"Are you sure you don’t want to stay ? The Everfree Forest is less dangerous during day, even though the monster scared the others away", Zecora asked to the three fillies that were going to walk out of her hut.

"Don’t worry Zecora ! The forest’s almost empty now !" Apple Bloom replied.

"We’ll make it to Ponyville in no time", Scootaloo assured.

"And we know the path so well !" Sweetie Belle added.

"Beware little ones : the monsters are coming back one by one", the zebra warned.

"We’ll be careful as always !" The Cutie Mark Crusaders replied as they left the hut they had helped to clean up.

The sun disappeared definitely as the fillies were halfway back home.

"Da ya think the monster chased the ghosts away ?" Apple Bloom asked in a semi-serious tone.

"Ah, stop Apple Bloom ! I hate these stories about ghosts, headless ponies and scary stuff", Sweetie Belle grumbled.

"But… maybe… the monster took ghosts with him and they’re here… around us…" Scootaloo whispered.

"BOO !" She shouted as she popped in front of Sweetie Belle who fell on four hooves from the shock.

"That’s not funny Scootaloo !" The little unicorn reproached as she got up.

A branch creaked near them, and they all froze in place.

"Ghosts… don’t make noise", Apple Bloom tried to reassure her friends and herself.

Something popped out of the foliage ; it was a bird, which quickly disappeared on the other side of the trail.

"Told ya", Apple Bloom congratulated herself.

Another bird whizzed past them, then another and then, every possible animal and insect fled right in front of them, including two Timberwolves which paid no attention to them.

"What’s happenin’ !?" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"I don’t know, and I don’t wanna know !" Scootaloo replied. "To Zecora’s hut !"

"We’re too far away ! And… look… they’re fleeing behind us too !" Sweetie Belle spluttered, trying to suppress a scream as other creatures were fleeing on the way back, cutting the path in two : they were caged between two lines of terrified animals fleeing for their life.

"We’re trapped !" Sweetie Belle finally screamed.

"In the forest !" Apple Bloom decided.

"No ! We can’t…" Scootaloo began before a shimmering on her left side caught her attention ; it was two tiny pink dots moving very slowly in a straight line across the forest, apparently not bothering to avoid the trees. The filly internally judged the color to be a “very bad kind of pink” before following Apple Bloom’s advice.

They hurried through the trees, not caring about their direction ; after one minute of running in a straight line, they encountered the trail again.

"How’s that possible !? We ran…" Apple Bloom said before looking at the pink dots, now bigger.

They ran again and after one minute of sprint, encountered the path one more time ; they screamed in terror and took the direction of Ponyville this time, running as fast as they could. They could not maintain that exhausting pace for long however, and they took a break.

"The things ! They disappeared !" Sweetie Belle panted.

"We lost ‘em ! Ah told ya ! No ghosts here but… what in Equestria’s wrong with that trail ?" Apple Bloom interrogated herself.

"A… A… Apple… Apple Bloom…" Scootaloo spluttered, her eyes suddenly widening in fear.

"What ? Chickenin’ for two pink stuff ? Lemme say : pink’s always a good color", the little beige pony asserted.

Sweetie Belle’s sudden scream deafened her along Scootaloo ; she had never heard her friend – or anyone – scream like this. She looked on the path, towards Ponyville, as she was looking behind and next to her all the time : she did not scream, as the sound immediately died out in her throat. Right in front of them, hovering a few meters above the ground, a giant ghost was slowly approaching.

The three fillies finally succeed in screaming to the point of breaking their vocal chords.

The immense ghost was almost spherical, with minuscule conical stubs for arms and a short “tail”, making him not totally round but comma-shaped ; on his head, above his glowing semi-oval pink eyes surrounded by darkness and surmounted by what seemed to be two U-shaped eyebrows with no hair on it, was a giant, fiery red ruby encased in gold. His huge open mouth, big enough to swallow a full grown stallion, was filled with only one upper row of four enormous fangs, with the two outward ones longer than the others, and a disproportionate blue tongue was sticking out of it.

The fillies turned back to flee, but there was the exact same ghost behind them, and one on each side.

A high pitched, speedy and rocky voice with mad accents resonated through the air now chilling.

"Excuse me, I’m searching for someone. Big, spiny shell, orange hair. Have you seen him ?"

The fear finally overwhelmed the fillies and they lost consciousness.

"Woah, that was just delicious ! I’m full !" Daisy exclaimed as she stepped out of the Tasty Treat with everyone.

"My race’s diet is mostly fish, but I’ve never eaten anything that good !" Anita added.

"Canterlot at night is pretty quiet unlike other cities ; do you want to visit the Castle of Friendship, and maybe a part of Ponyville ? If that’s okay with you of course…" Fluttershy asked to the guests.

"That way, we could put our prized gifts away", Rarity suggested mostly to herself. "I-I didn’t want to say that aloud actually…" She added bashfully.

"I can teleport all of you there", Bowser affirmed.

"I showed you my castle", Peach said. "I do not see a reason to not visit yours".

They all agreed and Bowser teleported them first to the castle of Canterlot ; the amount of luggage destined to the ponies was still huge with all the books, the gems and many others gifts from the Mushroom Kingdom and the shipping hub dimension.

"Spike, Twilight and I are finished with the invitations", Celestia sighed in relief when they warned her of their departure.

"May I go with them ?" Twilight asked to her mentor. "I’ll be back in no time".

"Of course Twilight. Actually, I wish you a good night ; my sister will soon take my place. Don’t exhaust yourself my faithful student ; and that goes for you too Spike. My sister can perfectly handle the rest of the preparations herself", Celestia replied. "Oh, Bowser, don’t forget you sleep in my bedroom ; don’t make too much noise when you’ll come back, if you have some time, my sister will need you".

They wished a good night to the Princess of the Sun before leaving.

"That’s one beautiful crystal castle-tree !" Daisy complimented when everyone appeared in front of the Castle of Friendship.

"Thank you", Twilight replied. "It has grown from a chest the Tree of Harmony produced. Before that, I lived in the Golden Oaks Library, here in Ponyville. It was destroyed but… there’s its stump inside the castle to remind me of the great moments we all spent within ; it feels like home".

They entered the castle as Bowser teleported the luggage inside.

"Where do I put it ?" He asked.

"We’ll see that later, don’t worry", Twilight replied.

"Bowser darling, may I ask you something ?" Rarity asked to the King of the Koopas.

"Of course".

"Can you teleport my jewels to my boutique ?"

"No, I can’t, sorry", Bowser replied, shaking his head. "I’ve never seen your boutique but… I have an idea. Think about the location while touching the bag ; your mind will guide it there as I teleport it : you’ll use me as a power source. If you wanna be sure they’re where they should be, I can teleport you too. What do you think ?"

"Can you go with me ? No offense, I trust you, but teleportation is not really my thing, even though I’m a unicorn".

"Rarity, it can wait…" Twilight sighed, slightly exasperated.

"That’s okay, it’ll take one minute. It’s easier that way", Bowser said.

He teleported himself, Rarity and her bag to her boutique ; they came back seconds later.

"You truly are a wonderful seamstress. I heard you have many boutiques ; that’s not surprising considering your talent. Well, I can’t speak for myself, I don’t wear clothes after all, but Peach’d like everything you create", Bowser complimented Rarity.

"Thank you so much darling ! I’m so glad every universe loves my creations !" The unicorn replied, earning an eye-rolling from her fellow ponies.

The tour of the Castle of Friendship lasted one hour ; Twilight seized the occasion to partly store the numerous books in the library ; she also showed the Cutie Map and its purpose.

"So, when somethin’ ‘bout friendship go wrong, that map send one or two of you to deal with it ? And when everything’s okay again, your… Cutie Marks on your flanks glow and you can come back ?" Daisy interrogated.

"Yup, totally spot on", Rainbow Dash confirmed.

"May I touch it ?" Zelda interrogated.

"Of course !" Twilight replied.

Zelda touched the Map with her delicate fingers and Peach did the same. The crystal table reacted in an unexpected way : while it was showing the map of Equestria seconds ago, the layout changed instantly to another one, unknown to the ponies ; there was mountains and hills, rivers, a large lake with a viaduct of tremendous dimensions above it, a desert, a huge plain and a forest to the extreme South. A city and its castle could be seen along with two villages ; interestingly, there was what seemed to be a derelict city in the sky, floating above the land. Above certain locations, some of the Cutie Marks of the ponies were slowly circling ; there was at least thirty highlighted places ; more strangely, some of the Marks were not Marks : rather, it was a Triforce symbol that was replacing them.

"That is Hyrule", Zelda asserted.

"There seem to be some friendship problems there", Starlight whispered.

Zelda put away her hand, and the Map showed another location.

"That’s the Mushroom Kingdom this time", Mario affirmed. "There are some problems there too", he pointed out as he examined the dozens of warnings ; just like on the map of Hyrule, some of them were not Cutie Marks, but pink hearts.

Peach broke the contact with the table, restoring the map of Equestria.

"I wonder…" She mused aloud before taking off her crown and putting it on the table.

The Mushroom Kingdom reappeared instantly ; Zelda did the same with her diadem, eliciting an equal reaction. Mario tried with one of his gloves and Link with his sword ; all prompted the map to show the two other worlds. Daisy’s crown also showed her kingdom, with daisies instead of some Cutie Marks.

"That’s just wonderful !" Twilight exclaimed with a voice filled with an excitement rarely seen in her.

She hugged the rulers of the Mushroom Kingdom, Hyrule and Sarasaland before realizing what she was doing ; she blushed in shame.

"I’m sorry… I-I got carried away…" She spluttered.

"No, really ?" Spike asked sarcastically.

"That means, when apposing an object from your respective worlds, the Map shows the friendship problems of these worlds, or kingdoms", Starlight recapitulated.

"More friendship problems to solve ! Yoohoo !" Pinkie Pie exclaimed joyfully.

"Do you think they can wait ?" Peach asked to the ponies.

"For the most part, they’re not problems for anypony besides the ones concerned", Twilight replied. "I mean, they’re rarely world-threatening problems, but as mundane as they can be, they sometimes can affect a lot of people. And from what I saw, some of these problems require you to be solved. I know you don’t have Cutie Marks, but I think the Map simply takes what you’re representing to display the warnings".

Anita touched the Map, rendering it totally bare; she quickly pulled away her clawed hand, and Equestria appeared again.

"We’re so sorry Anita", Fluttershy apologized.

"Don’t worry… That’s-that’s fine really ; I should’ve known the result", the actress replied sadly.

Bowser carefully applied the tip of his claw on the table ; the map simply showed the Mushroom Kingdom ; Bowser sighed with relief ; however, as he was going to put away his finger, the layout of the map changed abruptly : everything disappeared, and a huge Yin-Yang symbol, which was covering the entire table, manifested instead of a land ; it stayed until Bowser ceased to touch the Cutie Map, restoring Equestria once again.

"That was… interesting", Starlight said after a few seconds of silence.

"You represent the balance of what ?" Daisy asked to Bowser.

"Creation and destruction…" Twilight told herself.

"That’s right", Bowser confirmed. "But I’m reassured I didn’t break it, and that it shows my home world, at least for a moment… I think I confused your Tree of Harmony, sorry".

"The Map ain’t broken, so that’s okay I think", Applejack replied.

"Don’t worry, coming from somepony who has broken it before, everything’s fine", Starlight reassured.

A loud, insistent and fast knocking sound resonated in the castle.

"Who can it be at this hour ?" Twilight grumbled.

She opened the door on Zecora : at the hooves of the zebra were Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, all the three unconscious.

The three fillies were rushed in the castle as Zecora explained they probably passed out from shock ; she had hurried out of her hut when she had heard them screaming multiple times : she had found them unconscious halfway to the path to Ponyville, surrounded by a freezing air ; she seemed mostly undeterred by the presence of the guests from other worlds, but did stay far away from Bowser.

"No remedies for fear, and nothing to make their minds clear", the zebra explained, looking at the three fillies in the single bed.

"May I ?" Link asked to Twilight.

She nodded ; Link touched each of three young mares with his glowing left hand ; the soothing, golden aura of the Triforce slowly enveloped them.

"Lots of courage… Surely enough to free them from their mind cage", Zecora affirmed.

Indeed, the three friends awakened at the same time ; their eyes opened slowly on the reassuring faces of Zecora, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity ; the last three worried to no end for their respective sisters.

"Applejack ?" Apple Bloom whispered weakly. "Where am I ?"

"You’re at the castle sugarcube, everything’s alright", her sister sighed with relief.

"Scoots… Sweetie… You alright ?" Apple Bloom asked to her friends.

"Seems so…" Scootaloo groaned.

"We’re sorry Zecora… We should’ve listened to you", Sweetie Belle apologized to the zebra.

"I thought the forest was safe enough for you, this is my fault too", Zecora replied. "Now what did you see, to make me leave my hut in such a hurry ?"

Everyone gave room to the fillies, which instantly noticed the guests ; the terrifying form of Bowser threatened to scare them into unconsciousness again, had Applejack not blocked the view in time.

"I’ll take my leave if they’re alright", Bowser whispered to Twilight.

"Wait ! Maybe they’ll say something important about what they saw", Twilight replied. "Maybe…"

"It’s connected to that threat, is it what you’re thinking of ?"

"Yes. Just wait, they’ll accommodate to your presence".

The three fillies naturally asked who the strange beings next to their bed were.

"Guests from other worlds. We’ll explain it later", Applejack promised. "By the way, I wanna thank you", she said as she tipped her hat to Link.

"Me too", Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Zecora added.

"I just gave them the courage to face the fear", the knight replied with modesty.

"So, what did you see ?" Starlight interrogated nicely.

"We were on the way back to Ponyville", Sweetie Belle began. "Almost halfway".

"Then, birds flew out the forest ! And animals ! And Timberwolves ! Just in front of us, ya see, like they were chased or somethin’ ! We wanted to go back, but there were animals behind us too !" Apple Bloom continued.

"There were… two… two pink… eyes in the forest and we-we ran through the trees, but we-we kept on goin’ in circles ! So we ran to-to-to Po-Ponyville but… there w-w-w-was a… a… g-gh…"

"GHOST ON THE WAY !" They screamed together ; it took half a minute for them to calm down despite the efforts of everyone.

"And-and-and it was everywhere, so we-we-we were trapped and…" Sweetie Belle was talking so fast her words blurred together.

"The ghost… it-it talked !" Apple Bloom spluttered.

"Everything’s okay sugarcube, no ghost here", Applejack whispered as she approached to nuzzle her little sister.

"It… it said it was searching for someone", Scootaloo recalled. "Not somepony. Someone".

"It was searching for a big…" Sweetie Belle began before cutting off herself : while Applejack was in front of them, she was more or less blocking the view of Bowser, but now that she was hugging her sibling, the Koopa King was in plain view of Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

"YOU !" Rarity’s little sister shouted, pointing her hoof at Bowser.

The monster gave her a puzzled look.

"Sweetie, what makes you say that ?" Rarity interrogated. "I know it’s difficult to understand for you at the moment, but Bowser is one of our friends".

"Big, spiny shell !" Scootaloo said when she understood what her friend meant. "That’s you for sure !"

"Tell me… Apart from the pink eyes, was that ghost round, or almost, white, wearing a big ruby crown, with a blue tongue and four fangs ? And a kinda irritating voice ?" Bowser interrogated.

"That’s… that’s it", Scootaloo replied. "But its voice was scary. It was just so… just so mad !"

"Matter of taste I suppose. You’ve encountered my friend and associate, King Boo. And if he followed me here, he’s got bad news…" Bowser mumbled somberly. "I’ll go meet him : I must absolutely hear his report".

"I’m going with you !" Three simultaneous voices echoed.

Bowser looked at Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, confused.

"We want apologies on behalf of our sisters", Rarity clarified.

Bowser simply shrugged before teleporting them and himself to the Everfree Forest.

The three mares and the Koopa appeared in the middle of the crater left by Celestia’s spell against Bowser’s gigantic form ; small shrubs were already starting to take over the ruined zone, albeit with difficulty and a much slower rate of growth than what was common for the Everfree Forest.

"BOO !" Bowser shouted so loud the woods seemed to shake.

There were roughly thirty seconds of waiting before a white shape rapidly approached them from the North ; the mares instantly thought their sisters had all the excuses of the world for fainting before the ghost ; they sensed their resolution to demand an apology shattering as they tried to look at the huge monstrous almost ball-shaped dead being.

"You’re heeeere ! Phew ! I was totally going to search the entire world to find you ! There are traces of your power everywhere ! Everywheeeere ! So confusing ! Hey ! Who are they ? There seems to be only these creatures here, it’s a cute little world !" He laughed maniacally, further scaring the ponies.

"You’re frightening my friends. So, about the report ? I guess something’s going really bad for you to rejoin me here ?" Bowser interrogated.

"Yeah, yeah ! Pretty much ! You know the ghosts of Hyrule… how do they call them ? … Poes ! Yeah, Poes ! Poes ! And most of the dead things that stayed in the living world too, they’re missing ! They disappeared ! Disappeared ! Poof ! The Darkness took them away ! Away !" King Boo exclaimed while waving his arms.

"To build its army probably… and precisely… to transform them into the perfect spies. That’s bad news indeed…" Bowser mumbled.

"Bad news ? BAD NEWS !? IT’S APOCALYPTIC NEWS !" The ghost screamed in panic, flying erratically.

Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack hid behind Bowser ; even though they were far away from being cowards, the ghost and its behavior were too much for them to handle.

"You’re frightening my friends… again", the King of the Koopas said with a deadpan expression. "Follow us to the crystal castle-tree, you owe an apology".

Bowser reappeared in the room where everyone was waiting, still accompanied by Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack, the three mares shaken by the encounter. After a few seconds, the air suddenly became colder : King Boo materialized near the roof. Everyone shivered and Luigi seemed to literally shrink ; the fillies, however, screamed for ten seconds, deafening everyone, before hiding under the blanket.

"King Boo’s here to apologize to you", Bowser told the young mares.

"Yeah, yeah ! I apologize ! I didn’t want to trap you into an illusion ! I was asking for directions, I’m sorry, sorry, sorry !" The ghost apologized with its speedy, mad voice as he hovered above them.

"You could’ve morphed into someone more… pleasant for them", Bowser pointed out.

"Like what ? Like who ? Hey, I don’t know this world ! Sorry !" The dead being repeated.

The three young mares slowly popped their heads out of the blanket ; the ghostly monster was not far away from them ; they were violently shaking.

"Ya… Ya aren’t… aren’t gonna eat… eat us ?" Apple Bloom squeaked with a barely audible voice.

"Ghosts don’t eat living things, at least in my world", King Boo replied as he rolled in the air. "You seem pretty lively to me, so I won’t eat you".

"You’re… too scary", Sweetie Belle spluttered before hiding back under the sheet.

King Boo interrupted himself mid-roll ; he was upside-down when he replied, slightly confused :

"What ? That’s a strange thing to say. Maybe a compliment ? Hey, I’m a Boo, King Boo ; if I wasn’t scaring anyone, I wouldn’t be the king of my kind, or even a Boo for that matter. That’s my nature to be scary ! But I’m sorry, really ! But hey ! I can change into one of your race if you want to !"

Seeing the ghost comically upside-down calmed the fillies, and they finally replied it was okay ; he was scary but seemed nice.

"I wonder if Princess Celestia’s gonna present him to Equestria", Luigi whispered to Twilight.

King Boo perked up his voice and quickly dove to be just above him.

"Hey, isn’t it my old pal Luigi ? How are you doing, old friend ? Back on track to chase my kind with that ridiculous vacuum cleaner ? The ruler of the Boos laughed. Bad news for you, I’m truly invincible now ! I won’t be sucked in that thing ever again ! Hey, you’re lucky I’m redeemed ! Or you would be hanging in my living room, if I had one, in a beautiful aquarelle !"

Luigi cowered in fear.

"Just kidding ! Kidding ! No grudge again you now !" The ghost laughed again. "So, what is that place ? Tell me ! Tell me !" He exclaimed, flying erratically around the room and passing through everyone except Bowser ; except him, all were at least uneasy, if not downright scared, in his presence.

"We’ll explain it to you, yes", the King of the Koopas acquiesced, "if you stop fooling around for just a second. Before that, I think the ones for whom we all owe an explanation are the three here", he added, looking at the three fillies.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo got out of the bed and everyone went to a more spacious room to discuss.

"Y’all really come from other worlds ?" Apple Bloom asked once everything was explained. "That’s somethin’ Ponyville, no, Equestria must know !"

"Tomorrow afternoon, Princess Celestia will present us to Equestria", Peach informed her.

"You haven’t got the invitations because you were at Zecora’s", Applejack realized. "Don’t worry though, you’re invited".

"You’re so beautiful miss, my sis’ really should make a dress for you !" Sweetie Belle complimented Anita.

"Thank you", the actress replied with joy. "You know, I think I want to live here. As you heard it, my home’s… no more".

"That’s so… so tragic ! But… but I think you’d be happy in Ponyville", Sweetie Belle replied.

"Really ? But I don’t think I can easily get a job here, and my old job isn’t really needed in this world as far as I can see", Anita objected.

"We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders ! We can help everypo… everyone to figure out their special talent !" Apple Bloom affirmed.

"We helped a lot of people, even non-pony ones, to discover their destiny, because that’s our own destiny !" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"We’ll help you with everything if you move here, I promise !" Sweetie Belle swore.

Anita crouched to be at their level ; she had tears in her green eyes when she embraced the three fillies.

"Thank you… thank you so much. I’m really touched. I can’t express how grateful I am to you, she said. The-there… are some things left from my world… I-I really want to give you something as a sign of gratitude. Tell me, what do you like, or like to do ?"

"Scooting !" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Dancing… I’m trying to improve though…" Apple Bloom groaned.

"Crocheting or singing, I’m not sure… I think I prefer singing… when nopony’s around…" Sweetie Belle mused aloud.

"But you don’t have to give us somethin’ in return ! We’re doing it for free", Apple Bloom pointed out.

"I must insist", Anita said with a smile. "I think I have the perfect gifts for you. I’ll ask Bowser to teleport me to his dimension so I can get them".

"Whenever you want", Bowser shuddered.

"Hey ! Hey ! Hey ! I saw a table with a map on it ! Can I see it ?" King Boo suddenly asked.

Twilight showed the Cutie Map to the ghost, which hovered around it before putting his “arm” on the table that took some seconds to react ; it slowly displayed a land covered in dark, twisted trees, furrowed by rivers of blackness and punctuated by sharp, razor-like summits ; there was no Cutie Mark symbol above the place, and it seemed the Map could not encompass it in its entirety, having glitches here and there. The whole land gave Twilight chills, and she called everyone to see the phenomenon.

"What’s that place ?" Rainbow Dash interrogated. "So… gloomy".

"It is ! It is !" King Boo exclaimed cheerfully. "For it is the Land of the Dead !"

Almost everyone jumped away from the Map ; it seemed everything was suddenly tainted by the freezing aura coming from the crystal table struggling to keep the land displayed.

"I go there sometimes", King Boo explained. "I like this place, I’m very well-known there, you see, kind of a VIP. Some kinds of souls don’t really like me though, don’t know why. Hey, that map doesn’t show everything ! But when I think of it, the Land of the Dead is limitless, so it is pretty normal in the end…"

"The-there are no friend-friendship problems there at-at least", an unsettled Starlight quickly spluttered.

"Needless to say I would never go there, not for anything in the worlds", Rarity asserted.

"That’s just sad !" King Boo pouted. "There’s so much to do ! Pranking souls ! Play cards and hide-and-seek with Death ! Party with friends !"

"You’ve got parties there !?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "That’s amazing… and weird too".

"Yes, of course we have parties ! We celebrate the day living beings ceased to be living ! Even though there’s no time there, we keep track ! We celebrate important newcomers ! And the Day of the Dead of course ! We’ll do that for eternity, so we’ll never get bored ! I heard some souls go back to the Land of the Living though, all cleaned up, fresh and new ! But we Boos have no soul, because we’re not really dead beings but we’re not alive either, so we’ll never reincarnate, but that’s fine ! We’re happy as we are !" He exclaimed laughingly.

"That’s just… plain creepy…" Spike murmured, shivering.

"I can write an entire book with what you’ve just told us !" Twilight exclaimed almost cheerfully, which unsettled everyone. "I hope you’ll tell me more when we’ll have time".

"No problem miss !" The ghost replied before breaking contact with the table, removing the terrible land from view.

"Do… do all the… souls go there ?" Applejack interrogated.

"Yes, yes, every soul that isn’t staying in the living world as a spirit of course. There are many places in the Land of the Dead ; it’s dimensions in dimensions in dimensions in dimensions and so forth, like an infinite onion. What you saw is the dimension the closest to the core. The center is Death’s headquarters. Maybe I can show them to you if I concentrate…" King Boo mused as he approached the Cutie Map again.

"NO, THANKS !" Almost everyone shouted.

"Too bad then…" The ghost king frowned. "You were searching for someone ?" He asked to Applejack.

"Yeah… Kind of… Two ponies…" She vaguely replied.

"Do you want me to find them ? They’re in the part of the Land of the Dead connected to this world, so I have access to it, since I’m here too ! I can’t jump between parts of the Land of the Dead, except to the Headquarters because I got a free pass, but I can go to the part corresponding to the world I am currently in".

"What can you do about these souls ?" Applejack interrogated, more and more interested.

"I can’t bring them back if it’s what you’re thinking of, nor bring you with me, Death would be really mad, beyond mad, but I can pass oral or written messages without problems", King Boo replied. "I may even pass objects if they’re not too big".

"That’s... That’d be perfect. Can ya find my parents and tell ‘em somethin’ ?" Applejack asked, shocking everyone, but particularly Apple Bloom.

"Yes ! Yes ! I can find them in no time and come back in no time too !" The ghost answered enthusiastically. "What are their names and what do you want to say to them ?"

"Bright Mac and Pear Butter. For the rest, can I tell you privately ?" Applejack asked in return.

"Wait Applejack !" Her sister interrupted. "I… I wanna… say somethin’ to mom and dad too !"

Applejack was about to refuse, but once she looked at the tear-eyed filly full of hope and determination, she simply gave up.

King Boo and the two sisters, eyes filled with tears, left the room.

"What about immortal beings, like our princesses, Discord, you and King Boo I suppose ?" Starlight asked to Bowser.

"Death told me a year ago that there are beings not meant to reside in its kingdom", the Koopa King replied. "As you said, King Boo who took a shard of Darkness, I, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and that Discord… all of us can’t go there naturally, except Boo, but only me and him are “true” immortals, in the sense we can’t be killed by anything, be it Darkness or magic ; we’re invincible if you prefer. If I’m sent to the Land of the Dead physically, I can just simply go back ; my body and soul are one and the same now. As for the princesses and Discord, I think Death, in one of Its forms, would finally welcome them after the destruction of the universe, at least. For Boo and I, I think we’ll survive the end of Death itself, just as that being… thing of oblivion and its brother. I know what I’m about to tell you ain’t gonna raise your spirits but… Death fears Darkness. It’s the good brother who created Death to bring order and sense to life ; now that creative being’s sealed away, Death more or less counts on me and Boo to save not only the living, but the dead too ; the destructive force’s still far away from Its kingdom, but as I said before, it’ll come anyways, and if Death’s destroyed, trust me, we’ll get a terrible problem, that’s an euphemism, in our hands or hooves… and Death’s not optimistic about my – our – chances to win…"

"King Boo said the dead creatures of Hyrule had disappeared", Zelda recalled.

"The dead beings that stayed in your world, not the ones in the Land of the Dead. Otherwise, we’d be flooded with ghosts everywhere by now. The ghosts will serve as spies, probably ; they’re perfect for the task", the King of the Koopas replied.

"What can we do about it ?" Twilight asked.

"Concerning the ghosts, King Boo, his subjects and I can stop them rather easily if they come. As for that thing however, I’m afraid to say nothing ; I’ve got no idea on how to stop it, except fighting it and losing", Bowser answered.

"You said it’s a being, no, a thing from before the beginning of everything. I was thinking, correct me if I’m wrong, but worlds have greatly evolved since it was sealed…" Twilight mused to herself.

"You’re thinking it’s outdated ; it certainly is, but its power stays the same, and coupled with the part it stole from its brother… However, your assumptions are correct ; I’m impressed by you, Princess Twilight Sparkle. You also considered…" The Koopa began.

"That if it hasn’t attacked by itself yet, it must be struggling to adapt ! Everything’s probably new for it ! Universes, life, death, matter… It’s searching to comprehend it ! Once it’s done, it destroys !" Twilight exclaimed.

"I see", Starlight understood, "but why not expanding the idea to other things, like… concepts, personality or even ideas and thinking ! That thing probably doesn’t know how to even think !"

"Well, that doesn’t make any sense…" Rainbow Dash dismissed. "Just how can you NOT think !?"

"Because the concept of thinking’s too recent for that old thing ; besides that, it’s just a mass of destructive chaos, just a pile of Darkness without real sentience ! But now, it’s probably learning very fast…" Starlight replied.

"I don’t think so", Twilight countered. "I think it’s struggling to learn, because even the concept of learning’s new to it. But you have a point ; Rainbow, that thing is not sentient, not in the sense we understand it".

"I’m amazed by your intelligence, you two", Bowser complimented. "Deducing that out of bits of information, it doesn’t do justice to just call that impressive".

"Thank you", the two mares replied proudly.

"I hope you’re right then", the Koopa King wished. "King Boo and I will continue our research ; we’ll give you the results in real time".

King Boo, Applejack and her sister came back in the room ; everyone noticed Applejack’s brand new hat and Apple Bloom new ribbon ; the two objects were glowing with an otherworldly aura.

"I can’t say thank you, that’d just be too ridiculous of a thankin’," Applejack said to King Boo ; she and her sister had their eyes full of tears.

"Don’t worry, talking to the dead is free ! I hope you enjoyed the conversation and the gifts ! I don’t know what it is to talk to parents, I’ve got no parents !" He laughed. "But hey ! I think, if I insist long enough, Death would make an exception and let me take you with me for a short time ! It seems I can be annoying sometimes, but nobody has ever given me proof ! And I need proof ! Proof !"

"I think it’d be… just… amazin’…You’re-you’re so scary but so nice", Apple Bloom complimented. "You’re… you’re my favorite ghost ! Thank you !" She exclaimed.

"That’s the nicest thing said to me since I exist ! And I’ve existed for quite some time !" King Boo replied. "Thank you ! Thank you !" He exclaimed, flying around the room.

"Uh… I think we are… late…" Rarity suddenly remarked. "I think we won’t have much sleep…"

Bowser groaned when he heard this.

"I promised Celestia to not wake her when I’d come back…" He sighed with exasperation.

"You just have to teleport to her bedroom darling", Rarity pointed out.

"Problem is each of my steps would wake up the whole castle… I’ll just stay still once teleported", the Koopa decided. "Ridiculous but effective…"

"I must admit miss Rarity is right ; not only we are awake so late in the night, but, I speak for myself, we are quite tired too", Peach said, repressing a yawn.

"It’s our fault", Sweetie Belle whispered.

"No, it’s mine !" King Boo defended her. "I don’t sleep, so I report at any hour ! And I don’t really like sunlight, so it’s often at night !"

"We will take our leave if you do not mind", Zelda told the ponies.

"Of course not ! We in fact must apologize for making you stay awake…" Fluttershy replied.

"Can I teleport everyone back to Canterlot castle ?" Bowser asked.

They nodded and wished each other a good night before the ruler of the Koopa race teleported them away.

"I think you should stay here Zecora", Twilight told the zebra.

"If you don’t mind, I really wish sleep here I could find", Zecora replied.

"I forgot to ask Bowser to teleport me !" Rarity suddenly exclaimed.

"I would’ve loved to be teleported too", Fluttershy added.

"Me too", Applejack muttered under her breath.

"Me three !" Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

"Guess I’ll sleep here too", Rainbow Dash mumbled. "I wanted to see if Tank’s doing alright", she whispered discreetly to herself.

"And we three will have a sleepover at the castle !" The Cutie Mark Crusaders cheerfully exclaimed.

"No ya won’t", Applejack denied. "Tomorrow’s big day so everypony should sleep".

"Hey ! Hey ! Heeeey !" King Boo exclaimed. "There’s not only Bowser who can teleport people ! I can teleport you too ! Or I can fly you anywhere !"

"Can ya teleport me and my sis’ to Sweet Apple Acres, our farm ?" Applejack interrogated.

"Yes ! Yes ! Just think about it !"

"Good night everypony then", Applejack and Apple Bloom wished.

King Boo and the two mares disappeared instantly in a cloud of white smoke ; the ghost reappeared seconds later.

"They’re at home ! I promise ! I can show you if you want !"

"We trust you, at least for me", Fluttershy affirmed.

King Boo teleported her, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Zecora to their respective houses ; when he looked at Rainbow Dash, she shook her head.

"Can you fly with me to my house ? Y’know, since Bowser’s attack and that thing coming, I don’t know if everything’s still really safe at night, even in the sky".

Twilight, Starlight and Spike opened their mouths in surprise.

"That’s not like you Rainbow Dash", Starlight noticed. "Is everything alright ?"

"Yeah, no problem. It’s just that, in a few days, I’ve got a special somepony, discovered new worlds, lots of new people and new things, saw the death of a universe, and learned that something’s slowly coming to destroy everything… It… puts things into perspective, y’see ? But the most important thing’s Fluttershy and I… huh…" Rainbow Dash spluttered.

"I think I understand how you feel", Twilight smiled as she looked lovingly at Starlight.

"Why not teleporting ?" King Boo asked to Rainbow Dash.

"Because even though I did say those things seconds ago, I still love flying !" She exclaimed. "What about a race ? The first to my house’s the winner !"

"I like races ! Like them !" The ghost said excitedly. "I often race against Death, but I think you’re a worthy opponent too ! You seem fast ! But I don’t know where you live".

"I’ll show you outside ! Good night everypony !" Rainbow Dash wished to everyone before flying outside the castle, followed by King Boo who said he would just probably discreetly hang around ; Twilight took the initiative to invite him to the ceremony, to which he was grateful.

"We should go to bed too", Twilight told to Starlight.

"Hmm… You’re right… But I’ll only go to one bed : yours", the unicorn purred.

Spike hurried out of the room and wished them a good night from far away.

The two mares laughed ; Starlight embraced Twilight who chuckled.

"I really wanna go to bed", Starlight implored with a smoky voice.

Twilight blushed ; she loved the tone of voice her lover was using.

"But you don’t wanna sleep, do you ?" She asked with the same voice.

"Hmmmm… You’re right. I was thinking of something much more interesting", she said as she nibbled the ear of the Princess of Friendship. "Do you have any lessons for me ?" She whispered.

"I may find one… or two…"

The two mares left the burning room to go to Twilight’s bedroom.

When Bowser appeared in Celestia’s bedroom, the white alicorn was not sleeping either.

"I was waiting for you", she said.

"You didn’t have to", the Koopa replied.

"Actually, I had no intention to sleep… from the very start", Celestia winked with a blush.

Anita struggled to fall asleep and when she did, she was scared. She was back in her world, shooting an action movie ; all of her crew was here : Jack, who shared his real name with his character, a black and white border-collie ; Henrick, whose real name was Travis ; the cameramen siblings, three coyotes ; the director of screenplay, Donald, a nice Basset hound with an impressive deep voice ; the scenarist, Jim, a dingo who was always trying to improve something whereas everything was already perfect ; the wolf-bodyguards which did not had much of screen time but were perfectly fine with it, and everyone else : they were not only people she worked with, but also her friends. As she was shooting the scene, everyone suddenly disappeared one by one before her eyes, until she was alone ; the set crumbled around her, revealing an infinite and total blackness ; she screamed in terror before something slowly materialized in the void ; the form of Luna took shape and she approached Anita ; the set reappeared, as the crew ; they were all frozen in place however.

"I dream of them since I woke up from my stasis", Anita sobbed. "And also…"

The scenery shifted abruptly to a white dome-shaped living room ; there was a huge television screen embedded in the western wall with an oval red and white sofa in front of it, a polymer bookshelf filled with neatly organized holographic books leaning on the opposite wall also equipped with an arch-shaped doorway overlooking a dining room on the left ; facing South, two panes of glass which formed a semi-circle, like a bay window, were letting the sun shine in ; they were also drawing attention to a swimming pool, home to what seemed to be scattered water-lilies ; on the northern side was a large open kitchen ; a blue ray was ready to be chopped off on a wooden kitchen countertop ; the crystal fish knife was put beside it, along with various vegetables unknown to Luna.

Anita went towards the window bay which opened automatically, the two panes of glass sliding into the wall. She stood next to the oval swimming pool with Luna.

Around the dome-shaped house, the garden was mostly comprised of grass, with lone but huge strange trees and some bushes circled with flowers scattered everywhere except the south-facing side. Another installation, again in the shape of a dome but much smaller than the house, was sprouting from the grass hundred meters away from the home. Luna looked at the pool and its scattered water-lilies blooming with light blue flowers and sprouting clover-like leaves ; the waves produced by the swimmer made them gently undulating. Anita’s mother was swimming gracefully, her naked body easily fusing through the water. After one more length, she got out of the pool without drying or covering herself and went towards the dome-shaped installation in the garden ; Anita and Luna followed her. Before stepping inside the building with no door, she shook her head to get some water out of her flowing blond hair. She put her hand on the wall ; after two seconds, the surface opened in an arch-shaped doorway ; she went inside, still followed by Anita and Luna ; the doorway disappeared behind them. They found themselves under the sunlight, surrounded by the garden ; Luna, who was already surprised by most of the things she had seen, was totally confused.

"This was my father’s workshop, or rather laboratory. The transparent walls are just a kind of everyday technology reinforced by my father’s scientific genius", Anita explained.

Inside the workshop – full of shelves, real books and machinery – was a German Shepherd asleep on a huge yellow polymer desk ; he was wearing a plastic armor and a pair of goggles ; Martha approached him.

"Wake up John. Come in the pool with me", she whispered to his ear.

The scientist suddenly woke up ; his face was literally twisted with fatigue.

"I can’t…" He grumbled vaguely.

"You can’t do much more for today indeed. Stop. This is an order, John", Martha growled.

John Garrett surrendered and stripped his armor and glasses, revealing a white lab coat underneath. As he left the building, Anita and Luna approached the desk : projected on its yellow surface was a red scheme of some kind of container ; there were so much parts, equations, numbers, drawings, graphics and schemes that it almost gave Luna a headache ; she could not make any sense of them, even the most simple.

"It was a tiny part of the plan for my stasis capsule ; he wasn’t alone to work on it, but this was the final stage of completion ; everything was almost ready, he could do the rest of the work himself. There was also a plan to implement a sample of Galanian DNA with it, but it was too late", Anita explained.

"He was working on that capsule to exhaustion", Luna pointed out.

"Yes, there was no time left".

They rejoined Anita’s parents ; they were both in the swimming pool.

"It’s almost ready, Martha ! Almost ready !" John exclaimed with a determined voice, albeit filled with fatigue.

"There’s still time, John. I’m sure you’ll finish it before the end. I’m sure you’ll save everyone", Martha replied.

"I hope to Martha. I really hope to. You know, if there was only one person who should use it, it’d be our daughter".

"I agree with you of course, but your invention, once duplicated, will save everyone, not just Anita. And with that DNA sample, there’s no way Galania could disappear".

Martha paused and hugged John.

"If the universe had to disappear tomorrow, trust me, I’d put our daughter in your capsule on the second".

"I don’t understand how you can be so… relaxed with everything. Martha, our world is dying ! No, worse, it’s doomed ! We could disappear any minute !"

"You know why I’m so cool, John ? Because of us. Because of Anita. We fulfilled our lives ; I got all that I ever wanted : a family. I have faith in you John, I know you’ll save, maybe not us, but at least our daughter ; that’s the more important thing to me. I believe in you, John ; do you believe in yourself ?"

John stayed silent for a minute.

"You’re right Martha. You’re right in every way", he finally agreed.

The two Galanians kissed, and the dream stopped here.

"My father has shared this memory before he… It’s not really a dream, but…" Anita spluttered ; she was crying uncontrollably.

"Your parents were the most courageous people I encountered", Luna affirmed sadly. "You really take from them, as your courage impresses me too. You said you mourned your world in that capsule, but I don’t think it is truly the case. Everyone you cared for, everything you knew… all disappeared without a trace ; that loss will never be replaced, and nothing can change this. However…"

The memory shattered, suddenly replaced by the image of Anita laughing because of Mario and Luigi’s reaction to her nakedness, then her laughing with everyone in Peach’s castle and the Tasty Treat ; she also saw herself amazed by the Castle of Friendship and its Cutie Map, and finally the Cutie Mark Crusaders swearing to help her.

"…you already began to make happy new memories, Luna said. They are just a few for now, but as time passes, you’ll make more and more. Your parents offered you a unique chance to start anew ; you don’t have to forget about Galania, and everything will be done to ensure no one will ever forget about it, but don’t let the loss of your world define who you are : you can be anyone you want in your new life, and I am positive your parents would say the same".

Anita was stunned for a few seconds before approaching and tightly hugging Luna.

"Thank you… Thank you princess ! Thank you !" The actress repeated, in tears.

"I must repeat that I am impressed by you", the Princess of the night complimented. "You are filled with limitless courage and strength ; you stand in the face of a tragedy no one can even conceive of. Don’t worry : Equestria is perfectly eager to welcome you. I am personally eager to welcome you ; I hope our world filled with friendship and love will heal your wounds, if a little".

Anita could not stop crying from sadness, happiness, sorrow and joy.

"The remainder of your sleep will be filled with happy memories from every world you have visited", Luna declared as she slowly dissolved in Anita’s embrace.

In the royal castle, Celestia’s sister discreetly peeked through the door of Anita’s bedroom ; the actress was peacefully sleeping, with a smile illuminating her beautiful face. Luna smiled too and went on to prepare the ceremony.

Author's Note

Yes, Boos are not dead people in this story (not even "real" ghosts), unlike in some Mario games where it's implied they were living creatures before becoming Boos.