Discord's Mask

Chapters

Prologue
Ch. 1
Ch. 2
Ch. 3

Prologue

It wasn't easy, being a god.

Granted, it wasn't all bad. There were advantages. The entire world's knowledge lay available to you. You could do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted. If you desired herds of chocolate buffalo flying across a sky overcast with bright orange clouds every morning, you got it. Sometimes, you even got followers, creatures who obeyed your every command... sometimes for the sole reason that you were you.

But being a god did not mean that you were the only god in the universe. There were countless others just as powerful as you, and just as wary of your power as you were of theirs. You needed drawbacks: in his case, "thou shalt not kill" and "thou must give a fighting chance".

Discord had followed the first rule obediently all these years. Sure, I may have... messed with a few minds here and there along the way, but really, isn't that what godhood is all about? he asked himself. Making sure your mortal minions obeyed you? Honestly, I really can't see how I'm any different from the rest of the universe. Other gods did it, too - they just used fire and brimstone to do the job instead.

Hardly any different, in my opinion, thought the imprisoned god of chaos.

He'd paid homage to the second rule too. Oh, Discord knew that those six mares had restored one another. You'd have to be colorblind not to notice that they'd all transformed back from shades of gray to their original coats and manes. He could have easily just changed them all back... but no, there were Rules. Not that he always hated the rules - he was, after all, a god of chaos and preferred an uncertain conflict to an absolute outcome. Absolutes are not chaos. Still, presenting his only weakness with an opportunity...

How was I to know the Elements could return to their former masters!? he cursed. Knowledge of the Elements of Harmony is so... incomplete. That's the trouble with lost knowledge - you can't get it back, once everyone who knows it dies. All I'd known was that the Elements had left Celestia and Luna, and had not returned. I'd thought it meant that once the Elements left, they could not be borne again by their previous masters... not one of my finer theories.

He'd been wrong about many things...

He looked out over the world. Powerless though he was to act, Discord was at least granted the freedom to watch the world pass him by. Usually, it was about as exciting as watching paint dry. All ponies, griffons, diamond dogs, or whoever else ever cared to do was live each day exactly like the day before! It was all just one bundle of getting up, working, friendship, going home, going to bed. Where was the conflict? Where was the story in that? The only thing theatrical about their lives was that they sometimes spontaneously burst into song, and most of that came from Pinkie Pie. Oh, there had been that promising young talent, Chrysalis... but she'd been beaten by the power of love. LOVE, for goodness' sakes! At least he could say it took legendary artifacts thousands of years old to beat him! She was just -

Discord inwardly shook his head and smiled.

No matter, he thought to himself. I'm not one to make "backup plans". They're more... "backup spontaneous ideas". Still, as blessed chance would have it, two of them have met today. Just the way I like it, really. Makes me so proud of Screwball!

If he could, Discord might have wiped a false fatherly tear from his face. The god of chaos, as he himself admitted, was not terribly proficient at planning, let alone for the long term. Plans were orderly, and were meant to be followed to the letter. But... he DID have a follower, who was neither bound to his flaws as a god nor one of the wretched Discorded of the Grey Hinterlands. And that follower held in her hooves something very powerful... something that could change all his fortunes once and for all.

Discord's thoughts went up to the moon.

He grinned.

Most importantly, he had a spontaneous idea.

Thou shalt not kill. Not directly, at least, thought Discord. And though I confess, I am loathe to do it...

I've been trapped in this state for far too long...

Ch. 1

Zecora walked home under the canopy of the Everfree Forest, carrying a pair of saddlebags.

The bags contained a green pepper and several tomatoes - excellent ingredients for her vegetable chili dish. She needed to be wary of her footing, as she'd stayed a bit longer in Ponyville than she intended, and the woods were getting dark. Still, she knew the way home practically by heart. Straight ahead at the entrance, a slight left at the poison joke field, a right at the gnarled oak tree with the hollow stump, and she was almost there.

As she approached the doorway to her home, dug in the trunk of another large tree, she heard hoofsteps behind her. She tried to turn, and...

THUD.

Zecora opened her eyes and groaned.

Zecora always rhymed when she spoke. Not all zebras did this, of course; it was simply a moray of the shaman, a way of connecting with the earth, the First Mother, oldest and wisest of all beings. All creatures were her small children, and she spoke to them through rhythm and rhyme in nature. The earth therefore spoke through Zecora.

"I appear to still have all my bones intact," she said to herself, indeed finding everything in place as she wiggled about, relieved to be alive and well. "But then, why attack me from my back? Surely, it was no monster who struck my head. Otherwise, I should be..."

She left the word hanging. The earth would understand. And in any case, she noticed that the front door to her house had been pushed ajar.

The zebra entered, her eyes scanning the one-room house. Strangely enough, everything seemed to be in place. None of her food appeared taken. Her vast collection of potions and salves remained untouched. Her masks...

Zecora's brow furrowed.

"No, they couldn't have... no one should have known," she added, trying to convince herself. "Surely not the mask for so far I roamed..."

No one should have known about it. No one should have ever even seen it. She'd spent all these years staying hidden, well away from prying eyes in the Everfree Forest. It had seemed strange to those Ponyville ponies at first... but she was also a shaman, and the forest certainly held a wide variety of plants and herbs with potent medicinal properties. She was successfully able to explain away her reason for living alone out in the wilderness in this manner, and had even won the trust and friendship of the ponies. She was glad she had. To have the mask is to be as good as alone.

"It is a mask of terrible power," she added fearfully, trotting toward a section of wall. "It calls out to wickedness with every hour. I may have hid it well to this very day... I pray it has not been taken away!"

The earth pony had traveled far since her recent adventures in the forest. Knocking down that zebra had been easy; once she'd acquired the mask, teleporting to the distant land she now walked upon became much easier.

She crested a large hill, looking out over the land. Before her lay a small city, surrounded by a great wall. It sprawled about for miles and miles, and was far and away the largest structure on the plains before her. Few buildings appeared above the wall, and it might be difficult to tell if anything actually existed inside were it not for a massive clock tower rising up out of the center of the town. The pony could see the face of the clock itself, studded with red, blue, green, and yellow miniature crystals - fire, water, wind, and earth.

East for the griffons, the pony thought, eyeing the green crystals along the right-hand side of the clock. South for the zebras. North for the diamond dogs, and West for the ponies. The land of Mysidia, just as Daddy said!

And the masked creature thought:

Boy, how DUMB are they? Hee hee! Ponies are ponies, and diamond dogs are diamond dogs! They're like an apple and an orange, and they get along like they're all apples! That's silly. They're all silly!

It's just as Daddy said: 'If you want chaos done right, ya gotta do it yourself!'

Two weeks passed.

Twilight Sparkle pulled back from her telescope, and bit her lip in anxiety.

"It's getting closer again, Spike," she said worriedly.

"Again? But you just looked last night," the small dragon replied, walking up beside her. Normally, at this hour, Spike would be sleeping. Normally, Spike would just brush this statement off as yet another bullet point on Twilight's massive Things To Worry About List. He loved Twilight as a brother, but really, this was the unicorn who spent an entire week worrying about some unforeseen disaster brought to her by her time-travelling self only to find that she'd caused herself a lot of unnecessary drama. However, whenever he looked through her telescope, he too could see the moon gradually becoming bigger and bigger. It bothered him, too.

"At first, the moon took up just the full view of my telescope. Then it no longer fit within the frame. Now I'm starting to make out small craters on the surface. There's no doubt about it, Spike. The moon's getting closer quickly and steadily. This is bad..."
The purple unicorn paced back and forth across the wooden floor, thinking. "When I first saw the moon growing in size, I sent a letter to Princess Luna asking about the size increase. I'd thought perhaps she'd planned something special. But when I received a reply, she insisted nothing was wrong, but her letter sounded... panicked."

"That whole letter smelled fishy to me," Spike said darkly. "You don't think she's, y'know..."

"Spike!" Twilight snapped. "With Celestia around, how could you even think that Luna's falling back into Nightmare Moon? She's gone, and she's not coming back." The unicorn sighed, and raised her front hooves up to a windowsill, the moonlight reflected back in her large purple eyes.

"But Celestia hasn't said much, herself," Spike added, coming to Twilight's side. "She just said 'I'll be back soon. Stay here and look after Ponyville'." Spike reflected that Celestia had chosen her words wisely. Something like 'Don't Panic' would have only made Twilight panic even more.

"But that was three days ago, Spike. What if something terrible has happened, and the Princesses needed to put a stop to it? And what if they didn't?"

"It's not like they solve everything at once," Spike replied, trying to be comforting, and failed.

"That's just it! Remember the Changeling queen? They couldn't at all tell she was coming until it was too late! I was there, Spike. I was there when I saw my own teacher beaten. I'm not a foal, Spike - the Princesses aren't invincible. What if something's causing the moon to drop, and the Princesses are either unable to determine what it is or are unable to beat it?"

"But if they can't stop it," Spike said nervously, "Who can?"

Twilight paused. Who, indeed? The princesses Luna and Celestia were beyond all doubt the most powerful ponies in all the realm. They were goddesses, wielders of the sun and moon, nigh unstoppable. Long ago, it was they who defeated Discord, the god of chaos, and claimed the throne as rightful rulers of Equestria. If not them, then who?

"...Me," she said, her jaw clenching in determination.

"But Twilight, this isn't just a matter of Discord or Nightmare Moon. We've got millions of tons of rock bearing down on us. It's not gonna understand harmony or chaos."

"Maybe not," said Twilight, turning away from the window at last. "But whatever's controlling it does. What we need to do is track it down and stop the controller - that should stop the moon from falling." I hope, she added mentally. "The Princesses may have had a clue as to where to search. If we can locate them, we shouldn't be far from locating the source."

"Maybe... but wherever they are, they're still alright. The sun and moon are still rising."
"I know," Twilight replied, smiling faintly. "I'm sorry, Spike. Sometimes my worries get the better of me."

"I've noticed."

"Spike!"

Later that same evening, Twilight Sparkle gathered her friends together in her library-turned-treehouse.

Four ponies - Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy - gathered in a close circle. Twilight's horn glowed a faint, calm purple. Fluttershy and Applejack sat to either side of her, keeping the circle quiet. Two more ponies watched from the outside - Rainbow Dash flitting back and forth with impatience, Pinkie Pie bouncing everywhere. Spike, considered an honorary pony, looked on as well.

On the north side of the circle, Rarity closed her eyes, drifting into the silent realm of magic. At first, she could see nothing but blackness around her. This was not to be mistaken for darkness; if it were dark, she would be unable to see anything at all. But then a paper appeared before her, floating in the air.

My faithful student Twilight Sparkle,

I'll be back soon. Stay here and look after Ponyville.

~Princess Celestia

A simple, short letter. Nothing seemingly special about it. Not to a pony lacking Rarity's discerning eyes, at least.

"This ink..." her voice echoed into the void around her. "I've seen standard inks, multicolored inks, vanishing inks... nothing like this. Black is supposed to absorb all visible colors, but this one..." she peered closer with her mind's eye, seeing the truth. "The colors aren't absorbed. It's as though they coexist." On a microscopic level, she could see colors of all shades, jostling and jockeying for minuscule positions on the vast belt of ink. The effect vaguely reminded the unicorn of the busy city streets of Manehattan. The difference here was that it looked less that the colors fought one another for position and more that they danced and whirled around with one another. The effect was something of a gleaming, bejeweled, shifting mosaic.

"It's beautiful... but why use this ink?" Rarity drew back, and pondered. I once wanted to become royalty. After meeting Blueblood, I daresay there are much better alternatives. But I imagine there are still many out there who'd wish to become royalty. I'm not a foal; I know there are some who would stoop to... unscrupulous means to do so. I'd say it's a long shot with Princess Celestia, since no pony alive could match her beauty and grace... but then again, we've met the Princess many times. There are others who may not have had the privilege. Yes, that makes sense. She may use the ink as something special, intended to assure correspondents that she is indeed the writer.

Rarity nodded. The reasoning was sound. At least, it made sense to Rarity the fashionista.
"But are there no better reasons?" She asked herself. "Twilight's location spell depends on the item used. If we had a feather, or a bit of her celestial mane, we'd have no trouble tracking her down. As it stands, we're relying upon a letter written in ink. If we try this spell, and it turns out to be a bust... we may not have enough time for a second attempt."

She reread the letter.

"I'll be back soon. Stay here and look after Ponyville."

Was that all? Rarity's first thought had been to examine the details of the ink. It had been a good lead, but not a definitive one. She couldn't help but keep returning to that. "Hrrrrrmph! Blast it, Rarity! Your friends are depending on you to solve a problem requiring fine details, and all you can do is think about ink!" She growled angrily, feeling frustrated. Time was of the essence, and she just couldn't think of anything. Not the ink. Not the paper, which was perfectly ordinary. Not the letters...

Rarity's expression changed from anger to suspicion.

"The letters! Why didn't I see them before? The letter itself, you can read in an instant. But if you read the letters, they're all quite different. The first two words are written very stylishly, formally, as though from a very long time ago. But the end looks to be dealing with more present-day handwriting. A flowing message, from past to present... that's quite poetic."

Princess Celestia had lived for a thousand years, at least. She would know writing styles throughout the ages. But why change it so many times? I'm surprised Twilight hadn't noticed. Then again, I suppose she's accustomed to the Princess' writing.
She paused for another moment, pondering. She failed to notice that the blackness around her was beginning to fade into nothingness.

She peered once more deep into the ink, and saw the Truth.

The spell broke, and Rarity opened her eyes to find a panting Twilight Sparkle facing her.
"...Anything?" Twilight managed after several seconds.

"Memories. She doesn't write with ink. I saw them, Twilight - a thousand years' of faithful students and friends. I saw you, too."

"Memories?" A voice loudly questioned to her left. "How can you write with memories?"
"Rainbow Dash, it's the Princess we're talking about. I'm sure she has a way," Rarity replied. "But she does it to remind herself every day of who she talks to, of the reader's place in her heart. I see it in her words. Twilight, I have no doubt this letter would link to Celestia. Only she could write it with such care."

Twilight was glad that her friends had answered her summons so quickly. Most of her friends tended to stay up late anyway - Rarity and Pinkie Pie were night owls, and Rainbow Dash, though virtually impossible to wake up once she clocked out for the night, normally had difficulty falling asleep at nights. Although Fluttershy and Applejack tended to follow the "early to bed, early to rise" philosophy, the former was a very light and easily startled sleeper, whereas the latter could be persuaded if her friends truly needed her presence.

"That's... great, Rarity," she managed, recovering her stamina. "Thank you." She gave the other unicorn a warm smile. "Finding an identity in a mundane item like a scroll can be a challenge, let alone determining if there can be a link to the owner. That's why I needed you to work with the spell. Now," she added pleasantly, "the tracking spell's much simpler. Spike, fetch the globe."

Spike turned to locate the library's replica of the world when he was stopped by an energetic "Ooh! Ooh! Twilight, I got this!", followed by Pinkie Pie removing a small, spinning globe from her bushy mane and gleefully handing it off to her friend. Nopony questioned how this act was possible. Pinkie Pie was all the explanation necessary.

"Oh! Thank you, Pinkie. Now then... it won't be exact for now, but this will give us Princess Celestia's general location. We can try for something more specific once we get close."

Now... find Princess Celestia, she thought as her glowing horn touched the letter. The parchment rustled for a few seconds before rolling up and floating upwards, pointing one end at a large country on the northern end of the globe.

"Mysidia," read Twilight. "To the northeast, across the Crystal Sea. They're in Mysidia."
"Across the ocean? That's awesome!" Rainbow Dash cheered. "I've been all over this country in no time, but I've never flown across the sea. What's over there?"

"Foreign parts?" Applejack asked warily. "I ain't crazy about foreign parts. What do they got that we ain't got?"

"I hear about that country from time to time," Fluttershy quietly spoke up. "Migrating birds will tell me about it," she added, seeing the looks of surprise on her friends' faces. "It's supposed to be a land with four crystals, one in each of the four directions - south, north, east, and west. They say each crystal represents one of the elements. Most of them prefer the lands to the east and south, holding the crystals of wind and earth."

"Wind and earth?" Twilight asked. "Hmm. I wonder if the other two might be fire and water. You see, everypony, we know of elements like Carbon and Oxygen today, but before we knew about those elements, ponies learned about the elements of alchemy - earth, fire, wind, and water. It was said that everything that existed stemmed from those four elements... did your birds add anything else, Fluttershy?"

"There's a lot of different creatures out there," Fluttershy replied. "There are zebras living in the swamps to the south, and griffons in the eastern canyons. They know ponies live among the western rivers and sea, and diamond dogs - oh, I think these are more pleasant dogs, Rarity - live in the northern mountains. There's also a great central city where they all gather. They also talk about a summer celebration sometimes, in honor of the four crystals. It sounds like it goes a long way back."

"A party? Say no more, Twilight! As a Pinkie Pie, it is my solemn duty to attend, crash, or otherwise brighten up parties all over the world!" Pinkie Pie swore.

"And if the Princesses have trouble going down, I want in on the action," Rainbow Dash said.

"Whoa there, both o' you. Ain't y'all forgettin' some things?" Applejack warned.

"She's right," Rarity chimed in. "Rainbow Dash, let's not forget you have a pet tortoise to be looking after now -- "

"Tank can totally fly that far with me," Rainbow said defensively.

"Dubious..." the unicorn replied skeptically. "And Pinkie Pie, what about the Cakes and their two foals? I -THOUGHT- you needed to babysit them tomorrow?"

Pinkie's face slowly deflated. "Oh, right... still," she added, her face beaming again, "It just means I get time to play with the babies!"

"Twilight, if what yer sayin' about that moon's true, then we may need t' think o' somethin'. Th' thing is..." Applejack paused. "Th' thing is, ah still don't get why we need t' rush in when th' Princesses're clearly still alright. If they weren't, we'd know."

"The sun wouldn't rise," Fluttershy noted, looking relieved. "Since it is, we don't need to do anything. That's good..."

"I wish it were that simple, girls, I really do," said Twilight, shaking her head. "But I've seen time and again that Princess Celestia can't solve all our problems, and she can be--"

"Yes, but who said it would just be one Princess? Luna will be with her," Rarity added.

"Maybe, but let's not forget..." Spike had at last found an opening. "They've been outsmarted before with those changeling weirdos. And before that, they couldn't do anything against Discord, other than give Twilight encouragement when she needed it most. Even the Princesses aren't perfect. Twi sees this. Can't you?"

Spike's words seemed to carry weight with his longtime crush. "I... well, when you put it that way, Spike, I see your point. Perhaps just a checkup would be in order. I must confess that after running around making all those dresses for the wedding I could use a change of scenery as well. Except, I would worry about leaving Opal behind."

"I think this is where I come in," Fluttershy added with a small smile.

"Thank you, darling. I am certainly in your debt."

"And I'm coming too!" Rainbow Dash called out. "You need ponies with--" she paused. "With muscle! And wingpower!"

"Speaking of wingpower, Canterlot's become quite a busy airship port over the past several months," Rarity chimed in, "and I have several important contacts in the city. I understand Fancypants owns some airships. I could ask if he'd be willing to do me a favor and grant us passage... although, I confess that I've no idea how I'm going to repay him. At the very least, he should direct us to a ship that would take us there."

"What about us?" Pinkie asked. "Once I'm done babysitting, I can catch up! I've got this neat idea for a super-fast, custard-powered rocket that--"

"That won't be necessary, Pinkie," Twilight added, chuckling. "Applejack, are you--?"

"Nah. Sounds t' me like a whole lotta hocus pocus is involved. Can't see how I'd be much help t' ye," she replied with a shrug. "Ya got Rainbow for beatin' stuff up, Rarity for whinin' at stuff 'til it gives up, an' you for, well, magic. Besides, I c'n help my folks out here."

"...Alright," said Twilight reluctantly. "Just promise me one thing: If I really, REALLY need you - any of you - would you be willing to drop what you're doing to help me?"

"Yes!" said Pinkie. "How?" The other two ponies asked in unison.

"There's a summoning spell. It takes several unicorns, and the subject has to be willing."

"If ya really need me? Then fine," said Applejack.

"Of course! Anytime after tomorrow. In fact, get me the day after tomorrow!" added Pinkie.

"Um... I, uh... that's really far, right? I..." but Fluttershy couldn't hold out against her friends' expectant faces. "Alright."

"Then it's settled." Twilight let the spell fade, and the scroll fell to the ground.
"And girls? Thank you."

Ch. 2

My dear Rarity,

You and your friends are in luck! It just so happens that five days from now, Mysidia is holding their annual Carnival of the Four Crystals. I've been called upon to deliver a cargo of building materials, and it's high time I brought over all that lumber and canvas!

I wish I could tell you that more airships were sailing to the festival, which takes place in the aptly named Center City. Apparently, crews are getting worried about the moon, or some such nonsense. They say it looks as though it's going to crash. I'll admit it's getting bigger, but frankly, my dear, they worry for nothing. If it's one thing our dear Princesses have down perfectly, it's the sun and moon.

But I ramble! Please, come along to Canterlot as soon as you can. It's nearly a two-day journey to the city docks, so I beg your forgiveness in advance for the cramped accommodations.

Yours Sincerely,

Fancypants

The large chariot flew over fields and forests, which slowly gave way to hills and rocks as the towering spires of Canterlot drew ever closer. Normally, the two ponies onboard and the pegasus flying alongside would take the train up from Ponyville to Canterlot. Yet it was agreed that time was of the essence, and a chariot, though more expensive and less comfortable, would get everypony there quicker. "Besides," said Rainbow Dash, "I can stretch my wings." The cyan pegasus had no trouble whatsoever keeping up with the chariot, pulled by two white guardsponies; however, she was not renowned for her patience and was soon looping around the chariot or rolling about in nearby skies to pass the time.

There was now a large, full moon suspended well above everypony's heads, visible in broad daylight.

Was Fancypants right? Twilight Sparkle asked herself while she rechecked her saddlebags to ensure she carried all they would need. Or was this moon a sign of worse to come?

Wherever it slithered, the water became poisoned, turning brilliant shades of bright purple. Plants withered and shriveled up. The land sickened and died, leaving nothing but blackened, tainted earth where nothing could grow.

And animals? Rarely a cry could be heard now in the southern swamps. Knowledge of the great fiend moving through the swamp had spread. All knew of it; all feared it; all fled before it.

For none could see the true face of Scarmiglione, the Earth Basilisk, and live...

And the masked earth pony thought: Daddy always said you couldn't act without a mask!

Zecora paused for a breather, taking shelter in the clock tower's empty basement.

She'd galloped long and hard. She'd managed to find an airship - she was most fortunate that whoever owned the mask remained blissfully unaware of the tracking lotion slathered upon it. As a result, she'd managed to track the culprit down to Mysidia. Here, of all places... yes, she could understand the reasoning. Mysidia was about as close to Harmony as you got, barring the Elements of Harmony. Four races, living together under a single banner - Discord would surely see Center City and the surrounding countryside razed to the ground. It would be a spectacular display of chaos, the like of which would never be seen before or possibly even since. Mass destruction had never been Discord's way... until now.

"Something troubles me about this matter," she muttered to herself, shaking her head. "Where are the Princesses at this hour? Surely, they can easily track the thief, yet I have not seen them..."

She paused. The sun was still rising, which suggested they were still alive. Wait... no, that wasn't right. If the mask's owner could drag the moon by force, then perhaps it wasn't farfetched to raise the sun as well.

"Have they come to grief?"

A lone pony sat in a small fishing boat, not far from shore.

Normally, ponies wouldn't hold for fishing - they tended to avoid eating meats. Sure, they sometimes ate eggs, but those generally were used for baking, not breakfasting. Still, the western lakes and ocean were pony lands, and griffons paid a pretty penny for good fish. Griffons got fish, ponies got paid. It was a fair trade, as far as Atlantis, a scrawny-looking tan earth pony, was concerned. Today, he would get more than he bargained for.

He reflected that of late, the water had become much warmer, more violent - churning, as though something massive were stirring in the depths. This, of course, was ridiculous. There was nothing larger in these waters than the occasional shark, and normally they stayed farther offshore. Still, fishing catches had become quite poor, as though all the fish had just suddenly disappeared...

Atlantis felt a tug on his line, and the fisherpony snapped out of his reverie. Not all the fish, he thought cheerfully as he reeled in the line.

Seconds later, what began as nothing more than a small minnow popped out of the water. Disappointment quickly turned to confusion as the tiny fish morphed into water, still hooked on the line. Confusion turned to amazement as a tiny suspended puddle of water morphed into a much larger body.

Amazement turned to horror as the water transformed into a monstrous, steel treasure chest, plummeting toward him with a lid full of serrated teeth. Another victim claimed by Cagnazzo, the Water Mimic.

And the masked pony added: What's an actor without a costume? Daddy always liked a good costume!

A mint-green unicorn mare stared upward at the docked airship.

She examined it critically from all sides. Admittedly, she was a musician, not a shipwright, and had no idea what on earth she was looking for. At least I can make sure there aren't, say, gaping holes in the ship's wooden hull, right? Right. That's always something to watch out for, she thought confidently.

"You down there!"

The unicorn turned her light-orange eyes upward, squinting at a vague, pony-shaped figure on the deck. As she was currently facing east, the mid-morning sun made the speaker difficult to see.

"What are you doing snooping around here?"

The unicorn grinned. Ah, a question. She'd been dying for one of those. It gave her the perfect opportunity to try out those bonbons she'd so recently acquired. They were always good for a laugh.

She popped one into her mouth, feeling the coating work its magic on her throat. She opened her mouth.

"'Oy there, laddie! Whadda ye thinkin' I be doin'? Ah'm lookin' tae sail doon tae distant lands, an' I cannae take it on a beaten hunk o' junk!"

The shadowy figure looked taken aback. "Coltlanders insulting the ship..." she heard him mutter. "Look here missy. I don't know what you're calling a 'hunk o' junk', but this here's the Wind Cutter. Fastest civilian ship in Canterlot, and make no mistake! You just happen to be in luck if you want a voyage, but if you don't mind my asking, who are you? What's a nice-looking dame like you want to get out of Canterlot for?"

The unicorn grimaced. I'd rather not talk about it, but it's not like I'm in any local trouble... and besides, the truth hurts, but it has to come out sooner or later, right? Best to let it out now.

"Had a terrible spat with me best friend," she said sadly. "and ah just gotta get oot. That's all. The name's Lyra, by th' by. Lyra Heartstrings."

A fell voice floated on the air, pushed ever onward by the wind's breath.

This was not to say the voice was hideous or displeasing to the ear - on the contrary, it was the most melodious voice that any creature, living or dead, could ever hope to hear. It wafted gracefully into one ear and greeted the brain with peerless beauty and dignity. If the voice could take physical form, Rarity would never wear a smile again; for she would know true beauty, and compared to it, she was naught but rotting flesh and bones. She would be as the voice's loyal zealot, forever bound as a slave to its will.

The wind blew into graveyards of griffon ancestors, into tombs of royal families, some long forgotten.

And rotting flesh and ancient bones stirred in the crypts for Barbariccia, the Wind Muse.

Daddy said that an actor without a voice was nothing but a mime! Those can get crushed by trees for all he cares.

"Ah, Miss Rarity! How delightful to see you again!"

A large white unicorn stallion with a slightly tousled light blue mane walked up to the landing pad. He looked positively dapper in a monocle, a navy blue sailing jacket, and a large blue sailing cap with a white band. There was a reason he was called "Fancypants."

"I'm charmed to see you as well, Fancypants," Rarity replied warmly, bending her knees slightly in a pony's curtsey. She had also dressed for the occasion, though she opted for wearing only her mauve ruffled cape, set in the front with a heart-shaped ruby framed in gold. "Thank you for taking us on at such short notice."

"It's no trouble at all, my dear," he said lightheartedly, taking one of her front hooves in his own for a kiss. Rarity giggled. "Mind you, the cabins may be a tad cramped what with all we're bringing, but there is still plenty of room to spare. Why, we even had another pony come aboard earlier today. One of Princess Mi Amore Credenza's retainers, I believe."

"Oh, Cadence?" Twilight's voice perked up excitedly. "Who is it?"

"She called herself Lyra Heartstrings," Fancypants replied, turning to lead them on. "I doubt she'll have much to say about the Princess and your brother, seeing as they're honeymooning in Panamane. Fantastic tropical climate - exactly the sort of place in which to do nothing but relax. Take it from me."

"And with all the fruit they got down there!" Rainbow Dash added, hurrying to walk alongside. "There's coconuts, and pineapples, and sugarcane..."

"If you like those last two separate," Fancypants added with a conspiratorial nudge, "try them together. Their pineapple upside-down cakes are positively first-rate!"

"Ohhh..." Rainbow Dash could feel her mouth watering. "Those sound awesome right now. Mr. and Mrs. Cake at Sugarcube Corner in Ponyville make some of those cakes too."

"'Awesome'? Rainbow Dash, I know this is Fancypants, but must you use that word in Canterlot?" Rarity chided.

Fancypants grinned evilly. "I could feel Miss Rarity's eyes rolling from a mile away," he added in an audible whisper to Rainbow's ear. Rainbow laughed aloud as Twilight giggled.

"Oh, HA, HA," said Rarity, but even she was grinning. "Says the stallion who named his first airship the 'Fancypants Jr.', then the 'Maximilian', then the 'Shining Seraph', and then finally settled on the 'Fancy Free' two hours later."

The four ponies laughed, continuing to chat as they made their way towards Fancypants' currently prepped airship.

One lone diamond dog cowered against a stone pillar, praying that THING did not decide to roast him, too.

At first, the figure had seemed merely bizarre to look at. A broad-brimmed, steepled tan hat covered its face in shadow. A pair of large raven's wings spread out behind its back. A beautiful, blood-red, bejeweled cloak covered its body. It also carried a large staff headed with a crescent moon in a gloved, five-fingered hand. It almost looked like one of those "humans", ancient soulless golems with two hands and legs that had made popular servants and soldiers centuries ago, relics of a bygone era.

The one major aspect that had led the dog to act out of self-preservation was seeing a pair of brightly glowing slits for eyes, narrowed with malice...

He'd been fortunate. About a dozen or so of his comrades were now nothing but ash.

Then... footsteps. And the figure rounded the pillar, staring down at the trembling dog.

"Stand," it spoke in a metallic voice. The dog obeyed, furtively glancing at those terrible eyes. "Fear not," it continued ironically. "Fighting is for gentlemen, not cowards like yourself. I will spare you. Tell your kin to send only their finest warriors; anything less would be an insult. I do not brook insults. Begone."

The guard dog didn't need to be told twice. Not by Rubicante, the Flame Master, the Black Mage.

Props propel the perfect play!

Twilight Sparkle walked around the deck of the Wind Cutter, slightly frustrated. One pony shouldn't be this hard to talk to, she thought to herself. Granted, in the distant past, before she'd met her five friends, Twilight had been reclusive and tended to brush off conversations with other ponies. Lyra, she imagined, had been one of those. Since that time, the unicorn musician had also come to Ponyville, but again, the two ponies remained distant.

Still... Twilight remained curious as to why the mint-green pony tagged along. It sounded as though her journey came on a whim. It feels like such a strange coincidence, between the location of the Princesses and the moon falling. Does she know something? After all, she's one of Cadence's retainers. She was even one of the bridesmaids at the wedding... or, well, one of the old bridesmaids. But the unicorn had thus far managed to evade her by stowing away somewhere below decks.

Twilight frowned as she stared out at the ocean far below.

"But why tell her, and not me...?" she asked quietly.

"Hey Twi! Check this out!"

Twilight snapped out of her reverie as her cheerful pegasus friend sailed up alongside. "You'll like this one! It's right up your alley! It's something the unicorns do for the ship."

"What is it this time?" Rainbow Dash had taken an interest in the airship, particularly in the ship's small but powerful engines. Once coal-fired steam engines had been perfected, the leap to airship engines was a very simple one. Twilight smiled faintly when she remembered that just last year, trains were pulled by teams of very strong stallions. Now, the conductors remained, but the teams had to look for work elsewhere. Technology was progressing so rapidly this past year. It made her feel rather... old. A bit sad, too.

"It's something manufacturers just came out with. Ratchet was telling me all about it!" Rainbow Dash led her friend towards the center of the deck, not bothering to mention who "Ratchet" was. Opening a hatch and climbing downwards, the pegasus continued, "After what happened at Canterlot, some ponies got to thinking that instead of just relying on one guard with a cutie mark, why not try and make a device which'll work with any unicorn and'll protect a whole area? They're calling it the 'Shield Generator'." She stopped for a moment, turning to Twilight as they walked down a narrow corridor. "I'm tellin' ya, it's amazing what unicorns and earth ponies have come up with to make up for lack of wings. I mean, I'm not jealous or anything. The big balloon's an eyesore, and nothing beats owning the sky with your own body, but..." Dash nodded in approval. "It's somethin' to be proud of, no mistake."

They entered a small room that was strangely empty of anything barring a circular, bluish-white metallic object resting on the floor. Eight spokes poked out from underneath the object, each spoke bolted down to the floor of the cabin by screws. The thing itself curved upward in a dome towards what looked like a tall metallic rod pointing straight upward. Midway up the dome stood four smaller, hollow cylinders. It gleamed brightly from sunlight streaming in through a lone window.

"Rainbow Dash... is this... mythril?" Twilight asked, astonished.

"I dunno. But isn't it awesome? You just charge it up with magic and anything that tries to attack your ship goes SPLAT!" Rainbow slammed two hooves together for emphasis.

"Don't you find it a little strange that Fancypants would carry something like this onboard? Mythril's a very expensive material, and this is a new invention you're talking about," Twilight replied skeptically, walking around the device. "I understand the idea behind it, as mythril's an excellent material for conducting enchantments, but... wealthy though he is, I can't fathom why Fancypants would need something like this for just a simple transport ship."

Rainbow shrugged. "Probably saves on hired guards. You know that one crazy-looking buff pony who helped us lift water to Cloudsdale? He serves on a freighter himself, and he's seen some rough action. There's all kinds of aerial dangers out there, Twi. Dragons are the least of your worries up in the sky. They just leave you alone if you leave them alone."

"I know that!" Twilight snapped. "Just kind of strikes me as odd, that's all."

"Rares also said Fancypants was a forward-thinking kind of pony," Dash added. "He sounds like the type to invest in this new stuff."

"Alright, alright, I get the point. Come on, let's get back up on deck. I keep wanting to find out what Lyra's doing here, but I can't--"

"Twilight? I'd just say leave her alone for now," Dash said thoughtfully. "It kinda seems to me like she doesn't wanna talk to anypony. When Fancypants introduced us, all she said was 'H'lo' and acted as if she never saw us before. "

The unicorn sighed. "I guess you're right. I was just hoping to find out whether she might know something we don't..."

Not the entire route from Equestria to Mysidia remained as open ocean.

If a pony looked overboard at the right times, he or she might see a few small islands dotting the waters below. Most appeared to be little more than swaths of sand and grasslands, totally uninhabited. Yet there were a few larger islands, some with towering cliffs, others with a small forest. One particular island boasted a combination of each, but what really set it apart were crude bridges crisscrossing the cliffs. Smoke could be seen rising from gaps in the trees.

As the airship passed by far in the distance, a bird with the body of a slim monkey shrieked. The sound echoed across the water and into the sky, where Fancypants heard the faint call and turned his head over the railing.

"Is something wrong?" Rarity had been quiet for a little while, having worn her throat down from talking. She'd been grateful for the silence, but noted Fancypants' concern.

"Blasted birds..." Fancypants shook his head and smiled. "Nothing to worry about, my dear. Just some harpies thinking of piracy."

"Harpies?" Rarity stepped back.

"Yes. Birdlike creatures, but with the bodies of monkeys. Sometimes they'll attack what they think are weaker cargo ships, if they're particularly bloodthirsty... there's no need to fret," he added quickly, seeing the look on the unicorn's face. "In the old days, we used to take a squadron of pegasi with lances. They were more than a match for the less aerodynamic savages. But now, well, we have something a little more... advanced." The captain stepped forward, and cleared his throat. His horn began to glow with a faint yellow light, which also surrounded his throat. Rarity, sensing what was coming, covered her ears.

"ATTENTION ALL HOOVES!" Fancypants' voice boomed out across the deck. "WE ARE UNDER ATTACK BY HARPY PIRATES! RAISE SHIELDS! MORE POWER TO THE ENGINES!" The glow disappeared, and he coughed a few times.

"Pirates!?" Rainbow Dash shot up onto the deck, flapping her wings to look around. "They're coming after us?"

"Indeed," replied Fancypants a bit hoarsely. "Just sit tight. The shields will take care of everything, though of course I'd like to get away from here as quickly as I can."

Twilight walked up the hatchway, just reaching the deck as two unicorns hurried in her direction. She jumped aside as they trotted downwards.

"Looks like they don't need much time to get started," Rainbow observed, watching the island far below. She began to see movement above the cliffs. "They're already moving towards us... wait..." she squinted, staring at something. "...I think there are some fatter shapes down there, too," she added. "Kinda hard to tell at this distance."

Fancypants frowned, ignoring the gasps of his passengers as an opaque purple shield rose around them, encasing the ship. "Fatter shapes? Harpies tend to be rather gaunt creatures. I believe they are good friends with migrating tribes of Takkuri, however. Those birds, though slower and not at all good in physical combat, are in some ways deadlier. They're more intelligent, and can cast damaging spells... hrrrm... harpies is one thing, but with enough magic thrown against the shields, this might not be as simple as I thought."

Twilight, sensing danger, stepped forward. "Fancypants, I've seen this 'shield generator' of yours. It's basically a magical amplifier, right? I could help strengthen the shields against magical attacks."

"Ah... you could call it that, yes," Fancypants mused. "A shield spell large enough to cover a ship is very difficult to muster. I daresay that's why your brother had a cutie mark of a knight's shield. You do know the spell for building a shield, I trust?" Twilight nodded. "Very well, and thank you for the assistance."

Rainbow Dash hated to be idle in this situation. "Hey Cap'n," she said, "anything we can do here?"

"I... don't think so," he said slowly. "Given enough time and distance, the raiders should tire of the chase and give up."

He smiled as an additional layer of shield rose around the ship.

"Personally, I wager that all they shall gain is frustration. Here they come!"

The flock of avian raiders approached the decks of the ship, surrounded by a large purple sphere. Through it, they could see a small group of ponies staring back at them. To their disappointment, none of them looked remotely frightened; one kept flitting back and forth, as if annoyed she couldn't beat the snot out of all of them herself. Another looked bored, magicially raising his monocle to scan the squadron before him.

The harpies charged, talons bared to rip into pony flesh...

The first shrieked in surprise as talons smashed uselessly against the shield, feet away from Fancypants' face.

All across the ship, talons plunged, scraped, and broke against the barrier before them. Screams of rage and disappointment poured from the raiders' beaks as they were effortlessly beaten back. Several of the brighter ones gave up after only a few attempts; others, furious at their abject failure to even crack the shield, pounded away at it for several moments before reason broke through.

One by one, the squadron pulled back. Fancypants was smirking now, almost taunting them.

Behind the simian harpies came the throaty chuckling of buzzards. The Takkuri had stayed back, watching their brethren pound themselves to no avail. The large buzzards could sense the flow of magic all around the ship. It was powerful magic, to be sure. Small wonder the harpies failed to break it.

One croaked out a string of arcane syllables, extending its wings forward towards the ship. A few seconds later, a jet-black cloud formed overhead, and a lightning bolt slammed directly into the shield. Again, there appeared to be no visible damage... but that was fine. Takkuri could be patient. Patience lay in abundance for scavengers.

Another extended its wings, and this time air began buzzing around it, particles moving impossibly fast, charging heat. Then, in a massive chain reaction, a beam of fire shot forward, lancing into the side of the ship, striking the shield. Once more, the shield held.

"Enjoy yourselves," Fancypants spoke, conjuring three pairs of dark sunglasses.

In the next few moments, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were treated to a spectacular magic show.

Flames danced just inches from their faces. Lightning storms battered the air again and again, coming so close to striking down everypony on board. High above the ship, great ice crystals smashed down onto the top of the shield before vanishing into nothingness. Gales of wind howled past their ears, yet they felt absolutely nothing.

"Pretty cool," Rainbow Dash shouted above the din.

"It makes me thankful Twilight's on board," Rarity replied, mostly to herself.

"I suppose in the future, I could stand to hire a third pony for the generator," Fancypants mused, overhearing the fellow unicorn. "I don't fancy bearing the brunt of all this magic with just two ponies."

Several minutes ticked by, accompanied by storms and flames. Slowly, the Takkuri began to tire; they had lobbed many spells at the ship's hull and balloon, but while they were running out of energy the shield looked as strong as ever. This was simply not a battle they were going to win.

One by one, the buzzards gave up, turning around to fly back. Several harpies, in an attempt to save face, scratched and slashed across the shield once more before deciding that this raid was an absolute failure. They, too, turned back.

"Your friend deserves my sincerest thanks," Fancypants said warmly as the last of the raiders departed. "Thanks to her, the shield generator has been an absolute success."

By the time Zecora slipped back inside the tower basement, the sun had almost disappeared over the western horizon.

There had been searching. There had been rumors and gossip, leads to follow. The biggest clue was that none appeared to know the Princesses were coming. In fact, none had even seen them. Zecora did concede that the two alicorns could have easily disguised themselves, blending right in with the crowd... but newcomers to the city had been few and far between these past several days. In fact, a number of tourists - and even some inhabitants - were fleeing the city. They were aware that the alicorn Princesses were very powerful, but they held the wise idea that when a moon draws steadily closer, you should get far out of the way.

The princesses were, of course, clever. In addition, the sun and moon still rose each and every day. But if they were indeed actively seeking the cause of their current troubles, wouldn't it be better to work together with city officials rather than keep out of sight? That troubled the zebra, and led her to seek them out.

"It is fortunate I found you ere the day was through," she said, seemingly to herself. She rummaged in the pockets of her cloak, and pulled out two objects. One was a snow-white full moon, and surprisingly light for a rock. The other was a small sculpture of a terrifying mare with fangs. The owner of the Curiosity Shop had recently come into possession of these small figures, sold to him by a small earth pony with strange, swirling eyes who carried a beat-up mask. He was the type who tended to avoid asking questions about who sold what. Thankfully, he could easily be persuaded to give answers. Information was a valuable commodity.

The moon had been a vague clue, but the sculpture... she'd seen a much larger replica last Nightmare Night. There was no mistaking it.

"You've suffered a terrible fate, haven't you...?"

And the zebra pondered just how she would restore these two souls to their original forms...

Ch. 3

"Captain! We're approaching Center City. We'll be at the docks in about five minutes."

Fancypants yawned widely, stretching from his cot.

"I say, Spyglass, might a fellow get some privacy...?" he grumbled, turning out of the cot. The stallion had tossed aside his captain regalia, and generally did not walk around without some clothing on. Ponies did not need clothing, of course, but the upper classes had standards.

"Pardons, Your Grace," the pegasus mare replied with a smirk. "But we've just gotten word from the advance guards. We've a berth at Dock 1. Cargo's to be inspected upon arrival for contraband."

Fancypants snorted, turning away from the magenta-coated mare. Spyglass was a snarky one. Witty like Rarity, but unlike Rarity she tended to enjoy mockery. His horn glowed bright yellow as he opened a small closet to his right, removing a tuxedo for when he set hoof on the ground. As he raised two hooves to slip the black garment over his features, he turned back to his lookout. "Inspected for contraband, you say? Well, that's standard procedure. You'll get that anywhere." He walked to the other side of the room, noting his reflection in the mirror. "And do find me some water," he added. "Far too much hair where it shouldn't be."

Spyglass rolled her dark blue eyes, but said nothing in reply to that remark. She turned and left, straight blonde tail trailing behind her.

Fancypants frowned as the cabin door closed behind her. "I suppose I'd best wake the others," he added. He yawned again, turning back towards his cot, looking out at the open windows behind him. Sure enough, in place of ocean he could now see grassy plains far below. In the distance, he could see a thick wall of trees, marking where the plains ended and the southern swamps began. The sky remained dark, but a shade of dark blue rather than black. Dawn was not far off now...

The minute hand slowly moved closer to the letters "XII". The hour hand, meanwhile, edged towards the letters "VI".

The sky gradually brightened, blackness steadily turning to bright blue. Bright blues entwined with pink and red as the sun approached the eastern horizon.

High atop the clock tower of Center City, the masked earth pony stopped glowing, having sufficiently raised the sun for morning to begin. Through the mask's two red eyes, she watched the sleepy town below.

The dawn of the First Day, it thought to itself. Only seventy-two hours to go!

The northern side of Center City is largely open ground, barring groups of steel ramps and platforms. These are the airship docks, used for mooring airships and unloading cargo and passengers. Normally at this time of year, the docks would be swarming with activity. Now, however, there are few ships still remaining at port...

The Wind Cutter's engines cut out, allowing the airship to glide towards the dock. With some careful steering, the ship turned around close to the northern wall, leveled out, and settled neatly into the open space beside the first dock. Ropes flew out from the ship to nearby dockworkers, who immediately began tying the ends to the dock. Once that was done, a wide gangplank extended from the ship, allowing passengers to cross.

Fancypants, being the captain, stepped out to find a shaggy black diamond dog facing him, face hidden beneath a dark blue tri-cornered hat. In his hands were a large quill and a clipboard. No doubt our inspector, the unicorn stallion thought cheerfully. This shouldn't take long. The black-furred body looked rather familiar, but then again, diamond dogs did not have quite so many distinct features as ponies...

"Save your breath, Fancypants. Your word's no good here," the dog said gruffly.

"I... beg your pardon?" Fancypants was taken aback. "You haven't even boarded my ship!"

The dog chuckled. "An old friend doesn't need to, now, does he?" A pair of crinkling black eyes looked up at Fancypants, grinning.

"By the stars!" Fancypants laughed aloud, wrapping the dog in a one-hoofed hug. "Wesson! So glad to see you again! I should've known you'd say that!" He turned back to the ship. "Everypony, step on over! I know this one well."

Lyra Heartstrings bounded off the ship first, only too eager to get moving. Most ponies took well enough to air travel, but her stomach had never quite settled on the journey, and she largely stayed in bed. She still didn't feel terribly well, but felt greatly reassured to at least set hoof on solid ground. "H-hello," she said a bit shakily, holding out a hoof to shake. Her voice had long since returned to being soft and lyrical. Rainbow Dash followed by simply flying over the deck, giving a swift nod and salute. Twilight and Rarity came last, the latter giving the dog a stern look, but otherwise saying nothing.

"This is Inspector Wesson," Fancypants began warmly, gesturing a hoof. "Wesson, these are Lyra Heartstrings, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity. This dog's been a good friend of mine for several years now. We first met in the Dromedos when I was delivering a shipment of goods down that way. Fancy seeing you here again, all the way on the other side of the world!"

"Yes, yes. Small world, huh?" Wesson drawled. "The pay was alright, but killer heat with this coat on. Glad I could get this spot here up north... or at least, I WAS."

"Was?" Twilight asked. "Are you talking about the moon getting closer? I can see why you'd want to get out of here."

Fancypants sighed. "My dear, we've been through this. The thought of the moon actually crashing into the landscape is nonsense."

"If it's a joke, it isn't funny," Wesson said darkly. "But that's not the only thing that's bugging me. There's queer talk about the four surrounding lands. It's been getting real cold up north, the swamps have been dying out... the western ports and eastern canyons have been looking real odd lately too. Something big's going on in this country, and I don't think I want to be a part of it."

"Wait... so there's been crazy stuff happening all over?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"And all at the same time, too..." Twilight mused. What's going on here? I just wanted to find the Princesses and assist them however I can, but... all of a sudden, this problem sounds a lot bigger than I imagined.

"Yeah. I'm not sure what gods we angered," Wesson continued, "but I don't think I wanna stick around long enough to find out." He grinned, turning to Fancypants. "That's why it's lucky I found you."

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, Wesson, but I don't intend to go back," Fancypants replied flatly.

Wesson shrugged. "I thought you might say that. You've always wanted to get the job done, and I'm fine with that. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. In private."

Rarity said nothing through the entire conversation. Part of her disliked diamond dogs on the whole, having suffered captivity at their hands some time ago. Granted, she had singlehoofedly turned the tables on the lot of them, but nevertheless, capturing a lady to make her mine jewels was not a good way to make friends. Still... this one seems honorable enough, she thought to herself. But what is his relationship to Fancypants? I know that blank look Fancypants is giving ... they both know more than they're letting on. What could it be? I wonder...

"Of course. Sorry, my dear Rarity, but could you and your friends hurry along? I'm afraid this business will take some time, and I'm sure you have better things to do than listen to business deals."

Rarity gave a forced smile. "Of course, Fancypants. Come along, everyone..."

"Y'know, for a Diamond Dog, he seemed alright," Rainbow exclaimed as the four ponies touched ground. To get down, they'd needed to descend a series of zigzagging ramps.

"Y-yes, I'm... rather surprised," Rarity said, blinking her eyes. "But, I suppose I've been prejudiced. They certainly seemed to be good friends..." Yet there was something very off about that conversation, she thought to herself. I've designed enough costumes for stage plays to know when ponies ... or dogs ... are acting. So what are they playing at? She decided not to pursue her chain of thought any further. Fancypants was the one who got her where she was today, both in terms of status and current location.

"I'm just thankful to be off that boat," Lyra groaned.

Twilight Sparkle, having her first chance to talk to the musician, could not wait. "So, what were you doing aboard the Wind Cutter, anyway?"

"Twilight," said Rarity reproachfully, "the poor dear's been ill. Don't you think it's rude to ask so soon?"

Lyra rubbed a hoof through her straight, mint-green and white mane. "Ah... it's a personal reason," she said quietly. "If you don't mind, I don't want to talk about it."

"It's cool," Rainbow replied, now flapping her wings from a few feet off the ground. "You got your own things to do, and we got ours. Just, y'know, don't let the sound of your own hooves drive you crazy. That's Twilight's job," she added with a grin, draping a hoof around her friend's shoulder.

"Rainbow!" Twilight glared at the pegasus.

Lyra laughed. "Thanks," she said, a bit more warmly than before. "I'll bear that in mind. So long!" She trotted off, leaving the three of them walking towards the center of town and the massive clock tower.

When the unicorn was safely out of earshot, Rarity gave Rainbow an approving glance. "Well done, Rainbow Dash," she said. "You showed quite a bit of tactfulness there."

"Well, yeah. She sounded kinda down. What of it?"

"...You don't know who she is, do you?"

"Should I? Even if she's from Ponyville, I don't know her. I'm not Pinkie Pie."

"Fair enough, I suppose. Lyra's a resident of Ponyville, and also happens to be a musician. You may have noticed her cutie mark is that of a golden harp."

"So, she's here as entertainment?"

"I don't think so," Rarity mused. "She has a marefriend in Ponyville, by the name of Bonbon. She's a candymaker who puts together these voice-changing bonbons. It's a mystery trying to guess how she'll sound the next day... in any case, she's not here, yet Lyra is, and Lyra seems downhearted."

"You're not sayin' they're having problems, are you?" Rainbow Dash folded her hooves over each other. "'Cuz that's just stupid. Running away across a whole ocean isn't gonna solve anything."

"Don't be so sure, Rainbow. Mares and colts sometimes do crazy things when faced with love unrequited."

Twilight sighed, looking up at the clock tower. The minute hand had at last reached a large black "XII", bordered above by an arc of brilliant rubies. "Six o' clock. Come on, girls. Let's see if we can find the princesses first."

The purple unicorn had strapped a pair of saddlebags to her flanks at the onset of their journey, embroidered with the six-pointed star that represented her cutie mark. It helped signify to everypony whose bags were whose. In that sense, cutie marks worked rather like sigils. Her horn glowed a bright shade of purple, unbuckling a strap and pulling out Princess Celestia's letter. "We're in the right country now," she said, concentrating. "Now let's see if we can pin them down..."

Zecora sat thinking, mouth clenched around a short wooden pipe. She breathed in, opened one side of her mouth, and puffed out a small ring of smoke.

The moon kept coming closer and closer. The princesses were cursed, trapped in petrified albeit beautifully sculpted shapes. The only silver lining was that the pony with her mask could not be far. If she could just find some way to grab it... but how? The mask's wearer, though easy enough to locate, was slippery as an eel and as fast as a pegasus. Even if the zebra managed to catch the wearer, she would not be a match for--

Zecora blinked in surprise as she heard the sound of a creaking wooden door above her.

"What would the Princesses be doing here?" asked a scratchy yet familiar voice. Zecora removed the pipe from her mouth.

"I have to agree," said a more cultured voice. "Surely they would not be hiding out of sight in this dusty old basement?"

"That's what the letter is telling us, though I'm surprised too." That voice Zecora knew well. "C'mon. Let's have a look around."

The zebra paused. I did not want others to intervene... yet I see no way to leave unseen. The mask was a zebra problem, had always been a zebra problem. Many had tried to destroy the mask, yet all had failed. In the end, it was agreed that the best method of removing it was to give it an owner ... one who must hide the mask away forever, fearing its misuse. Yet it had all been only a matter of time... whether by fate or some cruel trick of gods or goddesses unknown, the mask found one to wield its powers.

"...Zecora? What are you doing here?"

Zecora turned her head to face the purple unicorn, staring at her in surprise. She stayed silent for but a moment, gazing deeply into Twilight's purple eyes. Beyond the inquisitive look in the pony's eyes, she could see an underlying mission, a determination burning deep within. Twilight spoke often and fondly of the princesses, and it was not too difficult to guess her purpose. It was no coincidence that she came here with her two friends, now appearing behind her. The zebra made a decision, and cleared her throat.

"You seek your mentors, do you not?" She asked, sounding slightly hoarse. She pointed the end of her pipe towards the small moon and statue. "There are the princesses you have sought."

"Uhh... I see a small moon and a statue of Nightmare Moon," Rainbow Dash said, quirking an eyebrow.

"But this is where the... letter leads..." Twilight sat on her haunches and stared at the two small, lifeless objects before her. "Zecora... are they...?"

"They are not dead, merely transformed," Zecora replied gently.

"How!?" Twilight blurted loudly.

"By the wicked mask of an ancient dark lord."

"A mask of an ancient dark lord?" Twilight's voice rose. "How are we supposed to defeat that, if it turned both princesses into this state!?"

"Wait a second, darling. The sun's been rising every day, including this morning. Besides, a mask needs somepony to wear it first. ...Right?" Rarity asked uncertainly.

Zecora nodded, and sighed. "It is a secret I'd hoped to make lost, until one day someone found it... to my cost. Discord's Mask ... that is its name. The wearer brings wicked chaos, destruction, and flame. Carved millennia past by the god of chaos, it channels his essence should his powers be lost. Within the stasis of harmony, he himself cannot act... but he grants great power to the wearer, while the mask stays intact."

"So, wait a second. You're saying that that moon falling, and the princesses turned into a moon and a statue... that's all Discord's doing?" Rainbow asked. "What moron put on the mask and let him come back!?"

"And on top of that," Twilight added, regarding Zecora inquisitively, "It sounds like you had the mask in your possession the entire time. Why was it never destroyed?"

"Countless zebras tried, but to no avail. Even Baron Samedi, the Death Seraph, failed. In the end, the mask was trusted only to one whom must never reveal it, under moon or sun. Entrusted, I was, to keep it and run. I stayed hence in the Everfree, far from everyone." Zecora lowered her eyes. "But now the mask is free again. I have failed you all, to my great shame."

Twilight drew a long breath through her nostrils. She turned back to the two items before her. They're the most powerful ponies in all of Equestria, she thought, and they were left in this state. Whoever's wearing the mask is now raising the sun to avoid suspicion. Clever, but we've discovered what's going on. There is also one thing we have that the mask doesn't...

"So we just gotta get the mask back, right?" Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Ha! That'll be easy! Dumb old Discord's no match for us!"

"Against true chaos, you have a simple task," Zecora agreed. "But can your Elements defeat an inanimate mask?"

"Huh?" All three ponies cried out. They were indeed the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, the most powerful magic known to ponykind. Six elements were first matched years ago to the six friends to defeat Nightmare Moon. Yet it seemed few really knew they were the actual bearers... none had seen them fight Nightmare Moon, and none had seen them fight Discord. Only Princess Celestia and Princess Luna knew their true secret, and had never mentioned anything beyond their vanquishing Discord... until now.

Zecora puffed on her pipe. "The Maskbearer must know her ancient lore. In defeating two demons, only one answer was sure. But a mask is no demon, as you can see. Nor is a mortal thief, my Elements of Harmony."

"That may be so," Rarity noted, "but we're not the Princesses. Half of us are no fighters, either. The Elements are our one and only hope."

"The magic should work, even if the thief isn't the likes of Nightmare Moon or Discord," Twilight added. "But we need to gather our friends and the Elements at once. Going by the rate of the moon's descent, along with its current position, I believe we have roughly three days, and no more. That should be enough time to summon our friends, and the Elements with them. Then, we'll confront the thief and use the Elements of Harmony to retrieve the mask. That should stop the moon from falling and restore the princesses. We'll need to send an urgent letter to Canterlot asking for the Elements, and we'll need to summon our friends. I'll write the letter and send it to the post office, wherever it is. The summoning magic's difficult over such a great distance, so I may need a few unicorns to lend a horn. Rarity and Rainbow Dash, I need both of you to find a few willing unicorns to help us. Ready, girls? Let's get to work!"

Lyra sat at the bar counter, nursing a cider.

She'd spent the morning walking around the city. It wasn't quite as large as she'd thought. The city itself ran in a circuit, with a big plaza at the southern end to connect to the other areas in the west, east, and north.

The western part of town appeared to be a market district, with all manner of shops and restaurants. No doubt it was usually bustling during the daytime; however, the coming moon apparently made a number of business owners nervous. Though it was early morning, the unicorn spied several signs saying something to the effect of "closed due to running for our lives". One or two had even been boarded up, though Lyra thought that rather overdid things. I doubt running will do much good, she had thought as she trotted past. A rock that big will affect much more than just one city.

The northern part of town was, of course, the airship docks. Beyond that, it appeared to be largely open ground. A few apartments stood in the general area... dockworkers' tenements, she supposed. A number of buildings looked run-down, or sprayed with graffiti. These parts felt safe enough during the daytime, but she didn't want to be there after sundown.

The southern part of town seemed to be more public space. Most of the area was taken up by a vast, cobblestone plaza. Workers were busy raising banners and flags and stalls. It was the only part of town she'd seen that didn't look affected by current events. Several small parks dotted the area, providing playgrounds and trees for those who wanted to get away from the city streets for an afternoon.

That, of course, left the eastern quarter, which served as a residential area. Apartments both towering and tiny interspersed in rows with clusters of houses, separated by narrow streets. Never had Lyra seen so much in so compact a space. Turn down one street, and you stood in a ritzy, respectable neighborhood; turn down another, and you wanted to go back the way you came.

As things stood, the harpist suspected she was somewhere in between for the moment. The cider bar she'd walked into wasn't too clean, but she felt as though a number of patrons and the bartender, a portly griffon with a wiry gray mustache, knew each other well. It was a nice place to relax after a long walk around, if you weren't fussy. The apple cider was still sweet and delicious. The hay fries weren't bad either, though she'd like to have a bit more salt...

She'd had a few days to think. What happened back in Ponyville, between me and Bonbon... I still feel bad when I think about it, the two of us just shouting at each other. But I tried to make things work between us, right? We both did. In the end... maybe I said things I shouldn't have, but... I can't go back. WE can't go back. You can't fix what's broken... I realize that now. I think this trip's done me some good already. Just having some time to look around and think...

"A cider bar!? ...Am I in heaven?"

Lyra frowned, snapping out of her reverie. She knew that voice.

Sure enough, from the corner of her eye she saw Rainbow Dash float down to the bar, sitting four stools to her right. When the bartender walked over to her, the pegasus immediately put down some bits and opened her mouth to ask for the biggest mug of cider money could buy...

"We don't take Equestrian Bits here."

"I... what?" Rainbow Dash sounded as though Hearth's Warming Eve was cancelled.

"Sorry, girl, but these bits ain't any good here. We use rupees, not bits."

"Aw, c'mon! They're still money!"

"Look girl," the bartender said firmly, "this is Equestrian money, not Mysidian. You get this stuff exchanged at a bank first. Then you can come back."

"Grrr... fine!" Rainbow snapped angrily. She made to put the coins away and leave when Lyra cleared her throat.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash."

While Lyra had not thought to exchange her money either, in walking through the western district she'd come across several banks offering exchange functions. Realizing that bits may work differently from rupees, the unicorn had made the exchange.

"Trade ya. Just gimme a sec." Her horn glowed a bright sea green as a gilded harp popped into existence. Next, the unicorn magically plucked a series of strings in an ascending chord. A sky-blue magic circle appeared in midair before her, displaying a brown bag of assorted gems. Lyra reached into the circle and pulled the bag out. She then played the harp's strings in a rapid reverse, and the circle closed.

"Seriously? Phew!" Rainbow sighed in relief as the bartender nodded at her unicorn friend, turning to fill a large mug full of cider. "Thanks, Lyra. You're a lifesaver."

The harpist giggled, laying down a pair of blue rupees and magically taking seven of Rainbow's bits for her own. "You're quite a cider fan."

"You have no idea." Rainbow had eyes only for the large cider mug now placed before her. Placing a hoof inside the handle, she promptly raised it to her mouth and chugged. The pegasus drank a good half of the mug in a few seconds before slamming the mug back down with a loud "Aaaaaaahhhhh..." complete with a foamy mouth and eyes glazed in satisfaction.

Lyra laughed aloud. "I've never seen anypony so in love with cider!"

"Hey, I can stop anytime I want to," Rainbow said defensively. "I just don't want to. So hey, I'm surprised to see you again so soon! Did you know about this place?"

"Nah. I'd just taken my tour of the city and stopped in." Lyra climbed up to the stool next to Rainbow's. "Funny old coincidence, isn't it?"

"Coincidence? Ehh, maybe. This whole morning's been kind of a crazy series of those. Did you know that Zecora's in town, too?"

"That creepy zebra from Everfree? What's she doing here?"

"Aww, don't say that. She's not so bad, once you get to know her," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Yeah... yeah," the unicorn mused softly. A series of coincidences... me and Rainbow on the airship, then me and Rainbow here. She's pretty good at cheering me up, too.

Rainbow attacked the rest of her cider, quickly swishing down the remains. "Phew! Well, thanks for helping me out. I'm supposed to be finding a few unicorns to help Twilight with a spell, but when I saw the cider bar I had to drop in. Rarity's probably got at least four or five colts lined up by now anyway. Hey, maybe you could help? Twi's gonna be doing most of the work. She just needs a bit of mojo from a few unicorns. That's all."

Lyra gave a small smile. "Sure, why not?" Let's see where this leads...

Rainbow Dash had not been far off.

Rarity loved attention, especially when it came to her looks. All she had to do was shake her long, elegant mane, flutter her eyelashes, and smile, and colts came galloping. She'd quickly found two, a strong-looking chestnut stallion and a silvery but otherwise plain colt. Rarity frowned upon seeing Lyra enter the tower basement. A pony could see the wheels turning in her mind, but the white unicorn said nothing.

"Okay, everypony," Twilight called out, "get into a circle. I'm going to be in the center. Now, I'll be the one casting the spell, but a summoning spell needs other ponies to help channel and control the magical energies necessary. Our friends knew this was a possibility at the start, so while they may be startled at first, they will not refuse. This may take several minutes to complete. Is everypony ready?" She waited a few seconds to receive nods from everypony. "Okay. Starting the spell... now!"

Twilight's horn shone a brilliant purplish hue before shooting a brilliant ray of light towards the ceiling, coalescing into a large sphere eight feet above the ground. The other four unicorns channeled their own magic, four beams of magical energy pooling into the sphere, giving it stability and power...

"...And then Pound Cake just started doing loops ... ZOOM! Through the babies' airplane mobile, out the bedroom door, down the stairs, and right into the Triple Decker Tiramisu! Good thing all he got was the layer of cream on top, he can't even chew the ladyfingers yet!"

"Uh-huh." Applejack found it easier just to say that and nod whenever Pinkie was in the midst of one of her stories. They were entertaining, but Pinkie didn't really allow you to get in anything past an acknowledgement before rushing on. 'Uh-huh' did the trick.

"But o' course, I forgot tiramisu's topped with some coffee too, and these babies can go all day even without coffee! So the next thing I know, Pound Cake's getting ready to do a Sonic Babyboom! I mean, he was all, 'WOOSH!' and 'PEW', just like Dashie!"

"Uh... huh?" Applejack just noticed blue sparkles appearing around Pinkie's midsection.

"Yeah! I was really worried too!" Pinkie continued, mistaking Applejack's question for concern. "But then you know, I remembered ... Pound Cake likes to pound things with his hooves, and there was some ... hey!" Pinkie jumped, finally looking down at herself. There was now a ghostly blue rope appearing around her midsection, tugging her back towards some sort of dimensional gap.

"Pinkie!" Applejack jumped towards her friend, trying to grab a hoof, but Pinkie just smiled and bounced backward.

"Don't worry, AJ," she called out before the rope pulled her in. "It's them! I can feel it!" A second later, she was gone.

"Them?" The cowpony paused for a second before she remembered. "...Ahh, now I remember! Heh, heh... 'them'. Would've preferred a not-so-sudden notice, but ah can't say ah didn't see it comin'. None of us can say that."

She saw blue sparkles begin to appear around her midsection.

"Okay, Twilight. Ah'm ready."

The sphere glowed brightly for the third time, and a still-startled Fluttershy gasped at the drop, but flapped her wings in time to recover, floating gently to the ground. The four unicorns withdrew their magical support shortly thereafter, and the portal withered and collapsed into nothingness.

Twilight opened her eyes, hardly looking as though she'd just exerted a lot of magical energy over several minutes. "Hi Pinkie Pie, AJ, Fluttershy," she said cheerfully. "I'm glad you all answered the summons!"

"-So after Pound Cake pummeled the pineapple into pulp, I-oh no problem, Twilight! I couldn't miss it!" Pinkie stopped her tale just long enough to acknowledge Twilight before turning back to Rainbow Dash to finish the tale of Pound Cake and the Pineapple Pizza.

"So now that we're all here," Applejack added, "Mind fillin' us in on what's goin' on, Twilight?"

"Have you found the ... " Fluttershy began.

"Wait a second," Twilight interrupted. Rarity was busy escorting the two stallions out the door, thanking them for the trouble. She preferred not to have anypony else know what they'd found out, and in any case now that everypony was here the real work was about to begin. Rainbow Dash vouched for Lyra, and in any case the mint-green unicorn seemed interested now in their quest. Once her fellow unicorn returned and nodded, Twilight took a deep breath. "So, it turns out that the moon coming down is the work of Discord."

"And then we added the sauce and ... whoa! Hold the phone!" Pinkie immediately dropped her riveting tale. "Are you crazy, Twi? Discord was petrified! I should know; I was there!"

"And he still is," Twilight reassured her friend. "He's instead acting through an artifact of his own making called Discord's Mask. Somepony or someone is wearing his mask. Through the mask, he's able to bring the moon crashing down. Luckily, since it's Discord, we can still use the Elements of Harmony to stop him. Once they arrive from Canterlot, we'll equip the Elements and then separate the mask from its current owner. That'll stop the moon from falling, and then our problems are officially over!"

"But where are the princesses in all this?" Fluttershy asked. "Did you find them?"

"...We did," Twilight replied. "Discord... found them first. Zecora, if you would?"

"Zecora?" The three newly arrived ponies echoed in surprise as the zebra appeared from below, carrying the small moon in one hoof and the statue in her mouth. She laid them both gently on the floor.

"They've been turned into a small moon and a statue," Twilight continued. "By the mask's powers."

"So everythin' leads back to the mask," Applejack drawled. "We take that off, we take care of everythin'."

"Exactly! And all we need to do is get the Elements. Then we're good to go!"

"Just one thing, Twilight ... how're we gonna find that there mask?"

Twilight turned her head towards Zecora and grinned.

"I've hunted the mask across the sea," Zecora spoke up, shrugging her hooves. "What is one clock tower to someone like me?"

At midnight of the third and final day, fireworks exploded in the skies around Center City.

From atop the clock tower, the masked pony smiled, floating in midair. Even at this hour, they're still partying, she thought to herself. Now THIS is more like it! What does anypony gain from running and screaming? Just have fun! It won't matter where they run to anyway. Hee, hee.

She looked up, grinning through the mask at the now gigantic moon situated overhead. A pegasus could now fly upward and touch the surface. A pony could now pick out the craters that pockmarked the moon's face. There even appeared to be small openings and crevasse's in the rock. The pony knew the truth of the matter ... caverns slowly dug by Nightmare Moon, long ago. The mad queen thought she could build a fortress in there! She's so silly, building a moon base. What pony wants to go to the moon? I don't...

She frowned, hearing the sound of rapid hoofsteps below.

"Stop right there, Discord!"

That voice, the floating pony thought. I know that voice. She turned around in midair, staring down at the six mares below from behind the mask, shaped in Discord's deceptively lazy-looking visage. She greeted them with silence, waiting for them to speak. She noted that five ponies wore necklaces with emblems on the front. One, doubtless the leader, wore (in her opinion) a very tacky tiara.

How is that earth pony floating? Twilight thought at first. It must be the power of the mask, or... "Discord, we know that's you controlling the moon's fall! We know you're the one who's behind turning the princesses to stone!"

"Ha ha ha!" The masked pony laughed. "Oh, yeah! I remember that! But you're so dumb to say that, Twilight Sparkle. One of 'em is moon rock, and the other's granite. They're not stone!"

"Regardless of what you made them, the curse will soon be undone." The other five ponies stepped forward, lining up in formation.

"...You refer to the Elements of Harmony?" The mask's owner grinned. "Oh, yeah. Daddy and I knew about the Elements coming here. We know lots of things. But we didn't bother to withhold them from you. Even if you have them, you can do nothing with them."

"Oh, yeah?" Rainbow Dash snarled.

"Haha! Well, if that moon looks like something that can be stopped, then just try to stop it!"

The floating earth pony raised her hooves to the moon. Sparks flew from the mask and the pony shook as energy rapidly built, rising towards the moon...

"T-Twilight!" Fluttershy gasped. "The moon's coming a lot faster now!"

"Alright! Girls, get in formation NOW!"

The five ponies' necklaces began glowing brightly, the five floating in the air behind Twilight, each face becoming an expression of pure relaxation, resting in the Harmony around them. Twilight felt their spirits surround her now ... Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, Kindness! The power of friendship poured into her body, flowed through her veins! Yet it was not enough to hold these five virtues. A pony needed a spark ... a spark that bound all ponies together in fellowship. The spark of love...

The spark of magic!

Twilight's eyes disappeared into a brilliant holy light. She began to take the air, ready to bring once more the Elements' oath to order on the followers of chaos...

...And suddenly, all six ponies tumbled unceremoniously to the ground, the power dissipating into the night sky.

"...What's going on?" Applejack called out over the loud rumbling of the earth.

"I-I don't know!" Twilight stammered. "This can't be possible! We're all together! We're all in harmony! What are we doing wrong!?"

"Hehehehehahahahaha!" The floating earth pony's giggle came loud as thunder. "YOU are in harmony, but the land isn't! Didn't you pay any attention to your surroundings?" The pony laughed again; Twilight became uncomfortably aware how fully the moon filled the sky. "The swamp, the mountains, the ocean, the canyons ... didn't you even BOTHER to go there? As long as the four elements are under our control, you can't do ANYTHING! And now... now it's too late! HAAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAA!" The pony cackled gleefully.

"You're insane!" Rainbow roared, and shot like a rocket at the floating pony ... only to be effortlessly batted aside in midair, as though by an invisible hoof.

"Ohhh..." Twilight's hooves stamped on the ground.

"Twilight! Now what'll we do!?" Applejack yelled.

"I... I..." Twilight stared upward in horror; if the pony was right... if they couldn't execute the Elements because they'd failed to care for the lands around them...

"Somepony! ANYPONY!" Rarity screamed, sensing the end was near. "HELP US, PLEASE! WE NEED MORE TIME!"

"Keep it together!" Twilight barked, snapping out of her own fear. "We're only doomed if we don't try! Come on, girls! Once more! We've got to try! Everyone's counting on us, and if we fail--!"

"That won't do you any good," the masked pony laughed. "but go ahead! Keep trying! It'll be all the sweeter when Harmony gets crushed by a giant rock! Hey," she added mockingly, "Rock's really orderly, right? I mean, it's a rock! You think it's ironic that Harmony gets crushed by something so orderly as a rock? Or no, no wait ... it's not ironic! It's just 'rocky'!"

"YOUR JOKES STINK!" Pinkie roared, straining to drain every drop of Laughter from her body. Yet it felt... forced, strained. Laughter wasn't supposed to be forced. She could feel the flow of Harmony waning. No! C'mon, Pinkie! Think of something funny! Uh, okay, so Dashie and a giraffe walk into a bar, and the giraffe drinks all the cider, and Dashie's all, 'I could drink all the cider too if I had a long neck!' But Harmony continued to fall apart around her. Uh, not funny? Okay, let me try--

But the moment passed, and she and the other ponies fell flat on the ground again.

"I'm-I'm sorry, dears," Rarity wailed. "All I can think about now is that I don't want to die!"

"And I can't think of anything funny," Pinkie admitted.

"So... scared..." Fluttershy quivered, hiding under her long mane.

The masked pony smirked, and lifted her head back up towards the sky to await the falling moon...

When suddenly, three mint-green unicorns leapt toward her, screaming battle cries from three directions! Startled, the pony swept aside the first... but it merely dissipated into shadows. She turned, kicking a second into thin air, somersaulted just in time to do the same to the third...

And missed the fourth, the real Lyra, entirely as the unicorn smashed into her midsection horn first.

"OOF!" The masked pony staggered in mid-air. Unicorn horns typically were not sharp enough to draw blood, and Lyra's was no exception. Nonetheless, it still hurt enough to stun the floating pony, knocking her backward...

And at that moment, in a flash of bright white, unmistakable unicorn magic, a bright blue harp appeared from nothingness, falling to the ground. Twilight blinked. That magic reminds me of... but how, if she's... The unicorn shook her head, and galloped over to the fallen object. The top and bottom of the harp shone a beautiful sapphire hue, the strings a pure white.

The moment she grasped the harp, a voice called in her mind: Give the harp to one who can use it! Quick! Twilight wasn't sure what this madness was all about, but at this point she and her friends had no better ideas.

"LYRA!"

"Ugggh..." Lyra felt rather drained. The music required to generate her three shadows was second nature to her by now, but she had needed to jump quite high to reach the masked pony, and had landed heavily on her back. She recovered just in time to see Twilight rushing a blue harp over to her with magic. "What...?" She managed to ask as she grasped the harp with her own magic, a faint green aura.

Lyra, an elegant, mature voice spoke. There is not much time left. Do you seek to save Mysidia?

"Oh, good! More guests!" The masked pony spoke up, though it was impossible to keep the anger out of her voice. "Enjoy the view while you still can! You're about to learn just what true chaos really is!"

Lyra stared at the floating pony, who now seemed fully concentrated in bringing the moon down, protected by an impenetrable magical shield.

Right now, I want to save myself and my friends, she thought wildly. If that means Mysidia too, fine!

Then listen closely to the notes I will play you. Wrap them around your heart, around your desires. If you truly wish to save those you love, play this song and your wish will be granted in time.

What time!? Lyra thought wildly. Yet Lyra clung to this strange, last hope like a drowning pony to a rock. A crazy thing it was, playing those six slow notes just because a voice in her head told her to...

"What are you doing!?" Rarity shouted from behind her. "We're not going to solve anything by just playing music!"

Rainbow Dash kept trying to hammer away at the magic shield, and failing. Applejack also leapt towards the shield, no more successful than Rainbow. Twilight sat and stared. Rarity screamed. Fluttershy cowered. Pinkie panicked, running back and forth across the tower, yelling incoherently.

When you look at them, they're really not very heroic at all, Lyra realized. They need somepony.

And that somepony is...

She plucked the last note on her harp.

...Me.

The world instantly faded to black.

"What the--" Lyra began.

"Look out!" Twilight yelled. "We're gonna faaaaaaaall...!!"

Rainbow Dash found her wings would not beat. Fluttershy somehow managed to attempt opening her wings, but neither would move.

Seven ponies fell through a white void full of towering clocks, speeding inexorably towards a great white light...

The minute hand reached a large black "XII", bordered above by an arc of brilliant rubies. The hour hand touched "X". Ten o' clock.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!" Pinkie screamed. "AAAAAAHHHHH THEMOON'SGONNAFALLANDWE'REALLGONNABESMUSHEDLIKEPANCAKESAND--"

Without even looking where to place her hoof, Rarity silenced Pinkie Pie, staring wide-eyed at the surrounding town.

"Twilight," she said softly. "Does it look to you as though...?"

Twilight looked up into the sky, and saw a much smaller moon. Bigger than normal, and heading closer, yes. But still smaller.

"Everything's..."

"Started over..." they finished in unison.

"Y-you..." Rarity turned to Lyra, shaking. "I don't know how you managed to do it, but you've just saved our lives. You have my undying gratitude, Lyra Heartstrings," she added, bowing her head.

"I still don't understand what just happened," Lyra replied, mouth open in shock. "Did... did we just travel back in time?"

"We did," Twilight confirmed. She, at least, knew something of time travel from firsthand experience. "Star Swirl the Bearded first invented the time travel spell, although... it's only supposed to be temporary. In a few minutes, we should be pulled back to..."

The other six ponies tensed up in fear.

"Ahhh... well... but-but then again," she added quickly, "The spell I used was nothing like this. It's different from Star Swirl's version, so it's got to be permanent!" I hope, she thought fretfully.

"So, what do we do now?" asked a relieved Applejack.

"Hmmm. Well, there's something funny about that harp. I recognized the magical aura behind its appearance. I think it's no coincidence that it appeared when Lyra struck Discord's thrall. Princess Celestia was trying to tell us something. Maybe now, if we go back to Zecora, we can learn more."

"Princess Celestia? That's who was talking back there?" Lyra asked.

"No doubt about it," Twilight said. She grinned, confidence returning. "And now, even though the Elements of Harmony can't work, we have something even better:

All the time in the world."