Author's Note

Hey reader. Way to stick with the Original! I've already vomited.

Anyway, just a note—the logic starts getting fuzzy already. Part of it was just me writing on the fly back then, and part of it is me not going back and editing these Original chapters.

I won't do it! You can't make me! I'm leaving the trash unscathed!

That being said, you will have to mind the logic gaps and loopholes. Don't worry—the C̸̞̙̭̽̌̀̈́̽̕̕ȗ̵̧̨̢̻̩̞̘͙̉̋̊͂͘ŕ̷͖̦̍͝s̵̫̪̋̍͂̆̆͆̄é̶̡̧̺͖d̸͎͒̒̿̈̀ version has got you covered, for the most part ;)

A Letter From Canterlot

I was running quickly by the time I reached the town, and when I did, the mood struck. Houses were already beginning to get boarded up, ponies were packing up, running to who knows where, and chaos reeked everywhere I looked.

I kept running and eventually got out of town. How long would it take me to sprint to the castle?

Looking around, I didn't see a pegasus in sight. It was strange to think about, yet good at the same time. All the ponies could gather up in Cloudsdale, and keep safe until magic took care of the zombie ponies. But, where the heck were the pegasi?

Just as I was running out of town, Twi ran into me.

"Twi, are you okay?" I spoke over the ruckus going on around us, "What'd Princess Celestia say?"

"I'm fine. I tried to catch a train to get to Celestia, but it wasn't running. I can't seem to fly right ... my wings are kind of heavy when I move them. We need to gather the others and make it to my castle. It's getting boarded up right now. Have you seen Discord by any chance?"

"No, but can't your magic keep us protected from them?"

There was a moment of silence. The look in her eyes scared me.

"I'm afraid not ... for some reason, unicorns and alicorns have been losing their magic ..."

"What?! How? Even alicorns?"

"We don't know, but for now, we need to get to a safe place. Manehattan has been struck severely," she warned, leading me towards her castle.

How many ponies have been affected by this already? And how are alicorns losing their magic?? Aw man, we’re so screwed.

We continued heading to the castle, Twi leading the way. We passed a few houses, until we got the crap scared out of us. A zombie pony burst through the door on our left, and grabbed hold of Twi before she could fly away.

"Twi!" I yelled, batting the pony off of her. She eventually managed to break free, but now he was my problem. Trying to keep the teeth away, I fell to the ground. He lunged on top of me, and the teeth were getting closer and closer. I looked around for something to hit him with, and to my luck, a decent sized rock laid not too far from me. I reached for it with my left arm while my right one kept him from getting his bite.

Suddenly, I heard something from behind. A spark hit the him, and he fell to the ground. I looked back at Twi.

"That was the last of my magic ..."

I froze, until Twi started running again. That was her last magic, I thought. She had used her last magic on saving me, and it wasn't even going to matter. I decided that it couldn’t wait, and I’d have to tell her about Pinkie right now.

"Twi, wait. I need to tell you something ..."

"Okay ... whatever it is, make it fast."

"Pinkie ... she ... didn't make it."

I frowned as she looked back confused and stunned. I couldn't help but picture her limping to me again. There was more silence for a few seconds.

"You mean ... she was bit?"

"Yes ..." I gave her a minute to let this all sink in.

"Ugh!" she screamed, turning away from me. Her head sunk. She took a few deep breaths before turning back to me. "Why? Why didn't you save her?!"

"Twi ... she was bitten before I knew it ... I couldn't do anything to stop it," I responded.

"Where is she?"

"In the Everfree forest."

"What? What were you thinking? Taking her to the Everfree forest?! Did you have plans for this to happen?"

"No! We were headed to Zecora's place ... I didn't know she was bit until we were in there." I backed up. "Twi, look, I'm s-"

"No. Just stop." She shuffled, debating what to do through her tears. "Meet me at the castle." She looked angrier than I had seen her in a long time as she clumsily took off into the skies.

"Twi, wait!"

It was useless. I'd just meet her at the castle. I turned back to see a few more zombie ponies, including the one she swatted off, trotting towards me. I couldn't believe how many ponies were affected already, though it did make sense. The only way to fend ourselves in this world was knives and magic ... and for some reason the magic had clocked in on us.

The zombie ponies behind me were difficult to outrun, but a clear path laid ahead of me. I tried to keep it straight as I made my way to the castle.

I'd managed to lose the zombie ponies chasing me by zipping around some houses. As I got close to the castle, I could sense a bunch of ponies gathered around. This had gotten too horrible much too quickly.

Approaching the castle, there were a bunch of ponies with saddlebags looking around, and a few consoling with each other. I could see fear on every single face I saw. Twi must have been inside with the others, so I made my way through the ponies and entered the castle.

Inside, Twi was talking with the others and a few royal guards. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike ... all there. I frowned, thinking of Pinkie.

Dash was the first to notice me. When she saw me, she couldn't help but look at the floor. I assumed Twi had told them about Pinkie already. At least that was one thing I didn't have to face.

"Where's Princess Celestia ... and Luna?" I interrupted.

"They're boarded up somewhere in Canterlot. They'll be fine. They've got guards," AJ said

"We've got to find out what's draining our magic, and we've got to find that damn book with the spell. I could remember it in the library, but I still haven't gotten the castle's library figured out yet," Twi said.

"Well, what first?" Rarity asked.

"We have to find what's causing all this magic to go ... and I know just who to get in touch with," said Twi.

"But Discord only knows when there is a magical imbalance ... he can't take it away, right?" Flutters asked.

"We have to find him either way. He'd be a big help to the group if he isn't involved," Twi assured.

Before anybody started for the door, Discord made a snap entrance behind me. "I'm here. What's the plan?"

Twi repeated the plan out for him, but he didn't look content with it. She talked it over with him about the magic imbalance, though he didn't know what was causing it, either, unless he was pulling out another one of his chaos cards.

"Isn't there some way to ... I don't know ... defeat it with the magic of friendship?" he asked. Some of us frowned.

"Pinkie ... didn't make it," Flutters explained.

"What? What happened to her?" Discord inquired.

"Ask Devan." Twi looked to the side, still mad at me, but I didn't blame her. Pinkie had gone, and there might be no way to get her back. It's hard to say goodbye to a friend ... especially one you really care about. Discord glanced at me.

"There's no time," he said depressingly.

Spike burped out a letter from Princess Celestia before another word was spoken. He handed it to Twilight, with everypony looking around anxiously.

"It's to you, Devan."

I wiped my hand free of sweat before taking it.

Devan ... I'm sure you know of our alicorn powers, being that we got you here, all the way from Earth. We used a tad of our last magic to give you something. It should be arriving in a box after you read this sentence.

There was more to read, but I looked up, and surely enough, a box popped up in front of me and dropped to the floor. I quickly went into opening it. Peeking inside, I nearly knocked the box over while stepping back. I couldn't believe what Princess Celestia was thinking.