Insanity's Truth

Chapters

From Earth to Equestria - Chapter 1
Noctis Aeterna - Chapter 2
Infractus - Chapter 3
Somnum Exterreri - Chapter 4
Et Vivere, Reservate - Chapter 5

From Earth to Equestria - Chapter 1

One’s mind is a powerful thing. It can create immense worlds populated with a level of detail that someone could never begin to describe. It can force someone to believe a reality that doesn’t hold a single speck of truth. As such, it can also be a person’s greatest weakness. After all, how does someone control the very thing that defines their entire existence?

If only that was rhetorical.

I suppose it would be apt to explain why I’m writing in this journal in the first place. Well, to do that, I’d better start from the beginning. Or at least what I think started this whole mess.

—

I wasn’t always the fluffy purple pony that I now am as I write this. On the contrary, I was an ugly, hideous, and perfectly normal homo sapien. ‘What is a homo sapien?’ I hear you ask. Why, it is none other than the most flawed and violent creatures ever conceived.

But I kinda miss being one. Not because I think one species is vastly superior to another, though the fingers were a nice touch. Rather, it was because when I was a human, I got to live in this beautiful place called Earf, or as some people called it Earth. And you know what I had on Earf? A family! Well... alright, I do have a family here in Equestria, but they aren’t my biological family. Technically speaking though… Nevermind, it’s complicated.

Anyways, one day I was minding my own business back on my homeworld, walking to my job and all that good stuff, when suddenly— BLAM! That was the sound effect of me losing all my friends, family, and livelihood. Coincidentally, it’s also the sound of having a debilitating seizure and then hitting the pavement at terminal velocity.

But, hey! I bet I would’ve survived that. There was a history of seizures in my family and I was on record for having a few small ones years ago. But no, apparently Equestrian magic decided that it wasn’t worth waiting another seventy to eighty years for me to die of natural causes. Guess where I was when I woke up.

If you guessed the hospital, that would have been quite the lucky break. If you guessed with a loving family comforting me and healing my wounds, you couldn’t have been farther from the truth. But if you guessed trapped in the body of a flying, magical unicorn then ding, ding, ding! You were right! How fantastic.

Well, it could’ve been worse I suppose. I was still alive and in pretty good health. Not to mention I had an ass way better that I could’ve hoped for as a human. What? Did you expect this story to be all child friendly? There’s not going to be gratuitous cursing of course, but expect some cartoon violence, potentially drug use, and more than a fair share of sexual innuendos.

But all that can wait until I’m done with my backstory. I was just getting to the good part! Speaking of which, where was I? What major plot points could develop in this next act? Well, I guess you better keep reading to find out! God, I love books.

Enough stalling. Ever heard of someone called Star Swirl the Bearded? You know, big wizard hat, long beard, one of the most famous wizards of all time? Well, he’s only tangentially important at the moment, but it’ll come up much later.

This seems as good a place as any to explain exactly what happened to me, though I assume you must already know. Nonetheless, it’s a good idea to keep track of these things while they’re still fresh in your mind. So, you know how I had that seizure back when I was human and then I awoke as a pony? That’s only the first part of the tale. Just a forewarning, this next part is going to be a bit more… in the action, I guess you could call it.

—

A blurry landscape greets my vision. I attempt to move, a stifling haze clouding my thoughts. Wha— I manage to think as the scenery changes. Eerie light and unnerving echoes fill my senses. I try to shut my eyes, but they stay open. I can’t control my body.

Panic starts to rise in my throat, but is quickly forced down by the same haze around my thoughts. Nothing is wrong. What was I panicking about again? A distant voice shouts something unintelligible.

I perk my ears. I’m rewarded by the same voice calling what sounded like a name.

‘What?’ I try to say, but nothing escapes my mouth. The voice grows louder, overwhelming any other noise present. I try to move towards it, forgetting my lack of motor control.

I hear the voice one more time. “TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

—

I jolt awake, flailing my limbs to defend myself from my attacker. However, I quickly stop when I take in my surroundings. The wide open air fills my gaze. I look down to confirm I’m not falling, only to be taken aback. I’m a pony. Or at least that’s what it looks like. I really don’t know what else to call it. Made of horse parts and all tiny like? That sounds like the dictionary definition of ‘pony’ to me.

“Hey, Twilight!” a voice to my right shouts.

“Wha?” I say as I turn to look at my conversation partner, freezing in shock as I see who, or what, it is. Sitting next to me is a purple, scale covered creature. He has green spike looking things protruding from his head and down his back. I guess he vaguely resembles a lizard of some sort.

He continues talking as if I wasn’t just knocked off my feet. “We’re about to arrive in Ponyville!” I nod mindlessly.

Why aren’t I panicking about turning into a purple pony thing?! I’m fairly certain that is a normal human reaction! The thought of not panicking almost sends me into another panic before I shut down that train of thought. As much as I think I should be doing that, at least I can keep a level head during whatever this is. I look around again and realize I’m in some sort of flying cart. I guess it’s a chariot.

“Yeah?” I say unsurely. “Say, uh, what are we doing in… Ponytown? It must have slipped my mind.” I give my best smile. The… lizard thing looks at me strangely for a few seconds before responding levelly.

“Uh… Nightmare Moon? Ringing any bells?” He looks at me expectantly but I just stare back blankly. “Alright, let’s try something else.” He digs around in a saddlebag in the seat between us.

The cart we’re in roughly bounces off the ground for second before settling. A gruff voice shouts from the front, “We’re here madam, sir.” I look forward for the first time and see two identical ponies in armor attached to the vessel.

I shrug before moving to leave my seat. As soon as I lift up a hind leg, I realize I have no clue how to walk. That’s embarrassing. It looks like I have to learn really fast. I have no clue where I’m expected to go right now.

I decide just thinking really hard about where each foot- hoof goes should work for now. Alright, let’s do this. I lift my right forelimb over the edge of the cart. Right arm up! I try to move my left forelimb next. And left arm- I trip and fall out of the cart, my face landing directly in a gratuitous amount of mud and grass.

“That seemed wholly unnecessary,” I say as I spit out blades of grass.

The thing I was talking to runs over to my side. “Twilight, you okay?”

I glance up to him. “Would you believe me if I told you I got brain damage from that spill?” He stares back at me, clearly confused. “Hehe. Just joking! But, um, I think an ankle might have gotten twisted or something,” I fibb. “Why don’t we find someone to help carry me to our destination so I don’t have to walk there!”

“Uh huh… Sure,” he replies with hesitation. “Why don’t we see if those guards-” He cuts himself off as he looks at the chariot. I see why as I look at the empty spot it and the guards were occupying just moments ago. Jackasses.

He looks around nervously before spotting a bright pink pony in the distance. “Maybe she can help!” The little guy moves towards the pony as I drag myself across the ground with my forelimbs. Up ahead are a handful of small, old looking buildings. And by old I mean old-fashioned, though they could’ve been built ages ago for all I know.

The newcomer stops in front of us and stares in confusion.

The lizard speaks up. “Hey, my friend here hurt her ankle and we were wondering if you could help carrying her to the hospital?” He asks hopefully. After a couple moments of unblinking staring at us, she suddenly falls on the ground and bursts out laughing.

“Uh…” I start. The pony stops giggling and bounces upright, somehow appearing behind us.

She giggles shortly. “Oh silly! You just need a little pep in your step!” She grabs my hind legs and forces me upright. I turn to look at her in shock and maybe a little annoyance, but she is no longer behind me. Bewildered, I look forward again, finding her inches from my face.

I stumble backwards in shock, but manage to keep my unsteady footing.

“See!” She shouted in jubilation. “Legs up, legs back, never slack!”

I frown, quickly getting over my shock. “That rhyme doesn’t make any sense.” Her smile just grows wider.

“It doesn’t have to make sense, look you’re standing now! It works!” She starts bouncing off. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a double party to plan!”

I turn quickly, barely staying standing. “What?!” I shout after her.

“You didn’t hear it from me!” She shouts back without turning, trailing off as she moves farther away.

I turn to my scaly companion. “What just happened?” He just shrugs.

—

I half stumble, half trot behind him as we travel down a dirt path. “Ugh. Where are we staying?” I hastily catch myself. “Assuming we are staying here tonight.”

He sighs, “You were there when I read the Princess’ letter. After checking on all the Summer Sun Festival preparations we are going to the town library for the night.”

“A library, huh? Sounds nice, I guess,” I say. That’ll make it easy to study my whole predicament. I’ve always enjoyed libraries. The peace and quiet from my daily life was always welcome, and I’d never pass up a chance to read a good book. I shake my head. What was that all about? Libraries are cool and all, but-

My train of thought is interrupted as i walk into the lizard and trip into the dirt. Again.

He looks at me, concerned, though hiding a giggle at my clumsiness. “Are you alright, Twilight? You’ve seemed really out of it since we got here.”

I wave him off the best I can while still maintaining my recently acquired standing position. “No, I mean, I’m sure I’m fine. Just a lot of nerves you know! What with all the…” I pause for a second, “stuff going on?” I respond uncertainly.

He raises an eyebrow cautiously at my unstable stance. “You sure about that? We could always head to the library early. I’m sure the Princess would understand if you aren’t feeling well!”

I consider it for a moment. “Well, actually, I have been feeling a little meh lately. Getting back and resting up sounds good!” Hopefully pony beds are comfortable.

Looking a little relieved he pulls out a map from one of my saddlebags. When did I put those on? Seeing him rummage through the bag does remind me of him presumably searching for the Princess’ letter earlier on the chariot ride. Might as well learn as much as I can.

“Hey!” I call out.

“Yeah?”

I tap my hooves together awkwardly, nearly falling over as I do so. “Do you think I could read over the letter the Princess sent us and see if… um… I forgot anything else?” He looks at me quizzically. “Always better to be prepared after all!”

He sighs, shoulders slumping slightly. “Good to know you’re still as neurotic as ever.” He reaches into my saddlebag and retrieves the letter. “Here you go, Twi.” He begins walking off before waving me to follow him.

—

“My dearest, most faithful student Twilight. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely, but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books! My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony's life than studying, so I'm sending you and Spike to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year's location: Ponyville. And, I have an even more essential task for you to complete: make some friends!”

I read and reread the letter, trying to get all I can from it. Unfortunately, the details it provides are rather unhelpful. I just want to scream at the ceiling. Why me?! Let’s go over what I know, why don’t we?

One: I’m apparently the student to this Princess person. Two: the little purple guy I’ve been following around is named Spike. Three: Ponyville, my new home away from home, is hosting something called the “Summer Sun Celebration”. I think Spike mentioned it earlier, but I was far too preoccupied to think much about it. I’ll have to research exactly what it is once I get my bearings on my situation. Oh, and four: this Twilight seems to be quite the bookworm. Ordered to make friends by royalty? I can’t say I was really all that different back on Earth, but I had a few acquaintances at least! It all seems rather frivolous to me.

I cover my eyes with purple hooves, shifting to lay on my side in the bed I’m in. Behind me, a traditional style clock gently ticks towards 11. At least time seems to work the same here. Maybe I should go downstairs. I can check on what Spike is up to and read a few books to learn something of this world. With a groan, I jump off the mattress, managing to keep myself standing with only a small stumble. I guess I’m getting better.

I reach the staircase going downstairs, but a strange feeling makes me pause. I tilt my head slightly, ears rising to attention. A slight chill runs down my spine and causes me to shiver uncomfortably. Out of the corner of my eyes, I swear I see something about the moon change.

“Huh,” I murmur. Shrugging, I finish traversing the stairs, only stumbling a few times. Much better than going up. Looking to my left, I see Spike preparing a rather large breakfast. I guess it is about time to eat, though lunch does seem more appropriate. Not that I'm complaining; it'll get him out of my hair and in turn I can just fume in silence. He glances up, a little surprised at my unexpected appearance.

He stops stirring a bowl of batter. “Feeling better already?” He asks hopefully.

“I guess… Still don’t think I can go out and talk to any more peop— uh, ponies.”

“Oh? What are you going to do in the meantime? We don’t exactly have much stuff we can get done in here,” he says, raising an eyebrow, slowly returning to mixing.

I smirk and turn to the vast collection of books before me. “Speak for yourself. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some reading to do.”

Author's Note

Partially edited for grammar (8/6/2018).

And here it is! My new story. This is going to be a bit different than the other multi-chapter ones I've attempted before. Mainly because it's much more slice of life than adventure. I'm also just trying out some different tactics to keep on top of writing.

If all goes well, then you should see a chapter every week! :pinkiegasp: Of course, there is no way I can promise this for sure, but know that I will do my damndest to keep this thing afloat. Edit [12/13/18]: Hah! :rainbowlaugh:

I have some ideas for pretty far ahead in the story, but for now I'm just going to be writing in the moment. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :twilightsmile:

Proofread by martyrboy.

Noctis Aeterna - Chapter 2

How many times must one deceive oneself before they concede fallibility? Perhaps the answer is not nearly that simple. Perhaps we are unable to do so, to admit our own reality is flawed. After all, how does one distinguish the truth from falsities but with the baseline of one’s own perception?

And as such, would denying what you behold as the truth only serve to destroy what few vestiges you may still hold of your world? To admit your reality is flawed is to admit that you have nothing whence to differentiate right from wrong.

Therefore, can you truly blame people who fall victim to insanity or delusions for not being stronger? Can you truly blame people who believe in the only reality that they have been handed? I certainly am unable to do otherwise.

To define crazy you must relate to your own normality, and thusly it is nigh impossible to separate truth from lies when neither are right nor wrong.

—

It has certainly been some time since I last wrote in here. A lot of stuff has happened since then, but this isn't the time to discuss it. I’ll fill you all in on what I skipped in the last entry.

And remember, I was new to this strange world and let me tell you, this place is fucking weird.

—

I stop walking, falling behind Spike and raising a shaky hoof. “Hold up.”

Spike pauses and turns to look at me inquisitively. “Yeah?”

“Are you telling me…” I wave towards the building in front of us.

Spike takes on a blank stare. “Um—”

“...That the library…”

“Well—”

“...Is in a tree?!” I whisper.

He scratches the side of his head. “Apparently. Sort of a weird place to put a library.” He shrugs and walks to the door, and I follow after a moment’s hesitation.

I watch silently as the dragon pushes open the wooden door. It creaks as the room within is flooded with light. A distant bookshelf is illuminated in the far back, spines shining as my eyes pass over them.

Both him and I walk into the darkened library and he closes the door behind us. Shadows immediately overwhelm us, suffocating any remaining vestiges of light in the room. Eventually, I hear the flick of a light and the room instantly brightens.

Dusty volumes line the shelves around the room. I can’t help looking around in wonder at the wealth of knowledge at my fingertips.

“Why did I never think about living in a library?” I whisper in childlike amazement. I spend a few minutes lost in the moment, wandering down the shelves and reading the spines of the books. The Transcontinental Railroad, An Abridged History of South Equestrian Dynasties, Virtues Of Sorcery - A Treatise On The Binding of Cutie Marks, and the list continues. I pour over the history section, then the fiction section, then the alchemy section, then the music section— I file away some of the interesting titles for later.

Spike is busy looking through the fiction section, a handful of comic books in hand. I let him do his thing while I simply close my eyes and try to relax.

“Twilight, what have I told you about using spells on other students?” A voice asks sternly to my right. My eyes snap open and I find myself surprised when I see I am in a dimly lit room. I’m planted on a rough cushion upon the ground, sitting rigidly as I stare straight forward.

I look to my right and see a large white creature pacing back and forth. It— no, she —leans forward to address me. It’s then I notice the prominent rainbow mane and tail adorning her head and backside respectively. Coming through the mane is a long spiralled white horn and similarly colored wings sprout from her sides.

She speaks again, “Well?”

“I’m sorry,” I hear myself say feebly. It sounds distant, as if it’s a recording. The creature stops pacing and stands in front of me.

She sighs and sits down. “Twilight, I’ve let you off with too many warnings before. Just like all of the students, you are to follow the established rules of this institution. It is not fair to the other students if it were any other way.” Sweat beads on my face. “You may be my personal student, but to let you go unpunished forever is an egregious abuse of power, both on my behalf and on yours.”

A quiet sob escapes my lips and I close my eyes slowly. When they open once more, I’m lying in a soft bed with tears streaming down my face. I stifle my crying and attempt to lift out of the bed. Without the lights on, I’m guided only by the gentle moonlight streaming through the far window. Shadows seem to jump and move in the corner of my eyes as I make my way to where the stairs are partially illuminated by a single beam of light.

I pause. “The moon’s up? How long was I out?” With a nervous shuffle, I began my careful descent of the stairs. As I reach the bottom, I find myself in a narrow hallway, visible only by the light flitting in from the other end. When I reach the light, I find myself in the room we entered through.

Looking around, I see Spike atop a tall ladder dusting on of the shelves’ larger tomes. He turns around at the sound of my foot— hoofsteps, nearly falling from his perch.

He steadies himself and addresses the pony in the room. “Oh, Twilight! You’re awake!” He quickly climbs down the rickety ladder and runs up to me with a hug. “Geez, you really worried me back there.”

I shift awkwardly on my hooves. “What happened?” I ask after a moment of silence. I lift an unencumbered hoof to my head. “All I remember is seeing all the books and then… I dunno. I woke up in the bed upstairs. I feel like I had a really strange dream too.” I mutter the last part.

Spike either doesn’t notice or chooses to ignore it and backs up a bit. “Well, I had left to see if Celestia stocked the fridge with any gems, but when I came back, you were on the floor crying.” He crosses his arms and looks away morosely. “And there weren’t any gems either,” he mumbles.

My eyes widen. “Wait, you carried me all the way upstairs?!” I stare in disbelief at the diminutive dragon.

He lifts up his arms in a display of strength. “Guilty as charged,” he says before dropping his arms to his side and looking down. “You were asleep for awhile.”

We stand in silence for a bit after that. Eventually, Spike returns to dusting the shelves, humming a catchy tune to himself as he does so. I yawn as I watch him, surprising myself. I suppose everything that’s happened today has really taken a lot out of me, I figure. I turn to stumble my way back up the stairs, gulping in trepidation.

As I take my first step around the corner, Spike calls out to me. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I lean around the wall. “Yeah. I think so.” I pause. “Thanks. For everything,” I eventually say, catching a glimpse of Spike giving me a strange look for just a moment as I turn back to the stairs.

He seems unconvinced, but nods anyways. “Uh-huh… Well, have a good night! The beds here are great!”

I smile slightly. Even with everything going on in my head, I can’t help but think I will. I continue to the room, hardly stumbling on my way upstairs. Nothing but sweet dreams for me tonight.

—

“I’ve got some reading to do,” I say to Spike. He rolls his eyes and returns to breakfast. I’m feeling a little peckish as well, but I’d rather not indulge just yet. When I glance over, I swear I see him eating some shiny rocks as well, but I write it off as a trick of the light.

I walk to the rightmost shelf and began browsing the selection of titles again. My hoof trails from spine to spine, until I stop at one book in particular. Something about it freezes in place and I’m unable to tear my eyes away from it.

I clumsily pull Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide from the shelf and place it before me.

“Shit. How am I supposed to read this?” I mumble to myself. With a shrug, I attempt to separate the cover from the rest of the pages with my large hooves. Eventually, I give up and just lean down with my muzzle to unceremoniously shove it open. Before long, I manage to get halfway decent at this.

“The Elements of Harmony are six powerful relics, lost to time,” I read aloud. “It is said that Celestia used them in the War of Aeterna to banish Nightmare Moon, during her final stand in the Castle of the Two Sisters.”

I gaze out the window, silent for a some time. The blank moon stares back at me surrounded by the pitch black sky. Not a single star is out. “Hey, Spike,” I call.

The reply came a second later. “Yeah?”

I drop the book on the ground and walk up to the dirtied glass. “What time is it?”

“Uh… Like eleven in the morning. Why?” My hoof begins to tremble. Something’s not right.

“Oh, no reason!” I shout hastily back, trying to control the shaking in my voice. “Hey, I’m gonna go for a walk! Kay, bye!” I quickly open the door and run outside.

“Wait, Twi—” Spike’s cry is cut off as I slam the door. I began rapidly trotting down the path towards the rest of the town. I don’t know how busy everything should be at this time of day, but there’s not a single pony out and about. Silence wafts through the streets, early accentuated by dull wind whistling through the alleys.

“The sun should be up by now, right?” I ask nobody in particular. I hear a soft laugh and turn around quickly to face it. Seeing nothing behind me, I continue forward. But when I look forward once more, I just barely see a midnight blue pony turn into a dark cloud and fly away. I shake my head.

What the… Where have I seen her before? I give chase after the rapidly retreated figure. I began to draw closer until I trip over my unwieldy hooves. My face slams into cold dirt and I slide forward a foot before coming to rest.

“Again?!” I shout, looking up to see the creature disappear into a menacing forest. I growl in anger. I attempt to push myself up, but my hooves slide on the dirt, landing me on my stomach. I take a deep breath before trying again. This time, I manage to wedge myself against a rock in the ground.

Standing once more, I take off again, albeit slower with a slight limp. My body plunges into the forest and the chase is on.

—

I arrive at a ravine, coat muddled by dirt and an unsightly amount of twigs. The journey through this place went pretty smoothly. A rickety rope bridge stretches across the infinite chasm. It looks ancient, but the sides are lined with what looks like fresh ropes. The boards are mostly old, but here and there, a missing one is replaced with a brighter piece of oak.

I frown. It definitely looks like someone just came through here recently, judging from the fixes, but there aren’t any foot or hoofprints in the wet mud and the entire clearing looks untouched. Given that the thing I’m trailing is flying, I suppose it makes sense there wouldn’t be a trail.

With a confident nod, I step onto the bridge despite every part of my body screaming at me not to. I’m surprised when I realize just how sturdy the pass is, whoever worked on it did a good job. Though it seems like a whole lot of work for a place nobody seems to come out to. Nonetheless, I reach the other end of the ravine. As I take the last step off the bridge, the whole cliff rumbles and the bridge entirely collapses, trapping me on this side.

I gulp, turning forward to stare at the overgrown castle wall. It was obscured by thick fog back a ways, but now I can see how menacing it truly is. Large cracks run down the massive brick walls and vines cover much of its surface as if trying to squeeze the last of the life out of the ruins. A tremendous set of metal doors hang open, beckoning me inside.

Unable to resist the allure and without a way to leave, I step within the dark abodes. Like the bridge, the doors slam shut behind me causing me to jump a foot into the air. Whispers fill my ears and I attempt to cover them with my hooves. But even as I do so, a sharp pain pierces into my head and I collapse on the floor, crying out in pain.

I can barely hear the soft hoofsteps approaching over the din, until my head is forcefully lifted upwards. This close, I can see the mare from before much better, even as tears blur my vision. Suddenly it clicks. I know where I’d seen her before, in the Elements of Harmony book, there was a blurry picture of her flying through the air. Between the brief look I got of her before and the quality of photo, I couldn’t tell who it was.

“Nightmare Moon,” I manage to croak out. My vision clears somewhat as the pain lessons. The pony standing before me is far taller than I previously thought, her body’s partially covered in shining metal armor, and two slitted eyes and a mouth full of fangs gazed smugly at my crippled body. The rest of her coat was almost a pitch black, with barely a tint of indigo.

“Ah, so thou knowest who we are. We are not surprised. Truly, Celestia spoke highly of thee before she was banished,” she lets go of my aching head, but I continue to stare at her. “With how confident she was in our defeat, we nearly feared for our own life.”

She leans down to stare me in the eyes. Cold, merciless eyes stare into my own. “But thou are not Twilight Sparkle, are thou,” she asked with a toothy grin. I choked on my spit.

How did she know?! I thought with panic.

She backs up and laughs deeply. “Oh, do not underestimate us,” she admonishes, walking towards a battered throne mere meters away. “From the moment we first returned, we could feel thy mind, however fragmented it may be.” She takes a seat in the regal chair.

A moment of silence passes. I drop my head back to the ground. It isn’t long before she continues though. “So what manner of creature are thou? We have heard whisper of a being of many shapes.” She leans forward. “Genuinely, we would like to know before we kill thee.” She flashes another one of her toothy smiles.

“I’m—” I began before the doors to the room bang open, interrupting me.

A tomboyish voice shouts, “Hey, get your hooves off her you filthy…” She pauses and lowers her stance for a second. “Uh… Filthy…” She frowns before sighing. “Just get away from her!” I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at the performance. I force my body to turn around just enough to see the new visitors.

The pony has a light cerulean coat with an extremely vibrant rainbow mane and tail. A cocky grin rests on her face as she glares at Nightmare Moon. Four other ponies step out from behind her, filling the narrow hallway. On the far right is a bright yellow pegasus with flowing pink hair. Her lips are quivering and she looks ready to run away at a moment’s notice, yet she stands her ground. Next is the pink pony from before, smiling brilliantly despite the situation, she catches my eye and gives a quick wink causing my grimace to lessen slightly. On the other side of the rainbow pony is an orange pony with short yellowish hair. Her face is similarly determined like the rainbow one’s, but without much of the cockiness. She looked between Nightmare Moon and I with worry. And last is a pure white pony with an elegantly styled dark purple mane and tail, each curling into itself. She holds herself with a essence of regality, but seems as if she could handle herself in a fight if push comes to shove.

Immediately, the yellow pony runs over to my crippled figure and attempts to help me up. A quick glance back at the mare on the throne tells me that she wasn’t prepared for all these ponies showing up. A sneer escapes her lips, but it doesn’t frighten me nearly as much this time.

“What are you all doing here?” I find the courage to ask. “Not to mention, who are all you?” They glance at each other.

“Well, when we left the Town Hall and saw you run into the Everfree, I would never have forgiven myself if I stood idly by,” the alabaster one says. Her eyes glow with determination.

The pink horse bounds forward, landing in front of the unicorn. “What kind of friends would we be if we didn’t help you trounce Nightmare Moon?!” She smiled widely with almost too much glee given the situation.

Friends… I mouth the word and feel the strange sound linger on my tongue. It suddenly feels so foreign for some reason.

I close my eyes before opening them with newfound determination as I stand up. I need to find the Elements!

I’m caught off guard as Nightmare Moon laughs again. I look up to see her levitating five glowing crystals. I hardly pay attention to that as I’m too fixated on the gems. Are those…?

The unexpected visitors back up slightly, while the cyan pegasus holds her position defiantly.

“Indeed they are, my faithful student,” she says mockingly. “We suppose we may never discover what thou are, but we shall enjoy destroying thee.” Her horn glows bright and the elements fill the room with blinding light. An electricity fills the air that makes my fur stand on end.

I squint, trying to see what is happening. I gasp when I see a red hot beam of energy arcing towards the group of ponies in the doorway. I realize in horror that I only have moments until it strikes.

Information flashes through my consciousness. Pure manus at quadro point. One thousand keltcians at least. Twenty million gigamana of corrupted harmonic magic... Enough to completely destroy a full grown pony in less than a millisecond. I cry out in anger and lunge forward. I’m overcome by a searing pain enveloping my body, the air around me erupting into flames and the beam of energy slamming into my chest.

The last thing I feel is my horn exploding with pain as I hear the terrified cries of the ponies — my friends — behind me.

Author's Note

Oh hey, lookie here! :rainbowhuh:

It's a new chapter! :pinkiehappy:

And it's only been, what, a month? Or maybe two... You can't rush perfection after all. :twilightsheepish:

Anyways, here we got something of a tone shift from the previous segment of the story, but hopefully it's not too jarring. That being said, I don't believe the overall feel of the story is all that different.

In terms of characters, many of them I'm going to try and keep in line at least somewhat with the cannon personalities, but some characters may have completely original ones. Nightmare Moon, for example, is supposed to be a fair bit more cunning and ruthless in this universe. :pinkiegasp:

At the same time, I don't feel as if these changes and the deviations I will later make from the source material would qualify for an AU tag on this story. :twilightsmile:

Anyways, I'm really getting into the groove with this whole thing now so I don't think the next chapter will take as long. Nonetheless, I make absolutely no guarantees about a timely release. :derpytongue2:

The plot is really gonna become important soon. I've got a few big things planned to throw off the cannon, but most of this story I will be writing as it comes to me.

[11/5/2017] Edited the ending to try and make it flow better. Also fixed up some of the plot points relating to Twilight seeing the Mane 6 as friends. Thanks to Vaalintine and ferret for pointing those out!

Proofread by martyrboy and Wordplay.

Infractus - Chapter 3

Entry #3, June 16, 1000 CP

Before I get on with this entry, I decided to start denoting the start of each one. I figure it would be a good idea to keep track of when these things happened and to keep my thoughts straight. It’s hard enough when the date is a thousand years behind what I’m used to, but whatever. This is — well — me, signing off.

—

My nerves were on fire. Magic poked and prodded my everything and left a tender mess behind. My surroundings turned into a blurred mess as my senses are torn asunder. An intense pressure built on my forehead as my consciousness slipped away.

Soon, the pain faded into a dull ache. A sense of weightlessness overtook me. The pressure was still there, but now it seemed to have spread across my entire body. I’m not sure how much time passed before I heard a voice speak to me.

“Twilight Sparkle,” it said faintly. My eyes flickered open and I saw a familiar decrepit stone room around me. It was then I noticed I was no longer floating. My fur laid flat against the cold floor and a stiff breeze blew past me. I looked up to see an empty throne. It appeared to be falling apart — numerous cracks ran the length of it and quite a few chunks were missing.

I sluggishly pulled my arms close to me — or legs, I supposed — and attempted to push down. After successfully lifting my torso upwards, I repeated the motion with my back legs. Now standing, I slowly shuffled around to look behind me. It occurred to me that the ponies from before were gone. In fact, the whole place seemed devoid of life, with me being the only one alive.

A pair of large wooden doors — surprisingly intact despite their rotting timbers — touched the ceiling at the back of the room. Only one still had a handle attached, a heavy metal latch, coated by rust. The other door had only a jagged piece of metal nailed into it, the rest likely either fallen or torn off. I lifted my right foreleg in an attempt to make a move towards it, until I recalled the person who woke me.

I glanced around, casting a wary eye at the shadows. Nothing jumped out at me, although I do realize the ceiling was completely destroyed. Directly above me was the beautiful night sky, full of twinkling stars and a rather large moon. Faint alien craters covered much of the pearly white surface with no discernible pattern.

“Twilight!” it called more urgently. My gaze dropped back down to where I had heard it and I nearly stumbled back in surprise. Standing before the unoccupied throne was a wispy figure, closely resembling Nightmare Moon, but as I took in its form, several differences came to light. It — her — stood with a proud and intimidating posture, but she did so without menace.

Her shimmering coat was a lighter blue than Nightmare’s, and her flank bore a much lighter ink splotch surrounding a crescent moon. Likewise, the armor worn by Nightmare was replaced by cloth. I also notice that her mane failed to emanate with the power I felt from the dark pony, instead hanging in limp stagnation down her neck. The creature flickered and shifted every few seconds, occasionally disappearing entirely.

“What are you?” I whispered. Her gaze appraised me calmly as I stood stock still. She smiled faintly and almost managed to conceal a wince from my frightful gaze. She stepped forward, hooves thundering with each step. I moved back, but she reached out and touched a surprisingly gentle hoof on my shoulder. I shiver slightly at the touch.

She spoke lowly, “She grows weak. Thou must—”

“She?” I asked. “You mean Nightmare Moon?”

The pony paused and gave me a cross look. Another wince crossed her face. “Correct. The Night Mare in the Moon rests. Thou must use the Elements of Harmony to—”

I interrupted, “Yeah, I already know about those.”

Her eyes closed and she breathed in sharply through her teeth before continuing. “Listen to us! Thou needs thy acquaintances to wield the artifacts!” She looked down at the floor. “We do not have long. She—” The pony stopped with a grimace and appeared to be concentrating. “She grows stronger even now.”

I stepped back slightly and eyed her warily. “What am I even supposed to do with those things?”

“Truly, we do not possess such knowledge. But it is an expression of thyself. Thou must believe in the virtue thou represents. Only then shall they function.” I was about to speak but she held up a hoof. “Hurry now. Our strength is limited, but—”

A headache suddenly pounded away at my temples and I felt a fire raging in my head. I screwed my eyes shut and will myself to fall back into oblivion. It doesn’t come.

I opened my eyes slowly, fearing the sun’s light would sear into my retina, but I was instead greeted by a dim room. The pounding in my ears intensified and made me want to close my eyes once more. I saw a dark stone wall in front of me, tiny holes and cracks peppering the surface. I shivered as cold seeped into my body. Looking down, I noticed I was lying on the ground, my singed fur brushing crisply against the coarse stone bricks.

I winced from a sudden spike of pain. My body shrunk back while I placed a hoof on my temple, feeling the hair crunch beneath it. When I was allowed a brief moment of respite, I opened my eyes and took in the room around me. My nose crinkled as I sniffed the air, noticing the faint scent of freshly fallen rain. I could hardly see more than a few feet in front of me as everything beyond fell into blackened obscurity. Shadows danced along the walls as I turned my head to check behind me.

I noticed I’m not alone. A short distance away, four ponies were spread out on the ground. The closest was a yellow pony with a long pink mane. She clutched her legs close to her barrel as if worried they might run away. A slight tremor racked her body just then and she gave off a pitiful whimper. Beyond her, another pony — a familiar white unicorn — was sleeping with a modicum more comfort on a red and gold blanket she must have brought with her. The ends were curled up slightly, giving me the impression it must have been rolled up not too long ago.

From where I was, I couldn't make out more than just the figures of the others in the room. I glanced to my right, at the wall. With careless ambition, I bent back my forelegs before pushing down and standing up. Upon taking a step forward, a searing agony stabbed through my head. My legs exploded in pain and I felt them buckle forwards. I slammed into the ground, only eliciting a soft thud as I collided. My eyes closed alongside the pain in my head. The beating in my ears drowned out anything I could hear around me. After a moment, the pain receded and the thumping dissipated into a softer pounding.

After another minute of stillness, I gave a great huff and glanced down at my hooves. I repeated the motion from before, carefully bending my legs and standing upright. Discomfort brushed against my senses but I stayed focused. I pushed a front leg to the side experimentally, before returning it at a fresh bout of irritation. I cautiously tested the waters, stepping slowly towards the nearby wall. When the pain once more flowed away, I repeated the same motions but with my other leg. However unrefined my movements were, I eventually found purchase on the slick brick wall. I leaned against it and allowed myself to relax slightly.

I burdened the cracked surface with most of my weight, allowing my legs to move uninhibited and with relatively little pain. An odd step made me wince and I quickly corrected my movement. Step after step, I eventually reached a more well-lit area of the room, moonlight streaming through gaping holes in the ceiling and walls. A stray hoof splashed a shining puddle of water on the ground, wetting parts of my fetlock. I shivered involuntary at the cold and glanced downwards. Ripples shattered the image of my face. I let out a sigh before continuing onwards.

Within a few moments, I reached where the other figures lay. One was sleeping peacefully against the floor, using her impossibly fluffy hair as a pillow. I chuckled under my breath as her pink legs occasionally kicked. Looking to my right, I noticed an orange mare leaning against the wall with a dirtied stetson pulled over her eyes. She snored softly as I walked up to her.

My front right hoof hit another shallow gathering of rain water. The hatted pony stirred and groggily moved a hoof to push up her headwear. She snorted slightly.

“Is it mornin’ already?” she asked with a Southern slur. The pony blinked in the darkness and rubbed her eyes. Finally catching sight of me, her eyes widened. Her mouth opened, about to speak, when a voice from outside the room shouted in.

A figure lazily floated through the doorway. “I’m gonna catch some Zs. Wake me when Nightmare Moon raises the sun!” The scratchy voice chuckled for a moment before breaking off with a yawn. The pink pony nearby shifted and lifted her head. I saw the other two doing the same.

The one with the white coat spoke up in a weary voice. “Must you be so loud, Rainbow Dash?” She took a moment to yawn. “Celestia can no doubt hear you from here.” She laid her head back down and wrapped the carpet around her.

I think I saw the pony — Rainbow Dash — roll her eyes. She turned her head towards us and promptly stilled. Her wings slowed down and she gently lowered to the ground.

She quickly regained her cool and gave a nod in my direction. “Hey guys, she’s up,” she said, hardly any quieter. Her wings fluttered a moment and she settled onto the floor, pausing to look up. “And, uh… thanks.” She cocked her head. “For, yah know. The whole saving our life thing.” Her body curled up and I heard her begin to snore loudly.

I shuffled side to side on my hooves and glanced around. Movement sounded to my side before the orange mare pushed herself to her hooves. My head turned to her and she offered a comforting smile.

“That was some mighty fine magic yah did back there.” She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly and looked away. “Well, Ah best be getting to watching for Nightmare.” Her words lingered in the air as she trotted out the open doorway. The door covering the portal had long since fallen off, with a few broken splinters along the hinges the only evidence of one ever existing. I stared at her retreating form until she disappeared from view.

“How are you feeling?” a quiet voice asked close-by. I jumped and turned to face the owner. Her pink mane fell gracefully over her left eye and curled up just before the ground. Her coat was matted in a few places, but seemed well maintained all the same. The pony carried a natural kind of elegance, that of someone who never truly had to put in much work to achieve a figure. Her visible eye was overflowing with worry as she stared at me.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled. I coughed lightly from how dry my throat felt. I tried to continue but I ended up hacking instead. “Ugh…”

She eyed me up and down, a stern expression across her features. “Well you certainly don’t sound fine. Oh, what were you thinking, putting yourself in harms way?” she asked quietly

“Well, what was I—,” I grimaced as the pounding in my head returned with a vengeance. I lifted a hoof up to my temple with a wince. “Ow,” I finished. By now the other ponies had woken, apart from the rainbow-maned one from before. Heavy sleeper, I presumed.

“Here, let me help.” I felt the pony wrap a foreleg around me and guide me to a nearby wall. I leaned against it and felt the pain slowly diminish. “Better?” she asked.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my head. “Yeah,” I responded. I eventually opened them to see a completely pink pony extremely close to me. I leaned my head back in surprise.

“Do you have any idea how much you’ve delayed your party with the battle and us dragging you here?!” she shouted in what I assumed is her normal inside volume. I shook my head bewildered. “It’ll take whole days to get everything organized after that stunt you pulled. Days, Twilight! What am I—”

She was cut off when a white unicorn stuck a hoof in her mouth. “Pinkie, darling, is this really the time to be discussing party plans? You’re scaring the poor dear.” She turned towards me. “My name is Rarity. Yours?”

“I’m not scared,” I murmured. “I’m, uh, Twilight.” The name felt extremely alien to me and I very nearly shivered involuntarily at designating it to myself. At the same time, I couldn’t help but feel as if it fit me to a degree. I shook my head and came back to the present to see the ponies looking at me with concern. “Where is here anyway?” I followed up. A slight pounding returned from the movement.

Rarity waved a hoof dismissively, releasing the pink one. “Oh, just one of the more — ahem — aesthetically pleasing rooms off the main foyer.” I blinked and she continued. “Well, even after that ruffian fled, it would be a crime to just leave you behind!”

The pink pony, now free of Rarity’s hoof, held out one of her own to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the unicorn brushing her hoof on the ground in barely concealed disgust, muttering something about spit. “I’m Pinkamena Diane Pie, but my friends call me Pinkie or Pie and sometimes even Pinkie Pie! But you already knew all that, or at least some of it!” I hesitantly went to shake her hoof but she pulled it back as soon as soon as I bumped it. She smiled widely at my bewildered look.

I glanced to my left where the shy pegasus was scuffing a hoof on the ground. She looked up briefly but quickly looked away when we locked gazes. I’m not going to lie, she striked me as the most adorable thing ever. I would’ve rushed over and hugged her right then if my head wasn’t threatening to split open.

“Her name is Fluttershy,” Pinkie whispered with what I hope was exaggerated loudness. The pegasus, hearing her name, glanced in our direction and blushed.

“Thanks,” I said to Fluttershy as I flashed a smile in her direction. She beamed a little in response but quickly retreated again. I’m not one to force somepony out of their comfort zone though, so I left her alone. I looked around at the gathered ponies. They all seemed to be staring at me expectantly, except for Rainbow, who had somehow managed to find a cloud… indoors… which she was sleeping on. My eye twitched. Nope, fuck it. I immediately pretended the prismatic pegasus wasn’t giving a middle finger — err, hoof? — to reality.

I returned my gaze to the few ponies before me. “What?” I finally asked. They shared an uncertain glance. Rarity coughed lightly and pulled a handkerchief out of… somewhere. She busied herself with it, not really doing anything in particular. I couldn’t help but stare at the glowing light surrounding the floating object, and the matching one on her horn. It was hard to recall if I’d seen that already with how hectic the day had been. Both of my eyes twitched in sequence and the headache that had diminished somewhat flared up.

To my surprise, it’s the shy one who spoke up. “Well, um, we were wondering if, just possibly, you had a plan?” She displayed a strained smile before quickly amending, “Uh, if you’re not too busy that is.” She looked down and scuffed a hoof on the floor, again.

I stared, bewildered. “A… plan?” I asked. The creatures around me certainly hadn’t helped alleviate the intensifying pain building up in my head. It was nigh impossible for me to think straight through the fog settling over my mind. I rubbed at my temples once more. “Plan for what?” I managed to force out through gritted teeth. Fluttershy backed up a pace and looked ostensibly apologetic. A small bit of guilt welled up inside of me, but was quickly crushed by another surge of pain. Rarity seemed to take notice of my state and put away the cloth, looking worriedly in my direction.

I barely noticed the pink pony pop up beside me, but I couldn’t bring myself to question it. “Well,” she started, “I was hoping to throw you a party for when you defeated Nightmare Moon and we got to go home, but,” Pinkie paused, drawing out the last word with a breath. I winced at the volume, but she continued regardless. “There’s this teensy tiny eenie meenie absolutely minuscule microscopic— no, smaller than microscopic! It’s like...” She trailed off and tapped her chin with a hoof.

Thankfully, the unicorn stepped forward to save me. “Pinkie, darling, I think she gets the point.” I nodded slightly towards her. Pinkie only pouted before returning to her previously manic state.

She continued unabated, “Anyways, it turns out Nightmare Moon maybe sorta got away when she did that whole zzzaaaappp thing and you were all, ‘nuuuuuuu’, and jumped in front of the giant rainbow laser and there were all these explosions like bing bang boom and then you passed out!” She grinned energetically. “That was really cool by the way.”

I said nothing as she hopped around the room in front of me, crudely reenacting the ‘showdown’ between me and Nightmare Moon. She stopped in front of me. “Anyways, that means that we need to find Moony and end her reign of terror once and for all! And for that we need a plan!” she finished, smiling widely. I leaned back instinctively. What was it with this pony and personal space?

“Uh, well—,” I looked around and saw Rarity roll her eyes.

“Hold on a minute, darling,” she interrupted, “why don’t I go get Applejack before you start. Perhaps she can grouse the sleepyhead.” We glanced towards the sleeping pony. She snorted and scratched herself with a hind leg before rolling over. I couldn’t help but giggle at the display, despite the mood. Rarity joined in as well. Stifling herself, she left the room and returned a moment later with an orange pony, Applejack, I presume.

Applejack grimaced when she saw Rainbow and let out a good natured sigh. I could tell this would take a while.

—

It was a few minutes later when Rainbow was finally woken up and introductions were completed. It turned out Applejack, or AJ as Rainbow called her, ran a local apple farm by the name of Sweet Apple Acres. They supplied a fair amount of the produce in the area. Rainbow also worked as a weather… pony? I wasn’t not sure exactly what that meant, but judging by the cloud Rainbow slept on, it was probably not meteorology.

The others talked for a short while about their jobs, but I couldn’t really recall them. Rarity pulled out some flasks of what she assured me was water, helping to somewhat alleviate the headache that’d been building as the others talked. Eventually, the topic turned to the crazed mare that had attacked us.

I figured it was about time, especially as the lessened pain lent me memories of my dream from earlier. I told the others about it to the best of my abilities, but none of them had heard of anything like it. It was hard for me to swallow the idea that some pony was capable of entering my mind, assuming it wasn’t just some bizarre vision, meaningless or not. Something told me it was more than that though.

The others agreed, except for Rainbow and AJ who seemed a little dubious of the whole thing. I couldn’t really blame them, but they begrudgingly went along with the planning. By the time we packed up camp, some small dredgings of a plan were complete, but we didn’t really have much to work with. Hopefully a combination of planning, quick thinking, teamwork, and just a small dose of luck were all we needed to make it through this. Despite the pony’s warning in my dream, though, I couldn’t help but fear just how powerful our opponent is. I also realized just how insane all of us had to be to go through with this.

We trotted off somberly to battle, fully aware that the only advantage we could possibly have was numbers.

Author's Note

Woo! It's finally here! :pinkiehappy:

Yes, yes, I realize how long this took and how disappointing the word count may be for all of you. :twilightoops:

I had a really hard time figuring out both what I wanted in this chapter and writing it out. As a result, I took a lot of breaks, completely rewrote a lot of times, doubted my story plan, and read a lot of other fanfiction. Seriously. I read a shitload of stuff in the process of writing this which may have possibly affected the writing a style a few times throughout it. :twilightblush:

I can only hope that my difficulties did not translate significantly into the passage. :twilightsmile:

I'd like to claim that I have a solid idea of what next chapter entails, but I think I said that after the last chapter as well, so... :fluttershbad:

I've also been thinking about a super important passage I wrote for the story a while back. I'm not sure when I should release it as an interlude of sorts, as it has a lot of significance to the plot. I want to send it out sooner rather than later, but it's something I have to consider... Anyways, that's enough rambling for now! :facehoof:

Now, onto the credits as always!

-I'd like to thank Wordplay as usual. I can't recall if he actually helped at all, but it was a fairly long process. I'm sure he listened in a provided feedback at one point or another.

-More deliberately, though, was Figments. They did a thorough edit on the chapter to provide both grammar and plot feedback.

I think that's all for now! See you next time! :yay:

Somnum Exterreri - Chapter 4

Entry #4, June 17, 1000 CP

I figured that I should write something here about the time gap between the previous entry and this one. I immediately put quill to paper to work on this, but found myself quickly at a loss. It’s not that I couldn’t remember what happened; it was — and still is — rather vivid, as a matter of fact. I just had an extraordinarily hard time coming up with the words to describe all of it. Visceral was one word to describe the fight. Even thinking about it gives me a dull ache in my horn. I just laughed little bit; it’s weird to look back at the previous sentence and think, ‘this is my life now.’

Whatever. They said writing this stuff down would help. But, if you’re me, then you already know all this stuff. Still, it feels nice to just lay it out. Makes me feel less like I’ve given up.

—

Our hoofsteps bounced off the entrapping walls. Water beat off the ground in static increments. An occasional sniff found its place inbetween. Heavy breathing played percussion to the odd symphony. Nobody spoke; we left that behind us at the sleeping chambers.

I had lost track of how long we walked. It must have been hours, or so it felt, and there was hardly any way to tell the passage of time. We never grew too famished, despite our late departure from Ponyville and lack of sustenance. Indeed, the only viable measurement of such was our increasingly growing fatigue.

It was that very same tiredness that caused me to fall behind. Applejack was kind enough to slow down and match me.

“Hey there, sugarcube!” she called with slight mirth. I lifted a foreleg to wave back and stumbled a little for the effort. She seemed to notice my near tumble and frowned.

She looked me over. “Is everything alright?”

I sighed and slowed to a stop. Loose stone rolled away from my hooves and clattered noisily against the ground. “No, of course it’s not alright!” I snapped. She reared her head, sliding her Stetson back somewhat. The others, hearing the conversation, halted in their tracks and turned to listen.

“You want to know just how fucked everything is? Well, how does this sound: the sun isn’t rising; your ruler is missing; I’m halfway to passing out from my hornache; an ancient evil has come to destroy the world; and — to top it all off — we have no goddamn clue where she is or how to stop her,” I continued, hissing the last part through clenched teeth. The throbbing pain in my head that had previously fallen to the wayside came back with a vengeance and I stumbled briefly. When I regained my balance, I noticed that Applejack had her eyes narrowed and lips held in a tight grimace. Any concern she might have held for my health was pushed back in the wake of barely restrained anger.

Even as Fluttershy rushed to my side to check my temperature, or something of the sort, Applejack stomped an orange hoof down. Minute cracks spread from where she hit and I felt a tiny spark of fear and respect ignite in my head. “You don’t have to be so darn rude, Twilight! I know the situation we’re in sucks, but complaining ain’t gonna do nothing to fix it.” She turned to look away and pursed her lips. “For what it’s worth, I honestly think you’re right.” Applejack turned back to me and glared defiantly. “But that don’t mean I’m just gonna roll over an’ die.”

I gazed at the sparse decorations in the hallway, abstaining from a response. Fluttershy rejoined the group and Applejack did the same. They all turned to depart. I watched as they disappeared into the gloomy corridor before giving a shake of my head. I quickly trotted to catch up.

I sidled up to the farmer and spoke, “No, you’re... You’re right. I’m sorry, just I— I know I shouldn’t have snapped like that. I’m just not used to all this walking and adventuring and all that.”

‘Walking on four legs, that is,’ I refrained from saying.

She hummed slightly with a nod of her head, but it was Rarity who answered, “Darling, not all of us have Applejack’s strength, Rainbow’s endurance, or even Pinkie’s, um...” She paused and looked up. “...whatever it is Pinkie has.”

“Still, though—,” she closed the gap between us and placed a delicate hoof on my shoulder, “—we are here if you need to talk.” She winked. “Or if you’re in need of some new attire.”

I smiled a little at that. Rainbow just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Can we get done with all the mushy feely stuff and get on with kicking some serious ass?”

“Oh, come on, Dashie,” Pinkie literally jumped in, “I bet deep down, Black Snooty is a really nice pony.” She bounced over to me and leaned into my ear. I backed away from her with a newly renewed scowl. She seemed oblivious however. “Maybe she’s actually Princess Celestia’s long lost sister who fell victim to her darker emotions after being possessed by a demon‽”

We all stared at her. She looked around in confusion before asking, “Whaaat?” Fluttershy facehoofed.

“Well, now. That’s just plumb ridiculous,” Applejack chuckled.

Rarity spoke up, “Darling, wherever did you hear such nonsense?”

Pinkie tilted her head. “Yeah, that was pretty silly, I guess. Even for me.”

‘Whatever,’ I thought. We continued in silence. What felt like an hour passed with no more than small chatter. At a bend in the path, I felt an intense tingling pass through my entire body and focus at the horn. From the way Rarity stopped dead and Rainbow’s hovering grew a bit more erratic, I assumed I wasn’t the only one. Suddenly, pain erupted from the base of my horn and expanded outwards throughout the body, sparks flying off the tip.

I fell to the ground with a scream and felt my vision going black at the edges. My breath came in short gasps. All I could think as another wave of pain racked my body was, ‘Why me‽’ My teeth grit. I could hear someone shouting but it felt distant and muffled, as if through a thick layer of water. Through my tunnel vision, I could tell Rainbow had been grounded by forces unseen and was arguing with the others. Soon enough, the thought was chased away by sheer agony. I might have blacked out then, but I shortly awoke to a dull ache throughout my body. My horn hurt the worst by far; I’d be lucky if it wasn’t cracked by such a careless pararcoxynein. ‘Ouch.’

Slowly, the sound of talking came to me. I strained my ears. “...just grab Twi; she’s gotta be that way!” I managed to hear Rainbow shout.

I tried to lift my head to see the rest of them, but a hoof gently pushed me down. I glanced upwards to see Fluttershy give me a smile before turning to Rainbow. “We don’t want to exacerbate her injuries!” she urgently whispered, “There’s no telling what that could do to her.”

The prismatic mare alighted. “I’m telling you, there was a huge wave of magic that totally messed her up! It made a mess of my wings’ leys too— look!” she rasped and shoved a dishevelled wing at the yellow pegasus.

After a careful inspection of the feathers, Fluttershy said, “I don’t see anything wrong with them, though they are a bit messy.” She leaned in and plucked a feather in her teeth.

“Ow!” Rainbow shouted as she retracted the appendage and shivered. “Gah, don’t do that in public.” She made a show of smoothing a few feathers with a hoof.

“Sorry.” Fluttershy blushed. “I guess I’m too used to working with birds; Blue jays don’t seem to mind.” She scuffed a hoof.

“Ugh. Whatever, let’s just go. The flash came from over there.”

Fluttershy moved closer to me. “But, Twi—”

I finally spoke up, “I’m fine, really. Just—” I stood up slowly. She didn’t stop me this time. “A little diz— woah!” A hoof slipped and I nearly took a tumble, if it weren’t for my caretaker keeping me steady. I flashed her a smile.

Rainbow threw her hooves out at me. “See, good as new! Now come on; we’re wasting daylight.” The rest of the group cantered to meet us when she waved them over. I nodded slightly and we all followed.

Staccato hooves clacked across the tiled floor and faded into the distance.

—

Well preserved doors stood guard at the tower’s entrance. I placed a shaky hoof on the handle of the right one. A glance back told me none of my group were doing any better. Not a single mane was straight or unmatted. Twigs and leaves were a common coat accessory. We were all just about dead on our feet. Or hooves. Whatever.

“Ready?” I asked rhetorically. Nothing we could do would prepare us further. It was unfortunately now or never. With a deep breath, I pushed open the door and slightly stumbled in. A menagerie of colors followed. Looking around, I saw that everything was concealed in a thick black fog that seemed to swirl around and strangle us. Rarity lit her horn but despite the increased illumination on her face, nothing else became visible.

We walked forward in a line, only able to see a few feet in front of us. The floor remained as decayed as everywhere else and the air retained a heavy must. After several minutes of walking, we climbed a set of stairs that ascended to find a spacious chamber. The fog had since lessened to the point where the walls were only partially obscured. A gentle glow wafted towards us. Floating in a ring formation, the five Elements of Harmony spun in a slow pirouette.

“There they are!” I exclaimed. The others shuffled into place beside me and stared in all at the gems. “But why would Nightmare Moon just leave them lying around?”

Applejack shrugged and took off a tattered hat. “I feel like it’s calling to me.”

“And I as well,” Rarity mumbled. Pinkie and Fluttershy nodded. Rainbow flew up to the Elements and landed. She stepped forward to grab one.

A tingle reached the base of my horn. “Rainbow, wait,” I said. Rainbow didn’t acknowledge me. I stepped closer and nearly shouted, “Rainbow!”

This time she turned to look at me as if coming out of a trance. Her hoof, held adjacent to the orbs just prior, lowered slowly to the floor. “What?” she asked, blinking.

“Doesn’t it seem strange that Nightmare Moon would just leave these here for us?”

Rarity tapped her chin in thought. “Hm, yes I suppose. I can certainly see why that would be cause for alarm.”

“You don’t think they’re trapped, do you?” Fluttershy murmured, retreating into a curtain of pink hair. A moment of tense silence followed.

I hesitated perhaps unduly. “We can’t be sure,” I eventually answered.

We looked at eachother. Applejack spoke first. “Well, this is just plumb ridiculous. It’s either trapped or it ain’t. One way or the other, we gotta get a hold of those Elements!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie agreed loudly.

I grit my teeth. “But that’s no reason not to take any and all necessary precautions!” I sharply retorted.

Applejack snarled right back. “I know it ain’t, but we don’t got a choice! The longer we dilly-dally, the more time that Nightmare fella has to—”

Fluttershy jumped between the two of us with hooves outstretched. “Please!” she forcefully said. Her hooves dropped and she frowned at the two of us. “This is not the time to be at each other’s throats.” I averted my eyes having no doubt that Applejack did the same.

“I agree with Fluttershy, darling,” the fashionista remarked.

Rainbow flew above us, arms crossed. “Yeah! Let’s go kick some alicorn butt!”

Her enthusiasm was infectious and I soon found myself smiling slightly despite not knowing what an ‘alicorn’ even was. I felt a hoof tap my shoulder. Looking over, I found it attached to Applejack.

“Truce?” she asked hopefully. I simply nodded and she visibly brightened.

Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Rarity simply smiled approvingly. Pinkie vibrated in place. “Let’s do this,” I finally said.

Then, suddenly, Rainbow Dash: Rarity let out a squeak and stumbled back as a cyan wing skimmed her mane. She took several gasps of air. “Rainbow Dash!” she scolded, “You scared me half to death! What do you have to say for yourself?” She glared at the flying bird-pony.

Said flying bird-pony raised an eyebrow. “Uh, get better peripherals?” She shrugged. “Anyways, just do your floaty magic thing already!”

Rarity scoffed. “And pray tell, how exactly do you expect me to do that?” She turned to look at the Elements. “Those things must weigh at least twenty kilograms each!”

“Just above thirty-seven and a half actually, if my estimate of the radius being around one-hundred-fifty millimeters is close,” I corrected automatically. The rest of the ponies in the room stared at me, except for Pinkie who was moving some beads on an abacus. I smiled sheepishly and mumbled, “Sorry.”

Rarity eventually shook her head. “And that just furthers my point.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes again. “Who cares? Just try to knab those bad boys. If you’re too weak to do so, then I’ll just swoop in with my wings and save the day.”

Pinkie, long since finished with her mathematics, bounced up and down. “Ooh, exciting!”

Rarity let out a withering sigh. “Oh, alright,” she conceded, “Just give me a moment; the atmosphere in here is positively stifling.” That said, she lowered her head and closed her eyes in concentration.

Her spiralled white horn lit up in a calming blue that mirrored her eyes. A second later, the five orbs were surrounded in a faint glow. They shakily moved a few inches towards us. Rarity flinched and her eyes screwed tight.

“Rarity?” I called softly. She didn’t respond and the others didn’t seem to notice. The flow of magic increased, but the movement of the artifacts paradoxically somehow slowed. The light around the stones seemed to suddenly wane and flicker, before dying out entirely, while the light of her horn remained strong. The Elements of Harmony, now released from her grip flew back as if pulled by springs and collided with a previously unknown barrier. The shield glowed sickly green at the points of contact and appeared to seep into the air.

As her grip entirely failed, Rarity let out a small whimper and took a step back. Her eyes snapped open and she raised her head. Fluttershy and I made sounds of consternation and moved closer, but the magic glow around her horn grew even brighter until it was nearly blinding. By the time the Elements had rolled to a stop, the blue of her aura had started to shift to a sinister black and green. Her breath quickened but she seemed unable to stop as the magic latched onto the Elements once more.

All of us simultaneously cried out her name as there was a blinding flash of light. Rarity let out a pained scream and an earth-shattering bang preceded the horrible destruction of stone. My ears rang and my sight was useless. I learned only after the fact that the Elements exploding had thrown Rarity towards the wall at a rapid velocity. By the time my vision recovered, I and the rest of my friends were hidden behind a fallen, crumbling statue.

I blinked, unsure of how we each got here from around the room. Stone shrapnel rained through the air but little made it to where we lay. The din in my ears gradually subsided enough to hear Applejack ask a question, followed by some form of response by Pinkie. The clattering of stone lasted only moments after I began to hear it. Now coherent, I could listen to what was being said.

“What happened?” Applejack asked. There was no answer this time, except for the cocky smirk Rainbow showed her. I now noticed the prismatic mare was the only one standing, though shakily at that. Behind the cover, each of us were in some form of shellshock, it would seem, apart from Applejack and Pinkie who just looked scared and wary. They were easily the least affected by the explosion. I initially considered the same for Rainbow, until she turned more towards us and I caught sight of her side closest to the blast.

Rainbow struggled to form words, coughing and only managing, “Heh, told you I could grab them.” Her eyes promptly closed and her form slumped to the floor, revealing that she had taken the worst of the blast. Her fur was dotted with small shards of stone and crystal embedded in her skin. Many of the marks seemed shallow enough, but others leaked a small quantity of blood. Her wings looked much worse for wear, with most of the wounds bloodlessly going the entire way through the appendage.

Fluttershy almost immediately exited her fearful position and scrambled forward. She gasped. “Rainbow!” It only took a moment for her to reach her fallen friend. With quick work, she stared at her chest for a moment, and then placed an ear just below her keel. A sigh of relief was let out and she stepped back. Without pause she reached into Pinkie’s hair, who I just noticed was standing beside her, and pulled out a first aid kit.

Pinkie giggled. “That tickles!”

“She’ll be fine for now,” Fluttershy said after carefully pouring small amounts of a clear solution onto the wounds followed by a dab of colorless ointment. “Most of the shrapnel didn’t go very deep and very few of the vessels in her wing were punctured. We still need to bring Rainbow to a hospital as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, Rarity groaned from the ground. Her eyes fluttered open, radiating confusion. Then she remembered. “Celestia, it would seem that was not just a horrible nightmare.”

“Sorry, gal. This problem ain’t gonna go away on its own,” Applejack responded.

Rarity grumbled, “Oh, bother.”

I stood up unsteadily, a faint buzzing still in my ears. “Let’s see how the Elements are doing,” I murmured, seeing the others more or less alright. Applejack and Pinkie got up to follow, as did Rarity who’s legs shook violently.

“I’ll stay with Rainbow Dash in case she wakes up,” Fluttershy whispered. Rarity fell to the floor with a thud and just sighed in defeat.

“So will Rarity, apparently,” she snarked.

A few strides took us to the remains of our plan. The immediate area of the Elements was in a state of severe disrepair. The floor, walls, and cieling were covered in scrapes, with the occasional hole created from shrapnel. It became immediately apparent how fortunate Rainbow was to have mostly superficial wounds.

“Oh, mare,” Applejack mumbled.

A menacingly chuckle filled the room. “‘Oh, mare’ indeed.” We each looked around wildly for the source.

“Who’s there?” Applejack and I shouted. A dark figure stepped out of the shadows, crushing crystal and stone fragments alike under her armored hooves. A forked tongue flicked through the air and her lips curled into a smile.

Slitted eyes met my own. I averted my gaze immediately. “Oh dear,” she mocked, “forget me already?” She leaned forward with a wicked sneer.

Pinkie whispered something about cliches next to me. Nightmare Moon shifted her eyes to her, evidently hearing part of the comment. The Nightmare stepped forward as Pinkie took an equal step back with a whimper. Her ears folded flat against her head.

“Hmm, and who might you be?” the dark alicorn hissed. She closed her eyes and moved her head closer. Pinkie cringed backwards, and the alicorn flinched in turn. She clenched her teeth. “Pinkie Pie, no?” Pinkie didn’t answer, electing to instead move further away.

Nightmare Moon’s eyes drifted from Pinkie to Applejack instead. “Perhaps my actions were far less... Memorable than I previously anticipated.” Her gaze once more moved to look past the ponies directly before her, only to stop at Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy. “Well, that can always be remedied.” A vicious grin corrupted her face.

I shuddered and steeled myself before stepping forward. “Whatever it is you’re planning, we won’t let you go through with it.” I couldn’t help the shiver that ran down my spine.

Nightmare Moon gave a deep throated laugh. “Is that so?” I shakily nodded and the other two moved beside me. Her humor evaporated and her body turned to a figureless blue vapor.

Before any of us could blink, she rematerialized beside the three back by the pillar. Fluttershy and Rarity attempted to scramble away in the brief moment they had to react, but neither managed more than a short distance. Dark blue magic seeped into the air from Nightmare’s horn as it lit and surrounded my friends. In just a second, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow were lifted unceremoniously into the air. Rarity weakly fought to escape with mere sparks leaving her horn while Fluttershy squeaked and attempted to run on the air.

Nightmare Moon gracefully weaved between the ponies and smirked, fangs bared. “So many wonderful choices,” she sing-songed.

“Please don’t hurt them,” I pleaded to no avail.

Another unpleasant chuckle tainted the air. “Oh, and why ever not?” she gleefully intoned. The magic surrounding the trapped ponies’ necks solidified to a deep navy. They began gasping for air frantically as it constricted. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Applejack approaching Nightmare Moon from behind. Pinkie was nowhere to be seen, which effectively meant she was everywhere at once. I needed to buy them a few seconds at least.

I forced myself to smirk, ignoring the trepidation in my heart. “Yeah, well you forgot one thing.”

“What’s that?” she asked, looking slightly intrigued.

I glanced at Applejack again out of the corner of my eye. Moving slowly, she was almost a leg’s reach from the alicorn’s side. I settled my thoughts. “I didn’t come here alone. My friends are by my side.” I met her eyes with a smile.

Nightmare Moon waved a hoof at me but kept her focus on her captives. “Oh, yes: an insane baker and a country hick with no parents.” She laughed and turned her gaze to me. “How terrifying!” she mockingly chittered, before frowning as she realized the friends she has just joked about were nowhere to be seen.

Applejack didn’t waste a moment and struck fast and hard, powerful hind legs lashing out against her unprotected side. With nothing hindering their movement, her hooves struck right above the base of the wing’s pectoralis with a sickening crunch and a horrific screech of pain. Nightmare Moon flew through the air, away from Applejack rapidly and straight towards where Pinkie had suddenly appeared.

A dangerous gleam flashed in Pinkie’s eyes as she shouted, “Batter up!” This was accompanied with a vicious swing of an iron baseball bat which connected with Nightmare Moon’s uninjured side. A hollow metal ringing and the sound of bones cracking echoed through the chamber as she then flew towards me in an unconventional display of physics. Thinking fast, I recalled how the magic felt coursing through my horn when I protected myself from Nightmare’s first attack with the Elements. The feeling of familiar tingling rose upwards, as well as not a small amount of pain. I focused on that and imagined the energy striking out towards Nightmare Moon.

I was only partially hopeful this would work, but I got lucky. A beam of light erupted from my horn and struck her just to the right of her forehead. My vision waved and I stumbled, barely keeping balance. The pain that had fled beforehand had been realized twice over, a searing agony centered at my new appendage. I forced myself to fight through it, remembering that my friends and I were still in danger. My eyes blinked rapidly until I was able to see clearly once more.

I was surprised to see Nightmare Moon laying still on the ground, with only the unsteady, pained rise and fall of her chest indicating she was alive. The wing that was struck by Applejack was crumpled and limp on the ground. A small bone in the base had puncture through the skin and was leaking blood. Her other wing was in much better shape, as it had been raised when Pinkie struck that side and therefore spared. Regardless, I had no doubt a large number of her ribs were beyond help.

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were lying on the ground below where Nightmare had been holding them before. Rainbow Dash was the only one unconscious; Fluttershy and Rarity coughed hoarsely. The yellow pegasus placed her ear by Rainbow’s mouth as soon as she recovered and looked relieved.

I turned to everyone and started speaking, “I can’t say how long Nightmare Moon will be out for, but we need to act fast.” Rarity nodded her agreement.

Applejack looked skeptical. “An’ just how are we ‘sposed to do that?”

Pinkie bounced excitedly. “Oh! How about the Elements?” She grinned widely.

“I don’t suppose you brought replacements with you? They aren’t exactly in working condition right now,” Rarity returned, frowning.

Pinkie paused and looked up, reaching a hoof into her hair. With her tongue sticking out, she rummaged around until pulling out a set of necklaces and tiaras with gems embedded in them. She frowned. “Nah, just the cheap knockoffs.” She tossed them over her shoulder where they hit Rainbow dash in the head.

Rainbow shifted at that, and slowly opened her eyes. She looked around in confusion before seeing where everyone was. “Ow... What happened?” she asked.

Fluttershy was the one who answered, a slight rasp to her voice. “Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie managed to stop Nightmare Moon.” When Rainbow tried to sit up, Fluttershy pushed her back down. “You still need to rest for a bit.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “I’m totally alright.” She wilted when she met her caretakers disapproving gaze and conceded, “Fine.”

I spoke up, “We haven’t actually stopped her per se. She’s just out cold right now. We were actually just now trying to figure out a plan when you woke up.”

She grunted and shifted to an upright position despite Fluttershy’s protests. A wince crossed her face but she didn’t back down. “Have you tried using the Elements of Harmony?”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Yes, I already suggested that. Unfortunately, they are in literal pieces right now.”

Just then, Nightmare Moon shifted. We each got into defensive stances, except for Rainbow and Fluttershy who merely hid behind us. Rarity managed to stand this time.

Her eyes flicked open and met the others’ before stopping at mine. They remained the menacing slits they were before, but absent of hatred. Her head rose abruptly and I braced myself. She opened her fanged mouth hesitantly and spoke, but with a familiar disposition I had experienced once before.

“Twilight,” she managed. Applejack took a step forward to try and get between me and her. I held her back with a hoof.

“Luna?” I asked hopefully.

She coughed and then continued, “Indeed. The Nightmare remains silent for now. It shan’t last long, but my instructions to thee are far more brief.” Gone was the cruelty that poisoned the voice so. Instead, it was filled with an urgency I could not help but emulate.

Another cough racked her body and she shuddered in pain. “When she regains agency over this body,” she hesitated, “you must use the Harmonic Elementals on us.”

“But—”

She cut me off. “Do not let thy feelings lead to your downfall, as they once did mine. For the good of Equestria, you must banish us to the moon once more.”

I stepped forward. “But, you’d be trapped there! Isn’t there some way to—”

“Thine safety, and that of the ponies of Equestria is worth far more than our own freedom!” she boomed. I nearly moved back, but her remorseful look stopped me. In no more than whisper she said, “The bodies of the Elementals may be destroyed beyond recognition, but the spirits live on in thee.”

“Luna—” I started before her eyes closed. I sighed.

Applejack looked at me, bewildered. “What in the hay just happened?”

Rainbow nodded from behind her. “Yeah! No way was that the same evil pony!”

I shook my head. “I’ll explain it later, but right now we need to be prepared for Nightmare Moon to wake up.”

“I’m always ready!” Pinkie exclaimed, sidling up to me.

Rarity stepped forward. “What do you have in mind?”

I closed my eyes. “Like Luna said, we need to hit her with the Elements of Harmony.”

“Have you forgotten we ain’t got any Elements left to hit her with?”

Fluttershy spoke up, “She did say the spirits are within us. Maybe we are the Elements?”

Rainbow snorted. “Oh, come on! That doesn’t make any sense! Rocks can’t have spirits.”

“I must agree with Rainbow on this one. I, for one, cannot possibly fathom such beautiful gemstones living within us,” she shot Rainbow a withering, if not entirely serious, glare.

I cut in before anyone else could talk, “No, I think Fluttershy is right.” I looked each of them in the eyes. “It just feels right. Each of us, I don’t know how or why, but it just does.”

A shuffling sounded from where Nightmare lay. I turned to face her and found her struggling to stand. Her eyes snapped open and her maw twisted with rage. Her mouth opened. “No! I will not go back to the moon!” she shouted in barely contained anger.

Applejack was the first to respond. “We wouldn’t have to if you didn’t insist on being a troublemaker.” Derision flowed off the Nightmare in waves.

“Yeah, you big meanie!” Pinkie shouted as energetic as ever. The alicorn’s mouth warped into a snarl, her mane whipping up a frenzy. Her horn started glowing, brighter than before. We each stepped backwards in fear.

Then, all of the sudden, a warmth spread through my body. Pains were soothed and aches forgotten as my stomach was filled with a calmness that was not my own.

Rarity turned to look at me and gasped. “Twilight, you’re glowing!” I started floating off the ground. My gaze moved to her, in time to see her eyes turn into a blaze of white light and body to lift in the air. The same followed suite with all the others at nearly the same time.

Nightmare Moon continued screaming at us, even as the outside world seemed to fade. My mind invariably wandered to the friendship I had now found. A power built up around me and I could feel the same from the others. Their thoughts and feelings flowed into my own and coagulated into one.

As myself, and yet as all of us together, my eyes opened. What I saw was the same destroyed stone room as before, with Nightmare Moon throwing blast after blast of powerful magic. Not a single one reached us.

Words began to flow from my lips, seemingly pulled straight from the aether itself. Authority dripped from each one, and she grew silent. “Nightmare Moon, for over a thousand years, you have done your utmost to destroy the harmony of this land. You have taken agency from your host and used her power to untangle friendship wherever you could. The decisions you have made have severed the ties of two loving sisters and ravaged many more relationships beyond that.” Each of my friends lent their own voice and feelings to me. The words now seemed to come from each of us in turn. “By turning your back on what family and allies your host had, by eradicating any happiness you came across, by acting only for your own interests when those interests took from others, by deceiving your host into accepting you, and by showing no remorse for any of these actions, you, Nightmare Moon, have proven to be beyond redemption.”

With that said, Nightmare Moon tried to flee, only to have a beam of rainbow light strike and envelop her body. Within moments, she was cocooned in the light and her screams died down to nothing. When that eventually faded, each of us gently lowered to the ground, the power leaving us in good physical health and my friends thoughts but a faint echo in my mind. I could see the newly formed necklaces on each of them, yet I was still without.

Even as light filled the skies once more, the words ‘loyalty’, colored the blue of the sky, ‘kindness’, depicted as the softest of yellows, ‘honesty’, as the richest of oranges, ‘generosity’, looking like the white of a flawless pearl, and ‘laughter’, acting as the pinkest pink to ever pink, were present in my thoughts, each colored as the pony they represented. One more presented itself to me: ‘magic’. It was the color of my own coat.

‘But how could that be so? I was no unicorn, not really. I stole this body just as I stole its magic. Not a single thing in this life was mine to behold. Not to mention I didn’t know a thing about spells!’ I thought to myself.

‘Except... That’s not entirely true. Regardless of all else, I have one single thing that I’m entirely accountable for: friendship. The friendship of Rarity, of Applejack, of Rainbow, of Pinkie, and of Fluttershy. The real Twilight has no right to claim this as hers. Whether or not the same would have happened if I was not present, and for better or for worse, I brought us together. It may have been unintentional, but when has that ever not been the case for friendships.

‘That’s it, isn’t it? I’m the spark of friendship. The little bit that binds both ponies and humans together. And, truthfully, if that’s not real life magic, then I don’t know what is.’

One final burst of light filled the room, and with it, a weight settled upon my mane. I was the Element of Magic. As the last vestiges of magic fled my body, so did any energy I had left. Briefly, there was the sensation of falling, but I was out before I could hit the ground.

One last thought escaped me as my vision faded, ‘What the fuck is my life?’

Author's Note

Oh, hey there! :trixieshiftleft: Long time no see... This is, of course, entirely my own fault for taking over half a year to upload. :pinkiesad2: But the long wait is now over!

I've got a reasonably long chapter here, edited multiple times, and hopefully error free. :twilightsmile: Of course, there will likely be some errors. :twilightsheepish: Nonetheless, I would like to say the next chapter will be here soon.

In other news, the next chapter will be a bit of an intermission. The topic in question will be The War of Aeterna, briefly mentioned in Chapter 2, I think. I'm hoping to go a little Princess Celestia The Changeling Queen: Stories Behind the Mask on its ass, given it's a war I'll be talking about. :rainbowdetermined2: I already have a first draft of the timeline for it done, with the final draft of the timeline close to completion. After that, it will be on to writing the actual thing. Meanwhile, I'll be planning out the rest of the story before starting on Chapter 5.

If you didn't visit the story page at all during the wait, then I'll be the first to inform you about the chapter progress I put in the description. It has the total length of the current draft, the overall completion, and a few categories. The categories include 'plan', 'first draft', 'final draft', and 'editing'. :pinkiehappy:

Lastly, I'd like to thank the three editors who looked over my work and fixed all the crappy shit I wrote:

LunaScribbles, who wrote an amazing Pinkie Pie fanfic.
SlyRingtail, who has yet to tell me how to credit them.
Toasterless, who is forever without toasters.

HAPPY NEW YEARS! :trollestia: :derpytongue2: :pinkiehappy: :rainbowderp: :raritystarry: :trixieshiftright: :twilightoops: :yay:

Et Vivere, Reservate - Chapter 5

June 19th, 1000 CP

I slowly came to, blinking groggy eyes. A sharp, rhythmic beeping threatened to immediately drag me back to the realm of dreams. Pure-white walls wavered in my vision, momentarily blinding me. Wishing for nothing more than to simply close my eyes, I instead forced them wide, demanding they adjust. As they grudgingly complied, the unmistakable smell of antiseptic struck my nose. My mind briefly conjured images of long-passed hospital visits and countless medical dramas. Taste was next to arrive, bringing with it a bitter flavor lingering on my tongue. I longed for even a drop of water.

In place of a sense of touch was a warm, pervasive numbness. It made it excessively difficult to focus, leading me to stare frequently off into space.. I pulled my attention away from the bland ceiling tiles, but not before nearly falling under again. My eyes landed on a surprisingly slim machine incessantly beeping away to my side. A number was displayed on the screen, wavering around eighty — beats per minute, I assumed. Each pulse on the monitor sent a deep bass through my head. Next to the machine was a simple metal stand with partially full bags of liquid hanging underneath. Wires ran between my left foreleg and it.

My mind then wandered to how I got here. The previous night was a blur, but was broken up by a few less-vague recollections. I could recall waking up as a lavender unicorn as well as meeting four... No, five amiable mares. I knew they were there at my confrontation with Nightmare Moon, but before then was a mystery...

Nightmare Moon.

Countless feelings came rushing back with that name. Fear, anger, pain, and a few others I wasn’t entirely sure about. I could recount entering the forest in pursuit of her smoky form and when I first stood before her. In my mind, the magic rushed forth and brought with it a scalding fire. Afterwards though? Very little remained following that event, leaving me to wonder if that was what landed me in the hospital.

From there, I let my thoughts drift as the minutes passed by. After some period of time, the door shot open. I nearly jumped at the sound. Through the opening came what I perceived as an average-sized stallion with a light brown coat and a dark mane. Both around his neck and as an image on his flank was a plain stethoscope. A small pair of glasses rested on his snout. That plus a well-fitting lab coat created a rather stereotypical image of a doctor, if doctors were horses. I giggled lightly at the absurdity of it, or at least what absurdity I saw at the time with my muddled thoughts. His ears perked immediately, and he glanced towards me.

“Ah, fantastic!” he said. “I was hoping you’d be awake by now.” He stopped. “And I was right!” I stared at him and he coughed. “As I was saying, I’m glad you’re feeling better. You are feeling better, right?”

“Uh—” I started, unsure how to respond.

Undeterred, he zipped over to my bedside. “Quite the good heart rate! Very regular.” My mouth opened, but he spoke first. “Now then, let’s take some tests.” His horn glowed immediately and some nearby cabinets opened. From them came a few tools: another stethoscope, a thermometer, and a reflex hammer[1].

[1] Seriously. It’s literally called a reflex hammer. That’s what 10th Century Medicine says, at least.

The stethoscope was floated forward first, to which I gazed in wonderment. My right forelimb was raised, followed by both back legs. “Woo!” I rasped as I waved them as well as could be expected, given my condition. Admittedly, I may have enjoyed the magic show a bit too much. Regardless, my limbs fell back to the bed and a long stream of giggling began. The doctor raised an eyebrow and looked me over.

“Oh,” he said. I’m sure he said something more after that, but I was no longer listening. Instead, I was giggling at his name tag, which read ‘Doctor Horse’. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember why I found it funny, only that it was. Unphased, he shook his head and placed the stethoscope on my chest. I sluggishly complied with his requests to breathe in and out, smiling widely.

He pulled back with the instrument following. “I believe that’s as much information I can get out of you at the moment.” His head turned to the side. “Thank you for being, uh, cooperative.”

I didn’t respond, just staring at him.

He looked around somewhat nervously before finally saying, “I think I’ll come back when you’re more lucid.” With that he opened the door and backed out. It swung shut behind him with a muffled thud. I didn’t move for a while after that, still feeling rather amused. Eventually, I felt my arm grow heavy and noticed it was still raised.

“Oops,” I spoke to no one, giggling at my own voice. I lowered my arm and I fell asleep soon after.

I awoke once more to the sound of the door creaking open. This time around, I felt far less drugged up, but didn’t think I would be the best judge of that. A young unicorn mare dressed similarly to Doctor Horse stepped in. Her coat was a buttery gold and her mane was strikingly silver. She seemed surprised that I was awake. The nametag on her lab coat read ‘Sunny Chaser’. Her blue eyes drifted upwards briefly.

“Good morning,” she eventually said with a slight waver. I weakly waved a hoof at her. Once more, her gaze focused on the space just above my head. She didn’t make a single move. I coughed into a hoof.

She nearly jumped before running from the room in a hurry. The sound of hoofsteps disappeared into the distance. I attempted to scratch my head, but found hooves to be less than ideal for the task. Grumbling, I looked around. The room was about what I’d expect from a room in a hospital: blindingly white with tiles in the floor and ceiling. To my left was a corner table that covered about half of the left wall and maybe a fourth of the wall behind me. In the space between the table and the bed was a grey, modern-looking heart rate monitor atop a grey cart. Even closer to me was a metal stand with three bags of semi-clear and clear liquid. To my right was a small table and an undecorated wall with a single small window in the center. It was opened slightly.

The door creaked in the breeze. I could hear someone coming this way, the rhythmic sound of hooffalls combined with the beeping of the heart rate monitor threatening to drag me back to sleep. However, the door gently opening pulled me back to reality.

“Hello? I brought... Um... I brought you some food,” Sunny said. She was steadily carrying a tray of various food items in her magic. Upon seeing me, her eyes widened. “Uh...” she trailed off, then looked between the tray and above my head a few times. Eventually, her magic cut off and it landed on her right hoof. She averted her eyes. The tray of food wobbled dangerously with each step, but made it unspilled to my bed where she placed it down. She seemed to sigh with relief.

Then, far quicker than she made her way to my bed, she exited the room. I looked to the tray on my lap and considered how I would pick up any of the food. Now that I thought about it, this was my first meal since coming to this world. The thought was interrupted by another knock on the door. It was already open, so Doctor Horse walked right in. A tall glass of clear liquid floated behind him. If my mouth wasn’t parched it would have started watering.

“Hello again,” he said, setting down the glass on the table to the right. “How’s the food?” Before I could answer, he went on. “Nevermind, let me grab that.” He magicked the tray away while grumbling something. I reached out a hoof to grab my stuff.

I wanted my stuff.

“Tut tut, you’ll get to eat later. I need to run some tests on you now that the painkillers should have all but worn off.” The medical tools he left on the table floated up and over. I blinked and looked to my left forelimb. Sure enough, the IVs had been removed from my leg. The thought of those things being... Inside me gave me chills.

While he proceeded to check my breathing, heart, and the such, I kept stealing glances to the delicious ichor a mere meter away. Not to mention the life-giving sustenance across the room. He most certainly noticed it as well, as he spoke up in the middle of testing my reflexes.

“We’re almost done here, Miss. You’ll be able to get back to drinking and eating soon enough.” I nodded but felt a bit unsure. He paused. “Hmm, do you think you will need help with the glass?” he asked. I frowned at that, wanting to snap back at him, but held my tongue. I shook my head.

He smiled softly and nodded. “Well, I believe we are good for now and you can have your leg back.” He backed up and pulled out a clipboard from somewhere. “Now then, there’s just some general stuff to go over with you. Dos and don’ts, that sort of thing.” He paused as he read over the papers. “Oh, yes. Make sure you don’t use—” Before his thought could be finished, I had already started trying to reach out to the glass with my magic. It hadn’t even crossed my mind to use a hoof instead when a sharp pain stabbed into my temples. Though somewhat dull and distant, it was still enough to make me lose my tentative grip on the glass and send it shattering onto the ground. I gasped sharply, falling into a coughing fit. As the coughing subsided and I regained control of my breathing, I noticed the ache remained in my horn.

“Oh, dear,” I heard Doctor Horse mumble. My ears flicked in response. “Are you alright?” he asked, entering my field of view. I nodded weakly, not entirely sure myself. He grunted and looked above me, already moving to the door. “I’ll get you an ice pack for that... And some water.” He fell silent.

“More water, that is,” he continued. “Also, somepony to clean that mess up.” At this point, he devolved into incomprehensible mumbling. Doctor Horse nodded once and left the room. A few seconds later, he stuck his head back through the door. “Almost forgot: try not to use magic for the time being.” The door shut.

Don’t use magic? What’s wrong with my horn? I wondered, trying to look up at my horn. A jolt ran down my spine, starting from there. I sighed and gave up. Wasn’t like I would have been able to see it anyway. Furthermore, I was still completely parched. Was it any wonder that my head hurt like hell?

Another sigh escaped my lips. This would be a long wait.

Very long. A good descriptor for many things. A tall metal pool. A long creepy hallway. My— Let’s get back on track. After a suspiciously long time, a series of three knocks sounded on the door. While I was curious why these ponies were only now actually taking the time to knock, I refused to stoop down to their animalistic social norms by responding. Nor would my displeasure fail to show in my body language. Nay, never would I uncross my forelegs, lie back down, nor cease frowning.

Ah, cramp! Ow, ow, ow! I mentally shouted and both uncrossed my forelegs and lay back down. My frown did not abate, however.

The door creaked open and a nurse poked her head in. “Ms. Sparkle?” a now familiar voice queried. I grunted non-committedly. Where be the water? The door opened fully and the voice continued, “Pardon my intrusion, but you have some visitors.”

My glared hardened. While I appeared quite certain in my conviction to an outsider, I felt deeply conflicted. It would be nice to talk with my... Friends again, but— My gaze shifted to the waterless nightstand to my right. I looked back to Sunny. As I suspected, she was dry as a horse, one that didn’t bring her patient water.

She must have realized her mistake, as her face morphed to one of embarrassment. I rolled my eyes and dismissively waved in a ‘Sure, why not’ gesture. Relief played across her face. Muffled conversation floated through the door, which opened to admit three ponies and a baby dragon. I almost giggled at the absurdity of the thought, but caught myself just in time[2]. I worked hard on this frown, dammit!

[2] Three ponies and a baby dragon walk into a bar. The eldest asks the bartender for a beer, with the others requesting various alcoholic drinks. The bartender turns to the dragon and asks, “And what’ll it be for the youngin’?” Rarity The youngest mare replies, “Honestly, he shouldn’t even be here.”

However, I was adverse to making my newfound friends immediately uncomfortable around me, so I rapidly dropped the act. Pinkie bounced a bit closer, while Applejack and Rarity took their sweet time to look just above me. When they again reverted their gaze to me, they refused to meet my eyes. While the continued fascination with the spot just above my head threatened to upset my good mood, Spike acted much faster. He ran straight to where I lay down and jumped onto the mattress. Almost immediately, I was held in a tight embrace. I chuckled slightly with an only somewhat awkward smile, musing, That guy sure knows how to make a girl feel loved.

Regardless of the awkward introduction, the room seemed to grow less tense. Spike sat down at the foot of my bed while I was just grateful for him breaking the ice, as it were. Applejack and Rarity walked up to stand next to me with caring smiles— only slightly strained. Pinkie hadn’t seemed fazed by a thing since I met her, always full of cheer. Speaking of, where did she— Pinkie was right on top of me. I would have likely been embarrassed by the compromising position and the way she straddled me, but I was far too busy yelping in fright.

“Pinkie!” I shouted, immediately regretting how it murdered my already raw throat. Rarity cleared her throat and levitated my attacker to the floor. Pinkie held the same position, only resuming her bouncing when her hooves touched the ground. After doing so, her eyes flickered once more above me, before looking away. Applejack looked between Spike and I, seemingly deep in thought.

“Um, hi,” I meekly said. I coughed quietly. The greeting was exchanged enthusiastically, doubly so by Pinkie.

“We—” Rarity and I both began at the same time. “Uh,” we tried again with the same results. We both giggled in tandem.

Applejack restarted our conversation. “How’re you doing there, sugarcube?” she asked. I shrugged non-committally.

“I’m doing alright,” I stated in a way of an explanation, “just a little tired and sore. And my horn is in a bit of pain.” I thought for a moment. “Oh, also I could really use some water!” I shouted out the open door and into the hallway. I liked to think that so-called Doctor Horse heard me, but found it doubtful. I sighed.

Applejack and Spike looked at me strangely, possibly for different reasons, while Rarity gave a quiet titter. Pinkie kept doing her own thing; I didn’t look. “Oh, that Doctor Horse is always forgetting things,” she said mirthfully.

“Seems like a bad quality for a physician to have,” I commented.

She nodded and sidled up to me. “Remind me to tell you about the pincushion incident,” she whispered pseudo-secretly. I gave a breathy laugh and a nod, promising myself to bring this up at a future vocation[3].

[3] And you better believe I did. Remind me to tell you about the pincushion incident. It’s a riot.

Applejack rolled her eyes, coincidentally sneaking a peak above me— again. I found it to be rather rude, all things considered. However, she did actually address it this time around.

“Say, what’s the deal with your horn?” she asked warily. I again attempted to look at it before mentally slapping myself.

She looked confused and shook her head. “No, I...” she trailed off, glancing at the others for help.

Pinkie came to her rescue. “Oh! You mean how it’s like totally broken?” As she spoke, her body twisted in ungodly ways, ending up next to me. She poked lightly at the base of my horn. I couldn’t move fast enough and a searing burn stabbed through my forehead as she made contact. I forced my teeth to clench and breathed in sharply, lest I make a sound. God forbid I began yelling at her, however much I wanted to.

During those precious few seconds of Pinkie’s hoof making contact with my various appendages, a palpable silence had settled over the room. Rarity was the first to break free, unceremoniously ripping the then frozen Pinkie from my side with but a thought. I couldn’t help but notice the familiar sound of velcro ripping apart as she came free. A wave of relief quenched the fire in my nerves, but couldn’t entirely dull the pain. By the time I came to, Rarity was berating a shameful pink pony.

“—an injured horn is extremely sensitive!” I caught her saying, followed with, “Particularly inside the hardened alicorn. Exactly the part you assaulted with that wayward hoof of yours!” The last part was not quite shouted, but likely carried as far as if it was. Pinkie briefly glanced down at her hooves, newly dubbed as wayward, before sending a deeply apologetic look my way. While I remained rather peeved, she seemed entirely sincere and so I replied by mouthing an “It’s fine.” A scathing retort was just barely bit back.

Regardless, I shuddered at the idea of someone touching my insides in any manner — if Rarity was to be believed — however far from a part of myself I considered that horn to be. Spike brought me back to the present when he placed a diminutive hand — or claw — on my right shoulder. I had nearly forgotten he was there.

“Hey, don’t worry Twilight. We’ll get through this and you’ll be back to normal before you know it!” he assured, entirely mistaking my expression for grief over the loss of my magic. For obvious reasons, I didn’t believe the latter part of his statement, but the sentiment was nonetheless appreciated. I considered what the real Twilight might say in the situation, but had nothing to really go on. A gentle smile and a grateful nod would have to do.

Given that Spike was the only one around who was in any way familiar with Twilight — I hoped — I would need to exercise utmost caution in my conversations with him in particular. One slip-up could spell disaster. I made a mental note to dig up and study some of Twilight’s old correspondences at the earliest opportunity. Perhaps doing so could fill me in on some of her past and possibly even how I came to be here.

Although... I turned my head to look at the young drake now hugging my side and couldn’t stop a small smile from forming. There was always the option for me to tell him as soon at the earliest opportunity instead. If I spun it right, there would be no need for such secrecy and subterfuge. I shook my head. It was a momentous decision for a later date. That was not the time or place.

Looking up, it seemed that nobody had noticed my distractedness. Probably for the best. Rarity was just ending her tirade against Pinkie, except she had wandered completely off-track during the process and was now venting about finances or something like that. Spike was still leaning on my side. Pinkie looked more confused than upset by that point. Applejack appeared to want to be literally anywhere but here. And Doctor Horse had just stepped into the room, looking for all the world like he’d stepped into a battlefield. In a sense, he sort of did.

My day instantly grew several shades brighter. That is, until I noticed he was, once more, sans water. I was probably mere moments away from starting my own shouting match with the fiend, when the next visitor saved his metaphorical ass. She, a midnight blue pony, walked through the door-frame. Her hair flowed in an invisible wind, though weakly, and a long spiralled horn jutted from her forehead. A dark crown sat atop her head and a matching lunula[4]adorned her chest.

[4] A point of order here. At the time, I had referred to the aforementioned chest piece as a ‘peytral’. However, it really didn’t cover much surface area, certainly not enough to be at all considered armor. Plus, I would later learn from Luna that it was made of a black gold alloy that allowed for more flexibility than a standard piece of armor. When I initially described it as a ‘peytral’ in the first draft of this entry, she made it a point to correct it to ‘lunula’; she apparently created the word some thousands of years ago.

She, Princess Luna, also wore impressively shiny black hoof covers on all four legs. With her flowing tail, crescent moon... Butt-mark, and fierce cyan eyes, she practically demanded the prostration of everyone in the room. I at least found it extremely respectable and perhaps a small bit frightening. Unfortunately, from my position in the hospital bed, I was unable to do much more than bow my head slightly. The others didn’t have any such excuse and made to very publicly prostrate themselves in a manner that would have made me blush were they human.

All that aside, she almost immediately took to glaring simultaneously at every being in the room except me. The premises were predictably vacated rapidly within the next few moments. The door shut, leaving just us alone. I’m not afraid to admit I was a tad intimidated. Okay, nearly pants-wetting intimidated. However, with the others gone, her posture and attitude took a one-eighty. Her gently cascading hair morphed into more limp, static strands of light blue. Her head slumped and she sat down hard, breathing heavily. Concerned, I attempted to reach out to her, but found my new arms sorely lacking in length.

“Luna? Princess Luna?” I tried.

She didn’t look up, instead allowing her mane to fall down her face. “Prithee, spare us a moment’s rest.” I obliged the request and sat back, frowning slightly. Eventually, her head lifted and she met my gaze. I was taken aback at how submissive she only then appeared, in contrast to her usually imposing presence.

“Are you alright?” I asked. If there was any water nearby, I would surely have offered it to her. I said as much to her.

“Forgive our fatigue, dame Twilight,” she said, shaking her head. “Our recovery has but just started, yet we wished to thank thee in pony. Admittedly, the burden of recovery is only worsened by the façade we must maintain before our subjects.” She sighed at the end and slumped a little. Meanwhile, I was unused to such sincere and freely given gratitude. I was certain it showed[5].

[5] Luna confirmed I was blushing furiously.

“Well”, I stuttered slightly, “I was just in the right place, right time. You know?” I paused, trying to collect my thoughts. “And, I wasn’t alone. My friends were there too—” Her words caught up to me and I stopped short. “...Dame Twilight?” I questioned, squinting at her.

The Princess frowned. “Ah, our dearest sister intended to surprise thee and thy friends, methinks.” She tapped a chin, but didn’t really look all that apologetic. “No matter,” she continued before I could get a word in, “the ceremony wouldst most certainly be deferred what with thy resettlement in the Ponyville hamlet.”

My brain broke, probably. “I— what? Resettlement?” I stared blankly as the corner of her lips almost imperceptibly curved upwards. There was a lot of information coming at me at once and I was not in the mood to puzzle things out.

“Ah,” she intoned once more, “that was most certainly a surprise as well.” My gaze snapped to her carefully constructed expression, nary a hint of mirth nor deceit to be seen.

I narrowed my eyes. My mouth opened for a second before closing again. “Be that as it may, shouldn’t you also be thanking my friends as well?” It was only fair they receive the same level of praise as I. Surprisingly, Luna refrained from responding immediately, instead electing to shift on her hooves and stare at the ceiling. I leaned forward as far as I could, to which she took a step back. Wait a second...

“Are— are you nervous?” I asked.

Her head whipped down to stare me in the eyes, anger flickering across her face. “Thou darest accuse us of such cowardice‽ Why, we—” She snorted and looked away. A sigh wafted from her lips. I kept my stupid mouth shut. However, the door burst open just then to allow The Great Deceiver entry.

Doctor Horse ran in, already rambling. “I’m so sorry, Ms. Sparkle!” Your water’s ri—“ In the middle of his sentence, he finally took notice of the alicorn just before him. I heard an audible gulp, a second round of apologies no doubt lingering on his tongue as he took a hasty bow. The tantalizingly full glass of water in his magic dropped out of his grip in his haste to appease royalty. Before I could blink, dark blue magic surrounded it, halting the glass’ momentum entirely without spilling a drop.

I glanced at the source, only to be taken aback. In-between the interruption, Princess Luna had resumed her infallible air of regality. So flawless was her act, that I would have trouble believing it was fake, had I not seen her true emotions just moments before. She floated the water to my nightstand as I stared. As her back was to the doctor, only I could see the slight smile she flashed my way.

“We do believe this is yours?” she uptalked subtly and winked. Forced to respond, I merely blushed and nodded with a wider smile.

“Tha—” I coughed. “Thanks.” Remembering to forgo magic, I leaned towards the glass she set down and wrapped my left fetlock around it. Somewhat shakily, I managed to take a few gulps before setting it down, leaving a half empty glass behind.

It won’t be so bad, I thought, to be stuck without magic for awhile. Advantageous even. While it made some logical sense given that I didn’t know a single thing about the subject, the statement left an uneasy weight in my chest.

In the time it took my mind to restart from the delicious liquid, I noticed Doctor Horse had left, though Luna remained serious. I could hear voices in the hall. My friends from before walked in then and I gave Luna a hard look. Her shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly.

Looking at the current company, a question occurred to me. “Where are Fluttershy and Rainbow?”

Spike answered quickly, “Rainbow is still in bed from your fight. I think Fluttershy is with her.”

That surprised me. While my memory of the night remained spotty, I couldn’t recall Fluttershy receiving any serious wounds. “Is Fluttershy fine?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Rainbow is getting better.”

I winced.

Rarity waved a hoof in the air dismissively. “Ah, the darling simply refused to leave Rainbow Dash’s side.” She sighed almost dreamily, gaining a far away look. “Those two are so cute...” she murmured. I furrowed a brow and Applejack jabbed her with a leg. The farmer looked at Rarity, shaking her head disapprovingly. Rarity looked around and tittered nervously[6].

[6] Rarity has quite the range of titters. I’ve been meaning to catalogue them, actually.

“Anyway, seems them Elements didn’t totally patch us all up,” Applejack continued.

I must have conveyed the confusion I felt, as Rarity took it upon herself to elaborate. “After those fabulous gems defeated Nightmare Moon, they healed the worst of our injuries.” She looked away and mumbled, “Apparently, the nest my mane turned into didn’t make the cut.” I stifled a giggle.

Luna cleared her throat, abruptly reminding me she was still here. She shifted slightly on her hooves before swallowing. It was one of the most adorable things I had ever seen up to that point. “We wish to— well—” She stuttered to a stop and Applejack and Rarity exchanged glances. Pinkie was missing[7].

[7] Never a good thing. When it comes to Pinkie, I’ve found tracking spells to partially mitigate the issue, but even those tend to be unreliable with her. Upon questioning her after a particularly long period of such spells not working, she informed me she had “gone through a tunnel.” Any further experiments have since been indefinitely postponed. However, a leash is still on the table.

The Princess once more let slip the mask and slumped. I had to wonder if she had back problems. Perhaps having no gravity on the moon messed her up, I figured before shaking my head.

“We would like to... Thank you,” Luna managed, “for saving us and for saving Equestria.” She nodded then hung her head. I believe Rarity was far redder than I’ve ever been at that point.

Shouting came from the hall and we all looked towards the door. The commotion grew closer until it sounded like it was just outside the room. The shouts became audible by then.

“Unhoof me, foul da—“ The door burst open suddenly with Pinkie slowly walking in. On her back was one Doctor Horse, who — upon spotting where he now was — instantly shut up. Still upside down, he attempted a casual wave towards our group. “Ah, greetings Princess! Good day Twilight,” he added, “and friends.” Rarity harrumphed and turned her nose up.

I gingerly reached up and put a hoof on my face. “Pinkie... Why did you kidnap the doctor?” I shook my head and slowly looked to her smiling face.

She bounced once, sending the doctor into the air. He somehow landed on his hooves, just as surprised as me. “Silly filly!” Pinkie laughed, “I didn’t kidnap him, I foalnapped him!” I realized then my folly.

Shit.

Thankfully, Luna came to my rescue for some unknown reason. “We do recall ‘kidnap’ as originating during the later years of Sister’s Reign.” I didn’t know if that was true at all, but praised my new goddess all the same.

Rarity seemed impressed at the very least. She was undoubtedly going to add it to her ‘Poetic Vintage Terms She Wants to Use but Can’t Fit into Casual Conversation’ list[8].

[8] Yes, this list does exist, except I made it, not Rarity. TM.

“I demand you release Twilight at once!” Pinkie continued, unabated.

Doctor Horse stared back. “What?”

Pinkie quieted a little and had the decency to look embarrassed. “You know, a clean bill of health. Do your doctor magic thing and heal her!”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Well, we were probably going to discharge her today anyway.” He looked at the other beings present. “Go on, get!” he exclaimed, ushering everyone but me out of the room. He didn’t even seem to care that he was bossing around Princess Luna. They begrudgingly complied and Doctor Horse began the physical.

Blood drawn, reflexes tested, and breathing heard, I was deemed a healthy-ish individual and sent on my merry way. The only notes boiled down to essentially “don’t use magic” and “rest up.” I figured that was easily doable, considering I was a magicless human my entire life[9] and I also felt immensely exhausted.

[9] Having fingers helped too.

Applejack, Luna, Pinkie, Rarity, Spike, and I all trotted towards the trauma ward, where any thusly injured pegasi resided. The few stumbles I suffered from were conveniently written off as symptoms of my tiredness. Turning a corner, Rainbow was immediately visible. A number of bandages covered various areas of her body. She was lying on a hospital bed, attached to a blood bag and another bag filled with clear fluid. Both were connected to her left foreleg. A nurse was holding some large pill capsules and a glass of water at the side of her bed.

As we drew closer, I could begin to make out an argument brewing. Rainbow was clearly tired, but was refusing to back down from whatever it was she was debating.

“I don’t have any other patients. I can do this all day,” the nurse said, obviously irritated.

Rainbow crossed a leg, slightly wincing. “Well, too bad. I—” Fluttershy, who was in a chair to the side of Rainbow, put a hoof on her shoulder. Her hair was impressively dishevelled and heavy bags showed under her eyes. She said something too quiet for me to hear and Rainbow took the pills.

The nursed waved us over when she saw us and swiftly departed with a slight look of fear. I figured it was mostly a result of Luna’s presence. We stopped a short distance from Rainbow’s bed to take in her injuries. As mentioned before, she had a number of bandages around her body, likely hiding the worst. What was visible was the multitude of cuts and bruises on her everywhere. Apart from a cut on her cheek and forehead, her face had been spared anything serious. Thank goodness for small favors.

Her displeasure visibly lessened with us there. Fluttershy sent a small wave our way but retreated behind her mane nonetheless.

“Oh, darling, how are you feeling?” Rarity asked.

Rainbow shrugged nonchalantly. “A little tired, but I’ll be out of here before you know it!” She grinned boastfully. I raised an eyebrow and looked questioningly at Fluttershy.

She eventually clarified after a bout of nervous shifting. “Um, Rainbow is mostly alright, but...” she trailed off before quietly finishing, “she’s not supposed to, um, use her wings or exercise for a while.” She looked down, ears folded.

Rainbow went wide eyed and shook her head. “Well, sure, the doctor said that, but what do they know? By this time tomorrow I’ll be doing loops around them!” She grinned. “A bit of pain isn’t gonna stop me.”

Fluttershy didn’t waste a second before jumping up from her chair and hovering above Rainbow, glaring down at the prismatic pegasus. “It’s not the pain they’re worried about! If you exacerbate the injuries you could scar, or worse, get a serious infection!”

Rainbow looked surprisingly meek as she stared back at her friend. “But—“

Fluttershy shook her head. “No ifs or buts about it, missy. You are going to take your medicine and follow the doctor’s orders if I have anything to say about it!” she finished triumphantly as Rainbow covered her face with a fetlock. Then she seemed to recall that we were still here, turning bright red and stuttering frightfully. She retreated back to her chair and shrank behind her hair.

After a few moments of silence, conversation sprung up amongst my new friends. I wasn’t entirely paying attention as I noticed then that Luna had lagged woefully behind, awkwardly avoiding my gaze. She must have felt extremely out of time and place, having been gone so long. I guess I could relate to an extent. Regardless, I waited for her to notice me staring at her before nodding my head towards Rainbow and Flutters. She sent me a pleading look, but I wasn’t about to take no for an answer. She eventually relented, sighing in defeat.

Luna stepped forward and cleared her throat. All conversation halted, everypony looking towards her expectantly. She gulped.

“We wish to thank you,” she somewhat confidently began, “for services rendered unto both us and Equestria.” Fluttershy took to imitating a broken record at the praise, blushing deeply. Rainbow, on the other hand, seemed to swell from both surprise and pride, as if subsisting off of attention alone[10].

[10] Given some of the things I’ve seen since coming to Equestria, I have to wonder if this is possible. I’ll have to run some experiments at a later date.

Spike and the rest of the girls were smiling from the sidelines, even as the Princess looked about ready to disappear. For my part, I was just glad we all made it through the Nightmare Moon ordeal in one piece. Even more so for the friends I had since made.

There was certainly something magical about this place, where even after something so harrowing, laughter and happiness could still prevail. I smiled in thought. Before these past few days, I could never have imagined anything quite so frightening as fighting Nightmare Moon nor something quite so heartwarming as seeing all seven of my new friends here today just... Talking. Surviving and growing as people or ponies.

But, once I was out of this hospital, the long search for the real Twilight could begin.

Author's Note

Edit: Forgot to add the chapter title and credit my wonderful editors for this chapter.

Woo! It's here! At last! Yay!

There's probably a lot I could write here, but I'm just glad to finally have this done. It should be a nice cap to the end of the last BronyCon.

Yeah. I may add more here if I think of anything.

Also, now I plan to write a short comedy thing before getting to Chapter 6.

Edited by: