping the rest of them away from that world, I won’t intervene. I still don’t like it though.” Aurora threw her hooves up and wrapped a foreleg around Pulse.

“Oh, come on, you know you enjoy my work. Besides, I’ve set some rules. Nopony is allowed around the house, and only those with cutiemarks related to the business are allowed to work it. This one takes care of my own moments of weakness, so things will eventually get better. I’ve even got some ideas on how to keep using my cutiemark without doing my job, I just… need some time to get the details worked out.” I raised a brow, but after seeing that cheap smile of hers I let it go.

“Alright, fine, whatever. If you think your idea is going to work, then I suggest you get it refined and put into action sooner rather than later. You know how my dad felt about those kinds of operations, and the more time I spend with normal ponies, the more I think we really do need to cut the shit and go clean entirely.” Aurora nodded.

“And you’re right of course, but we’re not in a good position to just quit immediately yet, so give us some time to wean off it. Oh… and uh… speaking of, my uh… m-my luck finally ran out.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen Aurora blush, but I think I was less concerned about that and more the existential dread of hearing those words. Four years. I’ve been waiting to hear it for four years, and finally, it happened. I let out a deep, heavy breath and put my elbow on the table and rested my face on my hoof.

“Okay. Do you know whose it is? What are you going to do with it?” She let her eyes fall to the floor and started clicking the tips of her hooves together.

“Funny enough, I actually think it’s Entendre’s. Most of my clients have been mares lately, and he was the last stallion I let do that in a few months. We still get together every other week to practice new tricks and I guess… my body decided to work right for once. I… never thought I would… g-get the chance, ya know? I always wanted one, but I was broken so I didn’t think it was possible anymore. Ha… Life finds a way, right?” I let out a breath and brought the shaky mare in. I wiped her tears away and rubbed at her back, and after a little while, she managed to recompose herself.

“How far along are you?” I asked.

“About a month and a half. I uh… I think it happened a little after we moved here, actually.” Well, what would dad do? It would be one thing if they weren’t a decade apart in age, and another if she wasn’t still working. That kid’s barely seventeen, and he’s still in school. He doesn’t need a father’s responsibilities thrown on him right now, provided he could even rise to the position. What kind of foal is going to come from two prostitutes? If she keeps it, how doomed is this baby to follow in their hoofsteps? Cutiemarks typically follow a trend, and if the Apples aren’t proof of hereditary cutiemarks, what is? It’s not as if the gang having babies is new, but when that happened, dad would exile the parents and move them to another city entirely. The family is everything, never forget. He said it over and over, and he meant it. They just managed to get the guys settled, and Aurora is one of the mods, I can’t just kick her out… I scratched at my mane and leaned back in my chair.

“Goddess damn it, you picked an awful time for your biology to work. I’m going to have to think about this. If nothing else though, I take back what I said earlier, you must quit. I don’t care who’s making what money, you are not the most important pony in your life anymore. Does he know?” She bit her lip and shook her head. Well, that’s a relief.

“Okay, don’t tell him. He is… too fragile to be a father, at least right now. He deserves to know at some point, but it was hard enough to convince him to go to school in the first place, I will not have anypony dropping out in the event he decides to turn a new leaf and become a stallion. Who all knows about this?” Aurora couldn’t bring herself to look at me, so Pulse took her in her hooves and answered for her.

“Just me. I caught her running to the bathroom to puke a few times last week, and when she didn’t seem sick, I finally got her to tell me what’s going on. I know the rules, but since she’s one of the mods, I figured you’d want to deal with this yourself. Before you told me what you were planning today, I’d thought about bringing this up to you. I have little doubt ponies aren’t gonna think you’re spreading seeds when she gets too obvious to ignore. Volt asked me if she thought Aurora was getting fat yesterday, so this is gonna hit pretty quick.” I put my hoof on my forehead and sighed.

“This is not the kind of shit I wanted to deal with today. Why didn’t you tell me as soon as you knew?” Aurora swallowed and finally looked at me. Before she even had a chance to say anything, I already knew. The forward, strong mare that had pulled herself out of the pit was nowhere to be found, and here in those wet blue eyes was a filly thought dead for almost two decades. Oh goddess, she’s so scared she doesn’t know what to do with herself.

“I’m sorry, okay!? The years of abuse and unsafe practice made me really believe I was barren from the start! I’m almost thirty Goose, I’ve been doing this for fifteen years! I… I… I was afraid, alright? I don’t know what to do! I don’t think I can be this kid’s mom, and I don’t want it to not have a father, but… but… Entendre just… We don’t love each other, and he’s destined to end up with a stallion someday. I’ve… I’ve thought about adoption, but… but it’s mine, and… and I don’t think I’ll get another chance, and I…” I took hold of her face and made her look at me.

“Aurora. Calm down. I am not mad. It will be okay.” She broke again and fell into me wailing and holding on as tightly as she could.

“What am I gonna do? How am I supposed to do this? I can’t be a mom! It deserves a father!” she went on and on. The back of the store had an extra room where this building had once been a home, and Pulse had taken up residence in there to keep up with my affairs for the gang and keep me in the loop. While Aurora cried and Pulse comforted her, I sat in deep thought.

In all the time I watched dad be the boss, I don’t think I was ever around when this came up. I helped move new families into homes a few times, and I’ve relocated ponies before after the fact, but making the decisions he always did in private. The first thing to consider is what is best for the child. Aurora is not the first prostitute in either Shark Tooth or the Boneheads to be retired for the sake of their kids. Part of the reason dad was so adamant about making sure minors were treated properly was because his own father was particularly neglectful, and he didn’t want a repeat of that. Even if he wasn’t a good guy, he always tried to do what he thought was best for me, even to the point of trying to stay out of my life. Nopony should go without their parents if it can be avoided, but in this situation… I don’t know that the parents aren’t going to be a detriment to the growth of the child.

The next thing would be Aurora’s feelings. Her body was ruined by all the drugs that were in her system for most of her teen years, and it was a miracle she made it through them alive. In truth, it shouldn’t be possible for her to have foals still since she was stabbed through the uterus once when she was very young, and in theory, that scar should prevent an embryo from attaching. But then again, Rainbow exists, and her mother suffered a similar wound, so… that’s that. The four years of detox and working a… well, less ‘harmful to her’ job may have just made her healthy enough for this.

She clearly wants to keep the baby, but then comes the question of how she’ll feed it. There is a chance this could happen again if she keeps selling herself, and she stopped going to school in sixth grade. Her skills include fighting, sculpting, fucking, and slaying, so she’s either in for one dangerous job, a job with severe negative consequences, a combination of both, or she tries her hoof at marketing her powers which… may very well work. If that was her idea, then maybe we can do something with it, but we need more information for that.

Then, there’s Entendre. Fruity little unicorn kid with a similar story to hers, and likely why she managed to get him to open up to her enough to try mares out in the first place. At least a few times by the sound of it. I don’t actually know if he doesn’t have feelings for her, so that’s something we need to find out. Then there’s that cutiemark. I would think it is difficult to interpret one Mars symbol piercing another as anything other than his talent is pleasing males, but how else could he use that? And the real question; could this kid become masculine enough to play the role of father? Dad always used to say responsibility makes a stallion, but he’s about as effeminate as they come. When I first met him, I thought he was a girl, and maintained that belief for weeks until one of the guys found out the truth the hard way. Could he survive being a parent with a mare ten years older than he is? I just can’t say.

Finally, there’s what the kid would become. How do you explain to your child that your cutiemark is a dripping wet peach and what that means? Or that your cutiemark attracts you to other males? Would it be ruined in a family like that? Could a family like that survive together? Neither of them are educated, and only in the last month did Entendre start going to school again, so what then? Will this kid grow up thinking its parents are hypocrites for telling it to do things they never did? And understanding what happened to them and how they grew up and what their lives were like…

I shook my head and finally laid back on the bed. I’d probably spent a few hours thinking here and I could never find an answer to anything. No wonder dad always thought on this crap alone, there are so many factors to consider… So much for finding a place today. We need to tell the rest of the mods about this. She can’t hide it for much longer, and Volt’s already suspicious. They know I’ve done stuff with her before, everypony will point their hooves at me, even if she is a whore. Well, if I’m going to rip off the bandaid, I might as well do it all at once.

“Goose?” Pulse asked. Aurora had fallen asleep on her and started to stir.

“Hmm…?” I took a deep breath and sat back up.

“I have made a decision. Call the mods and get everypony here. They need to know, and they need to know everything. When the kaiju are done with and I am truly free for a while, we’ll get you sorted out. For now, I still have other ponies I’m responsible to, and the mare I want to spend my life with is likely eating all our candy waiting for me at home.” Awake now, Aurora drew her knees up to her chest and curled up.

“D-do I really…?” I put a hoof on her shoulder and nodded.

“Yes. Whether it be a mistake or something out of your control, or even your fault, you have to own it. If you really want to raise this baby yourself then you have to change for your child. I… am no better, and in a year or so, I’ll probably have my own kid. So we’ll get better together, and the gang will have to get better too. And one day, we can look back on this as the beginning of the turning point. And if we’re lucky, the kids might just turn out alright.”

“You’re pregnant!?” came in unison. As it would have the most immediate effect on them, I figured Aurora needed to go first.

“I can’t believe that. It don’t make no sense. What about yer scar? Did that get magically fixed or somethin’?” Petal asked. Her accent is a little different from Applejack’s, probably because she’s from and even further south part of Palomino, the Galvastallion island just off the coast, but that doesn’t make it any less strange to hear in somepony else’s voice.

“No, it’s still there. I guess it just didn’t stop it this time…” Aurora explained. Petal shook her pink and violet mane and tapped her back hoof on the ground impatiently.

“Okay, so whatever, this happens sometimes. Do you know who the father is? It’s not you, is it G?” Heat asked. I shook my head.

“No. The father, if you’ll believe it, is thought to be Double Entendre.” Heat squinted at me.

“Really? That kid is gayer than I am, and that’s saying a lot. I’ve slept with at least half the mares in the gang. And all of you. Well, except for G of course, but I’ve only had one or two stallions in me.” I contemplated that. I had to know.

“Quick unrelated question, have all the mods slept with each other and not me?” The girls looked from one to another and eventually nodded. I put my hoof over my mouth, took it off to speak, stopped and returned it, took it off again, and then put it back.

“Huh. Today I learned. I suppose that’s one form of birth control in the gang. Kinda glad that’s out in the open now though. I guess I don’t have to hide it anymore if everypony already knows,” Pulse said. Heat nodded.

“About you two? Yeah, we know. I’m pretty sure we all know how shy you are, so we just never brought it up. And it’s Aurora after all, nopony wanted to spoil the one-off romantic relationship you two have. I’m honestly more surprised about you three. I knew Pulse was gay and Aurora is Aurora, but I thought you girls were like, slightly normal. For the Boneheads anyways.” Volt looked away, Petal scratched at her face and decided the ceiling was the most interesting thing right now, and Whirl looked down.

“The gang uh… opened me up to new ideas,” Volt confessed.

“Pisces is sweet and all, but neither of us really know what we’re doin’ so… I asked fer help from those with more experience… and you know, one thin’ leads ta ‘nother, and now I’m much better than I was,” Petal explained.

“I uh… yeah, I have no excuse. You never came after me like I wanted so I just kinda… sampled around. Imagine how disappointed I was when I learned about the game,” Whirl admitted. Well. This is awkward.

“Oh-kay. Talk about worst ‘harem’ ever. Did this happen like… recently, or has this been going on for a while? We’ve all been together for a few years now, so…” Aurora raised a hoof.

“It’s been off and on for most of them. Petal has only been exploring as of getting with Pisces earlier this year, everypony else hooks up on occasion when they get either horny or lonely. So… like, once or twice a month. Between the six of us anyways.” I blinked.

“And today I learned.” Volt returned to facing the table and put her hooves together.

“So, this is all cool and whatever, but what are we doing with her now? I think we all know the rules, but is it fair to just… kick Aurora out like that? She’s not just some low-level grunt like the last ones were, she’s kinda important around here.” I shook my head.

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea, especially at the moment. This situation is far more complicated than I have time to straighten out either. For now, until I get all my affairs settled, Aurora will function as normal, save she needs to be treated as a dependent. I trust her, but I also know her, so I need you all to make sure she doesn’t start working again.” Aurora went to object, but Pulse pulled her back.

“Aura, come on. We know better.” The white blue Pegasus sighed and fell back in her chair.

“Fine, whatever.” Aurora leaned on Pulse, and then Whirl gave me a look.

“What do you mean your affairs? Didn’t you come back to deal with her?” I shook my head.

“No, actually, I didn’t.” I took a deep breath. Here we go. “I’m getting married.” As predicted, Volt and Whirl were shocked like this was the most unexpected thing to ever happen, Petal looked a little hurt and Heat was unphased.

“Um, excuse me?” Volt accused. I stared her down.

“I finally found my childhood friend. It took thirteen years, but things… well, things are a lot like they were before. I still love this mare, and over the last month and a half, I’ve come to find out that she feels the same. If I make it through our fight tomorrow, I’ll be proposing on Tuesday, and if I can get a place set up, I’ll have the wedding Wednesday or Thursday depending on how quickly I can get everything arranged.” Whirl stood from her chair.

“No. No, you can’t. We were supposed to… No, why? Are you fucking serious? Is he fucking serious!? Did you know!?” She started pointing hooves at Pulse and Aurora and they both nodded.

“In his defense, Lamni has been after this mare for a long time. And I mean a very long time. She was the purpose of the gang in the first place. Our mission was to find her and, well… we never did,” Pulse explained. Aurora nodded.

“Yeah, I was part of the last team to do any scouting for her before Mister C died. The whole point of the harem scheme was to make him seem unavailable to everypony so there wasn’t any fighting between us. The kinda charisma he has tends to win ponies over and it was an issue before I came up with the idea.” Whirl fell back into her chair and Heat shrugged.

“Eh, I saw this coming. I figured he and Noise were actually going to hook up, but after they broke up, I knew he had somepony else in mind. A stallion doesn’t reject mares left and right for no reason, and Noise definitely got a taste of the G stick, so I knew he wasn’t gay.” I straightened my lips.

“Additional unrelated question, do you all know my sexual history too?” Volt threw her hooves up.

“Some of us were actually interested in you, so maybe somepony told us what it was like after you dumped her. And uh… nopony can escape Aurora forever, I learned that the hard way. But I don’t care about that, what the hell Goose? Didn’t you say we would get a chance? Who even is this mare? Are we supposed to stand by and watch you get hitched to some bitch you picked up in Las Pegasus like some kinda one-night stand that went wrong? Why are you only telling us this now?” Yeah, this was bound to happen. I raised my hooves and then nodded.

“I did say that. And the truth is, I lied to you, and I am sorry. I was depressed and I’d felt like I’d just lost a piece of myself for giving up on her, and I took advantage of you to make myself feel better. I said the same thing to Whirl, and it was around then that Aurora got me. Dad… Ya know, I’d finally gotten to the point where we were good friends, and then… he was gone. When we picked up Noise, I thought she was going to be the one that filled the hole in my heart, and when we didn’t work out, I knew nopony ever could.

Finding Applejack again… was a miracle. Several miracles, all lined up on one another that I never could’ve planned or in my wildest dreams. The mare she became is the one she’d dreamed about, and I… became my father, just like I swore I never would. In this one moment, I was given a chance to turn things around, and you know what? I think I’m doing that. I went from being some gang boss of a dying old mafia to really becoming a hero like I wanted to be when I was a kid.

She’s been there every step of the way, and while I was busy trying to figure out who I am now, she was dealing with some deep seeded issues that came up after we were separated, and now… she’s getting over that. You are all my family. The Familia, the teeth of the shark, my boneheaded idiots. You’re all still important to me and nothing would ever change that. But this… is something more, and she does something for me than nopony else could ever do. She makes me a better stallion. And I love her.

For… reasons out of my control, I couldn’t tell you all my plans early on. And as things went further, I just… couldn’t ever work up the courage to do it. I wrote letters, I tried to have Pulse do it for me, I even went so far as to try and hide it entirely, but… well, I wouldn’t be able to face her as a hypocrite. My new group of friends all have their own issues and are essentially a gang bad kids on their own, but I told them something recently and to my surprise, they all took my advice to heart. They mostly had bad relationships with heir parents, or were involved in accidents that made it seem like they were dead, so I told them to fix that. Just to go talk to them to let them know they’re alive, and they all did it. Even Applejack.

I’m only telling you because I feel like I wouldn’t be worthy to kneel for her if I didn’t live up to my own words, so here I am. I am my father. I didn’t want to be, but every passing day makes me see just how much more like him I’ve become, and this is no different. My mother was a mare he met at some seedy club he owned when he was down almost twenty-five years ago, and he married her a few months later. The only difference here is that I’m at least telling you about it before hoof instead of just showing up with her and demanding your respect.” Before I even knew what happened, a hoof shot across my face and my chair fell over.

“Fuck you. You’re such a piece of shit Goose, goddess, I swear. Whatever, we’ve been doing fine on our own for the last month anyways. I’m done.” A door opened and shut, and when I finally managed to get back to my hooves, Whirl was gone. Well. You were warned.

“Congrats Goose. You have a good life and stay the fuck out of mine. Two goddess damn years I wasted, what in the world is wrong with me…” Volt pushed herself up and then quickly found her way out the door. At least she didn’t attack me physically. Next I finally caught Petal’s eyes, but she looked away from me as fast as she could.

“I uh… I’m h-happy fer ya. G-good luck Goose!” She was sobbing before she could make it out the door and tripped on her tail when she exited. Even more embarrassed, she bolted away crying harder than before.

“So uh… wazzat a good punch or what?” Heat asked, giggling to herself a bit. I nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah it was. Well, anything? No unrequited feeling crushed, no open adoration lost, or respect tossed out the window?” The red mare shrugged.

“Not particularly? I’ve kinda got the gay pretty bad, and I think I’m the only mod who was formally hired at first, so… yeah. I was never really that into you.” I massaged my cheek and raised an eyebrow.

“That into me?” Heat rolled her eyes.

“Okay, so maybe I own one of those toys Aurora made, and maybe I liked you at least a little bit in the beginning, but you’re… I don’t know, I see you almost like my dad, ya know? Except without all the abandonment and the drugs. You took care of me in ways I didn’t know I needed to be taken care of, and I have a sense of humor again. Sure, it’s a little weird that you’re younger than me and all, but I don’t know that you being like your dad is really a bad thing. A lot of these ponies didn’t have good father figures or parents in general, I know at least a few of us were abused by our fathers sexually or otherwise, and you kinda put stallions in a better light for us.

Does it sting a little to know that somepony else has your heart? Yes, yes it does. But I knew this would happen one day and I’ve already settled it with myself. Petal had already given up and decided to try out Pisces, but I’m sure she’s just upset that the door is closed too. I think Whirl really believed that you would come to her one day, and Volt likely had similar hopes, but I think they already knew what reality was when you and Synchro stared dating. It was never really gonna be our turn, otherwise it would’ve happened by now. It’s a bitter pill to swallow, ya know?”

Geez, even the fruit bat has one. I should’ve never let Aurora do that. Noise either. I can almost guarantee Aurora was thinking of selling adult toys as her other idea, and she will sell a little piece of me if she ever gets it off the ground. Immortalized in silicon. Ugh. I shook my head.

“So very many things I learned today. Talk about keeping your house in order, damn.” I pulled out my phone and checked the time. It was only seven, so if I leave like, now, I can probably still check out the big three places I wanted to before they close. But now it’s nagging at me, and since I already know, I must know.

“Tell me the truth Aurora, do you and Pulse have one too?” Pulse’s face scrunched up and her irises constricted and she turned away from me, hiding behind Aurora. She herself, shrugged.

“You are a blessed stallion, what can I say? I know this may very well make you feel worse, but we call it the G-stick and I plan on trying to sell them and a few other shapes I’ve got in memory. It wouldn’t be like, a nice store, but it wouldn’t be dirty business anymore. In the uh… you know, legal sense.” I clutched my chest over my barely beating heart.

“Goddess damn it.”

Persona XXII: Gang-Star's Dream (part 2)

“Jaqueline Apple, will you marry me?” I can’t control myself, I’m practically shaking and my heart is beating so fast that I’m having trouble breathing. There I was, kneeling in the graveyard with her and waiting to hear her answer. She’d been so… quiet this whole time, I wasn’t sure what was wrong. She’s never like this. Why is she like this now?

“Goose… Ah’m not sure now is the right time.” My whole body stopped. Frozen in place. Not the right time? Not the right time?

“W-what do you mean?” You know what that means. She sighed and turned away.

“A lot has happened. Ah don’t know if Ah said what Ah did because Ah was hopped up on emotions, or maybe bein’ so horny all the time and havin’ a place ta let it go has made my head clear, but… maybe we ain’t right together, ya know? Ah mean, it’s only been a month and and a half, right? Do Ah really know ya? Is this all ya are, or are ya hidin’ somethin’ from me? Ah’m not sure. Ah think we should wait.” Crack. I got up and held her shoulders, making sure I could look her in the eyes. Her green emeralds were cold, unfriendly, unapologetic, apathetic. She shook her head and looked away.

“Y-you can’t mean that, right? We… every day for a week! I love you! You’re the only pony that’s ever made me feel this way, why…?” She came back and stared me down, this time, there was no shine in her eyes.

“No, Goose. Not now.” She pushed me off and started to leave the garden. I went to chase after her, but my powers weren’t working and the distance between us was growing. I ran and ran and ran, but I never got any closer. I took another step and tried to call out her name, but there was nothing below me and I fell.

The darkness grew all around me as I fell deeper, deeper, deeper… When the black subsided, I was standing in a ruined red city. Fire and blood ran in rivers between the streets, molten buildings glazed in burning red liquids and white hot metals. Bodies lined the streets, charred statues of ponies trying to run in every direction. Where is she? I turned every which way until I heard a loud boom behind me. I ran up the ruined street, the dark skies looming over me and panic started to take over.

“Applejack!? Applejack! Where are you!?” The horrors all around were nothing to me, she was all that mattered. That was until I stopped and I saw a bleeding Pulse, her lower half seared off by something. “Pulse!” Her deadened eyes reached out to me before she coughed and what little blood she had left started to leak out.

“Goose? W-where were you? We… needed… you…” her torso went limp in my legs.

“No, no, NO!” Another loud crash, this time closer.

“Get back here!” It’s her! I have to help her! I closed Pulse’s eyes and left her body there. I’m sorry, I’ll come back for you when this is all over. I ran for the intersection, and there they crossed at an insane speed, Applejack and some stallion in a black suit. He had a mirror on his chest, one completely unlike mine that had a strange shine to it, almost as if it were six colors overlaid on top of each other to form the chrome reflection. Is that The Mirror? The old villain? She slammed a hoof into his chest as he blocked and sent him flying into another destroyed building, the fires all around wavered feeling her blow. She spotted me and shot her cable by my side.

“What in the hell are ya still doin’ here!? Get outta here, y’all can’t handle this! He’s too strong!” What? No, that can’t be right, we’re better together.

“Applejack, what happened? The city is a mess, ponies are dead, you can’t tell me he did all this!” I heard the start of a camera whine and turned in time to see The Mirror behind me pointing a glowing hoof at me. I was punched very hard in the side, and suddenly Applejack was in my place. She smiled with tears in her eyes. Her lips mouthed the words

“Ah’m sorry,” and a bright white light cut through her chest. No. The beam landed in the remains of a building behind her and exploded, sending rubble and flames and melted metal into the air like a cloud of smoke. I ran to her side. She wasn’t breathing.

“No, no, no, no! Don’t do this to me, you were my everything! Applejack!!!”

I sat straight up from bed and gasped for air. My body was shaking, and I’d been sweating like a pig. I checked everywhere in the dark, and when I felt something touch my side, I looked down to see her there. She was still asleep, breathing peacefully like there wasn’t a care in her world. I took a deep breath and threw my hind legs off the bed. I felt something wet drop on my lap, and only then did I realize I was crying. Good goddess, what in the hell is wrong with me?

I wiped at my face and just sat there to breathe for a while. What was that? I couldn’t think straight. The feeling of her limp body in my hooves was still lingering from the dream. It couldn’t have been real. It could never be real. I will never let it happen. I kept telling myself that over and over again, but the images in the dream wouldn’t leave my head. Eventually I left the bed and went to the kitchen.

It’s Sunday morning. October 6th, the day of the fourth Kaiju. Yesterday… went poorly. So poorly that I almost came home and cried in front of her. I can just hear dad in the back of my head now, “What are you, some kind of bitch? Pick yourself up and be a man, you worthless sniveling rat!” Yeah, that’s how he’d say it. He was a real stallion, the guy could stare down anypony and make them nervous. Never failed an intimidation check, that’s for sure. Me? I put all my points in charisma, I didn’t want to scare ponies.

But here I am, and now half the gang’s been turned against me because I pissed off the two ‘moms’ of the group without realizing where they stood with everypony now. Not a single venue in crystal didn’t know who I am after they left, and now I can’t get anything up there. So much for that plan. What a shitty day today is going to be. I shook my head and checked the fridge. There wasn’t anything in here, we only ever cooked for ourselves which meant there were never any leftovers. Some peppers, which I hate, eggs, some raw fish, milk, cheese, every condiment under the sun, pickles, and of course, a few apples.

I snagged one of the apples out of the bottom drawer and then leaned back on the closed fridge door. What am I going to do? What if she says no? Can I even get everything ready by Tuesday? Her pendant isn’t done, her dress needs to be checked for size so who knows how I’ll get that done without spoiling the surprise, I still need music picked out and she always gets me all worked up before I can accomplish anything here, and… Ugh, I still haven’t bought any condoms. At this point that’s probably an effort in futility anyways. Don’t worry Aurora, you won’t be alone, probably.

I took a chunk out of the apple and looked around my old house. It looked lived in for the first time in almost five years. I even cleaned up dad’s study. I’d barely been in there since he died, and now… it’s almost like she’s brought a little light back into this dusty old house. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad… to raise a family here. I took another bite of the sweet and juicy fruit and stared at it. Hereditary cutiemarks… Am I trying to move things along too fast here? Was the dream right? Damn it! I scratched at my head and sank to the floor against the fridge door.

I need to talk to somepony. Anypony who’ll listen. Somepony who won’t immediately spread what I tell them, so… none of my girls, and that’s not a smart decision right now anyways. I still have a fight today, and we’re down Twilight. So, not her. I can’t tell Applejack, she’s the subject and the reason. Besides, what good would worrying her about this more do when she needs to be focused? I haven’t even asked her what’s on her mind yet… of course, if it’s not me, then what else could it be? I still feel awful about not telling her, but… she just doesn’t need to know yet. Pinkie won’t get it, and Rainbow… I don’t know well enough to trust with this.

So that laves Rarity and Fluttershy, and if I tell one, the other will know later. The real question is who would react better if I just showed up? Rarity has her own place and lives with her little sister, so some guy she doesn’t know just showing up in the middle of the night is likely to scare her, and if I remember correctly, Applejack told me she has fire powers she can’t control well, so that’s a poor decision. Fluttershy it is then.

I finished my apple, and then went back into the bedroom to kiss my apple before I left. She’d moved, but not woken. As per usual, she’s splayed out over the bed and breathing with her mouth open, drool leaking out the side. It made me smile to know that even asleep, she’s still herself. I kissed her cheek and fixed the blankets back over her, then warped.

“Hey” I said before turning the lights on. I heard a snout start sniffing, and in the dark, I saw red eyes stare at me before they turned blue. She turned on a light herself, and through squinting tired eyes she glared at me.

“D-dude, what the fuck?” she moaned. I sighed and shook my head.

“I’m sorry, I just needed somepony to talk to and you’re the only one I could think of.” The butter cream Pegasus sat up in bed and rubbed at her eyes. I’d taken residence in her chair in front of the TV just to make sure I didn’t get stabbed. Applejack told me about how she went to wake her last week, and nearly died trying. It’s best to be cautious when the monster inside is only loosely caged.

“O-okay, whatever. G-get me some coffee and then we can talk.” After the half hour it took to get that and let Shy return from the dead, she finally finished her mug and was awake enough to be apart of the world of the living.

“W-what’s wrong with you?” she finally asked. I set my own mug down and stared at the ceiling.

“I’m afraid, Shy.” She blinked slowly and frowned.

“G-great, can I go back to sleep now?” I rolled my eyes.

“Can you be serious here? I came to you specifically because I thought you would listen!” the tired Pegasus leaned back against the wall and sighed.

“F-fine, talk. W-we still have shit to do today, a-and I’m the one with the gun. I-I want to be rested for this.” Taking that as the best I was going to get when she’s slightly pissed off about being awake now, I leaned forward and recalled the nightmare.

“Well, I had a dream this morning. First thing that happened was my proposal. We were in the garden just like I wanted, and it was really nice out like it’s supposed to be, but when I proposed, she said no. She told me we should wait. And then-” The yellow mare held a hoof up.

“L-let me just stop you right there. F-false. That was clearly a dream because that w-would not happen.” She leaned forward and took a few sniffs in my direction. “You guys fucked last night, right?” Well, that’s super awkward.

“I mean…”

“Uh-huh. Y-yeah, sure. Anyways, since I know y-you’re a huge pussy, A-applejack initiates and you usually don’t do much to stop her, n-not that you don’t like it or anything. F-for a while there, she was more shy about how she feels than I am, a-and ‘Shy’ is my last name. I-it’s a thing in my family, w-we’re notoriously bad communicators. P-points is, if she is screwing you of her own volition, I r-really don’t think she would reject you.” Okay, hitting a little too close to home here.

“So maybe I’m paranoid, but that doesn’t mean-”

“G-goose, please. T-this is Applejack. B-be real.” Well, strike one. You lose, move on.

“Alright fine, I am paranoid and I’m worried over nothing. But the next part was still valid even if the first part wasn’t. I dreamt that after she said no, I was dropped into today’s fight. The city was burning, and all kinds of ponies were caught up in the crossfire. The dead were everywhere, charred into statues and not a building was left standing. Pulse was cut in half and told me I wasn’t there when she needed me, and then I saw Applejack fighting the Mirror. She’d made everypony evacuate and because I was distracting her… she took a beam for me. S-she… she died in my hooves.” I could still feel the phantom feeling of her body going limp in my hooves. I was still shaking just trying to recall it. I never… Fluttershy rubbed at her temples and grumbled under her breath.

“G-good goddess, I can’t believe you w-woke me up for this shit.” She took a deep breath and then looked me in the eyes. “D-do you remember what we did the week before the Sachiel fight?” I scratched at my beard.

“Well, we trained like hell until Applejack finally blew up and talked to everypony.” She nodded.

“A-and why exactly was Applejack so desperate to be prepared for that particular fight?” I thought back and tried to recall. Geez, that was only like four weeks ago, it feels like months have passed since then.

“Uh, it was because she was having these awful night-” Oh.

“Y-yep. G-good goddess, you two were made for each other, I swear. A-are we good now? C-can I go back to sleep?” Ah, yes, this is what they call irony, isn’t it? I laughed and shook my head.

“Yeah, sure, I… Ah, man, I can’t believe I just did that. I was the one who talked her down when she did the exact same thing.” Did I really just have a break down over a nightmare? Some stallion you are. Dad would’ve kicked our ass for something stupid like this. “Thanks, Shy, I-” Hold the fuck up. “Did you say your last name is ‘Shy’?” She rolled her eyes and held a hoof toward me.

“Y-yes! We went over this while… o-oh, right, you weren’t there. I-I have an unfortunate set of names that tend to f-flow well together, so when they would c-call for me in school, they would say my full name l-like one word. I-I was never just ‘Flutter’ anywhere but at home.” Today I learned. Well, if nothing else I feel better now.

“That tangent aside, thanks for listening. I just… needed to talk my thoughts out I guess.” She nodded.

“I-it is a helpful practice. I-I used to talk to myself to keep stable. S-some days, you just need to hear it out loud, a-and others you need to hear from somepony else.” Huh. Shy giving solid advice today. Alright, as long as she’s doing that, I might as well let her in.

“Okay, so, that’s not quite all that’s going on with me.” She raised a brow and straightened her lips.

“I-I’m not getting back to sleep, am I?” I shrugged. She sighed and rolled her eyes, then took her personal Click out of its dock and turned it on.

“Maybe? Look, here’s the deal. I want to propose on Tuesday.” She lowered her brows and paused starting up her game.

“W-wait, really?”

“Really. Even further, I’d like to get married on Wednesday if she says yes.”

“W-which she will.”

“You don’t know that!”

“I-I do know that! Keep going, what else?”

“Fine! I need some stuff done before I can go through with my plans, but I can’t take her around and do this crap myself. I have tried on numerous occasions but… as you might have predicted, all it takes is a touch in the right place and suddenly the previous activity is forgotten.” She chuckled and started up a title on the device.

“O-oh please, I-I was in that house, I-I could smell it from literally miles away. T-that’s how we tracked you down. Stallion fluids h-have a very strong and unique scent. I-if you got off in the castle, I-I knew about it.” Ah. That explains that. Another thing to add to the list of things not to do around her anymore.

“Oh-kay. Things I didn’t need to know. Point is, I need somepony to find out what kind of cake she wants, what music she wants to dance to, and have her try on her dress, but without knowing it’s her dress. I want this to be a surprise. Do you think you could make up some excuse to get her to take you to her tailor’s place? All she has to do is go and Star will take over from there, but if you can get her to walk around with you or something, you might even be able to get the rest of it taken care of.” She put an elbow on her knee and a hoof under her chin and stared at me with a blank face.

“S-so… you guys screwed trying to bake a cake?” I let out a shallow breath and tapped my hoof on her desk repeatedly.

“It was one time, okay?” Fluttershy burst out laughing, and I sat at her desk with indignation on my face. Why am I answering questions about my sex life? I shouldn’t have to tell her any of this. She doesn’t need to know. Good goddess, she is just like the other girls.

“O-okay, I’ll… I’ll do it, j-just… Ha! Y-you have no idea how ironic that is.” Ironic? Why would that be ironic?

“What’s ironic about it?” She shook her head.

“N-nothing, don’t worry about it.” She sighed. “T-talking to myself, that’s all…” I sighed.

“Whatever. I did some scouting a while back and I found out that that bakery Pinkie lived in and I was thinking of ordering the cake from them. If I can get you to take her there, I can arrange the owners to be looking for you. It’s over on the east side on 314th, just a few blocks away from Star Apparel.” Shy nodded.

“O-okay, I’ll keep that in mind. A-are you trying to kill two b-birds with one stone here?” I shook my head.

“Well, not initially, but after the other day, I figure Pinkie needs some extra pushing to get her to do things. If I set it up that she just happens to come across that couple again, then she’ll have to deal with them. On the other hoof, I also sell some of their cakes in my shops around Manehattan, so this is also good for business relations. They really are good at their craft.” She sighed and laid back in her bed.

“L-look at you. J-just taking care of everything all at once. S-she’s lucky to have you. I-if she does… no, that won’t happen. W-whatever, I have the details, so go away so I can sleep.” I rolled my eyes.

“Okay, okay. And you swear that you’ll take care of her for me?” she sat back up and scowled at me.

“I-I said I would, d-didn’t I? N-nothing would make me happier t-than to see this go through. I-I’ll do everything I can t-to get what you need, okay?” I scratched at the side of my face and then sighed in relief.

“Thanks. You’re a better friend than some ponies I know, that’s for sure.” She put her Click down. Ah damn it. Shouldn’t have said that.

“A-and why is that? D-did something happen? Y-you know, you look like shit.” Again, I shook my head.

“Yeah. Not everypony took it well. There were fights and… and I said some things I regret, and now I’m not sure I’ll ever see some of them again. All the venues I tried to book in Crystal were closed, and after I pissed off my used-to-be friends, the few places I didn’t think to try first outright rejected me because they knew who I was. So now I don’t know what to do. At least I don’t need anything large anymore. It might just be you guys and a hoofful of my old friends that still like me.” I rested my cheek on my hoof and stared at the floor.

‘I’m only telling you because I feel like I wouldn’t be worthy of her if I didn’t.’ What an ass. How self-centered am I that that came out of my mouth? I’m telling you because you’re my friends and I believe you should know! Just because I love her doesn’t mean I need to cut ties with everypony I used to know! Goddess, what was I thinking? I sat there in silence until it became uncomfortable and then I noticed Fluttershy’s eyes kinda… looking left and right like she was talking to two ponies that weren’t here.

“Uh… you okay over there?” She shook herself and blinked until she nodded.

“U-um yes… I’m fine.” After a long pause, she said, “oh! T-that could work…” I lowered my brows.

“Huh? What could work?” A smile of the dangerous variety started to form on Shy’s face, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.

“W-well, it’s simple. W-we just need to ask the big boss.” She started to tap a hoof to her lips and nodded. “Y-yes, that should do nicely…”

“And that means…?” She turned her Click back on started her game again.

“Celestia. I-I have a few… s-strings I can pull, I can g-get you a place in the castle.” Now that would be one hell of a place to have the wedding.

“Really?” She nodded.

“Mmhmm. Y-you just go back and g-get your little sharky butt b-back to your mare and get ready for today. I-I’ll arrange an audience, and we’ll get this taken care of.” Well, their relationship has always seemed weird to me, so maybe she really does have some leverage here.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you. Thanks for doing this for me, Shy. I really appreciate it.” She rolled her eyes and shooed me away with a hoof. With that, I warped.

Monday, October 7th, 2030

“I’m too tired for this.”

“Well, too bad. I’m still busy until later today. I simply cannot understand what it is about her uncle that makes you so afraid to speak to him,” Celestia echoed in my head. After I got Applejack out of the house this morning, to the detriment of my ability to walk, I made my way to her apartment building, but ended up just standing outside it instead of heading in. there was some kind of trepidation about it, and I didn’t know why.

“No, I mean I’m like, actually too tired for this. Do you know what I had to do to get her out of the house this morning?”

“Clearly I don’t, but if I had to guess, I would think it was either a bribe, a touch, or a combination of the two. You aren’t having trouble walking are you? I know back when I was married, there were days he simply couldn’t get out of bed. Could you imagine being pent up for centuries? I lived like that. I don’t know how Luna does it.” I blinked and shook my head.

“Do uh… do you know if you’re physically stronger than she is? Applejack, I mean, not your sister.” I had to know.

“Applejack no, Luna yes, but I’m simply bigger than my sister. For comparison, we did a hoof wrestling contest the other day while I had her, and she beat me. Thankfully, before I got too competitive. I’m almost certain you have it worse than my poor husband did, though maybe not since you two have similar powers, and for all intents and purposes, he was essentially a normal unicorn. I may or may not have had to repair him on more than one occasion. I know I was bad when I was her age, but that was a different time. Be glad you’re a stallion, heat warps the mind, even at my age.” I stood up from my seat on the concrete and had finally worked up my resolve to go talk to mister Orange.

“Wow, okay! I definitely needed that information. I’m going to go do this just so you stop telling me things I definitely need to know.” Celestia laughed through the line.

“But of course. You asked, though, remember that. Good luck and be clear on your intent. Based on the things I’ve heard about this stallion, I suspect he will know why you’re here. I will let you know when I’ve made arrangements and am free to speak with you in person.” And with that, the link when cold. I stared at the apartment complex lobby door and sighed. Well, here goes nothing.

I took the stairs for once in my life since I put this mirror on, and figured I’d try to think out what to say. Of course, nothing really came to me other than ‘I’d like to marry your sister/niece’ and creating reactions for them to have, like shock or anger or confusion, though I’m 100% certain they thought we were having sex before we actually even started doing that, so… I don’t even know what I’m concerned about. If we find out there’s a foal in the next month, I would hope at least that would say just maybe we like each other a little.

And then there’s that. I know I was telling Aurora the truth, but I don’t think it had sunk in yet. Almost once a day or more since Monday, completely unprotected? Who am I kidding, I’ll be lucky if there’s not two. Has she been in heat this whole time? Oh goddess, what if she hasn’t? I can’t survive that! Even more on my mind now, I shook my head and knocked on the apartment door. The more I think the harder this is going to be, so I might as well get it over with.

“Oh, hey. Come on in,” Mac answered the door. I tentatively walked in the little apartment, and her sister and uncle were both sitting on the couch in front of the TV, watching as I entered. Her eyes are almost a darker orange than mine are, but those blood red rings staring at me were like cutting through my soul. The spines on my back were fighting to stand straight up and I tried my hardest to keep them down. Goddess, he’s just a guy! Chill out.

“Hello, Goose.” The stallion said. I swallowed.

“Hey. How are you doing?” He shrugged.

“Fine, I suppose. Why don’t you come have a seat and tell me why you’re here?” Gah, that voice and those eyes! I swear, it’s like talking to dad. Compelled, I did as I was told and was offered the recliner to their right. Mac sat down at the other end of the couch, and then we kinda sat there while I tried to avoid those red eyes and twiddled my hooves.

“You seem nervous.”

Yeah, hi, can you like, not? I thought you were busy.

“I have documents to sign. Nopony can match my reading speed. Of course, time spells get dangerous very quickly, so I can’t speed up the process of actually signing or vetoing these things, so I have ‘time’ per say, but I really don’t have time either. Well, go on, do what you came here for. Do the deed, raise the kid. At least let them know that you love her before she turns up with child.”

We don’t know that! It might not happen, she might not even be fertile!

“Goose, did you know that every single mare in the apple family up until now has had at least two foals over her lifetime?” I swallowed.

Ya know, I think I did know that.

“Yes, every single one. I was actually checking that record again just to clear up a few things. It’s astonishing that there are so many fraternal twins in that family, but apparently the mares are ferocious, as you have learned. In the same vein of thinking that says she’ll reject you, she is also very infertile.” And that’s another cold splash of reality in my face. Finally finding the courage to look the stallion in the eye, I took a breath and said,

“I would like to marry your niece.” Applebloom squealed and clapped.

“Ooh, Ah knew it! Y’all are fuckin’! Ha! Scoots owes me two silvers!” I blinked and held my hooves out.

“What, that’s your concern? You took a bet!?” Mac rolled his eyes.

“Oh, come on, we knew this was comin’. The way y’all were the other day, I’m just surprised this happened first instead of y’all tellin’ us she was pregnant. Our relatives are like damn rabbits. If Ma’s brother didn’t die in service overseas, we’d probably have a whole buncha first cousins. Hell, we still might, ain’t no pony knows what he managed ta get done before he got blown up.” Blood shook his head.

“I never knew him, so I can’t say. But based on the things Citrus had told me, I would believe that’s the truth. Anyways, now that the obvious is out of the way, what are your plans? Do you have documents ready? A wedding date in mind? A when and a where? Invitations? Do you have family left? I wouldn’t think she’d want to invite any of hers aside from us, but in that case, it’ll be up to you to decide how big this thing is.” I scrunched up my face.

Good goddess, it’s like I’m talking to male you or something.

“I’ll say. He almost rattled off my exact questions one after another. Hmm. I’ve decided. I want to meet this stallion, you will have your ballroom. I will even officiate.”

I suppose that makes this easy then.

“Documents are ready to go, but I need to talk to her about her last name after I ask, provided she says yes, then-” The entire family raised an eyebrow.

“You/Ya really think she’ll say no?” they said in unison. I groaned.

“It could happen! Goddess, it’s like the deal is ready done with you ponies, I swear!” Blood looked down his snout at me.

“Mmhmm. I have reason to believe that the Apple mares are known to ‘mate for life’ as it were, so if seeds have been spilled, as I suspected Friday, you’re stuck with her.” I squinted. ‘Seeds have been spilled?’

“That’s a new one. Here I am, two-thousand years old, bored to death telling these idiots no because I actually read the things they draft, and I still haven’t heard everything.” I opened my mouth to respond, but I was so struck by that phrase that I just couldn’t find the words.

“Uncle, did ya come up with that just now? Ah’ve heard a lotta those, specially in my line of work, but Ah ain’t never heard that one,” Mac said. Blood frowned.

“What? That was totally normal back home. Come on, I’m not that old, right?” Applebloom shook her head.

“Nah, Ah hear some pretty colorful euphemisms around the high school, and Lt. Gray Scale has some… unique ones of his own, but Ah’ve never heard that one.” Blood frowned and considered that but then threw his hooves up in defeat.

“Maybe I am getting old.” I finally found my voice and answered him.

“Uh, so, I want to do this Wednesday provided I can get everything else I need done. As long as she doesn’t mind me saying…”

“Go ahead, tell them, I give you permission.” Goddess, she sounds bored.

“The Princess has offered to host it at Canterlot Castle.” Jaws dropped.

“Ah’m sorry?” Mac asked. I nodded.

“She also wants to officiate too, so there’s that.” Applebloom clapped her hooves again.

“She’s gonna be there!?”

“My sister too.”

“As will be the other one, I’m told.” Blood frowned.

“That’s a high profile wedding if I’ve ever heard of it, both princesses attending and one officiating. Do you know them well?” I found the ceiling very interesting at this particular moment.

“Oh, you know, it’s almost Celestia is in my head sometimes.”

“Snrk.”

“Interesting… so, has this been in the works for a while now, or…? It seems as if you have quite a bit ready. What about travel? On such short notice, I could only imagine-” I blinked next to him on the couch.

“Ya know, I just don’t think that’ll be an issue.” Blood nodded.

“Right. So, that out of the way, any particular reason you’re pulling the trigger on this now? I’m not sure how long you’ve been together, but this feels… short, doesn’t it?”

Goddess, you are just peas in a pod.

“You’re telling me. Talk about a smart guy. This makes their muddy genes even more interesting.”

“Well, here’s the deal. You know who we are and what we do, so… I want to do this just in case something happens. Last week was a miracle, and this week we escaped because of an ace in the hole that I’m not sure we can use again. There’s still two more of these things, and if… if something goes wrong, I don’t want to have missed my chance to… know that she’s mine.”

“Aww.”

“Aww. That’s so sweet. How did she find somepony like y’all? Why aren’t you like this? Ya coulda had a family by now if ya actually formed a real relationship with one of them sluts ya banged.” Applebloom complained at Mac. The red stallion put a hoof on his chest., aghast at the accusation.

“Excuse me. Ah thought it mighta worked out at least once by now, but thin’s just move real fast and don’t always do that. Maybe Ah’ll find somepony someday who don’t rip my damn pants off as soon as we’re alone!” Applebloom raised an eyebrow.

“Ya know, ya can say no.” I raised a hoof.

“In his defense, saying no doesn’t always result in not doing the deed.” Mac nodded.

“Lemme tell ya, some mares are like damn jackrabbits. When ya get older and ya push some stallion around like yer sister apparently does, give him a break every now and again. The mind is willin’, but the body is soft and bruises easily.” I nodded and put a hoof on his shoulder as he did mine.

“She tried to break me this morning. She even said she did it on purpose.” I sniffed and wiped at my eyes. Mac bowed his head.

“Thank the goddess fer yer powers, without ‘em, ya’d be just as broke as she wants ya. Oh, speakin’ of, Ah keep condoms in my wallet since the last scare had me worried Ah was gonna be a dad. What about y’all? Been safe about it?” I sighed and shook my head.

“No, it was… a surprise the first time, and I keep forgetting.” That brought the volume down to zero.

“Oh. Well, that confirms her story. It’s not that I should expect grandfoals in the next year, but by August, no?” I leaned back on the couch and covered my face with my hooves.

“Ah. So… kids in the very near future, got it,” Blood noted. I threw my hooves up.

“Why does every pony assume things have already happened!?” He shrugged.

“Mac was born shortly after his mother was popped for the first time. If there is anything we’ve learned about the Apples, it is that they are extremely fertile. My brother only ever consummated with his wife when they were planning on having another child because her mother was the same way. Dew and I were married for nearly a decade before we finally decided to try for a foal, but even in her thirties, we knew she’d quickened just two weeks later. It doesn’t always take much effort. If it did, life on the planet wouldn’t be so numerous.”

“In my own case, I was also very quick to take. Of course, I was most certainly in heat at the time, and as I said, it warps the mind. That poor stallion. That was one of my longest phases in a very long time. I’m almost certain knowing he was there for me did something to make it that way, but he didn’t stand a chance.”

“None of you are making this any easier for me.” I shook my head and warped back to the recliner. Blood leaned forward and rested his snout on his hooves.

“Well, if nothing else, I can’t say I’m even upset at this development. Applejack has been… a much happier pony as of late, and if you’re why, then I couldn’t possibly object to the two of you getting married. But this fighting you’re still doing, and the both of you being enlisted does worry me. The political climate makes me think that a war is on the horizon in the next few years. What happens to the supposed foal if you both get shipped out?”

Anything chief?

“Hmm… An outside observer saying that concerns me. Either he knows more than he lets on, or he’s made a very intelligent guess. Yes, there will be a long conversation with this one. No, I will not send a mare with a newborn off to war. Maternity leave lasts for the first three months, and she will do no fighting until she is back to full strength and has somewhere for her foal to be watched over.

Your case is special, however. Royal guards, which is your formal designation, are to remain at the assigned princess’ side (Princess 3 in the legal text) and within so many miles of her in the event something arises. Fluttershy is also effectively disabled now, so those plans went right out the window too until I can get her a new leg. As it stands, you and your prospective spouse will not be leaving the country, even if a war does break out, that is unless I deem a super soldier-esque force necessary to deal with the threat, at which point I will talk to you directly. Of course, that decision in and of itself will be a weighty one, so… let’s just say that’s very unlikely at this time.”

Uh… okay? I have questions about that, but I’ll ask later.

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that. Our job is… special as far as the military goes, and as such, we have different priorities than the rest of the armed forces in the event of a war.” Blood nodded and then reclined on the couch.

“Well then, I think that’s… never mind. Can she dance? You do plan to dance with your new bride at the reception, don’t you?” Aw, shit. I brought a hoof to my mouth and then began furiously tapping my lips.

Does she remember? We used to do that all the time, she made me teach her for hours on end when we were little. Will we have time to practice? No, not unless she can get her vows written in a timely manner tomorrow, provided she says yes.

“Will you stop saying that? Be confident.”

No! I will be skeptical and remain skeptical until I hear the words come out of her mouth!

“Telling me no? That’s bold of you. Well, based on how she moves when she fights, I am certain at least a little of what you taught her was ingrained in her body. I always found it strange that she had such amazing balance on two hooves, but if she spent a lot of time learning to ballroom dance, then that would explain that. Don’t you have ponies that could find out? Rarity knows how to dance.” I clapped my hooves together.

“Maybe! A friend of mine can, and I taught Applejack how when we were little.” Mac nodded.

“Oh yeah, Ah remember that. She’d drag ya ta the park after school every day and make ya practice with her. Geez, how long ago was that? 2015? 2016? Like a decade and a half at this point.” Applebloom scrunched up her face.

“She wanted to learn how ta dance?” I nodded.

“Yeah, mom used to toss me around whenever she got particularly into a song back in the day. Applejack always wanted to try but never had the hoof work down, so she had me teach her. She managed to spin around with mom once or twice after a while, but who knows if she still remembers any of that. I’ll have to make a call after this.”

“Well, Ah’m happy about it. A weddin’ in the castle, Applejack finally findin’ herself a stallion, and y’all turned out ta be a pretty good guy as far as Ah can tell, so Ah just hope it works out,” Applebloom affirmed. Mac sighed and laid back on the couch.

“Ah figured this would happen someday, but Ah never realized it might happen so fast. Ah’m sure y’all will make a good couple and all, but Ah feel like Ah’ve not even been part of the family fer the past few months. When did we get so fragmented that Ah only now learn what my sister does fer a livin’? And now you’re takin her away ta go start some new family… where did the time go?” Blood sighed and leaned back on the couch himself.

“Mac…” He shook his head.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Ah guess… really this is just a little eye openin’. What else have Ah not been payin’ attention ta all this time? She’s movin’ on and startin’ a life already, five years younger than Ah am, so what have Ah been doin’ all this time? Ah don’t even know why Ah do what Ah do anymore. Ah think… it’s about time Ah sit down and reevaluate life here. Ah don’t have much goin’ on, maybe Ah should… just go somewhere after all this is over.” Blood put a hoof on his shoulder and nodded.

“If that’s what you feel you need to do, then we can discuss it after you’ve thought this over.” Mac nodded.

“Thanks, uncle.” Then he picked his eyes up and pointed a hoof at me.

“Y’all take care of my sister, alright? Ah could never be my dad, and as much as Ah tried, Ah just… never found a role Ah wanted. If… if she sees ya as somepony that she could give herself ta, then ya’ve done a better job than Ah did at bein’ there fer her. As long as ya never make her cry, then Ah’m alright with this. And uh… keep me in the loop, Ah uh… Ah want ta be included, this time.” Mac curled up his hoof to bump, and I got up and bumped it.

“You got it man.” Applebloom got up and joined the hoof bump.

“By this time next week, it’ll probably be okay ta call ya brother!” she said with a smile. Finally, Blood joined, and for once, I wasn’t intimidated by those red eyes.

“I’m not her father, no, he was a better stallion than I. But you remind me of him, and I think that alone would be enough to trust you with my niece. However, a mistake I made with my wife was trying to start a family too late. Life is unpredictable, and sometimes, our time is up before we realize it. As the goddess once commanded, ‘Go forth and fill the earth.’ One day, you might realize you were too late to try. Take it to heart, and may your lives be filled with joy.”

“I feel like I should say something, but he kind of took the words out of my mouth. So uh… yeah, do that. I’ve lost two lovers in my two millennia, and with any luck, I won’t suffer another loss for very long time. Keep yours alive and you’ll live a happy life.” I nodded and pulled my hoof back.

“I’ll do my best. Thank you.”

“Alright, so where are we doing this thing?” I asked after I arrived next to the white mare at the Castle gate.

“You are going to scare the other guards. Please refrain from warping out in the open in the future.” I tilted my head as I studied her face. Her gold flecked violet eyes were the dead giveaway, but if anypony else were to see her, they might think she was an unassuming pegasus. White coat, blonde mane, still Celestia shaped, but half as tall. I poked her shoulder, and when she felt like a normal mare, I clapped my hooves.

“That’s how the logistics worked!” She rolled her eyes and pulled me into a guard tower.

“I can’t believe you’re still thinking about that. It’s been two days Goose.” I shrugged.

“It’s hard for me to forget things. Catering to two heads, remember?” She laughed and shook her head.

“Uh-huh. Come on, let’s be quick about this. I don’t need my guards figuring out my favorite disguise.” I bowed.

“But of course.” Through marble tunnels lit by fluorescent lights, we walked for a while until we reached the surface again, and Celestia suddenly doubled in size.

“Geez!” The large mare leaned down and raised a brow at me.

“Come now, you knew who I was from the beginning. Anyways, it’s down this hall and to the left.” Celestia turned right, and we entered a giant, sunlit hall made of white marble arches with hanging violet flowers and crystal chandeliers as far as the eye could see. There were courtyards on either side with big fountains and walkways that formed intricate designs, and everything was just so bright.

“Damn. That’s impressive.” Celestia nodded and brought a hoof to her chest as we walked.

“Isn’t it? I had this castle built in 1357 and it took nearly a decade to complete. My little mountain fortress has been standing for almost seven centuries now, and it is one of my favorite things. This side of course was built later when travel was starting to become easier as more roads started to be paved during the 1800’s. I can honestly say that trains changed the world when they were invented. The steam engine was brilliant, and I knew these would become important once we could lay down enough rail to link the country together.”

“Huh. You know, there are times I forget how old you really are.” Celestia nodded.

“Oh, that’s normal for anypony who spends enough time around us. Luna and I might be discussing something with one of the senators, and something will be mentioned and I’ll recall the actual event and Luna and I will talk like it happened yesterday, and the senator will remind us that that was three or four hundred years ago. Of course, that would be easier to do if I could even remotely be in the same room as her without almost losing my temper again right now.” Celestia shook her head and shoved a giant door open.

“Uh, are you going to be okay on Wednesday if this works?” She tilted her head and puffed air out her nose.

“I should be fine as long as I’m not alone with her. The senators are still freaking out about the attack yesterday, as most ponies would be, and some of them are taking advantage of the panic trying to get things they want passed into federal law. Most of the things I vetoed today fell in that vein. I think I approved maybe one document this morning, and that was a relatively harmless change to what kind of patients must be accepted into hospitals. There’s been a push lately to make it so ponies can deny service to mutant and hybrid type power ponies, and if the business is private of course, they have every right to do that.

It will ruin their business in the end, but that’s not my problem. Hospitals denying treatment, however, does fall into the realm of my problem and the victims of the attack that survived are almost all new power ponies. The small towns that were hit are already beginning to recover, but Cantermore, or my backyard, is still struggling. I would never tell you what to think, but ponies have the potential to be so deluded with their own thoughts of self worth that they deem others who disagree with them as evil. In truth, many hybrids and mutants do become criminals in the long run, but that usually stems from the family, not society. Now then, this would be your ballroom.”

Inside the giant gold and violet decorated stone door was a large empty room that looked identical to the hall we were just in. Marble columns started at the floor and rose to the ceiling, and I was certain you might could fit a pegasus race track in here. The floor was one ring of white marble around the edges and a darker, clay red color that made the center. It was so smooth and flat that I could only imagine magic was used when this was polished. There was a stage made of the marble at one and, and it looked like somepony had come back later and added electrical outlets all around the walls. The lights above were from a massive chandelier that quite possibly had more glass on it alone than the giant windows all around that made it look like there weren’t any walls in this place in the first place. I whistled.

“Double damn. How did you do this three hundred years ago?” She took a few steps into the giant empty room and threw a wing out as her magic turned the chandelier on.

“Skilled craftsmen, of course. Tell a pony the royal coffers are open to him if he can make me a twenty by thirty meter clay rectangle, and he’ll do it. It might not happen for a few months, but it will get done. The thing that has changed the most with the times is how fast you can get something done and how easily you can find a pony with the right talent.” I eyed the chandelier and nodded.

“Well, cool. So, how fast can we get this ready for a wedding?” Celestia looked away.

“About that…” I frowned.

“Uh-huh.”

“I… don’t actually have the staff to make this work right now. I can get you furnishings and we can use decorations the castle has for this sort of event, but… I am understaffed.” I sighed.

“Well. Shit.” She nodded.

“Yeah, that was my biggest concern when Fluttershy came to me about this yesterday, and after getting it arranged, it came true. The castle can cater the event since my kitchens are always fired for something going on, but I’ve recently been on a tirade about the budget around this place and got rid of some superfluous positions. This part of the castle needs to be polished and cleaned only once or twice between gala seasons, so having several ponies around to do that daily was just unnecessary.” I sat and thought about that.

“I… am gonna have to make some calls.” Celestia nodded.

“Yes, yes you are. I have some more things to attend to, but you are free to come and go from this area as you please while you work on this. I will let the guards know you’re here.” I am gonna need Pulse for this. Hell, I might even need the gang for this. Money aside, what company is going to be willing to set up a ballroom for a wedding with one day to get it done? I need reinforcements.

“Actually, can you tell them there might be a lot of ponies in this area?” She tilted her head.

“Oh? And why is that?” I sat down and started to tap my snout with my hoof.

“I have an idea, but I’ll need some help. Are the decorations you have nearby? Or can you have them brought here?” Celestia nodded.

“Both.” I clapped my hooves.

“Perfect! I’ll be back later”

“Gah! Geez Goose, what the hell?” Pulse exclaimed from the shop office. I arrived in their room just as Pulse was rising from her bed. I turned the light on and took a seat at the desk.

“Huh? Wazzat? Oh, hi Goose,” Aurora said sleepily. I rolled my eyes.

“Guys, it’s like, eleven, why isn’t the shop ready?” Pulse rubbed at her eyes and blinked a few times.

“We needed a break after Saturday, so we’re taking the beginning of the week off. Why are you here? Did something happen? We saw the attack on the broadcast, we don’t have a Carcha in any of those places, do we?” I shook my head.

“No, Cantermore would’ve been the only candidate for that, and ponies from there can just go to the one ten miles away in Canterlot. I’ve already had Alto start a campaign for relief efforts, but that’s not why I’m here.” Aurora draped herself over Pulse and nodded.

“Uh-huh. So…” she yawned, “What are you here for?” I crossed my hooves.

“Well, here’s the situation. I have a place now.” Pulse blinked.

“Already? That was quick. I thought you were screwed when nothing worked Saturday. Where at?”

“Canterlot castle.” Mouths dropped, and Aurora clambered to the edge of the bed beside Pulse.

“Canterlot castle!?” I nodded.

“Yeah, I’m actually friends with the Princess, and she offered it to me… more or less for her own reasons, but I’m not about to turn her down. The issues is, I need ponies to set up and decorate. I also kinda need a mover, and I definitely need you because I have some stuff and some ponies I need help getting to and from Canterlot.” Pulse put her hooves together.

“I’m sorry, you, a gangster from an established family, are personal friends with the Princess?” Pulse asked. I sighed.

“It is a long story. And I also legally cannot tell you about it, so you just have to deal. Are you going to help me or what?” She took a deep breath and shook her head.

“I don’t know Goose, we’re uh… we’re not the kinda ponies that should be hanging around the ponies that want us in jail, ya know?” I let my head droop to the side.

“Oh, come on, don’t you think the Princess knows who I am? I’m trying to marry a high-ranking officer! I am a high-ranking officer!” They both shook their heads and blinked.

“What?” I went digging in my back pocket and threw my badge at them. If not for that thing with Rainbow’s dad the other day, I doubt I would’ve even thought to add this to the things I put in my pockets every morning. Aurora inspected the badge and flipped it around.

“Good goddess, this is real. Who did you kill for this?” I groaned.

“It has my name on it! Unless somepony died of a wound that I don’t know about, I haven’t killed anypony since that thing with the Rockets. Er, provided Knots and the kaiju don’t count. Never mind. Point is, this is happening, accept reality and help me.” Pulse gave my badge back and shrugged.

“’Aight, whatever. I’ve always wanted to see the castle, so I guess it won’t be so bad. How much help do you need here? I can probably get a few of the guys, and maybe even some of the girls to help you out, but don’t expect like, the full force of the gang. Whirl and Volt still won’t talk to me.” I sighed and slouched in the chair.

“Yeah, I figured. If you can get like, ten ponies, I have a few other ponies I can get in touch with, but I still need to go talk to them. As a matter of fact… I’ll have you meet them later, and we can get what we can get anything else we need in Manehattan. Go see who you can get to help, and then come talk to me. I can get you a picture of the room we’ll be using, and you can just open a permanent portal there. As a matter of fact, we can set up a chain of portals so you have access to everywhere I need you to take ponies… however, there are probably gonna be some special cases where you have to make a portal because I can’t make that kinda jump quickly.” I shook my head. “But, we can worry about that later. Go get the guys, I have ponies I need to talk to.” Before either of them could object, I warped.

“How’d you get the castle? Isn’t that like, super expensive?” Rainbow asked.

“I-I pulled some strings.” Pinkie and Scootaloo stared at her with Rainbow, then shrugged.

“Okay… Uh, anyways, you guys wanna help me decorate?” I asked. Pinkie shrugged.

“I guess, but what are we gonna be doing?” I brought a hoof to my chin.

“Setting up chairs and banners, getting flowers, moving some stuff I want there on site, things like that.” Rainbow stuck her tongue out.

“Bleh, do I have to? I don’t know anything about this kinda crap.”

“Would free food from the castle make it for you?” Scootaloo nodded.

“That would make it for me. Deal.” Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“You know, you could go for a little more than that, kid. I mean, he came to us because actually getting somepony to do this for him on such short notice would be super expensive, right?” I scratched at my beard.

“I mean… you could be an ass and not help your friend, no big deal.” She crossed her hooves.

“I can also be a good friend and expect to be compensated for it.” I scowled at her.

“You… have no idea what being a good friend is, do you?” Shy shook her head.

“S-she doesn’t, t-that’s why she’s so fucked up. T-they’ll do it, y-you don’t have to pay them. I-is that all that they’re doing? I-it’s almost noon, A-applejack and Twilight will be back soon,” Fluttershy dictated. Rainbow scowled at her.

“Hey! That’s not cool, I was trying to get my parents invited, geez!” Pinkie rolled her eyes.

“If that’s all you wanted, then why didn’t you ask?” I reared my head back.

“Yeah, I don’t care if your parents come. Hell, I can even get them there and back the day of.” Rainbow put her hooves in her lap and looked down.

“Oh. I don’t know, I just expected…” Scoots put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it dude, she’s still figuring out how to ‘friends.’ Speaking of, can I invite mine? I haven’t been out of the castle much since we moved in and I still haven’t seen them yet…” I shrugged.

“I mean… don’t see why not? They’re already gonna be there though, Applebloom will kinda be my sister-in-law at that point, and Rarity talked me into using Sweetie as the flower filly, so… yeah. As a matter of fact, you two should see if your families want to come. The pews are gonna be pretty empty at the moment since uh… some stuff happened on my side, so there’ll be room.” Fluttershy shrugged and Pinkie crossed her hooves.

“I-I’ll let them know, I guess. T-they’ll probably be happy to s-see Mr. and Mrs. Flare again.”

“I uh… my parents… w-well, I guess there’s no harm in inviting them, right? Dad was a fan of you guys, so m-maybe mom will come too? Oh, geez, this is gonna be awkward.” Suddenly, Fluttershy raised her snout.

“They’re back.”

“Oh, crap! Bring it in, I’ll take you to Pulse, we have to go!” The girls scrambled to their hooves and then put a hoof on me somewhere. “I’ll see you later, keep me updated.” Shy nodded, and then we warped.

“Goose, are you busy?” Celestia echoed in my head. I was picking up a vase in dad’s store house, but stopped.

“Not particularly? We’re just getting some things I want for the reception. The others are just getting started on the ballroom.”

“Good, because this is important. The musicians I had on staff are all on vacation this week, so I don’t have music available” I let out a breath and groaned.

“Oh, well that’s just perfect. Even the organ guy?”

“Even the organ guy. The castle’s chapel is still good to go, but I only just found out about this a minute ago.” I put the vase down and scratched at the side of my head.

“Gah, always with the more shit to take care of… Do you think I could convince Rarity to be the player? Eh, she doesn’t have a role as of yet, so probably. I bet we could get some speakers and have somepony DJ to that end, but now I have to buy speakers… and, maybe even an audio mixer. Just because I have it doesn’t mean I want to spend the money on this. Ugh. Thanks, I’ll get it taken care of. Are you doing stuff, or are you monitoring them?”

“Yes.” I straightened my lips.

“Okay. How is it going over there then?”

“Well enough. Your little crew is setting up the reception area, and Rainbow and the prostitute are hanging up the banners. Did you clean out a florist for this? The flowers just keep coming, and I’m honestly impressed that you managed to get crystal roses.”

“Her name is Aurora Veil, thank you. Unless you’re talking about somepony else, at which point I don’t know, there are a few of them and I know at least three have wings.”

“That is… information I have now? There are only twelve ponies from your camp Goose, how much of your fortune was made off of sex?”

“More than I’d like. Shy was supposed to visit a shop today, I’ll see where she is.”

“Okay. Before I go though, what is attendance looking like? I don’t need to have rooms prepared, do I?” I shook my head as if I wasn’t alone gathering stuff to take back to the house for Pulse to grab.

“So far, it’s just those at the castle and the immediate families of Harmony. I don’t think we’ll need rooms, I kinda expected to have to work on Thursday.” Celestia sighed across the line.

“So much for keeping this relationship a secret. That’s fine I suppose. Keep me updated.”

“Yes ma’am.” The line went cold again, and I took my phone out of my pocket. After the ringer went on for a minute, the line picked up.

“Hey, do you have a minute?” The three-legged pegasus fumbled with the device for a second, then answered,

“G-geez, I need to get a headset. D-do you know how hard t-things are with one foreleg?” I shook my head on the other end.

“Of course I don’t. look, I’m sorry that happened, but I need another favor.” Shy giggled on her end.

“K-kek. I’m just screwing w-with you. Y-yeah, what’s up? T-the dress fits, and in an odd turn of e-events, she liked the pumpkin spice cake t-the best.” I bought a hoof to my mouth.

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Wow. I’m going to have to stop by and try that. And maybe scale the wedding cake down and get something more normal to go with it, I… huh. You would think-”

“Y-yes, yes you would. W-what do you want? W-we’re at the music store and she’s over in the c-classical aisle with Rarity.”

“Huh. Can you get Rarity to find out if she still remembers how to dance?”

“H-how to dance?”

“How to dance. I taught her how to ballroom dance back when we were kids, and now that it’s relevant, her uncle reminded me that that’s a thing ponies do at wedding receptions. I don’t know if she still remembers how to do it.” Fluttershy groaned.

“Ugh, m-more shit to do. L-let me talk to- Hmm. Oh. Huh. W-well, you’re in luck, i-it looks like she remembers.”

“It looks like?”

“A-apparently Rarity had the same idea and n-now they’re spinning around the speaker displays. I-I knew she was flexible, b-but that’s impressive.”

“Oh, you have no idea. Uh, anyways, that’s good to know.”

“L-looks like Twilight wants to learn. I-I guess we’re going to go back and p-practice at the castle soon.”

“Ooh, that’s perfect! Okay, here’s the deal, I need a DJ and a sound system for the reception, and a pianist for the wedding. I think I could get a DJ out of the guys I have putting the ballroom together, but I need to know if Rarity can play for me, and I need you to buy speakers and an Audio mixer while you’re there.”

“Uh… y-you know that I already h-have a mix table, right?”

“I do now?”

“O-okay. Y-you get to pay for the speakers though, a-and I’ll be keeping them.” I let out a breath and rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, sure whatever. I’ll reimburse you, just save the receipt.” Shy clicked her tongue.

“Y-yeah, I can do that. O-okay, I’ll see you later.”

“Cool.”

“B-bye.”

After about eight more hours of work, the reception hall was finally ready to go, and provided she says yes, which everypony tells me she will, then this should be a lively place Wednesday.

“Ya know, I think we did good.” I said as I looked over our work. Some of the vases from dad’s collection were filled with red and crystal roses all around the hall sitting on white columns with lamps just above them. There were white and violet banners lined around the ceiling that paired well with the black and red velvet drapes in this big hall that made for a colorful ribbon all the way around the room. The stage was waiting for the audio equipment to be brought over, and Scratch offered to DJ for me while we were setting that table up.

There were enough tables and chairs for everypony we expected to be here and more in the event we have unexpected guests, and just about everything was just the way I wanted it. Getting the cakes done should be easy, and as soon as we get confirmation from everypony on who all is coming, everything will be ready. Pulse nodded.

“I think we did too. I’m excited to see her face when she sees this. I’m happy for ya, Goose.”

“Thanks.” I checked my phone and the time read nine fifty PM. “Are you guys gonna head out soon? It’s kinda late.” Aurora came by and wrapped a wing around the black unicorn.

“Nah. The shop’s closed till Thursday anyways, so we figured we’d take the opportunity to hang out around Canterlot, see the sights and all that. The princess offered us a room, so there’s really no reason not to.” Huh. I guess she did have rooms ready.

“Alright, cool. Well, I’ll give you a call tomorrow after I get answer.” Aurora held out a hoof.

“Good luck, Goose. See ya on the other side.” I bumped it back and gave them both a hug.

“You guys mean a lot to me. Even though things will be different, don’t forget that, alright? You’ll always be my friends.”

Persona XXIII: Until Death

“Alright everypony, that’s a wrap.”

“Holy shit!” Ah just about jumped off Goose as fast as Ah could. What in tarnation!? Is that Rarity? Why is she here? Ah thought this place was private!

“Let’s pack it up, we’ve got a lot of work to do before the wedding tomorrow,” she said as she stepped out behind the big hedge wall. Goose had just proposed, Ah’d just said yes, and Ah was… about ta… uh, ya know. ‘Show the love’ in the best way Ah know how. Because Ah thought we were alone. And nopony was comin’.

“I mean, you could’ve waited a bit, right?” he asked. Rarity shook her head. Only now did Ah notice the camcorder. There have been several moments in my life where Ah’d wished death upon myself, but this? This is probably the only time it’s happened out of embarrassment.

“Sweet Goddess, she was recordin’ it...” She made it to the center of the stone circle with us and nodded assuredly.

“I really did think about it. It was very tempting. After all, it certainly would’ve sold well with the whole ‘power couple’ thing you two have going on. Though, I’m afraid the sale of an X-rated video without the consent of the lovers would get me into some kind of legal trouble, and I simply can’t have that kind of media attention on me with the job we do. Anyways, the moment was captured, so Celestia should be pleased.” Horror stricken, Ah turned ta her.

“C-Celestia put ya up ta it?” She shook her head.

“No, no, he did. I believe that was part of the deal for the ballroom in the castle if I’m not mistaken.” Goose nodded.

“It was. Though, all things considered, I should’ve seen this coming.”

“Anyways, we need to make sure the finished dress fits, so come along,” Rarity said. Goose got up and fixed his pants, and Rarity started ta leave, but Ah wasn’t even sure what was goin’ on. Wait. Did she say ‘weddin’ tomorrow?’

“Woah, woah, woah, hold on just a damn minute! Weddin’?” Rarity tilted her head like Ah said somethin’ strange.

“Yes, wedding. You have a habit of doing things backwards, and since the ‘bedding’ has already been done, multiple times at this point based on that little scene, the proper course of action is to make it official. What about it?”

Well, nopony ever called me subtle, that’s fer sure.

“But y’all said tomorrow, didn’t ya?” Ah took a step toward her, then Goose warped ta my side.

“Yeah about that… You were wondering what I’ve been doing lately, and that’s kinda… it.” Ah had ta sit down now, this was all just… too much.

“Okay, hold on. So, fer the last couple days, you’ve been plannin’ a weddin’, right?”

“Few days? I ordered that dress weeks ago. Though, I had planned to wait till after all this crap was over, but uh… you know, that little scare the other day made me nervous, so I decided to move my plans forward by like… a month.” Goose’s cheeks turned a little flush and he scratched at the back of his head. Rarity took a step forward.

“It was quite amazing really, he got everything done in a mere five days,” she explained. Ah blinked and shook my head.

“Ah’m sorry?”

“It’s all done. Cake, location, attire, music, after party, everything. All it was really waiting on was the stallion to grow a pair and ask. Since I caught that on tape, it seems as if everything is accounted for. Though, I suppose you’ll still have to write your vows…” Ah turned from her ta him, back ta her, and back ta him.

“So, my family knows?”

“I was given your uncle’s blessing on Monday. Well, I say that, they all talked about it like it was a done deal. Did you know that your sister made a bet with Scootaloo?” Ah raised a hoof in protest, but the words wouldn’t materialize because Ah knew they weren’t true.

“Goddess damn it, Ah told her ta stop gamblin’. Where are we doin’ this?” Ah would ask ‘why tomorrow,’ but Ah also would rather this happen sooner than later, now that Ah think about it. ‘Don’t… live with a regret you don’t have to, if the day ever comes that you don’t get the chance.’ Words like a truck, that mare.

“Why, a ballroom in Canterlot Castle. I said that, weren’t you paying attention?” Ah glared at Rarity.

“Fuck you.” She brought a hoof ta her chin and licked her lips.

“Well now, that is quite the offer, and while I’d love to, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline. I’m liberal, not a home wrecker. Besides, you’re engaged now, that would simply be in poor taste.” Ah sighed.

“You walked into that one,” Goose said.

“Ah know. Ya said somethin’ about a dress? Is that done too?” Pure defeat. And after we had that conversation the other day, too. She nodded, that smug smile still on her face and gettin’ under my skin.

“You were wearing it the other day.” Ah narrowed my eyes, then it hit me.

“Oh. So, uh… Ah’m the shy mare… with the fat ass.”

“I wouldn’t call you shy by any means, but insecure about your body? Certainly. And most definitely, with the fat ass. That said, we do need to run a final test to make sure it fits you properly now that it’s been completed.” Ah had ta rub at my eyes. Between the tears and the emotional rollercoaster that has been today, Ah feel like Ah just got thrown back inta life at full speed. What in the world is happenin’? Ah know Ah said yes and all, but Ah didn’t think… thin’s would move so fast… Itchiness gone, Ah slapped my cheeks a few times.

“Alright, let’s get on with this. Ah… never thought Ah’d get swept away like this, but… since it’s you… Ah guess Ah don’t mind.” Ah leaned next ta him and wrapped my hoof around his, then went fer a kiss. Soft, warm, and sugary sweet, this is the stallion Ah’ve always wanted.

“I’m glad you feel that way.” He returned it, and then thin’s started goin’ further until Rarity coughed.

“Can you keep your clothes on for five minutes please? We have things to do!” we broke apart, but Ah never let go of his hoof.

“Fine, have it yer way.”

It was somethin’ like 2 PM when we left the restaurant and went ta the graveyard, and now it was closer ta 11. The time between then and now almost feels like it didn’t even happen. We went ta Star’s ta makes sure the dress still fit, we went by Sugar Cube Corner so Ah could get another taste of my cake, we had a trial run of Goose and Ah dancin’ that went on fer far longer than Rarity wanted, and we even picked out the song we’re gonna trot out ta.

On top of that, everypony was in on it. They all knew, and they were all workin’ on their own projects ta get ready fer tomorrow. Again, Ah’m the last one ta notice. Ah was never great with ponies’ emotions, but these are thin’s Ah coulda noticed over the last couple days if Ah wasn’t so preoccupied with whatever Goose was doin’. However, now Ah find myself in the Shark house starin’ at a blank piece of paper, sittin’ at Carcharias’s desk, wonderin’ what the hell Ah’m supposed ta write here. The creak of the door caught my ears, and he walked in with a mug filled with somethin’ sweet.

“You keep bringin’ me all this sugar and Ah’m gonna get fat.” He rolled his eyes and set the mug down in front of me.

“I know you have a differing opinion on the subject, but as long as you’re you, I’m not sure I care what you look like.”

“Good goddess, you’re a piece of shit.” He leaned down and pecked me on the lips.

“Only for you. Still struggling?” Ah rolled my eyes and took a sip of the sweet drink. Hot chocolate, now that Ah taste it.

“What does it look like?”

“Blank paper?”

“Exactly! Ah don’t know what Ah’m doin’ here! What did y’all write? Can’t Ah just copy that and call it a day?” Ah already knew his answer at this point, but Ah though Ah might ask again. Eighth time’s the charm, right?

“For the eighth time, no, this is something you need to do. I get that your head doesn’t work like this, but it’s really not all that complicated. It’s a vow. What do you want from me, what do you like about me, what do you expect of yourself, et cetera.” ‘And so on,’ my brain told me. Ah know what he really said, but the whole ‘accidental impartation of a language’ still catches me off guard any time somepony says somethin’ and Ah know exactly what it means… even though Ah probably didn’t a moment before.

“Come on now, that’s like askin’ what Ah think faith means! How do Ah explain somethin’ like that? It’s… personal, Ah… Ah show it, puttin’ it inta words is… Ah don’t know, it never sounds right. Besides, Ah’ve thrown away a whole book’s worth of pages at this point…” He eyed my little overflowin’ trashcan and sighed.

“Alright look. I’m not going to say what I wrote until tomorrow because that’s what it’s for. But I will say that all I really put down are the promises I want to keep, what you mean to me, and what I think is so special about you that I would pledge my life to you for. That’s what this is. The final step before we both say, ‘to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.’” Ah shivered at that last part.

“Do we have ta say that last thin’?” He frowned.

“What do you mean?” Ah scratched at the back of my head.

“The uh… the death thin’.” He blinked.

“Well, yeah. I mean, one, it’s tradition. Aside from ‘that’s just the way things are,’ it’s significant in that, if one of us dies, there’s a promise there that the other will keep on living and still try to be happy. We’re only bound to each other while we’re both still alive. If… something were to happen to me, I wouldn’t want you to go on with life thinking that I was the first and last, ya know?”

Well, that’s really not somethin’ Ah wanted ta hear.

“… Ya make thin’s difficult, ya know that?” He smiled and nodded.

“And you make things hard. I’m gonna go ahead and get to bed since I’ve got a pretty early morning ahead of me, but don’t stay up too late on this, alright?” A kiss ta the forehead good night, Goose exited the room, and now Ah was alone with my paper again.

So special that Ah want ta pledge my life ta ya, huh? Yeah, easy fer y’all ta say. Ya have experience with all this lovey-dovey shit. Ah’m gettin’ married ta the only stallion Ah’ve ever really been close ta. In a literal sense, even. Well, come on Applejack, use yer damn head. What does he mean ta ya? He’s… the only one that’s ever made my heart race like that. He’s the only one that can get me ta calm down when Ah get too overheated. He… always checks on me, he hardly ever leaves me alone… fer better or fer worse, anyways.

He’s… there when Ah need him. Heh, the dumb bastard even makes me smile every now and again… Maybe even more than that. He makes me laugh, he laughs with me. He’s polite… when he wants ta be, and… he’ll tell me the truth. Even when Ah threaten him. He meets me eye ta eye, he… always tries ta look at thin’s from two angles. He… he… he loves me. But… these aren’t the only reasons why Ah feel the same. How am Ah supposed ta put all that down on paper? Goddess damn it. This is exactly the kinda shit Ah need him around ta help me with, and he won’t!

Ah looked around this old office until Ah spotted a clock on one of the wooden file cabinets. Let’s see… 11:45, huh? Who could Ah talk ta right now? Rarity said she had other stuff ta do after we got finished practicing, so she’s either dead ta the world right now, or still workin’. Even if Ah did bother her, she has ta get up as early as Goose does.

All the other girls are effectively useless on the subject ‘cept… maybe Pinkie, but she was stressin’ out about meetin’ that family again all day. Ah’d probably be just as stressed if Ah were her, so maybe that’s not a good idea. It’d be nice if Mom or Aunt Dew were still around, they’d know what ta do… Mom… Ah wonder… An idea in mind, Ah grabbed my phone out of my bandanna pocket and sent off a text. The clock ticked exactly ten times before Ah got a reply, and with that, Ah grabbed my sheet, my jacket, and my hat and headed ta the castle.

“So? What all have you written?” Celestia asked. Ah scratched at my face and looked away.

“Oh, ya know… nothin’. At all.” She rolled her eyes and reclined in the castle’s library chair.

“I see. Very well then, tell me exactly what it is that’s giving you trouble with this?” Ah sighed and shook my head as Ah leaned over the table.

“Ah don’t know. And that’s probably the biggest issue. Ah don’t have anythin’ ta compare him ta, and Ah just… Ah feel like that’s almost a disadvantage here. How am Ah supposed ta call him the best stallion Ah’ve ever had if he’s the only stallion Ah’ve ever had? If he means the world ta me, how do Ah put that inta words if Ah don’t know what the world means ta me? It’s all new, and Ah barely understand it.

Ah’m half afraid that Ah’m doin’ everythin’ wrong in the first place, and he’s already been through a relationship like this before, and Ah… Ah don’t know anythin’. Is this really it? It feels right, but is that just because Ah’ve been so repressed my whole life and now Ah have somepony to act out my desires on, or is it because Ah really do love him and Ah… want more?”

Now it was Celestia’s turn ta let her head fall inta her hooves.

“Goddess, damn you, Fluttershy. I so very, very wish you hadn’t said that. I knew in the back of my head, I’m certain Fluttershy could smell it, but I was trying so, so hard to look the other way, and now you’ve made it so I can’t. Before we even get into the emotional side of this that I know you’re struggling with, I’d like you to take one of these.” Out of golden aura, a little cream-colored stick appeared and floated over ta me. Upon closer inspection, Ah realized what it was and suddenly found my face a little warm.

“W-what the!? W-why would ya-” She rolled her eyes and scowled at me.

“Mrs. Soon-to-be Carcharodon, you know exactly why. That is of course, unless you’re willing to lie to my face and say that you haven’t already been intimate with your ‘boyfriend,’ hmm?”

“Ah uh…”

“I can’t hear you my dear, you’ll have to speak up.”

“…”

“What? Nothing to say? Come now Applejack, you’re usually more talkative than this. Tell me, do you know how to use a condom?”

“Well…”

“Speak the truth. You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” Ah sighed and took the test outta her magic.

“Alright fine, Ah don’t. Happy?” She shook her head.

“No. Not in the slightest. As a matter of fact, I’ll be rather upset if that comes up positive. You… you ignorant…” She reached her hooves out after my neck, but then gritted her teeth and pulled back. A deep breath later, she continued. “I pray that you haven’t been ovulating and this is simply some… puppy love infatuation taken too far. I won’t ask for details, but please, for the love of the goddess, take a break for a few weeks, alright? Two more kaiju and you can do whatever you want. But if that does come back positive, you and I are going to have a talk, and you will not like it. I want it the results before Saturday, you understand me?” Shame creepin’ up my back, Ah let my head fall and nodded.

“Y-yes ma’am…” Celestia sighed and fell back inta the recliner.

“This is what it feels like, isn’t it? I never thought I would have to rebuke any child of mine for a sexual misdemeanor, yet here I am. Though, I suppose if I ever have to do it again, I’ll at least have something to draw from. New experiences like this are often hard to find when you’re as old as I am.” She sat up straight, stretched her wings, and then, in the most business professional way she could, she put her forehooves over one another and stared me down.

“With that out of the way… at least for the moment, let us start with the most concerning thing you’ve said; no, this isn’t repression or anything like that, you’re just as filled with hormones as everypony else is, and we all experience days when that little animal instinct is hardly controllable. Having easy access to act out on it is only a bad thing if: you aren’t ready to raise a foal, you don’t stick with your partner, or you do it with somepony you don’t know.

If you can check all of those boxes off, then sure, why not. Bringing new lives into the world is an inherent good, and I typically encourage procreation from married couples. However, you cannot check off the first box right now because you most certainly do not need your body moving to prepare a new life while fighting for yours.

Passion is a part of love, the Eros if we go to the Algol words for love, and yes, if you love him, especially in the first six months, you will have a burning desire to have him put a baby in you. That is not the only part of love, but it is most certainly the easiest to understand, and more often than not, the easiest to act on. You may want more with him later, but this is still a young relationship so only time will tell you if it is real.”

“But… Ah don’t have that kinda time, y’all know that! Ah… He means it, doesn’t he? He… he wouldn’t put up with me if he didn’t, right?” She shrugged.

“Maybe. He could idolize you in such a way that your vices might not even look like that to him. He is particularly devoted to you, though that may just be part of his personality.” Ah think Ah felt my face contort.

“Wha…? Ya… ya don’t really-”

“Absolutely not. I’m simply playing the devil’s advocate here. Applejack… when you agreed to this earlier today… did you really know what it entails? Marriage, I mean.”

“Well… it just means… together forever, don’t it? Makin’ foals and raisin’ ‘em and such… right?” She pulled her lips to the side.

“That… is not quite correct. By definition, ‘marriage is the union between two creatures of the opposite sex as husband and wife in a consensual contractual relationship recognized by law.’ That is what the word means and has meant for thousands of years. But what does it look like in reality? An easy example would be the three stages of a couple.

Currently, you find yourself in the passionate stage. You want to breed like a rabbit, being away from him causes you emotional distress, and your partner can do no wrong. This is the point where deep seeded issues start to develop. Mares will easily dismiss abusive traits and tendencies because it’s all ‘love’ to them as long as they’re together. I’m not saying Goose is even capable of something like that, but do keep an eye out for the little things you might otherwise not notice. You’re wearing rose tinted lenses right now, and it would be good to take them off and look at things objectively from time to time.” Ah tilted my head.

“So… maybe Ah’m not really seein’ him as he is, but Ah’m seein’ him as Ah want ta?” She shook hers.

“In a way, yes. To be frank, Goose has shown to be an excellent stallion, but there are things he hasn’t told you and things he hides from you, for better or for worse. You may dismiss little things like that now, but that may come back to bite you later. Do I actually believe Goose would do something like that to you though? Not in the slightest. It’s just… a precaution, I suppose.” Ah scratched at my cheek.

“Oh, sure…”

“Anyways, on with the analogy. Beyond the passionate stage, usually about six months to a year later, you find yourself in… let’s call it, ‘acceptance.’ This is the point where breakups and divorces tend to happen. Over time, the lenses will fall off whether or not you like it. You will see this pony before you as he is, and you will find and pick out every single one of his flaws.” Ah blinked.

“Ah mean… didn’t Ah kinda already-”

“No, no, you won’t understand what I mean until it actually hits you. For example, your brother. What does he do that you hate with every fiber of your being?” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Oh, well, first off, he never cleans any of the cookin’ utensils, he just leaves ‘em on the stove half dirty and he only washes ‘em off when he wants ta use ‘em again! He’ll take up all the space on the couch, he brings his sluts home every now and again and they’re always loud, and-”

“Well, there you go. Though, I doubt you’ll have to worry about that last one with Goose. The little things. If there’s a deeper issue, something on the value side, those little things will be more apparent and more irritating. Luckily, there’s almost always a deeper issue to be resolved when this does occur, however, they are the thing that tends to cause divorce. If you cannot ‘accept’ your partner in this stage, the it usually ends in a bad way.

Finally, if one does manage to accept the pony they’re with, then you reach ‘Contentment.’ You know their flaws, you understand who they are on a fundamental level, and the same is true from them to you. This is your elderly couple’s life, and the lives of parents that have finished raising their children and stuck together through it all. The problem with getting here though, is that someponies tend to spend years to decades in the acceptance stage and never make it out of that.

However, when you commit, when you agree to be married to a pony, that is your goal. To reach ‘Contentment’ together. To love, to create, to see through, to understand, to become one, with your partner. That is a marriage.”

“That’s uh… kinda heavy, ain’t it?” She nodded.

“Of course it is. A marriage is one of the strongest legal bindings in law. Dying is easier that filing for divorce in Equestria if you have foals. I have made it my solemn duty to see to it that children grow with both of their parents for as long as possible. Of course, that is dependent on the couple having children in the first place, and sometimes that never happens, so those chains are much easier to break.” Ah frowned.

“So… does that mean infidelity is a crime, or…” She rolled her eyes.

“As much as I would like it to be, Ponies are… creatures with tattered souls. Full of holes and flaws, things that will easily give in to temptation and the like. I was supposed to be celibate after all, nopony can escape their own soul. If we did something like that, we’d have to jail half the country, and that just won’t do. Of course, making things as hard as they are to get out of leads to a lower rate in marriages so… as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

“Ah see… Is that what Ah should write down then?” She scratched at her cheek.

“Well… not exactly, let me… What do you want out of this? Not just contentment, or… perhaps, even foals. You, specifically, have desires for the future, don’t you?”

“Ah… started ta think about it recently, Ah guess, but… Ah don’t know, that was really it. Ah wanted a family, Ah wanted a life that wasn’t so hard, Ah… Ah just wanted thin’s ta… settle down, Ah guess. A routine, some normalcy, and… friends, maybe.” Celestia sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Don’t we all? Oh, Applejack…” Suddenly, Ah wasn’t sittin’ across from her, but she’d warped me inta her lap.

“Uh… Ya know Ah’m like, twenty years old, right?” She shook her head and wrapped her forelegs around me.

“Compared to me, you will always be a child. I think you really do know what to write on that sheet, but because you’re you, you have a hard time looking at what it is you want and not what others want. Most ponies will see it as a good trait, but you tend to have a hard time being selfish. So, allow me to tell you about the time in my life when I was very selfish.”

Celestia Iscandor of Equuis

“The year is 1998, somewhere closer to the middle of summer. While searching through other worlds for a cure behind Luna’s back… much like an inversion of the current situation we find ourselves in, I finally arrived at something that looked like our own Equestria. My portal had opened up, and after taking a step through it, I ran somepony over.

His name was Sombra, King of Lystacr. If you’ve ever heard the saying, ‘like love at first sight,’ this was actually that. I remember thinking, ‘Oh goddess, I’ve made a terrible mistake,’ because I knew right then and there that this was going to end poorly for somepony. But, as I have said before, ponies have tattered souls, and I am no goddess.

I made an effort to avoid the topic, but just as I had fallen head over hooves for a stranger, so had he, though in a more literal sense. He got up, dusted himself off, took my hoof, kneeled, and asked me to marry him on the spot. A shock to be sure, but even more surprising was the fact that the word yes wriggled its way into my mind. I almost agreed on the spot.

Could you believe it? Me, some multi-millennia old ancient mare thinking like some school filly and her first crush. My real first crush died for me in a horrible bloody spectacle thousands of years ago. I was so upset about that for so long that I’d shut my heart to any romantic feelings from then on. How had it come to this now of all times, when I was looking for any hope of correcting the mistake I was still struggling to keep up with? Of course, you already know how the story ends, so let’s get on with the getting there.

My initial decline effectively meant nothing to him, but for the time being, he put his feelings aside and we got down to business: why I was here, what I wanted, and how I found this world. Over a few weeks, I would learn of the founding of Lystacr, how his great ancestor also dealt with a warring states period and rose to power to conquer the land and eventually claim it from the eastern to the western shore, how he’d used the mirror portal his grandfather created to advance his own technology, how he’d done almost exactly the same thing I did and unleashed the virus on his people by accident.

Alike but different. Like a mirror in every way, even missing some of the details as it only reflects about eighty percent of what it can see. As strange and fascinating as this ‘mirror world’ was though, he was what I was most interested in. He was kind and hopeful, honest and loyal, generous and friendly. Somepony one could only dream of in the flesh, yet burdened by his own birthright. He even wanted to go so far as to abdicate the throne and leave it to his ponies. That was something… even we weren’t willing to do.

I found it all… very attractive. The only pony whom should be king is the one who wants the throne least, and this stallion was born in that position. I found myself fantasizing about all kinds of things I’d long stopped thinking about, and old feelings started to bloom as I spent more and more time with him. I’d dumped my work on Luna and my staffers so often to go visit him that they were beginning to question what I was up to.

That was about the time I realized how serious this had become. I was in deep. Too deep. I’d even almost admitted that I might have fallen for somepony again. Here’s a fun fact; I went to war with the equestrian nobles because of the death of Palomino Apple. That was the first time I’d ever truly given in to my… darker emotions, and why my sister, and anypony else who still remembers the name, fears the Radian Sun. The desert in the dust bowl region of Equestria wasn’t always like that you know, I did that. Razed everything to the ground and burned it all in such a way that it became barren.

It hasn’t happened many times, but the few times I have lost my temper, it has ended in near nuclear-fallout levels of destruction as the Caballo Crater can attest. It was a miracle Twilight managed to stop me the other day. Luna Iscandor of Equuis would no longer exist if that stallion never got a grip on my heart. Ironic to think about really, considering that she hated Twilight for the first decade of her life.” She paused, then waved her hoof.

“But, that’s not what we’re talking about is it? Sombra awakened old emotions in me, and now that I had them, I hardly knew what to do with them. I said there would be none after I lost Palomino, and I’d meant that. Now I had another before I realized it, and suddenly the fears of what I might do if things went wrong started to crop up as well. To cap it all off, the one pony who could assuage my fears the best, just so happened to be the source of said fears.

Caught in a loop of positive feedback, things got worse, or better depending on your perspective, and it wasn’t just a fleeting urge to put my body to work again, but truly somepony I wanted to spend my life with. In a parallel world, no less. After a year of the maddening infatuation and desires, finally, I’d been worn down to the point where I told Sombra ‘yes’ to one of his many advances, and we went out on a date.

I can’t say that the date itself was anything special, it was just like every other dinner with him I’d had in my time in Lystacr, which had been many by this point, save for a change of venue and less attendants. Yet, despite that, I woke up in his bed the next morning feeling something that I had not felt in a very, very long time. His chambers were practically destroyed, Sombra was mostly useless for the next few days after what I did to him, and in the aftermath of it all, I still couldn’t believe I’d done it. Worse, I wanted to do it again.

My mind was roiling with doubts and fears and everything in between, but almost as if he were a force of magic himself, he could calm me down without fail and make me think straight. Nopony had ever been able to cut through the maelstrom of my head, yet he could with little more than a touch. To have somepony that just… understood me was nothing short of a miracle. Truly, that had to be the sign of love.

Two months went by, and after several more dates, daily adventures into his world and completely ignoring my own duties to be with him, I had given into fate and was ready to accept his initial offer. Mind you, much like your own situation, I was also doing things backwards and had already done the deed. Little did I know that somewhere in those two months a seed had been planted that we never thought could exist in the first place.

However, I noticed a strangeness about him. He proposed to me no less than two hundred times before I agreed to date him, yet he hadn’t done it once since we started. I almost worried that I was too much for him and he didn’t want me anymore. But as he always seemed to, he put me at ease when he finally asked again. This time, I said yes.

I felt horrible about what I was doing behind Luna’s back, but that year was… magical, I think. When Luna found out that I was pregnant and she banished me there until Twilight was born, I was… almost relieved. In a metaphorical sense, it was a glimpse into what could’ve been if things were different. A simple life as a wife and a mother. Something somepony like me could only dream of. My husband was there taking care of me and attending me, I got to play the housewife and live as if there was nothing in the world but us. A dream that few mares actually get to live out, and if I’m being perfectly honest with you, one that I’d been longing for since I was a filly.

If I were given the chance to do it over again, I think I might do things differently, but… only to the degree that Luna should’ve been told. I should’ve let her know. Even knowing it would incur her wrath, and she would protest, possibly even in a violent way, I… never should have left her in the dark like that. If… if she’d been there, if she knew him, if… if she even had the chance to meet Sombra then… maybe he’d be alive today.

I was… devastated when he died. I’d never felt more pain in the multiple millennia I’ve lived and I don’t think that heartbroken is anywhere near enough to describe it. But I still had a piece of him. My baby, his baby, our baby. Until she was old enough to give to the foster family,” she leaned close, “(Which was really just my excuse to keep her longer) I made plans to make sure she would end up with me again. She was my last relic of him, and I was going to make damn sure my baby had everything she ever wanted and grew up to be just as noble as he was.

Of course, it wasn’t until later while I was watching her grow did I realize that she wasn’t just a clone of him, she is her own pony and definitely ours more than anything. But that just made her and my time with him all the more special. Whether or not I made mistakes, whether or not the world I brought her into was a kind one, she was a life we made out of love and I couldn’t be more grateful that she simply exists.

In the end, I think my biggest regret was following Luna’s logic and misunderstanding my father’s words. I should’ve let Palomino love me. I should’ve allowed myself to love him. It has been said before, but it wasn’t until nearly a decade after I lost Sombra did I understand the words, ‘to love and to lose is better than to never love at all.’ Two thousand years of deep thought and contemplation and I finally understand something ponies figured out long before I was ever in the picture. To live is to love, and to live life without love is not to live at all.” She took my hooves in her own, and looked down ta meet my eyes.

“Applejack, this pony you’re about to commit yourself to is somepony that will remain in your heart for the rest of your life. He will not fill the holes in your tattered soul just by being there, but together, you’ll both be able to show each other where the holes are, and then learn how to repair them through one another. This is a large step to take, but it is a step worth taking. If you have faith, if you truly believe this is love, then by all means, take it and run. You never know when you might lose it.”

Jaquline Carcharodon

Woozy, dehydrated, sticky, sore, and a number of other thin’s, Ah sat up and clutched my head. Ugh. Last night must’ve been wild. Ah’m… pretty sure there was alcohol involved in that after party. Ah ain’t never been this gross the mornin’ after… A noxious wave punched me in the stomach, and off our bed and ta the bathroom Ah ran. The deed done, Ah wiped at my mouth, closed the seat and leaned, in pain, against the tank.

What in the goddess’s name has got me pukin’ like this? Ah know Ah feel like shit now, but this has been the routine fer almost a week now, hasn’t it? Maybe Ah need ta see a doctor. Ah do use trump card a lot, and if it is fuckin’ with my organs, it might be better ta find that out sooner rather than later. Puttin’ that thought aside, Ah pulled the shower curtain open and stepped in ta wash the grime away. Ah was just about ta start applyin’ soap, when Ah was joined.

“Good morning, Mrs. Carcharodon♥” he said as he wrapped himself around me.

That’s right. Ah’m finally free. Today is the first day that Ah don’t have ta be an Apple anymore.

Today is Thursday, October 10th, 2030. Legally, Ah’m not an apple in name anymore, and Ah couldn’t be happier about it. Course, everypony still calls me Applejack since Ah still have issues givin’ out my full name, but that doesn’t matter. Ah’m not an Apple anymore, even if everythin’ about my appearance, manner of speech, and cutiemark would have ya believe otherwise. In all honesty, Ah never thought this day would come. Had ya asked me three months ago if Ah thought Ah’d get married in October, Ah woulda told ya you’re full of shit. Life doesn’t always go that way though, does it?

Yesterday was one hell of a day, but all the same, it flew by like it never happened. We’d found ourselves relaxin’ on the couch in the mornin’, and three seasons inta a TV show and two microwave meals later, suddenly it was dark out.

“Ah- what? It’s over!?” Ah shouted at the TV. My protest didn’t stop the credits from rollin’ though, and the ‘you should watch X next’ menu came up with two more options that Ah really didn’t feel like explorin’.

“Well, yeah. Shows like that don’t usually get to finish. One thing that I’ve grown to like about Fluttershy’s ‘adult cartoons’ as she hates to call them, is that at least they reach a good stopping point or find a definite ending. Equestrian shows on the other hoof, tend to end like this. Unsatisfying, without a real conclusion, and worst of all, with no hope of resuming.” Ah settled back inta the couch and his foreleg and pouted.

“Ah can’t believe ya made me watch this. Ah need ta know what happens next. Will the detective and the writer ever get together? And what happened ta her mother? What about the chief and his rival that got away? What about the department lead that’s tryin’ ta shut them down? Ah need ta know, Goose!” He stopped me from shakin’ him and smothered me in a hug with a smile on his face.

“Well, that’s just kinda like life isn’t it? Even though you want to see the story end the way it’s supposed to with all your answers tied up in neat little bows, those threads are often cut before they can be finished. The stage of the world moves on relentlessly, and whether or not you like it, you’ll either get dragged along or left behind.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Gee, thanks Celestia.” He rolled his right back.

“Don’t you call me that. I was drawing from experience. I would’ve loved to see Quiet Step finish his story. But that just… didn’t happen. Not for him, not for Mom, not for Dad. Having the bow made is… far more rare than seeing it get cut short.” Ah scowled at the stallion.

“Talk about bringin’ the mood down.” Ah sighed and let myself deflate in the couch a bit more. “This is real, ain’t it?” He sat up.

“Uh… yes? Why would it not be?” Ah shrugged.

“Oh, ya know, it’s just… too peaceful. Celestia said it would take years ta get there the other day, but right about now… Ah think Ah’d like ta just stay like this forever. Ah’m wearin’ a weddin’ pendant, my name’s changed, Ah live in a house fer the first time in… Ah don’t know, twelve years? Ah’m not worried about money, Ah have a stable, even if dangerous, job. Though Ah might be loathed ta admit it, Ah even have you. When did Ah get so lucky? Ah’ve never had anythin’ like this, it just can’t be real.” He put a hoof over his heart.

“’Loathed to admit it?’ My dear Mrs. Carcharodon, must you wound me so?” Ah rolled my eyes.

“My dear Mr. Carcharodon, if ya didn’t like the way Ah treat ya, then ya never shoulda offered me this little trinket.” A big smile spread across his face, and in a second, he’d pushed me down on the couch and kissed me.

“I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t a glutton for punishment.” An idea wormin’ it’s way inta my head, Ah kicked his legs out from under him and spun us around.

“Well, maybe ya need more? Course, it’s not like anypony said y’all were allowed ta be on top anyways.” Unable ta contain the smile anymore he started laughin’ and brought me down in a bear hug. We laid there together like that fer some time, the laughter eventually subsidin’ and the only noise left was the sound of the old clock tickin’ away in the office. Without warnin’, sharp teeth dug inta my ear. More surprised than anythin’, Ah yelped and pulled my head up.

“What in the- Why in the hell-”

“Is that real enough for you?” he asked. Ah blinked.

“What?”

“Is that real enough? You asked me if this was real. Normally, ponies would pinch one another, but because you’re you, I used my teeth on one of your most sensitive areas,” he said with a wiggle of his brows. Ah gagged.

“Fer somepony so good at gettin’ me in the sack, that was awful.” Ah sat up and crossed my legs. “Ah guess ya have a point though. Even in the ‘realistic’ dreams, it’s never that uh… real? Ah feel like Ah should use a different word, but Ah can’t think of one.” He crossed his legs and put his forelegs under his head.

“Solid? Substantial? Firm? Existent? Evident? Physical?” Ah raised a brow and eyed him.

“Thanks Mr. Thesaurus.” He nodded and smirked.

“I try.”

Though things still feel a little off fer me, Ah had ta sit and reflect on the past couple days. From proposal ta marriage, thin’s certainly all moved fast, but… Ah don’t know, this don’t feel much different than the other day. It feels like weeks ago, but Monday was just a few days ago. Ah was stuck in the past fer years on end, but now that Ah’m really livin’, it’s like the world is turnin’ at ten times the speed.

Yesterday mornin’ Ah got home around the time that Goose was gettin’ up. Celestia and Ah spent half the night figurin’ out how ta word all that Ah wanted ta say on my vows exactly, and as it turns out my grade in equestrian is not reflective of my grasp on the written language, as my horrendous hoof writin’ would show. Usin’ the same word over and over again, sayin’ the same thin’ with different words (which Ah learned is called a tautology), straight up spellin’ shit wrong.

It was painful, and by the time we’d finished, Ah think she was more frustrated with my writin’ skills than the uh… other thin’ she was mad about before we started talkin’. Needless ta say, it got done, and 6 am had rolled around. The weddin’ was at 10, and Ah needed ta be ready in Canterlot castle by 8. It was a long day.

Somehow, Pulse had convinced most of the old gang ta show up even after their little fallin’ out a few days prior, and we had a very… interestin’ dynamic of ponies in the castle. Ta say most of us felt a little… Ah don’t know, outta place, would be an understatement. High vaulted marble ceilin’s, grand glass crystal and gold chandeliers, and… teens in t-shirts and jeans, prostitutes, thieves, criminals of all variety, all of harmony’s livin’ family, the princesses and their staff. Rarity was so upset that she made some desperate calls and had a whole damn commercial outfitter arrive and put everypony in their proper clothes. By the time the ceremony proper had started, everypony was up ta her standards, which was a feat in and of itself.

Ponies dressed up and in their seats in the castle gardens, it finally looked like somethin’ closer ta a high profile weddin’. The tattoos on some of the older, male members of the Shark Tooth gang were far from Rarity’s likin’, but she did her best. At least they knew how ta dress themselves, so she says.

A long time ago, this was all just a dream. A dream so far away from reality ta me that Ah thought it wasn’t anythin’ but some filly’s aspirations. Standin’ in the castle wearin’ a dress Ah never believed Ah could afford with ponies Ah never imagined Ah’d meet and finally tyin’ a knot in my frayed string of life, surreal wasn’t enough ta describe it. Weirdest thin’ of all though? Ah was… happy. Ah don’t think Ah frowned all day. That was the real miracle.

The after party had a few tense moments, but none of those were a result of Goose and the gang, or Pinkie and her mother, or even goose’s ‘gaggle’ between each other and Ah. A few of ‘em even conceded ta me and made amends with Goose. No, the real tension was the occasional glance the sisters would share. That was scary as hell. Eight ponies that know what they’re doin’ in a fight could at least react ta Celestia were she ta blow up. A few of the gang maybe too, but the rest of them, includin’ most of our families, were just civilians ta be destroyed in the crossfire, and it would definitely be fire.

Luckily, Uncle Blood sense the impending doom and managed ta play Celestia’s ‘escort’ fer the rest of the day. Twilight made an active effort ta avoid bein’ near her mother, what with all these untrustworthy ponies around ta see them together and immediately recognize just how similar they are, but oddly enough, there was a ‘fauxicorn’ within the gang that happened ta befriend a real one. A Power Pony unicorn with a pegasus’s wings. Not quite rare in Manehattan, but strange enough ta find her way inta the weddin’ party with the real thin’.

With all that could’ve and didn’t go wrong, somepony up on high was smilin’ on me, so maybe it wasn’t that much of a coincidence after all. My faith in a higher power has been shaky ta nonexistent since Ah was a child, but if there is a goddess out there, yesterday she was watchin’ over me. Woulda been nice ta have that all my life, but fuck it, Ah’ll take what Ah can get.

The only thin’ that scares me now is the fact that Ah’ve done a lot of gettin’ lately. Ah got a job, a house, friends, family, a husband that loves me. It’s all been a real sharp uptick and Ah can’t help but fear the day the rollercoaster comes roarin’ down. All Ah can do is pray that it doesn’t and hope Ah get ta enjoy this peace fer a little while. But, Ah know better, and that is what scares me. Lookin’ back on it all, another thought came ta mind.

“So… where do we go from here?” Ah broke the serenity of the house, which seemed ta break Goose out of his own thoughts. He blinked a few times before finally askin’,

“Well, to bed, preferably. Celestia did say we had to make up for skipping out on two days of work. I’m a little concerned about the way she smiled when she said that. Makes me nervous.” He shivered underneath me, and Ah shook my head.

“Not what Ah meant. Ah’m talkin’ about… after all this Persona shit is over. All we have ta do is win one more fight and last through ten more days. He dies, and the game is over. we’ve won, so… once this is all done, what do we do?” he sniffed and crossed his forelegs over his chest.

“That… is a good question. I believe I told alto I wanted to take you across the country when I picked up your pendant the other day. Course, once the honeymoon ends? No idea. Most of my plans in life were completed yesterday. I haven’t thought of what to do ‘next,’ really.” Ah rolled my eyes.

“Well, that sure ain’t like ya. Ya’ve always got a scheme goin’ on in that head of yers, surely ya can think of somethin’.” He was taken aback.

“A scheme? Me? Ah! I cannot believe you would make such an accusation of me. Why I never!” Ah rolled my eyes and laid on him.

“Gee, Rarity, feelin’ dramatic today?” Goose pulled his hooves from under me, then put them over me.

“Maybe. I got married yesterday, I think I’m still cooling off from that. I also got out drank by my wife, and I don’t know if I should be proud or ashamed of that. You really never had any hard liquor before last night, right?” Ah felt heat creep up my cheeks.

“Uh… well… that’s uh…” Ah sighed. “At this point there really shouldn’t be anythin’ ta hide from ya, so… no, it wasn’t. Sometimes, Uncle blood likes ta drink. Sometimes, he gets generous when he’s trashed, and sometimes, everypony is shared with. Hearth’s warmin’ last year was a party, Ah tell ya what.” Goose scrunched up his face.

“Even Applebloom?” Ah nodded.

“That little filly has a constitution, Ah tell ya what. She’s her mother’s daughter, that’s fer sure. She might look like Dad did, but there ain’t nopony who could out drink Rosie Apple. Er… so Ah’m told.” He pulled his lips ta the side and blew a raspberry.

“That… sounds irresponsible? I uh… I don’t know how I feel about that. Let’s… try to avoid giving minors alcohol when we have our own, alright?” Ah let out a whistle.

“Now that’s a thought. ‘When we have our own.’ Ah don’t know that Ah’m ready ta be a mom.” Goose scratched at his neck.

“After what we’ve been doing for the last couple weeks? I don’t know that you’ll get much of a choice in being ‘ready or not.’ Aurora certainly didn’t.” Ah frowned.

“She’s the uh… the ice one, right?” he nodded.

“Stole my V-card too. But, that was at least a year ago, it’s not mine, promise.” Ah gave him a stink eye.

“Infidelity is a crime in Equestria, ya know.” His brows lowered.

“Uh, I call bullshit. There is no way in hell. Celestia is not that stupid.” Ah shrugged.

“Ah don’t know, she made it pretty clear… Tuesday? Well, whenever, that she’d like it ta be. Course, if it is yers, she’s the least of yer worries. Ah’ll kill ya. No questions asked.” He shrugged.

“I’ll hold you to it. But I think you know me better. Besides, the truth of it all is much, much worse, and I still have to deal with it. She said she was… a month and a half along, so that means I’m looking at mid-July for an on-time delivery? By our timeline, I wouldn’t have even had a chance to do that, I was imprisoned at the time.” Ah shrugged.

“Ah do believe somepony told me that he could sneak out when Twilight slept, but Ah’ll believe ya. Fer now. Comes out lookin’ like a shark, my kids ain’t gonna have a father.” He rolled his eyes and Ah smiled.

“Sure, why not.” A pause. “What would that even look like? Dad was a great white hybrid. Would they come out looking more like that or a different shark? Of course, we’re both power ponies, so they shouldn’t have either of our powers as far as we know.” Ah conceded that one.

“Ya know what? Ah forgot about that. Damn. A blood test should be proof enough though. Ah can still feel the spot on my frogs where Twi managed ta get that needle in me the other day.” Ah absentmindedly rubbed at said spot. Who knew that the weakest part of my body just so happened ta be right next ta the strongest?

“Oh, that’s right, I forgot about that. I guess we’ll know eventually as it is. Supposedly, you can tell based on a blood test faster than a pregnancy test. The uh… whatever the hormone is called, starts up immediately after the egg settles into the wall. I guess as soon as she does give us those results, we’ll know. Let’s say… September, late August if things happened as early as they could.” Ah felt my lips twist downward.

“August? Really? That’s… unsettlin’. Goddess, Ah hope not. Celestia is gonna kill me if it is.” He rolled his eyes and hugged me tighter.

“No she won’t. If anything, she’ll be excited at the prospect of ‘grandfoals’ if the way she treats you is any indication of how she feels.” Ah shook my head.

“You didn’t have ta talk ta her Tuesday. Whether or not she’s excited, she is gonna be some kinda mad at me if Ah’m already… Oh goddess, Ah hope not. Now is just… not the time fer that.”

“Hey, it’ll be alright. True or false, we’ll just… deal with whatever comes our way. Cross that bridge when we come to it, ya know?” Acceptin’ the comfort, Ah wrapped myself around him and slowed my breath. Am Ah… afraid of this? Havin’ ‘em… isn’t even what scares me Ah don’t think. It’s gettin’ there and what comes after. How am Ah… supposed ta be a mom? Somewhere, a song started ta play. As Ah settled inta Goose and let his warmth cool my nerves, Ah realized that Ah recognized that song. My phone was ringin’.

“Is that…?”

“It is.” Goose let his forelegs fall off me and Ah reluctantly climbed off the couch ta find the irritatin’ device back in our room.

“Who in the hell…? Hmm… It’s Rarity, so this is probably important.” Ah called back ta the living room. Ah answered the phone and surveyed the bedroom. Good goddess, we made a mess. And the smell…

“Hello? Applejack?”

“Yes? Ah’m here. What’s so important that ya had ta call me now?”

“Right. I’m sure you’ve been nursing a hangover all day after that party last night, but… we have business to take care of. Collect your beau and head to the castle. Luna is ready to talk.” Ah frowned.

“Oh. That uh… that’s kinda important, ain’t it?”

“Quite.”

“Yeah… Alright, we’ll be there in a few.”

Persona XXIV: Revelations - Persona

Applejack

When we arrived at the castle, it was very clear that everypony was eager. Pinkie and Scootaloo were playin’ a game together on the projector, another one of Shy’s fighters by the looks of it, and she was coachin’ from behind. Ah’m sure it would be difficult fer her ta play games now that she’s down a hoof. Rainbow was teachin’ Twi how ta play her card game, and Rarity and Celestia were nowhere ta be found.

“Where’d Rarity go?” Ah asked.

Heads turned, but Shy answered. “S-she’s with the princess in the library. T-they said they needed to s-speak in private, so we’re just here k-keeping an eye out for Luna. No, no, no! Y-you use the anti-air when you s-see them coming in like that! A-and that’s not even safe on b-block, you could’ve gotten away with a huge punish!” She’d clearly lost interest in me at this point and was much more focused on the game. Probably wanted ta be the one playin’.

Twilight got up and approached us. “Hey um… c-can I talk to you after this?”

Ah frowned. It was weird fer her ta not be more direct. “Uh, sure? Any reason ya can’t tell me now?”

Twi looked away and scratched at her ear. “Oh! Well, um, you know, it’s uh… personal, yes, that’s the word. We, uh… should discuss this in private. J-just the two of us.” Then she leaned in and whispered in my ear. “It’s about your blood test. It’s important, but not super urgent.”

Well, that’s even more concernin’.

“Ah guess, Twi, but Ah don’t know how much longer Ah’m gonna be able ta stay up tonight. We were about ta get ta bed before Rarity called.”

Scoots snorted. “Ha! Newlyweds ‘getting to bed.’ Sure, Mrs. Carcharodon, that’s what you were gonna do.”

Flustered, Ah nearly recovered enough ta snap back, but Goose beat me to it. “Nah, this whole arrangement has been pretty backwards as is. There’s been more than enough of that already.” Oh my Goddess, why. He wrapped a hoof around my neck and leaned on me. “Besides, most of us were pretty trashed yesterday. I don’t know that I would’ve had the energy. We moved from the couch maybe... three times today?”

Ah was about ta punch this idiot inta next week, but Pinkie broke in before Ah could. “Wha- oh, damn it.” Game lost, she set the controller down and turned back ta us. “Well, whatever. I still can’t believe Celestia, of all ponies, encouraged it. You would think one of the Princesses would follow her own laws. Either way, I am never drinking that much again. I spilled my guts to the Cakes and spent half the night crying on them and my parents. I’m still mad at you for that, by the way.”

She shot a glare at Goose, but he took it like an achievement. “As you should be.”

Pinkie rolled her eyes and picked up the controller again. “So, do we still call you Applejack, or do I need to learn a new name? I learned that Mrs. Cake’s name was ‘Chiffon Swirl’ before she got married, so apparently, ponies will change both their names if need be.”

And there’s that question. Remove it completely, or keep it and add ta the name? If Ah don’t make the decision ta get rid of it, Ah’m likely ta be ‘Applejack’ fer the rest of my life. But, then again… even though the process may’ve… felt almost magical, Ah’m really not a different pony. Ah’m gonna keep bein’ ‘Applejack,’ but now Ah can be Applejack Carcharodon. A little bit of where Ah came from and where Ah went.

Noddin’ ta myself, Ah looked back at Pinkie, sure of what ta say. “Ah’m still gonna be me no matter what happens, so Applejack is fine. ‘Sides, what kinda pony would Ah be if Ah just threw away the nickname my mother gave me back when Ah was a filly? That just ain’t right.”

“Well, I for one applaud that. I know how much you hated your extended family, so this is a welcome development,” Rarity said as she came from the bedroom hall, Celestia draggin’ her hooves behind. She looked like shit. Her multicolor mane wasn’t flowin’ in that nonexistent wind, but in tangled strands and draggin’ along the floor like a weight. The bags under her eyes suggested she’d been awake fer several days, which was entirely possible, and even her coat seemed less shiny than usual.

“Damn, what happened ta you?” my mouth blurted before Ah could stop it. Motherfucker.

The princess glared at me, then rolled her eyes and fell inta Twilight’s seat at the main table in the livin’ room. “You… this is your fault.” As if that’s all she could think of, she crossed her forelegs, a pillow appeared in front of her in gold magic, and then she let her head crash inta it. Ah’m not sure how or why, but clearly, Celestia was in a poor mood and very tired. Somehow, Ah didn’t see this impromptu meetin’ goin’ well. We all looked ta Twilight fer an answer.

She fidgeted in the spotlight and tried ta avoid the stares. “Don’t look at me! I was sent back home as soon as Luna caught me saying something dumb to one of the guests. I’ll admit that I had quite a bit to drink, but uh… well, yeah.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and made her way over ta her foldin’ chair. “At least you got to drink. I’m like, part of the group now and I was still told no.”

As if this was the thing that got her attention, Celestia moved, though slightly, and said, “You’re seventeen. Military personnel are allowed to drink on base regardless, but you’re not even old enough to be military personnel. There’s your reasoning, Pinkie.” She didn’t even take her face outta the pillow, but Ah could feel the sour glare she was pointin’ at Pinkie.

“Sometimes I wonder if she really can hear everything,” Twilight mused aloud. We all waited fer a moment, but Celestia never did comment on that. The disappointment only lasted fer a few seconds before a blue ball of lightnin’ started ta form just over the center of the table. A bright flash, an annoyed groan from Celestia, and then Luna had arrived. Two different coffee mugs in her magic, wild eyed, mane in a similar state of ‘actual hair’ that was frizzy, frayed, and frazzled, and four different stacks of paper balanced on her wings.

“I AM HERE!” she announced as loudly as possible. A fanfare played off in the distance, and Ah wasn’t sure if that was from a spell she cast or a game somewhere off in the castle. Either way, it stopped as soon as she climbed down and started settin’ papers by each of the seats at the table.

Celestia sat up slightly, took her pillow from under her face, then promptly stabbed it onto her horn and pulled it down to cover her ears. “Why are you always so loud?” she moaned.

The blue alicorn, jittery ta the point the things in her magic started shakin’, put a hoof on Celestia’s shoulder and drank deep from one of her cups. “T-this conference is for you though, is it not sister? You wanted your explanation of my involvement in this predicament, then you hit me, you melted the castle, and now I am ready! Is this not what you wanted? I am certain the punch to my face meant that you wanted this, did it not?” One sister glared, and the other strained ta keep her eyes focused on one spot fer a single second.

Twilight stepped between them and shoved Luna back a bit with her magic. “Oh-kay, this is going to go nowhere until both of you sleep.” The two elder alicorns turned on the smaller one.

“W-what? Why would you say that my dearest, darling, doting niece? I am prepared, yes! So very prepared, because I have finally gathered all the things I need to say what must be said!” Luna half said half shouted in a stream of word vomit.

“Bold of you to give me orders,” Celestia spat.

Yikes. Ah am one hundred percent with Twilight on this.

Even Twi was reelin’ from her mother’s attack, but she recovered quick enough ta hold her ground. “I will not have my castle destroyed because you two are in no state to actually discuss something reasonably! You’re both on the opposite ends of sleep deprived, and I don’t care how ageless you are, you still need to sleep from time to time.”

Good Goddess, if looks could kill.

Celestia’s glare was somethin’ ta be feared, but after a moment it softened and she sighed. “Fine. Even I can tell that I am not… of the right mind to do this now.” She gave Luna a side glance, who returned it with a jittery half smile. With a flick and a flash of Celestia’s horn, the blue alicorn dropped ta the ground like a sack of bricks. She loaded the now snorin’ Luna on her back and looked at all of us.

“Sleep here tonight. We will discuss this in the morning once Luna and I are… rested.” She popped that gold slab she calls a phone out of nothin’ and sent off a message somewhere, then grabbed Twilight and her pillow in her magic while she headed toward the bedroom hall.

“Gah! Why me!? You have your own bed!”

“Hush now, Mommy’s tired.”

“You can’t just-” A flash of golden light, then two ponies snorin’ filled the hall until a door opened and closed.

A beat.

“Um… apparently we’re holding this meeting in the morning, and that is not up for discussion,” Rarity stated. Everypony nodded and those that typically live here started ta collect their things and make their way ta their rooms.

“Well. That was… a thing,” Goose said.

Ah nodded and then followed the herd inta the bedroom hall. “Yeah… let’s uh… not upset the monster.”

“I must apologize for yesterday. I may have… said some things, and I likely didn’t mean them, probably, so please, um… forget about it, if you will,” Celestia said at breakfast. She’d gotten up early, lookin’ much, much less like a zombie, and even made a very elaborate breakfast. Each plate seemed ta be catered ta the individual pony; whatever happened, she must’ve felt real bad about it.

“I can’t believe you put me under a sleep spell. How did you even do that? Magic doesn’t even work on me!” Twilight complained before fillin’ her mouth with pancakes.

The blue alicorn rubbed at her eyes some more, then took another sip of her coffee. “You ‘cannot believe?’ That should be my line. Sleep is like, my thing. Goodness. I do not even remember how many days I had been awake. Had I even slept since Sunday?”

Celestia pulled out her slab again, then flicked around on the screen until she passed it to Luna. “You sent me a text about your progress on the hour, every hour, for nearly one hundred and twenty hours straight, only taking a break to attend the wedding. Had I not been attending to-” she gave me a sour look, “Other matters, I likely would have put you under by day three of this pattern.”

Luna scrolled through the device, becomin’ more and more shocked with what she saw as she did. “Oh my...”

Celestia took her phone back and nodded. “Indeed.” She turned ta Twi, “As for you, that was hypnotic suggestion mixed with a signal flash. I didn’t necessarily target your person with a spell, but showed you something that tricked your brain into ‘shutting down,’ as it were.

“Your powers, as Luna found, target and absorb things cast at and around you within a certain radius, which can be larger or smaller depending on your awareness of the situation. Move past that, or target something else, and suddenly your magic absorbing shield no longer works.”

Luna shied away. “Oh. You uh... you found out about that?”

Twilight raised a hoof, unable ta look at her aunt. “That uh… that was my fault. She wanted to know how I learned the spell, and you know how she is, so I, um… caved. That was like, two weeks ago though.”

Luna put her hooves on her temples. “You feather promised me.”

“I’m sorry!”

Celestia shook her head and crossed her forelegs. “Whatever. Look, that’s not important. We’ve had our discussion and my frustrations with you have mostly been aired.”

“By planting me in a wall…” Luna grumbled.

Celestia raised a brow. “In any case, what’s done is done. Today is Friday, which means we have two more chances to train before the fight ahead of us. Let’s get this whole ‘You and Persona’ business out of the way so we can get back to it. It’s not as if this fight is avoidable, considering he has us by the teats as it is.”

Plates emptied and dishes cleaned, ponies gathered around the table in the living room. Luna took Twilight’s chair, while she stood and everypony waited eagerly ta hear what she had ta say.

Luna Iscandor of Equus

“Well then, I suppose we’ll begin this by giving some context. The year is 2010. Celestia often disappears for days at a time and I get suspicious. I tail her one day only to find that she’s been dimension hopping. Accusations fly, I nearly attempt to force it out of her, and eventually she tells me the truth. She gets sick the next morning, we try to figure out why that is happening because we have only ever been sick once nearly a millennia ago, and that turned out to be a curse that was put on me and not any actual illness.

“She was pregnant. You thought Celestia was angry the other day, you should have seen me that spring. I wanted to kill her, but I was actually going to do it. Ponies had nightmares about my true form, a rumor started and spread across the nation like fire in a cotton gin, and now our harvest festival is called Nightmare Night.

“Point is, I was so angry with her that I made her hide away with this stallion she consummated with and ruled in her stead for nine months. Also, they had apparently married, which I found out later, to add insult to injury. I was more than hurt.

“I thought I was angry then. When she came back through the portal, barely alive and with a bloody crying foal, I was half tempted to go to that side and conquer Lystacr myself. But, in my fury, I took a different route and shattered the element crystals. For clarity, I never hated Twilight for being born. I was furious with her mother for making her, but the foal herself was not at fault, and I knew that.”

Ah snickered. “So, uh… that whole ‘ill begotten niece’ thing was just a slip of the tongue, right?”

“Well…”

“Oh, she said that to you too?” Rarity said before Luna could answer. “I thought I was the only one she ever showed her ‘nasty’ side to. Of course, I’ve been around for a while. Lavender bastard, mare’s folly, regretful kin, ‘that which should not exist,’ not to mention all the ones where she used curses to prefix them.”

“I said no such-”

“Wow, that’s crazy. And here I thought she just acted awful toward Twilight.” Pinkie added. “What kind of aunt just… walks away after her niece says ‘thank you’ just for being there? That moment the other day really solidified for me that she totally hated Twilight. Stone freakin’ cold.”

Celestia giggled. “Oh, and let’s not forget the ‘tsun’ part of her treatment of Twilight. She threw one of Twilight’s drawings away right in front of her back when she first moved to the castle back in 2018, but as soon as she left, she rescued the page and added it to her collection on the fridge in her room. She has-”

Luna slammed the table. “That is enough! It is not important to the story right now, will you all just- ugh!” Everypony was laughin’, and the poor blue alicorn was about as flustered as she could be. That dark blue coat around her cheeks was a nice shade of light violet right about now.

Twi brought her hooves ta her mouth and stared at Luna with big eyes. “You saved my drawing?”

Luna glared at her, then turned her head away. “I did no such thing.”

Celestia took her phone out and pulled up a picture for everypony ta see. It was a black refrigerator in a low lit royal blue room, covered in drawin’s and art pieces by a child. One ‘T. Sparkle’ if that’s what those signatures said. At least, Ah think they did anyways.

“Why do you have this!? When were you in my chamber!?” Luna yelped.

Celestia waved a hoof at her. “Oh please, as if you could keep me out.”

“Aww, she really does care,” Goose teased.

Luna crossed her forelegs over her chest and pouted with her face turned away from everypony. “Fine! Have fun with your pictures. Fight Persona blindly, see if I care.”

Celestia put a wing across her sister and brought her close. “Alright, alright, we’ll stop. Please, continue.”

Luna glared at her sister, then shook her head. “Whatever! You ponies, I swear…” She cleared her throat, then started up again. “So, after destroying the gate and the elements, I hid the shards away from Celestia to keep her from going back to that awful place, and we found a trusted servant family to take Twilight for her. It was… only right that our own blood grew in a complete home, so at the very least, she might have a father in her life.

“While I still think this was the best course of action, the idea that Twilight might be among the infected still hung at the edge of my mind. Her father had the virus, it was one of the reasons Celestia even got to know the stallion in the first place. This… thing affected ponies, no matter where they were, and though we are not normal ponies, there was still a chance it could affect us. I needed to know, so I attempted to find out.

“That was easier said than done, however. I picked up where Celestia left off and continued to try known medicines and treatments on patients. Nothing worked. At all, really. The virus varies so wildly from pony to pony that it was difficult to even isolate and find matching DNA that would even confirm whether or not we were looking at the virus in the first place.

“After years of testing and research, we find very little, but what little we do find is concerning. One; the virus embeds itself strongest within the gametes, from there it is ‘relatively’ easy to isolate. Two; of all the mutations done to ponies, nearly all of them left the genitals intact, or even caused ponies to be more fertile than previously believed.

“Why? Why in the world would this thing, because we still were not quite sure of the nature of the virus, inspire reproduction? The answer is obvious a few years later when reports of foals having powers started to become widespread across the country. The virus itself is a waterborne contagion, but to ensure it continues on, it reproduces within the host and the host’s offspring.

“Chances are high that the virus also affects puberty, but that remains to be seen. A time-controlled test would be required for that, but something as easy as a registry or survey could give us numbers to determine the truth of it.

“So, I hit a wall here. Medicine wasn’t working, but we could at least determine whether or not the virus was the cause of something. This is obviously easier to do so in males, but the problem with that is that it also needed the host to come of age before we could even look into the issue, and the virus activates the moment puberty begins.

“Of course, this is provided the host isn’t a mutation type, which was a whole other can of worms. Looking for a cure was a pipe dream. I just wanted to figure out how this thing worked, and even still, we were only discovering the classifications of how the virus affects a pony.

“The year is now 2018. Our minimal discoveries had been published, the ponies now knew that the virus was genetic and is passed on through breeding, and there was effectively no way to stop its spread. We can’t even keep our soldiers from screwing each other, let alone the general populace. It was then that I was approached.

“While presiding over Night Court one evening in… I believe it was April of that year, Stannum Argent came to me personally to give me information about the virus. He had learned many things through experimenting, and he was willing to share his information if I shared my resources. He’d come to the conclusion that magic was the way to solve the mysteries of the virus, and so long as I could supply a ‘power integrator’ of some kind, there was a chance he could make an idea he had work.

“Naturally, I was curious, but skeptical. I agreed on the condition that he show me his research first, and so I was invited to his lab the following week. What he learned is that the virus operated on a particular frequency that can be interfered with by magic. He had gone so far as to create something that he could get to interact with the virus one hundred percent of the time, but how it interacted with it was never certain.

“Some accidental discovery his son made playing in the lab had turned into a potential band-aid for this mess. I was enthralled. Even if it was not me, somepony was making progress in figuring this thing out. The power generator he needed was something that could constantly apply the magic needed to create the disruption frequency that affected the virus. Nothing would ever ‘stick,’ so to speak, if the frequency ever stopped being applied, and it needed quite a bit of power to do so.

“After helping him with a test, we managed to relieve a victim of some of his symptoms for a little while as I supplied power to this frequency myself. It was… miraculous. I had hope that the cure was not out of reach just yet, and maybe we could do it. However, I was still skeptical about his ‘mirror project’ because I did not like the idea of an object merging with a host. If not the virus, then what were the long-term effects of something like having a mirror magically embedded in one’s chest?

“I did not want to risk lives in the pursuit of knowledge. I was… mostly over, but still very bitter about what Celestia had done, so I attempted to avoid going down the same path. In Fall of 2018, Celestia informs me that Twilight has been accepted into her little school. We argue about this for some time, but after seeing her capabilities myself, I knew that there was no way any basic magic program could hold such a prodigy.

“Something else that concerned me was that my seals were weakening on her. Those were made to last, and it hadn’t even been a decade yet. Placed on your average pony, the seals would likely break only after their natural life ended. Something was very wrong for them to already be slowing in their function that she needed to be monitored. If the seal ever broke in full, an alicorn would be exposed to the world, and that would be disastrous.

“Of course, we already know what a cavalcade of fuckery that ended up being, but I had my suspicions that Twilight might be a carrier because of this, so I started to take more drastic measures in using power sources.

“I get back with Stannum the next day and start testing artifacts, one after another. Some work better than others, but the only consistent methods all were derivatives of the elements. If anything could be a cure-all, it would most certainly be the Goddess’s own magic, would it not? Sure enough, it worked, but to an even greater degree than we ever imagined.

“Not only did it remove the negative, or undesired, effects of the virus; it enhanced the abilities it gave. The pony who wore it could choose what effects the mirror cured or even go so far as to boost their own powers to limits unknown. The mirror was a strange thing imbued with the Goddess’s magic, and it was almost as if it had a will of its own…

“However, that was an accident. A mere chance encounter. We tried making a second and a third and a fourth, but never to any avail. They never worked, and sometimes even made the effects of the virus worse in ponies. They ‘interfered’ with it alright, but never in good ways.

“Finally, I get the bright idea to try and extract the virus from a pony wearing the Original. What a good idea that was. Surely a cleansed, super-virus would be able to cure the basic virus, right? No. Not in any way. Tragedy strikes early September when the emergency alarm goes off in the lab just after I arrive at the Trade Center that night. Silicon always had a way of sneaking in there, and he’d done so again, this time breaking the vial we’d kept the super-virus in and getting it on his skin.

“When we found him, he was bleeding everywhere and his bones had moved different directions and found new shapes to take, ignoring whether or not skin and muscle was in the way. Quick, panicked thinking on my part managed to keep him alive and even stabilize his condition, but nothing stopped the virus from further twisting his body. More quick thinking, I took the Original mirror and strapped it on him. It was all I could do, and thankfully, it worked.

“It did not, however, reverse the effects, it just temporarily halted them. We weren’t quite sure what had happened to him or what his powers could do, just that they had a price that was far too high. Both Stannum and Silicon changed that day. It was… almost as if their personalities had been altered. The boy was always so sweet and kind around me before, but after, he was… cold. Cruel. There was a rumor going around the hospital not to be left alone with him because he would terrorize the nurses. It could never be proved, but each and every pony that attended him needed psychiatric therapy afterward.

“Stannum, who had always been so forward and strong in the ways he carried himself, became… passive and depressed. I would even go so far as to say that he died that day. That stallion is a shell of who he used to be.

“But, as the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. I get a call a few days later and am told that the mirror was stolen from the hospital. Silicon’s condition remained stable, thankfully, but somepony had walked away with the only thing that could potentially cure the virus. That wasn’t the only place they went either. Somepony had entered the lab and destroyed all the hard drives too.

“We weren’t dealing with just some random pony, this was somepony who knew what we’d been working on. But, nevertheless, we did not find anypony that even had traces of the Original on them. It was lost, and with no way to find it, I almost lost hope that I would ever see it again. This would not be a fun story if things did not keep getting worse, so the next week happens, and now there is a rumor going around about a hero killer in Manehattan.

“In the span of a week, he killed sixty-one Power Ponies, all acting as suited heroes, and that was the last time anypony would ever see that mirror. He took the Trade Center and the rest of our lab with it, and… he took our hero as well. The ‘Mirror’ might even still be alive out there, for all we know.

“So, from here, all I can do is start over and try to go back to square one. However, even that proves useless because what do I find out in November? The Element crystals are slowly losing their power. No idea why or how, maybe the Goddess was abandoning us, who knows. But the shards were useless now, and all they were was a pretty splintered decoration.”

Celestia held up a hoof. “Pause. Two questions.”

Luna turned and nodded. “Yes?”

“One; you still have the crystals?”

“I do.”

Celestia let out an irritated sigh. “Okay, two; what do you mean ‘lost their power?’ how does a theoretically infinite power source just stop working?”

Luna threw her hooves up. “What a wonderful question Celestia, I’m sure somepony will figure out an answer for you some day!”

Celestia gave Luna a death stare. “If you had let me in on your little scheming, I-”

“You were busy with your daughter!” she countered. “Do you think I never thought you might be useful to me in this project!? I made many attempts to get you to listen to me, but you were too busy with her! Every waking moment, every free breath, you used them all to pore over her as if she were the only thing in the world! Eventually, I stopped bothering with you because there was simply no reasoning with you!” Luna shook her head and sighed.

“Maybe there was some truth in my hatred toward her. Before the tower fell, Twilight was Celestia’s world, and very little could penetrate that. Perhaps I was… jealous of the attention even, but still, the fact remained that there was no reasoning with her. After the tragedy of the Trade Center, Celestia only guarded Twilight even more stringently, and I was… alone. I could not tell her that this was all potentially my fault. I had already lost all the progress I made that year, and I could only retain so much information alone. Restarting my project was a lost cause.

“A few months go by and I hear not a word from Argent. I was worried something was wrong, so I decided to find them and see how they fared. The world was a scarier place now. Thousands of ponies were killed in that accident, heroes and Power Ponies had an even harsher stigma, but the value of having somepony like Red Hoof around was even more apparent than it had been. In the absence of a force for good, what takes its place but the very thing it was fighting against? Manehattan had a hole in it now, and evil filled the vacuum of what was lost. Going into the south district was more or less a suicide mission with the rampant crime, and it was hardly enough to divert some of the infantry to the police force there.

“Marshall law had to be put into effect for a few months, and even then, the problem only receded so much. This destruction was my fault. Even if by accident, I was the one that created that blasted thing and now… I have seen the fruits of my efforts.” Luna took a breath.

“I was… not received warmly when I visited Argent, to say the least. They’d made a set of wheels to strap Silicon’s legs too and he was up and walking around now, but he was constantly on pain medication. There was more morphine in that boy than there was blood half the time. Stannum was broken last I had seen him, but after I arrived, he went off on me. This was my fault, I was to blame. I brought this upon them, I practically killed his son. ‘Look at what you’ve done to my boy.’ It still haunts me.

“The years go by and I still work to try and fix my mistake by looking for an organic solution to all this, but nothing ever seems to get me as close as the element crystals did. It seems as if Argent never did stop looking for a cure though, only now he did so more desperately. I would not have even thought to look at disruption crystals like they apparently did, but in retrospect, that makes sense. A crystal prone to shattering into granules but easily holds large quantities of magic, in hindsight, we likely should’ve tried them earlier.

“I have kept tabs on Stannum and Silicon over the years, but what I found so strange about all of this was that Silicon became something of a genius. He didn’t… seem like a very bright boy before the accident, but he became something of a scholar. Unrivaled academic achievements, graduating high school and college before age sixteen, and going on to write papers even I found informative about magic. They are both earth ponies. Whatever the virus did to his body, it seemed to have the opposite effect on his mind.

“Now, flash forward to 2029. A monster is sighted in Manehattan forest. I was skeptical of the reports at first, but when I noticed the words ‘mirror like object,’ I made a concentrated effort to hide everything and make sure all information was directed to me and me alone. There was little chance Stannum ever gave up on saving his son, and not long before that year, he’d finished his tower over by the Lower Spine mountains west of here. Something was going on, and I was going to figure out just what that something was.

“I made numerous attempts to infiltrate the tower, but I never could get in. The surveillance was something to rival our own, or perhaps even better. I eventually had a few guards work their way into the company, but none has ever managed to get the security clearance necessary to use the lower floors. The monsters still came, seemingly at random intervals with varying temperaments, but no meaningful progress whatsoever. There was the idea to have Rarity investigate early on, but Celestia kept a close eye on you and your activities, so I wanted to be certain before I let her know of my moves.”

Celestia looked to Rarity, then she shrugged and leaned back. Goose eyed ‘em both. “Hold on. I saw that. Tell us what?”

Celestia clicked her tongue. “Damn it, I knew somepony in here had espionage experience, but I had forgotten who.”

Luna blinked and turned ta Celestia. “What? What is this about?”

The white alicorn sighed. “I suppose you all might know. Rarity… is more than just a hero for Harmony. I‘ve actually been using her as a spy for over a year now.”

Now Twilight blinked. “I’m sorry?”

Celestia turned a hoof ta Rarity, who then leaned back in her chair. “Very well then. That day Celestia visited us shortly after I joined Twilight’s little outfit, she approached me alone later to talk about a pay increase. My powers are beyond unique. Magic like this has been dreamed of for the versatility it offers, and ten minutes, all alone to myself against the rest of the world, is much more time than one would think. Naturally, my personality and cutie mark all lend itself to being social, and with a power like mine, it only makes sense that she would want to use me for tasks that involved… dirty tricks.

“Truth is, my boutique was failing when I joined Harmony, and I needed the money to make sure Sweetie had a place to live. We hadn’t decided what exactly I would get paid for working for Twilight, but… Celestia made me an offer that I simply couldn’t refuse. I don’t go very often, but sometimes I take week-long trips out of the country to do things for her. I’ve learned… Oh, goodness, four languages since then? I keep tabs on everypony for her, I report to her once a month, and I am often given information nopony else has. It wasn’t so much that Celestia didn’t know about your moves Princess, she just didn’t interfere with them.”

The mare in question nodded. “Yes, she’s very useful, as you realized, Luna. But, all that is to say that yes, I do hear everything, Twilight. It’s just not always with my ears that I hear it.”

Luna and Twilight scowled. “You are the dirtiest player of any game I have ever seen, sister.”

“Also that, but what the hell? Why wouldn’t you tell me about it? I put off jobs because Rarity was gone on vacation or whatever, and that’s what was going on instead?”

Celestia nodded. “Pretty much. Now, I wasn’t sure what was really going on here and I hadn’t looked into it very hard. The talks with Zvyr had been running me ragged before all this Persona business started up. I had you go after Goose on a hunch, actually. Rarity had sent me a report about what Luna was doing next, and I started thinking about it. What would be the easiest way for a bad actor to get something into the city? Well, pass it to a gang and sell it like a class one substance. Somepony who had access to a distribution hub, or something like that. Then I saw that report about the harbor, and that gave me the idea.

“Either way, it would make Manehattan a nicer place, so why not? Marevelous Red was on the team, so I was willing to trust something dangerous to you, so long as you weren’t physically involved anyways. If all my time on this earth has taught me anything, the player who wins is the one with the best pieces or the most information. My philosophy is; why not both?”

Luna crossed her forelegs and shook her head. “Dirty, dirty, dirty tricks. What do you not know? Specifically about this; I would refrain from hearing what the general is, I imagine that one is a relatively short list.”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Oh, stop it. I only have most of the cards, not all of them. I didn’t know most of this actually, I only really learned about what you were doing behind my back when you started having Harmony do things for you. If anything involved Twilight, do you really think I wouldn’t look into it? Though, I will grant you points for the elements, I never did figure out what happened there. Very convincing lie.”

Luna pursed her lips. “I cannot tell if that means you believe me incompetent enough to lose the elements or not. I will accept the compliment regardless. Well, all of these revelations aside, when I finally did get enough evidence to suggest Argent was behind this, I had you investigate. Of course, it did not actually take that long. While I would have preferred the infiltration to have been done sooner, a certain black-cloaked blood-powered pegasus paralyzed my precious little pony, so I decided to do what I could on my own. I happened upon one of those ‘emitters’ in Canterlot by accident one day.

“While I was out for a patrol at night, just to get away from the castle for a moment, I dropped my favorite pen. When I reached for it with my magic, I found two things; one being my pen and the other was something buried in the sidewalk. It had a power source, and thinking it was a bomb or something dangerous, I disarmed it and dug it up. It was clearly very advanced, something bleeding edge, or a prototype of some kind, and I wanted to know what it was doing in my front yard, so to speak.

“This was the very same emitter that went off last Sunday. Filled with a virus dispersing gas that spreads easily and is attracted to heat sources; this was clearly meant to target ponies like a bio-weapon. While heinous, I could not shake the feeling that this object was familiar. Searching through my files yielded distressing results.

“It was one of the ideas I had discussed with Stannum years prior when we were looking for a way to distribute the cure after we found out that the mirror worked. So long as the virus could be extracted, we could just send little pen like devices to release it over the populace. This could only have come from him, so my suspicions were proven.

“The new problem was where this thing was connecting to. It was transmitting and receiving signals, though they were weak, in all directions. Why? The answer; these things are buried all around Canterlot. Removing one was simple. Removing them all could trigger them. Where the signal leads though… was Argent tower.

“Rarity came back with her video a few days later, and then Persona made his announcement. It was like having every horror realized all at once. I was trapped, the game was already his, and I was not a piece on the board. Naturally, I was rather panicked. Of course, you all then decided to dive right into my sharing spell without guidance hours later only to further interrupt my frantic mind.

“While irritating, the fact that you had already taken what you knew about the situation and decided to play the game without my influence was reassuring. To be quite honest with you, it really did give me a great deal of hope when you called that first Sunday morning to have the city evacuated. I did not have to intervene, and I had hoped that my role in all this would not be revealed. Then… he started sending messages.

“So, that brings us to the heart of the matter. Who is Persona? Why is he doing all this? His messages directed toward me after your battle with Ramiel told me everything.

“Persona is Silicon Argent.

“Because of me, because of the incompetents displayed that day all those years ago, his body was ravaged by the virus I created. He… surely thought the world of me, back then. I told him what a wonderful pony he was for showing us how the virus worked, how he would save the world, how we would do it together. Honestly, I likely put him in place of Twilight in my heart back then just to… cope with my loneliness and my jealousy.

“So… so very many things all gone wrong at once created him, and each and every one of them stems from me. He hates me with every fiber of his being, and he intends to go down with as many as he can take, so long as he can beat you first. He likely knows I have a hoof in this little group, and he sees you as my ‘champions’ for him to overcome. He wants to make me suffer in any way he can, even if it means destroying his own soul in the process, as last Sunday would prove.

“If I had told you sooner, I… I simply don’t think we could have done anything about it. I learned what I did too late, and now… all we can do is hope that you win your next few fights. I did manage to infiltrate the tower again, in hopes of finding anything out after Ramiel, but all I learned was… likely just what he wanted me to know.

“His body is deteriorating at a rapid rate; he has about a week and a half to live at best. The emitters are set to a timer that adjusts based on his health. Tied magically to his life, were it to end prematurely, they would all stop receiving the signal to stay dormant, and we would be seeing Cantermore all across Equestria. That… is where we stand.”

Applejack Carcharodon

“Really? Him? That frail little… schmoozer is Persona?” Rarity asked, clearly some kinda distraught.

Luna raised a brow. “Hmm. Did you meet him when you went to the tower? I don’t remember that in your report.”

Rarity rolled her eyes and huffed. “Well, it wasn’t, but that was before I’d started ‘working,’ so to speak. I didn’t really think it was all that necessary to mention since you had a full file on him. There were also… family matters I’d been dealing with, and Silicon ended up showing me around. He’s so… tiny. And his legs, good Goddess, what a mess that was to look at. That little colt is the source of all our problems?”

“Well, the only pony here who can confirm anything would be you, Ms. Dash,” Celestia said.

We all looked ta her, then she groaned and said, “Alright, let me get permission…” She turned away from us, then came back and nodded. “First off, I need to know that you aren’t going to do anything. I mean, even if you believe her, you should know that you’re in deep shit right now anyways so I don’t think you will, but my partner wants your word on it.”

Celestia sighed and nodded. “Yes. I swear on the crown that I will not make a move on Persona, one way or another.”

Rainbow seemed satisfied with that, so she went on. “First off, yes, that’s him. The green colt with the silver mane who’s actually older than I am, is Persona and Silicon Argent. You know a lot of it, but not the whole of it. Since it’s all up in the air now, my other boss said it’s okay for me to tell you what I know about all this.

“A year and a half ago, I found a weird ad on my usual merc job-sites looking for ponies who could ‘pacify’ potentially dangerous subjects. Now, normally, this is code for ponies looking for an assassin, but the thing that was weird to me here was the ‘potentially dangerous subjects’ part. That meant that whoever was looking to give the job didn’t have a target in mind. When you want somepony dead, you usually only refer to the subject or the group involved. Asking for a kill without a target is super sketchy.

“I was getting low on cash though, and the reward was supposedly a steady stream of work and a pretty paycheck every week. Consistent work in the mercenary world is rare, unusual, and often out of reach for most ponies, so that was enough to get me signed on. Funny enough, the job I had then and what we do now is basically the same, really.

“Persona hired several of us, and when we were shown what we were doing, a lot of the others ducked out. Wild monsters that may or may not be extremely dangerous? We were even shown video of one of the ‘pacifying’ attempts, and that was… gruesome, to say the least. You all know me by now, so when I saw the chance to go all out against whatever might happen, it was like a dream come true. I could indulge my worst habits, do the job, and keep a clean conscious because I didn’t kill the guy first.”

Ah gave Rainbow a pointed look. “Do… do Ah even need ta point out the flaw in yer logic there sugarcube? ‘Cause, it’s pretty big.”

The one-winged mare rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. I know better; that was just my reasoning at the time. It wasn’t good reasoning, but it was enough for me. So, I watch a few experiments, I have to fight sometimes, I… see a… gross, gross death most of the time, and once, only once, I saw it work. When Ramiel happened, I was… amazed. That was a pony. All that destructive power… and he would just… obey any command Silicon gave him.

“Before then, I didn’t think Silicon was really all that dangerous. After seeing Ramiel though? The game had changed completely. He had a unit that could level anything he set it on in seconds. This wasn’t just some kind of one-use nuke either, he could destroy anywhere as many times as he wanted.

“By happenstance, I was on my way to the tower one day, and I spotted my old caretaker. I approached her carefully, and after a few attempts she finally took me aside and spilled what she knew, roping me into this whole mess. I figure you guys knew what my motivation was before I joined up here, and she knew too, so it wasn’t hard to convince me to turn on Silicon, as dangerous as I’d already figured he was.

“It was then that she told me about the plan and the emitters. Shortly after Ramiel was created, Persona set out his emitters across Equestria. In the span of a week; every town, city, and village in the country had these things planted in them, and nopony was the wiser. They don’t come up on sensors, they have no metal in them, they use a unique magical frequency that would be next to impossible to stumble upon, and they don’t use enough of any kind of energy to be seen as anything but background noise by some kind of instrument.

“You can only find one of these things if you happen to see it, and that too is difficult thanks to the ‘chameleon’ properties of the polymer plastic they were made with. We were fucked before Silicon declared war. The fact that you found one by accident is a miracle in and of itself, and I’m just thankful that you did so I didn’t have to challenge the Rad-”

Celestia gave Rainbow a death glare, so she quickly found another word. “the… Immortal Pony Sun Goddess myself.”

Celestia huffed and shook her head. “Ageless, not immortal. If we were immortal, there wouldn’t only be three of us left.”

Rainbow cautiously nodded. “Uh… right. Anyways, another thing you don’t exactly know but I guess just figured out by intuition; Stannum Argent is dead.”

Luna blinked. “I… I’m sorry?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, dead. D. E. A. D. No pulse, no heartbeat, dead. Been that way for a few years now.”

Luna reared back. “A few years!? You mean to tell me that the CEO of Argent Industries, the very same stallion that was at the summer gala not but a few months ago, has been dead for years?”

“Yep.”

Luna brought her hooves to her head. “How? That doesn’t make any sense!”

Rainbow nodded again. “Right. So, Silicon Argent. He has powers, but you never figured out what they were, right?”

Luna nodded. “Yes, I suppose… is that it? Is Silicon keeping his father alive?”

“Uh-huh. Basically, Silicon has the power to animate a corpse. We’re not super sure of all the details on this because there’s some kind of time limit on how long a soul stays in a dead body, but Silicon can kinda… extend that, and also restore the body to the point of it ‘working’ again, so long as he keeps his powers on it.”

Celestia brought a hoof to her chin and furrowed her brow. “A necromancer, is he? Even magic that could accomplish the same feat has been lost for a very, very long time. We haven’t had a necromancer in Equestria in… nearly as long as the country has been unified.”

Luna scratched at her mane. “That is… very unsettling. The power of necromancy without spell work, in an earth pony no less… though, I suppose the price of those powers is exceedingly steep. Had the Original not reversed some of the initial effects, he would likely have died years ago. How long has Stannum been dead?”

“Uh… three years now? So like, the project was ‘started’ when Stannum died. The old man had been in decline since the Trade Center fell, but in 2027, he took a real dive. He wasn’t the healthiest guy around and he had pretty bad cholesterol on top of everything else. He had a stroke and didn’t survive it. That’s when Silicon figured out what his powers were exactly. He was desperate to do anything to bring his dad back, and he just kinda… did.

“He started testing his own powers in hospitals with terminal patients, which is also how he met Sahaquiel, coincidentally, and after some time, he got a good grasp on it. So long as the body is repaired to the point it can sustain itself after Silicon revives it, he can take his powers off and have effectively brought a pony back from the dead. Problem is, Stannum’s issues from the stroke were just a small part of several bigger issues that caused him to have it, like an aneurysm that broke a blood vessel in his brain, and an artery being so clogged up that it would take some serious surgery to get him fixed.

“Dude’s a literal zombie right now, and to fix his issues, his body would have to actually be functioning, which Silicon’s powers kind of ignore. The clot is still there, the vessel is still broken, but his functions are magically sustained by Silicon, so Stannum is cold to the touch. It’s pretty creepy, to be honest. He doesn’t look like a dead pony though, he’s kept in a state near when he died. That’s how they all are until the get doctors on them anyways.”

Celestia tilted her head. “They all?”

Rainbow nodded. “They all. Mortality rate for the job was pretty high, all things considered, but they can usually put you back together so long as you don’t get eaten or melted. Which I’ve seen. I’ve seen some shit, guys. Some serious… serious shit.” Rainbow stared off inta space fer a bit there, then shook her head and got back ta it. “Uh, anyways, the way it works is: you die, Silicon gets his powers on you, you’re kinda dead but not unsalvageable… most of the time, and then the doctors get your body restored while they can just get in there and fix everything without having to worry about keeping you alive in the process. They can’t always get the heart restarted though. Silicon’s powers ‘stop’ as soon as the body is functioning on its own again.

“I was lucky and never ‘died’ while I worked for him, but I know a few ponies that did, and they are all diehard loyal to Silicon now. They all told me that it changes you, to see the other side. Something about, ‘helping out this poor lost soul’ any time they talk about Silicon. All of ‘em ended up very, very religious afterward, I never did find out why. But uh… point is, I’ve seen it happen. If Silicon could get the Original on him, he could effectively keep himself, his dad, and literally anypony who dies alive indefinitely. Course, this is all in a world where there are no side effects to his powers.

“Using them twists his bones little by little. His legs have been ruined for years, and they keep getting worse as the days pass, but recently, more of his body has started to do the same. It’s worked up his back and in the last few months, and it got into his ribs. With the way that is twisting, it’s going to pierce his heart by the end of October 20th, and then it’s game over.”

Luna had found a thoughtful pose and nodded. “Yes, of course he would be desperate… for the one pony who can delay it, what does he fear more than death itself?” Luna shook her head and sighed. “But, something has been bothering me about all this. Whatever did happen to the Original? It was effectively a perfect substance. I could not even break it when we did the stress test.”

Celestia reared her head back. “You couldn’t break it?”

Luna shrugged. “I could not. Something about the charged bond it formed with the mercury made it so stable that we couldn’t even cut it with a diamond. There is very little chance it was ever destroyed, so I can only imagine it’s still out there somewhere…”

Rainbow raised a hoof. “Yeah about that… It uh… probably isn’t.”

Luna blinked. “How?”

“Well. We’re not super sure on the details and all, like everything about this mess, but the mirror itself is most definitely gone. But uh… to confirm that, we would have to bring my partner and… somepony else, here.”

Somepony else? Suddenly, it all made sense as ta why she would say it like that. There is only one pony who would know the truth of that happened ta the Original, and that would be the last pony ta have it. The Mirror. Ah felt my blood start ta boil.

“Do ya mean ta say that ya know who had it last? Because that sure is what it fuckin’ sound like, Dash!” Ah slammed a hoof inta the table and stared ta stand, but Ah was very quickly forced back down inta my seat by a weight so heavy that it felt like the world was comin’ down on me.

“You will not so much as move from that seat. Keep your mouth shut and keep your temper in check, Major.” Through the gold aura of magic over my body, Ah met Celestia’s eyes. Ah already knew, she didn’t have ta say anythin’, but nothin was gonna quell the rage in my heart. With everythin’ Ah had, Ah pushed back against the wall of weight.

“She knows who he is! He’s finally in reach, damn it!” Ah managed ta yell through gritted teeth. Ah’d just about made it back ta standin’, but then the pressure increased and Ah was forced back inta the crystal.

“Do not defy me, Jaquline Carcharodon!” Now it was Celestia’s turn ta stand, and if Ah didn’t know any better, Ah would think somepony turned the heat on. “If anypony here deserves to justify a vendetta here, it’s me, but we do not have that luxury right now!”

Grindin’ my teeth harder, Ah fought against the pressure again. Somehow, it felt easier. “He killed my father! He made my life miserable!”

Celestia had some kinda horrified look on her face, but just as soon as Ah found my hooves again, the pressure became unbearable and Ah was glued ta the chair. “You and your family are still alive! The ponies Persona murdered are not, and this pony may help us prevent any more from dying the same way! Is your vengeance more important than innocent lives!?”

Like tearin’ a small hole in a balloon, Ah deflated. Ah know that, damn it! But… what am Ah supposed ta… do with all this hatred? The pressure relieved and just as quick, Celestia offered me a hoof. “I understand how you feel, but now is not the time.”

Ah suppose if anypony could, she would be the one. Ah took the hoof and she pulled me back up ta sittin’ in the uh… me-shape dented crystal chair. Ah sighed and said, “Yeah, yeah. Ah’m… sorry. Who the fuck is this guy, anyways?”

“Applejack…”

Her hoof tightened on mine, and suddenly Ah realized Ah was still in trouble. “Ah’m sorry, geez!”

Celestia let go, but the scowl never came off her face. “As you should be. Anyways, I assume this other pony’s identity also needs to be protected, but for more obvious reasons, correct?”

Rainbow waved a hoof and laughed. “Oh, Goddess, you have no idea. If you think Luna and Silicon’s relationship is fucked up, just wait for them to meet up. That’s gonna be one hell of a day.”

Ah blinked. “What?”

Rainbow let out a deep breath, and then put a hoof on my shoulder. “I am so sorry. You are just… in for some shit, my dude.”

“Huh?”

Celestia broke in. “Well, whatever the circumstances; I would extend an invitation to anypony who can help solve the mystery of what happened. Until the actual fight comes, information is all we have to go on, and it seems as if you still much more of that than I do.”

Rainbow nodded. “Oh, yeah, totally. I uh… wait, wait. Pause.” She turned her head, and then came back after a minute. “She uh… wants to talk to you.”

Celestia blinked, looked ta Luna, then back ta Rainbow. “She as in… this ‘partner’ of yours?”

“Yeah. Just uh… touch my hoof. Fair warning, ya can’t keep her out once she’s in. She’s trustworthy, but uh… she can see everything.”

Celestia shook her head. “Absolutely not. Give her to Twilight, then Twilight can broadcast what she says. There is far, far too much that I know that nopony should ever know. Luna too, for that matter.”

Rainbow looked up fer a bit. “Uh… that works, I guess. Here. You take her.”

Grumblin’, Twi took Rainbow’s hoof, sayin’ somethin’ about ‘gettin’ all the crappy jobs here’ under her breath. Not a second went by before a new voice found its way inta my head.

“Wow. Now that’s a communications array. This web is almost as complex as the one I made when I was ten. Props on you for being able, this must take a lot of work to sustain with magic.”

Though there was no ‘sound,’ so ta speak, still, Rarity’s ears perked up. “Now hold on just a minute! I know you. You’re that mare from the tower…”

“Astute of you, Ms. Belle. I would restore your memories and tell the rest of you who I am, but I must confirm that my identity remain anonymous. Somepony… oh, never mind, most of you seem to know him, and he can’t find out.”

“So long as you’re sharing secrets with us, we will keep yours. You have my word,” Celestia said.

“Good. My name is Brightness Slate.”

Immediately, recognition clicked. “Sweet Goddess, you’re Star’s sister!”

“And that is exactly the pony who doesn’t need to know anything about this. Keep it to yourself, ‘kay thanks.”

“She will. Now then, what can you tell us about the Original? The Kaiju? The emitters? Anything that could help us get out of this mess,” Celestia asked.

“Right. I can do pretty much all of those. I guess I’ll start with the Original. First of all, it is no longer part of this world for fact. Kinda. So, like, back in the day, I could trace the Mirror. Well, I suppose that could be confusing, so the thing and the guy. It had a weird signal, and it gave off this feeling like it was alive, right? Had a lock on it for a while. For almost two years after the incident with the tower, actually. Then one day, it was just… gone, back in 2020.

“Spoiler alert because you’re gonna be pissed about it anyways, I can see through the eyes of ‘Wings’ over there. I know where you are, but I don’t know how to get in. It makes sense though, really explains why I could never figure out why my signal just disappeared one day.”

Celestia made a slow head turn toward Rainbow, who very quickly turned away from her. Ah don’t blame her though. “Wonderful.”

“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that chief. Needed to confirm some things. Point is, I think you guys are currently standing on top of the Original, or at least where it was buried.”

Twi’s ears perked up. “Buried?”

“There used to be a cabin here. There was…” A pause. “There was a grave here, too. I was… really concerned when the signal just up and disappeared, so I went to check on the grave back then. Couldn’t find it. The trees didn’t match anymore, it was like the whole area around that old cabin was just gone. I was fourteen at the time, so I didn’t even consider magic at play, I just thought I was going crazy. I was also slowly going blind, so maybe it was just more of my powers messing with my body. Had no clue.

“Either way, it was gone, I couldn’t find it anymore. When you brought Wings in though, I found something… way, way bigger. It has a similar signal, but it’s different by a large margin. It’s also very, very strong. I’m sure that field around the place has something to do with why I can’t trace the signal unless Wings is there, but if it wasn’t, I’m pretty sure any magical detection instrument in the world could find this place.”

Celestia brought a hoof ta her chin, deep in thought. “No… Could it really…?” She shook her head. “I see. What about the Kaiju?”

“Oh? Something on your mind Sunny? Whatever, I’m sure I’ll know later. Zeruel is no threat to you. Wings was lying on my orders, that project does have details on it, but I wiped ‘em to keep him safe. Truth is, Zeruel was the code name for ‘The Mirror’ project when Silicon went on a rampage twelve years ago. Little bastard was some kinda blood thirsty, wanted to ‘cull the false heroes’ in Equestria, but his little test subject went rouge before he could kill Moony, which was his ultimate goal.

“The Mirror was originally a mental patient he plucked from Manehattan Asylum back in the day. Not even a carrier of the virus, so he was injected with it and the mirror at the same time. What resulted from that was a ‘controlled’ virus that spread in the subject according to Silicon’s wishes. He could copy the powers of anypony he came in contact with and he could find Power Ponies with a sort of radar like ability. He was nothing but a broken guy with a grudge at first. With a little training, they found that he could only have one power copied at a time, but said power would just come naturally to him, like he’d had it all his life. This guy has since lost his copy powers, but he retained the radar thing. He is… not the same pony anymore.

“As for Sahaquiel, that’s the one you need to worry about. So, much like our dear old loverboy, Silicon, in the event you didn’t catch on, Sahaquiel was nothing before. Just a kid that got dealt a shit hoof by genetics, and had a not so fun life. Hollow boned Earth pony, very frail, doomed to a short life. He was bullied… pretty aggressively when he was a child, and he grew up into a seething little ball of hate with no way to release it.

“Hates ponies unlike anything in the world. Except for one. As Wings told you, Silicon started exploring his powers shortly after reviving the old man by visiting hospitals with the terminally ill. He had a few successes, but one day, he came across a kid who was on borrowed time. His name was Velocity, and he had about a year left to live. His bones were exceptionally thin and getting thinner. Sometime around when he was set to turn eighteen, he could no longer walk because he couldn’t sustain his own body weight. Eventually, as he grew and his bones didn’t get any thicker, his muscles would rip them apart and kill him.

“Not an uncommon fate for his kind, but he was determined to see it though. He didn’t want to die, not without taking his bullies with him. Silicon, feeling some kind of… twisted kinship with this guy, decided to have him tested. Not only did his genetics suck, he also was a virus carrier. Probably why his bones weren’t getting any thicker, so another thing Velocity had to curse.

“Seeing an opportunity, Silicon offered to take him and see if he could fix him. The mirror project was still in infancy at the time, but so long as he could hold out until Silicon succeeded, he promised Velocity that he could give him the power he wanted. And by the Goddess, did he deliver.

“Just after the success of Matarael, Silicon went to tweaking the mirror recipe again, and then he got a call. Velocity was dying. A few of his legs had already snapped, and it wouldn’t be long before more of his body caved in on itself.

“Silicon arrived just in time to see Velocity reach out for help, when his last leg snapped, along with a few of his ribs. They stabbed through his lungs and he drowned in his own blood in seconds. With precious time left, Silicon revived Velocity before his heart stopped, and applied his first third generation mirror to the kid.

“By some miracle, if you can call it that, the mirror worked as intended, and Velocity is reborn as Sahaquiel. As it turned out, his initial powers allowed him to fly, as if by magic. Adding the third gen mirror to the mix strengthened his body almost in reverse of what it was before, and now he was strong too. Newly revived and in a body that works, what does he do first? Go on a killing spree. He found and murdered all the ponies he had on a list, doing more so to the mares of course, and then he had Silicon use his connections to make sure nopony ever heard about it.

“Dude is… a piece of work alright. Outright demonic, really. Even Silicon is disgusted with the guy, but Sahaquiel is unflinchingly loyal to him. If he told Sahaquiel to kill, Sahaquiel would ask how many, when, where, and what to do with the bodies. When the day comes, you guys better not fuck around. He looks like a kid. He is a kid. But he will kill you after he’s done playing with you. He has power, he knows it, and there’s nothing he enjoys more than torture. Keep that in mind, ‘kay?”

“I mean. I know that; I told them that, just in less detail,” Rainbow said

“You did, but you didn’t mention the fact that he’s a necrophiliac. He’ll fuck your corpse. He is the sole reason there are no prostitutes in Tin anymore. Anyways, he’s bad news, and he’ll die before he disobeys Silicon. You kill him if you get the chance.”

Pinkie gagged. “Ugh, gross. What is with these guys and their… ‘thingies?’ It’s never enough just to kill somepony, they always gotta… ya know…”

“Oh, you have no idea the kind of ponies we experimented on. There were far, far worse in the gen 2 subjects, let me tell ya. Anyways, also kill Sahaquiel because he’s biologically tied to the Emitter System. So long as you do that, I can turn it off.”

Celestia stood. “You can?”

“I can! You’re quick on the uptake, aren’t cha? So, here’s the deal. The only two ponies with any real control on the situation right now are Silicon and Sahaquiel. Stannum has tried time and time again to get Silicon to let him die. He would rather have let Silicon live and pass on, but Silicon is the only one who can take his powers back. As he is now, Stannum is effectively indestructible thanks to Silicon’s powers, and he can’t even off himself. He’s tried. A few times, actually.

“However, Stannum, is also one of the admins of the Emitter System, and he trusts me. After Silicon pushed the button the other day, Stannum finally gave up any hope of Silicon ending this madness. He hates to see this, but he can’t bring himself to try and stop Silicon either. He’s stuck, and the only way out is Silicon dying, or the rest of Equestria going with them. He turned to me for help, and now I have access to the system.

“I can turn it off, but two things have to happen. Silicon needs to be preoccupied. That used to happen often enough, but lately he never leaves the main control room. Second thing is, obviously, Sahaquiel dying. What I think will happen here is that on the final day, Silicon will come after you himself. When he does, I can get in there and we’ll be in the clear. Sound good?”

“I suppose. What about meeting here? How soon can that happen? Confirmation on the Original is… very important,” Celestia asked.

Is it? Why would it be?

“Ooh, you figured something out, didn’t you, Sunny? Well, I would come as soon as I can, but the issue again, is Sahaquiel. He watches all the employees very closely and kills the ones he thinks are suspicious. He found a Lunar Guard in our ranks once and broke his neck on the spot. I can’t so much as leave Tin without being watched right now.”

Luna tilted her head. “How is it that you are contacting us now then?”

“Oh, not even you guys would know if I was talking to anypony else if you could see me. If he is watching me right now, he probably thinks I’m asleep. I’ll talk to Zeruel and see what he thinks. I’ll get you an answer by Saturday at the latest, but I’m sure we’ll be ready after Sahaquiel is dealt with.”

Persona XXV: The Calm Before the Storm

Applejack

“Finally! I didn’t think I could take much more of that,” Twilight exclaimed after a deep breath.

“Oh, goddess. What in the hell did we get ourselves into here?” Goose complained.

“I told everypony I thought we were fucked whenever Sahaquiel came up, and now that we’re here, I still think we’re screwed. Today just proves that we’re fucked,” Rainbow said, splayin’ her forelegs out on the trainin’ room floor. She wasn’t exactly wrong. All afternoon, all evenin’, and we hadn’t so much as even won a fight by anypony’s standards, at least until just now. There were injuries, there were things even Scootaloo might not’ve been able ta fix, but we won.

“Well. W-we did win once, right? I-if we can do it once, we can probably do it again, r-right?” Fluttershy asked. She was one of the few that had actually sat up since we left the simulation, so Ah could see her. She looked just as exhausted as Ah felt, so it was a wonder that she’d even managed that.

“I’m… not so sure about that…” Celestia said.

Talk about a confidence booster. “What do ya mean?” Ah asked.

Celestia scratched at her chin. “I have… concerns. Something about that last fight doesn’t sit right with me. Why is it that in only one instance were you able to overpower Sahaquiel? The poison in the simulation from weeks ago has started to interfere again as well. Something isn’t right about this. I don’t know that the sharing spell can be trusted anymore.”

Rarity sat up. “‘Can’t be trusted?’ How could the spell be tampered with? Ponies under its effects shouldn’t be able to manipulate the caster in any way.”

Twilight nodded. “I’ve been wondering about that since you said it the first time, before we fought Ramiel.” Twilight turned ta Celestia. “What do you mean by ‘poisonous emotions?’ This is Equestrian magic, isn’t it?”

Celestia put her forehooves together. “Well, it would be one thing if I entirely understood what was happening, and it would be another if I knew how to stop it. First, this is, in fact, Equestrian magic. Luna created it well after we conquered Equestria, using ancient unicorn techniques, and not what I knew about Equuin magic. We don’t have records from home, and Luna wanted to learn what I knew. Equuin magic was learned by literally passing spells between each other. It could be done a number of ways, but I wasn’t quite old enough for that before the war broke out.

“What she did was take that theory, apply it to unicorn techniques, and then created this,” she motioned to the floor, “in an effort to try and get Equuin magic from me. It did work as intended, and for the longest time, we used it to pass Equestrian magic to other ponies. The spell itself is very complicated though, so passing it along took an understanding of Equuin magic to begin with, and it eventually fell out of favor because some ponies just couldn’t wrap their heads around it. It was easier for them to just take the time to teach rather than learn a very complex spell that many of them couldn’t even perform.

“Of course, I gave it to Applejack the old way since she knew little of Equestrian magic to get in the way of her understanding here, but I believe that’s where this problem is stemming from.”

Ah raised a hoof. “Ah’d like ta point out that Ah really don’t have any kinda understandin’ of this crap. It just kinda… worked the way Ah thought it was supposed ta.”

Celestia nodded. “Well, that’s the thing; you’re exactly right. You don’t know what you’re doing, you just know how to do it.”

Ah blinked. “Come again?”

“Think about it this way; do you know how transistors are put together?”

“Ah’m not exactly sure what that is.”

Celestia sighed “Right. Sometimes I forget how young ponies are. These things revolutionized electronics. They’re very complicated microscopic devices that require a background in physics to understand, but in a basic sense, they allow translation of electric signals into other things, like sound or data. They’re in every electronic device you own in numbers you can’t imagine. You use them all the time, even though you don’t know they exist. This is like that. You know it works, but you don’t know why that is.

“What you’re doing is a lot like a bug in a program. A bug occurs when data is processed incorrectly, or extra data is passed that wasn’t called for, and it causes something to go wonky and make the system malfunction. In this case, it’s like the spell is taking extra instructions from a place it has no reason to take instructions from, that being you. As with a computer bug, I don’t exactly know why this is happening, but I do know that it’s coming from you based on what it does.”

Rainbow raised a hoof.

“Yes?” Celestia asked.

“So like… how does that work?”

Celestia frowned. “How does what work?”

“Well, you said that they’re tiny things that turn electricity into sound. How does that happen?”

The force in which the princess’s hoof met her forehead was so great that her mane was shifted by the wind it generated on impact. “I do not have the time or the crayons to teach you physics, Ms. Dash. We will get you in school once all of this is over, and then you can learn. For now, I think I need some rest after trying to manage all of that.” Celestia sighed and addressed the whole of us. “You’re all dismissed for the day, everypony but Applejack will report to Luna in the morning in the library. You will see me here. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am,” unenthusiastically came from the group, and only a few of ‘em got up and followed Celestia out. Ah was not one of them.

“What do you think she wants?” Rainbow asked. Ah was a little surprised ta see her still sittin’ around here with everypony else gone. She’s usually inclined ta hang out with Pinkie, Scoots, and Shy.

Ah shrugged. “Hell if Ah know. Is it never possible fer us ta just… have anythin’ go right? We did it once, shouldn’t that be cause fer celebration?”

“Well, not if the results we got and reality don’t match up,” Goose offered.

Ah waved a hoof at him. “Oh, keep yer facts and logic ta yerself. Can’t Ah complain fer complainin’s sake?”

He stood up and offered me a hoof. “Well, not as long as I’m around. Complaining really doesn’t accomplish much, and you tend to relieve stress physically. One of the other girls? Maybe. You though? Not a chance.”

Ah took the offered hoof and slowly, achily, made my way ta standin’. “So much fer all ponies created equally, huh?”

He shook his head. “Not at all. Even if we’re just looking at this from a biological standpoint, everypony starts out the same. One egg, one sperm, one pony. It’s growth that changes us. And besides,” he put a hoof around my neck and brought his lips ta mine. “I could never treat you like anypony else. Nopony is more special to me than you.”

“That was so disgustingly sappy that I don’t know if I should cringe or not,” Rainbow said after gettin’ up herself.

Goose smiled and raised his snout in pride. “Cringy as it might be, this one is mine, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He took hold of his pendant and mine and shoved ‘em in Rainbow’s face. “I’ve even got proof of ownership, see? This one says she’s mine, and that one says I’m hers.” Ah attempted ta shrug it off, but even Ah smiled a little at that. Ah’ve got him all ta myself, and that little pendant around his neck tells the rest of the world that.

Rainbow gagged. “Wow. I think I even tasted a little vomit in that one. Whatever, go away. I wanna talk to your wife. Preferably without you.”

He looked at me, Ah looked at him, and after a nonverbal ‘shoo,’ he shrugged and warped away. Ah stretched my back out, now that he was gone, and then let myself slide ta the ground. Celestia has a habit of makin’ things intense in her simulations, but nothin’ has ever been as hard a fight as the ones today were.

“Feels like you fought that guy thousands of times, right?” Rainbow asked.

My brow furrowed. “Ah guess. What makes ya say that?”

Sitting down and crossing her forelegs over her barrel, Rainbow said, “I think I get what she means, when she says you’re ‘poisoning’ the simulation. Maybe even better than she does.”

Now, Ah was interested, so Ah sat up. “Well, why didn’t ya say so in front of everypony else?”

“Alright, look; you’re not gonna like this, and I didn’t wanna start a fight in front of everypony, alright? It’s about him, anyways.”

Ah frowned. “Why would it start a fight? Spit it out Rainbow.”

She sighed. “I notice things, okay? It’s part of my job, it always has been. Being able to look at a dangerous situation and do whatever makes my chances of surviving the best is kinda like… a thing I just got used to doing. I loved the thrill of the fight because it scared me to death, but I could always tell what was dangerous and what wasn’t. That’s what kept me alive all this time. You are what Goose’s concern is. He does anything that makes it so you have the highest chance of survival, and to that end, he’ll often take a hit that ends up killing him and protects you.”

Ah gritted my teeth. Damn it Rainbow! “Ya don’t think Ah know that? That he knows that? We already had this fight once. Ah don’t need it brought up again.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I’m talking to you for. I get it, he loves you. If anything, it’s really cool that he’s willing to go that far for you. But I came to talk to you because when Goose does something stupid, you do something stupid, and it’s you doing something stupid that causes problems. Do you realize that you lose your shit every. Single. Time, he tries to protect you? Because you do, and that is what ‘poisons the simulation’ or whatever.”

“What do ya mean?”

She rolled her eyes. “What I mean is; when you get crazy, everypony gets crazy. I don’t know what it is about the weird connected headspace, or whatever, but you getting crazy makes me get crazy. I start to feel stronger. I stop fighting like me and I start fighting like you. In whatever this weird berserker mode you’ve got going on is, it starts to take over everypony else, and we all fight like you when it happens.

“Like, you’ve gotta realize that it’s weird, don’t you? You overpowered Sahaquiel. Straight up, bare hoof brawling, and you punched the guy to death. Up until that last fight, you couldn’t do that. But you kept losing it, and with every time you watch him, or sometimes everypony else, die, everypony gets stronger. Ya get me?”

Ah had ta pause. Is… is that right? Ah thought back ta the simulations, and the more Ah looked fer it in the memories, the more Ah realized… she might just be right. Ah scratched at my chin. “Ah… think Ah see what you’re sayin’, but this has happened in real life too, hasn’t it?”

She frowned. “In real life? Like, when?”

“Well, when Ah smashed that freighter ship ta bits was definitely the first time it happened. It was kinda like what Ah feel happens with Trump Card, but this was… much, much more than that. And… after Ah broke my leg in the Israfel fight, it came back stronger than it shoulda been, even by Scootaloo’s standards. It almost feels like any time we get inta a real hard fight where Ah get hurt, Ah come back more powerful the next time, now that Ah think about it.”

Rainbow looked away fer a bit. “Huh. At some point, we should find somepony that can explain powers to us or something like that. If your powers really do cause you to like, stockpile, or something, that could be really useful. But…”

“But…?”

“But, even if that is the case, you’re still a rage monster and you need to cut that shit out. Even if we manage to find a good strategy doing this until the real fight, there’s no way we get away from Sahaquiel without a scratch.”

Ah huffed and crossed my forelegs. “What do ya think is gonna happen, huh, Rainbow?”

She rolled her eyes. “I think we’re probably all gonna die. I’ve said as much. But knowing Sahaquiel, he’ll probably kill us one by one, slowly, just for the fun of it. My concern is that if he does manage to get one of us, you’ll fly off the handle like you always do and get yourself killed doing something stupid. If anypony has a chance to even hold this guy off, it’s gonna be you, so I need you to promise me that you will keep your cool if something happens, alright?”

A deep frown settled on my face. “How can ya say that? Just, how? Are we not yer friends? What would you do if somepony died?”

Rainbow sighed. “And this is exactly what I thought was going to happen. Look, I’ll be upset, provided I don’t go first. But, that won’t change the fact that getting worked up gives him even more opportunities to kill us, and without another pony to help out, it’s not gonna make anything easier, alright? We are fucked in every direction if we slip up, and we are not flawless! I’m trying to be realistic here!”

“And where has bein’ realistic gotten us so far? We shoulda died two weeks ago! Realistically, we didn’t stand a chance against Ramiel! A target we can’t hit with a magic shield that fires light beams the size of houses with enough power ta burn a crater in the face of the earth! Ya think we had much of a chance then?”

Rainbow groaned. “No, but that was because I didn’t understand what I was up against and who I was being helped by. Celestia can only do so much for us, and with a target like Sahaquiel, she can’t do anything to help us! There were countermeasures for Ramiel, there’s nothing against a small, fast, and strong opponent like him. It’s all on us, and we’re not enough!

“Hell, I doubt that we could even do this if we had another you, because he’s just that much above our level. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wanna die. I have things I want to do and ponies who want me in their futures, but… but, damn it, I have to rely on you, and I need to know that you can do this.”

She took a deep breath, put her hooves on my shoulders, and looked me in the eyes. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this guy scares me shitless. If I really didn’t believe there was a chance, I would’ve taken Scootaloo and fled the country by now. I used to live just to live because I could and didn’t wanna die; and that was it. But there’s… something special about this group, something special about you that makes me think we have a fighting chance. I didn’t believe in anything before, but with every day that passes, the more I think that there’s something out there that wants us to win, despite everything, and they’re using you to make it happen.”

Rainbow shook her head. “I… I know that you can’t guarantee me anything. As somepony who’s lived a life like mine, I just know better by now. But, just… just say that you’ll keep it together for me, please? I can’t be worrying about what happens to you and make sure I don’t die in this fight at the same time, and… and I’m different now. It’s hard to not worry about you guys. I care, and if we do manage to survive this, we aren’t even done yet. He is gonna come after us, and I don’t know what he’s got in store either. I need to know that we can do this, so tell me that you can do this.”

Ah shook my head and sighed. Ah took the little pegasus in my hooves and brought her close. Ah hesitated at first, but the word came out anyways. “Sugarcube, Ah don’t think Ah can do this. But we can do this. Just like the last three fights, and all the simulations between; together, we’ll get through it.” Ah chuckled.

“Ya know, it’s kinda funny. Ah had some kinda vision before we fought Sachiel when all of this started, and Ah was just as afraid then as y’all are now. Ah thought we were screwed, everypony was gonna die, and that there was no chance we’d ever see the end of this. Ah was so panicked that Ah nearly trained everypony ta death and made things worse than they could’ve been. It took some guy Ah picked up off the street ta beat some sense inta me ta make me realize what Ah was doin’ ta everypony else.

“Ah’m not sure that we’re special, Ah’m not sure that there’s anythin’ out there pushin’ us along, but as long as Ah can still fight, Ah will. And Ah expect no less from the rest of my team, y’all included; ya hear me? We’ve already proved that we’re capable of miracles, and if we can do it once, then we can do it again. So, even if ya don’t believe in yerself, believe in us. Because we can do this. Got it?”

Rainbow sniffed hard and nodded her head. We sat there like that fer a while, and it really made me think. Sometimes Ah forget how small she is. How young we are. At most we’ve lived about a quarter of our lives, and here we are, the idiots that volunteered ta save the world and fight the bad guys. Fools on parade, bettin’ our lives on bad odds and hopin’ we get dealt just the right cards. Monday will come, and Ah pray that we’re all still here ta see it.

“So, what’d Rainbow want to talk about?” Goose asked. We’d gotten home, cleaned ourselves, and were getting’ ready fer bed.

“Oh, ya know, she doesn’t think we have a chance, so she was gettin’ cold hooves and needed support.”

Goose gargled some water and spat inta the sink. “And she went to you to talk about it?”

Ah shrugged on the bed, pullin’ out my phone. “Apparently, she has a higher opinion of me than Ah thought.”

“So she does.” Goose got in bed beside me, then stuck his face next ta mine ta see what Ah was doin’. “What’d you say to her?”

Ah put the device down and shrugged. “Ah just told her the truth; Ah don’t have the answers she wants and Ah can’t give her any guarantees, but we’ve gotten through everythin’ together so far, so we’ll get through this together too.”

He put his left foreleg under my back and rested his right hoof on my chest. “Well, maybe there’s hope for you yet. Do you believe that?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? Ah took his right hoof in mine and let out a breath. “Maybe? Ah don’t know. Of all our battles, this is easily the one Ah should be the most concerned about, yet… Ah don’t know, Ah just don’t feel all that concerned about it.

“Ah guess, deep down, Ah really do believe. When have things ever looked good? When have things ever gone the way we thought they would? They haven’t so far, so why would they start now? Things might take a turn fer the worst, but they haven’t yet, so why would that start now? We did it once, and even if the simulation shouldn’t be trusted, Ah think we can do it anyways.”

He frowned. “Hmm. Jaqueline Carcharodon with a positive outlook? How unheard of. Are you sure you’re her?”

Ah rolled my eyes and turned ta face him. “Ah might be. Ah’ve got a pretty good way ta make sure though…” Ah raised my free hoof between us and let that all too familiar fire fill it.

Nervously, Goose grabbed it with his free hoof. “Ha ha, maybe don’t though? I’d prefer to keep the house I grew up in, maybe even let my own kid grow up in it too, ya know?”

Huh. Now that’s a thought. The fire died out and Ah brought my right hoof ta my chin. “Here?” Ah asked.

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

Ah threw a hoof up. “In this house?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Now, hold on. This is fine fer us.”

“But…?”

“This neighborhood is gross. This is actually the south district of Manehattan. Even as poor as we were, Ah never grew up in south Manehattan. We have more money separately, right now, than my Pa did most of his life. Why would we not move ta somewhere nicer? Probably can’t move too far away, but bein’ somewhere at least… Ah don’t know, not here, would be better fer the kids, wouldn’t it?”

He raised a brow. “Hmm… now that word was plural. How many are we talking here?” He rubbed my stomach. “Two? Three? Four? More than that? I’d always figured at least one, but I suppose we could move if there was a need for more space. This neighborhood isn’t that bad, is it?”

Ah scowled. “Goose, Sugarcube, ya ruled a gang of dropouts and misfits fer however many years, and they all came from south Manehattan. Since Ah know ya know, just how many of them came from this neighborhood alone?”

He turned away. “Well. At least twenty of the active eighty. Formerly active, anyways.”

Ah rolled my eyes. “Uh-huh. Ah bet ya know all their names too.”

He threw his hooves up. “So, maybe I do. I see your point. Where would you go? Because, honestly, I really don’t want to be near the Manehattan elite because I hate them. Their bleeding hearts are the reason crime was always so easy to get away with in this city in the first place.”

Ah sighed. “Well, so much fer my dreams of a mansion in Manehattan Heights.”

He rolled his eyes. “Ugh. The worst ponies in the world live in Manehattan Heights! Yeah, maybe the ponies here would mug you in broad daylight, but the ponies there would spit at you with ‘righteous unicorn indignation.’ Besides, you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself in a mansion. Trust me, it’s just not worth it. Houses only need to be big enough to fit the ponies in them, and maybe a guest room. Mansions are… lonely, lonely places.” He rolled back ta me and crossed his forelegs. “Seriously, how many?”

Ah narrowed my eyes. “Ya lived in Manehattan Heights?”

“That is not the question I asked you.”

“Fine! At least three. Maybe more, Ah don’t know. Enough. Is that what ya wanted?”

He pulled his lips ta the side. “‘Enough?’ At least three? You have no idea what you want, do you?”

Ah raised a hoof. “No, no, At least three is a definite answer. My parents had three, and Ah at least want that. Before everythin’ got all fucked up, life was nice.”

He narrowed his eyes. “When was, ‘before everything got all fucked up?’ Last I checked, you didn’t have a childhood to be envied for. At like, any point.”

“That’s… fair, Ah suppose. Uh… before Pa died, Ah guess? Ta be completely honest, Ah hadn’t thought about when we lived on the farm as a family since the first time we tried the sharin’ spell. My other memories of that place are all sour.”

He closed his eyes. “At least three, huh? Hmm…” He rolled over, then crossed his forelegs behind his head. “At least three…” He took a deep breath. “Could you handle three more of me? As much as I don’t like to admit it, I am my dad. If we have boys, they’re gonna end up just like me, ya know that?”

Ah raised my snout as a smile filled my face. “Ohhhhh, ho-ho, Ah see what this is about. You’re afraid that if we have girls…”

He put his hooves over his ears. “Oh Goddess, for the love of the Goddess, please don’t finish that sentence. Not a mare on the planet as hot tempered or as unwilling to acknowledge her own feelings as you are. Three little suicidal basket cases that would rather punch out their problems than talk about them? You can’t want that. I can’t do that. I know I couldn’t handle three more of you.”

Smilin’ even wider, Ah straddled him. “Oh, but Goose, Sugarcube, that ain’t yer choice. It’s up ta a coin flip. Are yer little swimmers gonna be faster or stronger in the end? That’s up ta the Goddess, and we’re gonna see what the result is.”

His mouth went straight. “Oh, and let’s not forget manipulative. They’ll all be just as willing to use ponies however they want to get whatever they want. Good Goddess, what if one of them gets my cutiemark? She’ll have the whole world wrapped around her hooves. Think of the little monsters they’ll be! Oh, and powers! They’ll all have powers too, won’t they? Can’t we just start with one and see how that goes from there? Just imagine the horrors we’d be imposing on the world.”

Ah moved my hind legs ever so carefully and brought my snout ta his. “Ya know, my family has a history of producin’ twins at least a few times a generation. Ya may not be so lucky as ta start with one. Ya don’t feel like you’re all that opposed ta the idea…”

He wrapped his forelegs around my shoulders. “You don’t ever play fair, and you know that.” Quick as a whip, he grabbed me and rolled over.

“What the-!?”

“Fine then. I’ll play your game, Miss ‘I want to be a mother.’ We’ll have a big, loud house filled our own little monsters, all just like us. We’ll never be involved in the underworld, we’ll never be poor, and none of our kids will ever have to suffer through anything we did. We’ll make a better life for them than we could ever dream of when we were their age. How does that sound, Mrs. Carcharodon?”

Ah sat up and wrapped my forelegs around his neck, bringin’ him closer ta me. “That, Mr. Carcharodon, sounds like a dream come true♥”

Ah scratched at my chin as Ah looked at the spread before me. If Ah had ta guess, she’d either been bakin’ all mornin’, or she had somepony else bake all mornin’ and brought it with her when she came from Canterlot Castle. Cakes, cookies, danishes, tarts, pies; most of it was breakfast oriented, but it seemed like she just decided ta bring or make all this food fer no particular reason. Ah suppose Ah could’ve seen why if everypony was here ta eat with us, but they were all with Luna right now. Ah was the only one at the table with Celestia.

“So,” she began, “did you do what I asked?”

Ah narrowed my eyes. Do what she asked? What is she talkin’ about? “Uh…”

She took a sip of her coffee, savored it with her eyes closed, then opened one ta let it bore inta my skull. “I gave you instructions to perform exactly one task for me over the course of the last week. I even gave you the tool to do what I’d asked. I know it’s been a busy week for you, but I expected this done by today.”

Ah swallowed. Oh. Right. The test. “Well, Ah, uh… ya know…”

She let out a sigh and put her cup back on its saucer, which also seemed ta have come from her castle. “Clearly, you don’t. Why have you been putting it off?”

“Uh, general procrastination? Ah don’t know. Haven’t had time between… everythin’, and all that.” Ah found my own coffee cup and took a sip from that.

She rested an elbow on the table and her cheek on her curled hoof. “Come now, I believe we know each other better than this. There has to be a real reason. I know that something like this would weigh on your mind. Why?”

Ah let out a deep breath and set the cup down. “Truth is… Ah don’t wanna know. At least, not yet anyways.”

She raised a brow. “Explain.”

Leaning back in the chair, Ah let my eyes drift upward ta stare at the crystal ceilin’. “What good does it do me ta know now? One more thing ta worry about, one more thing ta fret over, one more thing ta keep on Goose’s mind, one more thing that everypony will keep in the back of their heads. Ah’m the front line. Ah’m the only one capable of takin’ hits because my powers make me the best fer the job. If… if suddenly everypony knows that Ah’m more vulnerable than Ah was before, then there’s no way they aren’t gonna try ta… be shields fer me. And that’s… already a problem.”

She shook her head. “Applejack…” a sigh, “I can see you’ve put a lot of thought into this, so I won’t press the issue. However, what is this… problem of shields?”

“Well, as far as Rainbow says, Ah get crazy when Ah lose ponies, and when Ah get crazy, everypony does. It’s like what happened with the first time when Ah cast the spell myself. They started takin’ on my qualities, whether they wanted ta or not.”

Celestia brought a hoof ta her chin. “Hmm. I didn’t know about that. I’ll have to extract my memories to review this… though, I suppose it isn’t impossible for such raw emotion to ‘infect’ the simulations. It is based on alicorn magic after all. Enough of anything can make it sway one way or another, but that’s also why it can be so powerful when ponies harmonize with it. This… ‘crazy’ of yours, can you tell what exactly is happening when it happens?”

Ah scratched my cheek. “Well… not really? Ah just… get mad. It might be worse than it’s ever been, but Ah wouldn’t know why. It’s almost like, every time somethin’ goes wrong, Ah feel like Ah can push harder, ya know?”

She pursed her lips. “I… don’t think I do. Have I really not been watching closely enough? I know that I can tell something about the simulations is upset. You do tend to fare better in later trials, but it doesn’t seem like you change your tactics as much as it just starts to work after a while. Which, in theory, doesn’t make sense, because I’m not changing any parameters of the simulation. Perhaps…” she looked away.

“They’ve already seen me. No reason not to use tools that are already out in the open, right? But, it has been a very long time since we last used it. Well, purposefully anyways. We did control ourselves, didn’t we? Even at the height of it. We could’ve killed her; as angry as we were, anyways. Surely because we know… yes, yes I do think it is time we try it out.”

Ah looked left, then right, and when she and Ah were still the only ones in the room, Ah asked, “Are ya… are ya talkin’ ta somepony, Princess?”

She giggled and shook her head. “Oh, just my inner demons. I believe Rainbow is on to something. Something about you seems to change depending on what kind of stress you’re put under. There are clearly limits to what your body can handle, like when you shattered your forelegs fighting Israfel, but I believe that your will and your emotions combined can make you stronger. Possibly even more so than your body is capable of handling, almost like hysteric strength.

“However, as you know, the simulations aren’t working because those emotions of yours tamper with it. Between my control and your emotion, the magic favors you, which simply should not happen. But, that’s a question of what should and not what is. Because what is, is what we’re having trouble understanding, I think… we should try to understand ‘what is.’”

My gears were turnin’, and Ah did not like anythin’ about this. “Uh… y’all just used the same words about four times in succession and Ah’m not sure what you’re gettin’ at here…”

She nodded and stood. “Hmm. I don’t believe that. I think you know exactly what I mean. But just for clarity’s sake, let’s head down to the training room. Instead of facing your inner demon, mine will attempt to draw yours out.”

Ah swallowed. “That’s… what Ah was afraid of.”

“So uh… do I just sit here and watch, or…?” Scootaloo asked.

Celestia shook her head. “You’ll want to be close by, but not too close. It’s going to get very hot, and there’s little I can do about that. When you start to feel tired, let me know, because then we’ll have to stop.”

Ah was uncomfortable with this from the outset. Now Ah’m gettin’ flashbacks ta the Sachiel simulations, and Ah am not happy about it. She’s gonna kill me.

“I am not going to kill you. I’ll just… break you until it becomes dangerous, that’s all.”

Ah swallowed and looked ta Scoots fer help, but she just shook her head and offered a prayer. Oh, sweet Goddess.

“Now then, here are the rules,” Celestia announced. She’d been stretchin’ herself out since we got here, and whatever she did ta herself either made her muscles bulge or her skin tighten. Ah always thought depictions of the two sisters always made them look real bulky and figured that was just ‘embellishin’ details’, but, uh… now that didn’t seem the case. As she was now, she nearly put me ta shame, and Ah’m not some string bean myself. She’s showed me her bulk before, but this was just downright intimidatin’. She looked like my brother after he gets home from the gym. Ah didn’t know it was possible fer mares ta be that bulky.

“First, you will try your damnedest to kill me. Foul play is entirely allowed. Do whatever you can, use any tool available, just try to hurt me. I will limit myself to whatever I can, most of my attention will be put to making sure I don’t release enough heat to melt you or anything around us. I’m going to attempt to mimic what we know of Sahaquiel from Rainbow’s memories, but I can’t promise I can be that fast or that weak at the same time. It has been a very long time since I’ve released myself with purpose, so you must forgive me if I’m a little rusty.”

THAT WEAK!?

“Uh…”

“No, no questions. I’m certain Luna will attempt to interrupt us at some point; and when she does, provided I find what I want from you, I may have you fight her, too. She’s always been a little faster than me, but matching Sahaquiel’s power should be trivial enough for her, provided she can restrain her absorption. Wouldn’t do us much good if you froze to death, now would it?”

Ah frowned real hard. “And uh… y’all ain’t dealin’ with the kaiju yerselves because…?”

She rolled her eyes. “Come now, I expect you should know why. Could you imagine what I would do to a city if I walked around unrestrained, and trying to fight off a monster? There wouldn’t be a city left to save. We are the rear guard; the final option. Luna would be the same way, possibly even worse. At least the water lines might still be intact if it were me. If Luna froze everything, it’d be like inviting an ice age to our most populated city.

“What isn’t broken by the sheer cold would be left so brittle that it would be unlikely to last for more than a day after being exposed to nominal heat.” A little smile crept up her lips, “Though, it would finally give the climate alarmists something real to worry about. We are monsters ourselves. There are two horrible nicknames to describe us in the legends of other countries, and I have tried my damnedest to bury them. My ponies don’t need to know what kind of power we have, just rumors of it. You, however, have already seen the truth. So, we might as well take advantage of that and see what kind of monster you are hiding.”

Again, Ah looked ta Scootaloo, who only shrugged in return. Ah shook my head. “Alright, let’s get this over with…” Ah reared up ta my hind legs, popped my joints, made sure my new bracers were workin’ right, then waited.

Celestia mirrored me, then it started. First, she removed all her gold. The crown, the yoke, the shoes, all warped away ta some unknown location. The veins in her muscles started ta bulge and her eyes became darker and darker until it looked like all the white of it turned blood red. The once violet irises turned gold and slit like a cat’s. Her mane started ta wave faster and faster until it flickered once, flickered twice, then went up in flames.

The wave of heat was as intense as it was oppressive. It was like takin’ a step in the Palomino heat on the hottest day of the year with the bleak sun bearin’ down on the land, a breath away from burnin’ everythin’ ta a crisp. Slowly, the heat lessened and lessened, and once it was bearable, Celestia popped her neck to either side.

“Ah, there it is. The delicious ecstasy of unfettered power. I have done my best to tone down my output, but we should not keep this up for very long. Alongside the dangers of simply accessing my power, it takes the strength of my will to overcome the desire to give in to it. Now then…” Easily the blackest smile filled with the darkest intentions Ah’ve ever seen from the mare crossed her face and put her newly sharpened teeth on display. She held her forehoof out ta me and curled it in twice. “Come.”

Ah am gonna regret this, so much. “Ahhhh!” Ah let out the most primal scream Ah could and charged at the mare. Ah shot a cable at her, but she knocked it away like it was a fly. Great, she’s not as fast as Sahaquiel, but can catch a bullet if she wants ta. Goddess damn it. Closin’ the rest of the distance between us on hoof, Ah started ta charge Trump Card when Ah felt a hot wind wash over me. Ah blinked and she was gone.

“Careful. Let go of that power and it may be the last time you get to use it.”

Fear. Unbridled, overwhelmin’ fear. Ah brought my forelegs up ta protect my head, but her knee was about at my snout by the time Ah did it. “Damn it!”

Crack. Bone ta my flesh, the force reverberated through my legs and one of ‘em couldn’t handle it. My back found the wall in the training room quicker than the back of my head did, and somethin’ hot and unbidden came up my throat. Ah flinched tryin’ ta wipe my mouth off, but Ah didn’t have time. She was already here.

“Come now. He wouldn’t give you time to rest. I can’t either.”

She’s gonna kill me! She’s really gonna kill me! Ah didn’t have time ta think much else. She’d already raised her hoof. It was gonna crush my skull and that would be the end of it. This is her demon. Power flooded my hoof again. There was nowhere ta escape, and the heat was singein’ my fur and skin just by bein’ near her. Her hoof shot at my face, and my hoof shot at hers.

Our hooves collided, and fer a second there, they halted each other. Seein’ the opportunity, Ah ducked under her punch, let it slide past me, and rammed my shoulder inta her chest. The fire filled my hind legs, and Ah launched. With what little time Ah had ta feel my skin on hers, it was painful. Just touchin’ her burned me. Like bein’ wreathed in hot steam with no recourse. We crashed inta the opposite wall, and Ah bounced off as quick as Ah could. A second ta breathe and take stock.

Left foreleg, broken. Right hoof, okay... somehow. Coat burned off on most of my right leg and shoulder, and… probably a broken or at least cracked rib. Ah wiped my mouth, finally, and that was blood. Off ta a good start.

Celestia pulled herself outta the wall, popped her neck, and flexed her right hoof. “Ooh, now that was wonderful! You matched the strength of my hoof! You even managed to break a feather.” One of the bigger ones on her back, a primary, if Ah remember from class, had snapped in half. Otherwise, she looked just fine. She ripped it out and then set it on fire. She let the ash float off her hoof, raised her snout at me, and licked her lips.

“I suppose even I can be surprised from time to time. You can still move. Let’s fix that, shall we?”Wings flapped hard, once, and she was off. Dartin’ at me, Ah bounced away in time ta watch her swoop past me. Hoverin’ fer a moment, she paused. “I missed? Did you react because you saw my shoulders move? Hmm… that won’t do. Based on the footage, Sahaquiel moves unnaturally, as if by magic. You wouldn’t get cues like that. A levitation spell should do…” And, of course, without warnin’, she was suddenly on me. Her foreleg bulged, somethin’ inside me sent a sharp pain up my side as my body reacted, and Ah didn’t have time ta avoid again. No! Can’t run, fight back!

The fire was all around me on the outside. She was the sun, there was no doubt about it. Ah needed more power ta deal with Celestia and Ah had one option. If this is my inner demon, then now is the time ta use it! The internal fire filled my nonbroken forehoof, and my hind legs. The punch came, and rather than dodge it, Ah pushed it away with my empowered hoof. Twistin’ my torso, Ah whipped my hind legs up and aimed fer the head. Of course, she was far faster than Ah could even imagine and Celestia backed away about three meters ta dodge me. My legs kept flyin’ and smashed inta the trainin’ room floor. Fractures broke out underneath me until the whole floor fell inward and built up away from where Ah hit it.

Fire died out, pain flooded in, blood welled up in my throat, and that familiar stabbin’ sensation in my chest pulsed with each breath. Oh goddess, Ah can’t keep this up… A wash of heat came over me and Ah turned my head and prepared my workin’ foreleg fer whatever she was about ta do, but… she was just floatin’ there. Starin’ at me, with an… invested look on her face.

“How very intriguing. I did not know Trump Card could be used in such a way. Scootaloo, use recover.”

Used in what way? What… did Ah do?

“Hey, can you like… back up further? I kinda feel like I’m baking alive here, and I’m not even close to Applejack, ya know?”

The burnin’ mare blinked. “Ah, of course.” Rather than do that, her horn lit up, and she put herself in a box of gold light. Suddenly, things were room temperature again, and she came a little closer.

Free of the heat, Scootaloo came over and looked me up and down. “You don’t even get beat up this bad when we do the simulations. I don’t know how you’re not dead.”

Ah vomited what Ah assume was mostly blood based on the color and fell ta my knees. “Ah will be soon… if ya don’t help me out, Sugarcube.”

“Right.” She put her hooves on me, and the cool relief of her powers washed over me like a warm bath. Aches and pains disappeared in quick succession and, after a few seconds, Ah felt fine again. Once she was done, she nearly fell over. “Dude.”

“What?”

She shook her head and stared at me. “How are you not dead? That was… Goddess, broken bones everywhere, burned skin, coat regrowth, at least an organ or two damaged or punctured. You should be dead.” She looked ta Celestia, “Dude, maybe chill? I… I could probably do that again, but I doubt I could do it more than that.”

Celestia popped her neck and crossed her forelegs. “Well now… I suppose we’ll be testing your limits today too, won’t we?”

It felt a little like a lead ball was sinkin’ in my stomach. “Goddess help us.”

“Pretty sure she’s trying to kill you, actually,” Scootaloo remarked.

“Begone, filly. I am no goddess. Today, I am the devil.”

“‘K, bye!” And so, Scootaloo ran. There goes my safety net. Leavin’ me here. Alone. With her.

“Stand, my champion,” Celstia ordered.

Ah let out a deep sigh and followed my orders. The box of light around her shattered and the heat returned. If Ah had ta compare it ta anythin’, it’d probably be like walkin’ inta a sauna on full blast. Unpleasant at best.

“While I am unsure how you’ve done it, you managed to have Trump Card active in three hooves at once. While tracing the magic in your body, however, it was almost as if you had it active everywhere at once. As you know, the spell is meant to enhance the strongest traits in the races in which their magic vessels are most prominent. These vessels are found in all races, but are usually dormant in Earth Ponies and Pegasai. Active magic vessels can cause… something like an electrical surge in the body and, without a way to release it, such as a horn, they can, in turn, harm the muscles of the user.

“Have this happen in the wrong place, and you could potentially overload your heart or sear your brain, or something dangerous like that. One of my biggest concerns about Twilight’s little event the other day was whether or not she’d damaged herself irreparably via magic overload, but it seems as if Scootaloo either repaired that, or it never happened. What is happening here looks to be on a similar level to that, but you’re sustaining that power.

“Somehow, you’ve forced your own magic vessels to an ‘on’ state, and are using that very same dangerous magical discharge within your own body in targeted places to enhance your body. I have seen magic like this before, but never to this degree; and never by an earth pony. You’re either doing something very right, or very wrong, and controlling it at that. I would even say that this is hardly Trump Card anymore.”

Ah blinked. “Uh… can ya run that one by me again?”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Later. Whatever you did, do it again and come after me. If I were to try and recreate the effect, activate Trump Card in all your hooves, and try to hold it there.”

In all my hooves… and keep it up. Can Ah do that? Ah figure Ah already did that once based on what she’s sayin’. Ah took a deep breath and relaxed as much as Ah could. In the beginning, the fire was hard ta summon. It was painful ta hold, and if Ah didn’t let go of it, it always felt like Ah was gonna break. The more Ah use it though, the easier it’s been ta call and build. In all my hooves… and keep it up…

Front right, the fire filled and Ah waited. It squirmed and writhed within, lookin’ fer anywhere it could go ta get out, but it wasn’t unbearable. If Ah really wanted, Ah could probably hold this fer a while. That outta the way, Ah focused on my front left. Again, the fire filled as easily as it always has, but with it in both forelegs, Ah started ta feel jittery. The minor buzz of pain in the back of my head was louder and more involved. It was uncomfortable, but not impossible ta hold. This, too, Ah could do fer a while.

Back left, the flames rose, and spun, and burned, and now most of my body felt like a coiled spring. The tension needed ta go. The stabbin’ pain in my head was like a dull headache that Ah knew Ah could turn off whenever Ah wanted, but Ah wasn’t done yet. Ah wouldn’t be able ta keep this up long.

Grittin’ my teeth, the flames filled my back left, and suddenly, it was like Ah was covered in ants. Burnin’, squirmin’, wrigglin’, writhin’, electric fire. My whole body tightened, the pain in my head was just about more than Ah could handle, and Ah was shakin’ like Ah was cold or somethin’. “Gah! It hurts!”

“Hold it! Stand it for as long as you can bear, and then stand it longer! Don’t limit yourself to just your magical centers, let the magic fill you!”

Ah tried, but Ah just couldn’t. It was all too much at once. The fire flew out with a breath, and everythin’ exited in the ground underneath me.

Ka-crack

BOOM!

It wasn’t just the floor that shattered like we set off a bomb or something, the fractures crawled up the wall, and the crystal turned inta somethin’ like sand around my hooves. The castle shook, parts of the ceilin’ cracked and fell, and before Ah knew it a wall of gold had formed above us. A golden bubble formed around me, and Ah couldn’t so much as get up ta my hooves. My whole body was exhausted. Ah couldn’t feel much of anything, but it almost felt like my hooves were all bleedin’.

My vision was fadin’, but before Ah did, Ah was brought beside the burnin’ alicorn. “Yet again, you surprise me. We have much to test when next you wake. For now, you may rest. You’ve earned that much.”

“Ah. Sooner than I expected. Afternoon, my dear.”

My eyes slowly started to open. Whatever happened, it felt like Ah was ran over by a couple of trucks, and then slammed inta a wall. My head was spinnin’, but Ah could at least make out the big white mare at my bedside. “Princess?” Ah went ta rub ta my eyes, but the moment Ah moved my hooves, my forelegs throbbed. “Gah, damn it!”

“Don’t move. You’re not in the greatest shape right now. I’ll go get Scootaloo and we’ll have you fixed up in a second. Just hang on a minute, I’ll be right back.”

Ah tried ta blink the crust away, but my eyes just wouldn’t have it. Ah couldn’t so much as move my legs an inch without gettin’ hit with waves and waves of pain, and nothin’ was makin’ my head feel any better at all. Instead of tryin’ ta fight it, my eyes closed again and darkness took me.

“Oh, she’s awake again!” Goose called. Ah blinked a few times, and now Ah felt like Ah could move. At least a little, anyways. My legs were sore, but not unusable. Ah rubbed at my eyes, and before Ah knew it, Goose was helpin’ me sit up.

“What happened?”

He shrugged. “You tell me. The training room caved in on itself.”

Ah blinked. “Huh?”

“Oh, yes, it did. And I had to fix it! How did you even do that!? It was a solid crystalline structure! The fractures in the crystal were like each and every breakpoint had been found, exploited, and found again and smashed with a hammer! This stuff is supposed to be nearly as hard and solid as diamonds! What did you do!?”

Twilight was just about shakin’ me by the end of her rant and Goose had ta push her off. “Hey, hey! Cool it. She just woke up, give her a sec before you chew her out.”

She and Goose didn’t notice her, but before Twilight could respond, her mother took her by the shoulders and forced her inta her lap. “Yes, what did she do indeed.”

“Oh, there you are,” Goose said.

Celestia nodded. “I am here. So, how are you feeling?”

She was lookin’ at me, so Ah assume she was talkin’ ta me. “Uh… tired, Ah guess? A little sore. What happened?”

“You destroyed the training room! That’s what-” Twilight managed before she was muzzled.

Celestia nodded. “After building up a separate instance of Trump Card in all your hooves, you lost control of that energy and released it where you were standing. The training room floor at the epicenter of the… I suppose blast doesn’t really work here. Let’s call it a quake. The epicenter of the quake was shaken into particles, as if it were vibrated into dust. The rest of the destruction also acted much like an earthquake and was shaken and shattered with such force that it spread like broken glass.

“By the time it reached the ceiling, I intervened and started to put up barriers to take the force off the castle, but by that time, it had already broken enough of it to bring the walls down. Luna took notice, and with some quick thinking, Twilight was able to stabilize the castle, but only enough to stop the whole building from coming down. The training room had to be rebuilt, so that’s what the last six hours were spent doing.”

Ah frowned. “Six hours?”

“You shattered your legs,” Goose said.

“I did what I could to put you back together, but most of the toll was on Scootaloo, and she couldn’t get the job done all at once. The first time you woke up, we’d only gotten your hind legs repaired, and that was about four hours ago.”

The memory of the flames came floodin’ back and Ah had ta check my hooves just ta make sure. Ah moved ‘em up and down and checked my wrists. Nothin’ felt broken or off, so Ah guess it was fine. Just fer my own sanity, Ah called fer the fire ta build in my dominant hoof, and when it came, easily and painlessly, Ah sighed. “Seems like everythin’s fine now. How’s Scootaloo?”

“Fine, I suppose,” Celestia mused. “Last I remember, she was playing a game. Like you, she took a nap to recover, but has since been fresh.”

Ah nodded. “Good.” Ah squeezed my hoof again and stamped the fire out. It hurt like hell, but Ah matched her. The Sun herself… If Ah could just… “Princess?”

“No,” Goose immediately protested.

“Yes?” she asked.

“No!” he shouted.

“Ah think-”

“No you don’t!”

“If Ah took another shot at it-”

“No, no, no!”

“I think you’re right!” Celestia added.

“No!!!”

“Alright. And Ah think we should have everypony else watch, too. If what ya said is right…”

She nodded. “Yes, somepony could be standing by to record… a magical view would be very useful to our future endeavors…”

“Why!?” Goose complained.

Finally, Ah acknowledged him. “Look, Sugarcube, this is important. If we can figure this out tonight, then maybe we can get everypony else workin’ on it. If nothin’ else, it’ll at least give me a chance ta practice before Ah end up doin’ it tomorrow anyway.”

Scowling, he turned his head. “I don’t like it when you do things like this to yourself. How many times am I gonna have to wait for you to wake up?”

Ah brought myself up ta his face and kissed his cheek. “As many times as it takes.” Ah got out of bed, stood, and stretched out my back. “Let’s gather everypony. Twi, make a kinda ‘protected viewin’ room’ at the top of the trainin’ room. Now that Ah’ve got an idea of what it feels like, Ah think Ah can direct it a little better this time.”

Celestia raised a brow. “Oh? What makes you say that?”

Ah flexed my hoof again, lettin’ the fire flash in and out as Ah did. It comes so naturally now, Ah don’t even have ta think much about it. And that’s exactly what Ah think Ah need. “Ah think, if Ah can work up ta ya, Ah might be able ta do it. But the problem is how long Ah can sustain it, if at all.”

Celestia smiled, but thankfully not in that scary way she did earlier. “Is that so? Very well then. We shall see if you can back up your bark with your bite. Come along, Twilight, we have work to do.”

Once they’d left, Goose and Ah were alone in the spare room together. “Are you sure?” He asked.

“Sure about what?”

He rolled his eyes and came up beside me. “About… this. I know it’s gotten easier for you, but you destroy yourself every time you do this. What if--”

Ah put a hoof on his snout. “‘What if’… doesn’t matter right now. Ah know you’re worried, Sugarcube. But, if we don’t do what we can… then ‘what ifs’ aren’t somethin’ we’ll ever get ta worry about again.”

His teeth found his lip and he turned away. He clicked his tongue. “Since when are you the sensible one?”

Ah pulled his face over and gave him a light peck on the lips. “As strange as it may sound, that’s usually my job. At least before y’all came along, anyways.”

He smiled and rested his forehead on mine. “Uh-huh, that’s how it goes doesn’t it? I guess I don’t mind picking up the slack if it makes things easier on you.”

A giggle, a kiss, and a hard swat ta the rear later, we left that room. We trained late inta the night, and by the time the Celestia was startin’ ta get inta the fight, Ah figured it out. Finally, somethin’ went right. Finally, somethin’ worked the way Ah thought it would. Because, of course it did. Everythin’ looked good that night. For once, there was a hopeful outlook. And it would be.

Because the next day was gonna be the worst day of my life.

Kaiju V - Sahaquiel - The Monster

Applejack

“Ya know, Applejack, somethin’s been botherin’ me,” Pa said.

We were havin’ lunch at the top of the unfinished tower we were helpin’ put together fer some billionaire that wanted ta rebuild it. Ah’d opened the red box Ah’d packed with our lunch and sat on the edge of the exposed beam we bolted in earlier this week.

“What’s that?” Ah asked.

He took a deep breath and then came and sat next ta me. “Somethin’ about all this just don’t feel right.”

Ah frowned. Ah looked all around us, but Ah couldn’t figure out what he was talkin’ about. It was bright and sunny, not too hot, the sky was clear, the air this far above the city streets was nice, and the view of everythin’ below was amazin’. Ponies like us don’t get a chance ta see sights like this very often, so Ah just couldn’t think what it was. “Well, why? Nothin’ looks wrong.”

The old stallion leaned back and shrugged. “Just a feelin’ Ah got, not much else ta say about it.” He reached inta our lunch box and grabbed a sandwich. He bit a chunk off it and went on chewin’. The clouds moved slowly, the wind moved peacefully, and we ate in silence above the rest of the world.

“How’s the married life treatin’ ya?” he asked.

Ah don’t know why, but the question made me blush. “Aww, come on Pa, don’t ask me that…”

He chuckled. “Well, so long as ya enjoy each other, Ah’m sure you’ll have a happy life together.” He sighed. “Can’t believe he came back fer ya after all these years… Ya got somepony real special there, ya know?”

Again, the bubbly feelin’ in my chest refused ta go away and Ah had ta try my damndest ta keep from smilin’. “Ah know, Papa; he really is… he’s the best thing that’s happened ta me in…”

A crack shot across the sky. Light was breakin’ in between the edges of blue sky and the white void threatened ta make everythin’ crumble. Ah bit my lip and swallowed my words.

“In… in a long time.”

He nodded and took another bite out of his sandwich. “So it is…” He finished the rest of it and let his eyes drift ta the sky. Just like me, just like Mac; his eyes were green as emeralds. Unlike me, unlike Mac, when Ah looked inta those eyes, there was… there was a strange kinda sparkle. Life was there, but at the same time, it wasn’t. The crack in the sky widened.

“Applejack…”

“Yes, Pa?”

He turned and peered inta me, almost through me. His eyes bored so deep it felt like Ah needed ta do everythin’ and anythin’ Ah could ta hide. “Do ya… hate me?”

“Wha- no! Pa, Ah could never hate ya!” Ah was shocked. Startled that he would ask such a question. But, Ah knew why and next he would say…

“Are ya… are ya sure about that? Ah lied ta yer faces fer four years and up and left without so much as a goodbye. Ah was all ya had left; my only job was ta make sure that y’all grew up happy and healthy and Ah failed. Ah should’ve been there ta see ya get married. Ah should’ve been the one ta give ya away, not Blood. Ah should be there fer next year, when-”

“Pa, stop! It wasn’t yer fault!”

The crack grew even larger.

“It was my fault, damn it!” He stood. “Ah was the one who made my decisions! Ah decided ta don the cape! Ah decided that yer futures would be best secured by runnin’ out there ta try and be a hero, and Ah was the one that fell when Ah was needed most!”

Blood tricklin’ inside my mouth, Ah matched him and grabbed him by the overalls. The overals faded away the moment Ah touched them though, and instead, Ah was holdin’ some kinda nylon white suit.

“It wasn’t yer fault, damn it! Ya didn’t die at yer own hooves, it was somepony else! They… they took ya from me! They took ya from all of us…” My gaze fell and the anger started ta turn. Ah wrapped myself around the old pony and held him tight. “Please, don’t go…”

The crack reached the ground. Buildings and roads started ta fall apart at the horizon. The background was slowly bein’ eaten away and soon enough it would reach us.

He put his forelegs around me and held me back. “Ah’m sorry, Applejack. Ya know Ah can’t stay.”

“No, Papa please!” He separated himself from me and shook his head. The ground began ta rumble as the white light stole more and more of our tower. It would only be seconds now before it reached us.

He looked me square in the eyes, one hoof on my shoulder, and said, “There are things ya don’t know, Applejack. Things about me, things about yer uncle. One day ya may very well learn these hidden truths, and when that day comes Ah… Ah want ya ta remember who ya are. No matter what ya think, no matter who tells ya what, youare a hero. What a hero is, what a hero does and… who a hero forgives, is who you do.

“Ah didn’t want this life fer ya. Ah wanted somethin’ better fer all of ya. But life happened and mistakes were made. Even though all that, ya still ended up who ya are, and Ah couldn’t be more proud of ya. Just… keep that in mind when the day comes, alright? Promise me ya will?”

The crumblin’ world was all left ta the beam we were standin’ on and it would get him soon. Desperately, Ah grabbed him and took him as far away from the growin’ white light as Ah could. “Ah promise, Papa.”

He took a shudderin’ breath and patted my head while he held me. “Ah love ya, Applejack. Don’t repeat our mistakes.”

And in a flash, the white light took us.

“Hey, hey! What’s wrong? Applejack? Applejack!?”

Ah was in a cold sweat. My whole body was shudderin’ like Ah was freezing to death, and my face was wet. Ah grabbed hold of Goose ta try and stop it, but somethin’ felt like it had me in some kinda icy death grip.

He patted my back a couple times. “Too… tight!”

Ah took a deep gapin’ breath, and finally, the shakin’ stopped. Still invaded quickly and quietly, and Ah relaxed my grip on Goose. Ah let the breath out like a popped bag. “Oh, Goddess… what a nightmare…” Ah buried my face in his chest and held him a little tighter. Pa was short and stocky where Goose is tall and lean, but the shape was… just similar enough.

Goose rubbed my back and rested his cheek on the crown of my head. “You alright?”

Ah nodded, but Ah didn’t let go. It was just a dream. Everythin’ Ah know should tell me that it was all just a dream, but… Ah felt like if Ah let him go, he might just fade away too. “Mmhmm.”

After a while, he pulled away and turned all his concern on me. “What happened?”

Talkin’ about it was the last thing Ah wanted ta do. But, Ah knew this was comin’, and if any of my past experiences are anythin’ ta go by, talkin’ about it is the only way ta get over it. “Ah… dreamt about Pa.”

He frowned. “About your dad?”

Ah nodded. “Ah’ve had dreams like this before, but not in a long time. We… it always starts with us workin’ on some kinda project. Ah’m always as old as Ah am at the moment, and Pa looks just like Ah remember him. Middle aged yellow stallion with a bushy brown mane and beard; just as toned and bulky as my brother, but about the same size as Ah am, if a little bigger.

“Ah make our lunches in the mornin’, we get ta work on whatever the construction company told us we need ta do next, and after a few hours, we sit down fer lunch. That’s… that’s when it usually starts ta fall apart. He always says, ‘Somethin’ about all this just ain’t right.’ Ah ask him why, but then Ah begin ta remember. He asks me if Ah hate him fer just up and disappearin’ on us like he did, he blames himself fer dyin’ in that fight and then… the dream falls apart. Only… this time, somethin’ different happened.”

“And that was…?”

The memory was more vague than Ah’d like it ta be. “He said… somethin’ about mistakes and… forgiveness.” There’s usually a lot of clarity in my dreams and Ah can usually remember just about every detail, but these ones… they’re always like this. He tries ta tell me somethin’ again and again, and Ah can just… never remember what he said at the end.

Goose clicked his tongue. “Hmm… I don’t really know what to make of that. Maybe your old man is… trying to contact you from beyond the grave or something.” He waved his hooves and made a ‘spooky’ moan and howl. “Maybe he’ll say, ‘How’d ya end up with a criminal like that guy? Ah raised ya better than that!’ Course, if it were my dad, it’d be the opposite. Slap my shoulder with the force of a truck doing 60 down the road and say, ‘That’s my boy, what a catch.’”

Goose smiled his sharp sharky smile and damn it if it wasn’t infectious. Ah turned away from him and let out a breath, and begrudgin’ly, a giggle. “Take me seriously, damn it.”

He wrapped his forelegs around me and put his cheek on mine. “Baby, ya worry too much. I know your track record with dreams isn’t exactly one to scoff at, all things considered; but is this one really something to be concerned about? Everypony makes mistakes, and forgiving them is important when need be, but is that worth having a panic attack over?”

Ah sighed and relaxed against him. Maybe it is nothin’, maybe Ah just can’t relax with what’s ahead of us today; maybe Ah should. It’ll be hard, but things are gonna play out how they play out. As Matarael taught us, there’s only so much we can prepare fer. Ah took a deep breath and reached fer my phone. Six in the mornin’, on the dot. Six hours before what’s likely ta be the hardest fight of our lives.

Figurin’ that sleep was outta the question, Ah freed myself from Goose and sat up. “Well, no use in actin’ like things ain’t the way they are. Ah’m gonna go take a shower.”

Groaning, Goose rolled over and got outta bed himself. “Fffine. At this point, trying to get you to come back to bed is like herding wet cats.”

An idea sparked in my head and a smile grew on my face, Ah passed him by and dragged just the smallest tip of my tail across his snout. “Might not be a cat, but Ah’ll give ya a chance ta try herdin’ me~”

Up on his hooves and up right ta attention, Goose affirmed a “Yes ma’am,” and followed me inta the bathroom.

“I just… do not understand how this is even happening,” Twi said.

We’d decided ta call the ‘upgrade’ C.T.C. or ‘Complete Trump Card,’ and so far, everypony else that tried it broke just after turnin’ it on. Pinkie’s legs snapped, Rarity attempted it, but stopped just before another fantastical horn explosion, cued when her horn started ta crack at the base. Shy couldn’t manage it, and Dash can’t do it. Goose got close, even had it ta the point he could get two hooves runnin’ it at the same time, but just like all the others, he broke after a couple of uses of it. Twi, of course, was forbidden from even attemptin’ such a thing, especially after what we saw with Rarity.

“How do ya mean?” Ah called from the outside of the ‘enclosed safety zone’ Twi’d made. It was necessary, ta be completely honest. The cold was nearly unbearable. Luna in her ‘nightmare mode,’ as Celestia called it, was somewhere between ‘blizzard’ and ‘vacuum of space’ levels of cold. Ice had built on all the walls, my extremities, and would freeze over the window if it weren’t fer Celestia actively keepin’ heat on it. And me, fer that matter.

“What she means is, it just does not make any sense as to how you have managed to force your magic vessels on.” Luna said. Much like Celestia, her voice gets all distorted when she makes herself scary like that. Just like the day she made me turn on her armor, she became this terrifyin’ spiky, black, demonic lookin’ thing; the opposite way Celestia does, but with Luna’s powers on, it was even more nightmarish. Aptly named, Ah suppose.

She dismissed her powers, revertin’ her coat from stark black ta its usual night blue and her mane ta its more ‘sparkly night sky’ cloud appearance. Heat flooded the room, which Ah was thankful fer, and Celestia warped the rest of the girls and Goose down ta the frozen trainin’ room with us.

“Yet, it seems with practice, it is possible to have Trump Card force them on, as we’ve seen the beginnings of that in Goose and Pinkie. Though it is a violent and painful process at that,” Celestia said.

Goose passed me a towel and a water bottle, and after suckin’ down what was left in that Ah asked, “So, ya think it’s just my powers that made it work fer me fer so long?”

Celestia stepped forward. “I am not so certain that the two don’t simply act in concert. When the others made their attempts, we were actively recording how the magic seems to flow within one’s body. In Rarity’s attempt it almost immediately forced all the magic within and around her person to gather in her horn. I mean no offence, but that is all far too much for somepony with such a low capacity,” Celestia nodded ta Rarity,

“The effect results in magical overload and a high potential of breaking her horn. Any unicorn attempting this would likely face similar consequences. Only the most physically capable unicorns could manage it, and I have my doubts even Twilight would be ready for that level of concentrated energy, had her horn not already experienced overload.”

Rarity shrugged. “Well, I’m not about to say that it didn’t scare the devil out of me when I felt the pounding on my skull, but after seeing the video feed of it, I’m more shocked that I didn’t start to break apart sooner. That was enough energy to cast something like a city-wide barrier. Not a very strong or durable one, yes, but a massive one. I can’t normally cast a barrier spell to begin with.”

Twi nodded. “And that’s just her. We could see traces of magic trying to work its way down both Rainbow and Fluttershy’s wings, it forced its way up Pinkie’s forelegs before it shattered them like an overloaded horn, and Goose even managed to have his energies meet at his chest; though I suspect that has more to do with the mirror than his native powers. It’s just all so weird.”

“Truly,” Celestia began, “had we more time to explore this, I feel as though at the very least, Pinkie and Goose would be able to fully realize the complete version of Trump Card, but… that just simply isn’t the case.” She popped her golden slab of a phone out of thin air and checked the time. “It’s nine-thirty right now. I believe we could run simulations from now until eleven since I can account for the ‘bug’ in the system. They should be far more accurate than before, and with the extra training to get you used to the speed and unnatural movement of Sahaquiel, I believe the results might even fare better. Or so we hope, anyways.”

“Oh, don’t give me that!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Things’ll be fine. We’ve been here before; let’s just do it and get it over with!”

As much as Ah hesitated ta be optimistic in the moment, Pinkie was right. “Yeah… it’ll go how it goes, and we’re doin’ all we can ta be ready fer it. We’ll get through this and… things’ll be fine.”

A pink blur appeared at my side and Pinkie gave me a hearty swat ta the shoulder. “That’s the spirit! We’ve had our fair share of shit to deal with, but ya know what? We’ve always come out of it! Let’s kick this guy’s ass and finish this fight!”

The gang rallied with a ‘Yeah!’ and that settled it: things were gonna go how they go. We’ll do our best, we’ll make it through, and we’ll see tomorrow. Things… things are gonna be fine.

“Heroes… and others, today I bring you what may be your final challenge!” the Mask began. Silicon began. I couldn’t help but chew on my tongue. That was a jab, but he meant it. “Sahaquiel, if you please…”

The Mask motioned in its black void on the nearest electronic billboard ta us, and sure enough, from the shadows of an alley walked out… a teenager. A short cut pale blond mane, a brown and tan coat, and brown eyes. If Ah didn’t know any better, Ah’d assume he was just some lost kid. How… scary it is, ta have power like that.

Sahaquiel took a bow. “Hello, dear heroes. You’ve no ideahow long I’ve been waiting for this day.”

The Crow shook her head. “Yeah, I’m pretty sureI have a good idea.”

Sahaquiel stood, shrugged, and began to float in mid-air. With a smug look on his face, he said, “Why, yes; you may very well be right. However, I used the word ‘heroes’ when I addressed your group.” Then, his face turned and he scowled at the Crow. “Youdon’t qualify for that title.” He reached one foreleg over and stretched it across his barrel. “I do believe, of all the ponies I’ll kill today, I will take the most joy in killing you, traitor.” He stretched his other foreleg out. “I want to have a bit of fun with it first though. I hate asymmetry, so I think I’ll start by making your wings match.” He flashed her a smile. “Now doesn’t thatsound like fun?”

“Not gonna happen.” Ah stepped forward. “We’ll put y’all down and be one step closer ta endin’ this whole charade.”

He turned his attention ta me, but that only made him smile wider. “Will you? I’d like to see you try!” Then he paused. He put a hoof to his face and tapped his lips a couple times. “Actually… I really would like to see youtry, Marevelous Red. You’re the one that caught my eye, after all. You certainly can’t compare to me in terms of speed, based on what I’ve seen, but in strength? Every time I watch you take another of my brethren down, it always seems like you’ve got a little bit more to pull out of nothing. I wonder if I can’t find the bottom of that seemingly endless reserve… or will you break before then? I simply can’t waitto find out.”

He turned ta the Mask and kneeled as if he were standin’ on somethin’. The ‘unnatural movement’ he had about him was even stranger than when Celestia and Luna were usin’ magic ta mimic him. Ya could tell that they still had ta think about how ta make themselves move, because there was definitely a slight ‘pause’ while we sparred when they didn’t use their wings ta fly. This guy lacked the wings and the pause, which didn’t bode well fer us.

“Master, if you would…”

The Mask shook. “Not quite yet, my dear friend. We still have a surprise for them to share.”

Sahaquiel clapped his hooves. “Ah, yes, of course! How could I forget?”

My lip twitched. Ah don’t like this one bit. “Twi, get a hold of Brightness fer me.”

“Sure, one sec.”

“Much like our last encounter, we added a new twist to the game!” Persona began.

“What’s up?” Brightness asked.

“Any idea what he’s on about?” Ah asked.

“Given what I know about the guy, he’s probably going to announce targets. Sunny and Moony should probably be ready to evacuate a city or two at any moment.”

“Not to worry. After the last event, I’ve since prepared a task force within the infantry to mobilize the moment he picks his locations. Cantermore will not happen again,”Celestia added.

“I have done some research, heroes! Though I have no certainevidence to your identities, I have found some very interestingdetails about ponies in this city that… just so happen to be very similar to you.”

Oh no.

The Mask disappeared from the screen, and ta replace it were camera views of… Saltlick, Ponyville, and Phillydelphia, the place where my family goes ta avoid the fightin’… along with most of Manehattan. “I do believe that you all have various ties to ponies in these cities, don’t you? So, here are the rules: I will assign one pony to each city. If said pony falls to Sahaquiel, I will unleash the virus on that city.”

“You bastard!” the Crow shouted.

“No, no, both of my parents were together when I was born. Alas, yourparents live in one of these places, don’t they? See, that little fact I happen to know for sure. I won’t spoil the surprise of letting themknow that you die here today though. They’ll see it themselves in due time. But, other ponies here also have loved ones within these other cities, Phillydelphia being a common retreat for the ponies of Manehattan on days like today.

“This is going to be a battle of attrition! I want to see you squirmto survive! Somehow, it feels like there’s been a string of overwhelming victories for you as of late, and to be quite honest, I just don’t think that’s fair! So much power from the outset and you keep getting stronger and better as a unit? With every loss, my chances of success dwindle, and that is simply… unbalanced. So, in the spirit of fairness, I’ll give you a chance.”

The screen shifted, the cities aligned to one side, and next to each were the faces of our heroes. Blur, the Crow, and myself, each lined up ta… the rightcity, as it happens.

“For every pony I’ve targeted here that survives, I will give you one of my patentedVanities to use however you will. Study them, take them apart, roll the dice and see if you can’t get yourself a new power! We don’t have a concrete sample size on this generation, maybe you’d like to be test subjects, hm? Ah, it matters not to me what you do with them. Assuming you get one at all, that is.” A pause.

“Should you win, I will have them delivered posthaste and a drone will arrive in minutes with your reward. And next week we’ll meet in person so I can finally give mostof you the adoration you deserve. But, should you lose, your cities will crumble, this city will fall, and I will be coming after my favoritepony in the world, personally. You know who you are.”

The Mask winked, likely directly at Luna.

“Normally I would just start, but today may very well be your final day! Do the heroes of Harmony have anylast words?”

Ah stopped my teeth from grindin’ against each other and took a step forward. “You’ve taken a step too damn far this time, Persona! Justice will find ya, and Ahwill be her escort!”

“Oh my, a threat from the ideal hero herself? I’m simply quakingwith anticipation. Very well then! Go beyond, heroes! Sahaquiel, begin!”

The Mask disappeared from the screen leavin’ behind the image with each hero next ta their city. Without so much as a sound, Sahaquiel launched himself at his first target; Diamond. Quick on his hooves, the Black Knight grabbed her just as Sahaquiel reached them and warped away.

Accordin’ ta the plan we made earlier, Diamond was gonna hide out as best she could while bein’ near enough ta use her powers fer the entirety of the fight. Not havin’ her last time was such a detriment that this time we decided ta keep her out of sight.

The Crow and Target took ta the air, the latter in her new black body suit under a large coat, hat and new mask while Blur and Ah split up in opposite directions. Sahaquiel didn’t bother stoppin’ his attack and let his hoof slam right inta the roof of the buildin’ we were on.

Like a wave, the rooftop caved in from the center out, then the floor below that followed, then the floor below that, and all the glass on every floor of that particular office shattered. After the dust had settled, Sahaquiel was left floatin’ there alone. “Not even going to try and protect the structures this time? Boring, but at least it’s a marginally intelligentdecision. My darling Crow, where have you gone!? It’s been so longsince I last got the chance to admire your pretty feathers, won’t you show them to me again?”

“Oh, goddess, I think I just puked a little,”the Crow said over the link.

“It doesn’t matter what he says, keep the plan in mind. Don’t come out unless Ah say so, and be near enough that when Ah call time you’re ready ta help. Is everypony in position?”

“Yes ma’am!” the others responded.

“He hasn’t shown us what he can do yet, so that’s what we’ll need ta figure out first. Knight, Blur, you’re up. Blur, keep yer distance. You’re one of the targets. Yer family’s survival depends on yers, remember that.”

“… Right,” she said after a pause.

From either side of Sahaquiel the Black Knight and Blur came out of alleys. Sahaquiel pursed his lips and tapped a hoof against his chin. “Hmm… now what could this be? You all have a habit of doing things in one fell swoop, so is this a new game? Whatever, let’s rack up a high score!”

At first, it looked like he was gonna dive fer BK, but he turned on a dime and went after Blur. Like a bullet, he shot inta the ground where she’d just been, but Blur was faster, if only by so much. The painted pony’s eyes widened when he saw he missed and Blur had loaded a trump card in her hoof; the magic so intense that everypony could see it.

“Don’t fuck with my family!” Jab, jab, straight, Blur slammed her charged hoof right in the center of Sahaquiel’s neck. A wave of wind blew dust around them from the tail end of Blur’s attack, and as if it were a delayed reaction, Sahaquiel went flyin’ with his head cocked ta the side like it was broken. His body spun and twisted, but just as he started ta slow, BK made his move.

Sahaquiel had just enough time ta hear the quiet grindin’ sound of static that the Black Knight makes when he warps. Their eyes met just in time fer BK’s hooves ta land directly on the crown of his’s head.

A cloud of dust accompanied the boom of Sahaquiel landin’ in a new crater in the street. BK warped back ta Blur’s side and then they waited. Had they hit me, or anypony with even an enhanced body like mine, Ah’d be in bad shape right now. The question here was; how is Sahaquiel now?

A whirlwind came from inside the ball of smoke. The dust cleared and there floated Sahaquiel, a tooth missin’, blood runnin’ from his snout, and a wild grin on his face. “Excellent! Simply marvelous! I haven’t been hit like that in ages! Our failed experiments are never any fun to kill, but you!? Youcan be hunted like proper beasts! You’ve had your turn… and now it’s mine!”

We didn’t even see him move. In the blink of an eye, Sahaquiel had gone from floatin’ above his crater ta havin’ his foreleg catch BK by the neck and threw him off in the air like a rocket.

“Blur, tag out! Target, catch BK! Crow, with me!”

Ah leapt from my vantage point just as Sahaquiel turned on Blur. Aimin’ carefully, Ah shot my cable at his back. Unfortunately, he twisted and caught the blade end of it in his hoof. “Come now, a surprise attack? Please. It’s not so easy to get the jump on me!”

Though she’d been silent while Ah had his attention, Sahaquiel spun around and kicked Blur in the face before she could nail him again. As she flew away, Sahaquiel pulled my cable down ta earth like a whip. The concrete caught my back and my head bounced off it. Somethin’ inside cracked.

Just as Ah started ta regain my senses, my foreleg felt like it was comin’ outta its socket as Sahaquiel pulled me close. “Tools aren’t fun! Fight like a mare!” His foreleg reeled back and I saw the muscles in it tighten and reshaped what might be a normal teen’s leg inta somethin’ the looked more like a body builder’s. The hoof ready ta fly toward my face spelled death, but just at the last second, a sword swung where Sahaquiel’s head was.

“Motherfucker!” the Crow cursed when he ducked.

“Maybe someday, but I prefer younger mares right now~” Rainbow’s blood covered her like a dome and Sahaquiel twisted around and slammed me inta it. The blood cushioned the blow, and finally, he let go of my cable. Ah quickly reeled it back in and once the Crow regained her balance, we turned ta see Sahaquiel stretchin’.

“You know, I’m a little disappointed. Here I was, standing completely erect from the rush of getting hit like that, then you two come out here and give a paltry performance. I expected less from them and better from both of you. Way to kill my boner; why don’t you try that cable thing again, Marevelous? I’ve never played with whips before, that was fun!”

A nerve had been touched. Power flooded my hooves and Ah was near ready ta launch at this little bastard when a voice yelled in my head.

“Hey! Keep the plan in mind, alright?”

The anger faded a little, and Ah stopped the fire. Two can play at this game. “Ah know, Ah know. How are ya? Is Blur still alive?”

“I’m… not dead?”she responded.

“And I’m mostly okay. Neck’s gonna be sore tomorrow, though. He doesn’t hit as hard as you do, so that’s a plus,” BK said.

“He’s t-too fast for me to support you from this vantage. S-should I…?”Target trailed off.

“Not yet. Save that fer when we really need it. Ah doubt he’s serious just yet, but if anythin’s clear, this kid is still just that; a kid. Target, get him in yer sights, but don’t fire until Ah give the signal. Blur, are ya faster than him? Ah can’t tell.”

“I am, but I thinkone of my forelegs is broken. Or fractured at least. It hurts, a lot.”

“What am I looking at here? Are you just standing there, waiting? No… no, youare having a team meeting right in front of me! I am, quite frankly, insulted. You will look at me!” Sahaquiel launched himself at me, but this time, Ah was ready fer it. In one motion, Ah raised a charged hoof ta block, and lowered the other ta counter. Sahaquiel’s foreleg slammed against mine, but my hooves were steady and Ah didn’t so much as budge. The percussive wind flew behind me and blew the Crow back a meter, and Sahaquiel was shocked.

“Don’t’cha worry none. Ah didn’t forget about ya.” His mouth fell open, but Ah was quick ta close it. My hips twisted left and my hoof rocketed up inta Sahaquiel’s jaw. A satisfyin’ clock ta the button under his chin as his teeth smashed together, then a boom shook the concrete we were standin’ on as the shockwave reverberated through his body, just as he soared inta the sky.

“Target, now!”

Gunfire rang out as bullets pelted the ragdoll flyin’ straight inta the stratosphere. A knee hit, a shoulder hit, a knee hit; blood rained and Target took aim one more time.

“Finish it!”Target shot again, but this time, somethin’ was very wrong. Sahaquiel twisted in time with the fire and a spark shined and the bullet ricocheted off him, an instant later the Crow’s helmet flew off her face and she went down.

“Hold yer fire!”The Crow’s head was bleedin’. The helmet had stopped the bullet, but dented inward so far that there was a chance it hit her skull. There was too much blood ta tell. Shit, shit, shit!

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA, WARUDO!”

Color evaporated from the world and Diamond ran out from an alley ta me. “What happened!?”

“Ah… Ah think he turned her slug and aimed it at us… somehow. Whatever it was, she’s bleedin’ bad. Take her back and have her and Blur get fixed up. It doesn’t look like Sahaquiel can heal himself, so this shouldn’t take much longer. Next time Ah get him good enough, Ah’ll call time and try ta finish him off. Be ready.”

Diamond nodded. “Okay, be careful. We’ve still got seven minutes of my time.” She picked up the frozen Crow. “Don’t let him swing you around like that again. We don’t need you too banged up now, alright?”

Ah nodded. “You’re tellin’ me.” Diamond ran off with the Crow’s frozen body, and Ah used the remainin’ time ta get a good look at our ‘Kaiju.’ Sure enough, his eyes were focused dead at where the Crow just was, and his body was twisted half around with one of his hooves out in the air. Ah doubt Ah’d be able ta reach him without help, so instead Ah stretched my legs again and prepared ta give orders.

Color flooded the world and time had restarted. “BK, get Blur ta Diamond, those two are taggin’ out fer now. Once you’re done with that, it’s down ta us ta take this kid out. Target, adjust yer position and back off fer now. Ah doubt he will, but if he comes after ya, fly ta me and we’ll take his attention.”

“Ma’am!”the gang responded.

Sahaquiel repositioned himself, then came to a halt in mid air. One hoof moved ta his jaw and after shiftin’ it in a way that looked like it would hurt, he moved his mouth around and started ta sink back toward us. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that one was meant to kill. Surely you aren’t already tired of playing with me, are you?”

BK warped ta my side and after a quick glance between us, we started ta casually walk toward Sahaquiel. “Maybe. But then again, ya did nearly kill one of yer targets with a bullet we fired, so Ah’d rather not have this drag on.”

His jaw twisted and clicked back into place once more, then the teenager smiled. “Only nearly? And here I was sure I’d hit just the right spot. You must have an incredible healer on your team to recover from something like that.”

“Yeah, we certainly do. Ah’m just surprised y’all still wanna play, what with the shape you’re in right now. How are them legs doin’? She gotcha in the knees, it looks like.”

His good foreleg raised, he shrugged. “Oh, they’ll be well enough soon. Though clearly not as efficient as my brethren, my regenerative powers are enough to keep me well after something as trivial as a bullet to the knees. The tooth the blue one knocked out is already grown back, you see?”

As he flashed his smile, my dismay grew. Not a tooth out of place, though one looked a fair bit whiter than the others. Not seconds, but minutes; and his body fixes itself. Ah sighed. “Well, that’s just peachy.” A slug pushed itself out of Sahaquiel’s other foreleg, then he stretched and moved it around. “Ah guess…” Ah lowered myself, “we’ll just have ta see how many times Ah need ta kill ya before ya die.”

Ah launched with all the force Ah could muster in my hind legs. Sahaquiel was fast, but not faster than Blur, which meant Ah had a good shot at hittin’ him like this. Forelegs open, Ah managed ta wrap them around his neck before he reacted ta what Ah’d done. He attempted ta jab me in the stomach, but Ah was quick ta pull away. Ah twisted my left hoof up the side of his neck ta his face and wrapped the other around the base of his neck. Tightenin’ my grip on his mane, Ah grabbed and pulled as hard as Ah could the opposite direction.

SNAP

Suddenly, there was no magical force holdin’ us up in the air. We dropped ta the ground like a sack of bricks, and just before we fell, Ah jumped off and backed away. And then… Ah just stood there fer a second. What… what did Ah just do?The thought was fleetin’ though, and pulled out of it, Ah called ta Twi. “What’s his status? Still alive?”

“I… I’m not sure. I still detect a heartbeat, but brain activity has stopped. What did you do?”

“Something I honestly wasn’t sure she was capable of. Damn,”BK added.

Ah tilted my head and stared dead at the Black Knight. “Really?”

“Yes, really, geez. It’s not like I thought you were joking or anything, but I didn’t expect you to just slam into him and snap his neck.”

Celestia sighed from somewhere. “That’s not going to look good on camera.”

Ah groaned. “Who cares how it looks!? It’s either him or most of the populace! Ah didn’t think that was a hard decision ta make!”

Twi interrupted, “Hold on. Brain activity restarted.”

Attention back on the body, Sahaquiel’s forehooves started ta move up ta his head. In a quick, sharp motion, his head twisted the other way. The ruptured skin and bone of his neck realigned and slowly formed back the way they were supposed to be. The once dead eyes lit back up, then Sahaquiel blinked.

“Well now! Somepony was serious! To think that I would see death twice, only to be dug up from a shallow grave yet again!” He sat up and popped his neck on either side. “Apparently, it’s going to take more than that to really kill me. You two on the other hoof… aren’t quite so durable!”

Sahaquiel launched at us, and immediately, Ah started ta feel a strange sense of déjà vu. BK and Ah ducked ta avoid the initial slam and Ah turned around ta see him nowhere. Ah feltmovement above my head and Ah turned and kicked myself off BK ta get us both outta the way of Sachiel slammin’ himself inta the ground where we just were. As soon as Ah got my bearin’s again, I knew he was gonna come after me next, so Ah raised a foreleg just in front of my face and braced ta catch him.

SLAM

Ah shifted back, my hooves diggin’ inta the concrete as the wild eyed teen stared deep in my eyes with the biggest smile on his face. “What are you!? Having your head bashed against the concrete should’ve killed you, but no, you stand and still you’re so strong! You see me coming, you protect your comrades, and then you counter me with such incredible violence!Marevelous indeed… you’re a monster, just like me!”

While that unsettled me, it wasn’t quite enough ta make me focus solely on him. Ah saw movement outta the corner of my eye and wrapped my free hoof around his foreleg. A cable shot inta Sahaquiel’s back and the teen arched in response. The Black Knight flew toward Sahaquiel at the hip followin’ his cable, then he twisted a knee in time ta smash his armor right inta Sahaquiel’s head. The younger pony spun away like a flipped coin, tearin’ the cable free from his back, rollin’ head over hooves against the ground until finally he flopped ta a stop.

BK sighed. “While I figured I might have to push away other stallions trying to make advances on you, I didn’t expect to have to use killing force when I did it.”

Ah blushed a little, thankful nopony could see it, and scratched at my chin. “Well, you’re a little more gifted in certain places than he is and, well, not a psychopath; so ya shouldn’t be too worried. That kid is some kinda creepy.”

“And I had to work with him! For half a year! I swear, dude’s like… fight-sexual or something.” Rainbow said from the other end somewhere.

“Speakin’ of, is somepony sendin’ y’all back out soon? Ah… hate ta have ta think like this, but maybe usin’ a sword wouldn’t be a bad idea here. Or… somethin’ that kills him a little faster.”

“Considering that she had a half inch wound on her forehead just from onerandom counterattack, which was stopped just barely by a sheet of enchanted plate mail, I believe that would be unwise. Scootaloo can’t bring ponies back from the dead, unlike our adversary, and you two seem to be the only ones strong enough to endure his attacks,” Celestia answered.

“I also dropped it when I got shot, so it’s probably still on the road if somepony didn’t already pick it up,” Rainbow added. Ah looked over, and sure enough, there was her katana; layin’ on the street forgotten. Then Ah heard the wind.

“Ah, ah, ah… don’t look away.” My eyes managed ta catch a glimpse of the tan hind leg swingin’ at my head just before it connected. Pain flared, my ear twisted in a way it was never supposed ta, and my body shot away. Ah flew and everything moved in such a way that Ah couldn’t tell up from down. My body hit the ground, but even as much as my head could fight the pain, my limbs weren’t willin’ ta stop me.

KLANG

The clash of metal rang out, cuttin’ through the ringin’ in my head and finally makin’ my legs function right. Ah looked up ta see the Black Knight standin’ firm as he took punch after kick after punch from Sahaquiel. He’d formed a stance with his left foreleg blockin’ the repeated blows and just when he saw an openin’, BK countered hard with his right, a downward hook inta Sahaquiel’s face.

The teen was shot firmly inta the ground head first, bein’ half buried in it. Then, in a move Ah wasn’t sure he was capable of, the Black Knight stood above the teen’s head and stomped a hind hoof down on it. Once, twice, three times. The body twitched and shivered. BK’s boots were painted red.

Ah didn’t feel any less sick. He is evil. He is a child. He is our enemy. He’s somepony’s son. He’s some twisted creature. He’s a victim of circumstance. It must be done. Why did it come to this? It all feels so… wrong.

BK, satisfied with his work, warped ta stand over me. “Hey, are you okay?”

He helped me up, but that just made me sicker. This should be easy. He’s a monster.But he doesn’t look like one. What he looks like… is a kid.Ah swallowed the thought away, locked it deeper this time, and then steadied myself. “Just a little shook up, that’s all.”

“Diamond, get ready. We don’t know what will kill this guy, but if he’s anythin’ like the others, then the thing keepin’ him alive through all this has gotta be a mirror near his heart. Ah can’t take another hit like that, so we have ta end this, sooner rather than later.

“Target, while he’s still down there, try and plant one right at it. If… if he somehow protects it, then we know what we need ta do. Ah don’t feel like gettin’ shot though, so don’t shoot more than necessary just in case, alright?”

“Ma’am!”they echoed together.

Target turned ta take aim at the still… partially dead kid and Ah prepared my hooves fer a deflect, just in case.

POW!

Just as the bullet was fired, a hoof shot up from the body and a brick exploded on the side of a buildin’ nearby. Slowly, unnaturally, the body shifted up from the ground. What remained of the head was still reforming itself and we were greeted with the half formed face of what was truly, a monster.

“As it turns out, the third visit only feels nostalgic.”The bone of his skull slowly reformed itself, then a thin sheet of muscle and tendons stretched out from under his skin, and finally, the rest of him closed back up as if his head had never been smashed in in the first place. He popped his neck again, and then that awful smile returned to his lips.

“Neck snapped, skull shattered. That’s two, heroes. That is, of course, if two ponies that are the ‘faces of justice,’ as it were, who can so readily kill a teenager should be called as such. I suppose that knowing he’ll come back in a moment or so could ease more tender hearts, but yours are farfrom that. No, no… those were brutalways to end a life. Practicedways to kill, something that speaks of experience with it! How many lives have you ended with those hooves, hmm? Does wearing a cape and killing in the name of the law validate you?”

Ah shook my head. “You’re a sick bastard, Ah tell ya what. Not a single thing is right about any of this.”

He shrugged “Guilty as charged. I do derive a certain pleasure from it, but… do you not? The way you fight, the constant struggle for your life, the exhilaration of surviving though it all! To ponies so powerful, ponies strong enough to kill your lowers without so much as a thought, is it not the most wonderfulfeeling there is?”

The Black Knight made a noise of disgust. “Sick just doesn’t even begin to cover it. You know what a wonderful feeling is? Knowing you’re loved, that’s a wonderful feeling. Killing for the sake of it, spreading suffering for the sake of it, plunging cities into panic for the sake of it, none of that is anything more than a twisted desire. We are here to protect ponies we care about from you and that freak in the mask, and that’s all there is to it.”

Sahaquiel put a hoof on his heart and ran another though his mane. “Oh, how you wound me! Sickness? Twisted desire? Can that really be all my aching heart wants?” He lowered his head and stared BK down. “For those of us that have never felt love, I suppose that’s really all there is left for us, isn’t it? SHOW ME HOW IT FEELS!”

Sahaquiel launched, and Rainbow’s Katana was within reach. Sahaquiel collided with the Black Knight, blowing dust and rubble in the air from the force of the impact. The moment was now, and Ah called time.

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA, WARUDO!”

Color retreated from the world and Ah galloped, grabbed the sword off the ground, then ran back. Ah pushed my frozen husband out of the way, lined up the sword right with Sahaquiel’s chest, just in front of his frozen heart, and tightened my grip.

“Release!”

In the blink of an eye, time restarted all around me. Sahaquiel’s body started to dip deeper into Rainbow’s sword and as soon as Ah saw it, Ah added a thrust myself. Only, the moment Ah started ta move the sword, it never went deeper inta the body. Inch by inch, frame by frame, like watchin’ a film in slow motion, the sword went forward, but the body did as well. By the time Ah was at my full extension, Sahaquiel had come off the sword.

His eyes had focused on me, a smile so wicked that it might as well had been a ‘V’ filled with teeth formed on his face, and his head tilted. “I’d been waiting for that little trick of yours. Don’t you know… that dirty tricks only work once?”

Sahaquiel twisted and his hind hoof came up and kicked the sword out of my grip and high inta the air. The ringin’ of the singin’ steel filled my good ear as the sensation of what had just happened started ta fill my heart. The encroaching horror of what Ah’d done, the very idea that if even fer a split second, somethin’ inside me had made a horrible mistake. His body shifted forward, that same hoof high above his head suddenly swung down right on the crown of my head.

“Marevelous, look out!!”

Who said that? My head didn’t feel right. Somethin’ wasn’t connected. Ah wasn’t movin’. Ah couldn’t move. Why was that? Did he hit me so hard that there was somethin’ wrong with my spine? Ah couldn’t feel much of anythin’ at all right now.

“Target, me, TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA, WARUDO!”

Ah blinked and suddenly Ah was in The Black Knight’s forelegs. He’d set me up against a buildin’ just ta the side. Gunfire rang out from somewhere above, but each and every shot went off with a ‘ping’ and a ‘smack,’holes formin’ in the ground all around that child. He swung his hooves around in time with each blast, until finally he spun himself around completely and the light of another blast went back where it came from.

“Ahhh!”

Somepony screamed from up high. My knight disappeared from my side and he blinked next ta the fallin’ figure of a three-legged pegasus. He blinked again and she was set beside me.

My head was still ringin’ and the sound of that sword finally hittin the ground didn’t make it any better. Pain started ta flare up in my neck and my back arched. “Gah!” A noise came out of my mouth and Ah fell over. What in the world is goin’ on?

“Get them out of here!”

“I can’t, I just used my powers three times in a row, I’ll need another thirty seconds to recharge!”

“We don’t have that kinda time! He broke her back and she’s bleeding out!”

“I told you not to look away!!!”A yell outside of my head, something that Ah could hear clearly through the ringin’. My knight turned around ta face the wind as he came rushin’ after him; forelegs raised, standin’ firm in front of us ta keep us from harm. The moment they collided, they blinked away.

Further down the street, Ah watched as the Black Knight took blow after blow after blow, a low buildin’ orange light in his hooves. The teen managed ta get behind him and raise his hooves well over my knight’s head. Just as the light in his hooves had hit a peak, Ah noticed it glint off of Rainbow’s sword, stickin’ up firmly outta the ground beside them.

Sahaquiel swung his hooves down hard in an attempt ta hit my husband the same way he hit me, but just as it came, BK blinked behind him. Sahaquiel turned just in time ta see that glowin’ hoof release all the power within it, stabbin’ straight through him like some kinda cannonball. The dust and rubble behind the little monster swirled in a whirlwind formin’ a small tornado out of the force my knight had released.

The young colt’s body slid off of the Black Knight’s hoof. With his left spent, his right still glowed with an ever growin’ intense orange light. Sahaquiel hacked and coughed, a wave of blood gushed out of his mouth and the new through hole in his stomach. Sahaquiel locked eyes with my knight as he stepped on his body, preparin’ ta unleash the final blow.

What Ah could see, and what my husband couldn’t, was somethin’ that glinted in the light. What Sahaquiel had grabbed when he fell, what the Black Knight didn’t see as he leaned down ta kill the monster, was a sword that had failed to kill him.

As the black knight reeled back his charged hoof, Ah did everythin’ in my power ta scream. Not a sound would come out. My mouth wouldn’t move, my body didn’t respond, and just like in my darkest nightmares, Ah was frozen as Ah watched.

My eyes felt wet.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. We practiced! We fought him over and over and over, and even still, we managed to win! This isn’t how it was supposed to go. He was supposed to die when we stopped time! We had time on our side, how could this have happened!? Nopony was supposed to get hurt! Why can’t Ah move!? Move damn it, move!!!

Just as the Black Knight moved in fer the kill, the glintin’ sword went up through a gap in his armor. The tip of the blade, dark red with crimson, exited through the side of his neck. He stopped in his tracks. The light that once glowed from around his hooves dissipated all at once, and his forelegs fell limp.

His head turned ta me. Ah couldn’t see his face. Ah had no words ta make out on his lips. A thought was passed over.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep our promise.”

Blood gushed out from under his helmet.

The Black Knight fell.

“… N-no… no, no… no, no, NO, NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

Finale I: Thanatos

Twilight

When mother returned, Rarity and Fluttershy had just made it back. Rarity went to approach her, but stopped short. “Oh, goddess, what is that horrendous…?” Then she noticed Applejack on mother’s back. They were faint, but a horn of light and black wings of magic were still attached to her as the sickest, ugliest feeling radiated off of her. Like a fog of nausea followed her around.

I don’t quite understand it, but I can feel it. I’ve always known that this castle was tied to me. It’s my cutiemark that sits on the front, it’s me that all this magic it generates flows through and around, and for the most part, I usually understand it. Today, the only thing I’ve always known and never questioned, attacked me from inside out. My energy was stolen, a black feeling of the darkest hatred and the deepest sorrow was left in its place, leaving a bitter taste of rage on my tongue.

Even now, though it had dulled since mother knocked Applejack out, I could still feel it. I wish I knew how to respond to it; I wish I could understand why, while all this nastiness swirls within me, I feel so… numb. I don’t understand. I don’t understand anything.

“I have decided that she must be quarantined for the time being,” mother said.

Rainbow, who’d been trying her hardest to hide her sobbing, wiped at her face. “What?”

“Quarantined. To be kept in isolation,” mother repeated.

Rainbow sniffed hard and approached mother, only to stop short like Rarity did when she felt Applejack’s aura. “You can’t do that, she just-”

Mother sent Rainbow a yellow glare, which stopped her in her tracks. “There will be no argument. As it stands, she may relapse. If she does, she could kill each and every one of you without so much as a thought. Unprepared, even I may be at risk attempting to stop her. The matter is settled.”

And so it was. Rainbow backed off and mother went down to the training room. She motioned for me to follow, and so I did. Silently and slowly we took the stairs down my crystal halls as I tried to fight off the feelings in my stomach. I hadn’t really hit me until I saw him on the floor when we finally made it.

My lip quivered. The feeling in my stomach got stronger. I fell to my knees. I felt the liquid build up in my eyes. I bit into my cheek, desperately willing it to stop. But here too, there was no argument. Was this my fault? Should… should I have been out there with him? Even I’d realized things were going wrong when Applejack missed, I… I know that I’m not back at even half strength yet, but even so, wouldn’t just a little have been enough to help? I… I never believed that… I always knew this was a possibility, I thought… just before…

A wing draped around me and mother lowered her head next to mine. “Shh… quiet your storming mind. There will be time for this, but that time is not now. Be strong. Stand up.”

I latched onto her to make them stop, but they just wouldn’t; the tears kept coming, every time I moved my head in his direction a new wave of that awful feeling flooded me. Mother pulled me close, she stroked my mane, she held me tight, but even those warm feelings couldn’t stop the torrent in my head.

Eventually, she took my face in her hooves and made me look her in the eyes. “Twilight Sparkle, stop crying.”

She never calls me by my full name. She’d only said it once before, and it was in a situation… not unlike now. Ten years ago, that’s when… she last used it. I sniffed and tried to stop it, if only to so little success. She used a feather to wipe away my tears and said, “I understand how you’re feeling, but we still have a job to do. There will be time for you to grieve, but I need you to perform right now. Make a hole and seal Applejack’s legs in the wall. If she wakes up and goes into a rage again… Goose may not be the only friend you lose today, you understand?”

I swallowed and nodded, even if my face betrayed me. I couldn’t really touch Applejack with my magic the way she was now, so I moved the castle around until her body was aligned the way mother wanted, then went to trapping my friend. Her whole lower body, both her forelegs, and a shackle to keep her neck in place; enough freedom for her to breath and nothing else. Goose was already too much. I… I can’t take any more of these feelings.

Once I was done, Mother let out an exhausted breath, let her hind legs relax, and fell to her haunches. Immediately being overwhelmed with concern, I ran to her side. “What’s wrong!?”

She shook her head and put her wing around me. “More than you could know. Sit with me, I… need a moment.”

When the noon sky turned to dusk, mother and I finally emerged from the training room. For as long as we were sitting still, it didn’t look like much had changed in the living room either. Rainbow had fallen asleep, wrapped around Scootaloo with tear dampened cheeks, Rarity was sitting next to them checking something on her phone, still in costume and silent like a stone, and Fluttershy was laying with her head buried under her mane against Goose’s chair.

The thing that had changed was Pinkie. She was hard at work in the kitchen, preparing some kind of meal as a lovely smell drifted in the air.

“How does it look?” mother asked.

Rarity let out a breath and shook her head. “Not good, to say the least. I don’t think Persona could’ve scripted a better response, at least from the internet media. Most ponies are simply confused. Your ‘nickname’ is trending right now and the biggest question on ponies’ minds is what you and Luna are. Luna put out a statement, declaring that most federal activity will be suspended until you recover, but she’s not answering any questions.”

Mother sighed. “Well, at least that is being taken care of. If nothing else, it gives me the time to analyze what in the world has happened to the Elements.” She left my side to look at the black gems above the chairs. I started to move toward them myself, but again the sickly energy made me not want to get too close.

These were the elements of Harmony. Here in this castle is where they’ve been resting all this time. It wasn’t so much that the old fragments lost their power, but the elements had reconstructed themselves somewhere else. Only mother and Luna would know what they used to feel like, but save for the few instances they’ve acted up in the past, they’ve never been anything more than little decorations.

No signs of being powerful or having enough magic to do much of anything in them, let alone give Applejack a power boost like the one today. Even when it did happen back in… the beginning of September, that was more like a small burst. Just enough for Applejack to sustain Trump Card for a few more seconds than usual. Just what she needed, when she needed it…

Why would it do that? It didn’t act in unison, it was like the single element on its own acted because… she needed it to. Was this the same phenomenon? No, even I can tell there’s… emotion embedded in this energy. This feels like it’s almost… the opposite. Not that it was what she needed when she needed it, but… what the elements wanted, when they wanted it. I wish I wasn’t so caught up watching, maybe if I’d paid more attention to my surroundings, then I could’ve been able to tell if they were working when… j-just before…

I sniffed and swallowed. Stop it! Now is… not the time for that. We’re not done. This isn’t over. It won’t be until Persona is dead, and until then I have to focus. Just like mother said, there will be a time to grieve.

I was about to step forward when I noticed mother standing beside me again. “What do you think happened here? Was this Applejack bending them to her will, or was this… something greater, acting in concert with her?”

Before I could answer, Pinkie called, “Dinner’s ready!” in a uniquely cheery voice. It wasn’t fake, it wasn’t laced with sadness underneath, it was real, genuine, sincere. She emerged from the kitchen with a full tray of dishes and all the food she could cram onto it and started setting places around the dining table.

Mother let out a short chuckle and turned away. “I suppose we can look into that later. They did always need a common trait to work with somepony. If hope has bound itself to anypony… it’s probably her.”

Food, as it happens, really does clear the mind. We hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast this morning and it was already seven by the time Pinkie served us. It’s hard to think about something so basic when it feels like the world is crashing down on you.

Nopony said so much as a word before we started. However, in a rare circumstance, mother offered to pray before we ate. Of the things she will talk about with me, what she believes, where her faith lies, she… she won’t say anything about that. It was possible that the words only made sense to me, because I got the feeling she said it in our tongue, but even without understanding, everypony knew what she’d said.

“O Mother, who art thou in heaven, guide our dearest lost soul back to your loving embrace. May our futures be brighter than our darkest days, and may your light lead our lost loves home. Amen.”

One for him, one for her. I could never know everything about her. As old as she is, as much as she’s learned over her time, how she possibly could have grown into what she is today. How does this affect her? Does she feel the same sting we do, or is this something old and familiar to her? While I would be inclined to believe the latter… I just can’t tell if that’s right. I don’t think I could ask her either.

When we’d finished, the pervasive silence in the room was finally broken by Fluttershy. “What… W-what happened?”

Of all the ponies here, it felt almost like the ones you’d expect to be most accustomed to death were hit the hardest. I wasn’t sure if that said something about Goose, or if that said something about them. Fluttershy was almost in a worse state than Rainbow had been all day. Rarity had bit into her lip more than once based on the marks. I’ve never seen Mother look so tired, and Pinkie… didn’t look like she had cried once.

“I made a bet and lost,” mother eventually answered. She didn’t look at Fluttershy when she said it, she just kept her eyes down and stared at her empty plate.

Fluttershy’s eye twitched. She stood on her hind legs and said, “T-that’s not w-what I asked you!” Mother turned away, which only seemed to make her angrier.

Her teeth started to turn, but before she could do anything, Rarity answered her. “He was stabbed through the heart, Fluttershy. I didn’t have any time. Nopony saw it coming, there was… nothing to be done.”

Fluttershy flared her wings out and bashed the table with her hoof. “T-that’s not true! Y-you’re the m-most powerful pony on the p-planet! Y-you can do anything, y-you could’ve saved him! W-why didn’t you!? I-if you’d stepped in, i-if you’d just gotten off y-your ass and, a-and done something, h-he-”

“And done what!? Come out of nowhere swinging and burn us all alive in the process!? What could you have done? Could you have not transformed and fought back? Or had you already realized that he was too fast and powerful for you to do anything? Could I have saved time in an effort to predict the future? Could Rainbow have taken her sword when she left? Could Pinkie have been stealthier and not missed? Could Applejack have not hesitated and won the fight when we had the chance? Just what all could we have done, Fluttershy? If you have the answers now, why didn’t you have them when we needed them?”

Fluttershy made attempts to rise to Rarity’s challenge, but in the end she knew she couldn’t. It took Applejack taking the power of the elements to finally kill Sahaquiel, and she didn’t even manage that in one shot. If mother went out there without being empowered, she would’ve been in danger too. There was never a good solution to this, and once again we were saved by a… miracle, if that’s what you’d call it.

Finally, Fluttershy sat back down and put her head on the table, carefully hiding her face underneath her mane. In a volume lower than a whisper, the words, “I’m sorry,” lingered in the air.

Mother got up from her seat and put a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “It’s alright. Even I… believe I should’ve acted somehow, but as I have said many times now, I am no Goddess. I am bound by time and space just like everypony else and there are limitations on what I can and cannot do. For two thousand years we’ve been trying to learn to interfere with time and still only Rarity can postpone it.

“We can bend space to move locations at will with enough power behind it, but even tampering with her own magic brings us no closer to that lofty idea of ‘time travel.’ I cannot change the past, I cannot pause the present, and I cannot see the future, and I don’t expect any of you to either.”

Fluttershy turned and wrapped herself around Mother’s chest as best she could and started bawling her eyes out. “I-it’s not fair! It’s not fair, it’s n-not fair, it’s not fair! W-why did it have to be him!? I-it’s not fair!”

She almost looked surprised at first, but mother wrapped her wing around Fluttershy and let her cry. The great equalizer is anything but equal to the living, I suppose.

By the time Fluttershy had stopped crying, Pinkie had already cleaned up the dishes and made everypony tea. Pinkie had been very quiet all this time and I think that was probably the right move. What else could we do? This wasn’t just going to go away tomorrow, nopony was going to get over this before Sunday, who knows how long it would be? Will it weigh us down when the final confrontation happens? Will Applejack recover? Can we do it without her? Will mother have to burn Manehattan again just to stop Silicon? Will a second appearance of the Radiant Sun make all this confusion even worse? Uncertainty, sorrow, anguish… how do we move on from this?

“Maybe…” Pinkie began, for the first time since this afternoon, “We should… do a viewing… so we can at least try to move on.”

Finally pulling away from mother’s chest, Fluttershy wiped at her eyes and moved her mane out of her face. “Y-you… want to do w-what?”

Pinkie let out a deep sigh. “This is gonna sound awful, but we can’t… we can’t do,” she motioned to Fluttershy and Mother, “this all week. It’s not over; we’re gonna have to get back in the simulations, try to figure out if… if there’s a way to fix the elements, and, ya know, win the last fight.”

“B-but… how can…? W-we can’t win without him! W-what are you even saying!? Goose is… Goose is…!”

Fluttershy couldn’t finish that sentence, so Pinike finished for her. “Dead! D-E-A-D! Swimming with the fishes, six feet under, taken care of, muerto, no longer with us!”

Fluttershy’s mouth quivered, but she didn’t respond.

Pinkie shook her head. “Look, I know this sucks, but you can’t keep living if you don’t eat, alright? I’ve been here before. I… I had to bury Abuelo, remember? Just under three years ago; I was sixteen, I was alone, and I was barely strong enough to drag his body far enough to do it. He was… all I had to lose back then, but I still didn’t give up, and I did move on. ‘You still have plenty of life to live.’ It’s gonna hurt… probably for a long time, but we don’t have time for… this. So, let’s get it over with. You all know that’s what Goose would want.”

And that stung, more than anything else. We all knew Goose, we practically spent every day with him for two months. He lived here, he was a roommate, he was… almost like an older brother. He wouldn’twant us moping. Right about now is when he’d crack a joke to make everything a little bit lighter. I never realized…

Mother nodded thoughtfully and said, “I suppose you are right. I’d rather not have him where we eat, so gather round the living room table. The elements seem to have cooled a little, now that some time has passed. He was… always very aware of this possibility, I’m sure there’s a will or something similar in his file cabinet in the library. So much to do…” mother shook her head and let out a breath. She untangled herself from Fluttershy, slapped her cheeks with both hooves, then stood. “It’s always in times like these that we long for the days where time didn’t seem so precious. Come along.”

The… smell that the elements gave off earlier had dulled significantly since we’d come back up from the training room and, though it was still unpleasant, it wasn’t unbearable anymore. Once everypony was where they usually were, mother lit up her horn and flashed his body to the table.

At some point, somepony must’ve cleaned him up because there were no stains or signs of deterioration. All the armor was still intact, the only places that it was torn were the obvious ones, the weakest spots between the faulds and the tassets. Without it, there was no way a pony could move in this protective gear, and just underneath the enchanted plates was a heavy kevlar bodysuit, just in case something did find the gaps. And yet… none of that could save him from Sahaquiel’s strength behind the point of a sword. Right between the plates at his hips, all the way through and out his neck. What a horrible way to die. I’m… so sorry Goose. I… I couldn’t help.

Just then, an electric feeling shot through my body. There was a buzzing in my horn and I could feel as if the castle itself was trying to reach out. Not to me, but to Goose. Something was unbalanced. Something was missing. The castle… I… the elements demanded it be corrected.

As if I were a puppet watching something while trapped immobile within my own body, my magic started to flare up. One by one, strands of black energy shot like a web from my horn to the gems at the top of each chair, then finally, to Goose.

“Twilight!?” Mother called.

I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t even look at her. I had no control.

A final string shot itself at Rainbow’s head, and only when she felt it did she look up and stop crying. “W-what the hell?”

My body locked up; energy flowed from the black elements like a high-powered current on a closed loop with me as the wire. It travelled from Goose through me, back to the element above the chair he used to sit in, back to me and into Rainbow. It shook the magic string violently like the image of a sound wave, letting off a jumbled series of tones, chaotic and inharmonic as it moved through my head like nails scraping glass.

But then, as it passed back through the element and then into Rainbow, the tone shifted. The vibrating string became more uniform and pleasant, sounding off a simple chord that seemed to resonate through the castle. The halls sang as they echoed the clear bell tone, a D major chord, if I knew my music, and the walls shifted in color from their usual blue to black, then to a soft vibrant red. The very same color that the element above his chair usually was.

As the color and the sound started to fade, I noticed that the element above Goose’s chair transitioned from black back to red with the rest of the castle. The unbalance had lessened, loyalty was recovered. The chord was restored, but… incomplete.

Recognition with a truth I couldn’t comprehend gave me a bit more control of myself back, but I knew what needed to be done now. Focus in mind, the next piece of the chord to restore was… kindness. The strand of red magic that connected me to Rainbow retracted and a new one found Fluttershy.

Again, the process repeated itself. A vibrant green washed over the castle, An A major chord resonated with the crystal and, once again, another bit of the unbalance was clear. For Rarity, for generosity, a B major and a soft violet. For Pinkie, for hope, a C major and a crystal blue. Then, it hit me. Like feeling returning itself, I was covered in pins and needles all over as the black magic flooded through me. As if I was hit by warm waters washing gently over me, the castle sang in G Major and filled the walls with a violet hue.

The feeling faded, the strings dissipated, and all at once everything was still. My body had come back under my control and I felt a deep, profound calm.

After looking around at everypony’s stunned faces, Pinkie asked, “Uhhh… what the hell was that?”

Mother blinked. “I… can only make educated guesses, but I believe that most of the elements have righted themselves.” She narrowed her eyes at me, then glared at the last remaining black element. “Could you…?”

Already knowing, I said, “Yes.”

In an instant, she flashed the unconscious, still lightly radiating black energy, Applejack to the table and I restarted the spell. Though it was foreign when it first started, trying to cast it now was like talking to an old friend. I knew it. I knew what it would do, I knew that it was good that I do it, but the what and the why were still a mystery. Yet, all the same, I didn’t feel as if I needed answers to those questions. I was… I am… fine.

The strings attached themselves and, just like before, the process started. But then something was wrong. The violent inharmonic tone only grew louder and louder. The castle turned black, the world seemed to shake, and all at once, my magic was cut off from me. Like a light switch turned off, the energy dispersed, Applejack’s black aura flared up a little, the element remained black, and the castle slowly faded back to blue.

I turned away from the table and let loose my dinner. Pins and needles assaulted me from all sides and I felt a headache throb from the base of my horn through my entire skull as my magic synchronized again. Mother rushed to grab me and quickly went to rubbing my back to ease the pain. My shivering didn’t stop immediately, but sickness in my stomach did.

“Clearly, something needs to happen before we can fix this. Are you alright?” mother asked.

I wiped at my mouth and took a few deep breaths. “I… think so. She… she rejected me.”

“Rejected you? What do you mean? Twilight, if I’m completely honest here, I don’t understand this magic. I’ve never seen the elements behave this way, I’ve never heard of magic physically resonating and, quite clearly, there is more to the connection between you, this castle, the elements, and… everypony else here.”

“’Cept for me, apparently,” Scootaloo said.

Rainbow sniffed and rolled her eyes, then wrapped her wing around the little mare. “Oh, shut up. You’re important, maybe not to whatever magical bullshit this is, but at least to us.”

What do I mean? Rejected? That was the word, but why did I say it? It’s not as if the connection wasn’t there, it was almost like it… “Backfired…”

Mother tilted her head. “As in ‘magical backfire?’ Like a spell gone wrong?”

I nodded. “Yeah, when I… when I tried to resonate, she… she wouldn’t play with me. I’m not… she’s not… we are not close enough… to resonate.”

Mother clicked her tongue. “Twilight, I need more information. That doesn’t mean anything to…” then, she straightened up. “Resonate? Not close enough to resonate… hmm… On second thought… I have an idea. Pinkie, clean this up.”

“Wha- why me!? I had my foreleg broken today, can’t Scootaloo-”

“Rainbow, come with me, I need to talk to Brightness. For now, I will put Applejack back in the training room, and nopony is to approach her. We may not have her right now, but I think we can get her back.”

“We can?” I asked.

Mother nodded. “I do believe so. We’ll need Luna though. And probably a few new brands…”

Finale II: Epiphany

A lost filly

“Papa? Papa, where are ya!?” Ah called.

The cloudy skies of Manehattan were cold and gray. It was always like this in the wintertime, but it wasn’t wintertime, not yet. It was still fall, it shouldn’t have been so cold. Maybe it was the dust in the air, there was a lot of it. Ah would probably have called it fog, if it didn’t feel so grainy. Like havin’ chalky sand in my mouth, breathin’ in silt, walkin’ through a sticky, heavy fog.

Papa was just here. Ah saw him. He talked ta me. He told me ta run, but… but the fightin’ was over now. He should still be here.

“Papa!?” Ah called out again. My voice didn’t seem loud enough ta cut through the cloud and Ah couldn’t see very far, either. So many ruined buildings, so much fallen and broken concrete; exposed rebar and steel. Glass crunched under my hooves, water sprayed out of smashed fire hydrants nearby, and the smell of hot asphalt trickled through the air.

Did Manehattan burn, or did somepony break it? My memory was about as clear as all this dust in the air. The headache didn’t help much, either. But, worst of all was this… awful pain in my chest. It was like my heart had been stabbed over and over again. It hurt ta breathe, but at the same time, it felt so cold and numb.

Where is Papa? When Ah’m hurt, Ah can always just go ta him, and he makes everything better. He only left the house a little while ago, where did he go?

When my hooves found a clean patch of road, unmarred by the chaos and destruction, Ah noticed a streetlamp that was still on. It had a weird blueish glow ta it that felt familiar, but Ah couldn’t quite place why. Sittin’ underneath it was the silhouette of somepony on a bench. Somepony that looked a lot like Papa.

“Papa!? Papa, is that you!?” Ah ran as fast as my hooves would carry me, but when Ah got ta the bench, it wasn’t him. The shape was right, but the colors were all wrong. This stallion was somepony else. “Oh, Ah’m sorry mister.”

He shook his head. “Oh, I don’t mind. I get mistaken for other ponies all the time.” His voice was warm and deep and he sounded like somepony familiar too, but Ah just couldn’t place him. Somethin’ about those red eyes.

Maybe he’s seen him?

“Mister, have y’all seen my Papa? He’s about yer size, with a bunch of muscles and a big fuzzy brown beard, and curly brown hair, and a yellow coat like yers, but a little lighter. Oh! And he’s got big green eyes too.”

He looked at me, almost like he was seein’ right through me with those piercin’ red eyes, but shook his head. “Oh, I’ve seen him alright.”

My ears perked up. “Ya have!?”

He sighs and leans back. “Mmhmm. Why don’t you sit with me? I’ll tell you a secret about him.”

Ah blinked and tiled my head. “A secret? About Papa?”

He nodded and patted the seat next to him with his hoof. Ah took the invitation and climbed up on the seat ta sit next ta him. My hooves didn’t quite reach the ground just yet.

“Your father is only a couple years older than me, did you know that?”

Ah shook my head. “No, Mister. Ah didn’t.”

“Course you wouldn’t. I’m sure he never told you anything. Too young to understand what he would’ve wanted to say. The only other ponies that knew the truth are…” he let out a breath that almost looked like it was painful, “…long dead. I doubt your brother knows either. He probably wanted to just let it fade away. His life is here now, with you.”

Ah frowned. “Why’s that, Mister?”

He shrugged. “Too confusing, bad memories, a story nopony would believe? There are plenty of reasons. See, when we were kids, we didn’t exactly live in Equestria. Even now, I forget the name, but this place was… far, far away. When ponies here think of the future with all that ‘imaginary’ technology, like flying cars, and cities above skies, and robots, and spaceships; that was what it was like where we were born.

“The skyscrapers in this city were nothing compared to the ones back home, because they couldn’t even be called ‘sky’ scrapers. They went above, and, beyond the sky. A ring that was half constructed in space and touched all the way down to earth, they called it the ‘orbital elevator.’ We didn’t have any princesses. We hardly had magic, and ponies weren’t… the top of the world, like they are here.

“Our home just so happened to be near one of the elevators. There were six in total and the world constantly fought over who could have one. It was the only way to get energy to fuel our special machines, because the magic in our world was fading. The techniques they used to build the elevators were long lost, or weren’t possible anymore. Little by little, it felt like the world was ending.

Our father was a unicorn and, by our standards, he was a very talented mage. When we first came to this world, children could do what was hard for our father, something was very, very different about this place.

“You papa was a unicorn?” Ah asked.

He nodded. “He was. He was always a little disappointed that neither your father, nor I, were unicorns; for him to pass on what he knew. But, that didn’t make him love us any less.” The stallion leaned forward and his gaze drifted away, like he was lookin’ at somethin’ Ah couldn’t see.

“I don’t remember when, or why; I was very little when it happened, but a war broke out. They happened often, because the elevators were such important commodities to the world’s energy supply. It was rare that a country could ever hold more than one at a time. Our home country had two for nearly three decades. We just so happened to be unlucky enough to live at the base of the target.

“Our home was destroyed, but thankfully, nopony was in it at the time. We escaped to a refugee camp in the next city over; but, as with all things, when it rains, it pours. Attacks destroyed a research facility near the military base by the elevator. It set loose a virus they had been experimenting with that could turn your average pony into a weapon. It would change and alter the genetics of somepony that contracted it and give them powers to make them into powerful soldiers.

“It was in the very early stages of development and highly illegal under world war conventions. As the ponies, and every other creature under the sun, started to contract this virus, the world devolved into chaos. One infection led to two, two to four, four to eight, eight to sixteen, sixteen to thirty-two, thirty-two to sixty-four, et cetera, et cetera. In a matter of months, most of the world was infected, and not all powers were equal.

“Order was lost, everyone, and everything, fought each other in the streets. Governments fell to pieces. Only the rich managed to escape into the stars, leaving the rest of us to fend for ourselves. Elevators were destroyed in the fighting, power was cut to most of the major cities of the world, and very quickly, food was becoming scarce.”

Ah frowned. “Well, if all that happened, how’d ya get out, Mister?”

The older stallion shrugged. “Well, that is the question, isn’t it? It was both your grandparents that really made it happen.”

Ah raised an eyebrow and looked around the foggy street. “Both of ‘em? Are they here?”

He shook his head. “No, they… they certainly aren’t. You see, my mother, your grandmother, was part of a very special line of ponies. The mares in this family could always see things that might happen. It was as if they were built with a warning system for a future that might come. They always knew when danger was near.

“They’ve been like that for generations, and she had a vision the day before the attack. My parents told me that we were going on a trip, shortly before the first missile struck. When things devolved further, she received another vision and told us that there was a way for us to escape. Civilization had collapsed, the powers at be had abandoned us, and nopony was going to save us.

“There was, however, an old legend about a mirror that belonged to a long dead king from an ancient civilization. If we could get to it we could find somewhere else to live on the other side of that mirror. Another place that was similar to our world, but one that took a different path.

“My father was not somepony special like my mother was, but he was definitely a hero. No matter how bad things got, no matter how hungry we were, desperately searching for this last hope that we weren’t sure existed; my father never lost his smile. Even when my mother got sick and… and she couldn’t come with us anymore, he still pressed on; betting everything on this last chance in an effort to get us out of that hellscape.

“My father was a real hero. When we finally arrived at the Lost City of the Last Pony King, it was like seeing a place that had been taken out of time. Once, ponies had been at the top of this world. Ponies had ruled all under them beneath a powerful king. Our pony ancestors invented some of the very technology that would one day dethrone him.

“The very mirror my mother had told us about there, somewhere. It was real. We could finally escape to a better place and leave the burning world we were trapped on.

“We spent days searching that castle for it. By some stroke of luck, my brother stepped on a hidden switch behind the throne. A secret passage down into the depths of that ancient castle led us to a chamber with a giant mirror sitting atop a raised pedestal. There were six empty slots all along its edge for what might’ve been a power source long ago, but nothing like that would’ve stayed after all this time.

“The hope we had, finally finding the mirror and proving that mother was right all vanished in an instant. We couldn’t turn it on. My father didn’t know the ancient language that was written on it, we didn’t know anything about this lost civilization, and we didn’t have enough resources to make it back to somewhere relatively safe. This palace, like it was for the ponies who built it, would be our tomb.

“However, even as hopeless as everything seemed, my father didn’t give up. He was the hero, after all. He wasn’t allowed to give up. He was the stallion who would stand and fight, even when the world was against him. He smiled and told us everything would be okay, that it would be just a little while longer and we’d be off to greener pastures.

“For a week my father tried his best to use the still intact books around the castle to get a grip on the lost language. It didn’t work, but what he did find was a spell circle hidden away in the depths of the castle. While the language had changed over the years, magic was consistant throughout history, and this he knew.

“It was some form of a teleportation spell, but not one that could simply be performed, it needed to be cast at a specific location, specific conditions had to be met, and a lot of magical energy was needed. It only made sense that this was the way to turn on the mirror, so to work he went.

“Another week passed, our resources were nearly running dry, and my father, the hero, pulled through. He figured it out and realized that he could only perform this spell once. I barely remember what he said, but he pulled my brother and I aside to tell us that he wouldn’t be able to come with us. I remember falling into tears. He told us to be strong; to live for him and mom, once we were in a better place.

“My father was not a very powerful unicorn. If we’d been born on this side, he might be average to below average on the scale here. A spell like the one he used to turn on the mirror would probably kill a pony like him if he cast it.

“He gave us all the food and water we had left and did everything in his power to make sure we lived another day. He shoved us into the mirror the moment it was on and the portal closed as soon as we were through. I never got a chance to look back.

“Whether or not he survived, much like your father... I doubt I’ll see him again for a very, very long time.”

Ah felt my ears droop. “Are ya… are ya sayin’ he’s gone? Ah-Ah’ll never see Papa again?”

The older stallion put his hoof on my shoulder and shook his head. “Well, I don’t know about that.”

Ah sniffed and looked up at his red eyes. Somehow, they seemed closer than Ah remember. “How so? If… if he ain’t around, doesn’t that mean he’s…”

“It does. But, I’m not very young anymore. As I’ve grown, I’ve learned many things, and there are some things that, even between worlds, seem to be consistent. It’s true, I may never see my brother or my father again in this life; but, maybe this life isn’t all there is to living.”

Ah blinked. “What?”

He let out a breath. “I… am an older stallion. If I were born in this world, my birthday would be… sometime later in the fall of 1985. When I was young, I didn’t know what to think about death. The scary end to all things, that every day brings us an inch or more closer to. But, time has a habit of changing things, and now I wonder if death is less of a hard stop, and more of a new beginning.

“No matter the world I’m in, I’m simply an average pony with nothing of note to him. I, like all things, have an expiration date. But, if magic teaches us there’s a soul and there are other worlds out there, then what’s to say that we don’t simply just go somewhere else when we aren’t tethered to physical bodies? I can’t know until I experience something like that myself, and clearly, if I could come back and tell you about it, then somepony else would’ve done so by now, right?”

Ah struggled and took a moment ta process what he was sayin’. “But, how could death not be the end? What’s the point of livin’ if we just start over and move on when we stop? Is there an end? What if you’re wrong, and that really is all there is ta life?”

His face was nearly at eye level with me now; Ah could see the confusion in his eyes. The lifelessness, the years of pain that aged him beyond what he should be, the despair he’d lived through.

He let out a short chuckle. “You always did have a hard time listening, didn’t you? Let me tell you another story then. This one starts a little after we made it here.”

“I was nine when we first arrived. We were lucky that the language here was the same as the one back home, save for the writing system anyways. A couple of foreign kids that couldn’t speak to the ponies around them might’ve died here. We, however, talked and learned Once we knew enough, we figured out how to survive.

“Jeweled Laundry was the mayor at the time, and Manehattan was a much cleaner place. A nicer place. A safer place. A better policed place. My brother and I were homeless and surviving. Getting carted off to an orphanage and potentially split up wasn’t something either of us wanted, so what do we do, but run to the king of the mafia in place at the time, Tommy G.”

“Like us, he was an immigrant to Equestria and his family had been poor since they crossed the ocean to get here. They never managed to get out of living like that; his parents started to get addicted to the substances floating around, and that’s when he started getting involved in drug trafficking. ‘No matter what, you don’t abandon family,’ he would always say.

“He took pity on us, like he did to so many other strays and scum that came to him looking for help. Thus, we found ourselves as part of the family. A new family, however, needs new family names, so my brother and I decided to take names after our cutiemarks, cutting off our link to our old world. We looked like Equestrians, we had names like Equestrians, and now we were part of an Equestrian family.

“For six years we did various jobs for the family. From being delivery boys, to substance sellers, to the ‘acquisition of goods,’ as Mr. G would say. We were good at it all, too. My brother and I grew up without magic in our world for the most part, so I knew how to work things with my hooves that most ponies would expect to be done with magic. Fine precision, accuracy, being able to trace the mechanism of a machine more advanced than anything they had here. There weren’t any biometric locks here yet, so the old ones were nothing to us.

“Yes, we were very good at breaking the law. However, as time went by, my brother, much more than I, started to develop a conscience. He started to notice the effects of our dealings in this city and, as a young stallion would, he felt the injustice of it all. We were criminals, in a criminal organization, that helped spread misery to the ponies around us in an effort to better our own lives. We were the problem.”

The older stallion leaned back on the bench and put his hooves behind his head. Ah found myself in this strange position where it was… almost like Ah was some kinda nun and he was confessin’ ta me. It was… startin’ ta make me uncomfortable. Like he was gonna tell me somethin’ Ah never wanted ta hear.

“In the year 2000, many, many lives were changed. Unknown to myself or even my brother at the time, a virus had leaked out and spread through the waters, all the way to Manehattan. Though I didn’t contract it, it seems as if my brother did. We shared everything with each other. All we had was each other, yet this, he kept from me. I-I wish, good Goddess, I wish he’d told me about his powers all those years ago. Maybe, he thought it was in my best interest that I didn’t know. Maybe he thought he was protecting me from it by not saying anything; I could never know his reason now, but, damn it all, I wish I’d known.”

He hunched over and put his elbows on his knees, and then put his forehooves together. “That year was the year that everything changed. We’d been part of the gang for six years by then and we were very trusted by Mr. G. One day, the boss came to us with a simple task; a very wealthy family had moved into Manehattan to start up a few chain stores called Angel Company, and they were in good with Mayor Laundry. Preferential treatment had their stores patrolled by the cops more often, which made our jobs very difficult.

“Mr. G managed to arrange a meeting with the CEO of Angel company; one Mister Garnet Shine, and while he was supposed to talk him into ‘relocating,’ or there would be ‘consequences,’ my brother and I were supposed to make those ‘consequences’ real by foalnapping one of his kids.”

Ah scratched at my chin. Those names sound awfully familiar. “Ya mean ta tell me that y’all kidnapped somepony? Look mister, Ah really don’t have any reason not ta believe ya here, but ya just don’t strike me as the kidnappin’ type. Ah know the kinda ponies who do that, y’all sure ain’t one.”

He chuckled and nodded. “Oh, you’re right. What happened and what we’d planned to do were very different things.”

Ah tilted my head. “So… what did happen?”

He shrugged. “I got kidnapped.”

Ah frowned. “You did?”

He lazily held a hoof up. “Figuratively, not literally. Probably. Anyways, we go to get the girl, a young mare by the name of Droplet Shine, who was unprotected, separated from her mother, not quite her father’s biggest fan, and a few years younger than us. It might be presumptuous to say, but my brother and I were not bad looking young stallions back then. Mr. G figured that if she was like any other rich girl, she’d be rebellious and maybe even a little willing to come with us. That was the understatement of the decade.

“We get there, we break in, silently of course, and we barge into her room. She puts down a book she’s reading and says, ‘Oh, is it that time again? Sure, whatever, let’s get this over with.’ And more or less leads the way out of her house for us. She didn’t care. She was used to this.

“Naturally, we didn’t exactly know what to make of this, so we just continued to follow our orders. Bring her to the warehouse, make her comfortable, and take a picture of her all tied up. She wanted ice cream, so we got her ice cream. She wanted a toy out of a claw machine, so we wasted an hour and ten bits doing that. She was bored waiting at the warehouse, so we went and got her book. In a sort of backwards mixup, it was more like we’d become her servants for the day than kidnappers.

“We didn’t hear a word from Mr. G for a while, so we got to talking to Droplet. She explained to us that Garnet Shine was not a pony that Mr. G was going to get to cave in by some threats. She was just a piece to him, a way for Garnet to keep that old bat of a mother of hers out of his mane without things getting messy. The only pony Garnet really cared about was his son, Droplet’s half-brother. That colt was better protected than anypony in Manehattan, we had no chance of getting to him. Holding Droplet hostage was a lost cause.

“My brother and I were very concerned at this point. If she was telling the truth, and by the way she was acting, she was, Mr. G was in deeper trouble then he knew, and his gang wasn’t going to last much longer if this guy was who we thought he was. Shortly thereafter, we got the call to send the picture, so we set the stage and took care of that.

“A day passed. We’re still keeping Droplet company, she and I had more in common than we knew, and my brother began to get suspicious. Something was wrong. We were supposed to hear from Mr. G by noon, and we hadn’t gotten a word. Then Droplet lets us in on a secret; her book had a tracker in it and Garnet knew where we were.

“She was tired of living under her father’s hoof and being used as a distraction. The gang he led was going to come and wipe us out, and if we didn’t leave then, our lives were basically over. Mr. G picked the wrong stallion to make an enemy of, and because Droplet had seen this all play out before, he was likely already dead.

“At first, we didn’t believe her. My brother was nervous and I was skeptical, at best. Then came the banging. We’d locked the doors and put a chain around it to make ponies think this warehouse was unoccupied. The only ponies who would come to bang on those doors were ones that knew who was in here.

“So, my brother and I started to make a run for it; knowing full well that we were screwed if we stayed. That was when Droplet begged to come with us. My brother had seen something here that I hadn’t recognized yet and he made the decision to draw their attention while we escaped. I tried to fight him, to get him to come with us, but we knew how gangs like this operated. There was a good chance we were surrounded, and if somepony didn’t make a fuss and draw their attention, there was no way we would have all gotten out unscathed.

“If it were just the two of us, we would’ve been fine, but because she was there, it was different. My brother ran off, undid the lock, and ran straight out, drawing the thugs after himself. Once the heat died down, Droplet and I managed to get away through the fire exit on the second floor. My brother was nowhere to be found, and I was left alone with Droplet.

“We were fast friends. She was always quick witted and feisty, always willing to crack wise, easy on the eyes, and she had the deepest blues I’d ever seen. My brother saw what I couldn’t, and after a week with me and Droplet hiding out in my apartment, I figured it out. She wasn’t just anypony, she was somepony I wanted to be with; forever.

“Two weeks went by, I was so enchanted with her that I’d nearly forgotten about my brother. Finally, he called me from southern Equestria. He’d managed to take out several of Garnet’s thugs, but not without paying a price for it himself. He was shot and hurt pretty bad when he managed to hide out on a train. When he finally came to, it was already on its way across the country. He didn’t have much of a choice but to ride it out. Once he did, he found himself in the middle of nowhere.

“Some backwater town named Ponyville that relied on the rail for just about everything to keep it alive. They had a famous apple orchard there that had seen hard times recently, and it just so happened that the mares that owned it picked him up and nursed him back to health. It was a miracle he survived. That was probably the best thing that ever happened to him.

“Based on a number of factors, most of which revolved around not getting caught and killed by Droplet’s father; my brother decided to stay with those mares in Ponyville. He gave me the rest of the savings we’d stored up until then and told me to get out of the slums and find a decent place away from Angel company to live. I tried to get him to come back to Manehattan, come back home, but I would later learn that he was already home. A place he felt he finally belonged.

“Droplet, who’d taken up a new name, and I then made our new lives together. It was hard, but we were in love, so we didn’t really care. Working every day at part time jobs just trying to keep food in our bellies under a leaky roof that I could never fix over our heads for… Goddess, two years? It had to be something like that long.”

He shook his head and chuckled. “At least two years, for sure. We were both awful cooks so we ate out a lot, sometimes even when we shouldn’t have. Ci-”

The light above us blinked a few times. It made me notice the color again, which felt so damn familiar, but Ah just couldn’t place it.

“Er… my brother always cooked for us when we lived on our own and I would just do the menial chores while he made dinner. Droplet wasn’t treated well; she was used to having the money to do whatever she wanted to, so cooking was never something she had to think about. It was miserable for a long time, really. But then, things changed again when I got a call in 2002.

“My brother had proposed to the farmer’s daughter, and she’d said yes. I’d never heard him so elated before. He wanted us to come down and be there for the little wedding they were going to have out in the orchard, and I just… didn’t have the heart to refuse him. Droplet and I didn’t exactly have the money to take such a long trip like that because where we were struggling, my brother was not.

“Ever since he’d started working there, the orchard had been more productive and prosperous, and business was good. He financed the whole trip for us, and a few months later, we got to see the wedding in person. It was the first time I’d seen him since that fateful day and he looked so much like our father.

“My brother was really a hero, you know that? He saved Droplet’s and my life, took that orchard from near bankruptcy to flourishing in just a couple years, and as time went on, it would only get better. He helped me buy a ring for Droplet when I’d finally worked up the courage to propose myself. He had a son and managed the orchard on his own for an entire harvest season. He paid the way to get me into college. He helped us move out of our leaky apartment into somewhere nice in north Manehattan.

“It just seemed like he could do anything. He went on to have two beautiful little girls. Later, he lost his wife and his stepmother just a year apart from each other, but even still; he did everything in his power to keep his kids healthy and happy. He really was a hero.”

Finally, somewhere deep inside, the fog was beginnin’ ta clear. Ah know this pony. Ah know this part of the story. Why does he know this story? Why is he tellin’ me all this?

“I never believed that I could be my father when I was young, and as I grew older, I didn’t think I could be my brother either. All he suffered through, all he struggled with and still managed to turn around, I could never be somepony like him. I lived in fear of my past. In fear of what I might not be able to do if I were ever in his position.

“The first time Droplet brought up having foals, I was so afraid. Could I ever compare to my father? Could I even match up to my brother? The stallion who single hoofedly raised me from ten to sixteen, fought off a gang all on his own, and found a new life; all by himself? Compared to them, I was just the kid who got lucky. I always had somepony else to rely on, could I be relied on? Was I worthy of that lofty title those two had gone above and beyond to become?

“I never thought I was. As the years went by, I turned her down every time she’d ask, and then one day… I realized what a coward I was. My brother, even after everything we’d been through, suffered hardship after hardship. He still kept being the amazing stallion I always believed he was.

He’d managed to raise three foals alone for years, and he was still strong. Just like dad, the hero. I thought that maybe, if I just had one, then I could try to be my foal’s hero. But, that never happened.”

Ah could see tears start ta well up in his eyes and he was quick ta cover ‘em with his hooves.“I lost my wife to a tragedy that would break me. She was carrying our son at the time too, and he never got to take his first breath.

“I let my guard down, and then everything went wrong. My world turned upside down, I was nothing but an avatar of hate, and I had one sole outlet to keep me sane, to keep my vengeance focused on so that I didn’t lose it completely.”

No… no, no, no! Don’t tell me this! Ah don’t wanna hear it! Ah got up and started ta back away, but he caught me and grabbed me by the shoulders.

“My brother was always so amazing, you know? He never lost hope. He never gave up on me. I wish so dearly that he’d told me sooner about who he’d become since he left for Ponyville all those years ago.”

He never told anypony! Don’t tell me!

“The pony I thought was responsible for killing my family, the pony I directed all that hate at was my brother, under a mask.”

Stop it!

The tears came back in full force, but he wouldn’t let me go. I was struck by those watery red eyes filled with nothing but a deep, aching, longing regret. “I… I killed him. With my own hooves. I beat him to death. And he let me do it, you know? He… h-he felt guilty about it! It wasn’t his fault, but he still felt responsible for it! He let me kill him, a-and he… even with his last breath, he still believed in me! How can you be somepony like that? How can you be so stupid, so stubborn, so… so… noble?”

Ah covered my ears. This is wrong. Ah refuse ta believe it. Ah won’t believe it! Ah won’t hear it. Ah won’t, Ah won’t, Ah won’t!

“I still haven’t forgiven him for it.”

Ah pressed my hooves against my head harder, but he just wouldn’t stop.

“My big brother was everything to me. And he just… gave up, right at the end.”

Ah tried ta close my eyes, but it was like they were stuck open. They wouldn’t let me look away.

“He left me, he left his kids, he left his city, all of it behind. I could never have been him or our father, so the city was beyond me. But, at least his kids... I could try to keep them alive.”

The sting in my eyes grew worse and worse. Ah wanted ta hide, Ah wanted ta run, Ah wanted ta look away, Ah wanted ta stop listenin’, but Ah just couldn’t. This pony wasn’t just anypony. This was the pony who raised me. This was the pony who’s always been at my side. This was the pony who was… my hero.

“So… I did my best. But, my best just was never good enough. I’m sorry, Applejack.”

A Widow

When Ah opened my eyes, Ah couldn’t see clearly. Ah tried ta rub at ‘em, but my legs were stuck. Ah couldn’t move any of ‘em. “What’s goin’ on!? Where am Ah?”

“This is… the training room, as far as I’ve been told.”

My ears twitched. “U-uncle Blood?”

“I’m right here, Applejack.”

Ah blinked furiously until my eyes were clear again. Sure enough, he was standin’ right there in front of me. And so was Princess Luna. And Celestia, Twi, Rainbow, Scootaloo, Rarity, Pinkie, Shy, and… some other pegasus mare Ah didn’t know. What is he doin’ in the castle? Who is that? Why do they all look so… upset? Has… have they been cryin’?

Ah swallowed. This was wrong. This was all wrong. “W-where’s Goose?”

Every single pair of eyes turned away in an instant, like water splashed on the floor. Even the one pony Ah never would’ve expected ta do that, Celestia, wouldn’t look at me. Some kinda mix of fear and anger ran up my spine. “Ah asked y’all a question, damn it!”

Fire flooded my forelegs, and with a quick twist of my hooves the crystal that encased them shattered like glass. “Answer me!”

They were silent. Ah was about ta free the rest of my body and go start knockin’ heads when Twi stepped up. “Applejack…”

“What!?” More fire and the rest of my hooves were free. Ah grappled and snapped the collar on my neck and jumped down ta stand snout ta snout with Twi. She wouldn’t look me in the eyes.

“D-don’t you think that he… he would be here if he could?”

Ah swallowed. “W-what do… ya don’t mean-”

A white wing draped around Twilight and drew my attention upward. Even she looked like she’d shed tears recently. “He’s dead, Applejack.”

My heart was still. Memory flooded me and all at once. Ah watched that moment again. “No…” Ah tried ta take a step back, but my hoof missed the floor or somethin’ and Ah fell ta my haunches. Ah swallowed again. “That ain’t right. H-he’s gonna just pop in outta nowhere, like he usually does, ain’t he? We just… it was only a few days ago!” Ah tried ta grab at somethin’ that Ah should’ve been wearin’ around my neck, but it wasn’t there. “He’s just… not here, r-right?”

My uncle came and sat beside me, put his foreleg around my shoulders, and used the other ta bring my head inta his chest. “I’m sorry, Applejack.”

The tears started ta fall from my eyes all at once and the memory played again.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep our promise.”

“No!” Ah pushed my uncle away and ran as far as Ah could from everypony. Ah backed up against the wall as the group of ponies closed in on me. “You’re a damn liar! He promised! We were gonna have a family!”

Uncle Blood charged ahead of the group and stood in front of me. “Applejack, please calm down. I understand how you feel, but you know we’re just trying to help you.”

My eye twitched. “Help me? Help me!? Why are you even here!? How did ya get in here!? Y’all don’t know anythin’! Y’all don’t know shit! None of ya!”

At this point, Ah didn’t even know what Ah was sayin’. Ah was fightin’ just ta breathe, Ah couldn’t stop cryin’ ta save my life. There was nowhere Ah could run ta get away from these ponies. Why are they all here? Why are they all surroundin’ me? Why are they lookin’ at me like that?

“Stop it! Stop lookin’ at me!” My teeth stabbed inta my lip and my hoof flooded with fire. Ah slammed it down inta the trainin’ room floor and sent a shock wave after them. Before it could hit my uncle, blue shields covered everypony and fire blazed in front of my destruction.

“You will calm down this instant!” the monster demanded.

The heat was intense, but not unbearable. Ah noticed that Ah had no blue shield ta protect me, and suddenly it occurred ta me that somethin’ else was wrong. The crystal Ah shattered was beginnin’ ta melt. If… if the crystal of the castle is meltin’, how am Ah…?

“What’s happenin’ ta me?”

The monster’s flames faded all at once, replaced by a softly glowin’ dawn colored ethereal mane. “You are resonating with an element of harmony. As you are now, it would take more than my power in this form to stop you, do you understand?”

My breathin’ slowed, Ah rubbed at my eyes, and the heat all over me seemed ta get just a little bit cooler. Ah could see a thin veil of black energy all over me, like it was the aura of a unicorn’s horn. Ah shook my head. “Ah don’t understand. Ah don’t understand anythin’. How can Ah… how could Ah possibly be calm? My… my husband, he…”

“I know,” Celestia began, “but there are at least two ponies here who understand how you feel. So please, calm down and be rational. Nopony here is trying to hurt you.”

Ah rubbed at the wetness in my eyes again and swallowed. My mouth felt so dry, but my face was so wet. It doesn’t make any sense. Ah thought Ah was gonna die. Ah couldn’t move my legs. There was somethin’ wrong with my back. Why am Ah… okay now? There was a haze in my memory, just after… just after…

My hooves slid out from under me and Ah sank ta the floor. Ah brought my knees ta my chest and curled my head in ta hide as best as Ah could from all those concerned eyes and said, “S-somepony, please tell me what’s goin’ on.”

Again, my uncle spoke. “After taking a form, more powerful but similar to the one you’ve been wavering between in the past few hours, you managed to kill Sahaquiel. Then, after destroying part of Manehattan in a fit of rage, Celestia went out to stop you. Manehattan burned, you put up a fight for a while, but eventually, Celestia knocked you out.

“Persona’s original goal was to expose the true forms of the Princesses to the public in an effort to make everypony see them as monsters, and as far as we can tell; it at least has stirred up the nation. Nopony knows what to make of anything yet, and nopony knows what exactly will come of this.”

I looked up from my ball and wiped at my eyes again to see him right in front of me, those red eyes filled with somethin’ Ah just didn’t understand. What is it? Why does he keep lookin’ at me like that? Pity? Shame? Sorrow? Disappointment? Regret?

“And… what about y’all? Who is that mare? Why… why are ya here, uncle?”

Luna stepped forward. “You have been unconscious for eight hours, Applejack. The elements of Harmony have never resonated in such a way as they did today, and we did not know how to fix them, or you for that matter. Something strange happened, however, and after Celestia had an idea, we thought we could get you back if somepony could resonate with you properly. Using a combination of my magic and Twilight’s new spell, we invited Miss Brightness and your uncle here and sent him into your consciousness to retrieve you.”

“Do you remember anything? Any of what I said, that is.” Uncle Blood asked.

I felt my lip waver.

I killed him.

No.

With my own two hooves.

No!

I beat him to death.

“NO! Ah don’t remember anythin’!”

Uncle Blood looked like he was about ta throw up. “Applejack, please.” He tried ta get closer ta me, but Ah uncurled and shot away ta the nearest corner.

“No! Nopony said anythin’ ta anypony! Don’t say anymore! Ah don’t wanna hear it!”

Celestia stomped a hoof. “Applejack!”

“What!? Don’t say a word! Ah don’t care who ya are! Don’t fuckin’ do it! Ah can’t take any more! It was all just a dream! Nopony said anythin’! So much is already broken! Ah can’t… Ah can’t take anymore! Ah can’t do this! Ah don’t wanna do this. P-please… please don’t…”

“I am Zeruel.”

My ears shot up straight. “Stop it!”

He looked me straight in the eye and Ah couldn’t turn away. “I am the Mirror.”

Ah shook my head and covered it with my forelegs. “No ya aren’t! You’re nopony! You’re my uncle! Ya didn’t do shit!”

“I… killed your father.”

Ah screamed. Ah screamed and Ah ran. Ah ran as fast as my legs would carry me and Ah didn’t look back. Ah ran and Ah ran and Ah ran til Ah was out of the park. Ah kept runnin’ until Ah was back home. And when Ah looked at the house, Ah realized… it was empty. So many tears, it felt like it was endless.

Ah turned and ran the other way. My hooves skipped through the mostly empty streets like rocks on a pond, makin’ little waves as Ah went. This feelin’ was… all too familiar. Where else could Ah go? Where could Ah stop? There was nowhere Ah could hide. Ah couldn’t go back ta the apartment. They were there.

Ah wandered fer what felt like hours until Ah came back ta the place where it all began.

An empty house fer sale with a small yard in a relatively safe neighborhood on the northern side of the city. The house didn’t look like anypony’d touched it fer years. Dust filled the places where furniture never was and made shapes where furniture once was. The empty rooms were dark and lifeless, and only in one room was anything left. A bed we couldn’t take, a bed we couldn’t bear ta look at, a bed Ah collapsed on.

Even after all these years, it still smelled like him.

Finale III: Revival

Applejack

As daylight broke in through the window, a familiar smell caught my nose. Cinnamon and apples, nutmeg and sugar. Celestia must be cookin’ again. Ah sat up and rubbed at my eyes, but then got a load of my surroundin’s. Ah wasn’t in the castle.

This was my old house. This was the place we’d abandoned twelve years ago. This was… the only place Ah knew Ah wouldn’t run inta anypony. Fatigue settled into every fiber of my bein’, and Ah fell back on the mattress. At this point, why even get up? First my husband, then Uncle Blood decides that now is the best time ta… good fuckin’ Goddess, why me?

The tears start ta well up at the corner of my eyes, but again, that smell drifted over me. Warm, pleasant, sweet... then, alarm.

Am Ah not alone?

Sound followed the smell. A shiftin’ pan, the ‘fwoosh’ of burnin’ gas, the ‘plap’ of pastries bein’ flipped. Somepony else is here, and they’re cookin’ in the kitchen. Cookin’… pancakes. A smell Ah know better than anypony else.

Did… did Celestia come here? Ah groaned at the thought. Why would she follow me? Ah don’t want ta talk ta her or anypony else. Why can’t these ponies just leave me alone?

Irritated now, Ah stomped my way inta the kitchen. “Listen here, ya big ol’ bi—”

“Sugarcube, ya shouldn’t use words like that. What would Granny say if she heard ya?”

A voice Ah haven’t heard in sixteen years. A pony Ah hadn’t seen in sixteen years. A dead pony, cookin’ in a kitchen she has no right ta be in! Or, well, one she’d never been in. One she can’t be in!

Ma’s dead! This ain’t happenin’! Ah’m still asleep, and Luna is just bein’ fuckin’ cruel. Good fuckin’ Goddess, does it ever end? Ah can’t even catch my breath in some house that was supposed ta be abandoned. Why’s everypony gotta fuck me harder than Goose ever did?

The imposter turned her eyes on me. “Well? Ya gonna sit down, Sugarcube?”

Ah had ta swallow hard, fight the tears that were threatenin’ ta break free, and wipe my eyes. “Who are ya? Which one of you pega-corn fuckers is impersonatin’ Ma, huh? Because if this is a joke, Ah ain’t laughin’. Ya better wipe my fuckin’ memory after this dream, or whatever, ends; because if Ah remember, Ah’m gonna find ya, and you’ll see me really try ta kill ya.”

Ah stood there in silence, eyes locked with whoever this fake was. Green eyes, just like my brother and Ah, a red coat, freckles, two tone blonde and orange mane all done up in braids just like she used ta.

But, this wasn’t right. Or it was more right than Ah remember. Somethin’ about this mare was too correct. Did she always have that pendant? Ah know she did. The apple rose above the tree stump, carved in wood, painted and lacquered, plated with silver all along the edge. Pa made that.

Ah know this, but Ah hadn’t thought about that in… ever, really. When was the last time Ah saw it? Ah know… Ah know he kept it, but do we have it? Did we keep it? Ah don’t think we ever found it. How could Celestia or Luna know about it? We… we hardly even have pictures of them together, much less when she had her pendant on.

With a knowin’ smile on her face, she set her pancake aside and poured more batter in the pan. “Take a seat, Jaqueline, Ah’m almost done.”

Celestia knows my name. All the ponies at Harmony know my name. But, Celestia doesn’t say it like that. Nopony says it like that. Only one pony ever said it like that. I rubbed the tears away, blinked to make sure she was still there, and finally, Ah took a seat.

This isn’t happenin’. After all the shit Ah’ve been through, this must be a dream. Everythin’ like this is always a dream. Ah know it’s a dream. So, why does it feel so real?

Ma, or whoever this was, finished off the last of the batter and set ta makin’ the final pancake. She took diced apples in her hoof and sprinkled them across the top, then followed that up with a blend of cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg... and somethin’ else.

Ah could smell it, heavy in the air, but, Ah just couldn’t place it. Did the pancakes Celestia made smell like this? It was always close, but not quite right when Ah’d use the recipe she wrote down. What is it?

She flipped it over and a few seconds later, she added it ta the stack. With the bowl empty, she put the whisk in it before placing them in the sink. Ma turned the stovetop off and picked up the plates.

Without a doubt, this was Rosie Apple. Her mannerisms, the way she moved, the fact that Ah could see her hips even though she was facin’ me. This was Ma. Not Celestia’s imitation. Everythin’ was right, not a single detail was outta place.

It just… can’t be.

She set a plate fer me, set a plate fer her, then started fillin’ ‘em with cakes. Once she finished, however, then she broke me. A bottle of syrup in her hoof, she turned it upside down above my plate. Lines formed shapes, and shapes turned to images. Three apples, one leaf, one stem. A pattern Ah hated. Ah pattern Ah’d slowly come to terms with. A pattern that branded me as who Ah am.

My head fell inta my hooves ta try and hide. “Why are ya doin’ this ta me? Haven’t Ah suffered enough already?”

Hooves stepped closer, brushed my mane, and then held me. The smell, the feelin’, her warmth. This wasn’t right, but it was correct, and not a lick of it made any sense. “My sweet little Jaqueline… Ah’m sorry.”

Ah took a deep, shudderin’ breath. “Why? What could ya possibly be sorry fer? Fer makin’ me feel like this? Fer showin’ up outta the blue? Ah don’t understand. Who are ya? Ya can’t be… ya can’t.”

“Ah am. Ya know Ah am, that much is clear. And, all of it, Sugarcube. Ah’m sorry Ah haven’t been around. Ah’m sorry ya’ve lost, and lost, and lost again. Ah’m sorry you’re stuck like ya are. Ah’m sorry ya’ve been carryin’ all this baggage all this time, and now ya’ve just got even more weight on yer shoulders.” She leaned her head down and kissed the top of mine. “It’s been hard, hasn’t it?”

Ah wrapped myself around her, buried myself in her chest, and Ah cried like any filly in her mother’s embrace. “It’s been so hard, Momma! So many ponies are dead. So many ponies Ah couldn’t save. So many ponies Ah killed! Ah’ve worked ta live, and lived ta work; and the one time Ah found myself happy, he… it all just fell apart!

“Uncle Blood ain’t who Ah thought he was. Pa died fer nothin’, and Ah… Ah don’t know why Ah’m fightin’ anymore, Momma. Ah don’t know that Ah can keep fightin’. Ah don’t… wanna fight anymore, Momma. What is it… what did Ah do ta deserve all this? Can ya tell me why the ponies Ah love… why they all… leave me behind? Why… you left me behind?”

Ah looked at her face, taken with equal parts sorrow and disappointment, but stone in her unwaverin’ smile. “Ah can’t speak fer everypony, Sugarcube; but at least in my case, Ah didn’t have a choice.”

Time never seemed ta pass, but it felt like hours and hours went by as Ah cried in my mother’s chest. At this point, Ah just didn’t care. Ah love my friends, Ah love my family, but nopony could ever be her. Never replaced, never forgotten: Ma.

When the tears were finally dry, she sat me up and told me ta eat. Even the taste was just like Ah remembered. Celestia sure did get damn close, though. There was a certain ‘stickiness’ ta these that Ah just couldn’t put my hoof on.

“Ma, what’s in these, exactly?”

She put a forehoof on her cheek and raised a brow. “Let’s see… flour, sugar, apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, molasses—”

Ah bumped the table with my hoof. “Molasses! Ah can’t believe Ah forgot! Ah…” how would she know that if she wasn’t really Ma?

Ah focused in on her eyes and she looked me right back. No malice, no hints of insincerity, no signs of bein’ somepony else. “Ya really are Rosie Apple, aren’t’cha?”

She let out a breath and rolled her eyes. “Stubborn as yer father. And yer grandmother, and the rest of yer family; fer that matter. Couldn’t convince Ma Ah wasn’t gonna make it, couldn’t convince Citrus Ah wasn’t gonna make it—” she clicked her tongue. “Do ya remember how many times Ah tried ta tell Ma ta get with the lawyers and fix the will? Ah know ya were little, and… well, Ah’m sure ya don’t remember that. Ah didn’t want ya ta see us fightin’ when Ah was gettin’ sick.”

Now it was my turn. Ah put my hooves on my temples. “How in the world are ya here, Ma? This… this is a dream, right? Ah’m not dead, am Ah? Is… is any of this real? Ah don’t understand.”

Her ears lowered and she shook her head. “Oh, Goddess, no! Ya’d better not be dead! Don’t ya dare die on me, ya hear? My heart can’t take that again. Y’all need ta be older and grayer than Ma was before ya come see us permanently. No, no…” she shivered, “absolutely not.”

Ma moved some of her mane out of her face. “Ah, uh… Ah don’t have exact answers fer ya, Jaqueline. There’s only so much Ah know about why this happens. Ah do know a few things that might clear this up, just a might.” She put her hooves together and set them lightly on the table. “First; this is a dream. Sort of. My, well…” She pursed her lips. “Ya know that it was the virus that killed me, don’t’cha?”

“That’s what we figured, but we were never really sure.” It was difficult ta adjust ta any of this. She’s been dead fer a decade and a half now, and Ah’m talkin’ with her.

“The virus, whether or not Bloom was in the picture, was gonna kill me. Ah, uh…” her hooves found one of her braids and started ta play with it. If Ah didn’t know any better, Ah’d say she was blushin’ under that red coat of hers. “Y-ya know how ya get around a stallion ya love, sometimes ya just see ‘em and ya c-can’t keep yer hooves ta yerself, ya know?”

This conversation has taken a turn. “Uh. Ah, uh. Mm-hmm.” Ah stammered.

She let out a breath. “So… some ponies have a resistance ta the virus, and others don’t, but a resistance ain’t an immunity. R-repeated exposure through um…” she coughed inta her hoof. “m-mucosal contact,” she coughed again. “eventually wore me down ta the point that Ah caught it.”

Oh. Oh. Oh, Goddess, why would she say that? Why would she tell me that!?

“Whatever it was doin’ ta me was eatin’ away at me inside, and by the time we’d figured out Ah had some kinda disease, yer sister was already a few months along. Ah knew right then and there that Ah was outta time, but Ah didn’t want ta take Bloom down with me, so Ah did everythin’ Ah could ta try and at least see her through. And that’s when… Ah started ta have dreams, like this.”

She shifted in her chair. “My Pa, yer Pappy, he died in the last war fightin’ fer Equestria. He was about as old as yer brother is now back then, and Ah hardly knew him. Ma would always show me pictures, tell me stories about ‘the mighty Spruce Wood,’ but Ah didn’t think about him much, he wasn’t in my life.

“Ah thought Ah woke up early one mornin’ back then, and Ah went out ta watch the sunrise with Citrus like Ah always did. However it wasn’t yer Pa in that old rockin’ chair, but yer Pappy. We talked, he asked me about Ma, about the orchard, what Ah’d done with my life. But when the sun was finally above the horizon, he said he had ta go, and Ah woke up in my bed. Ah didn’t understand it, but it kept happenin’ from then on. Ah’d see Apples from generations past, Ah’d see Pappy, Ah’d see ponies Ah knew that’d gone on and left us behind in my life and just… talk with ‘em.”

Ah let out a breath. “Ah… know very well that there’s some crazy shit in my life, but ain’t this just a little far? Do… do ya know somepony Ah can complain ta? Ah’d love it if things could just be normal fer once.”

Ma snorted. “Oh, she hears everythin’, Sugarcube, but uh… there’s a time and a place fer everythin’. Normal is somethin’ you’ll have ta get yerself, Ah’m afraid.”

There was a very, very small chance Ah could feel any more exhausted than Ah did at this particular moment. “Forget Ah asked.” Ah took another pancake off the stack and drizzled syrup over it. “So, if Ah’m readin’ this right, yer powers let ya talk ta dead ponies, right?”

“Eeyup.”

“And… you’re dead now, and Ah’m not, and yer talkin’ ta me… with those same powers?”

She nodded. “Mmhmm. Ah don’t get ta do this all that often, but on the rare case that somepony needs ta hear somethin’ and they knew me in their lives, Ah get the chance ta come back and talk fer a little while. Awful strict about that sunrise though, Ah always wish Ah had more time ta…” her eyes drifted toward the master bedroom. “ta catch up when Ah can.”

My brows furrowed. “You’ve done this before?”

A sigh left her lips. “Ah have. Ah’ve seen yer brother a few times, Ah’ve seen my little filly once, and Ah… even saw yer father before he came ta see me.” Her head tilted back and focused on a memory Ah couldn’t see. “He was dreamin’ about the past, though, and Ah didn’t want ta… it was the moment that Ah’d decided he was mine. Ah got so wrapped up in the nostalgia that Ah forgot what Ah was there ta say. The sun came up and only in the last moment could Ah tell him ta wake up. Yer uncle…”

Ah cringed. My hooves found my head and my mane all to itchy. “Ah know exactly what he…” Ah took a sharp breath. “Can we not talk about this? What time is it? Do ya have time ta be tellin’ me all this, or aren’t ya here ta tell me somethin’ Ah need ta hear?”

Focus back on me, she raised a brow. In a way, it was almost like lookin’ in a mirror. Considerin’ when she died, Ma was probably just a little older than Ah am right now. “Jaqueline Apple, do ya really think this is somethin’ ya can run away from?”

She called me by my full name! “Ma, that just ain’t fair…”

Ma tapped her hoof on the table. “Of all the ponies in the world, you should know that life ain’t fair by now.”

“Of course Ah know that! Everythin’s been taken away from me! You, Granny, Aunt Dew, Pa, G—" His name got stuck in my throat. “I-if Ah’d been stronger, if Ah’d tried ta—”

She reached across the table and took hold of my hoof. “Shh… Ah know, Sugarcube, Ah know.”

“If ya know, then what is it? Why come do this ta me now? Ah’m so tired, Ma.”

“Because, Jaqueline, ya can’t do this, right now.”

Ah rubbed at my nose. “What?”

Ma shook her head. “Life can be… so terribly cruel. We live in a broken world filled with broken ponies and broken hearts. We try ta fix ourselves by findin’ somepony with the missin’ pieces and stickin’ em together, but nopony has all the pieces we’re missin’, and nopony can ever fill all the holes or fix what’s broken.”

She held a hoof up. “However, just because we can’t fix it, that doesn’t mean we can’t ease the pain until it’s truly mended. Ah know you’re hurtin’. Ah know ya keep gettin’ hurt, and Ah know that it’s hard ta get back up again when ya feel so broken. But ya have ta.”

“Momma, Ah don’t know that Ah—”

“Ya can, Sugarcube, ya can. Ah know ya can. Yer Granny did it. Yer Pa did it. Yer brother and yer sister did it. And you did it. Ya just have ta do it again.”

She squeezed my hoof with hers and stared me down, right through my soul. “As much as Ah wish things were different, ya chose the life yer livin’ right now, and ya can’t just stop halfway. Yer life, Macintosh and Bloom’s lives, yer friend’s lives, the lives of ponies all across Equestria are stacked up on yer shoulders. It’s a heavy burden, and even though Ah wish, oh how Ah wish Ah could help ya carry it, Ah just can’t.

“But, ya’ve got friends and family all around ya, and not only are they all feelin’ the same sting of loss that ya are right now, but they’re willin’ ta help ya carry all this weight ya’ve got on ya, too. Without ya though, they can’t take up what ya leave behind. More ponies than ya know, more ponies than ya even realize, are all dependin’ on ya ta carry that weight.

“Ya have the right ta grieve; ta mourn the loss of yer husband. But, ya’ve taken on the cumbersome cape of yer father. Just like him, ya have ta stand up and be the hero Ah know ya are.”

Ma stood up, moved ta the kitchen window, and pulled the curtain aside. The sun was risin’. It’d only be minutes before it was all the way past the horizon.

“Right now, grief is a luxury ya’ve forsaken. Like yer Granny once said ta me after Pa died, ‘There’s work to be done. If the apples aren’t harvested, we don’t eat, and if we don’t eat, we leave other ponies behind ta pickup the pieces fer us; and that just ain’t fair.’ He…” she paused, then a smile crossed her face. “...Goose would have a hard time believin’ it if ya just gave up on the ponies that love ya, don’t’cha think?”

Ah bit inta my lip. Even… even after you’re gone, ya still won’t let me breathe, will ya? Never played fair from the day ya were born, Ah swear.

My hooves dug inta my mane and Ah let out a scream.

Ma flinched. “S-sugarcube?”

Ah slapped my cheeks and stood out of my chair. “Ah am not okay. Ah’m not gonna be okay fer a long, long time. But ya know what? Ah haven’t been okay fer a long time, either. Ah may never be okay! Shit gets thrown my way left and right, and even through all that, ponies have still stuck by me and chosen ta fight it with me all this time. And, just like before, they’re all waitin’ fer me ta come home. Even him…”

A smile Ah’ve missed more than anything else spread across Ma’s face. She pranced her way over and threw a hoof around my neck.

“Now that is the kinda grit Ah expect from my kids.” She kissed my cheek and stood ta face me with her hooves on my shoulders. Even fully grown, Ah’m still shorter than she is. “We can never right the wrongs of the past, Jaqueline, but we can make a brighter future.”

She took my hooves in hers and held ‘em out. “These hooves were made ta build. Ta protect. Ta shelter what can’t stand on its own, and let it grow.” She set her eyes on mine, determination burnin’ inside. “It’s time ta wake up. Get back out there and finish the job you’ve started.

“For the ponies that depend on ya ta build their worlds. For the ponies who depend on ya ta protect their lives. For the ponies… you’ll have ta watch over as they grow. Pick up that cape and carry that weight. Go prove that, though Ah couldn’t do it for long, Momma didn’t raise a quitter, alright?”

Ah fell inta the hug and held her tight. “Ah will, Momma, Ah will. Ah love ya. Ah missed ya so much.”

The golden sunrise started ta fill the kitchen with blindin’ light. Ah could feel her startin’ ta slip away, but just before she did, she whispered in my ear. “Ah missed ya too, Sugarcube. Tell Macintosh and Bloom Ah love ‘em alright? And one more thing…”

Ah woke up ta the faint smell of Ma’s pancakes in the air. A split in the curtain spilled light over my eyes and Ah couldn’t sleep any longer. The hazy memory of a dream told me ta look under the mattress. My body creaked and groaned with the aches of fatigue.

Ah lifted the mattress and saw what’d been taped ta the bottom of it. A little wooden box that had a date carved inta the top.

5-26-2002.

My birthday, eight years before Ah was born. Ah pulled it off the mattress and the tape just about crumbled when Ah did. Ah flipped the little metal latch and opened it.

Inside was the apple rose above the tree stump, carved in wood, painted and lacquered, plated with silver all along the edge.

Finale V: Revelation

Applejack

When Mac returned home later that night, he was in a much better mood, even if he still wasn’t willin’ ta discuss anythin’ any further. So much ta talk through, so much ta think about, and none of it on the table. What was on the table was ‘my friend,’ however, who’s name Mac can’t seem ta remember.

‘Ah ain’t never met a mare who acts as cute as she does in public, but when it came ta private activities, she’s some kinda wild, Ah tell ya what.’

The more he talked about ‘my friend’ the less Ah was sure it was Rarity. He said he woke up with her the mornin’ after the weddin’, but with as little as we all remember of that night, Ah still couldn’t think of who it might be. Ask him ta describe her, he tells me she wanted ta keep that between them. Course, Ah only wanted ta know even more now, but he wouldn’t budge, no matter what.

Applebloom decided that was the time ta change the subject and started ta vent a little about her job. Everythin’ has its place, Mrs. Daisy likes ta let everypony know that everythin’ has its place, and if it’s even an inch off its place, Mrs. Daisy will let ya know about it. She’s a nice lady, but if anypony were ever ta describe the average busybody mother mare, Mrs. Daisy would be her. Mane up in buns, pearls and earrings and glasses, pressed and proper. Probably be scary if she had any semblance of a spine as Bloom puts it, but because she doesn’t, it all comes out as little passive aggressive remarks every now and again.

Business has been slow and a lot of the ponies that typically work there haven’t shown up much fer fear of the fightin’, which leaves our fearless little genius ta pickup the slack. My little remark about that lead ta the story about the fight at the harbor, and before we knew it, Ah’d told ‘em everythin’ about my adventures over the past couple months.

What a wild ride this has been. Every time Ah look back, it’s like there’s always a new twist or turn ta talk about and it all feels so… distant. This place feels like a kind of limbo, now that… Ah’m alone, again. A seat’s empty at the table, a foreleg is missin’ around my neck, a light is… gone from my life, all over again.

The fake cheer that we all tried ta put on wasn’t much more than a cracked mask with pieces fallin’ off with the slightest wrong move. A cold burn, a low moanin’ ache, a deep cuttin’ sorrow, thin and strained. Repressed.

When Ah laid my head down on the pillow in my old room, Ah thought of Pa. If ya were here, what would ya say? Could Ah even imagine the pony ya were anymore? It’s been so long, the memories are all so stale, Ah wonder if Ah could even dig deep enough ta find out. Maybe it wouldn’t be hard ta imagine.

“Ah know how it feels, Sugarcube. Ah’m sorry.”

Yeah, that’s… probably somethin’ close, Ah reckon. What else could he say? What else would he say? Would it feel any different comin’ from him as opposed ta anypony else? No, Ah… Ah think it’d just hurt like this, all the same.

It was cold that night. So strange, ta sleep in an empty bed again.

“Ya know, Ah have ta be honest, it feels a little weird comin’ here with you of all ponies.”

Tiltin’ his head, Uncle Blood stuck his tongue out as far as he could ta get a good look at the brand. A circle covered in lines and runes with a distinct sun and moon at the top and bottom. A mark that said, ‘this pony belongs to the Equestrian royalty.’ “Applejack, if I went back in time and told myself that I’d walk into a magic crystal castle hidden in Manehattan Central Park, I don’t think I’d believe it either.”

“Yeah, that’s a… that’s fair.” Finally at the hidden entrance to the Castle, we stepped through the illusion and into the ‘courtyard’ as Twi calls it. Maybe it was my view of the world, but somehow, it seemed duller than Ah remembered.

“Does the building seem… how do I put this…” Uncle Blood tapped at his lips. “Brighter to you?”

Ah blinked. “Uh. What do ya mean?”

He made little circles in the air near his face. “I mean, it’s… blue-er now, isn’t it? Or… more colorful, even. Shades of red and violet and bright blues are sort of ‘leaking’ off it in streams if you will. When I came Sunday, it was… not as colorful, I suppose.”

Ah scratched at my cheek. “Funny ya say that, because Ah remember it bein’ more colorful than this. When Ah first arrived here, and maybe this had ta do with the time of day, it was every color in the spectrum, like a prism each way the light hit it. Trees were dyed rainbow in the sunset, there was a sparkle ta it that just… ain’t here right now. Like it’s… off. Imbalanced. Missin’ a piece.”

Uncle Blood raised an ear and squinted at the thing but decided ta shrug it off in the end. “Perhaps that has more to do with you than anything else. Let’s go in.”

Ah flexed my hoof ta make the outline come back. It was easy at this point. The power was there, right at the flick of my hoof, and even if Ah don’t understand it, Ah knew it would work the way Ah wanted. Now if only Ah knew what it was…

We started toward the door, but it opened up before we could even knock. What Ah could only imagine was near a quarter ton of alicorn leapt at me, and before Ah knew it, Ah was wrapped up in forelegs and wings.

“Oh, sweet Goddess, you’re back! Do you have any idea how worried I was!? You can’t just run off on me like that! Are you okay? Where did you find her?” ‘Mom’ asked.

More than anything, this moment felt nostalgic somehow. Maybe Ah got lost in the orchard when Ah was little and somethin’ similar happened back when she was still alive. Twenty years and all the loss in between, sompony is still waitin’ on me ta come home.

Uncle Blood coughed. “Well, I didn’t exactly find her. She was waiting for me back at the apartment yesterday morning.”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed, then she turned her head ta me. “You… went back home? On your own?”

It was hard ta look her in the eye. Worrin’ about me like this when the last thing Ah did was attack her in some kinda blind rage. Ah scratched at my cheek. “W-well… somepony else found me first. And she uh… talked me down, Ah suppose.”

Even more confused, she asked, “Who?”

“Ah don’t think ya’d believe me if Ah told ya.”

Celestia frowned. She wanted ta ask. Ah could see it right on her lips. All she had ta do was give voice ta it, and the words would come out, but she refrained. Instead, she brought me close ta her face and hugged me tighter. “Well, whoever it was, I’m thankful all the same. I’m an old mare, Applejack, you cannot strain my heart like that again.”

Ah suppose if it was ever a question of how she thought of me, this would be the straightest answer Ah ever got. Warmth and love and shame and regret swirlin’ in the pit of my stomach like a whirlpool of emotions Ah didn’t know what ta do with. All of it threatenin’ ta spill out. Ah bit inta my lip and buried myself in her neck.

“Ah’m sorry, Princess.”

She ran a hoof through my mane and sighed. “Don’t be. I know all too well how you feel, my dear.”

Eventually, Ah’d calmed down enough ta enter the castle and everypony was eagerly waitin’ ta see me. Swarmed by a few, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, Scootaloo, then greeted slowly, one by one from the rest. So worried, so missed, so loved by all these ponies, it made it all hurt just a little bit less. Well, Ah say that, there was one pony that made it hurt, but Ah don’t think either of us knew that was gonna happen.

The moment Twi put her hoof on me, somethin’ strange happened. My black outline returned with a vengeance and my entire body locked up like Ah was bein’ electrocuted. Stabbin’ needles all over, like fire and acid were poured on every inch of my skin. A loud, ear piercin’ screech shook the castle.

Just like me, Twi was locked up with a similar magic, but hers didn’t look so painful. Like some kinda mechanical doll, her hoof travelled from my shoulder ta my chest, and suddenly, the pain started ta ebb. The tone shifted from a staticky screech to somethin’ sweet and smooth like an E on piano keys. It shook from the magic around us, inta the floors and reverberated through the castle. The blue walls shifted through the color spectrum ta orange as the castle sang, and just as it started ta fade, so did the color return ta normal.

Apparently, that’d happened a few times already, but the first time they tried it with me while Ah was still unconscious on Sunday, it didn’t work, in a bad way. Now that it was done though, Ah felt better than Ah ever had, physically, anyways, and the castle had that sparkle ta it again. Balance had been restored. What did that mean? Who knows. But we could feel it all the same.

A bit of normalcy returned, we all sat down and ate lunch together, and then, it was time ta get back ta business.

“I suppose the first item on the itinerary would be to figure out what we should do with these.” In a flash of blue, a very… Ah figure ‘high-tech’ lookin’ box appeared in front of Luna. Like a white cube out of some kinda sci-fi movie, Luna pressed a button on the top and the box unfolded from the base. Inside was a violet pillow and three shiny, oblong, hoofball-shaped mirrors stacked on top of each other, all seemin’ ta reflect more light than they should. The very image of my nightmares, a sight all too familiar.

“So… he really did send them…” Uncle Blood said, just above a whisper.

Luna nodded. “Yes, he did. Directly to me, of all things. Naturally, there is very little that can actually reach my chambers in Canterlot castle without hitting a ward or two, but this box and the drone that came with it were all made of the very same ‘disruption metal’ we feared he had been making in the first place. If nothing else, this tells me we need to upgrade the physical and electronic security around the castle, but that is the least of our problems at the moment.”

Silence gripped our hearts. These things had caused nothin’ but trouble ever since we first saw one. All the death and destruction they wrought, all the ponies that died at the hooves of the monsters they create. And still, Ah couldn’t help but recognize that there was a chance ta gain power right in front of me. It worked fer him, after all. If… if it came down ta a situation like it did with Sahaquiel, would Ah…?

“Perhaps…” Rarity began, “these should be analyzed. Far, far away from here. Under careful supervision.”

Twi swallowed. “Y-yeah. I mean, we know how they work, but I don’t think we ever got a full picture of the process. Maybe we could reverse engineer them for a cure or something?”

Dash crossed her forelegs. “Sure, we could do that, but there are three of them, right?”

Fluttershy lowered her brows. “Wh-what are you saying, Rainbow? Y-you don’t really mean t-to…”

Pinkie tapped her lips with a hoof. “We know that they work at least some of the time, right? Some of us are stronger than others. If Persona turns out to be something more than what Sahaquiel was, we’re fucked either way if none of us can stand up to him, right?”

Celestia shook her head. “No. Absolutely not. Under no circumstances are you to even dare! Luna, put these things away. The last thing we need to do is… lose more ponies.”

Luna held out a hoof. “Hold for a moment, sister. What these things do have is the potential to increase our strength for the upcoming fight. If what Brightness and Rainbow have confirmed is true—”

“And it is.” Brightness added.

“Then we are dealing with a true necromancer. If Silicon uses one of these on himself, which he surely will as his final resort, what chance do they have if they have to battle an undead army? There are at least ten graveyards within the city alone, and thousands of ponies are buried in them.”

Celestia was angry, but not so much that she could just dismiss Luna’s point. Ah couldn’t either. In fact… “Ah couldn’t fight an army on my own. Even with all this power Ah seem ta have now. Maybe we could manage if Persona himself wasn’t part of the fight, but we’ve all been surprised before. What if, on top of everythin’ else, it makes him a monster too? Even before… Ah was never the only pony who could take a hit.”

Shy put her hooves on the table and stood up. “Y-you don’t have to be! I-I have control of my p-powers now!”

“Yeah, and what is the Beast gonna do if Silicon ends up like Sahaquiel!?” Rainbow shouted. “You knew you couldn’t stand up to him, and you got swatted down before you could even try! We’re a man down, and we already needed more help before! Somepony has to use it.”

“And what then?” Rarity asked, “What if ‘using’ the mirror blindly turns you into something horrible you can’t control and we have to put you down, hmm, Rainbow? Miss Executioner? You said you worked for him, how many times did you see this very thing you want to play with on the bloody end of your sword?”

Pinkie threw her hooves up. “Who said we have to just throw one on now? We’ve still got five days, can’t we try and see if we’ll get one that works beforehoof? I mean, sure, it’d be great if we could just slap ‘em on and know they’re gonna work, but these are the Princesses! If anypony has the tech or the knowhow to figure out what makes them tick, it’s them, right?”

Celestia sighed. “It would, wouldn’t it? It would certainly be nice if we could analyze these things to figure out what makes them work, but that, I’m afraid, will take precious time we do not have. In case you don’t remember, they are made with disruption crystals. Magic cannot touch them. The most powerful tool we have available to us is useless in this situation, and to rely on our electronic equipment would take weeks just to scratch the surface of how these things behave. Not only that, the mirror is some kind of bio-magi-tech replica of an artifact that nolonger exists. They cannot be analyzed in a short time. They are not safe, and I will not allow any of you to gamble your lives on these things.”

Ah clicked my tongue. “Then why let us gamble our lives fightin’ whatever comes next in the first place? Dead is dead, and if we’re gonna die anyways, we might as well try everythin’ we can.”

Celestia glared at me. “You, of all ponies, have no right to throw your life away.” Air so hot it could be seen puffed out of Celestia snout and she turned her head away. “Perhaps… the Radiant Sun should simply make a return…”

Luna stood up. “You shall not! You’ve already left a block of this city in ruins and we have yet to even calculate the extent of the damage you caused just by being out there in that form! Do you want to let him win? You know all too well what a state of chaos the world is in right now just because they know what you are capable of again, and these days that information is much more readily available to the masses!"

Celestia eyed her but didn’t argue further. Luna continued, “I understand you care deeply for the lives of your ponies, but these are the ones we have chosen and who continue to put their lives on the line. They have proven time and time again that they are capable of things even greater than we’ve imagined!” Luna pointed ta me. “Applejack has resonated with an Element of Harmony! Did we ever believe that was possible for a regular pony?”

She looked away. “No, I suppose we didn’t.”

“Exactly! One way or another, these six here are special. Your own daughter, doubly so. If there is hope to be had in gambling, they are the ones I would be willing to bet on.”

Celestia slammed a hoof on the table, and this time fire puffed out her snout. “We did that last time and look where it got us!” She sniffed deep and rubbed at her eyes. “I had never considered what it might be like to lose a son, but now I have felt it!”

And with that, Luna sat back down. Celestia continued, “You cannot expect me to sit here and encourage some foolhardy dice throwing in an effort to gain a power we may not even need! I will not lose more children!”

Ah wanted ta argue more, but there was nothin’ Ah could say ta that. It hurt us. It hurt us bad, and even more than Ah ever imagined. She takes care of us, she helps us grow and teaches us what she knows, she feeds us, she dotes on us. How could anypony ever think she… doesn’t love us like we’re her own?

“I hate to break it to you, but I have a mom, and she ain’t you.” Ya had ta admire Rainbow’s courage… or stupidity, ta actually say that ta her face.

A vein bubbled up ta the surface of Celestia’s forehead. “And would you look her in the eyes and tell her you plan to gamble your life on odds you know are bad!?”

Rainbow threw a hoof in the air. “I already did! I told both my parents what I was in for! They know! I’m sure they’ve watched every broadcast ever since Dad even guessed it was me under that mask with bated breath, hoping with everything they have that I survive. This is something I have to do. This is something I know that I have to do, and it’s something I know only we can do.

“In case you haven’t noticed, we all knew what we were getting into when we signed up for this, even…” she lost a little of her steam and shook her head. “Even him. I… I don’t think I ever would’ve had the balls to go face my parents if it weren’t for him. He sacrificed everything for us, and damn it, why are we even here if we’re not going to do everything we can to pick up what he left behind!?”

The scowl on Celestia’s face was unlike anythin’ Ah’d ever seen. Enraged, upset, furious, unyieldin’, but… unable ta say anythin’ back.

“Rainbow’s right,” Ah said. My hoof drifted ta the pendant around my neck. “We owe it ta him. Ah owe it ta him. Ah’ll do it.” Ah went ta reach fer a mirror, but in an instant, Ah was trapped in a big golden box.

“You will not.” Celestia shot.

“Ah will, and ya can’t stop me!” Standin’ and summonin’ all the magic within me, Ah slammed my hoof inta her barrier and shattered it like glass.

Celestia stood and the temperature started ta rise in the livin’ room. “Defy me again and you will see what I cannot do! Stand down!”

Ah swallowed. “Ah am the most logical choice! Luna said it herself, Ah’ve resonated with an element of harmony! The original mirror was made with the elements, if anypony should try ta use it, it should be me!”

“That matters in the least! Of all ponies here, you are not allowed to even think of touching a mirror!”

Now Ah could feel my own veins startin’ ta boil. “That don’t make any damn sense! Ah’m the best choice, and Ah’m the only one at risk!”

Celestia’s wings flared out. “You are not, you will not risk any lives, and I will not let you! There are too many ponies you could hurt by doing this!”

Ah threw a hoof out in frustration. “What in the hell are ya on about!? If Ah’m the one who uses the mirror, Ah’m the only one at risk!”

Letting out a fiery breath, Celestia folded her wings up and sat back down. She crossed her forelegs over her chest, stuck a hind hoof on the table, then crossed it with her other leg. “What did I ask you to do for me last week?”

What did she ask me ta do fer her? Good goddess, last week feels like it’s so far away, Ah don’t even remember—

“… I’d like you to take one of these.”

A… a pregnancy test. And… on Saturday, Twi said…

“It’s about your blood test. It’s important, but not super urgent.”

It felt like all the air had been knocked outta me. Even before all that, wasn’t Ah gettin’ up in the middle of the night ta throw up? If… if Ah wasn’t sick, wouldn’t that…? Too many ponies. That’s… that’s what she means. Ah let myself sink back inta my chair, put my elbows on the table, and covered my face with my hooves.

“Uh… what just happened?” Pinkie asked.

“O-oh, just that Applejack r-realized Goose left behind a pair of twins.” Fluttershy answered.

My face fell ta the table and my hooves moved ta cover my head. Twins? Twins? N-not one, but two? How…? Ah… Damn it, Ah know how, but… Twins?

“Do what? Did I miss something here? What the fuck are we talking about?” Dash asked.

“Eh-hem.” Twi cleared her throat, “While I’m sure this isn’t how anypony wanted to find out, upon doing everypony’s blood tests last week, I was alerted to PCG, or Pony Chronic Gonadotropin, in Applejack’s results. Mares of course only have this hormone in their blood stream when, um… t-they’re with child.”

Ah pressed my forelegs over my ears harder. She said that out loud ta everypony! Oh, Goddess, what am Ah gonna tell Mac and Bloom? This can’t be happenin’!

“S-she’s pregnant!?” Pinkie stammered.

“W-with twins.” Shy added.

Celestia let out a deep, bone achin’ breath. “Yes. With twins. Her values of PGC were a little bit higher than double what’s normal, which of course means more than one. Congratulations, Mister Blood, you are to be a great uncle.”

Ah flinched. Oh, Goddess, Ah forgot he was in the room! Why? Why is this happenin’ ta me?

Uncle blood blew air out of his lips. “Well. This is… a surprise to be sure. I don’t know if I should be elated, terrified, furious, or concerned. I always thought your brother was going to be the first to produce heirs, but I suppose you were the one who got married.”

“How does Fluttershy know?” Pinkie asked.

The pony in question sniffed. “P-please. I-I could smell it the moment her h-hormones started to change. She’s… two and a half weeks along now?”

My head shot up. “T-two weeks!? Ya knew the whole time and didn’t tell me!?”

Shy shrugged. “Y-you didn’t want to know. W-why should I be the one t-to ruin the surprise?”

“Oh, good Goddess, what have Ah done?”

Uncle Blood put his elbow on the table and rested his cheek on his hoof. “Apparently, the very thing I spent the better part of ten years telling you not to. Biology doesn’t care, remember?”

My whole face heated up and Ah went ta hide again.

“However…” Uncle Blood continued. Ah moved my legs a bit ta see what he’d say. “I can’t really say this is even so much of a bad thing. With your beloved departed, you still have… a piece of him to live on.”

A… piece of him? That’s… that’s right. They aren’t just… just any foals, they’re… they’re our foals. A piece of him… ta live on. Suddenly, Ah was less upset about this and more confused. Where do Ah even begin?

“I believe,” Uncle Blood took the floor, “That we should resume this discussion tomorrow. I know I’m not exactly a ‘member’ here, but I think we all have some things to think about going forward, and nothing is going to get done today. A recess and a good night’s sleep should help clearer heads prevail in the morning; don’t you think?”

Celestia clapped her hooves. “What an excellent suggestion, Mister Blood. All of you are free to do what you will. Be back here tomorrow morning at 9AM sharp. We all… certainly have things to think about.”

Finale VI: Virtue

Applejack

“Well. I suppose a fighter you are not, Mister Blood,” Celestia said as we exited the simulation. It’d been a while since we trained, and today was a good day fer that. It was Wednesday, October 16th, and nopony wanted ta talk about anythin’ ta anypony. No discussion of mirrors, no plans fer the future, and… well, no tellin’ anypony about the new family members growin’ inside me.

Everypony could tell Ah was thinkin’ about it. This was part of why Ah didn’t wanna know. Ah’m even more hesitant now than Ah was before. More careful ta protect my midsection, ponies are more careful around me, ponies try ta keep me from gettin’ hit more than they were because now it’s out in the air. And, unlike the rest of us, Uncle Blood’s powers don’t help him much in a fight.

The older stallion sat up from our little circle and rubbed his back. “I’m no colt anymore, that’s for sure. Sitting at a desk in front of a computer for a couple decades doesn’t exactly build muscle either.”

“I mean, I coulda told ya that. Dude wasn’t big, but his brother was a damn brick house back in the day. Blood’s like… half his size at best,” Brightness added.

This mare was somethin’, alright. She looks like Star, physically, even has a similar upstate Manehattan accent like he does, but… It’s almost like she got all the ‘nasty’ qualities Star doesn’t have that ya’d expect him to.

Celestia eyed the blind mare. “As much as I appreciate your assistance, I don’t appreciate that tongue of yours, miss Brightness.”

A cocky smile on her lips, the white pegasus bowed. “Oh, pardon me, ya highness. Street rats like me ain’t used ta bein’ in the presence of ‘royalty’ an’ all that. I hope my speakin’ freely doesn’t offend your royal ears too bad.”

The princess rolled her eyes. “Ah, I see. Tell me again, what exactly did you do to your brother last you saw him? And that was… how many years ago?”

The smile fell and the younger mare turned away. Celestia tilted her head and batted her eyes. “Oh? Cat got your tongue? Surely you remember? Or did you take that memory away too?”

Brightness let out a breath and crossed her forelegs. “Alright, I get it. Geez.”

“See to it that you get it faster in the future, hmm?” Celestia said with her own snarky smile. She turned back ta the rest of and said, “While I expected a decline in our fighting strength for… obvious reasons, this was a far more drastic drop off than I was hoping for. Despite Mister Blood’s performance, the rest of you were in less than top form today.”

“W-well, what do you expect? I-it’s all broken. W-we have less ponies on the front line and even more poines t-to worry about keeping safe,” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, not to mention you’re walking funny today,” Rainbow accused.

Shy groaned. “I-I am not!”

Rainbow waived a hoof. “Whatever. Look, I can’t be his replacement either. I’ve always been more of a glass cannon than anything, my defense is garbage compared to the kinda shit he could take. I mean.” Her eyes lowered and her cheeks looked a little closer ta violet than they did before. “If they were… ya know, him complaining about having a sore back all the time makes a lot more sense now.” At this moment, Ah found it very convenient that my hooves were close enough ta my face ta hide under. “This was the guy that single hoofedly held off Sahaquiel. Even Applejack broke fighting him, so how could we even being to fill in the gap?”

Pinkie crossed her forelegs. “I don’t know, maybe if we had something that could… give us some extra power just lying around we could probably do something about it.”

Rarity clicked her tongue. “Pinkie, please. Now is not the time—”

“Then when is the time!? When we’re staring down a wall we can’t see the top of and we have no other choice! If we at least tried it now, then we’d know if we have a shot or not in the first place!”

Celestia’s feather’s ruffled. “Drop. The subject.”

And that was an order. Fer a second, Pinkie almost dared challenge it. Almost. She backed down just as quickly and nopony said a word more about it. Ah don’t think she’s right ta just ignore the possibility of what’s in front of us, but… that’s just it. It’s a possibility. A possibility that we gain power, and a possibility we lose another pony. We can’t lose another pony. We just can’t.

Eventually, Celestia breathed the tension away. She stood, made her way over, and put a wing on Pinkie’s shoulder. “I understand your feelings. I understand your position. But as it is, I find it hard to risk all of you in the first place. Perhaps it was… foolish of me to allow myself to grow as close to you as I have, but the past is the past. You’re all precious to me and I couldn’t stand the thought of losing any more of you. One was… bad enough as it is.” She shook her head.

“Luna is hard at work analyzing the mirrors now as quickly as she can with the best ponies she could find all for this task. Should she…” Celestia hesitated, “… learn something concrete, then maybe…” she let out a breath. “Three days remain. It is very limited, but we still have time to prepare before the final day arrives. Until then, we will continue to work under the assumption that no conditions on our side will change. We shall adjust as… developments take place, alright?”

Pinkie’s lip quivered. She tried her best ta hold it in, but she couldn’t. She wrapped herself around Celestia and buried her face in her side. “If I’d only been stronger back then, he…”

“Shh… the past is the past. It is set in stone. The future, however, it yet unwritten. If things are to change for the better, then you must remain alive to write it yourself. Patience… is a virtue.”

“Well?” Uncle Blood asked as the elevator started ta move.

“Well, what?” Ah shot back, knowin’ full ‘well’ what he wanted.

“Applejack…”

“Ah know, damn it!” He didn’t have ta say anythin’. Ah was the one that needed ta say somethin’, but this was even worse than when Ah brought Goose home fer the first time. Why is it that all of this has ta be so embarrassin’? Mac likes ta brag about it when he does it, but every time somepony talks about it around me, Ah just get all flustered and shy. We were married, damn it! Of course we were… we were… Gah!

My hooves found my eyes. “Wh-why can’t y’all tell ‘em?”

“Oh, don’t you give me that. I told everypony my secrets. Just… think of this as your punishment for breaking your promise to me. ‘Ah promise, Uncle Blood.’ That’s what you said when I told you to be safe. Not only did you lie to me, but you also slept with the first stallion you ever had feelings for. You might not be a skirt chaser like he is, but perhaps you and your brother have more in common than you thought.”

Ah couldn’t scowl at him any harder than Ah was, but Ah could swear he was enjoyin’ this. He continued, “Maybe I will tell them. They didn’t exactly know Goose’s backstory like I do now, perhaps they’ll be interested to learn about the… ‘family business’?”

Ah froze. “Ya will not!”

Uncle Blood shrugged. “Will I? Who knows? It might just… slip out in conversation. It would be fun to say, wouldn’t it? Pregnant with a mob bosses’ heirs. It’s not often one gets to use those words together, you know.”

Ah let a breath out my snout and felt my shoulders sink. They need ta know, Ah should be the one ta tell ‘em, and bein’… embarrassed about it ain’t gonna fix anythin’. Besides, Uncle Blood keeps his promises. “Fine.”

“Good. I suppose it won’t matter much if nothing changes between now and Sunday, but everypony else knows, so you might as well tell your family too.”

“Yeah…”

The elevator dinged once we hit the tenth floor. Over dinner would… probably be the best time ta put it out there.

“So, uh…” Ah began. We’d just gotten the takeout up ta the apartment and Ah figured now that everypony was in one place, it would be the time.

“Is this gonna be long? Food’s gonna get cold, and Ah’ve got places ta be later,” Mac said.

“Yeah, not ta rush ya or anythin’, but we were gonna meet up with Scootaloo fer the first time since her apartment got destroyed a while back, just the three of us. Er, Ah guess we all went ta the weddin’ but uh… Ah don’t think any of us really remembered much from that night.” Applebloom added.

Ah swallowed. “Well, Ah mean, maybe it can wait if y’all are busy or whatever…”

Mac stopped reachin’ fer food all at once, sat back in his chair, and crossed his forelegs. “No, no. My plans can wait. Please, continue.”

Ah clicked my tongue. “Changed yer tune pretty damn quick.”

Mac nodded. “Ya clearly don’t wanna say whatever it is ya have ta tell me, so now Ah’m interested. Go on.”

“Typical.”

Applebloom tilted her head. “Is… somethin’ wrong? Well, more than usual, Ah mean.” She set her cheek on her hoof. “What ain’t wrong right now? Everythin’s all fucked up. Is this good news or bad news?”

Ah licked my lips. “Yes.”

Mac squinted. “What’d ya mean, ‘yes?’”

Ah scratched at my ear. “Ah mean, dependin’ on how ya wanna look at it, it could be both.”

Applebloom blinked. “Well… what is it?”

Ah sighed and sat up straight. “Now, this might be strange ta hear, but uh… Ah’m… pregnant.”

There was silence at the dinner table fer a minute there. After a while, Mac cleaned one of his ears out with a hoof and asked. “Did… did Ah hear that right? Applebloom, what did she just say?”

She just stared at me with the most open-mouthed blank confusion Ah’ve ever seen. “Like… like… Ah mean, we all thought ya…” she shook her head. “You’re havin’ a baby?”

“W-well…”

Mac deflated. “Seriously? Is this really happenin’? Ah mean… we talked about this, but Ah thought it’d at least take a couple months or somethin’…” He rested his head on his hoof. “When did we fall inta the soap opera? Can we not go a single week without hearin’ some life changin’ news?” Mac narrowed his eyes at Applebloom. “Ya ain’t fuckin’ that kid ya were hangin’ out with last month, are ya?”

Applebloom reared back. “Wha- no! Taps is… he ain’t…” she scratched at her mane. “Ah ain’t like y’all, Ah’m not about ta lose myself in a moment and get down with the first pony Ah meet. Geez.” She crossed her forelegs and huffed. “Ah want my first time ta be special. If Ah’m gonna bring a family inta the world, then Ah want a whole family, not somethin’ like the broken mess we are. Unless somepony real special comes along, Ah ain’t doin’ nothin’ with nopony till Ah get married.”

Ah threw my hooves up in exasperation. “Ah was married! It’s not like Ah… wanted that ta stop.”

A long pause.

“Well… you’re at least gonna keep it, right?” Mac asked.

Ah coughed inta my hoof. “Them.”

He blinked. “Them?”

“Twins.”

“Twins?” Applebloom asked.

Ah nodded. “Yes… and, there ain’t no way Ah’d ever give ‘em up. It’d be like spittin’ on his grave if Ah…” Ah sighed. “Ah’m gonna… try ta get this right. Pa and… even Uncle Blood tried ta get it right playin’ against a stacked deck and Ah’m not about ta give up just because Ah know the game is rigged. Ah’ve always been playin’ with a bad hoof. This… ain’t really any different, all things considered.”

Mac scratched at his mane. “And you’re… Ya’ve still gotta fight on Sunday, don’t’cha?”

Ah swallowed. “Yes.”

My brother chewed on his lip. He looked at me, looked at his hooves, and flexed ‘em. “What, uh…” Then, it occurred ta me what he was thinkin’. “My powers—”

“No.” Ah shook my head, reached across the table and took hold of his hoof. “Ah didn’t want this. Ah didn’t want any of y’all involved in any of this. That was what Ah said when Ah got inta this business three years ago, and ain’t nothin’ about it has changed.” Ah let his hoof go and sat back down. “It… means a lot ta me that ya would even offer, but… stay out of this, alright?”

We stared each other down fer a long time. We fight. We call each other names, we rag on each other, we play games with each other. He’s my big brother, that’s the way it’s always been. But, just as much as he wants ta, he can’t fight fer me. He can’t take my place, he can’t protect me. This is my fight. Maybe if things were different, maybe if… there was more time…

He let out a breath and raised his hooves. “Okay.” he closed his eyes and crossed his forelegs. “Ah get it. Some… instinct is makin’ me abandon my sense, thinkin’ Ah could even keep up with the heroine of Manehattan. Just…” he stuck a hoof out. “Promise me you’ll survive all this, alright? All three of ya.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep our promise.”

My body locked up. My heart froze. My face heated and my eyes started ta leak. Hidden under hooves and forelegs against the table, a simple, snivelin’ reply squeaked out of me.

“Ah can’t.”

Blood Orange

Last night, plans were cancelled. Dinner was miserable, ponies cried, and I thought to myself, for the first time in a very long time, ‘Why is it that I survived, instead of him?’ This wasn’t the usual, bitter, sad, self-loathing coming out, but a genuine question of purpose.

I’ve never felt as if things happen without a reason. The heart’s cruelty, some karmic justice, some… unseen Goddess exacting her retribution upon us. Those are all… easy answers. ‘It was nopony’s fault, we’re all to blame.’ Garbage like that is simple and useless. Sure, simple answers can be true at times, but this isn’t a question with a ‘simple’ answer.

From the day I was born, I have survived near death experiences over and over again, as if everything that was supposed to end my time here in the mortal realm was just short of managing to finish the job. A war, a dying world, lost in an unfamiliar place, rescued from insanity, resuscitated from drowning in sorrow.

Why?

I am no one. I was never anypony special, I didn’t even have powers until they were forced on me, and even now, the powers I do have are next to useless. Yet… I still feel like there’s something I am here to do. I can’t understand it.

Macintosh was always a quiet child when he was young. As he got older, his body did that thing that apple stallions do and grew and bulked out to become the mare-killer he is today, but that quiet boy I raised is still there. Thinking, considerate, more willing to suffer in silence than impose on somepony else. Sure, he knows Applejack can take care of herself, but the moment he hears she’s vulnerable, he…

Did it miss me? That… courage that they all seem to have. The ability to rise to the occasion no matter what stands before them, the will to summon up the strength necessary to say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. I’ve… run away so many times now, I wonder if it’s just a gene I didn’t inherit.

Or perhaps it’s something they learned over time? From father to son and daughter from one generation to the next. Ponies who grew into those with strong hearts and iron wills. Roots that hold tight and weather the most violent storms to see another day and grow ever stronger. Where did they get it? Why is it that I lack it? Am I such a failure to my blood that I simply can’t be what they are?

I dreamt that night. It was… the first dream I’d had in a long time. In some green place, in some warm home, there was a family. A strange family. But… not a broken one. Five foals that could’ve been siblings but a few of them weren’t quite close enough for that. A pair of mothers that looked like good friends, a single stallion that played father to them all.

What kind of life is that? A life that… feels normal, a life that I can only see in my dreams. Is it one I was meant for? One I was meant to be a part of? Or… one I can pave the way for?

It would make the most sense if the last option were true, but how could I bring something like that to life? A thought at the back of my mind told me what I’d felt a few days ago. In the depths of my heart, I know why I’m still here. What it is that I’m supposed to do. Who I need to be. The legacy I need to live up to. The blood I need to carry on.

I was never meant to be the hero. I was never good enough to be a hero. My father, my brother, my niece. That was all their destinies. My job was always the simple answer.

I was meant to be their reflection.

“Princess, if I may…” I began. I could feel their eyes on me, through me. Seeing inside without so much as trying, looking straight past this pathetic imitation of a stallion.

She nodded. An invitation. “Yes?”

I took a careful look around the table. The faces, the names, they were familiar, but not well known to me. Even Brightness has more of a connection to the ponies here than I do. I am simply here to serve out my raison d’etre, my beloved niece.

“With your permission, I would like to try on a mirror.”

Ponies blinked. Brightness balked. Applejack gasped. But Celestia remained still. Much like myself, there are only so many ponies she truly cares for here. I am not one of them.

“What!? Ya know the answer, why would ya—”

Applejack started to protest, but Celestia silenced her. “State your reasoning.”

Despite the look of horror on Applejack’s face, I continued. “I was, up until recently, a wanted violent terrorist. I took the lives of sixty-one ponies, including my own brother, not to mention the destruction of the trade center and everything that followed thereafter. As it stands, I should’ve been caught and executed by the state years ago.

“Instead, in all that time, I… had to learn how to start over. I had to be a father to ponies who weren’t mine, I had to bury my brother and hide and hope nopony ever found his body or figured out who I was, all while struggling to keep us fed. I wasn’t very good at it, but I managed. It even got easier over time. But the guilt of everything always gnawed away at the back of my mind. It should be him, not me. I should’ve died, I should’ve been the one to fall, my big brother was… the hero. But that’s just not how things went. I had a job to do, and even if I never believed I could do it, the ponies that depended on me did.”

I took a deep breath and stood to be at eye level with the Princess. “My job is over. The kids are grown, they’re all self-sufficient, and they can all take care of themselves. But I can’t sit here with a hoof up my ass while I watch all these young ponies gamble everything when I’m the only one with nothing left to lose.

“So I ask you to allow me to pay for everything, right here and now. If I survive, then the game has changed. If I don’t, then my sentence has simply been carried out.”

She held eye contact with me but remained silent.

“Wha— nothin’ ta lose!? The hell are ya on about! Ya can’t just… just… we— Ah still need ya! Ya have ta be there!”

I shook my head. “When you were with Goose, did I ever cross your mind?”

She flinched. “W-well…”

“Hold on just a damn minute!” Brightness added, “Who said killin’ yourself was payment? I ain’t done with you yet! Ya… ya took him from me. My… Mister Red Hooves. Who said ya could just walk out on me like that, huh?”

Some ponies seem to be allergic to honesty, I swear. “And what more would you have of me? What is it that you need of me?”

She gritted her teeth. “Look, I just ain’t done with you yet, alright!? Ya can’t just go… just go off yourself like that!”

I stared her down. “And if I truly did decide to go find some hole to die in, how could a filly like you stop me?”

The angry mare stomped her hooves far louder than she had any right to. “Ya would not! You ain’t that kinda guy! Ya wouldn’t just up and abandon…” she gritted her teeth and sat back down. “Fuck you. Do whatever you want.”

I… wasn’t proud of the relationship I had with Brightness. She’s old enough to be my daughter. But, in more ways than one, I was always my brother’s mirror. And she truly loved him. She could never let him go and to her, this probably like watching him walk away again for the last time.

Rainbow coughed into her hoof. “Are you… sure you wanna do this?”

“If things are to change, you all need another pony on the front lines. I’ve watched you in simulation after simulation struggle where a position you expect to be filled simply isn’t there anymore. I… have a good idea of what I might be granted if this works, and I do believe it will.”

She lowered her bows. “What makes you think that? I mean, I get it. How you feel, and all. Wanting to pay off the guilt. It kinda… doesn’t go away, really. Sure, it loses its edge over time, but it always comes back to haunt you when you least expect it. It’s hard to get over it. But… I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel right, ya know? Ya did what ya did, we all did what we did, but we get clean slates here. You never really struck me as a bad guy, so…” she scratched at her mane. “I don’t know, maybe I don’t get it.”

I chuckled. “It’s nothing more than a feeling, really. I was… always trying to emulate somepony. Be the brave stallion my father was, be the hero my brother was. I was never anything more than a mirror, I was only ever as good as the ponies around me. Perhaps… being in the company of ponies I can really call heroes is giving me that thing I’ve always been missing.”

Finally, the mare in question spoke. “And… this feeling of yours… you’re satisfied with gambling on this? No matter the results?”

“Wait! You’re not serious are ya?” Applejack interjected.

I nodded. “I am.”

“No ya aren’t!”

Celestia stood. “Very well then. Normally, a pony who has committed the crimes you have would be sentenced to death. You’ve lived in shackles after all this time, shown your repentance, and are now ready to step onto the gallows. With this, you can give your life to the service of the greater good, whether it’s a swift death or a lifetime of fighting under my banner for whatever I deem fit until the day you die. For the murder of sixty vigilantes, for fratricide, and for aiding a terrorist, I sentence you, the former villain, ‘The Mirror,’ to trying on the counterfeit mirror.”

Once Applejack had been restrained, Princess Celestia summoned her sister. Of what little progress she’d made, there was one mirror among the three that had a remotely similar signature to what little record of the original she had.

A one percent match. Persona had finally come close enough to see the top of the mountain he wanted to scale just as he was standing at death’s door. Given the time to perfect it, there was a chance he could have. Just like us, he too, was betting on hope and gambling with bad odds.

And that was how it should be. We were at the center of it all when we made this mess. The pony who made the first mistake would be there to slay me if I went rouge, and if I don’t, it will be up to me to clean it all up. Stannum, Silicon, Brightness, Rainbow, Mac, Applejack, Applebloom, Citrus… and Dew.

As I held the imitation mirror in my hooves, their names all swirled around in my head. From the muffled screams of my niece watching above, to the angry curses from the mare whose heart I may very well break all over again, I pressed the mirror to my chest.

Immediately, I felt it stab into me. Rending skin and flesh from my body beneath, digging new veins and arteries inside like icy needles looking for blood. My heart stopped. The mirror siphoned blood from every direction and rerouted it back, starting me up again and taking over. Light flooded out from the mirror, then the blood vessels just underneath my skin. Spreading up and through me, the bright orange illuminated everything until I couldn’t see.

My breath ceased. Despair started to fill me as I couldn’t feel anything anymore. I failed, didn’t I? I was never up to this, was I? How could I feel good about this? This was never going to work. I am no one. I am not special. I was always a background character in somepony else’s story, and this is how I finally die.

Lost in light, unconnected to anything, I waited for whatever comes next. Would I see Citrus? Dew? Father, Mother, the son I never got to meet? Or… is this the part where I fall? Where a claw of some kind drags me down into the flames of eternity. Perhaps… this is it? Floating in an endless void of white with no sense of time or space. Forever lost until my sanity degrades itself to the point that I am no more.

And all at once, it was over.

I blinked, and my vision returned. My body had stopped glowing, feeling had returned to me, and though it was cold, I could tell that the mirror was now a part of me. Living and breathing with me. Returning me… an old feeling I never thought I’d feel again. I fell to my chest and buried my head under my hooves.

I did it, Citrus.

“Well? How do you feel?” Princess Luna asked.

I laughed. “Horrible, really. On top of the pain of having this thing cut me up and reroute my blood vessels, I feel the same way I did twelve years ago when I first put one of these on.” I laughed harder in an effort to keep from crying. “I feel like I could go kill a bunch of vigilantes.”

The girls who would’ve been hurt the most practically slammed into me before I knew it, and soon the rest had surrounded me.

“Ah can’t believe ya would just… just…! Goddess damn it, don’t scare me like that!”

“You fucking piece of garbage, how dare you! How fucking dare you! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you! You’re not allowed to leave me!”

As I held them both in my forelegs, I breathed a sigh of relief. For the moment, there was hope. For the moment, things were okay. For the moment, I’d kept their hearts whole. Another miracle had happened. The game has changed, and even the power I once knew, I understood better now.

A thought given life and I could see the world the way Brightness sees it. A turn and I could feel all the strength and magic Applejack commands. Full control of the blood in my veins, a monster buried deep within just on the verge of coming out, speed unparalleled, magic I… couldn’t understand, a hunger for energy to be taken and stored away. Even a touch that could give life to something broken.

It wasn’t that I could just copy one at a time either. I could feel them all at once. If I so desired it, I could be fast and strong. A bloody monster, a hungry healer, a… hero unlike any other.

I sat up, and once she realized she was in mixed company, Brightness removed herself of me and pouted with her eyes turned away. Applejack, however, never did let go. I patted her mane and said, “I’m alright. I’m still here.”

“Thank the Goddess. Ah can’t take another hit like that, Uncle. Don’t make me do it, okay?” She held me tighter and buried her teary eyes in my chest.

“I won’t.”

Celestia approached me. “So? What is it you’ve gained?”

Applejack finally let go of me and I stood for the Princess. “Exactly what I’d lost, I think. I can feel every power in the vicinity. I wouldn’t be able to give you a range on how close somepony needs to be for me to copy it, but at least the nine powers here, I could—”

Nine? Nine? Why did I say nine? That doesn’t make any sense. I know I can’t copy my own powers.

Celestia tilted her head. “Did you say… nine?”

Luna raised a brow. “Nine powers? Celestia, is there something you have not told me?”

The larger mare rolled her eyes. “No, and you should know better. Mister Blood, what do you mean, ‘nine’ powers? Unless, can you—”

“No, I can’t. I don’t understand it either. One moment, please.” Nine powers. I can tell there are nine other powers here. But why? There shouldn’t be. The Princesses don’t come up in my detection, or even in Brightness’s scan. What is it that I’m feeling?

I closed my eyes and put all my energy into my own powers and felt for the extra one. By process of elimination, I started with Applejack. Strength… and magic? Was it always like that? Fortification. Something beyond physical that lets her use her all. She might as well be a manifestation of her own will at this point.

Rainbow Dash. Hemokenetic, full control of the liquid in her veins. So long as there is a place for it to go, she can shape it, move it, twist it, harden it, even restructure it on a cellular level to make use of everything her body can offer.

Scootaloo. A… mender. The power to fix what’s broken, even on a cellular level. But, only what’s broken. A natural process that forces change without destruction is beyond her reach. Perhaps that’s why she couldn’t fix Twilight’s horn? It wasn’t just that it had been shattered, but the pieces she tried to put back together were no longer the same pieces that were broken.

Speaking of; the eater. Not just nullification, but absorption. She takes and stores magical energy, and this power doesn’t just manifest itself there, it shows up in her bodily function. To consume power, to consume information, she can take it all in and keep it forever. A normal pony with a power like this might burn themselves out. Somepony like her could one day even surpass the likes of her mother.

Fluttershy. The beast, the truth of what she is deep inside. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Once activated by the blood of prey, she can take her true form and begin the hunt. Her outer shell simply looks like a pony, however… a piece is missing. Not just the leg she lost, but something about the power itself has been lost. A… domesticated animal. The wild creature inside has died.

Rarity. The rule breaker, a magic foreign to the rules of nature that only she has the power to use. It isn’t simply the ability to halt time, but to cheat space too. Of all the powers here, even with my own ability to see it, I can’t understand it. It’s… almost like she’s been granted the powers of the Goddess herself. Something… beyond understanding.

Pinkie. The asymptote, a pony who can race against time, but never quite touch it. I can’t tell if this power is even related to her body. She should burn to death with the friction she creates when she runs as fast as she can, but it’s almost like the physics of her power don’t apply to her.

Brightness. The seer, a pony whose sight goes beyond herself and into the realm above and below. From the highest heights, to the hearts of ponies, there’s little that can hide. There is a range to it, but that’s only limited to how much information her brain can process. The less information the rest of her body can take in, the more her brain can process outside of her. Not just her sight, but all her senses are sacrificed in an effort to attain more information. It’s a miracle she can force it back down into her body. Had she less control, she wouldn’t be much more than a spirit floating in a jar.

And finally…

I gasped aloud.

“What did you find?” Celestia asked.

I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. How could I have forgotten? They told me where this was, and it just never…

“Twilight, you said there was once… a cabin here, right?”

She and Celestia looked to each other. “W-well… it was destroyed when I lost control of my magic.”

I nodded. “And from there, the castle grew out of the ground because you’d triggered something, right?” I walked over to where I could feel number nine the strongest and stood at the center of the training room. It was deep. Deep, deep below this place, directly at the epicenter of where I could feel it all around me.

Celestia took a few steps toward me. “Yes… but we never did figure out—” She realized what I had. Who number nine was. “It’s right there, isn’t it?”

“It is. Twilight, would you bring…” I bit into my leg so it would bleed, then used Rainbow’s powers to cut a square area into the floor around me. “this area here up to the surface?”

I stepped aside and let her take over. Her horn, then her whole body, set alight with a violet aura and the castle shook. A solid rectangle of crystal rose and rose and rose up into the training room. Inside it, one could see ‘roots’ of concentrated magic that flowed in and around it, little veins that truly made this place alive like some kind of creature symbiotic with her.

At the very bottom of it was… the true Root of this castle. What I’d buried here twelve years ago. He’d been… ‘petrified,’ in a way. Preserved as he was before he’d died in the very same crystal that made up this castle. And just above his crossed forelegs were the remains of a magic that had moved on. Little shiny pieces that all reflected far more than they rightfully should.

As I approached him, I could still feel that power I’d stolen. The power I wanted to seal away all those years ago. The power that gave life to this miraculous magical thing.

“My dear brother. You always did live up to your names.”

Finale VIII: Madness

Silicon Argent

“Father.”

The word was painful to say. Nearly as painful as the bones stabbing into my chest. The numbness in my hind legs that slowly travels up my spine, creeping closer day after day, threatening, promising to consume me. Pulling his face away from his computer, likely finalizing the transfer with all the little finishing touches he needed to add, he looked at me the same way he has since that fateful day. With a false life in dead eyes.

“What is it, Silicon?”

His drawl was slower than it had ever been, his movements jerky and unnatural. My powers were fading, and he was just as aware of that as I was. I… never wanted to do this. To finally have to say it to his face. Perhaps… things could’ve been different, had I done this on the day it was meant to be, but… even now, I am still merely a child.

“I… wanted to say goodbye. One more time.”

Slowly, carefully, father rose from his desk and approached me. For a stallion of fifty-eight years, he still had the physique of a miner from his early days. Tall and muscular, heavy enough to smash rocks with his bare hooves. When I was young, I wanted to be like that. In the blink of an eye, the dream was robbed from me by one of the very idols I admired. She did this to me! It’s because of her that these words have to leave me today, and finally, after all this time, I personally will make her suffer for it.

“Silicon?”

Blinking the rage away, I shook my head. “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“It’s alright, I… understand.” He coughed into his hoof and smoothed down his suit. A stallion like him always looked like a wall of black satin when he wore one. Despite the fortune blessed upon him, he was never truly made for this. “I said that there’s a better place for this conversation, is all.”

I frowned. A better place? Where else would we speak other than his office? I scratched at my neck. “And… where might that be?”

He motioned for me to follow, “Come, I’ll show you,” and started toward the elevator.

Quietly following behind, I took my place beside him and watched as he pressed the button for the first basement floor. The only thing we keep in there are vehicles, so I suppose he wants to drive somewhere. Checking my wrist, the time was 7:45AM, Sunday, October 20th.

Nervously, I asked, “You do know my appointment is at noon today, don’t you?”

Father let out a breath and rolled his eyes. “Silicon, there hasn’t been a thing on my mind other than your ‘appointment’ today for the past year. Bear with me, you’ll understand once we arrive. You’ll have plenty of time to set your stage and… follow through with this as you’ve planned. I’ve already told you once that I have no intention of interfering, I shouldn’t need to tell you again.”

I coughed into my hoof. “Right, my apologies.”

I should know better than to doubt him. Nopony has been at my side through all of this other than him. No matter how despicable, no matter how cruel I could be, he was always there. Nopony believed in my project other than him, nopony understood my goals other than him, and it is for that very reason that I should put every ounce of faith and trust I have in him. Father would never betray me. Not after coming so far.

The elevator takes about five seconds to descend to the floor below, and from the office on the 75th floor, that means were in here for six minutes at the minimum. And what a long six minutes it would be. Today is the day. Our expiration date. Our number being called. The Gallows open, the reaper swings. The end.

How could he have so little to say to me? What makes him so comfortable to wait? Why must he have a place in mind, knowing that today is very likely the second time he draws his breath last? Even if I succeed in making my mirror work for me, there’s no guarantee I’ll be able keep my connection with him if my original powers are altered in the slightest! And that’s assuming I survive in the first place! Then there’s the heroes to deal with… so many hurdles, so many obstacles to overcome, just to keep the flame burning a little longer, and to what end!?

All the bridges have been burned, the country will fall to pieces if I kill her, the people would never accept a new ruler, and after that display last week, what chance do I stand against a monster like the Radiant Sun?

Calm, Silicon. Breathe, Silicon. This is all known.

Things will go as they will. I don’t have to succeed, I’ve already won. Their lives have effectively been ruined for the next three generations. The world has seen them for what they are. Old hatred and new fear will spark a war with Equestria from all sides, and there will be nothing they can do but drown in flesh and blood under heaps of ash. Perhaps they cannot be killed, yes… but I can make them suffer, and I’ve already ensured that for the long game. With rage and sorrow like Marevelous… or, should I say Jaqueline Apple? She set after destroying Manehattan on her own.

If I can kill a few of them, maybe I can trigger the same reaction? Against one, Celestia was able to save her precious hero, but against two or more, would she be able to repeat her success? Oh, if only I had more time! I could find out which one of them that that filthy aristocrat loves the most and set them on her! What I wouldn’t give to see her lovely face writhing in anguish, how sweet it would be!

Ding!

The elevator door opened and showed us the garage. Father made a swift exit, and I was slow to drag my wheels along. If there is no other consolation to what happens today, at the very least, I will finally be free of these wretched things again. Scratching at me with every movement, making wounds I cannot feel, adding new marks to the body I have less and less control over as the days pass. I was a child! What kind of twister monster curses an eight-year-old with this!? More than half my life robbed from me for what!? Today, today, ooh, today…

“Silicon,” Father called. He’d already opened the door for me. I hadn’t even made it to the car.

“I’m coming.”

Once inside and my wheels strapped to the floor, the door shut and the engine roared to life. Custom made seats and inputs for me, a car tuned to Father’s specifications. With the right connections and enough bits, you can make anything happen. Well, almost anything.

Even with all this money, this fortune that arrived with a stroke of luck and a mountain of determination, I would give it away for more time. Just more time. Turn back the clock, start over, make it so I never wandered into that forsaken laboratory. Or, at least enough time to perfect the mirrors. Perhaps a way to force one to integrate with father and save his life. As long as I knew it would work, I could find a way. If I had the time, I could find a way. If I simply had the power, knew what I know now when this all started so many years ago, I could’ve done it.

For every blessing, there is a curse, isn’t there? This was the hoof I was dealt, wasn’t it? It was never about being fair in the eyes of us, it was just a lot we drew. Some game played by some twisted Goddess on whose stage we perform.

Was it simply fate? Destiny that brought this about? From the moment I was born, was this what I was conscripted to? Two thousand test subjects, two small towns with populations in the tens of thousands, a city with over a million ponies in it. All of them, by my hoof. A choice I made.

Yes… simple destiny. Just like I was born to be their killer, they were born to die for me. No right or wrong, no rhyme or reason, just sick, twisted cruelty. All a game. All a performance. Just stagecraft, nothing more.

And to think, with all these sacrifices, I was finally getting close to something akin to a cure for this absurd curse. Ha ha ha! Talk about Keynesian economics. Standing atop the piles of bodies, for a small fee, I can remove the ‘s’ from your curse. As long as you’re willing to crawl over the corpses, it can be yours, just like that.

“Is… something funny, Silicon?” Father asked.

Tilting my head to the side, I shrugged. “Everything is funny to me, I suppose. It’s all tragedy, therefore, it’s all comedy. Why cry when you can laugh?”

Stone-faced as usual, father nodded along. Perhaps he understood, perhaps he didn’t. I can never tell what he’s thinking. But maybe that’s what makes him so good at what he does. Catching small errors in my formulas, instructing little tweaks, seeing flaws in my materials. A sense for numbers and metals unlike anypony else. That’s how he is. That’s how he rose to be who he became. Screw the fakes, Stannum Argent is a hero worthy of praise. Taking this dead industrial city and turning it into a metropolitan paradise with his own two hooves, fighting back against Pursue Bank, giving livelihoods to tens of thousands of residents of Manehattan and Tin alike.

So many little ponies who drew well on their curses trying to use it to earn a bit of cash and clout, only for them all to turn tail and run the moment a real threat shows up. Father has never run from anything. Were the roles reversed, he’d be the one out there risking it all for the city he loves. And yet, even still, what are these Harmony ponies after?

Is it duty? Obligation? Virtue? Money? I don’t understand it. Blur, the Crow, Marevelous, they at least have families, but two of them don’t even live in Manehattan! They owe nothing to that city or those monsters they call princesses, so why do they do it? What about that heap of garbage is worth saving? Land is land, go somewhere else!

A rotten city filled with the scum of the Earth, I only wish I had more of them to use as ‘test subjects’ just for the chance to rid the world of their filth! Even Sahaquiel only managed to kill one of the heroes, what chance do I have of doing it? There is no point to winning now, but was there ever a chance in the first place? What happens if I do? Could I still save father if my powers are still similar enough after the transformation?

“We’re here.”

My train of thought broken, I finally looked out the window to see where he’d taken me. To my left and right, trees so dense it might as well have been night out. In front of me, however, a familiar wall of fog.

Of course he wanted to talk here. In hindsight, this is perhaps the only suitable place to talk, really. This is where it all began, after all.

Unhooking my wheels and opening the door, I dragged myself out of the car and stared at the wall before me. Fate. Stagecraft. Destiny. No reason it had to happen here other than those. A few steps toward the mist and father disappeared in the cloud.

Following behind, I walked on in myself. I’d been here when the fog was up, but it was the day we were here when it was clear that I’ll never forget. The first time I’d ever used my powers.

The earth shook. I stumbled, nearly falling on my face as the wind stirred and the fog was dispersed. Father hates conversation over the phone or via emails or messengers. A stallion who likes to speak face to face. Not even fog could keep him from looking me in the eyes when we talk.

He helped me back up to standing and we walked to the edge of the little lake. Despite the powerful stomp, the fog had only managed to leave in a bubble around us. Blue darkness faded into gray mist that rose and swirled above it, the outlines of trees that covered the shores in the distance.

On a clear night, some sort of rock that forms at the bottom of this lake glows and sparkles in the moonlight. It truly is like magic seeps out of the earth here. But now, as like most of the year, it was murky and unclear.

“Do you remember that night, Silicon?” he asked.

“Of course. I could never forget.”

Father? Father!? What’s wrong!? No, no, no! Don’t do this to me! I can’t do this without you! Come back! Come back! Come back!!!

“It hasn’t left my mind since it happened.”

Father nodded. “Right, of course. Your grandfather, Germanium Argent, went out the same way. Bad eating habits, high cholesterol, too fond of tobacco.”

“That sounds familiar, don’t you think?” I asked with a laugh.

“Assuredly. I was my father’s son, after all. Were it not for the education my mother forced me to get, I would have grown up to be him. He had no talent for math, but the stallion was something of a metallurgist. Pick a spot, he’d spend a day digging, and the next day, he’d come back with a new vein of ore he’d find a way to sell to somepony.

“My father knew how to talk to ponies, approached them with no-nonsense deals and fair prices. Unfortunately, he simply didn’t know how to maintain a business. When everything relies on a pony with an irreplaceable skill, then everything falls apart when that pony goes. My talent wasn’t the same as his.

“You have to take care of yourself in order to keep a ship afloat if you’re the captain. Had he not the sense to leave behind a map for me, I never would’ve found the silver that got me out of Rossfeller’s hooves, and nothing I’ve built over the course of my life would’ve ever come to be, you included.”

He took a step forward and touched the water with his hoof. The ripple it sent out clashed with the other ripples from his earlier stomp and settled most of them. Bubbles from deep below still gargled up to the surface and sent the water back to its light babbling. Calm noise in a quiet forest that would be eerie if it weren’t for the car humming behind us.

“I’ve lived a long life, Silicon.”

I clicked my tongue. “Your life is hardly up to the standard for Equestria. Seventy-nine years is the average! There is absolutely no reason you should—”

Father stomped the ground again, though not as hard as he did before. It shook me to my core, all the same. “I have accomplished everything I’ve ever wanted to, Silicon. Perhaps, I’d be happier if I lived long enough to see you become a father, but I’ve known that that future has been impossible since the day you lost your legs. Argent ends with you, and despite it all, I’m content with that. What I am not content with is—”

“Do not bring this up to me! Not again! We will not have this discussion on your deathbed! We will never have this discussion again! Today is the day, you know that!”

Tired, Father let out a breath. “Very well then. If you won’t hear me, then that’s all there is to it. I only wish you’d let me die when it was my time. You could’ve done so much more with the time you had if you hadn’t gone on this crusade for me in the first place, but I digress.” He waved a hoof in the air and then turned back to the lake.

The bubbling lake was deafening. Surely, there were wild animals that lived here, weren’t there? A body of water like this would be an easy place to live by for them. Perhaps there is something about this place that they fear. An instinctual knowledge that there’s something sacred here. Something special. Something magical.

Perhaps that’s why this place is where my personal hell all started.

“Silicon, I want you to end it, here.”

Dead in the eyes. Dark orange, the same as mine, determined and unyielding.

“You don’t mean that.”

He didn’t respond. Didn’t move. Not a muscle, not an inch.

“You do not mean that!”

“I did not stutter!” he shouted back. He never yells at me. He never challenges me, he never questions my plans. Why is he doing this now, of all times?

“Silicon, you know I hate to repeat myself. I will say it once more for you, however.” He started to close the distance between us. I backed away. My wheel got caught on something, however, and wouldn’t let me escape. Frozen, locked in place, my father stood before me. A hulking mass of a stallion, a wall of black satin, asking me for something I didn’t want to give.

“Three years ago, I was supposed to die here. Today, I am asking you to correct your mistake and let nature take its course. Don’t let some science project force you to lose your mind and let it end like that, look me in the eye, say your goodbye, and let. me. Die.”

I couldn’t look away. His eyes, his aura, he demanded my attention, held it captive at his whim and refused to let go. A familiar feeling welled up at the corners of my eyes.

“I can’t!”

He put a hoof on my shoulder. The kind, gentle hoof that’s always been there to guide me. “You can, son. I know you can. Let me go. Set me free. Do it with your own hooves.”

I wrapped my forelegs around him as best I could and cried into his chest. “Why would you make me do this here? I never wanted it to end! Things shouldn’t have ended like this, it’s not fair!”

Resignation settling into his shoulders, he reciprocated my hug. My… last hug. “I know, son, I know. However, even if things had been different, even if things hadn’t gone the way they did, chances are, I still wouldn’t have made it this far. It wasn’t your fault that I ended up this way, it was mine.”

He was never wrong. Father was always sound of mind. Always quick to think of solutions before asking about when or why. What happens happens, the past cannot be changed. Keep your eyes forward, don’t look back. That was always the kind of stallion he was.

I released him and wiped at my eyes. “V-very well then. If… if this is what you want…”

Taking a few steps back, he nodded. “Thank you, Silicon.”

I took one last look at my father, then felt for my powers. His life beats in tandem with my own heart. The only life left in my possession, the last one I’ll ever hold this way. A cage of bones keeping a soul in place. In one last breath, the fingers released, and the beating reduced to one.

“No!”

I tried to catch him as he fell, undo what I’d done, but it was already too late.

When I’d finally realized time was ticking away, just as it always had been, I remembered how we’d arrived at this lake. It was his car we took. A vehicle I cannot drive. I don’t have the limbs to operate it, it’s not automatic, I couldn’t do it even if I had at least one of my hind legs. He… he didn’t…? No, no, there’s no reason to cast that suspicion on him! That was his favorite car, he likely just wanted to drive it one last time. It’s not as if the road here is… very straight or well known…

I swallowed. He… he never did want me to go through with this. He wanted me to have all the time I have left. It’s only a thirty minute drive back to the Tower, but can I make the trot back that far? No, no, no!

Eyes turned on the corpse, I rushed to grip him by his suit. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you!? Do you want to see me suffer? Watch from above while no consequences befall you for it!?” I punched his face over and over again. “How could you!? You said you wouldn’t interfere, but here you are sticking your hoof in my eye even in death! You wanted this, you wanted this, you wanted this!”

By the time my hoof started bleeding, the skin on his cheek had barely ruptured. Even to a dead pony, my punches aren’t worth anything. This cursed weak body of mine has never been anything more than a nuisance to anypony who comes into contact with me. Even that attractive young Harmony spy looked at me as nothing more than a plaything!

If only I had time, if only I had the power, they would all fall to their knees and bow before me! If it weren’t for her, if it weren’t for her, if it weren’t for her!

And then, I remembered. My jacket was in the passenger seat. Tin is always a cold city this time of year, and though it bothers me less and less as I lose more feeling, I always bring it when I go out. I keep something important in there.

The humming vehicle, still happily rumbling as it idled by the lake, could still be of use to me. I dragged my body along the pine needle covered ground, getting my wheels stuck in mud and sliding along inch by inch, toward the car. Door open, jacket tossed over the back of the seat, I could see its outline.

Hope springs eternal in the breast of stallions, and welling anew within me, I used it to take hold of my last chance.

It was… something of a good luck charm. The very first one I made with my own two hooves. Wracking my brain, trial after trial, concoction after concoction, this was the first one that ever worked right. Mercury, charged disruption crystals, a protein constructed and rewritten from its original purpose of attempting to cure heart disease, heated to a melding point and cooled into a single, functioning piece.

I wonder if she’s figured it out yet? Without the protein, the mirror has no true instruction to do anything, so the magic simply causes the virus to go out of control and do what it will to the host, much like the enabling gas stored in all my traps across the country. With instruction to meld with the heart and flush the host’s veins, effectively restarting the system, there’s at least a chance the virus integrates in a non-destructive way. The more I tamper with the protein chain and the magic ratio, the closer I seem to get to something that works as intended more often than not.

This close to making even the Goddess’s creations bend to my will, and the chance robbed from me all because I was too weak to let father go.

Glaring at the corpse, I spat. “You’re right. I should’ve let you die all those years ago. You’ve led me to this point of desperation just as much as anypony else, taking years off my life just to keep your rotting corpse around! Perhaps Mister Belle was not yet ready to take over for you at the time, perhaps Argent Industries would have seen hard times and I would not have had the money to carry out my experiments, but I still would’ve had more time!

“How could I have ever thought anypony was on my side!? The Princess caused this, researchers with soft hearts abandoned us, Mother abandoned us, and now you’ve abandoned me! It was always up to me to carry out this plan, it was always up to me to look for a cure, and it will be up to me to finally put the monsters down!

“It’s all on my shoulders. It always has been. A crippling weight that’s been eating away at me ever since I’d lost everything twelve years ago.

“Once hundred percent, fifty percent, five percent, less than one percent, none of them matter! Any chance to exact my revenge is worth taking! There’s nothing left to hold me back anymore!”

With a final breath, I took the mirror in both hooves, and pressed it against my chest.

Finale IX: Vengeance

Blood Orange

It was… worrying. Less than a minute left. No signs of life anywhere. Usually, on days like this, you could feel it in the air. Somepony was ready to walk out. To set the stage, to make the arrangements, to start the performance. But today? Something was… different.

While I’d never been on this side of things, I’d seen repeats of history through the shared memories of the ponies beside me. I knew what it was supposed to feel like. It is because I’m here? Is this old reproduction I’m wearing inspiring some kind of confidence in me? Or is it the finality of it all?

Even the air knows this is the end. The last battle. The suspense should almost be tangible, but somehow, I was relaxed. Overcome with a sense of calm I hadn’t felt in… over a decade and a half at this point. Why is that?

“Ten seconds,” Twilight sent. I suppose they refer to her as ‘Centurio’ in costume. Not surprising based on her looks. Applejack told me there was a long winded explanation for it, but the short of it came down to emulating her mother. Of course, now that the world knows the truth, the costume didn’t quite match up to the reality.

Nine.

Brightness and I suspected that this one would probably begin differently than the others. Silicon is all that’s left. The moment he puts that mirror on, Stannum is likely to go with him. Nopony to operate a camera, nopony left in his corner. He’d come alone, perhaps he’d have a drone set up to send a final broadcast out, but Argent tower would be left undefended. The royal guard would storm it and take over all electronic communication as soon as Brightness disables the emitter system, and we’ll be home free.

Eight.

And then comes… the aftermath. The most powerful country in the world was taken hostage by a single boy with a near unlimited wealth at his disposal. Not only this, but he is still not the wealthiest pony in Equestria, let alone the world. A pony with the power to disrupt a nation, completely unchecked, out of the reach of the government and the ponies that command it. How many others could try something like this?

Seven

“So… I’m thinkin’ pizza when we get done with all this,” Blur said.

Six

“When we… You’re thinking about food? Now? Are you serious?” Centurio accused.

Five

“Yeah, really,” the Crow added, “You need to think bigger than pizza! This is the last one! We need a real celebration! Somethin’ fancy, like something we could never afford, even on this weird hero salary that we’ve got.”

Four

Diamond tapped her lips. “You know, it has been some time since I’ve had lobster and a good wine. I haven’t left Equestria in almost three months. This is the longest I’ve gone without an overseas assignment to do something or other, a truly high-class meal would suit the occasion.”

Three

“S-so long as it d-dosen’t come from Champagne, I’m game. Th-that was the first time I’d ever w-went out with Goose, and I… I… I’m j-just not ready for that yet,” Target continued.

Two

“Well, don’t let him ruin a restaurant fer ya. That’s the last thing he’d want. Pizza, lobster and wine, any kinda meal, any kinda celebration. Just so long as… we’re all here ta have it together, Ah don’t care what we do after this,” Applejack… Marevelous finished.

One

The clock struck noon and the bell tolled across Manehattan. Silence filtered over the air waves, and finally, that tangible anticipation was upon us. Every muscle tensed, every power within reach and ready to explode the moment I thought about it, everypony on the team ready to move at the slightest sound.

And so we waited.

And we kept waiting.

Before we knew it, five minutes had passed.

Diamond coughed. “Rather rude of him to be late to an appointment that he scheduled; don’t you think?”

Marevelous scratched at her mane. “Yeah, this is… all kinds of wrong. Brightness, is he even in the area yet?”

“If he is, I can’t see ‘em. Silicon ain’t the kinda guy to be impunctual, so somethin’ must’ve happened. Princess, do a sweep and see if you can find any movement at all. I ain’t so good with inanimate objects. Maybe we just lucked out and he ran his clock?”

We didn’t really have much of an idea as to where Silicon would be coming from, so today we were waiting just outside the burned area of Manehattan in an effort to make less of a mess this time. We should be able to see anything around us between all the scanning powers we have at our disposal, so… unless something’s changed…

Then, I caught movement to my right. Something had ducked into an alley at the edge of the burned area.

“Did anypony see that?” I asked as I stepped closer.

“See what?”

I pointed, “Something moved, right over there. Do you—” I turned my head to look at the pony next to me.

Unfamiliar eyes met mine.

I froze in place.

How did he get here?

He shouldn’t be here.

There are three of us!

A beast!

A hemokenetic!

A heroine with excellent reflexes!

How?

How?

How!?

Smiling underneath the mask, he raised a hoof in peace. “Now, now, no need to be up in arms… just yet. I know I’m late to my own appointment, yes, but surely you didn’t expect me to come all the way out here personally without a dialogue before we begin, did you?”

He cannot be here right now. I’m looking at his face and I don’t sense anything from him. This doesn’t make any sense. How did he get up here? I thought he couldn’t walk on his own. But… but… did nopony hear him? How did he sneak up on us? In the middle of our group? Is this… even real?

Ever so slowly, I went to touch him, just to make sure this wasn’t some kind of trick, but he met my hoof with his before I reached his chest. It was… strangely cold.

“Ah! A friendly hoof shake before the fight. How sportsmanlike! Fitting, for a Red Hoof recolor, I suppose.”

The grip was strong. Almost like hoof wrestling with Applejack. This was Silicon, but… there was no possible way this was Silicon. The body was too healthy. The muscle structure was something closer to a stallion in perfect condition. And… bigger than I remember?

Taking in everything I could with my eyes, he hardly looked like he was here for a fight. Casual clothes, black jeans, a black jacket by some high-end brand, a baseball cap, and finally, Persona’s mask. No supports, no misshapen legs, no… breath. He’s not breathing. What’s happening?

Nopony had moved. We were all just stunned into silence. Not a thought crossed the line. What were we supposed to do at this point?

I swallowed. “Who are you?”

A hoof on his chest, he was taken aback. “Who am I? Surely, you must all know by now, don’t you? You’re clearly involved with her, hasn’t she told you?” He turned to Diamond and pointed. “You recognize me, don’t you Ms. Belle? We met at the tower a few months ago.”

Her mouth made shapes, but words wouldn’t come.

“Ah, cat got your tongue? I suppose I do look a little different now. I doubt even my own staff would recognize me without the wheels. Losing a weight like that isn’t something just anypony can do, after all.”

Finally free of the spell, Applejack stepped forward. “Alright, Mister Persona, we get it. Ya snuck up on us. Ah don’t know how that could’ve possibly happened, but you’ve made yer point. What do ya want?”

Behind the porcelain mask, you could see a smile form at the corners of his eyes. “Always the first to step up, aren’t you, Marevelous Red?” He tilted his head and stroked his chin. “Or, do you prefer Mrs. Carcharodon? Ms. Apple? Word around the one percent says Carcha’s owner changed recently, and now some country commoner has command of hundreds of millions of bits. They’re a very tight knit community; I recommend you avoid them if you can now that you’ve, ‘joined the club,’ so to speak.”

Obviously provoking her into attacking, Applejack took the bait and went straight for it. Filled with magical rage, Applejack launched her hoof at Persona’s mask, only for it to be stopped by his hoof, but… not in a way I could’ve possibly imagined. The skin, the muscle, the flesh of Silicon’s leg, along with the sleeve of his jacket, were all blown away. The bone, however, remained. Not only did it remain, but it held firm and even pushed back against her. It was connected by nothing, held together by nothing, but all the same it was of equal or greater force than Applejack’s punch.

Horrified, Applejack backed off. Persona clicked his tongue. “Oh, how indecent. My apologies. I’m still having trouble keeping it all together.” Blood and viscera flew from around us and reformed on top of the bones that made up Persona’s leg. He twisted it left, then right, flexed it once to make the muscle act as if it were really his. “That’s better. While I expected my clothes to be destroyed here today, I do wish we could’ve kept that jacket in better condition. It was my favorite.”

The Crow stepped forward. “You son of a bitch! You already did it, didn’t you!?”

Persona took a bow. “Well, yes, I did. How astute of you.” He pulled the neck of his jacket down to show us. Oblong, not much bigger than a cellphone, so bright that it almost looked to glow, a picture of everything and more inside it. However, unlike the one I was wearing, this one was bound to collar bones. The skin and muscle that would normally be above the neck bones had been stripped away like somepony had taken a knife and carefully peeled it all off, fiber by fiber, layer by layer.

“Interesting, isn’t it? By all accounts, I’m not even a living pony anymore.”

I blinked. “How is that possible?”

Persona turned to me again, the smile in his eyes easy to see. “I’m glad you asked!” He sauntered over as if we were close friends and put a hoof around my neck. “You see, the way my powers used to work is that I could trap a soul in a fresh corpse, forcing it to magically bind to said corpse, not unlike an A.I. inside a robot. I had limited control over the soul itself and were a corpse to be repaired to the point where the soul could run it without my intervention, it would simply rebind naturally.

“In other words, I could revive the recently dead, provided the body could be repaired to a suitable state. Doing so, however, would slowly eat away and twist the magic vessels in my body which eventually started to disfigure my bones. The longer I held onto a soul, the quicker the disfiguration would occur. It was a very slow, painful process, and when my father initially died from a stroke three years ago, I’d obtained a clear, quick expiration date.”

Persona removed his hoof and trotted to the center of the group. “Today, my father asked me to let him die. Back in the place he would’ve lost his life. It was the first time in years that I’d seen him act like himself. The staunch, resolute stallion I remembered from my childhood. I couldn’t refuse him, he knew that.”

The melancholy in Silicon’s voice was so heavy that I… I felt for him. A boy desperate to keep hold of his precious father, I… know all too well what that feels like. So many of us here do.

“I let go. His final words were, ‘thank you,’ and he died with a smile on his face.” His head twisted quickly and unnaturally toward me. A sharp crack accompanied it. I swallowed. “Do you know why he was smiling?”

“If… if he was anything like my parents,” Blur began, “It’s probably because you finally did the right thing.”

Twisting even further in the wrong direction, the skin and muscle around Persona’s neck ripped and his burning orange eyes stared into her. “Incorrect!” His head righted itself, the flesh reattaching as if it were nothing, and he came inches within Blur’s snout.

“He tricked me! Driving his car, knowing full well that he was the only pony I’d ever put my unconditional trust in, he stranded me on purpose! I could never have made it back to the tower on my own! He did this as some last-ditch effort to stop me from being here today!”

This time, his head twisted to an exact ninety-degree angle, part of his neck ripping apart as it did. “It was, as you may have figured out, futile in the end, however.” The unhinged pony reset to normal and walked toward the edge of the rooftop we were on toward central park.

“Whatever fate has been aligning the stars for me has seen fit to do it again. I’ve always kept one in my pocket. The first one. One I made with my own two hooves after years of trial and error, countless hours of research, atop a pile of corpses, I did this!”

Slowly, he locked eyes with each of us, one by one. “Two ponies unleashed a curse upon this world. A curse we are all victim to. Everything wrong with your lives, everything wrong with my life is their fault! And once I’m done with you… they are next.”

Rising to his hind legs, Persona held out both forehooves aimed at the sky. “It’s ten past noon. I wanted to do this as far from the moon as possible, but my plans were delayed just a bit longer than I wanted.

“Heroes, this is your final battle. When you die, I may decide to keep you. I believe it would be most ironic to set you loose after your masters, don’t you think? I am Persona! My mask has been dropped and now I show you my true face! Heroes, traitors, pretenders, Go beyond!” Eyes filled with enough malice to engulf Manehattan smiled wickedly behind the mask. “Or die trying.”

Silicon fell backward off the apartment complex, and very quickly, a familiar orange light started to envelop everything around him.

“Everypony scatter!” Marevelous called.

Just as we jumped away, a vortex of dust and debris swirled with the light. Faster, faster, faster it spun until the building itself was sucked inside. Lightning struck the center, blinding us before we even had the chance to look away. The howling came to a stop, the dust began to settle upon us, and slowly, my vision returned.

He hadn’t explained how it worked now, but I had a feeling I could guess. A dead pony, a necromancer, nothing more than a skeleton and magic, had the ability to recompose flesh and manipulate the dead. Silicon, Persona, the monster of sinewy muscle and bones he had become, was something now that not even a mirror could grasp.

As if he had absorbed the building’s mass into himself, there was little doubt he was less than fifteen stories tall. A massive, bulky, pony shaped bundle of flesh and bone with an eyeless skull. Despite the lack of vision he should have in this state, he turned those hollow bores directly at me.

“Now then! As the chief subject my first pet put down, I believe I’ll start with you!” The monster rumbled; his tone so low it was barely intelligible. With speed unequal to his size, Persona’s massive hoof rose to cast a shadow nine times the size of my body over me, only to slam it down the next instant.

Only two powers in my radius now, only one power I was capable of using. Both powers exploded into existence in the form of bright auras around our bodies. Red light spilled from out of my hooves and the muscles I shouldn’t have, bundled up and ready to spring.

Shadow darkening rapidly over my head, the light from within gathered and solidifying around my balled hoof. I wasn’t used to it just yet, so it took me longer to charge this power than I wanted. Luckily, my job wasn’t to be the opening act.

From my left, An orange ball of heat and light slammed directly into Persona’s foreleg, easily stripping away the muscle and boring right to the bone. Trajectory changed, Persona’s massive body shook and twisted, throwing him off balance. The earth heaved, a deep grunt echoed through the air, and finally, I’d gathered all the power I could.

“GO!” Marevelous shouted. On command, I let all the energy out. Breaking the concrete below, I launched directly up and after Persona’s jaw. Twisting my upper body with everything I had, I slammed my hoof into ‘the button’ just in front of his neck.

The bone shattered and splintered, teeth slammed together and cracked, muscle flew like tissue paper into the air. Persona’s massive body staggered harder and tripped, but the attack wasn’t over just yet.

Feeling the rush of blood wash over me, my eyes turned left to see three crimson wings charging after the falling giant. The bright red in the blue sky started to spin horizontally like a massive saw blade.

“I’ve been waiting to do this to you for half a year now, you bastard!”

Slicing into the neck like a hot knife in butter, the red blade cut cleanly through the monster's cold muscle until the head started to fall at a different speed. The body crashed, the dust and debris flew into the air like the waves of a rock crashing into a pond. Even still, we weren’t done yet.

“TOKI WO TOMARE”

“ZA WARUDO!”

The world froze. The waves halted, the sun lost its color and so did everything else. A three-legged pegasus broke the horizon. Dark bodysuit clinging tight to her figure, blemishing the gray sky, red cracked between her teeth. Falling, wings disappearing, body growing, from pony to predator, color returned.

The wave of dust threatened to engulf me, so I jumped to watch what happened next. The one-armed monster slammed her claws into the giant’s decapitated head. Bone cracked, skull shattered, and all at once it fell to pieces.

“Bad call. He’s not here,” The beast called out.

Naturally, as if he were in our mental network, Persona appeared from out of the chest of the massive skinless pony he’d inhabited. “Of course not! Of all the famous movies in the world, don’t you think, ‘Should’ve aimed for the head,’ is a common sentiment among superhero fanatics? You’re not dealing with a lower intelligence monster like Sachiel, or even a deranged child with a few too many mental health issues like Sahaquiel; you’re dealing with one of the most successful business ponies in Equestria! If I’m not genre savvy, I’m not doing my job!”

As if nothing we’d just done mattered, the scattered pieces of Silicon’s giant turned to dust, swirled up into the air like a dark fog clouding the sky, then reformed back where it came from. With incredible speed, the humongous creature Silicon had become stood like he was getting up out of bed for the morning. This time, massive eyes flooded the skull’s sockets. They turned and spun, each one as if it were independent of the body until finally, Silicon’s orange rings focused on me. The huge corpse’s mouth opened far too wide, as if to try and smile.

“That said, I do appreciate your absolute lethality. It’s almost as if you have a grudge against me or something!” Muscles bulged, and all at once, the ground shook. The monster leapt into the air, both fore hooves raised high above his head, casting a shadow over all the blocks that contained Harmony.

“Hit the deck!!” Marevelous called, but it wasn’t as if she needed to say that. We scattered as fast as we could. Borrowing Blur’s powers, I ran to grab Centurio, then to the other side of the ‘burned area’ and up the tallest building at its edge. Blur had followed me, along with grabbing Diamond and taking her out as well. That’s four.

Persona had reached the top of his arc, wild eyes with a malicious smile, he pulled his hooves back behind his head and tilted forward as he started to dive. Marevelous shot out from under the shadow like a bullet, deep into the burned area, but not quite out of it. At the very least, she was beyond the shadow. Five.

Crimson wings soared above and away. It took a lot of buildup and taking him unawares for her to slice clean through Persona, so I doubt she’ll get a chance to do that again. The Crow out, that makes six.

Finally, with her janky three-legged sprint, the beast had exited the shadow, but Persona was coming down fast. Is… is she going to make it? Should we call time? Are we even safe this far away? What… what should we—

“Save your time, I’ll be fine!”

No more than a single Beast-length gallop away did Persona come crashing down. A tremor unlike any other sank deep into the ground like a rock being tossed into a pond. Shattering and upheaving the manicured earth, the wave blasted outward like a bomb.

“Target!”

As if she were a piece of rubble herself, the beast went flying into the air with the explosion, streams of red trickling behind her in a trail. Like a haboob in the New Caballo winds, a wall of dust and debris hit us with the rumbling earth. Anypony who was grounded quickly found themselves in the air, and everypony who wasn’t was blown away by the oppressive wind. The offices we’d been above fell beneath us like houses of cards, and before I knew it, I was inside a bubble of violet light.

“Are you three alright?” Centurio asked. The rushing dust made it difficult to hear anything but wild wind, but her voice still came across crystal clear.

“I’m fine,” Diamond began, “But more importantly, did anypony see Target? Is she okay?”

“She’s hurt, but she ain’t dead. Ah grabbed her before the dust swallowed us. She was already in the middle of revertin’ back by the time Ah got her. Shoulder’s bleedin’, leg’s probably fractured. Crow, what’s happenin’ up there? Can ya see anythin’?”

Truly, a leader unlike anypony else. To think my temperamental niece grew into such a cool headed pony under pressure like this…

“Dude, it’s like a fucking sandstorm hit Manehattan! I got blown way up here, maybe even a mile out just because of how much air I caught, and I can’t see a damn thing down there!”

A sandstorm? Good Goddess, has Manehattan ever seen a sandstorm before? Almost thirty-two years here and the worst I’ve ever seen is a blizzard or two. Though, it wasn’t as if the comparison was inaccurate. I’d never seen white out conditions, but this was probably close to what it might look like. Nothing but rushing wind and fine gray particles beyond the violet bubble that protected me. I could feel Diamond, Blur, and Centurio near me, but even if they were touching me, I couldn’t see them.

“Hold on. Something’s changing,” The Crows said.

The dust had started to slow but was no less dense. Like a cloud of fog was suspended in front of us.

“Uh… The sandstorm is like… going backward?”

“Backward? What do you mean?” Centurio asked.

“I don’t know man, like, reverse or something! It’s starting to spin too, but it’s getting smaller!”

That… couldn’t possibly be good. In short order, the spray of abraded concrete started to flow back toward the epicenter of the explosion. Soon, visuals were clear, but the wall of dust was becoming thicker, more concentrated toward what was likely the burned area.

“You know, hero etiquette usually dictates that the villains all come at the hero one at a time for a fair fight. If I had to fight all of you alone with those masterful coordinated attacks of yours, I wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning. It’s common practice in games to rush through all the previous boss fights before actually being able to fight the final boss. So, in the spirit of fairness, I think we should all have our own little battles to fight.”

And then, it set in. The truth of this new power of Silicon’s. He didn’t just approach us on top of that office for no reason, he needed material. He’s recomposing any matter he finds into flesh. And with his ability to trap souls in bodies… it’s not an army of undead to be worried about, but rather an army of kaiju.

“Rise again, my servants! Your second, your third lives await you if only you can defeat the obstacles in your path!”

The shattered earth had been reformed into bodies of similar shape and size as the new form Person had taken. There was no longer one giant, but seven. Three female shapes, four male shapes. One Giant with a bone mask. Two giants with dichromatic irises. A giant with one larger and one smaller iris. A female with eyes like kaleidoscopes. A skinless giant with an open-mouthed smile filled with malice unlike any other.

“Hehehe… Hahaha!” Marevelous… Applejack was laughing. The light that normally came with her powers ‘turning on’ was a dangerously darker color than I remember. “That’s him, ain’t it? The smiley one. It’s him, AIN’T IT, PERSONA!?”

Oh no.

The Master of the giants brought a hoof to his mouth. “Oh my, it seems as if there is a grudge here! Well, if you must know, then yes, it is. As much as he would like to speak, complex structures like vocal cords are unnecessary for the purpose my servants serve in this particular moment so I didn’t make them. Wave to your favorite hero, Sahaquiel.”

Focusing its eyes on Marevelous, the smiling giant tilted his head and began to raise a hoof. She, however, didn’t need any more confirmation than that. As if a cannon had been fired, the ground around Marevelous’s hooves shattered and she launched after the smiling giant.

Moving quickly to intercept her, the giant braced itself and raised a hoof to protect its chest. Marevelous slammed into the massive foreleg, knocking the giant off balance and even going so far as to lift him into the air. The skinless giant fell back further into the empty wreckage of what used to be central Manehattan, then swung his damaged foreleg away, shooting off a familiarly shaped ball of orange-black light.

As if he were merely a spectator watching a game, Persona tilted his head in amusement. “Well, somepony seems awfully eager to start! I didn’t even get to explain the rules of the new game mode. Very well then,” Persona pointed his hoof at us. “Your reward will be life eternal at my side in my new world order. Destroy them.”

Finale X: The Great Pertender

Rarity Belle

All it took for the rumbling to begin was a flick of Persona’s colossal hoof. With Sahaquiel down, Sachiel, the Israfel sisters, Ramiel, and Matarael all charged. Each hoof fall shook the ground, kicking dust and debris from the ruined, burned area up into the air, filling it with ash and soot. All at once, the monstrous ponies split off, singling out targets. To combat this, we tried to stick together, but that didn’t end up working too well.

No guidance from our leader, who was currently having a rolling fit with the source of her widowed status, we might as well have been on our own. Before I knew what to do with myself, I believe one of the Israfel sisters had reached me. She’d stepped on a solid piece of ground, probably an old parking lot, which then flung me into the air. Who exactly the giant was didn’t cross my mind.

Not a second later, she continued her charge, pasting me on her neck and pressing forward to ram into a building behind me. Not a moment too soon, I called time.

ZA WARUDO!

Thinking quickly, I used my cables to swing around… whichever Israfel this was, then shot my cables into the base of her neck in the small of her back. At least here, she’d take most of the impact and I could hide and think for a bit when she realizes she lost me. No matter how flexible a pony is, they may not see this spot on themselves without a mirror. It’s a horror to try and style alone since the root of the mane usually stops here.

Returning time to the world and preparing for impact, Israfel crashed into her target, no doubt in hopes of making me a splatter on it. Staggering back like the building which she’d turned into a pile of rubble jarred her, I took time to take stock of the battlefield.

Persona had found himself a nice seat on top of a set of apartments like it was a stool for him while delighting in watching Applejack tangle with Sahaquiel. The rotten bastard was so full of himself that he didn’t bother joining in the fight at all. Oh well, I suppose that makes it easier for us.

A red-black flash whizzed by, being excitedly chased by a more rabid giant, whom I assumed was Ramiel. Running, jumping, biting at Rainbow with his massive teeth like she was some kind of ball for a dog to chase. Based on the tracks, this isn’t the first time they’ve circled the burned area.

The pale beast was trying to hold her own against another giant not far from me. The kaleidoscope eyes told me this was Matarael. Fluttershy did her best, but she wasn’t exactly winning. It was more her making slashes with the claw she had when she could and running away when it was Matarael’s turn to strike.

The shaking was starting to upset my stomach when it suddenly stopped. Whichever Israfel I had went still and started turning her head left and right. That’s not good.

“Is everypony occupied, or is anypony near the still Israfel? You might know I’m not quite the fighter you ponies are, so I could use a hoof if you have it!”

And then came the spinning. Whether or not she could feel me, all these ponies, most of whom were condemned for insanity and murder if I remember correctly, acted something like wild dogs. Rather than do the smart thing, which would be to roll on her back to force me to move or die, I suppose, this Israfel decided she would chase her tail.

I could feel my organs shift to the side to counter the sudden G-force and nearly lost my guts right then and there. Instead, I pulled my cables in and hunkered down on her back.

“Anypony at all!?” I called out in desperation. Luckily, I was answered.

“Is any pony near you? I can help, but I need a power to borrow!”

Blood! Oh, thank the Goddess. “Fluttershy is somewhere nearby, at least within your range!”

“I see the spinning Israfel, I’ll get closer for you.” The beast added.

“As soon as I give the signal, call time, alright?”

Finally, somepony to get me out of this hell. “Sure. Please hurry.”

Worse than anything, was the nausea. I was going to puke if this kept up much longer, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. With the sort of face mask on my suit, anything that comes out of my mouth goes down my chin and deeper in, and it would just be a horrible mess to clean provided we all survive this, and I simply don’t want to deal with it. Honestly, if I do spill, I’d rather just—

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA WARUDO!”

Before I’d even realized what had happened, I’d followed through on the command. Something to do with trained dogs, I suppose. In the frozen world, I unhooked myself from Israfel and woozily made it to standing. Before me was some masculine, hairy monstrosity wearing a hilariously small cape and a Redhoof cosplay so tight around his body that you could see every muscle on him.

“Are you alright?” he asked, offering me one of his claws to steady myself.

“For the moment, I think so.” Smothering an impulse to vomit I made note of how Israfel was stopped. All her hooves were off the ground and her neck was leaning off to one side. She was, even now, still spinning. A thought occurred to me.

“I do believe that we have a chance to perform a test here.”

Beastly Blood tilted his head. “A test?”

I nodded. Making note of how she was angled, I picked out one of the few intact buildings near us at the edge of the burned area. Pointing to my target, I said, “Go to the fourth floor of that building right there. As soon as you’re ready, tell me and I’ll restore time. Once I do, launch yourself at this Israfel with one of your claws ready to spear her. So long as you’re as capable as Fluttershy, it should put you directly into the center of her chest.

“With the way he’s removed himself from the fight, this is still a game to Persona. The players might be different, but the rules are still the same. Especially after seeing where he hides himself, I believe we’re still after ‘mirrors’ within these monsters.”

Slowly, Blood agreed with me. “Yes… yes, he is still a child at heart. Alright, I can do it. Let’s go.”

Without warning, Blood grabbed me with one of his claws. “Wait, wait, wait—”

Massive legs launched off Israfel’s back and we flew, or crashed, really, to the building I’d pointed out. Part of it had caved in with our entrance, but Blood jammed his free claw into the side of it, halting us from falling anywhere. Bricks joined the frozen world for a moment, only to fall back into time and stop mid-air, joining a newly frozen cloud of dust.

Then it happened. It all came out, luckily forcing my face mask down and halting after a second or so of travel. At least it isn’t running down my suit I suppose. “Please, put me down.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Climbing up a little, Blood gently set me on the rooftop, then got in position. My stomach still roiling, I sat down to steady myself and prepared to restart time.

“Are you ready?”

“On your mark.”

“Release!”

Color wasn’t even done returning to the world when the whole building shook. Not unlike his niece earlier, Blood launched like a bullet, destroying the room behind the wall he was on. Light beat him to Israfel, and just as I’d predicted, she’d turned to have her chest directly in line with beastly Blood.

Her eyes, blue now that I notice, caught sight of him right before he pierced her. The very last sight she would ever see.

Blood’s claw sank deep inside her, and as soon as he was shoulder deep, Blue Israfel’s eyes rolled back into her skull. Her legs caved in, and Blood jumped away. Before she could even hit the ground, her body fell apart like a burned log in a fire pit.

“Everypony, it’s just like it was before! The real body, mirror, or whatever is holding these things together is in the center of their chests!”

“That’s wonderful Diamond, but now that both of you are done—” Another beast, one of the more yellow, one-armed feminine varieties, was slapped into the building I’d been sitting on, crashing through the wall just beneath me. “I could use a hoof.”

I coughed. “Certainly.”

Fluttershy

Fuck, fuck, fuck! Why? Why is this a thing? Why can he just do that? It was never fair, but the number of city destroying levels of power this guy gets is way too many for the balance of a normal game. Not that anything about this is even remotely close to normal. Goddess, now I’m equating it to a game. What even.

Giant Matarael, who looked more like Persona’s idea of a female pony, rather than a one you might find on the street… discounting Applejack, but without all the ‘skin’ and stuff. Pictures of the real Matarael we saw weren’t this well-endowed, anyways.

Rather than struggle with her, this was more annoying than anything. Attacking her doesn’t so much as slow her down, but in this form, she’s not faster than me either. I can out run her, I can avoid her, but she’s always a step behind me. If I don’t keep up, I get crushed—I grabbed my tail and pulled it out of the shadow of a massive hoof coming down for it—but if I get too far ahead, she starts lunging and biting at me like Rainbow’s old friend.

Leaping away and running toward the fallen remains of Blue Israfel, I took note of my Mirror, then turned and waited. Just as she had been, since I’m not super certain these giants of his are even capable of complex thought right now, Matarael charged right in, not caring one way or another if this was a trap. Which it was.

“Now!”

The stomping gallop of the reflected beast charged out from under a stacked pile of rubble and leapt onto Matarael’s face. She staggered, losing her balance, then tripping on herself. My cue, I started my own run right after her chest. She squirmed for a moment, but then her massive kaleidoscopic eyes turned on me. Just before I could stab my fingers into her chest, she swept a hoof up at me. Quicker than I thought she could move, it slammed into my right shoulder and sent me across the burned area.

Ringing.

Ringing was all I could hear. My vision went blurry, it felt like my body disconnected from my head, and I couldn’t feel my limbs.

Black.

Nothingness.

“Fl…shy”

Huh?

“Flutter…”

My head was pounding. Is somepony talking to me?

“Fluttershy! Fluttershy, wake up!”

Light returned, though hazy and unfocused around the edges like I was looking through a vignette. Then I saw the hooves. My wings reacted before I realized what was going on, and I took to the air. just below me, A pair of hooves slammed into the ground, kicking up dust and debris where I’d just been.

“Ah, so close. You’ll have to try harder Matarael, you don’t want to end up like Israfel.” Persona announced from his seat.

Persona? Wherever I was, I’d landed right next to him. I moved to run away, but before I knew it, he’d grabbed one of my wings.

“No, no, my dear Target Lock, the battlefield is that way. I wouldn’t think you a coward, but your usual tactics won’t work here regardless. As is customary in games such as this…” unable to free myself from him, he slowly drew his hoof back and above his head like he was getting ready to throw a pitch. “No running from trainer battles!”

First his shoulder, then his upper leg, then his foreleg, muscles bulged in sequence. His grip left me, but gravity kept me plastered to him, until it didn’t. I’d never flown so fast in my life. Short scenes of Applejack fighting, red-black rushing by, streams of pink and blue, domes walls and flashes of violet in the distance. Finally, when the spinning stopped, I realized that my face and the wall of some building were about to get intimate with each other. Thankfully, my wings flared out. Instead of getting a mouthful of bricks, I swooped up and even backward.

I reset my position, stopped to a hover, and at last, took a breath.

“Good goddess.”

“You’re telling me! Fluttershy, turn left and come to me! I have your gun, and you’re going to need it!”

Rarity? I did turn left, and far down the row at the edge of the burned area, was a small, shiny black figure with a comically large gun she was holding like a staff. That rifle was made for me, and not somepony as short and stocky as her.

“Okay, I’m on my way over. What happened?” With urgency, I started to fly that direction, only to get short bursts out of my wings, like I’d already flown a marathon or two. Pain flared in my right shoulder with each flap, and for the first time since I learned about them, I wish I had a set of cables.

Of course, I can’t actually operate them without another foreleg, so it was a moot point.

“Well, you got slapped into next week. You landed next to Persona, and we thought he was simply going to kill you wight then and there, but he didn’t so much as lift a hoof. well, until you woke up again, that is. Are you alright?”

No.

“My shoulder hurts. It might be broken. I can’t tell.”

“I have some painkillers. If it’s desperate, we can have Scootaloo sent out here, but we’ll have to move further back into the city.”

Wincing and biting into my lip, I finally looked at it. The new suit that I had made was just drenched in blood. My blood. Maybe… this is desperate. Should I… should I back off? I have more to worry about than anypony else knows. Though, I can’t even be certain anything would’ve survived my beast form in the first place. As much as I… No, no, it’s not worth worrying about. Not right now, not at this stage. Still…

“Get Scootaloo. I think it’s worse than it looks. I’m bleeding, a lot.”

I flew up and away from the battlefield as I was leaving it, hoping Persona wouldn’t make another move to prevent that. Whether or not he knows it, he’s put himself between us and Manehattan Park, or the castle. If it really does come down to another appearance by the monsters he so wants to destroy, he’ll be ready for them. I think… he knows more about us than we initially thought.

He looked right at me, but simply smiled and didn’t move.

It sent a shiver down my spine. Almost like he was in my head, reading everything I thought. Desperate to look away, I took note of fake Redhoof fighting off Matarael for me, using what looked like Applejack’s powers.

She, on the other hoof, was still beating the crap out of Sahaquiel with whatever dark energy had enhanced her powers recently. Pure violence from the mare with too much more to lose than she realizes. She shouldn’t be here, but there’s no way we could do this without her.

Twilight was somehow holding her own against the masked giant, Sachiel. Defending with shields, attacking with magic beams, turning the poor bastard into something more like swiss cheese than a pony, but still missing the mark. Something was bothering me about that. He had lots of little holes in him, but they didn’t affect him much, or even slow him down at all. A lot like my slashes against Matarael, but to a greater extent. He doesn’t even bother dodging unless she aims for the chest, and when she does, he only moves so slightly out of the way. It only matters if he defends the one spot, and everywhere else, it just looks like he’s… leaking sand.

I almost wish Applejack hadn’t rushed in like she did. I wonder if he really would’ve explained the game at the start. Are the giants regenerating? Do we only have to beat them once, or is he even more powerful than we thought? Blue Israfel still hasn’t come back, so maybe not, but what if he’s just waiting for the right moment? I don’t like this.

Finally, I’d effectively exited the battlefield and was only a block away from Rarity. A blue flash caught my eye, and then Red Israfel bounded after it like a dog with a laser pointer. Geez. Of all the ponies here, she’s the least equipped to deal with a fight like this. Why hasn’t she asked for help yet? Of course, she’s also got the easiest time avoiding these guys, and she’s smarter about things now than when I first met her. Maybe she doesn’t need help. I’m the one who’s lost the most power, after all. Oh, Fluffy. Why did you have to go?

Pinkamena Diane Pie

You know, thinking about this seriously, I generally had no idea what I should be doing right now. Fight the monster, the weakness is in the chest, yeah, I got all that, but how am I, Pinkie Pie, the heroine Blur, supposed to deal a killing blow to this thing?

Said thing, A red eyed female giant which I could only assume was one of the Israfel twins, was doing as she had been since I lead her away, and chasing me, ever so slowly, trying her hardest to catch up, lunging after me when she did, then realizing I’d moved to sit somewhere else.

Now, that wasn’t to say I was being lazy or not trying, I was trying, really. However, much like our earlier fights, I’m really not too much of a fighter in fights like this. I’m not a stallion. I could never muster the kind of muscle mass even my dad has with all the juice and ‘extra-curriculars’ in the world. I mean, I’m stronger than Rarity, but Rarity was never a fighter in the first place. I’m taller than Rainbow, but Shy is like, at least a couple hands higher than me in her pony form. Maybe I could bulk up some more, to the point of approaching that enviable body Applejack has, but as far as pure power goes, I just don’t have it.

Thinking in my thinking pose, I noticed Red Israfel was on the move again, sighed, and went back to thinking. I suppose, I should probably be asking for help here, but in what way? I did have trump card, it’s true. I also only have four legs, and if I break one, I’m a dead mare waiting to get beat. I’ve used it before in a controlled way, but that backfired spectacularly with Sahaquiel.

Well, not true. It worked then, we just didn’t really know what we were dealing with, and we paid the price for it. Honestly, I feel like we know more about these versions of the kaiju than their original forms.

Seeing as Red Israfel was above me again, I made a slow trot out of the way, then casually strolled to the center of the battlefield. Who knows, maybe I just need an idea here? It’s not like I’m in trouble or anything. If I’d been this well composed when we first fought Sachiel, I probably wouldn’t have ever gotten hurt in the first place. Then again, maybe I’m just better at this now. Not the same kid anymore; finally growing into the suit I guess.

At the center now, I found a comfortable spot, then waived to Red Israfel to get her attention. She spotted me again, then started on her way over, as we’ve been going on about this loop for the last five minutes. Sigh. What to do, what to do.

I can’t in good conscience call the guy who killed him Red Hoof, even if he was his brother or whatever and taking up Goose’s place to help us out. So, Fake Red Hoof had tapped in for Fluttershy tapping out. She was bleeding pretty bad when I last saw her get smacked across the way, so she’s out of the picture for a little while, probably with Rarity, our resident support.

Since I know she was screwed without her powers, I’d bet on there being something like seven total minutes left to her world. Not that they’d be super useful right now without somepony like the Beast to do what she… no, wait, that was Fake Red Hoof cosplaying the Beast, who then stabbed Blue Israfel to death. His claw was the size of my whole body, and he dug his arm all the way in there.

The cores are deep this time, and other than with Shy’s powers, I don’t know how we’re gonna do this. They’re not as fast as grotesque Matarael was, thank the Goddess, but they have to be taken out the same way, and they’re bigger. Applejack can mash her Sahaquiel into paste, but without some kind of blade to pierce through, she really doesn’t have many options.

I looked over my shoulder, ignoring Red Israfel and focused on Twilight. Her fight was actually going pretty well, all things considered. Energy beams seem to cut through these things without much trouble, but for all the holes Sachiel has, he’s not really falling apart or slowing down.

Looking closer, pretending I had binoculars on me, I could see that Twilight wasn’t just throwing random bullshit out either. She was attacking joints, weak points on the body, places where the muscle was the least dense. Looks like she even shot an eye out, but that didn’t do much.

Hmm.

I wonder…

I looked back to Red Israfel as she was landing again with her slow-motion gallop. Now that I study her, yes, she’s moving, but her muscles aren’t exactly contracting like normal. The actual motion will happen at the same time the ‘muscles’ move like they’re pushing and pulling bones. Normally, you can tell when somepony’s about to do something because their body flexes in preparation for the movement they’re about to make. The muscles work, then motion happens.

Makes sense. They’re fake bodies made from dust. Sachiel was leaking dust everywhere he had holes. Like sand. True, Fake Red Hoof: Beast Edition™ had to dig deep in there, but what if it wasn’t as difficult as we think?

A theory in mind now, I moved to catch up with Rainbow, then paused to watch them to go by. The rabid Ramiel giant would get a cut on his face for every time he tried to snap at Rainbow with the help of her sword. Rainbow was fast, but not as fast as me, and Ramiel was actually going full tilt after her like he was on a mission. I would, like, have to move twice as fast from him as I would Red Israfel, who wouldn’t win any track awards at any school.

Weird to think that the fake ponies had different levels of athleticism.

That’s another odd point. Sachiel was leaking, but he did that the first time we fought him too. His body was kinda ‘liquid-y,’ so Applejack and Goose’s punches would ‘spray’ him everywhere when they landed. He’d also recover that spray pretty quick. Twilight was shooting a lot, but was she checking to see if old holes were closing up?

I saw that Israfel had caught up again and decided to head toward Twilight’s position. As I did, that’s when I noticed it. Something she wouldn’t notice because her eyes weren’t as fast as mine. Something nopony would notice, save maybe Rarity in her frozen world.

The holes were leaking, yes, but they were shrinking as they did.

Not acting like dirt or flesh either, since none of the holes had any signs that they’d been exposed to the high heat of Twilight’s attacks. Was he… doing that on purpose? Or is this part of Persona’s power, independent of whatever Sachiel was doing? Persona’s body acted, even if more like a zombie, correctly as far as anatomy goes. It wasn’t like Israfel or Sachiel, where it looked as if the muscles were just there for show.

They both moved as if… as if they were the same as they had been before, like liquids!

I ran over to fake Red Hoof, I had to know.

“Hey! What did it feel like earlier when you stabbed Blue Israfel?”

His ear twitched, and his eye drifted back till he noticed me, still fighting off Matarael.

“What did it feel like? What do you mean?”

“I mean, what did it feel like inside her body? Was it like, meaty, or more like digging through mulch, or even putting your hooves in jelly?”

Dropping Applejack’s powers and swapping to cosplay me, he joined me at my speed and pulled back from Matarael. Standing ‘still’ in the same way I do, he started thinking.

“Did you figure something out?”

I nodded a few times. “I think so. It’s not the same for all of them, but some of these guys don’t move right. I think we’re getting played, and these guys are easier to kill than we’re being led to believe.”

Fake Red Hoof frowned. “Hmm. To tell you the truth, I’m still not used to being in that best form, but it was strangely easy to pierce Blue Israfel. I put a lot more force into that than I needed to. The core felt more like flesh than whatever her exterior was made of.”

Good job Pinkie, you figured it out. I clapped my hooves. “Yep, I think I’ve got this. The bodies are fake. They’re not muscle and bone like Persona is, they act like they were as Kaiju. That’s why Sachiel is leaking, why you and Applejack aren’t making any progress on the more dense, fleshy Matarael and Sahaquiel, and Rainbow hasn’t made so much as a lasting cut on Ramiel. They might still have the mass to pretend like they’re real, but only yours and Applejack’s are going to need anything more than a well-placed stab to get through.”

I balled a hoof and pressed it into another. “Switch your cosplays, ‘cause I’m about to go get wet!”

“Uh…?”

Leaving him, I went to go prove my theory. He even said it himself. This was a boss rush. He can’t replicate their powers exactly, but he did the best he could to get them as accurate as they were.

Center of the burned area, Making sure that everypony could see me, I flagged down Red Israfel. Spotting me, like a dog after a laser pointer, she charged. Yep, even as she ran, the muscles didn’t act right, and looking closer, they jiggled a little with each bound, as if she were really made of muscle-shaped jelly.

Taking a couple of my knives out of my belt, I started my own charge toward her. Two more steps, and she’d hit that big piece of solid ground like Rarity’s Israfel did earlier. I waited at the edge of it. Now was the time for Trump Card. The fire pooled in both of my hind legs where I stood, and the moment I was in position…

Bum-bah!

Bum-bah!

The ground beneath me rose, and I launched! Spinning like a drill with my knives and hooves pressed together for a sharp point, I hit Israfel square in the chest, sliding through her like her body was really made of some kind of thick butter. Then, I hit the core. That was not jelly. It wasn’t fake either.

I flew out of Blue Israfel’s back between her shoulder blades, and felt my stomach turn. Not from the spinning, not from the strange feeling against my skin, but because of what I’d just done.

Princess Luna called him a necromancer.

And she was right.

Rainbow Dash

“Guys, they’re not even alive in there.”

Blur had found her way into my head as I was frantically avoiding getting chomped on by this crazy fucking monster at my hooves. I keep fucking cutting, but nothing ever seems to matter! It’s like I’m slicing through air, I don’t understand it! Not even alive—

“Pinkie, what are you talking about?”

Clack

Teeth smashed together behind my tail, and on instinct, I turned and swiped at the bastard. The snout, the eyes, the jaw, it didn’t matter. Every time I’d go through him, I’d look back and he’d be normal again. “Why! Won’t! You! Die!” Four slashes, reactions like I was hurting him, but nothing serious enough to slow him down.

“They’re corpses, inside. The eyes aren’t even working, they’re… they’re dead.”

Dead?

I put some more effort into my wings and put at least a little distance between the rabid giant and myself.

“Corpses?” Twilight asked, “I mean, sure, Luna called him a necromancer, but—”

“No, seriously, that’s right on the money. These are animated corpses inside. And the giants themselves; they’re fake. Sachiel, the Israfels, Ramiel, they’re all made of jelly or whatever, just like the first time we fought them. Did you notice that Sachiel is recovering everywhere you shot him? And Rainbow, nothing’s working, right? He’s not getting cut when you cut him?”

Jelly? I mean, yeah, Ramiel was all… liquidy… Leading him to a corner away from everypony else, I flew up and then hovered above him to the point where he couldn’t reach me. Below, he was circling, jumping and snapping at me like a shark you’d find in movies.

Something was weird about the way he moved, now that I stop and look. The teeth are solid for sure. But even his jaw didn’t look right. It kinda… wobbled.

Boss rush…

“Wait, wait, wait, wait. You’re telling me, that if I just dive in and aim for the center, I’ll be done with this bitch right then and there?”

“That’s what I did.”

That’s what—I turned my head, shocked, to see that another Israfel was down, and Pinkie had moved on to helping out our Red Hoof.

“You’re fucking kidding me. Did we get pranked?”

Twilight coughed. “You know, I thought it was odd that Sachiel would only defend himself if I aimed for his chest”

“It’s just like before, for the most part. Matarael and Sahaquiel are more fleshy and move right, but all the others I think are more like bluffs than real monsters. I can’t tell what Persona’s thinking, but if this is the game he wants us to play, then these two are the ones we really need to deal with.”

I sighed. I’ve been flying my ass off this whole time for no!

I gripped my sword in both hooves.

Goddess damned!

I dove.

Reason!

I didn’t even bother avoiding him. He was mid jump and I just dove straight into his mouth. Everything about this was a lie. It wasn’t even difficult. His body might as well have been made out of butter. I cut straight through all the fake muscle, and even some of his collar bones, which were a little bit more dense than the rest of him, probably to give him the weight of a real monster, and then found the core.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Persona dug him up yesterday just for this moment. Ramiel’s body was a rotting corpse. At his collar was the shine of a cracked mirror, and the rest of him was a limp, dead body, strung up like he was in the process of being crucified. He… or at least, what was left of him, made eye contact with me.

I didn’t quite understand it. In that split second, I was awash with emotions. He was in agony. Truly being eaten alive from the inside out, falling apart and rotting with every movement. That single glance from dead eyes wasn’t something a living Ramiel would ask for. This was a plea for death.

I didn’t hesitate and gave it to him.

I lunged my sword deep into the mirror. The whole thing shattered into little pieces and Ramiel’s dead eyes rolled up. What was left of his lips, as far as I could tell, mouthed a couple words.

“Thank you.”

I shivered. What… is happening, right now? That was him. I recognized at least what was left of his face. I knew him. He was a cruel, crazy bastard back when he was alive, and he would’ve done something just like this if he had Persona’s powers. He was a bad pony. He was sick and twisted and fucked up in the head in all the worst ways a pony could be.

And yet…

His body, or the fake one, really, started to disintegrate around me. In moments, even his corpse, had become dust and nothing. Hovering in midair, I felt lost. I did it, alone. I should be happy that he’s gone and there’s one less problem to worry about. I shouldn’t feel… like this.

How could you do that, to somepony? He was dead. When ponies die, they’re supposed to stay that way. They should… move on to whatever’s next. We have souls, don’t we? I recognized him. I knew him. Even as disfigured as he was, that was Ramiel. What did you do, Silicon? Are you ripping these… these ponies away from wherever they’re supposed to be to bring them back here?

You… you can’t know what you’re doing. You can’t. You’re a piece of shit. Worthless, pony-debris. I can’t imagine that even you would… not like this.

“Rainbow, if you’re done over there, can I get a hoof here?” Twilight called.

I shook my head. He doesn’t know. He can’t. I shouldn’t know. But even I can recognize how… how messed up this all is. It’s… more than going against nature, the… the very order of things is being screwed up here. Maybe… just like Ramiel, Silicon…

“Rainbow!? I mean it! Help! Please!”

I turned, snapped to attention, and flew after Twilight. I can think later. All of this has to be stopped first and foremost. If… if nothing else, but to save what’s left of that poor bastard. We know not what we do.

Twilight Sparkle

No, no, no! Wings, use the wings!

Just before Sachiel’s hoof came down on top of me, I remembered that I could, in fact, fly, and did just that. Despite all the time we’ve spent training, despite having them for ten years, or at least knowing I had them for ten years, it still didn’t feel natural to fly to me. My wings think before I do a lot of the time, which helps, but also doesn’t help in situations like this where I get panicked and stop thinking properly. If anything, that’s my biggest issue: I panic.

Taking off as best I could, I managed to jump away from Sachiel just in time to watch the Bloody Crow of Manehattan herself fly right past me with a big red sword, slicing the hoof clean off and toppling Sachiel. The big, muscly body came crashing down like a ton of bricks, falling in on himself and shaking the earth below. A wave of dust flew outward around him, followed by the thundering crash of his sheer mass.

“What are you waiting for!? Take the shot!”

Right. Letting the magic pool in my forehead, mentally placing my crosshairs right where I wanted to shoot, the very place that Sachiel had been protecting from me all this time, and charged. Seventy percent was my ‘limit’ right now, so that was what I’d planned to do. Wide enough for the size of a pony, bigger, more powerful than what I’d been doing before. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, from the earth you came, to the earth you return!

Like the sound of a camera flash, all that pooled energy was unleashed with a target in mind in a straight line, splitting the air wherever it went. I felt it make contact, burn straight through, and then pass on beyond. Like closing a valve, I stopped my fire and took a moment to breathe and see my target.

The hole went all the way through, just like it should. However, instead of disappearing, Sachiel’s leg was reforming and he was standing back up.

“What!? I thought you said—”

“I did say! He should be dead, you hit the right spot! What the hell—” Rainbow cut herself off mid sentence as a colossal hoof came rocketing through the air right at her. Flying up in a mass of black and red, she avoided it, but Sachiel had returned to standing, and was on the move again. I took to the air myself and flew my fastest to meet up with Rainbow.

“He’s been protecting that spot the whole time!”

She rolled her eyes, grabbed me, and took us both higher. Even without two real wings, she was the faster flier. “Yeah, I understand that! Maybe we’re missing something. I wasn’t even there for it, how did you deal with this guy the first time?”

The first time? I looked back at the monster and stared deep into that bone mask of his. A pony plague doctor, or the one spreading the plague, when we fought him the first time, his mirror… wasn’t in his chest, but in his most fortified part. Under the mask.

I sighed, scratched at my mane, and clicked my tongue. Of all the things that bothered me about my adventures into being a hero, this was the one that bothered me the most. “It uh… well, it was in his face. Pinkie cut a hole in the mask, and we found the mirror under that. I’d been nearly crushed to death by a rock, so I wasn’t really… apart of that either.”

“Well, that isn’t super helpful either. If you made a wider beam than the one you just did, would it still be enough to melt him?”

Wider? But, that would require more power. If I did, I risk breaking my horn again, and if I’m useless for the rest of the fight, what’s the point? “I’m not sure about that. That was my limit right now. I can do it again, but anything more could have… consequences.”

Rainbow huffed, then took us up and out of Sachiel’s range. There, she let me go and took her sword in two hooves.

“Alright, I’ve got an idea, but I need to figure something out first. Have you shot the mask?”

I had, and it didn’t really do anything. No dents, no scars, just steam. The thing covers his whole head, so it’s not like Rainbow could take advantage of his ‘jellyness’ and just dive right into the main body and get him from the inside.

“I did, but it didn’t exactly work.”

She sighed. “Figures. I’m going to make a mark for you. When I give you the signal, shoot the center with everything you’ve got. It doesn’t have to be wide, but it needs to be strong. Penetrating. Like you’re a tank with AP rounds, ya know?”

I scratched at my neck underneath my helmet. An AP round… so, something more like a projectile, then followed by the rest of the beam. A way to cut a hole in, then make it explode

I looked down at the ground, searching for any kind of metal. Something shiny caught my eye, and I think it was the remains of a melted lamp post. I nodded.

“Okay, I can do it.”

Rainbow tilted her head and raised an ear. “Alright. Let’s go!”

And so we split. Rainbow took Sachiel’s attention, and I dove my pole. It was away from Sachiel enough that he wouldn’t destroy it in the time it took me to get there, even if Rainbow accidentally led him my way.

The wind ruffled my body as I shot down like a bullet, the tops of buildings and the hard, ruined earth below coming at me faster and faster. My wings flared out, my cape rustled in the wind and I swooped just in time to avoid becoming a splatter slash shishkebab on my target.

My eyes weren’t perfect, but I at least saw the general shape of this lamp post form above, not really thinking how big it would be when I got here. It wasn’t small. It was probably about two and a half meters long, with the tip having been melted to a point in the recent fires. Luckily for me, however, that melted tip was hardened steel again, and would serve perfectly as a bullet to destroy Sachiel. Now, however, there was a new problem. I could pick up the pole with my magic, but I couldn’t launch it.

I’d need to really form a ‘gun’ mechanism with magic If I actually wanted to send this thing flying with any accuracy, and I didn’t have the capacity, nor the practice to do that on the fly. But I could levitate it. And I could fly. It wouldn’t be very fast, but with enough momentum built up, this could probably pierce Sachiel enough for me to shoot through, if not do the job on its own.

Why work harder when you can work smarter? I could get the momentum I needed if I just dropped it from above. Taking off with a running start, I leapt into the air with my heavy payload and started to spiral up into the sky. I know the math, I know the physics, I can do this efficiently and make the plan work. All I have to do is think and work out the solution.

“I’m about to make the last cut! Are you ready!?”

After reaching about three fourths the height I wanted to, I turned to see what dash had done. She’d cut a triangle into Sachiel’s face mask. It wasn’t super deep, but if she just cut an ‘X’ in the center, even a bullet could penetrate all the way in. This would do even more. She’d made the first part of the cross and was coming around for the second. With that, I wouldn’t need my original estimate.

“Ready when you are!”

“Go!”

I dove, and Dash moved to make her last cut. The mask slashed, she backed away as Sachiel staggered where he stood. Chances are, he didn’t even see me coming.

Just like before, I dove in as fast as I could, the wind shaking me all around as I got closer and closer to my target. Once I was only a few body lengths away, I pushed my makeshift spear and let go. Wing flared, I swooped up and watched what happened next.

I’d done it right, hitting the spear right in the cross section of the mask Rainbow had marked. The entirety of the triangle caved in, and the spear shot straight through and right out the other side. What was left was a through hole to a cavity, where I could see him.

This… power, this magic, whatever it was that is Persona’s ability, made me just as nauseous as Applejack when she was covered in that dark, dissonant magic. It was sickening. It was unholy, it was miserable, and it was disgusting. Against the natural order of things, against life, against what should be.

I made eye contact with him. What was left of the poor, sorry thing he’d become. Rotting away, emitting a dark fluid, filled with maggots. How… How could he? How could he do this to ponies? To… to ponies he knew. Even if they were sick, demented ponies, they were still ponies. How utterly and unfathomably disgusting.

“Twilight?” Dash called.

I heaved, but kept it down. Sachiel fell to dust, and in a moment, there was nothing left of him. The poor bastard. How could he do this to you?

“Twilight!”

Pulled out of my thoughts, Rainbow appeared at my side.

“Are you okay?”

Swallowing, I nodded. “I… I am. R-rainbow, this is…”

“I know. We’ve gotta…” she lost her words. I’m sure she’d already seen it once, the way she reacted. She shook her head. “We’ve gotta put an end to this. There’s no way he knows. No way. Just… no way.”

A mutual understanding had been reached. Logically, I wouldn’t be able to describe the utter horror of what this was. It was… against logic. A feeling deep within me that came from somewhere I couldn’t see, hear, or touch. But it was knowledge, and it was true. This was the horror of the monster. If I had been born into this world to do any one thing, it was to put an end to this.

I surveyed the field and noticed that Persona hadn’t so much as moved. A slight smile on his face, sitting happily, entertained by the spectacle of his pawns going down one by one as we slowly regrouped.

“There’s more to the game.” I stated.

“More to the game?” Rainbow asked.

“More to the game. This, dealing with them, setting the natural order straight… it’s only the first phase. Once we finish… then we’ll enter the next phase.”

I turned my head toward the sounds of battle to see Blur and Discount Red Hoof fighting with Matarael, the wild giant. “Let’s move.”

“Hey, are you guys alright?” I called from the other side of the burned area.

Pinkie was the first to respond. “Kinda? My theory was right, which is great, but also not great since we’re gonna need a way to cut this bitch open. Between the two of us, it’s basically just two of me, meaning we’ve got… nothing here.”

“Yes. That. Is Fluttershy okay? It would be nice to have her right about now.” Our Red Hoof added.

As far as I could tell, at least as Dash and I were closing the distance, they’d basically cooked some parts of Matarael, launching a flurry of blows at the joints to slow her, but not really doing enough damage to break through or even hurt her.

Rarity chimed in, “We’re working on it. She was in worse shape than we initially thought, so it was difficult to get to a safe distance with her on my back. Celestia is sending Scootaloo to our location now.”

“Well, I mean, I could take a stab at it. You guys got a good idea where the core is?” Rainbow asked.

“We believe,” Our Red Hoof had aligned a metal spike, much like the lamp post I used to end Sachiel, for Matarael to stomp on, only for her to completely crush it under her hoof. “The core is in her chest under the collar like the other ones thus far. However, she’s very tough. As you’ve just seen, she doesn’t take to being stabbed all that well. Even when I line it up to go through the softer parts of her, it doesn’t exactly work.”

Well, at least they haven’t just been going after her without doing research. If I were to add heat to something like that, maybe…

“Whatever, I’ll just stab the bitch through! Back off, I got this!”

“Rainbow, wait!”

Naturally, she didn’t wait. Instead, she took off, blasting into the sky with bigger blood wings than I’ve ever seen from her and cutting a hole in the air. Thinking quickly, I locked onto her, did some math, and took a guess as to where she would make contact. If I could get her to hit something into Matarael rather than jam a sword into her, it’d probably go better for everypony.

This used to be a city block, so streetlamps were plenty, and very, very melted still. I spotted one that was further away than I wanted it to be, then moved quickly to try and grab it.

“Rainbow, hang out for a minute I got an idea!”

I looked up, and luckily, she hadn’t reached the top of her arc yet.

“An idea? What?”

“Pinkie, Mister Blood, go lead Matarael around for a bit, and when I give the signal, come back toward me.”

“You got it, miss Centurio Regine!” Pinkie called. Trails of red and blue raced around Matarael, then raced off, away from me. Matarael, trying to bite and stomp at them, followed quickly behind.

“So, what’s the plan, Twi?” Rainbow asked.

“Because Matarael seems to act as if she’s made out of flesh and bone, unlike the others, heat should work pretty well against her. So, I’m going to take this lamppost here and turn it into a hot, burning spike. I’m not strong enough to throw it myself though, so you’ll have to serve as the hammer.”

“Huh. That does sound better than my idea. Let’s do that!”

And with her in place, I got to spinning. Once upon a time, I read a book with mother on forging techniques. Heating metal to the point where it’s malleable but not changing states is an art unto itself. Too hot and you have to cool it, shape it, too cold and you can’t do anything with it. Heating, cooling, hardening, shaping, it’s all done with a level of craftsmanship that I always found fascinating. I wasn’t about to make a work of art here, but I at least knew the basics of how to do this in magic.

However, I’m not the sun incarnate, so I have to take the roundabout way to get this to work. Flying to the approximate height of where I believed Matarael’s body to be, I turned my rotations up a notch. Air and friction were all I had to work with, and I needed this to be hot enough to melt bone, but not just splatter into mush when it came into contact with either Rainbow’s blood, or Matarael’s chest.

As soon as the pole was red hot, I applied pressure to the tip and elongated it. Thin and sharp, still spinning to make something of a bullet. The rotation too, would help it penetrate, but I wasn’t sure how deep this would go, even with all of the forces at play.

Reversing my rotation and slowing down, I cooled the pole a bit before I noticed Matarael coming back my way.

“So, we kinda ran out of room. Hope you’re ready, cause we’re bringing her to you!”

Well, without Rarity, I can’t really take any extra time, so this is what we’re doing I guess. How many steps? At this gait, with maybe… twenty meters between each gallop, going about that many miles per hour, with Rainbow flying about this fast, we’ll need… I moved a couple paces to the right, positioned the stake above my head, and counted.

Crash!

One.

CRASH!

Two.

CRASH!

“Rainbow, Now!”

I could hear her before I could see her. Like a jet engine, she broke through the sky as she dove, cracking the air and letting loose a red shockwave of light and sound. I turned my head just in time to see the approaching red cone of death flying right at me, raised the spike to adjust for her position, and covered my ears.

POW!

Like a cannon shell from the largest battleship in the world, another shockwave slammed straight into my spike and ripped it from my magic. Wind rattled my body, my wings failed me, and I started to fall. Before I knew it, our Red Hoof had caught me, casually landing back on the ground, shielding me from the blowback with his cape.

The destruction was immense. Instead of just spearing Matarael, it pierced her collar to tail, and kept going into the ground. Shaking the earth, creating a crater where it landed and digging deep into the ground, destroying the burned area even more and making a notable change in its landscape.

Matarael, fell flat on her face. Her chest had a big hole in it with the skin and muscle twisted where it could be seen to match the rotation of the spike. No movement, no nothing.

“What in the hell was that?!” Rarity called.

“Look, I’ll be honest, I didn’t really think too much about how fast I was gonna go here, so I just went for it. I may or may not have used trump card, and I may or may not have broken the sound barrier. Twice.”

Rainbow had come to stand with the rest of us, and, despite my shock with the initial damage we’d done, I was shocked even more to see her with some kind of glowing red aura, just like Applejack.

“We’re headed back, is she dead?” Rarity asked.

Turning my attention again, I looked at Matarael. She hadn’t moved since she fell. Her eyes were blank, but she wasn’t disappearing. Did we? Is she really dead?

“Pretty sure we just gave her a new asshole, even if she ain’t dead, she ain’t getting’ back up.” Rainbow announced.

“I-I mean, sure, that’s a way to put it. B-but, did you not just cause millions and millions of bits in damages with that sonic boom? Not that we don’t need that kind of force right now, but I think you overdid it.” Fluttershy added.

“Well. Probably, but we need drastic measures, right? You’re the only one who could deal with something like Matarael, and since we didn’t have you, I did what I could. Not that I thought I could do this.”

“Well, you’re kinda glowing like Applejack does right now, so…” Pinkie pointed out.

I guess Rainbow hadn’t realized that herself just yet. “I’m what—” She checked herself over, making note of how the sort of ‘outline’ was even moving with her individual feathers. “Yo, this is kinda cool! I… don’t know how I’m doing it exactly, but I feel really powerful right now. Does anypony know what Applejack’s doing? Hey, can you hear us!?”

“Ah can hear ya, alright!”

Before anypony realized what was happening, a shadow had formed above us.

“If you’re all souped up or whatever, cut a hole in that bastard on the way down!”

On the way down?

Then I noticed the shadow. “Holy crap! Scatter!”

Our Red Hoof grabbed me and took off to avoid the incoming giant’s body, Pinkie followed us, but Rainbow had decided to stay put.

“I don’t think I can make a hole, but if you want this guy in halves, I think I got you covered!”

The red aura and all the magic I could feel flowing off her gathered in a pool that swallowed her sword. Red, red, red, the weapon grew to suit Rainbow’s needs. Wings, bigger and thinner than I had ever seen them formed against the black feathers of the crow, and just as the shadow blotted out the sun for her, she launched.

Dust followed the wind in a cloud as Dash took to the sky, leaving a trail of red black and rainbow following her like an after image. At once, she started to spin vertically, becoming a glowing red saw blade that effortlessly passed through Sahaquiel. Her wings spread out once more in the air, casting a red shadow over the two pieces of the giant as he fell apart.

“Comin’ at yer six, lemme borrow that thing!”

“You what!?” Before Rainbow could even react to it, a glowing ball of orange black rage swiped the sword out of her hooves as high in the air as she was, then used Rainbow’s body as a springboard to quickly shift direction and shoot straight down.

The top half of Sahaquiel twitched and struggled like a dying creature that’d been flattened on the road but caught sight of her just before impact. Even in the giant’s eyes with his broken jaw and deepened madness, I saw fear.

Applejack landed right on the monster’s chest, sword pointed down, and with a similar force to Rainbow’s sonic boom from earlier. More power than anything before, more destruction than anything before, an explosion shook the world. Like a bomb had gone off, pieces of road were sent flying, the sky was covered in dusty gray, and again, we were thrown up into the air.

When I finally regained my wings and helped catch Pinkie, I saw the aftermath from the eye of the storm. She didn’t just stab him through, she’d caved in his entire chest cavity. Giants, monsters, with power like hers, they might as well have been nothing. Smashed to bits, flattened like wet clay under a hydraulic press, if there was anything left of Sahaquiel before, there wasn’t any more.

After the dust settled, Applejack ripped the sword out of the slowly fading giant’s carcass and screamed in triumph to the sky.

Applejack

Ah’d done it. The monster was slain, my husband avenged, even if it was small, this was the victory Ah’d needed. Ah don’t know when Ah started ta yell, but somethin’ primal came up outta me and flew at the sky, hot and angry.

“Ah did it, Goose! Ah did it! He’s dead! The same sword, the same wound, an eye for an eye, a life… for a life…”

Ah fell ta my knees. How… exhaustin’, all this is. All the energy Ah had when my blood started ta boil earlier was fallin’ ta a simmer. Something deep, achin’ and heavy fell away from me, leakin’ out just under my eyes. Where were his parents? Who let him end up like that? Why did that… that boy become the monster that killed my husband?

Holdin’ the end of the sword with one hoof, Ah felt the other creep over my belly. Even if Ah have ta turn the world upside down, y’all will never end up like him. Nopony should ever end up like him.

“Goodness, what a maelstrom. Marevelous? Are you alright?” Ah wiped my eyes again at the sound of Rarity’s voice and stood up.

“Ah’m fine. This ain’t over yet.” Fluttershy was behind her, and slowly but surely, everypony else found their way back here as the dust cloud flew further out and things started ta settle.

“What’s left? Did we get ‘em all?” Ah asked.

Before any of my ponies could answer though, the spectator did. “I believe the answer to your question may be closer than you think.”

Ears turned up, eyes scanning everywhere, Ah suddenly noticed how very quiet everything was. Why hasn’t the dust all settled yet? It’d formed something like a ring of fog around us. The material this is shouldn’t act like this. It’s too heavy to just sit in the air like that, what’s happening?

Movement out of the corner of my eye.

“Scatter!”

A screaming monster parted the fog, slamming down on the ruined earth where I’d just been. Luckily, nopony was caught in the attack, but now, we had ta see it all over again. That thing. The nightmare. An unsightly beast.

A mishmash of leathery parts, now properly lit in the bright noonday sun. pale, dead skin with an oily look in some places, and a dry look in others. One head of an ancient equun, half covered in living skin, half simply left ta muscle and bone, missing an eye and looking wildly all over the place. Another head, rows and rows of eyes and eyes and eyes, all staring every which way lookin’ seemingly everywhere and nowhere all at once.

Two forelegs where they should be, another pair in places they shouldn’t, kickin’ and twitchin’ like a thing on its dyin’ breath. Leathery wings like that of a bat pony with beatin’ veins showin’ in the shinin’ sun, a tail long and thick that twitched every which way at every noise, lookin’ for somethin’. Matarael was alive again.

“Don’t you remember? Matarael has two phases.” Persona snickered from his seat up above.

Didn’t have time ta retort. He’d remade her just as she was before, if not a little faster. Light built up in the center of its head of eyes, and aimed itself directly at Uncle Blood.

“Centurio, shields up! Target, Crow, Blur, ta me!”

A violet barrier encased Twilight, Rarity and Uncle Blood an instant before the beam struck him, then the rest of us launched. We’d practiced this before. We knew what ta do and how ta deal with it this time.

Since Ah still had the sword, Ah Launched after the first problem, the head of eyes. A quick look ta Rainbow, then Pinkie had them ready ta follow through once Ah was done with my part, and Shy had already took ta the sky ta imbibe in blood.

Holding the sword back hooved like a thief’s dagger, Ah came down with all the force Ah could muster and slashed at the neck of the eyed head. It passed through easily, and as soon as Ah saw it start ta slide off like a broken egg, Ah tossed the sword in the air.

Rainbow, already in position, took hold of her weapon as she passed over me. Twisting herself into a spinning saw blade, she extended the sword with her blood and slashed at Matarael’s wings. By the time the eyed head hit the ground, Matarael’s wings were clipped.

The monster tried to back away, but by then, Pinkie had already taken up the blade. The blue glow of her trump card radiated off her hooves, and one by one, she zipped past and cut down each of Matarael’s legs. The beast tried to escape, but with each movement, another limb fell off.

A thrashing torso, missing pieces and oozing in places, was then covered by a growing shadow. The singular, semi-sentient eye focused on the new darkness, before it landed right on top of it.

The real Beast stomped her foot down on top of the monster’s head. Still attached, still not completely crushed, the Beast roared, and furiously stomped the monster’s remaining head again and again and again.

Pinkie returned ta give me Rainbow’s sword, and Ah moved ta the sad creature’s chest. Finally splattered with enough gore ta be satisfied, the Beast stopped her assault and remembered what she was really here ta do.

She jammed her claw deep into the monster’s chest. When it didn’t immediately start ta disappear and squirmed a little more in its sad, limbless state, she spread her fingers open.

There, in the new hole, was somethin’ Ah wish Ah never saw. A pony in tatters, pieces of what were once a mare assembled loosely around a skeleton, half awake, half conscious, with living eyes staring right at me. If the face of the contorted monster was disgustin’, this was an abomination. An affront ta the Goddess. Somethin’ sick, somethin’ twisted, somethin’ that goes against the very nature of the world.

“Ya poor bastard. What has Silicon done?”

Ta my surprise, the corpse answered me. “M-mistake… not know… what do…”

Ah paused. She’s alive in there?

A new sort of awareness struck the zombie, and she tried ta get closer ta me. The sad little dried muscles on her shoulders doing what they could ta move. “Your power… c-can do… can save…” Her shoulder ripped. It wasn’t strong enough to hold itself together anymore and fell back into the monster’s chest.

The corpse staggered but started to move her head again to look at me. To see my eyes. “S-save… Silicon… not know… what do…”

Without really realizing it, Ah thought Ah understood. Trump card… no, the new power, flooded my free hoof. Ah didn’t attack, Ah didn’t try ta punch what was left of her, Ah simply put my hoof on her chest against the broken mirror, and pressed down.

What remained of her body started ta burn with the same energy. Slowly, the rot burned away from her. The pieces of the mirror turned to dust and nothingness, and all at once, the corpse was gone. In its place, however, was the image of a mare. A shade of somepony Ah’d recognized from a picture before.

Green and red mane, orange eyes, a pastel red coat. The whole mare, preserved like an image lost to time. “Please, save Silicon. Save the rest of us. He still has a grip on them. Only your power, the power you’ve been blessed with, can set them free.”

And just like that, she vanished. Like a shadow exposed to light, gone like she was never there in the first place. All around me, the monster’s body started to dissolve inta dust, and Ah understood what’d just happened here.

It was just like he said. His powers can trap souls. And ours… can set them free.

Blood Orange

The dust-fog, as it were, had been released by whatever was holding it in place as all of it fell around us almost instantaneously. Heavy movement came from further away, and now, Silicon was approaching us. Walking on two legs, his head so high in the air, you’d have to squint in the noonday sun to see his face. He was clapping for us.

“Excellent, excellent, excellent. It should be expected from you by now, but as always, you have gone above and beyond, heroes.”

He finally came down from that high stance and crash landed his forelegs just a little ways away from us, shaking the earth before us. Then, I noticed the dust start to swirl.

“However, I must admit, there are parts of this game I’d never intended to inform you about, even if you had listened to the rules earlier.”

Faster and faster the dust swirled in little pools, then larger clouds, until shapes started to form within them.

Applejack stepped forward. “Ah had a feelin’ it wouldn’t’ve mattered either way. But Ah also think ya may just be surprised at what ya find here.”

Silicon’s brows lowered. At this point, I figured Applejack knew what he was up to. I didn’t have to wait long to figure it out myself though. One by one, the shapes in the dust became the fully formed giants they were before, all six of them standing like statues surrounding us, this time with Silicon. However, just as it looked like we had six more enemies to fight, one, a female giant, fell over into a pile of sand.

Visibly frowning, Silicon turned his head. “So I am. It matters not, regardless. I’ll simply have to take another life to replace the one I’ve lost. Your boss rush has been set to ‘endless mode’ and I’ll be participating from this wave onward. With each of my kaiju you slay, I’ll simply make another to take their place. You’ll fight until you die, then rise again in my name to continue the work your forebearers started.”

Rainbow shook her head. “Man. You just… have no clue, do you? And here I thought I was guilty of torturing ponies to death. How did you end up like this?”

In a way, there was a… sorrow in Rainbow’s voice that I couldn’t quite place. A girl as young as she was never struck me as the type to act like somepony’s mother, but in that moment, you could hear it. The disappointment of a mare who’s seeing her child lost in his own delusions.

Unsurprisingly, this set Silicon off. “What right do you have to criticize me!? You, nothing but a traitor and a liar, somepony who breaks her contracts at the earliest opportunity! I did not start this fight! She was the one who took it all away from me!”

“Don’t give me that!” Applejack shouted back. She stepped forward again, and Silicon stepped back. “Ya had a choice! This ain’t somethin’ anypony is forced inta, and certainly not somepony with all the means in the world y’all have! You make yer own damn decisions! It didn’t have ta be this way!”

And that was her anger. The mother’s reprimand. Scolding her foolish child.

“It did!” Silicon slammed a hoof into the ground. “It had to end like this! It will not end like this! You will die here, and then I will move on to my next target! I’ll hear no more of this rabble! Begin!”

I don’t know what brought it on, but somehow, both Applejack and Rainbow had found the root. Something deeply traumatic that even Silicon recognized that was driving him to the actions he took. Maybe he was beyond saving in this moment, but if we can somehow subdue him…

“Split up! Uncle with me, Diamond go with Blur. The rest of y’all have yer targets, take ‘em out, but don’t finish ‘em! Ah can free ‘em from Silicon, just call fer me once ya’ve made the hole!”

And so, the fight began once more. Ponies split up, grabbing the attention of one or two Kaiju, and Applejack and I went directly after Silicon.

“You, you, you! Every time something goes awry, it’s always you in the way! Why didn’t the real Red Hoof kill you!? Why are you fighting in his image!? Why did you disappear!?”

Moving with speed he didn’t have before, Persona scrambled after me, trying to swat me like a fly he’d never been able to reach.

“Well, that confirms my theory.”Applejack noted. With all of her power, it almost felt like we were toying with Persona at this point. Thrashing about in a tantrum, trying his hardest to kill us, all to no avail.

“What theory?” I asked.

“There’s a piece of this we don’t know about, and Ah think Ah’ve got a good idea what it is. What made him like this, anyways. All the same, Ah’ve got a plan. Next time he tries ta stomp us, come touch my hoof. Because yer powers are what they are, Ah think Ah can let ya borrow mine, even if Ah go outside of yer range.”

“You can? Where did you ever get an idea like that?”

“Well, it just came ta me a little while ago. The pieces are all in place now, we can end this. However, Ah’m the only one who knows how ta perform the trick. Ah’m… not sure Ah could explain it ta anypony so long as Ah live, though. Ah need ya ta keep him busy while Ah go exorcise the rest of these guys. Once we’re done, we should all be ready ta come back and finish him together.”

Persona came close to smashing me, but I was ready for his hoof to come down. I backed off just enough to avoid it, then let Applejack’s powers flood my hooves. I jumped and slammed right into the joint just above Silicon’s hoof. It snapped, breaking sideways and forcing Persona off balance. To push him over the edge, Applejack launched after his head, then slammed with all of her orange glowing might right into his left temple. As the giant toppled, I doubled back to meet up with her.

“Here. If ya somehow find a way inside and see his real body, just… do what ya need ta. If ya can’t though, just hold out long enough fer us ta get done and Ah’ll put him ta rest.”

She held out her hoof to me, and carefully, I took it.

A well of energy suddenly flowed from one hoof to the other and filled me like a burning torrent. Crawling through my veins, finding every nook and cranny inside me and setting it ablaze, it was like getting too close to a fire while covered in gasoline. It was going to consume me. I was going to die right here and fail her in a single moment.

I have a job to do, I cannot fail!

And all at once, it was calm. Every inch of my skin was tingling, but the burning sensation had died away. Now it was… raw power. Something special, something… right. I’d felt this power before, but I couldn’t think of where.

“Do ya have it?” she asked.

I took a breath and nodded. It felt like I was breathing fire. “I do. Go. Do what it is you’re here to do. And I’ll play my part.”

And with that, Applejack left to help her friends. To help those fallen ponies that Silicon had stolen from the rest they deserved and the sentence they were meant to serve. The truth of it all, something unseen, right and just within this corrupted world.

“You! Every time, it’s always you! Why do you get in my way!? What makes you able to stand against me!? Why won’t you die!?”

The dust swirled around Silicon, shrouding him in a cloud of sandy fog. He was changing. Adapting to meet this new challenge in front of him. Whatever came next would be the most strength silicon could muster, and I had to hold him at bay regardless.

“I need more! You shall not, you will not out class me! You, who were nothing before I plucked you out of that asylum, you who were a phantom of a pony, you who were a shell of a stallion! You are incapable! You are not worthy of that cape!”

The dust had yet to clear before Persona flew at me. He’d shrunk himself down a considerable amount, now to something closer to the size of Celestia herself, or Applejack when she was consumed by her anguish. In a way, Silicon now resembled his father more than he ever had. Finally, I understood what Applejack and Rainbow had caught onto.

I didn’t bother trying to dodge or avoid him, that would’ve been out of my pay grade. Instead, I needed to be the opposite of what he accused me of, be worthy of the cape. Power overflowed my hooves as I crossed them over my torso to block his assault. A wall of red-orange light shielded me from the blow, but not without cracking like glass under stress.

“You think that this can stop me!? You think that some sham lightshow, some pretense that you have any right to power is enough to overcome me!?”

Silicon pulled his other massive hoof back and slammed it against my magic wall. This time, it did shatter, but I was prepared for that. I ducked as the momentum of his attack pushed him forward, and curled my hoof and bent my knees. A look of surprise caught his face like my hoof caught his belly. Launching upward with a hard right to the stomach, I stopped Silicon in his tracks. Next, while he was stunned, I took my left and slammed it right into his temple, sending him spiraling off into the remains of a block across the way.

I coiled my hind legs to launch, but then, it happened. In my side, something cracked. Stopped where I stood, I felt warm ooze flow up and out my mouth. Shivering, I wiped at my lips. This wasn’t the right red to match the suit. I coughed a few times, and once my breath had settled again, I knew what this would cost me.

Everything about this is above my pay grade. I was always the pretender, and by some string of fate, I now have to play the part just like the real thing would. My body was never ready to handle power like this as it is, and now I’ve been given the tools for the task at hoof. If the price must be paid, then I will be the one to pay it.

I gritted my teeth, and then launched after Persona. The hulking mass of stallion had already gotten back up and was beginning to reform what I’d destroyed of his head, when I was on him again.

“It was never about rights! This world owes you nothing, and you owe everything to it! Whether it spits in your face or kisses the ground you walk, it was always about how you behave within it!”

Thinking quickly, I went after the exposed part of his real head underneath the hole, but Silicon thought of that first. He parried my hoof and gave me a shoulder to the chest for it. He grabbed me by the head and slammed me into the ground.

Crack

More blood, more coughing.

“The world owes me everything! The weak are trampled under the strong, the powerless serve the powerful! Your station is your lot and you’re given nothing what you’re destined for! Choice!? Will!? The world you live in offers no such comforts!”

Before he could bash my head in completely, I twisted upward and wrapped my hind legs around his foreleg and pulled. Silicon screamed in agony as his shoulder started to rip apart. I let the power flood my hind leg even further and kicked with all my might at his joint. In an instant, the shoulder gave way and I was free of his grasp. I tossed the sad limb away, stood up, and wiped more blood off my face, though, not all of it was mine this time.

“True, much of the world is broken and prone to evil. Ponies like us were never meant to live easy lives. But it is in those moments where we find joy that life finally shows its true colors! Were you not so obsessed with your vengeance and lost to your delusions, you’d be able to see this yourself!”

Bleeding and dazed, the real shoulder in the center of his fake body just as torn and bloody as the outer layer, Silicon slowly rose to standing. The part of his head I’d blown off still wasn’t reforming, and neither was the shoulder.

I was talking, sure, but I wasn’t in much better shape. The more of this power I use, the more it destroys my body. Something I’m standing on is very broken, and all the magic and adrenaline inside me is preventing me from feeling it.

“There are no delusions in my world! Logic and reason are my guides, you will not preach to me you, homicidal incompetent!”

Screaming at the top of his lungs, Silicon charged at me, leaping in the air with those massive legs of his, coming at me like a musclebound monster. I couldn’t stand here and take a hit, otherwise, my already shattered leg would crumble and I’d be done completely. Even if I have to break every bone in my body, I will not lose to you!

Mirroring him, I used my good hind leg to launch right at him and we clashed in the air. Silicon threw out his foreleg, and I met it with mine. I could feel the bones inside cracking and threatening to shatter, but they held out just long enough for my other foreleg to slam his elbow.

From a rage filled roar to a hideous shriek, Silicon’s leg bent inwards and tore at the joint, revealing a split foreleg beneath the body. Taking hold of the broken appendage, I swung Silicon around me and threw him into the ground below. He landed on top of a sharpened lamp post, spearing him in the side, but not actually stabbing his main body.

Silicon tried to escape as he saw me coming, but his power didn’t work fast enough. With all the power I could gather in my good hind leg, I came down and dropped my hoof on his hips. Dust flew out in a crater all around, and the lower half of Silicon’s body was severed.

I tried to stand back up myself, but as I did, my own hind leg snapped in half. I could feel my senses fading. The numbness was all round, slowly growing colder and threatening to take my consciousness away from me.

I looked around, kneeling on Silicon’s body to see how the others were doing. Of the five, they’d only managed to take down three. If I end this now, if I kill Silicon here, the battle will be won and they will be safe. This city will be safe. Her foals will have a future. And all of this would finally come to an end.

I tried to crawl to Silicon’s torso, but my left foreleg snapped as I did. I barely even felt it. Barely noticed it. I was still alive to do one thing, and this was it.

“Wh-why…? How could this have happened? Y-you… you can’t be… B-blood Orange. W-who are you?”

I found Silicon’s eyes and stared deep into them. If I did nothing, he’d just recover, and I’d still be broken. Even still, all I saw in there was a boy who was afraid. A pony who was dealt a bad hoof early in life, and hateful, sad, and twisted as he grew up. Perhaps, it should’ve been Goose here to do this. Two boys of similar age who lost their mothers in tragic accidents at an early age… He could’ve ended up just like Silicon. But instead, he found her, and became somepony he wanted, was meant to be. A hero.

That is… why we pretend, isn’t it? To become something we want, to become something we should, a pony to aspire to be that we can reach in the fullness of ourselves. Oh, Silicon, you sad, sad creature. How could you do this to yourself?

“I… am Red Hoof!”

In my last hoof, I gathered all the power Applejack had given me and brought it down like a hammer through Silicon’s chest. Red-orange light splashed through him and across the earth below like a wave threatening to consume the world. The ground shook, the air trembled, and all at once, all the other giants froze in place.

Slowly, Silicon’s body, real and fake, started to fade into dust. He gasped once and said, “Where… did I go wrong?” before his head fell to ash as well.

As much as I tried, I couldn’t sustain myself anymore. Just like I’d destroyed Silicon’s body, my own body was obliterated in the process. There was no right foreleg anymore. It’d gone with him, the payment for the power. Not that I could feel it, anyways.

As painful as it should’ve been, as horrible as it might’ve been, I felt very pleasant, laying there as a torso myself. The encroaching darkness was soft and comforting. These blue skies would be the last I’d see of them. The wonderful noonday sun. Or… was it the sun? What was it I was seeing?

It kept getting closer and closer, brighter and brighter, until finally, I couldn’t see anything but white.

A moment passed.

Lost, floating in this strange space, It was familiar to me. I’d been here before. I blinked, and then I could feel my legs again. My body was back to me, but nothing about it felt pained, or fatigued. There was a freedom here. As if… this was how it should be.

All at once, the white space cleared, and I was above the battlefield. The giants were gone. The girls had all gathered around a spot, and Applejack was… she was crying. Ah, now I understand.

“I died, didn’t I?”

“Ya did, Blood.”

Turning quick as I could, not believing the voice, trying my hardest to convince myself it wasn’t what I’d remembered, I saw him, floating in the sky with me.

“C-citrus…?”

He wasn’t as I remembered him. Well, not as I last saw him. This was not the old stallion I’d known, this was the young stallion in his prime. The pony I remembered who’d saved me from the mob and took it upon himself to give up his life in Manehattan for mine. Not once, but twice.

Citrus nodded. “That’s right, Blood.”

I hugged my brother. I could feel him, even in this strange state. He was real, right here with me, everything I once knew, the pony I’d missed the most.

“Oh, Goddess, Citrus, I—”

He put his hooves on my shoulders and pushed me off of him.

“Another time, Blood, another time. Ah’ll help ya as much as Ah can, but as it turns out, passin’ on ain’t so simple. Ah came here ta meet ya with her permission, but we’ve got a journey ahead of us. Just like when we were kids. The longer we wait here, the longer it’ll take ta get ya back ta all them ponies who’re waitin’ on ya.”

A journey? Ponies… waiting on me? “Citrus, I don’t understand.”

“Ya will. It’ll take time, but… well, that ain’t in short supply anymore, now that you’re here. Come on.” He nodded his head right, motioning for me to follow. As he started walking, I felt a weight in my heart that I had to remove before we could go any further.

“Citrus.”

He paused, then looked back at me with those green eyes of his. Just like his father, just like his son and daughter. Ponies of his ilk are cut from a different cloth. We might have been bound by blood, but even at the height of my greatest performance, I never could’ve been them.

“What is it, Blood?”

Letting my eyes fall back to the mortal realm, where the girls cried over what was left of my shell, I said, “I… know I’ve no right to ask this, but… could you ever forgive me?”

Sighing, Citrus shook his head. He walk-floated back to me and put a foreleg around my shoulder. “Listen here, little brother. Ah’ll tell ya the same thing Ah told that girl down there a week ago. What a hero is, what a hero does, and who a hero forgives, is who you do. Blood, my dear brother… do ya really think Ah would’ve saved ya all those years ago, if Ah blamed ya fer anythin’?”

Wrapping my forelegs around his neck, I cried into my big brother’s chest.

“Oh Goddess, Citrus, I’m so sorry!” Patting my back helping me along the path to the journey to the next act, he smiled.

“Ah know, Blood. Ah forgive ya.”

Epilogue: Sometimes They Call Me Super

Applejack

Today, Ah had the strangest sense of deja vu. Like always, Manehattan was a busy, bustlin’ place. Filled ta the brim with ponies goin’ from one place ta the next, sellin’ clothes and food outta carts on the sidewalks, the high skyscrapers, rebuilt ta even greater glory than before shinin’ in the noonday sun, and still, Ah felt somethin’ was amiss.

Naturally, Ah was right. The Clock struck noon, and after its twelve bell tolls, an explosion caught my ears over toward the east side of town. Fllickin’ my cables out that-away, Ah leapt through the air and across the cityscape below ta see somethin’ all too familiar. He’d tricked it out this time, that smart dummy.

Covered in all this fancy armor like somethin’ out of a comic book, he’d destroyed the wall of the same damn bank he broke six damn years ago, and he was just standin’ there, lookin’ fer somethin’. Sighin’, Ah hopped down there and stood in front of him across the busy street.

“Hello? Is it… me you’re lookin’ fer?”

“There you are, you red bitch! I’ve been waiting for you! Six years of hard time all thanks to you, and I spent every minute of it planning my revenge! On this day, at this hour, at this bank, I—”

Ah didn’t even get ta do anythin’. Before Ah could even engage, since I’m polite and all that and Ah wanted ta let him finish ta kill some of the monotony of my day, some bitch in blue had come by and slammed the poor bastard’s face inta the ground.

Irritated, Ah rolled my eyes. “Ya know, ya coulda let him finish.”

Blur frowned at me. “He blew up private property! We’re the ones who get saddled with the damages, why would you let this go on?”

I shrugged. “Boredom? It’s not every day some megalomaniacal idiot tries ta challenge me specifically.”

“Are you guys making fun of—” The Armored “““Genius”””, heavy on the air quotes, attempted to say, but Blur, back hoofed ‘em and knocked him out.

“The adults are talking,” she said.

“Uh-huh. How long are ya gonna keep this up? You’re lookin’ a little ripe ta be workin’ about now.” I motioned at her belly, and had she not been wearing a mask, Ah’m sure she would’ve blushed.

“Oh, shut up. You kept working for another month before we finally forced you to stop.”

Ah raised a brow, but even under the mask, she knew. “Mmhmm. Take that shit off and go home. Is yer man home, or did ya just rush out here and leave the little one alone?”

Blur frowned. “He’s at work, and she’s asleep! If I didn’t stop the noise, you were just going to make even more noise, and ruin my little moment of peace!”

I walked across the street and took the ‘genius’ out of her hooves. “Uh-huh. Ah got ‘em, go on, git!” Ah swatted her rear, and after a glare, she zipped away.

Ah don’t blame her much, her daughter is just as much a ball of energy as she was when she was little, or so her parents say, and Pinkie was never one ta really understand the meanin’ of a ‘sleep schedule’ so she only gets so many moments ta do it these days. More than anythin’, Ah’m surprised Ah beat her here. Bet she was gettin’ dressed.

Feeling the limp body in my hoof begin ta stir, Ah shot a cable with my free hoof and flew us away. If Ah take him ta the castle, Ah can give him the fight he wanted, so that was what Ah’d planned on doin’… before Ah was caught on entry.

“Applejack, please,” Twilight said.

Standing in the forest with the body half through the barrier and stuck, Ah groaned. “Come on, it’s not like Ah was really gonna hurt him.”

“Don’t you lie to me! What would that make this one, twenty five? Twenty six?”

Ah coughed inta my hoof. “Twenty seven. Look, Twi, if ya don’t beat the stupid out of ‘em—”

“‘They’ll never learn,’ I’ve heard this before. The problem is, I always have to repair the castle afterward, and we usually need Scootaloo to keep from killing these guys. In case you didn’t notice, she’s still not back from her tour.”

“Well, not today, right? They should be back today. Ah have ta go pickup Applebloom from Canterlot tonight.”

“As if they’d let a medic go home. Provided she’d even want to go home! Ugh.” Silence, but Ah knew Ah’d already won the argument.

“Where are we?” mister ‘genius’ asked.

“Oh, don’t’cha worry none. This is the recrutin’ office! You’re about ta get conscripted,” Ah said with a smile.

“I… what!?”

“Fine, do what you must. Keep the damage to a minimum, and please don’t break him.”

“Yes Ma’am!”

As it happened, Ah was goin’ ta get ta relieve my boredom today. School don’t let out for another two hours, so that makes two hours for tort— er, correction, Ah’ll administer ta mister ‘Genius’ here.

“What’s yer name, son?” Ah asked as Ah dragged him inta the castle garage.

“My… my name? What are you talking about? Where are you taking me? This is abduction!” He squirmed, but my grip was iron, and there was nothing his suit could do that might make me let go.

“Perhaps, but ya just destroyed private property while on parole, which means that the corrections facility Ah sent ya ta the first time failed ta do the job. So, seein’ as Ah’m the one who caught ya—”

“Uh, no, I have the recording. That was clearly the speed hero. Who, oddly enough, looks a little more overweight than I remember. You’d think with all the running—”

Ah shook my head. “Ya would, wouldn’t ya? Anyways, since she’s busy, you’re in my custody, and now Ah’m about ta beat some sense inta ya. When ya lose this fight ya wanted so badly, you’re gonna sign a contact. And if ya break that contact, ya die. We don’t tolerate two time criminals, so if ya value yer life, you’ll give up this senseless pursuit, and be conscripted willingly, instead of bein’ forced ta sign the contract. Ah mean, come on. What were ya gonna do if ya did, by some miracle, manage ta get me?”

After taking him down the stairs and inta the training room, Ah slid him across the floor like a hockey puck and waited fer an answer.

“Huh… I never really thought about that.” He stood up and scratched at his helmet, then looked at his hoof like it was a foreign object. “I… made the suit. I really just wanted the money in the first place because I wanted to build my machines. I… guess I would’ve kept doing that.”

I nodded my head. “Good, good. We’ll put ya in the R&D department and have ya contribute ta weapon’s development fer the super soldiers. With that terrible war finally over, it’s about time we made somethin’ that protects our soldiers instead of sendin’ other creatures ta their deaths at our hooves.”

“Now hold on, I didn’t agree to anything!” he protested, “My creations are to be used by me, and me alone! Nopony ever respected me or what I do, and now I have to fight back against this society that ridiculed me for being a shut in and—wait. What are you doing? How are you glowing like that?”

Ah let my power flow and started doin’ my stretches. “My kids get outta school in about two and a half hours. As much as Ah find it hard ta not be bored waitin’ fer my lovely little boys ta come home, Ah’m not about ta sit here and let ya ramble about how the world’s treated ya unfairly. New flash: everypony goes through that. We’ve all got our problems, we’ve all got our passions, and makin’ ponies miserable just because you’re miserable is about the completely wrong way ta go about things.

“Now then… provided ya don’t wanna have yer bones repaired slowly and painfully by my delightful, irritated friend whom Ah’m imposin’ on right now ta use this space, Ah want ya ta tell me yer name, and how much force yer suit can withstand. The army can’t use ya if yer broken, and Ah fully intend fer the army ta use ya. Ah’m a general, afterall.”

Finally, it had set in. Mister genius had realized the position he was in, and took a step away from me. “Wait! Wait, hold on, wait! I give up! My name Steel Craft! I’ll serve, I’ll do it!”

I tilted my neck ta the side and popped it. “There we go, that’s what Ah wanted ta hear. Come on now, that ain’t all Ah asked ya. Ah can’t break ya too bad, our medic’s servin’ a tour still. It’d be a shame ta lose two or three months of your new life in R&D so yer bones can heal.”

He turned tail ta try and run, but there was nowhere fer him ta go. He tried to run to the stairs, but as soon as he turned back around, we were just about face ta face.

“Ah’ll take that number now. In foot-pounds, if ya please.”

“Eight-hundred thousand!” he squealed.

Ah smiled. “Wonderful. Ah don’t know how precise Ah can make it, but let’s see how yer suit feels about seven-fifty, give or take a few hundred!”

“Oh, Goddess, no, no, NOOO!!!”

After Ah’d left mister Craft with princess recrutin’ officer herself ta discuss the terms of his enlistment, Ah got in my SUV and drove back ta the house ta pickup Fluttershy and the babies, then then off ta the elementary school. It was Monday, August 9th, 2036, and the first day of school for three of our little apples.

Was Ah nervous about the two of my own that had the best and worst qualities of Goose and Ah, and super powers? Absolutely. But, more than that, Ah was nervous about Lupie. The boys were, more than anythin’, their cousin’s keeper. If Lupie just so happened ta get mad and transform, it was Lamni and Blood’s job ta put her down. We had it so everything was arranged ta keep them in the same class for this very specific reason.

Ah never received a call, Mac never received a call, and Shy never received a call, so there was hope that the three of ‘em survived the day. And, preferably, all their classmates too. Looking at the phone, Ah anxiously waited fer two twenty-five ta turn ta two twenty-six.

“G-geez, I don’t think I’ve e-ever seen you this nervous.” Shy remarked.

Ah glared at her. “How could Ah not be? Why aren’t you?”

Rocking little Rosie, she shrugged her shoulders. “L-lupie knows that if I get a call, she’ll be in trouble. I-I believe that that alone, i-is enough.”

Ah clicked my tongue. “Fair enough. Maybe Ah’m just jittery, that’s all. How ya doin’ back there, Citrus?”

The three year old, who might as well have been an inversion of my own color pallet, looked up from his game. “Ah’m fine Auntie Applejack. Mama, are we gonna get lunch soon?”

Shy nodded. “S-soon, dear, soon. W-we’ve got to get your s-sister and your cousins first.”

“’Kay!” and back to his game he went. My boys are fairly jealous of the life Citrus has, if only because he gets to stay home and play all day, and they have to go to school now.

Rosie looks more like her mother and less like her grandmother, but she’s got the same eyes her grandmother had, so that was the name we went with. Ta be honest, Ah was rather frustrated when Ah found out about Lupie because Ah knew just when and where she was made. The day of my weddin’. Not only did Shy give me shit all those years ago about fightin’ with my boys growin’ in me, but she didn’t tell the rest of us about Lupie till she told Mac about Lupie.

Course, he’d decided he was gonna go serious with Shy after Uncle Blood’s funeral, seein’ as she was the one he always went ta fer comfort anyways. Because of my unique situation, we all came ta the conclusion that it would be best if Ah moved in with them. Ah’ve tried, since then, ta date and maybe find the boys a father, but… Ah could never remarry. It wouldn’t be right fer me ta act like Ah’m over him, or as if we were never together. If it was anypony, it had ta be him. And now that he’s gone, Ah don’t know that anypony else could ever be him.

What Ah did know, however, is that my brother had turned his life around and started actin’ more like the stallion he was supposed ta be after uncle Blood died. It would be difficult, and maybe impossible fer me ta find them a father, but in the meantime, he can play that role, since he’s already doin’ it fer his own new apples. However fluffy one may be.

And fluffy she was, let me tell ya. Ain’t never seen so much hair on a foal. Lupie is somethin’ like a big orange-pink puffball, and ya could never shave her enough ta keep her from lookin’ like a walkin’ shag carpet. Her father’s temper, her mother’s more… eccentric side, and a personality that seems ta come outta nowhere. Acts more like Applebloom than anypony else, which is either the result of genetics, or time spent with her before she was shipped off ta the war.

Finally, the bell rang, and colts and fillies flooded out. After a few moments, Ah spotted the puffball, accompanied by a more scaly green colt with a blond mane, and a yellow one with blood red eyes and a white and black mane. Unable to contain myself, Ah got outta the car and ran ta the gates.

“Over here, Sugarcubes!”

Mine, the shark boy and the copycat, slammed into me like the little bricks they are. “Mama!”

Then, from above, a slowly growing puffball leapt at me. “Auntie Applejack!”

Ah caught the wolf-pony before she could land, and then grabbed the other two in my forelegs. My beloved little family. We weren’t normal, but there was always a ‘Mama’ around when one was needed, and at the end of the day, there was a ‘Daddy’ around too. Broken? Maybe. But there were enough pieces there to fill the picture, and that was enough fer us.

“Ah’m home!” Mac announced as he walked in through the front door. In a wave, the little ones migrated toward him, all after ‘daddy’s’ attention, as much they could get of it.

Ah was feedin’ Rosie when Ah realized what Mac bein’ home meant. “Oh, geez, is it five already?”

A foal on each leg, Mac carefully walked further inta the livin’ room. “Sure is. Ya’d better hurry. She’s supposed ta land in canterlot a little after seven.

“Are ya gonna go get Auntie Applebloom, Auntie Applejack?” Lupie asked.

Ah sighed as Ah watched Rosie suck the bottle down. “Sure am.”

“Can Ah come?”

Ah knew this was gonna happen. The filly loves her Auntie Applebloom, and she’s only seen her once this year. Ah clicked my tongue. Ah wasn’t against it, but it was a long drive, and Lupie, much like her uncle and her mother, and her cousin Lamni, was a carnivore. She doesn’t need it with every meal, but she needs a little blood and a little meat a few times a week to keep her powers in check. Lamni is a little worse, but it doesn’t affect his powers, he just gets grumpy, which is fun for nopony.

“L-lupie, did you like the candy bar I put in your l-lunch today?” Fluttershy called from the kitchen.

“I did!” Lupie called from her father’s foreleg.

“S-she should be okay for a few days then. Wh-what do you think, dear?” Shy asked.

Easily picking up the fluffy filly, he looked her in the eyes. “You’re gonna be good fer yer Auntie Applejack, ain’t’cha?”

“Yes, Daddy,” little red eyes nodded vigorously.

“Alright, Sugarcube.” He flicked his snout at me. “Trade ya.”

“Sure. Come’ere, Lupie.” Ah’d finished burpin’ Rosie anyways, so Ah had Lupie crawl over ta my hoof, and he took Rosie with his now free hoof.

“Rest of y’all need ta get off and go do somethin’ till dinner’s ready. We can play once Ma’s got a free hoof, alright?”

The other three squealed a ‘yay’ and ran outside, and then I took the fluffy one on my back and headed to the garage. “Well, Ah’ll be back with yer sister in a few hours. See y’all later.”

Ah waved, they waved back, and then it was just us.

It’s nice ta have such a lively home now. When Ah was growin’ up, we were all so depressed and angry all the time that it was a wonder we made it out of that alive. These kids, however, have already had it better, and the oldest ones are five. And what a long six years it’s been since that final confrontation with Persona.

Ah… felt so guilty fer so long about Uncle Blood’s death. Ah gave him a part of my power without thinkin’ of how it might affect his body. Ah broke mine over and over again before Ah could finally contain it, how could Ah have thought he’d be able ta survive usin’ power like that? Course, he could’ve asked fer help, and he never did. Somepony who fights till his whole body is broken ain’t somepony who was willin’ ta give up or give in. In the end… he really lived up ta the cape.

As Lupie and Ah exited the city in Applebloom’s car, we took a break at the statue. ‘Welcome ta Manehattan, the city of heroes’ the plaque says. History will never know their names if Celestia has anythin’ ta say about it. But the name history will remember, is Red Hoof. The first hero. Manehattan’s hero. Equestria’s hero.

Once Lupie and Ah had finished our quick dinner at the statue, it was back ta the road fer the long drive ta Canterlot. Blood and Lamni were born one minute after the other on August 31st, 2031. Half a month later, Lupie popped outta Fluttershy. Within a year, Pinkie announced that she’d found her ‘soul mate,’ one Cheese Sandwich, got married, and had her first. Between the two of us, we’re really the only remaining active members of Harmony in Manehattan.

After Scootaloo discovered her powers back in that long September, she’d decided then that she’d go on to serve in the military and rose up the ranks as a sort of ‘super physician.’ She coulldn’t cure illnesses, but physical deformities were easy for her. She had good eyes, she was light on her hooves, and though she couldn’t fly, she was fast. She is the best combat medic Equestria has, and she’s put to work for it.

With nopony ta support anymore, Rainbow decided that she should take the time ta go through all the school she missed. She lives with her parents when she can, and spends her days at the university trying to learn everything about aerospace. Her parents did move ta Manehattan after the Persona conflict ended, but Dash wound up at Canterlot University, all thanks to a very large web of strings pulled from on high.

She visits every now and again ta play with all the kids, see her parents, and Fluttershy’s brother, oddly enough. Ah expect somethin’ ta happen between those two any day now, but Dash wants ta get her master’s degree first. As awful as her parents had it, she doesn’t think she can have kids, so she at least wants to be involved in aerospace if she can’t be a mother. Shy said she’d pickup the slack fer both of ‘em, which Ah don’t doubt she will.

If it’s not one night, it’s the next with them. They’re not quiet about it either. In the beginnin’, we all lived in the apartment fer a while. Then, after the boys and Lupie were born, we found ourselves a six bedroom house. My room was next ta the master bedroom, which was a mistake. After Citrus was born, we ran out of rooms, and then she was pregnant with Rosie as soon as she was able. This time, despite Goose’s warning against it, we bought a very, very large house in Manehattan Heights with eighteen bedrooms. Shy took that as a challenge. She’s still very loud about it.

While Ah never expected it with the way she is, Rarity retired from the life she’d been livin’ as part of harmony and Celestia’s spy, and settled down with her Cavallian friend up in Tin last year. She, like Pinkie, is due fer one herself next year, but she isn’t nearly as optimistic about it. She visits once a month ta talk and catch up, but every time she does, somepony is pregnant, and there are more foals at my house. She doesn’t quite get how Shy keeps doin’ this, but as she, Pinkie and Ah know, Rarity will understand soon enough.

Twilight is still a national secret, but she’s become very involved in the Super Soldier program. She devotes most of her time ta studyin’ the virus and the ponies who have it, along with the possibilities these ponies bring to the table. As she said earlier, mister Steel Craft is the twenty-seventh pony Ah’ve ‘scouted’ and brought ta her ta be turned fer the greater good, as it were. She excels at criminal reform, and several of the super soldiers are her devotees.

In 2032, Zvyr declared war on Equestria by attacking one of our bases in the northern islands. In Tzar Medved’s words, “The people must rise to stand against these monsters the equestrians call ‘Princess.’” As predicted, the reveal of ‘The Radiant Sun’ ta the modern world was a shock ta many, and already hostile foreign nations took that as an opportunity to paint us as more evil and more threatening than we already were, just using the footage Persona provided.

Footage that Ah was in, of course. Ah still get sceptical looks and ponies who’ll come up and say, ‘ya know, ya look an awful lot like that monster from the Radian Sun video.’ It’s not pleasant, but that was the least of my problems back then.

Applebloom, Sweetie, and Scootaloo, had all signed up fer the super soldier program, and they’d all passed the tests with flyin colors, enterin’ the service as officers thanks ta their Junior Guard training during and after highschool.

Sweetie was sent ta the infantry division and fought on the front lines. She was never the same after the war. She still lives in Manehattan, and ya can find her singin’ in clubs and bars a few nights a week, but she mostly keeps ta herself other than that. Ah once got a few words about what happened in the war, and the thing she talks about the most is ‘the smell.’ Bein’ the pony flamethrower she is, Ah can only imagine what she had ta do while she served.

Applebloom, on the other hoof, has had an interesting career. At first, she was heavy infantry, and supported footsoldiers from the rear by operatin’ anti-air and other cannon type weaponry. Then, as the war progressed over the years, they found that other countries were beginnin’ ta experiment with the virus ta try and make their own super soldiers. It worked ta some degree, and to be ready for it, Applebloom was then moved ta intelligence. She served there until the end of the war in 2035 when Medved was captured, publicly executed, and replaced with a dissident who was against the attack on Equestria in the first place.

The war ended back in May of that year, and as for what Applebloom has been doin’ since, Ah really don’t know. Ah’ve… inquired with ponies who might know, but been told that it’s important ta national security, and on a need ta know basis. Naturally, Ah wanted ta be on that basis, but Celestia wouldn’t budge. Ah went around her and got the name of her division out of Luna, but that only gave me more questions. These ‘Hidden Knights’ did… somethin’, but whether that was intelligence related or what was up in the air. They don’t exist, apparently, so Ah guess Ah’ll have ta hear that story from the horse’s mouth herself.

As fer me, however, things really haven’t changed all that much. Ah take care of my boys when Ah have ‘em, and when Ah’m needed in Manehattan, Ah go out ta be the pony Ah’ve always been. Ah thought about gettin’ a normal job, or goin’ back ta school, but despite all the sorrows and hardships it's brought me, bein’ a hero is how Ah found the joys of life in the first place, and Ah just couldn’t imagine myself bein’ somepony else.

Sometimes, they call me Auntie. Sometimes, they call me Mama. Sometimes, they call me a hero. But most of the time, they call me Super.

Origin Story I: The First Hero

The streets of the most populated metropolis in Equestria were bustling today. Ponies traveling from one building to the next, vendors selling their wares on the sidewalks. The high skyscrapers stood proudly in the midday sunlight. On cue, at the stroke of noon, smoke could be seen in the center of the city. A loud percussion boomed throughout the city, reaching the ears of those out in the suburbs of the artificial island. In Manehattan square, the heroine known to the citizens as Marevelous Red could be seen opposing a large suit of mechanical armor in a broken garden.

“Look, big guy, Ah don't think it's a good idea for ya ta be runnin' around in that thing. Ya already broke a fountain, Ah don't need more collateral damage on my tab here! How about ya just-” Marevelous was quickly shut up by an incoming piece of rubble. She smashed through it by reflex, shattering it into pieces.

Well. That didn't work. At least nopony can say Ah didn’t try ta talk him out of it. With her red spandex covered body and bright yellow hoof covers, she dug her back legs into the concrete and tightened all her muscles, showing the truth of her bulk underneath the suit as chunks of rubble, concrete, and blacktop continued her way.

“Marevelous Red! I'll get rid of you, and then none of the heroes will be a match for my genius! Die!” shouted the dark gray pony hidden inside the metal suit. He picked up another large piece of rubble and flung it at Red. It wasn't until he had a clear look at her that he realized the mistake he made. For such a shapely mare, you wouldn't think she was really that bulky, but now she looked like a coiled spring ready to jump at the slightest movement.

The boulder came flying, and just as it reached her, Marevelous bounced the boulder of rubble into the air with her left fore hoof, almost like the concrete-blacktop rock twice her size was as heavy as a tennis ball. Before it had started to come down, the armored pony realized his mistake and started to make a run for it. With an arc that high and the hero's legs ready to bounce from their spot, he knew what was coming next.

“Now, how dumb do ya have ta be ta run away from me down an empty street?” the heroine sighed. She watched as the boulder hit the apex of its flight and then Marevelous released the tension she'd built in her legs, flying to meet it. She twisted her body around and reeled back her front right hoof. Quick as a whip, she threw her punch at the boulder and like a cannon, it shot after the suit of armor.

“No, no, NOOO!” he screamed, just before the boulder landed on top of him. The sheer blunt force of rock on metal dented his armor suit inward rapidly. He was surprised to realize that he could still open his eyes afterward, signaling that he wasn't dead from the impact. The armor, thankfully, had done it's job. At the same time, he realized that his power supply had been damaged, and the suit turned off. He struggled desperately to try and jump start the suit again, hoping that against all odds he might be able to escape the hooves of the famed hero.

Suddenly, a new weight landed on his suit. He could feel the heavy thump of hooves simply walking over top of his depressed armor, only to let the horror of what his eyes were telling him sink in. Standing right on top of him was Marevelous Red. He flinched as he saw the Power Pony reel her front left hoof back for a punch. The thought of a quick, painless death ran through his mind as he cringed at the sound of crunching metal and shattering glass.

“Aw, come on now. Ya didn't really think Ah was gonna kill ya, did ya? Ah wouldn't get paid if Ah didn't have somepony ta turn in.” She picked the masked troublemaker up by the scruff of his collar with her hooves and started to get to work tying him up. “Look at this mess. Ya destroyed a good portion of the park, damn it. They're gonna make me pay fer that.”

So, y'all might be wonderin' just what exactly is goin' on here. Maybe even a little confused too. Ah'm gonna clear that up fer ya, and start this story off right.

My name is Jaquline Apple, but most ponies call me Applejack. However, that isn't my only name. Every now and again, ponies know me as Marevelous Red. Sometimes they call me super, other times they call me a hero. Then again, a lot of the time, they call me both. Ya see, Ah was one of those blessed, or cursed, born inta a world filled with ponies that have crazy powers, or Power Ponies as most call them. And fer one side of the coin or the other, Ah just so happen ta be one of the Power Ponies.

About thirty years ago, a strange outbreak of some kinda incurable virus hit Equestria. Who it affected and what it caused was completely random. Anythin' from horribly morphin’ a pony's body into that of some kinda other creature or thing, even just givin' them parts that they ain't supposed ta have. That however, was just the obvious changes.

Others would gain abilities of some kind, like super strength, or bein’ able to shoot lasers outta their eyes, or makin' fire just appear outta thin air. Really, just about anythin' could happen. One of my parents had the same power Ah do. A kinda ‘super strength’ if ya couldn't tell from that little snippet of my daily life up there. Of course, Ah didn't know about it for a long time, but we'll get there.

After some ponies started ta pop up doin' whatever they damn well pleased, the Princesses put out an ordinance ta all ponies who wanted to make a livin' out of their new-found powers. The Vigilante-Bounty Trade Act. For every villain one catches, they're awarded bits based on how much said villain's bounty is worth. As with every law, there are rules associated with it though. 'The offender must be alive, and not harmed ta the point that information can’t be extracted from them.' Or, ta make that last one simpler, ya can't break their jaws or give 'em a brain injury.

For whatever reason, the second part was added later ta the act though. Of course, there are some special cases where that ain't possible. Not everypony is willin' ta comply with society down to their last breath, and those ones make sure ta get there. When that happens, the VBT Agency offers compensation for 'Collateral Protection,' which is really just a fancy term for savin' lives.

It's not easy work, but it's really the only way Ah can put my crazy power to use, just like most of the others in this line of work. Those that can't, or just flat out don't want ta... well, they just do whatever they please. For every new hero that pops up, another three Power Ponies start causin’ trouble. They call us freaks of nature, and other nasty names like mutants, but we learn ta get over it. Ta really get ta the beginnin' of my story though, we're gonna have ta go back ta where it all began, with the first famous hero.

They called him Red Hoof.

This story begins way back when Ah was a filly. Ah'm twenty years old now, so this all started when Ah was maybe three years old. While givin’ birth ta my little sister, Ma passed on. It was up ta Pa ta feed me, my sister, and my big brother on his own now. It didn't help when Granny passed a year later, and Pa lost the apple farm we lived on ta my cousins, as he wasn't an Apple.

Furious with the Apples and nowhere else ta go, we moved up to the big city with his younger brother, Blood Orange, in his hometown of Manehattan.

Citrus Root

“I hope you can find a job soon Citrus,” Blood said.

“You and me both, Blood…” Citrus sighed. His brother was sympathetic, but they both knew the prospects of finding a job in Manehattan this time of year were slim to none. “I'm going out. Macintosh, Applejack, You kids be good for yer Uncle, ya hear?” Both colt and filly nodded their heads rapidly in reply. The older stallion patted each of his kids on the head, then went to check on his foal in her crib.

“Don't cause any trouble while Ah'm away, little Applebloom.” He kissed his baby on the forehead and headed for the door. He grabbed his old leather coat, his brown Stetson, and threw his saddle bags on with all his work history in it. Citrus Root hadn't been back in the city since he married nearly twelve years ago. It wasn’t as happy a return as he’d have liked, but anything was better than being on that damned orchard.

“Damned Apples. My kids are yer kin too, but the minute Granny passes, ya bastards jumped on the chance ta grab the land right out from under my hooves. Now Ah… have ta start all over.” In truth, Citrus owed the last decade to the miracle of stumbling upon his would-be wife just around the turn of the century, but now that she's gone, so was everything.

Everything, but the reminder of their union, and those three still needed somepony to take care of them. Even if it took another miracle, Citrus was going to do it. He rounded the corner off a lesser street in the central district of Manehattan and then made his way to the largest street in the city, Main Street. As it always was, the big city was bustling with ponies from all over.

“Ah might as well get this over with,” Citrus sighed. He had a little background in doing the finances for the farm, and if nothing else, his brother was an accomplished accountant so he figured he'd start with the banks and go from there. Office to office, one rejection after another. One more failed attempt, one more shot lower.

The sun had reached the horizon when his fifteenth application had been rejected after hours of applying and interviews all day. “Damn it all!” he yelled as he tossed his hat into the concrete. Shaking his head, he sighed. Careful now. Rosie made that. If you’d put all your strength into that, you might’ve destroyed it. He shook his hat, trying to dust it off, and then started on his long walk back home.

Manehattan was a big place. One could walk straight from one end of the city at the beginning of the day, and only be halfway through it at the end of the day. Citrus, however, was no normal pony. In fact, Citrus was a Power Pony, unbeknownst to his family and anyone else. Huh. Maybe Ah should try construction. Havin' somepony as strong as Ah am would help move equipment and material. Ah could even pretend like it's hard for me ta do it alone. The stallion was only in his thirties after all, and with his powers he had a real shot at physical labor... provided it doesn't go the way it did the first time he left the city. Ah should... make sure nopony remembers me if Ah do head back toward the docks.

“Ha ha... Well, it'd be better than nothin' anyway. Maybe Ah'll look inta that tomorrow. Today’s only the first one anyways, they won’t all be bad.” As he continued walking, the sun had all but left the horizon, leaving the streetlamps to guide his path home. Something odd caught his ears, and finally, he realized it was silent. In Manehattan.

Oh, crap, this ain't Ponyville. Ah'll get mugged just walkin' around at night. Better keep ta the shadows. Ah might be bright yellow, but anypony can hide in the dark. Following his train of thought, Citrus flipped up the collar on his jacket and adjusted his bag to better hide his flank. The silence continued for a while, but just as he approached a street crossing, he felt something cold on the back of his neck. The minute Ah forget ta look down the alley, the one time!

“I want ya ta drop the bag and get the hell outta here, you understand me?” Citrus rolled his eyes. Geez, who am Ah dealin' with here, some teenager?

“Sure. Take it. There ain't no money in it, if that's what you're lookin' fer,” He replied to his robber.

“Yeah, likely story, you fancy hat wearin', leather jacket havin', outta towner. Now drop ya bag!” Citrus lowered his neck, removed his hat, and let the bag slide off his shoulders and onto the ground.

“There. Can Ah go now?” If Ah just turned around and clocked this kid, he'd be out in an instant. Hmm, but if Ah do that, it might kill 'em. Damn. Oh well, as long as he don't do anythin' but take my bag, it's not really that big a deal. Nothin' but records in there that don't mean nothin' ta nopony anymore.

Citrus turned his head to look at his assailant as he dug through his bag. It was just some gray coated pony wearing a long coat, a belt that covered his cutie marks, and a ski mask. Nothing that stuck out to make him look like a Power Pony, and sure enough, he wasn't quite tall enough to be an adult. “Few...”

“Alright, what is this? Where's the money old man?” he said, pushing the gun further into Citrus' neck.

“Are ya daft? Ah just said Ah didn't have any.” The barrel started to shake.

“No, no, no, ya gotta be kiddin’ to me. Pl- please old man, ya gotta have somethin' somewheres?” By the sound of it, this kid was desperate.

Oh boy. This kid's no killer. He's just in trouble. Citrus turned to face his assailant, slowly to make sure he didn't get shot in the process. “Look, kid, put yer gun down. Ah'm not one too quick ta anger, so Ah'll hear ya out. Just who do ya owe money to?” When finally face to face with the 'kid' in question, Citrus was about twice his size, and probably about twice his age. The colt wasn't more than sixteen at best, and was now in more panic than he was before.

“He- HEY! D-don't move! I'll shoot!” He said, trembling with the gun on his hoof. The model was some kind of revolver with a strap that held it to his right leg.

Where did he even find that old piece a junk? Ah haven't seen a hoofgun without a magazine in almost twenty years. Those things were fallin' outta style when Ah was a kid. “Come on now, Ah ain't got all day. My kids are waitin' ta see their papa at home, and the more time ya waste of mine, the less chance ya have of me helpin' ya out. Put that thing down, you're gonna hurt somepony with it.” Citrus reached for the gun, and the colt closed his eyes.

Citrus preempted the bullet, grabbing the colt's hoof and ripping off it off his hoof and knocking the trajectory off, hopefully not hitting somepony in the process. Thankfully, nopony came out of their windows looking for gunfire and the empty street didn’t have any onlookers in either direction.

The terrified colt had fallen back on his plot, tears rolling out of his eyes as he stared helplessly at the stallion he tried to rob. “I-I... I'm so sorry... I-I didn't want to hurt nopony, I swear! He... he's got my little sister, man! Please, don't hurt me!”

Citrus sighed. Well. So much for gettin' home early tonight. Ah can't just abandon this kid. Ah know what it feels like all too well. Citrus picked up the colt with relative ease and threw him over his back like he was carrying a bag of sand. And a light one at that. He wondered if this kid had been eating right... or at all for that matter.

“H-hey, what are ya doin’? Where are ya taking me?” he asked, unable to struggle due to the incredible pressure Citrus was putting on his body.

“We are goin' ta talk on the park bench across the street. As it turns out, Ah'm not the out of towner ya think Ah am, and Ah just so happen ta want ta help ya out.”

After what seemed like an hour of interrogating the colt, whose name was Star Slate, Citrus learned that his younger sister was abducted by a local mob boss who went by the name of Shark Tooth. Shark was one of the ponies that had caught the virus fourteen years ago in 2000 during the initial outbreak, like Citrus had. Shark however, ended up with greater changes than he did.

The mobster lost all his fur and grew rough scales that were strong enough to stop bullets. His tail became thick and grew fins, and his teeth were sharp enough to bite through stone, as Star could attest. Star and his sister, Brightness Slate, got caught up with Shark's gang after their parents were killed in an attempt to make off with Shark's money. Now it was Star's job to pay Shark back, or his sister would never see the light of day again.

Citrus was skeptical about the truth of this story, as all the gangsters he used to know would never let family off the hook for something like that, not with just a slap on the forelegs anyways. There was more to it, but Star seemed honest enough to trust for now. Either way, Shark Tooth probably wasn’t a great guy.

“So, ya decided that tryin' ta mug ponies in the street was a better idea than goin' ta the police?” Citrus asked.

“Wha- are ya out of your damn mind!? This is SHARK TOOTH we're dealin' with here! The fuzz can't touch him, much less win a fight with him! And if I did... oh, Goddess, they'd kill her...” Star let his head fall into his hooves. “Sweet Goddess, Brightness is gonna die...”

After removing his mask, Star was revealed to have a pure white mane and deep blue irises. He was just a boy barely growing facial hair with a camera on his flanks. This kid was never meant to shoot anything but pictures. What kinda parents put their kids in this kinda situation? This ain’t right. As Citrus scratched at his beard, a thought popped into his head. It was dangerous, but today hadn’t been a good one, and the future didn’t look bright either. He could blow off steam, take care of Star’s problem, and maybe even figure out a new direction if he went through with it. Yeah… Why don’t we blow off some steam?

Leaning back against the bench, Citrus casually asked, “So uh, what if Ah… took care of this fish guy?”

“Do what!?” Star exclaimed, “This guy has a friggin' huge bounty on his head, and even the vigilantes don't bother tryin' ta catch him! There’s no way you could do that!” The yellow stallion couldn't help but let a grin spread across his face.

“Well, maybe the right one just hasn't showed up yet...” Citrus got up from the bench and started walking away.

“Wha-? Y-you're not serious are ya? Ya can't just... hey! Wait up, old man! You don't even know where to go!”

With Star complaining along, the two made their way further into the depths of eastern Manehattan. Broken windows and abandoned buildings littered the streets in the once prosperous industrial side of the city. Graffiti covered every other wall, but one specific mark stood out to Citrus more than the others. The shape of a jagged tooth on a string was appearing more and more as they approached Shark Tooth's lair.

“Ah assume that we're gettin' close, huh?” Citrus said, as he took in every detail around him. Not a single tag was free of the shark tooth's influence. The easiest way to tell who owned what turf were the tags that covered the walls. The untrained eye might just pass it off as some hooligan's graffiti, but those in the know knew better.

“L-look, old man, y-ya don't have to go through with this. I-I'll just find some honest way to pay Shark off...” Citrus stopped Star and pulled him into an alleyway. “Hey!” Citrus jabbed Star in the side, then covered his mouth.

“Be quiet. Somepony's comin'.” They watched as a group of three ponies dressed like thugs walked around a corner. One was an orange earth pony, but he had horns just behind each of his ears, and one on his nose. He looked like his head was half dragon. Another was a dark blue pegasus, who didn't look like anything special. That is, until Citrus saw that the thing he thought was a flashlight casting light around the group was actually a pair of fireballs floating above each wing. Finally, they were both being followed by a unicorn mare wearing all kinds of makeup and particularly... seductive clothing. Ah bet Ah know what her day job is. Other than that, Citrus didn’t see anything special about her.

“Alright kid, Ah want ya to give me that mask of yours and hold my stuff,” Citrus ordered as he started to remove his jacket.

“Oh, goddess, you're actually gonna go try and talk to them?” Citrus took the mask out of Star's hooves and put his stetson on Star's head.

“What? No. Ah aim ta beat 'em up. You said there was a bounty on this guy right? Ah bet his gang is at least worth somethin'. And if not, then hey, at least there's a couple more thugs in jail right?” Citrus smiled, then pulled the mask over his snout. He grabbed the belt that Star was using, hid his tree stump cutie marks with it and then put his jacket back on. The less of me they can see, the better.

He quietly trotted out from behind the alley without being seen by the gang members and then called out to them once he was sure he was far away enough from Star. “Excuse me!”

The three thugs immediately turned their attention to him. The dragon-like one replied. “Who are you? This is Shark Tooth territory! Beat it or get beat!” he said with a deep gravelly voice.

“Well, Ah'd planned ta ask where yer boss was. Could y'all tell me that?” Citus asked politely through his thick accent. He only lived in Ponyville for fourteen years, but that was certainly long enough to pick up their way of speaking. The three thugs looked at each other, then charged at Citrus.

The first to approach was the dragon-pony. He reared his head back and started to spew flames from his mouth. Citrus was quick to jump out of the way and threw himself into the wall of a building. After his momentum had stopped and the dragon-pony looked at him in awe, he shot off the wall and head butted the dragon-pony in the side, cracking his ribs in the process. The dragon-pony crumbled like a sand castle, and Citrus stood tall, motioning for the others to come at him.

The challenge accepted, the other two came at him from either side, the unicorn firing off light beams at him while the pegasus coated his wings with fire and charged. Citrus simply shook his head and stood on his hind legs, dodging the untrained attacks with ease. Well, Ah appreciate y'all makin' this easy fer me.

As the pegasus slowly became a flying fireball, the masked stallion twisted his hind legs in preparation for his approach, now just simply taking the rather underwhelming laser hits. Yeah, Ah’d bet gold bits that she's better with her mouth than her magic. He let go of the spring like force he'd gathered and pushed his foreleg into the burning pegasus' ribcage, knocking the wind and fire out of him.

Two down, and one ta interrogate. Perfect. Wide eyed, the unicorn mare halted her assault and turned tail to run. Unfortunately for her though, Citrus could move half across the city in about thirty minutes when he really wanted to. He jumped, then landed on and then pinned the mare, making sure not to hurt her too badly.

“So. Now that Ah, 'got beat', are y'all gonna tell me what Ah want ta know?” The mare nodded her head as quickly as she could. Geez, this is uncomfortable. How old is this mare? A few years older than Star at best. Maybe fifteen years ago, but Ah'm old enough ta be her father. Ah need a better way ta do this.

After deciding that keeping a young mare restrained wasn't the greatest idea in the world, Citrus and Star found an abandoned trailer. The masked stallion ripped several steel poles out of the ground and bent them around his collection of incapacitated thugs. It's not like anypony uses these old beat up street signs anyways. Couldn't get a car through here if ya tried.

They tossed the thugs in their trailer and moved further into Shark's territory. For every twenty steps they made, another two guards showed up. Eventually, they'd racked up a good number of ponies, half of whom had powers of some kind. Strange that they've got so many power ponies around. Ah thought we were rarer than this…

“I mean, wow, old man. What even are ya? Ya gotta be one of these freaks, right?”

Citrus glared at Star, but then shrugged. “Ah don't appreciate ya callin' me old man, and even more so 'freak'. Ah'm not that old yet. But yes, Ah'm a Power Pony, just like some of these others. Ah'm just lucky that my powers came out subtle, unlike dragon face over there.” He said gesturing to the trailer.

“Oh, uh, sorry man. But for real though, ya got some kinda crazy strength or what!? That was amazing! I ain't never seen nopony do somethin’ like that!” Citrus could only smile at Star's enthusiasm. It'd been a long time since Citrus got to fight and this time he knew how to control his powers. The money he makes off turning these guys in might be nice too, provided they're worth anything. Speakin' of...

“So, what do ya know about this 'bounty' thing?” Citrus asked.

“Bounties huh? Ya ever heard of the VBTA?” Star replied.

“No. What's that?” Citrus asked.

“The Vigilante-Bounty Trade Act. The two Princesses signed this into law less than a year after the first wave of fre- uh, Power Ponies showed up. It was basically a giant application that said, 'if you're willin' ta play hero, then we'll pay ya for puttin' bad guys away for us,'” Star replied, spreading his front hooves as if the words were in front of him.

“Is that so? How many bounties are up for this city?” Citrus asked, his wheels turning now.

“Are you kidding? This place has the highest concentration of Power Ponies in Equestria! There's bounties for days here! Ya couldn't ask for a better place ta start your career!”

Citrus turned his head. “My career? What are ya on about now?”

Star nodded with enthusiasm. “Maybe ya forgot, but I'm a photographer by trade. Well, maybe only in my spare time now, but that can change! I can promote ya! We can be a team, you an' me!” Star attempted to wrap his hoof around Citrus' shoulder, but simply wasn’t big enough to do so. Citrus was no giant like some of Rosie’s family, but he was very bulky after working the orchard for more than a decade.

“Well, that does sound appealin', but Ah can't just have my face all over the news when Ah'm tryin' ta get work done. And Ah have a family ta think about. They can't know that Ah'm runnin' around like this all the time. Ah don't need my kids or my brother worryin' about me.”

Star waved a hoof at him. “Oh, don't you worry about it. I’ve got all of this planned out. I already know the answer to all your problems.”

Citrus raised a brow. “Oh? And what might that be?”

“Spandex! It'll be just like a comic book! You can be the hero!” Citrus was confused to start with, not exactly knowing what spandex was, nor ever reading a comic book, but the word hero stuck out to him. Me, the hero huh? One hell of a job title, if nothin' else. It was around this time that the two had made their way into a dark area, and all of Citrus's senses went on alert.

Four bright lights turned on all around them, like they were in some kind of stadium. Upon further inspection, it was a city basketball court built into a little nook between a factory building and a few apartment complexes. The area looked lived in enough, the garbage around supported that at least, but the factory looked long abandoned. Why that was the case was clear enough. Everywhere the eye could see, the shark tooth tag was sprayed.

“What in tarnation!? Who’s there!?” he shouted to the empty darkness around him.

“You know, that's the same question I had in mind, Mister Mask. I see you've been quite hospitable to my employees,” said a deep voice from somewhere.

Citrus’s shock turned into a grin. This is where the boss is. “Well, yeah, Ah think Ah have been. Now, why don't y'all just come on out so Ah can get a good look at yer face?” Citrus looked around, trying to find the source of the other voice, when he noticed a box on a set of bleachers built into a wall. A door on its side opened, and out stepped one of the strangest things he'd ever seen. A blue-gray and white stallion, no mane, no hair on his tail, which instead sported fins like a fish. He had bright orange irises and was wearing a black pinstripe suit with a matching fedora. This guy looks old school. He's been doin' this fer a while.

“It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Mask. Now, pardon me if I'm wrong here, but you seem to be with another employee of mine who isn't in your cart. Why is that?” The stallion smiled with every word, revealing his very sharp, pearly white teeth to the world.

“Oh, that. Ya see, this here boy came ta me askin' fer help, sort of. He said he was desperate, so Ah took a listen. Apparently, some Power Pony named Shark Tooth kidnapped his sister after some parents of his made a dumb decision. Y'all wouldn't happen to know where Ah might find such a pony, now would ya?” Citrus couldn't tell if it was the air, the sheer menacing vibe that this stallion gave off, or the adrenalin from the earlier fight that was getting him so excited, but he was ready for whatever was about to happen.

Turning his gaze on Star, Shark smiled again in a way that was even more intimidating than before. “My, my. Have you been telling lies, little Star Slate? You see, my good Mister Mask, that boy and his sister are under my custody due to a previous arrangement. His parents were in a terrible accident around this area when a building scheduled for demolition collapsed on them. I simply took it upon myself to... look after them until they could take care of themselves.”

Finally, the trembling gray colt spoke up. “You didn't ‘take care’ of anypony but my parents, ya freak! Now gimme back my sister! She's all I have left...”

“Sounds like ya did a mighty kind service fer the boy based on that statement. So, Ah'll give ya few options. One; y'all can just give me the girl and leave the kids alone. That way, Ah can get some cash fer your goons, the boy gets his sister back, and nothin' happens ta you. Or, option two. Y'all can try and take me on. Now, if that happens, then you're just gonna end up like them employees Ah've taken 'good care of' so far.” Shark tilted his head until a loud pop echoed through the stadium. He calmly removed his hat and jacket, then set them down on the bleachers to his right, perfectly folded.

“Hmm... now that first option does sound quite intriguing, Mister Mask. But the second one, that just sounds like a threat. Quite frankly, I personally don't enjoy hearing threats from others.” Shark started to walk down the steps to the stadium floor. The muscles underneath his white button up growing thicker and just about ready to burst through his shirt. “Do you know how hard a shark can bite?”

“Nope. Ah've been pretty land locked fer the better part of my adult life. But if you’re willin' ta show me, then Ah guess Ah'll find out.” Citrus removed the harness he was wearing and tossed Star in his trailer. He then kicked the cart to the upper bleachers of the visitors side, destroying most of the ones they landed on, but keeping the trailer's axel intact. Oh. Well, that wasn't the smartest thing Ah've done today.

Shark laughed. “Now it all makes sense! You're not quite normal either, now are you?”

“No, not really.” Citrus started toward Shark.

Finally at the bottom now, Shark’s lips peeled back far further than a pony’s should to show all of his dagger-like teeth. “Perfect. Then there's no reason to hold back... when I show you how hard I can bite!” Shark's body started to grow in size, his muscles tearing through his shirt, just about ready to burst from his skin. He lowered his legs, his hooves sinking into the blacktop, and then the big ball of bulging flesh shot toward Citrus.

“Kick his ass, old man!” Star cheered from the sidelines. Shark approached Citrus with about as much speed as Citrus could muster. He slammed a heavy hoof into the ground, just narrowly missing Citrus, but making a crater in his place. Citrus took the opportunity to counter, landing a hoof square in Shark's ribs, sending him back past the free throw circle from the center of the court.

“My my, aren't you something! I haven't had a real fight in ages!” Shark exclaimed as he picked himself up. He scraped more of the ground off the court as he dug his hooves in for a charge. Shark shot off again, this time looking to ram Citrus. He was faster this time and clipped Citrus on the side as he ran. Citrus felt a sharp pain run up his side and grabbed at it with his right hoof. Damn, bleedin'. This guy ain't no joke. Kid wasn't messin' around when he said rough scales. Like his skin is made of hard sandpaper. Ah'll have to end this quick if Ah want ta keep up with my mouth. Citrus decided he needed a weapon to fight with when he noticed the goal basket on the opposite end of the court.

Shark had stopped himself and turned around for another charge when he noticed Citrus running. “What's this? Mister mask is running away? No, no, that just won't do! You can't run from me!” Shark dashed from his spot, charging at Citrus again with full speed.

Smiling, Citrus turned. “Huh. Maybe ya are just as dumb as ya look!” Using the little effort it took to rip the metal out of the ground, Citrus loaded up like a batter, and swung at Shark as he came close. Too late to stop, the back board collided with Shark's head, making the metal ring through the stadium, stopping him in his tracks. “Now, Ah know this court is fer basketball, but Ah think Ah'd rather play baseball!”

Rearing the pole back again, Citrus dug his hooves in for a home run. All Shark could see before the impact was the freshly dented back board rapidly approaching his face. Shark was sent flying into the commentator box, destroying it when he crashed. He didn't get up. Oh, crap! Ah hope he's not dead! Citrus dropped the goal post and rushed to the box to make sure Shark was still alive. When he arrived however, Shark was not only alive, but conscious too.

The hybrid stallion grabbed Citrus' neck with his hooves and began to squeeze. “Well, Mister Mask, it's been fun, but I think I've had enough of you for one lifetime.” Shark started to press into Citrus's neck with all his might.

“Gah!” Citrus struggled against Shark but to no avail. The massive pony had strength to match his stature, and in a couple seconds, Citrus wouldn't have a wind pipe anymore. Damn it! Ah can't let it end like this! Ah've got ta do somethin'! Rather than try and escape, Citrus decided that attacking was the only thing he could do. With all the energy he could gather in one hoof, he punched shark in the jaw. Pointed teeth shot out of his mouth, and blood started to pour from his face. Shark released his grip and tried to put his jaw back in place. Citrus wasn't quite done yet though. He was angry now. Punch after punch, Citrus threw all his might at Shark's joints, making sure he wouldn't get up again. Again and again, red sprayed with each slam of his hooves against the scaly stallion, until finally, something grabbed his foreleg.

“Good goddess man, it's over, it's over! If ya keep goin', you're gonna kill 'em!” Finally returning to his senses, Citrus stopped punching and started to breathe heavily. He looked over his work, realizing that his whole right front leg had been covered in blood, none of which was his own. Shark had reverted to the size of a normal pony and was now a bloody mess. Luckily, he was still breathing at least. Citrus managed to calm his heart down and took a seat on the bleachers. After a few minutes of silence, Citrus remembered what his original goal was.

“Oh! Uh, do ya know where yer sister is? Ah don't think we'll be findin' out anythin' from this guy any time soon.” Citrus said.

“Holy crap, you're right! I'm coming Brightness!” Star shot off to the far end of the court and disappeared. After taking a few minutes to rest himself, Citrus went to work turning the remainder of the goal post into a rope for Shark. He may not be at full strength now, but Citrus had no idea whether or not he could heal quickly too. Better safe than sorry.

After he finished loading Shark into his cart and carrying his pile of thugs back to the court floor, Shark started to come to. “Ugh... where am I?”

“Ah thought ya were gonna be a fast healer. Ya remember what Ah said about option two?”

Memories of the last conversation he had started to come back to Shark. “Ah, I see.” Shark felt something scratching his mouth, then spat out another tooth. “Well, that will take a few days to grow back.” Silence lasted for a good while, but eventually, Shark spoke up again. “So, what exactly is your stake here, Mister Mask? You know, I could use a stallion like you. I have quite the fortune, you see, I could pay handsomely. It has been a very long time since I ran across somepony who could rival me for strength. We could accomplish much and more together.”

Citrus tilted his head to think. “Ah'd say the same ta y'all, but Ah've still got young kids, and my wife made an honest stallion outta me. Wouldn’t be right ta spit in her face like that and go back ta… this life.” Citrus motioned at Shark and his goons. “Ah guess, Ah'm gonna try and make a job out of catchin' criminals like y’all. Ya see, Ah'm recently a widower, and her family kicked me off the land we lived on, so Ah had ta move in with my relatives. Ah was lookin' fer a job today when that boy tried ta rob me.

“As it turns out, nopony is lookin' fer new employees. Down on my luck, not wantin' ta go home empty hooved, Ah decided Ah might as well help the kid outta whatever trouble he was in. Ah didn't even know that ya had a bounty until he told me about it.” Citrus figured he might as well be honest with Shark, seeing as there was no way he could really do anything in that position. Even if he heals quickly, a broken leg or two isn't just going to reform in a minute.

“Hmm. Well, that is quite the commendable disposition you have. I can only hope my own son turns out like you. It's too bad, though. I feel as if you would have made an excellent partner to my business. As you have seen, it is difficult to find good help these days.” Shark flicked his head at the rest of the cart.

“And do what? Help y’all steal and traffic ponies and drugs?” Citrus shot back.

Shark shrugged as best he could, wincing at the pain of his broken legs. “Sure, it's not a necessarily honest business, but it is quite the profitable one. Can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs, right?”

Citrus shook his head. “Makin' money by doin' wrong is no way ta live.” At least, not any more. It was then that Star came back with a little pegasus filly. She had a bright white coat and a myriad of colors in her mane ranging from yellow to blue like a gradient. She looked like she was malnourished, even worse than Star. “Yeah. In yer care, my ass,” Citrus shot as he went to meet Star.

“Look Bright, this is the guy who saved us. Go tell 'em thanks,” Star said to the frail little filly. Her nervous walk made Citrus take a look at himself. Oh, geez. Come on now. The first thing ya do is show this filly a stallion half covered in blood? Ah'm gonna need ta make sure Ah'm clean before Ah see my own kids.

“Th-thank you for saving me, mister Red Hooves.” Citrus frowned at first, but then an idea popped into his mind. Red Hooves huh? If Ah'm gonna keep doin' this, it might be a good idea to make sure nopony knows my real name. Ah suppose there are worse things ta be called...

Citrus wiped his hoof off as best he could, then patted the filly on the head. “Don't worry none little one. You're safe now.” He rustled the filly's mane and then turned to Star. “Here. Take this and go get her some food and a place ta sleep. Meet me by the park tomorrow afternoon, and don't forget my hat. If ya think that guy was bad, just see what happens if ya lose it. Ah'm gonna go turn these guys in ta the police. Don't forget, ya hear?” Citrus took a small bag out of his jacket pocket and placed it in Star's hoof. He loaded up his trailer once more and started walking away.

Star wasn't sure just what he'd been given until he poured the bag out into his hoof to find three silver bits. “You piece of- You had all this the whole time!? Ah, whatever, you'll see me again mister Superhero! I'll make a star outta you yet!”

Harmony Stories IV: Mother (part 2)

Growing up, unwittingly, I was obsessed with Celestia. She was the beautiful idol to me that she is to some of her devotee guards and subjects. I did whatever I could to get close to her, and so I threw myself into the study of magic in hopes of entering her school for gifted unicorns. I was good at it. I was really good at it. To the surprise of literally everypony who wasn't in the know, A little unicorn filly 'born to' lowborn unicorns with a below average son, had outstanding potential. At first, Celestia didn't know whether or not to allow me in. Sure, eventually I would have to be told the truth, but nopony should have needed to worry about that until I was in my forties and not aging. At the same time, she was also desperate to see me again.

Luna had made it very clear that the consequences of me knowing the truth far outweighed the potential positives, but the mother daughter bond that Celestia and I had was too strong to keep us apart. One way or another, I eventually made my way into the school at the bright young age of eight, despite Luna's protest. During a test to see just how much magic I was capable of, something inside me triggered, and by accident, I displayed more magical prowess than any unicorn before me. The two sisters realized that the seal Luna had put on me shortly after birth was beginning to break.

With reluctance, Luna finally agreed that it would be best if they could monitor me from close by, and allowed Celestia to take me in under the guise of 'personal protégé.' And so, for about two years, I was reunited with my mother. Any time I wasn't in class, I was with her. We ate together, we bathed together, we slept together, we lived together. It wasn't just the feeling of friendliness that I got from my foster parents, it was more than that. A bond that I'd always felt was there was finally being exercised, and it was everything I ever wanted. Even Luna, who was heavily opposed of anything dealing with me, the child who shouldn't have existed, came around and started to act like family toward me. But as I said, this only lasted for so long.

In the span of a mere week, those blissful two years with the family I was meant to have were shattered by a single oversight that neither of the princesses thought of. And that was, the virus. As it turns out, my Father was part of the afflicted back in his dimension, and just like our virus, theirs had the power to overwrite my alicorn genetics that prevent me from being afflicted with disease.

When Mother would talk about him, referring to him as some story book hero back when she would put me to sleep, she always mentioned at how his 'strength and determination' made him immune to magic. The truth was clearly that he was a Power Pony and that was what the virus did to him, but she never considered that it was possible for me to have it. Lo and behold, suddenly, in the middle of a class field trip, the virus rears it's ugly head and breaks all the seals on me.

A child alicorn is walking the streets of Canterlot, and it takes all of five minutes for hell to break loose. The museum we were in was being scouted by a group of thieves looking to swipe one of the many regalia that Celestia and Luna had been given over the years, when one of them notices that a unicorn filly suddenly sprouted wings. It didn't take long for them to put two and two together and... I was kidnapped.

Both the princesses felt the seals disappear, but were each too late to get to me before the robbers did. Their suspicions of me were very quickly founded when the princesses showed up, and they hightailed it out of there. The robbers were smart. They were very smart. They very quickly realized just how valuable I was and just what they could get away with due to the unique nature of my body. They used a machine to seal away my magic, and they tied me up like a piece of meat.

They knew it wouldn't be long before either of the princesses showed up, so they were quick to act. The first thing they did was send a ransom note to the castle with a threat, photos, and demands to my mother. The next thing they did was get out of Canterlot. In a burlap sack, I was thrown into a truck and driven to the far outskirts of the city to a mine near the base of the mountain.

Since the effect the virus had on me was to make me immune to magic, placing magic seals on me was just one of the many things that no longer worked. I cannot be tracked, I cannot be attacked, I cannot be acted on with any and all forms of magic. If it's not electronic or organic, it does not work on me. I can't even cast spells on myself. I'm like a sponge. I absorb magic and just store it in the near boundless capacity that Alicorns are capable of, and this quality of mine made Celestia a very desperate mare.

With little discussion and more than reckless decisions, she gave into the demands of the robbers to try and get her daughter back. But instead of keeping up their end of the bargain, the robbers made off with me and the money they were wired and tried to escape the continent. Honestly, if they had actually given me back, they might've lived. But if there is one thing one does not do, it is to make Celestia angry.

Furious that they had tried to trick her, Celestia quickly discovered that the method of communication they used to take their money was poorly encrypted. Within an hour, Celestia was given their location near the Manehattan port. They had taken to hiding in an old abandoned cabin in the middle of this very park. Things went from bad to worse when I was taken out of the bag. They saw that Celestia had arrived, so to keep from being incinerated where they stood, they pointed a gun to my head and told her to back off.

With me being so near the weapon, there was nothing Celestia could do to get the gun away since my powers absorbed the magic she tried to cast. I was a shield for them, and not one that Celestia was willing to give up.” Twilight bit inta her lip and let out a breath. Whatever she did back then ta get out of that mess probably ain't somethin' she's proud of.

“To... further insult mother, the robbers got the idea that they would... try and make... another Alicorn... It didn't matter to them h-how old I was, but they figured that they were dead where the stood anyways... When the situation had finally come to that point, I started to hyperventilate. I didn't know just yet what they were going to do to me, but seeing Celestia almost in tears, begging for them to stop and watching them... prepare... it happened again.

All of the magic that I had absorbed over time started to well up, and in my frantic state, my horn overheated and melted the device that was stopping me from using magic. The ensuing wave of energy consumed all five of the kidnappers and the entire cabin. When she described it to me, the blast must've had a diameter of ten meters, because not only did it take out everything and everypony around me, but it also unearthed an ancient crystal relic that had been buried here at the beginning of Celestia and Luna's rule.

After I passed out from the explosion, this crystal relic began to absorb all of the magic I put off and everything I had stored since my powers activated. Celestia quickly collected me and watched as this castle literally grew out of the ground, complete with my cutie mark on the front. With nowhere else to go and being drained from the whole ordeal, Celestia took refuge inside this castle.

When I finally woke up, Celestia decided it was time that I know everything. It was sad, really. At first, I was excited to know that she was my real mother. Then, the idol I had built her up to be was marred by all the flaws and mistakes she made. Everything that had happened, all the problems she caused by being careless, all the lives she ruined by letting her curiosity take over. I became bitter, and lost much of my trust and respect for her.

Luna arrived shortly there afterward and once Celestia said she told me everything, this brand was created. I was... marked... and then practically imprisoned here. The severe nature of everything that could happen, everything they watched happen in my Father's world, and the unknown nature of the castle and what the strange magic it gave off were reason enough to keep me here. At the same time, I was safe here. Nopony but the princesses and you four know about this place... anymore, and I am linked to the castle. I can sort of feel when things are near it, or when there are life forces inside, even manipulate the walls and doors just by thinking about it. With no way to argue against it, Celestia just let it happen, and I've been living here since then.

For nine years, I had no outside contact other than my mother and my aunt aside from books and newspapers. With nothing else to do, I read every book I had and was eventually given copies of everything in Canterlot Library to keep me occupied. It wasn't until a few years ago did I finally get fed up with it all. Tired of mother trying to make things seem okay, tired of Luna acting like I was some disaster waiting to happen, and most of all, I was tired of... feeling so alone. I eventually worked up the courage to do it, and I left the castle.

For the first time in years, I saw other ponies. Normal ponies, Power Ponies, zebras, griffons, hippogriffs, dragons, this city had everything! That very same day, I also saw my very first super hero battle. I was a little more than amazed to watch somepony that had been affected by Mother's mistakes actually use it for the benefit of others in person. She saved five ponies from an attack by some villain, and the two fought until she subdued the villain and was praised by all the ponies around her.

So, I came up with an idea. A way to make myself useful like that. Maybe even try and change my aunt's opinion of me. At first, I wanted to be a hero, like her. And I did try. I had a costume made anonymously, and went out there to try and do some good like the other heroes. To say the least I... didn't do well. I had grown a lot since I last used attack magic, and all of my seals had also been released too, so I couldn't control my own power. I'd also never flown more than gliding down the castle stairs, so I couldn't really do that well either.

Needless to say, eventually I was the one who got captured, and if it weren't for the intervention of that hero again, I wouldn't be here today. So, I wasn't cut out to be a hero, but that didn't stop me from still wanting to try. I tried to get in contact with some of the heroes, but was always ignored at the door. I tried to support heroes by offering them a partnership, but was turned down nearly immediately by all of them. Worse still, Mother eventually caught me sneaking out, and there was a heavy reprimanding for that.

A week or so passed afterward, and to my surprise, she asked why I did what I did. At first I felt like she was trying to trap me in some kind of guilt admission, but after encouraging a few of the things I did, I told her everything. All of the things I tried, all the ideas I had. To my surprise, She agreed with most of them. For the first time in a long time, it actually felt like it did back before everything went wrong.

We got to talking, and together, we came up with a way I could actually do something. My powers make it so I can act more or less like a magical generator, and with that, I can keep up spells like long range telepathy, or visual divination, as if they were mere levitation spells. With my unique position, I could direct a group from far away without the use of high tech equipment, or expensive spell crystals. If I could get together a group of trusted Power Ponies, I could lead them in operations, acting like my own little unit of special police officers.

With the new idea in place and mother's support, I was given permission to go out and find Power Ponies for my group. But just like the first time I tried, it didn't go well. That is, until I met Diamond. Unlike everypony else I tried to talk to, Rarity was interested in what I had to say. We got together, she told me the story she told you, and we formed this partnership. Mother was ecstatic to know that I'd made a friend, but warned me about the brand that I carried. With a little studying and some direction from her, I crafted this contract for a less painful way to spread my brand.

While I didn't like it at first, Mother eventually won me over to the idea since it served as an easy way to locate ponies in my group as well as create a more concrete form of trust between myself and those I recruited, in a less... painful way than how my brand was applied. With Rarity in, I started to ask Mother for assignments to help pay Rarity for her work and we began doing jobs for the military. They weren't exactly hard jobs at first, but it was enough to get her back on her hooves after opening her store without her parents help.

It was when Luna decided to capitalize on mine and Rarity's team work that I realized we needed more members. Celestia went out of her way to make sure we were never given anything too dangerous. I suspected that after some time, and Luna confirmed it verbally when I asked. In a sort of foolhardy ego-scratching, I asked for something that she needed help with. While we completed the job, Rarity was badly injured, and I ended having to treat her for three weeks before she recovered. Rarity's power is spectacular, but that doesn't mean she can handle a whole team of armed pirates on her own.

So, we needed new members, and then we went out to look for them. That was about the time I met... the Bloody Crow. She was interested in the money I said I could offer, but due to the uh, nature, of her powers, I wanted to see her work. I told Rarity about it, and she warned me not to, but I was too excited about the prospect of a new member to listen. She took me on a 'hunt' as she called them, and what I saw was... horrific. The things she did to that poor hoodlum were far beyond cruel, but that doesn't compare to the laughter I heard while she was doing it. Gah, thinking about it still makes me shiver.

So, I struck out, and with a quick memory wipe spell, I escaped from her and ran back home. I was beyond disappointed, and terrified that I almost trusted somepony like that. But, as luck would have it, another candidate had literally knocked on my door. I met Fluttershy the next day. She was so distraught and unhealthy that I couldn't turn her away. After about a week of living here, she told me her story, and in return I offered her a job with Harmony.

I know that she had a bad history before I met her, but the pony I had come to know over that week wasn't the one she described when she talked about herself. The fact that she immediately agreed to my proposal proved that for me. And that is when a strange thing happened. This room wasn't here a year ago. In fact, this has only been here since Rarity, Fluttershy, and myself were all in the castle at the same time. These chairs give off a strange magical signature that resonate with our auras like some kind of power amplifier.

We still don't know what they are, or why they do what they do, but Celestia and Luna thought it would be best if I could try and seek out other ponies that react to these gems. After about half a year of searching and doing jobs again now that Fluttershy could cover Rarity, one of the dormant gems reacted. I suppose you could say it felt Pinkie's dark intentions, and was more or less communicating for me to save her, or something cosmic like that. Like a beacon, the energy the gem was giving off matched a signature in the city and I basically followed the trail... about thirty feet from the castle.

She... was going to do something bad, and I managed to talk her out of it. I offered to help her become better as a hero and a pony, and with that I'd gained another member. Around the same time, Rarity tried to scout you. When she showed me who you were, I was ecstatic to say the least. You were the one who saved those ponies on that first day I left the castle, and the one who eventually saved me when I messed up trying to be a hero myself, so naturally I thought you would make a great addition.

But... you and Rarity seemed to have a... miscommunication during your test job, and I figured you were a lone wolf. She didn't give up on you though, so I guess you could say she had more faith than I did. It wasn't until we had a job where... well, the Beast came out, did I realize that we needed somepony who could combat Fluttershy if she ever went out of control like that again, which is when Rarity mentioned you. I figured if she could convince you to join, then we might as well try. If we had you, then Rarity wouldn't have to fill the role of attacker anymore, Pinkie wouldn't have to hurt anypony, and... if everything went wrong, we'd have somepony who could subdue Fluttershy without hurting her.

Unfortunately, you haven't reacted to any of my gems, so that doesn't seem to be a part you can play, but now that you're here, we finally have a four pony team. I provide information and communication.”

“I provide defense, and if necessary low power attacks,” Rarity continued.

“I-I can give cover fire and detect h-hidden enemies that Twilight can't...” Fluttershy mumbled.

“And I can get victims and VIPs out of sticky situations in a flash!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“It's more often than not we need all these abilities to do the jobs we're given, but with you we have somepony who can really take a front line position. Somepony who can do just as much damage, if not more than our opponents can, and one who can protect my friends in the event things do go wrong. A battle Tank to add to our Rouge, Sniper, and two Supports. So, without further adieu, welcome to Harmony, Applejack.”

Applejack

Ah figured she was about done, so now Ah decided ta ask a few questions that had been on my mind durin' her story.

“Well, Ah suppose Ah'm glad ta be here, even if it still feels like Ah was kinda roped inta this. Ah'm sorry y'all were the product of poor choices, but Ah have a few questions Ah want answered now that the air is clear.” Ah wasn't sure where Ah stood quite yet, so Ah tried ta keep my voice from reachin' a demandin' tone.

“Oh. Okay, what would you like to know?” Twilight responded.

“Number one; how do ya have a brand if yer immune ta magic?” Ah asked. She frowned.

“Ah... right... well, the word brand is usually related to a symbol that is burned into something. While yours are all made from an ancient contract that simulates the engraving of a brand, mine is... real. The first time I ever saw Mother and Luna fight was when the idea to give me this was proposed. Mother eventually conceded, and after engraving the seals onto a branding iron, it was heated and applied to my tongue. My sense of taste barely exists anymore, and due to the nature of iron based magic, my powers don't work on it.” Twilight let her eyes fall ta her hooves, which she tapped the tips of together repeatedly.

“Oh, goddess... That's messed up... Okay, maybe the other can wait fer another time Ah suppose. Ah guess the third thin' Ah was gonna ask was, when do we do this next job? Ah'm actually still in school if ya believe it, so Ah can't just work whenever ya need me. My dad always wanted us ta get degrees so we wouldn't be as screwed in the real world as he was, and Ah can't just drop it.” If there's anythin' that Ah was gonna do, it was get my degree just like my papa wanted. If nothin' else, Ah was gonna fulfill his only real request of me before he died. Twilight wrinkled her snout and frowned.

“Ah... I see... well, I may be able to pull some strings if things ever get to the point where we need you desperately, but I'm sure we can work something out. If all else fails, I've read just about everything in any library you'll find across the country and then some, so I can be a tutor if you need it.” She was... almost too excited about that. Ah gave her a look, but then just shook my head.

“Uh... Okay, Ah guess. Well, Ah have class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornin', so Ah can help out on my days off. If Ah can take a bullet ta the soft pallet, Ah'm sure Ah can be the tank y'all are lookin' for.” Ah realized the dark connotations of the words Ah just said and made a kinda awkward smile after that.

“That was... rather morbid, but confident? Darling, I'm sure you can do the job we need you to, but you shouldn't expect to take bullets for us. We're not that desperate after all,” Rarity said.

Goddess damn it.

“A-and um, usually it doesn't get that f-far as long as they're within my range... I-it was chivalrous of you to protect me earlier, b-but I really hope it doesn't come to that again, a-and it shouldn't so... I guess what I'm trying to s-say is... don't worry too much?” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah, we got your back, yo!” Pinkie... rapped? She was wearing a hoodie and a backwards ball cap now, and Ah don't exactly remember her leavin' her spot.

“Uh, thanks fer that, Ah guess.” Ah felt the need ta scratch my head since Ah had no other way ta react ta that.

“With... whatever that was... out of the way, I suppose our next meeting will be here at six again on Tuesday. I'll send you all reminders around thirty minutes before the meeting, and we'll go forward from there. With that said, members of Harmony, you are dismissed.”

Harmony Days VIII: Caballo Day

Applejack

“Uh… Okay, Ah guess. Nice ta meet ya too?” Ah replied nervously ta the mare in my forelegs. The rainbow maned cyan pegasus kept up her insidious smile, not even fer a second takin’ her eyes off me. It reminded me of one of the cartoons Ah’ve seen playin’ in Fluttershy’s room at the castle. It was in Umanese, but the subtitles were what struck me. ‘Boku ga Kira.’ or ‘I am Killer.’ All she needed to do now was laugh hysterically ta finish the scene and everythin’ would have fallen inta place.

“So… I don’t really know what’s going on here… but ponies are staring, so could you two just kiss and get it over with so we can leave?” Scootaloo said. Ah felt a quick surge of heat run through my cheeks and Ah dropped the mare on the ground.

“Oww...” she said, rubbin’ her head where it hit the skateboard. Applebloom popped Scootaloo across the head and let out a puff of air.

“Ya dumb ass, that’s my sister, not one of Tiara’s lesbians.” Scootaloo rubbed at the back of her head.

“I call it like I see it. Besides, that’s my sister that yours was so romantically holding for a few minutes, staring deep into each other’s eyes like they were about to go at it in a tongue tornado.” Applebloom frowned and gave her a different look, then started ta walk off, whippin’ Scootaloo in the face with her tail.

“Piss off Scoots. Come on guys, we’re gonna miss the fair.” Scootaloo rubbed at her muzzle, then picked up her skateboard in put it in her backpack.

“Learn to take a joke, geez.” She she caught up ta Applebloom, and Ah didn’t bother makin’ sure Rainbow was okay and caught up with my sister as quickly as possible, probably a little faster than Ah should have on account of already almost blowin’ my cover once today. Ah didn’t really appreciate the gay joke, but Scootaloo has kept me out of hot water twice today and it’s only been a few minutes since she showed up.

“Man, you guys suck, you know I’m not very fast.” Ah heard the slightly raspy young-ish voice say behind me. She looked like she was kinda winded from runnin’ with that Skateboard under her wing. Is this the Crow? Really? There’s no way her stamina is that bad. She fumbled with it until she caught up ta the rest of us and shoved it in the violet colored backpack she was wearin’. She finally finished with that, then came up and brushed her flank against mine. And gave me a different smile. One that reminded me of Goose’s harem girls. Volt Switch was her name Ah think? Ah immediately pushed her away as far as my foreleg would travel.

“Personal space, thank ya kindly.” Ah felt that heat in my cheeks again, and Ah was ready fer that ta stop. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“You can’t take a joke either. Come on, my mane is literally a rainbow, how many times a week do you think I get hit with the gay jokes?" Considerin' yer line of work, probably as long as ya can stand ta not kill the offender. "So what are you? I think I missed some the conversation when you dropped me on the concrete.” Ah shrugged. Well, ya didn't seem ta care all that much when Ah flattened yer ass inta the wall the other day.

“Sorry. Reflex. Ah’m Applebloom’s older sister. And y’all are…? Ya don’t exactly have many traits in common with Scootaloo.” Ah asked.

“I’m… her guardian. We call each other sisters though,” she said, like she was distracted. Well that isn’t somethin’ ya see every day. She can’t be much older than me, if at all. How long has that been goin’ on?

“Huh. You two been together fer a long time?” She nodded.

“I’ve been alone for a long time now, and I met Scootaloo about four years ago. I was pretty good at feeding myself by that point, so I got her out of a bad situation. She’s only legally been mine for about two years now though.” A memory came ta mind. “...she told me that she fell off of Cloudsdale seven years ago.” That’s right. Uncle Orange was talkin’ about her, wasn’t he? But… Should Ah really say anythin’ about him? If Ah think she’s the Crow then… should Ah let her know who my family is? There’s no way she doesn’t recognize my voice right? But then again, we’re with our sisters. If she’s anythin’ like me, Ah bet she wouldn’t tell Scootaloo about what she does fer a livin’.

“Oh yeah? Ya know, Ah think ya know my uncle. He asked me ta say Blood Orange says hi.” Her ears perked up at the name and she looked at me all wide eyed.

“Y-your uncle? Uh, I mean, y-yeah I know him. Uh, thanks, I guess. Are we at the park yet? We should hurry up, so we don’t miss anything...” Her eyes darted all around, then she retrieved her skateboard from her backpack and started ta roll down the sidewalk past Scootaloo and Applebloom. What was that about? Why would she be afraid of Uncle Orange? Or maybe… somepony associated with Uncle? Argent maybe? But he said they weren’t friends, so… hmm. Somethin’ ta think about fer sure. The girls started ta run after Rainbow, and once Ah was far enough behind, Ah did too. Ah made sure not ta run too fast because last time, Ah felt my hooves start ta dip inta the concrete. A good five minutes of runnin’, we finally made it ta the park, and the whole place was covered in decorations, rides, booths, and restaurants.

A mariachi band lined up on the outdoor stage composed of an accordion, two violins, three trumpets, two trombones, a percussion player, and a dancer played one piece after the next almost robotically without pause, dancin’ along with the dancer in her flowin’ red dress that spun and flew as she moved. The ponies around were sellin’ cotton candy, roasted corn with chili powder on top, tacos, taquitos, margaritas, tamales, among other thin’s from or associated with Caballo. Ponies were everywhere doin’ all manner of thin’s but once Ah saw the rides Ah figured-

“Ooh, let’s go ride the roller coaster first!” Applebloom exclaimed. Yep.

“Ah figured as much. You two up fer it?” Scootaloo nodded vigorously, and Rainbow sighed.

“Well, so much for avoiding that. At least I haven’t eaten anything today. Let’s just get this over with.” Okay, there is no way she isn’t the Crow, but this… this is about the opposite of what Ah expected from her personality.

“Rainbow, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to ride with us,” Scootaloo said. Rainbow rolled her eyes.

“You will never let it go if I don’t, so don’t you give me that crap.” The filly shrugged.

“Well. You’re not wrong. Come on, let’s go before a line builds up.” As we approached the bright green tangled mess of steel pipes, Ah heard Rainbow groan.

“That bad huh?” Ah asked.

“You don’t even know. I have chronic anemia, so I get sick and tired really easily. Trying to keep up with Scoots is a chore sometimes.” Ah just about scrunched my face thinkin’ of how one would get like that.

“You have AIDS or somethin’? Not ta be insensitive or anythin’.” She shook her head.

“Kinda. I have sickle cell. My body produces mostly malformed blood cells at about two thirds the normal rate, and I also happen to be O-, so getting transfusions is really hard. I was actually really lucky to come across Scoots because she shares blood type with me. In a way, she keeps me alive just by being around, so I take care of her in return. Oh no, we’re at the front of the line.” She said as she stared at the next set of ponies entering the Roller coaster train. There was noise all around as ponies had conglomerated behind us waitin’ ta ride the shootin’ metal contraption, but as she pointed out, we were next in line.

“Bah, this don’t look that fast. Fair rides are usually disappointin’ but Ah’d hoped this would be special since it’s the first Caballo day in two years,” Applebloom said, dismayed with the current speed of the roller coaster.

“Geez, talk about never satisfied. Nothing is good enough for you, is it?” Scootaloo asked. Applebloom rolled her eyes.

“No it isn’t. Ah need ta get better friends too, it seems.” She stuck her tongue out and Scootaloo laughed.

“Yeah, good luck with that, ya cunt. You couldn’t make friends even if you tried. It’s not like you made friends with me anyways. I made friends with your sorry ass out of pity.” Scootaloo wrapped a hoof around Applebloom’s neck and they both laughed as the next train came in. The passengers departed and the set of ponies were told ta board.

“Let’s sit in the back so Rainbow doesn’t make a mess. I made that mistake the first time we went to Equestria's Flags.” Scootaloo said as she shook her head and flicked her wings, “Never again.” Ah ended up next ta Rainbow at the back and Scootaloo and Applebloom sat just in front of us. Rainbow crossed her hooves and shook her head.

“I really hate these things. It’s never as fun as I remember flying and I always feel like I have no control.” The overhead harnesses started to come down and stopped after pressin’ inta each of our chests.

“Well, just look away from me if ya start ta feel sick. Ah’d prefer ta not have ta clean throw up outta my coat fer the rest of the day.”

“I already feel sick. If I just keep my eyes closed, I should be fine. I think.” She tilted her head ta the edge of the car and waited fer the inevitable jerk that would signal the beginnin’ of the ride. An all clear from the operator and the lightnin’ bolt painted coaster train began ta move. At first Ah thought it was gonna more tame than it actually was. The wheels were slow ta get us goin', but once we caught em, it was like we turned inta a bullet. It wasn’t the normal agonizin’ wait ta the big drop, this thin' had what amounted ta speed boosts all along its track which shot us up, down, left, right, and sideways. We had come ta the end of the assault of G-forces until finally it had slowed down and the train returned ta facin’ upright.

Ah don’t normally get dizzy with thin’s like this, especially considerin’ my line of work, but this was somethin’ else. The girls were both laughin’ and discussin various parts of the ride with each other, since they’re both speed demons when they want ta be, and Rainbow was bent over the side of the cart, not really movin’ much at all. She jerked up straight when the cart latched itself inta place fer the next set of passengers.

“Gah! I didn’t pass out!” she said as she took in all her surroundin’s. Her wing looked like it was about ta reach fer somethin’ at her side and there was a thin haze of red around the same spot. She looked at me, then the girls, and finally she relaxed. The haze evaporated and she put her wing away.

“I really need to learn how to say no. Scoots teasing me for a while versus passing out on a roller coaster, the choice should be clear. Let’s get the hell out of here.” The restraints raised back ta the up position, and Scootaloo and Applebloom wobbled out out the car. Ah just walked out bein’ used ta bein' thrown around and all, and Ah ended up helpin’ Rainbow get out too.

“Guys, we should get back in line! This coaster is the shit!” Scootaloo said. Rainbow pulled her feathers together and flicked one at the center of Scootaloo’s forehead. “Ow! Damn it!”

“Watch your mouth, there are kids around. And no, I will not be doing that again. Can’t we just go play games or something?” Scootaloo shook her head and Applebloom decided ta answer fer her.

“Ah don’t see why not. The coaster was fun, but Ah still wanna see all of the fair. The park is pretty huge after all, and just about everywhere up until the forest should have thin’s ta do.” Scootaloo shrugged.

“I guess. I still wanna second go around before we leave. Also, ‘Yes, mom.’” Rainbow grunted and rolled her eyes before headin’ toward the general area where food vendors stopped and arcade games started. We all followed her until we reached a large tent that had about a real arcade’s worth of games set up. Most of the booths outside were cheap carnival games that gave ya cheap knockoff prizes or cheap plushies of some ridiculous size that had no place ta be carried around, much like the big banana sittin' in Applebloom's room, but here were actual video games.

“Whew. Ah haven’t seen some of these games since Ah was a filly. Is that Marevel versus Comcap!? Ah haven’t seen that since Ah was seven!” One of the few remainin’ memories of bein’ a family with dad was playin’ Marevel versus Comcap with him and Macintosh and... somepony else. Ah always liked ta play the stallion in the white and red since he looked like Red Hooves back in the early days. Ah wasn’t very good at it, and Macintosh always smoked me with his Umanese mare that liked ta kick, but it was always fun. Ah feel like there was somepony else we played with, yet... Ah shook my head. Maybe Ah'm just goin' crazy. Ah went ta my saddlebag ta get some bits when Ah remembered all that Ah had on me.

“I could go for a round if you’re up for it. You got cash?” Rainbow asked. Scootaloo and Applebloom had already gone off ta play some racin’ game, somethin’ thunder or whatever and Ah was alone with Rainbow again.

“Uh… well, ya got change fer a black?” She reared her head back.

“A black? What do I look like, a money changer? How much are you carrying around?”

“More than Ah should be. Ya don’t see a changer around here do ya?” She shook her head.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll cover the games if you cover the food, deal?” Ah nodded and she went ta the lone token box and threw in some copper bits. She came back with about twenty tokens and off we went ta the Marevel cabinet. The game looked as Ah remembered it, all with pixel sprites of a buncha burly stallions and poorly clad mares, the gravely sound effects, the poor quality recorded voices in comparison ta now. A good bunch of memories back from when we lived in that house together came floodin’ back and Ah watched ‘em all until that day finally showed up.

“You okay?” Ah shook the memory away just as the buildin’ started ta fall, blinkin’ the tears away.

“Yeah. It’s just… nostalgic. Well, what are ya waitin’ fer? Pop a coin in and let’s get at it.” She shrugged and did exactly that. The choose your fighter screen came up and Ah immediately went fer my guy, and she went fer Captain Equestria.

“I’d say Scoots has just about forced me to ‘git gud’ at fighting games since I bought her that friggen Pony Station 4, so don’t be too surprised if I wipe the floor with you, alright?” Ah popped my neck at one side and back.

“Ya might remember that what ya do with Scootaloo is about the same as what Ah do with Applebloom when we hang out. Ah might be rusty, but that don’t mean Ah don’t know what Ah’m doin’ in a game like this.” Ah could feel a smile buildin’ on my face that mirrored the one she started ta form.

“Oh really? We’ll just see about that, now won’t we?” We both turned ta the screen as the stage and characters loaded.

“Get Ready, Fight!”

Well, that could have ended better. We ended up spendin’ almost two silver in total tryin’ ta one up each other in every other game at the arcade. Ah won half the fightin’ games, she won the other half the fightin’ games, and there were an even number of those, so we moved on ta the next cabinets and started racin’. Ah won half of those, she won the other half. Slaughterin’ zombies? Even. Killin’ demons in a carnival? Even. Even runnin’ through almost half of Bracer, the dark legacy, we still ended up havin’ the same stats by the time the girls forced us ta leave and go get food. As a final show of who was better at what, Ah made her play a punch meter which Ah ended up destroyin’ just ta prove a point. Ah may have let my competitive side get the best of me, and it probably wasn’t the smartest decision Ah made all day.

“Holy shit. Dude, what the fuck!?” Rainbow said, lookin' at me, then back ta the machine that had a hoof shaped imprint on what remained of the top half. It had mostly caved in on itself, and Ah only realized my mistake as Ah was throwin’ the punch. The glass shattered, the machine was destroyed, thankfully it was only my sister Rainbow and Scootaloo around, but they were all starin’ wide eyed at me in the evenin’ light.

“So… me saying she was strong earlier was probably an understatement at this point, huh?” Scootaloo noted.

“No shit Sherlock. Good goddess. Applejack, how long have ya been capable of this? Ya know normal ponies can’t do stuff like that, right?” Applebloom asked.

“Hey! What was that noise!?” We heard somepony yell in the distance.

“Now’s not the time, let’s go find a diner or somethin’!” We all ran away from the scene, leavin’ the smashed punch meter fer somepony else ta deal with. After a good ten minutes of runnin’ from the now closin’ fair, we made it ta a diner across the street on the east side of the park that was relatively empty. Most ponies who’d gone ta the park had their fill at the fair. We on the other hoof, spent all day playin’ arcade games immediately after a single roller coaster ride. It was a quiet place, looked like it’d been around fer a while what with it’s red and white decor and sparkly red vinyl chairs and booths. We found a booth and Ah sat on one side with Applebloom, and Rainbow and Scootaloo sat on the other.

“Alright, let’s have it. What was that? Rainbow asked, shortly after our order was taken.” Ah narrowed my eyes at her.

“Ah don’t know. Why don’t ya tell me what that red mist was earlier? When ya woke up from yer little blackout on the roller coaster, ya reached fer somethin’ at yer side like, Ah don’t know, a sword maybe, and the whole spot was covered in said red mist. Didn’t look natural ta me.” Rainbow closed her mouth and made the same face at me. There was silence until the girls spoke up.

“Uh… Rainbow? What is she talking about?” Scootaloo asked.

“Applejack, can’t ya just tell me the truth fer once in yer life? What was that?” Applebloom asked.

“Just drop it for/fer now, we’ll talk later.” Rainbow and Ah said in unison, not lookin’ away from each other. It seemed like the whole diner went silent at that point, only fer the spell ta be broken by some old music.

“Ah~ look at all the lonely ponies. Ah~ look at all the lonely ponies...” The food arrived from a waitress who could read the air and didn’t say a word. A hay burger for Applebloom and Ah, a carrot dog for Rainbow and Scootaloo, served with fries and a soda.

“Well, uh… man am I sore from running. Are you still sore from working out yesterday morning? My forelegs are killing me,” Scootaloo said. Applebloom’s ears perked up and she went wide eyed in the middle of a bite. She just about dropped her burger back on the plate.

“Holy shit, why would you say that!? Ah specifically told ya not ta say anythin’!” Scootaloo’s ears flattened and she cowered away a little.

“Oh, crap sorry.” She looked toward the window, casually munchin’ on a fry ta avoid Applebloom's death stare.

“Workin’ out? You’ve been workin’ out? Why?” Ah asked.

“Oh, fer fuck’s sake,” Applebloom said amid puttin’ her hooves ta her temples.

“What? What aren’t ya tellin’ me that ya didn’t want me ta know about?” Rainbow answered.

“Oh, you didn’t know? She, Scoots, and their other friend joined Junior Guard.” Ah almost thought there was a hint of sarcasm in that.

“Junior Guard? Wha- Why would ya do that? Yer not really thinkin’ about goin’ inta the military are ya?”

“Ah don’t know, maybe? Ah wanted ta try it out and Ah kinda like it. Who knows! Maybe Ah will.” She said it almost like she was bein' interrogated or somethin'.

“Well, Ah mean, Ah’d rather ya didn’t, but why exactly? Ya know there’s more ta that than just workin’ out all the time right?”

“Yeah, girls, military life sucks,” Rainbow followed.

“You're in fights constantly.”

“Your boss always yells at you and is usually an asshole.”

“Ya come home with new scars every day.”

“You’re bruised and tired all the time.”

“Ya don’t get the luxury of havin’ time off whenever ya want.”

“You can’t ever stop, even if you try to quit.”

“There’s the constant memory of the creatures ya watch die.”

“And there’s the blood. It never comes out of your uniform.”

“Speakin of, if yers gets damaged, ya have ta pay fer a new one, and that’s never cheap.”

“And the worst part,”

“More than anything else,”

“Is making/makin’ friends with ponies you’ll end up fighting/fightin’ later,” we said in unison. We looked at each other, then away from everypony.

“Ah... think it’s about time we went home,” Ah said.

“Yeah, me too. Come on Scootaloo. Thanks for the food, I uh… I’m sure I’ll see you… soon.” Rainbow made eyue contact with me once, then got up and headed fer the diner exit.

“I... have no idea what just happened here. Um, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow morning then?” Scootaloo said. Applebloom nodded.

“Uh, yeah. Bye Scoots.” Applebloom said. The waitress, sensin' the change, brought our check quietly, almost ta the point that Ah didn’t notice her as Ah watched them leave. The air in the diner had felt like a rubber band stretched ta the point where it was gonna break, and now it was easy ta breathe again. Ah let out a breath Ah didn’t know Ah’d been holdin’ and finished the remnants of the fries on my plate. Ah threw a black bit on the check and said,

“Ah’m ready ta pay,” before the waitress could move. She took the bit and returned with six and a half silver, but Ah just left the coppers on the table fer her. Goddess knows she thought Rainbow and Ah were gonna break out inta a fight. Applebloom and Ah left the diner in silence most of the way home. The sun had set over the city and the orange hue of evenin’ light had spread over all the windows in the city. Ah always loved ta look at the town like this. Every one of our skyscrapers was practically made of windows, so the yellow, orange, and red colors of the sun danced across ‘em like fire.

“So… ya know Ah haven’t forgotten right? Ah know a lot happened today, but… At least tell me somethin’. Ah don’t know what’s goin’ on with you and Rainbow, and Ah don’t know why either of ya would know so much about a life in the military when you’re not in it… unless ya are. Yer stronger than anypony should be, ya reacted ta Rainbow like yer used ta stuff like that happenin’, and it almost looked like ya were gonna fight with Rainbow fer real. Applejack, what’s goin’ on?” She ran around and stopped in front of me. Most ponies had gone home or relocated ta the bars and clubs by this time today, so the streets were particularly vacant at the moment.

“Applebloom, ya know how Ah said dad died twelve years ago? Well, it wasn’t in an accident or anythin’ like that. Yer father died when the trade center collapsed on his body.”

“What? What does that mean? Why would you know that?” Ah could tell she was beginnin’ ta connect dots.

“There was a stallion runnin’ around who called himself the Mirror. The Mirror killed a lot of heroes in the single week he was around, and in the end, he killed dad before he disappeared too.” The gears were turnin’ and it was pretty clear she didn’t like what she was hearin’.

“Applejack, what are ya sayin’? Yer not tellin’ me that dad was Red Hoof are ya?” Ah nodded. “What the? But… then… wait… that means, not just you, but we should all...” Ah nodded again.

“If ya know ya have one, and ya know what ya can do with it, then that’s fine. Use it ta yer advantage, but don’t take advantage of anypony else with it. Ah’m not in the military… sort of. But the reason Ah’m makin’ all this money now is because Ah have ties ta the royal family. Ah have a, quote unquote, ‘job,’ like what Ah did before, but it’s just about the same work with a better reward. There are thin’s Ah can’t tell ya fer other reasons, but fer now, just know that Ah’m my father’s daughter.” The gears in her head paused and she just looked at me.

“You’re… but… ya can’t be, right? There’s just… ya… Oh goddess, why did Ah ask? Ah shoulda left it alone. Ah shouldn’t know any of this, why did Ah ask… Then… at the tailor, ya dropped off yer ‘work clothes’ right?” Ah nodded.

“He made dad’s ‘work clothes’ too. Now, you’re not gonna say anythin’ about this ta anypony else right?” She nodded quietly and spent the rest of the trip processin’ everythin’ that Ah told her.

“So… Ah think Ah get it now. You’ve been doin’ this fer us right? All this time?” Ah nodded.

“If Ah’m self sufficient, that means Uncle Orange can spend money elsewhere.”

“Well… Ah’m sorry. Fer, bein’ so rude earlier. It can’t be easy… doin’ all that on yer own.” Ah shook my head.

“It isn’t. And up until a week ago, Ah didn’t have any friends either. But now there’s at least seven ponies who know the truth, includin’ yerself. That is, provided Rainbow isn’t who Ah think she is, but that’s just about impossible at this point. But don’t worry too much about that, and don’t ask her or Scootaloo about it either. As ya now know, some secrets are best left unsaid.” Ah turned the key ta the apartment, and we spent a quiet night at home with everypony, enjoyin' the cake Applebloom had made. After all, today was the anniversary of when we moved in, oh so long ago.

Harmony Mission III: Release... (part 1)

Applejack

“Goose, grab the new stuff!” Ah heard Twilight yell from the other end of the livin’ room. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, and Ah had all gathered. Today was Thursday the 5th, and it was 6 PM. In two hours, the ship on the list labeled Stannum would come inta port. If we don’t stop them from unloadin' it, chances are that more mirrors will end up in the city and who knows what will happen if they’re used. Either way, nothin’ good will come out of it. As soon as Twilight sat down in her chair, Goose blinked right next ta me and sorta cowered behind me.

“Oh thank the goddess, you’re back! These mares are insane! Using me as a literal punching bag, even if they’ve only managed to get me once, making me do house work, barely feeding me! they’re treating me like I’m some kind of-” he started.

“Prisoner? Because last Ah checked, ya are.” He shook his head.

“And here I thought we had an understanding. I’m disappointed in you, Apple bottom.” Ah turned around as quickly as possible and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

“Ah swear ta the goddess, Ah will end you if ya call me that again!” The poorly withheld gigglin’ behind me made my cheeks heat up and now Ah was mad at everypony. Ah threw Goose on the floor and angrily sat back down.

“I must say, you’re quite adorable when you blush like that, darling,” Rarity said. Ah turned and death stared her until she stopped movin’ like a rabbit in headlights.

“Okay, that’s enough everypony. Goose, do what I told you to and give everypony their new equipment,” Twilight said. Goose groaned, then blinked away. Twilight, satisfied with that, lit up her horn and made a 3D map of the harbor on the main table.

“Alright, now that we’re all here, let me begin the briefing. After suffering through dialogue with Mother and Luna, I finally have all the information we were missing. As Goose said, there was a list of ships recovered by the Lunar Guard a few days ago and the ship highlighted and labeled ‘Stannum’ arrives at 8 PM tonight. Intel from deeper interconnected Argent HQ moles have gathered rumors from the local staff that mentions a new set of ‘vanities’ will be arriving on Friday. This code word was caught around the same time the first ship was captured by Goose and his gang so it’s safe to assume this is how they refer to the mirrors within Argent Tower.

This just about confirms our suspicions about the next ship, and we will be there to stop the mirrors from entering the city. Luna was obstinate about not giving anypony the information she was hiding, even Mother, so we still don’t know what she knows about this. She did however, offer us new equipment in return that we allow her to tell us what she knows when she feels it necessary. I suspect that she has suspicions that haven’t been confirmed and the problem isn’t yet big enough for her to act on suspicion alone which, in her defense, is fair.” Goose blinked next ta Twilight with forelegs full of stuff that he just about dropped in a pile on the table.

“Thank you,” she said politely.

“Sure, princess slave driver,” he shot back with an eye roll. Twilight ignored the comment and began levitatin’ gear toward everypony. Ta Rarity went a baton with several gems like the one on my cable bracer in it and some kinda harness lookin’ thin’. Ta me, new cable bracers, these ones bein’ much thicker and actually had a little heft ta ‘em. Ta the red gemmed seat that Goose had taken residence in, somethin’ that looked like lunar guard armor mixed with a hero suit, and a harness like Rarity’s. Ta Fluttershy, a new huge gun that she looked just about ecstatic about, and a harness. Ta Pinkie, a set of knives that had some kinda violet glow around the blade and the same gems that my bracers and Rarity’s batons had.

“Aunt Luna said that she had been preparing these for us anyways on account of our work for her and decided to just give them to us for field testing. Oh, and she also said to thank you, Applejack, for the idea on the cable harnesses. Apparently, the cable bracers that you have were the last pair made since testing on the cable harnesses went so much better. The cable harnesses, in case you haven’t seen Applejack use her bracers, have little blades connected to long cables that extend until they hit something and immediately retract afterward, pulling you or whatever you hit to the base of cable’s barrel. On the harnesses, this is located at the hips, so you’ll have to practice using them, but since we don’t have the time for that, just figure it out as you go.” Goose had raised his hoof like he was tryin’ ta get the teacher’s attention, and while a little confused, Twilight called on him. “Y-yes Goose?”

“Uh, why do I have this?” Ah was wonderin’ the same thin’ too, really.

“Oh. Aunt Luna believes that since you have the brand, you will be deployed on missions as well. She had a set of guard armor tailored to your approximate size and a harness made for you. This way, you can save the teleporting until we desperately need it, and we can have you fight alongside us, effectively adding a sixth member to the team. As you know, we’re not really concerned about your past as long as you help us out.” Goose and Pinkie frowned.

“Really? We’re just gonna use him, just like that?” Pinkie argued. Twilight nodded.

“We don’t have much of a choice in the matter. He’s just about as combat experienced as Applejack, and we’re not really up against normal ponies anymore. Or normal power ponies for that matter. Having essentially another Marevelous on our team should really make things easier on everypony.” Well, Ah can’t really argue with that. As much as he’s an ass, he is good in a fight. He’s strong, and not really a bad guy either. Pinkie groaned and picked up one of her knives.

“Fine, whatever. Tell me what this thing does? I know it’s not normal. Because apparently, ‘normal’ isn’t cutting it anymore.” Twilight simply nodded.

“The knives are enchanted with three different settings. When you press any of the three crystals at the bottom of the hilt, the corresponding enchantment will activate and give the weapon a new property. Red will cover it in flame, blue will electrify it, effectively making it a taser, and green will coat the blade in a lethal poison. She said not to even use the green button unless it’s absolutely necessary to kill your target. If you accidentally cut yourself with it, you’ll have about ten minutes to administer the antidote hidden in the base of each blade before you die.” Pinkie quickly let the knife drop back on the table and Twilight turned to Fluttershy.

“Much like Pinkie’s knives, your new gun has similar settings but they change the power output that the rifle fires with. The white gem is for nearby targets, within forty meters, the pink gem triples that range to one hundred and twenty meters, and the red gem will extend your range to three hundred meters. She said that while the red gem is on, even rubber bullets will kill a target under within one hundred twenty meters, so be careful about that.” Fluttershy’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“S-so wait, the g-gun does this?”

“Specifically, the gun will add an additional explosion to the chamber when igniting the primer on whatever bullet you’re firing. If you put a rock that fit in the chamber and just used the gun to fire it, it would go about half the distance of whatever gem you’re using, white being the default setting. She said this was part of another thought to make reusable bullets, but finding a less expensive substance to react with the spell properly would take more time that it's worth, so this gun is likely the only one to ever be produced.” Fluttershy stared wide eyed at the large gun in her hooves, and Twilight moved on ta Rarity.

“Your baton has similar properties to Pinkie’s knives, but in this case it changes what kind of weapon it is. Like Pinkie’s knives, the blue gem will electrify whatever state you have the weapon in. the violet gem will change the baton into a sword, and the maroon gem will turn into a thin spear, much like a javelin. Oh, and this is for everypony, pressing your gem again while active will revert your weapons to their normal state.” Twilight explained. Rarity picked up the baton with her magic, and pressed each gem. With the blue one, the thin' came ta life covered in pale blue lightnin’ that swirled around the weapon from the top of the hilt ta the top of the weapon. She pressed the violet one, and the thin’ morphed inta a long sword without really lookin’ like it lost mass. She then pressed the black one, and the whole thin’ stretched out until it was about as tall as she was on her hind legs, still swirlin’ with lightnin’ from one point ta the next, save fer the hilt which was now in the middle. She pressed the maroon button again, and it reverted back ta the silvery baton it was before.

“Oh my. Well, this certainly would have been helpful during the fight with the Crow,” she said, still marvelin’ at the weapon. Twilight sighed.

“And it may yet be. Some of the rumors from Argent tower talked about her. The moles believe that she may be there waiting for the ship to arrive as an extra measure of security. If she is then… you may end up testing your new weapons on her.” Ah shook my head and stood from my chair.

“No ya won’t. Listen here y’all. If we run inta the Crow, you're not ta interfere. She and Ah have somethin’ ta settle and we cannot kill her.” The others started talkin’ ta each other about why Ah would say that until Goose finally asked.

“So, I get that you’re Marevelous, and your whole thing is that you’re the good guy but… why? If we take her out, then she won’t be a problem anymore, especially if she straight up works for Argent.” Twilight nodded.

“You know, I said something similar when I first heard that Applejack let her go during the foundry incident. What’s the deal?” Ah shook my head.

“Ah can’t say. Look, Ah need y’all ta trust me on this, we just can’t hurt her. There’s too much at stake if we do.” If she dies, Scootaloo goes back ta wherever she came from, or worse, the street, and if anythin’ that Luna said ta me was true, she’ll be a friend one day. If we kill her… Ah just can’t help but feel we’ll be doomin’ ourselves in the future. Twilight frowned.

“You can’t seriously expect us to just take your word for it without telling us anything, can you? We’re a team after all, why can’t you just tell us?” Ah shook my head again.

“Ah need yer trust. Ah know Ah’m askin’ a lot here, but just do exactly that fer me. There are other factors at play.” If she finds out about Scootaloo and tells Luna… that poor filly might end up a hostage and cause a real fight ta break out with the Crow. She won’t go down without a fight, and if she’s cornered… who knows what she’ll do? She could have a mirror sittin’ around fer an emergency, and Scootaloo gettin’ captured? Well, if it were me and Applebloom… that would be an emergency…

“Look, Twilight darling, I can tell she’s serious about this. I trust Applejack, so I’m going to vouch for her here. Besides, while Applejack deals with the Crow, alone, we can infiltrate the ship. If things get desperate, I can freeze time and Goose could get her out of danger.” Ah raised a hoof but shut my mouth and put it back down. The thought of him rescuin’ me makes my blood cold.

“I suppose that has some merit to it. Very well, as long as you don’t leave Rarity’s range, we can let you handle this.” Goose put a hoof to his chin and smiled at me.

“Don’t you worry baby, if the time comes, I’ll be your Super Hero.” Ah could just feel the itch ta punch him in his perfect shark teeth growin’ in my stomach. Twilight made a face that just about looked like she was gonna gag, but resumed without acknowledgin’ that.

“Anyways… The mission this time is to retrieve the mirrors. It sounds simple, but based on what we know about the first ship, there may be planted explosives within the cargo, and we’ll have to check every container. I’ll be sending a device with Pinkie that makes a sonic reconstruction of the interior of whatever it is attached to, so we can easily figure out what’s in what. It’s set to change frequency if it detects magic or explosives, so we’ll know what container has what. If you are found out, attempt to show mercy and do not kill if at all possible. We do not need another pirate ship fiasco.” She stared directly at Fluttershy, who in turn rolled her eyes.

“T-that wasn’t my fault and you know it.” Twilight shrugged.

“Complaints aside, it’s already seven and you need to be at the harbor fifteen minutes before the ship arrives. Use the cable harnesses to get to your location and you should be there in about fifteen minutes… provided you get the hang of it fast enough. That being said… Harmony, Move out!”

After the five of us had equipped our gear and put our suits on, we looked like a bunch of weird ponies travelin’ in a group that didn’t quite fit. My new suit as Star promised, ended up lookin’ more like the original Red Hoof suit but reversed, all the yellow Ah used ta have on it now white, with some kinda white section runnin down the middle. While Ah was thankful that he’d replaced the old one, Ah probably should’ve asked him ta make it a darker set of colors, because now Ah stuck out in the night worse than Rarity did without her suit on. Goose on the other hoof… looked kinda intimidatin’ in that armor.

He was wearin’ a dark suit that covered his entire body like mine, and he was featureless in it save fer the lenses over his eyes so he could see. The Armor was almost identical ta the Lunar Guard’s set with big plates along his sides and chest that almost completely covered his upper and lower body. The helmet that went with it took away what little ya could see of his face, makin’ him damn near invisible in the night along with any indication of what he was gonna do next.

All of ‘em however, were strugglin’ with their harnesses due ta how tight around the hind quarters they were. They could still move around well enough, it was just the pressure on certain areas that made them uncomfortable ta wear. We moved ta the more remote side of southern Manehattan away from the park and Ah showed them how ta use their new equipment. After about ten minutes of crashin’ inta walls, everypony eventually got the hang of ‘em. We made our way toward the harbor, but this time, we had the sense ta stop and survey the area first. There were a few ponies about and a few boats were docked in various places, like there should've been last time, but there was just about nopony anywhere near either of the Argent docks.

“What do y’all think about this?” Ah asked everypony.

“Well, I for one, think this is sketchy as all hell. There were at least a few Argent ponies around when we nabbed the first ship. This… this is weird,” Goose said.

“As much as I hate to say this, I agree with him. There should at least be somepony to guide the ship into port,” Blur followed.

“W-well, couldn’t it just be anypony? W-what if they’re not even using the s-same dock anymore? I-it's still damaged from last time,” Target added.

“Hmm… that’s a good point. These two docks look like they haven’t been repaired yet. He could have rented one of the other ones just for this,” Diamond finished. Ah thought about it all and formulated what ta do next.

“Alright then, spread out and watch every dock. Goose, you and Blur head ta the far end since y'all can move the quickest if we need ya back in a hurry.”

“Yes ma’am,” they both said, Blur almost like it was a complaint, then each blinked and shot off respectively ta the opposite side of the port further out in the water.

“Target Lock, take a high point and make sure ya can see the whole port from where ever it is ya go. If ya can get a cloud in place, do that, otherwise just do what ya can. If ya see anythin’ strange, let me know, and Ah’ll relay it ta the others.” Target nodded and flew up inta the twilight sky until she found a nearby buildin’ at about the center of the harbor that overlooked it and landed.

“And what would you like me to do?” Diamond asked.

“Stay near enough ta me that ya can freeze time if Ah call. Ah get the feelin’ that the Crow will show up before the ship does, and if that happens, y’all need ta get together and clear out the harbor. Ah can’t promise this won’t get ugly. Take over if she and Ah start fightin’. They’ll need somepony ta give directions, and Ah’ll need all my focus ta deal with the Crow.” Diamond frowned, but sighed in response.

“I suppose. Look, I don’t know why you’re so adamant on taking the Crow on by yourself. Why exactly? I promise I won’t say anything to the others, but at least tell me what’s going on.” If anypony, Ah could trust her with this since she knows Scootaloo.

“Ya promise ya won’t say anythin’?” She nodded and we both moved a few buildin’s over toward the near end of the harbor. “Do ya know who takes care of Scootaloo?” Diamond got a confused look on her face.

“Scootaloo? You mean the girl’s friend? The disabled pegasus?” Ah nodded. “No, but I do believe Sweetie has mentioned her before. Her name is Rainbow Dash I think.” Ah nodded again.

“Well, Ah met her Tuesday. Tell me, what do ya remember that was interestin’ about the Crow?” She tapped a hoof ta her mouth in thought.

“I suppose I thought it was odd that she only used one wing and that she held her sword with it. That and it was cyan. You don’t typically find such a bright blue green like that on anypony. Why?” Diamond asked.

“Well, Scootaloo’s guardian also just so happens ta be a crippled cyan pegasus with one wing. She works just ta give that filly a good life, and after a roller coaster ride that she passed out on, Ah saw Rainbow use her one wing ta reach fer her side while a blood red mist was swirlin’ around in a long curved shape. Without a doubt in my mind, Rainbow Dash is the Crow. Now, if Twilight just so happened ta mention ta her aunt somethin’ about this, what do ya think would happen ta that little filly she takes care of?” Diamond’s eyes went wide and she covered her mouth.

“Everything could go wrong all at once...” Ah nodded.

“If nothin’ else but fer our sister’s friend, we cannot kill or disable the Crow. At the same time, we can't let Luna find out either. If thin’s go the wrong way too fast, we could end up with some kinda monster that can spew toxic blood everywhere. The worst thin’ we could do is let Luna know.” Diamond looked down ta take in my words, but suddenly her head snapped ta a spot that she stared at.

“Speak of the devil and she shall appear...” Ah followed her line of sight, and out of an alley closer ta the third dock at the near end of the harbor, the black feathered figure started ta walk. She was accompanied by one other pony who looked like a dock worker and they both stopped near the water.

“Twilight, what time is it?” Ah asked.

“Seven forty-five exactly. What happened?”

“The Crow just showed up with a dock worker at the third dock. Let everypony know and tell ‘em ta get the civilians out. Ah’m gonna engage.”

“Wait, now!? shouldn’t you wait for everypony? The ship hasn’t even arrived yet!”

“Goose can teleport a group. Speakin’ of we need a code name fer him. That aside, when the ship docks, just have him take Blur and Target ta run the checks and Diamond can manage the ponies tryin’ ta leave the ship.” Without waitin’ fer any further response from her, Ah jumped from rooftop ta rooftop until Ah was at the harbor’s edge. Ah jumped off the buildin’ Ah was on and landed just a few meters away from the Crow. She turned around ta face me and used her wing ta motion fer the worker ta back away.

“Hey there. Long time no see,” she said in her young-ish raspy voice. Ah nodded.

“Same ta y’all. Ah was hopin’ this wouldn’t happen, but… we already knew it would in the diner, didn’t we?” She nodded in return.

“We did.” She took in a deep breath and drew her sword. “I’m not gonna hold back this time, and you better not either! You might have beaten me in a pure strength contest, but I’ll be damned if I lose to you in a fight!” The red liquid flared ta life around her frame and formed a pair of movin’ wings just above her back. Ah stood on my hind legs and got in a stance ready ta fight back.

“And Ah’ll be sure as hell ta clean yer clock first!” And just like that, the fight started.

Applebloom

“So, Ah’m still a little lost, where are we goin’ exactly?” Ah asked behind Taps as we passed central park.

“I told you once already, we’re going to Carcha,” he said. Ah shook my head once he was lookin’ at me.

“Ah know that, but like, where is it? Ah thought it was by the harbor, so why are we at the park?” He'd gotten ahead of me while Ah was lookin' around, so Ah caught up ta him real quick. Taps wasn’t real big, and Ah was a good bit taller and bulkier than he was. If we’re bein’ honest here, Ah look more like the guy in this relationship, save fer my giant bright pink bow. His cheeks went red and turned away.

“I… only know one way to get there.” My face deadpanned.

“Really? That’s it? Ya coulda just told me where it was and Ah coulda gotten us there. As much as Scoots, Sweetie, and Ah screw around town, we know just about the whole city by the back of our hooves.” Taps sighed.

“I know, I just… wanted to look like I knew what I was doing.” He paused fer a moment and looked me up and down. “I don’t get it. How are you so confident all the time? You just, you know, do whatever you want to. Don’t you worry about things? Like what other ponies think? I always feel like everypony expects something of me that I’m not capable of delivering.” Ah wrapped a hoof around his neck and pulled him in.

“Look Taps, ya gotta learn how ta stop givin’ a shit. Ya see those mares in the park? Who gives a damn what they think! And fer that matter, you’re probably the furthest thin’ from their minds anyways. Same goes fer everypony at school. Fuck ‘em.” He laughed and shook his head.

“You know, you’d probably get put in jail if you did that.” Ah hit him up side the head and let go.

“Ya knew what Ah meant. Quit mopin’ ya pussy.” He laughed and rubbed at the back of his head.

“Yep, mom was right. You are definitely something else.” Ah shrugged.

“Maybe Ah am.” My thoughts went back ta Tuesday and then ta the feelin’ like Ah knew just how many ponies were around us right now. Maybe Ah really am… As we turned the corner toward the south eastern side past the park, a coulda swore Ah felt Applejack and Rarity pass through my radius. Ah picked my head up and listened carefully fer anythin’ outta the ordinary. It was probably closer ta 7:30 PM, so there was a good bit of traffic around the southern shoppin’ district right now, but if ya’ve lived in Manehattan long enough, ya get real good at tunin’ out certain sounds. Fer just a second, Ah felt ‘em pass again, this time accompanied by the sound of… wire? It was real quiet, but loud enough that Ah could pick it up.

“Taps, where exactly is this place? Ah bet we could get there faster if we cut through some alleyways.” Ah asked, a little more concerned what Rarity and my sister would be doin’ together all the way out here. He frowned at me.

“Really? You want to go through alleyways in the south district?” He asked. Ah rolled my eyes.

“Ah don’t see why not. Didn’t ya see the post on Ponnit? The boneheads disbanded a little while ago, so there shouldn’t be any gangs around here right now. Just tell me where the damn store is.” Ah was quickly gettin’ frustrated with him because they were movin' fast. Ah don’t know where they were goin’, but they were headed there in a damn hurry. It didn’t make sense that they could move that fast between buildin’s, and Ah know Applejack didn’t have her bike yet, so…

“Fine,” Taps sighed, “it’s on the corner of 540th and 541st. It’s like, a couple blocks from Manehattan port, but this is the way mom always takes me.” With that said, Ah grabbed him and just about dragged him along as Ah ran after Applejack’s signal. Come on, Ah’ve got ta catch up with her somehow…

“H-hey! Why are you running!? The store doesn’t close until ten, we have plenty of time to-” Ah got tired of him not bein’ fast enough and threw him on my back. He was about at light as Scootaloo is, and Ah could literally bench her. Ta be fair though, she’s a mare and a pegasus, weighing her in at about one hundred or so pounds. Taps… should probably weigh more than he does. Ah forced him ta grip around my neck and then with all my hooves free, Ah ran as fast as Ah could toward our destination. As Ah did, Applejack and Rarity popped in and out of my radius several times before they just suddenly disappeared. Ah tried ta get a feel fer her again, but Ah just couldn’t get anythin’. It was like they popped out of existence. Ah would have kept goin’, but Ah’d accidentally reached our destination.

“Um… can I get down now?” said the embarrassed voice from my back. Ah felt a certain shape and warmth on my haunches and realized how this might look without context.

“Oh! Uh… yeah, go ahead and do that...” Ah said feelin’ a bit of the embarrassment myself. He clambered ta the ground as quick as he could and combed back his violet mane ta look respectable again.

“You know uh… usually the stallion asks to ride the mare.” Ah sat down on the concrete and rubbed my temples with my hooves.

“And just like that, even if we ever do get that far, you will never get the chance.” He laughed which made me laugh, and after that stopped, Ah finally took a look at my surroundin’s. 541st was just about the closest street ta the water, goin’ almost all the way from the harbor ta the edge of Manehattan, about fifty miles north of here. Ta the left facin’ the water in the evenin’ twilight sky in some kinda pearly white marble was a fancy lookin’ store that had the name ‘Carcha’ written in gold serif letterin’ on it. Maybe a couple blocks down was the entrance ta the harbor and the few buildin’s that were built onta it. A big clock inside the display windows of the store, also with gold serif on white marble, had it’s hands pointin’ at just before eight and nine, makin’ it seven forty-five.

“Well. It might have been a weird way to get here, but we made good time, that’s for sure.” Ah barely registered that he said anythin’ though because Ah was still tryin’ ta find Applejack and Rarity. There were a few ponies nearby, but fer the most part, they were either in apartments, stores on the waterfront, or just outside of stores on the waterfront. In total there were about thirty within my range, includin’ Taps, but Ah knew him so Ah could tell him apart from everypony else, just like Ah could Applejack and Rarity. Neither of the two were here.

“Damn it...” Ah said absentmindedly. Taps got a confused and concerned look on his face.

“Wha…? Why? Applebloom, is there something wrong?” Ah shook my head and muted my ability fer now ta finally address him.

“Oh, it’s… nothin’. Ah just thought Ah saw one of the heroes.” Which isn’t exactly untrue. “This is the place right? Why don’t we go in?”

“Oh, right. You’re really into them, yeah? You’ve talked about them before, uh… you said your favorite was Marevelous Red right?” Ah know that she isn’t around, but the sheer fact that she could find out those words came outta my mouth made my blood cold. Ah’d never live it down.

“Yeah, sure, whatever, let’s go inside. Now.” Ah just about pushed him inside Carcha as the glass doors slid away when we came near. The store itself was somethin’ of a sight ta behold. Ah’ve never seen so much pretty white marble in Manehattan all in one place before. It’s like the entire room was lined with the stuff. The walls were covered in clothes that Ah’d seen Taps and some of the other highly wealthy families in, a few outfits that Ah’d actually seen Tiara wear around and even some that Rarity had last time Ah was over there. Dresses, shirts, pants, shoes, everythin’ looked expensive and like it were made fer somepony who could spit and make money off it. But that was just the front of the store.

As we traveled back ta where Taps was leadin’ me there was even more stuff in the veritable gold mine of what was probably actually gold. Books written by famous ponies and famous books in rare print or edition, watches, rings, and every kind of jewelery ya could think of. Even then, our destination was the back of the shop which was a coffee bar that smelled amazin’. It was somehow less bright over here where the tables and chairs were, even with all the white and gold on the floors and the walls, but Ah suppose the black ceilin’ will do that with the right lightin’. We took a seat at a table and Taps was then approached by a waitress and greeted by name.

“Good evening mister Taps. What is it you would like today? Ooh, I see you’ve brought a friend this time. The usual then?” The white coated, blonde mane and tailed waitress asked.

“Yes please,” he said before lettin’ her pass me a menu.

“Very well then, I’ll be out with that shortly.” And off ta the bar she went.

“Thanks Soprano.” There were finally enough questions in my brain directed toward Taps ta take my attention away from Applejack.

“So uh… there somethin’ ya wanna tell me?” Ah asked, relaxin’ in one of the ridiculously comfy black leather chairs that dotted this side of Carcha. All in all, this was a pretty cool place. Ah could see myself hangin’ out here… if Ah could even pretend that Ah could afford any of the shit in here. There was no way that a marble faced waterfront store covered in gold had anythin’ affordable in it. Ah know that he knows that Ah’m poor, so Ah bet he had planned ta pay fer whatever the whole time. We weren’t the only ponies in the coffee bar section, and everypony else here looked like they belonged in the northern part of Manehattan near the university. Ya know, where all the mansion-esque apartments and expensive hotels were located. He wouldn’t meet me eye to eye.

“Well… not really, but my family kinda owns most of the performance venues in this city.” It took a moment ta process that, but if that’s true, that means he’s part of the Carneigh family.

“… Really?” It was at that time the waitress had returned with two almost plastic lookin’ slices of cake, they were so perfect, and a couple of cups of coffee that smelled like the rest of the buildin’; absolutely delicious.

“Here you are mister Taps and his friend. What is your name miss?” The question just about blindsided me because the thought that Ah was hangin’ out with somepony from one of the richest families in Manehattan was strugglin’ ta make it across ta reality.

“Uh… Applebloom.” She put a hoof ta her mouth.

“Oh, one of the Apple clan? I hear Sweet Apple acres is more productive this year than it’s ever been.” Ah shook my head and stopped her before she could continue.

“No! Um… no, Ah’m uh… not. One of them. Ah’m just… related,” Ah said, far louder and angrier than Ah should have at first. She looked confused, but shrugged my outburst off.

“I see. Well, I hope you two enjoy your evening.” Then she wandered over to another table to greet one of the other guests.

“So uh… is there something you want to tell me?" He copied my tone from earlier, and Ah couldn't help but roll my eyes.

“No, really there isn’t. Let’s just ignore that fer now, you’re a Carneigh?” Ah changed the subject as fast as Ah could. The last thin’ Ah wanted ta do right now was talk about my family. With everythin’ that’s happened in the past few days, Ah still don’t know how ta feel about all this. Yer sister is one of the biggest super heroes in the city. She’s the Marevelous Red. Yer father was the Red Hoof, the biggest hero ta ever grace the planet. Within' just yer immediate family, just because of a damn blood feud, yer father died a super hero at thirty four and there’s a good chance yer sister will die young too.

“Applebloom?” Ah shook the thoughts away and brought my attention back from the corner of the floor my eyes were focused on.

“Oh, yeah?” He tilted his head, lookin’ a little ashamed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. A lot of the ponies I know who have the kind of money my parents have are assholes and I didn’t want anypony to think I was like them just because of my status.” He must have said more while Ah was lost in my own thoughts.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. My real question is why aren’t ya in a private school or somethin’? Surely money isn’t an object if you’re part of the Carneighs. Why go ta a public school?” Taps started ta sip on his coffee.

“Well… Rich kids have a lot of time and money on their hooves, and teenagers like to play with things they shouldn’t. At my old school, which was private, I was just about pulled into a drug ring because some of my so called ‘friends’ got caught trying to sell speed. The ponies who caught them weren’t the police either. I managed to get away, but the others attempted to integrate themselves in the gang that caught them, a few of them were successful. I eventually told my parents about it and this was their solution. The ponies at North Manehattan aren’t too bad off, but none of them are rich and dumb enough to try and pawn off meth on the streets.” Ah nodded my head.

“Well, that sounds reasonable. So what about yer name? Ah figure it’s gotta be Carneigh somewhere.” He took a bite out of his cake and responded after he swallowed.

“It is. Tender Taps was a nickname given to me after I got my dancing cutiemark. My real name is Performance Carneigh. I go by my nickname to avoid association at school. I’d prefer ponies know me as I am rather than for my namesake you know?” Ah nodded again.

“Ah know that feelin’. Ah’m Bloom Apple. If there’s one household name across the damn country, it’s the Apple family name. What’s worse is, my siblin’s and Ah hate our extended family, and we’re one of the remainin’ direct descendants of Johnny Apple who founded Sweet Apple Acres centuries ago. If Ah had the money, Ah could get a blood test done and hire a lawyer ta take the farm right outta their damn hooves! But… Ah’m not old enough ta own property, and we’re so poor, just gettin’ through college is a challenge fer Applejack and Macintosh. Plus, Ah don’t know anythin’ about runnin’ an orchard, even if it might come natural ta me. Most ponies Ah talk ta immediately think Ah’m one of them and really, that just pisses me off. Ah, uh… don’t have the cleanest behavioral record at school ya know?” Ah let out a nervous laugh thinkin' about all the fights Ah've been in. Ah quickly shoveled cake in my mouth ta avoid openin’ it again.

The cake itself was a fantastic, some kinda coffee flavored chocolate and vanilla, almost cream like stuff over white bread-like cookies. Ah think they call this tiramisu, and it’s a Cavallian, but Ah don’t actually know. Macintosh used ta cook the most thanks ta all the food jobs he’s had, so he knows a lot about it, but these days everypony fends fer themselves. At one point Applejack made meals fer everypony when she had the time before jobs, but the minute we had ta throw out food she stopped.

“Well, I think I’ve seen you fight more than once if I remember correctly. You got in an argument with one of the hoofball dickheads and ended up kicking his ass last semester didn’t you?” Ah could feel my ears droop. He was a dick, but the thin’s Ah did ta him borderlined cruel. Well, if one thin’s fer sure, that guy is outta the gene pool. They almost kicked me out on account of violence, but Uncle Blood managed ta convince them otherwise. It was the advice he gave me about it that really stuck with me that day.

“If you ever get into a fight, make sure nopony can see you do it. He probably deserved to get punched in the face, not saying you didn’t take it too far, but that’s not the point. As long as it’s your word against theirs, they can’t prove much. Besides. If it’s somepony like him, he’d never admit that a mare kicked his ass.” Put him in a new light fer me that day. Ah didn’t really know dad since he died when I was four, but somehow, Ah think Ah woulda gotten somethin’ similar if he were still around. They were brothers after all. And yer dad was a super hero. He didn’t have any qualms about beatin’ the shit outta ponies.

“Well… Ah might’ve done somethin’ like that before...” Reluctance found it's was inta my voice and Ah took another bite. Ah took a look around the room ta avoid lookin’ him in the eye and Ah settled on another one of those fancy marble faced clocks. The hands pointed at eight fer the hour and two fer the minute. Eight ten huh? Just then, a loud crash was heard outside the storefront. Nearly everypony in the cafe turned ta look at the direction it had come from, but we were too far inside. Ah got up from my chair and made my way out the store ta see what was up. Ah made it outside and met up with Soprano, who’d come ta check before Ah did.

“Shit, that hurt,” said a stallion in a suit that was dark as night and armor that made him look like he was part of the Lunar guard. He was in a crater that was about ‘him’ sized and he got up ta rub at the space where his helmet and armor didn’t meet on his neck.

“A-are you okay?” Soprano asked. The stallion turned ta look at her and came in and gave her a hug.

“Soapy! Long time no see! How’s the shop? Actually, don’t answer that. My boss is yelling at me and I have to get back to work.” She just about pushed him off.

“Lamni!? Where have you been!? Everypony thought you got arrested! What are you doing in... all this!?” Soprano gestured at the suit and armor the stallion was wearing. before he could answer, everypony turned when the sound of some horrid monster’s cry shook the air. Over on the visible side of the port, there was some kind of giant green tentacled cthulhu lookin' thin' destroyin’ thin’s as it was swattin’ at flies or somethin'.

“I’m gonna have to go, but it was nice to see you again. Don’t tell anypony I talked to you. Oh, and you should probably evacuate the store. There’s a low chance of this, but we might not be able to deal with that thing over there. Loyal customers and dead customers don’t mix well, ya know? Whoops, sorry, my boss is really getting on my ass now, and between you and me, I’d like to get on hers, so if you’ll excuse me...” It looked like he was about ta do… somethin’, but Ah managed ta catch him before he did.

“Wait! Are y’all with Marevelous!?” His helmet turned and nodded, then he just popped. Like, there was never a pony here. Gone, disappeared inta thin air. Applejack is over there. She’s fightin’ that thin’ with the black armored guy. A knight maybe? But wait… if she was over there, and she was with Rarity, does that mean…? Ah have ta know. More ponies had exited Carcha ta see what all the fuss was about and they were all stopped just about dead in their hooves when they looked at the sea monster. Soprano was the first ta move.

“Everypony, a kaiju has appeared in the harbor. An, um… Black Knight, yes, a Black Knight has asked us to evacuate while he battles the monster! Please head deeper into the city or move to somewhere safe beyond the south eastern area!” They reached a consensus and all started ta head the opposite direction, but Ah was determined ta find out just who all was over there fightin’ that thin’. Ah started ta head ta the harbor after the crowd moved through an alley when Ah felt a hoof on my shoulder.

“Applebloom, what are you doing? We need to get away while the supers deal with that... thing,” Taps said. Ah shook my head.

“Look, there’s some serious shit happenin’ right now and Ah need ta see it. Ah’ll be fine on my own. Don’t follow me!” Ah easily removed his grip on my shoulder and ran down 541st. When Ah’d gotten far enough away and didn’t see him come after, Ah galloped as fast as Ah could and made my way ta the harbor. When Ah was about half way there, that’s when Ah felt the knight guy and Applejack in my radius again. It really is her… No! That isn’t enough, Ah have ta see her! She… she just can’t be Marevelous, she just can’t! If she is… oh goddess, what would we do without her? What would Ah do without her? She can’t end up like dad, she just can’t!

As Ah got closer, Rarity came inta my radius and so did Rainbow. All three of them!? There’s no way! That just doesn’t make any sense! Isn’t it one in three? The odds don’t match, this can’t be right! As Ah neared the tail end of the harbor, Ah finally saw the ponies at work. The one in the red and white suit, whom Ah knew was Applejack, was Marevelous and currently in the world’s most dangerous game of whack-a-mole with that sea monster… pony? It looked distinctly like a pony, yet at the same time, it looked like some kinda kraken out of Alogo’s dangerous seas. Ah looked around and tried ta match up everypony with what Ah knew. Ah felt one that was far up above me and watched rounds that just about glowed in the night as they impacted with the sea monster that barely noticed them when they hit. Ah couldn’t see the pony doin’ it, but the fact that there was a lone cloud in the sky told me it was a pegasus.

Zippin’ around the thin’ was whom Ah identified as Rainbow in some kinda black feathery suit flyin’ on red wings that ebbed and flowed like water… blood maybe? She kept makin’ cuts with the red sword in her lone wing and the sea monster seemed ta take notice of that and it was swingin’ some of it’s huge tentacles at her too. The Black Knight guy was doin' the same thin’ as Applejack was, but he kept poppin’ from place ta place tryin' ta hit the thin’ in the eyes. Ah could feel Rarity was nearby, but Ah think she was gettin’ ponies from around the area away from the area. There was a cargo ship that had been mangled ta death and thrown on the port so likely chances are it was the crew.

Ah watched as the team of ponies attempted in vain ta damage the sea monster and eventually, they regrouped while dodgin’ tentacles from the monster, the pegasus from above comin’ down ta join nearby, but not quite on the front lines with those three. It looked like they’d come up with a plan, but just as they were about ta move, the sea monster backed up and started ta make a low pitched noise that seemed ta grow with every passin’ second. The sea green half-pony creature’s tentacles all split open inta three appendages with huge needle lookin’ thin’s in the center that were probably as long as a car is. The creature screeched an impossibly loud sound and started ta swing it’s needles at the group, makin’ all the heroes scramble ta get away. Fer a second, it looked like it was gonna pierce Rainbow right through the middle, but just before it did, the Applejack jumped and grabbed her out of the way.

Ah took a step forward and a vision of what was gonna happen next ran through my head. The monster had six tentacles, and all but two were after the heroes. One was after the Black Knight, another was blockin’ the shots that it had apparently started ta take notice of. The other had just missed Rainbow, but the last one was aimed at Applejack. Ah was at the back edge of harbor at this point, and there was only one thought runnin’ through my mind. That thin’s gonna kill her!

“Applejack, look out!” Ah shouted at the top of my lungs. She made a quick movement with her hooves ta toss Rainbow away and did the opposite of what Ah expected her ta do. With one fluid motion, just as the lightnin’ fast tentacle shot down at her, needle ready ta pierce her from her neck ta her tail, she punched it. Even in the low light, even in her suit, even at night, Ah could see every single muscle in her body workin’ as hard as they could ta put as much force inta that punch as she could manage. The needle shattered and sent pieces rocketin’ toward the creature, diggin' bloody holes in the sea green monster’s hide as they did. It screeched out in pain, and fer the first time in my life, Ah felt true fear.

It was lookin’ right at me. Ah couldn’t move. Ah couldn’t do anythin’. Every inch of my body was tellin’ me ta run, but it was like my muscles wouldn’t act. No, no, no, no! Move damn it! Move! The tentacle that had tried ta get Rainbow had moved in position ta strike at me. Ah stared down the needle, completely frozen. This is it. Ah’m gonna die. The last thin’ Ah remember hearin’ was my name, yelled in my sister’s voice.

“APPLEBLOOM!!!”

Harmony Stories V: The Shark, The Swan, and The Goose

Applejack

After dinner, the three of us left Champagne and went back ta the boutique. Ah picked up my bike and then Ah drove Goose ta the castle. We parked, said hi ta the girls and then he led me ta his room. Now that he’d moved halls and ‘officially’ become part of Harmony, he decided ta really move in and brought a good amount of his stuff here, some of it Ah even recognized from when we were kids. A particular little green robot lookin’ figure caught my eye and brought a smile ta my face.

“Well. If that ain’t somethin’ Ah never thought Ah’d see again.” A little green build-it-yerself figure made outta about sixty parts if Ah remember correctly, and one we played with all the time. There were six in total fer each wave that came out and they all had their own story ta go with ‘em. The heroes that come from the goddess ta save the land when the evil mastermind threatens it. Goose always wanted the green one, and Ah of course wanted the red one. However, when the time came, Ah let those toys go. The memories hurt too much, and with all the death that surrounded me, Ah couldn’t bring myself ta look at ‘em anymore. And eventually, Ah forgot.

“Heh. I thought you might like that. Aside from the stuff I wanted, I picked up a few relics while I was at uh… home, I suppose. That bin in the corner has all the pony bots from way back when, and I even found my Ponystation in working condition, however I was blackmailed into letting Fluttershy have it for a while. I’m probably pretty rusty, but I managed to pick up a copy of Marevel versus Comcap.” He picked out the red pony bot from the bin and looked past it, like there were memories just beneath its mask. Ah set the pony bot down on his bookshelf where there was empty space and took a seat on a couch he’d managed ta get in here. The room wasn’t little, but the door frame was certainly not big enough fer this ta fit through it. It must be nice ta be able ta warp everywhere.

His walls were covered in pictures, most of which Ah didn’t recognize, save for one that was on an end table next ta his bed. Ah’d seen it before, in Ms. Song’s house, oh so long ago. It was Goose, or really Catchy as Ah remembered him, his mother and a Stallion Ah’d never seen before. Based on the blue and white skin and the teeth, Ah could only guess that this was his dad. Ah sighed.

“Goose, what happened? So much time has passed since then, Ah don’t even know what all we missed. When does Catchy become Goose? Why did it happen in the first place? Ah just… Ah don’t know why thin’s had ta go and change so much.” Ah haven’t cried in years. The tears had all but dried up fer twelve long years, and that… that changed today. Goose scratched at his clean little facial hair, then took off his suit jacket. He took a seat next ta me on the couch and let out a deep breath.

“So… I thought I would be ready to tell you everything and… I honestly don’t think I am just yet. I’m sure you’ve figured out that I was playing up the whole playboy shtick when we first met by now, but not everything I said was untrue. I… maybe I’m not the pony you thought I am, so-” This time Ah was the one ta put a hoof on his lips.

“Goose. Ah’d like ta think that three weeks of ya, and a whole week without ya leavin’ my side is enough fer me ta know that Ah trust ya. Ah’m sure Ah haven’t told ya about some of my own problems, and even Ah’m ashamed of some of the thin’s Ah’ve done. But a few days ago, some asshat told me ta let somepony in, and after Ah talked, Ah got over some of my issues. Take yer own advice. Tell me what happened.” Goose rolled his eyes and leaned back till he was starin’ at the ceilin’.

“Open mouth, insert hoof am I right?” He said with a dull laugh. He sat up straight and pulled his back legs under him on the couch ta face me. “So you want to hear a story huh? Let me tell you a tale of a colt who grew into a stallion at a young age. A colt who wanted so desperately to not become his father, that in the end, he did exactly that.”

Goose Fang

To start, we’ll have to go back where we left off. The year is 2014. When I was still Catchy, I knew what my dad did for a living. How he had all the money he did, the horrible things I saw him do. Shortly before I met you, I witnessed my dad… at work. He killed a couple of officers with his own hooves and then destroyed a building set for demolition to cover it up. He bashed their skulls in, letting all the blood and leftovers tremble and writhe on the floor. I was terrified. When I ran, his men caught me and I cowered at the sight of him.

The next day, I was sent to live with my mother. A completely different side of town, away from him and anything to do with him. I swore I would never do anything like that, never become a monster like he was. After I met you and your brother and started making friends, things were normal for me for a while. I managed three years without even seeing him. And then in May of that year, he showed up again. Bloody and half beaten to death, he crashed into the door and mom brought him in and treated him. I was entirely against it. I didn’t want him in my house, and I would’ve just left him on the doorstep to bleed to death. Mom though… she was too kind for that. He would be there for a week recovering. Even with his increased regeneration abilities, he was an inch away from death’s door when he showed up and several of his bones were smashed to splinters. It wasn’t a pretty sight.

For most of that week, I avoided him. When he could finally limp around, he tried his hardest to interact with me, and I wouldn’t have it. It wasn’t until mom had to leave for a performance was I finally forced to be alone with him. I was playing Marevel versus Comcap on arcade mode, and he sat in the living room watching me. Eventually, I got to the point where I couldn’t progress and I threw the controller.

“Hey now, why all the anger? It's just a game, little goose,” he said.

“Go away! You shouldn’t even be here, just leave me alone!” I was mad and wasn’t in the mood, so I attempted to storm off to my room. This was of course all before my powers showed up, so I wasn’t anything more than an earth pony foal at the time either, so there really wasn’t much of a contest when he grabbed me by the tail.

“Come back here little goose, I want to talk to you,” he said, easily pulling me back and holding me in place.

“No! Let me go!” I struggled in vain. He sighed. I was still pretty small at the time, especially compared to the giant that was my father, so he was literally holding my in the air. In my tiny fury, I curled up and tried to bite into his foreleg with mixed results. He did let me go, but then he grabbed me by the face and forced my mouth open. Ya see, sharks constantly lose and regrow teeth. They have rows and rows of them for the sole purpose of tearing through flesh and bone in the event one falls out, or they lose one trying to capture prey. That was about the time my baby teeth started to fall out, and the ones that grew in their place… weren’t adult pony teeth.

I had one, just one adult tooth at the age of ten. As you know, it’s weird for foals to not already be in their adult teeth by the time they’re nine, so for me to still have what I had was strange, and when I did finally lose them, these grew in their place within hours of making room. To this day, I don’t know if he had his own plans for me, or what, but when he saw my tooth, he looked disappointed. Instead of reprimanding me for what I did, he picked up the controller himself and beat the fighter I was struggling with. He did things I could never do with whatever character it was, and he even used real combos instead of just violently smashing buttons.

I was furious. I made him play me, and when he throttled me, I demanded that he teach me how to do it. If there’s one thing I will never deny, it’s that my dad was a smart guy. He knew how to get me to react the way he wanted, and just by playing my game, he got me to open up to him again after not seeing him for almost three years. Dad was with us for two more days, until he and mom got in a fight, and he left. At the time, I couldn’t hear what he said or what they were arguing about, and I wouldn’t know until long after mom was gone. This was on the 19th.

When the day came for my father to pick me up, I honestly believed for the longest time that he was the one who had her killed. I yelled and accused him of it every time I had the chance, saying ‘It was your fault! You’re the reason she died!’ He never said anything against it, and eventually, he just sent me away to live with a maid in an apartment in the southern Manehattan. Most of dad’s work was done in the east, so here I was far away from it, and with the maid around me everywhere I went, I was sure to never run into anything involving him.

Time passed, and with new friends, I started to recover. But a day didn’t go by where I didn’t think about it all. My old friends, you, my mom, what happened. I had a hole I didn’t know how to fill, so I started acting out, playing the bad kid because I could. I got everything I wanted as soon as I wanted it and nopony would tell me otherwise. Except, none of that stuff was enough to replace my mother.

Then we move a year later to October. The Mirror event killed tens of thousands. From the Trade Center, to the Manehattan Bugle, offices and apartments, all of it so suddenly and without so much warning as the toll of a bell, destroyed. The apartment I lived in, Red Hoof actually crashed into. Honestly, now that I think about it, I was probably one of the last ponies to see him alive. I was friends with a lot of the kids in that complex. We all went to school together, and they were part of the reason I never fell into depression. And in a day, they were all gone. Crushed and buried alive in their own homes.

Dad didn’t think it was safer anywhere than right next to him anymore, so from then on, I was with him twenty-four seven. I hated it. I hated him. I can’t remember a day for the next year that I was ever anything but angry. I didn’t go to school, I never met new ponies, I was always with him, smoldering as I watched him work. I wanted him to screw up, get killed just like he killed her. He was someone I could vent all my anger on, so that’s what I did. He started to teach me how to fight, using his own derivative of that silver tongue to manipulate me into what he wanted me to do. A whole year went by like that, and when I got my powers in the middle of it, I decided I would plan to take him on. Finally, we had our falling out and I tried my damnedest to kill him.

“Tell me the truth! It was you wasn’t it!? You were the one who had her killed! It was you!” I screamed at him as he had me pinned on the floor. With his ‘shark skin’ being as tough as it was, he was pretty hard to cut in any way, but I was a special case. I had the one natural weapon that his skin was weak to, his own teeth. I’d made a few small cuts on him, nothing major or really anything more than a paper cut to him, but it was enough for me to outright attack him to rattle his cage.

“You dare insult me like that little goose!?” He yelled back in my face. That was the first time I’d ever seen him really angry at me, and he made sure to show it too. He followed that up by tossing me into a wall and nearly breaking me even after I’d initially gotten my powers, and then rushing up to pull me out and hold me by the neck. “You look at me, little goose! Be angry, that’s fine, I am to blame! Her death was my fault, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t regret what happened. But if you think I would kill the only mare I ever loved on purpose… you’re no better than I am.” I’d never seen my father so much as tear up before that point, and I would never see it again after.

The rage I’d built up toward him just… evaporated after that. I couldn’t be angry at him, he felt just as bad or worse than I did about mom two years later, and all this time he just let me take out all my hatred on him. I was hollow for a long time. Nothing but a husk that quietly followed orders and slowly but surely made my way up in the gang. After several months, dad made the decision to put me in school again. I had my powers and I was tougher than most of the adults in his gang, so he wasn’t as worried about me getting hurt. As a matter of fact, he was actually more worried about me hurting other ponies instead. So, he assigned me an equally young pony he had control over to be at my side while I was at school, and her name was Dark Pulse.

We’d met while I was still a little ball of rage, but she was more like my shadow back then. Just another gang member I didn’t care about. School went on for about a month, and I was still… broken. I only spoke when spoken too, I did all my work and made the grades I could and I avoided contact with other ponies entirely because… I didn’t know what to do with myself. While I was mad, I had a goal. I just wanted revenge, and that’s what I worked for, only to have it fall apart in the end.

It wasn’t until one of my classmates asked me whether or not Pulse was my sister did I even realize she was there all this time. It was like a switch in my head had finally turned back on and suddenly I was interested in something again. It was around this time that I finally got my cutiemark and picked up another piece of my father to add to everything else. After finding out that my cutiemark doesn’t work on everypony, I finally got her to talk to me, and I eventually opened up to her. She was my first real friend since I’d lost everything.

A while went by and an idea started to form in my head. I didn’t even know if you were still alive after the Mirror incident, and I wanted to find out. I’d lost a lot of friends, but I didn’t know if the first one I ever made, and the same one I made… that promise to, was still around. A lot happened in two years, and with the third one about to pass, I wanted to do something.

The promise I made in mind, and finally a purpose to work toward, I started to gather my own group and thus came to be the Boneheads, a nickname that Pulse referred to me as in the early stages of our friendship. See, while I was a smart kid, I was by no means an academic prodigy. Unless it was math, I was kinda shit outta luck in school without help. Um, I’m getting distracted, where was I?

Oh right. So uh… for a few years, I gathered ponies and started looking for you. The only problem was, I could never find you. I didn’t know where you moved to, if you were still alive, who you were living with, anything. Since your old house had been sold, I tried to get information from the new owner but they didn’t have anything since the land was apparently bought by a private retailer. With no leads, I would spend the next seven years slowly losing hope. In the middle of it all, dad started to get sick.

He ran the gang for a long time, but after getting captured by a hero for the second time around when I was fourteen, he started getting a whole lot more careful. The stallion known as ‘Shark Tooth’ disappeared and a new guy took the role of Shark Tooth. In reality, he was still the gang leader, but he did so from the shadows, announcing to his upper leadership that he was giving the spot to his trusted underling who was nothing more than his puppet.

By the time I was getting close to graduating college, dad’s health took a turn for the worse. we’d known there was something wrong with him for the longest time, but when he collapsed while we were out one day, I finally forced him to check into a hospital. Stage four terminal lymph cancer. It was already to a point where there was nothing that magic or medicine could do anything for him. He lasted for about two months. Just long enough to see me graduate. In a weird way, it was like he wanted it to happen. Like he was just tired of the life he’d created. Seeing me succeed where he failed was the last thing he wanted to do.

On his deathbed, he finally told me what it was he and my mom argued about that day. He wanted her to escape from Manehattan. He wanted her to just drop everything and leave, taking me with her. He didn’t think it was safe at home anymore, and if anypony from one of his rivals saw him here, either of us would be their next target. And she wouldn’t have it. She’d finally achieved her dream of being a singer, and she wasn’t willing to throw it all away just to be safe. He couldn’t bring himself to force her to do it, so he left.

When he finally lost to his cancer, an old emotion I thought had gone away rekindled itself in my heart. The unrelenting rage of my childhood returned in full force now I knew that there was somepony out there still breathing that gunned down my mother. As it turned out, Dad already knew who it was and where they were, but never managed to do anything because he didn’t have the power. He’d grown too weak by the time he found them, so in the end, he just tried to hide it all away and forget. I however was not. Three years ago, I would make the greatest mistake of my life, and to this day I still regret what I did. The Boneheads went from being a group of strays I took in to a weaponized gang in full force in just a month.

The leader was an old villain who was put away numerous times, but there weren’t any facilities capable of holding him, and since Manehattan has outlawed the death penalty, he kept getting away with every atrocity he committed. The more I learned, the more my anger burned. This was the stallion that had my mother killed, and she was only one of many. If the state wouldn’t put him down, then I would. I’d assembled about half my main force at the time, and with Me, Pulse, Aurora and Heat, it was more than enough to… kill a few ponies.

When it finally came down to it, I had all the ones I wanted to hurt myself rounded up and brought in front of me. When it was said and done, I’d realized that I’d become my father. I bashed their skulls in with my own hooves, even destroyed the abandoned building to cover it all up. The stallion I promised myself as a child that I would never become stared me back in the mirror every day. Once again, I was broken. I didn’t know what to do anymore. I’d given up on going back to school, I still had ponies that relied on me, and in some twisted turn of fate, I’d become the gang leader I never wanted to be.

My goal of finding you was forgotten and suddenly I had to be the boss. After a while I’d just resigned to it. It was fate, this was destiny, mocking my childhood ideals. It wasn’t until we picked up Synchro did I finally start to regain myself. The gang liked my playboy personality, and just about everypony but Pulse knew me that way. Synchro on the other hoof, saw through that pretty easily. She forced me to come back to reality and slowly regain the self I’d lost when the anger took over.

Then… we got the job about those goddess damned mirrors. I knew it was sketchy from the get go, but it was supposed to be easy. All we had to do was steal a briefcase with information in it for hundreds of thousands of bits. Had we never opened the damn thing, then Quiet and Synchro would probably still be around today. But… that’s just not how things went. So, the rest you know. Fate finds itself constantly laughing in my face, I ended up having to kill my first real marefriend and now I’m back here with you trying to make up for all those years lost. My ‘gang’ is no longer that but just a big family up north now, and the only thing left to tie me to my dad’s name is that I’m the current owner of the Carcha company.

Applejack

When Goose finally finished, Ah honestly felt kinda relieved.

“Whew. And here Ah thought ya did somethin’ really terrible,” Ah said with a sigh. He blinked and shook his head.

“Excuse me? I had like, twenty ponies killed out of hollow revenge, how is that not ‘really terrible?’” Ah shook my head and patted him on the shoulder.

“Ah’m not sayin’ it isn’t. Ah am sayin’ that yer kill count isn’t the highest around here though, and at least ya had a... twisted sense of justice fer it. Out of the six of us, Rarity and Twilight are the only two Ah really consider truly innocent. Ya probably don’t know it, but there ain’t a pony around here who doesn’t have blood on their hooves, be it by accident or not.” Goose just stared at me.

“You’re kidding me right? You’ve got to be kidding me. This is just a prank, and the others are going to burst through that door right now to point and laugh, right?” He turned his attention ta the door waitin' fer somepony ta bust through and laugh, but nopony came. Ah pulled his head back my way.

“Afraid not.” He just stared at me with a blank look on his face.

“So… all of you?”

“Yep”

“Each of you, the squeaky clean super heroes that run around saving ponies?”

“Ah don’t figure any of us are ‘squeaky clean’ but Ah think y’all would fit in that category too at this point.” Goose put his hooves ta his head and started ta rub his temples.

“I’m sorry, I think I’m just having trouble processing this. So, not only do you not care that I’m a murderer, but you’re telling me that everypony in this crazy place, including yourself, the hero of Manehattan, are also… killers?”

“Well… in a sense. What happened with Rarity and Twilight were really outta their control and Ah wouldn’t say it was their fault that what happened happened, even if they blame themselves fer it. But the rest of us are still guilty of somethin’ we regret. Thin’s that were really our fault. Ya called yerself a bad guy earlier, and in all honesty, Ah don’t believe that. Ya made a mistake once, and ya regret it with all yer heart. Somepony who didn’t care wouldn’t take homeless kids off the street and give ‘em a job, would they?” He scratched at his head.

“I… I mean, I guess not…” he mumbled.

“And on top of that, ya tried ta keep the mirrors from gettin’ in the city again after ya found out what they could do. Somepony like that probably cares about the lives of others just a little bit more than the average slasher on the streets, don’t ya think?” He sighed and laughed to himself.

“You know, you’re making it really hard for me wallow in my self loathing.” Ah gave him a playful punch in the shoulder.

“Good, let’s keep it that way. Ah had a good time tonight, and Ah’m glad we finally got ta catch up.” Ah said. He rubbed at his shoulder and smiled.

“Hey now, you can’t just make me talk and not tell me what happened with you. I pour my heart out and you just up and tell me that you’ve killed before like it’s nothing. The suspense is killing me, I'm dying to know.” Ah let out a breath and checked my phone.

“Well, Ah guess Ah’ve got time. It’s a long one, so ya might as well get comfortable.” He laughed and nodded.

“Maybe you haven’t noticed this yet, but us here together with nopony throwing punches or trying to kill me is about all I’ve wanted for the past twelve years. I think I’m plenty comfortable right now.” Ah nodded and smiled myself.

“Fine, have it yer way. It all starts sixteen years ago. A single dad moved inta his brother’s apartment with his three kids. He’s unemployed, got maybe a gold bit ta his name, and he starts off by lookin’ fer a job.”

Persona XIV: Beauty and the Beast (part 1)

Fluttershy

Sigh. It’s been too long since I’ve seen them.

Has it really though?

It has.

I thought you never wanted to go back. What’s with this sudden interest in them? Did we not leave them behind to try and move on?

No, I left because I was afraid of what you might do to them if we stayed. What we might do. I’d like to think we’re stable now, aren’t we?

Stable enough. Why so much interest in the pink one? It has been a very long time since I’ve seen your eye wander to another pony like this. What is it, six years now?

Maybe. Pinkie is more… extroverted than Scarlet ever was, but they do have a few similar traits between them. Thankfully, she isn’t suicidal, that being the biggest plus.

Ha! I’ll say! What a wonderful flurry of blows, with one hoof no less! Not very strong, but faster than anything before…

I still cannot believe you ripped off her foreleg!

Your only directive was not to kill, you never said anything about her legs.

For the love of- Just because I let you out to play, even if by accident, does not give you the right to just go off and dismember my friends!

And when you’re not in control, you have no power over me. Be glad I didn’t simply eat her.

Oh. So this is how you want to play, hmm?

No! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.

I see. That’s what I thought.

“Hey, you in there? This is our stop, we need to get off,” Pinkie said. I shook my head and glanced around to realize that the train had stopped moving. I pulled the head phones out of my ears and got up from my seat with her and Rainbow.

“W-wow. I-I never knew that the s-subway was so fast,” I stated. Of course, that’s a lie. A little more than a week ago I was still afraid of my powers being triggered by accident.

Do you even remember half the things we did back then?

Not in the slightest. I’ll never forget the taste though. Ah yes, that sweet, wonderful taste…

Stop that. Never again.

“Maybe. We’ll see if I believe that. I know you, you crazy, crazy mare,” Rainbow said as we stepped on to the platform. I changed my teeth and gave her a hug and a big smile.

“O-of course you do, m-my little Blue bug♥” I said with my wing wrapped around her. There’s nothing she hates more than the old nickname I gave her all the way back in daycare that stuck with her all the way through middle school. I wasn’t very nice back then, but that was in part because Fluffy and I were losing grip on who was who. If Firefly hadn’t come along, then who knows where we would be?

Dead probably.

Yes, thank you Captain Obvious. It’s almost like that’s what I meant or something.

Can I be Major Obvious? I want a title like the orange one, whom you seem to be so submissive toward.

I am not!

You are. Even protective of her. You seem to have taken a liking to all of these ponies, save maybe the young one you show no interest in.

Your point? Maybe I think of them as friends.

Friends? You? Preposterous! I remember a certain oath made about four years ago that denied that.

Things have changed. We’ve changed. I’ve changed. We’re… not lost anymore.

You say that as if you’re unsure.

“Hey, space cadet!” Rainbow pulled me out of my own head.

“I-I’m sorry, what?” She tilted her head and frowned.

“You alright? You’re not… usually this out there.” She was right of course. I’m nervous. I haven’t been nervous in years. I haven’t truly felt fear since the day Scarlet killed herself. In battle I get a sick joy just like Rainbow. It excites me, and I love it to my core. The blood, the violence, the rush, it’s all wonderful. But the thought of seeing my parents again… why am I so afraid of that?

“A-am I? I-I don’t feel any different than usual. Y-you of all ponies should know b-better than to worry about me.” Lies, all of it.

“Bullshit. I do know better,” She remarked as she raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, guys? Do we need to do this here? The five thirty rush hour is about to start and I don’t want to be stuck in the middle of it,” Pinkie said. I never lost contact with Rainbow’s eyes and eventually just rolled mine and started walking toward the staircase. The other two fell in behind just as quick and we were silent as we went through the busy streets of Manehattan. The south eastern side of town, not exactly it’s own district, but the transition from the poor side to the largest shopping area in the big city, was relatively filled with middle class apartments and had some of the newest buildings in the city… on account of half of them being destroyed three weeks ago. And a new substation at that. Up until last week, this side of town was getting power rerouted from every nearby station in the eastern and southern districts and was constantly getting mixed results. Blackouts happened every other day from either too much or too little power getting routed from one side of town or the other and the ponies managing it couldn’t get a moment’s rest.

What did dad do again? He was an artesian before we moved, but…

Didn’t we leave before he got a job? Mother was paying the bills for that first month.

Oh, that’s right! I wonder if he ever did find something? Will anypony even be home? If it’s just Zephyr, I doubt he’ll let us in… This wasn’t very well thought out now that I think about it…

You think so?

“So, the place we’re looking for is just around the corner right?” Pinkie asked. I looked around, and sure enough, there was the road we were looking for.

“2123, 382nd street, 10001 Manehattan Manehattan. It’s a four bedroom four bath building with kitchen and laundry, usually meant for rent from multiple ponies but it looks like they rent out the whole thing themselves. I can only wonder if they did that just in case you ever came back home?” Rainbow said. Yep, they would. Those ponies were always too nice for their own good. I nodded.

“P-probably. Y-you knew them about a-as well as I did,” I said. Rainbow made a half shrug and nodded. Before most of my world thought she died, there wasn’t a whole lot of time when we weren’t together. I loved games and she loved to win, so it was a constant back and forth of us migrating from one game to the next in the hopes that Rainbow could finally beat me at something… and then never did. At least in terms of video games and board games. She almost always could beat me at anything that required physical skill. I had little control over my body, so fine detail and use of my powers hadn’t come through yet, making it near impossible for me to be accurate at anything that needed more than my hooves.

“2115, 2117, 2119, 2121, annnnnd… 2123. Oh hey, there’s a light on! Maybe we’re in luck,” Pinkie said. I rolled my eyes.

“Y-you say that, but I’d s-say it’s the opposite if it’s just my b-brother home.” The buildings on this road were very ‘copy-paste’ kind of buildings with each one having a slight differentiation in colors along the windows and doors, but not much else to distinguish them from each other. This particular apartment had flower troughs on each window sill, and I’m sure that mom tends to those on a daily basis. She always wanted to do home décor, but in the end I think she wound up in jewelry sales before I left. We stood in front of the door, and I had a hoof raised ready to knock, but something was keeping me from doing it.

Well, you’re the one who said you wanted to see them.

True. But who thought I was going to be apprehensive about this? Almost five years since I’ve ever been this nervous about anything. It’s not like I’m about to go through some traumatizing death, I’m just here to see my parents. What do I have to be nervous about?

Here’s a thought, maybe you actually value our parents opinions about you after all this time?

What? No way. I’m not Fire, that was always her deal. My parents never expected anything from me, I never… really cared…

I put my hoof down and let my eyes drift to the little doormat under hoof with the word ‘WELCOME’ printed on it in all caps with butterflies and vines along the edges.

“D-damn it…” I cursed under my breath. I straightened up, brought my head up, and finally, after letting the others stare at me for five or so minutes, I knocked on the door. It only took a couple moments before I started to loose my nerve. I was just about to turn tail and run away as fast as possible when I felt hoofsteps coming from inside.

Too late now.

What if Zephyr opens the door? He’d call the police on me! And Fire is here, and she’s supposed to be dead, so how would he react to that? Mom might have a heart attack if she saw her… what am I even doing here? I’m a murderous cannibal who shouldn’t even be alive right now! I don’t need to talk to my parents, I should just run away and act like this never happened. I’ll go back to my cave in the castle and never come out and just hide away like I have been for the past year. It’ll be fine, I don’t need to do something as scary as talk to my parents, I can just go fight giant monsters and hope one of them kills me so I never have to do this kind of thing. Ha ha… ha ha ha…

My head was spinning and I was starting to feel dizzy as the hoof steps from inside came closer and closer. My eyes came back into focus when something tapped against the handle and it started to turn. I felt my whole body tense up as the door started to push outward and a pastel green hoof was on the handle. Please be dad, please be dad, please be dad… A wave of relief washed over me when I noticed the gold watch he always wore on his wrist, and then finally, the rest of my father appeared as the door swung open. Bags under his green-blue eyes, his pale pink mane combed back, his thick mustache in poor shape since it looked like he’d just woken up. He was wearing dark blue pajamas and a teal bath robe while yawning through a cup of coffee.

“Hello?” he asked lazily though a yawn without opening his eyes just yet.

Isn’t it like… five pm? He clearly just woke up.

Well, yes, but maybe he just works nights now or something. It’s not like we’ve been around to know what’s going on.

“U-um… h-hi… d-dad,” I managed, maybe even at a higher volume than a whisper. My stutter was even less controllable and all I wanted to do was run away. His ears twitched at ‘dad’ and the yawning stopped immediately.

“Dad? Flutter!?” He just about shouted… well, shouted ‘for him’ anyways, after his eyes locked on me. Then he noticed the rest of my group and his eyes fell on Rainbow. He blinked several times and rubbed at his eyes with his free wing and stared at us again. “And… Firefly?” Rainbow reached up a hoof to scratch at the back of her head and worked up a nervous smile.

“H-hi there, mister Cirrus. L-long time no see, huh?” She stuttered. Well, at least I’m not the only one. Dad rubbed at his eyes again and blinked a few more times. He took a deep breath, drained more of his coffee and then stepped off to the side of the doorway.

“Well, uh… why don’t you all come have a seat. I suppose… we have some things to discuss,” He said as calmly as possible. That was always his strong suit after all. He’s the kind of stallion who never yells and is almost always calm in every situation. I could easily count on my hooves the number of times I’ve seen him angry, but he’s never once yelled. At least in my life time.

“S-sure,” I responded before trotting in. The living room, while a different shape, was mostly set up the same way it’s always been. A couch on one side, two recliners in the back, a love seat on the other, the old glass coffee table in the center of it all. It looks like they’d upgraded a few times since I left because the home theater that this little section of seating faced was… almost impressive. A large flat screen in a big, rose wood entertainment console filled with rows and rows of movies in every open compartment that didn’t house an impressive sound system. In the bottom sections I found all my old game systems and their games lined up neatly like some kind of legacy display in a museum.

The couches and chairs were the same as they’d always been, cloth covered cloud of the highest grade possible since dad made them himself. As if by force of habit, I found myself taking up the farthest seat on the big couch from the TV, with Rainbow joining next to me like she always did, and finally Pinkie taking up the third seat.

“Do you girls want something to drink?” My dad asked from the kitchen, no doubt getting another cup of coffee.

I honestly have to wonder who he’s more surprised to see? Me, the one who ran away, or her, the one most of us thought was dead for the past seven years.

I would think the one that came back from the dead is a bit more of a shock here.

Me too, but do you really think he ever thought I would come back? I know I didn’t.

Yeah, but nopony thought you were dead. Dead to not dead, I would say dead gets priority here.

Yeah, that’s fair.

“Oh sure, what do ya have?” Rainbow asked. Dad took a breath and shook his head.

“Um, coffee, water, orange juice, milk, uh… you’re not old enough to drink as far as I remember, so that’s about it.” He said.

Openly admitting that there’s alcohol in the house? That’s a first.

Your mom wouldn’t do that.

Truer words were never spoken.

“Water is fine, thanks.” Rainbow said.

“I’ll take a coffee if you’re offering.” Pinkie followed.

“I-i’ll just have some juice daddy.” I finished. Pinkie made a face at me, but Rainbow didn’t bat an eye.

Oh… was that weird? It felt like the natural thing to say. It’s not like I didn’t call him that all the time back when I lived at home.

Maybe you’re still just an awkward teen at heart.

Well. Probably. We were taller than everypony around us until we turned eighteen, you know, last year. We’ve been taller than our parents since we were fourteen. It’s really hard to be not noticeable when we’re about a head above our peers.

But I never cared about that.

No, you just decided you wanted to get out at any possible opportunity, and that made me even more anxious and awkward for all that time.

“Sure kids,” He responded, then went to filling up cups. It took a few minutes before dad arrived with a tray full of familiar cups, a small carafe of, probably cream, and a little tray of sugar. He grabbed his cup and then moved his recliner close to the table to be nearer to us. I noticed a strange smell coming from his coffee and then it hit me.

Oh wow. He put vodka in there.

Ouch. Some kinda preparations to deal with us, that’s for sure.

Didn’t we just say ‘dead’ took priority over ‘probably never seen again?’

Yeah, but she’s not his kid. We’ve seen bad parents before, ours are not.

… You have had far too many good arguments today.

Oh come on, you know they’re not so idiotic to have no inkling of what had been going on before we left.

Don’t patronize me! Of course I know that. I barely know what to say to him myself, there’s no way he ever expected to see me out of the blue, much less with Fire in toe. Oh goddess, what am I doing here? My attention was drawn when dad leaned over and put his front hooves together.

“So…” he started then brought a hoof to his forehead and sighed. “I’m just a little at a loss here. I’m glad to see you’re well and home for a change sweetie, but, um… You’re here and I didn’t think that was possible, and… I don’t think I’ve met you before. Hi, I’m Cirrus Shy, Flutter’s father.” He said as he stretched a hoof out to Pinkie. She got up and shook his hoof about ten times in a second.

“I’m Pinkie Pie, I’m uh… a friend and a co-worker of theirs.” She said before she sat back down. Dad took his hoof back, looking at it a little confused, probably making connections as he did.

“I see… so… Well, how have you been, I suppose? I take it you have a job now, and you look like you’re in good shape these days too, not real thin like you used to be,” Dad asked, probably confused as to what to say to me.

Oh, we ate alright. We ate plenty…

A warm feeling and a memory of a taste flooded my mouth and I shivered.

I told you to stop!

But it’s been so long… Yesterday was simply a reminder, we could have it again!

No! No more, never again! Never again. Never again…

Ah, but does that mean you’re going to omit part of the story? Didn’t you want to ‘come clean’ about all this?

Coming clean is in shame for what we did, not pointing out reasons to do it again. This is exactly why we left in the first place! I can’t go through that again. I can’t…

“Flutter? Are you alright sugar?” Dad asked. I picked my head up, not even realizing that I’d nearly hunched myself over.

“O-oh, um… I-I’m fine… j-just… t-trying to think of what to say…” I took a deep breath and tried to calm down. I’m sure he really wants to know how Rainbow is still alive, but I doubt he didn’t take notice of her stump already and he’s just being polite. Maybe we can start there and… work our way into us. She didn’t respond immediately, so I guess she had nothing else to say.

“W-well… I’ve been okay I guess. Um… I-I’m sure you probably w-want to know why I left and h-how Fire is still alive-” I started like I was apologizing, but he stopped me.

“You’re right, but… maybe we could wait on that till your mother gets home, hmm? We did move after all, so I wouldn’t think you found your way home just to talk to me. It’s been almost four years since I’ve seen you, so why don’t we just catch up for now? What do you do for a living? Where are you staying? How did you meet Pinkie? Uh… if it doesn’t go too far back, when did you find Firefly again? Do uh… do your parents know?” She let her ears drop and then shook her head. “Oh, I see… well, I guess I shouldn’t say anything to them about this then. But all that can wait for later, tell me how your lives have been.” He relaxed in his chair with his coffee… well, technically that’s a black Zvyrian unbeknownst to anypony else, in his hooves again.

“W-well that… is a bit of a d-difficult subject. Y-you see I uh… we work f-for the government and what exactly we do w-we can’t really talk about… what we do… or where we live… B-but, I met them both at work.” Dad squinted at me.

“You… work for the government… at nineteen and eighteen?” he asked. We nodded, and I guess Pinkie had prepared for this, because she pulled out her badge.

“I’m also eighteen, but I turned eighteen this year.” She said as she slid it across the coffee table. Dad studied the little silver bars and tilted his head. He picked it up and turned it to the other side, and sure enough there was the royal seal on the back. He then passed it back to Pinkie.

“Well… that is… surprising? I uh… never really thought you for the military type… and a captain at eighteen… What rank are you?” I never thought I would be in the military either.

“We’re all the same rank. Though, I’ve only had mine for about a few weeks, and she’s had hers for over a year now. You’re at like, what, six months now right Pinkie?” Rainbow asked

“A little more than that, but all the same.” Pinkie responded. Dad frowned.

“A year… and two weeks? How does… You know, I’ll just assume there’s some special condition to all this and you can’t really talk about that. Is that how long you’ve been in the military, or how long since you earned your rank?” He was always very perceptive of ponies, quiet and reserved, sometimes even too quiet.

“‘E-earned’ isn’t quite the right word… a-appointed is more like it, and that w-would be yes to both. It’s… complicated. B-but, what about you? H-how have you all been doing? I-I uh… had my reasons, b-but I’m sorry I couldn’t be here for all that time…” I apologized. Dad sighed and scratched at his face.

“Right… um, well, I hate to say it but had you been around all that time it would’ve been tough for a while. It took me about a year to get a job, and only this past year did I find something that I could take over supporting the family on again. These days I work for Manehattan Water and Electric as a station manager. I first managed to make it as an electrician thanks to my background in cloud construction and wiring, but that wasn’t enough so I worked very hard to get to the position I’m in now over the past few years. It’s been real hectic these days, what with that lunatic sending in all these monsters and destroying facilities that I have to manage. Our apartment is right in the middle of the zone the first monster showed up in, and the substation it ruined was one I managed. I spent the last couple weeks working around the clock just to make sure this entire zip code had power and now I’m in the middle of a well deserved vacation.”

Oh… so… you really had to deal with the aftermath of that. I’m sorry…

It’s not as if that was our fault.

But we were the ones prepared to deal with it, and because we couldn’t take care of it quickly, our parents suffered. I could’ve been here to help. I have all that money sitting away collecting dust and they could’ve used it…

“Well, I say vacation, I never really get time off. I’ll get called in every now and again to help with some odd problem or another with the new station that was built in record time thanks to the princess. You know, I got to meet her while she was here. Never seen anypony like her, she practically glows up close.”

“Eh, she doesn’t do that all the time. She can be annoying when she wants to.” Pinkie said. We both gave her a death stare, and dad tilted his head.

“I… I’m sorry?” He asked. Pinkie brought her hooves between her legs and let her eyes focus on her coffee.

“Uh…” She stammered.

“W-we have regular contact with her s-so most of us know her personally… b-but um, she shouldn’t have said that, so…” I explained as a dull searing started to burn in my mouth. Dad started to raise a hoof, but put it back down and swallowed whatever question he had.

“Okay then… uh, your brother is a sophomore now, so that’s been… something. As it turns out, he seems to be a fantastic writer and is making a name for himself with some short stories he writes. He’s always been so carefree and energetic, but the stories that come from him all seem to be like something of a nightmare. There’s nearly aways some hairy white wolf monster in them that terrorizes these poor young fillies and colts. The realism and… detail he writes with is what I think earned him his awards, but sometimes it makes me wonder just what goes through that boy’s head.” And that made me feel bad.

Those probably aren’t all too fictional…

And most definitely your fault.

Don’t you start this again, you know you were just as involved!

“But other than that, he’s just been going through school as usual, always around a crowd and finally some decent grades to show for himself. A little more of a charmer than he used to be, but not without making an ass of himself every now and again. But, that’s nothing new. Let’s see… as for your mother, she manages that Carcha now.” In a surreal turn of events, my family works for Goose. Huh. I don’t know how I feel about that.

“She still works their jewelery counter more often than not, but now she can have other ponies do the work from time to time. Ooh, you know she’s the reason we have this TV here. Apparently they were just going to get rid of the old one that was hung up in the store for a newer model, but they let her keep it instead. It was a real stroke of luck that we didn’t see very often a few years back. Hmm, it’s almost six actually, she should be here any minute now…” Just as he said that, I felt something click in the walls. Metal slid across metal, a handle rotated, and the hinges of the front door creaked. I felt myself freeze up.

Oh, come on! You already made it this far, what’s your deal?

But what if it’s Zephyr too?

So what about him? Little punk is probably going to turn tail and run the other direction.

That’s what I’m afraid of! What if he remembers? You know those stories are about us. What do I say if he calls me out on it?

You tell it like it is, because that’s what we came here to do, isn’t it? Don’t forget, we’re alive today because an act of a goddess you didn’t believe in. If that little shit walks through the door, then you make him listen to what you have to say. It’s not like our parents would have the heart to throw us out. We both know that.

Ugh, but that means I have to tell them what happened that night…

Did you not plan on doing that to begin with?

Not the fact that he saw it all. Oh goddess, he’ll probably find a weapon and try to protect them from me. What am I going to do?

“Cirrus honey, are you up yet? I brought home dinner. Zephyr said he’s going to-” Mom walked in and started talking after hanging up a coat at the front door, then nearly dropped whatever food she had in the bag on her back when she locked eyes on me. I tried my best to smile and wave, but I guarantee that came out as awkward as possible. She just about threw whatever she’d bought at dad, then galloped full speed to me and pulled me in for a death grip hug.

“Oh my goddess, you’re alive! I thought I’d never see you again, where did you go? Why did you leave? Oh, my baby girl…” then her eyes fell on the occupant of the seat next to me. “Oh. Is that Firefly? And missing a wing? And your pretty little face… what happened to you?” She took my face in her hooves and then poked at Rainbow’s cheek. She then looked to dad.

“This is real right? I’m not dreaming am I?” She asked.

“No, this is real alright. Stranger than fiction, but real all the same. We were just talking about you, actually. Why don’t you have a seat Daisy, I’m sure you have a few questions you want to ask yourself. I’ll go put this in the fridge.” The sunflower yellow pegasus mare released me from her grip and made her way to her own recliner now that her excitement had converted into confusion. As usual, her dark red mane was curled in a bun on top with the rest of her mane curled into a singular long roll along the back of her neck as she always liked to keep her mane short. She had her pearls on and her name appropriate flower shaped ear rings just under a new par of gold frame circular glasses she must’ve gotten recently. She was wearing black pleated slacks, a silky violet vest and a white blouse underneath that. Mother always knew how to dress herself, but I was always an edgy kid who liked dark colors. I was justified after Rainbow died on me, but I was like that before too, so there’s really no excuse.

“So… You’re back home and… you’re alive. You are Firefly, aren’t you?” Mother asked. Rainbow nodded.

“Uh… a lot happened, really. It’s uh… nice to see you again miss Shy.” Pinkie brought a hoof to her chin and squinted at me.

“So… is your name Fluttershy or is it Flutter underscore Shy, as like, two words and you just go by your full name?” She asked.

“Yes,” I responded with a smile. Pinkie rolled her eyes and huffed, and I let out a little chuckle.

“I’m sorry, I never introduced myself. I’m Daisy Shy, and you are?”

“Oh, right. Pinkie Pie, we’re all co-workers, we work for the military, we’re captains, et cetera, et cetera.” She then tossed her badge back on the coffee table. Dad came back from the kitchen and took his seat, and mom was at a loss for words as she examined Pinkie’s badge. She looked to him for help, but he just shook his head.

“Uh huh… B-but a captain just after enlistment age? How…? Or better yet, why? You were never the type to go into the military, and weren’t you training to be a Wonderbolt? Well, I suppose that would be hard to do for you now, but why would the military accept an amputee...? Oh goodness, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Mom rambled until Rainbow stopped her.

“Uh, no, don’t worry about it. I usually refer to myself as a cripple, amputee is a way nicer word than that even though it's not technically true.” Mom relaxed a bit, but then sat at the edge of her chair.

“So, I suppose I should get my questions straight. Have you asked them anything yet?” He shook his head.

“No, I just talked about what’s been going on around here since Flutter’s been gone. I figured she wanted to talk to both of us, so I had her wait on the explanations.” Dad said. Mom nodded slowly.

“I see… Should we wait for Zephyr? I’m sure-” Mom started

“No! I-I uh… I would rather just… e-explain myself before… before I h-have to deal with that,” I nearly shouted. They looked to each other and then back to me.

“So… what would you three rather explain first then? There’s: how did you survive, what happened to make you run away, and well, this might seem rude, but why did you come back? Of course we’re glad to see you two alive and well and all, but your… special circumstances combined with your occupation have me worried.” Dad said.

Oh, you know, just to explain that I’m a monster and might end up dying in a week or two, nothing big really.

You’re doing that thing again.

Of course I am! What are they going to say? How do you react when your daughter tells you that she ran away from home to become a murderer? How many ponies did we kill? How many did we eat? We’re the most wanted pony in Equestria for Goddess sake! Those posters said alive or dead, how do I tell them that was me and I deserved to have my face on it?

You stop freaking out and do it! Pull yourself together, this was your decision! I don’t care, I have never cared, and I will never care. This is all you. You’re the only one who feels responsible for any of this, so it’s your job to grow a pair and spit it out. Pull your head out of your ass.

She’s right of course. I just have to say it. That’s all I have to do. Tell the truth. Say what happened and let whatever fallout that comes next play like the irreversible change of a nuke to land. I was about to speak up when Rainbow beat me to it.

“Why don’t I go first? We’re going to go visit my parents tomorrow and I imagine Fluttershy is… maybe a little apprehensive about what she has to say, ya know? I mean, you guys were like parents to me, but you aren’t my parents all the same. Fair warning though, the things we have to say… they ain’t pretty. Like… at all. Horrible, horrible things happened to both of us and we reacted to those things in horrible, horrible ways. Not to say the we didn’t learn, and maybe even grew up from it all but… we’re only here because we never got caught, ya know?” Rainbow explained. Oh thank the goddess. My parents frowned.

“Never got caught? Firefly, what do you mean? Back when you two were around all the time, you wouldn’t have done anything bad, surely-” Mom started but Rainbow stopped her.

“Bad is an understatement. We were wanted by the state. Firefly isn’t even my name anymore. This scar on my face? It’s an old sword wound I got from somepony I killed. And that was almost six years ago now, that’s just the beginning. With that in mind, I’m willing to share the story, but only if you guys still want to hear it. Things went south, and things went there in a hurry back then, so if you don’t want to know all the gory details, now would be the time to speak up.” Rainbow said. Horror plastered on their faces, my parents looked to each other and then to me, but I could only hide my face.

“And all of this… is true? You… you killed somepony?” Dad asked, clearly shocked, even more so then when he opened the door about an hour ago. Rainbow shrugged.

“Not that I’m proud of it, but that was just the first time. And one of five on that day, really. I used to kill professionally. If you need any more proof, I’ll even show you the murder weapon.” Rainbow said as if it was the most casual thing she’s ever done. She let her blood start to fly out of her stump and form a tentacle-like spear. She pulled out a dead feather from her wing and tossed it in the air. A few swipes from the spear and the feather had been shredded as it slowly floated down to the top of the glass table. Mom fell back in her recliner covering her eyes and Dad couldn’t keep his off the red cone coming from Rainbow’s back.

“How did this happen? Is this our fault? Did we go wrong somewhere? Honey, do I have to be sober for this? I’m not sure how much more I can take.” She just about moaned in exasperation. Dad however was still transfixed by the blood floating in the air. He turned to mom, but his eyes never left the blood.

“Now hold on just a minute. Let’s just… hear what they have to say first. And absolutely not on that other thing. You know how you get when you drink.” Dad said, ever calm as always. Mom let out a groan and then slowly fluttered over into dad’s lap. After she’d wrapped herself around him, she sniffed and brought her wobbly eyes back to Rainbow.

“Okay, I’m ready. G-go ahead and punch auntie Shy in the guts a few times so I can justify feeling the need to cry right now.” Dad tightened his grip around her and rolled his eyes.

“Daisy, stop it. Can you imagine the courage they must’ve worked up just to come here and talk about this? I know this is hard, but we mustn’t run away from the truth.” I kind of wanted to cry too. With a heavy sigh and a huge sniff, mom pulled herself together a bit, but never let go of dad.

“Do you always have to be right?” she complained, even managing to work up a slight smile. They kissed and he nodded.

“Only when I need to be,” he said as he nuzzled her forehead. They both returned their focus to Rainbow and then he asked a new question. “So I take it you’re all power ponies, right?” We nodded.

“I would definitely say none of us would have survived to this point if we weren’t,” Pinkie said. I think a lot of things would be different if that weren’t the case.

“Then I guess that makes you a first generation… I wonder if… well, that can wait. Alright, Firefly, go ahead and tell us what happened. Oh, and a bit of advice; you might want to go ahead and give your folks a warning before you show up at their front door. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I saw you, so they might really have one. It’s not every day your daughter comes back from the dead, you know?” Rainbow sighed and raised her head to the ceiling light.

“I know… It would be one thing if I wasn’t a freakin’ murderer for hire, and it’d be another if… bah, screw it. So here’s the story, and it all starts back on that day I fell from Cloudsdale…”

Kaiju V - Applejack - The True Persona

Celestia Iscandor of Equus

There are days in which I wish all the legends about me were true. For example, there are ponies who say that I can see the future. False, on every account. There are ponies who say that I have the power to stop everything and anything. I do not. There are ponies that say that I am the most powerful being on the planet. These days, I wonder if that has ever been true. The legacy I’ve built, the ideals I preach, the country I’ve created are nothing new. As the goddess once said,

“There is nothing new under the sun.”

What I have done to achieve all the things I have over my many years, is fail. Repeatedly. Over and over and over again. Mistakes taught me that ideals have logical conclusions. Mistakes taught me that power, in and of itself, is a danger to myself and everypony around me. Mistakes have taught me that life is precious.

Yet, time and time again, history repeats itself. Old mistakes come back to haunt me. Relationships I’ve seen play out before happen again and again, and only when it is too late do I realize that the things I do, the knowledge I pass on, that the ideals I preach, have consequences of their own. I am not perfect. I am no goddess. I am simply a pony whom, only after thousands of years, has finally learned to tame her heart. And even then, I’ve still failed to do that.

I saw it, in the very beginning. A pony I noticed, who was brought to me in a place I never imagined I’d meet her. So much of myself was in that girl. Somepony who had experienced loss after loss, somepony with more power than she knew what to do with, somepony who was trying to live to the best of her ability for her family and locking her own feelings away.

I’ve been her before. Kicked out of my home to a strange land with a child sibling to raise on the back of a teenager with far, far too much power at her disposal. Losing myself in the one instance I had the chance to open my heart to somepony else, and… just as quickly, losing him.

The thin veil of control I had on that power lost in an instant, thousands of lives burned for my ‘righteous vengeance,’ only to realize in the end that I was just a long lived creature in a world that didn’t care about me or anypony else. We live and die on the backs of our actions, and even then, the righteous still suffer and the evil prosper. Justice is an act carried out by ponies who are willing to make the right choice. Who are willing to bear the burden of executioner so that when their time to be judged arrives, their executioner also chooses justice.

Right and wrong are only found when truth is revealed. The ever illusive, the ever obscured, the ever persecuted, hidden truth. History is judged by the future and made in the present. Ignorance is he who fails to see the past when it is his turn to make history.

There is nothing new under the sun. But even the sun does not light every corner of the world. How often it seems that I cannot see the dark shadows cast by those closest to me.

“Quickly, lay her on the table!” I called.

Rainbow had just returned after taking friendly fire to the forehead. She was bleeding profusely, and as soon as Twilight brought her and Pinkie back to the castle, I started to apply as much medicinal magic as I could.

“What the hell happened!?” Scootaloo yelled. She was no stranger to blood at this point, but seeing her adoptive sister hurt like this must have been a shock.

Luna was keeping an eye on the live broadcast, using her personal drone for a second video feed and audio capture, but quickly rewinded a third screen to find out exactly that. “I… I believe that Sahaquiel had somehow figured out where Fluttershy was shooting from and redirected fire with his hooves. Such… precision...”

I shivered. How terrifying. Such power in one so young…

Scootaloo laid her hooves on Rainbow, and in an instant, her head wound had healed. The dent in her helm buffed itself out, and ever so slowly, her blood found its way back into her broken wing. She let out a sigh of relief. “Whew. That wasn’t just a minor hit. Where is Pinkie?”

“Oh, I’m over here. I’m really not all that banged up. I think most of my damage is just the backlash from Trump Card.” She in question waved from the living room table, mask and goggles off, greedily emptying a bottle of water.

“Well, get over here so she can heal you! They need you back out there!” my daughter complained.

I shook my head. “Doubtful. As… as much as I believe you could be of use, it’s clear he is already more than we’d planned for. Sahaquiel seems… smarter then we initially thought.”

“Ssh! They’re talking!” Luna warned. We all turned to watch the screen. Applejack and Goose, Marevelous and the Black Knight, were slowly approaching Sahaquiel.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that one was meant to kill. Surely you aren’t already tired of playing with me, are you?” the monster said. Casual and flippant, as if this were a Sunday promenade.

I shivered again. How… horrendously familiar…

“Maybe. But then again, ya did nearly kill one of yer targets with a bullet we fired, so Ah’d rather not have this drag on.”

I chewed on my lip. Are you playing with him? Is this your plan? Please, please, please don’t get caught up in the act. You know better…

“Only nearly? And here I was sure I’d hit just the right spot. You must have an incredible healer on your team to recover from something like that.”

“Damn right we do!” Rainbow exclaimed. I gave her a seething glare and very quickly, she retreated behind her helm.

“Yeah, we certainly do. Ah’m just surprised y’all still wanna play, what with the shape you’re in right now. How are them legs doin’? She gotcha in the knees, it looks like.”

But you know he can regenerate. Though… not as instantly as the others seemed to. Were this Israfel or Sachiel, they would have recovered by now…

“Oh, they’ll be well enough soon. Though clearly not as efficient as my brethren, my regenerative powers are enough to keep me well after something as trivial as a bullet to the knees. The tooth the blue one knocked out is already grown back, you see?”

Sahaquiel smiled to flash his teeth, most a near yellow white, but one fresh and pure as the driven snow.

“Aww, come on! That’s it!? I broke my leg on his face!” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Quiet!” I snarled. She too, decided to put her mask back on.

“Well, that’s just peachy.” A pause. “Ah guess…” Marevelous lowered herself to the ground. Her hooves were in a particular stance, and I… wasn’t sure I liked how much malice I sensed in that. What are you doing? “We’ll just have ta see how many times Ah need ta kill ya before ya die.”

She launched not unlike a rocket and caught Sahaquiel by the neck with both hooves. He struggled for a second, but in that same second, Marevelous wrapped her hooves around his face and then…

SNAP

I gasped. Sahaquiel fell to the ground and Marevelous backed away.

“Holy shit,” Rainbow said quietly. Not my words of choice, but not far from what I was thinking. I have seen her dreams. I have seen her nightmares. I have witnessed the brutality Applejack is capable of, but… to see it in real time…

“What’s his status? Still alive?” Marevelous asked over our link.

It took Twilight a moment to pull her eyes away from the screen to realize she was being asked. Her broken horn flared with her magic, still unsteady as it has been for two weeks now, and her vitals scan manifested in front of her. What it read was… conflicting, to say the least.

“I… I’m not sure. I still detect a heartbeat, but brain activity has stopped. What did you do?”

“Something I honestly wasn’t sure she was capable of. Damn,” the Black Knight added.

“Really?” Applejack asked. Ah, now that is the tone of an irritated wife.

“Yes, really, geez. It’s not like I thought you were joking or anything, but I didn’t expect you to just slam into him and snap his neck.”

Even I wasn’t prepared for that, and I knew she was going to do it. I can only wonder how the media are going to spin this one. A sigh escaped me. “That isn’t going to look good on camera.” I covered my mouth the moment I realized that the thought leaked into the conversation.

“Who cares how it looks!? It’s either him or most of the populace! Ah didn’t think that was a hard decision ta make!”

I couldn’t argue with her logic, and with just her hooves to work with after the disaster that was trying to use her cables against a pony nearly as fast as Pinkie, things are… likely to only escalate.

“Hold on. Brain activity restarted,” Twilight interjected.

We all turned back to the screen to watch, only slightly horrified, as Sahaquiel rose from the ground and untwisted his neck. I cringed at the sight. It has been far too long since I’ve seen the horrors of war. You’ve grown so very soft in these last sixty years of peace, Celestia.

“Well now! Somepony was serious! To think that I would see death twice, only to be dug up from a shallow grave yet again!” And just like that, Sahaquiel was back on his hooves. “Apparently, it’s going to take more than that to really kill me. You two on the other hoof… aren’t quite so durable!”

The fight restarted as quickly as it had stopped. Sahaquiel was on them both, completely unphased by a second death, and thankfully, my well trained soldiers reacted appropriately. Marevelous moved with precision and foresight, keeping herself and her partner out of harm’s way, even going so far as to prepare and block when Sahaquiel launched a second flurry at her.

His hoof clashed with Marevelous’s defense and they came to a halt. The teenager, this twisted monstrosity, smiled as if he’d just opened a new toy on his birthday. Another… strange pang in my heart made me feel something for this… child, and I…

“What are you!? Having your head bashed against the concrete should’ve killed you, but no, you stand, and still you’re so strong! You see me coming, you protect your comrades, and you counter me with such incredible violence! Marevelous indeed… A monster, just like me!”

My ears twitched at the word, ‘monster.’ I looked to Marevelous’s face, and if only for an instant, I saw her flinch. That… cannot be good.

From behind them, the Black Knight had angled his hips toward Sahaquiel and fired his cable at him. The blade buried deep in his spine, and once secure, the cable retracted with Sahaquiel on it. The Knight reeled his hip back in and raised his knee as the stunned Sahaquiel flew with it. An armored limb came in contact with the teen’s head, and just like that, his body went limp and he spun head over hooves until he came to a stop.

The Black Knight retreated to his mare and stood by her side. “While I figured I might have to push away other stallions trying to make advances on you, I didn’t expect to have to use killing force when I did it.”

Always the pleaser. I’m sure he saw her flinch as well.

Marevelous’s tail wagged ever so slightly, and in that nervous way she does, she scratched her chin. ‘Smitten’ does not even begin to cover it. “Well, you’re a little more gifted in certain places than he is and, well, not a psychopath; so ya shouldn’t be too worried. That kid is some kinda creepy.”

“And I had to work with him! For half a year! I swear, dude’s like... fight-sexual or something,” Rainbow said over the link and out loud. It was… often difficult to believe that this was once the Bloody Crow of Manehattan.

“Speakin’ of, is somepony sendin’ y’all back out soon? Ah… hate ta have ta think like this, but maybe usin’ a sword wouldn’t be a bad idea here. Or… somethin’ that kills him a little faster.”

I shook my head, forgetting that she couldn’t see me, and then answered her. “Considering that she had a half inch wound on her forehead just from one random counterattack, which was stopped just barely by a sheet of enchanted plate mail, I believe that would be unwise. Scootaloo can’t bring ponies back from the dead, unlike our adversary, and you two seem to be the only ones strong enough to endure his attacks.” I don’t like leaving things to just the three of them, but Fluttershy’s beast is an emergency measure, and this is no game.

“I also dropped it when I got shot, so it’s probably still on the road if somepony didn’t already pick it up,” Rainbow added. Our drone flew up a little to get a better view of the road, and there was Rainbow’s sword. Then, I caught motion out of the corner of my eye.

Before anypony had noticed, Sahaquiel had gotten up and went after Marevelous again. “Ah, ah, ah… don’t look away.”

His hind leg swung around like a whip and slammed poor Marevelous in the side of her head. Her ear twisted in such a way that I can only assume part of her skull had either fractured or broke, and she went flying in the opposite direction. Sahaquiel immediately went to follow up, but the Black Knight warped in front of his mare before he could get that far.

The armored stallion stood staunch in his gleaming armor, taking Sahaquiel’s attacks one after another until finally, he saw an opening. I saw the faintest hint of a magical aura flare in his free hoof just before it launched and slammed into Sahaquiel’s cheek. The punch arced and buried Sahaquiel’s head into the ground, and as a follow up, the Black Knight raised his hind hoof off the ground and above Sahaquiel’s face.

Oh no.

I looked away. I flinched at the sound. One. Two. Three. Have I become squeamish? I… I’ve done that before. Has… becoming a commander and distancing myself from the battlefield after all this time… really made me so faint of heart? My eyes drifted to my daughter. No. that wasn’t the cause. You are.

“Hey, are you okay?” the Black Knight asked. My attention back on the screen, the bloody mess that was Sahaquiel was thankfully half buried beyond the camera’s eye, and The Knight was helping his mare to her hooves.

Unsteadily, Marevelous rose again. “Just a little shook up, that’s all.”

That is… not something Marevelous says. Something is wrong. I don’t like this.

“Diamond, get ready. We don’t know what will kill this guy, but if he’s anythin’ like the others, then the thing keepin’ him alive through all this has gotta be a mirror near is heart. Ah can’t take another hit like that, so we have ta end this, sooner rather than later.

“Target, while he’s still down there, try and plant one right at it. If… if he somehow protects it, then we know what we need ta do. Ah don’t feel like gettin’ shot though, so don’t shoot more than necessary just in case, alright?”

“Ma’am!”

Our drone angled over to Target’s position so the eye had both her and Sahaquiel in focus. A single shot loaded, the white gem active for the highest power the gun could add to the shot, and she took aim.

POW!

Disturbingly, the corpse’s hoof moved in time with the sound and blocked and bounced the slug indiscriminately. Unnaturally floating to rise out of his hole, Sahaquiel’s body turned to face Marevelous and the Black Knight, still partially unformed.

“As it turns out, the third visit only feels nostalgic.”

It was similar to watching Scootaloo heal a burn victim, or a pony with necrosis, but only for the joy of seeing somepony recover to be replaced with the horror of watching a monster repair itself.

“Neck snapped, skull shattered. That’s two, heroes. That is, of course, if two ponies that are the ‘faces of justice,’ as it were, who can so readily kill a teenager should be called as such. I suppose that knowing he’ll come back in a moment or so could ease more tender hearts, but yours are far from that. No, no… those were brutal ways to end a life. Practiced ways to kill, something that speaks of experience with it! How many lives have you ended with those hooves, hmm? Does wearing a cape and killing in the name of the law validate you?”

How disgusting. Poisoned words from the predator to the hunters. To think that I saw this… thing as a pony not but moments ago. May the Goddess have mercy on your demented soul.

“You’re a sick bastard, Ah tell ya what. Not a single thing is right about any of this.”

That made me pause. ‘Not a single thing?’ Applejack, what do you mean by that?

“Guilty as charged. I do derive a certain pleasure from it, but… do you not? The way you fight, the constant struggle for your life, the exhilaration of surviving through it all! To ponies so powerful, ponies strong enough to kill your lowers without so much as a thought, is it not the most wonderful feeling there is?”

I felt a twitch. Movement in my eye had me catch Luna do it too. A deep sigh exited my body. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That’s what she means. There is… nothing right about this. Nopony should ever have the power he does at that age. I… know that we certainly shouldn’t have.

“Sick just doesn’t even begin to cover it. You know what a wonderful feeling is? Knowing you’re loved, that’s a wonderful feeling. Killing for the sake of it, spreading suffering for the sake of it, plunging cities into panic for the sake of it, none of that is anything more than a twisted desire. We are here to protect ponies we care about from you and that freak in the mask, and that’s all there is to it.”

How did you of all ponies turn out so noble? Was it her? Was it your upbringing? Your father? Your mother? Or is it just in your nature? How… fitting it is that you call yourself ‘The Black Knight.’

“Oh, how you wound me! Sickness? Twisted desire? Can that really be all my aching heart wants?” Sahaquiel said with all the pomp and dramatic flare he could. Then he leaned over and stared the Black Knight down in the same malicious way Marevelous had him. “For those of us that have never felt love, I suppose that’s really all there is left for us, isn’t it? SHOW ME HOW IT FEELS!”

In a flash, Sahaquiel had rammed straight into the Black Knight, forcing him back and making his shoes ignite sparks on the road as they went.

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA, WARUDO!”

In the blink of an eye, The Black Knight had been pushed out of the way and Marevelous had taken his place, Rainbow’s sword in hoof and pointed directly at Sahaquiel’s heart. Then, my heart sank. All at once I saw everything collapse before my eyes. Marevelous didn’t thrust immediately.

She hesitated.

I knew better! I know how much she thinks like me! How could I have forgotten!? They’ve been fighting monsters that look like monsters all this time! Rampant hormones, newlywed, and now she’s actively trying to kill what looks like a child to a young mare? She’s always so logical, I… I never considered her feelings. Oh Goddess, what have I done?

In a single fluid motion, Sahaquiel backed off the sword before Marevelous could fix her mistake and kicked the sword high out of her hooves. “I’d been waiting for that little trick of yours. Don’t you know… that dirty tricks only work once?”

This can’t be happening.

“Marevelous, look out!!”

Then, Sahaquiel brought that same hoof back down on the crown of her head. Unprepared, the poor mare took the full brunt of the blow with her back and slowly but surely, fell over.

“Target, me, TOKI WO TOMARE!”

“ZA, WARUDO!”

A blink, and Target Lock had moved closer to the ground and opened fire at Sahaquiel with the Black Knight and Marevelous nowhere to be seen. One, two, three-

“Ahhh!”

No, no, no, no, no! This is a bad simulation playing out in reality! I… I have to intervene, I… I can’t let this go on. But… but… I can’t! If I go out there, so much will be lost! And to reveal myself to the public, to the world as an old legend? This could only be the beginning of everything that could go wrong.

“Get them out of here!” Goose’s voice brought my attention back to the screen.

“I can’t, I just used my powers three times in a row, I’ll need another thirty seconds to recharge!”

“We don’t have that kinda time! He broke her back and she’s bleeding out!”

“I told you not to look away!!!” Sahaquiel was on the move and our camera followed him. He found all four of them, the bleeding sniper, the broken heroine, the time stopping rouge and the Black Knight, his only standing equal.

Quickly, he moved to intercept Sahaquiel, and the moment they collided, they warped away. Further down the road, far away from our hurt soldiers and back where most of the fighting had been done, The Black Knight defended himself while Sahaquiel attacked relentlessly. What ponies might have thought was heat building up from the sheer speed and power of Sahaquiel’s attacks was instead magic building in the Black Knight’s hooves, far more intensely than he had ever been capable of.

Seeing an opportunity, Sahaquiel quickly got behind and above the Black Knight and raised his hooves together to do the same thing to him as he did Marevelous. Only this time, his victim was ready for it. As Sahaquiel moved in for the kill, the Black Knight warped right behind him. Both hooves glowing like the sun, his right hoof shot forward and through Sahaquiel’s back. Wind and dust and debris gathered in a swirl further down and spun into a small tornado on the road, breaking windows as it went, slowly coming to a halt.

Did… did he do it? Did he… did he turn it around?

The Black Knight tossed Sahaquiel off his foreleg, and then stepped on his limp body as the boy coughed and hacked tremendous amounts of blood. With his left hoof raised high, glowing even brighter than before, suddenly, he stopped.

No…

The bloody edge of a sword exited by the base of his neck.

“No!”

The magic faded. The camera was positioned in such a way that we couldn’t have even seen the sword. The Black Knight’s head turned ever so slightly. Just enough that it was tilted toward his mare.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep our promise.”

Blood flowed from underneath his helmet. Goose crumpled and fell to the ground.

“Goose!”

Magic started to gather in my horn, but as if I were tazed, it was ripped away.

“Gah! What in the world?”

Suddenly, Twilight collapsed, clutching her head with her hooves. “Aaaah! M-my magic! S-something is wrong!”

The castle was shaking. Any and every magical screen had fallen apart and I could feel all the magic in and around the building… reacting to something. The once blue and violet hues of the crystal castle had shifted to a deep crimson. A dissonant tone started to rise from deep below, and the sound of electricity sparking started to come from all around.

“W-what is this!?” Rainbow shouted. The chairs around the main table in the living room had turned black. The gems at the top of each of them were vibrating and giving off magical discharge, all except for Goose’s. Lightning struck her from the gem atop the chair Goose used to sit in and then began to flow from it to the chair Applejack usually sits in.

One by one, each chair struck its usual occupant with a black lightning, a dark, obscene magic that made me want to vomit simply from being in its presence. The three chairs that had managed to form a misamic bond with their ponies concentrated that all that dark energy at Applejack’s chair, and then in a burst, sent it out of the castle.

And just like that… it was over.

As if nothing had ever happened, the castle returned to normal, all save one detail. The single gem atop Applejack’s chair had turned a deep black with a burning dark aura emitting from it.

“I should have known. The Elements… they were here, all this time, staring us in the face. And not only that… they’ve bonded to ponies… and one of those bonds… was just broken.”

Rarity Belle

Work, damn it!

In a single instant, a single moment where we were supposed to win, where my powers should have ended the fight for us and won the day, just like they always have before, everything went wrong. Marevelous was broken, Target had passed out and was bleeding profusely from a stomach wound, and The Black Knight was fighting alone.

Then, it happened. It looked like he was going to win. He’d just missed Sahaquiel’s upper torso, his heart, and was ready to land the final blow. Then, I noticed the sword.

I didn’t have time to scream. I didn’t have time to warn him. I tried to stop the world, only to experience magical backlash. The pain was something I knew well. I hardly cared about it. I had to move. I tried to run, tried to gallop to his side, but for the very first time in my life, time had abandoned me when I needed it most.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep our promise.”

I stopped in my tracks. Blood flowed from under his helmet, and he collapsed. The link… had crumbled. He’d died instantly.

Goose…

My hindlegs felt weak. Before I knew what to do with myself, they’d slid out from under me. I was supposed to keep them safe! It was my job to manage my powers, that’s all I had to do! I still have time, I wasn’t out of time yet, I just needed a little of my magic back! This is my fault! I should’ve been paying attention. I-

Violently, I was ripped out of my own head as I felt something very painful started coursing through my body. Like touching an exposed wire with my tongue, searing electricity shot down my veins. What little magic I had left within was taken away, as if the pain of overload my adrenaline was helping me forget had been overridden, and I couldn’t so much as think.

Burning bile found its way up and out of my throat the moment I recovered. What in the world? Is… am I about to die of magic depletion? My first thought was to check my eyes for blood, but no, there was none to be found. As a matter of fact, all the usual magical webs connected to me by thin threads had been severed. Even my connection to Celestia, which has been ever present for two years, even as far away as across the globe. Something was… very wrong.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a spark. A little streak of lightning that bizarrely cast black shadows around itself that… almost looked to illuminate the space around it. It looked… sickly. As if I wasn’t already nauseous from the strange depletion-esque heart attack I just had, this… strange energy was threatening to make me vomit again.

Behind me, I heard hoof steps. Ears alert, I turned my head. Sahaquiel was back on his hooves.

“Ha ha ha… HA HA HA!

“I LIVE!

“Not your strongest technique, not even using the power of time to aid you, there is nothing you can do to stop me! Hahaha-ha!” He kicked Goose’s corpse away, only to think better of it mid way through and take Rainbow’s sword out of him first.

“Ah, my darling Crow, without you, I wouldn’t even be standing here right now.” He scanned the air, spotted something, then pointed at it with the sword. “When I find you, I think I’ll keep you alive for a little while first. I want to… reward you for saving my life at the expense of your friend’s here.”

It was not like me to abandon my role. It was not like me to escape from the shadows and attempt to stand out. But this… this… monster must be destroyed. “You… horrid creature! How dare you accuse her of helping you!”

Finally, he noticed me. “Oh? And what can… you do about that exactly? You were the one they call… Diamond, correct?” He looked me up and down, leaning on the sword tip and contemplating all the horrible things he could do to me without so much as trying. “Why is it that all the mares in this group seem to be so pretty? Perhaps I should just take all of you alive and use you as my playthings before I kill you? It would be such a waste of fun if I didn’t, wouldn’t you say?”

I’d stalled just long enough. There was just enough time for my magic to recover for one more use of my powers.

“You deserve nothing less than to rot away in the hell you crawled out of! Even if I am the last mare standing, then I will spend every moment I have left killing you!

“TOKI WO TOMARE!”

Sahaquiel launched at me the moment my magic flared, but just before he could reach me, time had stopped, just as I asked it to. With seconds left and a ticking clock, I charged after the sword standing still in the air just over by Goose’s body.

“This is for you… my dear friend…”

Taking it in hoof, I leapt with all the power my rage fueled hind legs could muster and shot one of the cables at my hips at Sahaquiel’s back. The cable aimed directly at his back, the blade tight in both hooves, I let go.

“ZA, WARUDO!”

Time restarted, and just as Sahaquiel noticed I wasn’t where he was aiming anymore, the cable buried itself in his back.

“Die, monster!”

The gears inside the box at my hip whined and reeled me toward my target like a bullet. Just as I was about to arrive, just as I was about to thrust forward and end this nightmare, Sahaquiel turned and blocked the sword with the frog of his hoof. It sank in and through his foreleg, eventually burying itself in his side, but… nowhere near his heart.

Damn it! Using the moment I had from stunning him, I ripped the cable out of his back and leapt away as fast as I could. Just as soon as I was out of reach, Sahaquiel managed to get the sword out of his stomach and swipe it at me.

In an unexpected move, Sahaquiel licked along the dull edge of the bloody blade. “Your blood is much sweeter than mine. I think I like the taste.”

My… blood? I took my eyes off him for a second. The belt holding my cables on my body had been slashed. And so had my suit. Then the red started to stain my white coat. I couldn’t feel it, but acknowledging its existence had me feel a dull burn running across my belly. The cut wasn’t deep, but he still got me.

I looked back up and he’d closed the distance. “You know, that head of yours is starting to get annoying! Let’s take it off so you can’t struggle when we’re done here!” Rainbow’s sword raised out and straight like a razor for a horizontal swing, there was nothing left for me to do.

I had no time. My magic was spent. I couldn’t so much as even defend myself. All my connections were severed. There was nopony I could scream to for help. There wasn’t even time to make a sound.

So… this is how it ends. I never did get to call Formaggio. Will… will father cry for me too? As it turns out… you were right, Sweetie. Please… don’t hate me for earning my Lieutenant Colonel’s badge.

Lightning struck.

I flinched at the sound of thunder. I blinked and Sahaquiel was gone.

“RAAAGH!”

BOOM!

An explosion. To my left, a building caved in on itself. Dust and dirt and debris scattered into the air, filling the empty road as if a bomb had been set off.

What in the world?

“-ar-ty-… Rar-ty-… Rarity! Rarity, are you there!?”

The link had come back online. “Celestia? What’s going on? One moment I think I’m less than seconds away from decapitation, and the next Sahaquiel disappears and a building explodes.”

“I don’t know! The chairs in the castle have gone berserk! The Original, the Elements of Harmony, they’ve been here all this time! They’re out of control, and they’ve sent their magic out of the castle! Where are Target and Marevelous? I can’t get either of them to respond!”

I looked back to where I left them. Target had yet to move. The first-aid I gave her was still holding, but… Marevelous was nowhere to be seen.

“Target is still out cold, but-”

“GRAAAAAAAAH!!!”

The smoke cleared in an instant. An anguished roar cut through the air, dark energy sparking along with it, sending waves of sorrow and rage through my body the way I imagined that sword would feel. Like being cut and stabbed, the burning bite of steel mixed with the creeping cold of blood loss all at once, I felt the need to vomit again.

Again, the collapsed building exploded, and there was… what was once Applejack. Her body had expanded. She grew wings made of light, and a white-black horn of light extended out of her head. Her muscles bulged like some malformed hulking stallion, glowing energy surrounded her entire person not unlike when our earth ponies would use Trump Card, and everything about her made me sick, like I was looking at an affront to the Goddess.

“Princess.”

“Yes, Rarity? What is it? Did you find her?”

I swallowed. “Code: Nightmare Sun.”

Celestia did not say a word. There was only one situation in which I was ever to invoke such a phrase, and it was only known by a hoofful of ponies close to the princesses. I doubt even Twilight knows about such a thing. It was a simple phrase, really. It only had one meaning. What lies before me is a power that, quite possibly, rivals the Princesses in their most powerful forms. Not even standing before death’s door instilled the fear that simply looking at the monster Applejack had become did.

“… I understand. I will be there shortly. Take Target Lock and… if you can manage it, Goose’s body and get back to the castle as fast as you can.”

“Yes ma’am.” Searching and finding him closer, I shot my cables after Goose.

Applejack noticed me. The moment I landed, she stood in my way. This close to her now, the sickness she exuded hit me like a torrent. Had I anything left to puke, I would have, but instead I was only met with dry heaving. She reeled back her shoulders and her chest expanded.

“GRAAAAAAHHH!!!”

My cables were forcibly unhooked from the concrete and my body was thrown away like a plastic bag in the wind. The sheer force and volume of her voice was like being hit with a solid wall of sound. I did what I could to cover my ears, but even still, by the time I landed, I could feel blood trickling out of one, and the other was ringing as if a gong sounded with my head as the mallet. As much as I would’ve liked to bury him, this situation was lost.

At least they’ve both had a little bit of practice using their true forms in the past few days. This city block won’t be standing anymore, and if any part of Sahaquiel is still around, that will certainly be melted or vaporized, but the damage shouldn’t extend too far.

Out of the corner of my eye as I was heading toward Fluttershy, I saw exactly half of Sahaquiel crawling out of the rubble. Applejack noticed him too. He didn’t make it very far. Leaving a trail of after images, Applejack beat light to Sahaquiel’s location, and raised one of her massive hooves.

“No, no, no, no, no!”

“RAAGH!”

Were we any closer to a subway rail, I’m certain it would’ve collapsed beneath her hoof. I wouldn’t have even believed Sahaquiel ever existed, if it weren’t for the fine red mist that filtered through the air. In a single attack from Harmony’s most powerful ally, Sahaquiel was defeated. There wasn’t so much as a trace of him left on this world. All for the… simple price of one life and exposing one of the greatest secrets of the nation to the world.

‘We create monsters out of ponies because only monsters can fight monsters, whether they’re our monsters first, or theirs.’

Years ago, when I first met her and she told me that, I wondered if Celestia was simply trying to make a dark joke or something. If today has taught me anything, it is the simple truth of that phrase. The category of ‘monster’ only grows with each new display of unimaginable power. And even the ones at the top… say that they are not the final bracket.

Another anguished roar from the barely recognizable Applejack had me pickup the pace.

The moment I had Target secure on my back, she started to wake up. “W-wha… Rarity…? What happened?”

“Sahaquiel is dead. And… he took Goose with him. As it stands… Applejack’s fate is uncertain as well.”

“WHAT!?” She coughed and hacked a few times, and I patted her back to soothe her as we retreated from the battlefield. “H-how did… but…! He… he couldn’t, he… w-we were doing just fine! That’s- that’s not fair!”

“I’m sorry darling. As… as much as it pains me to say it, there is… nothing we can do anymore. All we can do now is… get to safety and hope that the biggest monster of them all can save our friend.”

Celestia Iscandor of Equus

“Luna.”

My sister didn’t so much as look at me. There wasn’t much that needed to be said. The weight of her name between the two of us alone was enough. The final card had to be played.

Luna passed the drone control to Twilight and let out a deep, weary sigh. “I will begin executing protocol. Please do not hurt yourself and… most importantly, save that filly. She has… borne the weight of my mistakes for her entire life. It’s… simply unfair for things to be left the way they are.”

I nodded. “I will do everything in my power.”

One last look, eyes filled with regret, shame, fear, anxiety and sorrow, and Luna flashed away.

Unknowing what to do with herself, my daughter looked to me as if she’d never seen me before. “Mother?”

As sweetly as I could, I answered her. “Yes dear?”

“What’s going on? Are you… are you going out there?”

Again, I nodded. “I am the only one who can, Twilight.”

“But… but… what happens next? Won’t doing this compromise our national security? And Applejack is… didn’t you say she was capable of fighting you? C-couldn’t you get hurt? If… if she’s really in possession of all the magic the Elements of Harmony had been storing up till now… doesn’t that mean…”

“She is likely of equal power to me right now, yes. Possibly even more. The Elements have changed in the last ten years, and only now realizing what this castle is, I… don’t know what they’re capable of anymore. We haven’t seen a threat like this for… centuries, if not longer. Left unchecked, Applejack could accomplish everything Persona was after and more.”

I slowly made my way to my daughter and brought her under my wing. Trembling, she looked up at me with my own eyes, so frightened of the future to come. “I will come home. If even I cannot handle this alone, then I will call upon Luna. Together, there is nothing we cannot do. So please, rest assured. The world will change after today. The balance of power that we’ve delicately managed to project globally for over a century is about to shatter like a pane of glass, and things will be different going forward. But no matter what happens, I will be here.”

I leaned down and nuzzled my baby, only for her to latch onto my neck and nuzzle me back. It only took the fear of loss for Twilight to finally show me affection. Truly, you are your mother’s daughter. After the moment had passed, I pulled away and locked eyes with her again. “I need you to do one thing for me before I go. Can I trust you with this task?”

She nodded, and that was all I needed. My horn alight, I summoned my yoke to my neck and stood a meter away from her. “These words I impart to thee, invoke the sun so that her righteous fury may be brought to the land!”

The chant passed to Twilight, another pony in the new world with the old language of her ancestors in her possession, she said it back, the way it was meant to be heard.

“Oro ut sol et emittam furorem virtutis eius.”

A switch unlocked, a call not heard for hundreds of years, the armor I had sealed away in an effort to protect the world, was needed for its safety. Power coursed through my bones. The burning wealth of energy at my disposal fully realized in my hooves, I rose to my hind legs and stomped the castle.

The glass, was broken.

When I arrived, Applejack had already destroyed an entire city block. Malformed into a beast, the visage and power of an old alicorn coursing through her, the blackest energy made of hate and despair rampaging through her, she attacked and attacked and attacked anywhere she could, sending the once fortified infrastructure of one of the largest cities in the world crumbling to dust. However, the moment she felt my light, she turned her attention to me.

“Applejack, my dear… I need you to wake up.”

Already, I could see the signs of my arrival beginning to take their toll. What remained of her suit had started to let of steam like it was being cooked. The shattered road, the brick and mortar walls of desolate stores and living spaces, the steel traffic signals and signs. Heat was beginning to permeate everything. The longer I am here, the more we lose. My voice, however, didn’t seem to have an effect on her. She darted to protect Goose’s body and roared at me.

“GRAAAAH!”

If there was a mind still in there, it was nowhere to be found now. The shell of Applejack was running on instincts and emotions. Signs of intellect had been lost, and reason was out of the picture. As I started to see even Goose let off steam, I quickly used my magic to send him to a secure place. Applejack was displeased with that, however.

The moment my magic touched Goose, the monster she’d become reacted, as if she knew I was stealing her prize. In the blink of an eye, nearly too fast for me to react, Applejack launched and tried to gore me with the ethereal horn that formed above her forehead. Just barely, I managed to avoid getting a hole in my neck, but that was not the end of her assault.

Black magic wings flapped from behind her, and as if I were fighting Luna in earnest, we crashed through an unsuspecting building behind us, burrowing deep into the ground. Good Goddess, how long has it been since I was hit this hard? I felt a slow oozing on my neck where the dark energy of her horn was searing me, only to see a real wound there.

Wearing my armor, all my powers at my hooves, my own city made nearly entirely out of noncombustible material ready to go up in flames at the drop of a spark, and still, she’d injured me. Holding back, attempting to be compassionate, being afraid of hurting her. All of that, had just been thrown off the table.

“I’m sorry, Applejack. But for your sake and everyone else’s, I’m going to have to hurt you.”

With the very technique that I once taught her, I built power in my gold shod hooves and canceled our momentum with my fire. Confused, she attempted to flap her wings again, but didn’t make it very far. Two jabs to the face to stun her, and then one full power left straight to her chest.

“BOOM!”

Applejack sailed from the depth of our hole to the desolate sky. I quickly sealed the wound she’d given me and then flew back up to the surface. Steel was beginning to sag everywhere. Plastic came to a boil, paper combusted, foliage became bonfires, glass shattered and began to glow. Manehattan was on the verge of burning.

Taking in my surroundings, however, was taking my eyes off the prize. Only because I could feel that sickly energy she radiated did I move in time. Like a meteor, rampaging Applejack flew back down to earth, roaring like a hurt animal, smashing directly into the road. Dust, debris, chunks of black top and concrete, broken water pipes, glass, destroyed brick, everything that was once touching the ground vibrated and was ripped from it.

The once flat road formed into a crater that spanned the entire intersection and took the corners of four buildings with it. It was simple luck that we weren’t near anything very tall, otherwise, it would have come down simply with that. No time for a pause, the beast realized she’d missed and came after me again. The smoke cleared as she exited, missing me by centimeters, and for a second there, I thought I heard words.

“GIVE BACK!”

Give back? She still in there! If I can knock her out, we can get her back!

Applejack twisted around mid air when she realized that she missed and spread her massive black wings.

You have ponies to live for. Ponies you’ve known all your life, ponies you’ve only met in the last few months, and two more you don’t even know yet. Major Jacqueline Apple, I refuse to grant you death.

Taking the very stance I taught her months ago, I let fire fill and coat my hooves, ready to stop her next dive bomb. Her wings flapped, and the very air around her shifted in time. A violent black wave of energy preceded her, only being stopped as it came into contact with my fire. Manehattan was burning. A third of an entire district had been destroyed, but if there is one thing that I know better than anypony else, it’s that it can be rebuilt.

I took two steps forward, cast a barrier on my right foreleg, and behind my rear hooves. The full force of Applejack in her enraged state hit the strongest part of my bone. Even still, I felt breaks run up it as we dug back through the broken streets, forcing the dust and the flames to our sides as if they were bowing before us in a grand precession.

The blazing sun lit the world around me from my right hoof, and just as we reached the end of the knock back she created, I unleashed my flames in an uppercut to her chest.

“It’s time to wake up!”

Set alight, the Applejack screeched as she flew into the atmosphere. Writhing in the sky, flying high, what was left of her suit seared off, and for a second there, I saw the dark magic fade. But, only for a second. The screeching halted, and in the bleak blue sky, Applejack reoriented herself.

Black light formed at the tip of her horn, and suddenly, I realized that not only had she been given the visage of my people, but the powers as well. I started to build flame as fast as I could in my own horn, and with an ear shattering roar, Applejack unleashed hers.

A beam of energy, dark as night and sickly as the stench of death burned forth like a missile toward my head. Just the feeling of the dark magic rushing toward me was enough to send panic down my back, and instead of firing back, I restructured my spell on the fly. Forming a dome above me, I redirected all the heat that was emanating off my body to further power the spell. Manehattan had stopped burning for the moment, but only in an effort to keep from destroying it entirely.

I never got the chance to experience Ramiel first hoof, but I imagined this is what it felt like. Taking the brunt of the energy was like letting Applejack wail on my body with a flurry of powered punches, beating me back and slamming against my head in a constant rhythm. If only for an instant, I thought even my horn would start to crack. But just when the worst was upon me, it ended.

The magic left sparking lightning running across the sky and Applejack was sweating and breathing hard where she hovered. Her wings of black light flapped sluggishly, and she’d paused. Pain flared at my forehead, but I had no time for that. Conjuring a teleportation spell as fast as I could, I flashed behind her, set fire to my fore hooves, and raised both high above my head.

Applejack turned to face me just before I landed my assault. I couldn’t see it before. Things had been moving too fast, and there was a chance that my heat obscured it. All this time, she’d been crying.

I brought both my hooves down and released the magic within them directly on Applejack’s magic horn. It cracked and shattered in two, and from the sky, Applejack shot back to earth.

When the smoke had cleared and I began to feel the sickly energy dissipate, I carefully flew down to check on her. The tears had stopped, and her body had reverted to its natural state. Her eyes were closed, she was bleeding from her forehead, but the black magic still coursed through her, and she was still breathing.

The battle was won.

“Desino!”

Following my call, my armor returned to whence it came, and Manehattan no longer burned. A city once crowded beyond belief with buildings and ponies and towers that broke the sky, for the first time in centuries, had an empty lot. Miles of destruction, burned and melted stone and steel and glass stretched out as if we’d been bombed. Today, I’d made history once again. Just like the Caballo Crater, a memory would forever be engraved on this date, as the day the Princess burned Manehattan. Another black mark to add to my record, and the source of all my troubles, the one responsible for everything that had happened today, had appeared just as it ended to gloat.

“Ha ha ha ha ha~” his voice echoed through the barren land, sounding like his day was made. I turned toward the source, only to see he’d sent drones to my location to project himself before me. The Mask smiled at me from one side, and frowned from the other.

“What you see before you, ponies of Equestria, peoples across the globe, is the true monster that lurks behind the Equestrian throne! The real kaiju, the monster to end all monsters, the legend of old feared by the world over! Your Princess, your Empress, your Dictator, The Radiant Sun!”

The words struck me harder than anything Applejack could’ve done to me. His hatred of Luna, his desire to create monsters, his threat of destroying the country… It was never just about saving his own life… he wanted to draw us out.

“For millennia, these non-pony beasts have been subjugating you! For their power is more than enough to subjugate the world over! They summon soldiers and send them to their deaths in the name of the greater good, they preach to you the teachings of a false goddess, and they lie to you with sweet smiles on their faces!

“For it is they who are the true Persona! A mask they wear to pretend that they are just like you! As my last hope has been destroyed by another monster under the Empress’s command, I no longer have any hopes left! But, it is my fervent wish that the ponies who witnessed the truth here today take their futures in their own hooves and away from the clutches of these immortal tyrants!

“Let the masks of the righteous drop and show your true faces to the world! This is your Princess!”

A recreation of my armored form stood beside me in my battle stance. He’d been watching the whole time. Recording just out of reach of my fire, showing everything to everyone on the planet near a screen.

Yes, the battle was won.

But the wars would only begin.

Finale IV: Anticipation

Blood Orange

“… and, that’s the story.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “In an ironic way, I’m only here because of Silicon. I’m not sure I ever would’ve recovered without the mirror’s power. She was… my world.”

Pinkie groaned. “What is it with us and the whole, ‘tragic backstories’ thing, huh?”

Fluttershy, who had cleaned herself up since last night, shrugged. “I-It’s a theme, I guess.” She smiled for the first time since I’d been invited here. “C-can’t be a superhero unless y-you’re edgy, I s-suppose.”

Brightness blew a raspberry. “Bullshit. This guy ain’t a hero, he’s just a coward. Never owned up to the murders, could’ve said something about Silicon all this time and never did. If ya ask me, he uses his brother’s kids as a crutch to avoid doing anything. If you do put on a cape, Blood, I hope you call yourself Sloth.”

Slowly, I moved my hooves to cover my face. It’s possible she could hurt me worse if she attacked me physically; provided she wasn't a frail, blind pegasus less than half my weight.

“That was totally not cool! What the fuck is wrong with you?” Rainbow reprimanded.

A cripple defending me from the blind. Could I be any more pathetic? “No, it’s the truth. I ran and hid, and they were my excuse to never come clean.” I took a deep breath. “I buried myself in work, put everything I earned toward their futures, it was all… a way out. Now that they’re all self-sufficient, they… they don’t need me anymore. I can finally pay for everything.”

A wing draped over my back. “Um… I-If it’s any consolation, I’ve p-probably killed more ponies than you did.”

What is this? Why would she tell me that? This is that mare that looked back at me while I was watching her consciousness last month, isn’t she? I pulled my hooves away to get a good look at her again with my powers.

Despite missing a foreleg now, she seems somehow more… complete. That thing inside is gone. I can’t honestly tell if she’s just that out of touch, or if she actually believes what she said might make me feel better. Either way, she was showing sincerity.

“Thanks?”

“And, hey, at least you were being used, right? I killed my sister in cold blood. …when I was eight.” Pinkie brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her forelegs around them. “It’s not… that… bad.” Her gaze fell away and off into the distance, and I think we might’ve just lost her for a little while.

Eight? Eight years old and she committed fratricide? Good Goddess, who are these ponies? My ears shot up when I realized somepony was looking at my consciousness.

“Misfits, outcasts, sinners. Everypony here is somepony who carries a weight with them they can never get rid of.” From behind Twilight’s chair, Princess Celestia herself spoke up. I always thought that if I ever ran into her, it’d be because they finally found out that I wasn’t from this world.

They’d try to question me, try to understand how I got here or if I was different somehow. That clearly isn’t the case; but the stories of the government making ponies disappear always floated around the gang. This was not that.

She put a hoof on Twilight’s head. “Even ponies burdened with weights since birth.” Princess Celestia set her eyes on me. “I must thank you for doing this. I know how hard it is to tell somepony you love about something like this.” She paused, letting her eyes probe me, dig deeper into my soul. “But, what I don’t understand is… what is it you plan to do going forward. Do you realize just what exactly you’ve paid to save your niece?”

Forward. The future. When was the last time I ever thought about something like that for myself? See the kids through school; that was my only goal back then. Citrus never got a chance to go, that’s what he wanted for them. Once I fulfilled that wish, what was I…? I wanted to die with this secret. I was going to try and make it that way. Finally pay my dues with the only thing I truly have. I never had a future, not since I took his away.

This was all just another means to an end.

I swallowed. “I’ve only got one thing I can use to pay anypony. I’d… planned on giving that up anyways, so this doesn’t change much, I suppose.” I met her stare and held it there for a while. Stone, unreadable, a consciousness so fortified that I doubt anypony could read it.

After an uncomfortable silence, she eventually closed her eyes and nodded. “Very well. Every tool has a few uses, so I’m sure I’ll find something to do with you. That said, I believe it would be in your best interest to get your affairs in order.”

My affairs in order, huh? I own no land, I barely have any possessions, and my next of kin… still don’t know the truth. Only so much to say about that, right? Just… do it again. Tell them to their faces, look in their eyes when I say it. Macintosh is a bit more level headed than Applejack.

So, maybe it’ll set him off and he’ll make me pay for it? No, I know better. I raised him for half his life. If anything, his reaction will be similar to hers. Oh, Applebloom. I never wanted to…

After a moment of introspection,I shook my head. “Yes…” I stood up. “They have a right to know. And I should be the one to tell them.”

The Princess nodded. “Good. Goose, if you—” she caught herself mid-sentence. Frozen with her mouth open in complete shock that she would even say something like that, Princess Celestia clammed up. Horror struck all the faces around me, save Brightness, but even she knew something wrong had been said. The Princess’s lips quivered for a moment, then she brought a hoof to her mouth and coughed into it. “Allow me to… to send you home directly.”

There was a deathly quiet cast over the living room table. If it weren’t for the golden flash, I thought it might’ve lasted forever.

She’d left me outside of the building, just in front of the lobby. My car, however, was not in its place.

I wonder if Macintosh went to work? Or maybe he’s just out for food or something. Either way, that’s unfortunate. Maybe this is divine retribution. I don’t get to just confess once to all the ponies I hurt; I have to confess to each of them individually. Look them in the eyes one at a time and tell them I killed their father. Maybe it’ll get easier the more I say it.

I shook my head, slapped my cheeks, and stepped into the lobby. One way or another, it has to be done. A clock on the wall told me it was only about nine AM, so it’s possible that they’re both out getting breakfast together. Macintosh wouldn’t leave Applebloom alone. Perhaps I’ve lucked out, and they won’t be back for a while? I could write a letter detailing it all, and I won’t have to… to… to be there when they…

I fell to my haunches and pressed the button in the elevator for our floor. Blood Orange, you are a coward! How pathetic am I that I would think of running away and never facing them? Everything Brightness said was true. Surely, I couldn’t have let them end up in an orphanage, but I could have done something to draw attention to Silicon! Stannum hired me to keep an eye on me and his accounts clean, I was close enough to do something for years, and I just… sat there and did as I was told. All to… try and keep them happy.

Ding!

The elevator doors slid open, and somepony else was waiting to go down. I picked myself up, nodded and passed them quickly. I’m probably quite the sight right now. Haven’t bathed in a few days, haven’t shaved in a few days, out running about Manehattan telling the most important ponies in my life my darkest secrets. What a mess you are.

I dragged myself to the door of our apartment and stared at the number for a while. 1003. Floor ten, room three, yes, but in actuality, a date. The day that I committed fratricide. A reminder that I am the reason their lives are like this. Twelve years and eleven days ago.

I stood in front of the door to notice no light coming from inside. Either of them would be in the living room if they were here, so I guess that’s it then. I can wait in agonizing anticipation over their return. I chuckled and let out a breath. Perhaps I’ll take a nap? It’s not like I slept much last night anyways.

I took out my key and went to unlock the doorknob when… it wouldn’t turn. Did they forget to lock up before they left? I’ve told them a thousand times to lock up before they leave, they know better! Irritated, I threw the key back in my shirt pocket and flung the door open.

“I cannot believe they didn’t lock the door! Don’t they know that all these things we have are expensive!? Just because you all have jobs now doesn’t mean you can fix every mistake with money! Some mistakes are—”

“Permanent, right?”

My ears shot up and my body locked in place. “A-applejack?” I looked all around the living room, but she was nowhere to be found. I rushed in to check behind the corner, and sure enough, there she was, standing in front of the fridge. I had to rub my eyes; I just couldn’t believe it.

“Do ya…” She caught my eyes once, but quickly looked away. “Do ya want a beer?” she asked.

All I did was blink. She wasn’t coming after me, she didn’t put off anything hostile, it was like she’d gone back in time and… things were the way they used to be. How? Why? Aren’t you… don’t you…?

She tilted her head. “Ah’ll… go ahead and get ya one. Why don’t we sit down, huh?”

Rather than answer, I nodded and limped my way over to my recliner. My circuitry was just about fried. Why did she grab two? Isn’t she underage? I suppose she was married to an older stallion. And she is military, so… What are you even thinking about right now? She ran off crying covered in dark magic energy last night! Say something!

I hadn’t realized I’d made it to my chair, but when I looked up, she was giving me an open bottle. “Here. Ah doubt Mac’ll mind,” she chuckled. “He’ll probably want one too when he gets back.”

I took the cold beverage in hoof and let my eyes fall again. What do I say? How do I respond? A million words and all of them out of reach. “R-right.”

Applejack sat down on the couch next to my chair like she always does. She brought her hindlegs up on the seat with her, set her elbow on the arm and flicked the cap off her beer. She raised it next to me and said, “Ta Goose, and ta Pa.”

Lost, I simply followed suit. “To Goose and Citrus.”

Glass clinked, and immediately, she chugged the whole thing. “Bah! Ah’ll never understand why he likes these nasty things. Who in their right mind would drink a damn artichoke? Heh, me Ah guess. Too fuckin’ bitter, Ah tell ya what. Have ta get somethin’ sweeter next time. He… always did like ciders.”

I don’t understand what this is. I don’t understand what’s going on anymore. “Applejack?”

She raised a brow. “Hmm? Come on, Uncle Blood. If ya don’t take a drink, then what’s the point of sendin’ it ta ‘em?”

Why bother fighting? I’m at her mercy as it is. I let out a sigh and put the bottle to my lips. Bubbly, bitter, popping and foaming as it goes down. I don’t like these any more than she does but here I am tossing it back anyway. Finally done, I threw the bottle down and gaped for air. “Why?”

Her lips pulled to the side in a frown. “Because… that’s what ya do. Or, so Ah hear, anyways. Ya… drink in their memory. So ya… don’t forget.”

I rubbed at my temples. “Applejack! You know—”

“Too damn much, that’s what Ah know!” She met my gaze and fought back. “Ah could’ve lived my whole life thinkin’ somepony out there did it, and ya know what? Ah would’ve rather had it that way! It would’ve been so much easier if Ah could think some random evil incarnate did it and leave it at that! A sweet lie is a hell of a lot easier ta swallow than a hard truth!” she pointed a hoof at me. “But you had ta stick yer damn nose in my business and bring me even lower when Ah was at my lowest point. Ya know what Ah don’t have, Uncle?”

I let out a sigh. “No, Applejack, I don’t. What don’t you have?”

“Time fer this shit.” She motioned to us. “Ain’t got time ta cry over my husband, ain’t got time ta cry over Pa, and Ah damn sure don’t have time ta cry over you. Ah need time fer all of it, and Ah just don’t have it. By the looks of yer tongue, you ain’t got time fer it either. So, don’t tell me you’re sorry, don’t tell me ya regret it, don’t tell me why ya did it, and don’t’cha fuckin’ dare tell me you’re gonna pay fer it. Because we don’t have time fer that.”

I shook my head. “Applejack, you can’t mean that.”

She turned away and put her hoof in front of my face. “Ah can, and Ah do.” Her eyes fell and she took hold of something around her neck. I hadn’t noticed before, but she’d been wearing not one, but two pendants. A gold chain I’d seen on her wedding day, and… a silver one I didn’t recognize. “Grief… is a luxury Ah’ve forsaken. Ta be like him, like Pa.” She let out a breath and turned her eyes on me. “When this is all over, Ah’ll take all the time in the world ta scream and yell and cry at ya just like ya want. Ah’ll beat ya ta a bloody pulp, Ah’ll ask why over and over again while Ah punch ya till you’re dead, and then Ah’ll… Ah’ll regret it all, knowin’ that Ah fell victim ta the same hate and anger and sorrow and grief that started all this in the first place.”

What a… horrible sense of déjà vu that brought me.

She sat up straight, crossed her hind and forelegs and shook her head. “Goose’ll come back from the grave and whip my ass fer it, Pa’ll tell me what a disappointment Ah am, Ma’ll tell me Ah knew better than ta give inta this, and Ah’ll find a reason ta die in some fight somewhere in some alley where nopony can find me. Ah’ll die and get up there and they’ll shun me because we all knew Ah could’ve been better than that, and Ah’ll grieve fer eternity knowin’ how bad Ah fucked up.”

What a… horrible sense of dread that brought me.

She set her elbow on her knee, then her cheek on her hoof, finally turning those green eyes on me. Just like her father, just like my father. “Because Ah know how this goes, Ah’ve decided that Ah’m just not gonna do it. Ah may never forgive ya. Ya ruined my life. Ya ruined Mac and Bloom’s lives too. Ya ended Pa’s.”

The words hit me like a sledgehammer. Repeated blows against my skull, threatening to crack it.

“But…” She looked away. “Ah can… understand where ya were comin’ from. How ya felt.” She got up from the couch and moved the curtains away from the window behind the TV. It was bright and clear, warm and sunny this morning.

“Ah don’t know how the future is gonna go. Ah don’t know how things are gonna be goin’ forward. Ah don’t know how long Ah can keep up this act and pretend Ah’m okay. But those bridges can be crossed when we get ta ‘em. And Ah’m just… so tired of losin’ family, alright? So… be there ta cross the bridges with me, won't ya?”

Like a sweeping wave in a typhoon, every emotion I could feel all at once overcame me. How could I have ever thought that this mare would be the one to take her vengeance on me? I should know better. He raised her better. I… raised her better. I leapt out of my chair and wrapped myself around her. “Applejack, I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Begrudgingly, she reciprocated the embrace. “Did ya listen ta a damn word?”

I hugged tighter and nuzzled her neck. My beloved niece, my precious family, my brother’s successor, the hero. “I’m sorry I took him away from you. I’m sorry I couldn’t be him. I’m sorry that you can understand what I’ve felt. I’m sorry for everything. You’re all so much more than I deserve…”

She sighed and relaxed. “Ah know, Uncle. Ah know.”

Applejack

Mac swallowed. “W-what are ya sayin’, Uncle?”

Uncle Blood turned away. Maybe he had some extra courage because Ah was in danger when he told me, but now he had ta face us all and repeat the story. Ponies escaped from a dyin’ world, kids that survived in a gangster’s pocket, runaways that lucked out, stallions that lost their loved ones, brothers turned against each other. A story as old as time with a twist.

“I-it was me, Macintosh. I did it. I… murdered my brother.”

Mac was takin’ this a lot harder than Applebloom was, but maybe that’s because she hardly knew Pa. Ah was careful ta watch Mac because Ah knew he could react like Ah did, with deadly force.

He stood out of his chair, knockin’ it over. “Ya didn’t! T-this is all some kinda sick joke, ain’t it? Why would ya say that now?” Mac looked ta me, “Ain’t there a funeral ta prepare fer? G-goose is… Goose is…” He shook his head. “Ah don’t understand, why…?”

Ah curled my hoof and took a sharp breath. “As much as Ah would like it ta, the world ain’t gonna just stop fer me.” Ah swallowed and looked Mac in the eyes. “We don’t have time fer a funeral right now, Mac. It’s not over yet.” Mac stood silent, starin’ at me as his breathin’ steadily increased and tears welled up in his eyes.

Speaking up fer the first time, Applebloom asked, “Y’all… wouldn’t be sayin’ anythin’ if… if Uncle Blood wasn’t involved in whatever happens next, right?”

That hadn’t occurred ta me. He… he came home ta tell them. Why would he do that? Sure they need ta know, but now wouldn’t be a good time fer that if… if… if he thought he had time…

We all looked ta Uncle Blood, who sighed. “I was called yesterday by the leader of Applejack’s group because… they needed me to free her from whatever spell she was under. In doing so, however, I… signed my life away, I suppose. We are under government authority, and now they know everything. One way or another, it’s over for me.”

Mac brought a hoof ta his mane. “B-but… but… but it was just one pony! They can’t—”

Uncle Blood slammed a hoof on the table. “It wasn’t just one, it was sixty-one, Mac! I was the Mirror!” He put his elbows on the table and cradled his head. “Teenagers, young parents, poor ponies, rich ponies, it didn’t matter who they were, just that they could bring me closer to Red Hoof so I could finally exact my vengeance for Dew and my son! I was a serial killer! A terrorist! I destroyed one of the largest buildings in the city, that’s nothing to say of the aftermath either! They could execute me if they saw fit, don’t you understand!? They should! It’s what I deserve… I… I should be grateful that they let me see you two again at all.”

“No! C—” Searin’ pain flooded my tongue like a match on a puddle of gas. Ah slapped my hooves over my mouth as fast as Ah could. The fire faded just a bit after Ah stopped talkin’ and Ah started over. “… they wouldn’t do that ta ya.” Ah took a shudderin’ breath and the pain subsided. “They would never do… do somethin’ like that ta… ta somepony with a use. They wouldn’t.” She wouldn’t.

Everypony was starin’ at me like my mane was on fire. Sure, that hard stop was probably weird, but not that weird, right? Eventually, Applebloom asked, “Ah know we’re havin’ a serious discussion and all, but… is it just me, or does Applejack have a glowin’ black outline?”

Mac rubbed his eyes, then tilted his head at me. “What in the world…?”

Uncle Blood blinked. “I… thought you’d recovered when I found you here, but I suppose things aren’t quite back to normal yet, are they?”

Ah held out my hoof, and sure enough, even Ah could see it. Ah could feel it. Like all the magic in my body had expanded outward and grown beyond me. As if Ah’d turned trump card on, but didn’t so much as try ta hold it in. Without thinkin’ too hard about it, Ah relaxed all my muscles like Ah would with trump card ta let it go, and the outline went away with the tension.

Ah ran my tongue across my teeth. “Well. That’s inconvenient.”

Mac let out a breath. “Ah need a drink.”

Instead of continuin’ the conversation, Mac made the executive decision ta turn on the TV and slump on the couch. Both Uncle Blood and Ah tried ta get things back on track, but he wouldn’t have it. Thus, the movies played on. Maybe it feels like all this has been goin’ on longer than Ah thought, but somethin’ about it was nostalgic. The four of us, here, in the same room, in our places, watchin’ one screen together. When was the last time we did somethin’ like this? Has it been months? Weeks? Years?

In the last three months: Ah’ve met the princesses, learned some of the darkest secrets the government keeps, joined the military, made friends fer the first time in years, loved and lost… It’s not as if Ah was doin’ nothin’ before all this, Ah had a reputation as a hero. But it feels like Ah wasn’t really even alive back then. It seems so far away, so distant… Maybe there’s a little truth in that.

As the credits ta the second film rolled, Mac finally spoke up. “So… what exactly is it that ya want me ta say about all this, Uncle Blood?”

Tenuously, he looked over ta Uncle Blood, who frowned. He brought a hoof ta his chin and rubbed at the light green five-o-clock shadow growin’ on it. “Um… that Applewood is creatively bankrupt, the ponies that made this shlock don’t have the craftmanship or courage to make something new, and that this sequel movie was nothing but a cash grab with a recognizable brand name. Honestly,” he crossed his forelegs and huffed. “A good movie hasn’t been made in twenty years. These hacks couldn’t write a worthwhile story if their lives depended on it.”

Ah giggled, Applebloom giggled, Mac let out an irritated sigh. “Come on now, ya know that’s not what Ah was talkin’ about.”

Uncle Blood shrugged. “So, maybe I do.”

Mac rolled his eyes. “Then why not answer the question?”

Uncle Blood raised his hooves in defeat. “How am I to tell you your feelings, Mac?”

“Ugh.” Mac dug a hoof inta his mane and scratched at it violently. “Easy! Ah know ya can! Ya always know! Ya know better than Ah ever do!”

Uncle blood leaned back in his chair and put his hooves in his lap. “All my powers do is let me know what your powers do and read your emotions, not your mind. How and what you feel are things that I can’t just decide for you.”

Mac put his hooves ta his snout and took a deep, loud breath. “This kinda shit right here is exactly— ya just!” quickly he turned ta me and said, “Applejack, catch,” and reeled his foreleg back.

Uh-oh. Magic summoned itself ta the forefront and Ah crossed my forelegs ta wait fer the blow. His foreleg muscles bulged and tightened under his skin. Not unlike a bullet, his hoof shot square fer my crossed legs, but uh… didn’t quite make it there? Ah felt the force vibrate through and past me, the wind he created mussed my mane and shook the room, but in the heat of the moment, it almost felt like he never made contact with me at all. When Ah opened my eyes ta check the aftermath, it didn’t look like he made contact either. As with before, the black outline returned, but this time, it shielded me from the impact.

Mac pulled his hoof back and shook it, tryin’ ta take a bit of the sting off. “Goddess damn it. What even is that? It’s like hittin’ a bank safe. Ow.”

Applebloom chuckled. “Maybe ya weren’t payin’ attention, but she did go toe ta toe with the Princess of Equestria yesterday.”

Nusrin’ his hoof, Mac rolled his eyes. “Ah wouldn’t’ve thrown if Ah didn’t think she could catch it. Ah just… expected somethin’ more like pony when it landed.” He must’ve hurt himself pretty good because next he started ta lick it like a wound. “What’s wrong with ya? What is that? Ah don’t remember ‘force field’ bein’ part of the list of things my powers did.”

Ah shrugged. “Hell if Ah know. An educated guess says is has ta do with that thing Ah can’t talk about, but not even my boss knows how they work. They didn’t say anythin’ ta ya about it did they, Uncle Blood?”

Uncle Blood pursed his lips and chose his words carefully. “… Not much, by any standard. I was simply told that something unprecedented had happened here. The words were, ‘negative resonance as initiated by’ that thing we can’t talk about. I’m no scholar, but my educated guess would say that you’re still synchronized with that thing. Whether or not that’s a bad thing is yet to be determined. Nopony feels… sickly around her while we can see the outline, do we?”

Mac scoffed. “She makes me feel sickly when she’s around, but that ain’t nothin’ new.”

Ah clicked my tongue. “Wow. First ya try a punch me, then ya insult me.”

Applebloom snorted. “It sure sounds like nopony feels sick.”

Invadin’ my personal space, Mac shifted and leaned himself on me. “Oh, no, lemme tell ya, Ah feel sick alright. Do y’all know what a fuckin’ rollercoaster it is tryin’ ta be family with you ponies?”

Ah shoved him off me, then off the couch. “Get off of me! Just ‘cause you’re mad don’t mean Ah have ta be yer emotional support couch.”

Mac stood up and then assumed and irritated upright pose against the wall. Forelegs crossed, hind hoof tappin’ the floor, eyebrow raised in the family tradition. “Well, ya should be, because ya owe it ta me. Especially you, Jaqueline Apple.” He threw his hooves up. “Oh, wait, ya got fuckin’ married a week ago! Should Ah call ya Mrs. Carcharodon? Or does that even matter anymore!?”

Furiously, he rubbed at his temples. “You’re some kinda former supervillain, you’re the heroine of Manehattan, and you ran off and joined some kinda junior military branch! Ah can’t catch a break!

“In just under two months, Ah’ve had my world turned upside down at least twice, and that was just before today! A friend Ah thought was dead came back ta tell me he’s marryin’ my sister, my sister turned out ta be Marevelous Red confirmin’ all my worst suspicions about her, everypony confirms Pa was Red Hoof, you tell me just what happened ta him, and then Goose goes off and…” Mac sucked in air through his teeth. He sniffed and rubbed at his eyes. “Were it not fer Applejack’s very friendly friend, Ah think my mane would’ve turned white from all the stress.”

Ah frowned. Damn, Rarity. Can’t keep her fuckin’ hooves ta herself.

Mac clapped his hooves. “Ya know what? She gave me her number too. Y’all are stressin’ me the fuck out, and Ah’m damn tired of it. So let’s all agree ta put a hold on…” he motioned ta the ponies in the room with a hoof, “this, and pretend things are normal fer a while. When y’all are done with whatever mess ya’ve gotten yerselves inta, then we can come back together, give Goose the… the ceremony he deserves and…” Mac seemed ta run outta air. He put a hoof on his forehead and rubbed it slowly. “Figure out what comes next, Ah suppose.”

Next, Mac found his phone and made a call. “Hello? Hi. Ah was wonderin’ if… Oh? Well. Ah’ll be right there. See ya soon.” A smile on his face, Mac turned ta us and waved. “Ah’ll see y’all later.” And with that, he was out the door.

Silence took over the apartment living room. Direct or indirect, Ah believe that was Mac’s best way of tellin’ everypony ta fuck off fer the time bein’.

Finally, Uncle Blood asked, “Well? How about you, Applebloom?”

My little sister went inta her thinkin’ pose like she does. “Ah guess… Ah don’t really have an opinion either way. It’ll take some time ta sort out whatever conclusion Ah come ta. Ah have a hard time believein’ Ah watched Goose die, and Ah have a hard time believein’ ya killed anypony, let alone Pa. But… if anythin’, this year has been stranger than fiction, so what does it even matter what Ah think? Whoever ya were back then ain’t the Uncle Blood who raised me, so Ah don’t think it matters much. My only real question is…”

She shifted her hoof ta her cheek and tilted her head. “Whose field do ya think Mac’s about ta go plow?”

“Rarity,” Ah answered immediately.

Uncle Blood failed to smother some laughter. “Goddess, girls. That’s an awful way to talk about your brother, or your friend.”

Ah shrugged. “Based on how we found out about his last job, clearly, he’s her type.”

Uncle Blood snorted again and Applebloom shivered. “Oh, Goddess, don’t remind me! Ya know what? Mac’s got the right idea, Ah’m puttin’ the TV back on. Screw talkin’ things out.”

Ah laughed and… felt a little lighter than before. Nothin’s okay. Nothin’s gonna be okay fer a while. A long time, even. But fer now… this is fine.

Ah just hope she can walk tomorrow.

Finale VII: Forgiveness

Brightness Slate

“Ah cannot believe some of the shit you’re pullin’, Uncle.” Applejack said as they exited their simulation. I ain’t got nothing but buzzy wings and bad eyes, but being handicapped ain’t an excuse around here, as it turns out. Missing wing, missing leg, can’t fly, being named ‘Blood Orange.’ Doesn’t matter what your deficiencies, you wear the brand, you watch the simulation if that’s what the boss tells you to do.

The old bastard sighed. “I can’t say I’m all that happy about it, to be honest.”

My idiot decided to chirp up next. “Well, I’m happy about it. You’re awesome! You know what it’s like to see you in action? It’s like an old broadcast when they would get Red Hoof on camera fighting somepony!”

It made my stomach churn. I don’t know what was worse. The fact that Dash was right, or the fact that he was the one doing it.

He tried to fight it, but just the tiniest smile crept up his face. “Well, I don’t know about that. I borrow too much from everypony to fight just like him.”

Yeah, yeah, you enjoy this, you old piece of shit. A little bit of praise and it goes straight to your lucky ass head, don’t it?

“I’ll say,” Pinkie chimed, “I never thought I’d be able to run with anypony, but it really is kinda like having a mirror around when we do stuff in tandem at my speed, ya know.”

Blech. What a word to use. I would call her a dumbass if I didn’t already know her head was this empty all the time. The kid doesn’t think. She’s almost as bad as mine is.

Prissy was a bit more disappointed than everypony else. “I suppose it is a good thing and all, but I was hoping we might be able to get a little more time out of you. My powers truly are one of a kind.”

The boss nodded. “You and I both, Rarity. However, this at least tells us that it really is your magic that the virus changed. Maybe it’s little more than a miracle that you can do any other magic at all.”

“I apologize for not being more useful to you. I really just don’t know what I’m looking at when I try to copy your powers. It’s… something like being handed a map that’s been encrypted. I know how it’s supposed to work, but I can’t make sense of anything on the page.”

Yeah, more excuses, Blood, keep ‘em up. ‘Nothing to lose, nothing to live for.’ Guess I don’t mean shit, do I? You make me sick. I hope you see your wife at the end of the week. Fuck you.

“H-having somepony else who could b-break the rules of nature would’ve b-been nice, but I think you’re g-good enough as is. I-it’s one thing to have a second Rarity, b-but a second everypony else is even b-better.”

I clicked my tongue. High praise from the Beast herself. Not that he even has a grip on her powers. Sure, he can do it, but he moves like a newborn puppy learning how to walk, let alone looking like a rug with legs.

“I’m just surprised he can copy my power too. What do you do with all the energy once you absorb it? When I would get too much, I always felt like I had to release it immediately. Without a horn to do that, I just can’t imagine…”

‘Princess 3’ managed to convince mother hen to let her back into the party after fighting with her about it for a good couple hours last night. Bright fuckin’ white and nopony notices you, I swear. A castle as big as this one is, and they have to come fight in the library when I’m trying to read. It’s bad enough that I have to burn my brain just to use my eyes, then they have to get all angry and sappy at each other without even noticing me. Must be nice, having somepony who cares about ya like that. I really thought that… after the first time, he…

“It’s… interesting, to say the least. After trying it a few times, I found that whatever has happened to Applejack recently allows her to release the magic within in a sort of… ‘extension,’ would be the best way I can put it. I wish I’d paid more attention when I took that mandatory magic theory class back in college.”

“Oh, I’m sure I could at least give a crash course on it! I’m very familiar with the subject, as you might think,” Princess 3 said, like she’d been waiting for that line to come up all her life. Knows a lot if ya ask her. Naïve as hell though. Not too surprising considering her life story, but whatever. I don’t mind her much. Sweet girl, definitely a good influence on Wings, but man, can she talk when she wants to.

“Ta be fair, Ah don’t really understand how Ah do it either, Ah just, uh… know how. That said, Ah guess the fact that you can do it when ya copy me means that whatever the element did ta me is a permanent change, and not a temporary one.”

I still don’t know what to make of her. She’s her father’s kid, no question about it. Just as crazy, just as reckless, at least a few times as powerful as Red Hoof was, but… I don’t know, I just don’t get her. What kind of pony has the balls to stand up to the boss when she’s about to light everypony up, but cries over a waste of space like Blood Orange? A guy like that doesn’t deserve somepony as good as her.

“Yes, that is another matter we’ll have to look into when we have time,” the boss said, “For now, we’ll call it a day. Two more days remain, and though he has been a boon, Mister Blood is not yet accustomed to the rest of you as you are to him. We need to be a cohesive unit before Sunday, and I’d like to do a few live practices to see how much of this he can stand tomorrow. Eat well, sleep well, and be back, tomorrow, ready to deal with me.”

Snrk. I wonder, if he breaks himself, can he copy Scoots and heal himself? If he can, I guess I won’t have to worry about him dying on me. Not that I…

I let out a breath and silently left the training room. This is so fucking stupid. He’s nothing like the old man. He’s a coward, a loser, a pretender, the fool’s gold prince, and Goddess damn it, I don’t want nothing to do with him! Fuck, maybe I’m the waste of space here. I need some air.

Geez, what a mess. The city has seen better days, I tell ya. ‘Scorched earth’ was always the boss’s tactic in the history books, but I doubt anypony really knew why she was so aggressive when it came to fighting till now. Maybe she always intends to stamp out opposition, and maybe things end up more like last Sunday and she just can’t help but get involved. That famous crater of hers was definitely the latter, I guess.

From Central Park, I made my way out and about to get air, but there was hardly a place to do it when the smell of burning wreckage was still lingering around. Lamp posts aren’t supposed to be that shape, the roads were never this smooth before, there used to be little trees that dotted the sidewalks here, but there wasn’t even a sign of those ever existing, ‘cept maybe the ash you found on blackened soil beds.

It wasn’t weird to see ponies that looked like they survived off caffeine working around Manehattan, there was always construction around these parts, but this was on another level. If I was just trying to find my way around and didn’t want to see the world around me just because, I doubt I’d have much trouble because the anxiety and stress levels in this area were the highest I’d ever seen ‘em.

Even with my eyes working, I’d still get flashes of those colors I know so well, telling me who was about to break and who wouldn’t make it another day. Hard to think that pony you’d grown up your whole life watching from below could destroy your whole world just by showing her true colors. Cognitive dissonance is a bitch.

A stallion passed me by and I had to do a double take. Brown mane, yellow coat, green eyes, built like a brick house. I turned my powers back to normal just to see, but, of course, this guy was just another regular joe. The real thing was dead and buried in crystal under the castle. And the fake…

I threw my head back and groaned. Cognitive dissonance is a bitch, ain’t it? I can’t believe I’m actin’ like this. Star would laugh at me, Goddess bless ‘em. I… wonder what he’d say if I told him? ‘C’mon, Bright, this is exactly the kinda trouble I told ya not ta get into!’ Or… would he? I mean, sure, the guy is almost twice my age. Nothing about it was ever right, but it’s not like I’m—

“How could a filly like you stop me?”

I slammed my hoof into the ground. “Fuck you, ya old piece of shit! How dare you call me a filly! After everything! After everything I did for you!”

Chill out, dumb ass! You’re in public!

I took a look around, keeping my eyes down and using my powers to check out the ponies nearby. There weren’t many of ‘em, sure, but all their heads were turned my direction if they were in ear shot. Good Goddess, I’m pathetic.

I shuffled on and tried to head toward somewhere less populated. With power like mine, I can tell the where and what within several miles around me. Hundreds of thousands of ponies in a 3D map like some kinda computer program. Problem is, not only does that make it hard to use any of my other senses, sometimes I forget which one of the fucking dots is me.

I can force my powers out, make them stop and rework them to scan everything that I could normally see, force them to feel what I feel, but the strain of doing that tires me out easily. I was never a pony who could do a lot, or even what was normal for others, but just trying to be… normal in any sense of the word starts to overload my little brain after a while and give me a fever.

My body will shut itself off before it lets me go too far, and that leaves me defenseless and vulnerable to anypony who happens to come across me. Helpless fucking blind little filly! That’s what you are, that’s what you’ve always been, and even when you find somepony to latch onto, you’re an insufferable bitch because you just can’t stand how worthless you are!

Id, thy name is cognitive dissonance.

Before too long, it was starting to get difficult to walk and keep my powers focused at the same time, so I decided to find someplace to take a break. If she wasn’t fucking following me, I’d wish my idiot was around to take care of me. Surely, she knows that I know she’s there, right? She can’t hide from me. There ain’t many ponies who can hide from me if I’m looking for ‘em. And she’s like a sore hoof. I always know where she is. Even when I don’t want to. Like, now, for instance.

Worried about me. Doesn’t think I can take care of myself. Knows I’m just as useless as I feel. At least that jackass didn’t come with her. I wonder… what made me think I could accomplish anything by myself, huh? My only real value is my ability to gather information. Once everypony knows what I know… what am I even here for?

I couldn’t hardly keep myself fed when I was on my own. It’s real easy to steal food when you can wipe memories, but just because they forget in their head doesn’t mean they forget in their heart. Stupid ponies with dumb, easily manipulated hearts will take pity on rats. Even abusive ones. They’ll understand things they don’t know; feel things they can’t see. He was stupid. His daughter is stupid. The boss is stupid. Wings is stupid too, even if it took me beating it into her. All those ponies are stupid like that.

Ain’t nopony stupider than I am, though. ‘Cept, maybe that Star Slate kid. He was so stupid, it rubbed off on me. And all this stupidity has led me… here.

You could hear the sound of the harbor, this far east. Old, abandoned factories littered the place, but a little patch of civilization remained at the edge between a forgotten, dead Manehattan, and the new one that breathed in its place. It didn’t look so run down, anymore.

Probably had it washed recently. Even the sign looks like it’s new. Always had an eye for colors, that one. He loved to play with my mane, since it was so colorful and long. Separate my head into its colors, tie it up in braids and buns so that it looked like the fade wasn’t even there and it was just three solid colors.

When things started to get blurry, he always made it so I could still see my mane, just to know that it was still there. Senses dulled, feelings of regret and guilt that grew in their place up until that fateful October morning. Pure, concentrated stupid. A fatal diagnosis, and worst of all, it’s hereditary.

“You gonna go in?” my darling idiot asked.

“I probably should, all things considered.” There was a dryness to my voice. A tired flavor, a dull edge.

“Yeah, you probably should. Can’t get any more heartbroken, right?”

I clicked my tongue. She knows more than she lets on. How irritating. I take her in for four years, and it’s like she actually knows who I am. Imagine that.

“Sometimes I wish you were as dumb as I like to think you are.”

Dash snorted. “Ha! What even is that? Sorry ass attempt at a compliment, that’s for sure. Get in there.”

She went to push me through the door, but I stopped her. My heart sank a little when I noticed it, but I simply pointed at the sign. “Maybe… not.”

Dash, however, ignored that. “Oh, come on. He’s in there, isn’t he?”

“W-well…”

She groaned. “You’re such a pussy! Let’s go!”

Before I could object, she used her blood to unlock the door from the other side and then shove me through it. A bell chimed and I could hear movement from upstairs. The building, though renovated, was still the one I remembered. The stars were in the same place. I could see the remains of a separation in the floor that was made to look like it kept the front counter separate from the show room, but really used to be where the kitchen started and the living room ended.

You could still see a newspaper here and there with the latest on whatever happened with the heroes in Manehattan. The boss on the front page in that fire form of hers wasn’t exactly reassuring. Clothes that I just couldn’t imagine were made by the same hooves that played with my hair all those years ago lined the walls. Dresses with gems sewn in them, tuxedos and expensive coats, even a few casual clothes that all definitely looked like something he’d make. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they looked like superhero costumes. He always did love to make them.

“Are you ponies blind!? The sign says ‘closed’ in big, bright red neon letters! That door was locked, wasn’t it? How did you even—”

And there he was, comin’ down the stairs as loudly as he could, big motions with his free hooves, eccentric and quick to annoyance. The beard was new. Probably hasn’t shaved in weeks. Never thought he was stallion enough to grow one, but that shows what I know. A shirt with a pin cushion on it, a tricolor tie that was identical to my mane. Memories, yes. Feelings, no.

He stopped as soon as he locked eyes on me. “Geez, talk about insensitive. Sorry, Miss. Um…” The gears started turning in his head. “Do I… know you?”

It won’t be long now. It comes back when they see me. Something about my eyes that cancels the effect. Mine might be empty, but they’re still windows… or, reflections, in my case, to the soul.

With every step he took down the stairs, I wanted to run away even more. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be doing this. If I tell him the truth, if he gets his memories back, what if he tries to go kill Blood? Not that he could, now, anyways, but I don’t want him to! That was the whole reason…

“You’re, uh… Applejack’s friend, right? I saw ya at the weddin’, didn’t I?” He was addressing Dash, sure, but his eyes kept wandering toward me. I could make it happen. Fast forward the process, unlock everything, give it all back. Hell, I could just tell him who I am and he’d remember like that too. Why am I…?

“Oh, yeah, I guess we did meet already. It’s kinda weird, talking to you now. I mean, in this context anyways.”

Star frowned. “How do ya figure? Who is… this, uh…?”

I chewed on my lip. Keep your head down, do as you’re told, don’t make noise, don’t draw attention, hope somepony comes along who can stop this for you. If only I had my… If only I had my…

“… big brother…” It came out as little more than a whisper. A whisper, however, was all he needed.

“B-bright? Bright, is that you?” He grabbed my face with his hooves and forced me to look him in the eyes.

I wanted to scream. To cry, to fall into him, to tell him how much I missed him, to let him hold me because I knew he was there. But I couldn’t. I’d already done that and more for somepony I can’t find it in me to let go of. These stupid feelings, this weak mare’s heart.

Maybe I’ll never move forward. Never grow up. Be forever stuck in this prison, slowly losing my connection to the world, to these powers that eat me alive. If that’s how it has to be… how it will be going forward, knowing full well that the one I want is gone, the one I pushed my feelings onto is needed by somepony more important to him, then at least… I’ll still have you.

“I-I’m home, Star.”

When all the crying was done, all the tears had dried, and my idiot had been there to awkwardly watch it all, Star took us up to the second floor of this old place and showed me a room he’d kept locked for over a decade. Before I left, I found out that I can manipulate images in ponies’ heads that affect the real world the same way they do the memory. For instance, say I wanted to remove all trace of me from a pony’s mind. Not only would I be gone from their head, the only way they could ever see me again is if they saw me in front of ‘em in the flesh.

They don’t recognize me in pictures, they don’t even realize I’m in pictures because that’s how far the wipe goes to take me out of it. Just like unplugging a wire in your head. I don’t exist. Despite all that, Star kept every picture, every article, every little piece of information he could find on me and hid it all in one place.

He’d ask other ponies if they could see me in the old pictures he had and give them discounts if they’d just keep an eye out for me. I was only ever approached once when somepony unrelated to Argent asked for my name, and I made sure they forgot why they asked. Try as I might, Star is the only pony I could never really force to forget about me.

“So, uh… how about a coffee? Do you drink coffee? I know it was hard to get’cha to eat anything that wasn’t just covered in sugar for a while there. I mean, geez, it’s been so long! You’re a… you’re a… a mare, now, I just can’t hardly believe it. Uh… coffee?”

Does he remember? Does he really remember? I was this close to losing him before I left, does he not…?

Rainbow shook my shoulder. “Hey. He’s talking to you.”

I looked up and pulled all my senses back in. “Uh, sure! Yeah, coffee… coffee’s fine.”

Star held his eyes on me for a little longer than he should, but then went into his little kitchen. “Alright then, three coffees! Anypony want anything in it? Cream? Sugar? I uh… I might have some milk here, provided it ain’t spoiled. I always buy it, drink half, and throw the rest away. I always think to buy too much because… because…”

Damn it, Star. Why are you like this? You shouldn’t be alone. Bet he brings a mare home and she winds up finding that room thinking he’s some kinda pedo-creep.

“I’ll take milk if you have it. She wants cream and sugar.” Dash answered for me.

I clicked my tongue in irritation but didn’t bother putting voice to it. She already knows. I don’t have to say anything to her.

“Cream and sugar, huh? I guess things… don’t always change over time, huh?”

Rainbow mane shifted left and right. “Nah, definitely a sweet tooth. When we used to go get groceries all the time, we’d always get some candy or something like that to keep around just because. We’d always get—”

Star took an orange wrapped candy bar out of his fridge and held it up for us to see. “The peanut butter cups, right?”

“Yeah, exactly!”

He took out a few more packs and added them to the tray he was setting up. Of course he has these. Just after we met Citrus, we finally started having the money to buy things we wanted and not just what we needed. I’d always ask, and when he could, he’d always provide.

“I always have these in the house. They were never my favorites, but any time I’d eat through them, I’d always get more just to… have around, I guess.” He scratched at the back of his neck. “I’m still havin’ trouble parsin’ through all this, ya know? Those pictures, the extra food, the extra clothes, all the things I do for somepony who wasn’t here all make sense to me now, ya know? I always knew you were still out there, but I guess I just… never expected ya to just show up at my door after all these years.”

I still didn’t want to look at him. Too many of the things I’ve done, especially in the recent past are all so… shameful. Try to force my heart on somepony too lonely to say no, and when he finally does, I run back to my big brother for comfort. How sad.

“To be honest, I’d never really thought of when I might ever come back. I… I had to leave. I did it out of necessity, neither of us would’ve made it if I didn’t. One-year passes, and next thing I know, five more go with it. By the time I figured out my powers, I didn’t know if it was even right for me to come back. It’d been so long; I wasn’t sure you’d even still want to see me again. Then all this crap with Argent came up and I knew I couldn’t just… leave it be, I guess.”

Why can’t you say what you mean? Why can’t you tell him what you want to? Why are you so damn allergic to honesty? You sit with her for an hour and the boss has you pegged, even without reading your mind.

“Oh, Bright… you know that I’d never turn ya away, don’t’cha?” Star set his tray down on his kitchen bar for us and passed everything out. “I mean, hell, I’ve been lookin’ for ya all this time! I asked everypony I ever trusted to look for ya. There was even one pony who said they thought they’d seen you, but uh… he never came back after that. Don’t know if he’s dead or he just forgot about me or what happened to ‘em.

“Not that that’s so uncommon in the business these ponies tend to be in.” He eyed my idiot for a moment. “Is she, uh… ya know?”

I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Oh, yeah, sure. Don’t’cha know? That’s the Bloody Crow of Manehattan.”

Star’s lips pulled tight. “Ah. ‘Course. Applejack did say she picked you up, didn’t she?”

I snorted, Wings was offended. “Picked me up? Picked me up!? What in the—” she paused, remembering a certain incident involving a skateboard, “Yeah, I guess that uh… that kinda did happen. But, like, literally! I didn’t hit on her! I’m not into mares!”

Smiling, I sipped on my coffee and leaned against my hoof. “I mean, depending on the definition of words here, you definitely hit on her. Awful defensive, ain’t’cha?”

Wings groaned in irritation. “It was one time! Why is this even a subject? Didn’t you come here to cry on your brother’s shoulder because you got dumped?”

And then she went and said something stupid! Goddess damn it, didn’t anypony teach you tact!? Why are you so useless!? You’re such a good actress when you need to be, what the fuck is wrong with you!?

Star scratched his beard. “Dumped? As in like, rejected by a stallion? That’s what made ya come see me after all these years?”

I went to try and punch that idiot in the face, but it’s not like she couldn’t just stop me in my tracks any moment she wanted. Like she did. “Why are you so fucking stupid!? Why can’t you keep your mouth shut!? You know damn well that’s not why I’m here!”

Tying me up with her blood while sipping on her coffee, Wings shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I believe you.”

Using the only free appendage I had, I buzzed my wings as hard as I could, but again, it didn’t take much more than a thought for Wings to make me helpless. “I swear to the boss herself, you’d better get killed by Silicon before you let me go because the moment you do!”

‘Course, she wasn’t even looking at me as I threatened to kill her. “Can you believe this?”

Star laughed nervously, “Yeah, she always did have that temper of hers.”

“Goddess, both of you!” I wanted to scream, but… I knew I didn’t have any right to.

Wings rolled her eyes. “If you would just spit it out already, we wouldn’t need to be doing this at all. I mean, I know she’s always right, but the boss really got you good the other day, didn’t she?”

“Fuck you!” I struggled against the blood, but there was little I could’ve done even if she’d pinned me down herself. “I don’t even know why you followed me here!”

Yes you do.

“Nopony asked you to come!”

But you wanted her to.

“Why can’t you just let me take care of my own problems!?”

Wings crossed her forelegs. “‘Because you won’t if I’m not here to make you.’ Sound familiar?”

Defeat. Stopped in my tracks, using my own words against me. I didn’t struggle anymore, I didn’t say anything back. Just glaring in resentment.

“Bright, uh… I get it. I know how you were. But, uh, she’s right, ain’t she? You can tell me the truth, can’t’cha?”

I couldn’t look at him. The truth was too stupid. Too shameful. Too… selfish. “I…” I let out a breath and covered my face against the bar. “There’s a lot of truth in that. I did get rejected. I am here because I want to be comforted by… by the only stallion I know I still have.”

I swallowed. “But that’s not the only reason why, okay? It… for years, it’s killed me that I did that to you, ya know? I’ve always been so powerless to do anything, to stop anypony, to save anypony, and it’s happening again right in front of me and I…”

Goddess damn it, why are you crying? You don’t even know if he really remembers what happened back then. I wiped at my eyes and tried to look at Star, but all this emotion was screwing with my powers just as bad as anything else. A colored silhouette of somepony I love half in a haze from two points of view.

“Do… do you remember? What happened, before I left?”

Star put his hoof on my mane and smoothed it down for me. “I’ll be honest, Sis, I’m really havin’ trouble thinkin’ about it. Maybe it’s because you took it away, but it might be just because so much time has passed, ya know? It’s been… twelve years, after all.”

“You… you wanted to hunt him down. You wanted to find him and kill him yourself. Avenge our… our Mister Red Hooves. You started going out late at night, you made yourself a costume, you kept that stupid gun on you everywhere you went, and you wouldn’t listen to me for anything!

“You got in a fight one night and you almost got yourself killed! I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was… I was… I was gonna lose you too, if things kept on the way they were.” Maybe it was faded or gone for him, but I could see the memory as clear as day. Like it was happening right in front of me again. Because… because everything about all this stings just the way it did before.

“If I could make you forget… take away that pony you knew, things would go back to normal, right? I was close. So close. It almost worked. You were still angry, but you put those feelings into work instead of a witch hunt. You stopped going out, you stayed with me.

“But… it kept breaking through. You kept getting the memories back and I couldn’t erase them permanently. After a while I… I figured out that it was me that kept bringing them back to you. I was too tangled up in all those memories, and if I was around, you’d keep getting them back and that rage would return refreshed and ready to destroy you all over again.

“I had to go. It was all I could do to… to keep from losing you too. If I ever came back, I thought it would just happen all over again. We’d go back however many years and you’d just go off to find B— th-the Mirror and lose everything.”

Star was… very quiet. Too quiet. He should’ve said something by now. A soft voice, a pat on the back saying, ‘it’s okay, I’m too something for that now.’ A complaint of some kind. Why?

After a few minutes, Star finally asked, “So… ya know who he is, don’t’cha?”

I could feel it. Everything I’d feared was happening just like I thought it was. That old rage was blooming back to life in his chest and he was radiating it in a way that even Wings was uncomfortable with. I uncovered my face and tried my hardest to focus my powers back on my own senses. Even… even a blind pony could tell just by the look on his face.

“So what if I do!? Th-there’s nothing you could do to him! He’s not the pony you think he is!”

Crossed forelegs, Star started to tap his hoof and nod slowly. “Yeah, I think I’m startin’ to get the picture. I’m not stupid, alright? Maybe I don’t know what’cha think of me now, but I sure as hell know that you’re still actin’ like ya did before ya left. So let’s set some things straight here: first, it’s him, right? The guy who dumped you? He’s the Mirror, ain’t he?”

I bit my lip, but that’s all Star needed to see. “Uh-huh. I cannot even begin to fathom how you ended up fallin’ for a guy like that, but if there’s one thing that I’ve learned in all these years of workin’ with heroes, it’s that everything is more complicated than it seems. I’m not a kid anymore. Or an angry teen, at that.”

He let out a breath, turned his head and then started to scratch at his neck. “As much as it pains me to ask this, second, ya gave it to ‘em, didn’t’cha? Your, uh… the V-card.”

I covered my face with my hooves. Any number of ways he could’ve said that, and that’s how he chooses to phrase it?

Star let out a pained chuckle. “Of course ya did. Only took a father figure from us, might as well give ‘em everything else ya had to give, why not.” Star sucked in air as only a disappointed father could and continued, “Fine, whatever. There are things I don’t know, things get complicated in a hurry, and maybe in some… bizarro-world, there’s something about this guy that reminds you of the old man, and you just cannot let go.

“I get that. I guess. Fuck, Applejack’s husband was straight up arrested by her before they got married, so whatever. Goddess bless ‘em, he didn’t even make it week and I’m still comin’ to terms with that. That kid had a future. He was smart, he would’ve made a good dad one day, and I wanted to be around just to see her finally get that family she deserves, and goddess damn it, this world is the bizarro-world, and nopony can ever get the ending they want, damn it!”

Star slammed the table and I flinched. He sighed, and again, gently stroked my mane. “You’re right. I am furious. And now, I have another reason to want to go blow this guy away. But, ya know what?”

The hoof disappeared from my mane, and after a few seconds, I suddenly found forelegs around me. “He got you to find me again. And more important than anything on this earth, is you bein’ back in my life. I love ya, Bright. Ain’t nothin’ gonna change that. So, don’t disappear on me again, alright?”

Falling back into my big brother’s chest, finally, I let go of everything that’d been holding me back. “Star! I’m so sorry! I never wanted to go! I missed you so much! I’m so sorry!”

I told him everything. Everything I could think of, everything Wings reminded me of, everything I knew. So long as the boss wasn’t involved, anyways. That slipped me once, and it will never happen again. So much for burning your tongue off, you’ve gotta have some kind of will power to actually push through the pain to say something coherent enough to be understood. I’ve got forbidden words in my vocabulary now, and each and every one will be circling around in my brain covered in burning thorns. Do. Not. Touch.

Knowing everything I did about Blood changed Star’s mind. Much like me, he couldn’t bring himself to hate him. It’s nopony’s fault, save maybe Silicon, but even he is a victim of his own circumstances. Just another life twisted apart by the cold, cruel world we live in.

If things had been different, and Star had somehow found him on his own, I wonder… if he would’ve been able to do it? We were asked to watch over Applejack and her siblings once or twice back in the day. We knew of Blood Orange. Knowing that those kids were depending on him, could Star have actually done it?

I don’t think he could.

Next week, I’d get everything from my room at Argent and have it moved to Star’s place, provided it survived the fight tomorrow. We’re gonna start over. Try to get back some of the time lost, be a family again. Even if I… lose that stupid old stallion, it would be a mistake to think that I could ever be anything to him. Maybe that isn’t true, maybe he’s just trying to do the right thing by pushing me away, maybe I’m just too… young, dumb, heartbroken to see clearly right now. He’s old enough to be my dad. I shouldn’t feel this way.

Not about him, not about Citrus, not about… that costume I’ve idolized for so long.

Ever since I was a filly, he was everything to me. The stallion who saved me from the hooves of a mob boss, the stallion who took care of me when I needed him most, the stallion I wished would come back for me and make me his bride. The years went by, the loss scarred me deeper, and that strange puppy love turned into a twisted infatuation.

Why did you leave me? Why didn’t you take me home? Why didn’t you make me yours? It’s all I ever wanted to be. Not a hero, not a side kick, just somepony special… to you. A decade and two years and I couldn’t get you out of my head. Silicon’s plans leaked to me, and suddenly, I thought I had a chance to redeem myself in your eyes. I could live up to you. I could be worthy of your praise, even if I’d never get to hear it.

And then… I ran into him. Your stupid little brother. The fool’s gold prince. Nothing more than an imitation of the real thing, a coward without an ounce of manly virtue in him, a pony who lived on trying to fill your shoes when even I was a better fit for them than him. How could this pathetic pretender do you in? Even if you couldn’t fight him, there was no way that he was capable of actually killing you.

He couldn’t do anything. He was worthless. And he knew it. I hated him. And the more I learned about him, the less that feeling became. From hatred to pity, from pity to fondness, and somewhere along the line, a wire got crossed. He looks so much like you. When he stands up, willing to do anything to keep your kids safe, he acts so much like you. Like… Mister Red Hooves.

I knew I’d made a mistake that night. I felt that way about you, not him. But he was so close to who you were. I knew he wasn’t you the whole time. You were better than him. You wouldn’t have accepted me. You looked at me the same way you looked at your daughters. And he… saw me as a mare.

Again and again, I kiss and curse him with the same breath, unwilling to let go, unwilling to forgive, unwilling to say what I feel, my allergy to honesty. I hate him. I love him. I know I can’t have him.

I wish you were here, so that I could be honest. If I was looking at your face, I could tell you the truth and confess all the twisted feelings in my heart and finally let go once you reject me. You were always too good for me. But again, somehow, despite everything, even with the deficiency of being named, ‘Blood Orange,’ he still filled the shoes and did it in your place.

Now that I’m free, there’s only one thing I still need from you. Just… a little sign of approval, if you will. He can do it. He can fill in those heavy, heavy shoes of yours. But I’ll be damned if he doesn’t look the part while he plays it.

So I ask, will you give this imitation, this failure, this pretender, the one and only fool’s gold prince…

Permission to be real, just this once?

“I can’t believe you talked me into this…”

Wings rolled her eyes. “Nuh-uh. You talked you into this. This idea was all yours, and I didn’t have anything to do with it. Even your brother was just shocked the moment you suggested it.”

I chewed on my lip. “Shut up and play along already, damn it! Can’t you see I’m dyin’ here?”

We were almost at the living room. He would be there, and he’d look at me the way he does, somewhere between guilty and happy, and I was about to make him cry, for better or worse. I was gonna cry, that’s just a fact. It’s not a secret here, everypony with a lick of sense knows, so at least all but that dumbass Pinkie.

“Whatever. You’d better be ready. He’s gonna look at you first, ya know? He always does.”

“I know, damn it! Just… just shut up already!” What am I nervous about? What does it say about me that I’ve had him inside me a number of times already and this is what embarrasses me? Good Goddess, I feel like such an idiot, let’s get this over with!

Taking a deep breath, I started to buzz my wings and flew right down the hallway and over the table to him. I landed, and all the noise stopped. Red rings stared me down, confusion written all over them. Say it! Say it already! Spit it out, or they’re gonna keep staring!

“Um… did you need something, Brightness?”

“You’re a fake, damn it!” I yelled in his face. He reared back, dumbstruck. Everypony was confused, of course, what I just said doesn’t make sense to anypony but me and Wings. Spell it out for him!

“A pretender, a fraud, the fool’s gold prince! Your whole damn life is a lie because you’ve been pretending to be somepony else for so long that…!” Come on, spit it out! Do it! Take the shot and get over the allergy!

I took a deep breath. “…that you’re finally starting to look like the real thing. If… if the lie is gonna become the truth sooner or later anyways…” I took the box off my back and held it out for him with my wings. “You might as well look the part.”

Taking it in his hooves, he carefully unwrapped it and opened the lid. He knew what it was as soon as he saw it. And just as predicted, he started to cry. Caught up in his embrace, my heart racing a mile a minute, a familiar feeling racing through me, I joined him, just as predicted.

“Thank you, Brightness.”