PONYVERSE

Chapters

The Link
Queen of the Sun and Moon
That Lonesome Magic
Attack on Dragon
New Friends and Old Relations
The High Council
Scouting Mission
Dealing with the Devil
Disharmony: Gods Among Us
Infiltration
Grim Reflections
Assault on Canterlot
History Repeats
The Exorcism of Rarity Belle
For A Few Bits Noir
The Maltese Phoenix
Out of the Past (Part 1)
Out of the Past (Part 2)
Forces of Evil
Curiouser and Curiouser
Tea Time of the Soul
Questions and Answers
The Jabberwocky
Homecoming
Down a Peg
The Speedster's Secret
Revenant
Just a Little Faster
Saying Goodbye
Sunset Shimmer and the Mysterious Voice
Aklopolips Now
Point of No Return
The Furies
No More Secrets
Battleroom Blitz
Inner Demons
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Deus Ex Machina
The Gathering
One on One
Battle for Ponyville
Standoff
Of Monsters and Mares
Heroes and Villains
The Mysterious Mare Do-Well
The Shadow of Nightmare Moon
Invasion of the Pony Snatchers
Sunset Shimmer and the Chekhov's Gun

The Link

A short gray alicorn sat calmly by a round altar made from the trunk of an ancient white tree. Today she was reading a book she’d picked up on one of her many travels through the multiverse. It was an interesting historical romance about a seapony from a high society family under the water and a knight from above. The alicorn loved romances.

Her ears perked up when she heard the approach of hoofsteps. She smiled and put her book down. The fillies and colts of the nearby village loved to come visit her around this time. They always liked to see her in the middle of something, it made them think her job was more special than it appeared to be.

In truth, she really didn’t do anything more than guard the altar from all evil forces. There was no special ceremony needed for the upkeep or anything like that. She only guarded this place because it had saved her from a fate worse than death.

The trees along the clearing’s edge began to rustle and the alicorn smiled as the children poked their heads out excitedly. “Miss Alicorn!” They all cried that name as they poured from the trees and surrounded her. The alicorn had a name but she hadn’t used it in a long time, and it seemed to make the children laugh so Miss Alicorn was fine.

She laughed as they began to bombard her with requests, as the children so often did. “Now calm down, calm down, my little ponies,” she laughed. “One at a time.” She pointed to a very small earth pony with a white and brown speckled coat.

“Um, Miss Alicorn,” the colt murmured. “What’s the most beautiful sight you’ve ever seen?”

The alicorn smiled and tilted her head to look off to the side. “Oh, I’ve seen so many in such a short time. It’d be hard to find just one.”

“We wanna know!” came a chorus of eager voices.

She chuckled and tapped her chin in thought. “I got it. I’ve told you children all about the worlds I’ve been to before but do you know what those worlds look like together?” They all blinked and muttered in confusion.

“What do you mean, Miss Alicorn?”

She pointed up at the sky an all their eyes followed. “From here we can see the sun and the moon in the sky. And we know from experience that some ponies can travel there.” Her horn glowed and the air shimmered turning into an image of another world. It showed a pony in a large white bulky suit stepping hoof on the moon. The children ooed and ahed. “But do you ponies know what this world looks like from the moon?” A filly raised her hoof and she pointed at her.

“My mom says it probably looks like a giant marble!” Most of the children nodded in agreement.

“That’s true. So, who can guess what every world looks like from above?” They all waited in silent expectation. Finally, a lanky orange colt spoke from the back.

“A bag of marbles?”

The alicorn laughed again and shook her head. “No. It looks like this.” Her horn changed color and the image did as well, expanding slightly and flying above them so everypony could see. It looked like a string of brilliant white pearls floating in a colorful swirling space. The string seemed to go on forever. “The most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen was this. The shape of all worlds.” They all pointed and watched the image of the pearls with wide eyes.

Another colt raised his hoof. “So what’s the scariest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Her smile faded and the image above stopped moving. “Oh, well, um…”

“That’s not something to ask her!” somepony shouted.

“I don’t want to learn about something scary.”

“But I do!”

An argument began to erupt mostly between the colts and fillies. The alicorn tried to calm them down but her voice was easily overpowered. She glanced up at the image she’d been making and took a shuttered breath as a dark shadow crept over the shining pearls. “Enough!” she shouted, extinguishing the image and getting everypony’s attention. She took a breath to calm herself. “I don’t believe its very appropriate either.” The colt who started it kicked the ground woefully.

“Miss alicorn, what’s your world like?”

The alicorn paused as she heard the question. Then a smile returned to her face. “My home… is wonderful. Full of places I never thought I could find in my own backyard and friends who I would do anything for.”

“Can we visit it?”

Her smile faltered but she kept it up for the children. “No, I’m afraid not.” They all sighed. “Now I believe it’s time for young fillies and colts to go to school.”

Their sighs turned to moans as they got up and began to walk back through the forest. “Can we come see you again tomorrow, Miss Alicorn?”

She smiled at them as she waved goodbye. “Of course.”

When all were gone she let out a short sigh and blinked as her ears twitched. It felt like something was watching. She peered around looking for whatever had set her off but stopped to slowly turn around. “Who’s there?”

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well shot up in bed breathing heavily. She quickly scanned the room for any signs of danger, her trained senses taking everything in. She was in an infirmary. What was she doing there? She remembered being in the control room of the Veloci-Lair and then… pain. She remembered seeing something. A crack in a wall. It hurt to just look at it. But where was this wall and why did she have this vision? She lifted her hoof to take off her hat but was surprised when she felt nothing above her head. Her eyes darted to a table next to her and she saw her hat laying on it. She quickly grabbed it to her chest. Was her mask off as well? She got out of bed and ran to a mirror. She sighed with relief. The mask was still in place hiding her mane and the purple wrap was still tight around her horn.

She seriously couldn’t believe she had passed out. Her, a trained martial artist and warrior. She grit her teeth in frustration. Just then the door swung open and a familiar orange pony in a white robe and black hakama walked in. “You’re lookin’ better,” Applejack stated.

Mare Do-Well returned her hat to her head and nodded. “I appreciate the concern but we should get moving.”

“Not even gonna talk about it?” Applejack eyed her curiously. Mare Do-Well didn’t know what to think about this pony. Unlike the others Fili-Second had collected for her interdimensional task force, this was the only one whose counterpart on her earth was a good pony. She and the others had discovered this Applejack nearly dead of exhaustion and cuts in her world. She didn’t know whether she could count on this Applejack like she could her own. “Ah mean you did just fall over and go into a trance.”

“I’m fine,” Mare Do-Well replied, regathering her supplies from the bedside table. “It was nothing important.”

“Ah know when sompony’s bein’ dishonest,” AJ said flaltly. Mare Do-Well stopped for a moment and sighed.

“I don’t know what to make of it yet. I can’t even seem to remember anything that happened during it. And because of that it’s not important to the task at hand.” She finished grabbing her stuff and walked past AJ out of the room. Applejack watched her leave before following behind her.

~`(\/)’~

Rarity was sitting in the corner of the Veloci-Lair for a few hours now. Ever since Mare Do-Well’s episode she had confined herself to a state of meditation. The vision she saw still haunting her and she didn’t know why. All it seemed to be was a crack. And yet the pure unencumbered emptiness she felt emanating from that crack made her soul shutter. To have looked into it was like looking into the eyes of death itself. Normally she would expect the Nightmare within her to speak up at this time and maybe lead her down another wrong path. But she could even feel fear from the Nightmare. She had not decided to speak for hours now.

“You’re in over your head,” a voice came to her. Rarity finally opened her eyes and turned to the side. The wall of the Lair was a shiny metal and she could see herself reflected in it. Her reflection glared at her with unfeeling eyes.

“I didn’t think you were going to show yourself today,” Rarity muttered just as unfeelingly.

The reflection slammed its face against the wall to get her attention. “Enough of these games between us! You saw what is at stake!”

Rarity chuckled. “Is the great Nightmare Moon afraid?”

“Yes,” the reflection stated bluntly. Rarity finally turned to face the reflection with a look of shock. She had never expected the creature to actually admit its own fear. “Think what you will of me. I am ancient, true but even gods have legends. There exist things in creation that mortals cannot even fathom.”

“You know what we saw?” Rarity asked. The reflection was silent.

“Go home,” it stated bluntly. “You and these others can do nothing to stop what is coming. And I will not be party to an endeavor that will just get you killed.” The reflection returned to normal.

Rarity huffed and returned to her meditation.

===E8DB

Rainbow sat with Flutterbat at the round table in the center of the Veloci-Lair. She had begun to play a friendly game of fetch with the slightly feral version of her friend. Rainbow threw a ball and Flutterbat happily flew off to grab it and return it. Her tail swinging like a dog’s. Rainbow smirked and chuckled at her friend acting like an animal. Flutterbat came back with the ball once more and dropped it on the table before smiling and slightly panting at Dash. Rainbow tussled her mane in a friendly manner and even scratched behind her ear. Flutterbat began to stomp here back leg like a dog as well.

“Sure you’re not Flutterdog?” Rainbow asked jokingly.

“Flutterbat!” she replied with an angry face before it melted back into an expression of pure joy at the scratches.

Rainbow laughed but it was still a little hard to get her head around all this. Just recently she had learned that her childhood friend was alive and now she was pulled into an interdimensional tag team of various other ponies who claim they’re her friends in other dimensions. Or at least Fili-Second did. She didn’t quite know anything about those others. Rarity had explained how her friends met was that they were all present when Twilight Sparkle, a name she did recognize, was called to Ponyville and they all aided her in defeating Nightmare Moon.

It sounded so much like the story Fluttershy had told her. Could it be that the only thing that separated events in her world and the one where they were all friends was her? Rainbow had never moved to Ponyville so she was never a part of Twilight’s team to find the Elements of Harmony. Rarity also said that she was the element of Loyalty. Rainbow was having a tough time believing that. Not only had she abandoned her friend for years on end but now she was even leaving behind a comrade that was missing in action. Sure, Fili-Second made it sound extremely important but Rainbow couldn’t help but think of Lightning Dust and her own Fluttershy.

Flutterbat seemed to notice her hesitation and began to purr a little while nuzzling under Rainbow’s hoof. She smiled at that and gave the doppelganger another scratch behind the ear. Regardless if this was her Fluttershy or not. If these were her friends or not. Rainbow couldn’t abandon these ponies who had all decided to put their lives on the line. She steeled her resolve as she heard Mare Do-Well enter from the infirmary.

---<^^>---

Fili-Second turned from the monitor bank to greet her. “You’re up,” she said with a smile. “I was sure that you’d be out for another-” She was cut off as Mare Do-Well got in Fili-Second’s face angrily.

“Never. Take. My. Hat. Off,” she said definitively. Fili-Second bit her lip before frowning and giving her a nod. Mare Do-Well turned to the monitor bank. “Where do we stand?”

Fili-Second’s expression dropped. “Not good.” She pulled up the same schematic of a line of spheres that represented the various worlds. For some reason it made Mare Do-Well think of a string of pearls. The red dot that had signaled the Glitch was now in two places, one of them stationary and the other moving away very fast. “It just split off about the same time you passed out.”

Mare Do-Well studied the schematic. “Has it ever done that before?”

“No,” Fili-Second replied. “Matterhorn designed this system to specifically track localized disruptions in space-time. For it to be in two places either means it’s learned to act in two places at once or…”

“Or it’s multiplied,” Mare Do-Well finished. She eyed the mare. She really didn’t seem like the type to know these kinds of terms. And her words were too precise. Like reading from a script. She made a note to study Fili-Second more closely. “Making two Glitches we have to deal with.” Just as soon as she said this the moving Glitch disappeared from the screen.

“NO! NO! NO!” Fili-Second shouted hectically as she moved her hooves at lightning speed along the keyboard to track it again. “Argh!” When she finally gave up hope she angrily slammed her hooves on the board making the keys vibrate until they began to come loose. Mare Do-Well had to pull her away before she did any more damage to the machine. Fili-Second’s angered face slightly faltered when Mare Do-Well touched her. She jumped slightly at the touch and tried to cover herself as if on instinct. Mare Do-Well narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

Mare Do-Well couldn’t quite figure this pony out. At times she was effervescent and bubbly, a lot like her nemesis, the Pinkster. But at other times there was a frightened fragility that could erupt into unprompted anger. Plus, there was the fact that she was perfectly willing to destroy an advanced piece of machinery like this one just out of anger. Fili-Second didn’t seem like the type of pony to know a lot about computers or the building of one. The more she got to know this mare the more she began to distrust her. Still, Mare Do-Well would have a hard time trusting anypony with that face, especially if they had the kind of power she’d seen from Fili-Second. “We should go check on the stationary target now,” she uttered. “We can probably find some clues there as well.”

“Right,” Fili-Second muttered. “I’ll gather the group for a tactical meeting. If we’re going to go in then you have to know a way to combat this.” Mare Do-Well nodded, slightly eager to learn just how the Power Ponies had been handling this cosmic crisis.

<___|=0

“The elements of what-now?” Applejack asked as they were all gathered around the round table. Rainbow Dash sat by Fluttershy with Rarity and Mare Do-Well sitting across from one another, the tension between the two palpable. Fili-Second sat next to Mare Do-Well but AJ was smart enough to know when somepony was applying the old adage “keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. That Mare didn’t seem to trust anypony, but especially that one.

“The Elements of Harmony,” Fili-Second repeated.

Rainbow lifted a hoof like this was a classroom. “Oh! Rarity mentioned those!”

Rarity did not look up from her seat as she kept her eyes closed in meditation. “Indeed,” she muttered.

Fili-Second continued. “Yes. Along our voyages through the multiverse chasing the Glitch, the Power Ponies and I discovered a repeating factor in almost every world. We six ponies were eventually brought together to form the Elements of Harmony. They would take different forms most of the time. Sometimes they would be magical jewelry or sometimes even mystical words of power. We even came across a world where they were fruits that gave the pony who ate them the power of the Elements. They are as follows: Loyalty,” she pointed to Rainbow Dash, “Kindness,” she pointed to Flutterbat, “Generosity,” she pointed to Rarity, “Honesty,” she pointed to Applejack, “Laughter,” she pointed to herself, “And Magic,” she finally pointed to Mare Do-Well. “In many worlds, when these powers were combined it created a magic that rivaled any in existence.”

“So you and the Power Ponies had these Elements as well?” Mare Do-Well asked. Fili-Second bit her lip before shaking her head sadly. “Matterhorn surmised that the physical properties of the elements were pointless. She believed that it was all of us together that brought the power out.” Mare Do-Well seemed to note the pink mare’s reaction.

“And did it?” Applejack asked.

Fili-Second chewed her lip for a second. “Kind of?” she stated. “We fought the Glitch quite a few times and gradually learned more about its weaknesses. We would… make friends with the Elements of Harmony of the endangered world and then… work with them to stop it.” Fili-Second looked like she wanted to say more but something stopped her. Applejack knew she was telling the truth, but not the whole truth. Something was smelling fishy. Mare Do-Well seemed to step in and ask the question that was on her mind.

“What exactly happened to the Power Ponies?” she asked.

Fili-Second shrunk a bit and lowered her head. “Gone… They’re all gone.” Once again, Applejack could tell she was telling the truth, but once again it wasn’t the whole truth. AJ narrowed her eyes a bit and opened her mouth to speak, but Mare Do-Well stood up.

“Well then, I guess this means we have to convince our counterparts on this world to stop the Glitch.” She motioned for everypony to join her and they all left their seats to go to the center of the room where Fili-Second could vibrate them to another world. Applejack caught up to Mare Do-Well and walked alongside her.

“That’s seriously all you’re going to say?” she asked. “Ah thought a pony as suspicious as you would have a thousand more questions for a reply that flimsy.”

Mare Do-Well did not turn to her as she replied. “If I’m right, then there’s nothing to really ask about.” Applejack raised an eyebrow. “There’s something else going on here. Keep a sharp eye out in this place. I get the feeling it’s not everything it seems.” Applejack briefly scanned the room with her vision. Nothing seemed out of place. “For now it’s something we can deal with at a later date,” Mare Do-Well said to her as they joined in the middle of the room. “The fate of the multiverse lies in our hooves right now. Don’t bring this up with anypony else.”

“You really don’t trust anypony, do you?” AJ asked.

“Right now I don’t trust anything,” Mare Do-Well said in a hush just before Fili-Second vibrated them out of the room. A moment after they left the far wall opened up to reveal a hidden door. A pony in shadows stepped out and stared at where they had just disappeared from.

“Tch,” the pony chided. “She might be too smart for her own good.”

===SS===

Sunset opened her eyes blearily as the light of the morning sun greeted her.

“Wh- What?” she mumbled. Sunset felt the warm white sheets of the Hoofwarts School Infirmary beds beneath her. She rubbed them gently. For the briefest of moments she wished Flash was here in the bed with her. She suddenly pulled her hand away with a jolt. “Who’s there?” She shot up and pulled the curtain around her bed away. The school nurse sat at her desk reading a magazine.

“Oh, Miss Shimmer,” the Nurse said. “You’re up. You gave us all quite a fright.”

“Um,” Sunset hesitated. “Did you say something?”

“Just that you gave us a fright,” the nurse replied warmly.

“No, no. Something about my bleary vision and rubbing the sheets getting me… excited?”

“…” the nurse didn’t really know how to reply to that.

“There it is again!”

“There’s what again?” the nurse asked with concern.

“Really? You can’t hear that line at the end of everything you say?”

“… Maybe you should get a bit more rest dear.” The nurse turned to the cabinet where she stored her sedatives, perhaps her student would feel better after a nice rest.

“Wait! I don’t want a sedative!”

The nurse turned to her perplexed. “Miss Shimmer, you know that reading minds is forbidden on school grounds.”

“But I didn’t! It’s the voice!” Sunset was beginning to sound like a crazy person. “Oh shut up!”

“Excuse me?” the nurse replied angrily.

“…Damn it.”

Queen of the Sun and Moon

{(SxT)}

Suntrix had everything she could ever want. Nigh unlimited power was hers and with it she had easily overthrown her fool of a mentor Princess Lunestia. She had even trapped the three Elements of Harmony in Ponyville, constructing an inescapable bubble over the town. A simple malaise spell doused over the ponies of Ponyville kept them in a constant state of boredom and passivity. All-in-all it was a marvelous plan to keep the Elements out of the picture and assume control of the throne. There was just one problem. “KNEEL!” Suntrix screamed for the hundredth time at the castle staff.

Her horn glowed an eerie blue and strange incomprehensible lights sparked off of it. The ponies of Canterlot castle looked on in horror but none seemed to obey. Suntrix rubbed her head in frustration. She had been at this for close to an hour. Damn it, Mr. 4 said that her power would be unrivaled, yet she couldn’t even get a few ponies to bow to her? “They’ll never bow to a despot, Suntrix,” Lunestia spat from her cage in the throne room. “The ponies are too strong for that.” Suntrix had had quite a fun time playing around with the princess with her new abilities. She had settled on turning her into a parrot and locking her in a cage next to the throne. Suntrix turned to the white and blue colored parrot.

“It’s not a matter of strength!” Suntrix shouted angrily. “Believe me, I know. Things you could not even begin to imagine I now know. You think you were ever the teacher, then you have no idea how low on the totem pole you stand. When we left I was the student, but now I’m not only the master. I’m the god!” She leaned back in her throne and slumped forward a little. What was she missing? She recalled her previous meeting with Mr. 4 and how she got these powers.

“So that… thing I saw, that I touched,” Suntrix asked hesitantly when they had finished their talk. “It’s… what is it exactly?”

Mr. 4 grinned, his glasses back in place obscuring his… deformity. “That is the support beam that all realities rest upon. It is a wall that holds us up while at the same time protecting us from… other things.”

Suntrix was still having a hard time following. Mr. 4 noticed and sighed, waving his hoof and the entire area around them disappeared to be replaced by blackness. Mr. 4 made a snapping sound with his hoof, somehow, and the image of a long string of spheres appeared before them. The line seemed to go on for infinity both ways. “This,” he proclaimed, “Is the multiverse. Each sphere represents a reality. Believe it or not it is not as hard as you believe to traverse it. Some ponies use vibrational frequencies to realign themselves with another earth. Some ponies create holes in space with great technology. And some even soar through the time stream in magic blue boxes.” Suntrix had trouble believing that last one. “Really, anypony creative enough can travel between worlds.” Mr. 4 snapped again and a beam of pure white light shot through every sphere in a perfectly straight line. “This is the Fourth Wall. It exists in every conceivable reality and is connected in turn.”

“Why is it called the Fourth Wall?” Suntrix asked.

Mr. 4 rolled his eyes. “Haven’t you ever read a book or seen a play?” Suntrix frowned and shot him a glare. “Fine. The Fourth Wall is a term in stage performance. The actor is surrounded by four walls while on stage. Stage left. Stage Right. Back stage. And…” He looked to her as if asking for an answer from a student.

“Uh… The orchestra?”

Mr. 4’s expression fell and he slapped his face. “The audience. Whenever an actor in a play would ‘break the fourth wall’ as they say, they would speak directly to the audience or interact with them directly. Often they would talk about things that the characters themselves should have no idea about, breaking the flow of the story.”

Suntrix hesitated asking her question. “So, um… why is it called the Fourth Wall?”

“What would you call the barrier that separates all of reality from the unknowable?” Mr. 4 replied.

Point taken. Fourth Wall was good. Suntrix’ eyes widened in delayed shock. “But wait! I touched it! It… It cracked! Isn’t that a bad thing?”

Mr. 4’s grin did not go away. “One little crack will not rip apart eons of reality. Besides, this was an experiment after all. I wanted to see what would happen if a pony unchosen by the Void were to touch the Wall before…” He stopped as if he were about to give away something he didn’t want. “Regardless, it’s fine. Just keep the usage of your powers to a minimum.”

Suntrix narrowed her eyes and smiled. “Define ‘minimum’?”

Mr. 4 snapped his hoof again and the scenery returned to normal. “Don’t turn the sky into pudding and don’t make the air quick sand,” he joked. “Other than anything crazy like that go nuts.” He turned to leave but stopped, his ears perking up. “Oh, right. You also can’t change a pony’s personality. Matters of physics are fine, but matters of the mind… that’s another story.”

Suntrix frowned at the ominous warning before Mr. 4 finally turned and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Suntrix didn’t care though. She smiled wickedly, she had work to do.

And to think that had been nearly four hours ago, she thought. She already kind of had a revenge plan in place but it was pretty much fantasy until she got a hold of these powers. She looked out the throne room window with a bored expression. She saw a mountain range in the distance and willed it to become a giant pile of mashed potatoes. She kept doing this to things she saw through the window for a good half hour. Had she really become bored with the powers of a god? And so soon?

She willed a large tree in the distance to be turned into a stalk of celery/y/y/y/y/y/y/y/y/y/y…

What was that? Suntrix could have sworn everything just kind of… repeated itself like a vinyl disc skipping on a needle. Had she done that? Lunestia rattled her cage, her voice having been muted a while ago. Suntrix rolled her eyes at the parrot. “You get your voice back when you promise no more speeches.” She looked back to the horizon. The far off mountain range was not a pile of mashed potatoes. Odd. Why did she think it had been any different?

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well regained her balance much quicker than before, having been the only one of the group to have done these jumps the longest. Rarity had to sit down for a moment while Flutterbat woozily staggered before Rainbow caught her. Mare Do-Well surveyed her surroundings. “Do you know where we are?” she asked Fili-Second.

Fili-Second shook her head. “No idea. I really kind of come into these things pretty blind.”

“Well, that’s great,” Mare Do-Well muttered. “For all we know we could be in the middle of a hive of changelings or a dragon nest or…”

“In Ponyville,” Rarity whispered. The rest of the group looked around. Sure enough it looked like they were in some town. Mare Do-Well looked at the streets and buildings. The names were very much similar to her own world, but every building and road was on a much smaller and less developed level. Rainbow looked as though she too recognized the town but her face held just as much melancholy in it as Rarity’s.

Mare Do-Well caught a glimpse of a pony trotting past the alley street they were in. “We should probably find a place to lay low while we can survey our surroundings. Rarity I need you to lay down a mirage to cover our tracks. Applejack will be a lookout. Rainbow and Flutterbat, I need you two to lay low for now. The two of you might stick out with your appearances…” She didn’t even need to turn around. “They’re all gone aren’t they?” Mare Do-Well cocked her head back and Fili-Second sat alone on the street. She smiled weakly at her before waving. “Ugh…”

~`(\/)’~

Rarity did not feel very bad about leaving the group. She was right where she needed to be. She was far away from the ponies of her world and this made them safe. For a brief moment her mind went to her sister. “Sweetie Belle,” Rarity muttered sadly.

“You think she’s safe?” Rarity frowned as she turned to a shop window and stared at her reflection. “I told you to go home because it’s the best place you could be right now if you truly want to protect them.”

“And let you get you’re hooves on my loved ones again?” Rarity asked with venom. “Absolutely not!”

Her reflection shook its head sadly. “I told you my feelings already about this endeavor.”

Rarity smirked. “Yes, you said you were scared.”

The reflection did not change its expression. “Fine. Judge me. But believe what I say is true. When a true force of evil and corruption such as myself is afraid, you’d do well to listen.” The reflection turned as if to leave but stopped. “Oh, by the way, ponies have been walking past you and seeing you for about ten minutes now.”

Rarity pulled her gaze away from the shop window. Sure enough the once empty street was now becoming a bit clogged with pedestrians. Each one seemed to notice her, but they gave no scream or sign of fright. Was this a world where Nightmare Moon didn’t exist?

Rarity noticed a familiar looking pony walking by. It looked like Cheerilee but she had the purple tail and mane as well as the cutie mark of one Berry Punch. Rarity held out a hoof to stop the slightly tipsy looking pony. “Cheerilee?”

“Cherry Punch, good sirrrr,” she slurred. “What’s it to you? I’vve got allot of nnnothing to doo today.”

“Do you, um, recognize me?” Rarity asked hesitantly.

Cherry Punch narrowed her eyes in concentration, but gave up. “Ugh, too much work. Worrying is too much work.” The rest of the ponies around them gave a similar response as they continued to trudge through the street unaware of their final destination or just not caring.

Rarity looked back into the window expecting her reflection to say something. When it didn’t she breathed a heavy sigh. Guess this world did need somepony to save it.

<___|=0

Applejack had one mission to accomplish before she would help the others. She would apologize later for sneaking off, but this was important. The chance to see her sister once more, even for a moment, even if it wasn’t really her, would mean so much to her. It would renew her resolve to return home and find her.

Navigating the town was actually quite easy. For some reason this “Ponyville” was formatted quite similarly to the town she lived in in her youth. If this was the same town then surely the next turn would lead her to… “Yes!” she shouted. She turned a corner out of town and a familiar dirt road led out into the hills. Just beyond she could make out the most familiar of scents. “Sweet Apple Acres.”

Applejack ran through the dirt road until she came to the crest of the hill and looked down. She smiled at what she saw. For the most part besides a few cosmetic differences, she was home. She squinted her eyes and saw a familiar figure lounging by the barn. He was large with a deep red coat. Applejack’s eyes widened. “Big Mac?” She hadn’t seen her older brother in years, not since the accident that claimed his life.

Applejack trotted toward the farm. She was no fool, she recognized that it might be a confusing sight for Big Mac to see her like this, if she even existed in this world or not. AJ lowered her Stetson over her eyes to obscure her face and walked forward to the large stallion. He slept on a rocking chair with a newspaper over his face. AJ cleared her throat to get his attention. “Pardon me.” The stallion did not respond. Applejack frowned and this time went up to poke him. “Excuse me.” This time the stallion stirred but it was merely a snore. Applejack rolled her eyes. She looked at the porch they were on. If it was anything like the farm she grew up on then this board here should…

Applejack stomped on a board and the loosely nailed plank of wood seesawed up beneath the rocking chair. The force of plank pushed it up and over and the stallion immediately awoke waving his hooves to regain balance before he fell over onto the dirt. He did not make any sound which made Applejack a little worried. Then suddenly his head popped up from the ground and he turned with expressionless eyes.

Applejack saw the stallion get up and was surprised. This Big Mac appeared to have a light purple mane and a sensible collar around his neck. His face held no expression with half lidded eyes. She lowered her hat again before approaching him. Big Mac not seeming to respond. “Sorry, but Ah’m lookin’ for a Miss Apple Bloom. Do you know if she lives here?”

Big Mac cocked his head at her in confusion. “Apple Pie?” He looked over her at her tail. “No, my mistake. Tails not poofy enough for that.” Poofy? Plus his voice seemed to have no tone to it at all. “So you’re looking for an Apple Bloom?” He scratched his head in thought, once again beginning to doze off. Applejack performed a clap with her hooves and the older stallion was brought back to attention. “Sorry. Do you mean Scootabloom?”

“Scootabloom?” Applejack whispered. That almost sounded like… “Uh, yeah. You wouldn’t happen to know where she is?”

“Probably out with her friend, Babsweet. Those two are always getting into trou- *snore*” Big Mac seemed to fall asleep midsentence. He was still standing too which kind of creeped Applejack out. Still, she had earned enough information from the stallion. She smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“It was good seein’ yah again, big brother,” she murmured. Now what to do? She considered going out and finding this Scootabloom but something didn’t feel right about it. It sounded like both Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were the same pony. Come to think of it. That might be the case with Big Mac as well. Could he be an amalgamation of somepony she hadn’t met?

Suddenly she was struck with a wave of homesickness, which was weird since she was technically home right now. She looked to the house where she’d grown up and then back to Big Mac. “You don’t mind if I just have a little look inside? Right?” Big Mac responded with another snore. She chuckled and walked inside through the screen door.

It really did look different from her own home. The inside was much more rustic than she remembered. But that was a long time ago, she could be remembering differently. Still it did feel a lot like home. She smiled and began to look at the pictures on the wall. They were of three ponies primarily. One was Big Mac who looked a lot more awake and livelier than he did right now. In one picture there was a little filly on his back with a pink mane and tail and orange coat. Applejack looked hard at the picture and saw freckles. Was that supposed to be her? The tail and mane looked familiar, like Fili-Second’s. Perhaps she was right about the amalgamation stuff and this world had a combined version of her and the pink mare. She continued looking at the pictures until she came to one of a small foal coming from the hospital. She was orange as well but with a familiar red mane. She also had wings, to the surprise of the ponies in the photo. But all Applejack could see was that red mane. Her eyes began to water. “Apple Bloom.”

Applejack continued her search of the house until she came to a bedroom upstairs. Inside was pretty normal, except for an unmade bed. On the night stand by the window she saw another picture. This one was of the pony Apple Pie and Scootabloom at a carnival having fun together. Applejack sighed as she picked up the photo. Even now that she was so close to her sister she still felt so far away.

A glint of light seemed to flash outside the window. Applejack frowned and looked out at the sky. Only now that she was at a higher level could she see it. “What in the world?” she murmured. Across the sky and reaching across all of Ponyville was a giant dome.

{(SxT)}

Suntrix had now converted Canterlot Castle into twelve different types of architecture and none of them seemed to suit her. Maybe the old adage was true, “given everything and your left with nothing.” Suntrix had all the power she could ever want and no ideas to come with it. She decided to pass the time by changing the castle staff into squirrels and back. A bored look crossed her face as she waved her hoof back and forth and the ponies changed with each motion.

“Mistress, please!” an older tan pony in gold armor spat out before she could turn him into a squirrel again. Suntrix dropped her hoof and eyed the soldier.

“What did you call me?” Suntrix asked with a hint of madness in her voice.

“Um…” the soldier looked to his companions for support but each one stepped away, afraid of the unicorn’s ultimate power. “Mistress?”

Suntrix made her eyes literally become fire and her voice drop a couple octaves. “How many times must I command you to call me QUEEN!”

“Queen!” the soldier pleaded and got on his knees. “Queen then! Whatever you want!”

Suntrix grinned and sat back in her chair once more, her eyes still made of fire. “That’s better. But we still need a proper punishment.” She looked at her pet princess turned parrot in the gilded cage next to her. “Say, our princess was banished to the moon for a thousand years for her disrespect. How does that sound?” The soldier gulped nervously. Suntrix extinguished her eyes and she rubbed her chin in thought. “Nah, that sounds too evil even for me… Hmm, how about the sun instead?”

“No please!” the pony shouted desperately. Suntrix’s face becoming just a little more manic at his cries.

“Or maybe I’ll just turn you into the sun!” she cackled. A spark came from her horn and the soldier before her burst into flames that began to spread fast, quickly consuming the other castle staff present. Suntrix cackled wickedly until the flames consumed her as well. The flames spread through Canterlot and down into Equestria as well/l/l/l/l/l/l/l/l/l/l/l/l/l/l/l/l…

“Mistress, please!” an older tan pony in gold armor spat out before she could turn him into a squirrel again. Suntrix dropped her hoof and eyed the soldier.

“What did you call me?” Suntrix stopped for a moment. This seemed familiar. The soldier and his friends cowered before her waiting for her to speak. Suntrix eyed them all with a hint of suspicion then waved her hoof and turned them into squirrels. “Eh, punishment is too much work anyway.”

===E8DB

Flutterbat followed Rainbow a little reluctantly. As they flew across the skyline she kept looking back at where they had left the others. Rainbow looked back at her with a concerned expression. “Yeah, okay, I know it wasn’t cool to ditch them without saying anything, but trust me. I’m a captain where I come from. I know the most important thing to do before any military campaign is to survey the-“ WHAM! Rainbow slammed head first into what she had assumed was nothing. Slightly dazed, she began to fall. Flutterbat did a dive and caught her right before she hit the ground. Rainbow shook her head clear and dropped to the ground. “Ugh, thanks.” Flutterbat panted a little bit expecting something in return and Rainbow scratched beneath her chin.

The both of them walked from where they landed until they came to the edge of town. Once again, Rainbow did not see the barrier and ran into it head first. “Gah!” she screamed in frustration. She narrowed her eyes at the near invisible barrier and placed a hoof to it. It seemed pretty solid. “Just what do you think this is?” she asked Flutterbat.

Flutterbat walked forward and sniffed the barrier, hissing a little at it. “Magic,” she rasped.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “You can smell magic?”

Flutterbat nodded innocently. “Huh, good to know.” She looked back up at the barrier and now that she knew what to look for followed its edges with her eyes until she saw it encompassed all of Ponyville. “Well, this isn’t good.” Flutterbat flew up to her and tapped her shoulder. Rainbow looked down as she saw where the Pegasus bat was pointing. Not far off on the other side of the dome outside, two Filies were pounding on the barrier trying to get in. “Maybe they’ll have some answers.”

Rainbow landed in front of the two startling them. One was a Pegasus filly had an orange coat with red mane and bow, while the other was a kind of brownish unicorn with light purple and white striped mane. The Pegasus looked at Rainbow Dash with shock. “No way!” she shouted. “One of the Wonderbolts is here!”

Rainbow grinned at the fact that her group was a part of this world, but that also added to the confusion as to why nothing was being done. “Sorry I can’t sign any autographs but maybe you could tell us what’s going on with this?” Rainbow motioned to the wall.

The Pegasus was about to answer but saw her friend back away slowly. The other filly seemed terrified of Flutterbat as she had her eyes glued to the pegasus’ wings. Rainbow noticed. “Relax, kid. She’s harmless. And even if she wasn’t, she’s behind a wall.”

“Oh,” the filly sighed. “That makes sense.”

“Speaking of?” Rainbow continued.

“Right,” the pegasus filly said. “We were out playing in our clubhouse when it kind of just appeared. We’ve been trying to get somepony’s attention but everypony in town is just walking like a zombie.”

Rainbow turned around to see the closest street. Sure enough there were ponies passing that seemed completely oblivious to the sight of a large bat pony and a Wonderbolt. She turned back to the barrier. “Well, it’s a start. Let’s get back to Mare Do-Well and see what she thinks.” She gave the two kids a serious look. “Both of you stay put, this could get pretty dangerous.”

“No need to tell us twice,” the Pegasus smiled while saluting. Rainbow nodded and flew off with Flutterbat, the two Filies left behind with their hooves crossed behind their backs. “So, how do you think we can help?”

Flutterbat frowned at Rainbow as they flew to the center of town. “She going to be mad,” she muttered.

“Yeah,” Rainbow chuckled. “But I can deal with Mare Do-Well.”

---<^^>---

“What is wrong with you two!?” Mare Do-Well shouted. Rainbow and Flutterbat were berated immediately after touching down where they had left Mare Do-Well and Fili-Second. Rainbow rolled her eyes in response.

“I know you’re peeved but we found some information,” she said with a smirk. “Apparently-”

“The whole town is covered in a dome of magic that for some reason is sapping ponies of their energy and making them act bored and unmotivated,” Mare Do-Well cut her off. Rainbow froze with her mouth open.

“B- B- But how did you…”

Mare Do-Well glanced over at Fili-Second who was in the corner humming softly to herself with an innocent face. “We have a speedster on the team,” she said. “She scouted the area in under a second.” Mare Do-Well got into Rainbow’s face. “Don’t go off again.”

Flutterbat hissed a little at Mare Do-Well. Rainbow simply pouted and frowned at Fili-Second. “I was only trying to help,” she muttered.

“Indeed,” came a voice from behind them. Everypony turned to see Nightmare Rarity. “I believe we all must come together to help these ponies.”

“You going to tell us where you’ve been?” Mare Do-Well asked. Rarity did not answer which just made Mare Do-Well grit her teeth.

“Looks like everypony’s up to speed,” came another voice. Everypony looked up as a familiar orange earth pony in a Stetson and hakama jumped from the rooftops. “One thing you might not be aware of is that this is a world where ponies are amalgamations of each other.”

“Animal-game-nations?” Rainbow asked dumbly.

“Amalgamations,” Rarity corrected her. “It means that two or more ponies are combined.”

“Ah saw a picture of my counterpart,” AJ continued. “It looks like both me and Fili-Second.”

Fili-Second perked up at the mention of her name. “That could mean that the other Elements of Harmony on this world are together as well.”

Mare Do-Well absorbed all the information she had been given. The dome would have to be the first thing to go, then they could assemble the Elements. “Now that all of you are done with whatever thing you ran away to do,” she said slightly heated, “we can get to work helping these ponies. The barrier appears pretty strong but that’s just from the strength of the caster. The spell matrix should be pretty simple.” She turned to the only pony on the team that might have a chance of lowering the barrier. “Rarity? You should probably have enough power to do it.”

Rarity frowned and closed her eyes as if to concentrate. “Everypony stand back.” The group moved aside and gave the larger mare room. Her eyes began to glow as she tapped into a magic the rest of the group had never seen before beside Rainbow. Rarity let out a loud yell before releasing a large burst of black light into the sky. The light hit the ceiling of the dome and the barrier began to dispel. All around them ponies began to stop walking and rub their eyes as if coming out of trances.

“That’s taken care of,” Mare Do-Well said. “Let’s see about finding the Glitch now.”

{(SxT)}

“Sooooooooo boooooooooorrrred,” Suntrix lamented on her throne. Who knew having godlike powers would get boring so fast? Once you took over, that was pretty much it. You could spend your time quashing insurgencies but there were none. Everypony was too afraid of Suntrix. Originally she had wondered just why Mr. 4 hadn’t used his power to conquer this world, but now she saw why. “Being Queen is sooooooo booooooring!”

She needed something to fight against. Something interesting. Something she couldn’t control the outcome of. Being all powerful was well and good, but she had been a god for close to two days now and she was already about to pull her mane out. She needed stimulation.

Suddenly she felt a disappearance of some of her magic. She summoned a crystal ball and waved a hoof to see what was going on. The image showed Ponyville with the dome down. Ponies were beginning to awaken from the waking dream she had put the under. Suntrix grit her teeth. “How? How did they escape? That plan was foolproof. I had them right where I…” she paused and thought for a moment. “Perhaps this isn’t as bad as I thought. I mean, I was getting bored anyway. Recapturing those fools just might relieve my boredom. Who knows, we could maybe even turn this into a regular thing and I could have them escape again just to be captured.” Suntrix giggled with glee left her throne and in a flash of light disappeared from the room, her throne beginning to flicker in and out of existence/e/e/e/e/e/e/e/e/e…

That Lonesome Magic

<___|=0

“So where do we start?” Applejack asked Fili-Second. The pink mare rubbed her chin in thought.

“This is weird,” she muttered.

“Everything we’ve all been through I would classify as a little weird,” Rainbow murmured.

“No, I mean the stuff with the dome,” Fili-Second continued. “Usually the Glitch will do small things like move buildings and change the sky. Not truly malevolent things like this.”

Once again Applejack felt that there was more being kept from her. “Regardless,” Mare Do-Well interjected. “We’re looking for a giant eye, right?”

“No,” Fili-Second replied. “We’re looking for a pony.” Applejack saw Mare Do-Well nearly snap.

“And you didn’t think this was necessary information?” she yelled.

“Greetings, my subjects!” a loud voice boomed from the sky. The group looked up to see a blue unicorn mare with a gold and silver mane and large purple wizard hat and crown looking down on them with an evil grin.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Mare Do-Well muttered.

“Yes, it is I, Suntrix. You’re Queen and ruler,” Suntrix proclaimed. “I saw you were able to take down the barrier I erected. Perhaps the three responsible could come out to play?” She threw her head back with an evil laugh.

“She put up the barrier?” Rarity questioned.

Mare Do-Well looked to Fili-Second. “Please tell me she isn’t the Glitch.”

Fili-Second shook her head. “N-No. It shouldn’t be possible for somepony to access the power of the Glitch. It makes no sense.”

“Like a glitch,” Mare Do-Well interjected.

“You know pony?” Flutterbat asked.

“At least a part of her,” Mare Do-Well muttered. “Damn it, Trixie.”

---<^^>---

Luckily for the six it appeared she hadn’t noticed them. They hid themselves in an alley and watched the events unfold. Rainbow dug her hooves into the ground like she was ready for a fight. Applejack quickly put a hoof in front of her to stop her and shook her head. This was not the time yet to get involved.

“Suntrix!” a voice shouted from the gathering crowd. The six saw the ponies of the town part and three particular mares walked forward to face the self-imposed queen. One had an orange coat with fluffy pink mane. The other two were a Pegasus and unicorn. The Pegasus having a rainbow mane with yellow coat and the unicorn having a purple coat with a dark violet styled mane. The unicorn spoke with a defiant tone. “I don’t know how you got this power but the Elements will stop you!”

Suntrix laughed madly again and her eyes began to spark with an ethereal energy. She lifted her left hoof and the sun obeyed her command rising into the sky. Then she lifted her right hoof and the moon rose. “You think I care about those trinkets of yours?” she chuckled. “You speak to the Queen of the Sun and Moon! Everything, light and dark, bows to my whim.” She pointed a hoof at the unicorn. “YOU will bow to my whim!”

Before they could react everypony in town began to fall to the ground, including the Elements. The six did as well, Mare Do-Well feeling a crushing pressure on her back. The gravity, she realized. With a struggle Mare Do-Well looked up to see that Suntrix had pulled the sun and moon far away from the planet. No doubt she also increased the planets mass as well to restrain them all. This was the kind of power they had to deal with? Mare Do-Well watched in horror as Suntrix laughed like a madmare and reeled the moon back into the planet. Mare Do-Well closed her eyes and embraced herself for the end/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d/d…………

“Suntrix!” a voice shouted from the gathering crowd. The six saw the ponies of the town part and three particular mares walked forward to face the self-imposed queen. Mare Do-Well looked around with slight confusion. Hadn’t she been about to die?

Suntrix seemed just a little confused as well. She read her lips as she muttered something. “‘Not Again’?” she murmured.

“I don’t know how you got this power but the Elements will stop you!” the purple unicorn cried out.

Mare Do-Well saw how this played out and she wasn’t going to have that again. Not while she had a team at her back. She spun around. “Applejack, let Dash go!”

“What?” Applejack questioned as she held the Pegasus in place.

“Yeah, what?” Rainbow asked with a little surprise.

“Just do it!” Mare Do-Well shouted. “Distract her!” Applejack frowned but nodded and let go of Dash. Rainbow dug her hooves into the ground once more and shot off.

Suntrix didn’t expect the Pegasus projectile, so she could do nothing to stop Dash from plowing straight into her side. Flutterbat made a small growl of victory but Mare Do-Well knew this was far from over. Suntrix was still in the air.

“What in the world?” the yellow pony with the rainbow mane below muttered. They had not been expecting a Wonderbolt here, let alone one with the same mane style as her. The Pegasus flew off to meet the mysterious pony.

“Flutterdash, wait!” the purple unicorn shouted.

Rainbow held herself in the air and prepared to fly into Suntrix one more time. The crazy queen was still in the air thanks to whatever spells she had in place, most of the force from Rainbow’s attack having been absorbed by some kind of force field. Still it was enough to knock the mare for a loop. Rainbow kicked off a nearby cloud and came in for another dive bomb, but a pony with a familiar rainbow mane stopped her. “Wait!”

Rainbow seemed to skid to a halt in midair. “What are you doing!?” she yelled to her doppelganger.

“You don’t need to attack her!” Flutterdash replied. Behind her Suntrix was beginning to come out of her daze and fixed an evil glare on the back of Flutterdash’s head.

“Pretty sure, I do,” Rainbow muttered. “Get out of the way!” Rainbow blasted past Flutterdash and collided with Suntrix once more.

They flew off toward the edge of town while Flutterdash flew after them.

“We need to help,” Applejack said worriedly.

Mare Do-Well agreed, Rainbow wouldn’t be able to hold off that kind of power for too long. They had to act quickly. “Flutterbat,” she pointed to the yellow bat Pegasus. “Follow after them and help Dash.” Flutterbat wasted no time in following the order as she flew off. “Fili-Second, get as many ponies away from Ponyville as you can.” Fili-Second saluted and disappeared in a flash of pink lightning.

Rare Sparkle seemed pretty upset that her friend had just sped off without warning. Without Flutterdash they wouldn’t be able to use the Elements of Harmony. She looked around and saw that most of the other ponies in town were becoming more and more frightened. She had to do something.

Then suddenly the ponies by her disappeared. Rare Sparkle blinked again and another group of ponies were gone. She looked around in shock as all the ponies in the square began to disappear more and more until it was only Apple Pie and her left. “Rare,” Apple muttered with a hint of fear, “What’s going on?”

“That’d be us!” Both ponies looked up and saw three mares standing on a rooftop. The middle one with the mask spoke with authority. “Follow us if you want to save everypony.”

As if to exemplify her words a flash of pink lightning cracked across the street in front of them and a pink mare in a white jumpsuit skidded to a halt. She stood up straight and gave a happy smile to the mare in the mask who nodded.

“Who are you ponies?” Rare Sparkle asked.

“We’re the ponies who are going to save your flanks,” she replied.

===E8DB

Rainbow was lucky with that first strike. But now that Suntrix knew she was coming, the force field surrounding her was ten times as hard. Still she hit her with enough force to drive both of them into the trees on the edge of town. Rainbow stopped in the air and looked down at where the unicorn had landed, a crater having been formed from her impact and several trees uprooted. Through the dust she could make out the mare beginning to get up once more, her eyes red with anger. Rainbow prepared to attack again but was stopped once more by the same Pegasus from before who jumped in front of her. “Out of my way!” Rainbow shouted.

“What are you going to do to her?” Flutterdash asked with a serious tone.

“I’m gonna do what needs to be done…” Rainbow stopped as the full force of her own words hit her. Was she going to try to kill this mare? Sure she was evil but could there be another way?

“If that’s what you want to do then I’ll stop you right here,” Flutterdash said resolutely.

Rainbow frowned and prepared to fight her way through. Her eyes widened as she looked behind Flutterdash. “Look out!” she cried. Rainbow pushed the yellow Pegasus out of the way before a beam of magic came barreling through her. Rainbow barely avoided the blast with her wing getting slightly singed. Flutterdash turned around to face Suntrix with a new face of fear. Suntrix glared at them both with dark arcane energies flowing from her horn and eyes.

“You dare to strike me?” she asked in a slightly hysterical tone. “Me? The Queen of the Sun and Moon!” Suntrix lifted her hooves and the sky began to grow dark as the moon entered the noon day sky. The two Pegasi looked up in fear but before Suntrix could do anything she was struck by a yellow blur.

Her shield reacted and protected her but Suntrix’s attention was drawn from controlling the planetary bodies. She turned to the source of the attack, Rainbow and Flutterdash doing so as well. “Alright!” Rainbow shouted.

Flutterbat stood in a crouched position before Suntrix and hissed at her. Suntrix narrowed her eyes at her. “Feral beast,” she muttered. Suntrix waved her hoof in front of Flutterbat and the Pegasus was changed into a literal tiny bat. Suntrix chuckled as Flutterbat looked at her new body with surprise. “Now that form suits you!” she chuckled.

Flutterbat grit her teeth and charged at the unicorn. Suntrix stood with confidence but was surprised when the small bat pierced her protective field. “What? How did-” but she was cut off as the little bat flapped around her and bit into her skin. The bat must have become too small for her magic to notice her as a threat. Suntrix cried out in pain.

Rainbow watched this with a laugh, Flutterdash having a hard time following the chain of events. “Just what is going on?” she asked.

Rainbow stopped laughing and prepared to dive down to help her friend. “Look, you can keep on asking that or we can work together and help my friend out. We’ll figure out what to do with her later.” Flutterdash hesitated for a moment but then nodded in agreement. Rainbow smiled, the two pegasi getting into a takeoff stance. “Ready?”

“Let’s do this.”

Both pegasi shot off at incredible speeds, each leaving behind a sonic rainboom. Suntrix was still trying to deal with the bat in her bubble when the little creature flew away. Suntrix watched it leave her force field and laughed. “Ha! Guess you’re not all that after all!” The little bat chuckled and pointed in front of her. Suntrix turned and saw two colorful missiles speeding toward her at speeds she couldn’t hope to react to.

The two pegasi plowed into Suntrix’s barrier at mach speeds. Though her magic was powerful, Suntrix had not reinforced her sphere with Mr. 4’s magic. The strain of the impact shattered the magical bubble with a large explosion, throwing the three ponies and the little bat away from the impact zone.

More dust than the first crater created was thrown into the air now. Rainbow and Flutterdash groggily shook their heads and tried to get up. In the distance they could see a pile of rubble and dirt that seemed to have knocked over some trees. A blue hoof appeared crawling out of the rubble, followed by a second. The all-powerful unicorn pulled herself up out of the pit she’d made with a grunt. Her eyes were now burning with a dark fire and her hat seemed to be on fire with the ethereal flame. “I… am… the… QUEEN!!!” she screamed and let loose a torrent of the black flame. Rainbow grabbed Flutterdash and threw herself over the pony to protect her from the oncoming fire, but nothing came.

Rainbow let go in confusion and both pegasi were shocked to see themselves as well as the tiny Flutterbat safely a hundred meters away from the flames on a hill. Rainbow looked to her left and smiled as she saw three familiar ponies standing by her. Applejack turned to her and winked. “Sorry about the wait,” she said. “It took a little longer to convince these two than we expected.”

Two more ponies showed up behind them and Flutterdash smiled. Rare Sparkle and Apple Pie rushed over to their friend and gave her a big hug.

Rainbow lifted the little Flutterbat onto her shoulder right before a streak of pink lightning appeared before them. Fili-Second turned to the three Elements. “So, you guys ready?”

Rare Sparkle handed a necklace to Flutterdash, who immediately slipped it on. “Ready.”

{(SxT)}

Suntrix couldn’t seem to calm down as the black fire consumed everything around her. She roared with rage for a long time before she finally calmed down enough to see what her overwhelming power had done to those poor foals. The fire died down and she breathed heavily as she took a look around. Her eyes widened to see the Elements of Harmony just beyond the area of ash and burnt grass. “But… how?” she screamed.

Five ponies and one bat stepped up to stand alongside the three Elements. The one in the mask was the first to talk. “It’s over. Time to take your lumps.”

Suntrix narrowed her eyes at the six. “Who are… wait… you’re them, aren’t you? The ponies chasing Mr. 4.”

“Mr. 4?” the masked mare asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You’re responsible for all this!” Suntrix shouted, her eyes beginning to reignite. “You took away my victory!”

The masked mare’s eyes widened and she turned to the Elements. “Now!”

Rare Sparkle, Apple Pie, and Flutterdash’s eyes all began to glow as they were lifted into the air. Suntrix knew what was coming and she simply laughed. “You think that this can stop me?” she cackled. “I have the power of a god! I have seen the world as it truly is! I have touched the wall and lived! You think you have power?” The fire from before came back but this time her entire body was consumed and she began to expand. “You are nothing!”

The six ponies all shielded their eyes as the light from the Elements and the black fire from Suntrix seemed to devour the sky. Suntrix roared with rage as the pure white light of the Elements gradually pushed back her fire until the light overpowered the darkness.

---<^^>---

When all was done the six opened their eyes and saw that everything Suntrix had burned was renewed. The self-imposed queen lay on the grass battered and bruised and barely conscious. Mare Do-Well did a quick scan of her team to see that everypony was alright. Even Flutterbat who was back to normal. She watched as the Elements of Harmony lowered themselves to the ground. “So that’s the Elements, huh?” Mare Do-Well whispered.

“Yeah,” Fili-Second responded oddly cheerfully. “Pretty powerful stuff.” Mare Do-Well looked at Fili-Second and saw the pink mare seemingly trying to hold back some emotions. One of these days she was going to have to confront her about the secrets she was keeping.

“Get away from her!” Mare Do-Well heard Applejack shout. She turned to see Suntrix was not as unconscious as they thought. The blue unicorn was up again and had an orange filly with a red mane locked in her hooves.

“Well, well, well,” she hatefully spat out. “Look who I have here. Seems somepony was hiding just past the hill and decided now would be the perfect time to be nosy.”

“Scootabloom!” Apple Pie shouted frantically. She tried to charge her but the unicorn backed up a bit and squeezed the poor thing tighter. Scootabloom let out a sharp cry of pain.

“That’s right,” Suntrix chided. “This is your sister, isn’t it? Hope she doesn’t mind being a hostage while I make my exit.” Suntrix lifted her horn to the sky. Nothing happened. “…While I make my EXIT!” she repeated but nothing happened. “No. No! NO!” Suntrix turned her gaze to the Elements and the six. “My powers! What did you do to them?”

“Hey.” A tap came from Suntrix shoulder and she spun around. Applejack stood behind her with a dark scowl. Mare Do-Well checked the spot next to her where the mare had just previously been. How did she do that? She seemed to be even more skilled than her in the art of sneaking. Good to keep in mind.

Suntrix couldn’t even respond as Applejack immediately gave a haymaker to her jaw. The unicorn dropped the filly as she sailed through the air and landed in a heap in the grass. Scootabloom gave Applejack a look of appreciation and awe before she ran back to her sister’s arms.

But Suntrix wasn’t done yet. Immediately after recovering from the punch she shot to her feet. The words of Mr. 4 still ringing in her ears. ‘Anypony creative enough can travel between worlds.’ “I can still feel it!” she cried out. “The wall is a part of everything and I can feel it!” She erected a simple magical barrier that blocked off Applejack and the others from her. Suntrix then made her horn glow and she punched through the air itself, the colors around her warping and a white tear in the sky forming as she pulled downward. Suntrix laughed hysterically at the portal she created. “See you later!” She jumped in but was stopped half way. Suntrix turned around in surprise to see Mare Do-Well in her force field bubble grabbing onto her leg and not letting go. The rest of the group rushed to the barrier but could not seem to get through. Suntrix looked at Mare Do-Well in confusion. “That’s impossible! Nopony should be able to get through my barrier! The bat was a fluke, but you!?”

Mare Do-Well pulled on Suntrix’s leg again and her face came closer. “Guess I’m just that good,” she joked in a deadly serious voice. Mare Do-Well threw a punch at Suntrix nose and the unicorn’s head flew back into the portal. The unicorn’s legs began to frantically kick in retaliation as her body began to spasm. Mare Do-Well had a hard time holding onto Suntrix as she was finally forced to let go of the crazy mare. She fell backward onto her flank as Suntrix body was pulled into the tear in reality, her face reappearing through the blankness for a mere second. It was full of terror. She let out a last scream before whatever was on the other side pulled her in and the tear repaired itself. Mare Do-Well sat there for a moment in silence as the barrier disappeared around her. Her teammates and the Elements rushed in to see if she was alright but all Mare Do-Well could focus on was that last look of fear in Suntrix’s eyes, and how it reminded her of things she wished to not remember.

@#$%^&(*)&^%$#@

Mr. 4 shuddered for a moment as he felt a wave of nausea hit him. He looked up from the three dimensional map he had been creating of the multiverse and squinted at the opening of the cave he was in. The world he was now on had been affected by eternal winter thanks to a spell from the late King Sombra. Nopony had survived the frost which meant no distractions. This made it a nice place to lay low while he prepared his search and plans. He grumbled to himself as he dismissed the map and walked to the edge of the cave. He could no longer feel Suntrix’s connection to the Wall. “I should have expected this,” he murmured. His ears perked up again. “Huh? No, I don’t care about her. She’s a diversionary tactic.” His ears twitched again and he clicked his tongue. “You’re right, it’s probably better to at least keep an eye on her.”

He reached out with his senses a little more and saw that Suntrix was actually no longer on her home world. With her knowledge she had opened up a tear between realities. With a bit of curiosity he opened up his map again to see just what world Suntrix had sent herself to. “Oh. That’s not good.” The world she had found herself in was quite dangerous, but… He raised an eyebrow as he saw one of the magical leylines he had been charting come frightfully close to this dangerous world. Perhaps there were more roots on this world. More roots meant more leylines and the closer he would be to finding it.

An idea came to him. He was quite aware of the ponies’ tracking computer they had on him. If he went to “rescue” Suntrix in the world she was sent to then no doubt they would go and investigate. With luck the world might put an end to his little nuisances. All it would take is a little visit. He wouldn’t even have to deal with the dragons.

<___|=0

“I really can’t thank you enough,” Apple Pie said to Applejack as she hugged her sister close.

“No need,” Applejack assured her. “It’s the least ah could do.” Applejack kind of felt like that literally. She had felt a little useless during this fight.

Everypony had gathered once more on the hill where Suntrix had disappeared. Rare Sparkle spoke to Mare Do-Well and Fili-Second. “Do you think she’ll be back?”

“Maybe,” Fili-Second replied with a frown. Rare Sparkle sighed and the pink mare smiled. “Look, even if she does come back, I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have her powers anymore.” This didn’t seem to help Rare Sparkle’s mood. Fili-Second paused for a moment. “Was she a friend?”

“No,” Rare Sparkle said. “Nothing like that. I just… I wish I could have done something to help her.”

Fili-Second nodded respectfully. “I know what that’s like,” she whispered. Mare Do-Well and Applejack were the only ones who seemed to hear the pink mare’s quiet words. Both of them giving each other a look of concern.

“So it’s time to say goodbye then?” Flutterdash asked the six.

“Yup,” Rainbow chuckled. “But don’t worry. I have every confidence that you can take care of yourself.” Flutterdash punched her in the shoulder playfully.

The six reconvened on the hill and each linked hooves with each other and Fili-Second in the center. Rare Sparkle stepped forward. “Wait! You never really gave me an answer. Who are you?”

“Just some ponies trying to help,” Mare Do-Well said in her gruff mysterious voice. Every other pony seemed to nod their head in agreement. “Let’s go.” Fili-Second smiled warmly and began to vibrate. The three Elements of Harmony watched as a sonic boom echoed from where they once stood, there was nothing but grass and hill now.

---<^^>---

After a long day, Mare Do-Well had given the order for the team to go down for the night. However, two ponies weren’t sleeping. Mare Do-Well followed Fili-Second as she snuck from her room in the Veloci-Lair. The pink mare’s face looked haunted as she zipped quietly through the halls and into the main terminal with the round table and monitors. Mare Do-Well stuck to the ceiling and jumped from rafter to rafter in pursuit. She stopped at the edge of the large room as Fili-Second checked her back to make sure she wasn’t followed, not expecting to need to look up. “We finally gonna find out what she’s hidin’?” a southern voice came from Mare Do-Well’s right.

Mare Do-Well honestly wasn’t surprised to see Applejack here in the rafters with her. She would seriously need to learn the samurai’s stealth skills at some point. She gave her a small “shh” and the two watched silently as Fili-Second trudged over to the wall of the room.

She placed her hoof on the wall and some kind of blue light scanned her. The wall opened up and the two could see inside a small room filled with glowing computer monitors. Fili-Second entered, almost reluctantly and the wall began to slide back into place. Quickly Mare Do-Well took out an “M” shaped shuriken and threw it at the door. It stuck between the closing door and the wall, creating a tiny gap. The two ponies dismounted from their rafters and hurried over to the crack in the wall to listen in on what was on the other side. Mare Do-Well put her ear as close to the gap as possible, two voices coming through.

“Nothing happened on this run,” she could hear Fili-Second say. “I don’t think that they’re compatible.”

“I disagree,” came another voice, this one a little distorted but still feminine. “I saw that fight and each one performed effectively. They just need to be in the proper circumstances.”

Fili-Second’s voice seemed to stutter for a moment. “I… I don’t want to do this anymore.”

They could hear the sound of a chair being flipped over as the other voice lost its cool. “Do you WANT to see me unhappy!?”

“N- No…”

“That’s right!” the other voice became laced with a maniacal glee. “You want to see me smile, right?”

“Y- Yes…” Fili-Second’s voice was barely a whisper.

“Good,” the second voice said. “We can’t track Suntrix anymore but the Glitch has appeared once more. You’ll take the group to the world first thing in the morning.” There was a brief moment of silence. “Oh, and Pinkie… find some danger if you have to. Just get me some results.”

“Yes…” Fili-Second replied solemnly. The two mares could hear her walking back. Mare Do-Well plucked her shuriken from the door and teleported back to the rafters, Applejack right behind her as she used her lasso to sling and climb her way up as well. Fili-Second exited the hidden room a moment later, her face holding a gaunt expression of sadness. She trudged away slower than Mare Do-Well had ever seen her go.

“What do you suppose that was about?” Applejack asked.

Mare Do-Well glanced at the wall with the hidden room and narrowed her eyes. “There’s definitely more to this than meets the eye.”

===SS===

Sunset lay awake in bed, her eyes fixed to the ceiling. Just what the heck was all that?

“You’re asking me? You’re the voice that just said all that stuff about ponies and fourth walls and stuff!”

“SHHH!” Her roommates shushed her as she hadn’t stopped talking to herself all night. Sunset put a pillow over her face and tried to drown the voices out.

“Oh, come on…” she moaned woefully. “What is wrong with me?”

Attack on Dragon

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat slept comfortably in the room prepared for her. There was a bed in the room but she had preferred to sleep in the corner of ceiling. Time or the passage of days didn’t really seem to matter in the Veloci-Lair yet somehow Flutterbat knew when it was time to wake up. She stretched her wings and jumped down to the ground. Yesterday had been an interesting first day, but she was well aware that there was so much more to do. She exited her room and perked up a bit as she saw her new friend Rainbow Dash leaving her room as well. Rainbow yawned and stretched her hooves before noticing her. “Oh, hey Flutterbat,” she yawned. Flutterbat began to purr as she stuck her head beneath her new friend’s wing and nuzzled. Rainbow giggled at the ticklish feeling her long mane made. “I’m surprised you’re a morning pony,” she chuckled.

Once Flutterbat was done the two of them walked to the kitchen of the Lair and took a look around for some food. Flutterbat was pleased to find that there was a large supply of fruits in the pantry while Rainbow poured herself some oats and milk. Flutterbat grabbed a banana and an apple and sat down with Rainbow. They both ate silently for a minute, Flutterbat noticing that her new friend seemed to be looking all around the kitchen with her eyes. Flutterbat started to as well. It was a clean eating area with lots of stainless steel. Plenty of space to keep food in and there was even some big humming pantry with heavy doors that was super cold inside to keep perishables. It was all very new to Flutterbat.

“You know something,” Rainbow spoke up getting Flutterbat’s attention once more. “This is actually my favorite brand of oats.” She held up the box to show her. There was a picture of a happy sun winking on the box. “Kind of weird. This whole multiverse thing,” Rainbow mused. “I mean, I wonder how many other worlds have this same brand. How many of them taste the same?” She paused for a minute, the only sound in the room being Flutterbat’s chewing. Rainbow turned to her with a slightly serious look. “Do you think… that deep down… we’re all the same?” Flutterbat cocked her head to the side in confusion.

Rainbow frowned and looked into her cereal. “Are you… the same Fluttershy I know? Could I see you fall to the same things she did? And what about me? What if there’s another me who’s not as awesome? It’s just… kind of hard for me to get my head around the idea of a friend…” She trailed off as if she was about to say something she didn’t mean to divulge. “Nevermind. I doubt you really understand whatever I’m going on about anyway.”

Flutterbat was seriously having a hard time trying to comprehend what her friend was dealing with, but she could sense the hesitation was partially directed at her. Flutterbat swallowed the last of her apple and smiled. “Flutterbat is Flutterbat. Rainbow is Rainbow. Ponies are who are. Bats as well.”

This seemed to comfort Rainbow somewhat and she smiled back. “Yeah,” she lifted a glass of orange juice. “To new friends and old.” Flutterbat stared at the orange juice with confusion before lifting her banana as well. Rainbow laughed at the awkward toast but drank to it anyway.

~`(\/)’~

Rarity had been in a constant state of meditation since entering her room. All she could think about last night was the things she saw. When Suntrix engulfed herself in those dark flames and nearly destroyed them all, she could feel it. Suntrix was many times more powerful than her at that moment. And while Rarity had been looking for danger, something that might just end her miserable existence without having to resort to… the unthinkable made her uneasy. At that moment, she was terrified.

“Do you understand now?” a voice called to her. Rarity opened her eyes and looked into the mirror across from her. The reflection gazed back with tired but still hateful eyes.

“Yes,” Rarity replied quietly but resolutely. “I understand now why my existence must continue. To defeat such darkness.”

“Pahahaha!” the reflection spat out a laugh. “You are seriously still telling yourself that? You forget that I’m in your head, I know every thought you have. This ‘crusade’ you believe yourself to be on is nothing more than your twisted way of trying to find an end.” Rarity grit her teeth but didn’t respond. “Play the sanctimonious hero all you want, but we both know what you’re really thinking. If I were you I would take my friend’s dying words to heart.”

Rarity’s eyes widened at that statement and she screamed at the mirror. The surface cracked with her magical power and shattered to the floor. Rarity scowled down at the broken pieces. “Don’t you dare mention her,” she seethed.

A knock came at her door. Rarity looked up in surprise. She was not expecting somepony to fetch her so soon. Had they found a new trail of this Mr. 4 pony Suntrix had spoken of? Rarity tried to collect her nerves. “Come in,” she said as properly as she could.

The door opened a crack and an orange coated pony in a white robe walked in. “Sorry for the intrusion,” she apologized with a slight bow. Rarity was surprised to see Applejack here but she tried to hide it.

“No, it’s fine. And please don’t bow.” Applejack brought her head back up with a polite smile. “I… I know it might be custom where you come from, but please don’t ever bow to me.”

Applejack frowned a bit but nodded. “Okay, you got it.”

“Was there something you needed?” Rarity asked.

“Two things actually,” Applejack replied, her face showing that she was now getting down to business. “One is that we’ve got a lead on the Glitch. Mare Do-Well and Fili-Second want us all to meet in the monitor room for a rundown.

Rarity nodded and began to get up to leave but Applejack put up a hoof to stop her. “The second thing is a little more personal and private.”

“Alright, what is it?” Rarity asked as she sat at the edge of the bed.

Applejack slowly closed the door so they had some privacy then walked up to her. Rarity slightly pulled back as the sight of Applejack approaching filled her with unpleasant memories but the orange mare simply leaned in close to her ear and whispered something. “Could ya put a sound proof bubble around us?” Rarity frowned in confusion but complied and formed a bubble around the two. “Thanks.”

“What’s this about?” Rarity asked.

Applejack bit her lip as she considered what to say next. “Mare Do-Well and Ah have been pretty suspicious of Fili-Second lately. The mare is kind, but she’s got a lot of secrets.” Rarity felt bad about Applejack talking about Pinkie Pie like that but she had to admit that she too had been having the odd suspicion about the pink mare. “Anyway, Mare Do-Well and Ah trailed her last night and it seems she’s not working as alone as she said.”

“What do you mean?” Rarity narrowed her eyes.

“Ah mean we’re not alone in here,” Applejack spoke clearly. “Mare Do-Well and Ah both agree that it’d be in everypony’s best interest if we know just what this mysterious pony wants. She seems to be holed up in a secret room in the monitor room. We were hopin’ that you could use your magic to reach out and maybe get a sense of what we’re dealin’ with.”

Rarity paused before answering. This did sound serious. Though the threat to the multiverse had proved true, it slightly stung for her to learn that Pinkie Pie was keeping secrets. But what was to be expected of ponies she barely knew. She had to remember that even though they looked familiar they were complete strangers. For now she would agree with Applejack, but only to serve her own interests. She was done being used. “Alright, Applejack,” she replied succinctly.

Applejack smiled warmly. “Thanks, Rarity.” Rarity’s heart skipped a beat as she saw a smile she hadn’t seen in so long.

“Y- You’re welcome,” she stuttered. “Just give me a minute and I’ll meet you there.”

Applejack saluted and went to the door, passing through the sound proof bubble and making it disappear. She paused before leaving and turned back. “Hey… be safe.”

“… You too.”

Above them in the corner of the room an almost invisible camera whirred as it retracted its lens from magnifying the ponies’ mouths. A mysterious pony in shadows watched from a hidden room as the two parted. “Damn it… DAMN IT!” she picked up a keyboard and threw it at the wall.

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well sat at the monitors studying the digital map of the multiverse. Why? Why did it seem so familiar? Something odd was going on. Images would flash through her mind. A glowing wall. A crack. Every now and then she would even see a tall girlish figure in a black robe and fiery hair. She had tried to pin it up to stress but the images just kept on coming. Perhaps they had something to do with her episode.

Fili-Second walked up beside her with a cup of cocoa. “Still getting used to the equipment?” she asked with a smile Mare Do-Well would not expect from her after last night. This mare just bounces right back, she thought. Either that’s a sign of a strong will or somepony really crazy.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Though I’m pretty sure you and I are the only ponies here who would even comprehend the workings of this thing.”

This earned a giggle from Fili-Second. “Maybe I should find a way to foalproof it from Flutterbat?” For the briefest of moments Mare Do-Well found herself cracking a smile. She immediately straightened herself up.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about the world the Glitch is residing in right now, would you?” she asked.

Fili-Second shook her head and sipped her cocoa. “No. It’s in unmapped territory.”

Mare Do-Well rubbed her chin in thought. “Something’s bugging me.”

“Shoot.”

“If the Glitch is a pony then he probably is cognizant.” Fili-Second cocked her head to the side with a blank expression. “It means he’s a rational thinker.”

“Oh!”

“Well, if he does think rationally, what is his endgame?”

“Endgame?”

Mare Do-Well steepled her hooves together in thought. “What’s his goal? If he’s got the kind of power we saw from Suntrix then he could just find some far off world and make it his kingdom. Instead he continues to jump from world to world, never staying in one place for too long.”

“Except Maretropolis,” Fili-Second sighed. Mare Do-Well bit her lip as she kind of regretted bringing such a memory back to the mare.

“What I’m saying is that I’ve seen this kind of behavior in criminals many times before.”

“What’s that?” Mare Do-Well turned to face Fili-Second head on.

“He’s looking for something.” Fili-Second frowned thoughtfully but nodded her head in earnest, clearly excited to learn something more about her foe. Mare Do-Well furrowed her brow as she studied the pink mare. She had seen lots of lower class ponies getting pushed around by big ones all her life, it was something she was used to. Before last night she was very suspicious of Fili-Second, but now she knew there was some other pony behind her. One that was probably holding all the reins, and from the sound of it Fili-Second was having second thoughts about whatever they were doing. She kind of pitied the mare in that regard.

“Hey,” she spoke up getting Fili-Second’s attention once more, “um, if you want I can teach… you some more criminology tricks… later.” Her words came out disjointed and stumbling, not used to acting kind towards a suspect. “Y’know, just for when this is all over and you go back to being a superhero.”

Fili-Second smiled warmly, but Mare Do-Well could still detect a hint of sadness behind that happy grin. “I’d like that.”

“So what’s up?” came a raspy feminine voice entering from the hallway. The two heroes turned around to see Rainbow Dash and Flutterbat stroll in from the kitchen.

“I see the rest of us have convened,” another feminine voice came from the direction of the bedrooms. Mare Do-Well turned and saw Rarity walk in with Applejack. Applejack and Mare Do-Well shared a brief but knowing nod to one another as they entered. Good. Rarity was in.

“I’m glad you’re all up,” Fili-Second said. “Now we can get going!”

“One minute!” Mare Do-Well stopped her, trying to stall for time Rarity could use to magically search the room. “We, uh, need to make a plan of attack.”

Fili-Second scratched her chin. “Don’t we need to know the situation before that?”

“We just need to know his movements,” Mare Do-Well interjected. “Criminology!”

“Oooo!”

Fili-Second went back to the monitors. Luckily enough Rainbow and Flutterbat went over as well to check out what they were doing, leaving Rarity and Applejack to scan the room in peace behind them. What followed was ten minutes of Mare Do-Well pulling every bullshit thing she knew about criminology out of her plot and dishing it out like slivers of wisdom. Luckily enough, again, her three listeners weren’t on the smartest wave lengths. “…And that’s how you track a crocodile/pony hybrid through the sewer,” she finished on her very random lesson. Fili-Second listened in rapt attention and somehow had a notepad with her that she hadn’t had before, scribbling down her words with great interest.

“That’s cool and all,” Rainbow said hesitantly, “but what does that have to do with capturing this Mr. 4 guy?”

Mare Do-Well began to stutter in response but oddly enough she was saved by Fili-Second. “He could create an army of crocoponies and have them swarm a city.” Her eyes became serious but her words still had a playful tone. “Every little bit helps. But, we should probably still go now. Just in case he might leave soon.”

Mare Do-Well looked over everypony’s shoulders and saw Applejack and Rarity give her a nod signaling that they were done. She sighed in relief. “Yeah, let’s go.”

A few moments later they were all rounded up once more in the center of the room. Mare Do-Well made sure to stand next to Applejack. “So, anything?” she whispered.

“Rarity saw the room,” Applejack whispered back. “Bunch of monitors like this one, but nopony was there.”

Mare Do-Well frowned. “Did you find any kind of escape hatch or door?”

“That’s what’s odd. No.”

Mare Do-Well didn’t like the sound of that. She didn’t like variables. And whoever or whatever was behind that door was now a variable. For the briefest moment before they disappeared in a sonic boom, Mare Do-Well could swear she felt something icy cold shiver down her back.

{(SxT)}

“Get off me!” a young stallion with a white and brown spotted coat yelled as he threw the prisoner they had collected last night into the holding cell. She had just tried to bite him. What the hell was up with this mare?

The blue unicorn with a gold and silver mane fell to the straw covered stone of the holding cell and immediately jumped back up and lunged at him. However this time the stallion was quick enough to shut the door before she could bite him again. The unicorn slammed against the bars of the door and shot her hoof through, growling in an almost primal way. “You’re one bucked up lady, bitch.”

“Hey Pipsqueak!” a voice came from outside.

“I told you to stop calling me that!” Pipsqueak replied as he started to walk back, leaving the mare alone in her cell. “What do you want?”

Suntrix crawled back into the corner of her cage, her eyes darting back and forth in rapid succession. Right now she was surrounded by safe stone. At least it would feel safe if she didn’t know what was out there. Her left eye twitched slightly.

“You’re looking well,” a familiar voice popped up. Suntrix spun to the other side of her cell and saw the familiar blue pony with a smug grin. “Going for the ‘wild’ look, hmm?”

“You!” Suntrix shouted angrily and lunged at the pony, immediately finding herself hitting the brick wall.

“Yeesh,” Mr. 4 sighed, now on the side of the cell Suntrix was just at. “What’s with all the hostility?”

Suntrix shook her head to regain her balance but she had conked it pretty bad. She steadied herself and growled at Mr. 4. “It’s gone! The power is gone! I can’t feel it anymore! Give it to me again!”

Mr. 4 shook his hoof back and forth. “Tut, tut, tut. You’ve been touched by Harmony. I’m afraid even I can’t bring back your severed connection to the Wall.”

Suntrix growled again and lunged. Mr. 4 merely rolled his eyes and once again their places were switched with Suntrix tackling a bench. She pulled herself up and glared daggers at Mr. 4. “Why are you here? Two weeks I’ve been here and now you decide to show up?”

“Two weeks?” Mr. 4 sounded actually surprised. “Hmm, must be a time dilation effect. Time must move faster here than it does in others.” He seemed to make a mental note of that as he mumbled to himself.

“Wait,” Suntrix stopped glaring. “So… So you didn’t abandon me?”

Mr. 4 returned his attention to her. “Hm? Oh! Uh, yes, my dear! I was really worried about you.” His voice was laden with falsity but Suntrix didn’t seem to notice. She broke down and began to cry.

“I was… I was alone so long out there,” she breathed heavily through tears. “In that wilderness, with those… things! Those horrible things!” She crawled on her knees over to Mr. 4. “This world is a nightmare! Just send me back! Please!”

Mr. 4 did not kneel to eyelevel with her. “My dear, why don’t you just do it yourself? I mean, you got here, didn’t you?”

Suntrix began to cry some more. “I don’t have any more magic! Those things. They absorbed it all while I was in the woods. I can’t even make a spark.”

“So they can absorb magic?” Mr. 4 mused to himself. “Intriguing. Nevertheless, my dear, rest assured that I will return for you once I’ve finished my business here.” With a blink he was gone once more, the cell looking as if he were never there at all.

“Wait!” Suntrix shouted to the air. “Wait! Please! Take me with you!” She cried and curled up into a ball. “I don’t want to be here alone.”

<____|=0

Applejack’s eyes widened as the new world around her came into focus, her warrior’s senses immediately active. “Get down!!” she shouted. Everypony did as commanded as a blast of black fire carved a swath of destruction on the trees above them. The sound of heavy wingbeats could be heard above. The six scattered to several trees or bushes around the forested area they had appeared in. They stayed there for a moment as the sound of the wings continued. Applejack peaked her head out just enough to see out over the treeline. She dropped her jaw slightly in amazement. Two giant dragons were fighting in midair, one with scales black as night.

“Dragons?” Mare Do-Well whispered across the clearing.

“That one aint no dragon Ah’ve ever seen,” Applejack replied looking at the black one.

“Me neither,” Rainbow whispered. “Flutterbat?” Applejack could see Flutterbat shake her head from the two mares’ hiding place.

“I’ve never encountered a dragon like that either,” Rarity whispered.

“What kind of dragons breathe black fire?” Fili-Second asked.

Applejack watched as the black dragon swung its mighty tail and slammed the other into the ground just a little bit away. It proceeded to pounce on top of its foe and drew back its head. Applejack had to cover her eyes as a blast of intense black flame exploded from its gaping maw and enveloped the entire area around it. Though the flames were dark it still hurt to stare at it, like looking into an eclipse. When the torrent ended the surrounding fire immediately died down and Applejack drew back a breath. The entire forest area was alright with not a single tree or blade of grass singed. However, the smaller red dragon below the victorious one was not so lucky, it’s body charred down to the skeleton.

Applejack watched the winner draw its head back up as it looked over the scene of its victory. She gulped as she finally got a good look at it. Its long serpentine body was covered belly and back with thick black scales. Its long sinuous tail was about half the size of a hoofball field, its body height close to that of a fortress wall. Its wings were thin filaments that were almost transparent. Sunlight shown through them and played across the ground in various colors like a kaleidoscope. But what scared Applejack most was not its impressive strength or its imposing build, but its eyes. It scanned the forested area with completely gray expressionless eyes. When it held still Applejack could swear she saw smoke billowing behind the pupils, as if they were merely made of glass and the inside of the beast’s head was on fire. In any other creature this would imply it was blind, but Applejack could tell just by looking at it that it wasn’t. This… thing had no soul, she could feel it.

“Dragon hide is supposed to be flame proof, right?” Rainbow asked. “So how did that thing just burn a fully grown dragon alive in under a minute?”

The six grew still once more as the black creature lifted its head and sniffed the air. It sniffed in several directions before landing on their own. Applejack’s pupils shrank as she saw an image that would haunt her for the rest of her life. She saw the soulless creature smile.

“Yaaaahhh!!” a loud shout was heard from behind the creature and the six turned their attention to a couple of ponies coming through the trees behind them. They looked back to see a group of six earth ponies in tan uniforms slinging their ways through the trees, outfitted in some kind of metal wire dispersal device. After every arc of their swings the device would shoot out another metal rope and then retract the previous one, giving the ponies the illusion of swinging through the trees like monkeys. At their head was a gray mare with a flat purple mane. “Flintlock is down!” she shouted in a harsh voice. “Surround and go for the neck!”

The ponies all obeyed as the creature stayed completely still and waited for them to enter its attack zone, smiling all the while. A team of two swooped up the right side of it and narrowly dodged a fast swing of its mighty arm. Applejack could see them smile as they assumed they had managed to outmaneuver it but it was for naught. One of the ponies screamed as the creature’s wing slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. The pony crashed to the ground and immediately tried to get back in the air but the device on his waist was stuck or stalled. He looked up in horror as he saw the creature look down at him, its toothy smile never fading. He screamed once more as it picked him up in its claws and brought him to its mouth to swallow him whole. Applejack felt like throwing up as she heard the tortured screaming suddenly halt.

“Attack!” Another couple ponies shouted as they had been able to maneuver behind the beast while it was distracted. The ponies all pulled out long glistening blades from waist devices and lunged forward to slash at the back of the beast’s neck. The monster turned around sharply but was only able to swat away a few of them. The gray mare at the forefront accelerated the retraction of her device and pulled back to the neck of the creature. Now that it had its back turned to them Applejack could see that there was indeed a soft looking spot on the back of its neck. Where the base of the neck met the back of the body was a small barren patch of scales exposing a soft skin underneath. The gray mare cut clean through it.

The creature did not roar or cry out in pain but merely opened its mouth as if to scream and fell forward, a burst of acrid smoke spraying from its back. Now that she thought of it, the creature never truly did make a noise. Even while fighting the dragon the only roars they could hear were from the fallen dragon itself.

The last of the ponies present set themselves down from the trees and walked over to join their leader as she stood eerily silent and watched the body fall to the ground. Applejack didn’t understand why they didn’t try to save the pony that got eaten. He was swallowed whole so he must have been intact, plus the neck was pretty long it would have taken a little longer for him to reach the stomach. Her answer came as the creature burst into black flames as its body fully hit the ground. She stared in utter disbelief as the ponies watched the horrific scene with emotionless expressions, the scariest of which was the gray mare in the center.

“Holy Faust,” Rainbow whispered in disbelief.

It wasn’t much but it was enough for the gray mare to notice. Her ear twitched and she spun around, her eyes still emotionless. She grabbed a knife from a pocket in her uniform and threw it Rainbow’s way. Applejack jumped out of her hiding place and flung herself between the path of the blade and her friend. With a samurai’s discerning eye she caught the knife between her hooves right before it impaled her. The group of ponies looked on stunned, all except the gray mare.

“Who are you?” she asked harshly. “You’re not with the Scouting Party. Don’t you know Wall Cadence fell already?”

Applejack was about to answer when another rustle from the bushes came and she turned to see Fili-Second walk out from her hiding place and remove the white body suit’s cowl from around her face. Her hair immediately poofed up in all directions. “Maud,” she said slightly in a hushed tone, her eyes wide with growing tears.

The gray mare’s expressionless eyes changed for a second and Applejack could see actual color behind them. Her accusing hoof dropped to her side and her mouth fell open, beginning to quiver. “P- Pinkie?”

New Friends and Old Relations

{(SxT)}

“Let me go!”

Suntrix pulled her head up from her knees and looked around curiously as she heard a new voice approach. Suddenly the door to the holding cells opened and two large dragons in those brown uniforms walked inside. In their arms was a small struggling purple baby dragon in the same uniform. Suntrix couldn’t quite make it out but she swore she saw fear in the large dragons’ eyes.

They quickly threw the tiny dragon in the adjoining cell next to her. The dragon smacked his head against the other end of the cell and fell to his knees. Suntrix saw him cast a vicious glare in the big dragons’ direction that made them both take a step back. “Don’t even think it, freak!” the larger dragon on the right gulped.

“Yeah,” the other one said hesitantly. “I don’t know what the hell you did back there, but it’s unnatural. You’re unnatural.” With that they locked his cell and backed out of the room slowly, the baby dragon glaring at them the entire way. Unnatural? Unnatural could mean Fourth Wall stuff. Perhaps this was Mr. 4 in disguise. She tentatively stepped toward the other cell.

“Mr. 4?” she whispered. The tiny dragon didn’t turn his head to her but his eyes did register her and then rolled in their sockets. He went over to his bench and sat down with a grim expression. Nope, definitely not Mr. 4.

“You’re that crazy mare they found out near Wall Cadence, right?” the dragon asked.

Suntrix frowned a little at being called a crazy mare but she couldn’t quite blame him considering the way she acted and the state of her mane. Instead she just muttered a “what’s it to ya?”

The little dragon grit his teeth and stared at the floor. “Nothing,” he muttered. A long awkward silence followed.

Suntrix simply had to break the tension. “So what were they saying about you being all ‘unnatural’ out there?” she asked. “You look like a pretty normal baby dragon.”

“I’m thirteen!” the dragon shouted back grumpily. “And I… I’m not normal.” He stared at his upturned claws with wide confused eyes. “I don’t know what I am. I tried to move a crate that was bigger than me. Some jerks started pestering me about how I was weak. So I got mad. Then my claw slipped and I cut myself…” He stopped as he just realized he was admitting things to a stranger. “What am I even talking to you for?”

Suntrix could see the fear and uncertainty in his eyes. For a brief moment she felt for the little guy. Then another part of her mind kicked in and started to think of a way to use the dragon’s insecurities to her advantage. “So what’s your name?” she asked in as sincere a voice as she could muster.

The tiny dragon shifted his eyes to her and narrowed them before his shoulders sank and he sighed. “Spike.”

“Okay, Spike,” Suntrix replied and reached through the bars, extending a hoof. “My name’s Suntrix.”

Spike eyed the hoof wearily but took it and shook. He now seemed a little more relaxed. “So where are you from anyway?” he asked. “Scouting Party says they found you hiding out near Everfree. Just how long were you there?”

Suntrix grimaced as she recalled the half a month of hell she had been through out there. “Two weeks,” she grunted. “Lucky I was able to find a cellar in Ponyville to hide in.”

Suntrix jumped back as Spike ran up and slammed the bars between their cells. His eyes were wide and pleading. “You were in Ponyville? Is it still there?”

“Is what still there?” Suntrix asked hesitantly, not exactly enjoying Spike’s new attitude.

“The Library!” Spike shouted. “Tell me is the library still there?”

“Yes!” Suntrix shouted back, slightly frightened. “Their flames don’t hurt plant life so it was pretty much the only structure still standing.”

Spike let go of the cell bars and backed away stunned. He couldn’t decide on just where to look as his eyes darted all around. “It’s still there. Twilight’s lab is still there!” He turned to the wall of the cell and narrowed his eyes. “I need to get out of here.” Suntrix saw him clench his fist, his claws digging into his soft scales, blood beginning to drip down. The baby dragon turned to Suntrix with a slightly crazed smile and Suntrix backed away to the other end of her cell. His eyes were now white. “And you’re coming with me.”

===E8DB

Rainbow breathed an inward sigh of relief as she walked along with the ponies that had taken down that creature. Not that she wasn’t strong enough to fight something like that but… No, she was absolutely sure she wasn’t strong enough to fight that. All she could think of were those eyes and that horrifying smile, then the mare throwing that dagger. It all was happening so fast it was hard to keep up.

Apparently Fili-Second knew this pony because the moment after the two locked eyes and confirmed who they were they started hugging and bawling. Rainbow found it kind of funny that those other ponies in the gray mare’s group were as confused as she was.

The gray mare, whom Fili-Second identified as Maud, seemed to scan the forest while also engaging in a conversation with the six. “So let me get this straight,” Maud said with a voice that had little to no emotion, “You’re not Pinkie, but you are?”

“That’s sorta the case,” Fili-Second replied cheerfully. “You see, there are literally billions of worlds in the multiverse that-”

“I understand you’re need for information, Maud,” Mare Do-well interrupted. “And I respect the fact that you need to know as much about us as you can. But we’re in the dark here too. If you really understand who and what we are then could you please explain to us what that thing was?”

Maud stopped walking and the ponies behind her did as well. Rainbow could see several of them going for those diamond blades on their hips. Maud’s face seemed to give a dark expression of apathy towards Mare Do-Well for just a brief moment, then her eyes returned to their normally disinterested position. “I’d know my sister anywhere,” Maud said and gave Pinkie a small smile. “The only way she could possibly be here was if your story was true.”

“I’m just glad to finally be spending some time with my sister after so long,” Pinkie said happily.

Rainbow frowned. “What do you mean, darling? You don’t get to see her that often with those powers of yours?”

Pinkie stumbled slightly. “Well, I mean, um, you’d think.” She laughed nervously as she tried to catch back up with Maud. Rainbow shrugged and flew to catch up as well.

Maud looked up at the sky. “Let’s keep moving. We don’t want to be left outside Wall Luna when the sun sets.”

The uniformed ponies all seemed to relax as the group began to progress through the woods once more. Maud took a moment to center her thoughts before beginning her story. “It all started five years ago. Twilight, Pinkie and the others had refounded the Elements of Harmony and defeated Nightmare Moon.” Rainbow gave a hesitant look over her shoulder to Rarity but the black unicorn seemed to be focused on other things. “It seemed like the good times would never end after that. But then they came.”

Maud turned her head to the canopy of trees above. “We had no name for them before. They appeared too fast and too numerous to even consider naming them. Eventually we settled on Black Wyrms, due to their appearance. One thing was certain though, they would attack and devour anypony. Ponies, griffons, and even dragons. In fact, we thought they were dragons at first, but a little later the dragons themselves came to Celestia and begged for her help in defeating them.” She looked back to Rainbow Dash and the others. “The dragon kingdoms were the first to fall.”

“Then the griffons. Their king didn’t survive to ask for help but the last of them ended up fleeing to Canterlot. After these races fell, Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadence formed a specialized group of soldiers made up of unicorns and pegasi to patrol the border and protect the ponies from any threats from the Black Wyrms.” Maud went silent once more in a sign of respect. “They didn’t last a day.”

“After that Celestia, Luna and Cadence decided that they themselves were the only ones strong enough to defeat them. So in a last ditch effort they erected the three walls around Canterlot and the surrounding provinces and then left to find the source of the Black Dragons. We haven’t seen them since.” Maud stopped walking and pointed up through the canopy. Rainbow squinted but she could swear that she saw a large shimmering dome off in the distant sky. “They left three magical domed layers around us for protection. However, the outermost wall, Wall Cadence, fell three years ago.”

“Everypony was in Ponyville at the time. Since the princesses’ disappearance, Twilight had been obsessed with finding a way to bring them back. She’d lock herself up in her basement for days on end. Celestia only knows what she was working on in there. We were all there when the dome shattered above us and Black Wyrms came down. There was no way for any of us to fight. Except you six.”

Rainbow frowned. Once again she was part of a story she had never been a part of. “The bearers of the Elements of Harmony all stayed behind to provide help for all of us to escape. I don’t know if Twilight thought she could defeat them with the Elements or if she knew that they would just be a distraction.” Maud turned to Pinkie again, her expressionless eyes beginning to fill with tears. “I should have… I should have been the one to protect you…”

Pinkie threw her arm around Maud and pulled her into a hug. Maud took a deep shuttering breath and embraced Pinkie as well. After a moment she pulled away and composed herself once more.

They finally came across the gates to Wall Luna. Rainbow looked up at the enormous magical door sitting in the middle of the forest. Maud knocked three times and waited a few moments before knocking twice more. The gates began to open slowly.

As they did Rainbow struggled with a question she wanted to ask. “So how many made it out?”

Maud stood still as she waited for the door to open, “In a town of close to three hundred ponies, only seventy five made it out alive. In the ensuing chaos lots of ponies got separated from their families. Spike and I ended up here as the vanguard for Wall Luna.”

“Spike?” Fili-Second, Mare Do-Well and Rarity all shouted in unison.

“My little Spikey Wikey is doing something so dangerous?” Rarity asked in a cute voice. Everypony turned to stare at the tall black unicorn in confusion. Rarity cleared her throat and stood up straight with a blush.

“Miss Pie!” Maud turned around as the gates finished closing behind them and a young stallion skidded to a halt in front of her. “Miss Pie! Thank Celestia your back!”

“What’s wrong?” Maud asked.

“Prisoner! Escape!” the young stallion struggled to say.

“That half feral mare we found out near Everfree?” Maud asked.

“No! The dragon! Spike was thrown into the cell too!”

“What?!” Maud shouted with alarm and began to race towards the encampment. Everypony followed suit trailing behind her, but the gray mare was just too fast for all of them. When they finally came into view of the camp Rainbow was amazed at the sight of a slightly old ruined fortress that had been retrofitted to hold a platoon of the same brown uniform wearing ponies like Maud. They could hear Maud shouting on the steps of the base. “Who threw Spike in a jail cell?”

Rainbow saw the mare burst through a door into the fortress above. Rainbow flew up along with the others as they filed into the room Maud had entered. “Mother of Faust,” Rarity breathed. The room had been ripped apart with the brick walls of the cells having been torn away and toppled to the ground. Maud stood there dumbfounded as she saw the remains of the cell bars swing lifelessly on the breeze, somehow ripped from their sockets. The open sky greeted them just outside the hideous gash in the structure.

The same stallion from before ran into the room and panted. Maud turned to him. “What did this?” she asked in a serious tone.

“Spike,” the pony struggled to get out through his labored breathing.

“That’s impossible,” Maud replied sternly. The stallion shrunk away before another pony entered, this one with a crystal ball.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” she said. “But it’s true. The event was magically recorded.” She held out the crystal and rubbed a hoof on it to play back the previous images. The six and Maud all gathered around as the image of the outside of the fortress came into view. Suddenly the wall burst outward from the inside and two large dark purple claws came out followed by a long purple neck. This one looked eerily like the rest of the Black Wyrms before except for the purple scales and slightly thicker build.

However Maud seemed to recoil as the beast in the picture let loose a large high pitched roar and pushed itself out. Mare Do-Well shot her hoof out and paused the image as the beast slithered out. “Hold on,” she muttered. She rubbed the ball a little and played back the previous second before pausing again. “You guys see that?”

Rainbow squinted into the ball. The image was fuzzy but it looked like a blue unicorn with a gold and silver streaked mane clutched in the dragon’s claw. “That’s the mare we found yesterday,” Maud whispered.

“That’s also our target,” Mare Do-Well replied. “Think that thing will do anything to her?”

Maud reared on Mare Do-Well. “That ‘thing’ is Spike! And I know he wouldn’t hurt a pony.” She returned her attention to the ball. “But how? How can that be Spike?”

“Um, ma’am?” the pony holding the crystal ball muttered. “Just so you know, this footage has already been sent to the King. He’s asked you to join a conference he’ll be hosting with the tribal leaders and Squad Commanders.” Maud sighed and gritted her teeth.

“The king?” Rainbow asked. “Who’s the king?”

@#$%^&(*)&^%$#@

Mr. 4 stood on a mountain top as he closed his eyes in concentration. He could feel the flow of magic in this world running through him. There was definitely a root in this world.

His ears twitched and he opened one eye to roll it. “Something like this takes time.” His ear twitched again. “If you were capable of doing it I’m sure you would but for now you have me. So you’ll just have to be patient.” His ear didn’t twitch anymore.

He suddenly felt a large concentration somewhere in the center of Everfree forest. Mr. 4 smirked and rolled his eyes. “Of course, it’s always in Everfree.”

Mr. 4 took a step off the mountain and set his next hoof down on a canyon floor. The scenery around him had changed to that of a crystal gorge. A nefarious smile spread across his face as he laid eyes on the prize before him. “There you are,” he chuckled. The Tree of Harmony stood tall and proud in the canyon below the Castle of the Two Sisters.

The High Council

~`(\/)’~

Rarity sat hesitantly at the long wooden table prepared for the impromptu meeting. Maud insisted that the six sit in on the discussion. Pinkie Pie seemed to think it was to have her sister as close to her as possible but Rarity knew a debate tactic when she saw it. Here they were, the long thought lost Elements of Harmony, supposedly back from the dead. Having them here would certainly be a surprise to the monarchy and probably sway any arguments in Maud’s favor, probably about courses of action regarding Spike. Rarity frowned as she thought back to her own Spike. Just what could this poor little dragon be going through with Twilight and the others, his best friends, dead?

Maud sat opposite Rarity with Pinkie on her left and Mare Do-Well on her right. On Rarity’s side of the table Rainbow Dash and Flutterbat sat together next to her. Applejack had declined the offer to join the meeting, saying something about wanting to check out those metal grappling devices most of the ponies around here wore. Maud didn’t seem to mind it as she let the samurai go.

At the head of the table a unicorn in the same brown uniform approached with a large crystal ball, different from the one they’d seen before. This one had several facets like a polished diamond. “Stand by for transmission from Canterlot,” the unicorn said quietly. She pointed her horn to the crystal and a glowing aura erupted from it and into the ball. Each facet came to life with light one by one and then an image of a pony, griffin or dragon appeared from each one. Their holograms floated in the air, several letting out gasps of surprise as they laid eyes on the recognizable members of the Elements of Harmony.

Finally the last hologram appeared, a familiar white unicorn with a blonde mane and a silly looking crown on his head. Rarity groaned and rolled her eyes as King Blueblood saw her. “What the-?!” he shouted. In his surprise the frightened king tripped over himself and fell from the hologram off screen. Several ponies appeared to help him back up and the King reeled on Maud. “Captain Pie! What is the meaning of this?”

“These are several ponies I and my team found wandering the White Tail Woods,” Maud replied completely calm. “Despite their… appearances, I can assure you that these are the ponies you think they are.”

“That’s not… But…” King Blueblood stuttered as he eyed Rarity once more. Rarity took pleasure in giving him a vicious grin, to which the wimpy king gulped nervously. He took a breath and regained his composure. “We would appreciate it if you sent such information about your findings to the Canterlot Court before we enter into a meeting blindly.”

“Understood,” Maud replied dryly. Rarity could swear she saw the mare smirk for a brief moment.

“It is a pleasure to see you ladies once more,” an earth pony in a white and brown striped robe said with a bow. “However I suggest we handle the point that deserves our most immediate attention.”

“Indeed,” a lady griffin with black legs and green feathers agreed. “The Black Wyrm spotted at your encampment.”

“Apologies, ma’am,” Pinkie spoke up, “but that was no Black Wyrm. He was Spike!”

“Spike?” a pale unicorn with red mane and a purple streak spoke up.

“The floor recognizes Moondancer of the Unicorn tribe,” Blueblood announced.

“Thank you, your majesty,” Moondancer replied with a bow then turned back to the Rarity and the others. “I know what dragon you speak of. You say he’s connected to this invasion somehow?”

“It’s not an invasion,” Maud replied rather harshly.

“Though it seems quite damning evidence,” a slender blue girl dragon interrupted. She waved a claw and the scene they had all seen before played out in the middle of the table. “I am not sure of the purpose of the purple scales but this certainly looks like a Black Wyrm. It seems to have even captured one of your own.”

“With all due respect Counselor Ember,” Maud iterated, “the pony that the… target took was designated a dangerous entity. We found her half-starved and she came close to biting one of our cadet’s eyes out.”

“It makes no difference,” the green feathered griffin lady spoke again. “All life is sacred with the Black Wyrms on the loose.”

“Speaking of sacred,” Ember spoke up again. “I do not mean to diverge from the topic but I must congratulate you on finding the Elements of Harmony once more, Captain Pie.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Maud replied with a salute. Rarity noticed the dragon’s face become slightly apprehensive.

“On the note of your recent excursion,” Ember continued. “I read that you suffered a loss.”

Maud became silent for a moment but did not break eye contact. “Cadet Flintlock volunteered for an aerial survey and was attacked. We did not reach him in time.”

Ember’s expression did not change but she could see her hard gaze begin to soften. “I see.”

“Why did you allow a cadet to perform something so dangerous?” a large brown Pegasus with a scar over his eye and a red mohawk spoke up angrily. He wore a similar brown uniform but the insignia on his was different.

“I take full responsibility, Captain West Wind,” Maud replied.

Ember raised a claw to silence her and shook her head sadly. “Do not blame her, captain. Most likely it was the dragon’s own arrogance that made him disobey an order. I have no illusions as to the pride of my kind.”

“Indeed,” King Blueblood spoke. “That’s why you make such a good diplomat, Ember.”

“If we may return to the task at hand,” Moondancer interrupted.

“Yes, yes,” Blueblood replied and turned back to Maud. “It seems to me, captain, that despite the fact that this creature may, and I must stress that, MAY be your companion it doesn’t lessen the fact that what we see here in this recording is in fact a Black Wyrm behind Wall Luna.”

“I must agree with the King,” the griffin representative said. “This is still a large breach in our defenses. One that brings up even more questions about these creatures.” Her eyes drifted to Ember. “Like can any dragon become one of these?”

Ember seemed like a reasonably even tempered dragon, since Rarity saw her, but the look she gave the griffin representative made her heart run cold. “You would do well to remember the devastation those monsters inflicted on my homeland as well, Counselor Brunhilde.”

“Enough squabbling!” Mare Do-Well shouted and slammed her hooves on the table, earning the attention of the whole room. “Are you going to say it or should I?” The room went slightly quiet, except for Blueblood who rubbed his hooves together pensively. Mare Do-Well sighed. “You want to hunt him down and kill him, right?”

“What?!” Rarity shouted. The rest of the members of the meeting all began to argue amongst themselves. Rarity stared disbelievingly at Mare Do-Well who hid her emotions behind her mask.

“That is enough!” Blueblood shouted. The assembly died down once more and Blueblood eyed Mare Do-Well suspiciously. “Just who do you think you are? You don’t look like one of the Elements of Harmony! Who are you?”

Rarity looked back to Mare Do-Well. Actually, she had been wondering that same thing. She had originally thought Mare Do-Well to be Twilight, that all the weird mannerisms were simply due to the alternate universe theory. However, Mare Do-Well had been doing some very odd things. Never taking off her mask even when Pinkie insisted. Also she never let up with the exaggerated deep voice. Plus there was just something… off about her. Mare Do-Well stood still for a few moments as everypony in the room waited for an answer. Rarity wasn’t the only one interested.

Mare Do-Well lifted her hat from her head and reached up to remove the lenses around her eyes. Two violet eyes stared back at the assembly. Mare Do-Well cleared her throat and spoke up, her voice now clear and familiar. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and I am the Element of Magic.”

<____|=0

Applejack walked around the outside of the encampment, admiring the handiwork. Earth ponies had always had a penchant for industry and invention and from the looks of all the advanced equipment the ponies carried around she assumed this world was no different.

She was admiring a tall crane like machine working on the destroyed wall of the fortress, not paying attention when she ran into another pony carrying a load of tools. Applejack turned back and offered the pony a hoof off the ground. “Ah’m sorry ‘bout that!” she said hastily.

“No, I’m fine,” the orange pony muttered as she tried to gather the tools she dropped.

Applejack leaned down and picked up a wrench. “This is some outfit, you got here,” she mused.

“Yeah, I guess,” the mare replied noncommittally. She turned away from Applejack who looked back at her. She wore the same kind of brown uniform like the others and she appeared to be a Pegasus. The only big difference though was that one of her wings was stripped of feathers, the bone bending in an odd direction. Applejack frowned at the thought of ponies so young having to go through such hardships, then the mare turned around.

“Scootaloo?” Applejack asked in surprise.

Scootaloo looked up from gathering her tools. “Do I know you?” she asked.

Applejack felt a bit taken aback by the question. “I- It’s me, Applejack. Apple Bloom’s sister.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know an Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo replied. “But… you’re one of those ponies that are supposed to be the Elements of Harmony that the captain found, right?”

“You don’t know…” Applejack paused for a moment. Had this Scootaloo never met Apple Bloom? She was hoping that her sister might have been one of the ponies to survive the destruction of Ponyville, but this made her doubt it. “Never mind… Yeah, Ah’m Applejack.” She extended a hoof.

“Scootaloo,” she replied taking the hoof. “Though I guess you already knew that… somehow.” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Don’t worry about it,” Applejack added hastily.

Scootaloo shrugged. “Well, the captain trusts you so I do too.” She gathered the rest of her tools and began to walk over to a bench. Applejack followed.

“You trust her a lot, eh?” she asked.

“Oh yeah!” Scootaloo replied. “The captain was the only squad leader that was willing to take a pony like me in.” She motioned to her crippled wing.

“What do you mean?” Applejack asked.

Scootaloo sighed. “Well, no Pegasus squad was going to accept me. Not that there were many Pegasi left. Most of us are pretty young and inexperienced.” She paused and sat down on the bench, motioning for Applejack to sit with her. “After Wall Cadence fell, the Black Wyrms attacked and hunted down a lot of pegasi. We were already flyers so they must have assumed us the most fun to hunt. After the attack on Ponyville I got hurt pretty bad. There was no way I would be allowed to join a Pegasus squad with this busted wing.” Scootaloo paused for a moment and rubbed her shoulder blade. Applejack could tell the younger mare was hurting pretty bad, both emotionally and physically.

“That’s when I was approached by Captain Pie,” Scootaloo continued. “She was apparently gathering surviving ponies from Ponyville and creating a scouting party that would patrol Wall Cadence. How could I say no?”

She reached to her hip and unlatched the mechanical device with the metal cords. Applejack watched as Scootaloo brought the machine up and began to tinker with it with her tools. “So what is that thing?” Applejack asked.

Scootaloo looked at her in surprise. “This is a 3-D Device,” she stated matter of factly. “It allows anypony, earth pony, unicorn, or even crippled Pegasus to soar through the air like one. Moving in three dimensions.” She gave a melancholy laugh as she went back to work. “Really, we’d all probably be dead long ago without this thing.”

Applejack raised a brow in curiosity and scooted closer. “How does it work?”

{(SxT)}

They had been flying for nearly an hour and the dragon finally ended his flight by landing on a ledge overlooking a tall cliff face. The huge beast finally let her go from its grip, dropping her to the ledge. Suntrix wanted to run but there was nowhere to go and no way to climb up. She kept her back flat against the cliff as the creature which had once been the small dragon set its wings and lowered its head. Suddenly the soft spot on its neck opened up and acrid smoke and steam began to billow out. The large purple beast then went limp and dropped to the ground, it’s hulking frame slipping and beginning to fall from the ledge. Suntrix stared in shock and confusion as the creature turned over and she saw the tiny dragon from before, seemingly unconscious and buried in a nest of goo and tendons in the creature’s back. He was about to fall over the edge with the creature when Suntrix reached out and hastily grabbed the young dragon by the arm, his body ripping free from the fleshy cocoon as the frame fell to the earth below. She stared over the edge as the corpse burst into black flames half way down and tumbled into the forested area beneath. “What the hay is your deal?” she shouted at Spike, her voice echoing slightly. “You… You’re one of those things aren’t you?”

Spike groggily opened his eyes as he finally became conscious again. Spike got up to stretch and cracked his neck, wiping a bit a goo off his shoulder. “I needed to get out of there fast,” he muttered as if she hadn’t just seen him turn into a hulking monstrosity. “If what you said about Ponyville and the library being intact is true then I might just finally get some answers.”

“Answers about what?” Suntrix asked hesitantly.

“About the Black Wyrms. About what happened to Twilight. And about myself.” Spike trailed off as he looked out on the landscape. Suntrix could see his eyes narrow as he spotted a couple of Black Wyrms far out. They didn’t seem to notice them as they soared wistfully and in no particular direction. Spike grit his teeth and clenched his fist as he watched them. “Do you know why they smile?” he asked.

“No,” Suntrix muttered, completely regretting trying to talk to this kid.

“Nopony does,” Spike answered. “But they do it. They have that hideous grin on their faces as they swallow a screaming pony down in one gulp.” His shoulders began to tremble. “Twilight was researching them. Did you know they don’t even need to eat? Those monsters can survive for years with nothing, yet they gobble up any pony in their sight.”

Suntrix looked back at the Black Dragons in the distance and backed closer to the cliff wall nervously. “Their hunting us,” Spike continued. “It’s all just sport to them. Twilight, Rarity, the others. They were all just a game!” Spike shouted angrily, making Suntrix look back to the Black Dragons. Luckily none of them in the distance seemed to take notice. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned on Spike.

“Look I get it,” she hissed, trying to keep her voice down. “You’re pissed off at an insurmountable and incomprehensible force. Trust me, I know what that’s like.” She grabbed Spike and pulled him up to her muzzle. “But don’t make your problems mine. Now get me off this cliff!”

Spike was silent for a moment and then shook his head. “Alright. But first you show me the way to Ponyville.”

Suntrix sighed in exasperation and rubbed her forehead. She turned to the landscape and scoured it for any recognizable landmarks. A tall castle like structure rose to her left. That must be the castle in the Everfree forest. Which meant that just south west should be…

“That way,” she pointed.

“Great,” Spike smiled and cut his palm with his claw, drawing blood. “Let’s go.” Suddenly his body began to steam once more and the little purple dragon was replaced by the monster from before. Suntrix tried to run as he grabbed her out of the air and began to soar down toward the trees.

“Why me?” she cried out. As she swung through the sky she could swear for a brief moment she saw something shimmer in the forest, like glass reflecting the sun. She blinked and the next moment it was gone. She felt an icy chill run down her spine. Had it always been this cold?

@#$%^&(*)&^%$#@

Mr. 4 followed the leylines of the root with his mind all the way to another cluster. He drew in a sharp breath as he realized that he finally had enough information to complete his map. He smiled wide as he sat before the Tree of Harmony and pulled out his three dimensional map of the multiverse. He added in the new coordinates of that world’s Tree of Harmony, new lines of magic sprouting into place on the map. He looked on in wonder as the lines finally seemed to converge on a single world. “Finally,” he muttered happily.

Now knowing exactly where he wanted to go, he took a step and was there. The world actually looked quite familiar and ordinary looking. He seemed to have arrived just outside the outskirts of Ponyville, on the edge of Everfree. He could see some kind of party going on in town, hosted by Pinkamena Diane Pie. All the other Elements of Harmony seemed to be there as well. For a moment he almost felt wistful. Almost.

His ear twitched again and he felt a pulse of magic a moment later coming from Everfree. He turned from the happy scene in town and walked into the dark forest, letting the magic guide his way.

In truth, he was actually a little disappointed to find out that what he had been searching for for so long was on such a simple and uninteresting world. “What better place to hide a tree than in a forest,” he joked to himself, the irony of his current surroundings not alluding him. His ear twitched once more. “Oh, everypony’s a critic. You just can’t take a joke.”

Finally, he reached a small clearing obscured by long branched willow trees. This was it. He could feel the power emanating from behind the branches. He took a deep breath and walked forward, only to be hurled back by a wave of magic. Mr. 4 got back up in a rush and turned in a fury to the pony that would dare to hurt him. A gray hoof parted the willow branches and a small gray alicorn stepped out, her eyes a piercing gold and her mane the color of sunshine. His eyes widened with recognition.

“It can’t be…”

Her eyes widened as well as she spied the blue mane and coat. She blinked once before smiling broadly and flinging herself at him. “Noteworthy!”

He let her wrap her arms around him, too speechless to fight back as she swung through the air and hugged him tight. “It’s you! I can’t believe it’s really you!” She opened her eyes and pulled back with a look of embarrassment. “It is you, isn’t it?”

He blinked at her. “Ditzy?”

Her smile returned and she squealed with delight as she gave him another hug. He smiled warmly as well just before his ears dropped and he winced painfully, gripping his ears in pain. Ditzy pulled back in surprise. “Oh my gosh! I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

He grunted and shook his head. “N-No. It’s not that. What are you even doing here?”

“This is where I ended up. After what happened, I woke up near the altar,” she pointed behind her at the white trunk in the center of the clearing. “It’s a nexus of magic from all over the multiverse.”

“It’s a lot more than that,” he mumbled to himself. “Still, that explains the horn.”

Ditzy blushed slightly. “Yeah, the longer I stayed here the more I realized the altar was affecting my body.” She did a little twirl to show herself off. “You like?”

He felt his heart skip a beat. “You fixed your eyes.”

Ditzy tried to look at her own eyes, making him laugh. Of course, that was something she’d do. “That kind of happened naturally. Though I see your eyesight kind of deteriorated.” She pointed to his glasses.

He reached for his them and set the bifocals straight. He didn’t want them coming loose and her seeing what had become of him. “It’s… a long story.”

She simply smiled and let it be. “Where have you been? I’ve searched nearly the entire multiverse looking for you!”

“I was… travelling,” he muttered nervously. Those eyes made him anxious. He honestly thought he’d never see them again.

“Where?”

“Places. Meeting ponies and others.” He shook his head to get back on topic. “One of which finally showed me a way to get home.”

Ditzy blinked in confusion. “Like… HOME home?”

“Exactly!” he replied excitedly. “And its perfect because you’ve been sitting on top of it this entire time!” He pointed to the altar behind her.

Ditzy turned to it but didn’t seem to understand. “But Noteworthy… the path home is sealed. It was locked away when we… when we…” Her eyes dropped to the ground sadly. “When we got lost.”

He put a hoof under her chin and looked her in the eye, smiling. “We don’t have to be anymore. All we need to do is destroy the altar.”

Ditzy’s pleasant attitude disappeared and she drew back from him. “What?”

“It’s the link! Don’t you see? Back home he was able to seal it with Harmony. The altar is the source of all Harmony in the multiverse! Take that away and the barrier breaks down! We can finally go home!”

Ditzy’s eyes darted back and forth as she thought. “You’re talking about destroying Harmony. That’s just… How do you know all this?”

His smile faltered. “I… I told you. Somepony told me about it.”

Ditzy frowned deeply as she slowly but surely took steps back to the clearing. “Noteworthy, where have you been all this time?”

He was about to answer when his ears twitched. “I’m handling it,” he muttered off to the side.

“Who are you talking to?”

“No one!” His ears twitched again and his face became enraged. “Of course, I won’t do that!” Ditzy stared at him with wide eyes, there was fear in them. “No, wait! You don’t have to be afraid.”

She hesitantly reached out a hoof to him. “Noteworthy, please, just answer my questions.” He flinched and the ground shook beneath them both. A small crag opened up between them, pulling the two apart.

He looked at her before wincing again, his ears pulled back as he hissed in pain. “Just… don’t come near me right now.” He turned from her and ran.

“Noteworthy!” She teleported to try to catch up to him but he was already gone.

Having just teleported too, he collapsed on the ground and writhed around in the tall grass. He clasped his hooves to his ears as it was almost unbearable. “I’m not going to fight her! I’m not! Not even when I’m that close! Not when I just found her again!”

The pain subsided slightly and he took a few deep heavy breaths. “There’s other ways. She’s just an alicorn. She’s not like me. She can’t be in two places at once. She just needs to be distracted.” He got to his hooves and let a grin spread across his face. “And I think I know just the ponies to do it.”

Scouting Mission

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well straightened her hat once more as she and the others left the Scouting party’s encampment. The decisions of the meeting earlier weighing heavily on her mind.

“Twilight Sparkle!” King Blueblood shouted in surprise. The rest of the officials began to whisper loudly amongst themselves. Mare Do-Well stayed her ground not removing her gaze from the magical representations of the delegates. Her experienced senses could tell that her companions were staring in disbelief too, well at least Rarity. Understandable since Flutterbat and Rainbow Dash had never met Twilight Sparkle and Fili-Second knew from the beginning. Still, it felt odd for Mare Do-Well to do this. Not because she was revealing her eyes but for something else.

“There is no time to explain my appearance here,” she stated, silencing the crowd. “Just know that we are all here for one purpose and that is to keep this world safe. In order to do that we must track down Spike the dragon.”

The officials all stared at her for a moment, even Maud looking to her to see what she would do next. Then Ember cleared her throat. “Miss Sparkle, I believe it is the will of this council that you and your companions do track down this dragon. However I must ask, when you find him what will you do?”

Mare Do-Well nodded her head to Maud. “I suggest you leave that decision up to the captain, ma’am.”

The officials all turned to Maud. Blueblood raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, Captain Pie? Should the need arise, will you be able to go through with what must be done?”

Maud was silent for a moment as she closed her eyes in quiet concentration. Then she slowly opened them, her gaze the same as they saw out in the forest when she killed the Black Wyrm. “Yes,” she replied emotionlessly.

Blueblood didn’t appear to doubt her. “Very well. Then I see no problem in letting the scouting party follow the trail of this dragon. Do we know where its heading within Wall Luna?”

Moondancer pulled open a scrolled report in front of her. “Actually, your grace, it appears the dragon blew past the ancillary gates of Wall Luna and headed back into Wall Cadence territory.”

“He went back?” Rarity spoke up. “Why would Spike go back?”

Mare Do-Well looked at the table as her neurons fired and she began to connect some dots. “Because he’s going home,” she muttered. Maud turned to her. “Spike is from Ponyville, correct? Then I’ll bet that’s where we find him.”

Fili-Second nodded in agreement. Surprisingly Flutterbat nodded too and flapped her wings happily.

“That settles it then,” Captain West Wind spoke up. “However, I don’t know where you mares have been but be warned. Ponyville has changed. With nopony to cultivate it the Everfree has overgrown and consumed the town. To make it there you’ll have to face more than the Black Wyrms.”

“We’re not afraid, sir!” Rainbow Dash replied with a salute. West Wind saluted back.

“Alright, everypony,” Mare Do-Well shouted, putting her lenses back on, “Let’s get going.”

Back outside the gate of Wall Luna the group had reunited with Applejack. The orange mare seemed eager to show them something, but the mention of the rescue party made her grow quiet. The six plus Maud and two other ponies stood on the outskirts of Wall Luna as the heavy gates closed behind them.

“No turning back,” Fili-Second spoke up with a bright smile.

Mare Do-Well watched as Maud took her place at the head of the group. Her trained ears caught the stoic mare mutter something under her breath. “I’m not going to lose her again.”

“Let’s move out, ponies!” Maud shouted. Suddenly her and the two other ponies with her shot out their metal ropes and began to swing from tree to tree. Rainbow Dash and Flutterbat followed close behind with the other four running beneath. This was going to be a long trip.

About the quarter way mark, Rarity came up next to Mare Do-Well as they galloped through the forest, both mares seeming very unfazed by the strenuous work. “If you don’t mind me asking,” she asked. “What is Spike to you? You said you knew him.”

Mare Do-Well was caught off guard by the question. She shrugged and decided it wouldn’t hurt to answer. “He’s the librarian of the Golden Oaks Library. And one of the best damn medics in the world.” She added with a smirk.

Rarity frowned. “So you’re not the librarian, Twilight?”

Mare Do-Well felt the blood rush to her face. “No!” she blurted defensively. “I mean, I was… but not anymore.”

Rarity frowned again, her eyes slightly narrowed. “I see.” She looked behind her to see Applejack trailing behind and slightly out of breath. “I think we need to slow down.”

Applejack heard her and kicked it up a notch to catch up. “Don’t… do that… on account of… me.”

“It’s alright, Applejack,” Mare Do-Well said. “I’m getting a little winded myself.”

“Naw,” Applejack panted with a smile. “That’s not… what ah meant.” In another instant she pulled back her hakama to reveal the same kind of metal device that the ponies of the scouting party used. She winked at Mare Do-Well as she pressed a button and shot a metal grappling line into the trees. The rope retracted with a quick jolt and sent her flying. “See you guys up ahead!”

“Bit of a showoff, isn’t she?” Mare Do-Well muttered playfully.

“Yup,” Rarity smiled back.

{[(SxT)]}

Spike set Suntrix down just in front of the town square. Luckily they were able to see the tall roof of the town hall poke up through the overgrowth. Suntrix fell to the ground and began to retch as the two hours of being dragged through the air finally caught up with her. She wiped her mouth and watched as Spike emerged from the beast’s back covered in goo once more. He wearily opened his eyes and jumped to the ground before the carcass he’d previously been inside of burst into flames. “I swear I’ll never get used to that,” Suntrix muttered.

“We’re here,” Spike whispered in awe. He began to turn around slowly taking the whole place in. Just as the last time she was there, Suntrix saw hundreds of dark trees and vines had snaked their way into the town and wrapped around houses and streetlights giving new meaning to the phrase “urban jungle”. “Come on, the library is this way.”

They began to walk down the overgrown street. “You can still tell which way is which?”

“How can I forget?” Spike replied wistfully. Suntrix merely sighed and rolled her eyes as she knew there was no better choice than to follow the little dragon. They walked for good while, having to weave their way through large twisted roots and avoiding dangerous snakes. They finally made it to their destination around nightfall.

Spike froze before the Ponyville Library, staring at the toll time and the Everfree had done to it. Suntrix walked up next to him and frowned. Just as before the tree that used to also serve as a house and place of business had seemingly grown taller, its holes where windows used to be had healed over and glass stuck out of the bark in odd directions. All around it mossy roots reached out of the ground and spread far out and into the town. The only thing still intact seemed to be the door. Spike seemed frozen in front of it. “You going to knock?” Suntrix asked sarcastically.

Spike placed his claw on the door and pushed, finding it stuck a little. Suntrix watched the tiny dragon struggle for a minute before she decided she’d had her fun and helped out. The two pushed hard and the door slowly crawled open, no light seeming to enter the dark insides.

“After you,” Suntrix teased. Spike didn’t seem to listen to her banter as he walked right in. Suntrix followed reluctantly again.

Spike went straight for a cupboard hidden in the dark and pulled out a candle he took a deep breath and gave it a huff as green flame spat out and ignited the wick. The insides immediately came into focus. Besides a few loose pieces of furniture or toppled books the place seemed very untouched. “It hasn’t changed at all,” Spike whispered.

“Glad to hear it,” Suntrix muttered. “Weren’t you looking for some kind of lab?”

Spike shook his head to regain his awareness and nodded. “Right.” He headed for a lone door off to the side where the kitchen was. The door opened rather easily for him and he entered. Suntrix however heard her stomach let out a loud growl as she passed the kitchen. She hesitantly approached the pantry and opened it up. Sure enough any fruits or vegetables in there were long since passed their sell by date. Suntrix gripped her stomach as it let out another growl. What the hay, she had eaten nothing but moss and bark for two weeks. A three year old banana sounded lovely.

She picked up the blackened fruit and carefully pulled the top down. A small puff of dust escaped the dead fruit, the smell of which only slightly resembling bananas. Suntrix had to hold a hoof to her mouth as her stomach threatened to overturn once more.

A loud crash sounded from downstairs and Suntrix walked to the door where the dragon had disappeared to. “Spike?” she called out hesitantly. “You there?” She couldn’t hear a response but there was the sound of voices downstairs. She hesitantly took a few steps down and saw the lab from the stairwell. Like the rest of the house it seemed mostly untouched. The only difference being that a crystal ball now lay fractured in the middle of the room with Spike running a claw through his scales. The look on his face was one of confusion, anger, and betrayal. Suntrix knew she was going to regret it but she walked downstairs. “What’s up, kid?”

Spike stopped pacing and looked at her before pointing to the crystal ball. “That… is something I didn’t want to know.”

Suntrix looked at the slightly cracked crystal ball on the floor. Something was still playing on it though with the crack it seemed to be skipping a little. Suntrix looked to Spike as if to ask if it was alright before she picked it up. The little dragon made no reply as he turned his face to the wall and began to scratch at his head in frustration while muttering under his breath.

The unicorn picked up the crystal ball and waved a hoof to rewind it. What appeared was a slightly familiar face. She could only assume this was Twilight, the mare Spike kept talking about. She stood in front of the ball in the recording, her face taking up the whole thing. Suntrix let it play out.

“Is this on?” Twilight asked no one as she stuck her whole muzzle close to the ball and tapped it. “Ah, good. Ahem.” She backed away to reveal she was in the lab and was wearing a labcoat. Her mane was frazzled as well and there were slight bags under her eyes. “Day six of observation and research on the creatures called Black Wyrms. I can’t exactly get close to any of them without risk for myself or others but from what I have analyzed from afar is that they do not exhibit either a pack or herd mentality. Normally aggressive predators of this scale will have a dominant leader of some kind but none seemed to have appeared. Side note: I’m not sure but I think they may not need to eat at all. Several observation subjects have gone days without food and don’t seem fazed. More to come.” The feed cut off and another began. “Day… thirty eight of observation and research. The more and more I watch them the more terrified I become. A manticore attacked subject 6 three days ago and managed to slash the back of its neck before another burned it to ashes. Subject 6 proceeded to expel smoke from the wound and then burst into black flames before being burned to… well nothing. There weren’t even ashes left.” She leaned in closer to the ball. Her eyes darting back and forth. “It’s as if these creatures are as ethereal as they are real. I wish I could weigh one.”

The next few entries seemed too corrupted to watch as Suntrix had to skip a few. She stopped on the next available. Twilight’s appearance had now taken a drastic turn. She was clearly overworked and slightly twitchy. “Day… one hundred and six of observation… No, no, no! More like day one of experimentation.” She giggled ominously and held aloft a small vial. “That’s right. I got something. It took every bit of magic I had but I snuck out there and got a sample of one of those things before they burned away. Oh, right! Side note: Apparently they can consume magic. Perhaps that’s why they can live for so long without nourishment.” Suntrix rolled her eyes but the mare’s face made her nervous. “But we’ll find out soon.” She shook the vial and the small piece of scale tinked against the glass.”

“Day nineteen of experimentation. I have no idea what I’m looking at. I have to keep it in a magical field just so it won’t disintegrate. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to study and it confounds me.” She lifted the vial to show to the ball. “In this scale contains the genetic traces of fifty different creatures. Dragon, griffin, manticore, diamond dog, and pony! Now anypony tries to use these essences on themselves would probably die, yet somehow all these facets are working in perfect… harmony.” She paused and frowned off to the side, rubbing her chin as if in thought. “End of report.”

“Day twenty two of experimentation.” Suntrix noticed Twilight’s manic gaze had disappeared and she seemed morose. “I’ve done what nopony thought possible, even myself. I… reverse engineered a Black Wyrm.” She lifted a small syringe with black smoky fluid. “This is it. Everything that those things are is in this needle. I’ve had to be sparing since I only made a small amount but I had enough to start trials. She gulps and moves to the side to reveal a small cage inside is a creature that seems far too large for the small coop. It turns its head to reveal a hideous array of jagged teeth and black scales. Its eyes are immediately recognizable. “By using my Element directly I was able to properly fuse the essences. This is test subject one. Previously Nick the mouse.” Twilight bit her lip and hung her head. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but I needed to know.” The creature in the cage let out a shrill howl as Twilight edged closer and began to thrash around. Twilight moved quickly but the creature escaped and began to run around until it knocked the ball off of its stand and it rolled across the floor. The last thing it showed was Twilight shooting beams of magic at the creature in hopes of knocking it out. She spied the crystal on the floor and ran to it to stop the recording.

“They’re here!” The next log was whiplash as the surroundings changed immediately. It was still in Twilight’s lab but she was out of her coat and rubbing her hooves together nervously. A large crash was heard from above as she rubbed her hooves through her frayed mane. “No, no, no, no, no, NO! I was so close. I just needed more time.” She ran off screen and came back with the syringe before turning to the crystal again. “I don’t know if Harmony can stop them. I mean, I tried everything on the sample and nothing worked. My only hope, maybe my only choice now is to change the rules.” She lifted the syringe to her neck. “Please forgive me, Spike.”

“Twilight?” the voice came from offscreen but made Twilight turn, her face pale. Spike came flying down the stairs. “What are you doing!? We need to get out of here!” He tried to take her hoof.

Twilight hesitantly pulled back and shook her head with tears. “I’m sorry, Spike.”

“What do you mean? Twilight, what’s that?” Twilight didn’t answer as the crystal ball was knocked off its pedestal and rolled off the table again. What followed was a series of shouts and the sound of a struggle before the ball rolled into frame again and it showed Twilight standing over Spike shakily pulling back the syringe she had accidentally stuck in him.

“NONONONONO!!” She cried out and threw the syringe away. “Spike? Spike!?” She tried shaking him but the baby dragon did not budge. A loud explosion could be heard from outside which drew her attention along with the sounds of screaming. With tears in her eyes Twilight hung her head and kissed Spike’s forehead. “I’m so sorry.” She edged away from the prone body and ran up the stairs.

Suntrix waited a few moments before she was sure that the recording had ended. She stopped the playback and sat back in astonishment. “Wow.”

Spike was still in the corner, now curled into a ball. He finally spoke up as he heard the crystal’s recording end. “I couldn’t remember that night. I always thought it was because I hit my head or something. Really the only thing I could remember was this place.” Suntrix walked over and hesitated before putting a hoof on his shoulder. Spike’s eyes filled with tears. “Why couldn’t she just tell me? I’m her assistant I could have helped! Then maybe things wouldn’t have… wouldn’t…”

Suntrix knew she wasn’t the best at reading facial cues or even giving pity, but nothing she had ever been through could possibly come close to what this little dragon had experienced. “I think… she felt ashamed.” Spike stopped his crying and looked up at her. “You’re friend had the weight of the world on her shoulders and she felt ashamed that she couldn’t give anypony anything for their trust.” She hung her head. “Believe me, I know a thing or two about shame.”

Spike sniffled a little before wiping his nose. Then to Suntrix surprise, he turned around and wrapped his arms around her legs in a hug. Suntrix was surprised at first but finally gave in and held the little dragon close.

/^(*vv*)^\

The group set down in a flat area for the night. Two large cliff faces sandwiched them, protecting them from the sight of the Black Wyrms. Flutterbat rested gently hanging upside down on a branch by the forest edge while her friends camped closer to the center of the area. Still, with her enhanced hearing, being a part of the conversation was not so hard.

“How much longer do you figure?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Maud poked the fire with a stick. “I wouldn’t recommend going above the tree line to find out. But judging from the rock formations I’d say another hour or so.”

“Hour? Then why don’t we just keep going?”

“One,” Mare Do-Well pointed out. “It’s already midnight. Two, the forest is ten times deadlier at night. And three, we have no idea what we’re heading into.”

“She’s right,” Applejack pointed out. “We need to prepare a strategy for when we get there, and tonight’s a good time to plan it.”

Pinkie Pie sat beside Maud, eyeing her sister wearily. “You’re… not really going to hurt Spike are you?”

Maud glanced at her before going back to the fire. “No. That’s just something I said to get those politicians off my back.”

Pinkie gave a small sigh of relief. “Oh, that’s good.”

Flutterbat was kean of many things, and her hearing was beyond reproach. Her most impressive feature allowed her to hear even a pin drop from thirty yards. And that included a mare’s heart beat when she lied. Suddenly Flutterbat opened her eyes as she heard something approach. She unfurled her wings and fell to the ground in a battle stance before hissing at the trees. “What is it?” Rarity asked.

Everypony now stood and prepared themselves. Flutterbat was at the forefront as she prepared to tackle whatever was coming. Then in a flash of red a large lion shaped creature pounced from the shadows. Flutterbat bared her fangs and charged straight in, tackling the creature out of the air.

“Manticore!” Maud shouted to her subordinates. The two ponies grabbed their sheaths and diamond tipped blades. Maud made a sign with her hooves that told everypony to begin to circle it.

Flutterbat cried out as the Manticore slashed down on her flank. Rainbow Dash was the first to retaliate. “Get off her, you jerk!” she shouted as she crashed into the beast. She helped Flutterbat back up who thanked her by giving her a friendly lick on the cheek. The manticore got to its feet again easily and roared into the sky. Maud winced.

“It’s going to give away our location,” she warned the others.

Mare Do-Well tried to nail it with her shuriken but the Manticore began to move again and dodged them. This time headed for the ponies by the fire. Maud had kept Pinkie behind her, making sure she was always in between the monster and her sister. “Dodge!” Mare Do-Well shouted at them both.

Pinkie tried to grab onto Maud to pull her away at super speed but the gray mare broke her grip and rushed forward. With a look of malice she jumped high and pointed her blades downward. The Manticore stopped in time to throw its claws up at her as she fell but her blades were too strong and cut through its paws and down its body. Blood sprayed from the Manticore’s chest as Maud drew her blades back and swept them outward to dispel the blood splatter. That didn’t help her face and clothes though. She turned around to face everypony as the monster behind her collapsed in a heap of blood and guts. “What?”

Everypony shared a weary glance, including a certain pink mare who was having doubts about her sister’s state.

{[(SxT)]}

Suntrix snored soundly in the bed upstairs while Spike decided to take the couch. By the time the two had finished their little moment it was night time. Spike decided they would head out in the morning, his goal, undecided.

However, while the two lay sleeping, another figure eased its way into the library. It made its way to the laboratory where it searched the area for something that might aid it finally coming across a discarded crystal ball. It played the recordings and watched silently. A small smile creeping over its face.

“Spike… Spike…” the little dragon wearily opened his eyes. That voice. It seemed so familiar. He rubbed his bleary eyes as he spotted a candle burning in the kitchen. A mare sat in a chair, her face just concealed by the shadows. “Glad you’re awake.”

Spike frowned and sat up, his chest tightening with the sound of the mare’s voice again. “What are you doing here? Who are you?”

“Oh, Spike,” the mare chuckled as she walked forward into the light, her purple coat and mane becoming visible. “I’d hoped you hadn’t forgotten me so soon.”

“Twilight?” Spike whispered in disbelief. “But that’s…”

“Impossible?” Twilight asked. “I wouldn’t say that. I’ve seen enough things in creation by now to tell you that impossible doesn’t exist.”

Spike felt something wrong. This Twilight before him felt strange. Different. “Who are you really?”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You really don’t recognize me, Spike? What? No hug for your best friend?”

Spike stayed on guard for a moment before his eyes filled with tears again. “Twilight!” he ran up to her and hugged her legs. Twilight reciprocated.

“It’s good to see you too,” she smiled. “But I’m quickly getting over it.” She then pulled away and slinked her way to the couch where Spike had been sleeping. She sat and smirked at him.

“Twilight?” Spike asked cautiously as he sniffled a little.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Always the crybaby, aren’t you?” Spike was stunned at her cruel words. “What? You thought I actually liked you?” She raised a hoof and looked at it nonchalantly. “All great scientist’s need a stooge. You were nothing but an experiment to me.”

Spike’s eyes widened. “This… this is a dream, right?”

“I don’t know, is it?” Twilight smirked. “If it is it’s your dream. Are you honestly thinking such hateful things about yourself or do you just know inherently that Twilight never loved you?”

The last line cut him to the quick. Spike felt a rage boil in his gut. “Shut up.”

Twilight didn’t. “You know what the worst part of you is? You’ve been given such a gift and you don’t even use it.”

“A gift!? You call turning into a monster, that thing, a gift?”

“Yes,” Twilight replied. “All that power and being able to control it. Anypony would kill for that. Hell, if I had that I wouldn’t even have to…” She paused as she caught herself. “But I digress. We were talking about your worthlessness.”

Spike gritted his teeth and slammed his fists into the couch’s armrest. “Shut up! You’re not Twilight!”

Twilight got up from the bed and slinked around Spike wrapping a hoof around his shoulders. “That’s right, I’m not. I’m that little nagging at the back of your head that won’t stop shouting. I’m the one that knows that everypony in Ponyville’s death falls on your head.”

“No!” Spike shouted and tried to pull the mare off of him but she held on tight.

She leaned in close to his ear to whisper. “You had an entire lifetime to learn from Twilight yet you wiled away the hours producing nothing. You were the assistant to a genius! Think of the things you could have helped achieve, especially after she died. But no, you had to be like all dragons are. Greedy. Selfish. And lazy. You kick yourself for not having discovered your power then and there. If you had you could have saved them all, even her. Instead you slept and let your whole world crumble around you.”

Spike tried to cover his ears and shut his eyes. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!”

“So many lives lost and the only pony who could have stopped it gave it up because of you.”

Spike screamed just as he felt a sharp pinch in his back. He pulled back to see that “Twilight” had stuck a needle in his neck. She held it aloft as it was now filled with blood. Spike felt so confused yet he could already feel his transformation taking effect as smoke began to billow from his pores. “Twilight” waved the needle in front of her. “Thanks for the sample. Just need a few more things from you and we’ll be hunky dory.” Suddenly Spike felt a blast of something cold and hard hit him in the forehead. It propelled him straight into the door and shattered on impact. Spike lay on the street before struggling back up and reaching for his forehead. He felt a trickle of blood.

“Twilight” appeared at the door and smiled deviously. “I’m gonna need you to go a little wild. Threaten the one upstairs too, that would really help out. If I’m right they shouldn’t be too far away. Toodles.” She waved goodbye and in a bright flash of light disappeared.

Spike now had no control over himself. The transformation had started, and all he could feel was anger. Not a good way to start the morning. He let out a roar that grew louder as his body grew and soon echoed through the whole of Everfree.

Dealing with the Devil

---<^^>---

The group had decided to get up for an early start, and Mare Do-Well was thankful they did. About forty minutes after leaving camp a large roar echoed through the forest. “That can’t be good,” she muttered.

“For us or them,” Applejack clarified as she and the others began to quicken their pace. “He could be attractin’ the Wyrms.”

“Let’s move,” Maud ordered and everypony began to run toward the sound. They broke out of the trees a few minutes later and into the forested small town. Rainbow paused in front of the decaying town hall and looked up in astonishment.

“No time for sightseeing!” Mare Do-Well shouted as they all made their way through town. They didn’t have to go that far before a giant tail swung through the street and crashed through a house. The group all stopped just short of the library to see a giant purple dragon with smoky eyes thrash about and claw at the tree. It let out another earth shattering roar as it brought a large forearm down on the house, tearing a piece of it off. The rooms within became visible and Mare Do-Well squinted to see Suntrix pressed up against a bed trying to stay out of sight. “That is a big dragon. You’re show, captain.”

Mare Do-Well turned to Maud who had already unsheathed her blades. “Surround and contain. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, gather any humidity or moisture you can find and create an isolated storm cloud. Twilight, Rarity, start some suppressing fire. Applejack, you team with me and we’ll circle him. Maybe if we get him away from the tree he’ll calm down.” The others all nodded as the two winged members of the group took to the sky while the unicorns both ran to either side of Spike in order to shoot blasts of magic to get his attention.

“What about me?” Pinkie asked.

Maud paused as she was about to swing into the air. She turned to Pinkie with a concerned look. “You just stay here. I’ll deal with this.”

“But I can-” Pinkie was cut off as Maud rocketed into the air followed by her two ponies in uniform. Applejack was the last to get her device ready. She gave Pinkie a regretful look.

“Sorry. She just wants you to be safe,” she said before muttering under her breath. “Ah know the feelin’.” Applejack then took off into the fray leaving Pinkie alone. The pink mare lowered her head.

Spike was not too please to find himself cornered by two mares shooting magical beams at him. It seemed clear to Mare Do-Well that the dragon was not in control of his faculties which made her wonder just how he got like this.

Her blast struck the side of his face, harmlessly bouncing off but drawing his attention. He turned toward her and let out another roar. Mare Do-Well had to dodge quickly in order to avoid another swing of his tail. She jumped through the air and landed on the heft of his appendage as it arced past. Then she ran up its length and jumped up his back before delivering a physical blow with her back legs to his chin. This managed to stun Spike for a moment as well as get his head in position for Rarity to let loose a safe blast of magic that pushed him away from the tree.

Spike reeled on the two mares and lifted a giant claw to attack but was halted once more as a rope wrapped around his arm. Applejack soared through the sky next to him and gripped the rope tight, pulling it with her as she circled the enormous dragon. His arm was pulled along and forced to cross in front of him which put him off balance.

The dragon spun on his heel and flipped over, his head facing the sky just as the two flying members of the team finally constructed a rain cloud above. Rainbow cheekily waved her flank in front of him. “Maybe it’s time you had a little nap,” she chuckled as she stomped on the cloud and a lightning bolt shot down. It struck Spike right in the stomach making the dragon howl in pain but also effectively knocking him unconscious.

With the threat seemingly neutralized, Maud and the others set back down on the ground while Pinkie approached from her cover. Mare Do-Well made sure to check the giant’s vitals, everything seemed okay. “Is he…” Rarity began.

Mare Do-Well shook her head. “He’s fine. Just out cold.” Her trained ears heard a few hoofsteps behind her. “Where do you think you’re going, Suntrix?” Mare Do-Well and the others turned to see the azure unicorn trying to sneak away from the scene. She stopped as they all laid eyes on her.

“Um, nice to see you too?” she replied with a weak grin. She caught sight of Maud. “You were that pony that found me in the woods.”

Maud stepped forward. “Yes, maybe you could explain to us why Spike would take you.”

Suntrix looked between the group and Spike’s giant dragon body. She seemed uneasy. “Look, there are things you probably don’t know about him.” She pointed to Spike. “Things that could get all of us hurt.”

“He seemed to go down easy enough,” Rainbow retorted.

Suntrix bit her lip, she seemed to be looking at the back of Spike’s neck. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

Suddenly the dragon’s eyes opened wide. He shot up and whipped his arm out swatting any ponies that were in the way, effectively knocking out Maud’s two comrades and Rainbow Dash and Flutterbat. He now moved with purpose as he made no sound and took in a deep breath. Maud knew what was coming. “Everypony down!”

Spike let loose a torrent of black flames at Maud. The gray mare tried to use the device on her hips to swing away but it was jammed. The flames were almost upon her before a pink blur caught her and pushed her out of the way. Maud fell to the ground and watched the flames consume nothing. Pinkie stood in front of her with a smile before Maud noticed her leg was ablaze. “Pinkie!” Pinkie noticed the black fire on her uniform and began to shake it viciously at super speeds. She winced as the flames took longer than expected to be waved out before dropping to the ground. Maud ran for her and grabbed the back of leg examining the burn. It was superficial at most but something about it just made something in her mind snap.

“I’m fine, really,” Pinkie assured her, but Maud wasn’t listening. “Maud?”

The gray mare drew her blade again, her eyes now as they were when they first met. Cold and lifeless. Spike had finished his fire breath and now seemed prepared to take flight as his wings began to beat. With the few remaining flying team members out cold, only Applejack was able to keep him at eye level, the other two below firing off more magical rounds.

In a sudden burst of unreal speed Maud rushed toward Spike and jumped on his back. Everypony watched in astonishment as the mare ran up his scaly hide dragging her blades behind her as they sparked and crackled against his tough skin. Finally with a cool and calculated jump she flipped forward in midair and swung her blades at the weak spot in the back of his neck. “No!” Suntrix shouted as her horn began to glow.

Maud felt herself get pulled just a few inches backward as her blades did not cut deep into the neck as she intended, instead merely creating a slight incision. The incision was enough for the beating of the creature’s wings to disrupt it and tear it open further revealing a small purple dragon buried inside the tendons within. “Spike?” Maud whispered in confusion as her eyes returned to normal and she plummeted down to earth.

Mare Do-Well and Rarity watched from below, the black mare catching Maud in her magic. “It worked!” Suntrix shouted in glee. “My magic’s back!” Mare Do-Well turned to Applejack who was still in the air.

“Get him out of there!” she shouted. Applejack nodded and swung in close to the dragon’s neck. She pulled out her katana and place it in her mouth before swinging it expertly across the tendons holding Spike. The young dragon toppled out from the neck wound and began to fall to earth where Mare Do-Well caught him. Everypony breathed a sigh of relief before they noticed the giant purple body spike had previously been in control of was without a controller. Its wings locked up and the eyes became blank as it fell. “Get to cover!” Mare Do-Well shouted.

Pinkie struggled to her hooves and zipped over to collect the unconscious ponies before joining the others as they hid behind a wall. The dragon body crashed to the ground in a fiery blaze that seemed to reduce it to less than ash in mere seconds.

“Well, that was… interesting,” Suntrix added nonchalantly.

Rarity reeled on Maud. “Were you seriously going to kill him?”

Maud did not show any emotion. “I made a choice in the midst of battle.”

“That wasn’t a choice,” Applejack interjected. “You went in for the kill.”

Pinkie limped over to her sister. “Maud, were you really going to…”

Maud didn’t even look at Pinkie, trying to hide her face from her. “I…”

Rainbow Dash and Flutterbat finally seemed to come to. “What happened?” Rainbow muttered as she gripped her head.

“Hate to break up the trial,” Mare Do-Well muttered as she looked to the sky. “But it looks like our little skirmish didn’t go unnoticed.” Everypony looked up in despair. Through the trees was not the blue morning sky, but a black one covered in enormous black wings. “The Wyrms are here.”

===E8DB

Rainbow saw the first of the enormous horde of Black Wyrms crash through the canopies above. “This isn’t good,” she murmured.

“Hide the wounded,” Maud shouted out. Pinkie did just that as the speedster disappeared in a pink blur before reappearing, Maud’s comrades and Spike gone. “Safe?”

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good, cause we sure aren’t,” Applejack pointed out as the first of the Wyrms landed on the ground. They immediately drew their attention to the mares, their sickening smiles plastered across their faces.

“So what’s the plan?” Rainbow asked Mare Do-Well.

“Fight,” the crime fighter responded.

Rainbow’s eyes deadpanned. “Great.” She and the others got into an offensive stance as all including Suntrix prepared for a battle.

A moment passed between the group and the Wyrms before the first of the black beasts rushed forward. The mares all rushed forward as well, Maud holding her blades high and Suntrix brandishing her horn. Then it all stopped.

Rainbow almost tripped over herself as she noticed the Wyrms suddenly stop their movement. She paused as she looked to her companions and saw everypony but Maud and Suntrix could still move. The air was quiet. “What’s going on?”

Mare Do-Well lifted a hoof to a small leaf that had been falling. It now was suspended in midair, as if time had stopped. “Fili-Second, is this…”

“Yeah,” Pinkie responded with a deep frown. “It’s him.”

“Glad to know you recognize my handiwork.” Everypony turned to see a blue stallion with glasses and no cutie mark standing next to Maud, his hoof draped over her like somepony hanging out near a statue. “I suppose there are some introductions needed. Though not to you of course, Miss Pie.”

---<^^>---

“Mr. 4, I assume?” Mare Do-Well asked. The blue stallion did a slight bow for her.

“In the flesh,” he replied and walked over to a frozen Wyrm to tap on its hard scales. “At least if you could call it that. Frankly, I have no idea what I’m made of anymore.” Flutterbat bent low and hissed at him. Mr. 4 glanced at her and hissed in return, his tongue taking the shape of a snake’s.

Mare Do-Well took in the atmosphere around her. Her team seemed about ready to boil over with tension. Both Rainbow and Rarity were poised for an attack. But if everything they had learned about this pony was true then they had no chance against him. At least not yet. That’s why they were here for Suntrix. Not yet, she thought. She saw Pinkie avert her eyes from the trickster, a sullen expression on her face. “What do you want, 4?”

Mr. 4 grinned at her. “You know, you’ve always been my favorite Twilight. So ‘straight to the point’ and serious. No pointless chatting or needless frivoli-”

“What. Do. You. Want?”

He shut his mouth for a moment but shrugged. “Simple answer is that I’ve come to offer you all an out.”

The group was slightly taken aback by this. “What do you mean?” Applejack asked.

Mr. 4’s grin widened. “Ah, sweet Applejack. The wandering Apple. Searching for her lost sister. Eternally dogged by those she once called friends.” He waved a hoof dramatically as he said this making Applejack grit her teeth in anger. “What if I told you I could reunite you with your sister right now?”

Applejack paused. “What?”

He turned to Rarity. “What if I could make it so Nightmare Moon never existed in your world?” Rarity’s magic aura began to dissipate as her face softened.

To Rainbow. “A little twist of fate and Fluttershy could be by your side at the Wonderbolt Academy.” To Flutterbat. “I can take you to a better time when you were happy.”

Mare Do-Well looked over at her companions and saw their faces lose their anger. This stallion was offering them the things they wanted most in the world. She opened her mouth to argue but found herself unable to speak. She glared at Mr. 4 who merely smiled back. “Then there’s you two.”

He turned to Pinkie who seemed to flinch back at his approach. “Would you believe me if I said that wasn’t even my fault for what happened to your world? Well, even if you don’t, you should believe that I have the power to undo it.” Mare Do-Well saw in her eyes that Pinkie was considering.

He turned his gaze to her finally. “And then there’s you. The stoic hero. The enigma.” She was glued in place, whether it was due to the stallion’s power or her own will she didn’t know. “That invasion really changed everything about your life, didn’t it?” He leaned in and whispered into her ear. “I can change things.”

He pulled away and waved his hoof in the air to accentuate his words. “That’s my power. Change. I change the world whether it be for the better or the worse. You each want something changed about your pitiful little lives. I’m offering you exactly that.”

She finally seemed to free herself from whatever held her and let out a loud cry as she spun her back legs for a kick to the stallion’s head. Unsurprisingly, she passed through nothing. Everypony else finally seemed to be out of whatever hold he had placed on them, physical or emotional.

“You’re making a mistake,” Mr. 4 said, now perched atop one of the Wyrms. “You have no idea the scope of my power. I can give you anything! That’s the truth!” His calm demeanor was fading as he spoke, a slight look of hysteria in his eyes.

“Right!” Rainbow shouted angrily. “And what would you take in return! Squid pro quo!”

“Quid pro quo,” Rarity corrected her.

“Uh, right!”

Mr. 4 took a breath and seemed to calm himself. “You just have to be a distraction.”

“Distraction?”

He bit his lip and began to pace on the Wyrm’s back. “So there’s this mare that I need… let’s say… out of play for a few minutes. I’m not asking you to kill anypony, just distract her. Distract somepony for ten minutes tops! Then I’m out of your lives forever. You all get everything you want. Happy endings all around!” He clapped his hooves together. “Sound good?”

Mare Do-Well saw the others falter but she stepped forward. “Just what are you trying to do with all this?”

Mr. 4’s grin faded. “That’s something you don’t need to know.”

She turned from him. “Then no deal.”

“What?!” Everypony else looked at Mare Do-Well as she turned her back on him and they reluctantly followed suit. Deep inside they must have all known that it was too dangerous and unpredictable a deal to take. “Seriously? All of you?” He gritted his teeth in anger. “Fine! Go ahead! I only offered this because I felt sorry for you! So go ahead! Be used like all the rest before you!”

Mare Do-Well saw Rarity’s eye twitch at that last comment. She spun around and glared at him. “You’re insane!” she shouted.

Mr. 4 didn’t seem to react physically to this though Mare Do-Well could tell he was getting annoyed. “That may be true but at least I’m not a dark god with a split personality that murdered my best friend.” Oh, now he did it.

Rarity silently reacted before her eyes turned white and her black aura returned, this time encompassing her whole body. “You insignificant worm!”

Mr. 4 smiled madly. “No, these are Wyrms!” He let his feet go from the Wyrm he was riding and began to float away, time slowly beginning to take effect again as everything began to move slowly. “I really don’t have time to argue semantics with you. After all, you’re not the only ponies in multiverse.” With a wave of his hoof he turned in the air and disappeared.

“Come back here!” Rarity shouted, before time restarted and a Wyrm slammed into her. The rest of the team was caught off guard as well as the Wyrms seemed to come to attention faster than they expected. Flutterbat was chased off by one while Rainbow and Applejack stood their ground a few hooves away and fought a couple vigorously. Mare Do-Well retreated to a reasonably safe location to determine the situation. Maud and Suntrix began moving again, the gray mare throwing herself whole into the fight.

“Maud!” Pinkie shouted reaching a hoof out to grab her. Then suddenly she froze, literally. Pinkie now stood where she had once been, encased in ice up to her neck. Her eyes widened with fear and she struggled to move but to no avail. A Wyrm saw her frozen state and narrowed its featureless eyes at her with that creepy grin on its face. Pinkie tried to call out to anypony but the ice had sealed her throat. The Wyrm sprinted forward, its mouth hung open in an attempt to gobble her up. She could feel tears running down her cheeks as she felt the end coming on. “Twilight, please,” she muttered painfully.

Just then an M shaped shuriken sank into the ice, a small red dot beeping on it. A moment later the shuriken exploded shattering the ice and creating an effective smoke cloud. Pinkie still felt her legs wobble so she didn’t move as a caped figure jumped in and pushed her out of the way of the hungry jaws.

Mare Do-Well landed on top of her and kept her head down so the smoke didn’t get in her eyes. “What the hell was that?” she asked. “Where did that ice come from?”

Pinkie seemed dazed for a moment before she realized who she was looking at and she pushed herself up. “I-I don’t know,” she murmured unconvincingly. “Just… Let’s just figure out the current situation.”

Mare Do-Well narrowed her eyes at her comrade but nodded in agreement. “Fine. Where’s Rarity?”

In answer, a blast of dark magic soared past them carrying a Black Wyrm that collided with the ancient treebrary. “Get your filthy claws off me, you damn dirty Wyrm!” Rarity shouted with an echo as she stood back up before the crowd, magic ablaze.

“Rarity!” The tall black unicorn turned her gaze to Mare Do-Well and Pinkie. For a moment it looked as if she would blast them as well, but then her white eyes faded to reveal her calmer demeanor. “Are you alright?”

Rarity looked around flustered for a moment but then nodded. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.”

“Good. Can you manipulate plant life?” Rarity looked taken aback at the out-of-nowhere question.

“Well, I can give it a try. Any reason in particular?”

“A theory.” She turned to the ongoing battle and saw her comrades as well as Maud fighting the Wyrms off as best as they could but only Applejack and Maud seemed to be doing any damage. She turned to Pinkie. “See if you can corral all the Wyrms in one location. Right in front of the library should do it. then get everypony out of the way.”

Pinkie nodded and disappeared in a flash of pink lightning. “So are you going to explain this plan to me?” Rarity asked. Mare Do-Well did. Rarity raised an eyebrow. “That’s the dumbest plan I’ve ever heard.”

<____|=o

Applejack soared through the air, the metal strings of her device holding her up. She felt the pressure of her sword pierce through soft skin on a Wyrm’s back as smoke poured from it. She had been able to take down many but there didn’t seem to be any end in sight. Maud seemed to be in some kind of frenzy as she sliced through the creatures with abandon.

Rainbow and Flutterbat bucked away the Wyrms that got close to them until they were back and back in the air. Rainbow shouted over to AJ. “Hey! We need to do something now! We can’t hold them off for long!” AJ agreed but what were they going to do? Suddenly AJ was snatched from the air by a blur of pink and she found herself by Mare Do-Well.

“What in tarnation?” Before she knew it the others were there too, including Maud. They had to grab the mare’s arms as she swung her blades around haphazardly before realizing where she was. She calmed down enough to see the blur of pink lightning doing circles around the Wyrms. The pink blur went faster and a funnel of pink began to form around them.

“Pinkie!” Maud shouted and struggled even more, managing to break Applejack’s grip on her. Mare Do-Well came in to lock her hooves behind her, holding her close.

“Just wait and watch,” she assured her in a commanding tone. “She’ll be safe.” She turned to Flutterbat. “Take to the sky make sure none of those things get out.” Flutterbat nodded an affirmative and flew off, screeching sonic blasts at any Wyrm that tried to fly out of Pinkie’s air funnel.

AJ turned to Mare Do-Well. “Mind tellin’ us what’s goin’ on?”

“You’ll see if it works,” was all she answered with. Pinkie led the Wyrms over so they were under the treebrary. Off to the side AJ noticed Rarity concentrating hard at something in that direction. With a whoosh of air, the pink tornado disappeared and all the Wyrms were left bewildered for a moment. Then Rarity’s eyes opened.

A burst of magic shot up from the ground followed by one from above. A dark aura coated the branches and roots of the tree as they fell down around the Wyrms and increased rapidly, intertwining and weaving themselves into one giant basket weaved prison. Mare Do-Well turned to Rainbow. “Make sure her magic didn’t weaken the trees by getting some rain in here.” Rainbow saluted and flew off for some rain clouds. She returned a mere second later and let the rain fall on the Wyrms and branches. AJ stood there for a dumbfounded minute and turned on Mare Do-Well. “That’s your plan?”

The Wyrms immediately blew their fire at the roots and all the ponies except Mare Do-Well readied for a fight. Then the black fire receded to show that the prison still held. AJ’s mouth hung open as the Wyrms seemed to accept this and did not try to tear through their cage, instead sitting down and zoning out. Mare Do-Well turned to her, she could tell there was a smug expression under that mask. “Care to do some quality control on that wood?”

“No, thanks,” Applejack muttered. She could already tell from here that the branches were incredibly strong.

“We learned earlier that their fire doesn’t burn anything but sentient life,” Mare Do-Well iterated as she let go of Maud. “I also noticed on the way here that there were no properly sized claw marks on any of the trees. Normal wild beasts will mark their territory this way, but the Wyrms don’t. It was a fifty/fifty chance, but I guessed that they have some kind of connection to nature. Something inherent in them that forbids them from harming the earth.”

Everypony stood dumbfounded at the superhero. “This was your idea?” Maud simply displayed her normal face, but ran hurriedly over to Pinkie. She inspected her to see if she was alright.

“I’m fine, Maud. Really.” Maud looked her in the eye, the slightest hint of sadness in her eyes before she threw her arms around her.

“I guess you can take care of yourself,” she muttered into her ear. “And you seem to have found some pretty good friends.”

Pinkie smiled at that and hugged her sister back. “Yeah.”

Mare Do-Well lifted her head to survey the scene and stomped a hoof. “Damn it all! Where’s Suntrix?”

{[(SxT)]}

Suntrix hurried through the forest making sure not to leave any kind of trail. She didn’t want any of those heroes following her. Not to mention the Wyrms. She had her magic back now. All she had to do now was make another portal and she’d be out of this wretched place. Anywhere was better than here.

She popped from a bush and yelped as she saw somepony in front of her. Spike had woken up and sat forlornly on a rock as those other uniformed ponies slept at its base. He had his hands together and looked down at his feet in a pitiable expression. Maybe he hadn’t noticed her.

Spike turned his head slightly and saw her trying to flee. “You?”

She bit her tongue. She could still just run. Leave and never look back. But something was telling her to stay. She couldn’t get that sad dragon’s face out of her head. Ugh, she was going soft. “Y-Yeah, me.”

They stood there awkwardly for a moment. Suntrix finally frowned. She was about to leave when, “I… I seriously think I’m going crazy.” She stopped and looked at the baby dragon’s face. He was sad and had lines on his brow that should not be there for somepony as young as him. She sighed as she reluctantly took a few steps closer to him and sat beside the rock, his elevated status on it making them eye level.

“You know,” she started. “Anypony would think they’ve gone crazy if they’ve been through the stuff you’ve been through. I’m actually not surprised you went feral.” She looked and saw that her words weren’t doing much help. “But you seem much better now!”

Spike kept his head lowered, his tired eyes glued to his toes. “Twilight… was all I ever knew. She was there when I was born and every other moment since. And since she’s been gone I’ve… worried that I’m not good enough. That I was never good enough to be with her.” He grit his teeth angrily and clenched his fists, Suntrix taking a scoot away from him nervously. “I mean I could have been a scientist like her. I could have been smart enough to help her investigate the Wyrms. I could have been smart. I could have helped! I could have…” He was beginning to fade as hiccups and choked sobs halted him. Tears were trailing down his face. Then there were warm hooves around his neck.

Suntrix bit her tongue as she held Spike close and pulled his sobbing head toward her. Sure, he could go off any moment and perhaps eat her or tear her in two. So why was she doing this? Why was she risking herself like this? She felt Spike’s tears run down her chest and she let out a long sigh. “I know what it’s like to think that you’ve disappointed somepony. That you haven’t lived up to your potential.” She slowly began to stroke the tiny dragon’s scales back. “There’s this… hole in the back of your heart. That’s the only way I can describe it. This emptiness that only grows bigger and bigger as you think about the one you let down.” They were both silent for a moment as she felt Spike’s tears stop. “Well, I’m not perfect. And you know, neither are you. And… tragedy may happen but that doesn’t give the world the excuse to say, ‘oh, look what you could have done’. This is our life. And I like to think… I know that those we think we disappointed would like nothing more than to know that we lived our lives according to our hearts.”

Spike lifted his head from her chest and sniffled as he wiped his nose with his arm. “You… you really think so?”

Where had all that come from? Was that how she really felt? “Yes,” she replied with a smile.

Spike took a moment to compose himself and breathed deep before standing up. “I’m going to go back and see if those guys need any help. I don’t know if I can or even if they’ll let me. But it’s what I want to do.” He looked her in the eye one more time and smiled. “Thanks.”

Suntrix watched him run into the brush back towards the others. Finally, she thought, gotta get out of here before something else stops me.

“Hello, Suntrix.” She turned around sharply to see a purple unicorn with a dark purple mane and what appeared to be a haze of cold mist surrounding her. She reached her arm out with surprising speed and locked it around her neck. “Let’s go somewhere private, eh?” A bright flash of light and they disappeared.

---<^^>---

After the battle, Maud made sure to take extensive notes regarding Mare Do-Well’s method of capturing the Wyrms. “Do you think we can do the same thing with rocks?” she asked.

Mare Do-Well thought for a moment. “I don’t see why not.”

Rarity confirmed what everpony was fearing, that Suntrix had left this world. They were about to pack up and take off back to camp when Spike returned. He and Maud stood there facing each other for a long moment before the dragon held out his hands. “I escaped from custody. I’m ready to be taken back for my punishment.”

Maud raised an eyebrow. “As far as I can remember, we had a giant purple Wyrm attack and escape the camp. You’re rescue from its clutches is kind of an added bonus to its defeat.”

“B-But everypony must have seen me,” Spike protested. “What do we say to them?”

Maud smiled at him. “I’m sure nopony in camp actually saw this. What do you think, girls?” The six shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders.

“What video evidence?” Pinkie asked rhetorically.

Maud leaned down to whisper to him. “Plus, it’s probably better if King Pooblood doesn’t try to dissect you.”

Spike chuckled a little. “Pooblood? Did you just make a joke?”

“I’m a comedian.”

After her companions had finally woken up again, Maud and Spike prepared to leave. Mare Do-Well insisting that the group should get going as soon as possible. Pinkie argued but deep inside she agreed. The two sisters stood off to the side as they said their goodbyes. Mare Do-Well positioned herself so that she could hear the fond farewell and whatever useful information she could glean from it as well. However, Applejack stopped her with a hoof before she could get closer. “What are you doing?”

“Ah know what you’re thinkin’,” AJ replied with a stern face. “And Ah’d prefer answers too. But a bond between sisters should not be intruded upon.”

The two stared at each other angrily for a moment before Mare Do-Well clicked her tongue and walked away. She only saw a sincere hug and whisper between the two, unable to make out any of the dialogue. She chided herself for not getting anything, but something inside her was glad that Applejack had stopped her.

The two groups stood face to face with the sisters both in front. Pinkie looked as if she was ready to cry. “Maud. I’m really sorry I have to leave you like this.”

Maud put a hoof up to silence her before she could continue. “Stop. You have a much more important job to do. And you’ve given me everything I need to continue fighting. You’ve shown me that no matter what both my sister and even myself will go on. Now it’s up to you to make sure that stays true.”

Pinkie wiped her eyes and nodded resolutely before flipping her cowl back on. “Right! Everypony ready?”

“Just a sec,” Spike interjected. “So I recognize a lot of you and I get the story. Super cool, by the way! But who’s the girl in the mask?”

Mare Do-Well coughed slightly. “I’m… um…”

“She’s a friend,” Rarity interrupted. “Just like all of us. And that’s all you need to know.”

Spike looked a little dejected but shrugged. Mare Do-Well gave Rarity an appreciative salute and crowded around Fili-Second. “Next stop. Veloci-Lair!” Then in a vibration and sonic boom they were gone.

Spike cleared his ears and then turned to Maud. “So are you ever going to tell me who that was?”

Maud looked off to the side. “Maybe when you’re older.”

@#$%^&(*)&^%$#@

Fluttershy stood atop a large Cliffside overlooking the Everfree and Ponyville. She could remember a time when she was deathly afraid of such heights. Now the nervousness she used to feel just felt hollow. Everything felt hollow.

When she struck down Nightmare Moon it was with the sole purpose of helping those ponies that had been afflicted by her curse. However, with the failed invasion of Sky Glaive and Rainbow Dash’s triumph over her, she felt like she had no right to call herself a leader anymore.

She thought she was ready to take on Dash, the Wonderbolts, even Celestia. Now she felt like she could hardly take on a bear. She raised a hoof and let a small swirl of black shadows dance around her. She still had the power, more power than she ever dreamed of having, but all the power in the world still didn’t stop her from losing to Dash. She extinguished the shadow by stomping her hoof into the dirt.

“Impressive,” a voice came from behind her. She reeled and blasted a stream of dark magic at the source but to her surprise found nopony there. “You’ve got all the power of Nightmare Moon and yet none of the drawbacks like a certain other mare I know.” Fluttershy turned around again to see the source of the mysterious voice. It was a blue earth pony with glasses and no cutie mark. He grinned at her while crossing his legs in a relaxed posture. But what shocked her most of all was the fact that he was standing on thin air ten hooves out from the ledge of the cliff.

“How are you doing that?” Fluttershy asked with a concerned expression.

The earth pony’s ear twitched and he chuckled at something she couldn’t hear. “Let’s just say, I have a very special talent.” Fluttershy doubted that since this stallion didn’t have a cutie mark.

“How did you find me?”

“I can find pretty much anypony if I look hard enough.” He uncrossed his legs and began to walk on air. “And I really wanted to talk to you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. I have an offer. One that you might be interested to know that your friend, Rainbow Dash declined.”

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes at the pony. She then sighed and turned around to leave. “Rainbow Dash is a good pony. If she didn’t want anything to do with you then it’s probably best I don’t either.”

“Not even when I can offer everything you want?” Fluttershy stopped and peeked over her shoulder. The pony was grinning like a demon.

“What do you mean by that?” Fluttershy asked, turning around again.

He seemed to wait to reply as his ears twitched again, then he spoke. “Exactly what I mean.” He stepped onto the ledge, finally ending his little rebellion against the laws of gravity. “I’m in need of six ponies that can act as… substitutes, you might say. All you’d need to do is simply be yourself. You can finally be one of the Elements of Harmony.”

“The Elements?” Fluttershy chuckled. “Now I know you’re crazy. What makes you think I have what it takes to be an Element of Harmony? I’m a failure.”

The blue stallion walked toward her, never dropping his smile and began to circle her like a jungle cat. “I don’t see a failure. What I see is a pony driven. Driven to protect, to feed, to care for all the ponies under her care.” His words were precise but effective, almost as if he was reading her very soul. The stallion then took her chin in his hoof and raised her head again. “I see kindness personified. You are the caretaker of an entire new race of ponies. A mother of sorts. You deserve to have your dreams come true.”

Fluttershy knew his words were hollow, yet something in them made an anger in her burn bright. All she could think of was Rainbow Dash and the need to overcome her. “Alright. But what do I call you?”

The pony smiled deviously. “Just call me, Mr. 4.”

{[(SxT)]}

Suntrix ripped the hole in space open a little wider and flopped through onto the cobblestone street of an alley, her strength spent. She breathed heavily as a purple unicorn stepped through after her. She sighed morosely. “I was hoping to see something more interesting happen if Pinkie was in danger but that hero solved the problem too quickly,” she lamented to herself. “And you’re certain this is the world I asked for?” she asked.

Suntrix groaned. “Well, you were pretty darn specific! Now let me catch my breath! What’s so special about this world anyway?”

The unicorn walked a little further and peeked out the alley with a smile. Above her on every doorframe hung a purple flag. The symbol on it was a yellow sun with radiant flames spitting from all directions. “Oh, you’ll see soon enough,” she chuckled.

===SS===

Sunset sat in History of Magic class with her head down, trying to pretend to be asleep. “Oh, so it’s over now? Geez, that was long. And really really sad too. Are Spike and Maud going to be okay? Ugh, can’t believe I’m trying to talk to a voice in my head.”

“Ahem!” Sunset froze as she felt the cold stare of the teacher above her. She could not pretend to be asleep now since she had been caught muttering to herself.

“I’m muttering to you, you freaking-”

“Two weeks detention, Miss Shimmer,” the teacher decreed.

“Oh man.”

Disharmony: Gods Among Us

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well sat at the computer bank examining the map of the multiverse. One reason for this was to decipher just where Suntrix had gone, the other however was to see the map itself. She just couldn’t get it out of her head.

It was like a string of elegant pearls and she couldn’t help but see an image of them breaking apart in her head. The string snapping and the pearls scattering to the ends of existence. It seemed so vivid. Like a memory but in reverse.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. No. She was a pragmatist. She believed in the explainable. Magic may exist in many worlds but with enough training anypony could explain it. But visions of the future were mere mares’ tales. Then again, the situation she found herself in now was once the subject of science fiction. A cold wave of fear washed over her and sunk into her stomach. Deep inside, she knew they were running out of time.

“How goes it?” the masked mare turned to see Rarity enter the Observation Deck. The taller beauty smiled and chuckled slightly as she saw Mare Do-Well’s companion for watch duty. Rainbow slept haphazardly in a swivel chair with legs up on the control board and her tongue hanging out.

“Not good, I’m afraid,” she responded, having given up paying attention to Rainbow. “I’ve pretty much come to understand this thing, but it’s a slow process and scans only a hoofful of worlds at a time. The problem comes from the fact that she could move at any moment to a previously scanned world and we wouldn’t know about it.” Rarity nodded as if she knew what she was talking about. Mare Do-Well decided to humor her. “What do you think?”

“Oh! Um, yes… worlds… scanning… sounds very… hard.” Rarity tried to sound smart making her smile beneath her mask.

“It’s alright,” she chuckled. “I don’t expect you to learn stuff like this so fast.” She stopped as she thought about her statement. “Which makes me think about how Fili-Second learned so fast.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow at her. “Come again, dear?”

Mare Do-Well stood from her seat and began to pace. “Think about it. She told us Maretropolis was destroyed a couple weeks ago. So in the time between she was able to learn how to use a super complicated machine like this and lose all her teammates?” Unless there was some kind of cataclysmic disaster that seemed incredibly unlikely.

She turned to see Rarity’s reaction but to her surprise she was looking a little angry at her. “Twilight, I understand your suspicions but Pinkie has shown us nothing but kindness since we got here.”

“But she was-”

“Yes, I know she was hiding something from us but we’ve been through the whole Lair now and there is no sign of whatever it was. And frankly, Pinkie has seemed happier without it.”

That was true. She could tell that when they first returned Fili-Second had freaked out a little and refused to tell anypony why but after a couple of days passed she seemed to calm down. Rainbow and Flutterbat really trying to cheer her up. Just yesterday they even threw a party. Granted Mare Do-Well didn’t go, but she had bugs installed so she was able to hear any useful information for later. There didn’t seem to be any.

“I don’t know if she’s plotting something,” Rarity continued. “But I know my Pinkie Pie and from what I’ve seen of this one she is very much alike.” She put a hoof on her shoulder. “She just wants friends. And maybe if you tried that approach instead of listening in on our conversations.” Her eyes became narrowed and Mare Do-Well let out a gulp. “Yes, I may not know what those little metal things are but I can see the waves of whatever magic their sending out.”

“Actually they’re called radio waves,” Mare Do-Well corrected her. “You must be able to sense different-”

“Be quiet.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Had she really just caved that easily?

Rarity straightened herself and looked down at her. “I’ll take over here. Your homework is to go hang out with Pinkie Pie and not try to collect information on her.” She tried to argue but Rarity silenced her with a raised hoof. “That’s final. Just talk to her. You might just get what you’re looking for out of it anyway.”

She pouted for a moment but relented. Rarity was right. Getting closer could mean getting her to confide in her. There was still so much Pinkie was keeping secret. “Fine, I’ll go… hang out.”

Applejack threw down her cards and gave an aggravated yell. She, Pinkie and Flutterbat were seated around a large metal table in the kitchen, cards in each of their hooves. “Ah don’t get it!” she shouted and pointed to Flutterbat. “You just learned the rules five minutes ago! How in the hell are you kickin’ mah flank?”

Flutterbat simply shrugged with a smile as she put her cards down. Pinkie was the first to see Mare Do-Well enter. The speedster was out of her cowl letting her poofy mane out. “Hi Twilight!” She waved enthusiastically and bounced over to her. “Have you come to join us?”

Mare Do-Well felt her jaw tighten as she wanted to not reply and just walk out but Applejack sent her a hard stare. Something that said, “do what Rarity said or else”. Et tu, Applejack? “Y-Yeah,” she murmured as Pinkie led her to the table. “So… what are you playing?”

Applejack grabbed all the cards and began to shuffle. “The games called Hanafuda. Care to join?”

Mare Do-Well took a look at the cards. They were brilliantly decorated pictures of birds and animals as well as flowers. “How do you play?”

AJ dealt her eight cards and pointed to each of them. “Each card is part of a set or yaku. Each player takes a turn placin’ a card in the center or takin’ one and tryin’ to make a set. Ribbons go with ribbons. Flowers with flowers. Animals with Animals. Etc. But you can make other combinations too for more points.”

“I see. And how often have you lost?” AJ stopped shuffling for a moment to glare at her.

“Come on, girls!” Pinkie shouted from her seat. “This is supposed to be a fun game. Let’s get playing!”

Mare Do-Well took her seat and looked at the cards AJ had dealt her. “So where did you learn this game? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it.”

Applejack laid down a card with a picture of a boar. “Actually it’s somethin’ from back home.” That made sense, she thought. She’d never seen cards with such lavish pictures or esoteric values. She turned to grab a card from AJ but found her hooves down, her face slightly sunken.

“AJ?” Pinkie asked from across the table. “Are you okay?”

“What?” she seemed to wake up from a day dream. AJ placed a card down hurriedly and chuckled. “Sorry! Ah guess ah zoned out there for a minute.”

Mare Do-Well scrutinized her companion. Pinkie wasn’t the only one keeping things secret. Though somehow she inherently knew that Applejack’s wasn’t as serious, she still wished she could know for safety reasons. It would be better to be informed than be left hanging in case it conflicts with her duties here. Rarity’s words rang through her head. Just talk to her.

Could it really be that easy? Just ask Pinkie who that mysterious pony she was taking orders from was? Just ask Applejack what her problem is and if she could help? She had been taught for so long to move from the shadows and only collect information from ponies unawares. That was always the most trustful. Ponies could lie or deceive. But here? Here she felt… at home. Sure she was on guard, but she always felt on guard ever since…

“Mare?” AJ asked.

“Huh?” Mare Do-Well wasn’t paying attention and dropped a card off the table.

“You feelin’ alright?”

She gathered her card up again and nodded. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” She anxiously looked between Pinkie and Applejack, a decision stirring in her gut. “Actually… I wanted to talk-”

A siren blared from the ceiling and Pinkie was the first to stand up. “They found her!”

Everypony filed into the observation deck and gathered around the screens. Rainbow was now up, probably thanks to the alarm and was staring at the screen uncertainly. “What is it, guys?” Pinkie asked, Flutterbat letting out a small inquisitive growl.

“It’s, um, well,” Rarity began as she tried to find what button or lever to press. Finally giving up she just lit up her horn into a small beam of blue light and pointed on the map. “The thingie says she’s there.”

Mare Do-Well pushed past her to the control board and fiddled with it, finally enlarging the picture until a red dot appeared on the designated world. To her relief it looked like it had a description, which meant it wasn’t new territory. “This says it’s in the system,” she asked Pinkie. “Does that mean you’ve been there before?”

Pinkie’s eyes were wide as she looked at the readout on the screen and the number of the world. It said “INJ-428”. She took a step back. “Oh no. Ohnoohnoohnoohnoohnoohno!” Her front right leg began to tap at super sonic speeds.

“Pinkie!” AJ shouted and grabbed her shoulders to calm her. “What is this world?”

She took a deep breath and seemed to settle. “Well, it is a place I’ve been before.”

“That’s good,” Rainbow replied. “Right?”

“The only problem is… they already know who I am.”

“Who does?” Rarity asked.

Pinkie rubbed her hooves together shamefully. “Us.”

{[(SxT)]}

Suntrix walked along the long ornate hallway, gazing up at the intricate mosaics and stained glass that patterned the walls. In front of her walked her current companion, the purple unicorn moving without worry despite the massive amount of guards watching their every move. She tried to ignore them and focus on the pictures in the windows but that didn’t calm her down much. The first few windows depicted scenes she had seen before. Sun and moon. Ponies living harmoniously. Even a group of ponies discovering the Elements of Harmony. But then things got different. She saw the white alicorn princess slowly begin to change in the pictures. Her crown becoming larger, her gold boots turning into gauntlets of brilliant sky blue armor and her mane becoming the color of a red inferno. The six ponies that had rediscovered the Elements were depicted bowing to the new princess, themselves receiving armor and crowns for their oaths of loyalty.

“This is really weird,” she muttered. Her eyes kept darting toward the guards that simply stood and did nothing. “And why were we allowed to just walk in?”

“Because we were expected,” the unicorn replied without turning around.

They finally reached the end of the hallway and came to an enormous set of doors. The unicorn stood expectantly as a purple aura encased the enormous doors and they swung out to reveal the interior. It was a throne room like the one she remembered but this one was much grander and larger. A tall pyramid set of steps stood at the very end with three thrones on either side and one enormous throne at the top. Three ponies sat in their respective thrones. One looked like that rainbow maned pegasus she’d seen with those dimension hoppers. She was splayed out on her throne sideways, her legs hanging over the edge of her armrest and her head on the other. Her body was adorned with a bright gold armor and crown that folded over her forehead and ears like a helmet. In its center was a crystal in the shape of a lightning bolt.

On the other end was a yellow Pegasus like the one she’d seen before but less feral. She had a flowing pink mane and instead of armor was decorated in a silky red and white robe with golden bracelets around her hooves. She wore no crown but a black cloak with hood pulled over her eyes. She hesitantly looked up, obviously too shy to make eye contact. Then in the throne closest to the one at the top was the same unicorn that led her now. Damn, she hated alternate dimensions.

The purple unicorn sat proudly on her throne, a serious look on her face. She had golden gauntlets and a yellow uniform decked in symbols of the sun. Instead of a crown, she wore a single yellow gold ringlet around her horn that displayed the sun as well. She glared down at the two. “I honestly thought I’d never see you again, Twilight.”

“As did I, Twilight,” the unicorn replied. “But desperate times call for desperate measures. And I need your help with something.”

~`(\/)’~

Pinkie stood in front of the assembled six and pressed a few buttons letting a drawing pop up. It was one Rarity had seen many times before in legends and history books. “This is Celestia,” Pinkie began. “In most Equestrias she’s the ruler.”

“Indeed,” Rarity agreed.

“Yup,” Rainbow agreed as well.

Applejack studied the drawing. “Ah think Ah recognize her. In mah world she’s a goddess named Tentaihime. Ah’m pretty sure there was a shrine to her in the castle…”

“In the what?” Mare Do-Well asked.

“Nothing,” Applejack quickly replied.

“Anyway,” Pinkie continued. “The usual story in most worlds we found was that Celestia banished her sister, Luna, to the moon for a thousand years for becoming jealous and trying to take over the world.” Another picture popped up with a beautiful blue alicorn. Rarity had to bite her lip. She didn’t know why but her heart put some blame for her situation on Luna. She knew it was wrong and misguided but she couldn’t fight the knot in her stomach that made her want to puke.

“That’s where this world’s similarities end. After banishing Luna, Celestia became removed and detached from the world. She was still the ruler of Equestria but her rule was slightly stricter than a lot of others. But that all changed though when she took on a student.”

“Twilight?” Rarity interjected motioning to Mare Do-Well.

“No,” Pinkie shook her head and let a new picture pop up. It was of a yellow unicorn with a fiery red and gold mane. It seemed like a commissioned drawing from some well-respected artist depicting the unicorn standing straight with a slight smile and Celestia at her side. “Sunset Shimmer was Celestia’s first student. Twilight came soon after. But a certain… accident involving one of Celestia’s enemies caused Sunset to die. Celestia became a little crazy after that. Strengthening Equestria’s defenses and increasing recruitment in her armies. Eventually, she changed the way she taught too. Her lessons were far harsher than you would think.”

Another picture came up, this one a grand looking painting of Twilight Sparkle holding aloft the Elements of Harmony and the rest of the six beside her. “On the thousandth year, Luna came back as Nightmare Moon and attacked Equestria. Twilight gathered and met her friends, us, and saved the world with the Elements. But instead of giving her sister mercy, Celestia… ended her.”

A silence fell upon the group. Even Rarity felt the knot in her stomach untwist. A hint of sadness now running through her. Luna didn’t deserve that. “Celestia adopted all the Element bearers and took them to Canterlot where she trained them as warriors. Now, with the help of her armies, the Elements, and her unbelievable power, she rules that entire world.”

Mare Do-Well was the first to speak up. “I get it. We’re going into a minefield. But what does that have to do with you?”

Pinkie turned off the screen and looked at the floor. “That was one of the first worlds the Power Ponies and I visited while looking for the Glitch. We tried to get the inhabitants to help even going directly to Celestia and Twilight, but they were interested in other things. When Twilight heard I could travel through dimensions she tried to capture me. It was only by the skin of our teeth and the help of my friends that I escaped.”

“So if we bring you with us then they’ll probably capture you,” Rainbow muttered thoughtfully.

“That doesn’t matter,” Mare Do-Well said. “We can’t move between realities without Fili-Second so there’s no point in debating. Maybe we can hide you?”

Pinkie rubbed the back of her head. “I don’t think so. Like I said, Twilight is pretty powerful in this world. Not to mention everypony else.”

The group was quiet for a moment as they all began to think of a plan. Rarity looked to Mare Do-Well and Applejack. Those two had been the planners so far, the superhero being the one to come up with a lot of the plans that got them out of trouble. But this seemed like a problem they couldn’t solve.

“Can we just wait for her to leave?” Rainbow asked.

Mare Do-Well shook her head. “Odds are, if they’re as much of a threat as Fili-Second believes then they already have her. It would be irresponsible to wait and risk ponies like those getting their hooves on trans-dimensional capabilities.”

Mare Do-Well was right, of course. They needed a plan. Rarity tapped her hoof in thought as her gaze drifted around the room. It settled on the computer screen which now had the picture of the round white orb that was the world they needed to go to. But just beyond that, in the light of the observation deck was her own reflection. It narrowed its eyes at her and an idea popped in her head. The reflection seemed to get the idea at the same time and tried to argue but she had already turned away. “We just need to surprise them, correct?”

The group turned to her. “The element of surprise would be good,” AJ replied.

“Then I think I have an idea,” Rarity smiled.

{[(Sxt)]}

Suntrix sat with Twilight, the one she had traveled with not the one they had just met. You know what? She was just going to call her Ice Twilight. She always used those stupid ice spells anyway. The two sat alone in what appeared to be the equivalent of a royal waiting room. The royal looking Twilight, Imperial Twilight, had led the two down a set of stairs behind the throne room and into this room where she asked them to wait. Suntrix tapped her hoof nervously. “They’re not going to dissect us or anything, right?” Ice Twilight gave her a deadpan expression. It was just a question.

“We’re all the same inside,” Ice Twilight responded coldly. “What’s to find out?”

Suntrix sat back and groaned at that response. “Look, I don’t care what you’re doing here but after this is over you are giving me the directions home!”

“Of course,” she replied icily. “Just as soon as I get what I want.”

“And what do you want from this world?”

Her face became serious. “A satisfactory result.”

She shut her mouth and began to look a little closer around the room. To the far end was a large portrait of some kind. In it stood the white alicorn she had seen in the windows above but to her side was a yellow unicorn with a fiery mane. For some reason looking at her made Suntrix shiver. “Hey, who’s-”

She was interrupted as the door to the waiting room opened to reveal Imperial Twilight. “Come in.” The two stood up and walked in behind her.

The inner sanctum of the castle wasn’t dark, as expected, but lit as brightly as if it were outdoors. She looked up at the walls and the source of the light only to see that it wasn’t torches or lamps, but miniature suns that dotted the walls. The heat and pressure bore down on her as she passed them.

Several doors lined the walls of the deep hallway they were in. They seemed to pass every single one as they went deeper in total silence and she was getting more worried with each minute passing. Something was wrong. One door up ahead was slightly open so Suntrix decided to drop a little behind the two and sneak in. Screw Ice Twilight and her way home. She was probably just lying anyway. After Wyrm world, she really didn’t want to deal with any more surprises.

She narrowly slipped into the open doorway and pressed her flank against the wall. She held her breath until she heard the hoofsteps of the two Twilights disappear. A quick exhale and she was back on her hooves. She just needed to open another portal and with the slight trick to determining where you end up that Ice Twilight showed her to get here, she had a pretty good idea of how to get home. Or at least someplace better than this.

But before she could teleport something caught her eye. The room she was now in was round with rough cobblestones patterning the floor and walls. To her left was a small desk with a book of blank pages and a quill and ink. But the only source of light came from the center of the room. It was a round cage, like a bird’s but with iron bars. A small blue sun sat above it casting a slightly ominous light. In the center of the cage was what appeared to be a bundle of rags.

Suntrix pursed her lip. No! Seriously! She should just get going! Leave! But before she knew what she was doing her feet were moving toward the desk. The light from the blue sun wasn’t very strong so it was hard to make out but the pages appeared to be empty. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. Just what was with this set up. Then she turned the page back one.

Words. Scrawled in a hurry and some painstakingly written in detail. They were everywhere. On every inch of the pages one after another. But that wasn’t the thing that terrified her. The words themselves were enough for that. They were accounts of not only Suntrix herself but also the six following her, even some personal stuff having to do with Mr.4. She read a section about him and a gray alicorn reuniting. It almost felt like it was narrated from real life “Who wrote this?”

A clang startled her and she fell to her haunches as she looked up. The rags that had been in the middle of the cage had apparently shot up and slammed themselves into the bars. And beneath the dark rags was a blue unicorn with a silvery white mane. She was beautiful, all but her eyes that seemed to hold no rational mind behind them. “It knocks from the other side of the wall! It comes to change and end us all!”

Suntrix looked into those eyes as they seemed to stare into nothing, shouting that same line at her over and over. They were eyes she’d seen before, every day in the mirror. And she realized she felt the same way while staring at that picture. “It knocks from the other side of the wall! It comes to change and end us all!”

“What? I…”

“Oh, that’s a new one.” A new voice came from the door and Suntrix turned to see Imperial Twilight walk in with Ice Twilight. “You were right. She did react to her.”

Suntrix looked to Ice Twilight who merely grinned. “Not the reaction I expected but it’s something.”

Suntrix clenched her teeth. “What is this!?” she pointed to the caged mare.

“Trixie started spouting these words and prophecies about a month ago,” Imperial Twilight responded as she brushed a hoof past the cage. “Before that she was a well respected ally and powerful magician, and a friend, but now she’s this.” She shot a glare at her. “Twilight tells me you’re probably to blame for this.”

“Me?” Trixie? This mare was another version her.

“We’ve had our own ways of scouring the multiverse. So we know the moment it happened. The moment you broke the wall.”

Suntrix felt her breath stop as she grasped her throat, a cold feeling creeping into her larynx. Ice Twilight sauntered over, her horn aglow. “Sorry, Trix, but the deal was actually a little more complicated than I let on.”

Imperial Twilight walked over until she stood above her. She watched the uniformed mare gaze down in disdain, bright yellow electrical magic crackling out of her eyes. “You’ll make a fine doorway.” She brought her hoof down on her head and all went black.

Infiltration

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat and Rarity stood by themselves on the observation deck. After a brief argument about the stupidity of Rarity’s plan she wore her down with the addendum that Rarity should take a back-up. The first to volunteer was Mare Do-Well and Applejack since they were the most skilled in stealth, but Rarity had other ideas. “We need to find Suntrix fast. For that I’m going to need a tracker.” Thus the two now stood in wait to be transported.

Flutterbat agreed to the mission without question but Rainbow found it a little worrying. She went up to her as Rarity prepared her spell. “Are you sure about this? I can probably go instead. I’m fast enough that finding her would be a snap.” Flutterbat nodded with a smile, telling her she wanted to do this. Rainbow nodded as well. “Alright. If you’re sure. Just come back safe.”

Rarity finished her spell, a cloud of white enveloping her and emerging as her normal pony self. Pinkie walked up to her. “Rarity of this world lives in Manehattan since that’s her domain. I’ll send you as close to there as I can.” She bit her lip and looked off to the side.

“What is it?” Rarity asked.

“It’s… um… This Rarity has a… let’s say… bit of a stranger fashion sense than you. Just so you know.”

Rarity waved a hoof in dismissal. “Oh, darling, if she’s me then I’m sure it’s not as bad as all that.”

“I’m just warning you. Be prepared.” Flutterbat returned to Rarity’s side and Pinkie stood between them and handed Rarity a small round device with a “PP” on it. “I’m going to just drop you two off and get back here before somepony notices me. That’s a Power Ponies signal watch. It should give me your location on the computer when you’re ready to be picked up.” She paused and Flutterbat saw a hint of doubt edging in. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Flutterbat and Rarity smiled. “As long as your safe, that’s all that matters,” Rarity said. Flutterbat’s smile faded and she looked at Rarity. This was the first time she was this close to her. Her words. Something in them made her animal instincts yell. She decided she would have to keep a close eye on her.

“Then let’s go!” Pinkie shouted as she grabbed the two of them and began to vibrate. A sonic boom echoed out around them and before she knew it, Flutterbat saw that they were in a deserted alleyway. Pinkie let go of the two and took a few breaths. “Sorry. Specific transportation takes a bit of a toll.”

The three peeked their heads out of the alley. The city was a big metropolis and yet the sidewalks and roads were close to empty. There were some pedestrians but each one kept to themselves, their heads down and what appeared to be orange uniforms on them. Flutterbat saw Rarity wince. “Ugh, that color does not go well with a lot of things.”

Pinkie gave Rarity another furtively worried glance. She pointed to a tall skyscraper with banners depicting a sun draped down the sides. “Rarity should be there. Top floor.” The sound of hooves marching in sync came from down the street and Pinkie backed up into the alley. “I need to go now. Remember the watch! Find Suntrix and I’ll get you out as soon as possible!” Then in another sonic boom she was gone. The sound of marching stopped and then quickened its pace in their direction.

Rarity deadpanned. “In hindsight, maybe she should have done that when we were further away.” Flutterbat acted fast and scooped up Rarity flapping her wings and carrying her to the top of the building they were near. “Whew, thank you, darling.” She looked over the edge to see a bunch of ponies in black body armor and batons run into the alley and search it. The pegasi among them began to search the walls. “We’d better keep moving.”

The two flew as inconspicuously as they could until they reached the skyscraper. Rarity rubbed her hooves together as she wondered how to approach this. “It can’t be as easy as walking through the door, can it?” Flutterbat shrugged. “Either way we should probably do something about your… ahem, look.”

Rarity’s horn began to glow and a wave of magic washed over Flutterbat. After a moment passed she was now a light green normal looking Pegasus. She gave Rarity a questioning look. “I may be able to pull off myself but it’s probably best if we didn’t tempt fate with you, darling.”

A few minutes later they were on the ground. Rarity gave Flutterbat a warning look. “Now just keep quiet and follow my lead.” The two walked toward the door. Flutterbat was completely calm, figuring if anything happened she could just screech and get away. But Rarity seemed less in control. Flutterbat could smell the nervous sweat on her.

A doorpony waited at the gate to the tower, straightening up as Rarity approached. She straightened herself and walked right on through, Flutterbat in her disguise following close behind. “Hold on,” the doorpony said, then hesitantly adding a “ma’am.”

Rarity froze, seemingly too afraid to turn around. “Um, apologies, your fabulousness. But you’re not wearing your dress?”

Flutterbat could hear Rarity’s heart beat and she prepared to act in case something happened. Then the white unicorn turned around with a haughty look of indifference. “It got wet so I must return for another. Do you expect me to walk around in anything less than stunning?” She added a slight sneered curl to her lip at the end. Very nice, thought Flutterbat.

“N-No, ma’am!” the doorpony shouted with a salute.

A few minutes later and one elevator ride, which Flutterbat found simply amazing, they were at the top. “Okay,” Rarity muttered to her. “Who knows what we’ll be facing in there. There could be servants. Guards. Soldiers. Who knows, maybe even high society folk. Regardless let’s be on our toes.” Flutterbat nodded. The doors opened to reveal the other Rarity’s penthouse and the two stepped inside, Rarity’s mouth falling open. “Oh no! It’s worse than I thought!” Before them hung an enormous portrait of Rarity only with a very garish and clashing dress made with an orange vest and green frills for the skirt. “I look like I just took a bath in seaweed!”

Flutterbat rolled her eyes.

===E8DB

Rainbow sat by the computer terminal tapping her hoof. “How much longer do you think this is going to take?”

Mare Do-Well sat with her eyes closed on the ground in some kind of meditative pose. “This isn’t a snatch and grab. What they’re doing takes time. It could be another few days. Maybe even a week.”

“A week!” Rainbow shouted. “You think Flutterbat can handle herself for a week?”

“Flutterbat’s proven that she can be calm when confronted with danger,” Applejack interjected as she cut away at some paper in her seat by the big round table. “Just have a little faith, Rainbow.”

Rainbow stopped tapping and took a deep breath. They were right. She was disregarding her friend’s abilities. Flutterbat was nothing like Fluttershy. She wouldn’t fall or be coerced by anything unseemly or evil. As far as she’d known the bat winged pony, she had been nothing but brave and bold. A far cry from the Fluttershy she knew. Then why did Fluttershy change so much, she found herself thinking.

She shook her head as she freed herself from that line of thought. Pinkie sat by the computer terminal with her, another look of worried anticipation on her face. She considered trying to talk to the mare since she was probably the one, besides Flutterbat, she had gotten to know the most since coming here. But something about what Applejack was doing caught her eye.

“So what are you doing?” she asked as she walked up to her.

Applejack looked up in surprise. “Oh, well, Ah’m makin’ a paper doll.” She lifted the craft she had made and showed it to her. It was cut in the shape of a pony with ink lines on its face for expression. It looked kind of sad, yet still had this elegance and beauty to it.

“That’s really nice,” she praised. “Is that something you learned back home?” She paused as she thought she had tripped up and made a faux pa. They had all known each other for a month now yet none seemed to talk about home, especially Applejack. The samurai simply nodded though.

“Yeah. In fact, Ah learned it from Fluttershy. Back home she was a great ally to me and showed me all kinds of techniques for fightin’ things Ah couldn’t understand.”

“So she was brave like Flutterbat?”

Applejack smiled. “Ah wouldn’t say that. She was still a bit timid at times. The only reason she knew those things was cause of her background. Nature vs. Nurture and all that, Ah guess.”

“Yeah… yeah.”

Suddenly Pinkie cried out in pain. Everypony dropped what they were doing and rushed to her side as she fell on the ground beginning to convulse. “Pinkie!” Rainbow shouted trying to grab her, but her hoof seemed to phase right through.

“AAAAAaaaaHHH!” Pinkie shouted as her body began to fade in out of existence.

“No!” Mare Do-Well shouted as she grabbed onto Pinkie when she was solid. Rainbow and Applejack managed to hold her as well just as Pinkie’s body finally shifted and disappeared, along with everypony in the Veloci-Lair.

A sonic boom echoed out from their location and the four ponies slumped on top of each other. Rainbow wearily lifted her head and looked around. Their surroundings had changed to an open field. In the far distance past a hill she could make out lights approaching them. “What in the hell happened?” Applejack asked as she came to.

Mare Do-Well lifted herself as well and tried to rouse Pinkie to no avail. “She’s out cold.”

“Ah think Ah’d rather be her right now.” Rainbow looked up to see what Applejack was talking about only to see that those lights on the hill were closer than she’d thought. Black armored ponies with a symbol of a sun on their shoulders marched stalwartly toward them.

“We need to get out of here!” Mare Do-Well shouted. Even she couldn’t take on that many.

She and Mare Do-Well grabbed Pinkie by the shoulders and began to drag her away, Applejack in front. Suddenly she stopped. “Looks like we got even more trouble,” she muttered.

In front of them was an equally large platoon of armored ponies. Rainbow and Mare Do-Well skidded to a halt, the latter cursing to herself. “What now?” she asked.

The two platoons surrounded them and raised their spears toward them in a circle. “The most logical course of action would be to surrender,” Mare Do-Well said.

A grin crept up Rainbow’s face as she turned to her. “Yeah, and what are we going to do?”

For a moment she thought she saw Mare Do-Well smile under her mask. “Kick as much flank as we can before they take us.”

Rainbow pounded her hooves together and cracked her neck. “Now we’re talking!”

Applejack sighed. “You two must be the most downright thick-headed ponies Ah ever met.” She pulled her katana from her scabbard and brandished it in her mouth. “But Ah guess you’re better than goin’ down alone.”

Mare Do-Well pulled out her shuriken and got into a battle stance as well. The moment seemed to freeze as the three faced off against the insurmountable odds. Rainbow took in a breath to do a battle cry but a voice cut her off. “FIRE!!”

From far off the sound of something like a firework could be heard. Several of the armored ponies turned around to see a spout of flame shoot up from the tree line not too far. A glowing projectile shot into the sky as everypony seemed to follow its trail. Mare Do-Well was the first to react. “Get down!”

She pushed Rainbow and Applejack down as the projectile completed its arc and fell fast towards the crowd of armored ponies. Some reacted but not enough as the glowing shell hit the ground and exploded on impact sending a bunch of them flying. Other rockets soon followed and the tight circle trap the armored ponies had made fell apart as they tried to respond or run.

Rainbow kept her head down as Mare Do-Well said but looked up to see the carnage around them. Far off by a set of bushes a face popped out. It wore a scarf around its mouth and goggles that hid its face. The face nodded its head, telling her to come over there.

“Hey guys,” she nudged the others who looked up as well. They saw the face who was now blatantly waving its hoof to tell them to come over. “We should go.”

“Probably better than right here,” Mare Do-Well agreed.

They began to crawl and drag Pinkie’s unconscious body behind them, staying out of sight of the confused and scattering soldiers. When they finally made it to the bushes the masked pony was already in a hole beneath it. It lifted a small disguised lid, ushering them to enter after it.

“We sure this is safe?” Applejack asked.

“They’re not trying to kill us yet,” Mare Do-Well said. She didn’t entirely find that thought comforting.

Rainbow was the last to enter as she pulled the lid closed behind her. Immediately all sounds of shouting or cries ceased as if the lid was soundproofed. They followed the hole down a set of ladders and dropped into what appeared to be a series of underground tunnels. Rainbow dropped down last to join her friends who were confused seeing as their savior was nowhere to be seen. “Hey, where’d she-”

Mare Do-Well moved too fast for her to see but the superhero swung her hoof in the air and somehow wrapped it around a pony. It was the same one that had helped them. Three others seemed to appear out of thin air as if pulling off some kind of invisible cloak. Except these ones wore armbands with a crescent moon on them. “Damn, you’re fast,” the pony in her arm lock squeaked out.

“You’ve all got five seconds to explain what’s going on,” Mare Do-Well shouted. “Five! Four! Three! Two!”

“STOP!” One of the masked ponies removed her mask to reveal a pink unicorn with a purple two toned mane. “We just need to be sure that you’re you!”

“What does that mean?” Rainbow asked indignantly.

“You do look like the Elements of Disharmony, can you blame us for being cautious?”

“Disharmony?” Applejack asked.

The pony reached into a satchel by her side and pulled out a small stone saucer filled with a greenish mud. “Put this on your skin.”

“And if we don’t?” Mare Do-Well asked keeping her arm lock on the pony.

“Then we’ll have nothing more to discuss.” Rainbow felt a cold shiver at those words. “So who’s first?”

Applejack and Mare Do-Well seemed apprehensive, but Rainbow couldn’t help but feel that these ponies meant them no harm. “I’ll do it.”

She took a dollop from her and slapped it over her wrist. The mud immediately began to glow. All the ponies in masks took a huge breath of relief. “Will you two try it now?”

The others reluctantly took the mud and the same glow appeared for them. “So what is this stuff?” Rainbow asked as she slapped some on Pinkie.

Before the pink unicorn could answer Mare Do-Well spoke. “Revealing Magic. Some kind of concoction used to reveal traitorous intent?”

“Close,” the unicorn replied. “It was developed by a witch doctor to be a revealer, but it has a strange side effect for ponies from outside our reality.”

“So how does getting it to glow make us trustworthy?” Rainbow asked.

“As I said, it proves you’re not who we feared you were. That’s good enough for us. Now come on, our leader’s expecting you.”

“Leader?”

She turned around and began to walk. “Come on, she’s been expecting you.”

Mare Do-Well let go of her hostage who coughed a little but mostly seemed floored by her coolness as he asked for her autograph. The other two ponies with them volunteered to carry Pinkie, Rainbow staying between them and the others to keep a close eye on them.

They walked down a long tunnel dimly lit with glowing subterranean rocks carved into moon and star shapes. As they went deeper they began to pass other creatures as well. Dragons, diamond dogs, and even a few griffins.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but how long are we gonna be here before you explain what’s goin’ on?” AJ asked.

“The leader will explain it a lot better than I could.”

“And just who is this leader?” Mare Do-Well asked.

Something about all this had been nagging at Rainbow. The moon symbol on the masked ponies. The sun symbol on those armored ones. Not to mention the fact that despite the ample amount of light in these tunnels it kept feeling like darkness was encroaching more and more. Her eyes widened in realization. “Guys, I don’t think we want to be here!”

Before she could explain the unicorn pulled back a curtain into a large round stone room with a table in the center. Ponies sat around it in similar uniforms as her, all except one that stood quite a few heads higher than the rest. “Alright, ponies. Meet the leader of the resistance.”

She was about as tall as princess Celestia with a coat as dark as hers was white. Her mane was an ethereal blue that twinkled like the night sky. She would also have the royal air of the princess around her if not for the fact her horn was made of metal and her wings were shredded. They seemed to be patch up jobs in an attempt to hide scars that appeared all over the alicorn’s body. Her wings were especially terrifying to look at since the feathers were ripped off revealing skeletal appendages. The patches made here were of some kind of stretchable leathery tarp wrapped around her wings that gave them a bat like appearance more than a Pegasus. She raised her head to the four and seemed to look down on them. Rainbow grit her teeth. “Nightmare Moon.”

Grim Reflections

{[(SxT)]}

Suntrix woke wearily to find herself tied to a cart that was being pushed down a hallway like the one she’d seen before. “Hey! Let me go!”

A pony in scrubs and a surgeon’s mask looked down on her as they walked. “Oh, don’t worry, miss Suntrix. Everything is going to alright.” She wanted to yell at the pony but for some reason her voice made her calm, like everything really was going to be alright. “We’re just going to do a couple experiments on you.” Well, that didn’t sound good.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked trying to scare the pony. “Do you know what I’m capable of?”

The pony nodded, nervously averting her eyes. “Yes, that’s kind of the reason why Twilight wants to experiment on you.”

They pushed open a large set of double doors and were wheeled into an enormous lab. It looked exactly like Suntrix would expect an evil lab to look like from all those adventure novels she’d read. Giant electrodes decked the walls with tall metal machines full of lights and buttons lining the corners of the room. Tables full of chemicals and bottles were also widely present. Yup, this was a villain lair alright.

The masked pony stopped the cart and walked over to someone out of her line of sight. She heard some muttering and then somepony came to either side of her and lifted her cart onto its side so she could see. Before her were two ponies. The one in the surgeon mask and scrubs and the other. “You’re the pink one.”

The other pony was the pink one of the group that followed her. The one that could move super fast. Only she was different. All her limbs and most of her body were decked in gray metal armor. Around her head sat some kind of half helmet with a small red crystal lens over one eye. She wasn’t smiling. This must have been this world’s version of that mare.

“You’ve been talking to her, Fluttershy?” The pony in the scrubs disrobed to reveal her pink mane and familiar red and white dress. She also pulled her black hood back over her eyes. This was the pony from the throne room.

“I just thought she needed somepony to talk to, Pinkie,” Fluttershy replied.

“Maybe the two of you could let me in on just what the heck is going on?” Suntrix asked angrily.

Pinkie turned to her, still not showing any signs of smiling. “After the last trans-dimensional visitors we had Celestia went coocoo trying to repeat whatever process your friend did to get here.”

Suntrix groaned at them mention of Ice Twilight. “She is not my friend!”

“Whatever!” Pinkie shouted. “Point is, it was my doppelganger that was able to travel between dimensions so Celestia had both Twilight and I put to work in creating a dimensional door.” She pointed behind her to a rather large looking circular metal pipe on the wall with lots of black wires and clear tubes coming out of it. “Twilight and I discovered a correlation between the Pinkie Pies and I. This kind of inherent connection that could allow me to tap into the multiverse, but only to watch. I call it Pinkie Sense.”

Pinkie waved a hoof over her red crystal lens and light shined through it. The light spread out across the giant metal circle and an image appeared in the center. It was of a bunch of ponies in spotted fur togas with clubs. They looked almost primeval. “I can look at almost any world now,” Pinkie continued as the picture flipped through showing ponies in jetpacks, ponies living under the sea, even ponies playing what appeared to be children’s card games. “So I know all about you, Suntrix.”

Suntrix was slightly impressed by the display. “You don’t seem all too enthusiastic about your abilities.”

“Hundreds of hours of testing and live experimentation would put anypony in a bad mood,” Pinkie replied with straight face. “Even me.”

“That’s not good, Pinkie,” Fluttershy muttered. “You’ve got to keep a smile if you want to be the Element of Laughter.”

Pinkie turned on Fluttershy with a glare. “The Element of Laughter? Name the last time I cracked a joke! Name the last time I even left this castle! Name the last time you did!”

Fluttershy shrunk back in fear. “I-I-I’m sorry!”

Pinkie pulled back, her eyes wide as if she was surprised at what she had just done. “Fluttershy, I…”

Fluttershy’s lip began to tremble and she ran from the room. Pinkie held out a hoof to stop her but never got close. She let it drop by her side.

“So I take it you’re all a little bit pent up?” Suntrix asked, ridiculously trying to lighten the situation.

Pinkie didn’t look back at her as she walked over to the control board on the wall. “We all may not be acting according to our elements right now, but that doesn’t matter as long as I help Celestia and Twilight.” She pulled a lever and Suntrix began to rise in the air, a hook from the ceiling pulling her up.

“HEY!!” she shouted as the hook aligned her with the circular portal.

“It’ll all be worth it in the end,” Pinkie muttered to herself. “Yeah, just give Celestia what she wants and the world will be a better place. Everypony will smile again.”

Suntrix could feel that all sense had left quite a while ago. How do I get myself in these situations?

~`(\/)’~

Rarity looked around the entire penthouse with dismay. “It’s all so tacky!” she shouted as she threw another purple and orange dress onto the bed. Flutterbat had given up on trying to talk to her and decided to snoop around the kitchen.

She emerged nearly a half hour later from the bedroom and walked into the kitchen. Flutterbat was rummaging through the fridge for something to eat. “Okay,” she moaned. “I’m done. Sorry about snapping like that. Pinkie did warn me about what I might find but…” she shuddered. “I didn’t expect this.”

Flutterbat stuck her nose out of the fridge and raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her. “Yes, yes, let’s get on with the mission. Did you find anything that might indicate where she is or did you just search for food?”

Flutterbat got out of the fridge and pointed to a day planner she seemed to have thrown on the table. Rarity picked it up to read. “Monday: City assembly to erect new statue of Celestia. Meet Sweetie Belle for dinner. Well this version of me may be a tyrant but at least I’m a good sister.” She read on. “Tuesday: Send Sweetie Belle to stay with mom and dad. Note: Goodbye dinner at Che Hoofarti’s was delicious.” She frowned. “Never mind.”

Rarity suddenly noticed Flutterbat standing right next to her looking at the words on the page. Her eyes seemed screwed in concentration. “Darling, do you not know how to read?”

The bat winged pegasus looked at her. “Flutterbat never had to learn.” She perked up and smiled. “Flutterbat did learn one read thing. ‘Don’t let anything scare you, you can accomplish miracles with just a little bravery’.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Where did you learn that?”

Flutterbat’s smile seemed to become more melancholy and she lowered her head. “Somepony special teach it to Flutterbat.”

Rarity patted the mare on the back. “We’ll get back home, I’m sure of it. Then you can see your special somepony.”

Flutterbat didn’t raise her head, her smile now gone. “He gone now. Nopony left to go back to.” She walked a little away and then turned back with a forced smile. “But Flutterbat still has friends. Friends in cave and friends here.”

Rarity nodded. “Yes, we are fr-” She paused as she looked past Flutterbat to the fridge and its shiny reflective surface. Her reflection seemed to roll its eyes at her.

“How long are you going to keep fooling yourself?” her reflection asked, its voice unheard by Flutterbat. Rarity’s eyes widened and she immediately turned away. Shut up, she mentally shouted. Her eyes fixed on a toaster on the counter, her reflection in that as well. “You keep playing around with these ponies that don’t even matter. Why?”

“I’m trying to save the world,” Rarity muttered under her breath. Flutterbat stood off to the side giving her a curious look.

“Which world?” her reflection asked from a kitchen window. “Because I certainly haven’t seen you do anything for your world. Do you honestly think you can make any difference here? You’ve seen the kinds of threats that exist if you go down this path. Better to be a big fish in a small pond, I say.”

“Shut up,” Rarity muttered out loud as she turned her head again. This time her reflection was caught in the stainless clean tile beneath. It seemed to grow before her and slid underneath where Flutterbat stood.

“You just want to stay here and play house with all your fake friends until somepony ends it all for you.” It glared at Flutterbat. “Does she really remind you so much of her that you’d replace her?”

“Shut up!” Rarity let loose a bolt of magic that landed at Flutterbat’s feet. She jumped back in the air and landed on the counter in defensive stance. Her eyes were wide with fear and slightly slitted like a cat’s. Rarity could hear her hiss under her breath.

“You see,” the voice was now in her head, “she’s just a facsimile. Nothing but a beast with a familiar face.”

Flutterbat finished hissing and cocked her head at Rarity questioningly. “Fluttershy, I’m so sorry!” Wait, what did she call her?

“I am going to have your tail if whoever you let up to my room messed with my things!” A voice echoed out from where the elevator was but Rarity was having trouble concentrating. Flutterbat’s ears perked up and she jumped from the counter to grab her.

“We need go now!” she said.

Rarity was still having a hard time moving as thoughts were swirling in her head. She almost hurt Fluttershy, but she wasn’t Fluttershy. But she had hurt Fluttershy. How could she have been acting so chummy when it was her fault?

Flutterbat pushed her out of the kitchen into the entrance hall just as the elevator opened. Inside stood this world’s Rarity, wearing the same orange and green dress from her portrait. Behind her was the doorpony, along with ten or so black armored soldiers. “Well,” badly dressed Rarity said with a smirk. “I can honestly say that I wasn’t expecting this.”

Rarity finally shook it off and saw the situation. The armored soldiers filed out of the elevator tried to circle them. Flutterbat hissed and tried to swipe at one but they pulled out an electrical prod and zapped her making her wince. “Do not touch her!” Rarity shouted.

An immense cloud of black billowed around her and the disguise fell to reveal her dark form. She turned her glowing white eyes on the soldiers and blasted a wave of darkness at them sending them flying. The sound of laughing caught her attention and she looked to her doppelganger in the dress. She stood with her hoof to her mouth in a bout of laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Rarity asked. “As far as I see your helpless.”

“I’m sorry, darling,” she chuckled. “I should clarify. I wasn’t expecting this, but that doesn’t mean I was unprepared.” A loud thump came from Rarity’s right and she looked to see Flutterbat fall unconscious.

“Flutter-” Another thump and Rarity felt something slam into the back of her neck. Her vision started to go dark and she fell forward. As she began to lose consciousness herself a pony in a red jumpsuit with yellow highlights seemed to phase into existence next to her double. A red cowl was pulled over her face.

“We’ve known you were coming for a while, and planned accordingly.” Her laughter echoed in the large room as Rarity blacked out.

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well felt the pressure in the room just from the alicorn’s stare. A moment of silence passed as they all met the alleged “leader of the resistance,” each pony seemingly waiting for somepony to make the first move. They were surprised when the alicorn did first.

“My apologies for the suddenness of your appearance and the hardships you had to face to get here,” she said as she bowed her head. “Quantum physics is a little hard to control with just magic and your position seemingly continued to shift as if it was out of phase with reality.”

“Huh?” Applejack uttered.

“I think you have a little more explaining to do than that,” Mare Do-Well said.

The alicorn raised her head. “You are right. Let me start by introducing myself. I am Luna, second princess of Equestria.”

“And Nightmare Moon,” Rainbow jumped in.

Everypony in the room seemed to get angry at that but Luna held up a hoof to stop them. “Yes, it is true that I once held that name and that I did horrible things with it. But the Elements of Harmony freed me from my self-imprisonment.”

Mare Do-Well nodded, taking all the information in while also recollecting the way they came in case they needed to make an escape. “Alright, princess. So how are you responsible for getting us here?”

Luna got up and walked over to a blackboard with tactics and strategies then flipped it over to reveal hundreds of small equations with symbols even Mare Do-Well had never seen before. “I have known of my sister’s plot to travel to and conquer other dimensions for quite some time. First rule of war is to always stay level with your opponent. So I have worked tirelessly with my smartest ponies to magically recreate the effect dimensional travelers like your friend there,” she pointed to Pinkie on the ground, “used to come here. We did not come far but we were able to determine a way to summon the speedster here using vibrational frequencies. I must say, your appearance is unforeseen but not unwelcome, hero.”

Mare Do-Well narrowed her eyes. “How do you know what I am?”

Luna walked over to her, her stern expression never changing. “My sister has kept tabs on the speedster for a long time. She knows all about you and your team as well, and with the help of our spies, so do I. I must say, you have lasted longer than expected.”

“You expected us to die?”

She shook her head. “That is not what I meant.” Before she could continue, Rainbow cut in.

“This is all a lot of very technical mumbo jumbo,” she said as she waved a dismissive hoof. “But aren’t you the bad guy?”

“Rainbow Dash,” Luna said her name with complete confidence. “I can assure you that I mean no harm. In fact, I’ve brought you all here to stop those who wish to do harm.”

Mare Do-Well grabbed Pinkie’s arm and lifted her onto her shoulders. “We’ve heard enough. We only came to this world to find Suntrix. Once our friends are done with that we’ll be gone. We’re not going to get swept up in a war that isn’t even ours to fight.”

AJ and even Rainbow seemed about to say something when Luna interrupted. “And I wouldn’t ask you to.” Everypony stopped. “The reason I brought the speedster here was because I wished to study her. With live data I can make technological leaps and bounds before my sister and possibly end her reign myself. Please,” she bowed her head again. “That’s all I ask of you.”

Mare Do-Well didn’t look back but she did stop leaving. AJ and Rainbow looked to her to make a decision. She looked down at Pinkie’s sleeping face. What would you do, she thought. “Fine. We’ll wait until she wakes up to make a decision. But take us to some room where we can rest.”

“As you wish, Amethyst?” The pink unicorn from before stepped forward and saluted Luna before leading them back down the halls. This time Mare Do-Well took it on herself to carry Pinkie. She still made sure to memorize the layout of the tunnels though, just in case anything happened. Which it so often did.

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat awoke at what she could only assume was several hours later. Her surroundings were now much more like home than before as she appeared to be in some kind of underground dungeon. She stood up and took a step forward to find her legs shackled to the wall. After pulling with all her might several times she finally conceded any escape like that wouldn’t work. The room was small with not enough room for her fly or spread her wings too far. The wall opposite her restraints had a large wooden door with a slit to see through, though the way she was positioned it made it impossible for her to do that.

Instead she only needed to wait a few moments before somepony else looked through the slit. “Can I have a moment with her?” came a soft voice from the other side.

“Of course, Miss Fluttershy,” two gruff voices on the other side said. Two sky blue eyes peeked out from the slit and stared at her.

Flutterbat hissed and backed away as the door opened and two armored ponies parted ways to let in… herself. Flutterbat wasn’t a fool, she knew what she looked like from pools of water in her cave and even mirrors that he would bring her. Though while she was a tad paler with pink eyes this pony was more fleshed out with blue ones. She also wore some kind of clothes that Flutterbat didn’t understand. Why would a flyer wear a cloak? It’s so impractical.

The other her stepped forward and Flutterbat stepped back. This was a bit disconcerting. She even smelled like her. “Um, I’m not going to hurt you,” Fluttershy assured her. Flutterbat gave a nod toward the guards behind her. Fluttershy turned around. “I apologize, but would you please leave us alone for a few minutes.”

“I don’t think that’s very wise, Miss-” The pony was cut off as Fluttershy straightened herself and gave what seemed to be the scariest stare she’d ever seen. The pony gulped audibly and backed away quickly. “Uh, yes, of course, ma’am.” Flutterbat would have to try that some time.

Fluttershy sighed and turned back to her. “There, that better?” Flutterbat still eyed her cautiously but decided to sit down. “Good,” she said happily. “Do you talk?”

“Flutterbat talks.”

Fluttershy’s smile widened “That’s wonderful! It makes having a conversation so much easier.” She sat down as well and looked straight across from her. “So, tell me about your world. Are you all bats there? Oh, can you talk to bats?”

Flutterbat was baffled by this pony’s intentions. Every one of her heightened senses was telling her she was genuine about her interests though. “Why you ask? Aren’t you bad guy?”

Fluttershy’s smile fell. “Oh, I guess you would think that, wouldn’t you? Dungeon and all. Believe me I didn’t ask for you to be in here. That was Twilight’s idea.” She rubbed her hooves together forlornly. “When I heard they’d captured another Rarity and you I got excited. Nopony likes to talk to me in the castle. The guards all say they’re too below me and Rainbow and the others are too serious with everything. I thought... if there’s another pony just like me in the castle, then maybe we can have a nice conversation.”

Flutterbat’s frown deepened. “Pinkie say you princess hurt world. Say you try and take her.”

Fluttershy’s mood seemed to fall even further. “Yes. The Twilights have been preparing for your arrival for a while. Our Twilight used information from the last time your Pinkie Pie was here to build a speedster suit. That’s why they sent Applejack in it to capture you. But I don’t want anything to do with that. All that talk about invasions and ruling. They keep saying it’s for peace but it all just sounds so… so…”

“Evil?”

The two ponies’ eyes met and they stared at each other. “I’m not a bad pony,” Fluttershy muttered. “At least I never wanted to be. All I really wanted to do was help my friends.”

“Flutterbat didn’t have any friends for long time.” It was her turn to lower her head. Why did it feel so right to just talk to this pony? “Just bats keep Flutterbat company in cave. Then ponies came and offered Flutterbat a chance to save ponies. Pretty soon, Flutterbat made friends.” She narrowed her eyes at Fluttershy. “Friends help ponies. Friends don’t rule ponies.”

Fluttershy lowered her head once more with a look of despair and got up. She turned and began to close the door before looking back at her. “Thank you. For talking to me.”

Flutterbat gave her a tiny smile. “Come back again to talk. WE can be friends.”

Fluttershy smiled slightly too and then shut the door. Flutterbat heard the lock slide into place and she was left alone again. She laid her head back on the wall and looked at the ceiling in thought. She couldn’t just wait around for Fluttershy again though. She had to find a way out, save Rarity, and then get back to her friends. Somehow.

Assault on Canterlot

<___|=o

Applejack, Mare Do-Well, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Luna all stood around the circular table in the center of the resistance base. In front of them in the middle was a round device that continued to blink red, displaying a gridded topographical map with a pulsing target. “So does this mean they found her?” Rainbow asked.

Mare Do-Well pulled out a map from a barrel of them in the corner and spread it out on the table. “I don’t like this.” She pointed to the coast. “From what it looks like, Fili-Second sent them here to Manehattan.” Her hoof trailed all the way down to the mountain where Canterlot was. “It’s been too short a time for them to get all the way there.”

“Ah agree,” AJ joined in. “This seems like a trap.”

Luna’s brow furrowed in thought. “No doubt my sister has been notified of your arrival. She may even know that you were saved by us and taken shelter. If this is a trap, then she’s goading not only you but the resistance out as well.”

“So maybe I can just speed in there and rescue them,” Pinkie suggested. “All in all it could take three… two minutes.”

AJ looked to Mare Do-Well. “It’s possible.”

“No, it isn’t.” Luna said. “You may be fast but my sister has incredible senses and reflexes. She’ll be able to see you coming. Not only that but they have developed a suit to match your speed since your last visit. Why do you think we wanted to study you?”

“It’s like giving a grenade to a cavemare,” Mare Do-Well whispered.

“Huh?” Rainbow asked.

“A book I’d read once. Introducing advanced weaponry to an unfamiliar populace will always result in catastrophe.” She turned to Pinkie. “By coming here, you and even we are damaging this world’s growth. I’m just thinking, are we doing more harm than good here?”

“Does that matter now?” AJ asked.

Mare Do-Well sighed. “No. I guess you’re right. Either way, we need to go. We also need support.” She looked to Luna.

The princess lowered her head and frowned. “I’m sorry, but I can’t allow my ponies to stage an attack on Canterlot just yet. It’s too heavily protected, they would be wiped out before we even left the forest.”

Applejack slammed her hooves on the table. “Ah know it’s risky but we need to save our friends!”

Luna’s frown deepened and she shot AJ a glare. “I understand, Applejack. But I will not risk the lives of my ponies.” They were all silent. Rainbow and Luna shared a glance before the alicorn let out a sigh. “That is why I will escort you there.”

“Boss!” Amethyst shouted in shock from the door. Luna held up a hoof to silence her.

“Let me finish. Right now, my sister and her soldiers are probably on the lookout for you four primarily.” She pointed to the side of the mountain opposite Canterlot. “There is a cave system in the mountain that I have been keeping secret for such an occasion. Amethyst, you and a squadron of others will take the tunnel and infiltrate Canterlot, but only after we have made our move.”

AJ looked over the map as the pieces fell into place. “Ah get it. Two pronged attack. We’re the diversion coming up from the road while they sneak in the back and rescue everypony.”

“That still leaves the problem of our exit strategy,” Mare Do-Well interjected.

Luna pointed to Pinkie. “Miss Pie, you will go with the rescue team from the back. With your speed you should be able to find your friends while we distract whoever is wearing the speed suit.”

Pinkie nodded and even Mare Do-Well seemed to approve of this plan. Applejack crossed her arms in thought. “You’re really willin’ to go this far for us? It’s possible you won’t come back.”

Luna clasped her hooves together and closed her eyes. “I have a lot to atone for. Also your mission is a worthy one that affects more than I alone. Finally, we cannot ensure my sister will enter the battle unless I’m there.”

“But she could kill you.”

There was a sad silence in the air. “That is a risk I am willing to take.”

Everypony moved to get up but Mare Do-Well held up a hoof to stop them. “Hold on! We may have a game plan, but there’s still time to polish it to perfection.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Luna asked.

Mare Do-Well turned to Pinkie. “We need to make a quick stop first.”

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat finally felt the last bit of the metal link she’d been gnawing on all night give and it snapped. With her left hoof free she was finally able to stretch it. She turned to the other hoof and sighed as she began on chewing that one as well.

Suddenly a loud thunder clap echoed in the distance. Louder than she’d ever heard before. Her senses were sharp but she was still at least a hundred hooves underground. How could she still hear that?

===E8DB

High in the sky above Canterlot, above even the pegasi soldiers’ flight paths, Rainbow held aloft a small lightning shaped necklace in her mouth. Clouds and electricity continued to gather around her as the mother of all storms built up below. I hope Mare Do-Well knows what she’s doing, she thought.

~`(\/)’~

Rarity lifted her head slightly as she first heard the thunder, then the rain began to pour pelting the window with enough ferocity to make it rattle like it was about to fall off. What was going on out there? Suddenly the door to the lab opened and Twilight walked in, soaking wet. Her horn glowed and the water immediately vaporized but she still looked disgruntled.

“This crazy weather,” she muttered. “It’s got to be them.” She looked at Rarity and her face seemed to falter. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry it’s come to this.” She magically unlocked the chains and disconnected them from the wall before they wrapped around her legs once more. “Walk with me. Celestia wants you in the throne room.”

---<^^>---

Luna, Applejack and Mare Do-Well stood side by side at the edge of the forest, Canterlot just up the mountain side. Mare Do-Well checked all her equipment while AJ stared at the new lasso in her hooves. “You sure I’ll be able to use this thing?”

Mare Do-Well looked up at the sky and the enormous storm congregating above. “That necklace seems to work for Dash. Should hold to reason Mistress Marevelous’ lasso works for you. I’m glad Fili-Second allowed us to use them.”

Applejack chuckled to herself as she wrapped the lariat around her side. “Yeah, well, Ah’m already pretty good with a rope. What makes you think this is gonna make me any better?”

Mare Do-Well let out a small laugh. “Never hurts to be prepared.” She turned to Luna. “You’re the centerpiece of this distraction. You’re going to have to make the biggest entrance possible.”

Luna nodded and smiled darkly. “I already have a few ideas.”

In the city above at the gates, tens of soldiers stood in wait for anything that should try to get in or attack. Black masks and helmets covered their faces but nervousness was still apparent in the air. The rain didn’t help either as most began to move their hooves back and forth to keep their soles from getting soaked.

A crack of lightning pierced the sky blinding the squadron and making the immediate area dark around them. As their sight began to acclimate, the thunder to accompany shook the air and with it a tall dark figure fell from the heavens and landed on the road before them with a heavy impact. The seismic wave slammed into the few at the front and they fell backward. Others by the back raised their weapons at the figure.

It stayed still, keeping its head low before two enormous hellish wings erupted from its sides. The figure lifted its head as blue magic began to cascade from its horn. All the soldiers muttered fearfully as they began to back away. Suddenly somepony from the back let an arrow loose. The figure didn’t need to move to dodge as the arrow whizzed past it. It tracked the arrow with its cat like eyes before looking back to them. A wicked grin spread across its face. “Move.” The soldiers all immediately retreated into the city where the cowardly could find shelter and the braver could find back up.

Mare Do-Well and Applejack walked up from the road behind the figure. Mare Do-Well looked at the completely open path for them now. “Nice work. I’d have added maybe a few broken bones though.”

AJ patted the figure on the back. “You ask me those wings were scary enough. You look like a bat out of hell.”

Luna dispelled some of the darkness she’d created around herself to look more menacing. “I am actually not entirely used to things like intimidation, but I must admit that was quite enjoyable.”

Applejack was the first to enter the city. Mare Do-Well followed after, already seeing a new group of armored thugs heading this way. “So Luna’ll go the direct route,” AJ said. “And you take the roads.”

Mare Do-Well raised an eyebrow at her. “And what way were you thinking of going?”

Applejack removed her katana from her sheath before pulling back her hakama to reveal a familiar metal framework strapped to her chest. “Somewhere in between.” A metal rope shot out from the 3-D device and she catapulted forward past the advancing mob. A few stray armored pegasi followed her with their eyes. “YEEHAW!”

Luna looked to Mare Do-Well and then the mob approaching. “Do you want me to assist you?”

Mare Do-Well cracked her neck and began to walk toward the soldiers. “You kidding? Why do you think she left? Besides,” she splayed her feet in a battle stance, “it’s been too long since I’ve had a workout like this.” Luna smiled and flapped her makeshift wings, flying her way toward Canterlot Castle. The mob all stopped in front of Mare Do-Well and raised their weapons at her. “So, who’s first?”

~`(\/)’~

Rarity trudged behind Twilight as the storm raged on outside. Every time thunder struck it made her think that her friends were out there fighting for their lives. Imagine if they die trying to save you, the voice in her head said. Wouldn’t that just be awful?

“Shut up,” she muttered to herself.

“What was that?” Twilight asked.

Rarity glowered at the yellow uniformed unicorn. “The Twilight I know would never do something like this.”

Twilight frowned and put her face in Rarity’s. “Well, I’m not the Twilight you know. And you? You don’t know anything about me.” Suddenly a clang came from behind her and Twilight’s eyes went wide. Her magic aura faded and she fell to the floor unconscious. Standing behind her with a frying pan was somepony Rarity had not expected to see.

“Come on,” Fluttershy said to her, hurriedly waving her frying pan. “We need to go!” She was not the Fluttershy she knew, that was for sure. This one wore a red and white dress with a black cloak around her face. Still, that look in her eyes was the same.

“Fluttershy?” Rarity asked. She looked between Twilight and the Pegasus. “What are you-”

Fluttershy bit her lip before rushing over and pulling out a set of keys. She unchained her and waved again. “Just please trust me, we don’t have much time.”

Rarity rubbed her wrists before nodding. “Alright. Lead the way.” They stepped over Twilight and ran down the hall.

Celestia stood in her throne room looking out at the balcony. The storm only picked up force as she glared into the ever encroaching dark clouds.

“Um, princess?” Rainbow Dash asked from beside her. “What do you want us to do?”

A lightning strike lit up the sky and for a moment the fearful princess saw what she had been looking for in the sky. A small grin crept up her side. “Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkamena will go to the gates. Hold off the intruders for as long as you can.”

“You don’t want us to help yo-…” Rarity began but stopped hesitating to finish her thought.

Celestia frowned. “Only if you can. But I will be with you momentarily.” Her wings began to flap and she floated off the ground into the rain.

“Where will you be?” Pinkie asked.

Celestia didn’t answer as she shot off into the sky. The three ponies were left alone now, looking between each other. “Well, you heard her!” Rainbow shouted authoritatively before flying off to the gates. Rarity followed but stopped when Pinkie didn’t go.

“Are you coming, darling?”

Pinkie looked around frantically. “Where did Applejack go?”

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat was right in the middle of chewing through her other chain before an explosion rocked the dungeon. She could hear the sounds of ponies screaming and shouting as arrows whizzed through the air. A rush of something incredibly fast caused a series of bodies to fall and then the only sounds were some ponies shouting orders while one shouted in rapid fire succession.

“NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENOPENO-” the voice stopped before her door and Flutterbat recognized the ocean blue eyes behind the slit. “Found her!” The door slid open easily to reveal Pinkie Pie in her Fili-Second outfit. She looked at the door confused. “Huh, that’s weird. It was already open.”

“Pinkie!” Flutterbat cheered.

“Flutterbat!” Pinkie rushed up and hugged her before hearing the rattle of chains on her legs. She pulled back. “Hang on a second.” Pinkie placed a hoof on the chains and it began to vibrate at an amazing rate before shattering.

Flutterbat walked out of the tiny cell and stretched her hoof out and shook her shoulders. She saw that there were more ponies with her in strange scarves and clothes. They were beginning to open the cell doors to release the other prisoners. “Thank you.”

“What are friends for?” Pinkie asked with a smile. “Where’s Rarity?”

“Not here?”

Pinkie rubbed her chin. “She must be somewhere in the castle. Hold on, this’ll take a minute.” She was about to speed away when a red blur passed her. Within a blink it shut all the prison doors once more and corralled the other ponies Pinkie had come with into the cells as well. Flutterbat got low in a defensive stance and hissed. The blur stopped before them. It was a pony in a red and gold suit with a mask over their face. They pulled it back to reveal an orange coat and blonde mane. “Applejack?”

“Hello, Pinkie,” Applejack replied. “Ah’m afraid Ah can’t let you leave.”

<___|=o

Applejack soared through the sky on her metal rope, rain pelting her face. She landed on a rooftop just outside the open square for the castle gates. All the soldiers she expected to find were gone with only one pony left in their place. She squinted through the dark and rain to see. They wore some kind of gray armor but the pink mane and tail were unmistakable. “Is that Pinkie?”

Suddenly the armored Pinkie turned her way and pointed to her. Applejack almost didn’t move fast enough as what appeared to be a giant fork sailed through the air and buried itself in the bit of roof she was just standing on. She lay on the ground in confusion for a moment. “Was that a trident?”

A whoosh of air behind her and she reflexively swung her katana. It caught another piece of metal with a clang and she saw she had intercepted a strike from Rainbow Dash. The blue Pegasus was wearing golden armor in some kind of gladiator style and her wide sword reflected that. She grinned with the sword between her teeth. “You know, I’ve been looking for a good sparring partner.”

Applejack pushed and sent her back before jumping from the roof. She landed in the street and directly into the square facing off against the other Pinkie on the other side. The other Rainbow flew down next to her and chuckled. “You’ve got nowhere to run!”

Applejack turned but the trident from before swung at her and she jumped back. The other Rarity stepped forth from the alley behind her, her light blue magic holding the weapon aloft. “Ah have to admit, never seen anypony use a trident before,” she joked.

The other Rarity merely smiled cruelly. “It’s a rather overlooked weapon, yes. But quite beautiful in it’s simplicity.” She spun it in the air for emphasis before pointing it at her.

Applejack was now surrounded on all sides. The buildings above were too far for her device to reach. She was backed into a corner. She gritted her teeth against the hilt of her blade and spread her legs. She would just have to believe in a miracle.

A flash of lightning lit up the sky accompanied by a loud scream. Everypony looked up to see a glowing figure falling from the sky and landing with an explosion of electricity and force. Rainbow stood up from the crater she had made and wearily rubbing her head as she looked around. “Well, looks like I made it in time.”

Applejack smiled. “Glad you could make it.”

“It’s still two on three!” The other Rarity shouted. “You don’t stand a chance!”

As if to answer her a figure in the shadows of the alley behind her reached its arms out and grabbed her from behind, pulling her in. She struggled and tried to maneuver her trident but there came a loud thud and the magic around it dissipated, clattering to the ground. Mare Do-Well stepped from the alley a moment later, her outfit a mess with cuts and scratches but still quite menacing. “Well, she was phonetically right at least.” Mare Do-Well joked. “Just was talking to the wrong ponies.”

Rainbow and Applejack grinned ear to ear then turned their attention to the other two. “So how are we going to do this?” Rainbow asked the other Rainbow.

The other Pinkie rolled her eyes. “I wouldn’t expect to get out of this so easily. If those two are anything alike then-” Both Rainbows shouted and charged at each other before flying and zipping through the air. “They’re pretty stubborn.”

High above the castle, two figures flew in silence staring at each other. Despite the rain, Celestia’s mane still flowed like there was a gentle breeze. While Luna’s hung limply from her shoulders, blackened by the rain.

“I knew you were behind the resistance,” Celestia scoffed. “I knew you couldn’t just leave well enough alone. I gave you a chance, Luna! I spared you when I knew this is what would happen! I’m not making the same mistake twice!”

Luna stared pleadingly at her sister. “Tia, I know your anger and its deserved, but all of Equestria shouldn’t suffer for something that’s my fault.”

Celestia pointed an accusing hoof at her, fire in her eyes. “Yes! Your fault! You gave birth to that cretinous monster! Your absent minded jealousy and pride created Nightmare!” She flew forward and grabbed Luna by the shoulders. She could see the anger in her eyes, but also deep pain she had never seen in her sister before. “Damn it, Luna! Why did you let her do this to me!?”

Luna had no answer. “I can’t… begin to atone for the sins I’ve committed.” She raised her arms in surrender. “Just accept my life and leave. Leave this place alone. It’s suffered enough from both of our mistakes.”

“Mistakes?” Celestia asked in shock, pulling away from her. “I’ve made no mistakes. My mind has never been clearer. I have unified this world! There’s no war! No famine! No struggle!”

“And all you ask in return is their free will,” Luna cut in. The two sisters stared at each other for the longest moment.

Celestia finally let out a sigh. “We can never go back, can we?” Luna lowered her head. “So be it.”

Lightning flashed against the sky illuminating the two gods as their horns began to glow with ethereal light and they charged.

~`(\/)’~

Rarity and Fluttershy ran through the halls, trying to get to the exit as quickly as they could. “Your friends are trying to rescue you,” Fluttershy said as they ran. “I’m guessing they’re at the front gate, but so are the others. You need to help them.”

Rarity stopped in her tracks. “Wait! I still need to go back. Suntrix is back there.”

Fluttershy stopped and turned to her. “Just go. I’ll go back for her.”

A deafening sound louder than any thunder clap shook the earth and both mares were knocked off their hooves. Fluttershy scrambled to the nearest window and looked out, aghast. “What is it?”

Outside in the sky two familiar figures battled it out. Every time they clashed a tremendous shock wave would push out and the same deafening sound was heard. Fluttershy paled. “No. They’re going to destroy everything. Everypony here. I… I need to do something.” She crawled up onto the ledge of the window and opened it up.

Rarity looked at her with wide eyes. “Are you insane!” She put a hoof in front of her. “You won’t even get close to those two!”

Fluttershy looked at Rarity and for a moment she thought she saw the exact same smile she’d come to see so many times before from her own friend. “I still need to try.” She pointed down the hall. “Suntrix is back the way you came. Take her from here and go.”

Fluttershy squeezed past Rarity’s hoof and flew out the window. “Wait!!” she tried to use her magic to stop her but the stopper on her horn was still there and nothing would come out. She pulled back from the window with trepidation. “Please, be safe.” Then she took off running back to the lab.

/^(*vv*)^\

Pinkie and the other Applejack in the red suit stood face to face as they squared off against each other. “I see you picked up some new tricks, AJ,” Pinkie chuckled nervously.

“Just come with me and maybe Ah can convince Celestia to let all these ponies go,” Applejack stated. Her eyes were not cruel, but rather pleading. She didn’t seem to give off a bad vibe, at least to Flutterbat. Pinkie didn’t seem to think so either.

“Applejack, you really don’t want to do this,” she pleaded. “I’ve seen other worlds. You can believe me when I say there’s a better way than what Celestia is doing.”

Applejack only frowned. “You think Ah don’t know that? But this isn’t about what’s right. Celestia is powerful. Too powerful! Ah… Ah can’t go against her.” There was fear in her voice.

Flutterbat still stayed alert but Pinkie removed her cowl and held out a hoof. “Please, we can help you.”

Applejack looked at the outstretched hoof and closed her eyes. “Ah’m sorry but-” The loudest thunder she had ever heard hit Flutterbat’s ears and everypony in the dungeon had to hold the sides of their heads as they screamed. Applejack looked at the ceiling in confusion and terror. “What in the world?”

Suddenly another clap came and this time the hole in the wall where Pinkie and the others had come through began to crack along the ceiling. The castle above them was beginning to buckle. Pinkie looked to Applejack. “You have to help me get everypony out of here!”

Applejack looked at her hesitantly but nodded. “Y-Yeah.”

In a matter of moments everypony in the cells was let out and rushed up and out of the dark dungeon just as it collapsed. Everypony, including the unconscious guards, were led out of the area.

Pinkie stopped next to Applejack who was breathing heavily after moving that fast. “Thank you.”

AJ nodded and smiled slightly. “No, Thank you.” The sound of the dungeon collapsing was dwarfed by another clap and they all looked out the window. Applejack stared in wide eyed horror at the sight.

===E8DB

Rainbow felt herself get slammed in the stomach as her golden armored double flew into her. She only barely moved in time to dampen the blow with a block from her hooves. Still she felt the breath leave her body and she glared at her opponent. “That was some fast reaction time,” The other Rainbow muttered. “But only expected by somepony as awesome as me.”

Rainbow crooked an eyebrow at her. “Are you seriously congratulating yourself for blocking an attack from yourself? I don’t know if that’s delusional or narstatistical.”

The other Rainbow growled. “The word is narcissistic! Am I seriously this annoying?” She drew her sword and swung in an arc at her. Rainbow expertly dodged it in the air but her double’s attack continued, swinging repeatedly at her with frightening precision. She felt a swing cut into the suit covering her right leg and she let out a cry. “Had enough?”

Rainbow grimaced as she checked the wound, not as deep as she thought, but she couldn’t let this go on much longer. She was good, but the rain was a factor here. It was throwing her off her game. But rain wasn’t the only inhibiting factor. She smiled as an idea came to her. “Not even. Hey! Bet you can’t catch me!” She flew off into the sky high above the castle.

The other Rainbow groaned at the sky. “Seriously!? Running?” With an abnormal burst of speed, she was quickly catching pace with Rainbow. She swung at her legs from right behind her, Rainbow narrowly tucking them in to avoid it.

“Woah!” she cried as she spun back around to face her. The other Rainbow simply continued her assault slashing mindlessly as Rainbow flew steadily back with each swing. “You *whoosh* really haven’t *swing* had a lot *shing* of practice with that thing *swoosh* have you?”

The other Rainbow yelled and swung again, Rainbow this time dodging and landing on a nearby cloud. Other Rainbow landed across from her and snarled. “Just what was your plan here? You haven’t even tried fighting! You just gonna dodge me all day?”

Rainbow grinned. “No. Just thought I’d show you how different we are and use my head to be beat you.”

Other Rainbow laughed. “You’re gonna headbutt me from there?” Then a flash of light came from the clouds above and crashed down on her. The speed at which it’d been done was too fast for even the armored Pegasus to notice. The thunder clap followed a moment after, as did the mare’s scream. She stood there for a brief moment, her body singed and her armor clearly in shambles. She opened her mouth to say something but the sword in her grip fell and her body with it into an unconscious pile on the cloud.

“No,” Rainbow replied victoriously. “Metal attracts lightning, dummy!” She flew from the cloud and back to the square where the other two were. She slapped herself as an idea occurred to her. “Aw, I could have used this weather necklace to just do that!” She shrugged. Something to try next time.

Then the sky shook. Rainbow felt the shockwave even in the air as the storm around her seemed to get pushed aside. She righted herself and looked at the scene close by. It was Luna and Celestia. She had never seen the princess like this before. So angry. The fire in her eyes literally being fire. They were a red and blue blaze in the sky that clashed and sent shockwaves out in all directions. It made her tremble slightly to see such raw power. Then something small streaked across the sky from the castle. It was yellow and pink wearing a black hooded cape that trailed behind it. The outfit was unfamiliar but the mane and coat were anything but.

History Repeats

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well and Applejack prepared for a fight, but the Pinkie before them simply threw up her arms. “I give up.”

“Huh?” AJ looked confused.

“What do you mean ‘you give up’,” Mare Do-Well asked. “You’re the bad guy. We fight. That’s how it goes.”

The other Pinkie laughed unenthusiastically. “What storybook have you been reading? Nothing is ever that simple.” To their surprise she removed her slate gray helmet and let her wet mane fall over her eyes. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to take that stupid thing off.”

Mare Do-Well shared a look with AJ and they both lowered their guard. “Why do you give up?” she asked.

The other Pinkie shrugged. “Because I’m smart enough to know that more can be accomplished without fighting. That and it’s two-on-one. You’d kick my flank.”

“Then… would you tell us where our friends are?” Mare Do-Well asked.

“One is in the dungeon, the other is in the lab. So is that mare your looking for.”

“Suntrix.”

“That’s the one.”

Applejack ran to the gates and began trying to pry them open. Mare Do-Well stayed behind and still looked skeptically at the other Pinkie. “What’s the real reason for this?”

She looked at her and brushed back the hair from her face. In the rain Mare Do-Well could see that the eye obscured by her helmet and lens was bright red. Bloodshot and tortured from repeated use of whatever that helmet was meant for. She gave Mare Do-Well a wistfully sad look and a pained smile. “I’m just… so tired.”

From up ahead came a large blast of energy that sent Applejack flying back. Mare Do-Well turned and caught her friend before she hit the cobblestones. Hovering before them at the gates was a very pissed off Twilight Sparkle. Her horn and body glowing with yellow energy. “Did they come through here!?” she shouted before noticing the other Pinkie. “Pinkie? What are you doing? Get your helmet back on and attack!”

The other Pinkie walked forward wearily to object but a shockwave cracked across the air and sent them all to their knees. “What in Faust’s name was that?” Twilight cried. Her words died in her mouth as she looked up in the sky. “Oh, Celestia, no.”

Mare Do-Well and the other two were the next to turn. At first it only appeared to be what she expected to see. A one on one duel in the sky between a glowing blue form and a glowing red one. But something else was headed straight for that melee. And it showed no signs of stopping. “Is that…”

“Fluttershy!” Twilight shouted, flying off in her direction. Mare Do-Well spied a rainbow blur in the clouds change course and go towards the fight as well.

“Damn it, Dash,” she muttered. “This wasn’t part of the plan.”

The other Pinkie hadn’t gotten up from the shockwave and stared up into the rainy sky with wide eyes.

Celestia conjured another fireball and hurled it at Luna. The rain did nothing to stifle the heat from the fire and her magic shield sizzled at the impact. After it exploded she was blinded for a second but that was all her sister needed. Celestia charged with a scream and shattered her shield, delivering a bone crushing right hook to Luna’s cheek. She recoiled in the air and felt the leather mechanisms of her wings beginning to seize up. She tasted blood and she could not fight in this weather for as long as she surmised. The end was coming soon.

“You don’t look so good, Lulu!” Celestia shouted, the ferocity of her words accentuated by literal fire from her mouth. “Me? I’ve never been better! You thought this storm would dampen me? You’re a fool! You’ve always been a fool! It was your arrogance and pride that sent this world into chaos!”

“You can’t rule like a tyrant!” Luna shouted back at her.

“Who told you that?”

Luna set herself in the air, a thin blue filament of magic layering around her. “You did.”

Celestia’s body also began to radiate red. “Then I was a fool as well.”

They both reared back and prepared to charge once more. Both ready for whatever consequence.

“STOP!!!” The shout wasn’t loud but was emphasized by the crack of lightning that struck near the two. A yellow Pegasus in a red and white dress flew between them, holding up her hooves in desperate protest. “Stop fighting!”

Luna faltered for a moment. “Little one, get back. This is no place for you.”

“Yes! Get out, Fluttershy!” Celestia screamed. “I’ve waited for this long enough!”

Fluttershy was clearly trembling in the rain, yet still she stayed strong. “I… I know how much you must hate each other. But killing each other won’t help.”

“You are young,” Celestia said through gritted teeth, trying to hide her anger. “You will know the value of vengeance one day. But right now MOVE ASIDE!!”

Fluttershy looked to her princess and shook her head slowly. “No.”

“What?”

Fluttershy steadily flew over to Luna and hovered in front of her. Luna whispered worriedly into her ear. “What are you doing?”

“I-I’ve taken too long to help. I was so afraid of what might happen to me or my friends that I never even noticed when we stopped becoming that.” She looked to Celestia. “I don’t want to learn about vengeance. What I want is what I had. We were happy. You were happy. Don’t you want that too?”

Celestia’s head hung in the air, her aura now severely diminished. Even the rain had seemed to affect her mane now, trails of red spilling over and obscuring her eyes. “Fluttershy.” The Pegasus straightened up. Celestia lifted her head slightly to reveal a piercing red eye. “You have five seconds to leave.”

Luna tried to push Fluttershy out of the way but the mare would not budge. “Tia stop this!”

“Five.”

“She’s just a child!”

“Four.”

Fluttershy now gripped Luna by the sides and planted herself in front of her. Her arms were trembling.

“Three.”

Luna tried to erect a magical barrier around the two of them but once again all she could manage was a thin layer around her own body. “Fluttershy, run! This is not your fight!”

“Two.”

Fluttershy turned her head to Luna and gave her a trembling smile. “Maybe… it should have been.”

“One.”

===E8DB

It was the longest few seconds of Rainbow’s life. She was pumping her wings as fast as she could go in this storm towards the two fighting shapes. From up behind her a yellow glowing figure zoomed up alongside but she had no time to worry about it. She could see them clearly now. Luna and Celestia standing off and Fluttershy standing in front of Luna. Suddenly there was a lightning strike that lit up the sky like day. No, that wasn’t right. It was horizontal and didn’t come from the sky. It came from Celestia and it seemed to go right through both Luna and Fluttershy. Rainbow stopped. All the sound around her seemed to disappear. Then they fell.

The yellow figure yelled something and flew up to Celestia but Rainbow followed the other two. Finally, her wings kicked in again and she flew full force downward, following them as they were on a collision course with the castle.

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well and Applejack watched the whole thing unfold. Celestia’s beam seemed to cut through both of them simultaneously. Off in the distance she could almost see the two figures falling. A stifled cry brought her back to reality. She looked down to the other Pinkie once more. The mare was still looking blankly into the sky but this time her shoulders were trembling as she made heaving sounds like sobs.

Applejack patted Mare Do-Well on the shoulder. “Come on. We gotta get inside and find the others before that monster takes us out too.” She said this flatly but her face betrayed her anguish at the sight.

“Right.” They both ran to the gates, Applejack going in first. However, Mare Do-Well stayed behind for a moment. She looked back at the pink mare in the rain. She still was heaving like she was crying.

~`(\/)’~

It didn’t take Rarity very long to find the lab once more. Just like Fluttershy said, she retraced her steps and she was back in a matter of minutes. The first thing she had to do now that she was back though was free Suntrix. The mare was still unconscious, tied to large circular object on the wall.

“Oh, not even you deserve this,” she said to herself.

Or maybe she does, the voice replied.

Rarity took a deep breath to calm down. The voice was there, yes, but she didn’t have to listen to it. “Don’t worry,” she said to Suntrix, “I’ll get you down in a moment.”

Just then, the outer wall exploded inward. Rarity screamed as she covered her eyes from the debris. When she finally opened them again ash and dust wafted around in a thick cloud. She wearily stepped through the wreckage until she came to a large dark form in the cloud. With a cough she waved her hooves around to dispel the dust. When it finally cleared she screamed a little and jumped back. It was Luna, burnt and looking barely taped together, but still it was her. “What is she-”

The words died in her mouth as another form came into view. Cradled in Luna’s arms, almost protectively, was a yellow mare in a burnt red and white dress. The black cape around her previously was vaporized and her mane was singed short. Her eyes were closed and her mouth open as if in sleep, but Rarity recognized the face immediately.

Rarity let her mouth fall open and she fell to her knees. The rain and wind outside pushed in and beat against her back but she couldn’t feel it. A scrap of white fabric flapped over to her and she caught it on the ground. Her hoof dug into the dust, dirtying the white cloth as wet drops fell on it from above. “Again…” she whispered in a pained voice. “It’s all happening again.” She bit her lip and looked back at the pony cradled in Luna’s hooves. “Fluttershy…”

“Mm, wha-?” Luna groggily rose and looked around. She felt a pain in her chest and winced as she looked at her arms. “No,” she too whispered and pulled the form close to her. “I… I couldn’t save you.”

“I couldn’t save you,” Rarity whispered.

“I couldn’t save you,” both their voices chorused in unison as an ethereal dark blue magic poured from them.

Celestia and Twilight floated down from the clouds just outside the lab. Twilight gasped as she saw where Fluttershy had been but kept her mouth shut. Celestia smiled triumphantly over Luna. “Look at you. Pathetic. I almost respect your other persona now. Nightmare Moon might have been evil, but at least she was a challenge.”

Luna stood up unevenly, her back to Celestia. “You speak of evil, and yet you don’t even accept the sins you yourself have committed.”

A flash of panic seized Celestia’s face then she glared again. “She was in the way!”

“Is that what you’ll say when you spread your armies to all those other worlds?!” Luna spun and shouted at her, dark blue magic pouring from her body and flowing off to the side. Only Twilight seemed to notice this.

“Uh, princess?” she asked hesitantly.

Celestia didn’t listen. “Fluttershy knew what she was putting herself on the line for. She died-”

“Because of choices you made! You cannot pass the blame this time, sister!”

Two blurs of red and pink zipped into the room. The other Applejack removed her cowl and stared at the scene. She saw the crumpled form next to Luna and fell to her knees. “Sweet Faust, no.” Pinkie had to turn away from the sight, her hoof to her mouth.

“Applejack,” Celestia demanded. “Good, you’re here. Clear the room and place them all in the holding cells.”

The other Applejack looked up at Celestia wide eyed and furious. “Don’t you have any clue what you’ve done?! Don’t you feel any remorse?!”

Celestia’s expression did not change but Twilight next to her hid her face shamefully. She noticed more blue magic beginning to seep from Applejack and pool in the corner of the room. “Princess, we might need to-”

“Do not speak that way to me, peasant!” Celestia shouted angrily.

Other Applejack stood up straight and glared at her. “So that’s how it is.” More magic seeped from her.

From behind Celestia, a rainbow blur screamed and tried to throw a punch at her. Rainbow missed and stopped in the air before the princess. “You murderer!”

Celestia’s eyes flared at her. “Welp! I will-”

“Murderer.” Mare Do-Well and Applejack had finally made their way to the lab and surveyed the scene. Following behind were more ponies, ones they’d met from the dungeons on their way out. Even the guards of the dungeons were there. They murmured words of discontent, confusion and despair. One removed his helmet and let his sweaty mane fall over his eyes. “Sh-She was nice to me.” Another followed. “She always had something kind to say.”

Even the prisoners all bowed their heads in grief. “She visited us.” “She talked to me.” “She even brought her animals to play with us.”

Flutterbat stepped from the crowd and toward Fluttershy. Her face was set with an indiscernible expression and she lowered her head and closed her eyes.

Soon every eye was on Celestia. The princess’ anger froze for a moment, replaced by something else. Something hard to place. Fear? Then the anger returned. “No. No! I did what had to be done! What had to be done to keep this world safe from ponies like… ponies like…”

Luna stood tall, but beside her sister’s tenacity everything about her was broken. She could not fight anymore. No pony here could stand to fight against Celestia. Even if she did nothing she still won. She was a god, and they all knew it. They would all learn it. “Enough!” she shouted in a voice that made the storm silent. Everypony stopped and listened. Save one.

“Yes, Celestia,” a cruel silky voice trailed from the corner of the room. Mare Do-Well and Applejack reeled and shivered at the sight.

“Oh no,” Mare Do-Well whispered.

The voice laughed and stepped from the mass of blue magic that had gathered around it. Where once stood Rarity now stood the imposing figure of Nightmare Moon in all her alicorn terror. “Enough is enough. Perhaps it’s high time we show this world just how much better you are than me?”

Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “Abomina-”

She didn’t have time to finish as the darkness around Moon swallowed her and made her reappear in front of Celestia. Nightmare unleashed a blast of dark energy into her chest, the armor cracking underneath the pressure as it sent her hurdling into the air. “This is what you wanted, oh princess!” she laughed. “You wish to destroy me? Then let’s give these ponies a show! Light up the sky!”

Celestia righted herself in the air and came screaming back at Nightmare. The clash the two made was the biggest shockwave yet, flattening all the ponies in the lab and even toppling a tower on the castle. Twilight was knocked out of the sky and crashed in through a window. She landed in a heap in a large library with books stacked to the sky. Every time one of the alicorns outside attacked the books on the shelf would rattle and some fall. Before her, sitting in a comfortable chair was another Twilight enjoying a book. “I take it from the noise and the impromptu entrance that they’re here?” she asked.

Other Twilight scrambled to her feet. She glared at her reserved looking double. “Do something!”

Twilight shut her book and looked out the broken window. “I’m not going to do anything. They are.”

The Exorcism of Rarity Belle

<___|=o

Applejack ran over to Rainbow and Flutterbat who were occupied staring over Fluttershy’s body. “Ah know this is tough but we need to move now!”

“I just… never imagined I’d see this,” Rainbow muttered.

Mare Do-Well and Pinkie walked in and grabbed them both. “Friends, enemies, there’s always the possibility of death. That’s what happens in the field. I know this is hard but you need to stay focused. Rarity is our friend and unless we have everypony we won’t be able to help her.”

The two were silent but nodded resolutely. Pinkie turned to Luna who was now being looked after by the resistance members. “Luna, is there any way we can get Nightmare out of her?”

Luna hung her head in shame. “I… do not believe so. I struggled with Nightmare Moon for a thousand years and was unable to overcome her. I mean no offense, but I do not think one such as Rarity can.”

Everypony was silent again. Applejack racked her brain for something, anything that could help her friend. In desperation, she rummaged through her pockets. She was startled to find something was there. She pulled out a small paper doll. Ah was makin’ this when Pinkie took us all here, she remembered. Then an idea struck her. She looked to Flutterbat and, a little harder, Fluttershy. She knew how to help Rarity.

“Twilight!” Mare Do-Well turned. “Ah need you to get me some paper and ink.” Immediately, Mare Do-Well produced a small sheet of paper and a quill form her belt. “How did…”

“Always be prepared.”

Applejack smiled. “Right. Rainbow, Flutterbat. Ah need you two to distract Rarity and bring her back down here. When they’re low enough, Pinkie, can you hold her in place?”

Pinkie looked unsure. “Well…”

“Ah’ll help.” The other Applejack stepped forward. “Whatever it is. Ah’ll help.”

Applejack nodded gratefully. “Okay.” Rainbow and Flutterbat flew off into the sky while Pinkie stood off to the side with the other Applejack in wait. She knelt down on the ground and began drawing on the slip of paper. Odd symbols that even she didn’t know the true meaning of but had been shown many times.

“What are you doing?” Mare Do-Well asked.

“Remember how Ah said Fluttershy in mah world was a shrine maiden. Let’s just say Ah’ve seen mah fair share of her work.”

Mare Do-Well nodded thoughtfully. “An exorcism?”

Applejack stopped drawing and looked at her. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

Mare Do-Well looked around in confusion before spying Suntrix on the wall. “Right.”

Applejack smiled a little, the crashing of the two titans in the sky echoing off the clouds above. “Ah just hope this works.”

~`(\/)’~

Inside her head, Rarity could hear nothing. She could feel nothing. That awful sight had struck her down once more. She felt her own despair surround her. Then the others came and the despair grew, with her unable to escape it like a swamp pulling her down. She felt the last of her consciousness fade only to be replaced with the evil that tried to free itself, and now had finally succeeded. All was black.

Outside, Nightmare Moon lunged with powerful dark magic surrounding her and pierced Celestia’s armor in the shoulder. The princess cried out in pain as the demon pulled its horn free and laughed maniacally. “All the pain and misery in this world,” she chuckled. “And the best part is that I have you to thank for it.” She threw her hooves wide in the air as lightning struck against the sky. “Forget Rarity’s little world. Could I have asked for a better world to conquer?”

Celestia fumed and conjured fireballs again, five surrounding and spinning around her before shooting out. “I told you before! You are merely an abomination! Besides, without Luna’s power you will go down like anypony!” Nightmare cast a glance at Celestia’s fireballs and smiled as she swatted them away. Each one flew off in a different direction. “What?!”

The black alicorn laughed. “In case, you haven’t noticed, Celestia. I’m in my true form again. Just like with Luna before her, anger and despair has overtaken our precious Rarity and I am more free than I have ever been.” She unfolded her wings and let the dark magic build around her. “Amazing what the death of a loved one can do. So much misery and anguish in the air. I can even feel it coming off of you.”

Celestia’s face twisted in fury and she charged. She moved with the speed of a comet and caught Nightmare off guard. The two collided and spun in the air throwing punches that could shatter buildings at their faces. “I am not to blame! You controlled my actions! You took Sunset’s life, not me! You are the monster here!”

Nightmare laughed. “Is that what my counterpart did? That’s brilliant. Very similar to what I did to Rarity I suppose. Though she held up much better than you.” Celestia smashed her hoof into Nightmare’s face.

“SHUT UP!!”

Having enough of this, Nightmare’s eyes glowed blue and she let out a pulse of dark energy. Celestia was catapulted off of her and spun in the air before being slammed in the back and pinned to a cloud. Nightmare pulled her wing behind her back until a snap was heard and she screamed in pain. “You know the difference between you and me?” she leaned in to whisper in the pinned princess’ ear. “I own my actions. You? You hide behind your veil of tragedy. Pity is so much weaker than fear. But you already know that don’t you?”

Out of nowhere, a rainbow blur slammed into Nightmare’s side and knocked her off balance. Celestia took this moment to spin around and blast her with beams of heat from her horn. Nightmare cried out but her magic surrounding her kept her safe.

Rainbow Dash and Flutterbat landed on the cloud next to Celestia. “What are you doing here?” she asked through the pain. Rainbow didn’t turn around.

“Not here to save you, that’s for sure,” she said viciously. “We’re just here for Rarity.”

Nightmare rolled her eyes while she floated in the sky. “Ugh, I’d love to come and play with you girls, but I’m kind of in the middle of showing this fool just who the real villain is here.”

“How about now?” Rainbow nodded to Flutterbat who let out a deafening screech. Nightmare wasn’t prepared for such an attack and felt the full brunt of it, her cries drowned out by the sonic scream. Rainbow put a hoof on Flutterbat encouraging her to continue. “Just a little more.”

Nightmare finally reacted when she let loose a pulse of dark magic from her horn. It headed directly for Rainbow and Flutterbat but a wall of red magic protected them. Rainbow turned around in surprise. “You? Why?”

Celestia let her magic barrier go and she slumped to the cloud’s surface. “I… I don’t know.”

Nightmare was veritably pissed now. She glared furiously at the two. “Congratulations, girls! You now have my full attention!”

“DIVE!” Rainbow commanded and Flutterbat jumped. They both sailed down to the ground with the black alicorn right behind them.

Celestia pulled herself to the edge of the cloud to follow but when she tried to fly she felt her broken wing seize up. She winced and looked back down at the melee below. A feeling she hadn’t had in a long time building up inside her.

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well had an easy enough time getting Suntrix down the hard part was getting her to wake up. Smelling salts and slapping wouldn’t help. She laid her down on the ground and examined her. The mare seemed to have been through hell. Not surprising since she had previously been in some world with giant killer dragons and then tortured in a world as cruel as this one.

The convenience of it didn’t escape her though. Out of all the worlds in the multiverse, Suntrix just happens to travel to the one that knows about her and could use her? That didn’t seem like a coincidence. Somepony was behind this. Whether it was Mr. 4 or not was suspect but her deductive mind was telling her something didn’t feel right about all this.

Just outside the shattered wall of the lab was a towered courtyard. Mare Do-Well looked up to see the blurs of her companions coming down towards it. Good. An open area. Easy for Fili-Second to work. Applejack’s plan was going well.

She pulled Suntrix and herself over to the edge of the wall and looked out. Rainbow and Flutterbat had landed with Nightmare on their tail. They stood facing each other and the tall alicorn grinned. “Fun chase, Rainbow! But play time’s over!”

A whistle came from one of the parapets. Mare Do-Well looked up to see the other Applejack standing on top of a gargoyle above. “Hey, sore ears!”

A pink blur whizzed past Nightmare and perched itself on top of the opposite parapet. “Why don’t you pick on somepony who can keep up?”

“Hey!” Rainbow shouted.

“Oops,” Fili-Second chuckled. “Sorry.”

Mare Do-Well looked at the situation. Good. The speedsters would keep her from flying off and Rainbow and Flutterbat could keep her confined to the courtyard. Still, she felt like she should do something.

“Feelin’ kind of useless?” Applejack walked up behind her smirking.

“A little.”

“Now you know how Ah felt with those Black Wyrms.”

She was about to retort but it was true. She kind of left her out of the plan there. “Fine,” she grinned. “Is it ready?”

Applejack pulled out a small slip of paper. The symbols drawn on it were incomprehensible to her, but even she could feel the mystical energies building inside it. “You sure this is going to work?”

“We can only hope.”

Back in the court, Nightmare let out a raged yell that echoed to the sky. “You imbecilic fools seriously believe you can take me? Even with all of you? In case you don’t remember, only the Elements of Harmony can bring me down. And from where I stand, your one short.”

She conjured two balls of darkness and shot them in opposite directions at the other Applejack and Pinkie. They quickly dodged them and ran down the walls of the parapets. While she was distracted, Flutterbat sent another sonic screech at Nightmare. This time she was prepared and erected a thin sound proof barrier around herself. “You honestly thought that would work again?” she sneered.

“No, but this might.” Nightmare didn’t have time to turn. She just noticed that Rainbow was gone and in that instant a massive rainbow explosion collided with her jaw. She flew from her hooves and landed embedded in the far wall. Rainbow skidded to a stop and landed in Flutterbat’s arms. “Wow, never tried a Sonic Rainboom without a big windup like that.” Her feet collapsed and her strength left her. “Now I guess I see why.”

Nightmare pulled herself from the wall and landed on her knees. “You… miserable… wretched… insects!” Her eyes glowed with an ethereal fury and she stalked toward them. Two blurs of red and pink stopped her and began to circle her faster and faster. “Get away!”

She swatted and tried to hit the speedsters but they were too fast. Finally, Nightmare let out another angry scream and a bubble of darkness expelled outward. Pinkie and the other Applejack flew in different directions.

“Finally!” Nightmare shouted. “Get out of my way now or…” she stopped as her back left hoof caught and she stumbled. She looked back to find a wire with a large “M” at the end wrapped around it and tugging her back.

Mare Do-Well slid to the bottom of the wall and landed in the courtyard, the wire wrapped around her hoof and Suntrix slung over her shoulder. “You just had to be a part of the climax,” Applejack said as she slid down with her.

Mare Do-Well shrugged. “Okay, so I’m a glory hog.”

Nightmare’s face contorted in fury and she screamed. Energy crackled around her and the wire around her legs evaporated. “I have had enough! You’ve all given it your best shots and all its accomplished is to piss me off! None of you have what it takes so roll over and die!”

“There’s still somepony else who hasn’t tried,” Mare Do-Well smirked. Nightmare reeled on her and was about to blast her when she saw that Applejack wasn’t next to her anymore. The sound of straining metal came from above and she looked up to see the orange mare straddling herself between several parapets with the ropes from her 3-D device. With the press of a button she let the rope retract and she fell down.

Applejack smacked right into Nightmare’s forehead and slapped the paper talisman on it between the eyes. With a flip, she jumped away from the startled alicorn and all was silent. For the longest second nothing seemed to happen. Then Nightmare laughed. Small at first but it grew in pitch and power. She glared at them through the paper.

“You seriously thought something like this could stop me? What is this, a sticky note?”

For a brief moment everypony felt their hopes dashed. Then the symbols on the talisman began to glow. Nightmare didn’t notice at first but soon the glow became too bright for her not to notice. “Wait, what is-”

A flash of brilliant white light erupted from the talisman. As if her body had turned fluid, Nightmare’s form began to twist and drain itself into the talisman. She cried out and tried to struggle against it but it was for naught. “No! No! Not again! I WON’T BE TRAPPED AGAIN!!!”

Her words fell on empty ears as the last of her form was swallowed into the talisman and disappeared. The small slip of paper hung in the air, an ethereal dark glow surrounding it. After several long seconds Pinkie got impatient. “Uh, shouldn’t Rarity be…”

Another flash and this time from the opposite side of the talisman a white mare spilled out. Slowly Rarity’s form took shape and she stood before them, eyes blank. Then the light from the talisman dissipated and it fluttered to the ground, Rarity soon after.

Mare Do-Well ran and scooped up Rarity before she could fall. For all intents and purposes she looked fine. She was unconscious too so there was no way she could be using a disguising spell. This was her true form once more. Mare Do-Well looked at the talisman on the ground. It glowed with a dark ominous light that made her feel uncomfortable. She picked it up and slipped it in her pocket. Best to get rid of that later.

“Did… did we do it?” Rainbow asked weakly.

“Ah think so,” Applejack smiled.

“Yeah!” From above a small murmur came. They all looked up to see Luna at the edge of the destroyed wall looking down with a cadre of other ponies.

“Are you alright, my friends?” she asked.

“We’re fine!” Pinkie shouted happily. She ran over and put Dash in a bear hug. Flutterbat followed suit and jumped on Applejack, wrapping warmly around her neck.

“And my sister?” Luna asked, slightly worriedly.

Rainbow frowned. “She’s on that...” she pointed to the cloud Celestia had been on but the princess was gone. “Huh.”

“Did she run away?” “Where did Celestia go?” “What do we do now?” There were more murmurs from above and they became more worried by the second.

“Now listen here!” the other Applejack had ran up the wall and stopped in the midst of the crowd. “Ah don’t know where Celestia went, but Ah can tell you right now that if she ever comes again. Ah’ll be here to take her down. You have my word.”

“And mine!” somepony who Mare Do-Well recognized as the one Luna called Amethyst shouted. “And Luna will lead us to a new better Equestria!”

A shout of joy went up among the ponies but Luna held out her hooves. “Everypony calm down! I will do no such thing!” They were silent again. “If anything, this ordeal has proven how somepony like me cannot be a ruler. One cannot be a leader and a god.” Luna walked back into the room and stood over Fluttershy’s body.

The other Applejack walked up to her. “Ah know what you’re sayin’ and Ah respect it. But if you recall, you aint as strong as Celestia anymore. If you wanted to… you could live like one of us. What do you say?”

Luna mulled over her words for a moment then slowly smiled. “I… suppose I could create some kind of provisional government. But I will not be your princess.”

“Fine by me.” They both shook hooves and the crowd cheered again.

Below them Mare Do-Well still held Rarity in her arms. Suntrix lay nearby as well and the other four were busy congratulating themselves and celebrating. “I guess that’s it then.”

Applejack pushed Flutterbat’s friendly face away and smiled. “Right. Still got a job to do.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow muttered. “Though there’s probably gonna be some kind of feast for taking down the evil dictator.” Mare Do-Well simply stared at her. “Fine.”

She turned to Pinkie. “Fili-Second, would you-”

“NO!!” The shout came from above them. They all turned to see a familiar pony jump from the castle parapets and slam down above them on a sheet of ice that seemed to appear from nowhere. She jumped from there to the ground below and let the ice above form a high vaulted ceiling that shut off the courtyard. Before them all stood Twilight Sparkle. “I give you ample chances to use it and you blow it! I even give you an epic boss fight and you blow it!” She glared at Fili-Second. “I’m especially disappointed in you, Pinkie!”

Mare Do-Well was taken aback by the sudden appearance. Memories locked away, threatened to rise but she shook them off. She was about to ask Pinkie what she meant but the pink mare had seemed to be frozen in fear. “T-Twilight. Wh-Wh-What are you doing here?”

Pillars of ice sprang from the side of the court enclosing them further and cutting off their escape. Above them, Mare Do-Well could hear the sounds of hooves hacking away at the ice dome but it was futile. “You had one job to do, Pinkie!” Twilight shouted. “One. Very. Simple. Job!”

Pinkie cowered behind Dash. “I… I didn’t…”

“Hey, you can’t talk to her like that,” Rainbow shouted. “…whoever you are.”

“Graaah!” Twilight shouted. “You are all such idiots!”

Applejack stepped forward. “Look Ah don’t know what this is about but you need to cool down.”

Twilight’s eye twitched. “Cool down?” Frost began to build up around her hooves and up her torso. “I am cool. I’m freezing. I’m the coolest in the multiverse! I am…” the ice around her took shape and exploded to reveal a magenta body suit. Around her chest and horn were pieces of crystal blue armor and a mask now donned her features. Even her mane had changed shape, getting pushed back in a wave. “The Masked Matterhorn! Leader of the Power Ponies!”

Mare Do-Well narrowed her eyes. So this was the one that had been in the Veloci-Lair. The one Pinkie had been taking orders from. An old teammate. An old leader. An old friend.

“Twilight, please don’t do this,” Pinkie muttered quietly.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Twilight shouted angrily. “I had the battle gift wrapped for you and you couldn’t get them to activate!”

Rainbow looked confused. “What are talking about?”

“The Elements!” Matterhorn shouted hysterically, her eyes more pleading than crazy. “You are supposed to reveal the Elements! No, not just that! If I’m right, and I’m always right, you six are supposed to be the Elements! Don’t you want to save the multiverse?”

Mare Do-Well stepped forward now. “Maybe if you’d come out and explained all this we could have worked together toward that goal.”

“Shut up!!” Twilight turned and with her magic grabbed the unconscious Suntrix. Mare Do-Well tried to catch her but Twilight was too fast. She put Suntrix next to her and formed a ring of ice around her neck. “Fight me or she dies!”

“Twilight stop! You don’t need to do this!” Pinkie shouted. “I-I’ll try harder!”

“Fight!!” The ring squeezed a little tighter around Suntrix throat and the mare let out a small groan.

Mare Do-Well kept her hooves up in a gesture of peace. “Look, we still don’t know what it is you want? Instead of putting lives at risk just set her down and-” The ring got tighter and Suntrix choked a little, her eyes fluttering. “Twilight! Stop this! This isn’t you!”

“And you would know!” Matterhorn shouted with a grin. “You may be me, but you have no idea what I’ve been through. The decisions I’ve had to make. The friends I’ve left behind!” The ring tightened one more time and Suntrix became fully awake again. Her eyes darting in a panic, but unable to speak. “Fight me or she dies!”

Mare Do-Well took a step back. “I… I don’t w-”

Suddenly Suntrix grimaced and, with what looked like amazing effort, opened another rift in space. Her horn glowed as the rip got bigger but the ice collar was still cutting off her air. She tried to concentrate but eventually succumbed to lack of oxygen. Though as she fell unconscious once more, the rift did not cede. Instead, without somepony to control it, the rip in the air grew bigger and bigger. Twilight took a few hesitant steps back, panicking. She let go of her hold on Suntrix but the mare still floated in the air. Her eyes fluttered lazily, a bright powerful light shining through them.

As the rift got to a certain point things like rocks and cobblestones began to get sucked in. Mare Do-Well slammed a grappling hook into the ice on the far side of the rift and held on with Rarity. Pinkie was almost catatonic so Rainbow held her, flapping her wings as hard as they would go. Applejack activate her 3-D device again and anchored herself to the other side with Flutterbat. Twilight tried to cement herself in place with a large mass of ice at her feet.

“What did you do?” Applejack asked over the sound of the vacuum.

“I… I don’t know!” Twilight replied.

A loud sound exploded from the rift, shattering most of the fragile ice around it. It was a sound that made everypony feel a cold shiver run down their spines. Just as it ended, the rift became larger and its vacuum became even stronger.

Elsewhere in the multiverse, a small gray alicorn felt the earth tremble beneath her hooves and shiver run down her spine. She looked to the sky with wide eyes full of panic. “Is it knocking?” She shrank a little as the world around her looked a little bit bigger and little bit scarier. “Oh, Noteworthy, what have you done?”

A loud crack and the point at the end of Applejack’s tether broke off, her and Flutterbat flying into the void and disappearing. “No!” Mare Do-Well shouted but was unheard over the din. Her harness was the next to snap and she carried Rarity with her into the breach. Rainbow pushed harder and harder but it was obvious that the vacuum was winning. She looked down at Pinkie who was still trembling.

“Pinkie! You have to do something!”

Pinkie looked weakly up at Dash and then saw Twilight. Her confidence waned and she sunk into the mare’s arms again. “I… I’m sorry.” With one last gasp they were both sucked in.

The last one, Twilight kicked herself for her foolishness. “No, I can’t let it end like this!” Her ice finally cracked and she was pulled full force into the now giant vortex. She flew past Suntrix and in that instant grabbed the mare’s arm. “If I’m going then you’re going with me!”

They both fell into the vortex and disappeared. With the source of the magic gone the hole began to turn in on itself and shrunk, finally disappearing with a blip.

<___|=o

In the sky, a large colorful hole opened up. Applejack and Flutterbat dropped out of it and into what looked like a street. Applejack rubbed her head wearily and got up, Flutterbat beside her. “You okay?”

“Flutterbat good,” she replied.

Applejack took a look around her. It was a city, with tall buildings as far as she could see. Much bigger than any building she had ever known. The road they were on was strange as well. Covered in something black and hard. But the most peculiar thing about this world wasn’t the building or the road. “Where’d all the color go?” Everything was monochrome.

Suddenly large bangs could be heard from not too far away and the sounds of screams. “Get ready for anythin’,” she told Flutterbat. They got into a battle stance, unsure of what they might face. Then a new sound graced her ears. It was like the screech rubber makes when you rub it, accompanied with a sound like a lion’s roar. Around the corner a large black metal carriage sped and turned toward them, it was followed by another gray metal carriage, though everything was gray here. But once again, that wasn’t the strange thing here. These carriages were unmanned.

The black one drove right at them and Flutterbat had to push Applejack out of the way. She looked at the retreating carriage and saw a pony in a gray suit and hat with a large barreled weapon stick his head out the side. “What in the world?”

The barreled weapon leveled at her head and instinctively she ducked, grabbing Flutterbat’s head as well. Something whizzed over her head with incredible speed and to her shock she saw the pony hadn’t been aiming for her but the carriage chasing him. The weapon’s ammunition hit its target with a few pings but was mainly undamaged. The carriage skidded to a halt in front of them and a mare in a dark cloak and flower hat with glasses stepped out. “Damn it!” The ponies in the black carriage turned another corner and disappeared. The mare reeled on AJ and Flutterbat. “I was trying to avoid you and they got away!”

Applejack held out her hooves in apology. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to-”

The mare narrowed her eyes at her and examined her. “Hey, what are you all dressed up for? Some kind of party?”

“Well, Ah…” she looked to Flutterbat for support but the mare had flown off somewhere. A good call in hindsight, who knew how this mare would react to her. “If you’ll let me explain.”

The mare’s eyes widened when she saw Applejack sword at her side. “What is that!?” With a fluid motion she snatched the katana from her belt.

“Hey! Give that back!”

The mare pulled it out a little and marveled. “Th-This is the Ringogatari! It’s supposed to be in the museum.” She looked at AJ angrily. “The same museum those thieves just robbed!” Another fluid motion and the mare pulled a smaller version of the barreled weapon from before and leveled it at her. “You work for those guys, don’t you?”

“What? No!” Applejack had had enough of this mare. “Who are you, anyway?”

The mare threw off her glasses and smirked. “A. K. Yearling. Archaeologist.”

~`(\/)’~

Rarity awoke to a peculiar sound in her ear. It was like somepony was humming a song. She wearily opened her eyes only to see a tangle of colorful tree branches above her. On one of the branches sat a strangely familiar figure. “Opal?” she murmured. Why was her cat in a tree? The feline’s ears perked up and the humming stopped. Slowly Opal turned her face and looked down at Rarity. Then her mouth opened wide in a grin. Okay, that can’t be Opal. She never smiles. Suddenly, the image of the cat seemed to fade into the air, each part of her slowly dissolving until only the grin was left. “Wait!” Rarity shot up and reached out for the cat but she was gone.

“Good, your awake.” She looked behind her to see Mare Do-Well sitting on the edge of a small bluff. She held a compass out in front of her and kept moving it around. She stopped to look at her. “You… feeling okay?”

Rarity rubbed her head. “I guess. My memory is kind of foggy. I can’t seem to remember getting here.” She checked her hooves just in case they might provide a clue and her eyes widened. “Am… am I… me again?” She lingered on it. The voices weren’t there anymore.

Mare Do-Well seemed to smile at her joy underneath the mask. “I’ll tell you about it later. Right now we need to find out where we are.”

“And where are we?” Rarity asked as she walked up beside her. Her mouth fell agape as she looked out at the landscape. The horizon was hilly with plaid grass and purple trees while the sky was a kind of blue you’d see in the ocean rather than the sky. Above them storm clouds poured, but the rain was going upward. And far off in the distance on the mountain where Canterlot should be she spied a different castle. This one decked out with hearts both black and red. The mountain that held the cliff-side castle also had two eyes and a giant mouth. It appeared to be snoring.

“Frankly,” Mare Do-Well replied. “I have no idea.”

===E8DB

Rainbow struggled to her feet. Her head was swirling around and she felt like she was going to throw up. Beside her Pinkie lay in a heap, her eyes were closed but she was still awake as she could hear her wimpers. She looked around where they had landed. It was a forest. And judging from the sky above it was night time. “Huh, wonder where the others must have fallen.”

She made sure that Pinkie was safe before flying above the trees. The moon hung in the sky illuminating the night around her, but what surprised her more was that day was merely a few miles away. A cloudy day, but she could clearly see the sun through the gray. There it was, a clear cut line between night and day. And there floating above it was a familiar sight for sore eyes. “Sky Glaive?” Her base was still there, stationed right next to the border. “Am I… home?”

{[(SxT)]}

Suntrix and Twilight fell head over heels out of the portal. It sealed immediately behind them with another blip. Twilight struggled to her feet, Suntrix unconscious once more. “Stupid, idiotic, imbecilic…” she stopped muttering to herself when she noticed her surroundings. Everything was on fire. Everywhere she looked, fire spilled from towers. Pits in the earth spewed streams of fire into the sky and beyond. The air was filled with ash and it was hard to breathe. The earth below her was dead, stripped of every nutrient and resource. In the distance was a tall building that scraped the sky and dwarfed every other location within sight. Its obsidian walls and spiked architecture hid noxious machines that spewed forth more flame and ash, and Twilight couldn’t confirm it, but most likely disease too. It was like looking at hell. Then in the distance, bat-like creatures flew toward her. “Oh no.”

She turned to run but bumped into a tall pony. It was fat and smiled at her like it had just chosen another meal. Around its frame it wore a green suit and trailing yellow cape. A long white mane spilled from the back and it looked at her with old hungry eyes. “Oh, a visitor for Nanny Nobility. We never get visitors here.”

Matterhorn tried to ice her over but the atmosphere was too hot and without moisture. Her magic merely puffed away in the air. The demonic ponies finally landed behind them. They were pegasi but without fur or manes. Their eyes also seemed to have been gouged out or scooped with hot pokers, replaced with lenses. They grabbed her with gnarled hooves and gnashed their sharpened teeth at her. “NO!! Let me go!”

Nanny Nobility looked between them. Her eyes narrowing on Suntrix. “Take the unconscious one to your lord.” They bowed their heads and grabbed Suntrix before flying off with her. “As for you, beloved,” it put a hoof under her chin. “Nanny is going to take such good care of you.”

@#$%^&*&^%$#@

Applejack stood at a table with ten other ponies around her. A map was spread across it showing the whole of Equestria. “Now, we tried Manehattan and the east coast. Ah think now we should be tryin’ the west. She’s got to be there somewhere.”

A pony to her side coughed slightly. Applejack turned slowly to him, her hoof on the cross bow she kept by her side. “A problem?”

“No,” he replied nervously. “No. I just… well, it’s just that Rarity has been gone for a few months now. There’s no sign of her coming back. Shouldn’t we be using this time to help rebuild Canterlot. Maybe even find some way to free Celestia and Luna?”

Applejack narrowed her eyes, they were red with fatigue and loss. “That comes after.”

“Yeah, but-”

“THAT COMES AFTER!” the room was silent. She rolled up the map and put it away. “You know your orders. Now get goin’.” Everypony scattered.

Applejack stood there for a long moment before slamming her hoof into the wall. The stone caved under her black booted hoof and crumbled. She wanted to scream. To just tear this place apart. But she couldn’t. Not yet.

She walked into the grand hall and looked up at the stairs. There, in crystal, still lay her friend in suspended animation. Twilight’s expression frozen for eternity. Applejack rubbed a hoof on the crystal and felt the pain of another loss shudder through her. All of them. Every friend she had. Gone. And by Rarity.

She set herself and walked up the castle stairs. She came out on top of one of the towers and looked out. The Castle of the Two Sisters sat in the middle of Everfree so she could see the tops of every tree. In the far off distance she could hear the sounds of reconstruction going on in Ponyville. Maybe even Sweet Apple Acres was being rebuilt. But there was no time to think about that. “Honestly, Ah’d burn this castle to the ground if Ah could.”

“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?” She spun at the voice and saw a blue stallion standing behind her. He smiled innocently as she aimed her crossbow between his bespectacled eyes.

“How in tarnation did you sneak up on me!?” she asked harshly.

He shrugged. “I guess you could say… I’m magic.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Ah don’t see a horn.”

“Oh? Then let me fix that.” She blinked and a horn was on his head as if it had always been there. “Or if that’s not your style, how about wings?” She blinked and he was a pegasus. “Or both?” An alicorn. Still she kept her crossbow aimed steadily at him. His smile widened. “Oh, I like you. Nothing gets to you does it?”

She shrugged. “So what are you? Some kind of alien?”

“No, but wouldn’t that be a twist.” He changed back to an earth pony, straightening his mane as it had been messed up slightly. “I’m here to offer you a deal.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “What deal?”

His ears twitched and he smiled fiendishly. “Come with me, and you’ll get to see Rarity again.”

She flinched, her crossbow shaking for a moment. “What do you mean? You know where she is?”

“The question isn’t where, it’s… actually it is where. But yes, I do.”

Applejack scowled. “Why do you wanna help me?”

The stallion smirked as he placed a hoof on the end of her crossbow. “You know what I see when look at you? I see a mare who despite all odds struggled and muddled through a desperate situation. She stuck to her guns and in the end won out against unimaginable evil.”

Applejack looked down shamefully, Fluttershy’s face flashing in her mind. “Yeah, but at what cost?”

The stallion put a hoof on her shoulder. “You knew what to do, even when it was your friend you had to do it too. Be honest with yourself, Applejack.” He leaned in and whispered in her ear. “You did the right thing.”

Applejack felt the shame she had been feeling change and bubble into anger. His words echoed around in her mind bouncing off every doubt and guilt she held for herself, until all she felt was a scalding hatred that needed to be unleashed. “Tell me where she is.”

===SS===

Sunset rolled her head around the desk over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and-

“BE QUIET!! Geez, even when I don’t do anything you still narrate! And what was with that ending? You just leave Luna and that world to deal with… whatever happens? A little rushed resolution if you ask me.”

The detention teacher sat behind her desk and cleared her throat for Sunset. “Miss Shimmer. Maybe you’d be better off going to the doctor than here.”

She stood up and waved her arms. “No! Miss Cheerilee, please don’t send me to the nurse! Really I’m fine!”

“I didn’t say the nurse,” Miss Cheerilee replied.

Sunset took a moment to understand. “No please! Not him!”

A few minutes later the door opened and a short man with a white goatee and puff of white hair walked in. His black wizarding robes trailed off his short frame. “Thank you for coming, Doctor Wolf,” Cheerilee greeted.

“The pleasures all mine, Miss,” he replied. “So this is the rowdy student we have here?”

Sunset slammed her head on the desk and rolled it over and over and over and over and over and over...

For A Few Bits Noir

For a Few Bits Noir

<___|=o

Applejack strained herself against the cuffs behind her back. The mare with the barreled weapon had aggressively pointed it at her until she agreed to cuff herself and get in the carriage. Now she sat in the back with her sword up front and the strange mare in the front seat as well, her hooves on a round wheel as she somehow drove the carriage forward.

“Okay, Ms. Yearling,” Applejack said as politely as she could. “Ah know this might be hard to believe, but Ah’m not a thief.”

Yearling snorted. “That’s what any thief would say.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Ah’m tellin’ you, Ah didn’t know those ponies. Even if Ah did, why would Ah just be in the middle of the street with them firin’ those… things at me.”

Yearling raised an eyebrow which Applejack saw in the mirror above the window. “Things?”

“Yeah, those… bang bang whiz whoosh things. Like one of those you have but bigger.”

On the road a metal box with three lights hung above them and Yearling stopped when the gray light changed to another gray light. Seriously, this monochrome was starting to get annoying to her. She took this moment to turn around and face Applejack. “Are you talking about my gun?” She pulled it out from the side seat.

“Yeah, that’s what they’re called,” Applejack said hesitantly.

“Have you seriously never seen a gun before?”

“…maybe.”

Yearling stared at her scrutinizing until the lights changed and she went back to the road. All was silent for a moment until AJ spoke up again. “Say, are you movin’ this thing?”

Yearling hit something with her foot below the seat and the carriage stopped in kind. She guided it to the side of the road and turned back to her. “Do you not know how a car works?”

Applejack gave a blank expression. She made a snap decision. “Do… do you?”

Yearling stared at her again and opened her mouth to respond but she stopped. “Touche.”

“Look, Ah’m really not a bad pony. And if this were any other time Ah’d even offer my assistance with your whole robbery thing. But Ah’ve got to find mah friends as soon as possible and they might not even be in this wo-” she stopped herself before she could say something she might regret. Other worlds and interdimensional glitches? If she brought that up without proof she would look crazy. She didn’t need that added to her rep.

Yearling simply narrowed her eyes at her for another long time and then shrugged. “Look, you seem sincere. But I still need to take you in.” She pointed to the sword on the seat beside her. “I categorized that artifact myself and if those ponies stole it tonight and you picked it up then I still need to take you in as a pony of interest.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Ah thought you said you were an archaeologist?”

“I am,” she replied. “I just… tend to get swept up in a lot of other affairs time to time.”

“Well, can you at least take these cuffs off?”

Yearling sighed. “Alright, alright. Hold your horses.” She reached back and unlocked the cuffs from behind her. Applejack rubbed her wrists lightly. “Better?”

“Yeah.”

“Then let’s just go back to the museum and-” The sound of shattering glass stopped her and she screamed. All the windows of the car blew out and the roof caved in as if a weight had landed on it. Applejack looked out just as a hoof shot into the car window and dragged her out through it. “Wait! No! Shit!” Yearling grabbed her gun and scrambled out of the bent driver side door, kicking it open. She stepped onto the road and waved it around looking for whoever had attacked. The sound of flapping wings in the distance caught her ear and she looked up. Silhouetted against the moon were a pair of bat like wings that vanished around a tall building.

Yearling lowered her gun in amazement, her mouth agape. “What in Faust’s name was that?!”

Flutterbat set Applejack down on top of a smaller building. The mare wrapped her arms around AJ in a friendly hug of reunion but she wasn’t too happy. “It’s good to see you too, Flutterbat, but Ah gotta get back there. That mare still has mah sword!”

Flutterbat rubbed her hooves together bashfully. “Sorry.”

Applejack sighed and petted the mare’s mane affectionately. “Don’t fret over it. You were just tryin’ to help. You did a good job keepin’ in the shadows. Really Ah should have seen you comin’. It’s mah own dang fault Ah lost it.” She walked to the edge of the building and looked out. It was the dead of night though the sky gave her the feeling it was always like that here. Sure enough, everything was black and white. Not a spec of color besides some sepia tone. It gave the whole place an older feeling, despite the tall buildings and devices. Guns and cars. Two things she might have to get used to if Pinkie wasn’t with her in this world.

“Did you see sign of anyone?” Flutterbat shook her head. “Ah guess were on our own then.” There was a moment of silence between the two. Flutterbat looked dejected. “Now don’t fret,” she tried to comfort her. “Just cause the others aren’t here doesn’t mean we’re lost. Mare Do-Well and Pinkie are pretty capable. If anypony can find us, they can.” Flutterbat looked a little better about that.

“Meantime we gotta get mah sword back.” She rubbed her chin. “That mare said she was takin’ me to the museum. Did you see anythin’ like that?”

Flutterbat shrugged. “What’s museum?”

“Oh, right. Ah guess if there was just a robbery there then it would be the place with the most hoof traffic. Spectators tend to gather around crime scenes.” Flutterbat’s eye brightened and she smiled enthusiastically. “Alright then. Let’s go there. But keep it low key.” She grabbed AJ from behind and flapped into the night once more.

A few minutes later they set down on another building. Just below them was another street but this one was filled with more cars, gray lights spinning above them silently. The only noise below came from the various ponies in uniforms standing around and setting up taped off barricades. They were sitting in front of a large ornate building with colonnades in front of the doors and banners displaying pictures of exotic relics and weapons with the subtitle, “Artifacts with a Story”. Applejack waited a moment before a familiar car with a smashed window drove up. The mare driving kicked open the door angrily and then slammed it behind her. She stomped up the white stone steps and pushed past the cordon despite the protests from the uniform ponies. Applejack looked back at the car and smiled. Lucky enough, she forgot the sword.

“Flutterbat,” she whispered. “Take me down there.”

Flutterbat nodded and they glided down from an alley, unseen by the ponies near the steps. From there they sprinted across the street and pushed their back to the other side of Yearling’s car, out of sight.

Applejack gripped the car door and pulled but it refused to open. She tried again but it made a scraping noise and she stopped before it made more. Flutterbat sat silently in wait for Applejack when her ears perked up. Applejack tried the door one more time but Flutterbat tapped her shoulder. “What?”

Flutterbat pointed past the car and to the top of the steps a few dozen hooves away. Yearling had removed her long cape and revealed a green suit underneath. Her glasses were also gone and she spoke harsh words to the uniformed pony that seemed to be in charge of the investigation. But what surprised Applejack was her mane. It was still gray to be sure but with those streaks, Yearling almost looked like... “Is that Rainbow Dash?”

“I keep telling you, Miss Yearling,” the uniformed pony said, “this is a crime scene and you can’t be here. Bad enough you tried to go after those thieves on your own but now your impeding our investigation.”

“What investigation?” she asked angrily. “I tracked those jerks for two miles and have a busted up car with a perforated wheel to prove it! You idiots just got here!”

“Watch your mouth or I’ll have you arrested for harassing a police officer!”

She smirked. “You’re not the one that got back one of the stolen goods. I believe I did that.”

The officer raised an eyebrow and smiled suspiciously. “Yes, the katana, right? Well, it just so happens that the Ringogatari, as you put it, isn’t on the museum’s list of stolen artifacts.”

Her eyes widened. “What?! Let me see that!” She pulled a clipboard from one of the officers passing by and looked it over.

“Seems the great Daring Do just made a mistake,” the officer smirked.

She gave him a glare and stormed into the building. “I need to talk to the director!”

Applejack listened to the whole conversation before turning back to Flutterbat. “You think that’s another version of Dash?” Flutterbat shrugged. She decided to leave it and went back to the door but it was already open. Her eyes widened and she opened it fully only to find to her horror that the sword was gone. “Dammit! How’d it just disappear?”

“Looking for this?” Both mares turned to see another mare dressed out in a gray overcoat and fashionable belt. The hat she wore was like Mare Do-Well’s but sleeker with a ribbon around the band. She tossed the katana between her hooves measuring the weight. There was something familiar about her too.

“Give that back!” Applejack hissed, still trying to keep her presence hidden from the police. The mare frowned before smirking and tossing it to her. Applejack caught it and hugged it close. “Th… Thanks.”

“No need, darling,” the mare said with a wave. “It’s obvious this belongs to you anyway.”

Applejack looked confused. “How so?”

The mare stepped forward and pointed to the sword and then Applejack. “It’s got your mark on it.” Sure enough, the three apples that made her cutie mark were also on the hilt of the sword. But how did she know her cutie mark. Applejack looked at her back and found her hakama riding up and revealing her flank. Probably from all the flying with Flutterbat. Her face turned red and she pushed it back in place.

The mare then turned to Flutterbat who had nowhere to run, though instead of fear her eyes widened in amazement. “My, my, you are something extraordinary!” She circled her looking up and down. “Bat winged ponies. Just when you think you’ve seen everything.”

Applejack and Flutterbat looked at each other uncertain. “You seem awfully fine for seein’ somethin’ like her.”

The mare waved a dismissive hoof. “In my profession, you have to have an open mind.” She tipped her hat up to reveal more of her face. “Shadow Spade, private investigator, at your service.” Her long eyelashes blinked lusciously at them.

Applejack got another sense of déjà vu from this mare. “Well, Miss Spade,” she said as she grabbed Flutterbat and began backing away. “Ah’m much obliged for gettin’ this out without alertin’ those guys but we’ve got to get-”

“You!” Yearling stomped down from the air on her own car and pointed to the three of them. Shadow looked up lazily and smiled.

“So nice to see you, Daring Darling,” she said.

“Don’t give me that!” she shouted. “Just what are you doing here? And you,” she pointed to Applejack, “I still need to talk… to…” she stopped as her eyes fell on Flutterbat. “…What is that?”

Shadow ran around and put her arms around the two in a friendly manner. “Oh, I see you already know each other!”

Yearling shook her head to clear it after seeing Flutterbat. “Bat winged pony aside! This doesn’t matter!” She pointed to Applejack. “You have a lot of explaining to do!”

“Me?”

She shoved a clipboard in her face and pointed to a picture of a sword eerily similar to her own. “Why do you have a perfect replica of the Ringogatari?”

“Oh Daring, is that all you can ask our friends?” Shadow asked with a grin.

“Stop calling me that! Daring Do is done! I’m not that pony anymore.”

“QUIET!” everypony froze as they all looked to Flutterbat. The mare glancing nervously around her as she just realized the mistake she’d made.

Officers from around the entrance to the museum looked out and saw them all. “Hey, what is that?” one said. “Is that a giant bat?!

Shadow lifted her hat again as her horn began to glow. “I think this calls for a change of scenery.” Suddenly a long sleek car skidded out of a corner and drove towards them. It stopped just in front and Shadow stepped inside the empty driver’s seat. “I suggest you get in.”

Cops were pouring down the stairs and Applejack saw she had no choice if she wanted to keep Flutterbat safe. “Argh! Fine!” she hopped in the passenger side door and Flutterbat in the back.

“Wait!” Yearling jumped in the back as well. “I still have things I need to ask you!”

Shadow stepped on a pedal below her and the car jolted into life once more, speeding off into the distance.

The cops stopped at the bottom of the stairs and aimed their guns at the departing car but the commanding officer waved his hoof. “Stand down! You’ll cause a riot with gunshots this late.”

“S-So what was that, sir?” an officer asked.

“Hell if I know,” he replied.

“Word is that… thing is back in town,” another murmured. “Maybe it belongs to him.”

“You mean the guy with the weird tail?”

“Yeah.”

The commanding officer chewed his lip thoughtfully. “If he is involved then it makes sense why Daring Do would be a part of this.”

The Maltese Phoenix

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat acquainted herself with a lamp that gave off a gray light in the corner of the room. The detective, Shadow Spade, had taken them all to her office in the city. Her office sat on the second floor of a small pet shop in what appeared to be the dirtiest part of downtown. They acquainted themselves with the small one room office and then she filled them in on why she was there.

Shadow sat behind her desk pulling the shades of her window down slightly to let a small slit of light from the outside illuminate her face. Flutterbat thought she looked very serious in that light. “I’m actually glad to know you’re a part of this, Agatha. Having you on board will work much better than going this alone.”

Applejack looked between the two. Yearling seemed pretty agitated and sat with her arms crossed in a seat in the corner. “Wait, so you two know each other?”

“Unfortunately,” Yearling replied.

“We’ve worked cases together in the past,” Shadow mused. “Though Agatha’s cases usually involve much more of the… strange.”

“That’s behind me,” she replied in a gruff tone. “I’m just a museum historian now. No more adventures. No more Daring Do.”

“Who’s Darin’ Do?” Applejack asked.

Yearling waved a dismissive hoof. “Just a nickname they used to give me.”

“Not just any nickname, darling.” Shadow turned away from the window and smiled. “It was a term of endearment. This mare went into the most dangerous of places. Ancient temples, crumbling griffin castles, caves below the ocean, and came back with one-of-a-kind treasure.”

“Not at all like the archaeologists Ah know,” Applejack smirked.

“You know many archaeologists?” Yearling asked. Applejack went silent.

“Regardless, it’s good to have your expertise on this one,” Shadow interjected.

Yearling narrowed her eyes at her. “Your case doesn’t have anything to do with the museum robbery, does it?”

Shadow smiled. “As a matter of fact, it does.” She reached into a drawer and pulled out a gray folder. She put it under the lamp and opened it up revealing a few photos. “Three days ago I was hired to do a reconnaissance on a pony named Sleight O’Hoof. My client was the marefriend. Thought he was sleeping around.” She pulled out a few photos and brandished them at her guests. One was of a regular looking stallion walking down the street but the other was him getting into a suspicious looking car. “Imagine my surprise when he leads me straight to one of the biggest syndicates in the east coast.” She moved another picture to the forefront, this one a blurry snapshot of a tall unicorn stallion in a similar looking suit as the one from the chase before. Smoke trailed from his mouth as a cigar was wedged between his teeth in a grimace. “Boss Sombra has been a thorn in the side of this city for a long time and I just never got close enough to him. Imagine my surprise when Sleight O’Hoof turns out to be a member of his little mob. Now I’ve got the location of one of their storehouses.”

Flutterbat’s ears perked up and she finally came back to the conversation, trying to get a look at the picture. It was blurry so she couldn’t identify it, but that name. It couldn’t be. Applejack also looked a little perturbed over the picture, her face deepening into a frown.

“And what does this have to do with me?” Yearling asked in a tired voice.

Shadow removed another picture. This one was of the inside of a vast warehouse. Crates and boxes were stacked high but the rest of the room was decked out in odd occult symbols and idols. Three idols were set in the center of the floor with a circle drawn around them. Each idol was of a different animal. A tiger. A turtle. And a dragon. Yearling’s eyes widened and she snatched the photo. “Peeked your interest?”

“These are the other Idols of the Four Cardinals!” she exclaimed. “These are supposed to be scattered around the world in art collections and exhibits.”

“Unless those are all fake,” Shadow explained. “And I can’t help but remember seeing something about the last of these idols being on tour in the city museum.”

Yearling’s hoof went to her pouch and she grabbed the clipboard again. She scrolled through it once more. “Everything they took could be used for quick cash. Ancient jewelry. Gold. But yeah, the Phoenix Idol is the only one they took that doesn’t fit that description.”

Applejack shook her head. “Okay, Ah think Ah’m missin’ somethin’ here. What are these idols and why would this… Boss Sombra want them?”

“It’s just a legend,” Yearling began, “but it says that anypony that can gather all four will be granted access to worlds beyond.”

Flutterbat and Applejack made eye contact. “Worlds beyond?” AJ asked.

“A stupid legend,” Yearling continued dismissively.

“I believe you’ve come across many stupid legends that turned out real in your time, darling,” Shadow muttered.

Applejack leaned in to whisper in Flutterbat’s ear. “What do you think? A way to get back to the others?”

Flutterbat thought about it. The world she hailed from was rife with magic, you could feel it in the air. Not just unicorns had it. But this world was harsher. Magic felt scarce and hard to come by. If they had a chance to go back though, this might sound like their only one. “Maybe.”

“And what should I care about some magic ritual that I don’t even believe is real,” Yearling continued to tirade Shadow who simply sat back in her chair and grinned.

“Well, it was one of your museum pieces that got stolen,” Shadow suggested. “One would believe that you would like to see it returned.”

Yearling crossed her arms and glared daggers at the P.I. Applejack was the first to step forward. “Ah’ll help. As long as we can get those idols back, right?” Flutterbat nodded her head too.

Yearling was distraught. “Wait! Since when do you care? I thought you wanted nothing to do with this?”

“Regardless of their reasons, darling,” Shadow stepped in. “It’s going to be better with numbers.” She pulled out a rolled up map from her drawer and laid it flat on the desk. “Now I have it on good intel that Boss Sombra is meeting somepony at the docks tonight. He’ll be out in the open for the first time in a while.”

Yearling was suddenly interested again. “Who’s he meeting? He already has the idols. Why doesn’t he just complete the ceremony?” Shadow gave her a smile and Yearling’s cheeks turned red. She turned around with a huff and tried to block out the conversation again.

“I’m not sure why,” she told the others. “But this must be an important meeting for Boss Sombra to come out of hiding.” She pointed to the east side of the map where a bay was. “If we come in from the roofs we should have the element of surprise.”

“Sound good,” Flutterbat agreed.

Yearling sighed and threw up her arms again and pointed to Flutterbat. “Okay, screw pretending not to be interested. I’m coming if only to learn what the hell she is.”

<___|=o

An hour later everypony was set up along the roof of the bayside distillery. Below them was a series of docks and moored metal ships with ponies in black suits prowling around. The same guns from before strapped around their necks.

“He’s leaving nothing to chance is he?” Shadow noticed.

“The biggest crime lord in the city is protective of his privacy, headline news,” Yearling murmured.

Applejack rolled her eyes and turned to the two. “If both of you can’t be quiet right now, Ah’m gonna show you just how much you gotta fear me over this Sombra fella.”

Both mares were silent before Shadow elbowed Yearling in the side. “You got scolded.”

“You are such a little filly!” she hissed back.

As Applejack was about to scold them once more, Flutterbat tapped her shoulder. A new black car, this one slightly longer than the others was driving up. It parked on the docks and two large suited ponies stepped from either side at the front before walking to the back. “Looks like we got our badguy,” AJ said.

“Finally,” Yearling sighed. She and Shadow made their way to the edge of the roof and looked down with them.

One of the big suited ponies opened the door and what came out made Applejack’s heart stop. Standing tall with a black suit cut finer than any of the others here, a cigar hanging limply from his sharp teeth, was the most familiar face she could recognize outside of her sister. A face burned into her memory with hate. Even in the black and white atmosphere, those solemn eyes and flowing black mane were distinguishable.

“Okay,” Shadow said. “Now we just wait to see who he’s meeting take a few photos and call the police for back up.”

“Fuji,” Applejack breathed.

Flutterbat’s eyes widened and she whispered something from beside her but Applejack didn’t hear it. She was already jumping from the roof, Flutterbat in tow.

“Or we could not do that,” Shadow said with a baffled expression.

Yearling looked between Shadow and the two as they leapt, a look of agony in her eyes. “Did they just…?”

Applejack landed in a crouch in the midst of the suited goons, her blade at the ready. Luckily she took them by surprise as most of the goons were slow to react. She swiped at them with the back of her blade and knocked all the ones around her to the ground.

“What the hell is she?” a goon asked from beside Sombra. The gray unicorn sneered at Applejack as she fought but did not intervene.

“She’s dead,” he replied succinctly, his magic levitating the cigar and shaking the ashes away. “Take her out before the priest gets here.” He turned from the brawl with his goons and strode toward the docks.

“You won’t get away!” Applejack shouted at him as she lunged. But her moment of surprise was up as the further away goons had finally drawn their weapons and let loose. Before the bullets could reach her Flutterbat swooped in and grabbed her. “Thanks! Now set me down on top of him!” She looked up at her friend but Flutterbat’s tortured expression made her pause. “Flutterbat?”

The mare dropped her behind a car that acted as a barrier between them and the hail of bullets. Flutterbat set down beside her and covered her ears from the loud shots. Applejack grabbed her shoulders. “This is not the time to be scared! We need to take him out!”

“But…” Flutterbat tried to speak but the guns drowned out her voice.

Applejack took a deep breath and calmed herself. “No, Ah appreciate the assist. But if you need to then just stay here. Ah’ll fight mah way through.” With that she leapt over the hood of the car and zigzagged her way through the bullets.

“Wait!” Flutterbat poked her head out of cover and tried to hold out a hoof but a bullet pinged off the hood by her and she shrunk back. “Loud! Too loud!”

Yearling rubbed her hooves on her cheeks forlornly and moaned. “What are they doing!?”

Shadow examined the scene nonchalantly. “By my guess, bucking everything up.”

Yearling turned to her calm compatriot. “Then why don’t you stop them?!”

Shadow motioned to the gunfight below. “Would you get involved in that, dear? The old you probably would in a heartbeat.”

Yearling growled at her. “Shut up.” From off in the distance she noticed a small boat powering its way through the bay toward the docks. “I think our mystery pony is here.”

Applejack carved her way through the goons, making sure to only do non-lethal damage to them. There was only one life she would take and he stood there on the docks. Deep in the back of her mind she knew this wasn’t Fuji. Her enemy was sitting safe and comfortable back home lording over everyone she loved and cared for, poisoning the minds of her friends. But something inside her broke when she saw that face. An immeasurable hatred and impatience she’d held back for so long spilled forth and now there was nothing more to do than act.

A bullet grazed her chest and she spun to avoid another, drawing her sword in an arc to collide with another bullet and break its path to her head. The world was hell around her but her honed senses allowed her to see things other couldn’t. To notice danger within a millisecond. This was training she was sure some pompous crime boss like Sombra never went up against. Already the goons were beginning to fall back in a panic.

The barrage of bullets had drastically decreased when Applejack was at the foot of the docks. From the end of it she could see a boat pulling in and Sombra standing idly by as it parked. “Sombra!” she shouted.

The unicorn turned lazily and bared his sharp teeth at her, his cigar standing on the end. Two much bigger goons took a step in front of him barring his view. Applejack screamed and charged with her sword. The two large goons advanced in kind.

Just as it appeared they were on top of her, Applejack kicked her legs out and slid beneath them. With the back of her blade she slashed at their back legs as she passed and they stumbled and fell behind her just as she stood back up.

Boss Sombra’s grim expression did not change. He simply clapped his hooves together slowly as she approached in kind. “Bravo. What was that? An audition? I suppose I could use somepony like you on my list. But you’ll have to be docked in pay for all those stallions you wasted.”

Applejack stopped as she stood a few hooves away from him. She slammed her sword into the wood of the dock, she didn’t want anything impeding her next words. “You’re a blight,” she spat and pointed at him. “I had assumed that everypony was different in all these possible worlds, but here you are. Still the same kind of sniveling parasite I know you as.”

Boss Sombra’s eyes narrowed at her and he frowned. “Have we met?”

“No, but you will-”

“Yeah,” he interrupted, his expression changing to a smile. “Yeah! You’re the mare from the dreams. You and that bat thing over there.”

“Dreams?” Applejack asked.

“Been having weird dreams with you and a couple others in it. But not just you. Other me’s, other them’s. I just can’t get it out of my head.” He patted his head for effect and his eyes shifted to the boat, which now had a passenger disembarking. He grinned viciously. “That’s why I got the opinion of a professional.”

Yearling’s mouth went agape as she saw who walked out of the boat. “Faust, please, not him.”

Applejack at first didn’t know what she was looking at. It was some kind of blue cat thing but it had the paws of a monkey and at the end of its long tail was another monkey paw. Gold bands adorned its neck arms and tail. At the end of its long head was a small pair of black glasses, behind which yellow eyes stared down piercingly at her.

“Ahuizotl,” Boss Sombra greeted him. “So nice to see you in pony.”

Ahuizotl sneered disdainfully and pulled a handkerchief from his suitcase to put to his mouth. “I do not know what trouble you have brought here, Sombra, but I do not take kindly to unexpected guests.”

“She was just leaving.”

“Like hell!” Applejack shouted then grabbed her sword and charged in one swift movement. Her speed was unexpected by the two and they couldn’t react in time. However, instead of cleaving flesh, Applejack felt her sword slam against metal. She stopped the reverberation in her head and focused. Flutterbat stood before her with the hood of a car she had ripped off. She held it defensively in front of Sombra like a shield. “Flutterbat?”

The mare’s face was distraught, but resolute. “Don’t hurt Papa!”

“What?”

Ahuizotl cleared his throat from behind them. “This is all very riveting but I have some idols I’d like to inspect.” He reached into his suitcase again and pulled out a handful of dust. He held it to his lips and blew at them.

They both were caught off guard as the dust flew right into their faces. Flutterbat dropped her car lid and stumbled back scratching at her eyes. She ran into Applejack who was doing the same and they both slammed their heads together, both dropping to the ground unconscious.

“Huh,” Sombra shrugged. He motioned to some of his goons that were finally getting up from their beat down. “Grab them.”

“No!” Yearling shot into view and flew down between the villains and the sleeping mares.

Ahuizotl’s grimace cracked and turned into a smile. “Ah, Dr. Yearling. A pleasure to see you once more.” He lifted his hand and showed her his palm. The image of a sun was burned into it. “I haven’t returned the favor for this yet.”

“And I’m afraid you won’t get the chance to,” came another voice. Shadow stepped out from behind Yearling, both mares in her arms as she then grabbed the historian. “Toodles!” There was a bright flash of light and they disappeared.

Boss Sombra and Ahuizotl were left to stand there in dismay and confusion. “Well, that was interesting,” Ahuizotl said. He snapped his fingers and began to walk to the cars. “Come, if that cursed mare is involved in this then we must make haste.”

Sombra walked briskly over to the priest and walked beside him. “So what did you do to those two?”

“A simple sleeping spell,” he replied. “But one that I have enhanced. They are trapped in a cell of their most precious memories. And the only way out is to face the most painful memories of all.”

The group reappeared in Shadow’s office, the unicorn slumping to the ground and gasping for breath. Yearling turned to her with a shocked expression. “You could have done that this entire time? Why didn’t you grab them?”

Shadow panted, her calm demeanor breaking slightly. “Because I can’t. Do you know how much magic it takes to transport one pony? Let alone four.” They looked to the two unconscious ponies on the floor, an uneasy look passing between the two. “I have some blankets in the closet. Put them under.” Yearling nodded gravely and walked to the closet. “What do you think happened to them?”

Yearling sighed. “Nothing good, that’s for sure.”

“Can you save them?”

She pulled the blankets out and turned to her. “I can try.”

Out of the Past (Part 1)

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat felt the world form around her in waves. Images and what felt like emotions crashed and ebbed at her feet turning into color and then form. She was on the ocean in a storm. The boat she was on board stood fast against the rage of the wind but it seemed doomed to fail as the sailors rushed around in panicked hurry.

A dream? Surely. But what kind of dream? Last thing she remembered was trying to save the pony that looked like Papa from Applejack’s wrath. Still, her instincts told her she was asleep. But it was odd, since most of the time she would dream of memories. Of Papa, of happier times. But now, she had never been on a boat before.

A massive red stallion rushed past her and snatched a rope with his mouth just as it flew out of the sailor’s reach. A brown hat whipped behind him in the wind as it hung from his neck. With his massive strength he pulled it down and she looked above to see the mast’s main sail rise in turn. He finished his task and tied the rope in a quick knot before anything could go wrong.

“There! Now get the storage drained or it’ll ruin the cargo!” He yelled to a few sailors who nodded in recognition and left to do their duties.

“Big Mac!” From the door to the below deck a small filly, probably no older than five, ran out. Her mane was a bright yellow with an orange coat and freckles. Flutterbat let her mouth hang open. Was this Applejack? She ran to the stallion, trying to keep her balance with the storm. “What do Ah do?”

The stallion called Big Mac gritted his teeth and glared at her. “Ah thought Ah told you to stay below deck!”

“But Ah can’t just-”

He grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to look in his eyes. “You left Apple Bloom below. Ah told you to take care of your sister. We’re all she has right now.”

“And if we lose the cargo, we won’t be any help to her anyway!” Applejack shouted back, the hint of an anguish unspoken behind her eyes.

Big Mac simply smiled at her through the storm and placed his forehead to hers. “Family is more important. Never forget that.” He took off the hat from his neck and tied it around her own. Giving her one last smile and tussling her hair he pointed to below deck once more. “Go!”

Reluctantly, the filly left. Big Mac was left alone to command the sailors and the storm raged on. There was a shout from above that Flutterbat couldn’t identify. Big Mac looked up but at the same time a massive wave pushed the ship to the side and it lurched from something catching underneath.

Time and space seemed to fly around her but Flutterbat stayed motionless. Whatever she stood upon was immaterial now as debris and pieces of the ship cracked and tossed in the air around her. The ship had slammed directly into a tall spire of rock directly below the surface and been cut in two. The last she saw of Big Mac he was struggling to save everypony he could. His eyes were filled with fear and panic as he glanced the other side of the ship which gradually floated further and further away. Applejack was on that side. A massive wave swept up from the side and Big Mac and his half of the ship were buried. Despite the storm, Flutterbat could still make out the cries from the other side of the ship as it floated off, slowly drifting toward a searching light in the distance. The cry of a filly and the cry of a foal.

The color faded and the form lost its shape and once again she was in a void. “Was that… Applejack memory?”

<___|=o

Applejack felt her senses clearing. At first she didn’t know where she was. But then the world slowly took shape. It was a forest. Dark and ominous. Behind her stood the entrance to a small cave, its opening barely big enough for a stallion to slip through. Inside she was sure she could hear the sounds of somepony crying. Echoes against the rock inside made the sound ultimately garbled and distilled to a fearful wail, but she was sure it was a cry.

“It’s right around here.” She turned and behind her from the trees came three ponies. Two were dressed in soiled rags that made her believe them to be peasants or poor peddlers. The other however was decked in the most brilliant shimmering armor she had ever seen. “Oh, brave sir knight, we’re so lucky you came to our village.”

The knight had his helmet down so she couldn’t see his face. “Well, I am always happy to help.”

“Indeed.” They stopped before the cave, peering through Applejack as if she wasn’t there.

She experimentally waved a hoof in front of them. “Hello?” They did not respond. “Okay, maybe this is some kind of illusion? No… a dream.”

“Here it is,” one pony said as he pointed to the tiny cave. “We never had problems here before. Children would come and dare each other to go in, but there was never anything there. Then nearly three days ago this wailing begins. Nopony is brave enough to venture in.”

The wailing resumed and the two peasant ponies shrunk back. “It’s a monster that crawled up in there!”

The knight still had his face hidden but even his body language conveyed his disbelief with the two. “Regardless what it is, rest assured I will rid your village of this fearful thing.”

They thanked him again and the knight descended awkwardly into the cave. Interested, Applejack followed him. She marveled at the reality of everything around her. For a dream this was incredibly detailed.

After worming through a long stretch of small spaced tunnels the knight entered into a small round area. It was dark yet slits in the roof from the rocks let some sun shine down, giving the place an eerie blue light. The wailing had stopped when they entered. “It’s alright,” the knight said in a soothing tone. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

Something shifted from behind an outcropping of rocks. The knight noticed this and began to walk toward it. Suddenly the figure jumped out and stood perched on the rocks, its small batlike wings outstretched trying to look as big as possible. It let out a hiss at the knight and bared its fangs but a bit of its long disorderly mane fell over its eyes and it had to blow it out awkwardly.

Applejack narrowed her eyes at the thing. The light was dark but she could still make out a yellow coat and pink mane. “Flutterbat?” She had to be three. Maybe four years old.

The knight merely laughed at her. Not a mocking laugh but more one of someone who just heard a funny joke. “I’m sorry. Really. You are a very terrifying sight to behold.” His tone was like an adult patronizing a child.

The young Flutterbat scowled and jumped at him, the knight raising his hoof to catch her. She began gnawing on the armor relentlessly. “You’re a feisty one, aren’t you? Do you have a name?” She didn’t respond and still tried to break through his armor. “How long have you been here?” Still no response.

The knight gave a sigh and got on one knee to put her down. Flutterbat took advantage and dropped to the floor, backing away to the rock again. “I’m really not here to hurt you, little one.” He raised a hoof to his helmet and lifted the face plate. Applejack’s eyes widened at the reveal. That black coat and dark mane, coupled with the red eyes. “My name is Sombra. I only wish to help.”

Flutterbat was still weary but she let her wings close showing that her guard had been lowered. “The villagers have been hearing wails from this cave, was that you?” She nodded. “Have you been crying?” She hesitated then nodded again.

“You’re alone aren’t you?” he asked. “I know the feeling.

Flutterbat was quiet for a bit before Sombra clapped his hooves. “Well, what do you say we play a game?” Flutterbat’s ears wiggled and she raised an eyebrow. “Oh this is a good game, you’ll love it.”

Applejack sat there for what felt like hours as the two began to interact. They played games like tic tac toe and I Spy, Sombra being the one to do the most pointing out since Flutterbat had a hard time expressing what she wanted him to find. Finally, a sound echoed from the tunnel above.

“Sir Knight! Are you down there? Did you slay the beast? Please don’t answer if your already dead.”

Sombra looked to Flutterbat who gazed at him with wide fearful eyes. He seemed to think for a moment until he grabbed the bag around his shoulders and poured the contents from it. It held his money and a canteen yet he dumped it without a second thought. He opened the bag wide and ushered her in. “Come on, I have an idea.”

Flutterbat was hesitant, and quite afraid to do something so dangerous. Sombra smiled warmly at her and reached out to pet her mane. “I know your scared. But you can’t live here forever on bugs alone. Don’t you want to see the world?” Flutterbat’s fear didn’t fade but she did nod in agreement.

A few minutes later Applejack followed Sombra out of the cave, him holding his bag aloft victoriously. The two peasant ponies looked between him and it suspiciously. “What’s that?”

Sombra grinned. “This is the head of the beast you so feared. Stand back, or it’s evils might spread to you.” The peasants both backed away in superstitious fear.

They thanked him and offered him money for his services but he denied it. His canteen and bits still left behind in the cave. When he was free of the forest and the villagers’ prying eyes he let the quarry in his sack out. Flutterbat jumped out and stretched her wings beneath a large oak which Sombra sat beside her under.

“So what do I call you?” he asked. Flutterbat shrugged and looking up at the sky through the tree branches, tried to take flight. Her leathery wings fluttered for a moment taking her a little off the ground but she merely fell back on her flank. He laughed at her antics. “Well you can flutter but you certainly can’t fly just yet. Hmm.” He placed a hoof under her chin and looked at her. “Those fangs and those wings make you look like a bat. Maybe a vampire? I didn’t know there were any around anymore.” He smiled as a thought occurred to him. “That’s it. I’ll call you Flutterbat. You like it?”

Flutterbat gave him a dismissive deadpan expression. “Really? Well, I thought it was clever.” Both of them burst into laughter and then disappeared beneath the tree. Applejack watched the world fade around her like before. The scene drained from existence and she hung in emptiness.

“Flutterbat. So that’s why you called him Papa, huh?” This pony, Sombra, wasn’t Lord Fuji, and yet he was. That kind smile on his face threw her for such a loop. Still, she needed to figure out just why she was seeing this. Why was she dreaming of Flutterbat’s memories?

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat saw the world return around her and she was now on the street of some village or town she’d never seen before. Carts were pulled along the dirt road filled with vegetables and rice. The buildings were also built in a different way than she had seen before. More stylized and some roofs even garnished with gargoyles and facsimiles of gods and monsters.

She had to look to her side to see why she was there. Sitting on the side of the road, covered in dirt and looking almost starved to death, was Applejack. A little older now, she also had a yellow foal with a red mane tucked under her arm. “Applejack,” the foal said quietly, “I’m hungry.”

“So am Ah,” she replied. She gave the foal a smile. “Don’t worry, Apple Bloom. Ah’ll get us somethin’ to eat. Ah just need you to stay put.” She got up and looked both ways across the street before heading for a vegetable cart on the other side. Apple Bloom grabbed her hoof before she could leave.

“You could get hurt!” she said.

Applejack shook her off but kept her smile. “Ah don’t care. Long as you’re not hungry, Ah’m fine.” With that she ran carefully across the street. The merchant pulling the cart had stopped to chat with somepony and wasn’t looking. Applejack snuck behind the cart and steadily reached a hoof in.

“Stop! Thief!” the voice came from behind her. Applejack spun to see a filly about her age with a blue coat and rainbow mane. She was a Pegasus so she jumped in the air and began flying toward her. The merchant had just noticed her so she moved fast to avoid them, snatching a cabbage before taking off.

She ran to Apple Bloom and scooped her up before they both took off. The rainbow maned filly was still on their tail as they ran past corners and into alleys. Still she hounded them relentlessly. Finally, when it seemed the Pegasus would overtake them from above a path opened up to her. Applejack pulled her sister to the side and both slid into the open panel of the covered street water way. The Pegasus landed right before where she thought they would appear only to find them gone.

Applejack and Apple Bloom swamped their way through the veritable sewer until they were sure that they didn’t hear any commotion above anymore. After a long while Applejack turned to Apple Bloom and gave her a shush. “Stay quiet. Ah’m gonna see if the coast is clear.”

She popped the cover open a little and looked around. Suddenly a blue hoof stepped before her eyes. Applejack looked up to see the face of a much taller blue Pegasus than the one her age that had been chasing her. But instead of accusatory eyes, this one had a smile.

“You certainly gave my daughter the slip,” the stallion said. Applejack tried to duck back down into the water way but a magic aura surrounded the cover and it flew off, followed by her. A grown up unicorn stood beside the Pegasus who still smiled at her pleasantly as she floated in midair dripping wet. “Where do you think you’re going?” He wore a kimono and some symbol on his chest to denote that he belonged to or serviced a powerful house. The filly from before flew around the corner and caught sight of them.

“Ah! Dad, that’s mine!” she whined. “I found that thief!”

“But she slipped away from you?” the stallion said.

“Well, yeah,” she mumbled back.

Applejack took this moment to throw her cabbage at the unicorn beside the stallion knocking her concentration off. Applejack fell back down and she grabbed Apple Bloom’s hoof. “Come on! Let’s go!”

Another magical aura caught her and they were both lifted out of the grate. Two police with spears and white robes stood by the stallion now, the merchant she stole from standing with them. “That’s her!” the merchant yelled. “She stole my cabbages!”

“You will come with us!” the police commanded.

“NO!!” Applejack shouted as they floated toward the two police.

“Ah, how much?” the Pegasus stallion asked.

“Eh?” the merchant and the police stopped in their tracks.

The stallion stepped toward them and motioned to the unicorn who pulled out his coin purse. “How much was the cabbage?”

The merchant shared a look with the police, even the filly seemed confused. “Twenty.”

He pulled out the necessary amount and handed it over. “It’s only right anyway. Seeing as your goods were ruined when they hit my attendant.” The merchant checked the amount and then shrugged before leaving. The police still kept Applejack and Apple Bloom in their clutches.

“An honorable gesture, Mister Niji,” one said with a bow. “However, these two are still guilty of being thieves.”

“Yes, but with paying that pony, I am now the inheritor of their victimhood,” he replied slyly. “Perhaps you would allow me to take them for my own brand of punishment?”

The police debated this and eventually nodded, letting Applejack and Apple Bloom go before walking away. The rainbow maned filly, who Flutterbat now realized bore a striking resemblance to somepony else, gawked at her father. “But they’re criminals!”

“Criminals that were fast enough and clever enough to evade you,” Mister Niji replied. The filly pursed her lips and looked sour. Mister Niji kneeled down to Applejack’s level and smiled at them. “So, what do I call you?”

Applejack kept her sister close, hiding her muzzle in her chest not allowing her to speak while she glared at the stallion. He looked past that and to the hat around her neck. “I’ve never seen a sun hat like that before.”

“It aint a sun hat!” she argued.

Mister Niji’s smile grew bigger. “I’ve never heard an accent like that either. I’d guess foreigner.” Applejack’s face reddened at her slip of the tongue. Her cheeks went crimson when a deep rumbling echoed from her stomach. The kind stallion merely put a hoof on her head and tussled it lightly. “If you’re hungry then I have food back home.”

Apple Bloom gave Applejack a pleading look. “Fine. But one wrong move and Ah’ll knock your block off!”

He laughed. “I love these colloquialisms foreigners use. You can tell me more later on. They began to walk with Applejack and Apple Bloom following closely behind. “You coming, Rainbow?”

The filly, who Flutterbat was now sure was Rainbow Dash, ran up and pushed her way past Applejack and Apple Bloom, a stern expression on her face. Niji smirked and leaned down to whisper to AJ. “Don’t worry about her. She’s just a little too serious.” Applejack gave Rainbow a look of disdain that Rainbow reciprocated by sticking out her tongue. “I think you’ll get along just fine.”

<___|=o

Applejack watched the years fly by around her as a new part of Flutterbat’s life revealed itself. The knight, Sombra, walked up a hill and came to a large cave opening. He had a smile plastered on his face and had seemed to discard his armor, instead wearing a simple scarf around his neck and a sack over his shoulder. He came to the lip of a cave with stalactites and stalagmites adorning the entrance. To any curious ponies it looked like the mouth of an angry beast and would probably scare away anypony that came around. He stopped at the mouth and cupped his mouth. “I’m home!”

From deep inside, the cave began to echo with the sound of thousands of wings. Suddenly a swarm of bats shot out of the entrance and rushed past his face. Applejack saw no fear in it, though, as he continued to smile. Finally, with the last bat, a yellow figure shot out and slammed into Sombra knocking him over. Applejack watched as a slightly older Flutterbat laughed happily as she rolled around in the shade of the cave with Sombra. “Yes, yes! I’m back!” Sombra chuckled as he tried to right himself.

He pushed his way up knocking Flutterbat off balance and causing her to stumble toward the edge of the shade. Sombra’s eyes widened and his horn glowed to catch her. “Woah! Can’t have that happen, can we?”

Flutterbat looked grateful but she also looked like she wanted to ask a question. “You want to ask something?” Sombra asked. She nodded and they began to walk into the cave. She didn’t even need to talk as Sombra could seem to read her like a book. “You want to know why you can’t go out.” He sighed. “It’s just to be on the safe side, really. In truth, I’ve never seen a vampire but legend goes that they die in the sunlight.” He looked to her and Flutterbat’s expression seemed to fall. He smiled and patted her back. “Though they also said vampires are soulless monsters that drink the blood of the living. I don’t think you qualify for that.” His smile seemed to reassure her. “We’ll try bringing you out in the day time at some point soon. Just… not now.”

He stepped deeper into the cave and pulled out a small lantern from the sack to light it. The rock walls were bathed in an orange glow. He set the sack on a large flat stone box he had carved from the rock to store his armor. They began unpacking his sack which was full of fruits and vegetables.

AJ looked to Flutterbat who eagerly helped her surrogate father unpack but still seemed saddened by something. She looked at the box which contained his armor and then to the cave entrance still lighted by the midday sun. Then she turned to Sombra. “Papa… in the dark.”

Sombra stopped unpacking and let his head hang. His reaction told AJ this wasn’t the first time Flutterbat had spoken, but it was something hard for him to answer. “I don’t mind living in the dark with you,” he said with a sad smile. “And I don’t want you to think that your holding me back. Honestly, I have nothing else but you now. We’re both outcasts in our own way.”

Flutterbat cocked her head in confusion. Sombra grinned and motioned for her to sit by him. “When I was younger, I served a king. This was in a kingdom far far away, I don’t even know if it still exists. I was the most trusted knight of the highest court, gifted with magic that could stop hordes in their tracks and reverse the course of nature. I… we were veritable gods in our own land.” His mood began to darken. “One day, my king and I were walking down the shore when we came across a pony washed up on it. She was a mare of stunning beauty, a coat that was blue like the sea and a mane as white as the breaking waves. Her name was Aqua. She had washed up on shore from a country she could not remember. Immediately, I was smitten. But little did I know, so was my king. A year passed and Aqua stayed with us, learning and growing and each day becoming more and more beautiful. We grew closer and as we did I was oblivious to my king’s envy. He confronted her one night in the gardens and confessed his love, but Aqua refused. In his anger he attempted pushed her into the castle pond. At first believing he had accidentally drowned her, he was shocked to discover the truth. Aqua was not a pony of the land but one of the sea. When she fell and knocked herself unconscious in the pond the king reawakened that side her and she grew gills, her legs becoming fins. He was… disgusted with her. I returned from a mission my king had sent me on to keep me away only to find Aqua on trial. They said she was a monster in pony skin, pretending to be one of us. I had slain many monsters in my time and so I was looked to to make the finishing blow. But when I looked into those eyes, the same ones I had fallen so hard for, I couldn’t do it.”

Flutterbat was quiet but in rapt attention, even Applejack felt herself overcome by the story, certain aspects of it hitting closer to home than she expected. “I stole away Aqua and ran as far as we could go down the coast. But it was fruitless. My king was mad and would stop at nothing to see his own pride redeemed with the death of the one he called a monster. Aqua realized how much she weighed me down and we reluctantly parted ways on the beach. She going back home, never to mingle with the realms of pony again, and I free to run as far away from home as I could go. It was one of the hardest things I’d ever done.”

“In my travels, I had plenty of time to think. The monsters I slayed, the hundreds, the thousands. Were they too perhaps beautiful souls like her? Did they share love like the kind I had with Aqua? I realized something about myself then. Monster is just a name we give to those we do not understand. Then perhaps I too am a monster to some.” His morose expression lightened slightly and he turned to face Flutterbat. “Coming across you that day was providence, no other way to explain it. I will not fight the nature of the world anymore. Instead, I will nurture it. That is why I will never leave you, Flutterbat. You are who you choose to be. Be brave and face the world head on.” He shrugged. “Just not right now. We still have some unpacking to do.” Flutterbat’s smile widened and Applejack could see the slightest hint of tears appear in her vision as the two shared a hug and went back to unpacking the food.

Applejack crossed her arms in thought. “He’s so different here.” She looked to Flutterbat. “Can somepony truly change so much?”

Out of the Past (Part 2)

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat watched in fascination as the years passed by for Applejack. It seemed the dream was now fast forwarding her to a new point in her life. She could see Applejack take up a sword.

“You think you can even lift a sword?” Kid Rainbow asked superiorly to her as they stood on a mat facing each other. They each held long wooden swords in their mouth and bowed to each other.

“Ah reckon Ah can do anythin’ you can do better,” Applejack snidely replied.

Rainbow sneered. “Oh, it’s on.” They both ran at each other and started hacking away like infants and yelling.

Memories flashed again and they were both sitting in front of the pony that appeared to be Rainbow’s father. Both were covered in cuts and bruises and looked shamefully at the ground. “But dad, I was just-”

The father held up a hoof to silence her. His face was unreadable. Applejack spoke up. “It’s not entirely her fault,” she muttered. “Ah shouldn’t have overreacted.”

He turned from the two and went to a long wooden case on the table. He brought it back to the two and set it before them, his face still unreadable. “You two are like fire and ice. Each with your sting, but also with your useful qualities. However, you can never seem to find harmony among yourselves.”

He put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and smiled at her. “Dashu, I know Applejack is not blood. But she is now family. We are bound by the house of Jimina. Someday, you both will serve together in protection of our lord.” He extended his other hoof to Applejack and looked at both of them. “And for that day you will need to become like sisters.”

He reached for the wooden case and opened it to reveal a set of three swords. He pulled the two shorter ones out and handed them to Rainbow, then handed the long sword to Applejack. “Let these blades remind you of your bond. Because now the bond between you two is stronger than blood. It is made of steel.”

Both fillies looked in awe at the weapons, Applejack especially amazed that the handle of the blade she was given was adorned with a trio of apples. She felt herself tear up a little and wiped it away quickly before anypony could see. Rainbow didn’t have the same fortitude. “Daddy!” she began to bawl and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pulled her close and then reached out for Applejack, the filly hesitated for a second but then obliged and joined the hug.

After that sentimental scene, the two fillies left the room with their new weapons. There was an awkward pause between the two as each didn’t seem to know what to say. As Rainbow was about to speak two younger fillies, Apple Bloom and an orange Pegasus, ran past them playing a game of tag. “Come on, sis!” Apple Bloom shouted as she passed.

Applejack gave Rainbow an expectant look and the previously cold filly’s demeanor faded. She smiled, put down her swords and began to follow them. “Wait for us!”

Time sped up again around her and a new scene played out. Applejack and Apple Bloom were older now and stood together in a long procession as rain poured down from the sky. Many other ponies around them were in black, including a sullen looking Rainbow Dash who carried a hoof drawn picture of her father. At the forefront of the procession was a lavish caravan carried by many stallions also in black. Through the thin curtains she could make out a unicorn stallion but she could not see the face.

A few ponies around them began to murmur and whisper and Flutterbat focused on them. “I heard it was an ambush.” “Lord Jimina and his vassal Captain Niji were both killed.” “How tragic!” “The child is alone now, correct?” “Better question is who will take Lord Jimina’s place.” “I hope it’s not his son.”

The procession stopped when they made it through a courtyard and into a large castle. The funeral goers, for Flutterbat was now sure this was one, all lined up on either side of a large hall. At the end was an enormous amount of flowers and a golden shrine with a picture of the deceased. Applejack and Apple Bloom sat down close to the door while Rainbow sat up at the front.

The caravan finally stopped at the head of the hall and the unicorn within pulled back the curtains to speak. Flutterbat felt herself draw back as she saw an all too familiar face. The pony that was Applejack’s Sombra cleared his throat to speak. “My father was a great pony. His charitable deeds for the surrounding villages have been spoken of all over Neighpon. It was not for this reason that my father was weak, for he was strong in many things. I will not speak ill of the dead, but more of the bravery and pride of the living. I will take up my father’s place as head of this house and with it I will make a Neighpon that can never die. His spirit will live on in my every action and I will do him proud.”

He took a moment for everypony to take in what he said and then they all clapped their hooves in prayer. Applejack was the only one giving Sombra a crooked eye.

After the service, Sombra even walked up to Rainbow who was standing with Applejack and Apple Bloom. He pulled Rainbow away and bowed his head to her. “I am sorry for your loss.”

Rainbow seemed flustered for a moment, her father’s picture still in her hooves. “No, I owe you my condolences, daimyo.”

“I understand all too well what it is like to lose a father,” Sombra replied solemnly. “Make no mistake, there will always be a place for you in my court.”

“Thank you.” She bowed respectfully.

Sombra nodded his head at her and looked up, his eyes meeting Applejack’s for a brief moment. Flutterbat couldn’t be sure but for the smallest second she thought she saw disgust in his eyes. He turned from them and walked out of the hall.

Time sped up once more and landed on a scene in a large meeting room. Sombra and other ponies that appeared to be nobles sat around drinking wine from small cups and discussing things. Suddenly an older Applejack burst into the room, Rainbow on her tail. “Applejack, stop!” she pleaded but the mare was too riled up.

“Why?!” she shouted at Sombra. The unicorn stood from the table and glared at her.

“You dare interrupt this meeting?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, daimyo!” Rainbow apologized to him. “She’s just confused right now.”

Applejack stopped in front of the table and stood defiantly. “Why did you convince the shogun to ban Maneland apples?”

Several ponies at the table looked between themselves confused before Sombra burst into laughter. “That is what troubles you? Apples are one of the most largely consumed products in Neighpon. However, we have grown too reliant on the apples of ponies overseas.” He stood straight and at his full height seemed to look down on her. “In order for Neighpon to return to its former greatness, we must embrace our home customs and that includes homegrown fruits. Fuji apples are just as delicious as any foreign apple.”

“Here, here!” a pony at the table agreed. “The shogun’s court has even given you the nickname Lord Fuji, isn’t that something?”

Applejack scoffed. “That’s a load of hogwash!” The ponies at the table began to murmur as Applejack spoke up. “Cuttin’ yourself off from the world doesn’t help progress! In fact, it pushes it back!”

Rainbow looked between Applejack and Sombra in desperation. Sombra seemed ready to blow as he ground his teeth together. “You speak fondly of those countries, gaijin. Maybe you’d like to return to your own,” he sneered.

Applejack took a step forward and narrowed her eyes at him. “Ah’ve adopted this place as mah own. Ah owe too much to the ponies here to ever abandon it. But Ah’ll be a monkey’s uncle before Ah betray mah roots!”

The ponies whispered to each other, snide comments and questions about Sombra’s leadership. The unicorn’s face turned red with rage, an expression Flutterbat had never seen on him before. He turned to Rainbow. “Captain Niji, remove your subordinate at once!”

Rainbow bowed deeply. “Yes, daimyo. I am so sorry about this.”

She grabbed Applejack and the two went to the door. Applejack turned and gave Sombra one last shout. “This isn’t over!”

When the doors closed the whispering continued but Sombra shot all the guests a glance. Immediately they all shut up.

The memory faded and Flutterbat felt a chill run up her spine. That face. Just what was this Sombra capable of, and why was he so different from the one she knew?

<___|=o

The next scene in Flutterbat’s life played out. Applejack saw the young batmare sitting in the corner of her cave, a lamp illuminating her adoptive father next to her. Sombra sat by the cave wall, his head slumped to the side and his mouth slightly open. He snored lightly as the book in his lap lay open to the last page he was reading to her. Despite the fact that they had lived together, that didn’t change the fact that Flutterbat was nocturnal and Sombra wasn’t, so Applejack imagined there were lots of nights like this.

Flutterbat looked up at Sombra and then at the lamp with a slightly bored expression. She turned to the cave entrance and glanced outside at the dark night. Above her she heard the screech of a bat as it rushed outside no doubt on its way to eat. Already Applejack knew what was coming as Flutterbat looked between the cave entrance and Sombra. She carefully disentangled herself from him, careful not to wake him up and walked out of the cave.

Outside, the moon shone brightly. She glanced up and let out a sound of awe at the thousands of stars in the sky. Applejack walked over to the filly and smiled as she sat down beside her and looked up as well. Perhaps this was a happy memory.

Suddenly, a sound came from close by. Flutterbat noticed it first and turned. Applejack could hear the sounds of children playing in the forest below. Odd, these kids were out late and pretty far from any village. Vagabonds? Runaways, maybe?

She got up to investigate and Flutterbat did the same. They both made their way to the forest edge and sneakily stepped inside. After searching through the trees for a little bit they finally found them. Walking through the trees was a small band of performers, their wagon set up between two trees and a campfire in the center of a small clearing. Flutterbat peeked her head out of a bush to spy on the ponies but Applejack was unnoticed so she simply walked right in. The performers seemed to have decided that this wood was a good place to camp the night and for all intents and purposes they seemed perfectly satisfied with their safety. A stallion played a small string instrument to a tune she’d never heard of while others danced around the fire. A trio of children played by running around the camp.

Gradually the laughter and merriment increased as the musician played his instrument a little faster. The dancing increased and even the children seemed to join in. Applejack turned to Flutterbat and saw her now poking her head out at the scene. The fire danced in her eyes and Applejack saw her smile as her head bobbed up and down to the music. Applejack found herself smiling as well. Then it all went wrong.

The children playing had begun to spin each other around and one let go only to let their friend fly off and tumble into the bushes that Flutterbat hid in. The filly let out a scream that made the music stop and Flutterbat shot out of the bushes and into sight. It was only for the briefest of moments but everypony at the camp saw her. Her wings were outstretched and her fangs were visible. Her eyes darted between them all and she sprinted off into the forest.

Applejack followed after her, hearing the sounds of shouts and some more screams from behind them. She distinctly heard the words, “monster,” and “vampire.” After a minute or two, Flutterbat shot out of the forest and back up the hill to her cave. She was panting and pushing herself to the limit when she ran straight into Sombra.

The unicorn was now awake and looked down at her with enormous worried eyes. “Where did you go? What…” he didn’t finish his question as his ears perked up. In the distance were voices. And not just that, but the glow of lanterns illuminated the tops of the trees in the forest below. He pulled Flutterbat into the cave and pushed her to a small hole in the back. “Come on.” The two went in and he grabbed an enormous round stone from the side, pulling it into place in front of the hole. The room they were in went dark immediately. Flutterbat made her own way to Sombra’s side and hugged him close, her breath still shallow. He sat down and began to pet her mane gently. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “Everything is going to be alright.” He continued muttering that even when the voices in the night seemed to pass right by their cave. “Everything is going to be alright.”

/^(*vv*)^\

A new scene appeared and Flutterbat saw Applejack scrambling around her home a panicked look on her face. Rainbow walked in to see Applejack in disarray. “She hasn’t come back yet.”

“Who?” Rainbow asked as she walked over to the sink to wash her face.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack replied insistently. “She said the exchange would only take half a week.”

“Exchange?”

“She told me she’d been chosen out of her squad for the Gakusei Kokan. The Student Exchange. Said it was some big honor or somethin’.”

Rainbow frowned at her and wiped her face. “As head of security on the estate I’m supposed to be in charge of the Kokan. I didn’t send anypony away this month.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “Well, what do you mean? You sayin’ she lied?”

Rainbow held up a hoof to settle her. “Calm down. This could just be a big misunderstanding. Apple Bloom could have gotten wrong information or one of the squad was setting a simple prank. Or…” she trailed off as it seemed like she didn’t want to say her last thought.

Applejack pulled away from her in disgust. “You think she might have deserted?”

“Apple Bloom is not like that,” Rainbow said. “You and I both agree on that. Let’s just do a few inquiries. I’m sure she’s just staying somewhere in town or the next province.” She patted her on the shoulder. “We’ll find her.”

Time sped up and Flutterbat could tell that much time had passed. Applejack seemed haggard now and her eyes were red with sleep deprivation. She sat at a desk with many papers strewn about her. With each new page she read, her expression became more grim.

Rainbow knocked at the door and Applejack failed to look up. She simply let herself in. “I’ve received word from the edge of the Canto province. No sign of her. I’m sorry, Applejack, I’m doing everything within my power to-”

“How long?” Applejack asked bluntly.

“What?”

Applejack bared her teeth and scooped up the letters and pages on the desk before throwing them at her. “How long has this been going on!?” Rainbow picked up a paper and perused it.

“What’s this?”

“Letters of correspondence between various ponies of high society. They specifically mention illicit trade of ponies between houses as slaves using the Gakusei Kokan as a front!” Her face fell and she hung her head in shame.

“Where did you get these?”

“I sent away to the library in Hay-an Kyo! The postal workers keep copies of important documents between high houses!” she shouted. “Have you been doin’ this?”

“Sometimes… in the past the Kokan would be used for such things like this,” Rainbow muttered shamefully. “Even my father was forced to make concessions that he was not proud of in the name of unity. But I can say with pride that our Daimyo has not ordered me to perform such heinous trades.”

Applejack stepped from behind the desk and walked up to Rainbow’s face. “You swear on your life that you did not have anythin’ to do with Apple Bloom?”

Rainbow stared resolutely at her. “I swear.”

They were silent for a moment before Applejack pulled back. “Then it just leaves him.”

“What?”

“Jimina is the only one that could go above your head.” She grabbed her katana from the wall and slid it into her belt.

“Applejack, think about what you’re saying! You’re accusing your lord! Lesser ponies have hung for that.”

She shot Rainbow a glare as she headed for the doorway. “That pony is a snake and you know it! All he’s done in an effort to revitalize this nation is simply let it rot in its own shit!”

Rainbow’s face contorted in anger and she stepped in front of her. “Do not speak ill of him! Have you considered for one second that maybe Apple Bloom simply wanted to leave? The only friend she ever had was Sukutaru! Maybe she just wanted to spare your feelings! She never truly fit in here!”

Applejack froze, her eyes widened revealing their reddened state. For a moment it looked like she was ready to cry before her eyes narrowed in disdain. “What about me?” she asked. “Have Ah never truly fit in here?”

Rainbow’s mouth fell open and she was at a loss for words. “Don’t do that.”

“What was Ah to you?”

“Don’t do that!”

“Just some foreign oddity your father brought in, right?”

“DON’T DO THAT!” Both were silent for a long moment staring into each other’s eyes. “You know you’re more to me than that. Don’t go. Please.” Applejack was silent. “I know where you’ll go and if you leave I will stop you.” Applejack silently stepped past her and out the door. “If you-”

“Ah’m not goin’ to him!” she shouted back. “Ah don’t need revenge. Ah just need mah sister back.” She walked off toward the road.

Rainbow’s face contorted in sadness and she shot her head out the door. “If you go, you’ll be deserting! I’ll follow you! Wherever you go! And if you try to harm a hair on the daimyo I’ll be the one to end you!”

Applejack stopped only briefly to turn her head back to her. “Do what you need to do, and Ah’ll do mine.” And with that she took her first steps on the road and began to walk. Immediately the memory cut out and Flutterbat found herself in the blankness she had started in.

She didn’t understand all of it. But she knew one thing. Sombra had wronged her. That hatred she saw in Applejack’s eyes when she nearly killed Boss Sombra, she could feel the reason behind it now. It made her feel sadness the likes of which she’d never felt before. Was this the same sadness that Applejack felt everyday?

<___|=o

Applejack felt another skip and found herself in what appeared to be the same scene from before. Sombra held Flutterbat tightly to his chest as she looked prepared to cry. It was still very dark inside the cave but a single lantern illuminated the two. Outside Applejack could now hear the sounds of more than a few pairs of hooves. By all accounts it sounded like a mob out there. She could hear shouts and yells and the smell of fire accentuated the air.

This wasn’t just after the scene she had just seen but it was close, too close for comfort. Sombra turned his head to the sealed door of the cave, a now more haggard appearance than previously seen. He was tired from something. Running? Hiding? Had they been on the run now and unable to find a place to settle down before somepony found them and routed them out. If so, this situation now looked desperate. They were trapped. The crackling sound of wood piling up outside the cave made Applejack’s ears tic. She didn’t want to see what came next.

Sombra slowly closed his eyes as he held Flutterbat close. He gave her mane one final brush before pushing her away to look into her eyes. “They’re not going to stop this time,” he said lamentably.

Flutterbat’s eyes began to fill with tears. “I… I…”

He gave her a small smile and brushed her again. “Shh, it’s okay. They won’t do anything to you, I promise you.” He looked to the cave entrance. Already smoke was beginning to seep in from the top. He gave a shuddering sigh and closed his eyes again, this time as if he was considering something. When he opened them again his expression was resolute. “Come here.” He guided her to the carved stone box he had kept his armor. As quietly as he could he opened it and ushered her inside. “Get in and stay quiet.”

“But… I…”

“Go!” his voice was more firm now, but his eyes were filled with regret. Flutterbat solemnly nodded and got inside. Just as she was about to ask him if he was coming, Sombra shut the lid on her.

“Papa! Papa!!” she shouted from inside the box. Applejack could hear her banging on the lid trying to pry it open but it was too heavy. Slowly, Sombra took a step back, a stricken look on his face.

“Are you finally showing your spots, you jackal?” she whispered angrily. Then he did something she didn’t expect. Sombra turned from the box and grabbed a stone. He braced his back against the wall of the cave and held the stone up to his mouth. Taking heavy labored breaths brought the stone to his canine teeth and scratched at them. Every time letting out a cry of pain. When he had finished this strange behavior he let the stone drop to the floor. His teeth were sharp now, like fangs, and blood spilled from his mouth.

Wearily, finding it hard to balance due to blood loss, he made his way back to the box and slumped on top of it. Flutterbat’s voice could still be heard banging at the lid but now the voices of the mob outside were even louder. Sombra breathed heavily as he leaned on top of the box and spoke down to it. “I know your scared. I know this isn’t what you want. But I made a promise to you and I will keep it.” His horn glowed weakly and began to carve out a message on the stone lid. “Don’t let anything scare you, you can accomplish miracles with just a little bravery.” He stopped and leaned weakly against the box. Flutterbat had silenced herself. “That’s my girl,” he grinned. “They want a vampire, I’ll give it to them.”

He stood up and righted himself, standing as tall as he could. “Let all else see a monster, but I never will again.” He patted the box affectionately one last non-contact pet. “Stay hidden for as long as you can. They won’t come in here. Stay brave, my little pony.”

With one last deep breath his horn lit up and the stone seal to the cave rolled away to reveal a wall of flame. Sombra let out the air he took in as a hiss and jumped through the flames. “It’s the beast!” a pony shouted. “Vampire! Kill it!” “It’s getting away!” “Chase it!”

The sound of many hooves stampeded away leaving Applejack alone with Flutterbat. She looked despairingly at the entrance to which Sombra had run through and the stone lid that Flutterbat was trapped under. “Ah’m sorry,” she said as she knelt down beside her. “Ah can’t help you. But Ah wish…”

She paused as she heard a sound like water dripping. A moment later she realized it was the muffled sobs from the box. Unable to hold it back anymore, Flutterbat burst into tears, her cries reverberating into the stone box. Applejack hung her head and held back her own sadness.

An hour later when the fire had died out, a couple of bats flew down and aided Flutterbat in her escape from the box. She jumped from the box as soon as she could and sprinted to the entrance of the cave. She was about to run out into the hill but she stopped hard as the sun peeked over the mountains. Already the ray of light was rolling over the horizon and quickly making its way toward her. Applejack saw her stop and tremble at the sight of it and then slowly and painfully back up into the cave once more. When safely back inside she sat down and stared blankly at the entrance.

The world faded away and Applejack was left alone. Their lives were so different, yet in a way they were both orphans. She took a long breath and exhaled. She was ready to wake up now.

“So?” Shadow asked impatiently. “Is it ready?”

Yearling glared at her while trying to finish the ritual circle she was drawing in the center of the Detective Office. “In case you don’t remember, I don’t particularly believe in a lot of this stuff myself so much of this is me winging it.” She finished off the circle and lit the last candle. “Okay, I think that’s the last thing needed to wake them up.”

“You’re sure about this?” Shadow asked.

“We tried everything to wake them up! Unless yelling for the hundredth time helps I don’t think we have a choice!”

“Choice about what?” Both mares turned in surprise to see both Applejack and Flutterbat awake at approximately the same time. Applejack rubbed her head forlornly and glanced around them at the circle. “Uh, did we miss somethin’?”

“No!” Yearling shouted quickly and rubbed her hoof on the chalk circle to break it. “Nothing.”

Shadow smirked at her. “Remind me again what all these circles were going to do?”

“That doesn’t matter!” The look on her face told them it totally would’ve mattered in a minute. “We need to stop Sombra and Ahuizotl.”

“Ahuizotl?” Applejack muttered. “Is that the blue cat monkey guy?”

Yearling nodded. “Afraid so. He’s a ruthless collector of ancient antiquities and fancies himself a mystic.”

“She’s had a few run ins with him before,” Shadow added.

Yearling rolled her eyes. “Yeah, well, how are you two?”

Applejack glanced over at Flutterbat only to find that the mare was already staring at her. “Ah…” She couldn’t finish as Flutterbat embraced her in a tight hug. Slowly Applejack returned the hug, finding a strange sort of comfort in it.

“Ahem,” Shadow cleared her throat getting the two’s attention. “Do you two need the room?”

“Cause we have a couple badguys to trash,” Yearling said as she pounded her hooves together.

Applejack disengaged from the hug and raised an eyebrow at her. “Ah thought you weren’t into this kind of stuff?”

Yearling rolled her eyes again. “Screw it. Just when I think I’m out they pull me back in.”

Applejack and Flutterbat nodded and smiled. “Just one thing Ah need you two to help us with?”

“What’s that?” Shadow asked.

“When we get these idols back, you let her and me use ‘em. There’s… someplace we need to be.”

Yearling frowned then let things click together in her mind. “Wait, are you two saying that you’re from another world?”

“Worlds, darling,” Shadow smiled. “I’d surmise they’re from two separate ones.”

Applejack looked baffled at her. “How do you know that?”

Shadow shrugged. “Considering the nature of this case, your reactions to everything around you and your interest in the idols, it was a simple deduction.” She paused for the mares to bask in her ingenuity. “Well, that and the bat winged dear over there has owned the pet shop below me for five years and I’m pretty sure she’s not a bat.”

Forces of Evil

/^(*vv*)^\

“Are you ready this time?” Yearling asked.

All of them now stood under a street lamp, the light casting four dark voluminous shadows under them. Applejack and Flutterbat nodded.

“You’re sure?” They nodded again. “You’re not going to just jump in with no plan again?”

“Don’t mean to be rude, darling,” Shadow interrupted and pointed behind her. “But the bad guys seem to be starting.”

Everypony turned. They were standing just out of earshot from their quarry, a large abandoned vegetable canning factory. Shadow had led them here, the secret warehouse that Sombra kept his ill-gotten gains and the rest of the idols. Sure enough, this is where he and Ahuizotl had fled to. Now they could hear chanting within, the barest hints of light spilling from the windows and getting stronger by the moment.

“Okay, do or die, I suppose,” Yearling stated.

“Don’t you mean Daring Do or die?” Applejack asked with smirk.

Yearling cast her a glazed look before grinning back. “You got the plan?”

“Eeyup.” Flutterbat nodded as well.

“Then everypony in positions.”

They scattered from the light. Shadow slipping away to her assigned task while Yearling flew to a nearby roof. Flutterbat carried Applejack into the air and began to hover just below the cloud line. The ambient light of the night showed a skylight on the roof of the warehouse and Applejack and Flutterbat were directly overtop it.

Flutterbat felt Applejack squirm in her grip and she looked down. The mare hung her head with a slightly guilty expression. “Look Ah… Ah’m not sure what you went through when we were both out but… Ah saw some things that should have been nothin’ but your business and… Ah’m sorry for that.”

Flutterbat was quiet for a moment then smiled. “Flutterbat know it hurts. Pain. Loved one. Never fade away. We just need be brave. See every day through. Have hope that those we love return.”

Applejack looked up into her eyes and smiled weakly herself. “Thank you.” The clouds above them parted and the light of the moon signaled them to move. Applejack set herself and drew her blade. “Let’s do this.”

Meanwhile, in the warehouse, Boss Sombra and Ahuizotl stood around the now completed ritual circle. The cat-monkey priest made strange hand motions while muttering a low chant under his breath. Every now and then he would point to Boss Sombra who would point to a goon who would ring a small triangle. The chalk lines on the ritual circle began to alight and ethereal energy began to pour from the idols into the lines on the floor.

Ahuizotl took a small break from his chanting. “Now we wait for the light of the full moon.”

“Perfect,” Sombra replied, gnashing his cigar in his teeth.

Ahuizotl crooked his eyebrow at the mob boss. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you wish to perform this ritual? I am delighted to assist, especially after you give me the idols as payment, but what does opening a portal to another world do for you?”

Sombra glared at him, but there was something odd about it. His gaze was full of venom but there hid something deeper in it. Fear. He removed his cigar and shook it to extricate the ash. “You ever have an irrational idea pop into your head? Something so preposterous that your mind tells you it must be real?”

Ahuizotl frowned in thought. “Can’t say I have.”

He placed the cigar back in his teeth and clenched. “There’s something coming. I don’t know what it is but I’m getting out before I start to go crazy. This… dream isn’t gonna get the best of me.”

Ahuizotl’s frown deepened. What kind of dream was he talking about?

Moonlight poured down from the skylight and illuminated the circle. A burst of magic erupted and began to spin in a twister of colors. “It appears it is ready.”

Boss Sombra straightened his jacket and looked into the swirling vortex. “This ends our business.”

“Look up there!” Somepony shouted and both villains looked up. Through the skylight they could see the moon and silhouetted against the moon they could see… “Is that a freaking bat!?”

<___|=o

Applejack and Flutterbat crashed through the skylight, glass raining down on their surprised enemies. She glanced at the swirling vortex and cursed. “Damn, they already got the portal open! Put me down over there!” Flutterbat obliged and let Applejack fall to the floor of the warehouse where a bunch of goons were standing. She pulled her hakama back and let a rope shoot out from her 3-D device, it’s propulsion making her spin in the air. With the spin and the blunt of her blade she clubbed three goons in the head and landed with a flourish.

The rest of the goons seemed to focus on Flutterbat as she flew around unleashing her sonic scream to disarm the gun wielders. Meanwhile, Applejack carved her way to Sombra.

“You again?” Sombra shouted with an angry snarl. “I’ve had enough of this!”

Applejack jumped in the air and prepared to slice at the mob boss, but her sword stopped in midair as a glowing shield appeared between them. She glanced over to Ahuizotl who held his hands in a strange position, muttering incantations under his breath. His mutterings grew louder and he pushed his hands forward, a beam of light erupting from the shield and straight into Applejack sending her flying.

Sombra slapped Ahuizotl’s arms away and glared daggers at him. “I didn’t ask you to defend me!” He turned toward Applejack who was struggling to pull herself out of a busted crate. He cracked his neck and stepped toward her. “I didn’t become the biggest player in the city by letting others play my ball game.” The tip of his cigar was set ablaze and his horn began to glow viciously as he approached.

Ahuizotl rubbed his wrist with a scowl. “Last time I do you a favor for free.” He looked up at the bat Pegasus flying around above. “Hmm, should probably deal with her.”

“Hey, monkeypuss!” He turned in surprise to see a pair of hooves headed directly for him. Without time to react he got hit in the face and stumbled back angrily. When he shook it off a familiar Pegasus in a pail hat stood before him.

“You contemptuous whore!” he shouted, sparks beginning to fly from his fingers. “This is the day I put the great Daring Do in the ground!”

Daring put on her best smile and winked at him. “You’ll have to catch me first, Zotl!” She flipped off to a corner of the warehouse and Ahuizotl abandoned his post by the portal to follow.

Applejack barely got out of the debris in time for a large black hoof to come crashing down on where she once was. Boss Sombra’s hoof stomped the crate and its contents into a fine powder and the concrete floor cracked beneath his strength. Without losing any time he swung his horn at her and she pivoted to avoid it, grappling a nearby pile of crates and shooting up there.

Sombra strode slowly but angrily toward the pile. “Nice little gadget you got there. I’ll be sure to pry it off your cold dead corpse. I’m gonna need some kind of upperhand where I’m going.”

“Yeah, and where’s that?” Applejack asked.

“Another world, sweet cheeks!” Sombra replied. He bowed his head slightly and shot a beam of magic at the pile. Applejack felt the slight vibration beneath her before she jumped off. Immediately spires of rock and concrete sprang from the ground and skewered the boxes she had just been standing on. “And make no mistake, I will get the power I deserve there as well.”

“That sounds like a tall order,” Applejack replied from places he couldn’t see. “Sure you can handle rulin’ two worlds?” He looked around only to find that he had lost track of Applejack. Most of his goons seemed to be down thanks to the cries from that other mare so the part of the warehouse they were now in was oddly quiet and few. His eyes scanned the various hiding places she could be.

“That’s just it, my friend. I’m not coming back here.” Applejack pressed herself into the back of a painting that obscured her from view. She narrowed her eyes in thought as she listened to him talk. “This world is done for, caput! Don’t ask me why I just… No… you would know, wouldn’t you? After all you’re in it.”

Just what was this lunatic spouting about. “A cataclysm is coming. I can feel it in my bones. Every night I keep having the same damn dream and every time I see it. I see you, and your friend. But there are others too. And then there’s a masked mare. I don’t know what she did but it’s something bad.” Applejack could hear him grunt slightly as if he was trying to get rid of a head ache. “So many images. Can’t remember what’s real and what’s a dream. But I’m not crazy! I’m gonna find someplace nice and quiet with unsuspecting ponies and then I’m gonna show them that Boss Sombra shows no mercy. To hell with Boss, I’ll be a King!”

“Not today!” Applejack sliced through the painting and swept her sword in an arc to catch him, but he was gone. But she was sure she heard him right there.

“Too slow, sugar.” She looked up to see Sombra hovering just a few hooves above, his body covered in dark magic. Then he let it go and fell straight for her. She jumped to avoid but despite his small verticality he still slammed into the ground full force, a magic shockwave sending the floor erupting around her and knocking her sword out of her mouth. She skidded to a halt and turned in horror to see Sombra lift her sword with his magic and swing it to test. He gave her a wicked grin. “Bad luck, huh?”

Daring Do expertly dodged the attacks from Ahuizotl as he blasted magic at her again and again. Ahuizotl was quickly losing patience and was beginning to show signs of fatigue from using his magic as well. He made a hand motion to a large rolled up carpet next to her and it sprung to life. The top took on the shape of a snakes head and the tassles hissed at her like a tongue.

The tail of the carpet wrapped around her back leg and lifted her in the air. She dangled there unable to fly off or struggle as the carpet snake held her away from it. Ahuizotl strode forward, a victorious look on his face as he pushed his face toward hers. He grabbed her mouth and forced her to look him in the eye.

“Oh, how I have waited for this day,” he chuckled. “You have been a thorn in my side for far too long!”

Daring’s eyes darted behind him and she smiled while her face was squished by his hand. “Oh, I don’t think you mean that literally,” she mumbled.

“Oh, but I do,” Ahuizotl sneered and raised his tail hand to fire a spell at her. Suddenly a sharp pain spread through his hand and he let out a cry. His concentration severed he dropped the spell on the carpet and Daring fell free. Ahuizotl checked his hand and saw that it now had a spear protruding through it. He bared his teeth and turned to his attacker. A fashionable unicorn in a trenchcoat and hat stepped forward and winked saucily at him.

“Not as literally as that, I bet,” she grinned.

Ahuizotl didn’t have time to counter as another pain came to the back of his head, this one making his eyes cross and then falling forward unconscious. Daring stood behind him with a shattered old pot in her hooves.

“I’d have thought you wouldn’t want any of this destroyed,” Shadow said.

Daring wiped her hooves clean and let the pot rubble fall to the ground. “Eh, it was Post Mareabian Reconstruction era at best. No big loss.” Shadow simply continued her grin at her and Daring frowned. “What?”

“I thought the plan was for those two to keep them busy while we alerted the police?”

Daring’s face heated up and she rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, well. You did that, right?”

“And you just wanted an epic boss fight.”

Daring stared blankly at her and then sighed. “Okay, so this lifestyle can be a bit addictive. Do you see now why I tried to leave it?”

Not far from them the cyclone of magical energy where the portal stood began to waver. “We’d better get those two out of here and get going before the police arrive,” Shadow worried. “You think they took care of Boss Sombra?”

Daring waved a dismissive hoof. “I’m sure they have it under control.”

Applejack felt her own sword cut into her arm and she let out a gasp of pain. She didn’t scream though as Sombra marched toward her swinging her blade again and again with sadistic glee. “Do you know why I don’t fight with guns or weapons, kid?” he asked. “It’s because I am the weapon! I started a small gang of thugs and turned it into an empire! And that was when I was ten years old. So right now, you are standing in front of me and my conquering an entire new world. And since most of my useless associates are down for the count, the act of disposing of you falls to me. Which I really don’t have a problem with.”

He slashed again at her and Applejack grabbed a bronze sword from the piles of treasure around her and parried. Sombra didn’t seem surprised as he kept pressing until they were both nose and nose, slight sparks flying from the blades. “Why?” she murmured under her breath as she struggled against him.

“Why what?” Sombra asked.

Applejack narrowed her eyes, already losing her mouth’s grip on the old sword. “Why… are you this way? Why does power mean so much to you? When he…” She trailed off, her mind going to the Sombra from Flutterbat’s memories. She looked into Boss Sombra’s eyes and saw none of the same kindness or decency, just anger and lust for power. But then her mind drifted to her own Sombra. Even his eyes weren’t like this. They were cold and calculating, like a heron preparing to snatch a fish as it passed by its feet. Each one of them, they were different. Differently evil or differently good. But what made them that way?

Boss Sombra grinned at her. “You want to know why I care about power? Ask that sword in your teeth. Ask those piles of gold. Ask the legions of ponies that come at the stomp of my hooves! You can only appreciate power when you’ve had none of it. I was born with nothing and the world never handed out so I took and took.” His grin widened and he pushed a little harder driving Applejack back a bit. “That’s what power is! Taking what you want from the cowards that hold it!”

A loud screech broke both their concentration and Sombra released his grip on the sword. Applejack tumbled forward from the momentum of her push just in time to see Flutterbat careen through the air and sock Boss Sombra right in the jaw. Her strength wasn’t impressive but the force from the speed made Sombra’s face contort and his jaw crack before he was flung head first into a pile of crates. They exploded on impact and coins flew into the air raining lightly down on his now unconscious face.

Applejack looked up agape at Flutterbat who was still panting from flying so fast. She looked down with a worried expression and held out her hoof. Applejack took it and stood up. “Ah… don’t know what to say.” She looked between Sombra and Flutterbat.

The mare looked to Sombra too before glancing down with a pained expression. “Flutterbat… is Flutterbat,” she breathed. She looked up and caught Applejack’s eyes then pressed a hoof to her chest. “Applejack is Applejack.” She looked to Sombra. “Papa is Papa. Nopony else.”

Applejack slowly nodded in recognition, smiling a little at the wisdom of the mare before her.

Suddenly, Yearling flew in front of them looking nervous. “I don’t know if this is another moment between you two but we need to get moving if you want that ride!”

A moment later they were all circled around the vortex. Shadow was already there looking none the worse for wear. “Took you long enough.”

Applejack glanced at the twisting energies and saw that it was beginning to sway. “Can we still use it?”

Yearling nodded and pointed to the runes around the magic circle. “Just keep the image of where you want to be most in heart and step in.” She caught Shadow giving her a bemused smirk. “Or so it says, not that I think there’s anything to all this.”

“A cynic to the end, huh?” Applejack smiled at her. She gave the mare a hug and Yearling reluctantly reciprocated. Flutterbat hugged Shadow who embraced her fondly. “Ah guess this is goodbye.”

“I guess,” Yearling replied. She motioned for Applejack to lean closer and whispered in her ear. “So, just what is your friend anyway.”

Applejack smiled. “She’s Flutterbat. And Ah’m Applejack.” She held out a hoof.

Yearling’s smile increased and she shook it. “Nice meeting you, Applejack.”

She paused a moment, a question bubbling up from the back of her mind. “Hey, you said that this sword,” she motioned to the katana now back in its scabbard, “was called the Ringogatari. That means Story of Apples. What kind of story was it?”

Yearling’s smile faded slightly and she frowned at the ground. “It’s a tragedy. One about two sisters who loved apples. One of them runs away while the other pursues. They meet once more years later under an apple tree and a fight ensues…” she paused as if she didn’t want to continue but Applejack looked on expectantly. “It ends with the death of one of them.” Applejack’s expression did not change but she was quiet. “Did you want to know more?”

“No,” Applejack said. “Ah’m fine with that. Thank you.”

Flutterbat and Shadow finished their goodbyes. Both mares stood at the edge of the magic circle, the swirling portal now quickly losing its consistency. Just then a large sound echoed from the portal making it shift even more. The sound seemed to shake the ground as well, everypony present freezing in place and feeling a shiver down their spine.

“What was that?” Applejack muttered. It felt so familiar.

“I’m not sure, but you better get going!” Shadow shouted over the noise. “I can hear sirens!”

Applejack glanced at Flutterbat who gave her a reassuring smile. She offered her hoof to her and AJ accepted. “So the one place we want to be most, huh?”

She knew that was with her sister. Until they were reunited it would always be that. But right now she was needed elsewhere. She could feel it in her bones. Her friends were in danger and she needed to be there. Fighting every urge and emotion she had, pushing every happy memory with her sister down until even her face became a blur. Applejack stepped forward and into the portal.

@#$%^&*&^%$#@

Something had been bothering Rainbow for a while. Normally when she walked through the garden in the morning, the serenity of stone sculptures and the tranquility of the koi pond would soothe her soul. Needless to say she spent a lot of time here ever since Applejack’s betrayal.

Just the thought of a pony she had known since foalhood abandoning her like that. It filled her with an anger that no amount of meditation could put at ease. Still, she sat before the pond in quiet contemplation as she tied her mane back in its traditional bowknot. She had a duty and she would still see it completed.

She pulled from her belt her two short swords. Applejack had always been partial to her katana since it was forged as a present from her father, but Rainbow had received the other two swords in the set. Daito, katana, Applejack’s. Shoto and tanto, wakazashi and dagger, Rainbow’s. Her father hoped that by splitting the set of these swords that it would bind the two mares as sisters. And he was right for a while. She did eventually come to see her as a sister. Which made it so much harder to hunt her like this.

Rainbow held out the shoto, the middle sword, and unsheathed it, pressing it’s broadside to the sun’s rays. “Tell me where she is,” she whispered to the sword. Silence. This was the same thing again and again, day after day. Before, there was a pull. Rainbow could either mentally or spiritually feel the swords of the set begging to be one again. But not now. Ever since that report from Sukutaru’s squad about her disappearance, Rainbow had feared the worst. Was she truly taken by demons? Was that why the swords didn’t even try to reach out to each other anymore? Despite her enmity, she still saw Applejack as a sister, and in the end wished her no ill will. But she would still have to answer for her crimes. So said Lord Fuji.

“A servant cannot have two masters.” Rainbow spun on her heels and grabbed the sword in her mouth before turning on her interloper. Nopony was allowed in the garden while she was here. The pony before her was blue with glasses and a cheshire grin that reminded her of a story she’d once read.

“This place is forbidden,” she commanded. “Who are you? I don’t recognize you. A thief?”

The pony stayed calm despite her threats and the sword to his throat. “You’d probably recognize my calling card. Look me in the eyes.”

She glared at him but did as suggested, focusing on his eyes. Those yellow eyes. A shiver ran up her back. “The eye. You?” The pony merely shrugged in acknowledgement. She grit her teeth and pressed the sword a little deeper into his skin, surprised not to draw blood. “What are you? A Demon?”

The stallion’s grin diminished and he looked down at the sword. “I can see that I’m not going to get through to you unless I do something you’re not expecting.” With that he walked straight into the blade. Rainbow flinched slightly as her sword passed through his neck and out the other side. When she examined the sword though, it was bloodless. So was the stallion’s neck, that didn’t have a cut on it. “Ready to talk?”

Rainbow drew her sword back but didn’t return it to the scabbard. It would be foolish to go against a yokai you didn’t fully understand. Best to play along for now. “Alright, talk.”

“First let’s get one thing straight, I am no monster or spirit. Nothing as simple as that. Tea?” He offered her a steaming cup and Rainbow accepted it. Then her eyes widened. When did she wind up sitting in her study? The stallion was also now dressed in a fashionable kimono with an eye pattern covering it.

“If you’re not one of those things, then what are you?” she asked, setting the cup aside for now. “Some kind of sorcerer?”

He looked to corner of his vision and puckered his lips in thought. “I suppose that’s an alright approximation. Let’s just say that I have knowledge you and others could find useful. Knowledge like the location of a certain renegade.” He raised an eyebrow to her as he took a sip of tea.

Rainbow tried to hide her surprise and excitement. “Fine, so you know where Applejack is. Why would you help me?”

His ears twitched and his smile became slightly creepier. “Because I recognize a devoted servant when I see one. I simply want you to be rewarded for your efforts.” Rainbow frowned. “You’d forsake your adoptive sister just to follow your lord’s command. Such loyalty must be commended and I’m the kind of stallion who likes to commend ponies on their service. I’m kind of gathering a bunch.”

Rainbow raised a curious eyebrow. “Gathering them for what?”

He waved a hoof. “Never you mind that for now. Do you want to find Applejack or not?”

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed at him and she pulled her sword onto the table. “Gathering them for what?”

The stallion smirked at the blade. His ears twitched once more and his smile faltered. “Really? You want me to tell her?” he whispered though she could still hear him. He seemed to be arguing with himself. But the argument ended when he winced and grabbed his head as if struck by a massive headache. “Okay, all cards on the table then. Settle in. This is going to be one long story.”

Curiouser and Curiouser

---<^^>---

“No. No. No! ...No!!” Mare Do-Well pulled out gadget after gadget from her belt in an attempt to find some kind of clue as to where they were. Finally, when she had exhausted her ability to come prepared, a small pile of electronics sat beside her. “I don’t understand! This world makes no sense!”

“I’ll say,” Rarity agreed from behind her as she looked at the grass and trees. “Plaid grass on purple trees? If this is mother nature’s present to the world then I’m thinking about regifting.” She glanced at Mare Do-Well hoping for the pony to get the joke or respond but Mare Do-Well was having none of it.

“I’ve tried geologic surveys, geographical analysis, weather patterns, even a flipping compass!” She held out her compass with its arrow mysteriously pointing up at the sky. “Up is not North!”

“Well, darling, technically if you look at a map it…” she saw Mare Do-Well staring at her and shut up.

The hero let out a long sigh and rubbed her temples. “No way to know where we are, not even a line to the others. Who even knows if they’re here! I suppose the best course of action would be to stay put for now and assess the situation.”

Suddenly a small white animal launched itself from the underbrush. Rarity let out a short scream as it jumped past her and onto Mare Do-Well. She was frazzled and unready as the little critter seemed to crawl all over her body. “What!? Huh! Hey, get off!”

She finally managed to throw the animal off only for it to land against a large mushroom. Rarity eyes widened as she recognized it. “Angel?”

It was a white bunny rabbit and for some reason he wore an orange vest with a gold chain hanging from the pocket. But that wasn’t the only thing that surprised Mare Do-Well. Silently the rabbit inspected the hero’s hat as he turned it over in his tiny paws. Mare Do-Well felt her empty head and her blood ran cold. “Give that back!”

Angel gave her a dismissive look and then blew a raspberry before taking off into the forest. Mare Do-Well shouted in frustration and gave chase. Rarity ran after her. “Wait! What happened to staying put?”

They ran through the colorful forest, Mare Do-Well barely paying attention to the strange sights and sounds that pervaded the mysterious place. All she cared about was her hat. If that rabbit so much as put a scratch on it she would personally escort him to a den of timberwolves.

She was able to follow the rabbit relatively well considering she wasn’t used to forest terrain but he threw her for a loop when he ducked into a large hole by a tree. “NO!” she skidded to a halt in front of the tree and peeked her head in shouting into it. “You get back here, you rodent!”

Rarity stumbled from the trees behind her and didn’t manage to slow down in time as she collided with her back. Mare Do-Well fell forward into the hole and Rarity’s momentum plunged her inside as well. They both let out cries of terror as the hole appeared to be far deeper and larger than they had expected. Mare Do-Well fell for a couple seconds before her breath ran out and she stopped yelling, beginning to look around her. Rarity was falling beside her still screaming with her eyes closed. “Rarity. Rarity! RARITY!”

The mare finally snapped out of it and opened her eyes. They were still falling but as far as they could see from the sides of the hole to the bottom it was all dark. They simply kept falling and falling. Rarity hugged her hooves to her. “Um, I don’t suppose you have any wings you’d like to show off right now?”

Mare Do-Well crossed her arms and looked up then down. The hole above was already out of sight and there was still no sign of the bottom. She calculated the time they had been falling with the depth of the hole. “This makes no sense. This hole must be thousands of hooves deep! Why is something like this in a for-” she was cut off as a familiar orange vested white rabbit sailed past them and up, her hat in his paws above his head being used like a parachute. He gave them a snicker as they passed him by. “Oh, you little-”

Another thing cut her off as Mare Do-Well felt her body hit a floor. It wasn’t as hard as she expected and she looked down to find herself standing in a tile patterned hallway with Rarity beside her looking equally dumbfounded. She looked back up to where the hole was but it was now a solid ceiling. “How the hell did that just happen?!”

Rarity tapped her hoof against the floor and frowned. “Hmm, this is a strange place but it has an interesting style.” Mare Do-Well wasn’t listening as she pulled a small grenade from her belt and prepared to throw it at the suddenly appearing ceiling. Rarity’s eyes widened and she grabbed the mare’s arm. “Woah! What are you doing?”

Mare Do-Well reeled on her. “I need that hat back!”

“It’s just a hat, darling!” Rarity shouted back. “And not a very stylish one at that.”

Mare Do-Well dug her hoof into the ground and turned away from her. She just didn’t understand. Though somehow the white mare was taking this with more stride than she was. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “Okay, we’ve lost our starting position. My hat is gone. And now we’ve found ourselves hundreds of thousands of hooves below ground. Not a bad way to start.”

“Really?” Rarity asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No, this is terrible.” She glanced at Rarity and saw that she was actually smiling. “What’s so funny?”

“You,” she replied with a snicker.

Mare Do-Well frowned. “What do you mean?”

Rarity continued to smile. “Well, when we first met I’d never imagine you cracking a joke like that. You were so serious.”

“So were you.”

Rarity faltered for a moment and looked at her now white hooves once more. “Yes, I was.” She flexed her hoof experimentally and smiled a little more.

Mare Do-Well let out another sigh and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Rarity. I really am. Honestly, we didn’t know what Applejack’s spell would do, but I’m glad it had this outcome. Still, we need to find a way to get back to the others.”

Rarity set her face and nodded. “Right.”

They both looked forward at the long winding hallway before them. “Well, guess there’s only one way we can go.” They started walking. As they did, Mare Do-Well patted her back pocket where the talisman was stored. She gave Rarity a guilty glance and continued on.

After what seemed like an hour of walking the two finally made it to the end of the hallway where a single tiny door awaited them. It stood no taller than their knees. Mare Do-Well gave an aggravated groan. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

Rarity merely studied the door curiously. “Hmm, well there must be some way to get past. Without the use of explosives.” Mare Do-Well put her grenade tossing hoof down sullenly and replaced the bomb in her belt. Rarity turned and studied her curiously. “You’re really out of your element, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Mare Do-Well asked.

“You’re making jokes, recklessly wanting to toss bombs everywhere. It’s like you’ve been a different mare since you lost your hat.”

Mare Do-Well’s eyes widened. She was acting differently. But why? Was it this place? There was something odd about all of it. But then Rarity seemed normal enough. Did it really have to do with her hat? She desperately wanted it back because of… reasons. But that was no excuse for her behavior. She was being reckless and untrained.

Her thoughts trailed off as Rarity proclaimed a discovery. “Aha!” She picked up a tiny key from a table in the corner that Mare Do-Well hadn’t noticed before. Though by the logic of this place, she wouldn’t be surprised if it simply appeared from thin air.

Mare Do-Well regarded her bluntly. “Okay, we have a key to a door that’s smaller than either one of us. How are we still going to get in?”

“Well…” Rarity pointed to a small bottle on the table that had sat by the key. It had a tag on it that simply said “Drink Me”.

Mare Do-Well knew she was getting more reckless but she wasn’t stupid. “Oh no! I hope you’re not seriously suggesting we drink something from some mysterious bottle that actually has the freaking sign ‘DRINK ME’!”

Rarity rolled her eyes getting tired of this runaround. “Well look around, do you have any other bright ideas?”

Mare Do-Well hesitantly pulled out her grenade but Rarity shot her a look and she replaced it. “Fine. But I’ll try first,” she said grabbing the bottle from her. “I’ve built up an immunity to certain poisons so I should be okay. Hopefully.”

She glanced at the bottle in her hoof and then to Rarity. A nervous gulp echoed in the cramped hallway and she took a swig of the contents. Making sure to turn her face away from Rarity as she lifted her mask. When she’d finished she plugged the bottle and handed it to Rarity. She licked her lips tentatively, a sweet minty sensation on her tongue.

“So?” Rarity asked.

Mare Do-Well frowned as she made a conscious check of all her bodily functions. “It doesn’t appear to be toxic. Though it could just be slow acting. Anyway I don’t feel any different.” She turned to Rarity who was now replaced with an enormous white wall. “What?! Where am I?”

“Um, Twilight?” The voice wasn’t loud but it did reverberate much more than their normal voices. Mare Do-Well looked up at the source and her jaw dropped. Rarity stood like a giant above her. She had to be the size of a mountain.

“How did you get so large?!” Mare Do-Well shouted up to her.

“More like how did you get so small?”

Mare Do-Well’s eyes widened and she looked to the once tiny door. It was now just the right size. “Oh, come on!”

“What?”

“This makes no sense!”

Rarity shrugged. “I don’t know, darling. Tiny door, shrinking potion, makes sense for me that they’d be together.”

“No, I mean, I still have my clothes!” Mare Do-Well shouted back. “How, in Faust’s name, did a potion that I drank shrink my clothes as well?”

Rarity pondered this for a moment. “Well, I would want my clothes to stay with me.”

Mare Do-Well rubbed her temples. “Just drink the damn thing and let’s get moving.”

A few moments later Rarity was beside her, struggling to hold up the now larger key. “Can you believe we almost forgot this?”

Mare Do-Well grimaced. “Yeesh, I can only imagine what we’d have to do to get it from the top of that table again.”

They both walked over to the door and inserted the key, twisting it and then pushing. The door opened outward and both mares walked out into…

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!” Mare Do-Well shouted. They had come back out into the same forest from which they had entered, plaid grass, colorful trees and mushrooms all. “No! This makes no sense! We were thousands of hooves below the ground. We made no travel upward! How in Faust’s name can one place have such a loose concept of physics?”

Rarity’s frown deepened as she looked at her surroundings. “Maybe that’s the point?”

“Huh?”

Rarity shook her head. “Nothing. Just a thought.”

Suddenly as if by coincidence the white rabbit strolled by trailing Mare Do-Well’s hat behind him. He paused as he spotted the two and there was a moment of silence. “You,” she hissed. The rabbit snickered and then shot off into the forest again. “Oh, no you don’t!”

“Wait!” Rarity shouted, but Mare Do-Well was already gone. She ran after her but the mare was simply too fast. Colors and patterns in the trees and grass whooshed past as she chased but the sight of the mare slowly disappeared. Rarity stopped running and slowed to a halt. She looked at her surroundings, a new sense of displacement creeping up inside.

Tea Time of the Soul

~`(\/)’~

“Twilight!” Rarity shouted after her companion. The forest was silent in response. She waited another moment before taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. “Alright, Rarity, calm down. She knows what she’s doing. Right?”

Still, a weird sense of déjà vu pervaded her thoughts. This place was crazy and that felt familiar. She hoped it didn’t mean what she thought it meant. Yet it would explain Twilight’s behavior.

Rarity started as she heard a humming coming from above. She swiveled her head all around looking for the source but it seemed to come from everywhere. Then her eyes caught something. A white tail moving rhythmically in the air. “Opal?”

The cat sat on a tall branch and the humming stopped as she turned her head to face her. It was her. Just what was her cat doing out in these woods. Then again, Opal could not belong to her at all in this world. But the cat still looked at her with a seemingly knowing expression. “Um, hello,” Rarity introduced herself, “Do you… Do you recognize me?”

Opal raised an eyebrow and then stood up to stretch. She gave Rarity one last look and then grinned widely and began to jump from branch to branch. “Wait!” Rarity followed after her. Strangely enough the cat seemed to stop at each branch in order for Rarity to follow. She was leading her somewhere, but where? And why?

Before long she could hear the sound of music in the distance. Opal was headed for that music. Out beyond the trees was a light that steadily grew brighter with the music. Rarity slowed to a halt as she reached the tree line and then looked up at Opal hesitantly. The cat had stopped at the edge of the forest and glanced down at her, regarding her with nod to the light. Rarity rubbed her temples and groaned. “Ugh, I must be out of my mind. Then again, this whole ordeal has been utterly mad.” She took a step into the clearing.

“It’s about to get a whole lot madder,” a voice came from behind her. Rarity spun but the source of the voice and Opal were already gone. When she glanced back at the clearing a small cottage with a giant table in the yard appeared before her. There were plenty of empty seats around it and it was decorated lavishly with teapots of every proportion and variety. At the head of the table she saw the source of the music she’d been hearing. A lone orange pony with a poofy brown mane cheered delightedly as he lifted a tea cup to a strangely animated rubber chicken with bunny ears. The stallion had on a large top hat and suit that seemed much too large for him but his springy mane kept it in place. They didn’t stop singing as Rarity approached.

“Um, excuse me?”

“One more time!” the rubber chicken shouted. They began to go into another song, completely oblivious to her presence.

“Excuse me!” she said a little louder. They still wouldn’t listen. “HEY!!”

The singing stopped as the two finally noticed her. The stallion with the hat frowned. “Young lady! Don’t you know its rude to interrupt an un-birthday song?”

“Very rude, indeed!” the bunny eared chicken repeated. They both humphed and dipped their saucers into their teacups before taking a bite out of the porcelain.

Rarity cringed. “I’m… sorry about that. I just need to… Wait, un-birthday?”

“Why yes,” the stallion replied. “Turns out it’s my friend the Hare’s un-birthday!”

“I thought it was your un-birthday, Hatter?” the chicken replied.

The Hatter scratched his chin with a honey dipper thoughtfully. “Young lady, perhaps it’s your un-birthday too?”

Rarity could feel herself quickly losing control of the situation. “Obviously, the ponies here would be just a wacky as the place,” she muttered. Still, no use in not being polite. She cleared her throat. “I’m dreadfully sorry to interrupt you, kind…. sirs,” she gave a confused glance to the rubber chicken that had now began pouring tea into thin air. Then he picked up a second tea pot and poured out what appeared to be the tea cup around it. “But I really just need directions out of this forest. Oh! And have you seen my friend? She wears all this garish purple and-”

The Hatter’s eyes drooped until his head fell on the table. He let out a snore and the chicken tilted his head to the side and began pouring tea into his ear. The Hatter immediately woke up, but he didn’t seem affected at all. “Young lady!” he proclaimed with a frown. “Don’t you know its rude to prattle on?”

“Yes, rude indeed!” the chicken repeated.

“I’m sorry?” Rarity raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

The Hatter stood from his seat and walked over to her. “One cannot live by questions alone. It does simply terrible things to the digestion.”

“Terrible things!” As if to accentuate this the chicken slathered a biscuit in jam and then made a move to eat it but a tea pot lashed out and gobbled it out of his hand letting out a tiny burp.

The Hatter wrapped a hoof around her shoulder and bid her to sit. “Yes, questions have always made me sleepy.”

“Questions have always given me gas!”

“Questions aren’t food,” Rarity tried to reason as she reluctantly sat down.

The Hatter shrugged. “My dear, haven’t you ever heard of ‘food for thought’?”

Rarity let out a long sigh and pushed her chair back to leave. “Fine, I see this is getting nowhere. I’m just going to go then.”

“Oh, and where might you be going?” the chicken asked.

Rarity paused half way up and frowned. Where was she going to go? Twilight was still out there somewhere, she could try to find her. But then what? By Twilight’s description of how things unfolded they could very well be the only ones of the group here. Without Pinkie they had no way home. It could take months, years before their found. And who even knew if the others were still alive.

A sudden chill swept through her. She expected Nightmare to speak at a time like this, but nothing. No more voices in her head. That’s right, she thought, regardless of the quality of company, I’m all alone. She sat back in her chair and gave a resigned sigh. Best to just stay in one place until Twilight finds her. She gave a weary smile to her two hosts. “So, what’s an un-birthday again?”

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well had been chasing that rabbit for what felt like hours. She was getting tired and every trail she laid down in this forest simply seemed to disappear the moment she turned a corner. She trudged along through the impossible forest grumbling to herself, the white rabbit gone completely. “Rasafrasin, stupid rabbit, mumble, mumble,” she murmured to herself.

Just where did it all go wrong? Not just here in Lala Land, but in the beginning. She was smart, she should have seen that it was Twilight behind all this, manipulating Fili-Second. Who else but another Twilight. Despite who she knew her to be, she also knew that Twilight was a self-absorbed knowledge seeker. After all, she was exactly the same way.

So to be stuck here in a place that seems to take the scientific method and throw it out the window is like being dumped in the middle of a desert, she thought. Mare Do-Well closed her eyes as she walked, her mind beginning to wander. “Why did it all turn out like this?”

She felt something brush against her face and she quickly opened her eyes. She was no longer standing in a clear part of the forest. Instead she was in the middle of what appeared to be a forest of tall flowers. There seemed to be every kind, blue, purple, red, yellow and every bud was pointed down at her as if staring.

A survival instinct hit her. These things look as if they’re ready to attack, she thought. Then out of nowhere, a flower’s bud and petals folded into what looked like a mouth. “A weed?” it asked in an accusing tone.

More flowers began to morph as well taking on mouths. “It certainly looks that way!” said a few.

The first flower, a red rose bent down and poked her. “This is a proper garden, we don’t allow weeds here.”

Mare Do-Well rolled her eyes at the absurdity and simply pushed it away. “I’m not a weed.”

“Not a weed?” the rose asked. “Then what are you?”

“A pony.”

“I’ve never heard of that kind of flower,” a blue lilac muttered.

“I’m not a flower!”

“Then you’re a weed!” the rose insisted and poked her again. “A weed that doesn’t belong in our garden!”

She was having about enough of this nonsense. “So everything that’s not actually a flower is a weed, then? Never thought I’d meet racist flowers.”

The rose stood tall and seemed to look down on her with an indignant air. “A weed is something that doesn’t belong.” A sneer crossed its lips and it grew closer to her face. “You stand in our garden pretending to be something you’re not. When you’re really just a nobody.”

Mare Do-Well backed up into a bed of smaller tulips that pushed her away. “She’s not colorful!” they proclaimed.

A daisy plucked at her cape with a leaf. “She doesn’t have the proper amount of petals.”

The rose wrapped it’s stem around her leg and pulled her into the air. “You’re nothing but a pretender.”

Mare Do-Well hung upside down, the blood rushing to her head as she also felt it boil. “I am not a pretender!” She pulled out a sharp shuriken and slashed the rose’s stem. The flower screamed in pain and fell limply to the ground, Mare Do-Well in tow.

“The weed killed the rose!” a daisy shouted hysterically. “She’ll kill us all!”

Mare Do-Well watched as the flowers began to retract their petals and then seem to reverse their growth until they were no more than tiny buds. The lilac was the last to go as it hissed at her like a snake. “Killing flowers, that’s all a weed is good for.” Then she too disappeared in her bud.

Mare Do-Well held herself together as she surveyed the scene. The remains of the rose lay on the ground before her, it’s lifelike characteristics gone. It was just a simple rose once more. She didn’t know why she was so jumpy. It was just a flower. Yet it had a voice. She lifted a trembling hoof and flexed it to stop the shaking. She needed to get out of there. Just don’t think about it. And don’t think about what they said. She was not a weed. She wasn’t.

Mare Do-Well started out slowly leaving the garden until she began to run. She didn’t even know why she was running, but something inside her told her to. Her mind was a mess. So many thoughts and memories swirling around, it was hard to keep track of what she was running from. The act of herbicide just now? The names they called her? Maybe even the names she called herself? She didn’t want to think about it. Not yet. So she ran.

After a few minutes of running she heard a sound. She began to follow and saw that it was coming from a lighted up clearing of the forest. With a crouch she approached stealthily, trying to keep to the shadows as she came to the tree line. She was dumbfounded by what she saw.

Rarity sat at a long table with plenty of extra chairs and two other figures at the head. One wore a large hat and the other was some kind of rubber chicken with bunny ears? But what amazed her more than that was the fact that Rarity was laughing. She hadn’t seen a smile as genuine as that on the mare’s face. Just what was going on?

“And so, Pinkie Pie copied herself too many times and we had a veritable swarm of them all over the town!” Rarity laughed.

The Hatter laughed heartily and poured himself more tea. “It’s always good to keep an extra pair of hooves around!” He grabbed a teacup with his right hoof and began to pour some with his left while a third limb protruded from his coat and dropped in some honey. “But I must say this Pinkamena sounds most delightful!”

Rarity smiled broadly. “Oh, she would love you, Mr. Hatter! You seem to have very similar interests. Why, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pinkie throwing a party like this. Though I think I’d keep the concepts of un-birthdays away from her. Faust knows she already has enough excuses.”

“Rarity?” Mare Do-Well stepped from her cover and the unicorn turned to see her.

“Twilight!” she shouted happily and ran over to embrace her. “Oh, I knew if I just stayed put you’d find me.”

Mare Do-Well frowned at the tea party and its hosts. “Yeah, I guess. So, what’s going on here?”

“We’re having an un-birthday party, my dear!” the rubber chicken hare proclaimed. Great, another inanimate object that can talk, she thought.

Rarity’s face brightened and she smiled deviously. “You know, fellows? It’s my friend here’s un-birthday as well.”

Mare Do-Well frowned. “What’s an-”

“It is?” they both shouted. “Well…” They began to sing a nonsense song that Rarity seemed to enjoy. Mare Do-Well simply looked between the smiling faces and the colorful decorations. It all seemed so fake to her. This wasn’t the way reality was supposed to be. All this nonchalance and carefree attitude.

But Rarity was smiling. She was happy. Mare Do-Well felt herself smile a little at the mare’s newfound freedom. Maybe, if she just indulged in this frivolity a little. For Rarity’s sake.

They finished their song and the Hatter pointed her to a seat. “Come! You must sit and have some tea!”

Rarity leaned in close to whisper to her. “I know we need to find a way back, have you found anything? We can leave if you want.”

Mare Do-Well looked at her and shook her head. “No, I’ve got nothing. If you want, we can stay here just a little longer. Maybe even get some information out of these guys.”

Rarity smirked. “That’s going to be a little bit hard, trust me.”

They sat down and began to drink and talk with the two fools. Mare Do-Well had to admit, she was having fun.

~`(\/)’~

Rarity honestly couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun. Every now and then a stray thought of her sister or the mess she left her friends with back in her own world would surface but something about this place and the ponies made it go away. Something made her want to get lost in the craziness of it all.

Even Mare Do-Well seemed to be getting into the spirit. Beneath that mask she could almost see the smile she’d grown to love on her friend. She finished the tea in front of her and set it down elegantly like a lady. This tea party may be strange but she still knew how to act prim and proper.

“More tea?” the chicken hare asked.

Rarity nodded obligingly. “Thank you.” The chicken poured her some from a new pot.

Mare Do-Well barely touched her tea, only having sipped it once and she made sure not to show how she did it with that mask on. Instead she seemed placated by the smell and the odd things their hosts would say. “Why would you think that mustard is a mineral?”

The Hatter harrumphed. “Well, have you ever seen a mustard plant?”

Mare Do-Well gave an aggravated shrug. “Not personally, but it’s obviously a seed!”

“Mineral!” “Seed!” “Mineral!” “Seed!”

Rarity chuckled to herself as the two bickered. She took a sip of her tea and winced at the bitterness. She reached for the tray of sugar and dumped some in, then searched for a spoon or stirrer to mix it. “Pardon, but do you have a stirring spoon somewhere?”

The Hatter stopped his argument and the chicken Hare looked at her. “You mean you don’t have you’re playing card?” the Hatter asked, pulling out a small decorated card with a two of hearts. The chicken hare did the same and they dunked them in and began to stir their tea. “Spoons are improper, so says the Queen.”

“So says the Queen!” the chicken Hare repeated.

Mare Do-Well frowned at this. “The Queen?” Rarity frowned as well but more due to the fact that she didn’t have a card on her. Mare Do-Well leaned forward on the table to ask the Hatter more. “Just who is this Queen?”

Rarity turned to her and saw poking out from beneath her cape was a small card like shape. She smiled and reached for it. “Oh my, you really are prepared for anything aren’t you?”

Mare Do-Well spun in surprise as Rarity reached under her cape and touched the card. “No!”

Suddenly the world around her was gone. The landscape and the ponies around her vanished from sight and she stood petrified in a deep darkness. Above were what looked like storm clouds, a miasma of churning dark energies that shot blue lightning sporatically. And in the clouds, a face. A sinister familiar face. Her eyes widened in horror as the face of Nightmare Moon saw her and snarled, though no sound seemed to exist in this realm. The mass of darkness roared silently and shot out at her. Rarity lifted a hoof to protect herself and felt something push her down. When she opened her eyes once more she was back at the tea party. She was trembling all over and Mare Do-Well pinned her down, a worried look on her face. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Rarity’s mouth trembled and then curled into a grimace. She spotted the card on the ground, patterns and symbols painted across it and a horrible presence emanating from within. She glared up at Mare Do-Well. “She’s still alive!?”

Mare Do-Well turned her head to the side guiltily. Rarity pushed her off and stomped a few hooves away, her back to the mare. The terror of that monster had removed any calming effects her surroundings had. “Why?” she asked. “Why is she still alive?!”

Mare Do-Well rubbed the bridge of her nose and frowned. “Nightmare Moon is one of the most dangerous entities I’ve ever come across. Can you imagine what would happen if she got out? Applejack didn’t have time to explain all the details of the talisman to me. If I destroyed it she could get free.”

Rarity reeled on her, her anger welling up into a boil. “Then you should have just left it there!”

Mare Do-Well’s expression hardened and she stood a little taller. “And risk that entire world? They’ve already been through enough. Can you imagine what would have happened if they had a monster like that return?”

Rarity dug her hooves into the ground, seething inside. She knew she was right, but she was still incredibly angry. She should have told her. She deserved to know. “Why did you keep this a secret?”

Mare Do-Well’s confidence faltered. “I…” Rarity took a step closer to her and the mare flinched back. “I didn’t want to worry you, alright?”

Rarity’s eyes widened. She pointed at the talisman on the floor. “That is my burden!” she shouted. “Do you have any idea the pain it put me through? The suffering it made me inflict?” Tears began to run down her face. “I should be the one decide what happens to it, not you!”

Mare Do-Well held up her hooves trying to calm her down. “Rarity, I understand your frustration but you’re too close to this. Think about the repercussions.”

Rarity didn’t listen as she reached for the talisman. But Mare Do-Well was quicker. She snatched it up before Rarity could even touch it. The two stood off for a moment, both eyes boring into each other. Rarity’s full of anger and resentment and Mare Do-Well’s a mask.

Finally, Rarity turned her head away and wiped up some of her tears. “You know, Twilight? For a pony so smart, you can be incredibly thick headed.” With that, she spun around and raced off into the forest.

“Rarity!” Mare Do-Well shouted and raced after her.

The Hatter and the chicken hare simply watched in befuddled amusement as the two argued and ran back into the forest. The Hatter turning to the Hare. “Do you think we should have told them their heading toward the castle?”

The rubber chicken waved a dismissive wing. “I’m quite sure they know what they’re doing.”

Rarity ran as fast as she could. All she wanted right now was to get away from that cursed talisman and Mare Do-Well. That sight. Just seeing that horrible thing again made her want to just keep running forever.

She slowed down to look behind her. It seemed she had lost her pursuer. Not surprising considering the odd forest. Rarity then slowed to a halt and lowered her head. Anger gave way to painful memories. Enslaving all her friends. Hurting them. Applejack’s crazed expression of determination. And Fluttershy. Her Fluttershy, dead at her hooves. Tears began to flow again and she yelled as she pounded at a tree. Why? Why did it all have to be like this?

The snap of a twig from behind made her stop and she turned around. Five ponies in soldier’s uniforms pointed spears at her. Each one had a different set of hearts adorning the side of their white armor. A sudden sobering feeling fell over her and Rarity held back her tears. The tree she had been punching splintered behind her and toppled over with a crash, a rain of leaves falling to the ground.

She glanced back at the soldiers and chuckled nervously. “Um, that wasn’t yours, was it?”

Questions and Answers

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well cursed herself for being so stupid. That damn talisman. She should have it hid it better. Of course Rarity would react like this. Mare Do-Well knew what it was like to lose a loved one, imagine how it would be to feel solely responsible for it as well. Maybe she should have just brought it up with her from the beginning. Rarity was right, in a way she did deserve to decide how it was dealt with. It was just so much power. What else could she do but hold it until they found a sure way to dispose of it.

She stopped running and scanned her surroundings. She had lost sight of Rarity a couple minutes ago. Normally her tracking skills were top notch but this place was doing weird things to her perception. Just what is this world, she thought.

“Rarity!” she shouted. “Come back!” slightly tired both physically and mentally she groaned at the sky. “Argh! Why am I such an idiot? I just can’t be like… like…” she trailed off as something moved in her peripheral vision. She spun wielding a shuriken and landing in a crouch to face it. But all that awaited her was a white cat in the tree, swishing its tail back and forth. It looked down at her lazily and grew a grin.

She put the shuriken away slowly keeping her eye on the cat since it gave off a creepy vibe. That grin didn’t belong on an animal like that. “Don’t suppose you know where she went,” she murmured under her breath.

“Depends on how much you want to go there,” a voice replied. Mare Do-Well darted around looking for the source but found none. “Yoohoo.” She looked back at the cat in the trees and it grinned again.

“Talking cat,” she muttered tiredly. “First plants and inanimate objects, of course next would be pets.” It occurred to her for the first time that this all might just be her going crazy. Faust knows enough had happened to drive her there. She gave a sigh and rubbed her eyes. “Okay, fine. Where did you see her go?”

The cat flicked its tail and frowned at her. “Well, you’re not going to get anywhere with that attitude.”

“What attitude?” she replied, getting slightly annoyed.

“It’s all that surety in your voice. It’s like you think you know the answer already.”

“But I don’t! That’s why I asked.”

The cat raised an eyebrow and began to slither its body across the branch like a snake turning its head side to side. “Question and answer. Both exist for the other, but none can exist without another. I asked you a question and you must reciprocate.”

Mare Do-Well frowned but understood, kind of. “You asked how much I want to go to where Rarity is?” The cat nodded and grinned. “Very much, I’d like to go there very much. Does that work?”

“Of course. But even if I told you that where she is is dangerous, would you go?”

“Yes! Now are you going to tell me?”

“Of course.” The cat was silent. Finally she threw up her hooves in anger.

“Just say it already!”

“You forgot the rules,” the cat replied. “Question for answer. You asked and I replied. Now it’s my turn for a question.”

“Then just get on with it!”

“Who are you?”

Mare Do-Well froze. It wasn’t a question she was expecting. Something about the way she stared at her made her tell that any lie she told would be found out. Would the cat run away after that? She needed to get to Rarity as quickly as possible. Maybe it was time to start thinking like this place. A little crazier. “That’s… not fair. You can’t expect equal exchange if I don’t know who you are either,” she bullshitted.

The cat actually seemed to consider this and twirled its claw on the branch lazily. “Too true, perhaps a different wording. You know what I am instinctively. I am a cat. Therefore, I ask this of you masked mare. What are you?”

This one was easier to answer. “I’m a hero.”

The cat’s white fur turned red and it made the sound of a buzzer. “First wrong answer.” The cat’s tail disappeared.

Mare Do-Well felt herself sweat a little. Why was she so nervous? She thought of Rarity. “I… am a friend.”

Another buzzer and the cat’s body disappeared, only it’s head remaining. “One last chance.”

Mare Do-Well could almost feel the overwhelming complexity of the forest bear down on her. Something in her instincts told her that if this cat left, she could very well be lost in these woods forever. She hung her head trembling slightly as the answer to that question she had dreaded for so long bubbled to the surface. “I’m… a pretender.”

The cat let out a new sound, this one a ding and its body returned. It waved its tail happily and clapped its paws together. “Wonderful! It’s your turn now.”

Mare Do-Well grit her teeth as she tried to forget the fact that she had to part with her secret to continue. “Where can I find my friend?”

The cat grinned once more. “She’s been invited to be the guest of honor to one of the Queen’s distinguished trials. Nopony leaves those get-togethers with their head intact.” Mare Do-Well felt a new panic rise up. She was about to ask where the Queen was but remembered the cat’s stupid rules. The cat waved a dismissive paw at her. “Oh, don’t worry. I don’t plan to ask another question. They’re quite juicy but terrible for the digestion. You can reach the Queen’s castle through there.” The cat pointed behind it and amazingly a row of trees bowed to the side revealing the landscape outside the forest. A tall black tower with red hearts like the one she had seen when she first arrived jutted up about two miles away.

“I’m never going to get there in time,” she thought out loud. She began to sprint down the newly formed path keeping the castle in view.

“Pity,” the cat shrugged. “She didn’t even stick around long enough for me to tell her about the shortcut.”

~`(\/)’~

Rarity was pushed, quite forcibly to the castle she’d seen in the distance before. It was like a grim reflection of Canterlot Castle with more spires jutting out in all kinds of impossible directions. Red hearts adorned the walls and the stained glass in the windows depicted several other symbols. Clubs, Spades, and Diamonds. Canterlot itself didn’t seem to exist around the castle, instead being home to a large lush garden that seemed to overflow with vegetation off the cliff side. Rarity actually felt herself marvel in awe at the intricate topiary of the garden and the variety of flowers that adorned it. As they passed a corner she peeked past a hedge and saw more soldiers working diligently to paint some white flowers on the bushes red. Strange.

Rarity shook her head. She was falling into the spell of this place again. Everything was just so odd it made her want to question everything. It dragged her mind away from the more important things. Firstly, her anger at Twilight and secondly her impending imprisonment. The soldiers still hadn’t said what she was being brought in for. She tapped one on the shoulder. “Excuse me, but can I know what I’m being charged with?”

“The Queen has ordered us to bring in the white mare,” the soldier replied succinctly. “You fit the description, correct?”

Rarity frowned. “I suppose. But couldn’t that mean any white mare? Besides I’m pretty sure the Queen doesn’t… know…” She drifted off as they walked through a pair of doors and Rarity came across the strangest sight of her life. They had walked into a large closed off field in the garden with croquet pikes planted at either end. A group of ponies in extravagant outfits with big forced smiles watched as a mare in a flowing red dress stood on her hind legs and balanced a flamingo between her hooves like a golf club. She drew back and the flamingo hit a rolled up hedgehog that unrolled as it hit and proceeded to run through every goal. A cheer went up from the disturbingly happy crowd and the mare turned to them, Rarity finally seeing her face.

“Thank you! Thank you!” the mare smiled and bowed. She was a unicorn with a lavender coat and mane that was a swirl of purple and green. Atop her head was a golden crown. The Queen most likely.

“Simply FABULOUS game, your majesty!” a greenish blue pony cried out, gushing hysterically.

“Truly only one such as you could make a shot like that!” another cried out.

The Queen tittered a little and gave the crowd a wave. “You’re too kind.”

“Another game, your majesty!” they demanded.

“Oh, I simply couldn’t,” the Queen chuckled.

“Another! Another!”

“Oh, no.”

“Please!”

“QUIET!!!” the Queen shouted angrily. All became silent and the forced smiles on the ponies snapped shut. The Queen ground her teeth together and eyed the crowd wearily. Then all of a sudden her demeanor changed drastically to be refined once more. “As I was saying, I simply couldn’t do another game. It’s just too hot.”

Rarity looked up. Sure enough the sun was blazing above, but for the first time she also noticed that the moon was out as well. Both heavenly bodies splitting the sky in two.

The Queen finally took notice of the arrived soldiers and smiled broadly. “You’ve brought me the ponies?” she asked gleefully.

The soldier she’d talked to before stepped forward tentatively. “W-We brought you the white mare, your majesty. The others you described we’re still trying to find.”

The Queen’s smile faded slowly to be replaced by a grimace. Rarity saw all the ponies on the lawn take a small step back from the soldier. Rarity felt it wise to do the same. The Queen stared at the soldier, her eyes boring into him and he gulped in fear. Then her anger fell away and she smiled again. The soldier and subsequently the whole party gave a collective sigh of relief.

The Queen took a step toward the soldier. “I asked you to bring me… what was it again?”

“Oh, uh, the masked mare, the white mare, the fast mare, the flying mare, the bat mare, and the swordsmare.” Rarity’s frown deepened at this. That sounded a lot like her group.

The Queen batted her eyelashes at the soldier. “And what did you bring me?”

“…the white mare?”

“That’s not what I asked for, is it?” The crowd let out a tiny gasp.

“But… But I-”

The Queen’s expression morphed into rage once more and her face turned red as she shouted. “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!”

The soldiers behind Rarity sprang forth and grabbed the soldier dragging him away, though he looked more sullen than scared to be losing his head. When they were all out of sight and hearing, Rarity found herself alone standing face to face with the Queen. “Did… Did you just-”

The Queen interrupted her by pointing and shouting again. “AND OFF WITH HER HEAD AS WELL!!!” Nopony made a move this time. The Queen looked around in an aggravated manner then stopped in realization. “Oh, guess we have to wait for the soldiers to come back.”

Rarity shook off the fear she just had and glared at the Queen. “Now hold on! Why do you want to behead me?”

The Queen gave her a half-lidded expression, the interest in killing her or paying attention to her at all fading very fast. “You are charged with crimes against my royal person,” she replied in authoritative tone.

Rarity jerked her head back in surprise. “I don’t even know you! How did I do that?”

The Queen’s anger returned. “You have invaded my dreams! You and that cadre of other mares.” She placed a hoof to her forehead and swooned. “Every night I am plagued by those disturbing nightmares you induce.”

Rarity went slightly deadpan. Talk about a drama queen. Still, why was this mare having dreams about her and the others. “You’re going to execute me just because you had a dream about me?”

The Queen frowned and stomped a hoof. “That’s right.”

Rarity stomped her hoof as well. “But that’s not fair! Aren’t I at least allowed a trial?”

The crowd let out a collective gasp. The Queen’s expression changed again. She gave Rarity a terrifying smile that made her feel uncomfortable. “A trial?” the Queen said the word like she was perusing the menu at a fancy restaurant. “Oh yes, that can be arranged. Steward!” The greenish blue pony that was slightly more enthusiastic than the rest ran forward. “Prepare the court for court.”

“Oh, yes, your majesty!” he replied and began to conduct the rest of the crowd to gather the necessary materials.

A tentative pony stepped up to the Queen. “Um, your majesty, didn’t you say you were too hot to stay outside?”

The Queen glanced at the pony just as the soldiers returned from dragging away their comrade. “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!” she commanded again. The just returned soldiers rolled their eyes and groaned as they grabbed the pony and dragged him away.

Within ten minutes the croquet court had been taken away and replaced by chairs and wooden pedestals. The Queen sat at the top of the tallest pedestal where the judge was supposed to sit. Rarity frowned from behind her own wooden pulpit. “Wait! You’re the judge? How does that make any sense?”

A pony handed a gavel to the Queen and she twirled it in her hoof. “It is the law.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Then that law makes no sense.”

The Queen chuckled. “Yes, but it is the Queen’s nonsense.” She gave a frightening glare to the attendees letting them know that it was a joke and she wanted them to laugh. Forced laughter echoed around the improvised courtroom.

Rarity leaned against the pulpit and rested her cheek on her hoof. “I’m doomed,” she grumbled.

The steward pony scrambled atop a chair to the side of the judge pedestal and blasted a horn. “Let the trial of the white mare v. the Queen of Hearts commence! The honorable Queen of Hearts presiding!”

The Queen lightly waved her gavel to the steward and smiled politely. “Thank you.” She turned back to Rarity and her smile vanished replaced by a throbbing vein in her temple. “GUILTY!!!!!!!” she shouted and slammed her gavel again and again.

“What!?” Rarity shouted in dismay. What was all this stuff for then? It made no… Oh. A cold realization hit her. “This makes no sense.”

Suddenly the door to the garden burst open and a beleaguered looking mare in a purple suit and cape pointed at the judge. “Objection!”

Rarity felt a surge of relief to see Twilight here, but then she remembered how mad she was at the mare and frowned. Mare Do-Well walked wearily to the pulpit where Rarity stood and rested a hoof against it. “Sorry, I’m late. What’s going on again?”

Rarity bit her lip as she saw the irate expression on the Queen. “Well, I’m about to be beheaded and I think you just joined me.”

Mare Do-Well let her head fall and she let out a long breath of exhaustion. “Of course.”

The Jabberwocky

---<^^>---

“Just who dares disturb these proceedings?!” the Queen demanded.

“I do!” Mare Do-Well shouted.

“No, she doesn’t!” Rarity exclaimed. She turned and spoke to her to the side. “What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t just let you go like that. You honestly didn’t think I’d follow you?”

Rarity flushed slightly and turned from her in a huff. “I didn’t think you’d be bold enough to interrupt a trial.”

“Yeah,” Mare Do-Well took a look around her. “What are you getting charged for anyway?”

“Actually-”

The Queen slammed her gavel repeatedly again and narrowed her eyes at the new mare. “Wait, I recognize you! You’re one of the others that have been invading my dreams!”

“Come again?”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “She’s seen us in her dreams so she wants to punish us.”

Mare Do-Well turned back to the Queen. “That makes no sense.”

“Now you’re getting it,” Rarity muttered. “That’s the point of this place. Everything isn’t supposed to make sense.”

Mare Do-Well stopped. A veil suddenly lifting from her eyes. “Holy Faust am I stupid!”

“Then we’re in agreement,” Rarity mused.

“Excuse me!” the Queen shouted. “Trial? Sentence? Gavel?”

Mare Do-Well rubbed her chin. If everything wasn’t supposed to make sense in this world, then there just might be a way out of this if she played along. “Hold it!” she shouted. The force of her voice silenced everypony including the Queen who looked taken aback. “You can’t sentence us to death because it’s opposite day!”

Her last words hung in the air for a long moment. Then everypony in court gave a loud groan, Rarity and the Queen included. “What?” Mare Do-Well asked.

Rarity placed her forehead on the pulpit and moaned. “Not even Pinkie Pie would laugh at that joke. You’re seriously bad at this, aren’t you?”

Mare Do-Well threw up her hooves in exasperation. “I’m a superhero, not a comedian! These ponies seem stupid enough, I thought it would work!” The court collectively gasped. Rarity perked up and stared eyes wide at her. Mare Do-Well immediately felt the heated gaze from above on her. “Oh Faust, I am off my game today, aren’t I?”

The Queen’s face had never been redder. She looked as if she was about to pop a blood vessel. Several ponies in the court even ducked beneath their chairs as if expecting a literal explosion. Though knowing this world that probably wasn’t too far off. Instinctively, she covered her face. “You’re a hero?”

Mare Do-Well opened one eye and saw that the Queen was no longer mad. Instead she had a much more sinister grin on her face. Ugh, that makes the cat’s look like friendly smile. “Y-Yes?”

She could see the wheels beginning to turn in the Queen’s head. This could only lead to trouble. Finally, the Queen slammed her gavel once lightly, her anger almost completely gone from her face. “Both defendants approach the bench.” Rarity and Mare Do-Well did so, extremely uncomfortable with the sudden change in the air. The Queen spun her gavel in her hooves nonchalantly as she addressed them from her seat. “It just so happens that my kingdom is in dire need of a hero. Just on the other side of this mountain where the borogoves are mimsy and the mome raths outgrabe. There dwells above the tulgey wood and tumtum trees a Jabberwocky’s cave. So go defeat the manxome foe, with claws that catch and jaws that bite. Then I will grant you pardon some and your further travels you may alight.”

Mare Do-Well blinked twice then leaned over to Rarity. “Did you get any of that?”

“Not a word.”

The Queen’s anger returned. “It’s rhyme, you dunderheads! I was telling you to go slay the beast that lives on the other side of the mountain!”

Mare Do-Well rolled her eyes. “Well, it wasn’t a very…” she trailed off as Rarity made a cutting motion telling her to stop talking. “…bad poem, your majesty?”

The Queen’s smile returned and she tittered. “Oh, why thank you.”

Mare Do-Well bowed politely and grabbed Rarity’s shoulder. “Yes, so we’ll just go dispose of this Jabber-whatchamacallit for you and then we’ll be off.”

Two guards crossed their spears in front of Rarity blocking her escape. The Queen laughed again. “Now who said you’d both go. You’re the hero, masked mare, are you not. The white mare will stay here until you’ve accomplished your task.”

“I have a name, you know,” Rarity mumbled under her breath.

Mare Do-Well clicked her tongue, she had been hoping to just get out with Rarity in tow and just leave. Now she’d have to do this stupid quest. She looked to Rarity one last time and the mare simply frowned at her. Yeah, totally feel good about doing all this. “Your wish is my command,” she muttered sarcastically.

Mare Do-Well left the castle gardens and made her way across the mountain. Luckily it didn’t look too big so it wouldn’t take too long. Though she was sure she was forgetting something the whole way across.

She slapped her forehead as she walked, a realization dawning on her. “Why didn’t I just throw a smoke bomb and get us out? Argh! I don’t even know what a Jabber-wookiee looks like!”

When she reached the other end of the mountain a rumble shook the ground beneath her and it lurched tossing her up in the air. She stumbled in her fall and tumbled all the way down the mountain side into some bushes. After the stars stopped spinning she finally saw what she had been forgetting. “Oh, right.”

The entire other half of the mountain was a giant face. The top had two large boulders for eyes and a peak jutted out half way that looked like a nose. At the base was an enormous mouth of a tunnel that, quite literally, was a mouth. It hung open as the giant face seemed to sleep. “And I suppose I have to go in that thing,” Mare Do-Well lamented to herself as she got up and dusted off. “No, of course not. It’s one of the other many caves out here. But what’s that? There aren’t any? Guess I’ll just climb into the mouth of this giant thing then!” She noisily climbed back up the mountain and crawled into the tunnel mouth, muttering to herself all the way there.

“Why am I doing this?” she continued to muse. “Seriously, why? Have I just given up all hope of getting back and this is how I’m coping? Giving into the complete and utter madness of this world?” She walked deeper into the tunnel as she talked, the light from the mouth growing weaker and weaker. “And let’s be honest, I really haven’t been myself since coming here. Everything just makes me so infuriated! The illogic of it all! I just… just…”

“I want to go home.”

Mare Do-Well spun at the new voice. “Who’s there?”

A spotlight suddenly flashed on from above and she had to cover her eyes from the change in light. Standing beneath the light was… another Mare Do-Well. “You want to go home, right? That’s what you’re thinking?”

Mare Do-Well clamped her lips shut and shook her head. “Either I’m just imagining you or you’re another part of this crazy world. You’re not real.” She attempted to walk by the other self but it held out a hoof and stopped her. A cold shiver of fear ran down her body.

“I would have considered using this world to my advantage, you know,” the double said sternly. “I would have realized that the nonsense of this world could mean magic of untold power. I probably would have found the source by now and been back with the others so we can save the multiverse.”

Mare Do-Well gritted her teeth and tried not to look at her. “I’m trying, okay?”

The double poked her in the chest and begun to circle her. “No, you’re making excuses. You’ve been losing it since this whole mission began and now here in this place its given you the excuse to get sloppy.”

“That’s not true! I’ve been-”

“Been what? Put under some spell? You’d know it. Drugged? You’d sense it. You’re better trained than this. More skilled than this!”

“Yes, but this place is too… my hat, I need-”

The double pulled her hat from behind it. “You mean this?” The figment donned the hat and glared at her from underneath it. “You never deserved it.”

Mare Do-Well charged at her. “Give it back!”

“It’s mine!” They collided and kicks began to fly. Mare Do-Well hit her a few times at first but then the double returned her strength in kind. She felt the blows hit but every one made the back of her mind flare with something. Her unconscious mind was fighting her, begging her to stop but something new drove her to pummel the copy before her.

Finally, she landed a blow to the double’s jaw and the hat went flying off. She didn’t even pay attention to it as she swooped down on her foe and readied another punch. The double now looked beaten, her once pristine costume torn and stained. She looked up at her through cracked lenses with a narrow gaze. “Do it,” it whispered to her. “You know you want to.”

Why? Why did she want to? She had hurt that flower before but she simply pushed that off. This in front of her was an illusion so the same could be said if she finished it. But it was an illusion of her. Mare Do-Well gritted her teeth and shoved her face into the double’s. “WHO ARE YOU?!”

The double snickered despite its injuries and wearily lifted the bottom half of its mask. A shocking pink mouth with a wide grin greeted her. “I’m what you’ll never be and what you’ll never have again! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!”

Mare Do-Well recoiled for a moment loosening her grip but the phantom continued to laugh hysterically. “Stop it,” she mumbled, but the laughter continued. “Stop it! STOP IT!!” The phantom rolled on the floor with laughter and she slammed her hoof down on its chest, but that did little to stop the inpony laughter. “STOP! IT!” She raised her hoof for a killing blow and brought it down.

“And that’s enough of that.”

The double disappeared and Mare Do-Well’s strike hit nothing instead slamming her hoof into the stone ground. “Agh!” She cried out in pain, her senses suddenly returning. She stood wearily to her hooves and looked around. “Who was that?”

Something knocked lightly on her head from above. She looked up to see the talisman floating in the air. A talon faded into existence holding the malefic card, followed by a furry body and a goat’s head. The rest of the body slowly appeared as well. The tail of a dragon, the paw of a lion, the wing of a bat, and the leg of a lizard. The creature before her floated in midair and frowned at the card in its talon. “Fearsome magic you’ve got here. If I hadn’t come along it could have swallowed you whole.”

“What are you talking about?” Mare Do-Well asked. Though she could already feel something happening. Like a sudden overbearing weight was lifted from her. That card. Was it the reason she’d been acting so irrationally? “You’re the Jabber… Jabba… uh…”

The creature smiled and bowed so low in midair that he tucked his head beneath his legs and continued to coil until he disappeared with a pop. “The Jabberwocky,” he proclaimed from seemingly everywhere. “At least that’s what I’m known as around here.” He reappeared standing behind her flipping the card over in his hands. “In other realms, much like the one you hail from, the ponies call me Discord.”

Mare Do-Well’s eyes widened. “How do you know that?”

Discord waved a dismissive paw. “Oh, you simply reek of trans-dimensional energy.” His grin spread further across his face and his eyes became more serpent like as his body elongated and he began to slither around her like a snake. “So little pony, how did you come to be here in a place you don’t belong?”

This creature could shapeshift, teleport, and most of all somehow had knowledge of other dimensions. Did he have some connection to Mr. 4? Or maybe… “I’d like to know more about you, Discord.”

The creature stopped and reared his head. “Me? And why would you want that?”

Yes, she could feel herself thinking a little more clearly. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. “So you’re a being from another world as well?”

Discord’s body reformed and then disappeared into a thin mist around him. “Oh, I am so much more than that, child.” Mare Do-Well stepped back as the mist he created filled the cave. His voice seemed to come from everywhere. “I am chaos. The eternal nonsense. Bringer of trouble, upset and random change. I exist within every world. In war, in mistakes, in imagination.” Swirls of images appeared in the mist before her. Images of ponies fighting, of ponies slipping on banana peels, and of little foals dreaming. “Sometimes I am a trickster. Sometimes a conqueror. Sometimes I am even a friend. But here and today, little pony,” he reformed in front of her on all fours, his features horrifically exaggerated to be terrifying. “I am a monster.” He stood up tall while looking down on her with a contemptuous glare. “So why do you come here?”

Mare Do-Well crouched as she prepared herself for a fight, then she remembered. This world makes no sense. So defeating a monster like this would make no sense as well. She straightened up once more and cleared her throat. “Um, to be your friend?”

Discord’s terrifying form didn’t change for a long moment, then he simply seemed to deflate and pout. “Oh, you’re no fun.”

Mare Do-Well let out a silent sigh of relief. “So, you’ll help me?”

Discord rolled his eyes all the way into the back of his head and then a new pair popped out like a cash register. “I suppose. You know, it’s fun to be a friend most of the time, but I do like to act like a monster every now and then.”

Mare Do-Well felt some things connect for her. “You get bored here? You’re a creature of chaos so a world with nothing but chaos can get monotonous to you.”

Discord gave her a subtle smile. “You are observant.” He began to float again and shrugged. “Fine, I’ll help you if only to get you out of this place and out of my hair.” He opened a rift in the air and began to swipe it left showing a new landscape every time. “So where did you come from? I’m guessing someplace dark to go with the duds.”

Mare Do-Well smiled. She had found a way out. “Actually, there’s somepony I need to get before I leave.”

~`(\/)’~

Rarity felt herself simmering as the court lounged around in wait. She lay her head on the pulpit as the Queen twiddled her hooves on the pedestal above looking pensive. “Are we really going to just wait here for her to come back?”

The Queen looked up seemingly surprised. “Hm? Oh, right. I can be quite forgetful sometimes.” She laughed again and then glared at the crowd. The members of the court let out a sympathetic laugh as well. She turned to the Steward who had seemingly fallen asleep. “Ahem!”

The Steward jolted awake and smiled automatically. “Yes, your majesty!”

Rarity didn’t have to guess what would happen next. She mimed the Queen’s words as she yelled. “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!!!” Then went back to lying on her pulpit. It was a little bit disconcerting how easily she’d gotten used to this Queen’s bloodlust. She had sent away at least five members of the court over the past hour. One of them simply for coughing. She almost wished Twilight was back, though she had been glad to see her leave.

Why was she so mad at her? Sure, she’d lied to her, but at the same time she had been one of the ponies to save her. Who knows what would have happened had the others not done what they did? Nightmare Moon could have conquered another world and used her body to do it.

Regardless of her reasons the mare did deserve her respect and thanks, not to be pushed away like a grudging date. She should really apologize to her when she came back. If she comes back, she thought.

She saw the soldiers drag away the Steward who still kept a firm smile on his face. Were they really being dragged off to be executed? Frowning she turned to the Queen. “Why do you do this?”

The Queen lifted an eyebrow at her in a scowl. “Come again?”

“Why do you treat ponies around you like this? Even if it’s irrational it’s simply… evil to do such things!”

The Queen’s face became red. “The Queen has a right to execute any pony she wishes.”

An idea crossed Rarity’s mind. “And who’s to say you’re the Queen, hm?”

“What?”

Rarity walked out from behind her pulpit and smiled deviously. “Is it that dress? That crown? If so…” She cast an illusion spell over herself. Her power was greatly decreased since disconnecting from Nightmare Moon but the spells she’d learned were still there. An illusion as simple as a dress was easy. With a flourish of magic she now wore the same red dress and crown as the Queen. “Tada!”

The Queen’s eye twitched a bit and she stomped down from the pedestal to stand face to face. “How dare you mock me!”

“Mock you?” Rarity replied in an indignant manner. “How dare you mock me? The Queen of Hearts!”

The Queen gasped. “But I’m the Queen!”

“So we both look like the Queen,” Rarity played along. “I suppose that means we’re both the Queen.”

The Queen stomped her hooves in rage. “It doesn’t work like that!”

Rarity grinned and tapped her chin pretending to think. “Then perhaps the ponies here would like to decide.” She turned to the court. “Who would you rather have as your Queen? A mare who beheads you at every turn? Or me?” She was hoping that the ponies of this world were not too irrational.

The Queen gave a haughty snort. “Those buffoons would not betray me! They’re just simple, stupid, low class…” Everypony pointed their hooves to Rarity with slightly relieved looks.

Rarity gave the Queen a sly smile as she stared in stunned silence at her entourage. “Wh- But… You ungrateful little-”

“Guards!” Rarity shouted. Two soldiers answered her, running up to her side. “OFF WITH HER HEAD!!!”

The two soldiers grabbed the old Queen by the hooves and began to drag her off. “WHAT!?”

Rarity held up a quick hoof to stop them. “Wait! Sorry! Got a little bit caught up in the moment. Just take her to the dungeon.” The old Queen struggled and screamed as she was pulled away.

A member of the court sidled up next to her and whispered. “It’s what we do anyway. I’ve been beheaded five times,” he pulled off an obviously fake mustache, “she never notices.”

“Um, your majesty?” A pony crept up next to her, offering up the gavel the previous Queen had dropped.

“Oh, thank you.” Rarity went over to the pedestal and sat down atop it. It felt kind of nice. The ponies were still smiling at her but their faces were a little more sincere. I could get used to this, she thought. If Twilight and I are really stuck here then this could be my calling. This is an odd world but I’d probably make a better queen than that last one. “I still can’t believe how easy that was,” she mumbled to herself.

Suddenly a flash of light came from the center of the gardens and two figures appeared. One was Mare Do-Well still donned in her dark costume. The other was… “Discord!?”

The members of the court all began to scream and run in terror. “The Jabberwocky is here!”

Discord put his talons to his mouth and let out a loud whistle that silenced everypony. He held up his hands in a symbol of peace. “No raids today. No fighting or epic quests either.”

Everypony let out a collective sigh of relief immediately going about their business as if the mismatched monster wasn’t there. “What was that about?” Mare Do-Well asked.

Discord smiled his toothy grin. “The ponies here are quite susceptible to anything you tell them to do. Speaking of which…” They both finally noticed Rarity who was still sitting atop the pedestal in the Queen’s dress and crown.

“How long was I gone?” Twilight asked while scratching her head.

“Long enough for them to make me their new Queen,” Rarity proclaimed with a smile. Her gaze fell on the draconequus and frowned. “Discord. I should have known you’d be behind all this.”

“Have we met?” he asked. “Oh, what am I saying? I’ve met hundreds of Rarities.” He manifested a magnifying glass and looked her over. “But which one might you be?”

Rarity pushed away the glass and looked to Mare Do-Well. “He’s not going to do anything funny, is he? Because where I came from he made me fall in love with a boulder.”

Discord chuckled and tossed the glass away. “Oh, right. Those times were pretty fun.”

Mare Do-Well shrugged. “From what I can understand, he is your Discord and he isn’t. The fact is that he can get us back to the others.”

Rarity’s eyes lit up and she jumped down from the pedestal. “That’s wonderful!”

Discord raised his paw in the air and slashed it, a rip opening up in space. Beyond was a swirling void of color. He turned to the two with a serious expression. “This is an all purpose portal. I like to take it when I just feel like being random. So, yeah, most of the time. Just think about the ponies you want to be reunited with and you should be there.”

“So I take it you’re not helping us then?” Mare Do-Well asked.

Discord chuckled. “I’m more a transgressor of dimensional rules than an upkeeper. Saving the world isn’t my thing.” Suddenly a loud boom rolled out of the portal. It shook the ground beneath them and even made most of the ponies around fall down. Mare Do-Well glanced at Discord for explanation but even he looked slightly perturbed by it. “That hasn’t happened before,” he muttered.

Rarity leaned in to whisper to Mare Do-Well. “Did that feel familiar to you?”

“Kind of.”

“The portal is still working so I suggest you go before something else happens.” Discord waved for them to leave.

Rarity felt a wave of apprehension. But Mare Do-Well simply nodded. “Well, we should go.” She stepped forward but Rarity stayed behind. “Rarity?”

Rarity looked back at the ponies of the court and then at her illusionary dress. “I’m… not strong anymore, Twilight. I don’t think I have the kind of power we need to win anymore.” It was a thought that hadn’t fully manifested itself in her mind until she was here, staring at a way back to the fight. “You’re so smart, Twilight. Pinkie is fast. Rainbow Dash is brave. Flutterbat is strong. Applejack is skilled. All I had that made me a part of the other Twilight’s plans was my power, right? I feel… like I’d just be a burden to you.”

She wanted to help, she really did. But all this time in an irrational world had forced her to think very rationally. She was in no position to fight ponies like Mr. 4, Suntrix, or whatever else they might come across. Perhaps she was just better staying here.

Mare Do-Well seemed to stare at her for a long time beneath her mask. Then finally, she reached into her pocket and held out the talisman to her. “I’m sorry for keeping it from you. You were right. You deserved to know. I only had it for a day and it nearly tore me apart. I can’t begin to imagine the pain you went through. I thought I was sparing you more pain, but… in this regard, in dealing with grief, I mean, you may be stronger than me.”

Rarity let her mouth hang slightly open as she accepted the card. The flash she’d previously had was gone but she could still feel the darkness pulsing from within. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Mare Do-Well placed a hoof on her shoulder. “It’s your decision to stay here, go home, or fight. I’m not going to force you. But for what it’s worth. I’m glad to have known you, Rarity Belle.”

Rarity looked into the mare’s eyes and smiled wiping away a tear. “I don’t know how useful I’ll be to all of you. But I’ll do my best.”

Mare Do-Well nodded and turned back to the rip. “Once more unto the breach, eh?” She gave one last look to her as she stepped forward. She stopped suddenly in realization. “Oh, right!” She turned to Discord. “Since were friends, right?” She motioned for him to lean down and she whispered something in his ear.

Discord snorted with laughter but Mare Do-Well’s look silenced him. “Very well.” He snapped his talons and a familiar white rabbit carrying a familiar purple hat appeared from thin air. The rabbit looked around stunned as Mare Do-Well snatched the hat from him and placed it back on her head. Discord raised the bunny by his scruff and chuckled. “You honestly couldn’t take care of something this little?” The rabbit lifted a back leg and kicked him in the snout. Discord yelped and dropped the rabbit, dusting off his vest coat before running off. “Irritable little bugger in most every world.”

Mare Do-Well and Rarity shared a laugh as she gave one last nod to he then stepped through the portal. Rarity was left alone with Discord, the talisman still in her hoof. “You can give that to me, if you wish?” he said. “I assure you I can dispose of it safely.”

Rarity was about to take him up on his offer when something stopped her. “It’s just going to get more dangerous from here on out, isn’t it?”

Discord frowned slightly and scratched his goatee. “Well, you’re not heading into a field of flowers, that’s for sure.”

Rarity’s hooves trembled as she let the illusion around her fall. She slipped the talisman into her mane and began to walk toward the portal. “Are you sure about this?” he asked, stopping her.

Rarity didn’t look at him to respond. “I don’t need to be sure. I just need the ones I love to be safe.” And with that, she stepped in.

Discord let the portal fade and he let out a sigh. “So serious! They should really learn to lighten up a little.”

A pony walked up in confusion. “Hey, where did the Queen go?”

Discord snapped his talon and changed into a red dress and crown, a pink horn and wings attached his body. “Right here!”

@#$%^&*&^%$#@

The villagers of a small rural town worked diligently in the morning as they woke. The bakers baked, the farmers farmed and children played. The perfect scene of medieval normalcy. The mayor walked down the street inspecting the town happily as she spotted a figure cresting the hill. She shaded her eyes to see, as the figure stood before the rising sun. She could almost make out a regal air about the way it stood. Sun almost gleaming off it.

Then the figure stepped forth. The mayor’s eyes widened and many others in the street went silent. A knight in brilliant armor walked down the hill. The only thing apparent on him was the tail, a deep violet that twisted into curls. Behind the knight what looked like a short green squire waddled behind, a wagon full of bags pulled behind him.

The mayor was the first to step forward. “Pardon the gaze, but we haven’t had a knight visit us in some time, sir.” She bowed slightly in respect. “Um, might I ask what travels bring you through here?”

The knight pointed to the enormous wagon. The short green pony grunted and lifted the handles of the cart until the wagon overturned and the bags spilled forth. The girth of them made them explode on impact and jewels and diamonds of countless colors and shades cascaded out. Not only that but gold and silver nuggets as well. The entire village felt their mouths fall open.

“Th-That’s a mighty big bag of treasure,” the mayor gulped nervously. “Are you delivering it to the poor?”

The knight stood imposingly, though for the first time the mayor noticed that the knight didn’t stand above her. Rather he stood about her height with the armor slightly big on him, it’s points and horn jutting up and above. “In a sense,” the knight said, his voice distorted by the helmet. “Consider this your first installment.”

“Installment?” the mayor asked.

The knight’s horn glowed and his voice became amplified to address the citizens. “This town and the provinces and acres around it belong to me now!”

The mayor was dumbfounded. “B-But you can’t just do that!”

The knight looked at her in a way that made the mayor think of a sneer. “So you don’t want riches beyond imagining then?” The horn lit up once more and the treasures flew back into the bag and the wagon righted itself. “Then I will go find some other village more accommodating.”

“Wait, no!” the mayor shouted. “I… I… uh…” she looked to the other villagers for support. She could already see in their eyes the hungry looks. The sight of those jewels had been a poison and it spread fast through the crowd. Many were already looking to the mayor with angered expressions and murmurs rippled through the crowd. The mayor hung her head. “What would you have us do?”

The knight pointed past the village to the edge of town. A small abandoned tower had been built there ages ago. An outlook post for the regime of some distant land during some forgotten occupation. “Use half of this to build that into a castle. Do this and I promise more treasures than you can imagine.”

The mayor stared dumbfounded at the knight. “How rich are you, sir?”

The knight chuckled, a sound that didn’t translate very merrily through the fearsome helmet. “It is not I that is rich.” He stuck his hoof into the dirt below his feet and dug twice, revealing an array of sapphires buried beneath. “But the earth.” Villagers scrambled to the small hole and began to pull out the precious stones as the knight walked up and past the mayor stopping by her side to whisper. “I have many talents you could use for your benefit. I hope you are wise enough to allow it.”

The mayor tried to hold out a hoof to stop the villagers from grabbing the bags on the carts and tearing them open but already the poison had spread. They were like rabid beasts with a meal. She let out a sigh as the small town she was so proud of succumbed to greed. “We’ll… do as you command.”

“Excellent,” the knight said and motioned for his squire to come. As the small green pony passed the mayor she was sure she saw a tuft of hair fall off him, but the squire merely snatched it up right away and ran to his master. “I will return in a month’s time with more treasures to share. Be prepared for my arrival.” And with those words the knight walked away and left the small town.

On the top of a hill not too far the knight stood before the tower that would be her castle. A deep rollicking laugh echoed from the armor and she removed the face plate and eye mask to let her purple mane free. “Simply amazing!” the succubus laughed. “This armor amplifies my magic ten fold! I knew that bat wasn’t all she appeared to be. But to have something like this, it’s almost better than having actually found a vampire.”

“So what do we do now, mistress?” the ghoul at her side asked.

“Now?” she waved her hoof and a flower bud sprouted from the earth and rose to eye level. It bloomed and in the center produced a yellow gem of beautiful quality. “Now, we use this armor in conjunction with my own magnificent magic to grow more treasure for those pitiful fools.”

“Okay, but what about the bat?”

The succubus stopped her gloating and looked at the ghoul with a stern expression. He was right, though. What about that bat? After defeating her and forcing her to flee her own castle it simply dropped off the face of the earth. Not even her location spells could find where it went. It was odd, certainly. And she did, oh, so want revenge.

“Whoever said revenge was the most worthless of causes?” Both spun to find a blue stallion with glasses standing by them. How had she not noticed him approach, more so he’d seen her face. He grinned gleefully at her. “I have to say that is one of the coolest looks I’ve seen in a long time.”

The succubus smirked at him. “Well, I would trade clothing tips with you if I could but you have a date with the dirt.” She swiped an arm in the air and the earth below the pony opened up. A giant venus fly trap sprang out and snapped its jaws shut around him before he could speak. The succubus walked over to the giant plant and petted it fondly. “Well, that takes care of that.”

“You’re more interesting than I thought.” She looked up. The pony had somehow escaped the trap and now was climbing on the walls of the tower. No, more like he was walking on the walls. He even plopped his flank down and sat, staring down at her with a cocked expression. “Ready to listen to what I have to say?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Very well, you’ve peaked my interest. What are you anyway, some kind of fairy, a spirit?”

“Do I look like a fairy?” he responded. “Anyway, what I am isn’t that important. I saw what you did back there. Giving all the poor little peddlers and peasants that treasure. It was very sweet.”

She laughed. “In case you didn’t catch it, I also tasked them with building me a castle.”

“Oh, I know!” he sounded excited. “But isn’t that just what you’d expect in thanks?” The succubus arched her brow in confusion. The stallion’s ears twitched and his tone of voice suddenly changed. “Generosity is just another form of trade. I give you this and in turn you make me feel better about myself. It’s all an ego trip in the end. No one truly gives something in return for nothing.” His smile almost made her uncomfortable.

“So what do you want?”

“To offer you a chance at that thing you just mentioned. Revenge.”

Her eyes lit up and a smile played across her face. “Go on.”

The alicorn paced by the altar, worrying as the tremors became more and more frequent. She needed to act. She couldn’t just let this go on. Something was wrong with Noteworthy. She couldn’t find him any more. But there was something else she could follow. A pulse from the multiverse that she could track from here.

She turned to the altar and placed a hoof on it. “Show me how I can find him.”

Images began to flood her head. Screams and fire. So much pain and misery. It was a world of nightmares and hellscapes. She saw two mares being tortured in various ways. The images kept flashing, never staying still. Through the flickering flames she thought she saw a pair of glowing red eyes. They slowly turned to her.

She let go of the altar and trembled as she backed away. What was going on?

Homecoming

===E8DB

Rainbow paced back and forth in the grass of the dark side of the dayline. “Okay. This looks like home. But that’s impossible, right? I mean, you said there must be millions, billions of parallel worlds! The chance that that portal would throw us here of all places must be…” she tried to do the math in her head, but thought better of it, “really really slim!”

She turned to Pinkie but the mare didn’t even seem to be listening. She sat on a stump and kicked a nearby rock half heartedly. Rainbow let out a weary sigh. She’s in no shape to move. Hasn’t even suggested returning to the Veloci-Lair. Rainbow almost wanted to find this Masked Matterhorn and give her a punch to the gut for treating Pinkie like this.

She looked back at the other side of the dayline. Everything seemed so familiar. Sky Glaive right above and Hoofenbach right below. Clouds were swirling in the sky so she couldn’t tell what time of day it was but it was dark enough to be night and ponies seemed to be moving in the camp below.

She frowned and glanced back up at the sky, at the clouds. That was odd. The skies around Sky Glaive were supposed to be clear for better lookout. Why would the weather pegasi get sloppy like that?

She began to walk toward Hoofenbach but stopped as she remembered her companion. “Pinkie, please, we need to at least get to the camps.” Pinkie slumped on her stump and began to draw circles on the ground with her hoof, completely morose. Rainbow rolled her eyes and grabbed the mare to throw her on her back. Pinkie didn’t seem to respond in any way. “Hang on, Pinkie. I’ll find some way to cheer you up.” But first I’m going to see if this is really home or not.

Rainbow walked to the edge of the dayline. Again, so weird. There were no guards posted anywhere in sight. She stepped over the line where night became day and felt the slightly warmer grass beneath her hooves. A few hundred hooves away was Camp Hoofenbach. Logwood cabins and tents lining a good twenty acres of land along the line. Some structures jutted above the uniform dorms, these were pubs and other establishments ponies had set up to serve the tireless soldiers that worked here. Rainbow spotted her favorite bar. One she liked to go to with Lightning Dust whenever they were off duty.

“Lightning,” she muttered. She hadn’t thought about her friend in a while. Her mind had been on so many other things. Evil sorceress. Killer dragons. Maniacal Tyrants. Seeing her best friend dead. She knew it wasn’t her Fluttershy, but still. Not to mention they still needed to stop Mr. 4. How could she have time to think of Lightning. Yet she felt guilty.

She had started to walk toward Hoofenbach when a loud siren shattered her thoughts. She looked around to find the source of the emergency when a giant spotlight shined down on her from the camp. She raised a hoof to her eyes blocking the glare.

“Don’t move a muscle!” somepony shouted. She didn’t move as a group of four earth ponies and unicorns ran to flank her lowering their spears at her.

“Wait! I’m a friend!” she insisted. “I’m-”

“Oh, we know what you are, Wonderbolt,” somepony else shouted. It was hard for her to make out faces with the light in her eyes but she could swear she heard disdain with the mention of her squad.

“What are you doing down here, Pegasus?” another pony asked derisively. “Snooping for something?”

Rainbow stomped her hoof. “No! My friend and I just need to get somewhere safe. Look, call for Commander Spitfire, tell her Rainbow is back. She’ll vouch for-”

“Quiet!” a louder voice commanded and actually jabbed her with their spear. Rainbow jumped back in surprise glaring at her attacker. Maybe this was a different world. This couldn’t be home. “You don’t get to talk!”

“That’s enough!” A booming voice echoed from the spotlight and switched it off. The world became visible around her and Rainbow saw that some of the ponies surrounding her she recognized. They weren’t the type to act this hostile, even if we were at war like Spitfire suggested.

The pony that had commanded them stepped forward and glared at the soldiers. He was tall with big strong hooves and a white coat and horn. His mane was a deep blue but covered up by a golden captain’s helmet. He made eye contact with each of the soldiers. “Captain Armor, we need to interview this Pegasus that came from across the dayline.”

“That’s enough, private,” the unicorn replied. “I’ll handle that.”

The soldier looked a bit aggravated. “But captain…”

Armor stared him down. “I said, I’ll handle it.”

The soldier gave Rainbow a sneer and turned away trudging off to the camp. Rainbow looked up at the captain, expecting him to be just as hostile. Instead his hard eyes softened and he looked her over, giving a frown to the mare on her back. “Are you alright?”

Rainbow nodded. “Uh, yeah, fine. My friend and I just needed to get into camp.”

The captain smiled. “Looks like she had a rough go of it out there.” Pinkie seemed to have fallen asleep on her back at some point. She sniffled lightly as she slept, sounding like tears being held back.

“You have no idea.”

The captain held out his hoof. “Shining Armor, captain of the third unicorn battalion.”

Rainbow lifted her own hoof to shake. “Rainbow Dash, captain of the second Wonderbolts unit.”

Armor’s smile widened. “I thought I recognized you somewhere. I read about you at the academy. Youngest captain they ever had. Didn’t you go missing?”

Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “It’s a long story. Can we just get her someplace to sleep?” She nodded to Pinkie.

“Of course, follow me I know a place.” Armor led them back into camp and Rainbow glanced around to see her arrival greeted with glares ranging from suspicious to venomous.

“Any reason everypony here seems to hate my guts?” she asked him.

Armor sighed. “Honestly, I have no idea. My battalion arrived here nearly a week ago due to a request for more ground troops to guard the line from Shadowbolts. We get here with ten catapults that they asked for and the Shadowbolts are gone, nowhere in sight. We think they retreated after their leader disappeared.” Rainbow felt guilty again. So Fluttershy was still missing, just like Lightning. “But everypony is acting weird. They keep talking about the Wonderbolts above on Sky Glaive. Just the smallest thing goes wrong they blame it on them. There’s a rain storm, they go nuts. There’s a cloud blocking the sun, they have a fit. Wonderbolts haven’t been that helpful either. This cloud cover has been here for days and they haven’t done a thing to get rid of it. I’ve seen tensions rise between fellow soldiers when they’re in tight spaces but never when their separated by a thousand hooves of sky.”

Rainbow looked up at the floating fortress she had once called home. Just what was going on? They stopped at a larger structure with the words “HOTEL” written above the door. She thanked Armor for leading them there. “It’s the least I can do,” he replied with a smile. “Maybe one of their most esteemed captains can talk some sense into those ponies above.”

“I’ll try,” she assured him. They parted ways and Rainbow bought out a one bed room for Pinkie. She settled her down on the sheets and the mare immediately curled up into a fetal ball. “I’ve got a lot to do here, huh?”

Down a Peg

===E8DB

When she was sure Pinkie was fast asleep, Rainbow ducked out of their room and into the street. It was certainly late but she needed answers. This place was familiar enough that it could only be her home, but something had gone wrong while she was away. The pegasi and the ground troops were acting erratically and she needed to know why. Was this one of Fluttershy’s plans?

She slipped out of the hotel and stayed to the shadows as she skulked through the camp. Taking flight would attract too much attention and seeing the way they greeted her last time, they might just try shooting her out of the sky. She saw a pair of soldiers walking out of a bar and decided to follow them. They seemed to be talking up a storm and she might get some intel. She kept her body close to the shadows and even jumped to the roofs out of sight when possible, she didn’t learn nothing from watching Mare Do-Well and Applejack.

“So how long you have till your service is up?” one of the soldiers asked.

“Another five months,” the other grumbled in reply.

“Eight months for me.”

“I am just so sick of being stuck here beneath that damn fortress.”

“Tell me about it. And with that Stormbringer around attracting all the clouds it makes me want to go up there and give them a piece of my mind. Cowardly Pegasi.” Rainbow frowned at the comment but something sparked her interest. Stormbringer? What could that mean?

A loud boom echoed out above and Rainbow and her tails looked up. Something streaked through the night sky leaving a trail of vaporous clouds in its wake. It was pretty fast so she couldn’t really make out what it was. Then another boom echoed and she saw it. The thing sped up in such a short amount of time that it created a sonic boom. The shockwave seemed to push the clouds around it away but then they seemed to coalesce into an even thicker trail behind the figure. It continued to do this making booms and gathering more and more clouds around it. Odd, thing was though, it didn’t seem interested in the clouds it made. More like it was doing tricks and the clouds just followed and propogated behind it. A pegasi perhaps? But what pegasi was that fast and skilled?

It began to rain lightly from the increased amount of rain and the soldiers moaned. “She’s at it again!”

“If those Wonderbolts seriously don’t do anything about that hotshot, well, the guys are talking about using the catapult.”

The other soldier frowned. “That’s a little extreme, don’t you think?”

The first soldier placed a hoof on the other’s shoulder and grinned viciously. “They gotta learn somehow, right?” For a brief second, Rainbow almost thought she saw the soldier’s eyes flash with some sinister light.

The other soldier’s expression turned angry. “Yeah!”

Rainbow decided to let them on their way. She had heard enough for now. It was time to get some answers from this Stormbringer.

She waited until the spotlights were too focused on the aerial display above and then shot into a dark patch of the sky. Circling the enormous air strip from below she emerged from the other end of Sky Glaive and lighted down on the tarmac. At first she did it because it would probably be too dangerous to fly this late without knowledge from the higher ups. She could be mistaken for an enemy combatant. But there was nopony here either. No guards or watchmares anywhere. Lights were on in some of the barracks and the officers’ quarters so ponies were here but for some reason they just weren’t doing their duty. “Something is seriously wrong here,” she muttered to herself.

Another soft boom caught her attention and she spotted the amazingly fast figure of the Stormbringer flying past. It had now begun to rain lightly and it looked like the clouds the Stormbringer attracted were making lightning as well. They seemed to be in a holding pattern right now so this might be the best time to talk to them. She flew up toward the figure and approached as carefully as she could, staying inside the cover of the clouds.

She popped her head out of a particularly wet cloud, her uniform getting amazingly drenched, and peeked on the figure standing still in the air. This was the first time they had slowed down enough for her to get a good look and she thought something looked familiar. That golden mane. “Lightning?”

Lightning Dust was dressed in a much darker version of the Wonderbolts costume. Not Shadowbolt but some kind of modified version of her old uniform. Electric blue zigzag lines coursed across her body and legs in a pattern like the squares of a finish line flag. She didn’t turn to confront her. “Please, no autographs,” she mumbled. “And I thought I told Spitfire to tell all recruits to stay at least a hundred meters away.”

Rainbow emerged from the cloud. “No, Lightning, it’s me!”

Lightning’s head perked up and she turned with a frown, but her eyes widened as she saw her. “Rainbow?”

Rainbow couldn’t hold her emotions back. She rushed over to her friend and hugged her. Lightning seemed a bit disconcerted by this but inevitably hugged her back. “They searched for so long. Where were you?”

Lightning pushed her away and smirked. “Where was I? Where were you? I come back after all this training and they tell me you just went awol!”

Rainbow cursed herself for not thinking to leave a note. “I’m really sorry about that. Something… really important came up and some ponies needed me.”

Lightning raised a curious eyebrow. “Needed you for what?”

Rainbow turned her head down, Pinkie invading her thoughts. “Nothing in the end.” She looked back at her and smiled as she admired the new look. “So, Stormbringer, huh?”

Lightning’s face beamed and she rubbed her chest proudly. “I managed to beat your record the day I came back. Blew it out of the park actually.”

Rainbow scoffed in a friendly manner. “Yeah, I’ll bet you did.”

Lightning didn’t seem to take the humor. “No, seriously. I’m so much faster than you ever were.”

There was something about the way she spoke. Resentment? Rainbow frowned slightly. “Hey, I… I didn’t mean to leave like that. Really. Especially without having found you. We were all just led to believe that-”

Lightning made a dismissive grunt and waved her off. “I don’t care about that. Getting swept up in that whole business probably helped me out in the end. Gave me some perspective. So what do you say? Wanna have a race?”

Rainbow laughed. “A race? Lightning there’s a lot more important things we have to talk about.” What was she saying? The old Rainbow never would have given up this chance to duel a rival that had gotten so good. “For one, what’s with the clouds? And why does the ground troops hate the pegasi up here?”

Lightning gave her a disappointed look. “Seriously? That’s what you want to talk about? We just reunite and you want to throw yourself into another goose chase?”

Rainbow was beginning to get peeved. “Fluttershy was not a goose chase.”

Lightning rolled her eyes. “You still don’t get it. She attacked our home. That makes her a criminal. Even if you found her, brought her back, she would still have to face charges. Not everypony was saved that night.”

“I… know that. But Fluttershy is my friend.”

“I thought I was your friend!”

“You are! That’s why I want to save you both!”

Lightning’s eyes widened then hardened in a glare. “I see. Still playing the first wing. Gotta be the main character, don’t you. The hero.” She flew up and poked her in the chest. “Well, I’m not in trouble, Dash! You know what the problem is you insist on seeing? Everything is fine! You know who chased off the Shadowbolts? Me. You know why those dummies down below are so riled up? Because they haven’t seen action in over three months! It’s camp tension! It happens. There’s no plot! No evil scheme! No damsel to save!” She was a hair’s breadth from her now, her angry eyes filling Rainbow’s vision.

“Lightning I didn’t mean it like…”

“Race me.”

The command was succinct and told her all she needed to hear. Lightning was demanding a fight. And by all means she had earned it. Rainbow couldn’t help but remember how she pulled her friend into the events of that night when Fluttershy attacked with the Shadowbolts. Just what had she been up to since then? Maybe this race would help clear up some answers. “Fine.”

Lightning smiled and pointed up. Right now they floated in the center of a lightly swirling eye in sea of clouds. The opening from the stratosphere was nearly forty thousand meters above. “Endurance race. First to the top wins.”

Rainbow nodded resolutely and set herself next to her old rival. “I won’t hold back, Lightning.”

The mare smirked. “Trust me, I know.”

They waited for a thin wisp of cloud to pass the top of the hole. Rainbow gave one last look to Lightning seeing the determination in her eyes. She has gotten good. I need to go all out right off the bat.

The cloud ended its arc and in an instant the two mares were gone. Two shockwaves exploded outward from where they once were, one a rainbow pattern and the other yellow. They soared higher and higher, the wind pressure and gravity trying to push them back down. Rainbow glanced back and forth at her opponent. Lightning was truly neck and neck with her, their speed almost equal.

The hole quickly approached and they exploded from it into the mesosphere. It was a tie. Rainbow was about to slow down to a stop since it had been a draw but Lightning continued to fly up and up, her eyes determined. Rainbow flapped her wings a little harder to keep up. “Lightning! What are you doing?”

The mare didn’t seem to pay attention as she seemed to explode with a new vigor. Rainbow could already feel ice crystals beginning to form on her eyelashes as they climbed higher and higher. The mesosphere was falling away and they were quickly approaching the thermosphere. It was getting harder to breathe. “Lightning!”

She began to fall behind and Lightning kept on going. This had gone on long enough. Both of them could die if they continued. She stopped and hoped that Lightning would do the same. She was wrong. Lightning continued to rocket into the sky like she was determined to reach orbit.

Rainbow was about to yell at her again but the breath was knocked out of her when a wave of water slammed into her back and pushed her up. It took her a moment to sort her thoughts but she realized that it wasn’t water that had hit her but a giant cloud. She had to hold her breath as many clouds surged upward into the mesosphere like a geyser with her riding the spout. Lightning was actually pulling the clouds with her into the sky? That was impossible.

Rainbow broke the surface of a cloud and tried to take a deep breath, only realizing that in fact she could. This was impossible too. Shouldn’t there not be enough oxygen this high? She stared up at Lightning’s retreating form and then back down, finally realizing something. She broke a hole in the atmosphere. The livable sky from below had somehow followed her up and into space.

A small shockwave issued out from above as Lightning finally stopped. The cloud Rainbow was on slowed to a halt and she sat there in stunned silence gazing out at the billions of stars in the night sky. Down below the planet glistened like a blue jewel. She took a tentative breath and found all the oxygen she needed. Lightning lighted down next to her, a slight look of superior disdain on her face.

“I…”

The mare looked back to the stars and huffed. “Don’t you dare look down on me again.”

They flew back down, Rainbow completely silent as she didn’t even seem to dare look at her. Lightning had never felt so superior to her. It felt good. It almost made the unbearable pain worth it. She watched as Rainbow quietly flew away without another word. Deep down she kind of felt sorry for her. But the pain silenced her guilt.

When Rainbow was out of earshot Lightning let out the trembling breath she’d been holding. The voices flooded back shouting at her for not trampling on Dash’s ego more. Crushing her fragile state. Even doing more horrible things to her. “Shut up,” she mumbled.

She had been living with this power, the dark pool of energy she’d stolen from a dying Shadowbolt. She didn’t know why she could harness the power more than those ponies that attacked on the One Night War could, but she was satisfied. She even made sure not to return to duty until she had mastered it. But steadily, day by day, it was getting harder to control. She gritted her teeth and lifted a trembling hoof to her face focusing on getting it to stop shaking. After a minute or two of intensive will power she made it stop. She took a focusing breath and felt the pain subside for now. It’s not like this is your own power, the voice got in one last line as it faded. Rainbow Dash managed to keep up with you even for that short a time without any help.

It wasn’t help, she thought back at it. This is my power. I took it and earned it. You can’t claim this power anymore. It’s mine.

She was back in control. “I’ve got to check in with Spitfire. Cloud control is done.” She began to fly back to Sky Glaive, the slight twitching in the back of her head still there but manageable.

Rainbow opened the door to her and Pinkie’s hotel room. She glanced at the mare who was now tucked pretty tightly under the covers of the one bed. Her white and purple striped super suit lay off to the side in a heap. Honestly, Rainbow wasn’t that far away from doing the same thing. She had never felt so… humbled? No, that wasn’t the word. She couldn’t even put what she was feeling into a sentiment.

Lightning was like her. She was good, they both were. That’s why they became fast friends. But the disdain in her eyes, in her voice, it gave Rainbow pause. Had her friend really changed so much. Gotten so much better when she herself had been through so much and changed so little?

Her thoughts drifted to Fluttershy once more. ‘You were right about the monster thing! I’ve known it for a while now. The thing is… I don’t know if I want to change.’ Her old friend’s words rang in her ears. She had regretted calling Fluttershy a monster the moment she said it. Lightning didn’t seem all too happy with her words as well. If she confronted her again, would she be going down the same path that led her previous friend astray? Could she even get her words through to Lightning who was now so incredibly above her?

She slumped in a cushioned seat and threw her goggles onto the dresser beside it. Pinkie stirred only slightly at this. She let out a long sigh and rubbed her eyes forlornly. “I know you won’t talk to me, Pinkie,” she muttered. “But… I kind of just need to talk to somepony right now.” The mare didn’t respond. “I just feel like every decision I make is the wrong one. Going off to join the Wonderbolts and leaving Fluttershy led to her joining the Shadowbolts. Leaving with you guys led to Lightning overtaking me and I know she’s swept up in whatever is going on here, whether she knows it or not. I was even wrong about Luna when I confronted her in that other world.” She paused but Pinkie didn’t respond with anything as expected. “I want to help my friends. Fluttershy. Lightning… You.” Another pause. “But I’m not smart like Mare Do-Well or Applejack. Heck, you’re probably smarter than me. I just… wish I knew what to do.”

She looked at Pinkie as she hid under the covers but still found no response. She gave another sigh and leaned back in her chair perhaps thinking to get some rest. “I should have listened to him.”

Rainbow’s ears perked up and she saw Pinkie peeking her eyes out of the bed. They looked disparaged and red from crying. Her mane was a limp mess too. Rainbow frowned. Was she talking about Mr. 4 when he offered them their heart’s desires? “You shouldn’t think like that, Pinkie. Mr. 4 was and is a snake. Whatever he wanted was too big a cost.”

Pinkie shook her head. “Not him.” Rainbow cocked her head. “I should have listened to Humdrum. To Spike.” She made eye contact with her and pulled the sheets down to reveal her entire face. “Will you listen to my story?”

Rainbow nodded.

The Speedster's Secret

The Speedster’s Secret

/|/|/PP/|/|/

“Stop right there, evil doer!” Matterhorn shouted as the Power Ponies alighted on the other side of the street. The bank robbers gasped in shock, some dropping their bags of money in surprise.

“Aw crap, it’s the Power Ponies!” a robber shouted.

“That’s right, we’re-”

“Aw crap, it’s the Power Ponies!” the same robber shouted.

Mistress Marevelous gave a look to Matterhorn. “Uh, yes, we…”

“Aw crap, it’s the Power Ponies!”

Radiance and Humdrum walked forward, Humdrum waving his claw in front of a robber who seemed to be going through the same motions over and over again. Radiance tapped lightly on a precariously balanced thug and tipped him over. The same robber repeated his line.

“Looks like their stuck in a loop,” she sighed.

Matterhorn groaned loudly. “Not again! This makes the fifteenth one this week.”

“Sixteenth,” Zapp added. “I had to break up a disturbance this morning that turned out to be a pony that walked into and got stuck in a fire hydrant.”

“It’s like the laws of physics are breaking down,” Marevelous noted. “It all started with that big eye in the sky.”

Matterhorn rubbed her face in a tired manner. “Yeah, I’ve been trying to find out what it did but I’m getting nowhere. Whatever that thing was affected the whole city. And it’s getting worse.”

Saddle Rager smiled. “Well if anypony can figure it out it’s you.”

Matterhorn smiled. “Thanks.”

Fili-Second zipped between them a moment later and hugged them close. “Oh, come on, girls! Look on the bright side! We caught the bad guys. And… Ice Cream!!!” She tossed out a hoofful of cones in the air then sped away and returned a moment later having delivered a scoop to each one. Her friends all caught them and looked at her.

“Levity is nice at times, Fili-Second,” Matterhorn warned her. “But this could really turn into a serious problem.” She licked her cone. “Oh! Raspberry.”

Fili-Second waved a dismissive hoof. “We’re superheroes. We can handle anything that comes at us as long as were together.”

Humdrum licked his ice cream a little too fast and grabbed his head in pain. “Gaah! Brain freeze!” The group laughed cheerfully and felt a little better about the future.

“Ms. President this is insane!” Matterhorn shouted at the commander and chief of the country. The mare frowned at the cadre of costumed cavaliers in her oval office but didn’t motion for them to leave or be escorted out. “No amount of panic justifies such a critical action!”

The president righted her glasses and sighed. “Reports have been coming from all over the country about ponies from Maretropolis. Despite being away from the city they still exhibit these… odd symptoms. Until we know what we’re dealing with. All ponies living in Maretropolis need to be quarantined in a deserted area outside the city. For the good of the populace.”

“You’re talking about camps!” Zapp shouted. “You can’t move that many ponies into something like that!”

“Why not just quarantine them within the city?” Radiance asked.

“Maretropolis has been tested and found too dangerous to keep ponies in right now.”

“Dangerous!?” Marevelous shouted. “When did these tests happen?”

“I can’t divulge that information.”

Marevelous gritted her teeth and reached for her lasso. Saddle Rager shot out a hoof to stop her. “Wait!” she ran in front of the president. “If our city really is dangerous than we need to be helping as much as we can to make it not. Not bickering like this. All those ponies are going to be homeless and confused. We need to help them.”

Matterhorn and the others looked at each other. Finally, she sighed. “You’re right. The ponies come first. We’re sorry for disturbing you like this, Ms. President.” They all turned to walk out.

The president’s frown didn’t go away as they left adding a hint of some other emotion they couldn’t comprehend. “For what it’s worth, girls, I’m sorry.”

“Reports of fires breaking out in Maretropolis all across the city,” a news anchor reported with live coverage from shaky cams outside the city. “With the city abandoned by presidential decree, soldiers have moved in to systematically demolish and raze the city under quarantine law.”

The Power Ponies sat around a table each with their eyes glued to the computer screen which showed the latest news. Fili-Second looked uncomfortable. Marevelous looked furious. Saddle Rager tried to hold back her tears. Matterhorn looked wide eyed her mouth agape.

“Why not just nuke it!” Zapp shouted angrily. “I can’t believe they lied to us like that!”

Humdrum had his head resting on the table, Radiance beside him. “She never said they wouldn’t do this,” she muttered despondently.

“Well she should have been upfront with us about it!”

Marevelous slammed her hooves on the table shaking some of the ponies from their sad stupor. “Why aren’t we out there stopping this, Matterhorn!?” she asked. Matterhorn continued to stare at the screen her eyes filled with the images of fire and destruction. “Matterhorn. Matterhorn! Twilight!”

“What?” She was pulled away from the screen and shook her head. “I… yes… something. I-I’ve been working on something.”

They all looked to her expectantly. Matterhorn got up and went over to the controls for the screen. She made the news disappear and then pulled up camera footage of that night. The room was silent as the scene played out before them. Finally, she stopped it at the camera’s best look at the eye.

“This is our enemy. We need to find it and stop it before it does the same thing to another city.”

Saddle Rager wiped her tears and frowned. “But Matterhorn, how is that going to help us save Maretropolis?”

Matterhorn lowered her head and turned from her friends. “Maretropolis is gone. We should move onto other things.”

Zapp slammed her hooves on the table. “How can you say that?! It’s our home!”

Matterhorn reeled on her pointing to the door. “Then why aren’t you there, huh? Same reason as me, I bet! Because you want revenge.” Her expression lightened a bit and she looked hopeful. “Well, I think I have a solution. You see the eye was made of transdimensional-”

Marevelous held up her hoof to stop her. “Now hold on. You’re seriously tellin’ us to just let this go?”

Matterhorn sighed. “It’s the only option right now.” She looked to all of them. “Can I say my piece?”

Nopony answered, each one looking at the table with dejected or angry eyes. Matterhorn continued. “The eye was from an alternate dimension. One where physics doesn’t work the same way probably. That thing’s dystopic energy seeped into our world and corrupted it, or at least the ponies that were present to see it. Here’s the big catch though. Using the little knowledge of transdimensional physics by spending time here in the Veloci-Lair, I’ve found a way to detect the eye.” She pulled up a new window showing a series of white spheres. A red dot seemed to jump from one to the next in quick succession. “This moving dot is giving off the same energy as the eye. That means all these worlds it visits are in danger of having the very same thing happen to them. We need to put a stop to it.”

Radiance frowned. “You’re suggesting policing all these worlds? That’s way too big an undertaking for us.”

Matterhorn smiled. “But what if we gathered up other versions of ourselves from other realities? We could teach them what to look out for. Don’t think of it like policing. More like missionary work. Teach them to take care of themselves.” They seemed unconvinced. “Please. We need to do this. So much more than our own little world is at stake.”

Each member of the team looked at each other in deliberation. “Fili-Second?” Marevelous asked the pink mare. “You’d be doin’ most of the work travelin’ back and forth. Ah’d say it’s up to you.”

Everypony turned to her expectantly. Fili-Second shrugged dismissively. “Matterhorn is always right. I trust her judgement. And I don’t want to see anypony else affected by that thing.”

Saddle Rager suddenly let out a loud shriek and they all turned to where she was pointing. The screen showing the frozen image of the eye had begun to move again. The eye pointed directly at them. It blinked once and then Matterhorn scrambled to shut off the screen. It went black and the room was left in silence. “Let’s not use this screen again,” Matterhorn suggested.

“I’ll get rid of it!” Humdrum said and got up sprinting to the console. He stood on a stool and tried to grab the screen from its position on the wall but the stool tilted and he tumbled backward. He landed with a yelp and then the bolt holding the screen snapped and it fell on his head. His eyes spun as he held his cranium in pain. “OW!”

Fili-Second snorted and the others followed in laughter.

“Thank you for the warning,” Twilight Sparkle said as she shook hooves with the Masked Matterhorn. “We are very grateful for this information.”

The Power Ponies couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable in this world. Matterhorn didn’t seem to notice it but everything felt just a little off. Every other world they’d visited before was pleasant for the most part but something about the way this Twilight dressed and the strict poses of the black suited soldiers outside gave them pause. They stood in the throne room of one Princess Celestia, though in this world she was known as Queen. Depictions of her glistening blue armor and red fiery mane were everywhere in this castle.

Radiance fidgeted as she stared over at her own double sitting in a smaller throne across the room. “What is it?” Fili-Second asked.

Radiance frowned. “Oh, nothing. I just think this world’s me has a very different eye for fashion then I do.”

Matterhorn and Twilight finished exchanging pleasantries. “I’m glad you’ve taken us so seriously. It can sometimes be hard to get ponies to believe it even with their own eyes.”

Twilight smiled, something in it making Fili-Second on edge. “We’re much more open minded here. But please, you have to stay the night. You haven’t even met the Queen. She’d love to meet some ponies from another world.”

Matterhorn didn’t even look back for confirmation from her team. “Oh, that works! Actually I’d love to discuss these Elements of Harmony that keep appearing wherever we go. You have them as well, correct?”

Twilight smiled and held out a hoof for her to follow. “Oh, yes. Let’s walk and talk.”

Zapp sighed heavily. “Great. Looks like we’re staying.”

Saddle Rager tried to approach her own double but the hooded mare gasped in her seat and shot out of it looking afraid of her. “I don’t really like this place,” she mumbled.

“Ah agree,” Marevelous frowned. “It’s too on edge.” The team all looked uncomfortable, ready to split. “Ah think Ah’ll just go talk to Matterhorn.”

Humdrum walked in front of her before she could follow their leader and crossed to a small throne. “I don’t know, I kind of like it! I wish I had a throne.” He threw himself on a throne and didn’t notice as it began to tip backward. He waved his arms enthusiastically to balance himself but the throne fell back anyway. “Ow.”

“Humdrum,” Fili-Second chuckled. The rest of the team laughed as well.

“They tried to kill us!” Zapp shouted.

“They were interested in crossing dimensions,” Matterhorn tried to reason with her.

“We barely got out of there alive!”

“But we did! And at least they know about the threat now.”

“Do we want ponies like that to know?” Radiance asked. “Those villains tried to foalnap Pinkie!”

Saddle Rager patted Fili-Second’s back, her mind still racing from the near death situation she had just escaped. Still she forced a smile. “Really guys, I’m fine. See?” She pulled down her cowl and showed them her skin. “No scars. They didn’t do anything.”

Marevelous glared at Matterhorn. “We need to be more careful with the worlds we visit now.”

Matterhorn nodded. “Yes, I agree. We just need to do a little bit more research before going anywhere rashly.”

“No.” They all turned to the objection. Zapp stared right back at all of them. “I’m not doing this anymore. This is getting us nowhere.” She pointed at Matterhorn. “You said you wanted revenge right? So why haven’t we faced that thing?”

Matterhorn frowned. “I’m close, really. I think the answer to defeating it is in the Elements of Harmony.” She pulled up some schematics on the computer. “They keep reiterating in a diaspora of alternate worlds and I think it has a purpose.”

Zapp slammed her hoof on the ground. “I’m done listening to your smart talk, Twilight. Tell me, straight up, can we fight it?”

They all looked to Matterhorn. “No. Not yet at least.”

Zapp sighed. “Then I’m going home.”

“Rainbow!”

“You don’t need me here!” she shouted. “Not for this. Right now. I’m better off in our world. Somewhere I can do some good.”

There was silence. Then Saddle Rager stood, Fili-Second looking up at her with surprise. “She’s right. I… think that it would be better if we both left. There’s still all those refugees. We need to start thinking about them.”

Marevelous looked to Matterhorn as if to talk them out of it. Matterhorn simply blinked. “If that’s what you want.” She turned her back to them and went back to the computer.

“Seriously?” Marevelous asked. She looked back at Zapp and Saddle Rager then grunted and left the room.

Humdrum stood suddenly on his chair and raised a hand as if to say something important. “Don’t worry. It’s not like its good bye.” The chair tipped and he fell over bonking his head on the floor. “Ow…” They all shared a laugh as they helped him up.

Fili-Second rose as her two friends looked to her. “I… um… you’ll still be around right? We’ll still see each other?”

Zapp smiled slightly, though there was a pain behind it. “Yeah, we’ll… we’ll see you later.” She reached for the necklace around her and took it off, handing it to Fili-Second.

“But you need this,” she insisted.

“Why don’t you keep it safe for me?” Zapp replied. “It’ll mean we’ll see each other again.”

Fili-Second nodded painfully and accepted the lightning bolt necklace.

“Rainbow flank left! Fili-Second flank right!” The two new recruits, each hoof picked by Matterhorn from different universes flew in the air and pinsir attacked the giant monster hydra that attacked a city. A robotic Rainbow Dash slammed into its right head as Fili-Second ran up its side and delivered a punch to the left head. Radiance summoned a pair of giant fists to uppercut the middle head but it was made of metal and didn’t wilt as easily to the attack.

Fluttershy flew off to the side, a pair of colorful shades on and an oversized tye dye shirt covering her. She presented the left head with a daisy. “Peace?” The hydra blew a burst of flame at the flower and it disintegrated. “Hey! Plants are Mother Earth’s children too!”

Radiance yelled back down to Marevelous who commanded the attack. “It’s not working!”

Marevelous cursed to herself. “Giant Mecha-Hydra. What will the multiverse think of next to throw at us?” She signaled for Fili-Second to return to her side on the street level. The rest flew next to her as well. The robotic Rainbow Dash and peace loving Fluttershy landing in the huddle. The city around them wasn’t looking so well

“Kill. Destroy. Swag?” Rainbow Dash asked in a metallic tone.

“Nah, you did good out there, Rainbow,” Marevelous reacted to her, not entirely understanding the way the metal mare talked. She bit her lip as she looked to Fluttershy. “You too, Fluttershy.”

“All we need is love, sister,” Fluttershy said in a hopeful but banal tone.

Marevelous turned to the only pony who was not a part of the huddle. “Matterhorn! You wanna join in?”

Matterhorn stood off to the side scribbling calculations in the asphalt with her horn. “Hold on! I’m just trying to figure out why this isn’t working.”

The two flesh hydra heads regained their senses and roared as the middle began to build up energy in its maw. Marevelous’ eyes widened and she grabbed the two ponies closest to her. “Get down!”

With Fluttershy and Fili-Second she ran for cover, Radiance close behind. She snatched Matterhorn while she was distracted and followed. Unfortunately, before the last member of their team could hide the energy erupted and spewed forth in a blaze of plasma. Robo Rainbow was incinerated moments before rounding the corner to join them.

“NO!!” Marevelous shouted. She reeled on Fili-Second. “It’s too dangerous here! We gotta go now!”

“No! Matterhorn shouted. “Just… Let’s just find a Rainbow here. I’m sure it will work!”

Fili-Second looked between the two, unable to choose who to listen to. The Mecha-Hydra stomped forward and cast its glare on the team, robotic eyes glowing red and preparing for another fire. “NOW!” Marevelous shouted.

Fili-Second closed her eyes and focused as she touched all the ponies around her. A moment of concentration and then a sonic boom and they were gone.

“What in Faust’s name was that?!” Marevelous shouted across the table at Matterhorn. They were back at the Veloci-Lair, the casualty weighing heavily on most of them.

“I thought it would work,” Matterhorn muttered. “The elements should have been activated. All my research points to the fact that the power resides inherently in us. A robotic Rainbow Dash should have been the perfect choice. Loyalty is programmed in.”

“Stop talkin’!” Marevelous slammed her hoof on the table for emphasis. “A teammate dies, somepony you brought on, and all you can do is wonder why the blasted Elements didn’t activate?”

“Fluttershy is from a time and place in her society where love and peace are a revolutionary movement,” Matterhorn continued to ramble to herself. “She’s got to represent kindness more than any other.”

It was Radiance’ turn to get mad as she spun Matterhorn around and slapped her in the face. “Twilight! This is not the time to indulge in your science experiments!”

Matterhorn looked shocked but then frowned and pushed her off. “This is exactly the right time. Every failure gets us one step closer to success. I know the Elements are the answer to defeating the Glitch. I just know it!” Twilight went over to the computer and began running more numbers.

Everypony looked at each other nervously. Even Humdrum who’d been left behind on the mission was looking particularly shaken up.

“Ahem,” they all looked to Fluttershy. “I, um, I think I’d like to go home now.”

They looked back to Matterhorn, she didn’t even seem to be paying attention. “I’ll help you out,” Fili-Second said solemnly.

“Can you make another stop?” Marevelous walked toward her, a resolute look on her face.

“Applejack?”

“Ah can’t in good conscience stay here and do what she says. Ah’ve been thinkin’ about this for a while and Ah believe Ah need to go home.”

“Me too.” Radiance walked forward as well. “I… don’t want to let this consume me.” They all glanced at Matterhorn, but the mare was simply too engrossed in her studies to notice what they were talking about.

“You’re really leaving?” Humdrum asked as he tugged on Radiance’ costume.

Radiance smiled weakly and rubbed his head. “We’ll see each other again. I know we will.”

“Then… what’s going to happen to the Power Ponies?” The three of them looked at each other. Marevelous unclipped her lasso from her side and presented it to Pinkie. “No,” she said with trepidation, “I can’t.”

“This isn’t just to ensure we meet again,” Marevelous said. “Ah think Rainbow and Ah were thinkin’ the same thing when we wanted you to have our weapons.” She rubbed her mane and put her forehead to hers, giving her the best smile she could. “We want you to be safe.”

Fili-Second hung her head, sadness Filing her thoughts. Still she forced a smile. “Okay. But you better be prepared for me to drop in.” She hugged them both.

“We will, Pinkie. We will,” Radiance said.

She made sure to touch all of them and then in a boom they were gone.

“Another failure!” Matterhorn kicked a chair and sent it flying as they returned to the lair. “I just don’t get it! Fifteen iterations and fifteen failures!”

Fili-Second followed behind her, slightly exhausted from the day’s events. She had been tasked with gathering and teleporting lots of different ponies for Matterhorn’s Harmony tests. Matterhorn had been growing rather callous in the passing weeks and it upset her. Still she tried to keep a smile on her face. “Don’t worry about it so much, Twilight. Maybe you just need to take a break and come at it from a different angle?”

Matterhorn stopped her frustrated raging and glared at Fili-Second. The mare cowered for a moment beneath the gaze but then Matterhorn’s eyes widened. “A break. Different angle. Of course!”

She immediately left for her secret room, the one where she stayed most of the time now doing her important work. The panel door slid shut and Fili-Second was left alone in the room. She let out a sigh.

The door opened behind her and she turned to see a small purple dragon dragging a suitcase behind him. “Humdrum? What are you doing out of your costume?”

He looked at her, a worn look in his eyes and then looked away in shame. “I’m, um… I’m leaving.”

“What?” Fili-Second asked. Surely this had to be a joke. “You can’t just leave, you’re the last one.”

“There’s still you,” he said. “You could come with me.”

Fili-Second paled. She had never even considered it. She understood why the others left but Twilight still needed her. Her power was invaluable. Not to mention the fight was important. “Spike, you know I can’t do that.”

The little dragon nodded wearily then set his suitcase down. He still had a bit of trouble looking her in the eye. “So you won’t take me home?”

She was silent for a long moment. “No, I’ll take you.”

“Thanks.” He looked like he had something else to say so she waited. After a minute he spoke up. “You know I’m really not as clumsy as I always appeared to be.” She lifted a curious eyebrow. “All those times tripping or falling off my chair? I was just trying to cut the tension. You all tended to fight a lot more than you realize.”

She laughed. “No, we didn’t.” She immediately caught herself. “I mean we don’t.”

Spike tapped his claws together and smiled slightly. “You know, I think you and me are pretty similar. We both tried to keep a smile on everyone’s faces. But since this all started, I haven’t seen a real smile on anypony’s face. I used to screw up to make you guys happy. Now I just feel like I’m the clown.”

Fili-Second shook her head vehemently. “Spike, you’re not a clown! You’re a teammate and a friend!”

“And we always will be?”

“Yeah.”

He looked to the panel where Matterhorn had retreated to. “I… still want to go home. And you should come with me. She can’t do it on her own here. She’ll follow you. Maybe back home she can clear her head.”

She seriously considered the words. Should she just forcibly take Matterhorn home? Would she be better off? But then again, there was more on the line than her own home. Matterhorn was like this for a cause, she had to support that. “I’m sorry.”

Spike hung his head once more and bit his lip. “Okay, just promise me one thing.” She looked up at him. “Don’t become the clown.”

She smiled and nodded, embracing the dragon in a hug before disappearing in a sonic boom.

“Later Twilight tried to find a replacement for herself. That’s how she came across Mare Do-Well. You guys were the thirty third team I had put together, most of them not lasting past two missions. It’s obvious now that eventually Twilight would’ve found some way to replace even me. Spike was right. I am the clown.”

Rainbow sat in her chair listening to her whole story. By now, Pinkie had gotten out of bed and sat on the side of it. She still looked sad and her mane hung limply but it felt good to get the truth out finally. It might make her hate her but Rainbow deserved the truth. She didn’t look up as she heard the mare stand from her chair and begin to walk. She wouldn’t blame her for leaving after hearing that.

Then to her surprise she felt a sudden warmth. Rainbow wrapped her hooves around her and hugged her tight. “But… I lied to you,” she whispered, her eyes beginning to tear up.

“I never knew Pinkie in my world,” Rainbow said. “So the only one I’ve ever known is you. And I can tell you right now, you’re not replaceable.”

With that, she let the tears flow and gave into the hug holding her friend as tight as she could, not wanting to let go.

Revenant

===E8DB

It didn’t take her long to determine where Lightning was. Despite how much her friend had changed in skill, she was still the same mare. This is what Rainbow had to keep telling herself as she approached the bar they’d go to together. Above, the clouds swirled and discharged small bolts of electrified air, all seeming to spin around this one spot. I don’t know what you did to get this strong, Lightning, but it can’t be good for you. She took a deep breath and walked in.

The place was almost empty save for two or three earth ponies and unicorns. They eyed her hatefully as she entered but hesitated to act, mostly because of the mare sitting alone in a booth in the far corner. Rainbow walked steadily across the bar and saw that Lightning had already finished three full glasses of cider. “A bit early to drink this much.”

Lightning had her head lying on the table, her mane splayed out messily before her. She lifted her head with unease and craned her neck toward her. She chuckled in a slightly tired stupor. “Oh, you drank more than this before breakfast.”

Rainbow didn’t take the bait. “That was a bet. From you. I’m not… like that anymore.”

Lightning’s face contorted into a frown. “And what are you exactly? You disappear for months on end. I thought it was to look for Fluttershy but I scour Equestria for you and your nowhere. Off the map. Gone. Poof!” She waved her hooves in front of her to instrument her point. She screwed her eyes shut in pain and clenched her teeth wincing. “Gah, my head.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I’m not surprised with how much you drank.”

Lightning narrowed her eyes at her. “This isn’t from that. This is… something else. Something you wouldn’t understand.”

Rainbow put her hooves on the table. “Believe me, Dust. I can believe a lot of things now. In fact, that’s the reason I can’t stay. But I need to help you and the rest of the camp before I go.”

Lightning grimaced. “Always gotta have the last word, huh? You seriously wanna leave just after getting here?”

Rainbow took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves. She never liked dealing with her friend when she was like this. “Listen, there is more than meets the eye here. Spitfire and a lot of the others have been replaced. We need to-”

Lightning held up a hoof to silence her. “Woah, woah, Spitfire? What are you talking about?”

“It’s these creatures called changelings. They took a bunch of the flyers’ places, probably some around here too. Their planning to start a war between Sky Glaive and Hoofenbach.”

Rainbow caught Lightning’s eyes and for a moment hoped that what she saw was lucidity and recognition. Instead she laughed. “Are you serious? Changelings? That’s gotta be some kind of gag.”

Rainbow leaned a little bit closer from across the table, her patience wearing thin. “Look, you have to admit that some of the others have been acting weird! Spitfire ordered you to make that cloud cover, right? Why?”

Lightning was about to answer but she winced again and gripped her forehead. “I… um…”

“And the ponies down here. Why would they make a call for reinforcements when they don’t need it? They were told to bring siege weapons. Why would they need that to fight an enemy that retreated months ago?”

Lightning’s eye twitched and she hissed as she tried rubbing her forehead a bit more. Rainbow grabbed her arm and pulled it forcing her to make eye contact. “Listen to me!”

“SHUT UP!!” Lightning flung her arm with such strength that it hurled Rainbow across the floor. Chairs and stools went flying and even the table she sat at turned to mulch. Rainbow groaned, a slight pain in her side but still good. The rest of the ponies in the bar seemed smart enough to run out as Lightning stumbled forward clutching her head in pain.

“Lightning?”

The distraught mare shouted and her voice shattered the glasses and windows. Rainbow shielded her eyes from the debris while still keeping an eye on Lightning. There was something eerily familiar about the feeling radiating from her. Suddenly an amorphous black shadow sprung from Lightning’s feet and swirled around her. “Oh, Dust, what did you do?”

Lightning looked at the shadow with wide eyes and attempted to shake it loose but the darkness held and even began wrapping itself around her hooves and up her torso. She gave one last terrified look to Dash as the dark ribbons coiled around her face. There was the friend she’d known. But the next moment she was gone, her face completely covered.

“Lightning!” Rainbow shouted and flew at the darkness but a mass of it rose from the floor and she collided with it. Without missing a beat, she appeared from a shadow in the ceiling and flew into the floor with a crash.

Lightning continued to struggle against the black constraints but it was clear she was losing, her movements getting weaker. Finally, she simply stopped and hung her head. Rainbow lifted herself wearily to her feet from the crater she’d made in the floor. “Lightning?” she asked tentatively.

Two eyes red as blood opened from the blackness covering her face. A mouth started to form as if tearing the blackness in order open, bearing sharp teeth. The wings unfolded into sharp angles like a bat, trails of black miasma loosing from them. That wasn’t Lightning anymore.

The new thing before her smiled with its mouth full of vicious teeth. “What’s the matter, Rainbow? No hello for an old friend?”

Old friend? Whatever this thing was she hadn’t ever met it before. “Fraid you got me confused, black thingy,” she replied trying to cut the tension. “I don’t think we’ve met before.”

“Oh, it’s still me in here.” It changed to Lightning’s voice. “But me as well.” Rainbow paled as Fluttershy’s voice cut through.

“What… are you?”

“A revenant,” it replied. “An afterimage of the dark power of Nightmare Moon, the mind of Fluttershy and the mind of your friend all at once.”

Something clicked in Rainbow’s head. “So that’s what you did, Lightning. You took Fluttershy’s power.”

“Not all of it,” it said with a sigh. “Lightning simply found a dying shadowbolt and stole some of its power, at my insistence of course. Nightmare Moon may be dead but her power lives on and becomes tied to those that wield it. Those with weaker hearts become mere vessels for its evil while the stronger are able to control it. And before you ask, no it was not controlling Fluttershy. The mare had a will beyond that which she outwardly showed.”

“So why are you here now?” Rainbow asked, trying to take a tactical step back.

The thing grinned. “Lightning had been dealing with the pressure of this power for a long while. Your arrival seemed to be a tipping point for her.” It disappeared. Rainbow stopped in her tracks and looked around. How had it done that? She had been just looking at it. Her step back made her bump into something behind her. “Boo.”

She spun and was greeted to a right hook from the creature. Rainbow was sent flying across the bar again and crashed through the wall onto the rainy street. Shouts and screams rang out around her as she stood back up waveringly. Meanwhile the Flutter Dust Revenant stepped from the hole it created, sharp teeth and monstrous appearance bare for all to see. “You have no idea the frustration we have for you, Rainbow,” it growled. “Fluttershy, Lightning, why is it that all your friends eventually end up hating you?”

Rainbow got her balance but had to hold her left leg up. Damn, that’s gotta be a break. She didn’t feel so good about her ribs either. “You’re not Lightning or Fluttershy,” she breathed. “You’re just some dark thing using their memories.”

“What I am is whatever Lightning and Fluttershy made me,” it replied. “And right now we both want to hurt you.”

Before the revenant could act Rainbow propelled herself into the air. She had lost her goggles in the scuffle so rain was getting in her eyes but she just had to fly as fast as she could. She peered behind and saw the revenant gone, but that was because it was in front of her now. “You keep trying to run!” it shouted as a tendril of darkness shot out and threatened to impale her. Rainbow narrowly dodged the attack but it made her stress her ribs and she lost focus beginning to fall. Then in a burst of speed the revenant was at her again, wrapping its arms around her and flying her up into the sky. “But you don’t get to run away now. You don’t get to abandon us!”

Rainbow wanted to shout at it, to say something to try to get through to her friend but the revenant was moving at speeds unheard of now. Rainbow was having a hard time just getting in a breath. Then her breath was gone. She and the Revenant slammed into the underside of Sky Glaive and plowed straight through. They exploded from the other side, tarmac and safety lights flying in all directions.

Rainbow flopped to the ground, her body bouncing a couple of times until she skidded to a halt. She could already feel herself losing consciousness, a wound on her head beginning to bleed down her eye. In the back of her mind she could make out the sound of the emergency siren. Red lights flashed across the camp, their tracers making Rainbow’s head pound even more. Not only that but flyers had begun to mobilize in the air, not seeming to pay attention to the destruction caused by her fight. But she couldn’t really call this a fight. This was a massacre, and she was on the receiving end. A bleary shadow approached her standing against the lights in the distance.

“You know why nopony is coming to help you?” the shadow asked. “Because they all know this is a long time coming.” The revenant came into focus and gripped her torn uniform lifting her up. “You abandon your squad, your duties, your friends! Why? What was it all for?!”

Rainbow couldn’t keep track of what to focus on. The fighting had already started and she and Lightning had ignited it. The ponies were going to war with each other and her friend was trapped inside a cocoon of her own dark emotions.

No. This wasn’t Lightning’s fault. It was hers. If she had looked a little harder. Been a little more attentive. Been… a better friend. “Guilt,” she croaked. The revenant paused, its anger seeming to subside for a moment. “I went after Fluttershy because I felt guilty. I left without finding you, Lightning, because I felt guilty about getting you into this. I didn’t… want to see you hate me. Not like I saw in Fluttershy’s eyes. I keep telling myself I left for a greater purpose but… it was because I’m a coward. Too much of a coward to say… I’m sorry.”

The revenant held her up, the hoof gripping her beginning to tremble. Then it let her go. Rainbow collapsed to the ground in a heap. The revenant stumbled back gripping its head in pain. “She needs to be taught a lesson,” it hissed.

“But she’s my friend,” Lightning’s voice spoke. “She apologized.”

“You think somepony like her means what she says?! Let us hurt her!”

“No!” It gripped its head and let out another wailing scream before shooting into the air.

“Wait! Come back!” Rainbow shouted but could barely summon the strength to raise her voice. She tried flapping her wings but found that there was a new break on her body. Instead she stumbled and rolled lying on her back looking up at the sky. “Lightning.”

Then ponies were above her. Familiar ones, though a little beaten up. The ones that had attacked her previously. They looked down on her in a circle, grins plastered to their face. “Well, look who it is.”

Rainbow tried to get up but one simply laid a hoof on her chest. “Ah ah ah. Wouldn’t want you leaving before we finally got introduce you to the Queen.”

They parted and Spitfire came into sight. The mare wore her sunglasses even in the dark cloudy day, pulling them off dramatically to look at her. She grinned like the rest but stopped when a look of recognition flashed across her face. “You. I know you. One of the mares from the dreams.”

“Really, my Queen?” a changeling asked.

Spitfire frowned and leaned down to sniff her. They made eye contact and Spitfire’s pupils narrowed to a slit before returning to normal. “No, I must be mistaken,” she chuckled. “To be afraid of somepony like you I’d have to be thick in the head.”

“What do we do about that thing?” another asked.

She put her sunglasses back on and shrugged. “Leave it. If it comes back then just stay out of its way. I want to be done and out of this awful place before nightfall.”

“Why?” Rainbow choke out from beneath the changeling’s boot. “Why are you doing this?”

Spitfire’s demeanor changed into a more serious one. “This place will suffer a battle far greater than this, child. I intend to be gone when that happens.”

“The Queen saw it in a dream,” a changeling added, getting a swat for its troubles.

“Dream?”

“Not that you’ll have to worry about it,” Spitfire said returning to a cocky attitude. “That wing looks broken. Why don’t we give her an aerialist’s end? Throw her off the side.”

The changelings looked a little bummed but still agreed lifting her in the air. “Let me go!” Rainbow shouted and struggled but her body was too bruised. Simply resisting caused immeasurable pain in her side.

“Goodbye, little Pegasus,” Spitfire said as she walked back to the camp. “I certainly hope your end changes the future I’ve foreseen. If not for me, then for all of us.”

The changelings stopped at the edge of the floating island putting Rainbow’s hooves behind her back and forcing her to look down at the earth below. Already shouts were ringing out and lights were blaring. She could see flyers descending on the camp and torpedoing through tents and buildings. This was worse than the One Night War.

Then, to ensure her demise, the changeling holding her pushed on her back while grabbing and pulling her wings. Rainbow screamed in pain as she heard and felt a snap. They laughed at her pain. She could even feel their disgusting psychic tendrils tasting her emotions once more. For the second time today, she was powerless.

No, she shouted in her head. Fight back. Fight back! “Fight back!” she shouted throwing her head back and slamming it into the changeling holding her. It grabbed its nose and let its disguise slip as green blood poured from it. Rainbow’s head rang out as she swayed trying to get her balance. She could fight. Everything pounded and ached but she had to fight. If for no other reason than she was the only one who could. Then one of the changelings snarled and pushed her in the chest toppling her back. Rainbow’s arms flailed and she fell off the side.

Every Pegasus instinct fought for her to survive. To fly somehow. But her wings were useless. Her legs had nothing to grab onto. So she fell. Tumbling through the air, the ground and sky seemed to revolve around her, thunder and lightning above and below with the flashes of war. She had flown so fast before always striving to go faster, but only now with the ground so in a rush to meet her did she want to slow down.

Rainbow closed her eyes, resigned to her fate. Maybe she deserved this. Maybe Lightning was right. No, there’s no denying it. I’m a coward. I’m forgetful. I always had such a one track mind. She opened her eyes again, biting her lip and staring up at the receding island she called home. “I don’t want to be like that anymore.”

Suddenly a rush of wind shot up from beneath her. It felt almost like being caught by a pillow of air as her descent slowed to a halt before dropping her on the ground. “Rainbow!” A blur of pink wrapped around her neck and squeezed. “Oh, I was so worried! I saw you fall and thought you were going to fly but then you weren’t and I knew something was wrong so I-”

“Pinkie!” Rainbow choked out pushing her away. “I’m fine!” She winced slightly at the strain it caused. “More or less.” They had landed in a narrow between two barracks. Out of sight with the rest of the battle.

Pinkie pulled away and examined her. “You’re not fine more or fine less. You’re bleeding everywhere and your wings don’t work!”

Rainbow struggled to her feet denying Pinkie’s assistance. “Doesn’t matter. I still need to stop this. Maybe… Maybe I can use the catapult or something.”

Pinkie shook her head. “Shining Armor says a bunch of ponies took the catapults before the fighting started. Their all being used by crazed soldiers.”

Rainbow rubbed her mane as she thought. “Agh, what about revealing the changelings? Is there any way to do that?”

Pinkie frowned in thought. “Hard to say. A burst of emotion, maybe? Something strong enough that they can’t digest it. I don’t know!”

Rainbow looked at herself and the world falling apart around her. “What kind of emotion does it have to be?”

“…Happy.”

“Not a lot to go around here.”

They both looked at the ground. Things were looking hopeless. Even if she used Pinkie’s speed to get everypony out of the battle, there would still be the changelings hiding and the pegasi in the skies to deal with. The skies…

Rainbow looked up at the storm. Light illuminated the insides of the clouds sporadically throwing off a bolt of lightning or two. But inside those illuminations was something else. A figure thrashing around with reckless abandon. “I know what I need to do.”

Against every impulse her brain was sending her, Rainbow beat her wings. It felt like knives in her back but she needed to be airborn. “What are you doing?!” Pinkie asked grabbing her hoof to stop her.

Rainbow looked into her eyes, a new determination brimming within her. “Pinkie, please. I need to get up there. I think I have a way to stop this but I can’t do it alone. There’s somepony up there that I need to help. This won’t end until I do.” Pinkie’s worried expression was unchanged. “This is my world. My responsibility. And I abandoned it to this. I don’t know if I could have done anything to stop this invasion, but I left my comrades… my friends behind to face it alone. You understand, right?”

Pinkie still looked unsure but loosened her grip. Rainbow took that as a confirmation and nodded to her. Her arm lingered as she pulled up and a small spark of electricity buzzed between their hooves. Rainbow didn’t even notice as she was already flying higher.

With each beat of her wings a new pain began and then they gradually stopped. She was probably just getting number which wasn’t a good sign but she needed to get to the clouds. She beat a little faster, not even noticing the quickened pace of her wings.

Just a Little Faster

===E8DB

Rainbow shot up into the sky and into the cloud cover. Immediately she was greeted with a world of dark grays and wetness. It took her a moment to orient herself. Then a lightning bolt shot past her arcing into the clouds behind. She was surprised by how quickly she dodged it.

“Lightning!” she shouted into the void of gray. Several sparks shot off from not far away and she followed them. Yet whatever their source was seemed determined to stay out of reach. “Lightning, please! Talk to me!”

She heard a weird sound like a rushed voice and a scream, then it spoke to her from seemingly all directions. “GET OUT OF HERE!” The voice was Lightning’s but something else as well.

“I’m not leaving without you, Dust.” Electricity shot at her again but this time it seemed even slower than before. Rainbow moved to the side as it passed. “You’re getting weaker, you need to get that thing off you.”

“Weaker?” The revenant shot out from behind her and grabbed her neck. “I’m stronger than you’ll ever be!”

Rainbow struggled against its hold and shook vigorously. She felt her body almost heat up as she kept shaking and shaking and then the revenant flew off. Rainbow had to calm herself down to stop the shaking. She looked at her hoof and almost saw it blur with motion. What was that?

“How did you do that?” the revenant asked as it righted itself below her.

“I… I don’t…”

It shouted and launched again. Once more Rainbow saw the attack coming and was able to dodge but then it bounced on the cloud behind her and ricocheted. Rainbow tried to keep track of where it went as the revenant flew in sharp angles all over the place. She was amazed she was able to keep up with it. Finally, it attacked reaching its black hoof out at her in a wild pounce. Rainbow lifted her own hoof to intercept and the two collided with a shocking impact.

The revenant stared in disbelief at her, cocking its head to the side. Even Rainbow was surprised she was doing this good considering her wounds. Her wounds that she couldn’t even feel anymore. “What… did you do?” it asked in Lightning’s voice.

Instinctively, Rainbow gritted her teeth and pushed forward like a punch. Electricity shot up her arm and the speed of her swing was increased a dozen times over. The revenant went flying back in surprise and crashed through the cloud cover. Rainbow was left alone staring at her hoof as an arc of multicolored energy dissipated around it. “What’s going on?”

Elsewhere in an abandoned lair floating in spacetime, a siren blared. Outside the fortress electricity and colors shifted from pink and white to every color imaginable. On a screen a simple warning flashed. “Veloci-Source Anomaly Detected! Veloci-Source Anomaly Detected!”

Rainbow broke through the cloud cover and immediately saw the carnage below. Things were getting worse as fires had begun to break out in Hoofenbach. Even Sky Glaive was not immune as she saw the earth ponies had set up catapults to shoot balls of burning hay into the cloud holding it up. Each hit seemed to disperse more cloud and she could already see Sky Glaive beginning to tilt. They’ll just let it drop on themselves at this rate, she thought.

The revenant slammed into her side with a roar and Rainbow spun in the air. They tumbled head over hooves as neither could control where they flew, colliding with the ground of Sky Glaive. They separated and Rainbow could see venom in the revenant’s eyes. “I don’t know how you got so good so fast but it doesn’t change anything!”

“Lightning, look around! Everything’s falling apart! Spitfire used you to start a war! Our friends are getting hurt needlessly fighting each other!”

Lightning almost seemed to react to this as her head turned right and left taking the scene in. But the revenant simply shook her head to clear it. “Let them fight. We’re the ones fighting now.”

Rainbow stood a little taller, her face looking more determined. “You don’t want to do this. I know you, Lightning. You’re brash, rude, a showoff. But so am I. So was I. But we can’t be like that forever. We can’t live for the trophies or the wins.” She reached for her chest and took off her Wonderbolt pin showing it to her. “This represents more than just us. It represents a duty. Duty to the ponies of Equestria. But also a duty to each other.” The revenant glared at her but still made no move. “We protect each other. So that’s what I’m going to do for them, Dust. What are you going to do?”

The revenant looked about ready to attack when it turned away in pain. It screamed and reached a hoof up to its face, gripping the darkness covering it and tearing it free. Rainbow saw Lightning’s eye protrude from beneath as she continued to tear down the length of her neck, her mouth getting free. “Don’t… just stand there!” Lightning shouted, struggling to fight the thing that had overtook her.

Rainbow was on her in a flash. She helped grab at the darkness and pulled until it gave. For some reason it seemed to shrink at her touch, the darkness itself almost screaming in pain.

Lightning’s head and torso became free and Rainbow grabbed her hooves. The darkness latched itself onto the ground behind its host, desperately pulling her back. Yet Rainbow pulled in the opposite direction. Their eyes met. “I was an idiot,” Lightning fought to say as she writhed against the revenant’s hold. “I never should have done this. I just… I just wanted you to acknowledge me. I know Fluttershy was your friend, but so was I!”

Rainbow pulled a little harder beginning to beat her wings. “That’s not stupid. I was the idiot. I never actually said how I appreciated you! You have nothing to prove to me! Because you’ll always be my friend!”

The revenant let out another shriek and rainbow beat her wings faster. Soon they began to blur behind her. Tendrils around Lightning began to snap and in an instant she was free. Rainbow’s momentum sent her flying backward at incredible speed, a shock wave of rainbow energy lingering behind her. She grabbed Lightning tight and flew into the sky with her. Behind them on the tarmac, the revenant wailed and waved without its host.

Rainbow didn’t even know how fast she was going until she broke through the cloud cover and into the ionosphere. She stopped on a dime and looked down, noticing a trail of crackling multicolored electricity following her. Lightning still held on but pushed her face away looking down as well. “How did we get up here?” Even she had not been that fast getting this high.

Rainbow looked at her hooves again noticing the trailing currents of energy. They looked familiar. She smiled. “I’m not sure, but I don’t think we have a lot of time to think about it. What do you say we clear these clouds with a double rainboom?”

Lightning flapped her wings and flew next to her. “But… I’m not as strong anymore. And that’s your thing.”

“You saying you can’t do it?” She asked with a grin.

Lightning’s dejectedness vanished and she frowned. “You kidding?”

They clasped hooves and nodded to each other. “Let’s do some cleaning up then.”

Spitfire, otherwise known as Queen Chrysalis, looked on the battle with a despondent air. She did not want to abandon this place since it had proved a rather nice nest for feeding off of the cooperation and camaraderie the ponies of the two camps held. But, the safety of her hive came first. They needed to be gone as this floating island they called Sky Glaive would soon be the location of another battle. One far more destructive and devastating. One that could destroy all her changelings.

To simply leave would cause too much of a stir. There were already too many changelings in place, their disappearance wouldn’t go unnoticed and Chrysalis had worked too hard to keep her race secret. By getting the ponies to destroy themselves she ensured a safe and explainable way for all of her children to disappear. Nopony would question the disappearance of soldiers during a war. They’d just be deserters.

She gaged the emotions of the battle going on above and below while watching from the edge of Sky Glaive. Anger and retribution. Not very tasty emotions. Too hot and dry with no substance, yet this wasn’t the time to eat.

“My Queen!” one of her soldiers floated down next to her and bowed.

“Report?” she asked, though it seemed like everything was going smoothly.

“We’ve discovered something on the tarmac.” Chrysalis raised an eyebrow but followed them.

What awaited was something strange. A mass of wet-looking black tendrils all clumped together on the ground. “And this just appeared?”

“After those two mares finished fighting. We stayed away as long as possible but this was left behind.”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at the thing. Her plan had been going well so far, but those two presented a problem. The rainbow maned mare from her dream, not to mention reports of a pink blur attacking her soldiers below. Two of the ponies from her prophetic dream. This could not be a coincidence. No doubt the rainbow maned one would be back as well. She had shown her tenacity despite her wounds.

She saw the mass wriggle and writhe as if alive and frowned. Tentatively the changeling queen reached out to its emotions. She let out a gasp as her mind brushed against the thing. Her pupils dilated and she fell to her knees. Thirsty. Why was she so thirsty? It was like this thing did not have emotions but rather the antithesis of them. It seemed to drain her of all sustenance. She tried to pull away but the thing had her. It had no eyes but it knew where she was. It lunged at her.

===E8DB

Lightning took a deep breath as they lined up next to each other. “You got this,” Rainbow said.

“I know, shut up.” Lightning said back. She looked annoyed but Rainbow could tell she was thankful for the support. It was good to see her friend again. It made the decision she’d made all the more easy.

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

“GO!” Both shot out of the sky above and down. Rainbow flew faster than she had ever gone but for some reason she knew she could go faster. Lightning trailed only a little bit behind, seeming to catch her backdraft.

Before, she had to be precise in when she could use the rainboom, but now she felt like she could use it whenever she wanted. They hit the cloud cover above the stratosphere and she let it loose. An explosion of color shot out in all directions, pushing the clouds away. Directly behind her, Lightning also hit the barrier. Her own pulse was a bright yellow and exploded in all directions, seeming to rain a mixture of yellow magic and sunlight down on the grounds.

They still flew but Rainbow could see that their explosions had stopped the fighting. Ponies were looking up in shock and awe as two beautiful sights seemed to bring them back to their senses. The only ones left still fighting covered their eyes, their disguises beginning to fail from the massive amount of magical energy.

A soldier on the ground jumped slightly at the sight of one of his comrades turning into an insect-like thing. More and more began to react like this, even in the air. At the center of camp, a large stallion climbed to the top of a stack of logs and shouted for attention. “Stop this!” Shining Armor shouted. “Do you see now? The enemy you’ve been fighting is each other. Don’t let your anger cloud your judgment!” He pointed to a changeling. “This is the enemy! The ones you’ve been so afraid of and have manipulated you so much.”

The changelings didn’t seem to be able to change back, their magic damaged in some way. They all began to back away as the tide of battle suddenly shifted. Shining Armor and Pinkie nodded to each other smiling as the soldiers began to advance on the bug army. Then, to the surprise of everypony, the changelings began to fight back.

“What?” Rainbow said as she looked at the new battle starting below. Catapults still fired and ponies still fought, only with their attentions on the right adversary. Still, why hadn’t the changelings simply fled. There were a lot of them, sure, but there were more ponies. They didn’t have an advantage. Yet the resolution in their eyes disturbed her.

“Why is it still going?” Lightning asked from behind her.

“I don’t-”

She was cut off as a giant black tendril crashed into her and Lightning. It stuck to her like glue and slammed her down on the ground of Sky Glaive so hard that the camp fell another few feet in the sky. If they didn’t do anything now it would crush everypony beneath it.

Lightning was out cold and Rainbow struggled against the blackness but stopped as she looked up at the face of their captor. The tendril holding them was gigantic because the monster was gigantic. Covered in the darkness that had once possessed Lightning, now stood a giant changeling, ten stories tall and growing as more of the swarm flew mindlessly to join it. It was shaped like a taller changeling, with a long neck and crooked horn. The darkness seemed to pulse across its body as she could see hundreds of squirming forms beneath it like roaches beneath a blanket.

It lowered its massive head toward her with narrow eyes full of red glowing hate. “You insignificant little gnat!” it shouted in a feminine voice reminiscent of every mare she had ever known. “You think this changes anything? You think you can go on after making so many mistakes?!” Like Lightning before it, it seemed confused at its own words, like it was many talking as one. “I hate you. I hate you! I…” It stopped as the face contorted and seemed to change morphing into a softer younger one. It looked at her with a new expression she did not expect and spoke in one simple voice. “Help… me.”

“Fluttershy…” The face changed again becoming fanged and angry as it lifted its other hoof to bring it down on them. Then everything slowed down.

Rainbow knew immediately what was going on. It was simply an extension of the strange things that had been happening to her all day. Time had not stopped but more she was moving fast. She spotted some flyers fighting in the air as beats of their wings seemed to take an eternity. “Is this how Pinkie feels all the time?” she asked herself.

She didn’t know why Pinkie’s powers had become hers, but she had no time to look a gift horse in the mouth. She had to find some way to stop all this. The rainboom had only revealed the changelings but now with the Revenant controlling them, they were probably ten times as dangerous. Not to mention the fact that the island they were on was slowly falling out of the sky.

Rainbow closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to go through every ability Pinkie had shown them. She recalled a time when the mare actually vibrated so fast that she phased through the wall of the Veloci-Lair and scared Flutterbat. Could that work?

Rainbow concentrated on shaking her whole body and vibrated. It was slow at first but her determination made it stronger. Then stronger. Still, why couldn’t she phase through? She tried harder pushing her body to the limit until she screamed in pain. Then the boom hit.

Rainbow felt herself detach from the sticky darkness and float away. It was amazing. These powers had just healed her a while ago and now they had nearly rattled her to breaking. Pinkie did this almost every day? She wearily opened her eyes to find herself in a swirling vortex of colors. Pink looked to be the most prominent but arcs of every color sparked and threatened to overtake it. She felt like she was floating in a dream, then she saw it. She had only seen the place from the inside but it made her recognize the layout of the world around her. “The Veloci-Source?”

There was no air here, yet she could breathe. No ground, yet she could walk. A screech reached her ears and she spun around finally seeing one of the reason she was so tired. The giant revenant reared its hooves back, obviously more hindered by the loss of ground than she, and screamed again waving its tendrils everywhere. It spun in space, flakes of itself falling off like ash, dissolving in the space around it. Rainbow narrowed her eyes on a bit of color amidst the dark. Lightning had been brought too.

The revenant made eye contact with her and then Lightning, narrowing its eyes with hate before struggling forward. Rainbow launched herself forward too but found that just because she could walk here didn’t make it easy. Walking in the Veloci-Source was like drudging through a bank of snow up to her neck. It was as if the place, despite being a source of speed, spurned it as well.

Both struggled against their hamperings trying to reach the mare who floated unconscious between them. Rainbow could move faster than it, but the revenant was closer. It swung its arms at Lightning aimlessly, ash falling off it as it continued to dissolve. To her horror, Rainbow saw that Lightning was also beginning to fade away, pieces of herself flaking off.

“NO!!” Rainbow shouted and increased her efforts. “I won’t… let anything… happen to you!” She was so close she reached her hoof out to catch her, the revenant was right there as well. “That’s my promise!”

She clasped her friends hoof just as the revenant swung. She pulled her away, its attack narrowly missing as it made a silent scream of rage. She pulled Lightning to her body and began to vibrate just as she’d done before, her mind only focused on getting back home. As she began to vibrate again the revenant went through its death throws, thrashing wildly and shrieking. Hundreds of faces pushed against its skin. Most were changelings but one stood out to her. A friend’s face. It seemed to look her in the eyes as it dissolved out of existence. “I’ll help you too, Fluttershy,” she whispered.

Her body and Lightning’s disappeared in a boom, leaving the Revenant alone. Its red eyes widened in fear as most of its body had faded away. It tried to let out one last howl of rage but its voice died and faded as easily as its flesh. Soon it was torn to pieces and evaporated in the realm of lightning and energy.

Saying Goodbye

===E8DB

“Rainbow! Rainbow!” The shouting did nothing to quicken her recovery as Rainbow moaned and rolled onto her side coughing slightly. “Oh, thank Faust, you’re ok!”

She felt a pair of hooves wrap around her and she coughed again making the hooves draw back. Her insides felt like they’d been through a blender. “Slightly injured over here,” she muttered.

She opened her eyes to be greeted by two familiar blue orbs and a shock of fluffy pink mane. Pinkie looked about ready to cry. “I didn’t *sniff* didn’t know what to think when the changelings disappeared! What was that giant monster? How did you get rid of it? That was you, right?” She hugged Rainbow’s head to her chest. “Oh, I’m just so glad you’re alright!”

Rainbow chuckled despite the feeling in her guts. “I’m fine, Pinkie. I’m…” she stopped as she peeked over Pinkie’s shoulder. “Uh, are we on Sky Glaive?”

“Yup.”

“…wasn’t that falling?”

“Yup… oh.” Sure enough Rainbow could still feel the giant island tilting, buildings beginning to bend at the base as gravity shifted sideways. Pinkie pulled back and screamed. “AAAH! What are we going to do?”

Rainbow got up, still holding her stomach. Was this how Pinkie felt after vibrating them to other worlds? If so, the mare deserved a prize. “Wait!” She did a quick look around and breathed a sigh of relief as she found what she was looking for. Lightning still unconscious a few feet away. She rushed over and grabbed her before the mare could begin sliding down the tarmac. Pinkie was still panicking but Rainbow knew she had to remain calm. An idea occurred to her. “Pinkie, you got up here using that cyclone thingy you did before, right?”

Pinkie stopped moving and nodded. “Right.”

Rainbow looked at the sky and then to her. “Think you can aim it somewhere other than up?”

Pinkie frowned in confusion but seriously seemed to give it thought. “I don’t think so. It takes a lot of concentration just to make the twister, bending and aiming it would call for a move I don’t know.” She shrugged. “That or somepony else moves the funnel. But I don’t think anypony here is fast enough to keep up with it.” She blushed. “No offense.”

Rainbow grinned. “None taken, Pinkie. But really, make the funnel. Leave the rest to me.”

Pinkie stared art her for a moment but something in her eyes seemed to believe Rainbow’s words because she nodded with a smile. “Okay.”

Pinkie disappeared down the side of the descending island leaving Rainbow alone. She took a moment to check on Lightning, still unconscious, though she didn’t blame her. Rainbow just wanted to conk out right now too, but there was one last heroic deed to perform. “Sorry,” she said to Lightning as she propped the mare against a wall. “I guess I gotta go be the hero one more time.” None of this changed her decision though. These new powers were great but they would not make her abandon her resolution.

Pinkie’s funnel cloud erupted from below and swirled up in a vortex. Rainbow took a deep breath and readied herself. Then she shot into the sky, leaving behind a trail of burning multicolored flame. Rainbow completed six circuits around the giant funnel in a second, gradually arcing her circle and moving the top of the funnel towards the densely packed clouds nearby. The vacuum of the cyclone sucked the clouds the middle of the funnel growing larger and larger like a belly devouring more and more.

When she knew it was enough, Rainbow changed her trajectory forcing the funnel toward the bottom of Sky Glaive. It seemed like any moment it would touch ground and begin crushing the camp below. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. Damn! I forgot to tell Pinkie what to do next! She was in such a rush she forgot the most important part. The cyclone needed to be reversed if she wanted to expel the clouds, and only with Pinkie’s cooperation below she could do that. Please, understand what I’m trying to do, Pinkie.

Then she began to feel a strain on her wings. She looked below and sure enough the pink mare had reversed her running, going the opposite direction. They were in sync. Rainbow reciprocated and the clouds began to pour out from the funnel like cotton candy. They collided with the underside of Sky Glaive, gradually stopping its descent and lifting it into the sky once more. When it had finally ended Rainbow stopped spinning flying wobbily for a moment before regaining her balance. If her insides weren’t mixed up before that they certainly were now.

She tried to hold back the urge to puke however as a loud cheer came from below. She looked down and saw everypony, earth pony, unicorn, and pegasi clapping their hooves for her. Pinkie zipped into the crowd too, looking equally as disoriented as her before smiling broadly and giving a salute. Rainbow waved back at her.

“Hey twinkle toes!” Rainbow looked up at the source of the voice. Lightning hung her head off the side of Sky Glaive looking down on her. She looked completely exhausted but managed to give Rainbow a salute and a smile as well. Rainbow reciprocated.

It was hours later when they’d finally found all the replaced ponies. The changelings had stuck them in big green cocoons and hid them in restricted areas for most of the soldiers. Spitfire was trapped in her own bedroom and seemed very relieved to be free. It took a few more hours for them to all convene in Shining Armor’s quarters at Hoofenbach.

Spitfire shook her head in dismay. “I still don’t get it. So not only was most of the royal army replaced, but one of my star captains has not been missing in action but gallivanting around who knows where to stop a… what was it again?”

Rainbow, Lightning and Pinkie stood in a line in front of the two pony leaders looking at their hooves nervously. “A glitch, ma’am,” Rainbow replied trying to look her in the eye. “And I know, I had no reason to not give warning or anything. It was irresponsible and I accept any punishment that comes my way.”

Spitfire and Shining Armor looked at each other. “So you’re not going back?” Spitfire asked with a raised eyebrow.

“…No.” Pinkie and Lightning looked at her in surprise.

“But Rainbow, we need you! Mr. 4 is still out there and can you imagine what we could do now that you have my speed powers too?! We could find him lickety split!”

Lightning frowned. “Are you sure about this?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yes. I kept talking about loyalty and friendship to you and Fluttershy but one thing I forgot was duty.” She looked at her uniform. “This suit represents something. It means that I have to make decisions for the betterment of my team. That’s why I’m staying here to fulfill my promises.”

Pinkie looked dejected, turning away from her. Rainbow looked to Lightning to see how she would react but even her friend seemed a little torn up about it. Spitfire was the one to break the silence as she laughed. “Wow, did not expect that out of you, Captain Dash.” Rainbow blushed slightly. Spitfire and Shining shared another look and nodded. “However, if you really want to face the music for your actions, then we ask that you give us a moment to confer on your punishment.” She pointed to the door.

“Oh, right.” The three walked out of the room and onto the lawn. Ponies were still working together to rebuild the parts of camp that had been heavily damaged and she even saw some pegasi helping to carry the injured to hospital tents. Thankfully, there were only injuries and no casualties. Well, except for the changelings. She still didn’t know just what had happened to them.

Pinkie walked slightly apart from the two, her head held low. Rainbow was afraid of what to say to her so she turned to Lightning, but the yellow maned mare spoke first. “Is all of that stuff you talked about true?”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah. We never really fought him, but his power’s something else. That’s kind of another reason I think I should stay. I didn’t want to say it in front of Pinkie but… I don’t think I can beat him.” Lightning simply stared at her, her face telling her to go on. “It’s just… well, in these other worlds we went to I was one of the ponies that defeated Nightmare Moon and became an Element of Harmony. So I get why someone like Pinkie’s boss would choose me, but I’m not the Rainbow they want. I didn’t make friends with Twilight Sparkle or Applejack or Rarity. Well, I mean, I consider the ones I met afterwards my friends but not these ones. It’s all just confusing.” She tried to force a playful grin. “I just don’t know if I’m the Rainbow that’s right for this.”

Lightning frowned and looked away in thought. “Does it really matter?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “I mean, you’re still Rainbow Dash. And the Rainbow Dash I know is ten times better than any other could be.”

Rainbow chuckled. “You don’t get it. There are literally millions of different-”

“That’s not important,” Lightning interrupted, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “None of those Rainbows are here, in your position. I know you want to stay here and find Fluttershy, and I want you to stay too, but…”

“But?”

“…but like it or not you have a new duty to somepony else, right?” She nodded to Pinkie who feebly kicked a rock at her feet and sighed.

Rainbow frowned, she wanted to help Pinkie but she also wanted to stay. She wanted it both ways and that was tearing her apart. “But out of all the worlds in… everywhere, I got thrown back home! Don’t you think that means something? Don’t you think that means somepony is telling me to go home?”

Lightning smiled fondly. “Or they’re giving you a chance to say goodbye.” They were both silent for a moment. Rainbow turned from her friend and bit her lip. She didn’t want to say goodbye. She couldn’t before and she didn’t want to now.

The door to Shining Armor’s quarters opened and the two leaders walked out. “Alright, Captain Dash!” Spitfire announced making rainbow straighten up. “We’ve decided on a proper punishment.” Rainbow prepared herself. Cleaning duty, ten thousand laps, whatever it was at least it would take her mind off of the decision she’d made. “You are hereby stripped of your rank and dismissed from the Wonderbolts.”

It took a moment for her to take in what had been said. Pinkie was the first to react. “What!?” she shouted angrily and zipped in Spitfire’s face. “Are you kidding me!? She saved your life! She saved everypony here! And you’re just going to toss her away like garbage?”

Rainbow had her mouth opened about to argue as well but Lightning put a hoof on her shoulder. She turned and saw the mare give her a small smile. Now it clicked. Pinkie still complained but Shining Armor cleared his throat and she stopped.

“While it’s a little hard to believe the story you gave, Miss Dash, there’s no denying all the strange events that have happened surrounding your return. Most importantly being you, Miss Pie.” Pinkie started and pointed to herself. “It’s recorded that Pinkamena Diane Pie died on the return of Nightmare Moon, but your appearance and powers bely that.”

Spitifire waved a dismissive hoof. “I’m no skeptic, but even I’m a little disbelieving of all this. Which is kind of why I think you should be relieved of duty.” She said this with a knowing smile and a wink.

Shining Armor walked forward and placed a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Twilight Sparkle was actually my sister. It’s been hard coming to grips with her being gone, but this has given me a new perspective on it. It’s… nice to know somepony you love still exists in some way.” He leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I hope you keep on helping her.”

Both leaders pulled back and looked at Rainbow with smiles. Lightning and Pinkie looked at her as well, expectant faces on both of them. “I… I…” She sniffed and wiped her face as she felt her eyes growing wet.

“I’ll find Fluttershy,” Lightning promised her. “Just leave it to me. When you come back you can make up all you want.”

Rainbow took in a deep breath and straightened up again, clicking her hooves together and saluting. “Yes, sir! Yes, ma’am!”

Spitfire straightened up too and saluted as well. “Captain, you are relieved of duty.”

Rainbow slumped a little and with it felt a weight she didn’t know she’d been carrying lift. “Do you mind if I still keep the uniform,” she asked quickly. They all shared a long laugh.

When it finally came time to leave, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Lightning gathered on a grassy hill outside camp. Rainbow took one last look around her home, the light side and the dark. Somewhere out there was her friend. And she would be back for her, she knew that in her heart.

“I guess it’s time to go,” Pinkie said. “Do you want to do the honors or should I?”

Rainbow looked back at Lightning and held up her hoof. “Give me a sec.” She walked back to Lightning, both of them smiling. “You didn’t think I’d leave again without saying it?”

Lightning rolled her eyes and smirked. “Honestly, it wouldn’t have surprised me.”

They stared at each other for a long moment. “Goodbye,” Rainbow finally said.

Lightning smiled. “Not as hard as it seemed, eh?”

Rainbow bit her lip to hold back tears. “I… I wouldn’t say that.”

“Rainbow!” Pinkie called out waving her arms.

“I guess I gotta go,” she said and waved as she walked back to the hill. When she approached she noticed Pinkie holding something in her hooves. It was crumpled and wrinkled but recognizable. “Is that your suit?”

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, I don’t really feel like wearing it now, but it’s a part of me. I didn’t want to leave it behind.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened with shock. “Oh my gosh! You’re necklace from Zapp! I lost it during the fight! Maybe we can-”

Pinkie put a hoof on her shoulder to stop her and smiled. “Zapp wanted me to have that so I’d feel safe. There’s nopony I feel safer with than you.” Rainbow smiled. “And besides, if we keep it here then we’re sure to be back for it.”

Rainbow smiled broadly. “Yeah.” She looked back at Lightning. “Yeah, we will.” She placed her hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder and the mare began to vibrate. A moment later came the sonic boom and they were both gone leaving Lightning alone on the hill. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then let it out. Feeling good to not have an aching pain in her head but equally painful was the one in her chest.

@#$%^&*&^%$#@

Marekham Asylum. To the public it’s a place of healing. But to the patients and staff, it is a prison. The howls of the mad echo off the walls as patients slam on the barred windows like prisoners desperate for release. The hallways stink of antiseptic and rot. Rodents and mold are a common sight in this gothic deathtrap. The only thing that suggests professionalism is the front desk, on which a secretarial mare now sleeps soundly, the orderlies and visitors around her fallen asleep where they stand as well.

Mr. 4 took his first few steps into Marekham and looked around. “For such a desolate place it certainly has a lot of security.” He kicked a security guard snoring on the floor lightly. “Not very good security but a lot of it.” He grumbled as he walked to the elevator, trying to comb back his frazzled mane. He didn’t need to sleep anymore but his mood was beginning to degrade due to it. “So much negativity in the ether around here. Can’t believe I had to use the front door.” His ears twitched. “Then you should just come here yourself. Oh, that’s right, you can’t.”

He scoffed as he stepped in and pressed the down button, his quarry a couple floors below. The doors slid closed and the elevator began to move. Suddenly the elevator shook and stopped in its tracks. Mr. 4 didn’t have to look around to know what was responsible though. “Why are you here?” he sneered.

The gray alicorn now stood next to him. A look of anger and fear on her face. “Noteworthy, what are YOU doing here? I search high and low for any sign of you and I sense you here? What have you been doing?”

“None of your business.”

“You’re my friend! Of course it’s my business.” She looked at him but he simply avoided eye contact. “Come back with me. Whatever’s going on, I can help you.”

He grit his teeth in frustration. “That’s your problem. You’re always so perfect. A disaster happens and you get thrown into the one world that would make you an alicorn. Do you know what happened to me? I got thrown into limbo! I was a ghost, walking through worlds invisible to everything. And still unable to go home! Nopony to pay attention to me or ask for help. It was like there’s a spotlight on some grand stage and I was always off center. Completely and utterly alone.” He reeled on her. “I don’t want your help! I want to go home! I want to feel something again!”

She lowered her head guiltily. “I’m trying everything I can to get back home, but its complicated.”

“I know it is,” he replied, a fiendish grin spreading across his face. “But that’s why I have a plan.” His ears twitched. “We have a plan.”

“Noteworthy?”

He grabbed her hooves and pulled her close, his eyes wide and pleading. “Don’t you see, Ditzy? We can go home right now if we just destroy the altar. I can take us home. I have the power now.”

She frowned. “Where did you get that power?”

He pulled away from her and blinked looking off to the side. His ears twitched and he groaned as he swatted at them. “Shut up!”

Ditzy stepped back form him hesitantly. “What are you talking to? Tell me you’re not talking to it.”

He noticed what he was doing and rubbed his cheeks. “You’re not going to listen to me, are you?”

“Noteworthy-”

“Just go!” His voice boomed, a slight echo with something else that made her shiver and back away. She looked at him with sad wide eyes before turning away and disappearing in a flash. Mr. 4 put his forehead to the wall and began to rub it in frustration. “She is not an obstacle. She’ll accept it. She won’t have a choice when we destroy the altar, right?” His ears twitched. “Then let’s just do this.”

The elevator started again and it reached its destination. More ponies lay on the ground asleep as he stepped past them down the hall. To his surprise some of the patients in their rooms were still awake and banged on the bars. Odd, they must be too far gone for even his powers of manipulation to reach them. He came to the end of the hall to a room labeled “0801” He didn’t even knock as a face pressed itself against the small grill in the door. A pink face with a matted pink mane with green frosted highlights that hung around her eyes. They were ocean blue and drew whoever looked into them like whirlpools. She smiled from ear to ear as her eyes darted around him. “Oh, are we going on a field trip?” the Pinkster asked excitedly. “Hang on, I’ll pack my toothbrush. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!” Her laughter echoed across the hall and all over the still awake inmates reverberated her amusement.

Mr. 4 smiled to himself. “You’ll do just fine.”

Sunset Shimmer and the Mysterious Voice

===SS===

“So, Sunset,” Dr. Wolf greeted as they sat down for their session, “what seems to be the problem?”

Sunset sat uncomfortably on the couch opposite and rolled her eyes. “I’m hearing a voice.”

Dr. Wolf raised an eyebrow. “Like… voices in your head?”

“No,” she gritted her teeth. “Just one voice. And don’t narrate me,” she added with a mutter. “What did I just say?”

Dr. Wolf looked uncomfortable. “Okay… And how long have you had this voice follow you around?”

Sunset paused. Come to think of it, she had woken up with this voice after that event in the hall, right? The whole thing was still a bit fuzzy but she could recall something breaking. Something else occurred to her. “Wait a minute. What was that about ‘Sunset Shimmer and the Mysterious Voice’? You don’t cut back to me for hours and then there’s that?”

“Sunset?” Dr. Wolf asked. She froze and flushed rubbing her arms together shyly. Dr. Wolf wasn’t the most judgmental of teachers she knew at Hoofwarts, but he was the most curious. She actually found it rather charming, especially since his puffy white hair and beard combined with his short stature made him look like a teddy bear.

“I was not thinking that!” she shouted unexpectedly. Dr. Wolf merely cocked his head to the side. She groaned and leaned back against the couch. “Look, Dr. Wolf, this is a wizarding school, isn’t there some magical reason I could be hearing voices?”

Dr. Wolf smiled. “Oh plenty! You could be possessed by an invisible dream demon, corrupted by a glowing green gem, or a ghost could simply be haunting you. But from your teachers’ descriptions this doesn’t sound like that.” He tapped his pencil on his notebook in thought. “You said, ‘Sunset Shimmer and the Mysterious Voice’ why refer to yourself like that?”

Sunset threw up her arms. “It’s not me, it’s just how the voice worked. It goes on and on about ponies and this whole interdimensional feud and then when it cuts back to me it says ‘Sunset Shimmer and the Mysterious Voice’ then starts narrating my life again.”

Dr. Wolf looked perplexed for a moment then shook his head. Despite the whole pony thing he might have an idea. “I really don’t blame you for shaking that off.”

“Come again,” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“Regardless, it sounds like this voice is narrating your life like it’s some kind of script?”

“More like a story. It can sometimes be hard to tell who’s talking and often times it will get super in depth into the process of things. Character A turns to Character B who slowly turns and nods to Character C. Why can’t you just say they all nod?!”

“…Uh huh. Tell me, do you have any idea why you would want to narrate your own life?”

Sunset was about to answer but she stopped. The voice wasn’t her own. It was someone else’s. Someone indistinct. Even now as it spoke she couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl. How was that possible? “GAAAHH!!” Sunset stood up and frazzled her hair in frustration before sitting down again. She looked dejected. “Doctor, please just tell me how I can get rid of this thing?”

Doctor Wolf pursed his lips and tapped his notebook again. “Well, in my professional opinion-”

“As a psychiatrist for wizards.”

“IN MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION, the problem may lie with your head.” She slumped down a little more. “But let’s say we indulge in this delusion. You say that the voice rarely cuts back to you, instead staying on something off topic.”

Sunset perked up. “Yeah?”

“Well, perhaps that makes you a side character in its story. Whatever it is.”

Sunset frowned. “It really doesn’t feel like that. I feel a lot more… ancillary than that.”

Doctor Wolf frowned too. “Hmm, maybe if you want to understand where you stand in this narrative you’ll have to understand a little bit more about the writing process.”

Sunset deadpanned. “You want me to read writing books?”

He held up a finger and got up going over to his desk. He pulled out a small book and handed it to her. It was titled “Write Right, Right?” “This will give you a basic idea of narrative flow and maybe help you understand what this voice, be it a part of your own mind or something else, wants from you.”

She turned it over and then flipped through the pages. “Did you like to write, Doc?”

He flushed. “Oh, um, in my earlier days I suppose.”

She smirked. She bet he had twenty books like this in his desk. A bell rang outside and she got up to leave, slipping the book in her bag. “Well, thanks for the help, Doc.”

“Oh, we’re far from over, Miss Shimmer.” She froze at the door and cringed. She knew this was coming. “I expect to see you two more days this week and next. This is still technically a punishment for all your behavior in class.”

She sighed. “Yes, sir.”

As she left the office something new occurred to her. The voice was still going. Normally it had stopped talking about her after a few minutes or so but it had been following her for a while now. “Just when I think I have you figured out, voice.”

Thankfully, her next class was close by so she didn’t need to be there immediately. She peeked her head around the hall for a moment to make sure she was alone before taking the book back out of her knapsack. She stayed close to the wall and read it as she walked slowly toward her next class. “First chapter. ‘There’s No Denial of the Story’s Title’. Is that supposed to rhyme?” She sighed but kept on reading. “Do I have to? …Ugh, fine. Ahem, ‘the title is the first thing a reader sees and the first thing to draw their attention. Depending on the story you can have many titles but most of the time its better to be short and sweet.’”

She frowned in thought. Come to think of it, the voice did seem to begin every adventure those ponies had with a phrase or words. “For a Few Bits Noir” came to mind. “I guess that’s supposed to be a pun or something. Not that I get it.” She began to reason it out logically. “Logically, huh? Okay… so… let’s say those are chapters. That would mean that since I got an introduction phrase this is my chapter.” She stopped in the hall and lowered the book looking at the sky. “And ‘Sunset Shimmer and the Mysterious Voice’ is all you could think up?! That sounds like a parody of a young adult book! Do you know how boring it is to name your title the ‘main character and the driving force’? I thought you were a little more creative than that, voice!”

“Uh, Sunset?”

Sunset spun with wide eyes as she saw she wasn’t alone in the hall. Her face paled as she saw Flash Sentry cock his head at her with a curious expression. “I-I-I uh… you see…” He was staring at her. She couldn’t take those eyes drilling into her. She hugged the book to her chest and ran. “I’m sorry!”

“Woah, hold on!” Flash grabbed her arm as she passed and she was surprised to find his grip so strong. She tried not to look at him. “You’ve been acting weird since yesterday. Is everything alright?”

Her cheeks flushed and she tried to hide behind her shoulders. “Nothing’s wrong. Why would it be wrong?”

Flash seemed to take the hint that she was uncomfortable and let her go, making sure she stayed long enough for him to get answers. “Oh, I don’t know. You keep seeming to talk to yourself and you were sent to the nurse’s office yesterday. Everyone in school is saying you had a seizure.”

“It was not a seizure!” She shot at him, immediately blushing again and lowering her head. “It was…” How did she explain it? Even she had a hard time putting it into words. It was like watching the world itself crack. Whatever it was it caused these voices in her head. She sagged a little and waved her hand despondently. “Nothing. You should just leave me alone. I don’t think you’d understand what I’m going through.”

Flash frowned but grinned as he eyed the book she kept close to her. Sunset pulled it back but was too late as he snatched it from her. “Well, whatever it is its gotta do with this, right? Probably some kind of spell, right?” He read the title. “Okay, didn’t expect that.”

Sunset gritted her teeth, her cheeks on fire with embarrassment. “Just give it back!” She waved her arm at him but the guy kept it just out of her reach.

“Not until you tell me what’s up?”

“Why do you care?!” she asked angrily. A long moment passed between them as they looked into each other’s eyes. Sunset finally pulled away and straightened her glasses. “I mean, well, we never really talk outside of class.”

Flash put the book down looking slightly sullen. “That, um, doesn’t mean I don’t want to.” Sunset perked her head and gave him a sideways glance. “You’re just so hard to approach. Being a celebrity and all.”

Sunset scoffed. “I really don’t think something that happened to me as a baby should make me a celebrity.”

Flash waved his arm dismissively. “Despite that. Despite surviving against Lord Tirek and all that. You’ve been pretty famous here too. Top of the class. First choice for everyone around here when it comes to clubs or games. You’ve got a lot of potential. Some people can look at that and find it a bit threatening.”

Sunset frowned. “Are you one of those people?”

Flash shook his head. “No, at least I don’t try to be. My family is a bit weird about relationships though. If they heard I liked the ‘Girl Who Lived,’ I wouldn’t hear the end of it.” His eyes widened as he realized what he’d said and slapped his forehead, blushing profusely. “I… um…”

Sunset chuckled slightly at his reaction which turned into a genuine laugh which made Flash blush even more. When she was done she wiped an eye and looked at him with a smile. “Do you really like me?” Flash hesitated nervously but nodded. He really did like her. “No, I want you to say it.”

He didn’t know what she meant but he nodded again. “I really like you.”

Sunset smiled and reached for her book in his hands. She pulled it to her chest and drummed her fingers along the spine, biting her lip nervously. “So this is going to sound really weird but I want you to have an open mind.”

Flash smiled broadly. “I’m all ears.”

Aklopolips Now

Aklopalips Now

`~(\/)~’

The effect wasn’t instantaneous. Rarity walked into the portal one moment only to find herself in a kaleidoscope of colors before emerging from the other side into her friend’s hind quarters. She bonked her nose and rubbed it. “Ow, is there a reason you didn’t move?” Mare Do-Well was stiff. Something about her posture made Rarity uncomfortable. But something else made her even more uncomfortable. She gagged as the smell hit her. Like rotten eggs burned to cinders. “Gah! What is that stench?”

“Sulfur,” the stoic mare replied. Rarity held her mouth and nose trying to get a better look at the landscape through watery eyes. She didn’t have to try hard as the dry air seemed to suck the moisture directly from her tear ducts.

“Wh- What is this?” she asked in disbelief at the scene in front of her.

Mare Do-Well dug her hooves into the red earth. “Hell.”

They stood on the edge of a tall red cliff that looked out over a wasteland of red and black. Chasms and crags spiderwebbed the land like chapped mouths begging for water. Superimposed upon this scenery were pipelines and machines of nightmarish architecture that seemed to do nothing but produce more pollution and fire to spew into the air. And it certainly didn’t seem to need any help in that regard. Giant pits in the earth expelled red hot jets of flame that rocketed into the sky like skyscrapers. The heat was almost unbearable.

“How can anypony survive like this?” Rarity muttered.

“Sh!” Mare Do-Well hushed her and grabbed her neck, ducking down behind a rock. She wordlessly pointed to the sky.

Rarity tried to narrow her eyes at what she was pointing at but it was too small. A black dot in the distance. Then another. And another. Pretty soon something like a flock of dots cut through the sky. Birds?

Rarity paled as they flew closer finally coming into view. “What in the…” she whispered. Pale hairless pegasi in golden armor dotted the sky like crows carrying spears and pitchforks. In place of their eyes she could see two glowing red outlets that seemed to scan the ground below. No, they couldn’t be ponies. Something had happened to them or been done to them to take that away some time ago.

Rarity grabbed her mouth and nose tighter, this time trying to hold back a retch. Mare Do-Well grabbed her head and pulled her further down, taking a bottle of water from her belt and handing it to her. “Drink and calm yourself down. Not too much though, we might need it.”

Rarity couldn’t believe the mare’s cool attitude to what they were seeing. Yet she welcomed the comfort she gave. With a trembling hoof she took the bottle and gulped. “Thank you.” Mare Do-Well was still focused on the creatures above. Something about her stare and preparedness struck Rarity as odd. Not to say that Twilight hadn’t shown herself capable wherever they went, but there was something more to this. A personal vibe in the way she looked at them. “Are you… familiar with this place?”

Mare Do-Well took a moment to answer, waiting until the creatures had turned out of sight. “No. Never been here.”

A loud boom rang out behind them and they spun. A swirling green vortex opened up and a small army of the same creatures from before walked out, spying them. They pointed and let out an unearthly screech before flying toward them. At first Rarity expected Twilight to grab her and go but after a short moment she turned to the mare. The superhero was stock still staring down the oncoming horde and the swirling vortex behind them mirrored in her lenses. She didn’t know what the mare would do next.

Rarity played it safe and grabbed her. “Come on! We have to move!” Mare Do-Well relented easily and they jumped from the cliff sliding down the steep incline. Rocks and hard sharp objects scratched beneath her making her cry in surprise but she persevered. They hit the ground and began running as the monsters behind them flew above and tried to cut them off. “I really wish Rainbow Dash was here now!” She looked to Mare Do-Well for support. “Twilight! Twilight, do something!”

Mare Do-Well shook her head and regained her composure. She was breathing heavily but it didn’t seem to be from the running. With a quick stop she spun on the dirt and faced the flying horde. She grabbed a pinned canister from her belt and pulled the tab before tossing it into the swarm. They slowed briefly to avoid the canister but did not stop coming as it detonated. A yellow foam exploded in their midst encasing close to ten before hardening and making them plummet to the earth. The rest behind them stopped for a moment to stare in confusion.

“That’s good!” Rarity shouted as they continued to run. “So how many more do you have of those?”

“Not enough!”

They were so focused on the enemy behind them that both didn’t even notice a covered hole open up ahead. Two pairs of hooves shot out from below and grabbed their legs, pulling them down before any of the creatures could notice. Immediately after, the hooves grabbed a displaced manhole cover and reset it above.

Rarity and Mare Do-Well sat in darkness, a hoof around both their mouths as their captors didn’t move or make any noise in the heated dark. Mare Do-Well struggled and grabbed her captors arm twisting it. “Yeowch! Would you mind not doing that!” The western twang was unmistakable.

“Applejack?” Mare Do-Well asked. Rarity looked up at the face of her captor and widened her eyes. Flutterbat bore her full fanged smile and a strip of cloth wrapped around her nose and mouth. “What are you-”

Applejack put a hoof to Mare Do-Well’s lips and pointed up insistently. They could still hear the sound of flapping wings. The four stayed silent long enough until they couldn’t hear the creatures anymore. AJ and Flutterbat let out a sigh and released the two.

Rarity hugged Flutterbat tightly and she responded. “Oh, I thought we’d never see you again!” Flutterbat mewed in delight and she took a better look at the cloth wrapped around her nose. “Oh, this smell must be awful for you, huh?” Flutterbat nodded mournfully.

Applejack walked over to the wall and kicked a small glowing node. Floodlights turned on one by one going both ways down an incredibly long pipeline. Tubes and metal hoses of all kinds snaked across the top and sides of the tunnel ending at the small river of sewage that flowed below.

“To think out of all the places in existence, you’d land here?” Mare Do-Well muttered.

“We didn’t,” Applejack answered her. “Flutterbat and Ah came here on our own lookin’ for you.”

“We weren’t here,” Rarity replied. “We came here looking for you.”

Both AJ and Mare Do-Well didn’t look very pleased with this information. “So do you think Rainbow and Pinkie are here somewhere?” AJ asked.

“Possible,” Mare Do-Well muttered. “But I don’t like it. This all seems to be too much of a coincidence.”

“How so?” Rarity asked.

Mare Do-Well paused and shrugged. “Anyway, we need to see if Rainbow and Fili-Second are here and then get out as quick as we can.”

“Ah’m all for that,” Applejack responded. “You would not believe the day we’ve had gettin’ here.”

They all began to walk down the pipeline. “Tell us about it. It might be good to trade information.”

<___|=o

The change was abrupt. One second, Applejack was in a warehouse with no color the next she landed on her face in a sea of burning red rock. Flutterbat scrunched her nose and whined at the sudden rush of horrid smells. Applejack copied her, keeping a hoof over her mouth. “You think they’re here then?” Flutterbat shrugged. “Ah can tell you one thing. Ah wouldn’t want to be here.”

An explosion sounded behind them and the two turned to find the gates to a giant hellish metal stadium behind them. For the moment it didn’t appear anypony inside had noticed them. “Let’s get out while the gettin’s good.”

They turned only to be stopped by a giant mace that flew down in front of them and created a crater in their path. Applejack coughed the dust away and turned sharply drawing her sword as well. Atop the gates to the infernal stadium stood three figures. One was all black with white cords and ribbons wrapping her body. The same ribbons replaced her tail, swaying in all different directions as if with minds of their own. To her right was a small mare with a yellow coat and green mane that jutted everywhere. She smiled manically with razor sharp teeth and scratched the sharp edges of her gauntlets enthusiastically against the stadium wall. To the left stood a tall silent pony who stood a good two or three heads over the rest. She wore blue chainmail, complimented with yellow armor and a headdress that made her look like she had horns. She was staring at them with dead eyes.

“Well, what do we have here?” the black one cooed in a sultry voice. “And just where might you ducklings have come from?” The small yellow one laughed like a hyena in agreement.

Wearily, since every instinct in her was saying not to let her guard down, AJ tapped her blade so it’d be easier to grab. “We don’t want a fight. Just came lookin’ for a few friends.”

“Friends, she says,” the black one echoed mockingly and snapped her tail. “Well, then, why don’t you enter? Everypony is friends here, if Nanny says so.”

Nanny? Flutterbat gave her a confused look as well. Applejack replied to it with a look that said, ‘I don’t want to stay long enough to find out.’ Flutterbat nodded. “If it’s alright with you, Ah think we’ll just look somewhere else.”

She turned again but the mare’s tail from above lashed out and whipped the air in front of her. How did she reach that far? AJ grabbed her katana in her teeth and prepared for a fight, Flutterbat getting low as well.

The three jumped down from the lip of the stadium and paced toward them. “You want to throw away Nanny’s kindness? How awful of you,” the black one grinned. She held a hoof up and then pointed to them. “Girls, get them.”

The small yellow mare moved with incredible speed and was in front of Applejack in a blink slashing at her. AJ barely parried it and was even thrown back, surprised at the tiny thing’s strength. But what surprised her more was the larger mare already behind her retrieving her mace. She caught it’s rising form from the crater in the corner of her eye and shrank down just in time to dodge a wide swing.

Flutterbat shot into the sky but AJ could immediately tell that was a bad idea. “Wait, don’t! She’s got-”

But she was cut off as the black mare flipped in the air and lashed her tails out wrapping them around Flutterbat and throwing her back to the ground. “Ah ah ah, no fighting dirty,” she crooned and lifted Flutterbat’s body with her long tail and spun her. “What do you say we send all that dirt flying?” She let go and sent Flutterbat’s body hurtling toward the tall one who readied her mace like a baseball bat.

“NO!” Applejack shouted and tried to slash at the giant but the tiny mare appeared before her grabbing her blade in its steel gloved hooves. Metal claws at the end retracted and grasped the blade refusing to let it go as she stared maniacally into Applejack’s eyes. But AJ was focused on Flutterbat’s body flipping through the air toward the mace.

She almost forced herself to look away as the two nearly connected but then Flutterbat’s wings moved and her path changed spinning her and bringing her under the swing of the bigger mare. She wrapped her arms and legs around the enormous foe’s arm and looked directly into its eyes before letting loose a sonic scream.

The giantess lifted her arms to her head in pain and attempted to free the Pegasus from her. Applejack let out a sigh and resumed her attention on the battle in front of her, and behind. As she struggled with the shorter enemy, the black mare approached quickly from behind, spinning her tails in the air behind her like a lasso. That gave her an idea, she hadn’t been on this quest and gained nothing. Time to use more than her own wits.

Applejack flipped her robe up to reveal the 3D Device beneath and maneuvered her body to be in position. She operated the machine and a metal cord shot out, amplified like a gun and pelted the annoying yellow mare in the gut sending her back. Her hoof slipped out of the gauntlet and Applejack quickly slid it off spinning around to face and slash at the tail ribbon the black one was whipping at her that instant. As she did, she kept her momentum, continuing to spin in a circle and confusing her opponent. Just then, the yellow mare, still attached by the 3D device, spun around with her and slammed into the black mare’s side. Applejack detached her improvised wrecking ball and let the two of them sprawl into the crater where the bigger one struggled.

Without missing a beat, Applejack whistled and caught Flutterbat’s attention. She unwrapped herself and flew out before the three collided noisily and joined her. Applejack then ran over to the crater and the dazed enemies, pulling out another trinket she’d gotten along the way. “Ah just hope this does everythin’ Pinkie said it could do.” She loosened the lasso of Mistress Marevelous and threw it around the three, pulling them tight together so they couldn’t move. They initially struggled but AJ just pulled tighter, and it was clear the rope, wouldn’t break. “Now Ah got some questions for you,” she said menacingly.

The black mare glared at her but the rope glowed a bright gold and her mouth moved against her wishes. “What… do you… want to know?”

“So we learned a little about this place,” Applejack concluded. “Turns out its call Aklopolips, home to a bunch of ponies that think their all high and mighty callin’ themselves gods. Every citizen of this world dedicates their lives and deaths to the ruler of this world. Slaves every one of them and Ah don’t think they care that they are.”

Rarity rubbed her chin worriedly. “What a horrible world. I hope Pinkie and Rainbow are alright.”

Mare Do-Well was oddly quiet as they walked, only now speaking up. “How did you get rid of those three?”

Applejack frowned. “Ah didn’t. Took some doin’ but after we got the information we knocked em out cold.”

Mare Do-Well stopped and shot a look at Applejack. “You shouldn’t have done that. They’ll be back now. They know your faces.”

Applejack got in her face. “Ah don’t care what they done. Far as Ah’m concerned everypony on this world is a victim. They don’t deserve to die for that.”

“And what if they have dogs? They could get your scent.”

“Do they have dogs?” Mare Do-Well was strangely quiet at this but kept her gaze on Applejack. A yellow hoof broke their stares and Flutterbat walked between them looking harsh.

“No fight,” she uttered matter-of-factly.

Mare Do-Well turned away and kept walking. “Either way we should keep on moving. And rub yourself with some of that sewage if you can.” She pointed to the trickling stream of green and gray gunk beside them.

Applejack looked to her and then the sewage. “Ah don’t mind getting’ down and dirty, but I’m not suicidal.” They continued to walk down the endless sewers toward whatever goal lay ahead and perhaps a way back home.

Point of No Return

===E8DB

Rainbow and Pinkie rematerialized inside the Veloci-Lair. She still hadn’t gotten used to traveling like that even without the speed so it took her a moment to reorient herself. “Okay, how come when I did it I landed outside but you always make it inside.”

Pinkie beamed. “Lots of concentration and practice.”

A siren immediately began to shriek and they both looked around in confusion. They were standing on the main deck and the computer blared a warning. Three words. “Veloci-Source Anomaly Detected.”

Pinkie sped over to the computer and began to tap furiously. “What does that mean?” Rainbow asked.

Pinkie frowned. “I-I don’t know. Nothing like this has happened before.”

The display changed. “Unidentified Speedster Detected in Lair. Run Protocol Speed Trap. Self Destruct Initiated.”

“Did that just say self destruct?!” Rainbow asked a little more forcefully. A counter appeared in the corner of the screens.

“Nononononono!” Pinkie shouted as she typed as furiously as she could, pulling up windows and tabs. “I don’t know how to stop it!”

Rainbow jumped to her side and looked at the clock. Twenty nine seconds. “Let’s just go! They’re not here!”

“But…” She gave a determined look at the computer and typed furiously. She pulled up another window, this one the layout of the multiverse they had been using since before. The white spheres shifted quickly until they landed on one with a red dot. “We can at least find out where Suntrix went. Maybe with her magical help we can find them.” She scanned the information available about the world then turned to Dash. “Alright, let’s go!” Twenty seconds.

“Wow, you think fast too.” Rainbow put a hoof around Pinkie and prepared to shift as her body began to vibrate. But then a harsh noise erupted from the stereos blasting them from all sides. Pinkie’s vibrations stopped and she held her ears. They both shouted in pain. “What’s going on?”

Pinkie closed her eyes and tried to vibrate again but Rainbow saw the sound somehow making her trembling body pulse in strange ways. She stopped and breathed heavily. “What is it?” Rainbow shouted over the noise.

“I don’t know! My phasing isn’t working!”

“Well how do you usually do it?”

“It’s like trying to hum to myself! Urgh! But I can’t find the right tune!”

“Tune?” Something clicked in her head. “The noise! It’s messing with you.” Twelve Seconds.

“But I can’t do anything about it!” Pinkie shouted desperately. “I just can’t get it right!”

Rainbow looked at the blaring lights and stereos. It was too late to smash them all. But there was one thing she was better at than anypony. And that was winning. “We’ve got to beat it!”

“What?!”

She put her hooves on Pinkie’s shoulders. “Listen! Just vibrate as fast as you can and I’ll do it too! With both of us combined we should get somewhere!”

“But who knows where we might end up!”

“Better than here!” Rainbow shouted back. Pinkie frowned but nodded resolutely. Six Seconds.

They put their foreheads together and closed their eyes. “Okay, NOW!”

Both mares began to shake with intensity. Around them the vibrations of their bodies bended and swayed, affected by the sound, but as they increased their forms gradually became more sharp. Three. Two. One.

Rainbow felt a jolt of electricity run through her and out her hooves as she was thrown backward into a void. She shook her head to clear it and saw the fiery shape of the Veloci-Lair burning, pieces of it flying out at intervals and then hanging in the ether as if caught by an invisible hand. The fire seemed to move rapidly then slow down erratically as it licked the structure and tore it apart. Rainbow watched all this silently before she spotted Pinkie floating, or rather standing on whatever she stood on in this void, to the side. She looked at the carnage with wide eyes, her expression unreadable.

Rainbow held out a hoof and wanted to walk over and comfort her but she couldn’t. She simply treaded air. She flapped her wings but they had no traction either. This wasn’t like the last time she was in the Veloci-Source. Then she noticed her hooves. Flakes of them were coming away like they did for Lightning and the Revenant. Her eyes widened in horror.

She tried to shout to Pinkie but her voice only seemed to go a few feet in front of her then died. The flaking was getting stronger. She waved her arms energetically getting Pinkie to look out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened. “Oh my gosh!” Pinkie shouted, her voice perfectly fine in the void. She ran as fast as the Veloci-Source would allow her grabbing Rainbow around the chest and then vibrating as fast as she could. Another boom echoed out as they vanished, leaving the flaming wreckage alone to slowly dissolve into the electric ether.

Rainbow and Pinkie set down on a red patch of earth and lay flat. Rainbow rolled over on her back and took in a huge breath, just noticing that she hadn’t been breathing. She lifted her hoof to the sky and inspected it, it seemed to all be in order. “I don’t get it,” she breathed. “I could move and do things just fine last time I was there.”

Pinkie lifted her head, herself breathing heavily as she didn’t seem too concerned with Rainbow, instead hugging her legs to her chest. “Why do you think that happened?”

Rainbow had an inkling but she didn’t know if she wanted to voice it. Those sounds from the stereo. That name on the screen, “Speed Trap.” Matterhorn had created a protocol for the fortress to undergo if another Speedster invaded it, at least that’s what she could guess. “I… don’t know.”

“Do you… think she meant it for me?”

Rainbow frowned and lifted her head up to look at her. “No! I mean, well… No, I don’t think so.” Pinkie looked at her expectantly with big eyes. Rainbow rubbed her head trying to come up with an answer that wouldn’t paint her friend in a negative light. “I guess… I kind of understand where she was coming from making that. When I first got your powers it felt so amazing. Like I could take on anything! It actually made me realize how you must feel all of the time. Heck, I actually teleported away a giant monster!” Pinkie raised an eyebrow confused. “I’m just guessing she didn’t think she could trust another speedster. But she trusted you.”

Pinkie’s sour expression didn’t leave but she did force a small smile and hugged her. “Thanks. Though when I find Twilight again I’m not letting her off easily for this.”

Rainbow frowned. “You know even if I’m right this doesn’t mean your friend hasn’t gone off the deep end.”

Pinkie shrugged. “I know. But I still have hope.”

Rainbow nodded. “Well, let’s get going anyway. You think they’re here?”

“That’s what the computer said.”

“Alright!” Rainbow took off in a random direction but Pinkie quickly surpassed her stopping a few hooves away. “Huh?”

Rainbow landed on the ground and held up her hoof to concentrate on it. She tried until her head was about to burst. Nothing. Not even a shake. “What’s going on?”

“I… I don’t think I have my powers anymore.”

{[(SxT)]}

Aklopolips has no cities. No towns. No hovels. No roads. All that exists exists for the planet’s dark master. Statues and memorials rise high into the sky. Edifices of dark construction and nightmarish architecture in honor of a demented god. And at the center of the world, a palace made from the blood, sweat and pain of hundreds of years of slavery. Pits of fire surround the keep that scrapes the sky and tears into the ground like a tick, sucking it dry of every natural resource. It is the home of a creature so devoid of love and feeling that his very throne sits outside the palace itself, so he may look out upon the hellscape he commands.

On this open air balcony four figures stand. Two in waiting and one laying recumbent in shadows atop a darkened throne. Suntrix cannot sense the world around her. Manacled in chains she works tirelessly dipping her hoof and tail into the pails of paint and pigment that surround her. Her eyes drift lazily as she goes about her task as if in a dream.

The taller one in magenta robes approached her with a sharp toothed grin from his muzzle being the only thing protruding from his dark hood. “She works quite efficiently, if I do say so myself.” He grabbed Suntrix by the mane and pulled her head back to look at her dead eyes. “My program must be working, unlike yours.” He crooked his head to the other figure in wait, a grotesque toad of a pony with a white mane and green armor.

“Nanny’s Furies have been reprimanded, Detraad,” she replied. “They are more than ready to hunt down those newcomers. In fact, Nanny is just waiting to give the order.” She grinned toward the figure in the shadows, its eyes glowing red.

It stood from its seat and walked down the steps into the infernal light of the balcony. It’s face gradually revealed itself from the darkness, features hard and impenetrable as stone. Blue armor coated his body juxtaposing himself against the bleak red background. He looked into Nanny’s eyes. “Find them, but leave one alive. The masked mare.”

“My lord?” Nanny frowned.

“She interests me.” The dark lord smiled, an action that only came from the thought of unimaginable torture and pain.

Nanny bowed deeply and backed away from the balcony back into the palace. Detraad continued to watch Suntrix work as she painted tirelessly on the side of the palace wall. A mural she had been working on for a week. “I still am confused, my lord,” he said. “What do you hope this will accomplish?”

His master walked over to Suntrix and made her stop, putting his hoof beneath her chin and turning her face to him. “What do you see when you look in these eyes, Detraad?”

The torture master frowned in concentration but shrugged. “I see the eyes of a pony who has lost the will to live.” It gave him a chuckle. “It’s always nice to see those on somepony so young.”

His master cast his gaze on him and Detraad shut his mouth immediately. He returned to Suntrix. “I see eyes that have seen reality laid bare. This mare contains the secrets of eternity, and I will have it.”

Detraad bowed his head. “Of course, my lord. But first we must find out what this mural means.”

They both turned to the painting. It covered almost the entire palace wall of the balcony. Six ponies stood to the left. Six to the right. Above, two glowing figures, one blue and one gray, seemed to wrestle like angels struggling back toward heaven, black rays shooting out from them like lightning bolts. In the center was a flat white table or altar glowing like a sun.

“Do you have an interpretation, my lord?”

The master let Suntrix go and she returned to her work. He placed a hoof on the picture of the altar and narrowed his glowing red eyes. “Perhaps I would, if I were to dream.”

“Lord?”

He pulled his hoof back and began walking back toward the palace. “But dreams are the escape of fools. Continue your work, Detraad.”

He bowed deeply as his master left then turned to Suntrix. She began to add more line of black around it. “This may take longer than anticipated.”

The Furies

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well lifted the manhole cover slightly before peeking through with a periscope camera she produced from her belt. “Any sign?” Rarity asked.

“It looks like a deserted alley. We’re probably inside a facility,” she replied.

She retracted the periscope and pushed the lid back gently, making sure not to make any noise. The four of them crawled out, Flutterbat shaking herself like a dog and sneezing quietly as the smells of the surface hit her. “It aint half as bad as it was down there,” Applejack chuckled. “Though Ah forgot how hot it is.” She lifted an arm to shade her eyes from the blazing sky.

Mare Do-Well went immediately to the corner and checked it for any approaching guards. Behind her the others talked.

“You know I never got to thank you,” Rarity said to Applejack as she dusted herself off. “From what I understand you had a lot to do with freeing me from Nightmare Moon.”

Applejack rubbed the back of her head. “It was nothin’. Heck, Ah didn’t even know if it’d work.”

Rarity smiled and placed a hoof on her shoulder pulling her into a hug. “It did and I’m really grateful.”

Something about her body language set off a warning in Mare Do-Well’s mind. What was she looking so sad for? She was free, right? Nightmare Moon was trapped back in that crazy world with Discord. But she didn’t have time to worry about that now. She was here. In Aklopolips. The one place she didn’t want to end up on this freaking adventure. She was telling the truth to the others. She had never been here before. But that didn’t mean she didn’t know about it. It and its dead master.

“Twilight?” She turned to see Rarity behind her. “Any idea what to do now?”

Before she could answer there was a whistling sound. “Get down!” Applejack shouted. Mare Do-Well turned to face the source of the sound but AJ grabbed her and pulled her back. Good thing though as a projectile collided with the ground where she stood making a giant crater. The force of the impact sent them all hurtling back and out of the alley into an open area. All around them ponies in disheveled clothes with skinny bodies scattered in fright. Applejack got to her hooves fast and pulled her sword. “It’s them.”

Mare Do-Well followed suit as well as Flutterbat. She put a hoof on Rarity and pushed her to the center between all three. “Stay here for now.”

“But I can help!” Rarity insisted.

Mare Do-Well shot her a look that even through her opaque lenses was felt. “Do as I say!” Rarity backed in between them.

When all the regular ponies had ran off and they were alone, they heard a large scraping sound. Through the alley they’d come in, the giantess Applejack described from before emerged. She hefted her mace on her shoulder and scowled unfeelingly at them. A cackle came from the other side and the tiny yellow mare from before crawled atop a wall and smiled down at them. The sound of a whip came from behind and the black mare flayed her ribbon-like tails slashing the air as she prowled toward them.

“Ha!” Applejack chuckled. “Same crew from before? We took you down easy enough last time. What makes you think we can’t when the odds are four to three?”

The black mare smiled wickedly. “Oh, you better recount, honey.”

Mare Do-Well jumped back as an icicle jutted out from the earth where she stood. Her eyes widened as she saw another figure coming at them from the front, sweat beading her forehead and a machine hissing with steam strapped to her back. Matterhorn glared at them with a heated scowl. The icicle melted and slid toward her being sucked up back into the machine. “Oh, buck me,” AJ muttered.

“Seems like a fair fight to me,” the black mare snickered. “Attack!”

Mare Do-Well reacted unconsciously, pulling a smoke bomb from her belt. She tossed it down and a plume of gray smoke obscured them as the four assailants attacked. Maltreated ponies watched from hovels and behind walls peeking their heads out as all eight figures disappeared into the smoke then scattered again as they burst out. Applejack tumbled out and caught herself in a roll as she turned to fight her opponent, the giantess. Flutterbat flew out of the smoke in a tangle of yellow and green fur as she kicked and scraped against the fiendish little mare attacking her. The sound of a whip echoed as Rarity was thrown from the smoke and landed in the dust, stepping up wearily to face the black mare as she stepped from the cloud. Mare Do-Well jumped back into the open air as an icicle went hurtling by her head. Matterhorn stepped out next to face her.

“Seems everypony’s got their dancin’ partners,” Applejack muttered.

“Not a very good time for humor,” Mare Do-Well grimaced.

The black mare stood straight and flayed her whips. “Girls? Go nuts.”

Applejack ducked the first swing but just like last time, wasn’t surprised to find the giantess preparing another immediately after. She decided to try her luck and go for the back legs as she slid into her duck and slashed underneath her opponent. AJ was surprised to hear a ping and see sparks as her blade grazed across the giantess’ armored legs. She got back up and was rewarded with a back kick to her flank. Her body went sprawling forward and she nearly dropped her sword from the pain. This mare hit harder than Sombra, and that armor was no joke. Applejack struggled to her hooves, her back legs a little wobbly from the kick. The giantess approached with a dead stare. This wasn’t going to be fun.

Rarity stared harshly at her opponent trying to show no fear. The black mare simply chuckled at her attempt. “Isn’t that sweet? You must be the charity case.”

“I am no such thing!”

The black mare waved her hoof dismissively. “Oh, please. Even I can tell you have no skill or power. Mundanity simply radiates from your every pore.” She swayed her many tails but made no attempt to attack, like she was simply playing with her. “Let me guess, pampered princess? The kind of pony that’s born to a finer lifestyle? So used to perfumes and dresses that the moment you arrived here you gagged and vomited your silver trayed lunch.”

Rarity dug her hooves into the dirt. “You know nothing of me. I’m strong! And I’ll show it to you!” Her horn glowed and she made the residual smoke in the air come down surrounding her and giving her cover again. The black mare stopped for a moment and checked her now covered surroundings.

“Okay, neat trick. Gas manipulation is a hard one to pull off for unicorns. You’ve obviously had training.” Rarity approached from behind, ready to stomp down on the base of her tails, stopping her movements. But one of them moved on their own accord and shot into the smoke wrapping around her arm. It pulled and she went flying again landing directly in front of the mare. “But that doesn’t disprove my point. Your loud and clumsy with no idea of what you’re doing. Honestly, I almost feel sorry for you.”

Rarity struggled against the white ribbon-like tail holding her down but it had a strength of its own and she was no match. It squeezed her a little tighter bringing tears to her eyes. “Yeah, that’s it,” the mare said viciously as she looked down at her. “Keep that face. I just love it when they die with that look of defiance.”

She could feel her lungs constricting and her breath growing shorter. A blackness began to encroach on her field of vision and she began to panic. She moved her hooves frantically as if struggling but rested them on the thing she hid in her mane. It could save her. But then that’d be it. No telling what could happen. Still, her fear was boiling over, she needed to do something. She grabbed the talisman.

Then suddenly something exploded in front of the mare. Her tail unwrapped itself and she went flying in another direction. When Rarity regained her breath and sat up she noticed a lazy corona of colors surrounding her, dissipating in the air. Dust flew, settling to the ground obscuring a winged figure that turned to her. “Are you alright?”

Mare Do-Well side jumped as Matterhorn summoned a spike of ice from below her. If this Twilight moved in the way she thought then she needed to keep on moving. She ran a circle around the mare, her cape fluttering behind her and Matterhorn followed. Her movements were slow and deliberate since she needed to lug that machine on her back. If she could just get to it and disable it. Matterhorn’s powers relied on ice. Strip her of that and they’d be on equal footing.

You really think that, she thought. She needed to get ideas like that out of her head. She was fighting Twilight, that was that. No inner battles right now. Think carefully and proactively and you can take her.

But Matterhorn’s actions were more erratic than she expected. When they first met on that rainy castletop, she knew how to enclose and trap them. She was fast and moved with purpose. Matterhorn was now hampered but she should have still been acting like she had a plan. Instead the angry mare created a circle of icicles around her and shot them off in all directions in an attempt to hit her. She was acting erratic.

Why isn’t she talking either, she thought. Since arriving, Matterhorn hadn’t uttered a word, just affixing her and the others with a heated glare and growling. Mare Do-Well frowned and dodged the wide attack easily then proceeded to jump close to her. Matterhorn didn’t react fast enough and she grabbed her hoof and twisted it behind her back. “What are you doing here, Matterhorn?”

The purple mare grit her teeth hard enough to crack as she fought. Mare Do-Well could even see spittle form in her mouth they were so close. She thrashed out with her teeth attempting to bite her. She was like an animal. Mare Do-Well had to let go or she’d actually get bitten, but not before slipping a shuriken from her belt and slicing the coolant pipe attached to her machine. The surge in temperature created a blast of wind that she used to soar back and Matterhorn crumpled to the ground. That went too well.

When the coolant was all gone, Matterhorn raised herself to her full height. Some of the icy mixture had dripped onto her face and neck freezing solid around those parts. She shook her head to regain clarity then narrowed her eyes on Mare Do-Well. “Fine, we don’t need to talk. I’ll just knock you out and take you back with us when we get out of here.”

Matterhorn’s eyes widened and she suddenly began to laugh. This made Mare Do-Well pause uneasily. “There’s no… escape.” Her first words spoken through laughter, as if they were hard to say. “Thisss is… the end.” She continued to laugh but something in her eyes belied any joy. They were the eyes of somepony who’d witnessed true fear and despair. Something she never wanted to believe could be reflected in those eyes.

Matterhorn threw off the machine and slammed her hoof into it. When she removed it, a glistening gauntlet with steamy vapor was attached. She lashed it outward and the water on it flew out only to freeze in the shape of a sword. She pointed it to Mare Do-Well like a duelist would and forced down her laughter. “Fight… me!”

Mare Do-Well could still see that fear in her eyes. It only made sense. If she was here, then it couldn’t have been by her own design. No doubt the world had done something to her. Stripped her of sanity, or morality. That’s all this world did was take. “No,” she replied bluntly holding up her hoof.

Matterhorn didn’t seem to notice her denial as she sprang forward, much faster now, and slashed. Mare Do-Well dodged it but was surprised to see that at the last moment Matterhorn’s sword turned to vapor. Then an instant later it refigured. Mare Do-Well cried out in pain as the vapor froze into a point right where her shoulder had been, tearing through her suit. She jumped back just in time to see Matterhorn swing again with the malformed sword. So the blade was just a ruse. She’s still able to think and plan. Maybe be reasoned with too?

“Come on, Twilight. Talk to me! I know you never wanted to be here. It was probably that portal that sent you here, right? Then they caught you and did unspeakable things, right?” Matterhorn seemed to stop for a second at this but then roared and kept slashing. Mare Do-Well kept the splash radius of the sword in mind as she dodged these blows. “I understand! The indignities! The horrors! The hopelessness! But you can fight it!” Matterhorn kept swinging, her face a blur of rage. “I know because your Twilight! And your stronger than this!”

Matterhorn finally paused, if only to breathe. She panted heavily and fell to a knee, furrowing her brow and shaking her head as if trying to remember something. Mare Do-Well took the chance. She walked toward her and held out a hoof. “Just help me and we can get you out of here. We can find Fili-Second and-”

Matterhorn’s eyes widened and she lifted her head. “Pinkie?” For a moment Mare Do-Well thought she saw recognition. Then her face contorted once more and she swung at her. She moved back to dodge but she was too close. The water came to within an inch of her nose before it simply disappeared. Mare Do-Well looked around and found she now stood to the side of Matterhorn. The mad mare followed her swing but blinked in confusion when she vanished. A pink blur zipped between them and stopped.

“Pinkie?” Matterhorn asked, legitimately confused as to her appearance.

Pinkie frowned and smiled at them both. “Hey!”

“What are you-”

“Just needed to get you out of the way.”

Mare Do-Well frowned. “Out of the way of what?”

A ball of yellow and green fur went flying and slammed into Matterhorn. They rolled together and landed by another body Mare Do-Well just noticed. The black mare groaned to her hooves and cast angry glares at them all. A loud thud caught their attention and she turned to see the giantess fall on her face. Applejack waved her hat to fan herself as she stepped from the large opponent’s back. “HOOWEE! That was like fightin’ a bull.” She pushed on her back a little too. “That’s gonna be sore in the morinin’.”

Flutterbat, Rainbow Dash and Rarity all walked up to join them and stood together triumphantly. “Give up now?” Mare Do-Well asked.

The black mare grit her teeth and hissed, pulling up her companion and then Matterhorn. “Furies do not retreat. Furies do not surrender!” She grabbed Matterhorn, who seemed less than lucid, and looked into her eyes. “Honestly, your as useless as that other one that came with you! I don’t know why our lord favors her so much!”

Mare Do-Well straightened up at this. “Other one?” Pinkie asked. “Was she blue with a gold and silver mane?”

The black mare raised an eyebrow at them. “I should have known you’d have something to do with their arrival. But this just makes it more delicious.” She grabbed Matterhorn by the arm and whispered something into her ear. Immediately her eyes widened and her demeanor changed. Matterhorn’s eyes became white and magic surged around her as she screamed into the heated sky. Her ice machine exploded and the moisture flew into the air, her magic circulating and cooling it at a microscopic level.

Mare Do-Well felt the temperature change immediately and knew what was going to happen. “We need to get out of here now!”

“But Twilight!” Pinkie shouted. Already the colliding temperatures were creating a whirlwind that was beginning to circulate faster and faster.

They covered their eyes from the flying dust and watched as Matterhorn continued to spew forth more and more magic, her body showing signs of clear strain but seemingly unable to stop. Mare Do-Well frowned but set herself. “It’s too dangerous! We need to leave before she turns this into a hurricane!”

Wind picked up a mass of crumbling wall and threw it at Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Pinkie moved fast enough to save them pulling them out of harms way. She looked back at Matterhorn as the dust grew so thick that she disappeared and nodded to Mare Do-Well gravely. “Alright.” They all gathered around Pinkie as she vibrated and with a sonic boom they disappeared.

They reappeared on a same stretch of red dusty land. Mare Do-Well looked at the fire filled sky and gritted her teeth. “Why are we still here?! Why didn’t you take us back?”

Rainbow got in front of Mare Do-Well to calm her down. “Woah! Calm down, Twilight! There’s a lot we need to catch up on.”

“Then we can do that at the Lair!”

“No, we can’t…”

There was a pause between all of them as they looked hesitantly between each other. “Are we safe right now, Pinkie?” Applejack asked.

Pinkie nodded disparagingly. “I’m pretty sure.”

“Then Ah think we probably should catch up. Just so we’re all on the same page.”

Mare Do-Well looked at all of them. Finally she threw up her hooves with a huff and groaned. “Let’s get this over with.” The sooner they were gone from this world, the better.

{[(SxT)]}

Suntrix continued her painting as the Furies approached their lord’s throne in front of her. Nanny Nobility stood off to the side, a grim look on her face as her Furies lay prostrated before the throne. Detraad snickered from the opposite side of Nanny, glancing her way as she shot him sneers.

“You have failed to eliminate your enemies.” The way the master said it was more stating of fact than question. “This is twice you have disappointed me.”

The Furies sunk their heads lower, Matterhorn included. She trembled with fear and strain as her muscles tried to keep her posture even in her incredibly weakened state. To create a storm on that level took a lot of effort and she didn’t know if she could take it anymore. But the master’s words gave her enough fear to keep trying.

“Rest assured, my lord. They will be properly punished,” Nanny smiled delightfully.

“I’m surprised you don’t find this a mark on your own record, Nanny,” Detraad grinned.

They shot each other dirty looks across the throne room. The master stood up and his movement immediately silenced the room. He walked down the steps of the throne and to the balcony looking out at the bleak landscape. “This world is mine. So what does that entail?”

“Everything upon it,” everypony replied in unison.

“And all that step hoof on this soil are mine as well.” He walked over to the Furies and stood before Matterhorn. She could feel him staring down at her, his sight almost burning a hole through her skull. Finally he spoke. “Rise.”

She complied but tried her best to look away. But her sight was simply drawn to him. His was a form that simply demanded to be recognized. “You still show the light of resistance in your eyes.” Matterhorn felt her blood run cold.

“No, master! I swear! I-I am loyal! Nanny’s training has been so… good. I only wish to serve you!”

The master kept staring into her eyes and she into his. Those dark orbs. Like two unfathomable pits with an incomprehensible horror lying in wait below. She immediately experienced vertigo and her legs crumpled beneath her.

He finally turned his gaze to the black mare. “She is a soldier under you, correct?”

“Yes, my lord,” the black mare replied, still not raising her head.

“And you gave her an order?”

“I told her to give everything for her master.”

He returned his gaze to Matterhorn. “And yet I still see you here.”

Matterhorn was trembling outright now, her mind had gone through so much torture that all this was simply too much. Still she struggled to reply. “I… I used all the magic I had. They… They…” Her fear gripped her and a thought occurred. She patted her suit pocket and felt a familiar object. It had been so long she almost forgot about it. But yes. At first she intended to just study it at the Veloci-Lair but if the master wished it, she would use it on herself. “I will not fail you again, my lord.”

He turned from her and walked toward Suntrix. “Go. Prepare for the intruders’ arrival.”

The Furies all rose and left with Nanny Nobility. Detraad looked at the master with a confused expression. “What makes you believe they will attempt to come here?”

The master walked to the mural and touched one of the ponies that had finally been colored and painted. They wore a purple outfit with a long hat and cape. “Because they are heroes. That is simply what heroes do. And I have trampled greater heroes than them.”

No More Secrets

<___|=o

They all sat and listened as Rainbow and Pinkie told them about everything that had happened since separating. Her suddenly gaining speed powers. The Lair exploding. Her suddenly losing them. Not to mention Pinkie’s history with Matterhorn and the truth behind their gathering.

“So it was all a lie,” Mare Do-Well muttered. “I had guessed something like that. Though I didn’t think the Power Ponies had left on their own.”

“I still don’t understand why I was chosen,” Rarity said. “Why somepony who was possessed by Nightmare Moon?”

Pinkie shrugged. “Quantum… something or other? I really don’t know how Twilight figured it all out. She was just in front of a computer a lot of the time. She barely talked to me.”

“Regardless,” Applejack began, “Ah think this brings up a good time for all of us to come clean.” Everypony looked to each other. “We’ve all been goin’ about this not knowing which flank we gotta kick or which we gotta save. Heck, we’ve even been at odds with each other at points.” She looked between Mare Do-Well and Pinkie. “If we want to come out of this alive Ah think we need to stop and truly decide what it is we’re fightin’ for. And to do that Ah think we need to start over again.”

Mare Do-Well groaned. “We do not have time for this!”

Flutterbat stood and hissed at her but Applejack pushed her down. “You can go if you want.” Everypony was silent as Mare Do-Well didn’t make a move. “Pinkie? Can you take her home?”

Pinkie perked up and frowned. “Um, yeah.”

“Then there’s the door.” She pointed to the pink mare. Mare Do-Well looked between them hesitantly. “Everything we did before was in the name of somethin’ we didn’t fully understand. We stay here. We talk and understand it fully. Because it involves all of us. If you don’t want to do that, then you can go.”

Mare Do-Well stood there for the longest time. Applejack had no idea what was going through her head but it had to be painful since she could see her trembling. Finally, the masked mare sat back down and took a deep sigh. “Then who wants to go first?”

Slowly one by one they each introduced themselves and told their stories. Rainbow told how she wanted despereately to get back home and find Fluttershy. Rarity told them how she felt responsible for her Fluttershy’s death. Flutterbat crudely recounted to them the story of her foalhood raised by Sombra. And Applejack let the story of her past and her missing sister fully come to light.

“It looks like we all have a reason to get home,” Rainbow said wanly. She turned to Mare Do-Well who still hadn’t spoken. “So what about you?”

They all looked expectantly at her. “I… I’m not…” She paused as she looked back at all of them. “I’m… not sure what to say.”

Applejack could sense the stress in the mare’s voice. It seemed to break slightly and she heard uncertainty in it. “Anything you can would be fine.”

Mare Do-Well took a deep breath. “I haven’t been here before but I know this place.” They were all rapt with attention. “I’ve never traveled to other worlds before but there was an event in my past that could only be explained by them. Those green portals appeared everywhere. Those creatures in the sky swarmed my world. We were being invaded by things we couldn’t explain. I… lost somepony important to me during that time. Look, what matters is that I know what this place is. What it’s capable of. And believe me when I say we need to get as far away from here as we can. Leave and never come back.”

“But what about Twilight and Suntrix?” Pinkie replied.

Mare Do-Well looked to her, her pleading expression coming through the mask. “Do you honestly want her back like that? Look what this world has done to her. Barely able to form a sentence let alone recognize her friend. And who knows what’s happened to Suntrix. She’s been through hell already she could just be-”

A slap cut her off and Mare Do-Well stopped. She looked to Pinkie but was surprised to see it was Rarity who slapped her across the face. The white mare was biting her lip with an angry look in her eyes and the beginning of tears. “Don’t talk like that. Don’t say those kinds of cowardly things in her voice.”

Mare Do-Well drew back slightly and hung her head. “I… I’m sorry. I know how this must sound but prevailing over something like this was a once in a lifetime thing. And we’re on their turf now! We’d be going in completely blind against ponies that have the technological capabilities to call themselves gods. I don’t want to be a coward.” She looked to Rarity. “But I don’t want to see any of you hurt either.”

Applejack nodded slowly. “Ah think it’s time we made a decision. Just what are we fightin’ for? Family? Home?” She looked to Rarity and Flutterbat. “Friends?” She looked to Rainbow and Pinkie. “Or to survive?” She looked to Mare Do-Well. “What do you guys want to do?”

Pinkie was the first one to speak. “I want to stay and find Twiligh and Suntrix. I know it might be hard but they don’t deserve this.”

Rarity dug her hooves into the soil. “I also want to help. I still have a lot to make up for and I’ve just begun to regain my life. I don’t intend on weighing it down with guilt.”

Flutterbat spread her wings and nodded. “Flutterbat want to help.”

Rainbow grinned and shrugged. “What the hell, I suppose I’m in it till the end too.”

Applejack and Mare Do-Well stared at each other from across the circle. “Ah’m goin’ too. Cause this is where the line is drawn. When we find them there will be no more sidetracks. We end this and we do what we were brought together to do.”

Mare Do-Well shook her head slowly. “I just don’t get you guys. After everything we’ve been through. The things both of those ponies have put us through! You’d honestly risk it all against these monsters just to save them!?”

“That’s what heroes do, isn’t it?” Pinkie asked.

Mare Do-Well stared ahead stunned before beginning to chuckle. She gripped her sides as she tried to calm down. “I must be out of my freaking mind.” She cast her gaze on each one and they in turn on her. “Let’s go fight some gods.”

`~(\/)~’

Mare Do-Well kept complaining about how easy it was to sneak into the palace, but Rainbow didn’t see it that way. Their “easy” way in included crawling through a mile and a half of garbage in the sewers as well as scaling down into a furnace like boiler room that burned anything that touched the walls or surface. When they emerged from below the fortress’ innards, she was just glad to breath that stale air again.

They crawled out of a hole in the tiles of a tight hallway before Applejack slid it back into place. Rarity made a noise that sounded like she would throw up. “I think I’m going to need a seven hour bath after this.”

Mare Do-Well checked the edge of the hallway for a clear coast. “Most likely that fire pit downstairs cooked off all the disease in that garbage on us so we should be safe and sanitized.” They all stared at her until she turned back to them. “What?”

“Let’s just get this done, darling.”

“Hey, you wanted to come.”

“I know. It’s just gross is all.”

“Flutterbat seems to like it.”

They saw Flutterbat rubbing herself against a metallic wall as if trying to either rub the grime into her fur more or rub it off. She too stopped and looked at them. “What?”

“Let’s get back on topic,” Applejack interjected. “Where do you think they’d be, Twilight?”

“Not sure. Aklopolips already has transdimensional capabilities so I don’t know what they’d want with Suntrix. Still, that black mare said that their master favored her for some reason. She could be close to him. Maybe the throne room.”

“That sounds super dangerous,” Rainbow cut in. “So how do we get there?”

“Ever the thrill seeker,” Mare Do-Well muttered under her breath. “I’d guess we’d have to go up.” They left their hiding spot and proceeded down the corridor as quietly as possible. “Now our best bet is to stick to the shadows. Hide behind corners. Don’t let anypony see you.” They walked out of the corridor into an enormous room. It was hundreds of hooves wide, long and tall. The walls were lined with railings and stairs at sharp odd angles with nary a door or unlit corner in sight until the top that let out onto a hole in the top of the palace. “Well… Never mind.”

“Pretty open area,” Rainbow stated bluntly.

“Yeah, too open,” Applejack replied.

Four familiar figures fell from the hole and slammed to the ground. “Oh not you guys again!” Rainbow moaned.

A slam echoed behind them and two more figures stood by the now sealed corridor they had come from. One was tall in a magenta robe and sharp teeth while the other was short and frog like with green armor and yellow cape. “Not this time,” the tall robed figure said in a hiss.

“Six on six. Still not too bad,” Rainbow said with a shrug. Suddenly they heard a rush of screeches from above and dozens of the pegademons flew down to swirl above them. Everypony looked at Rainbow with an angry expression. “Maybe I should stop talking?”

They circled each other standing back to back as their enemies surrounded them. “Do you think you can handle this?” Mare Do-Well whispered to Rarity.

Rarity set herself and nodded, her horn beginning to glow. “Whatever you do, don’t worry about me. Worry about the problem in front of you.” Mare Do-Well gave her a hesitant look before she nodded.

Without a word the swarm of enemies rushed in and the six sprinted into the fray.

Battleroom Blitz

Pinkie sped over to the giantess and easily jumped on her head as she swung her mace. From there she jumped to the nearest pegademon and grabbed their neck like a set of reins. She laughed gleefully as she smashed them into each other and then jumped from one to the next, distracting most of them.

After Pinkie’s jump off the giantess’ head, Applejack made her move and charged head first into the giantess’ chest. She didn’t succeed in knocking her over but she didn’t intend to. Instead she moved her right in the way for Mare Do-Well to flip over her, planting a small bomb behind her head. It blinked and detonated a moment later making the giantess’ eyes cross and fall flat on her face.

Rainbow struggled with the little yellow one as they zigzagged to avoid each other’s attacks. The yellow mare growled and then lunged herself at Rainbow with a burst of speed only for her to shoot up into the air and Flutterbat to jump out from behind her and tackle the mare. Rainbow grinned as the two kicked and clawed at each other but stopped when something grabbed onto her leg. A pull sent her flying down from the air and slamming into Rarity. She struggled to her hooves and just barely grabbed Rarity out of harm’s way before another white ribbon-like whip came slamming down on where they stood. The black mare gritted her teeth and began to whip her tails wildly at them.

Mare Do-Well landed after delivering the bomb on the giantess only for a double attack to come from both sides. The new enemies, the toad and robed figure, shot from either side. She narrowly dodged the robed figure as he slashed with his arm, not surprised to see a cornucopia of cutting implements fly from his robes. They buried in the ground at her feet as she flipped back but it led her to the toad who grinned maliciously and tried to grab her in a bear hug. Suddenly, Applejack was behind her and did the same to the toad, grabbing her around the chest and lifting her up and over her head. The toad was so surprised she didn’t even fight as Applejack suplexed her head into the ground behind her making a small crater.

Applejack let go and took a breath but then was pulled by a rope that shot out and grabbed her chest. She was flung backward as a combination of ice and sharp knives fell on where she stood. She landed next to Mare Do-Well who quickly respun her rope and snapped it tight against her hooves. Matterhorn and the robed figure approached menacingly. “I take the left you take the right?” Mare Do-Well suggested.

“Sounds good.” They darted off in opposite directions as the robed figure ran after Mare Do-Well and Matterhorn ran after Applejack.

Pinkie still jumped from pegademon to pegademon slamming them together, but was halted when the whips from the black mare flayed in front of her flight path and slapped both the pegademon she was riding and he flew away. She jumped from the creature and spotted a creative way to land. Immediately she tucked her body and began to spin profusely until she was like a razor blade. Her momentum rocketed her down just as Flutterbat and the yellow mare tore from each other. She collided with the yellow mare’s back and drove her into the ground with a big crunch making another crater. She sped out of the hole, just a little dizzy and rejoined Flutterbat.

The black mare flashed her whip-like tails faster and faster as Rainbow and Rarity tried to dodge. Already Rarity was getting hit more and more, red welts and even some blood appearing on her skin. Rainbow simply listened to her gut and yelled as she charged forward into the fray. However, the whips were too strong and sent her flying away. The black mare set her eyes on Rarity with a vicious smile. “Oh, that was some good payback for last time. Now its your turn!”

She drew all her whips back and prepared to slam them down on her. Rarity simply gritted her teeth and pulled the talisman from her mane, preparing to rip it. Then there was a thump. The black mare stopped grinning and her eyes rolled back in her head, falling over. Behind her stood Pinkie and Flutterbat, the previous had her hoof up like she just did some kind of karate chop. Rarity smiled but quickly tucked the talisman back in her mane. “You alright?” Pinkie asked, not noticing anything.

“Just a little bruised,” Rarity muttered with a pained laugh. However, Flutterbat gave her a raised eyebrow.

Applejack and Matterhorn ran alongside each other down the enormous room. Matterhorn shooting blasts of ice at her and Applejack deflecting them with her sword. She knew she couldn’t keep this up, however. Already she was beginning to feel the ice start to encroach on her blade. Anymore and it might become frail and shatter. After another attack, she made the first move and jumped toward Matterhorn, doing a flip over her. This caught the mare off guard so she was lucky enough to spin and slash the hoses to her ice machine as she landed. After that. Applejack took off running again. But she had to duck as something flew past her.

Matterhorn looked at the sliced hoses and shouted in anger once more before turning to pursue. But just as she did a rainbow blur plowed into her and slammed into the ground. Applejack skidded to a halt and turned back to see Rainbow rubbing her head as she lay on top of Matterhorn. “That was a pretty nice save!”

“Huh?” Rainbow shook her head to clear it and saw Matterhorn beneath her. “Um, yeah! I totally meant to do that.”

Mare Do-Well flared her cape to stave off the barrage of knives the robed figure shot at her. She grit her teeth in frustration as they quickly approached a wall. She had to think of some kind of retaliation and fast, but this guy wasn’t giving her any openings. Maybe a shot to his ego might work?

She slid to a halt in front of the wall and faced him, the figure also stopping in front of her brandishing his sharp teeth in a homicidal grin. “From your skill I’m guessing you’re some kind of higher up, huh?”

He shrugged. “I do enjoy a bit of freedom with my work.” He held up a serrated knife from his robe and a snake like tongue licked it. “And I do love my work.”

“Not enough to keep your boss safe, though.”

The figure froze and cocked his head to the side. She wasn’t expecting an immediate reaction, just something to throw him off his game. But his mannerisms didn’t portray angry, just confused. Then he jerked back in realization. “Now I know who you are! No wonder the master desires you!” A low gurgle came from within his blackened hood and it turned into a cackle. He threw back his head in raucous laughter. It sickened Mare Do-Well to hear, but she knew an opportunity when it presented itself.

She drew two shuriken and ran at the wall, jumping off it and flying above the figure’s head. When she flew behind him she tossed the two shuriken at the base of his neck. However, with great surprise, his magenta robe erupted from the back and three spiderlike robotic appendages shot out. They easily batted away the shuriken while also snatching her cape out of the air and quickly wrapping around her midsection. She felt the air cut off from her lungs and thrashed around but to no avail. The robed figure turned to face her and she now hung in the air close enough to see his whole face from within the hood. Skin hung off his cheeks and forehead like he was melting and scar tissue covered every inch of his exposed flesh. “Darkclyde has been waiting to meet you again, young one.” Her eyes widened and her blood ran cold.

~`(\/)’~

“Everypony okay?” Applejack asked as they all gathered again. All around them, their foes lay in unconscious piles, some in craters and some with their heads in the ground.

Rarity stumbled back, grasping her left hoof as that had sustained the most damage. She clutched her leg harder as something stung worse than the pain. Just what have I been able to do? I said I could help but I just keep getting saved. And then… She felt the talisman tucked away in her mane. She knew that it was inevitable. She had to use it at some point. So what was the point of waiting on it? If she truly wanted to make a difference, then she needed to be more than she was.

Flutterbat approached her from the side and bumped her, looking concerned. “Rarity all right?”

Rarity smiled wanly. “I’m fine, really. I…”

Flutterbat closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Don’t let anything scare you. You can accomplish miracles with just a little bravery.”

Rarity smiled slightly at her words. “You said that before. It’s from your special pony, right?”

Flutterbat nodded and smiled back. “It words I want to live by. Maybe same with you?”

Rarity’s smile faded as she looked around at their defeated opponents. “I… honestly don’t know.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow shouted in victory and pumped her hoof. “Did you guys see that? We came, we saw, we kicked their flank!”

Pinkie was dragging Matterhorn from the crater she’d made and bringing her over. She smiled at them all as she approached. “Now if we can just get Suntrix we can get out of here.”

Applejack frowned as she cast her head back and forth looking for something. “What is it?” Rarity asked.

“Where’s Twilight?”

It took them a moment to realize what she was talking about but they all jerked in response. “Twilight!”

The sounds must have awoken Matterhorn as her eyes shot open and she jumped to her hooves. She cast her gaze over the five before seeing all the enemies fallen before them. With wide eyes she began to hyperventilate. “N-N-No, this c-can’t happen! Not ag-g-gain!”

Pinkie approached her calmly with a raised hoof. “Twilight, I need you to stay calm. Please, can you tell us where they might have taken Mare Do-Well? Do you know anything?”

Matterhorn grimaced and didn’t seem to notice her as her eyes shook with fear. “Even Nanny. Nonononononono! They’ll… They’ll hand me over to Detraad this time. I can’t… I don’t want that!”

“Twilight, we’ll keep you safe. Please, can you help us?”

Pinkie reached out and touched her arm. Matterhorn slapped it and stepped back. “You have no idea what you’ve done! You can’t escape this. Nanny said so. No escape. No escape. No escape.” She continued to repeat those two words as she began to curl in on herself and shake.

“She’s been broken pretty badly,” Applejack lamented. Pinkie hung her head sadly and she placed a hoof on her shoulder to comfort her. “Don’t worry. We can help her.”

Rarity looked at the two before her eyes were drawn to Matterhorn. The mare suddenly stopped shaking and pulled a small syringe with strange black fluid from her pocket. Before she knew what she was doing, the mare plunged it into her own arm and pushed the plunger. “Stop!”

Pinkie rushed over to Matterhorn as she dropped the empty needle and it shattered against the ground. She grabbed her friend by the shoulders and tried to steady her as she spasmed and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. “Twilight, what was that!? What did you take?”

Rarity approached the shattered syringe and saw a small drop of the dark fluid fall from the glass and hiss on the floor. She felt a familiar wave of nausea creep up her spine. “Pinkie!” she shouted. “Get away from her!”

Pinkie turned just as Matterhorn stopped spasming. She looked up in a smooth fast motion and her eyes were smoky white. With a swift swing of her hoof she threw Pinkie away from her and cried out in pain. Her cries turned into the roars of a wild beast and smoke erupted from every orifice in her body obscuring her. Everypony took a few steps back as something giant seemed to be moving in the massive smoke cloud eneveloping the room. Pinkie struggled to her hooves and looked on in wide eyed horror.

“Twilight?” Another roar cut the air, this one far more primal and full of anger. It swept away the smoke to reveal a freakishly tall slender purple Wyrm. “Twilight, what have you done?”

Inner Demons

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well didn’t feel the pain when he subdued her. She didn’t feel the metal grooves in the floor scrape against her as he dragged her out and through the palace. She didn’t even feel the pain when he threw her on her face in front of the throne. She was too shocked to even feel anything. And too scared to look up at what sat on that throne. The robed stallion did it for her.

He ripped off her hat and grabbed her head, lifting it up so that it was looking right at him. The harbinger of pain and despair, there in his dark blue armor and soulless face like stone, Darkclyde. “The master wishes to speak with you.”

Darkclyde simply stared at her from above on his throne, discerning everything about her. It was definitely him. That face she’d seen in all those newspapers and newscasts. The pony that tried to conquer her whole world. “You can’t be real. You can’t be the same,” she muttered under her breath.

“In the multitudes of worlds there are none like me, child.” His words held the age and wisdom of thousands of years of pain and rule.

“Why are you alive?”

Darkclyde took a moment before answering. Finally, he stood from his throne and walked slowly down the steps toward her. “To a god, death is as brief as life.” She shivered as he walked toward her but then walked past toward the balcony. “The mare that defeated me so long ago was a strong warrior. I respect strength to an extent, and so I respected her.” He turned his head and narrowed his glowing red eyes at her. “So why do I not sense that same fire in you?”

Mare Do-Well trembled with anger. “She died to stop you. Why would she die and something like you survive?” Why? Why did this keep happening? The good die and never return yet the evil live on? She wanted to believe that good prevails but it was getting harder and harder to accept that. Especially with her gone.

“A fake,” Darkclyde mused. “I see now. But the question stands, to which was the fake?” He stepped between her and the wall and Mare Do-Well finally saw it. A massive mural being painted by a blue pony with a gold and silver mane.

“Suntrix?” Darkclyde turned as well to the painting and studied it with her. He waved a hoof and Detraad let go of her allowing her to stand up. He knew she could not escape anyway, and she knew it deep inside as well. Reluctantly she walked over to stand by him.

“This mare has been painting profusely since she arrived. All in an effort to give us a glimpse at something.”

Mare Do-Well studied the mural as well. She almost let her mouth hang open as the detail astounded her. On one side it was her and the others ready to face off against six other ponies, each one a different version of them. She saw Fluttershy in a dark black and purple uniform, Rarity in a gleaming suit of armor, Rainbow Dash in a hakama like Applejack’s, even Matterhorn was there. And at the bottom, a sickeningly familiar smiling face. “Pinkster.” Darkclyde didn’t react to the name. “Just what is this a glimpse of?”

He narrowed his eyes at the top of the mural. Above the war going on below, two figures battled it out. One a familiar blue and the other a familiar gray. Why did it seem so familiar? One had to be Mr. 4 but the other… just who was that? “The end.”

A large explosion rocked the palace and Mare Do-Well fell slightly. She turned to the balcony and saw a wall of the palace crumble away not too far. Massive wings flapped away the dust and wreckage and a giant purple dragon flew out. From the floor she could see her friends running out of the broken wall and following it. Something about the dragon was familiar but she couldn’t place it.

“Regardless,” Darkclyde’s voice brought her back to the uncomfortable reality facing her. His eyes glowed an eery red. “You are not the mare I perceived. Thus you are inconsequential. It would most likely even be prudent of me to dispose of you.” He turned his head and twin beams of energy streaked from his eyes.

Mare Do-Well had to move. She didn’t let her fear stop her, instead focusing back on that rage. It gave her purpose and meaning and drove her to move. She dodged the beam but it corrected course in midair and charged toward her once more. It was the same the more she zigged and zagged. The beam would follow. Meanwhile Darkclyde stood perfectly still.

He can’t move while using this attack. He has to concentrate. She changed her course toward him. She reached for her utility belt but felt a cold realization that it wasn’t on her anymore. That Detraad guy had disarmed her. Smarter than he looked.

It didn’t matter though as Detraad was already at her side trying to pen her in. So she did the unexpected. Instead of going to Detraad or Darkclyde she went toward the existing beam. By now her chase had made the beam curl and snake along most of the balcony and it hadn’t dissipated. It was still connected to Darkclyde’s eyes. She felt like she was running from a snake. And how did you outwit a snake? Let’s see what happens when you tie these beams in a knot.

She had to be really careful about this. She narrowly jumped over the existing beam and spun in the air to simply graze above it. Then she immediately fell to the floor and sprinted back the way she came. Her sharp turn resulted in the chasing beam cutting down suddenly and intersecting its own existing beam. A large spark and explosion was the result. Detraad was blinded for a moment and she used that to slam into him. He was launched backward and plunged from the balcony to the red earth below. Mare Do-Well smiled as the beam dissipated and seemed to blow up in Darkclyde’s face. He reared back, blinded, and let out an uncharacteristic cry of pain. But that didn’t seem to matter much as he showed no outward signs of it. Instead he turned to her with his full attention. “It seems you are not that dissimilar. Simply in one regard.”

“And what’s that?”

His eyes glowed an even deeper red as he approached, his steps echoing with every stomp. “You will lose.”

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat didn’t need to fully understand the situation around her. Her friends were in danger and that was good enough for her. The giant purple dragon that had once been Matterhorn landed on a twisted spire of metal on the palace and curled its enormous tail around it before letting out another ungodly roar.

“Well, this complicates things,” Applejack muttered to herself from beside her. Rarity, Pinkie and Rainbow walked from the billows of dust into the hot air and laid eyes on their foe with wide eyes.

“Is that what Spike was back on Maud’s world!?” Rarity shouted in disbelief. “How in Faust’s name did she become that?”

Pinkie shook her head. “She was there with us.”

“She was?” Rainbow asked. Flutterbat and AJ looked at her with concern.

“At least I’m pretty sure. She… she froze my legs to get Mare Do-Well to save me.”

AJ waved a hoof. “Never mind all that. Let’s focus on getting’ her back to normal.”

The dragon roared again. Rarity gave Pinkie a raised eyebrow. “What makes you think she can turn back?”

“Spike did. And all we can do is hope that it’s the same for her, right?” She looked to Pinkie who was biting her lip as she watched the Twilight dragon twist around the spire and bend it in odd ways. “Right?”

She nodded. “Right. We’ve got to believe.”

“Faith is for fools.” A storm of knives flew at the group and Flutterbat swooped to pick up Rarity out of the way of one.

“Okay?” she asked her.

Rarity pushed her off, rather forcefully. “I’m fine! I could have avoided it.”

“If say so.”

They scattered and turned to face their attacker, the magenta robed pony that they had seen from before. Though his neck was bent at an odd angle and the way he stood didn’t look right. As if in answer to their confusion he put a hoof to his neck and cracked it back into place, followed by insect like tendons from his back sprouting and pulling on his body to straighten out his spine. “Ah!” He cried in ecstasy and his tongue lolled out from his sharp tooth smile. “I would’ve loved to slice up that masked mare, but you five will do just fine. And don’t worry about your friend. She’ll be quite busy.”

From above the palace a swarm of pegademons flew toward Matterhorn. They swarmed her like bees and began to poke and prod at her scales with pitchforks and spears, some even reaching her sensitive back area. She roared again and began to let out a torrent of black flame, incinerating the flies around her. “I have to admit she is quite new. I look forward to dissecting her.”

Pinkie was the first to charge as she disappeared and reappeared slamming her hoof into the stallion’s chin. His head flew back with a crack but his body remained unmoved. The tendons reached back up to his head and cracked it back in place so he was face to face. “Thank you, sir, may I have another?”

Before any of them could react, more of the mechanical tendons erupted from his back and shot toward them. Flutterbat dodged the sharp arm but forgot about Rarity behind her. She spun to help but was surprised to see Rarity had stopped it with her magic. She was obviously struggling though so she let it go and grabbed it as it passed by her, bringing her weight down and slamming it into the ground. “See? I told you I could handle it.”

Flutterbat nodded appreciatively but rolled her eyes to the others who were trying to fight off numerous other tendons while Rarity could barely hold hers down. It flayed and she jumped slightly then landed on the ground again. “Okay, maybe you could do something for me.”

Flutterbat nodded again and slammed her hoof down on the tendon snapping it in two. Then she turned to help the others. Rarity got up to follow her but Flutterbat put a hoof out to stop her. “Go be safe.”

Rarity frowned at her. “But I can-”

“Go be safe,” she repeated, a little more insistently. She tried to show concern in her eyes for her. “Please.”

Rarity still frowned but sighed and nodded. Flutterbat smiled and went to the battle. Rarity stayed behind but looked up for a moment as a flash caught her attention. Several red flashes going on above on a balcony.

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well felt like she was running out of options. An angry god in front of her. A steep drop and killer dragon behind her. Darkclyde didn’t make the first move. Instead he waited for her attacks and then blocked or simply endured anything she threw at him. Kicks and punches were doing nothing to his incredibly tough skin and unplaceable armor of supreme defense. But what could she do. She was stripped of her gadgets.

He gradually moved closer, every step cutting off more routes of escape. She had to think. How did she beat him? Well she never found out did she? She didn’t see it. That fight. What went on there? How did somepony so small defeat something so fearsome.

Mare Do-Well took another step back and felt her back hooves hit the balcony. She was truly cornered now. Her legs began to wobble with fear. She’d never felt so helpless. And those eyes just kept staring. Straight into her like a drill. Like…

Mare Do-Well had to move fast as she realized too late that Darkclyde had tried out his eyebeams again. She ducked as they whizzed above her and disintegrated the balcony behind. She rolled to the side and began to run for the railing. If she could get jump she might be able to ride down on her cape. The beams were still on her tail, but they kept Darkclyde busy. If she just managed to outrun them, then she could find a way to do that beam crossing trick again when she was safe. Just had to keep running. Had to keep running. Had to-

Time seemed to slow down as she approached the railing. A familiar white figure suddenly appeared in a flash of light right in front of her, surprise showing in her face as she quickly came closer. She skidded to a halt as they both nearly collided, but Mare Do-Well’s reflexes kicked in and she ducked back to slide beneath Rarity. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized too late what she had done. Rarity was too dumbfounded to notice as she watched her slide, mouthing her name and turning her head to follow her. The motion made her whip her mane and a small slip of paper tumbled into the air from it, barely coming between Rarity and the beam just as it was about to vaporize her.

An enormous flash of light blinded her and Mare Do-Well slid into the wall, knocking her head against it. She blinked profusely as the light faded and time seemed to resume. Standing between her and the god, was another god. This one pitch black with a flowing violet mane and eyes like starlight. “Rarity?” she barely breathed. “I… I’m…

Rarity’s eyes were wide, tears brimming in them but she blinked hard and they were gone. Now she turned her gaze to Darkclyde. Her eyes narrowed with unimagineable hate.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

===E8DB

“So are you like a robot, or a cyborg or something?” Rainbow asked as she dodged the robed figure’s attacks in the air. Pinkie seemed to be the only one who could get close enough to him to do some real damage so that’s what she did, kicking and punching him until his body looked crumpled beyond repair. But his tendons would simply repop any bone back into place or wrap around any that were broken to set it. By now the guy looked like he was a little more than half machine.

“I am Detraad! Master Torturer of Lord Darkclyde’s Firepits!”

She dodged another attack. “More like master… poor choice-erer?”

AJ slashed away a tendon with her sword and gave her a deadpan look. “Really?”

“They can’t all be gems.”

“Why won’t you go down!?” Pinkie shouted angrily.

Detraad laughed madly. “You pathetic children! I am a god! I was celebrating my thousandth kill while you were barely a spark in your father’s eye! Do you honestly believe you can defeat me with such petty antics?” As if to answer him, Flutterbat wrapped her wings around his head and grappled onto his back. The tendons tried to react but the others batted them away or kept their attention.

Detraad flailed, trying to swipe at his attacker but each time he did she would pull his neck and he would lose his balance. Rainbow noticed this and smiled as an idea occurred to her. She flew down to the ground and stuck a hoof out in his way. He tripped over it and fell head first. Flutterbat let go of him as his back was now open. With one swift move, AJ slashed all the mechanical tendons from his body. He tried to stand back up but Pinkie held up a hoof and vibrated it before coming down on his neck like a karate chop. It was just enough to rattle his head as his eyes rolled back in their sockets and he slumped to the red dirt, a disgusting grin on his face.

“Icky! Icky! Ew! Ew!” Pinkie cried in disgust as she trotted in place. “I hate dealing with gross ponies like that.”

“Yeah, that guy was a real mason chemist,” Rainbow chuckled.

“Ah think you mean masochist,” Applejack corrected her.

A loud roar cut them off and they turned to the other problem. Matterhorn had managed to vaproize quite a few of the pegademons but there were still plenty flying about and it looked like they had picked up on her weak point. “So what do we do about Smoky?” Rainbow asked.

AJ scanned the landscape and saw something that caught her eye. One of those firepits, Detraad had been talking about. They had seen them from afar, but here up close they were intense. Three hundred hooves in length they seemed like pillars of red hot flame straight into space. “Ah think Ah have an idea, but Ah don’t know if you’re gonna like it, Pinkie.”

Pinkie sighed as she watched Matterhorn nervously. “We’re running out of options fast so as long as it doesn’t kill her I’m all for it.”

AJ nodded. “Well, remember how sturdy those things were to fire?” They nodded. “Think she could handle gettin’ thrown in there?”

They all looked to the firepit that she was pointing at. “Are you serious?” Rainbow asked. “That’s enormous, she’d be ash in a second!”

AJ tapped her head. “Maybe, or her scales could be strong enough to just weaken her. Either way its our best shot.”

Pinkie bit her lip and looked between Matterhorn and the firepit. “Okay, let’s try it.”

“Flutterbat, Ah need you to fly up there and get her attention.” Flutterbat nodded and flew off.

“What about me?” Rainbow asked.

AJ grinned. “You know what you did to that creep just a few moments ago?”

“Yeah?”

“Think you can do that on a bigger scale?”

Rainbow’s eyes widened in realization and she grinned back. “I like a challenge.”

~`(\/)’~

Hello, Rarity. The voice was back. Just tune it out, you did it before, just tune it out. I’m not going anywhere ever again, darling. Its tone was mocking and cruel, but she just swallowed her anger and funneled it. “You hate me,” she muttered under her breath. “Well for this one moment hate this pony more.”

If it will get you out of here all the sooner. She felt an well of power suddenly appear within her. Had she seriously been this restricted before? Surprised? I keep most of the best toys for myself, but I’ll lend them to you this once.

Rarity felt within herself and let the darkness billow from her body, cascading down her limbs and flowing like a river beneath her. “A demon?” Darkclyde mused. “Tied to this child, perhaps? I can offer you freedom. It’s well within my purview to make a creature such as you my vassal.”

Sorry, hot stuff. But I’ve gotten kind of used to her. And she’s going to take me home where I’m my own mare.

“Pity,” he replied with a grim expression.

“You can talk to her?” Rarity asked disbelievingly.

“Nothing lies outside of my sight. This you will learn if you truly wish to fight me.”

Rarity set herself, letting her magic billow around her into dark spikes like a porcupine. “I have a lot of anger right now and I need to unload on somepony. Sorry, but you’re unlucky enough to be the first one I saw.”

Darkclyde didn’t respond to her jibes, merely holding up a hoof in front of her. “Then tremble in fear, demonspawn. For you will have your battle.”

He lifted off the ground without magic or anything, which surprised her. Then it was his speed. He actually flew straight into her, delivering a punch to her spiked defenses that shattered it instantly and threw her back. She slammed into the wall next to Mare Do-Well and blinked confusedly.

“Rarity, let me help you,” she said as she turned to face Darkclyde but Rarity put a hoof in front of her then fixed her glare on her.

“Get out of here.”

“But-”

“Go!”

Mare Do-Well nodded weakly and ran from the balcony, grabbing her hat and jumping off the side. Rarity got up to face Darkclyde once more. “A foolish decision,” he said bluntly.

I have to agree, he’s much stronger than I gave him credit for. She didn’t listen to the voice. “I finally have the power to protect them again,” she muttered. “If you think that I’ll risk their lives for one second when I can fight in their place then you are dead wrong!”

Darkclyde’s stone face erupted in laughter. Rarity fumed at his amusement until he stopped and affixed a glowing red gaze on her. “I am wrong. You are not a fool. You are suicidal.”

Rarity paused, then smiled to herself. Memories of everything that had happened filled her thoughts. Everything since being picked up by the others. It had all gone by at a mile a minute. But there were those slow moments. Moments when she felt close to them. When she understood them. Applejack. Flutterbat. Rainbow. Pinkie. Even Twilight. They had their own share of hardships and they’ve managed to smile, joke, even laugh their way through this. She’d had those moments too.

Rarity breathed slowly taking in this new feeling. “You may have been right once. But now…” She stomped and the darkness surrounding her rose up forming a series of different style swords in the air that splayed out and brandished themselves around her. “I’m all here.” The blades snapped to attention and pointed themselves at Darkclyde as Rarity took a step back like a swordsman. “Come and get me.” Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

<___|=o

Matterhorn roared again as Flutterbat smacked the remaining pegademons into her face one at a time. It took a few tries but she finally took notice and narrowed her eyes at the mare. Applejack and Pinkie were already speeding down the dusty terrain toward the firepit. “You sure this can work?” Pinkie asked.

“Like Ah said. We’re pretty much out of other options.”

“Do you think that thing can take it?”

“One way to find out.” They stopped a few hundred hooves away from the pillar of flame. The heat was almost unbearable before, this close it was like standing in an oven. “Here they come.” Flutterbat had succeeded in getting Matterhorn’s attention and she was heading this way with the enormous dragon in tow. Rainbow flew in place on the opposite side of the firepit from them and gave her a wave to let her know she was ready. Applejack nodded to her and brushed back her hakama to reveal her 3-D device. She positioned herself just right and shot a line into a rock formation a few hooves away. “Pinkie, try to get between us. Maybe seein’ you will make her charge faster.”

“Are you sure that’s smart? You could be pulled in too!”

Applejack frowned, it was true. She had no idea how much weight the device could hold. But there was no turning back now. “Don’t worry about us. Just make sure she gets here.”

Pinkie scowled at her but puffed up her cheeks and moaned in defeat. “You’d better still be alive after this! Everypony is going home!” She disappeared in a blur and ran to the center of AJ and Dash.

“That’s the plan.”

Matterhorn craned her now long neck and snapped her teeth at Flutterbat as she followed, narrowly avoiding her. Suddenly the Pegasus changed course and dove down. Matterhorn followed her descent until Pinkie came into view right in front of the fire pit. The massive dragon seemed to pause in recognition. “Hey Twilight!” Pinkie shouted. “I know you never want me to mention it, but you’re looking a little overweight!” She stuck her tongue out and winked shaking her flank at the dragon.

Matterhorn let out another roar and flew down toward the ground, straight at Pinkie. Her clawed arms were outstretched and bared ready to attack. This was the moment AJ needed. “Now!”

She fired her second cord from the 3-D device and it shot through the air directly in Matterhorn’s way. Rainbow snatched it from the air and pumped her wings as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Matterhorn body collided with the cord, entangling the area between her neck and forearms and pulling taught around her. Applejack felt hooves slide on the dead landscape toward the firepit. She dug her hooves further in and pressed a button to reel the cord attached to the rock back in. The gears in the device ground against each other, straining to fulfill their function as Applejack was pulled apart between a rock and a hard place.

Matterhorn’s descent slowed almost to a halt aas the cord impeded her and slowly yet surely, her momentum forced her backside up and over her head. AJ grinned, the plan was working. Just then she heard a snap and saw the second cord was beginning to break. She managed to grab it before it snapped and held on tight. Then another snap. She instinctively shot out her other hoof and grabbed the other line before it broke. Now she really was getting pulled apart.

Muscles bulged and strained as veins appeared on her forehead. She pulled and pulled but the best she could get was to simply hold the lines together as she hung in midair between the dragon and the rock. She could already feel her insides screaming in pain from the pull.

Then finally Matterhorn’s body flipped over and she went sailing into the firepit. Applejack let go of the cords and fell to the ground just as Pinkie was there to catch her. “You are insane!” Rainbow shouted as she flew down, landing slightly off balance as she looked just as tired as Applejack. Pinkie simply looked at her with concerned expression of justified anger.

“It worked, didn’t it?” she choked out through an incredible pain in her chest.

“Not so sure,” Flutterbat said as she pointed behind them. Everypony turned and saw that while Twilight had fallen into the fire pit, it didn’t seem to be doing much to her. She thrashed around with her tail in the seething sea of flames and roared until she too began to spew fire. The same black fire from before. The dark flames mixed with the red and orange like a drop of dye placed in water. It was like the firepit was taking on the appearance and effect of the flames.

It darkened until the four couldn’t see the dragon inside anymore. Then it was a wall of pitch black heat. A moment passed where nothing happened, the only sound being that of the flames. Pinkie tapped her hoof nervously. “Is she okay in there?”

Applejack leaned herself against Flutterbat, holding her side. “Ah think-”

“What the hell is going on!?” They all turned again to see Mare Do-Well rushing toward them. She looked haggard and extremely out of breath. “I escape to find you guys doing…” she stopped as she looked up at the pillar of black, “what exactly?”

“Um… It’d kind of take a while to explain,” Rainbow summarized.

Mare Do-Well shook her head. “Never mind that! We need to get back and help Rarity!”

Suddenly an enormous boom sounded and something shook below all their hooves. “That didn’t sound good,” Pinkie muttered.

The ground shook once more and the earth by the firepit split. They all stared in disbelief as the split grew slowly, then much quicker as it snaked its way toward them. “I think that’s a cue to exit,” AJ said. Flutterbat and Pinkie grabbed her and hung her arms around their shoulders to support her. The rest of them ran as quickly as possible as spurts of heat and black fire spurted from the sprouting crags behind them.

“Twilight,” Pinkie shouted back as she ran. Applejack hung her head as they ran and bit her lip.

“Ah’m sorry, Pinkie. Ah tried.”

Deus Ex Machina

~`(\/)’~

Rarity thrust forward with all the blades to her left. Darkclyde didn’t even try to avoid them. He waved a massive hoof to his right and swatted most away while others scratched harmlessly against his armor. “You’d use bladed weapons against one such as I?”

“For starters,” Rarity replied with a grin and stepped forward bringing her other blades down with a wide swing. “Every designer knows you need to cut the fabric before you can use it.” Darkclyde swatted most of those away too but was thrown backward as more blades from before swept under his hooves. Rarity jumped into the air and flipped through it landing on two dark blades that transformed into platforms beneath her. “Now I’m going to show a brute like you how to fight elegantly.”

Darkclyde spun in the air and flared his eyes producing his beams once more. Two blades reacted and flew to Rarity’s side as they crossed before her and deflected the beams away. “Hmph, it seems you’re stronger than I gave you credit for, demon.”

He immediately stopped flying and dropped to the balcony like a rock. His massive hooves caused craters and cracks to form on the hard stone floor. His head shot up toward her and his body ricocheted off the floor like a bullet. Rarity barely had time to dodge and deflect him as his massive body flashed past her. But somehow he managed to stop on a dime right above and grab her by the hair. He lifted her over his head and threw her back down at the balcony with incredible speed.

Rarity slammed into the floor where Darkclyde had just been and coughed. It hadn’t knocked her out but that attack had certainly knocked the wind out of her. Maybe Nightmare was right. This villain was much harder than she anticipated. But that didn’t matter. She was the only one who could go toe to toe with him.

Darkclyde floated above for only a moment before flying straight back down at her. Rarity summoned all the dark blades she had gathered and sent them raining upwards at the falling god. Still, like before they did little to no damage. She dodged her head just in time for the stallion to smash his hoof into the floor right next to her. She could feel the floor buckle under the pressure.

Reacting almost instinctively, she dissolved her blades and made the amorphous energy wrap itself around Darkclyde over and over again, holding him down. Darkclyde loomed above her, his muscles tensing as the darkness weighed him down. “Do you feel that weight? That’s the weight of everypony you’ve ever killed or conquered.”

Darkclyde chuckled darkly, flashing his teeth at her. “You know nothing of burdens, child. And nothing of combat either.” His eyes glowed a deep red. “You’ve doomed yourself trapping me this close to you.”

Rarity grinned herself. “Perhaps, but you don’t seem to know something very basic.” There was a giant flash and suddenly she was gone, just as Darkclyde let his beams loose. She reappeared a few hooves away by where Suntrix still stood. With no target, Darkclyde’s beams went straight down into the already cracking floor. Their power obliterated it and the balcony beneath Darkclyde gave way, making him fall straight through. “Teleportation is a pretty basic unicorn skill.”

Rarity took a small breath of relief before turning to Suntrix. She didn’t have much time. “Let’s get you out of here before he comes back.” She grabbed the unresponsive mare who dropped her paints and scrambled to the edge of the balcony. However, before she could even get close, Darkclyde rose from beneath the balcony staring daggers at her.

“I have had quite enough of dealing with fools.” He lifted a hoof in front of himself and Rarity stopped dead, a cold shiver rushing up her body. She felt her breath catch as a creeping feeling she had never felt before began to well up inside her and threaten to consume her.

“Is this… Nightmare Moon,” she choked out.

“No, it is yourself.” He floated down to the balcony and walked toward her, still keeping his hoof up. “Your own darkness. The desires and despair that haunts you even when you don’t realize it. I can feel so much fault within you. It is like looking at a porcelain doll about to shatter at the slightest breeze.” Rarity fell to her knees and began to tremble profusely as she felt every bad thought and selfish action she’d ever made brought to the front of her mind. Tears began to pour from her as Darkclyde loomed closer, his eyes almost like reflections into her own soul.

Rarity! Rarity! She could hear the voice. Nightmare’s voice. But even that was drowned out by the welling of despair inside her. She felt like just giving up. Everything. What was the point of it all? Better to be a mindless husk than to go on living as whatever she had been up to now. Then there was a light.

He’s showing you only the darkness. Look deeper and you’ll find the memories you’re looking for.

She didn’t know where the voice came from but it was comforting, almost bubbly in its cheeriness. She did as instructed and looked deeper. There they were. Memories of home. Memories of family. Memories of friends. Precious memories that before now she had tucked away out of fear or guilt. Now they were here for her, making her feel warmer by the moment.

Rarity came to just as the light before her faded into a shape. Even Darkclyde was forced to cover his face as he stared into it. Rarity blinked as a new figure stood between them and Darkclyde. It was a mare with a golden mane and gray coat. She had both a horn and wings. She turned slightly to face Rarity and Suntrix. “So she’s the source of it,” the alicorn murmured.

“What?” Rarity mumbled, still quite shocked at the sudden appearance of this mystery mare.

Darkclyde stared past them both at the mural then back down with narrowed eyes. “You.”

The mare blinked as she looked at the mural as well. “What’s this?” Darkclyde held up a hoof to stop her. The mare suddenly noticed his presence and let out a scream, holding her hooves up to protect herself. Her horn glowed and a massive pulse of light shot out. It touched Darkclyde and all his movements stopped. She blinked once before lowering her hooves. “Did I do that?”

Rarity stood dumbfounded. “Who are you?”

She turned to her and smiled wearily. “I’m Ditzy. Sorry, but can I borrow her?”

Rarity looked between the mare and Suntrix who still had a dazed look in her eyes. “I’m not just handing her over to you. I don’t know you.”

Darkclyde’s body began to struggle as he seemed to try moving again. Ditzy shivered and backed away hesitantly. “Then maybe you should just come with me.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes at her. “Not without my friends.”

Ditzy bit her lip but nodded.

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well just kept running, trying to escape the inferno and earthquake behind her as well as keep an eye on her injured teammates. They weren’t getting anywhere fast and the hellscape behind them was quickly gaining. Then a miracle happened. Suddenly Rarity was there in front of them. She stood beside Suntrix, who still looked dead eyed and in a daze, as well as another mare she hadn’t seen before. Or had she? Something about her looked oddly familiar.

They all ran to Rarity, more or less surprised at her new appearance but not focused enough to comment on it. Mare Do-Well stopped before the gray mare. She was an alicorn. Why did that feel familiar too. “Who are you?”

The gray mare smiled nonchalantly. “I’m-”

“NOT THE TIME!” Rainbow shouted as she pointed to the wall of flame behind them. Mare Do-Well agreed as she ran to the others and the gray alicorn zapped them all away.

A fiery inferno of biblical proportions climbed its way toward the palace. Darkclyde finally felt the mare’s hold over him leave and he dropped to the floor. He could probably leave before the inferno got here but there was something he wanted to make sure of. He studied the now completed mural and looked at the two figures at the top. One a dark blue and the other gray. No doubt that mare just now was the gray one. But the blue one was still a mystery. Then his eyes traveled to the black lightning bolts emanating from them. Suntrix had been working diligently on the mural for some time now and he now saw them differently. They were not bolts of lightning. They were cracks. So finely painted that it even looked like the entire wall would crumble from them. And they emanated from everywhere. “Power beyond measure,” he mumbled and placed a hoof between the picture of the two figures. “The power to corrupt reality itself.” The inferno was just outside his balcony. “It will be mine.”

The explosions reached the palace and the whole fortress exploded from beneath. Smoke and debris spread overhead as fire and plasma reached into the sky and scraped the stars.

!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!

Matterhorn struggled and thrashed in the fire, blowing her own as it mixed with the flames around her. It became hotter and hotter, almost too much to bear. She could feel herself getting sluggish and slow but her reptile brain wouldn’t stop sending signals for her to run or escape her situation.

Then she wasn’t in it any more. Matterhorn roared again but this time her voice was quieter. More normal. Like her old voice. A normal voice. Not only that, she was sitting in a restaurant. And she was in a dark purple dress that matched her superhero outfit. How had that happened? Ponies around her looked at her in confusion. They all looked like they were dressed for a night out on the town.

“Champagne?” The voice was unrecognizable but she immediately knew who it was.

She turned to the other pony across from her at the table. “Mr. 4, I presume.”

The dark blue stallion grinned at her and popped a bottle. He wore a simple tux and glasses with black slippers on his hooves. “I have not been having a good week so I thought we both deserved a little change in scenery before this gets started.” He shot a look at the other ponies looking at them.

The patrons of the restaurant went back to their meals and the music began to play softly again. Matterhorn suddenly felt herself tremble as the sheer reality of what just happened occurred to her. “I… went crazy. All that torture broke me. I even injected myself with that… and… why am I here? Why am I coherent and cognizant?”

Mr. 4 poured some champagne in his flute and took a sip. “Well, I can’t really affect minds or personalities, but I can at least restore them.”

She frowned. “You’re more powerful than Darkclyde?”

Mr. 4 snorted a laugh and looked her in the eyes, his own looking slightly bloodshot. “You have no earthly idea.”

She felt a cold shiver run down her spine. He could just do anything, couldn’t he? Then what was she trying to do all this time? Was there even any proof that the Elements of Harmony would work?

“This whole crusade you’ve been on hasn’t been for nothing, trust me on that.” Could he also read her mind?

She didn’t look cheered up to hear this. “Why should I believe you?”

He leaned back in his chair and grinned widely again. “Because we’ve been after the same thing this whole time.”

Matterhorn chuckled. “I’ve wanted you gone.”

“And that’s what I want too.”

She blinked. “You lost me.”

Mr. 4 waved his hooves in the air. “You think I enjoy being this? Power is fun and all but it alienates. It isolates you until you feel nopony can comprehend the level you’re working at. And trust me, I know something about being alone.” She still looked confused. He dipped his hoof in a glass of water and the surface rippled until a series of images appeared. “You were at the Black Wyrm attack, right?” The images showed that even happening. “I didn’t freeze you like the others so you heard my offer as well. What did you think?”

“About being your errand boy? I didn’t care for it.”

“Really?” His grin was starting to get annoying.

“…Fine. I’ll admit. It made logical sense. But you’re hiding something, I know it.”

Mr. 4 dropped his grin to a subtle smile and stood up. The music had begun to slow down now and he extended his hoof to her. “Care to dance?”

She bit her lip. “Do I have a choice?”

He merely shrugged playfully. She groaned and got up from her seat. They walked to the center of the restaurant where a large open area had been set aside for dancers. Ponies were already beginning to look at them with curious glances. They danced slowly as she put her hoof around his shoulder and leaned in close. “Just what is all this about?”

“You’re a failure. You managed to destroy every important relationship in your life.” She shut up as he held her hoof up and twirled her around to fall back into his chest. “Consider everything you’ve been through already. Do you honestly think they’d want you back after what you did?”

“I did what I had-”

“Putting innocent ponies in danger, playing with poor Pinkie’s feelings again and again. You honestly don’t think you went too far?”

She gulped. She had been so deadset on awakening the elements that she had done all those things and more. It was one of her greatest weaknesses and she knew it. When it came to a project she was passionate about there was nothing that would get in her way. She found a lot of Twilights were like that. “Okay, so maybe I burned those bridges. What still makes you think I’ll do anything to help you?”

His ears twitched and he grinned maliciously. He waved and pulled her ear to his lips. “You remember that feeling of helplessness you had before. I can give it all back in a heartbeat. Or I can give you everything you desire. And right now, that looks like the only option for you.” She pulled away slower this time and looked him in the eyes, her heart racing with fear. “What do you say, Masked Matterhorn? Be my Element of Magic?”

“I…”

The Gathering

!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!

Rainbow sat in the ice cave in quiet contemplation. The bitter snow and wind raged outside but did not even dare to enter this tiny conclave. She had been alone for hours now, forced to wait and endure the inhospitable conditions of this place. To keep her mind focused she polished her blades, sharpening both her mind and her weapons. She was beginning to regret trusting that demon. Still, she would be patient. If she could find Applejack again, that would be worth all the wait in the world.

As if in answer to her prayers a figure in a brown sewn coat walked in from the snow, her hood obscuring her face. Her hooves were covered in large black boots and a crossbow hung from her side. She stopped at the entrance to the cave examining the phenomenon as the cold seemed to disappear when you walked in. “Ah guess this is the place.”

Rainbow’s ears perked up and she stealthily slid her blades into their respective sheaths. Then slipped a hoof into her robe, ready for anything. The newcomer approached silently, almost stealthily. Boots like that should have made some kind of noise but on her they were like the footsteps of a mouse. Suddenly she stopped moving and stood silently for a moment. “Rainbow, is that you?”

Rainbow spun quickly, pulling a weighted chain from her robes and shooting it straight at the pony’s chest. The figure dodged narrowly, removing the large coat with a flourish and flipping the strap around her neck so her crossbow faced her attacker. Rainbow at the same time swung her chain around her hoof then pulled the other end of it to unsheath her dagger attached to the end, as well as grabbing the longer wakizashi blade in her mouth and brandishing it. They charged each other stopping only a few hooves away as recognition clicked. “You’re not Applejack.” She looked like Applejack but she was missing something the mare wouldn’t be caught dead without. Her Stetson.

“And you’re not Rainbow.” Her hair was in a bun tied back, something the hot-headed rowdy mare she knew would never do.

They both wearily took steps back from each other, eyeing the other apprehensively while they replaced their weapons. “So you wanna explain just who you are, then?” Applejack asked.

“I’d ask the same,” Rainbow replied gruffly. “If this is all a trick by that stallion, so help me…”

Applejack clicked her tongue. “Blue fella, able to do crazy stuff magic can’t explain?”

Rainbow straightened up as her wakizashi clicked back into place in her sheath. “It seems we’ve both been promised something by that demon.”

“You think that’s what he is?”

“I have no idea.”

They stood in silence as they both stared at each other. The differences were slight but they still looked exactly like those ponies they knew. Applejack began to chuckle. “So what are you supposed to be? Some kind of samurai?”

“Something like that,” Rainbow replied succinctly. “What are you supposed to be? Some kind of hunter?”

“Somethin’ like that,” Applejack muttered. They both were silent again before each let out a snort and laughed.

“I can tell it’s been pretty tough on you.”

Applejack let her laughter die down and she wiped an eye. “Kind of. But Ah’m here to set everythin’ straight.”

Rainbow nodded resolutely. “So am I.”

Just then a figure in black landed in the cave. She wore a dark purple and black uniform but her mane juxtaposed it by being long and pink. She removed her facemask and took a deep breath of the cave air before looking around.

“Fluttershy too?” Applejack choked out.

“Applejack!” Fluttershy’s eyes widened. She smiled widely and flew over to grab her in a big hug. “I can’t believe you’re alive!”

Applejack was too stunned to respond but reluctantly disengaged the embrace and shook her head. She laughed again but this time it was more strained and forced. “Ah’m sorry. Ah just need to… Ah’m sorry.” She retreated to another end of the cave away from everypony and huddled in it.

Fluttershy looked confused for a moment then her face sunk into depression. “She’s not Applejack, is she?” She turned. “And you’re definitely not Rainbow.”

Rainbow shook her head. “Not the one you’re thinking of.”

“Then I guess, you’re not the pony I’m looking for either.” They both turned to see a new pony enter. She wore reddish silver armor that covered almost all of her body. The only thing apparent was the glow of her eyes behind the visor and the elegantly curled violet tail. She approached Fluttershy confidently and inspected her. “You do look much less feral than the one I’m looking for.”

“Ah know that voice,” Applejack muttered from her corner. With one quick motion she snapped up and fired off a round from her crossbow. The newcomer twisted her hoof in the air and a pillar of crystal erupted from the ground in front of her. The crystals caught the bolt but to everypony’s surprise it cut clearly through the incredibly hard stone, poking out the other side.

“That’s some fearsome weapon you have,” the armored mare chuckled and flicked the bolt playfully. “But I don’t have any business with you.” She let the crystal crumble away.

“But Ah have business with you, Rarity!” Applejack lunged at her but before a fight could ensue two dark tendrils wrapped around the two and pulled them away.

“That’s enough of that,” Fluttershy stated emphatically, all emotion lost from her voice. “You want to kill each other, go outside.”

The armored Rarity giggled and cast a glance at Applejack. “Oh, I’d love a sparring match, darling, but I don’t think I’m the one you want.” Applejack let the tendrils pull her away then fall to the floor. She gritted her teeth and then huffed and turned back to her corner. Rarity glanced back at Fluttershy as she recalled her magic. “I must say, that is some interesting powers you have. Darkness based magic was never my thing but I respect anypony that can use it properly.”

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes at her. “It’s not like I had a choice.”

“Is this everypony we are waiting for then?” Applejack asked.

“Not yet,” Rainbow replied. “Mr. 4 said he wanted six of us.”

“Ooh, I wonder whose next then,” Rarity replied with sarcastic enthusiasm. “I simply love meeting new ponies.”

The sound of another set of hooves on stone caught their attention and they turned. A new mare in a sleek body suit and goggles entered. Her hair was violet while her mane was a deep purple with stripes of pink. She examined each of them in turn and let out a sigh. “So this is what he meant.”

“Twilight?” Fluttershy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I’d prefer if you called me Matterhorn.”

“And the fifth member of our little party arrives,” Rarity proclaimed. “Now will somepony please explain to me why we are waiting?”

“I agree,” Rainbow broke in. “Where is Mr. 4?”

“He told me he had to make final arrangements,” Twilight replied. “But he should be back soon.” She cast a quick glance around. “Wait, there should be six of us.”

“That’s what I said,” Rainbow stated coldly.

“No, I mean he told me you all would already be here.”

Everypony looked around each other for a moment before looking to Rainbow. “Don’t look at me, I was the first one here and I didn’t see anypony.” A pair of hooves wrapped lazily around her neck and a face leaned into her ear.

“Maybe you just weren’t looking hard enough.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened as she slapped the hooves away and spun to throw her chain. But when she reached in her robe she found it gone. Everypony was now staring past her at the new arrival that suddenly appeared. She was bright pink with a slightly poofy mane that was pink frosted with green. She wore a pinstripe suit of purple and pink and had the bluest eyes any of them had ever seen. She was also swinging a weighted chain in her hoof playfully. “Neat little thing. I prefer them big and bulkier so you get the satisfaction of hearing a loud crunch when it hits a skull, but different strokes, different folks.” She tossed the chain back to her and Rainbow caught it, glaring daggers at her. “Geez, so serious.”

Twilight let out a groan and rubbed her forehead. “Why in the world are you here?”

“You know her?” Rarity asked.

“I know of her,” she grumbled.

The Pinkster sauntered over to her playfully. “And I don’t know you, Twilight. But I’d certainly like to.” She flashed a wide smile with eyes that seemed to drill into her soul.

“Wait, how did you know my name?”

Pinkster pointed over her shoulder at Fluttershy. “She just said it. As for why I’m here, I thought it was about reforming the Elements of Hamboning or something. I call Laughter! It’s kind of my whole schtick.” She sat on a rock and threw back her head as she laughed hysterically. It wasn’t the happy kind of laughter either. Everypony felt a chill as they heard it.

“Just where did you come from?” Rainbow asked angrily. “I’ve been watching the door for hours.”

The Pinkster grinned at her and cocked her head to the side. “And I’ve been watching you.”

Rainbow actually took a step back from her, every warning light in her mind going off about this character.

“Looks like everypony’s all introduced.” They all turned to find their benefactor strolling in casually, his face a grim mess of tired lines and frazzled hair. “It looks like all the preparations are done. So who wants to see their friends again?”

Everypony turned to face Mr. 4 eyeing him wearily. Matterhorn was the first to speak. “You didn’t tell me these would be the ones you’d gather.”

“Is there a problem with them?” he asked coldly.

Matterhorn was about to respond when she paused and turned to look at them. Each one dangerous in their own right and looking about ready to maul something with impatience. “N-No. We’re fine.”

“Good.” He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Remember, you’re the one that screwed up. This is your last shot to make things right.”

Matterhorn hung her head. She hated herself for this, but there was no choice. He was simply too powerful, and she didn’t want to feel that powerless ever again.

Six figures waited patiently at the edge of the woods, moonlight barely outlining their forms. One paced around as another flew circles anxiously. “Argh! When is she getting back?” the flyer asked with annoyance.

“Calm down, Ah’m sure she’s just helpin’ out. It’s what she does after all,” another replied.

“I know she’s powerful but I always worry everytime she leaves,” the pacer said as she tapped her hoof.

“Aw, calm down,” a fourth said cheerfully. “She is an alicorn. No matter what happens she’s always ready to help. Not like we could’ve stopped her anyway.”

“I know you’re right, darling,” said the fifth. “But even I’m getting a little bit nervous. She said she’d be back quickly but it feels like its been hours.”

“We just have to have a little faith,” said the sixth in a quiet voice. “Let’s all trust in her.”

The next moment there was a flash of light and eight new faces appeared in the shadow of the forest as well. Several collapsed with exhaustion while the others tried to tend to them. A gray alicorn with a golden mane stood in their midst breathing heavily.

Mare Do-Well reeled on the alicorn before she could speak. “Okay, lady! I need you to talk right now! Who are you? Where are we? Why did you save us?”

The alicorn held up a hoof to silence her and to Mare Do-Well’s surprise she shut up. “I’m sorry. That took a lot more out of me than I thought.” She looked up at the sky and saw the moon above. “It’s this late?! I need to get back to the altar now before he notices!” She noticed the ponies in shadow. “Thank Faust your all still here. They need medical attention can you help?”

“Of course,” replied one of the figures in shadow.

“Thank you. I need to go back and figure out what his next move is. I’ll talk to you all later.” Then she was gone with a flash.

“Wait! Damn it!” Mare Do-Well kicked the ground as she spun on the other ponies present. They approached confidently through the darkness as Mare Do-Well and the others readied themselves in case of attack.

The first to approach into the light bore a strikingly familiar face with a purple mane and horn. “You don’t have to be afraid. I’m Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends.” The rest of the six followed.

Mare Do-Well’s eyes widened and she stepped out into the light as well followed by the rest of her comrades. They stared at each other for a long moment. “This feels awkward,” the other Rarity mused.

Applejack moaned slightly and they all seemed to notice her as Flutterbat helped to support her. “Are you okay?” the other Applejack gasped as she hurried to her counterpart.

“None of you look okay,” Twilight noted. “Let’s get you all back to Ponyville, we’ll figure out the sleeping arrangements on the way.” She waved her hoof for them to follow and most went, but Mare Do-Well stayed hesitant. Twilight turned back to her. “If you can’t trust yourselves, who can you trust?”

Mare Do-Well huffed at that and began to trudge after them carrying a comatose Suntrix. “You have no idea how funny that is.”

One on One

Author's Note

I debated on whether to split this chapter up or not but it felt better as a whole.

One on One

<___|=o

Applejack felt a cold dampness engulf her forehead and she awoke with a start. She shot up in bed and let the damp rag adorning her fall to the sheets. The movement sent a wave of pain from her chest into her arms and she let out a cry of pain. “What in the world? Where… am Ah?” Through one squinted eye of pain she checked her surroundings.

She was sitting in a bed in a large rustic room. Through a large window she could see a starry night sky illuminating a line of bright red apple trees. Then the smell hit her. A comforting scent that made the pain in her sides and arms fade with every breath. “Apples?” The room was dark, barely lit by the moonlight but she could still see in front of herself. Whoever had put her in bed had also wrapped bandages around her chest. To the side, on the nightstand her sword, Stetson, and hakama rested.

It took her a moment to remember how she got here but then she remembered the immense pain she was in. She had probably passed out before they got back. Back to where… Applejack was taking her.

That’s right. The gray alicorn took them here. To another world. And she was here again. In Sweet Apple Acres. A voice murmured from downstairs and she caught a glimpse of light through the door. With an intense amount of focus and energy she rose from bed and hobbled out into the corridor.

She made her way downstairs, trailing her hoof across the old walls and pictures of family. The light was emanating from the kitchen area where she could hear the sound of pots and pans clanging together softly. Each time they did she would hear a small curse in familiar western slang.

She rounded the corner into the kitchen and caught sight of the source just as she poked her head out of a cabinet. She jumped as Applejack approached and let the pan she’d been holding clatter to the floor. She scrunched her face in pain until the noise stopped then sighed rubbing her eyes. “Thank Faust, that didn’t wake up half the neighborhood.”

A moment passed and they both looked at each other, like staring into a mirror. Applejack in the doorway and the other Applejack by the sink. Her host was not wearing her Stetson, probably set it aside when she got home, so they really did look exactly alike. Applejack cleared her throat as she pulled her gaze away from her counterpart. “Um, this is pretty awkward.”

The other Applejack chuckled. “You’re tellin’ me. Ah gotta admit. Ah wasn’t expectin’ mah Saturday night to go like this. All that stuff about other worlds the alicorn talks about, Ah always imagined they were foals’ tales. Imagine mah surprise to see somepony exactly like me down to the hair right in front of me.” Applejack smiled at her and she smiled back. “Sorry, Ah was tryin’ to make some late night cider. You were pretty banged up so Ah imagined you wanted something to take the edge off.” Her eyes widened as she looked at her. “That’s right! You should still be in bed. You’re in no state to be walkin’ around right now.”

Applejack waved a dismissive hoof in front of her and laughed. “Really, Ah’m fine.” Her laugh quickly turned into a cough though and the other Applejack ran around to set her in a seat at the dinner table.

“Ah guess Ah shouldn’t expect anypony like me to listen to any kind of worldly advice. We’re both a little bit bullheaded that way, huh?”

“Ah suppose,” Applejack muttered, catching her breath. The other Applejack walked back to her pans and began to set them on the table with some apples. “And mah friends?”

Applejack looked at her over her shoulder and gave her a wink as she peeled some apples. “They’re fine. The others got them right now. Just decompressin’ after whatever fight or somesuch you got into.” She stopped peeling for a moment to look at her with concern. “You wanna talk about it?”

“Not really. Ah’m just glad we all got out okay.” The other Applejack nodded and went back to peeling. “I should really thank you for lending me your room.” She gave her host a slight bow and the other Applejack snorted in laughter.

“Think nothin’ of it, far as Ah see it’s technically your room too. But what’s with the bowin’?”

Applejack blushed slightly. “Sorry. Livin’ in another country so long, you kind of pick up habits.”

“Another country?” The other Applejack put the apples in a big pot she had prepared and took a masher to them. “Ah guess that explains the duds you had on. Can’t say Ah’d ever be caught in a bathrobe in a fight.”

“It’s not…” She paused and saw her double smile playfully. Applejack laughed again, this time holding in her pain. “Never mind.”

“…And that sword?”

Applejack’s smile faded and she put her hooves on the table rubbing them together. “It’s… somethin’ special. Like the Stetson it’s somethin’ that connects me to a special somepony.”

The other Applejack smiled at this and set the pot onto the stove. “So that’s just as important to you as it is for me, huh?”

There was a question nagging in the back of her mind and Applejack just had to ask it. “How many siblings do you-”

A creak from the stairs interrupted her and a young tired voice mumbled with sleep. “Applejack, what are you doing up so late?”

Applejack’s heart stopped and she felt her body go numb. The source of the voice was walking slowly up behind her and yet she was too scared to turn around. Instead the other Applejack moved quickly enough to get in her way before the filly could come closer. “A-Apple Bloom! Sorry for wakin’ you. Just got a friendship problem. We’re dealin’ with it.”

“This late at night?” the filly replied tiredly.

“Problems can happen any hour of the day. Now scoot your rear back to bed.” She mumbled but did as her sister said and trudged back up the stairs. “Few, that was a close one. Don’t know how Ah was gonna explain somethin’ like this to her, eh?” She turned to face her but Applejack had hidden her face in her arms on the table. “Not much of a hidin’ spot… You okay?”

Applejack’s hooves trembled as the she tried to hold back emotions she had bottled up. But those few words. That voice. It was enough to let the dam break. Her back arched spasmodically as she began to cry.

“Hey, i-it’s alright,” the other Applejack assured her, though she didn’t look so sure. She put her hoof on her back and Applejack spun to grab her, pulling her into a hug. The other Applejack was too stunned for words as she laid her head on her shoulder and cried as silently but as forcefully as she could. She wanted all these feelings gone. Every heartache and thought of despair erased. She was just so tired of holding it in.

“Ah… Ah just don’t know what to do. Ah look like Ah’m the strong one but there’s only so much Ah can take. Why am Ah here? Why was it me? Ah know you don’t have the answer but…” She began to cry again, her tears falling to the floor making tiny noises on the wood.

Then to her surprise, the other Applejack pulled her into her embrace. She hugged her tighter and began to caress her mane in a certain way. “This is how mom used to do it, right?” Applejack continued to cry as she nodded into her shoulder. “You’re right. Ah don’t have any answers for you. Hell, Ah can’t even relate to what Ah’m sure you’ve been through. But when Ah talk to you, maybe you can hear it in mah voice and know its true. Everythin’ will be okay.” Applejack’s tears began to subside and she tried to pull away from the other. But the other Applejack held her firm and pressed her to her shoulder, continuing to caress her mane in a most motherly way. “Just don’t try to hold it in.”

Applejack’s tears began again and she cried some more. Deep into the night, she let all of her emotions be known. And they talked until morning.

~`(\/)’~

Rarity sat on a stool in the center of a very familiar studio. Every bit of it she saw filled her with a joy she thought she’d never have again. And to see herself run about to every station gathering fabrics and measuring tools made her even more happy. “I never thought I’d have the opportunity to make measurements like these,” the other Rarity mused happily as she flittered about her boutique. “I mean you have the proportions of a princess!”

Rarity smiled faintly awkwardly at her. “Um, thank you?” Bit of a busybody, isn’t she? Rarity frowned at the voice but paid it no heed.

“And your mane is absolutely flawless! I love the color mix and the way it brings out your eyes!”

“That’s very nice but-”

“And I never thought I’d like black but it is a very slimming color and purely beautiful on you!”

“Stop!” Rarity shouted and the other Rarity froze as a corona of magic seized her, her mouth frozen and unable to speak. Rarity shook her head vigorously to stop the magic and freed her. “I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to… I just… Maybe I should just leave.” Yes, please. If I have to listen to one more compliment I’m going to-

“Hold on! I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s fine. I’m perfectly fine. Please, I’d really love it if you would stay.”

Rarity gave her a weary look. “Do you… know what I am?”

The other Rarity sat and tapped her chin. “Well, the Alicorn of Everfree vouches for you so that should be good enough for me.”

Rarity looked a little bit unnerved by that answer. “I’m the next Nightmare Moon.” She paused to let the revelation sink in. “Doesn’t that make you the least bit concerned?”

The other Rarity blinked. “Well, you still have friends, right? Those others you arrived with? If you’re so dangerous why would they be with you?”

Rarity blinked back. “But I… they just…” She shook her head slowly and let out a small laugh. This mare is even more of an airhead than you were. “I don’t know why I’m even bothering.” She got up and began to walk to the door once more.

“Excuse me? And just what does that mean?”

She turned back to face her. “It means you’re still a pampered little filly with all this innocence getting in the way of seeing the world as it truly is.” The other Rarity stared at her open mouthed and shocked so Rarity turned to take her leave again.

“And… And what’s so bad about that?!” She paused again. The other Rarity set herself and was yelling at her. “I may act a little aloof sometimes but that doesn’t mean I’m unaware of what goes on around me. I see ponies acting happy all the time but not a lot of them actually seem to try to be happy. Well, that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m somepony who wants to be happy. You… you sound like somepony who gave up a long time ago!”

Rarity didn’t move for a long time, simply staring at the door not making a move for it. She could see her reflection in the glass window and it was staring back at her with angry eyes silently telling her to leave. Then she unfurrowed her brow and realized that the reflection was truly her own. She lowered herself to the floor and ran a hoof through her mane. “Do you… really think I can be happy again?”

The other Rarity smiled at her and walked around to look her in the face. She took her chin and lifted it so they were eye level. “That only comes with help. Nopony is an island.” Rarity felt tears well up in her eyes and the other quickly wiped them away. “Tears don’t suit you. You’ll ruin your mascara.”

Rarity let out a choked laugh and the other joined in. They sat there on the floor of the boutique laughing and talking well into the night.

===E8DB

“No. WAY! You’re a Wonderbolt!?”

“Got that right!”

The other Rainbow flew excitedly around her squeeing in delight as she checked over every inch of her uniform. “The stripes! The goggles! The…” Her eyes widened as she saw the medal pinned to Rainbow’s chest. “Oh my gosh! Are you… a captain?”

Rainbow smirked and rubbed the back of her head bashfully. “Yeah.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” The other Rainbow cried in joy and slumped to a comfy cloud chair, throwing her hooves over her head. “That is just too cool! I mean, I’m gonna be one one day anyway, but its nice to know all the me’s out there are just as cool as I am.”

Rainbow laughed in response and checked out the house the other Rainbow had brought her to. It was very nice and much more spacious than she was expecting. “You wanna snack?” the other Rainbow asked. “I’ve got some haycakes in the kitchen.”

Rainbow shook her hoof dismissively. “Nah, I’m cool. Just a little… overwhelmed.”

The other Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I can imagine after the state you guys were in. But we’re just fine. Am I right, my Rainamigo?”

Rainbow was barely listening. “Hm? Oh, yeah, sure.”

The other Rainbow finally gave her a concerned look. “Everything okay?”

Rainbow stopped looking around and decided to sit down in a comfy chair across from her. “This is a weird question but… do you live alone?”

The other Rainbow raised an eyebrow but shrugged. “Yeah. Ever since I moved to Ponyville.”

“Why?”

The other Rainbow blinked then bit her lip. “Well, the truth is I wanted to live in Canterlot. You know, to be closer to the Wonderbolts. But you would not believe how much it costs to live there.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I got a feeling.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you bring it up?”

Rainbow blinked and bit her lip just like the other. “Well, I was actually recruited to the Wonderbolts really young. All I really ever knew was tight spaces and ponies living back to back. I guess I just had a hard time imagining myself living some place so big.”

The other Rainbow chuckled. “It’s not so big… is it?”

Rainbow looked at the high vaulted ceiling and the staircase leading upstairs. “It’s pretty big to me.” She steepled her hooves and tussled with them nervously. “You’re not lonely are you?”

“Why would I be? I have so many friends! Don’t you?”

Rainbow smiled weakly. “Yeah, I have a really good friend and…” she sighed as she finally decided to ask the question she’d been dreading. “Have you ever disappointed your friends?”

The other Rainbow smiled like it was a joke but then saw she was serious. She set her face and scratched her head. “Um, yeah. It’s something that happens every now and again. Look, if something’s on your mind you can just come out and say it.”

Rainbow paled and tried to hide her head from the embarrassment. The other Rainbow simply stared at her until she relented. “I had this friend who I wasn’t good enough to. Who I didn’t pay enough attention to or help when she needed it. A while ago that friend came back and blamed me for a lot of things. But I feel like I had no choice due to the duty I have as a Wonderbolt. I’ve been trying to deal with it in my own way but I guess its still in the back of my mind.” The other Rainbow looked at her with a confused expression. “I’m bringing this up because you’re the first genuinely nice Rainbow I’ve come across in this wacked out journey. So… what would you do?”

The other Rainbow frowned as she thought hard. “Well, Twilight would say ‘try to make things right’. And Applejack would say ‘be honest about your feelings’. Pinkie would just say ‘throw her a party’.”

“What would you do?”

The other Rainbow hummed as she continued to think and think. Finally, she slammed her hooves together as an idea occurred. “I’d just find a way to please everypony.”

Rainbow gave her a deadpan stare. “Okay, that’s fine and all to say but that’s not a real answer.”

“Then I’ll make it a real answer!”

Rainbow frowned at her and leaned in to talk seriously. “Real life doesn’t work like that. You can’t just make everypony happy. Somepony is going to be hurt!”

“Says who?” The other Rainbow flew out of her chair and hovered over to her. “If you’re Rainbow Dash and you’ve got a problem, we don’t just fix it, we knock it out of the park! Everything we do, we do awesome, am I right?”

Rainbow flew out of her chair and got in her face. “Argh! You’re such a child!”

“Well, you’re a sourpuss!”

“Dreamer!”

“Doubter!”

They locked eyes for a moment then the other Rainbow broke out in laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“I just never expected to give myself a pep talk, let alone get in an argument with myself.” Rainbow pouted but found herself laughing as well. They both shared a laugh and fell back into their seats.

“I know you’re right,” the other Rainbow muttered. Rainbow was quiet as she spoke. “The real world can be pretty hard. But I guess that’s the difference between me and you. I grew up always looking forward toward that real world, you were born into it. Maybe you’ve just been looking back from past all those limits that you took for granted that limits can be broken. If there’s a rule to how many ponies can be happy around you then I say you break that rule.”

Rainbow sat there in silence for a moment then slowly smiled. “You’re not a professional speaker.”

“Whatever! You get the gist!”

Rainbow giggled. “Yeah.”

They stayed there talking all night, about dreams, about duty, and about the future and what it held.

/^(*vv*)^\

Every animal in Fluttershy’s cottage was huddled in a corner. Flutterbat sat idly on the couch as she swung her legs back and forth in wait for Fluttershy to return from the kitchen. “Do you take sugar in your tea?” she called.

“Sugar?”

Fluttershy stuck her head out of the kitchen and flushed. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even ask. Do you even want tea?”

Flutterbat cocked her head and thought about it. “Fruit, please.”

Fluttershy smiled and chuckled. “Okay.” She returned a moment later with a tray with a tea cup and basket of oranges. She saw all her animals huddled together in the corner when she set the tray down. “You all are being silly. She’s perfectly safe… I assume.” She leaned in to whisper to Flutterbat privately. “You don’t eat small animals do you?” Flutterbat shook her head. “That’s good.”

She picked up an orange and sunk her teeth into it, sucking it dry in under a minute. “Good!” she exclaimed.

Fluttershy beamed. “I’m glad you like it. Applejack has cousins all over Equestria that send her fruit and she just doesn’t know what to do with it all. I’m glad somepony likes those oranges. I’m not too partial to them myself.”

Flutterbat stopped sucking and cocked her head at her. “Why accept then?”

Fluttershy waved her hoof. “I didn’t want to be a bother. Besides, it’s always good to help a friend.” Flutterbat lowered her next orange and sighed. “Oh, is it not a good one?”

“No. Flutterbat just… having trouble.”

Fluttershy set her tea cup down and listened closely. “About what?”

“Helping friends. Flutterbat feels… conflict. Live whole life alone with nothing but bat friends. So Flutterbat gets excited to make new ones on adventure. See pretty scary stuff but we fight and we win. Gotten kind of used to it. So much that Flutterbat almost… doesn’t want to go home.”

Fluttershy quietly listened as she continued. “So lonely back home. Memories everywhere Flutterbat look. It hurts here.” She held her hooves in front of her heart and crossed them. “But with others, Flutterbat not feel so hurt here. Flutterbat want to help her friends. Still, they all say how they go away at some point. Will Flutterbat have to go too?”

Fluttershy looked at her coffee table for a moment as she seemed to ponder her response. “I really can’t say I’ve ever had that problem. Sure, I always felt uncomfortable up in Cloudsdale but when I found a new home here in Ponyville I simply fell in love with it. I found the place I wanted to be a long time ago. So I can’t imagine what it must be like to find that place and have to give it up.” Flutterbat’s head sunk. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t have a choice.”

Flutterbat looked up at her with a curious expression. “What I mean is that if those others are your friends then they’ll feel the same way. I can’t say for certain if or how you would stay together but if you’re all like us then I know you can think of a way.”

Flutterbat smiled at her and Fluttershy smiled back in kind. Just then one of Fluttershy’s bats that had been hunting all night finally flew through the window and found a perch on Flutterbat’s arm. She raised it level and let the little creature hang upside down as it yawned and folded its wings. Fluttershy giggled. “I think he likes you.”

Flutterbat giggled as well and smiled fondly at the bat. “Maybe Flutterbat just a little homesick. But that okay, right?”

“Right.”

They stayed up all night talking as the animals slowly came out of hiding and got used to the house guest. They talked and Flutterbat told stories. Stories that frightened. Stories that made them laugh. Stories that made them cry.

/|/|/PP/|/|/

A cannon fired into the air and the other Pinkie Pie jumped into the rain of confetti. “Welcome to PONYVILLE!! You are gonna love it here! What am I saying? You’re me, of course you’d love it!”

Pinkie smiled at her as her host bounced happily around the small room. At first she wanted to bake a cake for her but the kitchen was closed since it was so late and the other Pinkie didn’t want to wake the twins sleeping in their room. So both Pinkies had retired to her own room upstairs.

“I think you might still be a little loud,” Pinkie whispered.

The other Pinkie froze in midair and zipped up her mouth before lightly falling on the bed. “Sorry,” she whispered. Pinkie giggled as she felt something ticklish on her hoof. She lifted it to find a small green toothless alligator clinging to her. “Gummy! That’s no way to say hello to guests.”

“It’s fine,” Pinkie laughed as she tickled under Gummy’s chin. “He’s kind of cute.”

“You don’t have a Gummy of you’re own?”

Pinkie shook her head sadly. “Not a lot of time for a pet when you’re a superhero.” She paused as the other Pinkie seemed to have stopped moving. She was staring at her with stars in her eyes.

“You’re a superhero?”

“That’s right.”

The other Pinkie trotted in place excitedly biting her tongue. “Do something cool! Do something cool!”

Pinkie frowned but rolled her eyes. “Okay. Why don’t you blink?”

The other Pinkie obliged and when she opened them a moment later Pinkie was in her hero outfit. A white bodysuit with purple lightning stripes and balloons. The other Pinkie’s jaw dropped to the floor. “That’s amazing!!” She clamped her mouth as she realized how loud she was being. “I mean… wooooooooooooowww. I mean, I’m pretty fast, but not as much as Rainbow Dash. And Twilight can even teleport. Oh! What are your friends like?”

“My friends?” Pinkie asked back. “Um, they’re all heroes too.”

The other Pinkie grinned wildly. “That is so cool! Fighting bad guys and being a team. Going on adventures! It all sounds super duper amazing!”

“Yeah, it… was.” Pinkie drifted off as her mind seemed to drift somewhere else. “But I think I might have messed it all up.”

The other Pinkie finally calmed down and cocked her head at her. “What do you mean?”

Pinkie hung her head and rubbed her shoulder mournfully. “I got so caught up in trying to help a friend that I kind of shut out a lot of others. Don’t get me wrong, I love the ponies I’m with but my friends back home are almost family and now… now…” She bit her lip as a horrible thought ached inside her. Was Twilight even alright? They left so fast that she didn’t know. She raised her head and saw that the other Pinkie was looking at her with concern now. “I really shouldn’t be throwing all this on you. I’m sorry.”

“No, don’t be,” the other Pinkie replied cheerfully. “If you can’t talk to yourself about these things, who can you talk to?” Pinkie snickered and they both shared a laugh. “I know about family and friends. I’m so close to all of them its hard to distinguish the two sometimes. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Everypony is only as close as they want to be, and I want to be close to everypony!”

Pinkie smiled wearily at that. “I used to try to be like that. I hope I still can be.”

“Well, what’s stopping you?” Pinkie raised an eyebrow at her. “It may be hard to make friends but you just have to keep on failing and succeeding. I know it can be tough to handle friends and family, but if you’re anything like me then I know you can handle it.” She gave her a playful wink.

Pinkie smirked at her. “That’s pretty wise for me.”

“Years of experience.”

“…we are the same age, right?”

The other Pinkie blinked then darted her eyes back and forth. “Of course… right?”

“…each of us say our ages on three?”

“Okay.”

“One… two… THREE!”

---<^^>---

“It’s just so fascinating!”

Mare Do-Well watched from the floor as Twilight tucked Suntrix into her bed on the level above. The unicorn had brought them both to her home in the library tree, the smell of books reminding Mare Do-Well of home. Suntrix had immediately lost consciousness when they arrived and both mares carried her over. Now it was almost morning.

Spike the dragon slept soundly in a small bed by the foot of Twilight’s. Mare Do-Well was glad since she really didn’t feel like dealing with any more questions than the ones she would get from this Twilight. “I mean alternate dimensions! Parallel realities! The scientific leaps this could have in the field of magic is just unprecedented.” She turned from the bed and looked down at Mare Do-Well. “And to have another me here as well! I have so many questions!”

“Um, sure.” Mare Do-Well rubbed her arm uncomfortably. The room felt so different and yet the same. The same feeling of an academic living here. The neatness of the books stacked on the shelves. It made her feel uneasy for everything to be so close to what she knew and yet so different. But she had been travelling the multiverse for months. Why would she begin to feel like this now?

Twilight walked down the steps gazing at her with wide wondrous eyes full of curiosity. “Okay, first question. How exactly do you travel between dimensions?”

Mare Do-Well didn’t respond as she seemed to daze off looking at her. Twilight was about to ask again when she shook her head. “Sorry, i-it’s mostly Fili-Sec- I mean Pinkie that takes us places. Something to do with her speed and vibrations, I guess.”

Twilight’s eyes widened even further and she gasped. “Why didn’t I see that?! Eweclid’s theory of transmagical properties theorizes that the world operates on a harmonic frequency! If that’s true for every world then adding just a little bit of vibrational occurence should shift a pony to another plane!” She got up in her face and Mare Do-Well could feel her cheeks heat up beneath her mask. Excited, the mare ran to her desk to check her notes. “I’ve been studying this for a while since the alicorn arrived.”

Mare Do-Well raised an eyebrow. “So who is this alicorn?” And why did she look so familiar?

Twilight continued to pull out papers from her desk as she talked. “She just arrived one day. She’s been around since I came to town so everypony in town knows her. Princess Celestia vouches for her. She says she can feel the warm thoughts emanating from her.” Mare Do-Well twitched slightly at the mention of Celestia but shrugged it off. This one was probably good. “But other than that, she’s kind of a mystery. She keeps to herself at the altar site.”

“Altar site?”

Twilight found what she was looking for and pulled out a very long scroll, turning back to her. “Yeah. The Altar of Harmony. A giant white altar carved from a giant white tree trunk. She lets the fillies and colts come every day to see it and tell them stories but other than that keeps it pretty safe. My friends and I hardly have to do anything anymore.”

She unfurled the scroll and it rolled out across the floor of the library. Mare Do-Well stepped back as the end reached her hooves and she studied the old parchment. It was a diagram showing many circles stacked on top of each other with a line that intersected all of them. Equations and symbols were scrawled in the corners and margins with notes and ideas thrown in. “Is this that theory you were talking about?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and laughed. “No, this is what I came up with by combining hundreds of theories. The alicorn likes to describe the multiverse like a string of pearls but I think it’s more complicated than that.”

“How so?”

“Well, a string indicates a circle and a circle can’t be infinite. It’s logically impossible. A circle has to have a starting point and an ending point.”

“What makes you think it’s infinite?”

Twilight seemed to think for a moment. “Well, why wouldn’t it be?”

Mare Do-Well sighed and turned from the scroll. “Sorry, just thinking about all that hurts my head.” And string of pearls, why did that sound familiar?

“Oh,” Twilight sounded slightly dejected. “No, I guess you would be pretty tired of talking about all this stuff. I’m betting you’ve been talking about it for a while.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, because you’re me, right?” Twilight gave her a pleasant smile. “Speaking of which, you can take off that mask.”

“I’d rather not.”

Twilight frowned and stepped a little closer. “Why? Do you have hat mane?”

Mare Do-Well took a step back in return. “It’s… not that. It, um, just takes a while to get the mask and wrap back on. I’d rather not have to deal with the hassle.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes as she studied her, walking closer and making her back up until she bumped the shelves behind her. “A mask. A dark outfit. A cape. Are you some kind of superhero?” Mare Do-Well stood there stiff as Twilight’s face was close to hers. She was looking right into her eyes.

So that was why she felt so uncomfortable. Those eyes. The other Twilights she’d met all had a hint of madness to them. Some kind of anger or obsession obscuring it. But these eyes were pure. No resentment. No frustration. Just simple curiosity.

Mare Do-Well hung her head. “No… I’m no hero.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow but then shrugged. “Well, then I guess everypony dresses like that in your world?”

Mare Do-Well couldn’t help but laugh at that. “More than you know.” Twilight didn’t seem to understand and just went back to her scroll. She rolled it up and walked it over to the desk once more, Mare Do-Well watching her the entire time. “I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“What?” Twilight turned as if she’d heard. “Did you say something?”

Mare Do-Well shook her head slowly. “No.” Twilight was about to put the scroll away when she reached out a hoof. “Wait!” Twilight stopped. “I wouldn’t mind looking at it a little bit more. There are some theories I wouldn’t mind bouncing off you.”

Twilight smiled again and unfurled the scroll. The two sat down and began to talk. About the theories of this world. About the multiverse. About life.

!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!

Ditzy stood vigilant over the altar. She stood perfectly still as to remain concentrated. Not only was she protecting this place but all of Ponyville, just in case he made an early appearance. Her eyelids drifted as weariness was beginning to set in. Transporting eight ponies through worlds had done a great deal to her and she needed to rest, but Noteworthy could come at any moment. She needed to be ready.

She was so lost in thought she didn’t even notice the sudden appearance of a blue face in front of her. “You don’t look so good.”

She gasped and threw up a magical golden barrier between herself and him but the stallion simply rolled his eyes and walked through. “Noteworthy, don’t come any closer.”

“I’m not even really here,” Mr. 4 waved his ethereal hoof through a tree to show her. “Yet.”

She looked into his eyes and saw how red they were. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks and his demeanor had certainly changed since the last time they’d seen each other. He was more stooped, his voice more callous. “I found that mare that felt like you. She had the same magic but she wasn’t hiding it. I brought her and her friends here so-”

“You found who?” He frowned as if caught dazing then his ears twitched. “Oh, right. Those ponies. This is better. I don’t have to deliver them, their just being served on a silver platter.”

She looked at him with concern. “I can help you, really I can. We may not be able to go home but-”

“Home?” His gaze drifted off like he was having trouble thinking, his ears twitching as if listening to something she couldn’t hear again. “Right, home. I want to go home. That’s what I want. I just want to…” He blinked and noticed her once more. “Ditzy, just listen to reason. We break down the seal he made and we can all go home!”

“That’s not what he would have wanted.” Her voice was shaky as Noteworthy slowly came closer to her, his disheveled appearance unsettling her.

His face contorted in anger. “It’s always about him, isn’t it? You know he probably doesn’t even know we’re alive anymore? You’re schoolfilly crush is never going to pan out!”

Ditzy stopped moving and stared at him wide eyed. Tears began to form in her eyes and she glared back at him. “It wasn’t his fault we ended up here.”

Noteworthy’s ears twitched again and he sneered at her angrily. “NO! It’s your fault, isn’t it? You slipped, you fell into the crack and when I tried to help you pulled me in too!”

Ditzy was shouting at him now. “I didn’t mean to! I searched everywhere for you!”

“But I was nowhere, was I? Because you put me there!” There were tears in his eyes too. “Damn it, I loved you so much but all you cared about was him. But who’s here with you now? Not the Doctor, that’s for sure!” He got closer and Ditzy flinched but his body couldn’t react to her so she allowed his hoof to come close to her cheek. “Even when you were flawed I thought you were beautiful. I only came along to be with you. I didn’t care about the adventures. …Come home with me.”

Ditzy shut her eyes tight, tears running down her cheeks as she clenched her teeth. “I can’t.”

He pulled back from her and looked her in the eyes. “Then wait for me here. Because I’m coming.”

Mr. 4 opened his eyes and he was back in the ice cave. To his surprise, he found a bright pink face in front of his, the smile stretched impossibly wide. “So what’s the situation, big blue? Are we moving out or what?”

He got up and looked at the six around him. “We’re going.” The next moment the cave was empty and an enormous gust of icy wind rushed in.

Battle for Ponyville

<___|=o

“Ah still think you should rest another day or two. The altar’s not that far but the Everfree is pretty dangerous even durin’ the day.”

Applejack shrugged off her counterpart’s worries as she fixed her hakama and tied her Stetson around her neck. “Ah should meet up with mah friends anyway. We need to figure out what to do from here.”

They stood in the kitchen by the door. It was still pretty early in the morning since they arrived and she didn’t have as much sleep as she’d have liked, but talking to herself made her feel better than she ever imagined. The other Applejack sighed but relented. “Fine, but at least let me walk you there. You were up all night. Don’t want you droppin’ from exhaustion when you just got feelin’ better.” Applejack smiled and agreed.

She opened the screen door and they both walked out. The other Applejack stayed behind to lock the door but when she turned around Applejack hadn’t moved. “Somethin’ wrong?” Applejack stood stock still, her hooves digging into the wooden patio. Coming up the road was another pony, this one in a robe similar to Applejack’s. She had her head down but her tied back mane was immediately recognizable. “Is that Rainbow?” Applejack put a hoof to stop her from coming closer. “What’s-”

“Go meet the others. Tell them Ah’m in trouble.” The other Applejack looked at her in confusion but nodded and ran away from the house. The mare strolling down the road didn’t even pay her any attention as she ran past her.

“It is you, isn’t it, Rainbow?” Applejack asked the mare as she approached. She stopped about twenty paces away and lifted her eyes to regard her.

“You knew this day would come.”

Applejack frowned at her. “Are you serious? How the hell did you even get here?” Rainbow didn’t respond. “It was him, wasn’t it? Mr. 4. Ah can’t believe that snake would go this far.”

“You have no idea,” Rainbow muttered. “But none of that matters now.” She pulled a length of chain with a weight attached to the end out of her robe and wrapped it around her hoof. “I’m here to bring you home.”

Applejack took a step forward and Rainbow set her feet for attack. Applejack noticed and took a step back again. “This is foolish. Mah friends will be here any second and even you can’t take us all on.”

Rainbow smirked. “Who said I came alone?”

~`(\/)’~

Rarity was flung back as a headbutt from Applejack sent her flying into a mirror.

All of a sudden Applejack, her Applejack, had burst in through the door of the boutique and started shooting. Rarity was so taken by surprise that she caught a few of the cross bolts in her shoulder. The other Rarity looked between them, a look of extreme hostility on Applejack and a baffled expression on Rarity. “What is going on?!”

Rarity waved her hoof at her. “Just go! I’ll handle this!” The other Rarity nodded meekly and ran through the busted door.

“That’s fine,” Applejack growled. “The only one Ah’m here for is you.” She fired another bolt and this time Rarity dodged, teleporting out of the way. She reappeared on the stairs.

“What are you doing here, Applejack?”

“What am Ah doin’ here? What are you doin’ here?!” she shouted. “Other worlds? More for you to conquer? Not on mah watch!” She bent her knees and jumped high in the air, flipping several times then straightening out to deliver a drop kick at her. Rarity teleported again and Applejack’s attack landed on the staircase, pulverizing it to mulch.

What are you doing? Fight her! The voice screamed inside her but she refused to listen. “I’m not fighting my friend. Not again.” Then you’ll just lose like last time.

“Ah’m nowhere near finished, Rarity.” Applejack straightened herself and cracked her neck as she prepared to lunge at her.

She needed to take this fight somewhere else. Somewhere they couldn’t hurt any bystanders. Applejack launched her body at her, hooves outstretched. Rarity let her come and at the last minute shut her eyes, her horn glowing and both of them disappearing in a bright light.

Another bright light and they reappeared. She didn’t have time to dodge her friend’s attack so AJ managed to smash into her, punching her in the jaw. Any magical protection she had was smashed to pieces and she went flying into a crumbling stone wall. When her vision finally came back she looked at her surroundings in horror. “No. Not here. Anywhere but here.”

Applejack looked around in dismay too. “The Castle of the Two Sisters? You think bringin’ me here is gonna distract me?” She visibly shook with rage. “Ah’ve had enough of you playin’ around!” She slammed her hooves into the ground, cracking the stone beneath, and sliding them back. She was ready to charge. “This ends now!”

===E8DB

Rainbow looked outside the window only to see a vast shadow engulf the sky around the house. Both Dashes opened the door and walked out to inspect the phenomenon. “There weren’t clouds scheduled today,” the other Rainbow muttered.

A figure streaked from the surrounding shadow straight at them. “Get back!” Rainbow pushed her counterpart out of the way and the figure slammed into her grabbing around her waist and carrying her high into the sky. She let go when they left the cloud layer and sent her sailing up until she caught herself in the air. “Hey, what’s the big deal?”

Her eyes widened in shock as an all too familiar figure with a flowing pink mane flew across from her. She wore her Shadowbolts uniform still but her mask was gone, as well as the medals on her chest. “Long time, no see, friend,” she hissed.

“Flutter-” Before she could get the words out, Fluttershy zipped at her with almost Fili-Second levels of speed. She hit her full force in the chest and knocked the wind out of her, sending her flying into a jutting cloud bank.

“Oh, that felt good,” Fluttershy smiled satisfactorily. A miasma of dark energy crawled around her hooves and up her body forming around her eyes and making them glow red. “I think I want to do it again.”

/^(*vv*)^\

Animals ran and scurried for cover as massive columns of sharp crystals shot up from the ground around Fluttershy’s cottage. “Come out, come out, little bat!” came a voice from outside. Flutterbat waved for Fluttershy to exit the back while she went through the front door to investigate. Out front stood a mare in gleaming reddish silver armor. Each time she slammed her hooves into the ground more spires of crystal would emerge. But that wasn’t what surprised Flutterbat the most. The armor they wore was immediately recognizable.

“Papa’s armor,” she muttered in disbelief.

The mare noticed her and stopped playing around, lifting her helmet and revealing her face. Flutterbat recognized her from when she had to save her bat friend. The white succubus with the strange plant powers. A doppelganger of Rarity.

She grinned viciously. “Like it? You should. It was yours wasn’t it?”

She didn’t even care to question how the mare had got here. Flutterbat felt her blood begin to boil as she saw the mare in her papa’s armor. She dug her hooves into the dirt and felt her hair stand on end. “TAKE. THAT. OFF.”

The succubus narrowed her eyes at her. “And if I don’t?”

Any remaining animals began to finally realize the danger they were in as Flutterbat roared into the sky. Her screech was so powerful it made some of the trees break and even pushed the armored mare a few meters back, her hooves dragging in the dirt. When she finally finished, the mare still stood tall facing her. A new look of annoyance on her face, as she shook her head to get the ringing out. She threw the helmet to the side. “That hurt.”

Flutterbat launched herself at the mare who slid her hooves on the ground before her in a semicircle, a wall of thorny plants sprouting from the area she’d touched. Flutterbat tore through them, feeling the sting of the thorns as they tore into her flesh but skidded to a halt when she didn’t see her opponent on the other side. “Yoohoo!” She looked back and a gauntleted hoof jumped out from behind the wall of thorns and clocked her in the face sending her flying. The mare stepped back out from the wall and sneered at her. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do that.”

/|/|PP/|/|

Pinkie Pie couldn’t believe her eyes. There she was, Twilight, the Masked Matterhorn, standing before her. They stood outside the Sugarcube Corner café early in the morning, the other Pinkie by her side. “Is it really you?” she said teary eyed.

Twilight kept her head low looking too guilty to respond. “Pinkie, I-”

Pinkie didn’t let her finish as she ran into a hug. She held her tight and Matterhorn eventually reciprocated. “Aw!” the other Pinkie cooed and poked her head between them. “This is your friend, right? Another Twilight? I like that costume. Ooh! Could you show me a trick you can do?”

Twilight took a hesitant step back from the two and looked between them. There was still something off about this. “Twilight, how did you even get here?”

“I…” she looked at the other Pinkie. “Pinkie, could you please tell her to leave.” The other Pinkie was taken aback but laughed it off.

“O-Okay, I get it. Just want to have a nice friendly reunion together. Don’t need a third wheel for that.” She backed away as she talked until she walked back inside the café. She shut the door but they could still see her eyes poking out over the window’s edge.

Pinkie turned back to Twilight. “How did you survive? We saw you get swallowed by the inferno! You turned into a dragon!” She waved her arms for emphasis. Twilight still looked uncomfortable, unable to keep her eyes on Pinkie. “How are you here?”

Twilight bit her lip. “Before anything happens, Pinkie, I just want you to know I’m sorry. While I can still say it.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “Oh Faust, what have I done?”

Pinkie frowned at her. “Twilight?” She tried to reach out for her but noticed she couldn’t move. She looked down and saw a large chunk of ice covering her feet and growing. She turned and saw that the door to the café had been sealed with ice as well. “What’s going on?”

Twilight sat and rubbed her hair manically. “I… I had no choice, Pinkie. I was broken! You don’t know what that’s like. To have your mind and personality stripped away from you. Aklopolips broke me in more ways than one, but it was my punishment for how I treated you. This is my only option now.”

“What are you talking about?” A large explosion sounded somewhere not far off. They both turned to see a large plume of smoke and the sound of screaming.

“I’m so sorry, Pinkie. I just need you to stay here for a few minutes. It’ll all be over in a few minutes.”

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well was already awake when she heard the explosion. Twilight had fallen asleep an hour or two ago but she couldn’t, instead trying to use some of the stuff around the library to replace her lost belt and gear. They weren’t her finest work but they were something.

She looked up from the desk she’d been working at and looked out the window, spotting the smoke. Twilight muttered as she awoke from her chair. “What was that?”

Mare Do-Well scooped up what she’d been working on and ran downstairs. She opened the front door and spotted the source of the smoke a block away. A tall building, probably the town hall. She heard screams in the distance too. “Damn it, I need to grab the others.”

“Um, hey,” Twilight muttered from behind her. Mare Do-Well turned to face her and froze. She was pointing at a message in red paint across the door of the library. ‘Will the real Mare Do-Well please stand up?’ “What is that?”

Mare Do-Well felt her blood boil. She looked to the source of the explosion and the spreading smoke. She was there, she was sure of it. “I have to go! Find the others and tell them to start evacuating the town!” She ran off toward the fire leaving Twilight behind.

“Wait!” She knew she couldn’t catch up to her as she saw her jump to the roof of a building and run out of sight. Spike walked up beside her, a sleepy look on his face.

“What’s all the noise? And did you know there’s a mare in your bed?”

@#$%^&*&^%$#@

Mr. 4 walked unsteadily into the forest. Nopony was around to stop him. He had dealt with those others, he didn’t need to worry about them anymore. What worried him more right now was the immense nausea he felt over going to face Ditzy.

“I can handle it,” he muttered. He swayed a little more, grabbing a tree to steady himself. “I said I can handle it.” His eyes darted every which way in the forest as if everything around him was talking to him. “I’m not soft. I can deal with her. You just keep your end of the bargain.” Whispers from everywhere. “I can hold together until it’s over. You just make sure to give me a new body.” As he walked, a small trail of blue hair was left in his wake.

He reached the edge of the shielded area like before, only this time he grit his teeth and pushed his way in. The magic shattered beneath his touch and he stumbled into the clearing, his unkempt look surprising Ditzy as he approached. He tried to look at her but his vision was beginning to swim.

“Noteworthy?” she asked with concern. “You look even worse than before.”

“Why do you care?” he muttered.

“I care because I’m your friend,” she stated with a resolute face. “No matter what you say to me, that won’t change. Not when I know you’re in pain.”

He let out a laugh that was more like a feeble breath. “I wouldn’t be if you’d just let me go home.”

“You’re confused. It’s doing things to your mind. You need to let me help-”

“NO!” his shout was laced with another voice, this one deep and sharp like the sound of breaking glass. “I’m done working with ponies. It’s been hell enough just working with… with…” He struggled to finish his sentence but fell forward on his face.

“Noteworthy!” She rushed forward and knelt beside him, rolling him over. “Are you alright?”

His glasses fell away, revealing one giant malignant yellow eye. She gasped and tried to pull back but his hooves shot out toward her, grabbing her mane and pulling her close enough that their noses almost touched. Two voices rang out from his body. “I want to go home!” I wANt To BE FrEE!

Standoff

<___|=o

Applejack dashed into the orchard, trying to get as much distance between Rainbow and the house as she could. She didn’t want this fight hurting anypony. Rainbow didn’t seem to think similarly. Her weighted chain shot from beneath her robe and exploded into the patio sending splinters flying where she had just been. “You can’t keep running forever!”

But Applejack didn’t care, she did keep running, deeper and deeper into the apple orchard. Rainbow was an expert tracker, she would need to find some place to hide in the next thirty seconds or she would catch her trail. Already, she heard the sound of wings flapping above the treeline. A small shadow passing over her and obscuring the sun.

Applejack skidded to a halt and backtracked. Maybe she hadn’t seen her. But her hopes were in vain. Rainbow’s weighted chain came crashing down in front of her, hitting a tree and causing a massive branch to nearly fall on her head. She tried to backtrack again but Rainbow had already landed behind her, grasping her chain with both hooves. “You need to answer for your crimes, Applejack!”

She had had just about enough of this. “What crimes?! Abandoning a lord Ah had no loyalty to in the first place?”

“Your vows should carry over to the son of the previous-”

“Ah don’t care!” Several birds went flying from the trees as her voice echoed through the orchard. “There’s only one vow in mah life Ah give a damn about and that’s family. And right now Ah need to make sure that family stays alive.”

Rainbow frowned. “Are you talking about Apple Bloom or them?”

Applejack paused. Who was she talking about? For such a long time she had struggled with the idea of allies she could trust. On her world, in the end, even her Rainbow had abandoned her. But the others, Rarity, Flutterbat, Pinkie, Mare Do-Well, and Dash, they hadn’t abandoned her. And she hadn’t abandoned them. “Ah’m talkin’ about both.”

Rainbow’s face became sour and she clenched her teeth. “So I just meant nothing to you.” Applejack’s eyes widened but before she could say anything Rainbow yelled and pulled on her chain. The weighted end erupted from the ground behind AJ and flew toward the back of her head. She turned just in time for the weight to slam into her forehead. Everything went black.

When Applejack came to she was sitting propped up by a tree. The first thing she felt was an immense pain in her head. She winced and reached for it only to find a chain restricting her movements. She pulled one arm and felt the other get pulled back. She had been chained around a large apple tree, her sword sitting a little out of reach.

“This is the farm you were born on, right?” Applejack noticed Rainbow standing a few hooves away, her back to her as she looked out on the placid scene of the acres of green and red. They seemed to be on a small hill somewhere in the middle of the rustic setting, the only occupant of it being this tree.

She stopped struggling. “More or less.” Rainbow was silent. “So what now? Are you gonna knock me out again? Drag me back home through whatever means you used to get here?” She remained silent and that made her nervous. “Rainbow?”

“…that was the plan at first.” She turned her head so AJ could see her expression. “I never wanted you to get punished. I just wanted you home again.” She grit her teeth and glared at the ground. “But I have a loyalty to the House of Nijina! My father had it and it was passed on to me. If you value family so much then why could you never understand that?”

Applejack hung her head. “Ah don’t believe in a loyalty like that. Where Ah was born, we put our trust in those ponies that earned it. Your father was one of those ponies to me. You were one of those ponies to me.” Rainbow didn’t turn around but she thought she saw a smile on her face for a brief moment.

A large explosion sounded in town making both mares turn to face it. Smoke began to billow up from past the trees and they could hear screams in the distance. “What’s going on?” Applejack asked.

“Probably another fight taken out of control.”

“So there are more here than just you.”

Rainbow nodded. “Five others. I get the feeling we were all chosen to fight each one of you.”

Applejack struggled against her bonds. “Then Ah need to get there and help them!”

Rainbow glared at her. “You’re not going anywhere. That chain is tougher than steel. You’d have better luck breaking the tree than the chains.”

Applejack struggled more and more the pain in her chest returning and her arms strained to the limit. Still, by some miracle of strength, she felt she could go further. She had survived pulling on a dragon, and though her muscles hadn’t healed completely yet, she felt a newfound strength inside her.

The tree creaked against the pull of the chains, but Rainbow’s eyes widened when she heard a metallic snap. “What?!”

Applejack pulled harder, pushing her body farther away from the trunk and hearing more metallic snaps behind her. “That’s what you never understood about apple trees,” she grunted. One last pull and the chains snapped sending her body rolling and letting her grab her sword before Rainbow could react. “They’re a whole lot stronger than you think!”

Rainbow didn’t waist any time either as she drew her wakazashi. They bit down on their blades and ran at each other, sparks flying as they clashed. They stepped with agility and grace, Applejack trying to get her footing inside Rainbow’s perimeter and Rainbow attempting the same. With each parry, Rainbow would spin and try to break her defense but Applejack wouldn’t let her. The sound of metal on metal filled the air as leaves tumbled to the ground around them.

Two swordsmares of equal skill dueled with speed and dexterity above an orchard of spring trees. No words accompanied their fight, simply the sound of metal and wind.

Rainbow sliced high which made Applejack throw her head back to dodge. As she did she caught sight of the red fruit in the tree above them. A story she’d heard before filling her head. Two sisters. An apple tree. Death. The distraction was slight but it gave Rainbow enough of an opening. She swept with her leg and knocked Applejack off balance. She fell on her back, dropping her sword and letting her Stetson fall to the side of her head.

Rainbow stood over her and pointed her sword down at her head. “It’s over, Applejack. Just give up.”

Applejack looked her straight in the eye. She was determined. “This isn’t going to end like that,” she muttered.

“Just give up!”

“Ah won’t! Ah’ll never give up! Ah won’t abandon mah ideals just for you, Rainbow. Even for mah sister.”

“What does Apple Bloom have to do with this?”

“Ah mean you!”

Rainbow froze. Applejack could see the sword in her mouth trembling as she looked torn between decision. “I’m not your sister.”

“And who says that? Sombra? We make our own families, Rainbow. And Ah’ve always considered you mine.” She felt a drop of rain hit her cheek but then realized it wasn’t cloudy enough. She looked at Rainbow and saw tears well up and fall from her eyes.

“Why wouldn’t you ever listen? I could help you. I wanted to help you. So much. But you never listen!”

Applejack closed her eyes and opened them again, blinking away her own tears. “Because Ah’m stubborn and a world class fool.”

Rainbow grit her teeth against her blade handle and let out a cry before plunging it down. Applejack didn’t look away as the sword buried itself next to her head. Rainbow looked down at her. “I… can be pretty stubborn too.”

She fell on her and began to bawl into her chest. It was then that all the pain returned like a freight train, and the weight of Rainbow on top of her felt like a lead brick on her sternum. Still she held her close and undid her mane, brushing it back like she had received the night before.

She didn’t say anything until Rainbow was done. The mare slid off of her and sat by the tree, rubbing a hoof through her mane. Applejack still felt pain all over but the smoke in the distance was getting worse. “Ah need to go. They need me.”

Rainbow grabbed her arm before she could leave. “Wait. There’s something you should know. About his plan.”

~`(\/)’~

“We need to just talk about this!” Rarity shouted as Applejack charged her again. She didn’t try to teleport this time, simply holding up her hooves and erecting a small concentrated barrier. She still hit with both her hooves, her barrier barely holding up against the force of her buck and whatever anti-magic material her boots were made with.

Applejack pushed off, correcting herself in a midair back flip and firing off two bolts from her shouldered crossbow before she hit the ground. Rarity had to move her already numb arms pretty quickly to block them again.

Keep it up. I really think you’re getting through to her. The voice was being a wise ass now, huh? Just destroy her. You have the power, all you have to do is use it.

“Just because I’m powerful doesn’t give me carte blanche to kill somepony,” she hissed at herself.

“Ah’m not lettin’ you plan anything!” Applejack yelled. “You think Ah care that you sent me here? To the Castle of the Two Sisters? All Ah think of this place now is how Ah’m gonna burn it down one day!”

Rarity hadn’t meant to teleport them here. Every ancient stone and banner hanging from the walls filled her with memories she’d rather leave alone. “Did you have a part in this?” she muttered.

You’d think. No, this was all you. Maybe you’ve got some issues to get through, darling.

“Stop talkin’ and fight me!” To demonstrate her point Applejack punched a wall and let it crumble away.

“Applejack,” Rarity lifted her arms in a form of peace. “I don’t want to fight you.”

“That never stopped you before!”

“I’m not Nightmare Moon!” Yes, you are. “I never wanted to do those things!” Maybe a little bit of it. “I never wanted to hurt Fluttershy!”

That last one made Applejack pause for a moment. “So… you’re sayin’ Ah’m responsible?”

“What?”

“You’re sayin’ it’s mah fault!”

“No, that’s not what I-” She couldn’t finish as Applejack was before her in two quick steps. She spun and delivered a hard buck directly to her head and sent her flying upward. Rarity crashed through the ceiling and sprawled onto the floor of a once lavish bedroom. She struggled to her hooves, clutching her jaw in pain.

That mare’s hits aren’t messing around. You need to do something now.

Rarity shook her head. “No. Didn’t you see her face?” The moment she mentioned Fluttershy she could see it in AJ’s eyes. A tragically heartbreaking, soul shattered look. It was the same look she saw in the mirror all those days she was trapped in this body back home, forced to deal with the fallout of her darker self. “She’s… confused. She’s all alone back home. I need to help her.”

She heard the voice scoff. How do you plan to do that? That mare is so far gone she’s probably seeing nothing but red.

Rarity dug her hooves into the floor with determination. “I don’t care. All I have to do is make her see me.”

The voice was silent for a moment. Why does it feel so much different now?

“What are you talking about?”

Your weak heart beats stronger every second. After everything we’ve been through, why are you still fighting?

“RARITY!!” Applejack shouted from below. “AH’M COMIN’ FOR YOU!!”

Rarity set her eyes in determination and saw a mirror in the room. She looked into it, into her own eyes. “Because I’ve found something to fight for.”

The voice sighed. What did I get myself into with you? There was a slight rustling sound behind her and Rarity turned in surprise, a smile spreading across her face. Don’t say I never did you any favors.

Applejack waited below for Rarity to respond but after a few seconds she gave up. She pointed her cross bow up and began to unload into the ceiling. The magic infused bolts shot straight through the stone and exploded out of the roof of the castle. She continued to unload until she was sure she’d gotten every inch of the ceiling. “Ah know you’re still there, Rarity! Get out here and fight!”

A moment of silence. Then the ceiling exploded above her. Applejack slid back to avoid the raining debris as a large figure landed in the dust before her. It spread its massive black wings sending the dust scattering and revealing her.

Applejack stared in bafflement before her anger returned. “So you’re finally showin’ your true colors?”

Rarity flared her new wings and stood Applejack down. “No. I’m showing you how I’m in control.”

She was definitely faster with the wings as she was on Applejack in under a second, grabbing her and holding tight before flying up through the crumbling ceiling and piercing the roof of the castle. Applejack shouted and struggled, kicking and flailing as hard as she could. It hurt but Rarity kept on going into the sky.

“Put me down!” Applejack screamed, landing a punch on her already tender cheek. But Rarity remained strong, climbing higher in the sky.

“No more magic. No more tricks. No more surprises.” She stopped just below the cloud layer, still trying to stop Applejack from struggling in her arms. “This is where we talk, Applejack!”

“No!”

“It needs to happen!”

“LET GO!” She got both her front hooves free and began to wail on her again. Rarity endured each blow as best as she could. The new strength she’d gotten was useful but the mare’s blows were pretty hard too. “AH HATE YOU! AH HATE YOU!”

Rarity’s horn began to glow and Applejack held up her hooves to block an attack. But instead she just pulled her tighter to her and rested her forehead on Applejack’s. “It hurts, doesn’t it?” Applejack struggled but her hold was much tighter now and she had no wiggle room. “That moment playing out in your mind over and over again.” Applejack began to make sounds like grunts but they could also be whimpers. “I wish I could say it goes away, but it doesn’t. Not yet at least.”

“Just stop…”

“There’s something I want you to hear.”

“Please…”

“Something I wanted to hear for so long, but no one would say.”

Applejack beat feebly on her chest. Her voice was weak and small, as if trying to hold something back in her throat. “Don’t…”

“It’s not your fault.”

There was a moment of silence. Then Rarity heard a small hiccup. Applejack’s hooves dropped and she began to hang limply from her. She let out a wail as her tears began to flow. Rarity held her a little closer and buried her face in her mane, her own tears mixing in.

“Ah didn’t want… Ah never would have…” She continued to cry as she tried to get a sentence out but she couldn’t. They stayed like that until her tears were gone.

When Applejack finally seemed done she tapped Rarity’s chest and she loosened her grip. She looked up at her with big green eyes, red from the crying. “It’s really you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“Ah’m… Ah’m so sorry.”

Rarity simply smiled, though her face was beginning to swell and it gave her a funny look. Applejack tried to hold back a laugh but Rarity laughed first and they both shared it.

This feels wrong.

“That’s only because it’s right,” Rarity muttered to herself.

No, came the voice. Something else. Rarity, look.

She looked down and saw two sights. One a massive plume of smoke in town, and the other was a massive electrical storm building directly over a single spot in the Everfree below.

“What is that?”

Applejack caught sight of the smoke first. “Oh no. Ah need to go back. She probably set that fire. Ah need to help put it out!”

Rarity looked between the strange electrical storm and the smoke, then nodded. “Let’s go help.” They flew off in the direction of the fire.

@#$%^&*&^%$#@

Ditzy went flying, hitting the ground hard then rolling to a halt. She looked up weakly in shock and horror. “Noteworthy!”

He began to struggle to his hooves, pulses of electrical magic crawling across his form. They were so prevalent and arced so far that some even leapt into the sky, pulling in clouds and creating lightning above. He narrowed his sights on her, Ditzy still standing between him and the altar. “MoVe!" he shouted, that voice like shattered glass.

Ditzy trembled as she stood but set herself against him. She looked into his one giant yellow eye. “I know you’re still in there, Noteworthy. I’m not moving from this spot.” Her voice was trembling as well.

Noteworthy grimaced and shook his head violently as he seemed to hear something she couldn’t. “Won’t… fight…” He threw his head back and let out a roar like the sound of metal scraping against metal. Ditzy drew back her ears and clamped them shut, the sound almost unbearable. Whatever it was, it was killing him. She needed to do something.

“STOP!” With magic, her voice barely got over the dinn. The roar stopped and Noteworthy stared at her in a pained, puzzled expression. “Stop it. I’ll fight. If that’s what it takes for this to be over.”

Noteworthy contorted his face in pain and held up a hoof. “Ditzy… no! I’m not going to… fight!”

She took a deep breath and stood tall, giving him her bravest face. “If it stops you from killing yourself, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Whispers. Even she could hear them now. In the trees and rocks, coming from seemingly everywhere and nowhere at once. They simply stated one word in repeat. FiGHt FighT fiGhT fIGht FIgHt!!!!

Of Monsters and Mares

===E8DB

Rainbow rubbed her head forlornly as she tried to remember where she was. She was lying in a cloud bank, but what had hit her? She remembered almost too late as she dodged an attack just in time. A purple and pink blur shot past where she’d been lying and plowed straight through the clouds, dispersing them and her with a shockwave. “Fluttershy!”

The dark clad mare stopped on a dime and reeled on Dash. “Get your game up, Rainbow!” She laughed cruelly and flew at her again.

This time Rainbow flew at her as well, both clashing in midair and sending out a pulse of pressure that cleared the remaining clouds. “What are you doing here!? How did you gete here?”

Fluttershy glared at her, her eyes flashing red for a brief moment. “Stop talking and fight!” A surge of dark magic pushed up her arms and exploded in Rainbow’s face sending her tumbling back.

She tried to correct herself in the air but Fluttershy would not give her a moment’s peace. With a blur of speed, the mare rocketed into her back making Rainbow gasp as the wind got knocked out of her. She fell to a cloud and landed hard. If she wasn’t a Pegasus right now, she’d be a pancake.

Fluttershy landed a few hooves away and chided her tongue at her. “Is that really all you have? What happened to the mare I saw before?”

Rainbow groaned as she crawled to her hooves. “The power is messing with your mind even more now. Fluttershy, you need to trust me when I say it’s not good for you. I’ve seen what that kind of power can do to somepony. You need to let it go before-”

“Before what?” Fluttershy growled. “Before I beat you? Before I prove that I’m stronger than you ever were?” Her eyes glowed an even deeper red. “I’ve had this power long enough to know how to use it! I can use it because I’m strong! I’m not that weak pathetic filly you knew and I never want to be again!”

Rainbow frowned at her. “I never meant to make you feel like that.”

Fluttershy gritted her teeth, the dark magic around her rising upward like steam. “And what am I supposed to feel like? My best friend leaves my life as a filly without even saying goodbye? Of course I’m angry! I felt worthless for so long! Just admit that you forgot me!”

Rainbow hung her head in shame. “Yeah, I did.” The darkness paused around Fluttershy and her angry expression softened a little. “I started a new life and never looked back. I abandoned you and I’ll never forgive myself for that.” She looked into her eyes pleadingly. “But there’s always a chance to make things right. I know that now. We always assume we can’t go back but that’s not true. You just have to know the chance to take it.” She held out her hoof to her.

Fluttershy stared at the hoof then back at Rainbow. With a shout of frustration, she slapped the hoof away. “I come all this way and you won’t even give me a fight!”

Rainbow didn’t back down. “Because I’m not fighting my friend!”

“I’m not your friend!”

“You’ll always be my friend, Fluttershy. And I’ll help you when we get back home.”

She shut her eyes and tried to tune her out. “Quiet!”

“I can see to it you’re taken care of.”

“Shut up!”

“I’ll be there every step of the way!”

“RAAAGH!!” Fluttershy let out a scream and a pulse of darkness blasted out around her. Rainbow tried to stand tall but the force pushed her back and she slipped off the edge of the cloud. She flapped her wings against the pressure, trying to get closer.

She squinted through the wind force and saw that Fluttershy was mumbling something to herself as her magic pulsed again and again into the ground. The more she did the more her body seemed to grow frailer, her pink mane turning white around the edges.

“Fluttershy stop this!” she shouted but to no avail. She pushed a little harder and came a little closer.

“I’m stronger. I can handle it. I’m stronger. I can handle it.” She kept muttering this like a mantra, but her body looked like it begged to differ.

Rainbow alighted back on the cloud and began to push her way through pressure. “It’s eating you alive, can’t you see? As long as your emotions are out of control, it’ll be too!”

“And whose fault is that?!” Fluttershy shouted at her, a new wave of force slamming against Rainbow face nearly breaking her neck. “I was fine! I was strong! But every time you come back into the picture I’m just that scared little filly again! I needed to prove I don’t need you! I needed to know that I could do it on my own!” As she yelled her mane became whiter and whiter.

Rainbow grit her teeth and flew a few feet in the air. She started flapping as hard as she could, then a little harder. Gradually she pushed her way to the center of the storm of winds and grabbed Fluttershy by the shoulders. “You never had to be strong like this! Do you think I was your friend because we could race? NO! It’s because you were kind to me!”

Rainbow remembered the photo she’d found in Fluttershy’s cottage. An image of two young foals, one a rascally rainbow maned tomcolt covered in cuts and scrapes and the other a slightly taller nervous pink maned filly trying to apply bandages.

“Remember that photo?” Rainbow shouted through the gale around her. “You kept it all that time! What was the relationship between those two fillies? Bitter rivals?” Fluttershy stared straight into her eyes, a cloud of red lifting from her own. “NO! They cared for each other! I took that for granted but you never did!” She slowly realized that her shouting wasn’t necessary as the gale around them began to die down.

Gradually, the pressure around them disappeared and Rainbow set herself down on the cloud again. She looked at Fluttershy nervously but the mare made no move. Then with a deep calming breath, the color returned to her mane and the darkness receded. She wobbled slightly, close to losing balance before Rainbow caught her, her head landing in her lap.

Fluttershy’s eyes fluttered open and she looked up at her. “I don’t know how to get rid of it yet. It’s still there, behind the surface.” Her eyes widened and tears began to brim. “Oh Faust, I did such horrible things.”

Rainbow pulled her head close and touched her forehead to Fluttershy’s. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere anymore.” Fluttershy sniffled slightly as her eyes began to flutter again. She leaned her head on Dash’s lap and fell asleep.

Rainbow leaned back and looked up at the sky, letting out a long breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding in. “Thank Faust, that’s over.” A small plum of smoke rose above the clouds and caught her eye. “Or maybe not.”

/^(*vv*)^\

Flutterbat charged in blind rage again and again and each time the armored mare would sidestep or attack her in some way. She would stomp her hoof and make a column of crystal jump out from under Flutterbat, punching her into the sky. She could make the foliage around her immense and hide in the leaves, tangling Flutterbat as she searched for her frantically. And each time she did, Flutterbat just got madder and madder. The sight of her Papa’s armor being used to attack her filled her with a level of anger she’d never felt before.

She landed out of breath on a small patch of dry earth, the battlefield around them veritably transformed by the mare’s powers. Crystals jutted everywhere, some even jutting from thick vines like thorns. Menacing plants crawled across the ground and tree tops like snakes and she could no longer see the sky above due to the amount of leaves. It was like she’d created a veritable forest.

The succubus laughed from the shadows. “This has been too fun! Toying with you has truly been a pleasure.”

Flutterbat bared her teeth and growled low. “Give back Papa’s armor!”

“Why should I? You pretty much abandoned it. Finders keepers, am I right?”

She didn’t mean to leave it. She just forgot. After all this time she forgot about it. Did that mean she forgot about Papa? The thought made a new anger flare inside.

Her eyes grew twice as slitted and her hair stood on end. She set her legs apart and stuck her tail straight out as she pointed her head to the sky. Taking one giant breath she let out a screech to end all. The force of the sound pushed the the vegetation back, some even getting ripped from the ground. The crystals began to vibrate at her sonic force and then one by one exploded. The succubus covered her ears from where she was hiding as the armor she wore began to vibrate as well, shaking her body.

When she was done, Flutterbat let her head fall and she panted heavily. Her screech had created an impact zone like a crater. But she was still riding high, her senses pushed past the limit. Her ear twitched as she heard movement behind her. Then with a blur of motion she shot in that direction. She plowed through a tree and slammed into the chest of the armored mare. The force sent them flying out of the woods and onto a hilltop by Fluttershy’s cottage where they tumbled down together kicking and screaming.

“Get off me, you maniac!” the succubus shouted. But Flutterbat didn’t respond. She couldn’t, not with her animal instincts pushed to this level.

Relentlessly, she clawed and scratched at the armor, even attempting to bite it where the neck should be. “I said… GET OFF!” vines shot out of the ground and wrapped around Flutterbat’s wings, pulling her off the mare. She got to her hooves and looked in amazement at her attacker.

Flutterbat thrashed in the vines grip, biting and nearly frothing at the mouth. Her eyes were almost white with how slitted her pupils were and her mane stood on end, twigs and leaves stuck in it. She barked at her and snapped several vines, lunging forward again. The succubus took a fearful step back, tripping over her armor and holding up her hooves in defense. More and more vines shot out and wrapped around Flutterbat, effectively holding her in place though she still struggled violently. The succubus stared at her from the ground, a slight bit of panic in her voice. “Just what are you?”

Flutterbat thrashed and fought against the vines until they finally drove her to her knees. She grunted as she fell then blinked as something caught her eye. A few hooves away was the helmet, lying on the grass with morning sun glinting off it. But as her eyes adjusted to the light she caught something else in the helmet. Her reflection.

Flutterbat stopped struggling as she saw herself for the first time in a long time. Her unkempt mane. Her bared teeth. Her predator-like eyes. She blinked a few times more and the pupils dilated again. The sound of a bird rushed above her and she looked up. Squirrels, mice, rabbits and birds ran for the safety of the trees, none looking back at her. She didn’t like this. She didn’t want to be like this.

She looked to the armored mare. “What is it?” she asked. “What are you going to do now?”

“Flutterbat do nothing.”

“What?”

She sat on the ground, the vines still tight but now not even trying to fight them. “Flutterbat so angry. But it Flutterbat’s own fault. Left Papa’s armor all alone. Flutterbat need to accept and move on.”

The succubus looked at her and then back and forth as if somepony was going to jump out and surprise attack her. “Are you… serious? I take your armor and you say you don’t want it back?”

Flutterbat looked at the forest line, seeing all the animals hiding in fear just past the trees. “Of course, Flutterbat want it back. But can’t become monster just to get it.” A small smile passed here lips. “It what Papa would want.”

The succubus gave her a funny look but then shrugged. “Oh well, whatever works.” She raised her hoof and the vines reacted pulling tighter. Flutterbat felt them like a noose around her whole body. She struggled only slightly but every time she felt the anger rise again she would force it down. She would not be a beast. She would show everypony Papa was right.

The succubus held her hoof a little higher and the vines constricted tighter. Still Flutterbat did nothing substantial to escape. A moment passed and the armored mare bit her lip, dropping her hoof and letting the vines disperse. “I can’t believe this. You’ve made winning taste like sour grapes.” Flutterbat rubbed her neck as the vines untangled themselves from her but still made no move. “Why won’t you fight?”

“Because it what world expects. To others, we just monsters. Fighting and hurting in our nature. But Papa believed in a better way to see.” Experimentally, she lifted a hoof. She waited a moment but eventually a small bat flew out of the trees and landed on her arm. “We all not so different when we want to be.”

The succubus frowned in thought then turned with a huff. “Well, I don’t see any point acting like a regular pony. Especially one who loses things so easily.”

Flutterbat didn’t look at her as she talked, petting the bat lovingly as more animals crawled from the forest. “It easy to lose things. But just as easy to gain them.” The succubus looked over her shoulder at her, an uncertain look in her eye. Flutterbat’s smile widened as the animals congregated around her. “You can keep Papa’s armor. Flutterbat have all the memories she needs right here.” She crossed her hooves over her chest.

The succubus rolled her eyes and sighed as she tramped on the ground indignantly. “Oh! This would be so much easier if I still hated you… which I’m finding it increasingly hard to do.” She spotted the helmet and picked it up, looking like she was about to leave with it. Then she turned to Flutterbat. “Here.” She tossed it over to her. “You can have that back. I was just getting tired of the smelly thing anyway.” Flutterbat examined the helmet then smiled at her. “Don’t give me that look. This doesn’t make me your friend.”

With that she stomped off across the hill... only to come back a moment later and stand awkwardly. “I can’t get home without a ride, do you have one?”

Flutterbat laughed. Then her nose crinkled as a smell reached her. She looked behind to see a trail of smoke coming up from town.

@#$%^&*&^%$#@

The air around the two cracked, fissures of light and color fading in and out of existence. Ditzy tried to hold her ground against Noteworthy but he was proving far too powerful. Her magic strained to keep his power contained, a golden bubble surrounding him as he smashed against it tirelessly. With each beat of his hooves the air cracked a little more, shrill voices and ungodly sounds flowing out like a swarm of rats.

Ditzy clenched her teeth tight as she concentrated, feeling a trickle of something from her ear. “Noteworthy! You need to stop! It’s breaking through!” she shouted but was unsure if she was heard over the dinn of nightmarish sounds.

Noteworthy stopped his beating and but seemed like he was fighting himself as he threw his head back and screamed in pain. “I… can’t stop… it!”

She could hear the voice almost clearly now. Two words repeated ad nauseam. FiGhT FrEe FIGht fREe FIghT free

{[(SxT)]}

Suntrix lay in bed, Spike sitting by her side twiddling his thumbs nervously. Twilight had gone into town to help, asking him to stay and watch the sleeping mare. He didn’t even know her. Still she looked like she needed help.

Suntrix rolled around and struggled in bed, sweat beading her forehead as she moaned. Spike checked the towel he’d put on her and found it already drenched. “Just what is she dreaming of?”

Suddenly Suntrix shot up in bed, her eyes wide and shining with a white light. “It knocks from the other side of the wall! It comes to change and end us all!”

Spike clutched his chest as he got over the shock then tried to hold her and calm her down. She kept spouting that phrase. What did it mean?

Heroes and Villains

/|/|PP/|/|

Pinkie struggled to pull her hooves out of the ice but they were thick. She began to vibrate her leg in an attempt to simply melt it away but a blast of cold shot by her ear and stopped her. Matterhorn stood shakily a few hooves away. “Please, Pinkie, don’t move. It’ll all be over soon. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Why are you doing this, Twilight?”

Matterhorn bit her lip, trying not to look her in the eye. “I have no choice.”

“There’s always a choice!”

“Not here!” She finally locked eyes with her. Pinkie actually was struck back as she saw something in her eyes. Fear. The kind of fear years of being a superhero never gave either of them. “You have no idea how big this all is. WE had no idea. Natural disasters and supervillains are one thing but this is something else. We should have never tried to play on it’s level.”

“You’re making no sense!”

“He’s not just powerful, Pinkie, he’s a god! The power he had, it brought me back. Rewrote my mind, my body.” She began to tremble a little more. “This is more than magic. More than science. It’s something I can’t understand and I don’t want to fight it.”

Pinkie finally frowned at her. “That’s not the Matterhorn I know.”

“Maybe I’m not! Who’s to say? By all rights I should be insane right now but I’ve never thought more clearly. I’m doing this for your own good, Pinkie. You can’t fight him.” She slowed her speech and finally seemed to calm down a little. “He’s just been toying with us this whole time. Damn it, just like I did to you.”

Pinkie blinked at her. “You never used me.”

Twilight gave her a sideways glance and a half hearted smirk. “Really?”

Pinkie shrugged her shoulders. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“I’ve been a terrible friend and a terrible leader. And it scares me that I had to be saved by the thing I’m hunting in order to realize that.”

There was a moment of silence between the two. The fire a couple blocks away had grown and now ponies were beginning to run in fear past them, oddly paying the two superheroes no heed. Pinkie watched them all flee and pointed to them as they passed. “Look, they need help. We need to go do what we do best or this could cost them their lives.”

Matterhorn rubbed her eyes despondently. “Don’t you get it yet? It doesn’t matter anymore. We can save all the ponies in town but it won’t matter in the end when he gets what he wants. And there’s no way to stop him.”

Pinkie watched her friend’s dejected attitude and felt something bubble up in her she hadn’t realized she’d been feeling. She grit her teeth in anger and shouted loud enough that some ponies even stopped running. “You show up again out of blue! Tell me you’re sorry! Freeze me to the ground! Then start going on about everything being hopeless! You know what I think of that?” Matterhorn shook her head slowly as she looked at her in wide eyed apprehension. “I think that’s BULL HONKY!!!”

Several ponies around them gasped, a mother even putting her hooves around her foal’s ears as they continued to run away. Matterhorn stood there motionless. “Pinkie, I-”

“Do you know what hurt me the most when it was just us two? The feeling of worthlessness!” She was still shouting, all her feelings finally pouring out. “You made me feel like I didn’t matter and that’s one of the worst things somepony can do to another! But you know what’s worse? When even you believe that!” Matterhorn didn’t change her expression as she listened on. “I matter! You matter! Everypony here matters! And if you’ve really given up believing that then you’ve stopped being the pony I know you to be!”

Pinkie looked at Matterhorn for a long moment before she hung her head. “I don’t deserve-” Before she could finish Pinkie shouted again and supervibrated her hooves, breaking loose in an instant and running over to her. She grabbed Matterhorn by the sides of the head and drew her own head back, delivering a hard headbutt to the mare. Matterhorn yelped in pain and fell on her haunches. “What was that?!”

“Quit your pity party!” Pinkie shouted decisively. “You can mope after the job is done! Because as long as there’s a single pony in need,” she held out her hoof to her, “we’ll be needed.”

Matterhorn rubbed her forehead tenderly but let a small smile cross her features. She grabbed Pinkie’s hoof and stood up. “I don’t know if it’s all going to matter.”

She chided her tongue at her and wagged her hoof. “It always does, Twilight. It always does.”

---<^^>---

Mare Do-Well followed the source of the smoke to a tall building in town square. It looked like the town hall. Fire erupted from the doors and was beginning to jump to other houses, threatening to spread. A fountain was close by so she began by levitating massive amounts of water and dumping them on the smoldering houses, but this was proving too tiring. In a desperate attempt, she threw her hat to the side and unwrapped her horn, letting it taste the first fresh air she’d had in long time.

Her magic swelled and she managed to lift all the water in the fountain, dividing it and spreading it across the places that had caught fire. With one last shove, she pushed the water into the town hall, finally dousing it. By now the square had been effectively evacuated so she stood by herself, breathing in a sigh of relief. That was until a secondary charge went off inside.

She covered her face in her cape, protecting her from the heat but not the large piece of wood that slammed into the side of her head, ripping her mask. A feminine laugh echoed in the square and she blinked her bleary eyes trying to find the source. A new fire began to spread and she thought she saw a blur of movement on the deck above the entrance to the large building. She rubbed the wound on her head, trying to get any blood out of her eyes. “This time you’re not coming back,” she venomously whispered.

With a burst of light she reappeared on the deck above. A shadowed figure appearing behind her and swinging a bat into the back of her head. But she expected this and spun, blocking the bat with her forehoof and letting the wood snap against it. A bright pink face with an obscenely large smile greeted her. “Ooh, nice reflexes.”

“This ends!” She threw a punch but the Pinkster doubled back, moving her hooves like she was dancing. Mare Do-Well punched and kicked again and again but she kept dodging expertly, humming to herself the entire time.

“You seriously even fight like her,” the Pinkster chuckled. “Up down up down left right left right punch kick throw.” Mare Do-Well attempted to grab her in a bear hug but she somehow ducked it and slid behind her. With a vicious grin Pinkster elbowed her in the back and sent her sprawling, cracking an eye lens on the ground. “You should really consider coming up with some moves of your own.”

Mare Do-Well snapped back to her feet, still a little bit woozy. “You think this is funny? Bringing the fight to a tall building, fire all around. Just like before!”

The Pinkster paused and looked at her surroundings. “Hey, what do you know? It is like before. Sorry, I honestly just wanted to blow up a building. I didn’t think it’d get so ironic up in here.”

Mare Do-Well felt her body shake with anger. “You just don’t care about anything, do you?”

Pinkster gave her a wide eyed look, a smile slowly creeping up her face. “And why should I? You think it all matters in the end? Whether I did the deed or that big blue stud did doesn’t matter. It was a death that was bound to happen. We live, we die. Might as well live it up while we can.” She threw her head back with laughter, flames licking at the floor beneath them.

“I have had enough of you!” Mare Do-Well pulled a crudely hoofmade firework from her suit and tossed it beneath Pinkster. The tall flames lit it and the short fuse exploded beneath her, turning the already weakened deckwood into splinters and sending her tumbling into the flames below. Mare Do-Well stood there breathing heavily for a long moment. Steadily, she walked closer to the hole she’d made. No way it had been that easy. But if she did succeed she needed to find out.

She reached the splintered wood, making sure not to put too much weight on it and fall in herself. She peered down into the roaring flames and felt the breath leave her as she spied a smoldering patch of a pink and purple pinstripe suit in the fire. It burned quickly, turning black and then to ash. Mare Do-Well pulled back and put a hoof over her mouth. She had really done it. She beat… no, she killed her.

She thought she would feel something. Pride, accomplishment, a sense of peace. But there was nothing. That pit in her heart was still there. Not one bit bigger and not one bit smaller. “What was it all for then?” she whispered.

Behind her, a now clothless pink mare crawled up from the side of the deck and lunged at her. She grabbed around her throat, laughing hysterically. “You are seriously no fun! You know that?”

“GET OFF!” Mare Do-Well shouted and tried to throw her off but the mare held her in a way that pinned her arms.

“What did you think was going to happen?” Pinkster hissed in her ear. “A big moment of relief? A tearful goodbye? That maybe killing me would bring some kind of finality to an otherwise pointless story? I’m still here. What does that tell you?”

“I said GET OFF!!” Mare Do-Well’s horn glowed bright and she shot her off with a pulse of magic. The spell tore up the mask even further and finally shattered the lenses in her eyes.

Pinkster was flung into the wall on the other side of the deck. She wobbled to her hooves and stared at the unicorn across from her. “Those eyes. Oh ho ho! Those eyes! Yes! I love it!” Mare Do-Well glared at the mare across from her with her violet eyes. The Pinkster waved her hoof for her to come at her. “Come on!”

Mare Do-Well screamed at the top of her lungs, pulling a makeshift shuriken she’d made in the library. She ran toward the pink mare who watched her approach with wide hungry eyes and open arms. Then she prepared to strike.

“Are you sure?” Applejack asked as her Rainbow pulled her along, helping her since she could barely walk. They were almost back to Ponyville, the town just within sight.

“That is the plan he conveyed,” she muttered. “I’m sorry I became a part of it.”

Applejack held her side in pain but her head hurt more. What she’d just heard sounded impossible.

“Applejack!” They both looked up to see a black winged figure fly down to meet them, carrying another Applejack.

“Rarity? Is that you?”

Rarity folded her wings and let her Applejack down. “Yes, we came when we saw the smoke.”

“Us too.”

“Hey!” They turned again to see two other ponies approach. Flutterbat at the head with some version of Rarity in armor trailing her.

“Glad to see you’re all alright,” Applejack stated as they convened around each other.

“I wouldn’t say that in a couple minutes,” her Rainbow murmured.

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked.

“She means we’ve got to get everypony together before its too late.”

They went as quickly as they could into town, thankfully finding their own Rainbow and Pinkie as well as Fluttershy and Matterhorn assisting the mane six of this world in the evacuation.

“What’s up, guys?” Rainbow said as they approached. “Woah, Rarity?”

“Yeah, yeah, we heard it,” Applejack interrupted. “Did you stop that fire?”

Pinkie shook her head. “Citizens needed to be treated first.”

“It’s pretty contained from what I saw,” Rainbow said.

“Where’s Mare Do-Well?” Flutterbat asked making everypony look around.

They all ran to the fire, each working together to quickly extinguish the flames. Several ran inside to check while the flyers flew above to look around. “Is she there?” Applejack shouted to those inside.

“No!” Pinkie shouted back. “At least I hope not! Everything’s burnt to a crisp!”

“I got her!” Rainbow shouted from above. They all looked up and saw her point to a deck right above the entrance of the burnt out building. Rainbow lighted down on the blackened wood and grabbed the mare before the structure collapsed under her weight. She flew her back down to the square and put down a pony wrapped in a large purple cape, everypony gathering around her. “I think she’s fine. Her cape was wrapped around her and it got most of the burns.”

Applejack pushed her way to the front. “Let me see!” She pulled back the cape.

@#$%^&*&^%$#@

Noteworthy looked almost dead. Nearly all of his mane had fallen out and his one eye was now bloodshot beyond belief. His mind had given up long ago but his body kept fighing and Ditzy was at her limits as well.

She fell to her knees as her magic finally gave out, the golden barrier she’d made sputtering and dying. “I can’t… I can’t keep fighting,” she muttered.

Noteworthy walked closer to her, still looking like he was fighing himself. Each step he took seemed to rattle the air around them making the cracks of light grow larger and larger. He screwed his eye shut, stopping his approach as he fought to talk once more. “Just… let it happen. I can protect… you.”

Ditzy looked back at the altar. It too was beginning to show cracks in the façade, light pouring from the spider like fractures. She kept hearing the voice calling for blood, but above it was another voice. One that only she could hear. One that was telling her what her last option was. She looked back to Noteworthy, an expression of unimaginable pain on her face. “No, but I can protect you.”

Ditzy turned and threw herself on the altar. Light erupted from it, blinding the cyclopean stallion and pushing him away. As the light spread, the cracks in the air began to seal themselves. When the light finally dimmed Noteworthy stood alone. He blinked to readjust his sight and looked around for Ditzy, but there was no sign of her. The voice spoke to him but he didn’t feel like he needed to listen anymore.

He saw the altar out in the open and felt a rush of panic. “Oh no. Oh nononono!” He ran to it and slammed his hooves against it. Another brilliant flash of light sent him reeling back, the altar unblemished and untouched. “No! It wasn’t supposed to be like this!”

He ran back to the altar and tried to hit it again and again, a magic more powerful than he could fathom blasting him back. “GIVE! HER! BACK!” His blows became weaker and he began to cry on the altar. “Or at least take me home…” There was the sound of movement from the trees behind him but he didn’t care. “JUST LET ME GO HOME!!”

Somepony laughed behind him. “Really? This is what it’s been about? A stallion with the power to control the cosmos brought to tears because he ‘wants to go home’.”

Noteworthy raised his head slowly and turned to face the mare. She was bright pink with ocean blue eyes and a smile to kill for. She wore no suit anymore, several burn marks over her body, but nonetheless worse for wear. “Leave me alone.”

Pinkster shrugged and sauntered over beside him. “You know what the problem with all this has been? No definite bad guy. Sure most of the mares here are only here for some petty reason. Revenge. Jealousy. Honor.” She blew a raspberry. “All boring! Even you turned out to be a complete wuss.”

Noteworthy gritted his teeth and grabbed the mare by the shoulders. “You don’t know anything about me!” He felt a slight pain in his chest and his eye went wide. The Pinkster’s smile widened.

“I know enough. I know you’re a facsimile of an antagonist. All the pathos is there but none of the flare.” She pushed a little harder on the “M” shaped shuriken in his chest bringing him to his knees and making him gasp. “Since the beginning you’ve done nothing to live up to your name. Mr. 4, huh? As in fourth wall? Yeah, I know stage lingo too. I know it a lot better than you ever could.”

Noteworthy could feel his limbs growing cold. How was this happening? He should be invincible. He looked to the voice to give him answers but it wasn’t there. “Who… are you?” he asked.

The Pinkster leaned in, her smile filling his vision, her breath like peppermints. “I’m the villain. You’re a mistake.” She planted a kiss on his lips and pulled the shuriken from his chest, light and color pouring from the wound. The light bathed her until her body seemed to vanish in it. When it finally disippated she stood proudly in a new suit, her burns and injuries gone.

“Well, how about that?” She spied Noteworthy’s body lying on the ground beside her. “Thanks for the ride, stud.” Her ears twitched and she looked up. “Huh, you’re a new one.” Her ears twitched again. “Get used to it, there’s a lot of voices in there and you’re gonna have to learn to share.” She slapped her hooves together and rubbed them excitedly. “Now, let’s see what we can really do!”

Mare Do-Well groaned as she awoke. The first thing she saw was sixteen familiar eyes staring down at her with baffled expressions. They were outside, the smoke gone from the blue sky. “What’s going…” Then she remembered. How she lost… again. Her vision started to become blurry and she rubbed her eyes. She stopped as she realized she was touching her bare face. Her mask! Where had it gone?

Applejack stepped forward holding a torn piece of fabric with two lenses. “Ah guess this is yours.” Mare Do-Well shot up and snatched the mask, but it was worthless. Her eyes darted around to everypony, who still regarded her with confused and worried expressions. “You should have told us the truth.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow stated. “I don’t mind.”

“Neither do I, darling,” said Rarity.

Flutterbat simply looked confused.

Pinkie frowned at her. “You didn’t need to be a part of this, so why?”

Trixie fondled the mask in her hooves, a tear falling and breaking against the cracked lense. “I just wanted to keep her memory alive a little longer.”

“I hate to break this up but what is that?!” One of the Rainbows pointed to the sky and they all followed her gaze. A giant planet seemed to appear in the atmosphere, the wind picking up in accordance. Suddenly another appeared, and another, and another. The wind was becoming unnaturally strong with each planet in the sky.

“What’s going on?” Twilight shouted.

“I… I don’t know!” Matterhorn shouted back.

Then the sky turned pink, or rather, something so impossibly large as to fill the horizon rose from the edge of vision and towered above each of the planets as they continuously arrived. Two massive ocean blue orbs rose as well followed by a set of gleaming white teeth.

“Oh, Faust, please no,” Trixie whispered.

The mouth opened and uttered a laugh that shook the heavens and blew back trees. With two enormous hooves it grabbed the planets at the edge and pushed forward crashing them against each other. They clashed like dominoes coming closer and closer to the planet everypony stood on.

“What do we do?!” One of the Pinkies shouted histerically. What was there to do?

Trixie watched as the end of world quickly approached. One thought rolling through her head. This was all her fault/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t/t…

The Mysterious Mare Do-Well

---<^^>---

“Fillies and gentlecolts! May I have your attention to the stage!”

Fireworks exploded in the night sky and the smell of popcorn and cotton candy pervaded the air. The patrons of Haylee’s Circus came for the tent show but they tended to stay for the stage. A barker got their attention as they exited the tent, children and adults smiling enthusiastically after a wonderful show. They congregated before a large brilliant wooden stage with ruby red curtains and gold lace. A purple unicorn walked alongside a young purple dragon as they exited the circus tent, only one of them wearing a smile. “That was so fun, Twilight!” the dragon shouted. “With the fire and the rings and the clowns!”

“Yup, nothing like a circus, Spike,” Twilight muttered.

“Everything okay?”

A popgun went off nearby and Twilight turned sharply to it reaching for her belt but nothing was there. She let a breath out. “No, I’m fine. Just been a while since I’ve had a day off.”

Spike smiled and friendfully elbowed her. “Can’t be a super serious vigilante all the time, can you?” She didn’t respond.

The barker continued. “The fun doesn’t stop with the tigers and acrobats, oh no! Here on Haylee’s world famous stage, you will find a show surpassing all others. It’s here you will find… THE GREAT AND POWERFUL LULAMOONS!!”

The curtain rose to reveal three ponies in wide brimmed hats and capes. Stars embroidered every inch of their oufits and they all flourished them at the same time, doing a simultaneous bow to the audience. The barker continued his spiel from the sidelines. “Hailing from parts unknown, Nocturne Lulamoon and his lovely wife and daughter, Spella and Trixie!”

Spike stopped at the edge of the crowd making Twilight stop as well. “I guess this is an after show,” he said.

Twilight tapped her hoof. “It’s already eleven o’clock, what show goes on this late?”

The three on stage bowed again before the father, a black stallion with a light blue mane, made a large cloth levitate to him from backstage. The daughter, a mare with a blue coat and silver mane, walked to center stage and smiled as he laid it over her. He waved his hoof over the cloth and then removed it to reveal she’d disappeared and been replaced by the mother, a mare with a coat similar in blue to the daughter but a white mane. The crowd applauded lightly until suddenly somepony at the front of the crowd jumped up on stage and threw off her clothes revealing her to be the daughter.

“Wow! That was amazing!”

Twilight looked down at him and shrugged. “It was some nicely timed teleportation.”

“Must you always be a stick in the mud?”

“I’m just-” She stopped as she noticed the mare with the silver mane start a new trick. Her horn glowed strongly as she set herself and managed to lift the entire audience. Even Twilight felt herself getting lifted up, though she applied her own spell and fell back down before the rest. “I didn’t even feel that,” she muttered under her breath.

They stayed for more of the show, watching as the three performed trick after astounding trick. Spike was simply pleased to watch but Twilight grew more interested in other things. The parents were good but the daughter had astounding capabilities. More than once, the parents would take credit for a trick when she knew it was the daughter that did most of the heavy lifting in their spells. She had to be the same age as her.

Close to the end of the show they put on a final act. The parents locked themselves in a box as the daughter stuck swords through set holes in it. A pretty standard trick with a standard ending until she opened the door to reveal they hadn’t left the box at all and were actually dodging the swords the whole time. They crawled out and took another bow. Even Twilight had to applaud them for that one, though she wished she could see more of the daughter.

Suddenly a loud snap caught everypony’s attention. Something thunked and one of the floodlights above the daughter went out. Twilight wasn’t able to act quick enough, but the parents who were on stage did. The daughter looked up just as the line holding the floodlight above snapped. With a swift push the two shoved her out of the way and off the stage, just as the light crashed where they were now standing. Shouts and cries of horror rang out and ponies ran in panic. They emptied out fast leaving only Twilight, the daughter, and the leftover spotlights standing over what remained.

Police arrived ten minutes later. Spike said he’d felt sick after the show and left but Twilight decided to stick around. She blended into the shadows as she watched the investigation unfold.

The bodies had been taken away and the daughter simply sat on the back of a wagon staring out into the middle distance. Twilight had seen that look before, in the mirror every day. The look of a lost soul tossed into the world not knowing what to do. Commisioner Applejack stood off to the side and talked with her CSI. They listened to them closely from behind the corner of a wagon. “Paramedics called it on arrival,” the CSI stated. “Their necks were broken by the falling light.”

“Damn.” Applejack stuck a cinnamon stick in her mouth and chewed. “Hell of a time to quit. Any sign of foul play?”

“Bolts were tight enough on the rafters. Might have just been the age. It’s a pretty old set of lights.”

Applejack nodded. “Yeah, hope you don’t mind if Ah get a second opinion?”

“From who?” She just shrugged and left as the space where Twilight had once hidden was now empty.

Twilight returned there a little later that night in her work clothes. Silently, like a spider she crawled up the taped off rafters of the stage and took a closer look at the bolts that held the spotlight.

The barker sat in his wagon nervously tapping his hoof. The events of the night refusing him sleep. The light of the moon illuminated the wall he stared at until a dark caped figure overshadowed it. He gasped and turned only to find her already inside the wagon. “Talk,” she stated bluntly, pushing him into the wall. “Those bolts were rescrewed after the light fell.”

“How do you-”

“Rust shavings are sprinkled everywhere. Only a third of the bolts are clean metal meaning they were just recently screwed in to the head. Before that they stuck out. So talk!”

The barker trembled before her then fell to his knees and put his head in his hooves. “I didn’t know they’d go that far. All they wanted was protection money, there’s hundreds of regular places in Pony City to hassle why go so far with a traveling circus?”

She got up in his face, her purple mask and wide brimmed hat filling his vision. “Give me a name.”

Trixie sat in the police department, a cup of cocoa in her hooves, though she didn’t drink it. Her hat sat by her side laying half on and half off her leg, like the comforting hand of a felt companion. By now nopony was paying attention to her. Her case had been recorded and they’d get back to her when they had anything, but she was expected to find somewhere to go. She couldn’t go back to the circus. She didn’t want to. She wanted something else. She just wished she knew what that was.

A tap from the nearest window drew her out of her thoughts and she turned to see the image of a disappearing cape. This got her attention and she finally got up. She left the police department, exiting into a deserted alley. The door swung closed behind her revealing a masked purple figure in the shadows. “Do you want to know what really happened?”

She turned to the figure, her heart skipping a beat. But something inside her filled her with a new drive as she looked at the mare before her. “Yes.”

“Then follow me.” With a rush of her cape she leapt over her and began to run. She took off after her.

The run was long and arduous. The caped mare able to jump and dodge and climb in such fascinating ways, but Trixie kept up. In fact, it filled her with a new sensation. This running and flipping and leaping through the city making her heart beat a little faster and the pain a little number. At times she even thought she saw the masked mare looking back to check on her and smiling under her mask at the fact that she was catching up.

They ended on the roof of a small building just across from a sleazy looking restaurant. “Are you going to tell me why I’m here now?” Trixie asked.

The mare pointed below just as a plain looking pony with a toothpick in his mouth exited the restaurant. Four others flanked him, big and tough looking. “Meet the pony that killed your parents.”

Her blood ran cold. She stepped up to the ledge to get a better view and looked down. Had she even seen this pony before? Why was he the one responsible?

As if listening to her thoughts the mare answered her question. “He runs a protection racket here in Pony City. Threatens to run businesses out of town if they don’t pay him. Connections to several mob families. Haylee’s Circus was one of his latest conquests but the owner wouldn’t pay up.”

Trixie dug her hooves into the rooftop gravel and clenched her teeth. “I don’t understand.”

The mare walked up to her and looked down beside her. “It’s a hard thing to understand. But if you ever want to, you need to take that first step.” Without another word she took a step off the roof and let her cape glide her down. She spun in the air and kicked one of the big thugs in the teeth knocking him into the wall. The rest reeled on her.

“Crap! It’s the Mare!” A thug swung his hoof but she ducked and delivered a one-two to his chest before an uppercut to his jaw that put him on his back. Trixie watched the fight unfold. The movements of the caped mare, flowing and graceful like a ballet, yet hard and fast like a storm. She got that feeling in her gut again. That feeling of something she wanted but couldn’t put a name to. She could now. She wanted control. The kind of control of one’s life the mare showed. The kind of control that would ensure nothing like this ever happened to her again.

The last two tried to attack the mare from both sides but she grabbed one by the arm and threw him into the other. They landed in a heap on the pavement. Just then a silent, recently toothless figure tried to sneak up from behind and grab her. One of the thugs had gotten back up. Before she could turn around to retaliate though, Trixie teleported in and grabbed the thug’s leg. With a yell of effort, she pulled his leg until he toppled over, smashing his head against the door and effectively knocking him out. She stood there breathing heavily as she amazed herself at what she’d just done. “It’s not over yet,” the mare whispered.

The sound of hoofsteps running away reached her ears and she looked up to see the mare throw a bola rope from her belt. It wrapped around the legs of the last pony, the plain looking one that tried to escape. He fell with a thud and they both walked over to him. The fall had dazed him enough that he barely struggled when they arrived and pushed him onto his back.

Trixie just stared wide eyed at him, breathing heavily. She looked with confusion at the mare who simply stood by and watched. “Now what?”

“Now it’s your decision. You decide what to make of him.”

She looked back at the stallion. Just some no name stallion had taken everything from her simply because of… what? What was the reason her parents had to die? The mare told her what to make of him, did that mean she decided the punishment. If so she could only think of one. She lifted her hoof above his head, preparing to bring it down.

“I know that kind of anger,” she interjected. “I understand it. So that’s why I can respect your choice at this juncture.” Trixie looked at the mare pleadingly, her hoof trembling above the prone pony. “But that choice comes with consequences. Do that and you make him into an example. An example for others to be afraid of. An example for you to convince yourself your right. But take the other choice and you make him something he can never influence or come back from.”

Trixie gritted her teeth and let her mane hang in front of her eyes as tears welled up. “Just tell me!”

“You make him nothing.”

Trixie fought back her tears and nodded weakly, finally starting to understand. She lowered her hoof and turned from them both. “I want him to pay for his crimes.”

“That’s what I’m here for.” The pony moaned as he was coming to but Trixie kicked out her back leg and snapped it against his head knocking him unconscious again. She smiled slightly as she began to walk away.

“Hey!” the mare called out again and she turned. A small card flew at her and she caught it, looking at the number and address written there. “There’s a library there. The librarian is pretty nice. She can help you get your life back together, if you want.”

Trixie was about to decline but she looked back at the card and slipped it into her mane. “I’ll give it a try, thanks.”

---<^^>---

“You wanna what?” Spike asked as he tried to balance a stack of books while he scooted along the shelves on the rolling ladder.

Trixie walked alongside him, her magic making sure he didn’t spill anything. “I want to go out with Twilight. I want to fight crime with her.”

Spike looked down at her questioningly. “Twilight does this whole Mare Do-Well thing because she has some issues to work out.”

Trixie smirked at him. “And I don’t?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “I didn’t say that, you did. Anyway, why do you even want to? Isn’t working at the library fun enough?” He waved his arm at all the rows of books, his voice echoing off the large walls. A shush came from somewhere and he lowered his volume. “The point being, just because Twilight does it doesn’t mean you have to.”

“But I want to, Spike. And not just because I want to fight crime but also… well…”

Spike sighed. “You want to help Twilight.”

Trixie blushed slightly. “She helped me get something back I never thought I’d find again. I just want to thank her for that.”

Spike bit his lip and slid to the bottom of the ladder. He placed the books on a table and looked back and forth conspiratorially. “Okay, maybe I’ve been working on a little something in my down time. But she asks, you didn’t get this from me.” Trixie raised an eyebrow and smiled conspiratorially.

Twilight was fighting a platoon of goons in a warehouse on the wharf. She interrupted them as they were attempting to fill balloons of all shapes and colors with a strange gas and distribute them through vendors on the street. She already knew who was behind it. Who else could it be? Though there didn’t seem to be any sign of the culprit around.

Two goons ran at her and she flipped horizontally in the air, wrapping her legs and her arms around their necks. With a loud grunt she forced them down and forward smashing their faces into the floor. “Bring the cannon around!” one of them shouted.

She got up just in time to see several goons on a metal railing laugh as they lit the wick. She’d have to teleport if she wanted to get out of range, but she was already feeling pretty low on magic. May just have to see how the dragon scale mesh in her cape holds up.

Suddenly a glowing blue stick flew out of nowhere and lodged itself in the cannon’s mouth. The goons looked confused as the explosives inside the cannon went off still inside and hurled them from the railing. Twilight moved to save them from falling to their deaths but several ropes shot out from the roof and wrapped around their hooves slowing their descent.

“I got it!” came a voice. Twilight looked up at the skylighted ceiling and saw a hooded figure in dark blue wave to her. A horn glowed from beneath her hood, illuminating a blue face mask like her own, and the blue stick flew back up to her. She caught it and neatly sheathed it behind her back. Twilight simply narrowed her eyes at the new arrival. “What?” She just kept angrily staring. “What?!”

The sound of police sirens were not far out. “Let’s go somewhere to talk. Privately,” Twilight said with an air of disapproval.

“Isn’t it neat?” Trixie laughed as they both flipped onto a deserted rooftop. “The hood is reinforced nylon and the sticks are made of-”

“What are you thinking?” Twilight asked her.

Trixie stopped. “I’m going to help.”

“No, you’re not.” Twilight’s words had a finality to them and she tried to walk away from the conversation.

Trixie frowned and got in her way. She removed the mask and hood. “Hate to break it to you but I’m an adult just like you, I can do whatever I want.”

Twilight huffed. “And you think risking your life is what you want to do?”

“What I want to do is help you fight crime.”

“And what if you get hurt or worse?”

“You often get hurt or worse! I can’t count how many times I’ve seen you get some injury I’m sure is going to end you when you’re back up in a day or two! At least with me here, you’ll have another pony to watch your back.”

“You’re unprepared.”

“Then prepare me.”

Twilight let out an aggravated sigh and threw up her hooves. “Do you even get why I do this?”

Trixie suddenly became serious. “To make sure nothing like what happened to us happens to anypony else.” Twilight was silent. “I know you don’t like to talk about it, but I hear a lot of it anyway. I mean you are pretty famous around town. It’s not like I don’t understand why you picked me out that night and took me on that run. You saw something in me that was the same as you. More than just eye color, we have the same goals. I want to share the same goals as you.”

Twilight took a slow breath and let it out. “Probationary basis.”

“Yes.”

“You go on missions with me only until I say so.”

“Yes!”

“You listen to everything I say.”

“…yes.”

Twilight looked her in the eye before sighing once more and rolling her head with a laugh. “Fine, let’s go. By the way, let Spike know he is in so much trouble for giving you that suit.” Trixie chuckled as they walked to the ledge of the building and prepared to jump. “By the way, you have a name in mind?”

“Oh yeah,” Trixie replaced her mask and flipped the hood up. She glanced at the suit then looked at the light of the moon showing down on them. “How about Nightrix?”

---<^^>---

Twilight kneeled at the edge of a building, spying her quarry through binoculars. She heard the sound of somepony alighting the rooftop behind her and she heard the familiar sound of Trixie’s cape. She started talking without turning around. “Nightrix, good you’re here. The number of crooks is larger than I thought and we may need more hooves.”

“Ahem.” Twilight turned as Trixie cleared her throat. She went deadpan as she turned to see a smaller mare stood beside Trixie, this one in a clearly homemade stitched together black suit like Mare Do-Well’s. A blue “M” adorned her chest and she wore a domino mask that completely failed to hide her apple red mane and yellow coat. Trixie rubbed the back of her head shamefully.

“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Mare Do-Well!” she announced trying but failing to hide her recognizable accent.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at Trixie. “What is the commisioner’s sister doing here?”

The mare blushed profusely. “Commisioner’s what? AH… Ah mean ‘I’ don’t know what you’re ‘talking’ about.”

“I caught her following me two miles back on Mattress Mile. I thought I’d lost her but she just kind of showed up right after me.”

She managed to follow Trixie without being spotted? Twilight turned to her. “Miss Apple Bloom I’m going to need you to leave. Now.”

Apple Bloom’s blush deepened. “O-Okay you got me… Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight and Trixie flinched. “It didn’t take a miracle to figure out, though Ah am pretty smart. Ah’m also strong and fast. Mah sister has me in twenty different personal defense classes and Ah even managed to beat a lot of mah teachers. Ah swear Ah won’t tell a soul, Ah just want to be a help to you!”

Trixie leaned in to whisper to Twilight. “What do we do with her?”

Twilight looked back at the room full of crooks she was dreading facing alone, then back to Apple Bloom. “If just one thing goes wrong, you run. Got it?” Apple Bloom nodded ecstatically.

Trixie elbowed Twilight with a smile. “Gotten a little easier to accept help since me, huh?”

Twilight simply grumbled as she stepped onto the ledge. “Yeah, just don’t push your luck.”

Trixie burst into the hospital, nearly kicking down the door. She breathed heavily as she ran up the stairs to the intensive care unit. She found the room she was looking for and tried to calm down before entering. But she was still trembling as she opened the door. A nurse was still in the room looking over the patient who lay motionless with her eyes closed. Her back legs sprouted from under the white bed sheet, a small tray of needles beside it.

Trixie walked up to the edge of the bed, the sound of the hospital machines beeping around her. The mare in the bed was struggling to breathe, her red mane frazzled and yellow coat slick with sweat. “How is she?” she asked the nurse.

“She’s lucky the shrapnel from the blast only pierce her lower back. Any higher up and…” The nurse paused as she bit her lip. “She’s stable enough to talk so I’ll give you two a moment.” With that she left the room.

Apple Bloom’s eyes fluttered open and she caught sight of Trixie. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Trixie tried to gulp down the emotions threatening to burst for her friend.

“Twilight was here. Did she find mah sister?” Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Please tell me she found her! Ah don’t know what that maniac would…” The machines began to beep faster as her heart rate increased.

Trixie put a calming hoof on her chest. “It’s alright. Twilight found her. Applejack’s safe.”

Apple Bloom seemed to calm down. “That’s good.” She blinked wearily and looked at her motionless back legs at the foot of the bed. “Ah guess Ah’m not gonna be swingin’ from rooftops any time soon, huh?” She began to laugh weakly but it slowly turned into tears as she reached out for Trixie.

She pulled her into a hug and let the mare cry softly into her shoulder. All Trixie could think about was her anger though.

“Why?” she asked Twilight when they were alone in the cave below Pony City Library. “Why is that monster still out there breathing?”

Twilight removed her hat as she began to disrobe. “She’s in custody.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it!” Trixie’s voice was harsh and made Twilight pause in front of the glass case she’d put her outfit in. “Look, I get the rules. I really do. Make them mean nothing, I’ve heard it before. But Pinkster is different. I can’t just dismiss her when everything she’s done and keeps on doing affects so many. And now it’s hit one of our own! You can’t seriously stand there and tell me it doesn’t affect you!”

Twilight slammed her hoof into the glass case, a spider web crack showing up on it. “Of course it affects me! I hate seeing ponies I love abused or hurt like this. And what happened to Apple Bloom… I can never forgive myself for that.”

Trixie frowned deeply as she contemplated Twilight’s words. “Then let’s break the rule. Just this once. It should only apply to ponies that are capable of being saved anyway. Pinkster is too far gone. She lives for the thrill of hurting others. There’s nothing worth anything in that.”

Twilight pulled herself away from the glass case and looked Trixie in the eye. “And what happens when you make that decision for somepony else. Say, Two-Mane or Scarecrone. Hell, what about the pony that killed your parents?”

“Don’t say that.”

“It needs to be said or nopony will say it. One bad decision will lead down a terrifying road. You make the choice to take on all the evil of the world yourself and you’ll end up finding in yourself what you always hated.” Trixie slapped her across the face, scowling at her. Twilight rubbed her cheek lightly.

“How can you have any idea what will happen? You’re not all knowledgeable!”

“That’s why I have you.” Trixie drew back. “Before you I worked alone. Every night these questions came to me and every night I fought with them until my basic sense of morality barely won out. But something different happens when you have someone else beside you. You can talk about these things. You can discuss them and become an outlet for each other. Working with you I learned that I don’t need to keep my feelings bottled up. So yes, I want to hurt her. I want to subject her to every depraved thing she’s ever done to somepony else. But I don’t. Because you’re there to stop me. Just like I’m here to stop you.”

Trixie felt a shouting match bubble at the back of her throat but she held it back and instead felt tears well up instead. She turned to her own glass dome and pushed it over, smashing it to the ground. Without a word she left the cave.

Spike entered as she left, surprised to see Trixie so angry. “Is she going to be okay?”

“She’ll be fine,” Twilight replied. “She needs to be.”

---<^^>---

Silt rained down from the roof of the library as another explosion sounded not too far away. The place was huge and sturdy so most ponies had been relocated here while the attack went on in the city outside. Several ponies worked to nail boards onto the windows while Spike walked around handing out blankets to any refugees that needed it. From a small corner of the library he heard the familiar sound of a hidden wall opening up then closing, Twilight running in from down the hall.

She spotted Spike immediately, a rattled look on her face. “Spike! Have you seen her?”

Spike knew who she was talking about but shook his head. “I don’t think she came. Do you think she could be in another bunker?”

Twilight cursed under her breath. “Her costume’s gone.” Spike’s eyes went wide. “I’m going after her.”

Spike grabbed her arm before she could leave. “There’s an alien invasion out there! Even you can’t handle that.”

“And what do you think she’s doing?” she shot back. “Damn it, Trixie.”

Trixie felt her rib crack as she was sent catapulting into a railing. Her head lobbed over the side and for a brief moment she saw how high up she was. She had made her way up to the tallest tower in Pony City. Fires were erupting all over the town. Green portals and nightmarish creatures filling the sky. She had come here attempting to find the leader of this invasion and put an end to this, but instead she got more than she bargained for.

A large hammer swung down on where she lay and she rolled out of the way. It landed with a crunch, flattening the metal railing like breadsticks. “Oh, come on! It’s no fun if you move around!” Pinkster grinned viciously at her as she pulled her hammer back and approached once more.

“I have had enough of this farce, child,” Darkclyde, in his impenetrable dark blue armor, announced as he stood in the center of the roof. He pointed to Pinkster. “You promised me a pony worthy of a fight, yet all I see is a pale blue soldier of tin.”

Pinkster shouldered her hammer and shrugged. “Oh, don’t worry. If this girl is close, no doubt she’ll be along shortly. Plus, we kind of have this thing going. Bitter Rivals. Hero and villain, you get the gist. She’ll be here.”

Trixie used her magic to pull out her batons and spun them at Pinkster. They decked the mare in the chest and jaw putting her on her back. Trixie jumped on top of the mare, holding her movements down. “Your world is under attack and the first thing you do is turn traitor?” she asked the trickster.

Pinkster grinned at her. “I’m an opportunist. I take what I can get. Like this.” She reached her hoof over Trixie’s head and planted something on her back. She tried to get it off but whatever it was had already activated. A large oversized balloon expanded quickly behind her and lifted her off the ground.

“No!” Trixie scraped her hooves against the ground but she couldn’t catch a grip. Her hooves were able to catch the railing just before the winds carried her off the edge of the building.

She held on as tight as she could, unable to do anything as Pinkster sauntered closer to her, twirling her hammer in her hooves. “This has been fun, really. But I’m getting tired of waiting. Let’s hope the Mare notices this.” She pointed at the balloon and Trixie saw that it had a large comicallty styled “M” on it.

Trixie narrowed her eyes at the madmare. “You’re insane.”

She gave her a cute small smile and batted her eyelashes. “Aren’t we all in our own horrible ways?” Then she lifted the hammer to smash her face in.

A shuriken buzzed by, slicing Pinkster’s hoof and making her yelp as she dropped her hammer. She turned toward the source with a growing smile while Darkclyde simply turned his eyes. Standing on the railing on the other side of the roof was a mare decked in purple with a wide brimmed hat and mask. “Is this your champion?” Darkclyde asked.

Pinkster made a low chuckle. “Oh yes.”

Trixie caught Twilight’s eyes as she looked into hers. She wanted to say her name. To tell her what was going on and to help her but all she could think about was what Twilight had told her about taking things on by herself. She did just that and she had failed. “Mare Do-Well I-” Before she could finish though, Twilight hurled another shuriken. This one slapped Trixie on her hooves and made her let go, the wind picking up and carrying her off. “NO!!”

She quickly flew out of earshot as she saw Twilight approach the giant armored stallion, his eyes aglow with red fire. Her course put a building in her way, obscuring her view before she could see what unfolded. Grabbing a shuriken of her own she started to cut at the part of the balloon tying her up. She sawed back and forth but the material was sturdy. An explosive wave of pressure emanated from the rooftop, shattering the glass of all the buildings close by and pushing her even further from the fight, sailing downward. “I need to get back! I need to help!”

After the explosion something amazing happened. In the sky, the monsters began to disappear. The green portals began to swallow up their horrid legions like some kind of recall. Had she done it? Did she actually beat that enormous monster of a stallion? “Twilight…”

Then the rooftop exploded. A massive fireball rose from the tallest point in the city. Trixie stopped trying to cut the balloon and reached out her hooves in vain. “NOOOOOOO!!!!”

With one last angry swipe of the shuriken, the balloon cut open and exploded above her. The force hit her in the head and she spun recklessly in the air, falling, falling until everything went black.

“It’s fun not knowing what comes next.” Trixie blinked and found herself floating in an empty blackness, a familiar voice echoing in the void. “But it’s even more fun to not know what comes before. I always loved imagining up new and interesting origins for myself. Sometimes it’s one way, sometimes another.”

“Twilight?” she groaned.

“But no matter what story I think up, it always makes me laugh.” Spotlights shined down from seemingly nowhere illuminating the world around her. She was sitting on a roller coaster, the bar pulled tight against her chest, unable to escape. “Your story makes me laugh too.”

The coaster lurched forward and a haunting calliope song began to play as doors shaped like teeth parted ways and bid her enter into a dark room. She fought to escape but it felt like her entire bottom half was numb, incapable of moving. “Please, keep all hooves inside the ride at all times.”

The coaster dipped into the dark, gaining speed and flipping her mane back as she rocketed deeper and deeper. “Get… me… off!” she tried to scream, but the force of the wind threw her own words back at her.

“But we’ve just gotten started!” the voice replied. “After all, you’ve wanted to see what happened, right? How your hero overcame all odds? Let’s take a look from another persepective.”

A door opened up ahead letting in a flood of light as the coaster decelerated through. When it exited, Trixie found herself floating in the coaster above the scene she had just remembered. Twilight forced her to escape while Darkclyde approached, menace in his eyes.

This time she saw it all. Twilight dodged the eye beams, using the same trick as she did on Aklopolips. She got in close to the dark god and did a flurry of punches, planting bombs across his body as she did. They exploded, doing little damage to the massive beast but distracting him long enough for her grab one of Trixie’s lost batons and slam it into his head. The electricity coursing through it was an added touch but it still looked like the stallion would not go down. He glared at her angrily and blasted his eyebeams once more. Twilight ran and dodged but this time ran toward Darkclyde. She jumped off his chest, flipping over the beam as it flew toward her and letting it hit him in the chest. His armor exploded and he stumbled back. Then grabbing the baton once more she shouted as she drove the stick into the recently made hole pushing it into his chest and delivering the rest of the electric charge directly into him.

Yet still Darkclyde didn’t look like he would go down. That was when a pink blur jumped up behind him, driving two knives into his fiery eyes. The dark god screamed as he stumbled back. Trixie saw Twilight’s eyes widen as she pushed a little harder on the baton, driving it deeper into his chest until it hit something buried deep within his armor. A shimmery aura surrounded him for a brief second as sparks flew and a shockwave blasted out around him. Every portal the wave hit began to reverse and the pegademons were sucked back up. Even Darkclyde, who looked like he could either be dead or just unconscious, was sucked back up into the portals. After a minute or two they all disappeared, the sky finally clear.

Twilight fell to her knees, out of breath. Her mask was getting torn in places and her mouth was visible. The Pinkster on the other hand jumped up and down excitedly. “That was a fun! What ride, eh? Nice use of teamwork in the end.”

Twilight got back to her hooves, breathing heavily as she pointed the baton at her. “You… are coming with me.”

Pinkster gave her a smug smile. “Still the brilliant hero. That’s what I love about you. You want to keep fighting? I can keep fighting.”

Twilight simply stared at her. “Why are you like this?”

Pinkster laughed. “Because it’s fun!” She spread her hooves wide taking in the still burning city around her. “Death is forever so we might as well enjoy each and every day like its our last.”

“And this is your version of enjoyment?”

“It’s my version of a good time. Give me a bag of kittens and an alligator and I’ll show you enjoyment.”

Twilight hung her head. “I used to think you just needed help. That something had happened to you to make you like this. Something awful. But that’s not the case is it?”

Pinkster blinked at her. “Something happened to make me like this? This is who I am! You’re the hero, I’m the villain! The sooner you understand that the sooner our story can progress and we can get to the fighting.”

Twilight looked up at her, then dropped the baton. “No, not anymore.” She turned to leave.

“Hey, where are you going? We’ve got an epic set up here! Tall building! Fires everywhere! Let’s fight!”

She stopped and looked back at her. “I’m not a part of your story.”

Pinkster looked at her with wide shocked eyes. Then for the first time, her smile vanished. “You don’t get to WALK AWAY!” She pulled two playing cards from her suit and threw them like shurikens.

Twilight dodged but didn’t notice a gas pipe right in the way of the cards. They sliced through it, creating a leak and with the rising fire in the air that made for a bad combination. “Get down!” Twilight shouted as she ran back to the Pinkster and grabbed her in her cape. The pipe exploded, the force of the blast sending them flying off the side of the building. They tumbled through the air together as they fell.

“No! This is even better!” Pinkster shouted hysterically. She wrapped her arms around Twilight’s neck, grappling the mask and it slipped off, along with the hat. Twilight and the Pinkster looked at each other, the Pinkster’s eyes widening before grinning like a madmare. “The librarian?! That’s brilliant!”

Twilight grabbed Pinkster by the shoulders, struggling to get out of her grip. “We’re both going to die if we don’t do something!”

“No! This works! This is perfect! A climactic end!” Twilight pulled a string on her belt and her cape stiffened and stretched becoming a parachute. Still they were falling too fast. Pinkster spotted the parachute and began to kick it. “That’s too cliché! It’s got to be like this!” They were fast approaching the fire.

Twilight looked at the flames below and then at the mare trying everything she could to get there. “I’m not giving you what you want.” She unclasped her belt and reattached it around Pinkster’s waist while she was distracted. Pinkster was so surprised she didn’t even notice as Twilight kicked her arms off of her, making her let go. She fell as Pinkster’s descent slowed and her form disappeared in the fire.

“NOOOOO!!!!!” Trixie shouted as loud as she could and struggled against her seat but the coaster remained firm, floating just above in the air. She watched as the Pinkster struggled in vain with the belt, unable to get it off as she cursed and cursed. Finally, she just gave up, her arms falling limply to her sides. “Why? Why did she do it?”

“To spite me,” the voice returned and the scene went dark, the coaster moving again. “It was love at first fight. We were made for each other. Pretty little enemies. But she had to go and spoil it by making the ‘ultimate sacrifice’.” She said the word mockingly.

The spotlights came back on revealing the world around her. It was a long corridor with a vaulted ceiling, pictures of Mare Do-Well plastered everywhere with decorative frames. “But that sacrifice means nothing now. I was in such a rut until I’d heard you took the mantle. Put me in good spirits again! And now that I’m… wait for it…” Two large majestic oak doors opened at the end of the corridor leading into a grand throne room with a ceiling that was so high she couldn’t see the top. “RULER OF REALITY! I can bring her back and we can be happy again!” Pinkster sat atop an enormous throne with gold and red trimming, a cartoonish looking royal crown on her head and a flowing red cape with white fur frills that trailed down a set of marble steps.

Trixie felt her heart drop into her stomach. “I… You…”

“Hush.” Trixie hushed. Pinkster tapped her hooves together excitedly as she sat on the edge of her throne. “I think your going to like what I have planned. I made sure to find places for all of you in it. I hope you like your new accomodations.” The coaster glided past the throne and began to enter another dark room. “So long, Nightrix! And if I don’t see you again? Rest in pieces.”

“NO!” The darkness consumed her and Trixie threw her arms forward only to hit something hard. She wasn’t in the coaster anymore, but there was something holding her. She darted her eyes around, the barest hint of light showing that she was in some kind of box. She began to hyperventilate as she slammed all four limbs against the top. Gradually the wooden lid broke and finally she reached her hoof through it, up through dirt until she felt air.

She pawed around the ground trying to get a firm grasp and began to pull herself up. She poked her head through and breathed in a large gulp of air before pulling the rest of her body out. She lay on the ground looking up into a blank night sky. No stars in sight. Trying to hold back her emotions she rolled her head to the side and saw a field of gravestones, one in particular where she’d been buried. “HERE LIES THE FALSE MARE DO-WELL, AND SO TO HER WE BID FARE WELL.”

Trixie gritted her teeth and lay her head back on the dirt. “It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault.”

Sounds startled her and she lifted her weary head to see more hooves sticking out of the ground and scraping at the dirt. Trixie began to panic and tried to get up but her body didn’t listen to her. All her strength was nearly gone.

Ponies with rotting flesh and hair falling out rose from their graves around her and trudged closer and closer making eerie moans. They gathered around her as she covered her face. She had nothing to fight with, nothing she could do. This was the end. The zombies leaned their heads in to attack.

“WAHOO!!” A flash of light caught her eye as a blade swung through three zombie heads and cleaved them in half. Whoever wielded the sword continued to swing and slash until all the zombies had fallen or were decaptitated.

Trixie looked around wearily, first spotting the sword. “Applejack?”

“Afraid not, everyone’s favorite waifu.” She struggled to raise her head and saw her savior, a pony in a deep red and black suit with a face mask and white eye holes. He slid katana he carried back into a sheath on his back then held out his hoof to help her up. “Come with me if you want to live.”

Trixie stared at him in disbelief until another figure pushed past him, glaring at the stallion. “Honestly, the manners of a braindead chimp!” His coat was tan and his mane brown, a collar around his neck and a bowtie. He looked down at her with kind eyes and held out his hoof as well. “I assure you miss Lulamoon, we’re here to help.”

Trixie didn’t know what to believe, but she didn’t really have a choice. She took his hoof and he helped her up. “Who are you?”

“You can call me the Doctor,” the stallion replied. “Now let’s hurry. There’s not a moment to waste.”

He pulled her along as they ran through the graveyard, the stallion in red slashing happily at any remaining zombies. “And who are you?”

“A well loved cameo!” he replied.

They stopped at a big blue box, the Doctor urging her inside. “So we’re just going to hide? Can that even fit us?”

The Doctor grinned and waved his hoof. “Prepare to be surprised.” He opened the door, a light spilling forth. Trixie looked at the inside in amazement, giving a quizzical look to the Doctor before heading in. The Doctor was next, stopping at the door to call back to the red stallion. “Are you coming or not?”

He pulled his katana out of a zombie brain and waved the juices off. There was still a veritable horde behind him. “Yeah, yeah, hold your horses.” He snickered and ran to the box.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Oh ha ha, very mature.” He closed the door behind him, the box giving off a large wail as it began to fade in and out of existence before disappearing entirely.

THE END

===SS===

“Sunset, are you okay?” Sunset shook her head as she tried to understand what she’d just heard. She and Flash were at the dance, trying to have a good time all the while hearing the story in her head going on. And now it said it was finished?

“That makes no sense,” she muttered. “Why are you-” She looked and saw that Flash as well as a few others were staring at her. “Um, excuse me, I need to go use the ladies room.”

She ran into the bathroom and leaned against the sink as she looked in the mirror. “The End? Are you kidding me? And how can it be the end if I can still hear you, you stupid voice!” She let out an aggravated sigh and began to pace. “There’s still so much unanswered! Where did Ditzy and Noteworthy come from? What’s the big… ‘thing’ he kept talking to? Why was Suntrix there? Did she have anything to do with anything? And what about Rainbow’s speed powers? What happened to those, huh? In fact, where did everypony go? …I mean ‘everybody’. Damn it.” Nothing came in answer.

She rubbed her eyes as she looked in the mirror. She had replaced her glasses with contacts and even got a new red dress for this party. She wanted to have fun, not argue with herself about something that probably didn’t even matter. Her hand brushed against her bangs and she felt her lightning shaped scar on her forehead. Was this all happening because of who she was? The Girl Who Lived.

She locked eyes with herself in the mirror and frowned. “What was my point in the story?”

I WouLD LiKe TO kNOw As wEll

Her reflection suddenly changed, the image of a giant yellow eye taking over her face. Sunset screamed and pulled back but the mirror image actually reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her in. Her screams went silent and the mirror rippled for a moment before settling back into place.

A moment later there was a knock at the door. “Sunset? You okay? I know this is the girls room but I’m coming in anyway.” Flash opened the door slowly peeking in. “I’m worried about y-” He stopped as he noticed the room deserted. He looked around but saw nothing. As he panned around he laid eyes on the mirror and shouted in shock as he saw his own face with one giant eye. He blinked once and the image was gone. “What the hell was that?”

Epilogue

“Hey,” A stallion in futuristic maroon armor with his faced covered in a visored helmet against the cold, turned to an orange armored one as they stood on the top of an icy lookout. The orange stallion turned to acknowledge him. “You ever wonder why we’re here?”

“That’s one of life’s great mysteries, isn’t it?” the orange stallion replied. “Are we individual beings with free will to dictate our lives as we see fit? Or are we just ancillary characters in some hackneyed story orchestrated by a cruel and pointless god? …I don’t know man. But it keeps me up at night.”

They stood in silence for a moment. “What?” the maroon one asked. “I meant why are we freezing our asses off out here when we could be down below by the fire?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah, sure let’s do that.”

They walked in awkward silence to the metal lift set up by their lookout. The orange one pressed a button and the steel rope pulleys crackled to life flaking off the built up ice around it. The maroon soldier looked to him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Huh? Oh, no. No, it’s fine.”

They stood in awkward silence again as the lift descended slowly down the giant ice shelf. “But seriously, why are we here? I mean, we’ve got a red base, those guys on the east have a blue base and all we’re doing is staying put watching some giant frozen wall to make sure that nothing comes crawling out from behind it.”

“Not nothing, dude,” the orange soldier replied. “You don’t believe in Windigoes?”

The maroon soldier waved his hoof dismissively. “That’s just an old mare’s tale.”

“I don’t know. My dad told me about them when I was young. Spirits of ice and snow, he called them. He said they freeze you to death and then seep into your skin and turn it white. Then they walk around in you like a zombie.”

“White? Walking? Now I know your full of shit.”

The lift stopped and they reached the base of the enormous ice wall, stretching out in both directions for miles on end. They proceeded to a large bonfire warming themselves. “You just keep saying that until one of those things kills you dead.”

“That’s redundant.”

“Exactly!”

A brief spark of light exploded in the sky not too far and they covered their eyes. They turned from the fire and the wall to the vast countryside laid out below them. “Fireworks down there,” the maroon soldier noted. “Must be a party.”

High above them dangling from the sky was an enormous disco ball. The facets of which flared with every light and color imaginable as it reflected the explosions of color and light around it. The sky was completely black except for the constant explosions of soundless fireworks. Below was a patchwork of cities, buildings and landscapes. Hilly areas rose and fell before giving way immediately to towering skyscrapers. Small towns rested precariously on the sides of large mountains and even an enormous desert in the far distance. The ground was every shade as well, from brown to green to purple to plaid. There was lush green, dead trees, and every kind of terrain imaginable all within sight at this northernmost tip of the world. In the center of all this stood a glittering castle carved from the tallest mountain. Its top seemed to scrape the disco ball moon above. Everything within a ten mile radius of the castle was pink.

“Wish I could be there,” the orange soldier muttered. “I haven’t had a good party in ages.”

“Party hard,” the maroon pony raised his hoof and said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, yeah, party hard,” the orange pony replied. “So what do you think everypony down there is doing tonight?”

FIND OUT…

TO BE CONTINUED IN PARTYWORLD

Author's Note

Now play Afterlife by Amaranthe and pretend there’s an epic Avengers style credit roll.

But seriously, I can’t thank all of you enough for sticking by me so far. Which is why it seriously pains me to say that I’m nowhere near finishing PARTYWORLD. That’s right. I had planned to get most of it done in the months that I posted this, but unfortunately some health issues popped up and I had to deal with those instead, my mind a little sidetracked. But still keep in mind that I love this and want to keep doing it, giving all of you an epic story. Which brings me to my next point.

The Ponyverse may be gone but we only saw a few worlds in it. This is a multiverse only as big as where your imagination will take you. That’s why I’m creating a group called, Legends of the Ponyverse. This will basically be an alternate universe group, but what sets it aside from others you may ask? Well, for starters, this site will have two categories for stories. “Tales of the Ponyverse”, where you may post whatever AU story you want, and “Legends of the Ponyverse”. By posting here, you are accepting that others may use your world presented and its characters in their own work. This will be a collaborative group where we can contribute, discuss, and create a new series for FIMFiction. I hope you all will contribute with your own stories and characters, making this world I’ve imagined so much more vibrant and colorful.

I love this community and the creativity it drives home. I look forward to working with you all! And I’ll leave you with a quote from a famous fairy tale, one that will play an immensely important role in the events to come. “Now then, we shall begin. When the story is done you shall know a great deal more than you do now. But now let us begin.”

The Shadow of Nightmare Moon

~`(\/)’~

“Wakey wakey. Wake up. Wake up! WAKE UP!!” Rarity’s eyes shot open as the voice echoed in her head. That insidious voice. Her own voice. She could feel it getting stronger. She really was losing control. How much longer until Nightmare took over?

She surveyed her new surroundings only to find herself locked to a tall table. Her first instinct was to blast herself free but to her chagrin she couldn’t activate her magic. She screwed her eyes upward and saw some kind of green rubber stopper-like thing at the end of her horn. Every time she tried to use magic the stopper would expand like a bubble but inevitably not pop. She let out a breath she’d been holding in and bit her lip.

She was in some kind of laboratory, that was for sure. Electrodes and machinery she’d never seen decorated the brick dungeon like setting. In fact, an entire wall to her right was dedicated to some large circular machine. In the center of it, strapped down like her, was a blue mare with a gold and silver mane. “Suntrix?”

The unicorn screamed in pain as the machine she was strapped to began to glow making her horn glow as well. For the briefest moment Suntrix’ eyes became white as if untold power was building up inside her, then the machine shut off and she slumped forward, her eyes closed.

“Give it another ten minutes and then try again,” came a voice to her left. Rarity turned and for a moment was surprised to see her friends. Twilight and Pinkie stood by a control board fiddling with the buttons, Twilight taking notes. But Twilight wore a bright yellow uniform and Pinkie wore what looked like gray armor. Her heart sank and she kicked herself for having that moment.

They’re this world’s Twilight and Pinkie, nothing more. The two she knew were still…

“Well, look who’s up,” Pinkie said as she caught sight of Rarity. Twilight turned toward her as well and let her notepad fall. A crackling yellow aura surrounded Twilight and she floated herself up to be eye level with her.

“Hello, Rarity,” Twilight began. “Or do you like to be called Nightmare?”

Rarity strained against her bonds. “Do not call me that!”

“Why?” Twilight asked with not the smallest hint of animosity. “You are the inheritor of Nightmare Moon, are you not?”

“You know nothing of me,” Rarity hissed. “Where am I? Where’s Flutterbat?”

Twilight huffed. “Your friend is down below in the dungeons. As for you, welcome to my lab. I thought it would be safer to bring you here than let the guards know you’d been captured.”

Safer? Rarity turned toward Suntrix. “What are you doing to her?”

Twilight spun in the air and hovered over to the unconscious unicorn. “Suntrix is our test subject right now. She’s been in contact with the Wall and that is of utmost interest to us.”

What were they talking about? A wall? “You will let her go or so help me!”

“You’re really in no position to make demands,” Twilight shot back. “Besides, I’m the only reason your still alive. If she were to know you were here then-”

The doors to the laboratory burst open and a red blur skidded to a halt in front of them. It was that same pony in red that she had seen knock her and Flutterbat out. The pony in red threw off her cowl to reveal a familiar blonde mane and orange coat. “Twi!”

“What is it, Applejack?” Twilight said in annoyance.

“Ah tried to keep her busy, I really did. But she knows and she’s comin’!”

Twilight’s eyes suddenly went wide. She fell to the floor and pointed to Pinkie. “Can we hide her?”

Pinkie looked at Rarity on the table and then around the lab. “I don’t think so. She’s pretty big.”

“Hey!” Rarity shouted.

A loud crash sounded from outside and everypony froze. “Please, oh, please let her be in a good mood.” Twilight muttered under her breath.

The doors were kicked off the wall and sent flying, embedding themselves in the far wall. Everypony had to hold a hoof to their eyes as a figure that shined like the sun stepped in. Her fiery red mane and tail flowed behind her regally like a cape and the blue armor she wore seemed as if it was made for a war god. The emblem of the sun was emblazoned on her chest.

Celestia took a step in, fire billowing around her hooves as she walked. Rarity’s eyes widened as she looked into her face. There was no trace of the Celestia she knew. There was no playfulness or caring in those eyes. Only a ferocious drive and anger. “Where is Nightmare Moon?!”

===E8DB

Rainbow, AJ, and Mare Do-Well sat in the room granted them by the resistance as they waited for Pinkie to wake up. Rainbow began to tap her hoof impatiently again. “So this Luna casts some spell that not only takes us to this Faust-forsaken world but also hurts Pinkie. I don’t see why we even stay here! We can’t trust her, she’s Nightmare Moon!”

Mare Do-Well did pushup by the door as she waited, stopping to look at Rainbow. “You may have experience with Nightmare Moon but I’ve never come across her. You?” She asked Applejack.

The samurai was polishing her blade on the bed next to Pinkie. “Ah’ve never heard of her. Though, like Celestia, there is a demon called Akumutsuki that was said to have once been a god. That mare in there looks a lot like the drawings.”

Mare Do-Well stopped her workout and took a few breaths. “I do find it interesting that most of our worlds share ponies in common but some simply don’t exist. Do you think that your legends of demons and gods might just be historical accounts?”

Applejack shrugged. “It’s possible, Ah guess. Though there really are gods and demons in mah world. Ah’ve met a few of them.”

Mare Do-Well scratched her chin. “Fascinating.”

Those two began to prattle on about multiversal theory or whatever, making Rainbow throw up her hooves in boredom. While they talked about things she didn’t want to hear, she snuck out of the room to get a better look around. Seriously, how could they be so nonchalant about this? Right now they were in the den of the beast. Luna created Nightmare Moon. If there was any kind of threat to the world it was her. And Rainbow was going to prove it.

Slipping into a cordoned off alcove marked “linen closet” she disrobed and got into the same scarf and goggle get up that almost all the resistance fighters here wore. She peaked her head back out to make sure the coast was clear before getting out. She wrapped the scarf around her just enough to hide her titular mane so she wouldn’t be recognized.

The disguise seemed to work since nopony thought to stop her or ask questions. Rainbow made her way through the tunnels going down this path and up another until finally she stopped. “I have no idea where I’m going,” Rainbow muttered.

A hoof tapped her on the shoulder and she froze. “Excuse me.” Rainbow slowly turned and saw another Pegasus behind her. The scarf covered her face up just as much as Rainbow but she looked about the same age as her. “Are you new?”

“Um, yeah,” Rainbow replied, trying to hide her voice. “I, um, just got here from… Cloudsdale.” Why had she used her hometown?

“Really? That’s cool! I’m from Cloudsdale too!” The Pegasus wrapped a hoof around her and pulled her along. “Don’t worry about the unfamiliarity. It’s tough for pegasi to be underground. I know I got lost for the first month I was here.”

“Month?” Rainbow muttered. “Um, pardon me asking, but how long have you been here?”

“Eighteen months,” the Pegasus replied proudly.

“A year and a half!?” Rainbow shouted. Her voice echoed off the walls of the tunnel and everpony around her stopped to look at her. She shrank a bit and coughed politely. “Sorry.”

The Pegasus guiding her chuckled. “No, I get it. It can be a little disheartening to think how long we’ve been at this. How much we’ve suffered. How much we’ve lost.” Her voice began to tremble and Rainbow thought she was going to cry. “But we need to keep thinking of the future. No matter how dark today is, there’s always a brighter tomorrow.”

Rainbow was silent for a second as they walked. “How?” The Pegasus looked at her. “How can you say there’s a brighter tomorrow when you don’t even know what’s coming today? I mean, for all you know this place could collapse on top of our heads.” It was the Pegasus’ turn to be silent. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“I didn’t have any friends growing up,” the Pegasus interrupted. “I lived my entire young adult life working toward a singular goal. I wanted to be a Wonderbolt more than anything else.” Rainbow was now listening intently. “So I trained and trained until the day would come when I had my shot. But that didn’t come. Celestia and the Elements overthrew the old order and the Wonderbolts were absorbed into her Solar Guard. That wasn’t my dream. I didn’t want to be some nameless face in a crowd of goose-stepping soldiers. I wanted to fly. I wanted to be remembered. I wanted ponies to shout my name until they were hoarse. Lightning Dust up in lights!”

Rainbow felt a cold shiver. She knew she recognized that voice from somewhere. “So what happened?”

“I gave up,” Lightning replied.

Rainbow waited for her to continue. “…That’s it? You didn’t try to fight or anything?”

Lightning chuckled. “I guess I should be more clear. When one dream ends, another always begins.” She stopped and turned to face Rainbow, raising her goggles and lowering her scarf to reveal her face. “I found something else to live for.”

“Mommy!” a filly suddenly rushed up and pounced on Lightning’s back hugging her tightly. The filly was black with a mane streaked with blue and yellow. Lightning flipped the kid around and held her under her leg in a hug.

“What did I say about tackling ponies?” Lightning asked with a mischievous grin.

“Only when they’re not looking,” the filly said as she struggled out of her hooves.

“That’s my girl,” Lightning laughed as she forcibly nuzzled with her.

“Stormy!” A black stallion with a blue mane trotted towards them, catching his breath. “Phew! Sorry, Lightning. She was out of sight for a second tops.

“It’s alright, sweetie.” The two rubbed their noses together affectionately. “Oh, sorry about that,” she said to Dash as she remembered she was there. “I should probably go tuck this one in.” She picked up the filly who giggled as she placed her on her shoulders. “The boss’s chambers are just down that tunnel. Go ask her if you need any more help. She accepts all visitors.”

“Bye lady!” the filly on Lightning’s shoulders waved as the family walked away. Rainbow had to pick up her jaw from the ground.

“What the hell was that?!”

After decompressing from what she’d seen Rainbow remembered why she was here. She needed to show everypony just how much of a threat Luna was.

She stood before the room that Lightning had pointed to. It was a simple one, like any other. The curtain covering it wasn’t even much better than the others. If she hadn’t been pointed here she would assume this to be a room for any of the resistance members here. To her own surprise, instead of simply walking in Rainbow lifted her hoof and knocked on the wall by the curtain.

“Enter,” the voice from inside said. Rainbow gulped and took a step in. Luna sat on a cushion by the low table in the center of her room. A small cup of tea sat steaming beside her while she read a book. She looked up at Rainbow over reading glasses that hung from her nose. “Oh, Rainbow Dash.” She closed the book and got up. “I appreciate the disguise. It would cause much unneeded chaos should anypony here see you.”

Rainbow nodded understandingly. “Right, I understand.” She took off the scarf and goggles taking a better look around. Once again, it was all so… normal. At least, for a room in an underground tunnel.

Luna walked around the table to a small stove where she physically picked up her teapot and poured another cup. She stopped midway. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t ask first. Did you want any?”

Rainbow raised a curious eyebrow but shook her head. “Uh, no thanks.”

Luna nodded and simply left the tea. “So what brings you here?”

Rainbow shook off her surprise and finally set herself. “Alright, I’m just going to come out and say it. I don’t trust you.”

Luna blinked but showed no new expression or reaction. “Yes, I can assume you don’t.”

“Yeah! …Wait, what?”

Luna sat back on her cushion and steepled her hooves to look over at Dash. “You come from a world where I did some terrible things. Granted as Nightmare Moon, but I do not abandon responsibility for that.”

Rainbow was starting to get a little mad at this mare’s cool reaction to everything. She slammed her hooves on the table making Luna’s tea cup wobble. “Listen, I was there when Nightmare Moon attacked. I know the damage she can do.”

“And yet you seemed to accept your friend Rarity easily enough,” Luna offered.

Rainbow pursed her lips. “Yeah, but…” she sighed, “Rarity isn’t at fault for what she’s done. But if this world works anything like mine, you were!”

Luna was silent for a moment before closing her eyes. “You are absolutely correct.”

Rainbow grit her teeth, her anger swelling up. She gripped the table this time and flipped it over spilling the tea and book. Luna didn’t seem to change her expression. “Stop… doing that!”

“…Doing what?”

Rainbow stormed forward and got in her face. “Get angry! Get vicious! Attack! Do something!”

“Why?”

“Because that’s who you are!!” Rainbow began to breathe heavily and the two stared in silence. She finally collapsed to the ground and wrapped her arms over her head. “I just… I want to know it was you and not her.”

Luna blinked and took a deep breath. Magic enveloped Rainbow and she opened her eyes preparing for a fight. Instead Luna simply pushed her out of the way and set the table back where she’d been. Then she raised the fragments of the tea cup and restored it. When all that was done the light left Luna’s artificial horn and she slumped forward. Rainbow stared at her as she took a few heavy breaths.

“I’m afraid I cannot offer you the fight you want,” she said with a bowed head. She raised a hoof to her head and rubbed the metal appendage. “Many believe that my sister killed me those years ago. But only she and I know the truth. She had me dead to rights and could have ended my life at any moment, but instead for that brief second I saw the same sister I’d grown up with and loved so dearly.” She brushed some of her mane away from her chest to reveal a white scar on her shoulder. “She spared me, but left me crippled.”

Rainbow frowned at the wound and the straight-faced mare who had it. This was not what she had been expecting. “So she shows you some mercy and now you want to destroy her, is that it?”

Luna looked up, the first show of surprise on her face. Then she lowered her head in shame once more. “I do not want to fight my sister. Though I can’t honestly say I’ve never wanted to before. She can be stubborn at times but deep down she is a good pony.” She paused and bit her lip as if a memory was coming to the forefront. “Any evil that has befallen this world whether by her or me I take full responsibility. She would not be who she is today if not for me. What I want is to set things right.”

The two sat across from each other, staring into the other’s eyes. Why? Why did she keep thinking of Fluttershy and herself when Luna spoke? Is it that she blamed herself for Fluttershy becoming what she was? Because she wasn’t there? No! It was Luna’s fault. Luna’s evil infected her. That’s what happened. It was all her- “I’m sorry,” Rainbow muttered.

Luna and even Rainbow seemed surprised at her own words. With trembling hooves Rainbow lowered her head like Luna had done many times since they met. “I… I wanted to believe so badly that I wasn’t responsible for my friend. I wanted… something to blame.” She grit her teeth as she felt tears begin to build up behind her eyes. “I… I’ve been so confused. All these alternate universes and other ponies. It felt like I could just put the blame on somepony else.”

Luna looked at her with concerned eyes. “Just because my story is slightly more innocent than yours. You know it doesn’t mean that your Luna wasn’t as evil or corruptive as you believe.”

Rainbow shook her head. “No. In the end, it all comes down to me. I left her alone and forgot about her. And in the end, revenge on somepony I don’t even know won’t help. I need to bring her back on my own.” She gave Luna a small smile. “You’ve been trying to do that all this time. Thank you, for teaching me that.”

Luna stared at her for a long moment and then smiled as well. Not a small smile either but one that Pinkie would be proud of. Tears began to appear at the edges of her eyes and she quickly turned to wipe them away. “I’m sorry,” she chuckled. “I… just never expected to hear those words.”

Rainbow was about to ask what she meant when a bunch of ponies outside began to make a ruckus. From the shouts something appeared to be making its way through the underground tunnels with alarming speed. Rainbow and Luna stood up just as the curtain to her quarters burst open and a vibrating figure with arcs of pink electricity skidded to a halt in front of them.

Pinkie was breathing heavily and holding a flashing round object in her hoof. “We’ve got a problem!”

~`(\/)’~

Earlier…

Rarity could feel the pressure of the sun princess on her. Celestia stood taller than she’d ever remembered her and the aura she gave off was like staring into the sun itself. “Where is Nightmare Moon?” she repeated as she stepped inside the laboratory, scorch marks trailing after every hoofstep.

Behind her walked two familiar ponies. One was the garishly dressed Rarity of this world and the other appeared to be the Rainbow Dash of this world as well, though she appeared to be wearing some kind of golden armor and ancient helmet.

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight grimaced. “I should have known you’d rat us out.”

“Element of Loyalty, remember?” Rainbow grinned.

Celestia looked at Twilight and immediately saw Rarity beyond that. Her stare seemed to pierce through her and she felt cold despite the immense heat in the room. Celestia stomped toward her, horn aglow with fire before Twilight flew in front of her. “Wait! Stop!”

Celestia cast her gaze on Twilight. “You dare to impede me?”

“No, of course not, your majesty,” Twilight said bowing her head humbly. “It’s just that… she’s so much better off to us alive!”

Celestia’s anger receded only slightly, the room becoming less hot. “What are you talking about, Twilight? This creature is nothing but darkness ponified. It needs to be destroyed.”

“Yes, but she has friends,” Twilight insisted. “Friends that would be of great use to us.”

“You mean the speedster?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded. “We already have the traveler! Why do we need the speedster?”

“Because…” Twilight began fumbling for words.

“Because we’ve been having trouble using her,” Pinkie interjected pointing to Suntrix who still hung on the far wall. “The way she travels is different than any we’ve found. But we do know how the speedster travels.”

“Y- Yeah,” Applejack added nervously. “Plus we could even make more suits like this if we had her.”

Everypony seemed to look nervously at each other as they waited for the solar empress before them to respond. “So you’re saying you want to use her as bait?

Everypony but evil Rarity and Rainbow nodded. Rainbow leaned in to say something to her. “We just heard that the others in her party arrived and were taken in by the Resistance. This could be an opportunity to route them out.”

A look passed through the princess’ face that made Rarity shudder. The fire behind her eyes. It was like she finally found something she had been looking for and delighted in the thought of burning it. Celestia stood up tall and addressed all present. “I would have a word with the abomination.” She paused as no one responded. “Alone.”

They all scurried toward the door, Twilight and Applejack last. AJ gave one last look to Rarity’s still restrained form on the table before closing the door. Now, besides Suntrix’ unconscious body, they were alone.

Celestia walked over to her, the heat baring down and making her sweat nervous bullets. Then to her surprise the princess released her restraints. “Get up,” she commanded.

Rarity hesitantly got to her feet and stood face to face with the white alicorn. Despite her augmented size, Rarity still stood a full head below her. Take her. The familiar voice whispered in her head. Destroy her and run. Rarity forced herself to ignore it. “Why did you release me?”

Celestia’s stern expression left her and for a moment Rarity saw the same face she’d seen many a time back in her own world. One of compassion and mercy. Celestia’s aura seemed to fade with her anger and she could see lines appearing on the immortal goddess’ face. Factors of age, stress, and even sadness. “I am glad Twilight calmed me down, since I do not know what I would have done otherwise.” She looked straight into Rarity’s eyes. “You are not the Nightmare, at least fully, correct?”

Rarity quickly shook her head. “No. I’m in full control.” Sure you are.

Celestia seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and her aura dissipated even further letting Rarity know just how much she was on guard and maybe even holding back. The princess took a seat by the tables of chemistry equipment and sighed deeply. “I know of your plight, Rarity. I’ve followed the speedster for quite a while and saw how they recruited you. I know you are not at fault.” Rarity was speechless. This seemed like such a drastic change in tone to the ruler she’d seen moments earlier. It almost made her uncomfortable, as if the pony before her were unstable.

“Again, why let me go?” Rarity asked a little more forcefully. “I could just escape right now.”

“No, you couldn’t.” No, she couldn’t. Celestia’s power was immense and Rarity could feel it in her core. She wouldn’t last a minute against her. At least the way she was now.

She stood up once more and towered over her. “I should be more clear. I pity you, Rarity, but that is as far as my sympathy goes. The truth is that you harbor an evil that could cause devastating disaster. You are still a prisoner and will be treated as such. Then when your friends arrive along with… whoever else, you will be executed for the safety of this world and all others.”

Rarity’s eyes bulged. “You can’t! I-” A golden aura surrounded Rarity and she was lifted onto the wall where four shackles magically protruded from the mortar and bound her. She fell limply to the floor feeling drained.

Celestia walked toward her menacingly, the heat around her rising again. “I do what I do for all ponies. Do not think yourself special.” She turned to leave and saw on the table a small round device with the letters “PP” on it. She grabbed it and flashed it at her. “This belongs to the speedster, correct? Some kind of communication device?” She pressed a red button on the side and the device began to beep. “I hope that means they’re on their way.” Celestia gave a small grin as she turned to leave. Rarity growled as she tried to reach out with her hooves but the shackles kept her in place. She struggled until Celestia left the room and then she collapsed.

Outside the lab, Celestia shut the doors and proceeded down the hallway. She didn’t notice that a mare stood in watch behind the doors. Her red and white dress trembling with her body.

Invasion of the Pony Snatchers

===E8DB

Rainbow stayed in the hotel room with Pinkie until she was sure the mare had cried herself to sleep again. “Sorry, Pinkie,” she whispered as she tip toed to the door. “But we can’t leave just yet. I still need to figure out what’s going on with my home.”

Confronting Lightning had been a bad idea, but she was still determined to help her. Though the Sonic Rainboom barely let me keep up with her. She’s on a whole other level right now, and I think I need to find out why. Best way to do that was to visit the one pony that could provide the most answers.

The night was almost through and it was still pretty dark out thanks to the storm clouds above. The distinct lack of sentries flying around Sky Glaive made her uneasy as well but made it easy to sneak back into the camp.

She landed just outside the officers’ quarters where she wanted to be. It was a stretch to think that Spitfire would be in her office this early but even if she wasn’t she could maybe rifle through her files and find some clues. A noise alerted her and she ducked behind a bush. Two pegasi walked up to where she had just landed looking around suspiciously. Had they noticed her come in? She didn’t see them when she landed.

They investigated the spot a little bit more combing the earth where she’d landed and even sniffing the air. There was something odd about the way they moved. Stiff and jerking, baring their teeth a lot as well. Then there were moments when the light of the moon caught their eyes. A flash of green. Hadn’t she seen that before? They nodded away and flew off, Rainbow slowly exiting her hiding spot. Something was definitely not right here.

She entered the officers’ quarters and walked down the hall. Just like she suspected the place was mostly deserted. Spitfire’s office was at the end of the hall so she decided to fly across it stealthily to avoid noise with her hoofsteps. A shadow passed the wall at the end of the corner and she ducked inside a broom closet. The shadow walked into the bare light from the hall windows and solidified into the form of Spitfire, Soarin trailing behind her. They stopped in front of her office door.

“Cloud cover is looking nice,” she said. “Tell Lightning Dust she can take some time off now. She worked well for now but it’d be best to get that wild card out of here when the fireworks start.” Fireworks?

Soarin nodded numbly, his eyes looking dull. “Yes, ma’am.”

Before he could turn to leave, Spitfire caught him by the arm and put a hoof under his chin. “And try to cheer up. After all, those Hoofenbach fools are going to get what’s coming to them.”

Soarin’s demeanor seemed to change and his eyes turned angry. “Yes!” He left with a renewed vigor.

Rainbow tried to get a better look and opened the closet door a little more making a slight creak. She immediately shrank back as Spitfire turned toward her. She didn’t watch as she could hear the mare sniff the air like the pegasi outside. The sniffing soon stopped though and an eerie silence filled the corridor.

Rainbow was about to check again when a loud sound shook her. A moment passed and it happened again. It sounded like something hitting a wall followed by a creak. The doors. She was swinging the doors open checking every one. And it was getting closer. Rainbow had to find some way to hide in this cramped room.

Finally, Spitfire slammed the door to the broom closet open gazing into it with a stern expression. All she saw though was utilities and cleaning supplies. Still, she stayed a little longer than necessary in the doorway making sure to take it all in. A bolt of lightning cracked across the sky outside and thunder followed making her turn. “Already? Damn. I was hoping for later this afternoon. Still, get started in the morning and the fight could last all day. That would be fun.” She closed the door behind her and left, her hoofbeats slowly getting quieter.

Rainbow took in a huge breath as she rolled out of the laundry chute she had hid herself in. It had been used mainly for dirty flags and rags so it smelled like rancid disinfectant and grass stains in there. If she hadn’t held her breath she probably would have hurled. Still she was able to hear everything the commander had said. Something about a fight? And Hoofenbach. Were the pegasi purposely picking a fight with the ponies at Camp Hoofenbach? Why? It made no sense. “I need to know more.”

She slipped out of the closet and followed behind Spitfire as she left the office and headed to the barracks. Rainbow watched from afar, hiding herself behind a cloud as dozens of pegasi flew to meet Spitfire. “Report,” she commanded in an almost regal tone.

A flyer walked forward and grinned maliciously. “Pegasi of squads 4-6 are tapped out and ready for disposal.”

“As are squads 7-9,” another spoke.

“1-3 are taking a little longer than expected but they will be ready for the battle below,” said another.

Spitfire sneered. “Hrm. Regardless, I’ll make sure to riot their emotions when the battle begins. Squad leaders let your pegasi know and infiltrators let your squad leaders know of the attack as well.”

“Infiltrators?” Now that she thought of it, she recognized some of those ponies below. Some were squad leaders like her while some were simply recruits. It was an eclectic bunch to be sure. But what better way to insinuate themselves into all aspects of the Wonderbolts. Still, Spitfire seemed to be their leader. That couldn’t be possible. She’d known the mare almost her whole life. There was no way she was a traitor or whatever these ponies were.

Spitfire pulled a pegasi to the side as the rest flew off. “Go below and tell the others when the battle commences. And remember, they have to throw the first volley.”

The flyer saluted and flew off. When she was sure the flyer was out of sight and sound from Spitfire, Rainbow followed. She trailed behind them as they passed over the edge of Sky Glaive and headed for the ground. To get there they had to pass through the dark shadow Sky Glaive cast beneath it. Rainbow made her move there. With a burst of speed, she was in front of the flyer. At first they looked surprised but then Rainbow saw it again. A flash of green in their eyes. They scowled at her and charged with a yell.

“Woah, hey!” Rainbow shouted as the flyer actually tried to bite her. They snapped at her as she held them off with her back legs and pushed off with a kick. The flyer didn’t even seem fazed by the kick to the jaw, moving it back and forth to make sure it wasn’t broken then returning to the attack. “You’re a lot tougher than you look, huh?” she asked. The flyer didn’t respond as it flew and swiped a hoof at her that she dodged. “Not gonna talk, huh?”

With a swift movement she flew underneath the flyer and slammed into them from below. She pushed them up as they crashed into the bottom of Sky Glaive. Not as painful as she would’ve preferred it to be because of the clouds but it did the job as the flyer was now lodged in the building material. They struggled but to no avail. “Feel like talking now?” The flyer stopped fidgeting and simply looked at her, an evil smile on their face. “Okay, if I wasn’t already sure you’re up to something, that creepy smile just proves it now.”

Suddenly the flyer began to clack their teeth together. At first Rainbow thought they were just chilly but it didn’t seem like the chattering teeth of somepony cold. It was more deliberate and repetitive. “Hey, what are you-” A hit to the gut cut her off.

Rainbow felt the breath knocked out of her as three more flyers steamrolled into her from nowhere. Where did they come from? She flipped in the air, still trying to catch her breath as one flew up behind her and grabbed her arms. Another flew over to the flyer entrapped in cloud and helped to pull him out. The last flew in front of her a hungry look in their eyes. “She smells so good!” they said licking their lips.

“I thought all the Wonderbolts had been drained?” the one holding her asked.

“They were, this must be somepony else.”

“But she’s wearing the uniform.”

“We should let the Queen know,” the third said.

“Yeah,” the one glaring at her said. “Or we could have one last snack before the battle. Seriously, she’s dripping with compassion.” The others seriously seemed to be thinking about it.

Rainbow had to act fast or she’d be overwhelmed. She struggled with her captor, her movements loosening her neck line and letting the necklace she’d been wearing fly out. That’s it! If she could just grab the Zapp necklace and maybe hit them with a lightning bolt. She nipped at the necklace as it bounced but another attacker saw her doing this and grabbed it, wrenching it from her neck with a snap. “Hey! That’s mine!”

He sniffed it and flinched. “Smells like magic.”

“Better get rid of it.” The attacker drew back his hoof and threw the necklace up into the sky where it landed somewhere above on Sky Glaive.

“No!” Rainbow shouted at them, still trying to get out of the hold she was in. “Just what are you guys?”

“What are we? We’re hungry!” A green flame surrounded them and in an instant they had changed. They were no longer pegasi or even ponies. They were black with green insect like wings and eyes. Holes riddled their feet and they stared at her with fanged smiles.

“What the hell?”

The first creature tapped its chin. “Now, what form would get the most reaction out of her?”

Rainbow felt a shiver run down her spine as she felt something alien and tainted reach out and touch her mind. It felt like something slowly caressed her feelings rifling through them like a file cabinet. It made her want to throw up. “Think I got it!” another one said.

It changed again but this time into a face she thought she’d never see again. “Easy Rider?” The older mare looked the same as she did when she died, even the slightest wrinkles were familiar. Rainbow felt an overwhelming sensation of love flood her and then with the same tainted hands it was wrenched away from her and all she felt was pained emptiness.

“Mmm,” the creature that wore Easy Rider’s face grinned. “That was good.”

“My turn!” The next one did the exact same thing, rifling through her memories and choosing one that would suit it. It changed into Fluttershy, not as she was right now but as she used to be, the filly she’d been friends with. Rainbow once again felt her emotions fill and then drain away. The process was excruciating, sapping her of most of her energy until she had begun to just hang from the creature holding her from behind.

“Stop… it,” she managed to croak out struggling to get her legs to move or her wings to work.

“I’m still hungry,” the last one said. Rainbow felt its touch and almost blacked out because of it, then Lightning’s face greeted her. “Ooh, this mare is friends with the Stormbringer.”

“Huh. Then she might prove useful in case that tank of a Pegasus messes with the plan. Don’t finish her.”

“Aw,” the Lightning faced creature sighed.

The Easy Rider creature lifted her chin and gave her a toothy grin. “The Queen is going to want to see you.” The wind began to pick up and they covered their faces. “Storm must be getting worse. We better get back before it starts.”

They tried to fly away but the lead creature was flipped to the side as a strong wall of wind began to form around them. “What the heck?”

A strong cylinder of wind began to rush around them, entrapping the creatures inside. Rainbow tried to stay awake and see what was going on but she was so drained. Something like a pink lightning streak flew from below and slammed into the creatures then it crashed into the one carrying her and she felt herself falling. She blacked out just as the streak of light shot down to catch her.

“Lightning!” Rainbow shot up fully awake now. She was back in the hotel room where she’d left Pinkie. But she was in bed now, the pink mare nowhere in sight.

Then the door opened and Pinkie strode in, still not in her Fili-Second suit but looking particularly better than the last time she’d seen her. “You’re looking better.”

“Yeah, I, uh…” the events of the past couple hours foggily resolved in her mind. Including that lightning bolt at the end that saved her. “Was that… you?”

Pinkie shrugged and gave her a small smile. “Yeah. Tornadoes are easy to make with enough speed and then I can usually ride the air pressure up them. It’s a lot more scientific than that but I was never that good with explaining stuff.”

Rainbow scooted out of bed. “No, I’m glad. I had no idea you were so cool.” Pinkie blushed.

“I’m… sorry I’ve been such a mope,” she apologized. “When Twilight… Matterhorn appeared after being gone for so long, lets just say a lot of memories came up. She’s still my friend and I know there’s the Twilight I knew deep down there somewhere. I want to help her.”

Rainbow put a hoof on her shoulder. “Pinkie, I know exactly how that feels.”

“But first we’ve got to do something about this place, your home is infested with changelings!”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Changelings?”

“Those insect things that could change shape. We came across them a couple times while traveling. They feed on the emotions of others, specifically love and compassion.”

Rainbow rubbed her chin. “That would explain how they changed into ponies I knew. It would probably also explain why everypony here is acting weird. If they’ve all been drained of their compassion then of course they’d be at each other’s throats.” But something still didn’t add up. “But, if the changelings have turned Sky Glaive and Camp Hoofenbach into a feeding ground, why are they planning a big fight to wipe them out?”

Pinkie shrugged. “Don’t know. Changelings are kind of hard to predict. In some worlds their smart and hide well and in some their dumb and can’t stick to a character. No way to tell what these ones are thinking.”

“Still, Shining Armor has been here for over a week and he never noticed them. Probably means they’ve been able to hide pretty well. We need to stop this war from happening.”

Pinkie nodded resolutely. “Yeah! I’m with you all the way.”

A roll of thunder cracked outside and Rainbow frowned as the pitter patter of rain began to pelt the window. “Spitfire is their Queen and she had Lightning rig up this storm for something. Plus, those guys that attacked me said that Lightning wasn’t one of them. Maybe I can convince her of the threat and she can help us stop this before it begins.” It was a long shot, but she needed to believe she could get through to her friend. “Pinkie, could you find Shining Armor and warn him? Both of you can search the camp for whatever changeling is supposed to start the war.”

Pinkie saluted. “Aye Aye, Captain Dash.” She disappeared in a pink streak leaving her super suit behind.

Rainbow opened the window letting the rain pour in and preparing to go find Lightning. “I made a promise to Fluttershy. But it was meant for more than her. I’m gonna help you too, Dust. Even if you don’t want me to.”

Sunset Shimmer and the Chekhov's Gun

Sunset Shimmer and the Chekhov’s Gun

===SS===

“Chekhov’s what now?”

“Huh? You say something?” She looked at Flash who had looked up from the book he was intently reading. Sunset looked out the window and saw that the sun had already set hours ago, they had been in the library all day.

“Wow, really? That long?” Flash still gave her a crooked look. “It’s nothing. It just came back and caught me off guard.”

“The narration?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Though its been pretty dark for a while. Stuff about hellscapes and evil gods.”

Flash set his book down in concern. “That doesn’t sound good. Let’s get it all down before you forget.” He pulled out a notebook he had been using to record everything she could remember. They had been hard at work on this for quite a while now, researching and writing and coming up with theories. She still felt like she was going crazy but it felt good to be going crazy next to the boy she liked.

“Shut up!” She blushed profusely and sunk down into her chair as she cursed the heavens. Flash merely chuckled and set his notebook down.

“It is getting pretty late. We don’t need to finish this right now if you don’t want to or if the voice is starting to get annoying.”

Sunset shook her head and smiled wearily. “No, let’s keep going.” She proceeded to tell him all about the story and how it was playing out. From the ponies reuniting to Rarity’s reforming with Nightmare all the way to the mysterious gray alicorn that appeared out of nowhere. Flash finished writing and set down his quill to turn back a few pages to scan everything they had learned.

“Well, I can say one thing. This is definitely some story. Monsters, gods, heroes, parallel worlds. Sounds like something out of a science fiction novel.”

Sunset put her head in her hands exasperatedly. “So why the ponies?”

Flash flipped a few pages and frowned as if he was looking for something. “Hey, did you say you were a part of all this?”

“I am right now,” she replied. “Ugh.”

“No I mean, they mentioned you in the story right?”

Sunset perked up. “Say what now?”

He put the notebook on the table and scooted closer to her to show her. Sunset froze slightly at their proximity but he tapped the page and she looked down. “Yeah, you said that Pinkie Pie girl mentioned you by name before they went to fight that evil princess.”

Sunset scratched her head as she picked up the notebook to study it. Did she really convey that? But the more she remembered, it seemed to be true. “It is?” She had been mentioned by name. A pony with a fiery red mane. “But I’m not a pony.”

“Sorry?” Flash had been staring at her for a while now while she mumbled to herself.

Sunset blushed again and put the notebook down. “I just… um… Gah, why does this have to be so confusing!”

To her surprise Flash put his hand on hers and set it down on the table. “Hey, it’s okay. I know I’m not much help but-”

“No! No! You’re all the help I need!” They stared into each other’s eyes for a brief moment before turning away in embarrassment. “Ahem, what I mean is… I’m glad you’re here.”

Flash smiled warmly at her. “I’m… glad I’m here too.”

They stared at each other again then in sync began to lean toward each other. And just when their lips were about to meet she-

“STOP TALKING!!” The library echoed with Sunset’s words leaving them both slightly frazzled at the angry explosion. “I… I should just go.” She gathered her things really quick and tried to run away, too embarrassed to even look him in the face. But before she could go he grabbed her by the arm.

“Wait, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

Sunset paused but didn’t looked him in the eye. “What?”

“There’s… the Magical Night Under the Stars Ball tomorrow in the commons. Should be a lot of music and dancing. I was hoping that you and I could… go together?” Sunset went red and she shrunk nervously trying to hid her face. But the smile didn’t seem to go away. “I guess that’s a no?”

“No!” she shouted, turning to look at him. Flash looked at her wide eyed. “I mean no. I mean YES! Yes, I would love to go.”

“Great,” he replied with a wide smile that he too tried to hide. “It is getting kind of late, we should probably get to bed.”

“Yeah,” she muttered half listening, lost in her own world of fantasies. “Oh, be quiet.”

Flash laughed again at her impromptu comments. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. “Hey, so do you know what Chekhov’s Gun is?”

Flash stopped packing and paused. “Oh, yeah, you were saying something about that before. I think I remember reading about it somewhere.” He reached back into his pack and pulled out a book on screenwriting. “Here it is. Dr. Wolf was right about these books, they were pretty helpful. Chekhov’s Gun. A term deriving from stage plays that refers to an object or character seen throughout the story but holds no true purpose or function until the very end. That help?”

Sunset nodded slowly but her face looked far away. “I guess.”

“Did the voice say it?”

She looked at him and smiled. “It’s nothing important, really.”

Flash tucked the book back in his pack and gave her a wave. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow night then. Meet in front of the school?”

“I’ll be there.”

He left the library leaving her alone to her thoughts. “Yeah, not entirely alone. You’re still here. So tell me what that whole Chekhov’s Gun thing means anyway.” She waited for a response but none came. Finally, she let out a sigh and gathered her things to leave. “An object or character, huh?” She shook her head to clear it. She had more important things to be worrying about. What was she going to wear tomorrow? Did she even have a dress? “Of course I have a dress!” But was it pretty enough? “ARGH!”

Author's Note

Really short chapter, I know. But now we're entering the final arc. Brace yourselves people!